CONTENTdm
British Columbia Historical Books Collection
Collins, Joseph Edmund, 1855-1892
"Has information on the Canadian Pacific Railway, 'Pacific Canada,' and the province's entrance into confederation. A revised edition with additions by G. Mercer Adam was published in 1891 under title: Canada's patriot statesman (Toronto, Rose; and also: London, McDermid & Logan)." -- Lowther, B. J., & Laing, M. (1968). A bibliography of British Columbia: Laying the foundations, 1849-1899. Victoria, BC: University of Victoria, p. 72.
xii, 642 pages : illustration ; 23 cm
application/pdf
LIFE AND TIMES OF THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD, K.C.B., D.C.L., &c. I PREMIER OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA. ||«^afl| CANADA BANK NOTE ENGRAVINGS PRINTING COMPANY. LIFE AND TIMES OF THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD, K.C.B., D.C.L., &c, PREMIER OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA. BY J. E. COLLINS ROSE PUBLISHING COMPANY. MDCCCLXXXin. SOLD BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY. Entered according to the Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three, by Huntetj, Rose & Co., in the office of the Minister of Agriculture. PRIKTED AND BOUND BY HUNTER, ROSE & CO. TORONTO. CANADA PAPER CO. S PAPER. M01 treal and Toronto. TO frofcssar (Solbtont §mith, LL.D., D.C.L., THE EXPONENT OF A WHOLESOME AND ENDURING- PUBLIC MORALITY, THE FKIEND AND LEADER OF THE HIGHER LITERATURE AND OPINION, WHO HAS PLACED HIS ADORNING TALENTS AT THE SERVICE OF OUR COUNTRY, DEDICATE THIS VOLUME PREFACE. "VT 0 canvass of the country has been made for- opinions to put -*-' in this book. We have approached our subject in cold blood, banishing sympathy from our heart; neither have we experienced the slightest tinge of remorse for the pain that we must have frequently occasioned through these pages. The historian or the surgeon with a soft heart is not of much benefit to his race. This book may seem to have taken a party trend. Perhaps it has. But the trend was with the Reformer till he turned Tory, and then with the Conservative who had 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 that political body a vastly increased admiration, did it accept Mr. Blake's doctrine concerning treaty-making, and commit itself to an extinction of that legislative scare-crow, the Senate. This volume has been written hastily, so that several clerical errors have crept in; but the opinion of the book must be taken exactly as it is found on the page. Let us here express our gratitude to Mr. G. Mercer Adam for information, guidance and numerous hints while at our work, and for his revision of the sheets as they went through the press ; but this assistance, it is proper CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE Parentage of Sir John A. Macdonald—His Boyhood and School Days—Choice of a Profession—Defence of Shtfultz--His Law Office—"Nest of Statesmen"—Incidents and characteristics of his Early Life—The hattle at Windmill Point - - - - - t - - - : 17 CHAPTER II. Political Upheavals—Causes leading to Political Discontent in Canada—Glance at Development of Popular Freedom in England—The Family Compact— Struggle between Liberalism and Toryism—The Rebellion in Lower Canada —Gallows Hill—Canadian Governors—Sir Francis Bond Head—Lords Durham— Sydenham—Bagot—Metcalfe. - 32 CHAPTER III. Growth of Macdonald's Popularity—" If I were only prepared now I should try for the Legislature"—" Yes, yonder on that stormy sky, I see my star of Destiny"— Political Tumult—Metcalfe plays the Hindoo — Macdonald elected to the Kingston Council—Called out to oppose Manahan—Addressing Violent Mobs—Sketch of the Time. 50 CHAPTER IV. From the Hustings to the House—Macdonald's Early Toryism -The Character of his Opponent—Blood and Whiskey flow at the Election—The Fountain of Honour a tainted Well, the Mirror of Justice a Mirage—Mr. Macdonald's First Appearance in the Legislature—Historical Sketch of the Time. - 62 CHAPTER V. Draughts from Tory Fountains—Macdonald's First Speech in the House, and its Effect—Personal Sketches—His Appearance and Address—Supports the Law of Primogeniture —But for this Law Pitt and Fox would have been " mere country squires"—Apparent inconsistencies—Explanation— " A man is not born wise"—Zig-zag early careers of Disraeli and Gladstone —Metcalfe's Conscience begins to sting him—Cancer drags him to the Grave—Macaulay's Epitaph—Franklin sails away to his Doom in the North. 72 CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. i The Lights of '44—William Henry Draper—Robert Baldwin—Louis Hypolite Lafontaine—Sir Allan MacNab—Dominick Daly—Robert Baldwin Sullivan—Mon. D. B. Viger—John Sandfield Macdonald. - 86 CHAPTER VII. The Last Days of Toryism—The Tractarian Movement at Oxford—Keble and Newman—The Repeal Movement in Ireland—The Great O'Connell—Rise and Collapse of his Movement—The Giant O'Connell totters and falls— The Irish Famine—Immigration to Canada—The Oregon-boundary Dispute—Macdonald's Star Climbing—He "can afford to wait"—Toryism's Last Appeal—Lord Elgin—Macdonald enters the Cabinet. ... CHAPTER VIII. 99 Ruling in Storm—Sketch of Rebellion Losses Measure—Bill provokes a Tory Howl— The Storm Bursts—Mob rises and burns Parliament Buildings— Divers Figures seen through the Storm—Sketch of the Troubles—J ohn A. Macdonald seen through the Tumult—" The British North American League"—" Children of the Sun"—Parliament removed from Montreal. - 114 CHAPTER IX. Fall of the " Great Ministry"—Causes producing the Catastrophe—Macdonald seen through the Situation—The Pope Gerrymanders England— Canadian Echo of British Rage—George Brown attempts to overthrow the Papacy—He Fails—Brown and Gavazzi and the Globe—William Lyon Mackenzie—Sketch of— Defeats George Brown—Figure of John A. Macdonald at these Sessions—The Ministry Tumbles—" The Weed had slain Balder"—The Hincks-Morin Ministry. - - 13S CHAPTER X. Proposal for Secularizing the Clergy Reserves—History of Reserves—History of Feudal Tenure in Lower Canada—Agitation for Abolition of Tenure- Francis Hincks—Augustin Norbert Morin—John Macdonald becomes controversial—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—Conclusion of Reciprocity Treaty—Hincks-Morin Ministry becomes Honeycombed—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 Conservatives—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. 161 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XII. PAGE Sir Edmund W. Head—Tache- succeeds Morin —Denominational Schools—Passage between George Brown and Hon. John A. Macdonald—Tilt between Mr. John A. Macdonald and Col. Rankin—The Conservatives drop Sir Allan MacNab—Hon. John A. Macdonald 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 side"—Mr. John A. Macdonald's part through the transaction— Discretion matched against Impetuosity going Blindfold—Protection to Home Industries—Death of Robert Baldwin— General Events. - - 202 CHAPTER XIV. Transition—The Dark Hour preceding the Dawn—Causes at work producing desire for Confederation— Embroilment of Upper with Lower Canada anent Representation by Population—Bitter Pa^rty Strife, and the chief Actors—Mr. John A. Macdonald seen through the Tumult—Instability of Ministers—" The Fatal Balance of Parties"—Condition of Things in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick—Secession of Southern States—General Historic Outline—Domestic Incidents. 224 CHAPTER XV. Fruits of the American Civil War—Seizure of the Southern Commissioners— Southern Refugees raid American Territory from Canadian Frontier— Privateering—Cruise of the Alabama and her Confreres—Public feeling in Canada—The Fenian Raid—General Historic Incidents—Domestic Events 257 CHAPTER XVI. The Coalition—Oil and Water Unite—Canadian Delegates at the Charlotte- town Conference—The Quebec Scheme—Canadian Delegates in England— History of the Confederation Movement from Deadlock to Union— Hon. John A. Macdonald's Part through the Movement—Domestic and Foreign Events. 277" CHAPTER* XVII. Prominent Members of the First Dominion Cabinet—George E, Cartier—A.. T. Gait—H. L. Langevin—S. L. Tilley—Peter MitcheU—W. P. Howland —Alexander Campbell. ------.... 321 CHAPTER XVIII. The New Regime—Two Reformers Read out of the Ranks—M. Cauchon's " Rank" offence—Sketches of Thomas D'Arcy McGee ; his assassination. 33S CHAPTER XIX. The Red River Rebellion—Causes of the Outbreak—Col. Dennis and the Surveyors—Hon. Wm. McDougall on the Scene--The Brutal Murder of Scott f xu CONTENTS. —The Bishop cloaking the Murderer—Governor Archibald's Foul Compact. ------ 353 CHAPTER XX. Withdrawal of British Soldiers—The Wrestle between Tupper and Howe— Sketch of Tupper—The Reciprocity Treaty—Sir John among the Commis- missioners ; his Defence—J. H. Cameron's Defence of Sir John—The New Brunswick School Bill; and John Costigan—Sketch of Lord Dufferin—A Bomb flung on the Floor of the House of Commons. 365 CHAPTER XXI. The Pacific Railway—Companies formed for Construction of the Road—Sir Hugh Allan and the Government—The General Elections—The Scandal; history of same—Sir John and the Country through the Storm. - - 386 CHAPTER XXII. Sir John Resigns—The Mackenzie Government—Glance at the new Premier as a Leader—A Murderer in Town—British Columbia in Ferment—Mr. Mackenzie's Struggle for Dominion Rights—Stagnation in Trade—Proposal of a National Policy— The Political Tornado ; Mackenzie swept from Power ; Sir John Reinstated: the Pacific Scandal Condoned—The New Tariff— Governor Letellier—Recent Developments in New Brunswick—-"The Pacific Railway Syndicate— Sir John again Victorious—Sketch of Hon. A W. McLelan ; Hon. John Costigan ; Chief Justice Sir W. J. Ritchie j Hon. Edward Blake. -- 407 CHAPTER XXIII. Thought and Literature of Canada—The Future of Quebec; Future of the Dominion—French Canadian Litterateurs—The English-Canadian Writers— Canadian Trose 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 DomesHc Circle; his Influence upon Public Life—Lady Macdonald in the Social Sphere—A Retrospect. - - - 499 APPENDIX. CHIEF SPEECHES D3LTVERED BY SIB JOHN SINCE HIS ENTRY INTO PUBLIC LTFE. 511 EXTRACTS FROM LORD DDRHAM S REPORT. 621 L.1JFE AND TIMES OF THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. CHAPTER I. PARENTAGE AND EARLY LIFE. IN the summer of 1820, a vessel neared the coast of Canada, and among the many anxious eyes that saw for the first time the blue, ha2y hills of the new 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 the great, dark future who could foretell that the child who clung to his mother's arm and looked gleefully 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 SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. and snows were mentioned 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 -x 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 agricultural districts. Among others came Mr. Hugh Macdonald, who could trace his clan 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 claymore 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 Norwegians came, to lend assistance to the strangers against the Scottish king. Angus left two sons, one of whom was Alexander, 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 remembered, 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 arms a power unlimited " per mare, per terras," might have well been doubted. Later on, we find this haughty chief meddling in the affairs of the king, showing " just the edge of his steel" to the sovereign; and then forming an alliance with the house of Stewart, by marrying a daughter of Robert, who became Scotland's next king. The history of this haughty island king and his successors forms 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 the sovereign power upon the main land, sometimes working its way through intrigue with the foreign foe, and again sending in fierce warriors, clad in tartans, and wielding thirsty claymores, to grapple with the royal enemy in his own strongholds. 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 descendant and namesake whom we know of who would not have walked open-eyed into the trap of the Scottish King! Alexander, 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 subfamilies 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, PARENTAGE AND EARLY 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 married 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 years ; and Louisa, who never married, is still living at Kingston. When the emigration movement began, Mr. Hugh Macdonald and his family, John Alexander being then in his fifth year, took passage for the inviting land of Canada. The early immigrants settled, whenever possible, convenient to the lakes or great rivers, for here 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 Courcelles and Count Frontenac in succession, and next to Halifax and Quebec, the strongest fortress in British North America. This city offered many inducements, in the form of excellent schools and churches, besides social advantages 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 Rqyal 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 years 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 df 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 sorrowing 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 whereon the weary wanderers first rested upon their arrival, or put up their tents. PARENTAGE AND EARLY LIFE. 28 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 waters 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 ever 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 his hand, at one of the many streams that flowed into Quinte* Bay, but many of which, stripped of the forest that then clothed their banks, have since run dry. We should have wondered less had the music of the rushing streams, and the inspiration which the lad might have caught when the summer wind blew in from the picturesque bay, produced a poet instead of a statesman. The lot of the immigrant, even about the time of Mr. Macdonald'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 trans-atlantic pictures showed, with their skaters, and sleds in winter, and nought but plenty and wild flowers in summer; but above all, the hardships were most keen to those who had been bred in easier ways, and who in ooming to the wilds of Canada found themselves obliged to adopt rude and hard measures for an existence. Writing of the immigration flow, Mrs. Moodie, who was of gentle birth herself, 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 receive 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 Macdonald family were among this better emigrant class, and had to contend with their full share of the privations that fall to the lot of theimmigrant. Like most others, Mr. Hugh Macdonald was not 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 Quints Bay, in 1836, 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, simultaneously 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 striking nose." From a very early age it seems that his father intended 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 Brienne. 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 universe," says a great thinker, " is run by reason and mathematics;" 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 PARENTAGE 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 exhibited 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 his sixfeenth year, his 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 that 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 considered indifferently qualified for a study of the law. There is 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, describe 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 his poor young brain over the integral calculus, and three years at the law. It is hard to understand 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- 26 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 young men of his own age and standing ; did not drive fast horses, but was always to be found at ihis office, courteous, obliging and prompt." Through his own natural ability and the influence of friends he secured in a short time all the business to which he could give attention. Besides obtaining some of the most important local cases, he became solicitor for the Commercial Bank, founded by Mr. John S. Oartwright, and also for the Trust and Loan Company; and on the death of Mr. George Mackenzie, received most of the business 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 evidence 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 : M Go fetch me that rifle;" 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 incidentally, " 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 observations were put together, and Thibodo was arrested and thrown into prison. There was many a case like this in those days, and John A. Macdonald, though a tory, always felt and expressed deep sympathy for the men who incurred penalties by their resistance to oppression; and many a one who was a marked man in the eyes 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 one day and had received advice which was not satisfactory from several other quarters. f 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 nry heart I pity you and such as you," said Macdonald, " but my advice is, get away from the city as quickly as you can, and never mind the bondsmen. You are not safe here. When the Habeas Corpus is restored come back. That can't be long; for affairs are now intolerable." He had yet won no important laurel in his profession, but his opportunity was fast approaching. During the autumn of 1838 along the American frontier adjacent to Cauadian towns, bung an ominous war-cloud. The autumn previous the militia had scattered the gathering on Montgomery's farm under William 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 their 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 leading 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 (he 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 musketry. As the stag fights at bay, with a heroism such as despair 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 wounded 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 Kingston, 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 defence, 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 he seemed 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 daring stranger. There is no doubt Mr. Macdonald felt a deep personal, as well as professional, interest in his client. He had been closeted with the unfortunate man,- and learnt his story. Only eight years before the prisoner's own beloved Poland had made a last desperate effort to burst her fetters; only six 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 the invasion of Canada, Shoultz was told that the people here chafed under a yoke more galling than ever Poland wore; that they only wanted to see among them the glint of friendly steel, when they would arise and overthrow their oppressors. It needed no further fuel to fire 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 a like oppression 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 Henry, Kingston, on Saturday morning, Decembar 8,1838.* The following letter, written by * Mr. Dent and other writers state 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 permit it, I wish 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 further blood be shed ! And believe me, from what I have seen, the stories told about the sufferings of the Canadian people were untrue. * * * * I further beg of you to take care of W. Johnson, that he may find an honourable bread. Farewell, 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 EARLY 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, during his schooldays, wrote a hand of striking beauty and form—and to-day he boasts of being the best writer in his cabinet. Mowat wrote " a tidy, conscientious little fist," and in after years Macdonald would say 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 seat of government would soon be moved to Kingston. John A. Macdonald took the pen from behind his ear, wheeled his chair around, and in deep thought looked out of the window. CHAPTER II. POLITICAL UPHEAVALS. PERHAPS it were well to pause here and take a backward 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 corresponding with what is to-day Quebec and Ontario. By this partition it was hoped that each province would enjoy constitutional 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 regarded as guarantees for the abiding principle of the system the restrictions 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 yeoman and simple habitant clad in their homespun came to legislate 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 at Runnymeade, 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 tyranny of the profligate Stuarts, thought they lived in the noonday 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, c 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 vThe People's Friend," still dismissed or retained a minister " when he pleased, and because he pleased;" but 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 ministers ; 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 tories by profession, and who came, by virtue of the preference they had so 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 Crown to thwart or strangle any objectionable measure sent up from the chamber of the people. They filled every office of emolument from the Prime Minister to the sergeant- at-arms; from the chief justice down to the tip-staff. " Nor did Israel 'scape the infection," for they were found in the church which in turn furnished mitred heads to the council. They looked upon the large bulk of the colonists as inferiors, and viewed with alarm the movement in favour of what was called Popular Rights. Every point gained by the people they regarded as something lost to the Crown; 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 as the owner of a plantation in Jamaica regarded 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 demands of the people, they poured poison into his ear, and gradually led him to regard 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 of 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, restraints 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 prejudices, and, 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 up1 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 began t6 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 atrocious system. While the world came to look full of ruin to the official, Louis Joseph Papineau, a man of honourable character and much energy, offered a series of ninety-two resolutions to the legislature to present to the imperial parliament. These resolutions contained a formulary of grievances against' the home government and its agents in Lower Canada. The counts set forth, in brief: " Arbitrary conduct on the part of the Government; intolerable composition of the legislative council (which, thejx insisted, ought to 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, the 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 is paved; but he fell into the hands of the compact, and chose to walk according to tradition rather than to the impulses of right. 38 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Meanwhile, Papineau had allowed magnificent visions of a future republic along the banks of the St. Lawrence to lure him away from the path of sober, unambitious reform, in which he had earlier trod. He 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 rebellion. 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 authorized 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 republic 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 military 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 vengeance ; 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 material 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 now a 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, irresponsible 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 check upon bad administration, or even upon 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, and revealed to the public many instances of official mismanagement and corruption. Then it was that the history, in which we read of the disgraceful persecution of Wilkes by a tyrannical sovereign, was repeated in Upper Canada. Then came prominently upon the stage the ill-starred Lyon Mackenzie, a man whose name in his day served to hush the babes of loyal mothers to sleep. We persecuted 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 presses. 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 being an autocrat, should be also a blockhead. To quell the fast-increasing tumult in Upper Canada, the British government 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 government, qualified him well to rule a colony. He had written several pamphlets, extraordinary for their style, and instinct 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 government 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 persecuted 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 governor 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 Canada reformers in covert terms to rebel, and hinting that, in case of need, republicans would come over and help them. Here Si POLITICAL UPHEAVALS. 41 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 conflict in which smoke predominated, the government demonstrated its strength, and the cause of the rebels ended in panic* Lord John Russell could not have heard the news from Canr- ada with much astonishment, for he had been told that just those things would happen, and he seemed coolly to court the- consequences. In the commons some made light of the rising, and spoke of " a Mr. Mackenzie," 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 colonies. 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. To. 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 appalled 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 inyective, malignant and false insinuation, the grossest perversion of historical facts, decked out with all the choicest flowers of pamphleteering slang." They did not believe 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 everybody. 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 liberal 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 authority 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 government, 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 forsaken 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 constitutional impulsiveness he issued a proclamation which was simply the justification that a lofty spirit, too noble and too sensitive 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 surely he did not do so unknowingly. No better justification of his conduct can be given than is afforded in his own words, when he asks with just scorn: "What are the constitutional principles remaining in force when the whole constitution is suspended? What principle of the British Constitution holds good in a country where the people's money is taken from them without the people's consent; where representative government is annihilated; where martial law has been the law of the land, and where trial by jury exists only to defeat the ends of justice, and to provoke the 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 confederation ; which traced the causes of colonial discontent, and pointed out the cure. Toward the close of July, 1840, the earl 44 LIFE OF SfR 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 Lamb ton, 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 Diemen's Land. This latter was a colony to which, about thirty years before, the home government had begun to send the most violent and abandoned characters. Armed with the experiences of Honduras and Tasmania, Governor Arthur began to rule Upper Canada. It took a great deal to fill up his bill of duty. In tumult 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 UPHEAVALS. 45 In Lower Canada, affairs were in chaos. The constitution bad 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 attaining 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 Colborne went home, and the British Government, finding that the most unsuitable men did not make the best governors, selected a plain merchant, Mr. Charles 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 sent him out. His first duty was to act on a suggestion made by Lord Durham, whom the tories had slandered and the 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 assembly, 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. I 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 measure 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 introduced 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 ate 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 representation 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 assembly had to go back for re-election on taking office. A permanent 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 come again. But the tory proved himself more liberal than the liberal. He was the only governor, Durham excepted, who really understood what was due to the colonists under constitutional government. Lord Sydenham would not traffic with pitch lest he might defile himself; but the old tory understanding that he came to carry on responsible government, invited leading members of the French party in Lower Canada, and Mr. Baldwin and his followers in Upper Canada, to form a ministry. " The Crusader has turned Turk," gasped the Family in horror, as the "Republicans crowded to the cabinet." Towards the close of the year Sir Charles's health began to fad him, and he asked to be recalled. Then Sir Robert Peel cast about him to find a man to send to Canada, and his choice fell upon one whose name 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 fame, 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 question, 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 h,is 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 lus 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 fanned." He came to Canada, and to his amazement found a system of responsible government which did not need a governor, 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 mustangs 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 sHlfully 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 ciphers 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 politician had been all his life at once " everything and nothing." This political merman assisted the Dictator till a provisional ministry was formed, after which, in a whirlwind both parties rushed to the polls. It was at this crisis that Mr. John A. Macdonald, with his judgment much ripened, emerged from his law office, and began the stormy career of a politician. D CHAPTER IIL FROM THE BAR TO THE HUSTINGS. rpHOSE who enjoyed the confidence of Mr. Macdonald say A 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 ^thereafter 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, however 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 lawyers 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 THE 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 grasp of principles, the ease with which he led up all his arguments, 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 his can move him: and so, too, looking upon the political storm- clouds gather, and darken the sky, if a man have a yearning for the 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, where men wrestled and many won prizes for whose abilities he could have no feeling but contempt: i' Yes, yonder in that stormy sky I see my star of destiny." But it was not known now, nor for some years afterwards, that he looked to a political career. During the elections for the first parliament under the Union the strife was high and confusion general. One day, sitting among friends in his office, 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 life; 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- 52 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 themselves 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 gallery 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 preparing himself for his ideal sphere. While most of those who knew him thought his ambitions bent towards legal distinctions only, he was acquiring that knowledge of constitutional, political and parliamentary history, which so early in his public 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 animals 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 member, 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 present, 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 a 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, Macdonald did not wonder at receiving the call, for he had been long preparing himself for the occasion, and was now ready. Neither 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 majority 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 majority 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 dissensions between the governor and his late ministry was the property of everybody, few seemed to understand the real nature of the issue between them. A large portion of the people believed that Mr. Baldwin and his colleagues had been forcing © O 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 Separation ; 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 constitutional 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. oo Few, as we have said, at this time really understood what responsible government was, or what had been the issue between the governor and his ministry. But now, as the elections 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 the governor. And during the many months that the autocrat had ruled without 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 with 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 between the reform party and the crown,—a party who the tories claimed had furnished 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 Crown, in the person of governor Metcalfe, had been outraged 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 Alexander 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 is the noble beast that goes abroad and vindicates the rights and the manhood of the people. 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 issued 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 newspaper 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 superintendency 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, jwhich is good, although Hon. A. Mackenzie says in his "Life of George Brown" that it is not good. This hardly amounts to a contradiction, however, 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 dissenters, 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 unceasing 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, canvassing 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 encouragement to establish a politicar newspaper. It would have been natural to him to have allied himself with the tories, as both 58 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. he 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 vigorous 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 enthusiasm. 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 foreboding. Chaos virtually had come, for the governor had now unlawfully ruled eight months without a constitutional government. 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 prehistoric, 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 Wm. Draper - D. J. Papineau William Morris M. Viger Dominick Daly Attorney-General, East. Attorney-General, West. Com. of Grown Lands. - Receiver General. President of the Council- Provincial Secretary. The capture of Mr. Papineau was the most important move the governor had made; for he was a brother of the notorious agitator and rebel, and his accession to the cabinet fell like a wet blanket upon some of the more radical of the reformers. M. Viger was another French Canadian. He had been a bosom friend of Joseph Papineau, had aided in the rebellion, and been imprisoned 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 Metcalfe began to play the despot, and was speedily bought up. His absorption into the new cabinet had no effect upon anybody but himself and those who profited by his salary and honors. But those, who knew the old man were moved to sorrow rather than to anger at his defection. " I assure you that no occurrence 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. Circumstances 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 mutual 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 excited 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 suspicious 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 THE HUSTINGS. 61 activity, and now the crisis which had come fanned that activity 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 toryism, 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 extreme tories, as well as members of the great middle party approved of the choice, and, with ringing cheers, followed the young Alexander of politics to the hustings. CHAPTER IV. FROM THE HUSTINGS TO THE HOUSE. A TORY, however, Mr. Macdonald 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 Irishman, 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 aVay 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, meetings 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, he said he knew most of the electors, and they were all manly fellows—too manly, indeed, to refuse another fair play. They were 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 candidate; but if they had a right to their opinions—and he would be glad to listen to them at another time—he had also a right to his. He only wished to present his side of the case, and if hjs- hearers did not agree with him they might afterwards vote for whom they chose. Here was something more than soothing speech; here, indeed, was the genius of a Mark Antony, that could by the- very force of subtle knowledge of character, turn a hostile mob into friends upon the spot. The stroke told, and at every point 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 interruptions, and that he had completely conquered his opponents besides 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. O'Connell the year before making a speech in Kerry. "The speech 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, however, 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 castigation 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 reformers rallied around the governor, and only the most pronounced 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 political 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 ijbto consideration his. birth, early training and associations. In and about Kingston everything was on the side of conservatism ;—-the wealth, the influence, in great measure the intelligence, the social standing, and the prospects. Had Macdonald 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 public life, speak of his toryism, not as a set of irresistible opinions, 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 prodigy, 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 not lack material to incite, from his standpoint, the most scathing speeches. While we all have sympathies 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 before the election pluming themselves on their disloyalty and the aid they had given to rebellion. They openly declared that henceforth the government should consist of men who had been either rebels in act or in open sympathy. Then many close friends of the ex-government had gone ranting about the © © © country declaring that the government intended to proclaim Canada a republic, and that we had had enough of British connexion. The ex-ministers had to bear the brunt of all this mischievous noise ; indeed, they took no pains to repudiate the wild sayings of their followers. Then, during the closing session of parliament, 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 social standing enjoyed the confidence of ministers upon council affairs 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 E 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 denunciations of the lack of ministerial dignity, and the reproaches which he hurled upon the late government for the disloyalty of themselveu 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 ordinary 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 administered them with such good nature that the listener was reminded 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 opponent 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 was carried through the city on a chair, the .victor by an overwhelming 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, a 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 his 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 governor-general in his 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 government, twenty-eight in opposition, and nine afloat, was his representation. Both the governor and the colonial secretary held that drift-wood went with the current, and unofficially counted the nine in with the forty-eight. This would show a sweeping victory for Sir Charles, and plead trumpet- tongued in justification of his pre-election course. That despatch, however, was false, but it was important. It 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. 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 embargo put upon the official use of the French language. In those days governor Metcalfe did not creep about in person to listen at his opponents' doors. He would not be above doing this, however, if the enterprise were a convenient one; but he maintained instead a pimp or a listener at every window and keyhole 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 purchased. 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 obloquy 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, therefore, 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 permitted 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 obtained 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 subjects and the authority of the Crown, they said, and in maintaining connection with the glorious mother-land, and subordinating our colonial functions to the jurisdiction of the Fons Honoris and Speculum Justitice what their opponents were pleased to call corruption and bribery, they were proud to recognise as loyalty and zeal. It is not, perhaps, to be wondered at that when the Fountain of Honour was spoken of, men looked cynical, and wondered why a governor drinking from that sacred source could do deeds so very dishonourable; and that the Mirror of Justice should reflect those atrocities which had been so long a scourge upon the country. The fact is but too many regarded the fountain as a tainted well, and the mirror as a mirage. Yet, with all the intriguing of the governor, and the pur- chaseableness of some members, the government was like a crazy ship that creaked under the pressure of every squall, and gave promise of going to pieces in the first storm. And the old ship's position was made worse by the helplessness of the crew in the lower house, who seemed to be navigating their way through all the shoals that surrounded them without captain or compass. The captain, Mr. Draper, was in the legislative council, and could no more preserve unity and concord among his followers below than a mother could rule a family in the basement while she kept to the attic. It would give much scandal to the conservative of this day who prizes loyalty to his party as not among the least of the political virtues to walk back fifty years into the ages, and from the gallery of the Canadian assembly see the discords and disloyalty of the conservative party then. No day passed during which 70 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. some prominent reformer did not ask a question which set the hearts of the headless party there palpitating. Sometimes the question was answered parrot fashion, or with that hesitation with which an errand boy repeats over the message of the sender. But the chief reply was that the government was either considering, or would " consider the matter," though the visible government, it came soon to be understood, was only a sort of Mr. Jorkins, and the real government Mr. Draper. Sometimes, indeed, a minister would burst " from vulgar bounds with brave disorder," and answer an undecided question upon his own responsibility. But woe speedily overtook him, for he was snubbed before the house ere he had well settled into his chair, by a brother councillor. If he had any retort in him, a scene generally ensued that scandalized the party and set the opposition chuckling. The governor's , spies made notes of all these indiscretions and duly reported them. When the situation at length became intolerable it was decided that the head of the- Family should come down stairs. In the early part of February, therefore, Mr. Draper published a card soliciting the suffrages of the people of London, asking them to reiterate their intention now " to support the government of Sir Charles Metcalfe." Fancy Sir John A. Macdonald, at this day, going up to the Forest City and asking the people to reiterate their intention to support " the government of Lord Lome!" The impartiality of the governor's character, we fear, would scarcely be an offset to the offence. And having spoken in one breath of the government of Sir Charles Metcalfe, in the next Mr. Draper uttered this lumbering sentence: " I am determined not to retain office under responsible government under circumstances which would cause a minister of the Crown in Great Britain to resign." The Londoners swallowed Mr. Draper, contradictions and all, and the government was saved for the time. The faces of several prominent members of the old house were missed from their places in the new. Mr. Francis Hincks JUL FROM THE HUSTINGS TO THE HOUSE. 71 was defeated in Oxford, but instead of playing Othello, he at once turned his great energies and ability to his newspaper, the Pilot, which he had established a few months before in Montreal. - The Pilot thereafter till the downfall of the Government was the greatest newspaper power in the land. John S. Cartwright, too, an uncompromising Conservative, who probably believed that the rain would refuse to fall and the corn to spring in a reform country, and that east winds and every description of bad weather were sent by Providence upon the reformers, was also missing from his place. It is not g recorded, however, that the earth ceased spinning, or the sun to shine the day he stepped out of the political sphere. The faces of many members destined to play a prominent part in political life were seen there for the first time. Among these were Mr. Ogle R. Gowan, the fiery Orangeman, Joseph Edouard Cauchon, on whose political segis there yet appeared no tarnish, and, above all the rest in ability and promise, the member for Kingston, Mr. John A. Macdonald. DRAUGHTS FROM TORT FOUNTAINS. THE session, as we have seen, commenced with much wrangle, and all the,batteries of the opposition, who possessed the heaviest guns, were opened upon the government. Nearly every member who " could talk " took some part in assault or defence; but Mr. Macdonald sat unmoved at his desk while the fray went on, "looking," says a gentleman who remembers having seen him there, " half careless and half contemptuous. Sometimes in the thick of the melde, while Mr. Aylwin acted like a merry-andrew, and Colonel Prince set his Bohemian lance against members indiscriminately, Macdonald was busy in and out of the parliamentary library. I scarce ever remember seeing him then about the house that he was not searching up some case either then impending or to come up at a later date. He was for a great part of his time, too, buried in a study of political and constitutional history." With Mr. Macdonald we have already seen the faculty to conciliate and harmonize contending factions was born, as well as assiduously cultivated; and we may be sure he had no little contempt for a ministry which every day paraded the mutual jealousies and antagonisms of its members before their opponents and the public. This, indeed, was the very reason why he abstained, with not a little silent scorn, from engaging in the debates; this is why he chose rather to store his mind with knowledge that would endure, while others wrangled or played the merry-andrew. Some, who see a similarity in life and character from the resemblance of two locks of hair, have employed themselves in drawing parallels in these later years between the subject of 72 DRAUGHTS FROM TORY FOUNTAINS. 73 this biography and a young politician who had now begun to attract attention in another parliament, that one reading the pour- trayals could think of nothing but Martin and " the other Martin" in " The Two Dianas." At the time of which we write, Mr. Disraeli had published books and got into parliament, but had shone with an uncertain light which so much resembled a will-o'-the-wisp that no man would have cared to follow it. With an overmastering love of Oriental display, to- him a suit of clothes was of more moment than a set of principles, while the particular cut of a myrtle-green vest transcended in importance the shape given to a bill of reform. " Clothes," he tells us by the mouth of Endymion, when his race was nearly run, " do not make the man, but they have a great deal to do with it." But there was in the beginning, and indeed to the end, little resemblance between the two, as we shall see in the progress of our story. The young member who has the affliction of being "smart" is generally as great a nuisance as the boy coming home from high school, to whom all knowledge is a novelty; but Mr. Macdonald was as reserved as the staidest veteran in that whole house. He assumed no airs when he arose 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 light 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 committee. 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 government, Hon. Geo. Moffatt and Mr. C. S. De Bleury had been returned to the legislature. One Peter Dunn, and others, accordingly drew up a petition setting forth the irregularities 74 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. si 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 solicitor-general, Mr. Sherwood, held that the petition was insufficient, inasmuch as it was not competent to any person, not an elector at the time of the election, to petition against a member'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 a valid subject for legislative action. Mr. Aylwin, in a deluge of words, said the government was unnecessarily tied to technicalities. Mr. Baldwin, the leader of the reformers, said the mere technical question with respect to qualification was entitled 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 wrhere I reside is represented ?" Then Mr. Baldwin folded his coat aud sat down. Up to this time the young Kingston member had uttered no word in the house save yea or nay. Many members had heard of the clever Kingston lawyer who defended 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 politician, 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 indifferent 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 DRA UGHTS FR OM TOR Y FO UNTAINS. 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 sense, that parties not residing at the place of election cannot 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 England, and the arguments used 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 competent judge as to whether the oath had been so administered. It seemed to him, therefore, upon these grounds that the petition 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 phoenix-like member for Megantic, Mr. Daly, and a not flattering portrait of Mr. Sherwood, was present in the house when Mr. Macdonald made his first speech. He tells us that " when Mr. Macdonald 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 master 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 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 hurried 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 yesterday, who now stood up coolly rebuking him and exposing 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 Montreal seats, and now he felt the time had come when the brawling ought to cease. He had looked for some member of © o 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 precedent. 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 Moffatt 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. DRAUGHTS 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 session has been much commented on, but we have alread}7 seen that during a great portion of his time, while the wrangling went on, he sat with bent head at his 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 personal influence upon political associates which has been such an important factor in the secret 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 then as it has been since. He did not gain the attention and admiration of the conservative party by sounding his trumpet ; and later on, when he entered the cabinet, he went in, so to speak, in his stocking-feet. Neither did he accomplish this in the fashion of a Machiavelli, but was sought after upon merits he had manifested without intrigue or display, and through a system of what we must regard 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 providing for the proper distribution of intestate property in Upper Canada. 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 inherited in equal proportions. Mr. Baldwin believed that the Bill 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 had 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 surprise and regret the hon. member for the fourth riding of York, after declaring that the system now attempted to be introduced was open to great objections, state his intention to support it. He had, indeed, always persuaded himself that the hon. gentleman's motto was c Fiat justitia mat caelum! He would vote for a measure which he knew to be defective and declared to be a bad one, simply because he had taken it into his 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 introduced 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 generation 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 journal 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." -TT7T DRAUGHTS FROM TORY FOUNTAINS. 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 opponent 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. Macdonald's public life has been described as " a series of contradictions," but in what statesman do we find " the morning song and evening song always correspond ?" Mr. Gladstone, the very fountain of liberal virtues and greatness, for years after his first appearance in public life, bore the nickname of " Pony Peel," and was regarded as an " Oxford bigot," before the better light began to dawn upon him. Because his father owned slave plantations in Demerara, he took ground upon negro emancipation that will not give a halo to his picture ; he opposed Jewish emancipation, the reform of the Irish Church, the endowment of Maynooth, and several other just and liberal measures. He began his public career, in short, not only as an obstructive tory, but as a 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. Macdonald'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 so LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. party leadership by becoming the champion of protection. In " 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 and liberty rest." Yet in after years when the mantle of rule descended upon him, even his opponents forgot these things, for they had been done and said when there was neither responsibility nor experience. A man is not born wise, but the way to wisdom lies open to every man, and he is furnished with a 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 become 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 defective blow dealt, many a wrong step made before the apprentice 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 political journey-work ; but often men of a low intellectual stamp, who never read a suitable book in their lives, who know nothing 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 DRA UGHTS FR OM TOR Y FO UNTAINS. 81 by some demagogue who excelled him in drinking beer, driving fast horses, and "treating" friends in the saloons. We have a legion of reformers in this country, 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 against which they have set their lances. If the people, after hearing both sides of a plain question, put with clearness and force, decide to have N. P. or N. O, let them have it. It is they alone who are concerned. But the question of the intellectual and moral capacity of the candidate for legislative place touches the root of the whole political system. If you elect to represent you a man with a low moral character, depend upon his turning corruptionist if he get the chance; and it is but too often the case, in all parts of our Dominion, that a man who has no moral or social standing, and who has failed at everything else—in commerce, in law, in medicine, and not unfrequently in divinity—turns politician, sells himself to the highest bidder, and ever afterwards makes it the aim of his life to get all of the public funds he can, welcoming the means, whatever their character, to that end. Well, Gladstone and Disraeli were not exceptions in being " off with the old love." Peel, who began his 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 announced to the house that he had changed his mind on the whole subject of protection, on the policy that he had advocated 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 very meridian of his powers. Only a few days ago a noble lord, whose toryism had been pronounced, and who fought side by side with Disraeli in many a pitched battle against Gladstone, entered the great liberal's cabinet as colonial secretary. And really the tories whom he deserted had F 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 politician delivered during a reign of political chaos, and in the twilight 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 mutamv.r in illis. For the remainder of the session, Mr. Macdonald sat unconcernedly 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 20th of Febr uary, he was aroused from his indifference by a wrangle which seemed to be interminable. Mr. Aylwin had persisted in interrupting Mr. Moff'att 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, aad DRAUGHTS FROM TORY FOUNTAINS. 83 many eyes were turned to the desk of the member for Kingston. 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 politician, 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 opposition saw him bring the measure down; saw his supporters shrink 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 Metcalfe 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 he 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 recalled 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 Quebec, 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 Atlantic 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 told ^us 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 commander 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. DRAUGHTS FROM TORY FOUNTAINS. 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- alis 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 presence and sweet silvery voice would attract anybody who visited the gallery of the legislature, was born in London, England, in 1801. His father was rector of a High Episcopal 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 voyage, 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 following 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 official existence. Dear to him, above every feature of government 86 LUi THE LIGHTS OF '44. 87 was the prerogative of the Crown, which he looked upon as a constitutional safeguard, never indeed regarding it as a tyrannical engine, even-when it kept the majority under its heel and demitted the governing power to the minority. Yet, according to the light he had upon political liberty, he was a 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 to day regard the doctrines of communism, so did he regard the principles of the reformers. During many a year he was a brake upon the great-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 he addressed 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 the tones of his voice, that he won for himself the name of " Sweet William." He had a subtle knowledge 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 elements 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 presence and silvery voice that for thiity 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, practising 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 in 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 vacancy occurred 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 opposed to the outrageous system of government which then prevailed, and being of a singularly lofty and honourable character, 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 while 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 principles 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 became solicitor-general under Mr. Draper, with the approval of the reform party, and the year following the union was appointed 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 .. <r= ku. THE LIGHTS OF '44- 89 a government by the minority. We may as well anticipate the remainder of his career. He remained in opposition till 1848, 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 affluence, to his seat at Spadina, Toronto. Here he died on December 9th, 1858. Throngs of people from every surrounding 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 entered the church, and another went to sea, while a daughter married Hon. John Ross. Mr. Baldwin was somewhat above the middle stature, of stout build, and slightly stooped at the shoulders. As a speaker he 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. In disposition he was mild and affable, but he could not woo popular favour by the smaller arts which, in many men, are the passport to popularity. Yet 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 interest out 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 misrepresented and his motives maligned, and the only consolation left is the consciousness of having done one's duty." Well is it with the statesman 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 1796 to 1804, and was born at Boucherville, in October, 1807. He began life as a barrister, and applied himself diligently to his profession, accumulating 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 effect 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 political 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 his English, 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 for 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 his resentments were as undying as his attachments. In his judicial capacity he excelled, 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 Americans 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 James Yeo, where he was rated as a midshipman, and accompanied the expedition 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 subsequently entered upon the study of law. In 1825 he was called to the bar, and some months afterwards began to practice his profession in Hamilton. Up to this period he had been a victim to impecuniosity, having been " compelled to restrict his perambulations within the charmed circles of the blue posts which in these times marked the boundary that must not be passed by a bailed debtor."^ * Morgan ; " Biographies of Celebrated Canadians." + Dent's " Last Forty Years." 92 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. In 1829 he was elected to parliament for Wentworth, having created sympathy for 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 Caroline, which was surrendered to Niagara Falls* We have already seen that he was chosen by the tories as speaker of the second 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 consequence as a politician. He had a good presence and could make a ready speech, but he lacked all the essentials of an orator, 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 CM. G. to his name. Sir Allan was not. The moment 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 common 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 convincing 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 >44» 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 Barrowmount, County Kilkenny. He studied 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 became 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. He retained the provincial secretaryship till 184)8, when he was driven out of office by the reformers. He sat in gloomy state three years longer for Megantic, and then betook himself to England where he petitioned the government for a substantial recognition of his twenty-five years' faithful service in Canada. In answer to his prayer he was appointed successively to the governorship of Tobago, Prince Edward Island, and Western Australia, and received a knierht- hood. If ever henchman deserved reward at the hands of the Crown, Dominick Daly did. His idea of political duty was to show unswerving fealty to the Crown, and support every government that came to power. He was a body upon which the political sun never set. When a government, of which he was a 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 system ; 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, unquestioningly, under every circumstance. He would be an odd figure upon the scene now, and even in his day was a curiosity. 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 city practice, moved to the county of Middlesex. But his success 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 mistaken 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 Arthur's council and lent his strength to putting the rebellion THE LIGHTS CF '44. 95 down; was also in the cabinets of Lord Sydenham, Sir Charles Bagot, and Lord Metcalfe. Strangely enough, under the galling 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 signed " Legion." In the Baldwin- © O © Lafontaine cabinet, under Lord Elgin, he was provincial secretary for a time, and was elevated to the bench in September, 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 he 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 instinct which reveals the difference between right and wrong, and © ©' points out those principles that are the great highways in the moral field; but not to all men is given that perception in the same degree. In some indeed the duty path is plain as the lines that scar the brow, while to others so vague appears the way that they are ever in doubt, and cross and recross 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 unlike 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 England, 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; but on being released was returned again to parliament by a sweeping majority. He was also elected to the first parliament under the Union, and took his place prominently among the reformers. Mr. Viger was a mild and venerable man, who txo doubt loved his country, but it is hard to resist believing that he was somewhat jealous (as old men nearly always are of young rivals) 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, "JTaime-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 '44. 97 for himself in the world. Discovered many miles from home, he was taken back against his will, but he soon took an opportunity 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. He soon broke away a third time, and hired with a store-keeper for three years at a sliding scale of salary, £10 for the first year, £12 10s. for the second year, and £15 for the third year. He removed after two years to a store in Cornwall, but abandoned the position in a few months, and entered upon a study of law with Dr. Urqu- hart of the same town. The following occurrence, it is related, turned him from mercantile pursuits to the law : One day, while out in the streets, he was pelted with snow-balls by urchins, who, at the same time, contemptuously called him a " counter hopper." It was 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, 1840, 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, 1841, and joined himself with the opposition, though he had no love for Sir Allan MacNab, the leader of that party. Up to this time Mr. Macdonald 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 treachery was revolting to his mind that we find him now sitting among the opposition benches. Though we shall meet him again, we may as well anticipate some pf the events in his career. Although a Roman Catholic, he opposed separate schools; 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 98 LIFE OF SIR JOHN 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-twentieths were of Scotch descent; while of Macdonalds alone there were not fewer than three thousand two hundred, all of whom spoke Gaelic. Four years before this date Mr. Macdonald 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. WHILE the struggle for constitutional government was going on in this country, three great questions profoundly stirred the minds of men in the mother land. One of these began thirteen years before within the hallowed walls of Oxford, when the conviction dawned upon the" sweet and saintly Keble," who has been likened to Goethe's star, a soul" without haste and without rest," that the Church of England had wan- dered from the apostolic road, into the world's by-ways, and that, while the body grew out into fair proportions and decked itself 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. Pusey, John Henry 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 these papers, startling, 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 the 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 worse, and who had discovered but too many unpleasant truths which they dragged into the light by the aid of a merciless 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 " came rolling from the press. This was the most famous of the series, was written by Newman, and was the climax to which the whole current of the argument had hitherto been tending. The bishops at once took the alarm; the vice-chancellor and the heads of houses met; they condemned the tract and censured the writer. The voice 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 ostentation 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 earnestness 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 TORYISM. 301 that he was travelling fast to Rome. His secession staggered the church of which he had been the most brilliant star; and twenty-five years afterwards Mr. Disraeli describes his separa tion as having " dealt a blow to the church of England, under which she still reels." While we do not believe that the falling away of any one 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 episcopal chapel, was a far greater menace to the episcopacy, than Newman with 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 attained its normal, sober beat. While the divines saw with trepidation the movement in the theological world, politicians were filled with interest in the struggles of the giant O'Connell for a repeal of the union. They had heard him say, and they knew the tremendous force he would employ to keep his pledge, " The year 1843 is, and shall be, the repeal year." They saw the whole of Ireland rise as a man at his call and stream from the mountains and out of the cities in thousands, headed by their priests, with the regularity of soldiers, to attend his monster open-air meetings. The fame of the agitator and his movements were known O © over the world, and distinguished strangers visited Ireland to hear 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 who gathered in the fields at his call. When Lord Metcalfe began 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 fame of O'Connell and the hopes of his followers were not unknown in Canada; and not a little of the zeal in the cause of Metcalfe and the Crown was kindled on the hustings by the 102 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. reminder, from some wily tory, that the air was full of the " spirit of this repeal," that they " wanted separation in Ireland, 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 sudden as the fall of the movement, was the fall of its originator. Now we stand spell-bound in the gallery of the commons listening to " the thunder of his eloquence ;" Charles Dickens, while a reporter in the gallery, is so moved by the pathos of one of his speeches that he has to lay his pencil by; the discerning critic, Lord Jeffrey, regards all others whom he hears as " talking 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 debility, 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 tho.3e 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 DAYS OF TORYISM. 103 been set on foot and carried out with a force and a success before unequalled, by those unique and singularly honest and able politicians, Richard Cobden and John Bright. These were th e two gifted men who could, in the words of Kinglake, " go bravely into the midst of angry opponents, show them their fallacies one by one, destroy their favourite theories before their very faces, and triumphantly argue them down." This description helps us to understand how a government chosen to maintain the duty on corn should suddenly announce its conversion to the doctrines of free trade; and how Sir Robert Peel could stand boldly up in the parliament four years after his election to maintain the duty, and frankly tell the house : " I will not withhold the homage which is due to the progress of reason 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 created much surprise and some excitement here, but though Peel fell in the moment of victory, and a young rival seized the occasion to raise himself to eminence, no hand has since succeeded in renewing the life of the corn laws. They are dead, and, we doubt not, will sleep now till the sound of the last trumpet. In the autumn of 1845 a period of chilling winds and wet prevailed in Ireland, 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 is learnt that large numbers of the labouring class received no wages, but tilled the fields of the land-owner on the " cottier-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 SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. ground, a feeling of horror crept over the country. Not a county escaped the devastating hand, but the southern and western districts fared 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, fell down and died. To add to the horror of the famine, an epidemic, known as " famine fever," set 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 burthen 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 population. Crowds of girls and young women, tortured with hunger, 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 suffering 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 DAYS OF TORYISM. 105 day to day, aiming to bring the daily food down to one straw; and he would have been successful, we may suppose, had not the " puir naig " died the day before he made the final experiment. Frightful though this famine was in all its conse- quences of death, and riot, and crime, we can scarce help regarding it as Goldsmith looked upon the French revolution—a " blessing in disguise." From a population of six millions, overcrowded 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 remaining four millions it surely cannot be called.a scourge. But it did better than this: it taught the peasant that there are other lands besides his own dreary bogs and sterile mountainsides, lands where there is bread to be had for honest toil, and where rack-renting and the miseries of an organized pau- perdom is not known. Thereafter, the inhabitants, with a new hope, turned their faces to the setting sun, and there saw the land of their deliverance. They poured into Canada during the dark year following the famine, 70,000 in the one season alone. On the Atlantic voyage, huddled together in worse plight than the cattle we now ship to British markets, in all the filth and misery of a load of negroes under a slaver's hatches, they sickened of fever and dysentery and died like sheep. Through the summer long they poured in upon Grosse Isle, till the fever broke out with redoubled violence among the filthy and pent-up hovels, and the very air that blew about the island was loathsome, and instinct with death. " Army after army of sick and suffering people," McMullen tells us, " fleeing from famine in their native land to be stricken down by death in the Valley of the St. Lawrence, stopped in rapid succession at Grosse Isle, and then, leaving numbers of their dead behind them, pushed upwards towards the lakes in overcrowded steamers to burden the inhabitants of the western towns and villages." The inhabitants, without regard for race, colour, or religion, gave all the assistance in shelter, food and clothing to the suf- 106 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. ! ierers that they could; but there was a bitter feeling abroad as ships carried in cargoes of Lord Palmerston's tenants to add to the 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 Government 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 poisonous 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 names 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 expected 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 lyiDg 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 stations 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 peremptorily, if not insolently, called for a prompt settlement of the THE LAST DAYS OF TORYISM. 107 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 as well as they know now, that it takes a good deal of American bluster to make one cannon shot, and that a noisy president or a party in war paint does not represent the whole spirit of the republic. But the Canadians became alarmed at the noise, and looked to their muskets. The British government expected to see the glove thrown down evary 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 chosen, Earl Cathcart, a brave soldier who had seen fire in Holland and the Peninsula, and had three horses shot under him at Waterloo, was an admirable selection at such a crisis. 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 things, that the dividing line along the disputed territory should be " the forty-ninth degree of latitude from the Rocky Mountains, west to the middle of the channel, separating Vancouver'slslandfrom the mainland; thence southerly through the middle of the channel, and of Fuca's Straits to the Pacific." By this treaty Vancouver's Island 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 during the framing of the treaty of Washington. Shi ill 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 the political scene for ever. Mr. W. B. Robinson, who had resigned the inspector-generalship a year before, became commissioner of public works, and Mr. John Hillyard Cameron, one of the most brilliant legal stars in the horizon, then in his thirtieth year, became solicitor-general instead of 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- O * © ment seemed not unlike the dying man, who, racked with pain, now takes one end of his couch and now another in the hope of bettering hisr 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 satisfaction. A liberal, able, and clear-headed man, of sound conservative principles, and unpretending demeanour, he will be an acquisition to any ministry, and bring energy and business habits into a department of which there have been for many years, THE LAST DATS OF TORYISM. 109 under the present, and still more under preceding managements, many complaints." But this was a time when government was sustained only for plunder, and some of those who had worn the harness long in the tory cause—who had voted for the good and the bad, and lent themselves to every scheme of their masters—threatened rebellion if any more " recruits" were taken into office. Macdonald took the disappointment with philosophical coolness, told his friends that he did not suppose the world was coming to an end very soon, that he could " afford to wait," and added : " The condition of our party must be worse, before it is better." During the preceding session he had sat, as usual, industriously at his desk;. but in one discussion which came up he took a part which is interesting to us now in view of an important act of legislation of his later life. On the first of May, Mr. Cayley had a resolution before the house seeking to regulate a scale of differential duties on im- © o portations in leather manufactures, which was bitterly opposed by some of the reformers. Among those who warmly defended the resolution was Mr. Macdonald, and what he said is interesting, because we have heard that in adopting the " national 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, 1846, Mr. Macdonald stood up in his place in the Canadian 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 deserved unanimous \support;" for "it would prevent the trade of Canada from being subject to the competition of American artisans, and not among the leas.t to the artisans of American penitentiaries." 110 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. And now drew on the last days of toryism in Canada. Its sun was low in the sky, even when Metcalfe put his dignity by and appealed to party in the name of the Queen. It lay not in the power of man or any combination of men to bring the life back again to its palsied limbs. Toryism is the policy of stagnation, the force that opposes change and progress. It cannot live where the will of the people is supreme. It was put upon its trial in Canada, in the summer of 1848, and fell, ■never again to raise its head. We know the term " tory " is still applied to one of our great parties, and that we are told xt toryism 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 ago 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 came 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. Ill when he called their leaders to his cabinet. Lord Elgin was a nobleman in the peerages of Scotland and the United Kingdom, and was a Bruce of the illustrious house which had for a member the victor of Bannockburn. In 1842 he had been appointed governor of Jamaica; and upon the change of government in England in the summer of 1846, and the establishment of peaceable relations between the imperial and United States governments, 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, but left his bride to follow him when the tempestuous season passed. He arrived here in the early winter, and at once threw his whole energies into the work before him. It was plain to" those who watched his movements with an intelligent eye that he had studied the political condition of Canada before he passed the Atlantic; nay, more, he alarmed the apostles of the Compact by telling the inhabitants of Montreal: " I shall best maintain the prerogative of the Crown by manifesting 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 his illustrious father-in-law and found they were good. He soon mastered the condition of affairs in Canada, and saw, so his biographer* tells us, that in the ruling party " there was no real political life; 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- assisted the effete and unrepresentative body he found in office, but plainly told them that he 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 sea, 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 rocks. Then, as dear to him as his own success was the reputation of his father-in-law, Lord Durham, 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 following out the principles laid down by the father of his absent bride: we may be sure most earnestly did he set himself to his duty. His manly form was seen at several public meetings, exposed to the fierce 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 waited 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 adviee, which, if possessed 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 companionship 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; and Mr. Sherwood, who now appears to have had a small following, 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 relinquishment 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 DAYS OF TORYISM. 113 sion showed that the government was in a sad minority in the house, ministers said naught about resignation. The sun- J o © set of Mr. Draper's political life seemed to have given him mystical lore, and the speech he made reviewing his own career, and setting forth his opinion on the duties of ministries, might have been regarded as a valuable death-bed sermon. Like Saul, the scales seemed to have fallen from his eyes of a sudden, and that which he had never seen before, though he must have heard it times without number, was instantly revealed 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 he spoke—on the ingratitude of men at whose hands he had deserved better things than conspiracy and calumny. He gave no uncertain sound when he came to speak of responsible government. 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 seats in the doomed cabinet, and Mr. John Maodonald, whose administrative ability commanded general attention, was removed from the receiver-generalship to the office of crown lands, then the most important department in the public service, and one 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 vouchsafed 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 electorate of Canada. H CHAPTER VIII. RULING IN STORM. rTlHE reformers entered the contest with cheerful faces, and X 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 possessed of a broad generosity, and is certain to show sympathy eventually, for that one to whom it discovers, on reflection, it has done injustice. And, as Carlyle expresses it, since it is always " revising its opinion," it is certain sooner or later to discover 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 Literature." 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 public is not stupid, or unjust, and that the man is another Percival 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 HHHBM RULING IN 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, nearly 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 followersL rebels; but this they contended for, nothing more, and nothing less, that what the Queen would not be permitted to do in England, we should not permit the governor to do in Canada. Tories had proclaimed from their hustings that responsible government, as sought by the reformers, would be insufficient, and unworthy ©f Canada; but he had unbounded faith in its adequacy." And some writer used the apt figure that, as in the unfettered working of the ocean, lay the secret of the purity of its waters, so in the 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 rebellion of 1837-38 had no sooner been put down than resolutions 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 sustained 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 recompense for loyal persons in that province whose property had been injured or destroyed during the collision between Papi- 116 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. m neau's followers and the soldiers. But neither the act of the one legislature, nor the ordinance of the^ other met the demands of a large number who had suffered by the rising. There came from every quarter, demanding compensation, men whose property had been injured or destroyed, not by the rebels, but by the agents of authority. Nor 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, firing outbuildings 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 unflinching, 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 extending 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 soldiery 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 Lower Canada, 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 pushed nearer the brink of the precipice, that French votes and sympathies were on the other side ; and, as drowning men will clutch at straws, seized upon the faint hope of wining Lower Canadian support by authorising 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- missioners 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 non-plussed. They wrote on the 11th of Feburary, 1846, to the governor-in-council, Earl Cathcart, for instructions as to how they might draw a distinction between the loyal and those who had rebelled. The provincial secretary replied that it was not the intention of his excellency that the commissioners should be guided by " any description of evidence, other than that furnished by the evidence of the courts of law." It was pointed out that the commissioners were 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, under 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 exhibited a list of 2,176 persons who claimed damages amounting in the aggregate to £241,965. An opinion was expressed that £100,000 would cover all meritorious elaims, for it had been ascertained that damages for ,£25,503 were claimed by persons who had actually been condemned by court-martial for I 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 something would " turn up " by which he might be able to repudiate the claims. Hence 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 instalment was received with anger and contempt, and the gulf between 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 overwhelming majority. In Upper Canada the popular tide likewise set with the reformers, though stubborn was. the dying fight made by their opponents. In Kingston John A. Macdonald, who was unsparing 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 revealed 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 Carrier 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 Wicklow, 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 Canada, 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 such feeling and vividness, and he moved to Toronto, where he entered 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 that as an orator he had no rival in that parliament, 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 again mellowing down to unsurpassed depths of pathos and tenderness. On the day following the vote on the speakership, the government resigned, and Lord Elgin called on M. Lafontaine to form a. cabinet. After a short delay, the new ministry was announced as follows :— FOR CANADA EAST. Hon. H. L. Lafontaine - - Attorney-General. „ Jas. Leslie - Pres. Executive Council. „ R. E. Caron - Speaker of the Legislative Council. 120 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Hon. E. P. Tache - „ T. C. Aylwin „ L. M. Viger - Chief Com. of Public Works. - Solicitor-General. Receiver-General. FOR CANADA WEST. Hon. Robert Baldwin „ R. B. Sullivan - „ Francis Hincks „ J. H. Price „ Malcolm Cameron - Attorney-General. - Provincial Secretary. - Inspector-General. - Com. of Crown Lands. Asst. Com. of Public Works. The shade of Metcalfe could not have been unmoved when the new cabinet ministers came to draw comparisons between Lord Elgin and another governor-general. Now were they met by a gentleman who could no more stoop to an act of meanness in diplomacy than to a similar offence in private life; by one whose attitude towards them was that of a kind friend, if not a father; who knew the weakness inherent in party ministers and the evils by which they are beset. He frankly gave them his confidence and told them he wanted theirs; and that in all things which tended to a just and intelligent administration of affairs they should have the best of his assistance. Though he would scorn to lend his influence to further the interests of any party, even it were the party of his choice, he sat for hours advising ministers to be firm with their measures, telling them of the rocks they had to encounter in their way, and pointing out that they ought to set up high aims and not be turned from these by the pressure of any circumstance. The time was soon to come when both the ministry and the governor would need all the firmness that comes from a conviction of right doing and from philosophy. On coming into power, the new ministry promptly introduced a series of resolutions into the assembly which was followed by a bill " to provide for the indemnification of parties in Lower Canada, whose property had been destroyed in the RULING IN STORM. 121 years 1837 and 1838." The only reservation made in the allowance of claims was in the case of those who had been convicted of rebellion and either imprisoned or transported to Bermuda. Five commissioners were appointed to carry out the Act, and a sum of £100,000 was set apart to satisfy all claims. The introduction of the measure was the signal for an explosion. Like the bursting of a long pent-up storm, arose a cry of indignation from the tory members and their press. To many it seemed that the day of doom had dawned upon our monarchy. Two poor gentlemen shed tears over their liquor, when mentioning the name of the Queen. The fact is, this bill was only the climax of a long series of outrages. The loyal Family Compact had been driven from power, and superseded by "radicals, rebels and republicans," a trinity of bad blood, but apt alliteration. The head of the government was a Frenchman, a former leader of the society La Jeune France ; a man who had been, at one time, an infidel, and at another, a rebel, flying his country from the wrath of the laws. It was no longer deemed dishonourable to have rebelled against the au- © © thority of the Queen; nay, more, a bill had been introduced, not only to condone the rebellion, but to indemnify the rebels. For of those who rebelled, it was held that not one in ten had been convicted by the laws ; whereas everyone having a stile broken down during the rising, who had not been imprisoned or sent to Bermuda, came forward with claims which the government allowed. But the proudest spirit that chafed under this galling ordinance, was the gallant knight of Hamilton. He must have felt with Solomon, as he glanced back upon all the history which he had made, that the brightest trail a man may leave behind him for the admiration of the world, is but a huge vanity. To what purpose now had he marshalled his " gallant men of Gore," levelling the taverns and dwellings of rebellious owners, or on that dark December night, sent his soldiers to seize the " piratical" Caroline, and give her to the cataract of Niagara. Now that a premium had' been put upon rebellion 122 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. he saw a sort of derision in the very spurs upon his heels, for they had been given him in token of his loyalty. He resolved*- however, that the outrages should not be sanctioned, without a struggle. He rallied his followers in their lodgings; he told them the crisis had come, when rebellion was to be stamped as a crime or a virtue. In his loyal ears, we doubt not, as he trod from alley to alley through the darkness on his mission of resistance, rang the words of the couplet: '■' Treason does not prosper ; what's the reason ? Why, when it prospers none dare call it treason." But he would " dare call it treason," and, so, girt up his loins for the fight. His party, therefore, entered the conflict with a will. The knight led the attack, and his invective was unsparing and indiscriminate. He did not wonder that a premium was put upon rebellion, now that rebels were rewarded for their own uprisings ; for the government itself was a rebel government, and the party by which it was maintained in power was a phalanx of rebels. His lieutenants were scarce less unsparing and fierce in the attack. But the government boldly took up their position. Mr. Baldwin, attorney-general-west, maintained that it would* be disgraceful to enquire whether a man had been a rebel or not after the passage of a' general act of indemnity. Mr. Drummond, solicitor-general-east, took ground which placed the matter in the clearest light. The indemnity act had pardoned those concerned in high treason. Technically speaking, then, all who had been attainted stood in the same position as before the rebellion. But the opposition were not in a mood to reason. The two colonels, Prince and Gugy, talked a great deal of fury. The former once again reminded the house that he was " a gentleman "; the latter made it plain that he was a blusterer. Mr. Sherwood was fierce and often trenchant; while Sir Allan reiterated that the whole French-Canadian people were traitors and aliens. At this date we are moved neither 1 RULING IN STORM. 123 to anger nor contempt at reading such utterances as those of the knight's, for it would be wrong to regard them as else than infirmities; and it is regretable that by such statements the one party should allow itself to be dominated and the other driven to wrath. But through all these volcanic speeches Sir Allan was drifting in the direction of a mighty lash held in a strong arm; and when the blow descends we find little compassion for the wrigglings of the tortured knight. It was while Sir Allan had been bestriding the parliament like a Colossus, breathing fire and brimstone against every opponent, and flinging indiscriminately about him such epithets as " traitor " and " rebel," that Mr. Blake, solicitor-general-west, stung beyond endurance, sprang to his feet. " He would remind them that there was not only one kind of rebellion and one description of rebel and traitor. He would tell them there was such a thing as rebellion against the constitution as well as rebellion against the crown. A man could be a traitor to his country's rights. as well as a traitor to the power of the crown." He instanced Philip of Spain and James the Second when there was a struggle between political freedom and royal tyranny. " These royal tyrants found loyal men to do their bidding, not only in the army but on the bench of justice. There was one such loyal servant, he who shone above all the rest, the execrable Judge Jeffries, who sent, among the many other victims before their Maker, the mild, amiable and great Lord Russell. Another victim of these loyal servants was Algernon Sydney, whose offence was his loyalty to the people's rights and the constitution. He had no sympathy with the spurious loyalty of the hon. gentlemen opposite, which, while it trampled on the people, was the slave of the court—a loyalty which, from the dawn of the history of the world down to the present day, had lashed humanity into rebellion. He would not go to ancient history; but he would tell the hon. gentlemen opposite of one great exhibition of this loyalty; on an occasion when the people of a distant Roman province contemplated the perpetration of the 124 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. foulest crime that the page of history records—a crime from which Nature in compassidn hid her face and strove to draw a veil over; but the heathen Roman lawgiver could not be induced by perjured witnesses to place the great founder of our religion upon the cross. ' I find no fault in him,' he said. But these provincials, after endeavouring by every other means to effect their purpose, had recourse to this spurious loyalty—' If thou lettest this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend.' Mark the loyalty; could they not see every feature of it; could they not trace it in this act; aye, and overcome by that mawkish, spurious loyalty, the heathen Roman governor gave his sanction to a deed whose foul and impure stain eighteen centuries of national humiliation and suffering have been unable to efface. This spurious, slavish loyalty was not British stuff; this spurious, bullying loyalty never grew in his native land. British loyalty wrung on the field of Runnymede, from the tyrant king, the great charter of English liberty. Aye, the barons of England, with arms in their hands, demanded and received the great charter of their rights. British loyalty, during a period of three centuries, wrung from tyrant kings thirty different recognitions of that great charter. Aye, and at the glorious era of the revolution, when the loyal Jeffries was ready, in his extreme loyalty, to hand over England's freedom and rights to the hands of tyrants, the people of England established the constitution which has maintained England till this day, a great, free and powerful nation." Again and again did Sir Allan, tortured by the merciless lash, rise in his place, but still the long pent-up stream of manly wrath and contempt poured forth. " The expression ' rebel''' continued the speaker, " has been applied by the gallant knight opposite, to some gentlemen on this side of the house, but I can tell gentlemen on the other side that their public conduct has proved that they are the rebels to the constitution and their country." It required but one taunt more to bring on the climax —and that taunt came. " And there sit the loyal men," con- RULING IN STORM. 125 tinued the avenging member, pointing deliberately at the opposition benches, " there sit the loyal men who shed the blood of the people and trampled on their just rights. There sit the rebels." Choking with rage, Sir A^an arose once again and repudiated the epithet rebeL as appl:ed to him, and asked Mr. Blake to retract. This the honourable gentleman firmly refused to do, whereupon a sudden uproar arose through the house, which was followed by a turmoil in the galleries, where spectators had joined in the discussion. Several breaches of the peace were committed, and men grappled and struck at each other admidst the terrified screams of ladies. Many of the disturbers were arrested and the galleries cleared, the ladies seeking refuge in the body of the house. For twenty minutes the chamber was a scene of wild confusion, and remained with closed doors. The sergeant-at-arms was sorely tried to prevent a collision between Mr. Blake and Sir Allan. As the discussion on the bill drew to a close, Mr. John A. Macdonald, who had all along preserved a stolid silence, rose in his place and told Mr. Speaker that this measure was not going to- pass without his protest, 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 bill could not be brought, for when Mr. Draper introduced the bill which was the parent of the present 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. measure, 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 deprecated 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 endeavouring 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 disallowance. In the first place dissolution appeared to him unwise and uncalled for, as the ministry had been elected but a =is RULING IN STORM. 127 few months before on writs issued at the request of their opponents. 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 O © O © above his head, he manfully resolved to do the right and give his assent 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 consequence of the opening of navigation, it was imperative should go into instant effect. The rumour having gone abroad that assent 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 cambric 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 loyalist gentlemen 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. Augustus 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. Ferres, a 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 heard the cry, " To the parliament buildings." 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 committee when the visitors burst through the doors. The members fled in dismay, some taking refuge in the lobbies, and others behind 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 chandeliers, lamps and globes. One of the party, in the midst of the melee 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. Chisholrn, the sergeant-at-arms, and subsequently 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 council 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 engaged in the incendiarism, who detained them till everything had been devoured by the flames. Through some misunderstanding the military were not on hand, and the mob only left after the most brilliant part of the conflagration was over, flown with victory, and athirst for new conquest. It 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 at the simultaneous clanging of the bells. While the fires 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 lie too deep for words, and the opening of the next day's session seemed one of these. Mr. Baldwin, who made a motion, spoke in a low 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 record 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 assailed—" a loyalty " he said, " which one day incited a mob to pelt the governor-general, and to destroy the halls of parliament 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 other conservatives denounced the perpetrators with unmeasured indignity. Mr. John A Macdonald was one of those who deplored the occurrences, but he censured the Government for lack of precaution when they must have known that the outrages were contemplated; and he 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 a timid sort of a way, explained the absence of the soldiers, but read now, 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 blood, but we have no reason to congratulate anybody that for nights the mob held possession of a great city without being confronted by an available military, whether bloodshed would or would not have been the result of the collision. When the mob will rise, take the bit in their teeth and trample upon the supreme law of peace and order 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 5 RULING IN STORM. 131 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 loyalists 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. In the morning placards addressed to " the friends of peace " were posted around the city calling a meeting at the Champ de Mars. The chief speakers at this meeting were Hon. George Moffatt and Colonel Gugy. They counselled order and passed 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 had characterized his excellency's administration, and expressing deep sorrow 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 the coach, while a continuous fusilade of eggs and blasphemy was kept up. The address was to be read in " government house," a building so called on Notre Dame Street; and on arriving 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 instead of Notre Dame, by which he had come. The mob were outwitted, and set up a howl of baffled rage. They immediately rallied, however, and, seizing cabs, caleches, and "every- 132 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. J thing that would run," started off in pursuit. At Molson's Corner they overtook the vice-regal party, and at once began the attack. The back of the coach was driven in with stones, Col. Bruce, the governor's brother, was wounded in the back of the head, and Col. Ermatinger and Capt. Jones received bodily injuries. The governor himself escaped unhurt. The party eventually distanced the mob and entered the sheltering gates of Monklands. Meanwhile the spirit of riot had elsewhere risen its head. Tn 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 zeal of religious executioners 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 S © 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 political 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 Mackenzie, 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, gathered themselves to the meeting of the league. * * They RULING IN STORM. 133 were dubbed Children of the Sun. * * They advocated extreme 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. Confusion and discord reigned through the gathering. Ogle R. Go wan 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 had an instant following. Among the many disgusted at the riot of proposals was Mr. John A. Macdonald, who, at an early date, separated himself from the babel. Other leading members followed suit, and the mammoth Family gathering fell to pieces. A few of the fragments reorganized 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 •the cross roads had looked at only one side of the shield, and said it was silver as he set his lance in the rest, declared that Lord Elgin should have disallowed the bill; but Lord John Russell, Sir Robert Peel and others defended the action of his excellency, 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 to signify 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 Montreal. 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 th.e governor's consideration. The protracted and outrageous disposition of the mob, which appeared 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, smirched by the lawlessness of her .mobs. CHAPTER IX. THE GREAT MINISTRY FALLS. AFTER the wild paroxysm of loyalty had spent itself in storm, many of the tories, who by their speeches had stirred their followers up to the riot point, and afterwards attempted to find excuse for their excesses, began to feel ashamed of the part they had played and to be anxious about the consequences. A conclave was held at which it was decided 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 representative of the sovereign with addled eggs. No one to this day knows what reception these two got at Downing Street; but as they have remained 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 government 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 I—and why was it necessary for Mr. Francis Hincks to follow them there ? We complained then, and murmur still about Downing Street interference ; yet it is we who have taught the officials there how 135 136 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 very 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 perpetuate 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 ennobled. 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 viceregal 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 Toronto, 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 reformers, saw in this semblance of strength irresistible evidence of weakness. A large majority is to be coveted when parties are divided by some 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 lower chamber which divided the house upon party issues; and as the reformers stood up in all their appalling strength, John A Macdonald is credited with having observed to a member who sat beside him, " That mighty fabric is soon to go to pieces." His 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 Macdonald, " apparent harmony! But we shall see." As has been stated already, the reform party composed not only modsrate seekers for reform, but many who desired radical changes, and not a few who thought we ous;ht 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 intimated that the change desired must come through gradual stages. O O © O When the attitude of the leaders became known, a number of the most prominent of the 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 combination were David Christie, Dr. John Rolph, James Leslie, and Malcolm Cameron ; and among the concessions they demanded were, abolition of judges' pensions, biennial parliaments, universal 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 originated during a conversation between George Brown and Christie, the latter remarking that they wanted in the new movement " men who were clear grit." The clear grits had no sooner completed their organization in Upper Canada, than Louis Papineau aroused himself and formed in Lower Canada " Le Parti Rouge" a combination less radical than revolutionary. We can 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 telling 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 ministers 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 government 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 attitude that ministers felt themselves obliged to repudiate responsibility for its course. In shopt, 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 preparing 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 Westminster. The ordinances declaring the districts were written in Rome after the manner of the time when a sovereign pontiff 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 Romce sub anulo piscato- ris" 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 " 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 setting districts off on sheets of vellum, as of no very serious consequence. Yet, alarmed thousand's 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 nigh 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 thunders 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 exhibition 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 whether 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 right or they may be wrong, but it is not in writers of George Brown's stamp that they find confuters. Having 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 unoffending portion of the community was made with as much noise and fervour as " temperance reformers" to-day employ against the vice of drunkenness. 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. 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 Globe's fatally reckless course, or repudiating it, and thus alienating its support and following. Every age and country has produced its whitewashers, and we see in a book lying, before us now, Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, 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 said in this discussion by Mr. Brown, but adds that " no article ever appeared (in the Globe) which bore the character of intolerance." " Unscrupulous politicians," he says, " of little or no standing as public men, for years filled their scrap-books with garbled extracts, torn from their context, and used them as electioneering weapons." 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 intolerance. Is it tolerance, whether it be the truth or not, which is not the question we are discussing, to be told that " the advance of education has been the death-knell of popery throughout the world;" that " its mummeries have failed to stand the test of free institutions;" 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 context ? 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 the imperial dictator 142 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. of Canada, holding the Life and liberty of the subject in his hand. It may be going too far, then, to say he was not intolerant, 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 fire and smoke against the papacy. 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 inflamed padre, " it is destruction; the destruction of pope and popery. My mission is 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 16th, 1853, described 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, *l 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 measures, and the most prominent of these referred to an extension of the canal system, which gave to inland shipping an uninterrupted 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. 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 insubordinate 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 original conditions. One 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 conservatism—was led by the indiscreet and offensive Sir Allan Mac- Nab, who did not injure his opponents by his bad temper and worse tactics and only disgusted his friends. So coarse and so insolent were his attacks on Mr. Lafontaine, and even on Lord Elgin, that Colonel Gugy, who had been an uncompromising tory, arose in his place and disclaimed approval of his 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 success 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. are rapidly running themselves out; they will die in due time if we but let them alone." As early as this date there were several 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 Macdonald's wings" a conservative of that day tells us, " and some of our party, I for one, felt that there was no hope till we got a change of id,ea 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 blew that wind, but he belonged to a past century, and was too old and too stubborn to bend to the demands of the time. During the spring of the following 3Tear, a vacancy occurred in the representation of Haldimand, and a number of candidates, 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 Mackenzie. 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 collision 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 decisive 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 GREAT MINISTRY FALLS. 145 voked by Becket, that they had no one to rid them of " 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, battered 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 he violated privilege by publishing lengthy reports of the legislative debates; and was expelled. But after the expulsion he was again elected, and again expelled; and the farce was continued 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, parliament was dissolved, and Sir Francis Bond Head and his council adopted corrupt and unmanly ways to keep their opponents out of the assembly. One of the victims was Mackenzie; and exasperated beyond all endurance, he turned his thoughts to rebellion. The story of the farce on Gallows Hill has already been told and need not be repeated. Mackenzie fled away through the wintry woods and found an asylum in the republic for a time, but was afterwards arrested there and thrown into prison. When a pardon was granted to the rebels he made his 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 he had for popular liberty, he was welcomed to the hustings of Haldimand with vociferous cheers from a thousand lusty throats. But although he seemed to be remembered gratefully by some of the people, he was received 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— refusea. 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 to me. 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 temptation.' " 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 Mackenzie went to the legislature where, for the remainder of his public career, he was at best a hasty critic with a narrow view 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 introduced 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, Lawrence and through New Brunswick to Nova Scotia, terminating at Halifax. A meeting of delegates was held in Toronto, and THE GREAT MINISTRY 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 imperial 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 hisyouth off the statute books. 1 Macdonald's attitude during the session was not more demonstrative, and less scornful, than it was on his first appearance in the house. On July 19th he brought in a bill relating to the medical profession in Upper Canada, introducing it to the House in a few 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-General, John Sandfield Macdonald. The arguments used by this opponent were very paltry, and as some other members took up the same strain, John A. Macdonald at last became annoyed. " Mr. Speaker," he said, " if the Solicitor-General 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 legalize 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 obligations, 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, piercad by the fragile 148 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. weed. The country had seen Mr. Baldwin stand bravely through the clangor of the fire bells, and in the glare of the burning halls of parliament ; saw him supreme when Sir Allan MacNab tried once again to coax abroad the spurious British Lion; now they see him, on a measure brought in by William Lyon Mackenzie to abolish the court of Chancery, stand up and declare that he will resign his place in the government. The weed had slain Balder. The house rejected Mackenzie's measure, but a majority of the Upper Canada members voted for it; and though Mr. Baldwin was no advocate for " double majorities " he was cut beyond endurance at this rebuke to his ideal court. His lofty spirit could not bend. It was a time of wonders ; for almost immediately afterwards M. Lafontaine arose at his desk and announced his intention of retiring at an early day. " The two masts are overboard," Macdonald remarked in an undertone to Mr. Sherwood ; " a helpless hulk there is left now!" In October, M. Lafontaine withdrew and the other ministers followed him. Lord Elgin, who was now at his lovely residence, Spencer Wood, upon the cliffs of Sillery, sent for Mr. Hincks to form a government. Perhaps Mr. Hincks could not see through the blank wall of the future; perhaps he did get a 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. " 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 GREAT MINISTRY FALLS. 149 FROM CANADA EAST. Hon. A. N. Morin Provincial Secretary. " L. T. D rummond A ttorney- General East. " John Young Com'r of Public Works. " R. E. Caron Speaker of Legislative Council. " E. P. Tache Receiver-General. But there was more than one jealous member when Mr. Hincks 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 his 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 such a brief time before for their treachery in putting themselves in opposition to the "redeemers of the country." But this all happened before he got into the legislature, and, more than all, before he was ignored in the making up of Hincks' cabinet. Once again Canada was in the throes of a general election. ^mmrn s^JS? V^® & Ty 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 questions 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 provisions 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, " according to the 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 denominations met to protest against the injustice. The words " a protestant clergy" excluded the dissenters, whom all imperial statutes ignored; but the presbyterians stood boldly up and proved that they came within the meaning of the words. The law officers of the Crown, on pondeiing 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—" pretensions " he called these claims—and hurried away to England to fortify the colonial office against the importunities of the outraged denominations. In 1836, 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-six acres of land. The law officers in England promptly declared the endowment to be invalid, but Dr. Strachan got together a bundle of documents which he packed off to England; whereupon the oracles reversed their decision. It must certainly have been annoying to officials of the British Government to be pestered about every little colonial matter, but they brought the trouble upon themselves by arrogantly, not to say, impertinently, undertaking to deal with matters which rightly belonged to the jurisdiction of the colonial legislatures, in framing our constitutional acts. Nor had they grown more wise, perhaps we 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 sales of reserves, one-third should go to the presbyterian 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 dissenters ; for the framers of the act could not be expected to name 152 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. the Baptists, Wesleyans, Unitarians, et castera. But this settlement 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 appropriation. 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 minister. It is not certain that in apportioning the reserve proceeds among the Canadian religious bodies they gave much time to thought or prayer, simply setting down double as much to the episcopalians, whether they numbered ten or ten thousand, 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 congregationalist, at his place in the house, described the reserves, with not less justice than force, as " one of the greatest curses 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 secularization 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 opposed 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 seigneurie. This condition embraced the payment of fealty and homage to the king. On the day set apart for doing homage, came the seigneur, or holder of the granted © © J © J © lands, to the castle of St. Louis in Quebec, and kneeling before the representative of the king, he there, in token of submission, delivered up his 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 enjo}''ed many rights and privileges, but they also- had their duties. Within their domains they had jurisdiction over all offences against the laws save treason and murder. When the seigneurie or any portion of it was sold, a fifth of what it brought, called a quint, was 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 eighty acres. The holders of these lots which were granted en roture, were called censitaires. Several annoying conditions were imposed upon the censitaire. He was obliged* "to grind his grain at the seigneur's mill, bake his bread in the seigneur's oven, work for him one or more days in the year, and give him one fish in every eleven for the privilege 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 lods et ventes, 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- * Francis Parkman: " The Old Regime 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 increased obligations put upon them by the seigneurs, who, in consequence of the system of dividing the seigneurie among all members 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 from the yoke of his master. Accounts are given of the most dishonest and harassing measures adopted towards the ignorant habitant, who was not aware that he was being cheated— only knowing that he was being oppressed—by the seigneurs. Some hot-headed Frenchmen, without any instinct of justice, advocated the total sweeping 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 Egyptian archseology. Some of his discoveries proved valuable additions to the knowledge 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 Ij_, "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 Canada, 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 his 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 every question to the bottom, his style of writing always maintained the due dignity of the press. In 1841 he was "called out " for Oxford, and defeated his opponent by a majority of thirty-one votes; and was re-elected on going back to his constituency after having accepted the inspector-generalship. Three years later he was defeated by a son-in-law of Admiral Vansittart for the same constituency, but in 1848 was again elected by a majority of three hundred and thirty-five over his old opponent Carroll. 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 we have seen, on the retirement of Robert Baldwin, he was called to form a government. He is to be an interesting figure for some years to come, and we must not anticipate his career. . M. Augustin Norbert Morin, his " other half," as the second government head used to be called in those days, was born at St. Michel, district of Quebec, in 1803. He studied law in the office of D. B. Viger, and was called to the bar at Montreal, in 1828. In his twenty-eighth year he was returned to parliament, and was so brilliant as to fill his friends with great hopes for his future. He entered the Baldwin-Lafontaine ministry as commissioner of crown lands, in October, 1842, retaining office until December the following year, when, with his col- 156 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. leagues he was forced out of office by the treachery of the governor. In 1848 he was again returned to parliament, and elected to the speakership. On the resignation of M. Lafontaine, three years later, Mr. Hinck's choice fell upon him as the only suitable successor to the retiring statesman. Kaye, whose portraits are not always above suspicion, pays honest tribute to the character of M. Morin. His administrative abilities, he tells us, were of the highest class. He had vast powers of application, rare conscientiousness, and a noble self-devotion, which in old times would have carried him cheerfully to the stake. His patriotism was 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. Tache", 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 1812, 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 years later was appointed deputy-adjutant-general, which position 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 formation of the Hincks' ministry. Henceforth Mr. Tactic* began to evince preferences for the conservative party, and was during 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" QUESTIONS. 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 once mighty compact who took his place in the new house was Sir Allan MacNab, 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 electors 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 settlement 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 not strange that Robert Baldwin should receive a request like this with scorn. He calmly told his supporters that he came before them with no claim upon their regards save what a record of his public career had given him; that he had always acted 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. Macdonald, 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 speaker. The Speech made reference to the proposed introduction of decimal currency, to railways, the attitude of the imperial government towards secularization of the clergy re- T 158 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. serves, 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 ever been presented to that parliament. In after years Mr. Brown's style of parliamentary speaking improved, but not very 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 he, 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 much honest purpose, of rugged, strong intellect; so rugged 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 11 BURNING" 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, 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," administered 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 with Brown's stalwarts when any blow was aimed to overthrow the government. During the summer Mr. Hincks had visited England, and while there made every possible effort to induce the imperial government to introduce such legislation as would give the © O © Canadian parliament authority to deal with the question of secularization. Notwithstanding these facts, George Brown charged him with having " sold himself to the enemy," and upon this asseveration grounded his opposition to the government. 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 Brown 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 newspaper 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 ambition. In the whole course of his public career, he never hesi- 1«0 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. tated to crush any man who crossed his path. If the interests of his party happened to be identical with the interests of his rival, then so much the worse for the party. It was not that he loved his party less, but that he loved George Brown more. Owing to the prevalence of cholera in Quebec, the legislature was adjourned from November till February. A few days before prorogation, news reached Canada that a measure relating to secularization had passed the imperial parliament. The act authorized the Canadian legislature to repeal or amend the act of 1840 as was deemed desirable, but prohibited interference with the annual stipends already allowed to clergymen. Evidently, up to this date, the impression had not got out of the heads of some of the law-makers that our legislature here was 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 throughout 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 number of representatives, he took strong grounds, contending that the measure was a sacrilegious laying of hands upon the constitution, without the sanction or desire of the .people.* Against the University Bill, he took a firm stand, "J" 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 restrain 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 out did 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 indemnity ought not to be borne by the people of Upper Canada. § "It * See Appendix "A." § See Appendix " D." + See Appendix "B." t See Appendix "C." K 162 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. was as much as saying," he pithily observed, " that Upper Canada should be bribed with her own money." The premier seems to have been the chief object of his care during the session. Scarce a day passed that there was not a passage of arms between the two. One afternoon Mr. Hincks was asked to distribute copies of the bill creating a bureau of agriculture, among members, but curtly refused to do so. Macdonald rose in his place: "Mr. Speaker, the inspector-general, in answer to a proper request from this house, says ' we won't.' Sir, it is absolutely indecent." Mr. Hincks who was rather surprised at seeing Macdonald show any trace of peevishness, arose and said that there was surely nothing indecent in saying, "we won't." "Ah, yes," said Mr. Badgley, "but it is the manner." " The manner," returned Macdonald, contemptuously ;-" he has no manners." "Why, is it possible!" said 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 memorandum books were thrown aside, and he sat there another Attila. Attorney-general Drummond, in defending the charitable societies bill, had wandered away from his text, and indulged 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 majority 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 unfortunate incoherent mass at the mercy of everybody and everything." We find the Kingston member attending a meeting held " B URN IN G " Q UESTIONS. 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, assuring the meeting of his sympathy with their object, but declining 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 XL BIRTH OF " LIBERAL-CONSERVATISM." "IF Russia should decline to restrict within purely diploma- X tic limits the discussion in which she has for some 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 Gortschakoff 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 congregated about the Royal Exchange to witness the most interesting 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 o © sung by our first of Canadian singers, Mr. Roberts, still lived as- 164 BIRTH OF "LIBERAL-CONSERVATISM." 165 the swords which had lain idly in their scabbards were buckled on, and the great ships were warped out from their moorings: " 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 existence. During the previous summer the Grand Trunk railway 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 reached a fever point, labour was in brisk demand, and commercial prosperity at the flood-tide. The fly in iEsop'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 between Canada and the United States. In May, the governor and Mr. Hincks went to Washington to conclude the terms, but 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- tuously termed them, " with their tails between their legs." It created no little surprise among the prophets, and rejoicing through the commercial community, to learn that, on the I 166 LIFE 01 SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. 5th of June, the treaty had been signed by Lord Elgin on behalf of Great Britain, and W. L. Marcy, secretary of state for the United States, on behalf of the republic. By the provisions of the treaty, citizens of the United States were permitted to take fish of any kind except shell-fish on the sea-coasts 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 fish. 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 36th 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 be 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 understanding what were their most vital interests, and flippantly signing these away. * The objections raised to the treaty were, * Archer : " A History of Canada." BIRTH OF "LIBERAL-CONSERVATISM." 167 that though the United States had nothing to exchange comparable 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 declined to concede the only equivalent they could offer, the admission 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 $14,230,763, 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 whieh convocation could be postponed. It was impossible that the meeting could have been summoned for an 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 ministers 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 carried on a flaming crusade against the ministry, charging it with treachery to the public, and hostility to secularization of the reserves 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 impending session to grapple with these questions; and Mr. Brown wound up a very rampant editorial in support of this view by saying that Mr. Hincks " 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 session. 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 legislature was not fairly representative, and for a body, so deficient, to enact legislation affecting the interests of the public would have been a violation of the principle of responsible government. Mr. Hincks defended the action of the ministry on these grounds, and might have cited the precedent 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 government. 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 feeling 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 arrived 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 VATISM." 169 ily. But the conservatives, led by Sir Allan MacNab, and inspired 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 opposed 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 furnace. 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 not 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 dealing with the questions which had set the country aflame. He did not take a 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 public, 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 his temper. It was a strange sight to see him who never before 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 contempt 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 government had been one of rampant corruption, appealing to the most sordid and the basest motives of men * * * * 170 LIFE OF SIR JOHN 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 colleagues, with whom he continued to sit. Now, a government should be free from suspicion and feel a stain on their escutcheon 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-comings either confined to one, or two, or three odious transactions ; " they were steeped to the very lips in infamy; " were " 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 " O © 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 invective ; and said that he "viewed Sir James Graham with regard, but not with respect." Some years before, at a public meeting, 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-CONSERVATISM." 171- Macdonald had a hand. Mr. Cauchon's amendment expressed regret that the government had not taken steps for the disposal of the seigniorial tenure question during the session, and Mr. Sicotte's very adroitly added, " or one for the immediate settlement of the clergy reserves." Inasmuch as " settlementn might mean a confirmation of the status quo, or an agreement to the demands of the clear grits and rouges, these amendments were supported by the two latter parties, and by the conservatives ; 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 the latter's George Brown was jubilant as he saw the "higher game" now almost within his reach. At the © © other meeting was no exultation; but there sat the cool, shrewd- headed Macdonald, pointing out that now since the crisis had come, their party should move with more prudence and caution 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 him, that 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 membese, 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 uninformed 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, " I protest in the name of the opposition against our 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 ready to pass a bill bringing the new franchise act into operation, and to grant the necessary supplies for the current year." Sir Allan had no sooner sat down than William Lyon Mackenzie, almost speechless with rage, arose and began an attack upon the ministry. After pouring out his wrath upon the government he asked permission to introduce a bill on the clergy reserves; but while insisting on having his motion put the knocking of black-rod was heard at the door, and the sergeant-at-arms appeared before the bar communicating the fact to Mr. Speaker. Then arose a general confusion, a dozen members endeavoured to make themselves beard 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. Mackenzie, 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 disgraceful 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-CONSERVATISM." 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 passage 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, but there always burnt in his breast the desire to be revenged on Mr. Hincks for having refused to him the attorney-generalship. As Speaker it was his duty to call attention to any infringement of constitutional usage by the government or the house, and he now saw the time at hand when he could take revenge on the premier. The governor sat on the vice-regal chair awaiting the appearance of the commons, and when the Speaker reached the bar put out his hand to the secretary for his 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: " May it please your Excellency,—It 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 parliament 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 parliamentary proceeeings by a decision of the legislative assembly of 174 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. 1841, 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 I feel called upon to assure your excellency, on the part of her majesty's faithful commons, that 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 was also read in the French language, and Mr. Fennings Taylor tells us that as his excellency listened to what he regarded as an act of censure upon his ministers and a reprimand to himself, his countenance displayed deep displeasure and annoyance. He recovered his calm, cool aspect very soon, however, and read a brief speech announcing an immediate dissolution of parliament. Political affairs had now reached a puzzling state. There were three parties in the field, the ministerialists, led by Mr. Hincks, the conservatives, by Sir Allan MacNab, and the clear grits, 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 newspapers 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 was led away by the delusion that BIRTH OF " LIBERAL-CONSERVATISM." 175 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 "engagement," 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 Globe. Like Fanny Squeers, he did not deem two parties to the engagement necessary. Because he was willing to form a compact with the conservatives he believed they were ready to coalesce with him. Mr. Brown may have been anxious to see a secularization of the reserves—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 count compared with the capture of his own " higher game," that he gave warm support in the 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 resisted his treatment. " That 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. MACDONALD. 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 as Macdonald, MacNab and Cayley, so by a suggestio falsi the writer tries to leave the impression that support was given only to some indifferent politicians who really might,—and this was a generous admission on the part of the writer!—be 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! " 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 statements 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 5 th 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 ii*l_Ll-L BIRTH OF "LIBERAL-CONSERVATISM." Ill there were three candidates, George E. Carrier, put forward by the ministry; John Sandfield Macdonald, by the clear grits, and Mr. Sicotte, by the Lower Canada opposition. When the governor-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. Carrier be speaker ? In reply, 62 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. It 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 the man who had read the rebuke to the government at the close of the last parliament should not grace the Speaker's chair. The clerk counted Mr. Sicotte's supporters, and was about to call for the nays, when Mr. Hincks, 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 elected. When the buzz was 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 confidence of the house, yet, Mr. Hincks argued, as the vote bad not been taken on a question of non-confidence, he need not resign till some other sign had been made. On the following © © o 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 nothing to be gained by 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 JOHN 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 were almost bursting with anxiety for several hours after it was learnt that the governor had called upon MacNab, expecting to be " waited on " and invited to enter the cabinet. But Mr. Brown was soon to find, like Fanny Squeers, that between himself and the conservatives there was no "engage- ment." A caucus of MacNab's party was held, at which John A. Macdonald was* the most prominent figure. He pointed out that the sentiments of the old tory party had been now outgrown 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 numbered 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 principle, and with much profit to the country, unite. The secularization 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 excitement had grown to a very high pitch, and every one who approached 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 I Wm. Cayley I Robert Spence - " John Ross - Attorney-General. Inspector-General. - Postmaster-General. Speaker Legislative Council. FOR CANADA EAST. Hon. A N. Morin - " L. T. Drummond " P. J. 0. Chaveau " E. P. Tache " J. Chabot - Commissioner of Crown Lands. Attorney-General. Provincial Secretary. Receiver-General. Commissioner of Public Works. This was the famous' MacNab-Morin government, the first liberal-conservative ministry formed in Canada, the combination in which were fused the staid and respectable liberal sentiment of the province, and the liberalized 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 baffled grits who set up a cry of rage when liberal and conservative sank a few imaginary differences, and blended into a party liberal 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 savagely assailed by the Globe." After parliament had met Mr. Macdonald 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, his support to a government which swept state- churchism away ought to follow as a matter of course. But it did hot. On the contrary, the new ministry was still " savagely assailed by the Globe." It was not, after all, state-churchism 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 unnatural 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' administration. 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 BIRTH 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 Kingston (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- O © nounced ! Could anything have happened which would have taken the people more by surprise?" The Globe in a calm mood made an estimate of the new ministry, and said of Mr. John A. Macdonald : "Then we have Mr. attorney-general Macdonald, the only man of any working qualities in the government, the 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 members of the Metcalfe cabinet, the opponent of responsible government ? Is he not known to hold the highest conserva-v 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 B^ni if f: 9 182 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. off 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 postmaster-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 Maidstone, Kent, England. He came of a distinguished and very ancient family which had for an ancestor Richard Head, baronet, in 1676. Edmund was educated at Oriel college, Oxford, where he took a first-class in classics, subsequently obtaining a fellowship in Mereton. Here he was appointed university examiner, and examined Lord Elgin, whom he was afterwards to succeed as governor-general of Canada, for a Mereton fellowship. An article of his published by the Foreign Quarterly Review, brought him to the notice of the marquis of Lands- do wne—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-commissioner. 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 commissioner 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 employment ; 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 183 184 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. )0<3 V i V seen by the r-ecord' 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 with the dignity and impartiality of the position he held. We shall see him, as we proceed, in trying places, and hear him loaded with reproach for doing his duty. But the snake may crawl i upon the spotless stone and cover it with slime, still the purity ^^Mof the marble will outlive the defilement. Through all the slander and malignant abuse heaped upon Sir Francis during the years immediately to follow, the character of the man assailed 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 O © 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. Morins 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 Lemieux became commissioner 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 Carrier, was chosen provincial secretary. For some time past it appears Mr. Macdonald had strongly admired Mr. Carrier, while the latter was drawn with an irresistible force towards the attorney-general-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 battle, but which, at least on the side of one, was shattered when both stood in the noonday of their fame, and after their greatest 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 TA CHErMA CD ONALD. 185 booming of cannon in the Crimea, and every noise increased the beat 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 to hurl against an invader. Not unreasonably the opposition inveighed against the measure, charging- the ministry with endeavouring to establish a standing army which they described as one of the greatest curses of a free country. The bill,passed, however, and remained in force for about eight years. It may be called the parent of our present militia system. The government were fiercely opposed by the clear grits, and notably by George Brown and his lieutenauts, William Lyon Mackenzie and John Sandfield Macdonald. Mr.. Hincks rendered loyal support to his 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 we 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 under discussion, instead of criticising where there is nothing to cen- 186 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. sure, 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 Windward 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 failed in its object. The mention of Rome was, at the time of which we are writing, to demagogues of George Brown's ©' © o o 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 Tuesday the 26 th 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 TA CHE-MA CD 0 NALD. 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 reformers 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 we have already stated, supported MacNab, Macdonald and Cayley before the election, and ferociously assailed them after the election, 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 grow 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 before to investigate abuses said to exist in the management of the provincial penitentjary at Kingston, falsified testimony, suborned convict witnesses, and obtained the pardon of murderers 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 remembered 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. censure, not indeed for having, as Mr. Mackenzie meanly alleges in his book, preferred them knowing the same to be false, and under the belief that a certain document which alone could exonerate Mr. Brown, had been burnt at the Montreal fire; but in allowing an opponent to provoke him into gravely making charges that had been substantiated only by rumour. Froni all that can be gathered he did not assert the wrong-doing as o © o having come within his personal knowledge, but repeated the charges in language of burning passion, and in the words employed by the lips of rumour. After Mr. Macdonald had taken his seat, Mr. Brown arose shivering with rage. He re- 7 © © pelled the charge in fierce words, said he had taken down the attorney-general's statements, and would hold him responsible for them. The house was too much excited to proceed with other work, and the scene in the legislature was the topic for knots of persons in the street after adjournment. On the following day, Mr. Brown moved for a committee of enquiry and during the discussion Mr. Macdonald expressed his regret at the occurrence of the previous day, but maintained that he had strong reasons then, and still, for believing that the charges he had preferred against the honourable member for Lambton were not without foundation; though, he repeated, he had not spoken from personal knowledge. The committee brought in a report which neither convicted nor exonerated Mr. Brown, and the house passed a motion setting forth that: "Attorney- general Macdonald appears to have acted under a firm conviction of the truth of the charges made against Mr. Brown, and © © ' to have been justified in doing so by all the evidence within his reach." Mr. Mackenzie displays a great deal of malice in writing about this event, and endeavours to show that not only Mri Brown's followers, but leading members of the government, reprobated the conduct of Mr. Macdonald. " It was remarkable " he says, "that one of Mr. Macdonald's colleagues, attorney- general Drummond, was candid enough to declare that there was no evidence criminating Mr. BrOwn. Sir Allan MacNab and TA CHE-MA CD ONALD. 189 other conservatives took similar ground and boldly stated their views." The truth of the matter is, both Sir Allan MacNab and Mr. Drummond were at this time hostile to Mr. Macdonald, and would lose no plausible opportunity to discredit him before the house. Sir Allan knew that the desire of all the cabinet members, save one or two, was to see Macdonald occupy the premier's seat; while Mr. Drummond had ambitions of his own, but saw that Macdonald was preferred before himself. Some time afterwards, when MacNab was forced out, and Col. Tache* called in his place, the question of leadership in the assembly arose between Macdonald and Drummond, and because the former was chosen the latter withdrew from the cabinet in high dudgeon. Another of Mr. Macdonald's quarrels during this session is worth recording. On a motion regarding the seat of government, Col. Rankin, who possessed an exasperating tongue, seemed disposed to create some tumult. About this time, stories of dissentions in the cabinet were on everybody's lip, and it was well understood that the government was sick of Sir Allan, and trying to be rid of him. As Col. Rankin proceeded with his speech it was evident that he was inspired by public rumour, and endeavouring to make his remarks as offensive as possible. He could not understand the course the government had pursued in the seat of government matter, he said. " If there was any point on which they ought to agree, he thought this ought to be one, and their not being able to take any decided course showed that they were unfit to hold office any longer. He was well aware that the tone of the remarks he was now making © was not consistent with the manner in which he had spoken of the ministry on some former occasions, but it would be remembered'that he had always maintained an independent position, and had never allowed himself to be described as a follower of the government; and though he had supported some of their measures, he never regarded them as men of a high order of talent: while anything of a complimentary nature which he 190 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. had said about them was well known to have been said in irony. He would still support such measures as he approved of regardless of the quarter whence they emanated. In looking at the conduct of the government lately, he could not help thinking of a certain exhibition in Trafalgar Square, called the ' happy family,' which consisted of a collection of animals naturally the most hostile to each other, but which had been taught to f. © appear before the public as the most harmonious in the world. But one could not help feeling that when the public eye was off them they would indulge in scratches and bites; and he thought the ministry were somewhat in the same position; for notwithstanding their professions of perfect harmony, no great question eame up on which they had not some difference of opinion; and he had no doubt that in private, like the happy family, they indulged in some of those contests of which the house sometimes saw the symptoms." He was proceeding with some general reflections in the same tone, on the conduct of ministers, when he was called to order by the speaker. He then said that a more fitting opportunity would probably occur before long, to discuss the merits of the ministry, and of that he would not fail to avail himself. He then moved that Toronto is a most desirable place at which to establish the permanent seat of government in Canada. When Col. Rankin ceased, Mr. John A. Madonald arose. He ridiculed the remains of the colonel who, he said, had been describing happy families and like exhibitions, with such wit and gusto as would lead people to imagine that he must have been a showman himself; but he had not said anything of various other exhibitions that had been seen in London, such as Ojib- beway Indians." He confessed, also, that he had gone so far as to compliment the government; but that had only been done in irony, and probably the motion he had just made was in irony too. He could not believe, however, that the hon. member was quite so bad as he had represented himself to be, and he thought that the remark must have been an after-thought, for the hon. TA CHE-MA CDONALD. 191 gentleman could never have been so insincere as to have voted on many occasions with the majority of the house contrary to his own convictions. These and other remarks which the newspaper reporters did not catch exasperated the colonel, and on attorney- general Macdonald taking his seat the former arose again and said he understood the attorney-general-west to allude to the exhibition of Ojibbeway Indians ; but that was a respectable affair compared with the exhibition of ravenous animals to which he had compared the ministry; for it was well known that they were all plotting and counter-plotting against each other. He had previously believed the ministry to be possessed, of the feelings of men of honour, but he found that there was among that ministry one person whom he could never regard with any feeling but that of unmitigated contempt. He never could regard with any other feeling any person who was guilty of a violation of truth. There was a person in the ministry whose conduct he could not describe in any language that would not be unparliamentary. The individual to whom he alluded was the attorney-general-west. When the speaker had proceeded thus far an uproar arose through the chamber, and the cries of order! order! alone © * were distinguished above the din. In the midst of the tumult the clock struck six and the house arose, while the personal friends of the belligerent members surrounded each to prevent a collision. After the speaker taking his place at nearly eight o'clock, he rose and said he thought it to be his duty to call the attention of the house to the possibility of a collision taking place between the two hon. members who were engaged in controversy when he left the chair; and he thought, in order to prevent anything unpleasant taking place, that both gentlemen should be put under the custody of the sergeant-at-arms. Mr. Chisholm said, if the language used by the hon. member for Essex, before the house adjourned, was to be permitted on the floor of that house, collisions would take place frequently, and he thought it right to call upon the hon. member offending 192 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. to retract those words; else they ought to be taken down. Neither of the hon. members was now present, and it became the house to vindicate its own privilege, and to send for the L>elligerents and place them in the custody of the sergeant-at- arms. The interval which had elapsed between the adjournment and now, should have led the hon. member for Essex to liave retracted. Mr. Murney deemed it right for any hon. member in the opposition to state what he pleased, in a political way, to the lion, gentleman on the other side, and to do as the hon. member for Essex (Rankin) had fairly done. How had that hon. member been met ? Why in a spirit of ridicule, and with the determination of insulting him. The Speaker said it was not right to increase the pain of the liouse 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 Ian* guage. To prevent further difficulty he must beg of the hon. member for Essex to retract the words he used. Mr. Murney 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 opposite, 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 controversy, 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, probably, 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 TACHE-MACDONALD. 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, and 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 MacNab and to have a " younger and more capable member " of the council in his place. The younger and more capable member, 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 sessions 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 pageant in the Tempest isle; saw the conservatives come again to power, and, now, through inferior leadership, 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 194 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. » in doing whatever they believed to 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. Macdonald in his place, and his anger knew no bounds.: When the paroxysm of his disease was over, he reviewed the condition of affairs, 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 conspirator colleagues,but of that of the governor. He even fancied that he might be able to dispense with the cabal altogether, and rally around him other men who would have sufficient following 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 bitter 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. He 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 o© 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, Robert 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 CD ONALD. 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 the 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 parliament 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 the 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 standing, 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 administered." 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 to the 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- 196 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 investigated at much public sacrifice, they were not willing that the liberal-conservative ministry should give place to clear-gritism and newspaper tyranny; and when the motion of non-confidence was put they sustained the government. It is scarcely necessary to add that the governor did not produce judge Duval's address, for the good reason that it was not in his possession, and could not even be assumed to exist; while, if it did exist, he had not the power to compel its production. The 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 legislative council. Thisaction 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 accomplished 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 conservative elements of the ministry. 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 councillor 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 " 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 legislative 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 government and other important questions disappointed the expectations of a majority of the people. The motion was defeated by a vote of seventy to forty-seven; but an analysis showed thirty-three Upper Canada members to be 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 distinctly 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 government, despite the protestations of Sir Allan, who was " tortured 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 unfortunate 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 198 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. ill but resignation was open to himself and his colleagues from Upper Canada. Thus the albatross dropped off, and the government 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 Cassius 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 believe 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 Tache*, president of the legislative council, he being the senior member 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, believing that the fabric would fall when such a pillar as he had withdrawn its support. Mr. Carrier, the late provincial secretary, became attorney-general-east in the place of Mr. Drummond ; Mr. Philip Yankoughnet, 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 TA CHE -MA CD ONALD. 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 explanations 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 years, and during all that period I have not been so long absent as during this session. I think the o o people of this country will receive that from a man of my age as sufficient excuse." He would be ready, he assured the house, to meet the ministers on the following Monday to make certain becoming statements, and he would appeal to the people for a verdict on the course he 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 fit for little else." There is something touching in the spectacle of an old man bowed with time and pain, telling those gathered around him, some full of high 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 instability 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. P haps, he was no longer useful and only fit to die. It is not, however, 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, " 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 so 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 never to bloom again, we find ourselves in a world where tears and sentiment will not satisfy the demands of duty; where the fittest survives, 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 provided 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 civilized 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 TA CHE-MA CD ONALD. 201 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 Thermopjdas, and of Horatius at the Bridge. The treaty of peace 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 of every nation, are formally and in perpetuity interdicted to the flag of war either of the powers possessing its coast or any other power." There was an exception by which each pQwer 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 thrown open, and the rule was confirmed prohibiting 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 were among the most 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, predicted that the results would maintain peace in Eastern Europe for " probably twenty-five years." It was not a bad forecast. Just twenty-two years later the clangour of arms was heard there again. CHAPTER XIII. THE DOUBLE 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 great, unknown North-west. Several wise newspapers and public speakers ridiculed the ardour shown about " desolate regions of snow 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 possession of the company's territory, and to this end, at the suggestion 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 manner 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, however, had grown up of late, a not engrossing question it is true when first discussed, yet like the little cloud, that, in the beginning 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 hustings, and discussed with 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 desk 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 the 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 expressed 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 embarrass 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 government diverged. This, perhaps, is as proper a place as anywhere 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 of his contemporaries. He con- 204 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. tinued 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, he went to the hustings declaring that above all things ' © © © he wanted secularization, and would form any alliance, or support any candidate, to effect that object; but when the election was done, because his overtures for alliance were rejected, he thwarted in every possible way the administration which accomplished the legislation for which he had been crying out, a ministry which at a bound placed itself abreast of public opinion. The government saw the danger to its own existence in enter- taming Brown's latest proposition, but attorney-general Macdonald did not hesitate to inform Col. Tache* that the time was fast coming when it would be the duty of his Upper Canadian 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 prejudiced hy maintaining the representation scale fixed by the union ; but he was resolved when " the time was ripe "—an expression 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 bis will, but to do ours: we do not depend upon his talent to devise out of his own consciousness 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 DOUBLE SHUFFLE. 205 for him on every subject from killing potato-bugs to voting on the National Policy. With the spread of the habit of independent 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 shed 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 veterinary 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 inducing him to drink. If the statesman have his duty, so we believe has the journalist. That duty is to give the public facts, not to give them inferences; to keep a record of the births of busy time, not to fill his pages with distortions. Give the people the facts; trust to their having sufficient .ability to come to proper conclusions. If the Hon. Edward Blake gave forty dollars to the Muskoka sufferers, and David Mills gave them thirty dollars, depend upon the public concluding that the joint donation reached just seventy dollars. There is no use in the tory editor saying that the " miserable contribution 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 arbitration. The clear grits raised a howl against submitting " a 206 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. question of purely local concern to the decision of her majesty," and contended that such an act " outraged the spirit of responsible 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, as the reference of the dispute about the New Brunswick boundary to the king of the Netherlands. The ministry was now, as ministries always are and always will be, held responsible for the reaction in trade caused by j lavish expenditure during the period of unwholesome business. activity attending the war, and the failure of the crops throughout the country. Some of the ministers began to grow uneasy, but the hand of Macdonald was at the helm, though Mr. Tache'- was the nominal commander, and he steered the ship steadily > through the reefs. Late in the autumn of 1857 Mr. Terril re- © signed to give his attention to private affairs, and his place was filled by M. Jacques Loranger. On the 25th of November Col. Tach6, 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 Carrier 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 government took the reins. Two days later parliament was dissolved, and the parties went to the hustings, the clear grits with two shibboleths, " Non-sectarian Schools," and " Representation. by Population." The ministry took ground that these questions were not then expedient, and as a result lost in the contest 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 representation by population, though not so zealously as some of our historians state, returned an overwhelming body of ministerialists. Among the new members elected to parliament, the most conspicuous were Thomas D'Arcy McGee, 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 thi s^- condition was due to the announcement that, on the recommendation of hon. John A. Macdonald and his colleagues, Ottawa,— which in these later years has been styled by Bystander?. " an Arctic lumber village "—was chosen as the capital. In this, selection the government had evidently defeated their opponents, though the result was not to be seen for some time to 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 ministry was supported by a considerable majority of the house, it was in a minority in the Upper Canada section. Mr. Joseph Thibaudeau, member for Portneuf, brought in a motion affirming the principle of double majorities, but it was met by the almost 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 motion was Hector Langevin, the member for Dorchester. We • say this is strange in view of the great statesmanship Mr. Langevin has always displayed through the brilliant and masterly career which has ever since been his. 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, Piche* and others. After. an animated discussion,.Mr. Pich^'s amendment, setting forth. 208 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. that, " It is the opinion of this house that the city of Ottawa ought not to be the permanent seat of government for the province," was carried by a vote of sixty-four to fifty. Before the word " carried " had left tiie 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. " The house " he said, as soon as the cheering ceased, " can have no doubt that the motion just carried expressed an emphatic disapproval of the government policy; and in order to prove that it means just this, I now move an adjournment of the house." The premier arose perfectly cool, and informed members that he was glad to accept the challenge of the leader of the opposition. "Let the vote on adjournment" he said, with 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 reins 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 opposition by resigning. The motion carried 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 enduring 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 sustained 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 O © © 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 Piche"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 Edmund Head wrote to George Brown : * * " His excellency feels it right to have recourse to you as the most prominent member 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- "' Buy me the captain's commission, mother," said the son in the beleagured city. " The soldiers will be over the wall to-morrow 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 communication, 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-decamp waited on Mr. Brown and delivered to him a memorandum, which the governor-general desired him to submit to his proposed colleagues. This memorandum stated that his excellency gave "no pledge or promise, express or implied, with reference to the dissolving of parliament," a condition for which Mr. Brown strongly pressed the governor at a previous interview, receiving the same 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 registration 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 absolutely necessary should be provided for by a vote of credit, and the money for the repairs of canals, which cannot be postponed, 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 itself." Mr. Brown, as we have seen, had been requested by his excellency to lay the memorandum before his proposed colleagues, 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 complained 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 incoming ministry into his confidence for some sinister purpose. Mr. Brown may not have known the duty of one gentleman towards 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 " 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 were as follows:— FOR CANADA WEST. Hon. George Brown - - Premier and Insp. General. " J. S. Macdonald ----- Attorney-General. " Jas. Morris - - - Speaker Legislative Council. " Oliver Mowat - Provincial Secretary I M. H. Foley ----- Postmaster-General. 1 S. Connor ------ Solicitor-General. FOR CANADA EAST. Hon. A. A. Dorion - - Commissioner of Crown Lands. " L. T. Drummond ----- Attorney-General. " J. E. Thibaudeau - - - - Pres. of the Council. I L. H. Holton - - Commissioner Public Works. I F. Lemieux ------ Receiver-General. I 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 212 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. that parliament should be prorogued at an early day. Explanations 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 contrarieties, and there was not the shadow of a possibility that the administration could evolve a policy within a day, or a week, or a month. The house was not pleased that it should have been asked to vote for the new ministry blindfold. A statement of policy in the most general way would have induced it to extend the ordinary courtesies. 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, must, at the same time, state that the administration, the formation of which has created this vacancy, does not possess the confidence of this house and of the country." This amendment was seconded by Mr. John Beverley Robinson, son of the chief justice of Upper Canada. A fierce debate began and continued till midnight, when the ministry was defeated by a majority of forty votes. Thus was the fair fruit which the reckless premier 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 parliamentary 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 customs 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, deserved 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 Maekenzies. " 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-mastering mania with the man. He resigned, and let him go in. © © * © The parliament indignantly turned him out again. We presume, 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-confidence 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 requested 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 unique, we venture to say, in constitutional literature. One of 214 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Ill 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 some years past strong sectional feelings have arisen in the country, which, especially during the present session, have seriously impeded the carrying on of the administrative and legislative functions of the government. The late administration made no attempt to meet these difficulties or to suggest a remedj* for them, and thereby the evil has been greatly aggravated. His excellency's present advisers have entered the government with the fixed determination to propose constitutional measures for the establishment of that harmony between Upper and 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 constitutionally extend to them in the prosecution of this all important 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 follows : " The unprecedented and unparliamentary course pursued by the house of assembly—which, immediately after having by their vote compelled the late ministry to retire, proceeded 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 excellency, among others, gives the following replies: " 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 he owes to any one party, or to all parties whatsoever. The question for his excellency to decide is not,' what is advantageous or fair for a particular party ?' but what upon the whole, is the most advantageous and fair for the people of the province. The resignation 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 had 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." 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 answered the wail made about the legislature voting the want of confidence, an answer all the more effective, because made in reply to a man who boasted of being the advocate of the supremacy 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-general 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. His excellency has 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 estimates, and two bills, at least, of great importance, are still before the legislative assembly, irrespective of the private business. " 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 portion 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 DOUBLE SHUFFLE. 217 ize an appeal to the people, and thereby retain their services in the council. I (1.) The corruption and bribery alleged to have been practised 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 Upper 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 be asked what assurance can his excellency have that a new election, 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 stritgent, and the precautions against such evils- shall have been increased by the wisdom of parliament. Until this is done, the speedy recurrence of the opportunity of practising 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 Upper and Lower Canada, and the ultimate danger of such feelings to the union, is one of a very grave 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 propositions are true, but, unless they are established to his excellency's complete satisfaction, the mere existence of the mischief is nob- 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 declined to grant a dissolution. We need not refer to the plea recapitulated under "(1.)" as the governor thoroughly illustrates its absurdity; but the contention of " (2.)," in which dissolution is urged on the ground that" bitter sectional feeling exists between Upper and Lower •Canada," and that George Brown should be given an opportunity to establish peace and unity there, can scarcely be regarded in a serious light, when we remember that the breach between the two sections 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. Mackenzie'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 presuppose 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 DOUBLE 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 impediment should be thrown in the way of his new advisers getting fair play in submitting 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 f to see that no impediment " should be thrown in the way. Would he have the governor go down like the tyrant Charles, to muzzle the legislature ? If the language does not mean this, it means nothing. His other point, and these are the only two he offers, outside of the slanders he scatters through his pages, is that the governor should have granted a dissolution to Brown because O © 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 excellency 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 6 the governor-general gives no pledge or promise express or implied, 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 offer of office " rushed to glory " reckless of consequences. As a party driver he may have depended on his power of bullying 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 out of parliament. As to the governor's conduct throughout the affair, no impartial man will say that it was not beyond reproach, while we cannot doubt with Bystander, that "hatred of what might be deemed 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 gentlemanhad occupied solitary ground, allying himself to neither party, and was without a following. He declined the governor'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. Cayley and Loranger were left out and Messrs. Gait and Sherwood 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, attorney-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 proposed ministers was held after the personnel of the cabinet had been decided upon, and it was then mooted, that, under the section 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 6th instant, becoming inspector-general; Mr. Macdonald, postmaster-general ; Mr. Alleyn, provincial-secretary; Mr. Sicotte, commissioner 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 " P. M. Vankoughnet " John Ross - - - - " Sidney Smith - - " George Sherwood - - - Attorney-General. ■ - Com. Crown Lands. President of the Council. - Postmaster-General. - - Receiver- General. FOR CANADA EAST. Hon. George E. Cartier - Premier and Attorney General. " A. T. Galt - - Inspector-General. " L. V. Sicotte - - - - Minister Public Works. 41 N. F. Belleau - - Speaker Legislative Council. " Charles Alleyn - - - - Provincial Secretary. 222 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Thus it will be seen that the new ministry evaded the responsibility of going back for election by accepting within a month other offices than those held at the time of resignation. This was,the expedient that has been since known as the " double shuffle." The laws of the land with their technicalities, 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 as a disgraceful trick in a council chamber. Once more, technicalities may be the excrescences of law, but if the writer of " The Last Forty Years " sued his friend to recover 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 retaining © their seats by virtue of a technicality, and, after due condemnation, utters a"sigh, and "dismisses the subject from bis pages." If we are not mistaken two cases, almost similar to this, occurred not so very long ago in England. In 1839 Lord Melbourne introduced his Jamaica BUI, 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 every one remembers the " question of the petticoats " stood in his way—he could not rule with Lady Normanby—and he had to fall back into private membership. Her Majesty at the advioe of Lord John Russell called on Melbourne again, 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 government suddenly found themselves defeated on their Irish University 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. 225 tuted; 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; yet 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 in Canada, 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 technicality 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 during the session passed a number of important measures. Since a quietus had been given to the question of double majorities, a desire for representation by population had taken deep root in Upper Canada. The question of " Protection to Home Industries," as a direct issue, came up for the first time during the session 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 year 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 politician of stainless name, Robert Baldwin, passed to his rest. CHAPTER XIV. TRANSITION. "IITHILE Canada was struggling for responsible government, T T reformers were engaged in a similar conflict in the maritime 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 control of crown lands and timber by a commissioner responsible only to the imperial government. This official received a handsome salary, sold the lands according to his caprice, retained fees and perquisites, and defied the house 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 house, 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 haughtily 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 -Shnonds and E. B. Chandler were then deputed to go to England and press upon the colonial secretary the necessity and iustice of handing over the crown lands to the control of the legislature. As a result of the mission, Lord Stanley, the following 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 timber, but the governor presented a mere general statement, again baffling 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 officials. The decision of the home government went sorely against the grain of the governor, Sir Archibald Campbell, and he 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 beyond popular control. The governor was a soldier, and his whole being, was pervaded by the military instinct. He regarded the people much as he looked upon the troops under Bis 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 government 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 1848, 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 o 226 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 appointments, 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 Newfoundland, 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 proposition 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 resolution 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 both 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 confederation. 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 important measures of the session was the adoption of a "national policy." Mr. Gait, the inspector-general, introduced the resolution, 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 "FinanceMinister," 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 228 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Victoria Bridge across the St. Lawrence river at Montreal. Bridge-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. We may as well state here the result. Her majesty could not leave the seat of empire, much as it would have pleased her to be present at the opening of a bridge in Canada, but she generously resolved* to send her son, Albert Edward, then in his nineteenth year, and up to this time having a good character—so far as the public knew—to be present at the event. It is true it was a sacrifice, greater than any reader of this book can imagine, for the prince to undertake a journey out to this rough country, but so great was the regard for the welfare of the colonies that he shut his eyes to the hardships and came. We shall tell in a paragraph in its proper place all that it is necessary for the reader to know about the visit. After the close 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 Ottawa, 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, now making rapid strides forward 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 rapturously 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 denunciation 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, but the general opinion was that such a measure was so beset with difficulties that it could not be accomplished within several years, if at all, and, that, meanwhile, crying evils in Upper Canada demanded an immediate remedy. Some minor reformers sniffed upon the breeze a faint taint of treason, and opposed the resolutions of the convention; while John Sandfield Macdonald withdrew, expressing his decided disapproval of any measures that aimed to make inroads upon the constitution. In Montreal Messrs. Drummond, McGee, Dorion, 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 annoyance to the government, was the appointment of Mr. Joseph Curran Morrison to the office of solicitor-general-west, which position he retained from February, 1860, to March, 1862, though in the meantime he had no seat in either branch of the © legislature. There were men at the time, having the parliamentary qualifications, equally as capable to fill the office as Mr. Morrison, but the personal friendship of Mr. John A. Macdonald overcame all obstacles, and the censure of the opposi- 230 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. tion press. 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. If Macdonald owed a duty to friendship, so too did Morrison; and the duty of the latter was not to enter the cabinet, or, having entered 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 as was the custom in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, was 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 entitled to a share of the credit. The government was sus- tained by majorities obtained from the Lower Canada members, 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 refused any longer to follow Brown's lead; others became disgusted 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 leadership 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 TRANSITION. 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 jurisdiction 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 the 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 32. As this was a black-letter year in Canadian annals, the famous 1860, during which a prince of the reigning house, and the heir apparent to the British throne and dominions, was to visit Canada, the legislature prorogued in May, with the understanding that it was to meet again 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 hurling 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 bound 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 kingdom, 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 disencumbered of flesh, and framed of spirit and ether, who held the winds and the lightnings in his hands, and who in battle plucked up the hills by their wooded crowns and hurled them at the foe. There was no similarity in 1860 between Zeus and Albert Edward, nor has any appeared since—unless it be in their morals. In July the Hero, bearing the prince and his suite, and followed by a fleet of war vessels, arrived off those grim cliffs of Newfoundland, that rise like cold, haughty Titans out of the never-resting sea. The cormorant, and the guillemot, and the ticklace, 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 procession, bearing the body, passed, but gave no other sign. The convoy sail sheer for the steep when, suddenly, the adamant cliff 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 hill-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 committees 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 gentleman sailed for Halifax, and thence proceeded to St. John and Fredericton, N. B., in all of which cities he was honoured to TRANSITION. 233J 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 legislature 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 Henry 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 accomplished the task for which he came over here. He laid the keystone of the arch of Victoria Bridge, and fastened the last of a million rivets. Some mothers had babes afflicted 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 he was not yet a king; that only the king or the queen had the " virtue in the hand." A week after the prince had finished Victoria Bridge he laid the foundation stone of the proposed parliament buildings at Ottawa. He did not, we must say to his credit, ridicule the day's operations to his guardian when they were both alone in the evening, like a near ancestor of h*is, who, having performed a similar task, said contemptuously to some of his suite that he was " tired of this ditch digging." The prince then made a progress through the western, portion of the province, visiting the chief towns and cities in the route. The populace was giddy with excitement, and each city tried to outdo its neighbour in' rearing arches and flaunting welcome-legends. The Orangemen of Kingston, Belleville, 234. LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. and Toronto exhumed the cerements of the Orange king, and hung them on arches, but, in the latter city, the regal party turned their horses' heads and proceeded by another street. The Duke of Newcastle declared that he would lend no countenance to displays of party that were not conducive to the public peace and good-will. The Orangemen took bitter revenge on the duke, for they burnt himself and the governor- general that night on Colborne street. The fuel, however, was only effigies. Before setting out for Canada the hospitalities of the republic were offered the Queen for her son by President Buchanan, should he choose to pay a visit to the United States. After the Canadian visit had ended, the prince and his suite accepted the president's invitation, and the reception met everywhere in the republic was so cordial that the Duke of Newcastle declared that the visit did more to cement a hearty feeling between the two countries than half a century of diplomacy. 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 Canada, 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 " busy holding his own party together, than keeping his opponents 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 session, while some ministers sat smoking in the council chamber: " John Sandfield is at last in our service; he is now on Brown's track."1 It must not be understood that there was any collusion between the two Macdonalds, nor is it. above question that the attorney-general-west was responsible for some of the discords among the reformers attributed to his " machinations." His readiness in penetrating the situation of his opponents, and his accuracy in forcasting their movements, often led less powerful observers to believe that he had originated the discords he foretold. Notwithstanding the tact and finesse 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 covernment in © power, and that man was George Brown. "If anything should happen to Brown," Macdonald used frequently to say jocosely, though the joke was pregnant of truth, "the government would be done for." The movement to which we have already referred, 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 © O © 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. MACDONALD. Cartier changed colour when he learnt that Messieurs Sicotte © and Loranger had forsaken him and leagued themselves with John Sandfield Macdonald. Mr. Dorion, to whom the friendship of George Brown was as the upas shade, was removed from the 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 " to the religion, the institutions, and the very existence of the French people." Yet Mr. Brown wanted to heal" sectional differences " between the two provinces ; and Alexander Mackenzie says Sir Edmund Head was guilty of treachery in not giving Mr. Brown an opportunity to do what he intended. A few weeks before the opening of the session, a census had been taken, which showed that the population of Upper Canada was 300,000 in excess of that of Lower Canada, though twenty years before, at the formation of the union, the population of the lower province exceeded that of the upper by 200,000. The logic of these figures, in the contest for representation by population, was irresistible, though Mr. Cartier resisted the measure with a fervour that seemed like ferocity, and vowed that he would never consent to a change which aimed to sacrifice the interests of his section of the province. Mr. Cartier has been censured for taking this attitude by several writers, who view the question from their own peculiar ground and the present time; and one of these tells us in referring to Mr. Cartier, that " on this particular question .... the lawyer and the sectionalist were seen everywhere, the statesman and the Canadian nowhere." * The writer of this assertion ought to have remembered that union was not granted to Lower Canada, but forced upon her; and that by the terms of union she was allotted only as many members as Upper Canada, though her population exceeded the latter's by 200,000, at a time, when, to all observers, the possibilities of increase in the upper province were no Dent: " Portrait Gallery." TRANSITION. 237 greater than those of the lower. But while this might have © ° served as a justifiable excuse for the ground taken by Lower- Canada statesmen in opposing the demand for increased representation for the upper province, because the population of the latter exceeded that of her partner by 30 0,000, there was a reason overshadowing this why no alteration should be made, a reason that also absolves Mr. John A. Macdonald and his Upper Canada colleagues from the imputation of disloyalty to their own section by supporting the position of Mr. Cartier. The very virtue of the union consisted in the equality of political power held by each section of the united province; whereas, the moment that balance was destroyed, a larger representation given to one portion of the province than to the other, the virtue departed, and one section became bound neck and heel to the will of the greater forever. There were two ways by which justice could be done to one and both : these were union on terms of equality, or separation. There was one other alternative, but it lay far in the back ground, and that the plan of giving to each section a parliament to deal with its local affairs, and the establishment of a supreme legislature, with jurisdiction over such measures as were common to both. But so long as the union was maintained, and the wisdom of the connection under the circumstances no one is blind enough to © believe, it was the duty of Mr. Cartier and of John A. Macdonald, and of every man to whom justice was dearer than any interest, even the interest of their own section, to resist the scheme for the adjustment of representation by population, though the inhabitants of Ontario exceeded those of Quebec by two to one. Yet the people of the upper province whose minds were excited by demagogues, were not in a mood to do justice; and on the eve of the elections, which took place in the summer, it was evident that the ministry would have difficulty in breasting the current. Among several other charges brought against the administration on trial before the constituencies, was that of having kept Mr. Joseph Morrison in the council 233 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. despite the fierce remonstrances of the house, and the bitter, but reasonable, censure of the reform press. The action of Mr. Macdonald in retaining Mr. Morrison in the ministry, for wre believe the action to have been his, passes our understanding, and seems like the infatuation that has sometimes led sovereigns to retain favourite ministers against the will of the nation, though, through their obstinacy, 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 one of the desks. The figures of Henri Gustave Joly and Henry Elezear Taschereau were likewise seen there for the first time. Mackenzie represented Lambton. In 1842, being then in his twentieth year, he came from Perthshire, Scotland, to Canada, and settled at Kingston; but removed thence five years later, to the neighbourhood of Sarnia where he plied the trade of a stone mason, and engaged in large building operations. It soon became apparent that he was a man of superior ability—though self-made—of untiring industry, and that he possessed a character of the highest integrity. He was a pronounced reformer from the time of his settlement in Canada, and seemed to be drawn towards George Brown, who was like himself of humble origin, and a Scotchman. For a time Mr. Mackenzie edited a reform newspaper in Sarnia, and in 1861, when his brother, Mr. Hope F. Mackenzie decided not to again become a candidate for Lambton, which he lately re- presented, Alexander appeared, and, as we have seen, was successful. We shall find a good deal more to say of Mr. Mackenzie, who is not our ideal of a statesman—(but who certainly TRANSITION. 239 makes a better statesman than a historian) as our story progresses, and shall not anticipate. In October ^Sir Edmund Head set out for England, his term of administration having expired. A wrecked ambition never lacks malevolence towards the rock on which it finds disaster. It was no wonder then that the Globe pelted the departing viceroy with every missile at its hand. But through all the turmoil of party strife, the governor, if we have read the records aright, did his duty with resolute and dignified judgment; although he refused to do an act which was inexpedient, untimely and improper merely because it would forward George Brown's ambition. There may have been better governors in Canada than Sir Edmund Head, but we are unable to discern -any errors of judgment in his administration; or the trace of any act that shows he did not strive to the fullest of his powers to do his duty. Despite the slanders of the Globe, and the •biting malice of Alexander Mackenzie, he appears to all impartial readers of Canadian history as an honest man. Sir Edmund's successor to the governorship was Lord Monck, who reached Quebec, in October, 1861. The new governor, the fourth viscount of Monck, was born at Templemore, in the County of Tipperary, Ireland, in 1819. He was a descendant of the Le Moynes, an ancient and honourable Norman family. He was called to the Irish bar and sat in the commons for some years as a representative for the English constituency of Portsmouth. Under the Palmerston administration he was appointed lord of the treasury, and was a respectable, though not a brilliant, figure in the government. In 1857 he failed to secure reelection, and dropped out of public life till his appointment to the governorship of Canada. The new governor reached us at a tinie when there were forebodings, on the American continent, of the mightiest civil war that the world has ever seen. The presidential contest in the United States during the preceding year had been attended with public excitement strained to the highest pitch, and had resulted in the 240 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. -election of Abraham Lincoln, a noted republican and an uncompromising enemy to slavery. The causes of hostility between the north and south were the questions of slavery and of trade. The great bulk of southern wealth consisted of large plantations tilled by negro slaves, who were driven and -whipped like beasts. Upon these plantations grew cotton, to- 'bacco and rice, which the planters sent to the north, or exported to the great markets of Europe. The abolition of slavery -would deprive the plantation owner of the cheap labour of the ■slaves, while the establishment of a protective policy would bring a tax-burthen without any benefit, as the commerce of the South consisted in the products of the plantations, which were ■exported raw, while manufacturing formed but a small factor of trade. On the 20th of December, 1861, a day well remembered 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 confederacy 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, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana.Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Arkansas, and Eastern Virginia, also seceded, and constituted themselves into a separate republic under the presidency of Jefferson Davis. The population of the union before the secession was about 31,000,000; the population of the Southern Confederacy 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 sword. 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 supposing that one swallow makes a summer; that the triumph of the Charleston guns meant victory and stability for the southern confederacy. The proclamation may have only been the faux pas of a stupid minister, though this view is hardly tenable, 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 armed" 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 overestimated the importance of the prince's visit to the United States. The imperial government, in many ways, had unwisely permitted the world to see its hostility to the north and friendship for the south; while a large portion of the Canadian public, dutif ulLy, though not less rashly and stupidly, reechoed the sentiment of the mother-land. We presume there is some code of honour among nations as well as men ; but it is hard to see by what code went Great Britain in conniving at the independence of a body of rebels, and in regarding citizens of a sovereign 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 flag 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 242 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. again 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 indiscreet sympathy with the rebellion. Hot-headed republicans stood 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, 1861, the British mail-steamer, Trent, was pursuing her way in the Bahama channel, one morning, with mails and passengers, when an American ship of war, San Jacinto, cannon scowling through her port-holes, bore down, fired a shot across the steamer's bows, and putting out boats swarming with blue jackets, armed to the teeth, took forcible possession of two passengers, Mason and SUddeL southern commissioners, 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 demanded 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, President 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 Brunswick, the cloud had blown over, though an intense feeling of hostility existed in the northern states towards Canada. Invasion 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 Canadian 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 recreation. While we were preparing to resist an invasion, we were 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 hospitality to southern rebels, who harassed American settlements 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-preservation rather than extreme solicitation about a sovereign two thousand miles beyond the reach of American bullets, dictated the attitude of Canadians. Once for all, let us say, that should an enemy, be he ever so insignificant 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 sakes; 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 recommended the reorganization of the Canadian Militia, and attorney-general Macdonald set 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 interests of his own section, and to have niaintained a league with the 244 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 followers; 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 was invited cordially, nay entreated, to visit their towns and cities. He consented, and made what may be "called, without exaggeration, a triumphal tour through Toronto, Hamilton, London, Simcoe, Brantford, Dunnville, St. Thomas, Guelph, St. Catharines, Belleville, and a number of other lesser towns, at each of which he addressed large assemblages. All were captivated by the address of the man, and won over by his 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 province. 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 assuming 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 freemen, 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 us subject 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- ership of crown lands, and John Carling succeeded him in the receiver-generalship. Mr. John Beverley Robinson, a lawyer with a clear and well-balanced head, took the presidency of the council; and James Paton, whose lucky star was John A. Macdonald's friendship, became solicitor-general. These new members of the ministry were favourable to representation by population, but the question was left an open one in the cabinet. Mr. Robinson was re-elected for Toronto West, and Mr. Carling for London, but Mr. Paton who represented the Saugeen division 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 constitution. . 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 indiscreet drivership of George Brown, in detached eddies, but, powerfully, as a unit. A vote was taken on a resolution virtually 24< 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 administration. 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 several large amounts not authorized by parliament, and yet the structure was not half completed. Affairs in the department of public works, at the head of which was Mr. Rose, were 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 responsible, 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 introduced his Militia bill, a measure that made ample provision to resist invasion, but which would have required an expenditure 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 followers, 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 Sandfield 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 membership so sorely puzzled the Duke of Wellington. There were FOR CANADA WEST : Hon. John Sandfield Macdonald Premier and Att-Gen. W. P. Howland M. H. Foley - Adam Wilson - James Morris W. McDougall - Minister of Finance. - Postmaster-General. - - - Solicitor-General. Receiver-General. Commissioner of Crown Lands. FOR CANADA EAST : Hon. V. Sicotte - " A A. Dorion - " J. J. C. Abbott " T. D'Arcy McGee " N. J. Tessier Attorney-General. Provincial Secretary. Solicitor-General. President of the Council. Commissioner of Public Works. Francois Evanturel 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 admitted, 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 the 248 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Augean stables, a complete system of "retrenchment,"—that word which has covered more extravagance since the establishment of legislatures than any other expression known to our English tongue—was to be inaugurated; a most searching investigation 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 of Works office, was to be made; and the government pledged itself to abide by the decision of Her Majesty with reference to the seat of government, though the greater portion of the new ministry's timber had signalized themselves particularly by opposition to the choice of Ottawa by the sovereign, and had made the question the basis of non-confidence motions against 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 other 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 speaking, 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 coldness 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 willing 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. 249» and chosen Macdonald in his stead; now in his rage and disappointment 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, him 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 conjectured himself, was regarded in England as a measure of the- practical loyalty of Canadians. The Times which had, on several previous occasions, displayed its coloniphobia, if we may be permitted to coin that word, led off by a rebuke to Canadians, which was taken up by a multitude of the minor newspapers, who declared that we were an assemblage of greedy self-seekers, without gratitude or loyalty, or even the instinct, common to the animal, of self-defence. One organ urged the British government to " shake off the unprofitable colonies " and leave 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 assisting them to procure defences that they intended to do, and that it now rested with the colonists to do the remainder themselves,, or to " disgrace the stock from which they sprang." At a dinner in Montreal, Lord Monck feebly reechoed the imperial sentiment,' preferring to trust the impressions of the home ministry and an uninformed press to the facts of the case which were- plaih to every Canadian. Mr. John A. Macdonald's bill was an admirable measure, but the house weighed the cost of the scheme against the danger of invasion, and rejected it. It was- not true, though Lord Palmerston and the British press seem to* 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 the French-Canadian members among whom a threat of invasion created no serious panic, and who, if the truth could be known, cared very little, since their destiny was that of a conquered people, whether their masters were republican English or monarchical English. But in Mr. Macdonald's measure all the British spirit, all the loyalty to Canadian welfare found expression, 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-general's means for defence, than it was brought about by disarming resistance at such a critical time. *' 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- mess fail to provoke disaster, it often becomes triumphant jus- itification. 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 almost 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 .sey*n of the Upper Canada representatives. TRANSITION. 251 eagles, sold his best team from the plough. Warned by the results of over speculation during the Crimean war, the community 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 MacNab, 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 legislative council, was filled by Mr., now Sir Alexander, Campbell, a popular and clear-headed Kingston lawyer, who, as we have seen, studied law many years previously in the office of Mr. John A. Macdonald, and had subsequently been in a legal partnership with that gentleman. Parliament met on the 12th of February. The government now, to use the phrase of the ex-attorney-general-west, had u lived long enough." Enemies began to arise in every quarter and South Oxford had just sent a pest in the person of George Brown. He was full of the accumulated energy of two years, and at once savagely assailed his rival, John Sandfield Macdonald, for infidelity to the principles of non-sectarian schools, and representation by population. A small but bellicose band of clear grits rallied around their tyrannical chief, and threw themselves in with the liberal-conservatives whenever the latter assaulted the ministry. It will be remembered that the premier took office affirming the double majority principle, yet, when a large majority of the Upper Canada section voted against his school measure, he refused to resign. Early in May, John A. Macdonald informed his party that he had decided to move a want of confidence in the ministry. Some prominent liberal- conservatives did not approve of the step, but counselled delay till further defection took place in the ministerial side ; but the ex-attorney-general-west assured them that he was certain of a majority, and pointed out that there was no object in further delay. Two days later he rose in his place and moved a direct non-confidence motion. John Sandfield's eyes twinkled ner- 252 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. ' vously, but he assumed a bold air, and sat upright at his desk^ He knew his government had received the grave censure of those from whom it ought to have looked for support, but he did not believe that the majority was willing that he should be hurled from power, John Sandfield's glance was quick, and, as far as it went, took an accurate survey of things; but in this case, as in many others, he argued upon sentiment, while his more astute rival concluded from fact. The ministry was defeated by a majority of five votes. The premier hastened to the governor and asked for a prorogation with a view to dissolution, which was granted. The dissolution followed immediately, and the election writs were made returnable in July. In Upper Canada, the result of the election showed some important gains to the ministry, but this was balanced by fully as many losses in the lower province. After much shuffling in the cabinet, and the total foundering of the Lower Canada section, on the 12th of August, a new administration was formed as follows :— FOR CANADA EAST. Hon. A. A. Dorion " Isidore Thibaudeau " L. H. Holton " L. Letellier de St. Just " L. S. Huntington " Maurice Laframboise Attorney-General. Presdt. Council. - Minister of Finance. Min. of Agriculture. Solicitor-General. Comr. Public Works. FOR CANADA WEST. Hon. J. S. Macdonald " W. McDougall - " A. J. Fergusson-Blair J W. P. HOWLAND " Oliver Mowat - - Premier and Att-Gen. - Com. Crown Lands. Provincial-Secretary. Receiver-General. Postmaster-General. Jt was a favourite practice with John Sandfield Macdonald, whenever the ship became unmanageable, to pitch some of his TRANSITION. 253 crew overboard; but like the malignant Schriften in Marryatt's book, they never failed to appear for vengeance at an unexpected moment. It was not wise, surely, to throw over such men as Thomas D'Arcy McGee, M. Sicotte, and the late postmaster-general, M. H. Foley. Office being more to these politicians, at least at this time, than principles, they joined the opposition into whose ranks they were warmly welcomed by John A. Macdonald, and assailed their former chief in unmeasured language. They charged him with betraying his trust as a leading minister of the crown, and with having descended to acts of personal meanness and treachery to prop up his party. The premier's eyes glowed like live coals as he hurled back the charges of baseness and political perfidy on the heads of his accusers; and where he received only censure from friendly members, he so lashed the critics as to turn them into enemies upon the spot. One of the premier's faults, arid a grave failing in a party leader, was, that, under the stress of feeling, he could not keep a bridle upon his tongue, should the outburst put his government in jeopardy. The fruitless session came to an end in October. The premier was hopeful, but his opponent and namesake assured him, on the day of prorogation, in the smoking-room, that he was " nearing the end of his tether." Towards the close of the year—1863—Mr. Albert Norton Richards was appointed to the vacant solicitor-generalship for Upper Canada, and returned for re-election to his constituency, South Leeds. But before the new minister reached the hustings, he learned, ito his dismay, that Messrs. John A. Macdonald and Thomas D'Arcy McGee were abroad in his constituency. What was worse, the two clever oppositionists shadowed him wherever he appeared, and, whenever they believed he had made a tellino- point, afterwards addressed the audience, and turned the government and its new minister into contempt. The close of the poll revealed that the member who, a few months before, had been returned by 135 votes more than his opponent, was now beaten by a majority of 75. If, during the summer of 1883, a 254 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. similar event should occur, we are sure that a certain newspaper would affirm that Mr. Richards "lost his seat through the corrupting influences in the hands of Sir John Macdonald," and that -public money " was lavishly and unblushingly employed." The defeated solicitor-general resigned his office, but John Sandfield, who ignored logic and indications, would not take the hint, but threw himself upon fate. With an evil- star lowering upon the ministry's fortunes, the house met on the 19th of February. The " governor's speech," as it is called, by its silence upon any discussion-provoking policy, revealed the fears of the government. The opposition ignored this languid ministerial document, but made a violent onslaught upon the wretched ministry. It was apparent that, if legislation was the business of the house, it had met in the winter of 1864 to no purpose: up to the 21st of March no important work had been done. On that day, disgusted with the ungenerousness of fate, the premier and his ministry resigned. The governor was perplexed, and began to grow apprehensive for the well-being of the constitution. The peculiar position of parties produced a hopeless dilemma, and, without faith that any member of the legislature could form an administration that would endure, Lord Monck entrusted the formation of a ministry to the ex-provincial-secretary, Mr. Fer- gusson-Blair. That gentleman's exertions failed; and Mr. Cartier was next called on and made the attempt, but with a similar .result. His excellency then requested Sir Etienne, formerly known as Colonel, Tache* to address himself to the task; and that gentleman, who enjoyed the respect and good-will of his compatriots, though anxious to be rid of the turmoil of administration, in obedience to the duty he owed his country, consented, and at once put himself in communication with John A. Macdonald, who undertook the formation of the Upper Canada section of the cabinet. Several days were- occupied in making the arrangements, and, in view of the fact that the late ministry had resigned while having a small majority in the house, no one believed that any ingenuity or skill could fashion an adminis- TRANSITION. 255 tration that would survive. The virtue seemed to have gone © out of the theory of responsible government, and the device of party appeared powerless to produce majority and minority. On the 30th of the month it was announced, however, that a ministry had been formed; and for the second time a Tache-Mac- donald government came into existence, and was as follows :— FOR CANADA EAST. Hon. Sir E. P. Tache Premier and Receiver-General. Geo. E. Cartier H. L. Langevin - A. T. Galt - T. D'Arcy McGee J. C. Chapais Attorney-General. - Solicitor-General. Mioi. of Finance. Min. of Agriculture.. Com'r of Public Works.. FOR CANADA WEST. Hon. John A. Macdonald " John Simpson I Isaac Buchanan " Alexander Campbell " M. H. Foley - " James Cockburn - - Attorney-GeneraL - Provincial Secretary. President of the Council. - Com'r Crown Lands. Postmaster-General. Solicitor-General. M. Cauchon, in French, and John Hillyard Cameron, in English, 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 extend the reciprocity treaty and to establish more intimate commercial relations with the maritime provinces. It goes without saying that to " departmental reform " and " retrenchment," —but one wonders, with every incoming party effecting departmental 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 the 256 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. ^question of representation by population was allowed to remain open. On the following day the house adjourned to meet again on the 3rd of May. No one who penetrated the situation, and saw that the same causes whichy of late, had overthrown niinis- 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 likely to extend mercy to the men who had so rudely thrown himself from power. Meanwhile, public .sentiment was, unconsciously and by the force of circumstances, being gradually prepared 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 Bismarck, who had hitherto been regarded by the world as a " fanatical reactionary, a coarse sort of Metternich, a combination 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 enthusiastic 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, reviewed, as one glances his eye along some panorama, the history 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 traveller comes back. SCY1 is CHAPTER XV. FRUITS OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. rLLA is passed; Charybdis appears." The Trent vanishes ; the Alabama is in sight. On the morning that the San Jacinto brought her prisoners into port, the citizens of the north set up a loud hurrah, and cried lustily for the daring commander, whom they would have borne on a chair through their cities. Some of the cooler heads, however, began to consider the situation, and derived little comfort from their reflections. This valiant deed of the San Jacinto's commander, they now saw, was a repetition of the outrage committed by England against the United States in 1807. During the year named, while several British men-of-war were lying at anchor in Chesapeake Bay, a number of blue-jackets deserted, and enlisted on board the United States frigate, Chesapeake. A few weeks after the occurrence, some British officers were on shore in Norfolk, Virginia, and saw the deserters parade the streets, protected by the American flag, and under the escort of a recruiting officer. They at once asked for the surrender of the men, and their demand was seconded by the British consul; but the officer refused to render them up. Nothing 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 Chesapeake, when at sea, out of the limits of the United States, and to search the Q 257 258 llFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. said vessel for the deserted seamen; and enjoined that, should any American war-ship insist on searching 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 Chesapeake, commodore Barren. He hailed, and said he had despatches for the commodore from the commander-in-chief. The Chesapeake 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. The commodore was surprised, but 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 deserters on board, 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 obeyed." 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 Chesapeake. 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. 259 in two more murderous broadsides. Barren then struck his colours, and two lieutenants with several midshipmen entered his ship to make search for the deserters. They captured, after a three hours' search, four of the delinquents ; two others were identified among the slain, 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 the utmost coolness, was wounded from a flying splinter. The search having been accomplished, Barren wrote a note to Humphreys, saying that he considered the Chesapeake was now the Englishman's prize, and that he was ready to deliver her up; but 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 violent measures. When the Chesapeake reached port, battered and blood-stained, a cry of indignation was raised throughout the union ; the attack by the Leopard was felt to be an outrage upon the honour of the nation, and an insult that could only be wiped out by war. Promptly President Jefferson issued a proclamation requiring all armed vessels bearing commissions 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; captain Humphreys was recalled, and admiral Berkley superseded ; 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 perpetrated by the Leopard was held to be a casus belli by this country, 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 260 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. could not be sustained, and that the southern commissioners should be given up. " This," said he, " is the very thing the British captains used to do. They claimed the right of searching American ships, and carrying men out of them. That was the cause of the war of 1812. Now, we cannot abandon our principles. We shall have to give these men up and apologize for what we have done." In answer, therefore, to one of Lord John Russell's usually long and sonorous dispatches, demanding the surrender of the commissioners taken from the Trent, Mr. Seward, who also delighted in writing lengthy and pompous state-documents, went on to declare that his government could not find a 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 always insisted all nations ought to do unto us." Therefore, as we have already seen, the prisoners were on the 1st day of January, 1862, "cheerfully liberated." Thus ended the affair of the. Trent; and now began the dispute about the Alabama. 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 purposes of war, order a closure of its own ports. The declaration of President Lincoln was therefore regarded by foreign governments as a recognition, by the North, of the Southern confederacy 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 FRUITS OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. 261 under municipal law, and every port would be at the mercy of adventurous blockade-runners, who need only escape the harbour defences, as they could not be dealt with by United states war-vessels beyond American waters. The American government chose the blockade as the most expedient course, regardless 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 of citizens in revolt against the supreme authority of the state. The truth of the matter is that whoever drew up the international clause relating to blockades, like the framers of many other laws, failed to foresee all the cases that might arise to be affected by the ordinance. The cases sought to be met'were those where war is declared between separate nations, no inspiration-gleam being shed from the future to show that a day might come when thirty-one millions of people, scattered over half the New World, would separate into two mighty bodies and rise in a fratricidal war. But the attitude of the imperial ministry in issuing its proclamation, commanding all British subjects to maintain a neutrality during the " war " between the United States and her rebellious citizens, was not the only affront at which the republicans took offence. Open sympathy was manifested for the South throughout Great 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 Palmerston so far forgot his dignity and his duty as to make sneering 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 ministry, embittered public feeling in the republic, .towards England and all that belonged to her. Not many months elapsed before there arose a cause to intensify that feeling, and lead Great Britain and the United States to the verge of war. 262 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD.. 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, was met by this little scourge, plundered, and given to destruction. Fired by the example and the successes of the Savannah, other daring spirits in the South rigged out fleet-sailing vessels, armed them with guns, and took up the privateering trade. Among these were the Sumter, commanded by Captain Semmes, whose exploits at a later time made him famous; the Nashville and the Petrel, the latter skimming, like the bird whence she took her name, over the sea, and sweeping 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, afterwards known as the Florida. She had not been long upon the 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, heavily 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 consideration " 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." FRUITS OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. 263 But the most noted of all the privateers, the vessel which became the occasion of a new 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 Alabama. This craft was built in Birkenhead by the Messrs. Laird, one of the most prominent 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 newspapers declared that she was intended as a southern cruiser, that she would sweep northern commerce from the seas, and be so armed as to be able to hold her own against even the © heaviest ships of war. Mr. Adams, a descendant of a brilliant family, distinguished for their superior statesmanship and high sense of honour, was then the American representative in London. Promptly he sat down, on hearing of the character of this new ship, and wrote to Lord John Russell, urging him to institute enquiries into the allegations concerning the proposed mission of the vessel, and maintaining that it was the duty of the British government, on being satisfied that the craft was to © * © be employed as a southern cruiser, to prevent her departure from England. Lord John Russell, in whom more than any other modern English statesman of note, much littleness was mingled with not a little greatness, sought to parry Adams' contentions by asking for proof of the allegations offered in one breath, and in the next expressing a doubt whether the government could fly in the face of a domestic law. Mr. Adams again pressed his request. He only desired that the government should satisfy itself as to the mission for which " 290 " was intended. If the mission were ascertained to be that which he had alleged, then he contended, under the " Foreign Enlistment Act," the vessel ought to be detained. Lengthy correspondence passed between the two ministers, in which Mr. 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. MACDONALD. petulance, and sought to defend his position by feeble and trifling analogies which he affected to find in American diplomacy. Meanwhile Mr. Laird went on building the ship, and as the time of her departure approached, Mr. Adams pressed Lord Russell with much earnestness to interpose his authority. At last Lord John was prevailed upon to ask the Queen's advocate* for advice; but when the request was made that official was sick, and could not 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, " 290 " though unfinished, was made ready for sea, and, under pretence of a trial trip, sailed down the Mersey to Moelfra Bay where the work remaining was hastily completed. On the 31st of July, orders came from the British ministry to seize the vessel, but on the same day the prospective privateer, amid the ringing cheers of her crew, sailed away from the coast of England. Thence she proceeded to Terceira, one of the Western Islands, where she tarried till the arrival of the Agrippinai from London, with her guns and stores, and the Bahama with captain Semmes, late commander of the SumUr, 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 Hardinc FRUITS OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. 265 brigantine under full canvas, bowling along, bound for a northern port. " Give him the British bunting," said captain Semmes, and the Union-Jack was flung 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 whistling across his bows; and looking, he saw the stranger flaunting the Southern flag. An hour later, the stately brig was a mass of flame through the twilight of the autumn sea. For the next eleven days, the Alabama 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 fast-sailing © cruisers, heavily armed, put out from Northern ports searching for " the pirate Semmes," but when a speck appeared upon the horizon that the look-out declared to be formidable, the privateer altered her course, and skimmed fleetly over the sea, leaving her pursuers far behind. A few months later, she hovered along the track of commerce between Aspinwall and New York,, and after patient watching, one morning, captured the Ariel mail steamer, with 140 marines, a number of United States officers, and about 500 passengers. These the captain of the privateer decided to put on shore at Kingston, Jamaica, but the city was a pent-house of yellow fever. On board his own ship there was not room for their accommodation; so with much regret he let the steamer go, taking a bond for a large sum, payable when the war was ended. Some days later the look-out saw an American gun-boat, which afterwards proved to be the Hat- teras, bearing down. Semmes smiled grimly as he ordered the decks to be cleared for action, and saw the war-ship approaching, eager for the fray. It was a short conflict. After a few broadsides the Hatteras went down, and the privateer, issuing unscathed from the encounter, pursued her way. The name of the Alabama now became one of terror and hate, and few vessels ventured from their ports while it was known that she was near their track. The American government equipped a number of heavily-armed and speedy cruisers, which scoured the 266 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. seas in search of the marauder; and several narrow escapes told Semmes that Northern waters were no longer safe. So he © set sail for the Cape of Good Hope, and preyed upon all the Northern merchant vessels (which were not many) that he met there; but soon finding that the merchant shipping of the enemy was beginning to forsake the seas, he sailed for, Europe, and put into Cherbourg to repair his vessel, now much battered, and no longer unrivalled for her speed. Bitter reproaches followed the captain of the privateer, and he was burning for an opportunity to distinguish himself by some valorous deed. During his career he had captured sixty-five vessels, and destroyed property valued at over four millions of dollars; yet his repute was that of a buccaneer that preyed upon defenceless vessels, but who fled on being 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 © Semmes >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, 19th of June, 1864, steamed out of the harbour, to engage in the murderous conflict. The inhabitants of the city crowded upon every height to witness the battle. To the inexperienced eye the two ships, now quietly FRUITS OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. 267 nearing each other, were of about equal strength, and even captain Semmes, though at one time one of the most.experienced officers of the Northern naval service, was deceived. He did not know that the ship advancing for 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 battle was begun without delay, and soon was over. The Kearsage possessing greater speed than her adversary, was able to keep up a distance of about 500 yards, at which range she was little affected 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; but before the enemy could come to the rescue, the noted privateer went down. Some of the crew were picked up by the Kearsage's boats, and captain Semmes and others were rescued by an English yacht, the Deerhound. There was a deep feeling of relief through the merchant marine of the North when the end of the Alabama was known; and captain Winslow, with superior guns and armoured sides, was the lion of the hour. Before the destruction of the privateer, there was much diplomatic turmoil between the British and United States governments, the latter holding the former responsible for the damages done by the Alabama. Once again Lord John Russell fancied he had terminated a difficulty by becoming peremptory; but his successor to the colonial office, Lord Stanley—now Lord Derby—frankly conceded the grounds taken by Mr. Adams in the discussion with Lord John, to which we have already re- verted. The outcome was renewed negotiations, a good deal of diplomatic fire, which, as is usual in such controversy, was confined to the glow of anthracite coal. The United States declared, that, while the British government had not ordered and sanctioned England's making war on American commerce, it had permitted the outrage, and was, now, in honour, and by all the rules of national etiquette, bound to make reparation. 268 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. At length, when correspondence failed to procure satisfaction, an arbitration was proposed, which consisted of representatives of England, the United States, the president of the Swiss Confederation, and the emperor of Brazil. This tribunal met in Geneva, and on the 15th of September, 1872, delivered its final award. For the wrong-headedness of Lord Russell and the ministry it was decreed that England should pay a sum of <£3,229,166 13s. 4d. 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 Alabama, as she slipped down the Mersey, on her career of pillage, muttered "curses not loud but deep" when they were obliged to pay $15,000,000 for their Southern sympathy. Several leading Englishmen, and Sir Alexander Cockburo, 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 was 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. Southern refugees were received here with open arms, were sometimes publicly f§ted, and all the while given to understand that they were regarded as the noble sufferers in a glorious 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 asylum and captured and plundered two American^vessels plying on Lakes Erie and Ontario. Ela- FRUITS OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. 269 ted by their success, the filibusters, a few weeks later, headed by an ex-Confederate soldier named Young, burst into St. Alban's, a little town in Vermont, and situated near the frontier, where they plundered three of the local banks, shot one of the cashiers, bearing away to Canada $233,000 worth of booty. The Canadian government now aroused itself and distributed volunteers along our frontier, to prevent any further breach of the neutrality law. The filibusters were arrested at the instance of the United States government, who demanded their extradition. They were tried in Montreal, but discharged by Judge Coursol, before whom they were examined, on a technical ground. A sum of $90,000 was found on the raiders when arrested, but on their discharge the money was refunded them. The act fed our prejudice for the time, but, in due season, we had to repay the'amount to the American government. There is no one who will say that this did not serve us right. On the 15th of April, 1865, in the evening, president Abraham Lincoln, who had two years before 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 © © J a heartfelt sympathy for the untimely end of this great friend of liberty. Meetings were held in the cities, at which resolutions 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 contemplated invasion by some of the turbulent spirits who had been tausrht 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" met to discuss measures for the liberation of Ireland. The name Fenian had an historic ring, and fired the heaits of those who longed to see the green flag float again on the hill of Tara. The Fenians, it came to be remembered, were an old-time Irish militia, burly kerns who LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. went in bare arms, and " would dare death and the devil." Money and recruits poured in to the "head-centre" at New York; a thorough organization was effected, and the brotherhood held meetings at which, in grim earnest, they discussed the plan of " liberating Ireland." Amongst this deluded band were many noble and patriotic spirits,* whatever unjust and intemperate writers may affirm, and some again of the most worthless and mischievous adventurers that ever disgraced so- © ciety. Demagogues who had never figured in any more heroic movement than a 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 set " 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 organization 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. Patrick's 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 speedily 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. FRUITS 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, crossed Niagara river, and landed about a mile below the village of Fort Erie. They advanced with much spirit into the village, where they demanded rations, and vainly sought the co-operation of the inhabitants. Then they tore up a piece of the Grand Trunk rail way-track, cut the telegraph wires, set fire 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 the Fenian attempt on New Brunswick, Mr. Edward Jack,. of Fredericton, New Brunswick, furnishes the writer with the following facts :— " Sir A. J. Smith, prior to the Fenian invasion, interviewed Andrew Johnson, president of the United States, who promised him, that so soon as the Fenians committed an overt act he would attend to them. When the maurauders made their appearance at Eastport, in the State of Maine, the United States government despatched several vessels of war to prevent their making a demonstration on New Brunswick. Not far from Eastport might be seen one of the fleetest war-vessels in the United States service, lying at anchor with steam up, while not far distant a British frigate in provincial waters was ready for the fray. The Fenians spent their money freely at Eastport in liquor and cigars, and did no harm beyond burning a building on Indian Island, opposite Eastport. A party of the Fenians ascended the Ste. Croix yfco Calais, where some of the number, who put up at the Frontice hotel, stole all the soap, and other things they could lay their hands on in the rooms, on their departure. The arrival of the adventurers at Calais was followed promptly by that of a body of German artillerymen, in the pay of the United States. These were intended to be a check on the Fenian operations on the American side. These artillery-men used to visit the British side, and indulge so freely in beer, that the provincialists, who feared an attack from the Irish myrmidons, placed them in drays and had them carted across the river to the American side. Some of the best people of St. Stephen, were so alarmed at the appearance of the Fenians, that they sent their plate to the Calais bank for safe keeping. From the quiet little town of Saint Andrew's, situated at the mouth of the Ste. Croix, not far from the island where De Monts and Champlain spent their first winter in America, the Fenians could be seen drilling to the number of a dozen or two. Fort Tipperary, which overlooks the town, was promptly garrisoned, and the old honeycombed guns which the rotten carriages could hardly support, were placed in position. He would have been a bold man who fired them ! In the midst of the trepidation a British frigate steamed up to Joe's Point, at the northern end of the town, where she quietly cast anchor. The commanding officer came ashore, and consoled the inhabitants by telling them not to fear. ' If the Fenians get in here,' he said, ' clear away as fast as you can, for we shall shell the city and bum it over the rascals' heads.' " LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Michigan began to patrol the river to prevent any breaches of the neutrality laws; and shut her eyes whenever a boat with reinforcement or stores for O'Neil happened to be crossing from the American shore. When news of the invasion, by this rabble, reached the public, there was a general feeling of indignation. There was some chagrin felt that the military defences of the country were in a disordered condition, but not a moment was lost in taking all possible measures to hurl back the intruders. The regulars in the Hamilton and Toronto districts were at once ordered by Major-General Napier to the Niagara peninsula. Orders were given to call out the volunteers, who seemed enthusiastic to enter the fray. Lieutenant-Colonel Dennis 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 Hamilton, 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 accompanied 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 instructions 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 THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. 273 march the volunteers ought to take, and left Booker to decide that for 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 Erie was much smaller than was at first supposed, that the marauders were in a state of wretched discipline, had done nought but carouse since landing, and could be expelled by the prompt movements of a moderate force. It was therefore agreed that Booker with his troops should start by rail in time to reach Fort Erie by eight o'clock in the morning, and that Lieutenant-Colonel Dennis and Akers should embark with a company of artillery, at Port Colborne, and proceed to reconnoitre along Niagara river, returning to co-operate with Booker at eight o'clock. If Peacocke should agree to this plan, he was informed that he might march by © IT * O «/ the river road from Chippewa, making a combined attack with Colonel Booker at some point " between Fort Erie 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 Robb, taking with them the Welland Garrison Battery, and a portion of the Dunnville Naval Brigade. Shortly after the departure of the tug, came a telegram, as might have been expected, from •Colonel 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 of the benighted commander. So about an hour after the departure of the Robb he put his men on board the train and proceeded as far as Ridgeway, whence the troops left the cars and marched R W'.% 274 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. towards Stevensville. That same morning O'Neil had begun a movement westward, with the intention of destroying the locks of the Welland Canal, and Colonel Booker, about two miles from Ridgeway, came up with the marauders' out-posts. Not expecting such a meeting he held a hurried consultation with Major Gillmor, of the Queen's Own, when an attack was resolved on, both officers believing Colonel Peacocke and his regulars could not be far away. When the word was given, the volunteers advanced with much spirit, and fairly turned back, for some distance, the enemy's lines; and onlookers 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'Neil'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 regulars from Chippewa as early as had been expected. Booker, it has been seen, had really departed an hour before the prescribed 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'Neil. 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 companies fell back and could not be reformed; and the order was given to retire. In a few minutes the volunteers, who, against FRUITS OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. 275 overwhelming odds, had " fought so well," were in full retreat, O'Neil's wild myrmidons in mad pursuit. The loss of the Canadians was one officer and eight men killed, and six officers and twenty-six men wounded. What was the loss of the Fenians has not since been known, though it is believed not to have been less than ours. The campaign so far had been a series of blunders. Aker and Dennis should not have gone upon the reconnoitering tour without having heard the reply of the commanding officer; Peacocke, should, in the first instance, have seen his way clear to be able to start at the hour he fixed for departure before communicating the time to his brother officers ; and secondly, should not have trusted the fate of the expedition to the chance of an orderly overtaking Booker before leaving Port Colborne; while it may be that he was the most culpable of all in taking a command for which he was not competent, through ignorance of the ground upon which his forces were to operate, or, feeling this deficiency, in refusing to take counsel of those, who, if they knew less than himself of tactics, knew more of geography. We hope, should it ever be our lot again to see hostile steel in our Dominion, that we shall not be found putting our trust in officers who know nothing about our frontier, and who will learn nothing till the lives of a number of our sons shall have been sacrificed to their ignorance. These eight brave young fellows and their officer who fell, and the tarnish 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 Akers landed at the appointed time at Fort Erie, and picked up about sixty stragglers, comprising " Liberators " and camp followers. O'Neil hearing that the regulars were on the march from Chippewa, 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 © arrested, with his followers, by United States authorities. On 276 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Sunday morning, eager for war, Peacocke and his troops arrived at Fort Erie, but nought of the enemy remained save the embers of their camp fires, and a number of broken whiskey bottles. A few stragglers who had been carousing around the neighbourhood while their comrades were embarking, were * © ©•" afterwards captured by the regulars with much alacrity, put on board a tug, taken to Toronto, and lodged in jail. They were subsequently tried under a statute passed during the Canadian rebellion. Some were discharged for want of evidence, others were found guilty and sentenced to death, but the punishment was commuted to imprisonment in the penitentiary. Several other demonstrations of invasion were made, some weeks later, by the brotherhood. A large body gathered at Ogdensburg, their eyes turned to the Dominion capital, but the massing of troops on the Canadian side, and the patrolling of the 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. Alban's, 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 proclamation ordering government officials to use every means to repress 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 resisting 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. CHAPTER XVI. THE DOMINION OF CANADA. THE fatal balance of parties had at last been reached, and Mr. Macdonald who had always before, in emergency, relied on his brains, now " trusted to luck." He was like a captain who, in the pitchy darkness, and in the midst of the storm, turns his face from the compass and allows his barque to take her own way through the unknown sea. The house met on May 3rd, 1864. The new ministry had found sturdy opposition 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 offer serious resistance to the government; as, they said, the constitution was on its trial, and they could not believe he would sacrifice the institutions of the country to his ambition. The attorney-general-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 showed him no mercy; at his hands I do not think we now deserve mercy." Meanwhile the ex-premier was brooding over his revenge. Some of his colleagues 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 Sandfield 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 forbearance." 277 278 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. A few 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 votes. With such a support the government were powerless to effect any important legislation, yet, under the circumstances, they resolved to maintain their places till actually voted out. Not long were they obliged to wait, for the ending came on the 14th of June. It had come to light, that, in 1859, Mr. A. T. Gait, the finance minister that year in the Cartier-Mac- donald government, had advanced a sum of $100,000 from the public funds to redeem certain bonds given by the city of Montreal 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 advance. The loan had been made quietly in the finance minister's office, and the fact had not transpired, till a member, distended 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, nevertheless " 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 unconstitutional 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 J" 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, surrounded 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 sometimes grow weak, else such men as these would never find an opportunity to reveal that they are possessed of consciences. It would be extremely unwise and unprofitable for a man suddenly to let virtue get the better of him while his party still held a majority of fifty men; but the case is reversed when the honesty-impulse can be exhibited while the party ship lies soggy in the water, and goes down with the defection of two or three of the virtue-stricken crew. Messrs. Dunkin and Rankin belonged to this not uncommon class of politicians. They had for years judged the morality of the liberal-conservative party by the standard of its success—while it was staunch, their faith in its virtue was strong; when it grew weak it became a moral Lazarus in their eyes, full of sores, and not fit to live. They voted with the grits on Mr. Dorion's resolution, and the ministry fell. Yet, it may be seen, as our story progresses, that these two men were instruments in facilitating the birth of the greatest event in our political history. The movements of several years past which we have endeavoured to pourtray, were the causes, though inefficient, producing the scheme for a union of the provinces; henceforth we lose sight of the causes, and watch the manner in which was born the confederation itself. When the defeat came, ministers were in no wise perturbed : they had expected the result for many weeks, and did not resign. Two courses there remained open to them: to attempt a reconstruction, or to ask for a dissolution. Neither project at 280 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. first left room to hope that the second condition would be better than the first, either for the party or the constitution. Within a little more than two years four different governments had been formed, and party feeling had grown so bitter that the ministry felt there was little hope that the general result could be changed by " trying their fortune in the lottery of a general election" Yet though the virtue had apparently gone out of the expedients of our constitutional system, responsible government was still supreme, and Messrs. Macdonald and Tache* could not continue in office while in a minority in the assembly. The opposition held their breath after the ministerial defeat, and spake not during the hours that ministers, still 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 this 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 dissolution 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, as 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 interests, and not that he hated John A. Macdonald and his party less, but that he 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 peace-disturbing demagogism. On the day after the ministerial defeat Mr. Brown fell into conversation with Messrs. J. H. Pope and Alexander Morris, supporters of the ministry, and members respectively for Comp- ton and South Lanark. He gave it as his opinion that a crisis had arrived which could not be 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 Canada." 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, listened 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 result 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 ministry 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 present 282 LIFE OF SIR. JOHN A. MACDONALD. crisis could justify this meeting—with which observation Mr. Macdonald agreed in a tone of bland irony. The grit chief then intimated that " it was quite impossible that he could be a member of any administration at present, and that even had this been otherwise, he would have conceived it highly objectionable that parties who had been so long and so strongly opposed to each other, as he and some members of the administration had been, should enter the same cabinet. He thought * © the public mind would be shocked by such an arrangement, but he felt very strongly that the present crisis presented an opportunity of dealing with this question that might never occur 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 presented 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 guarantees 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 nature, and the necessary guarantees, might be waived for the present, " and the discussion conducted with a view of ascertaining 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 Macdonald, though he did not approve of the methods recently proposed to carry out the object, and had voted against the plan suggested—" 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 contingency which he regarded as impracticable then and remote, but rather to have accomplished a measure to provide more equitable parliamentary representation for Upper Canada. As there is an impression 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 as well to dispel the illusion. The testimony of Mr. Mackenzie, Mr. Brown's biographer, on this point, is conclusive. After Messrs. Macdonald and Gait had stated what their remedy was, " Mr. Brown," Mr. Mackenzie tells us, at page 89 of his book, " objected that this was uncertain and remote (the confederation scheme), as there were so many bodies to be consulted; and stated that the measure acceptable tq Upper Canada would be parliamentary reform based on population, without regard to a separating line between Upper and Lower Canada." Messrs. Macdonald and Gait assured Mr. Brown that his proposal involved an impossibility, and after some discussion the latter gentleman was persuaded to accept a compromise in the adoption of the federal principle for all the provinces as the larger question, or for Canada alone, with provision for the admission 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 Bystander's apt epigram, " The father of confederation was dead-lock." 284 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. On the 30th of the month, business having been hurried through, parliament was prorogued. On the same day the ministerial announcements were made. George Brown entered © the government as president of the council, Oliver Mowat as postmaster-general, and Wm.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 implacable party foemen for the time were stilled, the questions that had kept the two sections of the province so long in an attitude 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 croaking 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 troubles 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 principle, declared that he had sold himself to the Liberal-conservative party, and, that, what was worse than the sale, he had gone over " too cheap." They pointed out that while the opposition 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 admission of a greater number of his friends, and that the government had decided to stop at this point. THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 285 The most energetic spirit in the federation movement now was Mr. John A. Macdonald. It was his hand that made smooth many of the rough ways in the negotiations; and he inspired his colleagues with the same faith and enthusiasm in the achievement of the union as he felt himself. His- interest in the scheme, after the coalition had been accomplished, has been sneered at by some prejudiced and superficial writers, while others who affect an anxiety to be friendly, say that he deserves credit for having bent so 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 had been Mr. Macdonald's fondest dream. Efforts, wrongly made, by politicians who were zealous for the union, he had seen and disapproved; believing, and affirming his belief, that it was not proper to jeopardize a project of such overshadowing mome*nt, by affixing to it the stigma of that defeat which, was sure to come upon the test of its popularity, at a time when the public mind was not prepared to comprehend its importance. But through all those years that the Upper Canada reformers cried out 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 as was afterwards adopted, the turmoil would be brought to an end, and that which the majority of the people in his own section 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 settlement was close at hand. We have seen that while the union was maintained, such settlement never could be representation by 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 286 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. union had been his ideal dream, and that since he saw a possibility of its accomplishment he felt that a higher future had been opened for us, and a field worthy the ambition of the Canadian statesman. Yet not alone in his attitude towards this great question, but to many other important political events, the birth of his time, in which he has felt the deepest interest, has he been regarded hostile. " He will not consent to be hurried," says one writer, " but no one can say that on any given question his finality of to-day may not be his starting-point at some future time." * The truth is, Mr. Macdonald had not pretended to be wiser than his time, or sought to move faster than the people. He showed then, as ever 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 colleagues, " 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 skiff 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 direction 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 f 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-eminence : and if standing patiently by, and waiting till public opinion is ready for him to secularize clergy reserves, or consummate a union of the straggling provinces, is to be a creature of expediency, then such a creature, in the superlative degree, is 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 a defeat-tarnish on the project he had, up to this hour, held aloof; because his exertions now could be turned to triumph, he not alone joined hands with the unionists, but with heart and head became the leader of the movement, halting not, or flagging not, as we shall see, till his ideal victory had been won. Let us now, briefly as we may, give the story of the various steps, from the first to the last, of the confederation movement. The idea of a federation of the colonies was not a new one, and had been mooted many times before. Indeed so 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 enterprising colonist put forward the federation scheme, but political opinion was in a crude 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 his scheme was a masterpiece of grasp and detail. In 1827 the legislative council of Upper Canada originated resolutions aim- 288 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. ing at a union of the two Canadian provinces, suggesting likewise a " union of the whole four provinces of North America under a vice-royalty, with afac simile of that great and glorious fabric, the best monument of human wisdom, the British constitution." This movement exploded in rhetorical thunder, and nothing more was heard of the scheme in public places till Lord Durham had been disgraced, and had presented his report. From that hour the question engrossed, more or less, the public mind, and in 1849 the North American League, a body which bore a somewhat similar relation to the British North American provinces, as those three Tooley-street 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 Norths-American colonies. From this 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, comprehending 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 Scotiai—The Hon. Charles Tupper, M.P.P., provincial 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, M.P.P. From New Brunswick—The Hon. S. L. Tilley, M.P.P., provincial secretary; the Hon. John M. Johnston, M.P.P., attorney-general ; the Hon. John Hamilton Gray, M.P.P.; the Hon. Edward B. Chandler, M.L.C.; the Hon. W. H. Steeves, M.L.C. From Canada—The Hon. John A. Macdonald, M.P.P., attorney-general, Upper Canada; the Hon. George Brown, M.P.P., president of executive council; the Hon. Alexander T. Gait, M.P.P., minister of finance; the Hon. George E. Cartier, M.P.P., attorney-general, Lower Canada; the Hon. Hector L. Langevin, M.P.P., solicitor-general of Lower Canada; the Hon. William McDougall, provincial secretary; the Hon. Thomas D'Arcy McGee, M.P.P., minister of agriculture. Prince Edward Island was represented by the Hon. Col, Gray, M.P.P., president of the executive council; the Hon, Edward Palmer, M.L.C, attorney-general; the Hon. W. H. Pope, M.P.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 confer respecting legislative union, had no official standing at the Island conference, but they were invited to join in the discussion, of which courtesy they vigorously availed themselves. " The Canadians descended upon us," 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 swallowed all the rest." The objections that still exist to maritime union, existed then; the impossibility of fixing the capital in 290 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. one province without provoking the animosity of the others. There was a way by which this fatal bar might have been set aside, and that the adoption of the itinerant plan. When the free school system was introduced through the provinces, one of the most formidable obstacles to its operation often proved to be the problem, Where is the teacher to board? and many a district, rather than see one family monopolize the honours of the " master's " board and lodging would con- © © demn itself to the privation of having no school at all. But as a way was found-out of this dilemma by the teacher " boarding around the deestrict," a possibility of legislative union for our maritime brethren is suggested by the idea that the government might board around 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 they, 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 reassemble 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, doubtless, 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 welcome, 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 exaggeration, 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. M. 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 provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick as 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 from the sea in the east to the shadow of the Rocky Mountains in the west. < It was reserved to later years to complete this national giant, when, to extend M. Carrier's figure, British Columbia became the national legs, legs that a cynic might say, but that we shall take the pains here to forestall him, may some day, as they have lately threatened, walk away from the trunk to a destiny of their own. Mr. John A. Macdonald made a telling speech.* While he took a hopeful view of what the confederation would bring, he nowhere allowed his imagination to take flight with his judgment. He calmly, though hopefully, examined the prospect, and declared that the consummation of the union had been for many years his fondest dream. 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 very much; it seems 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." 292 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. the New Brunswick delegates, Mr. Macdonald and his colleagues talked much, and he and they seemed taken with Mr. S. L. Tilley, the provincial secretary, for the clear decisiveness of his view, and the sincerity of his manners. There is no reason to suppose that, during the many years since that political good fortune has thrown Mr. Macdonald in such close contact with those two distinguished maritime-province men, he has changed his mind. On the 10th of October, the day named by the governor- general for the meeting of the conference in Quebec, the delegates 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 leisurely 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 Newfoundland 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 conclave 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 inaugurated, and at a sumptuous dinner, given by the Quebec Board of Trade, some members, under the influence of enthusiasm and champagne, were sore pressed to retain their portentous secrets. Dr. Tupper spoke there, dilating, in his own THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 293 robustious and impassioned way, on the advantages the proposed confederation must derive from union with his little peninsular province. Hon. S. L. Tilley followed in a speech less forcible, though equally as convincing. He did not come there, he assured his hearers, as a suppliant praying for recognition 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 Newfoundland, 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 summer 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 a " 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 eyent of his colony entering the union compact, the islanders would not be the only gainers. He dwelt at some length on the riches of the 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 aspects 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 threatened invasion were on everybody's lips. Mr. Shea brought forward a telling military consideration, in recommending his colony to the union, which elicited ringing cheers from the 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. Our island, as you know, stretches across the Guff of St. Lawrence, commanding both passages by which the vast trade of the Gulf region and the St. Lawrence river finds its way to the ocean. Now, were this colony in the hands of a hostile power in war time, the trade of Canada would be hermetically sealed as if perpetual winter reigned here." Mr. Shea, whose flowing and impressive style of oratory at once captivated his hearers, and caused at least one shrewd delegate to say, " He will be an acquisition to the Canadian parliament," was not so sanguine of the reception the union scheme would meet with the colonists; and frankly stated that the question had not yet been discussed in the Island 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 burthened 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 hustings, 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 orators 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 inhabitants of Irish birth or extraction showed the greatest hostility 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 " antis " were the thousands who could THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 295 neither read nor write, and who lived huddled away in the little nooks around the coast, fishing for cod in summer, shooting game, and hauling firewood with dogs, in the winter. However, 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 capital 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 own provinces in, mighty cliffs, at whose feet they heard the ocean thunder in storm, and sing songs unspeakably sad and sweet in the calm. They had bold, airy mountains of their own, sombre forests and rushing rivers, 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 torchlight procession, and escorted to Russell's hotel, around which 296 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. an enthusiastic assemblage had gathered. The pet of the multitude was Mr. John A. Macdonald, who was called for lustily by hundreds of voices. After some 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. Dickinson'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 political 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 entered 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 director. 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 publie 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. 297" and, entering the sanctuary, devotes himself to the exclusive work of religion. He consecrates himself to justice, is regarded in a different light from other men; is assumed to have no- party prejudices, and to be an unmoved spectator of the struggle 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 from the judgment seat, enters the world, and plunges into the mire of politics, a shock is given to our honest faith in the sanctity of the bench ; the- solemn judge, in ermine and judicial insignia, expounding and pronouncing, does not awe us any longer; for we dream of a day yet to come when we may find him figuring at some degrading political intrigue in a city ward, or endeavouring to bribe an archbishop. Mr. W. P. Howland, who was a gentleman of ability and integrity, became postmaster-general in Mr,. Mowat's place. Parliament met on the 19 th of February, and, in the ministry's opening speech, which the governor read, the confederation scheme was warmly recommended to the house. The union question absorbed the almost exclusive attention of parliament. 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, Huntington, 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 league ^-^— 298 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. with a daring and ambitious accomplice, he turned to his own advantage. He could, 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 night, and heart-entangling hair, made the amorous prince lay bare 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 politician is not less dangerous than the metamorphosing power of the dervish, for in a stupid, if not in a vicious, cause, the public may become a victim to horror, virtue and awful indignation 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 Eastern 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 " Confederation," " all that a thorough sophist, a dexterous logician, a timid patriot, or a prophet of evil could 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 Friday 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 submitted 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 CANADA. 299 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 upper province, and of the majority fifty-four. 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 commons had been introduced in the legislative council by the premier, Sir E. P. Tache", and carried by a vote of three to one. Parliament prorogued on the 18 th of March, and during the month following Messrs. (J. A.) Macdonald, Gait, Brown and Caitier, proceeded to England, to confer with the imperial government, and promote the scheme of confederation. The most active member in forwarding the measure was Mr. Macdonald, who assured his colleagues that it would be 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- general-west 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 municipal 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. Macdonald, " but what I fear is that it may be found impracticable. I fear there will arise a collision of authority between the provincial 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 special functions, giving it as M. Cartier expressed it, its "chart of jurisdiction," whence no difficulty could arise. History has vindicated the correctness of Mr. Maedonald'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. MACDONALD. " At present we have," says the greatest living English writer,* " for a population of four millions, eight kings, one central and seven provincial, as many parliaments, and sixty-five ministers of the crown; while England is content with a single king, a single parliament— the members of which are not paid—and a single 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 Canadian minds have begun to ponder these figures. Is such a plenitude of government needful they ask themselves ; if not, then why should it abide ? 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 up 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 legislatures. There was no means of testing the secret-bearing capacity of members, else some explosions might have edified the early stages of the proceedings. Nothing in the way of casu- ality 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 oppressive 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 the conservative against a " sacrilegious meddling with the constitution." In March, 1865, a general election was held, and so bitter was the feeling against union, that not one of the Quebec delegates was elected. An anti-confederate ministry was formed by Hon. (now Sir) A. J. Smith, and George L. Hatheway. The result of the election in New Brunswick told heavily on the fate of the question elsewhere. The union enthusiasm of Nova Scotia was instantly chilled; the legislature seemed disposed to hold aloof from the general federation plan, and passed resolutions favouring alone a union of the maritime provinces. Prince Edward Island suddenly developed a turbulent little temper of her own; spiritedly refused to have anything to do with confederation, and repudiated the action of her delegates at the Quebec con- ■ ference. Newfoundland took no steps, and the ministry waited till the other provinces had set the example of entering the union before submitting the question to the polls. The Canadian delegates, while in England, had several, lengthy conferences with the imperial ministers on the proposed constitutional changes, on treaties and legislation, the defences of Canada, the settlement of the north-west territories, the Hudson Bay company's claim, and other subjects. The confederation scheme having attracted much favourable attention in England, our emissaries were received with marked cordiality by the ministry as well as by the Queen and royal family. Hon. John A. Macdonald pressed upon the home government the expediency of making known to the recalcitrant colonies . that the imperial authorities desired to see a union consummated ; for one of the weapons used against the project in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, was that the aim of the confederation was separation from the empire, and the assumption of independent nationality. Such an intention at that day was 302 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. regarded as a public offence. If it is an offence for the son, approaching the years and the strength of manhood, to turn his thoughts to separation from the homestead under whose jurisdiction and shelter he has lived during his infancy and boyhood, to sketch out a manly and independent career of his own, plan to build his own house, conduct his own business, and carve out his own fortune, then was it an offence for those Canadians, if there were at that time any such, who on the eve of union dreamt of nationality, of a time when Canada would have passed the years of boyhood, and be brave and strong enough to stand forth among the independent nations. After the despatches of the colonial secretary had reached the provincial government, some of those who had opposed union on the ground of loyalty, now began with much consistency to inveigh against the alleged " undue pressure " of the imperial government; while many declared that "an atrocious system for the coercion of the colonies into the hateful bond " had been inaugurated in the home office. The truth is there was neither pressure nor coercion exercised from the colonial office, since no proceeding could have been more fatal to the prospects of the confederation. The home rninistry had grown to be enthusiastic supporters of the " new-dominion " scheme, and stated their views at much length in their despatches to the colonial "governors, whom they wished to give to the project every possible proper support at their command; but that was all. On the one hand Mr. John Macdonald and his colleagues © avouched the loyalty of the provinces to the crown, and declared that the colonists would spend their only dollar, and shed the last drop of their blood, in maintaining connexion with the mother-land. The parent was much moved at these earnest and lavish protestations of the child, and in token of her appreciation and gratitude guaranteed a loan for the construction of an Intercolonial railway; admitted her obligation to defend the colonies with all the resources at her command; and consented to strengthen the fortifications at Quebec, and provide arma- THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 303 ments. The Quebec scheme was amply and carefully discussed, and our colonial ministers were fairly matches for their imperial brethren in diplomacy—notably so was Mr. John A. Macdonald, whose astuteness and statesmanlike views were the subject of much favourable comment. Among other things, the home government undertook to ascertain what were the rights of the Hudson Bay company, with a view to the cession of the north-west territory to the Dominion. A meeting of the Canadian parliament, to discuss the report of the delegates, was called for the 8th of August. On the 30th of July, some excitement was caused in political circles by the death of the premier, Sir Etienne P. Tache*, and as the meeting of the legislature was to take place in a few days, it became imperative that his successor should be appointed as speedily as possible. The senior member of the cabinet, and beyond any comparison, its most able and eligible member, was the attorney-general-west, and for this gentleman the governor-general promptly sent, requesting him to assume the place of the deceased leader. Mr. Macdonald offered no objections, but, on the contrary, believed that 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 Monck, but the grit chieftain refused to consent to the arrangement, giving as his reason that the government 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 and aspirations; and to place any one of these in an attitude of superiority over the others, with the advantage of the premiership, would, in the public mind, lessen the security of good faith, and seriously endanger the existence of the coalition. He refused, therefore, to accept Mr. Macdonald as premier, and suggested the appointment of some gentle- "304 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. «nan of good standing in the legislative council. The grit leader's motives, the reader can see as well as ourselves, were partly patriotic, but above all they were selfish. It was natural that he should be jealous of the ascendancy of Mr. Macdonald, but it would have been more creditable had he frankly said so, instead of trying to hide his real motive behind the thin screen of argument, that Sir Etienne Tache* was a colourless politician, without strong party feeling. Mr. Macdonald, very ■calmly and clearly, pointed out, in reply to Mr. Bi'own's objection, that at the time the coalition was effected, in 1864, Sir" Etienne Tac^e* held the position of premier, with himself as leader in the lower house, and of the Upper Canada section of the government; that Sir Etienne was not selected at the time of the coalition to the leadership as a part of the agreement for the coalition, but that he had been previously, as then, the Tiead 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 contention; 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. Carrier 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 unsatisfied, that his party would not have chosen Sir Narcisse; but he added: " Since we are equally with you desirous of preventing the scheme for c 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 government. 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 England. The government earned its measures by overwhelming majorities, and there seemed no disposition to tolerate the obstruction of the small band of opposition. During the session, the result of the labours of the commission, appointed in 1857, to frame a civil code for Lower Canada, was presented to the legislature, and M. Cartier introduced a bill to carry the same into effect. The late Mr. S. J. Watson, a peculiarly vigorous writer, in referring to the speech delivered by M. Cartier on this occasion, remarks: " He spoke with the feeling of a man who is conscious that he is placing the crowning stone on an edifice which has cost him years of labour and anxiety to build." The code went into operation on the 1st of August in the following year. The house rose after a six-weeks session ; 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 less 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 ascendancy, as on his own plantation where he was absolutely lord and master of all around him. Mr. Brown's position, it may be easily believed, was more pleasant in the sphere where, instead of finding his supremacy always contested, he ruled with despotic 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 virtue which prompted him to enter the government, and give his pledge.to support the ministry till the confederation scheme was beyond danger, began to fade out of him, and he only sought a pretext for resignation. It appears, and it is not greatly to be wondered at, that Sir Narcisse Belleau was only the figurehead of the administration, and that attorney-general Macdonald's was the ruling mind. Of Mr. Brown's personal unfriendliness, we might say his hatred, towards Mr. Macdonald, we have already heard, as shown in his refusal to ratify the latter gentleman's appointment to the premiership; and now that, his enemy, despite this protest, was the virtual premier, the mind which inspired, and the hand, that shaped the policy of the administration, was a thorn too stinging for him to bear. 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 impulse, and always incapable of forecasting probabilities or consequences. Duty to some men is as the fixed star that the mariner, sailing over the unknown main, follows with unfaltering 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 coalition; 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. 807 The termination of the reciprocity treaty, as those who have borne the dates in mind remember, was how at hand, and the commercial interests of the provinces demanded that the government 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 1865, 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. Hbwland and Mr. Gait were sent to Washington to negotiate there with the committee of ways and means. Inasmuch 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 sufficient excuse for withdrawing himself from the cabinet. It will be seen that a very filmy cloud obscured Mr. Brown's star of duty. A principle that cannot withstand a personal slight, and one of such a nature as tbis^ is surely not worth the having. But in view of Mr. Brown's subsequent attitude towards the treaty question, it will be observed 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 induced by any pressure to alter his decision. It appears that the affront received was not Mr. Brown's only ground of complaint against the government. Of the ministerial policy with respect to the Washington treaty, he strongly disapproved. He did not believe that we ought to go to Washington as suitors, but © O © ' 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 JOHN A. MACDONALD. contended that the mountain ought to come down to Mahomet. That this excellent view had taken possession of him is clear from the following extract of a speech which he delivered during the next session of parliament. " I was," he said, " as much in favour of a renewal of reciprocity as any member of this house, but I wanted a fair treaty ; and we should not overlook the fact while admitting its benefits, that the treaty was attended with some disadvantages to us. I contend that we should not have gone to Washington as suitors, for any terms they were pleased to give us. 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 us." In a little while Mr. Brown passed from the transition state, and was pouring-red-hot broadsides into the government. Has political history ever told of such another man ? No impartial writer hesitates to think if there may be found' any excuse 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 government 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 disapproved 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 be un fait accompli, 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 Ian act suspending the Habeas Corpus for one year was hurriedly passed; also a measure providing for the protection of Lower Canada against invasion. There was brisk discussion upon some of the government measures, but the opposition found themselves in comparP son with their opponents as " that small infantry warred on by cranes;" and hence, as the session wore on, learned not to offer opposition where nothing was to be gained but a crown of ridicule. A series of resolutions defining the constitution of Upper and Lower Canada under the proposed confederation, and which subsequently were, in great measure, incorporated in the imperial act, were passed, and likewise a tariff, provision 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 whiskey. Before the house arose a difference, suppressed for some time, between the finance minister, Mr. A. T. Gait, and Mr. H. L. Langevin, on the subject of education in Lower Canada came to a head, and resulted in the resignation of the former gentleman, who, however, loyally supported the government in its. general policy, while feeling obliged to so far differ from it on a particular question. Mr. Howland took. Mr. Gait's portfolio, and Mr. solicitor-general Langevin became postmaster- general in the place of the new finance minister. . 310 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Meanwhile, reason had resumed her sway in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. In New Brunswick, shortly after the blind goddess had scored her victory, opinion began to revolt against the counsel by which it had hitherto been guided respecting the great question at issue, and which, in its anti-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 discard the progress-brakes which had assumed the government of the province. In 1866, 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 proportions. There was some reason to suppose, and strong supposition, that the ministry which had assumed power by virtue of opposition to the union, was not composed entirely of members deadly f oemen to the ruffians threatening the province. Governor 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 question upon the legislature. The Smith-Hatheway administration 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 federative union. The ministry were obliged to resign, and the THE 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 Gulf remained refractory, while her more rugged sister out on the edge of the Atlantic was listless, save for the harrowing " poetry " of her fisherman-bards, and the metaphysical flux of a Hebrew scholar. The little meadow-province afterwards fell before the wooer, but the " ancient colony " chose perpetual celibacy. Little Tom the sea baby once found in the middle of the Northern Sea a solitary gair-fowl sitting bolt upright upon the Allalonestone, and singing at morn and eve, singing ever, " And so the poor stone was left all alone, With a fal-lal-la-lady." She was an ancient dame, having no wings, 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 unmistakable 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 " who tried to " sell his counthry." The writer just remembers the 312 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. scene, and never-will it leave his memory. In addition to the zealous " antis " with the tar and feathers, were about fifty individuals who sounded melancholy insult to the candidate through these large conchs which the fishermen get upon their " bull- tow " trains in summer, and another band of about thirty, who blew reproaches and derision through cow-horns. They heaped every possible insult upon the visitor, raved up and down the landings threatening his life should he attempt to come on shore, till, at last, pained and disgusted, this man who had been so of tentheir 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 addvhere, did not drop out of public life, but still, with bis 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 Wilmot, the last named gentleman being the present lieutenant-governor of the province. The delegates assembled at Westminster palace on the 4th of December, and, by preeminence, 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, rendered what assistance he could to the delegates and to the imperial government. The conference sat till the 24th of December, 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 irn THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 31S 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 provinces, and a more uniform and equitable feature given to the whole. The Nova Scotia delegates were confronted by the colossal figure of Joseph Howe, who poured out a stream of fiery eloquence against the confederation; but those who were present say that Dr. Tupper turned the great orator's arguments back with such force and clearness that the mind of the imperial government never for a moment wavered in concluding what its duty to Nova Scotia was. After the conclusion of the discussion on the general scheme, the conference, in conjunction with the imperial law officers, prepared certain draft bills, which were afterwards fused into a harmonious whole, and submitted to the imperial parliament on the 5th of February following. On the 29th of March the amalgamated bill received 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 £3,000,- 000 sterling, which sum was to be appropriated to the construction of an Intercolonial railway between Halifax and the St. Lawrence. The union was not considered perfected by the constitutional 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 date on which it should come in force. Briefly, the act provided that the provinces of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia 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 provinces remaining unchanged. The executive authority, and the command of the naval and military forces, were vested in the imperial sovereign, represented by a governor-general or other executive officer for the time being. The city of Ottawa was declared the seat of government during the sovereign's pleasure. The legislative machinery was to consist of a viceroy or his deputy, and a ministerial council, to be 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 elapse 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 institution which in practice is a myth—and twelve for each of the maritime provinces, the members to possess certain property qualifications, to be appointed by the Crown, and to retain their seats for life, unless guilty of gross misbehaviour. Becoming swinishly intoxicated, and while in that state vomiting over Turkey carpets at vice-regal banquets were not foreseen in framing the constitution, so that senators offending in that way may retain their seats. Provision was made for increasing 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. *jy 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, however, that an adjustment should take place every ten years, upon a census of population being obtained. The representation of Quebec was permanently fixed at sixty-five members, while that of each of the other provinces was to bear the same relation to the population thereof that sixty-five should from time to time bear to the population of Quebec. The representation for the whole union was fixed at 181 members: eighty-two for Ontario,' sixty-five for Quebec, nineteen for Nova Scotia, and fifteen for New Brunswick. The duration of the house of commons was not to exceed five years. Constitutions were likewise given to the four provinces embraced in the union. Each comprised a lieutenant- governor who was to be appointed by the governor-general, paid out of the general treasury, and to hold office for five years; an executive council which was to be appointed by the lieutenant-governor, 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 legislature was to have control over local affairs, all questions of a character affecting the dominion at large falling within the jurisdiction of the general government. It is hardly necessary to say that the jurisdiction of the federal and the provincial parliaments in many cases remind one of those colours on the canvas 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, as our 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 legis- tion has never been the worse in consequence. LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. regulating the liquor traffic resides 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 is not in the province, but in the dominion; while other eminent jurists contend that the power resides not according to the terms of the act bearing upon such cases, either in the one legislature or the other. Provision was made, likewise, in the British North America Act, for the admission into the confederation, of any colony that had so far refused to be a party to the compact. The royal proclamation announced the names of seventy-two senators, thirty-six of whom were conservatives and thirty-six 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 distracting 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 resentation by population, and entertained the proposal of confederation only as a means to that end; Lower Canada was apathetic, and rather interested in resisting Brown's movement than anxious to enter a combination which would not increase her prestige. Mr. Macdonald, appearing upon the scene at this critical time, thus on the one hand appealed to Mr. Brown: You will through federation get representation by population, and, turning 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 choose between a subserviency to a majority in all things, or a measure that will make you supreme in your domestic concerns, and give you the authority to which your number entitles you on questions of national importance. Mr. Mackenzie naturally enough, perhaps, considering our poor fallen nature, is jealous of the position Mr. Macdonald takes after the accomplishment of the union. " Having," says this graceless biographer, " no great work of his own to boast about, he bravely plucks the laurel from the brows of the actual combatants, and real victors, and fastens it on his own head." Who, pray, Mr. Mackenzie, were the " actual combatants ?" Who were " 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 event, 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 asking if © Mr. Macdonald would come and see him, and then told the attorney-general-west what his intentions were. Mr. Macdonald 318 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. expressed his obligations, and his willingness to take any duty that his excellency assigned to him. Upon the recommendation of the prime minister, almost entirely, it was that the members of the ministry were chosen. Like the " heretic " who, on receiving baptism and entering the fold of the Roman church, finds all his past blotted out as if it had never been—thoughhis sins had been red as scarlet—and begins life de novo, 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 ministry, 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 questions were brushed off the stage, and nought remained but hollow names. Lord Monck indeed believed that in the appointment 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 expedients that ever entered the brain of man. But while regarding 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 satisfactorily carried out." In due time the members of the new cabinet were announced, as follows : Hon. John A. Macdonald Premier and Min. of Just-ice. ". A. T. Galt - Minister of Finance. THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 319 Hon. Alexander Campbell " A. J. Fergusson-Blair " W. P. Howland " George E. Cartier " Wm. McDougall " S.L. Tilley " Peter Mitchell - " H. L. Langevin - " J. C. Chapais - " A. G. Archibald - " Edward Kennt - Postmaster-General. President of the Council. Min. Inland Revenue. - Min. Militia and Defence. - Minister Public Works. - Min. of Customs. Min. Marine and Fisheries. Sec. of State for Canada. Min. of Agriculture. - Sec. of State for Provinces. ,.- Receiver-General. Lord Monck was sworn into office as governor-general of © © the New Dominion by Chief Justice Draper, after which he 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 Companionship of the Bath on Messrs. Tilley, Tupper, Cartier, Gait, McDougall and Howland. Messrs. Cartier and Gait refused the favour, and it soon became known that the former gentleman was wounded to the quick that, in granting the higher honour of knighthood, he 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 movement for the federation was undoubted, but so had many others 320 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. who were visited with no higher token of imperial regard than the worthy leader of the French Canadians. With the unbounded chivalry of his nature the premier set to work to redeem what, in view of M. Carrier's feelings, was a diplomatic blunder; and a year later it was announced that the French •leader had been created a baronet of the United Kingdom, a © * higher dignity than had been conferred upon the prime minister himself. M. Cartier was somewhat mollified, but the original hurt rankled in the very marrow, and to use the phrase of •one of our writers, the golden-bo wL once shivered could not be. restored again. Such-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 hesitation, 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. CHAPTER XVII. the first dominion cabinet. GEORGE ETIENNE CARTIER was born at St. Antoine, in the County of Vercheres, on the 6th of September, 1814. Tradition, perhaps hazarding a guess, connects him with the great Jacques of the same name, so prominent a figure in the early history of Canada. After finishing his education in the College of St. Sulpice, Montreal, M. Cartier studied law in the office of M. Edouard Rodier; and, in 1835, began practice at Montreal. Two years later the province was in a flame of rebellion, and like most of his spirited compatriots at the time, the young barrister shouted his vivas for Papineau and La Liberty. He fought with much bravery under Dr. Nelson at St. Denis, and when the bloody drama was ended fled 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, seeking the suburbs for exercise and fresh air, and as he glided O * © along the lonely roads in the gloaming, he often related afterwards, he fancied that mysterious footsteps dogged him, and that every bush concealed an officer. At last, semi-official information reached him that if he conducted himself with discretion, 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 pillow so long that the patriotism which had once put on the wings of revolution, was ever afterwards, in his breast, frozen at the u 321 322 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 Verch&res,. which constituency he represented till 1861, when he overthrew the rouge Goliath, A. A. Dorion, in Montreal, dealing a blow to Lower Canada gritism> from which, it may be said without exaggeration, it has never since recovered. We have seen that, early in 1856, he was chosen provincial-secretary in the MacNab-Tache* administration, and that four months later he became attorney-general in the Tache'-Macdonald ministry, in the room of Mr. Drummond, who had gone out of the cabinet in dudgeon, because Mr. Macdonald, instead of himself, was chosen to the leadership in the assembly. The following year the Macdonald-Cartier government 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 contemporaries, M. Cartier would be light in the scale, unless we confound 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 unworthy we be, to sum up the work and paint the portrait, must not falter in our duty, though our naked sketch reveal an imperfect 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 unsympathetic, 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 contempt 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 w * O© pushed aside obstacles and all opposing pretensions, and a capacity for organization that always astonished and sometimes bewildered those who are not given to analysis, but who are Charmed by flash. No 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 energy that never slept, never paused, that drilled on, and would work its way through iron walls till i t reached its ends. Alexander Tilloch Gait, the chief of finance in the new ministry, 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 successes of his father, he showed an early ta ste for literature, and when in his fourteenth year contributed to Fraser's 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's Magazine. It is a sore task 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 JOHN A. MACDONALD. Gait family emigrated to Canada, in 1824, and when Alexander had attained his sixteenth year, he 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 various stages of the department was rapid, till he reached the post of commissionership. " During his twelve years management," says a reliable authority, " the company was changed from one of almost hopeless insolvency, to that of a valuable and remunerative 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 useful as a politician than as a business man. He endeavoured to distinguish himself as a shining protestant by opposition to catholicity, though the true way for him to prove the superiority 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 Quebec 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 appearing 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 administration, 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 again before we THE 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 well-balanced non-party man; but unfortunately the time came when the pendulum, reaching one side, 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 his 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 circulated a manifesto recommending " a friendly and peaceful separation from British connexion, and a union upon equitable terms with the great North American confederacy of sovereign states." A number of gentlemen of good standing in Canada, © © O > supported the scheme, and one of these was Mr. A. T. Gait. There would be nothing striking in this historical morsel but that, a few months ago, while trying to restrain her laughter, Canada stood watching the same Mr. A. T. Gait, as Canadian high commissioner to England, endeavouring to set flying © O * O •/ © no less a kite than a 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 second-hand is only a half-way measure. For, in Locksley Hall. Tennyson has a much better proposal, as we learn when he sings of the time © " When the war drum throbs no longer, and the battle-flags are furled In the parliament of man, the federation of the world." But as the Canadians are not far enough advanced yet to appreciate 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 Thousand 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 either to the British or the Canadian government— as so surely as he does they will not take kindly to the scheme —but simply bring 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 life 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, prudence 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 assistant 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 different newspapers, of the Melanges Religieux, and the Journal d'Agriculture, 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 career in the capacity of mayor of Quebec, to which office he was several times elected. In 1855, he took the first of three prizes for an essay on Canada, written for circulation in Paris, in which paper as in his other contributions he gave promise of reaching high literary eminence, though, somewhat unfortunately for letters, the public charmer, with her siren tongue, won him for her own. He made his first appearance in parliament, the reader remembers, in 1857, when he was elected for Dorchester. Through the many years that followed till death removed M. Cartier from the scenes, M. Langevin acted the part of a 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. Yet to us, M. Langevin in the role of second to M. Cartier, seems like the' sun acting satellite to the moon. As a statesman, to M. Cartier we can only accord a second place; to M. Langevin we give a first. If no tempest come, it is impossible for one to " ride the whirlwind and direct the storm." Yet, 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 English brethren. We are 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 object was only to blacken. Most assuredly is the French 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 Canadians is more dear, or who in advancing those interests has ever displayed more earnestness, wisdom and ability. But, above all things, we believe he is a Canadian. Indeed, what we want is such public men as M. Langevin, to keep our political system from the mire into which it shows a tendency to fall. When the Acadians of New Brunswick 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 fallen upon the outcast descendant, M. Langevin pointed out to them that the past was now a 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 privileges with other nationalities in the provinces. Of this nature has been his advice times without number to the people of his own province, and it is only just to say that, owing to his exertions, 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 feeling at once narrow and unworthy. Unfortunately, the Globe newspaper has been foremost in promoting the bad work of estrangement, though some do now hope, and we are of the number, that the worst of that great journal's work is done; that, to use the words of Bystander, " 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 complex propositions before government, by his readiness in unravelling 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- THE FIRST DOMINION CABINET. 329* 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 "" by 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, but they have not the remotest influence upon their own birth ; so that it would be unjust to think the worse of a man in exalted place that he is not highborn. A large number of our public men have sprung from humble parentage, and these we can readily forgive, when high upon fortune's steep, for endeavouring to appear as gentlemen •: for they must take their wives and their daughters to Ottawa,, and go to court, and give and receive calls, and hold a place in social life proper to their rank in the public sphere; and when such men deport themselves with that grace, courtesy and tolerance belonging to those who are to the manner born, they de- © © 'J serve to be ranked among those whose house has never been © seen in the bud but always in the tree. But the person who>- plebeian born, wraps himself in conceit and vulgar pomp, or in that brusque bonhomie which sits well upon some imperial colonel, and that the parvenu counterfeits only to travesty, is plebeian still; all the waters of the St. Lawrence will not make him whiter than the " great unwashed" of whom he is, but whom he despises. In 1881, with the approval of those who set no store on gauds or title, save as badges of merit, and of duty, in whatever line, well and faithfully done, her Majesty conferred upon M. Langevin the order of knighthood, which distinction he now worthily wears. One of the most 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 Brunswick, and, in the capacity of leader, exhibited talents of more than a common order. Unfortunately, the profession of politics to the popular 330 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. mind, when placed in the moral scale, has little specific gravity; and the person who enters public life is regarded as having taken a step downward. But through all the years that Hon. Leonard Tilley had given" to public duty, the most unscrupulous opponent never even sought 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 service of his country, that his name was a very 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 is 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. As minister of customs, he was prompt and decisive, but he displayed such clearness of grasp and excellence of judgment upon every question 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. Leonard 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 success of that measure, which is indebted in so great a degree to f © © 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. " The distinguishing characteristic of Sir Leonard Til- © © ley," says Mr. Nicholas Flood Davin, in his sparkling and capital paper," Great Speeches," in the Canadian Monthly, " is sincerity. No man could appear more lost in his subject. This. is a great element in persuasiveness. The earnestness is en-, hanced by a style of pure Saxon and unaffected simplicity.- His ease of expression would at once mark him out in the English house of commons, and the auctoritas with which he speaks, gives him weight and secures a following, He has the rare power of making a budget speech interesting, a power which no chancellor of the exchequer I ever heard in the English house of commons had, Mr. Gladstone, of course, always excepted." In listening to Sir Leonard Tilley, we hear a man who makes no statement that has not received thorough examination from every view, no opinion that does not bear the stamp of deep conviction ; few, if any, propositions that those who follow will be able to disprove. The critic who admires sound and fury would be disappointed in Sir Leonard Tilley, for he would find a man discussing his question with calm, earnest dignity, never allowing passion to hurry him into extravagance, but firmly maintaining himself upon the ground of common sense. Through such simple, irresistible force, Mr. Cobden, 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 notable 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. 11 L. ^U|JU own might have 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 Governor would be able to reconcile his conscience to fall in with the immemorial custom of dispensing wine at his hospitalities ; but during the five years that he occupied the gubernatorial chair, intoxicants were not once 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 representing 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 accomplished 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 prominent 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 Stewart, jun., in some of his life-like portraits in "Canada under DuJ- * We may be pardoned for having made this reference, seeing that the " enterprising journalist," has preceded us. THE FIRST DOMINION CABINET. 333 ferin " has this telling bit of description with reference to Mr. Mitchell. " In popularity he almost rivalled Sir John himself. He was a hard worker, a redoubtable foe and an unforgiving 7 O © enemy. He was keen in debate, quick to perceive weakness in an opponent, and ready on the instant to strike him down. He always spoke eloquently and well. He was bold but did not always show the more subtle element of tact which he undoubtedly possessed. He was vindictive and never neglected to pursue an enemy with relentless fury. In executive power he had few equals. With great skill he mastered the minutiae of his office, and his department rapidly became one of the most important in the cabinet." Politicians matching themselves against Mr. Mitchell, had usually come to grief. When a clearheaded man is able to outwit an opponent by calmly pondering the situation over, as the careful chess-player looks many moves into the future of his game, he is not unfrequently termed a trickster; and Mr. Mitchell who had been guilty of no offence save possessing the ability to delve a yard below the mines of some of those pitted against him, received the sobriquet of " Bismarck." For a brief season many were persuaded that the clever politician dealt in naught but " treasons, stratagems and spoils;" and they heard without wonder that an invertebrate lieutenant-governor and a guileless ministry had fallen a victim to his wiles. As this is not a question of morals, we have only to say that if a ministry can not resist 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 is 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 be said that the department given to the charge of Mr. Mitchell was at this time the most important in the public service. 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 constructed a system of regulations, which, with a few modifications only, has existed to the present day. Many of the harbour improvements begun, the erection of a large number of lighthouses, and the adoption of a host of other measures in the interest 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-headed and thoroughly able incumbent to say that since Hon. Peter Mitchell left the depaitment of marine and fisheries, it has not had such another energetic and 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 408 constituents in Northumberland, 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, battling 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. Howland, 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 born.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 overestimate the patriotism of Mr. Howland, is proven, if in nothing else, with abundant force by the assaults to which he was from time to time subjected by the Globe. But Mr. Howland's sense of duty was always stronger than his dread of newspapers, and he never hesitated to face the thunder at the call of his country's interests. At a meeting held in Toronto after the formation of the first dominion ministry, Mr, Howland and Hon. Wm. McDougall, both of whom made an able defence of their course in entering the coalition, were read out of the reform party. At this meeting the grit tyrant was the swaying spirit. A perusal of the speeches shows that both Messrs. Howland and McDougall ably defended themselves ; but 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 refused to follow him from the coalition cabinet, and an ambition, that, like a high-blooded horse, which becomes the more unmanageable the longer it is kept confined, had now passed restraint, and could not be appeased by anything short of office, and the destruction of all that had crossed its path. Mr. Howland received the dicta of excommunication with somewhat of indifference, but when the time arrived that set him free to show his party preferences, he hesitated not in returning to his first love. In July, 1868, he was appointed lieutenant-governor of Ontario; and in later years received the dignity of knighthood, an honour, which, if a badge of recognition to merit, he had undoubtedly won. Already have we had occasional glimpses of the postmaster r general. We first met him as a student in the law office of Mr. John A. Macdonald, and afterwards, in 1858, as a representative for Kingston in the legislative council. Four years after 336 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 1864, which position he retained till the union, when he became postmaster general. Mr. Campbell entered public life as a liberal-conservative, and has ■always remained true to his faith. He led the government in the legislative council of old Canada from 1858 until 1867, and in the senate from the latter period till 1873. But in the last- named year the government 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 opposition in the upper house. Under the restored Macdonald ministry he has held different portfolios, and is at present minister 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 accomplished. 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 imposing 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, 0 they now and again bake a loaf in that building. But, still queries the nigh dumbfounded stranger, 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 imposing pile, and received no answer, save that which echo, ever ringing, gives. There are, it is true, other and weightier reasons 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 on a waterlogged barge, without sail or oar. * This is "Bystander's " term for the Upper House. ■sSMISlls- US % CHAPTER XVIII. THE NEW REGIME. BUT now the storm was over and the ship of state which had been tossed by so many tempests, rode safely at her moorings. The country looked hopefully into the future for political peace, and believed that 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 soreheads 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 convention of reformers was held at Toronto, at which the proposed coalition was denounced in no charitable language. Messrs. McDougall 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 effect of the address upon " the meeting," saw that the underlings had begun to look at the coalition in a different light. But as O © 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 tyrant sought not the aid of ruses or obscure phrase to cloak his feelings. He 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 Ishmael wandering over the land; though Mr. Howland, in due time—when the period arrived that his secession was not a violation of the original compact—returned to his first love. The general election for the house of commons was held during the summer and early autumn. Quebec and Ontario emphasized their approval of union and coalition by returning overwhelming majorities of ministerialists; and George Brown was defeated in South Ontario. Coercion is a wholesome policy when dealing with the dagger and dynamite, but it is not a happy expedient in Canadian politics; as George Brown ascertained, but, as we might have supposed, without reaping any profit from the lesson. Though the dark-age organs, and the " anti " politicians of New Brunswick had waged bitter war against all who had favoured union, the ministry there carried twelve of the fifteen seats. Nova Scotia had been caught by a counter breeze and driven back from her late position. Dr. Tupper had worsted Joseph Howe before the imperial ministers, but the latter had the post mortem victory before the province. For once the sturdy doctor found that neither his Lungs nor his courage were sufficient against the stream of © O O burning eloquence that flowed from the " Great Anti." The battle for the confederates was another Flodden, one man only, and he, Dr. Tupper, reaching Ottawa with a tattered flag. Eighteen sturdy antis were sent 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- unnio men at Ottawa might be able to unseal the fate of the «f 340 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. province: but, confiding people, they were soon to see that they might as well have supposed them capable of effecting the quartering of the moon. Yet it was a triumph for Joseph Howe, a sort 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 a sense of self-importance which sometimes dimmed or distorted his vision. The question of confederation to him may have, in the beginning, presented itself as a political problem to be worked out in its bearings on the public weal, but there can be little doubt that when Dr. Tupper assumed the lead and the great orator found himself in the place of second, the question became an argumentum ad homi- nem. It became, 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 Joseph 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 was at the outset 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. 0. Chauveau became premier of Quebec, and, through the friendship of Sir John, Hon. John Sandfield Macdonald secured the leadership in Ontario, 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 politicians 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. The 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 condemned 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 institutions, that the unfavourable turn which commerce had taken, and the failure of the Commercial Bank was due to his dishonest and unwise course. Finding little sympathy and support among his colleagues, and a storm of censure from the enemy, Mr. Gait resigned. The necessity of attending to his private affairs, he stated, induced him to take the step. We suppose he had the right to make whatever explanation he pleased. There are some things which are just as well kept from the coarse gaze of the people. The appointment of Hon. J. E. Cauchon to the speakership of the senate was a subject that helped to keep the public from going to sleep. M. Cauchon was a Frenchman with a bitter tongue, who had said © * many stinging things, and wounded a battalion of public men in his time; but he had also written a pamphlet L'union des Provinces de VAmerique Britanique du Word, 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 was 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 342 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 carry his audience by his passionate eloquence as the sweeping wind sways the trees of the forest, and who, besides a distinguished public career, had made some creditable contributions to the literature of his province, and written some florid poetry, which' however will not add many cubits to his stature; Dr. Tupper, his 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, and forget his dignity, yet being capable of making a slashing speech at times, and administering a good deal of judicious annoyance to an opponent; Charles Fisher, who was an awkward but able lawyer, a comparatively mediocre politician when in office, but a very battering-ram, torpedo-boat, and many other things compounded when assailing 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-pigeon in the days of electricity—a man with a strong and stubborn intellect, capable of a vast grasp, and endowed with an extraordinary memory—a forcible but diffuse speaker, who made long excursions in the by-ways of his argument, 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 congratulations and foreshadowed the sessional programme. On the address there was some hot discussion, and when the Demosthenes 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 disappointment, and 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 presented to the people of Nova Scotia. The address was carried without a division, and Howe sitting at his desk, the embodiment of grim dissatisfaction, reminded the on-looker of a volcano at rest, after a violent eruption. The chief business of the new parliament was an act reducing the rates of postage and organizing the post office savings bank system; and a measure providing for the construction of the Intercolonial Railway, the route to be determined by the imperial government in accordance with the terms when obtaining the imperial loan. An attempt was made to place the telegraph system under government control as had been done in Great Britain, but some of the grits said, Why not at once 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 asses, and everything that is ours under the control of the government ? and for once, the grits took, probably, a very wholesome and correct view of the matter. 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; but it is their duty to use the powers in their hands to have them so conducted. If two mail-coach drivers get into the habit of running into each other as they pass on dark •nights, breaking the bones of passengers and destroying property, it is not the duty of government to mount the box and drive the coaches; but it is their 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 suffer other punishment at the hands of the law. It is not the function of government, let us repeat, to manage 344 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. railways—unless under some exceptional condition—but it is its duty to protect the public against railway monopolies by so framing its legislation as to maintain competition and make aggregation and monopoly impossible. The tendency in this age of gigantic public enterprise, like in England under the heptarchy, is for the greater to absorb or swallow the lesser, and half a glance shows us that this centralization is going on in monster corporate affairs, 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 Pacific railways in this country reminds one of nothing so much as a pair of whales devouring all the smaller fish that come in their way, and halting on occasion, trying to bolt one another. Corporation is rapidly becoming king in Canada as in the republic, and the duty of our government is to thwart him.* Hon. John Rose 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 opposition, the statement did not overwhelm the new official, who made a very efficient and clear-sighted administrator. On the 4th of December, Hon. Wm. McDougall moved a series of resolutions based on the 146th section of the British North America 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 20th of March, the object of the long interim being to give the local legislatures an opportunity to complete their sessions. 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 but detestation for the doctrine of the Socialists, one of whose expounders unfortunately is the fine ability of Mr. Henry George looking sadly awry. THE NEW REGIME. 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, 1868, and an address was passed praying for the repeal of so much of " the act for the union of Canada and Nova Scotia and New Brunswick as related to Nova Scotia." Four provincial delegates, with Howe at their head, were deputed to lay the address at the foot of the throne, but the ambassadors of disintegration were confronted at the home office by Dr. Tupper, who once again carried away the laurels. When the Dominion parliament met, the opposition censured the government for having sent Dr. Tupper to London, but in a little grew ashamed of this contention, and said no more about it. And now, while the commons was in the midst of its duties, an event happened which sent a thrill of horror through the country and brought legislation to a stand-still. One of the ablest members in the house, and perhaps its most brilliant orator, was Thomas D'Arcy McGee. A short sketch of his career must be interesting to all so familiar with his name and the circumstances of his untimely end. He was born of humble parents in the County of Louth, Ireland, in 1825. The advantages of higher education, which were open only to the rich man's son, were denied to young McGee; yet, young eagle that he was, he aimed to soar, and no circumstance could trammel the yearning spirit within his breast. He had the flashing eloquence of his nation, that gift which no Irishman ever acquires by putting pebbles in his 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, gives him 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 loudmouth 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 splendid but rudderless ability. Mr. McGee was an ardent patriot but his patriotism was not a cause but a consequence, the outcome indeed of a wild poetic sentiment, which delighted in nothing so much as weaving impossible schemes in impracticable spheres. He was more poet than patriot or politician, yet is his 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 admirer deliberately harnesses into regulation work. It is not necessary to chronicle casualities, for they will be predicated of such a procedure. But young McGee became famous, and after his name had grown familiar through Ireland, he returned 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 ambition; and he cast in his lot with Charles Gavan Duffy and several other firebrands, who could see everything and everywhere under the sun except before them, and became one of the writers on the Nation. Setting off mere harmless fireworks soon lost its charm for him; eventually he was lured THE NEW REGIME. 34T into the Smith O'Brien chimera—and fled from Ireland disguised as a priest. He had gone up like a rocket and come down like a burnt stick. He then established the New York- Nation, a weekly journal containing, issue after issue, imprudence 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 publication. Out of the ashes of this dead brand arose The-American 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 used the talent I possess in the proper way ? Have I any hope of achieving that for which I aim, by following out the course I have so long pursued ? To all these queries his mind returned, and his career returned, negations. And, struck like Saul with sudden conviction, he was from that hour a changed man. Henceforth he resolved not alone to pursue a new way, but to endeavour to make amends for the past. He removed to Buffalo, and there for four years issued the Celt, no longer a fiery dragon, but the bearer of messages of peace and good-will. The fame of the editor spread over the continent, and he made- several visits to Canada lecturing in the chief towns. At length, in 1857, at the earnest request of a large number of Irish. Catholics, he removed to Montreal, where he established The- New Era, in which, with masterly eloquence, and strong and searching argument, he advocated a federation of the British North American colonies. He had now, once admitted into political fellowship with British colonists, grown an ardent supporter of 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 his entry into parliament for Montreal, and pass onto the period of the election after the union. Time and residence among British colonists had surely wrought strange changes in this man. He was now an impassioned devotee of the Queen, and 348 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. regarded the invasion of this 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 Liim, 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 impending doom 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 morning, and the members departed for their homes. McGee accompanied by several others, who parted with him at the corner of Sparks and Metcalfe streets, proceeded towards his own lodging-house on Sparks street. As he was engaged inserting his key in the latch, a figure 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 following 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 expressing his sympathy with the bereaved family of the illustrious 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 apprehension of the murderer, and before long a Fenian named Whelan THE NEW REGIME. 34^ 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, continuing 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 parliament. This latter act 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 was made liable to a fine of $2,000 per day. The act 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 contract from government. This, however, is the only disgraceful breach of the act on record. In July two lieutenant-governors were appointed, Hon. W. P. Howland for Ontario, and Hon. A. L. Wilmot, who both in politics and jurisprudence had been brilliant, but in neither profound, for New Brunswick. Meanwhile the feeling of hostility to union in Nova Scotia had not decreased, but rather, owing to the clever writing and address of those irrepressible antis, the Annands and others of equal note, had become so intensified that Sir John Macdonald suggested to his colleagues the propriety of some members of the cabinet attending the conference to be held in Halifax, in August. Accordingly, thither proceeded Sir John and several other members of the government. They reasoned, expostulated, offered to investigate 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 however, 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 conditions of Nova Scotia's connexion 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 that could only bring bitter fruit, gave way, and, in Januarj^ of the new year, 1869, entered the government as president of the council. At a cabinet meeting the details 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 to grant an annual subsidy of $82,698 for ten years. Lord Monck having taken such an able and zealous part in forwarding confederation, his term of office had been extended two years, that the new government might be inaugurated under 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 interest. 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 representative of Cavan in the imperial parliament. He had been governor of ^he 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, inasmuch 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 politics 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 two later in the season Mr. Rose resigned his portfolio and went to London, England, as a member of the well-known banking firm there. Mr. Francis Hincks having returned to Canada, though not as Mr. Francis, but as Sir Francis, from the government of Barbadoes and the Windward Islands, was offered by Sir John, and accepted, the vacant portfolio of finance. The country had the fullest confidence in his financial skill, remembering his splendid record as inspector-general, and he was returned to the house of commons for North Renfrew. Several other changes were also made in the cabinet, Mr. J. C. Aikens becoming secretary of state and registrar- general ; Mr. Dunkin, minister of agriculture; Mr. Alexander Morris, minister of inland revenue, and Mr. Howe, secretary of state for the provinces. Mr. McDougall, whom we are to see again, was appointed governor of the North-West territories, and resigning his seat in the ministry, proceeded with his family to that distant wilderness, where, blind to the bitter disappointment the future held in store, a reasonable ambition whispered in his ear, a vast, range of opportunity would be opened to his energy and talents, and he would add renown to his name. if CHAPTER XIX. THE HALF-BREED. rpHE Hudson Bay Company agreed to surrender their rights 1 in the North-West territory for £300,000, to be paid by the Dominion government; but all the existing rights of the company, with certain reservations, should 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 of the Saskatchewan, with the stipulation that the rights of the Indians and half-breeds should be respected. Within a month after the reversion, the territory was to be ceded to the Doiniuion; and the Canadian government passed a measure 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 adminstration, and the rights 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. Wm. 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 wild 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 extensive terra incognita as Mr. McDougall, 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 the Dominion. Early in September, therefore, and without waiting till the month had elapsed, Mr. McDougall, with his family, set out from Ottawa on the long and tiresome journey to Fort Garry, the seat of his future government. Meanwhile a party of surveyors, under Lieutenant-Colonel Dennis, a gentleman swayed largely by the warlike instinct, had been at Fort Garry and the districts surrounding, laying off lots and townships. The ignorant half-breeds, naturally, looked upon the new-comers, with their tapes and chains, with some alarm ; and they soon became seized 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 very purpose the strangers were here measuring off the territory. The inhabitants of the country consisted of French-Canadian half-breeds, descendants of the voyageurs and coureurs des bois who had for several 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 informed that Dennis and his surveyors were to visit their territory 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 aggression, 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 J54" 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 settlers, and thwarting government the better; that there was plenty of soldiers in Canada to enforce obedience. To make the matter worse the English inhabitants scattered through © O the territory, who owed no love to their half barbarous neighbours, indulged in much injudicious exultation over the proposed 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 leaders wanted. In hot haste 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, brilliant 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 intelligence 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 sufficient force to fight his way to Fort Garry, Mr. McDougall 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 McTavish, at the Fort; but his messenger was captured by a party of armed men, and sent back under escort, with the warning not to attempt a similar enterprise again. Some time after this occurrence a party of fourteen armed horsemen drew up before Mr. McDougall's halting- place and demanded an interview. They notified the governor that he must leave the territory before nine o'clock on the following day; but after some expostulation they rode away " considering the matter," returning, however, on the following morning, showing a desire to use violence. Mr. McDougall and his party retired promptly across the border, and took up lodgings at the house of a friendly Irishman, in Pembina, where they remained till the return to Ontario. Since we have last seen the conspirators, amazing success has waited on their fortunes. Only the few Canadian settlers among them had shown hostility to the rising. The officers of the Hudson Bay Company sat with folded arms when a decisive step would have stamped the rebellion out; for they no more than the half-breeds relished the prospect of a new regime, having come, from their long possession in these wilds, to regard themselves as the rightful lords and masters of the territory. But the highest authority in the country was the catholic church, one of whose priests, in the field, would have been as powerful as Colonel Dennis and fifty cannon. Unfortunately the resident bishop, the Right Reverend Alexandre Antoine Tache*, was at the time in Rome, and the pious priest in charge of the diocese, during the bishop's absence, was too conscientious to interfere in the interests of peace, and to prevent bloodshed, though his catechism had told him,—and he might have read it in the scriptures—that "he that resisteth the power resisteth the ordinance of God, and they that resist iS) 356 LIFE OF.SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. shall purchase to themselves damnation" The good priest and his ignorant flock, however, were not so much awed by the threat of " damnation " as dazzled by the successes of the impulsive and shortsighted Riel. On the 24th of November the insurgents, under Riel, took possession of Fort Garry, set the 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 the number of about fifty and took refuge in the house of Dr. Shultz, but the dwelling was besieged; the inmates were captured, and marched off to Fort Garry where they were put in confinement. The proclamation appointing Mr. McDougall to the governorship 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 performing 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 © O © was not a solitary blunderer upon the scene. When the first day of December arrived he issued a proclamation commanding the insurgents peacably 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 against 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 revolt against the supreme authority raising a force to establish order. But it appears that the Canadian government, unwilling 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 himself to work to raise a force, but Riel and his followers only laughed at the chief of the surveyors, who, disgusted and chagrined, 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 proceedings, returned disheartened and disgusted to Ontario, where he published a series of letters affirming, and with such proof as lent but too much probability to his story, that the Hudson Bay Company and the Roman Catholic clergy of Red River had to some extent fomented the rebellion, and that his own late colleague, Hon. Joseph Howe, secretary of state, who had visited the region a short time before was, not to a small extent, responsible for the uprising. On Mr. McDougall's way home, he met upon the plains three emissaries, Vicar-general Thibault, Colonel De Salaberry and Donald A. Smith, each bearing, from the Canadian government, to the insurgents, a copy of a proclamation issued 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 proceedings be taken against any parties implicated in these unfortunate breaches of the law." Mr. McDougall © pursued his way home, and he was not much to be blamed if he offered no prayer for the success of Commissioner Salaberry. The emissaries proceeded on their way, but had no sooner reached Fort Garry than they were pounced upon, and deprived of their papers without being given an opportunity to offer a word of explanation. Riel's 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 the territory; he confiscated property, overthrew every barrier to his will, and banished 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 several prominent residents induced Riel to yield to the request, 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. Upon one other person, too, had the insurgent cast a murderous eye. On the night of the 15th 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 officer, though leading for want of better such a helpless assemblage, 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 highhanded use of his unlawful powers ; he was yet to enact the foulest crime that stains the page of Canadian history. It appears that among the besieged at Dr. Shultz's house was one THE HALF-BREED. 559 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 and confined in the Fort. Scott was a fiery youth, loyal to the government, but indiscreet enough to make speeches which brought upon his head the wrath of the dictator. There is now no doubt that for Scott Riel had conceived a personal hatred. Twice had he risen in arms against the insurgents, and even under the lock and key of the president made no effort to suppress 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, and that the latter's conduct was no longer tolerable. Whether the story was true or not it served the bloodthirsty purpose of Riel, who, with murder in his eye, on the evening of the 3rd of March, within the walls of the fort, improvised a court martial, consisting of the " council of seven," to try Scott. The crimes for which he 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 trial, or to make any defence. After a brief consultation, the seven sentenced the victim to be shot on the following morning at ten o'clock. © o When news of the unheard-of proceedings, and the barbarous sentence got abroad, there was even in that rebellious fort general excitement, and much sympathy was expressed for the condemned man. Rev. Mr. Young, a Methodist minister, Pere Lestang, Mr. Smith and others, besought with tearful earnestness that the sentence might be commuted, but the president was thirsting for Scott's blood, and, with his barbarous ally Lepine, peremptorily refused to listen to any plea for mercy. Poor Scott, as may be supposed, could scarcely realize his position ; 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 360 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. 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." His coffin, covered with white cotton, was carried before him, and laid down at the spot planned for execution, where the firing party of six half-breeds under " Adjutant-general" Ambrose Lepine, now drew up. Scott then, his arms pinioned, knelt on the ground, said farewell, and fell back pierced by three bullets. The victim it was observed was not dead, and one of the firing party stepping over to where 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 witnessed the bloody deed who assert that the cry of the dying man could be heard after the lid had been fastened down. What was afterwards 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 remains was found to contain naught but stones. The general 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 Macdonald that Bishop Tache"s presence would do more to quell 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 Oecumenical council, but the ministers considered the case urgent enough to invite the bishop to return and use his endeavours towards restoring peace. The prelate, at no little sacrifice, 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 himself 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 chosen because it was but too apparent that some of the priests in his diocese sympathized largely with the rebels, and that the insurgent^, almost to a man, were members of his flock. So, as in the dispatching of the three emissaries named, his lordship wag given a copy of the proclamation, and also some private letters for his guidance. For example, among other things, Sir John Macdonald wote: " Should the question arise as to the consumption of the stores or goods belonging to the Hudson Bay company by the insurgents, you are authorized to inform the leaders that if the company's government is restored, not only will there be a general amnesty granted, but in case the company should claim payment for such stores, that the Canadian government will stand between the insurgents and all harm." His lordship had also private conversations with Sir John and Hon. Joseph Howe, and a letter from the governor-general. But no member of the government looked upon the bishop's position as other than that of a peacemaker, bearing assurances from the government on specific points. Had he been a plenipotentiary he would have been given a formal commission with authority to deal, in the name of the government, with all past and possible offences. As a mere informal emissary and peacemaker, the bounds of his authority extended no further than the specifications in the letters of the ministers; and it might even be argued that the private letter of Sir John Macdonald, or of Mr. Howe, or even of Sir John Young, was not a valid authority, and was not so intended, and that ministers only wished to have the insurgents made aware of the disposition of the government. That the government did blunder in 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 occasion, of the bishop's view of the question. It is not necessary 362 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 bearing his credentials arrived at Red River. He presented his papers, remonstrated with the rebels, and in the name of the government of Canada made certain prpmises if they would lay down their arms. Among these, was that of a general amnesty to all implicated in the insurrection; as likewise to those concerned in the shooting of Scott. It is almost © incredulous that the worthy bishop should have so far mistaken his powers as to include in the amnesty, upon his own responsibility, the perpetrators of this foul murder; yet such was his view, an opinion which he maintained stoutly to the end. He wrote, stating what he had done, to the secretary of state, Mr. Howe, but that gentleman promptly informed him that the government was not in a position to interfere with the free action of her majesty in the exercise of the royal clemency, though he requested his lordship to persevere in his endeavours to bring 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 pardon 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 elsewhere, 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. 36a 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 under the leadership of one O'Donoghue, who had been an ally of Riel, threatened an irruption. The governor was alone, surrounded 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 such a filibuster as O'Donoghue and the band of ruffians in his following, Mr. Archibald leagued ©? © himself with the two murderers Riel and Lepine, who were still at large, though warrants were out for their apprehension, to resist the invaders. Promptly these two persons rallied, once again, the 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 compact. 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, I 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-governor, in justification of this sickening alliance, is made when he says: " If I had driven the French half-breeds into the hands of the enemy O'Donoghue, they would have been joined by all 364 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. the population between the Assiniboine and the frontier; Fort Garry would have passed into the hands of an armed mob, and the English settlers to the north of the Assiniboine would have suffered horrors that it makes me shudder to contemplate. At this period an all-pervading sense of etiquette had taken possession of archbishop * Tache*, who maintained with a zeal worthy of a noble cause, that, by virtue of his commission from the Canadian government, and his declaration of an amnesty, Riel and Lepine had been placed beyond the molestation of the law. It is not necessary tp detail incidents of this unseemly squabble between the bishop and the ministers. The •question was submitted to the imperial government, and after much correspondence between Lord Dufferin and the colonial secretary, the latter left the subject in the hands of the governor-general. Lepine had been captured, and lay in the Winnipeg gaol under sentence of death, but this Lord Dufferin commuted 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 eyes—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. THROUGH STORMS TO THE REEF. IT 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 affairs were placed under the control of a lieutenant-governor, who was aided by an executive council, the legislative machinery to comprise a house of assembly, and an upper chamber. Even in this wilderness province, so remote from the 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 five per cent per annum on $472,090 was guaranteed; a yearly subsidy of $30,000, and the usual general allowance of 80 cents per head, the population being estimated at 17,000. Ungranted territory was vested in the crown for purposes of the federal government; 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 important 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 1 366 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. the 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 reciprocity was desirable but 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 stage 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 business 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 he became completely prostrated. 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 and 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 Northwest 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 Northwest, O'Neil, whose acquaintance we have already made, nimbly 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 sheltering territory. Even here they were not beyond harm, as their leaders were arrested by United States officials, and jmeir 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 very manly, protest from several quarters. In reply, we were informed from the colonial office, that Great Britain felt that she 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 to defend us from foreign ag- O © gression, that she expected us, henceforth, to provide protection in our domestic affairs. We somewhat pitiably retorted that we had always furnished force to do our police duty, and did not need assistance now for that purpose; but the colonial office was inexorable, and said that what had been ordered could not be revoked. The forces were consequently called home from all the stations save Halifax, whose society, tavern- keepers and immorality are at least the gainers, if no boon is conferred upon the country. The only anomaly in the proceeding was the withdrawal of the troops from Newfoundland, which was then, and is to-day, not in the union. The imperial view was surely not less 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 another, is at once impertinent and unmanly; and resembles nothing so much as a hale young man of twenty-one under the guardianship of a dry nurse. Our duty is to rely upon ourselves 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. MACDONALD. 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 form, but patriotism can be only predicated of those who possess a country, not of those who inhabit an instalment of territory belonging to somebody else, and who having fought the battle and overwhelmed the foe, are reminded that they are serfs by profuse thanks for the loyalty and courage 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 have never seen, and who lives beyond a dissevering 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, as 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 in 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 institution that he will take to represent the darkness of the century. During the summer an important acquisition to the Dominion 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 cabinet, 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 a medical practitioner; and while enjoying an excellent 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, had succeeded in forcing his way, as we have seen, to one of the most prominent places in his country. But the Dr. Tupper of that day, was not the Sir Charles of our present acquaintance. 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 insufferably verbose, and often bombastical. Language literally poured from the man; but his speeches were not remarkable for the closer and more incisive reasoning which runs through his public utterances now. Time"' has chastened and disciplined that ardent spirit, reduced the blaze to a sober glow, while not robbing the fire of its heat; yet without being disposed to unkind criticism, his speeches still—speeches that may always be called verbal- tornadoes—on occasion may be described as savage, though in no instance we can remember of has the provocation not been 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 descending to a personal attack, how,- ever well merited, on one who had degraded the press by making a newspaper the vehicle of vulgar spleen. Mr. Nicholas Flood Davin in his paper " Great Speeches " in the Canadian Monthly, from which we have already extracted, has this telling de- ! scription of Sir Charles as an orator. " Sir Charles Tupper's most 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 370 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. 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 making great speeches with little or no time for rest or study. Different in kind, his command of expression is as ready and effective as Mr. Gladstone's. He has the faculty of growth; the sure mark of a superior mind when found in.aman over forty." The same writer goes on to say, and had he omitted saying it, we should not have thought so much of his paper: " I am sure that both he and Mr. Blake speak too long. If they could take off about thirty per cent, in time without impairing the texture of thought; if they could pack closer; how much more effective both would be. Sir Charles Tupper is not content while a single wall of the enemy's defences remains standing." Some of Sir Charles Tupper's most important work is too fresh in the mind of the reader to detail it here; and'as the news has gone abroad, while these pages are passing through the press, that this very able statesman, still in the prime of his manhood, though with health somewhat shattered, by a too-long overwrought brain, is about to retire from his present office to fill a place of importance in the mother-country, we may be permitted to refuse paying a " long farewell," cherishing the hope that many days may yet remain to him, after his 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 © O 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 authority, 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 several crafts caught in their unlawful work were seized and confiscated. Whereupon our American friends grew wrathful, and their high-pent feeling vented itself in an unstatesmanlike and intemperate message from President Grant during the autumn. A number of irritating questions had now accumulated between 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 governments. The chief subjects for the adjudication of the commission were the fisheries question, to which we have alluded; the Alabama claims, the navigation of the St. Lawrence, and of the Canadian canals, and the boundary line between the United States and British Columbia. Owing to some of the hazy definitions in the Oregon treaty, the ownership of the island of San Juan, in the strait bf Juan de Fuca, which for the past twelve years had been occupied jointly by British and United States officials, had been open to dispute; and a settlement of this question was also referred to the commission. On the 30th of February, the United States government appointed as its 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. Ebenezer R. 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 university 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- suppose that, in any sense, Sir John was a Dominion representative ; he 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 his duty as an imperial representative on the one hand, whose mission was to support any plan that would forward the interests of the empire as a whole, even though such measure should bear harshly upon his own province, and his duty to the interests of the Dominion on the other. The first meeting of the commission was held at Washington, on the 27th of February ; 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 24th 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 reference 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; while, with respect to the fisheries, our waters were thrown open to the American 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 American citizens, a similar privilege being accorded to British subjects 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 confess that he regarded himself as a colonial, and not an imperial representative; that he had consented to enter the commission under false pretences; for, as we have already stated, it was by the accident of his qualifications and the esteem in which he was held—and in any case only as an interpreter of Canadian interests—that he was appointed among the representatives; and had he resigned the imperial will would nevertheless have been carried out, and perhaps without the dampening presence of another colonist. But that Sir John did do all that was consistent with honour and duty as a representative of imperial 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 statesmen, 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 zeal in Canadian interests, which clashed with those of the empire. It is not going too far to assume that, when we hear the premier's Canadian opponents denounce him for having done too 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. MACDONALD. he did his onerous and difficult duty, honourably, conscientiously, 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 skip a year to see the issue. In May, 1872, the storm broke, and Sir John was ready. His defence is given us in one of the ablest—perhaps the most effective—speeches of his life. We need not here attempt an outline of this address, which we give 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, understanding the painfully difficult position Sir John had held, and appreciating the highmindedness and ability with which he conducted himself, came forward in defence of their chief. Mr. John Hillyard Cameron said that " before 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 referred to the gentleman who was entrusted, not only as a negotiator but as a representative of the empire, and of Canada, as a part of it; he whom so many had been accustomed to admire, and whom he (Mr. Cameron) had been permitted to follow, as his leader, for so many years. Probably there was no member 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 eztenso, 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 very few among those who had been his friends, and followers during O * © 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 heartless attacks had been made upon his character and honour. They all knew, every one of them, and he (Mr. Cameron) recollected well, the time when he first came so prominently before the public. They might have looked through their own party, in and out of politics, and could not have found a single man his superior, and in the opposition party they could not find a 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 good. In many he (Mr. Cameron) did not concur, but in many had agreed; and of all men competent to deal with the affairs of the people, he had always considered that there was no one so competent as he, Sir John Macdonald. 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 an opportunity over and over again of forming 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 for 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 making their fortunes, no one ever felt otherwise than that that man was poor, because he never allowed his political or parliamen- 376 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. tary influence to be used in order that he might in the slightest degree make pecuniary capital of his position. Did not they all feel 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 night that his (Sir John's) path was marked by the graves of dead politicians. He (the member for Lambton) had boasted of the purity of reform principles, and of the strength and power of reformers ; and yet he had seen their foremost men, one by one—even the great Anak himself—become the willing captives of his bow and spear, and march to their political death under the eye of their conqueror; while they contended that what their opponents termed " political death " was really political regeneration. 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, ever mingling courtesy with kindness. No man ever had more devoted friends and followers. He had grappled them to his heart with hoops of steel, and had kept them there. Over and over again he had carried them forward with him to victory, and he believed that now, as ever, his latest and crowning victory 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. Notwithstanding the taunts and the violence of the opposition—notwithstanding 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 was 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 Columbia, 6. It is necessary now to retrace our steps a short way, to take up the thread of our general narrative. Parliament opened on the 15th 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 meeting all current expenditure. Several measures of importance were introduced during the session, chief among these being acts providing for the assimilation of the currency, the readjustment of the tariff, for the management of sayings banks, and the establishment of a new banking system. It was during this session that the act was introduced providing for the admission of our distant relative, British Columbia, into the united family. The Pacific province was not enthusiastic for the compact, but like the maiden who marries for money instead of for love, made her union conditional upon the construction of a railroad; and as marriages contracted with 1 © such motives do not always " turn out well," it is not surprising that before the Pacific spouse had ceased to be a bride, she was in the courts for divorce. The Canadian parliament rose on the 14th of April; and on the 16th of May, an imperial order-in- •council was passed authorising the admission of British Columbia into the Canadian federation. The provisions of the British North America Act were extended to the new province; an annual subsidy of $35,000 was set apart, and 80 cents granted to •each head of the population, which then was estimated at 60,000. The most important stipulation in the terms of union with the inew province was the obligation on the part of the Dominion to secure 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 completion 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 developing 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 purposes without the consent of the legislature. A storm 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 his place. One of the first acts of the new provincial government was the offering of $5,000 reward for the apprehension of the murderers Riel and Lepine, who, were now living sans peur at their homes. Sir George Cartier had made common cause with Monseigneur 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 clause 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 previous 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 taxation and a grant from the provincial legislature. A wise measure, however, was marred by blemishes affixed by a bigo- F=; THROUGH STORMS TO THE REEF. 379 try that made a triumph of reason an engine of injustice, gross and contemptible. The question, through the local constituencies, became not one between the old and barbarous plan of education, and the new system, but between protestant and catholic. 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 extravagant dread, and a profusion of evil prophecy that he came forward himself, in time, to falsify ; but against the latter there is a much less creditable count. They studded the new law with provisions, called by some one " millinery regulations,", deliberately intended to insult and harass the Roman catholics, while one politician,* who is now, thanks to the unfortunate system of party which rules everything in this country from the bench to the buck-saw, a judge in New Brunswick, carried his unmanly bigotry so far as to declare on the hustings, that he had no feeling in common with Roman catholics, and did not want their votes. Such a spirit was odious enough in the campaign, but it was carried into the bill, and provided that no teacher 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 legislature sought to have the obnoxious measure set aside. In May, therefore, Mr. Costigan 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 his excellency to disallow the acts passed by the New Brunswick legislature," which was **\ Hon. (now Judge) John J. Fraser. 380 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. arried; 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. Costigan was unceasing in his exertions from session to session, till his desires were virtually accomplished by the amendments to the New Brunswick act which expunged the obnoxious regulations. In the early stages of the agitation, as we have seen, £lir John was in office, and during this time Mr. Costigan had 3 © i© the heartiest support from Mr. Anglin; but he stood alone in the struggle when the reformers came to power, when Mr. Anglin was elevated to the Chair, and agitation on the measure menaced his salary and perquisites. The New Brunswick legislature very properly resisted the attempts at Ottawa to set aside legislation which it felt it was competent to enact; and Hon. <(now Judge) William Wedderburn, 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 without an appeal to the electors at the polls; and that without the consent of the local body the imperial parliament or the parliament 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 maintain 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 is 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 conscience. 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 the government schools, and found no pictures of Satan hanging 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 insult and intolerance. Still the clergy remained aloof; but on their behalf leading citizens opened negotiations with the free- school authorities. Through the influence of Mr. (now Senator) Boyd and other prominent citizens in St. John, Bishop Sweeney capitulated, and in Fredericton, the capital, amalgamation was accomplished through the tireless exertions of Mr. Patrick McPeake, 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. Costigan battled for justice to his co-religionists, we must not be regarded as having the remotest sympathy with those who opposed non-sectarian schools 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 stream 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 system in this 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 afterwards the governor-general bade good bye to Canada. During his administration he had been raised to the peerage of the united kingdom with the title of Baron Lisgar, of Lisgar O O * © and Bailieborough, in the county of Cavan. While amongst us he won our good opinion and respect, though he neither flattered the people nor courted popularity, doing his duty with a courteous quiet dignity that pleased without effort. " His hospitality," says Professor Goldwin Smith, " was simply that of an English nobleman; it had no ulterior object, and as an example could do nothing but good." His successor was Frederick Temple Hamilton Blackwood, Earl of Dufferin, eldest son of Captain Price Blackwood, afterwards fourth Baron Dufferin and dan- 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 Christians and the natives. " He succeeded," says Mr. Stewart, "in mastering the details of this delicate 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 statesman 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 ballads, 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. Mrs. 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 baron. 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 speech, to have a viceroy appear among us with this running at the mouth. Perhaps, but for this never-failing eloquence on every subject from a hot-water tankard to the constitution, it might be said that Earl Dufferin's administra- 3 O 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 up among us for him, a deeper and kindlier feeling of regard, than had ever before been entertained for a Canadian governor. Everywhere the viceroy and his great-hearted wife, the countess, went, they stirred the feelings of all by the genuine and hearty way in which they sympathized with, and entered into the feelings and aspirations of, those they visited. When they departed from our shores a void was left in the hearts of our people that it would be hard to fill. The first parliament of Canada, having lived out the full term of its constitutional life, was dissolved on the 15th of July. The elections came off through the summer and early autumn, and the government found itself confronted by staunch opposition. The ghost of poor Scott, murdered in the North-West, rose against it; the Washington treaty "was shaken in the face of the country;" the gigantic rail way-building, a duty to whieh 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 Cartier was put to flight in Montreal east, but was welcomed to the arms of 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 not 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 Mackenzie were compelled to choose between the provincial and general parliaments. Naturally, their ambition, patriotism, cupidity, 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. Whatever 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 important 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 party. 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 M. Cauchon resigned; but the same moral sentiment that had so zealously shielded murder, now condoned corruption; and he was straightway elected again. Early in the following year, several important changes took place in the Canadian ministry, the most prominent of these being the acceptance of the portfolio of finance by the Hon. S. L. Tilley in place of Sir Francis Hincks, who had grown tired of official worry, and longed for the calm of private life. Dr. Tupper succeeded to the office of Mr. Tilley as head of the department of Customs. The new parliament opened on the 5th of March, 1873. Prince Edward Island had got over her little tiff, had reasoned out the question of union, grown sorry over her stubbornness, and asked to be admitted into the federation. A measure was promptly prepared to give effect to the wish, and -was forwarded to the imperial parent, who, of course, held the right of giving the daughter 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 actual amount of the provincial debt. An annual subsidy of $30,000 was granted, and the eighty cents for each head of the population which the census of 1871 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. 11 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 central government should construct, within ten years, a railroad from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Two wealthy companies composed of superior business-men were formed, the one the Inter-Oceanic, 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, opponents 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." Parliament met and the legislature granted a charter to both companies, 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 continent ; 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 markets 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 15th of the same month till the 12th of October the country was plunged into an election contest. An engrossing topic with the ministry was the railway, which it was felt should be begun as 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" had waxed louder in the meantime, but Sir John, from the first, expressed himself hostile to outside aid in building the line. Sir George Cartier, who frequently examined great questions through the eyes of somebody else, followed the lead of his chief and confirmed his opposition to " Yankees" 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 Hugh claiming that his interests 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 government 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 gentlemen of high standing, and large means and experience. On this organization the government looked with favour in consideration of the high integrity, the financial ability, 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 needed was the sanction of the legislature. 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 recorded, 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 newspapers. The treasury benches were full; the speaker sat in the chair, and pages flitted across the floor with notes. Sir John THE GOVERNMENT AND SIR HUGH ALLAN. 389 Macdonald 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 informed and believes that he can establish by satisfactory evidence, 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 railway, and to give the former a certain percentage of interest, in consideration of their interest and position, the 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 were pending between the said parties,— " That, subsequently, an understanding was come to between the 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 advance a large sum of money for 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 advance a 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 under 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 eye; and some felt, or assumed to feel, the most unbounded horror. But as the member'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 as death; and the boldest held his breath for a time." It would have given relief to this agony of silence had the accusing O © J © 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 documents 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 of stone; he uttered no word, and made no sign. The motion was seconded 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 prevailed for many minutes. Then adjournment. A meeting of the cabinet was hastily called, Sir John informing his colleagues 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 susceptible of being distorted into a form corresponding with the charges made by Mr. Huntington, and that the government would have a serious task to put the case in its true light before the country; but he was resolved to face the slander firmly and challenge the accusers, knowing that he had less > to fear from a thorough exposS than from the insinuations of Mr. Huntington barely seasoned with distorted fact. Looking more wearied and anxious than he had ever appeared in that house before, he took his place the following day and, rising, offered the following resolution, which was carried:—" On motion of the Right Honourable Sir John A. Macdonald, that a select committee of five members (of which committee the mover shall 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; but as the committee, as such, had no power to so examine, a measure called the Oaths Bill was promptly introduced and passed, conferring upon the commissioners that authority. In this, however, parliament transcended its powers, and the act was disallowed by her majesty on 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 Hon J. J. C. Abbott, and the impossibiLity of the investigation being carried on in a proper manner without opportunity being afforded these gentlemen of being present and hearing the testimony adduced, that it was advisable that the committee adjourn until Wednesday, the 2nd of July, if parliament should be, on such date, in session. According to the customs of Lynch law, nothing is so absurd as the plea that the accused should be present at his own trial to offer his defence ; and the opposition grew wroth at the decision to stay proceedings 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 adjournment, 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 members 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 evidence ; 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-assembling would hepro 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 opposition 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 © © O session in February, forgetting that the powers of a parliamentary commission expire with prorogation. Mr. Holton said he believed a quorum would be necessary to receive the report; and muttered between his teeth that he and a quorum would be there. Sir John, in reply, observed that if a quorum were considered necessary, a sufficient number of members for that purpose could be found in the neighbourhood of the capital. On a distinct understanding of the facts as above related, the house was adjourned; after which members returned to their homes, and the opposition abandoned themselves to falsehood and conspiracy. Instead of a quiet meeting with the two speakers, only, present, or a quorum, with the 13th of August appeared the opposition in full strength, intrigue in their hearts, falsehood upon their tongues. And when asked for what purpose they had mustered en masse, they answered: "". We didn't understand that the meeting was to be pro forma; we thought a full attendance was desirable." The intention was—since the ministry, abiding by the terms of adjournment, was at a serious disadvantage in having but a few of its supporters at the. capital—to overthrow the government by the force 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 13th of August, the governor-general was making a tour of the mari- © * © O - © 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. R m 1 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 God sent a bolt from heaven and smitten the five commissioners, their inclinations for the moment would have been to believe that the premier was in some measure responsible for 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 was desirable that the public mind should be satisfied as to the truth or falsity of the heinous charges. Sir John said there was one way that the end sought could be attained, and that was by issuing a royal commission to the committee, which could then go on as had been originally arranged, placing the evidence before parliament which might take vghatever 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 suggestion, 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, were 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, unfortunately, 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. Blake was to have come out of the clouds and surrendered to the 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,thunder. This information comprised a number of letters and telegrams sent to one C. M. Smith, of Chicago, a banker, and one Geo. McMullen, of Picton, who seemed at first to be a speculator or the representative of American capitalists, but who subsequently appeared as an adventurer. In this correspondence the history of Sir Hugh Allan's exertions towards obtaining the railway charter is set forth, the expenses he had incurred in pushing his scheme,—expenses which he declared exceeded $300,000 in gold—and certain relations with Sir John Macdonald and Sir George Cartier. At once the hostile and the hasty swallowed the statements, and concluded that the enormous sum which Sir Hugh alleged he had paid away had gone into the hands of the ministers for corrupting the constituencies at the late elections. On the following day, an affidavit dealing with these charges, made by Sir Hugh, appeared in the Montreal Gazette. It was a wet blanket flung upon the previous day's story, and depressed, sadly enough, the spirits of the opposition. We need not here go into the details of this statement. The deponent admitted that there were many inaccu- LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. rabies in his hastily-written business-letters; but the statement with which we are concerned, and which at once vindicated the innocence of ministers of the crimes -inferred from the allegations in the letters, was as follows. "... In these and similar ways I expended sums of money approaching in amount those mentioned in the letters, as I conceive I had a perfect right to do; but I did not state in those letters, nor is it the fact, thai any portions of those sums of money were paid to the members of the government, or were received by them or on their behalf, directly or indirectly, as a consideration, in any form, for any advantage to me in connection with the Pacific railway contract." So far then, the accusations against the ministry had fallen to the ground, and Mr. Huntington's allegations were regarded by a large bulk of the people as reckless slanders. And so* the opinion would have stood had not the blackmailer, McMullen, come forward with what purported to be a concise and circumstantial statement of the corrupt relations of the government with Sir Hugh Allan, in which he put forward inferences as facts, and assumptions as transactions happening under his own eyes, 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 consideration of the sale of the Pacific railway 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 satisfactory explanations would be made in due course; and his lordship accepted the declaration as a confirmation of his hopes. He had before setting out upon his tour provided for prorogation 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 originally 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 his colleagues, nothing remained for him but to be guided by their counsel, as he cheerfully was. He consented to the arrangement, but upon the condition that parliament should meet again as soon as was consistent with the reasonable convenience of members, after say six or eight weeks; 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 resolved on a course of their own. While his excellency was in the maritime provinces, they had adopted the manly and honourable course of endeavouring, by stealth, to prejudice and poison his mind against his ministers. Mr. Huntington who- apparently was not in the habit of allowing dignity or a sense of manly pride to stand in the way of his inclinations, collected a number of newspapers, containing the charges against the ministry, which he enclosed and directed to his excellency; but they were returned to him unopened. On the morning of prorogation, 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 ill! 398 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. signed by ninety-two members praying that his excellency might not prof ogue parliament until the house of commons had had an opportunity " of taking such steps as it may deem necessary 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 firmly, however, 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 capital, but the reformers, as we have seen, were there in force, "" an eager, expectant and exultant throng. Their faces showed determination, but no mercy; their actions convinced the ministry that they would give no quarter. For weeks they had waited for this moment; and now the hour had arrived." * They set up a cry of disappointment and rage; and their newspapers loaded the governor-general and the prime minister with libel. Among those flying with the storm, regardless of their dignity, was seen the figure of Mr. Edward Blake. He had sat apart for many weeks feeding his mind on solitary meditation, and when he met his brethren at Ottawa assured them that he had discovered at least two courses by which parliament could confer the power, upon a committee of its own members, to administer oaths. One of these ways the Earl of Kimberly afterwards stated, " would be beyond the powers of the parliament of the Dominion; " the other^also, was proved to ba unconstitutional, Sir John pointing out that Mr. Blake had misread the case occurring during the administration of William Pitt, which he had taken as an analogy. Meanwhile, the opposition party, through the ministrations of its orators * George Stewart, Jr, in Canada under the Administration of the Earl of Dufferin. THE GOVERNMENT AND SIR HUGH ALLAN. 399 and press, continued to sound the charges against the ministry up and down the land. Reformers having refused to sit as royal commissioners, Sir John suggested to the governor the expediency of issuing a commission to three or more judges of the land, whose position would remove them from the suspicion of partiality in conducting the enquiry; and acting on the advice, which he believed to be good, his excellency chose the honourable judges Day, Polette, and Gowan, who promptly began the work assigned them. It would be too much to expect that any ministerial arrangement could satisfy the opposition; . and it is hardly to be wondered at that before the new commission met at all it was loaded with slander by the reform press 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, now floated over the province: the aroma from a corrupt ministry, 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 utter falsehood upon examination, and, there*- fore, regarded the terrors of the oath unnecessary; but even Mr. Blake shuddered, inwardly, as he thought of such men as McMullen coming into the box and testifying upon their " honour." Yet he, no more than any of his brethren, was satisfied with the judges upon the new commission, though it was impossible for him to condescend to the allegation that these 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 investigated. Yes, answers Mr. Blake, that is very well, but what if the ministry tied up the hands of the judges, and thwarted enquiry 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 ; advertisements were put in. the papers calling upon.any persons who knew aught of the case to come forward; a large array of witnesses for and against the ministry was present; they were submitted to the most searching cross- examination by members of both political parties, and questions 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, pray, Mr. Blake, were the hands of the judges tied ? Whence, pray, reformers of lesser dignity, came the taint on the ermine ? But had the judges been base as Jeffreys himself, the terms-of the commission were fatal to partiality. 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 as 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 the charges preferred by Mr. Huntington. Now it might have been supposed 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 himself to the lips in dishonour for the sake, also, of pure government 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 remained away, and listened from behind the doors to the evidence, tossing their caps in glee when any testimony was adduced 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 October drew near, the political combatants girded on their swords. Sir Hugh Allan returned from England; but before the meeting of the session had resigned the charter. On the 27th of October the memorable debate began. Mr. Mackenzie made, as he always does, a speech that one who hears is likely to remember. Mr. Mackenzie is a large dealer in facts, which some may call " dry," but which we designate as " hard;" and to these he has the faculty of giving a bias which it is frequently impossible to detect. His" speech against Sir John and the ministry was perhaps the ablest," in its way, that he has ever delivered. The argument was strong and was'poured out like some stinging, dissolving acid. In amendment to the second paragraph of the ministerial speech, he moved:—" And we have to acquaint his excellency that, by their course in reference to the investigation of the charges preferred by Mr. Huntington, in his place in this house, and under the facts disclosed in the evidence laid before us, his excellency's advisers have merited the severe censure of this house." Mr. (now Judge) James Macdonald, of Pictou, followed in a speech of great power, moving as a second amendment :—" And we desire to assure his excellency, that, after consideration of the statements made in the evidence before us, and while we regret the outlay of money \>y all political parties at parliamentary elections, and desire the most stringent measures to put an end to the practice, we at the same time beg leave to 402 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. express our continued confidence in his excellency's advisers, and in their administration of public affairs." As the debate progressed, the premier sat indifferently at his desk, sometimes smiling, now with the light of scorn in his eye; but as the days wore on, and he knew the tempter had been among his followers, and that some had fallen, a shade of anxiety was seen in his face; never fear. It was not that he regretted the loss of power, but it wrung him to the heart's core that any of his own' friends should doubt his honour Yet like a brave man, who in the hour of such sore trial, turns to his conscience, the premier bore with calm fortitude a condemnation which he knew came not from conviction but from interest, and soothed himself with the assurance that time heals all sores, and that the day would come when his country would commute its sentence, and acknowledge the.injustice it had done him now. It was now necessary that he should be sacrificed, his honour assoiled, his name smirched, that his opponents might triumph. Woe to the man whose honour is cast in the scale against the interest of a political party, ravenous for power! On the sixth day of the debate, and after the commons had expended most of its oratorical strength, Sir John arose, amidst the deafening cheers of those who having known him honourable, honest, manly and true, through the dark day, and uithe sunshine, believed in him still. The anxiety upon his cheek was replaced for the moment by something like a gleam of hope, as the house rang with the plaudits of his followers; but the old expression soon returned, though the language seemed trustful, and he seemed as one who addressed a court while standing upon his own funeral pyre. Yet as the reader will see, who peruses the speech,* there was a manifest hopefulness of tone as point after point in the allegations was met and overthrown. We need not refer to the speech in detail, contenting ourselves with a word as to the See appendix I. THE GOVERNMENT AND SIR HUGH ALLAN. 403 charge that the government had sold the Pacific railway charter © © v to Sir Hugh Allan, in consideration of certain sums of money to be used in the elections. On this point let us hear Sir John himself. " The government never gave Sir Hugh Allan any contract that I am aware of. We never gave him a contract in which he had a controlling influence. We formed a committee of thirteen men, chosen carefully and painfully for the purpose of promoting Sir Hugh Allan from having any undue influence. We provided that no one on the board should hold ■more than one hundred thousand dollars of the stock. . . . Now, Mr. Speaker, I have only one more thing to say on this point: I put it to your own 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 to Sir Hugh Allan with that contract that has not been given equally to the .other twelve ? It is not pretended that any of the other twelve paid money for their positions. You cannot name a man of these thirteen that has got any advantage over the other, except that Sir Hugh Allan has his name down first on the paper. Can any one believe that the government is guilty of the charges made against them." This needs no amplification at our hands. But let us recall the charge—that Sir Hugh Allan had disbursed over $300,000 in gold in buying his way to the charter. That Sir Hugh spent enormous sums at the early stages of the proceeding we have no doubt; that he paid French lawyers and orators to go through the country, subsidized newspapers, and scattered money broadcast where influence was to be secured is almost certain ; but that the govern- 7 O ment cared not for this, and was in no wise concerned, is proven by the fact that after all this lavish expenditure Sir John telegraphed to Sir George Cartier, that Sir Hugh Allan's terms, the terms to which he had been buying his way, could not be granted. The whole scheme came to.an end ; Sir Hugh's " powder and shot" had been wasted on the air; and the govern- 404 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD, ment formed a new and distinct company of its own. And how far from serving the interests of Sir Hugh in the new company was Sir John or the ministry, we learn from Mr. Tilley's statement, to the effect that when he was seeking for directors- for the company from the lower provinces, Sir John's injunction was, " But take care that those you select be not men who will fall under the influence of Allan." Every step in the negotiation was made with a view to circumscribing the powers of Sir Hugh, as the government knew his ability in manipulation, and the power he held by reason of his influence in the money markets. If Sir Hugh chose to fling away his hundreds of thousands in buying influence through the province of Quebec that was no affair of the government. Money is the greatest power known to man, and those who have it use it to accomplish their ends. It is only a few days ago since a " railway magnate " passed through our province scattering gold; and in his progress bought up, it is estimated, over fifty newspapers. But we need not waste time. This much is as clear as day. If the government had been under obligation to Sir Hugh, if they had taken his money in lieu of their support in the railway scheme, he would have been the favoured one in the charter; but instead of this we find he is one man of thirteen, given the same amount of stock ($100,000), as each of the other thirteen receives, getting no preferences,, save the presidency, which he would have obtained from the company itself, and that he is hedged in at every point by government restrictions. Madness itself could not suppose a bargain or an understanding in light of such facts, unless on the assumption that Sir Hugh Allan was an idiot; and with Sir Hugh alone, of the company, was the government charged with trafficking. One point, only, remains now to be disposed of. To what did the stolen telegrams, in which Sir John and other members of the government ask Sir Hugh Allan for certain sums of money, refer ? Let us hear Sir John. He makes no attempt to deny that money was spent at the election. It THE GOVERNMENT AND SIR HUGH ALLAN. 405 was needed, and it was legitimately spent, as money is needed and spent at every election known to man under responsible government. " We were simply subscribing as gentlemen, while they were stealing as burglars," affirms Sir John. He found the Ontario government with its purse and its promises in the field against him, and he had to fight fire with the ; but never he says, was a dollar spent corruptly. This local government force was sprung upon him; he found the enemy strong at every point, and had to meet its strength with like strength. Sir Hugh Allan came forward and said that if the government had not had sufficient time among their friends to get what money they needed, he could advance them a certain sum. Promptly we may be sure was the offer accepted, with the understanding that friends of the government would do as they have always, whether properly or improperly, been asked to do, make up the amount of the loans, and other expenses. But this did not tie the government to Sir Hugh; already they had refused his overtures, and ended his hopes of the scheme for which he had disbursed his $300,000 in gold; in their succeeding relations they treated him as they did his twelve associates. Here then was the feature which the government's opponents called " bad:" accepting loans from a contractor in a public work. But we have shown that the act did hot influence the course of the government in dealing with the lender in his relation to the contract: hence the charge of impropriety goes to the wall. Perhaps some will suggest " indiscretion " for impropriety. We shall not quarrel with whomsoever does so. One more point remains. Was it proper that the government should scatter all this money through the electorate ? Is not that debauching the public mind? It is, we answer without hesitation, but the sin rests on the shoulders of the system which prevails in every country under responsible, and party government. Sir John simply did as his neighbours, no more, and nothing worse. At every election there are expenses, some light, and some vast, and 406 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. these have to be borne by ministers and their friends. The' spectacle may be pitiable, and it is pitiable, but it is true, and is a part of our system as much as the ballot itself. At the last general election, if the reporter of the Globe, who attends to keyholes, is to be believed, Sir John gathered the manufacturers about him, and levied an election tax. Probably he did; and his reform friends were not behind him. The reformer as well as the tory, has his "fund" at election time, and he does not use it to make the electors purer and more independent. Once, indeed, he did move in this direction, when he levied a large sum to " put down corruption." The only difference between the conservative and his neighbour in this respect is that the latter sometimes goes in debt to bribe and corrupt, as we see by the post-election scandals with which men like Mr. David Blain now and again regale the public nostril. We need not do more than say in conclusion, that every judge of the land, every impartial observer who has studied the story of the connection between the prime-minister and Sir Hugh, is forced to admit, that, while the accidental relations between the giver and the receiver of the railway charter, assumed, at the first, an aspect strongly suggestive of wrong-doing, that there remains no tittle of evidence, no unprobed source, not even the breathing of a fact to prove that the conduct of Sir John showed aught than fidelity to his public trust, or was other than that of a man of honour. This, too, is the verdict of the people who have repented of their rash judgment and taken him back to favour. And it will be the verdict of history. CHAPTER XXII. " A WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA." FINDING the struggle a wrestle with the inevitablej Sir John, on the morning of the 5 th of November, placed his resignation, and that of the ministry, in the hands of the governor-general. About an hour later, he rose in his place in the house, announcing that the government had resigned, and that 7 © © © ' his excellency had called upon Mr. Alexander Mackenzie to form a ministry. Then the great cloud of change rolls in, shutting from our sight the figure upon whom our eye so long had rested with pride and admiration ;* and a new crew appear upon the deck of the ship of state. Two days after Sir John's resignation, the new premier was able to announce his ministry, which was as follows: Hon. Alexander Mackenzie Premier and Min. Pub. Works. " A. A. Dorion - " Albert J. Smith - - Min " Luc Letellier de St. Just - " Richard J. Cartwright - " David Laird - - - " Isaac Burpee - - " David Christie - " Telesphore Fournier - " Donald A Macdonald - Minister of Justice. Marine and Fisheries. - Min. of Agriculture. - Min. of Finance. - Min. of the Interior* Min. of Customs. Secretary of State. - Min. Inland Rev - Postmaster- Greneral. * 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 office, was abolished. 407 Hon. Thomas Coffin " William Ross 1 Edward Blake " Richard W. Scott LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Receiver-General. Min. Militia and Defence. - (without portfolio). (without portfolio). Mr. Mackenzie was determined on a thorough cleansing of © © the Augean 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 legislature 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 the 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 government, was sadly out of his element among radical statesmen grown up from the trades.v 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 intrigue, which we do not believe, then surely must it have been different from those of other men. We can imagine this singularly 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 his 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 ballot ; a revision of the militia and insolvent laws; the qualification 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 unoccupied territory. As well might one standing upon the shore reason with the ocean that has been lashed into fury by the 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 to 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 portrait under the coercion of party prejudice, but nevertheless we do not hesitate to say, that his influence upon the political life of Canada has been good; that he was faithful to his trust, and strove 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, out 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 impulse and plan; at last they grew so narrow as to become his coffin. A man who follows a doctrine, of course, has no need for brains; and reminds one of the captain on the lee shore who scorned the advice of his officers, went by the " Navigator'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. 1 ;i 1 j I 1 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 administration, 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 years 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 his 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's, than their own. But this much is certain: From 1846 to 1852, Lord John Russell was prime-minister of England, with Palmerston as foreign secretary; but in 1855, the latter became premier, bis former leader taking the colonial secretaryship ; and the most 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-dav 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 political 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 assassination. But the change of heads, surely, did not make the reform 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 with 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 finding 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 Mr- Mackenzie, had offered a reward of $5,000, was elected for Provencher, at the general elections, and actually presented himself 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," the blood of poor Scott" had been the 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 present himself to the clerk of the house of commons and sign the members' roll. We have not been able to express any feeling but indignation at the conduct of Sir John Macdonald's government in shielding Riel from the consequences of his crime; but indignation has been succeeded by contempt for the action of Mr. Mackenzie in permitting this felon, red-handed, and presuming, to present himself before an officer of the legislature, and to swear upon the Holy Scriptures the oath of an unbrand- ed man. On the 15th of April, Mr. Mackenzie Bowell, the present minister of customs, moved for the expulsion of the murderer from parliament, which was carried by a vote of 124 to* 68; but sixty-eight members did actually vote that this man- slayer should be permitted to retain his seat. Let some historian who does not care whether or not he soils his page, put in 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 bill, 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 surveys alarmed the ministry by pictures of gigantic difficulties, and ten years 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 appease the storm of passion in the mountainous colony, Mr. Mackenzie despatched thither Mr. J. D. Edgar, a gentleman of much ability, and of good address, to endeavour to pacify, with explanation, the excited colonists. Mr. Edgar held several conferences with the premier of the colony, Mr. Walkem, but the conduct of that gentleman does not seem to have been either politic or dignified, and the envoy, without having accomplished 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 railway 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 seaboard 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 succeeding 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 FLO WING SEA." 415 selves with a hasty glance at his most important work. During the year 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 this 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 American flag, and forgers, murderers and escaped convicts came trooping from the republic into our cities, where they laughed at the laws they had outraged. Such a state of affairs was, of course, intolerable; the British government with a grace in which there was no 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 parliament on the following year, but owing to the existence of the imperial law, it has since remained as lumber on the statute book. In 1874, the general election law providing for vote by ballot, simultaneous elections, and the abolition of property qualification for members was passed; in 1875, was established the Supreme Court of Canada, having civil and. criminal jurisdiction throughout the Dominion, and taking away —though only in name—the right of appeal to England, except where imperial interests were involved; in the same session were passed the Canada temperance, the homestead exemption, 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 non scripts, a wider range of constitutional privilege. That respectable fossil in the colonial office, during the early years of Lord Dufferin's regime, had through the plural pronoun of the first estate, issued these instructions to the governor-general. " If, in any case, you see sufficient cause to dissent from the 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 vested in you by our commission, and by these our instructions, ■in opposition to such their opinion." 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 insolent impertinence, opened correspondence with the colonial office, and contended that the governor-general, his council and the parliament of Canada should bear the same relation to the people of the Dominion, with regard to all acts of domestic policy, as the Queen, her privy council, and the imperial parliament bear to Great Britain. To this firm contention, 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 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 Canadians 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 "A WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA." 415 .made ; we are assured even from imperial quarters that Downing street has withdrawn her hand; yet the wolf we saw yesterday 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 he appeared again in 1873, there is no sufficient guarantee :that we are 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 destroyed. A good deal has been written by light writers and by heavy writers, concerning the functions of a governor-general, or his lieutenant, under responsible government; and we have long seen Mr. Alpheus Todd, C.B., picking his feeble way through a waste of constitutional tombs by the light of a tallow dip. Some assert that the duty of the governor-general is -now merelv to sign documents; while others maintain that he is the agent of the state that appoints him, and holds in his hand a power greater than the people. With the latter view, we may say, we are in accord. 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 country but once in a generation. Practically, (though there is at •least one important exception) we do now govern ourselves; but we sometimes forget that we do so only by the sufferance of the foreign agent at Ottawa. The type of a perfect legislative 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 receptacle wherein resides the authority of the assemblage. Authority 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 vested in the agent of the latter, and may be accepted or set aside. In our provincial governments the case is the 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 is wiser than many millions, there is more than the phantom of a king. The governor-general 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 domineering of such foreign agents as the Dufferins and the Lomes; but we may get another Metcalfe before we are all gray, and then we shall probably have—independence. In 1877, it became known to Mr. Mackenzie, that the imperial government were about appointing, as the Canadian representative at the Halifax fishery commission, an English diplomatist. The premier at once offered a firm protest, and maintained 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 empire—though the interests of Canada alone were at stake. Yielding, however, to the uncompromising attitude of Mr. Mackenzie and the ministry, and " to satisfy the colonists," Sir A. T. Gait was nominated as the Canadian representative. In addition 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 suffer 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 agreements entered into on our behalf by the foreign government. In a speech of tremendous power, during the session of 1882, Mr. Blake contended that the right of making Canadian treaties should be in the Dominion government. Some time after^wards, certain writers in the newspapers declared that Mr. Blake was at heart a staunch friend of Canadian independence; whereupon, at a public gathering in Montreal a few months later, he repudiated his utterances at the late session of parliament, by declaring that we now, practically, had self government in Canada. Mr. Blake's great speeches, unfortunately, but too often resemble railway trains running in different directions, eventually meeting in disastrous collision. After the defeat of Sir John at the polls, the conservative party resembled '*. . Scattered sedge Afloat, when, with fierce 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 John had seen his time and done his work; but such counsel only stirred the deep-seated loyalty of the party to the«ehief 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 political situation, and saw that decay had laid its hand upon the ruling party. The country had fallen into a state of commercial feebleness, and 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 deficit, Mr. (now Sir) R. J. Cartwright, minister of finance, introduced a measure providing for an increase to 17£ per cent. Mr. Cartwright, like all other statesmen, had no hesitation in admitting that taxation was bad ; but he preferred taxation pure and simple, to taxation with a saving clause. His increase fell into the gaping jaws of deficit, which still hungered for more. Year after year the balance was on the wrong side of the book, till at last trade was languishing so low that it would have died had that been possible; commercial houses and financial institutions which had been regarded firm as the hills came toppling down; our people were fleeing the country in thousands looking 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; nevertheless crises do sometimes arise, when a judicious touch of the hand may give a new direction and a life to motionless commercial forces. The people, whether unreasonably or not, believed that it lay within the power of legislation to better their condition, and they waited upon Mr. Cartwright 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 government was only a fly on the wheel; and, turning gloomily away, the sufferers heard it whispered abroad that the cure the finance 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 overcome 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 organize and marshal his forces; to " get his hand upon the pulse of the country," and to breathe into his followers the same hope and ardour that filled himself. Sir Richard Cartwright 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 with 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 be stiff-necked, and kicked complaining industry into the camp of their opponents." * In the house of commons on the 10th of March, 1876, Sir John boldly laid down the " broad national policy " of his party, in a speech of much vigour and point. His contention was that there should be a thorough reorganization of the tariff, which should be constructed in such a manner that it would, while producing sufficient revenue for the current expenses of the country, also afford a 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 this time at the dictation of the conservative chief, " Canada for the Canadians;" and the heralds appeared through the country giving the shibboleth a liberal translation, assuring the clamorous workmen it meant that when they came 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 selling his 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 111 ail row Prof. Goldwin Smith, in The Bystander. 420 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. neck and heel to their idol; Sir John with the light of hope is his eye, 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: '' Like the leaves of the forest when summer is green, That host with their banners at sunset were seen ; Lite the leaves of the forest when autumn hath blown, That host on,the morrow lay withered and strown." Rolls away the cloud again which had hidden for a brief time the hero of our story, and we find him at the head of his cabinet, potent still for vast endeavour and great national enterprise. Mr. Mackenzie, who must have cursed idols and phantoms of every kind, did not wait till the assembling of parliament, but, with the demeanor of an honest man, who had tried to do his duty, quietly gave up the ghost. The new cabinet was as follows: The Right Hon. Sir John A. Macdonald Premier and Min. of Interior. Hon. S. L. Tilley •" Charles Tupper " H. L. Langevin - " J. C. AlKINS - " J. H. Pope - " James Macdonald " Mackenzie Bo well " J. C. Pope " L. F. G. Baby " L. F. R. Masson " John O'Connor - " R. D. Wilmot - Min. of Finance. - Min. of Public Works. - Postmaster-General. - - - - Secretary of State. - Min. of Agriculture. - - - Min. of Justice. Min. of Customs. - Min. Marine and Fisheries. - - - Min. Inland Revenue. Min. Militia and Defence. - Pres. of Council. ,Speaker of Senate (without portfolio). The magnum opus of the new administration was the National Policy, which, less for brevity than ridicule, has come to "A WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA." 421 be 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. Nothing was done in haste or blindly; every commercial " interest " 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 diversity of interests, its operation bore harshly here and there 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 specific, and an ad valorem tax; while upon such articles as we could not manufacture among ourselves, was put a lower duty. The tariff pinched in many places during its early operation, and many cried out against an overtaxed breakfast- table ; but at last complaint had her mouth stopped with home-made sugar. It is not necessary to make predictions when we have at hand an array of facts. The national policy has been four years in operation now. When submitted by Mr. Tilley to the parliament, Mr. Cartwright loaded it with a sneering scorn, and declared that it would neither raise revenue nor stimulate industry; that, on the cqntrary, 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 result 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 before not equalled in Canada. We know that the wevil or the drought is stronger than ministries, and that statutes are powerless to make the corn to spring or the sun to shine, but we do not hesitate to record our conviction that Sir John 422 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Macdonald's ministry came upon the scene at an important time, that its very cry upon the hustings before it put a line upon the statutes roused the spirits of the country, brought public confidence to its 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 amazing degree. The best proof that it has done so is found in the refusal of the people, after its four years' trial, to. give it up. There are portions of the Dominion, particularly in the maritime provinces, where the people derive no benefit from, and perhaps are to some extent burthened 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 restraming influence of the smuggler in the prairie province, the national policy for many a year, if not for a generation that will know us not, is to be an institution of the country. During the month that witnessed the re-appearance of Sir John upon the ministerial scene, Lord Dufferin took his departure 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 delighted to assist him through troublesome places, must have grown afraid for their portege" and kept back the storm which hung ready to break over the viceregal 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." 423 ministry, was appointed lieutenant-governor of Quebec. M. Le- tellier was undoubtedly an able man, but he was defiant and haughty; and it is doubtful if he could lqok at any question except from the standpoint of party. Unfortunately for him, and worse still for political morality, he carried into the gubernatorial chair all his party loves and hates, which he made no effort to hide. The conservatives were led by the premier, M. De Boucherville, in the legislative council, and by M. Angers 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 his feeling and attitude towards his cabinet, while he was egged on to hostilities by the rash counsels of George Brown and many other Upper Canada reformers' as well as by the leading rouges of his own province. Upon the other hand, the Quebec ministry, at the first, received the new governor with contempt, and gave him plainly to understand that 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, so far as administration 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 suggestions 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. His justification for this act he based on three separate grounds : first, that he doubted whether his advisers possessed the confidence of the province ; secondly, because his ministers had introduced measures without laying them vative coalition. Historically speaking the two parties now in Dominion politics are the Liberal-Conservatives 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, nominally with his consent, although he had never.sanctioned them, instead of either abandoning them or resigning his office.* © O © The subject was promptly carried to the Canadian legislature during the session of 1878, where it immediately became a party question, and gave rise to a long parliamentary brawl. Sir John Macdonald made a masterly speech in condemnation of the action of M. Letellier, and offered 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 to 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, then, 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 the 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 provincial jurisdiction through the grooves of federal parties. But one by one each province is dropping into the maelstrom of general politics, New Brunswick j 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. I See Canada Hansard, Session 1878, Vol. II., page 1878. * 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 justice Ritchie, of Nova Scotia, and was born at Annapolis, in that province, in 1813. His paternal grandfather came from Scotland and settled in Nova Scotia some time before the American revolution. His mother was Eliza Wildman Johnston, the descendant of a distinguished U. E. loyalist family ; her grandfather being a Scotchman of the Annandale line. He was educated at Pictou college ; studied law at Halifax with his brother, Hon. John William Ritchie, late chief judge in equity for Nova Scotia; was called to the bar of New Brunswick in 1838; practised in the city of St. John from 1836 to 1855, and was created a Queen's counsel in 1854. He sat for the city and county of St. John in the New Brunswick assembly from 1848 personal aspects, and to be embued with a bitterness utterly unknown where the field is wider, and the interests greater; and if we are to believe the newspaper accounts of the late ministerial change in that province, there was a display of private rancour, to say nothing of the violation of the courtesies and amenities which ought to be kncwn at least to gentlemen—which are well understood in the history of party etiquette, where they are held to be inviolate—that did little credit to those concerned. For our part we consider a legislature with its king and its house of lords and all the other hollow paraphernalia, for each one of the little maritime provinces, under the confederation, an expense and a folly; yet they may vindicate some right to an existence, if they will show less of this petty grabbing •for office, and give their attention (we refer particularly now to New Brunswick) to the conservation of their forests which are the only source of income they have after the Dominion purchase money. They have fpr many years pursued a suicidal policy with their timber lands; yet it may not be now too late to mend. The commissioner has come, session after session, to the legislature telling the iiumber of trees that have been destroyed during the year—and the more cut down, the more he glories, boasting of the quantity of revenue he has secured—never having a word of a tree that has been planted, or of one conserved. The system too of selling out large tracts of timbered land is unwise, nay, more, it is monstrous ;. and is like unto a man, who, not content with drawing interest, falls upon, and begins to devour, his capital. The lumber lands (they are not, generally, adapted for settlement) are all the capital New Brunswick has, and these should be held by the province; not so much as an acre should be parted with; for by an application of the simple principles of forestry, and the adoption of careful regulations, these tracts would yield, and reyield, vast quantities of timber for an rude-, finite number of generations, and thus be a perpetual source of revenue to the province. 426 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. 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 his accession to the chief justiceship, on the death of justice Parker. In 1875 he was appointed a puisne judge of the Dominion, and four years later, as we have seen, succeeded to the chief justiceship. He has been twice married, first, in 1845, to Miss Martha Strang, of St. Andrew's, who died in 1847, by whom he has a daughter living; second, to his present winning and amiable wife, Grace Vernon, daughter of the late Thomas L. ^Nicholson, Esq., of St. John, New Brunswick, and step-daughter of the late Admiral W. F. W. Owen, R.N., of Cam- pobello, by whom he has twelve children As a lawyer, Mr. Ritchie was an ornament to the bar, and his various promotions were only the recognition of a rare order of merit. To the judicial seat which he now fills, he has brought an adorning talent, a vast breadth of view, a sober understanding, and a faultless 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 syndicate 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 running within three years. In return for this work, the syndicate was granted a cash subsidy of $25,000,000 and 25,000,000 acres of prime land, in alternating sections along the railway route, and was to receive the roads already built under government 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 bitter insinuation with respect to the " Pacific scandal.'' The, prime-minister defended the new contract in a speech of much power, and paused for a moment, as he glanced at the members who had sought to sting him. " I will not," he said^ I drag into this discussion, as far as I am concerned, and as far as my remarks are connected with the subject, any reference 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 is the fruit of the appeal to the country—and I am prime minister of Canada." Well might the prime-minister be excused for hurling the 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 lost since that time which can never be recovered, during the whole of which that road would have been in successful progress 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 the 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 country, 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 the smallest figure—of civilized men, of earnest, 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 he seem the feebler; but is in the thick of the fray, with the fire of other days in his eyes, still wielding that subtle and irresistible 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 "amphitheatre," addressing a large assemblage, and among other touches has given us this portion of picture.* " Always clear- voiced, 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 thirik of Praed's Sir Nicholas: " ' The gallant knight is 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. Phipp3, in the Toronto World. "A WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA. 429 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 unfortunate, 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 an inferior, or even an ordinary ability, in such a position falls completely into the meshes of the subordinate, from which he is never able to clear himself. An ambition that is above being the pipe whereon the clerk's finger may sound what note it please, will struggle out of the bondage, though it cannot do so immediately, and will overcome the mysteries of the labyrinth bit by bit. Of the important and intricate office of marine and fisheries, Mr. McLelan 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 need. We have, however, this to say: our population is rapidly increasing, and our fisheries are speedily disappearing. 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 is not a delusion, and we do not believe it is, 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, was Mr. John Costigan, the minister of inland revenue. He was born at St. Nicholas in the province of Quebec in 1835, was educated 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 seat in the New Brunswick assembly from 1861 to 1866 when LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. he was defeated. He was returned to the house of commons in the general elections of 1872, and has not been defeated since. We have already seen Mr. Costigan through our narrative and recorded our admiration of his actions. His appointment to the cabinet was the just recognition of an unfaltering fidelity to principle and public duty, and of an ability endowed with special qualifications for administration; an unbiassed judgment, and a calm and sound understanding. We are inclined to accept the many statements abroad that his hand is already seen in the management of a department which had been, for but too long before his appointment, a marvel of red tape and 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 would 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 shambles 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 merchandize, to be bought and sold; and that this 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, becoming the game of lawyers and political adventurers, for whom all these put out their hooks, and of whom they discourse 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 Graee " 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 promoting the state of affairs to which we have reverted, and which "A 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 a true man, who conceives a certain line to be his duty, and having set 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 whose oratory has made the land pregnant through the campaigns, and who reached his present eminence before the smoke had rolled away from the Waterloo of his party. Mr. Edward Blake we need not introduce at any length to the reader. He is the son of the Hon. William Hume Blake of whom we have spoken in the early part of our book, and •who was one of the greatest orators that has ever appeared in a colonial parliament, becoming afterwards a judge whose talents and judicial insight long adorned the bench. Mr. Blake may be said to have come into the political world with a.compound 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 proclaim 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 solar system, where, by the union of the two great forces,—the centripetal by which the earth seeks the sun, 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, resulting in political revolutions that give delight to his enemies. We set ourselves to this criticism with no little feeling of re- gret, 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. But nature let him off her hands without backbone, and> in 482 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. every important step in his political life, he has hesitated as a man in mortal fear on the brink of some abyss which he fears is about to swallow him up, tortured between the pleading voice of his owii opinion and the merciless mandate of expediency. The writer has sometimes seen him in public places, and gloried as he saw 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, teaching a greater and a purer political gospel;—but before the morrow we have found him among the throng making gods o o © © out of the dregs of party clay. This fault is a legitimate subject for the biographical vivisectionist, because its influence is traceable in the practical life of the country; 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 refer. He seems 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 is undisputed in Canada; he is indeed, intellectually, 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 speaking 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 away5 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 subject 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 result of the injury he proposes "A WET SHEET AND A FLOWING SEA. 433 English statesman, who wears his " heart upon his sleeve for daws to peck at," in showing cold indifference to petty annoys ance. There is a suspicion that he fondles the idea of Canadian independence to his heart, though upon the subject he has been as silent as the tomb. But this matters little now. The tide has ebbed past, never again return to him, and his skiff lies high upon the flats. 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 heard with a thrill that a champion had arisen in the chair which inclination 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 heels and wrists.* Some newspaper representatives attending the session of 1882, at Ottawa, waited upon Mr. Blake with a modest presentation, which was accompanied by an address. It was gratifying to the delegation to be assured that Mr. Blake recognised the press as rendering a I very great deal of assistance to public men in getting their speeches before the country." Suppose a delegation of those winged postilions that are said to drive the chariots of Phoebus through the aether, were to wait upon the leader of the opposition 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 would advocate it. But at present give him command of the good ship National Policy, and he summons the master, ' Your shrouds to leeward, master, are duties on coarse goods, prime necessaries and raw material, I see. I do not approve of them. Pipe all hands. Cut them away " ' Why, bless my eyes, cut away the shrouds to leeward, sir !' says the old salt, ' every mast '11 go by the board !' " ' Your opinion is inaccurate,' returns Mr. Blake. ' You will observe that the pressure of the wind can in no degree affect the safety of the masts, as it comes from the other quarter, and the masts are supported by the shrouds on that side.' " ' But blow me tight! Your honour ! Sir !' cries the veteran, the picture of dismay,' what '11 happen when we tacks ?' "'You do not,'says Mr. Blake, solidly, 'enjjy the confidence of the reform party, and cannot, therefore, understand fiscal navigation. Cut away the shrouds I'" * 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 him saying, " O yes !—thank you gentlemen. You are here from the sun. That orb I recognise to be of considerable importance to us in showing light." Mr. Blake entered the field with a sturdy bow and an unerring shaft; his arm was strong and the object blazed like a star. The prize and the day have passed; the morrow and the might-have-been have come. Edward Blake is opportunity in ruins. We have approached the end of our story; and the taper burns low. However our narrative may be received we have striven to do what we have believed to be our duty, and have written by the light that has been given to us. If in going through our pages there should be any reader who finds his idols broken, let him be assured that, while our judgment may have been at fault, and an ampler study of the subjects passing 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 desire to tell the truth. Actors along the ground over o © which our labours have led us, have here and there arisen, for whom an antipathy has grown up, as one learns to hate in one short hour, at the theatre, the wicked and detestable Richard; but while for such our dislike has been hearty, we have striven to give them, grudgingly though we must admit, such credit as has been their due. HAVING kept our readers for forty years in the desert where politicians play their part, we now gladly enter that fairer land where soft windsrwhisper 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 "Canadian writers, from whom we trust we differ on most things, are exceedingly partial to this habit. Neither can we give a list of all the good, reluctantly though we leave some of these sweet flowers of the wild-wood to blush unseen. Less than fifty years ago, Lord Durham made a study of the social condition of our people, concluding that the French-Canadian race must become absorbed by the English population; and one of the reasons he adduced was that they had no literature. Many changes have come since Lord Purham wrote that report. The province of Quebec has now not alone seats of learning distinguished by their scholars, and their labours, but an array of native litterateurs that do an honour to our youn^ 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 she still 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 regal 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 be. The union of the two provinces with a preponderance of English power in the legislature, as Durham proposed, could in time have crushed the French nationality, except that here and there, in the backwood villages, a barbarous patois, and some antique custom would still be found to linger, as he who travels through the less-civilized districts of Ireland finds the embers of the Celtic tongue glowT- © O ing brightly in a cluster of cabins upon which the light of the age has yet not dawned. But chiefly to geography and confederation 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 would be false delicacy for us, much as we admire the devotion of our Quebec fellow-countrymen to the language and customs of their beloved 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-Canadian province. Like the island of Calypso,—though the comparison will not stand " on all-fours," of which Mr. Roberts says in his delightful ballad, " The loud, black flight of the storm diverges Over a spot in the loud-mouthed main, Where, crowned with summer and sun, emerges An isle unbeaten of wind or rain "— stands the province of Quebec in the Dominion of Canada. The invigorating gales of our modern civilization blow over © © © all the rest of the land, but 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. Chauveau, who obtained some eminence in the sphere of letters, less through that merit which finds a warm place in the human heart, than through his prominent place in the political and social world. He wrote Charles Guerin, a passionless novel devoted to the social customs of the first half of the century. The crudity which its critics took so much to heart, was perhaps its least fault. The book by which M. Chauveau will be best known is Mouvement Litteraire 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 belongs to J. M. Le Moine. This writer has been subjected to some very stupid criticism, on the ground that his style is too circumstantial, but it is in this very respebt that Mr. Le Moine's contributions are chiefly valuable; and though the painstaking author does not reach high flights, or make ambitious 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 note is Monsieur J. C. Tach£ who once wrought himself to the pitch of writing that barbarous moral 438 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. drama Trois LSgendes de Mon Pays in which he endeavoured to portray the religious and social history of the aborigines. His best book is perhaps his Forestiers et Voyageurs, 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 breathes through his pages. L'Abbe" R. H. Casgrain tears himself away from theology to revel in Les LSgendes Canadiennes. He loves to write in sonorous phrase, that rings on one's ear like the music of a mellow bell; and it is unfortunate that he has not at his command a more inharmonious prose for the conveyance of his murder- tidings. The Abbe"s enthusiasm is so strong that it frequently takes him from " the straight and narrow road "; and his estimate of the character 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 one sees 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 his 76th year M. Philip Aubert de Gaspe' came with stsady step before the world with his marrowy, warm-blooded book Les Anciens Canadians, teeming with legends of the o o chivalrous period; and M. Faucher has delighted a large Canadian circle and not a few readers in France, with the charming collection of sweet home-portraits of wood and dale, the fireside, summer evenings, the field and the garden, and the whole round of rural spots hallowed by time, and so dear to the habitants, in A la veillSe, contes et rScits. M. Faucher has a riotous imagination, and would sometimes seem to have an ambition to be regarded as a sort of Munchausen. THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 439 The story of early Canadian history has a strong charm for M. Joseph Marmette, who tells in Heroisme et Trahison the thrilling story of the defence of Fort Verch&res by that modem Boadicea, Mile, de Vercheres, against a band of m forty -five Indians, with no assistance save her two brothers, boys under twelve, one servant, two cowardly soldiers, an old man of eighty and some women and children. M. Marmette has evidently gone 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 savage foe. This writer has the gift of the picturesque and a hunger for the horrible. M. Benjamin Suite has caught the attention of a large and admiring circle of readers; and among his contributions to literature, Au Coin du feu is perhaps the best. He who loves to escape in the summer-time from the hubbub and glare of the city, and go out into the great woods where the calm majesty of nature reigns, will find a fund of delight in reading Une Chasse a I'ours, and Le Loup-Garou, the record of one who has not learnt forest ranging out of books. This writer is sometimes able to come 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 the premature death of Louis P. Tur- cotte was a serious loss. Still, he has left behind him an imperishable contribution in Le Canada sous V Union. M. Tur- cotte's opinion is 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 governor, 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 almost 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 JOHN A. MACDONALD. parties. It might seem 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. Abbe* Ferland has put literature likewise in his debt, in the production of his very clever Histoire du Canada; not indeed that we think his book ought to remain " a whole unto itself alone," but that it contains a vast quantity of material which some other builder may be able to turn into a more comely shape. The good abbe* has contributed various papers on literary topics, and once in the summer's heat slipped over to Labrador, giving some delightful sketches of that dreary land. 3 © O © J A neat little volume Literary Sheaves, recently published by P. Bender, sums up the current literary work of the French province in a form that is terse and delightfully readable. Of the current and late literature of the English provinces, with three or four exceptions, there is very little to be said. Mr. McMullen has written a history of Canada for which we are unable to speak with any degree of respect; and Mr. Withrow has produced a book also purporting to be a history of Canada, which is, if possible, a still poorer publication than its negative.* Mr. Tuttle's ambition also led him in the historical direction* and he has written a history of Canada in two large volumes. The first volume is a creditable compilation of others' labours, is written with some grace, and here and there may be said to contain passages of much strength; the second volume speaks with divers tongues, and reminds one of a large crowd of persons tied together, somehow, by a rope, each one pulling in a direction contrary to his neighbour. It would seem as if each character, figuring since confederation, in this second part, has .written all that refers to himself; while the whole has gone to the public reeking with printer's errors. Dr. Henry H. Miles has written a history of " Canada under the French Regime" *Withrow's book is a refurbishment of McMullen's. THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 441 a conscientious compilation, exhibiting a cold-blooded desire to record facts. Students go to this work as ships go to a wharf for ballast; it is a mass of unimpeachable record. A remarkable book in its way is Mr. Robert Christie's History of the late province of Old Canada; in five volumes. It occupies the place in literature that a variety store does in trade ; is a vast aggregation of fact bundled together, higgledy-piggledy, a hopeless wilderness of disorder, without even an index to help the explorer through the labyrinth. Dr. Caniff's Bay Quinte is a valuable collection of raw material, also thrown together at heads and points, but which is nevertheless valuable material for the future workman. The book deals with the struggles of ©O the settlers who first came to the shores of Quinte* Bay, and contains some delicious scraps in which you get the perfume of the cedar, and hear the whirr of the wild duck's wing. A very excellent book is Mr. James Hannay's History of Acadia, which narrates the story of Acadie during the period of its occupation by the French, and up to the time of its final surrender to England by the treaty of Paris. Everything that the slop history is, this book is not, the author accepting little evidence at second hand, but going direct to the original documents, containing the vitals of the story. Mr. Hannay's style is limpid, vigorous and chaste; and here and there, though he modestly disclaims in his preface any attempt at fine writing, he bursts out into passages of genuine eloquence. There is a passage relating to the drowning of the wicked Charnisay that we cannot forbear quoting. "In 1650 he was drowned in the liver of Port Royal. Neither history nor tradition gives us any further particulars of his fate than is contained in these few words. But if it is true, as some say, that a man who goes down to death through the dark waters sees before him in an instan- © taneous mental vision a panorama of his whole life, than surely deep anguish must have smitten the soul of the dying Charnisay. * * And above the shadowy forms of those whom he had wronged and murdered, the face of one victim must have im- 442 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. pressed him with a deeper remorse than all the rest, that of the heroic, noble and faithful lady La Tour." Mr. Hannay's volume is one of the books that 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's Confederation, so far as it goes, is a valuable book, but there is not enough of it. Mr. Nicholas Flood Davin, in the literary firmament, is a very bright star; but he needs more discipline than he is ever likely to get. The Irishman in Canada is Mr. Davin's chief literary production, and may be regarded as one of the most brilliant books that has appeared in Canada. There is much information of historical value in the volume, and some of the pen-portraits exhibit a marked capacity for character sketching, though the very brilliancy of Mr. Davin's glance sometimes blurs the object he seeks to depict. His style fairly bounds, and there is a contin- . uous ripple of mother-wit, telling allusion and sparkling anecdote along the page, which seem to chatter with you, and keep you in a state of glee as you follow the author in his excursions. Mr. Davin has contributed some searching papers, with this same glittering quality, to the Canadian Monthly, and the best of the number was " Great Speeches," from which, let us hope, Sir Charles Tupper and Mr. Blake derived some profit. Mr. W. J. Rattray is another of the literary guild of which Canada has reason to be proud; and the work by which we know him best is The Scot in British North America. The book is not complete yet, but the literary public will not require guarantees from Mr. Rattray as to the quality of that portion to come with that already published before them. It is not certain that Mr. Rattray has wedded himself to the subject with which he is best fitted to deal, though like the rest of us who have literary ambition, but who lack a private fortune, he cannot follow his inclination, but must address himself to a . special market. If Shakespeare took his entire set of plays up and down Toronto to-morrow, he could not get a publisher THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 44S to " touch them ; " but if he induced his stage manager to Write a book about the " Methodists," or the " Tories," or the " Episcopalians," or on " Irishmen," or could " get up " a good cookbook, there is not a publisher in Toronto who would not promptly enter with him into articles of publication. The fault we do not lay at the door of the publishers, for they cannot be expected to show a literary philanthropy at the expense of their pockets. But it shows that there is something rotten in Denmark. A good book ought to find a publisher anywhere; but, notwithstanding what a writer who is not an authority said the other day between covers, a good book will not be published here unless it appeal to some section of the community; which will then buy it whether it is good or bad. Our own poor effort is a case in point. We have taken the most popular subject in Canada, Sir John Macdonald, and we appeal to a great public- party ; so that financial success would be assured to the publishers, though we filled every page with garbage; while had we come with a much better book to Mr. Rose, or to any other publisher, which appealed to nobody in particular, he or they would have been obliged to send us sorrowing away, wTith something at least to light our fires. Mr. Rattray has command of a vigorous style, and he brings a calm and unbiassed thoughtfulness to every subject he discusses. But he is not a. pugilist; 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 he © 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 Princess* by Mr. S. E. Dawson, we may say is one of the most meritorious bcoks ever published in this country. Its tone is cosmopolitan, exhibiting not a trace of provincialism or Philistinism,, or any of the stale rehash in which so many of our critics deal. 444 LIFE OF SIR JOHN 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 of blockhead Quarterly Reviewers and other British worthies who have undertaken to set the " erring steps " of Mr. Tennyson aright. The little book has been well received in England, though, as a rule, our Canadian press has been as dumb as cattle, and has a long article by Ernest Myers devoted to it in the last number of MacmiZlan's Magazine. Mr. Charles Lindsey has some literary reputation also, but he earned it when writers,, like clear land and schoolmasters, were scarce. His greatest work is The Life and Times of William Lyon Mackenzie, a book showing much vigour, but reeking with errors, and written on the bias. He sadly deserves a place, however, in our native literary circle. Dr. •Scadding wrote a very gossippy and entertaining book called Toronto of Old, and he has contributed some very valuable papers to Mr. G. Mercer Adam's Canada Educational Monthly. Lieut-Colonel Dennison has had some of the sweets of literature without any of the bitter. He is not in any sense a literary man, but his History of Cavalry from the Earliest Times, with 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 history of cavalry. Col. Dennison's essay was translated into Russian ; 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 a 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 © © o 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 Parliamentary Government in England, and Parliamentary Government in the British Colonies. If the doctors could get the body of Mr. Todd when he dies, they would, we will wager our reputation, find stamped upon his heart the words " British North America Act." Mr. Todd has rendered some valuable assistance, now and then, no doubt, where complex constitutional points have arisen, but the question has come to be with him now, not was this or that right or wrong, for that is of minor consequence, but, " What says the British North Ameriea Act ?" The king in Mr. Todd's eyes can do no wrong, and the British North America Act must be always right. If an act of parliament, imperial or subordinate, pinch us in any way, the true course is to have the cramping clause substituted by what we desire, instead of seeking consolation by excursions through constitutional graveyards. Mr. Todd's work is the mildew of literature. One of the most assuming of our late historical contributions is The Last Forty Years, by Mr. John Charles Dent. The book discusses the chief political events since the union of 1841, in a circumstantial manner, and the writer endeavours 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 fairly accurate record of the chief events of the time within its purview, faithfully recorded in chronological order. There is not much party bias in the book, though the writer's head " has a cant" 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 SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Arctic Sea all his Life, till captured by the publisher to write The Last Forty Years. Mr. Dent has fair ability, much prudence, and a mind and impulse under a state of rigid discipline. He is cleverer than several Canadian writers whom we know, and inferior to many others that we have met. He has not the faintest scintilla 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, save where he describes Mr. W. H. Blake's eyes as assuming " the lurid glare of forked lightning," and compares the sparkling of Gavazzi's orbs to the glint of "royal jewels." He is very pedantic here and there through his book; and has a way of putting quotation marks around poor phrases of his own coining. He is usually correct in his statements, and has no mercy in that cold heart of his for a brother who makes a slip in recording a date or an incident; yet there glares out through his own pages, among some other inaccuracies, the statement that the present chief justice (Sir W. J. Ritchie) was one of the confederate delegates to England, and that Mason and Slidell were taken off the Trent in " mid-ocean." But Mr. Dent's book is a valuable addition to our literature; as is also his Canadian Portrait Gallery, which contains sketches of our leading Canadian public men. One of the most delightful books it has been our good fortune to read, is Roughing, 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- 7 3 O © 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 delightful 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 THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 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 is a description of a whirlwind seen near her cottage, among the stumps, of a sultry summer day: " The thermometer, in the shade, ranged from ninety-six to ninety-eight degrees, and I gave over my work and retired with the little ones to the coolest part of the house. The young creatures stretched themselvesupon the floor, unable to jump about or play; the dog lay panting in the shade; the fowls half buried themselves in the dust, with open beaks and outstretched wings. . . I took Donald in my arms, and my eldest boy by the hand, and walked with them to the brow of the hill, thinking that the air would be cdoler in the shade. In this I was mistaken. The clouds over our heads hung so low, and the heat was so great, that I was soon glad to retrace my steps. "The moment I turned round to face the lake I was surprised at the change that had taken place in the appearance of the heavens. The clouds that had before lain so still were now in rapid motion, hurrying and chasing each other round the horizon. It was a strangely awful sight. Before I felt a breath of the mighty blast that had already burst on the other side of the lake, branches of trees, leaves and clouds of dust where whirled across the lake, whose waters rose in long, sharp furrows, fringed with foam, as if moved in their depths by some unseen but powerful agent. Panting with terror, 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 «/ O J © © 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 downpouring of the rain and the crash of falling trees were deafening." 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 may be mentioned Flora f 448 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Lindsay and Life in the Clearings, is a member of the talented Strickland family, which, out of six sisters, furnished five distinguished writers. Her sister, Mrs. Traill, has been a valuable contributor to Canadian literature, her best-known works being the Backwoods of Canada, and Ramblings in the Canadian Forest; and her brother, Lieut.-Colonel Strickland, has earned a place in our letters by his work Twenty-seven Years in Canada West, a record of his own experiences in the bush, abounding with numerous realistic touches. Amonc native authors, a place must be given to Mrs Leprohon, who contributed so many charming tales to the Garland. Mrs. Leprohon has a sweet fancy, and a genuine sympathy in every subject touched by her pen. Ida Beresford is perhaps her most popular work, though the Manor House of De Villerai will longest endure, because of those vivid sketches of the manners and customs of" the habitants of Lower Canada, which it contains. The praises of Le Chien d'Or, by Wm. Kirby, have been sounded by abler pens than ours ; and we have no desire to detract aught from the fame of this weird story. Mr. Kir- by's imagination is rich, and sometimes can take on as many shapes as Proteus himself, now arraying itself in the fantastic, and again coming in the guise of something so weird as to send ©GO O a shiver through the blood; but he is a poor artist. He is like a lady with a rich wardrobe, and an ample store of pearls, who has no taste, and appears in colours and combinations that do literally commit murder before the eyes of all who see her. Some interest was excited in literary circles some years ago, over the clever detection by Mr. G. Mercer Adam, of some petty larceny by two English novelists, from Le Chien d'Or. The charge of "picking other people's brains," * was intolerable to the Englishmen, who cabled a denial in very hot language; but Mr. Adam, with a calm and dignified mercilessness, substantiated his allegation, and fairly nailed the two authors, as a pair * This is Prof. Goldwin Smith's expression, and is applied to Bishop Wflberforce in the inimitable critique in Bystander, THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 449 of kites, to the wall, an example for future transgressors. The greater part of the Popxdar History of Ireland, by Thomas D'Arcy McGee was written in Canada, and may therefore be ranked among our native literature. It would be impossible for McGee to write an unmeritorious thing in seriousness, and while we have but very little interest in his book, we pay our tribute to its merit, and to the flashes that gleam over its pages. It has been the custom to quote Mr. McGee's poetry, but, as we have seen, while this brilliant Irishman had the poetic instinct, he did not know what poetry was, writing only brilliant verse, rather than the heaven-given thing itself. One cannot accomplish one thing, by doing a totally different thing; that is to say, the writing of an essay on agriculture will not accomplish the digging of a turnip patch. The name of Dr, Grant rings through our literary circles, but this must be rather by virtue of what the distinguished " principal" is capable of doing, rather than by what he has done. His chief contribution to literature, so far, is the book Ocean to Ocean, which we have read and re-read, not alone with delight, but with enthusiasm, for it is redolent of the breath of the mountain, the mystery of the wood, and the perfume of wild flowers. It is a sort of pastoral poem, written in prose, containing a wholesome spice of the practical with the exuberant and the spiritual. Among our scientific writers of note may be mentioned professor Dawson, whose contributions to geology will be imperishable ; Sir William Logan, who has laid the same science under deep obligation; professor Bailey, whose whole life is a series 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 science 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- cc LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. tion with Dr. Grant, have brought his fine abilities into notice. Among our writers on the important subject of forest preservation and reproduction, are Mr. Edward Jack, of New Brunswick, whose efforts have been useless in 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 same direction in Ontario, though Mr. Mowat and his colleagues are too much occupied with the affairs of faction to pay much attention 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 Bishop Medley, the metropolitan of Canada. This distinguished divine is the ablest Hebrew scholar in Can-, ada, and his translation of the most difficult and most beautiful 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 religious pathos of the original, seem to have been turned, without diminution or change, into the English equivalent. There 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, literature, 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 publication 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 AND LITERATURE. Constitutional History of Canada, by the late Mr. Samuel James Watson is a valuable addition to our constitutional literature ; and he who reads it must regret that the author was not spared to finish his work. Mr. Watson also wrote some very sweet 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 letters, it is not necessary to say, is Mr. George Stewart, Jr.. whose various contributions have so long delighted a large circle of readers. Literary honours, upon Mr. Stewart, have fallen thick and fast. In 1879, he was elected an associate member of L'Association Litte'raire Internationale of Europe, Victor Hugo, president; and is the only Canadian that enjoys this distinction. The other members of the association from this side of the Atlantic were Longfellow, Emerson, Col. J. W. Higgin- o *. * ©© son, Francis Parkman, and Edward King. In 1881 Mr. Stewart was elected a member of the Prince Society of Boston; and is one of the original twenty members of the English literature section of the Royal Society of Canada, selected by Lord Lome. He was subsequently elected secretary of that section, which position he now holds. In 1880 he was chosen with Mr. J. M. Le Moine, 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, president. He is 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 success. 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 about this time wrote those entertaining papers of his, known as ""•Evenings in the Library." Later still, he became editor of the Canadian Monthly, and during his occupation of the editorial chair contributed a number of literary papers. It was then he 452 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. wrote the book by which he is best known, Canada Under the Administration of Earl Dufferin, which brought him into instant repute. Severing his connection with the Monthly, he took the editorial chair of the Quebec Chronicle, which position he still holds. But journalism during these years have not won the tireless activity of Mr. Stewart away from the pursuit he loves. In his lectures on Alcott, Thoreau, Carlyle, 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 be assured the remembrance 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 Alcott, the " Concord Mystic," selected at random,- exhibits the vitality and the nervousness of Mr. Stewart's style. It is of Alcott he speaks : " For a while he supported himself during the summer months by tilling the soil, and in the 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 visions and the most lovely of all lovely things. His mindi 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 O ©/ 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 reckless 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 iron's in the fire. He is preparing two articles for the Encyclopaedia Britannica, one on New Brunswick, the other on Nova Scotia ; has completed a chapter of forty pages on Frontenac and his times for Justin Winsor's " History of America," a book to appear in eight volumes and promising to be one of the greatest literary pro- diictions of the age; and he is collecting material for a history of the rebellion of 1837-38, to be published in the spring of 1884. In all these subjects there is no doubt that Mr. Stewart will appear at his best, and add more bays to his chaplet. , But of all the names mentioned, none there is more deserving of high and honoured place than that of Mr. G. Mercer Adam, whose figure we have seen so long in the hand-to-hand struggle O O ©© with Philistinism, full of hope, even when all around him was dark, and cheering the strugglers on. If ever man lived who ? © O© loved literature for its own sake,—who has thrown time, and energy, and talent, gratuitously into a cause that was kicked and spurned by the coarse heel that was making of letters a gross sort of commerce, and a political trade,—then such a one is Mr. Adam. He was for several years editor of the Canadian Monthly, and during that time fought the battle nobly, against tremendous odds, always with a word of cheer to those who came to him for advice, or with their literary offerings, always breathing the breath of hope, in his kindly way, into those who had met with a sneer or a cold rebuff in quarters where letters not alone received no welcome, but were regarded with hostility. The Canadian Monthly, as might have been expected, died; nor could the warm heart or the competent hand of Mr. Adam avert the inevitable. The publishers loyally did their part, but the time came when they saw how useless it was to continue the struggle, and withdrew their hand. No publication like the Monthly can live in Canada, unless it have the generous sympa- 454' LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. thy of the press and the co-operation of the literary brotherhood of the country. From the first, the Monthly was regarded as an enemy by the Globe, which longed to see it out of the way; and. was received with an apathy, worse still than hostility, by the Mail, which set down all Canadian literature, just then, as "hog wash:" though a more enlightened management and a © * © © © heart with a warm corner for letters, after doom had cast its shadow on the struggling magazine, showed a kindly spirit and put out a helping hand. Mr. Adam, however, is not out of harness, but is still helping on the good cause. To the Canada Educational Monthly, under his editorial control, go many of those who in other days went to the Canadian Monthly with" their literary messages. We have said that to many a one with a yearning for a place in letters, and the gifts to shine there, has Mr. Adam lent a kindly hand, and whispered hopes; whatever our own poor merit may be, and whether we are worthy or unworthy to appear in the " community of mind," we have to express our sense of undying obligation to him for the quickening he has given to the impulse which led us to venture launching our barque on the literary sea; and for kindly words of encouragement on first coming to Toronto, a stranger to all, to persevere though we had been assured by the managing editor of a O • ' © © great paper in the most contemptuous of tones, that " no one could make his salt at literature in Canada." In addition to being the warm-hearted friend of letters, Mr. Adam is a most chaste and graceful writer himself, and his English might well be regarded as a model. The Toronto parts of Picturesque Canada, it is now known, have been written by him, as we might have judged by the terse grace of the style. Let us quote from one of these parts now lying before us the summing up of his hopes of what the future of our country promises. He has made a review of the past: " But a happier star is now in the ascendant. The days of colonial pupilage are over; the strifes of the cradle-time in the province are gone by; and it is now the era of progress and consolidation, of national growth, THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 455 and the formation of national character. . . . Education is spreading, and its refining influence is everywhere operative. Party and sectarian animosities are on the wane; and the influence of reason in journalism and politics is asserting itself. Let there be but more patriotic feeling, a fuller national sentiment, with a more expressive public spirit, and a better determined civic life, and the metropolis of the province will take its proper position among the various communities of the Dominion." And then we come to a name that we write down in the Canadian list with a thrill of pride. It is no 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 us here, restraining us there, all the while pointing out to us the honourable and the true, and stimulating us by the elevating influence of his own example. The appearance of Professor Goldwin Smith in Canada marked the beginning of a new era in national aspiration and literary ambition ; and it also called forth ina certain quarter of our press such an outbreak of jealousy and hate as has never before disgraced journalism in this country. Professor Goldwin Smith came among us 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 fetters that bound 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 456 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. ashamed, and denounced the course of their organ, which they had been led to think could do no wrong, with open and unmeasured censure. Of course it was impossible for the gentleman 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 such tremendous effect, that those who had to bear the brunt will have occasion to remember it to their dying day. But, throughout, the contest was as between artillery on the open field and a crew of assassin sharpshooters in ambush. It is pleasing to know that if the Globe is still wedded to some obsolete trade idols, and is sometimes seen with the mop endeavouring to resist the tide of public opinion, that it fights 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 several influential quarters, striking key notes, and letting floods of light, in the writer's unrivalled manner, upon topics never before discussed within colonial hearing. Every chord touched was vital, and it is no wonder that this pew teacher, inculcating "lessons 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 Canadian 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 established The Bystander, a monthly magazine, written entirely by himself, and containing a current review of all leading political, 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 periodical cannot often deal with colonial affairs, and, if it could, its reflections would call always for a supplement, and sometimes 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 legacies of revolution, and the cynical scepticism engendered in all spheres of 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 unblighted hopes of a community of the new world." Certainly a most wonderful force in the community of opinion was this new magazine. It was impossible to read its delightful pages from month to month without standing in positive amazement to reflect on the fertility of the writer's mind; and to note that while all important current topics were touched, every one was treated with a master hand. There was no circumlocution and roundabout irrelevancies, like an explorer poking his way through a thousand miles of unnecessary forest or desert to discover the fountain of a river, but the reviewer, at the first glance, seemed to look into the very marrow of his subject, which he dissected and held up to the gaze of the reader, as if it had cost him but 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 Goldwin 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 Goldwin Smith; but not any one that it has fallen to us to read, has this instinctive insight into every subject, in 458 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. every department of thought. The dramatic quality that we sometimes, and not improperly, make a subject of worship in the man who can send his intelligence out of himself, and make it enter into the heart of that which it seeks to portray and fashion, from the inside out, not from the outside in,—that method which Carlyle objurgated—as a rule, only displays itself in conceiving and painting character; but this indefinable gift professor Goldwin Smith carries beyond the dramatist's sphere, and into universal service. Perhaps we ought to marvel less at the man so richly and so singularly gifted, than at the wondrous power which is always at his service, that is as some ministering intelligence which comes from we know not where, and not at his calling, and whose name is Genius. Genius, whatever that may be, to the very highest degree, and in profusion, has he. We cannot define genius, but we can show the difference between it and talent. The person who possesses talent is seldom troubled with " moods " as he writes or reasons; 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 listener may be tingled, his intelligence may be convinced, his literary sympathies may be delighted, but there is a spot which such ammunition never touches—the 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. one in every five millions of the sons of men does possess genius -—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 understands ; and he may have, or he may not have, all the qualities 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 the abyss that surrounds him—not^at his conjuring, neither at his desire—the voice of an intelligence of which he knows nothing, save that it does come without calling, and darts into his soul like the lightning but of the womb of night. And for © © O an example of this, we take the reader to nearly any page of The Bystander. 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 the page a master-stroke that you knew came not to the author for the asking: there is genius. Sometimes, and oftenest, this flash shoots across the vision, so to speak, in reading the works of professor Gold win Smith, in the guise of an epigram which you are 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 the 'writings of this great author they invariably do, and fre- 460 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. ~~~^j CH L quently, that which is rarer still, the latter includes the former. Add to this every thought in the writer's mind seems to ally itself with some figure, by an affinity as strong and as inevitable as that between the magnet and the iron; so that a page of Bystander is a series of thoughts expressed through pictures, that only flash, but do not exhaust, their significance upon you. "Some of Milton's grandest touches have been these vague pictures of grim fires, and God seen hurling his thunders against o * o © the rebellious; and this art Mr. Smith possesses to such a degree that he sometimes gives the glimpse of a picture like a .gleam suddenly seen through a rift of cloud, disappearing again, but which lingers and haunts the memory and the imagination. Neither is there an English writer, of whom we have «,ny knowledge living or dead, who possesses in so great a degree that curiosa felicitas of expression, the aptitude for coining new and telling phrase that at once reveals itself as a master-stroke. We have all heard of the trade of picking other people's pockets, but we never heard literary theft described as " picking other people's brains," till professor Goldwin Smith charges Bishop Wilberforce 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 the describing of slaughter on the battle-field as " heroic surgery." True O © O 1/ 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 assertion that " the British party cabinet is only a committee of the privy council," but none of them, surely, has ever so effectually 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. 461 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 Anglicans 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 chord that has connection with the moral nature. See the calm, noble majesty of this passage taken from that incomparable English classic, " The Great Duel of the Seventeenth Century." Gustavus had fallen before his hour :• " Te Deum was sung at Vienna and Madrid, and with good reason. For Vienna and Madrid the death of Gustavus was better than any victory. For humanity, if the interests of humanity were not those of Vienna and Madrid, it was worse than any defeat. But for Gustavus himself, was it good to die glorious, and stainless, but 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 perhaps well for him that he was saved from temptation. A deeper morality replies that what was bad 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 ourselves 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 as limpid and pure, to use his own phrase, as "the burn that runs down a heathery hill-side." For some time Bystander was suspended, but it has lately been resumed, though as a quarterly instead of a monthly. We still could wish to welcome it as often as before; but since that is impossible, let us 462 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. be thankful that we have its presence still, four times in the year; its influence always. The teaching of professor Goldwin Smith is permeating the thought of our young country; and what a boon is not the fruit of this ripe and excellent judgment, at the formative period of our national character, when much of the habit we acquire will prove enduring. The morality of Bystander is robust' and wholesome, and a disinfectant of the polluted party air about us. Above all, the unwavering adherence to duty, and the high sense of integrity and honour, which characterize his course as the expounder of opinion and the leader of our domestic press, is, whether unconsciously to ourselves or not, a constant star that we have now begun to follow, and whose influence, when the gifted writer is no more, will till be there, to lead us on to the higher and the better. It is hardly a compliment to our chapter on literature to introduce upon the scene the rank and file of Canadian journalism. The truth is that at the door of the Canadian press rests, in a great measure, the blame of the failure of domestic literary 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 of 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 juild take the matter in hand. It is perhaps not too much to expect neither assistance to Canadian talent, nor competent criticism, 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 correspondents " 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 management 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 education 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 of Mr. Griffin, who has not alone high literary attainments of his own, but is one of the band who have striven to 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; for if he gave rein to his inclination, we suppose he would soon have in his ears the thunders of an irate directorate. As for the Globe, if 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 the past. Under the management of the elder Brown, the journal was only the minister 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 management, 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 save what he might have derived from his exchanges. One newspaper we have, which, without impairing its value to the " politician," or the " 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 journalism is on the decline, and the star of the independent press in the ascendant. Perhaps that which, in the Mail and Globe, SB 464 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. disgusts us most, is the slavish loyalty to the throne and British connexion which they pour out, whenever the whisper of Canadian manhood is borne to their ears. Yet we do not believe that the editors of these papers care three straws for British connexion; at least we know the Mail's loyalty has its price, and just what the figure is, for when somebody cried out, " The N.P. is bad; it discriminates against English merchandize, and menaces British connexion," that newspaper very promptly replied, " Then so much the worse for British connexion." And in the very national policy, as in its name, we unconsciously indicated our views with regard to our obligations to the parent. " National is, at all events," says Bystander, " the adjective corresponding to nation; and if the treason axe can cut between the adjective and the substantive, its edges must be very keen." Very keen, truly! It is a hopeful sign for this cause 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 UttSrateurs, beyond any comparison the palm belongs to some of the writers of our song; yet nothing of Canadian effort has received so chilling a reception as our home-made verse. Some coarse-minded writer in the Globe 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 Frechette, who is living amongst us, and whose song is redolent of our woods and lakes, and of everything Canadian, while suitable for all seasons ; and though they cram in sonnets and bits THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 465 that have appeared in the corner of some magazine, into the page, never will they use a line of our own Roberts, of whom no doubt some of them have never heard, but whose sOrig is the* equal of Matthew Arnold's, or of Browning's, or of any other of our great English poets' verse, world-wide too, in its sympathy, and ample enough in its range even for season or festival application. It is our intention now to take a brief review of our 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. Roberts, of Fredericton, New Brunswick. Besides Mr. Roberts' surpassing gift of song, he is one of the most accomplished of our native scholars, and the master of a marrowy delightful prose that is not surpassed by that of any other Canadian writer. He is a graduate of the university of New Brunswick, where he took the classical scholarship in his Freshman year, the alumni gold medal in the junior year, graduating, in 1879, 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 dedicated to his father, Rev. G. Goodridge Roberts, M.A., rector of Fredericton, New Brunswick, appeared in 1880. Of this volume, says a discriminating critic, in a lengthy and almost rapturous review, in the New York Independent: " 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. MACDONALD. familiar with it. Very different is the ' Ballad to a Kingfisher.' But how simply and easily in these lines a common theme grows into a unique creation—a thing apart, like itself alone !" We have read from time to time a large number of reviews of this volume in the English and American press, and one and all have hailed in Mr. Roberts the appearance of a poetic star of 'the first magnitude : 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 his 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 on 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 sensuous 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 outburst 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 GSnopion, who had a daughter of wondrous beauty, named Merope. Orion, a great hunter, seeing the princess, THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 467 became smitten of her wondrous charms, and demanded her hand of the king; but QSnopion, 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 set of sun GCnopion '' 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 Chios' fairest race," bearing the victim. But let the reader' hear this description of the intended offering:— * * "A tawny wolf, Blood-stained, fast-bound in pliant withes, fed fat On many a bleating spoil of careless folds, His red tongue lolling from his fanged jaws, His eyes inflamed, shrinking with terror and hate, His writhen sinews strained 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. But while the king offers sacrifice, the hun- o o © . ; ter, who has been among the mountains destroying the wild beasts, returns; and here is how Mr. Roberts tells of his coming 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 mmmtain for a robe, The torrent's strength for girdle, and for crown The sea's calm, for dread fury capable." It thrills us, as we make this extract, to think that we have a native Canadian who can write such verses as these—song that would add a lustre to any living English poet. More powerful LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. lines than these three given in italics we have never anywhere seen. Yet, in this poem all is of such astonishing merit, that it is with difficulty we can discriminate in making the extracts. The hunter now approaches the king, and tells him that he has done his best in ridding the island of the beasts that infested it: " The inland jungles shall be vexed no more 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 quit by night Their cottages, to meet their shepherd lads." The king received the tidings with feigned gladness, and filled a cup of sullen wine, in which he poured a Colchian drug, which he bade the hunter drink in pledge Of those deep draughts for which thou art athirst;" a * * "he went Up from the shore and in among the vines, Until his mantle gleamed athwart the lanes Of sunset through the far, gray olive-groves." The hunter went apart " by the sleepless sea," for the drug had begun to work its spell, " and his eyes were dim and his head heavy;" He guessed the traitorous cup, and his great heart Was hot, his throat was hot; but heavier grew His head, and he sank back upon the sand ; Nor saw the light go out across the sea, Nor heard the eagle scream among the crags, Nor stealthy laughter echo up the shore, Nor the slow ripple break about his feet * * * The deep-eyed night drew down to comfort him, And lifted her great lids and mourned for him." * * * * THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 469 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 hunter, who knew not his woe till the dawn, when " the maids beloved of Doris," came out of the sea weeping for the " god- begotten " and singing 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 see other phases of this gifted writer's song. Following the command of the sea-maids, " Then get thee up to the hills and thou shalt behold the morning," the hunter rises, and groping his way to where * * "a sound Of hammers rise behind a jagged cape," one comes forth to meet him, " to be to him for eyes," on the journey to the hills, where the radiance of the morning sun would restore his sight. And when he reached the top, what a picture of surpassing loveliness does not the grand imagination of our 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 him ; all the limitless blue sea Brightening with laughter many a league around, Wind-wrinkled, keel-uncloven, far below ;" . . . and here Eos awaited him. "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. 470 LIFE OF SIR^JOHN'A. MACDONALD Out of their deep green caves the Nereids came Again to do him honour, . . . With yellow tresses 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 Up from the water and their company, And the green wood received them out of sight." So ends the poem, not anything like a just idea of the wondrous beauty, richness, grace and strength of which we have been able to give by these few extracts. We noticed in a friendly and appreciative critique of this poet lately by a Canadian writer the statement that Mr. Roberts is under the influence 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, Matthew Arnold, Morris, Rossetti,—there is nowhere a trace of imitating the manner of any one of these. Mr. Roberts has a graceful, sustained strength, and a thoroughly classic spirit, aflame with the old Greek religious fire, that no other living 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 Mr. Roberts and the English singers who are masters, and who appeal to the wide world, unlike 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 the deepest respect, and who is the friend and benefactor of most of our poets and writers, that Cana- 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 be sorry to see the transcendent genius of Mr. Roberts cage itself within the bounds even of this ample Dominion; and though he may find in our wondrous forests, and our rushing rivers, as he 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 quarters of the world a note that posterity will not let die, as he will, for his seems to be the ambition, and his power is supereminent, then shall we gladly let him go, bidding him God speed. For whether he win laurels at home, or in other lands, since he is ours, with him we shall share the glory. Let us take a stanza or two from " Ariadne." The classical story is familiar to the reader, and in brief runs thus: This lovely Cretan, who was the daughter of Minos, and ardent in her passion, fell in love with Theseus, who had come with the offerings of the Athenians for the Minitaur. But the heart of the beautiful stranger was false, and, sickening of his bride, 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 sighing 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 left her, and " clenched the ooze in mute despair." The poem, from which we have taken the two last-made extracts, opens LIBS OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. in the evening, the moon looking " like a ripe pomegranate o'er the sea." 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 confusedly, From th' inmost mountain folds hurled clamoring Along the level shore to droop its wing : She blindly rose and o'er the moon-tracked sea Toward Athens stretched her hands :—' With shouts they bring Their conquering chieftain home ; ah me ! ah me !'" And hear too this next not less lovely stanza: But 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-rousing horn, Soft waxen-pipe, shrill-shouted Evobs : Then sat she down unheeding and forlorn, Half dreaming of old Cretan melodies." 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 satyrs I 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 twine'd 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. 47£ very best, that deep breathing of what may be called the refinement of intense passion, touched with a master hand. The maiden's heart becomes at last captive to the god, and she rose and " . . Went with him where honey-dew distils Through swimming air in 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." Let us then go away from classic story with our poet into the greenwood, and hear him sing of the maple. We make no apology for quoting in full: " Oh, tenderly deepen the woodland glooms, And merrily sway the beeches ; Breathe delicately the willow blooms, And the pines rehearse new speeches ; The elms toss high till they brush the sky, Pale catkins the yellow birch launches, But 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 ; But the maple it glows with the tint of the rose When pale are the spring-time regions, And its towers of flame from afar proclaim The advance of Winter's legions. And a greener shade there never was made 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 admiration here of which we are so full; and can call attention to I *{' LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. those four surpassing lines only by italics. A short quotation or 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 lyric-flow. The poet has apostrophized winter in a succession of master touches, but, .turning, challenges comparison with the milder season. Hear these verses: " But what magic melodies As in the bordering realms are throbbing, Hast thou Winter ?—Liquid sobbing Brooks, and brawling waterfalls, Whose responsive-voiced calls Clothe with harmony the hills, Gurgling meadow-threading rills, Lakelets lisping, wavelets lapping Round a flock of wild ducks napping, And the rapturous-noted wooings, And the molten-throated cooings, Of the amorous multitudes Flashing through the dusky woods, When a veering wind hath blown A glare of sudden daylight down ? '' And turning again to Winter " Less the silent sunrise'sing Like a vibrant silver string, When 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 cloake'd'ear. And full thirstily it longeth For the beauty that belongeth To the autumn's ripe fulfilling ;— Heaped orchard baskets spilling TH 0 UGHT AND LIT ERA TURE. 475 'Neath the laughter-shaken trees ; Fields of buckwheat full of bees, Girt with ancient groves of fir Shod with berried juniper ; Beech-nuts mid their russet leaves ; Heavy-headed nodding sheaves; Clumps of luscious blackberries ; Purple-clustered traceries Of the cottage climbing-vines ; Scarlet-fruited eglantines; Maple forests all aflame When thy sharp-tongued legates came." •Here the reader is no less sensible that a master hand is painting nature, and what is more, making so intensely a Canadian picture that he 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 he sees, as in the rest of Mr. Roberts' work, the wrought art the author brings into the service of his verse © © highly the complete technical mastery, and the firm grip of the subject; and above all the contained enthusiasm and the well-regulated flow of the thought. © O We are sure the reader will not be tired, but rather delighted, if we make an extract from " Memnon," a poem which first appeared in Scribner's magazine. A traveller, " Weary, forsaken by fair, fickle sleep," rises, a'nd 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 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. uttering a melodious sound every day at the rise of the sun, u like that which is heard at the breaking of the string of a harp when it is wound up." And the figure was said to be possessed of all the feeling that belongs to man—to suffer pain, and heat, and cold, and the tortures of the sand-blast. This is the story which Mr. Roberts' fervid imagination seizes and shapes into a thing of such imperishable beauty. And now " Faint streaks quietly creep Up from the east, into the dusky sky ; Aurora's yellow hair, that up the steep Streams to the rear of night full breezily." This is the mother of the tortured figure coming. Hear the on's plaint: 1 Sweet mother, stay; thy son requircth thee! All day the sun, with massive, maddening glare, Seats on my weary brow and tortures me. All day the pitiless sand-blasts gnaw and wear Deep furrows in my lidless eyes and bare. AU 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 and laugh into my eyes; The weak bats fret me with their small, shrill cries, And toads and lizards crawl in slimy glee. Oh, dewy-lipped mother, stay; thy son desireth thee." \nd this surely may pass for a stanza not excolledyin our iterature: Soon will for me the many-spangled night ise, and reel round, and tremble toward the verge; Soon will the sacred Ibis her weird flight Wing from the fens where shore and river merge, With long-drawn sobbings of the reed-choked surge. he scant-voiced ghosts, in wavering revelry ir Thebes' dead glory, gibber a fitful dirge: Would thou wert here, mother, to bid them flee! O beautiful mother, hear; thy chained son calleth thee." THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 477 We have made the italics occurring in these extracts; for again we cannot wait to say what our enthusiasm suggests, of the verses so marked. At one other of Mr. Roberts' poems we can only glance before closing our review, and that " Off Pelorus," which does not appear in the volume before us, but which we find in a number of the Canadian Monthly, under Mr. G. Mercer Adam's editorship. This poem is founded on one of the incidents in the wanderings of Ulysses. After the return of the king from the shades, he sojourned on Circe's island; and when he again set forth, he had to pass by the strait of Scylla and Charybdis, where the sirens sang their luring songs. These were Circe's words of warning to the reckless prince in Pope's mechanical strains: ..." Where sirens dwell you plough the seas Their song is death and makes destruction please." As for you, said the goddess to the king, I know your love for me will be proof against the witching music of the sirens ; but stuff your rowers' ears with wax, lest the songs might overcome them. See that before you reach the charmed coast, your rowers bind you to the mast. Ulysses then set out, and submitted to the instructions of the goddess. The poem opens off Pelorus, the cape named from the pilot of Annibal. The sea is drowsy, the sirens sing, the rowers labour at the oar, the king is bound to the mast: " Crimson swims the sunset over far Pelorus ; Burning crimson tops its frowing crest of pine, Purple sleeps the shore and floats the wave before us , Each where from the oarstroke eddying warm like wine." Let us read on. Circe's precautions were not ample ; for what the rowers see intoxicate them j " Soundless foams the creamy violet wake behind us ; We but see the creaking of the laboured oar ; We have,stopped our ears—mad were we not to blind us, Lest with eyes grown drunken sail we hence no more." 478 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. The sirens lived on this enchanted coast; and while their song took captive the ear, the luxuriousness of their abode intoxicated the eye. How matchlessly Mr. Roberts has grasped the spirit of the- legend and wrought it into a picture moving with life. Hear this stanza, and say if even Mr. Roberts may not be proud of it: " Idly took we thought for still our eyes betray us.— Lo ! the white limbed maids with beckoning arms divine, Throbbing bosoms baref loosed hair, soft hands to slay us, Throats ath rob with song across the charmed brine," And here also is a matchless stanza : " See the king he hearkens,—hears their song—strains forward,— As some mountain snake attends the shepherd's reed ; Now with argent hands he bids us turn us shoreward :— Bend the groaning oar now, give the king no need !" How admirably does not the movement of the first line picture the action of the mountain snake in the second verse on hearing the shepherd's pipe,—moving in jerks. It is the community of thought and feeling among the rowers we receive so far. This, after Mr. Roberts' skilful and harmonious weaving, is the song of the luring charmers on the shore. They reach out their " beckoning arms divine," as they sing it—and imagine such a song floating across that gorgeous summer sea:.-j "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 himself 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," "La'unce- lot and the Four Queens," " Sappho," " Ballad of the Poet's Thought," and various other delightful things. We have been a close student for many years 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 intense, as sweet, as high and as varied as any singer in the British choir. In strength he is fully the equal of Browning; and in lyrical flow and passion, —his fire is not a spluttering blaze, but a sober, intense glow—he is not surpassed by Swinburne. Sometimes we find that " lyrical cry," that sad sweet note that marks such poems as " Marguerite " and " The Forsaken Merman " of Matthew © Arnold; while in the curious felicity of expression, such as " gossiping grass " for an expanse of sedges and weeds fretted by the wind, the " winnowing soft, gray wings of marsh owls '* fee., he is not surpassed, if equalled, by any of our modern poets. How Mr. Roberts would adorn one of our university chairs of English literature ! Surely, if his services are available, Trinity, which has wakened from her sleep and feels a new life and impulse in her veins, and decided to endow a literature chair, might seek his services. He would, in such a place, draw all the aspiring and better ones among our young men around him; or might not our more comprehensive institution, Uni- LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. versity College, add to 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 to his sister Miss Jane E. G. Roberts, and we judge by contributions of hers we have seen in the Canadian Monthly and the Illustrated Canadian News, verse, though the product of a young lady only sixteen, which is not unworthy of Jean Ingelow, and equalling Mrs. Hemans at the batter's very best. When the next reviewer of our literature takes up the pen, Miss Roberts, we doubt not, will be a poetic star on which the eyes of no small portion of our people will be turned. Next in order of merit as a Canadian poet we take M. Louis Honore Frechette to whom the exclusive doors of the Institute of France were opened, and from which he bore away the laurels above all the brilliant writers of the nation for Les Flears Boreales, and Les Oiseaux de Neige. M. Frechette's writings reveal a depth of poetic instinct, a soaring and exuberant imagination ; while he brings to his aid a style so graceful and artistic that his very excellences in this respect are sometimes accounted a fault. It is certainly true that the thought of this brilliant singer's 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 Liberte' as the © best representative of M. Frechette's intensity of feeling, his subtle quality, and his gift of luxurious imagery. We give his poem in the original: " Enfant naif, j'ai mis ma levre avide 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 prominent a la ronde Le tourbillon de leur folle gaiete', R6veur, je songe a l'avenir du monde ; Je n'ai plus qu'un amour, c'est pour la Liberte* De saints espoirs, ma pauvre ame s'inonde, Et mon regard monte vers le ciel bleu, Quand j'apercois dans les fastes du monde, Comme un Eclair, briller le doigt de Dieu. Mais quelquefois, incline sur le gouffre Ou l'homme rampe a l'immortalite, En contemplant l'humanite qui souffre, Si je prie, en pleurant, c'est pour la Libert e We have been fortunate in finding a masterly translation of this poem in the Quebec Chronicle, by our English-Canadian poet, Mr. Roberts, which, besides giving the flavour of the original, is a delightful bit of work in itself. But let the reader compare and judge. He will see that while Mr. Roberts does not adhere to a literal rendering, he has melted the French poem down in his brain, and given it to us instinct with a new life exactly like the original. A child, I have set the thirsting of my mouth To the gold chalices of loves that craze. Surely, alas! I have found therein but drouth, Surely has sadness darkened o'er my days. While worldlings chase each other madly round Their giddy track of frivolous gayety, Dreamer, my dream earth's utmost longings bound: One love alone is mine—my love is Liberty. " I have sung them all:—Youth's lightsomeness that fleet?, Pure friendship, my most fondly cherished dreams, LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Wild blossoms and the winds that steal their sweets, Wood-odours, and the star that whitely gleams. But our hearts change; the spirit dulls its edge In the chill contact with reality;— These vanished, like the foam bells in the sedge: I sing one burden now—my song is Liberty. in. '' I drench my spirit in ecstasy, consoled, And my gaze trembles towards the azure arc, When in the wide world-records I behold Flame like a meteor God's finger thro1 the dark. But if, at times, bowed over the abyss Wherein man crawls toward immortality, Beholding here how sore his suffering is, I make my prayer with tears—it is for Liberty." In commenting upon this translation, Mr. Roberts says: " In the above lines, which are a feeble attempt to fix in English verse some fragment of the imperishable beauty of M. Frechette's poem, La Liberie, I have been willing in one or two instances to make a sacrifice of verbal fidelity for the sake of a closer approach to the spirit and motive of the original. I have not dreamed of a possibility of doing justice to this poem; I have merely sought to render a faint copy of its grace and its splendid lyric fervour. In some of M. Frechette's lines, as, for instance, "—' incline sur le gouffre Ou l'homme rampe a I'immortalite''— exist that perfect fitness of expression, that note of calm power, of serious and profound compassion, which may be looked for in the work of the finest genius only. The untranslatable and inimitable quality in verses of Francois Villon— ' Ainsi le bon temps regrettons Entre nous, pauvres vieilles sottes,'— in passages of Keats, and in some of Shakespeare's and of Ro- setti's sonnets, may be perceived also, here and there, in the best of M. Frechette's lyrics; but it is so subtle a flavour as THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 483 to bear no handling. My hope is that the above paraphrase may retain sufficient likeness to its original to tempt more English readers to seek acquaintance with M. Frechette's genius at first hand." © Charles Heavysege, among our native poets, let us see next. His chief work is, " Saul: a drama, in three parts; Boston: Fields, Osgood & Co., 1869." Saul is the most notable production, in the way of dramatic verse, that Canada has produced, by very long odds, and is a work of which we may well be proud. It displays a vast range of vigorous thought and imagination, with dramatic insight and originality. The blank verse is strong and flexible, though sometimes harsh and unpolished, and the language is quaint, striking and suggestive. Some of Malzah's demon songs are wonderful, for the manner in which they hold one, through all their demoniacal grotesque- ness and wildness of fancy. The vocabulary is closely studied from the Elizabethans. Heavysege also wrote lephtha's Daughter, a work immeasurably inferior to Saul, and some sonnets, which, while possessing passages of imaginative insight and eloquent utterance, are apt to fall into turgidity and bombast. His genius, if justice is to be done it, must be judged only after careful consideration of his masterpiece, Saul. In point of merit a very high place should be given to Mr. Charles Pelham Mulvany, who comes here, too, with other poetic laurels than those won in Canada. Heavysege and Mrs. Maclean who come nearest to him are only a distant second. He is the only one of those two mentioned of whom we may unquestioningly predicate genius; a wild and erratic genius perhaps, but genuine. He is the only one, too, of these who has gained an entree into European poetical society; because he writes as a master, not tentatively. He is unaffected with the taint of provincialism, the only one of our poets, Roberts excepted, who is. His " Messalina," " In Nero's Gardens," and I Theodora," are dramatic lyrics of wonderful power of penetration, displaying an accurate comprehension of the tone, temper 484 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. and atmosphere of the times in which their scenes are laid. Their descriptions have the exact flavour of Imperial Rome, in its earlier and later days, and prove the widest familiarity with post-Augustan Latin literature. But one or two of contemporary poets could have produced them—Browning perhaps, or Dante Rossetti They combine what are so difficult well to combine—dramatic force and lyric fire. Mr. Mulvany is a lyrical artist. He is capable of an exquisite and unerring note, though this he does not always attain, by any means. He has no rival in Canada as a writer of keen, witty, polished, yet pathetic vers de societe. He has short fugitive poems with the flavour and grace of Heine, and finely original. Such a lyric as " Some one Comes," proves 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 these verses:— " I am Love, whom years that vanish Still shall find the same!" Still ! as when in Southern sunshine First the phantom came 1 With a fond word, long unspoken— A forgotten name ! " I am 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 hexameter verse from the Iliad and the iEneid are masterly, both for their faithful rendering of 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, " 0 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 elegance, but also his intimate acquaintance with the curious monastic poetry of the middle ages. Some of his poems, however, are 'not up to the mark in polish. He is capable of exquisite finish, but does not always give it us. Sometimes, 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 carelessness, and cannot be excused. Mrs. Kate Seymour Maclean is equal to Mulvany in original inspiration, perhaps, and also in depth of feeling, and sensitiveness to rhythm and music. Her poems possess the singing quality, the haunting lilt, more uniformly than do Mulvany's, but she is not by any means the literary artist that he is. She is far inferior to him in strength and dramatic insight, in © © ' accuracy and wealth of culture, and in all technical qualifications. Her work neither calls for nor will bear 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 student, or the man of letters. Her work does not escape the influence of provincialism as wholly as his 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 command 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" is 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 spearmen bold." / 436 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. This poem calls to mind that of Mrs. Heman's on the " Land- iug of the Pilgrim Fathers," which it equals for eloquence, while far surpassing it in poetic feeling and reach of imagination. There have been some very beautiful Easter poems written in America, by Mrs. Thaxter and others, but Mrs. Maclean's " Marguerite " stands easily at the head of them all. Then what a deep utterance is " The Voice of Many Waters," the music and language of which are great:— " But I hear thy voice at midnight,, smiting 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 ! " Mrs. Maclean's volume is entitled The Coming of the Princessr from the initial poem, which is not one of her best, though containing some imaginative passages. The general tone of the author seems to savour of half-realized republicanism, which perhaps accounts for some lack of inspiration on this subject which should be of such supreme andr engrossing importance to every loyal Canadian heart. Mrs. Maclean's admirable little volume is badly disfigured in spots by hopeless rhymes, and lines that refuse to be scanned. She makes " chrism " rhyme with "arisen," "speed " 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 somewhat reserved. Such verse always gives pleasure, but is not likely to compel admiration. It will always command respect ; 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 feeling 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'outburst of fluent and luxurious melody (reminding us of some of Moore's best work), in the lines, " Thalatta ! Thalatta ! " '' In my ear is the moan of the pines—in my heart is the song of the sea,"— ii. " From the rock where I stand to the sun is a pathway of sapphire and gold, Like a waif of those Patmian visions that raj>t the lone seer of old,—" ****** in. •' Westward ho ! Far away to the East is a cottage that looks to the shore—■ Though each drop in the sea were a tear, as it was I can see it no more; For the heart of its pride with the flowers of the ' Vale of the Shadow' reclines, And—hushed is the song of the sea and hoarse is the moan of its piaes." " The Prophecy of Merlin," is a specimen of creditable blank verse, generally fluent and musical, and clear in expression; but its subject 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 sacond reading. " Balaam" is a much more meritorious poem, containing many strong and vividly imagined passages, carefully wrought out, with an effective and rememberable ending. It is a dignified and stately poem. Mr. Reade's work, altogether, is lacking in originality to some degree, has no strong lyric rush, 488 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. I fails to impress or move one potently; but it is earnest, cultured, sweet, clear-cut, contemplative. These qualities show to best advantage in the sonnets, of which Mr. Reade has given us several. For general evenness of merit, thoughtfulness, ingenuity of fancy, and well-balanced expression, these sonnets will stand as Mr. Reade's best work; and they entitle him to the position of our leading sonnetteer. One or two others may have reached higher ground than Mr. Reade in an individual sonnet or so, but the uniform high quality of the latter's, leaves his title to superiority unquestioned. Miss Agnes M. Machar, is a clever, thoroughly educated, cultured writer, who now and again writes thoughtful and suggestive 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 feeling. She points most of her poems with a moral, which, however, is always well put and forcible. Her verse is meditative and pleasing, rather than strikingly individualistic- But she is a thinker, has something to say, and her work will always repay perusal. Some time ago, there appeared in Scrib- ner's Magazine, a poem of hers on the "Whip-poor-will," which revealed a power of lyric speech and a command of haunting cadences hardly to have been expected from her other work. Miss Machar writes under the nom de plume of " Fidelis." John Hunter-Duvar is a Prince Edward Island dramatic poet. He has published " The Enamorado," a clever but uneven piece of work founded on a mediaeval Spanish tale of chivalry. 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 treatment, 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. 489 truer poet than Heavysege; his mind is richer stocked and mellower, his imagination more sensuous, his colouring warmer, his music more alluring. This drama contains many brilliant and poetical passages, much sharp dialogue, and a vast deal of wit and flashing fancy. Some of the repartee is admirable. It abounds with puns and quaint conceits, after later Elizabethan fashion, and the personages pelt each other with similes unin- termittingly. This has the flavour of the olden days: D'Ercilla. " Is the Queen stirring ? " Mazias. " Nay, how should I know 1 I am not the king ; But an' thou ask me I should say, ' not so !' My lady stirs not lest she shame the sun ; The dew I see, but not her dewy eyes ; No breath but zephyr's breath makes balm the air ; I only hear the bird's awakening notes ; And, therefore, I should say my lady stirs not." The clown in this play is a witty and discerning fool, and never offends by quitting his absurdity, even when delivering himself of the wisest matter. To his query :—" Perpend,— what is a queen ?" Sancho replies profoundly—" A queen is—a queen!" And thus the clown : " A quean with a peacock's tall. One that with the rosy nail of her little forefinger points you—Fellow! do this,—and when 'tis done looks blank beyond and sees you not." And again— Clown:—" Dids't ever see a pearl, Master Sancho ? " Sancho :—"Aye, and an oyster too. Why our Clara is called the pearl of " Clown :—" Pur-r-r-r—aroynt the man ! Sir, oyster is a creature given us for our good, and pearl be but oyster scab. A pearl doth not walk abroad and wear farthingales. A pearl doth not say to me this blessed Mary morning : ' Knave, thou art foul, avoid me, thou smellest of stables.' From all which it may be observed that Messir Clown is very democratic. At the close of the drama, when the Clown is in the Church of St. Catherine where the hero, Mizias, the Enamorado, is 490 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. buried, and where tombs are all about, Nugue, the faithful valet of Mazias, says:— " Tread reverently, good ^lown. There lies my master. A better, kinder, braver, a-a-plague on't there must be onions in the air." [Weeps.] Whereupon the Clown remarks sententiously :— " In the midst of death we are in life, and should be thankful for it." Mr. Hunter-Duvar can also write a very exquisite lyric, full of passion and verve. The pity is that he has not given us more of his song; but let the following quotations prove that he has the true fire. Mazias, standing at his prison window, thus breaks out into verse :— " The arching sky is bright, the scent of flowers Steals like an incense through my prison bars, Yet feel I no1; the breeze, nor know it there Save for a little shudder of the leaves. Anear, still life, but in the middle distance Are cattle feeding underneath tall tree-; While, like light feathers, in the leafy screen Are curls of blue that tell of cottage fires. A brave back-ground of mountains, grand sierras That wear for half the year their hoods of snow But now are rosy-tipped with purple shadows. The genius of the place is satisfying. Yet, somehow, hangs a gloom around my heart, A sense of comiiig ill, —a shifting cloud, Now dark and thick through which no ray may pierc» Now lightening till half the stars look through,— They say such feelings come with creeping chill When steps are passing o'er your unknown grave. - Va ! banish such, slim weakness, Mazias ! Even as a life-slave fettered to the wall Will sing a song of freedom, and at once His shackles fall,—no longer walls hold in, But he is far away among green fiields With those he loved when his seared life was young ; So I, who prisoned am with double bond Of fettered heart that love hath chafed and worn And iron bars between me and the sun, Will slip* the chain of doleful circumstance And bask in the impossible and gone Of love requited for a love bestowed. [Sings.] " Fly out, O rosy banner, on the breeze! • THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. 491 Clash, music, in a tempest wild and free ! Ring out, 0 bells, above the waving trees ! Shine sun, earth smile, and add thy voice 0 sea !— My lady—lady loves me ! " This play contains other lyrics even excelling this is beauty and luxuriance. John Hunter-Duvar is a true poet and a facile^- witted dramatist. His worst fault, perhaps, is an occasional stiffness, caused by an over-abundance of archaic phrase and words; and, more rarely, a slip-shod structure of blank verse. His best dialogue is in prose. His blank verse is not flexible and varied enough, as a whole, for his thought; and is, at its best, a monologue of a lofty or contemplative cast. But he never swells into bombast or turgid raving. He has a delicate © © feeling for external nature. Among the French-Canadian poets, besides M. Frechette, may be mentioned the late M. Octave Cre*mazie. The verses of this writer sometimes display grander idea and a stronger lyrical flow than those of the " laureate," but his art is far inferior to that of the latter. His muse, however, is only a colonist, and. a mere French-Canadian colonist at that. He has no sympathy for anything out of his own latitude and longitude, under which conditions it is almost a marvel that he is not a mere musical wind-spout. He actually does sing notes of genuine sweetness, and instinct with the true poetic fire, though in the scale against a Roberts, he is as a Liliput soldier to the king of Brobdingnag- Neither is he, though some of his confreres seem to think otherwise, the equal of Frechette; but he does sometimes display a loftier imagery, and sing a more bugle-like note than the latter. M. LeMay has been expending his soul on a tender string which breathes some mellow music betimes, through which you frequently catch the undertone of passion. Sentiment on a small scale, his little sweet loving, and his exquisite polish and grace, keep this poet 'happy, no doubt, and delight his friends; but he will hardly be 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 1 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. jack-of-all-trades, an artist in none. He writes some excellent verse, but 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 daring, is often an errant star that leads, no man can say whither. The Mission of Love, and Other Poems is the name of a volume recently published by Hunter, Rose & Company, Toronto. The writer uses the pretty nom die plume " Caris Sima," but we have penetrated the disguise, and find that the fair author is Miss C. Mountcastle, of Clinton, Ontario. We confess that we are a good deal interested in this volume, though it is as a garden in which there are several unseemly weeds growing side by side with a number of delightful flowers. We do not find Miss Mountcastle devoid of talent, of exceeding cleverness, or of the possession of a genuine note of song; but her discrimination 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. The place for the professional " sculler" or the racing horse is the pool, and he never should be brought in the sight of anybody except those who trade in his speed. In some other respects, too, but nowhere 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 musip, 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." 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. 0—fool! to believe In the shallow affection that women profess, Or heed the soft glances or tender caress! I'm sick of believing in anything human, And tender and beautiful; 'specially woman." In " Glimpses of Inner Life " occur her best verses, and here are two which no living poet might be ashamed to acknowledge : ^ " There lingers around thee, my darling, yet, The perfume sweet of the mignonette; And still, with the faintest of carmine streak, Doth the wild rose blossom upon thy cheek." And what a delightful stanza this is: " My love, my darling ! my pale, fair moon That lights, though distant, my life's dark noon, With memory's brightness my sad heart fill, Sweet flower of the wildwood, be with me still." We have put these two lines in italics, because they seem to us to contain the genuine note. We must close with these two stanzas from " A Retrospection." They are worthy of Mrs. Hemans, and are equal to the best verses of that poet: " In the long past days of my childhood, I sat at a cottage door ; And saw with a childish rapture The sunlight glint on the floor ; And over the hills and the meadows, And fretted through beech-wood grove Where thrushes and robins were singing Their wonderful tales of love. 494 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. " And I watched the cumulus cloudlets Piled, and like mountains riven, And much I marvelled if that was the road That people walked up to heaven. The ascent for a space seemed easy, And then came a step so high, I never could hope to climb up it Without I had wings to fly." Again we have put in italics those two delightful lines on the last quoted stanza. We should like to see this author less sparing in weeding out the indifferent lines from her poems ; we should like to see her keep a greater control over the instrument, to hold'in, if that expression may be allowed us, and :give more 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 discipline 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 his 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, stanzas: airy and free, that we give one or two of the " 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 1—his best! go to ! ye knaves, That say our poet's getting oldish, Do ye find weakness in the waves ? D'ye think the sun a little coldish." There is in this the lilt and swing of Gerald Griffin at his best; while the lines in italics are altogether masterpieces of cleverness. Here is a reminiscence of the buried past; and Mr. Griffin touches the chord with a feeling hand:— " Or friends might read with eyes half dim And hearts with time grown rather mellow, And reading, call, ' A health to him, He wasn't half a baddish fellow ! We knew him once—'twas years ago, When we were young and flowers were springing ; We saw him daily come and go, And heard and praised his simple singing,' " ' 'Twos, how the pine woods whispered sweet Their secrets to the wandering ocean, 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 from 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- 496 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. times wrote fragments instinct with intense passion and a depth of melody. Another valued contributor to the Monthly was Mr. J. G. Bourinot, B.A., clerk of the house of commons, Ottawa. Mr. Bourinot's contributions to literature have been valuable in their way, especially his pamphlet on the intellectual development of the Canadian people. Mr. Davin lately set his lance against Mr. Bourinot's English, but Mr. Davin's English is not any better than Mr. Bourinot's, however many other charming qualities it may possess. Mr. W. D. Le Sueur also contributed a number of subtle and searching papers to the Monthly for the publication of which the blockhead editor of a religious paper charged the editor, Mr. Adam, with leanings to agnosticism. Among our younger writers who show decided promise may be mentioned Mr. Archibald Lampman, B.A., of Toronto ; and Mr, J. A. Ritchie, of Ottawa. We have seen in Our Con- tinent, in the Canadian Monthly and elsewhere verses of these young gentlemen that justify us in predicting brilliant things of their future. Mr. Lampman has an exquisite touch, and has' already written some lines of the very highest merit. Mr. Ritchie has awakened from the strings of his instrument, a soft, mellow music, that is large with promise of admirable things. 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 while 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 song. Some of those who, while believing that the days of THOUGHT AND LITERATURE. m 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 Sovereign 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 star of empire is moving in our direction; that we have open doors facing towards the emigrant of all quarters of the globe; that we have to the west of us half a continent of wheat land, capable of sustaining ninety mitlions of people; that already railroads have thrown this unrivalled territory, open to the husbandman; that every ship that crosses the ocean is laden with human freight for our new country ; that our western cities are expanding by strides, and that capital, intelligence, and enterprise are coming from all quarters of the civilized world to cast in their lot with us. Neither are we like the Irishman or the Russian unfit to take the supreme government into our own hands; for a beneficent educational system has been for many "years shedding its light among us, that now, the intellectual condition of the mass of our people is far higher than that of England herself, or of any other European state. That a change must soon come in our political status, no one whose opinion is of any value will now deny; and to the speculating mind one of three courses will be open : Federation with the empire, a scheme which is the birth of a disordered poetic imagination; annexation with the United States—a proposal for which we have not the remotest sympathy, and which, we believe, would be unwelcome to the people, but which is infinitely preferable to that disordered plagiarism of Mr. Justin McCarthy " 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 so often, that for this latter scheme are we heart and soul; that no other change will satisfy the manly, yearning spirit of our young Canadians; and that it is our duty now to bestir ourselves, to organize, and to tire not nor rest till our Colonialism shall have become a thing of the past, and our Canada stand robust, and pure, 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 befit us, and we are happy in the bondage. If we be, then liberty is an impertinence upon our lips, and the rights of free-born citizenship a boon of which we are not worthy. If we be, then is it the duty of our press and our public men to stifle the impulse of manhood, till, coiling the chain about us, we lie down in our dishonoured rest. <e Freeman he is not, but slave, Who stands not out on my side ; His own hand hollows his grave, Nor strength is in me 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, Ashes, and iron, and gold." ■MX^fM SIR JOHN AT HOME—LADY MACDONALD. rFHE career of a man who figures in high public station is JL like unto the passage of a boat down a stream whose course lies through the rough way and the smooth: now he loiters along through the rolling prairie, again he plunges through wild mountain-chasms, where sometimes the frail toy that carries him is swallowed up; or we see him in the boiling surge, his eye bright-calm, his nerves tense and sure, as with steady arm he steers triumphantly through the danger: yet again, looking, we behold his boat enter some low, misty land through which they say only those men wander who do dark-mysterious things; but the little barque can tarry not, for it is bounden to the motion of the flood, which is borne on the never-ceasing wheels of time, till at last the passage is made, and, as the sun goes down, the voyager reaches the arms of the haven, the wide-spreading, tranquil sea.* We have followed Sir John * The following are some of the measures of legislation accomplished by the Right Hon. gentleman since entering public life:—The secularization of the clergy reserves ; the improvement of the criminal laws; the promotion of public instruction ; the consolidation of the statutes; the extension of the municipal system; the reorganization of the militia ; settlement of the seat of Government question; the establishment of direct steam mail communication with Europe; the establishment of additional penitentiaries, criminal lunatic asylums and reformatory prisons, and providing for the inspection thereof: the providing for the internal economy of the House of Commons ; the reorganization of the Civil Service on a permament basis; the construction of the Intercolonial Railway ; the enlargement of the canals ; the enactment of a stringent election law; the ratification of the Washington Treaty : the confederation of B.N. A. ; the extension and consolidation of the Dominion ; the adoption of a National Policy, and a measure for the construction of the Canada Pacific Railway. 499 500 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. Macdonald down the stream, and we believe he has done his duty. On some trivial occasions his course may not have recommended itself to our judgment; but even these incidents we have had the disadvantage of viewing from distant ground, and might, on a close examination, find that it is we who were mistaken. Party being unfortunately the Canadian vehicle of government, our statesmen are all, more or less, bondsmen to the system; and even that writer of history who sits down to his task with the desire of discovering shortcomings in the record of Sir John Macdonald will find, when his work is done, that he is able only to make an array of such transgressions as are sanctioned by party morality, not fewer, neither more heinous, than those to be laid at the threshold of any of his contemporaries, domestic or foreign. But if he set himself to follow the record in cold blood, and to do his duty, he would find that the influence of Sir John Macdonald's career upon the political life of the country, and upon public opinion, has been greater and better, and of a nature that will prove more enduring, than that of any other Canadian statesman, whether dead or living. That Sir John is a partyist it would be no use to deny; but there is no man in this country who more abhors the tyranny of party than he; 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 Canadians 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 characterized 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—but 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 : the policy of Canadian loyalty to Canadian interests which he .has adopted. Both Messrs. Blake and Mackenzie have shown deep concern in the welfare of their country, but it was a coldblooded interest, an instinct arising from an intellectual sense of duty, with as much warmth of impulse as a sheriff might feel in whipping a malefactor at the post. In a country like this, too, where the tendency is to carry political malevolence from the platform to the fire-side, the influence of Sir John has been good. He has dealt hard blows to opponents, but he puts 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 warmest 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 instru- ument has become jangled and out of tune, till his hand has again touched the strings and renewed the concord. The keenest listener at the keyhole or the windows of Sir John's council chamber hears not the faintest note of discord, though sometimes we have seen the door open, and a colleague come out who has never gone in again: the very " taking off" has been © © J © effected not alone with absolute secrecy, but positive harmony. The same great newspaper that has likened Sir John's surpassing 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,as much comprehends that power of subtle tact by which a mind understanding human nature rules through that knowledge, as its founder knew of any way to manage a party except to drive it. Sir John's rule has not been a regime of driving and the whip, but one of leading and good-will. Sir John is 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 sympathy only found in a man of marked individuality; but this subtle quality does not bear handling, and gives no evidence of itself in his printed addresses. The passionate outbursts of O'Connell, instinct with the fire of personality, and those weirdly fascinating utterances of Shiel, are paraded upon the page before us like corpses, with no more glow than one of the insufferably eloquent, searching, and philosophical fluxes of Burke. But the undefinable quality by which the speaker is 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 possesses in a degree superior to that of any living statesman. Sometimes, by a familiar word or two, you see him levelling distinctions between himself and the audience, as the clouds scattered when Ariel raised his wand; you 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 perfect 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 JOHN AT HOME—LADY MACDONALD. 503 to do his duty. Sir John has a fund of humorous anecdote and joke which he uses in his speeches, and his hearers look for these flashes even through his treatment of a Boundary Award or a trade question; but, with one firm step, still with the smile upon his face and the twinkle in his eye, you see him rise to the ground of dignified seriousness, and you listen to some broad principle laid down in clear, terse language, and argued in a style incisive and logical. Yet we know how difficult it is to rise from levity to seriousness, and he who can do so without sacrifice of dignity, reveals that which claims a respect too deep 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 ghost which he could not put to rest;—that his audience had refused to consider him in earnest, even in his most serious and sententious moods. Sydney Smith was often a paragon of cpld, penetrating sense and dignity; yet he had got the reputation of a humourist, and when he sought to be most serious had the mortification of finding that his hearers were "preparing to laugh, under the impression that he was elaborating a joke. Once while he said grace at a very solemn dinner, a young lady burst out laughing. © © If you enter the house of commons and the premier be there, you will be likely to see him sitting at his desk, one leg crossed" over the other, frequently his head resting on his hand. He does not fall into that clammy torpitude as if he were a coiled snake, as did Mr. Disraeli; neither does he sit there his heart upon his sleeve, and a cloud of daws pecking at it,.but with eyes and ears open to see and hear all going on; never taking even an unkindly thrust to heart, but playfully overwhelming some sententious labourer with a flash of repartee, good-naturedly but decisively and with dignity correcting some garbler of fact, or 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 imper- 504 LIFE OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD. tinent questions. Darby one day so provoked the ministers by seeking for facts which he had no right to know, that Disraeli who sat then at one of the treasury benches, uncoiled and coming to his feet complimented the hon. member on the possession of " a luminous intellect;" then sat down. Mr. Gladstone is kept in a perpetual hot bath by members asking questions; and sometimes delivers himself of a proclamation where yes or no would be sufficient. Sir John's 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 tells them it will be brought down; or, if he deem that they ought not to have it, then without any qualms, and with a pregnant brevity tells them so ; even though some of his own valued supporters be among the enquirers. Never does that matchless tact seem to fail him. There is no use in denying that Mr. Blake is a dangerous opponent; and that his view of questions of law and fact are, in the main, almost certain to be right; and this Sir John cheerfully recognises, though taking the record the opinion of the conservative chief has, on matters of precedence, and on constitutional and other questions, been 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 bad feature, or offered a substitution that Sir John believed to be an improvement, 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 speech, and apart altogether from the magnetism of his addresses, the house, for this reason, would be prepared to hear him when he rises. Long speeches have become an intolerable nuisance in the house of commons, especially the outpourings of members who have nothing original to say, but who are merely reiterating the opinions of speakers who have gone before them. SIR JOHN AT HOME—LADS' MACDONALD. 505 In all his relations, either with opponents or differing friends, Sir John is conciliatory; but he never recedes from a position the tenability of which he has assured himself. His intellect is clear and robust, and he has an eye to detect error in an opponent's position, lurk where it may. His speeches, as a rule, may be regarded as models of clear, pure, incisive English, in which, as we have seen, there is to be found the flash of wit; and an under current of strong humour j while sometimes there darts out a keen sting of sarcasm, or a shaft of scorn. His sword frequently cuts deep, but it cuts clean; he is rarely severe, and never shows any malice or coarseness in attack. Lt has been said, and truly, "If Sir John make a statement of public policy, then- you may know he is equal to the occasion." And if the difficulty in his way grow into a crisis, then is he, too, able to rise and grapple with it at the climax. Sir John has been twice married, first to his cousin Isabella Clark, in September, 1843, and by whom he had two children John Alexander, who was born in 1847 and died the following year, and Hugh John, who was born in March, 1850, and is still living. His first wife died in 1857. He married again in © © 1867, his present wife, Susan Agnes, daughter of the late Hon. T. J. Bernard, a member of Her Majesty's privy council of the Island of Jamaica. In 1865 he received the degree (honorary) of D. C. L., from Oxford University, and is also LL.D. of Queen's University, Kingston, and a D. C. L., of the University of Trinity College, Toronto. In July 1867, he was created a K. C. B. (civil) by Her Majesty; and in 1872, was created a knight grand cross of the royal order of Isabel de Gatolica of Spain. In the same year he was nominated a member of Her Majesty's privy council; and was sworn a privy councillor, in August, 1879. Sir John's residence is Sta- dacona Hall, Ottawa-; Stadacona Club, Kingston, and the Ri- deau 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 506 LIFE OF SIR JOHN 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 board, and not to love him. The poet is not always right, for thus he sings: "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 climb, but he does not find this lofty peak " wrapt in clouds and snow," rather warmed by the strong devotion and affection 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 conversation he is brilliant and entertaining, and as several with ©' whom he exchanges hospitalities differ - from him in politics, his conversation on public questions is tolerant, airy, and good-natured. Mr. Goldwin 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. SIR JOHN AT HOME-LADY MACDONALD. 5or impression is " that there is not much to be learnt at Stada- cona Hall beyond the lessons taught by the example of a statesman 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 fills at the capital. Of the society circle there, is she voted pre-eminently, the queen ; where in every project of sociaL enterprise she is 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 of the young people there, is at once to bring forth a psean in her praise. Everything, they tell you that is to be % got up," Lady Macdonald has a hand in, not indeed that she seeks to take this place or even cares for it; but so kindly is her nature that she is prodigal both of her time and energy to make everything agreeable; while it is a fact that nothing seems to go on so harmoniously or successfully when she is not at its head and front. Verily, then she seems to be in the social, what her husband is in the public, sphere. In political questions too this gifted lady takes no little interest, and her judgment is said to be scarce less sound than that of Sir John, who, it is- whispered, is in the habit of consulting her when he is about to take some important political step. And while we have no doubt that, like the wives of several distinguished Eng- lish statesmen, what rumour says of Lady Macdonald in this respect is true, yet it is the social sphere that she most adorns, where she is 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 503 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, she is ready at five minutes warning, no matter how fatigued she may be, to have lunch for a tired toboggan or snow-shoe party, or to 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 especially when they find her heart tender and her purse open. Altogether Lady Macdonald is a worthy mate for her thrice worthy and distinguished husband. As every labour, whether done in pain or lingered over fondly must sometime end, so too must close this book. The bird making its first flight may not seem so graceful on the wing as the accomplished veteran of the air—though it may; but no one will chide the ambition that prompted it to test its pinions. This is our first book, and we may be reminded ; •"Yes, we know it is, for we have seen your flight;" and we aaaswer that the work may have been adventurous and perhaps beyond our calling, but, nevertheless, that we are satisfied. And if the conscience 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 © forty 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 SIR JOHN 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 as full of spirit, and as full of hope as when, in public harness, we saw him first, forty years ago ; 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 so honorably fills,— something however which he is not likely to do, and which his country would mourn to see come to pass—and sit down as some men do by their cottage door as the afternoon advances, glancing back as over some 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 steal to his cheek 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, strong-armed and ambitious, and the goddess with benign smile from her abundant store shedding down upon the land over which he ruled, peace, prosperity and content. f APPENDIX. This bill gave rise to a warm discussion, Messrs. Hincks, Brown and other leading reformers giving it sturdy championship. Mr. John A. Macdonald 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 same as those, he holds at this, day, on the virtues of a parliament shown to be unrepresentative of the people. Mr. Macdonald said : If there is one thing to be avoided, it is meddling with the constitution of the country, which should not be altered till it is evident that the people are suffering from the effect of that constitution as it actually exists. I say that the government have never been called upon to bring forward this measure. The voice of the country has been silent upon it, and why ? Because the people have, under the present system, always been fairly and thoroughly represented by those whom they sent to parliament. The representatives, for the time being, have always fairly represented 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 reserves, 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 Canada—are not our tables loaded with petitions regarding them ? Where is there a single petition in favour of this measure from Upper Canada or from 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 people would have made their intentions known by petitions. The inspector- 514 APPENDIX. 1 ^B general introduced a bill which nearly doubled the number of representatives, 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. member on this side of the house. When I had the honour of a seat in the cabinet, I found hon. members 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 government, lecause 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 measure on account of the injustice of its details. Why, sir, to think that 60,000 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 vcte 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 1 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 1 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 hon. 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. I have only one thing more to say, and that is, that I would recommend my hon. friend the attorney-general to look carefully into the Union Act before he sonsents to allow this bill to pass. APPENDIX B. THE UNIVERSITY BILL—1853. On 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 which 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 university which is to exclude all practical knowledge. By this scheme we must go to Osgoode Hall for law, to the great institution of the commissioner of crown lands for medicine, and to Dr. Charbonnel, or the Christian Brothers for religion (Hear, hear). This is the way in which the endowment is to be frittered away for no purpose. For no purpose ? Yes, Mi-, Chairman, for a purpose—a very sinister purpose. Why, sir, instead of one great university a national institution, we are 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 I have said, a sinister purpose ; to gratify the selfish ends and the personal feelings of the hon. commissioner of crown lands. Hon. Mr. Rolph said that the assertions of the hon. member for Kingston were as unfounded as they were unworthy of that hon. member. Has he descended so low as in his place in parliament to make assertions so low as those he had just uttered ? I ask him what he means by those assertions ? Has he a right to say that I stand up here and give my support to measures for my own personal advantage ? How can he prostitute his talents and his tongue to such calumny ? Suoh conduct is unparliamentary, and it would be better for the hon. member to move an amendment, 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. gentleman 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 groat institution where students from all parts of the oountry come together and study under the profes- APPENDIX. 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 1 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. member the difference between a college and a university. This bill proposes to establish what the university commission in England proposes to disestablish. 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 everywhere 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 has been published, strongly in favour of doing away with the collegiate system and restoring the university 1 The hon. gentleman says that my remarks were rash; well, they may have been so, but that depends on whether they were true. Does not the hon. gentleman know that he has been charged by every professional brother in Toronto, with destroying a great medical school to advance his own selfish purposes. I do not say that the charge is true for that would be unparliamentary; but does he not know that he has been pointed at with the finger of scorn for doing so 1 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, but I mean to say this, that while it flourished 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 that hon. gentleman has not been able to attend to it that the great evil has been 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 Blackstone in every line of bis immortal Commentaries. Moral law is a moral science, but civil law is that which protects one man from another, and one man's property 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 prepared solely with the view of doing away with a certain school of medicine in Toronto. If I am mistaken, I have done wrong to the commissioner 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 518 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. TEMPEKANCE BILL—1853. As early as 1851, the advocates of virtue, whether-you-like-it-or-no. induced a certain member to 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 could 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 of 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 his 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 budget, 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 1 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? 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 forward 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. gentleman according to his measure wished to make wine cheaper to everybody, so that the man who formerly paid 3s. for a bottle of Medeira, should be enabled to get it now for 6d.* Now, he would ask the hon. inspector-general whether the measure for altering the duties on wine was not for the sake of reducing its price in the market ? Undoubtedly it was. But there was a contradiction—there had been a total desertion of 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 temperance societies, that the only grounds of justice they brought forward for advocating the measure in the house, were, that in their little miserable municipalities, there were a let of men 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, weakness and frenzy, that you can succeed. The moment you trust to the law, that moment your exertions cease. He would take one instance to establish 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. ^ 520 APPENDIX. family behind him: what did the law declare ? 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 considered out of date ; the fashion has gone out; public opinion has declared against it. A man now who has had two affairs in his life is considered no longer within the pale of civilized society. The fact of the matter is, that public opinion is strongly against such wicked contests, and therefore the custom has almost ceased perforce the opinion of society. Read the memoirs of the last six years about the people in Ireland. They had a duty on spirits which almost rendered it prohibitory—they could not get it legally, and what was the consequence ? I would ask whether the bottle of whiskey was not as before present at the wakes night after night ? What was the law there ? When Father Ma the w went there, he did not go with the Main Liquor Law in his hand ; he prevailed upon them by that moral suasion stronger than all the legislation ever devised by human brain, anl wrought into acts of parliament, and produced a moral revolution which all the King's laws and all the King's troops for the last hundred of years were unable to obtain. Why endeavour 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 gentleman 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 introduced at a time when the people were not prepared for it was a futile law, and he said, " put it off till 1855." Mr. Beoww,—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 considered 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 Lincoln, 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. 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. Resolved—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 to define seigniorial rights and to facilitate the redemption thereof, a sum equal to that coming into the consolidated revenue fund of this province from the following Lower Canadian sources of revenue, that is to say: From Quint, and other dues which are now or hereafter shall become payable to the crown in or upon the seigniories in Lower Canada, of which the crown is the seigneur dominant, as well as from all arrears of such dues: From the revenues of the seigniory of Lauzon, and the proceeds of the sale of any part of the said seigniory which may hereafter be sold, and all arrears of such revenues: From all moneys arising from auction duties and auctioneers' licenses in Lower Canada: From all moneys arising in Lower Canada from licenses to sell spirituous, vinous or fermented liquors by retail in places other than places of public entertainment, commonly called shop or store licenses. 2. Resolved—That it is expedient that the sums required to pay the said indemnity and expenses, be raised by debentures to be issued under the authority of the governor-in-council, and chargeable on the consolidated revenue 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 consolidated revenue fund for the principal and interest of such debentures, shall exceed the amount arising from the several sources of revenue mentioned 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: "Thatit 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 indemnity to be awarded to the seigniors of Lower Canada, inasmuch as 522 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 benefited thereby." To the second: " That it is inexpedient and unjust to the people of Canada to charge the consolidated revenue fond of the whole province with the payment of any portion of the said indemnity to seigniors, and that such indemnity should be paid by that section of the Province immediately benefited by the proposed measure." And again, in amendment to the same resolution, " That the proposition to pledge the consolidated revenue fund for the payment "of the said indemnity, 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 in 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 unprecedented course that was now proposed by the government with regard to this matter. That the legislature of this country, who are the guardians 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 inspector-general if he could find a precedent for the course he now proposed. 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 to- this. When it was proposed to indemnify the slave-owners for their property, 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 sum required. The inspector-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 T/ihat a miserable proposition was this that was laid down in these resolutions. Two-thirds- of the whole taxation of the country is paid by the people of Upper Canada, and here they talk of taking a certain amount out of the consolidated fund for the benefit of Lower Canada, and then remunerating Upper Canada by paying her a similar sum out of her own resources. The government have already refused to reduce the customs duties on account of the present burden arising from the public 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 just amount* to telling her to tax herself for her own benefit. He thought it very extraordinary that the people of Upper Canada and the eastern townships- should be taxed to settle the differences between seigniors and censitaires- in Lower Canada. It was as much as saying that Upper Canada should be bribed with 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 house should consent to these resolutions. What in the world had the people of Upper Canada as a whole to do with this question ? He would ask upon what principle it was that the House could be called upon to vote such resolutions ? The bill of the attorney-general-east did not propose to do away with the seigniorial tenure, 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 might 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, representing some of the most acrid utterances ever delivered by a Canadian) public man. It is not necessary to say here that the occasion gave warrant to the language employed. 524 APPENDIX. Hon. Mr. Macdonald, say the newspapers, remarked that it was a somewhat 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. member 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 •elective franchise were before the house. When those bills were introduced, he had opposed them on the ground that the present parliament fairly represented the people, and that at .the commencement of its existence it ought not to pass measures which seemed to involve the admission that it did not thus fairly represent the people. The government, however, 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 representation 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 number 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 questions! 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 parliament had declared itself incompetent, that there was to be no real legislation to meet the wants of the country tiU the 1st of January, 1855 ? He <(Mr. Macdonald) believed then that this house did represent the feelings ■of the people of Canada, and he 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. o^o the house to-day. It exceeded any flights of daring ever before attempteu, 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 parliament, representing a free people, were only to be allowed to pass two or three measures, which he named. Mr. Macdonald then alluded to the charges of corruption which had been brought against the government. He knew a great many reformers in his part of the country, and they were continually 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, and appealing to the most sordid and basest motives of men. In every part of the country their money was for use, and offices were offered in return for influence brought to their aid. Even the postmaster-general had said at Perth, in reference to the purchase of some government property by members of the government, that there had been a job perpetrated by his colleagues, with whom he continued to sit at the same table —that their conduct in that matter had been such as he could not approve of. Now a government should be free even from suspicion, and should feel a stain on their escutcheon like a wound on their person. Especially should they keep their hands clear of any speculations in government property. The great Mr. Pitt made it a rule to leave all attacks on his character and imputations on his motives unanswered ; but once he departed from this rule. It was when he was accused, in a public newspaper, of haviny made a purchase in the funds. When this accusation was made, he at once handed the matter to the attorney-general, to bring the party publishing the paper to condign punishment for the foul and unfounded slander. Had the members of our administration been equally sensitive- on account of charges far more serious ? Had they dared, for example, to bring an action against the newspaper which published the report of the speech of their hon. colleague, the Hon. Malcolm Cameron, at Perth ? But he would not any longer speak of Pitt. They had Walpoles in the ministry, not Pitts ; the government was steeped to the very lips in infamy ; they were tainted with corruption, collectively and individually, both in their public and private characters. All honour had gone from them, and all loyalty even to one another ; and the only bond to which they were held together now was the bond of common plunder. It was time that an end should be put to this system of corruption, which was disgracing Canada more than any colony which Great Britain had ever had under her wing After the union delegates had ended their visit at Charlottetown, they proceeded to Halifax, and at a meeting held in the dining hall of the *' Halifax Hotel," Hon. Dr. Tupper in the chair, Hon. John A. Macdonald, in reply to the toast, " Colonial Union," rose and said:— My friends and colleagues, Messrs. Cartier and Brown, have returned their thanks on behalf of the Canadians for the kindness bestowed upon us, and I shall therefore not say one word on that subject, but shall approach the question more immediately before us. I must confess to you, sir, and to you, gentlemen, that I approach it with the deepest emotion. The question of " Colonial Union " is one of such magnitude that it dwarfs every other question on this portion of the continent. It absorbs every idea as far as I am concerned. For twenly long years I have been dragging myself through the dreary waste of colonial politics. I thought there was no end, nothing worthy of ambition; but now I see something which is well worthy of all I have suffered in the cause of my little country. This question has now assumed a position that demands and commands the attention of all the colonies of British America, There may be obstructions, local difficulties may arise, disputes may occur, local jealousies may intervene, but it matters not—the wheel is now revolving, and we are only the fly on the wheel, we cannot delay it—the union of the colonies of British America, under one sovereign, is a fixed fact. (Cheers.) Sir, this meeting in Halifax will be ever remembered in the history of British America, for here the delegates from the several provinces had the first opportunity of expressing their sentiments. We have been unable to an nounce them before; but now let me say that we have arrived unanimously at the opinion that the union of the provinces is for the advantage of all, and that the only question that remains to be settled is, whether that union can be arranged with a due regard to sectional and local interests. I have no doubt that such an arrangement can be effected, that every difficulty will be found susceptible of solution, and that the great project will be successfully and happily realized. What were we before thia ■question was brought before the public mind ? Here we were in the neighbourhood of a large nation—of one that has developed its military power in a most marvellous degree — connected by one tie only, APPENDIX. 52! that of common allegiance. True it was we were states of one sovereign, we all paid allegiance to the great central authority; but as far as ourselves were concerned there was no political connection, and we were a3 wide apart as British America is from Australia. We had only the mere sentiment of a common allegiance, and we were liable, in case England and the United States were pleased to differ, to be cut off, one by one, not having any common means of defence. I believe we shall have at length an or- . ganization that will enable us to be a nation and protect ourselves as we should. Look at the gallant defence that is being made by the Southern Republic—at this moment they have not much more than four millions of men—not much exceeding our own numbers—yet what a brave fight they have made, notwithstanding the stern bravery of the New Englander, or the fierce elan of the Irishman. (Cheers.) We are now, I say, nearly four millions of inhabitants, and in the next decennial period of taking the census, perhaps we shall have eight millions of people, able to defend their country against all comers. (Cheers.) But we must have one common organization—one political government. It has been said that the United States government is a failure. I don't go so far. On the contrary, I consider it a marvellous exhibition of human wisdom. It was as perfect as human wisdom could make it, and under it the American States greatly prospered until very recently; but being the work of men it had its defects, and it is for us 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 confederation they only gave the central authority certain specific powers, reserving to the 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 constitution 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 practicable; we must consult local prejudices and aspirations. It is our desire to 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 any foe whatever, and at the same time will preserve for each province ill 528 APPENDIX. 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. In the conference we have had, we have been united as one man—there was no difference of feeling—no sectional prejudices or selfishness exhibited by any one;—we all approached the subject feeling its importance— feeling that in our hands were 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 monarchy, in connection with the British empire, and under the British Queen. (Cheers.) That there are difficulties in the way would be folly for me to deny; that there are important questions to be settled before the project can be consummated is obvious; but what great subject that has ever attracted the attention of mankind has not been fraught with difficulties % We would not 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 period 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 believe the object in view will beas 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 simply. 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 commercial 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 assistance 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 utmost extent in order to make that important link without which no political 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 APPENDIJ. 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 because 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. I believe, however, as stated by the gallant admiral,* that England will hold her position in every colony—she will not enforce an unwilling obedience 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 militia 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 which the colonies had no interest—yet we were ready to shoulder the musket and fight for the honour of the mother country. It has been said that England wishes to throw us off. There may be a few doctrinaires who argue for it, but it is not the feeling of the people of England. Their feeling is this—that we have not been true to ourselves, that we have not put ourselves in an attitude of defence, that we have not done in Canada as the English have done at home. It is a mistake: Canada is ready to do her part. She is organizing a militia; she is expending an enormous amount of money for the purpose of doing her best for self- protection. I am happy to know that the militia of Nova Scotia occupies a front rank; I understand by a judicious administration you have formed here a large and efficient volunteer and militia organization. We are following 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 everything 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 never 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 its 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. BH 530 APPENDIX. out a reward, if before I enter into private fife, 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 TREATY. The following is the full text of Sir John A. Macdonald's speech in defence of his own and the government's course in relation to the Washington treaty, as taken from the Toronto daily Mail, and delivered in the Canadian commons, May 3rd, 1872:— Mr. Speaker,—I move for leave to bring in a bill to carry into effect certain clauses of the treaty negotiated between the United States and Great 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 States 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 Washington, I find that all the subjects—even those subjects whieh do not require legislation—have been repeated in that act, in order, one would -suppose, 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. of the United States and of the rivers emptying into those lakes, and fish preserved in oil), being the produce of fisheries of the United States, shall be admitted into Canada free of duty. The third clause provides for the continuance of the bonding system during the twelve years or longer period provided by the treaty; and the fourth clause provides that the right of transhipment contained in the 30;h clause of the treaty shall, in like manner, be secured to the citizens of the United States during the existence of the treaty. The last clause of the bill provides that it shall come into effect whenever, upon an order-in-council, a proclamation of the governor-general is issued giving effect to the act. In submitting the bill in this form, I am aware that objection might be taken to some of the clauses, on the ground that having relation to the questions of trade and money, they should be commenced by resolution adopted in committee of the whole. That objection does not apply to the whole of the bill—to those clauses which suspend the action of our fishery act. But it would affect, according to the general principle, the clause which provides that there shall be no duty on fish and fish oil, and also the clauses respecting the bonding system and transhipment. I do not, however, anticipate that that objection will be taken, because in presenting the bill in this form I have followed the precedent established in 1854, when the measure relating to the reciprocity treaty was introduced in parliament. It was then held that the act, having been introduced as based upon a treaty which was submitted by a message from the crown, became a matter of public and general policy, and ceased to be merely a matter of trade; and although those hon. gentlemen who interested themselves in parliamentary and political matters at that date will remember that the act which was introduced by the attorney-general for Lower Canada in 1854 (Mr. Drummond) was simply an act declaring that various articles, being the produce of the United States, should, during the existence of the treaty, be received free into Canada, and that the act repealed the tariff pro tanto, it was not introduced by resolution, but after the treaty had been submitted and laid on the table, and after a formal message had been brought down by Mr. Morin, the leader of the government in the house, to the effect that the bill was introduced with the sanction of the governor-general. I do not, therefore, anticipate that objection will be taken by any hon. member, and I suppose 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 act and transhipment are sufficient 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 532 APPENDIX. that on the 21st Sept., 1854, 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 to give effect to a certain treaty between her majesty and the United States of America, and on the 22nd, ■on the order of the day for the second reading of the bill, Mr. Morin, by command, brought down a message from the governor-general, signifying that it was by his excellency's sanction it had been introduced, whereupon the house proceeded to the second reading. That bill was simply one declaring that various articles mentioned in the treaty should, during the existence of the treaty, be admitted into this country free of duty. The house 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 treaty of Washington 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 connected 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 exceptions 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 25th 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, when 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 others of intermediate shades of opinion. And among other parts of the discussion has not been forgotten the personal question—relating to myself—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 interest, 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 member 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 made, the name of the minister of justice of Canada would not have been attached to it as a plenipotentiary of England. (Hear, 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 length as to the part I took in the negotiations, but I feel that that reservation 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 1866, in which latter year it expired. Great exertions were made by the government of Canada, and a great desire was expressed by the parliament and people of Canada for a renewal of that treaty. It was felt to have worked very beneficially for Canada. It was felt to have worked also to the advantage of the United States, and there was a desire and a feeling that those growing interests which had been constantly developing and increasing themselves during the existence of the treaty would be greatly aided if it were renewed and continued. I was a member of the government at that time, with some of my hon. friends who are still my colleagues; and we took every step in our power, we spared no effort, we left no stone unturned, in order to gain that object. The house will remember that for the 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 concurrent legislation, my hon. friend, the member for Sherbrooke (Hon. Sir A. T. Gait), at that time finance minister, and the present lieutenant- governor of Ontario, went to Washington on behalf of the government of Canada. It is a matter of history that all their exertions failed; and after their failure, by general consent—a consent in which I believe the people of Canada were as one man—we came to the conclusion that it would be humiliating to Canada to make any further exertions at Washington, or to do anything more -n the way of pressing for a renewal of that instrument ; and the people of this country with great energy addressed themselves to find other channels of trade, other means of developing and sustaining our various industries, in which I am happy to say they have been 534 APPENDIX. completely successful. (Hear, 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 majesty's government desired us not to resume that right, at least for a year, to the exclusion of American fishermen, and that the prohibition of Americans fishing in those waters should not be put in force either by Canada or the maritime provinces. All the provinces, I believe, declined to accede to the suggestion, and it was pressed strongly on behalf of the late province of Canada that it would be against our interests if for a moment after the treaty ceased we allowed it to be supposed that American fishermen had a right to come into our 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 carry with us the moral support of Great Britain, and the material assistance of her fleet, that we assented, with great reluctance, to the introduction of a system of licenses for 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 6btaining the acknowledgment of it by those who desired to enter our waters for the purpose of fishing could be devised, than 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 force. 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 probability of negotiations being renewed respecting the revival of the reciprocity treaty; and therefore, although the system was established, it was not rigidly put into force, and no great exertion was made to seize trespassers 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 were 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 boMly 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 inexpedient but unconstitutional, and that no such renewal could or would be made. The government of Canada, then, in 1870, after conference with •the imperial government, and after receiving the promise of the imperial ■H APPENDIX. 535 government that we should have the support of their fleet in the protection of our just rights, a promise whiph 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 seizing 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 made 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 public mind of Canada, and there was at that time a feeling on the part of a large portion of the people of Nova Scotia, which feeling, I am however happy to say, has since disappeared, that the action of Canada was unfriendly. Her majesty's government were of course appealed to by the authorities of the United States on all these subjects, and complaints were bandied from one government to the other, and proved a source of great irritation. While this feeling was being raised in the United States, there was, on the other hand, a feeling among our fishermen that our rights were, to a very great degree, invaded. In order to avoid the possibility of dispute—in order to avoid any appearance of harshness—in order, while we were supporting our fishery rights, to prevent any case of collision between the imperial government and the United States, 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 unsatisfactory, because, as it was said by the fishermen, " if we have these rights we should be protected in the exercise of them," and it was therefore well that that question should be settled at once and forever. In addition, however, to the question of headlands, a new one had arisen •of an exceedingly unpleasant nature. By the wording of the convention •of 1818, foreign fishermen were only allowed to enter our waters for the purposes of procuring wood, water and shelter; but they claimed that they had a right, although fishing vessels, to enter our ports for trading purposes; and 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, 536 APPENDIX. the propriety of having that question settled with the United States, and, 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, he forced upon the consideration of her majesty's government the propriety of England making on our behalf a demand on the United States government for reparation for the wrongs known as the " Fenian raids." England agreed to press upon the United States both these matters, and to ask that all disputed questions relating to the in-shore 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 United States who had invaded our country. Before her majesty's government had actually, in compliance with their promise, made any representation on these two subjects to the United States government, England had been engaged on her own behalf in a controversy of a very grave character. The house is aware that what is commonly known as the Alabama claims was a subject of dispute between the two countries, involving the gravest consequences, and that hitherto the results had been, most unsatisfactory. An attempt 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 removed 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 entente 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 as. APPENDIX. 535" other nations were aware, that, in case she should be unfortunately placed in a state of hostility with any nation whatever, the United States government 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 that great question should be settled, and hence, also, the intermingling of the particular questions relating to Canada with the larger imperial questions. And, sir, in my opinion, it was of greater consequence to Canada than to England, at least as great a consequence, that the Alabama question should be settled. (Cheers.) Sir, England has promised to us, 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 Canada, if she had been called upon to use her whole force to defend us when engaged in conflict elsewhere ? Canada would, as a matter of course, in case of war between England and the United States, be the battle ground. We should be the sufferers. Our country would be devastated, our people slaughtered, and our property destroyed; and, while England would, I believe, under all circumstances faithfully perform her promise to the utmost (cheers), she would be greatly impeded in carrying out her desire, if engaged elsewhere. It was therefore as much the interest of this Dominion as of England that the Alabama, and all other questions that in any way threatened the disturbance of the peaceful relations between the two countries, should be settled and adjusted ; and therefore, although to a considerable extent I agree with the remarks that fell from the minister of finance when he made his budget speech, that, looking at the subject in a commercial point of view, it might have been better in the interest of Canada that the Fishery and Fenian questions should have been settled free and apart from the imperial question, I am pleased, and I was pleased, that the fact of Canada having asked England to make these demands on the United States gave an opportunity for re-opening the negotiations with respect to the Alabama and other matters. It was fortunate that we made that demand, for England could not, with due self-respect, have initiated or reopened the Alabama question. She had concluded a treaty in London with the representative of the United States, and that treaty, having been rejected by the supreme executive of the United States, England could not herself have re-opened negotiations on the subject. And, therefore, it was fortunate, I say, for the peace of the empire, and for the peace of Canada, that we asked England to make these demands upon the United States, as it afforded the opportunity 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, I have no doubt, though I do not know it as a matter of fact, by a quiet and friendly understanding between the two powers, replied, acceding to the request, on condition that the larger and graver matters of dispute were also made matters of negotiation. Hence it was, sir, that the arrangements were made under which the treaty of Washington was effected. Sir, I have said that it was of the greatest consequence to Canada, and to the future peace and prosperity of Canada, that every cloud which threatened the peace of England and the United States should be dispelled. I was struck with an expression that was used to me by a distinguished English states- man, that those powers in Europe who are not so friendly to England heard with dismay that the entente cordiale between the two nations was to be renewed (hear, hear); and you have seen mentioned in the public press the active exertions that Were made by one power, or by the representative of one power, for the purpose of preventing that happy result (hear, hear); and although M. Catacazy has been disavowed by the government of Russia in the same way as poor Vicovich 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 receiving 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 believe 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 long 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 February, 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 between England and the United States, whether I would act as a member of that commission. I give the date because it has been asked for. The communication was verbal, and founded upon a telegraphic communication to his excellency, which cannot be presented; and being of a nature which the house can readily understand ought not properly to be laid before this house. This communication was, in the first place, for myself alone. I was not allowed to mention it for the time to any one else. My reply was that I'would be greatly embarrassed by any injunction of secrecy as regards my colleagues, and that under no circumstances would E accept the position without their consent. I subsequently received permission to communicate it to them, and I received their consent to act upon the commission. Before accepting, however, I took occasion, for my own information and satisfaction, to ask, through his excellency, what points of agreement and of difference existed between England and Canada with regard to the fisheries. The answer was a very short one by cable, and it was satisfactory to myself. It was extended in the despatch of the 16th February, 1871. It shortly stated that of course it was impossible for her majesty's government to pledge themselves to any foregone conclusion; "that it was a matter for negotiation, and it was of course out of the question on the part of either government to give cast-iron instructions to their representatives, because that would do away with every idea of a negotiation. The despatch Trent on to say that her majesty's government considered our right to the in-shore fisheries beyond dispute; that they also believed that our claims as to the headlands just, but that those claims might properly be a matter of compromise. It went on further to state that her majesty's government believed that, as a matter of strict right, we could exclude the American fishermen entering our ports for purposes -of trade and commerce, and that they could only enter our waters, in the' language of the treaty, " for wood, water and shelter," but that this, in the opinion of her majesty's government, would be a harsh construction of i;he 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 640 APPENDIX. those three points was acknowledged to be correct, and the subject was therefore devoid of any embarrassment from the fact of Canadians setting up pretensions which her majesty's government could not support. (Hear hear.) When the proposition was first made to me, I felt considerable embarrassment and great reluctance to become a member of the commission. I pointed out to my colleagues that I was to be one of five; that I was in a position of being overruled continually in our discussions, audi that I could not by any possibility bring due weight from my isolated position. I felt also that I would not receive from those who were politically opposed to me in Canada that support which an officer going abroad on behalf of his country generally received and had a right to expect. (Hear, hear.) I knew that I would be made a mark of attack, and this house well knows that my anticipations have been verified. I knew that I would not get fair play. (Hear, hear.) I knew that the same policy that had been carried out towards me for years and years would continue, and therefoie it was a matter of grave consideration to myself whether to accept the appointment or not. In that position, sir, a sense of duty prevailed (cheers), and my colleagues pressed upon me also that I would be wanting in my duty to my country if I declined the appointment—that if, from a fear of the consequences, from a fear that I would sacrifice the position I held in the opinion of the people of Canada, I should shirk the duty, I would be unworthy of the confidence I had received so long from a large portion of the people of Canada. ^ Cheers.) " What," said my colleagues, "would be said, if, in consequence of your refusal, Canada was not represented, and her interest in these matters allowed to go by default ?" England, after having offered that position to the first minister, 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 very 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 refused 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', 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 Washington 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 Senate of the United States, which had to be considered. It was felt that a second rejection 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 American statesman said to me, "the rejection of the treaty now means war." Not war to-morrow, or at any given period, "but war whenever England happens to be engaged in other troubles and attacked from other sources. (Hear, hear.) You may therefore imagine, Mr. Speaker, and this house may well imagine, the solemn considerations pressing 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 preconceived opinions, we should risk the destruction forever of all hope of a peaceable solution of th6 difficulties between these kindred nations. (Hear.) Still, sir, I do not forget that I was their chosen representative. I could not ignore the fact that I was selected as a member of that commission from my acquaintance with Canadian politics. I had continually before me not only the. imperial question but the interests of the Dominion of Canada, which I was there specially to represent; and the difficulty of my position was that if I gave undue prominence to the interests of Canada, I might justly be held in England to be taking a purely colonial and selfish view, regardless of the interests of the empire as a whole, and the interests of Canada as a portion of the empire; and, on the other hand, if I kept my eye solely on imperial considerations, I might be held as neglecting my especial duty towards my country of Canada. It was a difficult 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 diminished in any way since I have returned, except by the cordial support of my colleagues, and I believe also of my friends in this house. (Cheers.) In order to show that I did not for a moment forget that I was there to represent the interests of Canada, I must ask you to look at the despatch of the 16th February, 1871, which reached me at Washington, a few days after I arrived there. It will be seen that Lord Kimberley used this expression: "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 limit of three marine miles of the coast is beyond dispute, and can only be ceded for an adequate consideration. Should this considera- APPENDIX. tion take the form of a money payment, it appears to her majesty's government that such an arrangement would be more likely to work well than if any conditions were annexed to the exercise of the privilege of fishing within the Can'adian watera" Having read that despatch, and the suggestion that an arrangement might be made on the basis of a money payment, and there being an absence of any statement that such an arrangement could 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 and again assurances from her majesty's government that those rights would not be affected, given away or ceded without our consent, it was thought advisable, in consequence of the omission of all reference to the necessity of Canada's assent being obtained to any monetary arrangement, to communicate by cable that Canada considered the Canadian fisheries to be her property, and they could not be disposed of without her consent. That communication was made by the Canadian government on the 10th of March, and of that government I was so a member; and not nly did that communication proceed from the Canadian government to England, giving them fair notice that the Canadian government, of which I was a member, would insist upon the right of dealing with her own fisheries, but I took occasion to press upon the head of the British commission at Washington, that my own individual opinion as representing Canada, should be laid before her majesty's government. The answer that came back at once by cable was extended in full in the despatch of the 17th March, 1871, and it was most satisfactory, as it stated that her majesty's government had never any intention of advising her majesty to part with those fisheries without the consent of Canada. Armed with this, I felt that I was relieved of a considerable amount of embarrassment. I felt that, no matter what arrangements might be made, no matter whether I was outvoted by my colleagues on the commission, or what instructions might be given by her majesty's government, the interests of Canada 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 suspended 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 APPENDIX. 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 ordinances, and take possession of our waters and rights. It would have been a great wrong, but the consequence would have been the loss practically of our rights forever ; and so it was satisfactory that it should be settled, as it has been settled beyond a doubt, appearing upon the 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 countries. 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 Canada ; so that, in any future arrangement between Canada and England, or England and the United States, the rights of Canada will be respected, as it is conceded beyond dispute that England has not the power to deprive Canada of them ; so that we may rest certain that for all time to come England will not, .without our consent, make any cession of those interests. Now, Mr. Speaker, to come to the mode of treating the various subjects which interest Canada more particularly. I will address myself to them in detail; and first, I will consider the question of most importance to us, the one on which we are now specially asked to legislate, that which interests Canada as a whole most particularly, and which interests the maritime provinces especially—I mean the articles of the treaty with respect to our fishery rights. I would, in the first place, say that the protocols which accompany the treaty, and which are in the hands of every member, do not give, chronologically, an every day account of the transactions of the conference. Although as a general rule, I believe the protocols 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 conclusions 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 previous discussion, the British commissioners stated " that they were prepared to discuss the question of the fisheries either in detail or generally, 30 as either to enter into an examination of the respective rights of the 644 APPENDIX. two countries under the treaty of 1818 and the general law of nations, or to approach at once the settlement of the question on a comprehensive basis." Now the fact is, that it was found by the British commissioners when they arrived at Washington, and had had an opportunity of ascertaining the feeling that prevailed at that time, not only among the United States commissioners, but among the public men of the United States whom 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 fisheries could be arrived at, or a satisfactory arrangement made by which the fishery question could be placed in abeyance as in 1854, it would be to the advantage of both nations. It must be remembered that the commission sat in 1871, 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 the public mind of the United States and the people of the United States against Canada and the Canadian authorities ; 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 arrangements 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 1865 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 with 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. 545 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 will also appear 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 agreement by the two governments to a treaty including provisions similar in spirit to the treaty of 1854 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 accurate in their view of the situation. I believe that had the treaty contained all the provisions 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 information of those members of the house who may be unacquainted with the usage in such matters, that the commissioners did not act at the discussion individually. The conference was composed of two units—the British commission and the United States commission. If a question arose in conference on which either of the two parties, the British or American branch, desired to consult together, they retired, and on their return expressed their views as a whole, without reference to the individual opinions of the commissioners. As an individual member of the British commission, and on behalf of Canada, when it was found that we could not obtain a renewal of the reciprocity treaty, I urged upon my English colleagues that the Canadians should be allowed to retain the exclusive enjoyment of Lie in-shore fisheries, and that means should be used to arrive in some way or other at a settlement of the disputed question in relation to the fisheries, so to seiUe the headland question,- and the other one in relating to trading in oar ports by American fishermen; and I would have been well satisfied, acting on behalf of the Canadian government, if that' course had been adopted by the imperial government; but her majesty's government felt, and so instructed their commissioners, and it was so felt by the United States commissioners, that the leaving of the chance of collision between the American fishermen and the Canadian authorities a matter of possibility, would destroy or greatly prejudice the great object of the negotiations that were to restore the amicable relations and the friendly feeling between the two nations; and therefore her majesty's government pressed that these questions should be allowed to remain in abeyance, and that some 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. ernment, through their commissioners, made a considerable advance, or at least some advance, in the direction of reciprocity, because they offered to exchange for our in-shore fisheries, in the first place, the right to fish in their waters, whatever that might be worth; and they offered to admit Canadian coal, salt, fish, and after 1874, lumber, free of duty. They offered reciprocity in these articles, On behalf of Canada, the British commissioners said that they did not consider that that was a fair equivalent. (Hear, hear.) It is not necessary that I should enter into all the discussions and arguments on that point, but it was pointed out by the British commissioners that already a measure had passed one branch of the legislature of the United States, making 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 interest of American people, was about to take the duty off these articles, and, therefore, the commission could 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 communication with my colleagues in the Canadian government, who were exceedingly 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 frustrated the efforts of her majesty's government to secure peace, we consented 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 in which coal and salt and lumber from Canada 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 compensation 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 made early by the United States government. 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 suggestion of the Canadian government, referred the question to her majesty's government, whether they ought not, in addition to this offer of the United States, to expect a pecuniary compensation—that pecuniary compensation to be settled in some way or other. That took place on the 25th of March, 1871. On the 25th of March I think the final 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 off of the duty on Canadian coal and salt into the United States,. No one raised any difficulty about it. I am as well satisfied as I can be of a thing which I did not see occur, that the admission of Canadian coal and salt into the United States would have been placed in the treaty if it had not been for the action of this legislature on the 25th of March. (Hear, hear.) That offer was made, and it was referred to 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, on the 17th of April, the American commissioners withdrew their offer—as they had the right to do —altogether. And why did they withdraw the offer altogether ? One of the commissioners in conversation said to me, "I am quite surprised to find the opposition that has sprung tip to the admission of Canadian coal and salt into our market; I was unprepared for the feeling that is exhibited." 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 products, were quite willing that it should carry, because they would have the advantage of both markets; but when the duty was taken off in Canada when you had opened the market to them, when they had the whole control of their own market, and free access to ours, whether for coal or salt, the monopolizers brought down all their energies upon their friends in congress, 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 548 APPENDIX. by the American commissioners of their offer. When my hon. friend from Bothwell (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. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) Hon. gentlemen may laugh, but they will find it no laughing matter. The people of Canada, both east and west, will hold to strict account those 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, offering reciprocity in the fisheries— that Canadians should fish in American waters, and that Americans should fish in Canadian waters, and that fish and fish 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, as will be seen by the last sentence of the protocol: " The subject was further discussed in the conferences of April 18th 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—lo 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 opposed to the treaty, as inflicting on them a wrong, would now be reconciled to it. I could not have anticipated that the fishermen of the maritime 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 of 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 reciprocity. (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, find 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 American 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 to make a reciprocity arrangement, and going as far in the direction of reciprocity as possible, 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 has been negotiated, it is not confined to reciprocity in .fish. It provides that the products of the fisheries 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 bad bargain and had not received a fair compensation for what she gave; if it were found that while there was reciprocity as to the enjoyment of rights and privileges, there was not true reciprocity in value, provision was made by which the difference in value should be ascertained and paid to this country. (Hear, hear.) Now, if there is anything approaching to the dishonourable and the degrading in these proposals, I do not know the meaning of those terms. (Hear, hear.) This provision may not be one that will meet the acceptance of the coun- ■ try, but I say that ths mann r in which it has been characterized was a wilful and deliberate use of language which the parties employing it did not believe at the time to be accurate, and to which they resorted for political reasons and in order to create misapprehensions in the country. Sir, there was no humiliation. Canada would not tolerate ah act of humiliation on the part of its government; and England would neither advise nor permit 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 not very 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 tell you why. It is quite true that the mackerel fishery, which is the most valuable fishery on these coasts, be-. 550 APPENDIX. longs to Canada, and that the mackerel of the American coast is far inferior 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 fishing vessel having this bait on board will draw away a whole school of mackerel in the very face of vessels having an inferior bait. Now, the value of the privilege of entering American waters for catching that bait is very great. If Canadian fishermen were excluded from American waters by any combination among American fishermen, or by any act of congress, they would be deprived of getting a single ounce of the bait. American fishermen might combine for that object, or a law might be passed by congress forbidding the exportation of menhadden ; but by the provision made in the treaty, Canadian fishermen are allowed to enter into American waters to procure the bait, and the consequence 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 reciprocity treaty is not a mere matter of sentiment—it is a most valuable privilege, which is not 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 interests 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 requires 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 to give me the opportunity. The same practice will, I have no doubt, be continued under the treaty of 1871, unless the people of Canada themselves 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 APPENDIX. 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, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island; so that the treaty does not allow the Americans to have access to the Pacific coast fisheries, nor yet to the inexhaustible and priceless fisheries of the Hudson Bay. These are great sources of revenue yet undeveloped, but after the treaty is ratified they will develop rapidly; and in twelve years from now, when the two nations sit down to Aconsider the circumstances and readjust the treaty, it will be found that other and greater wealth will be at the disposal of the Dominion. I may be asked—though I have not seen that the point has excited any observation—why were not the products of the lake fisheries laid open to both nations ? and in reply may say that those fisheries were excepted at my instance. The Canadian fisheries on the north shore of the great lakes are most valuable. By a judicious system of preservation and protection we have greatly increased that source of wealth. It is also known that from a concurrence of circumstances, and from situation, the fisheries on the south shore are not nearly so valuable as ours; and it therefore appeared that if we once allowed the American fishermen to have admission to our waters with their various engines of destruction, all the care taken for many years to cultivate that source of wealth would be disturbed and injured and really prejudiced, and there would be no end of quarrels and dissatisfaction in our narrow waters, and no reciprocity ; and, therefore, that Canada would be much better off by preserving her own inland fisheries to herself, and have no right to enter the American markets with the products of those fisheries. This was the reason why the lake fisheries were not included in this arrangement. Now, sir, under the present circumstances of the case, the Canadian government has decided to press upon this house the policy of accepting this treaty and ratifying the fishery 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 me may be quoted and used as evidence against us hereafter. The statement has been so thrown broadcast that the arrangement is a bad one for Canada, that in order to show to this house and the country that it is one that can be accepted, one is obliged to run the risk of his language being used before the commissioners 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 question whether it is right to accept the articles, we have to consider 552 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 exceptions for local reasons, are altogether in favour of the treaty. (Hear, hear.) They are anxious to get free admission for their fish into the American market, that they would 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 great industry; and I say that that being the case—if it be to the interest of the fishermen and for the advantage of that branch of national industry, setting aside ? other considerations—we ought not wilfully to injure that interest. Why, sir, what is the fact of the case as it stands ? The only market for the Canadian No. 1 mackerel in the world is the United States. That is our only market, and we are practically excluded from it by the present duty. The consequence of that duty is that our fishermen are at the mercy of the American fishermen. They are made the hewers of wood and the drawers of water 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 the trade are handed over to the American fishermen or American merchants engaged 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; and 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 obtain the best price, to the American market, and thus be the means of opening a profitable trade with the United States in exchange. If, therefore, 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 fishermen 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. 553 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, and 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, and 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 States were free from taxation; they had this capital and skill, and all they wanted was our Canadian waters in which to invest that capital and exercise that skill. But how is that altered ? Now our fisheries are no lever by which to obtain reciprocity in grain. What do the United States care for our fisheries ? The American fishermen are opposed to the treaty. Those interested in the fisheries are sending petition after petition to the United States government and congress, praying that the treaty may be rejected. They say they do not want to come into our waters. The United States government have gone into this treaty with every desire to settle all possible sources of difficulty. Their fishermen complain that they will suffer by it, but the United States government desire to meet us face to face, hand to hand, heart to heart, to have an amicable settlement of disputes. They know that they are not making political friends nor gaining political strength, because interests most affected by the fishery articles are against the treaty; but they desire that the ill-feelings which arose during the civil war, and from the Alabama case should be forgotten. A feeling of friendship has grown up between the nations, and it can be no other desire than to foster and encourage that feeling which dictates the agreeing to these particular articles. If, then, Canada objects to the treaty, the United States government will simply say : " Well, if you do not like these arrangements, reject them; and the consequence be on your own head if this friendship so auspiciously commenced is at any time broken by unhappy collisions in your waters." It being six o'clock, Mr. Speaker left the chair. ii AFTER RECESS. Sir John Macdonald resumed his speech as follows:—I am afraid I must apologise to the house for the uninteresting manner in which 1 have laid the subject before the house so far. I was showing, as well as I could, 554 APPENDIX. / my opinion, and my reasons for that opinion—that under the circumstances, the treaty, although it is not what we desire, and although it is not what I pressed for, ought to be accepted. I shall not pursue that branch of the subject to greater length, as during the discussion of ihs measure I have no doubt that I shall have again an opportunity to re-urge these and further views on the same subject, as they may occur to me, or as they 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 question in dispute, as regards the validity of the several treaties between the United States and England, to the importance of this treaty in this respect, that it sets at rest now and forever the disputed question as to whether the convention of 1818 was not repealed and obliterated by the treaty of 1854. This question, Mr. Speaker, is one that has occupied the attention of the United States jurists, and has been the subject of "serious and elaborate discussions. From my point of view, the pretension of the United States is erroneous, 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 case of the navigation of the river St. Lawrence, which, while it was discussed from 1822 to 1828, and was apparently settled then forever between the two nations, was revived 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 Macdonald—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 appeared in the New York Nation—is this : the treaty of 1783 was a treaty of peace, a settlement of a boundary, and a division of country between APPENDIX. 555 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 into 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 wes 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 on that point threatened a renewal of the war, and it was only settled by the compromise known as the convention of 1818, by which the claims of the Americans within three miles of our shores were renounced. The argument is, however, of a nature too technical to be of interest to the house, and requires to be very carefully studied before it can be understood. I will not, therefore, trouble the house with that argument, but I will read one or two passages to show the general statement of the case: " We shall now inquire whether the convention of 1818 is an existing compact, and if not, what are the rights of American fishermen under the treaty of peace of 1783." " Since the expiration of the reciprocity treaty in 1866, the British government, both at home and in the provinces, has, in its statutes, its official instructions, and its diplomatic correspondence, quietly assumed that the convention of 1818 is again, operative in all its provisions. That the state department at Washington should by its silence have admitted the correctness of this assumption, which is equally opposed to principle and to authority, is remarkable. We shall maintain the proposition that the treaty of peace of 1783 is now in full force; that all limitations upon its efficiency have been removed; and that it is the only source and foundation of American fishing rights within the north-eastern territorial waters. In pursuing the discussion we will show, first, that the renunciatory clauses of the convention of 1818 have been removed; and secondly, that article III. of the treaty of 1783, thus left free from the restrictions of the subsequent compact, was not abrogated by the war of 1812." The writer thus concludes: B Article III. of the treaty of 1783 is therefore in the nature of an executed grant- It created and conferred at one blow rights of property, perfect in their nature, and as permanent as the dominion over the national soil. These rights are held by the inhabitants of the United States, and are to be exercised in British territorial waters. Unaffected by the war of 1812, they still exist in full force and vigour. Under the provisions of this treaty, American citizens are now entitled to take fish on such parts of the coasts of Newfoundland as British fishermen use, and also on all tha coasts, bays and creeks, of all other his Britannic majesty's dominions in America, 556 APPENDIX. and to dry and cure fish in any of the unsettled bays, harbours and creeks of Nova Scotia, the Magdalen islands and Labrador. . " The final conclusion thus reached is sustained by principle and by authority. We submit that it should be adopted by the government of the United States, and made the basis of any further negotiations with Great Britain." I quote this for the purpose of showing that the pretension was formally set up and elaborated by jurists of no mean standing or reputation, and therefore it is one of the merits of the treaty that it forever sets the dispute at rest. The writers on this subject—the very writers of whom I have spoken admit that under this treaty the claim is gone, because it is a formal admission by the United States government that, under the convention of 1818, we had, en the 8th of May, 1871, 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 its effect to an abrogation of the convention of 1818. They agree by this treaty to buy their entry into our waters, and this is the strongest possible proof that their argument could be no longer maintained. 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 acknowledgement of the permanent continuance of our right. So much, sir, for the portion of the treaty which affects the fisheries. I alluded, a few minutes ago, to the St. Lawrence. The surrender of the free navigation cf 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 commissioners, 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 cf the United States, it is solely within the control of her majesty's government; and in the instructions to the plenipotentaries, this language was used: " Her majesty's government are now willing to grant the free navigation 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. In 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 States 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 flags of every nation are invited and welcomed. (Cheers.)- From the source of the St. Lawrence to St. Regis the United States are part owners of the banks of the river, and by a well known principle of international law the water flowing between the two banks is common to both; and not only is that a principle of law, but it is a matter of actual treaty. The only question, then, was whether, as the American people had set their hearts 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 government, and which they had a right to take ; and when some one writes my biography—if T am ever thought worthy of having such an interesting document prepared—and when, as a matter of history, the questions connected 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 Dominion. (Cheers.) Now, sir, with respect to the right itself, I would call the attention of the house to the remarks of a distinguished English jurist upon the point. I have read from the work of an American jurist, and I will now read some remarks of Mr. Phillimore, a standard English writer on international law. What I am about to read was written under the idea that Americans were claiming what would be of practical 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: " Great 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-five 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 therefore 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. " The argument on the part of the United States was much the same as that which they had employed with respect to the navigation of the Mississippi. They referred to the dispute about the opening of the Scheldt, in 1784, and contended that, in the case of that river, the fact of the banks having been the creation of artificial labour was a much stronger reason than could be said to exist in the case of the Mississippi for closing the mouths of the sea adjoining the Dutch canals of the Sas and the Swin, and that this peculiarity probably caused the insertion of the stipulation in the treaty of Westphalia; that the case of the St. Lawrence differed materially from that of the Scheldt, and fell directly 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 Scheldt. But especially it was urged, and with a force which it must have been difficult to parry, that the present claim of the United States with respect to the navigation of the St. Lawrence 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 possession of another state, and of which claim Great Britain bad procured the recognition by the treaty of Paris in 1763. " 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, according 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 imperfect and not a, perfect right; that the treaty of Vienna did not sanction this notion of a natural right 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 conceded, 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 Mississippi and the Hudson, to which access might be had from Canada by land carriage or by the canals of New York and Ohio. ' f 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. sage over water; in the latter instance no detriment or inconvenience can be sustained 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 themselves within the limits of the same nation is very distinguishable, upon principle, from that of rivers which, having their sources and navigable portions of their streams in states above, discharge themselves within the limits of other states below. "Lastly, the fact that the free navigation of rivers had been made a matter of convention did not disprove that this navigation was a matter of natural right restored to its proper position by treaty. "The result of this controversy has hitherto produced no effect. Great Britain has maintained her exclusive right. The United States will remain debarred from the use of this great highway, and are not permitted to carry over it the produce of the vast and rich territories which border on the lakes above, to the Atlantic ocean. "It seems difficult to deny that Great Britain may ground her refusal upon strict law; but it is at least equally difficult to deny, first, that so doing she exercises harshly an extreme and harsh law ; secondly, that her conduct with respect to the navigation of the St. Lawrence is in glaring and discreditable inconsistency with her conduct with respect to the navigation of the Mississippi. On the ground that she possessed a small tract or domain in which the Mississippi took its rise, she insisted on her right to navigate the entire volume of its waters; on the ground 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 navigation, though about one-half of the waters of Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron and Superior, and the whole of Lake Michigan, through which the river flows, are the property of the United States. "An English writer upon international law cannot but express a hope that this summum jus, which in this case approaches to sum/ma injuria, may be voluntarily abandoned by his country. Since the late revolution in the South American provinces, by which the dominion of Rosas 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, on 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 of its shores belongs to Canada, and England has no right by international law to claim its navigation. Sir, she never has claimed it, for if my hon. friend will look into the matter, he will find that these great lakes have ever been treated as inland seas, and as far as magnitude is concerned, they are worthy of being so treated. Although her majesty's commissioners pressed that the navigation of Lake Michigan should be granted as an equivalent for the navigation 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, for the cities of the shores of that lake would never consent to have their ports closed, and there is no fear in the world of our vessels being excluded from those ports. The Western states, and especially those bordering on the great lakes, would resist this to the death; and I 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 chodses. (Hear, hear.) The keel drives through these waters, and then the mark disappears forever, and that vessel will be forever absent from the place that oncajtaew it, unless by the consent of Canada. Therefore, as I pointed, Q|$ 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 government 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 descending 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." Therefore, lest it might be argued that as at the time the treaty was made, it was known that for the purpose of ascent the river could not be overcome in its natural course, the provision granting the right 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 language of the preceding article. I know, sir, that there has been in some of the newspapers a sneer cast upon the latter paragraph of that article, which gives the United States the free use of the St. Lawrence—I refer to that part of the article which gives the Canadians the free navigation of the rivers Yukon, Porcupine and Stikine. Mr. Mackenzie—Hear, hear. Sir John Macdonald—My hon. friend again says "hear, hear." I hope that he will hear, and perhaps he will bear something he does not know. (Hear, hear.) I may tell my hon. friend that the navigation of the river Yukon is a growing trade, and that the Americans are now sending vessels, and are fitting out steamers for the navigation of the Yukon. I will tell my hon. friend that at this moment United States vessels are going 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 importance the western country that the navigation of these rivers should be open to . e ' mmerce of British subjects, and that access should be had by means of these rivers; so that there is no necessity at all for the ironical cheer of my hon. 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- lan 1 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, Mr. Speaker, there are two sides to that question. The United States, 1 venture to say, would hang an argument upon it; and I can only tell my JJ 562 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 and the United States, as before it had been between England and Russia. Before leaving the question of the St. Lawrence, I 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 ifa the river St. Lawrence, or give any sovereignty over it, or confer any right whatever except that of free navigation. Both banks belong to Canada— the management, the improvement, all belong to Canada. The only stipulation made in the treaty is that the United States vessels may use the St. Lawrence 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 for the purpose of commerce,"—and for the purpose of commerce only— " 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 British commissioners by her majesty's government—in fact, the subject was scarcely known in England—and that is, what is known as the St. Olair 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 boundary 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 nations, 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 private 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 construct it, acted in good faith in choosing the site, believing that it was in APPENDIX. 563 the United States; and from all I can learn, subsequent observations proved that to be the case. Mr. Mackenzie—Hear, hear. Sir John Macdonald—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 the boundary between the two countries—that is, if we looked at the language alone, and combined with that language the evidence of those accustomed 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 Canada. 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 be entirely in the United States. It might, but for the treaty of Washington, have been unfortunate that it is so, because it might perhaps have impeded the navigation of the flats by Canadian vessels. But the question is whether, under the old treaty, and the report and map made according to its provisions (which report and map , form, in fact, a portion of such treaty), the canal is within the United States boundary or not When the point was raised that the map was inconsistent with the report, her majesty's government—I have no doubt under the advice of Jber majesty's legal advisers—said that it was a point that would not admit of argument, that the two explained and defined the meaning of the language of the report; so that her majesty's government declined to argue a proposition so unworthy of being urged as that the map was not binding aud obligatory upon them. But, sir, " out of the nettle, danger, we pluck the flower safely." The house will see by looking at the clause referred to, that it is a matter of no consequence whether the canal is in the United States or Canada; because, for all time to come, the canal is to be used by the people of Canada on equal terms with the people 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 building the canal, and now we have the free use of it. If the United States 564 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 flats. 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 of the treaty, for twelve years at least, the continuance of " the bonding system." We know how valuable that has been to us, how valuable during the winter months when we are deprived of the use of our own seaports 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 towards them in Canada, that if Canadians would be so bumptious, they should be deprived of this system, and allowed to remain cooped up in their frozen country. If the United States ever conceived the folly of injuring 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 ratified. 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 advantages that Canada has obtained by the treaty. Then, sir, the 30th article conveys a most valuable privilege to the railways of Canada, that are running from one part of the country to another; and I must take the occasion 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 adoption 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. 565 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 Colling wood, 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 Ontario, 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 undertakings are about to start, this will prove a substantial improvement on 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 arrangement; so that it will be hereafter, if the treaty be adopted and this act passed, a matter for the consideration of the government of Canada in the first place, and of the legislature in the next, to determine whether it is expedient for them to take advantage of this boon that is offered to theml As to the expediency of their doing so, I have no doubt; and I have no doubt parliament will eagerly seek to gain and establish those rights for our ships and our railways. (Hear, hear.) The only other subject of peculiar interest to Canada in connection with the treaty—the whole of it of course is interesting to Canada as a part of the empire,—but speaking of Canada as such, and of the interest taken in the treaty locally,—the only other subject is the manner of disposing of the San Juan boundary question. That is settled in a way that no one can object to. I do not know whether many hon. members have ever studied that question. It is a most interesting one, and has long been a cause of controversy between the two countries. I am bound to uphold, and I do uphold, the British view respecting the channel which forms the boundary, as the correct one. The United States government were, I believe, as sincerely convinced of the justice of their own case. Both believed they were in the right, both were firmly grounded in that opinion; and such being the case, there was only one way out of it, and that was to leave it to be settled by impartial arbitration. I think the house will admit that no more distinguished arbiter could have been selected than the emperor of Germany. In the examination 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 distinguished body than the jurists of Germany, who are especially familiar 566 APPENDIX. \ with the principles and practice of international law. Whatever the decision may be, whether for England or against it, you may be satisfied that you will get a 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 the American government to prevent the organization within their territory of bands 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 England; we had no means or authority to do it directly ourselves, and consequently we urged our case upon the attention of England, and she consented 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 incursions 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 person 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 appointed 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 advance of examination by such a commission; and I think the house and country will agree that we acted with due discretion in that respect. (Hear, hear.) Now one of the protocols will show the result of the demand for indemnity. The demand was made by the British commissioners that this question should be discussed and considered by the commission, but the United States commissioners objected, taking the ground that the consideration of these claims was not included in the correspondence and reference. In doing that, they took the same ground that my hon. 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 commission, it could be held that the Fenian claims were to be considered; and although my hon. friend, the minister of militia, thought it might fairly be held that those claims were included, I myself could not help feeling the 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 American commissioners, as the event proved, raised that objection, maintaining that the point was not included in the correspondence in which the subjects of deliberation were stated; and when it was proposed to them by the British, the American commissioners declined to ask their government for fresh instructions to enlarge the scope of their duty in that respect. Now, 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 ws» 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 thS 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 tin' 7 Certainly not ours. It was the fault of her majesty's government, m not demanding in clear language, in terms which could not be misunderstood, that the investigation of 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 stated openly, in the house of commons, that the imperial government had seen fit 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 unwilling 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 reparation 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 Eno-land APPENDIX. 569 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 sixpence, or putting the least additional burden upon her people, would, if acted upon, do us more good, and prove of infinitely greater advantage, thaniany amount of mere money compensation we could reasonably expect. 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 where- ever she has had financial dealings. Her majesty's government can go to the house of commons and ask for authority to guarantee* a Canadian loan, with a well grounded assurance that the people of England will never be called upon to put their hands in their pockets, or tax themselves one .farthing to pay it. (Cheers.) At the same time, the imperial government, by giving us this guarantee, grants us a boon the value of which, in enabling us to construct the great works of public improvement we have undertaken, was explained the other day so ably, and in a manner that £ would not attempt to imitate, by my hon. friend, the finance minister. Besides the double advantage to ourselves in getting the endorsement of England without disadvantage to the English people, there is to be considered the great, the enormous benefit that accrues to Canada from this open avowal on the part of England 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 so worthily represents her majesty in the Dominion— no one can say when England is aiding us, endorsing a loan spreading over so many years, and which will not be finally extinguished till most of us now here will have been gathered to our fathers—no one can say, under these circumstances, that she has any idea of separating herself from us and 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 once to the hopes of all dreamers or speculators who desire or believe in the alienation and separation of the colonies from 570 APPENDIX. the mother country. That is a more incalculable benefit than the mere advantage of England's guarantee of our financial stability—great and important 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 .£1,400,000 in 1865, for the purpose of building fortifications; nor wa3 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 was by no prompting from us that that responsibility was assumed, for Mr. Gladstone rose of his own motion in the house of commons, and by accepting the responsibility, admitted that it should take a tangible shape. It did take such a shape, and I say 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 separately, accepting or rejecting it on its merits. 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 the sake 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 has been set aside. We may well, therefore, call upon you to strengthen our hands by showing that you are unwilling to sacrifice Canada altogether for imperial purposes solely." 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 as certain as I am standing 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. 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 speaking 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 returning 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 as a dependency of the sovereign of England. (Cheers.) I say, therefore, that, while we are actually receiving a guarantee of £2,500,000, if the relations 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 finance minister has shown you the advantages which will flow from that arrangement; and it would be presumption in me 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, also, satisfactory to the people of this country. (Cheers.) I now move the first reading of this bill, and I shall simply sum up my remarks by saying that, with respect to the treaty, I consider that every portion of it is unobjectionable to the country, 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 believe, if they fully 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 fishermen of the maritime provinces at the mercy of the Americans. Reject the treaty, and you will cut the merchants engaged in that trade off from the American 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 and 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 572 APPENDIX. 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 fhey have not gojt the value of their fish for ten years." (Cheers.) It has been said by the hon. gentleman on my left (Mr. Howe), in his speech to the young men's christian association, that England had sacrificed the interests 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 between these two great nations, rendered herself liable, leaving out all indirect claims, to pay millions out of her own treasury ? Has she not made all this sacrifice, which only Englishmen and English statesmen can know, for the sake of peace ? And for whose good has she made it ? Has she not made it principally for the sake of Canada ? (Loud cheers.) Let Canada be severed from England—let England not be responsible to us and for us—and what could the United States do to England ? Let England withdraw herself into her shell, and what could the United States do ? England has got the supremacy of the sea. She is impregnable in every point but one, and 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 nations 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 question is ever likely to arise that will cause such great irritation as the escape 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 ? 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 advocated and adopted as the sole principle of the settlement of differences between the English-speaking peoples, and that it will have a moral influence in the world; and although it may be opposed to the antecedents of other nations, that great moral principle which has now 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 to them, to recommend parliament to reject these articles, it might have been a matter of some interest as to what my position would have been. I am here, at all events, advocating the ratification of the treaty; and I may say, notwithstanding the taunts of hon. gentlemen opposite, that although I was chosen for the position of commissioner—certainly because I was a Canadian, and presumably because I was a member of the Canadian government—yet my commission was given to me as a British subject, as it was to Sir Stafford Northcote and other members of the commission. I went to Washington as a plenipotentiary, as her majesty's servant, and was bound by her majesty's instructions, and I would have been guilty of dereliction of duty if I had not carried out those instructions. And, sir, when I readily joined, under the circumstances, in every word of that treaty, with the exception of the fishery articles, and when I succeeded in having inserted in the treaty a reservation to the government and people of Canada of the full right to accept 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 obloquy that would meet me on my return; and before even I crossed the border I was complimented with the names of "Judas Iscariot," "Benedict 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 received at the hands of my countrymen, and after the confidence that has been accorded me for so many years, I would have been unworthy of that 574 APPENDIX. position and that confidence if I were not able to meet reproach for the sake of my country. I have met that reproach, and I have met it in silence. 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. (Loud cheers.) I do not speak particularly of the hon. gentlemen opposite, but I say that the policy of the opposition is regulated by " a power behind the throne" which dictates what that policy must be. (Loud cheers.) No one ever saw a patriotic policy emanate from that source, except on one occasion, and that was when that source was induced by myself to forget party struggles and party feelings for the common good of the country. (Loud cheers.) I have not said a word for twelve months; I have kept silence to this day, thinking it better that the subject should be discussed on its own merits. How eagerly was I watched! If the government should come out in favour of the treaty, then it was to be taken as being a betrayal 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 course we might take, they were lying in wait, ready with some mode of 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 thought 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 imperfections, to 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 have the permission of his excellency to do so. The hon. gentleman resumed his seat, amid loud and continued applause from all parts of the house, at 9:45, having spoken for four hours and a quarter. APPENDIX. 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 honourable 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 already given my testimony on oath, and in that testimony I had endeavoured, 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. Therefore I did not think it well, according to the ordinary rule, that I should attempt in any way to supplement my statement on oath by my statements not on oath. (Cheers.) However I have been taunted, not in the house certainly, but I have heard it elsewhere and have seen it in the papers that I have been withholding my statements ; that I have been keeping back, and that I dare not meet the house and the country. Sir I dare meet this house and the country. (Cheers.) 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 not know I shall endeavour presently to enter upon. But now I enter upon the subject 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 privilege 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 country, but which in the course of the present debate have almost sunk into insignificance. A short time ago, from the 13th August till now, we heard 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 576 APPENDIX. brought down, with the ponderous strength of the hon. gentleman, on his desk, when he called I privilege !" " privilege ! " and all because the representative of the sovereign had 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 people 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 brought 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 opposed it, by prerogative or by excess of prerogative, the head of the sovereign 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 prerogative 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 constitution, if 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 attempt 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 privileges 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 resting 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 unconstitutionally ; 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 democracy. (Cheers.) And, sir, when in the undoubted exercise of the prerogative of the crown the representative of the sovereign came not to this Chamber but to the proper chamber, and announced his will, as the representative 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 APPENDIX. 577 is that we heard in a sort of minor key from the Globe, which had some character to lose, that although it was very inexpedient, it was no breach of the constitution. But every other paper, I believe, every organ of hon. gentlemen 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 parliament, 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, preventing the extension of the excitement into debates in a subsequent session. In 1820, 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 when the knock of the usher of the black rod was made at the door—an outburst of indignation on the part of the queen's friends because they had no opportunity of expressing their feelings against the course which had been taken. Parliament, however, was prorogued, notwithstanding the storm of indignation that arose at the time. On a still later occasion, at the time of the reform bill, in 1831, we can remember how the house was almost in mutiny, and how that staid gentleman, the Duke of Richmond, almost declared himself in rebellion against his sovereign. Sir Robert Peel, at the very moment the usher of the black rod knocked at the door, was making a most indignant protest against prorogation for the-purpose of dissolution. Therefore when such staid men and men of such high position could take that course, we can perhaps pardon hon. gentlemen opposite for having betrayed an unseemly warmth on the 13th of August because the prerogative of the crown was exercised as the crown had the right to exercise it. Therefore, it occurs to every hon. gentleman who has considered the subject well, that the question of constitutionality cannot exist for a moment, and that a question of privilege set up against prerogative is altogether a false cry, an untenable cry, a cry unconstitutional and unwarranted by law. (Cheers.) The prerogative at present is valuable only as one of the liberties of the people, and it is one of the liberties of the people because it is guided, as 1 said before, by the advice of ministers responsible 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 liberties, personal or political, will be endangered, so long as the prerogative 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 578 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 sovereign to commit a breach of faith against every absent member of parliament. I 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 affairs, that if ever a pledge, if ever a bargain, if ever an agreement or arrangement was made, it was that the house should be prorogued on the 13th day of August. Some of the gentlemen who have spoken, I won't tax my memory as to which of them, have made the constitutional 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 matter of prerogative. Did any educated man, any man who knows what the constitution in Canada or what the constitution in England is, believe that I, the first minister of the crown, could get up in my place and tell this house that on the 13 th of August it would be prorogued, and that on that day there was no real necessity for members being present, because it was to be merely a formal meeting? 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 unless I had got the authority of my master; had got the sanction of the crown ? 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 proposition to his excellency and took his pleasure upon it, just as the first minister 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 adjournment. 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 myself 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 • ceed at all with so small a population in such a young country. They had gone home to England to lay the project before the English world and European capitalists. They were 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 home in February. Parliament met early in March, I think. The hon. member for Shefford rose in his place and made his charge against the government 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 ; but whether he was so actuated or not, whether his motives were parliamentary or unparliamentary, patriotic or unpatriotic, one thing is certain, that the direct aim, the direct object,, the point at which that motion and that statement were directed, was to kill the charter in England. (Cheers.) The weapon was aimed with that object, not so much with the desire of destroying the administration, not so much with the purpose of casting a reflection upon the ministry, as with the view of 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 defeated, and when I took up the resolution the aim was well intended— the desire of killing was well intended—but it failed in the execution. (Hear, hear.) When I took it up I considered the whole position of events. Sir Hugh Allan and those connected with him went to England in March. Parliament was sitting at the time the hon. gentleman made his motion. 1 could not know how long parliament would last, and the chances were that they would return some time before the end of the session. If they did not return then, of course I considered that there could be no examination 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 his statement, could be guilty of such great, such palpable, such obvious injustice, as to press his committee in the absence of Sir Hugh Allan, Mr. Abbott, and Sir George Cartier, when they had no opportunity of defending 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 APPENDIX. 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 legislation 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. gentlemanin making that motion was not simply to attack the government, not simply that from improper motives or inducements of any kind they had given the charter, but was for the purpose of destroying that charter and of attacking all the legislation of the previous session on which the charter was based. I never for one moment supposed that any hon. 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 parliament, 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 confidence. Was that so ? or was it not so ? Will the hon. gentleman say it was not so ? Mr. Huntington—The motion when made was intended to express- precisely what it did express. (Laughter.) Sir John Macdonald—It is said, sir, that if there had been one honest 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 confidence. 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 manliness to get up and say so. (Cheers.) He dare not say it was not a motion 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 motion 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 connection with the Pacific railway. Had we gone into committee of supply the hon. gentleman would have made, in the ordinary parliamentary way, his motion of want of confidence. But he should have given notice of his attack, for a more unmanly attack is unknown. What notice had been given that he was going to make that motion ? True, the government of the day are unworthy of their position unless they are ready te 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 postpone 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 took us by surprise and sought by bringing in documents carefully prepared 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 home, telegraphed 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 affected the construction of the Canadian Pacific railway, throwing back for years the building of the railway, casting discredit on Canada, and telling British Columbia what they had told them two years before, that they were not going to get the railway. Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman 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 he was personally cognizant of certain facts, then the house might have considered 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 the previous session was corrupt 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 occurred. 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 I would introduce the resolution which I did introduce. I gave notice of the resolution, and there is a little history with the resolution 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 I 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 recollect 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 ? " The hon. gentleman 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 oi 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—I have got the speech here, and before the debate 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 reported, and I can state here that the hon. gentleman had his own reporter present. The hon. gentleman was reported to have said :—" I may inform the hon. gentleman there were eight of the Government supporters who put the screw on him." In other words— Mr. Mackenzie—I am perfectly certain I did not use the word screw. Sir John Macdonald—Now, I have 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 I had announced my own determination. (Loud cheers from Ministerial benches.) The motion took us by surprise, and we met it, as I think we ought to have met 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 sitting around. I said to them, after consideration: " I have made up my mind that I will move for a Committee," before 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 Committee 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 country. 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 been 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 Citizen. Perhaps the hon. gentleman knows this paper ? Perhaps the hon. member knows that his friend who formerly sat in this House for Halifax is the proprietor of this paper, or that he certainly writes' for it. (Hear, hear and cheers.) Here is the newspaper, and if the hon. gentleman thinks I have made a mistake, and if he thinks I have done him an injustice, perhaps he will be patient with me while I read the few sentences:—"Some gentlemen afterwards informed Sir John Macdonald that before they voted with him an inquiry there must be. He was thus compelled to come down and say that he himself moved ah inquiry on the following day." 584 APPENDIX. Mr Mackenzie—What about the eight that the hon. member spoke of. (Laughter.) I refer to what the hon. member for Shelburne stated the other night. Sir John Macdonald—Does the hon. member for Shelburne say that he ever came to speak to me on the subject ? Mr. Ross (Victoria)—I may say that two or three of us went to see the Ministers next day and stated that unless they promised a committee themselves that was the last vote they would get from us. Mr. Church—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 John Macdonald—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 agreed 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 opportunity that presents itself I will move for a committee to inquire into this matter." (Cheers.) I had had no communication with any member of the government; no communication with any member of the house ; no communication 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 occurred. 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 members 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 desire that there should be any undue delay in this inquiry, which affected APPENDIX. 585 the honour of hon. gentlemen and of myself. Now it must be remembered that my motion having been unanimously adopted by the house, was not 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 considered at that time that the chances were infinitesimally small that these gentlemen would be back in time to go on with the inquiry before the prorogation of parliament; and what did I move ? I moved " that a select committee of five members be appointed, of which Committee the mover shall not be one," and here, Mr. Speaker, I may perhaps bring in, parparenthese, 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 committee—he the accuser. The hon. gentleman may think that I may have committed something like folly in this course, but, at all events, I moved that "a committee of five members be appointed, of which the mover shall not be one, to inquire into and report on the special matters mentioned in the resolution of the hon. member for Shefford,.with power to send for papers and records, with power to report to the house from time to time, with power to report their evidence to the house from time to time, and if need be to sit after the prorogation of parliament." 1 thought that by a mere lucky chance, by a mere fortuitous circumstance, Sir Hugh Allan and his associates might perhaps raise the money, make the necessary arrangements and be back in time before parliament was prorogued, and, therefore, I put in merely as an alternative that if need be the committee could sit after parliament prorogued. I never thought for a single moment, it never occurred to my miud, that any man having a sense of justice would 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 implicated, but at all events Sir Hugh Allan and Mr. Abbott were notonly personally implicated, but their capital, their vested rights, their pledged faith 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, Hon. Mr. Abbott, and Sir Geo. Cartier ; in the absence of all the evidence which these gentlemen could give on the subject of these charges. I therefore, sir, drew up the motion in the manner I have named, aud I must confess that I am somewhat ashamed that my knowledge 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.tha resolution in order that the commission might sit 586 APPENDIX. from day to day 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 committee of the whole house to sit during the recess, and thus the prerogative of the Crown to prorogue would be invaded, and parliament as a committee of the whole might sit indefinitely. But I made a mistake ; it was accepted by the whole house, and hon. gentlemen who voted for my resolution are as much responsible for it as myself. Not only was my proposition considered, but it was weighed by the hon. member for South Bruce. So much did the hon. 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 be 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. Have I not then proved my case, Mr. Speaker ? (Cheers.) Have I not proved that this house solemnly resolved, 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 communicated 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 <*et it was guilty of taking money under false pretenses. (Cheers.) We know what has happened in the United States. We know that the Globe, in order 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 commission. 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 parliament cannot, without dishonour, reverse their vote ; and I believe I know that the house accepted that prorogation on the. ground that the adjournment was in effect to be a prorogation, and that only the two Speakers should be in the house on the 13th of August. (Cheers.) As regards the legality of the royal commission, I believe that I need not speak so long on that subject. The motion of the hon. member for Lambton relieves me from that necessity. I will quote the evidence of the royal commission. Mr. Blake—Hear, hear. Sir John Macdonald—I hear the member for South Bruce say " hear, hear." Surely he ought not to 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 quote any evidence of the commission if he believes the evidence of that commission to be illegal. The hon. gentleman is on the horns of a dilemma. Either the evidence is legal or illegal. If it is legal, then the house can judge from the evidence, but if it is illegal, the house must discard it; and yet the hon. member for Lambton quoted this evidence, and every man who spoke on the 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 accept or discariit, and remain as you were before this evidence was taken. (Cheers.) Now it was alleged in the argument of an hon. gentleman opposite, with respect to this committee, that the governor-general had been snubbed. I tell the hon. gentleman, and I have the permission of the crown to state it, that in addition to the official announcement, there is £ formal opinion given by the law officers of the crown.—those authorities whose opinion the hon. member for Bothwell looked so scornfully upon, but every one else so much respected—that the course taken by the gov- 638 APPENDIX. ernor-general both in respect to the prorogation and the issuance of the royal commission, was legal and constitutional. Mr. Blake.—Hear, hear. Sir John Macdonald.—Well, Mr. Speaker, I cannot help it if the hon. gentleman does not agree with the law officers of the crown. But I have still a further statement to make, and I think I may make it in the presence of my hon. friend the finance minister—that the course of the governor-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 respect to the commission that by constitutional authority the crown cannot know what happens in the house of commons. Well, Mr. Speaker, that is one of the anachronisms which we see in the quotations of the hon. gentlemen opposite. They are two or three centuries behind the times. Did the matter remain with the house alone, or conclude with the house ? No, the house itself sent information to the governor-general by the member for Shefford. In consequence of the resolution passed by the house, the member for Cardwell introduced a bill for the purpose of giving the committee power to administer oaths. We 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 cf the orown, 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 ? 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 proceedings 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 informed of the motion of the member for Shefford, and of all the proceedings 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 properly 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 express 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 therefore, while I 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 hon. 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. I did not therefore oppose, as otherwise I would haye opposed, the passage of the bill, which I would certainly have done had I not been personally concerned. When it went up to the governor-general, as the papers will show, as I was bound to express my real opinion, I stated my doubt of its- legality, but hoped his excellency would see his way to allow it instead of reserving it for the signification of her majesty's pleasure, and I gave my advice 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 and, as the despatches show, the case was 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. gentlemen who had supported the bill were right, and that the bill would become law. We know what the result was, and that after the consultations the bill was disallowed. It has been said by the hon. member for Bothwell, 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 the decision was not the decision merely of the law officers of the crown,, but it was the decision of the British government. It was an order of the privy council, and there is not an order of the privy council passed in which the lord chancellor is not consulted before a decision is come to. But 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 it not have been well for the hon. member for Shefford to have come before 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- 590 APPENDIX. 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 to destroy the government, and not to have a real inquiry into the conduct 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 country, 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 commission 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 right 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 commission 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 hare had a committee, 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 1 Certainly not. Well then, sir, if it be not a breach of the privileges of parliament APPENDIX. 591 that the second and third branches of the legislature should have concurrent 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 as 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 order 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 parliament to say whether that selection is such as will command the confidence of parliament as well as enable them to carry on the affairs of the country. If that is constitutional law, and I think it is, what is the consequence ? It is that the sovereign has the right to inquire into the conduct of its own officers. If an offence is committed, the crown has a right to inquire into it. If a charge is made the crown has the right to ascertain whether that charge is true. I will suppose the case of a minister charged with a crime amenable to common law. Could not the crown make inquiry 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 inquiry. 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 ■ deal with it, and no other authority should intervene and prevent the house from concluding its inquiry. But there is no reason in the world why any independent authority should not pursue an independent inquiry, leaving to the house a full, unrestrained and unrestricted right of inquiry. In the case I have mentioned there had been great abuses in connection with the navy contracts in England 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 v was concluded, an inquiry should be entered into, as it was thought impossible that in the height of the war a proper inquiry could be made. I grant that it was a different administration that moved for a committee in 592 A PFENDIX. the matter, but the motion 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 inquiry. The navy board had full authority, and the admiralty had full authority, and it was urged that the crown as 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 had got their commissioners, 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 power in the navy board to administer oaths. The commission was similar to this in all respects. On this the minister was tried, and on this a minister was acquitted, and the only difference between that case and this was that on that case a commission was asked for by the government, and in this the commission was issued by the government under the act. Mr. Wood.—Whenever there were commissions, special acts were passed, authorizing these commissions. Sir John Macdonald.—Would the hon. gentleman teU me of any such commissions ? Mr. Wood.—Yes, there was the act of 1843, and the act of Sb. Albans, and in 1852 a general act was passed relating to such matters. No single case could be found in which a royal commission was appointed to try corrupt parties at elections, except under a special act. Sir John Macdonald.—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 corruption in boroughs, and the charge here is general corruption 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 another and in the order shown on the list handed in by the hon. member for Shefford. Early in the session he handed in the list of witnesses, and APPENDIX. 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 anythin about it. His name was there on the list, and in one case it was shown that M. 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 anything or 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 were called up as they came on the list, and as they came on that list they came up to give their evidence. With respect to the composition of the commission, I have not much to say. It is beneath me to say much. (Cheers.) There is no man in Lower Canada who will not say that Judge Day, by his legal acquirements, was well fitted for the position, and when I tell you that the present 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 be 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 codification of the laws of Lower Canada what he was as a jurist. The hon. member for Shefford said that the other two judges were my creatures. He did not venture to attack Justice Day, but he attacked the other two. Now, with respect to Mr. Justice Polette, I may say that I have not seen him, nor have I had any communication with him for seventeen long years. For seventeen long years he had been obliterated out of memory. I knew him in my early days in. parliament as a supporter of the Lafon- taine-Morin coalition. From that time he departed from my vision until he was appointed on that commission. And why, sir, why was he appointed on that commission ? 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 Canada 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 he was on very friendly personal relations with the Hon. Mr. Abbott, per- LL 594 / APPENDIX. haps it might be thought not to be proper. He, however, consented to act. 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 respects to take his seat on the commission. And it is said Mr. Justice Gowan was a creature of mine. How Mr. Justice Gowan ever came to be considered a creature of mine, I cannot say. He commenced life as a partner of Mr. Small, and was an extreme reformer. He was appointed by Mr. Baldwin on the representation of Mr. Small. I never did him a single favour that I 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 1843, while I became a member of parliament in 1844. I afterwards became acquainted with Judge Gowan, and I 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 terms that in the evidence produced before the commission there is not one tittle of evidence against me. (Cheers.) It has been said that the commission was a partisan commission; but supposing t had committed any crime under the common law of the land, I must have been tried under a judge who was 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 position as Canadians, to our position as members of parliament, and guardians 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 sum 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 understood 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 Scott & 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 American game; if I had played the game of the hon. gentlemen opposite; if I had sold the railway; if I had sold the interests of Canada,—I would have got the plaudits of hon. gentlemen opposite, instead of now getting their stabs. (Cheers.) But it is because, from the first to the last, I was a true Canadian; because from the first to the last I stood by Canada; because from the first to the last, when they attempted to levy blackmail upon me, I put it down with a strong hand,—that is why the attack was made on the government; that is why the attack was made on me. (Loud cheers.) I have no hesitation in saying that this course, taken by the hon. member for Shefford, is governed behind the scenes by a foreign element. {Cheers.) I do not charge the hon. gentlemen by whom he is surrounded with being parties to this, but I do say that the course of the hon. member for Shefford is governed by a foreign element, and I can prove it. {Cheers.) And if a committee is granted to me, I will show that the hon. gentleman sits here by virtue of alien money and influence; and not only by virtue of alien influences, but alien railway influences. (Cheers.) 1 can prove 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 he was elected by alien railway influences, but by alien railway influences not unconnected with the Northern Pacific railway. (Loud cheers.) Now, Mr. 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. I had a great, a strong and united opponent. I had showered upon my devoted head all kinds of opposition. I had been one of the high commissioners, 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 a cross between Benedict Arnold and Judas Iscariot. But I met parliament, and by a calm explanation of my course I won the II! 596 APPENDIX. approval of the house. Still the opposition roared. I knew that I must meet with a strong 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 between England and 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 our own firesides, that we could sit under our own fig tree, without the possibility of the war-cloud hanging over us; and if I was guilty of being a party to that treaty, I shall be glad to have it recorded on my tombstone. (Loud cheers.) We yielded much, we gave up many things—I admit that. I told this house that we had yielded much—that we had given up many things. But still we see our country prosperous—still we see every interest growing (cheers), and now we know that by no hostile hand, by no unfriendly, warlike invasion, can the future be destroyed. (Cheers.) Yet, 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 farmer 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 I 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 Yankees, 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 APPENDIX. 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 j ustice, and in the second, that the course taken was perfectly constitutional; and even if we had given Nova Scotia a little more than justice, it was well worth the outlay. (Cheers.) Why, Mr. Speaker, what did we find at the time of the union ? The minister of customs was the first man returned to the house in the elections, on strictly union principles. Consider the position we were in here. We were with a constitution just trembling in the balance, and yet we found one of 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 way ? If we had given to Nova Scotia a little more than her rights, 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 to doing half justice, but we did them no more than justice. What is the consequence ? We see the people, irrespective of party; we see every man in Nova Scotia admiring the legislation of parliament introduced by the government, which has made Nova Scotia a part of the Dominion, instead of being a separate province, and has converted it into one of the most ardent friends of confederation among the whole of the different members of the Dominion. {Cheers.) I£ it shall happen, sir, as it may happen, that I receive a reverse, a condemnation of any particular act of mine, I may still appeal, and I do appeal, to the members for Nova Scotia, who, when their best interests were assailed, and they were brought perforce, fas aut nefas, into confederation, they still got fair treatment, got full justice, at our hands; and I hope to live in the hearts of the Nova Scotians. (Cheers.) While that was satisfactory to me, I think it was not satisfactory to my friends in Ontario.' Everyman who supported me was attacked at the polls with respect to •our action on the Washington treaty, and because it was said we had given too much to help the Nova Scotians. So w ith British Columbia. Let meread some cf the resolutions with reference to the Pacific railway and British Columbia. 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 practical union of British Columbia with Canada. (Cheers.) They voted against 598 APPENDIX. 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, press too 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 necessary 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 them, showing that in their opinion we had been overtaxing 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. Yet, being 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. gentlemen 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 t 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. 599 exponent 6i the opinions of hon. gentlemen opposite ? The right hon. gentleman 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 accomplished 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 tp another. I have shown you how I met the cries at the hustings—that I bartered away Canadian rights in the Washington treaty; 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, and had given them 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, we had to meet the continued opposition of the local government of Ontari6. 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 pledged itself in the most formal manner to .be neutral in the contest, that they, by every act in their power, and by every influence, direct and indirect, that they possessed, worked against the Canadian government. That is the charge, and I can prove it. (Ministerial cheers.) We know that influences of every kind would be used, and were used, which can be proved ; or, as the hon. member from Shefford would say, "lam 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 maintenance of the connection between Canada and the British empire, and the promotion 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 i 600 APPENDIX. hammered into us 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 hon. gentlemen say—(laughter)—attending, 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 proposition included the Pacific railway, for British Columbia would not have come in, unless tb e 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 resolutions by which the railway would be built, not by the government directly, but by private capital, aided by government grants. I would not, if I 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 private capital could be obtained sufficient for the purpose. The whole of the resolutions moved by hon. gentlemen opposite were more for the purpose 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. member 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 indicated 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 government, 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. I believe that the gentlemen opposite spent two pounds to our one. (Opposition cries of "no, no.") 1 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 a 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 let them sift these matters to the bottom, and I tell you on my honour as a man, that I believe I can prove that there are more who owe their elections to money on that side of the house than on this. (Loud ministerial cheers. If I be challenged, I can go into detail. I can show, 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 appointment of a committee, a statutory committee, as suggested by the hon. member for South Bruce. Let us put the names of the judges of all the provinces into a bag, and draw out three names, who shall-form the committee. (Cheers.) As I stated in my evidence—and I hope my evidence 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 subjected to a rigid cross-examination. I was exceedingly anxious that the hon. member for Shefford should-be there to cross- examine me—(cheers)—and I would willingly have answered his questions. I have little more to say than I said then. Sir, there was no sale to Sir Hugh Allan of any contract whatever. (Cheers.) Consider for one moment, Mr. Speaker, how the case stood. Parliament had passed two acts, one for Upper 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 in Toronto. Now, sir, although there were Ontario gentlemen connected with the Canada Pacific company, and although there were Quebec gentlemen connected with the Interoceanic company, yet they were really acts promoted by men wbo have Ontario and Quebec interests only, and every one saw that they were essentially sectional.. Before parliament met, and before either act was passed, the cry was got up that the Northern Pacific people were desirous of obtaining the control of our railway. At the first, Mr. Speaker, when the first interview took place between the government and these gentlemen, I was very glad to see them. We had passed in 1871 theact that British Columbia should be a portion of the Dominion, and we had passed a resolution by which we were to build the railway in ten years. It was understood, then, sir, that the whole 602 APPENDIX. matter should stand over until the ensuing session, and that in the meantime the government should go on with the survey and be ready in 1872 with the plans. We got through the session of 1872 and we commenced, in 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 was going on, and in midsummer and in the fall all the members of the government 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. Waddington called on me. I had known the gentleman before, and I.much respected him. He said to me that there were some American gentlemen 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 FranGis Hincks and I 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, pr take any action till after we had met parliament. One of them remarked that they had evidently been brought on a wild-goose errand, and they then went away. This first brought to my mind very strongly the necessity for looking out 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 carrying 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 charter 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. 603 late Sir Hugh to go into the work, he had named to him that he-had better 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 premature in this, that we ought to have kept to a great Canadian company before 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, gave them precisely the same answer that they were premature : that we were very glad to see them, but we could make no arrangement until parliament met. 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 replying 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 controverted, and will not be. In the meantime a sectional jealousy had arisen, instead of, as I hoped, a joint action between the capitalists of Montreal and Toronto, and instead of, as I had hoped, there being a rush and anxiety among our moneyed men in the different parts of Canada to form one great company, for the work required united exertion, there was a jealousy fanned from some quarter, which we know now, and this jealousy prevented the two great bodies of capitalists, who ought to have built the road, from joining, and all our hopes were scattered ; and a feeling arose in Toronto first that if the Montreal interest got the preponderance Toronto trade would get the go-by, and second, that Sir Hugh Allan and the Montreal interest were joined with the Americans. That feeling grew and 1 am not now in a position to state, after reading the evidence and after reading the letters of Sir Hugh Allan and those published by Mr. McMullen, I am 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 to state that the people of Toronto and the Tnteroceanic had not great- cause 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 «604 APPENDIX. possibility could it be allowed entrance. We felt, Mr. Speaker, and -every member knew it, that it was necessary that every American element 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 management of the bill of the Montreal company through this house, made it a special understanding with Sir Hugh Allan that it should be so before he promoted the bill, and so it was by universal consent. I know, Mr. Speaker, that it will be said, and I may as well speak •of it now, that Sir Hugh Allan's letters show tfiat he still kept up his connection with ttie Americans. 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 Americans were not to be admitted he ought to have written to them, and informed them that though he had made a contract with them, still so strong -a feeling existed in Canada that he must at once and forever sever his connection with them. Instead of doing so, however, he carried on a correspondence with them, a private correspondence, which he has sworn no -one else saw, and which he has sworn that not even his colleagues in the •Canada Pacific company knew of, not even Mr. Abbott, his confidential -adviser. He says he conducted it as his own personal affair, believing and hoping that in the end the people of Canada would come to a different view, and allow American capital to be used. He has sworn that, and we never knew that he was carrying on communications with the Americans. Mr. Abbott never knew it and the Canada Pacific company have declared that there was no connection between them and the Americans, but I have heard it said, I think, by the member for Chateauguay, is it possible that -the government would give a contract to a man who had behaved so disingenuously, and after this want of ingenuousness had been shown to the Prime Minister, by the exhibition of the correspondence ? Sir, let me -say a word to you about that. After the Act passed and we were working with all our might to form a good company and a strong one, long after, Mr. .Speaker, as it appears in the correspondence between Sir Hugh Allan and the Americans, Mr. McMullen came to my office in order to levy blackmail. (Cheers.) Be did not show me the correspondence, but he flourished certain receipts and drafts which Sir Hugh Allan had drawn at New York. There was nothing, however, in that because he had told us he had £one into that association, and we knew that he had communication with the Americans, and there was nothing extraordinary in my seeing that APPENDIX. 60f these gentlemen had subscribed a certain sum of money for preliminary expenses, and I have never known a company, railway or otherwise, without preliminary expenses being provided for by the promoters. I told Mr. McMullen therefore, that it was his matter, and that he must go and see Sir Hugh. I heard no more about the matter until late in January or February, after we had formed the company, after a correspondence with every province of the Dominion, after having tried to excite and having successfully excited the capitalists of the different provinces to subscribe after we had got every thing prepared, after I had drafted the charter and the great seal only required to be.affixed, and just when the charter was about to be launched, and the company to build the road was about to be made a certainty, then Mr. C. M. Smith, Mr. Hurl, burt and Mr. McMullen walked into my office. I do not say that Mr. Smith or Mr. Hurlburt came to levy blackmail. I do not think they did, for they looked respectable gentlemen, and spoke and behaved as- such. They told me Sir Hugh Allan had behaved very badly, and they read a good deal of the correspondence which has been published, and I told them then, " Gentlemen, if your statement is true, Sir Hugh Allan has behaved badly towards you, but the matter is your own, and Sir Hugh is no doubt able to meet you." They spoke of the seizing of his- ships and bringing actions against him both in the United States and Canada, when I repeated to them that they had their own proper remedy, and added that Sir Hugh had not the slightest power to give them the contract. * (Cheers.) I told them that he ought to have broken off his connection 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 Sir Hugh into the contract. Mr. Speaker, we had already admitted him. The contract 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. correspondence", whatever may be said of the conduct of Sir Hugh Allan towards the Americans, proved the existence of hostility between them, and showed that if Sir Hugh were one of the company who received the contract we should keep the Americans out altogether. I 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 capitalist. He was the first man who went into it, and these gentlemen, Mr. McMullen and the rest, proved to me that Sir Hugh Allan had cut the cord of connection, 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- #06 APPENDIX. nection with the Pacific railway. My evidence states that shortly before the elections I went to Toronto, and Sir George Cartier went to Montreal. I do not wish hon. 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 Cartier has done I must accept as being the honest expression of an individual minister; but, sir, I 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 me by the course taken by hon. gentlemen opposite, to meet the arguments that were going to be used against me, the sectional questions that were raised against me, the numerous charges which were made against me, and which I had always found operating against me. When I 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 with selling Upper Canada, with sacrificing the best interests of Upper Canada, with selling myself to French domination and Catholic influences and Lower Canadian interests. I 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 ignoring sectional questions 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. gentlemen 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 government. 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 amalgamation 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. 607 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 amalgamation ; 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 opposition, 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 procuring an amalgamation, and Mr. Abbott came up to Toronto in response to a telegram from me. We had an interview with Mr. Macpherson, and almost succeeded in coming to an agreement. The only question was whether there should be seven and six or five and four directors from Ontario and Quebec. The arrangement was so near that I was satisfied when I left Toronto that the amalgamation was complete. I found, however, that that was not the case, and in the middle of my election, on the 25th, I think, of July, I telegraphed to 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 concerned, so far as I was concerned. (Hear, hear.) That telegram which was sent on the 26th July was sent by me to Sir Hugh Allan, after seeing Mr. Macpherson, and with the knowledge of Mr. Macpherson. Now what does that say ? I was obliged reluctantly to give up the hope of having an amalgamation before the elections. These little jealousies, these little personal ambitions and the jostling between seventeen and thirteen members on the board had come in the way, and I could not carry out the arrangement I had hoped to complete. I could not spare the time. I was in great danger of losing my election by throwing myself away on this great Pacific railway. I actually came down to Kingston only on the day of my nomination, trusting 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. He 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 Sir Hugh Allan. The thing must stand over till after the elections. The two gentlemen, Mr. Macpherson and Sir Hugh Allan, will meet in Ottawa 1 608 PPEADIX. and 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 Globe lately, how much I was injuring and prejudicing the interest of my colleague in Montreal, Sir George Cartier. Sir Hugh Allan did not care so much for the Pacific railway, and Sir 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 Road, and the Ottawa and Toronto Road, so that the members from Lower Canada would have stood by Sir Hugh Allan even to the risk of losing all the elections, because their Montreal interests would be so much affected if Sir Hugh Allan were not sustained with regard to the Pacific railway. But with respect to the other railways, my hon. friend from Ho- chelaga and other gentlemen can say that if there had been accord between Sir Hugh Allan and the French members of Lower Canada from the Montreal district, there would have been a great peril of the Lower Canadian members from that district deserting Sir George Cartier, and supporting Sir 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 Sir George Cartier's connection with the railway had anything to do with the results of the elections. His prospects were connected with the local 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 the cry of 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 pronouncements 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 •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 leld 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 feeling, 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 appearing to promote 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 telegram, 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 -first minister, 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 to an act of the government. That telegram of mine of the '26th of July was an act of the government. My colleagues have not repudiated it; they have accepted it, and it was a fair arrangement as we -could not get the amalgamation. As we could not succeed 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 the elections, and then call them together, and the only word of preference for Montreal over Toronto was simply my expression that any influence the government might have in case of amalgamation, in the case of the two companies joining and electing a board of directors, would be -fairly used in favour of Sir Hugh Allan for the presidency. I think that was due to Sir Hugh Allan, and after all it was no great affair. Everybody knows that the president of a company is no more than the junior member of the board of directors. It depends altogether upon the personal weight of the man. We have seen boards where the president -governed the board ; others where the president was a mere figure head, ^and others again where the junior member governed the company. It depends entirely upon the personal figure and authority of the man. Well, ;6ir, I made that promise, but I wish the house to remember that at the •time of that telegram, in which I simply stated that as we could not form a company before the elections, we would form one afterwards out of the two, and would do what we could to make Sir Hugh Allan president. At -that time there had been riot one single word said about money—(cheers) and there never was one said, as far as I was concerned, between Sir Hugh Allan and me. (Hear, hear.) I was fighting the battle in Western •Canada. I was getting subscriptions, as I have no doubt the hon. mem- 6: MM 610 APPENDIX. 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 it. (Cheers.) I was doing what I could for the purpose of getting money to help the elections, and I was met, not only by individual exertions, but by the whole force, power and influence, legitimate and illegitimate of the Ontario government. I have no hesitation in saying that in all expenditure, we were met by two dollars to one. (Hear, hear.) I have 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 opposite ; if we had spies ; if we had thieves ; if we had men who went to your desk, picked your lock, and stole your note books, we would have much stronger evidence than hon. gentlemen think they have now. (Cheers.) We were fighting an uneven battle. We were simply subscribing as gentlemen, while they were stealing as burglars. (Cheers.) We may trace it out as a conspiracy throughout. I use the word conspiracy advisedly, and I will use the word out of the house as well as in the house. (Cheers.) The hon. member for Shefford said that he had obtained certain documents. He attempted to read them to this house, not much I think to his credit, and certainly contrary to the sense of the house and of the country. Now how did he get these documents. We had Mr. George WT. McMullen, who was the American agent of these gentlemen. 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,. 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. Sir Hugh Allan had promised to pay this man §17,000 for these papers, and although he had the money almost in his hand, the hon. gentleman gave him something more. (Cheers.) The hon. gentleman cannot deny that he did. Hon. Mr. Huntington—I do deny it. (Opposition cheers.) The statement is without foundation. Sir John Macdonald—If there is one person in the world whom the hon. member for Shefford has as a friend, it is the editor/and proprietor 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. Huntington,—"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 for Shefford 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 Herald that he bought him. (No ! no ! and hear, hear.) Hon. Mr. Huntington—I have already stated in the house that the charges were not founded on any information from Mr. McMullen, and that the statements which have appeared were false. I never got any information. I never got any information from McMullen till long after I made the charges. I never paid nor promised him a cent, and the statement of the hon. gentleman is utterly without foundation. .(Opposition cheers.) The statement also that he made a few minutes ago that I have been influenced here by foreign gold, and that foreign gold had been used in my election, is an utterly unfounded statement, false in every particular ; and I challenge the hon. gentleman to the combat, and dare him on his responsibility to take the committee. (Mr. Huntington was proceeding, when cries of " Order ! " were raised on the government benches, answered by opposition cheers. The hon. gentleman went on speaking in the midst of an uproar which rendered his remarks perfectly inaudible). On order being restored, Sir John Macdonald proceeded. There, sir, is the very evidence that I have hit the spot; that I have hit him on a sore point. (Cheers and No ! no !) I have told the hon. gentleman that I am willing to have a committee to inquire into the whole matter, including the case of the hon. gentleman. Hon. Mr. Huntington—Oh ! You can back out as you will. Sir John Macdondld—I am not backing out, but the hon. gentleman cannot expect to have it all as he likes. I'll read another extract. "Mr. Huntington said that the charter was obtained in the session of 1872, long after the men who furnished the money to him (Sir Hugh Allan) were repudiated, and made arrangments with him (Mr. Huntington) to bring the charges against the government." (Cheers.) Hon. Mr. Huntington rose to a question of order. The report of my speech is entirely without foundation. (Cries of order, order.) That is a question of fact, and the hon. gentleman can correct it afterwards. 612 APPENDIX. Sir John Macdonald—I heard it myself. {Cries from government benches, "We all heard it.") Perhaps the hon. gentleman will deny that he said Jay Cooke would not have him in his office without a witness. Hon. Mr. Huntington—That is another falsehood of the Ottawa Times. That paper, which is inspired by hon. gentlemen opposite, deliberately falsified my speech from the beginning to the end. I refused to diso-race myself by noticing the malignant statement of the dastard sheet. What I said was that I had not seen Jay Cooke for four years ; that I went to aprominentpromoter 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 opposite, because they would not even talk to me without people being present. (Hear, hear.) The Speaker—I must call the hon. member to order. I hope this interruption will cease. The hon. member knows what the rules of debate are as well as any one else in the house, and this plan of interruption can only lead to unseemly confusion in the house. The hon. gentleman will ask his opportunity from 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 Macdonald—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 July I stated that the question must stand over until after the elections ; that the two companies would stand on perfectly equal footing, and that the arrangements which had been made between Mr. Macpherson and Mr. Abbott should be the guiding line. That arrangement was that Upper Canada should have seven, Lower Canada six, and each of the other provinces one director on the board. Not by any chance or possibility could Sir Hugh Allan by his large capital, or the influence created by that capital, give undue influence on the board for Lower Canada or for himself over my own province. On the 30th of July I received a letter from Sir Hugh Allan, Sir Geo. Cartier being sick, stating 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 contest, 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 arrangement, and I would go down to Montreal that night. Yes, Mr. Speaker, in the midst of a severe election contest, for I was elected only APPENDIX. 613 by 130, whereas at the previous election I had a majority of 300, I 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 telegram of 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. I wish it to be clearly understood, beyond the possibility of doubt, that the Canadian government had agreed that since it could not 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 president of the amalgamated company. (Cheers.) I say that that arrangement made by Sir George Cartier was set aside, and why ? Because it would have killed me in Upper Canada. I telegraphed that even 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 one single word said about money subscriptions. Sir, it may be very wrong to give subscriptions to election funds at all, but is there any one gentleman opposite who will say he has not expended money himself, or has been aided in doing so by his friends. (Several members of the opposition here denied the charge.) Whether those acts had been done by the members themselves or their friends, money was spent and always would be spent on 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 I am not aware of any one single farthing having been spent illegitimately and contrary to law (opposition laughter and cheers)—by members on the government side of the house. I can tell of one man on the other side who spent $26,000 ; another case I can prove of spending $30,000, and I can also prove cases of spending $5,000, $6,000, $7,000, and $8,000, and when the committee which the hon. member for Bothwell challenged me to move, and which I intend to move, is appointed, I shall give the proofs. (Laughter, in which Mr. Blain joined.) I can prove the expenditure of money by that gentleman (Mr. Blain) himself. Mr. Blain—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 of my pocket unfairly. (Cheers and laughter.) Sir John Macdonald—Perhaps the hon. gentleman lias not a pocket. Perhaps his wife has. (Laughter, and cries of "shame" from the opposition.) 614 APPENDIX. Mr. Blain rose. (Cries of "order.") He said the right hon. gentleman had made a charge against him. He would answer it at another time. . Sir John Macdonald—Before the committee which I propose to move, and which will have the power to administer an oath, and which the member for Bothwell has invited, I shall be able to prove the fact I stated. The hon. gentleman will perhaps reserve himself for that. . (Interruption.) Mr. Holton—I raise the question of order. I doubt whether the right hon. gentleman is in order in making statements affecting the right of hon. gentlemen to sit in this house without formulating charges to be followed by a motion. The hon. gentleman intimates his intention of making a motion at a future time, but he cannot move a motion of the kind indicated in a debate on the address. To charge members with having obtained their seats by improper means is therefore a violation of the proprieties of debate, and I believe of other standing orders of the house. Mr. Blake—In the case of the member for West York the proceeding is doubly irregular, for it is interfering with an actual petition pending before an election committee. The Speaker said a good deal of language had been used during the debate which would have been better not 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 Macdonald—I submit to your decision, sir, I would not have alluded to the hon. member 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 am giving to the house as well as I can under these unseemly interruptions. Sir, there never was an occasion, there never was a minute, in which the interests of Canada were sacrificed by the government of Canada for election purposes. (Loud cheers.) I say that we carry 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 Canada, considering all the circumstances. Let us go over the whole board APPENDIX. 615 from Upper Canada. There is Mr. Donald Mclnnes, of Hamilton, I will ask the hon. member for Welland if he is not a merchant of standing and respectability, and one of the last men to sell the interests of the Dominion to t;he 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 from that board, I obtained Major Walker, representing one of the leading 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 interests, 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 engineering exploits, and who was objected to with Col. Cumberland and Major Walker by Sir Hugh Allan. Then the last man I asked was Mr. Walter Shanly. To some of you Walter Shanly may be unknown, but in the old provinces of Canada he is everywhere known as being most highly respected, and as an engineer, the man who formerly managed the Grand Trunk, the man who achieved the great triumph of con- strucing the Hoosac Tunnel. I asked him as a personal friend of mine, as an old Ontarian, as one who was representing a wealthy constituency, to come on that board, and much against his will he came. In the same way let us look at the lower province members. We look at Mr. E. R. Burpee. That is a truly honoured name, I am told, in New Brunswick. Do you think that E. R. Burpee is going to sell to the Yankees, Jay Cooke, & Co., or to the member for Shefford? (Laughter and cheers.) Then we come to Lieut.-governor Archibald, of Nova Scotia, and is he likely to sell us to the Yankees, the member for Shefford, or Jay Cooke & Co. ? I appeal to all the members for British Columbia, some of whom were opposed to him in politics, whether the name of Dr. Helmeken did not inspire respect. (Cheers.) With respect to Manitoba, I will only ask you to say whether Mr. McDermott, the richest and oldest merchant in Manitoba, a man who was the last who would sell the interest of this great Dominion to the Yankees, whether that man would sell Canada. If ever any'government succeeded in accomplishing any particular object, surely this government tried, and succeeded, to prevent foreigners from obtaining influence in, or .control over, our trans-continental railway. (Cheers.) By their line of action, 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. (Cheers.) If there be any delay, any postponement in the completion of that great system of railways, I charge it to the hon. gentlemen opposite. {Cheers.) Long .after this quarrel is ov er, it will be recorded in the hisj> APPENDIX. tory of this Dominion of Canada that there was one body of men in this- country 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 another party who fought section against section, province against province, who were unable to rise to the true position of affairs, and I say the history 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 coun* 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 cheers.) 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 quickly 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. McMullen for the return of his correspondence,, which was accepted, and the whole matter was arranged. Then blackmail was attempted to be- levied on me, but I was not subject to be blackmailed. (Laughter.) They did levy blackmail on Sir Hugh Allan in Montreal, and McMullen for surrendering his letters to Sir Hugh, Was paid $20,000, and was promised. $17,000 more on certain conditions being fulfilled. McMullen got his extra 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 Bothwell 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. 617" 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 though it may do good to the public, and expose a corrupt government,. will be generally condemned. Then we come down to a little more infamy. 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. Blain rose to a point of order, and submitted that this question was not before the house. Mr. Speaker ruled against him stating that it came on the address, which covered all grounds. Sir John Macdonald—When I wrote that letter to my colleague, the Minister of Agriculture, I sent, at the same time, three telegrams to three- different places, and that telegram was seen by some one acting in the interests of the Opposition, and from it they supposed that the letter would- be connected with the Pacific railway matter. That letter was deliberately stolen, not only stolen but was stolen by an officer 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 is being followed up- and has not been abandoned, be found out, and it will be shown that he, believing that the letter contained something that would criminate the government, stole it from the office and handed it over to be used in the manner the house was aware of. True it was that the letter contained nothing respecting the Pacific railroad. I have got evidence beyond the possibility of a doubt, that my telegrams were stolen from Sir Hugh Allan's office, day- after day ; that a man went to the office night after night, after six o'clock,. and copied those telegrams, and brought them down and sold them to the^ opposition ; that the safe of the office was not broken, and that after the- documents were copied and sworn to by the man, he was paid money for them. I state this 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 Bothwell in asking for the committee, before which I will prove all that I have said, and will put a credible witness in the box, who will swear he saw it with his own eyes. You can judge how. poorly the government has been treated. In fact no government in the world could exist if every drawer is to be searched, if every •618 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 present 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 was never a more gross system of espionage, of corruption, of bribing men to steal papers from their 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 I sit down I will touch upon one point to which I.have not yet adverted, and that is how far a government, or member of a government may concern themselves in elections, and the necessary expenditure or supposed expenditure of money at elections. I would wish to point out what has taken place in England, not under the old rSgime, but by: the reform party in England. It is of some importance, as showing at all events that for everything I have got good authority. The house well re* members the great struggle, almost amounting to a revolution, which accompanied the passage of the Reform bill in England. Well, Mr. Speaker, strange to say, the reform party there, who were going to purify the political atmosphere, those who were going to put down the old borough- mongers, did not hesitate to spend money at elections. They did not trust to the excellence of their measures, to the justness of their cause, and the consequence was that before the date of the Carlton club and the Reform club, of which so much has recently been said, the Reform party had a treasurer, and whom do you think they gave the office to ? It was to the maker and unmaker of Whiggery, Edward EUice. Now, Edward Ellice was the man who made the Whig government He was a member of the government and acted as whipper-in of the party, and was the man ordinarily employed in making arrangements about elections. But 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. Danief 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 order 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 hon. gentleman then quoted from Mr. Ellice's speech, volume 27, " Mirror of Parliament," andnow, said he, I will quote from Sir Charles Buller. Sir Charles Buller -was the head and front of the philosophical radicals of England. They formed a party of their own, and tried to engraft their principles on the politics of England, and, although they did not succeed, they sowed good seed, the results of which are seen at the present day. I, who was a boy, remember him, and remember the kindness with which he discussed politics with me, and I am certain that he would have sustained the cause of the liberal party by nothing that was wrong. The right hon. gentleman quoted from the speech referred to. The attack was made upon Mr. Ellice that he had spent money out of the secret service fund ; but when Mr. Ellice rose and said that he had spent no money out of the secret service fund, and that although very large sums of money had passed through his hands for election purposes, none of it had been improperly procured, the house passed on without taking any action, though Mr. O'Connell supported the motion with all his great eloquence and ability. A remark has been made in the newspapers, that on one occasion I stated that no money had been expended by the government on elections, and in answer to the charge I asked Mr. Kidd, on the hustings at South Perth, whether any money had been expended at his election, and he said no, no statement could have been truer. Sir, the money that was expended by the committee, of which 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 ministerial benches.) I state distinctly, so far as I know, not one single farthing that passed through my hands was expended improperly or contrary to the law. If it is so, the election tribunals of the country will settle that question, and, as I understand it, no improper expenditure has been proved in any election tribunal. (Cheers.) I say distinctly, say it in my place.as a member of parliament, Ithat inpney was distributed for the purpose of fighting money against money, fire against fire, influence against influence ; and we were over-matched by the hon. gentlemen op- 620 APPENDIX. 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 contract that I am aware of. (Cheers.) We never gave him any contract in which he had a controlling influence. We had formed a committee of thirteen men, chosen carefully and painfully, for the purpose of controlling Sir 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.) Now, Mr. Speaker, I have only one more thing to say on this point. I put it to your own 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 to Sir Hugh Allan with that contract that has not been given equally to the other twelve ? (Cheers.) It is not pretended that any of the other twelve paid money for their positions. It is not contended that the gentlemen gave anything further than their own personal feelings might dictate. (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 down first on the paper. (Cheers.) Can any one believe that the government 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: fought 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 myself 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 FROM LORD DURHAM'S REPORT. THE CONDITION OF LOWER CANADA. His lordship thus describes the state of affairs in Lower Canada upon Iris arrival there. Like other British statesmen, till he came upon the spot he was ignorant of the " true inwardness " of the strife in that distracted colony. He says :— " I expected to find a contest between a government and a people ; I found two nations warring in the bosom of a single state. I found a struggle not of principles, but of races ; and I perceived that it would be idle to attempt any amelioration of laws or institutions until we could first succeed in terminating the deadly animosity that now separates the inhabitants of Lower Canada into the hostile divisions of French and English. . . , . The national hostility has not assumed its permanent influence until of late years, 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 iuto collision, the inhabitants of the eastern townships, who were removed from all personal contact with the French, and those of the district below Quebec, who experienced little interference from the English, continued -*o a very late period to entertain comparatively friendly feelings towards 622 APPENDIX*. those of the opposite races. But this is a distinction which has unfortunately, year after year, been exhibiting itself more strongly, and diffusing, itself more widely. One by one the ancient English leaders of the assembly 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 after year, in spite of the various influences which a government can exercise, and of which no people in the world are more susceptible than the French Canadians ; in spite of the additional motives of prudence and. patriotism which deter timid or calm men from acting with a party, obviously endangering the public tranquillity by the violence of its conduct, the number of French Canadians, on whom the government could rely, has been narrowed by the influence of those associations which have drawn them into the ranks of their kindred. " The insurrection of 1837 completed the division. Since the resort to arms, the two races have been distinctly and completely arrayed against each other. No portion of the English population was backward in taking arms in defence of the government; with a single exception, no portion of the Canadian population was allowed to do so, even where it was- asserted by some that their loyalty inclined them thereto. The exasperation thus generated has extended over the whole of each race. The most just and sensible of the Ejnglish, those whose politics had always been most 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 submit to a French 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 arid 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 tothe- influence of English einigration, and the introduction of British institutions, under the guise of warfare against the government and its supporters, whom they represented to be a small knot of corrupt and insolent dependents ; 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 with the government, have raised the cry of loyalty and attachment to British connection, and denounced the republican designs of the French, whom they designate, or rather used to designate, by the appellation of radicals. Thus the French have been viewed 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 coincident with the representations current in this country, than their objects- appeared, when tried by English, or rather European ideas of reforming legislation. An utterly uneducated and singularly inert population, implicitly obeying leaders who ruled them by the influence of a blind confidence and narrow national prejudices, accorded very little with the resemblance which had been discovered to that high-spirited democracy which effected the American revolution. Still less could I discover in the English population those slavish tools of a narrow official clique ; or a few purse-proud merchants, which their opponents had described them as being. I have found the main body of the English population, consisting- of hardy farmers and humble mechanics, composing a very independent,, not very manageable, and, sometimes a rather turbulent, democracy. Though constantly professing a somewhat extravagant loyalty and highly prerogative doctrines ; I found them very determined on maintaining in their own persons a great respect for popular rights, and singularly ready to enforce their wishes by the strongest means of constitutional pressure on the government. Between them and the Canadians I found the strongest 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 to this body of officials, who have been so much assailed as. the enemies of the Canadian people, that however little I can excuse the injurious influence of that system of administration, which they were called upon to- •624 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 population. 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 contest of classes, was, in fact, a contest of races. . . . " The two races thus distinct have been brought into the same community, under circumstances which rendered their contact inevitably productive of 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 -complacency on any manners, customs or laws, which appear strange to them; accustomed to form a high estimate of their own superiority, they take 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 that people not to resent insult, but rather to keep aloof from those who would keep them under. The French could not but feel the superiority of English enterprise ; they could not shut their eyes to their success in ■every undertaking in which they came into contact, and to the constant superiority which they were acquiring. They looked upon their rivals J 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 English accused the French of the vices of a weak and conquered people j and charged them with meanness and perfidy. The entire mistrust which the two races have thus learned to conceive of each other's intentions, in- -duces them to put the worst construction on the most innocent conduct; 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. . . " No common education has served to remove and soften the differences of origin and language. The associations of youth, the sports of childhood, 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 fight 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 -with which each is most 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 respect, produces effects quite apart from those which it has on the mere intercourse of the two races. Those who have reflected on the powerful influence 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 merely in different words, but in a style so different as to mark utterly different habits of thought. . . . " One of the greatest of all the evils arising from this system of irresponsible 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 after the worst effects had been produced by doubt and misapprehension ; and the colonies have been frequently the last to learn the things that most concerned them, by the publication of papers on the order of the British houses of parliament. . . . " The French Canadians are exclusively catholics, and their church has been left in possession of the endowments which it had at the conquest. The right to tithe is enjoyed by their priests ; but as it is limited by law to lands of which the proprietor is a catholic, the priest loses his tithe the moment that an estate passes, by sale or otherwise, into the hands of a protestant. This enactment which is at variance with the true spirit of national endowments for religious purposes, has a natural tendency to ren der the clergy averse to the settlement of protestants in the seigniories. But the catholic priesthood of this province have, to a very remarkable degree, conciliated the good-will of persons of all creeds ; and I know of no parochial clergy in the world whose practice of all the Christian virtues and zealous discharge of their clerical duties, is more universally admitted, and has been productive of more beneficial consequences. Possessed of incomes sufficient, and even large, according to the notions entertained in the country, and enjoying the advantage of education, they have lived ori terms of equality and kindness with the humblest and least instructed inhabitants of the rural districts. Intimately acquainted with the wants and characters of their neighbours, they have been the promoters and dispensers of charity, and the effectual guardians of the morals of the people; and in the general absence of any permanent institutions of civil government, the catholic church has presented almost the only semblance of NN 626 APPENDIX. stability and organization, and furnished the only effectual support for civilization 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 a grateful recognition of their eminent services in resisting the arts of the disaffected, is especially due to them from one who has administered the government of the province in these troubled times.". . THE "FAMILY COMPACT." His lordship with his usual insight, accuracy and precision thus describes the " Family Compact." " In the preceding account of the working of the constitutional system in Lower Canada, I have described the effect which the irresponsibility of the real advisers of the governer had in lodging permanent authority in the hands of a powerful party, linked together not only by common party interests, but by personal ties. But in none of the North American provinces 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 of family connection among the persons thus united. For a long time this body of men, receiving at J 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 filled by the adherents of this party : by grant or purchase, they have acquired 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 distinguishing characteristics." . . . APPENDIX. 627 SUPBEMACY OP THE LEGISLATURE. 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 uncertain sound : "We are not now to consider the policy of establishing representative government in the North American colonies. That has been irrevocably done ; and the experiment of depriving the people of their present constitutional power, is not to be thought of. To conduct their government harmoniously, in accordance 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 principles which have been found perfectly efficacious in Great Britain. I would not impair a single prerogative of the crown; on the contrary, I believe that the interests of the people of these colonies require the protection of prerogatives, which have not hitherto been exercised. But the crown must, on the other hand, submit to the necessary consequences of representative institutions ; and if it has to carry on the government 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 means by which its observance is enforced. " When a ministry ceases to command a majority in parliament on great questions of policy, its doom is immediately sealed ; and it would appear to us as strange 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 remedies, by impeachment and a stoppage of the supplies, have never, since the reign of William 111., been brought into operation for the purpose of removing 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 uncertain 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 could ■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. . . . " The colonists may not always know what laws are best for them, or which of their countrymen 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 countries, they must bear the ills which they bring on themselves, until they choose to apply the remedy. But it surely cannot be the duty or the interest of Great Britain to keep a most expensive military possession of these colonies, in order that a governor or secretary of state may be able to confer colonial appointments on one rather than another set of persons in the colonies. For this is really the only question at issue. The slightest acquaintance with these colonies proves the fallacy of the common notion, that any considerable amount of patronage in them is distributed among strangers from the mother country. Whatever inconvenience a constant frequency of changes among the J holders of office may produce, is a necessary disadvantage of free government, 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 GOVERNMENT. One of the cures proposed by his lordship was municipal government, which Lord Dufferin has since described as the basis upon which the entire governmental fabric stands. Mr. Gladstone has in recent years, attempted 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 unenlightened 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 y government, no one now considers a matter of power, but of popular expediency. Says his lordship : '' The establishment of a good system of municipal institutions throughout 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 limiting popular power is that apportionment of it in many different depositories 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 revenues raised in any country for all general and local purposes to a single representative body, the power of local assessment, and the application of the funds arising from it, should be entrusted to local management. It is in vain to expect that this sacrifice of power will be voluntarily made by any representative body. The establishment of municipal institutions for the whole country should be made a part of every colonial institution ; and the prerogative of the crown should be constantly interposed to check any encroachment on the functions of the local bodies, until the people should become alive, as most assuredly they almjpst immediately would be, to the necessity of protecting their local privileges." . . EXTINGUISHING THE FRENCH NATIONALITY. It is not generally known that one of Lord Durham's dearest schemes in his report was the un-racement, if we may make that expression, of the French Canadian people ; and in view of the utterances of some of the leading English-Canadian press of late, on the industrial and social inferiority of the French Canadian, and the expediency of Quebec coming out of the shell of her foreign exclusiveness, the views of the high commissioner 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 the 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 purpose of the British government to establish an English population, with 630 APPENDIX. English laws and language, in this province, and to trust its government to none but a decidedly English legislature. . . . The French Canadians 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 American, they can see no hope for their nationality. They can only sever themselves from the British empire by waiting till some general cause of dissatisfaction alienates them, together with the surrounding colonies, and leaves them part of an English confederacy; or, if they are able, by effecting a separation simply, and so eithermerging in the American union, or keeping up for a few years a wretched semblance of feeble independence, which would expose them more than ever to the intrusion of the surrounding population. I am far from wishing to encourage indis- crimately these pretensions to superiority on the part of any particular race ; but while the greater part of every portion of the American continent is still uncleared and 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 penetrated, it will not predominate. It is but a question of time and mode ; it is but to determine whether the small number of French who now 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 undergo, at the rude hands of its uncontrolled rivals, the extinction of a nationality strengthened and embittered by continuance. " And is this French Canadian nationality one which, for the good merely of that people, we ought to strive to perpetuate, even if it were possible 1 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 present, 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, perhaps, than was absolutely necessary ; but it is impossible for the utmost APPENDIX. 631 liberality—on the part of the British government—to give an equal position in the general competion of its vast population to those who speak a foreign language. I desire the amalgamation stiU more for the sake of the humbfer 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 extending themselves over the neighbouring country, they will necessarily get more and more mingled with an English population ; if they prefer remaining stationary, the greater part of them must be labourers in the employ of English capitalists. In either case it would appear, that the great mass of the French Canadians are doomed, in some measure, to occupy an inferior position, and to be dependent on the English for employment. The evils of poverty and dependence would merely be aggravated in a ten-fold degree, by a spirit of jealous and resentful nationality, which should separate the working class of the community from the possess ors of wealth and employers of labour. . . . There can hardly be conceived a nationality more destitute of all that can invigorate and elevate a people, than that which is exhibited by the descendants of the French of Lower Canada, owing'to their retaining their peculiar language and manners. They are a people with no history, and no literature. The literature of England is written in a language which is not 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 rule, and still more by those changes which the Revolution and its consequences have wrought in the whole political, moral and social state of France. Yet it is on a people whom recent history, manners and mode of thought, so entirely separate from them, that the French Canadians are wholly dependent for almost all the instruction and amusement derived from books; it is on this essentially foreign literature, which is conversant about events, opinions and habits of life, perfectly strange and unintelligible to them, that they are compelled to be dependent. Their newspapers are mostly written by natives of France, who have either come to try their fortunes in the province, or been brought into it by the party 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 descended from the people in the world that most generally love, and have most successfully cultivated the drama—though living on a continent, in which almost every town, great or small, has an English theatre, the French population of Lower Canada, cut off from every people people that speak its own language, can support no national stage. 632 APPENDIX. THE UNION SCHEME. The following are the suggestions 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 matters of general concern, which may have been expressly ceded to it by the constituent provinces. A legislative union would imply a complete incorporation 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, I was strongly inclined to the project of a federal union, and it was with such a plan in view, that I discussed 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 ordinary 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 pleasure 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 apian 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 animosities, 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 compel 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 I convince myself that such desirable ends would be secured by the legislative union of the two provinces, I am inclined to go further, and inquire whether all these objects would not more surely be attained by extending this legislative union over all the British provinces in North America; 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 decisively settle the question of races; it would enable all the provinces to co-operate for all common purposes; and, above all, it would form a great and powerful people, possessing the means of securing- good and resyonsible government for itself, and which, under the protection of the British Empire, might in some measure counterbalance the preponderant and increasing influence of the United States on the American continent. I do not anticipate that a colonial legislature thus strong and thus self-governing, would desire to abandon the connection with Great 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 connection would only become more durable and advantageous by having more of equality, of freedom, and of local independence." •634 APPENDIX. INDEPENDENCE OF THE COLONIES. Here, however, is statesmanship grand enough to be able not alone to ■stand unawed before that horrible possibility seen lowering behind the curtain of the future, independence, but to say if such a destiny is writ for the colonies, then to let it be; we cannot stay its fulfilment; it is right:— " But at any rate, our first duty is to secure the well-being of our colonial countrymen; and if, in the hidden decrees of that wisdom by which this world is ruled, it is written that these countries are not forever to remain portions of the empire, we owe it to our honour to take good care that, when they separate from us, they should not be the only countries on the American continent in which the Anglo-Saxon race shall be found amfit to govern itself." THE SMALLER COLONIES. Of the islands of Newfoundland and Prince Edward, Lord Durham •said:— ''With respect to the two smaller colonies of Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland, I am of opinion, that not only would most of the reasons 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 deficiency of which they have so much reason to lairient in all the disputes which yearly occur between them and the citizens of the United States with regard to the encroachments made by the latter on their coasts and fisheries." . . . REPRESENTATION OF PROVINCES. Strangely enough, the high commissioner favoured an unjust plan of representation for the provinces—unjust, if it be considered that Lower Canada had political rights, and were entitled to their antique and exclusive existence. Says his lordship:— "As the mere amalgamation of the houses of assembly of the two provinces would not be advisable, or give at all a due share of representation to each, a parliamentary commission should be appointed for the purpose cf forming the electoral divisions, and determining the number of members 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 provinces, 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 injustice in the scheme as would set public opinion, both in England and America, strongly against it; and because, when emigration shall have increased 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 on the present provincial divisions would tend to defeat the purposes of union, and perpetuate the idea of disunion. . . . "The same commission should form a plan of local government by elective bodies, subordinate to the general legislature, and exercising a complete control over such local affairs as do not come within the province of legislation. The plan so framed should be made an act of the imperial parliament, so as to prevent the general legislature from encroaching on the powers of the local bodies. "A general executive on an improved principle should be established, together with a supreme court for all North American colonies. The other establishments and laws of the two colonies should be left unaltered, until the legislature of the union should think fit to change them; and the security of the existing endowments of the Catholic church in Lower Canada should be guaranteed by the act." RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT. He sounded a clear note on the necessity of ministerial responsibility to the legislature. His view on the question set the tory world aghast,—but he probably held the belief that the universe was not made for the tories. He wrote:— | The responsiblity to the united legislature of all officers of the government except the governor and his secretary, should be secured by every means known to the British constitution. The governor, as the representative of the crown, should be instructed that he must carry on his government bv heads of departments, in whom the united legislature shall repose confidence; and that he must look for no support from home in any contest with the legislature, except on points involving strictly imperial interests." ABBOTT, J.J.C., 247,389, 392. Aberdeen, Lord, 107, 201. Act Union (1841), 45, 46, 67, 151, British North America, 313-316. Adams, Mr., 263, 264, 267. Adam, Grseme Mercer, 444, 448, 449, 453, 455, 496. Agrippina, the, 264. Aiken, J. O, 351, 420. Akers, Captain, 272-274. Alabama, the, 141, 257, 260-268, 378. Alleyn, Charles, 221, Allan, Sir Hugh, 386-406. Anglin, T. W., 342, 349, 380. Angus, M., 423. Archibald, Adams G-., 289,312, 319, 363, 364. Archer, Dr. Andrew, 166, 311, 444, 445. .Arthur, Sir George, 44, 94. Arthur, Prince, 351. Ariel, the, 265. Ashburton Treaty, the, 413. Atlantic Cable, laying of, 213. Aylwin, Judge, 72, 74, 82, 83,120. BAHAMA, the, 264. Bailey, Professor, 449. Barren, Commodore, 258, 259. Baby, L. F. G.,420. Baldwin, Robert, 46, 47, 54, 58, 68, 74, 77, 78, 87-89, 90,114,115,120,122,132, 138, 148, 152,157, 159, 223. Baldwin, Dr. William Warren, 87. Baxter, Mr-, 25. Badgley, Hon. William, 112,129,162. Berkeley, Admiral, 157,159. Bender, P., 440. Belleau, Sir Narcisse F., 221, 233. Bernard, Montague, 372. Bismarck, Herr Von, 256. Blake, Hon. Edward, 168, 342, 378, 383, 384, 393, 399, 400, 408, 411, 417, 431- 433. Blake, William Hume, 119, 123, 124, 125, 132, 431. Blaine, David, 406. Bleury, Mr. C. S. de, 73, 76, Blair, A. G.. 424- CARTER, Frederick B. J., 292-294. Canniff, Dr. 441. Casgrain, L'Abbe" R.H., 438. Campbell, Sir Archibald, 225. I Campbell, Thomas, 230. Canada under Dufferin, 332, 333, 398, 424. Canadian Independence, 301, 302, 416, 417, 496-498. Canadian Monthly, the, 336, 369, 456,495, 496. Carling, Hon. John, 207, 245. Cameron, Malcolm, 120, 138,148. Caron, R. E.,119, 149. Cameron, John Hillyard, 108, 112, 180, 194, 195, 350, 374-376. Cauchon, Joseph Edouard, 71,170, 171, 184, 341, 385. Campbell, Alexander, 30, 251, 255, 292, 319, 335, 337. Cartwright, John S., 71. Cartwright, R. J., 3.8, 399,407, 418. Caroline, The, 92,121. 638 INDEX. Cathcart, Earl, 107,117. Cayley, Hon. Wm., 109, 135, 179, 206, 220, 223. Cartier, Sir George E., 119, 177, 220,221, 235, 236, 246, 255, 289, 291, 297, 299, 305, 312, 319, 320-323, 374, 378, 384, 392, 406. Canals, 142. Chauveau, P.J.O., 179, 340, 437. Charles (I). 33. Christie, David, 138, 407. Chronicle, British, 57. Christie, Robert, 441. Chesapeake, the. 257-259. Chisholm, Mr., 28. Chabot, J., 179. Chandler, E. B., 224, 289. Chapais, J. C, 255, 292, 319. Cockburn, James, 255, 342. Cobden, Richard, 103. Coles, George, 289. Costigan, John, 371-381, 429-431. Coureurs des Bois, 353. Coffin, Thomas, 408. Council, Legislative of Canada (made elective), 200. Collins, 94. Colborne, Sir John, 45. Confederation, the scheme of, 229, history of, 287-320. Compact, the Family, 35, 36, 39, 44, 52, 67, 88, 90,107, 111, 121,144, 224. Cockburn, Sir Alexander, 268. Cockburn, James, 292. . Corn Laws, repeal of, 102,103. Corrigan, Robert, 194,195. Connor, S., 211, Ceane, Hon. Mr., 225. Crimea, the War in the, 164, 165, 185, 200, 201. Crawford, John, 238. Cremazie M. Octave, 491. Civil War in America, 239-242. DAWSON S. E., 443, 444. Day, Judge, 399. Daly, Dominick, 59, 93, 94. Davis, Jefferson, 240. Davin, Nicholas Flood, 331, 369,442, 496. Deerhound, the, 267. Dent, John Charles, 29,91, 236, 287, 445. 446. Dennis, Lieut.-Colonel, 272, 353,354,357. Denison, Lieut.-Colonel, 444. Disraeli. Mr. 73, 77, 80, 81,133,170, 222. Dickie, R. B., 289. Direct Taxation, 418. Dorion, A. A., 211, 22^, 236, 238, 247, 252, 278, 279, 284, 297, 321, 407. Dominion of Canada, 313-315. Draper, William, 58, 59, 69, 70, 83, 86, 87, 108,112,113,118,319. Drummond, L. J., 149,162,179,188,195, 198, 211. 229. Dufferin Lord, 363, 364, 382, 383, 392- 402, 422. 426. Durham, Lord, 41-45, 88, 182, 435, 436. Dunn, Peter, 73, 74, 76. Duval, Judge, 195, 196. Dunkin, Mr., 279, 297, 298, 351. Duvar, John Hunter, 488-491. EDGAR, J. D., 112. Elgin, Lord, 95, 110-112, 126, 127, 128, 130, 131, 132, 133, 136, 148, 165, 182, 183. Elgin, Lady, 182. Elder, W., 424. Ermatinger, Col., 132. Examiner, the, 155. Ersdale, Mr., 128. Evanturel, Francis, 247. FALKLAND, Lord, 226. Famine, the Irish, 103-106. Faucher, M., 438. Fenian Brotherhood, 269, 347. Fenian Raid, 269-276; 309, 373. Ferland, Abbe", 440. Florida, the, 262. Fergusson-Blair, A. J., 252, 319, 344, 345. Ferres, Mr., 128. Fisher, Charles, 226, 227, 312, 342. Fish, Hon. Hamilton, 371. Foley, M. H., 211, 247, 253, 255. Fournier, Telesphore, 407. Fox, 31. Forest and Stream, 450. Follett, 75. Froude, Richard Hurrell, 99, Fraser, John J., 379. Franklin, Sir John, 84, 85. France, La Jeune, 121. Frechette, Louis Honore, 464, 480, 481, 482, 483, 491. GALT, Sir A. T., 119, 221, 227, 255, 278, 281, 282, 283, 299, 309, 312, 318, 319, 323-326, 341, 344, 366, 416. Gaspe", M. Philip Aubert de, 438. Gavazzi, Padre. 142, 160,161, 289. Garry, Fort, 353, 363. Gazette, The (Montreal), 395. Gillmor, Major, 272. Girouard, M., 90. "Grits, Clear," 138, 423. Glenelg, Lord, 44, 88. Grey, Earl, 147, 226. Globe, The, 58, 138, 140, 141, 142, 149>, 163, 167, 172, 176, 179, 180, 240, 244, 248, 328, 406, 455, 456, 462, 463, 464. Gladstone, 79, 81,133,170, 222, 223, 369. 37?, 432. Gosford, Lord, 37, 38. Gordon, Governor, 291. Gowan, OgleR., 71, 118. 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. Griffin, Martin J., 494, 495. George, Henry, 344. Gugy, Colonel, 122,131. HALIFAX FISHERY COMMIS SION Hannay, James, 441, 442. Half-breed, the, 352-364. Hatheway, George L., 301, 310. Halifax, Lord, 170. Habeas Corpus Act, Habitant, 32, 38, 39,116,154. Hagerman, Christopher A., 86. Harding, Sir John, 264. Harvey, Sir John, 226. Eatieras, The, 265. Harrison, Mrs. J. F. ("Seranus") 495, 496. Herald, The (Montreal), 395. Head, Sir Francis Bond, 40, 41, 86, 94, 145. - » Head, Sir Edmund W., 183, 184, 209, 211-220, 239. Hero, the, 231, 232. Henry, William A., 288. Hincks, Sir Francis, 70, 71,118,120,130, 135,136, 146, 147, 148, 149, 154, 155, 157, 159, 161, 165, 167-169, 173, 174, 175,176, 177, 185, 186, 351, 365, 374, 377, 384. Hind, Prof. Youle, 449. Hoar, Ebenezer R,, 371. Holmes, 130. Holton T. H., 252, 284, 297, 393. Honour, Fountain of, 69. Howland Sir W. P., 207, 247, 252, 297, 309, 312, 319, 334, 335, 338, 339, 349. Howe, Joseph, 226, 313, 339, 340, 342, 345, 350, 357, 361. Hunters', Lodges, 27, 28. Huard, Augustus, 127. Hudson Bav Company, 202, 354, 355, 357. Huntington, L. S, 252, 297, 389-406. Humphrey, Capt., 259. JACK, Edward, 271, 450. Jamaica Bill, 222. Jefferson, President, 259. Johnson, John M., 289, 312. Joli, Henri Gustave, 238, 385, 423. Johnson, President Andrew, 271. Justice, Mirror of, 69. KEARSAGE, The, 266. Keble, Rev. John, 99. Kent, the Duke of. 287. Kenny, Edward, 319. Kirby, William, 448. LAMPMAN, Mr. Archibald, 496. LaRue, Prof Hubert, 438. Laird, Messrs., 263,264. Laird, David, 407. Laframboise, Maurice, 252. Langevin, Hector Louis, 207 212 255 289, 309, 312, 319, 328-329, 420 ' Laberge, C. J , 211. Lafontaine, 54, 68, 90, 91, 96,119, 134 148, 152; Leprohon, Mrs. 448. Lepine, Ambrose, 354, 362. Leopard; the, 258-260. Lemieux, Francis, 184, 211, 238. LeMoine, J. M., 487. Leslie, James, 119, 138. Lestang, Pere, 359. Letellier, M. Luc, 146, 252, 407 422-424.. Legislative Union, 290. LeMay M., 491. LeSueur, W. D., 496. Lindsey, Charles, 41, 286, 444. Lincoln, Abraham, 240, 242, 250 260, 269. Liberal Conservatives, ^23. Lome, Lord, 422, 424. Louise, Princess, 422. . Logan, Sir William, 449. VUnion des Provinces de VAmerique du Nord, 341. MACDONALD, Right Hon. Sir John A., arrives in Canada, 17 ; ancestors,' 18, 19, 20 ; where born, 21; put at school, 21; holiday haunts, 22, 23 - talent at school, 24 ; studies law, 25 ; defends Shoultz, 29-31; preparing for public life, 50-55 ; goes to the hustings, 61; seen through his first campaign,, 62-66 ; first elected to Parliament, 66 ; as first seen in the Legislature, 72-73 ; his first speech, 74; description of manner in House, 75, 76; method of advancement, 77 ; his silence in the House 77 ; defends primogeniture. 78 ; early Tory opinions like morning vapours, 79; honest change of opinion, 80,81; punctures a wind-spout, 82-83 ;: takes a disappointment with philosophical coolness, 108-109 ; first utterance in favor of Protection, 109 ; 'Your time has comeatlast,Macdonald," 112, 113; returned second time for Kings- ston, 118 ; attitude through the storm, of '49, 125, 126; censures government for lacking precaution against it, 129, 130; connection with the British American League, 133 ; predicts the downfall of the Liberals, 137; holding Sir- Allan in bounds, 143 ; weights upon his wings 144 ; suggests the legalization of murder, 147 ; " the two masts are overboard," 148 ; growth of friendship between himself and E. P. Tache\156 ;: gets ready for the fray, 159 ; attitude towards the University Bill, the measure to restrain sale of liquor, the Representatives Bill, and on the Act providing for the confiscation of Seign- euries, 161,162 ; grows peevish at Mr. Hincks' doctrine on insufficient repre- <640 INDEX. sentation, 168; the inspirer of Sir Allan, 169; his onslaught on the Reformers, "steeped to the lips in infamy," 169, 170 ; protests against unconstitutional prorogation, 172; formation of Liberal-Conservative government, 178; becomes Attorney-General, 179 ; views of Globe on, 181; attacked by Mr. Macdonald of Glengarry, 181; friendship between himself and M. Cartier springs up, 184; passage with George Brown in the Assembly, 186- 188; passage with Colonel Rankin, 189-193 ; the Conservative party desires his hand at the helm, 193-198; his tact showing itself, 197-198 ; chosen leader of his party in Assembly, 198 ; suggests acquisition of Hudson Bay Territory, 202; attitude towards "rep. bypop ",204; refers question of Capital to Her Majesty, 205, 206 ; he is the ■virtual commander of the ship, 206; his judgment compared with George Brown's, 208; seen through the " Double Shuffle," 209-223; his friendship for J. C. Morrison, 229, 230; "promoting discord'' among his opponents, 235; reasons for opposing Rep. by Pop. 237 ; frames his militia bill,' 243; makes a tour of Upper ! •Canada, 244 ; a dream of our future, 244, 245 ; militia bill miscarries, 246 ; | transatlantic discussion on rejection of l his militia bill, 249, 250 ; overthrows John Sandfield Macdonald, 251, 252; captures A. N. Richard's constituency for his party, 253-254 ; forms a government with Ool. Tache", 254, 255 ; now trusts to luck, 277 ; in the jaws of deadlock, 280; compact with George Brown, 281-283; his part in the Confederation movement, 285-286; his faculty for gauging public opinion, 286-287 ; proposes a " descent" on Prince Edward Island, 288; speech at Prince Edward Island, 291; at Ottawa with the Confederate delegates, 296 ; hi? advocacy ■of Confederation in Parliament, 297; proceeds to England in Confederation interests, 299; fears local and joint authority will be incompatible, 299; attitude towards Confederation scheme in England, 301, 302, 303; invited to the premiership in room of Sir E. P. Tache", 303, 304 ; consents to act under Sir Narcisse Belleau, 304, 305 ; the virtual premier, Sir Narcisse, the nominal head, 306 ; again visits London as a confederate delegate, 312; is [ chairman of the London conference, 312; towers above his confreres at conference, 316, 317; invited to form first Dominion Cabinet, 317, 318; receives the order of knighthood, 319; charged with selfishness, 319, 320; evidence of his friendship and chivalry, 320 ; visits Nova Scotia to pacify the malcontents, 349, 350; instructions to [ Bishop Tache", 361; doubts Riel's loyalty, 363 ; attends Washington Convention, 372-374 ; his speech on treaty, 374; personally defended by John Hillyard Cameron, 37-4-376; seen through the history of the Pacific Railway "Scandal", 386-406; speech on Pacific Railway charter, 402; after defeat and before victory, 417-420 ; to power on the wave's top, 420-429 ; attitude on Letellier question, 422; an unanswerable argument, 427 ; seen at home, 499-509. Macdonald, Lady. 507-508. Mack, 128. ,/oM Macdonald, A. A., 289. dQ^ Macdonald, John Sandfield, 96-98V;l*ij;. 149, 157, 173, 177, 185, 196, 197, 2l| 229, 235, 236, 247, 248, 251, 25?, 254, 277, 297, 340, 378. Macdonald, Hugh, 18. Mathews, 44. Manahan, A., 53, 62, 63, 66, 67. Mackenzie, Hon. Alexander. 57, 13? 141, 163, 175, 176, 179, 180, 188,-218," 220, 236, 238, 239, 283, 317, 350, .351, 399,407-420. Macdonald, Donald A., 407. Mackenzie Hope F., 238. -. .^„ * Macdonald, Hon. James, 401, 420., Mackenzie, George, 25, 26. Mackenzie, William Lyon, 26, 27, 39, 94, </*• 132,144, 146, 172, 185. MacNab, Sir Allan, 67, 91, 92, 118, 122, J 126, 135, 143, 148, 157, 169, 171, 172, 174, 177, 178, 188, 189, 19.3., 195-197, 199, 200, 234, 251. Macoun, Prof, 449. Masson, L.F.R., 420. Mars, Champ de, 127. Macmillan's Magazine, 44=4:. Marmette, M. Joseph, 438. Mason, William, 134. Mail, The, 463, 464, 494. Maclean, Mrs. Kate Seymour, 485, 486. Machar, Miss Agnes M., 488. Marcy, W. L., 166. McMullen, John, 105, 440. McMurrich, W. B., 433. McGee, Thomas D'Arcy, 206, 207, 229, 247, 253, 255, 289, 297, 345-348, 449. McDougall, Hon. William, 247, 252, 284, 289, 312, 319, 335, 338, 339, 344, 351, 352, 353, 357, 366, 374. McLean, Mr. W., 464. McMullen, G. W., 389. McCarthy, eustin, 497. McCully, Jonathan, 289, 312. McTavish, Governor, 355. McLean, Archdeacon, 358. MePherson, Hon. D, L., 386, 387. McPeake, Patrick, 381. McLelan, A. W., 429. Melbourne, Lord, 222, 382. Metcalfe, Sir Charles, 47-49, 52, 55-61, 67, 70, 83, 84, 88, 96, 101, 110,120. Medley, Metropolitan, 450. INDEX. 641 184. 238. 284, 316, Metis, The French, 364. Metternich, 256. Michigan, The, 272. Mitchell, Peter, 312", 319, 332-334. Mills, Dr. Henry H., 440, 441. Morin, A. N., 118,149,155,156,179, Morris, William, 59. Moodie, Mrs., 23,119, 446, 447, 448. Moffatt, Hon. George, 73, 76, 31. Montgomerie, Mr., 128. Morris, James, 148, 211, 247. Morrison, J. C., 196, 206, 229, 237, wat, Hon. Oliver, 207, 211, 252, ♦6, 297, 384, 450. .orris, Alexander, 281. • vlountcastle, Miss 0., 492-494. Monck, Lord, 243,249, 264, 303,312, 317, 319, 350. Mulvany, Charles Pelham, 483-485. "NATIONAL COMMITTEE," The, National Policy, The, 330, 418-422. Nashville, The, 262. N'uier, Major-General, 272. "N Brunswick School Bill, 378-381. Newman, Rev. Henry John, 99-101,139. Nelson, Dr., 131,321. ^ n . v , Newfoundland emulates the Gair-J< owl, Newcastle, The Duke of, 234, 241. Nelson, Hon. Samuel, 37L Normanby, Lady, 222. Northcote, Sir Stafford, 372. Norton, Lady Caroline, 382. OATHS BILL, The, 392, 393. O'Connell, 101-103,170. O'Donoghue (The Fenian), dbd. Oreto, The, 262. O'Connor, John, 420. O'Neil (The >enian), 271-276, 309, 366, Oregon, Boundary, 106,107. PACIFIC RAILWAY.thelnceptioniof, 377, 378 ; history of " Scandal» 386- 406'; Contract with Syndicate, 426-428. Palmerston, Lord, 256, 260,26L Patton, James, 245. Pakmg&n,Sir John 147. capital, 205. Petrel, The, 262. Pechel, Admiral, 2rf4. Peel, Sir Robert, 103,133, £Bt. Pedley, Rev. Charles, 228. 00 Pilot, The, 71. Piche, M.,207. Pope, J. C, 420. Pope, W. H., 289. Pope, J H., 284, 420. Polette, Judge, 309. Prince, Col., 72,122, 213. Price, J. H., 120,130. Price Henry, 152. Pusey, Rev. Dr., 99. I RANKIN, Colonel, 189,193, 279. Rattray, W. J., 442, 443. ' Railways. The intercolonial as a colonial project, 146, Grand Trunk, Great Western, Ontario, Simcoe and Huron (Northern), 165, Intercolonial as an Imperial scheme, 313. Reprtsentation by population, 203, 206. Reciprocity Treaty, 165,166, 167, 370. Rectories Endowment of, 151. Rebellion Losses Bill, 115,118,120,129. " Reformers," 422,423. Read, John, 486,488. Reserves, Clergy, 150,152. Repeal Movement (Ireland), 101,103. Richards, W. B., 148. Review, Foreign Quarterly, 183. Riel, Louis, 354, 364, 378, 384, 411. Robinson, W. D., 108. Robinson, Chief Justice, 88. JJo66,The, 273. ' &&$& Roberts, Rev. G. Goodndge, M.A.,465. Roberts, Miss Jane E. G., 480. Ross, William, 408. Roblin, Mr. 77. tossNon.' ^\^^A^7 Roberts Charles G. D., 164,165,435,437, 465,480,481,483,491. Rose, John, 207, 266, 344 35L Rouge, Le Parti, 138,169, 423. Rowan,Major Genera, 134. Robmson, John Beverley, 212 245. Russell, Lord John, 38 4b,.133,!222,260, 263,264,266,267,268,410,432. Richards, A N., 2o3. Ritchie, Mr.,312. Ritchie, Sir W. J., 425, 426. Ritchie, Lady, 426. Ritchie, J. A., 496. RumbaU, Charles, 450. SAVANNAH, The,262 Salaberry, Colonel De, 357, 360. Sangster, Charles, 496. W«a^, 242-257, 259. Schenck, RobertC, 3a. Scott, R. W., 408. g3 Scott, Thomas, 359, 360, 3b/, mo. Seribner-s Magazine,475. secta. Schools, denominational ana nou rian,186,206. Senate, The, 336, 661. Sewell' Chief Justice, 287. Seward, Mr. 260. 642 INDEX. Secession, of Southern States, 239, 240. Semmes, Capt., 264, 265, 266, 267. Sheridan, R. B., 382. " Shuffle, The Double," 202, 223. Shoultz, S. Von., 28, 29, 30. Shultz, Dr. 356, 358. Sherwood, Hon. George, 108, 122, 172, 221, 245, Shea, Hon. Ambrose, 292, 294, 311, 312. Shea, Hon. E. D., 312. Simpson, James, 255. Sicotte, Hon. L. V, 170, 171, 177, 221, 247, 253. Simonds, Charles, 224. • Small, Mr., 88. Smith, Goldwin, 300, 282, 419, 448, 455, 462. Smith, Magistrate, 27. Smith, C. M., 395, 401. Smith, James, 59. Smith, Sir Henry, 112, 228, 233. Smith, Sydney, 221. Smith, A. J., 271, 301, 310, 342, 407. Smith, Donald A., 357, 360. Spence, Robert, 179, 206. Strickland Family, The, 44S. Strickland, Lieut. Col., 448. Stanley, Lord, 67, 224. Steeves, W. H., 289. Strachan, Bishop, 151. Sullivan, R. B., 57, 94, 95, 120. Stewart, George, jr., 332, 333, 382, 390, 396, 398, 424, 451-453. Street, Hon. George F., 225. Sumter, The, 262, 264. Sumter, Fort, 240. Supreme Court of Canada Established, 413. Suite, Benjamin, 439, 491, 492. TACHE, E. P., 120, 149, 156, 157, 179, 184,196, 206, 255, 292, 303. Taylor, Fennings, 174. Taschereau, Henry Eleazar, 238. Tache", Archbishop, 355, 360-364, 378, 384. Tache", J. C, 437, 438. Tessier, N. J., 247. Tenure, Seignorial, 153, 154. Thought and Literature, 435. Thibaudeau^ Joseph, 207, 211, 238. Thibault, Vicar-General, 357. Thibodo, Augustus, 26, 27, 145. Thomson, Charles Ponthill (Lord Sydenham), 47. Thornton, Sir Edward, 372. Times, The (London), 249. Tilley, S. L., 289, 292, 293, 311, 312, 319, 329. 332, 374, 385, 420, 422. Toryism on its last trial, 110. It falls, 118, 119. Todd, Alpheus, 415, 445. Tractarian Movement, 99-101. Traill, Mrs., 488 Trent, The, 242, 243, 257. Trutch, W. J. 378. Turcotte, L. P„ 439, 440. Tupper, Hon Charles, 288, 290, 292, 293, 312, 313, 319, 339, 340, 342, 343, 345, 350, 368-370, 374, 420. Tuttle, Charles R., 440. Upheavals, Political, 32-49. VANKOUGHNET, P. m"., 213, 221. Viger, D. B., 59, 68, 95, 96,107,156. Viger, L. M., 120. Victoria Bridge, 228, 233. Voyageurs, 353. WATSON, S. J., 305, 451. Wales, Prince of, 228, 231-234. Walrond, Mr., 116. Wallscourt, Lord, 93. Wallbridge, Mr. 247. Washington Treaty, 372. Wellington, Duke of, 247, 410. Wedderburri, Hon. William, 380. Williams, George H., 371. Wilson, Mayor, 160, 161, 247. William (IV-), 34. Wilkes, Capt., 259. Wilkes, 39. Withrow, Rev. W. H., 440. Wilson, John, 129, Wiseman, Cardinal, 139. Wilmot, Hon. L.'A., 225, 227, 349. Wilmot, Robert Duncan, 312, 420. World, Toronto, 41, 428, 432, 464. YEO, 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.
Includes index. Other Copies: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/3236616
Biographies
English
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Toronto : Rose Publishing Company
Images provided for research and reference use only. For permission to publish, copy, or otherwise distribute these images please contact digital.initiatives@ubc.ca.
Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. F5080.9.M13 C64
Macdonald, John Alexander, Sir, 1815-1891
Canada--History--19th century
Life and times of the Right Honourable Sir John A. Macdonald, K.C.B., D.C.L., &c., premier of the dominion of Canada
Text