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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12661 ***
+
+CANADA UNDER BRITISH RULE 1760-1900
+
+BY
+
+SIR JOHN G. BOURINOT, K.C.M.G., LL.D., LITT.D.
+
+Author of 'Parliamentary Procedure and Practice', 'Constitutional
+History of Canada,' 'The Story of Canada,' etc
+
+WITH EIGHT MAPS
+
+1900
+
+
+
+
+CAMBRIDGE HISTORICAL SERIES
+
+EDITED BY G. W. PROTHERO, LITT.D., LL.D.
+
+Honorary Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, and Late Professor of
+History in the University of Edinburgh.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+GENERAL PREFACE.
+
+The aim of this series is to sketch the history of Modern Europe, with
+that of its chief colonies and conquests, from about the end of the
+fifteenth century down to the present time. In one or two cases the
+story commences at an earlier date: in the case of the colonies it
+generally begins later. The histories of the different countries are
+described, as a rule, separately, for it is believed that, except in
+epochs like that of the French Revolution and Napoleon I, the connection
+of events will thus be better understood and the continuity of
+historical development more clearly displayed.
+
+The series is intended for the use of all persons anxious to understand
+the nature of existing political conditions. "The roots of the present
+lie deep in the past"; and the real significance of contemporary events
+cannot be grasped unless the historical causes which have led to them
+are known. The plan adopted makes it possible to treat the history of
+the last four centuries in considerable detail, and to embody the most
+important results of modern research. It is hoped therefore that the
+series will be useful not only to beginners but to students who have
+already acquired some general knowledge of European History. For those
+who wish to carry their studies further, the bibliography appended to
+each volume will act as a guide to original sources of information and
+works more detailed and authoritative.
+
+Considerable attention is paid to political geography, and each volume
+is furnished with such maps and plans as may be requisite for the
+illustration of the text.
+
+G.W. PROTHERO.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+I devote the first chapter of this short history to a brief review of
+the colonisation of the valley of the St. Lawrence by the French, and of
+their political and social conditions at the Conquest, so that a reader
+may be able to compare their weak and impoverished state under the
+repressive dominion of France with the prosperous and influential
+position they eventually attained under the liberal methods of British
+rule. In the succeeding chapters I have dwelt on those important events
+which have had the largest influence on the political development of the
+several provinces as British possessions.
+
+We have, first, the Quebec Act, which gave permanent guarantees for the
+establishment of the Church of Rome and the maintenance of the language
+and civil law of France in her old colony. Next, we read of the coming
+of the United Empire Loyalists, and the consequent establishment of
+British institutions on a stable basis of loyal devotion to the parent
+state. Then ensued the war of 1812, to bind the provinces more closely
+to Great Britain, and create that national spirit which is the natural
+outcome of patriotic endeavour and individual self-sacrifice. Then
+followed for several decades a persistent popular struggle for larger
+political liberty, which was not successful until British statesmen
+awoke at last from their indifference, on the outbreak of a rebellion in
+the Canadas, and recognised the necessity of adopting a more liberal
+policy towards their North American dependencies. The union of the
+Canadas was succeeded by the concession of responsible government and
+the complete acknowledgment of the rights of the colonists to manage
+their provincial affairs without the constant interference of British
+officials. With this extension of political privileges, the people
+became still more ambitious, and established a confederation, which has
+not only had the effect of supplying a remarkable stimulus to their
+political, social and material development, but has given greater
+security to British interests on the continent of North America. At
+particular points of the historical narrative I have dwelt for a space
+on economic, social, and intellectual conditions, so that the reader may
+intelligently follow every phase to the development of the people from
+the close of the French régime to the beginning of the twentieth century
+In my summary of the most important political events for the last
+twenty-five years, I have avoided all comment on matters which are "as
+yet"--to quote the language of the epilogue to Mr. Green's "Short
+History"--"too near to us to admit of a cool and purely historical
+treatment." The closing chapter is a short review of the relations
+between Canada and the United States since the treaty of 1783--so
+conducive to international disputes concerning boundaries and fishing
+rights--until the present time, when the Alaskan and other international
+controversies are demanding adjustment.
+
+I have thought, too, that it would be useful to students of political
+institutions to give in the appendix comparisons between the leading
+provisions of the federal systems of the Dominion of Canada and the
+Commonwealth of Australia. I must add that, in the revision of the
+historical narrative, I have been much aided by the judicious criticism
+and apt suggestions of the Editor of the Series, Dr. Prothero.
+
+HOUSE OF COMMONS, OTTAWA, CANADA. 1st October, 1900
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE FRENCH RÉGIME (1534--1760)
+
+Section 1. Introduction
+
+Section 2. Discovery and Settlement of Canada by France
+
+Section 3. French exploration in the valleys of North America
+
+Section 4. End of French Dominion in the valley of the St. Lawrence
+
+Section 5. Political, Economic, and Social Conditions of Canada
+           during French Rule
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+BEGINNINGS OF BRITISH RULE (1749--1774)
+
+Section 1. From the Conquest until the Quebec Act
+
+Section 2. The Foundation of Nova Scotia (1749--1783)
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS (1763--1784)
+
+Section 1. The successful Revolution of the Thirteen Colonies in America
+
+Section 2. Canada and Nova Scotia during the Revolution.
+
+Section 3. The United Empire Loyalists
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+DEVELOPMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE INSTITUTIONS (1784-1812)
+
+Section 1. Beginnings of the Provinces of New Brunswick, Lower Canada
+and Upper Canada.
+
+Section 2. Twenty years of Political Development. (1792-1812)
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE WAR OF 1812-1815
+
+Section 1. Origin of the war between Great Britain and the United States
+
+Section 2. Canada during the War
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE EVOLUTION OF RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (1815-1839)
+
+Section 1. The Rebellion in Lower Canada
+
+Section 2. The Rebellion in Upper Canada
+
+Section 3. Social and Economic Conditions of the Provinces in 1838
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+A NEW ERA OF COLONIAL GOVERNMENT (1839-1867)
+
+Section 1. The Union of the Canadas and the establishment of Responsible
+Government
+
+Section 2. Results of Self-government from 1841 to 1864
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE EVOLUTION OF CONFEDERATION (1789-1867)
+
+Section 1. The beginnings of Confederation
+
+Section 2. The Quebec Convention of 1864
+
+Section 3. Confederation accomplished
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+CONFEDERATION (1867--1900)
+
+Section 1. The First Parliament of the Dominion of Canada (1867--1873)
+
+Section 2. Extension of the Dominion from the Atlantic to the Pacific
+           Ocean (1869--1873)
+
+Section 3. Summary of Noteworthy Events from 1873 until 1900
+
+Section 4. Political and Social Conditions of Canada under Confederation
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+CANADA'S RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES AND HER INFLUENCE IN IMPERIAL
+COUNCILS (1783--1900)
+
+APPENDIX A: COMPARISONS BETWEEN CONSTITUTIONS OF THE CANADIAN DOMINION
+AND AUSTRALIAN COMMONWEALTH.
+
+APPENDIX B: BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
+
+INDEX
+
+PLANS AND MAPS.
+
+Map showing Boundary between Canada and the United States by Treaty of
+1783.
+
+Map of British America to illustrate the Charter of the Hudson's Bay
+Company.
+
+International Boundary as finally established in 1842 at Lake of the
+Woods.
+
+Map of the North-Eastern Boundary as established in 1842.
+
+Map of British Columbia and Yukon District showing disputed Boundary
+between Canada and the United States.
+
+France, Spain, and Great Britain, in North America, 1756--1760.
+
+Outline map of British Possessions in North America, 1763--1775.
+
+Map of the Dominion of Canada illustrating the boundaries of Provinces
+and Provisional Districts.
+
+A SHORT HISTORY OF CANADA UNDER BRITISH RULE.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE FRENCH RÉGIME. 1534--1760.
+
+
+SECTION I.--Introduction.
+
+Though the principal object of this book is to review the political,
+economic and social progress of the provinces of Canada under British
+rule, yet it would be necessarily imperfect, and even unintelligible in
+certain important respects, were I to ignore the deeply interesting
+history of the sixteen hundred thousand French Canadians, about thirty
+per cent of the total population of the Dominion. To apply to Canada an
+aphorism of Carlyle, "The present is the living sum-total of the whole
+past"; the sum-total not simply of the hundred and thirty years that
+have elapsed since the commencement of British dominion, but primarily
+of the century and a half that began with the coming of Champlain to the
+heights of Quebec and ended with the death of Wolfe on the Plains of
+Abraham. The soldiers and sailors, the missionaries and pioneers of
+France, speak to us in eloquent tones, whether we linger in summer time
+on the shores of the noble gulf which washes the eastern portals of
+Canada; whether we ascend the St. Lawrence River and follow the route
+taken by the explorers, who discovered the great lakes, and gave to the
+world a knowledge of the West and the Mississippi, whether we walk on
+the grassy mounds that recall the ruins of the formidable fortress of
+Louisbourg, which once defended the eastern entrance to the St.
+Lawrence; whether we linger on the rocks of the ancient city of Quebec
+with its many memorials of the French régime; whether we travel over the
+rich prairies with their sluggish, tortuous rivers, and memories of the
+French Canadians who first found their way to that illimitable region.
+In fact, Canada has a rich heritage of associations that connect us with
+some of the most momentous epochs of the world's history. The victories
+of Louisbourg and Quebec belong to the same series of brilliant events
+that recall the famous names of Chatham, Clive, and Wolfe, and that gave
+to England a mighty empire in Asia and America. Wolfe's signal victory
+on the heights of the ancient capital was the prelude to the great drama
+of the American revolution. Freed from the fear of France, the people of
+the Thirteen Colonies, so long hemmed in between the Atlantic Ocean and
+the Appalachian range, found full expression for their love of local
+self-government when England asserted her imperial supremacy. After a
+struggle of a few years they succeeded in laying the foundation of the
+remarkable federal republic, which now embraces forty-five states with a
+population of already seventy-five millions of souls, which owes its
+national stability and prosperity to the energy and enterprise of the
+Anglo-Norman race and the dominant influence of the common law, and the
+parliamentary institutions of England. At the same time, the American
+Revolution had an immediate and powerful effect upon the future of the
+communities that still remained in the possession of England after the
+acknowledgement of the independence of her old colonies. It drove to
+Canada a large body of men and women, who remained faithful to the crown
+and empire and became founders of provinces which are now comprised in a
+Dominion extending for over three thousand miles to the north and east
+of the federal republic.
+
+The short review of the French régime, with which I am about to
+commence this history of Canada, will not give any evidence of
+political, economic, or intellectual development under the influence of
+French dominion, but it is interesting to the student of comparative
+politics on account of the comparisons which it enables us to make
+between the absolutism of old France which crushed every semblance of
+independent thought and action, and the political freedom which has been
+a consequence of the supremacy of England in the province once occupied
+by her ancient rival. It is quite true, as Professor Freeman has said,
+that in Canada, which is pre-eminently English in the development of its
+political institutions, French Canada is still "a distinct and visible
+element, which is not English,--an element older than anything English
+in the land,--and which shows no sign of being likely to be assimilated
+by anything English." As this book will show, though a hundred and forty
+years have nearly passed since the signing of the treaty of Paris, many
+of the institutions which the French Canadians inherited from France
+have become permanently established in the country, and we see
+constantly in the various political systems given to Canada from time to
+time--notably in the constitution of the federal union--the impress of
+these institutions and the influence of the people of the French
+section. Still, while the French Canadians by their adherence to their
+language, civil law and religion are decidedly "a distinct and visible
+element which is not English"--an element kept apart from the English by
+positive legal and constitutional guarantees or barriers of
+separation,--we shall see that it is the influence and operation of
+English institutions, which have made their province one of the most
+contented communities of the world. While their old institutions are
+inseparably associated with the social and spiritual conditions of their
+daily lives, it is after all their political constitution, which derives
+its strength from English, principles, that has made the French
+Canadians a free, self-governing people and developed the best elements
+of their character to a degree which was never possible under the
+depressing and enfeebling conditions of the French régime.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--Discovery and settlement of Canada by France.
+
+Much learning has been devoted to the elucidation of the Icelandic
+Sagas, or vague accounts of voyages which Bjorne Heriulfson and Lief
+Ericsson, sons of the first Norse settlers of Greenland, are supposed to
+have made at the end of the tenth century, to the eastern parts of what
+is now British North America, and, in the opinion of some writers, even
+as far as the shores of New England. It is just possible that such
+voyages were made, and that Norsemen were the first Europeans who saw
+the eastern shores of Canada. It is quite certain, however, that no
+permanent settlements were made by the Norsemen in any part of these
+countries; and their voyages do not appear to have been known to
+Columbus or other maritime adventurers of later times, when the veil of
+mystery was at last lifted from the western limits of what was so long
+truly described as the "sea of darkness." While the subject is
+undoubtedly full of interest, it is at the same time as illusive as the
+_fata morgana_, or the lakes and rivers that are created by the mists of
+a summer's eve on the great prairies of the Canadian west.
+
+Five centuries later than the Norse voyagers, there appeared on the
+great field of western exploration an Italian sailor, Giovanni Caboto,
+through whose agency England took the first step in the direction of
+that remarkable maritime enterprise which, in later centuries, was to be
+the admiration and envy of all other nations. John Cabot was a Genoese
+by birth and a Venetian citizen by adoption, who came during the last
+decade of the fifteenth century, to the historic town of Bristol.
+Eventually he obtain from Henry VII letters-patent, granting to himself
+and his three sons, Louis, Sebastian, and Sancio, the right, "at their
+own cost and charges, to seek out and discover unknown lands," and to
+acquire for England the dominion over the countries they might discover.
+Early in May, 1497, John Cabot sailed from Bristol in "The Matthew,"
+manned by English sailors. In all probability he was accompanied by
+Sebastian, then about 21 years of age, who, in later times, through the
+credulity of his friends and his own garrulity and vanity, took that
+place in the estimation of the world which his father now rightly fills.
+Some time toward the end of June, they made a land-fall on the
+north-eastern coast of North America. The actual site of the land-fall
+will always be a matter of controversy unless some document is found
+among musty archives of Europe to solve the question to the satisfaction
+of the disputants, who wax hot over the claims of a point near Cape
+Chidley on the coast of Labrador, of Bonavista, on the east shore of
+Newfoundland, of Cape North, or some other point, on the island of Cape
+Breton. Another expedition left Bristol in 1498, but while it is now
+generally believed that Cabot coasted the shores of North America from
+Labrador or Cape Breton as far as Cape Hatteras, we have no details of
+this famous voyage, and are even ignorant of the date when the fleet
+returned to England.
+
+The Portuguese, Gaspar and Miguel Cortereal, in the beginning of the
+sixteenth century, were lost somewhere on the coast of Labrador or
+Newfoundland, but not before they gave to their country a claim to new
+lands. The Basques and Bretons, always noted for their love of the sea,
+frequented the same prolific waters and some of the latter gave a name
+to the picturesque island of Cape Breton. Giovanni da Verrazzano, a
+Florentine by birth, who had for years led a roving life on the sea,
+sailed in 1524 along the coasts of Nova Scotia and the present United
+States and gave a shadowy claim of first discovery of a great region to
+France under whose authority he sailed. Ten years later Jacques Cartier
+of St. Malo was authorised by Francis I to undertake a voyage to these
+new lands, but he did not venture beyond the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
+though he took possession of the picturesque Gaspé peninsula in the name
+of his royal master. In 1535 he made a second voyage, whose results were
+most important for France and the world at large. The great river of
+Canada was then discovered by the enterprising Breton, who established a
+post for some months at Stadacona, now Quebec, and also visited the
+Indian village of Hochelaga on the island of Montreal. Here he gave the
+appropriate name of Mount Royal to the beautiful height which dominates
+the picturesque country where enterprise has, in the course of
+centuries, built a noble city. Hochelaga was probably inhabited by
+Indians of the Huron-Iroquois family, who appear, from the best evidence
+before us, to have been dwelling at that time on the banks of the St.
+Lawrence, whilst the Algonquins, who took their place in later times,
+were living to the north of the river.
+
+The name of Canada--obviously the Huron-Iroquois word for Kannata, a
+town--began to take a place on the maps soon after Cartier's voyages. It
+appears from his _Bref Récit_ to have been applied at the time of his
+visit, to a kingdom, or district, extending from Ile-aux-Coudres, which
+he named on account of its hazel-nuts, on the lower St. Lawrence, to the
+Kingdom of Ochelay, west of Stadacona; east of Canada was Saguenay, and
+west of Ochelay was Hochelaga, to which the other communities were
+tributary. After a winter of much misery Cartier left Stadacona in the
+spring of 1536, and sailed into the Atlantic by the passage between Cape
+Breton and Newfoundland, now appropriately called Cabot's Straits on
+modern maps. He gave to France a positive claim to a great region, whose
+illimitable wealth and possibilities were never fully appreciated by the
+king and the people of France even in the later times of her dominion.
+Francis, in 1540, gave a commission to Jean François de la Roque, Sieur
+de Roberval, to act as his viceroy and lieutenant-general in the
+country discovered by Cartier, who was elevated to the position of
+captain general and master pilot of the new expedition. As the Viceroy
+was unable to complete his arrangements by 1541, Cartier was obliged to
+sail in advance, and again passed a winter on the St. Lawrence, not at
+Stadacona but at Cap Rouge, a few miles to the west, where he built a
+post which he named Charlesbourg-Royal. He appears to have returned to
+France some time during the summer of 1542, while Roberval was on his
+way to the St. Lawrence. Roberval found his way without his master pilot
+to Charlesbourg-Royal, which he renamed France-Roy, and where he erected
+buildings of a very substantial character in the hope of establishing a
+permanent settlement. His selection of colonists--chiefly taken from
+jails and purlieus of towns--was most unhappy, and after a bitter
+experience he returned to France, probably in the autumn of 1543, and
+disappeared from Canadian history.
+
+From the date of Cartier's last voyage until the beginning of the
+seventeenth century, a period of nearly sixty years, nothing was done to
+settle the lands of the new continent. Fishermen alone continued to
+frequent the great gulf, which was called for years the "Square gulf" or
+"Golfo quadrado," or "Quarré," on some European maps, until it assumed,
+by the end of the sixteenth century, the name it now bears. The name
+Saint-Laurens was first given by Cartier to the harbour known as
+Sainte-Geneviève (or sometimes Pillage Bay), on the northern shore of
+Canada, and gradually extended to the gulf and river. The name of
+Labrador, which was soon established on all maps, had its origin in the
+fact that Gaspar Cortereal brought back with him a number of natives who
+were considered to be "admirably calculated for labour."
+
+In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the English began to take a prominent
+part in that maritime enterprise which was to lead to such remarkable
+results in the course of three centuries. The names of the ambitious
+navigators, Frobisher and Davis, are connected with those arctic waters
+where so much money, energy, and heroism have been expended down to the
+present time. Under the influence of the great Ralegh, whose fertile
+imagination was conceiving plans of colonization in America, Sir
+Humphrey Gilbert, his brother-in-law, took possession of Newfoundland on
+a hill overlooking the harbour of St. John's. English enterprise,
+however, did not extend for many years to any other part of North
+Eastern America than Newfoundland, which is styled Baccalaos on the
+Hakluyt map of 1597, though the present name appeared from a very early
+date in English statutes and records. The island, however, for a century
+and longer, was practically little more than "a great ship moored near
+the banks during the fishing season, for the convenience of English
+fishermen," while English colonizing enterprise found a deeper interest
+in Virginia with its more favourable climate and southern products. It
+was England's great rival, France, that was the pioneer at the beginning
+of the seventeenth century in the work of exploring, and settling the
+countries now comprised within the Dominion of Canada.
+
+France first attempted to settle the indefinite region, long known as
+_La Cadie_ or _Acadie_[1]. The Sieur de Monts, Samuel Champlain, and the
+Baron de Poutrincourt were the pioneers in the exploration of this
+country. Their first post was erected on Dochet Island, within the mouth
+of the St. Croix River, the present boundary between the state of Maine
+and the province of New Brunswick; but this spot was very soon found
+unsuitable, and the hopes of the pioneers were immediately turned
+towards the beautiful basin, which was first named Port Royal by
+Champlain. The Baron de Poutrincourt obtained a grant of land around
+this basin, and determined to make his home in so beautiful a spot. De
+Monts, whose charter was revoked in 1607, gave up the project of
+colonizing Acadia, whose history from that time is associated for years
+with the misfortunes of the Biencourts, the family name of Baron de
+Poutrincourt; but the hopes of this adventurous nobleman were never
+realized. In 1613 an English expedition from Virginia, under the command
+of Captain Argall, destroyed the struggling settlement at Fort Royal,
+and also prevented the establishment of a Jesuit mission on the island
+of Monts-Déserts, which owes its name to Champlain. Acadia had
+henceforth a checquered history, chiefly noted for feuds between rival
+French leaders and for the efforts of the people of New England to
+obtain possession of Acadia. Port Royal was captured in 1710 by General
+Nicholson, at the head of an expedition composed of an English fleet and
+the militia of New England. Then it received the name of Annapolis Royal
+in honour of Queen Anne, and was formally ceded with all of Acadia
+"according to its ancient limits" to England by the treaty of Utrecht.
+
+[1: This name is now generally admitted to belong to the language of the
+Micmac Indians of the Atlantic provinces. It means a place, or locality,
+and is always associated with another word descriptive of some special
+natural production; for instance, Shubenacadie, or Segubunakade, is the
+place where the ground-nut, or Indian potato, grows. We find the first
+official mention of the word in the commission given by Henry IV of
+France to the Sieur de Monts in 1604.]
+
+It was not in Acadia, but in the valley of the St. Lawrence, that France
+made her great effort to establish her dominion in North America. Samuel
+Champlain, the most famous man in the history of French Canada, laid the
+foundation of the present city of Quebec in the month of June, 1608, or
+three years after the removal of the little Acadian colony from St.
+Croix Island to the basin of the Annapolis. The name Quebec is now
+generally admitted to be an adaptation of an Indian word, meaning a
+contraction of the river or strait, a distinguishing feature of the St.
+Lawrence at this important point. The first buildings were constructed
+by Champlain on a relatively level piece of ground, now occupied by a
+market-house and close to a famous old church erected in the days of
+Frontenac, in commemoration of the victorious repulse of the New England
+expedition led by Phipps. For twenty-seven years Champlain struggled
+against constantly accumulating difficulties to establish a colony on
+the St. Lawrence. He won the confidence of the Algonquin and Huron tubes
+of Canada, who then lived on the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers, and in
+the vicinity of Georgian Bay. Recognizing the necessity of an alliance
+with the Canadian Indians, who controlled all the principal avenues to
+the great fur-bearing regions, he led two expeditions, composed of
+Frenchmen, Hurons, and Algonquins, against the Iroquois or Confederacy
+of the Five Nations[2]--the Mohawks, the Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas,
+and Senecas--who inhabited the fertile country stretching from the
+Genesee to the Hudson River in the present state of New York. Champlain
+consequently excited against his own people the inveterate hostility of
+the bravest, cruellest and ablest Indians with whom Europeans have ever
+come in contact in America. Champlain probably had no other alternative
+open to him than to become the active ally of the Canadian Indians, on
+whose goodwill and friendship he was forced to rely; but it is also
+quite probable that he altogether underrated the ability and bravery of
+the Iroquois who, in later years, so often threatened the security of
+Canada, and more than once brought the infant colony to the very verge
+of ruin.
+
+[2: In 1715 the confederacy was joined by the Tuscaroras, a southern
+branch of the same family, and was then called more properly the Six
+Nations.]
+
+It was during Champlain's administration of affairs that the Company of
+the Hundred Associates was formed under the auspices of Cardinal
+Richelieu, with the express object of colonizing Canada and developing
+the fur-trade and other commercial enterprises on as large a scale as
+possible. The Company had ill-fortune from the outset. The first
+expedition it sent to the St. Lawrence was captured by a fleet commanded
+by David Kirk, a gentleman of Derbyshire, who in the following year also
+took Quebec, and carried Champlain and his followers to England. The
+English were already attempting settlements on the shores of
+Massachusetts Bay; and the poet and courtier, Sir William Alexander,
+afterwards known as the Earl of Stirling, obtained from the King of
+England all French Acadia, which he named Nova Scotia and offered to
+settlers in baronial giants. A Scotch colony was actually established
+for a short time at Port Royal under the auspices of Alexander, but in
+1632, by the treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye, both Acadia and Canada were
+restored to France. Champlain returned to Quebec, but the Company of the
+Hundred Associates had been severely crippled by the ill-luck which
+attended its first venture, and was able to do very little for the
+struggling colony during the three remaining years of Champlain's life.
+
+The Recollets or Franciscans, who had first come to the country in 1615,
+now disappeared, and the Jesuits assumed full control in the wide field
+of effort that Canada offered to the missionary. The Jesuits had, in
+fact, made their appearance in Canada as early as 1625, or fourteen
+years after two priests of their order, Ennemond Massé and Pierre Biard,
+had gone to Acadia to labour among the Micmacs or Souriquois. During the
+greater part of the seventeenth century, intrepid Jesuit priests are
+associated with some of the most heroic incidents of Canadian history.
+
+When Champlain died, on Christmas-day, 1635, the French population of
+Canada did not exceed 150 souls, all dependent on the fur-trade. Canada
+so far showed none of the elements of prosperity; it was not a colony
+of settlers but of fur-traders. Still Champlain, by his indomitable
+will, gave to France a footing in America which she was to retain for a
+century and a quarter after his death. His courage amid the difficulties
+that surrounded him, his fidelity to his church and country, his ability
+to understand the Indian character, his pure unselfishness, are among
+the remarkable qualities of a man who stands foremost among the pioneers
+of European civilization in America.
+
+From the day of Champlain's death until the arrival of the Marquis de
+Tracy, in 1665, Canada was often in a most dangerous and pitiable
+position. That period of thirty years was, however, also distinguished
+by the foundation of those great religious communities which have always
+exercised such an important influence upon the conditions of life
+throughout French Canada. In 1652 Montreal was founded under the name of
+Ville-Marie by Paul Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, and a number of
+other religious enthusiasts. In 1659, the Abbé de Montigny, better known
+to Canadians as Monseigneur de Laval, the first Roman Catholic bishop,
+arrived in the colony and assumed charge of ecclesiastical affairs under
+the titular name of Bishop of Petraea. Probably no single man has ever
+exercised such powerful and lasting influence on Canadian institutions
+as that famous divine. Possessed of great tenacity of purpose, most
+ascetic in his habits, regardless of all worldly considerations, always
+working for the welfare and extension of his church, Bishop Laval was
+eminently fitted to give it that predominance in civil as well as
+religious affairs which it so long possessed in Canada.
+
+While the Church of Rome was perfecting its organization throughout
+Canada, the Iroquois were constantly making raids upon the unprotected
+settlements, especially in the vicinity of Montreal. The Hurons in the
+Georgian Bay district were eventually driven from their comfortable
+villages, and now the only remnants of a powerful nation are to be found
+in the community of mixed blood at Lorette, near Quebec, or on the
+banks of the Detroit River, where they are known as Wyandots. The Jesuit
+mission of Sainte-Marie in their country was broken up, and Jean de
+Brébeuf and Gabriel Lalemant suffered torture and death.
+
+Such was the pitiable condition of things in 1663, when Louis XIV made
+of Canada a royal government. At this time the total population of the
+province did not exceed 2500 souls, grouped chiefly in and around
+Quebec, Three Rivers and Montreal. In 1665 the Marquis de Tracy and
+Governor de Courcelles, with a brilliant retinue of officers and a
+regiment of soldiers, arrived in the colony, and brought with them
+conditions of peace and prosperity. A small stream of immigration flowed
+steadily into the country for some years, as a result of the new policy
+adopted by the French government. The Mohawks, the most daring and
+dangerous nation of the Iroquois confederacy, were humbled by Tracy in
+1667, and forced to sue for peace. Under the influence of Talon, the
+ablest intendant who ever administered Canadian affairs, the country
+enjoyed a moderate degree of prosperity, although trade continued
+entirely dependent on the orders and regulations of the King and his
+officials.
+
+Among the ablest governors of Canada was undoubtedly Louis de la Buade,
+Count de Frontenac, who administered public affairs from 1672-1687 and
+from 1689-1698. He was certainly impatient, choleric and selfish
+whenever his pecuniary interests were concerned; but, despite his faults
+of character, he was a brave soldier, dignified and courteous on
+important occasions, a close student of the character of the Indians,
+always ready when the necessity arose to adapt himself to their foibles
+and at the same time able to win their confidence. He found Canada weak,
+and left it a power in the affairs of America. He infused his own
+never-failing confidence into the hearts of the struggling colonists on
+the St. Lawrence, repulsed Sir William Phipps and his New England
+expedition when they attacked Quebec in 1690, wisely erected a fort on
+Lake Ontario as a fur-trading post and a bulwark against the Iroquois,
+encouraged the fur-trade, and stimulated exploration in the west and in
+the valleys of the Ohio and the Mississippi. The settlements of New
+England trembled at his name, and its annals contain many a painful
+story of the misery inflicted by his cruel bands of Frenchmen and
+Indians.
+
+Despite all the efforts of the French government for some years, the
+total immigration from 1663 until 1713, when the great war between
+France and the Grand Alliance came to an end by the treaty of Utrecht,
+did not exceed 6000 souls, and the whole population of the province in
+that year was only 20,000, a small number for a century of colonization.
+For some years after the formation of the royal government, a large
+number of marriageable women were brought to the country under the
+auspices of the religious communities, and marriages and births were
+encouraged by exhortations and bounties. A considerable number of the
+officers and soldiers of the Carignan-Salières regiment, who followed
+the Marquis de Tracy into Canada, were induced to remain and settle new
+seigniories, chiefly in palisaded villages in the Richelieu district for
+purposes of defence against Iroquois expeditions. Despite all the
+paternal efforts of the government to stimulate the growth of a large
+population, the natural increase was small during the seventeenth
+century. The disturbing influence, no doubt, was the fur-trade, which
+allured so many young men into the wilderness, made them unfit for a
+steady life, and destroyed their domestic habits. The emigrants from
+France came chiefly from Anjou, Saintonge, Paris and its suburbs,
+Normandy, Poitou, Beauce, Perche, and Picardy. The Carignan-Salières
+regiment brought men from all parts of the parent state. It does not
+appear that any number of persons ever came from Brittany. The larger
+proportion of the settlers were natives of the north-western provinces
+of France, especially from Perche and Normandy, and formed an excellent
+stock on which to build up a thrifty, moral people. The seigniorial
+tenure of French Canada was an adaptation of the feudal system of France
+to the conditions of a new country, and was calculated in some respects
+to stimulate settlement. Ambitious persons of limited means were able to
+form a class of colonial _noblesse_. But unless the seignior cleared a
+certain portion of his grant within a limited time, he would forfeit it
+all. The conditions by which the _censitaires_ or tenants of the
+seigniorial domain held their grants of land were by no means
+burdensome, but they signified a dependency of tenure inconsistent with
+the free nature of American life. A large portion of the best lands of
+French Canada were granted under this seigniorial system to men whose
+names frequently occur in the records of the colony down to the present
+day: Rimouski, Bic and Métis, Kamouraska, Nicolet, Verchères,
+Lotbinière, Berthier, Beloeil, Rouville, Juliette, Terrebonne,
+Champlain, Sillery, Beaupré, Bellechasse, Portneuf, Chambly, Sorel,
+Longueuil, Boucherville, Chateauguay, Lachine, are memorials of the
+seigniorial grants of the seventeenth century.
+
+The whole population of the Acadian Peninsula in 1710-13, was not more
+than 1500 souls, nearly all descendants of the people brought to the
+country by Poutrincourt and his successors Razilly and Charnisay. At no
+time did the French government interest itself in immigration to
+neglected Acadia. Of the total population, nearly 1000 persons were
+settled in the beautiful country which the industry and ingenuity of the
+Acadian peasants, in the course of many years, reclaimed from the
+restless tides of the Bay of Fundy at Grand Pré and Minas. The remaining
+settlements were at Beau Bassin, Annapolis, Piziquit (now Windsor),
+Cobequit (now Truro), and Cape Sable. Some small settlements were also
+founded on the banks of the St. John River and on the eastern bays of
+the present province of New Brunswick.
+
+
+SECTION 3.--French exploration in the great valleys of North America.
+
+The hope of finding a short route to the rich lands of Asia by the St.
+Lawrence River and its tributary lakes and streams, influenced French
+voyagers and explorers well into the middle of the eighteenth century.
+When Cartier stood on Mount Royal and saw the waters of the Ottawa there
+must have flashed across his mind the thought that perhaps by this river
+would be found that passage to the western sea of which he and other
+sailors often dreamed both in earlier and later times. L'Escarbot tells
+us that Champlain in his western explorations always hoped to reach Asia
+by a Canadian route. He was able, however, long before his death to
+make valuable contributions to the geography of Canada. He was the first
+Frenchman to ascend the River of the Iroquois, now the Richelieu, and to
+see the beautiful lake which still bears his name. In 1615 he found his
+way to Georgian Bay by the route of the Ottawa and Mattawa Rivers, Lake
+Nipissing and French River. Here he visited the Huron villages which
+were situated in the district now known as Simcoe county in the province
+of Ontario. Father le Caron, a Recollet, had preceded the French
+explorer, and was performing missionary duties among the Indians, who
+probably numbered 20,000 in all. This brave priest was the pioneer of an
+army of faithful missionaries--mostly of a different order--who lived
+for years among the Indians, suffered torture and death, and connected
+their names not only with the martyrs of their faith but also with the
+explorers of this continent. From this time forward we find the trader
+and the priest advancing in the wilderness; sometimes one is first,
+sometimes the other.
+
+Champlain accompanied his Indian allies on an expedition against the
+Onondagas, one of the five nations who occupied the country immediately
+to the south of the upper St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario. The party
+reached Lake Ontario by the system of inland navigation which stretches
+from Lake Simcoe to the Bay of Quinté. The Onondagas repulsed the
+Canadian allies who returned to their settlements, where Champlain
+remained during the winter of 1616. It was during this expedition, which
+did much to weaken Champlain's prestige among the Indians, that Étienne
+Brulé an interpreter, was sent to the Andastes, who were then living
+about the headwaters of the Susquehanna, with the hope of bringing them
+to the support of the Canadian savages. He was not seen again until
+1618, when he returned to Canada with a story, doubtless correct, of
+having found himself on the shores of a great lake where there were
+mines of copper, probably Lake Superior.
+
+With the new era of peace that followed the coming of the Viceroy Tracy
+in 1665, and the establishment of a royal government, a fresh impulse
+was given to exploration and mission work in the west. Priests,
+fur-traders, gentlemen-adventurers, _coureurs de bois_, now appeared
+frequently on the lakes and rivers of the west, and gave in the course
+of years a vast region to the dominion of France. As early as 1665
+Father Allouez established a mission at La Pointe, the modern Ashland,
+on the shores of Lake Superior. In 1668 one of the most interesting
+persons who ever appeared in early Canada, the missionary and explorer,
+Father Marquette, founded the mission of Sainte-Marie on the southern
+side of the Sault, which may be considered the oldest settlement of the
+north-west, as it alone has a continuous history to the present time.
+
+In the record of those times we see strikingly displayed certain
+propensities of the Canadian people which seriously interfered with the
+settlement and industry of the country. The fur-trade had far more
+attractions for the young and adventurous than the regular and active
+life of farming on the seigniories. The French immigrant as well as the
+native Canadian adapted himself to the conditions of Indian life.
+Wherever the Indian tribes were camped in the forest or by the river,
+and the fur-trade could be prosecuted to the best advantage, we see the
+_coureurs de bois_, not the least picturesque figures of these grand
+woods, then in the primeval sublimity of their solitude and vastness.
+Despite the vices and weaknesses of a large proportion of this class,
+not a few were most useful in the work of exploration and exercised a
+great influence among the Indians of the West. But for these
+forest-rangers the Michigan region would have fallen into the possession
+of the English who were always intriguing with the Iroquois and
+endeavouring to obtain a share of the fur-trade of the west. Joliet, the
+companion of Marquette, in his ever-memorable voyage to the Mississippi,
+was a type of the best class of the Canadian fur-trader.
+
+In 1671 Sieur St. Lusson took formal possession of the Sault and the
+adjacent country in the name of Louis XIV. In 1673 Fort Frontenac was
+built at Cataraqui, now Kingston, as a barrier to the aggressive
+movements of the Iroquois and an _entrepôt_ for the fur-trade on Lake
+Ontario. In the same year Joliet and Marquette solved a part of the
+problem which had so long perplexed the explorers of the West. The
+trader and priest reached the Mississippi by the way of Green Bay, the
+Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. They went down the Mississippi as far as the
+Arkansas. Though they were still many hundreds of miles from the mouth
+of the river, they grasped the fact that it must reach, not the western
+ocean, but the southern gulf first discovered by the Spaniards.
+Marquette died not long afterwards, worn out by his labours in the
+wilderness, and was buried beneath the little chapel at St. Ignace.
+Joliet's name henceforth disappears from the annals of the West.
+
+Réné Robert Cavelier, better known as the Sieur de la Salle, completed
+the work commenced by the trader and missionary. In 1666 he obtained a
+grant of land at the head of the rapids above Montreal by the side of
+that beautiful expanse of the St. Lawrence, still called Lachine, a name
+first given in derisive allusion to his hope of finding a short route to
+China. In 1679 he saw the Niagara Falls for the first time, and the
+earliest sketch is to be found in _La Nouvelle Découverte_ written or
+compiled by that garrulous, vain, and often mendacious Recollet Friar,
+Louis Hennepin, who accompanied La Salle on this expedition. In the
+winter of 1681-82 this famous explorer reached the Mississippi, and for
+weeks followed its course through the novel and wondrous scenery of a
+southern land. On the 9th of April, 1682, at a point just above the
+mouth of the great river, La Salle took formal possession of the
+Mississippi valley in the name of Louis XIV, with the same imposing
+ceremonies that distinguished the claim asserted by St. Lusson at the
+Sault in the lake region. By the irony of fate, La Salle failed to
+discover the mouth of the river when he came direct from France to the
+Gulf of Mexico in 1685, but landed somewhere on Matagorda Bay on the
+Texan coast, where he built a fort for temporary protection. Finding his
+position untenable, he decided in 1687 to make an effort to reach the
+Illinois country, but when he had been a few days on this perilous
+journey he was treacherously murdered by some of his companions near the
+southern branch of Trinity River. His body was left to the beasts and
+birds of prey. Two of the murderers were themselves killed by their
+accomplices, none of whom appear ever to have been brought to justice
+for their participation in a crime by which France lost one of the
+bravest and ablest men who ever struggled for her dominion in North
+America.
+
+Some years later the famous Canadians, Iberville and Bienville, founded
+a colony in the great valley, known by the name of Louisiana, which was
+first given to it by La Salle himself. By the possession of the Sault,
+Mackinac, and Detroit, the French were for many years supreme on the
+lakes, and had full control of Indian trade. The Iroquois and their
+English friends were effectively shut out of the west by the French
+posts and settlements which followed the explorations of Joliet, La
+Salle, Du Luth, and other adventurers. Plans continued to be formed for
+reaching the Western or Pacific ocean even in the middle of the
+eighteenth century. The Jesuit Charlevoix, the historian of New France,
+was sent out to Canada by the French government to enquire into the
+feasibility of a route which Frenchmen always hoped for. Nothing
+definite came out of this mission, but the Jesuit was soon followed by
+an enterprising native of Three Rivers, Pierre Gaultier de Varennes,
+generally called the Sieur de la Verendrye, who with his sons ventured
+into the region now known as the province of Manitoba and the north-west
+territory of Canada. He built several forts, including one on the site
+of the city of Winnipeg. Two of his sons are believed to have reached
+the Big Horn Range, an "outlying buttress" of the Rocky Mountains, in
+1743, and to have taken possession of what is now territory of the
+United States. The youngest son, Chevalier de la Verendrye, who was the
+first to see the Rocky Mountains, subsequently discovered the
+Saskatchewan (Poskoiac) and even ascended it as far as the forks--the
+furthest western limits so far touched by a white man in America. A few
+years later, in 1751, M. de Niverville, under the orders of M. de St.
+Pierre, then acting in the interest of the infamous Intendant Bigot, who
+coveted the western fur-trade, reached the foot-hills of the Rocky
+Mountains and built a fort on the Saskatchewan not far from the present
+town of Calgary.
+
+We have now followed the paths of French adventurers for nearly a
+century and a half, from the day Champlain landed on the rocks of Quebec
+until the Verendryes traversed the prairies and plains of the
+North-west. French explorers had discovered the three great waterways of
+this continent--the Mississippi, which pours its enormous volume of
+water, drawn from hundreds of tributaries, into a southern gulf; the St.
+Lawrence, which bears the tribute of the great lakes to the Atlantic
+Ocean; the Winnipeg, with its connecting rivers and lakes which stretch
+from the Rocky Mountains to the dreary Arctic sea. La Verendrye was the
+first Frenchman who stood on the height of land or elevated plateau of
+the continent, almost within sight of the sources of those great rivers
+which flow, after devious courses, north, south and east. It has been
+well said that if three men should ascend these three waterways to their
+farthest sources, they would find themselves in the heart of North
+America; and, so to speak, within a stone's throw of one another. Nearly
+all the vast territory, through which these great waterways flow, then
+belonged to France, so far as exploration, discovery and partial
+occupation gave her a right to exercise dominion. Only in the great
+North, where summer is a season of a very few weeks, where icebergs bar
+the way for many months, where the fur-trade and the whale-fishery alone
+offered an incentive to capital and enterprise, had England a right to
+an indefinite dominion. Here a "Company of Gentlemen-Adventurers
+trading into Hudson's Bay" occupied some fortified stations which,
+during the seventeenth century, had been seized by the daring
+French-Canadian corsair, Iberville, who ranks with the famous
+Englishman, Drake. On the Atlantic coast the prosperous English colonies
+occupied a narrow range of country bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the
+Alleghanies. It was only in the middle of the eighteenth century--nearly
+three-quarters of a century after Joliet's and La Salle's explorations,
+and even later than the date at which Frenchmen had followed the
+Saskatchewan to the Rocky Mountains--that some enterprising Virginians
+and Pennsylvanians worked their way into the beautiful country watered
+by the affluents of the Ohio. New France may be said to have extended at
+that time from Cape Breton or Isle Royale west to the Rocky Mountains,
+and from the basin of the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.
+
+
+SECTION 4.--End of French dominion in the valley of the St. Lawrence.
+
+After the treaty of Utrecht, France recognized the mistake she had made
+in giving up Acadia, and devoted her attention to the island of Cape
+Breton, or Isle Royale, on whose southeastern coast soon rose the
+fortifications of Louisbourg. In the course of years this fortress
+became a menace to English interests in Acadia and New England. In 1745
+the town was taken by a force of New England volunteers, led by General
+Pepperrell, a discreet and able colonist, and a small English squadron
+under the command of Commodore, afterwards Admiral, Warren, both of whom
+were rewarded by the British government for their distinguished services
+on this memorable occasion. France, however, appreciated the importance
+of Isle Royale, and obtained its restoration in exchange for Madras
+which at that time was the most important British settlement in the East
+Indies. England then decided to strengthen herself in Acadia, where
+France retained her hold of the French Acadian population through the
+secret influence of her emissaries, chiefly missionaries, and
+accordingly established a town on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia,
+ever since known as Halifax, in honour of a prominent statesman of those
+times. The French settlers, who by the middle of the eighteenth century
+numbered 12,000, a thrifty, industrious and simple-minded people, easily
+influenced by French agents, called themselves "Neutrals," and could not
+be forced to take the unqualified oath of allegiance which was demanded
+of them by the authorities of Halifax. The English Government was now
+determined to act with firmness in a province where British interests
+had been so long neglected, and where the French inhabitants had in the
+course of forty years shown no disposition to consider themselves
+British subjects and discharge their obligations to the British Crown.
+France had raised the contention that the Acadia ceded to England by the
+treaty of Utrecht comprised only the present province of Nova Scotia,
+and indeed only a portion of that peninsula according to some French
+authorities. Commissioners were appointed by the two Powers to settle
+the question of boundaries--of the meaning of "Acadie, with its ancient
+boundaries"--but their negotiations came to naught and the issue was
+only settled by the arbitrament of war. The French built the forts of
+Beauséjour and Gaspereau--the latter a mere palisade--on the Isthmus of
+Chignecto, which became the rendezvous of the French Acadians, whom the
+former persuaded by promises or threats to join their fortunes. In 1755
+a force of English and Colonial troops, under the command of Colonels
+Moncton, Winslow and Scott, captured these forts, and this success was
+followed by the banishment of the Acadian French. This cruel act of
+Governor Lawrence and the English authorities at Halifax was no doubt
+largely influenced by the sentiment of leading men in New England, who
+were apprehensive of the neighbourhood of so large a number of an alien
+people, who could not be induced to prove their loyalty to Great
+Britain, and might, in case of continued French successes in America,
+become open and dangerous foes. But while there are writers who defend
+this sad incident of American history on the ground of stern national
+necessity at a critical period in the affairs of the continent, all
+humanity that listens to the dictates of the heart and tender feeling
+will ever deplore the exile of those hapless people.
+
+Previous to the expulsion of the Acadians from their pleasant homes on
+the meadows of Grand Pré and Minas, England sustained a severe defeat in
+the valley of the Ohio, which created much alarm throughout the English
+colonies, and probably had some influence on the fortunes of those
+people. France had formally taken possession of the Ohio country and
+established forts in 1753 on French Creek, at its junction with the
+Alleghany, and also at the forks of the Ohio. Adventurous British
+pioneers were at last commencing to cross the Alleghanies, and a company
+had been formed with the express intention of stimulating settlement in
+the valley. George Washington, at the head of a small Colonial force,
+was defeated in his attempt to drive the French from the Ohio; and the
+English Government was compelled to send out a large body of regular
+troops under the command of General Braddock, who met defeat and death
+on the banks of the Monongahela, General Johnson, on the other hand,
+defeated a force of French regulars, Canadian Militia and Indians, under
+General Dieskau, at the southern end of Lake George.
+
+In 1756 war was publicly proclaimed between France and England,
+although, as we have just seen, it had already broken out many months
+previously in the forests of America. During the first two years of the
+war the English forces sustained several disasters through the
+incompetency of the English commanders on land and sea. The French in
+Canada were now led by the Marquis de Montcalm, distinguished both as a
+soldier of great ability and as a man of varied intellectual
+accomplishments. In the early part of the Canadian campaign he was most
+fortunate. Fort William Henry, at the foot of Lake George, and Fort
+Oswego, on the south side of Lake Ontario, were captured, but his signal
+victory at the former place was sullied by the massacre of defenceless
+men, women and children by his Indian allies, although it is now
+admitted by all impartial writers that he did his utmost to prevent so
+sad a sequel to his triumph. The English Commander-in-Chief, Lord
+Loudoun, assembled a large military force at Halifax in 1757 for the
+purpose of making a descent on Louisbourg; but he returned to New York
+without accomplishing anything, when he heard of the disastrous affair
+of William Henry, for which he was largely responsible on account of
+having failed to give sufficient support to the defenders of the fort.
+Admiral Holbourne sailed to Louisbourg, but he did not succeed in coming
+to an engagement with the French fleet then anchored in the harbour, and
+the only result of his expedition was the loss of several of his ships
+on the reefs of that foggy, rocky coast.
+
+In 1758 Pitt determined to enter on a vigorous campaign against France
+in Europe and America. For America he chose Amherst, Boscawen, Howe,
+Forbes, Wolfe, Lawrence and Whitman. Abercromby was unfortunately
+allowed to remain in place of Loudoun, but it was expected by Pitt and
+others that Lord Howe, one of the best soldiers in the British army,
+would make up for the military weakness of that commander. Louisbourg,
+Fort Duquesne, and the forts on Lake George, were the immediate objects
+of attack. Abercromby at the head of a large force failed ignominiously
+in his assault on Ticonderoga, and Lord Howe was one of the first to
+fall in that unhappy and ill-managed battle. Amherst and Boscawen, on
+the other hand, took Louisbourg, where Wolfe displayed great energy and
+contributed largely to the success of the enterprise. Forbes was able to
+occupy the important fort at the forks of the Ohio, now Pittsburg, which
+gave to the English control of the beautiful country to the west of the
+Alleghanies. Fort Frontenac was taken by Bradstreet, and Prince Edward
+Island, then called Isle St. Jean, was occupied by an English force as
+the necessary consequence of the fall of the Cape Breton fortress. The
+nation felt that its confidence in Pitt was fully justified, and that
+the power of France in America was soon to be effectually broken.
+
+In 1759 and 1760 Pitt's designs were crowned with signal success. Wolfe
+proved at Quebec that the statesman had not overestimated his value as a
+soldier and leader. Wolfe was supported by Brigadiers Moncton,
+Townshend, Murray, and Guy Carleton--the latter a distinguished figure
+in the later annals of Canada. The fleet was commanded by Admirals
+Saunders, Durell and Holmes, all of whom rendered most effective
+service. The English occupied the Island of Orleans and the heights of
+Lévis, from which they were able to keep up a most destructive fire on
+the capital. The whole effective force under Wolfe did not reach 9000
+men, or 5000 less than the regular and Colonial army under Montcalm,
+whose lines extended behind batteries and earthworks from the St.
+Charles River, which washes the base of the rocky heights of the town,
+as far as the falls of Montmorency. The French held an impregnable
+position which their general decided to maintain at all hazards, despite
+the constant efforts of Wolfe for weeks to force him to the issue of
+battle. Above the city for many miles there were steep heights, believed
+to be unapproachable, and guarded at all important points by detachments
+of soldiery. Wolfe failed in an attempt which he made at Beauport to
+force Montcalm from his defences, and suffered a considerable loss
+through the rashness of his grenadiers. He then resolved on a bold
+stroke which succeeded by its very audacity in deceiving his opponent,
+and giving the victory to the English. A rugged and dangerous path was
+used at night up those very heights which, Montcalm confidently
+believed, "a hundred men could easily defend against the whole British
+army." On the morning of the 13th September, 1759, Wolfe marshalled an
+army of four thousand five hundred men on the Plains of Abraham where he
+was soon face to face with the French army. Montcalm had lost no time in
+accepting the challenge of the English, in the hope that his superior
+numbers would make up for their inferiority in discipline and equipment
+compared with the smaller English force. His expectations were never
+realized. In a few minutes the French fell in hundreds before the steady
+deadly fire of the English lines, and Montcalm was forced to retreat
+precipitately with the beaten remnant of his army. Wolfe received
+several wounds, and died on the battlefield, but not before he was
+conscious of his victory. "God be praised," were his dying words, "I now
+die in peace." His brave adversary was mortally wounded while seeking
+the protection of Quebec, and was buried in a cavity which a shell had
+made in the floor of the chapel of the Ursuline Convent. A few days
+later Quebec capitulated. Wolfe's body was taken to England, where it
+was received with all the honours due to his great achievement. General
+Murray was left in command at Quebec, and was defeated in the following
+spring by Lévis in the battle of St. Foye, which raised the hopes of the
+French until the appearance of English ships in the river relieved the
+beleaguered garrison and decided for ever the fate of Quebec. A few
+weeks later Montreal capitulated to Amherst, whose extreme caution
+throughout the campaign was in remarkable contrast with the dash and
+energy of the hero of Quebec. The war in Canada was now at an end, and
+in 1763 the treaty of Paris closed the interesting chapter of French
+dominion on the banks of the St. Lawrence and in the valleys of the Ohio
+and the Mississippi.
+
+
+SECTION 5.--Political, economic and social conditions of Canada during
+French ride.
+
+France and England entered on the struggle for dominion in America about
+the same time, but long before the conquest of Canada the communities
+founded by the latter had exhibited a vigour and vitality which were
+never shown in the development of the relatively poor and struggling
+colonies of Canada and Louisiana. The total population of New France in
+1759--that is, of all the French possessions in North America--did not
+exceed 70,000 souls, of whom 60,000 were inhabitants of the country of
+the St. Lawrence, chiefly of the Montreal and Quebec districts. France
+had a few struggling villages and posts in the very "garden of the
+North-west," as the Illinois country has been aptly called; but the
+total population of New France from the great lakes to the Gulf of
+Mexico did not exceed 10,000 souls, the greater number of whom dwelt on
+the lower banks of the Mississippi. At this time the British colonies in
+America, pent up between the Atlantic Ocean and the Appalachian
+mountains, had a population twenty times larger than that of Canada and
+Louisiana combined, and there was not any comparison whatever between
+these French and British colonies with respect to trade, wealth or any
+of the essentials of prosperity.
+
+Under the system of government established by Louis XIV, under the
+advice of Colbert, the governor and intendant of Canada were, to all
+intents and purposes in point of authority, the same officials who
+presided over the affairs of a province of France. In Canada, as in
+France, governors-general had only such powers as were expressly given
+them by the king, who, jealous of all authority in others, kept them
+rigidly in check. In those days the king was supreme; "I am the state,"
+said Louis Quatorze in the arrogance of his power; and it is thus easy
+to understand that there could be no such free government or
+representative institutions in Canada as were enjoyed from the very
+commencement of their history by the old English colonies.
+
+The governor had command of the militia and troops, and was nominally
+superior in authority to the intendant, but in the course of time the
+latter became virtually the most influential officer in the colony and
+even presided at the council-board. This official, who had the right to
+report directly to the king on colonial affairs, had large civil,
+commercial and maritime jurisdiction, and could issue ordinances which
+had full legal effect in the country. Associated with the governor and
+intendant was a council comprising in the first instance five, and
+eventually twelve, persons, chosen from the leading people of the
+colony. The change of name, from the "Supreme Council" to the "Superior
+Council," is of itself some evidence of the determination of the king to
+restrain the pretensions of all official bodies throughout the kingdom
+and its dependencies. This body exercised legislative and judicial
+powers. The bishop was one of its most important members, and the
+history of the colony is full of the quarrels that arose between him and
+the governor on points of official etiquette or with respect to more
+important matters affecting the government of the country.
+
+Protestantism was unknown in Canada under French rule, and the
+enterprise of the Huguenots was consequently lost to a country always
+suffering from a want of population. Even the merchants of La Rochelle,
+who traded with the country, found themselves invariably subject to
+restrictions which placed them at an enormous disadvantage in their
+competition with their Roman Catholic rivals. The Roman Catholic Church
+was all powerful at the council-board as well as in the parish. In the
+past as in the present century, a large Roman Catholic church rose, the
+most prominent building in every town and village, illustrating its
+dominating influence in the homes of every community of the province.
+The parishes were established at an early date for ecclesiastical
+purposes, and their extent was defined wherever necessary by the
+council at Quebec. They were practically territorial divisions for the
+administration of local affairs, and were conterminous, whenever
+practicable, with the seigniory. The curé, the seignior, the militia
+captain (often identical with the seignior), were the important
+functionaries in every parish. Even at the present time, when a
+canonical parish has been once formed by the proper ecclesiastical
+authority, it may be erected into a municipal or civil division after
+certain legal formalities by the government of the province. Tithes were
+first imposed by Bishop Laval, who practically established the basis of
+ecclesiastical authority in the province. It was only in church matters
+that the people had the right to meet and express their opinions, and
+even then the intendant alone could give the power of assembling for
+such purposes.
+
+The civil law of French Canada relating to "property," inheritance,
+marriage, and the personal or civil rights of the community generally,
+had its origin, like all similar systems, in the Roman law, on which
+were engrafted, in the course of centuries, those customs and usages
+which were adapted to the social conditions of France. The customary law
+of Paris became the fundamental law of French Canada, and despite the
+changes that it has necessarily undergone in the course of many years,
+its principles can still be traced throughout the present system as it
+has been modified under the influences of the British regime. The
+superior council of Canada gave judgment in civil and criminal cases
+according to the _coutume de Paris_, and below it there were inferior
+courts for the judicial districts of Quebec, Three Rivers and Montreal.
+The bishop had also special jurisdiction over ecclesiastical matters.
+The intendant had authority to deal with cases involving royal, or
+seigniorial, rights, and to call before him any case whatever for final
+review and judgment. In all cases appeals were allowable to the king
+himself, but the difficulty of communication with Europe in those days
+practically confined such references to a few special causes. The
+seigniors had also certain judicial or magisterial powers, but they
+never acted except in very trivial cases. Torture was sometimes applied
+to condemned felons as in France and other parts of the old world. On
+the whole justice appears to have been honestly and fairly administered.
+
+Parkman, in a terse sentence, sums up the conditions which fettered all
+Canadian trade and industry, "A system of authority, monopoly and
+exclusion in which the government, and not the individual, acted always
+the foremost part." Whether it was a question of ship-building, of a
+brewery or a tannery, of iron works or a new fishery, appeals must be
+made in the first instance to the king for aid; and the people were
+never taught to depend exclusively on their individual or associated
+enterprise. At the time of the conquest, and in fact for many years
+previously, the principal products of the country were beaver skins,
+timber, agricultural products, fish, fish oil, ginseng (for some years
+only), beer, cider, rug carpets, homespun cloths--made chiefly by the
+inmates of the religious houses--soap, potash, leather, stoves, tools
+and other iron manufactures--made in the St. Maurice forges--never a
+profitable industry, whether carried on by companies or the government
+itself. All these industries were fostered by the state, but, despite
+all the encouragement they received, the total value of the exports,
+principally furs, seal and other oils, lumber, peas, grain and ginseng
+never exceeded 3,500,000 francs, or about one-tenth of the export trade
+of the English colonies to Great Britain. Two-thirds of this amount
+represented beaver skins, the profits on which were very fluctuating, on
+account of the unwise regulations by which, the trade was constantly
+crippled. This business was heavily taxed to meet the necessities of
+colonial government, which were always heavy, and could never have been
+met had it not been for the liberality of the king. In the year 1755 the
+amount of all exports did not reach 2,500,000 francs, while the imports
+were valued at 8,000,000 francs. These imports represented wines,
+brandies, hardware and various luxuries, but the bulk was made up of the
+supplies required for the use of the military and civil authorities.
+The whole trade of the country was carried in about thirty sea-going
+vessels, none of them of heavy tonnage. The royal government attempted
+to stimulate ship-building in the country, and a few war vessels were
+actually built in the course of many years, though it does not appear
+that this industry was ever conducted with energy or enterprise. During
+the last fifty years of French rule, in all probability, not a hundred
+sea-going vessels were launched in the valley of the St. Lawrence.
+Duties of import, before 1748, were only imposed on wines, brandies, and
+Brazilian tobacco; but after the commencement of the war with England,
+the king found it necessary to establish export and import duties: a
+special exception was however made in favour of the produce of the farm,
+forest and sea, which were allowed to enter or go out free. The whole
+amount of duties raised in ordinary years did not reach above 300,000
+francs.
+
+In the closing years of French dominion the total population of Quebec,
+Montreal and Three Rivers, the only towns in the province, did not
+exceed 13,000 souls--about the population of Boston. Quebec alone had
+8000 inhabitants, Montreal 4000, and Three Rivers 1000. The architecture
+of these places was more remarkable for solidity than elegance or
+symmetry of proportions. The churches, religious and educational
+establishments, official buildings and residences--notably the
+intendant's palace at Quebec--were built of stone. The most pretentious
+edifice was the château of St. Louis--the residence of the
+governor-general--which was rebuilt by Count de Frontenac within the
+limits of the fort of St. Louis, first erected by Champlain on the
+historic height always associated with his name. The best buildings in
+the towns were generally of one story and constructed of stone. In the
+rural parishes, the villages, properly speaking, consisted of a church,
+presbytery, school, and tradesmen's houses, while the farms of the
+_habitants_ stretched on either side. The size and shape of the farms
+were governed by the form of the seigniories throughout the province. M.
+Bourdon, the first Canadian surveyor-general, originally mapped out the
+seigniories in oblong shapes with very narrow frontage along the
+river--a frontage of two or three _arpents_ against a depth of from
+forty to eighty _arpents_--and the same inconvenient oblong plan was
+followed in making sub-grants to the _censitaire_ or _habitant_. The
+result was a disfigurement of a large portion of the country, as the
+civil law governing the succession of estates gradually cut up all the
+seigniories into a number of small farms, each in the form of the
+parallelogram originally given to the seigniorial grants. The houses of
+the _habitants_, then as now, were generally built of logs or sawn
+lumber, all whitewashed, with thatched or wooden roofs projecting over
+the front so as to form a sort of porch or verandah. The farm-houses
+were generally close together, especially in the best cultivated and
+most thickly settled districts between Quebec and Montreal. Travellers,
+just before the Seven Years' War, tell us that the farms in that
+district appeared to be well cultivated on the whole, and the homes of
+the _habitants_ gave evidences of thrift and comfort. Some farmers had
+orchards from which cider was made, and patches of the coarse strong
+tobacco which they continue to use to this day, and which is now an
+important product of their province. Until the war the condition of the
+French Canadian _habitant_ was one of rude comfort. He could never
+become rich, in a country where there was no enterprise or trade which
+encouraged him to strenuous efforts to make and save money. Gold and
+silver were to him curiosities, and paper promises to pay, paper or card
+money, were widely circulated from early times, and were never for the
+most part redeemed, though the British authorities after the peace of
+1763 made every possible effort to induce the French government to
+discharge its obligations to the French Canadian people. The life of the
+_habitants_ in peaceful times was far easier and happier than that of
+the peasants of old France. They had few direct taxes to bear, except
+the tithes required for the support of the church and such small
+contributions as were necessary for local purposes. They were, however,
+liable to be called out at any moment for military duties and were
+subject to _corvées_ or forced labour for which they were never paid by
+the authorities.
+
+The outbreak of the Seven Years' War was a serious blow to a people who
+had at last surmounted the greatest difficulties of pioneer life, and
+attained a moderate degree of comfort. The demands upon the people
+capable of bearing arms were necessarily fatal to steady farming
+occupations; indeed, in the towns of Quebec and Montreal there was more
+than once an insufficiency of food for the garrisons, and horse-flesh
+had to be served out, to the great disgust of the soldiers who at first
+refused to take it. Had it not been for the opportune arrival of a ship
+laden with provisions in the spring of 1759, the government would have
+been unable to feed the army or the inhabitants of Quebec. The gravity
+of the situation was aggravated for years by the jobbery and corruption
+of the men who had the fate of the country largely in their hands. A few
+French merchants, and monopolists in league with corrupt officials,
+controlled the markets and robbed a long-suffering and too patient
+people. The names of Bigot, Péan, and other officials of the last years
+of French administration, are justly execrated by French Canadians as
+robbers of the state and people in the days when the country was on the
+verge of war, and Montcalm, a brave, incorruptible man, was fighting
+against tremendous odds to save this unfortunate country to which he
+gave up his own life in vain.
+
+So long as France governed Canada, education was entirely in the hands
+of the Roman Catholic Church. The Jesuits, Franciscans, and other
+religious orders, male and female, at an early date, commenced the
+establishment of those colleges and seminaries which have always had so
+important a share in the education of Lower Canada. The Jesuits founded
+a college at Quebec in 1635, or three years before the establishment of
+Harvard, and the Ursulines opened their convent in the same city four
+years later. Sister Bourgeoys of Troyes founded at Montreal in 1659 the
+Congrégation de Notre-Dame for the education of girls of humble rank;
+the commencement of an institution which has now its buildings in many
+parts of Canada. In the latter part of the seventeenth century Bishop
+Laval carried out a project for providing education for Canadian priests
+drawn from the people of the country. Consequently, in addition to the
+great seminary at Quebec, there was the lesser seminary where boys were
+taught in the hope that they would take orders. In the inception of
+education the French endeavoured in more than one of their institutions
+to combine industrial pursuits with the ordinary branches of an
+elementary education. But all accounts of the days of the French régime
+go to show that, despite the zealous efforts of the religious bodies to
+improve the education of the colonists, secular instruction was at a
+very low ebb and hardly reached the seigniories. One writer tells us
+that "even the children of officers and gentlemen scarcely knew how to
+read and write; they were ignorant of the first elements of geography
+and history." Still, dull and devoid of intellectual life as was the
+life of the Canadian, he had his place of worship where he received a
+moral training which elevated him immeasurably above the peasantry of
+England as well as of his old home. The clergy of Lower Canada
+confessedly did their best to relieve the ignorance of the people, but
+they were naturally unable to accomplish, by themselves, a task which
+properly devolved on the governing class. Under the French régime in
+Canada the civil authorities were as little anxious to enlighten the
+people by the establishment of public or common schools as they were to
+give them a voice in the government of the country.
+
+Evidence of some culture and intellectual aspirations in social circles
+of the ancient capital attracted the surprise of travellers who visited
+the country before the close of the French dominion. "Science and the
+fine arts," wrote Charlevoix, in 1744, "have their turn and conversation
+does not fail. The Canadians breathe from their birth an air of liberty,
+which makes them very pleasant in the intercourse of life, and our
+language is nowhere more purely spoken." La Gallissonière, a highly
+cultured governor, spared no effort to encourage a sympathetic study of
+scientific pursuits. Dr. Michel Sarrasin, who was a practising physician
+in Quebec for nearly half a century, devoted himself most assiduously to
+the natural history of the colony, and made some valuable contributions
+to the French Academy. The Swedish botanist, Peter Kalm, was impressed
+with the liking for scientific study which he observed in the French
+colony. But such intellectual culture, as Kalm and Charlevoix mentioned,
+never showed itself beyond the walls of Quebec or Montreal. The
+province, as a whole, was in a state of mental sluggishness at the time
+of the conquest by England, under whose benign influence the French
+Canadian people were now to enter on a new career of political and
+intellectual development.
+
+Pitt and Wolfe must take a high place among the makers of the Dominion
+of Canada. It was they who gave relief to French Canada from the
+absolutism of old France, and started her in a career of self-government
+and political liberty. When the great procession passed before the Queen
+of England on the day of the "Diamond Jubilee"--when delegates from all
+parts of a mighty, world-embracing empire gave her their loyal and
+heartfelt homage--Canada was represented by a Prime Minister who
+belonged to that race which has steadily gained in intellectual
+strength, political freedom, and material prosperity, since the
+memorable events of 1759 and 1760. In that imperial procession nearly
+half the American Continent was represented--Acadia and Canada first
+settled by France, the north-west prairies first traversed by French
+Canadian adventurers, the Pacific coast first seen by Cook and
+Vancouver. There, too, marched men from Bengal, Madras, Bombay,
+Jeypore, Haidarabad, Kashmir, Punjaub, from all sections of that great
+empire of India which was won for England by Clive and the men who, like
+Wolfe, became famous for their achievements in the days of Pitt. Perhaps
+there were in that imperial pageant some Canadians whose thoughts
+wandered from the Present to the Past, and recalled the memory of that
+illustrious statesman and of all he did for Canada and England, when
+they stood in Westminster Abbey, and looked on his expressive effigy,
+which, in the eloquent language of a great English historian, "seems
+still, with eagle face and outstretched arm, to bid England be of good
+cheer and to hurl defiance at her foes."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+BEGINNINGS OF BRITISH RULE. 1760-1774.
+
+
+SECTION I.--From the Conquest until the Quebec Act.
+
+For nearly four years after the surrender of Vaudreuil at Montreal,
+Canada was under a government of military men, whose headquarters were
+at Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal--the capitals of the old French
+districts of the same name. General Murray and the other commanders
+laboured to be just and considerate in all their relations with the new
+subjects of the Crown, who were permitted to prosecute their ordinary
+pursuits without the least interference on the part of the conquerors.
+The conditions of the capitulations of Quebec and Montreal, which
+allowed the free exercise of the Roman Catholic religion, were
+honourably kept. All that was required then, and for many years later,
+was that the priests and curés should confine themselves exclusively to
+their parochial duties, and not take part in public matters. It had been
+also stipulated at Montreal that the communities of nuns should not be
+disturbed in their convents; and while the same privileges were not
+granted by the articles of capitulation to the Jesuits, Recollets, and
+Sulpitians, they had every facility given to them to dispose of their
+property and remove to France. As a matter of fact there was practically
+no interference with any of the religious fraternities during the early
+years of British rule; and when in the course of time the Jesuits
+disappeared entirely from the country their estates passed by law into
+the possession of the government for the use of the people, while the
+Sulpitians were eventually allowed to continue their work and develope
+property which became of great value on the island of Montreal. (The
+French merchants and traders were allowed all the commercial and trading
+privileges that were enjoyed by the old subjects of the British
+Sovereign, not only in the valley of the St. Lawrence, but in the rich
+fur regions of the West and North-West.) The articles of capitulation
+did not give any guarantees or pledges for the continuance of the civil
+law under which French Canada had been governed for over a century, but
+while that was one of the questions dependent on the ultimate fate of
+Canada, the British military rulers took every possible care during the
+continuance of the military régime to respect so far as possible the old
+customs and laws by which the people had been previously governed.
+French writers of those days admit the generosity and justice of the
+administration of affairs during this military régime.
+
+The treaty of Paris, signed on the 10th February, 1763, formally ceded
+to England Canada as well as Acadia, with all their dependencies. The
+French Canadians were allowed full liberty "to profess the worship of
+their religion according to the rites of the Romish Church, as far as
+the laws of Great Britain permit." The people had permission to retire
+from Canada with all their effects within eighteen months from the date
+of the ratification of the treaty. All the evidence before us goes to
+show that only a few officials and seigniors ever availed themselves of
+this permission to leave the country. At this time there was not a
+single French settlement beyond Vaudreuil until the traveller reached
+the banks of the Detroit between Lakes Erie and Huron. A chain of forts
+and posts connected Montreal with the basin of the great lakes and the
+country watered by the Ohio, Illinois, and other tributaries of the
+Mississippi. The forts on the Niagara, at Detroit, at Michillimackinac,
+at Great Bay, on the Maumee and Wabash, at Presqu' isle, at the junction
+of French Creek with the Alleghany, at the forks of the Ohio, and at
+less important localities in the West and South-West, were held by small
+English garrisons, while the French still occupied Vincennes on the
+Wabash and Chartres on the Mississippi, in the vicinity of the French
+settlements at Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and the present site of St. Louis.
+
+Soon after the fall of Montreal, French traders from New Orleans and the
+French settlements on the Mississippi commenced to foment disaffection
+among the western Indians, who had strong sympathy with France, and were
+quite ready to believe the story that she would ere long regain Canada.
+The consequence was the rising of all the western tribes under the
+leadership of Pontiac, the principal chief of the Ottawas, whose
+warriors surrounded and besieged Detroit when he failed to capture it by
+a trick. Niagara was never attacked, and Detroit itself was successfully
+defended by Major Gladwin, a fearless soldier; but all the other forts
+and posts very soon fell into the hands of the Indians, who massacred
+the garrisons in several places. They also ravaged the border
+settlements of Pennsylvania and Virginia, and carried off a number of
+women and children to their wigwams. Fort Pitt at the confluence of the
+Alleghany and the Monongahela rivers--the site of the present city of
+Pittsburg--was in serious peril for a time, until Colonel Bouquet, a
+brave and skilful officer, won a signal victory over the Indians, who
+fled in dismay to their forest fastnesses. Pontiac failed to capture
+Detroit, and Bouquet followed up his first success by a direct march
+into the country of the Shawnees, Mingoes and Delawares, and forced them
+to agree to stern conditions of peace on the banks of the Muskingum. The
+power of the western Indians was broken for the time, and the British in
+1765 took possession of the French forts of Chartres and Vincennes, when
+the _fleur-de-lys_ disappeared for ever from the valley of the
+Mississippi. The French settlers on the Illinois and the Mississippi
+preferred to remain under British rule rather than cross the great river
+and become subjects of Spain, to whom Western Louisiana had been ceded
+by France. From this time forward France ceased to be an influential
+factor in the affairs of Canada or New France, and the Indian tribes
+recognized the fact that they could no longer expect any favour or aid
+from their old ally. They therefore transferred their friendship to
+England, whose power they had felt in the Ohio valley, and whose policy
+was now framed with a special regard to their just treatment.
+
+This Indian war was still in progress when King George III issued his
+proclamation for the temporary government of his new dependencies in
+North America. As a matter of fact, though the proclamation was issued
+in England on the 7th October, 1763, it did not reach Canada and come
+into effect until the 10th August, 1764. The four governments of Quebec,
+Grenada, East Florida, and West Florida were established in the
+territories ceded by France and Spain. The eastern limit of the province
+of Quebec did not extend beyond St. John's River at the mouth of the St.
+Lawrence, nearly opposite to Anticosti, while that island itself and the
+Labrador country, east of the St. John's as far as the Straits of
+Hudson, were placed under the jurisdiction of Newfoundland. The islands
+of Cape Breton and St. John, now Prince Edward, became subject to the
+Government of Nova Scotia, which then included the present province of
+New Brunswick. The northern limit of the province did not extend beyond
+the territory known as Rupert's Land under the charter given to the
+Hudson's Bay Company in 1670, while the western boundary was drawn
+obliquely from Lake Nipissing as far as Lake St. Francis on the St.
+Lawrence; the southern boundary then followed line 45° across the upper
+part of Lake Champlain, whence it passed along the highlands which
+divide the rivers that empty themselves into the St. Lawrence from those
+that flow into the sea--an absurdly defined boundary since it gave to
+Canada as far as Cape Rosier on the Gaspé peninsula a territory only a
+few miles wide. No provision whatever was made in the proclamation for
+the government of the country west of the Appalachian range, which was
+claimed by Pennsylvania, Virginia, and other colonies under the
+indefinite terms of their original charters, which practically gave
+them no western limits. Consequently the proclamation was regarded with
+much disfavour by the English colonists on the Atlantic coast. No
+provision was even made for the great territory which extended beyond
+Nipissing as far as the Mississippi and included the basin of the great
+lakes. It is easy to form the conclusion that the intention of the
+British government was to restrain the ambition of the old English
+colonies east of the Appalachian range, and to divide the immense
+territory to their north-west at some future and convenient time into
+several distinct and independent governments. No doubt the British
+government also found it expedient for the time being to keep the
+control of the fur-trade so far as possible in its own hands, and in
+order to achieve this object it was necessary in the first place to
+conciliate the Indian tribes, and not allow them to come in any way
+under the jurisdiction of the chartered colonies. The proclamation
+itself, in fact, laid down entirely new, and certainly equitable,
+methods of dealing with the Indians within the limits of British
+sovereignty. The governors of the old colonies were expressly forbidden
+to grant authority to survey lands beyond the settled territorial limits
+of their respective governments. No person was allowed to purchase land
+directly from the Indians. The government itself thenceforth could alone
+give a legal title to Indian lands, which must, in the first place, be
+secured by treaty with the tribes that claimed to own them. This was the
+beginning of that honest policy which has distinguished the relations of
+England and Canada with the Indian nations for over a hundred years, and
+which has obtained for the present Dominion the confidence and
+friendship of the many thousand Indians, who roamed for many centuries
+in Rupert's Land and in the Indian Territories where the Hudson's Bay
+Company long enjoyed exclusive privileges of trade.
+
+The language of the proclamation with respect to the government of the
+province of Quebec was extremely unsatisfactory. It was ordered that so
+soon as the state and circumstances of the colony admitted, the
+governor-general could with the advice and consent of the members of the
+council summon a general assembly, "in such manner and form as is used
+and directed in those colonies and provinces in America which are under
+our immediate government." Laws could be made by the governor, council,
+and representatives of the people for the good government of the colony,
+"as near as may be agreeable to the laws of England, and under such
+regulations and restrictions as are used in other colonies." Until such
+an assembly could be called, the governor could with the advice of his
+council constitute courts for the trial and determination of all civil
+and criminal cases, "according to law and equity, and as near as may be
+agreeable to the laws of England," with liberty to appeal, in all civil
+cases, to the privy council of England. General Murray, who had been in
+the province since the battle on the Plains of Abraham, was appointed to
+administer the government. Any persons elected to serve in an assembly
+were required, by his commission and instructions, before they could sit
+and vote, to take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, and subscribe a
+declaration against transubstantiation, the adoration of the Virgin, and
+the Sacrifice of the Mass.
+
+This proclamation--in reality a mere temporary expedient to give time
+for considering the whole state of the colony--was calculated to do
+infinite harm, since its principal importance lay in the fact that it
+attempted to establish English civil as well as criminal law, and at the
+same time required oaths which effectively prevented the French
+Canadians from serving in the very assembly which it professed a desire
+on the part of the king to establish. The English-speaking or Protestant
+people in the colony did not number in 1764 more than three hundred
+persons, of little or no standing, and it was impossible to place all
+power in their hands and to ignore nearly seventy thousand French
+Canadian Roman Catholics. Happily the governor, General Murray, was not
+only an able soldier, as his defence of Quebec against Lévis had
+proved, but also a man of statesmanlike ideas, animated by a high sense
+of duty and a sincere desire to do justice to the foreign people
+committed to his care. He refused to lend himself to the designs of the
+insignificant British minority, chiefly from the New England colonies,
+or to be guided by their advice in carrying on his government. His
+difficulties were lessened by the fact that the French had no conception
+of representative institutions in the English sense, and were quite
+content with any system of government that left them their language,
+religion, and civil law without interference. The stipulations of the
+capitulations of 1759-1760, and of the treaty of Paris, with respect to
+the free exercise of the Roman Catholic religion, were always observed
+in a spirit of great fairness: and in 1766 Monseigneur Briand was
+chosen, with the governor's approval, Roman Catholic bishop of Quebec.
+He was consecrated at Paris after his election by the chapter of Quebec,
+and it does not appear that his recognition ever became the subject of
+parliamentary discussion. This policy did much to reconcile the French
+Canadians to their new rulers, and to make them believe that eventually
+they would receive full consideration in other essential respects.
+
+For ten years the government of Canada was in a very unsatisfactory
+condition, while the British ministry was all the while worried with the
+condition of things in the old colonies, then in a revolutionary
+ferment. The Protestant minority continued to clamour for an assembly,
+and a mixed system of French and English law, in case it was not
+possible to establish the latter in its entirety. Attorney-General
+Masères, an able lawyer and constitutional writer, was in favour of a
+mixed system, but his views were notably influenced by his strong
+prejudices against Roman Catholics. The administration of the law was
+extremely confused until 1774, not only on account of the ignorance and
+incapacity of the men first sent out from England to preside over the
+courts, but also as a consequence of the steady determination of the
+majority of French Canadians to ignore laws to which they had naturally
+an insuperable objection. In fact, the condition of things became
+practically chaotic. It might have been much worse had not General
+Murray, at first, and Sir Guy Carleton, at a later time, endeavoured, so
+far as lay in their power, to mitigate the hardships to which the people
+were subject by being forced to observe laws of which they were entirely
+ignorant.
+
+At this time the governor-general was advised by an executive council,
+composed of officials and some other persons chosen from the small
+Protestant minority of the province. Only one French Canadian appears to
+have been ever admitted to this executive body. The English residents
+ignored the French as far as possible, and made the most unwarrantable
+claims to rule the whole province.
+
+A close study of official documents from 1764 until 1774 goes to show
+that all this while the British government was influenced by an anxious
+desire to show every justice to French Canada, and to adopt a system of
+government most conducive to its best interests In 1767 Lord Shelburne
+wrote to Sir Guy Carleton that "the improvement of the civil
+constitution of the province was under their most serious
+consideration." They were desirous of obtaining all information "which
+can tend to elucidate how far it is practicable and expedient to blend
+the English with the French laws, in order to form such a system as
+shall be at once equitable and convenient for His Majesty's old and new
+subjects." From time to time the points at issue were referred to the
+law officers of the crown for their opinion, so anxious was the
+government to come to a just conclusion. Attorney-General Yorke and
+Solicitor-General De Grey in 1766 severely condemned any system that
+would permanently "impose new, unnecessary and arbitrary rules
+(especially as to the titles of land, and the mode of descent,
+alienation and settlement), which would tend to confound and subvert
+rights instead of supporting them." In 1772 and 1773 Attorney-General
+Thurlow and Solicitor-General Wedderburne dwelt on the necessity of
+dealing on principles of justice with the province of Quebec. The French
+Canadians, said the former, "seem to have been strictly entitled by the
+_jus gentium_ to their property, as they possessed it upon the
+capitulation and treaty of peace, together with all its qualities and
+incidents by tenure or otherwise." It seemed a necessary consequence
+that all those laws by which that property was created, defined, and
+secured, must be continued to them. The Advocate-General Marriott, in
+1773, also made a number of valuable suggestions in the same spirit, and
+at the same time expressed the opinion that under the existent
+conditions of the country it was not possible or expedient to call an
+assembly. Before the imperial government came to a positive conclusion
+on the vexed questions before it, they had the advantage of the wise
+experience of Sir Guy Carleton, who visited England and remained there
+for some time. The result of the deliberation of years was the passage
+through the British parliament of the measure known as "The Quebec Act,"
+which has always been considered the charter of the special privileges
+which the French Canadians have enjoyed ever since, and which, in the
+course of a century, made their province one of the most influential
+sections of British North America.
+
+The preamble of the Quebec Act fixed new territorial limits for the
+province. It comprised not only the country affected by the proclamation
+of 1763, but also all the eastern territory which had been previously
+annexed to Newfoundland. In the west and south-west the province was
+extended to the Ohio and the Mississippi, and in fact embraced all the
+lands beyond the Alleghanies coveted and claimed by the old English
+colonies, now hemmed in between the Atlantic and the Appalachian range.
+It was now expressly enacted that the Roman Catholic inhabitants of
+Canada should thenceforth "enjoy the free exercise" of their religion,
+"subject to the king's supremacy declared and established" by law, and
+on condition of taking an oath of allegiance, set forth in the act. The
+Roman Catholic clergy were allowed "to hold, receive, and enjoy their
+accustomed dues and rights, with respect to such persons only as shall
+confess the said religion"--that is, one twenty-sixth part of the
+produce of the land, Protestants being specially exempted. The French
+Canadians were allowed to enjoy all their property, together with all
+customs and usages incident thereto, "in as large, ample and beneficial
+manner," as if the proclamation or other acts of the crown "had not been
+made", but the religious orders and communities were excepted in
+accordance with the terms of the capitulation of Montreal--the effect of
+which exception I have already briefly stated. In "all matters of
+controversy relative to property and civil rights," resort was to be had
+to the old civil law of French Canada "as the rule for the decision of
+the same", but the criminal law of England was extended to the province
+on the indisputable ground that its "certainty and lenity" were already
+"sensibly felt by the inhabitants from an experience of more than nine
+years." The government of the province was entrusted to a governor and a
+legislative council appointed by the crown, "inasmuch as it was
+inexpedient to call an assembly." The council was to be composed of not
+more than twenty-three residents of the province. At the same time the
+British parliament made special enactments for the imposition of certain
+customs duties "towards defraying the charges of the administration of
+justice and the support of the civil government of the province." All
+deficiencies in the revenues derived from these and other sources had to
+be supplied by the imperial treasury. During the passage of the act
+through parliament, it evoked the bitter hostility of Lord Chatham, who
+was then the self-constituted champion of the old colonies, who found
+the act most objectionable, not only because it established the Roman
+Catholic religion, but placed under the government of Quebec the rich
+territory west of the Alleghanies. Similar views were expressed by the
+Mayor and Council of London, but they had no effect. The king, in giving
+his assent, declared that the measure "was founded on the clearest
+principles of justice and humanity, and would have the best effect in
+quieting the minds and promoting the happiness of our Canadian
+subjects." In French Canada the act was received without any popular
+demonstration by the French Canadians, but the men to whom the great
+body of that people always looked for advice and guidance--the priests,
+curés, and seigniors--naturally regarded these concessions to their
+nationality as giving most unquestionable evidence of the considerate
+and liberal spirit in which the British government was determined to
+rule the province. They had had ever since the conquest satisfactory
+proof that their religion was secure from all interference, and now the
+British parliament itself came forward with legal guarantees, not only
+for the free exercise of that religion, with all its incidents and
+tithes, but also for the permanent establishment of the civil law to
+which they attached so much importance. The fact that no provision was
+made for a popular assembly could not possibly offend a people to whom
+local self-government in any form was entirely unknown. It was
+impossible to constitute an assembly from the few hundred Protestants
+who were living in Montreal and Quebec, and it was equally impossible,
+in view of the religious prejudices dominant in England and the English
+colonies, to give eighty thousand French Canadian Roman Catholics
+privileges which their co-religionists did not enjoy in Great Britain
+and to allow them to sit in an elected assembly. Lord North seemed to
+voice the general opinion of the British parliament on this difficult
+subject, when he closed the debate with an expression of "the earnest
+hope that the Canadians will, in the course of time, enjoy as much of
+our laws and as much of our constitution as may be beneficial to that
+country and safe for this", but "that time," he concluded, "had not yet
+come." It does not appear from the evidence before us that the British
+had any other motive in passing the Quebec Act than to do justice to
+the French Canadian people, now subjects of the crown of England. It was
+not a measure primarily intended to check the growth of popular
+institutions, but solely framed to meet the actual conditions of a
+people entirely unaccustomed to the working of representative or popular
+institutions. It was a preliminary step in the development of
+self-government.
+
+On the other hand the act was received with loud expressions of
+dissatisfaction by the small English minority who had hoped to see
+themselves paramount in the government of the province. In Montreal, the
+headquarters of the disaffected, an attempt was made to set fire to the
+town, and the king's bust was set up in one of the public squares,
+daubed with black, and decorated with a necklace made of potatoes, and
+bearing the inscription _Voilà le pape du Canada & le sot Anglais_. The
+author of this outrage was never discovered, and all the influential
+French Canadian inhabitants of the community were deeply incensed that
+their language should have been used to insult a king whose only offence
+was his assent to a measure of justice to themselves.
+
+Sir Guy Carleton, who had been absent in England for four years,
+returned to Canada on the 18th September, 1774, and was well received in
+Quebec. The first legislative council under the Quebec Act was not
+appointed until the beginning of August, 1775. Of the twenty-two members
+who composed it, eight were influential French Canadians bearing
+historic names. The council met on the 17th August, but was forced to
+adjourn on the 7th September, on account of the invasion of Canada by
+the troops of the Continental Congress, composed of representatives of
+the rebellious element of the Thirteen Colonies. In a later chapter I
+shall very shortly review the effects of the American revolution upon
+the people of Canada; but before I proceed to do so it is necessary to
+take my readers first to Nova Scotia on the eastern seaboard of British
+North America and give a brief summary of its political development
+from the beginning of British rule.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--The foundation of Nova Scotia (1749--1783).
+
+The foundation of Halifax practically put an end to the Acadian period
+of Nova Scotian settlement. Until that time the English occupation of
+the country was merely nominal. Owing largely to the representations of
+Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts--a statesman of considerable ability,
+who distinguished himself in American affairs during a most critical
+period of colonial history--the British government decided at last on a
+vigorous policy in the province, which seemed more than once on the
+point of passing out of their hands. Halifax was founded by the
+Honourable Edward Cornwallis on the slope of a hill, whose woods then
+dipped their branches into the very waters of the noble harbour long
+known as Chebuctou, and renamed in honour of a distinguished member of
+the Montague family, who had in those days full control of the
+administration of colonial affairs.
+
+Colonel Cornwallis, a son of the Baron of that name--a man of firmness
+and discretion--entered the harbour, on the 21st of June, old style, or
+2nd July present style, and soon afterwards assumed his, duties as
+governor of the province. The members of his first council were sworn in
+on board one of the transports in the harbour. Between 2000 and 3000
+persons were brought at this time to settle the town and country. These
+people were chiefly made up of retired military and naval officers,
+soldiers and sailors, gentlemen, mechanics, farmers--far too few--and
+some Swiss, who were extremely industrious and useful. On the whole,
+they were not the best colonists to build up a prosperous industrial
+community. The government gave the settlers large inducements in the
+shape of free grants of land, and practically supported them for the
+first two or three years. It was not until the Acadian population were
+removed, and their lands were available, that the foundation of the
+agricultural prosperity of the peninsula was really laid. In the summer
+of 1753 a considerable number of Germans were placed in the present
+county of Lunenburg, where their descendants still prosper, and take a
+most active part in all the occupations of life.
+
+With the disappearance of the French Acadian settlers Nova Scotia became
+a British colony in the full sense of the phrase. The settlement of 1749
+was supplemented in 1760, and subsequent years, by a valuable and large
+addition of people who were induced to leave Massachusetts and other
+colonies of New England and settle in townships of the present counties
+of Annapolis, King's, Hants, Queen's, Yarmouth, Cumberland, and
+Colchester, especially in the beautiful townships of Cornwallis and
+Horton, where the Acadian meadows were the richest. A small number also
+settled at Maugerville and other places on the St. John River.
+
+During the few years that had elapsed since the Acadians were driven
+from their lands, the sea had once more found its way through the ruined
+dykes, which had no longer the skilful attention of their old builders.
+The new owners of the Acadian lands had none of the special knowledge
+that the French had acquired, and were unable for years to keep back the
+ever-encroaching tides. Still there were some rich uplands and low-lying
+meadows, raised above the sea, which richly rewarded the industrious
+cultivator. The historian, Haliburton, describes the melancholy scene
+that met the eyes of the new settlers when they reached, in 1760, the
+old homes of the Acadians at Mines. They came across a few straggling
+families of Acadians who "had eaten no bread for years, and had
+subsisted on vegetables, fish, and the more hardy part of the cattle
+that had survived the severity of the first winter of their
+abandonment." They saw everywhere "ruins of the houses that had been
+burned by the Provincials, small gardens encircled by cherry-trees and
+currant-bushes, and clumps of apple-trees." In all parts of the country,
+where the new colonists established themselves, the Indians were
+unfriendly for years, and it was necessary to erect stockaded houses for
+the protection of the settlements.
+
+No better class probably could have been selected to settle Nova Scotia
+than these American immigrants. The majority were descendants of the
+Puritans who settled in New England, and some were actually sprung from
+men and women who had landed from "The Mayflower" in 1620. Governor
+Lawrence recognized the necessity of having a sturdy class of settlers,
+accustomed to the climatic conditions and to agricultural labour in
+America, and it was through his strenuous efforts that these immigrants
+were brought into the province. They had, indeed, the choice of the best
+land of the province, and everything was made as pleasant as possible
+for them by a paternal government, only anxious to establish British
+authority on a sound basis of industrial development.
+
+In 1767, according to an official return in the archives of Nova Scotia,
+the total population of what are now the provinces of Nova Scotia, New
+Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, reached 13,374 souls; of whom 6913
+are given as Americans, 912 as English, 2165 as Irish, 1946 as Germans,
+and 1265 as Acadian French, the latter being probably a low estimate.
+Some of these Irish emigrated directly from the north of Ireland, and
+were Presbyterians. They were brought out by one Alexander McNutt, who
+did much for the work of early colonization; others came from New
+Hampshire, where they had been settled for some years. The name of
+Londonderry in New Hampshire is a memorial of this important class, just
+as the same name recalls them in the present county of Colchester, in
+Nova Scotia.
+
+The Scottish immigration, which has exercised such an important
+influence on the eastern counties of Nova Scotia--and I include Cape
+Breton--commenced in 1772, when about thirty families arrived from
+Scotland and settled in the present county of Pictou, where a very few
+American colonists from Philadelphia had preceded them. In later years a
+steady tide of Scotch population flowed into eastern Nova Scotia and did
+not cease until 1820. Gaelic is still the dominant tongue in the eastern
+counties, where we find numerous names recalling the glens, lochs, and
+mountains of old Scotland. Sir William Alexander's dream of a new
+Scotland has been realised in a measure in the province where his
+ambition would have made him "lord paramount."
+
+Until the foundation of Halifax the government of Nova Scotia was vested
+solely in a governor who had command of the garrison stationed at
+Annapolis. In 1719 a commission was issued to Governor Phillips, who was
+authorised to appoint a council of not less than twelve persons. This
+council had advisory and judicial functions, but its legislative
+authority was of a very limited scope. This provisional system of
+government lasted until 1749, when Halifax became the seat of the new
+administration of public affairs. The governor had a right to appoint a
+council of twelve persons--as we have already seen, he did so
+immediately--and to summon a general assembly "according to the usage of
+the rest of our colonies and plantations in America." He was, "with the
+advice and consent" of the council and assembly, "to make, constitute
+and ordain laws" for the good government of the province. During nine
+years the governor-in-council carried on the government without an
+assembly, and passed a number of ordinances, some of which imposed
+duties on trade for the purpose of raising revenue. The legality of
+their acts was questioned by Chief Justice Belcher, and he was sustained
+by the opinion of the English law officers, who called attention to the
+governor's commission, which limited the council's powers. The result of
+this decision was the establishment of a representative assembly, which
+met for the first time at Halifax on the 2nd October, 1758.
+
+Governor Lawrence, whose name will be always unhappily associated with
+the merciless expatriation of the French Acadians, had the honour of
+opening the first legislative assembly of Nova Scotia in 1758. One
+Robert Sanderson, of whom we know nothing else, was chosen as the first
+speaker, but he held his office for only one session, and was succeeded
+by William Nesbitt, who presided over the house for many years. The
+first sittings of the legislature were held in the court house, and
+subsequently in the old grammar school at the corner of Barrington and
+Sackville Streets, for very many years one of the historic memorials of
+the Halifax of the eighteenth century.
+
+At this time the present province of New Brunswick was for the most part
+comprised in a county known as Sunbury, with one representative in the
+assembly of Nova Scotia. The island of Cape Breton also formed a part of
+the province, and had the right to send two members to the assembly, but
+the only election held for that purpose was declared void on account of
+there not being any freeholders entitled by law to vote. The island of
+St. John, named Prince Edward in 1798, in honour of the Duke of Kent,
+who was commander-in-chief of the British forces for some years in North
+America, was also annexed to Nova Scotia in 1763, but it never sent
+representatives to its legislature. In the following year a survey was
+commenced of all the imperial dominions on the Atlantic. Various schemes
+for the cultivation and settlement of the island were proposed as soon
+as the surveys were in progress. The most notable suggestion was made by
+the Earl of Egmont, first lord of the admiralty; he proposed the
+division of the island into baronies, each with a castle or stronghold
+under a feudal lord, subject to himself as lord paramount, under the
+customs of the feudal system of Europe. The imperial authorities
+rejected this scheme, but at the same time they adopted one which was as
+unwise as that of the noble earl. The whole island, with the exception
+of certain small reservations and royalties, was given away by lottery
+in a single day to officers of the army and navy who had served in the
+preceding war, and to other persons who were ambitious to be great
+landowners, on the easy condition of paying certain quit-rents--a
+condition constantly broken. This ill-advised measure led to many
+troublesome complications for a hundred years, until at last they were
+removed by the terms of the arrangement which brought the island into
+the federal union of British North America in 1873. In 1769 the island
+was separated from Nova Scotia and granted a distinct government,
+although its total population at the time did not exceed one hundred and
+fifty families. An assembly of eighteen representatives was called so
+early as 1773, when the first governor, Captain Walter Paterson, still
+administered public affairs. The assembly was not allowed to meet with
+regularity during many years of the early history of the island. During
+one administration it was practically without parliamentary government
+for ten years. The land question always dominated public affairs in the
+island for a hundred years.
+
+From the very beginning of a regular system of government in Nova Scotia
+the legislature appears to have practically controlled the
+administration of local affairs except so far as it gave, from time to
+time, powers to the courts of quarter sessions to regulate taxation and
+carry out certain small public works and improvements. In the first
+session of the legislature a joint committee of the council and assembly
+chose the town officers for Halifax. We have abundant evidence that at
+this time the authorities viewed with disfavour any attempt to establish
+a system of town government similar to that so long in operation in New
+England. The town meeting was considered the nursery of sedition in New
+England, and it is no wonder that the British authorities in Halifax
+frowned upon all attempts to reproduce it in their province.
+
+Soon after his arrival in Nova Scotia, Governor Cornwallis established
+courts of law to try and determine civil and criminal cases in
+accordance with the laws of England. In 1774 there were in the province
+courts of general session, similar to the courts of the same name in
+England; courts of common pleas, formed on the practice of New England
+and the mother country, and a supreme court, court of assize and general
+gaol delivery, composed of a chief justice and two assistant judges. The
+governor-in-council constituted a court of error in certain cases, and
+from its decisions an appeal could be made to the king-in-council.
+Justices of peace were also appointed in the counties and townships,
+with jurisdiction over the collection of small debts.
+
+We must now leave the province of Nova Scotia and follow the
+revolutionary movement, which commenced, soon after the signing of the
+Treaty of Paris, in the old British colonies on the Atlantic seaboard,
+and ended in the acknowledgement of their independence in 1783, and in
+the forced migration of a large body of loyal people who found their way
+to the British provinces.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS (1763--1784).
+
+
+SECTION I.--The successful Revolution of the Thirteen Colonies in
+America.
+
+When Canada was formally ceded to Great Britain the Thirteen Colonies
+were relieved from the menace of the presence of France in the valleys
+of the St. Lawrence, the Ohio, and the Mississippi. Nowhere were there
+more rejoicings on account of this auspicious event than in the homes of
+the democratic Puritans. The names of Pitt and Wolfe were honoured above
+all others of their countrymen, and no one in England, certainly not
+among its statesmen, imagined that in the colonies, which stretched from
+the river Penobscot to the peninsula of Florida, there was latent a
+spirit of independence which might at any moment threaten the rule of
+Great Britain on the American continent. The great expenses of the Seven
+Years' War were now pressing heavily on the British taxpayer. British
+statesmen were forced to consider how best they could make the colonies
+themselves contribute towards their own protection in the future, and
+relieve Great Britain in some measure from the serious burden which
+their defence had heretofore imposed on her. In those days colonies were
+considered as so many possessions to be used for the commercial
+advantage of the parent state. Their commerce and industries had been
+fettered for many years by acts of parliament which were intended to
+give Great Britain a monopoly of their trade and at the same time
+prevent them from manufacturing any article that they could buy from the
+British factories. As a matter of fact, however, these restrictive
+measures of imperial protection had been for a long time practically
+dead-letters. The merchants and seamen of New England carried on
+smuggling with the French and Spanish Indies with impunity, and
+practically traded where they pleased.
+
+The stamp act was only evidence of a vigorous colonial policy, which was
+to make the people of the colonies contribute directly to their own
+defence and security, and at the same time enforce the navigation laws
+and acts of trade and put an end to the general system of smuggling by
+which men, some of the best known merchants of Boston, had acquired a
+fortune. George Grenville, who was responsible for the rigid enforcement
+of the navigation laws and the stamp act, had none of that worldly
+wisdom which Sir Robert Walpole showed when, years before, it was
+proposed to him to tax the colonies. "No," said that astute politician,
+"I have old England set against me already, and do you think I will have
+New England likewise?" But Grenville and his successors, in attempting
+to carry out a new colonial policy, entirely misunderstood the
+conditions and feelings of the colonial communities affected and raised
+a storm of indignation which eventually led to independence. The stamp
+act was in itself an equitable measure, the proceeds of which were to be
+exclusively used for the benefit of the colonies themselves; but its
+enactment was most unfortunate at a time when the influential classes in
+New England were deeply irritated at the enforcement of a policy which
+was to stop the illicit trade from which they had so largely profited in
+the past. The popular indignation, however, vented itself against the
+stamp act, which imposed internal taxation, was declared to be in direct
+violation of the principles of political liberty and self-government
+long enjoyed by the colonists as British subjects, and was repealed as a
+result of the violent opposition it met in the colonies. Parliament
+contented itself with a statutory declaration of its supremacy in all
+matters over every part of the empire; but not long afterwards the
+determination of some English statesmen to bring the colonies as far as
+practicable directly under the dominion of British law in all matters of
+commerce and taxation, and to control their government as far as
+possible, found full expression in the Townshend acts of 1767 which
+imposed port duties on a few commodities, including tea, imported into
+those countries. At the same time provision was made for the due
+execution of existing laws relating to trade. The province of New York
+was punished for openly refusing to obey an act of parliament which
+required the authorities to furnish the British troops with the
+necessaries of life. Writs of assistance, which allowed officials to
+search everywhere for smuggled goods, were duly legalised. These writs
+were the logical sequence of a rigid enforcement of the laws of trade
+and navigation, and had been vehemently denounced by James Otis, so far
+back as 1761, as not only irreconcilable with the colonial charters, but
+as inconsistent with those natural rights which a people "derived from
+nature and the Author of nature"--an assertion which obtained great
+prominence for the speaker. This bold expression of opinion in
+Massachusetts should be studied by the historian of those times in
+connection with the equally emphatic revolutionary argument advanced by
+Patrick Henry of Virginia, two years later, against the ecclesiastical
+supremacy of the Anglican clergy and the right of the king to veto
+legislation of the colony. Though the prerogative of the crown was thus
+directly called into question in a Virginia court, the British
+government did not take a determined stand on the undoubted rights of
+the crown in the case. English statesmen and lawyers probably regarded
+such arguments, if they paid any attention to them at all in days when
+they neglected colonial opinion, as only temporary ebullitions of local
+feeling, though in reality they were so many evidences of the opposition
+that was sure to show itself whenever there was a direct interference
+with the privileges and rights of self-governing communities. Both Henry
+and Otis touched a key-note of the revolution, which was stimulated by
+the revenue and stamp acts and later measures affecting the colonies.
+
+It is somewhat remarkable that it was in aristocratic Virginia, founded
+by Cavaliers, as well as in democratic Massachusetts, founded by
+Puritans, that the revolutionary element gained its principal strength
+during the controversy with the parent state. The makers of
+Massachusetts were independents in church government and democrats in
+political principle. The whole history of New England, in fact, from the
+first charters until the argument on the writs of assistance, is full of
+incidents which show the growth of republican ideas. The Anglican church
+had no strength in the northern colonies, and the great majority of
+their people were bitterly opposed to the pretensions of the English
+hierarchy to establish an episcopate in America. It is not therefore
+surprising that Massachusetts should have been the leader in the
+revolutionary agitation; on the other hand in Virginia the Anglican
+clergy belonged to what was essentially an established church, and the
+whole social fabric of the colony rested on an aristocratic basis. No
+doubt before the outbreak of the revolution there was a decided feeling
+against England on account of the restrictions on the sale of tobacco;
+and the quarrel, which I have just referred to, with respect to the
+stipends of the clergy, which were to be paid in this staple commodity
+according to its market value at the time of payment, had spread
+discontent among a large body of the people. But above all such causes
+of dissatisfaction was the growing belief that the political freedom of
+the people, and the very existence of the colony as a self-governing
+community, were jeopardised by the indiscreet acts of the imperial
+authorities after 1763. It is easy then to understand that the action of
+the British government in 1767 renewed the agitation, which had been
+allayed for the moment by the repeal of the stamp act and the general
+belief that there would be no rigid enforcement of old regulations which
+meant the ruin of the most profitable trade of New England. The measures
+of the ministry were violently assailed in parliament by Burke and
+other eminent men who availed themselves of so excellent an opportunity
+of exciting the public mind against a government which was doing so much
+to irritate the colonies and injure British trade. All the political
+conditions were unfavourable to a satisfactory adjustment of the
+colonial difficulty. Chatham had been one of the earnest opponents of
+the stamp act, but he was now buried in retirement--labouring under some
+mental trouble--and Charles Townshend, the chancellor of the exchequer
+in the cabinet of which Chatham was the real head, was responsible for
+measures which his chief would have repudiated as most impolitic and
+inexpedient in the existing temper of the colonies.
+
+The action of the ministry was for years at once weak and irritating.
+One day they asserted the supremacy of the British parliament, and on
+the next yielded to the violent opposition of the colonies and the
+appeals of British merchants whose interests were at stake. Nothing
+remained eventually but the tea duty, and even that was so arranged that
+the colonists could buy their tea at a much cheaper rate than the
+British consumer. But by this time a strong anti-British party was in
+course of formation throughout the colonies. Samuel Adams of
+Massachusetts, Patrick Henry of Virginia, and a few other political
+managers of consummate ability, had learned their own power, and the
+weakness of English ministers. Samuel Adams, who had no love in his
+heart for England, was undoubtedly by this time insidiously working
+towards the independence of the colonies. Violence and outrage formed
+part of his secret policy. The tea in Boston harbour was destroyed by a
+mob disguised as Mohawk Indians, and was nowhere allowed to enter into
+domestic consumption. The patience of English ministers was now
+exhausted, and they determined to enter on a vigorous system of
+repression, which might have had some effect at an earlier stage of the
+revolutionary movement, when the large and influential loyal body of
+people in the colonies ought to have been vigorously supported, and not
+left exposed to the threats, insults, and even violence of a resolute
+minority, comprising many persons influenced by purely selfish
+reasons--the stoppage of illicit trade from which they had profited--as
+well as men who objected on principle to a policy which seemed to them
+irreconcilable with the rights of the people to the fullest possible
+measure of local self-government. As it was, however, the insults and
+injuries to British officials bound to obey the law, the shameless and
+continuous rioting, the destruction of private property, the defiant
+attitude of the opposition to England, had at last awakened the home
+authorities to the dangers latent in the rebellious spirit that reckless
+agitators had aroused in colonies for which England had sacrificed so
+much of her blood and treasure when their integrity and dearest
+interests were threatened by France. The port of Boston, where the
+agitators were most influential and the most discreditable acts of
+violence had taken place, was closed to trade; and important
+modifications were made in the charter granted to Massachusetts by
+William III in 1692. Another obnoxious act provided that persons
+"questioned for any acts in execution of the laws" should be tried in
+England--a measure intended to protect officials and soldiers in the
+discharge of their duty against the rancour of the colonial community
+where they might be at that time. These measures, undoubtedly unwise at
+this juncture, were calculated to evoke the hostility of the other
+colonies and to show them what was probably in store for themselves. But
+while the issue certainly proved this to be the case, the course pursued
+by the government under existing conditions had an appearance of
+justification. Even Professor Goldwin Smith, who will not be accused of
+any sympathy with the British cabinet of that day, or of antagonism to
+liberal principles, admits that "a government thus bearded and insulted
+had its choice between abdication and repression," and "that repression
+was the most natural" course to pursue under the circumstances. Lord
+North gave expression to what was then a largely prevailing sentiment in
+England when he said "to repeal the tea duty would stamp us with
+timidity," and that the destruction of the property of private
+individuals, such as took place at Boston, "was a fitting culmination of
+years of riot and lawlessness." Lord North, we all know now, was really
+desirous of bringing about a reconciliation between the colonies and the
+parent state, but he servilely yielded his convictions to the king, who
+was determined to govern all parts of his empire, and was in favour of
+coercive measures. It is quite evident that the British ministry and
+their supporters entirely underrated the strength of the colonial party
+that was opposing England. Even those persons who, when the war broke
+out, remained faithful to their allegiance to the crown, were of opinion
+that the British government was pursuing a policy unwise in the extreme,
+although they had no doubt of the abstract legal right of that
+government to pass the Grenville and Townshend acts for taxing the
+colonies. Chatham, Burke, Conway, and Barré were the most prominent
+public men who, in powerful language, showed the dangers of the unwise
+course pursued by the "king's friends" in parliament.
+
+As we review the events of those miserable years we can see that every
+step taken by the British government, from the stamp act until the
+closing of the port of Boston and other coercive measures, had the
+effect of strengthening the hands of Samuel Adams and the other
+revolutionary agitators. Their measures to create a feeling against
+England exhibited great cunning and skill. The revolutionary movement
+was aided by the formation of "Sons of Liberty"--a phrase taken from one
+of Barré's speeches,--by circular letters and committees of
+correspondence between the colonies, by petitions to the king winch were
+framed in a tone of independence not calculated to conciliate that
+uncompromising sovereign, by clever ingenious appeals to public
+patriotism, by the assembling of a "continental congress," by acts of
+"association" which meant the stoppage of all commercial intercourse
+with Great Britain. New England was the head and front of the whole
+revolution, and Samuel Adams was its animating spirit. Even those famous
+committees of correspondence between the towns of Massachusetts, which
+gave expression to public opinion and stimulated united action when the
+legislative authority was prevented by the royal governor from working,
+were the inspiration of this astute political manager. Prominent
+Virginians saw the importance of carrying out this idea on a wider field
+of action, and Virginia accordingly inaugurated a system of
+intercolonial correspondence which led to the meeting of a continental
+congress, and was the first practical step towards political
+independence of the parent state. Adams's decision to work for
+independence was made, or confirmed, as early as 1767, when Charles
+Townshend succeeded in passing the measures which were so obnoxious to
+the colonists, and finally led to civil war.
+
+At a most critical moment, when the feelings of a large body of people
+were aroused to a violent pitch, when ideas of independence were
+ripening in the minds of others besides Samuel Adams, General Gage, then
+in command of the British regular troops in Boston, sent a military
+force to make prisoners of Adams and Hancock at Lexington, and seize
+some stores at Concord. Then the "embattled farmers" fired the shot
+"which was heard around the world." Then followed the capture of
+Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and the battle of Bunker's Hill, on the
+same day that Washington was appointed by congress to command the
+continental army. At this critical juncture, John Adams and other
+prominent colonists--not excepting Washington--were actually disavowing
+all desire to sever their relations with the parent state in the face of
+the warlike attitude of congress--an attitude justified by the
+declaration that it was intended to force a redress of grievances. Tom
+Paine, a mere adventurer, who had not been long in the country, now
+issued his pamphlet, "Common Sense," which was conceived in a spirit
+and written in a style admirably calculated to give strength and
+cohesion to the arguments of the people, who had been for some time
+coming to the conclusion that to aim at independence was the only
+consistent and logical course in the actual state of controversy between
+England and the colonies. On March 14th, 1776, the town of Boston, then
+the most important in America, was given up to the rebels; and British
+ships carried the first large body of unhappy and disappointed Loyalists
+to Halifax. On July the fourth of the same year the Declaration of
+Independence was passed, after much hesitation and discussion, and
+published to the world by the continental congress assembled at
+Philadelphia. The signal victory won by the continental army over
+Burgoyne at Saratoga in the autumn of the following year led to an
+alliance with France, without whose effective aid the eventual success
+of the revolutionists would have been very doubtful The revolutionists
+won their final triumph at Yorktown in the autumn of 1781, when a small
+army of regulars and Loyalists, led by Cornwallis, was obliged to
+surrender to the superior American and French forces, commanded by
+Washington and Rochambeau, and supported by a French fleet which
+effectively controlled the approaches to Chesapeake Bay.
+
+The conduct of the war on the part of England was noted for the singular
+incapacity of her generals. Had there been one of any energy or ability
+at the head of her troops, when hostilities commenced, the undisciplined
+American army might easily have been beaten and annihilated Boston need
+never have been evacuated had Howe taken the most ordinary precautions
+to occupy the heights of Dorchester that commanded the town. Washington
+could never have organised an army had not Howe given him every possible
+opportunity for months to do so. The British probably had another grand
+opportunity of ending the war on their occupation of New York, when
+Washington and his relatively insignificant army were virtually in their
+power while in retreat. The history of the war is full of similar
+instances of lost opportunities to overwhelm the continental troops. All
+the efforts of the British generals appear to have been devoted to the
+occupation of the important towns in a country stretching for a thousand
+miles from north to south, instead of following and crushing the
+constantly retreating, diminishing, and discouraged forces of the
+revolutionists. The evacuation of Philadelphia at a critical moment of
+the war was another signal illustration of the absence of all military
+foresight and judgment, since it disheartened the Loyalists and gave up
+an important base of operation against the South. Even Cornwallis, who
+fought so bravely and successfully in the southern provinces, made a
+most serious mistake when he chose so weak a position as Yorktown, which
+was only defensible whilst the army of occupation had free access to the
+sea. Admiral Rodney, then at St. Eustatius, is open to censure for not
+having sent such naval reinforcements as would have enabled the British
+to command Chesapeake Bay, and his failure in this respect explains the
+inability of Clinton, an able general, to support Cornwallis in his hour
+of need. The moment the French fleet appeared in the Chesapeake,
+Cornwallis's position became perfectly untenable, and he was obliged to
+surrender to the allied armies, who were vastly superior in number and
+equipment to his small force, which had not even the advantage of
+fighting behind well-constructed and perfect defences. No doubt, from
+the beginning to the end of the war--notably in the case of
+Burgoyne--the British were seriously hampered by the dilatory and unsafe
+counsels of Lord George Germaine, who was allowed by the favour of the
+king to direct military operations, and who, we remember, had disgraced
+himself on the famous battlefield of Minden.
+
+All the conditions in the country at large were favourable to the
+imperial troops had they been commanded by generals of ability. The
+Loyalists formed a large available force, rendered valueless time after
+time by the incapacity of the men who directed operations. At no time
+did the great body of the American people warmly respond to the demands
+made upon them by congress to support Washington. Had it not been for
+New England and Virginia the war must have more than once collapsed for
+want of men and supplies. It is impossible to exaggerate the absence of
+public spirit in the States during this critical period of their
+history. The English historian, Lecky, who has reviewed the annals of
+those times with great fairness, has truly said: "The nobility and
+beauty of the character of Washington can hardly be surpassed; several
+of the other leaders of the revolution were men of ability and public
+spirit, and few armies have ever shown a nobler self-devotion than that
+which remained with Washington through the dreary winter at Valley
+Forge. But the army that bore those sufferings was a very small one, and
+the general aspect of the American people during the contest was far
+from heroic or sublime." This opinion is fully borne out by those
+American historians who have reviewed the records of their national
+struggle in a spirit of dispassionate criticism. We know that in the
+spring of 1780 Washington himself wrote that his troops were "constantly
+on the point of starving for want of provisions and forage." He saw "in
+every line of the army the most serious features of mutiny and
+sedition." Indeed he had "almost ceased to hope," for he found the
+country in general "in such a state of insensibility and indifference to
+its interests" that he dare not flatter himself "with any change for the
+better." The war under such circumstances would have come to a sudden
+end had not France liberally responded to Washington's appeals and
+supported him with her money, her sailors and her soldiers. In the
+closing years of the war Great Britain had not only to fight France,
+Spain, Holland and her own colonies, but she was without a single ally
+in Europe. Her dominion was threatened in India, and the king prevented
+the intervention of the only statesman in the kingdom to whom the
+colonists at any time were likely to listen with respect. When Chatham
+died with a protest on his lips "against the dismemberment of this
+ancient monarchy," the last hope of bringing about a reconciliation
+between the revolutionists and the parent state disappeared for ever,
+and the Thirteen Colonies became independent at Yorktown.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--Canada and Nova Scotia during the Revolution.
+
+If Canada was saved to England during the American Revolution it was not
+on account of the energy and foresight shown by the king and his
+ministers in providing adequately for its defence, but mainly through
+the coolness and excellent judgment displayed by Governor Carleton. The
+Quebec act, for which he was largely responsible, was extremely
+unpopular in the Thirteen Colonies, on account of its having extended
+the boundaries of the province and the civil law to that western country
+beyond the Alleghanies, which the frontiersmen of Pennsylvania and
+Virginia regarded as specially their own domain. The fact that the
+Quebec act was passed by parliament simultaneously with the Boston port
+bill and other measures especially levelled against Massachusetts, gave
+additional fuel to the indignation of the people, who regarded this
+group of acts as part of a settled policy to crush the British-speaking
+colonies.
+
+Under these circumstances, the invasion of Canada by Arnold in 1775,
+with the full approval of the continental congress, soon after the
+taking of Crown Point and Ticonderoga by the "Green Mountain boys" of
+Vermont, was a most popular movement which, it was hoped generally,
+would end in the easy conquest of a province, occupied by an alien
+people, and likely to be a menace in the future to the country south of
+the St. Lawrence. The capture of Chambly and St. John's--the keys of
+Canada, by way of Lake Champlain--was immediately followed by the
+surrender of Montreal, which was quite indefensible, and the flight of
+Carleton to Quebec, where he wisely decided to make a stand against the
+invaders. At this time there were not one thousand regular troops in the
+country, and Carleton's endeavour to obtain reinforcements from Boston
+had failed in consequence of the timidity of Admiral Graves, who
+expressed his opinion that it was not safe to send vessels up the St.
+Lawrence towards the end of the month of October. No dependence
+apparently could be placed at this critical juncture on a number of the
+French _habitants_, as soon as the districts of Richelieu, Montreal and
+Three Rivers were occupied by the continental troops. Many of them were
+quite ready to sell provisions to the invaders, provided they were paid
+in coin, and a few of them even joined Montgomery on his march to
+Quebec. Happily, however, the influence of the clergy and the
+_seigneurs_ was sufficiently powerful to make the great mass of the
+people neutral during this struggle for supremacy in the province.
+
+The bishop and the priests, from the outset, were quite alive to the
+gravity of the situation. They could not forget that the delegates to
+the continental congress, who were now appealing to French Canada to
+join the rebellious colonists, had only a few weeks before issued an
+address to the people of England in which they expressed their
+astonishment that the British parliament should have established in
+Canada "a religion that had deluged their land in blood and dispersed
+impiety, bigotry, persecution, murder, and rebellion through every part
+of the world." Almost simultaneously with the capture of the forts on
+Lake Champlain, Bishop Briand issued a _mandement_ in which he dwelt
+with emphasis on the great benefits which the people of French Canada
+had already derived from the British connection and called upon them all
+to unite in the defence of their province. No doubt can exist that these
+opinions had much effect at a time when Carleton had reason to doubt
+even the loyalty of the English population, some of whom were
+notoriously in league with the rebels across the frontier, and gave
+material aid to the invaders as soon as they occupied Montreal. It was
+assuredly the influence of the French clergy that rendered entirely
+ineffectual the mission of Chase, Franklin, and the Carrolls of
+Maryland--one of whom became the first Roman Catholic archbishop of the
+United States--who were instructed by congress to offer every possible
+inducement to the Roman Catholic subjects of England in Canada to join
+the revolutionary movement.
+
+Richard Montgomery, who had commanded the troops invading Canada, had
+served at Louisbourg and Quebec, and had subsequently become a resident
+of New York, where his political opinions on the outbreak of the
+revolution had been influenced by his connection, through marriage, with
+the Livingstones, bitter opponents of the British government. His merit
+as a soldier naturally brought him into prominence when the war began,
+and his own ambition gladly led him to obey the order to go to Canada,
+where he hoped to emulate the fame of Wolfe and become the captor of
+Quebec. He formed a junction, close to the ancient capital, with the
+force under Benedict Arnold, who was at a later time to sully a
+memorable career by an act of the most deliberate treachery to his
+compatriots. When Montgomery and Arnold united their forces before
+Quebec, the whole of Canada, from Lake Champlain to Montreal, and from
+that town to the walls of the old capital, was under the control of the
+continental troops. Despite the great disadvantages under which he
+laboured, Carleton was able to perfect his defences of the city, which
+he determined to hold until reinforcements should arrive in the spring
+from England. Montgomery had neither men nor artillery to storm the
+fortified city which he had hoped to surprise and easily occupy with the
+aid of secret friends within its walls. Carleton, however, rallied all
+loyal men to his support, and the traitors on whom the invaders had
+relied were powerless to carry out any treacherous design they may have
+formed. The American commanders at once recognised the folly of a
+regular investment of the fortress during a long and severe winter, and
+decided to attempt to surprise the garrison by a night assault. This
+plan was earned out in the early morning of the thirty-first of
+December, 1775, when the darkness was intensified by flurries of light
+blinding snow, but it failed before the assailants could force the
+barricades which barred the way to the upper town, where all the
+principal offices and buildings were grouped, just below the château and
+fort of St. Louis, which towers above the historic heights. Montgomery
+was killed, Arnold was wounded at the very outset, and a considerable
+number of their officers and men were killed or wounded.
+
+Carleton saved Quebec at this critical hour and was able in the course
+of the same year, when General Burgoyne arrived with reinforcements
+largely composed of subsidised German regiments, to drive the
+continental troops in confusion from the province and destroy the fleet
+which congress had formed on Lake Champlain. Carleton took possession of
+Crown Point but found the season too late--it was now towards the end of
+autumn--to attempt an attack on Ticonderoga, which was occupied by a
+strong and well-equipped garrison. After a careful view of the situation
+he concluded to abandon Crown Point until the spring, when he could
+easily occupy it again, and attack Ticonderoga with every prospect of
+success. But Carleton, soon afterwards, was ordered to give up the
+command of the royal troops to Burgoyne, who was instructed by Germaine
+to proceed to the Hudson River, where Howe was to join him. Carleton
+naturally resented the insult that he received and resigned the
+governor-generalship, to which General Haldimand was appointed. Carleton
+certainly brought Canada securely through one of the most critical
+epochs of her history, and there is every reason to believe that he
+would have saved the honour of England and the reputation of her
+generals, had he rather than Burgoyne and Howe been entrusted with the
+direction of her armies in North America.
+
+Carleton's administration of the civil government of the province was
+distinguished by a spirit of discretion and energy which deservedly
+places him among the ablest governors who ever presided over the public
+affairs of a colony. During the progress of the American war the
+legislative council was not able to meet until nearly two years after
+its abrupt adjournment in September, 1775. At this session, in 1777,
+ordinances were passed for the establishment of courts of King's bench,
+common pleas, and probate.
+
+A critical perusal of the valuable documents, placed of late years in
+the archives of the Dominion, clearly proves that it was a fortunate day
+for Canada when so resolute a soldier and far-sighted administrator as
+General Haldimand was in charge of the civil and military government of
+the country after the departure of Carleton. His conduct appears to have
+been dictated by a desire to do justice to all classes, and it is most
+unfair to his memory to declare that he was antagonistic to French
+Canadians. During the critical time when he was entrusted with the
+public defence it is impossible to accuse him of an arrogant or
+unwarrantable exercise of authority, even when he was sorely beset by
+open and secret enemies of the British connection. The French Canadian
+_habitant_ found himself treated with a generous consideration that he
+never obtained during the French régime, and wherever his services were
+required by the state, he was paid, not in worthless card money, but in
+British coin. During Haldimand's administration the country was in a
+perilous condition on account of the restlessness and uncertainty that
+prevailed while the French naval and military expeditions were in
+America, using every means of exciting a public sentiment hostile to
+England and favourable to France among the French Canadians. Admiral
+D'Estaing's proclamation in 1778 was a passionate appeal to the old
+national sentiment of the people, and was distributed in every part of
+the province. Dr. Kingsford believes that it had large influence in
+creating a powerful feeling which might have seriously threatened
+British dominion had the French been able to obtain permission from
+congress to send an army into the country. Whatever may have been the
+temper of the great majority of the French Canadians, it does not appear
+that many of them openly expressed their sympathy with France, for whom
+they would naturally still feel a deep love as their motherland. The
+assertion that many priests secretly hoped for the appearance of the
+French army is not justified by any substantial evidence except the fact
+that one La Valinière was arrested for his disloyalty, and sent a
+prisoner to England. It appears, however, that this course was taken
+with the approval of the bishop himself, who was a sincere friend of the
+English connection throughout the war. Haldimand arrested a number of
+persons who were believed to be engaged in treasonable practices against
+England, and effectively prevented any successful movement being made by
+the supporters of the revolutionists, or sympathisers with France, whose
+emissaries were secretly working in the parishes.
+
+Haldimand's principal opponent during these troublous times was one
+Pierre du Calvet, an unscrupulous and able intriguer, whom he imprisoned
+on the strong suspicion of treasonable practices; but the evidence
+against Calvet at that time appears to have been inadequate, as he
+succeeded in obtaining damages against the governor-general in an
+English court. The imperial government, however, in view of all the
+circumstances brought to their notice, paid the cost of the defence of
+the suit. History now fully justifies the action of Haldimand, for the
+publication of Franklin's correspondence in these later times shows that
+Calvet--who was drowned at sea and never again appeared in Canada--was
+in direct correspondence with congress, and the recognised emissary of
+the revolutionists at the very time he was declaring himself devoted to
+the continuance of British rule in Canada.
+
+Leaving the valley of the St. Lawrence, and reviewing the conditions of
+affairs in the maritime provinces, during the American revolution, we
+see that some of the settlers from New England sympathised with their
+rebellious countrymen. The people of Truro, Onslow, and Londonderry,
+with the exception of five persons, refused to take the oath of
+allegiance, and were not allowed for some time to be represented in the
+legislature. The assembly was always loyal to the crown, and refused to
+consider the appeals that were made to it by circular letters, and
+otherwise, to give active aid and sympathy to the rebellious colonies
+During the war armed cruisers pillaged the small settlements at
+Charlottetown, Annapolis, Lunenburg, and the entrance of the St. John
+River. One expedition fitted out at Machias, in the present state of
+Maine, under the command of a Colonel Eddy, who had been a resident of
+Cumberland, attempted to seize Fort Cumberland--known as Beauséjour in
+French Acadian days--at the mouth of the Missiquash. In this section of
+the country there were many sympathisers with the rebels, and Eddy
+expected to have an easy triumph. The military authorities were happily
+on the alert, and the only result was the arrest of a number of persons
+on the suspicion of treasonable designs. The inhabitants of the county
+of Yarmouth--a district especially exposed to attack--only escaped the
+frequent visits of privateers by secret negotiations with influential
+persons in Massachusetts. The settlers on the St. John River, at
+Maugerville, took measures to assist their fellow-countrymen in New
+England, but the defeat of the Cumberland expedition and the activity of
+the British authorities prevented the disaffected in Sunbury county--in
+which the original settlements of New Brunswick were then
+comprised--from rendering any practical aid to the revolutionists. The
+authorities at Halifax authorised the fitting out of privateers in
+retaliation for the damages inflicted on western ports by the same class
+of cruisers sailing from New England. The province was generally
+impoverished by the impossibility of carrying on the coasting trade and
+fisheries with security in these circumstances. The constant demand for
+men to fill the army and the fleet drained the country when labour was
+imperatively needed for necessary industrial pursuits, including the
+cultivation of the land. Some Halifax merchants and traders alone found
+profit in the constant arrival of troops and ships. Apart, however, from
+the signs of disaffection shown in the few localities I have mentioned,
+the people generally appear to have been loyal to England, and rallied,
+notably in the townships of Annapolis, Horton and Windsor, to the
+defence of the country, at the call of the authorities.
+
+In 1783 the humiliated king of England consented to a peace with his old
+colonies, who owed their success not so much to the unselfishness and
+determination of the great body of the rebels as to the incapacity of
+British generals and to the patience, calmness, and resolution of the
+one great man of the revolution, George Washington. I shall in a later
+chapter refer to this treaty in which the boundaries between Canada and
+the new republic were so ignorantly and clumsily defined that it took
+half a century and longer to settle the vexed questions that arose in
+connection with territorial rights, and then the settlement was to the
+injury of Canada. So far as the treaty affected the Provinces its most
+important result was the forced migration of that large body of people
+who had remained faithful to the crown and empire during the revolution.
+
+[Illustration: MAP SHOWING BOUNDARY BETWEEN CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES
+BY TREATY OF 1783]
+
+
+SECTION 3.--The United Empire Loyalists
+
+John Adams and other authorities in the United States have admitted that
+when the first shot of the revolution was fired by "the embattled
+farmers" of Concord and Lexington, the Loyalists numbered one-third of
+the whole population of the colonies, or seven hundred thousand whites.
+Others believe that the number was larger, and that the revolutionary
+party was in a minority even after the declaration of independence. The
+greater number of the Loyalists were to be found in the present state of
+New York, where the capital was in possession of the British from
+September, 1776, until the evacuation in 1783. They were also the
+majority in Pennsylvania and the southern colonies of South Carolina and
+Georgia. In all the other states they represented a large minority of
+the best class of their respective communities. It is estimated that
+there were actually from thirty to thirty-five thousand, at one time or
+other, enrolled in regularly organised corps, without including the
+bodies which waged guerilla warfare in South Carolina and elsewhere.
+
+It is only within a decade of years that some historical writers in the
+United States have had the courage and honesty to point out the false
+impressions long entertained by the majority of Americans with respect
+to the Loyalists, who were in their way as worthy of historical eulogy
+as the people whose efforts to win independence were crowned with
+success. Professor Tyler, of Cornell University, points out that these
+people comprised "in general a clear majority of those who, of whatever
+grade of culture or of wealth, would now be described as conservative
+people." A clear majority of the official class, of men representing
+large commercial interests and capital, of professional training and
+occupation, clergymen, physicians, lawyers and teachers, "seem to have
+been set against the ultimate measures of the revolution". He assumes
+with justice that, within this conservative class, one may "usually find
+at least a fair portion of the cultivation, of the moral thoughtfulness,
+of the personal purity and honour, existing in the community to which
+they happen to belong." He agrees with Dr. John Fiske, and other
+historical writers of eminence in the United States, in comparing the
+Loyalists of 1776 to the Unionists of the southern war of secession from
+1861 until 1865. They were "the champions of national unity, as resting
+on the paramount authority of the general government." In other words
+they were the champions of a United British Empire in the eighteenth
+century.
+
+"The old colonial system," says that thoughtful writer Sir J.R. Seeley,
+"was not at all tyrannous; and when the breach came the grievances of
+which the Americans complained, though perfectly real, were smaller than
+ever before or since led to such mighty consequences." The leaders among
+the Loyalists, excepting a few rash and angry officials probably,
+recognised that there were grievances which ought to be remedied. They
+looked on the policy of the party in power in Great Britain as
+injudicious in the extreme, but they believed that the relations between
+the colonies and the mother-state could be placed on a more satisfactory
+basis by a spirit of mutual compromise, and not by such methods as were
+insidiously followed by the agitators against England. The Loyalists
+generally contended for the legality of the action of parliament, and
+were supported by the opinion of all high legal authorities; but the
+causes of difficulty were not to be adjusted by mere lawyers, who
+adhered to the strict letter of the law, but by statesmen who recognised
+that the time had come for reconsidering the relations between the
+colonies and the parent state, and meeting the new conditions of their
+rapid development and political freedom. These relations were not to be
+placed on an equitable and satisfactory basis by mob-violence and
+revolution. All the questions at issue were of a constitutional
+character, to be settled by constitutional methods.
+
+Unhappily, English statesmen of that day paid no attention to, and had
+no conception of, the aspirations, sentiments and conditions of the
+colonial peoples when the revolutionary war broke out. The king wished
+to govern in the colonies as well as in the British Isles, and
+unfortunately the unwise assertion of his arrogant will gave dangerous
+men like Samuel Adams, more than once, the opportunity they wanted to
+stimulate public irritation and indignation against England.
+
+It is an interesting fact, that the relations between Great Britain and
+the Canadian Dominion are now regulated by just such principles as were
+urged in the interests of England and her colonies a hundred and twenty
+years ago by Governor Thomas Hutchinson, a great Loyalist, to whom
+justice is at last being done by impartial historians in the country
+where his motives and acts were so long misunderstood and
+misrepresented. "Whatever measures," he wrote to a correspondent in
+England, "you may take to maintain the authority of parliament, give me
+leave to pray they may be accompanied with a declaration that it is not
+the intention of parliament to deprive the colonies of their subordinate
+power of legislation, nor to exercise the supreme power except in such
+cases and upon such occasions as an equitable regard to the interests of
+the whole empire shall make necessary." But it took three-quarters of a
+century after the coming of the Loyalists to realise these statesmanlike
+conceptions of Hutchinson in the colonial dominions of England to the
+north of the dependencies which she lost in the latter part of the
+eighteenth century.
+
+Similar opinions were entertained by Joseph Galloway, Jonathan Boucher,
+Jonathan Odell, Samuel Seabury, Chief Justice Smith, Judge Thomas Jones,
+Beverley Robinson and other men of weight and ability among the
+Loyalists, who recognised the short-sightedness and ignorance of the
+British authorities, and the existence of real grievances. Galloway, one
+of the ablest men on the constitutional side, and a member of the first
+continental congress, suggested a practical scheme of imperial
+federation, well worthy of earnest consideration at that crisis in
+imperial affairs. Eminent men in the congress of 1774 supported this
+statesmanlike mode of placing the relations of England and the colonies
+on a basis which would enable them to work harmoniously, and at the same
+time give full scope to the ambition and the liberties of the colonial
+communities thus closely united; but unhappily for the empire the
+revolutionary element carried the day. The people at large were never
+given an opportunity of considering this wise proposition, and the
+motion was erased from the records of congress. In its place, the people
+were asked to sign "articles of association" which bound them to cease
+all commercial relations with England. Had Galloway's idea been carried
+out to a successful issue, we might have now presented to the world the
+noble spectacle of an empire greater by half a continent and
+seventy-five millions of people.
+
+But while Galloway and other Loyalists failed in their measures of
+adjusting existing difficulties and remedying grievances, history can
+still do full justice to their wise counsel and resolute loyalty, which
+refused to assist in tearing the empire to fragments. These men, who
+remained faithful to this ideal to the very bitter end, suffered many
+indignities at the hands of the professed lovers of liberty, even in
+those days when the questions at issue had not got beyond the stage of
+legitimate argument and agitation. The courts of law were closed and the
+judges prevented from fulfilling their judicial functions. No class of
+persons, not even women, were safe from the insults of intoxicated
+ruffians. The clergy of the Church of England were especially the object
+of contumely.
+
+During the war the passions of both parties to the controversy were
+aroused to the highest pitch, and some allowance must be made for
+conditions which were different from those which existed when the
+questions at issue were still matters of argument. It is impossible in
+times of civil strife to cool the passions of men and prevent them from
+perpetrating cruelties and outrages which would be repugnant to their
+sense of humanity in moments of calmness and reflection. Both sides,
+more than once, displayed a hatred of each other that was worthy of the
+American Iroquois themselves. The legislative bodies were fully as
+vindictive as individuals in the persecution of the Loyalists.
+Confiscation of estate, imprisonment, disqualification for office,
+banishment, and even death in case of return from exile, were among the
+penalties to which these people were subject by the legislative acts of
+the revolutionary party.
+
+If allowance can be made for the feelings of revenge and passion which
+animate persons under the abnormal conditions of civil war, no
+extenuating circumstances appear at that later period when peace was
+proclaimed and congress was called upon to fulfil the terms of the
+treaty and recommend to the several independent states the restoration
+of the confiscated property of Loyalists. Even persons who had taken up
+arms were to have an opportunity of receiving their estates back on
+condition of refunding the money which had been paid for them, and
+protection was to be afforded to those persons during twelve months
+while they were engaged in obtaining the restoration of their property.
+It was also solemnly agreed by the sixth article of the treaty that
+there should be no future confiscations or prosecutions, and that no
+person should "suffer any future loss or damage, either in his person,
+liberty or property," for the part he might have taken in the war. Now
+was the time for generous terms, such terms as were even shown by the
+triumphant North to the rebellious South at the close of the war of
+secession. The recommendations of congress were treated with contempt by
+the legislatures in all the states except in South Carolina, and even
+there the popular feeling was entirely opposed to any favour or justice
+being shown to the beaten party. The sixth article of the treaty, a
+solemn obligation, was violated with malice and premeditation. The
+Loyalists, many of whom had returned from Great Britain with the hope of
+receiving back their estates, or of being allowed to remain in the
+country, soon found they could expect no generous treatment from the
+successful republicans. The favourite Whig occupation of tarring and
+feathering was renewed. Loyalists were warned to leave the country as
+soon as possible, and in the south some were shot and hanged because
+they did not obey the warning. The Loyalists, for the most part, had no
+other course open to them than to leave the country they still loved and
+where they had hoped to die.
+
+The British government endeavoured, so far as it was in its power, to
+compensate the Loyalists for the loss of their property by liberal
+grants of money and land, but despite all that was done for them the
+majority felt a deep bitterness in their hearts as they landed on new
+shores of which they had heard most depressing accounts. More than
+thirty-five thousand men, women and children, made their homes within
+the limits of the present Dominion. In addition to these actual American
+Loyalists, there were several thousands of negroes, fugitives from their
+owners, or servants of the exiles, who have been generally counted in
+the loose estimates made of the migration of 1783, and the greater
+number of whom were at a later time deported from Nova Scotia to Sierra
+Leone. Of the exiles at least twenty-five thousand went to the maritime
+colonies, and built up the province of New Brunswick, where
+representative institutions were established in 1784. Of the ten
+thousand people who sought the valley of the St Lawrence, some settled
+in Montreal, at Chambly, and in parts of the present Eastern Townships,
+but the great majority accepted grants of land on the banks of the St.
+Lawrence--from River Beaudette, on Lake St. Francis, as far as the
+beautiful Bay of Quinté--in the Niagara District, and on the shores of
+Lake Erie. The coming of these people, subsequently known by the name of
+"U.E. Loyalists"--a name appropriately given to them in recognition of
+their fidelity to a United Empire--was a most auspicious event for the
+British-American provinces, the greater part of which was still a
+wilderness. As we have seen in the previous chapters, there was in the
+Acadian provinces, afterwards divided into New Brunswick and Nova
+Scotia, a British population of only some 14,000 souls, mostly confined
+to the peninsula. In the valley of the St. Lawrence there was a French
+population of probably 100,000 persons, dwelling chiefly on the banks of
+the St. Lawrence between Quebec and Montreal. The total British
+population of the province of Quebec did not exceed 2000, residing for
+the most part in the towns of Quebec and Montreal. No English people
+were found west of Lake St. Louis; and what is now the populous province
+of Ontario was a mere wilderness, except where loyal refugees had
+gathered about the English fort at Niagara, or a few French settlers had
+made homes for themselves on the banks of the Detroit River and Lake St.
+Clair. The migration of between 30,000 and 40,000 Loyalists to the
+maritime provinces and the valley of the St. Lawrence was the saving of
+British interests in the great region which England still happily
+retained in North America.
+
+The refugees who arrived in Halifax in 1783 were so numerous that
+hundreds had to be placed in the churches or in cabooses taken from the
+transports and ranged along the streets. At Guysborough, in Nova
+Scotia--so named after Sir Guy Carleton--the first village, which was
+hastily built by the settlers, was destroyed by a bush fire, and many
+persons only saved their lives by rushing into the sea. At Shelburne, on
+the first arrival of the exiles, there were seen "lines of women sitting
+on the rocky shore and weeping at their altered condition." Towns and
+villages, however, were soon built for the accommodation of the people.
+At Shelburne, or Port Roseway--anglicised from the French _Razoir_--a
+town of fourteen thousand people, with wide streets, fine houses, some
+of them containing furniture and mantel-pieces brought from New York,
+arose in two or three years. The name of New Jerusalem had been given to
+the same locality some years before, but it seemed a mockery to the
+Loyalists when they found that the place they had chosen for their new
+home was quite unsuited for settlement. A beautiful harbour lay in
+front, and a rocky country unfit for farmers in the rear of their
+ambitious town, which at one time was the most populous in British North
+America. In the course of a few years the place was almost deserted, and
+sank for a time into insignificance. A pretty town now nestles by the
+side of the beautiful and spacious harbour which attracted the first too
+hopeful settlers; and its residents point out to the tourist the sites
+of the buildings of last century, one or two of which still stand, and
+can show many documents and relics of those early days.
+
+Over twelve thousand Loyalists, largely drawn from the disbanded loyal
+regiments of the old colonies, settled in New Brunswick. The name of
+Parrtown was first given, in honour of the governor of Nova Scotia, to
+the infant settlement which became the city of St. John, in 1785, when
+it was incorporated. The first landing of the loyal pioneers took place
+on the 18th of May, 1783, at what is now the Market Slip of this
+interesting city. Previous to 1783, the total population of the province
+did not exceed seven hundred souls, chiefly at Maugerville and other
+places on the great river. The number of Loyalists who settled on the
+St. John River was at least ten thousand, of whom the greater proportion
+were established at the mouth of the river, which was the base of
+operations for the peopling of the new province. Some adventurous
+spirits took possession of the abandoned French settlements at Grimross
+and St. Anne's, where they repaired some ruined huts of the original
+Acadian occupants, or built temporary cabins. This was the beginning of
+the settlement of Fredericton, which four years later became the
+political capital on account of its central position, its greater
+security in time of war, and its location on the land route to Quebec.
+Many of the people spent their first winter in log-huts, bark camps, and
+tents covered with spruce, or rendered habitable only by the heavy banks
+of snow which were piled against them. A number of persons died through
+exposure, and "strong, proud men"--to quote the words of one who lived
+in those sorrowful days--"wept like children and lay down in their
+snow-bound tents to die."
+
+A small number of loyal refugees had found their way to the valley of
+the St. Lawrence as early as 1778, and obtained employment in the
+regiments organised under Sir John Johnson and others. It was not until
+1783 and 1784 that the large proportion of the exiles came to Western
+Canada. They settled chiefly on the northern banks of the St. Lawrence,
+in what are now the counties of Glengarry, Stormont, Dundas, Grenville,
+Leeds, Frontenac, Addington, Lennox, Hastings and Prince Edward, where
+their descendants have acquired wealth and positions of honour and
+trust. The first township laid out in Upper Canada, now Ontario, was
+Kingston. The beautiful Bay of Quinté is surrounded by a country full of
+the memories of this people, and the same is true of the picturesque
+district of Niagara.
+
+Among the Loyalists of Canada must also be honourably mentioned Joseph
+Brant (Thayendanega), the astute and courageous chief of the Mohawks,
+the bravest nation of the Iroquois confederacy, who fought on the side
+of England during the war. At its close he and his people settled in
+Canada, where they received large grants from the government, some in a
+township by the Bay of Quinté, which still bears the Indian title of the
+great warrior, and the majority on the Grand River, where a beautiful
+city and county perpetuate the memory of this loyal subject of the
+British crown. The first Anglican church built in Upper Canada was that
+of the Mohawks, near Brantford, and here the church bell first broke the
+silence of the illimitable forest.
+
+The difficulties which the Upper Canadian immigrants had to undergo
+before reaching their destination were much greater than was the case
+with the people who went direct in ships from American ports to Halifax
+and other places on the Atlantic coast. The former had to make toilsome
+journeys by land, or by _bateaux_ and canoes up the St. Lawrence, the
+Richelieu, the Genesee, and other streams which gave access from the
+interior of the United States to the new Canadian land. The British
+government did its best to supply the wants of the population suddenly
+thrown upon its charitable care, but, despite all that could be done for
+them in the way of food and means of fighting the wilderness, they
+suffered naturally a great deal of hardship. The most influential
+immigration found its way to the maritime provinces, where many received
+congenial employment and adequate salaries in the new government of New
+Brunswick. Many others, with the wrecks of their fortunes or the
+pecuniary aid granted them by the British government, were able to make
+comfortable homes and cultivate estates in the valleys of the St. John
+and Annapolis, and in other fertile parts of the lower provinces. Of the
+large population that founded Shelburne a few returned to the United
+States, but the greater number scattered all over the provinces. The
+settlers in Upper Canada had to suffer many trials for years after their
+arrival, and especially in a year of famine, when large numbers had to
+depend on wild fruits and roots. Indeed, had it not been for the fish
+and game which were found in some, but not in all, places, starvation
+and death would have been the lot of many hundreds of helpless people.
+
+Many of the refugees could trace their descent to the early immigration
+that founded the colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay. Some were
+connected with the Cavalier and Church families of Virginia. Others were
+of the blood of persecuted Huguenots and German Protestants from the
+Rhenish or Lower Palatinate. Not a few were Highland Scotchmen, who had
+been followers of the Stuarts, and yet fought for King George and the
+British connection during the American revolution. Among the number were
+notable Anglican clergymen, eminent judges and lawyers, and probably one
+hundred graduates of Harvard, Yale, King's, Pennsylvania, and William
+and Mary Colleges. In the records of industrial enterprise, of social
+and intellectual progress, of political development for a hundred
+years, we find the names of many eminent men, sprung from these people,
+to whom Canada owes a deep debt of gratitude for the services they
+rendered her in the most critical period of her chequered history.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+DEVELOPMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE INSTITUTIONS (1784--1812).
+
+
+SECTION I--Beginnings of the provinces of New Brunswick, Lower Canada
+and Upper Canada.
+
+On the 16th August, 1784, as a consequence of the coming of over ten
+thousand Loyalists to the valley of the St. John River, a new province
+was formed out of that portion of the ancient limits of Acadia, which
+extended northward from the isthmus of Chignecto to the province of
+Quebec, and eastward from the uncertain boundary of the St. Croix to the
+Gulf of St. Lawrence. It received its present name in honour of the
+Brunswick-Luneburg or Hanoverian line which had given a royal dynasty to
+England, and its first governor was Colonel Thomas Carleton, a brother
+of the distinguished governor-general, whose name is so intimately
+associated with the fortunes of Canada during a most critical period of
+its history. The first executive council, which was also the legislative
+council, comprised some of the most eminent men of the Loyalist
+migration. For instance, George Duncan Ludlow; who had been a judge of
+the supreme court of New York; Jonathan Odell, the famous satirist and
+divine; William Hazen, a merchant of high reputation, who had large
+interests on the St. John River from 1763, and had proved his fidelity
+to the crown at a time when his countrymen at Maugerville were disposed
+to join the revolutionary party; Gabriel G. Ludlow, previously a colonel
+in a royal regiment; Edward Winslow, Daniel Bliss and Isaac Allen, all
+of whom had borne arms in the royal service and had suffered the loss of
+valuable property, confiscated by the successful rebels.
+
+The constitution of 1784 provided for an assembly of twenty-six members
+who were elected in 1785, and met for the first time on the 3rd of
+January, 1786, at the Mallard House, a plain two-storey building on the
+north side of King Street. The city of St. John ceased to be the seat of
+government in 1787, when the present capital, Fredericton, first known
+as St. Anne's, was chosen. Of the twenty-six members elected to this
+assembly, twenty-three were Loyalists, and the same class necessarily
+continued for many years to predominate in the legislature. The first
+speaker was Amos Botsford, the pioneer of the Loyalist migration to New
+Brunswick, whose grandson occupied the same position for a short time in
+the senate of the Dominion of Canada.
+
+Coming to the province of Lower Canada we find it contained at this time
+a population of about a hundred thousand souls, of whom six thousand
+lived in Quebec and Montreal respectively. Only two thousand
+English-speaking persons resided in the province, almost entirely in the
+towns. Small as was the British minority, it continued that agitation
+for an assembly which had been commenced long before the passage of the
+Quebec act. A nominated council did not satisfy the political ambition
+of this class, who obtained little support from the French Canadian
+people. The objections of the latter arose from the working of the act
+itself. Difficulties had grown up in the administration of the law,
+chiefly in consequence of its being entrusted exclusively to men
+acquainted only with English jurisprudence, and not disposed to comply
+with the letter and intention of the imperial statute. As a matter of
+practice, French law was only followed as equity suggested; and the
+consequence was great legal confusion in the province. A question had
+also arisen as to the legality of the issue of writs of _habeas corpus_,
+and it was eventually necessary to pass an ordinance to remove all
+doubts on this important point.
+
+The Loyalist settlers on the St. Lawrence and Niagara Rivers sent a
+petition in 1785 to the home government, praying for the establishment
+of a new district west of the River Beaudette "with the blessings of
+British laws and British government, and of exemption from French tenure
+of property." While such matters were under the consideration of the
+imperial authorities, Sir Guy Carleton, once more governor-general of
+Canada, and lately raised to the peerage as Lord Dorchester,
+established, in 1788, five new districts for the express object of
+providing for the temporary government of the territory where the
+Loyalists had settled. These districts were known as Luneburg,
+Mecklenburg, Nassau and Hesse, in the western country, and Gaspé in the
+extreme east of the province of Quebec, where a small number of the same
+class of people had also found new homes. Townships, ranging from eighty
+to forty thousand acres each, were also surveyed within these districts
+and parcelled out with great liberality among the Loyalists. Magistrates
+wore appointed to administer justice with the simplest possible
+machinery at a time when men trained in the law were not available.
+
+The grants of land made to the Loyalists and their children were large,
+and in later years a considerable portion passed into the hands of
+speculators who bought them up at nominal sums. It was in connection
+with these grants that the name of "United Empire Loyalists" originated.
+An order-in-council was passed on the 9th of November, 1780, in
+accordance with the wish of Lord Dorchester "to put a mark of honour
+upon the families who had adhered to the _unity of the empire_ and
+joined the royal standard in America before the treaty of separation in
+1783." Accordingly the names of all persons falling under this
+designation were to be recorded as far as possible, in order that "their
+posterity may be discriminated from future settlers in the parish lists
+and rolls of militia of their respective districts, and other public
+remembrances of the province."
+
+The British cabinet, of which Mr. Pitt, the famous son of the Earl of
+Chatham, was first minister, now decided to divide the province of
+Quebec into two districts, with separate legislatures and governments.
+Lord Grenville, while in charge of the department of colonial affairs,
+wrote in 1789 to Lord Dorchester that the "general object of the plan is
+to assimilate the constitution of the province to that of Great Britain
+as nearly as the differences arising from the names of the people and
+from the present situation of the province will admit." He also
+emphatically expressed the opinion that "a considerable degree of
+attention is due to the prejudices and habits of the French inhabitants,
+and every degree of caution should be used to continue to them the
+enjoyment of those civil and religious rights which were secured to them
+by the capitulation of the province, or have since been granted by the
+liberal and enlightened spirit of the British government." When the bill
+for the formation of the two provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada
+came before the house of commons, Mr. Adam Lymburner, an influential
+merchant of Quebec, appeared at the Bar and ably opposed the separation
+"as dangerous in every point of view to British interests in America,
+and to the safety, tranquillity and prosperity of the inhabitants of the
+province of Quebec" He pressed the repeal of the Quebec act in its
+entirety and the enactment of a perfectly new constitution "unclogged
+and unembarrassed with any laws prior to this period" He professed to
+represent the views "of the most intelligent and respectable of the
+French Canadians"; but their antagonism was not directed against the
+Quebec act in itself, but against the administration of the law,
+influenced as this was by the opposition of the British people to the
+French civil code. Nor does it appear, as Mr. Lymburner asserted, that
+the western Loyalists were hostile to the formation of two distinct
+provinces. He represented simply the views of the English-speaking
+inhabitants of Lower Canada, who believed that the proposed division
+would place them in a very small minority in the legislature and, as the
+issue finally proved, at the mercy of the great majority of the French
+Canadian representatives, while on the other hand the formation of one
+large province extending from Gaspé to the head of the great lakes would
+ensure an English representation sufficiently formidable to lessen the
+danger of French Canadian domination. However, the British government
+seems to have been actuated by a sincere desire to do justice to the
+French Canadians and the Loyalists of the upper province at one and the
+same time. When introducing the bill in the house of commons on the 7th
+March, 1791, Mr. Pitt expressed the hope that "the division would remove
+the differences of opinion which had arisen between the old and new
+inhabitants, since each province would have the right of enacting laws
+desired in its own house of assembly." He believed a division to be
+essential, as "otherwise he could not reconcile the clashing interests
+known to exist." Mr. Burke was of opinion that "to attempt to amalgamate
+two populations composed of races of men diverse in language, laws and
+customs, was a complete absurdity", and he consequently approved of the
+division. Mr. Fox, from whom Burke became alienated during this debate,
+looked at the question in an entirely different light and was strongly
+of opinion that "it was most desirable to see the French and English
+inhabitants coalesce into one body, and the different distinctions of
+people extinguished for ever."
+
+The Constitutional act of 1791 established in each province a
+legislative council and assembly, with powers to make laws. The
+legislative council was to be appointed by the king for life, in Upper
+Canada it was to consist of not less than seven, and in Lower Canada of
+not less than fifteen members. The sovereign might, if he thought
+proper, annex hereditary titles of honour to the right of being summoned
+to the legislative council in either province--a provision which was
+never brought into operation. The whole number of members in the
+assembly of Upper Canada was not to be less than sixteen; in Lower
+Canada not less than fifty--to be chosen by a majority of votes in
+either case. The British parliament reserved to itself the right of
+levying and collecting customs-duties, for the regulation of navigation
+and commerce to be carried on between the two provinces, or between
+either of them and any other part of the British dominions or any
+foreign country. Parliament also reserved the power of directing the
+payment of these duties, but at the same time left the exclusive
+apportionment of all moneys levied in this way to the legislature, which
+could apply them to such public uses as it might deem expedient. The
+free exercise of the Roman Catholic religion was guaranteed permanently.
+The king was to have the right to set apart, for the use of the
+Protestant clergy in the colony, a seventh part of all uncleared crown
+lands. The governor might also be empowered to erect parsonages and
+endow them, and to present incumbents or ministers of the Church of
+England. The English criminal law was to obtain in both provinces.
+
+In the absence of Lord Dorchester in England, the duty devolved on
+Major-General Alured Clarke, as lieutenant-governor, to bring the Lower
+Canadian constitution into force by a proclamation on the 18th February,
+1791. On the 7th May, in the following year, the new province of Lower
+Canada was divided into fifty electoral districts, composed of
+twenty-one counties, the towns of Montreal and Quebec, and the boroughs
+of Three Rivers and William Henry (now Sorel). The elections to the
+assembly took place in June, and a legislative council of fifteen
+influential Canadians was appointed. The new legislature was convoked
+"for the despatch of business" on the 17th December, in the same year,
+in an old stone building known as the Bishop's Palace, which stood on a
+rocky eminence in the upper town of the old capital.
+
+Chief Justice Smith took the chair of the legislative council under
+appointment by the crown, and the assembly elected as its speaker Mr.
+Joseph Antome Panet, an eminent advocate, who was able to speak the two
+languages. In the house there were only sixteen members of British
+origin--and in later parliaments there was even a still smaller
+representation--while the council was nearly divided between the two
+nationalities. When the house proceeded to business, one of its first
+acts was to order that all motions, bills and other proceedings should
+be put in the two languages. We find in the list of French Canadian
+members of the two houses representatives of the most ancient and
+distinguished families of the province. A descendant of Pierre Boucher,
+governor of Three Rivers in 1653, and the author of a rare history of
+Canada, sat in the council of 1792 just as a Boucherville sits
+now-a-days in the senate of the Dominion. A Lotbinière had been king's
+councillor in 1680. A Chaussegros de Lery had been an engineer in the
+royal colonial corps; a Lanaudière had been an officer in the Carignan
+regiment in 1652; a Salaberry was a captain in the royal navy, and his
+family won further honours on the field of Chateauguay in the war of
+1812-15, when the soil of Lower Canada was invaded. A Taschereau had
+been a royal councillor in 1732. The names of Belestre, Valtric, Bonne,
+Rouville, St. Ours, and Duchesnay, are often met in the annals of the
+French régime, and show the high character of the representation in the
+first parliament of Lower Canada.
+
+The village of Newark was chosen as the capital of Upper Canada by
+Colonel (afterwards Major-General) Simcoe, the first lieutenant-governor
+of the province. He had served with much distinction during the
+revolution as the commander of the Queen's Rangers, some of whom had
+settled in the Niagara district. He was remarkable for his decision of
+character and for his ardent desire to establish the principles of
+British government in the new province. He was a sincere friend of the
+Loyalists, whose attachment to the crown he had had many opportunities
+of appreciating during his career in the rebellious colonies, and,
+consequently, was an uncompromising opponent of the new republic and of
+the people who were labouring to make it a success on the other side of
+the border. The new parliament met in a wooden building nearly completed
+on the sloping bank of the river, at a spot subsequently covered by a
+rampart of Fort George, which was constructed by Governor Simcoe on the
+surrender of Fort Niagara. A large boulder has been placed on the top of
+the rampart to mark the site of the humble parliament house of Upper
+Canada, which had to be eventually demolished to make place for new
+fortifications. The sittings of the first legislature were not
+unfrequently held under a large tent set up in front of the house, and
+having an interesting history of its own, since it had been carried
+around the world by the famous navigator, Captain Cook.
+
+As soon as Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe assumed the direction of the
+government, he issued a proclamation dividing the province of Upper
+Canada into nineteen counties, some of winch were again divided into
+ridings for the purpose of electing the sixteen representatives to which
+the province was entitled under the act of 1791. One of the first acts
+of the legislature was to change the names of the divisions, proclaimed
+in 1788, to Eastern, Midland, Home, and Western Districts, which
+received additions in the course of years until they were entirely
+superseded by the county organisations. These districts were originally
+intended for judicial and legal purposes.
+
+The legislature met under these humble circumstances at Newark on the
+17th September, 1792. Chief Justice Osgoode was the speaker of the
+council, and Colonel John Macdonell, of Aberchalder, who had gallantly
+served in the royal forces during the revolution, was chosen presiding
+officer of the assembly. Besides him, there were eleven Loyalists among
+the sixteen members of the lower house. In the council of nine members
+there were also several Loyalists, the most prominent being the
+Honourable Richard Cartwright, the grandfather of the minister of trade
+and commerce in the Dominion ministry of 1896-1900.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--Twenty years of political development (1792-1812).
+
+The political conditions of the two decades from 1792 until 1812, when
+war broke out between England and the United States, were for the
+greater part of the time quite free from political agitation, and the
+representatives of the people in both the provinces of Canada were
+mostly occupied with the consideration of measures of purely provincial
+and local import. Nevertheless a year or two before the close of this
+period we can see in the province of Lower Canada premonitions of that
+irrepressible conflict between the two houses--one elected by the
+people and the other nominated by and under the influence of the
+crown--which eventually clogged the machinery of legislation. We can
+also see the beginnings of that strife of races which ultimately led to
+bloodshed and the suspension of the constitution given to Lower Canada
+in 1791.
+
+In 1806 _Le Canadien_, published in the special interest of "Nos
+institutions, notre langue, et nos lois," commenced that career of
+bitter hostility to the government which steadily inflamed the
+antagonism between the races. The arrogance of the principal officials,
+who had the ear of the governor, and practically engrossed all the
+influence in the management of public affairs, alienated the French
+Canadians, who came to believe that they were regarded by the British as
+an inferior race. As a matter of fact, many of the British inhabitants
+themselves had no very cordial feelings towards the officials, whose
+social exclusiveness offended all who did not belong to their special
+"set." In those days the principal officials were appointed by the
+colonial office and the governor-general, and had little or no respect
+for the assembly, on which they depended in no wise for their
+continuance in office or their salaries. The French Canadians eventually
+made few distinctions among the British but looked on them as, generally
+speaking, enemies to their institutions.
+
+It was unfortunate, at a time when great discretion and good temper were
+so essential, that Sir James Craig should have been entrusted with the
+administration of the government of Lower Canada. The critical state of
+relations with the United States no doubt influenced his appointment,
+which, from a purely military point of view, was excellent. As it was,
+however, his qualities as a soldier were not called into requisition,
+while his want of political experience, his utter incapacity to
+understand the political conditions of the country, his supreme
+indifference to the wishes of the assembly, made his administration an
+egregious failure. Indeed it may he said that it was during his time
+that the seed was sown for the growth of that political and racial
+antagonism which led to the rebellion of 1837. It is not possible to
+exaggerate the importance of the consequences of his unjustifiable
+dismissal of Mr. Speaker Panet, and other prominent French Canadians,
+from the militia on the ground that they had an interest in the
+_Canadien_, or of his having followed up this very indiscreet act by the
+unwarrantable arrest of Mr. Bedard and some other persons, on the charge
+that they were the authors or publishers of what he declared to be
+treasonable writings. It is believed that the governor's action was
+largely influenced by the statements and advice of Chief Justice Sewell,
+the head of the legislative council and the official class. Several
+persons were released when they expressed regret for the expression of
+any opinions considered extreme by the governor and his advisers, but
+Mr. Bedard remained in prison for a year rather than directly or
+indirectly admit that the governor had any justification for his
+arbitrary act Sir James attempted to obtain the approval of the home
+government; but his agent, a Mr. Ryland, a man of ability and suavity,
+prominent always in the official life of the country, signally failed to
+obtain the endorsement of his master's action. He was unable to secure a
+promise that the constitution of 1791 should be repealed, and the
+legislative council of the Quebec act again given the supremacy in the
+province. Mr. Bedard was released just before the governor left the
+country, with the declaration that "his detention had been a matter of
+precaution and not of punishment"--by no means a manly or graceful
+withdrawal from what was assuredly a most untenable position from the
+very first moment Mr. Bedard was thrown into prison. Sir James Craig
+left the province a disappointed man, and died in England a few months
+after his return, from the effects of an incurable disease to which he
+had been a victim for many years. He was hospitable, generous and
+charitable, but the qualities of a soldier dominated all his acts of
+civil government.
+
+In the other provinces, happily, there were no racial differences to
+divide the community and aggravate those political disputes that are
+sure to arise in the working of representative institutions in a British
+country. In Upper Canada for years the questions under discussion were
+chiefly connected with the disposal of the public lands, which in early
+times were too lavishly granted by Simcoe; and this led to the bringing
+in for a while of some undesirable immigrants from the United States
+--undesirable because they were imbued with republican and levelling
+ideas by no means favourable to the development and stability of English
+institutions of government. One of the first acts of the legislature was
+the establishment of courts of law and equity, in accordance with the
+practice and principles of English jurisprudence. Another very important
+measure was one for the legalisation of marriages which had been
+irregularly performed during early times in the absence of the clergy of
+the Anglican Church by justices of the peace, and even the officers in
+charge of military posts. Magistrates were still allowed to perform the
+marriage ceremony according to the ritual of the Church of England, when
+the services of a clergyman of that denomination were not available. Not
+until 1830 were more liberal provisions passed and the clergy of any
+recognised creed permitted to unite persons legally in wedlock.
+
+It was in the second session of the first parliament of Upper Canada,
+where the Loyalists were in so huge a majority, that an act was passed
+"to prevent the further introduction of slaves and to limit the term of
+contract for servitude within this province." A considerable number of
+slave servants accompanied their Loyalist masters to the provinces at
+the end of the war, and we find for many years after in the newspapers
+advertisements relating to runaway servants of this class. The Loyalists
+in the maritime provinces, like the same class in Upper Canada, never
+gave their approval to the continuance of slavery. So early as 1800 some
+prominent persons brought before the supreme court of New Brunswick the
+case of one Nancy Morton, a slave, on a writ of _habeas corpus_; and her
+right to freedom was argued by Ward Chipmim, one of the Loyalist makers
+of New Brunswick. Although the argument in this case was not followed by
+a judicial conclusion--the four judges being divided in opinion--slavery
+thereafter practically ceased to exist, not only in New Brunswick, but
+in the other maritime provinces, leaving behind it a memory so faint,
+that the mere suggestion that there ever was a slave in either of these
+provinces is very generally received with surprise, if not with
+incredulity.
+
+The early history of representative government in Prince Edward Island
+is chiefly a dull narrative of political conflict between the governors
+and the assemblies, and of difficulties and controversies arising out of
+the extraordinary concessions of lands to a few proprietors, who
+generally infringed the conditions of their grants and retarded the
+settlement of the island. In New Brunswick the legislature was entirely
+occupied with the consideration of measures for the administration of
+justice and local affairs in an entirely new country. Party government
+had not yet declared itself, and the Loyalists who had founded the
+province controlled the legislature for many years until a spirit of
+liberalism and reform found full expression and led to the enlargement
+of the public liberty.
+
+In Nova Scotia the Loyalists gradually acquired considerable influence
+in the government of the province, as the imperial authorities felt it
+incumbent on them to provide official positions for those men who had
+sacrificed so much for the empire. Their power was increased after the
+arrival of Governor John Wentworth--afterwards made a baronet--who had
+been the royal governor of New Hampshire, and had naturally a strong
+antipathy to democratic principles in any form. In his time there grew
+up an official oligarchy, chiefly composed of members of the legislative
+council, then embodying within itself executive, legislative and
+judicial powers. A Liberal party soon arose in Nova Scotia, not only
+among the early New England settlers of the time of Governor Lawrence,
+but among the Loyalists themselves, for it is inevitable that wherever
+we find an English people, the spirit of popular liberty and the
+determination to enjoy self-government in a complete sense will sooner
+or later assert itself among all classes of men. The first prominent
+leader of the opposition to the Tory methods of the government was one
+William Cottnam Tonge, who was for some years in the employ of the naval
+department. Sir John Wentworth carried his hostility to the extent of
+dismissing him from his naval office and also of refusing to accept him
+as speaker of the assembly--the first example in colonial history of an
+extreme exercise of the royal prerogative by a governor. Mr. Tonge's
+only crime appears to have been his bold assertion from time to time of
+the privileges of the house of assembly, as the guardian of the revenues
+and expenditures, against the interference of the governor and council.
+We find in Nova Scotia, as in the other provinces, during the period in
+question, the elements of perpetual discord, which found more serious
+expression after the war of 1812-15, and led to important constitutional
+changes.
+
+The governors of those times became, from the very nature of their
+position, so many provincial autocrats, brought constantly into
+conflict with the popular body, and unable to conceive any system of
+government possible that did not place the province directly under the
+control of the imperial authorities, to whom appeals must be made in the
+most trivial cases of doubt or difficulty. The representative of the
+crown brooked no interference on the part of the assembly with what he
+considered his prerogatives and rights, and as a rule threw himself into
+the arms of the council, composed of the official oligarchy. In the
+course of time, the whole effort of the Liberal or Reform party, which
+gathered strength after 1815, was directed against the power of the
+legislative council. We hear nothing in the assemblies or the literature
+of the period under review in advocacy of the system of parliamentary or
+responsible government which was then in existence in the parent state
+and which we now enjoy in British North America. In fact, it was not
+until the beginning of the fourth decade of the nineteenth century that
+the Liberal politicians of Nova Scotia, like those of Upper Canada,
+recognised that the real remedy for existing political grievances was to
+be found in the harmonious operation of the three branches of the
+legislature. Even then we look in vain for an enunciation of this
+essential principle of representative government in the speeches or
+writings of a single French Canadian from 1791 until 1838, when the
+constitution of Lower Canada was suspended as a result of rebellion.
+
+During the twenty years of which I am writing the government of Canada
+had much reason for anxiety on account of the unsatisfactory state of
+the relations between Great Britain and the United States, and of the
+attempts of French emissaries after the outbreak of the revolution in
+France to stir up sedition in Lower Canada. One of the causes of the war
+of 1812-15 was undoubtedly the irritation that was caused by the
+retention of the western posts by Great Britain despite the stipulation
+in the definitive treaty of peace to give them up "with all convenient
+speed." This policy of delay was largely influenced by the fact that the
+new republic had failed to take effective measures for the restitution
+of the estates of the Loyalists or for the payment of debts due to
+British creditors; but in addition there was probably still, as in 1763
+and 1774, a desire to control the fur-trade and the Indians of the west,
+who claimed that the lands between the Canadian frontier and the Ohio
+were exclusively their hunting-grounds, not properly included within the
+territory ceded to the United States. Jay's treaty, arranged in 1794,
+with the entire approval of Washington, who thereby incurred the
+hostility of the anti-British party, was a mere temporary expedient for
+tiding over the difficulties between England and the United States. Its
+most important result so far as it affected Canada was the giving up in
+1797 of the western posts including Old Fort Niagara. It became then
+necessary to remove the seat of government from Niagara, as an insecure
+position, and York, which regained its original Indian name of Toronto
+in 1834, was chosen as the capital by Lord Dorchester in preference to a
+place suggested by Simcoe on the Tranche, now the Thames, near where
+London now stands. The second parliament of Upper Canada met in York on
+the first of June, 1797, when Mr. Russell, who had been secretary to Sir
+Henry Clinton during the American war, was administrator of the
+government after the departure of Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe from a
+province whose interests he had so deeply at heart.
+
+After the declaration of war against England by the republican
+convention of France in 1793, French agents found their way into the
+French parishes of Lower Canada, and endeavoured to make the credulous
+and ignorant _habitants_ believe that France would soon regain dominion
+in her old colony. During General Prescott's administration, one McLane,
+who was said to be not quite mentally responsible for his acts, was
+convicted at Quebec for complicity in the designs of French agents, and
+was executed near St. John's gate with all the revolting incidents of a
+traitor's death in those relentless times. His illiterate accomplice,
+Frechétte, was sentenced to imprisonment for life, but was soon released
+on the grounds of his ignorance of the serious crime he was committing.
+No doubt in these days some restlessness existed in the French Canadian
+districts, and the English authorities found it difficult for a time to
+enforce the provisions of the militia act. Happily for the peace and
+security of Canada, the influence of the Bishop and Roman Catholic
+clergy, who looked with horror on the murderous acts of the
+revolutionists of France, was successfully exerted for the support of
+British rule, whose justice and benignity their church had felt ever
+since the conquest. The name of Bishop Plessis must always be mentioned
+in terms of sincere praise by every English writer who reviews the
+history of those trying times, when British interests would have been
+more than once in jeopardy had it not been for the loyal conduct of this
+distinguished prelate and the priests under his direction.
+
+I shall now proceed to narrate the events of the unfortunate war which
+broke out in 1812 between England and the United States, as a result of
+the unsettled relations of years, and made Canada a battle ground on
+which were given many illustrations of the patriotism and devotion of
+the Canadian people, whose conquest, the invaders thought, would be a
+very easy task.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE WAR OF 1812--15.
+
+
+SECTION I.--Origin of the war between England and the United States.
+
+The causes of the war of 1812-15 must be sought in the history of Europe
+and the relations between England and the United States for several
+decades before it actually broke out. Great Britain was engaged in a
+supreme struggle not only for national existence but even for the
+liberties of Europe, from the moment when Napoleon, in pursuance of his
+overweening ambition, led his armies over the continent on those
+victorious marches which only ended amid the ice and snow of Russia.
+Britain's battles were mainly to be fought on the sea where her great
+fleet made her supreme. The restriction of all commerce that was not
+British was a necessary element in the assertion of her naval
+superiority. If neutral nations were to be allowed freely to carry the
+produce of the colonies of Powers with whom Great Britain was at war,
+then they were practically acting as allies of her enemies, and were
+liable to search and seizure. For some time, however, Great Britain
+thought it expedient to concur in the practice that when a cargo was
+trans-shipped in the United States, and paid a duty there, it became to
+all intents and purposes American property and might be carried to a
+foreign country and there sold, as if it were the actual produce of the
+republic itself. This became a very profitable business to the merchants
+of the United States, as a neutral nation, during the years when Great
+Britain was at war with France, since they controlled a large proportion
+of all foreign commerce. Frauds constantly occurred during the
+continuance of this traffic, and at last British statesmen felt the
+injury to their commerce was so great that the practice was changed to
+one which made American vessels liable to be seized and condemned in
+British prize courts whenever it was clear that their cargoes were not
+American produce, but were actually purchased at the port of an enemy.
+Even provisions purchased from an enemy or its colonies were considered
+"contraband of war" on the ground that they afforded actual aid and
+encouragement to an enemy. The United States urged at first that only
+military stores could fall under this category, and eventually went so
+far as to assert the principle that under all circumstances "free ships
+make free goods," and that neutral ships had a right to carry any
+property, even that of a nation at war with another power, and to trade
+when and where they liked without fear of capture. England, however,
+would not admit in those days of trial principles which would
+practically make a neutral nation an ally of her foe. She persisted in
+restricting the commerce of the United States by all the force she had
+upon the sea.
+
+This restrictive policy, which touched the American pocket and
+consequently the American heart so deeply, was complicated by another
+question of equal, if not greater, import. The forcible impressment of
+men to man the British fleet had been for many years a necessary evil in
+view of the national emergency, and of the increase in the mercantile
+marine which attracted large numbers to its service. Great abuses were
+perpetrated in the operation of this harsh method of maintaining an
+efficient naval force, and there was no part of the British Isles where
+the presence of a press gang did not bring dismay into many a home.
+Great Britain, then and for many years later, upheld to an extreme
+degree the doctrine of perpetual allegiance; she refused to recognise
+the right of any of her citizens to divest themselves of their national
+fealty and become by naturalisation the subject of a foreign power or a
+citizen of the United States Such a doctrine was necessarily most
+obnoxious to the government and people of a new republic like the United
+States, whose future development rested on the basis of a steady and
+large immigration, which lost much of its strength and usefulness as
+long as the men who came into the country were not recognised as
+American citizens at home and abroad. Great Britain claimed the right,
+as a corollary of this doctrine of indefeasible allegiance, to search
+the neutral ships of the United States during the war with France, to
+enquire into the nationality of the seaman on board of those vessels, to
+impress all those whom her officers had reason to consider British
+subjects by birth, and to pay no respect to the fact that they may have
+been naturalised in the country of their adoption. The assertion of the
+right to search a neutral vessel and to impress seamen who were British
+subjects has in these modern times been condemned as a breach of the
+sound principle, that a right of search can only be properly exercised
+in the case of a neutral's violation of his neutrality--that is to say,
+the giving of aid to one of the parties to the war The forcible
+abduction of a seaman under the circumstances stated was simply an
+unwarrantable attempt to enforce municipal law on board a neutral
+vessel, which was in effect foreign territory, to be regarded as sacred
+and inviolate except in a case where it was brought under the operation
+of a recognised doctrine of international law. Great Britain at that
+critical period of her national existence would not look beyond the fact
+that the acts of the United States as a neutral were most antagonistic
+to the energetic efforts she was making to maintain her naval supremacy
+during the European crisis created by Napoleon's ambitious designs.
+
+The desertion of British seamen from British ships, for the purpose of
+finding refuge in the United States and then taking service in American
+vessels, caused great irritation in Great Britain and justified, in the
+opinion of some statesmen and publicists who only regarded national
+necessities, the harsh and arbitrary manner in which English officials
+stopped and searched American shipping on the high seas, seized men whom
+they claimed to be deserters, and impressed any whom they asserted to be
+still British subjects. In 1807 the British frigate "Leopard," acting
+directly under the orders of the admiral at Halifax, even ventured to
+fire a broadside into the United States cruiser "Chesapeake" a few miles
+from Chesapeake Bay, killed and wounded a number of her crew, and then
+carried off several sailors who were said to be, and no doubt were,
+deserters from the English service and who were the primary cause of the
+detention of this American man-of-war. For this unjustifiable act
+England subsequently made some reparation, but nevertheless it rankled
+for years in the minds of the party hostile to Great Britain and helped
+to swell the list of grievances which the American government in the
+course of years accumulated against the parent state as a reason for
+war.
+
+The difficulties between England and the United States, which culminated
+in war before the present century was far advanced, were also
+intensified by disputes which commenced soon after the treaty of 1783. I
+have already shown that for some years the north-west posts were still
+retained by the English on the ground, it is understood, that the claims
+of English creditors, and especially those of the Loyalists, should be
+first settled before all the conditions of the treaty could be carried
+out. The subsequent treaty of 1794, negotiated by Chief Justice Jay,
+adjusted these and other questions, and led for some years to a better
+understanding with Great Britain, but at the same time led to a rupture
+of friendly relations with the French Directory, who demanded the repeal
+of that treaty as in conflict with the one made with France in 1778, and
+looked for some tangible evidence of sympathetic interest with the
+French revolution. The war that followed with the French republic was
+insignificant in its operations, and was immediately terminated by
+Napoleon when he overthrew the Directory, and seized the government for
+his own ambitious objects. Subsequently, the administration of the
+United States refused to renew the Jay Treaty when it duly expired, and
+as a consequence the relatively amicable relations that had existed
+between the Republic and England again became critical, since American
+commerce and shipping were exposed to all the irritating measures that
+England felt compelled under existing conditions to carry out in
+pursuance of the policy of restricting the trade of neutral vessels.
+Several attempts were made by the British government, between the expiry
+of the Jay Treaty and the actual rupture of friendly relations with the
+United States, to come to a better understanding with respect to some of
+the questions in dispute, but the differences between the two Powers
+were so radical that all negotiations came to naught. Difficulties were
+also complicated by the condition of political parties in the American
+republic and the ambition of American statesmen. When the democratic
+republicans or "Strict constructionists," as they have been happily
+named, with Jefferson at their head, obtained office, French ideas came
+into favour; while the federalists or "Broad constitutionalists," of
+whom Washington, Hamilton and Adams had been the first exponents, were
+anxious to keep the nation free from European complications and to
+settle international difficulties by treaty and not by war. But this
+party was in a hopeless minority, during the critical times when
+international difficulties were resolving themselves into war, and was
+unable to influence public opinion sufficiently to make negotiations for
+the maintenance of peace successful, despite the fact that it had a
+considerable weight in the states of New England.
+
+The international difficulties of the United States entered upon a
+critical condition when Great Britain, in her assertion of naval
+supremacy and restricted commerce as absolutely essential to her
+national security, issued an order-in-council which declared a strict
+blockade of the European coast from Brest to the Elbe. Napoleon
+retaliated with the Berlin decree, which merely promulgated a paper
+blockade of the British Isles. Then followed the later British
+orders-in-council, which prevented the shipping of the United States
+from trading with any country where British vessels could not enter, and
+allowed them only to trade with other European ports where they made
+entries and paid duties in English custom-houses. Napoleon increased the
+duties of neutral commerce by the Milan decree of 1807, which ordered
+the seizure of all neutral vessels which might have been searched by
+English cruisers. These orders meant the ruin of American commerce,
+which had become so profitable; and the Washington government attempted
+to retaliate, first by forbidding the importation of manufactures from
+England and her colonies, and, when this effort was ineffective, by
+declaring an embargo in its own ports, which had only the result of
+still further crippling American commerce at home and abroad.
+Eventually, in place of this unwise measure, which, despite its
+systematic evasion, brought serious losses to the whole nation and
+seemed likely to result in civil war in the east, where the discontent
+was greatest, a system of non-intercourse with both England and France
+was adopted, to last so long as either should press its restrictive
+measures against the republic, but this new policy of retaliation hardly
+impeded American commerce, of which the profits were far greater than
+the risks. The leaders of the Democratic party were now anxious to
+conciliate France, and endeavoured to persuade the nation that Napoleon
+had practically freed the United States from the restrictions to which
+it so strongly objected. It is a matter beyond dispute that the French
+decrees were never exactly annulled; and the Emperor was pursuing an
+insidious policy which confiscated American vessels in French ports at
+the very moment he was professing friendship with the United States. His
+object was to force the government of that country into war with
+England, and, unfortunately for its interests, its statesmen lent
+themselves to his designs.
+
+The Democratic leaders, determined to continue in power, fanned the
+flame against England, whose maritime superiority enabled her to inflict
+the greatest injury on American shipping and commerce. The governing
+party looked to the south and west for their principal support. In these
+sections the interests were exclusively agricultural, while in New
+England, where the Federalists were generally in the majority, the
+commercial and maritime elements predominated. In Kentucky, Ohio, and
+other states there was a strong feeling against England on account of
+the current belief that the English authorities in Canada had tampered
+with the Indian tribes and induced them to harass the settlers until
+Harrison, on the eve of the war of 1812, effectually cowed them. It is,
+however, now well established by the Canadian archives that Sir James
+Craig, when governor-general in 1807, actually warned the Washington
+government of the restlessness of the western Indians, and of the
+anxiety of the Canadian authorities to avoid an Indian war in the
+north-west, which might prejudicially operate against the western
+province. This fact was not, however, generally known, and the feeling
+against Canada and England was kept alive by the dominant party in the
+United States by the disclosure that one John Henry had been sent by the
+Canadian government in 1808 to ascertain the sentiment of the people of
+New England with respect to the relations between the two countries and
+the maintenance of peace. Henry's correspondence was really quite
+harmless, but when it had been purchased from him by Madison, on the
+refusal of the imperial government to buy his silence, it served the
+temporary purpose of making the people of the west believe that England
+was all the while intriguing against the national interests, and
+endeavouring to create a discontent which might end in civil strife.
+Under these circumstances the southern leaders, Clay of Kentucky, and
+Calhoun of South Carolina, who always showed an inveterate animosity
+against England, forced Madison, then anxious to be re-elected
+president, to send a warlike message to congress, which culminated in a
+formal declaration of hostilities on the 18th of June, 1812, only one
+day later than the repeal of the obnoxious order-in-council by England.
+When the repeal became known some weeks later in Canada and the United
+States, the province of Upper Canada had been actually invaded by Hull,
+and the government of the United States had no desire whatever to desist
+from warlike operations, which, they confidently believed, would end in
+the successful occupation of Canada at a time when England was unable,
+on account of her European responsibilities, to extend to its defenders
+effective assistance.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--Canada during the war.
+
+In 1812 there were five hundred thousand people living in the provinces
+of British North America. Of this number, the French people of Lower
+Canada made up at least one half. These people had some grievances, and
+political agitators, notably the writers of the _Canadien_, were
+creating jealousies and rivalries between the French and English races
+chiefly on the ground of the dominant influence of the British minority
+in the administration of public affairs. On the whole, however, the
+country was prosperous and the people generally contented with British
+rule, the freedom of which presented such striking contrast to the
+absolutism of the old French régime. The great majority of the eighty
+thousand inhabitants of Upper or Western Canada were Loyalists or
+descendants of Loyalists, who had become deeply attached to their new
+homes, whilst recalling with feelings of deep bitterness the sufferings
+and trials of the American revolution. This class was naturally attached
+to British rule and hostile to every innovation which had the least
+semblance of American republicanism. In the western part of the province
+of Upper Canada there was, however, an American element composed of
+people who had been brought into the country by the liberal grants of
+land made to settlers, and who were not animated by the high sentiments
+of the Loyalists of 1783 and succeeding years. These people, for some
+years previous to 1812, were misled by political demagogues like Wilcox
+and Marcle, both of whom deserted to the enemy soon after the outbreak
+of the war. Emissaries from the republic were busily engaged for months,
+we now know, in fomenting a feeling against England among these later
+immigrants, and in persuading them that the time was close at hand when
+Canada would be annexed to the federal republic. Some attempts were even
+made to create discontent among the French Canadians, but no success
+appears to have followed these efforts in a country where the bishop,
+priests and leading men of the rural communities perfectly appreciated
+the value of British connection.
+
+The statesmen of the United States, who were responsible for the war,
+looked on the provinces as so many weak communities which could be
+easily invaded and conquered by the republican armies. Upper Canada,
+with its long and exposed frontier and its small and scattered
+population, was considered utterly indefensible and almost certain to be
+successfully occupied by the invading forces. There was not a town of
+one thousand souls in the whole of that province, and the only forts of
+any pretension were those on the Niagara frontier. Kingston was a
+fortified town of some importance in the eastern part of the province,
+but Toronto had no adequate means of defence. At the commencement of the
+war there were only fourteen hundred and fifty regular troops in the
+whole country west of Montreal, and these men were scattered at
+Kingston, York, Niagara, Chippewa, Erie, Amherstburg, and St. Joseph.
+The total available militia did not exceed four thousand men, the
+majority of whom had little or no knowledge of military discipline, and
+were not even in the possession of suitable arms and accoutrements,
+though, happily, all were animated by the loftiest sentiments of courage
+and patriotism. In the lower provinces of Eastern Canada and Nova
+Scotia there was a considerable military force, varying in the aggregate
+from four to five thousand men. The fortifications of Quebec were in a
+tolerable state of repair, but the citadel which dominates Halifax was
+in a dilapidated condition. The latter port was, however, the rendezvous
+of the English fleet, which always afforded adequate protection to
+British interests on the Atlantic coasts of British North America,
+despite the depredations of privateers and the successes attained during
+the first months of the war by the superior tonnage and equipment of the
+frigates of the republic. But the hopes that were entertained by the war
+party in the United States could be gathered from the speeches of Henry
+Clay of Kentucky, who believed that the issue would be favourable to
+their invading forces, who would even "negotiate terms of peace at
+Quebec or Halifax."
+
+The United States had now a population of at least six millions and a
+half of whites. It was estimated that during the war the government had
+a militia force of between four and five hundred thousand men available
+for service, while the regular army amounted to thirty-four thousand
+officers and privates. The forces that invaded Canada by the way of Lake
+Champlain, Sackett's Harbour, the Niagara and Detroit Rivers, were
+vastly superior in numbers to the Canadian army of defence, except in
+the closing months of the war, when Prevost had under his command a
+large body of Peninsular veterans. One condition was always in favour of
+Canada, and that was the sullen apathy or antagonism felt by the people
+of New England with respect to the war. Had they been in a different
+spirit, Lower Canada would have been in far greater danger of successful
+invasion and occupation than was the case at any time during the
+progress of the conflict. The famous march of Arnold on Quebec by the
+Kennebec and Chaudière Rivers might have been repeated with more serious
+consequences while Prevost, and not Guy Carleton, was in supreme command
+in the French Canadian province.
+
+I can attempt to limn only the events which stand out most plainly on
+the graphic pages of this momentous epoch in Canadian history, and to
+pay a humble tribute to the memory of men, whose achievements saved
+Canada for England in those days of trial. From the beginning to the end
+of the conflict, Upper Canada was the principal battle ground upon which
+the combatants fought for the supremacy in North America. Its frontiers
+were frequently crossed, its territory was invaded, and its towns and
+villages were destroyed by the ruthless hand of a foe who entered the
+province not only with the sword of the soldier but even with the torch
+of the incendiary. The plan of operations at the outset of the campaign
+was to invade the province across the Niagara and Detroit Rivers,
+neither of which offered any real obstacles to the passage of a
+determined and well-managed army in the absence of strong
+fortifications, or a superior defensive force, at every vulnerable point
+along the Canadian banks. Queenston was to be a base of operations for a
+large force, which would overrun the whole province and eventually
+co-operate with troops which could come up from Lake Champlain and march
+on Montreal. The forces of the United States in 1812 acted with
+considerable promptitude as soon as war was officially declared, and had
+they been led by able commanders the result might have been most
+unfortunate for Canada. The resources for defence were relatively
+insignificant, and indecision and weakness were shown by Sir George
+Prevost, then commander-in-chief and governor-general--a well meaning
+man but wanting in ability as a military leader, who was also hampered
+by the vacillating counsels of the Liverpool administration, which did
+not believe in war until the province was actually invaded. It was
+fortunate for Canada that she had then at the head of the government in
+the upper province General Brock, who possessed decision of character
+and the ability to comprehend the serious situation of affairs at a
+critical juncture, when his superiors both in England and Canada did
+not appear to understand its full significance.
+
+The assembly of Upper Canada passed an address giving full expression to
+the patriotic sentiments which animated all classes of people when the
+perilous state of affairs and the necessity for energetic action became
+apparent to the dullest minds. The Loyalists and their descendants, as
+well as other loyal people, rallied at the moment of danger to the
+support of Brock; and the immediate result of his decided orders was the
+capture of the post of Michillimackinac, which had been, ever since the
+days of the French régime, a position of great importance on the upper
+lakes. Then followed the ignominious surrender of General Hull and his
+army to Brock, and the consequent occupation of Detroit and the present
+state of Michigan by the British troops. Later, on the Niagara frontier,
+an army of invaders was driven from Queenston Heights, but this victory
+cost the life of the great English general, whose promptitude at the
+commencement of hostilities had saved the province. Among other brave
+men who fell with Brock was the attorney-general of the province,
+Lieutenant-Colonel John Macdonell, who was one of the general's aides.
+General Sheaffe, the son of a Loyalist, took command and drove the enemy
+across the river, in whose rapid waters many were drowned while
+struggling to save themselves from the pursuing British soldiery,
+determined to avenge the death of their honoured chief. A later attempt
+by General Smyth to invade Canadian territory opposite Black Rock on the
+Niagara River, was also attended with the same failure that attended the
+futile attempts to cross the Detroit and to occupy the heights of
+Queenston. At the close of 1812 Upper Canada was entirely free from the
+army of the republic, the Union Jack floated above the fort at Detroit,
+and the ambitious plan of invading the French province and seizing
+Montreal was given up as a result of the disasters to the enemy in the
+west. The party of peace in New England gathered strength, and the
+promoters of the war had no consolation except the triumphs obtained at
+sea by some heavily armed and well manned frigates of the United States
+to the surprise of the government and people of England, who never
+anticipated that their maritime superiority could be in any way
+endangered by a nation whose naval strength was considered so
+insignificant. But these victories of the republic on the ocean during
+the first year of the war were soon effaced by the records of the two
+subsequent years when "The Chesapeake" was captured by "The Shannon" and
+other successes of the British ships restored the prestige of England on
+the sea.
+
+During the second year of the war the United States won some military
+and naval successes in the upper province, although the final results of
+the campaign were largely in favour of the defenders of Canada. The war
+opened with the defeat of General Winchester at Frenchtown on the River
+Raisins in the present state of Michigan; but this success, which was
+won by General Procter, was soon forgotten in the taking of York, the
+capital of the province, and the destruction of its public buildings.
+This event forced General Sheaffe to retire to Kingston, while General
+Vincent retreated to Burlington Heights as soon as the invading army
+occupied Fort George and dominated the Niagara frontier. Sir George
+Prevost showed his military incapacity at Sackett's Harbour, where he
+had it in his power to capture a post which was an important base of
+operations against the province. On the other hand Colonel George
+Macdonell made a successful attack on Ogdensburg and fittingly avenged
+the raid that an American force had made a short time previously on
+Elizabethtown, which was called Brockville not long afterwards in honour
+of the noted general. An advance of the invading army against General
+Vincent was checked by the memorable success won at Stoney Creek by
+Colonel Harvey and the surrender at Beaver Dams of Colonel Boerstler to
+Lieutenant Fitzgibbon, whose clever strategy enabled him to capture a
+large force of the enemy while in command of a few soldiers and Indians.
+When September arrived, the small, though all-important, British fleet
+on Lake Erie, under the command of Captain Barclay, sustained a fatal
+defeat at Put-in-Bay, and the United States vessels under Commodore
+Perry held full control of Lake Erie. A few weeks later, General Procter
+lost the reputation which he had won in January by his defeat of
+Winchester, and was beaten, under circumstances which disgraced him in
+the opinion of his superiors, on the River Thames not far from the
+Indian village of Moraviantown. The American forces were led by General
+Harrison, who had won some reputation in the Indian campaign in the
+north-west and who subsequently became, as his son in later times, a
+president of the United States.
+
+It was in this engagement that the Shawenese chief, Tecumseh, was
+killed, in him England lost a faithful and brave ally. English prospects
+in the west were consequently gloomy for some time, until the autumn of
+1813, when the auspicious tidings spread from the lakes to the Atlantic
+that the forces of the republic, while on their march to Montreal by the
+way of Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence, had been successfully met
+and repulsed at Chateauguay and Chrysler's Farm, two of the most
+memorable engagements of the war, when we consider the insignificant
+forces that checked the invasion and saved Canada at a most critical
+time.
+
+In the last month of the same year Fort George was evacuated by the
+American garrison, but not before General McLure had shamelessly burned
+the pretty town of Niagara, and driven helpless women and children into
+the ice and snow of a Canadian winter. General Drummond, who was in
+command of the western army, retaliated by the capture of Fort Niagara
+and the destruction of all the villages on the American side of the
+river as far as Buffalo, then a very insignificant place. When the new
+year dawned the only Canadian place in possession of the enemy was
+Amherstburg on the western frontier.
+
+The third and last year of the war was distinguished by the capture of
+Oswego and Prairie-des-Chiens by British expeditions; the repulse of a
+large force of the invaders at Lacolle Mills in Lower Canada; the
+surrender of Fort Erie to the enemy, the defeat of General Riall at
+Street's or Usher's Creek in the Niagara district, the hotly contested
+battle won at Lundy's Lane by Drummond, and the ignominious retreat from
+Plattsburg of Sir George Prevost, in command of a splendid force of
+peninsular veterans, after the defeat of Commodore Downey's fleet on
+Lake Champlain. Before the year closed and peace was proclaimed, Fort
+Erie was evacuated, the stars and stripes were driven from Lake Ontario,
+and all Canadian territory except Amherstburg was free from the invader.
+The capital of the United States had been captured by the British and
+its public buildings burned as a severe retaliation for the conduct of
+the invading forces at York, Niagara, Moraviantown, St. David's and Port
+Dover. Both combatants were by this time heartily tired of the war, and
+terms of peace were arranged by the treaty of Ghent at the close of
+1814; but before the news reached the south, General Jackson repulsed
+General Packenham with heavy losses at New Orleans, and won a reputation
+which made him president a few years later.
+
+The maritime provinces never suffered from invasion, but on the contrary
+obtained some advantages from the presence of large numbers of British
+men-of-war in their seaports, and the expenditure on military and naval
+supplies during the three years of war. Following the example of the
+Canadas, the assemblies of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia voted large
+sums of money and embodied the militia for active service or general
+purposes of defence. The assembly of New Brunswick, essentially the
+province of the Loyalists, declared in 1813 that the people were "ready
+and determined to repel every aggression which the infatuated policy of
+the American government may induce it to commit on the soil of New
+Brunswick." But the war was so unpopular in the state of Maine and other
+parts of New England that the provinces by the sea were comparatively
+safe from aggression and conflict. Soon after the commencement of
+hostilities the governors of Maine and New Brunswick issued
+proclamations which prevented hostilities for two years along their
+respective borders. In Nova Scotia there was much activity during the
+war, and letters of marque were issued to privateers which made many
+captures, and offered some compensation for the losses inflicted on the
+coasting and fishing interests by the same class of American vessels. In
+1814 it was decided by the imperial authorities to break the truce which
+had practically left Maine free from invasion, and Sir John Sherbrooke,
+then governor of Nova Scotia, and Rear-Admiral Griffith took possession
+of Machias, Eastport, Moose, and other islands in Passamaquoddy Bay.
+
+The people of the United States generally welcomed the end of a war
+which brought them neither honour nor profit and seemed likely to break
+the union into fragments in consequence of the hostility that had
+existed in New England through the conflict from the very beginning. The
+news of Prevost's retreat from Plattsburg no doubt hastened the decision
+of the British government to enter into negotiations for peace, which
+was settled on terms by no means favourable to Canadian interests. The
+question of the New Brunswick boundary might have been then adjusted on
+conditions which would have prevented at a later day the sacrifice of a
+large tract of territory in Maine which would be now of great value to
+the Dominion. The only advantage which accrued to the Canadians was a
+later convention which gave the people of the provinces full control of
+fisheries, ignorantly sacrificed by the treaty of 1783.
+
+No class of the people of Canada contributed more to the effectiveness
+of the militia and the successful defence of the country than the
+descendants of the Loyalists, who formed so large and influential a
+portion of the English population of British North America. All the
+loyal settlements on the banks of the St. Lawrence, on the Niagara
+frontier, and on the shores of Lake Erie, sent many men to fight by the
+side of the regular British forces. Even aged men, who had borne arms in
+the revolutionary war, came forward with an enthusiasm which showed that
+age had not impaired their courage or patriotism, and although they were
+exempted from active service, they were found most useful in stationary
+duties at a time when Canada demanded the experience of such veterans.
+"Their lessons and example," wrote General Sheaffe, "will have a happy
+influence on the youth of the militia ranks." When Hull invaded the
+province and issued his boastful and threatening proclamation he used
+language which must have seemed a mockery to the children of the
+Loyalists. They remembered too well the sufferings of their fathers and
+brothers during "the stormy period of the revolution," and it seemed
+derisive to tell them now that they were to be "emancipated from tyranny
+and oppression and restored to the dignified station of free men." The
+proclamation issued by Governor Brock touched the loyal hearts of a
+people whose family histories were full of examples of "oppression and
+tyranny," and of the kind consideration and justice of England in their
+new homes. "Where," asked Brock, with the confidence of truth, "is the
+Canadian subject who can truly affirm to himself that he has been
+injured by the government in his person, his property, or his liberty?
+Where is to be found, in any part of the world, a growth so rapid in
+prosperity and wealth as this colony exhibits?" These people, to whom
+this special appeal was made at this national crisis, responded with a
+heartiness which showed that gratitude and affection lay deep in their
+hearts. Even the women worked in the field that their husbands, brothers
+and sons might drive the invaders from Canadian soil. The 104th
+Regiment, which accomplished a remarkable march of thirteen days in the
+depth of winter, from Fredericton to Quebec--a distance of three hundred
+and fifty miles--and lost only one man by illness, was composed of
+descendants of the loyal founders of New Brunswick. This march was
+accomplished practically without loss, while more than three hundred
+men were lost by Benedict Arnold in his expedition of 1777 against
+Quebec by the way of Kennebec--a journey not more dangerous or arduous
+than that so successfully accomplished by the New Brunswick Loyalists.
+In 1814 considerable numbers of seamen for service in the upper lakes
+passed through New Brunswick to Quebec, and were soon followed by
+several companies of the 8th or King's Regiment. The patriotism of the
+Loyalists of New Brunswick was shown by grants of public money and every
+other means in their power, while these expeditions were on their way to
+the seat of war in the upper provinces.
+
+Historians and poets have often dwelt on the heroism of Laura Secord,
+daughter and wife of Loyalists, who made a perilous journey in 1814
+through the Niagara district, and succeeded in warning Lieutenant
+Fitzgibbon of the approach of the enemy, thus enabling him with a few
+soldiers and Indians to surprise Colonel Boerstler near Beaver Dams and
+force him by clever strategy to surrender with nearly 600 men and
+several cannon. Even boys fled from home and were found fighting in the
+field. The Prince Regent, at the close of the war, expressly thanked the
+Canadian militia, who had "mainly contributed to the immediate
+preservation of the province and its future security." The Loyalists,
+who could not save the old colonies to England, did their full share in
+maintaining her supremacy in the country she still owned in the valley
+of the St. Lawrence and on the shores of the Atlantic.
+
+As Bishop Plessis stimulated a patriotic sentiment among the French
+Canadians, so Vicar-General Macdonell of Glengarry, subsequently the
+first Roman Catholic bishop of Upper Canada, performed good service by
+assisting in the formation of a Glengarry regiment, and otherwise taking
+an active part in the defence of the province, where his will always be
+an honoured name. Equally indefatigable in patriotic endeavour was
+Bishop Strachan, then rector of York, who established "The Loyal and
+Patriotic Society," which did incalculable good by relieving the
+necessities of women and children, when the men were serving in the
+battlefield, by providing clothing and food for the soldiery, and
+otherwise contributing towards the comfort and succour of all those who
+were taking part in the public defences. Of the engagements of the war
+there are two which, above all others, possess features on which the
+historian must always like to dwell. The battle which was fought against
+such tremendous odds on the banks of the Chateauguay by less than a
+thousand French Canadians, led by Salaberry and Macdonell, recalls in
+some respects the defeat of Braddock in 1755. The disaster to the
+British forces near the Monongahela was mainly the result of the
+strategy of the Indians, who were dispersed in the woods which reechoed
+to their wild yells and their ever fatal shots fired under cover of
+trees, rocks and stumps. The British were paralysed as they saw their
+ranks steadily decimated by the fire of an enemy whom they could never
+see, and who seemed multitudinous as their shrieks and shouts were heard
+far and wide in that Bedlam of the forest. The leaves that lay thick and
+deep on the ground were reddened with the blood of many victims helpless
+against the concealed, relentless savages. The woods of the Chateauguay
+did not present such a scene of carnage as was witnessed at the battle
+of the Monongahela, but nevertheless they seemed to the panic-stricken
+invaders, who numbered many thousands, alive with an enemy whose
+strength was enormously exaggerated as bugle sounds and Indian yells
+made a fearful din on every side. Believing themselves surrounded by
+forces far superior in numbers, the invaders became paralysed with fear
+and fled in disorder from an enemy whom they could not see, and who
+might close upon them at any moment. In this way Canadian pluck and
+strategy won a famous victory which saved the province of Lower Canada
+at a most critical moment of the war.
+
+If we leave the woods of Chateauguay, where a monument has been raised
+in recognition of this brilliant episode of the war, and come to the
+country above which rises the mist of the cataract of Niagara, we see a
+little acclivity over which passes that famous thoroughfare called
+"Lundy's Lane." Here too rises a stately shaft in commemoration of
+another famous victory--in many respects the most notable of the
+war--won by a gallant Englishman, whose name still clings to the pretty
+town close by.
+
+This battle was fought on a midsummer night, when less than three
+thousand British and Canadian troops fought six hours against a much
+superior force, led by the ablest officers who had taken part in the
+war. For three hours, from six to nine o'clock at night, less than two
+thousand held the height, which was the main object of attack from the
+beginning to the end of the conflict, and kept at bay the forces that
+were led against them with a stern determination to win the position.
+Sunlight gave way to the twilight of a July evening, and dense darkness
+at last covered the combatants, but still the fight went on. Columns of
+the enemy charged in such close and rapid succession that the British
+artillerymen were constantly assailed in the very act of sponging and
+loading their guns. The assailants once won the height, but only to find
+themselves repulsed the next instant by the resolute daring of the
+British. Happily at the most critical moment, when the defenders of the
+hill were almost exhausted by the heroic struggle, reinforcements
+arrived, and the battle was renewed with a supreme effort on both sides.
+For three hours longer, from nine o'clock to midnight, the battle was
+fought in the darkness, only relieved by the unceasing flashes from the
+guns, whose sharp reports mingled with the deep and monotonous roar of
+the great falls. It was a scene worthy of a painter whose imagination
+could grasp all the incidents of a situation essentially dramatic in its
+nature. The assailants of the Canadian position gave way at last and
+withdrew their wearied and disheartened forces. It was in all respects a
+victory for England and Canada, since the United States army did not
+attempt to renew the battle on the next day, but retired to Fort Erie,
+then in their possession. As Canadians look down "the corridors of
+time," they will always see those flashes from the musketry and cannon
+of Lundy's Lane, and hear the bugles which drove the invaders of their
+country from the woods of Chateauguay.
+
+The war did much to solidify the various racial elements of British
+North America during its formative stage. Frenchmen, Englishmen,
+Scotsmen from the Lowlands and Highlands, Irishmen and Americans, united
+to support the British connection. The character of the people,
+especially in Upper Canada, was strengthened from a national point of
+view by the severe strain to which it was subjected. Men and women alike
+were elevated above the conditions of a mere colonial life and the
+struggle for purely material necessities, and became animated by that
+spirit of self-sacrifice and patriotic endeavour which tend to make a
+people truly great.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE EVOLUTION OF RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (1815--1839)
+
+
+SECTION I.--The rebellion in Lower Canada.
+
+Responsible government in Canada is the logical sequence of the
+political struggles, which commenced soon after the close of the war of
+1812-15. As we review the history of Canada since the conquest we can
+recognise "one ever increasing purpose" through all political changes,
+and the ardent desire of men, entrusted at the outset with a very
+moderate degree of political responsibility, to win for themselves a
+larger measure of political liberty in the management of their own local
+affairs. Grave mistakes were often made by the advocates of reform in
+the government of the several provinces--notably, as I shall show, in
+Lower Canada, where the French Canadian majority were carried often
+beyond reason at the dictation of Papineau--but, whatever may have been
+the indiscretions of politicians, there were always at the bottom of
+their demands the germs of political development.
+
+The political troubles that continued from 1817 until 1836 in Lower
+Canada eventually made the working of legislative institutions
+impracticable. The contest gradually became one between the
+governor-general representing the crown and the assembly controlled
+almost entirely by a French Canadian majority, with respect to the
+disposition of the public revenues and expenditures. Imperial statutes,
+passed as far back as 1774-1775, provided for the levying of duties, to
+be applied solely by the crown, primarily "towards defraying the
+expenses of the administration of justice and the support of the civil
+government of the province", and any sums that remained in the hands of
+the government were "for the future disposition of parliament." Then
+there were "the casual or territorial revenues," such as money arising
+from the Jesuits' estates, royal seigniorial dues, timber and land, all
+of which were also exclusively under the control of the government. The
+assembly had been given jurisdiction only over the amount of duties
+payable into the treasury under the authority of laws passed by the
+legislature itself. In case the royal revenues were not sufficient to
+meet the annual expenditure of the government, the deficiency was met
+until the war of 1812-15 by drawing on the military exchequer. As the
+expenses of the provincial administration increased the royal revenues
+became inadequate, while the provincial revenues gradually showed a
+considerable surplus over the expenditure voted by the legislature. In
+1813 the cost of the war made it impossible for the government to use
+the military funds, and it resorted to the provincial moneys for the
+expenses of justice and civil government. In this way, by 1817, the
+government had incurred a debt of a hundred and twenty thousand pounds
+to the province without the direct authority of the legislature. The
+assembly of Lower Canada was not disposed to raise troublesome issues
+during the war, or in any way to embarrass the action of Sir George
+Prevost, who, whatever may have been his incompetency as a military
+chief, succeeded by his conciliatory and persuasive methods in winning
+the good opinions of the French Canadian majority and making himself an
+exceptionally popular civil governor. After closing the accounts of the
+war, the government felt it expedient to stop such irregular
+proceedings, to obtain from the legislature a general appropriation act,
+covering the amount of expenditures in the past, and to prevent the
+necessity of such a questionable application of provincial funds in the
+future. This may be considered the beginning of the financial
+controversies that were so constant, as years passed by, between the
+governors and the assemblies, and never ended until the rebellion broke
+out. The assembly, desirous of obtaining power in the management of
+public affairs, learned that it could best embarrass the government and
+force them to consider and adjust public grievances, as set forth by the
+majority in the house, by means of the appropriation bills required for
+the public service. The assembly not only determined to exercise sole
+control over its own funds but eventually demanded the disposal of the
+duties imposed and regulated by imperial statutes. The conflict was
+remarkable for the hot and uncompromising temper constantly exhibited by
+the majority on the discussion of the generally moderate and fair
+propositions submitted by the government for settling vexed questions.
+The assembly found a powerful argument in favour of their persistent
+contention for a complete control of the public revenues and
+expenditures in the defalcation of Mr. Caldwell, the receiver-general,
+who had been allowed for years to use the public funds in his business
+speculations, and whose property was entirely inadequate to cover the
+deficiency in his accounts.
+
+The legislative council was always ready to resist what it often
+asserted to be unconstitutional acts on the part of the house and direct
+infringements of "the rights of the crown" sometimes a mere convenient
+phrase used in an emergency to justify resistance to the assembly. It
+often happened, however, that the upper chamber had law on its side,
+when the house became perfectly unreasonable and uncompromising in its
+attitude of hostility to the government. The council, on several
+occasions, rejected a supply bill because it contained provisions
+asserting the assembly's right to control the crown revenues and to vote
+the estimates, item by item, from the governor's salary down to that of
+the humblest official. Every part of the official and legislative
+machinery became clogged by the obstinacy of governor, councils, and
+assembly. To such an extent, indeed, did the assembly's assumption of
+power carry it in 1836, that the majority actually asserted its own
+right to amend the constitution of the council as defined in the
+imperial statute of 1791. Its indiscreet acts eventually alienated the
+sympathy and support of such English members as Mr. Neilson, a
+journalist and politician of repute, Mr. Andrew Stuart, a lawyer of
+ability, and others who believed in the necessity of constitutional
+reforms, but could not follow Mr. Papineau and his party in their
+reckless career of attack on the government, which they thought would
+probably in the end imperil British connection.
+
+The government was in the habit of regularly submitting its accounts and
+estimates to the legislature, and expressed its desire eventually to
+grant that body the disposal of all the crown revenues, provided it
+would consent to vote a civil list for the king's life, or even for a
+fixed number of years, but the assembly was not willing to agree to any
+proposal which prevented it from annually taking up the expenditures for
+the civil government item by item, and making them matters of yearly
+vote. In this way every person in the public service would be subject to
+the caprice, or ill-feeling, of any single member of the legislature,
+and the whole administration of the public departments would probably be
+made ineffective. Under the plan suggested by the government in
+accordance with English constitutional forms, the assembly would have
+every opportunity of criticising all the public expenditures, and even
+reducing the gross sum in cases of extravagance. But the same
+contumacious spirit, which several times expelled Mr. Christie, member
+for Gaspé, on purely vexatious and frivolous charges, and constantly
+impeached judges without the least legal justification, simply to
+satisfy personal spite or political malice, would probably have been
+exhibited towards all officials had the majority in the assembly been
+given the right of voting each salary separately. The assembly never
+once showed a disposition to meet the wishes of the government even
+half-way. Whatever may have been the vacillation or blundering of
+officials in Downing Street, it must be admitted that the imperial
+government showed a conciliatory spirit throughout the whole financial
+controversy. Step by step it yielded to all the demands of the assembly
+on this point. In 1831, when Lord Grey was premier, the British
+parliament passed an act, making it lawful for the legislatures of Upper
+and Lower Canada to appropriate the duties raised by imperial statutes
+for the purpose of defraying the charges of the administration of
+justice and the support of civil government. The government consequently
+retained only the relatively small sum arising from casual and
+territorial dues. When Lord Aylmer, the governor-general, communicated
+this important concession to the legislature, he also sent a message
+setting forth the fact that it was the settled policy of the crown on no
+future occasion to nominate a judge either to the executive or the
+legislative council, the sole exception being the chief justice of
+Quebec. He also gave the consent of the government to the passage of an
+act declaring that judges of the supreme court should thereafter hold
+office "during good behaviour," on the essential condition that their
+salaries were made permanent by the legislature. The position of the
+judiciary had long been a source of great and even just complaint, and,
+in the time of Sir James Craig, judges were disqualified from sitting in
+the assembly on the demand of that body. They continued, however, to
+hold office "during the pleasure" of the crown, and to be called at its
+will to the executive and legislative councils. Under these
+circumstances they were, with some reason, believed to be more or less
+under the influence of the governor-general; and particular judges
+consequently fell at times under the ban of the assembly, and were
+attacked on the most frivolous grounds. The assembly passed a bill
+providing for the independence of the judiciary, but it had to be
+reserved because it was not in accordance with the conditions considered
+necessary by the crown for the protection of the bench.
+
+The governor-general also in his message promised reforms of the
+judicial and legal systems, the disposal of the funds arising from the
+Jesuits' estates by the legislature, and, in fact, nearly all the
+reforms which had been demanded by the house for years. Yet when the
+government asked at the same time for a permanent civil list, the
+message was simply referred to a committee of the whole house which
+never reported. Until this time the efforts of the assembly to obtain
+complete control of the public revenues and expenditures had a
+justification in the fact that it is a recognised English principle that
+the elected house should impose the taxes and vote the supplies; but
+their action on this occasion, when the imperial government made most
+important concessions, giving them full control over the public funds,
+simply on condition that they should follow the English system of voting
+the salaries of the judiciary and civil list, showed that the majority
+were earned away by a purely factious spirit. During the progress of
+these controversies, Mr. Louis Joseph Papineau, a brilliant but an
+unsafe leader, had become the recognised chief of the French Canadian
+majority, who for years elected him speaker of the assembly. In the
+absence of responsible government, there was witnessed in those times
+the extraordinary spectacle--only now-a-days seen in the American
+congress--of the speaker, who should be above all political antagonisms,
+acting as the leader of an arrogant majority, and urging them to
+continue in their hostility to the government. It was Mr. Papineau who
+first brought the governor-general directly into the arena of political
+conflict by violent personal attacks; and indeed he went so far in the
+case of Lord Dalhousie, a fair-minded man anxious to act moderately
+within the limits of the constitution, that the latter felt compelled by
+a sense of dignity to refuse the confirmation of the great agitator as
+speaker in 1827. The majority in the assembly vehemently asserted their
+right to elect their speaker independently of the governor, whose
+confirmation was a mere matter of form, and not of statutory right; and
+the only course at last open to Lord Dalhousie was to prorogue the
+legislature. Mr. Papineau was re-elected speaker at the next session,
+when Lord Dalhousie had gone to England and Sir James Kempt was
+administrator.
+
+After 1831, Mr. Papineau steadily evoked the opposition of the more
+conservative and thoughtful British Liberals who were not disposed to be
+carried into a questionable position, inimical to British connection and
+the peace of the country, Dr. Wolfred Nelson, and Dr. O'Callaghan, a
+journalist, were soon the only supporters of ability left him among the
+British and Irish, the great majority of whom rallied to the support of
+the government when a perilous crisis arrived in the affairs of the
+province. The British party dwindled away in every appeal to the people,
+and no French Canadian representative who presumed to differ from Mr.
+Papineau was ever again returned to the assembly. Mr. Papineau became
+not only a political despot but an "irreconcilable," whose vanity led
+him to believe that he would soon become supreme in French Canada, and
+the founder of _La Nation Canadienne_ in the valley of the St. Lawrence.
+The ninety-two resolutions passed in 1834 may be considered the climax
+of the demands of his party, which for years had resisted immigration as
+certain to strengthen the British population, had opposed the
+establishment of registry offices as inconsistent with the French
+institutions of the province, and had thrown every possible opposition
+in the way of the progress of the Eastern Townships, which were
+attracting year by year an industrious and energetic British population
+from the British Isles and New England.
+
+In these resolutions of 1834 there is not a single paragraph or even
+phrase which can be tortured into showing that the French Canadian
+agitator and his friends were in favour of responsible government. The
+key-note of the whole document is an elective legislative council, which
+would inevitably increase the power of the French Canadians and place
+the British in a hopeless minority. Mr. Roebuck, the paid agent of the
+assembly in England, is said to have suggested the idea of this elective
+body, and assuredly his writings and speeches were always calculated to
+do infinite harm, by helping to inflame discontent in Canada, and
+misrepresenting in England the true condition of affairs in the
+province. The resolutions are noteworthy for their verbosity and entire
+absence of moderate and wise suggestion. They were obviously written
+under the inspiration of Mr. Papineau with the object of irritating the
+British government, and preventing the settlement of political
+difficulties. They even eulogised the institutions of the neighbouring
+states which "commanded the affection of the people in a larger measure
+than those of any other country," and should be regarded "as models of
+government for Canada." They even went so far as "to remind parliament
+of the consequences of its efforts to overrule the wishes of the
+American colonies," in case they should make any "modification" in the
+constitution of the province "independently of the wishes of its
+people." Colonel Gugy, Mr. Andrew Stuart, Mr. Neilson and other
+prominent Englishmen opposed the passage of these resolutions, as
+calculated to do infinite harm, but they were carried by a very large
+French Canadian majority at the dictation of Mr. Papineau. Whatever may
+have been its effect for the moment, this wordy effusion has long since
+been assigned to the limbo where are buried other examples of the
+demagogism of those trying times.
+
+In 1835 the imperial government decided to send three commissioners to
+examine into the various questions which had been so long matters of
+agitation in Lower Canada. Lord Aberdeen, then Colonial Secretary of
+State, emphatically stated that it was the intention of the government
+"to review and enquire into every alleged grievance and examine every
+cause of complaint, and apply a remedy to every abuse that may still be
+found to prevail."
+
+The choice of the government as chief commissioner and governor-general
+was Lord Gosford, an amiable, inexperienced and weak man, who failed
+either to conciliate the French Canadian majority to whom he was even
+humble for a while, or to obtain the confidence of the British party to
+whose counsels and warnings he did not pay sufficient heed at the
+outset of the crisis which culminated during his administration. The
+majority in the assembly were determined not to abate one iota of their
+pretensions, which now included the control of the casual and
+territorial revenues; and no provision whatever was made for four years
+for the payment of the public service. The commissioners reported
+strongly against the establishment of an elected council, and in favour
+of a modified system of responsible government, not dependent on the
+vote of the house. They recommended also the surrender of the casual and
+territorial revenues on condition of proper provision for the payment of
+the civil service, and the administration of justice.
+
+The imperial government immediately recognised that they had to face a
+very serious crisis in the affairs of Lower Canada. On the 6th March,
+1836, Lord John Russell, then home secretary in Lord Melbourne's
+administration, introduced a series of ten resolutions, providing for
+the immediate payment of the arrears of £142,160. 14s. 6d., due to the
+public service, out of the moneys in the hands of the receiver-general.
+While it was admitted that measures should be taken to secure for the
+legislative council a greater degree of public confidence, the
+government deemed it inexpedient to make that body elective. The
+necessity of improving the position of the executive council was also
+acknowledged, but the suggestion of a ministry responsible to the
+assembly was not approved. This disapproval was quite in accordance with
+the policy adopted by Englishmen since 1822, when a measure had been
+introduced in parliament for the reunion of the two Canadas--the
+precursor of the measure of 1840. This measure originally provided that
+two members of the executive council should sit and speak in the
+assembly but not vote. Those parts of the bill of 1822 which provided
+for a union were not pressed on account of the objections raised in both
+the provinces, but certain other provisions became law under the title
+of "The Canadian Trade Acts," relieving Upper Canada from the
+capricious action of Lower Canada with respect to the duties from which
+the former obtained the principal part of her fund for carrying on her
+government. This share had been originally fixed at one-fifth of the
+proceeds of the customs duties collected by the province of Lower
+Canada, but when the population of the western section increased
+considerably and consumed a far greater quantity of dutiable goods, its
+government justly demanded a larger proportion of the revenues collected
+in the ports of the lower St. Lawrence. The legislature of Lower Canada
+paid no attention to this equitable demand, and eventually even refused
+to renew the legislation providing for the payment of one-fifth of the
+duties. Under these circumstances the imperial government found it
+necessary to intervene, and pass the "Trade Acts," making the past
+legislation of Lower Canada on the subject permanent, and preventing its
+legislature from imposing new duties on imports without the consent of
+the upper province. As this was a question of grave import, the
+resolutions of 1836 gave authority to the legislatures of Upper and
+Lower Canada to provide joint legislation "for determining and adjusting
+all questions respecting the trade and commerce of the provinces."
+
+As soon as the passage of these resolutions became known throughout
+Lower Canada, Papineau and his supporters commenced an active campaign
+of denunciation against England, from whom, they declared, there was no
+redress whatever to be expected. Wherever the revolutionists were in the
+majority, they shouted, "_Vive la liberté!" "Vive la Nation Canadienne!"
+"Vive Papineau!" "Point de despotisme_!": while flags and placards were
+displayed with similar illustrations of popular frenzy. _La Nation
+Canadienne_ was now launched on the turbulent waves of a little
+rebellion in which the phrases of the French revolution were glibly
+shouted by the _habitants_ with very little conception of their real
+significance. The British or Constitutional party took active steps in
+support of British connection, but Lord Gosford, unhappily still
+governor-general, did not for some time awaken to the reality of the
+public danger. Happily for British interests, Sir John Culhorne,
+afterwards Lord Seaforth, a courageous and vigilant soldier, was in the
+country, and was able, when orders were given him by the reluctant
+governor, to deal determinedly with the rebels who had taken up arms in
+the Richelieu district. Dr. Wolfred Nelson made a brave stand at St.
+Denis, and repulsed Colonel Gore's small detachment of regulars.
+Papineau was present for a while at the scene of conflict, but he took
+no part in it and lost no time in making a hurried flight to the United
+States--an ignominious close to a successful career of rhetorical
+flashes which had kindled a conflagration that he took very good care
+should not even scorch him. Colonel Wetherall defeated another band of
+rebels at St. Charles, and their commander, Mr. Thomas Storrow Brown, a
+well-meaning but gullible man, fled across the border. Dr. Wolfred
+Nelson was captured, and a number of other rebels of less importance
+were equally unfortunate. Some of the refugees made a public
+demonstration from Vermont, but precipitately fled before a small force
+which met them. At St. Eustache, one Girod, a plausible, mendacious
+Swiss or Alsatian, who had become a leader in the rebellious movement,
+and Dr. Chenier, a rash but courageous man, collected a considerable
+body of rebels, chiefly from St. Benoit, despite the remonstrances of
+Mr. Paquin, the curé of the village, and defended the stone church and
+adjacent buildings against a large force, led by Sir John Colborne
+himself. Dr. Chenier and many others--at least seventy, it is said on
+good authority--were killed, and the former has in the course of time
+been elevated to the dignity of a national hero and a monument raised in
+his honour on a public square of the French Canadian quarters of
+Montreal. Mad recklessness rather than true heroism signalised his
+action in this unhappy affair, when he led so many of his credulous
+compatriots to certain death, but at least he gave up his life manfully
+to a lost cause rather than fly like Papineau who had beguiled him to
+this melancholy conclusion. Even Girod showed courage and ended his own
+life when he found that he could not evade the law. The rebellious
+element at St. Benoit was cowed by the results at St. Eustache; and the
+Abbé Chartier, who had taken an active part in urging the people to
+resistance, fled to the United States whence he never returned. The
+greater part of the village was destroyed by fire, probably in
+retaliation for the losses and injuries suffered by the volunteers at
+the hands of the rebels in different parts of the district of Montreal.
+
+One of the most unfortunate and discreditable incidents of the rising in
+the Richelieu district was the murder of Lieutenant Weir, who had been
+taken prisoner while carrying despatches to Sorel, and was literally
+hacked to pieces, when he tried to escape from a _calèche_ in which he
+was being conveyed to St. Charles. An equally unhappy incident was the
+cold-blooded execution, after a mock trial, of one Chartrand, a harmless
+non-combatant who was accused, without a tittle of evidence, of being a
+spy. The temper of the country can be gauged by the fact that when it
+was attempted, some time later, to convict the murderers on clear
+evidence, it was impossible to obtain a verdict. Jolbert, the alleged
+murderer of Weir, was never punished, but François Nicholas and Amable
+Daumais, who had aided in the trial and execution of Chartrand, were
+subsequently hanged for having taken an active part in the second
+insurrection of 1838.
+
+The rebellion of 1837 never reached any large proportions, and very few
+French Canadians of social or political standing openly participated in
+the movement. Monseigneur Lartigue, Roman Catholic bishop of Montreal,
+issued a _mandement_ severely censuring the misguided men who had joined
+in the rebellious movement and caused so much misery throughout the
+province. In England, strange to say, there were men found, even in
+parliament, ready to misrepresent the facts and glory in a rebellion the
+causes of which they did not understand. The animating motive with
+these persons was then--and there were similar examples during the
+American revolution--to assail the government of the day and make
+political capital against them, but, it must be admitted, in all
+fairness to the reform ministry of that day and even to preceding
+cabinets for some years, that the policy of all was to be just and
+conciliatory in their relations with the provincial agitators, though it
+is also evident that a more thorough knowledge of political conditions
+and a more resolute effort to a reach the bottom of grievances might
+have long before removed causes of irritation and saved the loss of
+property and life in 1837 and 1838.
+
+In the presence of a grave emergency, the British government felt
+compelled to suspend the constitution of Lower Canada, and send out Lord
+Durham, a Liberal statesman of great ability, to act as governor-general
+and high commissioner "for the determining of certain important
+questions depending in the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada
+respecting the form and future government of the said provinces" Despite
+a certain haughtiness of manner which was apt to wound his inferiors and
+irritate his equals in position, he was possessed of a great fund of
+accurate political knowledge and a happy faculty of grasping all the
+essential facts of a difficult situation, and suggesting the best remedy
+to apply under all the circumstances. He endeavoured, to the utmost of
+his ability, to redeem the pledge with which he entered on his mission
+to Canada, in the first instance "to assert the supremacy of her
+majesty's government," in the next "to vindicate the honour and dignity
+of the law," and above all "to know nothing of a British, a French, or a
+Canadian party," but "to look on them all alike as her majesty's
+subjects." After he had appointed a special council he set to work
+energetically to secure the peace of the country. Humanity was the
+distinguishing feature of his too short career in Canada. A
+comprehensive amnesty was proclaimed to all those engaged in the
+rebellion with the exception of Dr. Wolfred Nelson, R.S.M. Bouchette,
+Bonaventure Viger, Dr. Masson, and four others of less importance, who
+were ordered by an ordinance to be transported to Bermuda during the
+queen's pleasure. These persons, as well as sixteen others, including
+Papineau, who had fled from justice, were declared to be subject to
+death should they venture to enter the province. Not a single rebel
+suffered death on the scaffold during Lord Durham's administration.
+Unfortunately the ordinance, transporting a number of persons without
+trial to an island where the governor-general had no jurisdiction, gave
+an opportunity to Lord Brougham, who hated the high commissioner, to
+attack him in the house of lords. Lord Melbourne, then premier, was
+forced to repeal the ordinance and to consent to the passage of a bill
+indemnifying all those who had acted under its provisions Lord Glenelg,
+colonial secretary, endeavoured to diminish the force of this
+parliamentary censure by writing to the high commissioner that "her
+majesty's government repeat their approbation of the spirit in which
+these measures were conceived and state their conviction that they have
+been dictated by a judicious and enlightened humanity"; but a statesman
+of Lord Durham's haughty character was not ready to submit to such a
+rebuke as he had sustained in parliament He therefore immediately placed
+his resignation in the hands of the government which had commissioned
+him with powers to give peace and justice to distracted Canada, and yet
+failed to sustain him at the crucial moment. Before leaving the country
+he issued a proclamation in defence of his public acts. His course in
+this particular offended the ministry who, according to Lord Glenelg,
+considered it a dangerous innovation, as it was practically an appeal by
+a public officer to the public against the measures of parliament. Lord
+Durham may be pardoned under all the circumstances for resenting at the
+earliest possible moment his desertion by the government, who were bound
+in honour to defend him, at all hazards, in his absence, and should not
+have given him over for the moment to his enemies, led by a spiteful
+Scotch lawyer. Lord Durham left Canada with the assurance that he had
+won the confidence of all loyal British subjects and proved to all
+French Canadians that there were English statesmen prepared to treat
+them with patience, humanity and justice.
+
+Sir John Colborne became administrator on the departure of Lord Durham,
+and subsequently governor-general. Unhappily he was immediately called
+upon to crush another outbreak of the rebels, in November, 1838, in the
+counties watered by the Richelieu River, and in the district immediately
+south of Montreal. Dr. Robert Nelson and some other rebels, who had
+found refuge in the frontier towns and villages of Vermont and New York,
+organised this second insurrection, which had the support of a
+considerable number of _habitants_, though only a few actually took up
+arms. The rising, which began at Caughnawaga, was put down at
+Beauharnois, within a week from the day on which it commenced. The
+authorities now felt that the time had passed for such leniency as had
+been shown by Lord Durham; and Sir John Colborne accordingly established
+courts-martial for the trial of the prisoners taken during this second
+insurrection, as it was utterly impossible to obtain justice through the
+ordinary process of the courts. Only twelve persons, however, suffered
+the extreme penalty of the law; some were sent to New South Wales--where
+however they were detained only a short time; and the great majority
+were pardoned on giving security for good behaviour.
+
+While these trials were in progress, and the government were anxious to
+give peace and security to the province, refugees in the border states
+were despatching hands of ruffians to attack and plunder the Loyalists
+in the Eastern Townships; but the government of the United States
+intervened and instructed its officers to take decisive measures for the
+repression of every movement in the territory of a friendly Power. Thus
+the mad insurrection incited by Papineau, but actually led by the
+Nelsons, Chenier and Brown, came at last to an end.
+
+A new era of political development was now to dawn on the province, as a
+result of a more vigorous and remedial policy initiated by the imperial
+government, at last thoroughly awakened to an intelligent comprehension
+of the political conditions of the Canadas. But before I proceed to
+explain the details of measures fraught with such important
+consequences, I must give an historical summary of the events which led
+also to a rash uprising in Upper Canada, simultaneously with the one
+which ended so disastrously for its leaders in the French province.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--The rebellion in Upper Canada.
+
+The financial disputes between the executive and the assembly never
+attained such prominence in Upper Canada as in the lower province. In
+1831 the assembly consented to make permanent provision for the civil
+list and the judiciary, on condition of the government's giving up to
+the legislature all the revenues previously at its own disposition.
+Three years later the legislature also passed an act to provide that the
+judges should hold their offices during good behaviour, and not at the
+pleasure of the crown--a measure rendered possible by the fact that the
+assembly had made the salaries of the bench permanent.
+
+Nor did the differences between the assembly and the legislative council
+ever assume such serious proportions as they did in the French province.
+Still the leaders of the reform party of Upper Canada had strong
+objections to the constitution of the council; and a committee of
+grievances reported in 1835 in favour of an elected body as well as a
+responsible council, although it did not very clearly outline the
+methods of working out the system in a colony where the head of the
+executive was an imperial officer acting under royal instructions. The
+different lieutenant-governors, the executive and legislative
+councillors, and the whole body of officials, from the very moment
+responsible government was suggested in any form, threw every possible
+obstacle in the way of its concession by the imperial government.
+
+It was largely the dominant influence of the official combination, long
+known in Canadian history as the "family compact," which prevented the
+concession of responsible government before the union of the Canadas.
+This phrase, as Lord Durham said in his report, was misleading inasmuch
+as there "was very little of family connection between the persons thus
+united." As a matter of fact the phrase represented a political and
+aristocratic combination, which grew up as a consequence of the social
+conditions of the province and eventually monopolised all offices and
+influence in government. This bureaucracy permeated all branches of
+government--the executive, the legislative council, and even the
+assembly where for years there sat several members holding offices of
+emolument under the crown. It practically controlled the banks and
+monetary circles. The Church of England was bound up in its interests.
+The judiciary was more or less under its influence while judges were
+appointed during pleasure and held seats in the councils. This governing
+class was largely composed of the descendants of the Loyalists of 1784,
+who had taken so important a part in the war with the United States and
+always asserted their claims to special consideration in the
+distribution of government favour. The old settlers--all those who had
+come into the country before the war--demanded and obtained greater
+consideration at the hands of the government than the later immigrants,
+who eventually found themselves shut out of office and influence. The
+result was the growth of a Liberal or Reform party, which, while
+generally composed of the later immigrants, comprised several persons of
+Loyalist extraction, who did not happen to belong to the favoured class
+or church, but recognised the necessity for a change in the methods of
+administration. Among these Loyalists must be specially mentioned Peter
+Perry, who was really the founder of the Reform party in 1834, and the
+Reverend Egerton Ryerson, a Methodist minister of great natural ability.
+
+Unfortunately creed also became a powerful factor in the political
+controversies of Upper Canada. By the constitutional act of 1791 large
+tracts of land were set aside for the support of a "Protestant clergy",
+and the Church of England successfully claimed for years an exclusive
+right to these "clergy reserves" on the ground that it was the
+Protestant church recognised by the state. The clergy of the Church of
+Scotland in Canada, though very few in number for years, at a later time
+obtained a share of these grants as a national religious body; but all
+the dissentient denominations did not participate in the advantages of
+these reserves. The Methodists claimed in the course of years to be
+numerically equal to, if not more numerous than, the English
+Episcopalians, and were deeply irritated at the inferior position they
+long occupied in the province. So late as 1824 the legislative council,
+composed of members of the dominant church, rejected a bill allowing
+Methodist ministers to solemnise marriages, and it was not until 1831
+that recognised ministers of all denominations were placed on an
+equality in this respect. Christian charity was not more a
+characteristic of those times than political liberality. Methodism was
+considered by the governing class as a sign of democracy and social
+inferiority. History repeated itself in Upper Canada. As the Puritans of
+New England feared the establishment of an Anglican episcopacy, and used
+it to stimulate a feeling against the parent state during the beginnings
+of the revolution, so in Upper Canada the dissenting religious bodies
+made political capital out of the favouritism shown to the Church of
+England in the distribution of the public lands and public patronage.
+The Roman Catholics and members of all Protestant sects eventually
+demanded the secularisation of the reserves for educational or other
+public purposes, or the application of the funds to the use of all
+religious creeds. The feeling against that church culminated in 1836,
+when Sir John Colborne, then lieutenant-governor, established forty-four
+rectories in accordance with a suggestion made by Lord Goderich some
+years previously. While the legality of Sir John Colborne's course was
+undoubted, it was calculated to create much indignant feeling among the
+dissenting bodies, who saw in the establishment of these rectories an
+evidence of the intention of the British government to create a state
+church so far as practicable by law within the province. This act, so
+impolitic at a critical time of political discussion, was an
+illustration of the potent influence exercised in the councils of the
+government by Archdeacon Strachan, who had come into the province from
+Scotland in 1799 as a schoolmaster. He had been brought up in the tenets
+of the Presbyterian Church, but some time after his arrival in Canada he
+became an ordained minister of the Church of England, in which he rose
+step by step to the episcopacy. He became a member of both the executive
+and legislative councils in 1816 and 1817, and exercised continuously
+until the union of 1841 a singular influence in the government of the
+province. He was endowed with that indomitable will, which distinguished
+his great countryman, John Knox. His unbending toryism was the natural
+outcome of his determination to sustain what he considered the just
+rights of his church against the liberalism of her opponents--chiefly
+dissenters--who wished to rob her of her clergy reserves and destroy her
+influence in education and public affairs generally. This very fidelity
+to his church became to some extent her weakness, since it evoked the
+bitter hostility of a large body of persons and created the impression
+that she was the church of the aristocratic and official class rather
+than that of the people--an impression which existed for many years
+after the fall of the "family compact."
+
+The public grievances connected with the disposition of the public
+lands were clearly exposed by one Robert Gourlay, a somewhat meddlesome
+Scotchman, who had addressed a circular, soon after his arrival in
+Canada, to a number of townships with regard to the causes which
+retarded improvement and the best means of developing the resources of
+the province. An answer from Sandwich virtually set forth the feeling of
+the rural districts generally on these points. It stated that the
+reasons for the existing depression were the reserves of land for the
+crown and clergy, "which must for a long time keep the country a
+wilderness, a harbour for wolves, and a hindrance to compact and good
+neighbourhood; defects in the system of colonisation; too great a
+quantity of lands in the hands of individuals who do not reside in the
+province, and are not assessed for their property." Mr. Gourlay's
+questions were certainly asked in the public interest, but they excited
+the indignation of the official class who resented any interference with
+a state of things which favoured themselves and their friends, and were
+not desirous of an investigation into the management of public affairs.
+The subsequent treatment of Mr. Gourlay was shameful in the extreme. He
+was declared a most dangerous character when he followed up his circular
+by a pamphlet, attacking the methods by which public affairs generally
+were conducted, and contrasting them with the energetic and progressive
+system on the other side of the border. The indignation of the officials
+became a positive fever when he suggested the calling of public meetings
+to elect delegates to a provincial convention--a term which recalled the
+days of the American revolution, and was cleverly used by Gourlay's
+enemies to excite the ire and fear of the descendants of the Loyalists.
+Sir Peregrine Maitland succeeded in obtaining from the legislature an
+opinion against conventions as "repugnant to the constitution," and
+declaring the holding of such public meetings a misdemeanour, while
+admitting the constitutional right of the people to petition. These
+proceedings evoked a satirical reply from Gourlay, who was arrested for
+seditious libel, but the prosecutions failed. It was then decided to
+resort to the provisions of a practically obsolete statute passed in
+1804, authorising the arrest of any person who had resided in the
+province for six months without taking the oath of allegiance, and was
+suspected to be a seditious character. Such a person could be ordered by
+the authorities to leave the province, or give security for good
+behaviour. This act had been originally passed to prevent the
+immigration of aliens unfavourable to England, especially of Irishmen
+who had taken part in the rebellion of 1798 and found refuge in the
+United States. Gourlay had been a resident of Upper Canada for nearly
+two years, and in no single instance had the law been construed to apply
+to an immigrant from the British Isles. Gourlay was imprisoned in the
+Niagara gaol, and when his friends attempted to bring him out on a writ
+of _habeas corpus_ they failed simply because Chief Justice Powell, an
+able lawyer of a Loyalist family and head of the official party, refused
+to grant the writ on a mere technical plea, afterwards declared by the
+highest legal authorities in England to be entirely contrary to sound
+law. Gourlay consequently remained in prison for nearly eight months,
+and when he was brought again before the chief justice, his mental
+faculties were obviously impaired for the moment, but despite his
+wretched condition, which prevented him from conducting his defence, he
+was summarily convicted and ordered to leave the province within
+twenty-four hours, under penalty of death should he not obey the order
+or return to the country.
+
+This unjust sentence created wide-spread indignation among all
+right-thinking people, especially as it followed a message of the
+lieutenant-governor to the legislature, that he did not feel justified
+in extending the grants of land, made to actors in the war of 1812-15,
+to "any of the inhabitants who composed the late convention of
+delegates, the proceedings of which were very properly subjected to your
+very severe animadversion" This undoubtedly illegal action of the
+lieutenant-governor only escaped the censure of the assembly by the
+casting vote of the speaker, but was naturally justified in the
+legislative council where Chief Justice Powell presided. Gourlay became
+a martyr in the opinion of a large body of people, and a Reform party
+began to grow up in the country. The man himself disappeared for years
+from Canadian history, and did not return to the province until 1856,
+after a chequered and unhappy career in Great Britain and the United
+States. The assembly of the United Canadas in 1842 declared his arrest
+to be "unjust and illegal," and his sentence "null and void," and he was
+offered a pension as some compensation for the injuries he had received;
+but he refused it unless it was accompanied by an official declaration
+of the illegality of the conviction and its elision from the records of
+the courts. The Canadian government thought he should be satisfied with
+the action of the assembly and the offer of the pension. Gourlay died
+abroad, and his daughters on his death received the money which he
+rejected with the obstinacy so characteristic of his life.
+
+During these days of struggle we find most prominent among the official
+class Attorney-General Robinson, afterwards chief justice of Upper
+Canada for many years. He was the son of a Virginian Loyalist, and a
+Tory of extreme views, calm, polished, and judicial in his demeanour.
+But whatever his opinions on the questions of the day he was too
+discreet a politician and too honest a judge ever to have descended to
+such a travesty of justice as had been shown by his predecessor in the
+case of Gourlay. His influence, however was never in the direction of
+liberal measures. He opposed responsible government and the union of the
+two provinces, both when proposed unsuccessfully in 1822, and when
+carried in Upper Canada eighteen years later.
+
+The elections of 1825 had a very important influence on the political
+conditions of the upper province, since they brought into the assembly
+Peter Perry, Dr. Rolph, and Marshall Spring Bidwell, who became leading
+actors in the Reform movement which culminated in the concession of
+responsible government. But the most conspicuous man from 1826 until
+1837 was William Lyon Mackenzie, a Scotchman of fair education, who came
+to Canada in 1820, and eventually embraced journalism as the profession
+most suited to his controversial temperament. Deeply imbued with a
+spirit of liberalism in politics, courageous and even defiant in the
+expression of his opinions, sadly wanting in sound judgment and common
+sense when his feelings were excited, able to write with vigour, but
+more inclined to emphatic vituperation than well-reasoned argument, he
+made himself a force in the politics of the province. In the _Colonial
+Advocate_, which he established in 1824, he commenced a series of
+attacks on the government which naturally evoked the resentment of the
+official class, and culminated in the destruction of his printing office
+in 1826 by a number of young men, relatives of the principal
+officials--one of them actually the private secretary of the
+lieutenant-governor, Sir Peregrine Maitland. Mr. Mackenzie obtained
+large damages in the courts, and was consequently able to continue the
+publication of his paper at a time when he was financially embarrassed.
+The sympathy felt for Mr. Mackenzie brought him into the assembly as
+member for York during the session of 1829. So obnoxious did he become
+to the governing class that he was expelled four times from the assembly
+between 1831 and 1834, and prevented from taking his seat by the orders
+of the speaker in 1835--practically the fifth expulsion. In 1832 he went
+to England and presented largely signed petitions asking for a redress
+of grievances. He appears to have made some impression on English
+statesmen, and the colonial minister recommended a few reforms to the
+lieutenant-governor, but they were entirely ignored by the official
+party. Lord Glenelg also disapproved of the part taken by
+Attorney-General Boulton--Mr. Robinson being then chief justice--and
+Solicitor-General Hagerman in the expulsion of Mr. Mackenzie; but they
+treated the rebuke with contempt and were removed from office for again
+assisting in the expulsion of Mr. Mackenzie.
+
+In 1834 he was elected first mayor of Toronto, then incorporated under
+its present name, as a consequence of the public sympathy aroused in his
+favour by his several expulsions. Previous to the election of 1835, in
+which he was returned to the assembly, he made one of the most serious
+blunders of his life, in the publication of a letter from Mr. Joseph
+Hume, the famous Radical, whose acquaintance he had made while in
+England. Mr. Hume emphatically stated his opinion that "a crisis was
+fast approaching in the affairs of Canada which would terminate in
+independence and freedom from the baneful domination of the mother
+country, and the tyrannical conduct of a small and despicable faction in
+the colony." The official class availed themselves of this egregious
+blunder to excite the indignation of the Loyalist population against Mr.
+Mackenzie and other Reformers, many of whom, like the Baldwins and
+Perrys, disavowed all sympathy with such language. Mr. Mackenzie's
+motive was really to insult Mr. Ryerson, with whom he had quarrelled.
+Mr. Ryerson in the _Christian Guardian_, organ of the Methodists, had
+attacked Mr. Hume as a person unfit to present petitions from the
+Liberals of Canada, since he had opposed the measure for the
+emancipation of slaves in the West Indies, and had consequently
+alienated the confidence and sympathy of the best part of the nation.
+Mr. Hume then wrote the letter in question, in which he also stated that
+he "never knew a more worthless hypocrite or so base a man as Mr.
+Ryerson proved himself to be." Mr. Mackenzie in this way incurred the
+wrath of a wily clergyman and religious journalist who exercised much
+influence over the Methodists, and at the same time fell under the ban
+of all people who were deeply attached to the British connection.
+Moderate Reformers now looked doubtfully on Mackenzie, whose principal
+supporters were Dr. Duncombe, Samuel Lount, Peter Matthews, and other
+men who took an active part in the insurrection of 1837.
+
+In the session of 1835 a committee of grievances, appointed on the
+motion of Mr. Mackenzie himself, reported in favour of a system of
+responsible government, an elective legislative council, the appointment
+of civil governors, a diminution of the patronage exercised by the
+crown, the independence of the legislature, and other reforms declared
+to be in the interest of good government. The report was temperately
+expressed, and created some effect for a time in England, but the
+colonial minister could not yet be induced to move in the direction of
+positive reform in the restrictive system of colonial government.
+
+Unhappily, at this juncture, when good judgment and discretion were so
+necessary in political affairs, all the circumstances combined to hasten
+a perilous crisis, and to give full scope to the passionate impulses of
+Mackenzie's nature. Sir John Colborne was replaced in the government of
+the province by one of the most incapable governors ever chosen by the
+colonial office, Sir Francis Bond Head. He had been chiefly known in
+England as a sprightly writer of travels, and had had no political
+experience except such as could be gathered in the discharge of the
+duties of a poor-law commissioner in Wales. His first official act was
+an indiscretion. He communicated to the legislature the full text of the
+instructions which he had received from the king, although he had been
+advised to give only their substance, as least calculated to hamper Lord
+Gosford, who was then attempting to conciliate the French Canadian
+majority in Lower Canada. These instructions, in express terms,
+disapproved of a responsible executive and particularly of an elected
+legislative council, to obtain which was the great object of Papineau
+and his friends. Mr. Bidwell, then speaker of the assembly, recognised
+the importance of this despatch, and forwarded it immediately to Mr.
+Papineau, at that time speaker of the Lower Canadian house, with whom he
+and other Reformers had correspondence from time to time. Lord Gosford
+was consequently forced to lay his own instructions in full before the
+legislature and to show the majority that the British government was
+opposed to such vital changes in the provincial constitution as they
+persistently demanded. The action of the Lower Canadian house on this
+matter was communicated to the assembly of Upper Canada by a letter of
+Mr. Papineau to Mr. Bidwell, who laid it before his house just before
+the prorogation in 1835. In this communication the policy of the
+imperial government was described as "the naked deformity of the
+colonial system," and the royal commissioners were styled "deceitful
+agents," while the methods of government in the neighbouring states were
+again eulogised as in the ninety-two resolutions of 1834. Sir Francis
+Bond Head seized the opportunity to create a feeling against the
+Reformers, to whom he was now hostile. Shortly after he sent his
+indiscreet message to the legislature he persuaded Dr. Rolph, Mr.
+Bidwell and Receiver-General Dunn to enter the executive council on the
+pretence that he wished to bring that body more into harmony with public
+opinion. The new councillors soon found that they were not to be
+consulted in public affairs, and when the whole council actually
+resigned Sir Francis told them plainly that he alone was responsible for
+his acts, and that he would only consult them when he deemed it
+expedient in the public interest. This action of the lieutenant-governor
+showed the Reformers that he was determined to initiate no changes which
+would disturb the official party, or give self-government to the people.
+The assembly, in which the Liberals were dominant, passed an address to
+the king, declaring the lieutenant-governor's conduct "derogatory to the
+honour of the king," and also a memorial to the British house of commons
+charging him with "misrepresentation, and a deviation from candour and
+truth."
+
+Under these circumstances Sir Francis eagerly availed himself of
+Papineau's letter to show the country the dangerous tendencies of the
+opinions and acts of the Reformers in the two provinces. In an answer he
+made to an address from some inhabitants of the Home District, he warned
+the people that there were individuals in Lower Canada, who were
+inculcating the idea that "this province is to be disturbed by the
+interference of foreigners, whose powers and influence will prove
+invincible"--an allusion to the sympathy shown by Papineau and his
+friends for the institutions of the United States. Then Sir Francis
+closed his reply with this rhodomontade: "In the name of every regiment
+of militia in Upper Canada, I publicly promulgate 'Let them come if they
+dare'" He dissolved the legislature and went directly to the country on
+the issue that the British connection was endangered by the Reformers.
+"He succeeded, in fact," said Lord Durham in his report of 1839, "in
+putting the issue in such a light before the province, that a great
+portion of the people really imagined that they were called upon to
+decide the question of separation by their votes." These strong appeals
+to the loyalty of a province founded by the Loyalists of 1784, combined
+with the influence exercised by the "family compact," who had all
+offices and lands at their disposal, defeated Mackenzie, Bidwell, Perry
+and other Reformers of less note, and brought into the legislature a
+solid phalanx of forty-two supporters of the government against eighteen
+elected by the opposition. It was a triumph dearly paid for in the end.
+The unfair tactics of the lieutenant-governor rankled in the minds of a
+large body of people, and hastened the outbreak of the insurrection of
+1837. The British government seems for a time to have been deceived by
+this victory of the lieutenant-governor and actually lauded his
+"foresight, energy and moral courage"; but ere long, after more mature
+consideration of the political conditions of the province, it dawned
+upon the dense mind of Lord Glenelg that the situation was not very
+satisfactory, and that it would be well to conciliate the moderate
+element among the Reformers. Sir Francis was accordingly instructed to
+appoint Mr. Bidwell to the Bench, but he stated emphatically that such
+an appointment would be a recognition on disloyalty. He preferred to
+resign rather than obey the instructions of the colonial department, and
+greatly to his surprise and chagrin his proffer of resignation was
+accepted without the least demur. The colonial office by this time
+recognised the mistake they had made in appointing Sir Francis to a
+position, for which he was utterly unfit, but unhappily for the province
+they awoke too late to a sense of their own folly.
+
+Mackenzie became so embittered by his defeat in 1836, and the
+unscrupulous methods by which it was accomplished, that he made up his
+mind that reform in government was not to be obtained except by a resort
+to extreme measures. At meetings of Reformers, held at Lloydtown and
+other places during the summer of 1837, resolutions were carried that it
+was their duty to arm in defence of their rights and those of their
+countrymen. Mackenzie visited many parts of the province, in order to
+stimulate a revolutionary movement among the disaffected people, a
+system of training volunteers was organised; pikes were manufactured and
+old arms were put in order. It was decided that Dr. Rolph should be the
+executive chief of the provisional government, and Mackenzie in the
+meantime had charge of all the details of the movement. Mr. Bidwell
+appears to have steadily kept aloof from the disloyal party, but Dr.
+Rolph was secretly in communication with Mackenzie, Lount, Matthews,
+Lloyd, Morrison, Duncombe, and other actors in the rebellion. The plan
+was to march on Toronto, where it was notorious that no precautions for
+defence were being taken, to seize the lieutenant-governor, to proclaim
+a provisional government, and to declare the independence of the
+province unless Sir Francis should give a solemn promise to constitute a
+responsible council. It is quite certain that Mackenzie entirely
+misunderstood the sentiment of the country, and exaggerated the support
+that would be given to a disloyal movement. Lord Durham truly said that
+the insurrectionary movements which did take place were "indicative of
+no deep rooted disaffection," and that "almost the entire body of the
+Reformers of the province sought only by constitutional means to obtain
+those objects for which they had so long peacefully struggled before
+the unhappy troubles occasioned by the violence of a few unprincipled
+adventurers and heated enthusiasts."
+
+Despite the warnings that he was constantly receiving of the seditious
+doings of Mackenzie and his lieutenants, Sir Francis Bond Head could not
+be persuaded an uprising was imminent. So complete was his fatuity that
+he allowed all the regular troops to be withdrawn to Lower Canada at the
+request of Sir John Colborne. Had he taken adequate measures for the
+defence of Toronto, and showed he was prepared for any contingency, the
+rising of Mackenzie's immediate followers would never have occurred. His
+apathy and negligence at this crisis actually incited an insurrection.
+The repulse of Gore at St. Denis on the 23rd November (p. 134) no doubt
+hastened the rebellious movement in Upper Canada, and it was decided to
+collect all available men and assemble at Montgomery's tavern, only four
+miles from Toronto by way of Yonge Street, the road connecting Toronto
+with Lake Simcoe. The subsequent news of the dispersion of the rebels at
+St. Charles was very discouraging to Mackenzie and Lount, but they felt
+that matters had proceeded too far for them to stop at that juncture.
+They still hoped to surprise Toronto and occupy it without much
+difficulty. A Colonel Moodie, who had taken part in the war of 1812-15,
+had heard of the march of the insurgents from Lake Simcoe, and was
+riding rapidly to Toronto to warn the lieutenant-governor, when he was
+suddenly shot down and died immediately. Sir Francis was unconscious of
+danger when he was aroused late at night by Alderman Powell, who had
+been taken prisoner by the rebels but succeeded in making his escape and
+finding his way to Government House. Sir Francis at last awoke from his
+lethargy and listened to the counsels of Colonel Fitzgibbon--the hero of
+Beaver Dams in 1813--and other residents of Toronto, who had constantly
+endeavoured to force him to take measures for the public security. The
+loyal people of the province rallied with great alacrity to put down the
+revolt. The men of the western district of Gore came up in force, and
+the first man to arrive on the scene was Allan MacNab, the son of a
+Loyalist and afterwards prime minister of Canada. A large and well
+equipped force was at once organised under the command of Colonel
+Fitzgibbon.
+
+The insurrection was effectually quelled on the 7th December at
+Montgomery's tavern by the militia and volunteer forces under Colonel
+Fitzgibbon. The insurgents had at no time mustered more than eight
+hundred men, and in the engagement on the 7th there were only four
+hundred, badly armed and already disheartened. In twenty minutes, or
+less time, the fight was over and the insurgents fled with the loss of
+one man killed and several seriously wounded. The Loyalists, who did not
+lose a single man, took a number of prisoners, who were immediately
+released by the lieutenant-governor on condition of returning quietly to
+their homes. Mackenzie succeeded in escaping across the Niagara
+frontier, but Matthews was taken prisoner as he was leading a detachment
+across the Don into Toronto. Lount was identified at Chippewa while
+attempting to find his way to the United States and brought back to
+Toronto. Rolph, Gibson and Duncombe found a refuge in the republic, but
+Van Egmond, who had served under Napoleon, and commanded the insurgents,
+was arrested and died in prison of inflammatory rheumatism. Mr. Bidwell
+was induced to fly from the province by the insidious representations of
+the lieutenant-governor, who used the fact of his flight as an argument
+that he had been perfectly justified in not appointing him to the Bench.
+In later years, the Canadian government, recognising the injustice Mr.
+Bidwell had received, offered him a judgeship, but he never could be
+induced to return to Canada Mackenzie had definite grievances against
+Sir Francis and his party; and a British people, always ready to
+sympathise with men who resent injustice and assert principles of
+popular government, might have soon condoned the serious mistake he had
+made in exciting a rash revolt against his sovereign. But his
+apologists can find no extenuating circumstances for his mad conduct in
+stirring up bands of ruffians at Buffalo and other places on the
+frontier to invade the province. The base of operations for these raids
+was Navy Island, just above the Niagara Falls in British territory. A
+small steamer, "The Caroline," was purchased from some Americans, and
+used to bring munitions of war to the island. Colonel MacNab was sent to
+the frontier, and successfully organised an expedition of boats under
+the charge of Captain Drew--afterwards an Admiral--to seize the steamer
+at Fort Schlosser, an insignificant place on the American side. The
+capture was successfully accomplished and the steamer set on fire and
+sent down the river, where she soon sank before reaching the cataract.
+Only one man was killed--one Durfee, a citizen of the United States.
+This audacious act of the Canadians was deeply resented in the republic
+as a violation of its territorial rights, and was a subject of
+international controversy until 1842 when it was settled with other
+questions at issue between Great Britain and the United States.
+Mackenzie now disappeared for some years from Canadian history, as the
+United States authorities felt compelled to imprison him for a time. It
+was not until the end of 1838 that the people of the Canada were free
+from filibustering expeditions organised in the neighboring states.
+"Hunters' Lodges" were formed under the pledge "never to rest until all
+tyrants of Britain cease to have any dominion or footing whatever in
+North America." These marauding expeditions on the exposed parts of the
+western frontier--especially on the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers--were
+successfully resisted. At Prescott, a considerable body of persons,
+chiefly youths under age, under the leadership of Von Schoultz, a Pole,
+were beaten at the Old Stone Windmill, which they attempted to hold
+against a Loyalist force. At Sandwich, Colonel Prince, a conspicuous
+figure in Canadian political history of later years, routed a band of
+filibusters, four of whom he ordered to instant death. This resolute
+deed created some excitement in England, where it was condemned by some
+and justified by others. Canadians, who were in constant fear of such
+raids, naturally approved of summary justice in the case of persons who
+were really brigands, not entitled to any consideration under the laws
+of war.
+
+In 1838 President Buren issued a proclamation calling upon all citizens
+of the United States to observe the neutrality laws; but the difficulty
+in those days was the indisposition of the federal government to
+interfere with the states where such expeditions were organised. The
+vigilance of the Canadian authorities and the loyalty of the people
+alone saved the country in these trying times. A great many of the
+raiders were taken prisoners and punished with the severity due to their
+unjustifiable acts. Von Schoultz and eight others were hanged, a good
+many were pardoned, while others were transported to Van Diemen's Land,
+whence they were soon allowed to return. The names of these filibusters
+are forgotten, but those of Lount and Matthews, who perished on the
+scaffold, have been inscribed on some Canadian hearts as patriots. Sir
+George Arthur, who succeeded Sir Francis Head, was a soldier, who had
+had experience as a governor among the convicts of Van Diemen's Land,
+and the negro population of Honduras, where he had crushed a revolt of
+slaves. Powerful appeals were made to him on behalf of Lount and
+Matthews, but not even the tears and prayers of Lount's distracted wife
+could reach his heart. Such clemency as was shown by Lord Durham would
+have been a bright incident in Sir George Arthur's career in Canada, but
+he looked only to the approval of the Loyalists, deeply incensed against
+the rebels of 1837. His action in these two cases was regarded with
+disapprobation in England, and the colonial minister expressed the hope
+that no further executions would occur--advice followed in the case of
+other actors of the revolt of 1837. Sir George Arthur's place in
+colonial annals is not one of high distinction. Like his predecessors,
+he became the resolute opponent of responsible government, which he
+declared in a despatch to be "Mackenzie's scheme for getting rid of what
+Mr. Hume called 'the baneful domination' of the mother country"; "and
+never" he added, "was any scheme better devised to bring about such an
+end speedily".
+
+
+SECTION 3.--Social and economic conditions of the Provinces in 1838.
+
+We have now reached a turning-point in the political development of the
+provinces of British North America, and may well pause for a moment to
+review the social and economic condition of their people. Since the
+beginning of the century there had been a large immigration into the
+provinces, except during the war of 1812. In the nine years preceding
+1837, 263,089 British and Irish immigrants arrived at Quebec, and in one
+year alone there were over 50,000. By 1838 the population of the five
+provinces of Upper Canada, Lower Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and
+Prince Edward Island had reached about 1,400,000 souls. In Upper Canada,
+with the exception of a very few people of German or Dutch descent, and
+some French Canadians opposite Detroit and on the Ottawa River, there
+was an entirely British population of at least 400,000 souls. The
+population of Lower Canada was estimated at 600,000, of whom hardly
+one-quarter were of British origin, living chiefly in Montreal, the
+Townships, and Quebec. Nova Scotia had nearly 200,000 inhabitants, of
+whom probably 16,000 were French Acadians, resident in Cape Breton and
+in Western Nova Scotia. In New Brunswick there were at least 150,000
+people, of whom some 15,000 were descendants of the original inhabitants
+of Acadie. The Island of Prince Edward had 30,000 people, of whom the
+French Acadians made up nearly one-sixth. The total trade of the country
+amounted, in round figures, to about £5,000,000 sterling in imports,
+and somewhat less in exports The imports were chiefly manufactures from
+Great Britain, and the exports were lumber, wheat and fish. Those were
+days when colonial trade was stimulated by differential duties in favour
+of colonial products, and the building of vessels was encouraged by the
+old navigation laws which shut out foreign commerce from the St.
+Lawrence and the Atlantic ports, and kept the carrying trade between
+Great Britain and the colonies in the hands of British and colonial
+merchants, by means of British registered ships. While colonists could
+not trade directly with foreign ports, they were given a monopoly for
+their timber, fish, and provisions in the profitable markets of the
+British West Indies.
+
+The character of the immigration varied considerably, but on the whole
+the thrifty and industrious formed the larger proportion. In 1833 the
+immigrants deposited 300,000 sovereigns, or nearly a million and a half
+of dollars, in the Upper Canadian banks. An important influence in the
+settlement of Upper Canada was exercised by one Colonel Talbot, the
+founder of the county of Elgin. Mrs. Anna Jameson, the wife of a
+vice-chancellor of Upper Canada, describes in her _Winter Studies and
+Summer Rambles_, written in 1838, the home of this great proprietor, a
+Talbot of Malahide, one of the oldest families in the parent state. The
+château--as she calls it, perhaps sarcastically--was a "long wooden
+building, chiefly of rough logs, with a covered porch running along the
+south side." Such homes as Colonel Talbot's were common enough in the
+country. Some of the higher class of immigrants, however, made efforts
+to surround themselves with some of the luxuries of the old world. Mrs.
+Jameson tells us of an old Admiral, who had settled in the London
+district--now the most prosperous agricultural part of Ontario--and had
+the best of society in his neighbourhood; "several gentlemen of family,
+superior education, and large capital (among them the brother of an
+English and the son of an Irish peer, a colonel and a major in the army)
+whose estates were in a flourishing state." The common characteristic
+of the Canadian settlements was the humble log hut of the poor
+immigrant, struggling with axe and hoe amid the stumps to make a home
+for his family. Year by year the sunlight was let into the dense
+forests, and fertile meadows soon stretched far and wide in the once
+untrodden wilderness. Despite all the difficulties of a pioneer's life,
+industry reaped its adequate rewards in the fruitful lands of the west,
+bread was easily raised in abundance, and animals of all kinds thrived.
+
+Unhappily the great bane of the province was the inordinate use of
+liquor. "The erection of a church or chapel," says Mrs. Jameson,
+"generally preceded that of a school-house in Upper Canada, but the mill
+and the tavern invariably preceded both." The roads were of the most
+wretched character and at some seasons actually prohibitory of all
+social intercourse. The towns were small and ill-built. Toronto, long
+known as "muddy little York," had a population of about 10,000, but with
+the exception of the new parliament house, it had no public buildings of
+architectural pretensions. The houses were generally of wood, a few of
+staring ugly red brick; the streets had not a single side-walk until
+1834, and in 1838 this comfort for the pedestrian was still exceptional.
+Kingston, the ancient Cataraqui, was even a better built town than
+Toronto, and had in 1838 a population of perhaps 4500 persons. Hamilton
+and London were beginning to be places of importance. Bytown, now
+Ottawa, had its beginnings in 1826, when Colonel By of the Royal
+Engineers, commenced the construction of the Rideau Canal on the chain
+of lakes and rivers between the Ottawa and the St. Lawrence at Kingston.
+The ambition of the people of Upper Canada was always to obtain a
+continuous and secure system of water navigation from the lakes to
+Montreal. The Welland Canal between Lakes Erie and Ontario was commenced
+as early as 1824 through the enterprise of Mr. William Hamilton Merritt,
+but it was very badly managed; and the legislature, which had from year
+to year aided the undertaking, was obliged eventually to acquire it as
+a provincial work. The Cornwall Canal was also undertaken, but work was
+stopped when it was certain that Lower Canada would not respond to the
+aspirations of the West and improve that portion of the St. Lawrence
+within its direct control. Flat-bottomed _bateaux_ and Durham boats were
+generally in use for the carriage of goods on the inland waters, and it
+was not until the completion of a canal system between the lakes and
+Montreal, after the Union, that steamers came into vogue.
+
+The province of Upper Canada had in 1838 reached a crisis in its
+affairs. In the course of the seven years preceding the rebellion,
+probably eighty thousand or one half of the immigrants, who had come to
+the province, had crossed the frontier into the United States, where
+greater inducements were held out to capital and population. As Mrs.
+Jameson floated in a canoe, in the middle of the Detroit River, she saw
+on the one side "all the bustle of prosperity and commerce," and on the
+other "all the symptoms of apathy, indolence, mistrust, hopelessness."
+At the time such comparisons were made, Upper Canada was on the very
+verge of bankruptcy.
+
+Turning to Lower Canada, we find that the financial position of the
+province was very different from that of Upper Canada. The public
+accounts showed an annual surplus, and the financial difficulties of the
+province were caused entirely by the disputes between the executive and
+the assembly which would not vote the necessary supplies. The timber
+trade had grown to large proportions and constituted the principal
+export to Great Britain from Quebec, which presented a scene of much
+activity in the summer. Montreal was already showing its great
+advantages as a headquarters of commerce on account of its natural
+relations to the West and the United States. Quebec and Montreal had
+each about 35,000 inhabitants. Travellers admitted that Montreal, on
+account of the solidity of its buildings, generally of stone, compared
+most favourably with many of the finest and oldest towns in the United
+States. The Parish Church of Notre Dame was the largest ecclesiastical
+edifice in America, and notable for its simple grandeur. With its
+ancient walls girdling the heights first seen by Jacques Cartier, with
+its numerous churches and convents, illustrating the power and wealth of
+the Romish religion, with its rugged, erratic streets creeping through
+hewn rock, with its picturesque crowd of red-coated soldiers of England
+mingling with priests and sisters in sombre attire, or with the
+_habitants_ in _étoffe du pays_,--the old city of Quebec, whose history
+went back to the beginning of the seventeenth century, was certainly a
+piece of mediaevalism transported from northern France. The plain stone
+buildings of 1837 still remain in all their evidences of sombre
+antiquity. None of the religious or government edifices were
+distinguished for architectural beauty--except perhaps the English
+cathedral--but represented solidity and convenience, while harmonising
+with the rocks amid which they had risen.
+
+The parliament of Lower Canada still met in the Bishop's Palace, which
+was in want of repair. The old Château St. Louis had been destroyed by
+fire in 1834, and a terrace bearing the name of Durham was in course of
+construction over its ruins. It now gives one of the most picturesque
+views in the world on a summer evening as the descending sun lights up
+the dark green of the western hills, or brightens the tin spires and
+roofs of the churches and convents, or lingers amid the masts of the
+ships moored in the river or in the coves, filled with great rafts of
+timber.
+
+As in the days of French rule, the environs of Quebec and Montreal, and
+the north side of the St. Lawrence between these two towns, presented
+French Canadian life in its most picturesque and favourable aspect.
+These settlements on the river formed one continuous village, with
+tinned spires rising every few miles amid poplars, maples and elms.
+While the homes of the seigniors and of a few professional men were more
+commodious and comfortable than in the days of French rule, while the
+churches and presbyteries illustrated the increasing prosperity of the
+dominant religion, the surroundings of the _habitants_ gave evidences of
+their want of energy and enterprise. But crime was rare in the rural
+districts and intemperance was not so prevalent as in parts of the west.
+
+Nearly 150,000 people of British origin resided in Lower Canada--a
+British people animated for the most part by that spirit of energy
+natural to their race. What prosperity Montreal and Quebec enjoyed as
+commercial communities was largely due to the enterprise of British
+merchants. The timber trade was chiefly in their hands, and the bank of
+Montreal was founded by this class in 1817--seven years before the bank
+of Upper Canada was established in Toronto. As political strife
+increased in bitterness, the differences between the races became
+accentuated. Papineau alienated all the British by his determination to
+found a "_Nation Canadienne_" in which the British would occupy a very
+inferior place. "French and British," said Lord Durham, "combined for no
+public objects or improvements, and could not harmonise even in
+associations of charity." The French Canadians looked with jealousy and
+dislike on the increase and prosperity of what they regarded as a
+foreign and hostile race. It is quite intelligible, then, why trade
+languished, internal development ceased, landed property decreased in
+value, the revenue showed a diminution, roads and all classes of local
+improvements were neglected, agricultural industry was stagnant, wheat
+had to be imported for the consumption of the people, and immigration
+fell off from 52,000 in 1832 to less than 5000 in 1838.
+
+In the maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince
+Edward Island, there were no racial antagonisms to affect internal
+development; and the political conflict never reached such proportions
+as to threaten the peace and security of the people. In New Brunswick
+the chief industry was the timber trade--deals especially--which
+received its first stimulus in 1809, when a heavy duty was placed on
+Baltic timber, while that from the colonies came free into the British
+Isles. Shipbuilding was also profitably followed in New Brunswick, and
+was beginning to be prosecuted in Nova Scotia, where, a few years later,
+it made that province one of the greatest ship-owning and ship-sailing
+communities of the world until iron steamers gradually drove wooden
+vessels from the carrying trade. The cod, mackerel, and herring
+fisheries--chiefly the first--were the staple industry of Nova Scotia,
+and kept up a large trade with the British West Indies, whence sugar,
+molasses and rum were imported. Prince Edward Island was chiefly an
+agricultural community, whose development was greatly retarded by the
+wholesale grant of lands in 1767 to absentee proprietors. Halifax and
+St. John had each a population of twenty thousand. The houses were
+mostly of wood, the only buildings of importance being the government
+house, finished in 1805, and the provincial or parliament house,
+considered in its day one of the handsomest structures in North America.
+In the beautiful valleys of Kings and Annapolis--now famous for their
+fruit--there was a prosperous farming population. Yarmouth illustrated
+the thrift and enterprise of the Puritan element that came into the
+province from New England at an early date in its development. The
+eastern counties, with the exception of Pictou, showed no sign of
+progress. The Scotch population of Cape Breton, drawn from a poor class
+of people in the north of Scotland, for years added nothing to the
+wealth of an island whose resources were long dormant from the absence
+of capital and enterprise.
+
+Popular education in those days was at the lowest possible ebb. In 1837
+there were in all the private and public schools of the provinces only
+one-fifteenth of the total population. In Lower Canada not one-tenth
+could write. The children of the _habitants_ repeated the Catechism by
+rote, and yet could not read as a rule. In Upper Canada things were no
+better. Dr. Thomas Rolph tells us that, so late as 1833, Americans or
+other anti-British adventurers carried on the greater proportion of the
+common schools, where the youth were taught sentiments "hostile to the
+parent state" from books used in the United States--a practice stopped
+by statute in 1846.
+
+Adequate provision, however, was made for the higher education of youth
+in all the provinces. "I know of no people," wrote Lord Durham of Lower
+Canada, "among whom a larger provision exists for the higher kinds of
+elementary education." The piety and benevolence of the early possessors
+of the country founded seminaries and colleges, which gave an education
+resembling the kind given in the English public schools, though more
+varied. In Upper Canada, so early as 1807, grammar schools were
+established by the government. By 1837 Upper Canada College--an
+institution still flourishing--offered special advantages to youths
+whose parents had some money. In Nova Scotia King's College--the oldest
+university in Canada--had its beginning as an academy as early as 1788,
+and educated many eminent men during its palmy days. Pictou Academy was
+established by the Reverend Dr. McCulloch as a remonstrance against the
+sectarianism of King's; and the political history of the province was
+long disturbed by the struggle of its promoters against the narrowness
+of the Anglicans, who dominated the legislative council, and frequently
+rejected the grant made by the assembly. Dalhousie College was founded
+in 1820 by Lord Dalhousie, then governor of Nova Scotia, to afford that
+higher education to all denominations which old King's denied. Acadia
+College was founded by the Baptists at Wolfville, on a gently rising
+ground overlooking the fertile meadows of Grand Pré. The foundations of
+the University of New Brunswick were laid in 1800. McGill University,
+founded by one of those generous Montreal merchants who have always been
+its benefactors, received a charter in 1821, but it was not opened until
+1829. The Methodists laid the foundation of Victoria College at Cobourg
+in 1834, but it did not commence its work until after the Union; and the
+same was the case with King's College, the beginning of the University
+of Toronto.
+
+We need not linger on the literary output of those early times. Joseph
+Bouchette, surveyor-general, had made in the first part of the century a
+notable contribution to the geography and cartography of Lower Canada.
+Major Richardson, who had served in the war of 1812 and in the Spanish
+peninsula, wrote in 1833 "Wacousta or the Prophecy," a spirited romance
+of Indian life. In Nova Scotia the "Sayings and Doings of Sam Slick, of
+Slickville"--truly a remarkable original creation in humorous
+literature--first appeared in a Halifax paper. The author, Judge
+Haliburton, also published as early as 1829 an excellent work in two
+volumes on the history of his native province. Small libraries and book
+stores could only be seen in the cities.
+
+In these early times of the provinces, when books and magazines were
+rarities, the newspaper press naturally exercised much influence on the
+social and intellectual conditions of the people at large. By 1838 there
+were no less than forty papers printed in the province of Upper Canada
+alone, some of them written with ability, though too often in a bitter,
+personal tone. In those days English papers did not circulate to any
+extent in a country where postage was exorbitant. People could hardly
+afford to pay postage rates on letters. The poor settler was often
+unable to pay the three or four shillings or even more, imposed on
+letters from their old homes across the sea; and it was not unusual to
+find in country post-offices a large accumulation of dead letters,
+refused or neglected on account of the expense. The management of the
+post-office by imperial officers was one of the grievances of the people
+of the provinces generally. It was carried on for the benefit of a few
+persons, and not for the convenience or solace of the many thousands who
+were anxious for news of their kin across the ocean.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+A NEW ERA OF COLONIAL GOVERNMENT (1839--1867).
+
+
+SECTION I.--The union of the Canadas and the establishment of
+responsible government.
+
+Lord Durham's report on the affairs of British North America was
+presented to the British government on the 31st January, 1839, and
+attracted an extraordinary amount of interest in England, where the two
+rebellions had at last awakened statesmen to the absolute necessity of
+providing an effective remedy for difficulties which had been pressing
+upon their attention for years, but had never been thoroughly understood
+until the appearance of this famous state paper. A legislative union of
+the two Canadas and the concession of responsible government were the
+two radical changes which stood out prominently in the report among
+minor suggestions in the direction of stable government. On the question
+of responsible government Lord Durham expressed opinions of the deepest
+political wisdom. He found it impossible "to understand how any English
+statesman could have ever imagined that representative and irresponsible
+government could be successfully combined....To suppose that such a
+system would work well there, implied a belief that the French Canadians
+have enjoyed representative institutions for half a century, without
+acquiring any of the characteristics of a free people; that Englishmen
+renounce every political opinion and feeling when they enter a colony,
+or that the spirit of Anglo-Saxon freedom is utterly changed and
+weakened among those who are transplanted across the Atlantic[3]."
+
+[3: For the full text of Lord Durham's report, which was laid before
+Parliament, 11 February, 1839, see _English Parliamentary Papers_ for
+1839.]
+
+In June, 1839, Lord John Russell introduced a bill to reunite the two
+provinces, but it was allowed, after its second reading, to lie over for
+that session of parliament, in order that the matter might be fully
+considered in Canada. Mr. Poulett Thomson was appointed governor-general
+with the avowed object of carrying out the policy of the imperial
+government. Immediately after his arrival in Canada, in the autumn of
+1839, the special council of Lower Canada and the legislature of Upper
+Canada passed addresses in favour of a union of the two provinces. These
+necessary preliminaries having been made, Lord John Russell, in the
+session of 1840, again brought forward "An act to reunite the provinces
+of Upper and Lower Canada, and for the government of Canada," which was
+assented to on the 23rd of July, but did not come into effect until the
+10th of February in the following year.
+
+The act provided for a legislative council of not less than twenty
+members, and for a legislative assembly in which each section of the
+united provinces would be represented by an equal number of
+members--that is to say, forty-two for each or eighty-four in all. The
+number of representatives allotted to each province could not be changed
+except with the concurrence of two-thirds of the members of each house.
+The members of the legislative council were appointed by the crown for
+life, and the members of the assembly were chosen by electors possessing
+a small property qualification. Members of both bodies were required to
+hold property to a certain amount. The assembly had a duration of four
+years, subject of course to be sooner dissolved by the governor-general.
+
+Provision was made for a consolidated revenue fund, on which the first
+charges were expenses of collection, management and receipt of revenues,
+interest of public debt, payment of the clergy, and civil list. The
+English language alone was to be used in the legislative records. All
+votes, resolutions or bills involving the expenditure of public money
+were to be first recommended by the governor-general.
+
+The first parliament of the United Canadas was opened on the 14th June,
+1841, in the city of Kingston, by the governor-general, who had been
+created Baron Sydenham of Sydenham and of Toronto. This session was the
+commencement of a series of parliaments which lasted until the
+confederation of all the provinces in 1867, and forcibly illustrated the
+capacity of the people of Canada to manage their internal affairs. For
+the moment, I propose to refer exclusively to those political conditions
+which brought about responsible government, and the removal of
+grievances which had so long perplexed the imperial state and distracted
+the whole of British North America.
+
+In Lord John Russell's despatches of 1839,--the sequence of Lord
+Durham's report--we can clearly see the doubt in the minds of the
+imperial authorities whether it was possible to work the system of
+responsible government on the basis of a governor directly responsible
+to the parent state, and at the same time acting under the advice of
+ministers who would be responsible to a colonial legislature. But the
+colonial secretary had obviously come to the opinion that it was
+necessary to make a radical change which would insure greater harmony
+between the executive and the popular bodies of the provinces. Her
+Majesty, he stated emphatically, "had no desire to maintain any system
+of policy among her North American subjects which opinion condemns", and
+there was "no surer way of gaining the approbation of the Queen than by
+maintaining the harmony of the executive with the legislative
+authorities." The new governor-general was expressly appointed to carry
+out this new policy. If he was extremely vain, at all events he was also
+astute, practical, and well able to gauge the public sentiment by which
+he should be guided at so critical a period of Canadian history. The
+evidence is clear that he was not individually in favour of responsible
+government, as it was understood by men like Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Howe,
+when he arrived in Canada. He believed that the council should be one
+"for the governor to consult and no more"; and voicing the doubts that
+existed in the minds of imperial statesmen, he added, the governor
+"cannot be responsible to the government at home" and also to the
+legislature of the province, if it were so, "then all colonial
+government becomes impossible." The governor, in his opinion, "must
+therefore be the minister [i.e. the colonial secretary], in which case
+he cannot be under control of men in the colony."
+
+When the assembly met it was soon evident that the Reformers in that
+body were determined to have a definite understanding on the
+all-important question of responsible government; and the result was
+that the governor-general, a keen politician, immediately recognised the
+fact that, unless he yielded to the feeling of the majority, he would
+lose all his influence. There is every reason to believe that the
+resolutions which were eventually passed in favour of responsible
+government, in amendment to those moved by Mr. Baldwin, had his approval
+before their introduction. The two sets of resolutions practically
+differed little from each other, and the inference to be drawn from the
+political situation of these times is that the governor's friends in the
+council thought it advisable to gain all the credit possible with the
+public for the passage of resolutions on the all-absorbing question of
+the day, since it was obvious that it had to be settled in some
+satisfactory and definite form. These resolutions embodying the
+principles of the new constitution of Canada, were as follows: (1) "That
+the head of the executive government of the province, being within the
+limits of his government the representative of the sovereign, is
+responsible to the imperial authority alone, but that, nevertheless, the
+management of our local affairs can only be conducted by him with the
+assistance, counsel, and information of subordinate officers in the
+province. (2) That, in order to preserve between the different branches
+of the provincial parliament that harmony which is essential to the
+peace, welfare and good government of the province, the chief advisers
+of the representative of the sovereign, constituting a provincial
+administration under him, ought to be men possessed of the confidence of
+the representatives of the people; thus affording a guarantee that the
+well-understood wishes and interests of the people, which our gracious
+sovereign has declared shall be the rule of the provincial government,
+will on all occasions be faithfully represented and advocated. (3) That
+the people of this province have, moreover, the right to expect from
+such provincial administration, the exertion of their best endeavours
+that the imperial authority, within its constitutional limits, shall be
+exercised in the manner most consistent with their well-understood
+wishes and interests."
+
+On the 4th September, 1841, Lord Sydenham met with a serious accident
+while riding, and as his constitution had been impaired for years he
+died a fortnight later, to the regret of all political parties. He was
+succeeded by Sir Charles Bagot, a Conservative and High Churchman, whose
+brief administration was notable for the display of infinite discretion
+on his part, and for his desire to do justice to the French Canadians
+even at the risk of offending the ultra-loyal party, who claimed special
+consideration in the management of public affairs. Responsible
+government was in a fair way of being permanently established when Sir
+Charles Bagot unhappily died in 1843 of dropsy, complicated by
+heart-disease; and Lord Metcalfe was brought from India to create--as it
+soon appeared--confusion and discord in the political affairs of the
+province. His ideas of responsible government were those which had been
+steadily inculcated by colonial secretaries since 1839, and were even
+entertained by Lord Sydenham himself, namely, that the governor should
+be as influential a factor as possible in the government, and should
+always remember that he was directly responsible to the crown, and
+should consider its prerogatives and interests as superior to all local
+considerations.
+
+When Lord Metcalfe assumed the responsibilities of his post, he found in
+office a Liberal administration, led by Mr. Baldwin, the eminent Reform
+leader of Upper Canada, and Mr. Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine, afterwards
+chief justice of Lower Canada and a baronet, who had been at the outset,
+like all his countrymen, opposed to the union, as unjust to their
+province. What originally excited their antagonism were the conditions
+exacted by the legislature of Upper Canada: an equality of
+representation, though the French section had a population of two
+hundred thousand more than the western province, the exclusion of the
+French language from the legislature, and the imposition of the heavy
+debt of Upper Canada on the revenues of the united provinces. But unlike
+Mr. Papineau, with whom he had acted during the political struggles in
+Lower Canada, Mr. Lafontaine developed a high order of discreet
+statesmanship after the union, and recognised the possibility of making
+French Canada a force in government. He did not follow the example of
+Mr. John Neilson, who steadily opposed the union--but determined to work
+it out fairly and patiently on the principles of responsible government.
+
+Lord Metcalfe, at the very outset, decided not to distribute the
+patronage of the crown under the advice of his responsible advisers, but
+to ignore them, as he declared, whenever he deemed it expedient. No
+responsible ministers could, with any regard to their own self-respect,
+or to the public interests, submit to a practice directly antagonistic
+to responsible government, then on its trial. Consequently, all the
+members of the Baldwin-Lafontaine government, with the exception of Mr.
+Daly, immediately resigned, when Lord Metcalfe followed so
+unconstitutional a course. Mr. Dominick Daly, afterwards knighted when
+governor of Prince Edward's Island--who had no party proclivities, and
+was always ready to support the crown in a crisis--became nominally
+head of a weak administration. The ministry was only completed after a
+most unconstitutional delay of several months, and was even then only
+composed of men whose chief merit was their friendliness to the
+governor, who dissolved the assembly and threw all the weight of the
+crown into the contest. The governor's party was returned with a very
+small majority, but it was a victory, like that of Sir Francis Bond Head
+in 1835, won at the sacrifice of the dignity of the crown, and at the
+risk of exciting once more public discontent to a dangerous degree. Lord
+Metcalfe's administration was strengthened when Mr. Draper resigned his
+legislative councillorship and took a seat in the assembly as leader.
+Lord Metcalfe's conduct received the approval of the imperial
+authorities, who elevated him to the peerage--so much evidence that they
+were not yet ready to concede responsible government in a complete
+sense. The result was a return to the days of old paternal government,
+when the parliamentary opposition was directed against the governor
+himself and the British government of which he was the organ. Lord
+Metcalfe had been a sufferer from cancer, and when it appeared again in
+its most aggravated form he returned to England, where he died a few
+months later (1846). The abuse that followed him almost to the grave was
+a discreditable exhibition of party rancour, but it indicated the
+condition to which the public mind had been brought by his unwise and
+unconstitutional conduct of public affairs--conduct for which his only
+apology must be the half-hearted, doubtful policy of the imperial
+authorities with regard to the province, and his own inability to
+understand the fundamental principles of responsible government.
+
+Lord Metcalfe's successor was Lord Cathcart, who had served with
+distinction in the Peninsular War, and was appointed with a view to
+contingencies that might arise out of the dispute between England and
+the United States on the Oregon boundary question, to which I shall
+refer in another chapter. He pursued a judicious course at a time when
+politics were complicated by the fact that the industry and commerce of
+the country were seriously deranged by the adoption of free trade in
+England, and the consequent removal of duties which had given the
+preference in the British market to Canadian wheat, flour and other
+products. What aggravated the commercial situation was the fact that the
+navigation laws, being still in force, closed the St. Lawrence to
+foreign shipping and prevented the extension of trade to other markets
+so as to compensate Canadians for the loss of that with the parent
+state. Lord Cathcart was recalled within less than a year, when all
+prospect of war with the United States had disappeared, and was followed
+(1847) by a civil governor, the Earl of Elgin, who was chosen by the
+Whig ministry, in which Lord John Russell was prime minister, and Earl
+Grey the secretary of state for the colonies. It had dawned upon English
+statesmen that the time had come for giving the colonists of British
+North America a system of responsible government without such reserves
+as had so seriously shackled its beginnings. In all probability they
+thought that the free-trade policy of England had momentarily weakened
+the ties that had bound the colonies to the parent state, and that it
+was advisable to follow up the new commercial policy by removing causes
+of public discontent in the province.
+
+Lord Elgin was happily chosen to inaugurate a new era of colonial
+self-government. Gifted with a judicial mind and no ordinary amount of
+political sagacity, able to originate as well as carry out a
+statesmanlike policy, animated, like Lord Durham--whose daughter he had
+married--by a sincere desire to give full scope to the aspirations of
+the people for self-government, so far as compatible with the supremacy
+of the crown, possessed of eloquence which at once charmed and
+convinced, Lord Elgin was able to establish on sure foundations the
+principles of responsible government, and eventually to leave Canada
+with the conviction that no subsequent representative of the crown
+could again impair its efficient operation, and convulse the public
+mind, as Lord Metcalfe had done. On his arrival he gave his confidence
+to the Draper ministry, who were still in office; but shortly afterwards
+its ablest member was elevated to the bench, and Mr. Sherwood became
+attorney-general and head of a government, chiefly interesting now for
+the fact that one of its members was Mr. John Alexander Macdonald, who,
+on becoming a member of the assembly in 1844, had commenced a public
+career which made him one of the most notable figures in the history of
+the colonial empire of England.
+
+Parliament was dissolved, and the elections were held in January, 1848,
+when the government were defeated by a large majority and the second
+Lafontaine-Baldwin ministry was formed; a ministry conspicuous for the
+ability of its members, and the useful character of its legislation
+during the four years it remained in power. It is noteworthy here that
+Lord Elgin did not follow the example of his predecessors and select the
+ministers himself, but followed the strict constitutional usage of
+calling upon Mr. Lafontaine as a recognised leader of a party in
+parliament to form a government. It does not fall within the scope of
+this chapter to go into the merits of this great administration, whose
+coming into office may be considered the crowning of the principles
+adopted by Lord Elgin for the unreserved concession of responsible
+government, and never violated from that time forward by any governor of
+Canada.
+
+We must now direct our attention to the maritime provinces, that we may
+complete this review of the progress of responsible government in
+British North America. In 1836 the revenues of New Brunswick had been
+placed at the disposal of the legislature, and administrative power
+entrusted to those who possessed the confidence of the assembly. The
+lieutenant-governor, Sir John Harvey, who had distinguished himself in
+the war of 1812-15, recognised in Lord John Russell's despatches "a new
+and improved constitution," and by an official memorandum informed the
+heads of departments that "thenceforward their offices would be held by
+the tenure of public confidence"; but after his departure (in 1841) an
+attempt was made by Sir William Colebrooke to imitate the example of
+Lord Metcalfe. He appointed to the provincial secretaryship a Mr. Reade,
+who had been only a few months in the province, and never represented a
+constituency or earned promotion in the public service. The members of
+the executive council were never consulted, and four of the most popular
+and influential councillors soon resigned. One of them, Mr. Lemuel A.
+Wilmot, the recognised leader of the Liberals, addressed a strong
+remonstrance to the lieutenant-governor, and vindicated those principles
+of colonial government "which require the administration to be conducted
+by heads of departments responsible to the legislature, and holding
+their offices contingently upon the approbation and confidence of the
+country, as expressed through the representatives of the people." The
+colonial secretary of state disapproved of the action of the
+lieutenant-governor, and constitutional government was strengthened in
+this province of the Loyalists. From that time there was a regularly
+organised administration and an opposition contending for office and
+popular favour.
+
+In Nova Scotia a despatch from Lord Glenelg brought to a close in 1838
+the agitation which had been going on for years for a separation of the
+executive from the legislative functions of the legislative council, and
+the formation of two distinct bodies in accordance with the existing
+English system. In this state paper--the first important step towards
+responsible government in the province--the secretary of state, Lord
+Glenelg, stated that it was her Majesty's pleasure that neither the
+chief justice nor any of his colleagues should sit in the council, that
+all the judges should entirely withdraw from all political discussions;
+that the assembly's claim to control and appropriate all the revenues
+arising in the province should be fully recognised by the government;
+that the two councils should be thereafter divided, and that the members
+of these bodies should be drawn from different parts of the
+province--Halifax previously having obtained all the appointments except
+one or two--and selected without reference to distinctions of religious
+opinions. Unfortunately for Nova Scotia there was at that time at the
+head of the executive a brave, obstinate old soldier, Sir Colin
+Campbell, who had petrified ideas on the subject of colonial
+administration, and showed no disposition to carry out the obvious
+desire of the imperial authorities to give a more popular form to the
+government of the province. One of his first official acts was to give
+to the Anglican Church a numerical superiority to which it had no valid
+claim. As in Upper Canada, at that time, there was a combination or
+compact, composed of descendants of English Tories or of the Loyalists
+of 1783, who belonged to the Anglican Church, and were opposed to
+popular government. Two men were now becoming most prominent in
+politics. One of these was Mr. James William Johnston, the son of a
+Georgia Loyalist, an able lawyer, gifted with a persuasive tongue which
+chimed most harmoniously with the views of Sir Colin. On the other side
+was Mr. Joseph Howe, the son of a Loyalist printer of Boston, who had no
+such aristocratic connections as Mr. Johnston, and soon became the
+dominant influence in the Reform party, which had within its ranks such
+able and eloquent men as S.G.W. Archibald, Herbert Huntington, Lawrence
+O'Connor Doyle, William and George R. Young, and, very soon, James Boyle
+Uniacke. Sir Colin Campbell completely ignored the despatches of Lord
+John Russell, which were recognised by Sir John Harvey as conferring "an
+improved constitution" upon the colonies. In February, 1840, Mr. Howe
+moved a series of resolutions, in which it was emphatically stated that
+"no satisfactory settlement of questions before the country could be
+obtained until the executive council was remodelled," and that, as then
+constituted, "it did not enjoy the confidence of the country." The
+motion was carried by a majority of eighteen votes, in a house of
+forty-two members, and indeed, so untenable was the position of the
+executive council that Mr. James Boyle Uniacke, a member of the
+government, retired, rather than vote, and subsequently placed his
+resignation in the hands of the lieutenant-governor, on the ground that
+it was his duty to yield to the opinions of the representative house,
+and facilitate the introduction of a better system of government, in
+accordance with the well-understood wishes of the people. From that time
+Mr. Uniacke became one of Mr. Howe's ablest allies in the struggle for
+self-government. Sir Colin, however, would not recede from the attitude
+he had assumed, but expressed the opinion, in his reply to the address
+of the legislature, that he could not recognise in the despatch of the
+colonial secretary of state "any instruction for a fundamental change in
+the colonial constitution." The assembly then prayed her Majesty, in a
+powerful and temperate address, to recall Sir Colin Campbell. Though
+Lord John Russell did not present the address to the Queen, the imperial
+government soon afterwards appointed Lord Falkland to succeed Sir Colin
+Campbell, whose honesty of purpose had won the respect of all parties.
+
+Lord Falkland was a Whig, a lord of the bedchamber, and married to one
+of the Fitzclarences--a daughter of William IV and Mrs. Jordan. He
+arrived at Halifax in September, 1840, and his first political act was
+in the direction of conciliating the Liberals, who were in the majority
+in the assembly. He dismissed--to the disgust of the official
+party--four members of the executive who had no seats in either branch
+of the legislature, and induced Mr. Howe and Mr. James MacNab to enter
+the government, on the understanding that other Liberals would be
+brought in according as vacancies occurred, and that the members of the
+council should hold their seats only upon the tenure of public
+confidence. A dissolution took place, the coalition government was
+sustained, and the Liberals came into the assembly with a majority. Mr.
+Howe was elected speaker of the assembly, though an executive
+councillor--without salary; but he and others began to recognise the
+impropriety of one man occupying such positions, and in a later session
+a resolution was passed against the continuance of what was really an
+un-British and unconstitutional practice. It was also an illustration of
+the ignorance that prevailed as to the principles that should guide the
+words and acts of a cabinet, that members of the executive, who had
+seats in the legislative council, notably Mr. Stewart, stated openly, in
+contradiction of the assertions of Mr. Howe and his Liberal colleagues,
+that "no change had been made in the constitution of the country, and
+that responsible government in a colony was responsible nonsense, and
+meant independence." It was at last found necessary to give some sort of
+explanation of such extraordinary opinions, to avert a political crisis
+in the assembly. Then, to add to the political embarrassment, there was
+brought before the people the question of abandoning the practice of
+endowing denominational colleges, and of establishing in their place one
+large non-sectarian University. At this time the legislature voted
+annual grants to five sectarian educational institutions of a high
+class. The most important were King's College, belonging to the Anglican
+Church, and Acadia College, supported by the Baptists. The Anglican
+Church was still influential in the councils of the province, and the
+Baptists had now the support of Mr. Johnston, the able attorney-general,
+who had seceded from the Church of England. This able lawyer and
+politician had won the favour of the aristocratic governor, and
+persuaded him to dissolve the assembly, during the absence of Mr. Howe
+in the country, though it had continuously supported the government, and
+the people had given no signs of a want of confidence in the house as
+then constituted. The fact was, Mr. Johnston and his friends in the
+council thought it necessary to lose no time in arousing the feelings of
+the supporters of denominational colleges against Mr. Howe and other
+Liberals, who had commenced to hold meetings throughout the country in
+favour of a non-sectarian University. The two parties came back from
+the electors almost evenly divided, and Mr. Howe had an interview with
+Lord Falkland. He consented to remain in the cabinet until the assembly
+had an opportunity of expressing its opinion on the question at issue,
+when the governor himself precipitated a crisis by appointing to the
+executive and legislative councils Mr. M.B. Almon, a wealthy banker, and
+a brother-in-law of the attorney-general. Mr. Howe and Mr. MacNab at
+once resigned their seats in the government on the ground that Mr.
+Almon's appointment was a violation of the compact by which two Liberals
+had been induced to join the ministry, and was most unjust to the forty
+or fifty gentlemen who, in both branches, had sustained the
+administration for several years. Instead of authorising Mr. Johnston to
+fill the two vacancies and justify the course taken by the governor, the
+latter actually published a letter in a newspaper, in which he boldly
+stated that he was entirely opposed to the formation of a government
+composed of individuals of one political party, that he would steadily
+resist any invasion of the royal prerogatives with respect to
+appointments, and that he had chosen Mr. Almon, not simply on the ground
+that he had not been previously engaged in political life to any extent,
+but chiefly because he wished to show his own confidence in Mr.
+Johnston, Mr. Almon's brother-in-law. Lord Falkland had obviously thrown
+himself into the arms of the astute attorney-general and his political
+friends.
+
+It was now a political war _à outrance_ between Lord Falkland and Mr.
+Howe, from 1842 until the governor left the province in 1846. Lord
+Falkland made strenuous efforts to detach Mr. MacNab, Mr. Uniacke and
+other Liberals from Mr. Howe, and induce them to enter the government,
+but all to no purpose. He now gave up writing letters to the press, and
+attacked his opponents in official communications addressed to the
+colonial office, which supported him, as it did Lord Metcalfe, under
+analogous circumstances. These despatches were laid without delay on
+the tables of the houses, to be used far and wide against the
+recalcitrant Liberals. Mr. Howe had again renewed his connection with
+the press, which he had left on becoming speaker and councillor, and had
+become editor of the _Nova Scotian_, and the _Morning Chronicle_, of
+which Mr. Annand was the proprietor. In these influential organs of the
+Liberal party--papers still in existence--Mr. Howe attacked Lord
+Falkland, both in bitter prose and sarcastic verse. All this while the
+governor and his council contrived to control the assembly, sometimes by
+two or three votes, sometimes by a prorogation when it was necessary to
+dispose summarily of a troublesome question. Public opinion began to set
+in steadily against the government. The controversy between Lord
+Falkland and Mr. Howe reached its climax on the 21st February, 1846,
+when a despatch was brought down to the house, referring to the speaker,
+Mr. William Young, and his brother, George R. Young, as the associates
+of "reckless" and "insolvent" men--the reference being to Mr. Howe and
+his immediate political friends. When the despatch had been read, Mr.
+Howe became greatly excited, and declared amid much disorder that if
+"the infamous system" of libelling respectable colonists in despatches
+sent to the colonial office was continued, "without their having any
+means of redress ... some colonist would by-and-by, or he was much
+mistaken, hire a black fellow to horsewhip a lieutenant-governor."
+
+It was time that this unhappy conflict should end. The imperial
+authorities wisely transferred Lord Falkland to Bombay, where he could
+do no harm, and appointed Sir John Harvey to the government of Nova
+Scotia. Like Lord Elgin in Canada, he was discreetly chosen by the
+Reform ministry, as the sequel showed. He was at first in favour of a
+coalition government like his predecessors, but he wisely dissolved the
+assembly when he found that the leading Liberals positively refused to
+go into an alliance with the members of the executive council, or any
+other set of men, until the people had decided between parties at the
+polls. The result was a victory for the Liberals, and as soon as the
+assembly met a direct motion of want of confidence was carried against
+the government, and for the first time in the history of the country the
+governor called to his council men exclusively belonging to the
+opposition in the popular branch. Mr. Howe was not called upon to form a
+cabinet--his quarrel with Lord Falkland had to be resented somehow--but
+the governor's choice was Mr. James Boyle Uniacke, who gave a prominent
+position in the new government to the great Liberal, to whom responsible
+government owed its final success in this maritime province.
+
+Responsible government was not introduced into Prince Edward Island
+until 1851, when an address on the prosperous state of the island was
+presented to the imperial authorities, who at once consented to concede
+responsible government on the condition that adequate provision was made
+for certain public officers affected by the new order of things. The
+leader of the new government was the Honourable George Coles.
+
+In the history of the past there is much to deplore, the blunders of
+English ministers, the want of judgment on the part of governors, the
+selfishness of "family compacts," the arrogance of office-holders, the
+recklessness of Canadian politicians. But the very trials of the crisis
+through which Canada passed brought out the fact, that if English
+statesmen had mistaken the spirit of the Canadian people, and had not
+always taken the best methods of removing grievances, it was not from
+any studied disposition to do these countries an injustice, but rather
+because they were unable to see until the very last moment that, even in
+a colony, a representative system must be worked in accordance with
+those principles that obtained in England, and that it was impossible to
+direct the internal affairs of dependencies many thousand miles distant
+through a colonial office, generally managed by a few clerks.
+
+Of all the conspicuous figures of these memorable times, which already
+seem so far away from Canadians of the present day, who possess so many
+political rights, there are several who stand out more prominently than
+all others, and represent the distinct types of politicians, who
+influenced the public mind during the first half of the nineteenth
+century, when responsible government was in slow process of evolution
+from the political struggles which arose in the operation of
+representative institutions. Around the figure of Louis Joseph Papineau
+there has always been a sort of glamour which has helped to conceal his
+vanity, his rashness and his want of political sagacity, which would,
+under any circumstances, have prevented his success as a safe statesman,
+capable of guiding a people through a trying ordeal. His eloquence was
+fervid and had much influence over his impulsive countrymen, his
+sincerity was undoubted, and in all likelihood his very indiscretions
+made more palpable the defects of the political system against which he
+so persistently and so often justly declaimed. He lived to see his
+countrymen enjoy power and influence under the very union which they
+resented, and to find himself no longer a leader among men, but isolated
+from a great majority of his own people, and representing a past whose
+methods were antagonistic to the new régime that had grown up since
+1838. It would have been well for his reputation had he remained in
+obscurity on his return from exile in 1847, when he and other rebels of
+1837 were wisely pardoned, and had he never stood again on the floor of
+the parliament of Canada, as he did from 1848 until 1854, since he could
+only prove, in those later times, that he had never understood the true
+working of responsible government. While the Lafontaine-Baldwin ministry
+were in power, he revived an agitation for an elective legislative
+council and declared himself utterly hostile to responsible government;
+but his influence was at an end in the country, and he could make little
+impression on the assembly. The days of reckless agitation had passed,
+and the time for astute and calm statesmanship had come. Lafontaine and
+Morin were now safer political guides for his countrymen. He soon
+disappeared entirely from public view, and in the solitude of his
+picturesque château, amid the groves that overhang the Ottawa River,
+only visited from time to time by a few staunch friends, or by curious
+tourists who found their way to that quiet spot, he passed the remainder
+of his days with a tranquillity in wondrous contrast to the stormy and
+eventful drama of his life. The writer often saw his noble, dignified
+figure--erect even in age--passing unnoticed on the streets of Ottawa,
+when perhaps at the same time there were strangers, walking through the
+lobbies of the parliament house, asking for his portrait.
+
+William Lyon Mackenzie is a far less picturesque figure in Canadian
+history than Papineau, who possessed an eloquence of tongue and a grace
+of demeanour which were not the attributes of the little peppery,
+undignified Scotchman who, for a few years, played so important a part
+in the English-speaking province. With his disinterestedness and
+unselfishness, with his hatred of political injustice and oppression,
+Canadians who remember the history of the constitutional struggles of
+England will always sympathise. Revolt against absolutism and tyranny is
+permissible in the opinion of men who love political freedom, but the
+conditions of Upper Canada were hardly such as justified the rash
+insurrection into which he led his deluded followers, many to misery and
+some to death. Mackenzie lived long enough to regret these sad mistakes
+of a reckless period of his life, and to admit that "the success of the
+rebellion would have deeply injured the people of Canada," whom he
+believed he was then serving, and that it was the interest of the
+Canadian people to strengthen in every way the connection with England.
+Like Papineau, he returned to Canada in 1849 to find himself entirely
+unequal to the new conditions of political life, where a large
+constitutional knowledge, a spirit of moderation and a statesmanlike
+conduct could alone give a man influence in the councils of his country.
+One historian has attempted to elevate Dr. Rolph at his expense, but a
+careful study of the career of those two actors will lead fair-minded
+readers to the conclusion that even the reckless course followed at the
+last by Mackenzie was preferable to the double-dealing of his more
+astute colleague. Dr. Rolph came again into prominence as one of the
+founders of the Clear Grits, who formed in 1849 an extreme branch of the
+Reform party. Dr. Rolph's qualities ensured him success in political
+intrigue, and he soon became a member of the Hincks-Morin government,
+which was formed on the reconstruction of the Lafontaine-Baldwin
+ministry in 1851, when its two moderate leaders were practically pushed
+aside by men more in harmony with the aggressive elements of the Reform
+party. But Mr. Mackenzie could never win such triumphs as were won by
+his wily and more manageable associate of old times. He published a
+newspaper--_The Weekly Message_--replete with the eccentricities of the
+editor, but it was never a financial success, while his career in the
+assembly from 1851 until 1858 only proved him almost a nullity in public
+affairs. Until his death in 1861 his life was a constant fight with
+poverty, although his closing years were somewhat soothed by the gift of
+a homestead. He might have received some public position which would
+have given him comfort and rest, but he would not surrender what he
+called his political freedom to the men in office, who, he believed,
+wished to purchase his silence--the veriest delusion, as his influence
+had practically disappeared with his flight to the United States.
+
+Joseph Howe, unlike the majority of his compeers who struggled for
+popular rights, was a prominent figure in public life until the very
+close of his career in 1873. All his days, even when his spirit was
+sorely tried by the obstinacy and indifference of some English
+ministers, he loved England, for he knew--like the Loyalists, from one
+of whom he sprung--it was in her institutions, after all, his country
+could best find prosperity and happiness. It is an interesting fact
+that, among the many able essays and addresses which the question of
+imperial federation has drawn forth, none can equal his great speech on
+the consolidation of the empire in eloquence, breadth, and fervour. Of
+all the able men Nova Scotia has produced no one has surpassed that
+great tribune of the people in his power to persuade and delight the
+masses by his oratory. Yet, strange to say, his native province has
+never raised a monument to his memory.
+
+One of the most admirable figures in the political history of the
+Dominion was undoubtedly Robert Baldwin. Compared with other popular
+leaders of his generation, he was calm in council, unselfish in motive,
+and moderate in opinion. If there is any significance in the political
+phrase "Liberal-Conservative," it could be applied with justice
+to him. The "great ministry," of which he and Louis Hippolyte
+Lafontaine--afterwards a baronet and chief justice--were the leaders,
+left behind it many monuments of broad statesmanship, and made a deep
+impression on the institutions of the country. In 1851 he resigned from
+the Reform ministry, of which he had been the Upper Canadian leader, in
+consequence of a vote of the Reformers of that province adverse to the
+continuance of the court of chancery, the constitution of which had been
+improved chiefly by himself. When he presented himself as a candidate
+before his old constituency he was defeated by a nominee of the Clear
+Grits, who were then, as always, pressing their opinions with great
+vehemence and hostility to all moderate men. He illustrated the fickle
+character of popular favour, when a man will not surrender his
+principles and descend to the arts of the politician. He lived until
+1858 in retirement, almost forgotten by the people for whom he had
+worked so fearlessly and sincerely.
+
+In New Brunswick the triumph of responsible government must always be
+associated with the name of Lemuel A. Wilmot, the descendant of
+a famous United Empire Loyalist stock, afterwards a judge and a
+lieutenant-governor of his native province. He was in some respects the
+most notable figure, after Joseph Howe and J.W. Johnston, the leaders
+of the Liberal and Conservative parties in Nova Scotia, in that famous
+body of public men who so long brightened the political life of the
+maritime provinces. But neither those two leaders nor their
+distinguished compeers, James Boyle Uniacke, William Young, John
+Hamilton Gray and Charles Fisher, all names familiar to students of Nova
+Scotia and New Brunswick history, surpassed Mr. Wilmot in that magnetic
+eloquence which carries an audience off its feet, in versatility of
+knowledge, in humorous sarcasm, and in conversational gifts, which made
+him a most interesting personality in social life. He impressed his
+strong individuality upon his countrymen until the latest hour of his
+useful career.
+
+In Prince Edward Island, the name most intimately connected with the
+struggle for responsible government is that of George Coles, who,
+despite the absence of educational and social advantages in his youth,
+eventually triumphed over all obstacles, and occupied a most prominent
+position by dint of unconquerable courage and ability to influence the
+opinions of the great mass of people.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--Results of self-government from 1841 to 1864.
+
+The new colonial policy, adopted by the imperial government immediately
+after the presentation of Lord Durham's report, had a remarkable effect
+upon the political and social development of the British North American
+provinces during the quarter of a century that elapsed between the union
+of the Canadas in 1841 and the federal union of 1867. In 1841 Mr.
+Harrison, provincial secretary of the upper province in the coalition
+government formed by Lord Sydenham, brought in a measure which laid the
+foundations of the elaborate system of municipal institutions which the
+Canadian provinces now enjoy. In 1843 Attorney-General Lafontaine
+presented a bill "for better serving the independence of the legislative
+assembly of this province," which became law in 1844 and formed the
+basis of all subsequent legislation in Canada.
+
+The question of the clergy reserves continued for some years after the
+union to perplex politicians and harass governments. At last in 1854 the
+Hincks government was defeated by a combination of factions, and the
+Liberal-Conservative party was formed out of the union of the
+Conservatives and the moderate Reformers. Sir Allan MacNab was the
+leader of this coalition government, but the most influential member was
+Mr. John A. Macdonald, then attorney-general of Upper Canada, whose
+first important act was the settlement of the clergy reserves. Reform
+ministers had for years evaded the question, and it was now left to a
+government, largely composed of men who had been Tories in the early
+part of their political career, to yield to the force of public opinion
+and take it out of the arena of political agitation by means of
+legislation which handed over this property to the municipal
+corporations of the province for secular purposes, and at the same time
+made a small endowment for the protection of the clergy who had legal
+claims on the fund. The same government had also the honour of removing
+the old French seigniorial system, recognised to be incompatible with
+the modern condition of a country of free government, and injurious to
+the agricultural development of the province at large. The question was
+practically settled in 1854, when Mr. Drummond, then attorney-general
+for Lower Canada, brought in a bill providing for the appointment of a
+commission to ascertain the amount of compensation that could be fairly
+asked by the seigniors for the cession of their seigniorial rights. The
+seigniors, from first to last, received about a million of dollars, and
+it also became necessary to revise those old French laws which affected
+the land tenure of Lower Canada. Accordingly in 1856 Mr. George Cartier,
+attorney-general for Lower Canada in the Taché-Macdonald ministry,
+introduced the legislation necessary for the codification of the civil
+law. In 1857 Mr. Spence, post-master-general in the same ministry,
+brought in a measure to organise the civil service, on whose character
+and ability so much depends in the working of parliamentary
+institutions. From that day to this the Canadian government has
+practically recognised the British principle of retaining public
+officers without reference to a change of political administration.
+
+Soon after the union the legislating obtained full control of the civil
+list and the post-office. The last tariff framed by the imperial
+parliament for British North America was mentioned in the speech at the
+opening of the Canadian legislature in 1842. In 1846 the British
+colonies in America were authorised by an imperial statute to reduce or
+repeal by their own legislation duties imposed by imperial acts upon
+foreign goods imported from foreign countries into the colonies in
+question. Canada soon availed herself of this privilege, which was
+granted to her as the logical sequence of the free-trade policy of Great
+Britain, and, from that time to the present, she has been enabled to
+legislate very freely with regard to her own commercial interests. In
+1849 the imperial parliament repealed the navigation laws, and allowed
+the river St. Lawrence to be used by vessels of all nations. With the
+repeal of laws, the continuance of which had seriously crippled Canadian
+trade after the adoption of free trade by England, the provinces
+gradually entered on a new career of industrial enterprise.
+
+No part of the constitution of 1840 gave greater offence to the French
+Canadian population than the clause restricting the use of the French
+language in the legislature. It was considered as a part of the policy,
+foreshadowed in Lord Durham's report, to denationalise, if possible, the
+French Canadian province. The repeal of the clause, in 1848, was one
+evidence of the harmonious operation of the union, and of a better
+feeling between the two sections of the population. Still later,
+provision was made for the gradual establishment of an elective
+legislative council, so long and earnestly demanded by the old
+legislature of Lower Canada.
+
+The members of the Lafontaine-Baldwin government became the legislative
+executors of a troublesome legacy left to them by a Conservative
+ministry. In 1839 acts had been passed by the special council of Lower
+Canada and the legislature of Upper Canada to compensate the loyal
+inhabitants of those provinces for the loss they had sustained during
+the rebellions. In the first session of the union parliament the Upper
+Canadian act was amended, and money voted to reimburse all persons in
+Upper Canada whose property had been unnecessarily, or wantonly,
+destroyed by persons acting, or pretending to act, on behalf of the
+crown. An agitation then commenced for the application of the same
+principle to Lower Canada, and in 1845 commissioners were appointed by
+the Draper administration to inquire into the nature and value of the
+losses suffered by her Majesty's loyal subjects in Lower Canada. When
+their report was presented in favour of certain claims the Draper
+ministry brought in some legislation on the subject, but went out of
+office before any action could be taken thereon. The Lafontaine-Baldwin
+government then determined to set the question at rest, and introduced
+legislation for the issue of debentures to the amount of $400,000 for
+the payment of losses sustained by persons who had not been convicted
+of, or charged with, high treason or other offences of a treasonable
+nature, or had been committed to the custody of the sheriff in the gaol
+of Montreal and subsequently transported to the island of Bermuda.
+Although the principle of this measure was fully justified by the action
+of the Tory Draper government, extreme Loyalists and even some Reformers
+of Upper Canada declaimed against it in the most violent terms, and a
+few persons even declared that they would prefer annexation to the
+United States to the payment of the rebels. The bill, however, passed
+the legislature by a large majority, and received the crown's assent
+through Lord Elgin on the 25th April, 1849. A large crowd immediately
+assembled around the parliament house--formerly the St. Anne Market
+House--and insulted the governor-general by opprobrious epithets, and by
+throwing missiles at him as he drove away to Monklands, his residence in
+the country. The government and members of the legislature appear to
+have been unconscious of the danger to which they were exposed until a
+great crowd rushed into the building, which was immediately destroyed by
+fire with its fine collection of books and archives. A few days later,
+when the assembly, then temporarily housed in the hall of Bonsecours
+Market, attempted to present an address to Lord Elgin, he was in
+imminent danger of his life while on his way to the government
+house--then the old Château de Ramesay in Nôtre-Dame Street--and the
+consequences might have been most serious had he not evaded the mob on
+his return to Monklands. This disgraceful affair was a remarkable
+illustration not simply of the violence of faction, but largely of the
+discontent then so prevalent in Montreal and other industrial centres,
+on account of the commercial policy of Great Britain, which seriously
+crippled colonial trade and was the main cause of the creation of a
+small party which actually advocated for a short time annexation to the
+United States as preferable to the existing state of things. The result
+was the removal of the seat of government from Montreal, and the
+establishment of a nomadic system of government by which the legislature
+met alternately at Toronto and Quebec every five years until Ottawa was
+chosen by the Queen as a permanent political capital. Lord Elgin felt
+his position keenly, and offered his resignation to the imperial
+government, but they refused to entertain it, and his course as a
+constitutional governor under such trying circumstances was approved by
+parliament.
+
+The material condition of the provinces--especially of Upper Canada,
+which now became the first in population and wealth--kept pace with the
+rapid progress of the people in self-government. The population of the
+five provinces had increased from about 1,500,000, in 1841, to about
+3,200,000 when the census was taken in 1861 The greatest increase had
+been in the province of Upper Canada, chiefly in consequence of the
+large immigration which flowed into the country from Ireland, where the
+potato rot had caused wide-spread destitution and misery. The population
+of this province had now reached 1,396,091, or nearly 300,000 more than
+the population of Lower Canada--an increase which, as I shall show in
+the next chapter, had important effects on the political conditions of
+the two provinces. The eastern or maritime provinces received but a
+small part of the yearly immigration from Europe, and even that was
+balanced by an exodus to the United States. Montreal had a population of
+100,000, or double that of Quebec, and was now recognised as the
+commercial capital of British North America. Toronto had reached 60,000,
+and was making more steady progress in population and wealth than any
+other city, except Montreal. Towns and villages were springing up with
+great rapidity in the midst of the enterprising farming population of
+the western province. In Lower Canada the townships showed the energy of
+a British people, but the _habitants_ pursued the even tenor of ways
+which did not include enterprise and improved methods of agriculture.
+
+The value of the total exports and imports of the provinces reached
+$150,000,000 by 1864, or an increase of $100,000,000 in a quarter of a
+century. The great bulk of the import trade was with Great Britain and
+the United States, but the value of the exports to the United States was
+largely in excess of the goods purchased by Great Britain--especially
+after 1854, when Lord Elgin arranged a reciprocity treaty with the
+United States. Lord Elgin represented Great Britain in the negotiations
+at Washington, and the Congress of the United States and the several
+legislatures of the Canadian provinces passed the legislation necessary
+to give effect to the treaty. Its most important provisions established
+free trade between British North America and the United States in
+products of the forest, mine, and sea, conceded the navigation of the
+St. Lawrence to the Americans, and the use of the canals of Canada on
+the same terms as were imposed upon British subjects, gave Canadians the
+right to navigate Lake Michigan, and allowed the fishermen of the United
+States to fish on the sea-coasts of the British provinces without
+regard to distance from the shore, in return for a similar but
+relatively worthless privilege on the eastern shores of the republic,
+north of the 30th parallel of north latitude. During the thirteen years
+the treaty lasted the trade between the two countries rose from over
+thirty-three million dollars in 1854 to over eighty million dollars in
+1866, when it was repealed by the action of the United States government
+itself, for reasons which I shall explain in a later chapter.
+
+The navigation of the St. Lawrence was now made continuous and secure by
+the enlargement of the Welland and Lachine canals, and the construction
+of the Cornwall, Williamsburgh, and Beauharnois canals. Railways
+received their great stimulus during the government of Sir Francis
+Hincks, who largely increased the debt of Canada by guaranteeing in 1852
+the bonds of the Grand Trunk Railway--a noble, national work, now
+extending from Quebec to Lake Michigan, with branches in every
+direction, but whose early history was marred by jobbery and
+mismanagement, which not only ruined or crippled many of the original
+shareholders, but cost Canada eventually twenty-three million dollars.
+In 1864 there were two thousand miles of railway working in British
+North America, of which the Grand Trunk Railway owned at least one-half.
+The railways in the maritime provinces were very insignificant, and all
+attempts to obtain the co-operation of the imperial and Canadian
+governments for the construction of an Intercolonial Railway through
+British American territory failed, despite the energetic efforts of Mr.
+Howe to bring it about.
+
+After the union of the Canadas in 1841, a steady movement for the
+improvement of the elementary, public, or common schools continued for
+years, and the services of the Reverend Egerton Ryerson were engaged as
+chief superintendent of education with signal advantage to the country.
+In 1850, when the Lafontaine-Baldwin government was in office, the
+results of the superintendent's studies of the systems of other
+countries were embodied in a bill based on the principle of local
+assessment, aided by legislative grants, for the carrying on of the
+public schools. This measure is the basis of the present admirable
+school system of Upper Canada, and to a large extent of that of the
+other English-speaking provinces. In Lower Canada the history of public
+schools must be always associated with the names of Dr. Meilleur and the
+Honourable Mr. Chauveau; but the system has never been as effective as
+in the upper province. In both provinces, separate or dissentient
+schools were eventually established for the benefit of the Roman
+Catholics in Upper or Protestant Canada, and of the Protestants in Lower
+or Catholic Canada. In the maritime provinces satisfactory progress was
+also made in the development of a sound school system. In Nova Scotia
+Dr. Tupper, when provincial secretary (1863-1867), laid the foundations
+of the excellent schools that the province now enjoys.
+
+During this period the newspaper press increased remarkably in influence
+and circulation. The most important newspaper in the Dominion, the
+_Globe_, was established at Toronto in 1844 by Mr. George Brown, a
+Scotchman by birth, who became a power from that time among the Liberal
+politicians of Canada. No notable books were produced in the
+English-speaking provinces except "Acadian Geology," a work by Dr.
+Dawson, who became in 1855 principal of McGill University, and was, in
+later years, knighted by the Queen; but the polished verses of Crémazie
+and the lucid histories of Canada by Ferland and Garneau already showed
+that French Canada had both a history and a literature.
+
+Towards the close of this memorable period of Canadian development, the
+Prince of Wales, heir-apparent to the throne, visited the British
+American provinces, where the people gave full expression to their loyal
+feelings. This was the third occasion on which these communities had
+been favoured by the presence of members of the royal family. Prince
+William Henry, afterward William IV, visited Nova Scotia during the
+years 1786-1788, in command of a frigate. From 1791 until 1797 Prince
+Edward, Duke of Kent, father of the present sovereign, was in command of
+the imperial forces, first at Quebec, and later at Halifax. The year
+1860 was an opportune time for a royal visit to provinces where the
+people were in the full enjoyment of the results of the liberal system
+of self-government extended to them at the commencement of the Queen's
+reign by the mother-country.
+
+A quarter of a century had passed after the union of the Canadas when
+the necessities of the provinces of British North America forced them to
+a momentous constitutional change, which gave a greater scope to the
+statesmanship of their public men, and opened up a wider sphere of
+effort to capital and enterprise. In the following chapter I shall show
+the nature of the conditions which brought about this union.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE EVOLUTION OF CONFEDERATION (1789--1864).
+
+
+SECTION 1--The beginnings of confederation.
+
+The idea of a union of the provinces of British North America had been
+under discussion for half a century before it reached the domain of
+practical statesmanship. The eminent Loyalist, Chief Justice Smith of
+Quebec, so early as 1789, in a letter to Lord Dorchester, gave an
+outline of a scheme for uniting all the provinces of British North
+America "under one general direction." A quarter of a century later
+Chief Justice Sewell of Quebec, also a Loyalist, addressed a letter to
+the father of the present Queen, the Duke of Kent, in which he urged a
+federal union of the isolated provinces. Lord Durham was also of opinion
+in 1839 that a legislative union of all the provinces "would at once
+decisively settle the question of races," but he did not find it
+possible to carry it out at that critical time in the history of the
+Canadas.
+
+Some ten years later, at a meeting of prominent public men in Toronto,
+known as the British American League, the project of a federal union was
+submitted to the favourable consideration of the provinces. In 1854 the
+subject was formally brought before the legislature of Nova Scotia by
+the Honourable James William Johnston, the able leader of the
+Conservative party, and found its most eloquent exposition in the speech
+of the Honourable Joseph Howe, one of the fathers of responsible
+government. The result of the discussion was the unanimous adoption of a
+resolution--the first formally adopted by any provincial
+legislature--setting forth that "the union or confederation of the
+British provinces, while calculated to perpetuate their connection with
+the parent state, will promote their advancement and prosperity,
+increase their strength, and influence and elevate their position." Mr.
+Howe, on that occasion, expressed himself in favour of a federation of
+the empire, of which he was always an earnest advocate until his death.
+
+In the legislature of Canada Mr., afterwards Sir, Alexander Tilloch Galt
+was an able exponent of union, and when he became a member of the
+Cartier-Macdonald government in 1858 the question was made a part of the
+ministerial policy, and received special mention in the speech of Sir
+Edmund Head, the governor-general, at the end of the session. The matter
+was brought to the attention of the imperial government on more than one
+occasion during these years by delegates from Canada and Nova Scotia,
+but no definite conclusion could be reached in view of the fact that the
+question had not been taken up generally in the provinces.
+
+The political condition of the Canadas brought about a union much sooner
+than was anticipated by its most sanguine promoters. In a despatch
+written to the colonial minister by the Canadian delegates,--members of
+the Cartier-Macdonald ministry--who visited England in 1858 and laid the
+question of union before the government, they represented that "very
+grave difficulties now present themselves in conducting the government
+of Canada"; that "the progress of population has been more rapid in the
+western province, and claims are now made on behalf of its inhabitants
+for giving them representation in the legislature in proportion to their
+numbers"; that "the result is shown by agitation fraught with great
+danger to the peaceful and harmonious working of our constitutional
+system, and, consequently, detrimental to the progress of the province"
+that "this state of things is yearly becoming worse"; and that "the
+Canadian government are impressed with the necessity for seeking such a
+mode of dealing with these difficulties as may for ever remove them." In
+addition to this expression of opinion on the part of the
+representatives of the Conservative government of 1858, the Reformers of
+Upper Canada held a large and influential convention at Toronto in
+1859, and adopted a resolution in which it was emphatically set forth,
+"that the best practicable remedy for the evils now encountered in the
+government of Canada is to be found in the formation of two or more
+local governments to which shall be committed the control of all matters
+of a local and sectional character, and some general authority charged
+with such matters as are necessarily common to both sections of the
+provinces"--language almost identical with that used by the Quebec
+convention six years later in one of its resolutions with respect to the
+larger scheme of federation. Mr. George Brown brought this scheme before
+the assembly in 1860, but it was rejected by a large majority. At this
+time constitutional and political difficulties of a serious nature had
+arisen between the French and English speaking sections of the united
+Canadian provinces. A large and influential party in Upper Canada had
+become deeply dissatisfied with the conditions of the union of 1840,
+which maintained equality of representation to the two provinces when
+statistics clearly showed that the western section exceeded French
+Canada both in population and wealth.
+
+A demand was persistently and even fiercely made at times for such a
+readjustment of the representation in the assembly as would do full
+justice to the more populous and richer province. The French Canadian
+leaders resented this demand as an attempt to violate the terms on which
+they were brought into the union, and as calculated, and indeed
+intended, to place them in a position of inferiority to the people of a
+province where such fierce and unjust attacks were systematically made
+on their language, religion, and institutions generally. With much
+justice they pressed the fact that at the commencement of, and for some
+years subsequent to, the union, the French Canadians were numerically in
+the majority, and yet had no larger representation in the assembly than
+the inhabitants of the upper province, then inferior in population. Mr.
+George Brown, who had under his control a powerful newspaper, the
+_Globe_, of Toronto, was remarkable for his power of invective and his
+tenacity of purpose, and he made persistent and violent attacks upon the
+conditions of the union, and upon the French and English Conservatives,
+who were not willing to violate a solemn contract.
+
+The difficulties between the Canadian provinces at last became so
+intensified by the public opinion created by Mr. Brown in Upper Canada
+in favour of representation by population, that good and stable
+government was no longer possible on account of the close division of
+parties in the legislature. Appeals were made frequently to the people,
+and new ministries formed,--in fact, five within two years--but the
+sectional difficulties had obviously reached a point where it was not
+possible to carry on successfully the administration of public affairs.
+On the 14th June, 1864, a committee of the legislative assembly of
+Canada, of whom Mr. Brown was chairman, reported that "a strong feeling
+was found to exist among the members of the committee in favour of
+changes in the direction of a federal system, applied either to Canada
+alone or to the whole of the British North American provinces." On the
+day when this report was presented, the Conservative government, known
+as the Taché-Macdonald ministry, suffered the fate of many previous
+governments for years, and it became necessary either to appeal at once
+to the people, or find some other practical solution of the political
+difficulties which prevented the formation of a stable government. Then
+it was that Mr. Brown rose above the level of mere party selfishness,
+and assumed the attitude of a statesman, animated by patriotic and noble
+impulses which must help us to forget the spirit of sectionalism and
+illiberality which so often animated him in his career of heated
+partisanship. Negotiations took place between Mr. John A. Macdonald, Mr.
+Brown, Mr. Cartier, Mr. Galt, Mr. Morris, Mr. McDougall, Mr. Mowat, and
+other prominent members of the Conservative and Reform parties, with the
+result that a coalition government was formed on the distinct
+understanding that it would "bring in a measure next session for the
+purpose of removing existing difficulties by introducing the federal
+principle into Canada, coupled with such provisions as will permit the
+maritime provinces and the north-west territories to be incorporated
+into the same system of government." The Reformers who entered the
+government with Macdonald and Cartier on this fundamental condition were
+Mr. Brown, Mr. Oliver Mowat, and Mr. William McDougall, who stood
+deservedly high in public estimation.
+
+While these events were happening in the Canadas, the maritime provinces
+were taking steps in the direction of their own union. In 1861 Mr. Howe,
+the leader of a Liberal government in Nova Scotia, carried a resolution
+in favour of such a scheme. Three years later the Conservative ministry
+of which Dr., now Sir, Charles Tupper, was premier, took measures in the
+legislature of Nova Scotia to carry out the proposition of his
+predecessor; and a conference was arranged at Charlottetown between
+delegates from the three provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and
+Prince Edward Island By a happy forethought the government of Canada,
+immediately on hearing of this important conference, decided to send a
+delegation, composed of Messrs J.A. Macdonald, Brown, Cartier, Galt,
+McGee, Langevin, McDougall, and Campbell. The result of the conference
+was favourable to the consideration of the larger question of the union
+of all the provinces; and it was decided to hold a further conference at
+Quebec in October for the purpose of discussing the question as fully as
+its great importance demanded.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--The Quebec convention of 1864.
+
+Thirty-three delegates met in the parliament house of this historic
+city. They were all men of large experience in the work of
+administration or legislation in their respective provinces. Not a few
+of them were noted lawyers who had thoroughly studied the systems of
+government in other countries. Some were gifted with rare eloquence and
+power of argument. At no time, before or since, has the city of Quebec
+been visited by an assemblage of notables with so many high
+qualifications for the foundation of a nation. Descendants of the
+pioneers of French Canada, English Canadians sprung from the Loyalists
+of the eighteenth century, eloquent Irishmen and astute Scotchmen, all,
+thoroughly conversant with Canadian interests, met in a convention
+summoned to discharge the greatest responsibilities ever entrusted to
+any body of men in Canada.
+
+The chairman was Sir Etienne Paschal Taché, who had proved in his youth
+his fidelity to England on the famous battlefield of Chateauguay, and
+had won the respect of all classes and parties by the display of many
+admirable qualities. Like the majority of his compatriots he had learned
+to believe thoroughly in the government and institutions of Great
+Britain, and never lost an opportunity of recognising the benefits which
+his race derived from British connection. He it was who gave utterance
+to the oft-quoted words: "That the last gun that would be fired for
+British supremacy in America would be fired by a French Canadian." He
+lived to move the resolutions of the Quebec convention in the
+legislative council of Canada, but he died a few months before the union
+was formally established in 1867, and never had an opportunity of
+experiencing the positive advantages which his race, of whose interests
+he was always an earnest exponent, derived from a condition of things
+which gave additional guarantees for the preservation of their special
+institutions. But there were in the convention other men of much greater
+political force, more deeply versed in constitutional knowledge, more
+capable of framing a plan of union than the esteemed and discreet
+president. Most prominent among these was Mr., afterwards Sir, John A.
+Macdonald, who had been for years one of the most conspicuous figures in
+Canadian politics, and had been able to win to a remarkable degree the
+confidence not only or the great majority of the French Canadians but
+also of a powerful minority in the western province where his able
+antagonist, Mr. Brown, until 1864 held the vantage ground by his
+persistency in urging its claims to greater weight in the administration
+of public affairs. Mr. Macdonald had a great knowledge of men and did
+not hesitate to avail himself of their weaknesses in order to strengthen
+his political power. His greatest faults were those of a politician
+anxious for the success of his party. His strength lay largely in his
+ability to understand the working of British institutions, and in his
+recognition of the necessity of carrying on the government in a country
+of diverse nationalities, on principles of justice and compromise. He
+had a happy faculty of adapting himself to the decided current of public
+opinion even at the risk of leaving himself open to a charge of
+inconsistency, and he was just as ready to adopt the measures of his
+opponents as he was willing to enter their ranks and steal away some
+prominent men whose support he thought necessary to his political
+success.
+
+So early as 1861 he had emphatically expressed himself on the floor of
+the assembly in favour of the main principles of just such a federal
+union as was initiated at Quebec. The moment he found that the question
+of union was likely to be something more than a mere subject for
+academic discussion or eloquent expression in legislative halls, he
+recognised immediately the great advantages it offered, not only for the
+solution of the difficulties of his own party, but also for the
+consolidation of British American as well as imperial interests on the
+continent of North America From the hour when he became convinced of
+this fact he devoted his consummate ability not merely as a party
+leader, but as a statesman of broad national views, to the perfection of
+a measure which promised so much for the welfare and security of the
+British provinces. It was his good fortune, after the establishment of
+the federation, to be the first premier of the new Dominion and to mould
+its destinies with a firm and capable hand. He saw it extended to the
+Pacific shores long before he died, amid the regrets of all classes and
+creeds and races of a country he loved and in whose future he had the
+most perfect confidence.
+
+The name of the Right Honourable Sir John Macdonald, to give him the
+titles he afterwards received from the crown, naturally brings up that
+of Mr., afterwards Sir, George Etienne Cartier, who was his faithful
+colleague and ally for many years in the legislature of old Canada, and
+for a short time after the completion of the federal union, until his
+death. This able French Canadian had taken an insignificant part in the
+unfortunate rising of 1837, but like many other men of his nationality
+he recognised the mistakes of his impetuous youth, and, unlike Papineau
+after the union of 1840, endeavoured to work out earnestly and honestly
+the principles of responsible government. While a true friend of his
+race, he was generous and fair in his relations with other
+nationalities, and understood the necessity of compromise and
+conciliation in a country of diverse races, needs, and interests. Sir
+John Macdonald appreciated at their full value his statesmanlike
+qualities, and succeeded in winning his sympathetic and faithful
+co-operation during the many years they acted together in opposition to
+the war of nationalities which would have been the eventual consequence
+of Mr. Brown's determined agitation if it had been carried to its
+logical and natural conclusion--conclusion happily averted by the wise
+stand taken by Mr. Brown himself with respect to the settlement of
+provincial troubles. In the settlement of the terms of union, we can see
+not only the master hand of Sir John Macdonald in the British framework
+of the system, but also the successful effort of Sir George Cartier to
+preserve intact the peculiar institutions of his native province.
+
+All those who have studied Mr. Brown's career know something of his
+independent and uncompromising character; but for some time after he
+entered the coalition government his speeches in favour of federation
+assumed a dignified style and a breadth of view which stand out in great
+contrast with his bitter arguments as leader of the Clear Grits. In the
+framing of the Quebec resolutions his part was chiefly in arranging the
+financial terms with a regard to the interests of his own province.
+
+Another influential member of the Canadian delegation was Mr.,
+afterwards Sir, Alexander Galt, the son of the creator of that original
+character in fiction, Laurie Todd, who had been a resident for many
+years in Western Canada, where a pretty city perpetuates his name. His
+able son had been for a long time a prominent figure in Canadian
+politics, and was distinguished for his intelligent advocacy of railway
+construction and political union as measures essential to the material
+and political development of the provinces. His earnest and eloquent
+exposition of the necessity of union had no doubt much to do with
+creating a wide-spread public sentiment in its favour, and with
+preparing the way for the formation of the coalition government of 1864,
+on the basis of such a political measure. His knowledge of financial and
+commercial questions was found to be invaluable in the settlement of the
+financial basis of the union, while his recognised position as a
+representative of the Protestant English-speaking people in French
+Canada gave him much weight when it was a question of securing their
+rights and interests in the Quebec resolutions.
+
+The other members of the Canadian delegation were men of varied
+accomplishments, some of whom played an important part in the working
+out of the federal system, the foundations of which they laid. There was
+a brilliant Irishman, Thomas D'Arcy McGee, poet, historian and orator,
+who had been in his rash youth obliged to fly from Ireland to the United
+States on account of his connection with the rebellious party known as
+Young Ireland during the troubles of 1848. When he removed from the
+United States in 1857 he advocated with much force a union of the
+provinces in the _New Era_, of which he was editor during its short
+existence. He was elected to parliament in 1858, and became a notable
+figure in Canadian politics on account of his eloquence and _bonhomie_.
+His most elaborate addresses had never the easy flow of Joseph Howe's
+speeches, but were laboured essays, showing too obviously the results of
+careful compilation in libraries, while brightened by touches of natural
+humour. He had been president of the council in the Sandfield Macdonald
+government of 1862--a moderate Reform ministry--but later he joined the
+Liberal-Conservative party as less sectional in its aspirations and more
+generous in its general policy than the one led by Mr. Brown. Mr. McGee
+was during his residence in Canada a firm friend of the British
+connection, having observed the beneficent character of British rule in
+his new Canadian home, with whose interests he so thoroughly identified
+himself.
+
+Mr. William McDougall, the descendant of a Loyalist, had been long
+connected with the advocacy of Reform principles in the press and on the
+floor of parliament, and was distinguished for his clear, incisive style
+of debating. He had been for years a firm believer in the advantages of
+union, which he had been the first to urge at the Reform convention of
+1859. Mr., afterwards Sir, Alexander Campbell, who had been for some
+years a legal partner of Sir John Macdonald, was gifted with a
+remarkably clear intellect, great common sense, and business capacity,
+which he displayed later as leader of the senate and as minister of the
+crown. Mr., afterwards Sir, Oliver Mowat, who had been a student of law
+in Sir John Macdonald's office at Kingston, brought to the discharge of
+the important positions he held in later times as minister,
+vice-chancellor, and premier of the province of Ontario, great legal
+learning, and admirable judgment. Mr., now Sir, Hector Langevin was
+considered a man of promise, likely to exercise in the future much
+influence among his countrymen. For some years after the establishment
+of the new Dominion he occupied important positions in the government of
+the country, and led the French Conservative party after the death of
+Sir George Cartier. Mr. James Cockburn was an excellent lawyer, who
+three years later was chosen speaker of the first house of commons of
+the federal parliament--a position which his sound judgment, knowledge
+of parliamentary law, and dignity of manner enabled him to discharge
+with signal ability. Mr. J.C. Chapais was a man of sound judgment, which
+made him equal to the administrative duties entrusted to him from time
+to time.
+
+Of the five men sent by Nova Scotia, the two ablest were Dr., now Sir,
+Charles Tupper, who was first minister of the Conservative government,
+and Mr., later Sir, Adams G. Archibald, who was leader of the Liberal
+opposition in the assembly. The former was then as now distinguished for
+his great power as a debater and for the forcible expression of his
+opinions on the public questions on which he had made up his mind. When
+he had a great end in view he followed it with a tenacity of purpose
+that generally gave him success. Ever since he entered public life as an
+opponent of Mr. Howe, he has been a dominant force in the politics of
+Nova Scotia. While Conservative in name he entertained broad Liberal
+views which found expression in the improvement of the school system, at
+a very low ebb when he came into office, and in the readiness and energy
+with which he identified himself with the cause of the union of the
+provinces. Mr. Archibald was noted for his dignified demeanour, sound
+legal attainments, and clear plausible style of oratory, well calculated
+to instruct a learned audience. Mr. William A. Henry was a lawyer of
+considerable ability, who was at a later time elevated to the bench of
+the supreme court of Canada. Mr. Jonathan J. McCully, afterwards a judge
+in Nova Scotia, had never sat in the assembly, but he exercised
+influence in the legislative council on the Liberal side and was an
+editorial writer of no mean ability. Mr. Dickey was a leader of the
+Conservatives in the upper house and distinguished for his general
+culture and legal knowledge.
+
+New Brunswick sent seven delegates, drawn from the government and
+opposition. The Loyalists who founded this province were represented by
+four of the most prominent members of the delegation, Tilley, Chandler,
+Gray, and Fisher. Mr., afterwards Sir, Samuel Leonard Tilley had been
+long engaged in public life and possessed admirable ability as an
+administrator. He had for years taken a deep interest in questions of
+intercolonial trade, railway intercourse and political union. He was a
+Reformer of pronounced opinions, most earnest in the advocacy of
+temperance, possessed of great tact and respected for his high character
+in all the relations of life. In later times he became finance minister
+of the Dominion and lieutenant-governor of his native province.
+
+Mr. John Hamilton Gray, later a judge in British Columbia, was one of
+the most eloquent and accomplished men in the convention, and brought to
+the consideration of legal and constitutional questions much knowledge
+and experience. Mr. Fisher, afterwards a judge in his province, was also
+a well equipped lawyer and speaker who displayed a cultured mind. Like
+all the delegates from New Brunswick he was animated by a great love for
+British connection and institutions. Mr. Peter Mitchell was a Liberal,
+conspicuous for the energy he brought to the administration of public
+affairs, both in his own province and at a later time in the new
+Dominion as a minister of the crown. Mr. Edward Barron Chandler had long
+been a notable figure in the politics of New Brunswick, and was
+universally respected for his probity and worth. He had the honour of
+being at a later time the lieutenant-governor of the province with which
+he had been so long and honourably associated. Mr. John Johnson and Mr.
+William H. Steeves were also fully qualified to deal intelligently with
+the questions submitted to the convention.
+
+Of the seven members of the Prince Edward Island delegation, four were
+members of the government and the rest were prominent men in one or
+other branch of the legislature. Colonel Gray--a descendant of a
+Virginia Loyalist--was prime minister of the island. Mr. George Coles
+was one of the fathers of responsible government in the island, and long
+associated with the advocacy and passage of many progressive measures,
+including the improvement of the educational system. Mr. Edward Whelan
+was a journalist, an Irishman by birth, and endowed, like so many of his
+countrymen, with a natural gift of eloquence. Mr. Thomas Heath Haviland,
+afterwards lieutenant-governor of the island, was a man of culture, and
+Mr. Edward Palmer was a lawyer of good reputation. Mr. William H. Pope
+and Mr. Andrew Archibald Macdonald were also thoroughly capable of
+watching over the special interests of the island.
+
+Newfoundland had the advantage of being represented by Mr. Frederick
+B.T. Carter, then speaker of the house of assembly, and by Mr. Ambrose
+Shea, also a distinguished politician of the great island. Both were
+knighted at later times; the former became chief justice of his own
+province, and the latter governor of the Bahamas.
+
+
+SECTION 3.--Confederation accomplished.
+
+The Quebec convention sat with closed doors for eighteen days, and
+agreed to seventy-two resolutions, which form the basis of the Act of
+Union, subsequently passed by the imperial parliament. These resolutions
+set forth at the outset that in a federation of the British American
+provinces "the system of government best adapted under existing
+circumstances to protect the diversified interests of the several
+provinces, and secure harmony and permanency in the working of the
+union, would be a general government charged with matters of common
+interest to the whole country, and local governments for each of the
+Canadas, and for the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince
+Edward Island, charged with the control of local matters in their
+respective sections" In another paragraph the resolutions declared that
+"in forming a constitution for a general government, the conference,
+with a view to the perpetuation of our connection with the
+mother-country, and the promotion of the best interests of the people of
+these provinces, desire to follow the model of the British constitution
+so far as our circumstances permit" In a subsequent paragraph it was set
+forth: "the executive authority or government shall be vested in the
+sovereign of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and be
+administered according to the well-understood principles of the British
+constitution, by a sovereign personally, or by the representative of the
+sovereign duly authorised."
+
+In these three paragraphs of the Quebec resolutions we see clearly
+expressed the leading principles on which the Canadian federation
+rests--a federation, with a central government having jurisdiction over
+matters of common interest to the whole country comprised in the union,
+and a number of provincial governments having the control and management
+of certain local matters naturally and conveniently belonging to them,
+each government being administered in accordance with the
+well-understood principles of the British system of parliamentary
+institutions.
+
+The resolutions also defined in express terms the respective powers of
+the central and provincial governments. Any subject that did not fall
+within the enumerated powers of the provincial legislatures was placed
+under the control of the general parliament. The convention recognised
+the necessity of preventing, as far as possible, the difficulties that
+had arisen in the working of the constitution of the United States,
+where the residuary power of legislation is given to the people of the
+respective states and not to the federal government. In a subsequent
+chapter I give a brief summary of these and other details of the system
+of government, generally laid down in the Quebec resolutions and
+practically embodied in an imperial statute three years later.
+
+Although we have no official report of the discussions of the Quebec
+convention, we know on good authority that the question of providing
+revenues for the provinces was one that gave the delegates the greatest
+difficulty. In all the provinces the sources of revenue were chiefly
+customs and excise-duties which had to be set apart for the general
+government of the federation. Some of the delegates from Ontario, where
+there had existed for many years an admirable system of municipal
+government, which provided funds for education and local improvements,
+recognised the advantages of direct taxation; but the representatives of
+the other provinces would not consent to such a system, especially in
+the case of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, where
+there were no municipal institutions, and the people depended almost
+exclusively on the annual votes of the legislature for the means to meet
+their local necessities. All of the delegates, in fact, felt that to
+force the maritime provinces to resort to direct taxes as the only
+method of carrying on their government, would be probably fatal to the
+success of the scheme, and it was finally decided that the central
+government should grant annual subsidies, based on population, relative
+debts, financial position, and such other facts as should be fairly
+brought into the consideration of the case.
+
+It is unfortunate that we have no full report of the deliberations and
+debates of this great conference. We have only a fragmentary record from
+which it is difficult to form any adequate conclusions as to the part
+taken by the several delegates in the numerous questions which
+necessarily came under their purview.[4] Under these circumstances, a
+careful writer hesitates to form any positive opinion based upon these
+reports of the discussions, but no one can doubt that the directing
+spirit of the conference was Sir John Macdonald. Meagre as is the record
+of what he said, we can yet see that his words were those of a man who
+rose above the level of the mere politician, and grasped the magnitude
+of the questions involved. What he aimed at especially was to follow as
+closely as possible the fundamental principles of English parliamentary
+government, and to engraft them upon the general system of federal
+union. Mr. George Brown took a prominent part in the deliberations. His
+opinions read curiously now. He was in favour of having the
+lieutenant-governors appointed by the general government, and he was
+willing to give them an effective veto over provincial legislation. He
+advocated the election of a legislative chamber on a fixed day every
+third year, not subject to a dissolution during its term--also an
+adaptation of the American system. He went so far as to urge the
+advisability of having the executive council elected for three years--by
+the assembly, we may assume, though the imperfect report before us does
+not state so--and also of giving the lieutenant-governor the right of
+dismissing any of its members when the house was not sitting. Mr. Brown
+consequently appears to have been the advocate, so far as the provinces
+were concerned, of principles that prevail in the federal republic
+across the border. He opposed the introduction of responsible
+government, as it now obtains, in all the provinces of the Dominion,
+while conceding its necessity for the central government.
+
+
+[4: Mr. Joseph Pope, for years the able confidential secretary of Sir
+John Macdonald, has edited and published all the official documents
+bearing on the origin and evolution of the British North America Act of
+1867; but despite all the ability and fidelity he has devoted to the
+task the result is most imperfect and unsatisfactory on account of the
+absence of any full or exact original report of proceedings.]
+
+We gather from the report of discussions that the Prince Edward Island
+delegates hesitated from the beginning to enter a union where their
+province would necessarily have so small a numerical representation--one
+of the main objections which subsequently operated against the island
+coming into the confederation. With respect to education we see that it
+was Mr., afterwards Sir, Alexander Galt, who was responsible for the
+provision in the constitution which gives the general government and
+parliament a certain control over provincial legislation in case the
+rights of a Protestant or a Roman Catholic minority are prejudicially
+affected. The minutes on this point are defective, but we have the
+original motion on the subject, and a note of Sir John Macdonald himself
+that it was passed, with the assent of all the provinces, at the
+subsequent London conference in 1867. The majority of the delegates
+appear from the outset to have supported strenuously the principle which
+lies at the basis of the confederation, that all powers not expressly
+reserved to the provinces should appertain to the general government, as
+against the opposite principle, which, as Sir John Macdonald pointed
+out, had led to great difficulties in the working of the federal system
+in the United States. Sir John Macdonald also, with his usual sagacity,
+showed that, in all cases of conflict of jurisdiction, recourse would be
+necessarily made to the courts, as was the practice even then whenever
+there was a conflict between imperial and Canadian statutes.
+
+Addresses to the Queen embodying the Quebec resolutions were submitted
+to the legislature of Canada during the winter of 1865, and passed in
+both houses by large majorities after a very full discussion of the
+merits of the scheme. The opposition in the assembly came chiefly from
+Mr. Antoine A. Dorion, Mr. Luther H. Holton, Mr. Dunkin, Mr. Lucius Seth
+Huntington, Mr. John Sandfield Macdonald, and other able Liberals who
+were not disposed to follow Mr. Brown and his two colleagues in their
+patriotic abandonment of "partyism."
+
+The vote on the address was, in the council--Contents 45, Non-contents
+15. In the assembly it stood--Yeas 91, Nays 33. The minority in the
+assembly comprised 25 out of 65 representatives of French Canada, and
+only 8 out of the 65 from Upper Canada. With the speaker in the chair
+there were only 5 members absent on the taking of the final vote.
+
+Efforts were made both in the council and assembly to obtain an
+unequivocal expression of public opinion at the polls before the address
+was submitted to the imperial government for final action. It was argued
+with much force that the legislature had had no special mandate from the
+people to carry out so vital a change in the political condition of the
+provinces, but this argument had relatively little weight in either
+house in view of the dominant public sentiment which, as it was obvious
+to the most superficial observer, existed in the valley of the St.
+Lawrence in favour of a scheme which seemed certain to settle the
+difficulties so long in the way of stable government, and offered so
+many auspicious auguries for the development of the provinces embraced
+in federation.
+
+Soon after the close of the session Messrs Macdonald, Galt, Cartier, and
+Brown went to England to confer with the imperial authorities on various
+matters of grave public import. The British government agreed to
+guarantee a loan for the construction of the Intercolonial Railway and
+gave additional assurances of their deep interest in the proposed
+confederation. An understanding was reached with respect to the mutual
+obligations of the parent state and the dependency to provide for the
+defences of the country. Preliminary steps were taken in the direction
+of acquiring the north-west from the Hudson's Bay Company on equitable
+terms whenever their exact legal rights were ascertained. The report of
+the delegates was laid before the Canadian parliament during a very
+short session held in August and September of 1865. It was then that
+parliament formally ratified the Civil Code of Lower Canada, with which
+must be always honourably associated the name of Mr. Cartier.
+
+In the maritime provinces, however, the prospect for some months was far
+from encouraging. Much dissatisfaction was expressed with the financial
+terms, and the haste with which the maritime delegates had yielded to
+the propositions of the Canadian government and given their adhesion to
+the larger scheme, when they were only authorised in the first instance
+by their respective legislatures to consider the feasibility of a union
+of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. In New
+Brunswick Mr. Tilley found himself in a minority as a result of an
+appeal to the people on the question in 1865, but his successor Mr.,
+afterwards Sir, Albert Smith, minister of marine in the Mackenzie
+government of 1873-78, was forced to resign a year later on some
+question purposely raised by Lieutenant-Governor Hamilton Gordon, then
+very anxious to carry the union before he left the province. A new
+government was immediately formed by Mr. Peter Mitchell, a very
+energetic Liberal politician--the first minister of marine in
+the first Dominion ministry--who had notoriously influenced the
+lieutenant-governor in his arbitrary action of practically dismissing
+the Smith cabinet. On an appeal to the people Mr. Mitchell was
+sustained, and the new legislature gave its approval to the union by a
+large majority. The opinion then generally prevailed in New Brunswick
+that a federation was essential to the security of the provinces, then
+threatened by the Fenians, and would strengthen the hands of the parent
+state on the American continent. In Nova Scotia the situation was
+aggravated by the fact that the opposition was led by Mr. Howe, who had
+always been the idol of a large party in the country, and an earnest and
+consistent supporter of the right of the people to be first consulted on
+every measure immediately affecting their interests. He succeeded
+in creating a powerful sentiment against the terms of the
+measure--especially the financial conditions--and it was not possible
+during 1865 to carry it in the legislature. It was not attempted to
+submit the question to the polls, as was done in New Brunswick, indeed
+such a course would have been fatal to its progress; but it was
+eventually sanctioned by a large vote of the two houses. A strong
+influence was exerted by the fact that confederation was approved by the
+imperial government, which sent out Sir Fenwick Williams of Kars as
+lieutenant-governor with special instructions that, both Canada and New
+Brunswick having given their consent, it was proposed to make such
+changes in the financial terms as would be more favourable to the
+maritime provinces. In Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland it was not
+possible for the advocates of federation to move successfully in the
+matter. The opposition to the scheme of union, as proposed at Quebec,
+was so bitter in these two provinces that the delegates found it useless
+to press the matter in their legislatures.
+
+In the meantime, while confederation was on the eve of accomplishment,
+the people of Canada were subjected to an attack which supplied the
+strongest possible evidence of the necessity for a union enabling them
+to combine for purposes of general defence as well as other matters of
+national importance. In the month of April, 1866, the Fenians, an Irish
+organisation in the United States, made an insignificant demonstration
+on the New Brunswick frontier, which had no other effect than to excite
+the loyal action of the people of the province and strengthen the hands
+of the advocates of confederation. In the beginning of June a
+considerable body of the same order, under the command of one O'Neil,
+crossed from Buffalo into the Niagara district of Upper Canada and won a
+temporary success near Ridgeway, where the Queen's Own, a body of
+Toronto Volunteers, chiefly students and other young men, were badly
+handled by Colonel Booker. Subsequently Colonel Dennis and a small
+detachment of militia were surprised at Fort Erie by O'Neil. The
+knowledge that a large force of regulars and volunteers were marching
+against him under Colonel Peacock forced O'Neil and his men to disperse
+and find their way back to the United States, where a number were
+arrested by the orders of the Washington government. The Eastern
+Townships of Lower Canada were also invaded but the raiders retreated
+before a Canadian force with greater rapidity than they had shown in
+entering the province, and found themselves prisoners as soon as they
+crossed the frontier. Canada was kept in a state of anxiety for some
+months after these reckless invasions of a country where the Irish like
+all other nationalities have always had the greatest possible freedom;
+but the vigilance of the authorities and the readiness of the people of
+Canada to defend their soil prevented any more hostile demonstrations
+from the United States. The prisoners taken in the Niagara district were
+treated with a degree of clemency which their shameless conduct did not
+merit from an outraged people. No persons were ever executed, though a
+number were confined for a while in Kingston penitentiary. The invasion
+had the effect of stimulating the patriotism of the Canadian people to
+an extraordinary degree, and of showing them the necessity that existed
+for improving their home forces, whose organisation and equipment proved
+sadly defective during the invasion.
+
+In the summer of 1866 the Canadian legislature met for the last time
+under the provisions of the Union Act of 1840, and passed addresses to
+the Queen, setting forth constitutions for the new provinces of Upper
+and Lower Canada, afterwards incorporated in the imperial act of union.
+A conference of delegates from the provinces of Nova Scotia, New
+Brunswick, and Canada was held in the December of 1866 at the
+Westminster Palace Hotel in the City of London. The members on behalf of
+Canada were Messrs Macdonald, Cartier, Galt, McDougall, Langevin, and
+W.P. Howland (in the place of Mr. Brown); on behalf of Nova Scotia,
+Messrs Tupper, Henry, McCully, Archibald, and J.W. Ritchie (who took Mr.
+Dickey's place); of New Brunswick, Messrs Tilley, Johnson, Mitchell,
+Fisher, and R.D. Wilmot. The last named, who took the place of Mr.
+Steeves, was a Loyalist by descent, and afterwards became speaker of
+the senate and a lieutenant-governor of his native province. Their
+deliberations led to some changes in the financial provisions of the
+Quebec plan, made with the view of satisfying the opposition as far as
+possible in the maritime provinces but without disturbing the
+fundamental basis to which Canada had already pledged itself in the
+legislative session of 1865. All the difficulties being now removed the
+Earl of Carnarvon, then secretary of state for the colonies, submitted
+to the house of lords on the 17th of February, 1867, a bill intituled,
+"An act for the union of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and the
+government thereof; and for purposes connected therewith." It passed the
+two houses with very little discussion, and the royal assent was given
+to it on the 29th of March of the same year as "The British North
+America Act, 1867." It is interesting to know that in the original draft
+of the bill the united provinces were called the "Kingdom of Canada,"
+but when it came eventually before parliament they were designated as
+the "Dominion of Canada"; and the writer had it from Sir John Macdonald
+himself that this amendment did not emanate from the colonial delegates
+but from the imperial ministry, one of whose members was afraid of
+wounding the susceptibilities of United States statesmen.
+
+During the same session the imperial parliament passed a bill to
+guarantee a loan of three million pounds sterling for the construction
+of an intercolonial railway between Quebec and the coast of the maritime
+provinces--a work recognised as indispensable to the success of the new
+federation. Her Majesty's proclamation, giving effect to the Union Act,
+was issued on the 22nd May, 1867, declaring that "on and after the first
+of July, 1867, the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick,
+shall form and be one Dominion, under the name of Canada."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+CONFEDERATION. 1867--1900.
+
+
+SECTION I--The first parliament of the Dominion of Canada. 1867--1872.
+
+The Dominion of Canada took its place among the federal states of the
+world on the first of July, 1867. Upper and Lower Canada now became
+known as Ontario and Quebec, while Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
+retained their original historic names. The first governor-general was
+Viscount Monk, who had been head of the executive government of Canada
+throughout all the stages of confederation. He was an Irish nobleman,
+who had been a junior lord of the treasury in Lord Palmerston's
+government. He was a collateral descendant of the famous general of the
+commonwealth, created Duke of Albemarle after the Restoration. Without
+being a man of remarkable ability he was gifted with much discretion,
+and gave all the weight of his influence to bring about a federation,
+whose great benefits from an imperial as well as a colonial point of
+view he fully recognised.
+
+The prime minister of the first federal government was naturally Sir
+John Macdonald, who chose as his colleagues Sir George E. Cartier, Sir
+S.L. Tilley,--to give them all their later titles--Sir A.T. Galt, Sir
+W.P. Howland, Mr. William McDougall, Mr. P. Mitchell, Sir A.G.
+Archibald, Mr. A.F. Blair, Sir A. Campbell, Sir H.L. Langevin, Sir E.
+Kenny, and Mr. J.C. Chapais. Mr. Brown had retired from the coalition
+government of 1864 some months before the union, nominally on a
+disagreement with his colleagues as to the best mode of conducting
+negotiations for a new reciprocity treaty with the United States. The
+ministry had appointed delegates to confer with the Washington
+government on the subject, but, while Mr. Brown recognised the
+desirability of reciprocal trade relations with the United States on
+equitable conditions, he did not deem it expedient to appear before
+American statesmen "as suitors for any terms they might be pleased to
+grant." A general impression, however, prevailed that this difference of
+opinion was not the real reason of Mr. Brown's resignation, but that
+the animating motive was his intense jealousy of Sir John Macdonald,
+whose dominant influence in the government he could no longer brook.
+
+The governments of the four provinces were also regularly constituted at
+this time in accordance with the act of union. The first
+lieutenant-governor of Ontario was Lieutenant-General Stisted, of
+Quebec, Sir Narcisse Belleau; of Nova Scotia, Lieutenant-General Sir
+Fenwick Williams, the hero of Kars; of New Brunswick, Major-General
+Doyle, but only for three months. With the exception of the case of
+Quebec, these appointments were only temporary. It was considered
+prudent to select military men in view of the continuous reports of
+Fenian aggression. Sir William Howland became, a year later,
+lieutenant-governor of Ontario, Major-General Sir Francis Hastings Doyle
+of Nova Scotia in the fall of 1867, and Hon. L.A. Wilmot, of New
+Brunswick in July 1868. The first prime minister of Ontario was Mr. John
+Sandfield Macdonald, who had been leader of a Canadian ministry before
+confederation. He had been a moderate Liberal in politics, and opposed
+at the outset to the federal union, but before 1867 he became identified
+with the Liberal-Conservative party and gave his best assistance to the
+success of the federation. In Quebec, Mr. Pierre Chauveau, a man of high
+culture, formed the first government, which was also associated with the
+Liberal-Conservative party. In New Brunswick, Attorney-General Wetmore
+was the first prime minister, but he was appointed a judge in 1870, and
+Mr. George E. King, a judge of the supreme court of Canada some years
+later, became his successor. In Nova Scotia, Mr. Hiram Blanchard, a
+Liberal and unionist, formed a government, but it was defeated at the
+elections by an overwhelming majority by the anti-unionists, and Mr.
+Annand, the old friend of Mr. Howe, became first minister.
+
+The elections for the Dominion house of commons took place in the
+summer of 1867, and Sir John Macdonald's government was sustained by
+nearly three-fourths of the entire representation. The most notable
+incident in this contest was the defeat of Mr. Brown. Soon after his
+resignation in 1866 he assumed his old position of hostility to Sir John
+Macdonald and the Conservatives. At a later date, when the Liberals were
+in office, he accepted a seat in the senate, but in the meantime he
+continued to manage the _Globe_ and denounce his too successful and wily
+antagonist in its columns with his usual vehemence.
+
+The first parliament of the new Dominion met in the autumn of 1867 in
+the new buildings at Ottawa--also chosen as the seat of government of
+the federation--and was probably the ablest body of men that ever
+assembled for legislative purposes within the limits of old or new
+Canada. In the absence of the legislation which was subsequently passed
+both in Ontario and Quebec against dual representation--or the election
+of the same representatives to both the Dominion parliament and the
+local legislatures--it comprised the leading public men of all parties
+in the two provinces in question. Such legislation had been enacted in
+the maritime provinces before 1867, but it did not prevent the ablest
+men of New Brunswick from selecting the larger and more ambitious field
+of parliamentary action. In Nova Scotia Sir Charles Tupper was the only
+man who emerged from the battle in which so many unionists were for the
+moment defeated. Even Sir Adams Archibald, the secretary of state, was
+defeated in a county where he had been always returned by a large
+majority. Mr. Howe came in at the head of a strong phalanx of
+anti-unionists--"Repealers" as they called themselves for a short time.
+
+The legislation of the first parliament during its five years of
+existence was noteworthy in many respects. The departments of government
+were reorganised with due regard to the larger interests now intrusted
+to their care. The new department of marine and fisheries, rendered
+necessary by the admission of the maritime provinces, was placed under
+the direction of Mr. Peter Mitchell, then a member of the senate, who
+had done so much to bring New Brunswick into the union. An act was
+passed to provide for the immediate commencement of the Intercolonial
+Railway, which was actually completed by the 1st of July, 1876, under
+the supervision of Mr., now Sir, Sandford Fleming, as chief government
+engineer; and the provinces of Ontario and Quebec were at last directly
+connected with the maritime sections of the Dominion.
+
+The repeal agitation in Nova Scotia received its first blow by the
+defection of Mr. Howe, who had been elected to the house of commons. He
+proceeded to England in 1868 with an address from the assembly of Nova
+Scotia, demanding a repeal of the union, but he made no impression
+whatever on a government and parliament convinced of the necessity of
+the measure from an imperial as well as colonial point of view. Dr.
+Tupper was present on behalf of the Dominion government to answer any
+arguments that the Repealers might advance against the union. The visit
+to England convinced Mr. Howe that further agitation on the question
+might be injurious to British connection, and that the wisest course was
+to make the union as useful as possible to the provinces. Then, as
+always, he was true to those principles of fidelity to the crown and
+empire which had forced his father to seek refuge in Nova Scotia, and
+which had been ever the mainspring of his action, even in the trying
+days when he and others were struggling for responsible government. He
+believed always in constitutional agitation, not in rebellion. He now
+agreed to enter the ministry as president of the council on condition
+that the financial basis, on which Nova Scotia had been admitted to the
+federation, was enlarged by the parliament of Canada. These "better
+terms" were brought before the Canadian parliament in the session of
+1869, and provided for the granting of additional allowances to the
+provinces, calculated on increased amounts of debt as compared with the
+maximum fixed by the terms of the British North America Act of 1867.
+They met with strong opposition from Edward Blake, a very eminent
+lawyer and Reformer of Ontario, on the ground that they violated the
+original compact of union as set forth in the British North America Act;
+but despite the opposition of the western Reformers they were ratified
+by a large majority, who recognised the supreme necessity of
+conciliating Nova Scotia. On account of his decision to yield to the
+inevitable, Mr. Howe incurred the bitter antagonism of many men who had
+been his staunch followers in all the political contests of Nova Scotia,
+and it was with the greatest difficulty that he was re-elected for the
+county of Hants as a minister of the crown. He remained in the
+government until May, 1873, when he was appointed lieutenant-governor of
+Nova Scotia. The worries of a long life of political struggles, and
+especially the fatigue and exposure of the last election in Hants, had
+impaired his health and made it absolutely necessary that he should
+retire from active politics. Only a month after his appointment, the
+printer, poet and politician died in the famous old government house,
+admittance to which had been denied him in the stormy days when he
+fought Lord Falkland. It was a fit ending, assuredly, to the life of the
+statesman, who, with eloquent pen and voice, in the days when his
+opinions were even offensive to governors and social leaders, ever urged
+the right of his countrymen to a full measure of self-government.
+
+Canada and all other parts of the British empire were deeply shocked on
+an April day of 1868 by the tragic announcement of the assassination of
+the brilliant Irishman, Thomas D'Arcy McGee on his return late at night
+from his parliamentary duties. He had never been forgiven by the Irish
+enemies of England for his strenuous efforts in Canada to atone for the
+indiscretion of his thoughtless youth. His remains were buried with all
+the honours that the state could give him, and proper provision was made
+for the members of his family by that parliament of which he had been
+one of the most notable figures. The murderer, Thomas Whelan, a member
+of the secret society that had ordered his death, was executed at
+Ottawa on the 11th February, 1869.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--Extension of the Dominion from the Atlantic to the Pacific
+Ocean. 1869-1873.
+
+The government and parliament, to whom were entrusted the destinies of
+the federation of four provinces, had a great work to accomplish in the
+way of perfecting and extending the Dominion, which was necessarily
+incomplete whilst its western territorial limits were confined to the
+boundaries of Ontario, and the provinces of British Columbia on the
+Pacific coast and of Prince Edward Island in the Gulf of the St.
+Lawrence remained in a position of isolation. The provisions of the
+British North America Act of 1867 provided in general terms for the
+addition of the immense territories which extend from the head of Lake
+Superior in a north-westerly direction as far as the Rocky Mountains.
+Three great basins divide these territories; Hudson Bay Basin, with
+probably a drainage of 2,250,000 square miles; the Winnipeg sub-basin
+tributary to the former, with nearly 400,000 square miles; the Mackenzie
+River basin with nearly 700,000 square miles. The Winnipeg basin covers
+a great area of prairie lands, whose luxuriant grasses and wild flowers
+were indented for centuries only by the tracks of herds of innumerable
+buffaloes on their way to the tortuous and sluggish streams which flow
+through that wide region. This plain slopes gently towards the arctic
+seas into which its waters flow, and is also remarkable for rising
+gradually from its eastern limits in three distinct elevations or
+steppes as far as the foot hills of the Rocky Mountains. Forests of
+trees, small for the most part, are found only when the prairies are
+left and we reach the more picturesque undulating country through which
+the North Saskatchewan flows. An extraordinary feature of this great
+region is the continuous chain of lakes and rivers which stretch from
+the basin of the St. Lawrence as far as the distant northern sea into
+which the Mackenzie, the second largest river in North America, carries
+its enormous volume of waters. As we stand on the rugged heights of
+land which divides the Winnipeg from the Laurentian basin we are within
+easy reach of rivers which flow, some to arctic seas, some to the
+Atlantic, and some to the Gulf of Mexico. If we ascend the Saskatchewan
+River, from Lake Winnipeg to the Rocky Mountains, we shall find
+ourselves within a measurable distance not only of the sources of the
+Mackenzie, one of whose tributaries reaches the head waters of the
+Yukon, a river of golden promise like the Pactolus of the eastern
+lands--but also within reach of the head waters of the rapid Columbia,
+and the still more impetuous Fraser, both of which pour into the Pacific
+Ocean, as well as of the Missouri, which here accumulates strength for
+its alliance with the Mississippi, that great artery of a more southern
+land. It was to this remarkable geographical feature that Oliver Wendell
+Holmes referred in the following well-known verses:
+
+   "Yon stream whose sources run
+      Turned by a pebble's edge,
+   Is Athabaska rolling toward the Sun
+      Through the cleft mountain ledge."
+
+   "The slender rill had strayed,
+      But for the slanting stone,
+   To evening's ocean, with the tangled braid
+      Of foam-flecked Oregon."
+
+[ILLUSTRATION: MAP OF BRITISH AMERICA TO ILLUSTRATE THE CHARTER OF THE
+HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY]
+
+A great company claimed for two centuries exclusive trading privileges
+over a large portion of these territories, known as Rupert's Land, by
+virtue of a charter given by King Charles II, on the 2nd May, 1670, to
+Prince Rupert, the Duke of Albemarle, and other Englishmen of rank and
+wealth. The early operations of this Company of Adventurers of England
+were confined to the vicinity of Hudson and James Bays. The French of
+Canada for many years disputed the rights of the English company to this
+great region, but it was finally ceded to England by the Treaty of
+Utrecht. Twenty years after the Treaty of Paris (1763) a number of
+wealthy and enterprising merchants, chiefly Scotch, established at
+Montreal the North-West Company for the purpose of trading in those
+north-western territories to which French traders had been the first to
+venture. This new company carried on its operations with such activity
+that in thirty years' time it employed four thousand persons and
+occupied sixty posts in different parts of the territories.
+
+The Hudson's Bay Company's headquarters was York Factory, on the great
+bay to which British ships, every summer, brought out supplies for the
+posts. The North-West Company followed the route of the old French
+traders from Lachine by way of the Ottawa or the lakes to the head of
+Lake Superior, and its principal depot was Fort William on the
+Kaministiquia River. The servants of the North-West Company became
+indefatigable explorers of the territories as far as the Pacific Ocean
+and arctic seas. Mr., afterwards Sir, Alexander Mackenzie first followed
+the river which now bears his name, to the Arctic Ocean, into which it
+pours its mighty volume of water. He was also the first to cross the
+Rocky Mountains and reach the Pacific coast. Simon Fraser, another
+employee of the company, discovered, in 1808, the river which still
+recalls his exploits; and a little later, David Thompson, from whom a
+river is named, crossed further south and reached Oregon by the Columbia
+River. The energetic operations of the North-west Company so seriously
+affected the business of the Hudson's Bay Company that in some years the
+latter declared no dividends. The rivalry between the two companies
+reached its highest between 1811 and 1818, when Thomas Douglas, fifth
+Earl of Selkirk, who was an enthusiastic promoter of colonisation in
+British North America, obtained from the Hudson's Bay Company an immense
+tract of land in the Red River country and made an earnest effort to
+establish a Scotch settlement at Kildonan. But his efforts to people
+Assiniboia--the Indian name he gave to his wide domain--were baulked by
+the opposition of the employees of the North-west Company, who regarded
+this colonising scheme as fatal to the fur trade. In the territory
+conveyed to Lord Selkirk, the Montreal Company had established posts
+upon every river and lake, while the Hudson's Bay Company had only one
+fort of importance, Fort Douglas, within a short distance of the
+North-west Company's post of Fort Gibraltar, at the confluence of the
+Red and Assiniboine Rivers, where the city of Winnipeg now stands. The
+quarrel between the Scotch settlers who were under the protection of the
+Hudson's Bay Company and the North-westers, chiefly composed of French
+Canadians and French half-breeds, or _Métis_ culminated in 1816, in the
+massacre of Governor Semple and twenty-six other persons connected with
+the new colony by a number of half-breeds. Two years later, a number of
+persons who had been arrested for this murder were tried at York in
+Upper Canada, but the evidence was so conflicting on account of the
+false swearing on the part of the witnesses that the jury were forced to
+acquit the accused. Lord Selkirk died at Pau, in 1820, but not before he
+had made an attempt to assist his young settlement, almost broken up by
+the shameful attack of 1816.
+
+The little colony managed to exist, but its difficulties were aggravated
+from time to time by the ravages of clouds of grasshoppers which
+devastated the territories and brought the people to the verge of
+starvation. In March, 1821, the North-west Company made over all their
+property to the older company, which now reigned supreme throughout the
+territories. All doubts as to their rights were set at rest by an act of
+parliament giving them a monopoly of trade for twenty-one years in what
+were then generally known as the Indian territories, that vast region
+which lay beyond the confines of Rupert's Land, and was not strictly
+covered by the charter of 1670. This act was re-enacted in 1838 for
+another twenty-one years. No further extension, however, was ever
+granted, as an agitation had commenced in Canada by 1859 for the
+surrender of the company's privileges and the opening up of the
+territories, so long a great "lone land," to enterprise and settlement.
+When the two rival companies were united, Mr., afterwards Sir, George
+Simpson, became governor, and he continued to occupy that position until
+1860, when he died in his residence at Lachine, near Montreal. This
+energetic man largely extended the geographical knowledge of the wide
+dominions entrusted to his charge, though like all the servants of the
+company, he discouraged settlement and minimised the agricultural
+capabilities of the country, when examined in 1857 before a committee of
+the English house of commons. In 1837 the company purchased from Lord
+Selkirk's heirs all their rights in Assiniboia. The Scotch settlers and
+the French half-breeds were now in close contiguity to each other on the
+Red and Assiniboine Rivers. The company established a simple form of
+government for the maintenance of law and order. In the course of time,
+their council included not only their principal factors and officials,
+but a few persons selected from the inhabitants. On the whole, law and
+order prevailed in the settlements, although there was always latent a
+certain degree of sullen discontent against the selfish rule of a mere
+fur company, invested with such great powers. The great object of the
+company was always to keep out the pioneers of settlement, and give no
+information of the value of the land and resources of their vast domain.
+
+Some years before the federation of the British-American provinces the
+public men of Canada had commenced an agitation against the company,
+with the view of relieving from its monopoly a country whose resources
+were beginning to be known. Colonial delegates on several occasions
+interviewed the imperial authorities on the subject, but no practical
+results were obtained until federation became an accomplished fact.
+Then, at length, the company recognised the necessity of yielding to
+the pressure that was brought to bear upon them by the British
+government, at a time when the interests of the empire as well as of the
+new Dominion demanded the abolition of a monopoly so hostile to the
+conditions of modern progress in British North America. In 1868
+successful negotiations took place between a Canadian delegation--Sir
+George Cartier and the Hon. William Macdougall--and the Hudson's Bay
+Company's representatives for the surrender of their imperial domain.
+Canada agreed to pay £300,000 sterling, and to reserve certain lands for
+the company. The terms were approved by the Canadian parliament in 1869,
+and an act was passed for the temporary government of Rupert's Land and
+the North-west territory when regularly transferred to Canada. In the
+summer of that year, surveyors were sent under Colonel Dennis to make
+surveys of townships in Assiniboia; and early in the autumn Mr.
+Macdougall was appointed lieutenant-governor of the territories, with
+the understanding that he should not act in an official capacity until
+he was authoritatively informed from Ottawa of the legal transfer of the
+country to the Canadian government. Mr. Macdougall left for Fort Garry
+in September, but he was unable to reach Red River on account of a
+rising of the half-breeds. The cause of the troubles is to be traced not
+simply to the apathy of the Hudson's Bay Company's officials, who took
+no steps to prepare the settlers for the change of government, nor to
+the fact that the Canadian authorities neglected to consult the wishes
+of the inhabitants, but chiefly to the belief that prevailed among the
+ignorant French half-breeds that it was proposed to take their lands
+from them. Sir John Macdonald admitted, at a later time, that much of
+the trouble arose "from the lack of conciliation, tact and prudence
+shown by the surveyors during the summer of 1869." Mr. Macdougall also
+appears to have disobeyed his instructions, for he attempted to set up
+his government by a _coup-de-main_ on the 1st December, though he had no
+official information of the transfer of the country to Canada, and was
+not legally entitled to perform a single official act.
+
+The rebellious half-breeds of the Red River settlement formed a
+provisional government, in which one Louis Riel was the controlling
+spirit from the beginning until the end of the revolt. He was a French
+Canadian half-breed, who had been educated in one of the French Canadian
+colleges, and always exercised much influence over his ignorant,
+impulsive, easily-deluded countrymen. The total population living in the
+settlements of Assiniboia at that time was about twelve thousand, of
+whom nearly one-half were _Métis_ or half-breeds, mostly the descendants
+of the _coureurs-de-bois_ and _voyageurs_ of early times. So long as the
+buffalo ranged the prairies in large numbers, they were hunters, and
+cared nothing for the relatively tame pursuit of agriculture. Their
+small farms generally presented a neglected, impoverished appearance.
+The great majority had adopted the habits of their Indian lineage, and
+would neglect their farms for weeks to follow the scarce buffalo to
+their distant feeding grounds. The Scotch half-breed, the offspring of
+the marriage of Scotchmen with Indian women, still illustrated the
+industry and energy of his paternal race, and rose superior to Indian
+surroundings. It was among the French half-breeds that Riel found his
+supporters. The Scotch and English settlers had disapproved of the
+sudden transfer of the territory in which they and their parents had so
+long lived, without any attempt having been made to consult their
+feelings as to the future government of the country. Though they took no
+active part in the rebellion, they allowed matters to take their course
+with indifference and sullen resignation. The employees of the Hudson's
+Bay Company were dissatisfied with the sale of the company's rights, as
+it meant, in their opinion, a loss of occupation and influence. The
+portion of the population that was always quite ready to hasten the
+acquisition of the territory by Canada, and resolutely opposed Riel from
+the outset, was the small Canadian element, which was led by Dr.
+Schultz, an able, determined man, afterwards lieutenant-governor of
+Manitoba. Riel imprisoned and insulted several of the loyal party who
+opposed him. At last he ruthlessly ordered the execution of one Thomas
+Scott, an Ontario man, who had defied him.
+
+While these events were in progress, the Canadian government enlisted in
+the interests of law and order the services of Mr. Donald Smith, now
+Lord Strathcona, who had been long connected with the Hudson's Bay
+Company, and also of Archbishop Taché, of St. Boniface--the principal
+French settlement in the country--who returned from Rome to act as
+mediator between the Canadian authorities and his deluded flock.
+Unhappily, before the Archbishop could reach Fort Garry, Scott had been
+murdered, and the Dominion government could not consider themselves
+bound by the terms they were ready to offer to the insurgents under a
+very different condition of things. The murder of Scott had clearly
+brought Riel and his associates under the provisions of the criminal
+law; and public opinion in Ontario would not tolerate an amnesty, as was
+hastily promised by the Archbishop, in his zeal to bring the rebellion
+to an end. A force of 1200 regulars and volunteers was sent to the Red
+River towards the end of May, 1870, under the command of Colonel
+Wolseley, now a field-marshal and a peer of the realm. Riel fled across
+the frontier before the troops, after a tedious journey of three months
+from the day they left Toronto, reached Fort Garry. Peace was restored
+once more to the settlers of Assiniboia. The Canadian government had had
+several interviews with delegates from the discontented people of Red
+River, who had prepared what they called "a Bill of Rights," and it was
+therefore able intelligently to decide on the best form of governing the
+territories. The imperial government completed the formal transfer of
+the country to Canada, and the Canadian parliament in 1870 passed an act
+to provide for the government of a new province of Manitoba.
+Representation was given to the people in both houses of the Canadian
+parliament, and provision was made for a provincial government on the
+same basis that existed in the old provinces of the Dominion. The
+lieutenant-governor of the province was also, for the present, to govern
+the unorganised portion of the North-west with the assistance of a
+council of eleven persons. The first legislature of Manitoba was elected
+in the early part of 1871, and a provincial government was formed, with
+Mr. Albert Boyd as provincial secretary. The first lieutenant-governor
+was Sir Adams Archibald, the eminent Nova Scotian, who had been defeated
+in the elections of 1867. Mr. Macdougall had returned from the
+North-west frontier a deeply disappointed man, who would never admit
+that he had shown any undue haste in commencing the exercise of his
+powers as governor. Some years later he disappeared from active public
+life, after a career during which he had performed many useful services
+for Canada.
+
+In another chapter on the relations between Canada and the United States
+I shall refer to the results of the international commission which met
+at Washington in 1870, to consider the Alabama difficulty, the fishery
+dispute, and other questions, the settlement of which could be no longer
+delayed. In 1870, while the Red River settlements were still in a
+troublous state, the Fenians made two attempts to invade the Eastern
+Townships, but they were easily repulsed and forced to cross the
+frontier. They were next heard of in 1871, when they attempted, under
+the leadership of the irrepressible O'Neil, who had also been engaged in
+1870, and of O'Donohue, one of Riel's rebellious associates, to make a
+raid into Manitoba by way of Pembina, but their prompt arrest by a
+company of United States troops was the inglorious conclusion of the
+last effort of a dying and worthless organisation to strike a blow at
+England through Canada.
+
+The Dominion government was much embarrassed for some years by the
+complications that arose from Riel's revolt and the murder of Scott. An
+agitation grew up in Ontario for the arrest of the murderers; and when
+Mr. Blake succeeded Mr. Sandfield Macdonald as leader of the Ontario
+government, a large reward was offered for the capture of Riel and such
+of his associates as were still in the territories. On the other hand,
+Sir George Cartier and the French Canadians were in favour of an
+amnesty. The Macdonald ministry consequently found itself on the horns
+of a dilemma; and the political tension was only relieved for a time
+when Riel and Lepine left Manitoba, on receiving a considerable sum of
+money from Sir John Macdonald. Although this fact was not known until
+1875, when a committee of the house of commons investigated the affairs
+of the North-west, there was a general impression after 1870 throughout
+Ontario--an impression which had much effect on the general election of
+1872--that the government had no sincere desire to bring Riel and his
+associates to justice.
+
+In 1871 the Dominion welcomed into the union the great mountainous
+province of British Columbia, whose picturesque shores recall the
+memories of Cook, Vancouver and other maritime adventurers of the last
+century, and whose swift rivers are associated with the exploits of
+Mackenzie, Thompson, Quesnel, Fraser and other daring men, who first saw
+the impetuous waters which rush through the cañons of the great
+mountains of the province until at last they empty themselves into the
+Pacific Ocean. For many years Vancouver Island and the mainland, first
+known as New Caledonia, were under the control of the Hudson's Bay
+Company. Vancouver Island was nominally made a crown colony in 1849;
+that is, a colony without representative institutions, in which the
+government is carried on by a governor and council, appointed by the
+crown. The official authority continued from 1851 practically in the
+hands of the company's chief factor, Sir James Douglas, a man of signal
+ability, who was also the governor of the infant colony. In 1856 an
+assembly was called, despite the insignificant population of the island.
+In 1858 New Caledonia was organised as a crown colony under the name of
+British Columbia, as a consequence of the gold discoveries which brought
+in many people. Sir James Douglas was also appointed governor of
+British Columbia, and continued in that position until 1864. In 1866,
+the colony was united with Vancouver Island under the general
+designation of British Columbia. When the province entered the
+confederation of Canada in 1871 it was governed by a lieutenant-governor
+appointed by the crown, a legislature composed of heads of the public
+departments and several elected members. With the entrance of this
+province, so famous now for its treasures of gold, coal and other
+minerals in illimitable quantities, must be associated the name of Sir
+Joseph Trutch, the first lieutenant-governor under the auspices of the
+federation. The province did not come into the union with the same
+constitution that was enjoyed by the other provinces, but it was
+expressly declared in the terms of union that "the government of the
+Dominion will readily consent to the introduction of responsible
+government when desired by the inhabitants of British Columbia."
+Accordingly, soon after its admission, the province obtained a
+constitution similar to that of other provinces: a lieutenant-governor,
+a responsible executive council and an elective assembly. Representation
+was given it in both houses of the Dominion parliament, and the members
+took their seats during the session of 1872. In addition to the payment
+of a considerable subsidy for provincial expenses, the Dominion
+government pledged itself to secure the construction of a railway within
+two years from the date of union to connect the seaboard of British
+Columbia with the railway system of Canada, to commence the work
+simultaneously at both ends of the line, and to complete it within ten
+years from the admission of the colony to the confederation.
+
+In 1872 a general election was held in the Dominion, and while the
+government was generally sustained, it came back with a minority from
+Ontario. The Riel agitation, the Washington Treaty, and the undertaking
+to finish the Pacific railway in so short a time, were questions which
+weakened the ministry. The most encouraging feature of the elections
+was the complete defeat of the anti-unionists in Nova Scotia,--the
+prelude to their disappearance as a party--all the representatives, with
+the exception of one member, being pledged to support a government whose
+chief merit was its persistent effort to cement the union and extend it
+from ocean to ocean. Sir Francis Hincks, finance minister since 1870,
+was defeated in Ontario and Sir George Cartier in Montreal. Both these
+gentlemen found constituencies elsewhere, but Sir George Cartier never
+took his seat, as his health had been seriously impaired, and he died in
+England in 1873. The state gave a public funeral to this great French
+Canadian, always animated by a sincere desire to weld the two races
+together on principles of compromise and justice. Sir Francis Hincks
+also disappeared from public life in 1873, and died at Montreal in 1885
+from an attack of malignant small-pox. The sad circumstances of his
+death forbade any public or even private display, and the man who filled
+so many important positions in the empire was carried to the grave with
+those precautions which are necessary in the case of those who fall
+victims to an infectious disease.
+
+But while these two eminent men disappeared from the public life of
+Canada, two others began now to occupy a more prominent place in
+Dominion affairs. These were Mr. Edward Blake and Mr. Alexander
+Mackenzie, who had retired from the Ontario legislature when an act was
+passed, as in other provinces, against dual representation, which made
+it necessary for them to elect between federal and provincial politics.
+Sir Oliver Mowat, who had retired from the bench, was chosen prime
+minister of Ontario on the 25th October, 1872, and continued to hold the
+position with great success and profit to the province until 1896, when
+he became minister of justice in the Liberal government formed by Sir
+Wilfrid Laurier.
+
+In 1873 Prince Edward Island yielded to the influences which had been
+working for some years in the direction of union, and allied her
+fortunes with those of her sister provinces. The public men who were
+mainly instrumental in bringing about this happy result, after much
+discussion in the legislature and several conferences with the Dominion
+government, were the following: Mr. R.P. Haythorne, afterwards a
+senator; Mr. David Laird, at a later time minister in Mr. Mackenzie's
+government and a lieutenant-governor of the North-west territories; Mr.
+James C. Pope, who became a member of Sir John Macdonald's cabinet in
+1879; Mr. T.H. Haviland, and Mr. G.W. Howlan, who were in later years
+lieutenant-governors of the island. The terms of union made not only
+very favourable financial arrangements for the support of the provincial
+government, but also allowed a sum of money for the purpose of
+extinguishing the claims of the landlords to whom the greater portion of
+the public domain had been given by the British government more than a
+hundred years before. The constitution of the executive authority and
+the legislature remained as before confederation. Adequate
+representation was allowed to the island in the Canadian parliament, and
+the members accordingly took their places in the senate and the house of
+commons during the short October session of 1873, when Sir John
+Macdonald's government resigned on account of transactions arising out
+of the first efforts to construct the Canadian Pacific railway.
+
+The Dominion was now extended for a distance of about 3,500 miles, from
+the island of Prince Edward in the east to the island of Vancouver in
+the west. The people of the great island of Newfoundland, the oldest
+colony of the British crown in North America, have, however, always
+shown a determined opposition to the proposed federation, from the time
+when their delegates returned from the Quebec convention of 1864.
+Negotiations have taken place more than once for the entrance of the
+island into the federal union, but so far no satisfactory arrangement
+has been attained. The advocates of union, down to the present time,
+have never been able to create that strong public opinion which would
+sustain any practical movement in the direction of carrying Newfoundland
+out of its unfortunate position of insular, selfish isolation, and
+making it an active partner in the material, political, and social
+progress of the provinces of the Canadian Dominion. Financial and
+political difficulties have steadily hampered the development of the
+island until very recently, and the imperial government has been obliged
+to intervene for the purpose of bringing about an adjustment of
+questions which, more than once, have rendered the operation of local
+self-government very troublesome. The government of the Dominion, on its
+side, while always ready to welcome the island into the confederation,
+has been perplexed by the difficulty of making satisfactory financial
+arrangements for the admission of a colony, heavily burdened with debt,
+and occupying a position by no means so favourable as that of the
+provinces now comprised within the Dominion. Some Canadians also see
+some reason for hesitation on the part of the Dominion in the existence
+of the French shore question, which prejudicially affects the
+territorial interests of a large portion of the coast of the island, and
+affords a forcible example of the little attention paid to colonial
+interests in those old times when English statesmen were chiefly swayed
+by considerations of European policy.
+
+
+SECTION 3.--Summary of noteworthy events from 1873 until 1900.
+
+On the 4th November, 1873, Sir John Macdonald placed his resignation in
+the hands of the governor-general, the Earl of Dufferin; and the first
+ministry of the Dominion came to an end after six years of office. The
+circumstances of this resignation were regrettable in the extreme. In
+1872 two companies received charters for the construction of the
+Canadian Pacific railway--one of them under the direction of probably
+the wealthiest man in Canada, Sir Hugh Allan of Montreal, and the other
+under the presidency of the Honourable David Macpherson, a capitalist of
+Toronto. The government was unwilling for political reasons to give the
+preference to either of these companies, and tried to bring about an
+amalgamation. While negotiations were proceeding with this object in
+view, the general elections of 1872 came on, and Sir Hugh Allan made
+large contributions to the funds of the Conservative party. The facts
+were disclosed in 1873 before a royal commission appointed by the
+governor-general to inquire into charges made in the Canadian house of
+commons by a prominent Liberal, Mr. Huntington. An investigation ordered
+by the house when the charges were first brought forward, had failed
+chiefly on account of the legal inability of the committee to take
+evidence under oath; and the government then advised the appointment of
+the commission in question. Parliament was called together in October,
+1873, to receive the report of the commissioners, and after a long and
+vehement debate Sir John Macdonald, not daring to test the opinion of
+the house by a vote, immediately resigned. In justice to Sir John
+Macdonald it must be stated that Sir Hugh Allan knew, before he
+subscribed a single farthing, that the privilege of building the railway
+could be conceded only to an amalgamated company. When it was shown some
+months after the elections that the proposed amalgamation could not be
+effected, the government issued a royal charter to a new company in
+which all the provinces were fairly represented, and in which Sir Hugh
+Allan appears at first to have had no special influence, although the
+directors of their own motion, subsequently selected him as president on
+account of his wealth and business standing in Canada. Despite Sir John
+Macdonald's plausible explanations to the governor-general, and his
+vigorous and even pathetic appeal to the house before he resigned, the
+whole transaction was unequivocally condemned by sound public opinion.
+His own confidential secretary, whom he had chosen before his death as
+his biographer, admits that even a large body of his faithful supporters
+"were impelled to the conclusion that a government which had benefited
+politically by large sums of money contributed by a person with whom it
+was negotiating on the part of the Dominion, could no longer command
+their confidence or support, and that for them the time had come to
+choose between their conscience and their party."
+
+The immediate consequence of this very unfortunate transaction was the
+formation of a Liberal government by Mr. Alexander Mackenzie, the leader
+of the opposition, who had entered the old parliament of Canada in 1861,
+and had been treasurer in the Ontario ministry led by Mr. Blake until
+1872. He was Scotch by birth, and a stonemason by trade. He came to
+Canada in early manhood, and succeeded in raising himself above his
+originally humble position to the highest in the land. His great
+decision of character, his clear, logical intellect, his lucid, incisive
+style of speaking, his great fidelity to principle, his inflexible
+honesty of purpose, made him a force in the Liberal party, who gladly
+welcomed him as the leader of a government. When he appealed to the
+country in 1874, he was supported by a very large majority of the
+representatives of the people. His administration remained in office
+until the autumn of 1878, and passed many measures of great usefulness
+to the Dominion. The North-west territories were separated from the
+government of Manitoba, and first organised under a lieutenant-governor
+and council, appointed by the governor-general of Canada. In 1875,
+pending the settlement of the western boundary of Ontario, it was
+necessary to create a separate territory out of the eastern part of the
+North-west, known as the district of Keewatin, which was placed under
+the jurisdiction of the lieutenant-governor of Manitoba. This boundary
+dispute was not settled until 1884, when the judicial committee of the
+privy council, to whose decision the question had been referred,
+materially altered the limits of Keewatin and extended the western
+boundaries of Ontario. In 1878, in response to an address of the
+Canadian parliament, an imperial order in council was passed to annex to
+the Dominion all British possessions in North America not then included
+within the confederation--an order intended to place beyond question the
+right of Canada to all British North America except Newfoundland. In the
+course of succeeding years a system of local government was established
+in the North-west territories and a representation allowed them in the
+senate and house of commons.
+
+As soon as the North-west became a part of the Dominion, the Canadian
+government recognised the necessity of making satisfactory arrangements
+with the Indian tribes. The policy first laid down in the proclamation
+of 1763 was faithfully carried out in this great region. Between 1871
+and 1877 seven treaties were made by the Canadian government with the
+Crees, Chippewas, Salteaux, Ojibways, Blackfeet, Bloods and Piegans, who
+received certain reserves of land, annual payments of money and other
+benefits, as compensation for making over to Canada their title to the
+vast country where they had been so long the masters. From that day to
+this the Indians have become the wards of the government, who have
+always treated them with every consideration. The Indians live on
+reserves allotted to them in certain districts where schools of various
+classes have been provided for their instruction. They are
+systematically taught farming and other industrial pursuits; agents and
+instructors visit the reserves from time to time to see that the
+interests of the Indians are protected; and the sale of spirits is
+especially forbidden in the territories chiefly with the view of
+guarding the Indians from such baneful influences. The policy of the
+government for the past thirty years has been on the whole most
+satisfactory from every point of view. In the course of a few decades
+the Indians of the prairies will be an agricultural population, able to
+support themselves.
+
+The Mackenzie ministry established a supreme court, or general court of
+appeal, for Canada. The election laws were amended so as to abolish
+public nominations and property qualification for members of the house
+of commons, as well as to provide for vote by ballot and simultaneous
+polling at a general election--a wise provision which had existed for
+some years in the province of Nova Scotia. An act passed by Sir John
+Macdonald's government for the trial of controverted elections by judges
+was amended, and a more ample and effective provision made for the
+repression and punishment of bribery and corruption at elections. A
+force of mounted police was organised for the maintenance of law and
+order in the North-west territories. The enlargement of the St. Lawrence
+system of canals was vigorously prosecuted in accordance with the report
+of a royal commission, appointed in 1870 by the previous administration
+to report on this important system of waterways. A Canada temperance
+act--known by the name of Senator Scott, who introduced it when
+secretary of state--was passed to allow electors in any county to
+exercise what is known as "local option"; that is to say, to decide by
+their votes at the polls whether they would permit the sale of
+intoxicating liquors within their respective districts. This act was
+declared by the judicial committee of the privy council to be
+constitutional and was extended in the course of time to very many
+counties of the several provinces; but eventually it was found quite
+impracticable to enforce the law, and the great majority of those
+districts of Ontario and Quebec, which had been carried away for a time
+on a great wave of moral reform to adopt the act, decided by an equally
+large vote to repeal it. The agitation for the extension of this law
+finally merged into a wide-spread movement among the temperance people
+of the Dominion for the passage of a prohibitory liquor law by the
+parliament of Canada. In 1898 the question was submitted to the electors
+of the provinces and territories by the Laurier government. The result
+was a majority of only 14,000 votes in favour of prohibition out of a
+total vote of 543,049, polled throughout the Dominion. The province of
+Quebec declared itself against the measure by an overwhelming vote. The
+temperance people then demanded that the Dominion government should take
+immediate action in accordance with this vote; but the prime minister
+stated emphatically to the house of commons as soon as parliament opened
+in March, 1899, "that the voice of the electorate, which has been
+pronounced in favour of prohibition--only twenty-three per cent. of the
+total electoral vote of the Dominion--is not such as to justify the
+government in introducing a prohibitory law." In the premier's opinion
+the government would not be justified in following such a course "unless
+at least one-half of the electorate declared itself at the polls in its
+favour." In the province of Manitoba, where the people have pronounced
+themselves conclusively in favour of prohibition, the Macdonald
+government are now moving to give effect to the popular wishes and
+restrain the liquor traffic so far as it is possible to go under the
+provisions of the British North America act of 1867 and the decisions of
+the courts as to provincial powers.
+
+For two years and even longer, after its coming into office, the
+Mackenzie government was harassed by the persistent effort that was made
+in French Canada for the condonation of the serious offences committed
+by Riel and his principal associates during the rebellion of 1870. Riel
+had been elected by a Manitoba constituency in 1874 to the Dominion
+house of commons and actually took the oath of allegiance in the clerk's
+office, but he never attempted to sit, and was subsequently expelled as
+a fugitive from criminal justice. Lepine was convicted of murder at
+Winnipeg and sentenced to be hanged, when the governor-general, Lord
+Dufferin, intervened and commuted the sentence to two years'
+imprisonment, with the approval of the imperial authorities, to whom, as
+an imperial officer entrusted with large responsibility in the exercise
+of the prerogative of mercy, he had referred the whole question. Soon
+afterwards the government yielded to the strong pressure from French
+Canada and relieved the tension of the public situation by obtaining
+from the representative of the crown an amnesty for all persons
+concerned in the North-west troubles, with the exception of Riel and
+Lepine, who were banished for five years, when they also were to be
+pardoned. O'Donohue was not included, as his first offence had been
+aggravated by his connection with the Fenian raid of 1871, but he was
+allowed in 1877 the benefit of the amnesty. The action of Lord Dufferin
+in pardoning Lepine and thereby relieving his ministers from all
+responsibility in the matter was widely criticised, and no doubt had
+much to do with bringing about an alteration in the terms of the
+governor-general's commission and his instructions with respect to the
+prerogative of mercy. Largely through the instrumentality of Mr. Blake,
+who visited England for the purpose, in 1875, new commissions and
+instructions have been issued to Lord Dufferin's successors, with a due
+regard to the larger measure of constitutional freedom now possessed by
+the Dominion of Canada. As respects the exercise of the prerogative of
+mercy, the independent judgment of the governor-general may be exercised
+in cases of imperial interest, but only after consultation with his
+responsible advisers, while he is at liberty to yield to their judgment
+in all cases of local concern.
+
+One of the most important questions with which the Mackenzie government
+was called upon to deal was the construction of the Canadian Pacific
+railway. It was first proposed to utilise the "water-stretches" on the
+route of the railroad, and in that way lessen its cost, but the scheme
+was soon found to be impracticable. The people of British Columbia were
+aggrieved at the delay in building the railway, and several efforts were
+made to arrange the difficulty through the intervention of the Earl of
+Carnarvon, colonial secretary of state, of the governor-general when he
+visited the province in 1876, and of Mr., afterwards Sir, James Edgar,
+who was authorised to treat with the provincial government on the
+subject. At the instance of the secretary of state the government agreed
+to build immediately a road from Esquimalt to Nanaimo on Vancouver
+Island, to prosecute the surveys with vigour, and make arrangements for
+the completion of the railway in 1890. Mr. Blake opposed these terms,
+and in doing so no doubt represented the views of a large body of the
+Liberal party, who believed that the government of Canada had in 1871
+entered into the compact with British Columbia without sufficient
+consideration of the gravity of the obligation they were incurring. The
+commons, however, passed the Esquimalt and Nanaimo bill only to hear of
+its rejection in the senate, where some Liberals united with the
+Conservative majority to defeat it. When the surveys were all completed,
+the government decided to build the railway as a public work; but by the
+autumn of 1878, when Mr. Mackenzie was defeated at a general election,
+only a few miles of the road had been completed, and the indignation of
+British Columbia had become so deep that the legislature passed a
+resolution for separation from the Dominion unless the terms of union
+were soon fulfilled.
+
+During the existence of the Mackenzie government there was much
+depression in trade throughout the Dominion, and the public revenues
+showed large deficits in consequence of the falling-off of imports. When
+the elections took place in September, 1878, the people were called upon
+to give their decision on a most important issue. With that astuteness
+which always enabled him to gauge correctly the tendency of public
+opinion, Sir John Macdonald recognised the fact that the people were
+prepared to accept any new fiscal policy which promised to relieve the
+country from the great depression which had too long hampered internal
+and external trade. In the session of 1878 he brought forward a
+resolution, declaring emphatically that the welfare of Canada required
+"the adoption of a national policy which, by a judicious readjustment of
+the tariff will benefit the agricultural, the mining, the manufacturing
+and other interests of the Dominion ... will retain in Canada thousands
+of our fellow-countrymen now obliged to expatriate themselves in search
+of the employment denied them at home ... will restore prosperity to our
+struggling industries now so sadly depressed ... will prevent Canada
+from being made a sacrifice market ... will encourage and develop an
+interprovincial trade ... and will procure eventually for this country a
+reciprocity of trade with the United States." This ingenious resolution
+was admirably calculated to captivate the public mind, though it was
+defeated in the house of commons by a large majority. Mr. Mackenzie was
+opposed to the principle of protection, and announced the determination
+of the government to adhere to a revenue tariff instead of resorting to
+any protectionist policy, which would, in his opinion, largely increase
+the burdens of the people under the pretence of stimulating
+manufactures. As a consequence of his unbending fidelity to the
+principles of his life, Mr. Mackenzie was beaten at the general election
+by an overwhelming majority. If he had possessed even a little of the
+flexibility of his astute opponent he would have been more successful as
+a leader of a party.
+
+One of Lord Dufferin's last official acts in October, 1878, was to call
+upon Sir John Macdonald to form a new administration on the resignation
+of Mr. Mackenzie. The new governor-general, the Marquess of Lorne, and
+the Princess Louise, arrived in Canada early in November and were
+everywhere received with great enthusiasm. The new protective
+policy--"the National Policy" as the Conservatives like best to name
+it--was laid before parliament in the session of 1879, by Sir Leonard
+Tilley, then finance minister; and though it has undergone some
+important modifications since its introduction it has formed the basis
+of the Canadian tariff for twenty years. The next important measure of
+the government was the vigorous prosecution of the Canadian Pacific
+railway. During the Mackenzie administration the work had made little
+progress, and the people of British Columbia had become very indignant
+at the failure to carry out the terms on which they had entered the
+confederation. In the session of 1880-81 Sir Charles Tupper, minister of
+railways, announced that the government had entered into a contract with
+a company of capitalists to construct the railway from Montreal to
+Burrard's Inlet. Parliament ratified the contract by a large majority
+despite the vigorous opposition made by Mr. Blake, then leader of the
+Liberal party, who had for years considered this part of the agreement
+with British Columbia as extremely rash. Such remarkable energy was
+brought to the construction of this imperial highway that it was
+actually in operation at the end of five years after the commencement of
+the work--only one-half of the time allowed in the charter for its
+completion. The financial difficulties which the company had to
+encounter in the progress of the work were very great, and they were
+obliged in 1884 to obtain a large loan from the Dominion government. The
+loan was secured on the company's property, and was paid off by 1887.
+The political fortunes of the Conservative administration, in fact, were
+indissolubly connected with the success of this national enterprise, and
+from the moment when the company commenced the work Sir John Macdonald
+never failed to give it his complete confidence and support.
+
+One of the delicate questions which the Macdonald government was called
+upon to settle soon after their coming into office was what is known as
+"the Letellier affair." In March, 1878, the lieutenant-governor of the
+province of Quebec, Mr. Letellier de Saint-Just, who had been previously
+a member of the Mackenzie Liberal government, dismissed the Boucherville
+Conservative ministry on the ground that they had taken steps in regard
+to both administrative and legislative measures not only contrary to his
+representations, but even without previously advising him of what they
+proposed to do. At his request Mr., now Sir, Henry Joly de Lotbinière
+formed a Liberal administration, which appealed to the country. The
+result was that the two parties came back evenly balanced. The
+Conservatives of the province were deeply irritated at this action of
+the lieutenant-governor, and induced Sir John Macdonald, then leader of
+the opposition, to make a motion in the house of commons, declaring Mr.
+Letellier's conduct "unwise and subversive of the sound principles of
+responsible government." This motion was made as an amendment on the
+proposal to go into committee of supply, and under a peculiar usage of
+the Canadian commons it was not permitted to move a second amendment at
+this stage. Had such a course been regular, the Mackenzie government
+would have proposed an amendment similar to that which was moved in the
+senate, to the effect that it was inexpedient to offer any opinion on
+the action of the lieutenant-governor of Quebec for the reason that "the
+federal and provincial governments, each in its own sphere, enjoyed
+responsible government equally, separately, and independently"--in
+other words, that the wisest constitutional course to follow under the
+circumstances was to allow each province to work out responsible
+government without any undue interference on the part of the Dominion
+government or parliament. As it happened, however, Mr. Mackenzie and his
+colleagues had no alternative open to them but to vote down the motion
+proposed in the commons; while in the Conservative senate the amendment,
+which could not be submitted to the lower house under the rules, was
+defeated, and the motion condemning the lieutenant-governor carried by a
+large party vote.
+
+In 1879, when the Macdonald government was in office, the matter was
+again brought before the house of commons and the same motion of censure
+that had been defeated in 1878 was introduced in the same way as before,
+and carried by a majority of 85. The prime minister then informed Lord
+Lorne that in the opinion of the government Mr. Letellier's "usefulness
+was gone," and he recommended his removal from office; but the
+governor-general was unwilling to agree hastily to such a dangerous
+precedent as the removal of a lieutenant-governor, and as an imperial
+officer he referred the whole matter to her Majesty's government for
+their consideration and instructions. The colonial secretary did not
+hesitate to state "that the lieutenant-governor of a province has an
+indisputable right to dismiss his ministers if, from any cause, he feels
+it incumbent to do so," but that, in deciding whether the conduct of a
+lieutenant-governor merits removal from his office, as in the exercise
+of other powers vested in him by the imperial state the governor-general
+"must act by and with the advice of his ministers." After further
+consideration of the subject, the Canadian government again recommended
+the dismissal of Mr. Letellier, and the governor-general had now no
+alternative except to act on the advice of his responsible ministers. It
+was unfortunate that the constitutional issue was obscured, from the
+outset, by the political bitterness that was imported into it, and that
+the procedure, followed in two sessions, of proposing an amendment,
+condemnatory of the action of the lieutenant-governor, on the motion of
+going into committee of supply, prevented the house from coming to a
+decision squarely on the true constitutional issue--actually raised in
+the senate in 1878--whether it was expedient for the parliament or
+government of Canada to interfere in a matter of purely provincial
+concern.
+
+In 1891 another case of the dismissal of a ministry, having a majority
+in the assembly, occurred in the province of Quebec, but the
+intervention of parliament was not asked for the purpose of censuring
+the lieutenant-governor for the exercise of his undoubted constitutional
+power. It appears that, in 1891, the evidence taken before a committee
+of the senate showed that gross irregularities had occurred in
+connection with the disbursement of certain government subsidies which
+had been voted by parliament for the construction of the Bay des
+Chaleurs railway, and that members of the Quebec cabinet were
+compromised in what was clearly a misappropriation of public money. In
+view of these grave charges, Lieutenant-governor Angers forced his prime
+minister, Mr. Honoré Mercier, to agree to the appointment of a royal
+commission to hold an investigation into the transaction in question.
+When the lieutenant-governor was in possession of the evidence taken
+before this commission, he came to the conclusion that it was his duty
+to relieve Mr. Mercier and his colleagues of their functions as
+ministers "in order to protect the dignity of the crown and safeguard
+the honour and interest of the province in danger." Mr. de Boucherville
+was then called upon to form a ministry which would necessarily assume
+full responsibility for the action of the lieutenant-governor under the
+circumstances, and after some delay the new ministry went to the country
+and were sustained by a large majority. It is an interesting coincidence
+that the lieutenant-governor who dismissed the Mercier government and
+the prime minister who assumed full responsibility for the dismissal of
+the Mercier administration, were respectively attorney-general and
+premier in the cabinet who so deeply resented a similar action in 1878.
+But Mr. Letellier was then dead--notoriously as a result of the mental
+strain to which he had been subject in the constitutional crisis which
+wrecked his political career--and it was left only for his friends to
+feel that the whirligig of time brings its revenge even in political
+affairs[5].
+
+[5: Since this chapter was in type, the Dominion government have found
+it necessary to dismiss Mr. McInnes from the lieutenant-governorship of
+British Columbia, on the ground--as set forth in an order-in-council
+--that "his official conduct had been subversive of the principles of
+responsible government," and that his "usefulness was gone." While Mr.
+McInnes acted as head of the executive at Victoria, the political
+affairs of the province became chaotic. He dismissed ministries in the
+most summary manner. When the people were at last appealed to at a
+general election by Mr. Martin, his latest adviser, he was defeated by
+an overwhelming majority, and the Ottawa government came to the
+conclusion--to quote the order-in-council--"that the action of the
+lieutenant-governor in dismissing his ministers has not been approved by
+the people of British Columbia," and it was evident, "that the
+government of the province cannot be successfully carried on in the
+manner contemplated by the constitution under the administration of the
+present incumbent of the office." Consequently, Mr. McInnes was removed
+from office, and the Dominion government appointed in his place Sir
+Henri Joly de Lotbinière, who has had large experience in public affairs,
+and is noted for his amiability and discretion.]
+
+A very important controversy involving old issues arose in 1888 in
+connection with an act passed by the Mercier government of Quebec for
+the settlement of the Jesuits' estates, which, so long ago as 1800, had
+fallen into the hands of the British government, on the death of the
+last surviving member of the order in Canada, and had been, after some
+delay, applied to the promotion of public instruction in the province of
+Quebec. The bishops of the Roman Catholic Church always contended that
+the estates should have been vested in them "as the ordinaries of the
+various dioceses in which this property was situated." After
+confederation, the estates became the property of the government of
+Quebec and were entirely at the disposal of the legislature. The
+Jesuits in the meantime had become incorporated in the province, and
+made, as well as the bishops, a claim to the estates. Eventually, to
+settle the difficulty and strengthen himself with the ecclesiastics of
+the province, Mr. Mercier astutely passed a bill through the
+legislature, authorising the payment of $400,000 as compensation to the
+Jesuits in lieu of all the lands held by them prior to the conquest and
+subsequently confiscated by the crown. It was expressly set forth in the
+preamble of the act--and it was this proposition which offended the
+extreme Protestants--that the amount of compensation was to remain as a
+special deposit until the Pope had made known his wishes respecting the
+distribution. Some time later the Pope divided the money among the
+Jesuits, the archbishops and bishops of the province, and Laval
+University. The whole matter came before the Dominion house of commons
+in 1888, when a resolution was proposed to the effect that the
+government should have at once disallowed the act as beyond the power of
+the legislature, because, among other reasons, "it recognizes the
+usurpation of a right by a foreign authority, namely his Holiness the
+Pope, to claim that his consent was necessary to dispose of and
+appropriate the public funds of a province." The very large vote in
+support of the action of the government-188 against 13-was chiefly
+influenced by the conviction that, to quote the minute of council, "the
+subject-matter of the act was one of provincial concern, only having
+relation to a fiscal matter entirely within the control of the
+legislature of Quebec." The best authorities agree in the wisdom of not
+interfering with provincial legislation except in cases where there is
+an indisputable invasion of Dominion jurisdiction or where the vital
+interests of Canada as a whole may imperatively call for such
+interference.
+
+In March, 1885, Canada was startled by the news that the half-breeds of
+the Saskatchewan district in the North-west had risen in rebellion
+against the authority of the Dominion government. It is difficult to
+explain clearly the actual causes of an uprising which, in all
+probability, would never have occurred had it not been for the fact that
+Riel had been brought back from Montana by his countrymen to assist them
+in obtaining a redress of certain grievances. This little insurrection
+originated in the Roman Catholic mission of St. Laurent, situated
+between the north and south branches of the Saskatchewan River, and
+contiguous to the British settlement of Prince Albert. Within the limits
+of this mission there was a considerable number of half-breeds, who had
+for the most part migrated from Manitoba after selling the "scrip[6]"
+for lands generously granted to them after the restoration of order in
+1870 to the Red River settlements. Government surveyors had been busily
+engaged for some time in laying out the Saskatchewan country in order to
+keep pace with the rapidly increasing settlement. When they came to the
+mission of St. Laurent they were met with the same distrust that had
+done so much harm in 1870. The half-breeds feared that the system of
+square blocks followed by the surveyors would seriously interfere with
+the location of the farms on which they had "squatted" in accordance
+with the old French system of deep lots with a narrow frontage on the
+banks of the rivers. The difficulties arising out of these diverse
+systems of surveys caused a considerable delay in the issue of patents
+for lands, and dissatisfied the settlers who were anxious to know what
+land their titles covered. The half-breeds not only contended that their
+surveys should be respected, but that they should be also allowed scrip
+for two hundred and forty acres of land, as had been done in the case of
+their compatriots in Manitoba. Many of the Saskatchewan settlers had
+actually received this scrip before they left the province, but
+nevertheless they hoped to obtain it once more from the government, and
+to sell it with their usual improvidence to the first speculators who
+offered them some ready money.
+
+[6: A certificate from the government that a certain person is entitled
+to receive a patent from the crown for a number of acres of the public
+lands--a certificate legally transferable to another person by the
+original holder.]
+
+The delay of the government in issuing patents and scrip and the system
+of surveys were no doubt the chief grievances which enabled Riel and
+Dumont--the latter a resident of Batoche--to excite the half-breeds
+against the Dominion authorities at Ottawa. When a commission was
+actually appointed by the government in January, 1885, to allot scrip to
+those who were entitled to receive it, the half-breeds were actually
+ready for a revolt under the malign influence of Riel and his
+associates. Riel believed for some time after his return in 1884 that he
+could use the agitation among his easily deluded countrymen for his own
+selfish purposes. It is an indisputable fact that he made an offer to
+the Dominion government to leave the North-west if they would pay him a
+considerable sum of money. When he found that there was no likelihood of
+Sir John Macdonald repeating the mistake which he had made at the end of
+the first rebellion, Riel steadily fomented the agitation among the
+half-breeds, who were easily persuaded to believe that a repetition of
+the disturbances of 1870 would obtain them a redress of any grievances
+they might have. It is understood that one of the causes that aggravated
+the agitation at its inception was the belief entertained by some white
+settlers of Prince Albert that they could use the disaffection among the
+half-breeds for the purpose of repeating the early history of Manitoba,
+and forcing the Dominion government to establish a new province in the
+Saskatchewan country, though its entire population at that time would
+not have exceeded ten thousand persons, of whom a large proportion were
+half-breeds. Riel for a time skilfully made these people believe that he
+would be a ductile instrument in their hands, but when his own plans
+were ripe for execution he assumed despotic control of the whole
+movement and formed a provisional government in which he and his
+half-breed associates were dominant, and the white conspirators of
+Prince Albert were entirely ignored. The loyal people of Prince Albert,
+who had always disapproved of the agitation, as well as the priests of
+the mission, who had invariably advised their flock to use only peaceful
+and constitutional methods of redress, were at last openly set at
+defiance and insulted by Riel and his associates. The revolt broke out
+on the 25th March, 1885, when the half-breeds took forcible possession
+of the government stores, and made prisoners of some traders at Duck
+Lake. A small force of Mounted Police under the command of
+Superintendent Crozier was defeated near the same place by Dumont, and
+the former only saved his men from destruction by a skilful retreat to
+Fort Carleton. The half-breed leaders circulated the news of this
+victory over the dreaded troops of the government among the Indian bands
+of the Saskatchewan, a number of whom immediately went on the war-path.
+Fort Carleton had to be given up by the mounted police, who retired to
+Prince Albert, the key of the district. The town of Battleford was
+besieged by the Indians, but they were successfully kept in check for
+weeks until the place was relieved. Fort Pitt was evacuated by Inspector
+Dickens, a son of the great novelist, who succeeded in taking his little
+force of police into Battleford. Two French missionaries and several
+white men were ruthlessly murdered at Frog Lake by a band of Crees, and
+two women were dragged from the bodies of their husbands and carried
+away to the camp of Big Bear. Happily for them some tender-hearted
+half-breeds purchased them from the Indians and kept them in safety
+until they were released at the close of the disturbances.
+
+The heart of Canada was now deeply stirred and responded with great
+heartiness to the call of the government for troops to restore order to
+the distracted settlements. The minister of militia, Mr. Adolphe
+Caron--afterwards knighted for his services on this trying
+occasion--showed great energy in the management of his department.
+Between four and five thousand men were soon on the march for the
+territories under Major-General Middleton, the English officer then in
+command of the Canadian militia. Happily for the rapid transport of the
+troops the Canadian Pacific Railway was so far advanced that, with the
+exception of 72 miles, it afforded a continuous line of communication
+from Montreal to Qu'Appelle. The railway formed the base from which
+three military expeditions could be despatched to the most important
+points of the Saskatchewan country--one direct to Batoche, a second to
+Battleford, and a third for a flank movement to Fort Edmonton, where a
+descent could be made down the North Saskatchewan for the purpose of
+recapturing Fort Pitt and attacking the rebellious Indians under Big
+Bear. On the 24th of April General Middleton fought his first engagement
+with the half-breeds, who were skilfully concealed in rifle pits in the
+vicinity of Fish Creek, a small erratic tributary of the South
+Saskatchewan. Dumont for the moment succeeded in checking the advance of
+the Canadian forces, who fought with much bravery but were placed at a
+great disadvantage on account of Middleton not having taken sufficient
+precautions against a foe thoroughly acquainted with the country and
+cunningly hidden. The Canadian troops were soon able to continue their
+forward movement and won a decisive victory at Batoche, in which
+Colonels Williams, Straubenzie, and Grasett notably distinguished
+themselves. Riel was soon afterwards captured on the prairie, but Dumont
+succeeded in crossing the frontier of the United States. While Middleton
+was on his way to Batoche, Lieutenant-Colonel Otter of Toronto, an able
+soldier who was, fifteen years later, detached for active service in
+South Africa, was on the march for the relief of Battleford, and had on
+the first of May an encounter with a large band of Indians under
+Poundmaker on the banks of Cut Knife Creek, a small tributary of the
+Battle River. Though Otter did not win a victory, he showed Poundmaker
+the serious nature of the contest in which he was engaged against the
+Canadian government, and soon afterwards, when the Cree chief heard of
+the defeat of the half-breeds at Batoche, he surrendered
+unconditionally. Another expedition under the command of
+Lieutenant-Colonel Strange also relieved Fort Pitt; and Big Bear was
+forced to fly into the swampy fastnesses of the prairie wilderness, but
+was eventually captured near Fort Carleton by a force of Mounted Police.
+
+This second rebellion of the half-breeds lasted about three months, and
+cost the country upwards of five million dollars. Including the persons
+murdered at Frog Lake, the loyal population of Canada lost thirty-six
+valuable lives, among whom was Lieutenant-Colonel Williams, a gallant
+officer, and a member of the house of commons, who succumbed to a
+serious illness brought on by his exposure on the prairie. The
+casualties among the half-breeds were at least as large, if not greater.
+Five Indian chiefs suffered the extreme penalty of the law, while
+Poundmaker, Big Bear, and a number of others were imprisoned in the
+territories for life or for a term of years, according to the gravity of
+their complicity in the rebellion. Any hopes that Riel might have placed
+in the active sympathy of the French Canadian people of Quebec were soon
+dispelled. He was tried at Regina in July and sentenced to death,
+although the able counsel allotted to him by the government exhausted
+every available argument in his defence, even to the extent of setting
+up a plea of insanity, which the prisoner himself deeply resented. The
+most strenuous efforts were made by the French Canadians to force the
+government to reprieve him, but Sir John Macdonald was satisfied that
+the loyal sentiment of the great majority of the people of Canada
+demanded imperatively that the law should be vindicated. The French
+Canadian representatives in the cabinet, Langevin, Chapleau, and Caron,
+resisted courageously the storm of obloquy which their determination to
+support the prime minister raised against them; and Riel was duly
+executed on the 16th November. For some time after his death attempts
+were made to keep up the excitement which had so long existed in the
+province of Quebec on the question. The Dominion government was
+certainly weakened for a time in Quebec by its action in this matter,
+while Mr. Honoré Mercier skilfully used the Riel agitation to obtain
+control of the provincial government at the general election of 1886,
+but only to fall five years later, under circumstances which must always
+throw a shadow over the fame of a brilliant, but unsafe, political
+leader (see p. 247). The attempt to make political capital out of the
+matter in the Dominion parliament had no other result than to weaken the
+influence in Ontario of Mr. Edward Blake, the leader of the opposition
+since the resignation of Mr. Mackenzie in 1880. He was left without the
+support of the majority of the Liberal representatives of the province
+in the house of commons when he condemned the execution of Riel,
+principally on the ground that he was insane--a conclusion not at all
+justified by the report of the medical experts who had been chosen by
+the government to examine the condemned man previous to the execution.
+The energy with which this rebellion was repressed showed both the
+half-breeds and the Indians of the west the power of the Ottawa
+government. From that day to this order has prevailed in the western
+country, and grievances have been redressed as far as possible. The
+readiness with which the militia force of Canada rallied to the support
+of the government was conclusive evidence of the deep national sentiment
+that existed throughout the Dominion. In Ottawa, Port Hope, and Toronto
+monuments have been raised in memory of the brave men who gave up their
+lives for the Dominion, but probably the most touching memorial of this
+unfortunate episode in Canadian history is the rude cairn of stone which
+still stands among the wild flowers of the prairie in memory of the
+gallant fellows who were mown down by the unerring rifle shots of the
+half-breeds hidden in the ravines of Fish Creek.
+
+In 1885 parliament passed a general franchise law for the Dominion in
+place of the system--which had prevailed since 1867--of taking the
+electoral lists of the several provinces as the lists for elections to
+the house of commons. The opposition contested this measure with great
+persistency, but Sir John Macdonald pressed it to a successful
+conclusion, mainly on the ground that it was necessary in a country like
+Canada, composed of such diverse elements, to have for the Dominion
+uniformity of suffrage, based on a small property qualification, instead
+of having diverse systems of franchise--in some provinces, universal
+franchise, to which he and other Conservatives generally were strongly
+opposed.
+
+Between 1880 and 1894 Canada was called upon to mourn the loss of a
+number of her ablest and brightest statesmen--one of them the most
+notable in her political history. It was on a lovely May day of 1880
+that the eminent journalist and politician, George Brown, died from the
+effects of a bullet wound which he received at the hand of one Bennett,
+a printer, who had been discharged by the _Globe_ for drunkenness and
+incapacity. The Conservative party in 1888 suffered a great loss by the
+sudden decease of Mr. Thomas White, minister of the interior in the
+Macdonald ministry, who had been for the greater part of his life a
+prominent journalist, and had succeeded in winning a conspicuous and
+useful position in public affairs as a writer, speaker, and
+administrator. Three years later, the Dominion was startled by the sad
+announcement, on the 6th June, 1891, that the voice of the great prime
+minister, Sir John Macdonald, who had so long controlled the affairs of
+Canada, would never more be heard in that federal parliament of which he
+had been one of the fathers. All classes of Canadians vied with one
+another in paying a tribute of affection and respect to one who had been
+in every sense a true Canadian. Men forgot for the moment his mistakes
+and weaknesses, the mistakes of the politician and the weaknesses of
+humanity, "only to remember"--to quote the eloquent tribute paid to him
+by Mr. Laurier, then leader of the opposition--"that his actions always
+displayed great originality of view, unbounded fertility of resources, a
+high level of intellectual conception, and above all, a far-reaching
+vision beyond the event of the day, and still higher, permeating the
+whole, a broad patriotism, a devotion to Canada's welfare, Canada's
+advancement, and Canada's glory." His obsequies were the most stately
+and solemn that were ever witnessed in the Dominion; his bust was
+subsequently unveiled in the crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral by the Earl
+of Rosebery, when prime minister of England; noble monuments were raised
+to his memory in the cities of Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal;
+and the Queen addressed a letter full of gracious sympathy to his widow
+and conferred on her the dignity of a peeress of the United Kingdom
+under the title of Baroness of Earnscliffe, as a mark of her Majesty's
+gratitude "for the devoted and faithful services which he rendered for
+so many years to his sovereign and his Dominion."
+
+Mr. Alexander Mackenzie, stonemason, journalist, and prime minister,
+died in April, 1892, a victim to the paralysis which had been steadily
+creeping for years over his enfeebled frame, and made him a pitiable
+spectacle as he sat like a Stoic in the front seats of the opposition,
+unable to speak or even to rise without the helping arm of some
+attentive friend. On the 30th October, 1893, Sir John Abbott, probably
+the ablest commercial lawyer in Canada, who had been premier of Canada
+since the death of Sir John Macdonald, followed his eminent predecessors
+to the grave, and was succeeded by Sir John Thompson, minister of
+justice in the Conservative government since September, 1885. A great
+misfortune again overtook the Conservative party on the 12th December,
+1894, when Sir John Thompson died in Windsor Castle, whither he had gone
+at her Majesty's request to take the oath of a privy councillor of
+England--high distinction conferred upon him in recognition of his
+services on the Bering Sea arbitration. Sir John Thompson was gifted
+with a rare judicial mind, and a remarkable capacity for the lucid
+expression of his thoughts, which captivated his hearers even when they
+were not convinced by arguments clothed in the choicest diction. His
+remains were brought across the Atlantic by a British frigate, and
+interred in his native city of Halifax with all the stately ceremony of
+a national funeral. The governor-general, Lord Stanley of Preston, now
+the Earl of Derby, called upon the senior privy councillor in the
+cabinet, Sir Mackenzie Bowell, to form a new ministry. He continued in
+office until April, 1896, when he retired in favour of Sir Charles
+Tupper, who resigned the position of high commissioner for Canada in
+England to enter public life as the recognised leader of the
+Liberal-Conservative party. This eminent Canadian had already reached
+the middle of the eighth decade of his life, but age had in no sense
+impaired the vigour or astuteness of his mental powers. He has continued
+ever since, as leader of the Liberal-Conservative party, to display
+remarkable activity in the discussion of political questions, not only
+as a leader of parliament, but on the public platform in every province
+of the Dominion.
+
+During the session of 1891 the political career of Sir Hector Langevin,
+the leader of the Liberal-Conservative party in French Canada, was
+seriously affected by certain facts disclosed before the committee of
+privileges and elections. This committee had been ordered by the house
+of commons to inquire into charges made by Mr. Israel Tarte against
+another member of the house, Mr. Thomas McGreevy, who was accused of
+having used his influence as a commissioner of the Quebec harbour, a
+government appointment, to obtain fraudulently from the department of
+public works, presided over by Sir Hector for many years, large
+government contracts in connection with the Quebec harbour and other
+works. The report of the majority of the committee found Mr. McGreevy
+guilty of fraudulent acts, and he was not only expelled from the house
+but was subsequently imprisoned in the Ottawa common gaol after his
+conviction on an indictment laid against him in the criminal court of
+Ontario. With respect to the complicity of the minister of public works
+in these frauds the committee reported that it was clear that, while the
+conspiracy had been rendered effective by reason of the confidence which
+Sir Hector Langevin placed in Mr. McGreevy and in the officers of the
+department, yet the evidence did not justify them in concluding that Sir
+Hector knew of the conspiracy or willingly lent himself to its objects.
+A minority of the committee, on the other hand, took the opposite view
+of the transactions, and claimed that the evidence showed the minister
+to be cognisant of the facts of the letting of the contracts, and that
+in certain specified cases he had been guilty of the violation of a
+public trust by allowing frauds to be perpetrated. The report of the
+majority was carried by a party vote, with the exception of two
+Conservative members who voted with the minority. Sir Hector Langevin
+had resigned his office in the government previous to the inquiry, and
+though he continued in the house for the remainder of its constitutional
+existence, he did not present himself for re-election in 1896 when
+parliament was dissolved.
+
+Unhappily it was not only in the department of public works that
+irregularities were discovered. A number of officials in several
+departments were proved before the committee of public accounts to have
+been guilty of carelessness or positive misconduct in the discharge of
+their duties, and the government was obliged, in the face of such
+disclosures, to dismiss or otherwise punish several persons in whom they
+had for years reposed too much confidence.
+
+On the 20th and 21st of June, 1893, a convention of the most prominent
+representative Liberals of the Dominion was held in the city of Ottawa;
+and Sir Oliver Mowat, the veteran premier of Ontario, was unanimously
+called upon to preside over this important assemblage. Resolutions were
+passed with great enthusiasm in support of tariff reform, a fair measure
+of reciprocal trade with the United States, a sale of public lands only
+to actual settlers upon reasonable terms of settlement, an honest and
+economical administration of government, the right of the house of
+commons to inquire into all matters of public expenditure and charges of
+misconduct against ministers, the reform of the senate, the submission
+of the question of prohibition to a vote of the people, and the repeal
+of the Dominion franchise act passed in 1885, as well as of the measure
+of 1892, altering the boundaries of the electoral districts and
+readjusting the representation in the house of commons. This convention
+may be considered the commencement of that vigorous political campaign,
+which ended so successfully for the Liberal party in the general
+election of 1896.
+
+In the summer of 1894 there was held in the city of Ottawa a conference
+of delegates from eight self-governing colonies in Australasia, South
+Africa, and America, who assembled for the express purpose of discussing
+questions which affected not merely their own peculiar interests, but
+touched most nearly the unity and development of the empire at large The
+imperial government was represented by the Earl of Jersey, who had been
+a governor of one of the Australian colonies. After very full discussion
+the conference passed resolutions in favour of the following measures:
+
+(1) Imperial legislation enabling the dependencies of the empire to
+enter into agreements of commercial reciprocity, including the power to
+make differential tariffs with Great Britain or with one another. (2)
+The removal of any restrictions in existing treaties between Great
+Britain and any foreign power, which prevent such agreements of
+commercial reciprocity. (3) A customs arrangement between Great Britain
+and her colonies by which trade within the empire might be placed on a
+more favourable footing than that which is carried on with foreign
+countries. (4) Improved steamship communication between Canada,
+Australasia, and Great Britain. (5) Telegraph communication by cable,
+free from foreign control, between Canada and Australia. These various
+resolutions were brought formally by the Earl of Jersey to the notice
+of the imperial government, which expressed the opinion, through the
+Marquess of Ripon, then secretary of state for the colonies, that the
+"general economic results" of the preferential trade recommended by the
+conference "would not be beneficial to the empire." Lord Ripon even
+questioned the desirability of denouncing at that time the treaties with
+Belgium and Germany--a subject which had engaged the attention of the
+Canadian parliament in 1892, when the government, of which Sir John
+Abbott was premier, passed an address to the Queen, requesting that
+immediate steps be taken to free Canada from treaty restrictions
+"incompatible with the rights and powers conferred by the British North
+America act of 1867 for the regulation of the trade and commerce of the
+Dominion." Any advantages which might be granted by Great Britain to
+either Belgium or the German Zollverein under these particular treaties,
+would also have to be extended to a number of other countries which had
+what is called the "favoured nations clause" in treaties with England.
+While these treaty stipulations with regard to import duties did not
+prevent differential treatment by the United Kingdom in favour of
+British colonies, or differential treatment by British colonies in
+favour of each other, they did prevent differential treatment by British
+colonies in favour of the United Kingdom. As we shall presently see,
+when I come to review the commercial policy of the new Dominion
+government three years later, the practical consequence of these
+treaties was actually to force Canada to give for some months not only
+to Germany and Belgium, but to a number of other countries, the same
+commercial privileges which they extended in 1897 to the parent state.
+
+Among the difficult questions, which have agitated the Dominion from
+time to time and perplexed both Conservative and Liberal politicians,
+are controversies connected with education. By the British North America
+act of 1867 the legislature of each province may exclusively make laws
+in relation to education, but at the same time protection is afforded
+to denominational or dissentient schools by giving authority to the
+Dominion government to disallow an act clearly infringing the rights or
+privileges of a religious minority, or to obtain remedial legislation
+from parliament itself according to the circumstances of the case. From
+1871 until 1875 the government of the Dominion was pressed by petitions
+from the Roman Catholic inhabitants of New Brunswick to disallow an act
+passed by the provincial legislature in relation to common schools on
+the ground that it was an infringement of certain rights which they
+enjoyed as a religious body at the time of confederation. The question
+not only came before the courts of New Brunswick and the Canadian house
+of commons, but was also submitted to the judicial committee of the
+imperial privy council; but only with the result of showing beyond
+question that the objectionable legislation was clearly within the
+jurisdiction of the legislature of New Brunswick, and could not be
+constitutionally disallowed by the Dominion government on the ground
+that it violated any right or privilege enjoyed by the Roman Catholics
+at the time of union. A solution of the question was, however,
+subsequently reached by an amicable arrangement between the Roman
+Catholics and Protestants, which has ever since worked most
+satisfactorily in that province.
+
+The Manitoba school question, which agitated the country from 1890 until
+1896, was one of great gravity on account of the issues involved. The
+history of the case shows that, prior to the formation of Manitoba in
+1870, there was not in the province any public system of education, but
+the several religious denominations had established such schools as they
+thought fit to maintain by means of funds voluntarily contributed by
+members of their own communion. In 1871 the legislature of Manitoba
+established an educational system distinctly denominational. In 1890
+this law was repealed, and the legislature established a system of
+strictly non-sectarian schools. The Roman Catholic minority of the
+province was deeply aggrieved at what they considered a violation of the
+rights and privileges which they enjoyed under the terms of union
+adopted in 1870. The first subsection of the twenty-second section of
+the act of 1870 set forth that the legislature of the province could not
+pass any law with regard to schools which might "prejudicially affect
+any right or privilege with respect to denominational schools which any
+class of persons have, by law or practice, in the province at the time
+of union." The dispute was brought before the courts of Canada, and
+finally before the judicial committee of the privy council, which
+decided that the legislation of 1890 was constitutional inasmuch as the
+only right or privilege which the Roman Catholics then possessed "by law
+or practice" was the right or privilege of establishing and maintaining
+for the use of members of their own church such schools as they pleased.
+The Roman Catholic minority then availed themselves of another provision
+of the twenty-second section of the Manitoba act, which allows an appeal
+to the governor-in-council "from any act or decision of the legislature
+of the province or of any provincial authority, affecting any right or
+privilege of the Protestant or Roman Catholic minority of the Queen's
+subjects in relation to education."
+
+The ultimate result of this reference was a judgment of the judicial
+committee to the effect that the appeal was well founded and that the
+governor-in-council had jurisdiction in the premises, but the committee
+added that "the particular course to be pursued must be determined by
+the authorities to whom it has been committed by the statute." The third
+subsection of the twenty-second section of the Manitoba act--a
+repetition of the provision of the British North America act with
+respect to denominational schools in the old provinces--provides not
+only for the action of the governor-in-council in case a remedy is not
+supplied by the proper provincial authority for the removal of a
+grievance on the part of a religious minority, but also for the making
+of "remedial laws" by the parliament of Canada for the "due execution"
+of the provision protecting denominational schools. In accordance with
+this provision Sir Mackenzie Bowell's government passed an
+order-in-council on the 21st March, 1895, calling upon the government of
+Manitoba to take the necessary measures to restore to the Roman Catholic
+minority such rights and privileges as were declared by the highest
+court of the empire to have been taken away from them. The Manitoba
+government not only refused to move in the matter but expressed its
+determination "to resist unitedly by every constitutional means any such
+attempt to interfere with their provincial autonomy." The result was the
+introduction of a remedial bill by Mr. Dickey, minister of justice, in
+the house of commons during the session of 1896; but it met from the
+outset very determined opposition during the most protracted
+sittings--one of them lasting continuously for a week--ever known in the
+history of the Canadian or any other legislature of the empire. On
+several divisions the bill was supported by majorities ranging from 24
+to 18--several French members of the opposition having voted for it and
+several Conservative Protestant members against its passage. The bill
+was introduced on the 11th February, and the motion for its second
+reading was made on the 3rd March, from which date it was debated
+continuously until progress was reported from a committee of the whole
+house on the 16th April, after the house had sat steadily from Monday
+afternoon at 3 o'clock until 2 o'clock on the following Thursday
+morning. It was then that Sir Charles Tupper, leader of the government
+in the house, announced that no further attempt would be made to press
+the bill that session. He stated that it was absolutely necessary to
+vote money for the urgent requirements of the public service and pass
+other important legislation during the single week that was left before
+parliament would be dissolved by the efflux of time under the
+constitutional law, which fixes the duration of the house of commons
+"for five years from the day of the return of the writs for choosing the
+house and no longer."
+
+In the general election of 1896 the Manitoba school question was an
+issue of great importance. From the commencement to the close of the
+controversy the opponents of denominational schools combined with the
+supporters of provincial rights to defeat the government which had so
+determinedly fought for what it considered to be the legal rights of the
+Roman Catholic minority of Manitoba. It had looked confidently to the
+support of the great majority of the French Canadians, but the result of
+the elections was most disappointing to the Conservative party. Whilst
+in the provinces, where the Protestants predominated, the Conservatives
+held their own to a larger extent than had been expected even by their
+sanguine friends, the French province gave a great majority to Mr.
+Launer, whose popularity among his countrymen triumphed over all
+influences, ecclesiastical and secular, that could be used in favour of
+denominational schools in Manitoba.
+
+The majority against Sir Charles Tupper was conclusive, and he did not
+attempt to meet parliament as the head of a government. Before his
+retirement from office, immediately after his defeat at the elections,
+he had some difference of opinion with the governor-general, the Earl of
+Aberdeen, who refused, in the exercise of his discretionary power, to
+sanction certain appointments to the senate and the judicial bench,
+which the prime minister justified by reference to English and Canadian
+precedents under similar conditions--notably of 1878 when Mr. Mackenzie
+resigned. Soon after the general election, and Lord Dufferin was
+governor-general, Sir Charles Tupper considered the subject of
+sufficient constitutional importance to bring it before the house of
+commons, where Sir Wilfrid Laurier, then premier, defended the course of
+the governor-general. The secretary of state for the colonies also
+approved in general terms of the principles which, as the
+governor-general explained in his despatches, had governed his action in
+this delicate matter.
+
+On Sir Charles Tapper's defeat at the elections, Mr. Laurier became
+first minister of a Liberal administration, in which positions were
+given to Sir Oliver Mowat, so long premier of Ontario, to Mr. Blair,
+premier of New Brunswick, to Mr. Fielding, premier of Nova Scotia, and
+eventually to Mr. Sifton, the astute attorney-general of Manitoba. Sir
+Richard Cartwright and Sir Louis Davies--to give the latter the title
+conferred on him in the Diamond Jubilee year--both of whom had been in
+the foremost rank of the Liberal party for many years, also took office
+in the new administration; but Mr. Mills, versed above most Canadian
+public men in political and constitutional knowledge, was not brought in
+until some time later, when Sir Oliver Mowat, the veteran minister of
+justice, was appointed to the lieutenant-governorship of Ontario. A
+notable acquisition was Mr. Tarte, who had acquired much influence in
+French Canada by his irrepressible energy, and who was placed over the
+department of public works.
+
+When the school question came to be discussed in 1897, during the first
+session of the new parliament, the premier explained to the house that,
+whilst he had always maintained "that the constitution of this country
+gave to this parliament and government the right and power to interfere
+with the school legislation of Manitoba, it was an extreme right and
+reserved power to be exercised only when other means had been
+exhausted." Believing then that "it was far better to obtain concessions
+by negotiation than by coercion," he had, as soon as he came into
+office, communicated with the Manitoba government on the subject, and
+had "as a result succeeded in making arrangements which gave the French
+Catholics of the province religious teaching in their schools and the
+protection of their language," under the conditions set forth in a
+statute expressly passed for the purpose by the legislature of
+Manitoba[7]. The premier at the same time admitted that "the settlement
+was not acceptable to certain dignitaries of the church to which he
+belonged"; but subsequently the Pope published an encyclical advising
+acceptance of the concessions made to the Manitoba Catholics, while
+claiming at the same time that these concessions were inadequate, and
+expressing the hope that full satisfaction would be obtained ere long
+from the Manitoba government. Since the arrangement of this compromise,
+no strenuous or effective effort has been made to revive the question as
+an element of political significance in party contests. Even in Manitoba
+itself, despite the defeat of the Greenway government, which was
+responsible for the Manitoba school act of 1890, and the coming into
+office of Mr. Hugh John Macdonald, the son of the great Conservative
+leader, there has been no sign of the least intention to depart from the
+legislation arranged by Sir Wilfrid Laurier in 1897 as, in his opinion,
+the best possible compromise under the difficult conditions surrounding
+a most embarrassing question.
+
+[7: This statute provides that religious teaching by a Roman Catholic
+priest, or other person duly authorised by him, shall take place at the
+close of the hours devoted to secular instruction; that a Roman Catholic
+teacher may be employed in every school in towns and cities where the
+average attendance of Roman Catholic children is forty or upwards, and
+in villages and rural districts where the attendance is twenty-five or
+upwards; and that French as well as English shall be taught in any
+school where ten pupils speak the French language.]
+
+In the autumn of 1898 Canada bade farewell with many expressions of
+regret to Lord and Lady Aberdeen, both of whom had won the affection and
+respect of the Canadian people by their earnest efforts to support every
+movement that might promote the social, intellectual and moral welfare
+of the people. Lord Aberdeen was the seventh governor-general appointed
+by the crown to administer public affairs since the union of the
+provinces in 1867. Lord Monck, who had the honour of initiating
+confederation, was succeeded by Sir John Young, who was afterwards
+raised to the peerage as Baron Lisgar--a just recognition of the
+admirable discretion and dignity with which he discharged the duties of
+his high position. His successor, the Earl of Dufferin, won the
+affection of the Canadian people by his grace of demeanour, and his
+Irish gift of eloquence, which he used in the spirit of the clever
+diplomatist to flatter the people of the country to their heart's
+content. The appointment of the Marquess of Lorne, now the Duke of
+Argyll, gave to Canada the honour of the presence of a Princess of the
+reigning family. He showed tact and discretion in some difficult
+political situations that arose during his administration, and succeeded
+above all his predecessors in stimulating the study of art, science and
+literature within the Dominion. The Marquess of Lansdowne and Lord
+Stanley of Preston--both inheritors of historic names, trained in the
+great school of English administration--also acquired the confidence and
+respect of the Canadian people. On the conclusion of Lord Aberdeen's
+term of office in 1898, he was succeeded by the Earl of Minto, who had
+been military secretary to the Marquess of Lansdowne, when
+governor-general, from the autumn of 1883 until the end of May, 1888,
+and had also acted as chief of staff to General Middleton during the
+North-west disturbances of 1885.
+
+Since its coming into office, the Laurier administration has been called
+upon to deal with many questions of Canadian as well as imperial
+concern. One of its first measures--to refer first to those of Canadian
+importance--was the repeal of the franchise act of 1885, which had been
+found so expensive in its operation that the Conservative government had
+for years taken no steps to prepare new electoral lists for the Dominion
+under its own law, but had allowed elections to be held on old lists
+which necessarily left out large numbers of persons entitled to vote. In
+accordance with the policy to which they had always pledged themselves
+as a party, the Liberal majority in parliament passed an act which
+returned to the electoral lists of the provinces. An attempt was also
+made in 1899 and 1900 to amend the redistribution acts of 1882 and 1892,
+and to restore so far as practicable the old county lines which had been
+deranged by those measures. The bill was noteworthy for the feature,
+novel in Canada, of leaving to the determination of a judicial
+commission the rearrangement of electoral divisions, but it was rejected
+in the senate on the ground that the British North America act provides
+only for the readjustment of the representation after the taking of each
+Decennial census, and that it is "a violation of the spirit of the act"
+to deal with the question until 1901, when the official figures of the
+whole population will be before parliament. The government was also
+called upon to arrange the details of a provisional government for the
+great arctic region of the Yukon, where remarkable gold discoveries were
+attracting a considerable population from all parts of the world. An
+attempt to build a short railway to facilitate communication with that
+wild and distant country was defeated in the senate by a large majority.
+The department of the interior has had necessarily to encounter many
+difficulties in the administration of the affairs of a country so many
+thousand miles distant. These difficulties have formed the subject of
+protracted debates in the house of commons and have led to involved
+political controversies which it would not be possible to explain
+satisfactorily within the limits of this chapter.
+
+In accordance with the policy laid down in 1897 by Mr. Fielding, the
+finance minister, when presenting the budget, the Laurier government has
+not deemed it prudent to make such radical changes in the protective or
+"National Policy" of the previous administration as might derange the
+business conditions of the Dominion, which had come to depend so
+intimately upon it in the course of seventeen years, but simply to amend
+and simplify it in certain particulars which would remove causes of
+friction between the importers and the customs authorities, and at the
+same time make it, as they stated, less burdensome in its operation. The
+question of reciprocal trade between Canada and the United States had
+for some time been disappearing in the background and was no longer a
+dominant feature of the commercial policy of the Liberal party as it had
+been until 1891, when its leaders were prepared under existing
+conditions to enter into the fullest trade arrangements possible with
+the country to the south. The illiberality of the tariff of the United
+States with respect to Canadian products had led the Canadian people to
+look to new markets, and especially to those of Great Britain, with whom
+they were desirous, under the influence of a steadily growing imperial
+spirit, to have the closest commercial relations practicable.
+Consequently the most important feature of the Laurier government's
+policy, since 1897, has been the preference given to British products in
+Canada--a preference which now allows a reduction in the tariff of
+33-1/3 per cent. on British imports compared with foreign goods. In
+their endeavour, however, to give a preference to British imports, the
+government was met at the outset by difficulties arising from the
+operation of the Belgian and German treaties; and after very full
+consultation with the imperial government, and a reference of the legal
+points involved to the imperial law officers of the crown, Canada was
+obliged to admit Belgian and German goods on the same terms as the
+imports of Great Britain, and also to concede similar advantages to
+twenty-two foreign countries which were by treaty entitled to any
+commercial privileges that Great Britain or her colonies might grant to
+a third power. Happily for Canada at this juncture the colonial
+secretary of state was Mr. Chamberlain, who was animated by aspirations
+for the strengthening of the relations between the parent state and her
+dependencies, and who immediately recognised the imperial significance
+of the voluntary action of the Canadian government. The result was the
+"denunciation" by the imperial authorities of the Belgian and German
+treaties, which consequently came to an end on the 31st July, 1898.
+Down to that date Canada was obliged to give to the other countries
+mentioned the preference which she had intentionally given to Great
+Britain alone, and at the same time to refund to importers the duties
+which had been collected in the interval from the countries in question.
+With the fall, however, of the Belgian and German treaties Canada was at
+last free to model her tariff with regard to imperial as well as
+Canadian interests. It was a fortunate coincidence that the government
+should have adopted this policy at a time when the whole British empire
+was celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of the accession of her Majesty
+Queen Victoria to the throne. In the magnificent demonstration of the
+unity and development of the empire that took place in London in June,
+1897, Canada was represented by her brilliant prime minister, who then
+became the Right Honourable Sir W. Laurier, G.C.M.G., and took a
+conspicuous place in the ceremonies that distinguished this memorable
+episode in British and colonial history.
+
+A few months later the relations between Canada and Great Britain were
+further strengthened by the reduction of letter postage throughout the
+empire--Australia excepted--largely through the instrumentality of Mr.
+Mulock, Canadian postmaster-general. The Canadian government and
+parliament also made urgent representations to the imperial authorities
+in favour of the immediate construction of a Pacific cable; and it may
+now be hoped that the pecuniary aid offered to this imperial enterprise
+by the British, Australasian and Canadian governments will secure its
+speedy accomplishment. I may add here that debates have taken place in
+the Canadian house of commons for several sessions on the desirability
+of obtaining preferential treatment in the British market for Canadian
+products The Conservative party, led by Sir Charles Tupper, have
+formulated their opinions in parliament by an emphatic declaration that
+"no measure of preference, which falls short of the complete realisation
+of such a policy, should be considered final or satisfactory." The
+Laurier government admits the desirability of such mutual trade
+preference, but at the same time it recognises the formidable
+difficulties that lie in the way of its realisation so long as Great
+Britain continues bound to free trade, and under these circumstances
+declares it the more politic and generous course to continue giving a
+special preference to British products with the hope that it may
+eventually bring about a change in public opinion in the parent state
+which will operate to the decided commercial or other advantage of the
+dependency.
+
+This chapter may appropriately close with a reference to the remarkable
+evidences of attachment to the empire that have been given by the
+Canadian people at the close of the nineteenth century. From the
+mountains of the rich province washed by the Pacific Sea, from the
+wheat-fields and ranches of the western prairies, from the valley of the
+great lakes and the St. Lawrence where French and English Canadians
+alike enjoy the blessings of British rule, from the banks of the St John
+where the United Empire Loyalists first made their homes, from the
+rugged coasts of Acadia and Cape Breton, from every part of the wide
+Dominion men volunteered with joyous alacrity to fight in South Africa
+in support of the unity of the empire. As I close these pages Canadians
+are fighting side by side with men from the parent Isles, from
+Australasia and from South Africa, and have shown that they are worthy
+descendants of the men who performed such gallant deeds on the ever
+memorable battlefields of Chateauguay, Chrystler's Farm, and Lundy's
+Lane. Not the least noteworthy feature of this significant event in the
+annals of Canada and the empire is the fact that a French Canadian
+premier has had the good fortune to give full expression to the dominant
+imperial sentiment of the people, and consequently to offer an
+additional guarantee for the union of the two races and the security of
+British interests on the continent of America.
+
+
+SECTION 4.--Political and social conditions of Canada under
+confederation.
+
+At the present time, a population of probably five million four hundred
+thousand souls inhabit a Dominion of seven regularly organised
+provinces, and of an immense fertile territory stretching from Manitoba
+to British Columbia. This Dominion embraces an area of 3,519,000 square
+miles, including its water surface, or very little less than the area of
+the United States with Alaska, and measures 3500 miles from east to
+west; and 1400 miles from north to south.
+
+No country in the world gives more conclusive evidences of substantial
+development and prosperity than the Dominion under the beneficial
+influences of federal union and the progressive measures of governments
+for many years. The total trade of the country has grown from over
+$131,000,000 in the first year of confederation to over $321,000,000 in
+1899, while the national revenue has risen during the same period from
+$14,000,000 to $47,000,000, and will probably be $50,000,000 in 1900.
+The railways, whose expansion so closely depends on the material
+conditions of the whole country, stretch for 17,250 miles compared with
+2278 miles in 1868; while the remarkable system of canals, which extend
+from the great lakes to Montreal, has been enlarged so as to give
+admirable facilities for the growing trade of the west. The natural
+resources of the country are inexhaustible, from the fisheries of Nova
+Scotia to the wheat-fields of the north-west, from the coal-mines of
+Cape Breton to the gold deposits of the dreary country through which the
+Yukon and its tributaries flow.
+
+No dangerous questions like slavery, or the expansion of the African
+race in the southern states, exist to complicate the political and
+social conditions of the confederation, and, although there is a large
+and increasing French Canadian element in the Dominion, its history so
+far need not create fear as to the future, except perhaps in the minds
+of gloomy pessimists. While this element naturally clings to its
+national language and institutions, yet, under the influence of a
+complete system of local self-government, it has always taken as active
+and earnest a part as the English element in establishing and
+strengthening the confederation. It has steadily grown in strength and
+prosperity under the generous and inspiring influence of British
+institutions, which have given full scope to the best attributes of a
+nationality crushed by the depressing conditions of French rule for a
+century and a half.
+
+The federal union gives expansion to the national energies of the whole
+Dominion, and at the same time affords every security to the local
+interests of each member of the federal compact. In all matters of
+Dominion concern, Canada is a free agent. While the Queen is still head
+of the executive authority, and can alone initiate treaties with foreign
+nations (that being an act of complete sovereignty), and while appeals
+are still open to the privy council of England from Canadian courts
+within certain limitations, it is an admitted principle that the
+Dominion is practically supreme in the exercise of all legislative
+rights and privileges granted by the imperial parliament,--rights and
+privileges set forth explicitly in the British North America act of
+1867,--so long as her legislative action does not conflict with the
+treaty obligations of the parent state, or with imperial legislation
+directly applicable to Canada with her own consent.
+
+The crown exercises a certain supervision over the affairs of the
+Dominion through a governor-general, who communicates directly with an
+imperial secretary of state; but in every matter directly affecting
+Canada--as for instance, in negotiations respecting the fisheries, the
+Bering Sea, and other matters considered by several conferences at
+Washington--the Canadian government is consulted and its statements are
+carefully considered, since they represent the sentiments and interests
+of the Canadian people, who, as citizens of the empire, are entitled to
+as much weight as if they lived in the British Isles.
+
+In the administration of Canadian affairs the governor-general is
+advised by a responsible council representing the majority of the house
+of commons. As in England, the Canadian cabinet, or ministry, is
+practically a committee of the dominant party in parliament and is
+governed by the rules, conventions and usages of parliamentary
+government which have grown up gradually in the parent state. Whenever
+it is necessary to form a ministry in Canada, its members are summoned
+by the governor-general to the privy council of Canada; another
+illustration of the desire of the Canadians to imitate the old
+institutions of England and copy her time-honoured procedure.
+
+The parliament of Canada consists of the Queen, the senate, and the
+house of commons. In the formation of the upper house, three
+geographical groups were arranged in the first instance, Ontario,
+Quebec, and the maritime provinces, and each group received a
+representation of twenty-four members. More recently other provinces
+have been admitted into the Dominion without reference to this
+arrangement, and now seventy-eight senators altogether may sit in
+parliament. The remarkably long tenure of power enjoyed by the
+Conservative party--twenty-five years from 1867--enabled it in the
+course of time to fill the upper house with a very large numerical
+majority of its own friends, and this fact, taken in connection with
+certain elements of weakness inherent in a chamber which is not elected
+by the people and has none of the ancient privileges or prestige of a
+house of lords, long associated with the names of great statesmen and
+the memorable events of English history, has created an agitation among
+the Liberal party for radical changes in its constitution which would
+bring it, in their opinion, more in harmony with the people's
+representatives in the popular branch of the general legislature. While
+some extremists would abolish the chamber, Sir Wilfrid Launer and other
+prominent Liberals recognise its necessity in our parliamentary system.
+In all probability death will ere long solve difficulties arising out
+of the political composition of the body, if the Liberal party remain in
+power.
+
+The house of commons, the great governing body of the Dominion, has been
+made, so far as circumstances will permit, a copy of the English house.
+Its members are not required to have a property qualification, and are
+elected by the votes of the electors of the several provinces where, in
+a majority of cases, universal suffrage, under limitations of
+citizenship and residence, prevails.
+
+In each province there is a lieutenant-governor, appointed by the
+Dominion government for five years, an executive council, and a
+legislature consisting of only one house, except in Nova Scotia and
+Quebec where a legislative council appointed by the crown still
+continues. The principles of responsible government exist in all the
+provinces, and practically in the North-west territory.
+
+In the enumeration of the legislative powers, respectively given to the
+Dominion and provincial legislatures, an effort was made to avoid the
+conflicts of jurisdiction that have so frequently arisen between the
+national and state governments of the United States. In the first place
+we have a recapitulation of those general or national powers that
+properly belong to the central authority, such as customs and excise
+duties, regulation of trade and commerce, militia and defence,
+post-office, banking and coinage, railways and public works "for the
+general advantage," navigation and shipping, naturalisation and aliens,
+fisheries, weights and measures, marriage and divorce, penitentiaries,
+criminal law, census and statistics. On the other hand, the provinces
+have retained control over municipal institutions, public lands, local
+works and undertakings, incorporation of companies with provincial
+objects, property and civil rights, administration of justice, and
+generally "all matters of a merely local and private nature in the
+province." The _residuary_ power rests with the general parliament of
+Canada.
+
+The parliament of Canada, in 1875, established a supreme court, or
+general court of appeal, for Canada, whose highest function is to decide
+questions as to the respective legislative powers of the Dominion and
+provincial parliaments, which are referred to it in due process of law
+by the subordinate courts of the provinces. The decisions of this court
+are already doing much to solve difficulties that impede the successful
+operation of the constitution. As a rule cases come before the supreme
+court on appeal from the lower courts, but the law regulating its powers
+provides that the governor in council may refer any matter to this court
+on which a question of constitutional jurisdiction has been raised. But
+the supreme court of Canada is not necessarily the court of last resort
+of Canada. The people have an inherent right as subjects of the Queen to
+appeal to the judicial committee of the privy council of the United
+Kingdom.
+
+But it is not only by means of the courts that a check is imposed upon
+hasty, or unconstitutional, legislation. The constitution provides that
+the governor-general may veto or reserve any bill passed by the two
+houses of parliament when it conflicts with imperial interests or
+imperial legislation. It is now understood that the reserve power of
+disallowance which her Majesty's government possesses under the law is
+sufficient to meet all possible cases. This sovereign power is never
+exercised except in the case of an act clearly in conflict with an
+imperial statute or in violation of a treaty affecting a foreign nation.
+The Dominion government also supervises all the provincial legislation
+and has in a few cases disallowed provincial acts. This power is
+exercised very carefully, and it is regarded with intense jealousy by
+the provincial governments, which have more than once attempted to set
+it at defiance. In practice it is found the wisest course to leave to
+the courts the decision in cases where doubts exist as to constitutional
+authority or jurisdiction.
+
+The organised districts of the North-west--Assiniboia, Alberta,
+Athabaska, and Saskatchewan--are governed by a lieutenant-governor
+appointed by the government of Canada and aided by a council chosen by
+himself from an assembly elected by the people under a very liberal
+franchise. These territories have also representatives in the two houses
+of the parliament of Canada. The Yukon territory in the far north-west,
+where rich discoveries of gold have attracted a large number of people
+within the past two years, is placed under a provisional government,
+composed of a commissioner and council appointed by the Dominion
+government[8], and acting under instructions given from time to time by
+the same authority or by the minister of the interior.
+
+[8: Since this sentence was in type the Dominion government has given
+effect to a provision of a law allowing the duly qualified electors of
+the Yukon to choose two members of the council.]
+
+The public service enjoys all the advantages that arise from permanency
+of tenure and appointment by the crown. It has on the whole been
+creditable to the country and remarkably free from political influences.
+The criminal law of England has prevailed in all the provinces since it
+was formerly introduced by the Quebec act of 1774. The civil law of the
+French regime, however, has continued to be the legal system in French
+Canada since the Quebec act, and has now obtained a hold in that
+province which insures its permanence as an institution closely allied
+with the dearest rights of the people. Its principles and maxims have
+been carefully collected and enacted in a code which is based on the
+famous code of Napoleon. In the other provinces and territories the
+common law of England forms the basis of jurisprudence on which a large
+body of Canadian statutory law has been built in the course of time.
+
+At the present time all the provinces, with the exception of Prince
+Edward Island, have an excellent municipal system, which enables every
+defined district, large or small, to carry on efficiently all those
+public improvements essential to the comfort, convenience and general
+necessities of the different communities that make up the province at
+large. Even in the territories of the north-west, every proper facility
+is given to the people in a populous district, or town, to organise a
+system equal to all their local requirements.
+
+Every Englishman will consider it an interesting and encouraging fact
+that the Canadian people, despite their neighbourhood to a prosperous
+federal commonwealth, should not even in the most critical and gloomy
+periods of their history have shown any disposition to mould their
+institutions directly on those of the United States and lay the
+foundation for future political union. Previous to 1840, which was the
+commencement of a new era in the political history of the provinces,
+there was a time when discontent prevailed throughout the Canadas, but
+not even then did any large body of the people threaten to sever the
+connection with the parent state. The Act of Confederation was framed
+under the direct influence of Sir John Macdonald and Sir George Cartier,
+and although one was an English Canadian and the other a French
+Canadian, neither yielded to the other in the desire to build up a
+Dominion on the basis of English institutions, in the closest possible
+connection with the mother country. While the question of union was
+under consideration it was English statesmen and writers alone who
+predicted that this new federation, with its great extent of territory,
+its abundant resources, and ambitious people, would eventually form a
+new nation independent of Great Britain. Canadian statesmen never spoke
+or wrote of separation, but regarded the constitutional change in their
+political condition as giving them greater weight and strength in the
+empire. The influence of British example on the Canadian Dominion can be
+seen throughout its governmental machinery, in the system of
+parliamentary government, in the constitution of the privy council and
+the houses of parliament, in an independent judiciary, in appointed
+officials of every class--in the provincial as well as Dominion
+system--in a permanent and non-political civil service, and in all
+elements of sound administration. During the thirty-three years that
+have passed since 1867, the attachment to England and her institutions
+has gained in strength, and it is clear that those predictions of
+Englishmen to which we have referred are completely falsified. On the
+contrary, the dominant sentiment is for strengthening the ties that have
+in some respects become weak in consequence of the enlargement of the
+political rights of the Dominion, which has assumed the position of a
+semi-independent power, since England now only retains her imperial
+sovereignty by declaring peace or war with foreign nations, by
+appointing a governor-general, by controlling colonial legislation
+through the Queen in council and the Queen in parliament--but not so as
+to diminish the rights of local self-government conceded to the
+Dominion--and by requiring that all treaties with foreign nations should
+be made through her own government, while recognising the right of the
+dependency to be consulted and directly represented on all occasions
+when its interests are immediately affected.
+
+In no respect have the Canadians followed the example of the United
+States, and made their executive entirely separate from the legislative
+authority. On the contrary, there is no institution which works more
+admirably in the federation--in the general as well as provincial
+governments--than the principle of making the ministry responsible to
+the popular branch of the legislature, and in that way keeping the
+executive and legislative departments in harmony with each other, and
+preventing that conflict of authorities which is a distinguishing
+feature of the very opposite system that prevails in the federal
+republic. If we review the amendments made of late years in the
+political constitutions of the States, and especially those ratified not
+long since in New York, we see in how many respects the Canadian system
+of government is superior to that of the republic. For instance, Canada
+has enjoyed for years, as results of responsible government, the secret
+ballot, stringent laws against bribery and corruption at all classes of
+elections, the registration of voters, strict naturalisation laws,
+infrequent political elections, separation of municipal from provincial
+or national contests, appointive and permanent officials in every branch
+of the civil service, a carefully devised code of private bill
+legislation, the printing of all public as well as private bills before
+their consideration by the legislative bodies; and yet all these
+essentials of safe administration and legislation are now only in part
+introduced by constitutional enactment in so powerful and progressive a
+state as New York.
+
+Of course, in the methods of party government we can see in Canada at
+times an attempt to follow the example of the United States, and to
+introduce the party machine with its professional politicians and all
+those influences that have degraded politics since the days of Jackson
+and Van Buren. Happily, so far, the people of Canada have shown
+themselves fully capable of removing those blots that show themselves
+from time to time on the body politic. Justice has soon seized those men
+who have betrayed their trust in the administration of public affairs.
+Although Canadians may, according to their political proclivities, find
+fault with some methods of governments and be carried away at times by
+political passion beyond the bounds of reason, it is encouraging to find
+that all are ready to admit the high character of the judiciary for
+learning, integrity and incorruptibility. The records of Canada do not
+present a single instance of the successful impeachment or removal of a
+judge for improper conduct on the bench since the days of responsible
+government; and the three or four petitions laid before parliament, in
+the course of a quarter of a century, asking for an investigation into
+vague charges against some judges, have never required a judgment of the
+house. Canadians have built wisely when, in the formation of their
+constitution, they followed the English plan of retaining an intimate
+and invaluable connection between the executive and legislative
+departments, and of keeping the judiciary practically independent of the
+other authorities of government. Not only the life and prosperity of the
+people, but the satisfactory working of the whole system of federal
+government rests more or less on the discretion and integrity of the
+judges. Canadians are satisfied that the peace and security of the whole
+Dominion do not more depend on the ability and patriotism of statesmen
+in the legislative halls than on that principle of the constitution,
+which places the judiciary in an exalted position among all the other
+departments of government, and makes law as far as possible the arbiter
+of their constitutional conflicts. All political systems are very
+imperfect at the best; legislatures are constantly subject to currents
+of popular prejudice and passion; statesmanship is too often weak and
+fluctuating, incapable of appreciating the true tendency of events, and
+too ready to yield to the force of present circumstances or dictates of
+expediency; but law, as worked out on English principles in all the
+dependencies of the empire and countries of English origin, as
+understood by Blackstone, Dicey, Story, Kent, and other great masters of
+constitutional and legal learning, gives the best possible guarantee for
+the security of institutions in a country of popular government.
+
+In an Appendix to this history I have given comparisons in parallel
+columns between the principal provisions of the federal constitutions of
+the Canadian Dominion, and the Australian Commonwealth. In studying
+carefully these two systems we must be impressed by the fact that the
+constitution of Canada appears more influenced by the spirit of English
+ideas than the constitution of Australia, which has copied some features
+of the fundamental law of the United States. In the preamble of the
+Canadian British North America act we find expressly stated "the desire
+of the Canadian provinces to be federally united into one Dominion under
+the crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with a
+constitution similar in principle to that of the United Kingdom," while
+the preamble of the Australian constitution contains only a bald
+statement of an agreement "to unite in one indissoluble federal
+Commonwealth under the crown," When we consider the use of
+"Commonwealth"--a word of republican significance to British ears--as
+well as the selection of "state" instead of "province," of "house of
+representatives" instead of "house of commons," of "executive council"
+instead of "privy council," we may well wonder why the Australians, all
+British by origin and aspiration, should have shown an inclination to
+deviate from the precedents established by the Canadian Dominion, which,
+though only partly English, resolved to carve the ancient historic names
+of the parent state on the very front of its political structure.
+
+As the several States of the Commonwealth have full control of their own
+constitutions, they may choose at any moment to elect their own
+governors as in the States of the American Union, instead of having them
+appointed by the crown as in Canada. We see also an imitation of the
+American constitution in the principle which allots to the central
+government only certain enumerated powers, and leaves the residuary
+power of legislation to the States. Again, while the act provides for a
+high and other federal courts, the members of which are to be appointed
+and removed as in Canada by the central government, the States are still
+to have full jurisdiction over the State courts as in the United States.
+The Canadian constitution, which gives to the Dominion exclusive control
+over the appointment and removal of the judges of all the superior
+courts, offers a positive guarantee against the popular election of
+judges in the provinces. It is not going too far to suppose that, with
+the progress of democratic ideas in Australia--a country inclined to
+political experiments--we may find the experience of the United States
+repeated, and see elective judges make their appearance when a wave of
+democracy has suddenly swept away all dictates of prudence and given
+unbridled licence to professional political managers only anxious for
+the success of party. In allowing the British Parliament to amend the
+Act of Union on an address of the Canadian parliament, we have yet
+another illustration of the desire of Canadians to respect the supremacy
+of the sovereign legislature of the empire. On the other hand, the
+Australians make themselves entirely independent of the action of the
+imperial parliament, which might be invaluable in some crisis affecting
+deeply the integrity and unity of the Commonwealth, and give full scope
+to the will of democracy expressed at the polls. In also limiting the
+right of appeal to the Queen in council--by giving to the high court the
+power to prevent appeals in constitutional disputes--the Australians
+have also to a serious degree weakened one of the most important ties
+that now bind them to the empire, and afford additional illustration of
+the inferiority of the Australian constitution, from an imperial point
+of view, compared with that of the Canadian Dominion, where a reference
+to the judicial committee of the privy council is highly valued.
+
+The Canadian people are displaying an intellectual activity commensurate
+with the expansion of their territory and their accumulation of wealth.
+The scientific, historical and political contributions of three decades,
+make up a considerable library which shows the growth of what may be
+called Canadian literature, since it deals chiefly with subjects
+essentially of Canadian interest. The attention that is now particularly
+devoted to the study and writing of history, and the collection of
+historical documents relating to the Dominion, prove clearly the
+national or thoroughly Canadian spirit that is already animating the
+cultured class of its people.
+
+Of the numerous historical works that have appeared since 1867 two only
+demand special mention in this short review. One of these is _A History
+of the days of Montcalm and Lévis_ by the Abbé Casgrain, who
+illustrates the studious and literary character of the professors of the
+great university which bears the name of the first bishop of Canada,
+Monseigneur Laval. A more elaborate general history of Canada, in ten
+octavo volumes, is that by Dr. Kingsford, whose life closed with his
+book. Whilst it shows much industry and conscientiousness on the part of
+the author, it fails too often to evoke our interest even when it deals
+with the striking and picturesque story of the French régime, since the
+author considered it his duty to be sober and prosaic when Parkman is
+bright and eloquent.
+
+A good estimate of the progress of literary culture in Canada can be
+formed from a careful perusal of the poems of Bliss Carman, Archibald
+Lampman, Charles G.W. Roberts, Wilfred Campbell, Duncan Campbell Scott
+and Frederick George Scott. The artistic finish of their verse and the
+originality of their conception entitle them fairly to claim a foremost
+place alongside American poets since Longfellow, Emerson, Whittier,
+Bryant and Lowell have disappeared. Pauline Johnson, who has Indian
+blood in her veins, Archbishop O'Brien of Halifax, Miss Machar, Ethelyn
+Weatherald, Charles Mair and several others might also be named to prove
+that poetry is not a lost art in Canada, despite its pressing prosaic
+and material needs.
+
+Dr. Louis Fréchette is a worthy successor of Crémazie and has won the
+distinction of having his best work crowned by the French Academy.
+French Canadian poetry, however, has been often purely imitative of
+French models like Musset and Gautier, both in style and sentiment, and
+consequently lacks strength and originality. Fréchette has all the
+finish of the French poets and, while it cannot be said that he has yet
+originated fresh thoughts, which are likely to live among even the
+people whom he has so often instructed and delighted, yet he has given
+us poems like that on the discovery of the Mississippi which prove that
+he is capable of even better things if he would seek inspiration from
+the sources of the deeply interesting history of his own country, or
+enter into the inner mysteries and social relations of his picturesque
+compatriots.
+
+The life of the French Canadian habitant has been admirably described in
+verse by Dr. Drummond, who has always lived among that class of the
+Canadian people and been a close observer of their national and personal
+characteristics. He is the only writer who has succeeded in giving a
+striking portraiture of life in the cabin, in the "shanty" (_chantier_),
+and on the river, where the French habitant, forester, and canoe-man can
+be seen to best advantage.
+
+But if Canada can point to some creditable achievements of recent years
+in history, poetry and essays, there is one department in which
+Canadians never won any marked success until recently, and that is in
+the novel or romance. Even Mr. Kirby's _Le Chien d'Or_ which recalls the
+closing days of the French régime--the days of the infamous Intendant
+Bigot who fattened on Canadian misery--does not show the finished art of
+the skilled novelist, though it has a certain crude vigour of its own,
+which has enabled it to live while so many other Canadian books have
+died. French Canada is even weaker in this particular, and this is the
+more surprising because there is abundance of material for the novelist
+or the writer of romance in her peculiar society and institutions. But
+this reproach has been removed by Mr. Gilbert Parker, now a resident in
+London, but a Canadian by birth, education and sympathies, who is
+animated by a laudable ambition of giving form and vitality to the
+abundant materials that exist in the Dominion for the true story-teller.
+His works show great skill in the use of historic matter, more than
+ordinary power in the construction of a plot, and, above all, a literary
+finish which is not equalled by any Canadian writer in the same field of
+effort. Other meritorious Canadian workers in romance are Mr. William
+McLennan, Mrs. Coates (Sarah Jeannette Duncan), and Miss Dougall, whose
+names are familiar to English readers.
+
+The name of Dr. Todd is well known throughout the British empire, and
+indeed wherever institutions of government are studied, as that of an
+author of most useful works on the English and Canadian constitutions.
+Sir William Dawson, for many years the energetic principal of McGill
+University, the scientific prominence of which is due largely to his
+mental bias, was the author of several geological books, written in a
+graceful and readable style. The scientific work of Canadians can be
+studied chiefly in the proceedings of English, American and Canadian
+societies, especially, of late years, in the transactions of the Royal
+Society of Canada, established over eighteen years ago by the Marquess
+of Lorne when governor-general of the Dominion. This successful
+association is composed of one hundred and twenty members who have
+written "memoirs of merit or rendered eminent services to literature or
+science."
+
+On the whole, there have been enough good poems, histories, and essays,
+written and published in Canada during the last four or five decades, to
+prove that there has been a steady intellectual growth on the part of
+the Canadian people, and that it has kept pace at all events with the
+mental growth in the pulpit, or in the legislative halls, where, of late
+years, a keen practical debating style has taken the place of the more
+rhetorical and studied oratory of old times. The intellectual faculties
+of Canadians only require larger opportunities for their exercise to
+bring forth rich fruit. The progress in the years to come will be much
+greater than that Canadians have yet shown, and necessarily so, with the
+wider distribution of wealth, the dissemination of a higher culture, and
+a greater confidence in their own mental strength, and in the
+opportunities that the country offers to pen and pencil. What is now
+wanted is the cultivation of a good style and artistic workmanship.
+
+Much of the daily literature of Canadians--indeed the chief literary
+aliment of large numbers--is the newspaper press, which illustrates
+necessarily the haste, pressure and superficiality of writings of that
+ephemeral class. Canadian journals, however, have not yet descended to
+the degraded sensationalism of New York papers, too many of which
+circulate in Canada to the public detriment. On the whole, the tone of
+the most ably conducted journals--the Toronto _Globe_, and the Montreal
+_Gazette_ notably--is quite on a level with the tone of debate in the
+legislative bodies of the country.
+
+Now, as in all times of Canada's history, political life claims many
+strong, keen and cultured intellects, though at the same time it is too
+manifest that the tendency of democratic conditions and heated party
+controversy is to prevent the most highly educated and sensitive
+organisations from venturing on the agitated and unsafe sea of political
+passion and competition. The speeches of Sir Wilfrid Laurier--the
+eloquent French Canadian premier, who in his mastery of the English
+tongue surpasses all his versatile compatriots--of Sir Charles Tupper,
+Mr. Foster and others who might be mentioned, recall the most brilliant
+period of parliamentary annals (1867--1873), when in the first
+parliament of the Dominion the most prominent men of the provinces were
+brought into public life, under the new conditions of federal union. The
+debating power of the provincial legislative bodies is excellent, and
+the chief defects are the great length and discursiveness of the
+speeches on local as well as on national questions. It is also admitted
+that of late years there has been a tendency to impair the dignity and
+to lower the tone of discussion.
+
+Many Canadians have devoted themselves to art since 1867, and some
+Englishmen will recognise the names of L.R. O'Brien, Robert Harris,
+J.W.L. Forster, Homer Watson, George Reid--the painter of "The
+Foreclosure of the Mortgage," which won great praise at the World's Fair
+of Chicago--John Hammond, F.A. Verner, Miss Bell, Miss Muntz, W.
+Brymner, all of whom are Canadians by birth and inspiration. The
+establishment of a Canadian Academy of Art by the Princess Louise, and
+of other art associations, has done a good deal to stimulate a taste
+for art, though the public encouragement of native artists is still very
+inadequate, when we consider the excellence already attained under great
+difficulties in a relatively new country, where the great mass of people
+has yet to be educated to a perception of the advantages of high
+artistic effort.
+
+Sculpture would be hardly known in Canada were it not for the work of
+the French Canadian Hebert, who is a product of the schools of Paris,
+and has given to the Dominion several admirable statues and monuments of
+its public men. While Canadian architecture has hitherto been generally
+wanting in originality of conception, the principal edifices of the
+provinces afford many good illustrations of effective adaptation of the
+best art of Europe. Among these may be mentioned the following:--the
+parliament and departmental buildings at Ottawa, admirable examples of
+Italian Gothic; the legislative buildings at Toronto, in the Romanesque
+style; the English cathedrals in Montreal and Fredericton, correct
+specimens of early English Gothic; the French parish church of
+Notre-Dame, in Montreal, attractive for its stately Gothic proportions;
+the university of Toronto, an admirable conception of Norman
+architecture; the Canadian Pacific railway station at Montreal and the
+Frontenac Hotel at Quebec, fine examples of the adaptation of old Norman
+architecture to modern necessities; the provincial buildings at
+Victoria, in British Columbia, the general design of which is
+Renaissance, rendered most effective by pearl-grey stone and several
+domes; the headquarters of the bank of Montreal, a fine example of the
+Corinthian order, and notable for the artistic effort to illustrate, on
+the walls of the interior, memorable scenes in Canadian history; the
+county and civic buildings of Toronto, an ambitious effort to reproduce
+the modern Romanesque, so much favoured by the eminent American
+architect, Richardson; Osgoode Hall, the seat of the great law courts of
+the province of Ontario, which in its general character recalls the
+architecture of the Italian Renaissance. Year by year we see additions
+to our public and private buildings, interesting from an artistic point
+of view, and illustrating the accumulating wealth of the country, as
+well as the growth of culture and taste among the governing classes.
+
+The universities, colleges, academies, and high schools, the public and
+common schools of the Dominion, illustrate the great desire of the
+governments and the people of the provinces to give the greatest
+possible facilities for the education of all classes at the smallest
+possible cost to individuals. At the present time there are between
+13,000 and 14,000 students attending 62 universities and colleges. The
+collegiate institutes and academies of the provinces also rank with the
+colleges as respects the advantages they give to young men and
+women. Science is especially prominent in McGill and Toronto
+Universities--which are the most largely attended--and the former
+affords a notable example of the munificence of the wealthy men of
+Montreal, in establishing chairs of science and otherwise advancing its
+educational usefulness. Laval University stands deservedly at the head
+of the Roman Catholic institutions of the continent, on account of its
+deeply interesting historic associations, and the scholarly attainments
+of its professors, several of whom have won fame in Canadian letters.
+Several universities give instructions in medicine and law, and Toronto
+has also a medical college for women. At the present time, at least
+one-fifth of the people of the Dominion is in attendance at the
+universities, colleges, public and private schools. The people of Canada
+contribute upwards of ten millions of dollars annually to the support of
+their educational establishments, in the shape of government grants,
+public taxes, or private fees. Ontario alone, in 1899, raised five
+millions and a half of dollars for the support of its public school
+system; and of this amount the people directly contributed ninety-one
+per cent, in the shape of taxes. On the other hand, the libraries of
+Canada are not numerous; and it is only in Ontario that there is a law
+providing for the establishment of such institutions by a vote of the
+taxpayers in the municipalities. In this province there are at least
+420 libraries, of which the majority are connected with mechanics'
+institutes, and are made public by statute. The weakness of the public
+school system--especially in Ontario--is the constant effort to teach a
+child a little of everything, and to make him a mere machine. The
+consequences are superficiality--a veneer of knowledge--and the loss of
+individuality.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+CANADA'S RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES AND HER INFLUENCE IN IMPERIAL
+COUNCILS (1783--1900).
+
+
+I have deemed it most convenient to reserve for the conclusion of this
+history a short review of the relations that have existed for more than
+a century between the provinces of the Dominion and the United States,
+whose diplomacy and legislation have had, and must always have, a
+considerable influence on the material and social conditions of the
+people of Canada.--an influence only subordinate to that exercised by
+the imperial state. I shall show that during the years when there was no
+confederation of Canada--when there were to the north and north-east of
+the United States only a number of isolated provinces, having few common
+sympathies or interests except their attachment to the crown and
+empire--the United States had too often its own way in controversial
+questions affecting the colonies which arose between England and the
+ambitious federal republic. On the other hand, with the territorial
+expansion of the provinces under one Dominion, with their political
+development, which has assumed even national attributes, with the steady
+growth of an imperial sentiment in the parent state, the old condition
+of things that too often made the provinces the shuttlecock of skilful
+American diplomacy has passed away. The statesmen of the Canadian
+federation are now consulted, and exercise almost as much influence as
+if they were members of the imperial councils in London.
+
+I shall naturally commence this review with a reference to the treaty of
+1783, which acknowledged the independence of the United States, fixed
+the boundaries between that country and British North America, and led
+to serious international disputes which lasted until the middle of the
+following century. Three of the ablest men in the United
+States--Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay--succeeded by their
+astuteness and persistency in extending their country's limits to the
+eastern bank of the Mississippi, despite the insidious efforts of
+Vergennes on the part of France to hem in the new nation between the
+Atlantic and the Appalachian Range. The comparative value set upon
+Canada during the preliminary negotiations may be easily deduced from
+the fact that Oswald, the English plenipotentiary, proposed to give up
+to the United States the south-western and most valuable part of the
+present province of Ontario, and to carry the north-eastern boundary up
+to the River St. John. The commissioners of the United States did not
+accept this suggestion. Their ultimate object--an object actually
+attained--was to make the St. Lawrence the common boundary between the
+two countries by following the centre of the river and the great lakes
+as far as the head of Lake Superior. The issue of negotiations so
+stupidly conducted by the British commissioner, was a treaty which gave
+an extremely vague definition of the boundary in the north-east between
+Maine and Nova Scotia--which until 1784 included New Brunswick--and
+displayed at the same time a striking example of geographical ignorance
+as to the north-west. The treaty specified that the boundary should pass
+from the head of Lake Superior through Long Lake to the north-west angle
+of the Lake of the Woods, and thence to the Mississippi, when, as a
+matter of fact there was no Long Lake, and the source of the Mississippi
+was actually a hundred miles or so to the south of the Lake of the
+Woods. This curious blunder in the north-west was only rectified in
+1842, when Lord Ashburton settled the difficulty by conceding to the
+United States an invaluable corner of British territory in the east (see
+below, p 299).
+
+[Illustration: INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY. AS FINALLY ESTABLISHED IN 1842 AT
+LAKE OF THE WOODS]
+
+The only practical advantage that the people of the provinces gained
+from the Treaty of Ghent, which closed the war of 1812--15, was an
+acknowledgment of the undoubted fishery rights of Great Britain and her
+dependencies in the territorial waters of British North America. In the
+treaty of 1783 the people of the United States obtained the "right" to
+fish on the Grand and other banks of Newfoundland, and in the Gulf of
+St. Lawrence and at "all other places in the sea, where the inhabitants
+of both countries used at any time heretofore to fish", but they were to
+have only "the liberty" of taking fish on the coasts of Newfoundland and
+also of "all other of his Britannic Majesty's dominions in America; and
+also of drying and curing fish in any of the unsettled bays, harbours,
+and creeks of Nova Scotia (then including New Brunswick), Magdalen
+Islands, and Labrador, so long as the same shall remain unsettled." In
+the one case, it will be seen, there was a recognised right, but in the
+other only a mere "liberty" or privilege extended to the fishermen of
+the United States. At the close of the war of 1812 the British
+government would not consent to renew the merely temporary liberties of
+1783, and the United States authorities acknowledged the soundness of
+the principle that any privileges extended to the republic in British
+territorial waters could only rest on "conventional stipulation." The
+convention of 1818 forms the legal basis of the rights, which Canadians
+have always maintained in the case of disputes between themselves and
+the United States as to the fisheries on their own coasts, bays, and
+harbours of Canada. It provides that the inhabitants of the United
+States shall have for ever the liberty to take, dry, and cure fish on
+certain parts of the coast of Newfoundland, on the Magdalen Islands and
+on the southern shores of Labrador, but they "renounce for ever any
+liberty, heretofore enjoyed" by them to take, dry, and cure fish, "on or
+within three marine miles of any of the coasts, bays or creeks or
+harbours of his Britannic Majesty's other dominions in America";
+provided, however, that the American fishermen shall be admitted to
+enter such bays and harbours, for the purpose of shelter, and of
+repairing damages therein, of purchasing wood, and of obtaining water,
+and "for no other purpose whatever."
+
+In April, 1817, the governments of Great Britain and the United States
+came to an important agreement which ensured the neutrality of the great
+lakes. It was agreed that the naval forces to be maintained upon these
+inland waters should be confined to the following vessels: on Lakes
+Champlain and Ontario to one vessel, on the Upper Lakes to two vessels,
+not exceeding in each case a hundred tons burden and armed with only one
+small cannon. Either nation had the right to bring the convention to a
+termination by a previous notice of six months. This agreement is still
+regarded by Great Britain and the United States to be in existence,
+since Mr. Secretary Seward formally withdrew the notice which was given
+for its abrogation in 1864, when the civil war was in progress and the
+relations between the two nations were considerably strained at times.
+
+The next international complication arose out of the seizure of the
+steamer _Caroline_, which was engaged in 1837 in carrying munitions of
+war between the United States and Navy Island, then occupied by a number
+of persons in the service of Mr. Mackenzie and other Canadian rebels. In
+1840 the authorities of New York arrested one Macleod on the charge of
+having murdered a man who was employed on the _Caroline_. The
+Washington government for some time evaded the whole question by
+throwing the responsibility on the state authorities and declaring that
+they could not interfere with a matter which was then within the
+jurisdiction of the state courts. The matter gave rise to much
+correspondence between the two governments, but happily for the peace of
+the two countries the American courts acquitted Macleod, as the evidence
+was clear that he had had nothing to do with the actual seizing of the
+_Caroline_; and the authorities at Washington soon afterwards
+acknowledged their responsibility in such affairs by passing an act
+directing that subjects of foreign powers, if taken into custody for
+acts done or committed under the authority of their own government, "the
+validity or effect whereof depends upon the law of nations, should be
+discharged." The dissatisfaction that had arisen in the United States on
+account of the cutting out of the _Caroline_ was removed in 1842, when
+Sir Robert Peel expressed regret that "some explanation and apology for
+the occurrence had not been previously made," and declared that it was
+"the opinion of candid and honourable men that the British officers who
+executed this transaction, and their government who approved it,
+intended no insult or disrespect to the sovereign authority of the
+United States[9]."
+
+[9: Hall's _Treatise on International Law_ (3rd ed.), pp. 311--313]
+
+In the course of time the question of the disputed boundary between
+Maine and New Brunswick assumed grave proportions. By the treaty of
+1783, the boundary was to be a line drawn from the source of the St.
+Croix, directly north to the highlands "which divide the rivers which
+fall into the Atlantic ocean from those which fall into the river St.
+Lawrence;" thence along the said highlands to the north-easternmost head
+of the Connecticut River; and the point at which the due north line was
+to cut the highlands was also designated as the north-west angle of Nova
+Scotia. The whole question was the subject of several commissions, and
+of one arbitration, from 1783 until 1842, when it was finally settled.
+Its history appears to be that of a series of blunders on the part of
+England from the beginning to the end. The first blunder occurred in
+1796 when the commissioners appointed to inquire into the question,
+declared that the Schoodic was the River St. Croix mentioned in the
+treaty. Instead, however, of following the main, or western, branch of
+the Schoodic to its source in the Schoodic Lakes, they went beyond
+their instructions and chose a northern tributary of the river, the
+Chiputnaticook, as the boundary, and actually placed a monument at its
+head as a basis for any future proceeding on the part of the two
+governments. The British government appear to have been very anxious at
+this time to settle the question, for they did not take exception to the
+arrangement made by the commissioners, but in 1798 declared the decision
+binding on both countries.
+
+Still this mistake might have been rectified had the British government
+in 1835 been sufficiently alive to British interests in America to have
+accepted a proposal made to them by President Jackson to ascertain the
+true north-western angle of Nova Scotia, or the exact position of the
+highlands, in accordance with certain well-understood rules in practical
+surveying which have been always considered obligatory in that
+continent. It was proposed by the United States to discard the due north
+line, to seek to the west of that line the undisputed highlands that
+divide the rivers which empty themselves into the River St. Lawrence
+from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean, to find the point in the
+'watershed' of these highlands nearest to the north line, and to trace a
+direct course from it to the monument already established. "If this
+principle had been adopted," says Sir Sandford Fleming, the eminent
+Canadian engineer, "a straight line would have been drawn from the
+monument at the head of the Chiputnaticook to a point which could have
+been established with precision in the 'watershed' of the highlands
+which separate the sources of the Chaudière from those of the
+Penobscot,--this being the most easterly point in the only highlands
+agreeing beyond dispute with the treaty. The point is found a little to
+the north and west of the intersection of the 70th meridian west
+longitude and the 46th parallel of north latitude." Had this proposal
+been accepted England would have obtained without further difficulty
+eleven thousand square miles, or the combined areas of Massachusetts
+and Connecticut.
+
+[Illustration: MAP OF THE NORTH-EASTERN BOUNDARY AS ESTABLISHED IN
+1842.]
+
+For several years after this settlement was suggested a most serious
+conflict went on between New Brunswick and the state of Maine. The
+authorities of Maine paid no respect whatever to the negotiations that
+were still in progress between the governments of Great Britain and the
+United States, but actually took possession of the disputed territory,
+gave titles for lands and constructed forts and roads within its limits.
+Collisions occurred between the settlers and the intruders, and
+considerable property was destroyed. The legislature of Maine voted
+$800,000 for the defence of the state, and the legislature of Nova
+Scotia amid great enthusiasm made a grant of $100,000 to assist New
+Brunswick in support of her rights. Happily the efforts of the United
+States and British governments prevented the quarrel between the
+province and the state from assuming international proportions; and in
+1842 Mr. Alexander Baring, afterwards Lord Ashburton, was authorised by
+the ministry of the Earl of Aberdeen to negotiate with Mr. Daniel
+Webster, then secretary of state in the American cabinet, for the
+settlement of matters in dispute between the two nations. The result was
+the Ashburton Treaty, which, in fixing the north-eastern boundary
+between British North America and the United States, started due north
+from the monument incorrectly placed at the head of the Chiputnaticook
+instead of the source of the true St. Croix, and consequently at the
+very outset gave up a strip of land extending over some two degrees of
+latitude, and embracing some 3000 square miles of British territory. By
+consenting to carry the line due north from the misplaced monument Lord
+Ashburton ignored the other natural landmark set forth in the treaty:
+"the line of headlands which divide the waters flowing into the Atlantic
+from those which flow into the St. Lawrence." A most erratic boundary
+was established along the St. John, which flows neither into the St.
+Lawrence nor the Atlantic, but into the Bay of Fundy, far east of the
+St. Croix. In later years the historian Sparks found in Paris a map on
+which Franklin himself had marked in December, 1782, with a heavy red
+line, what was then considered the true natural boundary between the two
+countries. Mr. Sparks admitted in sending the map that it conceded more
+than Great Britain actually claimed, and that "the line from the St.
+Croix to the Canadian highlands is intended to exclude [from the
+territory of the United States] all the waters running into the St.
+John." Canadians have always believed with reason that that portion of
+the present state of Maine, through which the Aroostook and other
+tributaries of the St. John flow, is actually British territory. If we
+look at the map of Canada we see that the state of Maine now presses
+like a huge wedge into the provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec as a
+sequence of the unfortunate mistakes of 1796, 1835, and 1842, on the
+part of England and her agents. In these later times a "Canadian short
+line" railway has been forced to go through Maine in order to connect
+Montreal with St. John, and other places in the maritime provinces. Had
+the true St. Croix been chosen in 1796, or President Jackson's offer
+accepted in 1835, this line could go continuously through Canadian
+territory, and be entirely controlled by Canadian legislation.
+
+Another boundary question was the subject of much heated controversy
+between England and the United States for more than a quarter of a
+century, and in 1845 brought the two countries very close to war. In
+1819 the United States obtained from Spain a cession of all her rights
+and claims north of latitude forty-two, or the southern boundary of the
+present state of Oregon. By that time the ambition of the United States
+was not content with the Mississippi valley, of which she had obtained
+full control by the cession of the Spanish claims and by the Louisiana
+purchase of 1803, but looked to the Pacific coast, where she made
+pretensions to a territory stretching from 42° to 54° 40' north
+latitude, or a territory four times the area of Great Britain and
+Ireland, or of the present province of Ontario. The claims of the two
+nations to this vast region rested on very contradictory statements with
+respect to priority of discovery, and that occupation and settlement
+which should, within reasonable limits, follow discovery; and as the
+whole question was one of great perplexity, it should have been settled,
+as suggested by England, on principles of compromise. But the people of
+the United States, conscious at last of the importance of the territory,
+began to bring their influence to bear on the politicians, until by 1845
+the Democratic party declared 'for 54° 40' or fight,' Mr. Crittenden
+announced that "war might now be looked upon as almost inevitable."
+Happily President Polk and congress came to more pacific conclusions
+after a good deal of warlike talk; and the result was a treaty (1846) by
+which England accepted the line 49 degrees to the Pacific coast, and
+obtained the whole of Vancouver Island, which for a while seemed likely
+to be divided with the United States. But Vancouver Island was by no
+means a compensation for what England gave up, for, on the continent,
+she yielded all she had contended for since 1824, when she first
+proposed the Columbia River as a basis of division.
+
+But even then the question of boundary was not finally settled by this
+great victory which had been won for the United States by the
+persistency of her statesmen. The treaty of 1846 continued the line of
+boundary westward along "the 49th parallel of north latitude to the
+middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver
+Island, and thence southerly through the middle of the said channel and
+of Fuca's straits to the Pacific Ocean" Anyone reading this clause for
+the first time, without reference to the contentions that were raised
+afterwards, would certainly interpret it to mean the whole body of water
+that separates the continent from Vancouver,--such a channel, in fact,
+as divides England from France; but it appears there are a number of
+small channels separating the islands which lie in the great channel in
+question, and the clever diplomatists at Washington immediately claimed
+the Canal de Haro, the widest and deepest, as the canal of the treaty.
+Instead of at once taking the ground that the whole body of water was
+really in question, the English government claimed another channel,
+Rosario Strait, inferior in some respects, but the one most generally,
+and indeed only, used at the time by their vessels. The importance of
+this difference of opinion lay chiefly in the fact, that the Haro gave
+San Juan and other small islands, valuable for defensive purposes, to
+the United States, while the Rosario left them to England. Then, after
+much correspondence, the British government, as a compromise, offered
+the middle channel, or Douglas, which would still retain San Juan. If
+they had always adhered to the Douglas--which appears to answer the
+conditions of the treaty, since it lies practically in the middle of the
+great channel--their position would have been much stronger than it was
+when they came back to the Rosario. The British representatives at the
+Washington conference of 1871 suggested the reference of the question to
+arbitration, but the United States' commissioners, aware of their
+vantage ground, would consent to no other arrangement than to leave to
+the decision of the Emperor of Germany the question whether the Haro or
+the Rosario channel best accorded with the treaty; and the Emperor
+decided in favour of the United States. However, with the possession of
+Vancouver in its entirety, Canada can still be grateful; and San Juan is
+now only remembered as an episode of skilful American diplomacy. The
+same may be said of another acquisition of the republic--insignificant
+from the point of view of territorial area, but still illustrative of
+the methods which have won all the great districts we have named
+--Rouse's Point at the outlet of Lake Champlain, "of which an exact
+survey would have deprived" the United States, according to Mr. Schouler
+in his excellent history.
+
+During this period the fishery question again assumed considerable
+importance. The government at Washington raised the contention that the
+three miles' limit, to which their fishermen could be confined by the
+convention of 1818, should follow the sinuosities of the coasts,
+including the bays, the object being to obtain access to the valuable
+mackerel fisheries of the Bay of Chaleurs and other waters claimed to be
+exclusively within the territorial jurisdiction of the maritime
+provinces. The imperial government sustained the contention of the
+provinces--a contention practically supported by American authorities in
+the case of the Delaware, Chesapeake, and other bays on the coast of the
+United States--that the three miles' limit should be measured from a
+line drawn from headlands of all bays, harbours and creeks. In the case
+of the Bay of Fundy, however, the imperial government allowed a
+departure from this general principle, when it was urged by the
+Washington government that one of its headlands was in the territory of
+the United States, and that it was an arm of the sea rather than a bay.
+The result was that foreign fishing vessels were only shut out from the
+bays on the coasts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick within the Bay of
+Fundy. All these questions were, however, placed in abeyance by the
+reciprocity treaty of 1854 (see p. 96), which lasted until 1866, when it
+was repealed by the action of the United States, in accordance with the
+provision bringing it to a conclusion after one year's notice from one
+of the parties interested.
+
+The causes which led in 1866 to the repeal of a treaty so advantageous
+to the United States have been long well understood. The commercial
+classes in the eastern and western states were, on the whole, favourable
+to an enlargement of the treaty; but the real cause of its repeal was
+the prejudice in the northern states against Canada on account of its
+supposed sympathy for the confederate states during the Secession war. A
+large body of men in the north believed that the repeal of the treaty
+would sooner or later force Canada to join the republic; and a bill was
+actually introduced in the house of representatives providing for her
+admission--a mere political straw, it is true, but showing the current
+of opinion in some quarters in those days. When we review the history of
+those times, and consider the difficult position in which Canada was
+placed, it is remarkable how honourably her government discharged its
+duties of a neutral between the belligerents. In the case of the raid of
+some confederate refugees in Canada on the St. Alban's bank in Vermont,
+the Canadian authorities brought the culprits to trial and even paid a
+large sum of money in acknowledgment of an alleged responsibility when
+some of the stolen notes were returned to the robbers on their release
+on technical grounds by a Montreal magistrate. It is well, too, to
+remember how large a number of Canadians fought in the union
+armies--twenty against one who served in the south. No doubt the
+position of Canada was made more difficult at that critical time by the
+fact that she was a colony of Great Britain, against whom both north and
+south entertained bitter feelings by the close of the war; the former
+mainly on account of the escape of confederate cruisers from English
+ports, and the latter because she did not receive active support from
+England. The north had also been much excited by the promptness with
+which Lord Palmerston had sent troops to Canada when Mason and Slidell
+were seized on an English packet on the high seas, and by the bold tone
+held by some Canadian papers when it was doubtful if the prisoners would
+be released.
+
+Before and since the union, the government of Canada has made repeated
+efforts to renew a commercial treaty with the government at Washington.
+In 1865 and 1866, Canadian delegates were prepared to make large
+concessions, but were reluctantly brought to the conclusion that the
+committee of ways and means in congress "no longer desired trade between
+the two countries to be carried on upon the principle of reciprocity."
+In 1866 Sir John Rose, while minister of finance, made an effort in the
+same direction, but he was met by the obstinate refusal of the
+republican party, then as always, highly protective.
+
+All this while the fishery question was assuming year by year a form
+increasingly irritating to the two countries. The headland question was
+the principal difficulty, and the British government, in order to
+conciliate the United States at a time when the Alabama question was a
+subject of anxiety, induced the Canadian government to agree, very
+reluctantly it must be admitted, to shut out foreign fishing vessels
+only from bays less than six miles in width at their entrances. In this,
+however, as in all other matters, the Canadian authorities acknowledged
+their duty to yield to the considerations of imperial interests, and
+acceded to the wishes of the imperial government in almost every
+respect, except actually surrendering their territorial rights in the
+fisheries. They issued licenses to fish, at low rates, for several
+years, only to find eventually that American fishermen did not think it
+worth while to buy these permits when they could evade the regulations
+with little difficulty. The correspondence went on for several years,
+and eventually led to the Washington conference or commission of 1871,
+which was primarily intended to settle the fishery question, but which
+actually gave the precedence to the Alabama difficulty--then of most
+concern in the opinion of the London and Washington governments. The
+representatives of the United States would not consider a proposition
+for another reciprocity treaty on the basis of that of 1854. The
+questions arising out of the convention of 1818 were not settled by the
+commission, but were practically laid aside for ten years by an
+arrangement providing for the free admission of salt-water fish to the
+United States, on the condition of allowing the fishing vessels of that
+country free access to the Canadian fisheries. The free navigation of
+the St. Lawrence was conceded to the United States in return for the
+free use of Lake Michigan and of certain rivers in Alaska. The question
+of giving to the vessels of the Canadian provinces the privilege of
+trading on the coast of the United States--a privilege persistently
+demanded for years by Nova Scotia--was not considered; and while the
+canals of Canada were opened up to the United States on the most liberal
+terms, the Washington government contented itself with a barren promise
+in the treaty to use its influence with the authorities of the states to
+open up their artificial waterways to Canadians. The Fenian claims were
+abruptly laid aside, although, if the principle of "due diligence,"
+which was laid down in the new rules for the settlement of the Alabama
+difficulty had been applied to this question, the government of the
+United States would have been mulcted in heavy damages. In this case it
+would be difficult to find a more typical instance of responsibility
+assumed by a state through the permission of open and notorious acts,
+and by way of complicity after the acts; however, as in many other
+negotiations with the United States, Canada felt she must make
+sacrifices for the empire, whose government wished all causes of
+irritation between England and the United States removed as far as
+possible by the treaty. One important feature of this commission was the
+presence, for the first time in the history of treaties, of a Canadian
+statesman. The astute prime minister of the Dominion, Sir John
+Macdonald, was chosen as one of the English high commissioners: and
+though he was necessarily tied down by the instructions of the imperial
+state, his knowledge of Canadian questions was of great service to
+Canada during the conference. If the treaty finally proved more
+favourable to the Dominion than it at first appeared to be, it was owing
+largely to the clause which provided for a reference to a later
+commission of the question, whether the United States would not have to
+pay the Canadians a sum of money, as the value of their fisheries over
+and above any concessions made them in the treaty. The result of this
+commission was a payment of five millions and a half of dollars to
+Canada and Newfoundland, to the infinite disappointment of the
+politicians of the United States, who had been long accustomed to have
+the best in all the bargains with their neighbours. Nothing shows more
+clearly the measure of the local self-government at last won by Canada
+and the importance of her position in the empire, than the fact that the
+English government recognised the right of the Dominion government to
+name the commissioner who represented Canada on an arbitration which
+decided a question of such deep importance to her interests.
+
+The clauses of the Washington treaty relating to the fisheries and to
+trade with Canada lasted for fourteen years, and then were repealed by
+the action of the United States government. In the year 1874 the
+Mackenzie ministry attempted, through Mr. George Brown, to negotiate a
+new reciprocity treaty, but met with a persistent hostility from leading
+men in congress. The relations between Canada and the United States
+again assumed a phase of great uncertainty. Canada from 1885 adhered to
+the letter of the convention of 1818, and allowed no fishing vessels to
+fish within the three miles limit, to transship cargoes of fish in her
+ports, or to enter them for any purpose except for shelter, wood, water,
+and repairs. For the infractions of the treaty several vessels were
+seized, and more than one of them condemned. A clamour was raised in the
+United States on the ground that the Canadians were wanting in that
+spirit of friendly intercourse which should characterise the relations
+of neighbouring peoples. The fact is, the Canadians were bound to adhere
+to their legal rights--rights which had always been maintained before
+1854; which had remained in abeyance between 1854 and 1866; which
+naturally revived after the repeal of the reciprocity treaty of 1854;
+which again remained in abeyance between 1871 and 1885; and were revived
+when the United States themselves chose to go back to the terms of the
+convention of 1818.
+
+In 1887 President Cleveland and Mr. Secretary Bayard, acting in a
+statesmanlike spirit, obtained the consent of England to a special
+commission to consider the fishery question. Sir Sackville West, Mr.
+Joseph Chamberlain, and Sir Charles Tupper represented England; Mr.
+Bayard, then secretary of state, Mr. Putnam of Maine, and Mr. Angell of
+Michigan University, represented the United States. Sir Charles Tupper
+could not induce the American commissioners to consider a mutual
+arrangement providing for greater freedom of commercial intercourse
+between Canada and the United States. Eventually the commission agreed
+unanimously to a treaty which was essentially a compromise. Foreign
+fishermen were to be at liberty to go into any waters where the bay was
+more than ten miles wide at the mouth, but certain bays, including the
+Bay of Chaleurs, were expressly excepted in the interests of Canada from
+the operation of this provision. The United States did not attempt to
+acquire the right to fish on the inshore fishing-grounds of Canada--that
+is, within three miles of the coasts--but these fisheries were to be
+left for the exclusive use of the Canadian fishermen. More satisfactory
+arrangements were made for vessels obliged to resort to the Canadian
+ports in distress; and a provision was made for allowing American
+fishing-vessels to obtain supplies and other privileges in the harbours
+of the Dominion whenever congress allowed the fish of that country to
+enter free into the market of the United States, President Cleveland in
+his message, submitting the treaty to the senate, acknowledged that it
+"supplied a satisfactory, practical and final adjustment, upon a basis
+honourable and just to both parties, of the difficult and vexed
+questions to which it relates." The republican party, however, at that
+important juncture--just before a presidential election--had a majority
+in the senate, and the result was the failure in that body of a measure,
+which, although by no means too favourable to Canadian interests, was
+framed in a spirit of judicious statesmanship.
+
+As a sequel of the acquisition of British Columbia, the Canadian
+government was called upon in 1886 to urge the interests of the
+Dominion in an international question that had arisen in Bering Sea. A
+United States cutter seized in the open sea, at a distance of more than
+sixty miles from the nearest land, certain Canadian schooners, fitted
+out in British Columbia, and lawfully engaged in the capture of seals in
+the North Pacific Ocean, adjacent to Vancouver Island, Queen Charlotte
+Islands, and Alaska--a portion of the territory of the United States
+acquired in 1867 from Russia. These vessels were taken into a port of
+Alaska, where they were subjected to forfeiture, and the masters and
+mates fined and imprisoned. Great Britain at once resisted the claim of
+the United States to the sole sovereignty of that part of Bering Sea
+lying beyond the westerly boundary of Alaska--a stretch of sea extending
+in its widest part some 600 or 700 miles beyond the mainland of Alaska,
+and clearly under the law of nations a part of the great sea and open to
+all nations. Lord Salisbury's government, from the beginning to the end
+of the controversy, sustained the rights of Canada as a portion of the
+British empire. After very protracted and troublesome negotiations it
+was agreed to refer the international question in dispute to a court of
+arbitration, in which Sir John Thompson, prime minister of Canada, was
+one of the British arbitrators. The arbitrators decided in favour of the
+British contention that the United States had no jurisdiction in Bering
+Sea outside of the three miles limit, and at the same time made certain
+regulations to restrict the wholesale slaughter of fur-bearing seals in
+the North Pacific Ocean. In 1897 two commissioners, appointed by the
+governments of the United States and Canada, awarded the sum of $463,454
+as compensation to Canada for the damages sustained by the fishermen of
+British Columbia, while engaged in the lawful prosecution of their
+industry on that portion of the Bering Sea declared to be open to all
+nations. This sum was paid in the summer of 1898 by the United States.
+
+In 1897 the Canadian government succeeded in obtaining the consent of
+the governments of Great Britain and the United States to the
+appointment of a joint high commission to settle various questions in
+dispute between Canada and the United States. Canada was represented on
+this commission by Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Sir Richard Cartwright, Sir
+Louis Davies, and Mr. John Charlton, M.P., Newfoundland by Sir James
+Winter; the United States by Messieurs C.W. Fairbanks, George Gray, J.W.
+Foster, Nelson Dingley Jr., J.A. Kasson, and T. Jefferson Coolidge. The
+eminent jurist, Baron Herschell, who had been lord chancellor in the
+last Gladstone ministry, was chosen chairman of this commission, which
+met in the historic city of Quebec on several occasions from the 23rd
+August until the 10th October, 1898, and subsequently at Washington from
+November until the 20th February, 1899, when it adjourned. Mr. Dingley
+died in January and was replaced by Mr. Payne, and Lord Herschell also
+unhappily succumbed to the effects of an accident soon after the close
+of the sittings of the commission. In an eulogy of this eminent man in
+the Canadian house of commons, the Canadian prime minister stated that
+during the sittings of the commission "he fought for Canada not only
+with enthusiasm, but with conviction and devotion." England happily in
+these modern times has felt the necessity of giving to the consideration
+of Canadian interests the services of her most astute and learned
+statesmen and diplomatists.
+
+This commission was called upon to consider a number of international
+questions--the Atlantic and inland fisheries, the Alaska boundary, the
+alien labour law, the bonding privilege, the seal fishery in the Bering
+Sea, reciprocity of trade in certain products of the two countries, and
+other minor issues. For the reasons given in a previous part of this
+chapter (page 269), when referring to the commercial policy of the
+Laurier government, reciprocity was no longer the all-important question
+to be discussed, though the commissioners were desirous of making fiscal
+arrangements with respect to lumber, coal, and some other Canadian
+products for which there is an increasing demand in the markets of the
+United States. The long and earnest discussions of the commission on the
+various questions before them were, however, abruptly terminated by the
+impossibility of reaching a satisfactory conclusion with respect to the
+best means of adjusting the vexed question of the Alaska boundary, which
+had become of great international import in consequence of the discovery
+of gold in the territory of Alaska and the district of Yukon in Canada.
+
+The dispute between Great Britain and the United States has arisen as to
+the interpretation to be given to the Anglo-Russian treaty of 1825,
+which was made forty-two years before Russia sold her territorial rights
+in Alaska to the United States, that sale being subject of course to the
+conditions of the treaty in question. Under the third article of this
+treaty[10]--the governing clause of the contract between England and
+Russia--boundary line between Canada and Alaska commences at the south
+end of Prince of Wales Island, thence runs north through Portland
+Channel to the fifty-sixth degree of north latitude, thence follows the
+summit of the mountains situated parallel to the coast of the continent,
+to one hundred and forty-one west longitude and thence to the frozen
+ocean. That part of the line between fifty-six north latitude and one
+hundred and forty-one west longitude is where the main dispute arises.
+Great Britain on behalf of Canada contends that, by following the
+summits of the mountains between these two points, the true boundary
+would cross Lynn Canal, about half way between the headlands and
+tide-water at the head of the canal, and leave both Skagway and
+Dyea--towns built up chiefly by United States citizens--within British
+territory. The contention of Great Britain always has been that the
+boundary should follow the general contour of the coast line and not the
+inlets to their head waters. On the other hand the United States contend
+that the whole of Lynn Canal up to the very top, to the extent of
+tide-water, is a part of the ocean, and that the territory of the United
+States goes back for ten leagues from the head of the canal and
+consequently includes Skagway and Dyea. In other words the United States
+claim that the boundary should not follow the coast line but pass
+around the head of this important inlet, which controls access to the
+interior of the gold-bearing region.
+
+[10: The following is the article in full: "The line of demarcation
+between the possessions of the high contracting parties upon the coast
+of the continent and the islands of America to the north-west, shall be
+drawn in the following manner: commencing from the southernmost point of
+the island called Prince of Wales Island, which point lies in the
+parallel of fifty-four degrees forty minutes north latitude, and between
+the one hundred and thirty-first and the one hundred and thirty-third
+degree of west longitude, the said line shall ascend to the north along
+the channel called Portland Channel as far as the point of the continent
+where it strikes the fifty-sixth degree of north latitude. From this
+last-mentioned point the line of demarcation shall follow the summit of
+the mountains situated parallel to the coast as far as the point of
+intersection of the one hundred and forty-first degree of west longitude
+(of the same meridian), and finally from the said point of intersection
+of the one hundred and forty-first degree in its prolongation as far as
+the frozen ocean, shall form the limit between the Russian and British
+possessions, on the continent of America to the north-west"]
+
+[Illustration: MAP OF BRITISH COLUMBIA AND YUKON DISTRICT SHOWING
+DISPUTED BOUNDARY BETWEEN]
+
+The Canadian commissioners first offered as a compromise to leave Dyea
+and Skagway in the possession of the United States if the commissioners
+of that country would agree that Canada should retain Pyramid Harbour,
+which would give to Canadians a highway into the Yukon district. The
+acceptance of this compromise would have made a common water of the Lynn
+Canal, and at the same time left to the United States the greater
+portion of the territory in dispute. When the commissioners of the
+United States refused this fair compromise, the Canadians offered to
+refer the whole question to arbitration in order to ascertain the true
+boundary under the Anglo-Russian treaty. They proposed that the
+arbitrators should be three jurists of repute: one chosen for Great
+Britain by the judicial committee of the privy council, one appointed by
+the president of the United States, and the third a high international
+authority to act as an umpire. The commissioners of the United States
+positively refused to agree to this proposition and suggested the
+appointment of six jurists, three to be appointed by Great Britain, and
+the others by the United States. The Canadian representatives were
+unable to agree to the amendment suggested by their American colleagues,
+on the ground that it did not "provide a tribunal which would
+necessarily, and in the possible event of differences of opinion,
+finally dispose of the question," They also refused to agree to other
+propositions of the United States as "a marked and important departure
+from the rules of the Venezuelan boundary reference." The commissioners
+of the United States were not only unwilling to agree to the selection
+of an impartial European umpire, but were desirous of the appointment of
+an American umpire--from the South American Republics--over whom the
+United States would have more or less influence. Under these
+circumstances the Canadian commissioners were unwilling to proceed to
+the determination of other questions (on which a conclusion had been
+nearly reached) "until the boundary question had been disposed of either
+by agreement or reference to arbitration." The commission adjourned
+until August in the same year, but the negotiations that took place in
+the interval between the governments of Great Britain and the United
+States on the question at issue were not sufficiently advanced to enable
+a meeting at the proposed date. In these circumstances a _modus vivendi_
+was arranged between the United States and Canada, whose interests have
+been carefully guarded throughout the controversy by the government of
+the imperial state.
+
+This review of Canada's relations with the United States and England for
+more than a century illustrates at once her weakness and her
+strength--her weakness in the days of provincial isolation and imperial
+indifference; her strength under the inspiring influences of federal
+union and of an imperial spirit which gives her due recognition in the
+councils of the empire. It may now be said that, in a limited sense,
+there is already a loose system of federation between Great Britain and
+her dependencies. The central government of Great Britain, as the
+guardian of the welfare of the whole empire, cooperates with the several
+governments of her colonial dependencies, and, by common consultation
+and arrangement, endeavours to come to such a determination as will be
+to the advantage of all the interests at stake. In other words, the
+conditions of the relations between Great Britain and Canada are such as
+to insure unity of policy so long as each government considers the
+interests of Great Britain and the dependency as identical, and keeps in
+view the obligations, welfare, and unity of the empire at large. Full
+consultation in all negotiations affecting Canada, representation in
+every arbitration and commission that may be the result of such
+negotiations, are the principles which, of late years, have been
+admitted by Great Britain in acknowledgement of the development of
+Canada and of her present position in the empire; and any departure
+from so sound a doctrine would be a serious injury to the imperial
+connection, and an insult to the ability of Canadians to take a part in
+the great councils of the world. The same mysterious Providence that has
+already divided the continent of North America, as far as Mexico,
+between Canada and the United States, and that in the past prevented
+their political fortunes from becoming one, still forces the Canadian
+communities with an irresistible power to press onward until they
+realise those high conceptions which some statesmen already imagine for
+them in a not very distant future. These conceptions are of a still
+closer union with the parent state, which shall increase their national
+responsibilities, and at the same time give the Dominion a recognised
+position in the central councils of the empire.
+
+
+
+
+   APPENDIX A.
+
+   COMPARISONS BETWEEN THE MAIN PROVISIONS OF
+   THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA
+   AND THE AUSTRALIAN COMMONWEALTH.
+
+   CANADA.                             AUSTRALIA.            |
+   _Name._                             _Name_
+   The Dominion of Canada              The Commonwealth of Australia.
+
+   _How Constituted._                  _How Constituted_
+   Of provinces.                       Of states.
+
+   _Seat of Government._               _Seat of Government_
+   At Ottawa until the Queen           Within federal territory in
+   otherwise directs.                  New South Wales, at least 100
+                                       miles from Sydney
+
+   _Executive Power._                  _Executive Power_
+   Vested in the Queen.                Vested in the Queen.
+   Queen's representative, a           Queen's representative, a
+   governor-general, appointed by      governor-general, appointed by
+   the Queen in council.               the Queen in council.
+
+   Salary of governor-general          Not less than £10,000 paid
+   £10,000 sterling, paid by Dominion  by the commonwealth, fixed by
+   government, alterable by            parliament from time to time,
+   the parliament of Canada, but       not diminished during tenure of
+   subject to the disallowance of      a governor-general.
+   the crown, as in 1868, when
+   parliament passed a bill to reduce
+   this salary.
+
+
+
+
+         CANADA.                                    AUSTRALIA.
+   Ministers called by governor-general     Same--only for "privy
+   to form a cabinet, first                 councillors" read "executive
+   sworn in as privy councillors,           councillors"
+   hold office while they have the
+   confidence of the popular house
+   of parliament, in accordance with
+   the conventions, understandings,
+   and maxims of responsible or
+   parliamentary government.
+
+   Privy councillors hold, as the      Executive councillors administer
+   crown may designate, certain        such departments as
+   departments of state, not limited   governor-general from time to
+   in name or number, but left to      time establishes. Until other
+   the discretionary action of         provision is made by parliament,
+   parliament. Such heads of           number of such officers, who
+   departments must seek a new         may sit in parliament, shall not
+   election on accepting these         exceed seven.
+   office of emolument.
+
+     _Command of Military and             _Command of Military and
+          Naval Forces_                       Naval Forces_
+     Vested in the Queen.                In the Queen's representative.
+
+        _Parliament_                         _Parliament_
+    The Queen.                         The Queen.
+    Senate.                            Senate.
+    House of commons.                  House of representatives.
+    Session once at least every        The same.
+    year.
+   Privileges, immunities and          Such as declared by the parliament
+   powers held by senate and house     of the commonwealth,
+   of commons, such as are defined     and, until declared, such as are
+   by act of the parliament of         held by the commons' house of
+   Canada, but not to exceed those     parliament of Great Britain at
+   enjoyed at the passing of such      the date of the establishment of
+   act by the commons' house of        the commonwealth.
+   parliament of Great Britain.
+
+   CANADA.                             AUSTRALIA
+
+   Senate composed of twenty-four      Senate composed of six
+   members for each of the             senators for each state, directly
+   three following divisions (1)       chosen for six years by the
+   Ontario, (2) Quebec, and (3)        people of the state voting as
+   maritime provinces of Nova          one electorate; half the number
+   Scotia, New Brunswick, and          shall retire every three years,
+   Prince Edward Island. Other         but shall be eligible for
+   provinces can be represented        re-election. No property
+   under the constitution, but the     qualification is required, but the
+   total number of senators shall      senators must be British subjects
+   not at any time exceed              of the full age of twenty-one years.
+   seventy-eight, except in the        In Queensland the people can
+   case of the admission of            vote in divisions, instead of in
+   Newfoundland, when the maximum      one electorate.
+   may be eighty-two. Senators
+   appointed by the crown for life,
+   but removable for certain
+   disabilities. They must have
+   a property qualification and be
+   of the full age of thirty years.
+
+   Speaker of the senate appointed      President of the senate elected
+   by the governor-general              by that body.
+   (in council).
+
+   Fifteen senators form a quorum       One-third of whole number of
+   until parliament of Canada           senators form a quorum until
+   otherwise provides.                  parliament of commonwealth
+                                        otherwise provides.
+   Non-attendance for two whole         Non-attendance for two consecutive
+   sessions vacates a senator's seat.   months of any session
+                                        vacates a senator's seat.
+   Members of house of commons          Every three years.
+   elected every five years,
+   or whenever parliament is dissolved
+   by the governor-general.
+
+   No property qualification, but       The same.
+   must be British subjects of full
+   age of twenty-one years.
+
+
+
+   CANADA.                               AUSTRALIA
+   The electors for the Dominion         Qualification of electors for
+   commons are the electors of the       members of the house of
+   several provinces, under the          representatives is that
+   limitations of a statute passed       prescribed by the law of each
+   by the Dominion parliament in         state for the electors of the
+   1878. Qualifications vary, but        more numerous house of the
+   universal suffrage, qualified by      parlianment of the state.
+   residence, generally prevails.
+
+   A fresh apportionment of              The same.
+   representatives to be made after
+   each census, or not longer than
+   intervals of ten years.
+
+   Speaker of house of commons           The same.
+   elected by the members of the
+   house.
+
+   Quorum of house of commons            Quorum of house of representatives
+   --twenty members, of whom the         --one-third of the
+   speaker counts one.                   whole number of members
+                                         until otherwise provided by
+                                         parliament.
+
+   No such provision.                    Member vacates his seat
+                                         when absent, without permission,
+                                         for two months of a
+                                         session.
+
+   No such provision.                    Parliament to be called together
+                                         not later than thirty days
+                                         after that appointment for return
+                                         of writs.
+
+   Allowance to each member of           Allowance of £400 to members
+   senate and commons $1,000 for         of both houses until other
+   a session of thirty days, and         provision is made by parliament.
+   mileage expenses, 10 cents a
+   mile going and returning. Not
+   expressly provided for by
+   constitution but by statute of
+   parliament from time to time.
+
+
+
+
+   CANADA.                                 AUSTRALIA.
+   Canadian statutes disqualify            Same classes disqualified in
+   contractors and certain persons         the constitution.
+   holding office on receiving emoluments
+   or fees from the crown
+   while sitting in parliament.
+
+   Each house determines the               The constitution has a special
+   rules, and orders necessary for         provision on the subject.
+   the regulation of its own proceedings;
+   not in the constitution.
+
+   _Money And Tax Bills_                   _Money and Tax Bills_
+   The same.                               Money and tax bills can only
+                                           originate in the house of
+                                           representatives.
+
+   |Same by practice.                      The senate can reject, but not
+                                           amend, taxation or appropriation
+                                           bills.
+
+   Not in Canadian constitution.           The senate may return money
+                                           and appropriation bills to the
+                                           house of representatives,
+                                           requesting the omission or
+                                           amendment of any provision
+                                           therein, but it is optional
+                                           for the house to make such
+                                           omissions or amendments.
+
+   No such provision.                      If bills, other than money
+                                           bills,
+                                           have twice been passed by the
+                                           house of representatives and
+                                           twice been rejected by the
+                                           senate or passed by that body
+                                           with amendments to which the
+                                           house of representatives will
+                                           not agree, the governor-general
+                                           may dissolve the two houses
+                                           simultaneously; and if, after
+                                           the new election
+                                           they continue to disagree,
+                                           the governor-general may convene
+                                           a joint sitting of the members
+                                           of the two houses, who shall
+                                           deliberate and vote upon the
+                                           bill, which can only become
+                                           law if passed by an absolute
+                                           majority of the members sitting
+                                           and voting.
+
+   _Legislative Powers of the              _Legislative Powers of the
+   Parliament of the Dominion_.             Parliament of the
+                                           Commonwealth_.
+
+   Respective powers of the federal        The Legislative powers of the
+   parliament and provincial               federal parliament are alone
+   legislatures are enumerated and         enumerated, and the states
+   defined in the constitution; the        expressly retain all the powers
+   residuum of power rests with the        vested in them by their
+   central government in relation          respective constitutions at the
+   to all matters not coming within        establishment of the
+   the classes of subjects by the          commonwealth as to matters not
+   British North America act of            specified as being within the
+   1867 assigned exclusively to the        exclusive jurisdiction of the
+   legislatures.                           federal parliament.
+
+   _The Provinces._                        _The States._
+
+   Legislatures may alter provincial       Constitutions may be altered
+   constitutions except as                 under the authority of the
+   regards the office of lieutenant        parliaments thereof.
+   -governor.
+
+   Lieutenant-governors are appointed      The constitution of each state
+   by the governor-general-in-council,     continues (subject to the
+   and removable by                        constitution) as at the
+   him within five years only for          establishment of the
+   cause assigned and communicated         commonwealth, or as at the
+   by message to the two                   admission or establishment
+   houses of parliament.                   of the states, as the case
+                                           may be, until altered in
+                                           accordance with the
+                                           constitution of the
+                                           states. In other words,
+                                           the powers of the states
+                                           over their own constitutions
+                                           are preserved.
+
+   Acts of the provincial                  When a law of the state is
+   legislatures may be disallowed          inconsistent with one of the
+   by the governor-general-in-council      commonwealth, the latter shall,
+   one year after their receipt.           to the extent of such
+                                           inconsistency, be invalid.
+
+   Education is within exclusive           No special provisions in the
+   jurisdiction of the provinces,          constitution; education being
+   but with conditions for the             one of the subjects exclusively
+   maintenance and protection of           within the powers of the state
+   rights and privileges of                parliaments, under the clause
+   religious bodies in a province          leaving them in possession of
+   with respect to denominational          all powers not expressly given
+   schools.                                to the federal parliament.
+
+   The federal parliament can              A state shall not impose any
+   alone impose duties or taxes on         taxes or duties upon imports
+   imports.                                except such as are necessary
+                                           for executing the inspection
+                                           laws of a state, but the net
+                                           produce of all charges so
+                                           levied shall be for use of the,
+                                           commonwealth, and such
+                                           inspection laws may be annulled
+                                           by the parliament of the
+                                           commonwealth.
+
+   Similar power.                          The parliament of the
+                                           commonwealth may from time to
+                                           time admit new states, and make
+                                           laws for the provisional
+                                           administration and government
+                                           of any territory surrendered by
+                                           any state to the commonwealth,
+                                           or of any territory placed by
+                                           the Queen under the
+                                           commonwealth, or otherwise
+                                           acquired by the same.
+
+
+   CANADA.                                 AUSTRALIA.
+
+   _The Judiciary._                        _The Judiciary._
+
+   The same.                               The parliament of the
+                                           commonwealth can establish a
+                                           federal supreme court, called
+                                           the High Court of Australia,
+                                           and other federal courts for
+                                           the commonwealth; the judges
+                                           to be appointed by the
+                                           governor-general, to hold
+                                           office during good behaviour,
+   No such provision with respect          not to be removed except upon
+   to diminution of salary during          an address of both houses of
+   tenure of office.                       parliament, but so that the
+                                           salary paid to any judge shall
+                                           not be diminished during his
+                                           continuance in office.
+
+   Similar provisions by statutory         The high court can adjudicate
+   enactments of Dominion                  in cases arising out of the
+   parliament.                             constitution, or controversies
+                                           between states, or in which the
+                                           commonwealth is a party.
+
+   No such stringent provision             Appeals only allowed to
+   exists in the Canadian                  Queen-in-council from high court
+   constitution, but appeals in all        on constitutional issues between
+   civil--though not in                    commonwealth and any state,
+   criminal--cases are allowed, by         or between two or more states,
+   virtue of the exercise of the           when high court gives leave to
+   royal prerogative, from                 appeal. Otherwise, the royal
+   provincial courts as well as            prerogative to grant appeals is
+   from the supreme court of Canada        not impaired. Parliament may,
+   to the Queen-in-council;                however, make laws limiting
+   _i.e._, in practice, to the             such appeals, but they must
+   judicial committee of the privy         be reserved for her Majesty's
+   council.                                pleasure.
+
+
+
+
+
+          CANADA.                                   AUSTRALIA.
+
+   Judges of the superior and            Judges in the states are appointed
+   county courts in the provinces        and removable under existing state
+   (except those of probate in New       constitutions, which the state
+   Brunswick, Nova Scotia and            parliaments can change at will.
+   Prince Edward Island) are appointed
+   by the governor-general-in-council,
+   and removable only
+   by the same on the address of
+   the two houses of parliament.
+   Their salaries and allowances
+   are fixed by the parliament of
+   Canada.
+
+   The provinces have jurisdiction       Similar powers in the states.
+   over the administration of
+   justice in a province, including
+   the constitution, maintenance,
+   and organisation of provincial
+   courts, both of civil and criminal
+   jurisdiction, and including the
+   procedure in civil matters in
+   those courts.
+
+   The enactment and amendment            With the states.
+   of the criminal law rest
+   with the Dominion parliament.
+
+   The enactment and amendment            With the states.
+   of all laws relating to property
+   and civil rights rest with
+   the provinces.
+
+   _Trade and Finance._                  _Trade and Finance._
+   Customs and excise, trade and         The parliament of the commonwealth
+   commerce, are within exclusive        has sole power to
+   jurisdiction of Dominion parliament.  impose uniform duties of customs
+                                         and excise, and to grant bounties
+                                         upon goods when it thinks it
+                                         expedient. As soon as
+                                         such duties or customs
+                                         are imposed, trade and
+                                         intercourse throughout the
+                                         commonwealth, whether by
+                                         internal carriageor ocean
+                                         navigation, is to be free.
+
+   The Dominion government               The parliament of the commonwealth
+   can veto any such unconstitutional    may annul any state
+   law.                                  law interfering with the freedom
+                                         of trade or commerce between
+                                         the different parts of the
+                                         commonwealth, or giving preference
+                                         to the ports of one part over
+                                         those of another.
+
+   The power of direct taxation          Direct taxation may be imposed
+   is within the jurisdiction of both    by the commonwealth
+   Dominion parliament and provincial    and by each state within its own
+   legislatures, the one for             limits--but taxation, when
+   Dominion and the other solely         exercised by the commonwealth,
+   for provincial purposes.              must be uniform.
+
+   Both Dominion and provincial          Same is true of commonwealth
+   governments have unlimited            and states.
+   borrowing power under the authority
+   of parliament and legislatures.
+
+   Certain money subsidies are           Of the net revenue of the
+   paid annually to the provinces        commonwealth from duties of
+   towards the support of their          customs and excise, not more
+   governments and legislatures.         than one-fourth shall be applied
+                                         annually by the commonwealth
+                                         towards its expenditure. The
+                                         balance shall, in accordance
+                                         with certain conditions of the
+                                         constitution, be paid to the
+                                         several states, or applied
+                                         towards the payment of
+                                         interest on debts of the
+                                         several states. This arrangement
+                                         is limited to ten years. Financial
+                                         aid may be granted to any state
+                                         upon such terms as the federal
+                                         parliament may deem expedient.
+                                         Western Australia may, subject
+                                         to certain restrictions, impose
+                                         duties on goods imported from
+                                         other parts of the commonwealth.
+
+
+   No such provision; but the            For the administration of the
+   Dominion parliament and provincial    laws relating to interstate trade
+   legislatures could by                 the governor-general-in-council
+   legislation arrange a similar         may appoint an interstate
+   commission.                           commission.
+
+   Canada is liable for amount of       The parliament of the commonwealth
+   the debts and liabilities of the     may consolidate or
+   provinces existing at the time of    take over state debts by general
+   the union, under the conditions      consent, but a state shall
+   and terms laid down in the           indemnify the commonwealth, and
+   constitution.                        the amount of interest payable in
+                                        respect to a debt shall be
+                                        deducted from its share of the
+                                        surplus revenue of the
+                                        commonwealth.
+
+   _Imperial Control over_              _Imperial Control over_
+   _Dominion Legislation._              _Australian Legislation._
+   Bills may be reserved by the         The same.
+   governor-general for the Queen's
+   pleasure, and her Majesty in         As the old state constitutions
+   council may within two years         continue in force until amended
+   after receipt of any Dominion        by the state, state legislation is
+   act disallow the same.               still subject to power of
+                                        disallowance by Queen in council.
+
+   No such provision.                   The governor-general may return
+                                        any "law" presented to him for
+                                        the Queen's assent and suggest
+                                        amendments therein, and
+                                        the houses may deal with them
+                                        as they think fit.
+
+   The recommendation of the            The same.
+   crown is required before initiation
+   of a money vote in parliament.
+
+   _Amendments to the                   _Amendments to the
+   Constitution_.                       Constitution._
+
+   By the imperial parliament on        Any proposed amendment to
+   an address of the houses of the      the constitution must be first
+   Dominion parliament to the           passed by an absolute majority
+   Queen.                               of each house of parliament,
+                                        and submitted in each state to
+                                        the electors qualified to vote for
+                                        members of the house of
+                                        representatives. If in majority of
+                                        the states a majority of the
+                                        electors voting approve the
+                                        proposed law, and if a majority
+                                        of all the electors
+                                        voting also approve the
+                                        proposed law,  it shall be
+                                        presented to the governor-general
+                                        for the royal assent.
+
+
+APPENDIX B.
+
+BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES.
+
+
+I confine these notes to the most accurate and available books and
+essays on the history of Canada.
+
+For the French régime consult.--_Jacques Cartier's Voyages_, by Joseph
+Pope (Ottawa, 1889), Charlevoix's _History and General Description of
+New France_, translated by J. Gilmary Shea (New York, 1868); _Cours
+d'histoire du Canada_, by Abbé Ferland (Quebec, 1861); _Histoire du
+Canada_, by F.X. Garneau (4th ed., Montreal, 1882); F. Parkman's series
+of admirable histories of the French régime (Boston, 1865--1884), _The
+Story of Canada_ (Nations' Series, London, New York and Toronto, 1896),
+by J.G. Bourinot, necessarily written in a light vein, is largely
+devoted to the days of French rule, and may profitably be read on that
+account in connection with this later book, chiefly devoted to British
+dominion.
+
+For the history of Acadia, consult.--_Acadia_, by James Hannay (St.
+John, N.B., 1879); _History of Nova Scotia_, by Thomas C. Haliburton
+(Halifax, N.S., 1829). A valuable compilation of annals is _A History of
+Nova Scotia or Acadie_, by Beamish Murdoch (Halifax, 1867). _Builders of
+Nova Scotia_, by J.G. Bourinot (Toronto, and "Trans. Roy. Soc. Can.,"
+1900), contains many portraits of famous Nova Scotians down to
+confederation, and appendices of valuable historical documents.
+
+_Cape Breton and its Memorials of the French Régime_ ("Trans. Roy. Soc.
+Can.," vol. IX, and in separate form, Montreal, 1891) by J.G. Bourinot,
+gives a full bibliography of voyages of Northmen, the Cabots, Carrier,
+and Champlain, and of the Histories of the Seven Years' War. The same
+remarks apply to Winsor's _Narrative and Critical History of America_
+(Boston, 1886--89). The "Trans. Roy. Soc. Can.," since 1894, have
+several important papers by Archbishop O'Brien, Dr. S.E. Dawson, and
+others on the Cabot discovery.
+
+British rule, 1760-1900:--Garneau's _History_, already mentioned, gives
+the French Canadian view of the political situation from 1760 until
+1840; William Kingsford's _History of Canada_ (Toronto, 1887-1898) has a
+fairly accurate account of events from 1760 until 1840, in vols. V-X; _A
+History of Lower Canada_, by R. Christie, a member of the assembly of
+the province (Quebec, 1848-1854) is very useful for copies of public
+documents from 1774 until 1840.
+
+The most important accounts of the U.E. Loyalists of the American
+Revolution by writers in the United States are:--L. Sabine's _Loyalists_
+(Boston, 1864), and Tyler's _Literary History of the American
+Revolution_ (New York, 1897). Canadian accounts are to be found in
+Egerton Ryerson's _Loyalists of America_ (Toronto, 1880)--remarkably
+prosaic--and Canniff's _History of Upper Canada_ (Toronto, 1872).
+Consult also articles of J.G. Bourinot in the _Quarterly Review_ for
+October, 1898, and the _Canadian Magazine_ for April, 1898, in which
+names of prominent Canadian descendants of Loyalists are given.
+
+Kingsford's _History_, vol. VIII, has the best Canadian account of the
+War of 1812-15. The most impartial American record of its causes and
+progress is Henry Adams's _History of the United States of America_ (New
+York, 1860), vols VI and VII.
+
+Garneau's _History_ gives the most favourable estimate of Papineau and
+his party, who brought about the Rebellion in Lower Canada. Kingsford
+(vols. IX and X) writes impartially on the risings in the two Canadas.
+
+Other works to be consulted are:--Lord Durham's _Report on the Affairs
+of British North America_ (London, 1839); _Life of W. Lyon Mackenzie_,
+by Charles Lindsey, his son-in-law (Toronto, 1863); _The Upper Canadian
+Rebellion_, by J. Charles Dent (Toronto, 1885). The _Speeches and
+Letters_ of the Hon. Joseph Howe (Boston, 1858) contain the ablest
+expositions of the principles of responsible government by its greatest
+advocate in British North America. See also Campbell's _History of
+Prince Edward Island_ (Charlottetown, 1875). New Brunswick has not a
+single good history. _The Life and Times of Sir Leonard Tilley_, by
+James Hannay (St. John, N.B. 1897), can be read with advantage. See
+Prof. Ganong's valuable essays on the early history of New Brunswick in
+"Trans. Roy. Soc. Can," New Series, vols. I--v. Rev. Dr. Withrow's
+_History of Canada_ (Toronto, 1888) has chapters on affairs of Prince
+Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, to date of publication.
+
+For the history of Canada since 1840, consult.--_Canada since the Union_
+(1840--1880), by J. Charles Dent (Toronto, 1880--81); _Le Canada sous
+l'Union_, by Louis Turcotte (Quebec, 1871); _Memoirs of the Right Hon.
+Sir John A. Macdonald_, by Joseph Pope, his private secretary (London
+and Ottawa, 1894); _Debates on Confederation_ (Quebec, 1865);
+_Confederation_, by Hon. J.H. Gray, M.P., a delegate to the Quebec
+Conference (Toronto, 1872).
+
+For the constitutional development of Canada, consult.--_A Manual_, by
+J.G. Bourinot (Montreal, 1888, and included in latest edition of his
+_Parliamentary Procedure_, 1891); _How Canada is Governed_, by the same
+(Toronto, 1897--1900); _Parliamentary Government in the Colonies_, by
+Alpheus Todd (London, 1894); _Documents illustrative of the Canadian
+Constitution_, by W. Houston (Toronto, 1891). _Parliamentary Government
+in Canada_, by J.G. Bourinot (Amer. Hist. Association, Washington, 1892,
+and "Trans. Roy. Soc. Can.," 1892), contains a long list of books
+relating to the constitutional history of Canada. Also consult _How
+Canada is Governed_ for works on constitutional, legal, municipal and
+educational history of the provinces of Canada.
+
+For Manitoba and the North-west Territories the reader may
+consult:--_Manitoba. Its Infancy, Growth and Present Condition_, by Rev.
+Prof. Bryce (London, 1882); _History of the North-west_, by A. Begg
+(Toronto, 1894); _The Great Company_, by Beckles Wilson (Toronto and
+London, 1899); _Reminiscences of the North-west Rebellions_, by Major
+Boulton (Toronto, 1886). A remarkable _History of the Hudson's Bay
+Company_, by Rev. Prof. Bryce (London, New York and Toronto, 1900). For
+British Columbia:--A. Begg's _History_ (Toronto, 1896).
+
+For the literary progress of Canada, consult:--_The Intellectual
+Development of the Canadian People_, by J.G. Bourinot (Toronto, 1881);
+_Canada's Intellectual Strength and Weakness_ ("Trans. Roy. Soc.
+Canada," vol. XI, also in separate form, Montreal, 1893), by the same,
+contains an elaborate list of Canadian literature, French and English,
+to date. The 17 volumes of the same Transactions contain numerous
+valuable essays on French Canadian literary progress.
+
+Other valuable books to be consulted are:--_Canada and Newfoundland_ in
+Stanford's _Compendium of Geography and Travel_ (London, 1897), by Dr.
+S.E. Dawson, F.R.S.C.; _The Statistical Year Book of Canada_, a
+government publication issued annually at Ottawa, and edited by Geo.
+Johnson, F.S.S.; _The Great Dominion_ (London, 1895), by Dr. G.R.
+Parkin, C.M.G., LL.D., the eloquent advocate of imperial federation for
+many years, merits careful reading. _Canada and the United States_, in
+Papers of the Amer. Hist Assoc. (Washington, July, 1891), and _Canada
+and the United States: their Past and Present Relations_, in the
+_Quarterly Review_ for April, 1891, both by the present author, have
+been largely used in the preparation of the last chapter of this book.
+
+With respect to the boundaries of Canada and the English colonies during
+the days of French dominion, and from 1763 until 1774--_i.e._ from the
+Treaty of Paris until the Quebec Act--consult a valuable collection of
+early French and English maps, given in _A Report on the Boundaries of
+Ontario_ (Toronto, 1873), by Hon. David Mills, now Minister of Justice
+in the Laurier government, who was an Ontario commissioner to collect
+evidence with respect to the western limits of the province. Consult
+also Prof. Hinsdale's _Old North-west_ (New York, 1888); _Epochs of
+American History_, edited by Prof. Hart, of Harvard University (London
+and Boston, 1893); _Remarks on the French Memorials concerning the
+Limits of Acadia_ (London, 1756) by T. Jefferys, who gives maps showing
+clearly French and English claims with respect to Nova Scotia or Acadia
+"according to its ancient limits" (Treaty of Utrecht). These and other
+maps are given in that invaluable compilation, Winsor's _Narrative and
+Critical History of America_. See also Mitchell's map of British and
+French possessions in North America, issued by the British Board of
+Plantations in 1758, and reprinted (in part) in the _Debates on the
+Quebec Act_, by Sir H. Cavendish (London, 1839). For text of Treaties of
+Utrecht (1612), of Paris (1763), of Quebec Act (1774), and other
+treaties and imperial acts relating to Canada, see Houston's
+_Documents_, cited above, p. 329. The maps of Canada and the disputed
+boundary in Alaska, which I give in this book, are taken from the small
+maps issued in 1899 by the Department of the Interior at Ottawa.
+
+INDEX
+
+
+Abbott, Sir John; prime minister of Canada, 257; death of, ib
+
+Aberdeen, Earl of; governor-general of Canada, 265-267
+
+Aberdeen, Lady, 267
+
+Acadia College, N.S., founded, 163
+
+_Acadie_ or _La Cadie_; name of, 8; settled by France, 8, 9; ceded to
+Great Britain by Treaty of Utrecht (1713), 9; French inhabitants
+expelled from, 22, 23
+
+Adams, President John; on the U.K. Loyalists, 76
+
+Alaskan Boundary, 310-312; map of, 311
+
+Alexander, Sir William (Lord Stirling); names Nova Scotia, 11
+
+Allan, Sir Hugh; contributes funds to Conservative elections, 236;
+results of, 237
+
+Allouez, Father; founds mission at La Pointe (Ashland), 17
+
+Almon, M, B.; banker and politician of Nova Scotia, 178
+
+American Revolution; causes of, 56-65; momentous events of, 63-67; its
+effects upon Canada and Maritime Provinces, 67-74, 81
+
+Angers, lieutenant-governor; dismisses Mercier ministry in Quebec, 247
+
+Anglican Church: first built in Upper Canada, 84
+
+Annand, William; Nova Scotian journalist, and first minister of province
+after Confederation, 218
+
+Annapolis (Port Royal) named, 9
+
+Archibald, Sir Adams, delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 204; first
+lieutenant-governor of Manitoba, 230
+
+Architecture in Canada, 288, 289
+
+Art in Canada, 288
+
+Assiniboia; name of Lord Selkirk's domain in North-west, 225
+
+Australia, Commonwealth of; constitution of, 282, 283; comparisons
+between Canadian and Australian federal systems, 315-326 (Appendix A)
+
+Baccalaos, or Newfoundland, 8
+
+Bagot, Sir Charles, governor-general of Canada, 169
+
+Baldwin, Robert, efforts of, for responsible government, 168, 169; joint
+leader with Lafontaine in Reform ministry, 170, 173; admirable character
+of, 184
+
+Ballot, vote by; established, 239
+
+Basques in Canada, 5
+
+Batoche, N.W.T.; victory of loyal Canadian forces at, in second
+North-west rebellion of 1885, 253
+
+Bay of Chaleurs Railway; scandal connected with, 247
+
+Bering Sea dispute, 308, 309
+
+Bibliographical notes, see App. B
+
+Bidwell, Marshall Spring; reformer of Upper Canada, 146, 149, 151;
+unjust treatment of, by lieutenant-governor Head, 153
+
+Big Bear, Indian Chief in N.W.T.; rebels against Canada and is punished,
+253-254
+
+Bishop's Palace; first parliament house of Lower Canada, 92, 160
+
+Blair, Mr.; Canadian statesman, 265
+
+Blake, Edward; Canadian statesman, 230, 231, 234, 241, 244, 255
+
+Blanchard, Hiram; Nova Scotia, Unionist, defeated in 1867, 218
+
+Botsford, Amos; first speaker of assembly of New Brunswick, 88
+
+Boucherville, M. de; prime minister of Quebec, 245, 247
+
+Bouchette, Joseph, Canadian general and author, 164
+
+Boundary disputes; in North-west, 292; in Maine, 296-300; in Oregon,
+300-302; in British Columbia (San Juan) 301, 302; in Alaska, 310-312.
+See _Maps_
+
+Boundary of Ontario settled, 238
+
+Bourgeoys, Sister, 34
+
+Bowell, Sir Mackenzie; prime minister of Canada, 257
+
+Brant, Joseph (Thayendanega), Mohawk Chief, 84; his loyalty to Great
+Britain, ib.
+
+Brébeuf, Jean de, Jesuit martyr, 12
+
+Bretons in Canada, 51
+
+Briand, Bishop; consecrated after conquest, 43; loyal _mandement_ of, in
+1775, 58
+
+British American League suggests federal union of provinces, 194
+
+British Columbia, province of; its early history, 231, 232; enters
+Confederation, 232
+
+British North America Act of 1867; passed to unite provinces, 215. See
+_Constitution of Canada._
+
+Brock, General; services of, during war of 1812-15, 114, 119; death of,
+ib.
+
+Brown, George; Canadian journalist and reformer, suggests federal union,
+196; advocates representation by population, 197; assists in bringing
+about Confederation, 197; joins the Taché-Macdonald government with
+other reformers, 198; leaves the coalition ministry, 217; unsuccessful
+mission to Washington to obtain reciprocity, 306; assassination of, 256;
+character of, 197, 202
+
+Brown, Thomas Storrow; leads Canadian rebels at St. Charles in 1837, 134
+
+By, Colonel, founder of Bytown (Ottawa), 158; engineer of Ruleau Canal,
+ib.
+
+Cabot, John; voyages of, to North America, 4, 5
+
+Caldwell, Receiver-General; defaulter to government, 126
+
+Calvet, Pierre du; opponent of Governor Haldimand, 72; disloyalty of,
+72, 73
+
+Campbell, Sir Alexander; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 203
+
+Campbell, Sir Colin; governor of Nova Scotia, 173; opposes responsible
+government, ib.
+
+Canada, name of, 6; discovery and settlement of, by France, 4-15; French
+exploration of, 15-21; conquered by Great Britain, 21-27; political,
+economic, and social conditions of, during French rule, 27-36;
+beginnings of British rule in, 37-45; influence of Quebec Act of 1774
+upon, 45-48; during American Revolution, 67-74; United Empire Loyalists
+settle in, 81-86; political divisions of (in 1792), 91; effects of war
+of 1812-15 upon, 110-123; rebellion in, 134-156; social and economic
+condition of, in 1838, 156-164; union of, in 1840, 166; responsible
+government in, 167-173; social and economic conditions of, in 1866,
+185-192; Confederation of, 215, 216; federal constitution of, 273-284,
+315-326; first ministry of, under Confederation, 216, first parliament
+of, 218, 219; trade and revenue of, in 1899, 273; literature in,
+284-287, art in, 288; sculpture in, ib.; architecture in, 288, 289;
+education in 289, 290; libraries in, ib.; relations with England and the
+United States, 390-314; bibliographical notes of, 327-330; maps of, see
+_Maps_
+
+Canada's representation at "Diamond Jubilee" (1897), 35, 36, 270, 271
+
+Canada Temperance Act. See _Temperance Legislation_
+
+Canada and the United States, relations between (1783-1900), 290-313
+
+_Canadien, Le_; established in French Canada, 95
+
+Canadian Pacific Railway; history of 232, 233, 236, 242, 244
+
+Canadian Trade Acts; respecting Upper and Lower Canada, 153
+
+Canals of Canada, 273
+
+Cape Breton, name of, 5
+
+Carignan-Salières regiment settled in Canada 14
+
+Carleton, Guy (Lord Dorchester); governor general of Canada, 44; his
+just treatment of French Canadians, ib.; his part in framing of the
+Quebec Act, 45; saves Canada during American revolution, 67; again
+governor-general, 89; his tribute to the U.E. Loyalists, ib.
+
+Carleton, Colonel John; first governor of New Brunswick, 87
+
+Carnarvon, Earl of; introduces British North America Act of 1867 in
+British Parliament, 215
+
+Caroline steamer; seized by Canadians 295; international complications
+respecting 295, 296
+
+Caron Father le; French missionary, 16
+
+Caron, Sir Adolphe; minister of militia during North-west rebellion of
+1885, 252; resists Riel agitation in French Canada, 254
+
+Carter, Frederick B.T.; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Cartier, Sir George; a father of Confederation, 201; great public
+services of, ib.; death of, 233
+
+Cartier, Jacques, discovers the St. Lawrence, 6, 7
+
+Cartwright, Sir Richard; Canadian statesman, 94, 265
+
+Casgrain, Abbé; Canadian author, 284
+
+Cathcart, Lord; governor-general of Canada, 171, 172
+
+Champlain, Samuel; founds Quebec, 9; career of, in Canada, 9-12,
+character of, ib.
+
+Chandler, Edward Barron delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 205;
+public career of, 206
+
+Chapais, J.C., delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 304
+
+Chapleau, Sir Adolphe; resists popular clamour in French Canada for
+Riel's pardon after rebellion of 1885, 254
+
+Charlesbourg-Royal, 7
+
+Charlevoix, Jesuit priest; historian of New France, 19
+
+Chartier, Abbé; Canadian rebel of 1837, 135
+
+Chartrand, murder of, in Lower Canadian rebellion of 1837, 135
+
+Chateauguay, battle of; won by French Canadians, 116, 121
+
+Château of St. Louis; founded at Quebec, 31; destroyed by fire, 160
+
+Chauveau, Pierre O.J.; his services to education, 192; first prime
+minister of Quebec after Confederation, 217
+
+Chenier, Dr.; Canadian rebel, 134; monument to, 135
+
+Christie, Mr.; expelled from assembly of Lower Canada, 127;
+
+Chrystler's Farm, battle at; won by British troops in 1813, 116
+
+Civil Law of French Canada, 29; established under British rule, 46, 278
+
+Clergy Reserves Question; origin of, 141; powerful factor in political
+controversy for years, ib.; settled, 186
+
+Cockburn, James; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 204; first
+speaker of commons' house of Dominion parliament, ib.
+
+Code Napoléon in French Canada, 278
+
+Colbert, French minister, 27
+
+Colborne, Sir John (Lord Seaforth); represses rebellion in Lower Canada,
+134, 138; governor-general of Canada, 138
+
+Colebrooke, Sir William; lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, 174
+
+Coles, George; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Colonial Conference at Ottawa (1894), 200
+
+Commissions, International, affecting Canada; Maine boundary, 296,
+Washington (1871), 302, 304-306; Washington (1887), 307, 308, Bering
+Sea, 309; joint high commission (Quebec and Washington, 1897-98),
+309-313
+
+Commonwealth of Australia. See _Australia_
+
+Confederation of the British North American provinces; foreshadowed,
+194; beginnings of, 195-198; initiated at Quebec Convention of 1864,
+199; fathers of, 199-206, consummated, 206-215; birth of Dominion of
+Canada, 216; constitution of, 206-209, 273-284; first ministry under,
+216; first parliament under, 217; results of, 272, 273
+
+Congrégation de Notre-Dame established, 34
+
+Constitutional Act of 1791; forms provinces of Upper and Lower Canada,
+90, 91; general provisions of, 91, 92
+
+Constitution of Canadian Dominion, 273-281; compared with that of
+Australian Commonwealth, 282-284, 315, 326 (App. A)
+
+Cornwallis, Colonel, founds Halifax, 49
+
+Corrupt elections: measures to restrain and punish, 239
+
+Cortereal, Gaspar and Miguel; voyages of, to North America, 5
+
+_Coureurs-de-bois,_ 17, 18
+
+_Coutume de Paris_ established in French Canada, 29
+
+Craig, Sir James; governor-general of Canada, 96; quarrels of, with
+leading French Canadians, character of, 96, 97
+
+Crémazie, Canadian poet, 192
+
+Crozier, Superintendent; defeated by half-breeds in North-west rebellion
+of 1885, 252
+
+Cut Knife Greek, N.W.T.; Colonel Otter engages Indians at, in North-west
+rebellion of 1885, 253
+
+Dalhousie College, Nova Scotia; founded, 163
+
+Dalhousie, Lord, governor-general of Canada; quarrel of, with Papineau,
+129
+
+Daly, Sir Dominick; first minister of Canada under Lord Metcalfe, 170
+
+Davies, Sir Louis; Canadian statesman, 265
+
+Davies, English navigator; voyages of, to Canada, 7
+
+Dawson, Sir William; Canadian scientist, 192, 286
+
+Dickey, R.B.; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 305
+
+Dochet Island (St. Croix River); first settlement of French on, 8
+
+Dominion of Canada; origin of name, 215; established, 215, 216; first
+ministry of, 216; first parliament of, 217; completed from Atlantic to
+Pacific, 227, 232, 234; history of, from 1873-1900, 236-272; map of, _at
+end._
+
+Dorchester, Lord; see _Carleton, Sir Guy_
+
+Douglas, Sir James; governor of British Columbia, 232
+
+Drew, Captain; seizes steamer Caroline on U.S. frontier, 154. See
+_Caroline._
+
+Drummond, Attorney-General; member of MacNab-Morin ministry, 186
+
+Drummond, Dr., Canadian poet, 285
+
+Drummond, General, services of, during war of 1812-15, 116, 117, 122
+
+Duck Lake, N.W.T., defeat of government forces at, in Canadian rebellion
+of 1885, 252
+
+Dumont Gabriel; takes part in Riel's North-west revolt of 1885, 252, 253
+
+Dufferin, Lord; governor-general of Canada, 241, 243, 267
+
+Durham, Earl of; high commissioner to Canada after rebellion of 1837,
+136; his humanity and justice, 137; returns from Canada when rebuked in
+England, ib.,  his report on Canadian affairs, 165
+
+Durham Terrace, constructed, 160
+
+Education in Canada; state of, under French rule, 33, 34, in 1838, 162,
+163; after union of 1840, 192; present condition of, 290; contributions
+by government and people, ib.
+
+Elgin, Lord; governor-general of Canada, character of, 172, 173;
+established responsible government, 173; action of, on Rebellion Losses
+Bill in 1849, 188, 189
+
+Falkland, Lord; governor of Nova Scotia, 176; quarrels with Joseph Howe
+and Liberal party, 177-179; returns to England, 179
+
+Family Compact in Upper Canada; meaning of, 141; controls government,
+ib.
+
+Fenian raids; in 1866, 213; in 1870-71, 230, 231, Canada never
+indemnified for, 305
+
+Ferland, French Canadian historian, 192
+
+Fielding, Mr., finance minister of Canada, 265, his budget of 1897, 209
+
+Fish Creek, N.W.T.; General Middleton checked at, in engagement with
+rebels of 1885, 253
+
+Fisher, Charles; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 205
+
+Fishery question between Canada and the United States, 293, 302, 304,
+307, 308
+
+Fitzgibbon, Lieutenant; successful strategy of, at Beaver Dams in 1813,
+116
+
+Franchise Act of Dominion, passed, 255, repealed, 268
+
+Frechétte, French Canadian poet, 285
+
+Free Trade policy of England; its early effects upon Canada, 172, 187,
+189
+
+French Acadians See _Neutrals_
+
+French Canada; during French regime (1534-1760), 4-37; under military
+government after conquest by Great Britain, 37, 38; desire of British
+government to do justice to, 44, 45, provisions of Quebec Act affecting,
+45, 48; political struggles and rebellion in, 124-138; influence of
+Union Act of 1840 upon, 170, 187; brought into confederation, 216;
+results of union upon, 273; literature in, 284, 285
+
+French exploration in great valleys of North America, 15-21
+
+French language; use of, restricted by Union Act of 1840, 187;
+restriction removed, ib.
+
+Frobisher, English navigator; voyages of, to Canada, 8
+
+Frog Lake, massacre at, in North-west rebellion of 1885, 252
+
+Frontenac, Count de (Louis de La Buade); French governor of Canada, 13;
+eminent services of, ib.
+
+Galloway, Thomas; his scheme for readjusting relations between Great
+Britain and her old Colonies, 79
+
+Galt, Sir Alexander; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 20; public
+services of, ib.
+
+Garneau, French Canadian historian, 192
+
+German and Belgian Treaties; denunciation of, 261, 271
+
+Gilbert, Sir Humphrey; takes possession of Newfoundland, 8
+
+Glenelg, Lord; colonial secretary in 1838, 137
+
+Gordon, Lt.-Governor; promotes federal union in New Brunswick, 212
+
+Gosford, Lord; governor-general of Canada, 132, 134
+
+Gourlay, Robert; misfortunes of, as a reformer in Upper Canada, 143-145
+
+Grasett, Colonel; assists in repressing North-west rebellion of 1885,
+253
+
+Gray, Colonel; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Gray, John Hamilton, delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 205
+
+Grey, Earl; colonial secretary, 172
+
+
+Haldimand, general; governor-general of Canada, 71, 72
+
+Haliburton, Judge, author of _Sam Sack_, etc., 164
+
+Halifax, founded, 49
+
+Harvey, Colonel; victory of, at Stoney Creek in 1813, 116. See _Harvey,
+Sir John._
+
+Harvey, Sir John; governor of Nova Scotia, of New Brunswick, establishes
+responsible government in the maritime provinces. See _Harvey, Colonel._
+
+Haviland, Thomas Heath; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206;
+public career of, ib.
+
+Head, Sir Francis Bond; lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, 148; his
+unjust treatment of reformers, 149-151; his rashness before rebellion,
+152; represses rebellion, 153
+
+Henry, William A.; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 204
+
+Hincks, Sir Francis; Canadian statesman, melancholy death of, 233
+
+Historian of Canada, 192, 284
+
+Hochelaga (Montreal); Indian village of, visited by Jacques Cartier, 6
+
+Howe, Joseph; father of responsible government in Nova Scotia, 175, 176;
+his quarrel with Lord Falkland, 176-179; ability of, 183, 184; advocate
+of imperial federation, 195; opposes confederation from 1864-1868, 212,
+219; his reasons for receding from his hostile position, 219; enters the
+Macdonald ministry, 220; lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia, ib; sudden
+death of, ib; orator, poet, and statesman, 220, 221
+
+Howland, Sir William P.; delegate to Westminster Palace Conference of
+1866-67, 214; lieutenant-governor of Ontario, 217
+
+Hudson's Bay Company; its great territorial privileges, 231-324; its
+claims purchased by the Canadian government, 227; map illustrating its
+charter, 222
+
+Hull, General; defeat of, by Brock at Detroit, 114
+
+Hundred Associates, Company of; established in Canada, 10
+
+"Hunter's Lodges"; formed in United States to invade Canada, 154
+
+Huntington, Lucius Seth; makes charges against Sir John Macdonald, 236
+
+Huron Indians; massacre of, by the Iroquois, 12
+
+Hutchinson, Governor Thomas (of Massachusetts); on relations between
+Great Britain and her old Colonies, 98
+
+Iberville, founder of Louisiana, 19
+
+Immigration to Canada, 78, 79
+
+Independence of old Thirteen Colonies acknowledged, by Great Britain, 74
+
+Indians; British treatment of, 41,42; Canadian relations with, 238, 239
+
+Intellectual culture in Canada; under French rule, 35; under British
+rule, 164, 192, 284, 285
+
+Intercolonial Railway; history of, 191, 215, 219
+
+Iroquois Indians; ferocity of, 10-13
+
+Jameson, Miss Anna, her "Winter Studies and Summer Rambles" in Upper
+Canada in 1838, 157-159
+
+Jesuit College at Quebec, 34
+
+Jesuits' Estates, Act; political controversies respecting, 248
+
+Jesuits in Canada, 11, 12; their estates confiscated by the British
+government, 38; restored in part, 248
+
+Johnson, John; delegate to the Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Johnston, James William; public career of, 175; eminence of, 185; early
+advocate of confederation, 194, 195
+
+Joliet, Louis; discovers the Mississippi, 18
+
+Journalism in Canada, 164, 287
+
+Judiciary, independence of; political contests for, 128, 139
+
+Keewatin, district of; established provisionally, 238
+
+Kent, Duke of; commander of British forces in Canada, 193; gives name to
+P.E. Island, 53; letter to, from Chief Justice B.C. Sewell on union of
+provinces, 194
+
+King, George E.; prime minister of New Brunswick after Confederation,
+218
+
+King's University, Nova Scotia; founded, 163
+
+Kingsford, Dr.; Canadian historian, 284
+
+Kingston, city of; first parliament of Canada meets at, in 1841, 167
+
+Kirk, David; captures Quebec, 10, 11
+
+Labrador, discovery of, 5; origin of name of, 7
+
+Lafontaine-Baldwin Ministry, 170, 173; its successful administration of
+Canadian affairs, 173
+
+Lafontaine, Sir Louis Hippolyte; Canadian statesman and jurist, 170,
+173, 184
+
+La Gallissonière, French governor of Canada, 35
+
+Lake of Woods, international boundary at, 292, 293; map of, 293
+
+Lalemant, Gabriel; Jesuit martyr, 12
+
+Land question; in Upper Canada, 143; in Prince Edward Island, 54, 234
+
+Langevin, Sir Hector; Canadian statesman, delegate to Quebec Convention
+of 1864, 205; charges against, 258
+
+Lansdowne, Marquess of; governor-general of Canada, 207
+
+Lartigue, Bishop; _mandement_ of, against French Canadian rebels, 135,
+136
+
+La Salle, Sieur de (Réné Robert Cavelier); at Lachine, 18; descends the
+Mississippi, 18, 19; assassination of, 19
+
+Laurier government; formation of, 265; measures of, 268-272
+
+Laurier, Rt Hon. Sir Wilfrid; prime minister of Canada, 265; settles
+Manitoba school question, 266 267; represents Canada at celebration of
+"Diamond Jubilee" (1897), 36, 270; his action on Canadian aid to England
+in South African War, 372; his mastery of English, 267
+
+Laval, Bishop; first Roman Catholic Bishop of Canada, 12; establishes
+tithes, 29
+
+Laval University, Quebec, 290
+
+La Valmière, a disloyal priest, 72
+
+Lawrence, Governor; expels French Acadians from Nova Scotia, 23;
+encourages New England emigration, 51; opens first assembly in Halifax,
+53
+
+Lepine, Canadian rebel; punished, 241; his sentence commuted, _ib_.
+
+Letellier de Saint-Just; lieutenant-governor of Quebec, 246; dismissed,
+246, 247
+
+Lévis, General; defeats Murray at St. Foye, 26
+
+Liberal or Reform party; formed in Nova Scotia, 99; in Upper Canada, 141
+
+Liberal Convention in Ottawa (1893), 259
+
+Libraries in Canada, 290
+
+Lisgar, Lord, governor-general of Canada, 267
+
+Literature in Canada, during French régime, 35; before union of 1840,
+164; after union, 192; since Confederation, 284-287
+
+Londonderry in Nova Scotia; origin of name of, 51, 52
+
+Lome, Marquess of; governor-general of Canada, 244; His services to Art,
+Science, and Literature, 267
+
+Louisiana, named by La Salle, 19
+
+Louis XIV establishes royal government in Canada, 12, 27, 28
+
+Lount, Samuel; Upper Canadian rebel of 1837, 148, 152-153; executed, 155
+
+Loyalists. See _United Empire Loyalists_
+
+Loyal and Patriotic Society of Upper Canada; usefulness of, during war
+of 1819-15, 121
+
+Lundy's Lane, battle of; won by British in 1814, 117, 120
+
+Lymburner, Adam; opposes separation of Upper from Lower Canada, 90
+
+Macdonald, Andrew Archibald; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Macdonald, Baroness (of Earnscliffe), 257
+
+Macdonald, Colonel George; at Ogdensburg in 1813, 115; at Chateauguay,
+121
+
+Macdonald, John Sanfield; first prime minister of Ontario after
+Confederation, 217
+
+Macdonald, Rt. Hon. Sir John; enters public life, 173; member of
+government, ib.; settles Clergy Reserves question, 186; takes lead in
+establishing Confederation, 198, 199, 209; first prime minister of the
+Dominion, 216; resigns under unfortunate circumstances, 236; initiates
+the "National Policy" of Conservative party, 243; prime minister again,
+ib.; death of, 256; great ability, and patriotism of, 200, 256; mourned
+by all Canada, 257; monuments and tributes to his memory, ib.
+
+Macdonell; Colonel John; first speaker of assembly of Upper Canada in
+1792, 94
+
+Macdonell, Vicar-General; first Roman Catholic Bishop of Upper Canada,
+120
+
+Mackenzie, Alexander; prime minister of Canada, 237; character of, ib.,
+243; his administration of public affairs (1873-78), 238-242; death of,
+257
+
+Mackenzie, Sir Alexander; North-west explorer, 224
+
+Mackenzie, William Lyon; journalist and reformer, 146; enters Upper
+Canada legislature, 146; unjustly expelled, ib., first mayor of Toronto,
+147; indiscretions of, ib.; moves for committee of grievances, 148, its
+report, ib.; defeat of, at elections of 1836, 150, resorts to rebellion,
+152; defeat of, at Montgomery's and flight from Canada, 153; on Navy
+Island, 154; imprisoned in the United States, ib.; returns from exile,
+182, exercises no influence in Canadian politics, ib.; poverty and death
+of, ib.; character of, 182, 183
+
+MacLeod, international dispute respecting, 295
+
+MacNab, Sir Allan; leads loyal "Men of Gore" against Canadian rebels in
+1837, 153; orders seizure of steamer Caroline on. U.S. frontier, 154;
+prime minister of Canada, 186
+
+Maine Boundary Dispute, 292, 296-300; map of, 296
+
+Maisonneuve, Sieur de (Paul de Chomedey); founds Montreal, 12
+
+Manitoba, first visited by French, 20; province of, established, 230
+
+Manitoba school question, 262-265, 266, 267
+
+Maps relating to Canada; of French, Spanish and British possessions in
+North America in 1756-1761, _at end_; of British possessions in
+1763-1775, at end; of boundary established in 1783 between Canada and
+the United States, 75; of Hudson's Bay Co.'s territory, 222; of
+North-west boundary in 1842, 293; of North-eastern boundary in 1842,
+297; of Alaskan disputed boundary, 311;  of the Dominion of Canada in
+1900, at end.
+
+Marquette, Father, founds mission of Sainte-Maria, 17; discovers the
+Mississippi, 18; death of, _ib_.;
+
+Marriage laws in early Canada, 97
+
+Masères, Attorney-general, 43
+
+Matthews, Peter; Upper Canadian rebel, 148, 151, 153; executed, 155
+
+McCully, Jonathan; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 205
+
+McDougall, William, delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 203;
+provisional lieutenant-governor of N.W.T., 227; Half-breed rebellion
+prevents him assuming office, ib.; disappears from public life, 230
+
+McGee, Thomas D'Arcy; historian and orator, delegate to Quebec
+Convention of 1864, 203; his political career in Canada, ib.;
+assassinated, 221
+
+McGill University, Montreal; founded, 163
+
+McGreevy, Thomas, impeached for serious misdemeanors, 258; punishment
+of, ib.
+
+McLane, executed for treason in 1793, 101, 102
+
+McLure, General (United States General); burns Niagara in 1814, 116
+
+Mercier, Honoré, prime minister of Quebec, 247; dismissed, ib.
+
+Merritt, W. Hamilton; originator of Welland Canal, 159
+
+Metcalfe, Lord; governor-general of Canada, 170; antagonism of, to
+responsible government, 171; retirement and death of, ib.
+
+_Métis_ or Half-breeds of the Canadian North-west, 225, 228, 249
+
+Middleton, Major-general; commands Canadian forces on Riel's revolt of
+1885 in North-west, 252-254
+
+Military rule in Canada after 1760, 37, 38
+
+Mills, David; Canadian statesman, 206
+
+Minto, Earl of; governor-general of Canada, 268
+
+Mitchell, Peter; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 205; public
+career of, ib.
+
+Mohawks, members of the Iroquois confederacy, 10; humbled by the Marquis
+de Tracy, 13. See _Brant Joseph, Iroquois._
+
+Monk, Lord; governor-general of Canada at Confederation, 216, 267
+
+Montcalm, Marquis de; loses battle on Plains of Abraham, 26; death of
+ib.
+
+Montgomery, Brigadier-General; invades Canada, 69, 70; death of, at
+Quebec, 70
+
+Montreal founded, 12
+
+Monts, Sieur de; founder of French _Acadie_, 8
+
+Monts-Déserts named by Champlain, 9
+
+Mowat, Sir Oliver; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1804, 203; public
+career of, 203, 265, 266
+
+Municipal system of Canada; established, 185, 186; nature of, 278
+
+Murray, General; in command at Quebec, 26; defeat of, at St. Foye, ib.;
+governor-general of Canada, 42;  his just treatment of French
+Canadians, 43
+
+Mutual or reciprocal preferential trade between Canada and England;
+advocacy of, 260, 271
+
+_Nation Canadienne, La_; Papineau's dream of, 130, 133, 134
+
+"National Policy," or Protective system; established by Conservative
+party (1879), 243, 244
+
+Navigation Laws repealed, 187
+
+Navy Island, see _Mackenzie, William Lyon_
+
+Neilson, John; Canadian journalist and politician, 127, 131
+
+Nelson, Robert; Canadian rebel of 1837-38, 138
+
+Nelson, Dr. Wolfred; leader in Lower Canadian rebellion of 1837, 134
+
+Neutrality of the Great Lakes, 294, 295
+
+"Neutrals," on French Acadians; expulsion of from Nova Scotia, 22, 23
+
+Newark (Niagara), meeting of first Upper Canadian legislature at, 93;
+seat of government removed from, to York, 101
+
+New Brunswick; originally part of Acadie and Nova Scotia, 53; province
+of founded by Loyalists, 83; capital ib.; state of, in 1838, 162;
+political struggle for self-government in, 173, 174; takes part in
+Quebec Convention, 198, 205; brought into Confederation, 215, 216;
+boundary dispute with Maine, 296-300
+
+New Brunswick school question, 201, 2O2
+
+New Brunswick University; founded at Fredericton, 163
+
+New Caledonia; old name of British Columbia, 232
+
+Newfoundland; delegates from, to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206; refuses
+to join the Dominion, 235
+
+Niagara, see _Newark_
+
+Nicholson, General; captures Port Royal, 9
+
+Norse voyages to Canada, 4
+
+North-eastern Boundary question, 296-299; map of Boundary, 1842, 297
+
+North-west Company; rival of the Hudson's Bay Company in North America,
+224, 225
+
+North-west Boundary dispute, 292, 293; map of, 293
+
+North-west Territories, early history of, 221-227; annexation of, to
+Canada, 227, 230; first rebellion in, 227-230; government of, 277;
+second rebellion in, 249-255; districts of, 277
+
+Nova Scotia (Acadie); first settled by France, 8, 9; foundation of Port
+Royal (Annapolis), 8; ceded to Great Britain by Treaty of Utrecht, 9;
+population of, at conquest, 15; first called Nova Scotia, 11; Halifax
+founded, 49; settlement by colonists of New England, 50, 51;
+expatriation of the Acadian French, 22, 23, 50, 51; population of, in
+1767, 51; Irish immigration, ib.; Scotch immigration, 52; early
+government of, 52, 53, included New Brunswick, C. Breton, and St. John's
+Island (Pr. Edward I), 53; early courts of justice, 55; coming of
+Loyalists to, 82; state of in 1837-38, 162, political struggles in, for
+self-government, 174-180; take part in Quebec Convention of 1864, 198,
+204; brought into Confederation, 215; people opposed to, 212, 218, 219;
+repeal movement gradually ceases in, 233
+
+Novelists, Canadian, 164, 285, 286
+
+O'Callaghan, Dr.; Canadian journalist and rebel, 130
+
+O'Donohue, Canadian rebel, 231; amnesty to, 241
+
+Ohio Valley, French in, 23
+
+Oregon Boundary, dispute respecting, 300-302
+
+Osgoode, Chief Justice; first speaker of legislative council of Upper
+Canada in 1792, 94
+
+Ottawa, city of; founded, 158
+
+Pacific Cable; action of Canadian government with respect to, 271
+
+Palmer, Edward; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Panet, Joseph Antoine; first speaker of assembly of Lower Canada in
+1792, 93
+
+Papineau, Louis J.; leader of French Canadian malcontents in rebellion
+of 1837, 129-134; conduct of, on outbreak of rebellion, 134, 135; return
+of, from exile, 181; opposes responsible government, ib.; loses
+political influence, ib.; character of, 180-182
+
+Pardon, prerogative of; instructions respecting exercise of, 241
+
+Parishes established in French Canada, 29
+
+Parker, Gilbert; Canadian novelist, 286
+
+Parr Town, first name of St. John, New Brunswick, 83
+
+Perry, Peter; founder of Upper Canadian Reform party, 141, 146, 150
+
+Pictou Academy, Nova Scotia; founded, 163
+
+Pitt, the elder (Lord Chatham); gives Canada to Great Britain, 25, 35,
+36
+
+Pitt, William (the younger); introduces Act separating Upper from Lower
+Canada (Constitutional Act of 1791), 90, 91
+
+Plains of Abraham; Wolfe's victory on, 26
+
+Plattsburg, battle of, pusillanimity of General Prevost at, 117
+
+Plessis, Bishop (Roman Catholic); patriotism of, in war of 1812-15, 120
+
+Poets in Canada, 192, 284, 285
+
+Pontiac's Conspiracy, 39
+
+Pope, William H., delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Portuguese discovery in Canada, 5
+
+Post Office in Canada; under British management, 164; transferred to
+Canada, 187
+
+Poundmaker, Indian chief in North-west; rebels against Canadian
+government, 253; punished, 254
+
+Poutrincourt, Baron de; founder of Port Royal, 8
+
+Powell, Chief Justice, his unjust treatment of Robert Gourlay, 145
+
+Preferential trade with Great Britain, 200, 201, 269, 271
+
+Prevost, Sir George (governor-general of Canada), retires from Sackett's
+Harbour 1813, 115; retreats from Plattsburg in 1814, 117; character of,
+113
+
+Prince, Colonel; orders execution of American raiders in 1838, 155
+
+Prince Edward Island. See _St. John's Island_
+
+Prince of Wales visits Canada, 193
+
+
+Princess Louise, arrives in Canada with the Marquess of Lome, 244; her
+support of Art, 288
+
+Proclamation of 1764; for government of Canada, 40-42
+
+Procter, General, defeats General Winchester in 1813, 115; beaten at
+Moraviantown in 1813, 116
+
+Prohibitory Liquor Law; agitation for, 340; popular vote on, ib.
+
+Protestantism unknown in French Canada, 28
+
+Provincial governments established under Confederation, 217, 218
+
+Provinces, constitution of, under Confederation, 275, 276
+
+Puritan migration to Nova Scotia, 50
+
+Put-in Bay (Lake Erie); British fleet defeated at, in 1813, 116
+
+Quebec Act; origin of, 44, 45, its provisions, 45-47;  how received in
+Canada, 46; unpopularity of, in old British colonies, 67
+
+Quebec, Convention of, 1864; delegates to, 199-206; passes resolutions
+in favour of federal union, 206-209
+
+Quebec founded, 9
+
+Queenston Heights; battle of, in 1812, 114
+
+Railways in Canada; in 1865, 191, in 1899, 273. See _Intercolonial R.
+Canadian Pacific R._
+
+Rebellion in Lower Canada; its origin, 124-133; Louis J. Papineau's part
+in, 129-134; outbreak of, 134; prompt action of authorities against,
+ib.; Dr. Nelson wins success at St. Denis, ib.; defeat of Brown at St.
+Charles, ib.; flight of Papineau and rebel leaders, ib.; fight at St.
+Eustache and death of Chenier, ib.; murder of Weir and Chartrand, 135;
+collapse of the rebellion of 1837, 135, 136; loyal action of Bishop
+Lartigue, 135; arrival of Lord Durham as British high-commissioner and
+governor-general, 136; his career in Canada, 137-138; Sir John Colborne;
+governor-general, 139; second outbreak of rebellion, 1838, ib.; promptly
+subdued, ib.; punishment of prominent insurgents, ib.; action of United
+States government during, 139; social and economic condition of Canada
+during, 159-162; remedial policy of British government, and new era of
+political development. See _Responsible Government in Canada._
+
+Rebellion in Upper Canada; effect of family compact on, 140, 141; of
+clergy reserves on, 141, 142; influence of Archdeacon, afterwards
+Bishop, Strachan in public affairs, 142; unjust treatment of Robert
+Gourlay, 143-145; persecution of William Lyon Mackenzie, 146-148; other
+prominent actors in, 148; indiscretions of the lieutenant-governor, Sir
+Francis Bond Head, 149-152; outbreak and repression of, 152, 153; flight
+of Mackenzie and other rebel leaders, 153; Mackenzie's seizure of Navy
+Island, 154; affair of the Caroline, ib.; filibustering expeditions
+against Canada from United States in 1838, 154, 155; prompt execution of
+filibusters by Colonel Prince, 155; action of U.S. authorities during,
+ib.; execution of Von Schoultz, Lount, Matthews, and other rebels, ib.;
+Sir George Arthur, harshness of, ib.; social and economic conditions of
+Upper Canada at time of, 156-159; rebellion leads to the enlargement of
+political privileges of people, See _Responsible Government in Canada._
+
+Rebellion Losses Bill (of 1849); its nature, 188; assented to by Lord
+Elgin, 189; consequent rioting and burning of parliament house at
+Montreal, 189, Lord Elgin's life in danger, ib.; his wise constitutional
+action, ib. Rebellions in North-west: See _North-western Territories,
+_and _Riel, Louis._
+
+Reciprocity of Trade between Canada and the United States; treaty of
+1814, 190, 191; repeal of the same, 303; efforts to renew it, 304, 307;
+Canadians not now so favourable to, 310
+
+Recollets, or Franciscans, in Canada, 11
+
+Redistribution Acts of 1882 and 1897; measures to amend, rejected by
+Senate, 268
+
+Representative institutions in Canada; established in Nova Scotia, 53;
+in New Brunswick, 88; in French or Lower Canada (Quebec), 91; in Upper
+Canada (Ontario), ib.; in Prince Edward Island, 54; in Manitoba, 230; in
+British Columbia, 232
+
+Responsible government in Canada; beginnings of, 165-175;  consummated
+by Lord Elgin, 173; struggle for, in New Brunswick, 173, 174; in Nova
+Scotia, 174-180; in Prince Edward Island, 180; prominent advocates of,
+183-185; results of (1841-1867), 185-192
+
+Revenue of Canada in 1899, 273
+
+Riall, General; defeated by United States troops at Street's Creek in
+1814, 117
+
+Richardson, Major; Canadian author, 164
+
+Richelieu, Cardinal; his effort to colonise Canada, 10
+
+Rideau Canal, constructed, 158
+
+Riel, Louis; leads revolt of French half-breeds in North-west, 228;
+murders Ross, 229; flies from the country, ib; elected to and expelled
+from the Canadian Commons, 241; reappears in North-west, and leads
+second revolt, 249-253; captured and executed, 253, 254; political
+complications concerning, 240, 254
+
+Roberval, Sieur de (Jean François de la Rocque); attempts to settle
+Canada, 7
+
+Robinson, Chief Justice; public career of, in Upper Canada, 145
+
+Rocque, Jean François de la. See _Roberval_
+
+Roebuck, Mr.; Canadian agent in England, 131
+
+Rolph, Dr.; his part in Canadian rebellion of 1837, 151-153; character
+of, 183
+
+Roman Catholic Church in Canada, 28, 29, 43, 46, 47
+
+Rose, Sir John, effort of, to obtain reciprocity with United States, 304
+
+Rosebery, Earl of, unveils Sir John Macdonald's bust in St. Paul's
+Cathedral, 256
+
+Rouse's Point, boundary at, 302
+
+Royal Society of Canada, 286
+
+Rupert's Land; origin of name of, 224. See _North-west Territories of
+Canada_.
+
+Russell, Administrator, 101
+
+Russell, Lord John; introduces resolutions respecting Canada in British
+parliament in 1836, 132; also Act reuniting the Canadas in 1840, 166;
+lays basis of responsible government in Canada, 167. See _Responsible
+Government in Canada_.
+
+Ryerson, Rev. Egerton; Loyalist, Methodist, and educationalist, 141,
+147, 192
+
+Sainte-Geneviève (Pillage Bay); named St. Laurens by Jacques Carrier, 7
+
+Salaberry, Colonel de; defeats United States troops at Chateauguay, 121
+
+Sanderson, Robert; first speaker of assembly of Nova Scotia, 53
+
+San Juan Island; international dispute respecting, 301, 302
+
+Sarrasin, Dr., French Canadian scientist, 35
+
+Saskatchewan River (Poskoiac), discovery of, 20
+
+Sculpture in Canada, 288
+
+Seaforth, Lord. See _Colborne, Sir John_
+
+Secord, Laura; heroic exploit of, in 1814, 120
+
+Seigniorial tenure in French Canada, 14, 32; abolished under British
+rule, 186
+
+Selkirk, Lord; attempts to colonise North-west, 225; death of, _ib._
+
+Seven Years' War; between France and Great Britain in America, 21-27
+
+Sewell, Chief Justice (Loyalist); adviser of Sir James Craig, 96;
+suggests union of provinces, 194
+
+Shea, Ambrose; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Sheaffe, General; services of, during war of 1812-15, 114
+
+Shelburne, in Nova Scotia, founded by Loyalists, 82
+
+Sherbrooke, Sir John, governor of Nova Scotia, 118; occupies Maine in
+war of 1812-15, ib.
+
+Shirley, Governor; deep interest of, in Nova Scotia, 49
+
+Simcoe, Colonel; first lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, 93; public
+career of, 94
+
+Simultaneous polling at elections established, 239
+
+Slavery in Canada, 98
+
+Smith, Chief Justice (Loyalist); first president of legislative council
+of Lower Canada in 1792, 92; suggests federal union of provinces, 194
+
+Smith, Donald (Lord Strathcona); intervenes in North-west rebellion of
+1870, 229
+
+Social and economic conditions of the Canadian provinces; in 1838,
+156-164; in 1866, 189-192; in 1900, 272-290
+
+South African War; Canadians take part in, 271, 272
+
+Square Gulf, or "golfo quadrado"; old name of St. Lawrence Gulf, 7
+
+St. Charles; defeat of Canadian rebels in 1837 at, 134
+
+St. Denis; Canadian rebels repulsed by British regulars in 1837 at, 134
+
+St. Eustache; stand of Canadian rebels at, 134; death of Chenier, ib.
+
+St. John, New Brunswick; founded, 83
+
+St. John's, Island; named Prince Edward, 53; under government of Nova
+Scotia, _ib_.; survey of, ib.; separated from Nova Scotia, 54; public
+lands of, granted by lottery, ib.; political struggles in, for
+self-government, 180, 185; takes part in Quebec Convention of 1864, 206;
+enters Confederation, 234; settlement of its land question, ib.
+
+St. Lawrence, River and Gulf of; origin of name of, 7
+
+St. Lusson, Sieur; takes possession of the Sault, 18
+
+St. Maurice forges founded, 30
+
+Stadacona (Quebec), Indian village of, visited by Jacques Cartier, 6
+
+Stanley, Lord, governor-general of Canada, 267
+
+Steeves, William H.; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Strachan, Bishop (Anglican); patriotism of, during war of 1812-15, 121;
+his influence in Upper Canadian politics, 142
+
+Strange, Lt.-Col.; engaged in repressing North-west rebellion of 1885,
+253
+
+Stuart, Andrew; prominent Canadian lawyer and politician, 127, 131
+
+Sulpitians in Canada, 37
+
+Superior Council of French Canada. See _Supreme Council_
+
+Supreme Council, established by Louis XIV in French Canada, 28, 29
+
+
+Supreme Court, established in Canada, 239
+
+Sydenham, Lord (Poulett Thomson); governor-general of Canada, 166;
+carries out scheme of uniting the Canadas in 1840, 167; opinions of, on
+responsible government, 168; death of, 169
+
+Taché, Sir Etienne Paschal; chairman of Quebec Convention of 1864, 199;
+character of, ib.
+
+Talbot, Colonel, pioneer in Upper Canada, 157
+
+Talon, Intendant, 13
+
+Taite, Israel; accuses McGreevy of grave misdemeanours, 258; member of
+Laurier ministry, 206
+
+Temperance Legislation; "Scott Act" passed, 239; _plèbiscite_ on
+Prohibition, 240
+
+Thompson, Sir John; prime minister of Canada, 257;  sudden death of,
+ib; great ability of, ib.
+
+Thomson, Poulett. See _Sydenham, Lord_
+
+Tilley, Sir Leonard; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 205; public
+career of, ib.; introduces scheme of "National Policy," 244
+
+Timber trade in Canada, in early time, 162
+
+Tithes established in French Canada, 29
+
+Todd, Dr.; Constitutional writer, 286
+
+Tonge, William Cottnam Tonge; Nova Scotian Liberal, 99; his controversy
+with Governor Wentworth, ib.
+
+Trade of Canada in 1899, 273
+
+Treaties, international, affecting Canada; of St. Germain-en-Laye
+(1632), 11; of Utrecht (1713), 9, 21, 22; of Paris (1763), 38; of
+Versailles, 292; of Ghent, 293; of 1818, 294; Ashburton (1842), 299;
+Oregon (1846), 301; reciprocity (1854), 303; of Washington (1871), 305,
+306; Bering Sea, 308, 309, Anglo-Russian (Alaska), 310-312
+
+Treaties with Indian tribes of Canada, 41, 238
+
+Trutch, Sir Joseph; first lieutenant-governor of British Columbia under
+Confederation, 232
+
+Tupper, Sir Charles; prime minister of Nova Scotia, 192; services of, to
+education, ib.; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 204; introduces
+legislation for construction of Canadian Pacific Railway, 244; high
+commissioner of Canada in London, 258; re-enters political life, ib.;
+action of, on Manitoba school question, 264; prime minister of Canada,
+265; defeat of, at general elections of 1896, ib; difference with Lord
+Aberdeen, when governor-general, ib.; remarkable ability of, 204, 258;
+leader of Liberal Conservative party from 1896-1900, 258; policy of, on
+"preferential trade" with Great Britain, 271
+
+Tyler, Professor, on U.E. Loyalists, 76
+
+Uniacke, James Boyle; Nova Scotian statesman, 175; advocate of
+responsible government, 176; first minister of Nova Scotia, 180
+
+Union of the Canadas in 1840, 166, 167
+
+United Empire Loyalists; number of, during American Revolution, 76;
+justice done to, ib.; opinions of, on issues of revolution, 77, 78;
+suffering of, during revolution, 79; treatment of, after the peace of
+1783, 80; compensation to, by British government, 81; settle in British
+America, ib; privations of, in Nova Scotia, 80; founders of New
+Brunswick, 83; of Upper Canada, 84; eminent descent of, 86; Canada's
+debt to, ib origin of name of, 89; representatives of, in first
+legislature of New Brunswick, 87, 88; of Upper Canada, 94; services of,
+during war of 1812-15, 188-120
+
+Universities in Canada, 163, 289
+
+University of Toronto, beginning of, 164
+
+Upper Canada, founded by Loyalists, 84; first districts of, 89, 94; made
+separate province, 91, first government of, 93; Newark, first capital
+of, ib.; York (Toronto), second capital of, 94; rebellion in, see
+_Rebellion in Upper Canada_; state of, in 1838, 159; reunited with Lower
+Canada, 166; joins Confederation as Ontario, 216
+
+Upper Canada College, Toronto, founded, 163
+
+Ursulines at Quebec, 34
+
+Vancouver Island; history of, 231, 232
+
+Verendrye, Sieur de la (Pierre Gauthier de Varennes); discovers
+Manitoba and North-west of Canada, 19, 20
+
+Verrazzano, Giovanni di; voyages of, to North America, 5
+
+Victoria College, Upper Canada, founded, 164
+
+Vincent, General; services of, in war of 1812-15, 115
+
+Von Schoultz; leads filibusters into Canada, 155; executed, ib.
+
+
+War of 1812-15; origin of, 103-110; population of Canada and United
+States during, 110-112; loyalty of Canadian people during, 113; services
+of General Brock during, 114; campaign of 1812 in Upper Canada, 114,
+115; of 1813, 115, 116; of 1814, 117; maritime provinces during, 117,
+118, close of, 118; services of Loyalists during, 118-120; Laura Secord,
+heroism of, 120; description of striking incidents of battles during,
+121-123
+
+Washington, George; eminent character of, 66
+
+Washington Treaty of 1871, 304, 305
+
+Weir, Lieutenant, murder of, in Lower Canadian rebellion of 1837, 135
+
+Welland Canal commenced, 159; completed, 190
+
+Wentworth, Sir John; Loyalist governor of Nova Scotia, 99
+
+Westminster Palace Conference in London; Canadian delegates arrange
+final terms of federation at, 214, 215
+
+Wetmore, Attorney-general; first minister of New Brunswick after
+Confederation, 218
+
+Whelan, Edward; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+White, Thomas; Canadian journalist and statesman, 256; sudden death of,
+ib.
+
+William IV visits Canada as Prince William Henry, 193
+
+Williams, Lt.-Col.; death of, in North-west rebellion of 1885, 254
+
+Williams, Sir Fenwick ("hero of Kars"); lieutenant-governor of Nova
+Scotia, 213, 217
+
+Wilmot, Lemuel A.; father of responsible government in New Brunswick,
+174, 185; lieutenant-governor of the province, 217
+
+Wolfe, General; at Quebec, 25; his bold ascent of heights, 25, 26; wins
+battle on Plains of Abraham, 26; death of, 26; a maker of Canada, 35
+
+York (Toronto) made capital of Upper Canada, 101
+
+Young, Sir William; Nova Scotian statesman and jurist, 185
+
+Yukon, district of; gold discovery in, 209; administration of, ib, 277;
+boundaries of, 310-312
+
+[Illustration: (map) FRANCE, SPAIN, AND ENGLAND, IN NORTH AMERICA,
+1756-1760.]
+
+[Illustration: OUTLINE MAP OF ENGLISH POSSESSIONS IN NORTH AMERICA,
+1763-1775.]
+
+[Illustration: MAP OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA ILLUSTRATING THE BOUNDARIES
+OF PROVINCES AND PROVISIONAL DISTRICTS]
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12661 ***
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #12661 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12661)
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Canada under British Rule 1760-1900, by John
+G. Bourinot
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Canada under British Rule 1760-1900
+
+Author: John G. Bourinot
+
+Release Date: June 19, 2004  [eBook #12661]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CANADA UNDER BRITISH RULE
+1760-1900***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders from images
+provided by the Million Book Project
+
+
+
+CANADA UNDER BRITISH RULE 1760-1900
+
+BY
+
+SIR JOHN G. BOURINOT, K.C.M.G., LL.D., LITT.D.
+
+Author of 'Parliamentary Procedure and Practice', 'Constitutional
+History of Canada,' 'The Story of Canada,' etc
+
+WITH EIGHT MAPS
+
+1900
+
+
+
+
+CAMBRIDGE HISTORICAL SERIES
+
+EDITED BY G. W. PROTHERO, LITT.D., LL.D.
+
+Honorary Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, and Late Professor of
+History in the University of Edinburgh.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+GENERAL PREFACE.
+
+The aim of this series is to sketch the history of Modern Europe, with
+that of its chief colonies and conquests, from about the end of the
+fifteenth century down to the present time. In one or two cases the
+story commences at an earlier date: in the case of the colonies it
+generally begins later. The histories of the different countries are
+described, as a rule, separately, for it is believed that, except in
+epochs like that of the French Revolution and Napoleon I, the connection
+of events will thus be better understood and the continuity of
+historical development more clearly displayed.
+
+The series is intended for the use of all persons anxious to understand
+the nature of existing political conditions. "The roots of the present
+lie deep in the past"; and the real significance of contemporary events
+cannot be grasped unless the historical causes which have led to them
+are known. The plan adopted makes it possible to treat the history of
+the last four centuries in considerable detail, and to embody the most
+important results of modern research. It is hoped therefore that the
+series will be useful not only to beginners but to students who have
+already acquired some general knowledge of European History. For those
+who wish to carry their studies further, the bibliography appended to
+each volume will act as a guide to original sources of information and
+works more detailed and authoritative.
+
+Considerable attention is paid to political geography, and each volume
+is furnished with such maps and plans as may be requisite for the
+illustration of the text.
+
+G.W. PROTHERO.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+I devote the first chapter of this short history to a brief review of
+the colonisation of the valley of the St. Lawrence by the French, and of
+their political and social conditions at the Conquest, so that a reader
+may be able to compare their weak and impoverished state under the
+repressive dominion of France with the prosperous and influential
+position they eventually attained under the liberal methods of British
+rule. In the succeeding chapters I have dwelt on those important events
+which have had the largest influence on the political development of the
+several provinces as British possessions.
+
+We have, first, the Quebec Act, which gave permanent guarantees for the
+establishment of the Church of Rome and the maintenance of the language
+and civil law of France in her old colony. Next, we read of the coming
+of the United Empire Loyalists, and the consequent establishment of
+British institutions on a stable basis of loyal devotion to the parent
+state. Then ensued the war of 1812, to bind the provinces more closely
+to Great Britain, and create that national spirit which is the natural
+outcome of patriotic endeavour and individual self-sacrifice. Then
+followed for several decades a persistent popular struggle for larger
+political liberty, which was not successful until British statesmen
+awoke at last from their indifference, on the outbreak of a rebellion in
+the Canadas, and recognised the necessity of adopting a more liberal
+policy towards their North American dependencies. The union of the
+Canadas was succeeded by the concession of responsible government and
+the complete acknowledgment of the rights of the colonists to manage
+their provincial affairs without the constant interference of British
+officials. With this extension of political privileges, the people
+became still more ambitious, and established a confederation, which has
+not only had the effect of supplying a remarkable stimulus to their
+political, social and material development, but has given greater
+security to British interests on the continent of North America. At
+particular points of the historical narrative I have dwelt for a space
+on economic, social, and intellectual conditions, so that the reader may
+intelligently follow every phase to the development of the people from
+the close of the French régime to the beginning of the twentieth century
+In my summary of the most important political events for the last
+twenty-five years, I have avoided all comment on matters which are "as
+yet"--to quote the language of the epilogue to Mr. Green's "Short
+History"--"too near to us to admit of a cool and purely historical
+treatment." The closing chapter is a short review of the relations
+between Canada and the United States since the treaty of 1783--so
+conducive to international disputes concerning boundaries and fishing
+rights--until the present time, when the Alaskan and other international
+controversies are demanding adjustment.
+
+I have thought, too, that it would be useful to students of political
+institutions to give in the appendix comparisons between the leading
+provisions of the federal systems of the Dominion of Canada and the
+Commonwealth of Australia. I must add that, in the revision of the
+historical narrative, I have been much aided by the judicious criticism
+and apt suggestions of the Editor of the Series, Dr. Prothero.
+
+HOUSE OF COMMONS, OTTAWA, CANADA. 1st October, 1900
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE FRENCH RÉGIME (1534--1760)
+
+Section 1. Introduction
+
+Section 2. Discovery and Settlement of Canada by France
+
+Section 3. French exploration in the valleys of North America
+
+Section 4. End of French Dominion in the valley of the St. Lawrence
+
+Section 5. Political, Economic, and Social Conditions of Canada
+           during French Rule
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+BEGINNINGS OF BRITISH RULE (1749--1774)
+
+Section 1. From the Conquest until the Quebec Act
+
+Section 2. The Foundation of Nova Scotia (1749--1783)
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS (1763--1784)
+
+Section 1. The successful Revolution of the Thirteen Colonies in America
+
+Section 2. Canada and Nova Scotia during the Revolution.
+
+Section 3. The United Empire Loyalists
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+DEVELOPMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE INSTITUTIONS (1784-1812)
+
+Section 1. Beginnings of the Provinces of New Brunswick, Lower Canada
+and Upper Canada.
+
+Section 2. Twenty years of Political Development. (1792-1812)
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE WAR OF 1812-1815
+
+Section 1. Origin of the war between Great Britain and the United States
+
+Section 2. Canada during the War
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE EVOLUTION OF RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (1815-1839)
+
+Section 1. The Rebellion in Lower Canada
+
+Section 2. The Rebellion in Upper Canada
+
+Section 3. Social and Economic Conditions of the Provinces in 1838
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+A NEW ERA OF COLONIAL GOVERNMENT (1839-1867)
+
+Section 1. The Union of the Canadas and the establishment of Responsible
+Government
+
+Section 2. Results of Self-government from 1841 to 1864
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE EVOLUTION OF CONFEDERATION (1789-1867)
+
+Section 1. The beginnings of Confederation
+
+Section 2. The Quebec Convention of 1864
+
+Section 3. Confederation accomplished
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+CONFEDERATION (1867--1900)
+
+Section 1. The First Parliament of the Dominion of Canada (1867--1873)
+
+Section 2. Extension of the Dominion from the Atlantic to the Pacific
+           Ocean (1869--1873)
+
+Section 3. Summary of Noteworthy Events from 1873 until 1900
+
+Section 4. Political and Social Conditions of Canada under Confederation
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+CANADA'S RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES AND HER INFLUENCE IN IMPERIAL
+COUNCILS (1783--1900)
+
+APPENDIX A: COMPARISONS BETWEEN CONSTITUTIONS OF THE CANADIAN DOMINION
+AND AUSTRALIAN COMMONWEALTH.
+
+APPENDIX B: BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
+
+INDEX
+
+PLANS AND MAPS.
+
+Map showing Boundary between Canada and the United States by Treaty of
+1783.
+
+Map of British America to illustrate the Charter of the Hudson's Bay
+Company.
+
+International Boundary as finally established in 1842 at Lake of the
+Woods.
+
+Map of the North-Eastern Boundary as established in 1842.
+
+Map of British Columbia and Yukon District showing disputed Boundary
+between Canada and the United States.
+
+France, Spain, and Great Britain, in North America, 1756--1760.
+
+Outline map of British Possessions in North America, 1763--1775.
+
+Map of the Dominion of Canada illustrating the boundaries of Provinces
+and Provisional Districts.
+
+A SHORT HISTORY OF CANADA UNDER BRITISH RULE.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE FRENCH RÉGIME. 1534--1760.
+
+
+SECTION I.--Introduction.
+
+Though the principal object of this book is to review the political,
+economic and social progress of the provinces of Canada under British
+rule, yet it would be necessarily imperfect, and even unintelligible in
+certain important respects, were I to ignore the deeply interesting
+history of the sixteen hundred thousand French Canadians, about thirty
+per cent of the total population of the Dominion. To apply to Canada an
+aphorism of Carlyle, "The present is the living sum-total of the whole
+past"; the sum-total not simply of the hundred and thirty years that
+have elapsed since the commencement of British dominion, but primarily
+of the century and a half that began with the coming of Champlain to the
+heights of Quebec and ended with the death of Wolfe on the Plains of
+Abraham. The soldiers and sailors, the missionaries and pioneers of
+France, speak to us in eloquent tones, whether we linger in summer time
+on the shores of the noble gulf which washes the eastern portals of
+Canada; whether we ascend the St. Lawrence River and follow the route
+taken by the explorers, who discovered the great lakes, and gave to the
+world a knowledge of the West and the Mississippi, whether we walk on
+the grassy mounds that recall the ruins of the formidable fortress of
+Louisbourg, which once defended the eastern entrance to the St.
+Lawrence; whether we linger on the rocks of the ancient city of Quebec
+with its many memorials of the French régime; whether we travel over the
+rich prairies with their sluggish, tortuous rivers, and memories of the
+French Canadians who first found their way to that illimitable region.
+In fact, Canada has a rich heritage of associations that connect us with
+some of the most momentous epochs of the world's history. The victories
+of Louisbourg and Quebec belong to the same series of brilliant events
+that recall the famous names of Chatham, Clive, and Wolfe, and that gave
+to England a mighty empire in Asia and America. Wolfe's signal victory
+on the heights of the ancient capital was the prelude to the great drama
+of the American revolution. Freed from the fear of France, the people of
+the Thirteen Colonies, so long hemmed in between the Atlantic Ocean and
+the Appalachian range, found full expression for their love of local
+self-government when England asserted her imperial supremacy. After a
+struggle of a few years they succeeded in laying the foundation of the
+remarkable federal republic, which now embraces forty-five states with a
+population of already seventy-five millions of souls, which owes its
+national stability and prosperity to the energy and enterprise of the
+Anglo-Norman race and the dominant influence of the common law, and the
+parliamentary institutions of England. At the same time, the American
+Revolution had an immediate and powerful effect upon the future of the
+communities that still remained in the possession of England after the
+acknowledgement of the independence of her old colonies. It drove to
+Canada a large body of men and women, who remained faithful to the crown
+and empire and became founders of provinces which are now comprised in a
+Dominion extending for over three thousand miles to the north and east
+of the federal republic.
+
+The short review of the French régime, with which I am about to
+commence this history of Canada, will not give any evidence of
+political, economic, or intellectual development under the influence of
+French dominion, but it is interesting to the student of comparative
+politics on account of the comparisons which it enables us to make
+between the absolutism of old France which crushed every semblance of
+independent thought and action, and the political freedom which has been
+a consequence of the supremacy of England in the province once occupied
+by her ancient rival. It is quite true, as Professor Freeman has said,
+that in Canada, which is pre-eminently English in the development of its
+political institutions, French Canada is still "a distinct and visible
+element, which is not English,--an element older than anything English
+in the land,--and which shows no sign of being likely to be assimilated
+by anything English." As this book will show, though a hundred and forty
+years have nearly passed since the signing of the treaty of Paris, many
+of the institutions which the French Canadians inherited from France
+have become permanently established in the country, and we see
+constantly in the various political systems given to Canada from time to
+time--notably in the constitution of the federal union--the impress of
+these institutions and the influence of the people of the French
+section. Still, while the French Canadians by their adherence to their
+language, civil law and religion are decidedly "a distinct and visible
+element which is not English"--an element kept apart from the English by
+positive legal and constitutional guarantees or barriers of
+separation,--we shall see that it is the influence and operation of
+English institutions, which have made their province one of the most
+contented communities of the world. While their old institutions are
+inseparably associated with the social and spiritual conditions of their
+daily lives, it is after all their political constitution, which derives
+its strength from English, principles, that has made the French
+Canadians a free, self-governing people and developed the best elements
+of their character to a degree which was never possible under the
+depressing and enfeebling conditions of the French régime.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--Discovery and settlement of Canada by France.
+
+Much learning has been devoted to the elucidation of the Icelandic
+Sagas, or vague accounts of voyages which Bjorne Heriulfson and Lief
+Ericsson, sons of the first Norse settlers of Greenland, are supposed to
+have made at the end of the tenth century, to the eastern parts of what
+is now British North America, and, in the opinion of some writers, even
+as far as the shores of New England. It is just possible that such
+voyages were made, and that Norsemen were the first Europeans who saw
+the eastern shores of Canada. It is quite certain, however, that no
+permanent settlements were made by the Norsemen in any part of these
+countries; and their voyages do not appear to have been known to
+Columbus or other maritime adventurers of later times, when the veil of
+mystery was at last lifted from the western limits of what was so long
+truly described as the "sea of darkness." While the subject is
+undoubtedly full of interest, it is at the same time as illusive as the
+_fata morgana_, or the lakes and rivers that are created by the mists of
+a summer's eve on the great prairies of the Canadian west.
+
+Five centuries later than the Norse voyagers, there appeared on the
+great field of western exploration an Italian sailor, Giovanni Caboto,
+through whose agency England took the first step in the direction of
+that remarkable maritime enterprise which, in later centuries, was to be
+the admiration and envy of all other nations. John Cabot was a Genoese
+by birth and a Venetian citizen by adoption, who came during the last
+decade of the fifteenth century, to the historic town of Bristol.
+Eventually he obtain from Henry VII letters-patent, granting to himself
+and his three sons, Louis, Sebastian, and Sancio, the right, "at their
+own cost and charges, to seek out and discover unknown lands," and to
+acquire for England the dominion over the countries they might discover.
+Early in May, 1497, John Cabot sailed from Bristol in "The Matthew,"
+manned by English sailors. In all probability he was accompanied by
+Sebastian, then about 21 years of age, who, in later times, through the
+credulity of his friends and his own garrulity and vanity, took that
+place in the estimation of the world which his father now rightly fills.
+Some time toward the end of June, they made a land-fall on the
+north-eastern coast of North America. The actual site of the land-fall
+will always be a matter of controversy unless some document is found
+among musty archives of Europe to solve the question to the satisfaction
+of the disputants, who wax hot over the claims of a point near Cape
+Chidley on the coast of Labrador, of Bonavista, on the east shore of
+Newfoundland, of Cape North, or some other point, on the island of Cape
+Breton. Another expedition left Bristol in 1498, but while it is now
+generally believed that Cabot coasted the shores of North America from
+Labrador or Cape Breton as far as Cape Hatteras, we have no details of
+this famous voyage, and are even ignorant of the date when the fleet
+returned to England.
+
+The Portuguese, Gaspar and Miguel Cortereal, in the beginning of the
+sixteenth century, were lost somewhere on the coast of Labrador or
+Newfoundland, but not before they gave to their country a claim to new
+lands. The Basques and Bretons, always noted for their love of the sea,
+frequented the same prolific waters and some of the latter gave a name
+to the picturesque island of Cape Breton. Giovanni da Verrazzano, a
+Florentine by birth, who had for years led a roving life on the sea,
+sailed in 1524 along the coasts of Nova Scotia and the present United
+States and gave a shadowy claim of first discovery of a great region to
+France under whose authority he sailed. Ten years later Jacques Cartier
+of St. Malo was authorised by Francis I to undertake a voyage to these
+new lands, but he did not venture beyond the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
+though he took possession of the picturesque Gaspé peninsula in the name
+of his royal master. In 1535 he made a second voyage, whose results were
+most important for France and the world at large. The great river of
+Canada was then discovered by the enterprising Breton, who established a
+post for some months at Stadacona, now Quebec, and also visited the
+Indian village of Hochelaga on the island of Montreal. Here he gave the
+appropriate name of Mount Royal to the beautiful height which dominates
+the picturesque country where enterprise has, in the course of
+centuries, built a noble city. Hochelaga was probably inhabited by
+Indians of the Huron-Iroquois family, who appear, from the best evidence
+before us, to have been dwelling at that time on the banks of the St.
+Lawrence, whilst the Algonquins, who took their place in later times,
+were living to the north of the river.
+
+The name of Canada--obviously the Huron-Iroquois word for Kannata, a
+town--began to take a place on the maps soon after Cartier's voyages. It
+appears from his _Bref Récit_ to have been applied at the time of his
+visit, to a kingdom, or district, extending from Ile-aux-Coudres, which
+he named on account of its hazel-nuts, on the lower St. Lawrence, to the
+Kingdom of Ochelay, west of Stadacona; east of Canada was Saguenay, and
+west of Ochelay was Hochelaga, to which the other communities were
+tributary. After a winter of much misery Cartier left Stadacona in the
+spring of 1536, and sailed into the Atlantic by the passage between Cape
+Breton and Newfoundland, now appropriately called Cabot's Straits on
+modern maps. He gave to France a positive claim to a great region, whose
+illimitable wealth and possibilities were never fully appreciated by the
+king and the people of France even in the later times of her dominion.
+Francis, in 1540, gave a commission to Jean François de la Roque, Sieur
+de Roberval, to act as his viceroy and lieutenant-general in the
+country discovered by Cartier, who was elevated to the position of
+captain general and master pilot of the new expedition. As the Viceroy
+was unable to complete his arrangements by 1541, Cartier was obliged to
+sail in advance, and again passed a winter on the St. Lawrence, not at
+Stadacona but at Cap Rouge, a few miles to the west, where he built a
+post which he named Charlesbourg-Royal. He appears to have returned to
+France some time during the summer of 1542, while Roberval was on his
+way to the St. Lawrence. Roberval found his way without his master pilot
+to Charlesbourg-Royal, which he renamed France-Roy, and where he erected
+buildings of a very substantial character in the hope of establishing a
+permanent settlement. His selection of colonists--chiefly taken from
+jails and purlieus of towns--was most unhappy, and after a bitter
+experience he returned to France, probably in the autumn of 1543, and
+disappeared from Canadian history.
+
+From the date of Cartier's last voyage until the beginning of the
+seventeenth century, a period of nearly sixty years, nothing was done to
+settle the lands of the new continent. Fishermen alone continued to
+frequent the great gulf, which was called for years the "Square gulf" or
+"Golfo quadrado," or "Quarré," on some European maps, until it assumed,
+by the end of the sixteenth century, the name it now bears. The name
+Saint-Laurens was first given by Cartier to the harbour known as
+Sainte-Geneviève (or sometimes Pillage Bay), on the northern shore of
+Canada, and gradually extended to the gulf and river. The name of
+Labrador, which was soon established on all maps, had its origin in the
+fact that Gaspar Cortereal brought back with him a number of natives who
+were considered to be "admirably calculated for labour."
+
+In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the English began to take a prominent
+part in that maritime enterprise which was to lead to such remarkable
+results in the course of three centuries. The names of the ambitious
+navigators, Frobisher and Davis, are connected with those arctic waters
+where so much money, energy, and heroism have been expended down to the
+present time. Under the influence of the great Ralegh, whose fertile
+imagination was conceiving plans of colonization in America, Sir
+Humphrey Gilbert, his brother-in-law, took possession of Newfoundland on
+a hill overlooking the harbour of St. John's. English enterprise,
+however, did not extend for many years to any other part of North
+Eastern America than Newfoundland, which is styled Baccalaos on the
+Hakluyt map of 1597, though the present name appeared from a very early
+date in English statutes and records. The island, however, for a century
+and longer, was practically little more than "a great ship moored near
+the banks during the fishing season, for the convenience of English
+fishermen," while English colonizing enterprise found a deeper interest
+in Virginia with its more favourable climate and southern products. It
+was England's great rival, France, that was the pioneer at the beginning
+of the seventeenth century in the work of exploring, and settling the
+countries now comprised within the Dominion of Canada.
+
+France first attempted to settle the indefinite region, long known as
+_La Cadie_ or _Acadie_[1]. The Sieur de Monts, Samuel Champlain, and the
+Baron de Poutrincourt were the pioneers in the exploration of this
+country. Their first post was erected on Dochet Island, within the mouth
+of the St. Croix River, the present boundary between the state of Maine
+and the province of New Brunswick; but this spot was very soon found
+unsuitable, and the hopes of the pioneers were immediately turned
+towards the beautiful basin, which was first named Port Royal by
+Champlain. The Baron de Poutrincourt obtained a grant of land around
+this basin, and determined to make his home in so beautiful a spot. De
+Monts, whose charter was revoked in 1607, gave up the project of
+colonizing Acadia, whose history from that time is associated for years
+with the misfortunes of the Biencourts, the family name of Baron de
+Poutrincourt; but the hopes of this adventurous nobleman were never
+realized. In 1613 an English expedition from Virginia, under the command
+of Captain Argall, destroyed the struggling settlement at Fort Royal,
+and also prevented the establishment of a Jesuit mission on the island
+of Monts-Déserts, which owes its name to Champlain. Acadia had
+henceforth a checquered history, chiefly noted for feuds between rival
+French leaders and for the efforts of the people of New England to
+obtain possession of Acadia. Port Royal was captured in 1710 by General
+Nicholson, at the head of an expedition composed of an English fleet and
+the militia of New England. Then it received the name of Annapolis Royal
+in honour of Queen Anne, and was formally ceded with all of Acadia
+"according to its ancient limits" to England by the treaty of Utrecht.
+
+[1: This name is now generally admitted to belong to the language of the
+Micmac Indians of the Atlantic provinces. It means a place, or locality,
+and is always associated with another word descriptive of some special
+natural production; for instance, Shubenacadie, or Segubunakade, is the
+place where the ground-nut, or Indian potato, grows. We find the first
+official mention of the word in the commission given by Henry IV of
+France to the Sieur de Monts in 1604.]
+
+It was not in Acadia, but in the valley of the St. Lawrence, that France
+made her great effort to establish her dominion in North America. Samuel
+Champlain, the most famous man in the history of French Canada, laid the
+foundation of the present city of Quebec in the month of June, 1608, or
+three years after the removal of the little Acadian colony from St.
+Croix Island to the basin of the Annapolis. The name Quebec is now
+generally admitted to be an adaptation of an Indian word, meaning a
+contraction of the river or strait, a distinguishing feature of the St.
+Lawrence at this important point. The first buildings were constructed
+by Champlain on a relatively level piece of ground, now occupied by a
+market-house and close to a famous old church erected in the days of
+Frontenac, in commemoration of the victorious repulse of the New England
+expedition led by Phipps. For twenty-seven years Champlain struggled
+against constantly accumulating difficulties to establish a colony on
+the St. Lawrence. He won the confidence of the Algonquin and Huron tubes
+of Canada, who then lived on the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers, and in
+the vicinity of Georgian Bay. Recognizing the necessity of an alliance
+with the Canadian Indians, who controlled all the principal avenues to
+the great fur-bearing regions, he led two expeditions, composed of
+Frenchmen, Hurons, and Algonquins, against the Iroquois or Confederacy
+of the Five Nations[2]--the Mohawks, the Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas,
+and Senecas--who inhabited the fertile country stretching from the
+Genesee to the Hudson River in the present state of New York. Champlain
+consequently excited against his own people the inveterate hostility of
+the bravest, cruellest and ablest Indians with whom Europeans have ever
+come in contact in America. Champlain probably had no other alternative
+open to him than to become the active ally of the Canadian Indians, on
+whose goodwill and friendship he was forced to rely; but it is also
+quite probable that he altogether underrated the ability and bravery of
+the Iroquois who, in later years, so often threatened the security of
+Canada, and more than once brought the infant colony to the very verge
+of ruin.
+
+[2: In 1715 the confederacy was joined by the Tuscaroras, a southern
+branch of the same family, and was then called more properly the Six
+Nations.]
+
+It was during Champlain's administration of affairs that the Company of
+the Hundred Associates was formed under the auspices of Cardinal
+Richelieu, with the express object of colonizing Canada and developing
+the fur-trade and other commercial enterprises on as large a scale as
+possible. The Company had ill-fortune from the outset. The first
+expedition it sent to the St. Lawrence was captured by a fleet commanded
+by David Kirk, a gentleman of Derbyshire, who in the following year also
+took Quebec, and carried Champlain and his followers to England. The
+English were already attempting settlements on the shores of
+Massachusetts Bay; and the poet and courtier, Sir William Alexander,
+afterwards known as the Earl of Stirling, obtained from the King of
+England all French Acadia, which he named Nova Scotia and offered to
+settlers in baronial giants. A Scotch colony was actually established
+for a short time at Port Royal under the auspices of Alexander, but in
+1632, by the treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye, both Acadia and Canada were
+restored to France. Champlain returned to Quebec, but the Company of the
+Hundred Associates had been severely crippled by the ill-luck which
+attended its first venture, and was able to do very little for the
+struggling colony during the three remaining years of Champlain's life.
+
+The Recollets or Franciscans, who had first come to the country in 1615,
+now disappeared, and the Jesuits assumed full control in the wide field
+of effort that Canada offered to the missionary. The Jesuits had, in
+fact, made their appearance in Canada as early as 1625, or fourteen
+years after two priests of their order, Ennemond Massé and Pierre Biard,
+had gone to Acadia to labour among the Micmacs or Souriquois. During the
+greater part of the seventeenth century, intrepid Jesuit priests are
+associated with some of the most heroic incidents of Canadian history.
+
+When Champlain died, on Christmas-day, 1635, the French population of
+Canada did not exceed 150 souls, all dependent on the fur-trade. Canada
+so far showed none of the elements of prosperity; it was not a colony
+of settlers but of fur-traders. Still Champlain, by his indomitable
+will, gave to France a footing in America which she was to retain for a
+century and a quarter after his death. His courage amid the difficulties
+that surrounded him, his fidelity to his church and country, his ability
+to understand the Indian character, his pure unselfishness, are among
+the remarkable qualities of a man who stands foremost among the pioneers
+of European civilization in America.
+
+From the day of Champlain's death until the arrival of the Marquis de
+Tracy, in 1665, Canada was often in a most dangerous and pitiable
+position. That period of thirty years was, however, also distinguished
+by the foundation of those great religious communities which have always
+exercised such an important influence upon the conditions of life
+throughout French Canada. In 1652 Montreal was founded under the name of
+Ville-Marie by Paul Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, and a number of
+other religious enthusiasts. In 1659, the Abbé de Montigny, better known
+to Canadians as Monseigneur de Laval, the first Roman Catholic bishop,
+arrived in the colony and assumed charge of ecclesiastical affairs under
+the titular name of Bishop of Petraea. Probably no single man has ever
+exercised such powerful and lasting influence on Canadian institutions
+as that famous divine. Possessed of great tenacity of purpose, most
+ascetic in his habits, regardless of all worldly considerations, always
+working for the welfare and extension of his church, Bishop Laval was
+eminently fitted to give it that predominance in civil as well as
+religious affairs which it so long possessed in Canada.
+
+While the Church of Rome was perfecting its organization throughout
+Canada, the Iroquois were constantly making raids upon the unprotected
+settlements, especially in the vicinity of Montreal. The Hurons in the
+Georgian Bay district were eventually driven from their comfortable
+villages, and now the only remnants of a powerful nation are to be found
+in the community of mixed blood at Lorette, near Quebec, or on the
+banks of the Detroit River, where they are known as Wyandots. The Jesuit
+mission of Sainte-Marie in their country was broken up, and Jean de
+Brébeuf and Gabriel Lalemant suffered torture and death.
+
+Such was the pitiable condition of things in 1663, when Louis XIV made
+of Canada a royal government. At this time the total population of the
+province did not exceed 2500 souls, grouped chiefly in and around
+Quebec, Three Rivers and Montreal. In 1665 the Marquis de Tracy and
+Governor de Courcelles, with a brilliant retinue of officers and a
+regiment of soldiers, arrived in the colony, and brought with them
+conditions of peace and prosperity. A small stream of immigration flowed
+steadily into the country for some years, as a result of the new policy
+adopted by the French government. The Mohawks, the most daring and
+dangerous nation of the Iroquois confederacy, were humbled by Tracy in
+1667, and forced to sue for peace. Under the influence of Talon, the
+ablest intendant who ever administered Canadian affairs, the country
+enjoyed a moderate degree of prosperity, although trade continued
+entirely dependent on the orders and regulations of the King and his
+officials.
+
+Among the ablest governors of Canada was undoubtedly Louis de la Buade,
+Count de Frontenac, who administered public affairs from 1672-1687 and
+from 1689-1698. He was certainly impatient, choleric and selfish
+whenever his pecuniary interests were concerned; but, despite his faults
+of character, he was a brave soldier, dignified and courteous on
+important occasions, a close student of the character of the Indians,
+always ready when the necessity arose to adapt himself to their foibles
+and at the same time able to win their confidence. He found Canada weak,
+and left it a power in the affairs of America. He infused his own
+never-failing confidence into the hearts of the struggling colonists on
+the St. Lawrence, repulsed Sir William Phipps and his New England
+expedition when they attacked Quebec in 1690, wisely erected a fort on
+Lake Ontario as a fur-trading post and a bulwark against the Iroquois,
+encouraged the fur-trade, and stimulated exploration in the west and in
+the valleys of the Ohio and the Mississippi. The settlements of New
+England trembled at his name, and its annals contain many a painful
+story of the misery inflicted by his cruel bands of Frenchmen and
+Indians.
+
+Despite all the efforts of the French government for some years, the
+total immigration from 1663 until 1713, when the great war between
+France and the Grand Alliance came to an end by the treaty of Utrecht,
+did not exceed 6000 souls, and the whole population of the province in
+that year was only 20,000, a small number for a century of colonization.
+For some years after the formation of the royal government, a large
+number of marriageable women were brought to the country under the
+auspices of the religious communities, and marriages and births were
+encouraged by exhortations and bounties. A considerable number of the
+officers and soldiers of the Carignan-Salières regiment, who followed
+the Marquis de Tracy into Canada, were induced to remain and settle new
+seigniories, chiefly in palisaded villages in the Richelieu district for
+purposes of defence against Iroquois expeditions. Despite all the
+paternal efforts of the government to stimulate the growth of a large
+population, the natural increase was small during the seventeenth
+century. The disturbing influence, no doubt, was the fur-trade, which
+allured so many young men into the wilderness, made them unfit for a
+steady life, and destroyed their domestic habits. The emigrants from
+France came chiefly from Anjou, Saintonge, Paris and its suburbs,
+Normandy, Poitou, Beauce, Perche, and Picardy. The Carignan-Salières
+regiment brought men from all parts of the parent state. It does not
+appear that any number of persons ever came from Brittany. The larger
+proportion of the settlers were natives of the north-western provinces
+of France, especially from Perche and Normandy, and formed an excellent
+stock on which to build up a thrifty, moral people. The seigniorial
+tenure of French Canada was an adaptation of the feudal system of France
+to the conditions of a new country, and was calculated in some respects
+to stimulate settlement. Ambitious persons of limited means were able to
+form a class of colonial _noblesse_. But unless the seignior cleared a
+certain portion of his grant within a limited time, he would forfeit it
+all. The conditions by which the _censitaires_ or tenants of the
+seigniorial domain held their grants of land were by no means
+burdensome, but they signified a dependency of tenure inconsistent with
+the free nature of American life. A large portion of the best lands of
+French Canada were granted under this seigniorial system to men whose
+names frequently occur in the records of the colony down to the present
+day: Rimouski, Bic and Métis, Kamouraska, Nicolet, Verchères,
+Lotbinière, Berthier, Beloeil, Rouville, Juliette, Terrebonne,
+Champlain, Sillery, Beaupré, Bellechasse, Portneuf, Chambly, Sorel,
+Longueuil, Boucherville, Chateauguay, Lachine, are memorials of the
+seigniorial grants of the seventeenth century.
+
+The whole population of the Acadian Peninsula in 1710-13, was not more
+than 1500 souls, nearly all descendants of the people brought to the
+country by Poutrincourt and his successors Razilly and Charnisay. At no
+time did the French government interest itself in immigration to
+neglected Acadia. Of the total population, nearly 1000 persons were
+settled in the beautiful country which the industry and ingenuity of the
+Acadian peasants, in the course of many years, reclaimed from the
+restless tides of the Bay of Fundy at Grand Pré and Minas. The remaining
+settlements were at Beau Bassin, Annapolis, Piziquit (now Windsor),
+Cobequit (now Truro), and Cape Sable. Some small settlements were also
+founded on the banks of the St. John River and on the eastern bays of
+the present province of New Brunswick.
+
+
+SECTION 3.--French exploration in the great valleys of North America.
+
+The hope of finding a short route to the rich lands of Asia by the St.
+Lawrence River and its tributary lakes and streams, influenced French
+voyagers and explorers well into the middle of the eighteenth century.
+When Cartier stood on Mount Royal and saw the waters of the Ottawa there
+must have flashed across his mind the thought that perhaps by this river
+would be found that passage to the western sea of which he and other
+sailors often dreamed both in earlier and later times. L'Escarbot tells
+us that Champlain in his western explorations always hoped to reach Asia
+by a Canadian route. He was able, however, long before his death to
+make valuable contributions to the geography of Canada. He was the first
+Frenchman to ascend the River of the Iroquois, now the Richelieu, and to
+see the beautiful lake which still bears his name. In 1615 he found his
+way to Georgian Bay by the route of the Ottawa and Mattawa Rivers, Lake
+Nipissing and French River. Here he visited the Huron villages which
+were situated in the district now known as Simcoe county in the province
+of Ontario. Father le Caron, a Recollet, had preceded the French
+explorer, and was performing missionary duties among the Indians, who
+probably numbered 20,000 in all. This brave priest was the pioneer of an
+army of faithful missionaries--mostly of a different order--who lived
+for years among the Indians, suffered torture and death, and connected
+their names not only with the martyrs of their faith but also with the
+explorers of this continent. From this time forward we find the trader
+and the priest advancing in the wilderness; sometimes one is first,
+sometimes the other.
+
+Champlain accompanied his Indian allies on an expedition against the
+Onondagas, one of the five nations who occupied the country immediately
+to the south of the upper St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario. The party
+reached Lake Ontario by the system of inland navigation which stretches
+from Lake Simcoe to the Bay of Quinté. The Onondagas repulsed the
+Canadian allies who returned to their settlements, where Champlain
+remained during the winter of 1616. It was during this expedition, which
+did much to weaken Champlain's prestige among the Indians, that Étienne
+Brulé an interpreter, was sent to the Andastes, who were then living
+about the headwaters of the Susquehanna, with the hope of bringing them
+to the support of the Canadian savages. He was not seen again until
+1618, when he returned to Canada with a story, doubtless correct, of
+having found himself on the shores of a great lake where there were
+mines of copper, probably Lake Superior.
+
+With the new era of peace that followed the coming of the Viceroy Tracy
+in 1665, and the establishment of a royal government, a fresh impulse
+was given to exploration and mission work in the west. Priests,
+fur-traders, gentlemen-adventurers, _coureurs de bois_, now appeared
+frequently on the lakes and rivers of the west, and gave in the course
+of years a vast region to the dominion of France. As early as 1665
+Father Allouez established a mission at La Pointe, the modern Ashland,
+on the shores of Lake Superior. In 1668 one of the most interesting
+persons who ever appeared in early Canada, the missionary and explorer,
+Father Marquette, founded the mission of Sainte-Marie on the southern
+side of the Sault, which may be considered the oldest settlement of the
+north-west, as it alone has a continuous history to the present time.
+
+In the record of those times we see strikingly displayed certain
+propensities of the Canadian people which seriously interfered with the
+settlement and industry of the country. The fur-trade had far more
+attractions for the young and adventurous than the regular and active
+life of farming on the seigniories. The French immigrant as well as the
+native Canadian adapted himself to the conditions of Indian life.
+Wherever the Indian tribes were camped in the forest or by the river,
+and the fur-trade could be prosecuted to the best advantage, we see the
+_coureurs de bois_, not the least picturesque figures of these grand
+woods, then in the primeval sublimity of their solitude and vastness.
+Despite the vices and weaknesses of a large proportion of this class,
+not a few were most useful in the work of exploration and exercised a
+great influence among the Indians of the West. But for these
+forest-rangers the Michigan region would have fallen into the possession
+of the English who were always intriguing with the Iroquois and
+endeavouring to obtain a share of the fur-trade of the west. Joliet, the
+companion of Marquette, in his ever-memorable voyage to the Mississippi,
+was a type of the best class of the Canadian fur-trader.
+
+In 1671 Sieur St. Lusson took formal possession of the Sault and the
+adjacent country in the name of Louis XIV. In 1673 Fort Frontenac was
+built at Cataraqui, now Kingston, as a barrier to the aggressive
+movements of the Iroquois and an _entrepôt_ for the fur-trade on Lake
+Ontario. In the same year Joliet and Marquette solved a part of the
+problem which had so long perplexed the explorers of the West. The
+trader and priest reached the Mississippi by the way of Green Bay, the
+Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. They went down the Mississippi as far as the
+Arkansas. Though they were still many hundreds of miles from the mouth
+of the river, they grasped the fact that it must reach, not the western
+ocean, but the southern gulf first discovered by the Spaniards.
+Marquette died not long afterwards, worn out by his labours in the
+wilderness, and was buried beneath the little chapel at St. Ignace.
+Joliet's name henceforth disappears from the annals of the West.
+
+Réné Robert Cavelier, better known as the Sieur de la Salle, completed
+the work commenced by the trader and missionary. In 1666 he obtained a
+grant of land at the head of the rapids above Montreal by the side of
+that beautiful expanse of the St. Lawrence, still called Lachine, a name
+first given in derisive allusion to his hope of finding a short route to
+China. In 1679 he saw the Niagara Falls for the first time, and the
+earliest sketch is to be found in _La Nouvelle Découverte_ written or
+compiled by that garrulous, vain, and often mendacious Recollet Friar,
+Louis Hennepin, who accompanied La Salle on this expedition. In the
+winter of 1681-82 this famous explorer reached the Mississippi, and for
+weeks followed its course through the novel and wondrous scenery of a
+southern land. On the 9th of April, 1682, at a point just above the
+mouth of the great river, La Salle took formal possession of the
+Mississippi valley in the name of Louis XIV, with the same imposing
+ceremonies that distinguished the claim asserted by St. Lusson at the
+Sault in the lake region. By the irony of fate, La Salle failed to
+discover the mouth of the river when he came direct from France to the
+Gulf of Mexico in 1685, but landed somewhere on Matagorda Bay on the
+Texan coast, where he built a fort for temporary protection. Finding his
+position untenable, he decided in 1687 to make an effort to reach the
+Illinois country, but when he had been a few days on this perilous
+journey he was treacherously murdered by some of his companions near the
+southern branch of Trinity River. His body was left to the beasts and
+birds of prey. Two of the murderers were themselves killed by their
+accomplices, none of whom appear ever to have been brought to justice
+for their participation in a crime by which France lost one of the
+bravest and ablest men who ever struggled for her dominion in North
+America.
+
+Some years later the famous Canadians, Iberville and Bienville, founded
+a colony in the great valley, known by the name of Louisiana, which was
+first given to it by La Salle himself. By the possession of the Sault,
+Mackinac, and Detroit, the French were for many years supreme on the
+lakes, and had full control of Indian trade. The Iroquois and their
+English friends were effectively shut out of the west by the French
+posts and settlements which followed the explorations of Joliet, La
+Salle, Du Luth, and other adventurers. Plans continued to be formed for
+reaching the Western or Pacific ocean even in the middle of the
+eighteenth century. The Jesuit Charlevoix, the historian of New France,
+was sent out to Canada by the French government to enquire into the
+feasibility of a route which Frenchmen always hoped for. Nothing
+definite came out of this mission, but the Jesuit was soon followed by
+an enterprising native of Three Rivers, Pierre Gaultier de Varennes,
+generally called the Sieur de la Verendrye, who with his sons ventured
+into the region now known as the province of Manitoba and the north-west
+territory of Canada. He built several forts, including one on the site
+of the city of Winnipeg. Two of his sons are believed to have reached
+the Big Horn Range, an "outlying buttress" of the Rocky Mountains, in
+1743, and to have taken possession of what is now territory of the
+United States. The youngest son, Chevalier de la Verendrye, who was the
+first to see the Rocky Mountains, subsequently discovered the
+Saskatchewan (Poskoiac) and even ascended it as far as the forks--the
+furthest western limits so far touched by a white man in America. A few
+years later, in 1751, M. de Niverville, under the orders of M. de St.
+Pierre, then acting in the interest of the infamous Intendant Bigot, who
+coveted the western fur-trade, reached the foot-hills of the Rocky
+Mountains and built a fort on the Saskatchewan not far from the present
+town of Calgary.
+
+We have now followed the paths of French adventurers for nearly a
+century and a half, from the day Champlain landed on the rocks of Quebec
+until the Verendryes traversed the prairies and plains of the
+North-west. French explorers had discovered the three great waterways of
+this continent--the Mississippi, which pours its enormous volume of
+water, drawn from hundreds of tributaries, into a southern gulf; the St.
+Lawrence, which bears the tribute of the great lakes to the Atlantic
+Ocean; the Winnipeg, with its connecting rivers and lakes which stretch
+from the Rocky Mountains to the dreary Arctic sea. La Verendrye was the
+first Frenchman who stood on the height of land or elevated plateau of
+the continent, almost within sight of the sources of those great rivers
+which flow, after devious courses, north, south and east. It has been
+well said that if three men should ascend these three waterways to their
+farthest sources, they would find themselves in the heart of North
+America; and, so to speak, within a stone's throw of one another. Nearly
+all the vast territory, through which these great waterways flow, then
+belonged to France, so far as exploration, discovery and partial
+occupation gave her a right to exercise dominion. Only in the great
+North, where summer is a season of a very few weeks, where icebergs bar
+the way for many months, where the fur-trade and the whale-fishery alone
+offered an incentive to capital and enterprise, had England a right to
+an indefinite dominion. Here a "Company of Gentlemen-Adventurers
+trading into Hudson's Bay" occupied some fortified stations which,
+during the seventeenth century, had been seized by the daring
+French-Canadian corsair, Iberville, who ranks with the famous
+Englishman, Drake. On the Atlantic coast the prosperous English colonies
+occupied a narrow range of country bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the
+Alleghanies. It was only in the middle of the eighteenth century--nearly
+three-quarters of a century after Joliet's and La Salle's explorations,
+and even later than the date at which Frenchmen had followed the
+Saskatchewan to the Rocky Mountains--that some enterprising Virginians
+and Pennsylvanians worked their way into the beautiful country watered
+by the affluents of the Ohio. New France may be said to have extended at
+that time from Cape Breton or Isle Royale west to the Rocky Mountains,
+and from the basin of the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.
+
+
+SECTION 4.--End of French dominion in the valley of the St. Lawrence.
+
+After the treaty of Utrecht, France recognized the mistake she had made
+in giving up Acadia, and devoted her attention to the island of Cape
+Breton, or Isle Royale, on whose southeastern coast soon rose the
+fortifications of Louisbourg. In the course of years this fortress
+became a menace to English interests in Acadia and New England. In 1745
+the town was taken by a force of New England volunteers, led by General
+Pepperrell, a discreet and able colonist, and a small English squadron
+under the command of Commodore, afterwards Admiral, Warren, both of whom
+were rewarded by the British government for their distinguished services
+on this memorable occasion. France, however, appreciated the importance
+of Isle Royale, and obtained its restoration in exchange for Madras
+which at that time was the most important British settlement in the East
+Indies. England then decided to strengthen herself in Acadia, where
+France retained her hold of the French Acadian population through the
+secret influence of her emissaries, chiefly missionaries, and
+accordingly established a town on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia,
+ever since known as Halifax, in honour of a prominent statesman of those
+times. The French settlers, who by the middle of the eighteenth century
+numbered 12,000, a thrifty, industrious and simple-minded people, easily
+influenced by French agents, called themselves "Neutrals," and could not
+be forced to take the unqualified oath of allegiance which was demanded
+of them by the authorities of Halifax. The English Government was now
+determined to act with firmness in a province where British interests
+had been so long neglected, and where the French inhabitants had in the
+course of forty years shown no disposition to consider themselves
+British subjects and discharge their obligations to the British Crown.
+France had raised the contention that the Acadia ceded to England by the
+treaty of Utrecht comprised only the present province of Nova Scotia,
+and indeed only a portion of that peninsula according to some French
+authorities. Commissioners were appointed by the two Powers to settle
+the question of boundaries--of the meaning of "Acadie, with its ancient
+boundaries"--but their negotiations came to naught and the issue was
+only settled by the arbitrament of war. The French built the forts of
+Beauséjour and Gaspereau--the latter a mere palisade--on the Isthmus of
+Chignecto, which became the rendezvous of the French Acadians, whom the
+former persuaded by promises or threats to join their fortunes. In 1755
+a force of English and Colonial troops, under the command of Colonels
+Moncton, Winslow and Scott, captured these forts, and this success was
+followed by the banishment of the Acadian French. This cruel act of
+Governor Lawrence and the English authorities at Halifax was no doubt
+largely influenced by the sentiment of leading men in New England, who
+were apprehensive of the neighbourhood of so large a number of an alien
+people, who could not be induced to prove their loyalty to Great
+Britain, and might, in case of continued French successes in America,
+become open and dangerous foes. But while there are writers who defend
+this sad incident of American history on the ground of stern national
+necessity at a critical period in the affairs of the continent, all
+humanity that listens to the dictates of the heart and tender feeling
+will ever deplore the exile of those hapless people.
+
+Previous to the expulsion of the Acadians from their pleasant homes on
+the meadows of Grand Pré and Minas, England sustained a severe defeat in
+the valley of the Ohio, which created much alarm throughout the English
+colonies, and probably had some influence on the fortunes of those
+people. France had formally taken possession of the Ohio country and
+established forts in 1753 on French Creek, at its junction with the
+Alleghany, and also at the forks of the Ohio. Adventurous British
+pioneers were at last commencing to cross the Alleghanies, and a company
+had been formed with the express intention of stimulating settlement in
+the valley. George Washington, at the head of a small Colonial force,
+was defeated in his attempt to drive the French from the Ohio; and the
+English Government was compelled to send out a large body of regular
+troops under the command of General Braddock, who met defeat and death
+on the banks of the Monongahela, General Johnson, on the other hand,
+defeated a force of French regulars, Canadian Militia and Indians, under
+General Dieskau, at the southern end of Lake George.
+
+In 1756 war was publicly proclaimed between France and England,
+although, as we have just seen, it had already broken out many months
+previously in the forests of America. During the first two years of the
+war the English forces sustained several disasters through the
+incompetency of the English commanders on land and sea. The French in
+Canada were now led by the Marquis de Montcalm, distinguished both as a
+soldier of great ability and as a man of varied intellectual
+accomplishments. In the early part of the Canadian campaign he was most
+fortunate. Fort William Henry, at the foot of Lake George, and Fort
+Oswego, on the south side of Lake Ontario, were captured, but his signal
+victory at the former place was sullied by the massacre of defenceless
+men, women and children by his Indian allies, although it is now
+admitted by all impartial writers that he did his utmost to prevent so
+sad a sequel to his triumph. The English Commander-in-Chief, Lord
+Loudoun, assembled a large military force at Halifax in 1757 for the
+purpose of making a descent on Louisbourg; but he returned to New York
+without accomplishing anything, when he heard of the disastrous affair
+of William Henry, for which he was largely responsible on account of
+having failed to give sufficient support to the defenders of the fort.
+Admiral Holbourne sailed to Louisbourg, but he did not succeed in coming
+to an engagement with the French fleet then anchored in the harbour, and
+the only result of his expedition was the loss of several of his ships
+on the reefs of that foggy, rocky coast.
+
+In 1758 Pitt determined to enter on a vigorous campaign against France
+in Europe and America. For America he chose Amherst, Boscawen, Howe,
+Forbes, Wolfe, Lawrence and Whitman. Abercromby was unfortunately
+allowed to remain in place of Loudoun, but it was expected by Pitt and
+others that Lord Howe, one of the best soldiers in the British army,
+would make up for the military weakness of that commander. Louisbourg,
+Fort Duquesne, and the forts on Lake George, were the immediate objects
+of attack. Abercromby at the head of a large force failed ignominiously
+in his assault on Ticonderoga, and Lord Howe was one of the first to
+fall in that unhappy and ill-managed battle. Amherst and Boscawen, on
+the other hand, took Louisbourg, where Wolfe displayed great energy and
+contributed largely to the success of the enterprise. Forbes was able to
+occupy the important fort at the forks of the Ohio, now Pittsburg, which
+gave to the English control of the beautiful country to the west of the
+Alleghanies. Fort Frontenac was taken by Bradstreet, and Prince Edward
+Island, then called Isle St. Jean, was occupied by an English force as
+the necessary consequence of the fall of the Cape Breton fortress. The
+nation felt that its confidence in Pitt was fully justified, and that
+the power of France in America was soon to be effectually broken.
+
+In 1759 and 1760 Pitt's designs were crowned with signal success. Wolfe
+proved at Quebec that the statesman had not overestimated his value as a
+soldier and leader. Wolfe was supported by Brigadiers Moncton,
+Townshend, Murray, and Guy Carleton--the latter a distinguished figure
+in the later annals of Canada. The fleet was commanded by Admirals
+Saunders, Durell and Holmes, all of whom rendered most effective
+service. The English occupied the Island of Orleans and the heights of
+Lévis, from which they were able to keep up a most destructive fire on
+the capital. The whole effective force under Wolfe did not reach 9000
+men, or 5000 less than the regular and Colonial army under Montcalm,
+whose lines extended behind batteries and earthworks from the St.
+Charles River, which washes the base of the rocky heights of the town,
+as far as the falls of Montmorency. The French held an impregnable
+position which their general decided to maintain at all hazards, despite
+the constant efforts of Wolfe for weeks to force him to the issue of
+battle. Above the city for many miles there were steep heights, believed
+to be unapproachable, and guarded at all important points by detachments
+of soldiery. Wolfe failed in an attempt which he made at Beauport to
+force Montcalm from his defences, and suffered a considerable loss
+through the rashness of his grenadiers. He then resolved on a bold
+stroke which succeeded by its very audacity in deceiving his opponent,
+and giving the victory to the English. A rugged and dangerous path was
+used at night up those very heights which, Montcalm confidently
+believed, "a hundred men could easily defend against the whole British
+army." On the morning of the 13th September, 1759, Wolfe marshalled an
+army of four thousand five hundred men on the Plains of Abraham where he
+was soon face to face with the French army. Montcalm had lost no time in
+accepting the challenge of the English, in the hope that his superior
+numbers would make up for their inferiority in discipline and equipment
+compared with the smaller English force. His expectations were never
+realized. In a few minutes the French fell in hundreds before the steady
+deadly fire of the English lines, and Montcalm was forced to retreat
+precipitately with the beaten remnant of his army. Wolfe received
+several wounds, and died on the battlefield, but not before he was
+conscious of his victory. "God be praised," were his dying words, "I now
+die in peace." His brave adversary was mortally wounded while seeking
+the protection of Quebec, and was buried in a cavity which a shell had
+made in the floor of the chapel of the Ursuline Convent. A few days
+later Quebec capitulated. Wolfe's body was taken to England, where it
+was received with all the honours due to his great achievement. General
+Murray was left in command at Quebec, and was defeated in the following
+spring by Lévis in the battle of St. Foye, which raised the hopes of the
+French until the appearance of English ships in the river relieved the
+beleaguered garrison and decided for ever the fate of Quebec. A few
+weeks later Montreal capitulated to Amherst, whose extreme caution
+throughout the campaign was in remarkable contrast with the dash and
+energy of the hero of Quebec. The war in Canada was now at an end, and
+in 1763 the treaty of Paris closed the interesting chapter of French
+dominion on the banks of the St. Lawrence and in the valleys of the Ohio
+and the Mississippi.
+
+
+SECTION 5.--Political, economic and social conditions of Canada during
+French ride.
+
+France and England entered on the struggle for dominion in America about
+the same time, but long before the conquest of Canada the communities
+founded by the latter had exhibited a vigour and vitality which were
+never shown in the development of the relatively poor and struggling
+colonies of Canada and Louisiana. The total population of New France in
+1759--that is, of all the French possessions in North America--did not
+exceed 70,000 souls, of whom 60,000 were inhabitants of the country of
+the St. Lawrence, chiefly of the Montreal and Quebec districts. France
+had a few struggling villages and posts in the very "garden of the
+North-west," as the Illinois country has been aptly called; but the
+total population of New France from the great lakes to the Gulf of
+Mexico did not exceed 10,000 souls, the greater number of whom dwelt on
+the lower banks of the Mississippi. At this time the British colonies in
+America, pent up between the Atlantic Ocean and the Appalachian
+mountains, had a population twenty times larger than that of Canada and
+Louisiana combined, and there was not any comparison whatever between
+these French and British colonies with respect to trade, wealth or any
+of the essentials of prosperity.
+
+Under the system of government established by Louis XIV, under the
+advice of Colbert, the governor and intendant of Canada were, to all
+intents and purposes in point of authority, the same officials who
+presided over the affairs of a province of France. In Canada, as in
+France, governors-general had only such powers as were expressly given
+them by the king, who, jealous of all authority in others, kept them
+rigidly in check. In those days the king was supreme; "I am the state,"
+said Louis Quatorze in the arrogance of his power; and it is thus easy
+to understand that there could be no such free government or
+representative institutions in Canada as were enjoyed from the very
+commencement of their history by the old English colonies.
+
+The governor had command of the militia and troops, and was nominally
+superior in authority to the intendant, but in the course of time the
+latter became virtually the most influential officer in the colony and
+even presided at the council-board. This official, who had the right to
+report directly to the king on colonial affairs, had large civil,
+commercial and maritime jurisdiction, and could issue ordinances which
+had full legal effect in the country. Associated with the governor and
+intendant was a council comprising in the first instance five, and
+eventually twelve, persons, chosen from the leading people of the
+colony. The change of name, from the "Supreme Council" to the "Superior
+Council," is of itself some evidence of the determination of the king to
+restrain the pretensions of all official bodies throughout the kingdom
+and its dependencies. This body exercised legislative and judicial
+powers. The bishop was one of its most important members, and the
+history of the colony is full of the quarrels that arose between him and
+the governor on points of official etiquette or with respect to more
+important matters affecting the government of the country.
+
+Protestantism was unknown in Canada under French rule, and the
+enterprise of the Huguenots was consequently lost to a country always
+suffering from a want of population. Even the merchants of La Rochelle,
+who traded with the country, found themselves invariably subject to
+restrictions which placed them at an enormous disadvantage in their
+competition with their Roman Catholic rivals. The Roman Catholic Church
+was all powerful at the council-board as well as in the parish. In the
+past as in the present century, a large Roman Catholic church rose, the
+most prominent building in every town and village, illustrating its
+dominating influence in the homes of every community of the province.
+The parishes were established at an early date for ecclesiastical
+purposes, and their extent was defined wherever necessary by the
+council at Quebec. They were practically territorial divisions for the
+administration of local affairs, and were conterminous, whenever
+practicable, with the seigniory. The curé, the seignior, the militia
+captain (often identical with the seignior), were the important
+functionaries in every parish. Even at the present time, when a
+canonical parish has been once formed by the proper ecclesiastical
+authority, it may be erected into a municipal or civil division after
+certain legal formalities by the government of the province. Tithes were
+first imposed by Bishop Laval, who practically established the basis of
+ecclesiastical authority in the province. It was only in church matters
+that the people had the right to meet and express their opinions, and
+even then the intendant alone could give the power of assembling for
+such purposes.
+
+The civil law of French Canada relating to "property," inheritance,
+marriage, and the personal or civil rights of the community generally,
+had its origin, like all similar systems, in the Roman law, on which
+were engrafted, in the course of centuries, those customs and usages
+which were adapted to the social conditions of France. The customary law
+of Paris became the fundamental law of French Canada, and despite the
+changes that it has necessarily undergone in the course of many years,
+its principles can still be traced throughout the present system as it
+has been modified under the influences of the British regime. The
+superior council of Canada gave judgment in civil and criminal cases
+according to the _coutume de Paris_, and below it there were inferior
+courts for the judicial districts of Quebec, Three Rivers and Montreal.
+The bishop had also special jurisdiction over ecclesiastical matters.
+The intendant had authority to deal with cases involving royal, or
+seigniorial, rights, and to call before him any case whatever for final
+review and judgment. In all cases appeals were allowable to the king
+himself, but the difficulty of communication with Europe in those days
+practically confined such references to a few special causes. The
+seigniors had also certain judicial or magisterial powers, but they
+never acted except in very trivial cases. Torture was sometimes applied
+to condemned felons as in France and other parts of the old world. On
+the whole justice appears to have been honestly and fairly administered.
+
+Parkman, in a terse sentence, sums up the conditions which fettered all
+Canadian trade and industry, "A system of authority, monopoly and
+exclusion in which the government, and not the individual, acted always
+the foremost part." Whether it was a question of ship-building, of a
+brewery or a tannery, of iron works or a new fishery, appeals must be
+made in the first instance to the king for aid; and the people were
+never taught to depend exclusively on their individual or associated
+enterprise. At the time of the conquest, and in fact for many years
+previously, the principal products of the country were beaver skins,
+timber, agricultural products, fish, fish oil, ginseng (for some years
+only), beer, cider, rug carpets, homespun cloths--made chiefly by the
+inmates of the religious houses--soap, potash, leather, stoves, tools
+and other iron manufactures--made in the St. Maurice forges--never a
+profitable industry, whether carried on by companies or the government
+itself. All these industries were fostered by the state, but, despite
+all the encouragement they received, the total value of the exports,
+principally furs, seal and other oils, lumber, peas, grain and ginseng
+never exceeded 3,500,000 francs, or about one-tenth of the export trade
+of the English colonies to Great Britain. Two-thirds of this amount
+represented beaver skins, the profits on which were very fluctuating, on
+account of the unwise regulations by which, the trade was constantly
+crippled. This business was heavily taxed to meet the necessities of
+colonial government, which were always heavy, and could never have been
+met had it not been for the liberality of the king. In the year 1755 the
+amount of all exports did not reach 2,500,000 francs, while the imports
+were valued at 8,000,000 francs. These imports represented wines,
+brandies, hardware and various luxuries, but the bulk was made up of the
+supplies required for the use of the military and civil authorities.
+The whole trade of the country was carried in about thirty sea-going
+vessels, none of them of heavy tonnage. The royal government attempted
+to stimulate ship-building in the country, and a few war vessels were
+actually built in the course of many years, though it does not appear
+that this industry was ever conducted with energy or enterprise. During
+the last fifty years of French rule, in all probability, not a hundred
+sea-going vessels were launched in the valley of the St. Lawrence.
+Duties of import, before 1748, were only imposed on wines, brandies, and
+Brazilian tobacco; but after the commencement of the war with England,
+the king found it necessary to establish export and import duties: a
+special exception was however made in favour of the produce of the farm,
+forest and sea, which were allowed to enter or go out free. The whole
+amount of duties raised in ordinary years did not reach above 300,000
+francs.
+
+In the closing years of French dominion the total population of Quebec,
+Montreal and Three Rivers, the only towns in the province, did not
+exceed 13,000 souls--about the population of Boston. Quebec alone had
+8000 inhabitants, Montreal 4000, and Three Rivers 1000. The architecture
+of these places was more remarkable for solidity than elegance or
+symmetry of proportions. The churches, religious and educational
+establishments, official buildings and residences--notably the
+intendant's palace at Quebec--were built of stone. The most pretentious
+edifice was the château of St. Louis--the residence of the
+governor-general--which was rebuilt by Count de Frontenac within the
+limits of the fort of St. Louis, first erected by Champlain on the
+historic height always associated with his name. The best buildings in
+the towns were generally of one story and constructed of stone. In the
+rural parishes, the villages, properly speaking, consisted of a church,
+presbytery, school, and tradesmen's houses, while the farms of the
+_habitants_ stretched on either side. The size and shape of the farms
+were governed by the form of the seigniories throughout the province. M.
+Bourdon, the first Canadian surveyor-general, originally mapped out the
+seigniories in oblong shapes with very narrow frontage along the
+river--a frontage of two or three _arpents_ against a depth of from
+forty to eighty _arpents_--and the same inconvenient oblong plan was
+followed in making sub-grants to the _censitaire_ or _habitant_. The
+result was a disfigurement of a large portion of the country, as the
+civil law governing the succession of estates gradually cut up all the
+seigniories into a number of small farms, each in the form of the
+parallelogram originally given to the seigniorial grants. The houses of
+the _habitants_, then as now, were generally built of logs or sawn
+lumber, all whitewashed, with thatched or wooden roofs projecting over
+the front so as to form a sort of porch or verandah. The farm-houses
+were generally close together, especially in the best cultivated and
+most thickly settled districts between Quebec and Montreal. Travellers,
+just before the Seven Years' War, tell us that the farms in that
+district appeared to be well cultivated on the whole, and the homes of
+the _habitants_ gave evidences of thrift and comfort. Some farmers had
+orchards from which cider was made, and patches of the coarse strong
+tobacco which they continue to use to this day, and which is now an
+important product of their province. Until the war the condition of the
+French Canadian _habitant_ was one of rude comfort. He could never
+become rich, in a country where there was no enterprise or trade which
+encouraged him to strenuous efforts to make and save money. Gold and
+silver were to him curiosities, and paper promises to pay, paper or card
+money, were widely circulated from early times, and were never for the
+most part redeemed, though the British authorities after the peace of
+1763 made every possible effort to induce the French government to
+discharge its obligations to the French Canadian people. The life of the
+_habitants_ in peaceful times was far easier and happier than that of
+the peasants of old France. They had few direct taxes to bear, except
+the tithes required for the support of the church and such small
+contributions as were necessary for local purposes. They were, however,
+liable to be called out at any moment for military duties and were
+subject to _corvées_ or forced labour for which they were never paid by
+the authorities.
+
+The outbreak of the Seven Years' War was a serious blow to a people who
+had at last surmounted the greatest difficulties of pioneer life, and
+attained a moderate degree of comfort. The demands upon the people
+capable of bearing arms were necessarily fatal to steady farming
+occupations; indeed, in the towns of Quebec and Montreal there was more
+than once an insufficiency of food for the garrisons, and horse-flesh
+had to be served out, to the great disgust of the soldiers who at first
+refused to take it. Had it not been for the opportune arrival of a ship
+laden with provisions in the spring of 1759, the government would have
+been unable to feed the army or the inhabitants of Quebec. The gravity
+of the situation was aggravated for years by the jobbery and corruption
+of the men who had the fate of the country largely in their hands. A few
+French merchants, and monopolists in league with corrupt officials,
+controlled the markets and robbed a long-suffering and too patient
+people. The names of Bigot, Péan, and other officials of the last years
+of French administration, are justly execrated by French Canadians as
+robbers of the state and people in the days when the country was on the
+verge of war, and Montcalm, a brave, incorruptible man, was fighting
+against tremendous odds to save this unfortunate country to which he
+gave up his own life in vain.
+
+So long as France governed Canada, education was entirely in the hands
+of the Roman Catholic Church. The Jesuits, Franciscans, and other
+religious orders, male and female, at an early date, commenced the
+establishment of those colleges and seminaries which have always had so
+important a share in the education of Lower Canada. The Jesuits founded
+a college at Quebec in 1635, or three years before the establishment of
+Harvard, and the Ursulines opened their convent in the same city four
+years later. Sister Bourgeoys of Troyes founded at Montreal in 1659 the
+Congrégation de Notre-Dame for the education of girls of humble rank;
+the commencement of an institution which has now its buildings in many
+parts of Canada. In the latter part of the seventeenth century Bishop
+Laval carried out a project for providing education for Canadian priests
+drawn from the people of the country. Consequently, in addition to the
+great seminary at Quebec, there was the lesser seminary where boys were
+taught in the hope that they would take orders. In the inception of
+education the French endeavoured in more than one of their institutions
+to combine industrial pursuits with the ordinary branches of an
+elementary education. But all accounts of the days of the French régime
+go to show that, despite the zealous efforts of the religious bodies to
+improve the education of the colonists, secular instruction was at a
+very low ebb and hardly reached the seigniories. One writer tells us
+that "even the children of officers and gentlemen scarcely knew how to
+read and write; they were ignorant of the first elements of geography
+and history." Still, dull and devoid of intellectual life as was the
+life of the Canadian, he had his place of worship where he received a
+moral training which elevated him immeasurably above the peasantry of
+England as well as of his old home. The clergy of Lower Canada
+confessedly did their best to relieve the ignorance of the people, but
+they were naturally unable to accomplish, by themselves, a task which
+properly devolved on the governing class. Under the French régime in
+Canada the civil authorities were as little anxious to enlighten the
+people by the establishment of public or common schools as they were to
+give them a voice in the government of the country.
+
+Evidence of some culture and intellectual aspirations in social circles
+of the ancient capital attracted the surprise of travellers who visited
+the country before the close of the French dominion. "Science and the
+fine arts," wrote Charlevoix, in 1744, "have their turn and conversation
+does not fail. The Canadians breathe from their birth an air of liberty,
+which makes them very pleasant in the intercourse of life, and our
+language is nowhere more purely spoken." La Gallissonière, a highly
+cultured governor, spared no effort to encourage a sympathetic study of
+scientific pursuits. Dr. Michel Sarrasin, who was a practising physician
+in Quebec for nearly half a century, devoted himself most assiduously to
+the natural history of the colony, and made some valuable contributions
+to the French Academy. The Swedish botanist, Peter Kalm, was impressed
+with the liking for scientific study which he observed in the French
+colony. But such intellectual culture, as Kalm and Charlevoix mentioned,
+never showed itself beyond the walls of Quebec or Montreal. The
+province, as a whole, was in a state of mental sluggishness at the time
+of the conquest by England, under whose benign influence the French
+Canadian people were now to enter on a new career of political and
+intellectual development.
+
+Pitt and Wolfe must take a high place among the makers of the Dominion
+of Canada. It was they who gave relief to French Canada from the
+absolutism of old France, and started her in a career of self-government
+and political liberty. When the great procession passed before the Queen
+of England on the day of the "Diamond Jubilee"--when delegates from all
+parts of a mighty, world-embracing empire gave her their loyal and
+heartfelt homage--Canada was represented by a Prime Minister who
+belonged to that race which has steadily gained in intellectual
+strength, political freedom, and material prosperity, since the
+memorable events of 1759 and 1760. In that imperial procession nearly
+half the American Continent was represented--Acadia and Canada first
+settled by France, the north-west prairies first traversed by French
+Canadian adventurers, the Pacific coast first seen by Cook and
+Vancouver. There, too, marched men from Bengal, Madras, Bombay,
+Jeypore, Haidarabad, Kashmir, Punjaub, from all sections of that great
+empire of India which was won for England by Clive and the men who, like
+Wolfe, became famous for their achievements in the days of Pitt. Perhaps
+there were in that imperial pageant some Canadians whose thoughts
+wandered from the Present to the Past, and recalled the memory of that
+illustrious statesman and of all he did for Canada and England, when
+they stood in Westminster Abbey, and looked on his expressive effigy,
+which, in the eloquent language of a great English historian, "seems
+still, with eagle face and outstretched arm, to bid England be of good
+cheer and to hurl defiance at her foes."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+BEGINNINGS OF BRITISH RULE. 1760-1774.
+
+
+SECTION I.--From the Conquest until the Quebec Act.
+
+For nearly four years after the surrender of Vaudreuil at Montreal,
+Canada was under a government of military men, whose headquarters were
+at Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal--the capitals of the old French
+districts of the same name. General Murray and the other commanders
+laboured to be just and considerate in all their relations with the new
+subjects of the Crown, who were permitted to prosecute their ordinary
+pursuits without the least interference on the part of the conquerors.
+The conditions of the capitulations of Quebec and Montreal, which
+allowed the free exercise of the Roman Catholic religion, were
+honourably kept. All that was required then, and for many years later,
+was that the priests and curés should confine themselves exclusively to
+their parochial duties, and not take part in public matters. It had been
+also stipulated at Montreal that the communities of nuns should not be
+disturbed in their convents; and while the same privileges were not
+granted by the articles of capitulation to the Jesuits, Recollets, and
+Sulpitians, they had every facility given to them to dispose of their
+property and remove to France. As a matter of fact there was practically
+no interference with any of the religious fraternities during the early
+years of British rule; and when in the course of time the Jesuits
+disappeared entirely from the country their estates passed by law into
+the possession of the government for the use of the people, while the
+Sulpitians were eventually allowed to continue their work and develope
+property which became of great value on the island of Montreal. (The
+French merchants and traders were allowed all the commercial and trading
+privileges that were enjoyed by the old subjects of the British
+Sovereign, not only in the valley of the St. Lawrence, but in the rich
+fur regions of the West and North-West.) The articles of capitulation
+did not give any guarantees or pledges for the continuance of the civil
+law under which French Canada had been governed for over a century, but
+while that was one of the questions dependent on the ultimate fate of
+Canada, the British military rulers took every possible care during the
+continuance of the military régime to respect so far as possible the old
+customs and laws by which the people had been previously governed.
+French writers of those days admit the generosity and justice of the
+administration of affairs during this military régime.
+
+The treaty of Paris, signed on the 10th February, 1763, formally ceded
+to England Canada as well as Acadia, with all their dependencies. The
+French Canadians were allowed full liberty "to profess the worship of
+their religion according to the rites of the Romish Church, as far as
+the laws of Great Britain permit." The people had permission to retire
+from Canada with all their effects within eighteen months from the date
+of the ratification of the treaty. All the evidence before us goes to
+show that only a few officials and seigniors ever availed themselves of
+this permission to leave the country. At this time there was not a
+single French settlement beyond Vaudreuil until the traveller reached
+the banks of the Detroit between Lakes Erie and Huron. A chain of forts
+and posts connected Montreal with the basin of the great lakes and the
+country watered by the Ohio, Illinois, and other tributaries of the
+Mississippi. The forts on the Niagara, at Detroit, at Michillimackinac,
+at Great Bay, on the Maumee and Wabash, at Presqu' isle, at the junction
+of French Creek with the Alleghany, at the forks of the Ohio, and at
+less important localities in the West and South-West, were held by small
+English garrisons, while the French still occupied Vincennes on the
+Wabash and Chartres on the Mississippi, in the vicinity of the French
+settlements at Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and the present site of St. Louis.
+
+Soon after the fall of Montreal, French traders from New Orleans and the
+French settlements on the Mississippi commenced to foment disaffection
+among the western Indians, who had strong sympathy with France, and were
+quite ready to believe the story that she would ere long regain Canada.
+The consequence was the rising of all the western tribes under the
+leadership of Pontiac, the principal chief of the Ottawas, whose
+warriors surrounded and besieged Detroit when he failed to capture it by
+a trick. Niagara was never attacked, and Detroit itself was successfully
+defended by Major Gladwin, a fearless soldier; but all the other forts
+and posts very soon fell into the hands of the Indians, who massacred
+the garrisons in several places. They also ravaged the border
+settlements of Pennsylvania and Virginia, and carried off a number of
+women and children to their wigwams. Fort Pitt at the confluence of the
+Alleghany and the Monongahela rivers--the site of the present city of
+Pittsburg--was in serious peril for a time, until Colonel Bouquet, a
+brave and skilful officer, won a signal victory over the Indians, who
+fled in dismay to their forest fastnesses. Pontiac failed to capture
+Detroit, and Bouquet followed up his first success by a direct march
+into the country of the Shawnees, Mingoes and Delawares, and forced them
+to agree to stern conditions of peace on the banks of the Muskingum. The
+power of the western Indians was broken for the time, and the British in
+1765 took possession of the French forts of Chartres and Vincennes, when
+the _fleur-de-lys_ disappeared for ever from the valley of the
+Mississippi. The French settlers on the Illinois and the Mississippi
+preferred to remain under British rule rather than cross the great river
+and become subjects of Spain, to whom Western Louisiana had been ceded
+by France. From this time forward France ceased to be an influential
+factor in the affairs of Canada or New France, and the Indian tribes
+recognized the fact that they could no longer expect any favour or aid
+from their old ally. They therefore transferred their friendship to
+England, whose power they had felt in the Ohio valley, and whose policy
+was now framed with a special regard to their just treatment.
+
+This Indian war was still in progress when King George III issued his
+proclamation for the temporary government of his new dependencies in
+North America. As a matter of fact, though the proclamation was issued
+in England on the 7th October, 1763, it did not reach Canada and come
+into effect until the 10th August, 1764. The four governments of Quebec,
+Grenada, East Florida, and West Florida were established in the
+territories ceded by France and Spain. The eastern limit of the province
+of Quebec did not extend beyond St. John's River at the mouth of the St.
+Lawrence, nearly opposite to Anticosti, while that island itself and the
+Labrador country, east of the St. John's as far as the Straits of
+Hudson, were placed under the jurisdiction of Newfoundland. The islands
+of Cape Breton and St. John, now Prince Edward, became subject to the
+Government of Nova Scotia, which then included the present province of
+New Brunswick. The northern limit of the province did not extend beyond
+the territory known as Rupert's Land under the charter given to the
+Hudson's Bay Company in 1670, while the western boundary was drawn
+obliquely from Lake Nipissing as far as Lake St. Francis on the St.
+Lawrence; the southern boundary then followed line 45° across the upper
+part of Lake Champlain, whence it passed along the highlands which
+divide the rivers that empty themselves into the St. Lawrence from those
+that flow into the sea--an absurdly defined boundary since it gave to
+Canada as far as Cape Rosier on the Gaspé peninsula a territory only a
+few miles wide. No provision whatever was made in the proclamation for
+the government of the country west of the Appalachian range, which was
+claimed by Pennsylvania, Virginia, and other colonies under the
+indefinite terms of their original charters, which practically gave
+them no western limits. Consequently the proclamation was regarded with
+much disfavour by the English colonists on the Atlantic coast. No
+provision was even made for the great territory which extended beyond
+Nipissing as far as the Mississippi and included the basin of the great
+lakes. It is easy to form the conclusion that the intention of the
+British government was to restrain the ambition of the old English
+colonies east of the Appalachian range, and to divide the immense
+territory to their north-west at some future and convenient time into
+several distinct and independent governments. No doubt the British
+government also found it expedient for the time being to keep the
+control of the fur-trade so far as possible in its own hands, and in
+order to achieve this object it was necessary in the first place to
+conciliate the Indian tribes, and not allow them to come in any way
+under the jurisdiction of the chartered colonies. The proclamation
+itself, in fact, laid down entirely new, and certainly equitable,
+methods of dealing with the Indians within the limits of British
+sovereignty. The governors of the old colonies were expressly forbidden
+to grant authority to survey lands beyond the settled territorial limits
+of their respective governments. No person was allowed to purchase land
+directly from the Indians. The government itself thenceforth could alone
+give a legal title to Indian lands, which must, in the first place, be
+secured by treaty with the tribes that claimed to own them. This was the
+beginning of that honest policy which has distinguished the relations of
+England and Canada with the Indian nations for over a hundred years, and
+which has obtained for the present Dominion the confidence and
+friendship of the many thousand Indians, who roamed for many centuries
+in Rupert's Land and in the Indian Territories where the Hudson's Bay
+Company long enjoyed exclusive privileges of trade.
+
+The language of the proclamation with respect to the government of the
+province of Quebec was extremely unsatisfactory. It was ordered that so
+soon as the state and circumstances of the colony admitted, the
+governor-general could with the advice and consent of the members of the
+council summon a general assembly, "in such manner and form as is used
+and directed in those colonies and provinces in America which are under
+our immediate government." Laws could be made by the governor, council,
+and representatives of the people for the good government of the colony,
+"as near as may be agreeable to the laws of England, and under such
+regulations and restrictions as are used in other colonies." Until such
+an assembly could be called, the governor could with the advice of his
+council constitute courts for the trial and determination of all civil
+and criminal cases, "according to law and equity, and as near as may be
+agreeable to the laws of England," with liberty to appeal, in all civil
+cases, to the privy council of England. General Murray, who had been in
+the province since the battle on the Plains of Abraham, was appointed to
+administer the government. Any persons elected to serve in an assembly
+were required, by his commission and instructions, before they could sit
+and vote, to take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, and subscribe a
+declaration against transubstantiation, the adoration of the Virgin, and
+the Sacrifice of the Mass.
+
+This proclamation--in reality a mere temporary expedient to give time
+for considering the whole state of the colony--was calculated to do
+infinite harm, since its principal importance lay in the fact that it
+attempted to establish English civil as well as criminal law, and at the
+same time required oaths which effectively prevented the French
+Canadians from serving in the very assembly which it professed a desire
+on the part of the king to establish. The English-speaking or Protestant
+people in the colony did not number in 1764 more than three hundred
+persons, of little or no standing, and it was impossible to place all
+power in their hands and to ignore nearly seventy thousand French
+Canadian Roman Catholics. Happily the governor, General Murray, was not
+only an able soldier, as his defence of Quebec against Lévis had
+proved, but also a man of statesmanlike ideas, animated by a high sense
+of duty and a sincere desire to do justice to the foreign people
+committed to his care. He refused to lend himself to the designs of the
+insignificant British minority, chiefly from the New England colonies,
+or to be guided by their advice in carrying on his government. His
+difficulties were lessened by the fact that the French had no conception
+of representative institutions in the English sense, and were quite
+content with any system of government that left them their language,
+religion, and civil law without interference. The stipulations of the
+capitulations of 1759-1760, and of the treaty of Paris, with respect to
+the free exercise of the Roman Catholic religion, were always observed
+in a spirit of great fairness: and in 1766 Monseigneur Briand was
+chosen, with the governor's approval, Roman Catholic bishop of Quebec.
+He was consecrated at Paris after his election by the chapter of Quebec,
+and it does not appear that his recognition ever became the subject of
+parliamentary discussion. This policy did much to reconcile the French
+Canadians to their new rulers, and to make them believe that eventually
+they would receive full consideration in other essential respects.
+
+For ten years the government of Canada was in a very unsatisfactory
+condition, while the British ministry was all the while worried with the
+condition of things in the old colonies, then in a revolutionary
+ferment. The Protestant minority continued to clamour for an assembly,
+and a mixed system of French and English law, in case it was not
+possible to establish the latter in its entirety. Attorney-General
+Masères, an able lawyer and constitutional writer, was in favour of a
+mixed system, but his views were notably influenced by his strong
+prejudices against Roman Catholics. The administration of the law was
+extremely confused until 1774, not only on account of the ignorance and
+incapacity of the men first sent out from England to preside over the
+courts, but also as a consequence of the steady determination of the
+majority of French Canadians to ignore laws to which they had naturally
+an insuperable objection. In fact, the condition of things became
+practically chaotic. It might have been much worse had not General
+Murray, at first, and Sir Guy Carleton, at a later time, endeavoured, so
+far as lay in their power, to mitigate the hardships to which the people
+were subject by being forced to observe laws of which they were entirely
+ignorant.
+
+At this time the governor-general was advised by an executive council,
+composed of officials and some other persons chosen from the small
+Protestant minority of the province. Only one French Canadian appears to
+have been ever admitted to this executive body. The English residents
+ignored the French as far as possible, and made the most unwarrantable
+claims to rule the whole province.
+
+A close study of official documents from 1764 until 1774 goes to show
+that all this while the British government was influenced by an anxious
+desire to show every justice to French Canada, and to adopt a system of
+government most conducive to its best interests In 1767 Lord Shelburne
+wrote to Sir Guy Carleton that "the improvement of the civil
+constitution of the province was under their most serious
+consideration." They were desirous of obtaining all information "which
+can tend to elucidate how far it is practicable and expedient to blend
+the English with the French laws, in order to form such a system as
+shall be at once equitable and convenient for His Majesty's old and new
+subjects." From time to time the points at issue were referred to the
+law officers of the crown for their opinion, so anxious was the
+government to come to a just conclusion. Attorney-General Yorke and
+Solicitor-General De Grey in 1766 severely condemned any system that
+would permanently "impose new, unnecessary and arbitrary rules
+(especially as to the titles of land, and the mode of descent,
+alienation and settlement), which would tend to confound and subvert
+rights instead of supporting them." In 1772 and 1773 Attorney-General
+Thurlow and Solicitor-General Wedderburne dwelt on the necessity of
+dealing on principles of justice with the province of Quebec. The French
+Canadians, said the former, "seem to have been strictly entitled by the
+_jus gentium_ to their property, as they possessed it upon the
+capitulation and treaty of peace, together with all its qualities and
+incidents by tenure or otherwise." It seemed a necessary consequence
+that all those laws by which that property was created, defined, and
+secured, must be continued to them. The Advocate-General Marriott, in
+1773, also made a number of valuable suggestions in the same spirit, and
+at the same time expressed the opinion that under the existent
+conditions of the country it was not possible or expedient to call an
+assembly. Before the imperial government came to a positive conclusion
+on the vexed questions before it, they had the advantage of the wise
+experience of Sir Guy Carleton, who visited England and remained there
+for some time. The result of the deliberation of years was the passage
+through the British parliament of the measure known as "The Quebec Act,"
+which has always been considered the charter of the special privileges
+which the French Canadians have enjoyed ever since, and which, in the
+course of a century, made their province one of the most influential
+sections of British North America.
+
+The preamble of the Quebec Act fixed new territorial limits for the
+province. It comprised not only the country affected by the proclamation
+of 1763, but also all the eastern territory which had been previously
+annexed to Newfoundland. In the west and south-west the province was
+extended to the Ohio and the Mississippi, and in fact embraced all the
+lands beyond the Alleghanies coveted and claimed by the old English
+colonies, now hemmed in between the Atlantic and the Appalachian range.
+It was now expressly enacted that the Roman Catholic inhabitants of
+Canada should thenceforth "enjoy the free exercise" of their religion,
+"subject to the king's supremacy declared and established" by law, and
+on condition of taking an oath of allegiance, set forth in the act. The
+Roman Catholic clergy were allowed "to hold, receive, and enjoy their
+accustomed dues and rights, with respect to such persons only as shall
+confess the said religion"--that is, one twenty-sixth part of the
+produce of the land, Protestants being specially exempted. The French
+Canadians were allowed to enjoy all their property, together with all
+customs and usages incident thereto, "in as large, ample and beneficial
+manner," as if the proclamation or other acts of the crown "had not been
+made", but the religious orders and communities were excepted in
+accordance with the terms of the capitulation of Montreal--the effect of
+which exception I have already briefly stated. In "all matters of
+controversy relative to property and civil rights," resort was to be had
+to the old civil law of French Canada "as the rule for the decision of
+the same", but the criminal law of England was extended to the province
+on the indisputable ground that its "certainty and lenity" were already
+"sensibly felt by the inhabitants from an experience of more than nine
+years." The government of the province was entrusted to a governor and a
+legislative council appointed by the crown, "inasmuch as it was
+inexpedient to call an assembly." The council was to be composed of not
+more than twenty-three residents of the province. At the same time the
+British parliament made special enactments for the imposition of certain
+customs duties "towards defraying the charges of the administration of
+justice and the support of the civil government of the province." All
+deficiencies in the revenues derived from these and other sources had to
+be supplied by the imperial treasury. During the passage of the act
+through parliament, it evoked the bitter hostility of Lord Chatham, who
+was then the self-constituted champion of the old colonies, who found
+the act most objectionable, not only because it established the Roman
+Catholic religion, but placed under the government of Quebec the rich
+territory west of the Alleghanies. Similar views were expressed by the
+Mayor and Council of London, but they had no effect. The king, in giving
+his assent, declared that the measure "was founded on the clearest
+principles of justice and humanity, and would have the best effect in
+quieting the minds and promoting the happiness of our Canadian
+subjects." In French Canada the act was received without any popular
+demonstration by the French Canadians, but the men to whom the great
+body of that people always looked for advice and guidance--the priests,
+curés, and seigniors--naturally regarded these concessions to their
+nationality as giving most unquestionable evidence of the considerate
+and liberal spirit in which the British government was determined to
+rule the province. They had had ever since the conquest satisfactory
+proof that their religion was secure from all interference, and now the
+British parliament itself came forward with legal guarantees, not only
+for the free exercise of that religion, with all its incidents and
+tithes, but also for the permanent establishment of the civil law to
+which they attached so much importance. The fact that no provision was
+made for a popular assembly could not possibly offend a people to whom
+local self-government in any form was entirely unknown. It was
+impossible to constitute an assembly from the few hundred Protestants
+who were living in Montreal and Quebec, and it was equally impossible,
+in view of the religious prejudices dominant in England and the English
+colonies, to give eighty thousand French Canadian Roman Catholics
+privileges which their co-religionists did not enjoy in Great Britain
+and to allow them to sit in an elected assembly. Lord North seemed to
+voice the general opinion of the British parliament on this difficult
+subject, when he closed the debate with an expression of "the earnest
+hope that the Canadians will, in the course of time, enjoy as much of
+our laws and as much of our constitution as may be beneficial to that
+country and safe for this", but "that time," he concluded, "had not yet
+come." It does not appear from the evidence before us that the British
+had any other motive in passing the Quebec Act than to do justice to
+the French Canadian people, now subjects of the crown of England. It was
+not a measure primarily intended to check the growth of popular
+institutions, but solely framed to meet the actual conditions of a
+people entirely unaccustomed to the working of representative or popular
+institutions. It was a preliminary step in the development of
+self-government.
+
+On the other hand the act was received with loud expressions of
+dissatisfaction by the small English minority who had hoped to see
+themselves paramount in the government of the province. In Montreal, the
+headquarters of the disaffected, an attempt was made to set fire to the
+town, and the king's bust was set up in one of the public squares,
+daubed with black, and decorated with a necklace made of potatoes, and
+bearing the inscription _Voilà le pape du Canada & le sot Anglais_. The
+author of this outrage was never discovered, and all the influential
+French Canadian inhabitants of the community were deeply incensed that
+their language should have been used to insult a king whose only offence
+was his assent to a measure of justice to themselves.
+
+Sir Guy Carleton, who had been absent in England for four years,
+returned to Canada on the 18th September, 1774, and was well received in
+Quebec. The first legislative council under the Quebec Act was not
+appointed until the beginning of August, 1775. Of the twenty-two members
+who composed it, eight were influential French Canadians bearing
+historic names. The council met on the 17th August, but was forced to
+adjourn on the 7th September, on account of the invasion of Canada by
+the troops of the Continental Congress, composed of representatives of
+the rebellious element of the Thirteen Colonies. In a later chapter I
+shall very shortly review the effects of the American revolution upon
+the people of Canada; but before I proceed to do so it is necessary to
+take my readers first to Nova Scotia on the eastern seaboard of British
+North America and give a brief summary of its political development
+from the beginning of British rule.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--The foundation of Nova Scotia (1749--1783).
+
+The foundation of Halifax practically put an end to the Acadian period
+of Nova Scotian settlement. Until that time the English occupation of
+the country was merely nominal. Owing largely to the representations of
+Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts--a statesman of considerable ability,
+who distinguished himself in American affairs during a most critical
+period of colonial history--the British government decided at last on a
+vigorous policy in the province, which seemed more than once on the
+point of passing out of their hands. Halifax was founded by the
+Honourable Edward Cornwallis on the slope of a hill, whose woods then
+dipped their branches into the very waters of the noble harbour long
+known as Chebuctou, and renamed in honour of a distinguished member of
+the Montague family, who had in those days full control of the
+administration of colonial affairs.
+
+Colonel Cornwallis, a son of the Baron of that name--a man of firmness
+and discretion--entered the harbour, on the 21st of June, old style, or
+2nd July present style, and soon afterwards assumed his, duties as
+governor of the province. The members of his first council were sworn in
+on board one of the transports in the harbour. Between 2000 and 3000
+persons were brought at this time to settle the town and country. These
+people were chiefly made up of retired military and naval officers,
+soldiers and sailors, gentlemen, mechanics, farmers--far too few--and
+some Swiss, who were extremely industrious and useful. On the whole,
+they were not the best colonists to build up a prosperous industrial
+community. The government gave the settlers large inducements in the
+shape of free grants of land, and practically supported them for the
+first two or three years. It was not until the Acadian population were
+removed, and their lands were available, that the foundation of the
+agricultural prosperity of the peninsula was really laid. In the summer
+of 1753 a considerable number of Germans were placed in the present
+county of Lunenburg, where their descendants still prosper, and take a
+most active part in all the occupations of life.
+
+With the disappearance of the French Acadian settlers Nova Scotia became
+a British colony in the full sense of the phrase. The settlement of 1749
+was supplemented in 1760, and subsequent years, by a valuable and large
+addition of people who were induced to leave Massachusetts and other
+colonies of New England and settle in townships of the present counties
+of Annapolis, King's, Hants, Queen's, Yarmouth, Cumberland, and
+Colchester, especially in the beautiful townships of Cornwallis and
+Horton, where the Acadian meadows were the richest. A small number also
+settled at Maugerville and other places on the St. John River.
+
+During the few years that had elapsed since the Acadians were driven
+from their lands, the sea had once more found its way through the ruined
+dykes, which had no longer the skilful attention of their old builders.
+The new owners of the Acadian lands had none of the special knowledge
+that the French had acquired, and were unable for years to keep back the
+ever-encroaching tides. Still there were some rich uplands and low-lying
+meadows, raised above the sea, which richly rewarded the industrious
+cultivator. The historian, Haliburton, describes the melancholy scene
+that met the eyes of the new settlers when they reached, in 1760, the
+old homes of the Acadians at Mines. They came across a few straggling
+families of Acadians who "had eaten no bread for years, and had
+subsisted on vegetables, fish, and the more hardy part of the cattle
+that had survived the severity of the first winter of their
+abandonment." They saw everywhere "ruins of the houses that had been
+burned by the Provincials, small gardens encircled by cherry-trees and
+currant-bushes, and clumps of apple-trees." In all parts of the country,
+where the new colonists established themselves, the Indians were
+unfriendly for years, and it was necessary to erect stockaded houses for
+the protection of the settlements.
+
+No better class probably could have been selected to settle Nova Scotia
+than these American immigrants. The majority were descendants of the
+Puritans who settled in New England, and some were actually sprung from
+men and women who had landed from "The Mayflower" in 1620. Governor
+Lawrence recognized the necessity of having a sturdy class of settlers,
+accustomed to the climatic conditions and to agricultural labour in
+America, and it was through his strenuous efforts that these immigrants
+were brought into the province. They had, indeed, the choice of the best
+land of the province, and everything was made as pleasant as possible
+for them by a paternal government, only anxious to establish British
+authority on a sound basis of industrial development.
+
+In 1767, according to an official return in the archives of Nova Scotia,
+the total population of what are now the provinces of Nova Scotia, New
+Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, reached 13,374 souls; of whom 6913
+are given as Americans, 912 as English, 2165 as Irish, 1946 as Germans,
+and 1265 as Acadian French, the latter being probably a low estimate.
+Some of these Irish emigrated directly from the north of Ireland, and
+were Presbyterians. They were brought out by one Alexander McNutt, who
+did much for the work of early colonization; others came from New
+Hampshire, where they had been settled for some years. The name of
+Londonderry in New Hampshire is a memorial of this important class, just
+as the same name recalls them in the present county of Colchester, in
+Nova Scotia.
+
+The Scottish immigration, which has exercised such an important
+influence on the eastern counties of Nova Scotia--and I include Cape
+Breton--commenced in 1772, when about thirty families arrived from
+Scotland and settled in the present county of Pictou, where a very few
+American colonists from Philadelphia had preceded them. In later years a
+steady tide of Scotch population flowed into eastern Nova Scotia and did
+not cease until 1820. Gaelic is still the dominant tongue in the eastern
+counties, where we find numerous names recalling the glens, lochs, and
+mountains of old Scotland. Sir William Alexander's dream of a new
+Scotland has been realised in a measure in the province where his
+ambition would have made him "lord paramount."
+
+Until the foundation of Halifax the government of Nova Scotia was vested
+solely in a governor who had command of the garrison stationed at
+Annapolis. In 1719 a commission was issued to Governor Phillips, who was
+authorised to appoint a council of not less than twelve persons. This
+council had advisory and judicial functions, but its legislative
+authority was of a very limited scope. This provisional system of
+government lasted until 1749, when Halifax became the seat of the new
+administration of public affairs. The governor had a right to appoint a
+council of twelve persons--as we have already seen, he did so
+immediately--and to summon a general assembly "according to the usage of
+the rest of our colonies and plantations in America." He was, "with the
+advice and consent" of the council and assembly, "to make, constitute
+and ordain laws" for the good government of the province. During nine
+years the governor-in-council carried on the government without an
+assembly, and passed a number of ordinances, some of which imposed
+duties on trade for the purpose of raising revenue. The legality of
+their acts was questioned by Chief Justice Belcher, and he was sustained
+by the opinion of the English law officers, who called attention to the
+governor's commission, which limited the council's powers. The result of
+this decision was the establishment of a representative assembly, which
+met for the first time at Halifax on the 2nd October, 1758.
+
+Governor Lawrence, whose name will be always unhappily associated with
+the merciless expatriation of the French Acadians, had the honour of
+opening the first legislative assembly of Nova Scotia in 1758. One
+Robert Sanderson, of whom we know nothing else, was chosen as the first
+speaker, but he held his office for only one session, and was succeeded
+by William Nesbitt, who presided over the house for many years. The
+first sittings of the legislature were held in the court house, and
+subsequently in the old grammar school at the corner of Barrington and
+Sackville Streets, for very many years one of the historic memorials of
+the Halifax of the eighteenth century.
+
+At this time the present province of New Brunswick was for the most part
+comprised in a county known as Sunbury, with one representative in the
+assembly of Nova Scotia. The island of Cape Breton also formed a part of
+the province, and had the right to send two members to the assembly, but
+the only election held for that purpose was declared void on account of
+there not being any freeholders entitled by law to vote. The island of
+St. John, named Prince Edward in 1798, in honour of the Duke of Kent,
+who was commander-in-chief of the British forces for some years in North
+America, was also annexed to Nova Scotia in 1763, but it never sent
+representatives to its legislature. In the following year a survey was
+commenced of all the imperial dominions on the Atlantic. Various schemes
+for the cultivation and settlement of the island were proposed as soon
+as the surveys were in progress. The most notable suggestion was made by
+the Earl of Egmont, first lord of the admiralty; he proposed the
+division of the island into baronies, each with a castle or stronghold
+under a feudal lord, subject to himself as lord paramount, under the
+customs of the feudal system of Europe. The imperial authorities
+rejected this scheme, but at the same time they adopted one which was as
+unwise as that of the noble earl. The whole island, with the exception
+of certain small reservations and royalties, was given away by lottery
+in a single day to officers of the army and navy who had served in the
+preceding war, and to other persons who were ambitious to be great
+landowners, on the easy condition of paying certain quit-rents--a
+condition constantly broken. This ill-advised measure led to many
+troublesome complications for a hundred years, until at last they were
+removed by the terms of the arrangement which brought the island into
+the federal union of British North America in 1873. In 1769 the island
+was separated from Nova Scotia and granted a distinct government,
+although its total population at the time did not exceed one hundred and
+fifty families. An assembly of eighteen representatives was called so
+early as 1773, when the first governor, Captain Walter Paterson, still
+administered public affairs. The assembly was not allowed to meet with
+regularity during many years of the early history of the island. During
+one administration it was practically without parliamentary government
+for ten years. The land question always dominated public affairs in the
+island for a hundred years.
+
+From the very beginning of a regular system of government in Nova Scotia
+the legislature appears to have practically controlled the
+administration of local affairs except so far as it gave, from time to
+time, powers to the courts of quarter sessions to regulate taxation and
+carry out certain small public works and improvements. In the first
+session of the legislature a joint committee of the council and assembly
+chose the town officers for Halifax. We have abundant evidence that at
+this time the authorities viewed with disfavour any attempt to establish
+a system of town government similar to that so long in operation in New
+England. The town meeting was considered the nursery of sedition in New
+England, and it is no wonder that the British authorities in Halifax
+frowned upon all attempts to reproduce it in their province.
+
+Soon after his arrival in Nova Scotia, Governor Cornwallis established
+courts of law to try and determine civil and criminal cases in
+accordance with the laws of England. In 1774 there were in the province
+courts of general session, similar to the courts of the same name in
+England; courts of common pleas, formed on the practice of New England
+and the mother country, and a supreme court, court of assize and general
+gaol delivery, composed of a chief justice and two assistant judges. The
+governor-in-council constituted a court of error in certain cases, and
+from its decisions an appeal could be made to the king-in-council.
+Justices of peace were also appointed in the counties and townships,
+with jurisdiction over the collection of small debts.
+
+We must now leave the province of Nova Scotia and follow the
+revolutionary movement, which commenced, soon after the signing of the
+Treaty of Paris, in the old British colonies on the Atlantic seaboard,
+and ended in the acknowledgement of their independence in 1783, and in
+the forced migration of a large body of loyal people who found their way
+to the British provinces.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS (1763--1784).
+
+
+SECTION I.--The successful Revolution of the Thirteen Colonies in
+America.
+
+When Canada was formally ceded to Great Britain the Thirteen Colonies
+were relieved from the menace of the presence of France in the valleys
+of the St. Lawrence, the Ohio, and the Mississippi. Nowhere were there
+more rejoicings on account of this auspicious event than in the homes of
+the democratic Puritans. The names of Pitt and Wolfe were honoured above
+all others of their countrymen, and no one in England, certainly not
+among its statesmen, imagined that in the colonies, which stretched from
+the river Penobscot to the peninsula of Florida, there was latent a
+spirit of independence which might at any moment threaten the rule of
+Great Britain on the American continent. The great expenses of the Seven
+Years' War were now pressing heavily on the British taxpayer. British
+statesmen were forced to consider how best they could make the colonies
+themselves contribute towards their own protection in the future, and
+relieve Great Britain in some measure from the serious burden which
+their defence had heretofore imposed on her. In those days colonies were
+considered as so many possessions to be used for the commercial
+advantage of the parent state. Their commerce and industries had been
+fettered for many years by acts of parliament which were intended to
+give Great Britain a monopoly of their trade and at the same time
+prevent them from manufacturing any article that they could buy from the
+British factories. As a matter of fact, however, these restrictive
+measures of imperial protection had been for a long time practically
+dead-letters. The merchants and seamen of New England carried on
+smuggling with the French and Spanish Indies with impunity, and
+practically traded where they pleased.
+
+The stamp act was only evidence of a vigorous colonial policy, which was
+to make the people of the colonies contribute directly to their own
+defence and security, and at the same time enforce the navigation laws
+and acts of trade and put an end to the general system of smuggling by
+which men, some of the best known merchants of Boston, had acquired a
+fortune. George Grenville, who was responsible for the rigid enforcement
+of the navigation laws and the stamp act, had none of that worldly
+wisdom which Sir Robert Walpole showed when, years before, it was
+proposed to him to tax the colonies. "No," said that astute politician,
+"I have old England set against me already, and do you think I will have
+New England likewise?" But Grenville and his successors, in attempting
+to carry out a new colonial policy, entirely misunderstood the
+conditions and feelings of the colonial communities affected and raised
+a storm of indignation which eventually led to independence. The stamp
+act was in itself an equitable measure, the proceeds of which were to be
+exclusively used for the benefit of the colonies themselves; but its
+enactment was most unfortunate at a time when the influential classes in
+New England were deeply irritated at the enforcement of a policy which
+was to stop the illicit trade from which they had so largely profited in
+the past. The popular indignation, however, vented itself against the
+stamp act, which imposed internal taxation, was declared to be in direct
+violation of the principles of political liberty and self-government
+long enjoyed by the colonists as British subjects, and was repealed as a
+result of the violent opposition it met in the colonies. Parliament
+contented itself with a statutory declaration of its supremacy in all
+matters over every part of the empire; but not long afterwards the
+determination of some English statesmen to bring the colonies as far as
+practicable directly under the dominion of British law in all matters of
+commerce and taxation, and to control their government as far as
+possible, found full expression in the Townshend acts of 1767 which
+imposed port duties on a few commodities, including tea, imported into
+those countries. At the same time provision was made for the due
+execution of existing laws relating to trade. The province of New York
+was punished for openly refusing to obey an act of parliament which
+required the authorities to furnish the British troops with the
+necessaries of life. Writs of assistance, which allowed officials to
+search everywhere for smuggled goods, were duly legalised. These writs
+were the logical sequence of a rigid enforcement of the laws of trade
+and navigation, and had been vehemently denounced by James Otis, so far
+back as 1761, as not only irreconcilable with the colonial charters, but
+as inconsistent with those natural rights which a people "derived from
+nature and the Author of nature"--an assertion which obtained great
+prominence for the speaker. This bold expression of opinion in
+Massachusetts should be studied by the historian of those times in
+connection with the equally emphatic revolutionary argument advanced by
+Patrick Henry of Virginia, two years later, against the ecclesiastical
+supremacy of the Anglican clergy and the right of the king to veto
+legislation of the colony. Though the prerogative of the crown was thus
+directly called into question in a Virginia court, the British
+government did not take a determined stand on the undoubted rights of
+the crown in the case. English statesmen and lawyers probably regarded
+such arguments, if they paid any attention to them at all in days when
+they neglected colonial opinion, as only temporary ebullitions of local
+feeling, though in reality they were so many evidences of the opposition
+that was sure to show itself whenever there was a direct interference
+with the privileges and rights of self-governing communities. Both Henry
+and Otis touched a key-note of the revolution, which was stimulated by
+the revenue and stamp acts and later measures affecting the colonies.
+
+It is somewhat remarkable that it was in aristocratic Virginia, founded
+by Cavaliers, as well as in democratic Massachusetts, founded by
+Puritans, that the revolutionary element gained its principal strength
+during the controversy with the parent state. The makers of
+Massachusetts were independents in church government and democrats in
+political principle. The whole history of New England, in fact, from the
+first charters until the argument on the writs of assistance, is full of
+incidents which show the growth of republican ideas. The Anglican church
+had no strength in the northern colonies, and the great majority of
+their people were bitterly opposed to the pretensions of the English
+hierarchy to establish an episcopate in America. It is not therefore
+surprising that Massachusetts should have been the leader in the
+revolutionary agitation; on the other hand in Virginia the Anglican
+clergy belonged to what was essentially an established church, and the
+whole social fabric of the colony rested on an aristocratic basis. No
+doubt before the outbreak of the revolution there was a decided feeling
+against England on account of the restrictions on the sale of tobacco;
+and the quarrel, which I have just referred to, with respect to the
+stipends of the clergy, which were to be paid in this staple commodity
+according to its market value at the time of payment, had spread
+discontent among a large body of the people. But above all such causes
+of dissatisfaction was the growing belief that the political freedom of
+the people, and the very existence of the colony as a self-governing
+community, were jeopardised by the indiscreet acts of the imperial
+authorities after 1763. It is easy then to understand that the action of
+the British government in 1767 renewed the agitation, which had been
+allayed for the moment by the repeal of the stamp act and the general
+belief that there would be no rigid enforcement of old regulations which
+meant the ruin of the most profitable trade of New England. The measures
+of the ministry were violently assailed in parliament by Burke and
+other eminent men who availed themselves of so excellent an opportunity
+of exciting the public mind against a government which was doing so much
+to irritate the colonies and injure British trade. All the political
+conditions were unfavourable to a satisfactory adjustment of the
+colonial difficulty. Chatham had been one of the earnest opponents of
+the stamp act, but he was now buried in retirement--labouring under some
+mental trouble--and Charles Townshend, the chancellor of the exchequer
+in the cabinet of which Chatham was the real head, was responsible for
+measures which his chief would have repudiated as most impolitic and
+inexpedient in the existing temper of the colonies.
+
+The action of the ministry was for years at once weak and irritating.
+One day they asserted the supremacy of the British parliament, and on
+the next yielded to the violent opposition of the colonies and the
+appeals of British merchants whose interests were at stake. Nothing
+remained eventually but the tea duty, and even that was so arranged that
+the colonists could buy their tea at a much cheaper rate than the
+British consumer. But by this time a strong anti-British party was in
+course of formation throughout the colonies. Samuel Adams of
+Massachusetts, Patrick Henry of Virginia, and a few other political
+managers of consummate ability, had learned their own power, and the
+weakness of English ministers. Samuel Adams, who had no love in his
+heart for England, was undoubtedly by this time insidiously working
+towards the independence of the colonies. Violence and outrage formed
+part of his secret policy. The tea in Boston harbour was destroyed by a
+mob disguised as Mohawk Indians, and was nowhere allowed to enter into
+domestic consumption. The patience of English ministers was now
+exhausted, and they determined to enter on a vigorous system of
+repression, which might have had some effect at an earlier stage of the
+revolutionary movement, when the large and influential loyal body of
+people in the colonies ought to have been vigorously supported, and not
+left exposed to the threats, insults, and even violence of a resolute
+minority, comprising many persons influenced by purely selfish
+reasons--the stoppage of illicit trade from which they had profited--as
+well as men who objected on principle to a policy which seemed to them
+irreconcilable with the rights of the people to the fullest possible
+measure of local self-government. As it was, however, the insults and
+injuries to British officials bound to obey the law, the shameless and
+continuous rioting, the destruction of private property, the defiant
+attitude of the opposition to England, had at last awakened the home
+authorities to the dangers latent in the rebellious spirit that reckless
+agitators had aroused in colonies for which England had sacrificed so
+much of her blood and treasure when their integrity and dearest
+interests were threatened by France. The port of Boston, where the
+agitators were most influential and the most discreditable acts of
+violence had taken place, was closed to trade; and important
+modifications were made in the charter granted to Massachusetts by
+William III in 1692. Another obnoxious act provided that persons
+"questioned for any acts in execution of the laws" should be tried in
+England--a measure intended to protect officials and soldiers in the
+discharge of their duty against the rancour of the colonial community
+where they might be at that time. These measures, undoubtedly unwise at
+this juncture, were calculated to evoke the hostility of the other
+colonies and to show them what was probably in store for themselves. But
+while the issue certainly proved this to be the case, the course pursued
+by the government under existing conditions had an appearance of
+justification. Even Professor Goldwin Smith, who will not be accused of
+any sympathy with the British cabinet of that day, or of antagonism to
+liberal principles, admits that "a government thus bearded and insulted
+had its choice between abdication and repression," and "that repression
+was the most natural" course to pursue under the circumstances. Lord
+North gave expression to what was then a largely prevailing sentiment in
+England when he said "to repeal the tea duty would stamp us with
+timidity," and that the destruction of the property of private
+individuals, such as took place at Boston, "was a fitting culmination of
+years of riot and lawlessness." Lord North, we all know now, was really
+desirous of bringing about a reconciliation between the colonies and the
+parent state, but he servilely yielded his convictions to the king, who
+was determined to govern all parts of his empire, and was in favour of
+coercive measures. It is quite evident that the British ministry and
+their supporters entirely underrated the strength of the colonial party
+that was opposing England. Even those persons who, when the war broke
+out, remained faithful to their allegiance to the crown, were of opinion
+that the British government was pursuing a policy unwise in the extreme,
+although they had no doubt of the abstract legal right of that
+government to pass the Grenville and Townshend acts for taxing the
+colonies. Chatham, Burke, Conway, and Barré were the most prominent
+public men who, in powerful language, showed the dangers of the unwise
+course pursued by the "king's friends" in parliament.
+
+As we review the events of those miserable years we can see that every
+step taken by the British government, from the stamp act until the
+closing of the port of Boston and other coercive measures, had the
+effect of strengthening the hands of Samuel Adams and the other
+revolutionary agitators. Their measures to create a feeling against
+England exhibited great cunning and skill. The revolutionary movement
+was aided by the formation of "Sons of Liberty"--a phrase taken from one
+of Barré's speeches,--by circular letters and committees of
+correspondence between the colonies, by petitions to the king winch were
+framed in a tone of independence not calculated to conciliate that
+uncompromising sovereign, by clever ingenious appeals to public
+patriotism, by the assembling of a "continental congress," by acts of
+"association" which meant the stoppage of all commercial intercourse
+with Great Britain. New England was the head and front of the whole
+revolution, and Samuel Adams was its animating spirit. Even those famous
+committees of correspondence between the towns of Massachusetts, which
+gave expression to public opinion and stimulated united action when the
+legislative authority was prevented by the royal governor from working,
+were the inspiration of this astute political manager. Prominent
+Virginians saw the importance of carrying out this idea on a wider field
+of action, and Virginia accordingly inaugurated a system of
+intercolonial correspondence which led to the meeting of a continental
+congress, and was the first practical step towards political
+independence of the parent state. Adams's decision to work for
+independence was made, or confirmed, as early as 1767, when Charles
+Townshend succeeded in passing the measures which were so obnoxious to
+the colonists, and finally led to civil war.
+
+At a most critical moment, when the feelings of a large body of people
+were aroused to a violent pitch, when ideas of independence were
+ripening in the minds of others besides Samuel Adams, General Gage, then
+in command of the British regular troops in Boston, sent a military
+force to make prisoners of Adams and Hancock at Lexington, and seize
+some stores at Concord. Then the "embattled farmers" fired the shot
+"which was heard around the world." Then followed the capture of
+Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and the battle of Bunker's Hill, on the
+same day that Washington was appointed by congress to command the
+continental army. At this critical juncture, John Adams and other
+prominent colonists--not excepting Washington--were actually disavowing
+all desire to sever their relations with the parent state in the face of
+the warlike attitude of congress--an attitude justified by the
+declaration that it was intended to force a redress of grievances. Tom
+Paine, a mere adventurer, who had not been long in the country, now
+issued his pamphlet, "Common Sense," which was conceived in a spirit
+and written in a style admirably calculated to give strength and
+cohesion to the arguments of the people, who had been for some time
+coming to the conclusion that to aim at independence was the only
+consistent and logical course in the actual state of controversy between
+England and the colonies. On March 14th, 1776, the town of Boston, then
+the most important in America, was given up to the rebels; and British
+ships carried the first large body of unhappy and disappointed Loyalists
+to Halifax. On July the fourth of the same year the Declaration of
+Independence was passed, after much hesitation and discussion, and
+published to the world by the continental congress assembled at
+Philadelphia. The signal victory won by the continental army over
+Burgoyne at Saratoga in the autumn of the following year led to an
+alliance with France, without whose effective aid the eventual success
+of the revolutionists would have been very doubtful The revolutionists
+won their final triumph at Yorktown in the autumn of 1781, when a small
+army of regulars and Loyalists, led by Cornwallis, was obliged to
+surrender to the superior American and French forces, commanded by
+Washington and Rochambeau, and supported by a French fleet which
+effectively controlled the approaches to Chesapeake Bay.
+
+The conduct of the war on the part of England was noted for the singular
+incapacity of her generals. Had there been one of any energy or ability
+at the head of her troops, when hostilities commenced, the undisciplined
+American army might easily have been beaten and annihilated Boston need
+never have been evacuated had Howe taken the most ordinary precautions
+to occupy the heights of Dorchester that commanded the town. Washington
+could never have organised an army had not Howe given him every possible
+opportunity for months to do so. The British probably had another grand
+opportunity of ending the war on their occupation of New York, when
+Washington and his relatively insignificant army were virtually in their
+power while in retreat. The history of the war is full of similar
+instances of lost opportunities to overwhelm the continental troops. All
+the efforts of the British generals appear to have been devoted to the
+occupation of the important towns in a country stretching for a thousand
+miles from north to south, instead of following and crushing the
+constantly retreating, diminishing, and discouraged forces of the
+revolutionists. The evacuation of Philadelphia at a critical moment of
+the war was another signal illustration of the absence of all military
+foresight and judgment, since it disheartened the Loyalists and gave up
+an important base of operation against the South. Even Cornwallis, who
+fought so bravely and successfully in the southern provinces, made a
+most serious mistake when he chose so weak a position as Yorktown, which
+was only defensible whilst the army of occupation had free access to the
+sea. Admiral Rodney, then at St. Eustatius, is open to censure for not
+having sent such naval reinforcements as would have enabled the British
+to command Chesapeake Bay, and his failure in this respect explains the
+inability of Clinton, an able general, to support Cornwallis in his hour
+of need. The moment the French fleet appeared in the Chesapeake,
+Cornwallis's position became perfectly untenable, and he was obliged to
+surrender to the allied armies, who were vastly superior in number and
+equipment to his small force, which had not even the advantage of
+fighting behind well-constructed and perfect defences. No doubt, from
+the beginning to the end of the war--notably in the case of
+Burgoyne--the British were seriously hampered by the dilatory and unsafe
+counsels of Lord George Germaine, who was allowed by the favour of the
+king to direct military operations, and who, we remember, had disgraced
+himself on the famous battlefield of Minden.
+
+All the conditions in the country at large were favourable to the
+imperial troops had they been commanded by generals of ability. The
+Loyalists formed a large available force, rendered valueless time after
+time by the incapacity of the men who directed operations. At no time
+did the great body of the American people warmly respond to the demands
+made upon them by congress to support Washington. Had it not been for
+New England and Virginia the war must have more than once collapsed for
+want of men and supplies. It is impossible to exaggerate the absence of
+public spirit in the States during this critical period of their
+history. The English historian, Lecky, who has reviewed the annals of
+those times with great fairness, has truly said: "The nobility and
+beauty of the character of Washington can hardly be surpassed; several
+of the other leaders of the revolution were men of ability and public
+spirit, and few armies have ever shown a nobler self-devotion than that
+which remained with Washington through the dreary winter at Valley
+Forge. But the army that bore those sufferings was a very small one, and
+the general aspect of the American people during the contest was far
+from heroic or sublime." This opinion is fully borne out by those
+American historians who have reviewed the records of their national
+struggle in a spirit of dispassionate criticism. We know that in the
+spring of 1780 Washington himself wrote that his troops were "constantly
+on the point of starving for want of provisions and forage." He saw "in
+every line of the army the most serious features of mutiny and
+sedition." Indeed he had "almost ceased to hope," for he found the
+country in general "in such a state of insensibility and indifference to
+its interests" that he dare not flatter himself "with any change for the
+better." The war under such circumstances would have come to a sudden
+end had not France liberally responded to Washington's appeals and
+supported him with her money, her sailors and her soldiers. In the
+closing years of the war Great Britain had not only to fight France,
+Spain, Holland and her own colonies, but she was without a single ally
+in Europe. Her dominion was threatened in India, and the king prevented
+the intervention of the only statesman in the kingdom to whom the
+colonists at any time were likely to listen with respect. When Chatham
+died with a protest on his lips "against the dismemberment of this
+ancient monarchy," the last hope of bringing about a reconciliation
+between the revolutionists and the parent state disappeared for ever,
+and the Thirteen Colonies became independent at Yorktown.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--Canada and Nova Scotia during the Revolution.
+
+If Canada was saved to England during the American Revolution it was not
+on account of the energy and foresight shown by the king and his
+ministers in providing adequately for its defence, but mainly through
+the coolness and excellent judgment displayed by Governor Carleton. The
+Quebec act, for which he was largely responsible, was extremely
+unpopular in the Thirteen Colonies, on account of its having extended
+the boundaries of the province and the civil law to that western country
+beyond the Alleghanies, which the frontiersmen of Pennsylvania and
+Virginia regarded as specially their own domain. The fact that the
+Quebec act was passed by parliament simultaneously with the Boston port
+bill and other measures especially levelled against Massachusetts, gave
+additional fuel to the indignation of the people, who regarded this
+group of acts as part of a settled policy to crush the British-speaking
+colonies.
+
+Under these circumstances, the invasion of Canada by Arnold in 1775,
+with the full approval of the continental congress, soon after the
+taking of Crown Point and Ticonderoga by the "Green Mountain boys" of
+Vermont, was a most popular movement which, it was hoped generally,
+would end in the easy conquest of a province, occupied by an alien
+people, and likely to be a menace in the future to the country south of
+the St. Lawrence. The capture of Chambly and St. John's--the keys of
+Canada, by way of Lake Champlain--was immediately followed by the
+surrender of Montreal, which was quite indefensible, and the flight of
+Carleton to Quebec, where he wisely decided to make a stand against the
+invaders. At this time there were not one thousand regular troops in the
+country, and Carleton's endeavour to obtain reinforcements from Boston
+had failed in consequence of the timidity of Admiral Graves, who
+expressed his opinion that it was not safe to send vessels up the St.
+Lawrence towards the end of the month of October. No dependence
+apparently could be placed at this critical juncture on a number of the
+French _habitants_, as soon as the districts of Richelieu, Montreal and
+Three Rivers were occupied by the continental troops. Many of them were
+quite ready to sell provisions to the invaders, provided they were paid
+in coin, and a few of them even joined Montgomery on his march to
+Quebec. Happily, however, the influence of the clergy and the
+_seigneurs_ was sufficiently powerful to make the great mass of the
+people neutral during this struggle for supremacy in the province.
+
+The bishop and the priests, from the outset, were quite alive to the
+gravity of the situation. They could not forget that the delegates to
+the continental congress, who were now appealing to French Canada to
+join the rebellious colonists, had only a few weeks before issued an
+address to the people of England in which they expressed their
+astonishment that the British parliament should have established in
+Canada "a religion that had deluged their land in blood and dispersed
+impiety, bigotry, persecution, murder, and rebellion through every part
+of the world." Almost simultaneously with the capture of the forts on
+Lake Champlain, Bishop Briand issued a _mandement_ in which he dwelt
+with emphasis on the great benefits which the people of French Canada
+had already derived from the British connection and called upon them all
+to unite in the defence of their province. No doubt can exist that these
+opinions had much effect at a time when Carleton had reason to doubt
+even the loyalty of the English population, some of whom were
+notoriously in league with the rebels across the frontier, and gave
+material aid to the invaders as soon as they occupied Montreal. It was
+assuredly the influence of the French clergy that rendered entirely
+ineffectual the mission of Chase, Franklin, and the Carrolls of
+Maryland--one of whom became the first Roman Catholic archbishop of the
+United States--who were instructed by congress to offer every possible
+inducement to the Roman Catholic subjects of England in Canada to join
+the revolutionary movement.
+
+Richard Montgomery, who had commanded the troops invading Canada, had
+served at Louisbourg and Quebec, and had subsequently become a resident
+of New York, where his political opinions on the outbreak of the
+revolution had been influenced by his connection, through marriage, with
+the Livingstones, bitter opponents of the British government. His merit
+as a soldier naturally brought him into prominence when the war began,
+and his own ambition gladly led him to obey the order to go to Canada,
+where he hoped to emulate the fame of Wolfe and become the captor of
+Quebec. He formed a junction, close to the ancient capital, with the
+force under Benedict Arnold, who was at a later time to sully a
+memorable career by an act of the most deliberate treachery to his
+compatriots. When Montgomery and Arnold united their forces before
+Quebec, the whole of Canada, from Lake Champlain to Montreal, and from
+that town to the walls of the old capital, was under the control of the
+continental troops. Despite the great disadvantages under which he
+laboured, Carleton was able to perfect his defences of the city, which
+he determined to hold until reinforcements should arrive in the spring
+from England. Montgomery had neither men nor artillery to storm the
+fortified city which he had hoped to surprise and easily occupy with the
+aid of secret friends within its walls. Carleton, however, rallied all
+loyal men to his support, and the traitors on whom the invaders had
+relied were powerless to carry out any treacherous design they may have
+formed. The American commanders at once recognised the folly of a
+regular investment of the fortress during a long and severe winter, and
+decided to attempt to surprise the garrison by a night assault. This
+plan was earned out in the early morning of the thirty-first of
+December, 1775, when the darkness was intensified by flurries of light
+blinding snow, but it failed before the assailants could force the
+barricades which barred the way to the upper town, where all the
+principal offices and buildings were grouped, just below the château and
+fort of St. Louis, which towers above the historic heights. Montgomery
+was killed, Arnold was wounded at the very outset, and a considerable
+number of their officers and men were killed or wounded.
+
+Carleton saved Quebec at this critical hour and was able in the course
+of the same year, when General Burgoyne arrived with reinforcements
+largely composed of subsidised German regiments, to drive the
+continental troops in confusion from the province and destroy the fleet
+which congress had formed on Lake Champlain. Carleton took possession of
+Crown Point but found the season too late--it was now towards the end of
+autumn--to attempt an attack on Ticonderoga, which was occupied by a
+strong and well-equipped garrison. After a careful view of the situation
+he concluded to abandon Crown Point until the spring, when he could
+easily occupy it again, and attack Ticonderoga with every prospect of
+success. But Carleton, soon afterwards, was ordered to give up the
+command of the royal troops to Burgoyne, who was instructed by Germaine
+to proceed to the Hudson River, where Howe was to join him. Carleton
+naturally resented the insult that he received and resigned the
+governor-generalship, to which General Haldimand was appointed. Carleton
+certainly brought Canada securely through one of the most critical
+epochs of her history, and there is every reason to believe that he
+would have saved the honour of England and the reputation of her
+generals, had he rather than Burgoyne and Howe been entrusted with the
+direction of her armies in North America.
+
+Carleton's administration of the civil government of the province was
+distinguished by a spirit of discretion and energy which deservedly
+places him among the ablest governors who ever presided over the public
+affairs of a colony. During the progress of the American war the
+legislative council was not able to meet until nearly two years after
+its abrupt adjournment in September, 1775. At this session, in 1777,
+ordinances were passed for the establishment of courts of King's bench,
+common pleas, and probate.
+
+A critical perusal of the valuable documents, placed of late years in
+the archives of the Dominion, clearly proves that it was a fortunate day
+for Canada when so resolute a soldier and far-sighted administrator as
+General Haldimand was in charge of the civil and military government of
+the country after the departure of Carleton. His conduct appears to have
+been dictated by a desire to do justice to all classes, and it is most
+unfair to his memory to declare that he was antagonistic to French
+Canadians. During the critical time when he was entrusted with the
+public defence it is impossible to accuse him of an arrogant or
+unwarrantable exercise of authority, even when he was sorely beset by
+open and secret enemies of the British connection. The French Canadian
+_habitant_ found himself treated with a generous consideration that he
+never obtained during the French régime, and wherever his services were
+required by the state, he was paid, not in worthless card money, but in
+British coin. During Haldimand's administration the country was in a
+perilous condition on account of the restlessness and uncertainty that
+prevailed while the French naval and military expeditions were in
+America, using every means of exciting a public sentiment hostile to
+England and favourable to France among the French Canadians. Admiral
+D'Estaing's proclamation in 1778 was a passionate appeal to the old
+national sentiment of the people, and was distributed in every part of
+the province. Dr. Kingsford believes that it had large influence in
+creating a powerful feeling which might have seriously threatened
+British dominion had the French been able to obtain permission from
+congress to send an army into the country. Whatever may have been the
+temper of the great majority of the French Canadians, it does not appear
+that many of them openly expressed their sympathy with France, for whom
+they would naturally still feel a deep love as their motherland. The
+assertion that many priests secretly hoped for the appearance of the
+French army is not justified by any substantial evidence except the fact
+that one La Valinière was arrested for his disloyalty, and sent a
+prisoner to England. It appears, however, that this course was taken
+with the approval of the bishop himself, who was a sincere friend of the
+English connection throughout the war. Haldimand arrested a number of
+persons who were believed to be engaged in treasonable practices against
+England, and effectively prevented any successful movement being made by
+the supporters of the revolutionists, or sympathisers with France, whose
+emissaries were secretly working in the parishes.
+
+Haldimand's principal opponent during these troublous times was one
+Pierre du Calvet, an unscrupulous and able intriguer, whom he imprisoned
+on the strong suspicion of treasonable practices; but the evidence
+against Calvet at that time appears to have been inadequate, as he
+succeeded in obtaining damages against the governor-general in an
+English court. The imperial government, however, in view of all the
+circumstances brought to their notice, paid the cost of the defence of
+the suit. History now fully justifies the action of Haldimand, for the
+publication of Franklin's correspondence in these later times shows that
+Calvet--who was drowned at sea and never again appeared in Canada--was
+in direct correspondence with congress, and the recognised emissary of
+the revolutionists at the very time he was declaring himself devoted to
+the continuance of British rule in Canada.
+
+Leaving the valley of the St. Lawrence, and reviewing the conditions of
+affairs in the maritime provinces, during the American revolution, we
+see that some of the settlers from New England sympathised with their
+rebellious countrymen. The people of Truro, Onslow, and Londonderry,
+with the exception of five persons, refused to take the oath of
+allegiance, and were not allowed for some time to be represented in the
+legislature. The assembly was always loyal to the crown, and refused to
+consider the appeals that were made to it by circular letters, and
+otherwise, to give active aid and sympathy to the rebellious colonies
+During the war armed cruisers pillaged the small settlements at
+Charlottetown, Annapolis, Lunenburg, and the entrance of the St. John
+River. One expedition fitted out at Machias, in the present state of
+Maine, under the command of a Colonel Eddy, who had been a resident of
+Cumberland, attempted to seize Fort Cumberland--known as Beauséjour in
+French Acadian days--at the mouth of the Missiquash. In this section of
+the country there were many sympathisers with the rebels, and Eddy
+expected to have an easy triumph. The military authorities were happily
+on the alert, and the only result was the arrest of a number of persons
+on the suspicion of treasonable designs. The inhabitants of the county
+of Yarmouth--a district especially exposed to attack--only escaped the
+frequent visits of privateers by secret negotiations with influential
+persons in Massachusetts. The settlers on the St. John River, at
+Maugerville, took measures to assist their fellow-countrymen in New
+England, but the defeat of the Cumberland expedition and the activity of
+the British authorities prevented the disaffected in Sunbury county--in
+which the original settlements of New Brunswick were then
+comprised--from rendering any practical aid to the revolutionists. The
+authorities at Halifax authorised the fitting out of privateers in
+retaliation for the damages inflicted on western ports by the same class
+of cruisers sailing from New England. The province was generally
+impoverished by the impossibility of carrying on the coasting trade and
+fisheries with security in these circumstances. The constant demand for
+men to fill the army and the fleet drained the country when labour was
+imperatively needed for necessary industrial pursuits, including the
+cultivation of the land. Some Halifax merchants and traders alone found
+profit in the constant arrival of troops and ships. Apart, however, from
+the signs of disaffection shown in the few localities I have mentioned,
+the people generally appear to have been loyal to England, and rallied,
+notably in the townships of Annapolis, Horton and Windsor, to the
+defence of the country, at the call of the authorities.
+
+In 1783 the humiliated king of England consented to a peace with his old
+colonies, who owed their success not so much to the unselfishness and
+determination of the great body of the rebels as to the incapacity of
+British generals and to the patience, calmness, and resolution of the
+one great man of the revolution, George Washington. I shall in a later
+chapter refer to this treaty in which the boundaries between Canada and
+the new republic were so ignorantly and clumsily defined that it took
+half a century and longer to settle the vexed questions that arose in
+connection with territorial rights, and then the settlement was to the
+injury of Canada. So far as the treaty affected the Provinces its most
+important result was the forced migration of that large body of people
+who had remained faithful to the crown and empire during the revolution.
+
+[Illustration: MAP SHOWING BOUNDARY BETWEEN CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES
+BY TREATY OF 1783]
+
+
+SECTION 3.--The United Empire Loyalists
+
+John Adams and other authorities in the United States have admitted that
+when the first shot of the revolution was fired by "the embattled
+farmers" of Concord and Lexington, the Loyalists numbered one-third of
+the whole population of the colonies, or seven hundred thousand whites.
+Others believe that the number was larger, and that the revolutionary
+party was in a minority even after the declaration of independence. The
+greater number of the Loyalists were to be found in the present state of
+New York, where the capital was in possession of the British from
+September, 1776, until the evacuation in 1783. They were also the
+majority in Pennsylvania and the southern colonies of South Carolina and
+Georgia. In all the other states they represented a large minority of
+the best class of their respective communities. It is estimated that
+there were actually from thirty to thirty-five thousand, at one time or
+other, enrolled in regularly organised corps, without including the
+bodies which waged guerilla warfare in South Carolina and elsewhere.
+
+It is only within a decade of years that some historical writers in the
+United States have had the courage and honesty to point out the false
+impressions long entertained by the majority of Americans with respect
+to the Loyalists, who were in their way as worthy of historical eulogy
+as the people whose efforts to win independence were crowned with
+success. Professor Tyler, of Cornell University, points out that these
+people comprised "in general a clear majority of those who, of whatever
+grade of culture or of wealth, would now be described as conservative
+people." A clear majority of the official class, of men representing
+large commercial interests and capital, of professional training and
+occupation, clergymen, physicians, lawyers and teachers, "seem to have
+been set against the ultimate measures of the revolution". He assumes
+with justice that, within this conservative class, one may "usually find
+at least a fair portion of the cultivation, of the moral thoughtfulness,
+of the personal purity and honour, existing in the community to which
+they happen to belong." He agrees with Dr. John Fiske, and other
+historical writers of eminence in the United States, in comparing the
+Loyalists of 1776 to the Unionists of the southern war of secession from
+1861 until 1865. They were "the champions of national unity, as resting
+on the paramount authority of the general government." In other words
+they were the champions of a United British Empire in the eighteenth
+century.
+
+"The old colonial system," says that thoughtful writer Sir J.R. Seeley,
+"was not at all tyrannous; and when the breach came the grievances of
+which the Americans complained, though perfectly real, were smaller than
+ever before or since led to such mighty consequences." The leaders among
+the Loyalists, excepting a few rash and angry officials probably,
+recognised that there were grievances which ought to be remedied. They
+looked on the policy of the party in power in Great Britain as
+injudicious in the extreme, but they believed that the relations between
+the colonies and the mother-state could be placed on a more satisfactory
+basis by a spirit of mutual compromise, and not by such methods as were
+insidiously followed by the agitators against England. The Loyalists
+generally contended for the legality of the action of parliament, and
+were supported by the opinion of all high legal authorities; but the
+causes of difficulty were not to be adjusted by mere lawyers, who
+adhered to the strict letter of the law, but by statesmen who recognised
+that the time had come for reconsidering the relations between the
+colonies and the parent state, and meeting the new conditions of their
+rapid development and political freedom. These relations were not to be
+placed on an equitable and satisfactory basis by mob-violence and
+revolution. All the questions at issue were of a constitutional
+character, to be settled by constitutional methods.
+
+Unhappily, English statesmen of that day paid no attention to, and had
+no conception of, the aspirations, sentiments and conditions of the
+colonial peoples when the revolutionary war broke out. The king wished
+to govern in the colonies as well as in the British Isles, and
+unfortunately the unwise assertion of his arrogant will gave dangerous
+men like Samuel Adams, more than once, the opportunity they wanted to
+stimulate public irritation and indignation against England.
+
+It is an interesting fact, that the relations between Great Britain and
+the Canadian Dominion are now regulated by just such principles as were
+urged in the interests of England and her colonies a hundred and twenty
+years ago by Governor Thomas Hutchinson, a great Loyalist, to whom
+justice is at last being done by impartial historians in the country
+where his motives and acts were so long misunderstood and
+misrepresented. "Whatever measures," he wrote to a correspondent in
+England, "you may take to maintain the authority of parliament, give me
+leave to pray they may be accompanied with a declaration that it is not
+the intention of parliament to deprive the colonies of their subordinate
+power of legislation, nor to exercise the supreme power except in such
+cases and upon such occasions as an equitable regard to the interests of
+the whole empire shall make necessary." But it took three-quarters of a
+century after the coming of the Loyalists to realise these statesmanlike
+conceptions of Hutchinson in the colonial dominions of England to the
+north of the dependencies which she lost in the latter part of the
+eighteenth century.
+
+Similar opinions were entertained by Joseph Galloway, Jonathan Boucher,
+Jonathan Odell, Samuel Seabury, Chief Justice Smith, Judge Thomas Jones,
+Beverley Robinson and other men of weight and ability among the
+Loyalists, who recognised the short-sightedness and ignorance of the
+British authorities, and the existence of real grievances. Galloway, one
+of the ablest men on the constitutional side, and a member of the first
+continental congress, suggested a practical scheme of imperial
+federation, well worthy of earnest consideration at that crisis in
+imperial affairs. Eminent men in the congress of 1774 supported this
+statesmanlike mode of placing the relations of England and the colonies
+on a basis which would enable them to work harmoniously, and at the same
+time give full scope to the ambition and the liberties of the colonial
+communities thus closely united; but unhappily for the empire the
+revolutionary element carried the day. The people at large were never
+given an opportunity of considering this wise proposition, and the
+motion was erased from the records of congress. In its place, the people
+were asked to sign "articles of association" which bound them to cease
+all commercial relations with England. Had Galloway's idea been carried
+out to a successful issue, we might have now presented to the world the
+noble spectacle of an empire greater by half a continent and
+seventy-five millions of people.
+
+But while Galloway and other Loyalists failed in their measures of
+adjusting existing difficulties and remedying grievances, history can
+still do full justice to their wise counsel and resolute loyalty, which
+refused to assist in tearing the empire to fragments. These men, who
+remained faithful to this ideal to the very bitter end, suffered many
+indignities at the hands of the professed lovers of liberty, even in
+those days when the questions at issue had not got beyond the stage of
+legitimate argument and agitation. The courts of law were closed and the
+judges prevented from fulfilling their judicial functions. No class of
+persons, not even women, were safe from the insults of intoxicated
+ruffians. The clergy of the Church of England were especially the object
+of contumely.
+
+During the war the passions of both parties to the controversy were
+aroused to the highest pitch, and some allowance must be made for
+conditions which were different from those which existed when the
+questions at issue were still matters of argument. It is impossible in
+times of civil strife to cool the passions of men and prevent them from
+perpetrating cruelties and outrages which would be repugnant to their
+sense of humanity in moments of calmness and reflection. Both sides,
+more than once, displayed a hatred of each other that was worthy of the
+American Iroquois themselves. The legislative bodies were fully as
+vindictive as individuals in the persecution of the Loyalists.
+Confiscation of estate, imprisonment, disqualification for office,
+banishment, and even death in case of return from exile, were among the
+penalties to which these people were subject by the legislative acts of
+the revolutionary party.
+
+If allowance can be made for the feelings of revenge and passion which
+animate persons under the abnormal conditions of civil war, no
+extenuating circumstances appear at that later period when peace was
+proclaimed and congress was called upon to fulfil the terms of the
+treaty and recommend to the several independent states the restoration
+of the confiscated property of Loyalists. Even persons who had taken up
+arms were to have an opportunity of receiving their estates back on
+condition of refunding the money which had been paid for them, and
+protection was to be afforded to those persons during twelve months
+while they were engaged in obtaining the restoration of their property.
+It was also solemnly agreed by the sixth article of the treaty that
+there should be no future confiscations or prosecutions, and that no
+person should "suffer any future loss or damage, either in his person,
+liberty or property," for the part he might have taken in the war. Now
+was the time for generous terms, such terms as were even shown by the
+triumphant North to the rebellious South at the close of the war of
+secession. The recommendations of congress were treated with contempt by
+the legislatures in all the states except in South Carolina, and even
+there the popular feeling was entirely opposed to any favour or justice
+being shown to the beaten party. The sixth article of the treaty, a
+solemn obligation, was violated with malice and premeditation. The
+Loyalists, many of whom had returned from Great Britain with the hope of
+receiving back their estates, or of being allowed to remain in the
+country, soon found they could expect no generous treatment from the
+successful republicans. The favourite Whig occupation of tarring and
+feathering was renewed. Loyalists were warned to leave the country as
+soon as possible, and in the south some were shot and hanged because
+they did not obey the warning. The Loyalists, for the most part, had no
+other course open to them than to leave the country they still loved and
+where they had hoped to die.
+
+The British government endeavoured, so far as it was in its power, to
+compensate the Loyalists for the loss of their property by liberal
+grants of money and land, but despite all that was done for them the
+majority felt a deep bitterness in their hearts as they landed on new
+shores of which they had heard most depressing accounts. More than
+thirty-five thousand men, women and children, made their homes within
+the limits of the present Dominion. In addition to these actual American
+Loyalists, there were several thousands of negroes, fugitives from their
+owners, or servants of the exiles, who have been generally counted in
+the loose estimates made of the migration of 1783, and the greater
+number of whom were at a later time deported from Nova Scotia to Sierra
+Leone. Of the exiles at least twenty-five thousand went to the maritime
+colonies, and built up the province of New Brunswick, where
+representative institutions were established in 1784. Of the ten
+thousand people who sought the valley of the St Lawrence, some settled
+in Montreal, at Chambly, and in parts of the present Eastern Townships,
+but the great majority accepted grants of land on the banks of the St.
+Lawrence--from River Beaudette, on Lake St. Francis, as far as the
+beautiful Bay of Quinté--in the Niagara District, and on the shores of
+Lake Erie. The coming of these people, subsequently known by the name of
+"U.E. Loyalists"--a name appropriately given to them in recognition of
+their fidelity to a United Empire--was a most auspicious event for the
+British-American provinces, the greater part of which was still a
+wilderness. As we have seen in the previous chapters, there was in the
+Acadian provinces, afterwards divided into New Brunswick and Nova
+Scotia, a British population of only some 14,000 souls, mostly confined
+to the peninsula. In the valley of the St. Lawrence there was a French
+population of probably 100,000 persons, dwelling chiefly on the banks of
+the St. Lawrence between Quebec and Montreal. The total British
+population of the province of Quebec did not exceed 2000, residing for
+the most part in the towns of Quebec and Montreal. No English people
+were found west of Lake St. Louis; and what is now the populous province
+of Ontario was a mere wilderness, except where loyal refugees had
+gathered about the English fort at Niagara, or a few French settlers had
+made homes for themselves on the banks of the Detroit River and Lake St.
+Clair. The migration of between 30,000 and 40,000 Loyalists to the
+maritime provinces and the valley of the St. Lawrence was the saving of
+British interests in the great region which England still happily
+retained in North America.
+
+The refugees who arrived in Halifax in 1783 were so numerous that
+hundreds had to be placed in the churches or in cabooses taken from the
+transports and ranged along the streets. At Guysborough, in Nova
+Scotia--so named after Sir Guy Carleton--the first village, which was
+hastily built by the settlers, was destroyed by a bush fire, and many
+persons only saved their lives by rushing into the sea. At Shelburne, on
+the first arrival of the exiles, there were seen "lines of women sitting
+on the rocky shore and weeping at their altered condition." Towns and
+villages, however, were soon built for the accommodation of the people.
+At Shelburne, or Port Roseway--anglicised from the French _Razoir_--a
+town of fourteen thousand people, with wide streets, fine houses, some
+of them containing furniture and mantel-pieces brought from New York,
+arose in two or three years. The name of New Jerusalem had been given to
+the same locality some years before, but it seemed a mockery to the
+Loyalists when they found that the place they had chosen for their new
+home was quite unsuited for settlement. A beautiful harbour lay in
+front, and a rocky country unfit for farmers in the rear of their
+ambitious town, which at one time was the most populous in British North
+America. In the course of a few years the place was almost deserted, and
+sank for a time into insignificance. A pretty town now nestles by the
+side of the beautiful and spacious harbour which attracted the first too
+hopeful settlers; and its residents point out to the tourist the sites
+of the buildings of last century, one or two of which still stand, and
+can show many documents and relics of those early days.
+
+Over twelve thousand Loyalists, largely drawn from the disbanded loyal
+regiments of the old colonies, settled in New Brunswick. The name of
+Parrtown was first given, in honour of the governor of Nova Scotia, to
+the infant settlement which became the city of St. John, in 1785, when
+it was incorporated. The first landing of the loyal pioneers took place
+on the 18th of May, 1783, at what is now the Market Slip of this
+interesting city. Previous to 1783, the total population of the province
+did not exceed seven hundred souls, chiefly at Maugerville and other
+places on the great river. The number of Loyalists who settled on the
+St. John River was at least ten thousand, of whom the greater proportion
+were established at the mouth of the river, which was the base of
+operations for the peopling of the new province. Some adventurous
+spirits took possession of the abandoned French settlements at Grimross
+and St. Anne's, where they repaired some ruined huts of the original
+Acadian occupants, or built temporary cabins. This was the beginning of
+the settlement of Fredericton, which four years later became the
+political capital on account of its central position, its greater
+security in time of war, and its location on the land route to Quebec.
+Many of the people spent their first winter in log-huts, bark camps, and
+tents covered with spruce, or rendered habitable only by the heavy banks
+of snow which were piled against them. A number of persons died through
+exposure, and "strong, proud men"--to quote the words of one who lived
+in those sorrowful days--"wept like children and lay down in their
+snow-bound tents to die."
+
+A small number of loyal refugees had found their way to the valley of
+the St. Lawrence as early as 1778, and obtained employment in the
+regiments organised under Sir John Johnson and others. It was not until
+1783 and 1784 that the large proportion of the exiles came to Western
+Canada. They settled chiefly on the northern banks of the St. Lawrence,
+in what are now the counties of Glengarry, Stormont, Dundas, Grenville,
+Leeds, Frontenac, Addington, Lennox, Hastings and Prince Edward, where
+their descendants have acquired wealth and positions of honour and
+trust. The first township laid out in Upper Canada, now Ontario, was
+Kingston. The beautiful Bay of Quinté is surrounded by a country full of
+the memories of this people, and the same is true of the picturesque
+district of Niagara.
+
+Among the Loyalists of Canada must also be honourably mentioned Joseph
+Brant (Thayendanega), the astute and courageous chief of the Mohawks,
+the bravest nation of the Iroquois confederacy, who fought on the side
+of England during the war. At its close he and his people settled in
+Canada, where they received large grants from the government, some in a
+township by the Bay of Quinté, which still bears the Indian title of the
+great warrior, and the majority on the Grand River, where a beautiful
+city and county perpetuate the memory of this loyal subject of the
+British crown. The first Anglican church built in Upper Canada was that
+of the Mohawks, near Brantford, and here the church bell first broke the
+silence of the illimitable forest.
+
+The difficulties which the Upper Canadian immigrants had to undergo
+before reaching their destination were much greater than was the case
+with the people who went direct in ships from American ports to Halifax
+and other places on the Atlantic coast. The former had to make toilsome
+journeys by land, or by _bateaux_ and canoes up the St. Lawrence, the
+Richelieu, the Genesee, and other streams which gave access from the
+interior of the United States to the new Canadian land. The British
+government did its best to supply the wants of the population suddenly
+thrown upon its charitable care, but, despite all that could be done for
+them in the way of food and means of fighting the wilderness, they
+suffered naturally a great deal of hardship. The most influential
+immigration found its way to the maritime provinces, where many received
+congenial employment and adequate salaries in the new government of New
+Brunswick. Many others, with the wrecks of their fortunes or the
+pecuniary aid granted them by the British government, were able to make
+comfortable homes and cultivate estates in the valleys of the St. John
+and Annapolis, and in other fertile parts of the lower provinces. Of the
+large population that founded Shelburne a few returned to the United
+States, but the greater number scattered all over the provinces. The
+settlers in Upper Canada had to suffer many trials for years after their
+arrival, and especially in a year of famine, when large numbers had to
+depend on wild fruits and roots. Indeed, had it not been for the fish
+and game which were found in some, but not in all, places, starvation
+and death would have been the lot of many hundreds of helpless people.
+
+Many of the refugees could trace their descent to the early immigration
+that founded the colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay. Some were
+connected with the Cavalier and Church families of Virginia. Others were
+of the blood of persecuted Huguenots and German Protestants from the
+Rhenish or Lower Palatinate. Not a few were Highland Scotchmen, who had
+been followers of the Stuarts, and yet fought for King George and the
+British connection during the American revolution. Among the number were
+notable Anglican clergymen, eminent judges and lawyers, and probably one
+hundred graduates of Harvard, Yale, King's, Pennsylvania, and William
+and Mary Colleges. In the records of industrial enterprise, of social
+and intellectual progress, of political development for a hundred
+years, we find the names of many eminent men, sprung from these people,
+to whom Canada owes a deep debt of gratitude for the services they
+rendered her in the most critical period of her chequered history.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+DEVELOPMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE INSTITUTIONS (1784--1812).
+
+
+SECTION I--Beginnings of the provinces of New Brunswick, Lower Canada
+and Upper Canada.
+
+On the 16th August, 1784, as a consequence of the coming of over ten
+thousand Loyalists to the valley of the St. John River, a new province
+was formed out of that portion of the ancient limits of Acadia, which
+extended northward from the isthmus of Chignecto to the province of
+Quebec, and eastward from the uncertain boundary of the St. Croix to the
+Gulf of St. Lawrence. It received its present name in honour of the
+Brunswick-Luneburg or Hanoverian line which had given a royal dynasty to
+England, and its first governor was Colonel Thomas Carleton, a brother
+of the distinguished governor-general, whose name is so intimately
+associated with the fortunes of Canada during a most critical period of
+its history. The first executive council, which was also the legislative
+council, comprised some of the most eminent men of the Loyalist
+migration. For instance, George Duncan Ludlow; who had been a judge of
+the supreme court of New York; Jonathan Odell, the famous satirist and
+divine; William Hazen, a merchant of high reputation, who had large
+interests on the St. John River from 1763, and had proved his fidelity
+to the crown at a time when his countrymen at Maugerville were disposed
+to join the revolutionary party; Gabriel G. Ludlow, previously a colonel
+in a royal regiment; Edward Winslow, Daniel Bliss and Isaac Allen, all
+of whom had borne arms in the royal service and had suffered the loss of
+valuable property, confiscated by the successful rebels.
+
+The constitution of 1784 provided for an assembly of twenty-six members
+who were elected in 1785, and met for the first time on the 3rd of
+January, 1786, at the Mallard House, a plain two-storey building on the
+north side of King Street. The city of St. John ceased to be the seat of
+government in 1787, when the present capital, Fredericton, first known
+as St. Anne's, was chosen. Of the twenty-six members elected to this
+assembly, twenty-three were Loyalists, and the same class necessarily
+continued for many years to predominate in the legislature. The first
+speaker was Amos Botsford, the pioneer of the Loyalist migration to New
+Brunswick, whose grandson occupied the same position for a short time in
+the senate of the Dominion of Canada.
+
+Coming to the province of Lower Canada we find it contained at this time
+a population of about a hundred thousand souls, of whom six thousand
+lived in Quebec and Montreal respectively. Only two thousand
+English-speaking persons resided in the province, almost entirely in the
+towns. Small as was the British minority, it continued that agitation
+for an assembly which had been commenced long before the passage of the
+Quebec act. A nominated council did not satisfy the political ambition
+of this class, who obtained little support from the French Canadian
+people. The objections of the latter arose from the working of the act
+itself. Difficulties had grown up in the administration of the law,
+chiefly in consequence of its being entrusted exclusively to men
+acquainted only with English jurisprudence, and not disposed to comply
+with the letter and intention of the imperial statute. As a matter of
+practice, French law was only followed as equity suggested; and the
+consequence was great legal confusion in the province. A question had
+also arisen as to the legality of the issue of writs of _habeas corpus_,
+and it was eventually necessary to pass an ordinance to remove all
+doubts on this important point.
+
+The Loyalist settlers on the St. Lawrence and Niagara Rivers sent a
+petition in 1785 to the home government, praying for the establishment
+of a new district west of the River Beaudette "with the blessings of
+British laws and British government, and of exemption from French tenure
+of property." While such matters were under the consideration of the
+imperial authorities, Sir Guy Carleton, once more governor-general of
+Canada, and lately raised to the peerage as Lord Dorchester,
+established, in 1788, five new districts for the express object of
+providing for the temporary government of the territory where the
+Loyalists had settled. These districts were known as Luneburg,
+Mecklenburg, Nassau and Hesse, in the western country, and Gaspé in the
+extreme east of the province of Quebec, where a small number of the same
+class of people had also found new homes. Townships, ranging from eighty
+to forty thousand acres each, were also surveyed within these districts
+and parcelled out with great liberality among the Loyalists. Magistrates
+wore appointed to administer justice with the simplest possible
+machinery at a time when men trained in the law were not available.
+
+The grants of land made to the Loyalists and their children were large,
+and in later years a considerable portion passed into the hands of
+speculators who bought them up at nominal sums. It was in connection
+with these grants that the name of "United Empire Loyalists" originated.
+An order-in-council was passed on the 9th of November, 1780, in
+accordance with the wish of Lord Dorchester "to put a mark of honour
+upon the families who had adhered to the _unity of the empire_ and
+joined the royal standard in America before the treaty of separation in
+1783." Accordingly the names of all persons falling under this
+designation were to be recorded as far as possible, in order that "their
+posterity may be discriminated from future settlers in the parish lists
+and rolls of militia of their respective districts, and other public
+remembrances of the province."
+
+The British cabinet, of which Mr. Pitt, the famous son of the Earl of
+Chatham, was first minister, now decided to divide the province of
+Quebec into two districts, with separate legislatures and governments.
+Lord Grenville, while in charge of the department of colonial affairs,
+wrote in 1789 to Lord Dorchester that the "general object of the plan is
+to assimilate the constitution of the province to that of Great Britain
+as nearly as the differences arising from the names of the people and
+from the present situation of the province will admit." He also
+emphatically expressed the opinion that "a considerable degree of
+attention is due to the prejudices and habits of the French inhabitants,
+and every degree of caution should be used to continue to them the
+enjoyment of those civil and religious rights which were secured to them
+by the capitulation of the province, or have since been granted by the
+liberal and enlightened spirit of the British government." When the bill
+for the formation of the two provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada
+came before the house of commons, Mr. Adam Lymburner, an influential
+merchant of Quebec, appeared at the Bar and ably opposed the separation
+"as dangerous in every point of view to British interests in America,
+and to the safety, tranquillity and prosperity of the inhabitants of the
+province of Quebec" He pressed the repeal of the Quebec act in its
+entirety and the enactment of a perfectly new constitution "unclogged
+and unembarrassed with any laws prior to this period" He professed to
+represent the views "of the most intelligent and respectable of the
+French Canadians"; but their antagonism was not directed against the
+Quebec act in itself, but against the administration of the law,
+influenced as this was by the opposition of the British people to the
+French civil code. Nor does it appear, as Mr. Lymburner asserted, that
+the western Loyalists were hostile to the formation of two distinct
+provinces. He represented simply the views of the English-speaking
+inhabitants of Lower Canada, who believed that the proposed division
+would place them in a very small minority in the legislature and, as the
+issue finally proved, at the mercy of the great majority of the French
+Canadian representatives, while on the other hand the formation of one
+large province extending from Gaspé to the head of the great lakes would
+ensure an English representation sufficiently formidable to lessen the
+danger of French Canadian domination. However, the British government
+seems to have been actuated by a sincere desire to do justice to the
+French Canadians and the Loyalists of the upper province at one and the
+same time. When introducing the bill in the house of commons on the 7th
+March, 1791, Mr. Pitt expressed the hope that "the division would remove
+the differences of opinion which had arisen between the old and new
+inhabitants, since each province would have the right of enacting laws
+desired in its own house of assembly." He believed a division to be
+essential, as "otherwise he could not reconcile the clashing interests
+known to exist." Mr. Burke was of opinion that "to attempt to amalgamate
+two populations composed of races of men diverse in language, laws and
+customs, was a complete absurdity", and he consequently approved of the
+division. Mr. Fox, from whom Burke became alienated during this debate,
+looked at the question in an entirely different light and was strongly
+of opinion that "it was most desirable to see the French and English
+inhabitants coalesce into one body, and the different distinctions of
+people extinguished for ever."
+
+The Constitutional act of 1791 established in each province a
+legislative council and assembly, with powers to make laws. The
+legislative council was to be appointed by the king for life, in Upper
+Canada it was to consist of not less than seven, and in Lower Canada of
+not less than fifteen members. The sovereign might, if he thought
+proper, annex hereditary titles of honour to the right of being summoned
+to the legislative council in either province--a provision which was
+never brought into operation. The whole number of members in the
+assembly of Upper Canada was not to be less than sixteen; in Lower
+Canada not less than fifty--to be chosen by a majority of votes in
+either case. The British parliament reserved to itself the right of
+levying and collecting customs-duties, for the regulation of navigation
+and commerce to be carried on between the two provinces, or between
+either of them and any other part of the British dominions or any
+foreign country. Parliament also reserved the power of directing the
+payment of these duties, but at the same time left the exclusive
+apportionment of all moneys levied in this way to the legislature, which
+could apply them to such public uses as it might deem expedient. The
+free exercise of the Roman Catholic religion was guaranteed permanently.
+The king was to have the right to set apart, for the use of the
+Protestant clergy in the colony, a seventh part of all uncleared crown
+lands. The governor might also be empowered to erect parsonages and
+endow them, and to present incumbents or ministers of the Church of
+England. The English criminal law was to obtain in both provinces.
+
+In the absence of Lord Dorchester in England, the duty devolved on
+Major-General Alured Clarke, as lieutenant-governor, to bring the Lower
+Canadian constitution into force by a proclamation on the 18th February,
+1791. On the 7th May, in the following year, the new province of Lower
+Canada was divided into fifty electoral districts, composed of
+twenty-one counties, the towns of Montreal and Quebec, and the boroughs
+of Three Rivers and William Henry (now Sorel). The elections to the
+assembly took place in June, and a legislative council of fifteen
+influential Canadians was appointed. The new legislature was convoked
+"for the despatch of business" on the 17th December, in the same year,
+in an old stone building known as the Bishop's Palace, which stood on a
+rocky eminence in the upper town of the old capital.
+
+Chief Justice Smith took the chair of the legislative council under
+appointment by the crown, and the assembly elected as its speaker Mr.
+Joseph Antome Panet, an eminent advocate, who was able to speak the two
+languages. In the house there were only sixteen members of British
+origin--and in later parliaments there was even a still smaller
+representation--while the council was nearly divided between the two
+nationalities. When the house proceeded to business, one of its first
+acts was to order that all motions, bills and other proceedings should
+be put in the two languages. We find in the list of French Canadian
+members of the two houses representatives of the most ancient and
+distinguished families of the province. A descendant of Pierre Boucher,
+governor of Three Rivers in 1653, and the author of a rare history of
+Canada, sat in the council of 1792 just as a Boucherville sits
+now-a-days in the senate of the Dominion. A Lotbinière had been king's
+councillor in 1680. A Chaussegros de Lery had been an engineer in the
+royal colonial corps; a Lanaudière had been an officer in the Carignan
+regiment in 1652; a Salaberry was a captain in the royal navy, and his
+family won further honours on the field of Chateauguay in the war of
+1812-15, when the soil of Lower Canada was invaded. A Taschereau had
+been a royal councillor in 1732. The names of Belestre, Valtric, Bonne,
+Rouville, St. Ours, and Duchesnay, are often met in the annals of the
+French régime, and show the high character of the representation in the
+first parliament of Lower Canada.
+
+The village of Newark was chosen as the capital of Upper Canada by
+Colonel (afterwards Major-General) Simcoe, the first lieutenant-governor
+of the province. He had served with much distinction during the
+revolution as the commander of the Queen's Rangers, some of whom had
+settled in the Niagara district. He was remarkable for his decision of
+character and for his ardent desire to establish the principles of
+British government in the new province. He was a sincere friend of the
+Loyalists, whose attachment to the crown he had had many opportunities
+of appreciating during his career in the rebellious colonies, and,
+consequently, was an uncompromising opponent of the new republic and of
+the people who were labouring to make it a success on the other side of
+the border. The new parliament met in a wooden building nearly completed
+on the sloping bank of the river, at a spot subsequently covered by a
+rampart of Fort George, which was constructed by Governor Simcoe on the
+surrender of Fort Niagara. A large boulder has been placed on the top of
+the rampart to mark the site of the humble parliament house of Upper
+Canada, which had to be eventually demolished to make place for new
+fortifications. The sittings of the first legislature were not
+unfrequently held under a large tent set up in front of the house, and
+having an interesting history of its own, since it had been carried
+around the world by the famous navigator, Captain Cook.
+
+As soon as Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe assumed the direction of the
+government, he issued a proclamation dividing the province of Upper
+Canada into nineteen counties, some of winch were again divided into
+ridings for the purpose of electing the sixteen representatives to which
+the province was entitled under the act of 1791. One of the first acts
+of the legislature was to change the names of the divisions, proclaimed
+in 1788, to Eastern, Midland, Home, and Western Districts, which
+received additions in the course of years until they were entirely
+superseded by the county organisations. These districts were originally
+intended for judicial and legal purposes.
+
+The legislature met under these humble circumstances at Newark on the
+17th September, 1792. Chief Justice Osgoode was the speaker of the
+council, and Colonel John Macdonell, of Aberchalder, who had gallantly
+served in the royal forces during the revolution, was chosen presiding
+officer of the assembly. Besides him, there were eleven Loyalists among
+the sixteen members of the lower house. In the council of nine members
+there were also several Loyalists, the most prominent being the
+Honourable Richard Cartwright, the grandfather of the minister of trade
+and commerce in the Dominion ministry of 1896-1900.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--Twenty years of political development (1792-1812).
+
+The political conditions of the two decades from 1792 until 1812, when
+war broke out between England and the United States, were for the
+greater part of the time quite free from political agitation, and the
+representatives of the people in both the provinces of Canada were
+mostly occupied with the consideration of measures of purely provincial
+and local import. Nevertheless a year or two before the close of this
+period we can see in the province of Lower Canada premonitions of that
+irrepressible conflict between the two houses--one elected by the
+people and the other nominated by and under the influence of the
+crown--which eventually clogged the machinery of legislation. We can
+also see the beginnings of that strife of races which ultimately led to
+bloodshed and the suspension of the constitution given to Lower Canada
+in 1791.
+
+In 1806 _Le Canadien_, published in the special interest of "Nos
+institutions, notre langue, et nos lois," commenced that career of
+bitter hostility to the government which steadily inflamed the
+antagonism between the races. The arrogance of the principal officials,
+who had the ear of the governor, and practically engrossed all the
+influence in the management of public affairs, alienated the French
+Canadians, who came to believe that they were regarded by the British as
+an inferior race. As a matter of fact, many of the British inhabitants
+themselves had no very cordial feelings towards the officials, whose
+social exclusiveness offended all who did not belong to their special
+"set." In those days the principal officials were appointed by the
+colonial office and the governor-general, and had little or no respect
+for the assembly, on which they depended in no wise for their
+continuance in office or their salaries. The French Canadians eventually
+made few distinctions among the British but looked on them as, generally
+speaking, enemies to their institutions.
+
+It was unfortunate, at a time when great discretion and good temper were
+so essential, that Sir James Craig should have been entrusted with the
+administration of the government of Lower Canada. The critical state of
+relations with the United States no doubt influenced his appointment,
+which, from a purely military point of view, was excellent. As it was,
+however, his qualities as a soldier were not called into requisition,
+while his want of political experience, his utter incapacity to
+understand the political conditions of the country, his supreme
+indifference to the wishes of the assembly, made his administration an
+egregious failure. Indeed it may he said that it was during his time
+that the seed was sown for the growth of that political and racial
+antagonism which led to the rebellion of 1837. It is not possible to
+exaggerate the importance of the consequences of his unjustifiable
+dismissal of Mr. Speaker Panet, and other prominent French Canadians,
+from the militia on the ground that they had an interest in the
+_Canadien_, or of his having followed up this very indiscreet act by the
+unwarrantable arrest of Mr. Bedard and some other persons, on the charge
+that they were the authors or publishers of what he declared to be
+treasonable writings. It is believed that the governor's action was
+largely influenced by the statements and advice of Chief Justice Sewell,
+the head of the legislative council and the official class. Several
+persons were released when they expressed regret for the expression of
+any opinions considered extreme by the governor and his advisers, but
+Mr. Bedard remained in prison for a year rather than directly or
+indirectly admit that the governor had any justification for his
+arbitrary act Sir James attempted to obtain the approval of the home
+government; but his agent, a Mr. Ryland, a man of ability and suavity,
+prominent always in the official life of the country, signally failed to
+obtain the endorsement of his master's action. He was unable to secure a
+promise that the constitution of 1791 should be repealed, and the
+legislative council of the Quebec act again given the supremacy in the
+province. Mr. Bedard was released just before the governor left the
+country, with the declaration that "his detention had been a matter of
+precaution and not of punishment"--by no means a manly or graceful
+withdrawal from what was assuredly a most untenable position from the
+very first moment Mr. Bedard was thrown into prison. Sir James Craig
+left the province a disappointed man, and died in England a few months
+after his return, from the effects of an incurable disease to which he
+had been a victim for many years. He was hospitable, generous and
+charitable, but the qualities of a soldier dominated all his acts of
+civil government.
+
+In the other provinces, happily, there were no racial differences to
+divide the community and aggravate those political disputes that are
+sure to arise in the working of representative institutions in a British
+country. In Upper Canada for years the questions under discussion were
+chiefly connected with the disposal of the public lands, which in early
+times were too lavishly granted by Simcoe; and this led to the bringing
+in for a while of some undesirable immigrants from the United States
+--undesirable because they were imbued with republican and levelling
+ideas by no means favourable to the development and stability of English
+institutions of government. One of the first acts of the legislature was
+the establishment of courts of law and equity, in accordance with the
+practice and principles of English jurisprudence. Another very important
+measure was one for the legalisation of marriages which had been
+irregularly performed during early times in the absence of the clergy of
+the Anglican Church by justices of the peace, and even the officers in
+charge of military posts. Magistrates were still allowed to perform the
+marriage ceremony according to the ritual of the Church of England, when
+the services of a clergyman of that denomination were not available. Not
+until 1830 were more liberal provisions passed and the clergy of any
+recognised creed permitted to unite persons legally in wedlock.
+
+It was in the second session of the first parliament of Upper Canada,
+where the Loyalists were in so huge a majority, that an act was passed
+"to prevent the further introduction of slaves and to limit the term of
+contract for servitude within this province." A considerable number of
+slave servants accompanied their Loyalist masters to the provinces at
+the end of the war, and we find for many years after in the newspapers
+advertisements relating to runaway servants of this class. The Loyalists
+in the maritime provinces, like the same class in Upper Canada, never
+gave their approval to the continuance of slavery. So early as 1800 some
+prominent persons brought before the supreme court of New Brunswick the
+case of one Nancy Morton, a slave, on a writ of _habeas corpus_; and her
+right to freedom was argued by Ward Chipmim, one of the Loyalist makers
+of New Brunswick. Although the argument in this case was not followed by
+a judicial conclusion--the four judges being divided in opinion--slavery
+thereafter practically ceased to exist, not only in New Brunswick, but
+in the other maritime provinces, leaving behind it a memory so faint,
+that the mere suggestion that there ever was a slave in either of these
+provinces is very generally received with surprise, if not with
+incredulity.
+
+The early history of representative government in Prince Edward Island
+is chiefly a dull narrative of political conflict between the governors
+and the assemblies, and of difficulties and controversies arising out of
+the extraordinary concessions of lands to a few proprietors, who
+generally infringed the conditions of their grants and retarded the
+settlement of the island. In New Brunswick the legislature was entirely
+occupied with the consideration of measures for the administration of
+justice and local affairs in an entirely new country. Party government
+had not yet declared itself, and the Loyalists who had founded the
+province controlled the legislature for many years until a spirit of
+liberalism and reform found full expression and led to the enlargement
+of the public liberty.
+
+In Nova Scotia the Loyalists gradually acquired considerable influence
+in the government of the province, as the imperial authorities felt it
+incumbent on them to provide official positions for those men who had
+sacrificed so much for the empire. Their power was increased after the
+arrival of Governor John Wentworth--afterwards made a baronet--who had
+been the royal governor of New Hampshire, and had naturally a strong
+antipathy to democratic principles in any form. In his time there grew
+up an official oligarchy, chiefly composed of members of the legislative
+council, then embodying within itself executive, legislative and
+judicial powers. A Liberal party soon arose in Nova Scotia, not only
+among the early New England settlers of the time of Governor Lawrence,
+but among the Loyalists themselves, for it is inevitable that wherever
+we find an English people, the spirit of popular liberty and the
+determination to enjoy self-government in a complete sense will sooner
+or later assert itself among all classes of men. The first prominent
+leader of the opposition to the Tory methods of the government was one
+William Cottnam Tonge, who was for some years in the employ of the naval
+department. Sir John Wentworth carried his hostility to the extent of
+dismissing him from his naval office and also of refusing to accept him
+as speaker of the assembly--the first example in colonial history of an
+extreme exercise of the royal prerogative by a governor. Mr. Tonge's
+only crime appears to have been his bold assertion from time to time of
+the privileges of the house of assembly, as the guardian of the revenues
+and expenditures, against the interference of the governor and council.
+We find in Nova Scotia, as in the other provinces, during the period in
+question, the elements of perpetual discord, which found more serious
+expression after the war of 1812-15, and led to important constitutional
+changes.
+
+The governors of those times became, from the very nature of their
+position, so many provincial autocrats, brought constantly into
+conflict with the popular body, and unable to conceive any system of
+government possible that did not place the province directly under the
+control of the imperial authorities, to whom appeals must be made in the
+most trivial cases of doubt or difficulty. The representative of the
+crown brooked no interference on the part of the assembly with what he
+considered his prerogatives and rights, and as a rule threw himself into
+the arms of the council, composed of the official oligarchy. In the
+course of time, the whole effort of the Liberal or Reform party, which
+gathered strength after 1815, was directed against the power of the
+legislative council. We hear nothing in the assemblies or the literature
+of the period under review in advocacy of the system of parliamentary or
+responsible government which was then in existence in the parent state
+and which we now enjoy in British North America. In fact, it was not
+until the beginning of the fourth decade of the nineteenth century that
+the Liberal politicians of Nova Scotia, like those of Upper Canada,
+recognised that the real remedy for existing political grievances was to
+be found in the harmonious operation of the three branches of the
+legislature. Even then we look in vain for an enunciation of this
+essential principle of representative government in the speeches or
+writings of a single French Canadian from 1791 until 1838, when the
+constitution of Lower Canada was suspended as a result of rebellion.
+
+During the twenty years of which I am writing the government of Canada
+had much reason for anxiety on account of the unsatisfactory state of
+the relations between Great Britain and the United States, and of the
+attempts of French emissaries after the outbreak of the revolution in
+France to stir up sedition in Lower Canada. One of the causes of the war
+of 1812-15 was undoubtedly the irritation that was caused by the
+retention of the western posts by Great Britain despite the stipulation
+in the definitive treaty of peace to give them up "with all convenient
+speed." This policy of delay was largely influenced by the fact that the
+new republic had failed to take effective measures for the restitution
+of the estates of the Loyalists or for the payment of debts due to
+British creditors; but in addition there was probably still, as in 1763
+and 1774, a desire to control the fur-trade and the Indians of the west,
+who claimed that the lands between the Canadian frontier and the Ohio
+were exclusively their hunting-grounds, not properly included within the
+territory ceded to the United States. Jay's treaty, arranged in 1794,
+with the entire approval of Washington, who thereby incurred the
+hostility of the anti-British party, was a mere temporary expedient for
+tiding over the difficulties between England and the United States. Its
+most important result so far as it affected Canada was the giving up in
+1797 of the western posts including Old Fort Niagara. It became then
+necessary to remove the seat of government from Niagara, as an insecure
+position, and York, which regained its original Indian name of Toronto
+in 1834, was chosen as the capital by Lord Dorchester in preference to a
+place suggested by Simcoe on the Tranche, now the Thames, near where
+London now stands. The second parliament of Upper Canada met in York on
+the first of June, 1797, when Mr. Russell, who had been secretary to Sir
+Henry Clinton during the American war, was administrator of the
+government after the departure of Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe from a
+province whose interests he had so deeply at heart.
+
+After the declaration of war against England by the republican
+convention of France in 1793, French agents found their way into the
+French parishes of Lower Canada, and endeavoured to make the credulous
+and ignorant _habitants_ believe that France would soon regain dominion
+in her old colony. During General Prescott's administration, one McLane,
+who was said to be not quite mentally responsible for his acts, was
+convicted at Quebec for complicity in the designs of French agents, and
+was executed near St. John's gate with all the revolting incidents of a
+traitor's death in those relentless times. His illiterate accomplice,
+Frechétte, was sentenced to imprisonment for life, but was soon released
+on the grounds of his ignorance of the serious crime he was committing.
+No doubt in these days some restlessness existed in the French Canadian
+districts, and the English authorities found it difficult for a time to
+enforce the provisions of the militia act. Happily for the peace and
+security of Canada, the influence of the Bishop and Roman Catholic
+clergy, who looked with horror on the murderous acts of the
+revolutionists of France, was successfully exerted for the support of
+British rule, whose justice and benignity their church had felt ever
+since the conquest. The name of Bishop Plessis must always be mentioned
+in terms of sincere praise by every English writer who reviews the
+history of those trying times, when British interests would have been
+more than once in jeopardy had it not been for the loyal conduct of this
+distinguished prelate and the priests under his direction.
+
+I shall now proceed to narrate the events of the unfortunate war which
+broke out in 1812 between England and the United States, as a result of
+the unsettled relations of years, and made Canada a battle ground on
+which were given many illustrations of the patriotism and devotion of
+the Canadian people, whose conquest, the invaders thought, would be a
+very easy task.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE WAR OF 1812--15.
+
+
+SECTION I.--Origin of the war between England and the United States.
+
+The causes of the war of 1812-15 must be sought in the history of Europe
+and the relations between England and the United States for several
+decades before it actually broke out. Great Britain was engaged in a
+supreme struggle not only for national existence but even for the
+liberties of Europe, from the moment when Napoleon, in pursuance of his
+overweening ambition, led his armies over the continent on those
+victorious marches which only ended amid the ice and snow of Russia.
+Britain's battles were mainly to be fought on the sea where her great
+fleet made her supreme. The restriction of all commerce that was not
+British was a necessary element in the assertion of her naval
+superiority. If neutral nations were to be allowed freely to carry the
+produce of the colonies of Powers with whom Great Britain was at war,
+then they were practically acting as allies of her enemies, and were
+liable to search and seizure. For some time, however, Great Britain
+thought it expedient to concur in the practice that when a cargo was
+trans-shipped in the United States, and paid a duty there, it became to
+all intents and purposes American property and might be carried to a
+foreign country and there sold, as if it were the actual produce of the
+republic itself. This became a very profitable business to the merchants
+of the United States, as a neutral nation, during the years when Great
+Britain was at war with France, since they controlled a large proportion
+of all foreign commerce. Frauds constantly occurred during the
+continuance of this traffic, and at last British statesmen felt the
+injury to their commerce was so great that the practice was changed to
+one which made American vessels liable to be seized and condemned in
+British prize courts whenever it was clear that their cargoes were not
+American produce, but were actually purchased at the port of an enemy.
+Even provisions purchased from an enemy or its colonies were considered
+"contraband of war" on the ground that they afforded actual aid and
+encouragement to an enemy. The United States urged at first that only
+military stores could fall under this category, and eventually went so
+far as to assert the principle that under all circumstances "free ships
+make free goods," and that neutral ships had a right to carry any
+property, even that of a nation at war with another power, and to trade
+when and where they liked without fear of capture. England, however,
+would not admit in those days of trial principles which would
+practically make a neutral nation an ally of her foe. She persisted in
+restricting the commerce of the United States by all the force she had
+upon the sea.
+
+This restrictive policy, which touched the American pocket and
+consequently the American heart so deeply, was complicated by another
+question of equal, if not greater, import. The forcible impressment of
+men to man the British fleet had been for many years a necessary evil in
+view of the national emergency, and of the increase in the mercantile
+marine which attracted large numbers to its service. Great abuses were
+perpetrated in the operation of this harsh method of maintaining an
+efficient naval force, and there was no part of the British Isles where
+the presence of a press gang did not bring dismay into many a home.
+Great Britain, then and for many years later, upheld to an extreme
+degree the doctrine of perpetual allegiance; she refused to recognise
+the right of any of her citizens to divest themselves of their national
+fealty and become by naturalisation the subject of a foreign power or a
+citizen of the United States Such a doctrine was necessarily most
+obnoxious to the government and people of a new republic like the United
+States, whose future development rested on the basis of a steady and
+large immigration, which lost much of its strength and usefulness as
+long as the men who came into the country were not recognised as
+American citizens at home and abroad. Great Britain claimed the right,
+as a corollary of this doctrine of indefeasible allegiance, to search
+the neutral ships of the United States during the war with France, to
+enquire into the nationality of the seaman on board of those vessels, to
+impress all those whom her officers had reason to consider British
+subjects by birth, and to pay no respect to the fact that they may have
+been naturalised in the country of their adoption. The assertion of the
+right to search a neutral vessel and to impress seamen who were British
+subjects has in these modern times been condemned as a breach of the
+sound principle, that a right of search can only be properly exercised
+in the case of a neutral's violation of his neutrality--that is to say,
+the giving of aid to one of the parties to the war The forcible
+abduction of a seaman under the circumstances stated was simply an
+unwarrantable attempt to enforce municipal law on board a neutral
+vessel, which was in effect foreign territory, to be regarded as sacred
+and inviolate except in a case where it was brought under the operation
+of a recognised doctrine of international law. Great Britain at that
+critical period of her national existence would not look beyond the fact
+that the acts of the United States as a neutral were most antagonistic
+to the energetic efforts she was making to maintain her naval supremacy
+during the European crisis created by Napoleon's ambitious designs.
+
+The desertion of British seamen from British ships, for the purpose of
+finding refuge in the United States and then taking service in American
+vessels, caused great irritation in Great Britain and justified, in the
+opinion of some statesmen and publicists who only regarded national
+necessities, the harsh and arbitrary manner in which English officials
+stopped and searched American shipping on the high seas, seized men whom
+they claimed to be deserters, and impressed any whom they asserted to be
+still British subjects. In 1807 the British frigate "Leopard," acting
+directly under the orders of the admiral at Halifax, even ventured to
+fire a broadside into the United States cruiser "Chesapeake" a few miles
+from Chesapeake Bay, killed and wounded a number of her crew, and then
+carried off several sailors who were said to be, and no doubt were,
+deserters from the English service and who were the primary cause of the
+detention of this American man-of-war. For this unjustifiable act
+England subsequently made some reparation, but nevertheless it rankled
+for years in the minds of the party hostile to Great Britain and helped
+to swell the list of grievances which the American government in the
+course of years accumulated against the parent state as a reason for
+war.
+
+The difficulties between England and the United States, which culminated
+in war before the present century was far advanced, were also
+intensified by disputes which commenced soon after the treaty of 1783. I
+have already shown that for some years the north-west posts were still
+retained by the English on the ground, it is understood, that the claims
+of English creditors, and especially those of the Loyalists, should be
+first settled before all the conditions of the treaty could be carried
+out. The subsequent treaty of 1794, negotiated by Chief Justice Jay,
+adjusted these and other questions, and led for some years to a better
+understanding with Great Britain, but at the same time led to a rupture
+of friendly relations with the French Directory, who demanded the repeal
+of that treaty as in conflict with the one made with France in 1778, and
+looked for some tangible evidence of sympathetic interest with the
+French revolution. The war that followed with the French republic was
+insignificant in its operations, and was immediately terminated by
+Napoleon when he overthrew the Directory, and seized the government for
+his own ambitious objects. Subsequently, the administration of the
+United States refused to renew the Jay Treaty when it duly expired, and
+as a consequence the relatively amicable relations that had existed
+between the Republic and England again became critical, since American
+commerce and shipping were exposed to all the irritating measures that
+England felt compelled under existing conditions to carry out in
+pursuance of the policy of restricting the trade of neutral vessels.
+Several attempts were made by the British government, between the expiry
+of the Jay Treaty and the actual rupture of friendly relations with the
+United States, to come to a better understanding with respect to some of
+the questions in dispute, but the differences between the two Powers
+were so radical that all negotiations came to naught. Difficulties were
+also complicated by the condition of political parties in the American
+republic and the ambition of American statesmen. When the democratic
+republicans or "Strict constructionists," as they have been happily
+named, with Jefferson at their head, obtained office, French ideas came
+into favour; while the federalists or "Broad constitutionalists," of
+whom Washington, Hamilton and Adams had been the first exponents, were
+anxious to keep the nation free from European complications and to
+settle international difficulties by treaty and not by war. But this
+party was in a hopeless minority, during the critical times when
+international difficulties were resolving themselves into war, and was
+unable to influence public opinion sufficiently to make negotiations for
+the maintenance of peace successful, despite the fact that it had a
+considerable weight in the states of New England.
+
+The international difficulties of the United States entered upon a
+critical condition when Great Britain, in her assertion of naval
+supremacy and restricted commerce as absolutely essential to her
+national security, issued an order-in-council which declared a strict
+blockade of the European coast from Brest to the Elbe. Napoleon
+retaliated with the Berlin decree, which merely promulgated a paper
+blockade of the British Isles. Then followed the later British
+orders-in-council, which prevented the shipping of the United States
+from trading with any country where British vessels could not enter, and
+allowed them only to trade with other European ports where they made
+entries and paid duties in English custom-houses. Napoleon increased the
+duties of neutral commerce by the Milan decree of 1807, which ordered
+the seizure of all neutral vessels which might have been searched by
+English cruisers. These orders meant the ruin of American commerce,
+which had become so profitable; and the Washington government attempted
+to retaliate, first by forbidding the importation of manufactures from
+England and her colonies, and, when this effort was ineffective, by
+declaring an embargo in its own ports, which had only the result of
+still further crippling American commerce at home and abroad.
+Eventually, in place of this unwise measure, which, despite its
+systematic evasion, brought serious losses to the whole nation and
+seemed likely to result in civil war in the east, where the discontent
+was greatest, a system of non-intercourse with both England and France
+was adopted, to last so long as either should press its restrictive
+measures against the republic, but this new policy of retaliation hardly
+impeded American commerce, of which the profits were far greater than
+the risks. The leaders of the Democratic party were now anxious to
+conciliate France, and endeavoured to persuade the nation that Napoleon
+had practically freed the United States from the restrictions to which
+it so strongly objected. It is a matter beyond dispute that the French
+decrees were never exactly annulled; and the Emperor was pursuing an
+insidious policy which confiscated American vessels in French ports at
+the very moment he was professing friendship with the United States. His
+object was to force the government of that country into war with
+England, and, unfortunately for its interests, its statesmen lent
+themselves to his designs.
+
+The Democratic leaders, determined to continue in power, fanned the
+flame against England, whose maritime superiority enabled her to inflict
+the greatest injury on American shipping and commerce. The governing
+party looked to the south and west for their principal support. In these
+sections the interests were exclusively agricultural, while in New
+England, where the Federalists were generally in the majority, the
+commercial and maritime elements predominated. In Kentucky, Ohio, and
+other states there was a strong feeling against England on account of
+the current belief that the English authorities in Canada had tampered
+with the Indian tribes and induced them to harass the settlers until
+Harrison, on the eve of the war of 1812, effectually cowed them. It is,
+however, now well established by the Canadian archives that Sir James
+Craig, when governor-general in 1807, actually warned the Washington
+government of the restlessness of the western Indians, and of the
+anxiety of the Canadian authorities to avoid an Indian war in the
+north-west, which might prejudicially operate against the western
+province. This fact was not, however, generally known, and the feeling
+against Canada and England was kept alive by the dominant party in the
+United States by the disclosure that one John Henry had been sent by the
+Canadian government in 1808 to ascertain the sentiment of the people of
+New England with respect to the relations between the two countries and
+the maintenance of peace. Henry's correspondence was really quite
+harmless, but when it had been purchased from him by Madison, on the
+refusal of the imperial government to buy his silence, it served the
+temporary purpose of making the people of the west believe that England
+was all the while intriguing against the national interests, and
+endeavouring to create a discontent which might end in civil strife.
+Under these circumstances the southern leaders, Clay of Kentucky, and
+Calhoun of South Carolina, who always showed an inveterate animosity
+against England, forced Madison, then anxious to be re-elected
+president, to send a warlike message to congress, which culminated in a
+formal declaration of hostilities on the 18th of June, 1812, only one
+day later than the repeal of the obnoxious order-in-council by England.
+When the repeal became known some weeks later in Canada and the United
+States, the province of Upper Canada had been actually invaded by Hull,
+and the government of the United States had no desire whatever to desist
+from warlike operations, which, they confidently believed, would end in
+the successful occupation of Canada at a time when England was unable,
+on account of her European responsibilities, to extend to its defenders
+effective assistance.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--Canada during the war.
+
+In 1812 there were five hundred thousand people living in the provinces
+of British North America. Of this number, the French people of Lower
+Canada made up at least one half. These people had some grievances, and
+political agitators, notably the writers of the _Canadien_, were
+creating jealousies and rivalries between the French and English races
+chiefly on the ground of the dominant influence of the British minority
+in the administration of public affairs. On the whole, however, the
+country was prosperous and the people generally contented with British
+rule, the freedom of which presented such striking contrast to the
+absolutism of the old French régime. The great majority of the eighty
+thousand inhabitants of Upper or Western Canada were Loyalists or
+descendants of Loyalists, who had become deeply attached to their new
+homes, whilst recalling with feelings of deep bitterness the sufferings
+and trials of the American revolution. This class was naturally attached
+to British rule and hostile to every innovation which had the least
+semblance of American republicanism. In the western part of the province
+of Upper Canada there was, however, an American element composed of
+people who had been brought into the country by the liberal grants of
+land made to settlers, and who were not animated by the high sentiments
+of the Loyalists of 1783 and succeeding years. These people, for some
+years previous to 1812, were misled by political demagogues like Wilcox
+and Marcle, both of whom deserted to the enemy soon after the outbreak
+of the war. Emissaries from the republic were busily engaged for months,
+we now know, in fomenting a feeling against England among these later
+immigrants, and in persuading them that the time was close at hand when
+Canada would be annexed to the federal republic. Some attempts were even
+made to create discontent among the French Canadians, but no success
+appears to have followed these efforts in a country where the bishop,
+priests and leading men of the rural communities perfectly appreciated
+the value of British connection.
+
+The statesmen of the United States, who were responsible for the war,
+looked on the provinces as so many weak communities which could be
+easily invaded and conquered by the republican armies. Upper Canada,
+with its long and exposed frontier and its small and scattered
+population, was considered utterly indefensible and almost certain to be
+successfully occupied by the invading forces. There was not a town of
+one thousand souls in the whole of that province, and the only forts of
+any pretension were those on the Niagara frontier. Kingston was a
+fortified town of some importance in the eastern part of the province,
+but Toronto had no adequate means of defence. At the commencement of the
+war there were only fourteen hundred and fifty regular troops in the
+whole country west of Montreal, and these men were scattered at
+Kingston, York, Niagara, Chippewa, Erie, Amherstburg, and St. Joseph.
+The total available militia did not exceed four thousand men, the
+majority of whom had little or no knowledge of military discipline, and
+were not even in the possession of suitable arms and accoutrements,
+though, happily, all were animated by the loftiest sentiments of courage
+and patriotism. In the lower provinces of Eastern Canada and Nova
+Scotia there was a considerable military force, varying in the aggregate
+from four to five thousand men. The fortifications of Quebec were in a
+tolerable state of repair, but the citadel which dominates Halifax was
+in a dilapidated condition. The latter port was, however, the rendezvous
+of the English fleet, which always afforded adequate protection to
+British interests on the Atlantic coasts of British North America,
+despite the depredations of privateers and the successes attained during
+the first months of the war by the superior tonnage and equipment of the
+frigates of the republic. But the hopes that were entertained by the war
+party in the United States could be gathered from the speeches of Henry
+Clay of Kentucky, who believed that the issue would be favourable to
+their invading forces, who would even "negotiate terms of peace at
+Quebec or Halifax."
+
+The United States had now a population of at least six millions and a
+half of whites. It was estimated that during the war the government had
+a militia force of between four and five hundred thousand men available
+for service, while the regular army amounted to thirty-four thousand
+officers and privates. The forces that invaded Canada by the way of Lake
+Champlain, Sackett's Harbour, the Niagara and Detroit Rivers, were
+vastly superior in numbers to the Canadian army of defence, except in
+the closing months of the war, when Prevost had under his command a
+large body of Peninsular veterans. One condition was always in favour of
+Canada, and that was the sullen apathy or antagonism felt by the people
+of New England with respect to the war. Had they been in a different
+spirit, Lower Canada would have been in far greater danger of successful
+invasion and occupation than was the case at any time during the
+progress of the conflict. The famous march of Arnold on Quebec by the
+Kennebec and Chaudière Rivers might have been repeated with more serious
+consequences while Prevost, and not Guy Carleton, was in supreme command
+in the French Canadian province.
+
+I can attempt to limn only the events which stand out most plainly on
+the graphic pages of this momentous epoch in Canadian history, and to
+pay a humble tribute to the memory of men, whose achievements saved
+Canada for England in those days of trial. From the beginning to the end
+of the conflict, Upper Canada was the principal battle ground upon which
+the combatants fought for the supremacy in North America. Its frontiers
+were frequently crossed, its territory was invaded, and its towns and
+villages were destroyed by the ruthless hand of a foe who entered the
+province not only with the sword of the soldier but even with the torch
+of the incendiary. The plan of operations at the outset of the campaign
+was to invade the province across the Niagara and Detroit Rivers,
+neither of which offered any real obstacles to the passage of a
+determined and well-managed army in the absence of strong
+fortifications, or a superior defensive force, at every vulnerable point
+along the Canadian banks. Queenston was to be a base of operations for a
+large force, which would overrun the whole province and eventually
+co-operate with troops which could come up from Lake Champlain and march
+on Montreal. The forces of the United States in 1812 acted with
+considerable promptitude as soon as war was officially declared, and had
+they been led by able commanders the result might have been most
+unfortunate for Canada. The resources for defence were relatively
+insignificant, and indecision and weakness were shown by Sir George
+Prevost, then commander-in-chief and governor-general--a well meaning
+man but wanting in ability as a military leader, who was also hampered
+by the vacillating counsels of the Liverpool administration, which did
+not believe in war until the province was actually invaded. It was
+fortunate for Canada that she had then at the head of the government in
+the upper province General Brock, who possessed decision of character
+and the ability to comprehend the serious situation of affairs at a
+critical juncture, when his superiors both in England and Canada did
+not appear to understand its full significance.
+
+The assembly of Upper Canada passed an address giving full expression to
+the patriotic sentiments which animated all classes of people when the
+perilous state of affairs and the necessity for energetic action became
+apparent to the dullest minds. The Loyalists and their descendants, as
+well as other loyal people, rallied at the moment of danger to the
+support of Brock; and the immediate result of his decided orders was the
+capture of the post of Michillimackinac, which had been, ever since the
+days of the French régime, a position of great importance on the upper
+lakes. Then followed the ignominious surrender of General Hull and his
+army to Brock, and the consequent occupation of Detroit and the present
+state of Michigan by the British troops. Later, on the Niagara frontier,
+an army of invaders was driven from Queenston Heights, but this victory
+cost the life of the great English general, whose promptitude at the
+commencement of hostilities had saved the province. Among other brave
+men who fell with Brock was the attorney-general of the province,
+Lieutenant-Colonel John Macdonell, who was one of the general's aides.
+General Sheaffe, the son of a Loyalist, took command and drove the enemy
+across the river, in whose rapid waters many were drowned while
+struggling to save themselves from the pursuing British soldiery,
+determined to avenge the death of their honoured chief. A later attempt
+by General Smyth to invade Canadian territory opposite Black Rock on the
+Niagara River, was also attended with the same failure that attended the
+futile attempts to cross the Detroit and to occupy the heights of
+Queenston. At the close of 1812 Upper Canada was entirely free from the
+army of the republic, the Union Jack floated above the fort at Detroit,
+and the ambitious plan of invading the French province and seizing
+Montreal was given up as a result of the disasters to the enemy in the
+west. The party of peace in New England gathered strength, and the
+promoters of the war had no consolation except the triumphs obtained at
+sea by some heavily armed and well manned frigates of the United States
+to the surprise of the government and people of England, who never
+anticipated that their maritime superiority could be in any way
+endangered by a nation whose naval strength was considered so
+insignificant. But these victories of the republic on the ocean during
+the first year of the war were soon effaced by the records of the two
+subsequent years when "The Chesapeake" was captured by "The Shannon" and
+other successes of the British ships restored the prestige of England on
+the sea.
+
+During the second year of the war the United States won some military
+and naval successes in the upper province, although the final results of
+the campaign were largely in favour of the defenders of Canada. The war
+opened with the defeat of General Winchester at Frenchtown on the River
+Raisins in the present state of Michigan; but this success, which was
+won by General Procter, was soon forgotten in the taking of York, the
+capital of the province, and the destruction of its public buildings.
+This event forced General Sheaffe to retire to Kingston, while General
+Vincent retreated to Burlington Heights as soon as the invading army
+occupied Fort George and dominated the Niagara frontier. Sir George
+Prevost showed his military incapacity at Sackett's Harbour, where he
+had it in his power to capture a post which was an important base of
+operations against the province. On the other hand Colonel George
+Macdonell made a successful attack on Ogdensburg and fittingly avenged
+the raid that an American force had made a short time previously on
+Elizabethtown, which was called Brockville not long afterwards in honour
+of the noted general. An advance of the invading army against General
+Vincent was checked by the memorable success won at Stoney Creek by
+Colonel Harvey and the surrender at Beaver Dams of Colonel Boerstler to
+Lieutenant Fitzgibbon, whose clever strategy enabled him to capture a
+large force of the enemy while in command of a few soldiers and Indians.
+When September arrived, the small, though all-important, British fleet
+on Lake Erie, under the command of Captain Barclay, sustained a fatal
+defeat at Put-in-Bay, and the United States vessels under Commodore
+Perry held full control of Lake Erie. A few weeks later, General Procter
+lost the reputation which he had won in January by his defeat of
+Winchester, and was beaten, under circumstances which disgraced him in
+the opinion of his superiors, on the River Thames not far from the
+Indian village of Moraviantown. The American forces were led by General
+Harrison, who had won some reputation in the Indian campaign in the
+north-west and who subsequently became, as his son in later times, a
+president of the United States.
+
+It was in this engagement that the Shawenese chief, Tecumseh, was
+killed, in him England lost a faithful and brave ally. English prospects
+in the west were consequently gloomy for some time, until the autumn of
+1813, when the auspicious tidings spread from the lakes to the Atlantic
+that the forces of the republic, while on their march to Montreal by the
+way of Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence, had been successfully met
+and repulsed at Chateauguay and Chrysler's Farm, two of the most
+memorable engagements of the war, when we consider the insignificant
+forces that checked the invasion and saved Canada at a most critical
+time.
+
+In the last month of the same year Fort George was evacuated by the
+American garrison, but not before General McLure had shamelessly burned
+the pretty town of Niagara, and driven helpless women and children into
+the ice and snow of a Canadian winter. General Drummond, who was in
+command of the western army, retaliated by the capture of Fort Niagara
+and the destruction of all the villages on the American side of the
+river as far as Buffalo, then a very insignificant place. When the new
+year dawned the only Canadian place in possession of the enemy was
+Amherstburg on the western frontier.
+
+The third and last year of the war was distinguished by the capture of
+Oswego and Prairie-des-Chiens by British expeditions; the repulse of a
+large force of the invaders at Lacolle Mills in Lower Canada; the
+surrender of Fort Erie to the enemy, the defeat of General Riall at
+Street's or Usher's Creek in the Niagara district, the hotly contested
+battle won at Lundy's Lane by Drummond, and the ignominious retreat from
+Plattsburg of Sir George Prevost, in command of a splendid force of
+peninsular veterans, after the defeat of Commodore Downey's fleet on
+Lake Champlain. Before the year closed and peace was proclaimed, Fort
+Erie was evacuated, the stars and stripes were driven from Lake Ontario,
+and all Canadian territory except Amherstburg was free from the invader.
+The capital of the United States had been captured by the British and
+its public buildings burned as a severe retaliation for the conduct of
+the invading forces at York, Niagara, Moraviantown, St. David's and Port
+Dover. Both combatants were by this time heartily tired of the war, and
+terms of peace were arranged by the treaty of Ghent at the close of
+1814; but before the news reached the south, General Jackson repulsed
+General Packenham with heavy losses at New Orleans, and won a reputation
+which made him president a few years later.
+
+The maritime provinces never suffered from invasion, but on the contrary
+obtained some advantages from the presence of large numbers of British
+men-of-war in their seaports, and the expenditure on military and naval
+supplies during the three years of war. Following the example of the
+Canadas, the assemblies of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia voted large
+sums of money and embodied the militia for active service or general
+purposes of defence. The assembly of New Brunswick, essentially the
+province of the Loyalists, declared in 1813 that the people were "ready
+and determined to repel every aggression which the infatuated policy of
+the American government may induce it to commit on the soil of New
+Brunswick." But the war was so unpopular in the state of Maine and other
+parts of New England that the provinces by the sea were comparatively
+safe from aggression and conflict. Soon after the commencement of
+hostilities the governors of Maine and New Brunswick issued
+proclamations which prevented hostilities for two years along their
+respective borders. In Nova Scotia there was much activity during the
+war, and letters of marque were issued to privateers which made many
+captures, and offered some compensation for the losses inflicted on the
+coasting and fishing interests by the same class of American vessels. In
+1814 it was decided by the imperial authorities to break the truce which
+had practically left Maine free from invasion, and Sir John Sherbrooke,
+then governor of Nova Scotia, and Rear-Admiral Griffith took possession
+of Machias, Eastport, Moose, and other islands in Passamaquoddy Bay.
+
+The people of the United States generally welcomed the end of a war
+which brought them neither honour nor profit and seemed likely to break
+the union into fragments in consequence of the hostility that had
+existed in New England through the conflict from the very beginning. The
+news of Prevost's retreat from Plattsburg no doubt hastened the decision
+of the British government to enter into negotiations for peace, which
+was settled on terms by no means favourable to Canadian interests. The
+question of the New Brunswick boundary might have been then adjusted on
+conditions which would have prevented at a later day the sacrifice of a
+large tract of territory in Maine which would be now of great value to
+the Dominion. The only advantage which accrued to the Canadians was a
+later convention which gave the people of the provinces full control of
+fisheries, ignorantly sacrificed by the treaty of 1783.
+
+No class of the people of Canada contributed more to the effectiveness
+of the militia and the successful defence of the country than the
+descendants of the Loyalists, who formed so large and influential a
+portion of the English population of British North America. All the
+loyal settlements on the banks of the St. Lawrence, on the Niagara
+frontier, and on the shores of Lake Erie, sent many men to fight by the
+side of the regular British forces. Even aged men, who had borne arms in
+the revolutionary war, came forward with an enthusiasm which showed that
+age had not impaired their courage or patriotism, and although they were
+exempted from active service, they were found most useful in stationary
+duties at a time when Canada demanded the experience of such veterans.
+"Their lessons and example," wrote General Sheaffe, "will have a happy
+influence on the youth of the militia ranks." When Hull invaded the
+province and issued his boastful and threatening proclamation he used
+language which must have seemed a mockery to the children of the
+Loyalists. They remembered too well the sufferings of their fathers and
+brothers during "the stormy period of the revolution," and it seemed
+derisive to tell them now that they were to be "emancipated from tyranny
+and oppression and restored to the dignified station of free men." The
+proclamation issued by Governor Brock touched the loyal hearts of a
+people whose family histories were full of examples of "oppression and
+tyranny," and of the kind consideration and justice of England in their
+new homes. "Where," asked Brock, with the confidence of truth, "is the
+Canadian subject who can truly affirm to himself that he has been
+injured by the government in his person, his property, or his liberty?
+Where is to be found, in any part of the world, a growth so rapid in
+prosperity and wealth as this colony exhibits?" These people, to whom
+this special appeal was made at this national crisis, responded with a
+heartiness which showed that gratitude and affection lay deep in their
+hearts. Even the women worked in the field that their husbands, brothers
+and sons might drive the invaders from Canadian soil. The 104th
+Regiment, which accomplished a remarkable march of thirteen days in the
+depth of winter, from Fredericton to Quebec--a distance of three hundred
+and fifty miles--and lost only one man by illness, was composed of
+descendants of the loyal founders of New Brunswick. This march was
+accomplished practically without loss, while more than three hundred
+men were lost by Benedict Arnold in his expedition of 1777 against
+Quebec by the way of Kennebec--a journey not more dangerous or arduous
+than that so successfully accomplished by the New Brunswick Loyalists.
+In 1814 considerable numbers of seamen for service in the upper lakes
+passed through New Brunswick to Quebec, and were soon followed by
+several companies of the 8th or King's Regiment. The patriotism of the
+Loyalists of New Brunswick was shown by grants of public money and every
+other means in their power, while these expeditions were on their way to
+the seat of war in the upper provinces.
+
+Historians and poets have often dwelt on the heroism of Laura Secord,
+daughter and wife of Loyalists, who made a perilous journey in 1814
+through the Niagara district, and succeeded in warning Lieutenant
+Fitzgibbon of the approach of the enemy, thus enabling him with a few
+soldiers and Indians to surprise Colonel Boerstler near Beaver Dams and
+force him by clever strategy to surrender with nearly 600 men and
+several cannon. Even boys fled from home and were found fighting in the
+field. The Prince Regent, at the close of the war, expressly thanked the
+Canadian militia, who had "mainly contributed to the immediate
+preservation of the province and its future security." The Loyalists,
+who could not save the old colonies to England, did their full share in
+maintaining her supremacy in the country she still owned in the valley
+of the St. Lawrence and on the shores of the Atlantic.
+
+As Bishop Plessis stimulated a patriotic sentiment among the French
+Canadians, so Vicar-General Macdonell of Glengarry, subsequently the
+first Roman Catholic bishop of Upper Canada, performed good service by
+assisting in the formation of a Glengarry regiment, and otherwise taking
+an active part in the defence of the province, where his will always be
+an honoured name. Equally indefatigable in patriotic endeavour was
+Bishop Strachan, then rector of York, who established "The Loyal and
+Patriotic Society," which did incalculable good by relieving the
+necessities of women and children, when the men were serving in the
+battlefield, by providing clothing and food for the soldiery, and
+otherwise contributing towards the comfort and succour of all those who
+were taking part in the public defences. Of the engagements of the war
+there are two which, above all others, possess features on which the
+historian must always like to dwell. The battle which was fought against
+such tremendous odds on the banks of the Chateauguay by less than a
+thousand French Canadians, led by Salaberry and Macdonell, recalls in
+some respects the defeat of Braddock in 1755. The disaster to the
+British forces near the Monongahela was mainly the result of the
+strategy of the Indians, who were dispersed in the woods which reechoed
+to their wild yells and their ever fatal shots fired under cover of
+trees, rocks and stumps. The British were paralysed as they saw their
+ranks steadily decimated by the fire of an enemy whom they could never
+see, and who seemed multitudinous as their shrieks and shouts were heard
+far and wide in that Bedlam of the forest. The leaves that lay thick and
+deep on the ground were reddened with the blood of many victims helpless
+against the concealed, relentless savages. The woods of the Chateauguay
+did not present such a scene of carnage as was witnessed at the battle
+of the Monongahela, but nevertheless they seemed to the panic-stricken
+invaders, who numbered many thousands, alive with an enemy whose
+strength was enormously exaggerated as bugle sounds and Indian yells
+made a fearful din on every side. Believing themselves surrounded by
+forces far superior in numbers, the invaders became paralysed with fear
+and fled in disorder from an enemy whom they could not see, and who
+might close upon them at any moment. In this way Canadian pluck and
+strategy won a famous victory which saved the province of Lower Canada
+at a most critical moment of the war.
+
+If we leave the woods of Chateauguay, where a monument has been raised
+in recognition of this brilliant episode of the war, and come to the
+country above which rises the mist of the cataract of Niagara, we see a
+little acclivity over which passes that famous thoroughfare called
+"Lundy's Lane." Here too rises a stately shaft in commemoration of
+another famous victory--in many respects the most notable of the
+war--won by a gallant Englishman, whose name still clings to the pretty
+town close by.
+
+This battle was fought on a midsummer night, when less than three
+thousand British and Canadian troops fought six hours against a much
+superior force, led by the ablest officers who had taken part in the
+war. For three hours, from six to nine o'clock at night, less than two
+thousand held the height, which was the main object of attack from the
+beginning to the end of the conflict, and kept at bay the forces that
+were led against them with a stern determination to win the position.
+Sunlight gave way to the twilight of a July evening, and dense darkness
+at last covered the combatants, but still the fight went on. Columns of
+the enemy charged in such close and rapid succession that the British
+artillerymen were constantly assailed in the very act of sponging and
+loading their guns. The assailants once won the height, but only to find
+themselves repulsed the next instant by the resolute daring of the
+British. Happily at the most critical moment, when the defenders of the
+hill were almost exhausted by the heroic struggle, reinforcements
+arrived, and the battle was renewed with a supreme effort on both sides.
+For three hours longer, from nine o'clock to midnight, the battle was
+fought in the darkness, only relieved by the unceasing flashes from the
+guns, whose sharp reports mingled with the deep and monotonous roar of
+the great falls. It was a scene worthy of a painter whose imagination
+could grasp all the incidents of a situation essentially dramatic in its
+nature. The assailants of the Canadian position gave way at last and
+withdrew their wearied and disheartened forces. It was in all respects a
+victory for England and Canada, since the United States army did not
+attempt to renew the battle on the next day, but retired to Fort Erie,
+then in their possession. As Canadians look down "the corridors of
+time," they will always see those flashes from the musketry and cannon
+of Lundy's Lane, and hear the bugles which drove the invaders of their
+country from the woods of Chateauguay.
+
+The war did much to solidify the various racial elements of British
+North America during its formative stage. Frenchmen, Englishmen,
+Scotsmen from the Lowlands and Highlands, Irishmen and Americans, united
+to support the British connection. The character of the people,
+especially in Upper Canada, was strengthened from a national point of
+view by the severe strain to which it was subjected. Men and women alike
+were elevated above the conditions of a mere colonial life and the
+struggle for purely material necessities, and became animated by that
+spirit of self-sacrifice and patriotic endeavour which tend to make a
+people truly great.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE EVOLUTION OF RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (1815--1839)
+
+
+SECTION I.--The rebellion in Lower Canada.
+
+Responsible government in Canada is the logical sequence of the
+political struggles, which commenced soon after the close of the war of
+1812-15. As we review the history of Canada since the conquest we can
+recognise "one ever increasing purpose" through all political changes,
+and the ardent desire of men, entrusted at the outset with a very
+moderate degree of political responsibility, to win for themselves a
+larger measure of political liberty in the management of their own local
+affairs. Grave mistakes were often made by the advocates of reform in
+the government of the several provinces--notably, as I shall show, in
+Lower Canada, where the French Canadian majority were carried often
+beyond reason at the dictation of Papineau--but, whatever may have been
+the indiscretions of politicians, there were always at the bottom of
+their demands the germs of political development.
+
+The political troubles that continued from 1817 until 1836 in Lower
+Canada eventually made the working of legislative institutions
+impracticable. The contest gradually became one between the
+governor-general representing the crown and the assembly controlled
+almost entirely by a French Canadian majority, with respect to the
+disposition of the public revenues and expenditures. Imperial statutes,
+passed as far back as 1774-1775, provided for the levying of duties, to
+be applied solely by the crown, primarily "towards defraying the
+expenses of the administration of justice and the support of the civil
+government of the province", and any sums that remained in the hands of
+the government were "for the future disposition of parliament." Then
+there were "the casual or territorial revenues," such as money arising
+from the Jesuits' estates, royal seigniorial dues, timber and land, all
+of which were also exclusively under the control of the government. The
+assembly had been given jurisdiction only over the amount of duties
+payable into the treasury under the authority of laws passed by the
+legislature itself. In case the royal revenues were not sufficient to
+meet the annual expenditure of the government, the deficiency was met
+until the war of 1812-15 by drawing on the military exchequer. As the
+expenses of the provincial administration increased the royal revenues
+became inadequate, while the provincial revenues gradually showed a
+considerable surplus over the expenditure voted by the legislature. In
+1813 the cost of the war made it impossible for the government to use
+the military funds, and it resorted to the provincial moneys for the
+expenses of justice and civil government. In this way, by 1817, the
+government had incurred a debt of a hundred and twenty thousand pounds
+to the province without the direct authority of the legislature. The
+assembly of Lower Canada was not disposed to raise troublesome issues
+during the war, or in any way to embarrass the action of Sir George
+Prevost, who, whatever may have been his incompetency as a military
+chief, succeeded by his conciliatory and persuasive methods in winning
+the good opinions of the French Canadian majority and making himself an
+exceptionally popular civil governor. After closing the accounts of the
+war, the government felt it expedient to stop such irregular
+proceedings, to obtain from the legislature a general appropriation act,
+covering the amount of expenditures in the past, and to prevent the
+necessity of such a questionable application of provincial funds in the
+future. This may be considered the beginning of the financial
+controversies that were so constant, as years passed by, between the
+governors and the assemblies, and never ended until the rebellion broke
+out. The assembly, desirous of obtaining power in the management of
+public affairs, learned that it could best embarrass the government and
+force them to consider and adjust public grievances, as set forth by the
+majority in the house, by means of the appropriation bills required for
+the public service. The assembly not only determined to exercise sole
+control over its own funds but eventually demanded the disposal of the
+duties imposed and regulated by imperial statutes. The conflict was
+remarkable for the hot and uncompromising temper constantly exhibited by
+the majority on the discussion of the generally moderate and fair
+propositions submitted by the government for settling vexed questions.
+The assembly found a powerful argument in favour of their persistent
+contention for a complete control of the public revenues and
+expenditures in the defalcation of Mr. Caldwell, the receiver-general,
+who had been allowed for years to use the public funds in his business
+speculations, and whose property was entirely inadequate to cover the
+deficiency in his accounts.
+
+The legislative council was always ready to resist what it often
+asserted to be unconstitutional acts on the part of the house and direct
+infringements of "the rights of the crown" sometimes a mere convenient
+phrase used in an emergency to justify resistance to the assembly. It
+often happened, however, that the upper chamber had law on its side,
+when the house became perfectly unreasonable and uncompromising in its
+attitude of hostility to the government. The council, on several
+occasions, rejected a supply bill because it contained provisions
+asserting the assembly's right to control the crown revenues and to vote
+the estimates, item by item, from the governor's salary down to that of
+the humblest official. Every part of the official and legislative
+machinery became clogged by the obstinacy of governor, councils, and
+assembly. To such an extent, indeed, did the assembly's assumption of
+power carry it in 1836, that the majority actually asserted its own
+right to amend the constitution of the council as defined in the
+imperial statute of 1791. Its indiscreet acts eventually alienated the
+sympathy and support of such English members as Mr. Neilson, a
+journalist and politician of repute, Mr. Andrew Stuart, a lawyer of
+ability, and others who believed in the necessity of constitutional
+reforms, but could not follow Mr. Papineau and his party in their
+reckless career of attack on the government, which they thought would
+probably in the end imperil British connection.
+
+The government was in the habit of regularly submitting its accounts and
+estimates to the legislature, and expressed its desire eventually to
+grant that body the disposal of all the crown revenues, provided it
+would consent to vote a civil list for the king's life, or even for a
+fixed number of years, but the assembly was not willing to agree to any
+proposal which prevented it from annually taking up the expenditures for
+the civil government item by item, and making them matters of yearly
+vote. In this way every person in the public service would be subject to
+the caprice, or ill-feeling, of any single member of the legislature,
+and the whole administration of the public departments would probably be
+made ineffective. Under the plan suggested by the government in
+accordance with English constitutional forms, the assembly would have
+every opportunity of criticising all the public expenditures, and even
+reducing the gross sum in cases of extravagance. But the same
+contumacious spirit, which several times expelled Mr. Christie, member
+for Gaspé, on purely vexatious and frivolous charges, and constantly
+impeached judges without the least legal justification, simply to
+satisfy personal spite or political malice, would probably have been
+exhibited towards all officials had the majority in the assembly been
+given the right of voting each salary separately. The assembly never
+once showed a disposition to meet the wishes of the government even
+half-way. Whatever may have been the vacillation or blundering of
+officials in Downing Street, it must be admitted that the imperial
+government showed a conciliatory spirit throughout the whole financial
+controversy. Step by step it yielded to all the demands of the assembly
+on this point. In 1831, when Lord Grey was premier, the British
+parliament passed an act, making it lawful for the legislatures of Upper
+and Lower Canada to appropriate the duties raised by imperial statutes
+for the purpose of defraying the charges of the administration of
+justice and the support of civil government. The government consequently
+retained only the relatively small sum arising from casual and
+territorial dues. When Lord Aylmer, the governor-general, communicated
+this important concession to the legislature, he also sent a message
+setting forth the fact that it was the settled policy of the crown on no
+future occasion to nominate a judge either to the executive or the
+legislative council, the sole exception being the chief justice of
+Quebec. He also gave the consent of the government to the passage of an
+act declaring that judges of the supreme court should thereafter hold
+office "during good behaviour," on the essential condition that their
+salaries were made permanent by the legislature. The position of the
+judiciary had long been a source of great and even just complaint, and,
+in the time of Sir James Craig, judges were disqualified from sitting in
+the assembly on the demand of that body. They continued, however, to
+hold office "during the pleasure" of the crown, and to be called at its
+will to the executive and legislative councils. Under these
+circumstances they were, with some reason, believed to be more or less
+under the influence of the governor-general; and particular judges
+consequently fell at times under the ban of the assembly, and were
+attacked on the most frivolous grounds. The assembly passed a bill
+providing for the independence of the judiciary, but it had to be
+reserved because it was not in accordance with the conditions considered
+necessary by the crown for the protection of the bench.
+
+The governor-general also in his message promised reforms of the
+judicial and legal systems, the disposal of the funds arising from the
+Jesuits' estates by the legislature, and, in fact, nearly all the
+reforms which had been demanded by the house for years. Yet when the
+government asked at the same time for a permanent civil list, the
+message was simply referred to a committee of the whole house which
+never reported. Until this time the efforts of the assembly to obtain
+complete control of the public revenues and expenditures had a
+justification in the fact that it is a recognised English principle that
+the elected house should impose the taxes and vote the supplies; but
+their action on this occasion, when the imperial government made most
+important concessions, giving them full control over the public funds,
+simply on condition that they should follow the English system of voting
+the salaries of the judiciary and civil list, showed that the majority
+were earned away by a purely factious spirit. During the progress of
+these controversies, Mr. Louis Joseph Papineau, a brilliant but an
+unsafe leader, had become the recognised chief of the French Canadian
+majority, who for years elected him speaker of the assembly. In the
+absence of responsible government, there was witnessed in those times
+the extraordinary spectacle--only now-a-days seen in the American
+congress--of the speaker, who should be above all political antagonisms,
+acting as the leader of an arrogant majority, and urging them to
+continue in their hostility to the government. It was Mr. Papineau who
+first brought the governor-general directly into the arena of political
+conflict by violent personal attacks; and indeed he went so far in the
+case of Lord Dalhousie, a fair-minded man anxious to act moderately
+within the limits of the constitution, that the latter felt compelled by
+a sense of dignity to refuse the confirmation of the great agitator as
+speaker in 1827. The majority in the assembly vehemently asserted their
+right to elect their speaker independently of the governor, whose
+confirmation was a mere matter of form, and not of statutory right; and
+the only course at last open to Lord Dalhousie was to prorogue the
+legislature. Mr. Papineau was re-elected speaker at the next session,
+when Lord Dalhousie had gone to England and Sir James Kempt was
+administrator.
+
+After 1831, Mr. Papineau steadily evoked the opposition of the more
+conservative and thoughtful British Liberals who were not disposed to be
+carried into a questionable position, inimical to British connection and
+the peace of the country, Dr. Wolfred Nelson, and Dr. O'Callaghan, a
+journalist, were soon the only supporters of ability left him among the
+British and Irish, the great majority of whom rallied to the support of
+the government when a perilous crisis arrived in the affairs of the
+province. The British party dwindled away in every appeal to the people,
+and no French Canadian representative who presumed to differ from Mr.
+Papineau was ever again returned to the assembly. Mr. Papineau became
+not only a political despot but an "irreconcilable," whose vanity led
+him to believe that he would soon become supreme in French Canada, and
+the founder of _La Nation Canadienne_ in the valley of the St. Lawrence.
+The ninety-two resolutions passed in 1834 may be considered the climax
+of the demands of his party, which for years had resisted immigration as
+certain to strengthen the British population, had opposed the
+establishment of registry offices as inconsistent with the French
+institutions of the province, and had thrown every possible opposition
+in the way of the progress of the Eastern Townships, which were
+attracting year by year an industrious and energetic British population
+from the British Isles and New England.
+
+In these resolutions of 1834 there is not a single paragraph or even
+phrase which can be tortured into showing that the French Canadian
+agitator and his friends were in favour of responsible government. The
+key-note of the whole document is an elective legislative council, which
+would inevitably increase the power of the French Canadians and place
+the British in a hopeless minority. Mr. Roebuck, the paid agent of the
+assembly in England, is said to have suggested the idea of this elective
+body, and assuredly his writings and speeches were always calculated to
+do infinite harm, by helping to inflame discontent in Canada, and
+misrepresenting in England the true condition of affairs in the
+province. The resolutions are noteworthy for their verbosity and entire
+absence of moderate and wise suggestion. They were obviously written
+under the inspiration of Mr. Papineau with the object of irritating the
+British government, and preventing the settlement of political
+difficulties. They even eulogised the institutions of the neighbouring
+states which "commanded the affection of the people in a larger measure
+than those of any other country," and should be regarded "as models of
+government for Canada." They even went so far as "to remind parliament
+of the consequences of its efforts to overrule the wishes of the
+American colonies," in case they should make any "modification" in the
+constitution of the province "independently of the wishes of its
+people." Colonel Gugy, Mr. Andrew Stuart, Mr. Neilson and other
+prominent Englishmen opposed the passage of these resolutions, as
+calculated to do infinite harm, but they were carried by a very large
+French Canadian majority at the dictation of Mr. Papineau. Whatever may
+have been its effect for the moment, this wordy effusion has long since
+been assigned to the limbo where are buried other examples of the
+demagogism of those trying times.
+
+In 1835 the imperial government decided to send three commissioners to
+examine into the various questions which had been so long matters of
+agitation in Lower Canada. Lord Aberdeen, then Colonial Secretary of
+State, emphatically stated that it was the intention of the government
+"to review and enquire into every alleged grievance and examine every
+cause of complaint, and apply a remedy to every abuse that may still be
+found to prevail."
+
+The choice of the government as chief commissioner and governor-general
+was Lord Gosford, an amiable, inexperienced and weak man, who failed
+either to conciliate the French Canadian majority to whom he was even
+humble for a while, or to obtain the confidence of the British party to
+whose counsels and warnings he did not pay sufficient heed at the
+outset of the crisis which culminated during his administration. The
+majority in the assembly were determined not to abate one iota of their
+pretensions, which now included the control of the casual and
+territorial revenues; and no provision whatever was made for four years
+for the payment of the public service. The commissioners reported
+strongly against the establishment of an elected council, and in favour
+of a modified system of responsible government, not dependent on the
+vote of the house. They recommended also the surrender of the casual and
+territorial revenues on condition of proper provision for the payment of
+the civil service, and the administration of justice.
+
+The imperial government immediately recognised that they had to face a
+very serious crisis in the affairs of Lower Canada. On the 6th March,
+1836, Lord John Russell, then home secretary in Lord Melbourne's
+administration, introduced a series of ten resolutions, providing for
+the immediate payment of the arrears of £142,160. 14s. 6d., due to the
+public service, out of the moneys in the hands of the receiver-general.
+While it was admitted that measures should be taken to secure for the
+legislative council a greater degree of public confidence, the
+government deemed it inexpedient to make that body elective. The
+necessity of improving the position of the executive council was also
+acknowledged, but the suggestion of a ministry responsible to the
+assembly was not approved. This disapproval was quite in accordance with
+the policy adopted by Englishmen since 1822, when a measure had been
+introduced in parliament for the reunion of the two Canadas--the
+precursor of the measure of 1840. This measure originally provided that
+two members of the executive council should sit and speak in the
+assembly but not vote. Those parts of the bill of 1822 which provided
+for a union were not pressed on account of the objections raised in both
+the provinces, but certain other provisions became law under the title
+of "The Canadian Trade Acts," relieving Upper Canada from the
+capricious action of Lower Canada with respect to the duties from which
+the former obtained the principal part of her fund for carrying on her
+government. This share had been originally fixed at one-fifth of the
+proceeds of the customs duties collected by the province of Lower
+Canada, but when the population of the western section increased
+considerably and consumed a far greater quantity of dutiable goods, its
+government justly demanded a larger proportion of the revenues collected
+in the ports of the lower St. Lawrence. The legislature of Lower Canada
+paid no attention to this equitable demand, and eventually even refused
+to renew the legislation providing for the payment of one-fifth of the
+duties. Under these circumstances the imperial government found it
+necessary to intervene, and pass the "Trade Acts," making the past
+legislation of Lower Canada on the subject permanent, and preventing its
+legislature from imposing new duties on imports without the consent of
+the upper province. As this was a question of grave import, the
+resolutions of 1836 gave authority to the legislatures of Upper and
+Lower Canada to provide joint legislation "for determining and adjusting
+all questions respecting the trade and commerce of the provinces."
+
+As soon as the passage of these resolutions became known throughout
+Lower Canada, Papineau and his supporters commenced an active campaign
+of denunciation against England, from whom, they declared, there was no
+redress whatever to be expected. Wherever the revolutionists were in the
+majority, they shouted, "_Vive la liberté!" "Vive la Nation Canadienne!"
+"Vive Papineau!" "Point de despotisme_!": while flags and placards were
+displayed with similar illustrations of popular frenzy. _La Nation
+Canadienne_ was now launched on the turbulent waves of a little
+rebellion in which the phrases of the French revolution were glibly
+shouted by the _habitants_ with very little conception of their real
+significance. The British or Constitutional party took active steps in
+support of British connection, but Lord Gosford, unhappily still
+governor-general, did not for some time awaken to the reality of the
+public danger. Happily for British interests, Sir John Culhorne,
+afterwards Lord Seaforth, a courageous and vigilant soldier, was in the
+country, and was able, when orders were given him by the reluctant
+governor, to deal determinedly with the rebels who had taken up arms in
+the Richelieu district. Dr. Wolfred Nelson made a brave stand at St.
+Denis, and repulsed Colonel Gore's small detachment of regulars.
+Papineau was present for a while at the scene of conflict, but he took
+no part in it and lost no time in making a hurried flight to the United
+States--an ignominious close to a successful career of rhetorical
+flashes which had kindled a conflagration that he took very good care
+should not even scorch him. Colonel Wetherall defeated another band of
+rebels at St. Charles, and their commander, Mr. Thomas Storrow Brown, a
+well-meaning but gullible man, fled across the border. Dr. Wolfred
+Nelson was captured, and a number of other rebels of less importance
+were equally unfortunate. Some of the refugees made a public
+demonstration from Vermont, but precipitately fled before a small force
+which met them. At St. Eustache, one Girod, a plausible, mendacious
+Swiss or Alsatian, who had become a leader in the rebellious movement,
+and Dr. Chenier, a rash but courageous man, collected a considerable
+body of rebels, chiefly from St. Benoit, despite the remonstrances of
+Mr. Paquin, the curé of the village, and defended the stone church and
+adjacent buildings against a large force, led by Sir John Colborne
+himself. Dr. Chenier and many others--at least seventy, it is said on
+good authority--were killed, and the former has in the course of time
+been elevated to the dignity of a national hero and a monument raised in
+his honour on a public square of the French Canadian quarters of
+Montreal. Mad recklessness rather than true heroism signalised his
+action in this unhappy affair, when he led so many of his credulous
+compatriots to certain death, but at least he gave up his life manfully
+to a lost cause rather than fly like Papineau who had beguiled him to
+this melancholy conclusion. Even Girod showed courage and ended his own
+life when he found that he could not evade the law. The rebellious
+element at St. Benoit was cowed by the results at St. Eustache; and the
+Abbé Chartier, who had taken an active part in urging the people to
+resistance, fled to the United States whence he never returned. The
+greater part of the village was destroyed by fire, probably in
+retaliation for the losses and injuries suffered by the volunteers at
+the hands of the rebels in different parts of the district of Montreal.
+
+One of the most unfortunate and discreditable incidents of the rising in
+the Richelieu district was the murder of Lieutenant Weir, who had been
+taken prisoner while carrying despatches to Sorel, and was literally
+hacked to pieces, when he tried to escape from a _calèche_ in which he
+was being conveyed to St. Charles. An equally unhappy incident was the
+cold-blooded execution, after a mock trial, of one Chartrand, a harmless
+non-combatant who was accused, without a tittle of evidence, of being a
+spy. The temper of the country can be gauged by the fact that when it
+was attempted, some time later, to convict the murderers on clear
+evidence, it was impossible to obtain a verdict. Jolbert, the alleged
+murderer of Weir, was never punished, but François Nicholas and Amable
+Daumais, who had aided in the trial and execution of Chartrand, were
+subsequently hanged for having taken an active part in the second
+insurrection of 1838.
+
+The rebellion of 1837 never reached any large proportions, and very few
+French Canadians of social or political standing openly participated in
+the movement. Monseigneur Lartigue, Roman Catholic bishop of Montreal,
+issued a _mandement_ severely censuring the misguided men who had joined
+in the rebellious movement and caused so much misery throughout the
+province. In England, strange to say, there were men found, even in
+parliament, ready to misrepresent the facts and glory in a rebellion the
+causes of which they did not understand. The animating motive with
+these persons was then--and there were similar examples during the
+American revolution--to assail the government of the day and make
+political capital against them, but, it must be admitted, in all
+fairness to the reform ministry of that day and even to preceding
+cabinets for some years, that the policy of all was to be just and
+conciliatory in their relations with the provincial agitators, though it
+is also evident that a more thorough knowledge of political conditions
+and a more resolute effort to a reach the bottom of grievances might
+have long before removed causes of irritation and saved the loss of
+property and life in 1837 and 1838.
+
+In the presence of a grave emergency, the British government felt
+compelled to suspend the constitution of Lower Canada, and send out Lord
+Durham, a Liberal statesman of great ability, to act as governor-general
+and high commissioner "for the determining of certain important
+questions depending in the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada
+respecting the form and future government of the said provinces" Despite
+a certain haughtiness of manner which was apt to wound his inferiors and
+irritate his equals in position, he was possessed of a great fund of
+accurate political knowledge and a happy faculty of grasping all the
+essential facts of a difficult situation, and suggesting the best remedy
+to apply under all the circumstances. He endeavoured, to the utmost of
+his ability, to redeem the pledge with which he entered on his mission
+to Canada, in the first instance "to assert the supremacy of her
+majesty's government," in the next "to vindicate the honour and dignity
+of the law," and above all "to know nothing of a British, a French, or a
+Canadian party," but "to look on them all alike as her majesty's
+subjects." After he had appointed a special council he set to work
+energetically to secure the peace of the country. Humanity was the
+distinguishing feature of his too short career in Canada. A
+comprehensive amnesty was proclaimed to all those engaged in the
+rebellion with the exception of Dr. Wolfred Nelson, R.S.M. Bouchette,
+Bonaventure Viger, Dr. Masson, and four others of less importance, who
+were ordered by an ordinance to be transported to Bermuda during the
+queen's pleasure. These persons, as well as sixteen others, including
+Papineau, who had fled from justice, were declared to be subject to
+death should they venture to enter the province. Not a single rebel
+suffered death on the scaffold during Lord Durham's administration.
+Unfortunately the ordinance, transporting a number of persons without
+trial to an island where the governor-general had no jurisdiction, gave
+an opportunity to Lord Brougham, who hated the high commissioner, to
+attack him in the house of lords. Lord Melbourne, then premier, was
+forced to repeal the ordinance and to consent to the passage of a bill
+indemnifying all those who had acted under its provisions Lord Glenelg,
+colonial secretary, endeavoured to diminish the force of this
+parliamentary censure by writing to the high commissioner that "her
+majesty's government repeat their approbation of the spirit in which
+these measures were conceived and state their conviction that they have
+been dictated by a judicious and enlightened humanity"; but a statesman
+of Lord Durham's haughty character was not ready to submit to such a
+rebuke as he had sustained in parliament He therefore immediately placed
+his resignation in the hands of the government which had commissioned
+him with powers to give peace and justice to distracted Canada, and yet
+failed to sustain him at the crucial moment. Before leaving the country
+he issued a proclamation in defence of his public acts. His course in
+this particular offended the ministry who, according to Lord Glenelg,
+considered it a dangerous innovation, as it was practically an appeal by
+a public officer to the public against the measures of parliament. Lord
+Durham may be pardoned under all the circumstances for resenting at the
+earliest possible moment his desertion by the government, who were bound
+in honour to defend him, at all hazards, in his absence, and should not
+have given him over for the moment to his enemies, led by a spiteful
+Scotch lawyer. Lord Durham left Canada with the assurance that he had
+won the confidence of all loyal British subjects and proved to all
+French Canadians that there were English statesmen prepared to treat
+them with patience, humanity and justice.
+
+Sir John Colborne became administrator on the departure of Lord Durham,
+and subsequently governor-general. Unhappily he was immediately called
+upon to crush another outbreak of the rebels, in November, 1838, in the
+counties watered by the Richelieu River, and in the district immediately
+south of Montreal. Dr. Robert Nelson and some other rebels, who had
+found refuge in the frontier towns and villages of Vermont and New York,
+organised this second insurrection, which had the support of a
+considerable number of _habitants_, though only a few actually took up
+arms. The rising, which began at Caughnawaga, was put down at
+Beauharnois, within a week from the day on which it commenced. The
+authorities now felt that the time had passed for such leniency as had
+been shown by Lord Durham; and Sir John Colborne accordingly established
+courts-martial for the trial of the prisoners taken during this second
+insurrection, as it was utterly impossible to obtain justice through the
+ordinary process of the courts. Only twelve persons, however, suffered
+the extreme penalty of the law; some were sent to New South Wales--where
+however they were detained only a short time; and the great majority
+were pardoned on giving security for good behaviour.
+
+While these trials were in progress, and the government were anxious to
+give peace and security to the province, refugees in the border states
+were despatching hands of ruffians to attack and plunder the Loyalists
+in the Eastern Townships; but the government of the United States
+intervened and instructed its officers to take decisive measures for the
+repression of every movement in the territory of a friendly Power. Thus
+the mad insurrection incited by Papineau, but actually led by the
+Nelsons, Chenier and Brown, came at last to an end.
+
+A new era of political development was now to dawn on the province, as a
+result of a more vigorous and remedial policy initiated by the imperial
+government, at last thoroughly awakened to an intelligent comprehension
+of the political conditions of the Canadas. But before I proceed to
+explain the details of measures fraught with such important
+consequences, I must give an historical summary of the events which led
+also to a rash uprising in Upper Canada, simultaneously with the one
+which ended so disastrously for its leaders in the French province.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--The rebellion in Upper Canada.
+
+The financial disputes between the executive and the assembly never
+attained such prominence in Upper Canada as in the lower province. In
+1831 the assembly consented to make permanent provision for the civil
+list and the judiciary, on condition of the government's giving up to
+the legislature all the revenues previously at its own disposition.
+Three years later the legislature also passed an act to provide that the
+judges should hold their offices during good behaviour, and not at the
+pleasure of the crown--a measure rendered possible by the fact that the
+assembly had made the salaries of the bench permanent.
+
+Nor did the differences between the assembly and the legislative council
+ever assume such serious proportions as they did in the French province.
+Still the leaders of the reform party of Upper Canada had strong
+objections to the constitution of the council; and a committee of
+grievances reported in 1835 in favour of an elected body as well as a
+responsible council, although it did not very clearly outline the
+methods of working out the system in a colony where the head of the
+executive was an imperial officer acting under royal instructions. The
+different lieutenant-governors, the executive and legislative
+councillors, and the whole body of officials, from the very moment
+responsible government was suggested in any form, threw every possible
+obstacle in the way of its concession by the imperial government.
+
+It was largely the dominant influence of the official combination, long
+known in Canadian history as the "family compact," which prevented the
+concession of responsible government before the union of the Canadas.
+This phrase, as Lord Durham said in his report, was misleading inasmuch
+as there "was very little of family connection between the persons thus
+united." As a matter of fact the phrase represented a political and
+aristocratic combination, which grew up as a consequence of the social
+conditions of the province and eventually monopolised all offices and
+influence in government. This bureaucracy permeated all branches of
+government--the executive, the legislative council, and even the
+assembly where for years there sat several members holding offices of
+emolument under the crown. It practically controlled the banks and
+monetary circles. The Church of England was bound up in its interests.
+The judiciary was more or less under its influence while judges were
+appointed during pleasure and held seats in the councils. This governing
+class was largely composed of the descendants of the Loyalists of 1784,
+who had taken so important a part in the war with the United States and
+always asserted their claims to special consideration in the
+distribution of government favour. The old settlers--all those who had
+come into the country before the war--demanded and obtained greater
+consideration at the hands of the government than the later immigrants,
+who eventually found themselves shut out of office and influence. The
+result was the growth of a Liberal or Reform party, which, while
+generally composed of the later immigrants, comprised several persons of
+Loyalist extraction, who did not happen to belong to the favoured class
+or church, but recognised the necessity for a change in the methods of
+administration. Among these Loyalists must be specially mentioned Peter
+Perry, who was really the founder of the Reform party in 1834, and the
+Reverend Egerton Ryerson, a Methodist minister of great natural ability.
+
+Unfortunately creed also became a powerful factor in the political
+controversies of Upper Canada. By the constitutional act of 1791 large
+tracts of land were set aside for the support of a "Protestant clergy",
+and the Church of England successfully claimed for years an exclusive
+right to these "clergy reserves" on the ground that it was the
+Protestant church recognised by the state. The clergy of the Church of
+Scotland in Canada, though very few in number for years, at a later time
+obtained a share of these grants as a national religious body; but all
+the dissentient denominations did not participate in the advantages of
+these reserves. The Methodists claimed in the course of years to be
+numerically equal to, if not more numerous than, the English
+Episcopalians, and were deeply irritated at the inferior position they
+long occupied in the province. So late as 1824 the legislative council,
+composed of members of the dominant church, rejected a bill allowing
+Methodist ministers to solemnise marriages, and it was not until 1831
+that recognised ministers of all denominations were placed on an
+equality in this respect. Christian charity was not more a
+characteristic of those times than political liberality. Methodism was
+considered by the governing class as a sign of democracy and social
+inferiority. History repeated itself in Upper Canada. As the Puritans of
+New England feared the establishment of an Anglican episcopacy, and used
+it to stimulate a feeling against the parent state during the beginnings
+of the revolution, so in Upper Canada the dissenting religious bodies
+made political capital out of the favouritism shown to the Church of
+England in the distribution of the public lands and public patronage.
+The Roman Catholics and members of all Protestant sects eventually
+demanded the secularisation of the reserves for educational or other
+public purposes, or the application of the funds to the use of all
+religious creeds. The feeling against that church culminated in 1836,
+when Sir John Colborne, then lieutenant-governor, established forty-four
+rectories in accordance with a suggestion made by Lord Goderich some
+years previously. While the legality of Sir John Colborne's course was
+undoubted, it was calculated to create much indignant feeling among the
+dissenting bodies, who saw in the establishment of these rectories an
+evidence of the intention of the British government to create a state
+church so far as practicable by law within the province. This act, so
+impolitic at a critical time of political discussion, was an
+illustration of the potent influence exercised in the councils of the
+government by Archdeacon Strachan, who had come into the province from
+Scotland in 1799 as a schoolmaster. He had been brought up in the tenets
+of the Presbyterian Church, but some time after his arrival in Canada he
+became an ordained minister of the Church of England, in which he rose
+step by step to the episcopacy. He became a member of both the executive
+and legislative councils in 1816 and 1817, and exercised continuously
+until the union of 1841 a singular influence in the government of the
+province. He was endowed with that indomitable will, which distinguished
+his great countryman, John Knox. His unbending toryism was the natural
+outcome of his determination to sustain what he considered the just
+rights of his church against the liberalism of her opponents--chiefly
+dissenters--who wished to rob her of her clergy reserves and destroy her
+influence in education and public affairs generally. This very fidelity
+to his church became to some extent her weakness, since it evoked the
+bitter hostility of a large body of persons and created the impression
+that she was the church of the aristocratic and official class rather
+than that of the people--an impression which existed for many years
+after the fall of the "family compact."
+
+The public grievances connected with the disposition of the public
+lands were clearly exposed by one Robert Gourlay, a somewhat meddlesome
+Scotchman, who had addressed a circular, soon after his arrival in
+Canada, to a number of townships with regard to the causes which
+retarded improvement and the best means of developing the resources of
+the province. An answer from Sandwich virtually set forth the feeling of
+the rural districts generally on these points. It stated that the
+reasons for the existing depression were the reserves of land for the
+crown and clergy, "which must for a long time keep the country a
+wilderness, a harbour for wolves, and a hindrance to compact and good
+neighbourhood; defects in the system of colonisation; too great a
+quantity of lands in the hands of individuals who do not reside in the
+province, and are not assessed for their property." Mr. Gourlay's
+questions were certainly asked in the public interest, but they excited
+the indignation of the official class who resented any interference with
+a state of things which favoured themselves and their friends, and were
+not desirous of an investigation into the management of public affairs.
+The subsequent treatment of Mr. Gourlay was shameful in the extreme. He
+was declared a most dangerous character when he followed up his circular
+by a pamphlet, attacking the methods by which public affairs generally
+were conducted, and contrasting them with the energetic and progressive
+system on the other side of the border. The indignation of the officials
+became a positive fever when he suggested the calling of public meetings
+to elect delegates to a provincial convention--a term which recalled the
+days of the American revolution, and was cleverly used by Gourlay's
+enemies to excite the ire and fear of the descendants of the Loyalists.
+Sir Peregrine Maitland succeeded in obtaining from the legislature an
+opinion against conventions as "repugnant to the constitution," and
+declaring the holding of such public meetings a misdemeanour, while
+admitting the constitutional right of the people to petition. These
+proceedings evoked a satirical reply from Gourlay, who was arrested for
+seditious libel, but the prosecutions failed. It was then decided to
+resort to the provisions of a practically obsolete statute passed in
+1804, authorising the arrest of any person who had resided in the
+province for six months without taking the oath of allegiance, and was
+suspected to be a seditious character. Such a person could be ordered by
+the authorities to leave the province, or give security for good
+behaviour. This act had been originally passed to prevent the
+immigration of aliens unfavourable to England, especially of Irishmen
+who had taken part in the rebellion of 1798 and found refuge in the
+United States. Gourlay had been a resident of Upper Canada for nearly
+two years, and in no single instance had the law been construed to apply
+to an immigrant from the British Isles. Gourlay was imprisoned in the
+Niagara gaol, and when his friends attempted to bring him out on a writ
+of _habeas corpus_ they failed simply because Chief Justice Powell, an
+able lawyer of a Loyalist family and head of the official party, refused
+to grant the writ on a mere technical plea, afterwards declared by the
+highest legal authorities in England to be entirely contrary to sound
+law. Gourlay consequently remained in prison for nearly eight months,
+and when he was brought again before the chief justice, his mental
+faculties were obviously impaired for the moment, but despite his
+wretched condition, which prevented him from conducting his defence, he
+was summarily convicted and ordered to leave the province within
+twenty-four hours, under penalty of death should he not obey the order
+or return to the country.
+
+This unjust sentence created wide-spread indignation among all
+right-thinking people, especially as it followed a message of the
+lieutenant-governor to the legislature, that he did not feel justified
+in extending the grants of land, made to actors in the war of 1812-15,
+to "any of the inhabitants who composed the late convention of
+delegates, the proceedings of which were very properly subjected to your
+very severe animadversion" This undoubtedly illegal action of the
+lieutenant-governor only escaped the censure of the assembly by the
+casting vote of the speaker, but was naturally justified in the
+legislative council where Chief Justice Powell presided. Gourlay became
+a martyr in the opinion of a large body of people, and a Reform party
+began to grow up in the country. The man himself disappeared for years
+from Canadian history, and did not return to the province until 1856,
+after a chequered and unhappy career in Great Britain and the United
+States. The assembly of the United Canadas in 1842 declared his arrest
+to be "unjust and illegal," and his sentence "null and void," and he was
+offered a pension as some compensation for the injuries he had received;
+but he refused it unless it was accompanied by an official declaration
+of the illegality of the conviction and its elision from the records of
+the courts. The Canadian government thought he should be satisfied with
+the action of the assembly and the offer of the pension. Gourlay died
+abroad, and his daughters on his death received the money which he
+rejected with the obstinacy so characteristic of his life.
+
+During these days of struggle we find most prominent among the official
+class Attorney-General Robinson, afterwards chief justice of Upper
+Canada for many years. He was the son of a Virginian Loyalist, and a
+Tory of extreme views, calm, polished, and judicial in his demeanour.
+But whatever his opinions on the questions of the day he was too
+discreet a politician and too honest a judge ever to have descended to
+such a travesty of justice as had been shown by his predecessor in the
+case of Gourlay. His influence, however was never in the direction of
+liberal measures. He opposed responsible government and the union of the
+two provinces, both when proposed unsuccessfully in 1822, and when
+carried in Upper Canada eighteen years later.
+
+The elections of 1825 had a very important influence on the political
+conditions of the upper province, since they brought into the assembly
+Peter Perry, Dr. Rolph, and Marshall Spring Bidwell, who became leading
+actors in the Reform movement which culminated in the concession of
+responsible government. But the most conspicuous man from 1826 until
+1837 was William Lyon Mackenzie, a Scotchman of fair education, who came
+to Canada in 1820, and eventually embraced journalism as the profession
+most suited to his controversial temperament. Deeply imbued with a
+spirit of liberalism in politics, courageous and even defiant in the
+expression of his opinions, sadly wanting in sound judgment and common
+sense when his feelings were excited, able to write with vigour, but
+more inclined to emphatic vituperation than well-reasoned argument, he
+made himself a force in the politics of the province. In the _Colonial
+Advocate_, which he established in 1824, he commenced a series of
+attacks on the government which naturally evoked the resentment of the
+official class, and culminated in the destruction of his printing office
+in 1826 by a number of young men, relatives of the principal
+officials--one of them actually the private secretary of the
+lieutenant-governor, Sir Peregrine Maitland. Mr. Mackenzie obtained
+large damages in the courts, and was consequently able to continue the
+publication of his paper at a time when he was financially embarrassed.
+The sympathy felt for Mr. Mackenzie brought him into the assembly as
+member for York during the session of 1829. So obnoxious did he become
+to the governing class that he was expelled four times from the assembly
+between 1831 and 1834, and prevented from taking his seat by the orders
+of the speaker in 1835--practically the fifth expulsion. In 1832 he went
+to England and presented largely signed petitions asking for a redress
+of grievances. He appears to have made some impression on English
+statesmen, and the colonial minister recommended a few reforms to the
+lieutenant-governor, but they were entirely ignored by the official
+party. Lord Glenelg also disapproved of the part taken by
+Attorney-General Boulton--Mr. Robinson being then chief justice--and
+Solicitor-General Hagerman in the expulsion of Mr. Mackenzie; but they
+treated the rebuke with contempt and were removed from office for again
+assisting in the expulsion of Mr. Mackenzie.
+
+In 1834 he was elected first mayor of Toronto, then incorporated under
+its present name, as a consequence of the public sympathy aroused in his
+favour by his several expulsions. Previous to the election of 1835, in
+which he was returned to the assembly, he made one of the most serious
+blunders of his life, in the publication of a letter from Mr. Joseph
+Hume, the famous Radical, whose acquaintance he had made while in
+England. Mr. Hume emphatically stated his opinion that "a crisis was
+fast approaching in the affairs of Canada which would terminate in
+independence and freedom from the baneful domination of the mother
+country, and the tyrannical conduct of a small and despicable faction in
+the colony." The official class availed themselves of this egregious
+blunder to excite the indignation of the Loyalist population against Mr.
+Mackenzie and other Reformers, many of whom, like the Baldwins and
+Perrys, disavowed all sympathy with such language. Mr. Mackenzie's
+motive was really to insult Mr. Ryerson, with whom he had quarrelled.
+Mr. Ryerson in the _Christian Guardian_, organ of the Methodists, had
+attacked Mr. Hume as a person unfit to present petitions from the
+Liberals of Canada, since he had opposed the measure for the
+emancipation of slaves in the West Indies, and had consequently
+alienated the confidence and sympathy of the best part of the nation.
+Mr. Hume then wrote the letter in question, in which he also stated that
+he "never knew a more worthless hypocrite or so base a man as Mr.
+Ryerson proved himself to be." Mr. Mackenzie in this way incurred the
+wrath of a wily clergyman and religious journalist who exercised much
+influence over the Methodists, and at the same time fell under the ban
+of all people who were deeply attached to the British connection.
+Moderate Reformers now looked doubtfully on Mackenzie, whose principal
+supporters were Dr. Duncombe, Samuel Lount, Peter Matthews, and other
+men who took an active part in the insurrection of 1837.
+
+In the session of 1835 a committee of grievances, appointed on the
+motion of Mr. Mackenzie himself, reported in favour of a system of
+responsible government, an elective legislative council, the appointment
+of civil governors, a diminution of the patronage exercised by the
+crown, the independence of the legislature, and other reforms declared
+to be in the interest of good government. The report was temperately
+expressed, and created some effect for a time in England, but the
+colonial minister could not yet be induced to move in the direction of
+positive reform in the restrictive system of colonial government.
+
+Unhappily, at this juncture, when good judgment and discretion were so
+necessary in political affairs, all the circumstances combined to hasten
+a perilous crisis, and to give full scope to the passionate impulses of
+Mackenzie's nature. Sir John Colborne was replaced in the government of
+the province by one of the most incapable governors ever chosen by the
+colonial office, Sir Francis Bond Head. He had been chiefly known in
+England as a sprightly writer of travels, and had had no political
+experience except such as could be gathered in the discharge of the
+duties of a poor-law commissioner in Wales. His first official act was
+an indiscretion. He communicated to the legislature the full text of the
+instructions which he had received from the king, although he had been
+advised to give only their substance, as least calculated to hamper Lord
+Gosford, who was then attempting to conciliate the French Canadian
+majority in Lower Canada. These instructions, in express terms,
+disapproved of a responsible executive and particularly of an elected
+legislative council, to obtain which was the great object of Papineau
+and his friends. Mr. Bidwell, then speaker of the assembly, recognised
+the importance of this despatch, and forwarded it immediately to Mr.
+Papineau, at that time speaker of the Lower Canadian house, with whom he
+and other Reformers had correspondence from time to time. Lord Gosford
+was consequently forced to lay his own instructions in full before the
+legislature and to show the majority that the British government was
+opposed to such vital changes in the provincial constitution as they
+persistently demanded. The action of the Lower Canadian house on this
+matter was communicated to the assembly of Upper Canada by a letter of
+Mr. Papineau to Mr. Bidwell, who laid it before his house just before
+the prorogation in 1835. In this communication the policy of the
+imperial government was described as "the naked deformity of the
+colonial system," and the royal commissioners were styled "deceitful
+agents," while the methods of government in the neighbouring states were
+again eulogised as in the ninety-two resolutions of 1834. Sir Francis
+Bond Head seized the opportunity to create a feeling against the
+Reformers, to whom he was now hostile. Shortly after he sent his
+indiscreet message to the legislature he persuaded Dr. Rolph, Mr.
+Bidwell and Receiver-General Dunn to enter the executive council on the
+pretence that he wished to bring that body more into harmony with public
+opinion. The new councillors soon found that they were not to be
+consulted in public affairs, and when the whole council actually
+resigned Sir Francis told them plainly that he alone was responsible for
+his acts, and that he would only consult them when he deemed it
+expedient in the public interest. This action of the lieutenant-governor
+showed the Reformers that he was determined to initiate no changes which
+would disturb the official party, or give self-government to the people.
+The assembly, in which the Liberals were dominant, passed an address to
+the king, declaring the lieutenant-governor's conduct "derogatory to the
+honour of the king," and also a memorial to the British house of commons
+charging him with "misrepresentation, and a deviation from candour and
+truth."
+
+Under these circumstances Sir Francis eagerly availed himself of
+Papineau's letter to show the country the dangerous tendencies of the
+opinions and acts of the Reformers in the two provinces. In an answer he
+made to an address from some inhabitants of the Home District, he warned
+the people that there were individuals in Lower Canada, who were
+inculcating the idea that "this province is to be disturbed by the
+interference of foreigners, whose powers and influence will prove
+invincible"--an allusion to the sympathy shown by Papineau and his
+friends for the institutions of the United States. Then Sir Francis
+closed his reply with this rhodomontade: "In the name of every regiment
+of militia in Upper Canada, I publicly promulgate 'Let them come if they
+dare'" He dissolved the legislature and went directly to the country on
+the issue that the British connection was endangered by the Reformers.
+"He succeeded, in fact," said Lord Durham in his report of 1839, "in
+putting the issue in such a light before the province, that a great
+portion of the people really imagined that they were called upon to
+decide the question of separation by their votes." These strong appeals
+to the loyalty of a province founded by the Loyalists of 1784, combined
+with the influence exercised by the "family compact," who had all
+offices and lands at their disposal, defeated Mackenzie, Bidwell, Perry
+and other Reformers of less note, and brought into the legislature a
+solid phalanx of forty-two supporters of the government against eighteen
+elected by the opposition. It was a triumph dearly paid for in the end.
+The unfair tactics of the lieutenant-governor rankled in the minds of a
+large body of people, and hastened the outbreak of the insurrection of
+1837. The British government seems for a time to have been deceived by
+this victory of the lieutenant-governor and actually lauded his
+"foresight, energy and moral courage"; but ere long, after more mature
+consideration of the political conditions of the province, it dawned
+upon the dense mind of Lord Glenelg that the situation was not very
+satisfactory, and that it would be well to conciliate the moderate
+element among the Reformers. Sir Francis was accordingly instructed to
+appoint Mr. Bidwell to the Bench, but he stated emphatically that such
+an appointment would be a recognition on disloyalty. He preferred to
+resign rather than obey the instructions of the colonial department, and
+greatly to his surprise and chagrin his proffer of resignation was
+accepted without the least demur. The colonial office by this time
+recognised the mistake they had made in appointing Sir Francis to a
+position, for which he was utterly unfit, but unhappily for the province
+they awoke too late to a sense of their own folly.
+
+Mackenzie became so embittered by his defeat in 1836, and the
+unscrupulous methods by which it was accomplished, that he made up his
+mind that reform in government was not to be obtained except by a resort
+to extreme measures. At meetings of Reformers, held at Lloydtown and
+other places during the summer of 1837, resolutions were carried that it
+was their duty to arm in defence of their rights and those of their
+countrymen. Mackenzie visited many parts of the province, in order to
+stimulate a revolutionary movement among the disaffected people, a
+system of training volunteers was organised; pikes were manufactured and
+old arms were put in order. It was decided that Dr. Rolph should be the
+executive chief of the provisional government, and Mackenzie in the
+meantime had charge of all the details of the movement. Mr. Bidwell
+appears to have steadily kept aloof from the disloyal party, but Dr.
+Rolph was secretly in communication with Mackenzie, Lount, Matthews,
+Lloyd, Morrison, Duncombe, and other actors in the rebellion. The plan
+was to march on Toronto, where it was notorious that no precautions for
+defence were being taken, to seize the lieutenant-governor, to proclaim
+a provisional government, and to declare the independence of the
+province unless Sir Francis should give a solemn promise to constitute a
+responsible council. It is quite certain that Mackenzie entirely
+misunderstood the sentiment of the country, and exaggerated the support
+that would be given to a disloyal movement. Lord Durham truly said that
+the insurrectionary movements which did take place were "indicative of
+no deep rooted disaffection," and that "almost the entire body of the
+Reformers of the province sought only by constitutional means to obtain
+those objects for which they had so long peacefully struggled before
+the unhappy troubles occasioned by the violence of a few unprincipled
+adventurers and heated enthusiasts."
+
+Despite the warnings that he was constantly receiving of the seditious
+doings of Mackenzie and his lieutenants, Sir Francis Bond Head could not
+be persuaded an uprising was imminent. So complete was his fatuity that
+he allowed all the regular troops to be withdrawn to Lower Canada at the
+request of Sir John Colborne. Had he taken adequate measures for the
+defence of Toronto, and showed he was prepared for any contingency, the
+rising of Mackenzie's immediate followers would never have occurred. His
+apathy and negligence at this crisis actually incited an insurrection.
+The repulse of Gore at St. Denis on the 23rd November (p. 134) no doubt
+hastened the rebellious movement in Upper Canada, and it was decided to
+collect all available men and assemble at Montgomery's tavern, only four
+miles from Toronto by way of Yonge Street, the road connecting Toronto
+with Lake Simcoe. The subsequent news of the dispersion of the rebels at
+St. Charles was very discouraging to Mackenzie and Lount, but they felt
+that matters had proceeded too far for them to stop at that juncture.
+They still hoped to surprise Toronto and occupy it without much
+difficulty. A Colonel Moodie, who had taken part in the war of 1812-15,
+had heard of the march of the insurgents from Lake Simcoe, and was
+riding rapidly to Toronto to warn the lieutenant-governor, when he was
+suddenly shot down and died immediately. Sir Francis was unconscious of
+danger when he was aroused late at night by Alderman Powell, who had
+been taken prisoner by the rebels but succeeded in making his escape and
+finding his way to Government House. Sir Francis at last awoke from his
+lethargy and listened to the counsels of Colonel Fitzgibbon--the hero of
+Beaver Dams in 1813--and other residents of Toronto, who had constantly
+endeavoured to force him to take measures for the public security. The
+loyal people of the province rallied with great alacrity to put down the
+revolt. The men of the western district of Gore came up in force, and
+the first man to arrive on the scene was Allan MacNab, the son of a
+Loyalist and afterwards prime minister of Canada. A large and well
+equipped force was at once organised under the command of Colonel
+Fitzgibbon.
+
+The insurrection was effectually quelled on the 7th December at
+Montgomery's tavern by the militia and volunteer forces under Colonel
+Fitzgibbon. The insurgents had at no time mustered more than eight
+hundred men, and in the engagement on the 7th there were only four
+hundred, badly armed and already disheartened. In twenty minutes, or
+less time, the fight was over and the insurgents fled with the loss of
+one man killed and several seriously wounded. The Loyalists, who did not
+lose a single man, took a number of prisoners, who were immediately
+released by the lieutenant-governor on condition of returning quietly to
+their homes. Mackenzie succeeded in escaping across the Niagara
+frontier, but Matthews was taken prisoner as he was leading a detachment
+across the Don into Toronto. Lount was identified at Chippewa while
+attempting to find his way to the United States and brought back to
+Toronto. Rolph, Gibson and Duncombe found a refuge in the republic, but
+Van Egmond, who had served under Napoleon, and commanded the insurgents,
+was arrested and died in prison of inflammatory rheumatism. Mr. Bidwell
+was induced to fly from the province by the insidious representations of
+the lieutenant-governor, who used the fact of his flight as an argument
+that he had been perfectly justified in not appointing him to the Bench.
+In later years, the Canadian government, recognising the injustice Mr.
+Bidwell had received, offered him a judgeship, but he never could be
+induced to return to Canada Mackenzie had definite grievances against
+Sir Francis and his party; and a British people, always ready to
+sympathise with men who resent injustice and assert principles of
+popular government, might have soon condoned the serious mistake he had
+made in exciting a rash revolt against his sovereign. But his
+apologists can find no extenuating circumstances for his mad conduct in
+stirring up bands of ruffians at Buffalo and other places on the
+frontier to invade the province. The base of operations for these raids
+was Navy Island, just above the Niagara Falls in British territory. A
+small steamer, "The Caroline," was purchased from some Americans, and
+used to bring munitions of war to the island. Colonel MacNab was sent to
+the frontier, and successfully organised an expedition of boats under
+the charge of Captain Drew--afterwards an Admiral--to seize the steamer
+at Fort Schlosser, an insignificant place on the American side. The
+capture was successfully accomplished and the steamer set on fire and
+sent down the river, where she soon sank before reaching the cataract.
+Only one man was killed--one Durfee, a citizen of the United States.
+This audacious act of the Canadians was deeply resented in the republic
+as a violation of its territorial rights, and was a subject of
+international controversy until 1842 when it was settled with other
+questions at issue between Great Britain and the United States.
+Mackenzie now disappeared for some years from Canadian history, as the
+United States authorities felt compelled to imprison him for a time. It
+was not until the end of 1838 that the people of the Canada were free
+from filibustering expeditions organised in the neighboring states.
+"Hunters' Lodges" were formed under the pledge "never to rest until all
+tyrants of Britain cease to have any dominion or footing whatever in
+North America." These marauding expeditions on the exposed parts of the
+western frontier--especially on the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers--were
+successfully resisted. At Prescott, a considerable body of persons,
+chiefly youths under age, under the leadership of Von Schoultz, a Pole,
+were beaten at the Old Stone Windmill, which they attempted to hold
+against a Loyalist force. At Sandwich, Colonel Prince, a conspicuous
+figure in Canadian political history of later years, routed a band of
+filibusters, four of whom he ordered to instant death. This resolute
+deed created some excitement in England, where it was condemned by some
+and justified by others. Canadians, who were in constant fear of such
+raids, naturally approved of summary justice in the case of persons who
+were really brigands, not entitled to any consideration under the laws
+of war.
+
+In 1838 President Buren issued a proclamation calling upon all citizens
+of the United States to observe the neutrality laws; but the difficulty
+in those days was the indisposition of the federal government to
+interfere with the states where such expeditions were organised. The
+vigilance of the Canadian authorities and the loyalty of the people
+alone saved the country in these trying times. A great many of the
+raiders were taken prisoners and punished with the severity due to their
+unjustifiable acts. Von Schoultz and eight others were hanged, a good
+many were pardoned, while others were transported to Van Diemen's Land,
+whence they were soon allowed to return. The names of these filibusters
+are forgotten, but those of Lount and Matthews, who perished on the
+scaffold, have been inscribed on some Canadian hearts as patriots. Sir
+George Arthur, who succeeded Sir Francis Head, was a soldier, who had
+had experience as a governor among the convicts of Van Diemen's Land,
+and the negro population of Honduras, where he had crushed a revolt of
+slaves. Powerful appeals were made to him on behalf of Lount and
+Matthews, but not even the tears and prayers of Lount's distracted wife
+could reach his heart. Such clemency as was shown by Lord Durham would
+have been a bright incident in Sir George Arthur's career in Canada, but
+he looked only to the approval of the Loyalists, deeply incensed against
+the rebels of 1837. His action in these two cases was regarded with
+disapprobation in England, and the colonial minister expressed the hope
+that no further executions would occur--advice followed in the case of
+other actors of the revolt of 1837. Sir George Arthur's place in
+colonial annals is not one of high distinction. Like his predecessors,
+he became the resolute opponent of responsible government, which he
+declared in a despatch to be "Mackenzie's scheme for getting rid of what
+Mr. Hume called 'the baneful domination' of the mother country"; "and
+never" he added, "was any scheme better devised to bring about such an
+end speedily".
+
+
+SECTION 3.--Social and economic conditions of the Provinces in 1838.
+
+We have now reached a turning-point in the political development of the
+provinces of British North America, and may well pause for a moment to
+review the social and economic condition of their people. Since the
+beginning of the century there had been a large immigration into the
+provinces, except during the war of 1812. In the nine years preceding
+1837, 263,089 British and Irish immigrants arrived at Quebec, and in one
+year alone there were over 50,000. By 1838 the population of the five
+provinces of Upper Canada, Lower Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and
+Prince Edward Island had reached about 1,400,000 souls. In Upper Canada,
+with the exception of a very few people of German or Dutch descent, and
+some French Canadians opposite Detroit and on the Ottawa River, there
+was an entirely British population of at least 400,000 souls. The
+population of Lower Canada was estimated at 600,000, of whom hardly
+one-quarter were of British origin, living chiefly in Montreal, the
+Townships, and Quebec. Nova Scotia had nearly 200,000 inhabitants, of
+whom probably 16,000 were French Acadians, resident in Cape Breton and
+in Western Nova Scotia. In New Brunswick there were at least 150,000
+people, of whom some 15,000 were descendants of the original inhabitants
+of Acadie. The Island of Prince Edward had 30,000 people, of whom the
+French Acadians made up nearly one-sixth. The total trade of the country
+amounted, in round figures, to about £5,000,000 sterling in imports,
+and somewhat less in exports The imports were chiefly manufactures from
+Great Britain, and the exports were lumber, wheat and fish. Those were
+days when colonial trade was stimulated by differential duties in favour
+of colonial products, and the building of vessels was encouraged by the
+old navigation laws which shut out foreign commerce from the St.
+Lawrence and the Atlantic ports, and kept the carrying trade between
+Great Britain and the colonies in the hands of British and colonial
+merchants, by means of British registered ships. While colonists could
+not trade directly with foreign ports, they were given a monopoly for
+their timber, fish, and provisions in the profitable markets of the
+British West Indies.
+
+The character of the immigration varied considerably, but on the whole
+the thrifty and industrious formed the larger proportion. In 1833 the
+immigrants deposited 300,000 sovereigns, or nearly a million and a half
+of dollars, in the Upper Canadian banks. An important influence in the
+settlement of Upper Canada was exercised by one Colonel Talbot, the
+founder of the county of Elgin. Mrs. Anna Jameson, the wife of a
+vice-chancellor of Upper Canada, describes in her _Winter Studies and
+Summer Rambles_, written in 1838, the home of this great proprietor, a
+Talbot of Malahide, one of the oldest families in the parent state. The
+château--as she calls it, perhaps sarcastically--was a "long wooden
+building, chiefly of rough logs, with a covered porch running along the
+south side." Such homes as Colonel Talbot's were common enough in the
+country. Some of the higher class of immigrants, however, made efforts
+to surround themselves with some of the luxuries of the old world. Mrs.
+Jameson tells us of an old Admiral, who had settled in the London
+district--now the most prosperous agricultural part of Ontario--and had
+the best of society in his neighbourhood; "several gentlemen of family,
+superior education, and large capital (among them the brother of an
+English and the son of an Irish peer, a colonel and a major in the army)
+whose estates were in a flourishing state." The common characteristic
+of the Canadian settlements was the humble log hut of the poor
+immigrant, struggling with axe and hoe amid the stumps to make a home
+for his family. Year by year the sunlight was let into the dense
+forests, and fertile meadows soon stretched far and wide in the once
+untrodden wilderness. Despite all the difficulties of a pioneer's life,
+industry reaped its adequate rewards in the fruitful lands of the west,
+bread was easily raised in abundance, and animals of all kinds thrived.
+
+Unhappily the great bane of the province was the inordinate use of
+liquor. "The erection of a church or chapel," says Mrs. Jameson,
+"generally preceded that of a school-house in Upper Canada, but the mill
+and the tavern invariably preceded both." The roads were of the most
+wretched character and at some seasons actually prohibitory of all
+social intercourse. The towns were small and ill-built. Toronto, long
+known as "muddy little York," had a population of about 10,000, but with
+the exception of the new parliament house, it had no public buildings of
+architectural pretensions. The houses were generally of wood, a few of
+staring ugly red brick; the streets had not a single side-walk until
+1834, and in 1838 this comfort for the pedestrian was still exceptional.
+Kingston, the ancient Cataraqui, was even a better built town than
+Toronto, and had in 1838 a population of perhaps 4500 persons. Hamilton
+and London were beginning to be places of importance. Bytown, now
+Ottawa, had its beginnings in 1826, when Colonel By of the Royal
+Engineers, commenced the construction of the Rideau Canal on the chain
+of lakes and rivers between the Ottawa and the St. Lawrence at Kingston.
+The ambition of the people of Upper Canada was always to obtain a
+continuous and secure system of water navigation from the lakes to
+Montreal. The Welland Canal between Lakes Erie and Ontario was commenced
+as early as 1824 through the enterprise of Mr. William Hamilton Merritt,
+but it was very badly managed; and the legislature, which had from year
+to year aided the undertaking, was obliged eventually to acquire it as
+a provincial work. The Cornwall Canal was also undertaken, but work was
+stopped when it was certain that Lower Canada would not respond to the
+aspirations of the West and improve that portion of the St. Lawrence
+within its direct control. Flat-bottomed _bateaux_ and Durham boats were
+generally in use for the carriage of goods on the inland waters, and it
+was not until the completion of a canal system between the lakes and
+Montreal, after the Union, that steamers came into vogue.
+
+The province of Upper Canada had in 1838 reached a crisis in its
+affairs. In the course of the seven years preceding the rebellion,
+probably eighty thousand or one half of the immigrants, who had come to
+the province, had crossed the frontier into the United States, where
+greater inducements were held out to capital and population. As Mrs.
+Jameson floated in a canoe, in the middle of the Detroit River, she saw
+on the one side "all the bustle of prosperity and commerce," and on the
+other "all the symptoms of apathy, indolence, mistrust, hopelessness."
+At the time such comparisons were made, Upper Canada was on the very
+verge of bankruptcy.
+
+Turning to Lower Canada, we find that the financial position of the
+province was very different from that of Upper Canada. The public
+accounts showed an annual surplus, and the financial difficulties of the
+province were caused entirely by the disputes between the executive and
+the assembly which would not vote the necessary supplies. The timber
+trade had grown to large proportions and constituted the principal
+export to Great Britain from Quebec, which presented a scene of much
+activity in the summer. Montreal was already showing its great
+advantages as a headquarters of commerce on account of its natural
+relations to the West and the United States. Quebec and Montreal had
+each about 35,000 inhabitants. Travellers admitted that Montreal, on
+account of the solidity of its buildings, generally of stone, compared
+most favourably with many of the finest and oldest towns in the United
+States. The Parish Church of Notre Dame was the largest ecclesiastical
+edifice in America, and notable for its simple grandeur. With its
+ancient walls girdling the heights first seen by Jacques Cartier, with
+its numerous churches and convents, illustrating the power and wealth of
+the Romish religion, with its rugged, erratic streets creeping through
+hewn rock, with its picturesque crowd of red-coated soldiers of England
+mingling with priests and sisters in sombre attire, or with the
+_habitants_ in _étoffe du pays_,--the old city of Quebec, whose history
+went back to the beginning of the seventeenth century, was certainly a
+piece of mediaevalism transported from northern France. The plain stone
+buildings of 1837 still remain in all their evidences of sombre
+antiquity. None of the religious or government edifices were
+distinguished for architectural beauty--except perhaps the English
+cathedral--but represented solidity and convenience, while harmonising
+with the rocks amid which they had risen.
+
+The parliament of Lower Canada still met in the Bishop's Palace, which
+was in want of repair. The old Château St. Louis had been destroyed by
+fire in 1834, and a terrace bearing the name of Durham was in course of
+construction over its ruins. It now gives one of the most picturesque
+views in the world on a summer evening as the descending sun lights up
+the dark green of the western hills, or brightens the tin spires and
+roofs of the churches and convents, or lingers amid the masts of the
+ships moored in the river or in the coves, filled with great rafts of
+timber.
+
+As in the days of French rule, the environs of Quebec and Montreal, and
+the north side of the St. Lawrence between these two towns, presented
+French Canadian life in its most picturesque and favourable aspect.
+These settlements on the river formed one continuous village, with
+tinned spires rising every few miles amid poplars, maples and elms.
+While the homes of the seigniors and of a few professional men were more
+commodious and comfortable than in the days of French rule, while the
+churches and presbyteries illustrated the increasing prosperity of the
+dominant religion, the surroundings of the _habitants_ gave evidences of
+their want of energy and enterprise. But crime was rare in the rural
+districts and intemperance was not so prevalent as in parts of the west.
+
+Nearly 150,000 people of British origin resided in Lower Canada--a
+British people animated for the most part by that spirit of energy
+natural to their race. What prosperity Montreal and Quebec enjoyed as
+commercial communities was largely due to the enterprise of British
+merchants. The timber trade was chiefly in their hands, and the bank of
+Montreal was founded by this class in 1817--seven years before the bank
+of Upper Canada was established in Toronto. As political strife
+increased in bitterness, the differences between the races became
+accentuated. Papineau alienated all the British by his determination to
+found a "_Nation Canadienne_" in which the British would occupy a very
+inferior place. "French and British," said Lord Durham, "combined for no
+public objects or improvements, and could not harmonise even in
+associations of charity." The French Canadians looked with jealousy and
+dislike on the increase and prosperity of what they regarded as a
+foreign and hostile race. It is quite intelligible, then, why trade
+languished, internal development ceased, landed property decreased in
+value, the revenue showed a diminution, roads and all classes of local
+improvements were neglected, agricultural industry was stagnant, wheat
+had to be imported for the consumption of the people, and immigration
+fell off from 52,000 in 1832 to less than 5000 in 1838.
+
+In the maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince
+Edward Island, there were no racial antagonisms to affect internal
+development; and the political conflict never reached such proportions
+as to threaten the peace and security of the people. In New Brunswick
+the chief industry was the timber trade--deals especially--which
+received its first stimulus in 1809, when a heavy duty was placed on
+Baltic timber, while that from the colonies came free into the British
+Isles. Shipbuilding was also profitably followed in New Brunswick, and
+was beginning to be prosecuted in Nova Scotia, where, a few years later,
+it made that province one of the greatest ship-owning and ship-sailing
+communities of the world until iron steamers gradually drove wooden
+vessels from the carrying trade. The cod, mackerel, and herring
+fisheries--chiefly the first--were the staple industry of Nova Scotia,
+and kept up a large trade with the British West Indies, whence sugar,
+molasses and rum were imported. Prince Edward Island was chiefly an
+agricultural community, whose development was greatly retarded by the
+wholesale grant of lands in 1767 to absentee proprietors. Halifax and
+St. John had each a population of twenty thousand. The houses were
+mostly of wood, the only buildings of importance being the government
+house, finished in 1805, and the provincial or parliament house,
+considered in its day one of the handsomest structures in North America.
+In the beautiful valleys of Kings and Annapolis--now famous for their
+fruit--there was a prosperous farming population. Yarmouth illustrated
+the thrift and enterprise of the Puritan element that came into the
+province from New England at an early date in its development. The
+eastern counties, with the exception of Pictou, showed no sign of
+progress. The Scotch population of Cape Breton, drawn from a poor class
+of people in the north of Scotland, for years added nothing to the
+wealth of an island whose resources were long dormant from the absence
+of capital and enterprise.
+
+Popular education in those days was at the lowest possible ebb. In 1837
+there were in all the private and public schools of the provinces only
+one-fifteenth of the total population. In Lower Canada not one-tenth
+could write. The children of the _habitants_ repeated the Catechism by
+rote, and yet could not read as a rule. In Upper Canada things were no
+better. Dr. Thomas Rolph tells us that, so late as 1833, Americans or
+other anti-British adventurers carried on the greater proportion of the
+common schools, where the youth were taught sentiments "hostile to the
+parent state" from books used in the United States--a practice stopped
+by statute in 1846.
+
+Adequate provision, however, was made for the higher education of youth
+in all the provinces. "I know of no people," wrote Lord Durham of Lower
+Canada, "among whom a larger provision exists for the higher kinds of
+elementary education." The piety and benevolence of the early possessors
+of the country founded seminaries and colleges, which gave an education
+resembling the kind given in the English public schools, though more
+varied. In Upper Canada, so early as 1807, grammar schools were
+established by the government. By 1837 Upper Canada College--an
+institution still flourishing--offered special advantages to youths
+whose parents had some money. In Nova Scotia King's College--the oldest
+university in Canada--had its beginning as an academy as early as 1788,
+and educated many eminent men during its palmy days. Pictou Academy was
+established by the Reverend Dr. McCulloch as a remonstrance against the
+sectarianism of King's; and the political history of the province was
+long disturbed by the struggle of its promoters against the narrowness
+of the Anglicans, who dominated the legislative council, and frequently
+rejected the grant made by the assembly. Dalhousie College was founded
+in 1820 by Lord Dalhousie, then governor of Nova Scotia, to afford that
+higher education to all denominations which old King's denied. Acadia
+College was founded by the Baptists at Wolfville, on a gently rising
+ground overlooking the fertile meadows of Grand Pré. The foundations of
+the University of New Brunswick were laid in 1800. McGill University,
+founded by one of those generous Montreal merchants who have always been
+its benefactors, received a charter in 1821, but it was not opened until
+1829. The Methodists laid the foundation of Victoria College at Cobourg
+in 1834, but it did not commence its work until after the Union; and the
+same was the case with King's College, the beginning of the University
+of Toronto.
+
+We need not linger on the literary output of those early times. Joseph
+Bouchette, surveyor-general, had made in the first part of the century a
+notable contribution to the geography and cartography of Lower Canada.
+Major Richardson, who had served in the war of 1812 and in the Spanish
+peninsula, wrote in 1833 "Wacousta or the Prophecy," a spirited romance
+of Indian life. In Nova Scotia the "Sayings and Doings of Sam Slick, of
+Slickville"--truly a remarkable original creation in humorous
+literature--first appeared in a Halifax paper. The author, Judge
+Haliburton, also published as early as 1829 an excellent work in two
+volumes on the history of his native province. Small libraries and book
+stores could only be seen in the cities.
+
+In these early times of the provinces, when books and magazines were
+rarities, the newspaper press naturally exercised much influence on the
+social and intellectual conditions of the people at large. By 1838 there
+were no less than forty papers printed in the province of Upper Canada
+alone, some of them written with ability, though too often in a bitter,
+personal tone. In those days English papers did not circulate to any
+extent in a country where postage was exorbitant. People could hardly
+afford to pay postage rates on letters. The poor settler was often
+unable to pay the three or four shillings or even more, imposed on
+letters from their old homes across the sea; and it was not unusual to
+find in country post-offices a large accumulation of dead letters,
+refused or neglected on account of the expense. The management of the
+post-office by imperial officers was one of the grievances of the people
+of the provinces generally. It was carried on for the benefit of a few
+persons, and not for the convenience or solace of the many thousands who
+were anxious for news of their kin across the ocean.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+A NEW ERA OF COLONIAL GOVERNMENT (1839--1867).
+
+
+SECTION I.--The union of the Canadas and the establishment of
+responsible government.
+
+Lord Durham's report on the affairs of British North America was
+presented to the British government on the 31st January, 1839, and
+attracted an extraordinary amount of interest in England, where the two
+rebellions had at last awakened statesmen to the absolute necessity of
+providing an effective remedy for difficulties which had been pressing
+upon their attention for years, but had never been thoroughly understood
+until the appearance of this famous state paper. A legislative union of
+the two Canadas and the concession of responsible government were the
+two radical changes which stood out prominently in the report among
+minor suggestions in the direction of stable government. On the question
+of responsible government Lord Durham expressed opinions of the deepest
+political wisdom. He found it impossible "to understand how any English
+statesman could have ever imagined that representative and irresponsible
+government could be successfully combined....To suppose that such a
+system would work well there, implied a belief that the French Canadians
+have enjoyed representative institutions for half a century, without
+acquiring any of the characteristics of a free people; that Englishmen
+renounce every political opinion and feeling when they enter a colony,
+or that the spirit of Anglo-Saxon freedom is utterly changed and
+weakened among those who are transplanted across the Atlantic[3]."
+
+[3: For the full text of Lord Durham's report, which was laid before
+Parliament, 11 February, 1839, see _English Parliamentary Papers_ for
+1839.]
+
+In June, 1839, Lord John Russell introduced a bill to reunite the two
+provinces, but it was allowed, after its second reading, to lie over for
+that session of parliament, in order that the matter might be fully
+considered in Canada. Mr. Poulett Thomson was appointed governor-general
+with the avowed object of carrying out the policy of the imperial
+government. Immediately after his arrival in Canada, in the autumn of
+1839, the special council of Lower Canada and the legislature of Upper
+Canada passed addresses in favour of a union of the two provinces. These
+necessary preliminaries having been made, Lord John Russell, in the
+session of 1840, again brought forward "An act to reunite the provinces
+of Upper and Lower Canada, and for the government of Canada," which was
+assented to on the 23rd of July, but did not come into effect until the
+10th of February in the following year.
+
+The act provided for a legislative council of not less than twenty
+members, and for a legislative assembly in which each section of the
+united provinces would be represented by an equal number of
+members--that is to say, forty-two for each or eighty-four in all. The
+number of representatives allotted to each province could not be changed
+except with the concurrence of two-thirds of the members of each house.
+The members of the legislative council were appointed by the crown for
+life, and the members of the assembly were chosen by electors possessing
+a small property qualification. Members of both bodies were required to
+hold property to a certain amount. The assembly had a duration of four
+years, subject of course to be sooner dissolved by the governor-general.
+
+Provision was made for a consolidated revenue fund, on which the first
+charges were expenses of collection, management and receipt of revenues,
+interest of public debt, payment of the clergy, and civil list. The
+English language alone was to be used in the legislative records. All
+votes, resolutions or bills involving the expenditure of public money
+were to be first recommended by the governor-general.
+
+The first parliament of the United Canadas was opened on the 14th June,
+1841, in the city of Kingston, by the governor-general, who had been
+created Baron Sydenham of Sydenham and of Toronto. This session was the
+commencement of a series of parliaments which lasted until the
+confederation of all the provinces in 1867, and forcibly illustrated the
+capacity of the people of Canada to manage their internal affairs. For
+the moment, I propose to refer exclusively to those political conditions
+which brought about responsible government, and the removal of
+grievances which had so long perplexed the imperial state and distracted
+the whole of British North America.
+
+In Lord John Russell's despatches of 1839,--the sequence of Lord
+Durham's report--we can clearly see the doubt in the minds of the
+imperial authorities whether it was possible to work the system of
+responsible government on the basis of a governor directly responsible
+to the parent state, and at the same time acting under the advice of
+ministers who would be responsible to a colonial legislature. But the
+colonial secretary had obviously come to the opinion that it was
+necessary to make a radical change which would insure greater harmony
+between the executive and the popular bodies of the provinces. Her
+Majesty, he stated emphatically, "had no desire to maintain any system
+of policy among her North American subjects which opinion condemns", and
+there was "no surer way of gaining the approbation of the Queen than by
+maintaining the harmony of the executive with the legislative
+authorities." The new governor-general was expressly appointed to carry
+out this new policy. If he was extremely vain, at all events he was also
+astute, practical, and well able to gauge the public sentiment by which
+he should be guided at so critical a period of Canadian history. The
+evidence is clear that he was not individually in favour of responsible
+government, as it was understood by men like Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Howe,
+when he arrived in Canada. He believed that the council should be one
+"for the governor to consult and no more"; and voicing the doubts that
+existed in the minds of imperial statesmen, he added, the governor
+"cannot be responsible to the government at home" and also to the
+legislature of the province, if it were so, "then all colonial
+government becomes impossible." The governor, in his opinion, "must
+therefore be the minister [i.e. the colonial secretary], in which case
+he cannot be under control of men in the colony."
+
+When the assembly met it was soon evident that the Reformers in that
+body were determined to have a definite understanding on the
+all-important question of responsible government; and the result was
+that the governor-general, a keen politician, immediately recognised the
+fact that, unless he yielded to the feeling of the majority, he would
+lose all his influence. There is every reason to believe that the
+resolutions which were eventually passed in favour of responsible
+government, in amendment to those moved by Mr. Baldwin, had his approval
+before their introduction. The two sets of resolutions practically
+differed little from each other, and the inference to be drawn from the
+political situation of these times is that the governor's friends in the
+council thought it advisable to gain all the credit possible with the
+public for the passage of resolutions on the all-absorbing question of
+the day, since it was obvious that it had to be settled in some
+satisfactory and definite form. These resolutions embodying the
+principles of the new constitution of Canada, were as follows: (1) "That
+the head of the executive government of the province, being within the
+limits of his government the representative of the sovereign, is
+responsible to the imperial authority alone, but that, nevertheless, the
+management of our local affairs can only be conducted by him with the
+assistance, counsel, and information of subordinate officers in the
+province. (2) That, in order to preserve between the different branches
+of the provincial parliament that harmony which is essential to the
+peace, welfare and good government of the province, the chief advisers
+of the representative of the sovereign, constituting a provincial
+administration under him, ought to be men possessed of the confidence of
+the representatives of the people; thus affording a guarantee that the
+well-understood wishes and interests of the people, which our gracious
+sovereign has declared shall be the rule of the provincial government,
+will on all occasions be faithfully represented and advocated. (3) That
+the people of this province have, moreover, the right to expect from
+such provincial administration, the exertion of their best endeavours
+that the imperial authority, within its constitutional limits, shall be
+exercised in the manner most consistent with their well-understood
+wishes and interests."
+
+On the 4th September, 1841, Lord Sydenham met with a serious accident
+while riding, and as his constitution had been impaired for years he
+died a fortnight later, to the regret of all political parties. He was
+succeeded by Sir Charles Bagot, a Conservative and High Churchman, whose
+brief administration was notable for the display of infinite discretion
+on his part, and for his desire to do justice to the French Canadians
+even at the risk of offending the ultra-loyal party, who claimed special
+consideration in the management of public affairs. Responsible
+government was in a fair way of being permanently established when Sir
+Charles Bagot unhappily died in 1843 of dropsy, complicated by
+heart-disease; and Lord Metcalfe was brought from India to create--as it
+soon appeared--confusion and discord in the political affairs of the
+province. His ideas of responsible government were those which had been
+steadily inculcated by colonial secretaries since 1839, and were even
+entertained by Lord Sydenham himself, namely, that the governor should
+be as influential a factor as possible in the government, and should
+always remember that he was directly responsible to the crown, and
+should consider its prerogatives and interests as superior to all local
+considerations.
+
+When Lord Metcalfe assumed the responsibilities of his post, he found in
+office a Liberal administration, led by Mr. Baldwin, the eminent Reform
+leader of Upper Canada, and Mr. Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine, afterwards
+chief justice of Lower Canada and a baronet, who had been at the outset,
+like all his countrymen, opposed to the union, as unjust to their
+province. What originally excited their antagonism were the conditions
+exacted by the legislature of Upper Canada: an equality of
+representation, though the French section had a population of two
+hundred thousand more than the western province, the exclusion of the
+French language from the legislature, and the imposition of the heavy
+debt of Upper Canada on the revenues of the united provinces. But unlike
+Mr. Papineau, with whom he had acted during the political struggles in
+Lower Canada, Mr. Lafontaine developed a high order of discreet
+statesmanship after the union, and recognised the possibility of making
+French Canada a force in government. He did not follow the example of
+Mr. John Neilson, who steadily opposed the union--but determined to work
+it out fairly and patiently on the principles of responsible government.
+
+Lord Metcalfe, at the very outset, decided not to distribute the
+patronage of the crown under the advice of his responsible advisers, but
+to ignore them, as he declared, whenever he deemed it expedient. No
+responsible ministers could, with any regard to their own self-respect,
+or to the public interests, submit to a practice directly antagonistic
+to responsible government, then on its trial. Consequently, all the
+members of the Baldwin-Lafontaine government, with the exception of Mr.
+Daly, immediately resigned, when Lord Metcalfe followed so
+unconstitutional a course. Mr. Dominick Daly, afterwards knighted when
+governor of Prince Edward's Island--who had no party proclivities, and
+was always ready to support the crown in a crisis--became nominally
+head of a weak administration. The ministry was only completed after a
+most unconstitutional delay of several months, and was even then only
+composed of men whose chief merit was their friendliness to the
+governor, who dissolved the assembly and threw all the weight of the
+crown into the contest. The governor's party was returned with a very
+small majority, but it was a victory, like that of Sir Francis Bond Head
+in 1835, won at the sacrifice of the dignity of the crown, and at the
+risk of exciting once more public discontent to a dangerous degree. Lord
+Metcalfe's administration was strengthened when Mr. Draper resigned his
+legislative councillorship and took a seat in the assembly as leader.
+Lord Metcalfe's conduct received the approval of the imperial
+authorities, who elevated him to the peerage--so much evidence that they
+were not yet ready to concede responsible government in a complete
+sense. The result was a return to the days of old paternal government,
+when the parliamentary opposition was directed against the governor
+himself and the British government of which he was the organ. Lord
+Metcalfe had been a sufferer from cancer, and when it appeared again in
+its most aggravated form he returned to England, where he died a few
+months later (1846). The abuse that followed him almost to the grave was
+a discreditable exhibition of party rancour, but it indicated the
+condition to which the public mind had been brought by his unwise and
+unconstitutional conduct of public affairs--conduct for which his only
+apology must be the half-hearted, doubtful policy of the imperial
+authorities with regard to the province, and his own inability to
+understand the fundamental principles of responsible government.
+
+Lord Metcalfe's successor was Lord Cathcart, who had served with
+distinction in the Peninsular War, and was appointed with a view to
+contingencies that might arise out of the dispute between England and
+the United States on the Oregon boundary question, to which I shall
+refer in another chapter. He pursued a judicious course at a time when
+politics were complicated by the fact that the industry and commerce of
+the country were seriously deranged by the adoption of free trade in
+England, and the consequent removal of duties which had given the
+preference in the British market to Canadian wheat, flour and other
+products. What aggravated the commercial situation was the fact that the
+navigation laws, being still in force, closed the St. Lawrence to
+foreign shipping and prevented the extension of trade to other markets
+so as to compensate Canadians for the loss of that with the parent
+state. Lord Cathcart was recalled within less than a year, when all
+prospect of war with the United States had disappeared, and was followed
+(1847) by a civil governor, the Earl of Elgin, who was chosen by the
+Whig ministry, in which Lord John Russell was prime minister, and Earl
+Grey the secretary of state for the colonies. It had dawned upon English
+statesmen that the time had come for giving the colonists of British
+North America a system of responsible government without such reserves
+as had so seriously shackled its beginnings. In all probability they
+thought that the free-trade policy of England had momentarily weakened
+the ties that had bound the colonies to the parent state, and that it
+was advisable to follow up the new commercial policy by removing causes
+of public discontent in the province.
+
+Lord Elgin was happily chosen to inaugurate a new era of colonial
+self-government. Gifted with a judicial mind and no ordinary amount of
+political sagacity, able to originate as well as carry out a
+statesmanlike policy, animated, like Lord Durham--whose daughter he had
+married--by a sincere desire to give full scope to the aspirations of
+the people for self-government, so far as compatible with the supremacy
+of the crown, possessed of eloquence which at once charmed and
+convinced, Lord Elgin was able to establish on sure foundations the
+principles of responsible government, and eventually to leave Canada
+with the conviction that no subsequent representative of the crown
+could again impair its efficient operation, and convulse the public
+mind, as Lord Metcalfe had done. On his arrival he gave his confidence
+to the Draper ministry, who were still in office; but shortly afterwards
+its ablest member was elevated to the bench, and Mr. Sherwood became
+attorney-general and head of a government, chiefly interesting now for
+the fact that one of its members was Mr. John Alexander Macdonald, who,
+on becoming a member of the assembly in 1844, had commenced a public
+career which made him one of the most notable figures in the history of
+the colonial empire of England.
+
+Parliament was dissolved, and the elections were held in January, 1848,
+when the government were defeated by a large majority and the second
+Lafontaine-Baldwin ministry was formed; a ministry conspicuous for the
+ability of its members, and the useful character of its legislation
+during the four years it remained in power. It is noteworthy here that
+Lord Elgin did not follow the example of his predecessors and select the
+ministers himself, but followed the strict constitutional usage of
+calling upon Mr. Lafontaine as a recognised leader of a party in
+parliament to form a government. It does not fall within the scope of
+this chapter to go into the merits of this great administration, whose
+coming into office may be considered the crowning of the principles
+adopted by Lord Elgin for the unreserved concession of responsible
+government, and never violated from that time forward by any governor of
+Canada.
+
+We must now direct our attention to the maritime provinces, that we may
+complete this review of the progress of responsible government in
+British North America. In 1836 the revenues of New Brunswick had been
+placed at the disposal of the legislature, and administrative power
+entrusted to those who possessed the confidence of the assembly. The
+lieutenant-governor, Sir John Harvey, who had distinguished himself in
+the war of 1812-15, recognised in Lord John Russell's despatches "a new
+and improved constitution," and by an official memorandum informed the
+heads of departments that "thenceforward their offices would be held by
+the tenure of public confidence"; but after his departure (in 1841) an
+attempt was made by Sir William Colebrooke to imitate the example of
+Lord Metcalfe. He appointed to the provincial secretaryship a Mr. Reade,
+who had been only a few months in the province, and never represented a
+constituency or earned promotion in the public service. The members of
+the executive council were never consulted, and four of the most popular
+and influential councillors soon resigned. One of them, Mr. Lemuel A.
+Wilmot, the recognised leader of the Liberals, addressed a strong
+remonstrance to the lieutenant-governor, and vindicated those principles
+of colonial government "which require the administration to be conducted
+by heads of departments responsible to the legislature, and holding
+their offices contingently upon the approbation and confidence of the
+country, as expressed through the representatives of the people." The
+colonial secretary of state disapproved of the action of the
+lieutenant-governor, and constitutional government was strengthened in
+this province of the Loyalists. From that time there was a regularly
+organised administration and an opposition contending for office and
+popular favour.
+
+In Nova Scotia a despatch from Lord Glenelg brought to a close in 1838
+the agitation which had been going on for years for a separation of the
+executive from the legislative functions of the legislative council, and
+the formation of two distinct bodies in accordance with the existing
+English system. In this state paper--the first important step towards
+responsible government in the province--the secretary of state, Lord
+Glenelg, stated that it was her Majesty's pleasure that neither the
+chief justice nor any of his colleagues should sit in the council, that
+all the judges should entirely withdraw from all political discussions;
+that the assembly's claim to control and appropriate all the revenues
+arising in the province should be fully recognised by the government;
+that the two councils should be thereafter divided, and that the members
+of these bodies should be drawn from different parts of the
+province--Halifax previously having obtained all the appointments except
+one or two--and selected without reference to distinctions of religious
+opinions. Unfortunately for Nova Scotia there was at that time at the
+head of the executive a brave, obstinate old soldier, Sir Colin
+Campbell, who had petrified ideas on the subject of colonial
+administration, and showed no disposition to carry out the obvious
+desire of the imperial authorities to give a more popular form to the
+government of the province. One of his first official acts was to give
+to the Anglican Church a numerical superiority to which it had no valid
+claim. As in Upper Canada, at that time, there was a combination or
+compact, composed of descendants of English Tories or of the Loyalists
+of 1783, who belonged to the Anglican Church, and were opposed to
+popular government. Two men were now becoming most prominent in
+politics. One of these was Mr. James William Johnston, the son of a
+Georgia Loyalist, an able lawyer, gifted with a persuasive tongue which
+chimed most harmoniously with the views of Sir Colin. On the other side
+was Mr. Joseph Howe, the son of a Loyalist printer of Boston, who had no
+such aristocratic connections as Mr. Johnston, and soon became the
+dominant influence in the Reform party, which had within its ranks such
+able and eloquent men as S.G.W. Archibald, Herbert Huntington, Lawrence
+O'Connor Doyle, William and George R. Young, and, very soon, James Boyle
+Uniacke. Sir Colin Campbell completely ignored the despatches of Lord
+John Russell, which were recognised by Sir John Harvey as conferring "an
+improved constitution" upon the colonies. In February, 1840, Mr. Howe
+moved a series of resolutions, in which it was emphatically stated that
+"no satisfactory settlement of questions before the country could be
+obtained until the executive council was remodelled," and that, as then
+constituted, "it did not enjoy the confidence of the country." The
+motion was carried by a majority of eighteen votes, in a house of
+forty-two members, and indeed, so untenable was the position of the
+executive council that Mr. James Boyle Uniacke, a member of the
+government, retired, rather than vote, and subsequently placed his
+resignation in the hands of the lieutenant-governor, on the ground that
+it was his duty to yield to the opinions of the representative house,
+and facilitate the introduction of a better system of government, in
+accordance with the well-understood wishes of the people. From that time
+Mr. Uniacke became one of Mr. Howe's ablest allies in the struggle for
+self-government. Sir Colin, however, would not recede from the attitude
+he had assumed, but expressed the opinion, in his reply to the address
+of the legislature, that he could not recognise in the despatch of the
+colonial secretary of state "any instruction for a fundamental change in
+the colonial constitution." The assembly then prayed her Majesty, in a
+powerful and temperate address, to recall Sir Colin Campbell. Though
+Lord John Russell did not present the address to the Queen, the imperial
+government soon afterwards appointed Lord Falkland to succeed Sir Colin
+Campbell, whose honesty of purpose had won the respect of all parties.
+
+Lord Falkland was a Whig, a lord of the bedchamber, and married to one
+of the Fitzclarences--a daughter of William IV and Mrs. Jordan. He
+arrived at Halifax in September, 1840, and his first political act was
+in the direction of conciliating the Liberals, who were in the majority
+in the assembly. He dismissed--to the disgust of the official
+party--four members of the executive who had no seats in either branch
+of the legislature, and induced Mr. Howe and Mr. James MacNab to enter
+the government, on the understanding that other Liberals would be
+brought in according as vacancies occurred, and that the members of the
+council should hold their seats only upon the tenure of public
+confidence. A dissolution took place, the coalition government was
+sustained, and the Liberals came into the assembly with a majority. Mr.
+Howe was elected speaker of the assembly, though an executive
+councillor--without salary; but he and others began to recognise the
+impropriety of one man occupying such positions, and in a later session
+a resolution was passed against the continuance of what was really an
+un-British and unconstitutional practice. It was also an illustration of
+the ignorance that prevailed as to the principles that should guide the
+words and acts of a cabinet, that members of the executive, who had
+seats in the legislative council, notably Mr. Stewart, stated openly, in
+contradiction of the assertions of Mr. Howe and his Liberal colleagues,
+that "no change had been made in the constitution of the country, and
+that responsible government in a colony was responsible nonsense, and
+meant independence." It was at last found necessary to give some sort of
+explanation of such extraordinary opinions, to avert a political crisis
+in the assembly. Then, to add to the political embarrassment, there was
+brought before the people the question of abandoning the practice of
+endowing denominational colleges, and of establishing in their place one
+large non-sectarian University. At this time the legislature voted
+annual grants to five sectarian educational institutions of a high
+class. The most important were King's College, belonging to the Anglican
+Church, and Acadia College, supported by the Baptists. The Anglican
+Church was still influential in the councils of the province, and the
+Baptists had now the support of Mr. Johnston, the able attorney-general,
+who had seceded from the Church of England. This able lawyer and
+politician had won the favour of the aristocratic governor, and
+persuaded him to dissolve the assembly, during the absence of Mr. Howe
+in the country, though it had continuously supported the government, and
+the people had given no signs of a want of confidence in the house as
+then constituted. The fact was, Mr. Johnston and his friends in the
+council thought it necessary to lose no time in arousing the feelings of
+the supporters of denominational colleges against Mr. Howe and other
+Liberals, who had commenced to hold meetings throughout the country in
+favour of a non-sectarian University. The two parties came back from
+the electors almost evenly divided, and Mr. Howe had an interview with
+Lord Falkland. He consented to remain in the cabinet until the assembly
+had an opportunity of expressing its opinion on the question at issue,
+when the governor himself precipitated a crisis by appointing to the
+executive and legislative councils Mr. M.B. Almon, a wealthy banker, and
+a brother-in-law of the attorney-general. Mr. Howe and Mr. MacNab at
+once resigned their seats in the government on the ground that Mr.
+Almon's appointment was a violation of the compact by which two Liberals
+had been induced to join the ministry, and was most unjust to the forty
+or fifty gentlemen who, in both branches, had sustained the
+administration for several years. Instead of authorising Mr. Johnston to
+fill the two vacancies and justify the course taken by the governor, the
+latter actually published a letter in a newspaper, in which he boldly
+stated that he was entirely opposed to the formation of a government
+composed of individuals of one political party, that he would steadily
+resist any invasion of the royal prerogatives with respect to
+appointments, and that he had chosen Mr. Almon, not simply on the ground
+that he had not been previously engaged in political life to any extent,
+but chiefly because he wished to show his own confidence in Mr.
+Johnston, Mr. Almon's brother-in-law. Lord Falkland had obviously thrown
+himself into the arms of the astute attorney-general and his political
+friends.
+
+It was now a political war _à outrance_ between Lord Falkland and Mr.
+Howe, from 1842 until the governor left the province in 1846. Lord
+Falkland made strenuous efforts to detach Mr. MacNab, Mr. Uniacke and
+other Liberals from Mr. Howe, and induce them to enter the government,
+but all to no purpose. He now gave up writing letters to the press, and
+attacked his opponents in official communications addressed to the
+colonial office, which supported him, as it did Lord Metcalfe, under
+analogous circumstances. These despatches were laid without delay on
+the tables of the houses, to be used far and wide against the
+recalcitrant Liberals. Mr. Howe had again renewed his connection with
+the press, which he had left on becoming speaker and councillor, and had
+become editor of the _Nova Scotian_, and the _Morning Chronicle_, of
+which Mr. Annand was the proprietor. In these influential organs of the
+Liberal party--papers still in existence--Mr. Howe attacked Lord
+Falkland, both in bitter prose and sarcastic verse. All this while the
+governor and his council contrived to control the assembly, sometimes by
+two or three votes, sometimes by a prorogation when it was necessary to
+dispose summarily of a troublesome question. Public opinion began to set
+in steadily against the government. The controversy between Lord
+Falkland and Mr. Howe reached its climax on the 21st February, 1846,
+when a despatch was brought down to the house, referring to the speaker,
+Mr. William Young, and his brother, George R. Young, as the associates
+of "reckless" and "insolvent" men--the reference being to Mr. Howe and
+his immediate political friends. When the despatch had been read, Mr.
+Howe became greatly excited, and declared amid much disorder that if
+"the infamous system" of libelling respectable colonists in despatches
+sent to the colonial office was continued, "without their having any
+means of redress ... some colonist would by-and-by, or he was much
+mistaken, hire a black fellow to horsewhip a lieutenant-governor."
+
+It was time that this unhappy conflict should end. The imperial
+authorities wisely transferred Lord Falkland to Bombay, where he could
+do no harm, and appointed Sir John Harvey to the government of Nova
+Scotia. Like Lord Elgin in Canada, he was discreetly chosen by the
+Reform ministry, as the sequel showed. He was at first in favour of a
+coalition government like his predecessors, but he wisely dissolved the
+assembly when he found that the leading Liberals positively refused to
+go into an alliance with the members of the executive council, or any
+other set of men, until the people had decided between parties at the
+polls. The result was a victory for the Liberals, and as soon as the
+assembly met a direct motion of want of confidence was carried against
+the government, and for the first time in the history of the country the
+governor called to his council men exclusively belonging to the
+opposition in the popular branch. Mr. Howe was not called upon to form a
+cabinet--his quarrel with Lord Falkland had to be resented somehow--but
+the governor's choice was Mr. James Boyle Uniacke, who gave a prominent
+position in the new government to the great Liberal, to whom responsible
+government owed its final success in this maritime province.
+
+Responsible government was not introduced into Prince Edward Island
+until 1851, when an address on the prosperous state of the island was
+presented to the imperial authorities, who at once consented to concede
+responsible government on the condition that adequate provision was made
+for certain public officers affected by the new order of things. The
+leader of the new government was the Honourable George Coles.
+
+In the history of the past there is much to deplore, the blunders of
+English ministers, the want of judgment on the part of governors, the
+selfishness of "family compacts," the arrogance of office-holders, the
+recklessness of Canadian politicians. But the very trials of the crisis
+through which Canada passed brought out the fact, that if English
+statesmen had mistaken the spirit of the Canadian people, and had not
+always taken the best methods of removing grievances, it was not from
+any studied disposition to do these countries an injustice, but rather
+because they were unable to see until the very last moment that, even in
+a colony, a representative system must be worked in accordance with
+those principles that obtained in England, and that it was impossible to
+direct the internal affairs of dependencies many thousand miles distant
+through a colonial office, generally managed by a few clerks.
+
+Of all the conspicuous figures of these memorable times, which already
+seem so far away from Canadians of the present day, who possess so many
+political rights, there are several who stand out more prominently than
+all others, and represent the distinct types of politicians, who
+influenced the public mind during the first half of the nineteenth
+century, when responsible government was in slow process of evolution
+from the political struggles which arose in the operation of
+representative institutions. Around the figure of Louis Joseph Papineau
+there has always been a sort of glamour which has helped to conceal his
+vanity, his rashness and his want of political sagacity, which would,
+under any circumstances, have prevented his success as a safe statesman,
+capable of guiding a people through a trying ordeal. His eloquence was
+fervid and had much influence over his impulsive countrymen, his
+sincerity was undoubted, and in all likelihood his very indiscretions
+made more palpable the defects of the political system against which he
+so persistently and so often justly declaimed. He lived to see his
+countrymen enjoy power and influence under the very union which they
+resented, and to find himself no longer a leader among men, but isolated
+from a great majority of his own people, and representing a past whose
+methods were antagonistic to the new régime that had grown up since
+1838. It would have been well for his reputation had he remained in
+obscurity on his return from exile in 1847, when he and other rebels of
+1837 were wisely pardoned, and had he never stood again on the floor of
+the parliament of Canada, as he did from 1848 until 1854, since he could
+only prove, in those later times, that he had never understood the true
+working of responsible government. While the Lafontaine-Baldwin ministry
+were in power, he revived an agitation for an elective legislative
+council and declared himself utterly hostile to responsible government;
+but his influence was at an end in the country, and he could make little
+impression on the assembly. The days of reckless agitation had passed,
+and the time for astute and calm statesmanship had come. Lafontaine and
+Morin were now safer political guides for his countrymen. He soon
+disappeared entirely from public view, and in the solitude of his
+picturesque château, amid the groves that overhang the Ottawa River,
+only visited from time to time by a few staunch friends, or by curious
+tourists who found their way to that quiet spot, he passed the remainder
+of his days with a tranquillity in wondrous contrast to the stormy and
+eventful drama of his life. The writer often saw his noble, dignified
+figure--erect even in age--passing unnoticed on the streets of Ottawa,
+when perhaps at the same time there were strangers, walking through the
+lobbies of the parliament house, asking for his portrait.
+
+William Lyon Mackenzie is a far less picturesque figure in Canadian
+history than Papineau, who possessed an eloquence of tongue and a grace
+of demeanour which were not the attributes of the little peppery,
+undignified Scotchman who, for a few years, played so important a part
+in the English-speaking province. With his disinterestedness and
+unselfishness, with his hatred of political injustice and oppression,
+Canadians who remember the history of the constitutional struggles of
+England will always sympathise. Revolt against absolutism and tyranny is
+permissible in the opinion of men who love political freedom, but the
+conditions of Upper Canada were hardly such as justified the rash
+insurrection into which he led his deluded followers, many to misery and
+some to death. Mackenzie lived long enough to regret these sad mistakes
+of a reckless period of his life, and to admit that "the success of the
+rebellion would have deeply injured the people of Canada," whom he
+believed he was then serving, and that it was the interest of the
+Canadian people to strengthen in every way the connection with England.
+Like Papineau, he returned to Canada in 1849 to find himself entirely
+unequal to the new conditions of political life, where a large
+constitutional knowledge, a spirit of moderation and a statesmanlike
+conduct could alone give a man influence in the councils of his country.
+One historian has attempted to elevate Dr. Rolph at his expense, but a
+careful study of the career of those two actors will lead fair-minded
+readers to the conclusion that even the reckless course followed at the
+last by Mackenzie was preferable to the double-dealing of his more
+astute colleague. Dr. Rolph came again into prominence as one of the
+founders of the Clear Grits, who formed in 1849 an extreme branch of the
+Reform party. Dr. Rolph's qualities ensured him success in political
+intrigue, and he soon became a member of the Hincks-Morin government,
+which was formed on the reconstruction of the Lafontaine-Baldwin
+ministry in 1851, when its two moderate leaders were practically pushed
+aside by men more in harmony with the aggressive elements of the Reform
+party. But Mr. Mackenzie could never win such triumphs as were won by
+his wily and more manageable associate of old times. He published a
+newspaper--_The Weekly Message_--replete with the eccentricities of the
+editor, but it was never a financial success, while his career in the
+assembly from 1851 until 1858 only proved him almost a nullity in public
+affairs. Until his death in 1861 his life was a constant fight with
+poverty, although his closing years were somewhat soothed by the gift of
+a homestead. He might have received some public position which would
+have given him comfort and rest, but he would not surrender what he
+called his political freedom to the men in office, who, he believed,
+wished to purchase his silence--the veriest delusion, as his influence
+had practically disappeared with his flight to the United States.
+
+Joseph Howe, unlike the majority of his compeers who struggled for
+popular rights, was a prominent figure in public life until the very
+close of his career in 1873. All his days, even when his spirit was
+sorely tried by the obstinacy and indifference of some English
+ministers, he loved England, for he knew--like the Loyalists, from one
+of whom he sprung--it was in her institutions, after all, his country
+could best find prosperity and happiness. It is an interesting fact
+that, among the many able essays and addresses which the question of
+imperial federation has drawn forth, none can equal his great speech on
+the consolidation of the empire in eloquence, breadth, and fervour. Of
+all the able men Nova Scotia has produced no one has surpassed that
+great tribune of the people in his power to persuade and delight the
+masses by his oratory. Yet, strange to say, his native province has
+never raised a monument to his memory.
+
+One of the most admirable figures in the political history of the
+Dominion was undoubtedly Robert Baldwin. Compared with other popular
+leaders of his generation, he was calm in council, unselfish in motive,
+and moderate in opinion. If there is any significance in the political
+phrase "Liberal-Conservative," it could be applied with justice
+to him. The "great ministry," of which he and Louis Hippolyte
+Lafontaine--afterwards a baronet and chief justice--were the leaders,
+left behind it many monuments of broad statesmanship, and made a deep
+impression on the institutions of the country. In 1851 he resigned from
+the Reform ministry, of which he had been the Upper Canadian leader, in
+consequence of a vote of the Reformers of that province adverse to the
+continuance of the court of chancery, the constitution of which had been
+improved chiefly by himself. When he presented himself as a candidate
+before his old constituency he was defeated by a nominee of the Clear
+Grits, who were then, as always, pressing their opinions with great
+vehemence and hostility to all moderate men. He illustrated the fickle
+character of popular favour, when a man will not surrender his
+principles and descend to the arts of the politician. He lived until
+1858 in retirement, almost forgotten by the people for whom he had
+worked so fearlessly and sincerely.
+
+In New Brunswick the triumph of responsible government must always be
+associated with the name of Lemuel A. Wilmot, the descendant of
+a famous United Empire Loyalist stock, afterwards a judge and a
+lieutenant-governor of his native province. He was in some respects the
+most notable figure, after Joseph Howe and J.W. Johnston, the leaders
+of the Liberal and Conservative parties in Nova Scotia, in that famous
+body of public men who so long brightened the political life of the
+maritime provinces. But neither those two leaders nor their
+distinguished compeers, James Boyle Uniacke, William Young, John
+Hamilton Gray and Charles Fisher, all names familiar to students of Nova
+Scotia and New Brunswick history, surpassed Mr. Wilmot in that magnetic
+eloquence which carries an audience off its feet, in versatility of
+knowledge, in humorous sarcasm, and in conversational gifts, which made
+him a most interesting personality in social life. He impressed his
+strong individuality upon his countrymen until the latest hour of his
+useful career.
+
+In Prince Edward Island, the name most intimately connected with the
+struggle for responsible government is that of George Coles, who,
+despite the absence of educational and social advantages in his youth,
+eventually triumphed over all obstacles, and occupied a most prominent
+position by dint of unconquerable courage and ability to influence the
+opinions of the great mass of people.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--Results of self-government from 1841 to 1864.
+
+The new colonial policy, adopted by the imperial government immediately
+after the presentation of Lord Durham's report, had a remarkable effect
+upon the political and social development of the British North American
+provinces during the quarter of a century that elapsed between the union
+of the Canadas in 1841 and the federal union of 1867. In 1841 Mr.
+Harrison, provincial secretary of the upper province in the coalition
+government formed by Lord Sydenham, brought in a measure which laid the
+foundations of the elaborate system of municipal institutions which the
+Canadian provinces now enjoy. In 1843 Attorney-General Lafontaine
+presented a bill "for better serving the independence of the legislative
+assembly of this province," which became law in 1844 and formed the
+basis of all subsequent legislation in Canada.
+
+The question of the clergy reserves continued for some years after the
+union to perplex politicians and harass governments. At last in 1854 the
+Hincks government was defeated by a combination of factions, and the
+Liberal-Conservative party was formed out of the union of the
+Conservatives and the moderate Reformers. Sir Allan MacNab was the
+leader of this coalition government, but the most influential member was
+Mr. John A. Macdonald, then attorney-general of Upper Canada, whose
+first important act was the settlement of the clergy reserves. Reform
+ministers had for years evaded the question, and it was now left to a
+government, largely composed of men who had been Tories in the early
+part of their political career, to yield to the force of public opinion
+and take it out of the arena of political agitation by means of
+legislation which handed over this property to the municipal
+corporations of the province for secular purposes, and at the same time
+made a small endowment for the protection of the clergy who had legal
+claims on the fund. The same government had also the honour of removing
+the old French seigniorial system, recognised to be incompatible with
+the modern condition of a country of free government, and injurious to
+the agricultural development of the province at large. The question was
+practically settled in 1854, when Mr. Drummond, then attorney-general
+for Lower Canada, brought in a bill providing for the appointment of a
+commission to ascertain the amount of compensation that could be fairly
+asked by the seigniors for the cession of their seigniorial rights. The
+seigniors, from first to last, received about a million of dollars, and
+it also became necessary to revise those old French laws which affected
+the land tenure of Lower Canada. Accordingly in 1856 Mr. George Cartier,
+attorney-general for Lower Canada in the Taché-Macdonald ministry,
+introduced the legislation necessary for the codification of the civil
+law. In 1857 Mr. Spence, post-master-general in the same ministry,
+brought in a measure to organise the civil service, on whose character
+and ability so much depends in the working of parliamentary
+institutions. From that day to this the Canadian government has
+practically recognised the British principle of retaining public
+officers without reference to a change of political administration.
+
+Soon after the union the legislating obtained full control of the civil
+list and the post-office. The last tariff framed by the imperial
+parliament for British North America was mentioned in the speech at the
+opening of the Canadian legislature in 1842. In 1846 the British
+colonies in America were authorised by an imperial statute to reduce or
+repeal by their own legislation duties imposed by imperial acts upon
+foreign goods imported from foreign countries into the colonies in
+question. Canada soon availed herself of this privilege, which was
+granted to her as the logical sequence of the free-trade policy of Great
+Britain, and, from that time to the present, she has been enabled to
+legislate very freely with regard to her own commercial interests. In
+1849 the imperial parliament repealed the navigation laws, and allowed
+the river St. Lawrence to be used by vessels of all nations. With the
+repeal of laws, the continuance of which had seriously crippled Canadian
+trade after the adoption of free trade by England, the provinces
+gradually entered on a new career of industrial enterprise.
+
+No part of the constitution of 1840 gave greater offence to the French
+Canadian population than the clause restricting the use of the French
+language in the legislature. It was considered as a part of the policy,
+foreshadowed in Lord Durham's report, to denationalise, if possible, the
+French Canadian province. The repeal of the clause, in 1848, was one
+evidence of the harmonious operation of the union, and of a better
+feeling between the two sections of the population. Still later,
+provision was made for the gradual establishment of an elective
+legislative council, so long and earnestly demanded by the old
+legislature of Lower Canada.
+
+The members of the Lafontaine-Baldwin government became the legislative
+executors of a troublesome legacy left to them by a Conservative
+ministry. In 1839 acts had been passed by the special council of Lower
+Canada and the legislature of Upper Canada to compensate the loyal
+inhabitants of those provinces for the loss they had sustained during
+the rebellions. In the first session of the union parliament the Upper
+Canadian act was amended, and money voted to reimburse all persons in
+Upper Canada whose property had been unnecessarily, or wantonly,
+destroyed by persons acting, or pretending to act, on behalf of the
+crown. An agitation then commenced for the application of the same
+principle to Lower Canada, and in 1845 commissioners were appointed by
+the Draper administration to inquire into the nature and value of the
+losses suffered by her Majesty's loyal subjects in Lower Canada. When
+their report was presented in favour of certain claims the Draper
+ministry brought in some legislation on the subject, but went out of
+office before any action could be taken thereon. The Lafontaine-Baldwin
+government then determined to set the question at rest, and introduced
+legislation for the issue of debentures to the amount of $400,000 for
+the payment of losses sustained by persons who had not been convicted
+of, or charged with, high treason or other offences of a treasonable
+nature, or had been committed to the custody of the sheriff in the gaol
+of Montreal and subsequently transported to the island of Bermuda.
+Although the principle of this measure was fully justified by the action
+of the Tory Draper government, extreme Loyalists and even some Reformers
+of Upper Canada declaimed against it in the most violent terms, and a
+few persons even declared that they would prefer annexation to the
+United States to the payment of the rebels. The bill, however, passed
+the legislature by a large majority, and received the crown's assent
+through Lord Elgin on the 25th April, 1849. A large crowd immediately
+assembled around the parliament house--formerly the St. Anne Market
+House--and insulted the governor-general by opprobrious epithets, and by
+throwing missiles at him as he drove away to Monklands, his residence in
+the country. The government and members of the legislature appear to
+have been unconscious of the danger to which they were exposed until a
+great crowd rushed into the building, which was immediately destroyed by
+fire with its fine collection of books and archives. A few days later,
+when the assembly, then temporarily housed in the hall of Bonsecours
+Market, attempted to present an address to Lord Elgin, he was in
+imminent danger of his life while on his way to the government
+house--then the old Château de Ramesay in Nôtre-Dame Street--and the
+consequences might have been most serious had he not evaded the mob on
+his return to Monklands. This disgraceful affair was a remarkable
+illustration not simply of the violence of faction, but largely of the
+discontent then so prevalent in Montreal and other industrial centres,
+on account of the commercial policy of Great Britain, which seriously
+crippled colonial trade and was the main cause of the creation of a
+small party which actually advocated for a short time annexation to the
+United States as preferable to the existing state of things. The result
+was the removal of the seat of government from Montreal, and the
+establishment of a nomadic system of government by which the legislature
+met alternately at Toronto and Quebec every five years until Ottawa was
+chosen by the Queen as a permanent political capital. Lord Elgin felt
+his position keenly, and offered his resignation to the imperial
+government, but they refused to entertain it, and his course as a
+constitutional governor under such trying circumstances was approved by
+parliament.
+
+The material condition of the provinces--especially of Upper Canada,
+which now became the first in population and wealth--kept pace with the
+rapid progress of the people in self-government. The population of the
+five provinces had increased from about 1,500,000, in 1841, to about
+3,200,000 when the census was taken in 1861 The greatest increase had
+been in the province of Upper Canada, chiefly in consequence of the
+large immigration which flowed into the country from Ireland, where the
+potato rot had caused wide-spread destitution and misery. The population
+of this province had now reached 1,396,091, or nearly 300,000 more than
+the population of Lower Canada--an increase which, as I shall show in
+the next chapter, had important effects on the political conditions of
+the two provinces. The eastern or maritime provinces received but a
+small part of the yearly immigration from Europe, and even that was
+balanced by an exodus to the United States. Montreal had a population of
+100,000, or double that of Quebec, and was now recognised as the
+commercial capital of British North America. Toronto had reached 60,000,
+and was making more steady progress in population and wealth than any
+other city, except Montreal. Towns and villages were springing up with
+great rapidity in the midst of the enterprising farming population of
+the western province. In Lower Canada the townships showed the energy of
+a British people, but the _habitants_ pursued the even tenor of ways
+which did not include enterprise and improved methods of agriculture.
+
+The value of the total exports and imports of the provinces reached
+$150,000,000 by 1864, or an increase of $100,000,000 in a quarter of a
+century. The great bulk of the import trade was with Great Britain and
+the United States, but the value of the exports to the United States was
+largely in excess of the goods purchased by Great Britain--especially
+after 1854, when Lord Elgin arranged a reciprocity treaty with the
+United States. Lord Elgin represented Great Britain in the negotiations
+at Washington, and the Congress of the United States and the several
+legislatures of the Canadian provinces passed the legislation necessary
+to give effect to the treaty. Its most important provisions established
+free trade between British North America and the United States in
+products of the forest, mine, and sea, conceded the navigation of the
+St. Lawrence to the Americans, and the use of the canals of Canada on
+the same terms as were imposed upon British subjects, gave Canadians the
+right to navigate Lake Michigan, and allowed the fishermen of the United
+States to fish on the sea-coasts of the British provinces without
+regard to distance from the shore, in return for a similar but
+relatively worthless privilege on the eastern shores of the republic,
+north of the 30th parallel of north latitude. During the thirteen years
+the treaty lasted the trade between the two countries rose from over
+thirty-three million dollars in 1854 to over eighty million dollars in
+1866, when it was repealed by the action of the United States government
+itself, for reasons which I shall explain in a later chapter.
+
+The navigation of the St. Lawrence was now made continuous and secure by
+the enlargement of the Welland and Lachine canals, and the construction
+of the Cornwall, Williamsburgh, and Beauharnois canals. Railways
+received their great stimulus during the government of Sir Francis
+Hincks, who largely increased the debt of Canada by guaranteeing in 1852
+the bonds of the Grand Trunk Railway--a noble, national work, now
+extending from Quebec to Lake Michigan, with branches in every
+direction, but whose early history was marred by jobbery and
+mismanagement, which not only ruined or crippled many of the original
+shareholders, but cost Canada eventually twenty-three million dollars.
+In 1864 there were two thousand miles of railway working in British
+North America, of which the Grand Trunk Railway owned at least one-half.
+The railways in the maritime provinces were very insignificant, and all
+attempts to obtain the co-operation of the imperial and Canadian
+governments for the construction of an Intercolonial Railway through
+British American territory failed, despite the energetic efforts of Mr.
+Howe to bring it about.
+
+After the union of the Canadas in 1841, a steady movement for the
+improvement of the elementary, public, or common schools continued for
+years, and the services of the Reverend Egerton Ryerson were engaged as
+chief superintendent of education with signal advantage to the country.
+In 1850, when the Lafontaine-Baldwin government was in office, the
+results of the superintendent's studies of the systems of other
+countries were embodied in a bill based on the principle of local
+assessment, aided by legislative grants, for the carrying on of the
+public schools. This measure is the basis of the present admirable
+school system of Upper Canada, and to a large extent of that of the
+other English-speaking provinces. In Lower Canada the history of public
+schools must be always associated with the names of Dr. Meilleur and the
+Honourable Mr. Chauveau; but the system has never been as effective as
+in the upper province. In both provinces, separate or dissentient
+schools were eventually established for the benefit of the Roman
+Catholics in Upper or Protestant Canada, and of the Protestants in Lower
+or Catholic Canada. In the maritime provinces satisfactory progress was
+also made in the development of a sound school system. In Nova Scotia
+Dr. Tupper, when provincial secretary (1863-1867), laid the foundations
+of the excellent schools that the province now enjoys.
+
+During this period the newspaper press increased remarkably in influence
+and circulation. The most important newspaper in the Dominion, the
+_Globe_, was established at Toronto in 1844 by Mr. George Brown, a
+Scotchman by birth, who became a power from that time among the Liberal
+politicians of Canada. No notable books were produced in the
+English-speaking provinces except "Acadian Geology," a work by Dr.
+Dawson, who became in 1855 principal of McGill University, and was, in
+later years, knighted by the Queen; but the polished verses of Crémazie
+and the lucid histories of Canada by Ferland and Garneau already showed
+that French Canada had both a history and a literature.
+
+Towards the close of this memorable period of Canadian development, the
+Prince of Wales, heir-apparent to the throne, visited the British
+American provinces, where the people gave full expression to their loyal
+feelings. This was the third occasion on which these communities had
+been favoured by the presence of members of the royal family. Prince
+William Henry, afterward William IV, visited Nova Scotia during the
+years 1786-1788, in command of a frigate. From 1791 until 1797 Prince
+Edward, Duke of Kent, father of the present sovereign, was in command of
+the imperial forces, first at Quebec, and later at Halifax. The year
+1860 was an opportune time for a royal visit to provinces where the
+people were in the full enjoyment of the results of the liberal system
+of self-government extended to them at the commencement of the Queen's
+reign by the mother-country.
+
+A quarter of a century had passed after the union of the Canadas when
+the necessities of the provinces of British North America forced them to
+a momentous constitutional change, which gave a greater scope to the
+statesmanship of their public men, and opened up a wider sphere of
+effort to capital and enterprise. In the following chapter I shall show
+the nature of the conditions which brought about this union.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE EVOLUTION OF CONFEDERATION (1789--1864).
+
+
+SECTION 1--The beginnings of confederation.
+
+The idea of a union of the provinces of British North America had been
+under discussion for half a century before it reached the domain of
+practical statesmanship. The eminent Loyalist, Chief Justice Smith of
+Quebec, so early as 1789, in a letter to Lord Dorchester, gave an
+outline of a scheme for uniting all the provinces of British North
+America "under one general direction." A quarter of a century later
+Chief Justice Sewell of Quebec, also a Loyalist, addressed a letter to
+the father of the present Queen, the Duke of Kent, in which he urged a
+federal union of the isolated provinces. Lord Durham was also of opinion
+in 1839 that a legislative union of all the provinces "would at once
+decisively settle the question of races," but he did not find it
+possible to carry it out at that critical time in the history of the
+Canadas.
+
+Some ten years later, at a meeting of prominent public men in Toronto,
+known as the British American League, the project of a federal union was
+submitted to the favourable consideration of the provinces. In 1854 the
+subject was formally brought before the legislature of Nova Scotia by
+the Honourable James William Johnston, the able leader of the
+Conservative party, and found its most eloquent exposition in the speech
+of the Honourable Joseph Howe, one of the fathers of responsible
+government. The result of the discussion was the unanimous adoption of a
+resolution--the first formally adopted by any provincial
+legislature--setting forth that "the union or confederation of the
+British provinces, while calculated to perpetuate their connection with
+the parent state, will promote their advancement and prosperity,
+increase their strength, and influence and elevate their position." Mr.
+Howe, on that occasion, expressed himself in favour of a federation of
+the empire, of which he was always an earnest advocate until his death.
+
+In the legislature of Canada Mr., afterwards Sir, Alexander Tilloch Galt
+was an able exponent of union, and when he became a member of the
+Cartier-Macdonald government in 1858 the question was made a part of the
+ministerial policy, and received special mention in the speech of Sir
+Edmund Head, the governor-general, at the end of the session. The matter
+was brought to the attention of the imperial government on more than one
+occasion during these years by delegates from Canada and Nova Scotia,
+but no definite conclusion could be reached in view of the fact that the
+question had not been taken up generally in the provinces.
+
+The political condition of the Canadas brought about a union much sooner
+than was anticipated by its most sanguine promoters. In a despatch
+written to the colonial minister by the Canadian delegates,--members of
+the Cartier-Macdonald ministry--who visited England in 1858 and laid the
+question of union before the government, they represented that "very
+grave difficulties now present themselves in conducting the government
+of Canada"; that "the progress of population has been more rapid in the
+western province, and claims are now made on behalf of its inhabitants
+for giving them representation in the legislature in proportion to their
+numbers"; that "the result is shown by agitation fraught with great
+danger to the peaceful and harmonious working of our constitutional
+system, and, consequently, detrimental to the progress of the province"
+that "this state of things is yearly becoming worse"; and that "the
+Canadian government are impressed with the necessity for seeking such a
+mode of dealing with these difficulties as may for ever remove them." In
+addition to this expression of opinion on the part of the
+representatives of the Conservative government of 1858, the Reformers of
+Upper Canada held a large and influential convention at Toronto in
+1859, and adopted a resolution in which it was emphatically set forth,
+"that the best practicable remedy for the evils now encountered in the
+government of Canada is to be found in the formation of two or more
+local governments to which shall be committed the control of all matters
+of a local and sectional character, and some general authority charged
+with such matters as are necessarily common to both sections of the
+provinces"--language almost identical with that used by the Quebec
+convention six years later in one of its resolutions with respect to the
+larger scheme of federation. Mr. George Brown brought this scheme before
+the assembly in 1860, but it was rejected by a large majority. At this
+time constitutional and political difficulties of a serious nature had
+arisen between the French and English speaking sections of the united
+Canadian provinces. A large and influential party in Upper Canada had
+become deeply dissatisfied with the conditions of the union of 1840,
+which maintained equality of representation to the two provinces when
+statistics clearly showed that the western section exceeded French
+Canada both in population and wealth.
+
+A demand was persistently and even fiercely made at times for such a
+readjustment of the representation in the assembly as would do full
+justice to the more populous and richer province. The French Canadian
+leaders resented this demand as an attempt to violate the terms on which
+they were brought into the union, and as calculated, and indeed
+intended, to place them in a position of inferiority to the people of a
+province where such fierce and unjust attacks were systematically made
+on their language, religion, and institutions generally. With much
+justice they pressed the fact that at the commencement of, and for some
+years subsequent to, the union, the French Canadians were numerically in
+the majority, and yet had no larger representation in the assembly than
+the inhabitants of the upper province, then inferior in population. Mr.
+George Brown, who had under his control a powerful newspaper, the
+_Globe_, of Toronto, was remarkable for his power of invective and his
+tenacity of purpose, and he made persistent and violent attacks upon the
+conditions of the union, and upon the French and English Conservatives,
+who were not willing to violate a solemn contract.
+
+The difficulties between the Canadian provinces at last became so
+intensified by the public opinion created by Mr. Brown in Upper Canada
+in favour of representation by population, that good and stable
+government was no longer possible on account of the close division of
+parties in the legislature. Appeals were made frequently to the people,
+and new ministries formed,--in fact, five within two years--but the
+sectional difficulties had obviously reached a point where it was not
+possible to carry on successfully the administration of public affairs.
+On the 14th June, 1864, a committee of the legislative assembly of
+Canada, of whom Mr. Brown was chairman, reported that "a strong feeling
+was found to exist among the members of the committee in favour of
+changes in the direction of a federal system, applied either to Canada
+alone or to the whole of the British North American provinces." On the
+day when this report was presented, the Conservative government, known
+as the Taché-Macdonald ministry, suffered the fate of many previous
+governments for years, and it became necessary either to appeal at once
+to the people, or find some other practical solution of the political
+difficulties which prevented the formation of a stable government. Then
+it was that Mr. Brown rose above the level of mere party selfishness,
+and assumed the attitude of a statesman, animated by patriotic and noble
+impulses which must help us to forget the spirit of sectionalism and
+illiberality which so often animated him in his career of heated
+partisanship. Negotiations took place between Mr. John A. Macdonald, Mr.
+Brown, Mr. Cartier, Mr. Galt, Mr. Morris, Mr. McDougall, Mr. Mowat, and
+other prominent members of the Conservative and Reform parties, with the
+result that a coalition government was formed on the distinct
+understanding that it would "bring in a measure next session for the
+purpose of removing existing difficulties by introducing the federal
+principle into Canada, coupled with such provisions as will permit the
+maritime provinces and the north-west territories to be incorporated
+into the same system of government." The Reformers who entered the
+government with Macdonald and Cartier on this fundamental condition were
+Mr. Brown, Mr. Oliver Mowat, and Mr. William McDougall, who stood
+deservedly high in public estimation.
+
+While these events were happening in the Canadas, the maritime provinces
+were taking steps in the direction of their own union. In 1861 Mr. Howe,
+the leader of a Liberal government in Nova Scotia, carried a resolution
+in favour of such a scheme. Three years later the Conservative ministry
+of which Dr., now Sir, Charles Tupper, was premier, took measures in the
+legislature of Nova Scotia to carry out the proposition of his
+predecessor; and a conference was arranged at Charlottetown between
+delegates from the three provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and
+Prince Edward Island By a happy forethought the government of Canada,
+immediately on hearing of this important conference, decided to send a
+delegation, composed of Messrs J.A. Macdonald, Brown, Cartier, Galt,
+McGee, Langevin, McDougall, and Campbell. The result of the conference
+was favourable to the consideration of the larger question of the union
+of all the provinces; and it was decided to hold a further conference at
+Quebec in October for the purpose of discussing the question as fully as
+its great importance demanded.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--The Quebec convention of 1864.
+
+Thirty-three delegates met in the parliament house of this historic
+city. They were all men of large experience in the work of
+administration or legislation in their respective provinces. Not a few
+of them were noted lawyers who had thoroughly studied the systems of
+government in other countries. Some were gifted with rare eloquence and
+power of argument. At no time, before or since, has the city of Quebec
+been visited by an assemblage of notables with so many high
+qualifications for the foundation of a nation. Descendants of the
+pioneers of French Canada, English Canadians sprung from the Loyalists
+of the eighteenth century, eloquent Irishmen and astute Scotchmen, all,
+thoroughly conversant with Canadian interests, met in a convention
+summoned to discharge the greatest responsibilities ever entrusted to
+any body of men in Canada.
+
+The chairman was Sir Etienne Paschal Taché, who had proved in his youth
+his fidelity to England on the famous battlefield of Chateauguay, and
+had won the respect of all classes and parties by the display of many
+admirable qualities. Like the majority of his compatriots he had learned
+to believe thoroughly in the government and institutions of Great
+Britain, and never lost an opportunity of recognising the benefits which
+his race derived from British connection. He it was who gave utterance
+to the oft-quoted words: "That the last gun that would be fired for
+British supremacy in America would be fired by a French Canadian." He
+lived to move the resolutions of the Quebec convention in the
+legislative council of Canada, but he died a few months before the union
+was formally established in 1867, and never had an opportunity of
+experiencing the positive advantages which his race, of whose interests
+he was always an earnest exponent, derived from a condition of things
+which gave additional guarantees for the preservation of their special
+institutions. But there were in the convention other men of much greater
+political force, more deeply versed in constitutional knowledge, more
+capable of framing a plan of union than the esteemed and discreet
+president. Most prominent among these was Mr., afterwards Sir, John A.
+Macdonald, who had been for years one of the most conspicuous figures in
+Canadian politics, and had been able to win to a remarkable degree the
+confidence not only or the great majority of the French Canadians but
+also of a powerful minority in the western province where his able
+antagonist, Mr. Brown, until 1864 held the vantage ground by his
+persistency in urging its claims to greater weight in the administration
+of public affairs. Mr. Macdonald had a great knowledge of men and did
+not hesitate to avail himself of their weaknesses in order to strengthen
+his political power. His greatest faults were those of a politician
+anxious for the success of his party. His strength lay largely in his
+ability to understand the working of British institutions, and in his
+recognition of the necessity of carrying on the government in a country
+of diverse nationalities, on principles of justice and compromise. He
+had a happy faculty of adapting himself to the decided current of public
+opinion even at the risk of leaving himself open to a charge of
+inconsistency, and he was just as ready to adopt the measures of his
+opponents as he was willing to enter their ranks and steal away some
+prominent men whose support he thought necessary to his political
+success.
+
+So early as 1861 he had emphatically expressed himself on the floor of
+the assembly in favour of the main principles of just such a federal
+union as was initiated at Quebec. The moment he found that the question
+of union was likely to be something more than a mere subject for
+academic discussion or eloquent expression in legislative halls, he
+recognised immediately the great advantages it offered, not only for the
+solution of the difficulties of his own party, but also for the
+consolidation of British American as well as imperial interests on the
+continent of North America From the hour when he became convinced of
+this fact he devoted his consummate ability not merely as a party
+leader, but as a statesman of broad national views, to the perfection of
+a measure which promised so much for the welfare and security of the
+British provinces. It was his good fortune, after the establishment of
+the federation, to be the first premier of the new Dominion and to mould
+its destinies with a firm and capable hand. He saw it extended to the
+Pacific shores long before he died, amid the regrets of all classes and
+creeds and races of a country he loved and in whose future he had the
+most perfect confidence.
+
+The name of the Right Honourable Sir John Macdonald, to give him the
+titles he afterwards received from the crown, naturally brings up that
+of Mr., afterwards Sir, George Etienne Cartier, who was his faithful
+colleague and ally for many years in the legislature of old Canada, and
+for a short time after the completion of the federal union, until his
+death. This able French Canadian had taken an insignificant part in the
+unfortunate rising of 1837, but like many other men of his nationality
+he recognised the mistakes of his impetuous youth, and, unlike Papineau
+after the union of 1840, endeavoured to work out earnestly and honestly
+the principles of responsible government. While a true friend of his
+race, he was generous and fair in his relations with other
+nationalities, and understood the necessity of compromise and
+conciliation in a country of diverse races, needs, and interests. Sir
+John Macdonald appreciated at their full value his statesmanlike
+qualities, and succeeded in winning his sympathetic and faithful
+co-operation during the many years they acted together in opposition to
+the war of nationalities which would have been the eventual consequence
+of Mr. Brown's determined agitation if it had been carried to its
+logical and natural conclusion--conclusion happily averted by the wise
+stand taken by Mr. Brown himself with respect to the settlement of
+provincial troubles. In the settlement of the terms of union, we can see
+not only the master hand of Sir John Macdonald in the British framework
+of the system, but also the successful effort of Sir George Cartier to
+preserve intact the peculiar institutions of his native province.
+
+All those who have studied Mr. Brown's career know something of his
+independent and uncompromising character; but for some time after he
+entered the coalition government his speeches in favour of federation
+assumed a dignified style and a breadth of view which stand out in great
+contrast with his bitter arguments as leader of the Clear Grits. In the
+framing of the Quebec resolutions his part was chiefly in arranging the
+financial terms with a regard to the interests of his own province.
+
+Another influential member of the Canadian delegation was Mr.,
+afterwards Sir, Alexander Galt, the son of the creator of that original
+character in fiction, Laurie Todd, who had been a resident for many
+years in Western Canada, where a pretty city perpetuates his name. His
+able son had been for a long time a prominent figure in Canadian
+politics, and was distinguished for his intelligent advocacy of railway
+construction and political union as measures essential to the material
+and political development of the provinces. His earnest and eloquent
+exposition of the necessity of union had no doubt much to do with
+creating a wide-spread public sentiment in its favour, and with
+preparing the way for the formation of the coalition government of 1864,
+on the basis of such a political measure. His knowledge of financial and
+commercial questions was found to be invaluable in the settlement of the
+financial basis of the union, while his recognised position as a
+representative of the Protestant English-speaking people in French
+Canada gave him much weight when it was a question of securing their
+rights and interests in the Quebec resolutions.
+
+The other members of the Canadian delegation were men of varied
+accomplishments, some of whom played an important part in the working
+out of the federal system, the foundations of which they laid. There was
+a brilliant Irishman, Thomas D'Arcy McGee, poet, historian and orator,
+who had been in his rash youth obliged to fly from Ireland to the United
+States on account of his connection with the rebellious party known as
+Young Ireland during the troubles of 1848. When he removed from the
+United States in 1857 he advocated with much force a union of the
+provinces in the _New Era_, of which he was editor during its short
+existence. He was elected to parliament in 1858, and became a notable
+figure in Canadian politics on account of his eloquence and _bonhomie_.
+His most elaborate addresses had never the easy flow of Joseph Howe's
+speeches, but were laboured essays, showing too obviously the results of
+careful compilation in libraries, while brightened by touches of natural
+humour. He had been president of the council in the Sandfield Macdonald
+government of 1862--a moderate Reform ministry--but later he joined the
+Liberal-Conservative party as less sectional in its aspirations and more
+generous in its general policy than the one led by Mr. Brown. Mr. McGee
+was during his residence in Canada a firm friend of the British
+connection, having observed the beneficent character of British rule in
+his new Canadian home, with whose interests he so thoroughly identified
+himself.
+
+Mr. William McDougall, the descendant of a Loyalist, had been long
+connected with the advocacy of Reform principles in the press and on the
+floor of parliament, and was distinguished for his clear, incisive style
+of debating. He had been for years a firm believer in the advantages of
+union, which he had been the first to urge at the Reform convention of
+1859. Mr., afterwards Sir, Alexander Campbell, who had been for some
+years a legal partner of Sir John Macdonald, was gifted with a
+remarkably clear intellect, great common sense, and business capacity,
+which he displayed later as leader of the senate and as minister of the
+crown. Mr., afterwards Sir, Oliver Mowat, who had been a student of law
+in Sir John Macdonald's office at Kingston, brought to the discharge of
+the important positions he held in later times as minister,
+vice-chancellor, and premier of the province of Ontario, great legal
+learning, and admirable judgment. Mr., now Sir, Hector Langevin was
+considered a man of promise, likely to exercise in the future much
+influence among his countrymen. For some years after the establishment
+of the new Dominion he occupied important positions in the government of
+the country, and led the French Conservative party after the death of
+Sir George Cartier. Mr. James Cockburn was an excellent lawyer, who
+three years later was chosen speaker of the first house of commons of
+the federal parliament--a position which his sound judgment, knowledge
+of parliamentary law, and dignity of manner enabled him to discharge
+with signal ability. Mr. J.C. Chapais was a man of sound judgment, which
+made him equal to the administrative duties entrusted to him from time
+to time.
+
+Of the five men sent by Nova Scotia, the two ablest were Dr., now Sir,
+Charles Tupper, who was first minister of the Conservative government,
+and Mr., later Sir, Adams G. Archibald, who was leader of the Liberal
+opposition in the assembly. The former was then as now distinguished for
+his great power as a debater and for the forcible expression of his
+opinions on the public questions on which he had made up his mind. When
+he had a great end in view he followed it with a tenacity of purpose
+that generally gave him success. Ever since he entered public life as an
+opponent of Mr. Howe, he has been a dominant force in the politics of
+Nova Scotia. While Conservative in name he entertained broad Liberal
+views which found expression in the improvement of the school system, at
+a very low ebb when he came into office, and in the readiness and energy
+with which he identified himself with the cause of the union of the
+provinces. Mr. Archibald was noted for his dignified demeanour, sound
+legal attainments, and clear plausible style of oratory, well calculated
+to instruct a learned audience. Mr. William A. Henry was a lawyer of
+considerable ability, who was at a later time elevated to the bench of
+the supreme court of Canada. Mr. Jonathan J. McCully, afterwards a judge
+in Nova Scotia, had never sat in the assembly, but he exercised
+influence in the legislative council on the Liberal side and was an
+editorial writer of no mean ability. Mr. Dickey was a leader of the
+Conservatives in the upper house and distinguished for his general
+culture and legal knowledge.
+
+New Brunswick sent seven delegates, drawn from the government and
+opposition. The Loyalists who founded this province were represented by
+four of the most prominent members of the delegation, Tilley, Chandler,
+Gray, and Fisher. Mr., afterwards Sir, Samuel Leonard Tilley had been
+long engaged in public life and possessed admirable ability as an
+administrator. He had for years taken a deep interest in questions of
+intercolonial trade, railway intercourse and political union. He was a
+Reformer of pronounced opinions, most earnest in the advocacy of
+temperance, possessed of great tact and respected for his high character
+in all the relations of life. In later times he became finance minister
+of the Dominion and lieutenant-governor of his native province.
+
+Mr. John Hamilton Gray, later a judge in British Columbia, was one of
+the most eloquent and accomplished men in the convention, and brought to
+the consideration of legal and constitutional questions much knowledge
+and experience. Mr. Fisher, afterwards a judge in his province, was also
+a well equipped lawyer and speaker who displayed a cultured mind. Like
+all the delegates from New Brunswick he was animated by a great love for
+British connection and institutions. Mr. Peter Mitchell was a Liberal,
+conspicuous for the energy he brought to the administration of public
+affairs, both in his own province and at a later time in the new
+Dominion as a minister of the crown. Mr. Edward Barron Chandler had long
+been a notable figure in the politics of New Brunswick, and was
+universally respected for his probity and worth. He had the honour of
+being at a later time the lieutenant-governor of the province with which
+he had been so long and honourably associated. Mr. John Johnson and Mr.
+William H. Steeves were also fully qualified to deal intelligently with
+the questions submitted to the convention.
+
+Of the seven members of the Prince Edward Island delegation, four were
+members of the government and the rest were prominent men in one or
+other branch of the legislature. Colonel Gray--a descendant of a
+Virginia Loyalist--was prime minister of the island. Mr. George Coles
+was one of the fathers of responsible government in the island, and long
+associated with the advocacy and passage of many progressive measures,
+including the improvement of the educational system. Mr. Edward Whelan
+was a journalist, an Irishman by birth, and endowed, like so many of his
+countrymen, with a natural gift of eloquence. Mr. Thomas Heath Haviland,
+afterwards lieutenant-governor of the island, was a man of culture, and
+Mr. Edward Palmer was a lawyer of good reputation. Mr. William H. Pope
+and Mr. Andrew Archibald Macdonald were also thoroughly capable of
+watching over the special interests of the island.
+
+Newfoundland had the advantage of being represented by Mr. Frederick
+B.T. Carter, then speaker of the house of assembly, and by Mr. Ambrose
+Shea, also a distinguished politician of the great island. Both were
+knighted at later times; the former became chief justice of his own
+province, and the latter governor of the Bahamas.
+
+
+SECTION 3.--Confederation accomplished.
+
+The Quebec convention sat with closed doors for eighteen days, and
+agreed to seventy-two resolutions, which form the basis of the Act of
+Union, subsequently passed by the imperial parliament. These resolutions
+set forth at the outset that in a federation of the British American
+provinces "the system of government best adapted under existing
+circumstances to protect the diversified interests of the several
+provinces, and secure harmony and permanency in the working of the
+union, would be a general government charged with matters of common
+interest to the whole country, and local governments for each of the
+Canadas, and for the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince
+Edward Island, charged with the control of local matters in their
+respective sections" In another paragraph the resolutions declared that
+"in forming a constitution for a general government, the conference,
+with a view to the perpetuation of our connection with the
+mother-country, and the promotion of the best interests of the people of
+these provinces, desire to follow the model of the British constitution
+so far as our circumstances permit" In a subsequent paragraph it was set
+forth: "the executive authority or government shall be vested in the
+sovereign of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and be
+administered according to the well-understood principles of the British
+constitution, by a sovereign personally, or by the representative of the
+sovereign duly authorised."
+
+In these three paragraphs of the Quebec resolutions we see clearly
+expressed the leading principles on which the Canadian federation
+rests--a federation, with a central government having jurisdiction over
+matters of common interest to the whole country comprised in the union,
+and a number of provincial governments having the control and management
+of certain local matters naturally and conveniently belonging to them,
+each government being administered in accordance with the
+well-understood principles of the British system of parliamentary
+institutions.
+
+The resolutions also defined in express terms the respective powers of
+the central and provincial governments. Any subject that did not fall
+within the enumerated powers of the provincial legislatures was placed
+under the control of the general parliament. The convention recognised
+the necessity of preventing, as far as possible, the difficulties that
+had arisen in the working of the constitution of the United States,
+where the residuary power of legislation is given to the people of the
+respective states and not to the federal government. In a subsequent
+chapter I give a brief summary of these and other details of the system
+of government, generally laid down in the Quebec resolutions and
+practically embodied in an imperial statute three years later.
+
+Although we have no official report of the discussions of the Quebec
+convention, we know on good authority that the question of providing
+revenues for the provinces was one that gave the delegates the greatest
+difficulty. In all the provinces the sources of revenue were chiefly
+customs and excise-duties which had to be set apart for the general
+government of the federation. Some of the delegates from Ontario, where
+there had existed for many years an admirable system of municipal
+government, which provided funds for education and local improvements,
+recognised the advantages of direct taxation; but the representatives of
+the other provinces would not consent to such a system, especially in
+the case of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, where
+there were no municipal institutions, and the people depended almost
+exclusively on the annual votes of the legislature for the means to meet
+their local necessities. All of the delegates, in fact, felt that to
+force the maritime provinces to resort to direct taxes as the only
+method of carrying on their government, would be probably fatal to the
+success of the scheme, and it was finally decided that the central
+government should grant annual subsidies, based on population, relative
+debts, financial position, and such other facts as should be fairly
+brought into the consideration of the case.
+
+It is unfortunate that we have no full report of the deliberations and
+debates of this great conference. We have only a fragmentary record from
+which it is difficult to form any adequate conclusions as to the part
+taken by the several delegates in the numerous questions which
+necessarily came under their purview.[4] Under these circumstances, a
+careful writer hesitates to form any positive opinion based upon these
+reports of the discussions, but no one can doubt that the directing
+spirit of the conference was Sir John Macdonald. Meagre as is the record
+of what he said, we can yet see that his words were those of a man who
+rose above the level of the mere politician, and grasped the magnitude
+of the questions involved. What he aimed at especially was to follow as
+closely as possible the fundamental principles of English parliamentary
+government, and to engraft them upon the general system of federal
+union. Mr. George Brown took a prominent part in the deliberations. His
+opinions read curiously now. He was in favour of having the
+lieutenant-governors appointed by the general government, and he was
+willing to give them an effective veto over provincial legislation. He
+advocated the election of a legislative chamber on a fixed day every
+third year, not subject to a dissolution during its term--also an
+adaptation of the American system. He went so far as to urge the
+advisability of having the executive council elected for three years--by
+the assembly, we may assume, though the imperfect report before us does
+not state so--and also of giving the lieutenant-governor the right of
+dismissing any of its members when the house was not sitting. Mr. Brown
+consequently appears to have been the advocate, so far as the provinces
+were concerned, of principles that prevail in the federal republic
+across the border. He opposed the introduction of responsible
+government, as it now obtains, in all the provinces of the Dominion,
+while conceding its necessity for the central government.
+
+
+[4: Mr. Joseph Pope, for years the able confidential secretary of Sir
+John Macdonald, has edited and published all the official documents
+bearing on the origin and evolution of the British North America Act of
+1867; but despite all the ability and fidelity he has devoted to the
+task the result is most imperfect and unsatisfactory on account of the
+absence of any full or exact original report of proceedings.]
+
+We gather from the report of discussions that the Prince Edward Island
+delegates hesitated from the beginning to enter a union where their
+province would necessarily have so small a numerical representation--one
+of the main objections which subsequently operated against the island
+coming into the confederation. With respect to education we see that it
+was Mr., afterwards Sir, Alexander Galt, who was responsible for the
+provision in the constitution which gives the general government and
+parliament a certain control over provincial legislation in case the
+rights of a Protestant or a Roman Catholic minority are prejudicially
+affected. The minutes on this point are defective, but we have the
+original motion on the subject, and a note of Sir John Macdonald himself
+that it was passed, with the assent of all the provinces, at the
+subsequent London conference in 1867. The majority of the delegates
+appear from the outset to have supported strenuously the principle which
+lies at the basis of the confederation, that all powers not expressly
+reserved to the provinces should appertain to the general government, as
+against the opposite principle, which, as Sir John Macdonald pointed
+out, had led to great difficulties in the working of the federal system
+in the United States. Sir John Macdonald also, with his usual sagacity,
+showed that, in all cases of conflict of jurisdiction, recourse would be
+necessarily made to the courts, as was the practice even then whenever
+there was a conflict between imperial and Canadian statutes.
+
+Addresses to the Queen embodying the Quebec resolutions were submitted
+to the legislature of Canada during the winter of 1865, and passed in
+both houses by large majorities after a very full discussion of the
+merits of the scheme. The opposition in the assembly came chiefly from
+Mr. Antoine A. Dorion, Mr. Luther H. Holton, Mr. Dunkin, Mr. Lucius Seth
+Huntington, Mr. John Sandfield Macdonald, and other able Liberals who
+were not disposed to follow Mr. Brown and his two colleagues in their
+patriotic abandonment of "partyism."
+
+The vote on the address was, in the council--Contents 45, Non-contents
+15. In the assembly it stood--Yeas 91, Nays 33. The minority in the
+assembly comprised 25 out of 65 representatives of French Canada, and
+only 8 out of the 65 from Upper Canada. With the speaker in the chair
+there were only 5 members absent on the taking of the final vote.
+
+Efforts were made both in the council and assembly to obtain an
+unequivocal expression of public opinion at the polls before the address
+was submitted to the imperial government for final action. It was argued
+with much force that the legislature had had no special mandate from the
+people to carry out so vital a change in the political condition of the
+provinces, but this argument had relatively little weight in either
+house in view of the dominant public sentiment which, as it was obvious
+to the most superficial observer, existed in the valley of the St.
+Lawrence in favour of a scheme which seemed certain to settle the
+difficulties so long in the way of stable government, and offered so
+many auspicious auguries for the development of the provinces embraced
+in federation.
+
+Soon after the close of the session Messrs Macdonald, Galt, Cartier, and
+Brown went to England to confer with the imperial authorities on various
+matters of grave public import. The British government agreed to
+guarantee a loan for the construction of the Intercolonial Railway and
+gave additional assurances of their deep interest in the proposed
+confederation. An understanding was reached with respect to the mutual
+obligations of the parent state and the dependency to provide for the
+defences of the country. Preliminary steps were taken in the direction
+of acquiring the north-west from the Hudson's Bay Company on equitable
+terms whenever their exact legal rights were ascertained. The report of
+the delegates was laid before the Canadian parliament during a very
+short session held in August and September of 1865. It was then that
+parliament formally ratified the Civil Code of Lower Canada, with which
+must be always honourably associated the name of Mr. Cartier.
+
+In the maritime provinces, however, the prospect for some months was far
+from encouraging. Much dissatisfaction was expressed with the financial
+terms, and the haste with which the maritime delegates had yielded to
+the propositions of the Canadian government and given their adhesion to
+the larger scheme, when they were only authorised in the first instance
+by their respective legislatures to consider the feasibility of a union
+of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. In New
+Brunswick Mr. Tilley found himself in a minority as a result of an
+appeal to the people on the question in 1865, but his successor Mr.,
+afterwards Sir, Albert Smith, minister of marine in the Mackenzie
+government of 1873-78, was forced to resign a year later on some
+question purposely raised by Lieutenant-Governor Hamilton Gordon, then
+very anxious to carry the union before he left the province. A new
+government was immediately formed by Mr. Peter Mitchell, a very
+energetic Liberal politician--the first minister of marine in
+the first Dominion ministry--who had notoriously influenced the
+lieutenant-governor in his arbitrary action of practically dismissing
+the Smith cabinet. On an appeal to the people Mr. Mitchell was
+sustained, and the new legislature gave its approval to the union by a
+large majority. The opinion then generally prevailed in New Brunswick
+that a federation was essential to the security of the provinces, then
+threatened by the Fenians, and would strengthen the hands of the parent
+state on the American continent. In Nova Scotia the situation was
+aggravated by the fact that the opposition was led by Mr. Howe, who had
+always been the idol of a large party in the country, and an earnest and
+consistent supporter of the right of the people to be first consulted on
+every measure immediately affecting their interests. He succeeded
+in creating a powerful sentiment against the terms of the
+measure--especially the financial conditions--and it was not possible
+during 1865 to carry it in the legislature. It was not attempted to
+submit the question to the polls, as was done in New Brunswick, indeed
+such a course would have been fatal to its progress; but it was
+eventually sanctioned by a large vote of the two houses. A strong
+influence was exerted by the fact that confederation was approved by the
+imperial government, which sent out Sir Fenwick Williams of Kars as
+lieutenant-governor with special instructions that, both Canada and New
+Brunswick having given their consent, it was proposed to make such
+changes in the financial terms as would be more favourable to the
+maritime provinces. In Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland it was not
+possible for the advocates of federation to move successfully in the
+matter. The opposition to the scheme of union, as proposed at Quebec,
+was so bitter in these two provinces that the delegates found it useless
+to press the matter in their legislatures.
+
+In the meantime, while confederation was on the eve of accomplishment,
+the people of Canada were subjected to an attack which supplied the
+strongest possible evidence of the necessity for a union enabling them
+to combine for purposes of general defence as well as other matters of
+national importance. In the month of April, 1866, the Fenians, an Irish
+organisation in the United States, made an insignificant demonstration
+on the New Brunswick frontier, which had no other effect than to excite
+the loyal action of the people of the province and strengthen the hands
+of the advocates of confederation. In the beginning of June a
+considerable body of the same order, under the command of one O'Neil,
+crossed from Buffalo into the Niagara district of Upper Canada and won a
+temporary success near Ridgeway, where the Queen's Own, a body of
+Toronto Volunteers, chiefly students and other young men, were badly
+handled by Colonel Booker. Subsequently Colonel Dennis and a small
+detachment of militia were surprised at Fort Erie by O'Neil. The
+knowledge that a large force of regulars and volunteers were marching
+against him under Colonel Peacock forced O'Neil and his men to disperse
+and find their way back to the United States, where a number were
+arrested by the orders of the Washington government. The Eastern
+Townships of Lower Canada were also invaded but the raiders retreated
+before a Canadian force with greater rapidity than they had shown in
+entering the province, and found themselves prisoners as soon as they
+crossed the frontier. Canada was kept in a state of anxiety for some
+months after these reckless invasions of a country where the Irish like
+all other nationalities have always had the greatest possible freedom;
+but the vigilance of the authorities and the readiness of the people of
+Canada to defend their soil prevented any more hostile demonstrations
+from the United States. The prisoners taken in the Niagara district were
+treated with a degree of clemency which their shameless conduct did not
+merit from an outraged people. No persons were ever executed, though a
+number were confined for a while in Kingston penitentiary. The invasion
+had the effect of stimulating the patriotism of the Canadian people to
+an extraordinary degree, and of showing them the necessity that existed
+for improving their home forces, whose organisation and equipment proved
+sadly defective during the invasion.
+
+In the summer of 1866 the Canadian legislature met for the last time
+under the provisions of the Union Act of 1840, and passed addresses to
+the Queen, setting forth constitutions for the new provinces of Upper
+and Lower Canada, afterwards incorporated in the imperial act of union.
+A conference of delegates from the provinces of Nova Scotia, New
+Brunswick, and Canada was held in the December of 1866 at the
+Westminster Palace Hotel in the City of London. The members on behalf of
+Canada were Messrs Macdonald, Cartier, Galt, McDougall, Langevin, and
+W.P. Howland (in the place of Mr. Brown); on behalf of Nova Scotia,
+Messrs Tupper, Henry, McCully, Archibald, and J.W. Ritchie (who took Mr.
+Dickey's place); of New Brunswick, Messrs Tilley, Johnson, Mitchell,
+Fisher, and R.D. Wilmot. The last named, who took the place of Mr.
+Steeves, was a Loyalist by descent, and afterwards became speaker of
+the senate and a lieutenant-governor of his native province. Their
+deliberations led to some changes in the financial provisions of the
+Quebec plan, made with the view of satisfying the opposition as far as
+possible in the maritime provinces but without disturbing the
+fundamental basis to which Canada had already pledged itself in the
+legislative session of 1865. All the difficulties being now removed the
+Earl of Carnarvon, then secretary of state for the colonies, submitted
+to the house of lords on the 17th of February, 1867, a bill intituled,
+"An act for the union of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and the
+government thereof; and for purposes connected therewith." It passed the
+two houses with very little discussion, and the royal assent was given
+to it on the 29th of March of the same year as "The British North
+America Act, 1867." It is interesting to know that in the original draft
+of the bill the united provinces were called the "Kingdom of Canada,"
+but when it came eventually before parliament they were designated as
+the "Dominion of Canada"; and the writer had it from Sir John Macdonald
+himself that this amendment did not emanate from the colonial delegates
+but from the imperial ministry, one of whose members was afraid of
+wounding the susceptibilities of United States statesmen.
+
+During the same session the imperial parliament passed a bill to
+guarantee a loan of three million pounds sterling for the construction
+of an intercolonial railway between Quebec and the coast of the maritime
+provinces--a work recognised as indispensable to the success of the new
+federation. Her Majesty's proclamation, giving effect to the Union Act,
+was issued on the 22nd May, 1867, declaring that "on and after the first
+of July, 1867, the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick,
+shall form and be one Dominion, under the name of Canada."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+CONFEDERATION. 1867--1900.
+
+
+SECTION I--The first parliament of the Dominion of Canada. 1867--1872.
+
+The Dominion of Canada took its place among the federal states of the
+world on the first of July, 1867. Upper and Lower Canada now became
+known as Ontario and Quebec, while Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
+retained their original historic names. The first governor-general was
+Viscount Monk, who had been head of the executive government of Canada
+throughout all the stages of confederation. He was an Irish nobleman,
+who had been a junior lord of the treasury in Lord Palmerston's
+government. He was a collateral descendant of the famous general of the
+commonwealth, created Duke of Albemarle after the Restoration. Without
+being a man of remarkable ability he was gifted with much discretion,
+and gave all the weight of his influence to bring about a federation,
+whose great benefits from an imperial as well as a colonial point of
+view he fully recognised.
+
+The prime minister of the first federal government was naturally Sir
+John Macdonald, who chose as his colleagues Sir George E. Cartier, Sir
+S.L. Tilley,--to give them all their later titles--Sir A.T. Galt, Sir
+W.P. Howland, Mr. William McDougall, Mr. P. Mitchell, Sir A.G.
+Archibald, Mr. A.F. Blair, Sir A. Campbell, Sir H.L. Langevin, Sir E.
+Kenny, and Mr. J.C. Chapais. Mr. Brown had retired from the coalition
+government of 1864 some months before the union, nominally on a
+disagreement with his colleagues as to the best mode of conducting
+negotiations for a new reciprocity treaty with the United States. The
+ministry had appointed delegates to confer with the Washington
+government on the subject, but, while Mr. Brown recognised the
+desirability of reciprocal trade relations with the United States on
+equitable conditions, he did not deem it expedient to appear before
+American statesmen "as suitors for any terms they might be pleased to
+grant." A general impression, however, prevailed that this difference of
+opinion was not the real reason of Mr. Brown's resignation, but that
+the animating motive was his intense jealousy of Sir John Macdonald,
+whose dominant influence in the government he could no longer brook.
+
+The governments of the four provinces were also regularly constituted at
+this time in accordance with the act of union. The first
+lieutenant-governor of Ontario was Lieutenant-General Stisted, of
+Quebec, Sir Narcisse Belleau; of Nova Scotia, Lieutenant-General Sir
+Fenwick Williams, the hero of Kars; of New Brunswick, Major-General
+Doyle, but only for three months. With the exception of the case of
+Quebec, these appointments were only temporary. It was considered
+prudent to select military men in view of the continuous reports of
+Fenian aggression. Sir William Howland became, a year later,
+lieutenant-governor of Ontario, Major-General Sir Francis Hastings Doyle
+of Nova Scotia in the fall of 1867, and Hon. L.A. Wilmot, of New
+Brunswick in July 1868. The first prime minister of Ontario was Mr. John
+Sandfield Macdonald, who had been leader of a Canadian ministry before
+confederation. He had been a moderate Liberal in politics, and opposed
+at the outset to the federal union, but before 1867 he became identified
+with the Liberal-Conservative party and gave his best assistance to the
+success of the federation. In Quebec, Mr. Pierre Chauveau, a man of high
+culture, formed the first government, which was also associated with the
+Liberal-Conservative party. In New Brunswick, Attorney-General Wetmore
+was the first prime minister, but he was appointed a judge in 1870, and
+Mr. George E. King, a judge of the supreme court of Canada some years
+later, became his successor. In Nova Scotia, Mr. Hiram Blanchard, a
+Liberal and unionist, formed a government, but it was defeated at the
+elections by an overwhelming majority by the anti-unionists, and Mr.
+Annand, the old friend of Mr. Howe, became first minister.
+
+The elections for the Dominion house of commons took place in the
+summer of 1867, and Sir John Macdonald's government was sustained by
+nearly three-fourths of the entire representation. The most notable
+incident in this contest was the defeat of Mr. Brown. Soon after his
+resignation in 1866 he assumed his old position of hostility to Sir John
+Macdonald and the Conservatives. At a later date, when the Liberals were
+in office, he accepted a seat in the senate, but in the meantime he
+continued to manage the _Globe_ and denounce his too successful and wily
+antagonist in its columns with his usual vehemence.
+
+The first parliament of the new Dominion met in the autumn of 1867 in
+the new buildings at Ottawa--also chosen as the seat of government of
+the federation--and was probably the ablest body of men that ever
+assembled for legislative purposes within the limits of old or new
+Canada. In the absence of the legislation which was subsequently passed
+both in Ontario and Quebec against dual representation--or the election
+of the same representatives to both the Dominion parliament and the
+local legislatures--it comprised the leading public men of all parties
+in the two provinces in question. Such legislation had been enacted in
+the maritime provinces before 1867, but it did not prevent the ablest
+men of New Brunswick from selecting the larger and more ambitious field
+of parliamentary action. In Nova Scotia Sir Charles Tupper was the only
+man who emerged from the battle in which so many unionists were for the
+moment defeated. Even Sir Adams Archibald, the secretary of state, was
+defeated in a county where he had been always returned by a large
+majority. Mr. Howe came in at the head of a strong phalanx of
+anti-unionists--"Repealers" as they called themselves for a short time.
+
+The legislation of the first parliament during its five years of
+existence was noteworthy in many respects. The departments of government
+were reorganised with due regard to the larger interests now intrusted
+to their care. The new department of marine and fisheries, rendered
+necessary by the admission of the maritime provinces, was placed under
+the direction of Mr. Peter Mitchell, then a member of the senate, who
+had done so much to bring New Brunswick into the union. An act was
+passed to provide for the immediate commencement of the Intercolonial
+Railway, which was actually completed by the 1st of July, 1876, under
+the supervision of Mr., now Sir, Sandford Fleming, as chief government
+engineer; and the provinces of Ontario and Quebec were at last directly
+connected with the maritime sections of the Dominion.
+
+The repeal agitation in Nova Scotia received its first blow by the
+defection of Mr. Howe, who had been elected to the house of commons. He
+proceeded to England in 1868 with an address from the assembly of Nova
+Scotia, demanding a repeal of the union, but he made no impression
+whatever on a government and parliament convinced of the necessity of
+the measure from an imperial as well as colonial point of view. Dr.
+Tupper was present on behalf of the Dominion government to answer any
+arguments that the Repealers might advance against the union. The visit
+to England convinced Mr. Howe that further agitation on the question
+might be injurious to British connection, and that the wisest course was
+to make the union as useful as possible to the provinces. Then, as
+always, he was true to those principles of fidelity to the crown and
+empire which had forced his father to seek refuge in Nova Scotia, and
+which had been ever the mainspring of his action, even in the trying
+days when he and others were struggling for responsible government. He
+believed always in constitutional agitation, not in rebellion. He now
+agreed to enter the ministry as president of the council on condition
+that the financial basis, on which Nova Scotia had been admitted to the
+federation, was enlarged by the parliament of Canada. These "better
+terms" were brought before the Canadian parliament in the session of
+1869, and provided for the granting of additional allowances to the
+provinces, calculated on increased amounts of debt as compared with the
+maximum fixed by the terms of the British North America Act of 1867.
+They met with strong opposition from Edward Blake, a very eminent
+lawyer and Reformer of Ontario, on the ground that they violated the
+original compact of union as set forth in the British North America Act;
+but despite the opposition of the western Reformers they were ratified
+by a large majority, who recognised the supreme necessity of
+conciliating Nova Scotia. On account of his decision to yield to the
+inevitable, Mr. Howe incurred the bitter antagonism of many men who had
+been his staunch followers in all the political contests of Nova Scotia,
+and it was with the greatest difficulty that he was re-elected for the
+county of Hants as a minister of the crown. He remained in the
+government until May, 1873, when he was appointed lieutenant-governor of
+Nova Scotia. The worries of a long life of political struggles, and
+especially the fatigue and exposure of the last election in Hants, had
+impaired his health and made it absolutely necessary that he should
+retire from active politics. Only a month after his appointment, the
+printer, poet and politician died in the famous old government house,
+admittance to which had been denied him in the stormy days when he
+fought Lord Falkland. It was a fit ending, assuredly, to the life of the
+statesman, who, with eloquent pen and voice, in the days when his
+opinions were even offensive to governors and social leaders, ever urged
+the right of his countrymen to a full measure of self-government.
+
+Canada and all other parts of the British empire were deeply shocked on
+an April day of 1868 by the tragic announcement of the assassination of
+the brilliant Irishman, Thomas D'Arcy McGee on his return late at night
+from his parliamentary duties. He had never been forgiven by the Irish
+enemies of England for his strenuous efforts in Canada to atone for the
+indiscretion of his thoughtless youth. His remains were buried with all
+the honours that the state could give him, and proper provision was made
+for the members of his family by that parliament of which he had been
+one of the most notable figures. The murderer, Thomas Whelan, a member
+of the secret society that had ordered his death, was executed at
+Ottawa on the 11th February, 1869.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--Extension of the Dominion from the Atlantic to the Pacific
+Ocean. 1869-1873.
+
+The government and parliament, to whom were entrusted the destinies of
+the federation of four provinces, had a great work to accomplish in the
+way of perfecting and extending the Dominion, which was necessarily
+incomplete whilst its western territorial limits were confined to the
+boundaries of Ontario, and the provinces of British Columbia on the
+Pacific coast and of Prince Edward Island in the Gulf of the St.
+Lawrence remained in a position of isolation. The provisions of the
+British North America Act of 1867 provided in general terms for the
+addition of the immense territories which extend from the head of Lake
+Superior in a north-westerly direction as far as the Rocky Mountains.
+Three great basins divide these territories; Hudson Bay Basin, with
+probably a drainage of 2,250,000 square miles; the Winnipeg sub-basin
+tributary to the former, with nearly 400,000 square miles; the Mackenzie
+River basin with nearly 700,000 square miles. The Winnipeg basin covers
+a great area of prairie lands, whose luxuriant grasses and wild flowers
+were indented for centuries only by the tracks of herds of innumerable
+buffaloes on their way to the tortuous and sluggish streams which flow
+through that wide region. This plain slopes gently towards the arctic
+seas into which its waters flow, and is also remarkable for rising
+gradually from its eastern limits in three distinct elevations or
+steppes as far as the foot hills of the Rocky Mountains. Forests of
+trees, small for the most part, are found only when the prairies are
+left and we reach the more picturesque undulating country through which
+the North Saskatchewan flows. An extraordinary feature of this great
+region is the continuous chain of lakes and rivers which stretch from
+the basin of the St. Lawrence as far as the distant northern sea into
+which the Mackenzie, the second largest river in North America, carries
+its enormous volume of waters. As we stand on the rugged heights of
+land which divides the Winnipeg from the Laurentian basin we are within
+easy reach of rivers which flow, some to arctic seas, some to the
+Atlantic, and some to the Gulf of Mexico. If we ascend the Saskatchewan
+River, from Lake Winnipeg to the Rocky Mountains, we shall find
+ourselves within a measurable distance not only of the sources of the
+Mackenzie, one of whose tributaries reaches the head waters of the
+Yukon, a river of golden promise like the Pactolus of the eastern
+lands--but also within reach of the head waters of the rapid Columbia,
+and the still more impetuous Fraser, both of which pour into the Pacific
+Ocean, as well as of the Missouri, which here accumulates strength for
+its alliance with the Mississippi, that great artery of a more southern
+land. It was to this remarkable geographical feature that Oliver Wendell
+Holmes referred in the following well-known verses:
+
+   "Yon stream whose sources run
+      Turned by a pebble's edge,
+   Is Athabaska rolling toward the Sun
+      Through the cleft mountain ledge."
+
+   "The slender rill had strayed,
+      But for the slanting stone,
+   To evening's ocean, with the tangled braid
+      Of foam-flecked Oregon."
+
+[ILLUSTRATION: MAP OF BRITISH AMERICA TO ILLUSTRATE THE CHARTER OF THE
+HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY]
+
+A great company claimed for two centuries exclusive trading privileges
+over a large portion of these territories, known as Rupert's Land, by
+virtue of a charter given by King Charles II, on the 2nd May, 1670, to
+Prince Rupert, the Duke of Albemarle, and other Englishmen of rank and
+wealth. The early operations of this Company of Adventurers of England
+were confined to the vicinity of Hudson and James Bays. The French of
+Canada for many years disputed the rights of the English company to this
+great region, but it was finally ceded to England by the Treaty of
+Utrecht. Twenty years after the Treaty of Paris (1763) a number of
+wealthy and enterprising merchants, chiefly Scotch, established at
+Montreal the North-West Company for the purpose of trading in those
+north-western territories to which French traders had been the first to
+venture. This new company carried on its operations with such activity
+that in thirty years' time it employed four thousand persons and
+occupied sixty posts in different parts of the territories.
+
+The Hudson's Bay Company's headquarters was York Factory, on the great
+bay to which British ships, every summer, brought out supplies for the
+posts. The North-West Company followed the route of the old French
+traders from Lachine by way of the Ottawa or the lakes to the head of
+Lake Superior, and its principal depot was Fort William on the
+Kaministiquia River. The servants of the North-West Company became
+indefatigable explorers of the territories as far as the Pacific Ocean
+and arctic seas. Mr., afterwards Sir, Alexander Mackenzie first followed
+the river which now bears his name, to the Arctic Ocean, into which it
+pours its mighty volume of water. He was also the first to cross the
+Rocky Mountains and reach the Pacific coast. Simon Fraser, another
+employee of the company, discovered, in 1808, the river which still
+recalls his exploits; and a little later, David Thompson, from whom a
+river is named, crossed further south and reached Oregon by the Columbia
+River. The energetic operations of the North-west Company so seriously
+affected the business of the Hudson's Bay Company that in some years the
+latter declared no dividends. The rivalry between the two companies
+reached its highest between 1811 and 1818, when Thomas Douglas, fifth
+Earl of Selkirk, who was an enthusiastic promoter of colonisation in
+British North America, obtained from the Hudson's Bay Company an immense
+tract of land in the Red River country and made an earnest effort to
+establish a Scotch settlement at Kildonan. But his efforts to people
+Assiniboia--the Indian name he gave to his wide domain--were baulked by
+the opposition of the employees of the North-west Company, who regarded
+this colonising scheme as fatal to the fur trade. In the territory
+conveyed to Lord Selkirk, the Montreal Company had established posts
+upon every river and lake, while the Hudson's Bay Company had only one
+fort of importance, Fort Douglas, within a short distance of the
+North-west Company's post of Fort Gibraltar, at the confluence of the
+Red and Assiniboine Rivers, where the city of Winnipeg now stands. The
+quarrel between the Scotch settlers who were under the protection of the
+Hudson's Bay Company and the North-westers, chiefly composed of French
+Canadians and French half-breeds, or _Métis_ culminated in 1816, in the
+massacre of Governor Semple and twenty-six other persons connected with
+the new colony by a number of half-breeds. Two years later, a number of
+persons who had been arrested for this murder were tried at York in
+Upper Canada, but the evidence was so conflicting on account of the
+false swearing on the part of the witnesses that the jury were forced to
+acquit the accused. Lord Selkirk died at Pau, in 1820, but not before he
+had made an attempt to assist his young settlement, almost broken up by
+the shameful attack of 1816.
+
+The little colony managed to exist, but its difficulties were aggravated
+from time to time by the ravages of clouds of grasshoppers which
+devastated the territories and brought the people to the verge of
+starvation. In March, 1821, the North-west Company made over all their
+property to the older company, which now reigned supreme throughout the
+territories. All doubts as to their rights were set at rest by an act of
+parliament giving them a monopoly of trade for twenty-one years in what
+were then generally known as the Indian territories, that vast region
+which lay beyond the confines of Rupert's Land, and was not strictly
+covered by the charter of 1670. This act was re-enacted in 1838 for
+another twenty-one years. No further extension, however, was ever
+granted, as an agitation had commenced in Canada by 1859 for the
+surrender of the company's privileges and the opening up of the
+territories, so long a great "lone land," to enterprise and settlement.
+When the two rival companies were united, Mr., afterwards Sir, George
+Simpson, became governor, and he continued to occupy that position until
+1860, when he died in his residence at Lachine, near Montreal. This
+energetic man largely extended the geographical knowledge of the wide
+dominions entrusted to his charge, though like all the servants of the
+company, he discouraged settlement and minimised the agricultural
+capabilities of the country, when examined in 1857 before a committee of
+the English house of commons. In 1837 the company purchased from Lord
+Selkirk's heirs all their rights in Assiniboia. The Scotch settlers and
+the French half-breeds were now in close contiguity to each other on the
+Red and Assiniboine Rivers. The company established a simple form of
+government for the maintenance of law and order. In the course of time,
+their council included not only their principal factors and officials,
+but a few persons selected from the inhabitants. On the whole, law and
+order prevailed in the settlements, although there was always latent a
+certain degree of sullen discontent against the selfish rule of a mere
+fur company, invested with such great powers. The great object of the
+company was always to keep out the pioneers of settlement, and give no
+information of the value of the land and resources of their vast domain.
+
+Some years before the federation of the British-American provinces the
+public men of Canada had commenced an agitation against the company,
+with the view of relieving from its monopoly a country whose resources
+were beginning to be known. Colonial delegates on several occasions
+interviewed the imperial authorities on the subject, but no practical
+results were obtained until federation became an accomplished fact.
+Then, at length, the company recognised the necessity of yielding to
+the pressure that was brought to bear upon them by the British
+government, at a time when the interests of the empire as well as of the
+new Dominion demanded the abolition of a monopoly so hostile to the
+conditions of modern progress in British North America. In 1868
+successful negotiations took place between a Canadian delegation--Sir
+George Cartier and the Hon. William Macdougall--and the Hudson's Bay
+Company's representatives for the surrender of their imperial domain.
+Canada agreed to pay £300,000 sterling, and to reserve certain lands for
+the company. The terms were approved by the Canadian parliament in 1869,
+and an act was passed for the temporary government of Rupert's Land and
+the North-west territory when regularly transferred to Canada. In the
+summer of that year, surveyors were sent under Colonel Dennis to make
+surveys of townships in Assiniboia; and early in the autumn Mr.
+Macdougall was appointed lieutenant-governor of the territories, with
+the understanding that he should not act in an official capacity until
+he was authoritatively informed from Ottawa of the legal transfer of the
+country to the Canadian government. Mr. Macdougall left for Fort Garry
+in September, but he was unable to reach Red River on account of a
+rising of the half-breeds. The cause of the troubles is to be traced not
+simply to the apathy of the Hudson's Bay Company's officials, who took
+no steps to prepare the settlers for the change of government, nor to
+the fact that the Canadian authorities neglected to consult the wishes
+of the inhabitants, but chiefly to the belief that prevailed among the
+ignorant French half-breeds that it was proposed to take their lands
+from them. Sir John Macdonald admitted, at a later time, that much of
+the trouble arose "from the lack of conciliation, tact and prudence
+shown by the surveyors during the summer of 1869." Mr. Macdougall also
+appears to have disobeyed his instructions, for he attempted to set up
+his government by a _coup-de-main_ on the 1st December, though he had no
+official information of the transfer of the country to Canada, and was
+not legally entitled to perform a single official act.
+
+The rebellious half-breeds of the Red River settlement formed a
+provisional government, in which one Louis Riel was the controlling
+spirit from the beginning until the end of the revolt. He was a French
+Canadian half-breed, who had been educated in one of the French Canadian
+colleges, and always exercised much influence over his ignorant,
+impulsive, easily-deluded countrymen. The total population living in the
+settlements of Assiniboia at that time was about twelve thousand, of
+whom nearly one-half were _Métis_ or half-breeds, mostly the descendants
+of the _coureurs-de-bois_ and _voyageurs_ of early times. So long as the
+buffalo ranged the prairies in large numbers, they were hunters, and
+cared nothing for the relatively tame pursuit of agriculture. Their
+small farms generally presented a neglected, impoverished appearance.
+The great majority had adopted the habits of their Indian lineage, and
+would neglect their farms for weeks to follow the scarce buffalo to
+their distant feeding grounds. The Scotch half-breed, the offspring of
+the marriage of Scotchmen with Indian women, still illustrated the
+industry and energy of his paternal race, and rose superior to Indian
+surroundings. It was among the French half-breeds that Riel found his
+supporters. The Scotch and English settlers had disapproved of the
+sudden transfer of the territory in which they and their parents had so
+long lived, without any attempt having been made to consult their
+feelings as to the future government of the country. Though they took no
+active part in the rebellion, they allowed matters to take their course
+with indifference and sullen resignation. The employees of the Hudson's
+Bay Company were dissatisfied with the sale of the company's rights, as
+it meant, in their opinion, a loss of occupation and influence. The
+portion of the population that was always quite ready to hasten the
+acquisition of the territory by Canada, and resolutely opposed Riel from
+the outset, was the small Canadian element, which was led by Dr.
+Schultz, an able, determined man, afterwards lieutenant-governor of
+Manitoba. Riel imprisoned and insulted several of the loyal party who
+opposed him. At last he ruthlessly ordered the execution of one Thomas
+Scott, an Ontario man, who had defied him.
+
+While these events were in progress, the Canadian government enlisted in
+the interests of law and order the services of Mr. Donald Smith, now
+Lord Strathcona, who had been long connected with the Hudson's Bay
+Company, and also of Archbishop Taché, of St. Boniface--the principal
+French settlement in the country--who returned from Rome to act as
+mediator between the Canadian authorities and his deluded flock.
+Unhappily, before the Archbishop could reach Fort Garry, Scott had been
+murdered, and the Dominion government could not consider themselves
+bound by the terms they were ready to offer to the insurgents under a
+very different condition of things. The murder of Scott had clearly
+brought Riel and his associates under the provisions of the criminal
+law; and public opinion in Ontario would not tolerate an amnesty, as was
+hastily promised by the Archbishop, in his zeal to bring the rebellion
+to an end. A force of 1200 regulars and volunteers was sent to the Red
+River towards the end of May, 1870, under the command of Colonel
+Wolseley, now a field-marshal and a peer of the realm. Riel fled across
+the frontier before the troops, after a tedious journey of three months
+from the day they left Toronto, reached Fort Garry. Peace was restored
+once more to the settlers of Assiniboia. The Canadian government had had
+several interviews with delegates from the discontented people of Red
+River, who had prepared what they called "a Bill of Rights," and it was
+therefore able intelligently to decide on the best form of governing the
+territories. The imperial government completed the formal transfer of
+the country to Canada, and the Canadian parliament in 1870 passed an act
+to provide for the government of a new province of Manitoba.
+Representation was given to the people in both houses of the Canadian
+parliament, and provision was made for a provincial government on the
+same basis that existed in the old provinces of the Dominion. The
+lieutenant-governor of the province was also, for the present, to govern
+the unorganised portion of the North-west with the assistance of a
+council of eleven persons. The first legislature of Manitoba was elected
+in the early part of 1871, and a provincial government was formed, with
+Mr. Albert Boyd as provincial secretary. The first lieutenant-governor
+was Sir Adams Archibald, the eminent Nova Scotian, who had been defeated
+in the elections of 1867. Mr. Macdougall had returned from the
+North-west frontier a deeply disappointed man, who would never admit
+that he had shown any undue haste in commencing the exercise of his
+powers as governor. Some years later he disappeared from active public
+life, after a career during which he had performed many useful services
+for Canada.
+
+In another chapter on the relations between Canada and the United States
+I shall refer to the results of the international commission which met
+at Washington in 1870, to consider the Alabama difficulty, the fishery
+dispute, and other questions, the settlement of which could be no longer
+delayed. In 1870, while the Red River settlements were still in a
+troublous state, the Fenians made two attempts to invade the Eastern
+Townships, but they were easily repulsed and forced to cross the
+frontier. They were next heard of in 1871, when they attempted, under
+the leadership of the irrepressible O'Neil, who had also been engaged in
+1870, and of O'Donohue, one of Riel's rebellious associates, to make a
+raid into Manitoba by way of Pembina, but their prompt arrest by a
+company of United States troops was the inglorious conclusion of the
+last effort of a dying and worthless organisation to strike a blow at
+England through Canada.
+
+The Dominion government was much embarrassed for some years by the
+complications that arose from Riel's revolt and the murder of Scott. An
+agitation grew up in Ontario for the arrest of the murderers; and when
+Mr. Blake succeeded Mr. Sandfield Macdonald as leader of the Ontario
+government, a large reward was offered for the capture of Riel and such
+of his associates as were still in the territories. On the other hand,
+Sir George Cartier and the French Canadians were in favour of an
+amnesty. The Macdonald ministry consequently found itself on the horns
+of a dilemma; and the political tension was only relieved for a time
+when Riel and Lepine left Manitoba, on receiving a considerable sum of
+money from Sir John Macdonald. Although this fact was not known until
+1875, when a committee of the house of commons investigated the affairs
+of the North-west, there was a general impression after 1870 throughout
+Ontario--an impression which had much effect on the general election of
+1872--that the government had no sincere desire to bring Riel and his
+associates to justice.
+
+In 1871 the Dominion welcomed into the union the great mountainous
+province of British Columbia, whose picturesque shores recall the
+memories of Cook, Vancouver and other maritime adventurers of the last
+century, and whose swift rivers are associated with the exploits of
+Mackenzie, Thompson, Quesnel, Fraser and other daring men, who first saw
+the impetuous waters which rush through the cañons of the great
+mountains of the province until at last they empty themselves into the
+Pacific Ocean. For many years Vancouver Island and the mainland, first
+known as New Caledonia, were under the control of the Hudson's Bay
+Company. Vancouver Island was nominally made a crown colony in 1849;
+that is, a colony without representative institutions, in which the
+government is carried on by a governor and council, appointed by the
+crown. The official authority continued from 1851 practically in the
+hands of the company's chief factor, Sir James Douglas, a man of signal
+ability, who was also the governor of the infant colony. In 1856 an
+assembly was called, despite the insignificant population of the island.
+In 1858 New Caledonia was organised as a crown colony under the name of
+British Columbia, as a consequence of the gold discoveries which brought
+in many people. Sir James Douglas was also appointed governor of
+British Columbia, and continued in that position until 1864. In 1866,
+the colony was united with Vancouver Island under the general
+designation of British Columbia. When the province entered the
+confederation of Canada in 1871 it was governed by a lieutenant-governor
+appointed by the crown, a legislature composed of heads of the public
+departments and several elected members. With the entrance of this
+province, so famous now for its treasures of gold, coal and other
+minerals in illimitable quantities, must be associated the name of Sir
+Joseph Trutch, the first lieutenant-governor under the auspices of the
+federation. The province did not come into the union with the same
+constitution that was enjoyed by the other provinces, but it was
+expressly declared in the terms of union that "the government of the
+Dominion will readily consent to the introduction of responsible
+government when desired by the inhabitants of British Columbia."
+Accordingly, soon after its admission, the province obtained a
+constitution similar to that of other provinces: a lieutenant-governor,
+a responsible executive council and an elective assembly. Representation
+was given it in both houses of the Dominion parliament, and the members
+took their seats during the session of 1872. In addition to the payment
+of a considerable subsidy for provincial expenses, the Dominion
+government pledged itself to secure the construction of a railway within
+two years from the date of union to connect the seaboard of British
+Columbia with the railway system of Canada, to commence the work
+simultaneously at both ends of the line, and to complete it within ten
+years from the admission of the colony to the confederation.
+
+In 1872 a general election was held in the Dominion, and while the
+government was generally sustained, it came back with a minority from
+Ontario. The Riel agitation, the Washington Treaty, and the undertaking
+to finish the Pacific railway in so short a time, were questions which
+weakened the ministry. The most encouraging feature of the elections
+was the complete defeat of the anti-unionists in Nova Scotia,--the
+prelude to their disappearance as a party--all the representatives, with
+the exception of one member, being pledged to support a government whose
+chief merit was its persistent effort to cement the union and extend it
+from ocean to ocean. Sir Francis Hincks, finance minister since 1870,
+was defeated in Ontario and Sir George Cartier in Montreal. Both these
+gentlemen found constituencies elsewhere, but Sir George Cartier never
+took his seat, as his health had been seriously impaired, and he died in
+England in 1873. The state gave a public funeral to this great French
+Canadian, always animated by a sincere desire to weld the two races
+together on principles of compromise and justice. Sir Francis Hincks
+also disappeared from public life in 1873, and died at Montreal in 1885
+from an attack of malignant small-pox. The sad circumstances of his
+death forbade any public or even private display, and the man who filled
+so many important positions in the empire was carried to the grave with
+those precautions which are necessary in the case of those who fall
+victims to an infectious disease.
+
+But while these two eminent men disappeared from the public life of
+Canada, two others began now to occupy a more prominent place in
+Dominion affairs. These were Mr. Edward Blake and Mr. Alexander
+Mackenzie, who had retired from the Ontario legislature when an act was
+passed, as in other provinces, against dual representation, which made
+it necessary for them to elect between federal and provincial politics.
+Sir Oliver Mowat, who had retired from the bench, was chosen prime
+minister of Ontario on the 25th October, 1872, and continued to hold the
+position with great success and profit to the province until 1896, when
+he became minister of justice in the Liberal government formed by Sir
+Wilfrid Laurier.
+
+In 1873 Prince Edward Island yielded to the influences which had been
+working for some years in the direction of union, and allied her
+fortunes with those of her sister provinces. The public men who were
+mainly instrumental in bringing about this happy result, after much
+discussion in the legislature and several conferences with the Dominion
+government, were the following: Mr. R.P. Haythorne, afterwards a
+senator; Mr. David Laird, at a later time minister in Mr. Mackenzie's
+government and a lieutenant-governor of the North-west territories; Mr.
+James C. Pope, who became a member of Sir John Macdonald's cabinet in
+1879; Mr. T.H. Haviland, and Mr. G.W. Howlan, who were in later years
+lieutenant-governors of the island. The terms of union made not only
+very favourable financial arrangements for the support of the provincial
+government, but also allowed a sum of money for the purpose of
+extinguishing the claims of the landlords to whom the greater portion of
+the public domain had been given by the British government more than a
+hundred years before. The constitution of the executive authority and
+the legislature remained as before confederation. Adequate
+representation was allowed to the island in the Canadian parliament, and
+the members accordingly took their places in the senate and the house of
+commons during the short October session of 1873, when Sir John
+Macdonald's government resigned on account of transactions arising out
+of the first efforts to construct the Canadian Pacific railway.
+
+The Dominion was now extended for a distance of about 3,500 miles, from
+the island of Prince Edward in the east to the island of Vancouver in
+the west. The people of the great island of Newfoundland, the oldest
+colony of the British crown in North America, have, however, always
+shown a determined opposition to the proposed federation, from the time
+when their delegates returned from the Quebec convention of 1864.
+Negotiations have taken place more than once for the entrance of the
+island into the federal union, but so far no satisfactory arrangement
+has been attained. The advocates of union, down to the present time,
+have never been able to create that strong public opinion which would
+sustain any practical movement in the direction of carrying Newfoundland
+out of its unfortunate position of insular, selfish isolation, and
+making it an active partner in the material, political, and social
+progress of the provinces of the Canadian Dominion. Financial and
+political difficulties have steadily hampered the development of the
+island until very recently, and the imperial government has been obliged
+to intervene for the purpose of bringing about an adjustment of
+questions which, more than once, have rendered the operation of local
+self-government very troublesome. The government of the Dominion, on its
+side, while always ready to welcome the island into the confederation,
+has been perplexed by the difficulty of making satisfactory financial
+arrangements for the admission of a colony, heavily burdened with debt,
+and occupying a position by no means so favourable as that of the
+provinces now comprised within the Dominion. Some Canadians also see
+some reason for hesitation on the part of the Dominion in the existence
+of the French shore question, which prejudicially affects the
+territorial interests of a large portion of the coast of the island, and
+affords a forcible example of the little attention paid to colonial
+interests in those old times when English statesmen were chiefly swayed
+by considerations of European policy.
+
+
+SECTION 3.--Summary of noteworthy events from 1873 until 1900.
+
+On the 4th November, 1873, Sir John Macdonald placed his resignation in
+the hands of the governor-general, the Earl of Dufferin; and the first
+ministry of the Dominion came to an end after six years of office. The
+circumstances of this resignation were regrettable in the extreme. In
+1872 two companies received charters for the construction of the
+Canadian Pacific railway--one of them under the direction of probably
+the wealthiest man in Canada, Sir Hugh Allan of Montreal, and the other
+under the presidency of the Honourable David Macpherson, a capitalist of
+Toronto. The government was unwilling for political reasons to give the
+preference to either of these companies, and tried to bring about an
+amalgamation. While negotiations were proceeding with this object in
+view, the general elections of 1872 came on, and Sir Hugh Allan made
+large contributions to the funds of the Conservative party. The facts
+were disclosed in 1873 before a royal commission appointed by the
+governor-general to inquire into charges made in the Canadian house of
+commons by a prominent Liberal, Mr. Huntington. An investigation ordered
+by the house when the charges were first brought forward, had failed
+chiefly on account of the legal inability of the committee to take
+evidence under oath; and the government then advised the appointment of
+the commission in question. Parliament was called together in October,
+1873, to receive the report of the commissioners, and after a long and
+vehement debate Sir John Macdonald, not daring to test the opinion of
+the house by a vote, immediately resigned. In justice to Sir John
+Macdonald it must be stated that Sir Hugh Allan knew, before he
+subscribed a single farthing, that the privilege of building the railway
+could be conceded only to an amalgamated company. When it was shown some
+months after the elections that the proposed amalgamation could not be
+effected, the government issued a royal charter to a new company in
+which all the provinces were fairly represented, and in which Sir Hugh
+Allan appears at first to have had no special influence, although the
+directors of their own motion, subsequently selected him as president on
+account of his wealth and business standing in Canada. Despite Sir John
+Macdonald's plausible explanations to the governor-general, and his
+vigorous and even pathetic appeal to the house before he resigned, the
+whole transaction was unequivocally condemned by sound public opinion.
+His own confidential secretary, whom he had chosen before his death as
+his biographer, admits that even a large body of his faithful supporters
+"were impelled to the conclusion that a government which had benefited
+politically by large sums of money contributed by a person with whom it
+was negotiating on the part of the Dominion, could no longer command
+their confidence or support, and that for them the time had come to
+choose between their conscience and their party."
+
+The immediate consequence of this very unfortunate transaction was the
+formation of a Liberal government by Mr. Alexander Mackenzie, the leader
+of the opposition, who had entered the old parliament of Canada in 1861,
+and had been treasurer in the Ontario ministry led by Mr. Blake until
+1872. He was Scotch by birth, and a stonemason by trade. He came to
+Canada in early manhood, and succeeded in raising himself above his
+originally humble position to the highest in the land. His great
+decision of character, his clear, logical intellect, his lucid, incisive
+style of speaking, his great fidelity to principle, his inflexible
+honesty of purpose, made him a force in the Liberal party, who gladly
+welcomed him as the leader of a government. When he appealed to the
+country in 1874, he was supported by a very large majority of the
+representatives of the people. His administration remained in office
+until the autumn of 1878, and passed many measures of great usefulness
+to the Dominion. The North-west territories were separated from the
+government of Manitoba, and first organised under a lieutenant-governor
+and council, appointed by the governor-general of Canada. In 1875,
+pending the settlement of the western boundary of Ontario, it was
+necessary to create a separate territory out of the eastern part of the
+North-west, known as the district of Keewatin, which was placed under
+the jurisdiction of the lieutenant-governor of Manitoba. This boundary
+dispute was not settled until 1884, when the judicial committee of the
+privy council, to whose decision the question had been referred,
+materially altered the limits of Keewatin and extended the western
+boundaries of Ontario. In 1878, in response to an address of the
+Canadian parliament, an imperial order in council was passed to annex to
+the Dominion all British possessions in North America not then included
+within the confederation--an order intended to place beyond question the
+right of Canada to all British North America except Newfoundland. In the
+course of succeeding years a system of local government was established
+in the North-west territories and a representation allowed them in the
+senate and house of commons.
+
+As soon as the North-west became a part of the Dominion, the Canadian
+government recognised the necessity of making satisfactory arrangements
+with the Indian tribes. The policy first laid down in the proclamation
+of 1763 was faithfully carried out in this great region. Between 1871
+and 1877 seven treaties were made by the Canadian government with the
+Crees, Chippewas, Salteaux, Ojibways, Blackfeet, Bloods and Piegans, who
+received certain reserves of land, annual payments of money and other
+benefits, as compensation for making over to Canada their title to the
+vast country where they had been so long the masters. From that day to
+this the Indians have become the wards of the government, who have
+always treated them with every consideration. The Indians live on
+reserves allotted to them in certain districts where schools of various
+classes have been provided for their instruction. They are
+systematically taught farming and other industrial pursuits; agents and
+instructors visit the reserves from time to time to see that the
+interests of the Indians are protected; and the sale of spirits is
+especially forbidden in the territories chiefly with the view of
+guarding the Indians from such baneful influences. The policy of the
+government for the past thirty years has been on the whole most
+satisfactory from every point of view. In the course of a few decades
+the Indians of the prairies will be an agricultural population, able to
+support themselves.
+
+The Mackenzie ministry established a supreme court, or general court of
+appeal, for Canada. The election laws were amended so as to abolish
+public nominations and property qualification for members of the house
+of commons, as well as to provide for vote by ballot and simultaneous
+polling at a general election--a wise provision which had existed for
+some years in the province of Nova Scotia. An act passed by Sir John
+Macdonald's government for the trial of controverted elections by judges
+was amended, and a more ample and effective provision made for the
+repression and punishment of bribery and corruption at elections. A
+force of mounted police was organised for the maintenance of law and
+order in the North-west territories. The enlargement of the St. Lawrence
+system of canals was vigorously prosecuted in accordance with the report
+of a royal commission, appointed in 1870 by the previous administration
+to report on this important system of waterways. A Canada temperance
+act--known by the name of Senator Scott, who introduced it when
+secretary of state--was passed to allow electors in any county to
+exercise what is known as "local option"; that is to say, to decide by
+their votes at the polls whether they would permit the sale of
+intoxicating liquors within their respective districts. This act was
+declared by the judicial committee of the privy council to be
+constitutional and was extended in the course of time to very many
+counties of the several provinces; but eventually it was found quite
+impracticable to enforce the law, and the great majority of those
+districts of Ontario and Quebec, which had been carried away for a time
+on a great wave of moral reform to adopt the act, decided by an equally
+large vote to repeal it. The agitation for the extension of this law
+finally merged into a wide-spread movement among the temperance people
+of the Dominion for the passage of a prohibitory liquor law by the
+parliament of Canada. In 1898 the question was submitted to the electors
+of the provinces and territories by the Laurier government. The result
+was a majority of only 14,000 votes in favour of prohibition out of a
+total vote of 543,049, polled throughout the Dominion. The province of
+Quebec declared itself against the measure by an overwhelming vote. The
+temperance people then demanded that the Dominion government should take
+immediate action in accordance with this vote; but the prime minister
+stated emphatically to the house of commons as soon as parliament opened
+in March, 1899, "that the voice of the electorate, which has been
+pronounced in favour of prohibition--only twenty-three per cent. of the
+total electoral vote of the Dominion--is not such as to justify the
+government in introducing a prohibitory law." In the premier's opinion
+the government would not be justified in following such a course "unless
+at least one-half of the electorate declared itself at the polls in its
+favour." In the province of Manitoba, where the people have pronounced
+themselves conclusively in favour of prohibition, the Macdonald
+government are now moving to give effect to the popular wishes and
+restrain the liquor traffic so far as it is possible to go under the
+provisions of the British North America act of 1867 and the decisions of
+the courts as to provincial powers.
+
+For two years and even longer, after its coming into office, the
+Mackenzie government was harassed by the persistent effort that was made
+in French Canada for the condonation of the serious offences committed
+by Riel and his principal associates during the rebellion of 1870. Riel
+had been elected by a Manitoba constituency in 1874 to the Dominion
+house of commons and actually took the oath of allegiance in the clerk's
+office, but he never attempted to sit, and was subsequently expelled as
+a fugitive from criminal justice. Lepine was convicted of murder at
+Winnipeg and sentenced to be hanged, when the governor-general, Lord
+Dufferin, intervened and commuted the sentence to two years'
+imprisonment, with the approval of the imperial authorities, to whom, as
+an imperial officer entrusted with large responsibility in the exercise
+of the prerogative of mercy, he had referred the whole question. Soon
+afterwards the government yielded to the strong pressure from French
+Canada and relieved the tension of the public situation by obtaining
+from the representative of the crown an amnesty for all persons
+concerned in the North-west troubles, with the exception of Riel and
+Lepine, who were banished for five years, when they also were to be
+pardoned. O'Donohue was not included, as his first offence had been
+aggravated by his connection with the Fenian raid of 1871, but he was
+allowed in 1877 the benefit of the amnesty. The action of Lord Dufferin
+in pardoning Lepine and thereby relieving his ministers from all
+responsibility in the matter was widely criticised, and no doubt had
+much to do with bringing about an alteration in the terms of the
+governor-general's commission and his instructions with respect to the
+prerogative of mercy. Largely through the instrumentality of Mr. Blake,
+who visited England for the purpose, in 1875, new commissions and
+instructions have been issued to Lord Dufferin's successors, with a due
+regard to the larger measure of constitutional freedom now possessed by
+the Dominion of Canada. As respects the exercise of the prerogative of
+mercy, the independent judgment of the governor-general may be exercised
+in cases of imperial interest, but only after consultation with his
+responsible advisers, while he is at liberty to yield to their judgment
+in all cases of local concern.
+
+One of the most important questions with which the Mackenzie government
+was called upon to deal was the construction of the Canadian Pacific
+railway. It was first proposed to utilise the "water-stretches" on the
+route of the railroad, and in that way lessen its cost, but the scheme
+was soon found to be impracticable. The people of British Columbia were
+aggrieved at the delay in building the railway, and several efforts were
+made to arrange the difficulty through the intervention of the Earl of
+Carnarvon, colonial secretary of state, of the governor-general when he
+visited the province in 1876, and of Mr., afterwards Sir, James Edgar,
+who was authorised to treat with the provincial government on the
+subject. At the instance of the secretary of state the government agreed
+to build immediately a road from Esquimalt to Nanaimo on Vancouver
+Island, to prosecute the surveys with vigour, and make arrangements for
+the completion of the railway in 1890. Mr. Blake opposed these terms,
+and in doing so no doubt represented the views of a large body of the
+Liberal party, who believed that the government of Canada had in 1871
+entered into the compact with British Columbia without sufficient
+consideration of the gravity of the obligation they were incurring. The
+commons, however, passed the Esquimalt and Nanaimo bill only to hear of
+its rejection in the senate, where some Liberals united with the
+Conservative majority to defeat it. When the surveys were all completed,
+the government decided to build the railway as a public work; but by the
+autumn of 1878, when Mr. Mackenzie was defeated at a general election,
+only a few miles of the road had been completed, and the indignation of
+British Columbia had become so deep that the legislature passed a
+resolution for separation from the Dominion unless the terms of union
+were soon fulfilled.
+
+During the existence of the Mackenzie government there was much
+depression in trade throughout the Dominion, and the public revenues
+showed large deficits in consequence of the falling-off of imports. When
+the elections took place in September, 1878, the people were called upon
+to give their decision on a most important issue. With that astuteness
+which always enabled him to gauge correctly the tendency of public
+opinion, Sir John Macdonald recognised the fact that the people were
+prepared to accept any new fiscal policy which promised to relieve the
+country from the great depression which had too long hampered internal
+and external trade. In the session of 1878 he brought forward a
+resolution, declaring emphatically that the welfare of Canada required
+"the adoption of a national policy which, by a judicious readjustment of
+the tariff will benefit the agricultural, the mining, the manufacturing
+and other interests of the Dominion ... will retain in Canada thousands
+of our fellow-countrymen now obliged to expatriate themselves in search
+of the employment denied them at home ... will restore prosperity to our
+struggling industries now so sadly depressed ... will prevent Canada
+from being made a sacrifice market ... will encourage and develop an
+interprovincial trade ... and will procure eventually for this country a
+reciprocity of trade with the United States." This ingenious resolution
+was admirably calculated to captivate the public mind, though it was
+defeated in the house of commons by a large majority. Mr. Mackenzie was
+opposed to the principle of protection, and announced the determination
+of the government to adhere to a revenue tariff instead of resorting to
+any protectionist policy, which would, in his opinion, largely increase
+the burdens of the people under the pretence of stimulating
+manufactures. As a consequence of his unbending fidelity to the
+principles of his life, Mr. Mackenzie was beaten at the general election
+by an overwhelming majority. If he had possessed even a little of the
+flexibility of his astute opponent he would have been more successful as
+a leader of a party.
+
+One of Lord Dufferin's last official acts in October, 1878, was to call
+upon Sir John Macdonald to form a new administration on the resignation
+of Mr. Mackenzie. The new governor-general, the Marquess of Lorne, and
+the Princess Louise, arrived in Canada early in November and were
+everywhere received with great enthusiasm. The new protective
+policy--"the National Policy" as the Conservatives like best to name
+it--was laid before parliament in the session of 1879, by Sir Leonard
+Tilley, then finance minister; and though it has undergone some
+important modifications since its introduction it has formed the basis
+of the Canadian tariff for twenty years. The next important measure of
+the government was the vigorous prosecution of the Canadian Pacific
+railway. During the Mackenzie administration the work had made little
+progress, and the people of British Columbia had become very indignant
+at the failure to carry out the terms on which they had entered the
+confederation. In the session of 1880-81 Sir Charles Tupper, minister of
+railways, announced that the government had entered into a contract with
+a company of capitalists to construct the railway from Montreal to
+Burrard's Inlet. Parliament ratified the contract by a large majority
+despite the vigorous opposition made by Mr. Blake, then leader of the
+Liberal party, who had for years considered this part of the agreement
+with British Columbia as extremely rash. Such remarkable energy was
+brought to the construction of this imperial highway that it was
+actually in operation at the end of five years after the commencement of
+the work--only one-half of the time allowed in the charter for its
+completion. The financial difficulties which the company had to
+encounter in the progress of the work were very great, and they were
+obliged in 1884 to obtain a large loan from the Dominion government. The
+loan was secured on the company's property, and was paid off by 1887.
+The political fortunes of the Conservative administration, in fact, were
+indissolubly connected with the success of this national enterprise, and
+from the moment when the company commenced the work Sir John Macdonald
+never failed to give it his complete confidence and support.
+
+One of the delicate questions which the Macdonald government was called
+upon to settle soon after their coming into office was what is known as
+"the Letellier affair." In March, 1878, the lieutenant-governor of the
+province of Quebec, Mr. Letellier de Saint-Just, who had been previously
+a member of the Mackenzie Liberal government, dismissed the Boucherville
+Conservative ministry on the ground that they had taken steps in regard
+to both administrative and legislative measures not only contrary to his
+representations, but even without previously advising him of what they
+proposed to do. At his request Mr., now Sir, Henry Joly de Lotbinière
+formed a Liberal administration, which appealed to the country. The
+result was that the two parties came back evenly balanced. The
+Conservatives of the province were deeply irritated at this action of
+the lieutenant-governor, and induced Sir John Macdonald, then leader of
+the opposition, to make a motion in the house of commons, declaring Mr.
+Letellier's conduct "unwise and subversive of the sound principles of
+responsible government." This motion was made as an amendment on the
+proposal to go into committee of supply, and under a peculiar usage of
+the Canadian commons it was not permitted to move a second amendment at
+this stage. Had such a course been regular, the Mackenzie government
+would have proposed an amendment similar to that which was moved in the
+senate, to the effect that it was inexpedient to offer any opinion on
+the action of the lieutenant-governor of Quebec for the reason that "the
+federal and provincial governments, each in its own sphere, enjoyed
+responsible government equally, separately, and independently"--in
+other words, that the wisest constitutional course to follow under the
+circumstances was to allow each province to work out responsible
+government without any undue interference on the part of the Dominion
+government or parliament. As it happened, however, Mr. Mackenzie and his
+colleagues had no alternative open to them but to vote down the motion
+proposed in the commons; while in the Conservative senate the amendment,
+which could not be submitted to the lower house under the rules, was
+defeated, and the motion condemning the lieutenant-governor carried by a
+large party vote.
+
+In 1879, when the Macdonald government was in office, the matter was
+again brought before the house of commons and the same motion of censure
+that had been defeated in 1878 was introduced in the same way as before,
+and carried by a majority of 85. The prime minister then informed Lord
+Lorne that in the opinion of the government Mr. Letellier's "usefulness
+was gone," and he recommended his removal from office; but the
+governor-general was unwilling to agree hastily to such a dangerous
+precedent as the removal of a lieutenant-governor, and as an imperial
+officer he referred the whole matter to her Majesty's government for
+their consideration and instructions. The colonial secretary did not
+hesitate to state "that the lieutenant-governor of a province has an
+indisputable right to dismiss his ministers if, from any cause, he feels
+it incumbent to do so," but that, in deciding whether the conduct of a
+lieutenant-governor merits removal from his office, as in the exercise
+of other powers vested in him by the imperial state the governor-general
+"must act by and with the advice of his ministers." After further
+consideration of the subject, the Canadian government again recommended
+the dismissal of Mr. Letellier, and the governor-general had now no
+alternative except to act on the advice of his responsible ministers. It
+was unfortunate that the constitutional issue was obscured, from the
+outset, by the political bitterness that was imported into it, and that
+the procedure, followed in two sessions, of proposing an amendment,
+condemnatory of the action of the lieutenant-governor, on the motion of
+going into committee of supply, prevented the house from coming to a
+decision squarely on the true constitutional issue--actually raised in
+the senate in 1878--whether it was expedient for the parliament or
+government of Canada to interfere in a matter of purely provincial
+concern.
+
+In 1891 another case of the dismissal of a ministry, having a majority
+in the assembly, occurred in the province of Quebec, but the
+intervention of parliament was not asked for the purpose of censuring
+the lieutenant-governor for the exercise of his undoubted constitutional
+power. It appears that, in 1891, the evidence taken before a committee
+of the senate showed that gross irregularities had occurred in
+connection with the disbursement of certain government subsidies which
+had been voted by parliament for the construction of the Bay des
+Chaleurs railway, and that members of the Quebec cabinet were
+compromised in what was clearly a misappropriation of public money. In
+view of these grave charges, Lieutenant-governor Angers forced his prime
+minister, Mr. Honoré Mercier, to agree to the appointment of a royal
+commission to hold an investigation into the transaction in question.
+When the lieutenant-governor was in possession of the evidence taken
+before this commission, he came to the conclusion that it was his duty
+to relieve Mr. Mercier and his colleagues of their functions as
+ministers "in order to protect the dignity of the crown and safeguard
+the honour and interest of the province in danger." Mr. de Boucherville
+was then called upon to form a ministry which would necessarily assume
+full responsibility for the action of the lieutenant-governor under the
+circumstances, and after some delay the new ministry went to the country
+and were sustained by a large majority. It is an interesting coincidence
+that the lieutenant-governor who dismissed the Mercier government and
+the prime minister who assumed full responsibility for the dismissal of
+the Mercier administration, were respectively attorney-general and
+premier in the cabinet who so deeply resented a similar action in 1878.
+But Mr. Letellier was then dead--notoriously as a result of the mental
+strain to which he had been subject in the constitutional crisis which
+wrecked his political career--and it was left only for his friends to
+feel that the whirligig of time brings its revenge even in political
+affairs[5].
+
+[5: Since this chapter was in type, the Dominion government have found
+it necessary to dismiss Mr. McInnes from the lieutenant-governorship of
+British Columbia, on the ground--as set forth in an order-in-council
+--that "his official conduct had been subversive of the principles of
+responsible government," and that his "usefulness was gone." While Mr.
+McInnes acted as head of the executive at Victoria, the political
+affairs of the province became chaotic. He dismissed ministries in the
+most summary manner. When the people were at last appealed to at a
+general election by Mr. Martin, his latest adviser, he was defeated by
+an overwhelming majority, and the Ottawa government came to the
+conclusion--to quote the order-in-council--"that the action of the
+lieutenant-governor in dismissing his ministers has not been approved by
+the people of British Columbia," and it was evident, "that the
+government of the province cannot be successfully carried on in the
+manner contemplated by the constitution under the administration of the
+present incumbent of the office." Consequently, Mr. McInnes was removed
+from office, and the Dominion government appointed in his place Sir
+Henri Joly de Lotbinière, who has had large experience in public affairs,
+and is noted for his amiability and discretion.]
+
+A very important controversy involving old issues arose in 1888 in
+connection with an act passed by the Mercier government of Quebec for
+the settlement of the Jesuits' estates, which, so long ago as 1800, had
+fallen into the hands of the British government, on the death of the
+last surviving member of the order in Canada, and had been, after some
+delay, applied to the promotion of public instruction in the province of
+Quebec. The bishops of the Roman Catholic Church always contended that
+the estates should have been vested in them "as the ordinaries of the
+various dioceses in which this property was situated." After
+confederation, the estates became the property of the government of
+Quebec and were entirely at the disposal of the legislature. The
+Jesuits in the meantime had become incorporated in the province, and
+made, as well as the bishops, a claim to the estates. Eventually, to
+settle the difficulty and strengthen himself with the ecclesiastics of
+the province, Mr. Mercier astutely passed a bill through the
+legislature, authorising the payment of $400,000 as compensation to the
+Jesuits in lieu of all the lands held by them prior to the conquest and
+subsequently confiscated by the crown. It was expressly set forth in the
+preamble of the act--and it was this proposition which offended the
+extreme Protestants--that the amount of compensation was to remain as a
+special deposit until the Pope had made known his wishes respecting the
+distribution. Some time later the Pope divided the money among the
+Jesuits, the archbishops and bishops of the province, and Laval
+University. The whole matter came before the Dominion house of commons
+in 1888, when a resolution was proposed to the effect that the
+government should have at once disallowed the act as beyond the power of
+the legislature, because, among other reasons, "it recognizes the
+usurpation of a right by a foreign authority, namely his Holiness the
+Pope, to claim that his consent was necessary to dispose of and
+appropriate the public funds of a province." The very large vote in
+support of the action of the government-188 against 13-was chiefly
+influenced by the conviction that, to quote the minute of council, "the
+subject-matter of the act was one of provincial concern, only having
+relation to a fiscal matter entirely within the control of the
+legislature of Quebec." The best authorities agree in the wisdom of not
+interfering with provincial legislation except in cases where there is
+an indisputable invasion of Dominion jurisdiction or where the vital
+interests of Canada as a whole may imperatively call for such
+interference.
+
+In March, 1885, Canada was startled by the news that the half-breeds of
+the Saskatchewan district in the North-west had risen in rebellion
+against the authority of the Dominion government. It is difficult to
+explain clearly the actual causes of an uprising which, in all
+probability, would never have occurred had it not been for the fact that
+Riel had been brought back from Montana by his countrymen to assist them
+in obtaining a redress of certain grievances. This little insurrection
+originated in the Roman Catholic mission of St. Laurent, situated
+between the north and south branches of the Saskatchewan River, and
+contiguous to the British settlement of Prince Albert. Within the limits
+of this mission there was a considerable number of half-breeds, who had
+for the most part migrated from Manitoba after selling the "scrip[6]"
+for lands generously granted to them after the restoration of order in
+1870 to the Red River settlements. Government surveyors had been busily
+engaged for some time in laying out the Saskatchewan country in order to
+keep pace with the rapidly increasing settlement. When they came to the
+mission of St. Laurent they were met with the same distrust that had
+done so much harm in 1870. The half-breeds feared that the system of
+square blocks followed by the surveyors would seriously interfere with
+the location of the farms on which they had "squatted" in accordance
+with the old French system of deep lots with a narrow frontage on the
+banks of the rivers. The difficulties arising out of these diverse
+systems of surveys caused a considerable delay in the issue of patents
+for lands, and dissatisfied the settlers who were anxious to know what
+land their titles covered. The half-breeds not only contended that their
+surveys should be respected, but that they should be also allowed scrip
+for two hundred and forty acres of land, as had been done in the case of
+their compatriots in Manitoba. Many of the Saskatchewan settlers had
+actually received this scrip before they left the province, but
+nevertheless they hoped to obtain it once more from the government, and
+to sell it with their usual improvidence to the first speculators who
+offered them some ready money.
+
+[6: A certificate from the government that a certain person is entitled
+to receive a patent from the crown for a number of acres of the public
+lands--a certificate legally transferable to another person by the
+original holder.]
+
+The delay of the government in issuing patents and scrip and the system
+of surveys were no doubt the chief grievances which enabled Riel and
+Dumont--the latter a resident of Batoche--to excite the half-breeds
+against the Dominion authorities at Ottawa. When a commission was
+actually appointed by the government in January, 1885, to allot scrip to
+those who were entitled to receive it, the half-breeds were actually
+ready for a revolt under the malign influence of Riel and his
+associates. Riel believed for some time after his return in 1884 that he
+could use the agitation among his easily deluded countrymen for his own
+selfish purposes. It is an indisputable fact that he made an offer to
+the Dominion government to leave the North-west if they would pay him a
+considerable sum of money. When he found that there was no likelihood of
+Sir John Macdonald repeating the mistake which he had made at the end of
+the first rebellion, Riel steadily fomented the agitation among the
+half-breeds, who were easily persuaded to believe that a repetition of
+the disturbances of 1870 would obtain them a redress of any grievances
+they might have. It is understood that one of the causes that aggravated
+the agitation at its inception was the belief entertained by some white
+settlers of Prince Albert that they could use the disaffection among the
+half-breeds for the purpose of repeating the early history of Manitoba,
+and forcing the Dominion government to establish a new province in the
+Saskatchewan country, though its entire population at that time would
+not have exceeded ten thousand persons, of whom a large proportion were
+half-breeds. Riel for a time skilfully made these people believe that he
+would be a ductile instrument in their hands, but when his own plans
+were ripe for execution he assumed despotic control of the whole
+movement and formed a provisional government in which he and his
+half-breed associates were dominant, and the white conspirators of
+Prince Albert were entirely ignored. The loyal people of Prince Albert,
+who had always disapproved of the agitation, as well as the priests of
+the mission, who had invariably advised their flock to use only peaceful
+and constitutional methods of redress, were at last openly set at
+defiance and insulted by Riel and his associates. The revolt broke out
+on the 25th March, 1885, when the half-breeds took forcible possession
+of the government stores, and made prisoners of some traders at Duck
+Lake. A small force of Mounted Police under the command of
+Superintendent Crozier was defeated near the same place by Dumont, and
+the former only saved his men from destruction by a skilful retreat to
+Fort Carleton. The half-breed leaders circulated the news of this
+victory over the dreaded troops of the government among the Indian bands
+of the Saskatchewan, a number of whom immediately went on the war-path.
+Fort Carleton had to be given up by the mounted police, who retired to
+Prince Albert, the key of the district. The town of Battleford was
+besieged by the Indians, but they were successfully kept in check for
+weeks until the place was relieved. Fort Pitt was evacuated by Inspector
+Dickens, a son of the great novelist, who succeeded in taking his little
+force of police into Battleford. Two French missionaries and several
+white men were ruthlessly murdered at Frog Lake by a band of Crees, and
+two women were dragged from the bodies of their husbands and carried
+away to the camp of Big Bear. Happily for them some tender-hearted
+half-breeds purchased them from the Indians and kept them in safety
+until they were released at the close of the disturbances.
+
+The heart of Canada was now deeply stirred and responded with great
+heartiness to the call of the government for troops to restore order to
+the distracted settlements. The minister of militia, Mr. Adolphe
+Caron--afterwards knighted for his services on this trying
+occasion--showed great energy in the management of his department.
+Between four and five thousand men were soon on the march for the
+territories under Major-General Middleton, the English officer then in
+command of the Canadian militia. Happily for the rapid transport of the
+troops the Canadian Pacific Railway was so far advanced that, with the
+exception of 72 miles, it afforded a continuous line of communication
+from Montreal to Qu'Appelle. The railway formed the base from which
+three military expeditions could be despatched to the most important
+points of the Saskatchewan country--one direct to Batoche, a second to
+Battleford, and a third for a flank movement to Fort Edmonton, where a
+descent could be made down the North Saskatchewan for the purpose of
+recapturing Fort Pitt and attacking the rebellious Indians under Big
+Bear. On the 24th of April General Middleton fought his first engagement
+with the half-breeds, who were skilfully concealed in rifle pits in the
+vicinity of Fish Creek, a small erratic tributary of the South
+Saskatchewan. Dumont for the moment succeeded in checking the advance of
+the Canadian forces, who fought with much bravery but were placed at a
+great disadvantage on account of Middleton not having taken sufficient
+precautions against a foe thoroughly acquainted with the country and
+cunningly hidden. The Canadian troops were soon able to continue their
+forward movement and won a decisive victory at Batoche, in which
+Colonels Williams, Straubenzie, and Grasett notably distinguished
+themselves. Riel was soon afterwards captured on the prairie, but Dumont
+succeeded in crossing the frontier of the United States. While Middleton
+was on his way to Batoche, Lieutenant-Colonel Otter of Toronto, an able
+soldier who was, fifteen years later, detached for active service in
+South Africa, was on the march for the relief of Battleford, and had on
+the first of May an encounter with a large band of Indians under
+Poundmaker on the banks of Cut Knife Creek, a small tributary of the
+Battle River. Though Otter did not win a victory, he showed Poundmaker
+the serious nature of the contest in which he was engaged against the
+Canadian government, and soon afterwards, when the Cree chief heard of
+the defeat of the half-breeds at Batoche, he surrendered
+unconditionally. Another expedition under the command of
+Lieutenant-Colonel Strange also relieved Fort Pitt; and Big Bear was
+forced to fly into the swampy fastnesses of the prairie wilderness, but
+was eventually captured near Fort Carleton by a force of Mounted Police.
+
+This second rebellion of the half-breeds lasted about three months, and
+cost the country upwards of five million dollars. Including the persons
+murdered at Frog Lake, the loyal population of Canada lost thirty-six
+valuable lives, among whom was Lieutenant-Colonel Williams, a gallant
+officer, and a member of the house of commons, who succumbed to a
+serious illness brought on by his exposure on the prairie. The
+casualties among the half-breeds were at least as large, if not greater.
+Five Indian chiefs suffered the extreme penalty of the law, while
+Poundmaker, Big Bear, and a number of others were imprisoned in the
+territories for life or for a term of years, according to the gravity of
+their complicity in the rebellion. Any hopes that Riel might have placed
+in the active sympathy of the French Canadian people of Quebec were soon
+dispelled. He was tried at Regina in July and sentenced to death,
+although the able counsel allotted to him by the government exhausted
+every available argument in his defence, even to the extent of setting
+up a plea of insanity, which the prisoner himself deeply resented. The
+most strenuous efforts were made by the French Canadians to force the
+government to reprieve him, but Sir John Macdonald was satisfied that
+the loyal sentiment of the great majority of the people of Canada
+demanded imperatively that the law should be vindicated. The French
+Canadian representatives in the cabinet, Langevin, Chapleau, and Caron,
+resisted courageously the storm of obloquy which their determination to
+support the prime minister raised against them; and Riel was duly
+executed on the 16th November. For some time after his death attempts
+were made to keep up the excitement which had so long existed in the
+province of Quebec on the question. The Dominion government was
+certainly weakened for a time in Quebec by its action in this matter,
+while Mr. Honoré Mercier skilfully used the Riel agitation to obtain
+control of the provincial government at the general election of 1886,
+but only to fall five years later, under circumstances which must always
+throw a shadow over the fame of a brilliant, but unsafe, political
+leader (see p. 247). The attempt to make political capital out of the
+matter in the Dominion parliament had no other result than to weaken the
+influence in Ontario of Mr. Edward Blake, the leader of the opposition
+since the resignation of Mr. Mackenzie in 1880. He was left without the
+support of the majority of the Liberal representatives of the province
+in the house of commons when he condemned the execution of Riel,
+principally on the ground that he was insane--a conclusion not at all
+justified by the report of the medical experts who had been chosen by
+the government to examine the condemned man previous to the execution.
+The energy with which this rebellion was repressed showed both the
+half-breeds and the Indians of the west the power of the Ottawa
+government. From that day to this order has prevailed in the western
+country, and grievances have been redressed as far as possible. The
+readiness with which the militia force of Canada rallied to the support
+of the government was conclusive evidence of the deep national sentiment
+that existed throughout the Dominion. In Ottawa, Port Hope, and Toronto
+monuments have been raised in memory of the brave men who gave up their
+lives for the Dominion, but probably the most touching memorial of this
+unfortunate episode in Canadian history is the rude cairn of stone which
+still stands among the wild flowers of the prairie in memory of the
+gallant fellows who were mown down by the unerring rifle shots of the
+half-breeds hidden in the ravines of Fish Creek.
+
+In 1885 parliament passed a general franchise law for the Dominion in
+place of the system--which had prevailed since 1867--of taking the
+electoral lists of the several provinces as the lists for elections to
+the house of commons. The opposition contested this measure with great
+persistency, but Sir John Macdonald pressed it to a successful
+conclusion, mainly on the ground that it was necessary in a country like
+Canada, composed of such diverse elements, to have for the Dominion
+uniformity of suffrage, based on a small property qualification, instead
+of having diverse systems of franchise--in some provinces, universal
+franchise, to which he and other Conservatives generally were strongly
+opposed.
+
+Between 1880 and 1894 Canada was called upon to mourn the loss of a
+number of her ablest and brightest statesmen--one of them the most
+notable in her political history. It was on a lovely May day of 1880
+that the eminent journalist and politician, George Brown, died from the
+effects of a bullet wound which he received at the hand of one Bennett,
+a printer, who had been discharged by the _Globe_ for drunkenness and
+incapacity. The Conservative party in 1888 suffered a great loss by the
+sudden decease of Mr. Thomas White, minister of the interior in the
+Macdonald ministry, who had been for the greater part of his life a
+prominent journalist, and had succeeded in winning a conspicuous and
+useful position in public affairs as a writer, speaker, and
+administrator. Three years later, the Dominion was startled by the sad
+announcement, on the 6th June, 1891, that the voice of the great prime
+minister, Sir John Macdonald, who had so long controlled the affairs of
+Canada, would never more be heard in that federal parliament of which he
+had been one of the fathers. All classes of Canadians vied with one
+another in paying a tribute of affection and respect to one who had been
+in every sense a true Canadian. Men forgot for the moment his mistakes
+and weaknesses, the mistakes of the politician and the weaknesses of
+humanity, "only to remember"--to quote the eloquent tribute paid to him
+by Mr. Laurier, then leader of the opposition--"that his actions always
+displayed great originality of view, unbounded fertility of resources, a
+high level of intellectual conception, and above all, a far-reaching
+vision beyond the event of the day, and still higher, permeating the
+whole, a broad patriotism, a devotion to Canada's welfare, Canada's
+advancement, and Canada's glory." His obsequies were the most stately
+and solemn that were ever witnessed in the Dominion; his bust was
+subsequently unveiled in the crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral by the Earl
+of Rosebery, when prime minister of England; noble monuments were raised
+to his memory in the cities of Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal;
+and the Queen addressed a letter full of gracious sympathy to his widow
+and conferred on her the dignity of a peeress of the United Kingdom
+under the title of Baroness of Earnscliffe, as a mark of her Majesty's
+gratitude "for the devoted and faithful services which he rendered for
+so many years to his sovereign and his Dominion."
+
+Mr. Alexander Mackenzie, stonemason, journalist, and prime minister,
+died in April, 1892, a victim to the paralysis which had been steadily
+creeping for years over his enfeebled frame, and made him a pitiable
+spectacle as he sat like a Stoic in the front seats of the opposition,
+unable to speak or even to rise without the helping arm of some
+attentive friend. On the 30th October, 1893, Sir John Abbott, probably
+the ablest commercial lawyer in Canada, who had been premier of Canada
+since the death of Sir John Macdonald, followed his eminent predecessors
+to the grave, and was succeeded by Sir John Thompson, minister of
+justice in the Conservative government since September, 1885. A great
+misfortune again overtook the Conservative party on the 12th December,
+1894, when Sir John Thompson died in Windsor Castle, whither he had gone
+at her Majesty's request to take the oath of a privy councillor of
+England--high distinction conferred upon him in recognition of his
+services on the Bering Sea arbitration. Sir John Thompson was gifted
+with a rare judicial mind, and a remarkable capacity for the lucid
+expression of his thoughts, which captivated his hearers even when they
+were not convinced by arguments clothed in the choicest diction. His
+remains were brought across the Atlantic by a British frigate, and
+interred in his native city of Halifax with all the stately ceremony of
+a national funeral. The governor-general, Lord Stanley of Preston, now
+the Earl of Derby, called upon the senior privy councillor in the
+cabinet, Sir Mackenzie Bowell, to form a new ministry. He continued in
+office until April, 1896, when he retired in favour of Sir Charles
+Tupper, who resigned the position of high commissioner for Canada in
+England to enter public life as the recognised leader of the
+Liberal-Conservative party. This eminent Canadian had already reached
+the middle of the eighth decade of his life, but age had in no sense
+impaired the vigour or astuteness of his mental powers. He has continued
+ever since, as leader of the Liberal-Conservative party, to display
+remarkable activity in the discussion of political questions, not only
+as a leader of parliament, but on the public platform in every province
+of the Dominion.
+
+During the session of 1891 the political career of Sir Hector Langevin,
+the leader of the Liberal-Conservative party in French Canada, was
+seriously affected by certain facts disclosed before the committee of
+privileges and elections. This committee had been ordered by the house
+of commons to inquire into charges made by Mr. Israel Tarte against
+another member of the house, Mr. Thomas McGreevy, who was accused of
+having used his influence as a commissioner of the Quebec harbour, a
+government appointment, to obtain fraudulently from the department of
+public works, presided over by Sir Hector for many years, large
+government contracts in connection with the Quebec harbour and other
+works. The report of the majority of the committee found Mr. McGreevy
+guilty of fraudulent acts, and he was not only expelled from the house
+but was subsequently imprisoned in the Ottawa common gaol after his
+conviction on an indictment laid against him in the criminal court of
+Ontario. With respect to the complicity of the minister of public works
+in these frauds the committee reported that it was clear that, while the
+conspiracy had been rendered effective by reason of the confidence which
+Sir Hector Langevin placed in Mr. McGreevy and in the officers of the
+department, yet the evidence did not justify them in concluding that Sir
+Hector knew of the conspiracy or willingly lent himself to its objects.
+A minority of the committee, on the other hand, took the opposite view
+of the transactions, and claimed that the evidence showed the minister
+to be cognisant of the facts of the letting of the contracts, and that
+in certain specified cases he had been guilty of the violation of a
+public trust by allowing frauds to be perpetrated. The report of the
+majority was carried by a party vote, with the exception of two
+Conservative members who voted with the minority. Sir Hector Langevin
+had resigned his office in the government previous to the inquiry, and
+though he continued in the house for the remainder of its constitutional
+existence, he did not present himself for re-election in 1896 when
+parliament was dissolved.
+
+Unhappily it was not only in the department of public works that
+irregularities were discovered. A number of officials in several
+departments were proved before the committee of public accounts to have
+been guilty of carelessness or positive misconduct in the discharge of
+their duties, and the government was obliged, in the face of such
+disclosures, to dismiss or otherwise punish several persons in whom they
+had for years reposed too much confidence.
+
+On the 20th and 21st of June, 1893, a convention of the most prominent
+representative Liberals of the Dominion was held in the city of Ottawa;
+and Sir Oliver Mowat, the veteran premier of Ontario, was unanimously
+called upon to preside over this important assemblage. Resolutions were
+passed with great enthusiasm in support of tariff reform, a fair measure
+of reciprocal trade with the United States, a sale of public lands only
+to actual settlers upon reasonable terms of settlement, an honest and
+economical administration of government, the right of the house of
+commons to inquire into all matters of public expenditure and charges of
+misconduct against ministers, the reform of the senate, the submission
+of the question of prohibition to a vote of the people, and the repeal
+of the Dominion franchise act passed in 1885, as well as of the measure
+of 1892, altering the boundaries of the electoral districts and
+readjusting the representation in the house of commons. This convention
+may be considered the commencement of that vigorous political campaign,
+which ended so successfully for the Liberal party in the general
+election of 1896.
+
+In the summer of 1894 there was held in the city of Ottawa a conference
+of delegates from eight self-governing colonies in Australasia, South
+Africa, and America, who assembled for the express purpose of discussing
+questions which affected not merely their own peculiar interests, but
+touched most nearly the unity and development of the empire at large The
+imperial government was represented by the Earl of Jersey, who had been
+a governor of one of the Australian colonies. After very full discussion
+the conference passed resolutions in favour of the following measures:
+
+(1) Imperial legislation enabling the dependencies of the empire to
+enter into agreements of commercial reciprocity, including the power to
+make differential tariffs with Great Britain or with one another. (2)
+The removal of any restrictions in existing treaties between Great
+Britain and any foreign power, which prevent such agreements of
+commercial reciprocity. (3) A customs arrangement between Great Britain
+and her colonies by which trade within the empire might be placed on a
+more favourable footing than that which is carried on with foreign
+countries. (4) Improved steamship communication between Canada,
+Australasia, and Great Britain. (5) Telegraph communication by cable,
+free from foreign control, between Canada and Australia. These various
+resolutions were brought formally by the Earl of Jersey to the notice
+of the imperial government, which expressed the opinion, through the
+Marquess of Ripon, then secretary of state for the colonies, that the
+"general economic results" of the preferential trade recommended by the
+conference "would not be beneficial to the empire." Lord Ripon even
+questioned the desirability of denouncing at that time the treaties with
+Belgium and Germany--a subject which had engaged the attention of the
+Canadian parliament in 1892, when the government, of which Sir John
+Abbott was premier, passed an address to the Queen, requesting that
+immediate steps be taken to free Canada from treaty restrictions
+"incompatible with the rights and powers conferred by the British North
+America act of 1867 for the regulation of the trade and commerce of the
+Dominion." Any advantages which might be granted by Great Britain to
+either Belgium or the German Zollverein under these particular treaties,
+would also have to be extended to a number of other countries which had
+what is called the "favoured nations clause" in treaties with England.
+While these treaty stipulations with regard to import duties did not
+prevent differential treatment by the United Kingdom in favour of
+British colonies, or differential treatment by British colonies in
+favour of each other, they did prevent differential treatment by British
+colonies in favour of the United Kingdom. As we shall presently see,
+when I come to review the commercial policy of the new Dominion
+government three years later, the practical consequence of these
+treaties was actually to force Canada to give for some months not only
+to Germany and Belgium, but to a number of other countries, the same
+commercial privileges which they extended in 1897 to the parent state.
+
+Among the difficult questions, which have agitated the Dominion from
+time to time and perplexed both Conservative and Liberal politicians,
+are controversies connected with education. By the British North America
+act of 1867 the legislature of each province may exclusively make laws
+in relation to education, but at the same time protection is afforded
+to denominational or dissentient schools by giving authority to the
+Dominion government to disallow an act clearly infringing the rights or
+privileges of a religious minority, or to obtain remedial legislation
+from parliament itself according to the circumstances of the case. From
+1871 until 1875 the government of the Dominion was pressed by petitions
+from the Roman Catholic inhabitants of New Brunswick to disallow an act
+passed by the provincial legislature in relation to common schools on
+the ground that it was an infringement of certain rights which they
+enjoyed as a religious body at the time of confederation. The question
+not only came before the courts of New Brunswick and the Canadian house
+of commons, but was also submitted to the judicial committee of the
+imperial privy council; but only with the result of showing beyond
+question that the objectionable legislation was clearly within the
+jurisdiction of the legislature of New Brunswick, and could not be
+constitutionally disallowed by the Dominion government on the ground
+that it violated any right or privilege enjoyed by the Roman Catholics
+at the time of union. A solution of the question was, however,
+subsequently reached by an amicable arrangement between the Roman
+Catholics and Protestants, which has ever since worked most
+satisfactorily in that province.
+
+The Manitoba school question, which agitated the country from 1890 until
+1896, was one of great gravity on account of the issues involved. The
+history of the case shows that, prior to the formation of Manitoba in
+1870, there was not in the province any public system of education, but
+the several religious denominations had established such schools as they
+thought fit to maintain by means of funds voluntarily contributed by
+members of their own communion. In 1871 the legislature of Manitoba
+established an educational system distinctly denominational. In 1890
+this law was repealed, and the legislature established a system of
+strictly non-sectarian schools. The Roman Catholic minority of the
+province was deeply aggrieved at what they considered a violation of the
+rights and privileges which they enjoyed under the terms of union
+adopted in 1870. The first subsection of the twenty-second section of
+the act of 1870 set forth that the legislature of the province could not
+pass any law with regard to schools which might "prejudicially affect
+any right or privilege with respect to denominational schools which any
+class of persons have, by law or practice, in the province at the time
+of union." The dispute was brought before the courts of Canada, and
+finally before the judicial committee of the privy council, which
+decided that the legislation of 1890 was constitutional inasmuch as the
+only right or privilege which the Roman Catholics then possessed "by law
+or practice" was the right or privilege of establishing and maintaining
+for the use of members of their own church such schools as they pleased.
+The Roman Catholic minority then availed themselves of another provision
+of the twenty-second section of the Manitoba act, which allows an appeal
+to the governor-in-council "from any act or decision of the legislature
+of the province or of any provincial authority, affecting any right or
+privilege of the Protestant or Roman Catholic minority of the Queen's
+subjects in relation to education."
+
+The ultimate result of this reference was a judgment of the judicial
+committee to the effect that the appeal was well founded and that the
+governor-in-council had jurisdiction in the premises, but the committee
+added that "the particular course to be pursued must be determined by
+the authorities to whom it has been committed by the statute." The third
+subsection of the twenty-second section of the Manitoba act--a
+repetition of the provision of the British North America act with
+respect to denominational schools in the old provinces--provides not
+only for the action of the governor-in-council in case a remedy is not
+supplied by the proper provincial authority for the removal of a
+grievance on the part of a religious minority, but also for the making
+of "remedial laws" by the parliament of Canada for the "due execution"
+of the provision protecting denominational schools. In accordance with
+this provision Sir Mackenzie Bowell's government passed an
+order-in-council on the 21st March, 1895, calling upon the government of
+Manitoba to take the necessary measures to restore to the Roman Catholic
+minority such rights and privileges as were declared by the highest
+court of the empire to have been taken away from them. The Manitoba
+government not only refused to move in the matter but expressed its
+determination "to resist unitedly by every constitutional means any such
+attempt to interfere with their provincial autonomy." The result was the
+introduction of a remedial bill by Mr. Dickey, minister of justice, in
+the house of commons during the session of 1896; but it met from the
+outset very determined opposition during the most protracted
+sittings--one of them lasting continuously for a week--ever known in the
+history of the Canadian or any other legislature of the empire. On
+several divisions the bill was supported by majorities ranging from 24
+to 18--several French members of the opposition having voted for it and
+several Conservative Protestant members against its passage. The bill
+was introduced on the 11th February, and the motion for its second
+reading was made on the 3rd March, from which date it was debated
+continuously until progress was reported from a committee of the whole
+house on the 16th April, after the house had sat steadily from Monday
+afternoon at 3 o'clock until 2 o'clock on the following Thursday
+morning. It was then that Sir Charles Tupper, leader of the government
+in the house, announced that no further attempt would be made to press
+the bill that session. He stated that it was absolutely necessary to
+vote money for the urgent requirements of the public service and pass
+other important legislation during the single week that was left before
+parliament would be dissolved by the efflux of time under the
+constitutional law, which fixes the duration of the house of commons
+"for five years from the day of the return of the writs for choosing the
+house and no longer."
+
+In the general election of 1896 the Manitoba school question was an
+issue of great importance. From the commencement to the close of the
+controversy the opponents of denominational schools combined with the
+supporters of provincial rights to defeat the government which had so
+determinedly fought for what it considered to be the legal rights of the
+Roman Catholic minority of Manitoba. It had looked confidently to the
+support of the great majority of the French Canadians, but the result of
+the elections was most disappointing to the Conservative party. Whilst
+in the provinces, where the Protestants predominated, the Conservatives
+held their own to a larger extent than had been expected even by their
+sanguine friends, the French province gave a great majority to Mr.
+Launer, whose popularity among his countrymen triumphed over all
+influences, ecclesiastical and secular, that could be used in favour of
+denominational schools in Manitoba.
+
+The majority against Sir Charles Tupper was conclusive, and he did not
+attempt to meet parliament as the head of a government. Before his
+retirement from office, immediately after his defeat at the elections,
+he had some difference of opinion with the governor-general, the Earl of
+Aberdeen, who refused, in the exercise of his discretionary power, to
+sanction certain appointments to the senate and the judicial bench,
+which the prime minister justified by reference to English and Canadian
+precedents under similar conditions--notably of 1878 when Mr. Mackenzie
+resigned. Soon after the general election, and Lord Dufferin was
+governor-general, Sir Charles Tupper considered the subject of
+sufficient constitutional importance to bring it before the house of
+commons, where Sir Wilfrid Laurier, then premier, defended the course of
+the governor-general. The secretary of state for the colonies also
+approved in general terms of the principles which, as the
+governor-general explained in his despatches, had governed his action in
+this delicate matter.
+
+On Sir Charles Tapper's defeat at the elections, Mr. Laurier became
+first minister of a Liberal administration, in which positions were
+given to Sir Oliver Mowat, so long premier of Ontario, to Mr. Blair,
+premier of New Brunswick, to Mr. Fielding, premier of Nova Scotia, and
+eventually to Mr. Sifton, the astute attorney-general of Manitoba. Sir
+Richard Cartwright and Sir Louis Davies--to give the latter the title
+conferred on him in the Diamond Jubilee year--both of whom had been in
+the foremost rank of the Liberal party for many years, also took office
+in the new administration; but Mr. Mills, versed above most Canadian
+public men in political and constitutional knowledge, was not brought in
+until some time later, when Sir Oliver Mowat, the veteran minister of
+justice, was appointed to the lieutenant-governorship of Ontario. A
+notable acquisition was Mr. Tarte, who had acquired much influence in
+French Canada by his irrepressible energy, and who was placed over the
+department of public works.
+
+When the school question came to be discussed in 1897, during the first
+session of the new parliament, the premier explained to the house that,
+whilst he had always maintained "that the constitution of this country
+gave to this parliament and government the right and power to interfere
+with the school legislation of Manitoba, it was an extreme right and
+reserved power to be exercised only when other means had been
+exhausted." Believing then that "it was far better to obtain concessions
+by negotiation than by coercion," he had, as soon as he came into
+office, communicated with the Manitoba government on the subject, and
+had "as a result succeeded in making arrangements which gave the French
+Catholics of the province religious teaching in their schools and the
+protection of their language," under the conditions set forth in a
+statute expressly passed for the purpose by the legislature of
+Manitoba[7]. The premier at the same time admitted that "the settlement
+was not acceptable to certain dignitaries of the church to which he
+belonged"; but subsequently the Pope published an encyclical advising
+acceptance of the concessions made to the Manitoba Catholics, while
+claiming at the same time that these concessions were inadequate, and
+expressing the hope that full satisfaction would be obtained ere long
+from the Manitoba government. Since the arrangement of this compromise,
+no strenuous or effective effort has been made to revive the question as
+an element of political significance in party contests. Even in Manitoba
+itself, despite the defeat of the Greenway government, which was
+responsible for the Manitoba school act of 1890, and the coming into
+office of Mr. Hugh John Macdonald, the son of the great Conservative
+leader, there has been no sign of the least intention to depart from the
+legislation arranged by Sir Wilfrid Laurier in 1897 as, in his opinion,
+the best possible compromise under the difficult conditions surrounding
+a most embarrassing question.
+
+[7: This statute provides that religious teaching by a Roman Catholic
+priest, or other person duly authorised by him, shall take place at the
+close of the hours devoted to secular instruction; that a Roman Catholic
+teacher may be employed in every school in towns and cities where the
+average attendance of Roman Catholic children is forty or upwards, and
+in villages and rural districts where the attendance is twenty-five or
+upwards; and that French as well as English shall be taught in any
+school where ten pupils speak the French language.]
+
+In the autumn of 1898 Canada bade farewell with many expressions of
+regret to Lord and Lady Aberdeen, both of whom had won the affection and
+respect of the Canadian people by their earnest efforts to support every
+movement that might promote the social, intellectual and moral welfare
+of the people. Lord Aberdeen was the seventh governor-general appointed
+by the crown to administer public affairs since the union of the
+provinces in 1867. Lord Monck, who had the honour of initiating
+confederation, was succeeded by Sir John Young, who was afterwards
+raised to the peerage as Baron Lisgar--a just recognition of the
+admirable discretion and dignity with which he discharged the duties of
+his high position. His successor, the Earl of Dufferin, won the
+affection of the Canadian people by his grace of demeanour, and his
+Irish gift of eloquence, which he used in the spirit of the clever
+diplomatist to flatter the people of the country to their heart's
+content. The appointment of the Marquess of Lorne, now the Duke of
+Argyll, gave to Canada the honour of the presence of a Princess of the
+reigning family. He showed tact and discretion in some difficult
+political situations that arose during his administration, and succeeded
+above all his predecessors in stimulating the study of art, science and
+literature within the Dominion. The Marquess of Lansdowne and Lord
+Stanley of Preston--both inheritors of historic names, trained in the
+great school of English administration--also acquired the confidence and
+respect of the Canadian people. On the conclusion of Lord Aberdeen's
+term of office in 1898, he was succeeded by the Earl of Minto, who had
+been military secretary to the Marquess of Lansdowne, when
+governor-general, from the autumn of 1883 until the end of May, 1888,
+and had also acted as chief of staff to General Middleton during the
+North-west disturbances of 1885.
+
+Since its coming into office, the Laurier administration has been called
+upon to deal with many questions of Canadian as well as imperial
+concern. One of its first measures--to refer first to those of Canadian
+importance--was the repeal of the franchise act of 1885, which had been
+found so expensive in its operation that the Conservative government had
+for years taken no steps to prepare new electoral lists for the Dominion
+under its own law, but had allowed elections to be held on old lists
+which necessarily left out large numbers of persons entitled to vote. In
+accordance with the policy to which they had always pledged themselves
+as a party, the Liberal majority in parliament passed an act which
+returned to the electoral lists of the provinces. An attempt was also
+made in 1899 and 1900 to amend the redistribution acts of 1882 and 1892,
+and to restore so far as practicable the old county lines which had been
+deranged by those measures. The bill was noteworthy for the feature,
+novel in Canada, of leaving to the determination of a judicial
+commission the rearrangement of electoral divisions, but it was rejected
+in the senate on the ground that the British North America act provides
+only for the readjustment of the representation after the taking of each
+Decennial census, and that it is "a violation of the spirit of the act"
+to deal with the question until 1901, when the official figures of the
+whole population will be before parliament. The government was also
+called upon to arrange the details of a provisional government for the
+great arctic region of the Yukon, where remarkable gold discoveries were
+attracting a considerable population from all parts of the world. An
+attempt to build a short railway to facilitate communication with that
+wild and distant country was defeated in the senate by a large majority.
+The department of the interior has had necessarily to encounter many
+difficulties in the administration of the affairs of a country so many
+thousand miles distant. These difficulties have formed the subject of
+protracted debates in the house of commons and have led to involved
+political controversies which it would not be possible to explain
+satisfactorily within the limits of this chapter.
+
+In accordance with the policy laid down in 1897 by Mr. Fielding, the
+finance minister, when presenting the budget, the Laurier government has
+not deemed it prudent to make such radical changes in the protective or
+"National Policy" of the previous administration as might derange the
+business conditions of the Dominion, which had come to depend so
+intimately upon it in the course of seventeen years, but simply to amend
+and simplify it in certain particulars which would remove causes of
+friction between the importers and the customs authorities, and at the
+same time make it, as they stated, less burdensome in its operation. The
+question of reciprocal trade between Canada and the United States had
+for some time been disappearing in the background and was no longer a
+dominant feature of the commercial policy of the Liberal party as it had
+been until 1891, when its leaders were prepared under existing
+conditions to enter into the fullest trade arrangements possible with
+the country to the south. The illiberality of the tariff of the United
+States with respect to Canadian products had led the Canadian people to
+look to new markets, and especially to those of Great Britain, with whom
+they were desirous, under the influence of a steadily growing imperial
+spirit, to have the closest commercial relations practicable.
+Consequently the most important feature of the Laurier government's
+policy, since 1897, has been the preference given to British products in
+Canada--a preference which now allows a reduction in the tariff of
+33-1/3 per cent. on British imports compared with foreign goods. In
+their endeavour, however, to give a preference to British imports, the
+government was met at the outset by difficulties arising from the
+operation of the Belgian and German treaties; and after very full
+consultation with the imperial government, and a reference of the legal
+points involved to the imperial law officers of the crown, Canada was
+obliged to admit Belgian and German goods on the same terms as the
+imports of Great Britain, and also to concede similar advantages to
+twenty-two foreign countries which were by treaty entitled to any
+commercial privileges that Great Britain or her colonies might grant to
+a third power. Happily for Canada at this juncture the colonial
+secretary of state was Mr. Chamberlain, who was animated by aspirations
+for the strengthening of the relations between the parent state and her
+dependencies, and who immediately recognised the imperial significance
+of the voluntary action of the Canadian government. The result was the
+"denunciation" by the imperial authorities of the Belgian and German
+treaties, which consequently came to an end on the 31st July, 1898.
+Down to that date Canada was obliged to give to the other countries
+mentioned the preference which she had intentionally given to Great
+Britain alone, and at the same time to refund to importers the duties
+which had been collected in the interval from the countries in question.
+With the fall, however, of the Belgian and German treaties Canada was at
+last free to model her tariff with regard to imperial as well as
+Canadian interests. It was a fortunate coincidence that the government
+should have adopted this policy at a time when the whole British empire
+was celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of the accession of her Majesty
+Queen Victoria to the throne. In the magnificent demonstration of the
+unity and development of the empire that took place in London in June,
+1897, Canada was represented by her brilliant prime minister, who then
+became the Right Honourable Sir W. Laurier, G.C.M.G., and took a
+conspicuous place in the ceremonies that distinguished this memorable
+episode in British and colonial history.
+
+A few months later the relations between Canada and Great Britain were
+further strengthened by the reduction of letter postage throughout the
+empire--Australia excepted--largely through the instrumentality of Mr.
+Mulock, Canadian postmaster-general. The Canadian government and
+parliament also made urgent representations to the imperial authorities
+in favour of the immediate construction of a Pacific cable; and it may
+now be hoped that the pecuniary aid offered to this imperial enterprise
+by the British, Australasian and Canadian governments will secure its
+speedy accomplishment. I may add here that debates have taken place in
+the Canadian house of commons for several sessions on the desirability
+of obtaining preferential treatment in the British market for Canadian
+products The Conservative party, led by Sir Charles Tupper, have
+formulated their opinions in parliament by an emphatic declaration that
+"no measure of preference, which falls short of the complete realisation
+of such a policy, should be considered final or satisfactory." The
+Laurier government admits the desirability of such mutual trade
+preference, but at the same time it recognises the formidable
+difficulties that lie in the way of its realisation so long as Great
+Britain continues bound to free trade, and under these circumstances
+declares it the more politic and generous course to continue giving a
+special preference to British products with the hope that it may
+eventually bring about a change in public opinion in the parent state
+which will operate to the decided commercial or other advantage of the
+dependency.
+
+This chapter may appropriately close with a reference to the remarkable
+evidences of attachment to the empire that have been given by the
+Canadian people at the close of the nineteenth century. From the
+mountains of the rich province washed by the Pacific Sea, from the
+wheat-fields and ranches of the western prairies, from the valley of the
+great lakes and the St. Lawrence where French and English Canadians
+alike enjoy the blessings of British rule, from the banks of the St John
+where the United Empire Loyalists first made their homes, from the
+rugged coasts of Acadia and Cape Breton, from every part of the wide
+Dominion men volunteered with joyous alacrity to fight in South Africa
+in support of the unity of the empire. As I close these pages Canadians
+are fighting side by side with men from the parent Isles, from
+Australasia and from South Africa, and have shown that they are worthy
+descendants of the men who performed such gallant deeds on the ever
+memorable battlefields of Chateauguay, Chrystler's Farm, and Lundy's
+Lane. Not the least noteworthy feature of this significant event in the
+annals of Canada and the empire is the fact that a French Canadian
+premier has had the good fortune to give full expression to the dominant
+imperial sentiment of the people, and consequently to offer an
+additional guarantee for the union of the two races and the security of
+British interests on the continent of America.
+
+
+SECTION 4.--Political and social conditions of Canada under
+confederation.
+
+At the present time, a population of probably five million four hundred
+thousand souls inhabit a Dominion of seven regularly organised
+provinces, and of an immense fertile territory stretching from Manitoba
+to British Columbia. This Dominion embraces an area of 3,519,000 square
+miles, including its water surface, or very little less than the area of
+the United States with Alaska, and measures 3500 miles from east to
+west; and 1400 miles from north to south.
+
+No country in the world gives more conclusive evidences of substantial
+development and prosperity than the Dominion under the beneficial
+influences of federal union and the progressive measures of governments
+for many years. The total trade of the country has grown from over
+$131,000,000 in the first year of confederation to over $321,000,000 in
+1899, while the national revenue has risen during the same period from
+$14,000,000 to $47,000,000, and will probably be $50,000,000 in 1900.
+The railways, whose expansion so closely depends on the material
+conditions of the whole country, stretch for 17,250 miles compared with
+2278 miles in 1868; while the remarkable system of canals, which extend
+from the great lakes to Montreal, has been enlarged so as to give
+admirable facilities for the growing trade of the west. The natural
+resources of the country are inexhaustible, from the fisheries of Nova
+Scotia to the wheat-fields of the north-west, from the coal-mines of
+Cape Breton to the gold deposits of the dreary country through which the
+Yukon and its tributaries flow.
+
+No dangerous questions like slavery, or the expansion of the African
+race in the southern states, exist to complicate the political and
+social conditions of the confederation, and, although there is a large
+and increasing French Canadian element in the Dominion, its history so
+far need not create fear as to the future, except perhaps in the minds
+of gloomy pessimists. While this element naturally clings to its
+national language and institutions, yet, under the influence of a
+complete system of local self-government, it has always taken as active
+and earnest a part as the English element in establishing and
+strengthening the confederation. It has steadily grown in strength and
+prosperity under the generous and inspiring influence of British
+institutions, which have given full scope to the best attributes of a
+nationality crushed by the depressing conditions of French rule for a
+century and a half.
+
+The federal union gives expansion to the national energies of the whole
+Dominion, and at the same time affords every security to the local
+interests of each member of the federal compact. In all matters of
+Dominion concern, Canada is a free agent. While the Queen is still head
+of the executive authority, and can alone initiate treaties with foreign
+nations (that being an act of complete sovereignty), and while appeals
+are still open to the privy council of England from Canadian courts
+within certain limitations, it is an admitted principle that the
+Dominion is practically supreme in the exercise of all legislative
+rights and privileges granted by the imperial parliament,--rights and
+privileges set forth explicitly in the British North America act of
+1867,--so long as her legislative action does not conflict with the
+treaty obligations of the parent state, or with imperial legislation
+directly applicable to Canada with her own consent.
+
+The crown exercises a certain supervision over the affairs of the
+Dominion through a governor-general, who communicates directly with an
+imperial secretary of state; but in every matter directly affecting
+Canada--as for instance, in negotiations respecting the fisheries, the
+Bering Sea, and other matters considered by several conferences at
+Washington--the Canadian government is consulted and its statements are
+carefully considered, since they represent the sentiments and interests
+of the Canadian people, who, as citizens of the empire, are entitled to
+as much weight as if they lived in the British Isles.
+
+In the administration of Canadian affairs the governor-general is
+advised by a responsible council representing the majority of the house
+of commons. As in England, the Canadian cabinet, or ministry, is
+practically a committee of the dominant party in parliament and is
+governed by the rules, conventions and usages of parliamentary
+government which have grown up gradually in the parent state. Whenever
+it is necessary to form a ministry in Canada, its members are summoned
+by the governor-general to the privy council of Canada; another
+illustration of the desire of the Canadians to imitate the old
+institutions of England and copy her time-honoured procedure.
+
+The parliament of Canada consists of the Queen, the senate, and the
+house of commons. In the formation of the upper house, three
+geographical groups were arranged in the first instance, Ontario,
+Quebec, and the maritime provinces, and each group received a
+representation of twenty-four members. More recently other provinces
+have been admitted into the Dominion without reference to this
+arrangement, and now seventy-eight senators altogether may sit in
+parliament. The remarkably long tenure of power enjoyed by the
+Conservative party--twenty-five years from 1867--enabled it in the
+course of time to fill the upper house with a very large numerical
+majority of its own friends, and this fact, taken in connection with
+certain elements of weakness inherent in a chamber which is not elected
+by the people and has none of the ancient privileges or prestige of a
+house of lords, long associated with the names of great statesmen and
+the memorable events of English history, has created an agitation among
+the Liberal party for radical changes in its constitution which would
+bring it, in their opinion, more in harmony with the people's
+representatives in the popular branch of the general legislature. While
+some extremists would abolish the chamber, Sir Wilfrid Launer and other
+prominent Liberals recognise its necessity in our parliamentary system.
+In all probability death will ere long solve difficulties arising out
+of the political composition of the body, if the Liberal party remain in
+power.
+
+The house of commons, the great governing body of the Dominion, has been
+made, so far as circumstances will permit, a copy of the English house.
+Its members are not required to have a property qualification, and are
+elected by the votes of the electors of the several provinces where, in
+a majority of cases, universal suffrage, under limitations of
+citizenship and residence, prevails.
+
+In each province there is a lieutenant-governor, appointed by the
+Dominion government for five years, an executive council, and a
+legislature consisting of only one house, except in Nova Scotia and
+Quebec where a legislative council appointed by the crown still
+continues. The principles of responsible government exist in all the
+provinces, and practically in the North-west territory.
+
+In the enumeration of the legislative powers, respectively given to the
+Dominion and provincial legislatures, an effort was made to avoid the
+conflicts of jurisdiction that have so frequently arisen between the
+national and state governments of the United States. In the first place
+we have a recapitulation of those general or national powers that
+properly belong to the central authority, such as customs and excise
+duties, regulation of trade and commerce, militia and defence,
+post-office, banking and coinage, railways and public works "for the
+general advantage," navigation and shipping, naturalisation and aliens,
+fisheries, weights and measures, marriage and divorce, penitentiaries,
+criminal law, census and statistics. On the other hand, the provinces
+have retained control over municipal institutions, public lands, local
+works and undertakings, incorporation of companies with provincial
+objects, property and civil rights, administration of justice, and
+generally "all matters of a merely local and private nature in the
+province." The _residuary_ power rests with the general parliament of
+Canada.
+
+The parliament of Canada, in 1875, established a supreme court, or
+general court of appeal, for Canada, whose highest function is to decide
+questions as to the respective legislative powers of the Dominion and
+provincial parliaments, which are referred to it in due process of law
+by the subordinate courts of the provinces. The decisions of this court
+are already doing much to solve difficulties that impede the successful
+operation of the constitution. As a rule cases come before the supreme
+court on appeal from the lower courts, but the law regulating its powers
+provides that the governor in council may refer any matter to this court
+on which a question of constitutional jurisdiction has been raised. But
+the supreme court of Canada is not necessarily the court of last resort
+of Canada. The people have an inherent right as subjects of the Queen to
+appeal to the judicial committee of the privy council of the United
+Kingdom.
+
+But it is not only by means of the courts that a check is imposed upon
+hasty, or unconstitutional, legislation. The constitution provides that
+the governor-general may veto or reserve any bill passed by the two
+houses of parliament when it conflicts with imperial interests or
+imperial legislation. It is now understood that the reserve power of
+disallowance which her Majesty's government possesses under the law is
+sufficient to meet all possible cases. This sovereign power is never
+exercised except in the case of an act clearly in conflict with an
+imperial statute or in violation of a treaty affecting a foreign nation.
+The Dominion government also supervises all the provincial legislation
+and has in a few cases disallowed provincial acts. This power is
+exercised very carefully, and it is regarded with intense jealousy by
+the provincial governments, which have more than once attempted to set
+it at defiance. In practice it is found the wisest course to leave to
+the courts the decision in cases where doubts exist as to constitutional
+authority or jurisdiction.
+
+The organised districts of the North-west--Assiniboia, Alberta,
+Athabaska, and Saskatchewan--are governed by a lieutenant-governor
+appointed by the government of Canada and aided by a council chosen by
+himself from an assembly elected by the people under a very liberal
+franchise. These territories have also representatives in the two houses
+of the parliament of Canada. The Yukon territory in the far north-west,
+where rich discoveries of gold have attracted a large number of people
+within the past two years, is placed under a provisional government,
+composed of a commissioner and council appointed by the Dominion
+government[8], and acting under instructions given from time to time by
+the same authority or by the minister of the interior.
+
+[8: Since this sentence was in type the Dominion government has given
+effect to a provision of a law allowing the duly qualified electors of
+the Yukon to choose two members of the council.]
+
+The public service enjoys all the advantages that arise from permanency
+of tenure and appointment by the crown. It has on the whole been
+creditable to the country and remarkably free from political influences.
+The criminal law of England has prevailed in all the provinces since it
+was formerly introduced by the Quebec act of 1774. The civil law of the
+French regime, however, has continued to be the legal system in French
+Canada since the Quebec act, and has now obtained a hold in that
+province which insures its permanence as an institution closely allied
+with the dearest rights of the people. Its principles and maxims have
+been carefully collected and enacted in a code which is based on the
+famous code of Napoleon. In the other provinces and territories the
+common law of England forms the basis of jurisprudence on which a large
+body of Canadian statutory law has been built in the course of time.
+
+At the present time all the provinces, with the exception of Prince
+Edward Island, have an excellent municipal system, which enables every
+defined district, large or small, to carry on efficiently all those
+public improvements essential to the comfort, convenience and general
+necessities of the different communities that make up the province at
+large. Even in the territories of the north-west, every proper facility
+is given to the people in a populous district, or town, to organise a
+system equal to all their local requirements.
+
+Every Englishman will consider it an interesting and encouraging fact
+that the Canadian people, despite their neighbourhood to a prosperous
+federal commonwealth, should not even in the most critical and gloomy
+periods of their history have shown any disposition to mould their
+institutions directly on those of the United States and lay the
+foundation for future political union. Previous to 1840, which was the
+commencement of a new era in the political history of the provinces,
+there was a time when discontent prevailed throughout the Canadas, but
+not even then did any large body of the people threaten to sever the
+connection with the parent state. The Act of Confederation was framed
+under the direct influence of Sir John Macdonald and Sir George Cartier,
+and although one was an English Canadian and the other a French
+Canadian, neither yielded to the other in the desire to build up a
+Dominion on the basis of English institutions, in the closest possible
+connection with the mother country. While the question of union was
+under consideration it was English statesmen and writers alone who
+predicted that this new federation, with its great extent of territory,
+its abundant resources, and ambitious people, would eventually form a
+new nation independent of Great Britain. Canadian statesmen never spoke
+or wrote of separation, but regarded the constitutional change in their
+political condition as giving them greater weight and strength in the
+empire. The influence of British example on the Canadian Dominion can be
+seen throughout its governmental machinery, in the system of
+parliamentary government, in the constitution of the privy council and
+the houses of parliament, in an independent judiciary, in appointed
+officials of every class--in the provincial as well as Dominion
+system--in a permanent and non-political civil service, and in all
+elements of sound administration. During the thirty-three years that
+have passed since 1867, the attachment to England and her institutions
+has gained in strength, and it is clear that those predictions of
+Englishmen to which we have referred are completely falsified. On the
+contrary, the dominant sentiment is for strengthening the ties that have
+in some respects become weak in consequence of the enlargement of the
+political rights of the Dominion, which has assumed the position of a
+semi-independent power, since England now only retains her imperial
+sovereignty by declaring peace or war with foreign nations, by
+appointing a governor-general, by controlling colonial legislation
+through the Queen in council and the Queen in parliament--but not so as
+to diminish the rights of local self-government conceded to the
+Dominion--and by requiring that all treaties with foreign nations should
+be made through her own government, while recognising the right of the
+dependency to be consulted and directly represented on all occasions
+when its interests are immediately affected.
+
+In no respect have the Canadians followed the example of the United
+States, and made their executive entirely separate from the legislative
+authority. On the contrary, there is no institution which works more
+admirably in the federation--in the general as well as provincial
+governments--than the principle of making the ministry responsible to
+the popular branch of the legislature, and in that way keeping the
+executive and legislative departments in harmony with each other, and
+preventing that conflict of authorities which is a distinguishing
+feature of the very opposite system that prevails in the federal
+republic. If we review the amendments made of late years in the
+political constitutions of the States, and especially those ratified not
+long since in New York, we see in how many respects the Canadian system
+of government is superior to that of the republic. For instance, Canada
+has enjoyed for years, as results of responsible government, the secret
+ballot, stringent laws against bribery and corruption at all classes of
+elections, the registration of voters, strict naturalisation laws,
+infrequent political elections, separation of municipal from provincial
+or national contests, appointive and permanent officials in every branch
+of the civil service, a carefully devised code of private bill
+legislation, the printing of all public as well as private bills before
+their consideration by the legislative bodies; and yet all these
+essentials of safe administration and legislation are now only in part
+introduced by constitutional enactment in so powerful and progressive a
+state as New York.
+
+Of course, in the methods of party government we can see in Canada at
+times an attempt to follow the example of the United States, and to
+introduce the party machine with its professional politicians and all
+those influences that have degraded politics since the days of Jackson
+and Van Buren. Happily, so far, the people of Canada have shown
+themselves fully capable of removing those blots that show themselves
+from time to time on the body politic. Justice has soon seized those men
+who have betrayed their trust in the administration of public affairs.
+Although Canadians may, according to their political proclivities, find
+fault with some methods of governments and be carried away at times by
+political passion beyond the bounds of reason, it is encouraging to find
+that all are ready to admit the high character of the judiciary for
+learning, integrity and incorruptibility. The records of Canada do not
+present a single instance of the successful impeachment or removal of a
+judge for improper conduct on the bench since the days of responsible
+government; and the three or four petitions laid before parliament, in
+the course of a quarter of a century, asking for an investigation into
+vague charges against some judges, have never required a judgment of the
+house. Canadians have built wisely when, in the formation of their
+constitution, they followed the English plan of retaining an intimate
+and invaluable connection between the executive and legislative
+departments, and of keeping the judiciary practically independent of the
+other authorities of government. Not only the life and prosperity of the
+people, but the satisfactory working of the whole system of federal
+government rests more or less on the discretion and integrity of the
+judges. Canadians are satisfied that the peace and security of the whole
+Dominion do not more depend on the ability and patriotism of statesmen
+in the legislative halls than on that principle of the constitution,
+which places the judiciary in an exalted position among all the other
+departments of government, and makes law as far as possible the arbiter
+of their constitutional conflicts. All political systems are very
+imperfect at the best; legislatures are constantly subject to currents
+of popular prejudice and passion; statesmanship is too often weak and
+fluctuating, incapable of appreciating the true tendency of events, and
+too ready to yield to the force of present circumstances or dictates of
+expediency; but law, as worked out on English principles in all the
+dependencies of the empire and countries of English origin, as
+understood by Blackstone, Dicey, Story, Kent, and other great masters of
+constitutional and legal learning, gives the best possible guarantee for
+the security of institutions in a country of popular government.
+
+In an Appendix to this history I have given comparisons in parallel
+columns between the principal provisions of the federal constitutions of
+the Canadian Dominion, and the Australian Commonwealth. In studying
+carefully these two systems we must be impressed by the fact that the
+constitution of Canada appears more influenced by the spirit of English
+ideas than the constitution of Australia, which has copied some features
+of the fundamental law of the United States. In the preamble of the
+Canadian British North America act we find expressly stated "the desire
+of the Canadian provinces to be federally united into one Dominion under
+the crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with a
+constitution similar in principle to that of the United Kingdom," while
+the preamble of the Australian constitution contains only a bald
+statement of an agreement "to unite in one indissoluble federal
+Commonwealth under the crown," When we consider the use of
+"Commonwealth"--a word of republican significance to British ears--as
+well as the selection of "state" instead of "province," of "house of
+representatives" instead of "house of commons," of "executive council"
+instead of "privy council," we may well wonder why the Australians, all
+British by origin and aspiration, should have shown an inclination to
+deviate from the precedents established by the Canadian Dominion, which,
+though only partly English, resolved to carve the ancient historic names
+of the parent state on the very front of its political structure.
+
+As the several States of the Commonwealth have full control of their own
+constitutions, they may choose at any moment to elect their own
+governors as in the States of the American Union, instead of having them
+appointed by the crown as in Canada. We see also an imitation of the
+American constitution in the principle which allots to the central
+government only certain enumerated powers, and leaves the residuary
+power of legislation to the States. Again, while the act provides for a
+high and other federal courts, the members of which are to be appointed
+and removed as in Canada by the central government, the States are still
+to have full jurisdiction over the State courts as in the United States.
+The Canadian constitution, which gives to the Dominion exclusive control
+over the appointment and removal of the judges of all the superior
+courts, offers a positive guarantee against the popular election of
+judges in the provinces. It is not going too far to suppose that, with
+the progress of democratic ideas in Australia--a country inclined to
+political experiments--we may find the experience of the United States
+repeated, and see elective judges make their appearance when a wave of
+democracy has suddenly swept away all dictates of prudence and given
+unbridled licence to professional political managers only anxious for
+the success of party. In allowing the British Parliament to amend the
+Act of Union on an address of the Canadian parliament, we have yet
+another illustration of the desire of Canadians to respect the supremacy
+of the sovereign legislature of the empire. On the other hand, the
+Australians make themselves entirely independent of the action of the
+imperial parliament, which might be invaluable in some crisis affecting
+deeply the integrity and unity of the Commonwealth, and give full scope
+to the will of democracy expressed at the polls. In also limiting the
+right of appeal to the Queen in council--by giving to the high court the
+power to prevent appeals in constitutional disputes--the Australians
+have also to a serious degree weakened one of the most important ties
+that now bind them to the empire, and afford additional illustration of
+the inferiority of the Australian constitution, from an imperial point
+of view, compared with that of the Canadian Dominion, where a reference
+to the judicial committee of the privy council is highly valued.
+
+The Canadian people are displaying an intellectual activity commensurate
+with the expansion of their territory and their accumulation of wealth.
+The scientific, historical and political contributions of three decades,
+make up a considerable library which shows the growth of what may be
+called Canadian literature, since it deals chiefly with subjects
+essentially of Canadian interest. The attention that is now particularly
+devoted to the study and writing of history, and the collection of
+historical documents relating to the Dominion, prove clearly the
+national or thoroughly Canadian spirit that is already animating the
+cultured class of its people.
+
+Of the numerous historical works that have appeared since 1867 two only
+demand special mention in this short review. One of these is _A History
+of the days of Montcalm and Lévis_ by the Abbé Casgrain, who
+illustrates the studious and literary character of the professors of the
+great university which bears the name of the first bishop of Canada,
+Monseigneur Laval. A more elaborate general history of Canada, in ten
+octavo volumes, is that by Dr. Kingsford, whose life closed with his
+book. Whilst it shows much industry and conscientiousness on the part of
+the author, it fails too often to evoke our interest even when it deals
+with the striking and picturesque story of the French régime, since the
+author considered it his duty to be sober and prosaic when Parkman is
+bright and eloquent.
+
+A good estimate of the progress of literary culture in Canada can be
+formed from a careful perusal of the poems of Bliss Carman, Archibald
+Lampman, Charles G.W. Roberts, Wilfred Campbell, Duncan Campbell Scott
+and Frederick George Scott. The artistic finish of their verse and the
+originality of their conception entitle them fairly to claim a foremost
+place alongside American poets since Longfellow, Emerson, Whittier,
+Bryant and Lowell have disappeared. Pauline Johnson, who has Indian
+blood in her veins, Archbishop O'Brien of Halifax, Miss Machar, Ethelyn
+Weatherald, Charles Mair and several others might also be named to prove
+that poetry is not a lost art in Canada, despite its pressing prosaic
+and material needs.
+
+Dr. Louis Fréchette is a worthy successor of Crémazie and has won the
+distinction of having his best work crowned by the French Academy.
+French Canadian poetry, however, has been often purely imitative of
+French models like Musset and Gautier, both in style and sentiment, and
+consequently lacks strength and originality. Fréchette has all the
+finish of the French poets and, while it cannot be said that he has yet
+originated fresh thoughts, which are likely to live among even the
+people whom he has so often instructed and delighted, yet he has given
+us poems like that on the discovery of the Mississippi which prove that
+he is capable of even better things if he would seek inspiration from
+the sources of the deeply interesting history of his own country, or
+enter into the inner mysteries and social relations of his picturesque
+compatriots.
+
+The life of the French Canadian habitant has been admirably described in
+verse by Dr. Drummond, who has always lived among that class of the
+Canadian people and been a close observer of their national and personal
+characteristics. He is the only writer who has succeeded in giving a
+striking portraiture of life in the cabin, in the "shanty" (_chantier_),
+and on the river, where the French habitant, forester, and canoe-man can
+be seen to best advantage.
+
+But if Canada can point to some creditable achievements of recent years
+in history, poetry and essays, there is one department in which
+Canadians never won any marked success until recently, and that is in
+the novel or romance. Even Mr. Kirby's _Le Chien d'Or_ which recalls the
+closing days of the French régime--the days of the infamous Intendant
+Bigot who fattened on Canadian misery--does not show the finished art of
+the skilled novelist, though it has a certain crude vigour of its own,
+which has enabled it to live while so many other Canadian books have
+died. French Canada is even weaker in this particular, and this is the
+more surprising because there is abundance of material for the novelist
+or the writer of romance in her peculiar society and institutions. But
+this reproach has been removed by Mr. Gilbert Parker, now a resident in
+London, but a Canadian by birth, education and sympathies, who is
+animated by a laudable ambition of giving form and vitality to the
+abundant materials that exist in the Dominion for the true story-teller.
+His works show great skill in the use of historic matter, more than
+ordinary power in the construction of a plot, and, above all, a literary
+finish which is not equalled by any Canadian writer in the same field of
+effort. Other meritorious Canadian workers in romance are Mr. William
+McLennan, Mrs. Coates (Sarah Jeannette Duncan), and Miss Dougall, whose
+names are familiar to English readers.
+
+The name of Dr. Todd is well known throughout the British empire, and
+indeed wherever institutions of government are studied, as that of an
+author of most useful works on the English and Canadian constitutions.
+Sir William Dawson, for many years the energetic principal of McGill
+University, the scientific prominence of which is due largely to his
+mental bias, was the author of several geological books, written in a
+graceful and readable style. The scientific work of Canadians can be
+studied chiefly in the proceedings of English, American and Canadian
+societies, especially, of late years, in the transactions of the Royal
+Society of Canada, established over eighteen years ago by the Marquess
+of Lorne when governor-general of the Dominion. This successful
+association is composed of one hundred and twenty members who have
+written "memoirs of merit or rendered eminent services to literature or
+science."
+
+On the whole, there have been enough good poems, histories, and essays,
+written and published in Canada during the last four or five decades, to
+prove that there has been a steady intellectual growth on the part of
+the Canadian people, and that it has kept pace at all events with the
+mental growth in the pulpit, or in the legislative halls, where, of late
+years, a keen practical debating style has taken the place of the more
+rhetorical and studied oratory of old times. The intellectual faculties
+of Canadians only require larger opportunities for their exercise to
+bring forth rich fruit. The progress in the years to come will be much
+greater than that Canadians have yet shown, and necessarily so, with the
+wider distribution of wealth, the dissemination of a higher culture, and
+a greater confidence in their own mental strength, and in the
+opportunities that the country offers to pen and pencil. What is now
+wanted is the cultivation of a good style and artistic workmanship.
+
+Much of the daily literature of Canadians--indeed the chief literary
+aliment of large numbers--is the newspaper press, which illustrates
+necessarily the haste, pressure and superficiality of writings of that
+ephemeral class. Canadian journals, however, have not yet descended to
+the degraded sensationalism of New York papers, too many of which
+circulate in Canada to the public detriment. On the whole, the tone of
+the most ably conducted journals--the Toronto _Globe_, and the Montreal
+_Gazette_ notably--is quite on a level with the tone of debate in the
+legislative bodies of the country.
+
+Now, as in all times of Canada's history, political life claims many
+strong, keen and cultured intellects, though at the same time it is too
+manifest that the tendency of democratic conditions and heated party
+controversy is to prevent the most highly educated and sensitive
+organisations from venturing on the agitated and unsafe sea of political
+passion and competition. The speeches of Sir Wilfrid Laurier--the
+eloquent French Canadian premier, who in his mastery of the English
+tongue surpasses all his versatile compatriots--of Sir Charles Tupper,
+Mr. Foster and others who might be mentioned, recall the most brilliant
+period of parliamentary annals (1867--1873), when in the first
+parliament of the Dominion the most prominent men of the provinces were
+brought into public life, under the new conditions of federal union. The
+debating power of the provincial legislative bodies is excellent, and
+the chief defects are the great length and discursiveness of the
+speeches on local as well as on national questions. It is also admitted
+that of late years there has been a tendency to impair the dignity and
+to lower the tone of discussion.
+
+Many Canadians have devoted themselves to art since 1867, and some
+Englishmen will recognise the names of L.R. O'Brien, Robert Harris,
+J.W.L. Forster, Homer Watson, George Reid--the painter of "The
+Foreclosure of the Mortgage," which won great praise at the World's Fair
+of Chicago--John Hammond, F.A. Verner, Miss Bell, Miss Muntz, W.
+Brymner, all of whom are Canadians by birth and inspiration. The
+establishment of a Canadian Academy of Art by the Princess Louise, and
+of other art associations, has done a good deal to stimulate a taste
+for art, though the public encouragement of native artists is still very
+inadequate, when we consider the excellence already attained under great
+difficulties in a relatively new country, where the great mass of people
+has yet to be educated to a perception of the advantages of high
+artistic effort.
+
+Sculpture would be hardly known in Canada were it not for the work of
+the French Canadian Hebert, who is a product of the schools of Paris,
+and has given to the Dominion several admirable statues and monuments of
+its public men. While Canadian architecture has hitherto been generally
+wanting in originality of conception, the principal edifices of the
+provinces afford many good illustrations of effective adaptation of the
+best art of Europe. Among these may be mentioned the following:--the
+parliament and departmental buildings at Ottawa, admirable examples of
+Italian Gothic; the legislative buildings at Toronto, in the Romanesque
+style; the English cathedrals in Montreal and Fredericton, correct
+specimens of early English Gothic; the French parish church of
+Notre-Dame, in Montreal, attractive for its stately Gothic proportions;
+the university of Toronto, an admirable conception of Norman
+architecture; the Canadian Pacific railway station at Montreal and the
+Frontenac Hotel at Quebec, fine examples of the adaptation of old Norman
+architecture to modern necessities; the provincial buildings at
+Victoria, in British Columbia, the general design of which is
+Renaissance, rendered most effective by pearl-grey stone and several
+domes; the headquarters of the bank of Montreal, a fine example of the
+Corinthian order, and notable for the artistic effort to illustrate, on
+the walls of the interior, memorable scenes in Canadian history; the
+county and civic buildings of Toronto, an ambitious effort to reproduce
+the modern Romanesque, so much favoured by the eminent American
+architect, Richardson; Osgoode Hall, the seat of the great law courts of
+the province of Ontario, which in its general character recalls the
+architecture of the Italian Renaissance. Year by year we see additions
+to our public and private buildings, interesting from an artistic point
+of view, and illustrating the accumulating wealth of the country, as
+well as the growth of culture and taste among the governing classes.
+
+The universities, colleges, academies, and high schools, the public and
+common schools of the Dominion, illustrate the great desire of the
+governments and the people of the provinces to give the greatest
+possible facilities for the education of all classes at the smallest
+possible cost to individuals. At the present time there are between
+13,000 and 14,000 students attending 62 universities and colleges. The
+collegiate institutes and academies of the provinces also rank with the
+colleges as respects the advantages they give to young men and
+women. Science is especially prominent in McGill and Toronto
+Universities--which are the most largely attended--and the former
+affords a notable example of the munificence of the wealthy men of
+Montreal, in establishing chairs of science and otherwise advancing its
+educational usefulness. Laval University stands deservedly at the head
+of the Roman Catholic institutions of the continent, on account of its
+deeply interesting historic associations, and the scholarly attainments
+of its professors, several of whom have won fame in Canadian letters.
+Several universities give instructions in medicine and law, and Toronto
+has also a medical college for women. At the present time, at least
+one-fifth of the people of the Dominion is in attendance at the
+universities, colleges, public and private schools. The people of Canada
+contribute upwards of ten millions of dollars annually to the support of
+their educational establishments, in the shape of government grants,
+public taxes, or private fees. Ontario alone, in 1899, raised five
+millions and a half of dollars for the support of its public school
+system; and of this amount the people directly contributed ninety-one
+per cent, in the shape of taxes. On the other hand, the libraries of
+Canada are not numerous; and it is only in Ontario that there is a law
+providing for the establishment of such institutions by a vote of the
+taxpayers in the municipalities. In this province there are at least
+420 libraries, of which the majority are connected with mechanics'
+institutes, and are made public by statute. The weakness of the public
+school system--especially in Ontario--is the constant effort to teach a
+child a little of everything, and to make him a mere machine. The
+consequences are superficiality--a veneer of knowledge--and the loss of
+individuality.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+CANADA'S RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES AND HER INFLUENCE IN IMPERIAL
+COUNCILS (1783--1900).
+
+
+I have deemed it most convenient to reserve for the conclusion of this
+history a short review of the relations that have existed for more than
+a century between the provinces of the Dominion and the United States,
+whose diplomacy and legislation have had, and must always have, a
+considerable influence on the material and social conditions of the
+people of Canada.--an influence only subordinate to that exercised by
+the imperial state. I shall show that during the years when there was no
+confederation of Canada--when there were to the north and north-east of
+the United States only a number of isolated provinces, having few common
+sympathies or interests except their attachment to the crown and
+empire--the United States had too often its own way in controversial
+questions affecting the colonies which arose between England and the
+ambitious federal republic. On the other hand, with the territorial
+expansion of the provinces under one Dominion, with their political
+development, which has assumed even national attributes, with the steady
+growth of an imperial sentiment in the parent state, the old condition
+of things that too often made the provinces the shuttlecock of skilful
+American diplomacy has passed away. The statesmen of the Canadian
+federation are now consulted, and exercise almost as much influence as
+if they were members of the imperial councils in London.
+
+I shall naturally commence this review with a reference to the treaty of
+1783, which acknowledged the independence of the United States, fixed
+the boundaries between that country and British North America, and led
+to serious international disputes which lasted until the middle of the
+following century. Three of the ablest men in the United
+States--Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay--succeeded by their
+astuteness and persistency in extending their country's limits to the
+eastern bank of the Mississippi, despite the insidious efforts of
+Vergennes on the part of France to hem in the new nation between the
+Atlantic and the Appalachian Range. The comparative value set upon
+Canada during the preliminary negotiations may be easily deduced from
+the fact that Oswald, the English plenipotentiary, proposed to give up
+to the United States the south-western and most valuable part of the
+present province of Ontario, and to carry the north-eastern boundary up
+to the River St. John. The commissioners of the United States did not
+accept this suggestion. Their ultimate object--an object actually
+attained--was to make the St. Lawrence the common boundary between the
+two countries by following the centre of the river and the great lakes
+as far as the head of Lake Superior. The issue of negotiations so
+stupidly conducted by the British commissioner, was a treaty which gave
+an extremely vague definition of the boundary in the north-east between
+Maine and Nova Scotia--which until 1784 included New Brunswick--and
+displayed at the same time a striking example of geographical ignorance
+as to the north-west. The treaty specified that the boundary should pass
+from the head of Lake Superior through Long Lake to the north-west angle
+of the Lake of the Woods, and thence to the Mississippi, when, as a
+matter of fact there was no Long Lake, and the source of the Mississippi
+was actually a hundred miles or so to the south of the Lake of the
+Woods. This curious blunder in the north-west was only rectified in
+1842, when Lord Ashburton settled the difficulty by conceding to the
+United States an invaluable corner of British territory in the east (see
+below, p 299).
+
+[Illustration: INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY. AS FINALLY ESTABLISHED IN 1842 AT
+LAKE OF THE WOODS]
+
+The only practical advantage that the people of the provinces gained
+from the Treaty of Ghent, which closed the war of 1812--15, was an
+acknowledgment of the undoubted fishery rights of Great Britain and her
+dependencies in the territorial waters of British North America. In the
+treaty of 1783 the people of the United States obtained the "right" to
+fish on the Grand and other banks of Newfoundland, and in the Gulf of
+St. Lawrence and at "all other places in the sea, where the inhabitants
+of both countries used at any time heretofore to fish", but they were to
+have only "the liberty" of taking fish on the coasts of Newfoundland and
+also of "all other of his Britannic Majesty's dominions in America; and
+also of drying and curing fish in any of the unsettled bays, harbours,
+and creeks of Nova Scotia (then including New Brunswick), Magdalen
+Islands, and Labrador, so long as the same shall remain unsettled." In
+the one case, it will be seen, there was a recognised right, but in the
+other only a mere "liberty" or privilege extended to the fishermen of
+the United States. At the close of the war of 1812 the British
+government would not consent to renew the merely temporary liberties of
+1783, and the United States authorities acknowledged the soundness of
+the principle that any privileges extended to the republic in British
+territorial waters could only rest on "conventional stipulation." The
+convention of 1818 forms the legal basis of the rights, which Canadians
+have always maintained in the case of disputes between themselves and
+the United States as to the fisheries on their own coasts, bays, and
+harbours of Canada. It provides that the inhabitants of the United
+States shall have for ever the liberty to take, dry, and cure fish on
+certain parts of the coast of Newfoundland, on the Magdalen Islands and
+on the southern shores of Labrador, but they "renounce for ever any
+liberty, heretofore enjoyed" by them to take, dry, and cure fish, "on or
+within three marine miles of any of the coasts, bays or creeks or
+harbours of his Britannic Majesty's other dominions in America";
+provided, however, that the American fishermen shall be admitted to
+enter such bays and harbours, for the purpose of shelter, and of
+repairing damages therein, of purchasing wood, and of obtaining water,
+and "for no other purpose whatever."
+
+In April, 1817, the governments of Great Britain and the United States
+came to an important agreement which ensured the neutrality of the great
+lakes. It was agreed that the naval forces to be maintained upon these
+inland waters should be confined to the following vessels: on Lakes
+Champlain and Ontario to one vessel, on the Upper Lakes to two vessels,
+not exceeding in each case a hundred tons burden and armed with only one
+small cannon. Either nation had the right to bring the convention to a
+termination by a previous notice of six months. This agreement is still
+regarded by Great Britain and the United States to be in existence,
+since Mr. Secretary Seward formally withdrew the notice which was given
+for its abrogation in 1864, when the civil war was in progress and the
+relations between the two nations were considerably strained at times.
+
+The next international complication arose out of the seizure of the
+steamer _Caroline_, which was engaged in 1837 in carrying munitions of
+war between the United States and Navy Island, then occupied by a number
+of persons in the service of Mr. Mackenzie and other Canadian rebels. In
+1840 the authorities of New York arrested one Macleod on the charge of
+having murdered a man who was employed on the _Caroline_. The
+Washington government for some time evaded the whole question by
+throwing the responsibility on the state authorities and declaring that
+they could not interfere with a matter which was then within the
+jurisdiction of the state courts. The matter gave rise to much
+correspondence between the two governments, but happily for the peace of
+the two countries the American courts acquitted Macleod, as the evidence
+was clear that he had had nothing to do with the actual seizing of the
+_Caroline_; and the authorities at Washington soon afterwards
+acknowledged their responsibility in such affairs by passing an act
+directing that subjects of foreign powers, if taken into custody for
+acts done or committed under the authority of their own government, "the
+validity or effect whereof depends upon the law of nations, should be
+discharged." The dissatisfaction that had arisen in the United States on
+account of the cutting out of the _Caroline_ was removed in 1842, when
+Sir Robert Peel expressed regret that "some explanation and apology for
+the occurrence had not been previously made," and declared that it was
+"the opinion of candid and honourable men that the British officers who
+executed this transaction, and their government who approved it,
+intended no insult or disrespect to the sovereign authority of the
+United States[9]."
+
+[9: Hall's _Treatise on International Law_ (3rd ed.), pp. 311--313]
+
+In the course of time the question of the disputed boundary between
+Maine and New Brunswick assumed grave proportions. By the treaty of
+1783, the boundary was to be a line drawn from the source of the St.
+Croix, directly north to the highlands "which divide the rivers which
+fall into the Atlantic ocean from those which fall into the river St.
+Lawrence;" thence along the said highlands to the north-easternmost head
+of the Connecticut River; and the point at which the due north line was
+to cut the highlands was also designated as the north-west angle of Nova
+Scotia. The whole question was the subject of several commissions, and
+of one arbitration, from 1783 until 1842, when it was finally settled.
+Its history appears to be that of a series of blunders on the part of
+England from the beginning to the end. The first blunder occurred in
+1796 when the commissioners appointed to inquire into the question,
+declared that the Schoodic was the River St. Croix mentioned in the
+treaty. Instead, however, of following the main, or western, branch of
+the Schoodic to its source in the Schoodic Lakes, they went beyond
+their instructions and chose a northern tributary of the river, the
+Chiputnaticook, as the boundary, and actually placed a monument at its
+head as a basis for any future proceeding on the part of the two
+governments. The British government appear to have been very anxious at
+this time to settle the question, for they did not take exception to the
+arrangement made by the commissioners, but in 1798 declared the decision
+binding on both countries.
+
+Still this mistake might have been rectified had the British government
+in 1835 been sufficiently alive to British interests in America to have
+accepted a proposal made to them by President Jackson to ascertain the
+true north-western angle of Nova Scotia, or the exact position of the
+highlands, in accordance with certain well-understood rules in practical
+surveying which have been always considered obligatory in that
+continent. It was proposed by the United States to discard the due north
+line, to seek to the west of that line the undisputed highlands that
+divide the rivers which empty themselves into the River St. Lawrence
+from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean, to find the point in the
+'watershed' of these highlands nearest to the north line, and to trace a
+direct course from it to the monument already established. "If this
+principle had been adopted," says Sir Sandford Fleming, the eminent
+Canadian engineer, "a straight line would have been drawn from the
+monument at the head of the Chiputnaticook to a point which could have
+been established with precision in the 'watershed' of the highlands
+which separate the sources of the Chaudière from those of the
+Penobscot,--this being the most easterly point in the only highlands
+agreeing beyond dispute with the treaty. The point is found a little to
+the north and west of the intersection of the 70th meridian west
+longitude and the 46th parallel of north latitude." Had this proposal
+been accepted England would have obtained without further difficulty
+eleven thousand square miles, or the combined areas of Massachusetts
+and Connecticut.
+
+[Illustration: MAP OF THE NORTH-EASTERN BOUNDARY AS ESTABLISHED IN
+1842.]
+
+For several years after this settlement was suggested a most serious
+conflict went on between New Brunswick and the state of Maine. The
+authorities of Maine paid no respect whatever to the negotiations that
+were still in progress between the governments of Great Britain and the
+United States, but actually took possession of the disputed territory,
+gave titles for lands and constructed forts and roads within its limits.
+Collisions occurred between the settlers and the intruders, and
+considerable property was destroyed. The legislature of Maine voted
+$800,000 for the defence of the state, and the legislature of Nova
+Scotia amid great enthusiasm made a grant of $100,000 to assist New
+Brunswick in support of her rights. Happily the efforts of the United
+States and British governments prevented the quarrel between the
+province and the state from assuming international proportions; and in
+1842 Mr. Alexander Baring, afterwards Lord Ashburton, was authorised by
+the ministry of the Earl of Aberdeen to negotiate with Mr. Daniel
+Webster, then secretary of state in the American cabinet, for the
+settlement of matters in dispute between the two nations. The result was
+the Ashburton Treaty, which, in fixing the north-eastern boundary
+between British North America and the United States, started due north
+from the monument incorrectly placed at the head of the Chiputnaticook
+instead of the source of the true St. Croix, and consequently at the
+very outset gave up a strip of land extending over some two degrees of
+latitude, and embracing some 3000 square miles of British territory. By
+consenting to carry the line due north from the misplaced monument Lord
+Ashburton ignored the other natural landmark set forth in the treaty:
+"the line of headlands which divide the waters flowing into the Atlantic
+from those which flow into the St. Lawrence." A most erratic boundary
+was established along the St. John, which flows neither into the St.
+Lawrence nor the Atlantic, but into the Bay of Fundy, far east of the
+St. Croix. In later years the historian Sparks found in Paris a map on
+which Franklin himself had marked in December, 1782, with a heavy red
+line, what was then considered the true natural boundary between the two
+countries. Mr. Sparks admitted in sending the map that it conceded more
+than Great Britain actually claimed, and that "the line from the St.
+Croix to the Canadian highlands is intended to exclude [from the
+territory of the United States] all the waters running into the St.
+John." Canadians have always believed with reason that that portion of
+the present state of Maine, through which the Aroostook and other
+tributaries of the St. John flow, is actually British territory. If we
+look at the map of Canada we see that the state of Maine now presses
+like a huge wedge into the provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec as a
+sequence of the unfortunate mistakes of 1796, 1835, and 1842, on the
+part of England and her agents. In these later times a "Canadian short
+line" railway has been forced to go through Maine in order to connect
+Montreal with St. John, and other places in the maritime provinces. Had
+the true St. Croix been chosen in 1796, or President Jackson's offer
+accepted in 1835, this line could go continuously through Canadian
+territory, and be entirely controlled by Canadian legislation.
+
+Another boundary question was the subject of much heated controversy
+between England and the United States for more than a quarter of a
+century, and in 1845 brought the two countries very close to war. In
+1819 the United States obtained from Spain a cession of all her rights
+and claims north of latitude forty-two, or the southern boundary of the
+present state of Oregon. By that time the ambition of the United States
+was not content with the Mississippi valley, of which she had obtained
+full control by the cession of the Spanish claims and by the Louisiana
+purchase of 1803, but looked to the Pacific coast, where she made
+pretensions to a territory stretching from 42° to 54° 40' north
+latitude, or a territory four times the area of Great Britain and
+Ireland, or of the present province of Ontario. The claims of the two
+nations to this vast region rested on very contradictory statements with
+respect to priority of discovery, and that occupation and settlement
+which should, within reasonable limits, follow discovery; and as the
+whole question was one of great perplexity, it should have been settled,
+as suggested by England, on principles of compromise. But the people of
+the United States, conscious at last of the importance of the territory,
+began to bring their influence to bear on the politicians, until by 1845
+the Democratic party declared 'for 54° 40' or fight,' Mr. Crittenden
+announced that "war might now be looked upon as almost inevitable."
+Happily President Polk and congress came to more pacific conclusions
+after a good deal of warlike talk; and the result was a treaty (1846) by
+which England accepted the line 49 degrees to the Pacific coast, and
+obtained the whole of Vancouver Island, which for a while seemed likely
+to be divided with the United States. But Vancouver Island was by no
+means a compensation for what England gave up, for, on the continent,
+she yielded all she had contended for since 1824, when she first
+proposed the Columbia River as a basis of division.
+
+But even then the question of boundary was not finally settled by this
+great victory which had been won for the United States by the
+persistency of her statesmen. The treaty of 1846 continued the line of
+boundary westward along "the 49th parallel of north latitude to the
+middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver
+Island, and thence southerly through the middle of the said channel and
+of Fuca's straits to the Pacific Ocean" Anyone reading this clause for
+the first time, without reference to the contentions that were raised
+afterwards, would certainly interpret it to mean the whole body of water
+that separates the continent from Vancouver,--such a channel, in fact,
+as divides England from France; but it appears there are a number of
+small channels separating the islands which lie in the great channel in
+question, and the clever diplomatists at Washington immediately claimed
+the Canal de Haro, the widest and deepest, as the canal of the treaty.
+Instead of at once taking the ground that the whole body of water was
+really in question, the English government claimed another channel,
+Rosario Strait, inferior in some respects, but the one most generally,
+and indeed only, used at the time by their vessels. The importance of
+this difference of opinion lay chiefly in the fact, that the Haro gave
+San Juan and other small islands, valuable for defensive purposes, to
+the United States, while the Rosario left them to England. Then, after
+much correspondence, the British government, as a compromise, offered
+the middle channel, or Douglas, which would still retain San Juan. If
+they had always adhered to the Douglas--which appears to answer the
+conditions of the treaty, since it lies practically in the middle of the
+great channel--their position would have been much stronger than it was
+when they came back to the Rosario. The British representatives at the
+Washington conference of 1871 suggested the reference of the question to
+arbitration, but the United States' commissioners, aware of their
+vantage ground, would consent to no other arrangement than to leave to
+the decision of the Emperor of Germany the question whether the Haro or
+the Rosario channel best accorded with the treaty; and the Emperor
+decided in favour of the United States. However, with the possession of
+Vancouver in its entirety, Canada can still be grateful; and San Juan is
+now only remembered as an episode of skilful American diplomacy. The
+same may be said of another acquisition of the republic--insignificant
+from the point of view of territorial area, but still illustrative of
+the methods which have won all the great districts we have named
+--Rouse's Point at the outlet of Lake Champlain, "of which an exact
+survey would have deprived" the United States, according to Mr. Schouler
+in his excellent history.
+
+During this period the fishery question again assumed considerable
+importance. The government at Washington raised the contention that the
+three miles' limit, to which their fishermen could be confined by the
+convention of 1818, should follow the sinuosities of the coasts,
+including the bays, the object being to obtain access to the valuable
+mackerel fisheries of the Bay of Chaleurs and other waters claimed to be
+exclusively within the territorial jurisdiction of the maritime
+provinces. The imperial government sustained the contention of the
+provinces--a contention practically supported by American authorities in
+the case of the Delaware, Chesapeake, and other bays on the coast of the
+United States--that the three miles' limit should be measured from a
+line drawn from headlands of all bays, harbours and creeks. In the case
+of the Bay of Fundy, however, the imperial government allowed a
+departure from this general principle, when it was urged by the
+Washington government that one of its headlands was in the territory of
+the United States, and that it was an arm of the sea rather than a bay.
+The result was that foreign fishing vessels were only shut out from the
+bays on the coasts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick within the Bay of
+Fundy. All these questions were, however, placed in abeyance by the
+reciprocity treaty of 1854 (see p. 96), which lasted until 1866, when it
+was repealed by the action of the United States, in accordance with the
+provision bringing it to a conclusion after one year's notice from one
+of the parties interested.
+
+The causes which led in 1866 to the repeal of a treaty so advantageous
+to the United States have been long well understood. The commercial
+classes in the eastern and western states were, on the whole, favourable
+to an enlargement of the treaty; but the real cause of its repeal was
+the prejudice in the northern states against Canada on account of its
+supposed sympathy for the confederate states during the Secession war. A
+large body of men in the north believed that the repeal of the treaty
+would sooner or later force Canada to join the republic; and a bill was
+actually introduced in the house of representatives providing for her
+admission--a mere political straw, it is true, but showing the current
+of opinion in some quarters in those days. When we review the history of
+those times, and consider the difficult position in which Canada was
+placed, it is remarkable how honourably her government discharged its
+duties of a neutral between the belligerents. In the case of the raid of
+some confederate refugees in Canada on the St. Alban's bank in Vermont,
+the Canadian authorities brought the culprits to trial and even paid a
+large sum of money in acknowledgment of an alleged responsibility when
+some of the stolen notes were returned to the robbers on their release
+on technical grounds by a Montreal magistrate. It is well, too, to
+remember how large a number of Canadians fought in the union
+armies--twenty against one who served in the south. No doubt the
+position of Canada was made more difficult at that critical time by the
+fact that she was a colony of Great Britain, against whom both north and
+south entertained bitter feelings by the close of the war; the former
+mainly on account of the escape of confederate cruisers from English
+ports, and the latter because she did not receive active support from
+England. The north had also been much excited by the promptness with
+which Lord Palmerston had sent troops to Canada when Mason and Slidell
+were seized on an English packet on the high seas, and by the bold tone
+held by some Canadian papers when it was doubtful if the prisoners would
+be released.
+
+Before and since the union, the government of Canada has made repeated
+efforts to renew a commercial treaty with the government at Washington.
+In 1865 and 1866, Canadian delegates were prepared to make large
+concessions, but were reluctantly brought to the conclusion that the
+committee of ways and means in congress "no longer desired trade between
+the two countries to be carried on upon the principle of reciprocity."
+In 1866 Sir John Rose, while minister of finance, made an effort in the
+same direction, but he was met by the obstinate refusal of the
+republican party, then as always, highly protective.
+
+All this while the fishery question was assuming year by year a form
+increasingly irritating to the two countries. The headland question was
+the principal difficulty, and the British government, in order to
+conciliate the United States at a time when the Alabama question was a
+subject of anxiety, induced the Canadian government to agree, very
+reluctantly it must be admitted, to shut out foreign fishing vessels
+only from bays less than six miles in width at their entrances. In this,
+however, as in all other matters, the Canadian authorities acknowledged
+their duty to yield to the considerations of imperial interests, and
+acceded to the wishes of the imperial government in almost every
+respect, except actually surrendering their territorial rights in the
+fisheries. They issued licenses to fish, at low rates, for several
+years, only to find eventually that American fishermen did not think it
+worth while to buy these permits when they could evade the regulations
+with little difficulty. The correspondence went on for several years,
+and eventually led to the Washington conference or commission of 1871,
+which was primarily intended to settle the fishery question, but which
+actually gave the precedence to the Alabama difficulty--then of most
+concern in the opinion of the London and Washington governments. The
+representatives of the United States would not consider a proposition
+for another reciprocity treaty on the basis of that of 1854. The
+questions arising out of the convention of 1818 were not settled by the
+commission, but were practically laid aside for ten years by an
+arrangement providing for the free admission of salt-water fish to the
+United States, on the condition of allowing the fishing vessels of that
+country free access to the Canadian fisheries. The free navigation of
+the St. Lawrence was conceded to the United States in return for the
+free use of Lake Michigan and of certain rivers in Alaska. The question
+of giving to the vessels of the Canadian provinces the privilege of
+trading on the coast of the United States--a privilege persistently
+demanded for years by Nova Scotia--was not considered; and while the
+canals of Canada were opened up to the United States on the most liberal
+terms, the Washington government contented itself with a barren promise
+in the treaty to use its influence with the authorities of the states to
+open up their artificial waterways to Canadians. The Fenian claims were
+abruptly laid aside, although, if the principle of "due diligence,"
+which was laid down in the new rules for the settlement of the Alabama
+difficulty had been applied to this question, the government of the
+United States would have been mulcted in heavy damages. In this case it
+would be difficult to find a more typical instance of responsibility
+assumed by a state through the permission of open and notorious acts,
+and by way of complicity after the acts; however, as in many other
+negotiations with the United States, Canada felt she must make
+sacrifices for the empire, whose government wished all causes of
+irritation between England and the United States removed as far as
+possible by the treaty. One important feature of this commission was the
+presence, for the first time in the history of treaties, of a Canadian
+statesman. The astute prime minister of the Dominion, Sir John
+Macdonald, was chosen as one of the English high commissioners: and
+though he was necessarily tied down by the instructions of the imperial
+state, his knowledge of Canadian questions was of great service to
+Canada during the conference. If the treaty finally proved more
+favourable to the Dominion than it at first appeared to be, it was owing
+largely to the clause which provided for a reference to a later
+commission of the question, whether the United States would not have to
+pay the Canadians a sum of money, as the value of their fisheries over
+and above any concessions made them in the treaty. The result of this
+commission was a payment of five millions and a half of dollars to
+Canada and Newfoundland, to the infinite disappointment of the
+politicians of the United States, who had been long accustomed to have
+the best in all the bargains with their neighbours. Nothing shows more
+clearly the measure of the local self-government at last won by Canada
+and the importance of her position in the empire, than the fact that the
+English government recognised the right of the Dominion government to
+name the commissioner who represented Canada on an arbitration which
+decided a question of such deep importance to her interests.
+
+The clauses of the Washington treaty relating to the fisheries and to
+trade with Canada lasted for fourteen years, and then were repealed by
+the action of the United States government. In the year 1874 the
+Mackenzie ministry attempted, through Mr. George Brown, to negotiate a
+new reciprocity treaty, but met with a persistent hostility from leading
+men in congress. The relations between Canada and the United States
+again assumed a phase of great uncertainty. Canada from 1885 adhered to
+the letter of the convention of 1818, and allowed no fishing vessels to
+fish within the three miles limit, to transship cargoes of fish in her
+ports, or to enter them for any purpose except for shelter, wood, water,
+and repairs. For the infractions of the treaty several vessels were
+seized, and more than one of them condemned. A clamour was raised in the
+United States on the ground that the Canadians were wanting in that
+spirit of friendly intercourse which should characterise the relations
+of neighbouring peoples. The fact is, the Canadians were bound to adhere
+to their legal rights--rights which had always been maintained before
+1854; which had remained in abeyance between 1854 and 1866; which
+naturally revived after the repeal of the reciprocity treaty of 1854;
+which again remained in abeyance between 1871 and 1885; and were revived
+when the United States themselves chose to go back to the terms of the
+convention of 1818.
+
+In 1887 President Cleveland and Mr. Secretary Bayard, acting in a
+statesmanlike spirit, obtained the consent of England to a special
+commission to consider the fishery question. Sir Sackville West, Mr.
+Joseph Chamberlain, and Sir Charles Tupper represented England; Mr.
+Bayard, then secretary of state, Mr. Putnam of Maine, and Mr. Angell of
+Michigan University, represented the United States. Sir Charles Tupper
+could not induce the American commissioners to consider a mutual
+arrangement providing for greater freedom of commercial intercourse
+between Canada and the United States. Eventually the commission agreed
+unanimously to a treaty which was essentially a compromise. Foreign
+fishermen were to be at liberty to go into any waters where the bay was
+more than ten miles wide at the mouth, but certain bays, including the
+Bay of Chaleurs, were expressly excepted in the interests of Canada from
+the operation of this provision. The United States did not attempt to
+acquire the right to fish on the inshore fishing-grounds of Canada--that
+is, within three miles of the coasts--but these fisheries were to be
+left for the exclusive use of the Canadian fishermen. More satisfactory
+arrangements were made for vessels obliged to resort to the Canadian
+ports in distress; and a provision was made for allowing American
+fishing-vessels to obtain supplies and other privileges in the harbours
+of the Dominion whenever congress allowed the fish of that country to
+enter free into the market of the United States, President Cleveland in
+his message, submitting the treaty to the senate, acknowledged that it
+"supplied a satisfactory, practical and final adjustment, upon a basis
+honourable and just to both parties, of the difficult and vexed
+questions to which it relates." The republican party, however, at that
+important juncture--just before a presidential election--had a majority
+in the senate, and the result was the failure in that body of a measure,
+which, although by no means too favourable to Canadian interests, was
+framed in a spirit of judicious statesmanship.
+
+As a sequel of the acquisition of British Columbia, the Canadian
+government was called upon in 1886 to urge the interests of the
+Dominion in an international question that had arisen in Bering Sea. A
+United States cutter seized in the open sea, at a distance of more than
+sixty miles from the nearest land, certain Canadian schooners, fitted
+out in British Columbia, and lawfully engaged in the capture of seals in
+the North Pacific Ocean, adjacent to Vancouver Island, Queen Charlotte
+Islands, and Alaska--a portion of the territory of the United States
+acquired in 1867 from Russia. These vessels were taken into a port of
+Alaska, where they were subjected to forfeiture, and the masters and
+mates fined and imprisoned. Great Britain at once resisted the claim of
+the United States to the sole sovereignty of that part of Bering Sea
+lying beyond the westerly boundary of Alaska--a stretch of sea extending
+in its widest part some 600 or 700 miles beyond the mainland of Alaska,
+and clearly under the law of nations a part of the great sea and open to
+all nations. Lord Salisbury's government, from the beginning to the end
+of the controversy, sustained the rights of Canada as a portion of the
+British empire. After very protracted and troublesome negotiations it
+was agreed to refer the international question in dispute to a court of
+arbitration, in which Sir John Thompson, prime minister of Canada, was
+one of the British arbitrators. The arbitrators decided in favour of the
+British contention that the United States had no jurisdiction in Bering
+Sea outside of the three miles limit, and at the same time made certain
+regulations to restrict the wholesale slaughter of fur-bearing seals in
+the North Pacific Ocean. In 1897 two commissioners, appointed by the
+governments of the United States and Canada, awarded the sum of $463,454
+as compensation to Canada for the damages sustained by the fishermen of
+British Columbia, while engaged in the lawful prosecution of their
+industry on that portion of the Bering Sea declared to be open to all
+nations. This sum was paid in the summer of 1898 by the United States.
+
+In 1897 the Canadian government succeeded in obtaining the consent of
+the governments of Great Britain and the United States to the
+appointment of a joint high commission to settle various questions in
+dispute between Canada and the United States. Canada was represented on
+this commission by Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Sir Richard Cartwright, Sir
+Louis Davies, and Mr. John Charlton, M.P., Newfoundland by Sir James
+Winter; the United States by Messieurs C.W. Fairbanks, George Gray, J.W.
+Foster, Nelson Dingley Jr., J.A. Kasson, and T. Jefferson Coolidge. The
+eminent jurist, Baron Herschell, who had been lord chancellor in the
+last Gladstone ministry, was chosen chairman of this commission, which
+met in the historic city of Quebec on several occasions from the 23rd
+August until the 10th October, 1898, and subsequently at Washington from
+November until the 20th February, 1899, when it adjourned. Mr. Dingley
+died in January and was replaced by Mr. Payne, and Lord Herschell also
+unhappily succumbed to the effects of an accident soon after the close
+of the sittings of the commission. In an eulogy of this eminent man in
+the Canadian house of commons, the Canadian prime minister stated that
+during the sittings of the commission "he fought for Canada not only
+with enthusiasm, but with conviction and devotion." England happily in
+these modern times has felt the necessity of giving to the consideration
+of Canadian interests the services of her most astute and learned
+statesmen and diplomatists.
+
+This commission was called upon to consider a number of international
+questions--the Atlantic and inland fisheries, the Alaska boundary, the
+alien labour law, the bonding privilege, the seal fishery in the Bering
+Sea, reciprocity of trade in certain products of the two countries, and
+other minor issues. For the reasons given in a previous part of this
+chapter (page 269), when referring to the commercial policy of the
+Laurier government, reciprocity was no longer the all-important question
+to be discussed, though the commissioners were desirous of making fiscal
+arrangements with respect to lumber, coal, and some other Canadian
+products for which there is an increasing demand in the markets of the
+United States. The long and earnest discussions of the commission on the
+various questions before them were, however, abruptly terminated by the
+impossibility of reaching a satisfactory conclusion with respect to the
+best means of adjusting the vexed question of the Alaska boundary, which
+had become of great international import in consequence of the discovery
+of gold in the territory of Alaska and the district of Yukon in Canada.
+
+The dispute between Great Britain and the United States has arisen as to
+the interpretation to be given to the Anglo-Russian treaty of 1825,
+which was made forty-two years before Russia sold her territorial rights
+in Alaska to the United States, that sale being subject of course to the
+conditions of the treaty in question. Under the third article of this
+treaty[10]--the governing clause of the contract between England and
+Russia--boundary line between Canada and Alaska commences at the south
+end of Prince of Wales Island, thence runs north through Portland
+Channel to the fifty-sixth degree of north latitude, thence follows the
+summit of the mountains situated parallel to the coast of the continent,
+to one hundred and forty-one west longitude and thence to the frozen
+ocean. That part of the line between fifty-six north latitude and one
+hundred and forty-one west longitude is where the main dispute arises.
+Great Britain on behalf of Canada contends that, by following the
+summits of the mountains between these two points, the true boundary
+would cross Lynn Canal, about half way between the headlands and
+tide-water at the head of the canal, and leave both Skagway and
+Dyea--towns built up chiefly by United States citizens--within British
+territory. The contention of Great Britain always has been that the
+boundary should follow the general contour of the coast line and not the
+inlets to their head waters. On the other hand the United States contend
+that the whole of Lynn Canal up to the very top, to the extent of
+tide-water, is a part of the ocean, and that the territory of the United
+States goes back for ten leagues from the head of the canal and
+consequently includes Skagway and Dyea. In other words the United States
+claim that the boundary should not follow the coast line but pass
+around the head of this important inlet, which controls access to the
+interior of the gold-bearing region.
+
+[10: The following is the article in full: "The line of demarcation
+between the possessions of the high contracting parties upon the coast
+of the continent and the islands of America to the north-west, shall be
+drawn in the following manner: commencing from the southernmost point of
+the island called Prince of Wales Island, which point lies in the
+parallel of fifty-four degrees forty minutes north latitude, and between
+the one hundred and thirty-first and the one hundred and thirty-third
+degree of west longitude, the said line shall ascend to the north along
+the channel called Portland Channel as far as the point of the continent
+where it strikes the fifty-sixth degree of north latitude. From this
+last-mentioned point the line of demarcation shall follow the summit of
+the mountains situated parallel to the coast as far as the point of
+intersection of the one hundred and forty-first degree of west longitude
+(of the same meridian), and finally from the said point of intersection
+of the one hundred and forty-first degree in its prolongation as far as
+the frozen ocean, shall form the limit between the Russian and British
+possessions, on the continent of America to the north-west"]
+
+[Illustration: MAP OF BRITISH COLUMBIA AND YUKON DISTRICT SHOWING
+DISPUTED BOUNDARY BETWEEN]
+
+The Canadian commissioners first offered as a compromise to leave Dyea
+and Skagway in the possession of the United States if the commissioners
+of that country would agree that Canada should retain Pyramid Harbour,
+which would give to Canadians a highway into the Yukon district. The
+acceptance of this compromise would have made a common water of the Lynn
+Canal, and at the same time left to the United States the greater
+portion of the territory in dispute. When the commissioners of the
+United States refused this fair compromise, the Canadians offered to
+refer the whole question to arbitration in order to ascertain the true
+boundary under the Anglo-Russian treaty. They proposed that the
+arbitrators should be three jurists of repute: one chosen for Great
+Britain by the judicial committee of the privy council, one appointed by
+the president of the United States, and the third a high international
+authority to act as an umpire. The commissioners of the United States
+positively refused to agree to this proposition and suggested the
+appointment of six jurists, three to be appointed by Great Britain, and
+the others by the United States. The Canadian representatives were
+unable to agree to the amendment suggested by their American colleagues,
+on the ground that it did not "provide a tribunal which would
+necessarily, and in the possible event of differences of opinion,
+finally dispose of the question," They also refused to agree to other
+propositions of the United States as "a marked and important departure
+from the rules of the Venezuelan boundary reference." The commissioners
+of the United States were not only unwilling to agree to the selection
+of an impartial European umpire, but were desirous of the appointment of
+an American umpire--from the South American Republics--over whom the
+United States would have more or less influence. Under these
+circumstances the Canadian commissioners were unwilling to proceed to
+the determination of other questions (on which a conclusion had been
+nearly reached) "until the boundary question had been disposed of either
+by agreement or reference to arbitration." The commission adjourned
+until August in the same year, but the negotiations that took place in
+the interval between the governments of Great Britain and the United
+States on the question at issue were not sufficiently advanced to enable
+a meeting at the proposed date. In these circumstances a _modus vivendi_
+was arranged between the United States and Canada, whose interests have
+been carefully guarded throughout the controversy by the government of
+the imperial state.
+
+This review of Canada's relations with the United States and England for
+more than a century illustrates at once her weakness and her
+strength--her weakness in the days of provincial isolation and imperial
+indifference; her strength under the inspiring influences of federal
+union and of an imperial spirit which gives her due recognition in the
+councils of the empire. It may now be said that, in a limited sense,
+there is already a loose system of federation between Great Britain and
+her dependencies. The central government of Great Britain, as the
+guardian of the welfare of the whole empire, cooperates with the several
+governments of her colonial dependencies, and, by common consultation
+and arrangement, endeavours to come to such a determination as will be
+to the advantage of all the interests at stake. In other words, the
+conditions of the relations between Great Britain and Canada are such as
+to insure unity of policy so long as each government considers the
+interests of Great Britain and the dependency as identical, and keeps in
+view the obligations, welfare, and unity of the empire at large. Full
+consultation in all negotiations affecting Canada, representation in
+every arbitration and commission that may be the result of such
+negotiations, are the principles which, of late years, have been
+admitted by Great Britain in acknowledgement of the development of
+Canada and of her present position in the empire; and any departure
+from so sound a doctrine would be a serious injury to the imperial
+connection, and an insult to the ability of Canadians to take a part in
+the great councils of the world. The same mysterious Providence that has
+already divided the continent of North America, as far as Mexico,
+between Canada and the United States, and that in the past prevented
+their political fortunes from becoming one, still forces the Canadian
+communities with an irresistible power to press onward until they
+realise those high conceptions which some statesmen already imagine for
+them in a not very distant future. These conceptions are of a still
+closer union with the parent state, which shall increase their national
+responsibilities, and at the same time give the Dominion a recognised
+position in the central councils of the empire.
+
+
+
+
+   APPENDIX A.
+
+   COMPARISONS BETWEEN THE MAIN PROVISIONS OF
+   THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA
+   AND THE AUSTRALIAN COMMONWEALTH.
+
+   CANADA.                             AUSTRALIA.            |
+   _Name._                             _Name_
+   The Dominion of Canada              The Commonwealth of Australia.
+
+   _How Constituted._                  _How Constituted_
+   Of provinces.                       Of states.
+
+   _Seat of Government._               _Seat of Government_
+   At Ottawa until the Queen           Within federal territory in
+   otherwise directs.                  New South Wales, at least 100
+                                       miles from Sydney
+
+   _Executive Power._                  _Executive Power_
+   Vested in the Queen.                Vested in the Queen.
+   Queen's representative, a           Queen's representative, a
+   governor-general, appointed by      governor-general, appointed by
+   the Queen in council.               the Queen in council.
+
+   Salary of governor-general          Not less than £10,000 paid
+   £10,000 sterling, paid by Dominion  by the commonwealth, fixed by
+   government, alterable by            parliament from time to time,
+   the parliament of Canada, but       not diminished during tenure of
+   subject to the disallowance of      a governor-general.
+   the crown, as in 1868, when
+   parliament passed a bill to reduce
+   this salary.
+
+
+
+
+         CANADA.                                    AUSTRALIA.
+   Ministers called by governor-general     Same--only for "privy
+   to form a cabinet, first                 councillors" read "executive
+   sworn in as privy councillors,           councillors"
+   hold office while they have the
+   confidence of the popular house
+   of parliament, in accordance with
+   the conventions, understandings,
+   and maxims of responsible or
+   parliamentary government.
+
+   Privy councillors hold, as the      Executive councillors administer
+   crown may designate, certain        such departments as
+   departments of state, not limited   governor-general from time to
+   in name or number, but left to      time establishes. Until other
+   the discretionary action of         provision is made by parliament,
+   parliament. Such heads of           number of such officers, who
+   departments must seek a new         may sit in parliament, shall not
+   election on accepting these         exceed seven.
+   office of emolument.
+
+     _Command of Military and             _Command of Military and
+          Naval Forces_                       Naval Forces_
+     Vested in the Queen.                In the Queen's representative.
+
+        _Parliament_                         _Parliament_
+    The Queen.                         The Queen.
+    Senate.                            Senate.
+    House of commons.                  House of representatives.
+    Session once at least every        The same.
+    year.
+   Privileges, immunities and          Such as declared by the parliament
+   powers held by senate and house     of the commonwealth,
+   of commons, such as are defined     and, until declared, such as are
+   by act of the parliament of         held by the commons' house of
+   Canada, but not to exceed those     parliament of Great Britain at
+   enjoyed at the passing of such      the date of the establishment of
+   act by the commons' house of        the commonwealth.
+   parliament of Great Britain.
+
+   CANADA.                             AUSTRALIA
+
+   Senate composed of twenty-four      Senate composed of six
+   members for each of the             senators for each state, directly
+   three following divisions (1)       chosen for six years by the
+   Ontario, (2) Quebec, and (3)        people of the state voting as
+   maritime provinces of Nova          one electorate; half the number
+   Scotia, New Brunswick, and          shall retire every three years,
+   Prince Edward Island. Other         but shall be eligible for
+   provinces can be represented        re-election. No property
+   under the constitution, but the     qualification is required, but the
+   total number of senators shall      senators must be British subjects
+   not at any time exceed              of the full age of twenty-one years.
+   seventy-eight, except in the        In Queensland the people can
+   case of the admission of            vote in divisions, instead of in
+   Newfoundland, when the maximum      one electorate.
+   may be eighty-two. Senators
+   appointed by the crown for life,
+   but removable for certain
+   disabilities. They must have
+   a property qualification and be
+   of the full age of thirty years.
+
+   Speaker of the senate appointed      President of the senate elected
+   by the governor-general              by that body.
+   (in council).
+
+   Fifteen senators form a quorum       One-third of whole number of
+   until parliament of Canada           senators form a quorum until
+   otherwise provides.                  parliament of commonwealth
+                                        otherwise provides.
+   Non-attendance for two whole         Non-attendance for two consecutive
+   sessions vacates a senator's seat.   months of any session
+                                        vacates a senator's seat.
+   Members of house of commons          Every three years.
+   elected every five years,
+   or whenever parliament is dissolved
+   by the governor-general.
+
+   No property qualification, but       The same.
+   must be British subjects of full
+   age of twenty-one years.
+
+
+
+   CANADA.                               AUSTRALIA
+   The electors for the Dominion         Qualification of electors for
+   commons are the electors of the       members of the house of
+   several provinces, under the          representatives is that
+   limitations of a statute passed       prescribed by the law of each
+   by the Dominion parliament in         state for the electors of the
+   1878. Qualifications vary, but        more numerous house of the
+   universal suffrage, qualified by      parlianment of the state.
+   residence, generally prevails.
+
+   A fresh apportionment of              The same.
+   representatives to be made after
+   each census, or not longer than
+   intervals of ten years.
+
+   Speaker of house of commons           The same.
+   elected by the members of the
+   house.
+
+   Quorum of house of commons            Quorum of house of representatives
+   --twenty members, of whom the         --one-third of the
+   speaker counts one.                   whole number of members
+                                         until otherwise provided by
+                                         parliament.
+
+   No such provision.                    Member vacates his seat
+                                         when absent, without permission,
+                                         for two months of a
+                                         session.
+
+   No such provision.                    Parliament to be called together
+                                         not later than thirty days
+                                         after that appointment for return
+                                         of writs.
+
+   Allowance to each member of           Allowance of £400 to members
+   senate and commons $1,000 for         of both houses until other
+   a session of thirty days, and         provision is made by parliament.
+   mileage expenses, 10 cents a
+   mile going and returning. Not
+   expressly provided for by
+   constitution but by statute of
+   parliament from time to time.
+
+
+
+
+   CANADA.                                 AUSTRALIA.
+   Canadian statutes disqualify            Same classes disqualified in
+   contractors and certain persons         the constitution.
+   holding office on receiving emoluments
+   or fees from the crown
+   while sitting in parliament.
+
+   Each house determines the               The constitution has a special
+   rules, and orders necessary for         provision on the subject.
+   the regulation of its own proceedings;
+   not in the constitution.
+
+   _Money And Tax Bills_                   _Money and Tax Bills_
+   The same.                               Money and tax bills can only
+                                           originate in the house of
+                                           representatives.
+
+   |Same by practice.                      The senate can reject, but not
+                                           amend, taxation or appropriation
+                                           bills.
+
+   Not in Canadian constitution.           The senate may return money
+                                           and appropriation bills to the
+                                           house of representatives,
+                                           requesting the omission or
+                                           amendment of any provision
+                                           therein, but it is optional
+                                           for the house to make such
+                                           omissions or amendments.
+
+   No such provision.                      If bills, other than money
+                                           bills,
+                                           have twice been passed by the
+                                           house of representatives and
+                                           twice been rejected by the
+                                           senate or passed by that body
+                                           with amendments to which the
+                                           house of representatives will
+                                           not agree, the governor-general
+                                           may dissolve the two houses
+                                           simultaneously; and if, after
+                                           the new election
+                                           they continue to disagree,
+                                           the governor-general may convene
+                                           a joint sitting of the members
+                                           of the two houses, who shall
+                                           deliberate and vote upon the
+                                           bill, which can only become
+                                           law if passed by an absolute
+                                           majority of the members sitting
+                                           and voting.
+
+   _Legislative Powers of the              _Legislative Powers of the
+   Parliament of the Dominion_.             Parliament of the
+                                           Commonwealth_.
+
+   Respective powers of the federal        The Legislative powers of the
+   parliament and provincial               federal parliament are alone
+   legislatures are enumerated and         enumerated, and the states
+   defined in the constitution; the        expressly retain all the powers
+   residuum of power rests with the        vested in them by their
+   central government in relation          respective constitutions at the
+   to all matters not coming within        establishment of the
+   the classes of subjects by the          commonwealth as to matters not
+   British North America act of            specified as being within the
+   1867 assigned exclusively to the        exclusive jurisdiction of the
+   legislatures.                           federal parliament.
+
+   _The Provinces._                        _The States._
+
+   Legislatures may alter provincial       Constitutions may be altered
+   constitutions except as                 under the authority of the
+   regards the office of lieutenant        parliaments thereof.
+   -governor.
+
+   Lieutenant-governors are appointed      The constitution of each state
+   by the governor-general-in-council,     continues (subject to the
+   and removable by                        constitution) as at the
+   him within five years only for          establishment of the
+   cause assigned and communicated         commonwealth, or as at the
+   by message to the two                   admission or establishment
+   houses of parliament.                   of the states, as the case
+                                           may be, until altered in
+                                           accordance with the
+                                           constitution of the
+                                           states. In other words,
+                                           the powers of the states
+                                           over their own constitutions
+                                           are preserved.
+
+   Acts of the provincial                  When a law of the state is
+   legislatures may be disallowed          inconsistent with one of the
+   by the governor-general-in-council      commonwealth, the latter shall,
+   one year after their receipt.           to the extent of such
+                                           inconsistency, be invalid.
+
+   Education is within exclusive           No special provisions in the
+   jurisdiction of the provinces,          constitution; education being
+   but with conditions for the             one of the subjects exclusively
+   maintenance and protection of           within the powers of the state
+   rights and privileges of                parliaments, under the clause
+   religious bodies in a province          leaving them in possession of
+   with respect to denominational          all powers not expressly given
+   schools.                                to the federal parliament.
+
+   The federal parliament can              A state shall not impose any
+   alone impose duties or taxes on         taxes or duties upon imports
+   imports.                                except such as are necessary
+                                           for executing the inspection
+                                           laws of a state, but the net
+                                           produce of all charges so
+                                           levied shall be for use of the,
+                                           commonwealth, and such
+                                           inspection laws may be annulled
+                                           by the parliament of the
+                                           commonwealth.
+
+   Similar power.                          The parliament of the
+                                           commonwealth may from time to
+                                           time admit new states, and make
+                                           laws for the provisional
+                                           administration and government
+                                           of any territory surrendered by
+                                           any state to the commonwealth,
+                                           or of any territory placed by
+                                           the Queen under the
+                                           commonwealth, or otherwise
+                                           acquired by the same.
+
+
+   CANADA.                                 AUSTRALIA.
+
+   _The Judiciary._                        _The Judiciary._
+
+   The same.                               The parliament of the
+                                           commonwealth can establish a
+                                           federal supreme court, called
+                                           the High Court of Australia,
+                                           and other federal courts for
+                                           the commonwealth; the judges
+                                           to be appointed by the
+                                           governor-general, to hold
+                                           office during good behaviour,
+   No such provision with respect          not to be removed except upon
+   to diminution of salary during          an address of both houses of
+   tenure of office.                       parliament, but so that the
+                                           salary paid to any judge shall
+                                           not be diminished during his
+                                           continuance in office.
+
+   Similar provisions by statutory         The high court can adjudicate
+   enactments of Dominion                  in cases arising out of the
+   parliament.                             constitution, or controversies
+                                           between states, or in which the
+                                           commonwealth is a party.
+
+   No such stringent provision             Appeals only allowed to
+   exists in the Canadian                  Queen-in-council from high court
+   constitution, but appeals in all        on constitutional issues between
+   civil--though not in                    commonwealth and any state,
+   criminal--cases are allowed, by         or between two or more states,
+   virtue of the exercise of the           when high court gives leave to
+   royal prerogative, from                 appeal. Otherwise, the royal
+   provincial courts as well as            prerogative to grant appeals is
+   from the supreme court of Canada        not impaired. Parliament may,
+   to the Queen-in-council;                however, make laws limiting
+   _i.e._, in practice, to the             such appeals, but they must
+   judicial committee of the privy         be reserved for her Majesty's
+   council.                                pleasure.
+
+
+
+
+
+          CANADA.                                   AUSTRALIA.
+
+   Judges of the superior and            Judges in the states are appointed
+   county courts in the provinces        and removable under existing state
+   (except those of probate in New       constitutions, which the state
+   Brunswick, Nova Scotia and            parliaments can change at will.
+   Prince Edward Island) are appointed
+   by the governor-general-in-council,
+   and removable only
+   by the same on the address of
+   the two houses of parliament.
+   Their salaries and allowances
+   are fixed by the parliament of
+   Canada.
+
+   The provinces have jurisdiction       Similar powers in the states.
+   over the administration of
+   justice in a province, including
+   the constitution, maintenance,
+   and organisation of provincial
+   courts, both of civil and criminal
+   jurisdiction, and including the
+   procedure in civil matters in
+   those courts.
+
+   The enactment and amendment            With the states.
+   of the criminal law rest
+   with the Dominion parliament.
+
+   The enactment and amendment            With the states.
+   of all laws relating to property
+   and civil rights rest with
+   the provinces.
+
+   _Trade and Finance._                  _Trade and Finance._
+   Customs and excise, trade and         The parliament of the commonwealth
+   commerce, are within exclusive        has sole power to
+   jurisdiction of Dominion parliament.  impose uniform duties of customs
+                                         and excise, and to grant bounties
+                                         upon goods when it thinks it
+                                         expedient. As soon as
+                                         such duties or customs
+                                         are imposed, trade and
+                                         intercourse throughout the
+                                         commonwealth, whether by
+                                         internal carriageor ocean
+                                         navigation, is to be free.
+
+   The Dominion government               The parliament of the commonwealth
+   can veto any such unconstitutional    may annul any state
+   law.                                  law interfering with the freedom
+                                         of trade or commerce between
+                                         the different parts of the
+                                         commonwealth, or giving preference
+                                         to the ports of one part over
+                                         those of another.
+
+   The power of direct taxation          Direct taxation may be imposed
+   is within the jurisdiction of both    by the commonwealth
+   Dominion parliament and provincial    and by each state within its own
+   legislatures, the one for             limits--but taxation, when
+   Dominion and the other solely         exercised by the commonwealth,
+   for provincial purposes.              must be uniform.
+
+   Both Dominion and provincial          Same is true of commonwealth
+   governments have unlimited            and states.
+   borrowing power under the authority
+   of parliament and legislatures.
+
+   Certain money subsidies are           Of the net revenue of the
+   paid annually to the provinces        commonwealth from duties of
+   towards the support of their          customs and excise, not more
+   governments and legislatures.         than one-fourth shall be applied
+                                         annually by the commonwealth
+                                         towards its expenditure. The
+                                         balance shall, in accordance
+                                         with certain conditions of the
+                                         constitution, be paid to the
+                                         several states, or applied
+                                         towards the payment of
+                                         interest on debts of the
+                                         several states. This arrangement
+                                         is limited to ten years. Financial
+                                         aid may be granted to any state
+                                         upon such terms as the federal
+                                         parliament may deem expedient.
+                                         Western Australia may, subject
+                                         to certain restrictions, impose
+                                         duties on goods imported from
+                                         other parts of the commonwealth.
+
+
+   No such provision; but the            For the administration of the
+   Dominion parliament and provincial    laws relating to interstate trade
+   legislatures could by                 the governor-general-in-council
+   legislation arrange a similar         may appoint an interstate
+   commission.                           commission.
+
+   Canada is liable for amount of       The parliament of the commonwealth
+   the debts and liabilities of the     may consolidate or
+   provinces existing at the time of    take over state debts by general
+   the union, under the conditions      consent, but a state shall
+   and terms laid down in the           indemnify the commonwealth, and
+   constitution.                        the amount of interest payable in
+                                        respect to a debt shall be
+                                        deducted from its share of the
+                                        surplus revenue of the
+                                        commonwealth.
+
+   _Imperial Control over_              _Imperial Control over_
+   _Dominion Legislation._              _Australian Legislation._
+   Bills may be reserved by the         The same.
+   governor-general for the Queen's
+   pleasure, and her Majesty in         As the old state constitutions
+   council may within two years         continue in force until amended
+   after receipt of any Dominion        by the state, state legislation is
+   act disallow the same.               still subject to power of
+                                        disallowance by Queen in council.
+
+   No such provision.                   The governor-general may return
+                                        any "law" presented to him for
+                                        the Queen's assent and suggest
+                                        amendments therein, and
+                                        the houses may deal with them
+                                        as they think fit.
+
+   The recommendation of the            The same.
+   crown is required before initiation
+   of a money vote in parliament.
+
+   _Amendments to the                   _Amendments to the
+   Constitution_.                       Constitution._
+
+   By the imperial parliament on        Any proposed amendment to
+   an address of the houses of the      the constitution must be first
+   Dominion parliament to the           passed by an absolute majority
+   Queen.                               of each house of parliament,
+                                        and submitted in each state to
+                                        the electors qualified to vote for
+                                        members of the house of
+                                        representatives. If in majority of
+                                        the states a majority of the
+                                        electors voting approve the
+                                        proposed law, and if a majority
+                                        of all the electors
+                                        voting also approve the
+                                        proposed law,  it shall be
+                                        presented to the governor-general
+                                        for the royal assent.
+
+
+APPENDIX B.
+
+BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES.
+
+
+I confine these notes to the most accurate and available books and
+essays on the history of Canada.
+
+For the French régime consult.--_Jacques Cartier's Voyages_, by Joseph
+Pope (Ottawa, 1889), Charlevoix's _History and General Description of
+New France_, translated by J. Gilmary Shea (New York, 1868); _Cours
+d'histoire du Canada_, by Abbé Ferland (Quebec, 1861); _Histoire du
+Canada_, by F.X. Garneau (4th ed., Montreal, 1882); F. Parkman's series
+of admirable histories of the French régime (Boston, 1865--1884), _The
+Story of Canada_ (Nations' Series, London, New York and Toronto, 1896),
+by J.G. Bourinot, necessarily written in a light vein, is largely
+devoted to the days of French rule, and may profitably be read on that
+account in connection with this later book, chiefly devoted to British
+dominion.
+
+For the history of Acadia, consult.--_Acadia_, by James Hannay (St.
+John, N.B., 1879); _History of Nova Scotia_, by Thomas C. Haliburton
+(Halifax, N.S., 1829). A valuable compilation of annals is _A History of
+Nova Scotia or Acadie_, by Beamish Murdoch (Halifax, 1867). _Builders of
+Nova Scotia_, by J.G. Bourinot (Toronto, and "Trans. Roy. Soc. Can.,"
+1900), contains many portraits of famous Nova Scotians down to
+confederation, and appendices of valuable historical documents.
+
+_Cape Breton and its Memorials of the French Régime_ ("Trans. Roy. Soc.
+Can.," vol. IX, and in separate form, Montreal, 1891) by J.G. Bourinot,
+gives a full bibliography of voyages of Northmen, the Cabots, Carrier,
+and Champlain, and of the Histories of the Seven Years' War. The same
+remarks apply to Winsor's _Narrative and Critical History of America_
+(Boston, 1886--89). The "Trans. Roy. Soc. Can.," since 1894, have
+several important papers by Archbishop O'Brien, Dr. S.E. Dawson, and
+others on the Cabot discovery.
+
+British rule, 1760-1900:--Garneau's _History_, already mentioned, gives
+the French Canadian view of the political situation from 1760 until
+1840; William Kingsford's _History of Canada_ (Toronto, 1887-1898) has a
+fairly accurate account of events from 1760 until 1840, in vols. V-X; _A
+History of Lower Canada_, by R. Christie, a member of the assembly of
+the province (Quebec, 1848-1854) is very useful for copies of public
+documents from 1774 until 1840.
+
+The most important accounts of the U.E. Loyalists of the American
+Revolution by writers in the United States are:--L. Sabine's _Loyalists_
+(Boston, 1864), and Tyler's _Literary History of the American
+Revolution_ (New York, 1897). Canadian accounts are to be found in
+Egerton Ryerson's _Loyalists of America_ (Toronto, 1880)--remarkably
+prosaic--and Canniff's _History of Upper Canada_ (Toronto, 1872).
+Consult also articles of J.G. Bourinot in the _Quarterly Review_ for
+October, 1898, and the _Canadian Magazine_ for April, 1898, in which
+names of prominent Canadian descendants of Loyalists are given.
+
+Kingsford's _History_, vol. VIII, has the best Canadian account of the
+War of 1812-15. The most impartial American record of its causes and
+progress is Henry Adams's _History of the United States of America_ (New
+York, 1860), vols VI and VII.
+
+Garneau's _History_ gives the most favourable estimate of Papineau and
+his party, who brought about the Rebellion in Lower Canada. Kingsford
+(vols. IX and X) writes impartially on the risings in the two Canadas.
+
+Other works to be consulted are:--Lord Durham's _Report on the Affairs
+of British North America_ (London, 1839); _Life of W. Lyon Mackenzie_,
+by Charles Lindsey, his son-in-law (Toronto, 1863); _The Upper Canadian
+Rebellion_, by J. Charles Dent (Toronto, 1885). The _Speeches and
+Letters_ of the Hon. Joseph Howe (Boston, 1858) contain the ablest
+expositions of the principles of responsible government by its greatest
+advocate in British North America. See also Campbell's _History of
+Prince Edward Island_ (Charlottetown, 1875). New Brunswick has not a
+single good history. _The Life and Times of Sir Leonard Tilley_, by
+James Hannay (St. John, N.B. 1897), can be read with advantage. See
+Prof. Ganong's valuable essays on the early history of New Brunswick in
+"Trans. Roy. Soc. Can," New Series, vols. I--v. Rev. Dr. Withrow's
+_History of Canada_ (Toronto, 1888) has chapters on affairs of Prince
+Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, to date of publication.
+
+For the history of Canada since 1840, consult.--_Canada since the Union_
+(1840--1880), by J. Charles Dent (Toronto, 1880--81); _Le Canada sous
+l'Union_, by Louis Turcotte (Quebec, 1871); _Memoirs of the Right Hon.
+Sir John A. Macdonald_, by Joseph Pope, his private secretary (London
+and Ottawa, 1894); _Debates on Confederation_ (Quebec, 1865);
+_Confederation_, by Hon. J.H. Gray, M.P., a delegate to the Quebec
+Conference (Toronto, 1872).
+
+For the constitutional development of Canada, consult.--_A Manual_, by
+J.G. Bourinot (Montreal, 1888, and included in latest edition of his
+_Parliamentary Procedure_, 1891); _How Canada is Governed_, by the same
+(Toronto, 1897--1900); _Parliamentary Government in the Colonies_, by
+Alpheus Todd (London, 1894); _Documents illustrative of the Canadian
+Constitution_, by W. Houston (Toronto, 1891). _Parliamentary Government
+in Canada_, by J.G. Bourinot (Amer. Hist. Association, Washington, 1892,
+and "Trans. Roy. Soc. Can.," 1892), contains a long list of books
+relating to the constitutional history of Canada. Also consult _How
+Canada is Governed_ for works on constitutional, legal, municipal and
+educational history of the provinces of Canada.
+
+For Manitoba and the North-west Territories the reader may
+consult:--_Manitoba. Its Infancy, Growth and Present Condition_, by Rev.
+Prof. Bryce (London, 1882); _History of the North-west_, by A. Begg
+(Toronto, 1894); _The Great Company_, by Beckles Wilson (Toronto and
+London, 1899); _Reminiscences of the North-west Rebellions_, by Major
+Boulton (Toronto, 1886). A remarkable _History of the Hudson's Bay
+Company_, by Rev. Prof. Bryce (London, New York and Toronto, 1900). For
+British Columbia:--A. Begg's _History_ (Toronto, 1896).
+
+For the literary progress of Canada, consult:--_The Intellectual
+Development of the Canadian People_, by J.G. Bourinot (Toronto, 1881);
+_Canada's Intellectual Strength and Weakness_ ("Trans. Roy. Soc.
+Canada," vol. XI, also in separate form, Montreal, 1893), by the same,
+contains an elaborate list of Canadian literature, French and English,
+to date. The 17 volumes of the same Transactions contain numerous
+valuable essays on French Canadian literary progress.
+
+Other valuable books to be consulted are:--_Canada and Newfoundland_ in
+Stanford's _Compendium of Geography and Travel_ (London, 1897), by Dr.
+S.E. Dawson, F.R.S.C.; _The Statistical Year Book of Canada_, a
+government publication issued annually at Ottawa, and edited by Geo.
+Johnson, F.S.S.; _The Great Dominion_ (London, 1895), by Dr. G.R.
+Parkin, C.M.G., LL.D., the eloquent advocate of imperial federation for
+many years, merits careful reading. _Canada and the United States_, in
+Papers of the Amer. Hist Assoc. (Washington, July, 1891), and _Canada
+and the United States: their Past and Present Relations_, in the
+_Quarterly Review_ for April, 1891, both by the present author, have
+been largely used in the preparation of the last chapter of this book.
+
+With respect to the boundaries of Canada and the English colonies during
+the days of French dominion, and from 1763 until 1774--_i.e._ from the
+Treaty of Paris until the Quebec Act--consult a valuable collection of
+early French and English maps, given in _A Report on the Boundaries of
+Ontario_ (Toronto, 1873), by Hon. David Mills, now Minister of Justice
+in the Laurier government, who was an Ontario commissioner to collect
+evidence with respect to the western limits of the province. Consult
+also Prof. Hinsdale's _Old North-west_ (New York, 1888); _Epochs of
+American History_, edited by Prof. Hart, of Harvard University (London
+and Boston, 1893); _Remarks on the French Memorials concerning the
+Limits of Acadia_ (London, 1756) by T. Jefferys, who gives maps showing
+clearly French and English claims with respect to Nova Scotia or Acadia
+"according to its ancient limits" (Treaty of Utrecht). These and other
+maps are given in that invaluable compilation, Winsor's _Narrative and
+Critical History of America_. See also Mitchell's map of British and
+French possessions in North America, issued by the British Board of
+Plantations in 1758, and reprinted (in part) in the _Debates on the
+Quebec Act_, by Sir H. Cavendish (London, 1839). For text of Treaties of
+Utrecht (1612), of Paris (1763), of Quebec Act (1774), and other
+treaties and imperial acts relating to Canada, see Houston's
+_Documents_, cited above, p. 329. The maps of Canada and the disputed
+boundary in Alaska, which I give in this book, are taken from the small
+maps issued in 1899 by the Department of the Interior at Ottawa.
+
+INDEX
+
+
+Abbott, Sir John; prime minister of Canada, 257; death of, ib
+
+Aberdeen, Earl of; governor-general of Canada, 265-267
+
+Aberdeen, Lady, 267
+
+Acadia College, N.S., founded, 163
+
+_Acadie_ or _La Cadie_; name of, 8; settled by France, 8, 9; ceded to
+Great Britain by Treaty of Utrecht (1713), 9; French inhabitants
+expelled from, 22, 23
+
+Adams, President John; on the U.K. Loyalists, 76
+
+Alaskan Boundary, 310-312; map of, 311
+
+Alexander, Sir William (Lord Stirling); names Nova Scotia, 11
+
+Allan, Sir Hugh; contributes funds to Conservative elections, 236;
+results of, 237
+
+Allouez, Father; founds mission at La Pointe (Ashland), 17
+
+Almon, M, B.; banker and politician of Nova Scotia, 178
+
+American Revolution; causes of, 56-65; momentous events of, 63-67; its
+effects upon Canada and Maritime Provinces, 67-74, 81
+
+Angers, lieutenant-governor; dismisses Mercier ministry in Quebec, 247
+
+Anglican Church: first built in Upper Canada, 84
+
+Annand, William; Nova Scotian journalist, and first minister of province
+after Confederation, 218
+
+Annapolis (Port Royal) named, 9
+
+Archibald, Sir Adams, delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 204; first
+lieutenant-governor of Manitoba, 230
+
+Architecture in Canada, 288, 289
+
+Art in Canada, 288
+
+Assiniboia; name of Lord Selkirk's domain in North-west, 225
+
+Australia, Commonwealth of; constitution of, 282, 283; comparisons
+between Canadian and Australian federal systems, 315-326 (Appendix A)
+
+Baccalaos, or Newfoundland, 8
+
+Bagot, Sir Charles, governor-general of Canada, 169
+
+Baldwin, Robert, efforts of, for responsible government, 168, 169; joint
+leader with Lafontaine in Reform ministry, 170, 173; admirable character
+of, 184
+
+Ballot, vote by; established, 239
+
+Basques in Canada, 5
+
+Batoche, N.W.T.; victory of loyal Canadian forces at, in second
+North-west rebellion of 1885, 253
+
+Bay of Chaleurs Railway; scandal connected with, 247
+
+Bering Sea dispute, 308, 309
+
+Bibliographical notes, see App. B
+
+Bidwell, Marshall Spring; reformer of Upper Canada, 146, 149, 151;
+unjust treatment of, by lieutenant-governor Head, 153
+
+Big Bear, Indian Chief in N.W.T.; rebels against Canada and is punished,
+253-254
+
+Bishop's Palace; first parliament house of Lower Canada, 92, 160
+
+Blair, Mr.; Canadian statesman, 265
+
+Blake, Edward; Canadian statesman, 230, 231, 234, 241, 244, 255
+
+Blanchard, Hiram; Nova Scotia, Unionist, defeated in 1867, 218
+
+Botsford, Amos; first speaker of assembly of New Brunswick, 88
+
+Boucherville, M. de; prime minister of Quebec, 245, 247
+
+Bouchette, Joseph, Canadian general and author, 164
+
+Boundary disputes; in North-west, 292; in Maine, 296-300; in Oregon,
+300-302; in British Columbia (San Juan) 301, 302; in Alaska, 310-312.
+See _Maps_
+
+Boundary of Ontario settled, 238
+
+Bourgeoys, Sister, 34
+
+Bowell, Sir Mackenzie; prime minister of Canada, 257
+
+Brant, Joseph (Thayendanega), Mohawk Chief, 84; his loyalty to Great
+Britain, ib.
+
+Brébeuf, Jean de, Jesuit martyr, 12
+
+Bretons in Canada, 51
+
+Briand, Bishop; consecrated after conquest, 43; loyal _mandement_ of, in
+1775, 58
+
+British American League suggests federal union of provinces, 194
+
+British Columbia, province of; its early history, 231, 232; enters
+Confederation, 232
+
+British North America Act of 1867; passed to unite provinces, 215. See
+_Constitution of Canada._
+
+Brock, General; services of, during war of 1812-15, 114, 119; death of,
+ib.
+
+Brown, George; Canadian journalist and reformer, suggests federal union,
+196; advocates representation by population, 197; assists in bringing
+about Confederation, 197; joins the Taché-Macdonald government with
+other reformers, 198; leaves the coalition ministry, 217; unsuccessful
+mission to Washington to obtain reciprocity, 306; assassination of, 256;
+character of, 197, 202
+
+Brown, Thomas Storrow; leads Canadian rebels at St. Charles in 1837, 134
+
+By, Colonel, founder of Bytown (Ottawa), 158; engineer of Ruleau Canal,
+ib.
+
+Cabot, John; voyages of, to North America, 4, 5
+
+Caldwell, Receiver-General; defaulter to government, 126
+
+Calvet, Pierre du; opponent of Governor Haldimand, 72; disloyalty of,
+72, 73
+
+Campbell, Sir Alexander; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 203
+
+Campbell, Sir Colin; governor of Nova Scotia, 173; opposes responsible
+government, ib.
+
+Canada, name of, 6; discovery and settlement of, by France, 4-15; French
+exploration of, 15-21; conquered by Great Britain, 21-27; political,
+economic, and social conditions of, during French rule, 27-36;
+beginnings of British rule in, 37-45; influence of Quebec Act of 1774
+upon, 45-48; during American Revolution, 67-74; United Empire Loyalists
+settle in, 81-86; political divisions of (in 1792), 91; effects of war
+of 1812-15 upon, 110-123; rebellion in, 134-156; social and economic
+condition of, in 1838, 156-164; union of, in 1840, 166; responsible
+government in, 167-173; social and economic conditions of, in 1866,
+185-192; Confederation of, 215, 216; federal constitution of, 273-284,
+315-326; first ministry of, under Confederation, 216, first parliament
+of, 218, 219; trade and revenue of, in 1899, 273; literature in,
+284-287, art in, 288; sculpture in, ib.; architecture in, 288, 289;
+education in 289, 290; libraries in, ib.; relations with England and the
+United States, 390-314; bibliographical notes of, 327-330; maps of, see
+_Maps_
+
+Canada's representation at "Diamond Jubilee" (1897), 35, 36, 270, 271
+
+Canada Temperance Act. See _Temperance Legislation_
+
+Canada and the United States, relations between (1783-1900), 290-313
+
+_Canadien, Le_; established in French Canada, 95
+
+Canadian Pacific Railway; history of 232, 233, 236, 242, 244
+
+Canadian Trade Acts; respecting Upper and Lower Canada, 153
+
+Canals of Canada, 273
+
+Cape Breton, name of, 5
+
+Carignan-Salières regiment settled in Canada 14
+
+Carleton, Guy (Lord Dorchester); governor general of Canada, 44; his
+just treatment of French Canadians, ib.; his part in framing of the
+Quebec Act, 45; saves Canada during American revolution, 67; again
+governor-general, 89; his tribute to the U.E. Loyalists, ib.
+
+Carleton, Colonel John; first governor of New Brunswick, 87
+
+Carnarvon, Earl of; introduces British North America Act of 1867 in
+British Parliament, 215
+
+Caroline steamer; seized by Canadians 295; international complications
+respecting 295, 296
+
+Caron Father le; French missionary, 16
+
+Caron, Sir Adolphe; minister of militia during North-west rebellion of
+1885, 252; resists Riel agitation in French Canada, 254
+
+Carter, Frederick B.T.; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Cartier, Sir George; a father of Confederation, 201; great public
+services of, ib.; death of, 233
+
+Cartier, Jacques, discovers the St. Lawrence, 6, 7
+
+Cartwright, Sir Richard; Canadian statesman, 94, 265
+
+Casgrain, Abbé; Canadian author, 284
+
+Cathcart, Lord; governor-general of Canada, 171, 172
+
+Champlain, Samuel; founds Quebec, 9; career of, in Canada, 9-12,
+character of, ib.
+
+Chandler, Edward Barron delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 205;
+public career of, 206
+
+Chapais, J.C., delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 304
+
+Chapleau, Sir Adolphe; resists popular clamour in French Canada for
+Riel's pardon after rebellion of 1885, 254
+
+Charlesbourg-Royal, 7
+
+Charlevoix, Jesuit priest; historian of New France, 19
+
+Chartier, Abbé; Canadian rebel of 1837, 135
+
+Chartrand, murder of, in Lower Canadian rebellion of 1837, 135
+
+Chateauguay, battle of; won by French Canadians, 116, 121
+
+Château of St. Louis; founded at Quebec, 31; destroyed by fire, 160
+
+Chauveau, Pierre O.J.; his services to education, 192; first prime
+minister of Quebec after Confederation, 217
+
+Chenier, Dr.; Canadian rebel, 134; monument to, 135
+
+Christie, Mr.; expelled from assembly of Lower Canada, 127;
+
+Chrystler's Farm, battle at; won by British troops in 1813, 116
+
+Civil Law of French Canada, 29; established under British rule, 46, 278
+
+Clergy Reserves Question; origin of, 141; powerful factor in political
+controversy for years, ib.; settled, 186
+
+Cockburn, James; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 204; first
+speaker of commons' house of Dominion parliament, ib.
+
+Code Napoléon in French Canada, 278
+
+Colbert, French minister, 27
+
+Colborne, Sir John (Lord Seaforth); represses rebellion in Lower Canada,
+134, 138; governor-general of Canada, 138
+
+Colebrooke, Sir William; lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, 174
+
+Coles, George; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Colonial Conference at Ottawa (1894), 200
+
+Commissions, International, affecting Canada; Maine boundary, 296,
+Washington (1871), 302, 304-306; Washington (1887), 307, 308, Bering
+Sea, 309; joint high commission (Quebec and Washington, 1897-98),
+309-313
+
+Commonwealth of Australia. See _Australia_
+
+Confederation of the British North American provinces; foreshadowed,
+194; beginnings of, 195-198; initiated at Quebec Convention of 1864,
+199; fathers of, 199-206, consummated, 206-215; birth of Dominion of
+Canada, 216; constitution of, 206-209, 273-284; first ministry under,
+216; first parliament under, 217; results of, 272, 273
+
+Congrégation de Notre-Dame established, 34
+
+Constitutional Act of 1791; forms provinces of Upper and Lower Canada,
+90, 91; general provisions of, 91, 92
+
+Constitution of Canadian Dominion, 273-281; compared with that of
+Australian Commonwealth, 282-284, 315, 326 (App. A)
+
+Cornwallis, Colonel, founds Halifax, 49
+
+Corrupt elections: measures to restrain and punish, 239
+
+Cortereal, Gaspar and Miguel; voyages of, to North America, 5
+
+_Coureurs-de-bois,_ 17, 18
+
+_Coutume de Paris_ established in French Canada, 29
+
+Craig, Sir James; governor-general of Canada, 96; quarrels of, with
+leading French Canadians, character of, 96, 97
+
+Crémazie, Canadian poet, 192
+
+Crozier, Superintendent; defeated by half-breeds in North-west rebellion
+of 1885, 252
+
+Cut Knife Greek, N.W.T.; Colonel Otter engages Indians at, in North-west
+rebellion of 1885, 253
+
+Dalhousie College, Nova Scotia; founded, 163
+
+Dalhousie, Lord, governor-general of Canada; quarrel of, with Papineau,
+129
+
+Daly, Sir Dominick; first minister of Canada under Lord Metcalfe, 170
+
+Davies, Sir Louis; Canadian statesman, 265
+
+Davies, English navigator; voyages of, to Canada, 7
+
+Dawson, Sir William; Canadian scientist, 192, 286
+
+Dickey, R.B.; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 305
+
+Dochet Island (St. Croix River); first settlement of French on, 8
+
+Dominion of Canada; origin of name, 215; established, 215, 216; first
+ministry of, 216; first parliament of, 217; completed from Atlantic to
+Pacific, 227, 232, 234; history of, from 1873-1900, 236-272; map of, _at
+end._
+
+Dorchester, Lord; see _Carleton, Sir Guy_
+
+Douglas, Sir James; governor of British Columbia, 232
+
+Drew, Captain; seizes steamer Caroline on U.S. frontier, 154. See
+_Caroline._
+
+Drummond, Attorney-General; member of MacNab-Morin ministry, 186
+
+Drummond, Dr., Canadian poet, 285
+
+Drummond, General, services of, during war of 1812-15, 116, 117, 122
+
+Duck Lake, N.W.T., defeat of government forces at, in Canadian rebellion
+of 1885, 252
+
+Dumont Gabriel; takes part in Riel's North-west revolt of 1885, 252, 253
+
+Dufferin, Lord; governor-general of Canada, 241, 243, 267
+
+Durham, Earl of; high commissioner to Canada after rebellion of 1837,
+136; his humanity and justice, 137; returns from Canada when rebuked in
+England, ib.,  his report on Canadian affairs, 165
+
+Durham Terrace, constructed, 160
+
+Education in Canada; state of, under French rule, 33, 34, in 1838, 162,
+163; after union of 1840, 192; present condition of, 290; contributions
+by government and people, ib.
+
+Elgin, Lord; governor-general of Canada, character of, 172, 173;
+established responsible government, 173; action of, on Rebellion Losses
+Bill in 1849, 188, 189
+
+Falkland, Lord; governor of Nova Scotia, 176; quarrels with Joseph Howe
+and Liberal party, 177-179; returns to England, 179
+
+Family Compact in Upper Canada; meaning of, 141; controls government,
+ib.
+
+Fenian raids; in 1866, 213; in 1870-71, 230, 231, Canada never
+indemnified for, 305
+
+Ferland, French Canadian historian, 192
+
+Fielding, Mr., finance minister of Canada, 265, his budget of 1897, 209
+
+Fish Creek, N.W.T.; General Middleton checked at, in engagement with
+rebels of 1885, 253
+
+Fisher, Charles; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 205
+
+Fishery question between Canada and the United States, 293, 302, 304,
+307, 308
+
+Fitzgibbon, Lieutenant; successful strategy of, at Beaver Dams in 1813,
+116
+
+Franchise Act of Dominion, passed, 255, repealed, 268
+
+Frechétte, French Canadian poet, 285
+
+Free Trade policy of England; its early effects upon Canada, 172, 187,
+189
+
+French Acadians See _Neutrals_
+
+French Canada; during French regime (1534-1760), 4-37; under military
+government after conquest by Great Britain, 37, 38; desire of British
+government to do justice to, 44, 45, provisions of Quebec Act affecting,
+45, 48; political struggles and rebellion in, 124-138; influence of
+Union Act of 1840 upon, 170, 187; brought into confederation, 216;
+results of union upon, 273; literature in, 284, 285
+
+French exploration in great valleys of North America, 15-21
+
+French language; use of, restricted by Union Act of 1840, 187;
+restriction removed, ib.
+
+Frobisher, English navigator; voyages of, to Canada, 8
+
+Frog Lake, massacre at, in North-west rebellion of 1885, 252
+
+Frontenac, Count de (Louis de La Buade); French governor of Canada, 13;
+eminent services of, ib.
+
+Galloway, Thomas; his scheme for readjusting relations between Great
+Britain and her old Colonies, 79
+
+Galt, Sir Alexander; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 20; public
+services of, ib.
+
+Garneau, French Canadian historian, 192
+
+German and Belgian Treaties; denunciation of, 261, 271
+
+Gilbert, Sir Humphrey; takes possession of Newfoundland, 8
+
+Glenelg, Lord; colonial secretary in 1838, 137
+
+Gordon, Lt.-Governor; promotes federal union in New Brunswick, 212
+
+Gosford, Lord; governor-general of Canada, 132, 134
+
+Gourlay, Robert; misfortunes of, as a reformer in Upper Canada, 143-145
+
+Grasett, Colonel; assists in repressing North-west rebellion of 1885,
+253
+
+Gray, Colonel; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Gray, John Hamilton, delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 205
+
+Grey, Earl; colonial secretary, 172
+
+
+Haldimand, general; governor-general of Canada, 71, 72
+
+Haliburton, Judge, author of _Sam Sack_, etc., 164
+
+Halifax, founded, 49
+
+Harvey, Colonel; victory of, at Stoney Creek in 1813, 116. See _Harvey,
+Sir John._
+
+Harvey, Sir John; governor of Nova Scotia, of New Brunswick, establishes
+responsible government in the maritime provinces. See _Harvey, Colonel._
+
+Haviland, Thomas Heath; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206;
+public career of, ib.
+
+Head, Sir Francis Bond; lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, 148; his
+unjust treatment of reformers, 149-151; his rashness before rebellion,
+152; represses rebellion, 153
+
+Henry, William A.; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 204
+
+Hincks, Sir Francis; Canadian statesman, melancholy death of, 233
+
+Historian of Canada, 192, 284
+
+Hochelaga (Montreal); Indian village of, visited by Jacques Cartier, 6
+
+Howe, Joseph; father of responsible government in Nova Scotia, 175, 176;
+his quarrel with Lord Falkland, 176-179; ability of, 183, 184; advocate
+of imperial federation, 195; opposes confederation from 1864-1868, 212,
+219; his reasons for receding from his hostile position, 219; enters the
+Macdonald ministry, 220; lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia, ib; sudden
+death of, ib; orator, poet, and statesman, 220, 221
+
+Howland, Sir William P.; delegate to Westminster Palace Conference of
+1866-67, 214; lieutenant-governor of Ontario, 217
+
+Hudson's Bay Company; its great territorial privileges, 231-324; its
+claims purchased by the Canadian government, 227; map illustrating its
+charter, 222
+
+Hull, General; defeat of, by Brock at Detroit, 114
+
+Hundred Associates, Company of; established in Canada, 10
+
+"Hunter's Lodges"; formed in United States to invade Canada, 154
+
+Huntington, Lucius Seth; makes charges against Sir John Macdonald, 236
+
+Huron Indians; massacre of, by the Iroquois, 12
+
+Hutchinson, Governor Thomas (of Massachusetts); on relations between
+Great Britain and her old Colonies, 98
+
+Iberville, founder of Louisiana, 19
+
+Immigration to Canada, 78, 79
+
+Independence of old Thirteen Colonies acknowledged, by Great Britain, 74
+
+Indians; British treatment of, 41,42; Canadian relations with, 238, 239
+
+Intellectual culture in Canada; under French rule, 35; under British
+rule, 164, 192, 284, 285
+
+Intercolonial Railway; history of, 191, 215, 219
+
+Iroquois Indians; ferocity of, 10-13
+
+Jameson, Miss Anna, her "Winter Studies and Summer Rambles" in Upper
+Canada in 1838, 157-159
+
+Jesuit College at Quebec, 34
+
+Jesuits' Estates, Act; political controversies respecting, 248
+
+Jesuits in Canada, 11, 12; their estates confiscated by the British
+government, 38; restored in part, 248
+
+Johnson, John; delegate to the Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Johnston, James William; public career of, 175; eminence of, 185; early
+advocate of confederation, 194, 195
+
+Joliet, Louis; discovers the Mississippi, 18
+
+Journalism in Canada, 164, 287
+
+Judiciary, independence of; political contests for, 128, 139
+
+Keewatin, district of; established provisionally, 238
+
+Kent, Duke of; commander of British forces in Canada, 193; gives name to
+P.E. Island, 53; letter to, from Chief Justice B.C. Sewell on union of
+provinces, 194
+
+King, George E.; prime minister of New Brunswick after Confederation,
+218
+
+King's University, Nova Scotia; founded, 163
+
+Kingsford, Dr.; Canadian historian, 284
+
+Kingston, city of; first parliament of Canada meets at, in 1841, 167
+
+Kirk, David; captures Quebec, 10, 11
+
+Labrador, discovery of, 5; origin of name of, 7
+
+Lafontaine-Baldwin Ministry, 170, 173; its successful administration of
+Canadian affairs, 173
+
+Lafontaine, Sir Louis Hippolyte; Canadian statesman and jurist, 170,
+173, 184
+
+La Gallissonière, French governor of Canada, 35
+
+Lake of Woods, international boundary at, 292, 293; map of, 293
+
+Lalemant, Gabriel; Jesuit martyr, 12
+
+Land question; in Upper Canada, 143; in Prince Edward Island, 54, 234
+
+Langevin, Sir Hector; Canadian statesman, delegate to Quebec Convention
+of 1864, 205; charges against, 258
+
+Lansdowne, Marquess of; governor-general of Canada, 207
+
+Lartigue, Bishop; _mandement_ of, against French Canadian rebels, 135,
+136
+
+La Salle, Sieur de (Réné Robert Cavelier); at Lachine, 18; descends the
+Mississippi, 18, 19; assassination of, 19
+
+Laurier government; formation of, 265; measures of, 268-272
+
+Laurier, Rt Hon. Sir Wilfrid; prime minister of Canada, 265; settles
+Manitoba school question, 266 267; represents Canada at celebration of
+"Diamond Jubilee" (1897), 36, 270; his action on Canadian aid to England
+in South African War, 372; his mastery of English, 267
+
+Laval, Bishop; first Roman Catholic Bishop of Canada, 12; establishes
+tithes, 29
+
+Laval University, Quebec, 290
+
+La Valmière, a disloyal priest, 72
+
+Lawrence, Governor; expels French Acadians from Nova Scotia, 23;
+encourages New England emigration, 51; opens first assembly in Halifax,
+53
+
+Lepine, Canadian rebel; punished, 241; his sentence commuted, _ib_.
+
+Letellier de Saint-Just; lieutenant-governor of Quebec, 246; dismissed,
+246, 247
+
+Lévis, General; defeats Murray at St. Foye, 26
+
+Liberal or Reform party; formed in Nova Scotia, 99; in Upper Canada, 141
+
+Liberal Convention in Ottawa (1893), 259
+
+Libraries in Canada, 290
+
+Lisgar, Lord, governor-general of Canada, 267
+
+Literature in Canada, during French régime, 35; before union of 1840,
+164; after union, 192; since Confederation, 284-287
+
+Londonderry in Nova Scotia; origin of name of, 51, 52
+
+Lome, Marquess of; governor-general of Canada, 244; His services to Art,
+Science, and Literature, 267
+
+Louisiana, named by La Salle, 19
+
+Louis XIV establishes royal government in Canada, 12, 27, 28
+
+Lount, Samuel; Upper Canadian rebel of 1837, 148, 152-153; executed, 155
+
+Loyalists. See _United Empire Loyalists_
+
+Loyal and Patriotic Society of Upper Canada; usefulness of, during war
+of 1819-15, 121
+
+Lundy's Lane, battle of; won by British in 1814, 117, 120
+
+Lymburner, Adam; opposes separation of Upper from Lower Canada, 90
+
+Macdonald, Andrew Archibald; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Macdonald, Baroness (of Earnscliffe), 257
+
+Macdonald, Colonel George; at Ogdensburg in 1813, 115; at Chateauguay,
+121
+
+Macdonald, John Sanfield; first prime minister of Ontario after
+Confederation, 217
+
+Macdonald, Rt. Hon. Sir John; enters public life, 173; member of
+government, ib.; settles Clergy Reserves question, 186; takes lead in
+establishing Confederation, 198, 199, 209; first prime minister of the
+Dominion, 216; resigns under unfortunate circumstances, 236; initiates
+the "National Policy" of Conservative party, 243; prime minister again,
+ib.; death of, 256; great ability, and patriotism of, 200, 256; mourned
+by all Canada, 257; monuments and tributes to his memory, ib.
+
+Macdonell; Colonel John; first speaker of assembly of Upper Canada in
+1792, 94
+
+Macdonell, Vicar-General; first Roman Catholic Bishop of Upper Canada,
+120
+
+Mackenzie, Alexander; prime minister of Canada, 237; character of, ib.,
+243; his administration of public affairs (1873-78), 238-242; death of,
+257
+
+Mackenzie, Sir Alexander; North-west explorer, 224
+
+Mackenzie, William Lyon; journalist and reformer, 146; enters Upper
+Canada legislature, 146; unjustly expelled, ib., first mayor of Toronto,
+147; indiscretions of, ib.; moves for committee of grievances, 148, its
+report, ib.; defeat of, at elections of 1836, 150, resorts to rebellion,
+152; defeat of, at Montgomery's and flight from Canada, 153; on Navy
+Island, 154; imprisoned in the United States, ib.; returns from exile,
+182, exercises no influence in Canadian politics, ib.; poverty and death
+of, ib.; character of, 182, 183
+
+MacLeod, international dispute respecting, 295
+
+MacNab, Sir Allan; leads loyal "Men of Gore" against Canadian rebels in
+1837, 153; orders seizure of steamer Caroline on. U.S. frontier, 154;
+prime minister of Canada, 186
+
+Maine Boundary Dispute, 292, 296-300; map of, 296
+
+Maisonneuve, Sieur de (Paul de Chomedey); founds Montreal, 12
+
+Manitoba, first visited by French, 20; province of, established, 230
+
+Manitoba school question, 262-265, 266, 267
+
+Maps relating to Canada; of French, Spanish and British possessions in
+North America in 1756-1761, _at end_; of British possessions in
+1763-1775, at end; of boundary established in 1783 between Canada and
+the United States, 75; of Hudson's Bay Co.'s territory, 222; of
+North-west boundary in 1842, 293; of North-eastern boundary in 1842,
+297; of Alaskan disputed boundary, 311;  of the Dominion of Canada in
+1900, at end.
+
+Marquette, Father, founds mission of Sainte-Maria, 17; discovers the
+Mississippi, 18; death of, _ib_.;
+
+Marriage laws in early Canada, 97
+
+Masères, Attorney-general, 43
+
+Matthews, Peter; Upper Canadian rebel, 148, 151, 153; executed, 155
+
+McCully, Jonathan; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 205
+
+McDougall, William, delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 203;
+provisional lieutenant-governor of N.W.T., 227; Half-breed rebellion
+prevents him assuming office, ib.; disappears from public life, 230
+
+McGee, Thomas D'Arcy; historian and orator, delegate to Quebec
+Convention of 1864, 203; his political career in Canada, ib.;
+assassinated, 221
+
+McGill University, Montreal; founded, 163
+
+McGreevy, Thomas, impeached for serious misdemeanors, 258; punishment
+of, ib.
+
+McLane, executed for treason in 1793, 101, 102
+
+McLure, General (United States General); burns Niagara in 1814, 116
+
+Mercier, Honoré, prime minister of Quebec, 247; dismissed, ib.
+
+Merritt, W. Hamilton; originator of Welland Canal, 159
+
+Metcalfe, Lord; governor-general of Canada, 170; antagonism of, to
+responsible government, 171; retirement and death of, ib.
+
+_Métis_ or Half-breeds of the Canadian North-west, 225, 228, 249
+
+Middleton, Major-general; commands Canadian forces on Riel's revolt of
+1885 in North-west, 252-254
+
+Military rule in Canada after 1760, 37, 38
+
+Mills, David; Canadian statesman, 206
+
+Minto, Earl of; governor-general of Canada, 268
+
+Mitchell, Peter; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 205; public
+career of, ib.
+
+Mohawks, members of the Iroquois confederacy, 10; humbled by the Marquis
+de Tracy, 13. See _Brant Joseph, Iroquois._
+
+Monk, Lord; governor-general of Canada at Confederation, 216, 267
+
+Montcalm, Marquis de; loses battle on Plains of Abraham, 26; death of
+ib.
+
+Montgomery, Brigadier-General; invades Canada, 69, 70; death of, at
+Quebec, 70
+
+Montreal founded, 12
+
+Monts, Sieur de; founder of French _Acadie_, 8
+
+Monts-Déserts named by Champlain, 9
+
+Mowat, Sir Oliver; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1804, 203; public
+career of, 203, 265, 266
+
+Municipal system of Canada; established, 185, 186; nature of, 278
+
+Murray, General; in command at Quebec, 26; defeat of, at St. Foye, ib.;
+governor-general of Canada, 42;  his just treatment of French
+Canadians, 43
+
+Mutual or reciprocal preferential trade between Canada and England;
+advocacy of, 260, 271
+
+_Nation Canadienne, La_; Papineau's dream of, 130, 133, 134
+
+"National Policy," or Protective system; established by Conservative
+party (1879), 243, 244
+
+Navigation Laws repealed, 187
+
+Navy Island, see _Mackenzie, William Lyon_
+
+Neilson, John; Canadian journalist and politician, 127, 131
+
+Nelson, Robert; Canadian rebel of 1837-38, 138
+
+Nelson, Dr. Wolfred; leader in Lower Canadian rebellion of 1837, 134
+
+Neutrality of the Great Lakes, 294, 295
+
+"Neutrals," on French Acadians; expulsion of from Nova Scotia, 22, 23
+
+Newark (Niagara), meeting of first Upper Canadian legislature at, 93;
+seat of government removed from, to York, 101
+
+New Brunswick; originally part of Acadie and Nova Scotia, 53; province
+of founded by Loyalists, 83; capital ib.; state of, in 1838, 162;
+political struggle for self-government in, 173, 174; takes part in
+Quebec Convention, 198, 205; brought into Confederation, 215, 216;
+boundary dispute with Maine, 296-300
+
+New Brunswick school question, 201, 2O2
+
+New Brunswick University; founded at Fredericton, 163
+
+New Caledonia; old name of British Columbia, 232
+
+Newfoundland; delegates from, to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206; refuses
+to join the Dominion, 235
+
+Niagara, see _Newark_
+
+Nicholson, General; captures Port Royal, 9
+
+Norse voyages to Canada, 4
+
+North-eastern Boundary question, 296-299; map of Boundary, 1842, 297
+
+North-west Company; rival of the Hudson's Bay Company in North America,
+224, 225
+
+North-west Boundary dispute, 292, 293; map of, 293
+
+North-west Territories, early history of, 221-227; annexation of, to
+Canada, 227, 230; first rebellion in, 227-230; government of, 277;
+second rebellion in, 249-255; districts of, 277
+
+Nova Scotia (Acadie); first settled by France, 8, 9; foundation of Port
+Royal (Annapolis), 8; ceded to Great Britain by Treaty of Utrecht, 9;
+population of, at conquest, 15; first called Nova Scotia, 11; Halifax
+founded, 49; settlement by colonists of New England, 50, 51;
+expatriation of the Acadian French, 22, 23, 50, 51; population of, in
+1767, 51; Irish immigration, ib.; Scotch immigration, 52; early
+government of, 52, 53, included New Brunswick, C. Breton, and St. John's
+Island (Pr. Edward I), 53; early courts of justice, 55; coming of
+Loyalists to, 82; state of in 1837-38, 162, political struggles in, for
+self-government, 174-180; take part in Quebec Convention of 1864, 198,
+204; brought into Confederation, 215; people opposed to, 212, 218, 219;
+repeal movement gradually ceases in, 233
+
+Novelists, Canadian, 164, 285, 286
+
+O'Callaghan, Dr.; Canadian journalist and rebel, 130
+
+O'Donohue, Canadian rebel, 231; amnesty to, 241
+
+Ohio Valley, French in, 23
+
+Oregon Boundary, dispute respecting, 300-302
+
+Osgoode, Chief Justice; first speaker of legislative council of Upper
+Canada in 1792, 94
+
+Ottawa, city of; founded, 158
+
+Pacific Cable; action of Canadian government with respect to, 271
+
+Palmer, Edward; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Panet, Joseph Antoine; first speaker of assembly of Lower Canada in
+1792, 93
+
+Papineau, Louis J.; leader of French Canadian malcontents in rebellion
+of 1837, 129-134; conduct of, on outbreak of rebellion, 134, 135; return
+of, from exile, 181; opposes responsible government, ib.; loses
+political influence, ib.; character of, 180-182
+
+Pardon, prerogative of; instructions respecting exercise of, 241
+
+Parishes established in French Canada, 29
+
+Parker, Gilbert; Canadian novelist, 286
+
+Parr Town, first name of St. John, New Brunswick, 83
+
+Perry, Peter; founder of Upper Canadian Reform party, 141, 146, 150
+
+Pictou Academy, Nova Scotia; founded, 163
+
+Pitt, the elder (Lord Chatham); gives Canada to Great Britain, 25, 35,
+36
+
+Pitt, William (the younger); introduces Act separating Upper from Lower
+Canada (Constitutional Act of 1791), 90, 91
+
+Plains of Abraham; Wolfe's victory on, 26
+
+Plattsburg, battle of, pusillanimity of General Prevost at, 117
+
+Plessis, Bishop (Roman Catholic); patriotism of, in war of 1812-15, 120
+
+Poets in Canada, 192, 284, 285
+
+Pontiac's Conspiracy, 39
+
+Pope, William H., delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Portuguese discovery in Canada, 5
+
+Post Office in Canada; under British management, 164; transferred to
+Canada, 187
+
+Poundmaker, Indian chief in North-west; rebels against Canadian
+government, 253; punished, 254
+
+Poutrincourt, Baron de; founder of Port Royal, 8
+
+Powell, Chief Justice, his unjust treatment of Robert Gourlay, 145
+
+Preferential trade with Great Britain, 200, 201, 269, 271
+
+Prevost, Sir George (governor-general of Canada), retires from Sackett's
+Harbour 1813, 115; retreats from Plattsburg in 1814, 117; character of,
+113
+
+Prince, Colonel; orders execution of American raiders in 1838, 155
+
+Prince Edward Island. See _St. John's Island_
+
+Prince of Wales visits Canada, 193
+
+
+Princess Louise, arrives in Canada with the Marquess of Lome, 244; her
+support of Art, 288
+
+Proclamation of 1764; for government of Canada, 40-42
+
+Procter, General, defeats General Winchester in 1813, 115; beaten at
+Moraviantown in 1813, 116
+
+Prohibitory Liquor Law; agitation for, 340; popular vote on, ib.
+
+Protestantism unknown in French Canada, 28
+
+Provincial governments established under Confederation, 217, 218
+
+Provinces, constitution of, under Confederation, 275, 276
+
+Puritan migration to Nova Scotia, 50
+
+Put-in Bay (Lake Erie); British fleet defeated at, in 1813, 116
+
+Quebec Act; origin of, 44, 45, its provisions, 45-47;  how received in
+Canada, 46; unpopularity of, in old British colonies, 67
+
+Quebec, Convention of, 1864; delegates to, 199-206; passes resolutions
+in favour of federal union, 206-209
+
+Quebec founded, 9
+
+Queenston Heights; battle of, in 1812, 114
+
+Railways in Canada; in 1865, 191, in 1899, 273. See _Intercolonial R.
+Canadian Pacific R._
+
+Rebellion in Lower Canada; its origin, 124-133; Louis J. Papineau's part
+in, 129-134; outbreak of, 134; prompt action of authorities against,
+ib.; Dr. Nelson wins success at St. Denis, ib.; defeat of Brown at St.
+Charles, ib.; flight of Papineau and rebel leaders, ib.; fight at St.
+Eustache and death of Chenier, ib.; murder of Weir and Chartrand, 135;
+collapse of the rebellion of 1837, 135, 136; loyal action of Bishop
+Lartigue, 135; arrival of Lord Durham as British high-commissioner and
+governor-general, 136; his career in Canada, 137-138; Sir John Colborne;
+governor-general, 139; second outbreak of rebellion, 1838, ib.; promptly
+subdued, ib.; punishment of prominent insurgents, ib.; action of United
+States government during, 139; social and economic condition of Canada
+during, 159-162; remedial policy of British government, and new era of
+political development. See _Responsible Government in Canada._
+
+Rebellion in Upper Canada; effect of family compact on, 140, 141; of
+clergy reserves on, 141, 142; influence of Archdeacon, afterwards
+Bishop, Strachan in public affairs, 142; unjust treatment of Robert
+Gourlay, 143-145; persecution of William Lyon Mackenzie, 146-148; other
+prominent actors in, 148; indiscretions of the lieutenant-governor, Sir
+Francis Bond Head, 149-152; outbreak and repression of, 152, 153; flight
+of Mackenzie and other rebel leaders, 153; Mackenzie's seizure of Navy
+Island, 154; affair of the Caroline, ib.; filibustering expeditions
+against Canada from United States in 1838, 154, 155; prompt execution of
+filibusters by Colonel Prince, 155; action of U.S. authorities during,
+ib.; execution of Von Schoultz, Lount, Matthews, and other rebels, ib.;
+Sir George Arthur, harshness of, ib.; social and economic conditions of
+Upper Canada at time of, 156-159; rebellion leads to the enlargement of
+political privileges of people, See _Responsible Government in Canada._
+
+Rebellion Losses Bill (of 1849); its nature, 188; assented to by Lord
+Elgin, 189; consequent rioting and burning of parliament house at
+Montreal, 189, Lord Elgin's life in danger, ib.; his wise constitutional
+action, ib. Rebellions in North-west: See _North-western Territories,
+_and _Riel, Louis._
+
+Reciprocity of Trade between Canada and the United States; treaty of
+1814, 190, 191; repeal of the same, 303; efforts to renew it, 304, 307;
+Canadians not now so favourable to, 310
+
+Recollets, or Franciscans, in Canada, 11
+
+Redistribution Acts of 1882 and 1897; measures to amend, rejected by
+Senate, 268
+
+Representative institutions in Canada; established in Nova Scotia, 53;
+in New Brunswick, 88; in French or Lower Canada (Quebec), 91; in Upper
+Canada (Ontario), ib.; in Prince Edward Island, 54; in Manitoba, 230; in
+British Columbia, 232
+
+Responsible government in Canada; beginnings of, 165-175;  consummated
+by Lord Elgin, 173; struggle for, in New Brunswick, 173, 174; in Nova
+Scotia, 174-180; in Prince Edward Island, 180; prominent advocates of,
+183-185; results of (1841-1867), 185-192
+
+Revenue of Canada in 1899, 273
+
+Riall, General; defeated by United States troops at Street's Creek in
+1814, 117
+
+Richardson, Major; Canadian author, 164
+
+Richelieu, Cardinal; his effort to colonise Canada, 10
+
+Rideau Canal, constructed, 158
+
+Riel, Louis; leads revolt of French half-breeds in North-west, 228;
+murders Ross, 229; flies from the country, ib; elected to and expelled
+from the Canadian Commons, 241; reappears in North-west, and leads
+second revolt, 249-253; captured and executed, 253, 254; political
+complications concerning, 240, 254
+
+Roberval, Sieur de (Jean François de la Rocque); attempts to settle
+Canada, 7
+
+Robinson, Chief Justice; public career of, in Upper Canada, 145
+
+Rocque, Jean François de la. See _Roberval_
+
+Roebuck, Mr.; Canadian agent in England, 131
+
+Rolph, Dr.; his part in Canadian rebellion of 1837, 151-153; character
+of, 183
+
+Roman Catholic Church in Canada, 28, 29, 43, 46, 47
+
+Rose, Sir John, effort of, to obtain reciprocity with United States, 304
+
+Rosebery, Earl of, unveils Sir John Macdonald's bust in St. Paul's
+Cathedral, 256
+
+Rouse's Point, boundary at, 302
+
+Royal Society of Canada, 286
+
+Rupert's Land; origin of name of, 224. See _North-west Territories of
+Canada_.
+
+Russell, Administrator, 101
+
+Russell, Lord John; introduces resolutions respecting Canada in British
+parliament in 1836, 132; also Act reuniting the Canadas in 1840, 166;
+lays basis of responsible government in Canada, 167. See _Responsible
+Government in Canada_.
+
+Ryerson, Rev. Egerton; Loyalist, Methodist, and educationalist, 141,
+147, 192
+
+Sainte-Geneviève (Pillage Bay); named St. Laurens by Jacques Carrier, 7
+
+Salaberry, Colonel de; defeats United States troops at Chateauguay, 121
+
+Sanderson, Robert; first speaker of assembly of Nova Scotia, 53
+
+San Juan Island; international dispute respecting, 301, 302
+
+Sarrasin, Dr., French Canadian scientist, 35
+
+Saskatchewan River (Poskoiac), discovery of, 20
+
+Sculpture in Canada, 288
+
+Seaforth, Lord. See _Colborne, Sir John_
+
+Secord, Laura; heroic exploit of, in 1814, 120
+
+Seigniorial tenure in French Canada, 14, 32; abolished under British
+rule, 186
+
+Selkirk, Lord; attempts to colonise North-west, 225; death of, _ib._
+
+Seven Years' War; between France and Great Britain in America, 21-27
+
+Sewell, Chief Justice (Loyalist); adviser of Sir James Craig, 96;
+suggests union of provinces, 194
+
+Shea, Ambrose; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Sheaffe, General; services of, during war of 1812-15, 114
+
+Shelburne, in Nova Scotia, founded by Loyalists, 82
+
+Sherbrooke, Sir John, governor of Nova Scotia, 118; occupies Maine in
+war of 1812-15, ib.
+
+Shirley, Governor; deep interest of, in Nova Scotia, 49
+
+Simcoe, Colonel; first lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, 93; public
+career of, 94
+
+Simultaneous polling at elections established, 239
+
+Slavery in Canada, 98
+
+Smith, Chief Justice (Loyalist); first president of legislative council
+of Lower Canada in 1792, 92; suggests federal union of provinces, 194
+
+Smith, Donald (Lord Strathcona); intervenes in North-west rebellion of
+1870, 229
+
+Social and economic conditions of the Canadian provinces; in 1838,
+156-164; in 1866, 189-192; in 1900, 272-290
+
+South African War; Canadians take part in, 271, 272
+
+Square Gulf, or "golfo quadrado"; old name of St. Lawrence Gulf, 7
+
+St. Charles; defeat of Canadian rebels in 1837 at, 134
+
+St. Denis; Canadian rebels repulsed by British regulars in 1837 at, 134
+
+St. Eustache; stand of Canadian rebels at, 134; death of Chenier, ib.
+
+St. John, New Brunswick; founded, 83
+
+St. John's, Island; named Prince Edward, 53; under government of Nova
+Scotia, _ib_.; survey of, ib.; separated from Nova Scotia, 54; public
+lands of, granted by lottery, ib.; political struggles in, for
+self-government, 180, 185; takes part in Quebec Convention of 1864, 206;
+enters Confederation, 234; settlement of its land question, ib.
+
+St. Lawrence, River and Gulf of; origin of name of, 7
+
+St. Lusson, Sieur; takes possession of the Sault, 18
+
+St. Maurice forges founded, 30
+
+Stadacona (Quebec), Indian village of, visited by Jacques Cartier, 6
+
+Stanley, Lord, governor-general of Canada, 267
+
+Steeves, William H.; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Strachan, Bishop (Anglican); patriotism of, during war of 1812-15, 121;
+his influence in Upper Canadian politics, 142
+
+Strange, Lt.-Col.; engaged in repressing North-west rebellion of 1885,
+253
+
+Stuart, Andrew; prominent Canadian lawyer and politician, 127, 131
+
+Sulpitians in Canada, 37
+
+Superior Council of French Canada. See _Supreme Council_
+
+Supreme Council, established by Louis XIV in French Canada, 28, 29
+
+
+Supreme Court, established in Canada, 239
+
+Sydenham, Lord (Poulett Thomson); governor-general of Canada, 166;
+carries out scheme of uniting the Canadas in 1840, 167; opinions of, on
+responsible government, 168; death of, 169
+
+Taché, Sir Etienne Paschal; chairman of Quebec Convention of 1864, 199;
+character of, ib.
+
+Talbot, Colonel, pioneer in Upper Canada, 157
+
+Talon, Intendant, 13
+
+Taite, Israel; accuses McGreevy of grave misdemeanours, 258; member of
+Laurier ministry, 206
+
+Temperance Legislation; "Scott Act" passed, 239; _plèbiscite_ on
+Prohibition, 240
+
+Thompson, Sir John; prime minister of Canada, 257;  sudden death of,
+ib; great ability of, ib.
+
+Thomson, Poulett. See _Sydenham, Lord_
+
+Tilley, Sir Leonard; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 205; public
+career of, ib.; introduces scheme of "National Policy," 244
+
+Timber trade in Canada, in early time, 162
+
+Tithes established in French Canada, 29
+
+Todd, Dr.; Constitutional writer, 286
+
+Tonge, William Cottnam Tonge; Nova Scotian Liberal, 99; his controversy
+with Governor Wentworth, ib.
+
+Trade of Canada in 1899, 273
+
+Treaties, international, affecting Canada; of St. Germain-en-Laye
+(1632), 11; of Utrecht (1713), 9, 21, 22; of Paris (1763), 38; of
+Versailles, 292; of Ghent, 293; of 1818, 294; Ashburton (1842), 299;
+Oregon (1846), 301; reciprocity (1854), 303; of Washington (1871), 305,
+306; Bering Sea, 308, 309, Anglo-Russian (Alaska), 310-312
+
+Treaties with Indian tribes of Canada, 41, 238
+
+Trutch, Sir Joseph; first lieutenant-governor of British Columbia under
+Confederation, 232
+
+Tupper, Sir Charles; prime minister of Nova Scotia, 192; services of, to
+education, ib.; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 204; introduces
+legislation for construction of Canadian Pacific Railway, 244; high
+commissioner of Canada in London, 258; re-enters political life, ib.;
+action of, on Manitoba school question, 264; prime minister of Canada,
+265; defeat of, at general elections of 1896, ib; difference with Lord
+Aberdeen, when governor-general, ib.; remarkable ability of, 204, 258;
+leader of Liberal Conservative party from 1896-1900, 258; policy of, on
+"preferential trade" with Great Britain, 271
+
+Tyler, Professor, on U.E. Loyalists, 76
+
+Uniacke, James Boyle; Nova Scotian statesman, 175; advocate of
+responsible government, 176; first minister of Nova Scotia, 180
+
+Union of the Canadas in 1840, 166, 167
+
+United Empire Loyalists; number of, during American Revolution, 76;
+justice done to, ib.; opinions of, on issues of revolution, 77, 78;
+suffering of, during revolution, 79; treatment of, after the peace of
+1783, 80; compensation to, by British government, 81; settle in British
+America, ib; privations of, in Nova Scotia, 80; founders of New
+Brunswick, 83; of Upper Canada, 84; eminent descent of, 86; Canada's
+debt to, ib origin of name of, 89; representatives of, in first
+legislature of New Brunswick, 87, 88; of Upper Canada, 94; services of,
+during war of 1812-15, 188-120
+
+Universities in Canada, 163, 289
+
+University of Toronto, beginning of, 164
+
+Upper Canada, founded by Loyalists, 84; first districts of, 89, 94; made
+separate province, 91, first government of, 93; Newark, first capital
+of, ib.; York (Toronto), second capital of, 94; rebellion in, see
+_Rebellion in Upper Canada_; state of, in 1838, 159; reunited with Lower
+Canada, 166; joins Confederation as Ontario, 216
+
+Upper Canada College, Toronto, founded, 163
+
+Ursulines at Quebec, 34
+
+Vancouver Island; history of, 231, 232
+
+Verendrye, Sieur de la (Pierre Gauthier de Varennes); discovers
+Manitoba and North-west of Canada, 19, 20
+
+Verrazzano, Giovanni di; voyages of, to North America, 5
+
+Victoria College, Upper Canada, founded, 164
+
+Vincent, General; services of, in war of 1812-15, 115
+
+Von Schoultz; leads filibusters into Canada, 155; executed, ib.
+
+
+War of 1812-15; origin of, 103-110; population of Canada and United
+States during, 110-112; loyalty of Canadian people during, 113; services
+of General Brock during, 114; campaign of 1812 in Upper Canada, 114,
+115; of 1813, 115, 116; of 1814, 117; maritime provinces during, 117,
+118, close of, 118; services of Loyalists during, 118-120; Laura Secord,
+heroism of, 120; description of striking incidents of battles during,
+121-123
+
+Washington, George; eminent character of, 66
+
+Washington Treaty of 1871, 304, 305
+
+Weir, Lieutenant, murder of, in Lower Canadian rebellion of 1837, 135
+
+Welland Canal commenced, 159; completed, 190
+
+Wentworth, Sir John; Loyalist governor of Nova Scotia, 99
+
+Westminster Palace Conference in London; Canadian delegates arrange
+final terms of federation at, 214, 215
+
+Wetmore, Attorney-general; first minister of New Brunswick after
+Confederation, 218
+
+Whelan, Edward; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+White, Thomas; Canadian journalist and statesman, 256; sudden death of,
+ib.
+
+William IV visits Canada as Prince William Henry, 193
+
+Williams, Lt.-Col.; death of, in North-west rebellion of 1885, 254
+
+Williams, Sir Fenwick ("hero of Kars"); lieutenant-governor of Nova
+Scotia, 213, 217
+
+Wilmot, Lemuel A.; father of responsible government in New Brunswick,
+174, 185; lieutenant-governor of the province, 217
+
+Wolfe, General; at Quebec, 25; his bold ascent of heights, 25, 26; wins
+battle on Plains of Abraham, 26; death of, 26; a maker of Canada, 35
+
+York (Toronto) made capital of Upper Canada, 101
+
+Young, Sir William; Nova Scotian statesman and jurist, 185
+
+Yukon, district of; gold discovery in, 209; administration of, ib, 277;
+boundaries of, 310-312
+
+[Illustration: (map) FRANCE, SPAIN, AND ENGLAND, IN NORTH AMERICA,
+1756-1760.]
+
+[Illustration: OUTLINE MAP OF ENGLISH POSSESSIONS IN NORTH AMERICA,
+1763-1775.]
+
+[Illustration: MAP OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA ILLUSTRATING THE BOUNDARIES
+OF PROVINCES AND PROVISIONAL DISTRICTS]
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CANADA UNDER BRITISH RULE
+1760-1900***
+
+
+******* This file should be named 12661-8.txt or 12661-8.zip *******
+
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Canada under British Rule 1760-1900, by John
+G. Bourinot
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Canada under British Rule 1760-1900
+
+Author: John G. Bourinot
+
+Release Date: June 19, 2004  [eBook #12661]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: US-ASCII
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CANADA UNDER BRITISH RULE
+1760-1900***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders from images
+provided by the Million Book Project
+
+
+
+CANADA UNDER BRITISH RULE 1760-1900
+
+BY
+
+SIR JOHN G. BOURINOT, K.C.M.G., LL.D., LITT.D.
+
+Author of 'Parliamentary Procedure and Practice', 'Constitutional
+History of Canada,' 'The Story of Canada,' etc
+
+WITH EIGHT MAPS
+
+1900
+
+
+
+
+CAMBRIDGE HISTORICAL SERIES
+
+EDITED BY G. W. PROTHERO, LITT.D., LL.D.
+
+Honorary Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, and Late Professor of
+History in the University of Edinburgh.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+GENERAL PREFACE.
+
+The aim of this series is to sketch the history of Modern Europe, with
+that of its chief colonies and conquests, from about the end of the
+fifteenth century down to the present time. In one or two cases the
+story commences at an earlier date: in the case of the colonies it
+generally begins later. The histories of the different countries are
+described, as a rule, separately, for it is believed that, except in
+epochs like that of the French Revolution and Napoleon I, the connection
+of events will thus be better understood and the continuity of
+historical development more clearly displayed.
+
+The series is intended for the use of all persons anxious to understand
+the nature of existing political conditions. "The roots of the present
+lie deep in the past"; and the real significance of contemporary events
+cannot be grasped unless the historical causes which have led to them
+are known. The plan adopted makes it possible to treat the history of
+the last four centuries in considerable detail, and to embody the most
+important results of modern research. It is hoped therefore that the
+series will be useful not only to beginners but to students who have
+already acquired some general knowledge of European History. For those
+who wish to carry their studies further, the bibliography appended to
+each volume will act as a guide to original sources of information and
+works more detailed and authoritative.
+
+Considerable attention is paid to political geography, and each volume
+is furnished with such maps and plans as may be requisite for the
+illustration of the text.
+
+G.W. PROTHERO.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+I devote the first chapter of this short history to a brief review of
+the colonisation of the valley of the St. Lawrence by the French, and of
+their political and social conditions at the Conquest, so that a reader
+may be able to compare their weak and impoverished state under the
+repressive dominion of France with the prosperous and influential
+position they eventually attained under the liberal methods of British
+rule. In the succeeding chapters I have dwelt on those important events
+which have had the largest influence on the political development of the
+several provinces as British possessions.
+
+We have, first, the Quebec Act, which gave permanent guarantees for the
+establishment of the Church of Rome and the maintenance of the language
+and civil law of France in her old colony. Next, we read of the coming
+of the United Empire Loyalists, and the consequent establishment of
+British institutions on a stable basis of loyal devotion to the parent
+state. Then ensued the war of 1812, to bind the provinces more closely
+to Great Britain, and create that national spirit which is the natural
+outcome of patriotic endeavour and individual self-sacrifice. Then
+followed for several decades a persistent popular struggle for larger
+political liberty, which was not successful until British statesmen
+awoke at last from their indifference, on the outbreak of a rebellion in
+the Canadas, and recognised the necessity of adopting a more liberal
+policy towards their North American dependencies. The union of the
+Canadas was succeeded by the concession of responsible government and
+the complete acknowledgment of the rights of the colonists to manage
+their provincial affairs without the constant interference of British
+officials. With this extension of political privileges, the people
+became still more ambitious, and established a confederation, which has
+not only had the effect of supplying a remarkable stimulus to their
+political, social and material development, but has given greater
+security to British interests on the continent of North America. At
+particular points of the historical narrative I have dwelt for a space
+on economic, social, and intellectual conditions, so that the reader may
+intelligently follow every phase to the development of the people from
+the close of the French regime to the beginning of the twentieth century
+In my summary of the most important political events for the last
+twenty-five years, I have avoided all comment on matters which are "as
+yet"--to quote the language of the epilogue to Mr. Green's "Short
+History"--"too near to us to admit of a cool and purely historical
+treatment." The closing chapter is a short review of the relations
+between Canada and the United States since the treaty of 1783--so
+conducive to international disputes concerning boundaries and fishing
+rights--until the present time, when the Alaskan and other international
+controversies are demanding adjustment.
+
+I have thought, too, that it would be useful to students of political
+institutions to give in the appendix comparisons between the leading
+provisions of the federal systems of the Dominion of Canada and the
+Commonwealth of Australia. I must add that, in the revision of the
+historical narrative, I have been much aided by the judicious criticism
+and apt suggestions of the Editor of the Series, Dr. Prothero.
+
+HOUSE OF COMMONS, OTTAWA, CANADA. 1st October, 1900
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE FRENCH REGIME (1534--1760)
+
+Section 1. Introduction
+
+Section 2. Discovery and Settlement of Canada by France
+
+Section 3. French exploration in the valleys of North America
+
+Section 4. End of French Dominion in the valley of the St. Lawrence
+
+Section 5. Political, Economic, and Social Conditions of Canada
+           during French Rule
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+BEGINNINGS OF BRITISH RULE (1749--1774)
+
+Section 1. From the Conquest until the Quebec Act
+
+Section 2. The Foundation of Nova Scotia (1749--1783)
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS (1763--1784)
+
+Section 1. The successful Revolution of the Thirteen Colonies in America
+
+Section 2. Canada and Nova Scotia during the Revolution.
+
+Section 3. The United Empire Loyalists
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+DEVELOPMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE INSTITUTIONS (1784-1812)
+
+Section 1. Beginnings of the Provinces of New Brunswick, Lower Canada
+and Upper Canada.
+
+Section 2. Twenty years of Political Development. (1792-1812)
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE WAR OF 1812-1815
+
+Section 1. Origin of the war between Great Britain and the United States
+
+Section 2. Canada during the War
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE EVOLUTION OF RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (1815-1839)
+
+Section 1. The Rebellion in Lower Canada
+
+Section 2. The Rebellion in Upper Canada
+
+Section 3. Social and Economic Conditions of the Provinces in 1838
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+A NEW ERA OF COLONIAL GOVERNMENT (1839-1867)
+
+Section 1. The Union of the Canadas and the establishment of Responsible
+Government
+
+Section 2. Results of Self-government from 1841 to 1864
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE EVOLUTION OF CONFEDERATION (1789-1867)
+
+Section 1. The beginnings of Confederation
+
+Section 2. The Quebec Convention of 1864
+
+Section 3. Confederation accomplished
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+CONFEDERATION (1867--1900)
+
+Section 1. The First Parliament of the Dominion of Canada (1867--1873)
+
+Section 2. Extension of the Dominion from the Atlantic to the Pacific
+           Ocean (1869--1873)
+
+Section 3. Summary of Noteworthy Events from 1873 until 1900
+
+Section 4. Political and Social Conditions of Canada under Confederation
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+CANADA'S RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES AND HER INFLUENCE IN IMPERIAL
+COUNCILS (1783--1900)
+
+APPENDIX A: COMPARISONS BETWEEN CONSTITUTIONS OF THE CANADIAN DOMINION
+AND AUSTRALIAN COMMONWEALTH.
+
+APPENDIX B: BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
+
+INDEX
+
+PLANS AND MAPS.
+
+Map showing Boundary between Canada and the United States by Treaty of
+1783.
+
+Map of British America to illustrate the Charter of the Hudson's Bay
+Company.
+
+International Boundary as finally established in 1842 at Lake of the
+Woods.
+
+Map of the North-Eastern Boundary as established in 1842.
+
+Map of British Columbia and Yukon District showing disputed Boundary
+between Canada and the United States.
+
+France, Spain, and Great Britain, in North America, 1756--1760.
+
+Outline map of British Possessions in North America, 1763--1775.
+
+Map of the Dominion of Canada illustrating the boundaries of Provinces
+and Provisional Districts.
+
+A SHORT HISTORY OF CANADA UNDER BRITISH RULE.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE FRENCH REGIME. 1534--1760.
+
+
+SECTION I.--Introduction.
+
+Though the principal object of this book is to review the political,
+economic and social progress of the provinces of Canada under British
+rule, yet it would be necessarily imperfect, and even unintelligible in
+certain important respects, were I to ignore the deeply interesting
+history of the sixteen hundred thousand French Canadians, about thirty
+per cent of the total population of the Dominion. To apply to Canada an
+aphorism of Carlyle, "The present is the living sum-total of the whole
+past"; the sum-total not simply of the hundred and thirty years that
+have elapsed since the commencement of British dominion, but primarily
+of the century and a half that began with the coming of Champlain to the
+heights of Quebec and ended with the death of Wolfe on the Plains of
+Abraham. The soldiers and sailors, the missionaries and pioneers of
+France, speak to us in eloquent tones, whether we linger in summer time
+on the shores of the noble gulf which washes the eastern portals of
+Canada; whether we ascend the St. Lawrence River and follow the route
+taken by the explorers, who discovered the great lakes, and gave to the
+world a knowledge of the West and the Mississippi, whether we walk on
+the grassy mounds that recall the ruins of the formidable fortress of
+Louisbourg, which once defended the eastern entrance to the St.
+Lawrence; whether we linger on the rocks of the ancient city of Quebec
+with its many memorials of the French regime; whether we travel over the
+rich prairies with their sluggish, tortuous rivers, and memories of the
+French Canadians who first found their way to that illimitable region.
+In fact, Canada has a rich heritage of associations that connect us with
+some of the most momentous epochs of the world's history. The victories
+of Louisbourg and Quebec belong to the same series of brilliant events
+that recall the famous names of Chatham, Clive, and Wolfe, and that gave
+to England a mighty empire in Asia and America. Wolfe's signal victory
+on the heights of the ancient capital was the prelude to the great drama
+of the American revolution. Freed from the fear of France, the people of
+the Thirteen Colonies, so long hemmed in between the Atlantic Ocean and
+the Appalachian range, found full expression for their love of local
+self-government when England asserted her imperial supremacy. After a
+struggle of a few years they succeeded in laying the foundation of the
+remarkable federal republic, which now embraces forty-five states with a
+population of already seventy-five millions of souls, which owes its
+national stability and prosperity to the energy and enterprise of the
+Anglo-Norman race and the dominant influence of the common law, and the
+parliamentary institutions of England. At the same time, the American
+Revolution had an immediate and powerful effect upon the future of the
+communities that still remained in the possession of England after the
+acknowledgement of the independence of her old colonies. It drove to
+Canada a large body of men and women, who remained faithful to the crown
+and empire and became founders of provinces which are now comprised in a
+Dominion extending for over three thousand miles to the north and east
+of the federal republic.
+
+The short review of the French regime, with which I am about to
+commence this history of Canada, will not give any evidence of
+political, economic, or intellectual development under the influence of
+French dominion, but it is interesting to the student of comparative
+politics on account of the comparisons which it enables us to make
+between the absolutism of old France which crushed every semblance of
+independent thought and action, and the political freedom which has been
+a consequence of the supremacy of England in the province once occupied
+by her ancient rival. It is quite true, as Professor Freeman has said,
+that in Canada, which is pre-eminently English in the development of its
+political institutions, French Canada is still "a distinct and visible
+element, which is not English,--an element older than anything English
+in the land,--and which shows no sign of being likely to be assimilated
+by anything English." As this book will show, though a hundred and forty
+years have nearly passed since the signing of the treaty of Paris, many
+of the institutions which the French Canadians inherited from France
+have become permanently established in the country, and we see
+constantly in the various political systems given to Canada from time to
+time--notably in the constitution of the federal union--the impress of
+these institutions and the influence of the people of the French
+section. Still, while the French Canadians by their adherence to their
+language, civil law and religion are decidedly "a distinct and visible
+element which is not English"--an element kept apart from the English by
+positive legal and constitutional guarantees or barriers of
+separation,--we shall see that it is the influence and operation of
+English institutions, which have made their province one of the most
+contented communities of the world. While their old institutions are
+inseparably associated with the social and spiritual conditions of their
+daily lives, it is after all their political constitution, which derives
+its strength from English, principles, that has made the French
+Canadians a free, self-governing people and developed the best elements
+of their character to a degree which was never possible under the
+depressing and enfeebling conditions of the French regime.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--Discovery and settlement of Canada by France.
+
+Much learning has been devoted to the elucidation of the Icelandic
+Sagas, or vague accounts of voyages which Bjorne Heriulfson and Lief
+Ericsson, sons of the first Norse settlers of Greenland, are supposed to
+have made at the end of the tenth century, to the eastern parts of what
+is now British North America, and, in the opinion of some writers, even
+as far as the shores of New England. It is just possible that such
+voyages were made, and that Norsemen were the first Europeans who saw
+the eastern shores of Canada. It is quite certain, however, that no
+permanent settlements were made by the Norsemen in any part of these
+countries; and their voyages do not appear to have been known to
+Columbus or other maritime adventurers of later times, when the veil of
+mystery was at last lifted from the western limits of what was so long
+truly described as the "sea of darkness." While the subject is
+undoubtedly full of interest, it is at the same time as illusive as the
+_fata morgana_, or the lakes and rivers that are created by the mists of
+a summer's eve on the great prairies of the Canadian west.
+
+Five centuries later than the Norse voyagers, there appeared on the
+great field of western exploration an Italian sailor, Giovanni Caboto,
+through whose agency England took the first step in the direction of
+that remarkable maritime enterprise which, in later centuries, was to be
+the admiration and envy of all other nations. John Cabot was a Genoese
+by birth and a Venetian citizen by adoption, who came during the last
+decade of the fifteenth century, to the historic town of Bristol.
+Eventually he obtain from Henry VII letters-patent, granting to himself
+and his three sons, Louis, Sebastian, and Sancio, the right, "at their
+own cost and charges, to seek out and discover unknown lands," and to
+acquire for England the dominion over the countries they might discover.
+Early in May, 1497, John Cabot sailed from Bristol in "The Matthew,"
+manned by English sailors. In all probability he was accompanied by
+Sebastian, then about 21 years of age, who, in later times, through the
+credulity of his friends and his own garrulity and vanity, took that
+place in the estimation of the world which his father now rightly fills.
+Some time toward the end of June, they made a land-fall on the
+north-eastern coast of North America. The actual site of the land-fall
+will always be a matter of controversy unless some document is found
+among musty archives of Europe to solve the question to the satisfaction
+of the disputants, who wax hot over the claims of a point near Cape
+Chidley on the coast of Labrador, of Bonavista, on the east shore of
+Newfoundland, of Cape North, or some other point, on the island of Cape
+Breton. Another expedition left Bristol in 1498, but while it is now
+generally believed that Cabot coasted the shores of North America from
+Labrador or Cape Breton as far as Cape Hatteras, we have no details of
+this famous voyage, and are even ignorant of the date when the fleet
+returned to England.
+
+The Portuguese, Gaspar and Miguel Cortereal, in the beginning of the
+sixteenth century, were lost somewhere on the coast of Labrador or
+Newfoundland, but not before they gave to their country a claim to new
+lands. The Basques and Bretons, always noted for their love of the sea,
+frequented the same prolific waters and some of the latter gave a name
+to the picturesque island of Cape Breton. Giovanni da Verrazzano, a
+Florentine by birth, who had for years led a roving life on the sea,
+sailed in 1524 along the coasts of Nova Scotia and the present United
+States and gave a shadowy claim of first discovery of a great region to
+France under whose authority he sailed. Ten years later Jacques Cartier
+of St. Malo was authorised by Francis I to undertake a voyage to these
+new lands, but he did not venture beyond the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
+though he took possession of the picturesque Gaspe peninsula in the name
+of his royal master. In 1535 he made a second voyage, whose results were
+most important for France and the world at large. The great river of
+Canada was then discovered by the enterprising Breton, who established a
+post for some months at Stadacona, now Quebec, and also visited the
+Indian village of Hochelaga on the island of Montreal. Here he gave the
+appropriate name of Mount Royal to the beautiful height which dominates
+the picturesque country where enterprise has, in the course of
+centuries, built a noble city. Hochelaga was probably inhabited by
+Indians of the Huron-Iroquois family, who appear, from the best evidence
+before us, to have been dwelling at that time on the banks of the St.
+Lawrence, whilst the Algonquins, who took their place in later times,
+were living to the north of the river.
+
+The name of Canada--obviously the Huron-Iroquois word for Kannata, a
+town--began to take a place on the maps soon after Cartier's voyages. It
+appears from his _Bref Recit_ to have been applied at the time of his
+visit, to a kingdom, or district, extending from Ile-aux-Coudres, which
+he named on account of its hazel-nuts, on the lower St. Lawrence, to the
+Kingdom of Ochelay, west of Stadacona; east of Canada was Saguenay, and
+west of Ochelay was Hochelaga, to which the other communities were
+tributary. After a winter of much misery Cartier left Stadacona in the
+spring of 1536, and sailed into the Atlantic by the passage between Cape
+Breton and Newfoundland, now appropriately called Cabot's Straits on
+modern maps. He gave to France a positive claim to a great region, whose
+illimitable wealth and possibilities were never fully appreciated by the
+king and the people of France even in the later times of her dominion.
+Francis, in 1540, gave a commission to Jean Francois de la Roque, Sieur
+de Roberval, to act as his viceroy and lieutenant-general in the
+country discovered by Cartier, who was elevated to the position of
+captain general and master pilot of the new expedition. As the Viceroy
+was unable to complete his arrangements by 1541, Cartier was obliged to
+sail in advance, and again passed a winter on the St. Lawrence, not at
+Stadacona but at Cap Rouge, a few miles to the west, where he built a
+post which he named Charlesbourg-Royal. He appears to have returned to
+France some time during the summer of 1542, while Roberval was on his
+way to the St. Lawrence. Roberval found his way without his master pilot
+to Charlesbourg-Royal, which he renamed France-Roy, and where he erected
+buildings of a very substantial character in the hope of establishing a
+permanent settlement. His selection of colonists--chiefly taken from
+jails and purlieus of towns--was most unhappy, and after a bitter
+experience he returned to France, probably in the autumn of 1543, and
+disappeared from Canadian history.
+
+From the date of Cartier's last voyage until the beginning of the
+seventeenth century, a period of nearly sixty years, nothing was done to
+settle the lands of the new continent. Fishermen alone continued to
+frequent the great gulf, which was called for years the "Square gulf" or
+"Golfo quadrado," or "Quarre," on some European maps, until it assumed,
+by the end of the sixteenth century, the name it now bears. The name
+Saint-Laurens was first given by Cartier to the harbour known as
+Sainte-Genevieve (or sometimes Pillage Bay), on the northern shore of
+Canada, and gradually extended to the gulf and river. The name of
+Labrador, which was soon established on all maps, had its origin in the
+fact that Gaspar Cortereal brought back with him a number of natives who
+were considered to be "admirably calculated for labour."
+
+In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the English began to take a prominent
+part in that maritime enterprise which was to lead to such remarkable
+results in the course of three centuries. The names of the ambitious
+navigators, Frobisher and Davis, are connected with those arctic waters
+where so much money, energy, and heroism have been expended down to the
+present time. Under the influence of the great Ralegh, whose fertile
+imagination was conceiving plans of colonization in America, Sir
+Humphrey Gilbert, his brother-in-law, took possession of Newfoundland on
+a hill overlooking the harbour of St. John's. English enterprise,
+however, did not extend for many years to any other part of North
+Eastern America than Newfoundland, which is styled Baccalaos on the
+Hakluyt map of 1597, though the present name appeared from a very early
+date in English statutes and records. The island, however, for a century
+and longer, was practically little more than "a great ship moored near
+the banks during the fishing season, for the convenience of English
+fishermen," while English colonizing enterprise found a deeper interest
+in Virginia with its more favourable climate and southern products. It
+was England's great rival, France, that was the pioneer at the beginning
+of the seventeenth century in the work of exploring, and settling the
+countries now comprised within the Dominion of Canada.
+
+France first attempted to settle the indefinite region, long known as
+_La Cadie_ or _Acadie_[1]. The Sieur de Monts, Samuel Champlain, and the
+Baron de Poutrincourt were the pioneers in the exploration of this
+country. Their first post was erected on Dochet Island, within the mouth
+of the St. Croix River, the present boundary between the state of Maine
+and the province of New Brunswick; but this spot was very soon found
+unsuitable, and the hopes of the pioneers were immediately turned
+towards the beautiful basin, which was first named Port Royal by
+Champlain. The Baron de Poutrincourt obtained a grant of land around
+this basin, and determined to make his home in so beautiful a spot. De
+Monts, whose charter was revoked in 1607, gave up the project of
+colonizing Acadia, whose history from that time is associated for years
+with the misfortunes of the Biencourts, the family name of Baron de
+Poutrincourt; but the hopes of this adventurous nobleman were never
+realized. In 1613 an English expedition from Virginia, under the command
+of Captain Argall, destroyed the struggling settlement at Fort Royal,
+and also prevented the establishment of a Jesuit mission on the island
+of Monts-Deserts, which owes its name to Champlain. Acadia had
+henceforth a checquered history, chiefly noted for feuds between rival
+French leaders and for the efforts of the people of New England to
+obtain possession of Acadia. Port Royal was captured in 1710 by General
+Nicholson, at the head of an expedition composed of an English fleet and
+the militia of New England. Then it received the name of Annapolis Royal
+in honour of Queen Anne, and was formally ceded with all of Acadia
+"according to its ancient limits" to England by the treaty of Utrecht.
+
+[1: This name is now generally admitted to belong to the language of the
+Micmac Indians of the Atlantic provinces. It means a place, or locality,
+and is always associated with another word descriptive of some special
+natural production; for instance, Shubenacadie, or Segubunakade, is the
+place where the ground-nut, or Indian potato, grows. We find the first
+official mention of the word in the commission given by Henry IV of
+France to the Sieur de Monts in 1604.]
+
+It was not in Acadia, but in the valley of the St. Lawrence, that France
+made her great effort to establish her dominion in North America. Samuel
+Champlain, the most famous man in the history of French Canada, laid the
+foundation of the present city of Quebec in the month of June, 1608, or
+three years after the removal of the little Acadian colony from St.
+Croix Island to the basin of the Annapolis. The name Quebec is now
+generally admitted to be an adaptation of an Indian word, meaning a
+contraction of the river or strait, a distinguishing feature of the St.
+Lawrence at this important point. The first buildings were constructed
+by Champlain on a relatively level piece of ground, now occupied by a
+market-house and close to a famous old church erected in the days of
+Frontenac, in commemoration of the victorious repulse of the New England
+expedition led by Phipps. For twenty-seven years Champlain struggled
+against constantly accumulating difficulties to establish a colony on
+the St. Lawrence. He won the confidence of the Algonquin and Huron tubes
+of Canada, who then lived on the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers, and in
+the vicinity of Georgian Bay. Recognizing the necessity of an alliance
+with the Canadian Indians, who controlled all the principal avenues to
+the great fur-bearing regions, he led two expeditions, composed of
+Frenchmen, Hurons, and Algonquins, against the Iroquois or Confederacy
+of the Five Nations[2]--the Mohawks, the Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas,
+and Senecas--who inhabited the fertile country stretching from the
+Genesee to the Hudson River in the present state of New York. Champlain
+consequently excited against his own people the inveterate hostility of
+the bravest, cruellest and ablest Indians with whom Europeans have ever
+come in contact in America. Champlain probably had no other alternative
+open to him than to become the active ally of the Canadian Indians, on
+whose goodwill and friendship he was forced to rely; but it is also
+quite probable that he altogether underrated the ability and bravery of
+the Iroquois who, in later years, so often threatened the security of
+Canada, and more than once brought the infant colony to the very verge
+of ruin.
+
+[2: In 1715 the confederacy was joined by the Tuscaroras, a southern
+branch of the same family, and was then called more properly the Six
+Nations.]
+
+It was during Champlain's administration of affairs that the Company of
+the Hundred Associates was formed under the auspices of Cardinal
+Richelieu, with the express object of colonizing Canada and developing
+the fur-trade and other commercial enterprises on as large a scale as
+possible. The Company had ill-fortune from the outset. The first
+expedition it sent to the St. Lawrence was captured by a fleet commanded
+by David Kirk, a gentleman of Derbyshire, who in the following year also
+took Quebec, and carried Champlain and his followers to England. The
+English were already attempting settlements on the shores of
+Massachusetts Bay; and the poet and courtier, Sir William Alexander,
+afterwards known as the Earl of Stirling, obtained from the King of
+England all French Acadia, which he named Nova Scotia and offered to
+settlers in baronial giants. A Scotch colony was actually established
+for a short time at Port Royal under the auspices of Alexander, but in
+1632, by the treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye, both Acadia and Canada were
+restored to France. Champlain returned to Quebec, but the Company of the
+Hundred Associates had been severely crippled by the ill-luck which
+attended its first venture, and was able to do very little for the
+struggling colony during the three remaining years of Champlain's life.
+
+The Recollets or Franciscans, who had first come to the country in 1615,
+now disappeared, and the Jesuits assumed full control in the wide field
+of effort that Canada offered to the missionary. The Jesuits had, in
+fact, made their appearance in Canada as early as 1625, or fourteen
+years after two priests of their order, Ennemond Masse and Pierre Biard,
+had gone to Acadia to labour among the Micmacs or Souriquois. During the
+greater part of the seventeenth century, intrepid Jesuit priests are
+associated with some of the most heroic incidents of Canadian history.
+
+When Champlain died, on Christmas-day, 1635, the French population of
+Canada did not exceed 150 souls, all dependent on the fur-trade. Canada
+so far showed none of the elements of prosperity; it was not a colony
+of settlers but of fur-traders. Still Champlain, by his indomitable
+will, gave to France a footing in America which she was to retain for a
+century and a quarter after his death. His courage amid the difficulties
+that surrounded him, his fidelity to his church and country, his ability
+to understand the Indian character, his pure unselfishness, are among
+the remarkable qualities of a man who stands foremost among the pioneers
+of European civilization in America.
+
+From the day of Champlain's death until the arrival of the Marquis de
+Tracy, in 1665, Canada was often in a most dangerous and pitiable
+position. That period of thirty years was, however, also distinguished
+by the foundation of those great religious communities which have always
+exercised such an important influence upon the conditions of life
+throughout French Canada. In 1652 Montreal was founded under the name of
+Ville-Marie by Paul Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, and a number of
+other religious enthusiasts. In 1659, the Abbe de Montigny, better known
+to Canadians as Monseigneur de Laval, the first Roman Catholic bishop,
+arrived in the colony and assumed charge of ecclesiastical affairs under
+the titular name of Bishop of Petraea. Probably no single man has ever
+exercised such powerful and lasting influence on Canadian institutions
+as that famous divine. Possessed of great tenacity of purpose, most
+ascetic in his habits, regardless of all worldly considerations, always
+working for the welfare and extension of his church, Bishop Laval was
+eminently fitted to give it that predominance in civil as well as
+religious affairs which it so long possessed in Canada.
+
+While the Church of Rome was perfecting its organization throughout
+Canada, the Iroquois were constantly making raids upon the unprotected
+settlements, especially in the vicinity of Montreal. The Hurons in the
+Georgian Bay district were eventually driven from their comfortable
+villages, and now the only remnants of a powerful nation are to be found
+in the community of mixed blood at Lorette, near Quebec, or on the
+banks of the Detroit River, where they are known as Wyandots. The Jesuit
+mission of Sainte-Marie in their country was broken up, and Jean de
+Brebeuf and Gabriel Lalemant suffered torture and death.
+
+Such was the pitiable condition of things in 1663, when Louis XIV made
+of Canada a royal government. At this time the total population of the
+province did not exceed 2500 souls, grouped chiefly in and around
+Quebec, Three Rivers and Montreal. In 1665 the Marquis de Tracy and
+Governor de Courcelles, with a brilliant retinue of officers and a
+regiment of soldiers, arrived in the colony, and brought with them
+conditions of peace and prosperity. A small stream of immigration flowed
+steadily into the country for some years, as a result of the new policy
+adopted by the French government. The Mohawks, the most daring and
+dangerous nation of the Iroquois confederacy, were humbled by Tracy in
+1667, and forced to sue for peace. Under the influence of Talon, the
+ablest intendant who ever administered Canadian affairs, the country
+enjoyed a moderate degree of prosperity, although trade continued
+entirely dependent on the orders and regulations of the King and his
+officials.
+
+Among the ablest governors of Canada was undoubtedly Louis de la Buade,
+Count de Frontenac, who administered public affairs from 1672-1687 and
+from 1689-1698. He was certainly impatient, choleric and selfish
+whenever his pecuniary interests were concerned; but, despite his faults
+of character, he was a brave soldier, dignified and courteous on
+important occasions, a close student of the character of the Indians,
+always ready when the necessity arose to adapt himself to their foibles
+and at the same time able to win their confidence. He found Canada weak,
+and left it a power in the affairs of America. He infused his own
+never-failing confidence into the hearts of the struggling colonists on
+the St. Lawrence, repulsed Sir William Phipps and his New England
+expedition when they attacked Quebec in 1690, wisely erected a fort on
+Lake Ontario as a fur-trading post and a bulwark against the Iroquois,
+encouraged the fur-trade, and stimulated exploration in the west and in
+the valleys of the Ohio and the Mississippi. The settlements of New
+England trembled at his name, and its annals contain many a painful
+story of the misery inflicted by his cruel bands of Frenchmen and
+Indians.
+
+Despite all the efforts of the French government for some years, the
+total immigration from 1663 until 1713, when the great war between
+France and the Grand Alliance came to an end by the treaty of Utrecht,
+did not exceed 6000 souls, and the whole population of the province in
+that year was only 20,000, a small number for a century of colonization.
+For some years after the formation of the royal government, a large
+number of marriageable women were brought to the country under the
+auspices of the religious communities, and marriages and births were
+encouraged by exhortations and bounties. A considerable number of the
+officers and soldiers of the Carignan-Salieres regiment, who followed
+the Marquis de Tracy into Canada, were induced to remain and settle new
+seigniories, chiefly in palisaded villages in the Richelieu district for
+purposes of defence against Iroquois expeditions. Despite all the
+paternal efforts of the government to stimulate the growth of a large
+population, the natural increase was small during the seventeenth
+century. The disturbing influence, no doubt, was the fur-trade, which
+allured so many young men into the wilderness, made them unfit for a
+steady life, and destroyed their domestic habits. The emigrants from
+France came chiefly from Anjou, Saintonge, Paris and its suburbs,
+Normandy, Poitou, Beauce, Perche, and Picardy. The Carignan-Salieres
+regiment brought men from all parts of the parent state. It does not
+appear that any number of persons ever came from Brittany. The larger
+proportion of the settlers were natives of the north-western provinces
+of France, especially from Perche and Normandy, and formed an excellent
+stock on which to build up a thrifty, moral people. The seigniorial
+tenure of French Canada was an adaptation of the feudal system of France
+to the conditions of a new country, and was calculated in some respects
+to stimulate settlement. Ambitious persons of limited means were able to
+form a class of colonial _noblesse_. But unless the seignior cleared a
+certain portion of his grant within a limited time, he would forfeit it
+all. The conditions by which the _censitaires_ or tenants of the
+seigniorial domain held their grants of land were by no means
+burdensome, but they signified a dependency of tenure inconsistent with
+the free nature of American life. A large portion of the best lands of
+French Canada were granted under this seigniorial system to men whose
+names frequently occur in the records of the colony down to the present
+day: Rimouski, Bic and Metis, Kamouraska, Nicolet, Vercheres,
+Lotbiniere, Berthier, Beloeil, Rouville, Juliette, Terrebonne,
+Champlain, Sillery, Beaupre, Bellechasse, Portneuf, Chambly, Sorel,
+Longueuil, Boucherville, Chateauguay, Lachine, are memorials of the
+seigniorial grants of the seventeenth century.
+
+The whole population of the Acadian Peninsula in 1710-13, was not more
+than 1500 souls, nearly all descendants of the people brought to the
+country by Poutrincourt and his successors Razilly and Charnisay. At no
+time did the French government interest itself in immigration to
+neglected Acadia. Of the total population, nearly 1000 persons were
+settled in the beautiful country which the industry and ingenuity of the
+Acadian peasants, in the course of many years, reclaimed from the
+restless tides of the Bay of Fundy at Grand Pre and Minas. The remaining
+settlements were at Beau Bassin, Annapolis, Piziquit (now Windsor),
+Cobequit (now Truro), and Cape Sable. Some small settlements were also
+founded on the banks of the St. John River and on the eastern bays of
+the present province of New Brunswick.
+
+
+SECTION 3.--French exploration in the great valleys of North America.
+
+The hope of finding a short route to the rich lands of Asia by the St.
+Lawrence River and its tributary lakes and streams, influenced French
+voyagers and explorers well into the middle of the eighteenth century.
+When Cartier stood on Mount Royal and saw the waters of the Ottawa there
+must have flashed across his mind the thought that perhaps by this river
+would be found that passage to the western sea of which he and other
+sailors often dreamed both in earlier and later times. L'Escarbot tells
+us that Champlain in his western explorations always hoped to reach Asia
+by a Canadian route. He was able, however, long before his death to
+make valuable contributions to the geography of Canada. He was the first
+Frenchman to ascend the River of the Iroquois, now the Richelieu, and to
+see the beautiful lake which still bears his name. In 1615 he found his
+way to Georgian Bay by the route of the Ottawa and Mattawa Rivers, Lake
+Nipissing and French River. Here he visited the Huron villages which
+were situated in the district now known as Simcoe county in the province
+of Ontario. Father le Caron, a Recollet, had preceded the French
+explorer, and was performing missionary duties among the Indians, who
+probably numbered 20,000 in all. This brave priest was the pioneer of an
+army of faithful missionaries--mostly of a different order--who lived
+for years among the Indians, suffered torture and death, and connected
+their names not only with the martyrs of their faith but also with the
+explorers of this continent. From this time forward we find the trader
+and the priest advancing in the wilderness; sometimes one is first,
+sometimes the other.
+
+Champlain accompanied his Indian allies on an expedition against the
+Onondagas, one of the five nations who occupied the country immediately
+to the south of the upper St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario. The party
+reached Lake Ontario by the system of inland navigation which stretches
+from Lake Simcoe to the Bay of Quinte. The Onondagas repulsed the
+Canadian allies who returned to their settlements, where Champlain
+remained during the winter of 1616. It was during this expedition, which
+did much to weaken Champlain's prestige among the Indians, that Etienne
+Brule an interpreter, was sent to the Andastes, who were then living
+about the headwaters of the Susquehanna, with the hope of bringing them
+to the support of the Canadian savages. He was not seen again until
+1618, when he returned to Canada with a story, doubtless correct, of
+having found himself on the shores of a great lake where there were
+mines of copper, probably Lake Superior.
+
+With the new era of peace that followed the coming of the Viceroy Tracy
+in 1665, and the establishment of a royal government, a fresh impulse
+was given to exploration and mission work in the west. Priests,
+fur-traders, gentlemen-adventurers, _coureurs de bois_, now appeared
+frequently on the lakes and rivers of the west, and gave in the course
+of years a vast region to the dominion of France. As early as 1665
+Father Allouez established a mission at La Pointe, the modern Ashland,
+on the shores of Lake Superior. In 1668 one of the most interesting
+persons who ever appeared in early Canada, the missionary and explorer,
+Father Marquette, founded the mission of Sainte-Marie on the southern
+side of the Sault, which may be considered the oldest settlement of the
+north-west, as it alone has a continuous history to the present time.
+
+In the record of those times we see strikingly displayed certain
+propensities of the Canadian people which seriously interfered with the
+settlement and industry of the country. The fur-trade had far more
+attractions for the young and adventurous than the regular and active
+life of farming on the seigniories. The French immigrant as well as the
+native Canadian adapted himself to the conditions of Indian life.
+Wherever the Indian tribes were camped in the forest or by the river,
+and the fur-trade could be prosecuted to the best advantage, we see the
+_coureurs de bois_, not the least picturesque figures of these grand
+woods, then in the primeval sublimity of their solitude and vastness.
+Despite the vices and weaknesses of a large proportion of this class,
+not a few were most useful in the work of exploration and exercised a
+great influence among the Indians of the West. But for these
+forest-rangers the Michigan region would have fallen into the possession
+of the English who were always intriguing with the Iroquois and
+endeavouring to obtain a share of the fur-trade of the west. Joliet, the
+companion of Marquette, in his ever-memorable voyage to the Mississippi,
+was a type of the best class of the Canadian fur-trader.
+
+In 1671 Sieur St. Lusson took formal possession of the Sault and the
+adjacent country in the name of Louis XIV. In 1673 Fort Frontenac was
+built at Cataraqui, now Kingston, as a barrier to the aggressive
+movements of the Iroquois and an _entrepot_ for the fur-trade on Lake
+Ontario. In the same year Joliet and Marquette solved a part of the
+problem which had so long perplexed the explorers of the West. The
+trader and priest reached the Mississippi by the way of Green Bay, the
+Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. They went down the Mississippi as far as the
+Arkansas. Though they were still many hundreds of miles from the mouth
+of the river, they grasped the fact that it must reach, not the western
+ocean, but the southern gulf first discovered by the Spaniards.
+Marquette died not long afterwards, worn out by his labours in the
+wilderness, and was buried beneath the little chapel at St. Ignace.
+Joliet's name henceforth disappears from the annals of the West.
+
+Rene Robert Cavelier, better known as the Sieur de la Salle, completed
+the work commenced by the trader and missionary. In 1666 he obtained a
+grant of land at the head of the rapids above Montreal by the side of
+that beautiful expanse of the St. Lawrence, still called Lachine, a name
+first given in derisive allusion to his hope of finding a short route to
+China. In 1679 he saw the Niagara Falls for the first time, and the
+earliest sketch is to be found in _La Nouvelle Decouverte_ written or
+compiled by that garrulous, vain, and often mendacious Recollet Friar,
+Louis Hennepin, who accompanied La Salle on this expedition. In the
+winter of 1681-82 this famous explorer reached the Mississippi, and for
+weeks followed its course through the novel and wondrous scenery of a
+southern land. On the 9th of April, 1682, at a point just above the
+mouth of the great river, La Salle took formal possession of the
+Mississippi valley in the name of Louis XIV, with the same imposing
+ceremonies that distinguished the claim asserted by St. Lusson at the
+Sault in the lake region. By the irony of fate, La Salle failed to
+discover the mouth of the river when he came direct from France to the
+Gulf of Mexico in 1685, but landed somewhere on Matagorda Bay on the
+Texan coast, where he built a fort for temporary protection. Finding his
+position untenable, he decided in 1687 to make an effort to reach the
+Illinois country, but when he had been a few days on this perilous
+journey he was treacherously murdered by some of his companions near the
+southern branch of Trinity River. His body was left to the beasts and
+birds of prey. Two of the murderers were themselves killed by their
+accomplices, none of whom appear ever to have been brought to justice
+for their participation in a crime by which France lost one of the
+bravest and ablest men who ever struggled for her dominion in North
+America.
+
+Some years later the famous Canadians, Iberville and Bienville, founded
+a colony in the great valley, known by the name of Louisiana, which was
+first given to it by La Salle himself. By the possession of the Sault,
+Mackinac, and Detroit, the French were for many years supreme on the
+lakes, and had full control of Indian trade. The Iroquois and their
+English friends were effectively shut out of the west by the French
+posts and settlements which followed the explorations of Joliet, La
+Salle, Du Luth, and other adventurers. Plans continued to be formed for
+reaching the Western or Pacific ocean even in the middle of the
+eighteenth century. The Jesuit Charlevoix, the historian of New France,
+was sent out to Canada by the French government to enquire into the
+feasibility of a route which Frenchmen always hoped for. Nothing
+definite came out of this mission, but the Jesuit was soon followed by
+an enterprising native of Three Rivers, Pierre Gaultier de Varennes,
+generally called the Sieur de la Verendrye, who with his sons ventured
+into the region now known as the province of Manitoba and the north-west
+territory of Canada. He built several forts, including one on the site
+of the city of Winnipeg. Two of his sons are believed to have reached
+the Big Horn Range, an "outlying buttress" of the Rocky Mountains, in
+1743, and to have taken possession of what is now territory of the
+United States. The youngest son, Chevalier de la Verendrye, who was the
+first to see the Rocky Mountains, subsequently discovered the
+Saskatchewan (Poskoiac) and even ascended it as far as the forks--the
+furthest western limits so far touched by a white man in America. A few
+years later, in 1751, M. de Niverville, under the orders of M. de St.
+Pierre, then acting in the interest of the infamous Intendant Bigot, who
+coveted the western fur-trade, reached the foot-hills of the Rocky
+Mountains and built a fort on the Saskatchewan not far from the present
+town of Calgary.
+
+We have now followed the paths of French adventurers for nearly a
+century and a half, from the day Champlain landed on the rocks of Quebec
+until the Verendryes traversed the prairies and plains of the
+North-west. French explorers had discovered the three great waterways of
+this continent--the Mississippi, which pours its enormous volume of
+water, drawn from hundreds of tributaries, into a southern gulf; the St.
+Lawrence, which bears the tribute of the great lakes to the Atlantic
+Ocean; the Winnipeg, with its connecting rivers and lakes which stretch
+from the Rocky Mountains to the dreary Arctic sea. La Verendrye was the
+first Frenchman who stood on the height of land or elevated plateau of
+the continent, almost within sight of the sources of those great rivers
+which flow, after devious courses, north, south and east. It has been
+well said that if three men should ascend these three waterways to their
+farthest sources, they would find themselves in the heart of North
+America; and, so to speak, within a stone's throw of one another. Nearly
+all the vast territory, through which these great waterways flow, then
+belonged to France, so far as exploration, discovery and partial
+occupation gave her a right to exercise dominion. Only in the great
+North, where summer is a season of a very few weeks, where icebergs bar
+the way for many months, where the fur-trade and the whale-fishery alone
+offered an incentive to capital and enterprise, had England a right to
+an indefinite dominion. Here a "Company of Gentlemen-Adventurers
+trading into Hudson's Bay" occupied some fortified stations which,
+during the seventeenth century, had been seized by the daring
+French-Canadian corsair, Iberville, who ranks with the famous
+Englishman, Drake. On the Atlantic coast the prosperous English colonies
+occupied a narrow range of country bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the
+Alleghanies. It was only in the middle of the eighteenth century--nearly
+three-quarters of a century after Joliet's and La Salle's explorations,
+and even later than the date at which Frenchmen had followed the
+Saskatchewan to the Rocky Mountains--that some enterprising Virginians
+and Pennsylvanians worked their way into the beautiful country watered
+by the affluents of the Ohio. New France may be said to have extended at
+that time from Cape Breton or Isle Royale west to the Rocky Mountains,
+and from the basin of the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.
+
+
+SECTION 4.--End of French dominion in the valley of the St. Lawrence.
+
+After the treaty of Utrecht, France recognized the mistake she had made
+in giving up Acadia, and devoted her attention to the island of Cape
+Breton, or Isle Royale, on whose southeastern coast soon rose the
+fortifications of Louisbourg. In the course of years this fortress
+became a menace to English interests in Acadia and New England. In 1745
+the town was taken by a force of New England volunteers, led by General
+Pepperrell, a discreet and able colonist, and a small English squadron
+under the command of Commodore, afterwards Admiral, Warren, both of whom
+were rewarded by the British government for their distinguished services
+on this memorable occasion. France, however, appreciated the importance
+of Isle Royale, and obtained its restoration in exchange for Madras
+which at that time was the most important British settlement in the East
+Indies. England then decided to strengthen herself in Acadia, where
+France retained her hold of the French Acadian population through the
+secret influence of her emissaries, chiefly missionaries, and
+accordingly established a town on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia,
+ever since known as Halifax, in honour of a prominent statesman of those
+times. The French settlers, who by the middle of the eighteenth century
+numbered 12,000, a thrifty, industrious and simple-minded people, easily
+influenced by French agents, called themselves "Neutrals," and could not
+be forced to take the unqualified oath of allegiance which was demanded
+of them by the authorities of Halifax. The English Government was now
+determined to act with firmness in a province where British interests
+had been so long neglected, and where the French inhabitants had in the
+course of forty years shown no disposition to consider themselves
+British subjects and discharge their obligations to the British Crown.
+France had raised the contention that the Acadia ceded to England by the
+treaty of Utrecht comprised only the present province of Nova Scotia,
+and indeed only a portion of that peninsula according to some French
+authorities. Commissioners were appointed by the two Powers to settle
+the question of boundaries--of the meaning of "Acadie, with its ancient
+boundaries"--but their negotiations came to naught and the issue was
+only settled by the arbitrament of war. The French built the forts of
+Beausejour and Gaspereau--the latter a mere palisade--on the Isthmus of
+Chignecto, which became the rendezvous of the French Acadians, whom the
+former persuaded by promises or threats to join their fortunes. In 1755
+a force of English and Colonial troops, under the command of Colonels
+Moncton, Winslow and Scott, captured these forts, and this success was
+followed by the banishment of the Acadian French. This cruel act of
+Governor Lawrence and the English authorities at Halifax was no doubt
+largely influenced by the sentiment of leading men in New England, who
+were apprehensive of the neighbourhood of so large a number of an alien
+people, who could not be induced to prove their loyalty to Great
+Britain, and might, in case of continued French successes in America,
+become open and dangerous foes. But while there are writers who defend
+this sad incident of American history on the ground of stern national
+necessity at a critical period in the affairs of the continent, all
+humanity that listens to the dictates of the heart and tender feeling
+will ever deplore the exile of those hapless people.
+
+Previous to the expulsion of the Acadians from their pleasant homes on
+the meadows of Grand Pre and Minas, England sustained a severe defeat in
+the valley of the Ohio, which created much alarm throughout the English
+colonies, and probably had some influence on the fortunes of those
+people. France had formally taken possession of the Ohio country and
+established forts in 1753 on French Creek, at its junction with the
+Alleghany, and also at the forks of the Ohio. Adventurous British
+pioneers were at last commencing to cross the Alleghanies, and a company
+had been formed with the express intention of stimulating settlement in
+the valley. George Washington, at the head of a small Colonial force,
+was defeated in his attempt to drive the French from the Ohio; and the
+English Government was compelled to send out a large body of regular
+troops under the command of General Braddock, who met defeat and death
+on the banks of the Monongahela, General Johnson, on the other hand,
+defeated a force of French regulars, Canadian Militia and Indians, under
+General Dieskau, at the southern end of Lake George.
+
+In 1756 war was publicly proclaimed between France and England,
+although, as we have just seen, it had already broken out many months
+previously in the forests of America. During the first two years of the
+war the English forces sustained several disasters through the
+incompetency of the English commanders on land and sea. The French in
+Canada were now led by the Marquis de Montcalm, distinguished both as a
+soldier of great ability and as a man of varied intellectual
+accomplishments. In the early part of the Canadian campaign he was most
+fortunate. Fort William Henry, at the foot of Lake George, and Fort
+Oswego, on the south side of Lake Ontario, were captured, but his signal
+victory at the former place was sullied by the massacre of defenceless
+men, women and children by his Indian allies, although it is now
+admitted by all impartial writers that he did his utmost to prevent so
+sad a sequel to his triumph. The English Commander-in-Chief, Lord
+Loudoun, assembled a large military force at Halifax in 1757 for the
+purpose of making a descent on Louisbourg; but he returned to New York
+without accomplishing anything, when he heard of the disastrous affair
+of William Henry, for which he was largely responsible on account of
+having failed to give sufficient support to the defenders of the fort.
+Admiral Holbourne sailed to Louisbourg, but he did not succeed in coming
+to an engagement with the French fleet then anchored in the harbour, and
+the only result of his expedition was the loss of several of his ships
+on the reefs of that foggy, rocky coast.
+
+In 1758 Pitt determined to enter on a vigorous campaign against France
+in Europe and America. For America he chose Amherst, Boscawen, Howe,
+Forbes, Wolfe, Lawrence and Whitman. Abercromby was unfortunately
+allowed to remain in place of Loudoun, but it was expected by Pitt and
+others that Lord Howe, one of the best soldiers in the British army,
+would make up for the military weakness of that commander. Louisbourg,
+Fort Duquesne, and the forts on Lake George, were the immediate objects
+of attack. Abercromby at the head of a large force failed ignominiously
+in his assault on Ticonderoga, and Lord Howe was one of the first to
+fall in that unhappy and ill-managed battle. Amherst and Boscawen, on
+the other hand, took Louisbourg, where Wolfe displayed great energy and
+contributed largely to the success of the enterprise. Forbes was able to
+occupy the important fort at the forks of the Ohio, now Pittsburg, which
+gave to the English control of the beautiful country to the west of the
+Alleghanies. Fort Frontenac was taken by Bradstreet, and Prince Edward
+Island, then called Isle St. Jean, was occupied by an English force as
+the necessary consequence of the fall of the Cape Breton fortress. The
+nation felt that its confidence in Pitt was fully justified, and that
+the power of France in America was soon to be effectually broken.
+
+In 1759 and 1760 Pitt's designs were crowned with signal success. Wolfe
+proved at Quebec that the statesman had not overestimated his value as a
+soldier and leader. Wolfe was supported by Brigadiers Moncton,
+Townshend, Murray, and Guy Carleton--the latter a distinguished figure
+in the later annals of Canada. The fleet was commanded by Admirals
+Saunders, Durell and Holmes, all of whom rendered most effective
+service. The English occupied the Island of Orleans and the heights of
+Levis, from which they were able to keep up a most destructive fire on
+the capital. The whole effective force under Wolfe did not reach 9000
+men, or 5000 less than the regular and Colonial army under Montcalm,
+whose lines extended behind batteries and earthworks from the St.
+Charles River, which washes the base of the rocky heights of the town,
+as far as the falls of Montmorency. The French held an impregnable
+position which their general decided to maintain at all hazards, despite
+the constant efforts of Wolfe for weeks to force him to the issue of
+battle. Above the city for many miles there were steep heights, believed
+to be unapproachable, and guarded at all important points by detachments
+of soldiery. Wolfe failed in an attempt which he made at Beauport to
+force Montcalm from his defences, and suffered a considerable loss
+through the rashness of his grenadiers. He then resolved on a bold
+stroke which succeeded by its very audacity in deceiving his opponent,
+and giving the victory to the English. A rugged and dangerous path was
+used at night up those very heights which, Montcalm confidently
+believed, "a hundred men could easily defend against the whole British
+army." On the morning of the 13th September, 1759, Wolfe marshalled an
+army of four thousand five hundred men on the Plains of Abraham where he
+was soon face to face with the French army. Montcalm had lost no time in
+accepting the challenge of the English, in the hope that his superior
+numbers would make up for their inferiority in discipline and equipment
+compared with the smaller English force. His expectations were never
+realized. In a few minutes the French fell in hundreds before the steady
+deadly fire of the English lines, and Montcalm was forced to retreat
+precipitately with the beaten remnant of his army. Wolfe received
+several wounds, and died on the battlefield, but not before he was
+conscious of his victory. "God be praised," were his dying words, "I now
+die in peace." His brave adversary was mortally wounded while seeking
+the protection of Quebec, and was buried in a cavity which a shell had
+made in the floor of the chapel of the Ursuline Convent. A few days
+later Quebec capitulated. Wolfe's body was taken to England, where it
+was received with all the honours due to his great achievement. General
+Murray was left in command at Quebec, and was defeated in the following
+spring by Levis in the battle of St. Foye, which raised the hopes of the
+French until the appearance of English ships in the river relieved the
+beleaguered garrison and decided for ever the fate of Quebec. A few
+weeks later Montreal capitulated to Amherst, whose extreme caution
+throughout the campaign was in remarkable contrast with the dash and
+energy of the hero of Quebec. The war in Canada was now at an end, and
+in 1763 the treaty of Paris closed the interesting chapter of French
+dominion on the banks of the St. Lawrence and in the valleys of the Ohio
+and the Mississippi.
+
+
+SECTION 5.--Political, economic and social conditions of Canada during
+French ride.
+
+France and England entered on the struggle for dominion in America about
+the same time, but long before the conquest of Canada the communities
+founded by the latter had exhibited a vigour and vitality which were
+never shown in the development of the relatively poor and struggling
+colonies of Canada and Louisiana. The total population of New France in
+1759--that is, of all the French possessions in North America--did not
+exceed 70,000 souls, of whom 60,000 were inhabitants of the country of
+the St. Lawrence, chiefly of the Montreal and Quebec districts. France
+had a few struggling villages and posts in the very "garden of the
+North-west," as the Illinois country has been aptly called; but the
+total population of New France from the great lakes to the Gulf of
+Mexico did not exceed 10,000 souls, the greater number of whom dwelt on
+the lower banks of the Mississippi. At this time the British colonies in
+America, pent up between the Atlantic Ocean and the Appalachian
+mountains, had a population twenty times larger than that of Canada and
+Louisiana combined, and there was not any comparison whatever between
+these French and British colonies with respect to trade, wealth or any
+of the essentials of prosperity.
+
+Under the system of government established by Louis XIV, under the
+advice of Colbert, the governor and intendant of Canada were, to all
+intents and purposes in point of authority, the same officials who
+presided over the affairs of a province of France. In Canada, as in
+France, governors-general had only such powers as were expressly given
+them by the king, who, jealous of all authority in others, kept them
+rigidly in check. In those days the king was supreme; "I am the state,"
+said Louis Quatorze in the arrogance of his power; and it is thus easy
+to understand that there could be no such free government or
+representative institutions in Canada as were enjoyed from the very
+commencement of their history by the old English colonies.
+
+The governor had command of the militia and troops, and was nominally
+superior in authority to the intendant, but in the course of time the
+latter became virtually the most influential officer in the colony and
+even presided at the council-board. This official, who had the right to
+report directly to the king on colonial affairs, had large civil,
+commercial and maritime jurisdiction, and could issue ordinances which
+had full legal effect in the country. Associated with the governor and
+intendant was a council comprising in the first instance five, and
+eventually twelve, persons, chosen from the leading people of the
+colony. The change of name, from the "Supreme Council" to the "Superior
+Council," is of itself some evidence of the determination of the king to
+restrain the pretensions of all official bodies throughout the kingdom
+and its dependencies. This body exercised legislative and judicial
+powers. The bishop was one of its most important members, and the
+history of the colony is full of the quarrels that arose between him and
+the governor on points of official etiquette or with respect to more
+important matters affecting the government of the country.
+
+Protestantism was unknown in Canada under French rule, and the
+enterprise of the Huguenots was consequently lost to a country always
+suffering from a want of population. Even the merchants of La Rochelle,
+who traded with the country, found themselves invariably subject to
+restrictions which placed them at an enormous disadvantage in their
+competition with their Roman Catholic rivals. The Roman Catholic Church
+was all powerful at the council-board as well as in the parish. In the
+past as in the present century, a large Roman Catholic church rose, the
+most prominent building in every town and village, illustrating its
+dominating influence in the homes of every community of the province.
+The parishes were established at an early date for ecclesiastical
+purposes, and their extent was defined wherever necessary by the
+council at Quebec. They were practically territorial divisions for the
+administration of local affairs, and were conterminous, whenever
+practicable, with the seigniory. The cure, the seignior, the militia
+captain (often identical with the seignior), were the important
+functionaries in every parish. Even at the present time, when a
+canonical parish has been once formed by the proper ecclesiastical
+authority, it may be erected into a municipal or civil division after
+certain legal formalities by the government of the province. Tithes were
+first imposed by Bishop Laval, who practically established the basis of
+ecclesiastical authority in the province. It was only in church matters
+that the people had the right to meet and express their opinions, and
+even then the intendant alone could give the power of assembling for
+such purposes.
+
+The civil law of French Canada relating to "property," inheritance,
+marriage, and the personal or civil rights of the community generally,
+had its origin, like all similar systems, in the Roman law, on which
+were engrafted, in the course of centuries, those customs and usages
+which were adapted to the social conditions of France. The customary law
+of Paris became the fundamental law of French Canada, and despite the
+changes that it has necessarily undergone in the course of many years,
+its principles can still be traced throughout the present system as it
+has been modified under the influences of the British regime. The
+superior council of Canada gave judgment in civil and criminal cases
+according to the _coutume de Paris_, and below it there were inferior
+courts for the judicial districts of Quebec, Three Rivers and Montreal.
+The bishop had also special jurisdiction over ecclesiastical matters.
+The intendant had authority to deal with cases involving royal, or
+seigniorial, rights, and to call before him any case whatever for final
+review and judgment. In all cases appeals were allowable to the king
+himself, but the difficulty of communication with Europe in those days
+practically confined such references to a few special causes. The
+seigniors had also certain judicial or magisterial powers, but they
+never acted except in very trivial cases. Torture was sometimes applied
+to condemned felons as in France and other parts of the old world. On
+the whole justice appears to have been honestly and fairly administered.
+
+Parkman, in a terse sentence, sums up the conditions which fettered all
+Canadian trade and industry, "A system of authority, monopoly and
+exclusion in which the government, and not the individual, acted always
+the foremost part." Whether it was a question of ship-building, of a
+brewery or a tannery, of iron works or a new fishery, appeals must be
+made in the first instance to the king for aid; and the people were
+never taught to depend exclusively on their individual or associated
+enterprise. At the time of the conquest, and in fact for many years
+previously, the principal products of the country were beaver skins,
+timber, agricultural products, fish, fish oil, ginseng (for some years
+only), beer, cider, rug carpets, homespun cloths--made chiefly by the
+inmates of the religious houses--soap, potash, leather, stoves, tools
+and other iron manufactures--made in the St. Maurice forges--never a
+profitable industry, whether carried on by companies or the government
+itself. All these industries were fostered by the state, but, despite
+all the encouragement they received, the total value of the exports,
+principally furs, seal and other oils, lumber, peas, grain and ginseng
+never exceeded 3,500,000 francs, or about one-tenth of the export trade
+of the English colonies to Great Britain. Two-thirds of this amount
+represented beaver skins, the profits on which were very fluctuating, on
+account of the unwise regulations by which, the trade was constantly
+crippled. This business was heavily taxed to meet the necessities of
+colonial government, which were always heavy, and could never have been
+met had it not been for the liberality of the king. In the year 1755 the
+amount of all exports did not reach 2,500,000 francs, while the imports
+were valued at 8,000,000 francs. These imports represented wines,
+brandies, hardware and various luxuries, but the bulk was made up of the
+supplies required for the use of the military and civil authorities.
+The whole trade of the country was carried in about thirty sea-going
+vessels, none of them of heavy tonnage. The royal government attempted
+to stimulate ship-building in the country, and a few war vessels were
+actually built in the course of many years, though it does not appear
+that this industry was ever conducted with energy or enterprise. During
+the last fifty years of French rule, in all probability, not a hundred
+sea-going vessels were launched in the valley of the St. Lawrence.
+Duties of import, before 1748, were only imposed on wines, brandies, and
+Brazilian tobacco; but after the commencement of the war with England,
+the king found it necessary to establish export and import duties: a
+special exception was however made in favour of the produce of the farm,
+forest and sea, which were allowed to enter or go out free. The whole
+amount of duties raised in ordinary years did not reach above 300,000
+francs.
+
+In the closing years of French dominion the total population of Quebec,
+Montreal and Three Rivers, the only towns in the province, did not
+exceed 13,000 souls--about the population of Boston. Quebec alone had
+8000 inhabitants, Montreal 4000, and Three Rivers 1000. The architecture
+of these places was more remarkable for solidity than elegance or
+symmetry of proportions. The churches, religious and educational
+establishments, official buildings and residences--notably the
+intendant's palace at Quebec--were built of stone. The most pretentious
+edifice was the chateau of St. Louis--the residence of the
+governor-general--which was rebuilt by Count de Frontenac within the
+limits of the fort of St. Louis, first erected by Champlain on the
+historic height always associated with his name. The best buildings in
+the towns were generally of one story and constructed of stone. In the
+rural parishes, the villages, properly speaking, consisted of a church,
+presbytery, school, and tradesmen's houses, while the farms of the
+_habitants_ stretched on either side. The size and shape of the farms
+were governed by the form of the seigniories throughout the province. M.
+Bourdon, the first Canadian surveyor-general, originally mapped out the
+seigniories in oblong shapes with very narrow frontage along the
+river--a frontage of two or three _arpents_ against a depth of from
+forty to eighty _arpents_--and the same inconvenient oblong plan was
+followed in making sub-grants to the _censitaire_ or _habitant_. The
+result was a disfigurement of a large portion of the country, as the
+civil law governing the succession of estates gradually cut up all the
+seigniories into a number of small farms, each in the form of the
+parallelogram originally given to the seigniorial grants. The houses of
+the _habitants_, then as now, were generally built of logs or sawn
+lumber, all whitewashed, with thatched or wooden roofs projecting over
+the front so as to form a sort of porch or verandah. The farm-houses
+were generally close together, especially in the best cultivated and
+most thickly settled districts between Quebec and Montreal. Travellers,
+just before the Seven Years' War, tell us that the farms in that
+district appeared to be well cultivated on the whole, and the homes of
+the _habitants_ gave evidences of thrift and comfort. Some farmers had
+orchards from which cider was made, and patches of the coarse strong
+tobacco which they continue to use to this day, and which is now an
+important product of their province. Until the war the condition of the
+French Canadian _habitant_ was one of rude comfort. He could never
+become rich, in a country where there was no enterprise or trade which
+encouraged him to strenuous efforts to make and save money. Gold and
+silver were to him curiosities, and paper promises to pay, paper or card
+money, were widely circulated from early times, and were never for the
+most part redeemed, though the British authorities after the peace of
+1763 made every possible effort to induce the French government to
+discharge its obligations to the French Canadian people. The life of the
+_habitants_ in peaceful times was far easier and happier than that of
+the peasants of old France. They had few direct taxes to bear, except
+the tithes required for the support of the church and such small
+contributions as were necessary for local purposes. They were, however,
+liable to be called out at any moment for military duties and were
+subject to _corvees_ or forced labour for which they were never paid by
+the authorities.
+
+The outbreak of the Seven Years' War was a serious blow to a people who
+had at last surmounted the greatest difficulties of pioneer life, and
+attained a moderate degree of comfort. The demands upon the people
+capable of bearing arms were necessarily fatal to steady farming
+occupations; indeed, in the towns of Quebec and Montreal there was more
+than once an insufficiency of food for the garrisons, and horse-flesh
+had to be served out, to the great disgust of the soldiers who at first
+refused to take it. Had it not been for the opportune arrival of a ship
+laden with provisions in the spring of 1759, the government would have
+been unable to feed the army or the inhabitants of Quebec. The gravity
+of the situation was aggravated for years by the jobbery and corruption
+of the men who had the fate of the country largely in their hands. A few
+French merchants, and monopolists in league with corrupt officials,
+controlled the markets and robbed a long-suffering and too patient
+people. The names of Bigot, Pean, and other officials of the last years
+of French administration, are justly execrated by French Canadians as
+robbers of the state and people in the days when the country was on the
+verge of war, and Montcalm, a brave, incorruptible man, was fighting
+against tremendous odds to save this unfortunate country to which he
+gave up his own life in vain.
+
+So long as France governed Canada, education was entirely in the hands
+of the Roman Catholic Church. The Jesuits, Franciscans, and other
+religious orders, male and female, at an early date, commenced the
+establishment of those colleges and seminaries which have always had so
+important a share in the education of Lower Canada. The Jesuits founded
+a college at Quebec in 1635, or three years before the establishment of
+Harvard, and the Ursulines opened their convent in the same city four
+years later. Sister Bourgeoys of Troyes founded at Montreal in 1659 the
+Congregation de Notre-Dame for the education of girls of humble rank;
+the commencement of an institution which has now its buildings in many
+parts of Canada. In the latter part of the seventeenth century Bishop
+Laval carried out a project for providing education for Canadian priests
+drawn from the people of the country. Consequently, in addition to the
+great seminary at Quebec, there was the lesser seminary where boys were
+taught in the hope that they would take orders. In the inception of
+education the French endeavoured in more than one of their institutions
+to combine industrial pursuits with the ordinary branches of an
+elementary education. But all accounts of the days of the French regime
+go to show that, despite the zealous efforts of the religious bodies to
+improve the education of the colonists, secular instruction was at a
+very low ebb and hardly reached the seigniories. One writer tells us
+that "even the children of officers and gentlemen scarcely knew how to
+read and write; they were ignorant of the first elements of geography
+and history." Still, dull and devoid of intellectual life as was the
+life of the Canadian, he had his place of worship where he received a
+moral training which elevated him immeasurably above the peasantry of
+England as well as of his old home. The clergy of Lower Canada
+confessedly did their best to relieve the ignorance of the people, but
+they were naturally unable to accomplish, by themselves, a task which
+properly devolved on the governing class. Under the French regime in
+Canada the civil authorities were as little anxious to enlighten the
+people by the establishment of public or common schools as they were to
+give them a voice in the government of the country.
+
+Evidence of some culture and intellectual aspirations in social circles
+of the ancient capital attracted the surprise of travellers who visited
+the country before the close of the French dominion. "Science and the
+fine arts," wrote Charlevoix, in 1744, "have their turn and conversation
+does not fail. The Canadians breathe from their birth an air of liberty,
+which makes them very pleasant in the intercourse of life, and our
+language is nowhere more purely spoken." La Gallissoniere, a highly
+cultured governor, spared no effort to encourage a sympathetic study of
+scientific pursuits. Dr. Michel Sarrasin, who was a practising physician
+in Quebec for nearly half a century, devoted himself most assiduously to
+the natural history of the colony, and made some valuable contributions
+to the French Academy. The Swedish botanist, Peter Kalm, was impressed
+with the liking for scientific study which he observed in the French
+colony. But such intellectual culture, as Kalm and Charlevoix mentioned,
+never showed itself beyond the walls of Quebec or Montreal. The
+province, as a whole, was in a state of mental sluggishness at the time
+of the conquest by England, under whose benign influence the French
+Canadian people were now to enter on a new career of political and
+intellectual development.
+
+Pitt and Wolfe must take a high place among the makers of the Dominion
+of Canada. It was they who gave relief to French Canada from the
+absolutism of old France, and started her in a career of self-government
+and political liberty. When the great procession passed before the Queen
+of England on the day of the "Diamond Jubilee"--when delegates from all
+parts of a mighty, world-embracing empire gave her their loyal and
+heartfelt homage--Canada was represented by a Prime Minister who
+belonged to that race which has steadily gained in intellectual
+strength, political freedom, and material prosperity, since the
+memorable events of 1759 and 1760. In that imperial procession nearly
+half the American Continent was represented--Acadia and Canada first
+settled by France, the north-west prairies first traversed by French
+Canadian adventurers, the Pacific coast first seen by Cook and
+Vancouver. There, too, marched men from Bengal, Madras, Bombay,
+Jeypore, Haidarabad, Kashmir, Punjaub, from all sections of that great
+empire of India which was won for England by Clive and the men who, like
+Wolfe, became famous for their achievements in the days of Pitt. Perhaps
+there were in that imperial pageant some Canadians whose thoughts
+wandered from the Present to the Past, and recalled the memory of that
+illustrious statesman and of all he did for Canada and England, when
+they stood in Westminster Abbey, and looked on his expressive effigy,
+which, in the eloquent language of a great English historian, "seems
+still, with eagle face and outstretched arm, to bid England be of good
+cheer and to hurl defiance at her foes."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+BEGINNINGS OF BRITISH RULE. 1760-1774.
+
+
+SECTION I.--From the Conquest until the Quebec Act.
+
+For nearly four years after the surrender of Vaudreuil at Montreal,
+Canada was under a government of military men, whose headquarters were
+at Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal--the capitals of the old French
+districts of the same name. General Murray and the other commanders
+laboured to be just and considerate in all their relations with the new
+subjects of the Crown, who were permitted to prosecute their ordinary
+pursuits without the least interference on the part of the conquerors.
+The conditions of the capitulations of Quebec and Montreal, which
+allowed the free exercise of the Roman Catholic religion, were
+honourably kept. All that was required then, and for many years later,
+was that the priests and cures should confine themselves exclusively to
+their parochial duties, and not take part in public matters. It had been
+also stipulated at Montreal that the communities of nuns should not be
+disturbed in their convents; and while the same privileges were not
+granted by the articles of capitulation to the Jesuits, Recollets, and
+Sulpitians, they had every facility given to them to dispose of their
+property and remove to France. As a matter of fact there was practically
+no interference with any of the religious fraternities during the early
+years of British rule; and when in the course of time the Jesuits
+disappeared entirely from the country their estates passed by law into
+the possession of the government for the use of the people, while the
+Sulpitians were eventually allowed to continue their work and develope
+property which became of great value on the island of Montreal. (The
+French merchants and traders were allowed all the commercial and trading
+privileges that were enjoyed by the old subjects of the British
+Sovereign, not only in the valley of the St. Lawrence, but in the rich
+fur regions of the West and North-West.) The articles of capitulation
+did not give any guarantees or pledges for the continuance of the civil
+law under which French Canada had been governed for over a century, but
+while that was one of the questions dependent on the ultimate fate of
+Canada, the British military rulers took every possible care during the
+continuance of the military regime to respect so far as possible the old
+customs and laws by which the people had been previously governed.
+French writers of those days admit the generosity and justice of the
+administration of affairs during this military regime.
+
+The treaty of Paris, signed on the 10th February, 1763, formally ceded
+to England Canada as well as Acadia, with all their dependencies. The
+French Canadians were allowed full liberty "to profess the worship of
+their religion according to the rites of the Romish Church, as far as
+the laws of Great Britain permit." The people had permission to retire
+from Canada with all their effects within eighteen months from the date
+of the ratification of the treaty. All the evidence before us goes to
+show that only a few officials and seigniors ever availed themselves of
+this permission to leave the country. At this time there was not a
+single French settlement beyond Vaudreuil until the traveller reached
+the banks of the Detroit between Lakes Erie and Huron. A chain of forts
+and posts connected Montreal with the basin of the great lakes and the
+country watered by the Ohio, Illinois, and other tributaries of the
+Mississippi. The forts on the Niagara, at Detroit, at Michillimackinac,
+at Great Bay, on the Maumee and Wabash, at Presqu' isle, at the junction
+of French Creek with the Alleghany, at the forks of the Ohio, and at
+less important localities in the West and South-West, were held by small
+English garrisons, while the French still occupied Vincennes on the
+Wabash and Chartres on the Mississippi, in the vicinity of the French
+settlements at Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and the present site of St. Louis.
+
+Soon after the fall of Montreal, French traders from New Orleans and the
+French settlements on the Mississippi commenced to foment disaffection
+among the western Indians, who had strong sympathy with France, and were
+quite ready to believe the story that she would ere long regain Canada.
+The consequence was the rising of all the western tribes under the
+leadership of Pontiac, the principal chief of the Ottawas, whose
+warriors surrounded and besieged Detroit when he failed to capture it by
+a trick. Niagara was never attacked, and Detroit itself was successfully
+defended by Major Gladwin, a fearless soldier; but all the other forts
+and posts very soon fell into the hands of the Indians, who massacred
+the garrisons in several places. They also ravaged the border
+settlements of Pennsylvania and Virginia, and carried off a number of
+women and children to their wigwams. Fort Pitt at the confluence of the
+Alleghany and the Monongahela rivers--the site of the present city of
+Pittsburg--was in serious peril for a time, until Colonel Bouquet, a
+brave and skilful officer, won a signal victory over the Indians, who
+fled in dismay to their forest fastnesses. Pontiac failed to capture
+Detroit, and Bouquet followed up his first success by a direct march
+into the country of the Shawnees, Mingoes and Delawares, and forced them
+to agree to stern conditions of peace on the banks of the Muskingum. The
+power of the western Indians was broken for the time, and the British in
+1765 took possession of the French forts of Chartres and Vincennes, when
+the _fleur-de-lys_ disappeared for ever from the valley of the
+Mississippi. The French settlers on the Illinois and the Mississippi
+preferred to remain under British rule rather than cross the great river
+and become subjects of Spain, to whom Western Louisiana had been ceded
+by France. From this time forward France ceased to be an influential
+factor in the affairs of Canada or New France, and the Indian tribes
+recognized the fact that they could no longer expect any favour or aid
+from their old ally. They therefore transferred their friendship to
+England, whose power they had felt in the Ohio valley, and whose policy
+was now framed with a special regard to their just treatment.
+
+This Indian war was still in progress when King George III issued his
+proclamation for the temporary government of his new dependencies in
+North America. As a matter of fact, though the proclamation was issued
+in England on the 7th October, 1763, it did not reach Canada and come
+into effect until the 10th August, 1764. The four governments of Quebec,
+Grenada, East Florida, and West Florida were established in the
+territories ceded by France and Spain. The eastern limit of the province
+of Quebec did not extend beyond St. John's River at the mouth of the St.
+Lawrence, nearly opposite to Anticosti, while that island itself and the
+Labrador country, east of the St. John's as far as the Straits of
+Hudson, were placed under the jurisdiction of Newfoundland. The islands
+of Cape Breton and St. John, now Prince Edward, became subject to the
+Government of Nova Scotia, which then included the present province of
+New Brunswick. The northern limit of the province did not extend beyond
+the territory known as Rupert's Land under the charter given to the
+Hudson's Bay Company in 1670, while the western boundary was drawn
+obliquely from Lake Nipissing as far as Lake St. Francis on the St.
+Lawrence; the southern boundary then followed line 45 deg. across the upper
+part of Lake Champlain, whence it passed along the highlands which
+divide the rivers that empty themselves into the St. Lawrence from those
+that flow into the sea--an absurdly defined boundary since it gave to
+Canada as far as Cape Rosier on the Gaspe peninsula a territory only a
+few miles wide. No provision whatever was made in the proclamation for
+the government of the country west of the Appalachian range, which was
+claimed by Pennsylvania, Virginia, and other colonies under the
+indefinite terms of their original charters, which practically gave
+them no western limits. Consequently the proclamation was regarded with
+much disfavour by the English colonists on the Atlantic coast. No
+provision was even made for the great territory which extended beyond
+Nipissing as far as the Mississippi and included the basin of the great
+lakes. It is easy to form the conclusion that the intention of the
+British government was to restrain the ambition of the old English
+colonies east of the Appalachian range, and to divide the immense
+territory to their north-west at some future and convenient time into
+several distinct and independent governments. No doubt the British
+government also found it expedient for the time being to keep the
+control of the fur-trade so far as possible in its own hands, and in
+order to achieve this object it was necessary in the first place to
+conciliate the Indian tribes, and not allow them to come in any way
+under the jurisdiction of the chartered colonies. The proclamation
+itself, in fact, laid down entirely new, and certainly equitable,
+methods of dealing with the Indians within the limits of British
+sovereignty. The governors of the old colonies were expressly forbidden
+to grant authority to survey lands beyond the settled territorial limits
+of their respective governments. No person was allowed to purchase land
+directly from the Indians. The government itself thenceforth could alone
+give a legal title to Indian lands, which must, in the first place, be
+secured by treaty with the tribes that claimed to own them. This was the
+beginning of that honest policy which has distinguished the relations of
+England and Canada with the Indian nations for over a hundred years, and
+which has obtained for the present Dominion the confidence and
+friendship of the many thousand Indians, who roamed for many centuries
+in Rupert's Land and in the Indian Territories where the Hudson's Bay
+Company long enjoyed exclusive privileges of trade.
+
+The language of the proclamation with respect to the government of the
+province of Quebec was extremely unsatisfactory. It was ordered that so
+soon as the state and circumstances of the colony admitted, the
+governor-general could with the advice and consent of the members of the
+council summon a general assembly, "in such manner and form as is used
+and directed in those colonies and provinces in America which are under
+our immediate government." Laws could be made by the governor, council,
+and representatives of the people for the good government of the colony,
+"as near as may be agreeable to the laws of England, and under such
+regulations and restrictions as are used in other colonies." Until such
+an assembly could be called, the governor could with the advice of his
+council constitute courts for the trial and determination of all civil
+and criminal cases, "according to law and equity, and as near as may be
+agreeable to the laws of England," with liberty to appeal, in all civil
+cases, to the privy council of England. General Murray, who had been in
+the province since the battle on the Plains of Abraham, was appointed to
+administer the government. Any persons elected to serve in an assembly
+were required, by his commission and instructions, before they could sit
+and vote, to take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, and subscribe a
+declaration against transubstantiation, the adoration of the Virgin, and
+the Sacrifice of the Mass.
+
+This proclamation--in reality a mere temporary expedient to give time
+for considering the whole state of the colony--was calculated to do
+infinite harm, since its principal importance lay in the fact that it
+attempted to establish English civil as well as criminal law, and at the
+same time required oaths which effectively prevented the French
+Canadians from serving in the very assembly which it professed a desire
+on the part of the king to establish. The English-speaking or Protestant
+people in the colony did not number in 1764 more than three hundred
+persons, of little or no standing, and it was impossible to place all
+power in their hands and to ignore nearly seventy thousand French
+Canadian Roman Catholics. Happily the governor, General Murray, was not
+only an able soldier, as his defence of Quebec against Levis had
+proved, but also a man of statesmanlike ideas, animated by a high sense
+of duty and a sincere desire to do justice to the foreign people
+committed to his care. He refused to lend himself to the designs of the
+insignificant British minority, chiefly from the New England colonies,
+or to be guided by their advice in carrying on his government. His
+difficulties were lessened by the fact that the French had no conception
+of representative institutions in the English sense, and were quite
+content with any system of government that left them their language,
+religion, and civil law without interference. The stipulations of the
+capitulations of 1759-1760, and of the treaty of Paris, with respect to
+the free exercise of the Roman Catholic religion, were always observed
+in a spirit of great fairness: and in 1766 Monseigneur Briand was
+chosen, with the governor's approval, Roman Catholic bishop of Quebec.
+He was consecrated at Paris after his election by the chapter of Quebec,
+and it does not appear that his recognition ever became the subject of
+parliamentary discussion. This policy did much to reconcile the French
+Canadians to their new rulers, and to make them believe that eventually
+they would receive full consideration in other essential respects.
+
+For ten years the government of Canada was in a very unsatisfactory
+condition, while the British ministry was all the while worried with the
+condition of things in the old colonies, then in a revolutionary
+ferment. The Protestant minority continued to clamour for an assembly,
+and a mixed system of French and English law, in case it was not
+possible to establish the latter in its entirety. Attorney-General
+Maseres, an able lawyer and constitutional writer, was in favour of a
+mixed system, but his views were notably influenced by his strong
+prejudices against Roman Catholics. The administration of the law was
+extremely confused until 1774, not only on account of the ignorance and
+incapacity of the men first sent out from England to preside over the
+courts, but also as a consequence of the steady determination of the
+majority of French Canadians to ignore laws to which they had naturally
+an insuperable objection. In fact, the condition of things became
+practically chaotic. It might have been much worse had not General
+Murray, at first, and Sir Guy Carleton, at a later time, endeavoured, so
+far as lay in their power, to mitigate the hardships to which the people
+were subject by being forced to observe laws of which they were entirely
+ignorant.
+
+At this time the governor-general was advised by an executive council,
+composed of officials and some other persons chosen from the small
+Protestant minority of the province. Only one French Canadian appears to
+have been ever admitted to this executive body. The English residents
+ignored the French as far as possible, and made the most unwarrantable
+claims to rule the whole province.
+
+A close study of official documents from 1764 until 1774 goes to show
+that all this while the British government was influenced by an anxious
+desire to show every justice to French Canada, and to adopt a system of
+government most conducive to its best interests In 1767 Lord Shelburne
+wrote to Sir Guy Carleton that "the improvement of the civil
+constitution of the province was under their most serious
+consideration." They were desirous of obtaining all information "which
+can tend to elucidate how far it is practicable and expedient to blend
+the English with the French laws, in order to form such a system as
+shall be at once equitable and convenient for His Majesty's old and new
+subjects." From time to time the points at issue were referred to the
+law officers of the crown for their opinion, so anxious was the
+government to come to a just conclusion. Attorney-General Yorke and
+Solicitor-General De Grey in 1766 severely condemned any system that
+would permanently "impose new, unnecessary and arbitrary rules
+(especially as to the titles of land, and the mode of descent,
+alienation and settlement), which would tend to confound and subvert
+rights instead of supporting them." In 1772 and 1773 Attorney-General
+Thurlow and Solicitor-General Wedderburne dwelt on the necessity of
+dealing on principles of justice with the province of Quebec. The French
+Canadians, said the former, "seem to have been strictly entitled by the
+_jus gentium_ to their property, as they possessed it upon the
+capitulation and treaty of peace, together with all its qualities and
+incidents by tenure or otherwise." It seemed a necessary consequence
+that all those laws by which that property was created, defined, and
+secured, must be continued to them. The Advocate-General Marriott, in
+1773, also made a number of valuable suggestions in the same spirit, and
+at the same time expressed the opinion that under the existent
+conditions of the country it was not possible or expedient to call an
+assembly. Before the imperial government came to a positive conclusion
+on the vexed questions before it, they had the advantage of the wise
+experience of Sir Guy Carleton, who visited England and remained there
+for some time. The result of the deliberation of years was the passage
+through the British parliament of the measure known as "The Quebec Act,"
+which has always been considered the charter of the special privileges
+which the French Canadians have enjoyed ever since, and which, in the
+course of a century, made their province one of the most influential
+sections of British North America.
+
+The preamble of the Quebec Act fixed new territorial limits for the
+province. It comprised not only the country affected by the proclamation
+of 1763, but also all the eastern territory which had been previously
+annexed to Newfoundland. In the west and south-west the province was
+extended to the Ohio and the Mississippi, and in fact embraced all the
+lands beyond the Alleghanies coveted and claimed by the old English
+colonies, now hemmed in between the Atlantic and the Appalachian range.
+It was now expressly enacted that the Roman Catholic inhabitants of
+Canada should thenceforth "enjoy the free exercise" of their religion,
+"subject to the king's supremacy declared and established" by law, and
+on condition of taking an oath of allegiance, set forth in the act. The
+Roman Catholic clergy were allowed "to hold, receive, and enjoy their
+accustomed dues and rights, with respect to such persons only as shall
+confess the said religion"--that is, one twenty-sixth part of the
+produce of the land, Protestants being specially exempted. The French
+Canadians were allowed to enjoy all their property, together with all
+customs and usages incident thereto, "in as large, ample and beneficial
+manner," as if the proclamation or other acts of the crown "had not been
+made", but the religious orders and communities were excepted in
+accordance with the terms of the capitulation of Montreal--the effect of
+which exception I have already briefly stated. In "all matters of
+controversy relative to property and civil rights," resort was to be had
+to the old civil law of French Canada "as the rule for the decision of
+the same", but the criminal law of England was extended to the province
+on the indisputable ground that its "certainty and lenity" were already
+"sensibly felt by the inhabitants from an experience of more than nine
+years." The government of the province was entrusted to a governor and a
+legislative council appointed by the crown, "inasmuch as it was
+inexpedient to call an assembly." The council was to be composed of not
+more than twenty-three residents of the province. At the same time the
+British parliament made special enactments for the imposition of certain
+customs duties "towards defraying the charges of the administration of
+justice and the support of the civil government of the province." All
+deficiencies in the revenues derived from these and other sources had to
+be supplied by the imperial treasury. During the passage of the act
+through parliament, it evoked the bitter hostility of Lord Chatham, who
+was then the self-constituted champion of the old colonies, who found
+the act most objectionable, not only because it established the Roman
+Catholic religion, but placed under the government of Quebec the rich
+territory west of the Alleghanies. Similar views were expressed by the
+Mayor and Council of London, but they had no effect. The king, in giving
+his assent, declared that the measure "was founded on the clearest
+principles of justice and humanity, and would have the best effect in
+quieting the minds and promoting the happiness of our Canadian
+subjects." In French Canada the act was received without any popular
+demonstration by the French Canadians, but the men to whom the great
+body of that people always looked for advice and guidance--the priests,
+cures, and seigniors--naturally regarded these concessions to their
+nationality as giving most unquestionable evidence of the considerate
+and liberal spirit in which the British government was determined to
+rule the province. They had had ever since the conquest satisfactory
+proof that their religion was secure from all interference, and now the
+British parliament itself came forward with legal guarantees, not only
+for the free exercise of that religion, with all its incidents and
+tithes, but also for the permanent establishment of the civil law to
+which they attached so much importance. The fact that no provision was
+made for a popular assembly could not possibly offend a people to whom
+local self-government in any form was entirely unknown. It was
+impossible to constitute an assembly from the few hundred Protestants
+who were living in Montreal and Quebec, and it was equally impossible,
+in view of the religious prejudices dominant in England and the English
+colonies, to give eighty thousand French Canadian Roman Catholics
+privileges which their co-religionists did not enjoy in Great Britain
+and to allow them to sit in an elected assembly. Lord North seemed to
+voice the general opinion of the British parliament on this difficult
+subject, when he closed the debate with an expression of "the earnest
+hope that the Canadians will, in the course of time, enjoy as much of
+our laws and as much of our constitution as may be beneficial to that
+country and safe for this", but "that time," he concluded, "had not yet
+come." It does not appear from the evidence before us that the British
+had any other motive in passing the Quebec Act than to do justice to
+the French Canadian people, now subjects of the crown of England. It was
+not a measure primarily intended to check the growth of popular
+institutions, but solely framed to meet the actual conditions of a
+people entirely unaccustomed to the working of representative or popular
+institutions. It was a preliminary step in the development of
+self-government.
+
+On the other hand the act was received with loud expressions of
+dissatisfaction by the small English minority who had hoped to see
+themselves paramount in the government of the province. In Montreal, the
+headquarters of the disaffected, an attempt was made to set fire to the
+town, and the king's bust was set up in one of the public squares,
+daubed with black, and decorated with a necklace made of potatoes, and
+bearing the inscription _Voila le pape du Canada & le sot Anglais_. The
+author of this outrage was never discovered, and all the influential
+French Canadian inhabitants of the community were deeply incensed that
+their language should have been used to insult a king whose only offence
+was his assent to a measure of justice to themselves.
+
+Sir Guy Carleton, who had been absent in England for four years,
+returned to Canada on the 18th September, 1774, and was well received in
+Quebec. The first legislative council under the Quebec Act was not
+appointed until the beginning of August, 1775. Of the twenty-two members
+who composed it, eight were influential French Canadians bearing
+historic names. The council met on the 17th August, but was forced to
+adjourn on the 7th September, on account of the invasion of Canada by
+the troops of the Continental Congress, composed of representatives of
+the rebellious element of the Thirteen Colonies. In a later chapter I
+shall very shortly review the effects of the American revolution upon
+the people of Canada; but before I proceed to do so it is necessary to
+take my readers first to Nova Scotia on the eastern seaboard of British
+North America and give a brief summary of its political development
+from the beginning of British rule.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--The foundation of Nova Scotia (1749--1783).
+
+The foundation of Halifax practically put an end to the Acadian period
+of Nova Scotian settlement. Until that time the English occupation of
+the country was merely nominal. Owing largely to the representations of
+Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts--a statesman of considerable ability,
+who distinguished himself in American affairs during a most critical
+period of colonial history--the British government decided at last on a
+vigorous policy in the province, which seemed more than once on the
+point of passing out of their hands. Halifax was founded by the
+Honourable Edward Cornwallis on the slope of a hill, whose woods then
+dipped their branches into the very waters of the noble harbour long
+known as Chebuctou, and renamed in honour of a distinguished member of
+the Montague family, who had in those days full control of the
+administration of colonial affairs.
+
+Colonel Cornwallis, a son of the Baron of that name--a man of firmness
+and discretion--entered the harbour, on the 21st of June, old style, or
+2nd July present style, and soon afterwards assumed his, duties as
+governor of the province. The members of his first council were sworn in
+on board one of the transports in the harbour. Between 2000 and 3000
+persons were brought at this time to settle the town and country. These
+people were chiefly made up of retired military and naval officers,
+soldiers and sailors, gentlemen, mechanics, farmers--far too few--and
+some Swiss, who were extremely industrious and useful. On the whole,
+they were not the best colonists to build up a prosperous industrial
+community. The government gave the settlers large inducements in the
+shape of free grants of land, and practically supported them for the
+first two or three years. It was not until the Acadian population were
+removed, and their lands were available, that the foundation of the
+agricultural prosperity of the peninsula was really laid. In the summer
+of 1753 a considerable number of Germans were placed in the present
+county of Lunenburg, where their descendants still prosper, and take a
+most active part in all the occupations of life.
+
+With the disappearance of the French Acadian settlers Nova Scotia became
+a British colony in the full sense of the phrase. The settlement of 1749
+was supplemented in 1760, and subsequent years, by a valuable and large
+addition of people who were induced to leave Massachusetts and other
+colonies of New England and settle in townships of the present counties
+of Annapolis, King's, Hants, Queen's, Yarmouth, Cumberland, and
+Colchester, especially in the beautiful townships of Cornwallis and
+Horton, where the Acadian meadows were the richest. A small number also
+settled at Maugerville and other places on the St. John River.
+
+During the few years that had elapsed since the Acadians were driven
+from their lands, the sea had once more found its way through the ruined
+dykes, which had no longer the skilful attention of their old builders.
+The new owners of the Acadian lands had none of the special knowledge
+that the French had acquired, and were unable for years to keep back the
+ever-encroaching tides. Still there were some rich uplands and low-lying
+meadows, raised above the sea, which richly rewarded the industrious
+cultivator. The historian, Haliburton, describes the melancholy scene
+that met the eyes of the new settlers when they reached, in 1760, the
+old homes of the Acadians at Mines. They came across a few straggling
+families of Acadians who "had eaten no bread for years, and had
+subsisted on vegetables, fish, and the more hardy part of the cattle
+that had survived the severity of the first winter of their
+abandonment." They saw everywhere "ruins of the houses that had been
+burned by the Provincials, small gardens encircled by cherry-trees and
+currant-bushes, and clumps of apple-trees." In all parts of the country,
+where the new colonists established themselves, the Indians were
+unfriendly for years, and it was necessary to erect stockaded houses for
+the protection of the settlements.
+
+No better class probably could have been selected to settle Nova Scotia
+than these American immigrants. The majority were descendants of the
+Puritans who settled in New England, and some were actually sprung from
+men and women who had landed from "The Mayflower" in 1620. Governor
+Lawrence recognized the necessity of having a sturdy class of settlers,
+accustomed to the climatic conditions and to agricultural labour in
+America, and it was through his strenuous efforts that these immigrants
+were brought into the province. They had, indeed, the choice of the best
+land of the province, and everything was made as pleasant as possible
+for them by a paternal government, only anxious to establish British
+authority on a sound basis of industrial development.
+
+In 1767, according to an official return in the archives of Nova Scotia,
+the total population of what are now the provinces of Nova Scotia, New
+Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, reached 13,374 souls; of whom 6913
+are given as Americans, 912 as English, 2165 as Irish, 1946 as Germans,
+and 1265 as Acadian French, the latter being probably a low estimate.
+Some of these Irish emigrated directly from the north of Ireland, and
+were Presbyterians. They were brought out by one Alexander McNutt, who
+did much for the work of early colonization; others came from New
+Hampshire, where they had been settled for some years. The name of
+Londonderry in New Hampshire is a memorial of this important class, just
+as the same name recalls them in the present county of Colchester, in
+Nova Scotia.
+
+The Scottish immigration, which has exercised such an important
+influence on the eastern counties of Nova Scotia--and I include Cape
+Breton--commenced in 1772, when about thirty families arrived from
+Scotland and settled in the present county of Pictou, where a very few
+American colonists from Philadelphia had preceded them. In later years a
+steady tide of Scotch population flowed into eastern Nova Scotia and did
+not cease until 1820. Gaelic is still the dominant tongue in the eastern
+counties, where we find numerous names recalling the glens, lochs, and
+mountains of old Scotland. Sir William Alexander's dream of a new
+Scotland has been realised in a measure in the province where his
+ambition would have made him "lord paramount."
+
+Until the foundation of Halifax the government of Nova Scotia was vested
+solely in a governor who had command of the garrison stationed at
+Annapolis. In 1719 a commission was issued to Governor Phillips, who was
+authorised to appoint a council of not less than twelve persons. This
+council had advisory and judicial functions, but its legislative
+authority was of a very limited scope. This provisional system of
+government lasted until 1749, when Halifax became the seat of the new
+administration of public affairs. The governor had a right to appoint a
+council of twelve persons--as we have already seen, he did so
+immediately--and to summon a general assembly "according to the usage of
+the rest of our colonies and plantations in America." He was, "with the
+advice and consent" of the council and assembly, "to make, constitute
+and ordain laws" for the good government of the province. During nine
+years the governor-in-council carried on the government without an
+assembly, and passed a number of ordinances, some of which imposed
+duties on trade for the purpose of raising revenue. The legality of
+their acts was questioned by Chief Justice Belcher, and he was sustained
+by the opinion of the English law officers, who called attention to the
+governor's commission, which limited the council's powers. The result of
+this decision was the establishment of a representative assembly, which
+met for the first time at Halifax on the 2nd October, 1758.
+
+Governor Lawrence, whose name will be always unhappily associated with
+the merciless expatriation of the French Acadians, had the honour of
+opening the first legislative assembly of Nova Scotia in 1758. One
+Robert Sanderson, of whom we know nothing else, was chosen as the first
+speaker, but he held his office for only one session, and was succeeded
+by William Nesbitt, who presided over the house for many years. The
+first sittings of the legislature were held in the court house, and
+subsequently in the old grammar school at the corner of Barrington and
+Sackville Streets, for very many years one of the historic memorials of
+the Halifax of the eighteenth century.
+
+At this time the present province of New Brunswick was for the most part
+comprised in a county known as Sunbury, with one representative in the
+assembly of Nova Scotia. The island of Cape Breton also formed a part of
+the province, and had the right to send two members to the assembly, but
+the only election held for that purpose was declared void on account of
+there not being any freeholders entitled by law to vote. The island of
+St. John, named Prince Edward in 1798, in honour of the Duke of Kent,
+who was commander-in-chief of the British forces for some years in North
+America, was also annexed to Nova Scotia in 1763, but it never sent
+representatives to its legislature. In the following year a survey was
+commenced of all the imperial dominions on the Atlantic. Various schemes
+for the cultivation and settlement of the island were proposed as soon
+as the surveys were in progress. The most notable suggestion was made by
+the Earl of Egmont, first lord of the admiralty; he proposed the
+division of the island into baronies, each with a castle or stronghold
+under a feudal lord, subject to himself as lord paramount, under the
+customs of the feudal system of Europe. The imperial authorities
+rejected this scheme, but at the same time they adopted one which was as
+unwise as that of the noble earl. The whole island, with the exception
+of certain small reservations and royalties, was given away by lottery
+in a single day to officers of the army and navy who had served in the
+preceding war, and to other persons who were ambitious to be great
+landowners, on the easy condition of paying certain quit-rents--a
+condition constantly broken. This ill-advised measure led to many
+troublesome complications for a hundred years, until at last they were
+removed by the terms of the arrangement which brought the island into
+the federal union of British North America in 1873. In 1769 the island
+was separated from Nova Scotia and granted a distinct government,
+although its total population at the time did not exceed one hundred and
+fifty families. An assembly of eighteen representatives was called so
+early as 1773, when the first governor, Captain Walter Paterson, still
+administered public affairs. The assembly was not allowed to meet with
+regularity during many years of the early history of the island. During
+one administration it was practically without parliamentary government
+for ten years. The land question always dominated public affairs in the
+island for a hundred years.
+
+From the very beginning of a regular system of government in Nova Scotia
+the legislature appears to have practically controlled the
+administration of local affairs except so far as it gave, from time to
+time, powers to the courts of quarter sessions to regulate taxation and
+carry out certain small public works and improvements. In the first
+session of the legislature a joint committee of the council and assembly
+chose the town officers for Halifax. We have abundant evidence that at
+this time the authorities viewed with disfavour any attempt to establish
+a system of town government similar to that so long in operation in New
+England. The town meeting was considered the nursery of sedition in New
+England, and it is no wonder that the British authorities in Halifax
+frowned upon all attempts to reproduce it in their province.
+
+Soon after his arrival in Nova Scotia, Governor Cornwallis established
+courts of law to try and determine civil and criminal cases in
+accordance with the laws of England. In 1774 there were in the province
+courts of general session, similar to the courts of the same name in
+England; courts of common pleas, formed on the practice of New England
+and the mother country, and a supreme court, court of assize and general
+gaol delivery, composed of a chief justice and two assistant judges. The
+governor-in-council constituted a court of error in certain cases, and
+from its decisions an appeal could be made to the king-in-council.
+Justices of peace were also appointed in the counties and townships,
+with jurisdiction over the collection of small debts.
+
+We must now leave the province of Nova Scotia and follow the
+revolutionary movement, which commenced, soon after the signing of the
+Treaty of Paris, in the old British colonies on the Atlantic seaboard,
+and ended in the acknowledgement of their independence in 1783, and in
+the forced migration of a large body of loyal people who found their way
+to the British provinces.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS (1763--1784).
+
+
+SECTION I.--The successful Revolution of the Thirteen Colonies in
+America.
+
+When Canada was formally ceded to Great Britain the Thirteen Colonies
+were relieved from the menace of the presence of France in the valleys
+of the St. Lawrence, the Ohio, and the Mississippi. Nowhere were there
+more rejoicings on account of this auspicious event than in the homes of
+the democratic Puritans. The names of Pitt and Wolfe were honoured above
+all others of their countrymen, and no one in England, certainly not
+among its statesmen, imagined that in the colonies, which stretched from
+the river Penobscot to the peninsula of Florida, there was latent a
+spirit of independence which might at any moment threaten the rule of
+Great Britain on the American continent. The great expenses of the Seven
+Years' War were now pressing heavily on the British taxpayer. British
+statesmen were forced to consider how best they could make the colonies
+themselves contribute towards their own protection in the future, and
+relieve Great Britain in some measure from the serious burden which
+their defence had heretofore imposed on her. In those days colonies were
+considered as so many possessions to be used for the commercial
+advantage of the parent state. Their commerce and industries had been
+fettered for many years by acts of parliament which were intended to
+give Great Britain a monopoly of their trade and at the same time
+prevent them from manufacturing any article that they could buy from the
+British factories. As a matter of fact, however, these restrictive
+measures of imperial protection had been for a long time practically
+dead-letters. The merchants and seamen of New England carried on
+smuggling with the French and Spanish Indies with impunity, and
+practically traded where they pleased.
+
+The stamp act was only evidence of a vigorous colonial policy, which was
+to make the people of the colonies contribute directly to their own
+defence and security, and at the same time enforce the navigation laws
+and acts of trade and put an end to the general system of smuggling by
+which men, some of the best known merchants of Boston, had acquired a
+fortune. George Grenville, who was responsible for the rigid enforcement
+of the navigation laws and the stamp act, had none of that worldly
+wisdom which Sir Robert Walpole showed when, years before, it was
+proposed to him to tax the colonies. "No," said that astute politician,
+"I have old England set against me already, and do you think I will have
+New England likewise?" But Grenville and his successors, in attempting
+to carry out a new colonial policy, entirely misunderstood the
+conditions and feelings of the colonial communities affected and raised
+a storm of indignation which eventually led to independence. The stamp
+act was in itself an equitable measure, the proceeds of which were to be
+exclusively used for the benefit of the colonies themselves; but its
+enactment was most unfortunate at a time when the influential classes in
+New England were deeply irritated at the enforcement of a policy which
+was to stop the illicit trade from which they had so largely profited in
+the past. The popular indignation, however, vented itself against the
+stamp act, which imposed internal taxation, was declared to be in direct
+violation of the principles of political liberty and self-government
+long enjoyed by the colonists as British subjects, and was repealed as a
+result of the violent opposition it met in the colonies. Parliament
+contented itself with a statutory declaration of its supremacy in all
+matters over every part of the empire; but not long afterwards the
+determination of some English statesmen to bring the colonies as far as
+practicable directly under the dominion of British law in all matters of
+commerce and taxation, and to control their government as far as
+possible, found full expression in the Townshend acts of 1767 which
+imposed port duties on a few commodities, including tea, imported into
+those countries. At the same time provision was made for the due
+execution of existing laws relating to trade. The province of New York
+was punished for openly refusing to obey an act of parliament which
+required the authorities to furnish the British troops with the
+necessaries of life. Writs of assistance, which allowed officials to
+search everywhere for smuggled goods, were duly legalised. These writs
+were the logical sequence of a rigid enforcement of the laws of trade
+and navigation, and had been vehemently denounced by James Otis, so far
+back as 1761, as not only irreconcilable with the colonial charters, but
+as inconsistent with those natural rights which a people "derived from
+nature and the Author of nature"--an assertion which obtained great
+prominence for the speaker. This bold expression of opinion in
+Massachusetts should be studied by the historian of those times in
+connection with the equally emphatic revolutionary argument advanced by
+Patrick Henry of Virginia, two years later, against the ecclesiastical
+supremacy of the Anglican clergy and the right of the king to veto
+legislation of the colony. Though the prerogative of the crown was thus
+directly called into question in a Virginia court, the British
+government did not take a determined stand on the undoubted rights of
+the crown in the case. English statesmen and lawyers probably regarded
+such arguments, if they paid any attention to them at all in days when
+they neglected colonial opinion, as only temporary ebullitions of local
+feeling, though in reality they were so many evidences of the opposition
+that was sure to show itself whenever there was a direct interference
+with the privileges and rights of self-governing communities. Both Henry
+and Otis touched a key-note of the revolution, which was stimulated by
+the revenue and stamp acts and later measures affecting the colonies.
+
+It is somewhat remarkable that it was in aristocratic Virginia, founded
+by Cavaliers, as well as in democratic Massachusetts, founded by
+Puritans, that the revolutionary element gained its principal strength
+during the controversy with the parent state. The makers of
+Massachusetts were independents in church government and democrats in
+political principle. The whole history of New England, in fact, from the
+first charters until the argument on the writs of assistance, is full of
+incidents which show the growth of republican ideas. The Anglican church
+had no strength in the northern colonies, and the great majority of
+their people were bitterly opposed to the pretensions of the English
+hierarchy to establish an episcopate in America. It is not therefore
+surprising that Massachusetts should have been the leader in the
+revolutionary agitation; on the other hand in Virginia the Anglican
+clergy belonged to what was essentially an established church, and the
+whole social fabric of the colony rested on an aristocratic basis. No
+doubt before the outbreak of the revolution there was a decided feeling
+against England on account of the restrictions on the sale of tobacco;
+and the quarrel, which I have just referred to, with respect to the
+stipends of the clergy, which were to be paid in this staple commodity
+according to its market value at the time of payment, had spread
+discontent among a large body of the people. But above all such causes
+of dissatisfaction was the growing belief that the political freedom of
+the people, and the very existence of the colony as a self-governing
+community, were jeopardised by the indiscreet acts of the imperial
+authorities after 1763. It is easy then to understand that the action of
+the British government in 1767 renewed the agitation, which had been
+allayed for the moment by the repeal of the stamp act and the general
+belief that there would be no rigid enforcement of old regulations which
+meant the ruin of the most profitable trade of New England. The measures
+of the ministry were violently assailed in parliament by Burke and
+other eminent men who availed themselves of so excellent an opportunity
+of exciting the public mind against a government which was doing so much
+to irritate the colonies and injure British trade. All the political
+conditions were unfavourable to a satisfactory adjustment of the
+colonial difficulty. Chatham had been one of the earnest opponents of
+the stamp act, but he was now buried in retirement--labouring under some
+mental trouble--and Charles Townshend, the chancellor of the exchequer
+in the cabinet of which Chatham was the real head, was responsible for
+measures which his chief would have repudiated as most impolitic and
+inexpedient in the existing temper of the colonies.
+
+The action of the ministry was for years at once weak and irritating.
+One day they asserted the supremacy of the British parliament, and on
+the next yielded to the violent opposition of the colonies and the
+appeals of British merchants whose interests were at stake. Nothing
+remained eventually but the tea duty, and even that was so arranged that
+the colonists could buy their tea at a much cheaper rate than the
+British consumer. But by this time a strong anti-British party was in
+course of formation throughout the colonies. Samuel Adams of
+Massachusetts, Patrick Henry of Virginia, and a few other political
+managers of consummate ability, had learned their own power, and the
+weakness of English ministers. Samuel Adams, who had no love in his
+heart for England, was undoubtedly by this time insidiously working
+towards the independence of the colonies. Violence and outrage formed
+part of his secret policy. The tea in Boston harbour was destroyed by a
+mob disguised as Mohawk Indians, and was nowhere allowed to enter into
+domestic consumption. The patience of English ministers was now
+exhausted, and they determined to enter on a vigorous system of
+repression, which might have had some effect at an earlier stage of the
+revolutionary movement, when the large and influential loyal body of
+people in the colonies ought to have been vigorously supported, and not
+left exposed to the threats, insults, and even violence of a resolute
+minority, comprising many persons influenced by purely selfish
+reasons--the stoppage of illicit trade from which they had profited--as
+well as men who objected on principle to a policy which seemed to them
+irreconcilable with the rights of the people to the fullest possible
+measure of local self-government. As it was, however, the insults and
+injuries to British officials bound to obey the law, the shameless and
+continuous rioting, the destruction of private property, the defiant
+attitude of the opposition to England, had at last awakened the home
+authorities to the dangers latent in the rebellious spirit that reckless
+agitators had aroused in colonies for which England had sacrificed so
+much of her blood and treasure when their integrity and dearest
+interests were threatened by France. The port of Boston, where the
+agitators were most influential and the most discreditable acts of
+violence had taken place, was closed to trade; and important
+modifications were made in the charter granted to Massachusetts by
+William III in 1692. Another obnoxious act provided that persons
+"questioned for any acts in execution of the laws" should be tried in
+England--a measure intended to protect officials and soldiers in the
+discharge of their duty against the rancour of the colonial community
+where they might be at that time. These measures, undoubtedly unwise at
+this juncture, were calculated to evoke the hostility of the other
+colonies and to show them what was probably in store for themselves. But
+while the issue certainly proved this to be the case, the course pursued
+by the government under existing conditions had an appearance of
+justification. Even Professor Goldwin Smith, who will not be accused of
+any sympathy with the British cabinet of that day, or of antagonism to
+liberal principles, admits that "a government thus bearded and insulted
+had its choice between abdication and repression," and "that repression
+was the most natural" course to pursue under the circumstances. Lord
+North gave expression to what was then a largely prevailing sentiment in
+England when he said "to repeal the tea duty would stamp us with
+timidity," and that the destruction of the property of private
+individuals, such as took place at Boston, "was a fitting culmination of
+years of riot and lawlessness." Lord North, we all know now, was really
+desirous of bringing about a reconciliation between the colonies and the
+parent state, but he servilely yielded his convictions to the king, who
+was determined to govern all parts of his empire, and was in favour of
+coercive measures. It is quite evident that the British ministry and
+their supporters entirely underrated the strength of the colonial party
+that was opposing England. Even those persons who, when the war broke
+out, remained faithful to their allegiance to the crown, were of opinion
+that the British government was pursuing a policy unwise in the extreme,
+although they had no doubt of the abstract legal right of that
+government to pass the Grenville and Townshend acts for taxing the
+colonies. Chatham, Burke, Conway, and Barre were the most prominent
+public men who, in powerful language, showed the dangers of the unwise
+course pursued by the "king's friends" in parliament.
+
+As we review the events of those miserable years we can see that every
+step taken by the British government, from the stamp act until the
+closing of the port of Boston and other coercive measures, had the
+effect of strengthening the hands of Samuel Adams and the other
+revolutionary agitators. Their measures to create a feeling against
+England exhibited great cunning and skill. The revolutionary movement
+was aided by the formation of "Sons of Liberty"--a phrase taken from one
+of Barre's speeches,--by circular letters and committees of
+correspondence between the colonies, by petitions to the king winch were
+framed in a tone of independence not calculated to conciliate that
+uncompromising sovereign, by clever ingenious appeals to public
+patriotism, by the assembling of a "continental congress," by acts of
+"association" which meant the stoppage of all commercial intercourse
+with Great Britain. New England was the head and front of the whole
+revolution, and Samuel Adams was its animating spirit. Even those famous
+committees of correspondence between the towns of Massachusetts, which
+gave expression to public opinion and stimulated united action when the
+legislative authority was prevented by the royal governor from working,
+were the inspiration of this astute political manager. Prominent
+Virginians saw the importance of carrying out this idea on a wider field
+of action, and Virginia accordingly inaugurated a system of
+intercolonial correspondence which led to the meeting of a continental
+congress, and was the first practical step towards political
+independence of the parent state. Adams's decision to work for
+independence was made, or confirmed, as early as 1767, when Charles
+Townshend succeeded in passing the measures which were so obnoxious to
+the colonists, and finally led to civil war.
+
+At a most critical moment, when the feelings of a large body of people
+were aroused to a violent pitch, when ideas of independence were
+ripening in the minds of others besides Samuel Adams, General Gage, then
+in command of the British regular troops in Boston, sent a military
+force to make prisoners of Adams and Hancock at Lexington, and seize
+some stores at Concord. Then the "embattled farmers" fired the shot
+"which was heard around the world." Then followed the capture of
+Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and the battle of Bunker's Hill, on the
+same day that Washington was appointed by congress to command the
+continental army. At this critical juncture, John Adams and other
+prominent colonists--not excepting Washington--were actually disavowing
+all desire to sever their relations with the parent state in the face of
+the warlike attitude of congress--an attitude justified by the
+declaration that it was intended to force a redress of grievances. Tom
+Paine, a mere adventurer, who had not been long in the country, now
+issued his pamphlet, "Common Sense," which was conceived in a spirit
+and written in a style admirably calculated to give strength and
+cohesion to the arguments of the people, who had been for some time
+coming to the conclusion that to aim at independence was the only
+consistent and logical course in the actual state of controversy between
+England and the colonies. On March 14th, 1776, the town of Boston, then
+the most important in America, was given up to the rebels; and British
+ships carried the first large body of unhappy and disappointed Loyalists
+to Halifax. On July the fourth of the same year the Declaration of
+Independence was passed, after much hesitation and discussion, and
+published to the world by the continental congress assembled at
+Philadelphia. The signal victory won by the continental army over
+Burgoyne at Saratoga in the autumn of the following year led to an
+alliance with France, without whose effective aid the eventual success
+of the revolutionists would have been very doubtful The revolutionists
+won their final triumph at Yorktown in the autumn of 1781, when a small
+army of regulars and Loyalists, led by Cornwallis, was obliged to
+surrender to the superior American and French forces, commanded by
+Washington and Rochambeau, and supported by a French fleet which
+effectively controlled the approaches to Chesapeake Bay.
+
+The conduct of the war on the part of England was noted for the singular
+incapacity of her generals. Had there been one of any energy or ability
+at the head of her troops, when hostilities commenced, the undisciplined
+American army might easily have been beaten and annihilated Boston need
+never have been evacuated had Howe taken the most ordinary precautions
+to occupy the heights of Dorchester that commanded the town. Washington
+could never have organised an army had not Howe given him every possible
+opportunity for months to do so. The British probably had another grand
+opportunity of ending the war on their occupation of New York, when
+Washington and his relatively insignificant army were virtually in their
+power while in retreat. The history of the war is full of similar
+instances of lost opportunities to overwhelm the continental troops. All
+the efforts of the British generals appear to have been devoted to the
+occupation of the important towns in a country stretching for a thousand
+miles from north to south, instead of following and crushing the
+constantly retreating, diminishing, and discouraged forces of the
+revolutionists. The evacuation of Philadelphia at a critical moment of
+the war was another signal illustration of the absence of all military
+foresight and judgment, since it disheartened the Loyalists and gave up
+an important base of operation against the South. Even Cornwallis, who
+fought so bravely and successfully in the southern provinces, made a
+most serious mistake when he chose so weak a position as Yorktown, which
+was only defensible whilst the army of occupation had free access to the
+sea. Admiral Rodney, then at St. Eustatius, is open to censure for not
+having sent such naval reinforcements as would have enabled the British
+to command Chesapeake Bay, and his failure in this respect explains the
+inability of Clinton, an able general, to support Cornwallis in his hour
+of need. The moment the French fleet appeared in the Chesapeake,
+Cornwallis's position became perfectly untenable, and he was obliged to
+surrender to the allied armies, who were vastly superior in number and
+equipment to his small force, which had not even the advantage of
+fighting behind well-constructed and perfect defences. No doubt, from
+the beginning to the end of the war--notably in the case of
+Burgoyne--the British were seriously hampered by the dilatory and unsafe
+counsels of Lord George Germaine, who was allowed by the favour of the
+king to direct military operations, and who, we remember, had disgraced
+himself on the famous battlefield of Minden.
+
+All the conditions in the country at large were favourable to the
+imperial troops had they been commanded by generals of ability. The
+Loyalists formed a large available force, rendered valueless time after
+time by the incapacity of the men who directed operations. At no time
+did the great body of the American people warmly respond to the demands
+made upon them by congress to support Washington. Had it not been for
+New England and Virginia the war must have more than once collapsed for
+want of men and supplies. It is impossible to exaggerate the absence of
+public spirit in the States during this critical period of their
+history. The English historian, Lecky, who has reviewed the annals of
+those times with great fairness, has truly said: "The nobility and
+beauty of the character of Washington can hardly be surpassed; several
+of the other leaders of the revolution were men of ability and public
+spirit, and few armies have ever shown a nobler self-devotion than that
+which remained with Washington through the dreary winter at Valley
+Forge. But the army that bore those sufferings was a very small one, and
+the general aspect of the American people during the contest was far
+from heroic or sublime." This opinion is fully borne out by those
+American historians who have reviewed the records of their national
+struggle in a spirit of dispassionate criticism. We know that in the
+spring of 1780 Washington himself wrote that his troops were "constantly
+on the point of starving for want of provisions and forage." He saw "in
+every line of the army the most serious features of mutiny and
+sedition." Indeed he had "almost ceased to hope," for he found the
+country in general "in such a state of insensibility and indifference to
+its interests" that he dare not flatter himself "with any change for the
+better." The war under such circumstances would have come to a sudden
+end had not France liberally responded to Washington's appeals and
+supported him with her money, her sailors and her soldiers. In the
+closing years of the war Great Britain had not only to fight France,
+Spain, Holland and her own colonies, but she was without a single ally
+in Europe. Her dominion was threatened in India, and the king prevented
+the intervention of the only statesman in the kingdom to whom the
+colonists at any time were likely to listen with respect. When Chatham
+died with a protest on his lips "against the dismemberment of this
+ancient monarchy," the last hope of bringing about a reconciliation
+between the revolutionists and the parent state disappeared for ever,
+and the Thirteen Colonies became independent at Yorktown.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--Canada and Nova Scotia during the Revolution.
+
+If Canada was saved to England during the American Revolution it was not
+on account of the energy and foresight shown by the king and his
+ministers in providing adequately for its defence, but mainly through
+the coolness and excellent judgment displayed by Governor Carleton. The
+Quebec act, for which he was largely responsible, was extremely
+unpopular in the Thirteen Colonies, on account of its having extended
+the boundaries of the province and the civil law to that western country
+beyond the Alleghanies, which the frontiersmen of Pennsylvania and
+Virginia regarded as specially their own domain. The fact that the
+Quebec act was passed by parliament simultaneously with the Boston port
+bill and other measures especially levelled against Massachusetts, gave
+additional fuel to the indignation of the people, who regarded this
+group of acts as part of a settled policy to crush the British-speaking
+colonies.
+
+Under these circumstances, the invasion of Canada by Arnold in 1775,
+with the full approval of the continental congress, soon after the
+taking of Crown Point and Ticonderoga by the "Green Mountain boys" of
+Vermont, was a most popular movement which, it was hoped generally,
+would end in the easy conquest of a province, occupied by an alien
+people, and likely to be a menace in the future to the country south of
+the St. Lawrence. The capture of Chambly and St. John's--the keys of
+Canada, by way of Lake Champlain--was immediately followed by the
+surrender of Montreal, which was quite indefensible, and the flight of
+Carleton to Quebec, where he wisely decided to make a stand against the
+invaders. At this time there were not one thousand regular troops in the
+country, and Carleton's endeavour to obtain reinforcements from Boston
+had failed in consequence of the timidity of Admiral Graves, who
+expressed his opinion that it was not safe to send vessels up the St.
+Lawrence towards the end of the month of October. No dependence
+apparently could be placed at this critical juncture on a number of the
+French _habitants_, as soon as the districts of Richelieu, Montreal and
+Three Rivers were occupied by the continental troops. Many of them were
+quite ready to sell provisions to the invaders, provided they were paid
+in coin, and a few of them even joined Montgomery on his march to
+Quebec. Happily, however, the influence of the clergy and the
+_seigneurs_ was sufficiently powerful to make the great mass of the
+people neutral during this struggle for supremacy in the province.
+
+The bishop and the priests, from the outset, were quite alive to the
+gravity of the situation. They could not forget that the delegates to
+the continental congress, who were now appealing to French Canada to
+join the rebellious colonists, had only a few weeks before issued an
+address to the people of England in which they expressed their
+astonishment that the British parliament should have established in
+Canada "a religion that had deluged their land in blood and dispersed
+impiety, bigotry, persecution, murder, and rebellion through every part
+of the world." Almost simultaneously with the capture of the forts on
+Lake Champlain, Bishop Briand issued a _mandement_ in which he dwelt
+with emphasis on the great benefits which the people of French Canada
+had already derived from the British connection and called upon them all
+to unite in the defence of their province. No doubt can exist that these
+opinions had much effect at a time when Carleton had reason to doubt
+even the loyalty of the English population, some of whom were
+notoriously in league with the rebels across the frontier, and gave
+material aid to the invaders as soon as they occupied Montreal. It was
+assuredly the influence of the French clergy that rendered entirely
+ineffectual the mission of Chase, Franklin, and the Carrolls of
+Maryland--one of whom became the first Roman Catholic archbishop of the
+United States--who were instructed by congress to offer every possible
+inducement to the Roman Catholic subjects of England in Canada to join
+the revolutionary movement.
+
+Richard Montgomery, who had commanded the troops invading Canada, had
+served at Louisbourg and Quebec, and had subsequently become a resident
+of New York, where his political opinions on the outbreak of the
+revolution had been influenced by his connection, through marriage, with
+the Livingstones, bitter opponents of the British government. His merit
+as a soldier naturally brought him into prominence when the war began,
+and his own ambition gladly led him to obey the order to go to Canada,
+where he hoped to emulate the fame of Wolfe and become the captor of
+Quebec. He formed a junction, close to the ancient capital, with the
+force under Benedict Arnold, who was at a later time to sully a
+memorable career by an act of the most deliberate treachery to his
+compatriots. When Montgomery and Arnold united their forces before
+Quebec, the whole of Canada, from Lake Champlain to Montreal, and from
+that town to the walls of the old capital, was under the control of the
+continental troops. Despite the great disadvantages under which he
+laboured, Carleton was able to perfect his defences of the city, which
+he determined to hold until reinforcements should arrive in the spring
+from England. Montgomery had neither men nor artillery to storm the
+fortified city which he had hoped to surprise and easily occupy with the
+aid of secret friends within its walls. Carleton, however, rallied all
+loyal men to his support, and the traitors on whom the invaders had
+relied were powerless to carry out any treacherous design they may have
+formed. The American commanders at once recognised the folly of a
+regular investment of the fortress during a long and severe winter, and
+decided to attempt to surprise the garrison by a night assault. This
+plan was earned out in the early morning of the thirty-first of
+December, 1775, when the darkness was intensified by flurries of light
+blinding snow, but it failed before the assailants could force the
+barricades which barred the way to the upper town, where all the
+principal offices and buildings were grouped, just below the chateau and
+fort of St. Louis, which towers above the historic heights. Montgomery
+was killed, Arnold was wounded at the very outset, and a considerable
+number of their officers and men were killed or wounded.
+
+Carleton saved Quebec at this critical hour and was able in the course
+of the same year, when General Burgoyne arrived with reinforcements
+largely composed of subsidised German regiments, to drive the
+continental troops in confusion from the province and destroy the fleet
+which congress had formed on Lake Champlain. Carleton took possession of
+Crown Point but found the season too late--it was now towards the end of
+autumn--to attempt an attack on Ticonderoga, which was occupied by a
+strong and well-equipped garrison. After a careful view of the situation
+he concluded to abandon Crown Point until the spring, when he could
+easily occupy it again, and attack Ticonderoga with every prospect of
+success. But Carleton, soon afterwards, was ordered to give up the
+command of the royal troops to Burgoyne, who was instructed by Germaine
+to proceed to the Hudson River, where Howe was to join him. Carleton
+naturally resented the insult that he received and resigned the
+governor-generalship, to which General Haldimand was appointed. Carleton
+certainly brought Canada securely through one of the most critical
+epochs of her history, and there is every reason to believe that he
+would have saved the honour of England and the reputation of her
+generals, had he rather than Burgoyne and Howe been entrusted with the
+direction of her armies in North America.
+
+Carleton's administration of the civil government of the province was
+distinguished by a spirit of discretion and energy which deservedly
+places him among the ablest governors who ever presided over the public
+affairs of a colony. During the progress of the American war the
+legislative council was not able to meet until nearly two years after
+its abrupt adjournment in September, 1775. At this session, in 1777,
+ordinances were passed for the establishment of courts of King's bench,
+common pleas, and probate.
+
+A critical perusal of the valuable documents, placed of late years in
+the archives of the Dominion, clearly proves that it was a fortunate day
+for Canada when so resolute a soldier and far-sighted administrator as
+General Haldimand was in charge of the civil and military government of
+the country after the departure of Carleton. His conduct appears to have
+been dictated by a desire to do justice to all classes, and it is most
+unfair to his memory to declare that he was antagonistic to French
+Canadians. During the critical time when he was entrusted with the
+public defence it is impossible to accuse him of an arrogant or
+unwarrantable exercise of authority, even when he was sorely beset by
+open and secret enemies of the British connection. The French Canadian
+_habitant_ found himself treated with a generous consideration that he
+never obtained during the French regime, and wherever his services were
+required by the state, he was paid, not in worthless card money, but in
+British coin. During Haldimand's administration the country was in a
+perilous condition on account of the restlessness and uncertainty that
+prevailed while the French naval and military expeditions were in
+America, using every means of exciting a public sentiment hostile to
+England and favourable to France among the French Canadians. Admiral
+D'Estaing's proclamation in 1778 was a passionate appeal to the old
+national sentiment of the people, and was distributed in every part of
+the province. Dr. Kingsford believes that it had large influence in
+creating a powerful feeling which might have seriously threatened
+British dominion had the French been able to obtain permission from
+congress to send an army into the country. Whatever may have been the
+temper of the great majority of the French Canadians, it does not appear
+that many of them openly expressed their sympathy with France, for whom
+they would naturally still feel a deep love as their motherland. The
+assertion that many priests secretly hoped for the appearance of the
+French army is not justified by any substantial evidence except the fact
+that one La Valiniere was arrested for his disloyalty, and sent a
+prisoner to England. It appears, however, that this course was taken
+with the approval of the bishop himself, who was a sincere friend of the
+English connection throughout the war. Haldimand arrested a number of
+persons who were believed to be engaged in treasonable practices against
+England, and effectively prevented any successful movement being made by
+the supporters of the revolutionists, or sympathisers with France, whose
+emissaries were secretly working in the parishes.
+
+Haldimand's principal opponent during these troublous times was one
+Pierre du Calvet, an unscrupulous and able intriguer, whom he imprisoned
+on the strong suspicion of treasonable practices; but the evidence
+against Calvet at that time appears to have been inadequate, as he
+succeeded in obtaining damages against the governor-general in an
+English court. The imperial government, however, in view of all the
+circumstances brought to their notice, paid the cost of the defence of
+the suit. History now fully justifies the action of Haldimand, for the
+publication of Franklin's correspondence in these later times shows that
+Calvet--who was drowned at sea and never again appeared in Canada--was
+in direct correspondence with congress, and the recognised emissary of
+the revolutionists at the very time he was declaring himself devoted to
+the continuance of British rule in Canada.
+
+Leaving the valley of the St. Lawrence, and reviewing the conditions of
+affairs in the maritime provinces, during the American revolution, we
+see that some of the settlers from New England sympathised with their
+rebellious countrymen. The people of Truro, Onslow, and Londonderry,
+with the exception of five persons, refused to take the oath of
+allegiance, and were not allowed for some time to be represented in the
+legislature. The assembly was always loyal to the crown, and refused to
+consider the appeals that were made to it by circular letters, and
+otherwise, to give active aid and sympathy to the rebellious colonies
+During the war armed cruisers pillaged the small settlements at
+Charlottetown, Annapolis, Lunenburg, and the entrance of the St. John
+River. One expedition fitted out at Machias, in the present state of
+Maine, under the command of a Colonel Eddy, who had been a resident of
+Cumberland, attempted to seize Fort Cumberland--known as Beausejour in
+French Acadian days--at the mouth of the Missiquash. In this section of
+the country there were many sympathisers with the rebels, and Eddy
+expected to have an easy triumph. The military authorities were happily
+on the alert, and the only result was the arrest of a number of persons
+on the suspicion of treasonable designs. The inhabitants of the county
+of Yarmouth--a district especially exposed to attack--only escaped the
+frequent visits of privateers by secret negotiations with influential
+persons in Massachusetts. The settlers on the St. John River, at
+Maugerville, took measures to assist their fellow-countrymen in New
+England, but the defeat of the Cumberland expedition and the activity of
+the British authorities prevented the disaffected in Sunbury county--in
+which the original settlements of New Brunswick were then
+comprised--from rendering any practical aid to the revolutionists. The
+authorities at Halifax authorised the fitting out of privateers in
+retaliation for the damages inflicted on western ports by the same class
+of cruisers sailing from New England. The province was generally
+impoverished by the impossibility of carrying on the coasting trade and
+fisheries with security in these circumstances. The constant demand for
+men to fill the army and the fleet drained the country when labour was
+imperatively needed for necessary industrial pursuits, including the
+cultivation of the land. Some Halifax merchants and traders alone found
+profit in the constant arrival of troops and ships. Apart, however, from
+the signs of disaffection shown in the few localities I have mentioned,
+the people generally appear to have been loyal to England, and rallied,
+notably in the townships of Annapolis, Horton and Windsor, to the
+defence of the country, at the call of the authorities.
+
+In 1783 the humiliated king of England consented to a peace with his old
+colonies, who owed their success not so much to the unselfishness and
+determination of the great body of the rebels as to the incapacity of
+British generals and to the patience, calmness, and resolution of the
+one great man of the revolution, George Washington. I shall in a later
+chapter refer to this treaty in which the boundaries between Canada and
+the new republic were so ignorantly and clumsily defined that it took
+half a century and longer to settle the vexed questions that arose in
+connection with territorial rights, and then the settlement was to the
+injury of Canada. So far as the treaty affected the Provinces its most
+important result was the forced migration of that large body of people
+who had remained faithful to the crown and empire during the revolution.
+
+[Illustration: MAP SHOWING BOUNDARY BETWEEN CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES
+BY TREATY OF 1783]
+
+
+SECTION 3.--The United Empire Loyalists
+
+John Adams and other authorities in the United States have admitted that
+when the first shot of the revolution was fired by "the embattled
+farmers" of Concord and Lexington, the Loyalists numbered one-third of
+the whole population of the colonies, or seven hundred thousand whites.
+Others believe that the number was larger, and that the revolutionary
+party was in a minority even after the declaration of independence. The
+greater number of the Loyalists were to be found in the present state of
+New York, where the capital was in possession of the British from
+September, 1776, until the evacuation in 1783. They were also the
+majority in Pennsylvania and the southern colonies of South Carolina and
+Georgia. In all the other states they represented a large minority of
+the best class of their respective communities. It is estimated that
+there were actually from thirty to thirty-five thousand, at one time or
+other, enrolled in regularly organised corps, without including the
+bodies which waged guerilla warfare in South Carolina and elsewhere.
+
+It is only within a decade of years that some historical writers in the
+United States have had the courage and honesty to point out the false
+impressions long entertained by the majority of Americans with respect
+to the Loyalists, who were in their way as worthy of historical eulogy
+as the people whose efforts to win independence were crowned with
+success. Professor Tyler, of Cornell University, points out that these
+people comprised "in general a clear majority of those who, of whatever
+grade of culture or of wealth, would now be described as conservative
+people." A clear majority of the official class, of men representing
+large commercial interests and capital, of professional training and
+occupation, clergymen, physicians, lawyers and teachers, "seem to have
+been set against the ultimate measures of the revolution". He assumes
+with justice that, within this conservative class, one may "usually find
+at least a fair portion of the cultivation, of the moral thoughtfulness,
+of the personal purity and honour, existing in the community to which
+they happen to belong." He agrees with Dr. John Fiske, and other
+historical writers of eminence in the United States, in comparing the
+Loyalists of 1776 to the Unionists of the southern war of secession from
+1861 until 1865. They were "the champions of national unity, as resting
+on the paramount authority of the general government." In other words
+they were the champions of a United British Empire in the eighteenth
+century.
+
+"The old colonial system," says that thoughtful writer Sir J.R. Seeley,
+"was not at all tyrannous; and when the breach came the grievances of
+which the Americans complained, though perfectly real, were smaller than
+ever before or since led to such mighty consequences." The leaders among
+the Loyalists, excepting a few rash and angry officials probably,
+recognised that there were grievances which ought to be remedied. They
+looked on the policy of the party in power in Great Britain as
+injudicious in the extreme, but they believed that the relations between
+the colonies and the mother-state could be placed on a more satisfactory
+basis by a spirit of mutual compromise, and not by such methods as were
+insidiously followed by the agitators against England. The Loyalists
+generally contended for the legality of the action of parliament, and
+were supported by the opinion of all high legal authorities; but the
+causes of difficulty were not to be adjusted by mere lawyers, who
+adhered to the strict letter of the law, but by statesmen who recognised
+that the time had come for reconsidering the relations between the
+colonies and the parent state, and meeting the new conditions of their
+rapid development and political freedom. These relations were not to be
+placed on an equitable and satisfactory basis by mob-violence and
+revolution. All the questions at issue were of a constitutional
+character, to be settled by constitutional methods.
+
+Unhappily, English statesmen of that day paid no attention to, and had
+no conception of, the aspirations, sentiments and conditions of the
+colonial peoples when the revolutionary war broke out. The king wished
+to govern in the colonies as well as in the British Isles, and
+unfortunately the unwise assertion of his arrogant will gave dangerous
+men like Samuel Adams, more than once, the opportunity they wanted to
+stimulate public irritation and indignation against England.
+
+It is an interesting fact, that the relations between Great Britain and
+the Canadian Dominion are now regulated by just such principles as were
+urged in the interests of England and her colonies a hundred and twenty
+years ago by Governor Thomas Hutchinson, a great Loyalist, to whom
+justice is at last being done by impartial historians in the country
+where his motives and acts were so long misunderstood and
+misrepresented. "Whatever measures," he wrote to a correspondent in
+England, "you may take to maintain the authority of parliament, give me
+leave to pray they may be accompanied with a declaration that it is not
+the intention of parliament to deprive the colonies of their subordinate
+power of legislation, nor to exercise the supreme power except in such
+cases and upon such occasions as an equitable regard to the interests of
+the whole empire shall make necessary." But it took three-quarters of a
+century after the coming of the Loyalists to realise these statesmanlike
+conceptions of Hutchinson in the colonial dominions of England to the
+north of the dependencies which she lost in the latter part of the
+eighteenth century.
+
+Similar opinions were entertained by Joseph Galloway, Jonathan Boucher,
+Jonathan Odell, Samuel Seabury, Chief Justice Smith, Judge Thomas Jones,
+Beverley Robinson and other men of weight and ability among the
+Loyalists, who recognised the short-sightedness and ignorance of the
+British authorities, and the existence of real grievances. Galloway, one
+of the ablest men on the constitutional side, and a member of the first
+continental congress, suggested a practical scheme of imperial
+federation, well worthy of earnest consideration at that crisis in
+imperial affairs. Eminent men in the congress of 1774 supported this
+statesmanlike mode of placing the relations of England and the colonies
+on a basis which would enable them to work harmoniously, and at the same
+time give full scope to the ambition and the liberties of the colonial
+communities thus closely united; but unhappily for the empire the
+revolutionary element carried the day. The people at large were never
+given an opportunity of considering this wise proposition, and the
+motion was erased from the records of congress. In its place, the people
+were asked to sign "articles of association" which bound them to cease
+all commercial relations with England. Had Galloway's idea been carried
+out to a successful issue, we might have now presented to the world the
+noble spectacle of an empire greater by half a continent and
+seventy-five millions of people.
+
+But while Galloway and other Loyalists failed in their measures of
+adjusting existing difficulties and remedying grievances, history can
+still do full justice to their wise counsel and resolute loyalty, which
+refused to assist in tearing the empire to fragments. These men, who
+remained faithful to this ideal to the very bitter end, suffered many
+indignities at the hands of the professed lovers of liberty, even in
+those days when the questions at issue had not got beyond the stage of
+legitimate argument and agitation. The courts of law were closed and the
+judges prevented from fulfilling their judicial functions. No class of
+persons, not even women, were safe from the insults of intoxicated
+ruffians. The clergy of the Church of England were especially the object
+of contumely.
+
+During the war the passions of both parties to the controversy were
+aroused to the highest pitch, and some allowance must be made for
+conditions which were different from those which existed when the
+questions at issue were still matters of argument. It is impossible in
+times of civil strife to cool the passions of men and prevent them from
+perpetrating cruelties and outrages which would be repugnant to their
+sense of humanity in moments of calmness and reflection. Both sides,
+more than once, displayed a hatred of each other that was worthy of the
+American Iroquois themselves. The legislative bodies were fully as
+vindictive as individuals in the persecution of the Loyalists.
+Confiscation of estate, imprisonment, disqualification for office,
+banishment, and even death in case of return from exile, were among the
+penalties to which these people were subject by the legislative acts of
+the revolutionary party.
+
+If allowance can be made for the feelings of revenge and passion which
+animate persons under the abnormal conditions of civil war, no
+extenuating circumstances appear at that later period when peace was
+proclaimed and congress was called upon to fulfil the terms of the
+treaty and recommend to the several independent states the restoration
+of the confiscated property of Loyalists. Even persons who had taken up
+arms were to have an opportunity of receiving their estates back on
+condition of refunding the money which had been paid for them, and
+protection was to be afforded to those persons during twelve months
+while they were engaged in obtaining the restoration of their property.
+It was also solemnly agreed by the sixth article of the treaty that
+there should be no future confiscations or prosecutions, and that no
+person should "suffer any future loss or damage, either in his person,
+liberty or property," for the part he might have taken in the war. Now
+was the time for generous terms, such terms as were even shown by the
+triumphant North to the rebellious South at the close of the war of
+secession. The recommendations of congress were treated with contempt by
+the legislatures in all the states except in South Carolina, and even
+there the popular feeling was entirely opposed to any favour or justice
+being shown to the beaten party. The sixth article of the treaty, a
+solemn obligation, was violated with malice and premeditation. The
+Loyalists, many of whom had returned from Great Britain with the hope of
+receiving back their estates, or of being allowed to remain in the
+country, soon found they could expect no generous treatment from the
+successful republicans. The favourite Whig occupation of tarring and
+feathering was renewed. Loyalists were warned to leave the country as
+soon as possible, and in the south some were shot and hanged because
+they did not obey the warning. The Loyalists, for the most part, had no
+other course open to them than to leave the country they still loved and
+where they had hoped to die.
+
+The British government endeavoured, so far as it was in its power, to
+compensate the Loyalists for the loss of their property by liberal
+grants of money and land, but despite all that was done for them the
+majority felt a deep bitterness in their hearts as they landed on new
+shores of which they had heard most depressing accounts. More than
+thirty-five thousand men, women and children, made their homes within
+the limits of the present Dominion. In addition to these actual American
+Loyalists, there were several thousands of negroes, fugitives from their
+owners, or servants of the exiles, who have been generally counted in
+the loose estimates made of the migration of 1783, and the greater
+number of whom were at a later time deported from Nova Scotia to Sierra
+Leone. Of the exiles at least twenty-five thousand went to the maritime
+colonies, and built up the province of New Brunswick, where
+representative institutions were established in 1784. Of the ten
+thousand people who sought the valley of the St Lawrence, some settled
+in Montreal, at Chambly, and in parts of the present Eastern Townships,
+but the great majority accepted grants of land on the banks of the St.
+Lawrence--from River Beaudette, on Lake St. Francis, as far as the
+beautiful Bay of Quinte--in the Niagara District, and on the shores of
+Lake Erie. The coming of these people, subsequently known by the name of
+"U.E. Loyalists"--a name appropriately given to them in recognition of
+their fidelity to a United Empire--was a most auspicious event for the
+British-American provinces, the greater part of which was still a
+wilderness. As we have seen in the previous chapters, there was in the
+Acadian provinces, afterwards divided into New Brunswick and Nova
+Scotia, a British population of only some 14,000 souls, mostly confined
+to the peninsula. In the valley of the St. Lawrence there was a French
+population of probably 100,000 persons, dwelling chiefly on the banks of
+the St. Lawrence between Quebec and Montreal. The total British
+population of the province of Quebec did not exceed 2000, residing for
+the most part in the towns of Quebec and Montreal. No English people
+were found west of Lake St. Louis; and what is now the populous province
+of Ontario was a mere wilderness, except where loyal refugees had
+gathered about the English fort at Niagara, or a few French settlers had
+made homes for themselves on the banks of the Detroit River and Lake St.
+Clair. The migration of between 30,000 and 40,000 Loyalists to the
+maritime provinces and the valley of the St. Lawrence was the saving of
+British interests in the great region which England still happily
+retained in North America.
+
+The refugees who arrived in Halifax in 1783 were so numerous that
+hundreds had to be placed in the churches or in cabooses taken from the
+transports and ranged along the streets. At Guysborough, in Nova
+Scotia--so named after Sir Guy Carleton--the first village, which was
+hastily built by the settlers, was destroyed by a bush fire, and many
+persons only saved their lives by rushing into the sea. At Shelburne, on
+the first arrival of the exiles, there were seen "lines of women sitting
+on the rocky shore and weeping at their altered condition." Towns and
+villages, however, were soon built for the accommodation of the people.
+At Shelburne, or Port Roseway--anglicised from the French _Razoir_--a
+town of fourteen thousand people, with wide streets, fine houses, some
+of them containing furniture and mantel-pieces brought from New York,
+arose in two or three years. The name of New Jerusalem had been given to
+the same locality some years before, but it seemed a mockery to the
+Loyalists when they found that the place they had chosen for their new
+home was quite unsuited for settlement. A beautiful harbour lay in
+front, and a rocky country unfit for farmers in the rear of their
+ambitious town, which at one time was the most populous in British North
+America. In the course of a few years the place was almost deserted, and
+sank for a time into insignificance. A pretty town now nestles by the
+side of the beautiful and spacious harbour which attracted the first too
+hopeful settlers; and its residents point out to the tourist the sites
+of the buildings of last century, one or two of which still stand, and
+can show many documents and relics of those early days.
+
+Over twelve thousand Loyalists, largely drawn from the disbanded loyal
+regiments of the old colonies, settled in New Brunswick. The name of
+Parrtown was first given, in honour of the governor of Nova Scotia, to
+the infant settlement which became the city of St. John, in 1785, when
+it was incorporated. The first landing of the loyal pioneers took place
+on the 18th of May, 1783, at what is now the Market Slip of this
+interesting city. Previous to 1783, the total population of the province
+did not exceed seven hundred souls, chiefly at Maugerville and other
+places on the great river. The number of Loyalists who settled on the
+St. John River was at least ten thousand, of whom the greater proportion
+were established at the mouth of the river, which was the base of
+operations for the peopling of the new province. Some adventurous
+spirits took possession of the abandoned French settlements at Grimross
+and St. Anne's, where they repaired some ruined huts of the original
+Acadian occupants, or built temporary cabins. This was the beginning of
+the settlement of Fredericton, which four years later became the
+political capital on account of its central position, its greater
+security in time of war, and its location on the land route to Quebec.
+Many of the people spent their first winter in log-huts, bark camps, and
+tents covered with spruce, or rendered habitable only by the heavy banks
+of snow which were piled against them. A number of persons died through
+exposure, and "strong, proud men"--to quote the words of one who lived
+in those sorrowful days--"wept like children and lay down in their
+snow-bound tents to die."
+
+A small number of loyal refugees had found their way to the valley of
+the St. Lawrence as early as 1778, and obtained employment in the
+regiments organised under Sir John Johnson and others. It was not until
+1783 and 1784 that the large proportion of the exiles came to Western
+Canada. They settled chiefly on the northern banks of the St. Lawrence,
+in what are now the counties of Glengarry, Stormont, Dundas, Grenville,
+Leeds, Frontenac, Addington, Lennox, Hastings and Prince Edward, where
+their descendants have acquired wealth and positions of honour and
+trust. The first township laid out in Upper Canada, now Ontario, was
+Kingston. The beautiful Bay of Quinte is surrounded by a country full of
+the memories of this people, and the same is true of the picturesque
+district of Niagara.
+
+Among the Loyalists of Canada must also be honourably mentioned Joseph
+Brant (Thayendanega), the astute and courageous chief of the Mohawks,
+the bravest nation of the Iroquois confederacy, who fought on the side
+of England during the war. At its close he and his people settled in
+Canada, where they received large grants from the government, some in a
+township by the Bay of Quinte, which still bears the Indian title of the
+great warrior, and the majority on the Grand River, where a beautiful
+city and county perpetuate the memory of this loyal subject of the
+British crown. The first Anglican church built in Upper Canada was that
+of the Mohawks, near Brantford, and here the church bell first broke the
+silence of the illimitable forest.
+
+The difficulties which the Upper Canadian immigrants had to undergo
+before reaching their destination were much greater than was the case
+with the people who went direct in ships from American ports to Halifax
+and other places on the Atlantic coast. The former had to make toilsome
+journeys by land, or by _bateaux_ and canoes up the St. Lawrence, the
+Richelieu, the Genesee, and other streams which gave access from the
+interior of the United States to the new Canadian land. The British
+government did its best to supply the wants of the population suddenly
+thrown upon its charitable care, but, despite all that could be done for
+them in the way of food and means of fighting the wilderness, they
+suffered naturally a great deal of hardship. The most influential
+immigration found its way to the maritime provinces, where many received
+congenial employment and adequate salaries in the new government of New
+Brunswick. Many others, with the wrecks of their fortunes or the
+pecuniary aid granted them by the British government, were able to make
+comfortable homes and cultivate estates in the valleys of the St. John
+and Annapolis, and in other fertile parts of the lower provinces. Of the
+large population that founded Shelburne a few returned to the United
+States, but the greater number scattered all over the provinces. The
+settlers in Upper Canada had to suffer many trials for years after their
+arrival, and especially in a year of famine, when large numbers had to
+depend on wild fruits and roots. Indeed, had it not been for the fish
+and game which were found in some, but not in all, places, starvation
+and death would have been the lot of many hundreds of helpless people.
+
+Many of the refugees could trace their descent to the early immigration
+that founded the colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay. Some were
+connected with the Cavalier and Church families of Virginia. Others were
+of the blood of persecuted Huguenots and German Protestants from the
+Rhenish or Lower Palatinate. Not a few were Highland Scotchmen, who had
+been followers of the Stuarts, and yet fought for King George and the
+British connection during the American revolution. Among the number were
+notable Anglican clergymen, eminent judges and lawyers, and probably one
+hundred graduates of Harvard, Yale, King's, Pennsylvania, and William
+and Mary Colleges. In the records of industrial enterprise, of social
+and intellectual progress, of political development for a hundred
+years, we find the names of many eminent men, sprung from these people,
+to whom Canada owes a deep debt of gratitude for the services they
+rendered her in the most critical period of her chequered history.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+DEVELOPMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE INSTITUTIONS (1784--1812).
+
+
+SECTION I--Beginnings of the provinces of New Brunswick, Lower Canada
+and Upper Canada.
+
+On the 16th August, 1784, as a consequence of the coming of over ten
+thousand Loyalists to the valley of the St. John River, a new province
+was formed out of that portion of the ancient limits of Acadia, which
+extended northward from the isthmus of Chignecto to the province of
+Quebec, and eastward from the uncertain boundary of the St. Croix to the
+Gulf of St. Lawrence. It received its present name in honour of the
+Brunswick-Luneburg or Hanoverian line which had given a royal dynasty to
+England, and its first governor was Colonel Thomas Carleton, a brother
+of the distinguished governor-general, whose name is so intimately
+associated with the fortunes of Canada during a most critical period of
+its history. The first executive council, which was also the legislative
+council, comprised some of the most eminent men of the Loyalist
+migration. For instance, George Duncan Ludlow; who had been a judge of
+the supreme court of New York; Jonathan Odell, the famous satirist and
+divine; William Hazen, a merchant of high reputation, who had large
+interests on the St. John River from 1763, and had proved his fidelity
+to the crown at a time when his countrymen at Maugerville were disposed
+to join the revolutionary party; Gabriel G. Ludlow, previously a colonel
+in a royal regiment; Edward Winslow, Daniel Bliss and Isaac Allen, all
+of whom had borne arms in the royal service and had suffered the loss of
+valuable property, confiscated by the successful rebels.
+
+The constitution of 1784 provided for an assembly of twenty-six members
+who were elected in 1785, and met for the first time on the 3rd of
+January, 1786, at the Mallard House, a plain two-storey building on the
+north side of King Street. The city of St. John ceased to be the seat of
+government in 1787, when the present capital, Fredericton, first known
+as St. Anne's, was chosen. Of the twenty-six members elected to this
+assembly, twenty-three were Loyalists, and the same class necessarily
+continued for many years to predominate in the legislature. The first
+speaker was Amos Botsford, the pioneer of the Loyalist migration to New
+Brunswick, whose grandson occupied the same position for a short time in
+the senate of the Dominion of Canada.
+
+Coming to the province of Lower Canada we find it contained at this time
+a population of about a hundred thousand souls, of whom six thousand
+lived in Quebec and Montreal respectively. Only two thousand
+English-speaking persons resided in the province, almost entirely in the
+towns. Small as was the British minority, it continued that agitation
+for an assembly which had been commenced long before the passage of the
+Quebec act. A nominated council did not satisfy the political ambition
+of this class, who obtained little support from the French Canadian
+people. The objections of the latter arose from the working of the act
+itself. Difficulties had grown up in the administration of the law,
+chiefly in consequence of its being entrusted exclusively to men
+acquainted only with English jurisprudence, and not disposed to comply
+with the letter and intention of the imperial statute. As a matter of
+practice, French law was only followed as equity suggested; and the
+consequence was great legal confusion in the province. A question had
+also arisen as to the legality of the issue of writs of _habeas corpus_,
+and it was eventually necessary to pass an ordinance to remove all
+doubts on this important point.
+
+The Loyalist settlers on the St. Lawrence and Niagara Rivers sent a
+petition in 1785 to the home government, praying for the establishment
+of a new district west of the River Beaudette "with the blessings of
+British laws and British government, and of exemption from French tenure
+of property." While such matters were under the consideration of the
+imperial authorities, Sir Guy Carleton, once more governor-general of
+Canada, and lately raised to the peerage as Lord Dorchester,
+established, in 1788, five new districts for the express object of
+providing for the temporary government of the territory where the
+Loyalists had settled. These districts were known as Luneburg,
+Mecklenburg, Nassau and Hesse, in the western country, and Gaspe in the
+extreme east of the province of Quebec, where a small number of the same
+class of people had also found new homes. Townships, ranging from eighty
+to forty thousand acres each, were also surveyed within these districts
+and parcelled out with great liberality among the Loyalists. Magistrates
+wore appointed to administer justice with the simplest possible
+machinery at a time when men trained in the law were not available.
+
+The grants of land made to the Loyalists and their children were large,
+and in later years a considerable portion passed into the hands of
+speculators who bought them up at nominal sums. It was in connection
+with these grants that the name of "United Empire Loyalists" originated.
+An order-in-council was passed on the 9th of November, 1780, in
+accordance with the wish of Lord Dorchester "to put a mark of honour
+upon the families who had adhered to the _unity of the empire_ and
+joined the royal standard in America before the treaty of separation in
+1783." Accordingly the names of all persons falling under this
+designation were to be recorded as far as possible, in order that "their
+posterity may be discriminated from future settlers in the parish lists
+and rolls of militia of their respective districts, and other public
+remembrances of the province."
+
+The British cabinet, of which Mr. Pitt, the famous son of the Earl of
+Chatham, was first minister, now decided to divide the province of
+Quebec into two districts, with separate legislatures and governments.
+Lord Grenville, while in charge of the department of colonial affairs,
+wrote in 1789 to Lord Dorchester that the "general object of the plan is
+to assimilate the constitution of the province to that of Great Britain
+as nearly as the differences arising from the names of the people and
+from the present situation of the province will admit." He also
+emphatically expressed the opinion that "a considerable degree of
+attention is due to the prejudices and habits of the French inhabitants,
+and every degree of caution should be used to continue to them the
+enjoyment of those civil and religious rights which were secured to them
+by the capitulation of the province, or have since been granted by the
+liberal and enlightened spirit of the British government." When the bill
+for the formation of the two provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada
+came before the house of commons, Mr. Adam Lymburner, an influential
+merchant of Quebec, appeared at the Bar and ably opposed the separation
+"as dangerous in every point of view to British interests in America,
+and to the safety, tranquillity and prosperity of the inhabitants of the
+province of Quebec" He pressed the repeal of the Quebec act in its
+entirety and the enactment of a perfectly new constitution "unclogged
+and unembarrassed with any laws prior to this period" He professed to
+represent the views "of the most intelligent and respectable of the
+French Canadians"; but their antagonism was not directed against the
+Quebec act in itself, but against the administration of the law,
+influenced as this was by the opposition of the British people to the
+French civil code. Nor does it appear, as Mr. Lymburner asserted, that
+the western Loyalists were hostile to the formation of two distinct
+provinces. He represented simply the views of the English-speaking
+inhabitants of Lower Canada, who believed that the proposed division
+would place them in a very small minority in the legislature and, as the
+issue finally proved, at the mercy of the great majority of the French
+Canadian representatives, while on the other hand the formation of one
+large province extending from Gaspe to the head of the great lakes would
+ensure an English representation sufficiently formidable to lessen the
+danger of French Canadian domination. However, the British government
+seems to have been actuated by a sincere desire to do justice to the
+French Canadians and the Loyalists of the upper province at one and the
+same time. When introducing the bill in the house of commons on the 7th
+March, 1791, Mr. Pitt expressed the hope that "the division would remove
+the differences of opinion which had arisen between the old and new
+inhabitants, since each province would have the right of enacting laws
+desired in its own house of assembly." He believed a division to be
+essential, as "otherwise he could not reconcile the clashing interests
+known to exist." Mr. Burke was of opinion that "to attempt to amalgamate
+two populations composed of races of men diverse in language, laws and
+customs, was a complete absurdity", and he consequently approved of the
+division. Mr. Fox, from whom Burke became alienated during this debate,
+looked at the question in an entirely different light and was strongly
+of opinion that "it was most desirable to see the French and English
+inhabitants coalesce into one body, and the different distinctions of
+people extinguished for ever."
+
+The Constitutional act of 1791 established in each province a
+legislative council and assembly, with powers to make laws. The
+legislative council was to be appointed by the king for life, in Upper
+Canada it was to consist of not less than seven, and in Lower Canada of
+not less than fifteen members. The sovereign might, if he thought
+proper, annex hereditary titles of honour to the right of being summoned
+to the legislative council in either province--a provision which was
+never brought into operation. The whole number of members in the
+assembly of Upper Canada was not to be less than sixteen; in Lower
+Canada not less than fifty--to be chosen by a majority of votes in
+either case. The British parliament reserved to itself the right of
+levying and collecting customs-duties, for the regulation of navigation
+and commerce to be carried on between the two provinces, or between
+either of them and any other part of the British dominions or any
+foreign country. Parliament also reserved the power of directing the
+payment of these duties, but at the same time left the exclusive
+apportionment of all moneys levied in this way to the legislature, which
+could apply them to such public uses as it might deem expedient. The
+free exercise of the Roman Catholic religion was guaranteed permanently.
+The king was to have the right to set apart, for the use of the
+Protestant clergy in the colony, a seventh part of all uncleared crown
+lands. The governor might also be empowered to erect parsonages and
+endow them, and to present incumbents or ministers of the Church of
+England. The English criminal law was to obtain in both provinces.
+
+In the absence of Lord Dorchester in England, the duty devolved on
+Major-General Alured Clarke, as lieutenant-governor, to bring the Lower
+Canadian constitution into force by a proclamation on the 18th February,
+1791. On the 7th May, in the following year, the new province of Lower
+Canada was divided into fifty electoral districts, composed of
+twenty-one counties, the towns of Montreal and Quebec, and the boroughs
+of Three Rivers and William Henry (now Sorel). The elections to the
+assembly took place in June, and a legislative council of fifteen
+influential Canadians was appointed. The new legislature was convoked
+"for the despatch of business" on the 17th December, in the same year,
+in an old stone building known as the Bishop's Palace, which stood on a
+rocky eminence in the upper town of the old capital.
+
+Chief Justice Smith took the chair of the legislative council under
+appointment by the crown, and the assembly elected as its speaker Mr.
+Joseph Antome Panet, an eminent advocate, who was able to speak the two
+languages. In the house there were only sixteen members of British
+origin--and in later parliaments there was even a still smaller
+representation--while the council was nearly divided between the two
+nationalities. When the house proceeded to business, one of its first
+acts was to order that all motions, bills and other proceedings should
+be put in the two languages. We find in the list of French Canadian
+members of the two houses representatives of the most ancient and
+distinguished families of the province. A descendant of Pierre Boucher,
+governor of Three Rivers in 1653, and the author of a rare history of
+Canada, sat in the council of 1792 just as a Boucherville sits
+now-a-days in the senate of the Dominion. A Lotbiniere had been king's
+councillor in 1680. A Chaussegros de Lery had been an engineer in the
+royal colonial corps; a Lanaudiere had been an officer in the Carignan
+regiment in 1652; a Salaberry was a captain in the royal navy, and his
+family won further honours on the field of Chateauguay in the war of
+1812-15, when the soil of Lower Canada was invaded. A Taschereau had
+been a royal councillor in 1732. The names of Belestre, Valtric, Bonne,
+Rouville, St. Ours, and Duchesnay, are often met in the annals of the
+French regime, and show the high character of the representation in the
+first parliament of Lower Canada.
+
+The village of Newark was chosen as the capital of Upper Canada by
+Colonel (afterwards Major-General) Simcoe, the first lieutenant-governor
+of the province. He had served with much distinction during the
+revolution as the commander of the Queen's Rangers, some of whom had
+settled in the Niagara district. He was remarkable for his decision of
+character and for his ardent desire to establish the principles of
+British government in the new province. He was a sincere friend of the
+Loyalists, whose attachment to the crown he had had many opportunities
+of appreciating during his career in the rebellious colonies, and,
+consequently, was an uncompromising opponent of the new republic and of
+the people who were labouring to make it a success on the other side of
+the border. The new parliament met in a wooden building nearly completed
+on the sloping bank of the river, at a spot subsequently covered by a
+rampart of Fort George, which was constructed by Governor Simcoe on the
+surrender of Fort Niagara. A large boulder has been placed on the top of
+the rampart to mark the site of the humble parliament house of Upper
+Canada, which had to be eventually demolished to make place for new
+fortifications. The sittings of the first legislature were not
+unfrequently held under a large tent set up in front of the house, and
+having an interesting history of its own, since it had been carried
+around the world by the famous navigator, Captain Cook.
+
+As soon as Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe assumed the direction of the
+government, he issued a proclamation dividing the province of Upper
+Canada into nineteen counties, some of winch were again divided into
+ridings for the purpose of electing the sixteen representatives to which
+the province was entitled under the act of 1791. One of the first acts
+of the legislature was to change the names of the divisions, proclaimed
+in 1788, to Eastern, Midland, Home, and Western Districts, which
+received additions in the course of years until they were entirely
+superseded by the county organisations. These districts were originally
+intended for judicial and legal purposes.
+
+The legislature met under these humble circumstances at Newark on the
+17th September, 1792. Chief Justice Osgoode was the speaker of the
+council, and Colonel John Macdonell, of Aberchalder, who had gallantly
+served in the royal forces during the revolution, was chosen presiding
+officer of the assembly. Besides him, there were eleven Loyalists among
+the sixteen members of the lower house. In the council of nine members
+there were also several Loyalists, the most prominent being the
+Honourable Richard Cartwright, the grandfather of the minister of trade
+and commerce in the Dominion ministry of 1896-1900.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--Twenty years of political development (1792-1812).
+
+The political conditions of the two decades from 1792 until 1812, when
+war broke out between England and the United States, were for the
+greater part of the time quite free from political agitation, and the
+representatives of the people in both the provinces of Canada were
+mostly occupied with the consideration of measures of purely provincial
+and local import. Nevertheless a year or two before the close of this
+period we can see in the province of Lower Canada premonitions of that
+irrepressible conflict between the two houses--one elected by the
+people and the other nominated by and under the influence of the
+crown--which eventually clogged the machinery of legislation. We can
+also see the beginnings of that strife of races which ultimately led to
+bloodshed and the suspension of the constitution given to Lower Canada
+in 1791.
+
+In 1806 _Le Canadien_, published in the special interest of "Nos
+institutions, notre langue, et nos lois," commenced that career of
+bitter hostility to the government which steadily inflamed the
+antagonism between the races. The arrogance of the principal officials,
+who had the ear of the governor, and practically engrossed all the
+influence in the management of public affairs, alienated the French
+Canadians, who came to believe that they were regarded by the British as
+an inferior race. As a matter of fact, many of the British inhabitants
+themselves had no very cordial feelings towards the officials, whose
+social exclusiveness offended all who did not belong to their special
+"set." In those days the principal officials were appointed by the
+colonial office and the governor-general, and had little or no respect
+for the assembly, on which they depended in no wise for their
+continuance in office or their salaries. The French Canadians eventually
+made few distinctions among the British but looked on them as, generally
+speaking, enemies to their institutions.
+
+It was unfortunate, at a time when great discretion and good temper were
+so essential, that Sir James Craig should have been entrusted with the
+administration of the government of Lower Canada. The critical state of
+relations with the United States no doubt influenced his appointment,
+which, from a purely military point of view, was excellent. As it was,
+however, his qualities as a soldier were not called into requisition,
+while his want of political experience, his utter incapacity to
+understand the political conditions of the country, his supreme
+indifference to the wishes of the assembly, made his administration an
+egregious failure. Indeed it may he said that it was during his time
+that the seed was sown for the growth of that political and racial
+antagonism which led to the rebellion of 1837. It is not possible to
+exaggerate the importance of the consequences of his unjustifiable
+dismissal of Mr. Speaker Panet, and other prominent French Canadians,
+from the militia on the ground that they had an interest in the
+_Canadien_, or of his having followed up this very indiscreet act by the
+unwarrantable arrest of Mr. Bedard and some other persons, on the charge
+that they were the authors or publishers of what he declared to be
+treasonable writings. It is believed that the governor's action was
+largely influenced by the statements and advice of Chief Justice Sewell,
+the head of the legislative council and the official class. Several
+persons were released when they expressed regret for the expression of
+any opinions considered extreme by the governor and his advisers, but
+Mr. Bedard remained in prison for a year rather than directly or
+indirectly admit that the governor had any justification for his
+arbitrary act Sir James attempted to obtain the approval of the home
+government; but his agent, a Mr. Ryland, a man of ability and suavity,
+prominent always in the official life of the country, signally failed to
+obtain the endorsement of his master's action. He was unable to secure a
+promise that the constitution of 1791 should be repealed, and the
+legislative council of the Quebec act again given the supremacy in the
+province. Mr. Bedard was released just before the governor left the
+country, with the declaration that "his detention had been a matter of
+precaution and not of punishment"--by no means a manly or graceful
+withdrawal from what was assuredly a most untenable position from the
+very first moment Mr. Bedard was thrown into prison. Sir James Craig
+left the province a disappointed man, and died in England a few months
+after his return, from the effects of an incurable disease to which he
+had been a victim for many years. He was hospitable, generous and
+charitable, but the qualities of a soldier dominated all his acts of
+civil government.
+
+In the other provinces, happily, there were no racial differences to
+divide the community and aggravate those political disputes that are
+sure to arise in the working of representative institutions in a British
+country. In Upper Canada for years the questions under discussion were
+chiefly connected with the disposal of the public lands, which in early
+times were too lavishly granted by Simcoe; and this led to the bringing
+in for a while of some undesirable immigrants from the United States
+--undesirable because they were imbued with republican and levelling
+ideas by no means favourable to the development and stability of English
+institutions of government. One of the first acts of the legislature was
+the establishment of courts of law and equity, in accordance with the
+practice and principles of English jurisprudence. Another very important
+measure was one for the legalisation of marriages which had been
+irregularly performed during early times in the absence of the clergy of
+the Anglican Church by justices of the peace, and even the officers in
+charge of military posts. Magistrates were still allowed to perform the
+marriage ceremony according to the ritual of the Church of England, when
+the services of a clergyman of that denomination were not available. Not
+until 1830 were more liberal provisions passed and the clergy of any
+recognised creed permitted to unite persons legally in wedlock.
+
+It was in the second session of the first parliament of Upper Canada,
+where the Loyalists were in so huge a majority, that an act was passed
+"to prevent the further introduction of slaves and to limit the term of
+contract for servitude within this province." A considerable number of
+slave servants accompanied their Loyalist masters to the provinces at
+the end of the war, and we find for many years after in the newspapers
+advertisements relating to runaway servants of this class. The Loyalists
+in the maritime provinces, like the same class in Upper Canada, never
+gave their approval to the continuance of slavery. So early as 1800 some
+prominent persons brought before the supreme court of New Brunswick the
+case of one Nancy Morton, a slave, on a writ of _habeas corpus_; and her
+right to freedom was argued by Ward Chipmim, one of the Loyalist makers
+of New Brunswick. Although the argument in this case was not followed by
+a judicial conclusion--the four judges being divided in opinion--slavery
+thereafter practically ceased to exist, not only in New Brunswick, but
+in the other maritime provinces, leaving behind it a memory so faint,
+that the mere suggestion that there ever was a slave in either of these
+provinces is very generally received with surprise, if not with
+incredulity.
+
+The early history of representative government in Prince Edward Island
+is chiefly a dull narrative of political conflict between the governors
+and the assemblies, and of difficulties and controversies arising out of
+the extraordinary concessions of lands to a few proprietors, who
+generally infringed the conditions of their grants and retarded the
+settlement of the island. In New Brunswick the legislature was entirely
+occupied with the consideration of measures for the administration of
+justice and local affairs in an entirely new country. Party government
+had not yet declared itself, and the Loyalists who had founded the
+province controlled the legislature for many years until a spirit of
+liberalism and reform found full expression and led to the enlargement
+of the public liberty.
+
+In Nova Scotia the Loyalists gradually acquired considerable influence
+in the government of the province, as the imperial authorities felt it
+incumbent on them to provide official positions for those men who had
+sacrificed so much for the empire. Their power was increased after the
+arrival of Governor John Wentworth--afterwards made a baronet--who had
+been the royal governor of New Hampshire, and had naturally a strong
+antipathy to democratic principles in any form. In his time there grew
+up an official oligarchy, chiefly composed of members of the legislative
+council, then embodying within itself executive, legislative and
+judicial powers. A Liberal party soon arose in Nova Scotia, not only
+among the early New England settlers of the time of Governor Lawrence,
+but among the Loyalists themselves, for it is inevitable that wherever
+we find an English people, the spirit of popular liberty and the
+determination to enjoy self-government in a complete sense will sooner
+or later assert itself among all classes of men. The first prominent
+leader of the opposition to the Tory methods of the government was one
+William Cottnam Tonge, who was for some years in the employ of the naval
+department. Sir John Wentworth carried his hostility to the extent of
+dismissing him from his naval office and also of refusing to accept him
+as speaker of the assembly--the first example in colonial history of an
+extreme exercise of the royal prerogative by a governor. Mr. Tonge's
+only crime appears to have been his bold assertion from time to time of
+the privileges of the house of assembly, as the guardian of the revenues
+and expenditures, against the interference of the governor and council.
+We find in Nova Scotia, as in the other provinces, during the period in
+question, the elements of perpetual discord, which found more serious
+expression after the war of 1812-15, and led to important constitutional
+changes.
+
+The governors of those times became, from the very nature of their
+position, so many provincial autocrats, brought constantly into
+conflict with the popular body, and unable to conceive any system of
+government possible that did not place the province directly under the
+control of the imperial authorities, to whom appeals must be made in the
+most trivial cases of doubt or difficulty. The representative of the
+crown brooked no interference on the part of the assembly with what he
+considered his prerogatives and rights, and as a rule threw himself into
+the arms of the council, composed of the official oligarchy. In the
+course of time, the whole effort of the Liberal or Reform party, which
+gathered strength after 1815, was directed against the power of the
+legislative council. We hear nothing in the assemblies or the literature
+of the period under review in advocacy of the system of parliamentary or
+responsible government which was then in existence in the parent state
+and which we now enjoy in British North America. In fact, it was not
+until the beginning of the fourth decade of the nineteenth century that
+the Liberal politicians of Nova Scotia, like those of Upper Canada,
+recognised that the real remedy for existing political grievances was to
+be found in the harmonious operation of the three branches of the
+legislature. Even then we look in vain for an enunciation of this
+essential principle of representative government in the speeches or
+writings of a single French Canadian from 1791 until 1838, when the
+constitution of Lower Canada was suspended as a result of rebellion.
+
+During the twenty years of which I am writing the government of Canada
+had much reason for anxiety on account of the unsatisfactory state of
+the relations between Great Britain and the United States, and of the
+attempts of French emissaries after the outbreak of the revolution in
+France to stir up sedition in Lower Canada. One of the causes of the war
+of 1812-15 was undoubtedly the irritation that was caused by the
+retention of the western posts by Great Britain despite the stipulation
+in the definitive treaty of peace to give them up "with all convenient
+speed." This policy of delay was largely influenced by the fact that the
+new republic had failed to take effective measures for the restitution
+of the estates of the Loyalists or for the payment of debts due to
+British creditors; but in addition there was probably still, as in 1763
+and 1774, a desire to control the fur-trade and the Indians of the west,
+who claimed that the lands between the Canadian frontier and the Ohio
+were exclusively their hunting-grounds, not properly included within the
+territory ceded to the United States. Jay's treaty, arranged in 1794,
+with the entire approval of Washington, who thereby incurred the
+hostility of the anti-British party, was a mere temporary expedient for
+tiding over the difficulties between England and the United States. Its
+most important result so far as it affected Canada was the giving up in
+1797 of the western posts including Old Fort Niagara. It became then
+necessary to remove the seat of government from Niagara, as an insecure
+position, and York, which regained its original Indian name of Toronto
+in 1834, was chosen as the capital by Lord Dorchester in preference to a
+place suggested by Simcoe on the Tranche, now the Thames, near where
+London now stands. The second parliament of Upper Canada met in York on
+the first of June, 1797, when Mr. Russell, who had been secretary to Sir
+Henry Clinton during the American war, was administrator of the
+government after the departure of Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe from a
+province whose interests he had so deeply at heart.
+
+After the declaration of war against England by the republican
+convention of France in 1793, French agents found their way into the
+French parishes of Lower Canada, and endeavoured to make the credulous
+and ignorant _habitants_ believe that France would soon regain dominion
+in her old colony. During General Prescott's administration, one McLane,
+who was said to be not quite mentally responsible for his acts, was
+convicted at Quebec for complicity in the designs of French agents, and
+was executed near St. John's gate with all the revolting incidents of a
+traitor's death in those relentless times. His illiterate accomplice,
+Frechette, was sentenced to imprisonment for life, but was soon released
+on the grounds of his ignorance of the serious crime he was committing.
+No doubt in these days some restlessness existed in the French Canadian
+districts, and the English authorities found it difficult for a time to
+enforce the provisions of the militia act. Happily for the peace and
+security of Canada, the influence of the Bishop and Roman Catholic
+clergy, who looked with horror on the murderous acts of the
+revolutionists of France, was successfully exerted for the support of
+British rule, whose justice and benignity their church had felt ever
+since the conquest. The name of Bishop Plessis must always be mentioned
+in terms of sincere praise by every English writer who reviews the
+history of those trying times, when British interests would have been
+more than once in jeopardy had it not been for the loyal conduct of this
+distinguished prelate and the priests under his direction.
+
+I shall now proceed to narrate the events of the unfortunate war which
+broke out in 1812 between England and the United States, as a result of
+the unsettled relations of years, and made Canada a battle ground on
+which were given many illustrations of the patriotism and devotion of
+the Canadian people, whose conquest, the invaders thought, would be a
+very easy task.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE WAR OF 1812--15.
+
+
+SECTION I.--Origin of the war between England and the United States.
+
+The causes of the war of 1812-15 must be sought in the history of Europe
+and the relations between England and the United States for several
+decades before it actually broke out. Great Britain was engaged in a
+supreme struggle not only for national existence but even for the
+liberties of Europe, from the moment when Napoleon, in pursuance of his
+overweening ambition, led his armies over the continent on those
+victorious marches which only ended amid the ice and snow of Russia.
+Britain's battles were mainly to be fought on the sea where her great
+fleet made her supreme. The restriction of all commerce that was not
+British was a necessary element in the assertion of her naval
+superiority. If neutral nations were to be allowed freely to carry the
+produce of the colonies of Powers with whom Great Britain was at war,
+then they were practically acting as allies of her enemies, and were
+liable to search and seizure. For some time, however, Great Britain
+thought it expedient to concur in the practice that when a cargo was
+trans-shipped in the United States, and paid a duty there, it became to
+all intents and purposes American property and might be carried to a
+foreign country and there sold, as if it were the actual produce of the
+republic itself. This became a very profitable business to the merchants
+of the United States, as a neutral nation, during the years when Great
+Britain was at war with France, since they controlled a large proportion
+of all foreign commerce. Frauds constantly occurred during the
+continuance of this traffic, and at last British statesmen felt the
+injury to their commerce was so great that the practice was changed to
+one which made American vessels liable to be seized and condemned in
+British prize courts whenever it was clear that their cargoes were not
+American produce, but were actually purchased at the port of an enemy.
+Even provisions purchased from an enemy or its colonies were considered
+"contraband of war" on the ground that they afforded actual aid and
+encouragement to an enemy. The United States urged at first that only
+military stores could fall under this category, and eventually went so
+far as to assert the principle that under all circumstances "free ships
+make free goods," and that neutral ships had a right to carry any
+property, even that of a nation at war with another power, and to trade
+when and where they liked without fear of capture. England, however,
+would not admit in those days of trial principles which would
+practically make a neutral nation an ally of her foe. She persisted in
+restricting the commerce of the United States by all the force she had
+upon the sea.
+
+This restrictive policy, which touched the American pocket and
+consequently the American heart so deeply, was complicated by another
+question of equal, if not greater, import. The forcible impressment of
+men to man the British fleet had been for many years a necessary evil in
+view of the national emergency, and of the increase in the mercantile
+marine which attracted large numbers to its service. Great abuses were
+perpetrated in the operation of this harsh method of maintaining an
+efficient naval force, and there was no part of the British Isles where
+the presence of a press gang did not bring dismay into many a home.
+Great Britain, then and for many years later, upheld to an extreme
+degree the doctrine of perpetual allegiance; she refused to recognise
+the right of any of her citizens to divest themselves of their national
+fealty and become by naturalisation the subject of a foreign power or a
+citizen of the United States Such a doctrine was necessarily most
+obnoxious to the government and people of a new republic like the United
+States, whose future development rested on the basis of a steady and
+large immigration, which lost much of its strength and usefulness as
+long as the men who came into the country were not recognised as
+American citizens at home and abroad. Great Britain claimed the right,
+as a corollary of this doctrine of indefeasible allegiance, to search
+the neutral ships of the United States during the war with France, to
+enquire into the nationality of the seaman on board of those vessels, to
+impress all those whom her officers had reason to consider British
+subjects by birth, and to pay no respect to the fact that they may have
+been naturalised in the country of their adoption. The assertion of the
+right to search a neutral vessel and to impress seamen who were British
+subjects has in these modern times been condemned as a breach of the
+sound principle, that a right of search can only be properly exercised
+in the case of a neutral's violation of his neutrality--that is to say,
+the giving of aid to one of the parties to the war The forcible
+abduction of a seaman under the circumstances stated was simply an
+unwarrantable attempt to enforce municipal law on board a neutral
+vessel, which was in effect foreign territory, to be regarded as sacred
+and inviolate except in a case where it was brought under the operation
+of a recognised doctrine of international law. Great Britain at that
+critical period of her national existence would not look beyond the fact
+that the acts of the United States as a neutral were most antagonistic
+to the energetic efforts she was making to maintain her naval supremacy
+during the European crisis created by Napoleon's ambitious designs.
+
+The desertion of British seamen from British ships, for the purpose of
+finding refuge in the United States and then taking service in American
+vessels, caused great irritation in Great Britain and justified, in the
+opinion of some statesmen and publicists who only regarded national
+necessities, the harsh and arbitrary manner in which English officials
+stopped and searched American shipping on the high seas, seized men whom
+they claimed to be deserters, and impressed any whom they asserted to be
+still British subjects. In 1807 the British frigate "Leopard," acting
+directly under the orders of the admiral at Halifax, even ventured to
+fire a broadside into the United States cruiser "Chesapeake" a few miles
+from Chesapeake Bay, killed and wounded a number of her crew, and then
+carried off several sailors who were said to be, and no doubt were,
+deserters from the English service and who were the primary cause of the
+detention of this American man-of-war. For this unjustifiable act
+England subsequently made some reparation, but nevertheless it rankled
+for years in the minds of the party hostile to Great Britain and helped
+to swell the list of grievances which the American government in the
+course of years accumulated against the parent state as a reason for
+war.
+
+The difficulties between England and the United States, which culminated
+in war before the present century was far advanced, were also
+intensified by disputes which commenced soon after the treaty of 1783. I
+have already shown that for some years the north-west posts were still
+retained by the English on the ground, it is understood, that the claims
+of English creditors, and especially those of the Loyalists, should be
+first settled before all the conditions of the treaty could be carried
+out. The subsequent treaty of 1794, negotiated by Chief Justice Jay,
+adjusted these and other questions, and led for some years to a better
+understanding with Great Britain, but at the same time led to a rupture
+of friendly relations with the French Directory, who demanded the repeal
+of that treaty as in conflict with the one made with France in 1778, and
+looked for some tangible evidence of sympathetic interest with the
+French revolution. The war that followed with the French republic was
+insignificant in its operations, and was immediately terminated by
+Napoleon when he overthrew the Directory, and seized the government for
+his own ambitious objects. Subsequently, the administration of the
+United States refused to renew the Jay Treaty when it duly expired, and
+as a consequence the relatively amicable relations that had existed
+between the Republic and England again became critical, since American
+commerce and shipping were exposed to all the irritating measures that
+England felt compelled under existing conditions to carry out in
+pursuance of the policy of restricting the trade of neutral vessels.
+Several attempts were made by the British government, between the expiry
+of the Jay Treaty and the actual rupture of friendly relations with the
+United States, to come to a better understanding with respect to some of
+the questions in dispute, but the differences between the two Powers
+were so radical that all negotiations came to naught. Difficulties were
+also complicated by the condition of political parties in the American
+republic and the ambition of American statesmen. When the democratic
+republicans or "Strict constructionists," as they have been happily
+named, with Jefferson at their head, obtained office, French ideas came
+into favour; while the federalists or "Broad constitutionalists," of
+whom Washington, Hamilton and Adams had been the first exponents, were
+anxious to keep the nation free from European complications and to
+settle international difficulties by treaty and not by war. But this
+party was in a hopeless minority, during the critical times when
+international difficulties were resolving themselves into war, and was
+unable to influence public opinion sufficiently to make negotiations for
+the maintenance of peace successful, despite the fact that it had a
+considerable weight in the states of New England.
+
+The international difficulties of the United States entered upon a
+critical condition when Great Britain, in her assertion of naval
+supremacy and restricted commerce as absolutely essential to her
+national security, issued an order-in-council which declared a strict
+blockade of the European coast from Brest to the Elbe. Napoleon
+retaliated with the Berlin decree, which merely promulgated a paper
+blockade of the British Isles. Then followed the later British
+orders-in-council, which prevented the shipping of the United States
+from trading with any country where British vessels could not enter, and
+allowed them only to trade with other European ports where they made
+entries and paid duties in English custom-houses. Napoleon increased the
+duties of neutral commerce by the Milan decree of 1807, which ordered
+the seizure of all neutral vessels which might have been searched by
+English cruisers. These orders meant the ruin of American commerce,
+which had become so profitable; and the Washington government attempted
+to retaliate, first by forbidding the importation of manufactures from
+England and her colonies, and, when this effort was ineffective, by
+declaring an embargo in its own ports, which had only the result of
+still further crippling American commerce at home and abroad.
+Eventually, in place of this unwise measure, which, despite its
+systematic evasion, brought serious losses to the whole nation and
+seemed likely to result in civil war in the east, where the discontent
+was greatest, a system of non-intercourse with both England and France
+was adopted, to last so long as either should press its restrictive
+measures against the republic, but this new policy of retaliation hardly
+impeded American commerce, of which the profits were far greater than
+the risks. The leaders of the Democratic party were now anxious to
+conciliate France, and endeavoured to persuade the nation that Napoleon
+had practically freed the United States from the restrictions to which
+it so strongly objected. It is a matter beyond dispute that the French
+decrees were never exactly annulled; and the Emperor was pursuing an
+insidious policy which confiscated American vessels in French ports at
+the very moment he was professing friendship with the United States. His
+object was to force the government of that country into war with
+England, and, unfortunately for its interests, its statesmen lent
+themselves to his designs.
+
+The Democratic leaders, determined to continue in power, fanned the
+flame against England, whose maritime superiority enabled her to inflict
+the greatest injury on American shipping and commerce. The governing
+party looked to the south and west for their principal support. In these
+sections the interests were exclusively agricultural, while in New
+England, where the Federalists were generally in the majority, the
+commercial and maritime elements predominated. In Kentucky, Ohio, and
+other states there was a strong feeling against England on account of
+the current belief that the English authorities in Canada had tampered
+with the Indian tribes and induced them to harass the settlers until
+Harrison, on the eve of the war of 1812, effectually cowed them. It is,
+however, now well established by the Canadian archives that Sir James
+Craig, when governor-general in 1807, actually warned the Washington
+government of the restlessness of the western Indians, and of the
+anxiety of the Canadian authorities to avoid an Indian war in the
+north-west, which might prejudicially operate against the western
+province. This fact was not, however, generally known, and the feeling
+against Canada and England was kept alive by the dominant party in the
+United States by the disclosure that one John Henry had been sent by the
+Canadian government in 1808 to ascertain the sentiment of the people of
+New England with respect to the relations between the two countries and
+the maintenance of peace. Henry's correspondence was really quite
+harmless, but when it had been purchased from him by Madison, on the
+refusal of the imperial government to buy his silence, it served the
+temporary purpose of making the people of the west believe that England
+was all the while intriguing against the national interests, and
+endeavouring to create a discontent which might end in civil strife.
+Under these circumstances the southern leaders, Clay of Kentucky, and
+Calhoun of South Carolina, who always showed an inveterate animosity
+against England, forced Madison, then anxious to be re-elected
+president, to send a warlike message to congress, which culminated in a
+formal declaration of hostilities on the 18th of June, 1812, only one
+day later than the repeal of the obnoxious order-in-council by England.
+When the repeal became known some weeks later in Canada and the United
+States, the province of Upper Canada had been actually invaded by Hull,
+and the government of the United States had no desire whatever to desist
+from warlike operations, which, they confidently believed, would end in
+the successful occupation of Canada at a time when England was unable,
+on account of her European responsibilities, to extend to its defenders
+effective assistance.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--Canada during the war.
+
+In 1812 there were five hundred thousand people living in the provinces
+of British North America. Of this number, the French people of Lower
+Canada made up at least one half. These people had some grievances, and
+political agitators, notably the writers of the _Canadien_, were
+creating jealousies and rivalries between the French and English races
+chiefly on the ground of the dominant influence of the British minority
+in the administration of public affairs. On the whole, however, the
+country was prosperous and the people generally contented with British
+rule, the freedom of which presented such striking contrast to the
+absolutism of the old French regime. The great majority of the eighty
+thousand inhabitants of Upper or Western Canada were Loyalists or
+descendants of Loyalists, who had become deeply attached to their new
+homes, whilst recalling with feelings of deep bitterness the sufferings
+and trials of the American revolution. This class was naturally attached
+to British rule and hostile to every innovation which had the least
+semblance of American republicanism. In the western part of the province
+of Upper Canada there was, however, an American element composed of
+people who had been brought into the country by the liberal grants of
+land made to settlers, and who were not animated by the high sentiments
+of the Loyalists of 1783 and succeeding years. These people, for some
+years previous to 1812, were misled by political demagogues like Wilcox
+and Marcle, both of whom deserted to the enemy soon after the outbreak
+of the war. Emissaries from the republic were busily engaged for months,
+we now know, in fomenting a feeling against England among these later
+immigrants, and in persuading them that the time was close at hand when
+Canada would be annexed to the federal republic. Some attempts were even
+made to create discontent among the French Canadians, but no success
+appears to have followed these efforts in a country where the bishop,
+priests and leading men of the rural communities perfectly appreciated
+the value of British connection.
+
+The statesmen of the United States, who were responsible for the war,
+looked on the provinces as so many weak communities which could be
+easily invaded and conquered by the republican armies. Upper Canada,
+with its long and exposed frontier and its small and scattered
+population, was considered utterly indefensible and almost certain to be
+successfully occupied by the invading forces. There was not a town of
+one thousand souls in the whole of that province, and the only forts of
+any pretension were those on the Niagara frontier. Kingston was a
+fortified town of some importance in the eastern part of the province,
+but Toronto had no adequate means of defence. At the commencement of the
+war there were only fourteen hundred and fifty regular troops in the
+whole country west of Montreal, and these men were scattered at
+Kingston, York, Niagara, Chippewa, Erie, Amherstburg, and St. Joseph.
+The total available militia did not exceed four thousand men, the
+majority of whom had little or no knowledge of military discipline, and
+were not even in the possession of suitable arms and accoutrements,
+though, happily, all were animated by the loftiest sentiments of courage
+and patriotism. In the lower provinces of Eastern Canada and Nova
+Scotia there was a considerable military force, varying in the aggregate
+from four to five thousand men. The fortifications of Quebec were in a
+tolerable state of repair, but the citadel which dominates Halifax was
+in a dilapidated condition. The latter port was, however, the rendezvous
+of the English fleet, which always afforded adequate protection to
+British interests on the Atlantic coasts of British North America,
+despite the depredations of privateers and the successes attained during
+the first months of the war by the superior tonnage and equipment of the
+frigates of the republic. But the hopes that were entertained by the war
+party in the United States could be gathered from the speeches of Henry
+Clay of Kentucky, who believed that the issue would be favourable to
+their invading forces, who would even "negotiate terms of peace at
+Quebec or Halifax."
+
+The United States had now a population of at least six millions and a
+half of whites. It was estimated that during the war the government had
+a militia force of between four and five hundred thousand men available
+for service, while the regular army amounted to thirty-four thousand
+officers and privates. The forces that invaded Canada by the way of Lake
+Champlain, Sackett's Harbour, the Niagara and Detroit Rivers, were
+vastly superior in numbers to the Canadian army of defence, except in
+the closing months of the war, when Prevost had under his command a
+large body of Peninsular veterans. One condition was always in favour of
+Canada, and that was the sullen apathy or antagonism felt by the people
+of New England with respect to the war. Had they been in a different
+spirit, Lower Canada would have been in far greater danger of successful
+invasion and occupation than was the case at any time during the
+progress of the conflict. The famous march of Arnold on Quebec by the
+Kennebec and Chaudiere Rivers might have been repeated with more serious
+consequences while Prevost, and not Guy Carleton, was in supreme command
+in the French Canadian province.
+
+I can attempt to limn only the events which stand out most plainly on
+the graphic pages of this momentous epoch in Canadian history, and to
+pay a humble tribute to the memory of men, whose achievements saved
+Canada for England in those days of trial. From the beginning to the end
+of the conflict, Upper Canada was the principal battle ground upon which
+the combatants fought for the supremacy in North America. Its frontiers
+were frequently crossed, its territory was invaded, and its towns and
+villages were destroyed by the ruthless hand of a foe who entered the
+province not only with the sword of the soldier but even with the torch
+of the incendiary. The plan of operations at the outset of the campaign
+was to invade the province across the Niagara and Detroit Rivers,
+neither of which offered any real obstacles to the passage of a
+determined and well-managed army in the absence of strong
+fortifications, or a superior defensive force, at every vulnerable point
+along the Canadian banks. Queenston was to be a base of operations for a
+large force, which would overrun the whole province and eventually
+co-operate with troops which could come up from Lake Champlain and march
+on Montreal. The forces of the United States in 1812 acted with
+considerable promptitude as soon as war was officially declared, and had
+they been led by able commanders the result might have been most
+unfortunate for Canada. The resources for defence were relatively
+insignificant, and indecision and weakness were shown by Sir George
+Prevost, then commander-in-chief and governor-general--a well meaning
+man but wanting in ability as a military leader, who was also hampered
+by the vacillating counsels of the Liverpool administration, which did
+not believe in war until the province was actually invaded. It was
+fortunate for Canada that she had then at the head of the government in
+the upper province General Brock, who possessed decision of character
+and the ability to comprehend the serious situation of affairs at a
+critical juncture, when his superiors both in England and Canada did
+not appear to understand its full significance.
+
+The assembly of Upper Canada passed an address giving full expression to
+the patriotic sentiments which animated all classes of people when the
+perilous state of affairs and the necessity for energetic action became
+apparent to the dullest minds. The Loyalists and their descendants, as
+well as other loyal people, rallied at the moment of danger to the
+support of Brock; and the immediate result of his decided orders was the
+capture of the post of Michillimackinac, which had been, ever since the
+days of the French regime, a position of great importance on the upper
+lakes. Then followed the ignominious surrender of General Hull and his
+army to Brock, and the consequent occupation of Detroit and the present
+state of Michigan by the British troops. Later, on the Niagara frontier,
+an army of invaders was driven from Queenston Heights, but this victory
+cost the life of the great English general, whose promptitude at the
+commencement of hostilities had saved the province. Among other brave
+men who fell with Brock was the attorney-general of the province,
+Lieutenant-Colonel John Macdonell, who was one of the general's aides.
+General Sheaffe, the son of a Loyalist, took command and drove the enemy
+across the river, in whose rapid waters many were drowned while
+struggling to save themselves from the pursuing British soldiery,
+determined to avenge the death of their honoured chief. A later attempt
+by General Smyth to invade Canadian territory opposite Black Rock on the
+Niagara River, was also attended with the same failure that attended the
+futile attempts to cross the Detroit and to occupy the heights of
+Queenston. At the close of 1812 Upper Canada was entirely free from the
+army of the republic, the Union Jack floated above the fort at Detroit,
+and the ambitious plan of invading the French province and seizing
+Montreal was given up as a result of the disasters to the enemy in the
+west. The party of peace in New England gathered strength, and the
+promoters of the war had no consolation except the triumphs obtained at
+sea by some heavily armed and well manned frigates of the United States
+to the surprise of the government and people of England, who never
+anticipated that their maritime superiority could be in any way
+endangered by a nation whose naval strength was considered so
+insignificant. But these victories of the republic on the ocean during
+the first year of the war were soon effaced by the records of the two
+subsequent years when "The Chesapeake" was captured by "The Shannon" and
+other successes of the British ships restored the prestige of England on
+the sea.
+
+During the second year of the war the United States won some military
+and naval successes in the upper province, although the final results of
+the campaign were largely in favour of the defenders of Canada. The war
+opened with the defeat of General Winchester at Frenchtown on the River
+Raisins in the present state of Michigan; but this success, which was
+won by General Procter, was soon forgotten in the taking of York, the
+capital of the province, and the destruction of its public buildings.
+This event forced General Sheaffe to retire to Kingston, while General
+Vincent retreated to Burlington Heights as soon as the invading army
+occupied Fort George and dominated the Niagara frontier. Sir George
+Prevost showed his military incapacity at Sackett's Harbour, where he
+had it in his power to capture a post which was an important base of
+operations against the province. On the other hand Colonel George
+Macdonell made a successful attack on Ogdensburg and fittingly avenged
+the raid that an American force had made a short time previously on
+Elizabethtown, which was called Brockville not long afterwards in honour
+of the noted general. An advance of the invading army against General
+Vincent was checked by the memorable success won at Stoney Creek by
+Colonel Harvey and the surrender at Beaver Dams of Colonel Boerstler to
+Lieutenant Fitzgibbon, whose clever strategy enabled him to capture a
+large force of the enemy while in command of a few soldiers and Indians.
+When September arrived, the small, though all-important, British fleet
+on Lake Erie, under the command of Captain Barclay, sustained a fatal
+defeat at Put-in-Bay, and the United States vessels under Commodore
+Perry held full control of Lake Erie. A few weeks later, General Procter
+lost the reputation which he had won in January by his defeat of
+Winchester, and was beaten, under circumstances which disgraced him in
+the opinion of his superiors, on the River Thames not far from the
+Indian village of Moraviantown. The American forces were led by General
+Harrison, who had won some reputation in the Indian campaign in the
+north-west and who subsequently became, as his son in later times, a
+president of the United States.
+
+It was in this engagement that the Shawenese chief, Tecumseh, was
+killed, in him England lost a faithful and brave ally. English prospects
+in the west were consequently gloomy for some time, until the autumn of
+1813, when the auspicious tidings spread from the lakes to the Atlantic
+that the forces of the republic, while on their march to Montreal by the
+way of Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence, had been successfully met
+and repulsed at Chateauguay and Chrysler's Farm, two of the most
+memorable engagements of the war, when we consider the insignificant
+forces that checked the invasion and saved Canada at a most critical
+time.
+
+In the last month of the same year Fort George was evacuated by the
+American garrison, but not before General McLure had shamelessly burned
+the pretty town of Niagara, and driven helpless women and children into
+the ice and snow of a Canadian winter. General Drummond, who was in
+command of the western army, retaliated by the capture of Fort Niagara
+and the destruction of all the villages on the American side of the
+river as far as Buffalo, then a very insignificant place. When the new
+year dawned the only Canadian place in possession of the enemy was
+Amherstburg on the western frontier.
+
+The third and last year of the war was distinguished by the capture of
+Oswego and Prairie-des-Chiens by British expeditions; the repulse of a
+large force of the invaders at Lacolle Mills in Lower Canada; the
+surrender of Fort Erie to the enemy, the defeat of General Riall at
+Street's or Usher's Creek in the Niagara district, the hotly contested
+battle won at Lundy's Lane by Drummond, and the ignominious retreat from
+Plattsburg of Sir George Prevost, in command of a splendid force of
+peninsular veterans, after the defeat of Commodore Downey's fleet on
+Lake Champlain. Before the year closed and peace was proclaimed, Fort
+Erie was evacuated, the stars and stripes were driven from Lake Ontario,
+and all Canadian territory except Amherstburg was free from the invader.
+The capital of the United States had been captured by the British and
+its public buildings burned as a severe retaliation for the conduct of
+the invading forces at York, Niagara, Moraviantown, St. David's and Port
+Dover. Both combatants were by this time heartily tired of the war, and
+terms of peace were arranged by the treaty of Ghent at the close of
+1814; but before the news reached the south, General Jackson repulsed
+General Packenham with heavy losses at New Orleans, and won a reputation
+which made him president a few years later.
+
+The maritime provinces never suffered from invasion, but on the contrary
+obtained some advantages from the presence of large numbers of British
+men-of-war in their seaports, and the expenditure on military and naval
+supplies during the three years of war. Following the example of the
+Canadas, the assemblies of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia voted large
+sums of money and embodied the militia for active service or general
+purposes of defence. The assembly of New Brunswick, essentially the
+province of the Loyalists, declared in 1813 that the people were "ready
+and determined to repel every aggression which the infatuated policy of
+the American government may induce it to commit on the soil of New
+Brunswick." But the war was so unpopular in the state of Maine and other
+parts of New England that the provinces by the sea were comparatively
+safe from aggression and conflict. Soon after the commencement of
+hostilities the governors of Maine and New Brunswick issued
+proclamations which prevented hostilities for two years along their
+respective borders. In Nova Scotia there was much activity during the
+war, and letters of marque were issued to privateers which made many
+captures, and offered some compensation for the losses inflicted on the
+coasting and fishing interests by the same class of American vessels. In
+1814 it was decided by the imperial authorities to break the truce which
+had practically left Maine free from invasion, and Sir John Sherbrooke,
+then governor of Nova Scotia, and Rear-Admiral Griffith took possession
+of Machias, Eastport, Moose, and other islands in Passamaquoddy Bay.
+
+The people of the United States generally welcomed the end of a war
+which brought them neither honour nor profit and seemed likely to break
+the union into fragments in consequence of the hostility that had
+existed in New England through the conflict from the very beginning. The
+news of Prevost's retreat from Plattsburg no doubt hastened the decision
+of the British government to enter into negotiations for peace, which
+was settled on terms by no means favourable to Canadian interests. The
+question of the New Brunswick boundary might have been then adjusted on
+conditions which would have prevented at a later day the sacrifice of a
+large tract of territory in Maine which would be now of great value to
+the Dominion. The only advantage which accrued to the Canadians was a
+later convention which gave the people of the provinces full control of
+fisheries, ignorantly sacrificed by the treaty of 1783.
+
+No class of the people of Canada contributed more to the effectiveness
+of the militia and the successful defence of the country than the
+descendants of the Loyalists, who formed so large and influential a
+portion of the English population of British North America. All the
+loyal settlements on the banks of the St. Lawrence, on the Niagara
+frontier, and on the shores of Lake Erie, sent many men to fight by the
+side of the regular British forces. Even aged men, who had borne arms in
+the revolutionary war, came forward with an enthusiasm which showed that
+age had not impaired their courage or patriotism, and although they were
+exempted from active service, they were found most useful in stationary
+duties at a time when Canada demanded the experience of such veterans.
+"Their lessons and example," wrote General Sheaffe, "will have a happy
+influence on the youth of the militia ranks." When Hull invaded the
+province and issued his boastful and threatening proclamation he used
+language which must have seemed a mockery to the children of the
+Loyalists. They remembered too well the sufferings of their fathers and
+brothers during "the stormy period of the revolution," and it seemed
+derisive to tell them now that they were to be "emancipated from tyranny
+and oppression and restored to the dignified station of free men." The
+proclamation issued by Governor Brock touched the loyal hearts of a
+people whose family histories were full of examples of "oppression and
+tyranny," and of the kind consideration and justice of England in their
+new homes. "Where," asked Brock, with the confidence of truth, "is the
+Canadian subject who can truly affirm to himself that he has been
+injured by the government in his person, his property, or his liberty?
+Where is to be found, in any part of the world, a growth so rapid in
+prosperity and wealth as this colony exhibits?" These people, to whom
+this special appeal was made at this national crisis, responded with a
+heartiness which showed that gratitude and affection lay deep in their
+hearts. Even the women worked in the field that their husbands, brothers
+and sons might drive the invaders from Canadian soil. The 104th
+Regiment, which accomplished a remarkable march of thirteen days in the
+depth of winter, from Fredericton to Quebec--a distance of three hundred
+and fifty miles--and lost only one man by illness, was composed of
+descendants of the loyal founders of New Brunswick. This march was
+accomplished practically without loss, while more than three hundred
+men were lost by Benedict Arnold in his expedition of 1777 against
+Quebec by the way of Kennebec--a journey not more dangerous or arduous
+than that so successfully accomplished by the New Brunswick Loyalists.
+In 1814 considerable numbers of seamen for service in the upper lakes
+passed through New Brunswick to Quebec, and were soon followed by
+several companies of the 8th or King's Regiment. The patriotism of the
+Loyalists of New Brunswick was shown by grants of public money and every
+other means in their power, while these expeditions were on their way to
+the seat of war in the upper provinces.
+
+Historians and poets have often dwelt on the heroism of Laura Secord,
+daughter and wife of Loyalists, who made a perilous journey in 1814
+through the Niagara district, and succeeded in warning Lieutenant
+Fitzgibbon of the approach of the enemy, thus enabling him with a few
+soldiers and Indians to surprise Colonel Boerstler near Beaver Dams and
+force him by clever strategy to surrender with nearly 600 men and
+several cannon. Even boys fled from home and were found fighting in the
+field. The Prince Regent, at the close of the war, expressly thanked the
+Canadian militia, who had "mainly contributed to the immediate
+preservation of the province and its future security." The Loyalists,
+who could not save the old colonies to England, did their full share in
+maintaining her supremacy in the country she still owned in the valley
+of the St. Lawrence and on the shores of the Atlantic.
+
+As Bishop Plessis stimulated a patriotic sentiment among the French
+Canadians, so Vicar-General Macdonell of Glengarry, subsequently the
+first Roman Catholic bishop of Upper Canada, performed good service by
+assisting in the formation of a Glengarry regiment, and otherwise taking
+an active part in the defence of the province, where his will always be
+an honoured name. Equally indefatigable in patriotic endeavour was
+Bishop Strachan, then rector of York, who established "The Loyal and
+Patriotic Society," which did incalculable good by relieving the
+necessities of women and children, when the men were serving in the
+battlefield, by providing clothing and food for the soldiery, and
+otherwise contributing towards the comfort and succour of all those who
+were taking part in the public defences. Of the engagements of the war
+there are two which, above all others, possess features on which the
+historian must always like to dwell. The battle which was fought against
+such tremendous odds on the banks of the Chateauguay by less than a
+thousand French Canadians, led by Salaberry and Macdonell, recalls in
+some respects the defeat of Braddock in 1755. The disaster to the
+British forces near the Monongahela was mainly the result of the
+strategy of the Indians, who were dispersed in the woods which reechoed
+to their wild yells and their ever fatal shots fired under cover of
+trees, rocks and stumps. The British were paralysed as they saw their
+ranks steadily decimated by the fire of an enemy whom they could never
+see, and who seemed multitudinous as their shrieks and shouts were heard
+far and wide in that Bedlam of the forest. The leaves that lay thick and
+deep on the ground were reddened with the blood of many victims helpless
+against the concealed, relentless savages. The woods of the Chateauguay
+did not present such a scene of carnage as was witnessed at the battle
+of the Monongahela, but nevertheless they seemed to the panic-stricken
+invaders, who numbered many thousands, alive with an enemy whose
+strength was enormously exaggerated as bugle sounds and Indian yells
+made a fearful din on every side. Believing themselves surrounded by
+forces far superior in numbers, the invaders became paralysed with fear
+and fled in disorder from an enemy whom they could not see, and who
+might close upon them at any moment. In this way Canadian pluck and
+strategy won a famous victory which saved the province of Lower Canada
+at a most critical moment of the war.
+
+If we leave the woods of Chateauguay, where a monument has been raised
+in recognition of this brilliant episode of the war, and come to the
+country above which rises the mist of the cataract of Niagara, we see a
+little acclivity over which passes that famous thoroughfare called
+"Lundy's Lane." Here too rises a stately shaft in commemoration of
+another famous victory--in many respects the most notable of the
+war--won by a gallant Englishman, whose name still clings to the pretty
+town close by.
+
+This battle was fought on a midsummer night, when less than three
+thousand British and Canadian troops fought six hours against a much
+superior force, led by the ablest officers who had taken part in the
+war. For three hours, from six to nine o'clock at night, less than two
+thousand held the height, which was the main object of attack from the
+beginning to the end of the conflict, and kept at bay the forces that
+were led against them with a stern determination to win the position.
+Sunlight gave way to the twilight of a July evening, and dense darkness
+at last covered the combatants, but still the fight went on. Columns of
+the enemy charged in such close and rapid succession that the British
+artillerymen were constantly assailed in the very act of sponging and
+loading their guns. The assailants once won the height, but only to find
+themselves repulsed the next instant by the resolute daring of the
+British. Happily at the most critical moment, when the defenders of the
+hill were almost exhausted by the heroic struggle, reinforcements
+arrived, and the battle was renewed with a supreme effort on both sides.
+For three hours longer, from nine o'clock to midnight, the battle was
+fought in the darkness, only relieved by the unceasing flashes from the
+guns, whose sharp reports mingled with the deep and monotonous roar of
+the great falls. It was a scene worthy of a painter whose imagination
+could grasp all the incidents of a situation essentially dramatic in its
+nature. The assailants of the Canadian position gave way at last and
+withdrew their wearied and disheartened forces. It was in all respects a
+victory for England and Canada, since the United States army did not
+attempt to renew the battle on the next day, but retired to Fort Erie,
+then in their possession. As Canadians look down "the corridors of
+time," they will always see those flashes from the musketry and cannon
+of Lundy's Lane, and hear the bugles which drove the invaders of their
+country from the woods of Chateauguay.
+
+The war did much to solidify the various racial elements of British
+North America during its formative stage. Frenchmen, Englishmen,
+Scotsmen from the Lowlands and Highlands, Irishmen and Americans, united
+to support the British connection. The character of the people,
+especially in Upper Canada, was strengthened from a national point of
+view by the severe strain to which it was subjected. Men and women alike
+were elevated above the conditions of a mere colonial life and the
+struggle for purely material necessities, and became animated by that
+spirit of self-sacrifice and patriotic endeavour which tend to make a
+people truly great.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE EVOLUTION OF RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT (1815--1839)
+
+
+SECTION I.--The rebellion in Lower Canada.
+
+Responsible government in Canada is the logical sequence of the
+political struggles, which commenced soon after the close of the war of
+1812-15. As we review the history of Canada since the conquest we can
+recognise "one ever increasing purpose" through all political changes,
+and the ardent desire of men, entrusted at the outset with a very
+moderate degree of political responsibility, to win for themselves a
+larger measure of political liberty in the management of their own local
+affairs. Grave mistakes were often made by the advocates of reform in
+the government of the several provinces--notably, as I shall show, in
+Lower Canada, where the French Canadian majority were carried often
+beyond reason at the dictation of Papineau--but, whatever may have been
+the indiscretions of politicians, there were always at the bottom of
+their demands the germs of political development.
+
+The political troubles that continued from 1817 until 1836 in Lower
+Canada eventually made the working of legislative institutions
+impracticable. The contest gradually became one between the
+governor-general representing the crown and the assembly controlled
+almost entirely by a French Canadian majority, with respect to the
+disposition of the public revenues and expenditures. Imperial statutes,
+passed as far back as 1774-1775, provided for the levying of duties, to
+be applied solely by the crown, primarily "towards defraying the
+expenses of the administration of justice and the support of the civil
+government of the province", and any sums that remained in the hands of
+the government were "for the future disposition of parliament." Then
+there were "the casual or territorial revenues," such as money arising
+from the Jesuits' estates, royal seigniorial dues, timber and land, all
+of which were also exclusively under the control of the government. The
+assembly had been given jurisdiction only over the amount of duties
+payable into the treasury under the authority of laws passed by the
+legislature itself. In case the royal revenues were not sufficient to
+meet the annual expenditure of the government, the deficiency was met
+until the war of 1812-15 by drawing on the military exchequer. As the
+expenses of the provincial administration increased the royal revenues
+became inadequate, while the provincial revenues gradually showed a
+considerable surplus over the expenditure voted by the legislature. In
+1813 the cost of the war made it impossible for the government to use
+the military funds, and it resorted to the provincial moneys for the
+expenses of justice and civil government. In this way, by 1817, the
+government had incurred a debt of a hundred and twenty thousand pounds
+to the province without the direct authority of the legislature. The
+assembly of Lower Canada was not disposed to raise troublesome issues
+during the war, or in any way to embarrass the action of Sir George
+Prevost, who, whatever may have been his incompetency as a military
+chief, succeeded by his conciliatory and persuasive methods in winning
+the good opinions of the French Canadian majority and making himself an
+exceptionally popular civil governor. After closing the accounts of the
+war, the government felt it expedient to stop such irregular
+proceedings, to obtain from the legislature a general appropriation act,
+covering the amount of expenditures in the past, and to prevent the
+necessity of such a questionable application of provincial funds in the
+future. This may be considered the beginning of the financial
+controversies that were so constant, as years passed by, between the
+governors and the assemblies, and never ended until the rebellion broke
+out. The assembly, desirous of obtaining power in the management of
+public affairs, learned that it could best embarrass the government and
+force them to consider and adjust public grievances, as set forth by the
+majority in the house, by means of the appropriation bills required for
+the public service. The assembly not only determined to exercise sole
+control over its own funds but eventually demanded the disposal of the
+duties imposed and regulated by imperial statutes. The conflict was
+remarkable for the hot and uncompromising temper constantly exhibited by
+the majority on the discussion of the generally moderate and fair
+propositions submitted by the government for settling vexed questions.
+The assembly found a powerful argument in favour of their persistent
+contention for a complete control of the public revenues and
+expenditures in the defalcation of Mr. Caldwell, the receiver-general,
+who had been allowed for years to use the public funds in his business
+speculations, and whose property was entirely inadequate to cover the
+deficiency in his accounts.
+
+The legislative council was always ready to resist what it often
+asserted to be unconstitutional acts on the part of the house and direct
+infringements of "the rights of the crown" sometimes a mere convenient
+phrase used in an emergency to justify resistance to the assembly. It
+often happened, however, that the upper chamber had law on its side,
+when the house became perfectly unreasonable and uncompromising in its
+attitude of hostility to the government. The council, on several
+occasions, rejected a supply bill because it contained provisions
+asserting the assembly's right to control the crown revenues and to vote
+the estimates, item by item, from the governor's salary down to that of
+the humblest official. Every part of the official and legislative
+machinery became clogged by the obstinacy of governor, councils, and
+assembly. To such an extent, indeed, did the assembly's assumption of
+power carry it in 1836, that the majority actually asserted its own
+right to amend the constitution of the council as defined in the
+imperial statute of 1791. Its indiscreet acts eventually alienated the
+sympathy and support of such English members as Mr. Neilson, a
+journalist and politician of repute, Mr. Andrew Stuart, a lawyer of
+ability, and others who believed in the necessity of constitutional
+reforms, but could not follow Mr. Papineau and his party in their
+reckless career of attack on the government, which they thought would
+probably in the end imperil British connection.
+
+The government was in the habit of regularly submitting its accounts and
+estimates to the legislature, and expressed its desire eventually to
+grant that body the disposal of all the crown revenues, provided it
+would consent to vote a civil list for the king's life, or even for a
+fixed number of years, but the assembly was not willing to agree to any
+proposal which prevented it from annually taking up the expenditures for
+the civil government item by item, and making them matters of yearly
+vote. In this way every person in the public service would be subject to
+the caprice, or ill-feeling, of any single member of the legislature,
+and the whole administration of the public departments would probably be
+made ineffective. Under the plan suggested by the government in
+accordance with English constitutional forms, the assembly would have
+every opportunity of criticising all the public expenditures, and even
+reducing the gross sum in cases of extravagance. But the same
+contumacious spirit, which several times expelled Mr. Christie, member
+for Gaspe, on purely vexatious and frivolous charges, and constantly
+impeached judges without the least legal justification, simply to
+satisfy personal spite or political malice, would probably have been
+exhibited towards all officials had the majority in the assembly been
+given the right of voting each salary separately. The assembly never
+once showed a disposition to meet the wishes of the government even
+half-way. Whatever may have been the vacillation or blundering of
+officials in Downing Street, it must be admitted that the imperial
+government showed a conciliatory spirit throughout the whole financial
+controversy. Step by step it yielded to all the demands of the assembly
+on this point. In 1831, when Lord Grey was premier, the British
+parliament passed an act, making it lawful for the legislatures of Upper
+and Lower Canada to appropriate the duties raised by imperial statutes
+for the purpose of defraying the charges of the administration of
+justice and the support of civil government. The government consequently
+retained only the relatively small sum arising from casual and
+territorial dues. When Lord Aylmer, the governor-general, communicated
+this important concession to the legislature, he also sent a message
+setting forth the fact that it was the settled policy of the crown on no
+future occasion to nominate a judge either to the executive or the
+legislative council, the sole exception being the chief justice of
+Quebec. He also gave the consent of the government to the passage of an
+act declaring that judges of the supreme court should thereafter hold
+office "during good behaviour," on the essential condition that their
+salaries were made permanent by the legislature. The position of the
+judiciary had long been a source of great and even just complaint, and,
+in the time of Sir James Craig, judges were disqualified from sitting in
+the assembly on the demand of that body. They continued, however, to
+hold office "during the pleasure" of the crown, and to be called at its
+will to the executive and legislative councils. Under these
+circumstances they were, with some reason, believed to be more or less
+under the influence of the governor-general; and particular judges
+consequently fell at times under the ban of the assembly, and were
+attacked on the most frivolous grounds. The assembly passed a bill
+providing for the independence of the judiciary, but it had to be
+reserved because it was not in accordance with the conditions considered
+necessary by the crown for the protection of the bench.
+
+The governor-general also in his message promised reforms of the
+judicial and legal systems, the disposal of the funds arising from the
+Jesuits' estates by the legislature, and, in fact, nearly all the
+reforms which had been demanded by the house for years. Yet when the
+government asked at the same time for a permanent civil list, the
+message was simply referred to a committee of the whole house which
+never reported. Until this time the efforts of the assembly to obtain
+complete control of the public revenues and expenditures had a
+justification in the fact that it is a recognised English principle that
+the elected house should impose the taxes and vote the supplies; but
+their action on this occasion, when the imperial government made most
+important concessions, giving them full control over the public funds,
+simply on condition that they should follow the English system of voting
+the salaries of the judiciary and civil list, showed that the majority
+were earned away by a purely factious spirit. During the progress of
+these controversies, Mr. Louis Joseph Papineau, a brilliant but an
+unsafe leader, had become the recognised chief of the French Canadian
+majority, who for years elected him speaker of the assembly. In the
+absence of responsible government, there was witnessed in those times
+the extraordinary spectacle--only now-a-days seen in the American
+congress--of the speaker, who should be above all political antagonisms,
+acting as the leader of an arrogant majority, and urging them to
+continue in their hostility to the government. It was Mr. Papineau who
+first brought the governor-general directly into the arena of political
+conflict by violent personal attacks; and indeed he went so far in the
+case of Lord Dalhousie, a fair-minded man anxious to act moderately
+within the limits of the constitution, that the latter felt compelled by
+a sense of dignity to refuse the confirmation of the great agitator as
+speaker in 1827. The majority in the assembly vehemently asserted their
+right to elect their speaker independently of the governor, whose
+confirmation was a mere matter of form, and not of statutory right; and
+the only course at last open to Lord Dalhousie was to prorogue the
+legislature. Mr. Papineau was re-elected speaker at the next session,
+when Lord Dalhousie had gone to England and Sir James Kempt was
+administrator.
+
+After 1831, Mr. Papineau steadily evoked the opposition of the more
+conservative and thoughtful British Liberals who were not disposed to be
+carried into a questionable position, inimical to British connection and
+the peace of the country, Dr. Wolfred Nelson, and Dr. O'Callaghan, a
+journalist, were soon the only supporters of ability left him among the
+British and Irish, the great majority of whom rallied to the support of
+the government when a perilous crisis arrived in the affairs of the
+province. The British party dwindled away in every appeal to the people,
+and no French Canadian representative who presumed to differ from Mr.
+Papineau was ever again returned to the assembly. Mr. Papineau became
+not only a political despot but an "irreconcilable," whose vanity led
+him to believe that he would soon become supreme in French Canada, and
+the founder of _La Nation Canadienne_ in the valley of the St. Lawrence.
+The ninety-two resolutions passed in 1834 may be considered the climax
+of the demands of his party, which for years had resisted immigration as
+certain to strengthen the British population, had opposed the
+establishment of registry offices as inconsistent with the French
+institutions of the province, and had thrown every possible opposition
+in the way of the progress of the Eastern Townships, which were
+attracting year by year an industrious and energetic British population
+from the British Isles and New England.
+
+In these resolutions of 1834 there is not a single paragraph or even
+phrase which can be tortured into showing that the French Canadian
+agitator and his friends were in favour of responsible government. The
+key-note of the whole document is an elective legislative council, which
+would inevitably increase the power of the French Canadians and place
+the British in a hopeless minority. Mr. Roebuck, the paid agent of the
+assembly in England, is said to have suggested the idea of this elective
+body, and assuredly his writings and speeches were always calculated to
+do infinite harm, by helping to inflame discontent in Canada, and
+misrepresenting in England the true condition of affairs in the
+province. The resolutions are noteworthy for their verbosity and entire
+absence of moderate and wise suggestion. They were obviously written
+under the inspiration of Mr. Papineau with the object of irritating the
+British government, and preventing the settlement of political
+difficulties. They even eulogised the institutions of the neighbouring
+states which "commanded the affection of the people in a larger measure
+than those of any other country," and should be regarded "as models of
+government for Canada." They even went so far as "to remind parliament
+of the consequences of its efforts to overrule the wishes of the
+American colonies," in case they should make any "modification" in the
+constitution of the province "independently of the wishes of its
+people." Colonel Gugy, Mr. Andrew Stuart, Mr. Neilson and other
+prominent Englishmen opposed the passage of these resolutions, as
+calculated to do infinite harm, but they were carried by a very large
+French Canadian majority at the dictation of Mr. Papineau. Whatever may
+have been its effect for the moment, this wordy effusion has long since
+been assigned to the limbo where are buried other examples of the
+demagogism of those trying times.
+
+In 1835 the imperial government decided to send three commissioners to
+examine into the various questions which had been so long matters of
+agitation in Lower Canada. Lord Aberdeen, then Colonial Secretary of
+State, emphatically stated that it was the intention of the government
+"to review and enquire into every alleged grievance and examine every
+cause of complaint, and apply a remedy to every abuse that may still be
+found to prevail."
+
+The choice of the government as chief commissioner and governor-general
+was Lord Gosford, an amiable, inexperienced and weak man, who failed
+either to conciliate the French Canadian majority to whom he was even
+humble for a while, or to obtain the confidence of the British party to
+whose counsels and warnings he did not pay sufficient heed at the
+outset of the crisis which culminated during his administration. The
+majority in the assembly were determined not to abate one iota of their
+pretensions, which now included the control of the casual and
+territorial revenues; and no provision whatever was made for four years
+for the payment of the public service. The commissioners reported
+strongly against the establishment of an elected council, and in favour
+of a modified system of responsible government, not dependent on the
+vote of the house. They recommended also the surrender of the casual and
+territorial revenues on condition of proper provision for the payment of
+the civil service, and the administration of justice.
+
+The imperial government immediately recognised that they had to face a
+very serious crisis in the affairs of Lower Canada. On the 6th March,
+1836, Lord John Russell, then home secretary in Lord Melbourne's
+administration, introduced a series of ten resolutions, providing for
+the immediate payment of the arrears of L142,160. 14s. 6d., due to the
+public service, out of the moneys in the hands of the receiver-general.
+While it was admitted that measures should be taken to secure for the
+legislative council a greater degree of public confidence, the
+government deemed it inexpedient to make that body elective. The
+necessity of improving the position of the executive council was also
+acknowledged, but the suggestion of a ministry responsible to the
+assembly was not approved. This disapproval was quite in accordance with
+the policy adopted by Englishmen since 1822, when a measure had been
+introduced in parliament for the reunion of the two Canadas--the
+precursor of the measure of 1840. This measure originally provided that
+two members of the executive council should sit and speak in the
+assembly but not vote. Those parts of the bill of 1822 which provided
+for a union were not pressed on account of the objections raised in both
+the provinces, but certain other provisions became law under the title
+of "The Canadian Trade Acts," relieving Upper Canada from the
+capricious action of Lower Canada with respect to the duties from which
+the former obtained the principal part of her fund for carrying on her
+government. This share had been originally fixed at one-fifth of the
+proceeds of the customs duties collected by the province of Lower
+Canada, but when the population of the western section increased
+considerably and consumed a far greater quantity of dutiable goods, its
+government justly demanded a larger proportion of the revenues collected
+in the ports of the lower St. Lawrence. The legislature of Lower Canada
+paid no attention to this equitable demand, and eventually even refused
+to renew the legislation providing for the payment of one-fifth of the
+duties. Under these circumstances the imperial government found it
+necessary to intervene, and pass the "Trade Acts," making the past
+legislation of Lower Canada on the subject permanent, and preventing its
+legislature from imposing new duties on imports without the consent of
+the upper province. As this was a question of grave import, the
+resolutions of 1836 gave authority to the legislatures of Upper and
+Lower Canada to provide joint legislation "for determining and adjusting
+all questions respecting the trade and commerce of the provinces."
+
+As soon as the passage of these resolutions became known throughout
+Lower Canada, Papineau and his supporters commenced an active campaign
+of denunciation against England, from whom, they declared, there was no
+redress whatever to be expected. Wherever the revolutionists were in the
+majority, they shouted, "_Vive la liberte!" "Vive la Nation Canadienne!"
+"Vive Papineau!" "Point de despotisme_!": while flags and placards were
+displayed with similar illustrations of popular frenzy. _La Nation
+Canadienne_ was now launched on the turbulent waves of a little
+rebellion in which the phrases of the French revolution were glibly
+shouted by the _habitants_ with very little conception of their real
+significance. The British or Constitutional party took active steps in
+support of British connection, but Lord Gosford, unhappily still
+governor-general, did not for some time awaken to the reality of the
+public danger. Happily for British interests, Sir John Culhorne,
+afterwards Lord Seaforth, a courageous and vigilant soldier, was in the
+country, and was able, when orders were given him by the reluctant
+governor, to deal determinedly with the rebels who had taken up arms in
+the Richelieu district. Dr. Wolfred Nelson made a brave stand at St.
+Denis, and repulsed Colonel Gore's small detachment of regulars.
+Papineau was present for a while at the scene of conflict, but he took
+no part in it and lost no time in making a hurried flight to the United
+States--an ignominious close to a successful career of rhetorical
+flashes which had kindled a conflagration that he took very good care
+should not even scorch him. Colonel Wetherall defeated another band of
+rebels at St. Charles, and their commander, Mr. Thomas Storrow Brown, a
+well-meaning but gullible man, fled across the border. Dr. Wolfred
+Nelson was captured, and a number of other rebels of less importance
+were equally unfortunate. Some of the refugees made a public
+demonstration from Vermont, but precipitately fled before a small force
+which met them. At St. Eustache, one Girod, a plausible, mendacious
+Swiss or Alsatian, who had become a leader in the rebellious movement,
+and Dr. Chenier, a rash but courageous man, collected a considerable
+body of rebels, chiefly from St. Benoit, despite the remonstrances of
+Mr. Paquin, the cure of the village, and defended the stone church and
+adjacent buildings against a large force, led by Sir John Colborne
+himself. Dr. Chenier and many others--at least seventy, it is said on
+good authority--were killed, and the former has in the course of time
+been elevated to the dignity of a national hero and a monument raised in
+his honour on a public square of the French Canadian quarters of
+Montreal. Mad recklessness rather than true heroism signalised his
+action in this unhappy affair, when he led so many of his credulous
+compatriots to certain death, but at least he gave up his life manfully
+to a lost cause rather than fly like Papineau who had beguiled him to
+this melancholy conclusion. Even Girod showed courage and ended his own
+life when he found that he could not evade the law. The rebellious
+element at St. Benoit was cowed by the results at St. Eustache; and the
+Abbe Chartier, who had taken an active part in urging the people to
+resistance, fled to the United States whence he never returned. The
+greater part of the village was destroyed by fire, probably in
+retaliation for the losses and injuries suffered by the volunteers at
+the hands of the rebels in different parts of the district of Montreal.
+
+One of the most unfortunate and discreditable incidents of the rising in
+the Richelieu district was the murder of Lieutenant Weir, who had been
+taken prisoner while carrying despatches to Sorel, and was literally
+hacked to pieces, when he tried to escape from a _caleche_ in which he
+was being conveyed to St. Charles. An equally unhappy incident was the
+cold-blooded execution, after a mock trial, of one Chartrand, a harmless
+non-combatant who was accused, without a tittle of evidence, of being a
+spy. The temper of the country can be gauged by the fact that when it
+was attempted, some time later, to convict the murderers on clear
+evidence, it was impossible to obtain a verdict. Jolbert, the alleged
+murderer of Weir, was never punished, but Francois Nicholas and Amable
+Daumais, who had aided in the trial and execution of Chartrand, were
+subsequently hanged for having taken an active part in the second
+insurrection of 1838.
+
+The rebellion of 1837 never reached any large proportions, and very few
+French Canadians of social or political standing openly participated in
+the movement. Monseigneur Lartigue, Roman Catholic bishop of Montreal,
+issued a _mandement_ severely censuring the misguided men who had joined
+in the rebellious movement and caused so much misery throughout the
+province. In England, strange to say, there were men found, even in
+parliament, ready to misrepresent the facts and glory in a rebellion the
+causes of which they did not understand. The animating motive with
+these persons was then--and there were similar examples during the
+American revolution--to assail the government of the day and make
+political capital against them, but, it must be admitted, in all
+fairness to the reform ministry of that day and even to preceding
+cabinets for some years, that the policy of all was to be just and
+conciliatory in their relations with the provincial agitators, though it
+is also evident that a more thorough knowledge of political conditions
+and a more resolute effort to a reach the bottom of grievances might
+have long before removed causes of irritation and saved the loss of
+property and life in 1837 and 1838.
+
+In the presence of a grave emergency, the British government felt
+compelled to suspend the constitution of Lower Canada, and send out Lord
+Durham, a Liberal statesman of great ability, to act as governor-general
+and high commissioner "for the determining of certain important
+questions depending in the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada
+respecting the form and future government of the said provinces" Despite
+a certain haughtiness of manner which was apt to wound his inferiors and
+irritate his equals in position, he was possessed of a great fund of
+accurate political knowledge and a happy faculty of grasping all the
+essential facts of a difficult situation, and suggesting the best remedy
+to apply under all the circumstances. He endeavoured, to the utmost of
+his ability, to redeem the pledge with which he entered on his mission
+to Canada, in the first instance "to assert the supremacy of her
+majesty's government," in the next "to vindicate the honour and dignity
+of the law," and above all "to know nothing of a British, a French, or a
+Canadian party," but "to look on them all alike as her majesty's
+subjects." After he had appointed a special council he set to work
+energetically to secure the peace of the country. Humanity was the
+distinguishing feature of his too short career in Canada. A
+comprehensive amnesty was proclaimed to all those engaged in the
+rebellion with the exception of Dr. Wolfred Nelson, R.S.M. Bouchette,
+Bonaventure Viger, Dr. Masson, and four others of less importance, who
+were ordered by an ordinance to be transported to Bermuda during the
+queen's pleasure. These persons, as well as sixteen others, including
+Papineau, who had fled from justice, were declared to be subject to
+death should they venture to enter the province. Not a single rebel
+suffered death on the scaffold during Lord Durham's administration.
+Unfortunately the ordinance, transporting a number of persons without
+trial to an island where the governor-general had no jurisdiction, gave
+an opportunity to Lord Brougham, who hated the high commissioner, to
+attack him in the house of lords. Lord Melbourne, then premier, was
+forced to repeal the ordinance and to consent to the passage of a bill
+indemnifying all those who had acted under its provisions Lord Glenelg,
+colonial secretary, endeavoured to diminish the force of this
+parliamentary censure by writing to the high commissioner that "her
+majesty's government repeat their approbation of the spirit in which
+these measures were conceived and state their conviction that they have
+been dictated by a judicious and enlightened humanity"; but a statesman
+of Lord Durham's haughty character was not ready to submit to such a
+rebuke as he had sustained in parliament He therefore immediately placed
+his resignation in the hands of the government which had commissioned
+him with powers to give peace and justice to distracted Canada, and yet
+failed to sustain him at the crucial moment. Before leaving the country
+he issued a proclamation in defence of his public acts. His course in
+this particular offended the ministry who, according to Lord Glenelg,
+considered it a dangerous innovation, as it was practically an appeal by
+a public officer to the public against the measures of parliament. Lord
+Durham may be pardoned under all the circumstances for resenting at the
+earliest possible moment his desertion by the government, who were bound
+in honour to defend him, at all hazards, in his absence, and should not
+have given him over for the moment to his enemies, led by a spiteful
+Scotch lawyer. Lord Durham left Canada with the assurance that he had
+won the confidence of all loyal British subjects and proved to all
+French Canadians that there were English statesmen prepared to treat
+them with patience, humanity and justice.
+
+Sir John Colborne became administrator on the departure of Lord Durham,
+and subsequently governor-general. Unhappily he was immediately called
+upon to crush another outbreak of the rebels, in November, 1838, in the
+counties watered by the Richelieu River, and in the district immediately
+south of Montreal. Dr. Robert Nelson and some other rebels, who had
+found refuge in the frontier towns and villages of Vermont and New York,
+organised this second insurrection, which had the support of a
+considerable number of _habitants_, though only a few actually took up
+arms. The rising, which began at Caughnawaga, was put down at
+Beauharnois, within a week from the day on which it commenced. The
+authorities now felt that the time had passed for such leniency as had
+been shown by Lord Durham; and Sir John Colborne accordingly established
+courts-martial for the trial of the prisoners taken during this second
+insurrection, as it was utterly impossible to obtain justice through the
+ordinary process of the courts. Only twelve persons, however, suffered
+the extreme penalty of the law; some were sent to New South Wales--where
+however they were detained only a short time; and the great majority
+were pardoned on giving security for good behaviour.
+
+While these trials were in progress, and the government were anxious to
+give peace and security to the province, refugees in the border states
+were despatching hands of ruffians to attack and plunder the Loyalists
+in the Eastern Townships; but the government of the United States
+intervened and instructed its officers to take decisive measures for the
+repression of every movement in the territory of a friendly Power. Thus
+the mad insurrection incited by Papineau, but actually led by the
+Nelsons, Chenier and Brown, came at last to an end.
+
+A new era of political development was now to dawn on the province, as a
+result of a more vigorous and remedial policy initiated by the imperial
+government, at last thoroughly awakened to an intelligent comprehension
+of the political conditions of the Canadas. But before I proceed to
+explain the details of measures fraught with such important
+consequences, I must give an historical summary of the events which led
+also to a rash uprising in Upper Canada, simultaneously with the one
+which ended so disastrously for its leaders in the French province.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--The rebellion in Upper Canada.
+
+The financial disputes between the executive and the assembly never
+attained such prominence in Upper Canada as in the lower province. In
+1831 the assembly consented to make permanent provision for the civil
+list and the judiciary, on condition of the government's giving up to
+the legislature all the revenues previously at its own disposition.
+Three years later the legislature also passed an act to provide that the
+judges should hold their offices during good behaviour, and not at the
+pleasure of the crown--a measure rendered possible by the fact that the
+assembly had made the salaries of the bench permanent.
+
+Nor did the differences between the assembly and the legislative council
+ever assume such serious proportions as they did in the French province.
+Still the leaders of the reform party of Upper Canada had strong
+objections to the constitution of the council; and a committee of
+grievances reported in 1835 in favour of an elected body as well as a
+responsible council, although it did not very clearly outline the
+methods of working out the system in a colony where the head of the
+executive was an imperial officer acting under royal instructions. The
+different lieutenant-governors, the executive and legislative
+councillors, and the whole body of officials, from the very moment
+responsible government was suggested in any form, threw every possible
+obstacle in the way of its concession by the imperial government.
+
+It was largely the dominant influence of the official combination, long
+known in Canadian history as the "family compact," which prevented the
+concession of responsible government before the union of the Canadas.
+This phrase, as Lord Durham said in his report, was misleading inasmuch
+as there "was very little of family connection between the persons thus
+united." As a matter of fact the phrase represented a political and
+aristocratic combination, which grew up as a consequence of the social
+conditions of the province and eventually monopolised all offices and
+influence in government. This bureaucracy permeated all branches of
+government--the executive, the legislative council, and even the
+assembly where for years there sat several members holding offices of
+emolument under the crown. It practically controlled the banks and
+monetary circles. The Church of England was bound up in its interests.
+The judiciary was more or less under its influence while judges were
+appointed during pleasure and held seats in the councils. This governing
+class was largely composed of the descendants of the Loyalists of 1784,
+who had taken so important a part in the war with the United States and
+always asserted their claims to special consideration in the
+distribution of government favour. The old settlers--all those who had
+come into the country before the war--demanded and obtained greater
+consideration at the hands of the government than the later immigrants,
+who eventually found themselves shut out of office and influence. The
+result was the growth of a Liberal or Reform party, which, while
+generally composed of the later immigrants, comprised several persons of
+Loyalist extraction, who did not happen to belong to the favoured class
+or church, but recognised the necessity for a change in the methods of
+administration. Among these Loyalists must be specially mentioned Peter
+Perry, who was really the founder of the Reform party in 1834, and the
+Reverend Egerton Ryerson, a Methodist minister of great natural ability.
+
+Unfortunately creed also became a powerful factor in the political
+controversies of Upper Canada. By the constitutional act of 1791 large
+tracts of land were set aside for the support of a "Protestant clergy",
+and the Church of England successfully claimed for years an exclusive
+right to these "clergy reserves" on the ground that it was the
+Protestant church recognised by the state. The clergy of the Church of
+Scotland in Canada, though very few in number for years, at a later time
+obtained a share of these grants as a national religious body; but all
+the dissentient denominations did not participate in the advantages of
+these reserves. The Methodists claimed in the course of years to be
+numerically equal to, if not more numerous than, the English
+Episcopalians, and were deeply irritated at the inferior position they
+long occupied in the province. So late as 1824 the legislative council,
+composed of members of the dominant church, rejected a bill allowing
+Methodist ministers to solemnise marriages, and it was not until 1831
+that recognised ministers of all denominations were placed on an
+equality in this respect. Christian charity was not more a
+characteristic of those times than political liberality. Methodism was
+considered by the governing class as a sign of democracy and social
+inferiority. History repeated itself in Upper Canada. As the Puritans of
+New England feared the establishment of an Anglican episcopacy, and used
+it to stimulate a feeling against the parent state during the beginnings
+of the revolution, so in Upper Canada the dissenting religious bodies
+made political capital out of the favouritism shown to the Church of
+England in the distribution of the public lands and public patronage.
+The Roman Catholics and members of all Protestant sects eventually
+demanded the secularisation of the reserves for educational or other
+public purposes, or the application of the funds to the use of all
+religious creeds. The feeling against that church culminated in 1836,
+when Sir John Colborne, then lieutenant-governor, established forty-four
+rectories in accordance with a suggestion made by Lord Goderich some
+years previously. While the legality of Sir John Colborne's course was
+undoubted, it was calculated to create much indignant feeling among the
+dissenting bodies, who saw in the establishment of these rectories an
+evidence of the intention of the British government to create a state
+church so far as practicable by law within the province. This act, so
+impolitic at a critical time of political discussion, was an
+illustration of the potent influence exercised in the councils of the
+government by Archdeacon Strachan, who had come into the province from
+Scotland in 1799 as a schoolmaster. He had been brought up in the tenets
+of the Presbyterian Church, but some time after his arrival in Canada he
+became an ordained minister of the Church of England, in which he rose
+step by step to the episcopacy. He became a member of both the executive
+and legislative councils in 1816 and 1817, and exercised continuously
+until the union of 1841 a singular influence in the government of the
+province. He was endowed with that indomitable will, which distinguished
+his great countryman, John Knox. His unbending toryism was the natural
+outcome of his determination to sustain what he considered the just
+rights of his church against the liberalism of her opponents--chiefly
+dissenters--who wished to rob her of her clergy reserves and destroy her
+influence in education and public affairs generally. This very fidelity
+to his church became to some extent her weakness, since it evoked the
+bitter hostility of a large body of persons and created the impression
+that she was the church of the aristocratic and official class rather
+than that of the people--an impression which existed for many years
+after the fall of the "family compact."
+
+The public grievances connected with the disposition of the public
+lands were clearly exposed by one Robert Gourlay, a somewhat meddlesome
+Scotchman, who had addressed a circular, soon after his arrival in
+Canada, to a number of townships with regard to the causes which
+retarded improvement and the best means of developing the resources of
+the province. An answer from Sandwich virtually set forth the feeling of
+the rural districts generally on these points. It stated that the
+reasons for the existing depression were the reserves of land for the
+crown and clergy, "which must for a long time keep the country a
+wilderness, a harbour for wolves, and a hindrance to compact and good
+neighbourhood; defects in the system of colonisation; too great a
+quantity of lands in the hands of individuals who do not reside in the
+province, and are not assessed for their property." Mr. Gourlay's
+questions were certainly asked in the public interest, but they excited
+the indignation of the official class who resented any interference with
+a state of things which favoured themselves and their friends, and were
+not desirous of an investigation into the management of public affairs.
+The subsequent treatment of Mr. Gourlay was shameful in the extreme. He
+was declared a most dangerous character when he followed up his circular
+by a pamphlet, attacking the methods by which public affairs generally
+were conducted, and contrasting them with the energetic and progressive
+system on the other side of the border. The indignation of the officials
+became a positive fever when he suggested the calling of public meetings
+to elect delegates to a provincial convention--a term which recalled the
+days of the American revolution, and was cleverly used by Gourlay's
+enemies to excite the ire and fear of the descendants of the Loyalists.
+Sir Peregrine Maitland succeeded in obtaining from the legislature an
+opinion against conventions as "repugnant to the constitution," and
+declaring the holding of such public meetings a misdemeanour, while
+admitting the constitutional right of the people to petition. These
+proceedings evoked a satirical reply from Gourlay, who was arrested for
+seditious libel, but the prosecutions failed. It was then decided to
+resort to the provisions of a practically obsolete statute passed in
+1804, authorising the arrest of any person who had resided in the
+province for six months without taking the oath of allegiance, and was
+suspected to be a seditious character. Such a person could be ordered by
+the authorities to leave the province, or give security for good
+behaviour. This act had been originally passed to prevent the
+immigration of aliens unfavourable to England, especially of Irishmen
+who had taken part in the rebellion of 1798 and found refuge in the
+United States. Gourlay had been a resident of Upper Canada for nearly
+two years, and in no single instance had the law been construed to apply
+to an immigrant from the British Isles. Gourlay was imprisoned in the
+Niagara gaol, and when his friends attempted to bring him out on a writ
+of _habeas corpus_ they failed simply because Chief Justice Powell, an
+able lawyer of a Loyalist family and head of the official party, refused
+to grant the writ on a mere technical plea, afterwards declared by the
+highest legal authorities in England to be entirely contrary to sound
+law. Gourlay consequently remained in prison for nearly eight months,
+and when he was brought again before the chief justice, his mental
+faculties were obviously impaired for the moment, but despite his
+wretched condition, which prevented him from conducting his defence, he
+was summarily convicted and ordered to leave the province within
+twenty-four hours, under penalty of death should he not obey the order
+or return to the country.
+
+This unjust sentence created wide-spread indignation among all
+right-thinking people, especially as it followed a message of the
+lieutenant-governor to the legislature, that he did not feel justified
+in extending the grants of land, made to actors in the war of 1812-15,
+to "any of the inhabitants who composed the late convention of
+delegates, the proceedings of which were very properly subjected to your
+very severe animadversion" This undoubtedly illegal action of the
+lieutenant-governor only escaped the censure of the assembly by the
+casting vote of the speaker, but was naturally justified in the
+legislative council where Chief Justice Powell presided. Gourlay became
+a martyr in the opinion of a large body of people, and a Reform party
+began to grow up in the country. The man himself disappeared for years
+from Canadian history, and did not return to the province until 1856,
+after a chequered and unhappy career in Great Britain and the United
+States. The assembly of the United Canadas in 1842 declared his arrest
+to be "unjust and illegal," and his sentence "null and void," and he was
+offered a pension as some compensation for the injuries he had received;
+but he refused it unless it was accompanied by an official declaration
+of the illegality of the conviction and its elision from the records of
+the courts. The Canadian government thought he should be satisfied with
+the action of the assembly and the offer of the pension. Gourlay died
+abroad, and his daughters on his death received the money which he
+rejected with the obstinacy so characteristic of his life.
+
+During these days of struggle we find most prominent among the official
+class Attorney-General Robinson, afterwards chief justice of Upper
+Canada for many years. He was the son of a Virginian Loyalist, and a
+Tory of extreme views, calm, polished, and judicial in his demeanour.
+But whatever his opinions on the questions of the day he was too
+discreet a politician and too honest a judge ever to have descended to
+such a travesty of justice as had been shown by his predecessor in the
+case of Gourlay. His influence, however was never in the direction of
+liberal measures. He opposed responsible government and the union of the
+two provinces, both when proposed unsuccessfully in 1822, and when
+carried in Upper Canada eighteen years later.
+
+The elections of 1825 had a very important influence on the political
+conditions of the upper province, since they brought into the assembly
+Peter Perry, Dr. Rolph, and Marshall Spring Bidwell, who became leading
+actors in the Reform movement which culminated in the concession of
+responsible government. But the most conspicuous man from 1826 until
+1837 was William Lyon Mackenzie, a Scotchman of fair education, who came
+to Canada in 1820, and eventually embraced journalism as the profession
+most suited to his controversial temperament. Deeply imbued with a
+spirit of liberalism in politics, courageous and even defiant in the
+expression of his opinions, sadly wanting in sound judgment and common
+sense when his feelings were excited, able to write with vigour, but
+more inclined to emphatic vituperation than well-reasoned argument, he
+made himself a force in the politics of the province. In the _Colonial
+Advocate_, which he established in 1824, he commenced a series of
+attacks on the government which naturally evoked the resentment of the
+official class, and culminated in the destruction of his printing office
+in 1826 by a number of young men, relatives of the principal
+officials--one of them actually the private secretary of the
+lieutenant-governor, Sir Peregrine Maitland. Mr. Mackenzie obtained
+large damages in the courts, and was consequently able to continue the
+publication of his paper at a time when he was financially embarrassed.
+The sympathy felt for Mr. Mackenzie brought him into the assembly as
+member for York during the session of 1829. So obnoxious did he become
+to the governing class that he was expelled four times from the assembly
+between 1831 and 1834, and prevented from taking his seat by the orders
+of the speaker in 1835--practically the fifth expulsion. In 1832 he went
+to England and presented largely signed petitions asking for a redress
+of grievances. He appears to have made some impression on English
+statesmen, and the colonial minister recommended a few reforms to the
+lieutenant-governor, but they were entirely ignored by the official
+party. Lord Glenelg also disapproved of the part taken by
+Attorney-General Boulton--Mr. Robinson being then chief justice--and
+Solicitor-General Hagerman in the expulsion of Mr. Mackenzie; but they
+treated the rebuke with contempt and were removed from office for again
+assisting in the expulsion of Mr. Mackenzie.
+
+In 1834 he was elected first mayor of Toronto, then incorporated under
+its present name, as a consequence of the public sympathy aroused in his
+favour by his several expulsions. Previous to the election of 1835, in
+which he was returned to the assembly, he made one of the most serious
+blunders of his life, in the publication of a letter from Mr. Joseph
+Hume, the famous Radical, whose acquaintance he had made while in
+England. Mr. Hume emphatically stated his opinion that "a crisis was
+fast approaching in the affairs of Canada which would terminate in
+independence and freedom from the baneful domination of the mother
+country, and the tyrannical conduct of a small and despicable faction in
+the colony." The official class availed themselves of this egregious
+blunder to excite the indignation of the Loyalist population against Mr.
+Mackenzie and other Reformers, many of whom, like the Baldwins and
+Perrys, disavowed all sympathy with such language. Mr. Mackenzie's
+motive was really to insult Mr. Ryerson, with whom he had quarrelled.
+Mr. Ryerson in the _Christian Guardian_, organ of the Methodists, had
+attacked Mr. Hume as a person unfit to present petitions from the
+Liberals of Canada, since he had opposed the measure for the
+emancipation of slaves in the West Indies, and had consequently
+alienated the confidence and sympathy of the best part of the nation.
+Mr. Hume then wrote the letter in question, in which he also stated that
+he "never knew a more worthless hypocrite or so base a man as Mr.
+Ryerson proved himself to be." Mr. Mackenzie in this way incurred the
+wrath of a wily clergyman and religious journalist who exercised much
+influence over the Methodists, and at the same time fell under the ban
+of all people who were deeply attached to the British connection.
+Moderate Reformers now looked doubtfully on Mackenzie, whose principal
+supporters were Dr. Duncombe, Samuel Lount, Peter Matthews, and other
+men who took an active part in the insurrection of 1837.
+
+In the session of 1835 a committee of grievances, appointed on the
+motion of Mr. Mackenzie himself, reported in favour of a system of
+responsible government, an elective legislative council, the appointment
+of civil governors, a diminution of the patronage exercised by the
+crown, the independence of the legislature, and other reforms declared
+to be in the interest of good government. The report was temperately
+expressed, and created some effect for a time in England, but the
+colonial minister could not yet be induced to move in the direction of
+positive reform in the restrictive system of colonial government.
+
+Unhappily, at this juncture, when good judgment and discretion were so
+necessary in political affairs, all the circumstances combined to hasten
+a perilous crisis, and to give full scope to the passionate impulses of
+Mackenzie's nature. Sir John Colborne was replaced in the government of
+the province by one of the most incapable governors ever chosen by the
+colonial office, Sir Francis Bond Head. He had been chiefly known in
+England as a sprightly writer of travels, and had had no political
+experience except such as could be gathered in the discharge of the
+duties of a poor-law commissioner in Wales. His first official act was
+an indiscretion. He communicated to the legislature the full text of the
+instructions which he had received from the king, although he had been
+advised to give only their substance, as least calculated to hamper Lord
+Gosford, who was then attempting to conciliate the French Canadian
+majority in Lower Canada. These instructions, in express terms,
+disapproved of a responsible executive and particularly of an elected
+legislative council, to obtain which was the great object of Papineau
+and his friends. Mr. Bidwell, then speaker of the assembly, recognised
+the importance of this despatch, and forwarded it immediately to Mr.
+Papineau, at that time speaker of the Lower Canadian house, with whom he
+and other Reformers had correspondence from time to time. Lord Gosford
+was consequently forced to lay his own instructions in full before the
+legislature and to show the majority that the British government was
+opposed to such vital changes in the provincial constitution as they
+persistently demanded. The action of the Lower Canadian house on this
+matter was communicated to the assembly of Upper Canada by a letter of
+Mr. Papineau to Mr. Bidwell, who laid it before his house just before
+the prorogation in 1835. In this communication the policy of the
+imperial government was described as "the naked deformity of the
+colonial system," and the royal commissioners were styled "deceitful
+agents," while the methods of government in the neighbouring states were
+again eulogised as in the ninety-two resolutions of 1834. Sir Francis
+Bond Head seized the opportunity to create a feeling against the
+Reformers, to whom he was now hostile. Shortly after he sent his
+indiscreet message to the legislature he persuaded Dr. Rolph, Mr.
+Bidwell and Receiver-General Dunn to enter the executive council on the
+pretence that he wished to bring that body more into harmony with public
+opinion. The new councillors soon found that they were not to be
+consulted in public affairs, and when the whole council actually
+resigned Sir Francis told them plainly that he alone was responsible for
+his acts, and that he would only consult them when he deemed it
+expedient in the public interest. This action of the lieutenant-governor
+showed the Reformers that he was determined to initiate no changes which
+would disturb the official party, or give self-government to the people.
+The assembly, in which the Liberals were dominant, passed an address to
+the king, declaring the lieutenant-governor's conduct "derogatory to the
+honour of the king," and also a memorial to the British house of commons
+charging him with "misrepresentation, and a deviation from candour and
+truth."
+
+Under these circumstances Sir Francis eagerly availed himself of
+Papineau's letter to show the country the dangerous tendencies of the
+opinions and acts of the Reformers in the two provinces. In an answer he
+made to an address from some inhabitants of the Home District, he warned
+the people that there were individuals in Lower Canada, who were
+inculcating the idea that "this province is to be disturbed by the
+interference of foreigners, whose powers and influence will prove
+invincible"--an allusion to the sympathy shown by Papineau and his
+friends for the institutions of the United States. Then Sir Francis
+closed his reply with this rhodomontade: "In the name of every regiment
+of militia in Upper Canada, I publicly promulgate 'Let them come if they
+dare'" He dissolved the legislature and went directly to the country on
+the issue that the British connection was endangered by the Reformers.
+"He succeeded, in fact," said Lord Durham in his report of 1839, "in
+putting the issue in such a light before the province, that a great
+portion of the people really imagined that they were called upon to
+decide the question of separation by their votes." These strong appeals
+to the loyalty of a province founded by the Loyalists of 1784, combined
+with the influence exercised by the "family compact," who had all
+offices and lands at their disposal, defeated Mackenzie, Bidwell, Perry
+and other Reformers of less note, and brought into the legislature a
+solid phalanx of forty-two supporters of the government against eighteen
+elected by the opposition. It was a triumph dearly paid for in the end.
+The unfair tactics of the lieutenant-governor rankled in the minds of a
+large body of people, and hastened the outbreak of the insurrection of
+1837. The British government seems for a time to have been deceived by
+this victory of the lieutenant-governor and actually lauded his
+"foresight, energy and moral courage"; but ere long, after more mature
+consideration of the political conditions of the province, it dawned
+upon the dense mind of Lord Glenelg that the situation was not very
+satisfactory, and that it would be well to conciliate the moderate
+element among the Reformers. Sir Francis was accordingly instructed to
+appoint Mr. Bidwell to the Bench, but he stated emphatically that such
+an appointment would be a recognition on disloyalty. He preferred to
+resign rather than obey the instructions of the colonial department, and
+greatly to his surprise and chagrin his proffer of resignation was
+accepted without the least demur. The colonial office by this time
+recognised the mistake they had made in appointing Sir Francis to a
+position, for which he was utterly unfit, but unhappily for the province
+they awoke too late to a sense of their own folly.
+
+Mackenzie became so embittered by his defeat in 1836, and the
+unscrupulous methods by which it was accomplished, that he made up his
+mind that reform in government was not to be obtained except by a resort
+to extreme measures. At meetings of Reformers, held at Lloydtown and
+other places during the summer of 1837, resolutions were carried that it
+was their duty to arm in defence of their rights and those of their
+countrymen. Mackenzie visited many parts of the province, in order to
+stimulate a revolutionary movement among the disaffected people, a
+system of training volunteers was organised; pikes were manufactured and
+old arms were put in order. It was decided that Dr. Rolph should be the
+executive chief of the provisional government, and Mackenzie in the
+meantime had charge of all the details of the movement. Mr. Bidwell
+appears to have steadily kept aloof from the disloyal party, but Dr.
+Rolph was secretly in communication with Mackenzie, Lount, Matthews,
+Lloyd, Morrison, Duncombe, and other actors in the rebellion. The plan
+was to march on Toronto, where it was notorious that no precautions for
+defence were being taken, to seize the lieutenant-governor, to proclaim
+a provisional government, and to declare the independence of the
+province unless Sir Francis should give a solemn promise to constitute a
+responsible council. It is quite certain that Mackenzie entirely
+misunderstood the sentiment of the country, and exaggerated the support
+that would be given to a disloyal movement. Lord Durham truly said that
+the insurrectionary movements which did take place were "indicative of
+no deep rooted disaffection," and that "almost the entire body of the
+Reformers of the province sought only by constitutional means to obtain
+those objects for which they had so long peacefully struggled before
+the unhappy troubles occasioned by the violence of a few unprincipled
+adventurers and heated enthusiasts."
+
+Despite the warnings that he was constantly receiving of the seditious
+doings of Mackenzie and his lieutenants, Sir Francis Bond Head could not
+be persuaded an uprising was imminent. So complete was his fatuity that
+he allowed all the regular troops to be withdrawn to Lower Canada at the
+request of Sir John Colborne. Had he taken adequate measures for the
+defence of Toronto, and showed he was prepared for any contingency, the
+rising of Mackenzie's immediate followers would never have occurred. His
+apathy and negligence at this crisis actually incited an insurrection.
+The repulse of Gore at St. Denis on the 23rd November (p. 134) no doubt
+hastened the rebellious movement in Upper Canada, and it was decided to
+collect all available men and assemble at Montgomery's tavern, only four
+miles from Toronto by way of Yonge Street, the road connecting Toronto
+with Lake Simcoe. The subsequent news of the dispersion of the rebels at
+St. Charles was very discouraging to Mackenzie and Lount, but they felt
+that matters had proceeded too far for them to stop at that juncture.
+They still hoped to surprise Toronto and occupy it without much
+difficulty. A Colonel Moodie, who had taken part in the war of 1812-15,
+had heard of the march of the insurgents from Lake Simcoe, and was
+riding rapidly to Toronto to warn the lieutenant-governor, when he was
+suddenly shot down and died immediately. Sir Francis was unconscious of
+danger when he was aroused late at night by Alderman Powell, who had
+been taken prisoner by the rebels but succeeded in making his escape and
+finding his way to Government House. Sir Francis at last awoke from his
+lethargy and listened to the counsels of Colonel Fitzgibbon--the hero of
+Beaver Dams in 1813--and other residents of Toronto, who had constantly
+endeavoured to force him to take measures for the public security. The
+loyal people of the province rallied with great alacrity to put down the
+revolt. The men of the western district of Gore came up in force, and
+the first man to arrive on the scene was Allan MacNab, the son of a
+Loyalist and afterwards prime minister of Canada. A large and well
+equipped force was at once organised under the command of Colonel
+Fitzgibbon.
+
+The insurrection was effectually quelled on the 7th December at
+Montgomery's tavern by the militia and volunteer forces under Colonel
+Fitzgibbon. The insurgents had at no time mustered more than eight
+hundred men, and in the engagement on the 7th there were only four
+hundred, badly armed and already disheartened. In twenty minutes, or
+less time, the fight was over and the insurgents fled with the loss of
+one man killed and several seriously wounded. The Loyalists, who did not
+lose a single man, took a number of prisoners, who were immediately
+released by the lieutenant-governor on condition of returning quietly to
+their homes. Mackenzie succeeded in escaping across the Niagara
+frontier, but Matthews was taken prisoner as he was leading a detachment
+across the Don into Toronto. Lount was identified at Chippewa while
+attempting to find his way to the United States and brought back to
+Toronto. Rolph, Gibson and Duncombe found a refuge in the republic, but
+Van Egmond, who had served under Napoleon, and commanded the insurgents,
+was arrested and died in prison of inflammatory rheumatism. Mr. Bidwell
+was induced to fly from the province by the insidious representations of
+the lieutenant-governor, who used the fact of his flight as an argument
+that he had been perfectly justified in not appointing him to the Bench.
+In later years, the Canadian government, recognising the injustice Mr.
+Bidwell had received, offered him a judgeship, but he never could be
+induced to return to Canada Mackenzie had definite grievances against
+Sir Francis and his party; and a British people, always ready to
+sympathise with men who resent injustice and assert principles of
+popular government, might have soon condoned the serious mistake he had
+made in exciting a rash revolt against his sovereign. But his
+apologists can find no extenuating circumstances for his mad conduct in
+stirring up bands of ruffians at Buffalo and other places on the
+frontier to invade the province. The base of operations for these raids
+was Navy Island, just above the Niagara Falls in British territory. A
+small steamer, "The Caroline," was purchased from some Americans, and
+used to bring munitions of war to the island. Colonel MacNab was sent to
+the frontier, and successfully organised an expedition of boats under
+the charge of Captain Drew--afterwards an Admiral--to seize the steamer
+at Fort Schlosser, an insignificant place on the American side. The
+capture was successfully accomplished and the steamer set on fire and
+sent down the river, where she soon sank before reaching the cataract.
+Only one man was killed--one Durfee, a citizen of the United States.
+This audacious act of the Canadians was deeply resented in the republic
+as a violation of its territorial rights, and was a subject of
+international controversy until 1842 when it was settled with other
+questions at issue between Great Britain and the United States.
+Mackenzie now disappeared for some years from Canadian history, as the
+United States authorities felt compelled to imprison him for a time. It
+was not until the end of 1838 that the people of the Canada were free
+from filibustering expeditions organised in the neighboring states.
+"Hunters' Lodges" were formed under the pledge "never to rest until all
+tyrants of Britain cease to have any dominion or footing whatever in
+North America." These marauding expeditions on the exposed parts of the
+western frontier--especially on the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers--were
+successfully resisted. At Prescott, a considerable body of persons,
+chiefly youths under age, under the leadership of Von Schoultz, a Pole,
+were beaten at the Old Stone Windmill, which they attempted to hold
+against a Loyalist force. At Sandwich, Colonel Prince, a conspicuous
+figure in Canadian political history of later years, routed a band of
+filibusters, four of whom he ordered to instant death. This resolute
+deed created some excitement in England, where it was condemned by some
+and justified by others. Canadians, who were in constant fear of such
+raids, naturally approved of summary justice in the case of persons who
+were really brigands, not entitled to any consideration under the laws
+of war.
+
+In 1838 President Buren issued a proclamation calling upon all citizens
+of the United States to observe the neutrality laws; but the difficulty
+in those days was the indisposition of the federal government to
+interfere with the states where such expeditions were organised. The
+vigilance of the Canadian authorities and the loyalty of the people
+alone saved the country in these trying times. A great many of the
+raiders were taken prisoners and punished with the severity due to their
+unjustifiable acts. Von Schoultz and eight others were hanged, a good
+many were pardoned, while others were transported to Van Diemen's Land,
+whence they were soon allowed to return. The names of these filibusters
+are forgotten, but those of Lount and Matthews, who perished on the
+scaffold, have been inscribed on some Canadian hearts as patriots. Sir
+George Arthur, who succeeded Sir Francis Head, was a soldier, who had
+had experience as a governor among the convicts of Van Diemen's Land,
+and the negro population of Honduras, where he had crushed a revolt of
+slaves. Powerful appeals were made to him on behalf of Lount and
+Matthews, but not even the tears and prayers of Lount's distracted wife
+could reach his heart. Such clemency as was shown by Lord Durham would
+have been a bright incident in Sir George Arthur's career in Canada, but
+he looked only to the approval of the Loyalists, deeply incensed against
+the rebels of 1837. His action in these two cases was regarded with
+disapprobation in England, and the colonial minister expressed the hope
+that no further executions would occur--advice followed in the case of
+other actors of the revolt of 1837. Sir George Arthur's place in
+colonial annals is not one of high distinction. Like his predecessors,
+he became the resolute opponent of responsible government, which he
+declared in a despatch to be "Mackenzie's scheme for getting rid of what
+Mr. Hume called 'the baneful domination' of the mother country"; "and
+never" he added, "was any scheme better devised to bring about such an
+end speedily".
+
+
+SECTION 3.--Social and economic conditions of the Provinces in 1838.
+
+We have now reached a turning-point in the political development of the
+provinces of British North America, and may well pause for a moment to
+review the social and economic condition of their people. Since the
+beginning of the century there had been a large immigration into the
+provinces, except during the war of 1812. In the nine years preceding
+1837, 263,089 British and Irish immigrants arrived at Quebec, and in one
+year alone there were over 50,000. By 1838 the population of the five
+provinces of Upper Canada, Lower Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and
+Prince Edward Island had reached about 1,400,000 souls. In Upper Canada,
+with the exception of a very few people of German or Dutch descent, and
+some French Canadians opposite Detroit and on the Ottawa River, there
+was an entirely British population of at least 400,000 souls. The
+population of Lower Canada was estimated at 600,000, of whom hardly
+one-quarter were of British origin, living chiefly in Montreal, the
+Townships, and Quebec. Nova Scotia had nearly 200,000 inhabitants, of
+whom probably 16,000 were French Acadians, resident in Cape Breton and
+in Western Nova Scotia. In New Brunswick there were at least 150,000
+people, of whom some 15,000 were descendants of the original inhabitants
+of Acadie. The Island of Prince Edward had 30,000 people, of whom the
+French Acadians made up nearly one-sixth. The total trade of the country
+amounted, in round figures, to about L5,000,000 sterling in imports,
+and somewhat less in exports The imports were chiefly manufactures from
+Great Britain, and the exports were lumber, wheat and fish. Those were
+days when colonial trade was stimulated by differential duties in favour
+of colonial products, and the building of vessels was encouraged by the
+old navigation laws which shut out foreign commerce from the St.
+Lawrence and the Atlantic ports, and kept the carrying trade between
+Great Britain and the colonies in the hands of British and colonial
+merchants, by means of British registered ships. While colonists could
+not trade directly with foreign ports, they were given a monopoly for
+their timber, fish, and provisions in the profitable markets of the
+British West Indies.
+
+The character of the immigration varied considerably, but on the whole
+the thrifty and industrious formed the larger proportion. In 1833 the
+immigrants deposited 300,000 sovereigns, or nearly a million and a half
+of dollars, in the Upper Canadian banks. An important influence in the
+settlement of Upper Canada was exercised by one Colonel Talbot, the
+founder of the county of Elgin. Mrs. Anna Jameson, the wife of a
+vice-chancellor of Upper Canada, describes in her _Winter Studies and
+Summer Rambles_, written in 1838, the home of this great proprietor, a
+Talbot of Malahide, one of the oldest families in the parent state. The
+chateau--as she calls it, perhaps sarcastically--was a "long wooden
+building, chiefly of rough logs, with a covered porch running along the
+south side." Such homes as Colonel Talbot's were common enough in the
+country. Some of the higher class of immigrants, however, made efforts
+to surround themselves with some of the luxuries of the old world. Mrs.
+Jameson tells us of an old Admiral, who had settled in the London
+district--now the most prosperous agricultural part of Ontario--and had
+the best of society in his neighbourhood; "several gentlemen of family,
+superior education, and large capital (among them the brother of an
+English and the son of an Irish peer, a colonel and a major in the army)
+whose estates were in a flourishing state." The common characteristic
+of the Canadian settlements was the humble log hut of the poor
+immigrant, struggling with axe and hoe amid the stumps to make a home
+for his family. Year by year the sunlight was let into the dense
+forests, and fertile meadows soon stretched far and wide in the once
+untrodden wilderness. Despite all the difficulties of a pioneer's life,
+industry reaped its adequate rewards in the fruitful lands of the west,
+bread was easily raised in abundance, and animals of all kinds thrived.
+
+Unhappily the great bane of the province was the inordinate use of
+liquor. "The erection of a church or chapel," says Mrs. Jameson,
+"generally preceded that of a school-house in Upper Canada, but the mill
+and the tavern invariably preceded both." The roads were of the most
+wretched character and at some seasons actually prohibitory of all
+social intercourse. The towns were small and ill-built. Toronto, long
+known as "muddy little York," had a population of about 10,000, but with
+the exception of the new parliament house, it had no public buildings of
+architectural pretensions. The houses were generally of wood, a few of
+staring ugly red brick; the streets had not a single side-walk until
+1834, and in 1838 this comfort for the pedestrian was still exceptional.
+Kingston, the ancient Cataraqui, was even a better built town than
+Toronto, and had in 1838 a population of perhaps 4500 persons. Hamilton
+and London were beginning to be places of importance. Bytown, now
+Ottawa, had its beginnings in 1826, when Colonel By of the Royal
+Engineers, commenced the construction of the Rideau Canal on the chain
+of lakes and rivers between the Ottawa and the St. Lawrence at Kingston.
+The ambition of the people of Upper Canada was always to obtain a
+continuous and secure system of water navigation from the lakes to
+Montreal. The Welland Canal between Lakes Erie and Ontario was commenced
+as early as 1824 through the enterprise of Mr. William Hamilton Merritt,
+but it was very badly managed; and the legislature, which had from year
+to year aided the undertaking, was obliged eventually to acquire it as
+a provincial work. The Cornwall Canal was also undertaken, but work was
+stopped when it was certain that Lower Canada would not respond to the
+aspirations of the West and improve that portion of the St. Lawrence
+within its direct control. Flat-bottomed _bateaux_ and Durham boats were
+generally in use for the carriage of goods on the inland waters, and it
+was not until the completion of a canal system between the lakes and
+Montreal, after the Union, that steamers came into vogue.
+
+The province of Upper Canada had in 1838 reached a crisis in its
+affairs. In the course of the seven years preceding the rebellion,
+probably eighty thousand or one half of the immigrants, who had come to
+the province, had crossed the frontier into the United States, where
+greater inducements were held out to capital and population. As Mrs.
+Jameson floated in a canoe, in the middle of the Detroit River, she saw
+on the one side "all the bustle of prosperity and commerce," and on the
+other "all the symptoms of apathy, indolence, mistrust, hopelessness."
+At the time such comparisons were made, Upper Canada was on the very
+verge of bankruptcy.
+
+Turning to Lower Canada, we find that the financial position of the
+province was very different from that of Upper Canada. The public
+accounts showed an annual surplus, and the financial difficulties of the
+province were caused entirely by the disputes between the executive and
+the assembly which would not vote the necessary supplies. The timber
+trade had grown to large proportions and constituted the principal
+export to Great Britain from Quebec, which presented a scene of much
+activity in the summer. Montreal was already showing its great
+advantages as a headquarters of commerce on account of its natural
+relations to the West and the United States. Quebec and Montreal had
+each about 35,000 inhabitants. Travellers admitted that Montreal, on
+account of the solidity of its buildings, generally of stone, compared
+most favourably with many of the finest and oldest towns in the United
+States. The Parish Church of Notre Dame was the largest ecclesiastical
+edifice in America, and notable for its simple grandeur. With its
+ancient walls girdling the heights first seen by Jacques Cartier, with
+its numerous churches and convents, illustrating the power and wealth of
+the Romish religion, with its rugged, erratic streets creeping through
+hewn rock, with its picturesque crowd of red-coated soldiers of England
+mingling with priests and sisters in sombre attire, or with the
+_habitants_ in _etoffe du pays_,--the old city of Quebec, whose history
+went back to the beginning of the seventeenth century, was certainly a
+piece of mediaevalism transported from northern France. The plain stone
+buildings of 1837 still remain in all their evidences of sombre
+antiquity. None of the religious or government edifices were
+distinguished for architectural beauty--except perhaps the English
+cathedral--but represented solidity and convenience, while harmonising
+with the rocks amid which they had risen.
+
+The parliament of Lower Canada still met in the Bishop's Palace, which
+was in want of repair. The old Chateau St. Louis had been destroyed by
+fire in 1834, and a terrace bearing the name of Durham was in course of
+construction over its ruins. It now gives one of the most picturesque
+views in the world on a summer evening as the descending sun lights up
+the dark green of the western hills, or brightens the tin spires and
+roofs of the churches and convents, or lingers amid the masts of the
+ships moored in the river or in the coves, filled with great rafts of
+timber.
+
+As in the days of French rule, the environs of Quebec and Montreal, and
+the north side of the St. Lawrence between these two towns, presented
+French Canadian life in its most picturesque and favourable aspect.
+These settlements on the river formed one continuous village, with
+tinned spires rising every few miles amid poplars, maples and elms.
+While the homes of the seigniors and of a few professional men were more
+commodious and comfortable than in the days of French rule, while the
+churches and presbyteries illustrated the increasing prosperity of the
+dominant religion, the surroundings of the _habitants_ gave evidences of
+their want of energy and enterprise. But crime was rare in the rural
+districts and intemperance was not so prevalent as in parts of the west.
+
+Nearly 150,000 people of British origin resided in Lower Canada--a
+British people animated for the most part by that spirit of energy
+natural to their race. What prosperity Montreal and Quebec enjoyed as
+commercial communities was largely due to the enterprise of British
+merchants. The timber trade was chiefly in their hands, and the bank of
+Montreal was founded by this class in 1817--seven years before the bank
+of Upper Canada was established in Toronto. As political strife
+increased in bitterness, the differences between the races became
+accentuated. Papineau alienated all the British by his determination to
+found a "_Nation Canadienne_" in which the British would occupy a very
+inferior place. "French and British," said Lord Durham, "combined for no
+public objects or improvements, and could not harmonise even in
+associations of charity." The French Canadians looked with jealousy and
+dislike on the increase and prosperity of what they regarded as a
+foreign and hostile race. It is quite intelligible, then, why trade
+languished, internal development ceased, landed property decreased in
+value, the revenue showed a diminution, roads and all classes of local
+improvements were neglected, agricultural industry was stagnant, wheat
+had to be imported for the consumption of the people, and immigration
+fell off from 52,000 in 1832 to less than 5000 in 1838.
+
+In the maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince
+Edward Island, there were no racial antagonisms to affect internal
+development; and the political conflict never reached such proportions
+as to threaten the peace and security of the people. In New Brunswick
+the chief industry was the timber trade--deals especially--which
+received its first stimulus in 1809, when a heavy duty was placed on
+Baltic timber, while that from the colonies came free into the British
+Isles. Shipbuilding was also profitably followed in New Brunswick, and
+was beginning to be prosecuted in Nova Scotia, where, a few years later,
+it made that province one of the greatest ship-owning and ship-sailing
+communities of the world until iron steamers gradually drove wooden
+vessels from the carrying trade. The cod, mackerel, and herring
+fisheries--chiefly the first--were the staple industry of Nova Scotia,
+and kept up a large trade with the British West Indies, whence sugar,
+molasses and rum were imported. Prince Edward Island was chiefly an
+agricultural community, whose development was greatly retarded by the
+wholesale grant of lands in 1767 to absentee proprietors. Halifax and
+St. John had each a population of twenty thousand. The houses were
+mostly of wood, the only buildings of importance being the government
+house, finished in 1805, and the provincial or parliament house,
+considered in its day one of the handsomest structures in North America.
+In the beautiful valleys of Kings and Annapolis--now famous for their
+fruit--there was a prosperous farming population. Yarmouth illustrated
+the thrift and enterprise of the Puritan element that came into the
+province from New England at an early date in its development. The
+eastern counties, with the exception of Pictou, showed no sign of
+progress. The Scotch population of Cape Breton, drawn from a poor class
+of people in the north of Scotland, for years added nothing to the
+wealth of an island whose resources were long dormant from the absence
+of capital and enterprise.
+
+Popular education in those days was at the lowest possible ebb. In 1837
+there were in all the private and public schools of the provinces only
+one-fifteenth of the total population. In Lower Canada not one-tenth
+could write. The children of the _habitants_ repeated the Catechism by
+rote, and yet could not read as a rule. In Upper Canada things were no
+better. Dr. Thomas Rolph tells us that, so late as 1833, Americans or
+other anti-British adventurers carried on the greater proportion of the
+common schools, where the youth were taught sentiments "hostile to the
+parent state" from books used in the United States--a practice stopped
+by statute in 1846.
+
+Adequate provision, however, was made for the higher education of youth
+in all the provinces. "I know of no people," wrote Lord Durham of Lower
+Canada, "among whom a larger provision exists for the higher kinds of
+elementary education." The piety and benevolence of the early possessors
+of the country founded seminaries and colleges, which gave an education
+resembling the kind given in the English public schools, though more
+varied. In Upper Canada, so early as 1807, grammar schools were
+established by the government. By 1837 Upper Canada College--an
+institution still flourishing--offered special advantages to youths
+whose parents had some money. In Nova Scotia King's College--the oldest
+university in Canada--had its beginning as an academy as early as 1788,
+and educated many eminent men during its palmy days. Pictou Academy was
+established by the Reverend Dr. McCulloch as a remonstrance against the
+sectarianism of King's; and the political history of the province was
+long disturbed by the struggle of its promoters against the narrowness
+of the Anglicans, who dominated the legislative council, and frequently
+rejected the grant made by the assembly. Dalhousie College was founded
+in 1820 by Lord Dalhousie, then governor of Nova Scotia, to afford that
+higher education to all denominations which old King's denied. Acadia
+College was founded by the Baptists at Wolfville, on a gently rising
+ground overlooking the fertile meadows of Grand Pre. The foundations of
+the University of New Brunswick were laid in 1800. McGill University,
+founded by one of those generous Montreal merchants who have always been
+its benefactors, received a charter in 1821, but it was not opened until
+1829. The Methodists laid the foundation of Victoria College at Cobourg
+in 1834, but it did not commence its work until after the Union; and the
+same was the case with King's College, the beginning of the University
+of Toronto.
+
+We need not linger on the literary output of those early times. Joseph
+Bouchette, surveyor-general, had made in the first part of the century a
+notable contribution to the geography and cartography of Lower Canada.
+Major Richardson, who had served in the war of 1812 and in the Spanish
+peninsula, wrote in 1833 "Wacousta or the Prophecy," a spirited romance
+of Indian life. In Nova Scotia the "Sayings and Doings of Sam Slick, of
+Slickville"--truly a remarkable original creation in humorous
+literature--first appeared in a Halifax paper. The author, Judge
+Haliburton, also published as early as 1829 an excellent work in two
+volumes on the history of his native province. Small libraries and book
+stores could only be seen in the cities.
+
+In these early times of the provinces, when books and magazines were
+rarities, the newspaper press naturally exercised much influence on the
+social and intellectual conditions of the people at large. By 1838 there
+were no less than forty papers printed in the province of Upper Canada
+alone, some of them written with ability, though too often in a bitter,
+personal tone. In those days English papers did not circulate to any
+extent in a country where postage was exorbitant. People could hardly
+afford to pay postage rates on letters. The poor settler was often
+unable to pay the three or four shillings or even more, imposed on
+letters from their old homes across the sea; and it was not unusual to
+find in country post-offices a large accumulation of dead letters,
+refused or neglected on account of the expense. The management of the
+post-office by imperial officers was one of the grievances of the people
+of the provinces generally. It was carried on for the benefit of a few
+persons, and not for the convenience or solace of the many thousands who
+were anxious for news of their kin across the ocean.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+A NEW ERA OF COLONIAL GOVERNMENT (1839--1867).
+
+
+SECTION I.--The union of the Canadas and the establishment of
+responsible government.
+
+Lord Durham's report on the affairs of British North America was
+presented to the British government on the 31st January, 1839, and
+attracted an extraordinary amount of interest in England, where the two
+rebellions had at last awakened statesmen to the absolute necessity of
+providing an effective remedy for difficulties which had been pressing
+upon their attention for years, but had never been thoroughly understood
+until the appearance of this famous state paper. A legislative union of
+the two Canadas and the concession of responsible government were the
+two radical changes which stood out prominently in the report among
+minor suggestions in the direction of stable government. On the question
+of responsible government Lord Durham expressed opinions of the deepest
+political wisdom. He found it impossible "to understand how any English
+statesman could have ever imagined that representative and irresponsible
+government could be successfully combined....To suppose that such a
+system would work well there, implied a belief that the French Canadians
+have enjoyed representative institutions for half a century, without
+acquiring any of the characteristics of a free people; that Englishmen
+renounce every political opinion and feeling when they enter a colony,
+or that the spirit of Anglo-Saxon freedom is utterly changed and
+weakened among those who are transplanted across the Atlantic[3]."
+
+[3: For the full text of Lord Durham's report, which was laid before
+Parliament, 11 February, 1839, see _English Parliamentary Papers_ for
+1839.]
+
+In June, 1839, Lord John Russell introduced a bill to reunite the two
+provinces, but it was allowed, after its second reading, to lie over for
+that session of parliament, in order that the matter might be fully
+considered in Canada. Mr. Poulett Thomson was appointed governor-general
+with the avowed object of carrying out the policy of the imperial
+government. Immediately after his arrival in Canada, in the autumn of
+1839, the special council of Lower Canada and the legislature of Upper
+Canada passed addresses in favour of a union of the two provinces. These
+necessary preliminaries having been made, Lord John Russell, in the
+session of 1840, again brought forward "An act to reunite the provinces
+of Upper and Lower Canada, and for the government of Canada," which was
+assented to on the 23rd of July, but did not come into effect until the
+10th of February in the following year.
+
+The act provided for a legislative council of not less than twenty
+members, and for a legislative assembly in which each section of the
+united provinces would be represented by an equal number of
+members--that is to say, forty-two for each or eighty-four in all. The
+number of representatives allotted to each province could not be changed
+except with the concurrence of two-thirds of the members of each house.
+The members of the legislative council were appointed by the crown for
+life, and the members of the assembly were chosen by electors possessing
+a small property qualification. Members of both bodies were required to
+hold property to a certain amount. The assembly had a duration of four
+years, subject of course to be sooner dissolved by the governor-general.
+
+Provision was made for a consolidated revenue fund, on which the first
+charges were expenses of collection, management and receipt of revenues,
+interest of public debt, payment of the clergy, and civil list. The
+English language alone was to be used in the legislative records. All
+votes, resolutions or bills involving the expenditure of public money
+were to be first recommended by the governor-general.
+
+The first parliament of the United Canadas was opened on the 14th June,
+1841, in the city of Kingston, by the governor-general, who had been
+created Baron Sydenham of Sydenham and of Toronto. This session was the
+commencement of a series of parliaments which lasted until the
+confederation of all the provinces in 1867, and forcibly illustrated the
+capacity of the people of Canada to manage their internal affairs. For
+the moment, I propose to refer exclusively to those political conditions
+which brought about responsible government, and the removal of
+grievances which had so long perplexed the imperial state and distracted
+the whole of British North America.
+
+In Lord John Russell's despatches of 1839,--the sequence of Lord
+Durham's report--we can clearly see the doubt in the minds of the
+imperial authorities whether it was possible to work the system of
+responsible government on the basis of a governor directly responsible
+to the parent state, and at the same time acting under the advice of
+ministers who would be responsible to a colonial legislature. But the
+colonial secretary had obviously come to the opinion that it was
+necessary to make a radical change which would insure greater harmony
+between the executive and the popular bodies of the provinces. Her
+Majesty, he stated emphatically, "had no desire to maintain any system
+of policy among her North American subjects which opinion condemns", and
+there was "no surer way of gaining the approbation of the Queen than by
+maintaining the harmony of the executive with the legislative
+authorities." The new governor-general was expressly appointed to carry
+out this new policy. If he was extremely vain, at all events he was also
+astute, practical, and well able to gauge the public sentiment by which
+he should be guided at so critical a period of Canadian history. The
+evidence is clear that he was not individually in favour of responsible
+government, as it was understood by men like Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Howe,
+when he arrived in Canada. He believed that the council should be one
+"for the governor to consult and no more"; and voicing the doubts that
+existed in the minds of imperial statesmen, he added, the governor
+"cannot be responsible to the government at home" and also to the
+legislature of the province, if it were so, "then all colonial
+government becomes impossible." The governor, in his opinion, "must
+therefore be the minister [i.e. the colonial secretary], in which case
+he cannot be under control of men in the colony."
+
+When the assembly met it was soon evident that the Reformers in that
+body were determined to have a definite understanding on the
+all-important question of responsible government; and the result was
+that the governor-general, a keen politician, immediately recognised the
+fact that, unless he yielded to the feeling of the majority, he would
+lose all his influence. There is every reason to believe that the
+resolutions which were eventually passed in favour of responsible
+government, in amendment to those moved by Mr. Baldwin, had his approval
+before their introduction. The two sets of resolutions practically
+differed little from each other, and the inference to be drawn from the
+political situation of these times is that the governor's friends in the
+council thought it advisable to gain all the credit possible with the
+public for the passage of resolutions on the all-absorbing question of
+the day, since it was obvious that it had to be settled in some
+satisfactory and definite form. These resolutions embodying the
+principles of the new constitution of Canada, were as follows: (1) "That
+the head of the executive government of the province, being within the
+limits of his government the representative of the sovereign, is
+responsible to the imperial authority alone, but that, nevertheless, the
+management of our local affairs can only be conducted by him with the
+assistance, counsel, and information of subordinate officers in the
+province. (2) That, in order to preserve between the different branches
+of the provincial parliament that harmony which is essential to the
+peace, welfare and good government of the province, the chief advisers
+of the representative of the sovereign, constituting a provincial
+administration under him, ought to be men possessed of the confidence of
+the representatives of the people; thus affording a guarantee that the
+well-understood wishes and interests of the people, which our gracious
+sovereign has declared shall be the rule of the provincial government,
+will on all occasions be faithfully represented and advocated. (3) That
+the people of this province have, moreover, the right to expect from
+such provincial administration, the exertion of their best endeavours
+that the imperial authority, within its constitutional limits, shall be
+exercised in the manner most consistent with their well-understood
+wishes and interests."
+
+On the 4th September, 1841, Lord Sydenham met with a serious accident
+while riding, and as his constitution had been impaired for years he
+died a fortnight later, to the regret of all political parties. He was
+succeeded by Sir Charles Bagot, a Conservative and High Churchman, whose
+brief administration was notable for the display of infinite discretion
+on his part, and for his desire to do justice to the French Canadians
+even at the risk of offending the ultra-loyal party, who claimed special
+consideration in the management of public affairs. Responsible
+government was in a fair way of being permanently established when Sir
+Charles Bagot unhappily died in 1843 of dropsy, complicated by
+heart-disease; and Lord Metcalfe was brought from India to create--as it
+soon appeared--confusion and discord in the political affairs of the
+province. His ideas of responsible government were those which had been
+steadily inculcated by colonial secretaries since 1839, and were even
+entertained by Lord Sydenham himself, namely, that the governor should
+be as influential a factor as possible in the government, and should
+always remember that he was directly responsible to the crown, and
+should consider its prerogatives and interests as superior to all local
+considerations.
+
+When Lord Metcalfe assumed the responsibilities of his post, he found in
+office a Liberal administration, led by Mr. Baldwin, the eminent Reform
+leader of Upper Canada, and Mr. Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine, afterwards
+chief justice of Lower Canada and a baronet, who had been at the outset,
+like all his countrymen, opposed to the union, as unjust to their
+province. What originally excited their antagonism were the conditions
+exacted by the legislature of Upper Canada: an equality of
+representation, though the French section had a population of two
+hundred thousand more than the western province, the exclusion of the
+French language from the legislature, and the imposition of the heavy
+debt of Upper Canada on the revenues of the united provinces. But unlike
+Mr. Papineau, with whom he had acted during the political struggles in
+Lower Canada, Mr. Lafontaine developed a high order of discreet
+statesmanship after the union, and recognised the possibility of making
+French Canada a force in government. He did not follow the example of
+Mr. John Neilson, who steadily opposed the union--but determined to work
+it out fairly and patiently on the principles of responsible government.
+
+Lord Metcalfe, at the very outset, decided not to distribute the
+patronage of the crown under the advice of his responsible advisers, but
+to ignore them, as he declared, whenever he deemed it expedient. No
+responsible ministers could, with any regard to their own self-respect,
+or to the public interests, submit to a practice directly antagonistic
+to responsible government, then on its trial. Consequently, all the
+members of the Baldwin-Lafontaine government, with the exception of Mr.
+Daly, immediately resigned, when Lord Metcalfe followed so
+unconstitutional a course. Mr. Dominick Daly, afterwards knighted when
+governor of Prince Edward's Island--who had no party proclivities, and
+was always ready to support the crown in a crisis--became nominally
+head of a weak administration. The ministry was only completed after a
+most unconstitutional delay of several months, and was even then only
+composed of men whose chief merit was their friendliness to the
+governor, who dissolved the assembly and threw all the weight of the
+crown into the contest. The governor's party was returned with a very
+small majority, but it was a victory, like that of Sir Francis Bond Head
+in 1835, won at the sacrifice of the dignity of the crown, and at the
+risk of exciting once more public discontent to a dangerous degree. Lord
+Metcalfe's administration was strengthened when Mr. Draper resigned his
+legislative councillorship and took a seat in the assembly as leader.
+Lord Metcalfe's conduct received the approval of the imperial
+authorities, who elevated him to the peerage--so much evidence that they
+were not yet ready to concede responsible government in a complete
+sense. The result was a return to the days of old paternal government,
+when the parliamentary opposition was directed against the governor
+himself and the British government of which he was the organ. Lord
+Metcalfe had been a sufferer from cancer, and when it appeared again in
+its most aggravated form he returned to England, where he died a few
+months later (1846). The abuse that followed him almost to the grave was
+a discreditable exhibition of party rancour, but it indicated the
+condition to which the public mind had been brought by his unwise and
+unconstitutional conduct of public affairs--conduct for which his only
+apology must be the half-hearted, doubtful policy of the imperial
+authorities with regard to the province, and his own inability to
+understand the fundamental principles of responsible government.
+
+Lord Metcalfe's successor was Lord Cathcart, who had served with
+distinction in the Peninsular War, and was appointed with a view to
+contingencies that might arise out of the dispute between England and
+the United States on the Oregon boundary question, to which I shall
+refer in another chapter. He pursued a judicious course at a time when
+politics were complicated by the fact that the industry and commerce of
+the country were seriously deranged by the adoption of free trade in
+England, and the consequent removal of duties which had given the
+preference in the British market to Canadian wheat, flour and other
+products. What aggravated the commercial situation was the fact that the
+navigation laws, being still in force, closed the St. Lawrence to
+foreign shipping and prevented the extension of trade to other markets
+so as to compensate Canadians for the loss of that with the parent
+state. Lord Cathcart was recalled within less than a year, when all
+prospect of war with the United States had disappeared, and was followed
+(1847) by a civil governor, the Earl of Elgin, who was chosen by the
+Whig ministry, in which Lord John Russell was prime minister, and Earl
+Grey the secretary of state for the colonies. It had dawned upon English
+statesmen that the time had come for giving the colonists of British
+North America a system of responsible government without such reserves
+as had so seriously shackled its beginnings. In all probability they
+thought that the free-trade policy of England had momentarily weakened
+the ties that had bound the colonies to the parent state, and that it
+was advisable to follow up the new commercial policy by removing causes
+of public discontent in the province.
+
+Lord Elgin was happily chosen to inaugurate a new era of colonial
+self-government. Gifted with a judicial mind and no ordinary amount of
+political sagacity, able to originate as well as carry out a
+statesmanlike policy, animated, like Lord Durham--whose daughter he had
+married--by a sincere desire to give full scope to the aspirations of
+the people for self-government, so far as compatible with the supremacy
+of the crown, possessed of eloquence which at once charmed and
+convinced, Lord Elgin was able to establish on sure foundations the
+principles of responsible government, and eventually to leave Canada
+with the conviction that no subsequent representative of the crown
+could again impair its efficient operation, and convulse the public
+mind, as Lord Metcalfe had done. On his arrival he gave his confidence
+to the Draper ministry, who were still in office; but shortly afterwards
+its ablest member was elevated to the bench, and Mr. Sherwood became
+attorney-general and head of a government, chiefly interesting now for
+the fact that one of its members was Mr. John Alexander Macdonald, who,
+on becoming a member of the assembly in 1844, had commenced a public
+career which made him one of the most notable figures in the history of
+the colonial empire of England.
+
+Parliament was dissolved, and the elections were held in January, 1848,
+when the government were defeated by a large majority and the second
+Lafontaine-Baldwin ministry was formed; a ministry conspicuous for the
+ability of its members, and the useful character of its legislation
+during the four years it remained in power. It is noteworthy here that
+Lord Elgin did not follow the example of his predecessors and select the
+ministers himself, but followed the strict constitutional usage of
+calling upon Mr. Lafontaine as a recognised leader of a party in
+parliament to form a government. It does not fall within the scope of
+this chapter to go into the merits of this great administration, whose
+coming into office may be considered the crowning of the principles
+adopted by Lord Elgin for the unreserved concession of responsible
+government, and never violated from that time forward by any governor of
+Canada.
+
+We must now direct our attention to the maritime provinces, that we may
+complete this review of the progress of responsible government in
+British North America. In 1836 the revenues of New Brunswick had been
+placed at the disposal of the legislature, and administrative power
+entrusted to those who possessed the confidence of the assembly. The
+lieutenant-governor, Sir John Harvey, who had distinguished himself in
+the war of 1812-15, recognised in Lord John Russell's despatches "a new
+and improved constitution," and by an official memorandum informed the
+heads of departments that "thenceforward their offices would be held by
+the tenure of public confidence"; but after his departure (in 1841) an
+attempt was made by Sir William Colebrooke to imitate the example of
+Lord Metcalfe. He appointed to the provincial secretaryship a Mr. Reade,
+who had been only a few months in the province, and never represented a
+constituency or earned promotion in the public service. The members of
+the executive council were never consulted, and four of the most popular
+and influential councillors soon resigned. One of them, Mr. Lemuel A.
+Wilmot, the recognised leader of the Liberals, addressed a strong
+remonstrance to the lieutenant-governor, and vindicated those principles
+of colonial government "which require the administration to be conducted
+by heads of departments responsible to the legislature, and holding
+their offices contingently upon the approbation and confidence of the
+country, as expressed through the representatives of the people." The
+colonial secretary of state disapproved of the action of the
+lieutenant-governor, and constitutional government was strengthened in
+this province of the Loyalists. From that time there was a regularly
+organised administration and an opposition contending for office and
+popular favour.
+
+In Nova Scotia a despatch from Lord Glenelg brought to a close in 1838
+the agitation which had been going on for years for a separation of the
+executive from the legislative functions of the legislative council, and
+the formation of two distinct bodies in accordance with the existing
+English system. In this state paper--the first important step towards
+responsible government in the province--the secretary of state, Lord
+Glenelg, stated that it was her Majesty's pleasure that neither the
+chief justice nor any of his colleagues should sit in the council, that
+all the judges should entirely withdraw from all political discussions;
+that the assembly's claim to control and appropriate all the revenues
+arising in the province should be fully recognised by the government;
+that the two councils should be thereafter divided, and that the members
+of these bodies should be drawn from different parts of the
+province--Halifax previously having obtained all the appointments except
+one or two--and selected without reference to distinctions of religious
+opinions. Unfortunately for Nova Scotia there was at that time at the
+head of the executive a brave, obstinate old soldier, Sir Colin
+Campbell, who had petrified ideas on the subject of colonial
+administration, and showed no disposition to carry out the obvious
+desire of the imperial authorities to give a more popular form to the
+government of the province. One of his first official acts was to give
+to the Anglican Church a numerical superiority to which it had no valid
+claim. As in Upper Canada, at that time, there was a combination or
+compact, composed of descendants of English Tories or of the Loyalists
+of 1783, who belonged to the Anglican Church, and were opposed to
+popular government. Two men were now becoming most prominent in
+politics. One of these was Mr. James William Johnston, the son of a
+Georgia Loyalist, an able lawyer, gifted with a persuasive tongue which
+chimed most harmoniously with the views of Sir Colin. On the other side
+was Mr. Joseph Howe, the son of a Loyalist printer of Boston, who had no
+such aristocratic connections as Mr. Johnston, and soon became the
+dominant influence in the Reform party, which had within its ranks such
+able and eloquent men as S.G.W. Archibald, Herbert Huntington, Lawrence
+O'Connor Doyle, William and George R. Young, and, very soon, James Boyle
+Uniacke. Sir Colin Campbell completely ignored the despatches of Lord
+John Russell, which were recognised by Sir John Harvey as conferring "an
+improved constitution" upon the colonies. In February, 1840, Mr. Howe
+moved a series of resolutions, in which it was emphatically stated that
+"no satisfactory settlement of questions before the country could be
+obtained until the executive council was remodelled," and that, as then
+constituted, "it did not enjoy the confidence of the country." The
+motion was carried by a majority of eighteen votes, in a house of
+forty-two members, and indeed, so untenable was the position of the
+executive council that Mr. James Boyle Uniacke, a member of the
+government, retired, rather than vote, and subsequently placed his
+resignation in the hands of the lieutenant-governor, on the ground that
+it was his duty to yield to the opinions of the representative house,
+and facilitate the introduction of a better system of government, in
+accordance with the well-understood wishes of the people. From that time
+Mr. Uniacke became one of Mr. Howe's ablest allies in the struggle for
+self-government. Sir Colin, however, would not recede from the attitude
+he had assumed, but expressed the opinion, in his reply to the address
+of the legislature, that he could not recognise in the despatch of the
+colonial secretary of state "any instruction for a fundamental change in
+the colonial constitution." The assembly then prayed her Majesty, in a
+powerful and temperate address, to recall Sir Colin Campbell. Though
+Lord John Russell did not present the address to the Queen, the imperial
+government soon afterwards appointed Lord Falkland to succeed Sir Colin
+Campbell, whose honesty of purpose had won the respect of all parties.
+
+Lord Falkland was a Whig, a lord of the bedchamber, and married to one
+of the Fitzclarences--a daughter of William IV and Mrs. Jordan. He
+arrived at Halifax in September, 1840, and his first political act was
+in the direction of conciliating the Liberals, who were in the majority
+in the assembly. He dismissed--to the disgust of the official
+party--four members of the executive who had no seats in either branch
+of the legislature, and induced Mr. Howe and Mr. James MacNab to enter
+the government, on the understanding that other Liberals would be
+brought in according as vacancies occurred, and that the members of the
+council should hold their seats only upon the tenure of public
+confidence. A dissolution took place, the coalition government was
+sustained, and the Liberals came into the assembly with a majority. Mr.
+Howe was elected speaker of the assembly, though an executive
+councillor--without salary; but he and others began to recognise the
+impropriety of one man occupying such positions, and in a later session
+a resolution was passed against the continuance of what was really an
+un-British and unconstitutional practice. It was also an illustration of
+the ignorance that prevailed as to the principles that should guide the
+words and acts of a cabinet, that members of the executive, who had
+seats in the legislative council, notably Mr. Stewart, stated openly, in
+contradiction of the assertions of Mr. Howe and his Liberal colleagues,
+that "no change had been made in the constitution of the country, and
+that responsible government in a colony was responsible nonsense, and
+meant independence." It was at last found necessary to give some sort of
+explanation of such extraordinary opinions, to avert a political crisis
+in the assembly. Then, to add to the political embarrassment, there was
+brought before the people the question of abandoning the practice of
+endowing denominational colleges, and of establishing in their place one
+large non-sectarian University. At this time the legislature voted
+annual grants to five sectarian educational institutions of a high
+class. The most important were King's College, belonging to the Anglican
+Church, and Acadia College, supported by the Baptists. The Anglican
+Church was still influential in the councils of the province, and the
+Baptists had now the support of Mr. Johnston, the able attorney-general,
+who had seceded from the Church of England. This able lawyer and
+politician had won the favour of the aristocratic governor, and
+persuaded him to dissolve the assembly, during the absence of Mr. Howe
+in the country, though it had continuously supported the government, and
+the people had given no signs of a want of confidence in the house as
+then constituted. The fact was, Mr. Johnston and his friends in the
+council thought it necessary to lose no time in arousing the feelings of
+the supporters of denominational colleges against Mr. Howe and other
+Liberals, who had commenced to hold meetings throughout the country in
+favour of a non-sectarian University. The two parties came back from
+the electors almost evenly divided, and Mr. Howe had an interview with
+Lord Falkland. He consented to remain in the cabinet until the assembly
+had an opportunity of expressing its opinion on the question at issue,
+when the governor himself precipitated a crisis by appointing to the
+executive and legislative councils Mr. M.B. Almon, a wealthy banker, and
+a brother-in-law of the attorney-general. Mr. Howe and Mr. MacNab at
+once resigned their seats in the government on the ground that Mr.
+Almon's appointment was a violation of the compact by which two Liberals
+had been induced to join the ministry, and was most unjust to the forty
+or fifty gentlemen who, in both branches, had sustained the
+administration for several years. Instead of authorising Mr. Johnston to
+fill the two vacancies and justify the course taken by the governor, the
+latter actually published a letter in a newspaper, in which he boldly
+stated that he was entirely opposed to the formation of a government
+composed of individuals of one political party, that he would steadily
+resist any invasion of the royal prerogatives with respect to
+appointments, and that he had chosen Mr. Almon, not simply on the ground
+that he had not been previously engaged in political life to any extent,
+but chiefly because he wished to show his own confidence in Mr.
+Johnston, Mr. Almon's brother-in-law. Lord Falkland had obviously thrown
+himself into the arms of the astute attorney-general and his political
+friends.
+
+It was now a political war _a outrance_ between Lord Falkland and Mr.
+Howe, from 1842 until the governor left the province in 1846. Lord
+Falkland made strenuous efforts to detach Mr. MacNab, Mr. Uniacke and
+other Liberals from Mr. Howe, and induce them to enter the government,
+but all to no purpose. He now gave up writing letters to the press, and
+attacked his opponents in official communications addressed to the
+colonial office, which supported him, as it did Lord Metcalfe, under
+analogous circumstances. These despatches were laid without delay on
+the tables of the houses, to be used far and wide against the
+recalcitrant Liberals. Mr. Howe had again renewed his connection with
+the press, which he had left on becoming speaker and councillor, and had
+become editor of the _Nova Scotian_, and the _Morning Chronicle_, of
+which Mr. Annand was the proprietor. In these influential organs of the
+Liberal party--papers still in existence--Mr. Howe attacked Lord
+Falkland, both in bitter prose and sarcastic verse. All this while the
+governor and his council contrived to control the assembly, sometimes by
+two or three votes, sometimes by a prorogation when it was necessary to
+dispose summarily of a troublesome question. Public opinion began to set
+in steadily against the government. The controversy between Lord
+Falkland and Mr. Howe reached its climax on the 21st February, 1846,
+when a despatch was brought down to the house, referring to the speaker,
+Mr. William Young, and his brother, George R. Young, as the associates
+of "reckless" and "insolvent" men--the reference being to Mr. Howe and
+his immediate political friends. When the despatch had been read, Mr.
+Howe became greatly excited, and declared amid much disorder that if
+"the infamous system" of libelling respectable colonists in despatches
+sent to the colonial office was continued, "without their having any
+means of redress ... some colonist would by-and-by, or he was much
+mistaken, hire a black fellow to horsewhip a lieutenant-governor."
+
+It was time that this unhappy conflict should end. The imperial
+authorities wisely transferred Lord Falkland to Bombay, where he could
+do no harm, and appointed Sir John Harvey to the government of Nova
+Scotia. Like Lord Elgin in Canada, he was discreetly chosen by the
+Reform ministry, as the sequel showed. He was at first in favour of a
+coalition government like his predecessors, but he wisely dissolved the
+assembly when he found that the leading Liberals positively refused to
+go into an alliance with the members of the executive council, or any
+other set of men, until the people had decided between parties at the
+polls. The result was a victory for the Liberals, and as soon as the
+assembly met a direct motion of want of confidence was carried against
+the government, and for the first time in the history of the country the
+governor called to his council men exclusively belonging to the
+opposition in the popular branch. Mr. Howe was not called upon to form a
+cabinet--his quarrel with Lord Falkland had to be resented somehow--but
+the governor's choice was Mr. James Boyle Uniacke, who gave a prominent
+position in the new government to the great Liberal, to whom responsible
+government owed its final success in this maritime province.
+
+Responsible government was not introduced into Prince Edward Island
+until 1851, when an address on the prosperous state of the island was
+presented to the imperial authorities, who at once consented to concede
+responsible government on the condition that adequate provision was made
+for certain public officers affected by the new order of things. The
+leader of the new government was the Honourable George Coles.
+
+In the history of the past there is much to deplore, the blunders of
+English ministers, the want of judgment on the part of governors, the
+selfishness of "family compacts," the arrogance of office-holders, the
+recklessness of Canadian politicians. But the very trials of the crisis
+through which Canada passed brought out the fact, that if English
+statesmen had mistaken the spirit of the Canadian people, and had not
+always taken the best methods of removing grievances, it was not from
+any studied disposition to do these countries an injustice, but rather
+because they were unable to see until the very last moment that, even in
+a colony, a representative system must be worked in accordance with
+those principles that obtained in England, and that it was impossible to
+direct the internal affairs of dependencies many thousand miles distant
+through a colonial office, generally managed by a few clerks.
+
+Of all the conspicuous figures of these memorable times, which already
+seem so far away from Canadians of the present day, who possess so many
+political rights, there are several who stand out more prominently than
+all others, and represent the distinct types of politicians, who
+influenced the public mind during the first half of the nineteenth
+century, when responsible government was in slow process of evolution
+from the political struggles which arose in the operation of
+representative institutions. Around the figure of Louis Joseph Papineau
+there has always been a sort of glamour which has helped to conceal his
+vanity, his rashness and his want of political sagacity, which would,
+under any circumstances, have prevented his success as a safe statesman,
+capable of guiding a people through a trying ordeal. His eloquence was
+fervid and had much influence over his impulsive countrymen, his
+sincerity was undoubted, and in all likelihood his very indiscretions
+made more palpable the defects of the political system against which he
+so persistently and so often justly declaimed. He lived to see his
+countrymen enjoy power and influence under the very union which they
+resented, and to find himself no longer a leader among men, but isolated
+from a great majority of his own people, and representing a past whose
+methods were antagonistic to the new regime that had grown up since
+1838. It would have been well for his reputation had he remained in
+obscurity on his return from exile in 1847, when he and other rebels of
+1837 were wisely pardoned, and had he never stood again on the floor of
+the parliament of Canada, as he did from 1848 until 1854, since he could
+only prove, in those later times, that he had never understood the true
+working of responsible government. While the Lafontaine-Baldwin ministry
+were in power, he revived an agitation for an elective legislative
+council and declared himself utterly hostile to responsible government;
+but his influence was at an end in the country, and he could make little
+impression on the assembly. The days of reckless agitation had passed,
+and the time for astute and calm statesmanship had come. Lafontaine and
+Morin were now safer political guides for his countrymen. He soon
+disappeared entirely from public view, and in the solitude of his
+picturesque chateau, amid the groves that overhang the Ottawa River,
+only visited from time to time by a few staunch friends, or by curious
+tourists who found their way to that quiet spot, he passed the remainder
+of his days with a tranquillity in wondrous contrast to the stormy and
+eventful drama of his life. The writer often saw his noble, dignified
+figure--erect even in age--passing unnoticed on the streets of Ottawa,
+when perhaps at the same time there were strangers, walking through the
+lobbies of the parliament house, asking for his portrait.
+
+William Lyon Mackenzie is a far less picturesque figure in Canadian
+history than Papineau, who possessed an eloquence of tongue and a grace
+of demeanour which were not the attributes of the little peppery,
+undignified Scotchman who, for a few years, played so important a part
+in the English-speaking province. With his disinterestedness and
+unselfishness, with his hatred of political injustice and oppression,
+Canadians who remember the history of the constitutional struggles of
+England will always sympathise. Revolt against absolutism and tyranny is
+permissible in the opinion of men who love political freedom, but the
+conditions of Upper Canada were hardly such as justified the rash
+insurrection into which he led his deluded followers, many to misery and
+some to death. Mackenzie lived long enough to regret these sad mistakes
+of a reckless period of his life, and to admit that "the success of the
+rebellion would have deeply injured the people of Canada," whom he
+believed he was then serving, and that it was the interest of the
+Canadian people to strengthen in every way the connection with England.
+Like Papineau, he returned to Canada in 1849 to find himself entirely
+unequal to the new conditions of political life, where a large
+constitutional knowledge, a spirit of moderation and a statesmanlike
+conduct could alone give a man influence in the councils of his country.
+One historian has attempted to elevate Dr. Rolph at his expense, but a
+careful study of the career of those two actors will lead fair-minded
+readers to the conclusion that even the reckless course followed at the
+last by Mackenzie was preferable to the double-dealing of his more
+astute colleague. Dr. Rolph came again into prominence as one of the
+founders of the Clear Grits, who formed in 1849 an extreme branch of the
+Reform party. Dr. Rolph's qualities ensured him success in political
+intrigue, and he soon became a member of the Hincks-Morin government,
+which was formed on the reconstruction of the Lafontaine-Baldwin
+ministry in 1851, when its two moderate leaders were practically pushed
+aside by men more in harmony with the aggressive elements of the Reform
+party. But Mr. Mackenzie could never win such triumphs as were won by
+his wily and more manageable associate of old times. He published a
+newspaper--_The Weekly Message_--replete with the eccentricities of the
+editor, but it was never a financial success, while his career in the
+assembly from 1851 until 1858 only proved him almost a nullity in public
+affairs. Until his death in 1861 his life was a constant fight with
+poverty, although his closing years were somewhat soothed by the gift of
+a homestead. He might have received some public position which would
+have given him comfort and rest, but he would not surrender what he
+called his political freedom to the men in office, who, he believed,
+wished to purchase his silence--the veriest delusion, as his influence
+had practically disappeared with his flight to the United States.
+
+Joseph Howe, unlike the majority of his compeers who struggled for
+popular rights, was a prominent figure in public life until the very
+close of his career in 1873. All his days, even when his spirit was
+sorely tried by the obstinacy and indifference of some English
+ministers, he loved England, for he knew--like the Loyalists, from one
+of whom he sprung--it was in her institutions, after all, his country
+could best find prosperity and happiness. It is an interesting fact
+that, among the many able essays and addresses which the question of
+imperial federation has drawn forth, none can equal his great speech on
+the consolidation of the empire in eloquence, breadth, and fervour. Of
+all the able men Nova Scotia has produced no one has surpassed that
+great tribune of the people in his power to persuade and delight the
+masses by his oratory. Yet, strange to say, his native province has
+never raised a monument to his memory.
+
+One of the most admirable figures in the political history of the
+Dominion was undoubtedly Robert Baldwin. Compared with other popular
+leaders of his generation, he was calm in council, unselfish in motive,
+and moderate in opinion. If there is any significance in the political
+phrase "Liberal-Conservative," it could be applied with justice
+to him. The "great ministry," of which he and Louis Hippolyte
+Lafontaine--afterwards a baronet and chief justice--were the leaders,
+left behind it many monuments of broad statesmanship, and made a deep
+impression on the institutions of the country. In 1851 he resigned from
+the Reform ministry, of which he had been the Upper Canadian leader, in
+consequence of a vote of the Reformers of that province adverse to the
+continuance of the court of chancery, the constitution of which had been
+improved chiefly by himself. When he presented himself as a candidate
+before his old constituency he was defeated by a nominee of the Clear
+Grits, who were then, as always, pressing their opinions with great
+vehemence and hostility to all moderate men. He illustrated the fickle
+character of popular favour, when a man will not surrender his
+principles and descend to the arts of the politician. He lived until
+1858 in retirement, almost forgotten by the people for whom he had
+worked so fearlessly and sincerely.
+
+In New Brunswick the triumph of responsible government must always be
+associated with the name of Lemuel A. Wilmot, the descendant of
+a famous United Empire Loyalist stock, afterwards a judge and a
+lieutenant-governor of his native province. He was in some respects the
+most notable figure, after Joseph Howe and J.W. Johnston, the leaders
+of the Liberal and Conservative parties in Nova Scotia, in that famous
+body of public men who so long brightened the political life of the
+maritime provinces. But neither those two leaders nor their
+distinguished compeers, James Boyle Uniacke, William Young, John
+Hamilton Gray and Charles Fisher, all names familiar to students of Nova
+Scotia and New Brunswick history, surpassed Mr. Wilmot in that magnetic
+eloquence which carries an audience off its feet, in versatility of
+knowledge, in humorous sarcasm, and in conversational gifts, which made
+him a most interesting personality in social life. He impressed his
+strong individuality upon his countrymen until the latest hour of his
+useful career.
+
+In Prince Edward Island, the name most intimately connected with the
+struggle for responsible government is that of George Coles, who,
+despite the absence of educational and social advantages in his youth,
+eventually triumphed over all obstacles, and occupied a most prominent
+position by dint of unconquerable courage and ability to influence the
+opinions of the great mass of people.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--Results of self-government from 1841 to 1864.
+
+The new colonial policy, adopted by the imperial government immediately
+after the presentation of Lord Durham's report, had a remarkable effect
+upon the political and social development of the British North American
+provinces during the quarter of a century that elapsed between the union
+of the Canadas in 1841 and the federal union of 1867. In 1841 Mr.
+Harrison, provincial secretary of the upper province in the coalition
+government formed by Lord Sydenham, brought in a measure which laid the
+foundations of the elaborate system of municipal institutions which the
+Canadian provinces now enjoy. In 1843 Attorney-General Lafontaine
+presented a bill "for better serving the independence of the legislative
+assembly of this province," which became law in 1844 and formed the
+basis of all subsequent legislation in Canada.
+
+The question of the clergy reserves continued for some years after the
+union to perplex politicians and harass governments. At last in 1854 the
+Hincks government was defeated by a combination of factions, and the
+Liberal-Conservative party was formed out of the union of the
+Conservatives and the moderate Reformers. Sir Allan MacNab was the
+leader of this coalition government, but the most influential member was
+Mr. John A. Macdonald, then attorney-general of Upper Canada, whose
+first important act was the settlement of the clergy reserves. Reform
+ministers had for years evaded the question, and it was now left to a
+government, largely composed of men who had been Tories in the early
+part of their political career, to yield to the force of public opinion
+and take it out of the arena of political agitation by means of
+legislation which handed over this property to the municipal
+corporations of the province for secular purposes, and at the same time
+made a small endowment for the protection of the clergy who had legal
+claims on the fund. The same government had also the honour of removing
+the old French seigniorial system, recognised to be incompatible with
+the modern condition of a country of free government, and injurious to
+the agricultural development of the province at large. The question was
+practically settled in 1854, when Mr. Drummond, then attorney-general
+for Lower Canada, brought in a bill providing for the appointment of a
+commission to ascertain the amount of compensation that could be fairly
+asked by the seigniors for the cession of their seigniorial rights. The
+seigniors, from first to last, received about a million of dollars, and
+it also became necessary to revise those old French laws which affected
+the land tenure of Lower Canada. Accordingly in 1856 Mr. George Cartier,
+attorney-general for Lower Canada in the Tache-Macdonald ministry,
+introduced the legislation necessary for the codification of the civil
+law. In 1857 Mr. Spence, post-master-general in the same ministry,
+brought in a measure to organise the civil service, on whose character
+and ability so much depends in the working of parliamentary
+institutions. From that day to this the Canadian government has
+practically recognised the British principle of retaining public
+officers without reference to a change of political administration.
+
+Soon after the union the legislating obtained full control of the civil
+list and the post-office. The last tariff framed by the imperial
+parliament for British North America was mentioned in the speech at the
+opening of the Canadian legislature in 1842. In 1846 the British
+colonies in America were authorised by an imperial statute to reduce or
+repeal by their own legislation duties imposed by imperial acts upon
+foreign goods imported from foreign countries into the colonies in
+question. Canada soon availed herself of this privilege, which was
+granted to her as the logical sequence of the free-trade policy of Great
+Britain, and, from that time to the present, she has been enabled to
+legislate very freely with regard to her own commercial interests. In
+1849 the imperial parliament repealed the navigation laws, and allowed
+the river St. Lawrence to be used by vessels of all nations. With the
+repeal of laws, the continuance of which had seriously crippled Canadian
+trade after the adoption of free trade by England, the provinces
+gradually entered on a new career of industrial enterprise.
+
+No part of the constitution of 1840 gave greater offence to the French
+Canadian population than the clause restricting the use of the French
+language in the legislature. It was considered as a part of the policy,
+foreshadowed in Lord Durham's report, to denationalise, if possible, the
+French Canadian province. The repeal of the clause, in 1848, was one
+evidence of the harmonious operation of the union, and of a better
+feeling between the two sections of the population. Still later,
+provision was made for the gradual establishment of an elective
+legislative council, so long and earnestly demanded by the old
+legislature of Lower Canada.
+
+The members of the Lafontaine-Baldwin government became the legislative
+executors of a troublesome legacy left to them by a Conservative
+ministry. In 1839 acts had been passed by the special council of Lower
+Canada and the legislature of Upper Canada to compensate the loyal
+inhabitants of those provinces for the loss they had sustained during
+the rebellions. In the first session of the union parliament the Upper
+Canadian act was amended, and money voted to reimburse all persons in
+Upper Canada whose property had been unnecessarily, or wantonly,
+destroyed by persons acting, or pretending to act, on behalf of the
+crown. An agitation then commenced for the application of the same
+principle to Lower Canada, and in 1845 commissioners were appointed by
+the Draper administration to inquire into the nature and value of the
+losses suffered by her Majesty's loyal subjects in Lower Canada. When
+their report was presented in favour of certain claims the Draper
+ministry brought in some legislation on the subject, but went out of
+office before any action could be taken thereon. The Lafontaine-Baldwin
+government then determined to set the question at rest, and introduced
+legislation for the issue of debentures to the amount of $400,000 for
+the payment of losses sustained by persons who had not been convicted
+of, or charged with, high treason or other offences of a treasonable
+nature, or had been committed to the custody of the sheriff in the gaol
+of Montreal and subsequently transported to the island of Bermuda.
+Although the principle of this measure was fully justified by the action
+of the Tory Draper government, extreme Loyalists and even some Reformers
+of Upper Canada declaimed against it in the most violent terms, and a
+few persons even declared that they would prefer annexation to the
+United States to the payment of the rebels. The bill, however, passed
+the legislature by a large majority, and received the crown's assent
+through Lord Elgin on the 25th April, 1849. A large crowd immediately
+assembled around the parliament house--formerly the St. Anne Market
+House--and insulted the governor-general by opprobrious epithets, and by
+throwing missiles at him as he drove away to Monklands, his residence in
+the country. The government and members of the legislature appear to
+have been unconscious of the danger to which they were exposed until a
+great crowd rushed into the building, which was immediately destroyed by
+fire with its fine collection of books and archives. A few days later,
+when the assembly, then temporarily housed in the hall of Bonsecours
+Market, attempted to present an address to Lord Elgin, he was in
+imminent danger of his life while on his way to the government
+house--then the old Chateau de Ramesay in Notre-Dame Street--and the
+consequences might have been most serious had he not evaded the mob on
+his return to Monklands. This disgraceful affair was a remarkable
+illustration not simply of the violence of faction, but largely of the
+discontent then so prevalent in Montreal and other industrial centres,
+on account of the commercial policy of Great Britain, which seriously
+crippled colonial trade and was the main cause of the creation of a
+small party which actually advocated for a short time annexation to the
+United States as preferable to the existing state of things. The result
+was the removal of the seat of government from Montreal, and the
+establishment of a nomadic system of government by which the legislature
+met alternately at Toronto and Quebec every five years until Ottawa was
+chosen by the Queen as a permanent political capital. Lord Elgin felt
+his position keenly, and offered his resignation to the imperial
+government, but they refused to entertain it, and his course as a
+constitutional governor under such trying circumstances was approved by
+parliament.
+
+The material condition of the provinces--especially of Upper Canada,
+which now became the first in population and wealth--kept pace with the
+rapid progress of the people in self-government. The population of the
+five provinces had increased from about 1,500,000, in 1841, to about
+3,200,000 when the census was taken in 1861 The greatest increase had
+been in the province of Upper Canada, chiefly in consequence of the
+large immigration which flowed into the country from Ireland, where the
+potato rot had caused wide-spread destitution and misery. The population
+of this province had now reached 1,396,091, or nearly 300,000 more than
+the population of Lower Canada--an increase which, as I shall show in
+the next chapter, had important effects on the political conditions of
+the two provinces. The eastern or maritime provinces received but a
+small part of the yearly immigration from Europe, and even that was
+balanced by an exodus to the United States. Montreal had a population of
+100,000, or double that of Quebec, and was now recognised as the
+commercial capital of British North America. Toronto had reached 60,000,
+and was making more steady progress in population and wealth than any
+other city, except Montreal. Towns and villages were springing up with
+great rapidity in the midst of the enterprising farming population of
+the western province. In Lower Canada the townships showed the energy of
+a British people, but the _habitants_ pursued the even tenor of ways
+which did not include enterprise and improved methods of agriculture.
+
+The value of the total exports and imports of the provinces reached
+$150,000,000 by 1864, or an increase of $100,000,000 in a quarter of a
+century. The great bulk of the import trade was with Great Britain and
+the United States, but the value of the exports to the United States was
+largely in excess of the goods purchased by Great Britain--especially
+after 1854, when Lord Elgin arranged a reciprocity treaty with the
+United States. Lord Elgin represented Great Britain in the negotiations
+at Washington, and the Congress of the United States and the several
+legislatures of the Canadian provinces passed the legislation necessary
+to give effect to the treaty. Its most important provisions established
+free trade between British North America and the United States in
+products of the forest, mine, and sea, conceded the navigation of the
+St. Lawrence to the Americans, and the use of the canals of Canada on
+the same terms as were imposed upon British subjects, gave Canadians the
+right to navigate Lake Michigan, and allowed the fishermen of the United
+States to fish on the sea-coasts of the British provinces without
+regard to distance from the shore, in return for a similar but
+relatively worthless privilege on the eastern shores of the republic,
+north of the 30th parallel of north latitude. During the thirteen years
+the treaty lasted the trade between the two countries rose from over
+thirty-three million dollars in 1854 to over eighty million dollars in
+1866, when it was repealed by the action of the United States government
+itself, for reasons which I shall explain in a later chapter.
+
+The navigation of the St. Lawrence was now made continuous and secure by
+the enlargement of the Welland and Lachine canals, and the construction
+of the Cornwall, Williamsburgh, and Beauharnois canals. Railways
+received their great stimulus during the government of Sir Francis
+Hincks, who largely increased the debt of Canada by guaranteeing in 1852
+the bonds of the Grand Trunk Railway--a noble, national work, now
+extending from Quebec to Lake Michigan, with branches in every
+direction, but whose early history was marred by jobbery and
+mismanagement, which not only ruined or crippled many of the original
+shareholders, but cost Canada eventually twenty-three million dollars.
+In 1864 there were two thousand miles of railway working in British
+North America, of which the Grand Trunk Railway owned at least one-half.
+The railways in the maritime provinces were very insignificant, and all
+attempts to obtain the co-operation of the imperial and Canadian
+governments for the construction of an Intercolonial Railway through
+British American territory failed, despite the energetic efforts of Mr.
+Howe to bring it about.
+
+After the union of the Canadas in 1841, a steady movement for the
+improvement of the elementary, public, or common schools continued for
+years, and the services of the Reverend Egerton Ryerson were engaged as
+chief superintendent of education with signal advantage to the country.
+In 1850, when the Lafontaine-Baldwin government was in office, the
+results of the superintendent's studies of the systems of other
+countries were embodied in a bill based on the principle of local
+assessment, aided by legislative grants, for the carrying on of the
+public schools. This measure is the basis of the present admirable
+school system of Upper Canada, and to a large extent of that of the
+other English-speaking provinces. In Lower Canada the history of public
+schools must be always associated with the names of Dr. Meilleur and the
+Honourable Mr. Chauveau; but the system has never been as effective as
+in the upper province. In both provinces, separate or dissentient
+schools were eventually established for the benefit of the Roman
+Catholics in Upper or Protestant Canada, and of the Protestants in Lower
+or Catholic Canada. In the maritime provinces satisfactory progress was
+also made in the development of a sound school system. In Nova Scotia
+Dr. Tupper, when provincial secretary (1863-1867), laid the foundations
+of the excellent schools that the province now enjoys.
+
+During this period the newspaper press increased remarkably in influence
+and circulation. The most important newspaper in the Dominion, the
+_Globe_, was established at Toronto in 1844 by Mr. George Brown, a
+Scotchman by birth, who became a power from that time among the Liberal
+politicians of Canada. No notable books were produced in the
+English-speaking provinces except "Acadian Geology," a work by Dr.
+Dawson, who became in 1855 principal of McGill University, and was, in
+later years, knighted by the Queen; but the polished verses of Cremazie
+and the lucid histories of Canada by Ferland and Garneau already showed
+that French Canada had both a history and a literature.
+
+Towards the close of this memorable period of Canadian development, the
+Prince of Wales, heir-apparent to the throne, visited the British
+American provinces, where the people gave full expression to their loyal
+feelings. This was the third occasion on which these communities had
+been favoured by the presence of members of the royal family. Prince
+William Henry, afterward William IV, visited Nova Scotia during the
+years 1786-1788, in command of a frigate. From 1791 until 1797 Prince
+Edward, Duke of Kent, father of the present sovereign, was in command of
+the imperial forces, first at Quebec, and later at Halifax. The year
+1860 was an opportune time for a royal visit to provinces where the
+people were in the full enjoyment of the results of the liberal system
+of self-government extended to them at the commencement of the Queen's
+reign by the mother-country.
+
+A quarter of a century had passed after the union of the Canadas when
+the necessities of the provinces of British North America forced them to
+a momentous constitutional change, which gave a greater scope to the
+statesmanship of their public men, and opened up a wider sphere of
+effort to capital and enterprise. In the following chapter I shall show
+the nature of the conditions which brought about this union.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE EVOLUTION OF CONFEDERATION (1789--1864).
+
+
+SECTION 1--The beginnings of confederation.
+
+The idea of a union of the provinces of British North America had been
+under discussion for half a century before it reached the domain of
+practical statesmanship. The eminent Loyalist, Chief Justice Smith of
+Quebec, so early as 1789, in a letter to Lord Dorchester, gave an
+outline of a scheme for uniting all the provinces of British North
+America "under one general direction." A quarter of a century later
+Chief Justice Sewell of Quebec, also a Loyalist, addressed a letter to
+the father of the present Queen, the Duke of Kent, in which he urged a
+federal union of the isolated provinces. Lord Durham was also of opinion
+in 1839 that a legislative union of all the provinces "would at once
+decisively settle the question of races," but he did not find it
+possible to carry it out at that critical time in the history of the
+Canadas.
+
+Some ten years later, at a meeting of prominent public men in Toronto,
+known as the British American League, the project of a federal union was
+submitted to the favourable consideration of the provinces. In 1854 the
+subject was formally brought before the legislature of Nova Scotia by
+the Honourable James William Johnston, the able leader of the
+Conservative party, and found its most eloquent exposition in the speech
+of the Honourable Joseph Howe, one of the fathers of responsible
+government. The result of the discussion was the unanimous adoption of a
+resolution--the first formally adopted by any provincial
+legislature--setting forth that "the union or confederation of the
+British provinces, while calculated to perpetuate their connection with
+the parent state, will promote their advancement and prosperity,
+increase their strength, and influence and elevate their position." Mr.
+Howe, on that occasion, expressed himself in favour of a federation of
+the empire, of which he was always an earnest advocate until his death.
+
+In the legislature of Canada Mr., afterwards Sir, Alexander Tilloch Galt
+was an able exponent of union, and when he became a member of the
+Cartier-Macdonald government in 1858 the question was made a part of the
+ministerial policy, and received special mention in the speech of Sir
+Edmund Head, the governor-general, at the end of the session. The matter
+was brought to the attention of the imperial government on more than one
+occasion during these years by delegates from Canada and Nova Scotia,
+but no definite conclusion could be reached in view of the fact that the
+question had not been taken up generally in the provinces.
+
+The political condition of the Canadas brought about a union much sooner
+than was anticipated by its most sanguine promoters. In a despatch
+written to the colonial minister by the Canadian delegates,--members of
+the Cartier-Macdonald ministry--who visited England in 1858 and laid the
+question of union before the government, they represented that "very
+grave difficulties now present themselves in conducting the government
+of Canada"; that "the progress of population has been more rapid in the
+western province, and claims are now made on behalf of its inhabitants
+for giving them representation in the legislature in proportion to their
+numbers"; that "the result is shown by agitation fraught with great
+danger to the peaceful and harmonious working of our constitutional
+system, and, consequently, detrimental to the progress of the province"
+that "this state of things is yearly becoming worse"; and that "the
+Canadian government are impressed with the necessity for seeking such a
+mode of dealing with these difficulties as may for ever remove them." In
+addition to this expression of opinion on the part of the
+representatives of the Conservative government of 1858, the Reformers of
+Upper Canada held a large and influential convention at Toronto in
+1859, and adopted a resolution in which it was emphatically set forth,
+"that the best practicable remedy for the evils now encountered in the
+government of Canada is to be found in the formation of two or more
+local governments to which shall be committed the control of all matters
+of a local and sectional character, and some general authority charged
+with such matters as are necessarily common to both sections of the
+provinces"--language almost identical with that used by the Quebec
+convention six years later in one of its resolutions with respect to the
+larger scheme of federation. Mr. George Brown brought this scheme before
+the assembly in 1860, but it was rejected by a large majority. At this
+time constitutional and political difficulties of a serious nature had
+arisen between the French and English speaking sections of the united
+Canadian provinces. A large and influential party in Upper Canada had
+become deeply dissatisfied with the conditions of the union of 1840,
+which maintained equality of representation to the two provinces when
+statistics clearly showed that the western section exceeded French
+Canada both in population and wealth.
+
+A demand was persistently and even fiercely made at times for such a
+readjustment of the representation in the assembly as would do full
+justice to the more populous and richer province. The French Canadian
+leaders resented this demand as an attempt to violate the terms on which
+they were brought into the union, and as calculated, and indeed
+intended, to place them in a position of inferiority to the people of a
+province where such fierce and unjust attacks were systematically made
+on their language, religion, and institutions generally. With much
+justice they pressed the fact that at the commencement of, and for some
+years subsequent to, the union, the French Canadians were numerically in
+the majority, and yet had no larger representation in the assembly than
+the inhabitants of the upper province, then inferior in population. Mr.
+George Brown, who had under his control a powerful newspaper, the
+_Globe_, of Toronto, was remarkable for his power of invective and his
+tenacity of purpose, and he made persistent and violent attacks upon the
+conditions of the union, and upon the French and English Conservatives,
+who were not willing to violate a solemn contract.
+
+The difficulties between the Canadian provinces at last became so
+intensified by the public opinion created by Mr. Brown in Upper Canada
+in favour of representation by population, that good and stable
+government was no longer possible on account of the close division of
+parties in the legislature. Appeals were made frequently to the people,
+and new ministries formed,--in fact, five within two years--but the
+sectional difficulties had obviously reached a point where it was not
+possible to carry on successfully the administration of public affairs.
+On the 14th June, 1864, a committee of the legislative assembly of
+Canada, of whom Mr. Brown was chairman, reported that "a strong feeling
+was found to exist among the members of the committee in favour of
+changes in the direction of a federal system, applied either to Canada
+alone or to the whole of the British North American provinces." On the
+day when this report was presented, the Conservative government, known
+as the Tache-Macdonald ministry, suffered the fate of many previous
+governments for years, and it became necessary either to appeal at once
+to the people, or find some other practical solution of the political
+difficulties which prevented the formation of a stable government. Then
+it was that Mr. Brown rose above the level of mere party selfishness,
+and assumed the attitude of a statesman, animated by patriotic and noble
+impulses which must help us to forget the spirit of sectionalism and
+illiberality which so often animated him in his career of heated
+partisanship. Negotiations took place between Mr. John A. Macdonald, Mr.
+Brown, Mr. Cartier, Mr. Galt, Mr. Morris, Mr. McDougall, Mr. Mowat, and
+other prominent members of the Conservative and Reform parties, with the
+result that a coalition government was formed on the distinct
+understanding that it would "bring in a measure next session for the
+purpose of removing existing difficulties by introducing the federal
+principle into Canada, coupled with such provisions as will permit the
+maritime provinces and the north-west territories to be incorporated
+into the same system of government." The Reformers who entered the
+government with Macdonald and Cartier on this fundamental condition were
+Mr. Brown, Mr. Oliver Mowat, and Mr. William McDougall, who stood
+deservedly high in public estimation.
+
+While these events were happening in the Canadas, the maritime provinces
+were taking steps in the direction of their own union. In 1861 Mr. Howe,
+the leader of a Liberal government in Nova Scotia, carried a resolution
+in favour of such a scheme. Three years later the Conservative ministry
+of which Dr., now Sir, Charles Tupper, was premier, took measures in the
+legislature of Nova Scotia to carry out the proposition of his
+predecessor; and a conference was arranged at Charlottetown between
+delegates from the three provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and
+Prince Edward Island By a happy forethought the government of Canada,
+immediately on hearing of this important conference, decided to send a
+delegation, composed of Messrs J.A. Macdonald, Brown, Cartier, Galt,
+McGee, Langevin, McDougall, and Campbell. The result of the conference
+was favourable to the consideration of the larger question of the union
+of all the provinces; and it was decided to hold a further conference at
+Quebec in October for the purpose of discussing the question as fully as
+its great importance demanded.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--The Quebec convention of 1864.
+
+Thirty-three delegates met in the parliament house of this historic
+city. They were all men of large experience in the work of
+administration or legislation in their respective provinces. Not a few
+of them were noted lawyers who had thoroughly studied the systems of
+government in other countries. Some were gifted with rare eloquence and
+power of argument. At no time, before or since, has the city of Quebec
+been visited by an assemblage of notables with so many high
+qualifications for the foundation of a nation. Descendants of the
+pioneers of French Canada, English Canadians sprung from the Loyalists
+of the eighteenth century, eloquent Irishmen and astute Scotchmen, all,
+thoroughly conversant with Canadian interests, met in a convention
+summoned to discharge the greatest responsibilities ever entrusted to
+any body of men in Canada.
+
+The chairman was Sir Etienne Paschal Tache, who had proved in his youth
+his fidelity to England on the famous battlefield of Chateauguay, and
+had won the respect of all classes and parties by the display of many
+admirable qualities. Like the majority of his compatriots he had learned
+to believe thoroughly in the government and institutions of Great
+Britain, and never lost an opportunity of recognising the benefits which
+his race derived from British connection. He it was who gave utterance
+to the oft-quoted words: "That the last gun that would be fired for
+British supremacy in America would be fired by a French Canadian." He
+lived to move the resolutions of the Quebec convention in the
+legislative council of Canada, but he died a few months before the union
+was formally established in 1867, and never had an opportunity of
+experiencing the positive advantages which his race, of whose interests
+he was always an earnest exponent, derived from a condition of things
+which gave additional guarantees for the preservation of their special
+institutions. But there were in the convention other men of much greater
+political force, more deeply versed in constitutional knowledge, more
+capable of framing a plan of union than the esteemed and discreet
+president. Most prominent among these was Mr., afterwards Sir, John A.
+Macdonald, who had been for years one of the most conspicuous figures in
+Canadian politics, and had been able to win to a remarkable degree the
+confidence not only or the great majority of the French Canadians but
+also of a powerful minority in the western province where his able
+antagonist, Mr. Brown, until 1864 held the vantage ground by his
+persistency in urging its claims to greater weight in the administration
+of public affairs. Mr. Macdonald had a great knowledge of men and did
+not hesitate to avail himself of their weaknesses in order to strengthen
+his political power. His greatest faults were those of a politician
+anxious for the success of his party. His strength lay largely in his
+ability to understand the working of British institutions, and in his
+recognition of the necessity of carrying on the government in a country
+of diverse nationalities, on principles of justice and compromise. He
+had a happy faculty of adapting himself to the decided current of public
+opinion even at the risk of leaving himself open to a charge of
+inconsistency, and he was just as ready to adopt the measures of his
+opponents as he was willing to enter their ranks and steal away some
+prominent men whose support he thought necessary to his political
+success.
+
+So early as 1861 he had emphatically expressed himself on the floor of
+the assembly in favour of the main principles of just such a federal
+union as was initiated at Quebec. The moment he found that the question
+of union was likely to be something more than a mere subject for
+academic discussion or eloquent expression in legislative halls, he
+recognised immediately the great advantages it offered, not only for the
+solution of the difficulties of his own party, but also for the
+consolidation of British American as well as imperial interests on the
+continent of North America From the hour when he became convinced of
+this fact he devoted his consummate ability not merely as a party
+leader, but as a statesman of broad national views, to the perfection of
+a measure which promised so much for the welfare and security of the
+British provinces. It was his good fortune, after the establishment of
+the federation, to be the first premier of the new Dominion and to mould
+its destinies with a firm and capable hand. He saw it extended to the
+Pacific shores long before he died, amid the regrets of all classes and
+creeds and races of a country he loved and in whose future he had the
+most perfect confidence.
+
+The name of the Right Honourable Sir John Macdonald, to give him the
+titles he afterwards received from the crown, naturally brings up that
+of Mr., afterwards Sir, George Etienne Cartier, who was his faithful
+colleague and ally for many years in the legislature of old Canada, and
+for a short time after the completion of the federal union, until his
+death. This able French Canadian had taken an insignificant part in the
+unfortunate rising of 1837, but like many other men of his nationality
+he recognised the mistakes of his impetuous youth, and, unlike Papineau
+after the union of 1840, endeavoured to work out earnestly and honestly
+the principles of responsible government. While a true friend of his
+race, he was generous and fair in his relations with other
+nationalities, and understood the necessity of compromise and
+conciliation in a country of diverse races, needs, and interests. Sir
+John Macdonald appreciated at their full value his statesmanlike
+qualities, and succeeded in winning his sympathetic and faithful
+co-operation during the many years they acted together in opposition to
+the war of nationalities which would have been the eventual consequence
+of Mr. Brown's determined agitation if it had been carried to its
+logical and natural conclusion--conclusion happily averted by the wise
+stand taken by Mr. Brown himself with respect to the settlement of
+provincial troubles. In the settlement of the terms of union, we can see
+not only the master hand of Sir John Macdonald in the British framework
+of the system, but also the successful effort of Sir George Cartier to
+preserve intact the peculiar institutions of his native province.
+
+All those who have studied Mr. Brown's career know something of his
+independent and uncompromising character; but for some time after he
+entered the coalition government his speeches in favour of federation
+assumed a dignified style and a breadth of view which stand out in great
+contrast with his bitter arguments as leader of the Clear Grits. In the
+framing of the Quebec resolutions his part was chiefly in arranging the
+financial terms with a regard to the interests of his own province.
+
+Another influential member of the Canadian delegation was Mr.,
+afterwards Sir, Alexander Galt, the son of the creator of that original
+character in fiction, Laurie Todd, who had been a resident for many
+years in Western Canada, where a pretty city perpetuates his name. His
+able son had been for a long time a prominent figure in Canadian
+politics, and was distinguished for his intelligent advocacy of railway
+construction and political union as measures essential to the material
+and political development of the provinces. His earnest and eloquent
+exposition of the necessity of union had no doubt much to do with
+creating a wide-spread public sentiment in its favour, and with
+preparing the way for the formation of the coalition government of 1864,
+on the basis of such a political measure. His knowledge of financial and
+commercial questions was found to be invaluable in the settlement of the
+financial basis of the union, while his recognised position as a
+representative of the Protestant English-speaking people in French
+Canada gave him much weight when it was a question of securing their
+rights and interests in the Quebec resolutions.
+
+The other members of the Canadian delegation were men of varied
+accomplishments, some of whom played an important part in the working
+out of the federal system, the foundations of which they laid. There was
+a brilliant Irishman, Thomas D'Arcy McGee, poet, historian and orator,
+who had been in his rash youth obliged to fly from Ireland to the United
+States on account of his connection with the rebellious party known as
+Young Ireland during the troubles of 1848. When he removed from the
+United States in 1857 he advocated with much force a union of the
+provinces in the _New Era_, of which he was editor during its short
+existence. He was elected to parliament in 1858, and became a notable
+figure in Canadian politics on account of his eloquence and _bonhomie_.
+His most elaborate addresses had never the easy flow of Joseph Howe's
+speeches, but were laboured essays, showing too obviously the results of
+careful compilation in libraries, while brightened by touches of natural
+humour. He had been president of the council in the Sandfield Macdonald
+government of 1862--a moderate Reform ministry--but later he joined the
+Liberal-Conservative party as less sectional in its aspirations and more
+generous in its general policy than the one led by Mr. Brown. Mr. McGee
+was during his residence in Canada a firm friend of the British
+connection, having observed the beneficent character of British rule in
+his new Canadian home, with whose interests he so thoroughly identified
+himself.
+
+Mr. William McDougall, the descendant of a Loyalist, had been long
+connected with the advocacy of Reform principles in the press and on the
+floor of parliament, and was distinguished for his clear, incisive style
+of debating. He had been for years a firm believer in the advantages of
+union, which he had been the first to urge at the Reform convention of
+1859. Mr., afterwards Sir, Alexander Campbell, who had been for some
+years a legal partner of Sir John Macdonald, was gifted with a
+remarkably clear intellect, great common sense, and business capacity,
+which he displayed later as leader of the senate and as minister of the
+crown. Mr., afterwards Sir, Oliver Mowat, who had been a student of law
+in Sir John Macdonald's office at Kingston, brought to the discharge of
+the important positions he held in later times as minister,
+vice-chancellor, and premier of the province of Ontario, great legal
+learning, and admirable judgment. Mr., now Sir, Hector Langevin was
+considered a man of promise, likely to exercise in the future much
+influence among his countrymen. For some years after the establishment
+of the new Dominion he occupied important positions in the government of
+the country, and led the French Conservative party after the death of
+Sir George Cartier. Mr. James Cockburn was an excellent lawyer, who
+three years later was chosen speaker of the first house of commons of
+the federal parliament--a position which his sound judgment, knowledge
+of parliamentary law, and dignity of manner enabled him to discharge
+with signal ability. Mr. J.C. Chapais was a man of sound judgment, which
+made him equal to the administrative duties entrusted to him from time
+to time.
+
+Of the five men sent by Nova Scotia, the two ablest were Dr., now Sir,
+Charles Tupper, who was first minister of the Conservative government,
+and Mr., later Sir, Adams G. Archibald, who was leader of the Liberal
+opposition in the assembly. The former was then as now distinguished for
+his great power as a debater and for the forcible expression of his
+opinions on the public questions on which he had made up his mind. When
+he had a great end in view he followed it with a tenacity of purpose
+that generally gave him success. Ever since he entered public life as an
+opponent of Mr. Howe, he has been a dominant force in the politics of
+Nova Scotia. While Conservative in name he entertained broad Liberal
+views which found expression in the improvement of the school system, at
+a very low ebb when he came into office, and in the readiness and energy
+with which he identified himself with the cause of the union of the
+provinces. Mr. Archibald was noted for his dignified demeanour, sound
+legal attainments, and clear plausible style of oratory, well calculated
+to instruct a learned audience. Mr. William A. Henry was a lawyer of
+considerable ability, who was at a later time elevated to the bench of
+the supreme court of Canada. Mr. Jonathan J. McCully, afterwards a judge
+in Nova Scotia, had never sat in the assembly, but he exercised
+influence in the legislative council on the Liberal side and was an
+editorial writer of no mean ability. Mr. Dickey was a leader of the
+Conservatives in the upper house and distinguished for his general
+culture and legal knowledge.
+
+New Brunswick sent seven delegates, drawn from the government and
+opposition. The Loyalists who founded this province were represented by
+four of the most prominent members of the delegation, Tilley, Chandler,
+Gray, and Fisher. Mr., afterwards Sir, Samuel Leonard Tilley had been
+long engaged in public life and possessed admirable ability as an
+administrator. He had for years taken a deep interest in questions of
+intercolonial trade, railway intercourse and political union. He was a
+Reformer of pronounced opinions, most earnest in the advocacy of
+temperance, possessed of great tact and respected for his high character
+in all the relations of life. In later times he became finance minister
+of the Dominion and lieutenant-governor of his native province.
+
+Mr. John Hamilton Gray, later a judge in British Columbia, was one of
+the most eloquent and accomplished men in the convention, and brought to
+the consideration of legal and constitutional questions much knowledge
+and experience. Mr. Fisher, afterwards a judge in his province, was also
+a well equipped lawyer and speaker who displayed a cultured mind. Like
+all the delegates from New Brunswick he was animated by a great love for
+British connection and institutions. Mr. Peter Mitchell was a Liberal,
+conspicuous for the energy he brought to the administration of public
+affairs, both in his own province and at a later time in the new
+Dominion as a minister of the crown. Mr. Edward Barron Chandler had long
+been a notable figure in the politics of New Brunswick, and was
+universally respected for his probity and worth. He had the honour of
+being at a later time the lieutenant-governor of the province with which
+he had been so long and honourably associated. Mr. John Johnson and Mr.
+William H. Steeves were also fully qualified to deal intelligently with
+the questions submitted to the convention.
+
+Of the seven members of the Prince Edward Island delegation, four were
+members of the government and the rest were prominent men in one or
+other branch of the legislature. Colonel Gray--a descendant of a
+Virginia Loyalist--was prime minister of the island. Mr. George Coles
+was one of the fathers of responsible government in the island, and long
+associated with the advocacy and passage of many progressive measures,
+including the improvement of the educational system. Mr. Edward Whelan
+was a journalist, an Irishman by birth, and endowed, like so many of his
+countrymen, with a natural gift of eloquence. Mr. Thomas Heath Haviland,
+afterwards lieutenant-governor of the island, was a man of culture, and
+Mr. Edward Palmer was a lawyer of good reputation. Mr. William H. Pope
+and Mr. Andrew Archibald Macdonald were also thoroughly capable of
+watching over the special interests of the island.
+
+Newfoundland had the advantage of being represented by Mr. Frederick
+B.T. Carter, then speaker of the house of assembly, and by Mr. Ambrose
+Shea, also a distinguished politician of the great island. Both were
+knighted at later times; the former became chief justice of his own
+province, and the latter governor of the Bahamas.
+
+
+SECTION 3.--Confederation accomplished.
+
+The Quebec convention sat with closed doors for eighteen days, and
+agreed to seventy-two resolutions, which form the basis of the Act of
+Union, subsequently passed by the imperial parliament. These resolutions
+set forth at the outset that in a federation of the British American
+provinces "the system of government best adapted under existing
+circumstances to protect the diversified interests of the several
+provinces, and secure harmony and permanency in the working of the
+union, would be a general government charged with matters of common
+interest to the whole country, and local governments for each of the
+Canadas, and for the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince
+Edward Island, charged with the control of local matters in their
+respective sections" In another paragraph the resolutions declared that
+"in forming a constitution for a general government, the conference,
+with a view to the perpetuation of our connection with the
+mother-country, and the promotion of the best interests of the people of
+these provinces, desire to follow the model of the British constitution
+so far as our circumstances permit" In a subsequent paragraph it was set
+forth: "the executive authority or government shall be vested in the
+sovereign of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and be
+administered according to the well-understood principles of the British
+constitution, by a sovereign personally, or by the representative of the
+sovereign duly authorised."
+
+In these three paragraphs of the Quebec resolutions we see clearly
+expressed the leading principles on which the Canadian federation
+rests--a federation, with a central government having jurisdiction over
+matters of common interest to the whole country comprised in the union,
+and a number of provincial governments having the control and management
+of certain local matters naturally and conveniently belonging to them,
+each government being administered in accordance with the
+well-understood principles of the British system of parliamentary
+institutions.
+
+The resolutions also defined in express terms the respective powers of
+the central and provincial governments. Any subject that did not fall
+within the enumerated powers of the provincial legislatures was placed
+under the control of the general parliament. The convention recognised
+the necessity of preventing, as far as possible, the difficulties that
+had arisen in the working of the constitution of the United States,
+where the residuary power of legislation is given to the people of the
+respective states and not to the federal government. In a subsequent
+chapter I give a brief summary of these and other details of the system
+of government, generally laid down in the Quebec resolutions and
+practically embodied in an imperial statute three years later.
+
+Although we have no official report of the discussions of the Quebec
+convention, we know on good authority that the question of providing
+revenues for the provinces was one that gave the delegates the greatest
+difficulty. In all the provinces the sources of revenue were chiefly
+customs and excise-duties which had to be set apart for the general
+government of the federation. Some of the delegates from Ontario, where
+there had existed for many years an admirable system of municipal
+government, which provided funds for education and local improvements,
+recognised the advantages of direct taxation; but the representatives of
+the other provinces would not consent to such a system, especially in
+the case of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, where
+there were no municipal institutions, and the people depended almost
+exclusively on the annual votes of the legislature for the means to meet
+their local necessities. All of the delegates, in fact, felt that to
+force the maritime provinces to resort to direct taxes as the only
+method of carrying on their government, would be probably fatal to the
+success of the scheme, and it was finally decided that the central
+government should grant annual subsidies, based on population, relative
+debts, financial position, and such other facts as should be fairly
+brought into the consideration of the case.
+
+It is unfortunate that we have no full report of the deliberations and
+debates of this great conference. We have only a fragmentary record from
+which it is difficult to form any adequate conclusions as to the part
+taken by the several delegates in the numerous questions which
+necessarily came under their purview.[4] Under these circumstances, a
+careful writer hesitates to form any positive opinion based upon these
+reports of the discussions, but no one can doubt that the directing
+spirit of the conference was Sir John Macdonald. Meagre as is the record
+of what he said, we can yet see that his words were those of a man who
+rose above the level of the mere politician, and grasped the magnitude
+of the questions involved. What he aimed at especially was to follow as
+closely as possible the fundamental principles of English parliamentary
+government, and to engraft them upon the general system of federal
+union. Mr. George Brown took a prominent part in the deliberations. His
+opinions read curiously now. He was in favour of having the
+lieutenant-governors appointed by the general government, and he was
+willing to give them an effective veto over provincial legislation. He
+advocated the election of a legislative chamber on a fixed day every
+third year, not subject to a dissolution during its term--also an
+adaptation of the American system. He went so far as to urge the
+advisability of having the executive council elected for three years--by
+the assembly, we may assume, though the imperfect report before us does
+not state so--and also of giving the lieutenant-governor the right of
+dismissing any of its members when the house was not sitting. Mr. Brown
+consequently appears to have been the advocate, so far as the provinces
+were concerned, of principles that prevail in the federal republic
+across the border. He opposed the introduction of responsible
+government, as it now obtains, in all the provinces of the Dominion,
+while conceding its necessity for the central government.
+
+
+[4: Mr. Joseph Pope, for years the able confidential secretary of Sir
+John Macdonald, has edited and published all the official documents
+bearing on the origin and evolution of the British North America Act of
+1867; but despite all the ability and fidelity he has devoted to the
+task the result is most imperfect and unsatisfactory on account of the
+absence of any full or exact original report of proceedings.]
+
+We gather from the report of discussions that the Prince Edward Island
+delegates hesitated from the beginning to enter a union where their
+province would necessarily have so small a numerical representation--one
+of the main objections which subsequently operated against the island
+coming into the confederation. With respect to education we see that it
+was Mr., afterwards Sir, Alexander Galt, who was responsible for the
+provision in the constitution which gives the general government and
+parliament a certain control over provincial legislation in case the
+rights of a Protestant or a Roman Catholic minority are prejudicially
+affected. The minutes on this point are defective, but we have the
+original motion on the subject, and a note of Sir John Macdonald himself
+that it was passed, with the assent of all the provinces, at the
+subsequent London conference in 1867. The majority of the delegates
+appear from the outset to have supported strenuously the principle which
+lies at the basis of the confederation, that all powers not expressly
+reserved to the provinces should appertain to the general government, as
+against the opposite principle, which, as Sir John Macdonald pointed
+out, had led to great difficulties in the working of the federal system
+in the United States. Sir John Macdonald also, with his usual sagacity,
+showed that, in all cases of conflict of jurisdiction, recourse would be
+necessarily made to the courts, as was the practice even then whenever
+there was a conflict between imperial and Canadian statutes.
+
+Addresses to the Queen embodying the Quebec resolutions were submitted
+to the legislature of Canada during the winter of 1865, and passed in
+both houses by large majorities after a very full discussion of the
+merits of the scheme. The opposition in the assembly came chiefly from
+Mr. Antoine A. Dorion, Mr. Luther H. Holton, Mr. Dunkin, Mr. Lucius Seth
+Huntington, Mr. John Sandfield Macdonald, and other able Liberals who
+were not disposed to follow Mr. Brown and his two colleagues in their
+patriotic abandonment of "partyism."
+
+The vote on the address was, in the council--Contents 45, Non-contents
+15. In the assembly it stood--Yeas 91, Nays 33. The minority in the
+assembly comprised 25 out of 65 representatives of French Canada, and
+only 8 out of the 65 from Upper Canada. With the speaker in the chair
+there were only 5 members absent on the taking of the final vote.
+
+Efforts were made both in the council and assembly to obtain an
+unequivocal expression of public opinion at the polls before the address
+was submitted to the imperial government for final action. It was argued
+with much force that the legislature had had no special mandate from the
+people to carry out so vital a change in the political condition of the
+provinces, but this argument had relatively little weight in either
+house in view of the dominant public sentiment which, as it was obvious
+to the most superficial observer, existed in the valley of the St.
+Lawrence in favour of a scheme which seemed certain to settle the
+difficulties so long in the way of stable government, and offered so
+many auspicious auguries for the development of the provinces embraced
+in federation.
+
+Soon after the close of the session Messrs Macdonald, Galt, Cartier, and
+Brown went to England to confer with the imperial authorities on various
+matters of grave public import. The British government agreed to
+guarantee a loan for the construction of the Intercolonial Railway and
+gave additional assurances of their deep interest in the proposed
+confederation. An understanding was reached with respect to the mutual
+obligations of the parent state and the dependency to provide for the
+defences of the country. Preliminary steps were taken in the direction
+of acquiring the north-west from the Hudson's Bay Company on equitable
+terms whenever their exact legal rights were ascertained. The report of
+the delegates was laid before the Canadian parliament during a very
+short session held in August and September of 1865. It was then that
+parliament formally ratified the Civil Code of Lower Canada, with which
+must be always honourably associated the name of Mr. Cartier.
+
+In the maritime provinces, however, the prospect for some months was far
+from encouraging. Much dissatisfaction was expressed with the financial
+terms, and the haste with which the maritime delegates had yielded to
+the propositions of the Canadian government and given their adhesion to
+the larger scheme, when they were only authorised in the first instance
+by their respective legislatures to consider the feasibility of a union
+of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. In New
+Brunswick Mr. Tilley found himself in a minority as a result of an
+appeal to the people on the question in 1865, but his successor Mr.,
+afterwards Sir, Albert Smith, minister of marine in the Mackenzie
+government of 1873-78, was forced to resign a year later on some
+question purposely raised by Lieutenant-Governor Hamilton Gordon, then
+very anxious to carry the union before he left the province. A new
+government was immediately formed by Mr. Peter Mitchell, a very
+energetic Liberal politician--the first minister of marine in
+the first Dominion ministry--who had notoriously influenced the
+lieutenant-governor in his arbitrary action of practically dismissing
+the Smith cabinet. On an appeal to the people Mr. Mitchell was
+sustained, and the new legislature gave its approval to the union by a
+large majority. The opinion then generally prevailed in New Brunswick
+that a federation was essential to the security of the provinces, then
+threatened by the Fenians, and would strengthen the hands of the parent
+state on the American continent. In Nova Scotia the situation was
+aggravated by the fact that the opposition was led by Mr. Howe, who had
+always been the idol of a large party in the country, and an earnest and
+consistent supporter of the right of the people to be first consulted on
+every measure immediately affecting their interests. He succeeded
+in creating a powerful sentiment against the terms of the
+measure--especially the financial conditions--and it was not possible
+during 1865 to carry it in the legislature. It was not attempted to
+submit the question to the polls, as was done in New Brunswick, indeed
+such a course would have been fatal to its progress; but it was
+eventually sanctioned by a large vote of the two houses. A strong
+influence was exerted by the fact that confederation was approved by the
+imperial government, which sent out Sir Fenwick Williams of Kars as
+lieutenant-governor with special instructions that, both Canada and New
+Brunswick having given their consent, it was proposed to make such
+changes in the financial terms as would be more favourable to the
+maritime provinces. In Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland it was not
+possible for the advocates of federation to move successfully in the
+matter. The opposition to the scheme of union, as proposed at Quebec,
+was so bitter in these two provinces that the delegates found it useless
+to press the matter in their legislatures.
+
+In the meantime, while confederation was on the eve of accomplishment,
+the people of Canada were subjected to an attack which supplied the
+strongest possible evidence of the necessity for a union enabling them
+to combine for purposes of general defence as well as other matters of
+national importance. In the month of April, 1866, the Fenians, an Irish
+organisation in the United States, made an insignificant demonstration
+on the New Brunswick frontier, which had no other effect than to excite
+the loyal action of the people of the province and strengthen the hands
+of the advocates of confederation. In the beginning of June a
+considerable body of the same order, under the command of one O'Neil,
+crossed from Buffalo into the Niagara district of Upper Canada and won a
+temporary success near Ridgeway, where the Queen's Own, a body of
+Toronto Volunteers, chiefly students and other young men, were badly
+handled by Colonel Booker. Subsequently Colonel Dennis and a small
+detachment of militia were surprised at Fort Erie by O'Neil. The
+knowledge that a large force of regulars and volunteers were marching
+against him under Colonel Peacock forced O'Neil and his men to disperse
+and find their way back to the United States, where a number were
+arrested by the orders of the Washington government. The Eastern
+Townships of Lower Canada were also invaded but the raiders retreated
+before a Canadian force with greater rapidity than they had shown in
+entering the province, and found themselves prisoners as soon as they
+crossed the frontier. Canada was kept in a state of anxiety for some
+months after these reckless invasions of a country where the Irish like
+all other nationalities have always had the greatest possible freedom;
+but the vigilance of the authorities and the readiness of the people of
+Canada to defend their soil prevented any more hostile demonstrations
+from the United States. The prisoners taken in the Niagara district were
+treated with a degree of clemency which their shameless conduct did not
+merit from an outraged people. No persons were ever executed, though a
+number were confined for a while in Kingston penitentiary. The invasion
+had the effect of stimulating the patriotism of the Canadian people to
+an extraordinary degree, and of showing them the necessity that existed
+for improving their home forces, whose organisation and equipment proved
+sadly defective during the invasion.
+
+In the summer of 1866 the Canadian legislature met for the last time
+under the provisions of the Union Act of 1840, and passed addresses to
+the Queen, setting forth constitutions for the new provinces of Upper
+and Lower Canada, afterwards incorporated in the imperial act of union.
+A conference of delegates from the provinces of Nova Scotia, New
+Brunswick, and Canada was held in the December of 1866 at the
+Westminster Palace Hotel in the City of London. The members on behalf of
+Canada were Messrs Macdonald, Cartier, Galt, McDougall, Langevin, and
+W.P. Howland (in the place of Mr. Brown); on behalf of Nova Scotia,
+Messrs Tupper, Henry, McCully, Archibald, and J.W. Ritchie (who took Mr.
+Dickey's place); of New Brunswick, Messrs Tilley, Johnson, Mitchell,
+Fisher, and R.D. Wilmot. The last named, who took the place of Mr.
+Steeves, was a Loyalist by descent, and afterwards became speaker of
+the senate and a lieutenant-governor of his native province. Their
+deliberations led to some changes in the financial provisions of the
+Quebec plan, made with the view of satisfying the opposition as far as
+possible in the maritime provinces but without disturbing the
+fundamental basis to which Canada had already pledged itself in the
+legislative session of 1865. All the difficulties being now removed the
+Earl of Carnarvon, then secretary of state for the colonies, submitted
+to the house of lords on the 17th of February, 1867, a bill intituled,
+"An act for the union of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and the
+government thereof; and for purposes connected therewith." It passed the
+two houses with very little discussion, and the royal assent was given
+to it on the 29th of March of the same year as "The British North
+America Act, 1867." It is interesting to know that in the original draft
+of the bill the united provinces were called the "Kingdom of Canada,"
+but when it came eventually before parliament they were designated as
+the "Dominion of Canada"; and the writer had it from Sir John Macdonald
+himself that this amendment did not emanate from the colonial delegates
+but from the imperial ministry, one of whose members was afraid of
+wounding the susceptibilities of United States statesmen.
+
+During the same session the imperial parliament passed a bill to
+guarantee a loan of three million pounds sterling for the construction
+of an intercolonial railway between Quebec and the coast of the maritime
+provinces--a work recognised as indispensable to the success of the new
+federation. Her Majesty's proclamation, giving effect to the Union Act,
+was issued on the 22nd May, 1867, declaring that "on and after the first
+of July, 1867, the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick,
+shall form and be one Dominion, under the name of Canada."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+CONFEDERATION. 1867--1900.
+
+
+SECTION I--The first parliament of the Dominion of Canada. 1867--1872.
+
+The Dominion of Canada took its place among the federal states of the
+world on the first of July, 1867. Upper and Lower Canada now became
+known as Ontario and Quebec, while Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
+retained their original historic names. The first governor-general was
+Viscount Monk, who had been head of the executive government of Canada
+throughout all the stages of confederation. He was an Irish nobleman,
+who had been a junior lord of the treasury in Lord Palmerston's
+government. He was a collateral descendant of the famous general of the
+commonwealth, created Duke of Albemarle after the Restoration. Without
+being a man of remarkable ability he was gifted with much discretion,
+and gave all the weight of his influence to bring about a federation,
+whose great benefits from an imperial as well as a colonial point of
+view he fully recognised.
+
+The prime minister of the first federal government was naturally Sir
+John Macdonald, who chose as his colleagues Sir George E. Cartier, Sir
+S.L. Tilley,--to give them all their later titles--Sir A.T. Galt, Sir
+W.P. Howland, Mr. William McDougall, Mr. P. Mitchell, Sir A.G.
+Archibald, Mr. A.F. Blair, Sir A. Campbell, Sir H.L. Langevin, Sir E.
+Kenny, and Mr. J.C. Chapais. Mr. Brown had retired from the coalition
+government of 1864 some months before the union, nominally on a
+disagreement with his colleagues as to the best mode of conducting
+negotiations for a new reciprocity treaty with the United States. The
+ministry had appointed delegates to confer with the Washington
+government on the subject, but, while Mr. Brown recognised the
+desirability of reciprocal trade relations with the United States on
+equitable conditions, he did not deem it expedient to appear before
+American statesmen "as suitors for any terms they might be pleased to
+grant." A general impression, however, prevailed that this difference of
+opinion was not the real reason of Mr. Brown's resignation, but that
+the animating motive was his intense jealousy of Sir John Macdonald,
+whose dominant influence in the government he could no longer brook.
+
+The governments of the four provinces were also regularly constituted at
+this time in accordance with the act of union. The first
+lieutenant-governor of Ontario was Lieutenant-General Stisted, of
+Quebec, Sir Narcisse Belleau; of Nova Scotia, Lieutenant-General Sir
+Fenwick Williams, the hero of Kars; of New Brunswick, Major-General
+Doyle, but only for three months. With the exception of the case of
+Quebec, these appointments were only temporary. It was considered
+prudent to select military men in view of the continuous reports of
+Fenian aggression. Sir William Howland became, a year later,
+lieutenant-governor of Ontario, Major-General Sir Francis Hastings Doyle
+of Nova Scotia in the fall of 1867, and Hon. L.A. Wilmot, of New
+Brunswick in July 1868. The first prime minister of Ontario was Mr. John
+Sandfield Macdonald, who had been leader of a Canadian ministry before
+confederation. He had been a moderate Liberal in politics, and opposed
+at the outset to the federal union, but before 1867 he became identified
+with the Liberal-Conservative party and gave his best assistance to the
+success of the federation. In Quebec, Mr. Pierre Chauveau, a man of high
+culture, formed the first government, which was also associated with the
+Liberal-Conservative party. In New Brunswick, Attorney-General Wetmore
+was the first prime minister, but he was appointed a judge in 1870, and
+Mr. George E. King, a judge of the supreme court of Canada some years
+later, became his successor. In Nova Scotia, Mr. Hiram Blanchard, a
+Liberal and unionist, formed a government, but it was defeated at the
+elections by an overwhelming majority by the anti-unionists, and Mr.
+Annand, the old friend of Mr. Howe, became first minister.
+
+The elections for the Dominion house of commons took place in the
+summer of 1867, and Sir John Macdonald's government was sustained by
+nearly three-fourths of the entire representation. The most notable
+incident in this contest was the defeat of Mr. Brown. Soon after his
+resignation in 1866 he assumed his old position of hostility to Sir John
+Macdonald and the Conservatives. At a later date, when the Liberals were
+in office, he accepted a seat in the senate, but in the meantime he
+continued to manage the _Globe_ and denounce his too successful and wily
+antagonist in its columns with his usual vehemence.
+
+The first parliament of the new Dominion met in the autumn of 1867 in
+the new buildings at Ottawa--also chosen as the seat of government of
+the federation--and was probably the ablest body of men that ever
+assembled for legislative purposes within the limits of old or new
+Canada. In the absence of the legislation which was subsequently passed
+both in Ontario and Quebec against dual representation--or the election
+of the same representatives to both the Dominion parliament and the
+local legislatures--it comprised the leading public men of all parties
+in the two provinces in question. Such legislation had been enacted in
+the maritime provinces before 1867, but it did not prevent the ablest
+men of New Brunswick from selecting the larger and more ambitious field
+of parliamentary action. In Nova Scotia Sir Charles Tupper was the only
+man who emerged from the battle in which so many unionists were for the
+moment defeated. Even Sir Adams Archibald, the secretary of state, was
+defeated in a county where he had been always returned by a large
+majority. Mr. Howe came in at the head of a strong phalanx of
+anti-unionists--"Repealers" as they called themselves for a short time.
+
+The legislation of the first parliament during its five years of
+existence was noteworthy in many respects. The departments of government
+were reorganised with due regard to the larger interests now intrusted
+to their care. The new department of marine and fisheries, rendered
+necessary by the admission of the maritime provinces, was placed under
+the direction of Mr. Peter Mitchell, then a member of the senate, who
+had done so much to bring New Brunswick into the union. An act was
+passed to provide for the immediate commencement of the Intercolonial
+Railway, which was actually completed by the 1st of July, 1876, under
+the supervision of Mr., now Sir, Sandford Fleming, as chief government
+engineer; and the provinces of Ontario and Quebec were at last directly
+connected with the maritime sections of the Dominion.
+
+The repeal agitation in Nova Scotia received its first blow by the
+defection of Mr. Howe, who had been elected to the house of commons. He
+proceeded to England in 1868 with an address from the assembly of Nova
+Scotia, demanding a repeal of the union, but he made no impression
+whatever on a government and parliament convinced of the necessity of
+the measure from an imperial as well as colonial point of view. Dr.
+Tupper was present on behalf of the Dominion government to answer any
+arguments that the Repealers might advance against the union. The visit
+to England convinced Mr. Howe that further agitation on the question
+might be injurious to British connection, and that the wisest course was
+to make the union as useful as possible to the provinces. Then, as
+always, he was true to those principles of fidelity to the crown and
+empire which had forced his father to seek refuge in Nova Scotia, and
+which had been ever the mainspring of his action, even in the trying
+days when he and others were struggling for responsible government. He
+believed always in constitutional agitation, not in rebellion. He now
+agreed to enter the ministry as president of the council on condition
+that the financial basis, on which Nova Scotia had been admitted to the
+federation, was enlarged by the parliament of Canada. These "better
+terms" were brought before the Canadian parliament in the session of
+1869, and provided for the granting of additional allowances to the
+provinces, calculated on increased amounts of debt as compared with the
+maximum fixed by the terms of the British North America Act of 1867.
+They met with strong opposition from Edward Blake, a very eminent
+lawyer and Reformer of Ontario, on the ground that they violated the
+original compact of union as set forth in the British North America Act;
+but despite the opposition of the western Reformers they were ratified
+by a large majority, who recognised the supreme necessity of
+conciliating Nova Scotia. On account of his decision to yield to the
+inevitable, Mr. Howe incurred the bitter antagonism of many men who had
+been his staunch followers in all the political contests of Nova Scotia,
+and it was with the greatest difficulty that he was re-elected for the
+county of Hants as a minister of the crown. He remained in the
+government until May, 1873, when he was appointed lieutenant-governor of
+Nova Scotia. The worries of a long life of political struggles, and
+especially the fatigue and exposure of the last election in Hants, had
+impaired his health and made it absolutely necessary that he should
+retire from active politics. Only a month after his appointment, the
+printer, poet and politician died in the famous old government house,
+admittance to which had been denied him in the stormy days when he
+fought Lord Falkland. It was a fit ending, assuredly, to the life of the
+statesman, who, with eloquent pen and voice, in the days when his
+opinions were even offensive to governors and social leaders, ever urged
+the right of his countrymen to a full measure of self-government.
+
+Canada and all other parts of the British empire were deeply shocked on
+an April day of 1868 by the tragic announcement of the assassination of
+the brilliant Irishman, Thomas D'Arcy McGee on his return late at night
+from his parliamentary duties. He had never been forgiven by the Irish
+enemies of England for his strenuous efforts in Canada to atone for the
+indiscretion of his thoughtless youth. His remains were buried with all
+the honours that the state could give him, and proper provision was made
+for the members of his family by that parliament of which he had been
+one of the most notable figures. The murderer, Thomas Whelan, a member
+of the secret society that had ordered his death, was executed at
+Ottawa on the 11th February, 1869.
+
+
+SECTION 2.--Extension of the Dominion from the Atlantic to the Pacific
+Ocean. 1869-1873.
+
+The government and parliament, to whom were entrusted the destinies of
+the federation of four provinces, had a great work to accomplish in the
+way of perfecting and extending the Dominion, which was necessarily
+incomplete whilst its western territorial limits were confined to the
+boundaries of Ontario, and the provinces of British Columbia on the
+Pacific coast and of Prince Edward Island in the Gulf of the St.
+Lawrence remained in a position of isolation. The provisions of the
+British North America Act of 1867 provided in general terms for the
+addition of the immense territories which extend from the head of Lake
+Superior in a north-westerly direction as far as the Rocky Mountains.
+Three great basins divide these territories; Hudson Bay Basin, with
+probably a drainage of 2,250,000 square miles; the Winnipeg sub-basin
+tributary to the former, with nearly 400,000 square miles; the Mackenzie
+River basin with nearly 700,000 square miles. The Winnipeg basin covers
+a great area of prairie lands, whose luxuriant grasses and wild flowers
+were indented for centuries only by the tracks of herds of innumerable
+buffaloes on their way to the tortuous and sluggish streams which flow
+through that wide region. This plain slopes gently towards the arctic
+seas into which its waters flow, and is also remarkable for rising
+gradually from its eastern limits in three distinct elevations or
+steppes as far as the foot hills of the Rocky Mountains. Forests of
+trees, small for the most part, are found only when the prairies are
+left and we reach the more picturesque undulating country through which
+the North Saskatchewan flows. An extraordinary feature of this great
+region is the continuous chain of lakes and rivers which stretch from
+the basin of the St. Lawrence as far as the distant northern sea into
+which the Mackenzie, the second largest river in North America, carries
+its enormous volume of waters. As we stand on the rugged heights of
+land which divides the Winnipeg from the Laurentian basin we are within
+easy reach of rivers which flow, some to arctic seas, some to the
+Atlantic, and some to the Gulf of Mexico. If we ascend the Saskatchewan
+River, from Lake Winnipeg to the Rocky Mountains, we shall find
+ourselves within a measurable distance not only of the sources of the
+Mackenzie, one of whose tributaries reaches the head waters of the
+Yukon, a river of golden promise like the Pactolus of the eastern
+lands--but also within reach of the head waters of the rapid Columbia,
+and the still more impetuous Fraser, both of which pour into the Pacific
+Ocean, as well as of the Missouri, which here accumulates strength for
+its alliance with the Mississippi, that great artery of a more southern
+land. It was to this remarkable geographical feature that Oliver Wendell
+Holmes referred in the following well-known verses:
+
+   "Yon stream whose sources run
+      Turned by a pebble's edge,
+   Is Athabaska rolling toward the Sun
+      Through the cleft mountain ledge."
+
+   "The slender rill had strayed,
+      But for the slanting stone,
+   To evening's ocean, with the tangled braid
+      Of foam-flecked Oregon."
+
+[ILLUSTRATION: MAP OF BRITISH AMERICA TO ILLUSTRATE THE CHARTER OF THE
+HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY]
+
+A great company claimed for two centuries exclusive trading privileges
+over a large portion of these territories, known as Rupert's Land, by
+virtue of a charter given by King Charles II, on the 2nd May, 1670, to
+Prince Rupert, the Duke of Albemarle, and other Englishmen of rank and
+wealth. The early operations of this Company of Adventurers of England
+were confined to the vicinity of Hudson and James Bays. The French of
+Canada for many years disputed the rights of the English company to this
+great region, but it was finally ceded to England by the Treaty of
+Utrecht. Twenty years after the Treaty of Paris (1763) a number of
+wealthy and enterprising merchants, chiefly Scotch, established at
+Montreal the North-West Company for the purpose of trading in those
+north-western territories to which French traders had been the first to
+venture. This new company carried on its operations with such activity
+that in thirty years' time it employed four thousand persons and
+occupied sixty posts in different parts of the territories.
+
+The Hudson's Bay Company's headquarters was York Factory, on the great
+bay to which British ships, every summer, brought out supplies for the
+posts. The North-West Company followed the route of the old French
+traders from Lachine by way of the Ottawa or the lakes to the head of
+Lake Superior, and its principal depot was Fort William on the
+Kaministiquia River. The servants of the North-West Company became
+indefatigable explorers of the territories as far as the Pacific Ocean
+and arctic seas. Mr., afterwards Sir, Alexander Mackenzie first followed
+the river which now bears his name, to the Arctic Ocean, into which it
+pours its mighty volume of water. He was also the first to cross the
+Rocky Mountains and reach the Pacific coast. Simon Fraser, another
+employee of the company, discovered, in 1808, the river which still
+recalls his exploits; and a little later, David Thompson, from whom a
+river is named, crossed further south and reached Oregon by the Columbia
+River. The energetic operations of the North-west Company so seriously
+affected the business of the Hudson's Bay Company that in some years the
+latter declared no dividends. The rivalry between the two companies
+reached its highest between 1811 and 1818, when Thomas Douglas, fifth
+Earl of Selkirk, who was an enthusiastic promoter of colonisation in
+British North America, obtained from the Hudson's Bay Company an immense
+tract of land in the Red River country and made an earnest effort to
+establish a Scotch settlement at Kildonan. But his efforts to people
+Assiniboia--the Indian name he gave to his wide domain--were baulked by
+the opposition of the employees of the North-west Company, who regarded
+this colonising scheme as fatal to the fur trade. In the territory
+conveyed to Lord Selkirk, the Montreal Company had established posts
+upon every river and lake, while the Hudson's Bay Company had only one
+fort of importance, Fort Douglas, within a short distance of the
+North-west Company's post of Fort Gibraltar, at the confluence of the
+Red and Assiniboine Rivers, where the city of Winnipeg now stands. The
+quarrel between the Scotch settlers who were under the protection of the
+Hudson's Bay Company and the North-westers, chiefly composed of French
+Canadians and French half-breeds, or _Metis_ culminated in 1816, in the
+massacre of Governor Semple and twenty-six other persons connected with
+the new colony by a number of half-breeds. Two years later, a number of
+persons who had been arrested for this murder were tried at York in
+Upper Canada, but the evidence was so conflicting on account of the
+false swearing on the part of the witnesses that the jury were forced to
+acquit the accused. Lord Selkirk died at Pau, in 1820, but not before he
+had made an attempt to assist his young settlement, almost broken up by
+the shameful attack of 1816.
+
+The little colony managed to exist, but its difficulties were aggravated
+from time to time by the ravages of clouds of grasshoppers which
+devastated the territories and brought the people to the verge of
+starvation. In March, 1821, the North-west Company made over all their
+property to the older company, which now reigned supreme throughout the
+territories. All doubts as to their rights were set at rest by an act of
+parliament giving them a monopoly of trade for twenty-one years in what
+were then generally known as the Indian territories, that vast region
+which lay beyond the confines of Rupert's Land, and was not strictly
+covered by the charter of 1670. This act was re-enacted in 1838 for
+another twenty-one years. No further extension, however, was ever
+granted, as an agitation had commenced in Canada by 1859 for the
+surrender of the company's privileges and the opening up of the
+territories, so long a great "lone land," to enterprise and settlement.
+When the two rival companies were united, Mr., afterwards Sir, George
+Simpson, became governor, and he continued to occupy that position until
+1860, when he died in his residence at Lachine, near Montreal. This
+energetic man largely extended the geographical knowledge of the wide
+dominions entrusted to his charge, though like all the servants of the
+company, he discouraged settlement and minimised the agricultural
+capabilities of the country, when examined in 1857 before a committee of
+the English house of commons. In 1837 the company purchased from Lord
+Selkirk's heirs all their rights in Assiniboia. The Scotch settlers and
+the French half-breeds were now in close contiguity to each other on the
+Red and Assiniboine Rivers. The company established a simple form of
+government for the maintenance of law and order. In the course of time,
+their council included not only their principal factors and officials,
+but a few persons selected from the inhabitants. On the whole, law and
+order prevailed in the settlements, although there was always latent a
+certain degree of sullen discontent against the selfish rule of a mere
+fur company, invested with such great powers. The great object of the
+company was always to keep out the pioneers of settlement, and give no
+information of the value of the land and resources of their vast domain.
+
+Some years before the federation of the British-American provinces the
+public men of Canada had commenced an agitation against the company,
+with the view of relieving from its monopoly a country whose resources
+were beginning to be known. Colonial delegates on several occasions
+interviewed the imperial authorities on the subject, but no practical
+results were obtained until federation became an accomplished fact.
+Then, at length, the company recognised the necessity of yielding to
+the pressure that was brought to bear upon them by the British
+government, at a time when the interests of the empire as well as of the
+new Dominion demanded the abolition of a monopoly so hostile to the
+conditions of modern progress in British North America. In 1868
+successful negotiations took place between a Canadian delegation--Sir
+George Cartier and the Hon. William Macdougall--and the Hudson's Bay
+Company's representatives for the surrender of their imperial domain.
+Canada agreed to pay L300,000 sterling, and to reserve certain lands for
+the company. The terms were approved by the Canadian parliament in 1869,
+and an act was passed for the temporary government of Rupert's Land and
+the North-west territory when regularly transferred to Canada. In the
+summer of that year, surveyors were sent under Colonel Dennis to make
+surveys of townships in Assiniboia; and early in the autumn Mr.
+Macdougall was appointed lieutenant-governor of the territories, with
+the understanding that he should not act in an official capacity until
+he was authoritatively informed from Ottawa of the legal transfer of the
+country to the Canadian government. Mr. Macdougall left for Fort Garry
+in September, but he was unable to reach Red River on account of a
+rising of the half-breeds. The cause of the troubles is to be traced not
+simply to the apathy of the Hudson's Bay Company's officials, who took
+no steps to prepare the settlers for the change of government, nor to
+the fact that the Canadian authorities neglected to consult the wishes
+of the inhabitants, but chiefly to the belief that prevailed among the
+ignorant French half-breeds that it was proposed to take their lands
+from them. Sir John Macdonald admitted, at a later time, that much of
+the trouble arose "from the lack of conciliation, tact and prudence
+shown by the surveyors during the summer of 1869." Mr. Macdougall also
+appears to have disobeyed his instructions, for he attempted to set up
+his government by a _coup-de-main_ on the 1st December, though he had no
+official information of the transfer of the country to Canada, and was
+not legally entitled to perform a single official act.
+
+The rebellious half-breeds of the Red River settlement formed a
+provisional government, in which one Louis Riel was the controlling
+spirit from the beginning until the end of the revolt. He was a French
+Canadian half-breed, who had been educated in one of the French Canadian
+colleges, and always exercised much influence over his ignorant,
+impulsive, easily-deluded countrymen. The total population living in the
+settlements of Assiniboia at that time was about twelve thousand, of
+whom nearly one-half were _Metis_ or half-breeds, mostly the descendants
+of the _coureurs-de-bois_ and _voyageurs_ of early times. So long as the
+buffalo ranged the prairies in large numbers, they were hunters, and
+cared nothing for the relatively tame pursuit of agriculture. Their
+small farms generally presented a neglected, impoverished appearance.
+The great majority had adopted the habits of their Indian lineage, and
+would neglect their farms for weeks to follow the scarce buffalo to
+their distant feeding grounds. The Scotch half-breed, the offspring of
+the marriage of Scotchmen with Indian women, still illustrated the
+industry and energy of his paternal race, and rose superior to Indian
+surroundings. It was among the French half-breeds that Riel found his
+supporters. The Scotch and English settlers had disapproved of the
+sudden transfer of the territory in which they and their parents had so
+long lived, without any attempt having been made to consult their
+feelings as to the future government of the country. Though they took no
+active part in the rebellion, they allowed matters to take their course
+with indifference and sullen resignation. The employees of the Hudson's
+Bay Company were dissatisfied with the sale of the company's rights, as
+it meant, in their opinion, a loss of occupation and influence. The
+portion of the population that was always quite ready to hasten the
+acquisition of the territory by Canada, and resolutely opposed Riel from
+the outset, was the small Canadian element, which was led by Dr.
+Schultz, an able, determined man, afterwards lieutenant-governor of
+Manitoba. Riel imprisoned and insulted several of the loyal party who
+opposed him. At last he ruthlessly ordered the execution of one Thomas
+Scott, an Ontario man, who had defied him.
+
+While these events were in progress, the Canadian government enlisted in
+the interests of law and order the services of Mr. Donald Smith, now
+Lord Strathcona, who had been long connected with the Hudson's Bay
+Company, and also of Archbishop Tache, of St. Boniface--the principal
+French settlement in the country--who returned from Rome to act as
+mediator between the Canadian authorities and his deluded flock.
+Unhappily, before the Archbishop could reach Fort Garry, Scott had been
+murdered, and the Dominion government could not consider themselves
+bound by the terms they were ready to offer to the insurgents under a
+very different condition of things. The murder of Scott had clearly
+brought Riel and his associates under the provisions of the criminal
+law; and public opinion in Ontario would not tolerate an amnesty, as was
+hastily promised by the Archbishop, in his zeal to bring the rebellion
+to an end. A force of 1200 regulars and volunteers was sent to the Red
+River towards the end of May, 1870, under the command of Colonel
+Wolseley, now a field-marshal and a peer of the realm. Riel fled across
+the frontier before the troops, after a tedious journey of three months
+from the day they left Toronto, reached Fort Garry. Peace was restored
+once more to the settlers of Assiniboia. The Canadian government had had
+several interviews with delegates from the discontented people of Red
+River, who had prepared what they called "a Bill of Rights," and it was
+therefore able intelligently to decide on the best form of governing the
+territories. The imperial government completed the formal transfer of
+the country to Canada, and the Canadian parliament in 1870 passed an act
+to provide for the government of a new province of Manitoba.
+Representation was given to the people in both houses of the Canadian
+parliament, and provision was made for a provincial government on the
+same basis that existed in the old provinces of the Dominion. The
+lieutenant-governor of the province was also, for the present, to govern
+the unorganised portion of the North-west with the assistance of a
+council of eleven persons. The first legislature of Manitoba was elected
+in the early part of 1871, and a provincial government was formed, with
+Mr. Albert Boyd as provincial secretary. The first lieutenant-governor
+was Sir Adams Archibald, the eminent Nova Scotian, who had been defeated
+in the elections of 1867. Mr. Macdougall had returned from the
+North-west frontier a deeply disappointed man, who would never admit
+that he had shown any undue haste in commencing the exercise of his
+powers as governor. Some years later he disappeared from active public
+life, after a career during which he had performed many useful services
+for Canada.
+
+In another chapter on the relations between Canada and the United States
+I shall refer to the results of the international commission which met
+at Washington in 1870, to consider the Alabama difficulty, the fishery
+dispute, and other questions, the settlement of which could be no longer
+delayed. In 1870, while the Red River settlements were still in a
+troublous state, the Fenians made two attempts to invade the Eastern
+Townships, but they were easily repulsed and forced to cross the
+frontier. They were next heard of in 1871, when they attempted, under
+the leadership of the irrepressible O'Neil, who had also been engaged in
+1870, and of O'Donohue, one of Riel's rebellious associates, to make a
+raid into Manitoba by way of Pembina, but their prompt arrest by a
+company of United States troops was the inglorious conclusion of the
+last effort of a dying and worthless organisation to strike a blow at
+England through Canada.
+
+The Dominion government was much embarrassed for some years by the
+complications that arose from Riel's revolt and the murder of Scott. An
+agitation grew up in Ontario for the arrest of the murderers; and when
+Mr. Blake succeeded Mr. Sandfield Macdonald as leader of the Ontario
+government, a large reward was offered for the capture of Riel and such
+of his associates as were still in the territories. On the other hand,
+Sir George Cartier and the French Canadians were in favour of an
+amnesty. The Macdonald ministry consequently found itself on the horns
+of a dilemma; and the political tension was only relieved for a time
+when Riel and Lepine left Manitoba, on receiving a considerable sum of
+money from Sir John Macdonald. Although this fact was not known until
+1875, when a committee of the house of commons investigated the affairs
+of the North-west, there was a general impression after 1870 throughout
+Ontario--an impression which had much effect on the general election of
+1872--that the government had no sincere desire to bring Riel and his
+associates to justice.
+
+In 1871 the Dominion welcomed into the union the great mountainous
+province of British Columbia, whose picturesque shores recall the
+memories of Cook, Vancouver and other maritime adventurers of the last
+century, and whose swift rivers are associated with the exploits of
+Mackenzie, Thompson, Quesnel, Fraser and other daring men, who first saw
+the impetuous waters which rush through the canons of the great
+mountains of the province until at last they empty themselves into the
+Pacific Ocean. For many years Vancouver Island and the mainland, first
+known as New Caledonia, were under the control of the Hudson's Bay
+Company. Vancouver Island was nominally made a crown colony in 1849;
+that is, a colony without representative institutions, in which the
+government is carried on by a governor and council, appointed by the
+crown. The official authority continued from 1851 practically in the
+hands of the company's chief factor, Sir James Douglas, a man of signal
+ability, who was also the governor of the infant colony. In 1856 an
+assembly was called, despite the insignificant population of the island.
+In 1858 New Caledonia was organised as a crown colony under the name of
+British Columbia, as a consequence of the gold discoveries which brought
+in many people. Sir James Douglas was also appointed governor of
+British Columbia, and continued in that position until 1864. In 1866,
+the colony was united with Vancouver Island under the general
+designation of British Columbia. When the province entered the
+confederation of Canada in 1871 it was governed by a lieutenant-governor
+appointed by the crown, a legislature composed of heads of the public
+departments and several elected members. With the entrance of this
+province, so famous now for its treasures of gold, coal and other
+minerals in illimitable quantities, must be associated the name of Sir
+Joseph Trutch, the first lieutenant-governor under the auspices of the
+federation. The province did not come into the union with the same
+constitution that was enjoyed by the other provinces, but it was
+expressly declared in the terms of union that "the government of the
+Dominion will readily consent to the introduction of responsible
+government when desired by the inhabitants of British Columbia."
+Accordingly, soon after its admission, the province obtained a
+constitution similar to that of other provinces: a lieutenant-governor,
+a responsible executive council and an elective assembly. Representation
+was given it in both houses of the Dominion parliament, and the members
+took their seats during the session of 1872. In addition to the payment
+of a considerable subsidy for provincial expenses, the Dominion
+government pledged itself to secure the construction of a railway within
+two years from the date of union to connect the seaboard of British
+Columbia with the railway system of Canada, to commence the work
+simultaneously at both ends of the line, and to complete it within ten
+years from the admission of the colony to the confederation.
+
+In 1872 a general election was held in the Dominion, and while the
+government was generally sustained, it came back with a minority from
+Ontario. The Riel agitation, the Washington Treaty, and the undertaking
+to finish the Pacific railway in so short a time, were questions which
+weakened the ministry. The most encouraging feature of the elections
+was the complete defeat of the anti-unionists in Nova Scotia,--the
+prelude to their disappearance as a party--all the representatives, with
+the exception of one member, being pledged to support a government whose
+chief merit was its persistent effort to cement the union and extend it
+from ocean to ocean. Sir Francis Hincks, finance minister since 1870,
+was defeated in Ontario and Sir George Cartier in Montreal. Both these
+gentlemen found constituencies elsewhere, but Sir George Cartier never
+took his seat, as his health had been seriously impaired, and he died in
+England in 1873. The state gave a public funeral to this great French
+Canadian, always animated by a sincere desire to weld the two races
+together on principles of compromise and justice. Sir Francis Hincks
+also disappeared from public life in 1873, and died at Montreal in 1885
+from an attack of malignant small-pox. The sad circumstances of his
+death forbade any public or even private display, and the man who filled
+so many important positions in the empire was carried to the grave with
+those precautions which are necessary in the case of those who fall
+victims to an infectious disease.
+
+But while these two eminent men disappeared from the public life of
+Canada, two others began now to occupy a more prominent place in
+Dominion affairs. These were Mr. Edward Blake and Mr. Alexander
+Mackenzie, who had retired from the Ontario legislature when an act was
+passed, as in other provinces, against dual representation, which made
+it necessary for them to elect between federal and provincial politics.
+Sir Oliver Mowat, who had retired from the bench, was chosen prime
+minister of Ontario on the 25th October, 1872, and continued to hold the
+position with great success and profit to the province until 1896, when
+he became minister of justice in the Liberal government formed by Sir
+Wilfrid Laurier.
+
+In 1873 Prince Edward Island yielded to the influences which had been
+working for some years in the direction of union, and allied her
+fortunes with those of her sister provinces. The public men who were
+mainly instrumental in bringing about this happy result, after much
+discussion in the legislature and several conferences with the Dominion
+government, were the following: Mr. R.P. Haythorne, afterwards a
+senator; Mr. David Laird, at a later time minister in Mr. Mackenzie's
+government and a lieutenant-governor of the North-west territories; Mr.
+James C. Pope, who became a member of Sir John Macdonald's cabinet in
+1879; Mr. T.H. Haviland, and Mr. G.W. Howlan, who were in later years
+lieutenant-governors of the island. The terms of union made not only
+very favourable financial arrangements for the support of the provincial
+government, but also allowed a sum of money for the purpose of
+extinguishing the claims of the landlords to whom the greater portion of
+the public domain had been given by the British government more than a
+hundred years before. The constitution of the executive authority and
+the legislature remained as before confederation. Adequate
+representation was allowed to the island in the Canadian parliament, and
+the members accordingly took their places in the senate and the house of
+commons during the short October session of 1873, when Sir John
+Macdonald's government resigned on account of transactions arising out
+of the first efforts to construct the Canadian Pacific railway.
+
+The Dominion was now extended for a distance of about 3,500 miles, from
+the island of Prince Edward in the east to the island of Vancouver in
+the west. The people of the great island of Newfoundland, the oldest
+colony of the British crown in North America, have, however, always
+shown a determined opposition to the proposed federation, from the time
+when their delegates returned from the Quebec convention of 1864.
+Negotiations have taken place more than once for the entrance of the
+island into the federal union, but so far no satisfactory arrangement
+has been attained. The advocates of union, down to the present time,
+have never been able to create that strong public opinion which would
+sustain any practical movement in the direction of carrying Newfoundland
+out of its unfortunate position of insular, selfish isolation, and
+making it an active partner in the material, political, and social
+progress of the provinces of the Canadian Dominion. Financial and
+political difficulties have steadily hampered the development of the
+island until very recently, and the imperial government has been obliged
+to intervene for the purpose of bringing about an adjustment of
+questions which, more than once, have rendered the operation of local
+self-government very troublesome. The government of the Dominion, on its
+side, while always ready to welcome the island into the confederation,
+has been perplexed by the difficulty of making satisfactory financial
+arrangements for the admission of a colony, heavily burdened with debt,
+and occupying a position by no means so favourable as that of the
+provinces now comprised within the Dominion. Some Canadians also see
+some reason for hesitation on the part of the Dominion in the existence
+of the French shore question, which prejudicially affects the
+territorial interests of a large portion of the coast of the island, and
+affords a forcible example of the little attention paid to colonial
+interests in those old times when English statesmen were chiefly swayed
+by considerations of European policy.
+
+
+SECTION 3.--Summary of noteworthy events from 1873 until 1900.
+
+On the 4th November, 1873, Sir John Macdonald placed his resignation in
+the hands of the governor-general, the Earl of Dufferin; and the first
+ministry of the Dominion came to an end after six years of office. The
+circumstances of this resignation were regrettable in the extreme. In
+1872 two companies received charters for the construction of the
+Canadian Pacific railway--one of them under the direction of probably
+the wealthiest man in Canada, Sir Hugh Allan of Montreal, and the other
+under the presidency of the Honourable David Macpherson, a capitalist of
+Toronto. The government was unwilling for political reasons to give the
+preference to either of these companies, and tried to bring about an
+amalgamation. While negotiations were proceeding with this object in
+view, the general elections of 1872 came on, and Sir Hugh Allan made
+large contributions to the funds of the Conservative party. The facts
+were disclosed in 1873 before a royal commission appointed by the
+governor-general to inquire into charges made in the Canadian house of
+commons by a prominent Liberal, Mr. Huntington. An investigation ordered
+by the house when the charges were first brought forward, had failed
+chiefly on account of the legal inability of the committee to take
+evidence under oath; and the government then advised the appointment of
+the commission in question. Parliament was called together in October,
+1873, to receive the report of the commissioners, and after a long and
+vehement debate Sir John Macdonald, not daring to test the opinion of
+the house by a vote, immediately resigned. In justice to Sir John
+Macdonald it must be stated that Sir Hugh Allan knew, before he
+subscribed a single farthing, that the privilege of building the railway
+could be conceded only to an amalgamated company. When it was shown some
+months after the elections that the proposed amalgamation could not be
+effected, the government issued a royal charter to a new company in
+which all the provinces were fairly represented, and in which Sir Hugh
+Allan appears at first to have had no special influence, although the
+directors of their own motion, subsequently selected him as president on
+account of his wealth and business standing in Canada. Despite Sir John
+Macdonald's plausible explanations to the governor-general, and his
+vigorous and even pathetic appeal to the house before he resigned, the
+whole transaction was unequivocally condemned by sound public opinion.
+His own confidential secretary, whom he had chosen before his death as
+his biographer, admits that even a large body of his faithful supporters
+"were impelled to the conclusion that a government which had benefited
+politically by large sums of money contributed by a person with whom it
+was negotiating on the part of the Dominion, could no longer command
+their confidence or support, and that for them the time had come to
+choose between their conscience and their party."
+
+The immediate consequence of this very unfortunate transaction was the
+formation of a Liberal government by Mr. Alexander Mackenzie, the leader
+of the opposition, who had entered the old parliament of Canada in 1861,
+and had been treasurer in the Ontario ministry led by Mr. Blake until
+1872. He was Scotch by birth, and a stonemason by trade. He came to
+Canada in early manhood, and succeeded in raising himself above his
+originally humble position to the highest in the land. His great
+decision of character, his clear, logical intellect, his lucid, incisive
+style of speaking, his great fidelity to principle, his inflexible
+honesty of purpose, made him a force in the Liberal party, who gladly
+welcomed him as the leader of a government. When he appealed to the
+country in 1874, he was supported by a very large majority of the
+representatives of the people. His administration remained in office
+until the autumn of 1878, and passed many measures of great usefulness
+to the Dominion. The North-west territories were separated from the
+government of Manitoba, and first organised under a lieutenant-governor
+and council, appointed by the governor-general of Canada. In 1875,
+pending the settlement of the western boundary of Ontario, it was
+necessary to create a separate territory out of the eastern part of the
+North-west, known as the district of Keewatin, which was placed under
+the jurisdiction of the lieutenant-governor of Manitoba. This boundary
+dispute was not settled until 1884, when the judicial committee of the
+privy council, to whose decision the question had been referred,
+materially altered the limits of Keewatin and extended the western
+boundaries of Ontario. In 1878, in response to an address of the
+Canadian parliament, an imperial order in council was passed to annex to
+the Dominion all British possessions in North America not then included
+within the confederation--an order intended to place beyond question the
+right of Canada to all British North America except Newfoundland. In the
+course of succeeding years a system of local government was established
+in the North-west territories and a representation allowed them in the
+senate and house of commons.
+
+As soon as the North-west became a part of the Dominion, the Canadian
+government recognised the necessity of making satisfactory arrangements
+with the Indian tribes. The policy first laid down in the proclamation
+of 1763 was faithfully carried out in this great region. Between 1871
+and 1877 seven treaties were made by the Canadian government with the
+Crees, Chippewas, Salteaux, Ojibways, Blackfeet, Bloods and Piegans, who
+received certain reserves of land, annual payments of money and other
+benefits, as compensation for making over to Canada their title to the
+vast country where they had been so long the masters. From that day to
+this the Indians have become the wards of the government, who have
+always treated them with every consideration. The Indians live on
+reserves allotted to them in certain districts where schools of various
+classes have been provided for their instruction. They are
+systematically taught farming and other industrial pursuits; agents and
+instructors visit the reserves from time to time to see that the
+interests of the Indians are protected; and the sale of spirits is
+especially forbidden in the territories chiefly with the view of
+guarding the Indians from such baneful influences. The policy of the
+government for the past thirty years has been on the whole most
+satisfactory from every point of view. In the course of a few decades
+the Indians of the prairies will be an agricultural population, able to
+support themselves.
+
+The Mackenzie ministry established a supreme court, or general court of
+appeal, for Canada. The election laws were amended so as to abolish
+public nominations and property qualification for members of the house
+of commons, as well as to provide for vote by ballot and simultaneous
+polling at a general election--a wise provision which had existed for
+some years in the province of Nova Scotia. An act passed by Sir John
+Macdonald's government for the trial of controverted elections by judges
+was amended, and a more ample and effective provision made for the
+repression and punishment of bribery and corruption at elections. A
+force of mounted police was organised for the maintenance of law and
+order in the North-west territories. The enlargement of the St. Lawrence
+system of canals was vigorously prosecuted in accordance with the report
+of a royal commission, appointed in 1870 by the previous administration
+to report on this important system of waterways. A Canada temperance
+act--known by the name of Senator Scott, who introduced it when
+secretary of state--was passed to allow electors in any county to
+exercise what is known as "local option"; that is to say, to decide by
+their votes at the polls whether they would permit the sale of
+intoxicating liquors within their respective districts. This act was
+declared by the judicial committee of the privy council to be
+constitutional and was extended in the course of time to very many
+counties of the several provinces; but eventually it was found quite
+impracticable to enforce the law, and the great majority of those
+districts of Ontario and Quebec, which had been carried away for a time
+on a great wave of moral reform to adopt the act, decided by an equally
+large vote to repeal it. The agitation for the extension of this law
+finally merged into a wide-spread movement among the temperance people
+of the Dominion for the passage of a prohibitory liquor law by the
+parliament of Canada. In 1898 the question was submitted to the electors
+of the provinces and territories by the Laurier government. The result
+was a majority of only 14,000 votes in favour of prohibition out of a
+total vote of 543,049, polled throughout the Dominion. The province of
+Quebec declared itself against the measure by an overwhelming vote. The
+temperance people then demanded that the Dominion government should take
+immediate action in accordance with this vote; but the prime minister
+stated emphatically to the house of commons as soon as parliament opened
+in March, 1899, "that the voice of the electorate, which has been
+pronounced in favour of prohibition--only twenty-three per cent. of the
+total electoral vote of the Dominion--is not such as to justify the
+government in introducing a prohibitory law." In the premier's opinion
+the government would not be justified in following such a course "unless
+at least one-half of the electorate declared itself at the polls in its
+favour." In the province of Manitoba, where the people have pronounced
+themselves conclusively in favour of prohibition, the Macdonald
+government are now moving to give effect to the popular wishes and
+restrain the liquor traffic so far as it is possible to go under the
+provisions of the British North America act of 1867 and the decisions of
+the courts as to provincial powers.
+
+For two years and even longer, after its coming into office, the
+Mackenzie government was harassed by the persistent effort that was made
+in French Canada for the condonation of the serious offences committed
+by Riel and his principal associates during the rebellion of 1870. Riel
+had been elected by a Manitoba constituency in 1874 to the Dominion
+house of commons and actually took the oath of allegiance in the clerk's
+office, but he never attempted to sit, and was subsequently expelled as
+a fugitive from criminal justice. Lepine was convicted of murder at
+Winnipeg and sentenced to be hanged, when the governor-general, Lord
+Dufferin, intervened and commuted the sentence to two years'
+imprisonment, with the approval of the imperial authorities, to whom, as
+an imperial officer entrusted with large responsibility in the exercise
+of the prerogative of mercy, he had referred the whole question. Soon
+afterwards the government yielded to the strong pressure from French
+Canada and relieved the tension of the public situation by obtaining
+from the representative of the crown an amnesty for all persons
+concerned in the North-west troubles, with the exception of Riel and
+Lepine, who were banished for five years, when they also were to be
+pardoned. O'Donohue was not included, as his first offence had been
+aggravated by his connection with the Fenian raid of 1871, but he was
+allowed in 1877 the benefit of the amnesty. The action of Lord Dufferin
+in pardoning Lepine and thereby relieving his ministers from all
+responsibility in the matter was widely criticised, and no doubt had
+much to do with bringing about an alteration in the terms of the
+governor-general's commission and his instructions with respect to the
+prerogative of mercy. Largely through the instrumentality of Mr. Blake,
+who visited England for the purpose, in 1875, new commissions and
+instructions have been issued to Lord Dufferin's successors, with a due
+regard to the larger measure of constitutional freedom now possessed by
+the Dominion of Canada. As respects the exercise of the prerogative of
+mercy, the independent judgment of the governor-general may be exercised
+in cases of imperial interest, but only after consultation with his
+responsible advisers, while he is at liberty to yield to their judgment
+in all cases of local concern.
+
+One of the most important questions with which the Mackenzie government
+was called upon to deal was the construction of the Canadian Pacific
+railway. It was first proposed to utilise the "water-stretches" on the
+route of the railroad, and in that way lessen its cost, but the scheme
+was soon found to be impracticable. The people of British Columbia were
+aggrieved at the delay in building the railway, and several efforts were
+made to arrange the difficulty through the intervention of the Earl of
+Carnarvon, colonial secretary of state, of the governor-general when he
+visited the province in 1876, and of Mr., afterwards Sir, James Edgar,
+who was authorised to treat with the provincial government on the
+subject. At the instance of the secretary of state the government agreed
+to build immediately a road from Esquimalt to Nanaimo on Vancouver
+Island, to prosecute the surveys with vigour, and make arrangements for
+the completion of the railway in 1890. Mr. Blake opposed these terms,
+and in doing so no doubt represented the views of a large body of the
+Liberal party, who believed that the government of Canada had in 1871
+entered into the compact with British Columbia without sufficient
+consideration of the gravity of the obligation they were incurring. The
+commons, however, passed the Esquimalt and Nanaimo bill only to hear of
+its rejection in the senate, where some Liberals united with the
+Conservative majority to defeat it. When the surveys were all completed,
+the government decided to build the railway as a public work; but by the
+autumn of 1878, when Mr. Mackenzie was defeated at a general election,
+only a few miles of the road had been completed, and the indignation of
+British Columbia had become so deep that the legislature passed a
+resolution for separation from the Dominion unless the terms of union
+were soon fulfilled.
+
+During the existence of the Mackenzie government there was much
+depression in trade throughout the Dominion, and the public revenues
+showed large deficits in consequence of the falling-off of imports. When
+the elections took place in September, 1878, the people were called upon
+to give their decision on a most important issue. With that astuteness
+which always enabled him to gauge correctly the tendency of public
+opinion, Sir John Macdonald recognised the fact that the people were
+prepared to accept any new fiscal policy which promised to relieve the
+country from the great depression which had too long hampered internal
+and external trade. In the session of 1878 he brought forward a
+resolution, declaring emphatically that the welfare of Canada required
+"the adoption of a national policy which, by a judicious readjustment of
+the tariff will benefit the agricultural, the mining, the manufacturing
+and other interests of the Dominion ... will retain in Canada thousands
+of our fellow-countrymen now obliged to expatriate themselves in search
+of the employment denied them at home ... will restore prosperity to our
+struggling industries now so sadly depressed ... will prevent Canada
+from being made a sacrifice market ... will encourage and develop an
+interprovincial trade ... and will procure eventually for this country a
+reciprocity of trade with the United States." This ingenious resolution
+was admirably calculated to captivate the public mind, though it was
+defeated in the house of commons by a large majority. Mr. Mackenzie was
+opposed to the principle of protection, and announced the determination
+of the government to adhere to a revenue tariff instead of resorting to
+any protectionist policy, which would, in his opinion, largely increase
+the burdens of the people under the pretence of stimulating
+manufactures. As a consequence of his unbending fidelity to the
+principles of his life, Mr. Mackenzie was beaten at the general election
+by an overwhelming majority. If he had possessed even a little of the
+flexibility of his astute opponent he would have been more successful as
+a leader of a party.
+
+One of Lord Dufferin's last official acts in October, 1878, was to call
+upon Sir John Macdonald to form a new administration on the resignation
+of Mr. Mackenzie. The new governor-general, the Marquess of Lorne, and
+the Princess Louise, arrived in Canada early in November and were
+everywhere received with great enthusiasm. The new protective
+policy--"the National Policy" as the Conservatives like best to name
+it--was laid before parliament in the session of 1879, by Sir Leonard
+Tilley, then finance minister; and though it has undergone some
+important modifications since its introduction it has formed the basis
+of the Canadian tariff for twenty years. The next important measure of
+the government was the vigorous prosecution of the Canadian Pacific
+railway. During the Mackenzie administration the work had made little
+progress, and the people of British Columbia had become very indignant
+at the failure to carry out the terms on which they had entered the
+confederation. In the session of 1880-81 Sir Charles Tupper, minister of
+railways, announced that the government had entered into a contract with
+a company of capitalists to construct the railway from Montreal to
+Burrard's Inlet. Parliament ratified the contract by a large majority
+despite the vigorous opposition made by Mr. Blake, then leader of the
+Liberal party, who had for years considered this part of the agreement
+with British Columbia as extremely rash. Such remarkable energy was
+brought to the construction of this imperial highway that it was
+actually in operation at the end of five years after the commencement of
+the work--only one-half of the time allowed in the charter for its
+completion. The financial difficulties which the company had to
+encounter in the progress of the work were very great, and they were
+obliged in 1884 to obtain a large loan from the Dominion government. The
+loan was secured on the company's property, and was paid off by 1887.
+The political fortunes of the Conservative administration, in fact, were
+indissolubly connected with the success of this national enterprise, and
+from the moment when the company commenced the work Sir John Macdonald
+never failed to give it his complete confidence and support.
+
+One of the delicate questions which the Macdonald government was called
+upon to settle soon after their coming into office was what is known as
+"the Letellier affair." In March, 1878, the lieutenant-governor of the
+province of Quebec, Mr. Letellier de Saint-Just, who had been previously
+a member of the Mackenzie Liberal government, dismissed the Boucherville
+Conservative ministry on the ground that they had taken steps in regard
+to both administrative and legislative measures not only contrary to his
+representations, but even without previously advising him of what they
+proposed to do. At his request Mr., now Sir, Henry Joly de Lotbiniere
+formed a Liberal administration, which appealed to the country. The
+result was that the two parties came back evenly balanced. The
+Conservatives of the province were deeply irritated at this action of
+the lieutenant-governor, and induced Sir John Macdonald, then leader of
+the opposition, to make a motion in the house of commons, declaring Mr.
+Letellier's conduct "unwise and subversive of the sound principles of
+responsible government." This motion was made as an amendment on the
+proposal to go into committee of supply, and under a peculiar usage of
+the Canadian commons it was not permitted to move a second amendment at
+this stage. Had such a course been regular, the Mackenzie government
+would have proposed an amendment similar to that which was moved in the
+senate, to the effect that it was inexpedient to offer any opinion on
+the action of the lieutenant-governor of Quebec for the reason that "the
+federal and provincial governments, each in its own sphere, enjoyed
+responsible government equally, separately, and independently"--in
+other words, that the wisest constitutional course to follow under the
+circumstances was to allow each province to work out responsible
+government without any undue interference on the part of the Dominion
+government or parliament. As it happened, however, Mr. Mackenzie and his
+colleagues had no alternative open to them but to vote down the motion
+proposed in the commons; while in the Conservative senate the amendment,
+which could not be submitted to the lower house under the rules, was
+defeated, and the motion condemning the lieutenant-governor carried by a
+large party vote.
+
+In 1879, when the Macdonald government was in office, the matter was
+again brought before the house of commons and the same motion of censure
+that had been defeated in 1878 was introduced in the same way as before,
+and carried by a majority of 85. The prime minister then informed Lord
+Lorne that in the opinion of the government Mr. Letellier's "usefulness
+was gone," and he recommended his removal from office; but the
+governor-general was unwilling to agree hastily to such a dangerous
+precedent as the removal of a lieutenant-governor, and as an imperial
+officer he referred the whole matter to her Majesty's government for
+their consideration and instructions. The colonial secretary did not
+hesitate to state "that the lieutenant-governor of a province has an
+indisputable right to dismiss his ministers if, from any cause, he feels
+it incumbent to do so," but that, in deciding whether the conduct of a
+lieutenant-governor merits removal from his office, as in the exercise
+of other powers vested in him by the imperial state the governor-general
+"must act by and with the advice of his ministers." After further
+consideration of the subject, the Canadian government again recommended
+the dismissal of Mr. Letellier, and the governor-general had now no
+alternative except to act on the advice of his responsible ministers. It
+was unfortunate that the constitutional issue was obscured, from the
+outset, by the political bitterness that was imported into it, and that
+the procedure, followed in two sessions, of proposing an amendment,
+condemnatory of the action of the lieutenant-governor, on the motion of
+going into committee of supply, prevented the house from coming to a
+decision squarely on the true constitutional issue--actually raised in
+the senate in 1878--whether it was expedient for the parliament or
+government of Canada to interfere in a matter of purely provincial
+concern.
+
+In 1891 another case of the dismissal of a ministry, having a majority
+in the assembly, occurred in the province of Quebec, but the
+intervention of parliament was not asked for the purpose of censuring
+the lieutenant-governor for the exercise of his undoubted constitutional
+power. It appears that, in 1891, the evidence taken before a committee
+of the senate showed that gross irregularities had occurred in
+connection with the disbursement of certain government subsidies which
+had been voted by parliament for the construction of the Bay des
+Chaleurs railway, and that members of the Quebec cabinet were
+compromised in what was clearly a misappropriation of public money. In
+view of these grave charges, Lieutenant-governor Angers forced his prime
+minister, Mr. Honore Mercier, to agree to the appointment of a royal
+commission to hold an investigation into the transaction in question.
+When the lieutenant-governor was in possession of the evidence taken
+before this commission, he came to the conclusion that it was his duty
+to relieve Mr. Mercier and his colleagues of their functions as
+ministers "in order to protect the dignity of the crown and safeguard
+the honour and interest of the province in danger." Mr. de Boucherville
+was then called upon to form a ministry which would necessarily assume
+full responsibility for the action of the lieutenant-governor under the
+circumstances, and after some delay the new ministry went to the country
+and were sustained by a large majority. It is an interesting coincidence
+that the lieutenant-governor who dismissed the Mercier government and
+the prime minister who assumed full responsibility for the dismissal of
+the Mercier administration, were respectively attorney-general and
+premier in the cabinet who so deeply resented a similar action in 1878.
+But Mr. Letellier was then dead--notoriously as a result of the mental
+strain to which he had been subject in the constitutional crisis which
+wrecked his political career--and it was left only for his friends to
+feel that the whirligig of time brings its revenge even in political
+affairs[5].
+
+[5: Since this chapter was in type, the Dominion government have found
+it necessary to dismiss Mr. McInnes from the lieutenant-governorship of
+British Columbia, on the ground--as set forth in an order-in-council
+--that "his official conduct had been subversive of the principles of
+responsible government," and that his "usefulness was gone." While Mr.
+McInnes acted as head of the executive at Victoria, the political
+affairs of the province became chaotic. He dismissed ministries in the
+most summary manner. When the people were at last appealed to at a
+general election by Mr. Martin, his latest adviser, he was defeated by
+an overwhelming majority, and the Ottawa government came to the
+conclusion--to quote the order-in-council--"that the action of the
+lieutenant-governor in dismissing his ministers has not been approved by
+the people of British Columbia," and it was evident, "that the
+government of the province cannot be successfully carried on in the
+manner contemplated by the constitution under the administration of the
+present incumbent of the office." Consequently, Mr. McInnes was removed
+from office, and the Dominion government appointed in his place Sir
+Henri Joly de Lotbiniere, who has had large experience in public affairs,
+and is noted for his amiability and discretion.]
+
+A very important controversy involving old issues arose in 1888 in
+connection with an act passed by the Mercier government of Quebec for
+the settlement of the Jesuits' estates, which, so long ago as 1800, had
+fallen into the hands of the British government, on the death of the
+last surviving member of the order in Canada, and had been, after some
+delay, applied to the promotion of public instruction in the province of
+Quebec. The bishops of the Roman Catholic Church always contended that
+the estates should have been vested in them "as the ordinaries of the
+various dioceses in which this property was situated." After
+confederation, the estates became the property of the government of
+Quebec and were entirely at the disposal of the legislature. The
+Jesuits in the meantime had become incorporated in the province, and
+made, as well as the bishops, a claim to the estates. Eventually, to
+settle the difficulty and strengthen himself with the ecclesiastics of
+the province, Mr. Mercier astutely passed a bill through the
+legislature, authorising the payment of $400,000 as compensation to the
+Jesuits in lieu of all the lands held by them prior to the conquest and
+subsequently confiscated by the crown. It was expressly set forth in the
+preamble of the act--and it was this proposition which offended the
+extreme Protestants--that the amount of compensation was to remain as a
+special deposit until the Pope had made known his wishes respecting the
+distribution. Some time later the Pope divided the money among the
+Jesuits, the archbishops and bishops of the province, and Laval
+University. The whole matter came before the Dominion house of commons
+in 1888, when a resolution was proposed to the effect that the
+government should have at once disallowed the act as beyond the power of
+the legislature, because, among other reasons, "it recognizes the
+usurpation of a right by a foreign authority, namely his Holiness the
+Pope, to claim that his consent was necessary to dispose of and
+appropriate the public funds of a province." The very large vote in
+support of the action of the government-188 against 13-was chiefly
+influenced by the conviction that, to quote the minute of council, "the
+subject-matter of the act was one of provincial concern, only having
+relation to a fiscal matter entirely within the control of the
+legislature of Quebec." The best authorities agree in the wisdom of not
+interfering with provincial legislation except in cases where there is
+an indisputable invasion of Dominion jurisdiction or where the vital
+interests of Canada as a whole may imperatively call for such
+interference.
+
+In March, 1885, Canada was startled by the news that the half-breeds of
+the Saskatchewan district in the North-west had risen in rebellion
+against the authority of the Dominion government. It is difficult to
+explain clearly the actual causes of an uprising which, in all
+probability, would never have occurred had it not been for the fact that
+Riel had been brought back from Montana by his countrymen to assist them
+in obtaining a redress of certain grievances. This little insurrection
+originated in the Roman Catholic mission of St. Laurent, situated
+between the north and south branches of the Saskatchewan River, and
+contiguous to the British settlement of Prince Albert. Within the limits
+of this mission there was a considerable number of half-breeds, who had
+for the most part migrated from Manitoba after selling the "scrip[6]"
+for lands generously granted to them after the restoration of order in
+1870 to the Red River settlements. Government surveyors had been busily
+engaged for some time in laying out the Saskatchewan country in order to
+keep pace with the rapidly increasing settlement. When they came to the
+mission of St. Laurent they were met with the same distrust that had
+done so much harm in 1870. The half-breeds feared that the system of
+square blocks followed by the surveyors would seriously interfere with
+the location of the farms on which they had "squatted" in accordance
+with the old French system of deep lots with a narrow frontage on the
+banks of the rivers. The difficulties arising out of these diverse
+systems of surveys caused a considerable delay in the issue of patents
+for lands, and dissatisfied the settlers who were anxious to know what
+land their titles covered. The half-breeds not only contended that their
+surveys should be respected, but that they should be also allowed scrip
+for two hundred and forty acres of land, as had been done in the case of
+their compatriots in Manitoba. Many of the Saskatchewan settlers had
+actually received this scrip before they left the province, but
+nevertheless they hoped to obtain it once more from the government, and
+to sell it with their usual improvidence to the first speculators who
+offered them some ready money.
+
+[6: A certificate from the government that a certain person is entitled
+to receive a patent from the crown for a number of acres of the public
+lands--a certificate legally transferable to another person by the
+original holder.]
+
+The delay of the government in issuing patents and scrip and the system
+of surveys were no doubt the chief grievances which enabled Riel and
+Dumont--the latter a resident of Batoche--to excite the half-breeds
+against the Dominion authorities at Ottawa. When a commission was
+actually appointed by the government in January, 1885, to allot scrip to
+those who were entitled to receive it, the half-breeds were actually
+ready for a revolt under the malign influence of Riel and his
+associates. Riel believed for some time after his return in 1884 that he
+could use the agitation among his easily deluded countrymen for his own
+selfish purposes. It is an indisputable fact that he made an offer to
+the Dominion government to leave the North-west if they would pay him a
+considerable sum of money. When he found that there was no likelihood of
+Sir John Macdonald repeating the mistake which he had made at the end of
+the first rebellion, Riel steadily fomented the agitation among the
+half-breeds, who were easily persuaded to believe that a repetition of
+the disturbances of 1870 would obtain them a redress of any grievances
+they might have. It is understood that one of the causes that aggravated
+the agitation at its inception was the belief entertained by some white
+settlers of Prince Albert that they could use the disaffection among the
+half-breeds for the purpose of repeating the early history of Manitoba,
+and forcing the Dominion government to establish a new province in the
+Saskatchewan country, though its entire population at that time would
+not have exceeded ten thousand persons, of whom a large proportion were
+half-breeds. Riel for a time skilfully made these people believe that he
+would be a ductile instrument in their hands, but when his own plans
+were ripe for execution he assumed despotic control of the whole
+movement and formed a provisional government in which he and his
+half-breed associates were dominant, and the white conspirators of
+Prince Albert were entirely ignored. The loyal people of Prince Albert,
+who had always disapproved of the agitation, as well as the priests of
+the mission, who had invariably advised their flock to use only peaceful
+and constitutional methods of redress, were at last openly set at
+defiance and insulted by Riel and his associates. The revolt broke out
+on the 25th March, 1885, when the half-breeds took forcible possession
+of the government stores, and made prisoners of some traders at Duck
+Lake. A small force of Mounted Police under the command of
+Superintendent Crozier was defeated near the same place by Dumont, and
+the former only saved his men from destruction by a skilful retreat to
+Fort Carleton. The half-breed leaders circulated the news of this
+victory over the dreaded troops of the government among the Indian bands
+of the Saskatchewan, a number of whom immediately went on the war-path.
+Fort Carleton had to be given up by the mounted police, who retired to
+Prince Albert, the key of the district. The town of Battleford was
+besieged by the Indians, but they were successfully kept in check for
+weeks until the place was relieved. Fort Pitt was evacuated by Inspector
+Dickens, a son of the great novelist, who succeeded in taking his little
+force of police into Battleford. Two French missionaries and several
+white men were ruthlessly murdered at Frog Lake by a band of Crees, and
+two women were dragged from the bodies of their husbands and carried
+away to the camp of Big Bear. Happily for them some tender-hearted
+half-breeds purchased them from the Indians and kept them in safety
+until they were released at the close of the disturbances.
+
+The heart of Canada was now deeply stirred and responded with great
+heartiness to the call of the government for troops to restore order to
+the distracted settlements. The minister of militia, Mr. Adolphe
+Caron--afterwards knighted for his services on this trying
+occasion--showed great energy in the management of his department.
+Between four and five thousand men were soon on the march for the
+territories under Major-General Middleton, the English officer then in
+command of the Canadian militia. Happily for the rapid transport of the
+troops the Canadian Pacific Railway was so far advanced that, with the
+exception of 72 miles, it afforded a continuous line of communication
+from Montreal to Qu'Appelle. The railway formed the base from which
+three military expeditions could be despatched to the most important
+points of the Saskatchewan country--one direct to Batoche, a second to
+Battleford, and a third for a flank movement to Fort Edmonton, where a
+descent could be made down the North Saskatchewan for the purpose of
+recapturing Fort Pitt and attacking the rebellious Indians under Big
+Bear. On the 24th of April General Middleton fought his first engagement
+with the half-breeds, who were skilfully concealed in rifle pits in the
+vicinity of Fish Creek, a small erratic tributary of the South
+Saskatchewan. Dumont for the moment succeeded in checking the advance of
+the Canadian forces, who fought with much bravery but were placed at a
+great disadvantage on account of Middleton not having taken sufficient
+precautions against a foe thoroughly acquainted with the country and
+cunningly hidden. The Canadian troops were soon able to continue their
+forward movement and won a decisive victory at Batoche, in which
+Colonels Williams, Straubenzie, and Grasett notably distinguished
+themselves. Riel was soon afterwards captured on the prairie, but Dumont
+succeeded in crossing the frontier of the United States. While Middleton
+was on his way to Batoche, Lieutenant-Colonel Otter of Toronto, an able
+soldier who was, fifteen years later, detached for active service in
+South Africa, was on the march for the relief of Battleford, and had on
+the first of May an encounter with a large band of Indians under
+Poundmaker on the banks of Cut Knife Creek, a small tributary of the
+Battle River. Though Otter did not win a victory, he showed Poundmaker
+the serious nature of the contest in which he was engaged against the
+Canadian government, and soon afterwards, when the Cree chief heard of
+the defeat of the half-breeds at Batoche, he surrendered
+unconditionally. Another expedition under the command of
+Lieutenant-Colonel Strange also relieved Fort Pitt; and Big Bear was
+forced to fly into the swampy fastnesses of the prairie wilderness, but
+was eventually captured near Fort Carleton by a force of Mounted Police.
+
+This second rebellion of the half-breeds lasted about three months, and
+cost the country upwards of five million dollars. Including the persons
+murdered at Frog Lake, the loyal population of Canada lost thirty-six
+valuable lives, among whom was Lieutenant-Colonel Williams, a gallant
+officer, and a member of the house of commons, who succumbed to a
+serious illness brought on by his exposure on the prairie. The
+casualties among the half-breeds were at least as large, if not greater.
+Five Indian chiefs suffered the extreme penalty of the law, while
+Poundmaker, Big Bear, and a number of others were imprisoned in the
+territories for life or for a term of years, according to the gravity of
+their complicity in the rebellion. Any hopes that Riel might have placed
+in the active sympathy of the French Canadian people of Quebec were soon
+dispelled. He was tried at Regina in July and sentenced to death,
+although the able counsel allotted to him by the government exhausted
+every available argument in his defence, even to the extent of setting
+up a plea of insanity, which the prisoner himself deeply resented. The
+most strenuous efforts were made by the French Canadians to force the
+government to reprieve him, but Sir John Macdonald was satisfied that
+the loyal sentiment of the great majority of the people of Canada
+demanded imperatively that the law should be vindicated. The French
+Canadian representatives in the cabinet, Langevin, Chapleau, and Caron,
+resisted courageously the storm of obloquy which their determination to
+support the prime minister raised against them; and Riel was duly
+executed on the 16th November. For some time after his death attempts
+were made to keep up the excitement which had so long existed in the
+province of Quebec on the question. The Dominion government was
+certainly weakened for a time in Quebec by its action in this matter,
+while Mr. Honore Mercier skilfully used the Riel agitation to obtain
+control of the provincial government at the general election of 1886,
+but only to fall five years later, under circumstances which must always
+throw a shadow over the fame of a brilliant, but unsafe, political
+leader (see p. 247). The attempt to make political capital out of the
+matter in the Dominion parliament had no other result than to weaken the
+influence in Ontario of Mr. Edward Blake, the leader of the opposition
+since the resignation of Mr. Mackenzie in 1880. He was left without the
+support of the majority of the Liberal representatives of the province
+in the house of commons when he condemned the execution of Riel,
+principally on the ground that he was insane--a conclusion not at all
+justified by the report of the medical experts who had been chosen by
+the government to examine the condemned man previous to the execution.
+The energy with which this rebellion was repressed showed both the
+half-breeds and the Indians of the west the power of the Ottawa
+government. From that day to this order has prevailed in the western
+country, and grievances have been redressed as far as possible. The
+readiness with which the militia force of Canada rallied to the support
+of the government was conclusive evidence of the deep national sentiment
+that existed throughout the Dominion. In Ottawa, Port Hope, and Toronto
+monuments have been raised in memory of the brave men who gave up their
+lives for the Dominion, but probably the most touching memorial of this
+unfortunate episode in Canadian history is the rude cairn of stone which
+still stands among the wild flowers of the prairie in memory of the
+gallant fellows who were mown down by the unerring rifle shots of the
+half-breeds hidden in the ravines of Fish Creek.
+
+In 1885 parliament passed a general franchise law for the Dominion in
+place of the system--which had prevailed since 1867--of taking the
+electoral lists of the several provinces as the lists for elections to
+the house of commons. The opposition contested this measure with great
+persistency, but Sir John Macdonald pressed it to a successful
+conclusion, mainly on the ground that it was necessary in a country like
+Canada, composed of such diverse elements, to have for the Dominion
+uniformity of suffrage, based on a small property qualification, instead
+of having diverse systems of franchise--in some provinces, universal
+franchise, to which he and other Conservatives generally were strongly
+opposed.
+
+Between 1880 and 1894 Canada was called upon to mourn the loss of a
+number of her ablest and brightest statesmen--one of them the most
+notable in her political history. It was on a lovely May day of 1880
+that the eminent journalist and politician, George Brown, died from the
+effects of a bullet wound which he received at the hand of one Bennett,
+a printer, who had been discharged by the _Globe_ for drunkenness and
+incapacity. The Conservative party in 1888 suffered a great loss by the
+sudden decease of Mr. Thomas White, minister of the interior in the
+Macdonald ministry, who had been for the greater part of his life a
+prominent journalist, and had succeeded in winning a conspicuous and
+useful position in public affairs as a writer, speaker, and
+administrator. Three years later, the Dominion was startled by the sad
+announcement, on the 6th June, 1891, that the voice of the great prime
+minister, Sir John Macdonald, who had so long controlled the affairs of
+Canada, would never more be heard in that federal parliament of which he
+had been one of the fathers. All classes of Canadians vied with one
+another in paying a tribute of affection and respect to one who had been
+in every sense a true Canadian. Men forgot for the moment his mistakes
+and weaknesses, the mistakes of the politician and the weaknesses of
+humanity, "only to remember"--to quote the eloquent tribute paid to him
+by Mr. Laurier, then leader of the opposition--"that his actions always
+displayed great originality of view, unbounded fertility of resources, a
+high level of intellectual conception, and above all, a far-reaching
+vision beyond the event of the day, and still higher, permeating the
+whole, a broad patriotism, a devotion to Canada's welfare, Canada's
+advancement, and Canada's glory." His obsequies were the most stately
+and solemn that were ever witnessed in the Dominion; his bust was
+subsequently unveiled in the crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral by the Earl
+of Rosebery, when prime minister of England; noble monuments were raised
+to his memory in the cities of Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal;
+and the Queen addressed a letter full of gracious sympathy to his widow
+and conferred on her the dignity of a peeress of the United Kingdom
+under the title of Baroness of Earnscliffe, as a mark of her Majesty's
+gratitude "for the devoted and faithful services which he rendered for
+so many years to his sovereign and his Dominion."
+
+Mr. Alexander Mackenzie, stonemason, journalist, and prime minister,
+died in April, 1892, a victim to the paralysis which had been steadily
+creeping for years over his enfeebled frame, and made him a pitiable
+spectacle as he sat like a Stoic in the front seats of the opposition,
+unable to speak or even to rise without the helping arm of some
+attentive friend. On the 30th October, 1893, Sir John Abbott, probably
+the ablest commercial lawyer in Canada, who had been premier of Canada
+since the death of Sir John Macdonald, followed his eminent predecessors
+to the grave, and was succeeded by Sir John Thompson, minister of
+justice in the Conservative government since September, 1885. A great
+misfortune again overtook the Conservative party on the 12th December,
+1894, when Sir John Thompson died in Windsor Castle, whither he had gone
+at her Majesty's request to take the oath of a privy councillor of
+England--high distinction conferred upon him in recognition of his
+services on the Bering Sea arbitration. Sir John Thompson was gifted
+with a rare judicial mind, and a remarkable capacity for the lucid
+expression of his thoughts, which captivated his hearers even when they
+were not convinced by arguments clothed in the choicest diction. His
+remains were brought across the Atlantic by a British frigate, and
+interred in his native city of Halifax with all the stately ceremony of
+a national funeral. The governor-general, Lord Stanley of Preston, now
+the Earl of Derby, called upon the senior privy councillor in the
+cabinet, Sir Mackenzie Bowell, to form a new ministry. He continued in
+office until April, 1896, when he retired in favour of Sir Charles
+Tupper, who resigned the position of high commissioner for Canada in
+England to enter public life as the recognised leader of the
+Liberal-Conservative party. This eminent Canadian had already reached
+the middle of the eighth decade of his life, but age had in no sense
+impaired the vigour or astuteness of his mental powers. He has continued
+ever since, as leader of the Liberal-Conservative party, to display
+remarkable activity in the discussion of political questions, not only
+as a leader of parliament, but on the public platform in every province
+of the Dominion.
+
+During the session of 1891 the political career of Sir Hector Langevin,
+the leader of the Liberal-Conservative party in French Canada, was
+seriously affected by certain facts disclosed before the committee of
+privileges and elections. This committee had been ordered by the house
+of commons to inquire into charges made by Mr. Israel Tarte against
+another member of the house, Mr. Thomas McGreevy, who was accused of
+having used his influence as a commissioner of the Quebec harbour, a
+government appointment, to obtain fraudulently from the department of
+public works, presided over by Sir Hector for many years, large
+government contracts in connection with the Quebec harbour and other
+works. The report of the majority of the committee found Mr. McGreevy
+guilty of fraudulent acts, and he was not only expelled from the house
+but was subsequently imprisoned in the Ottawa common gaol after his
+conviction on an indictment laid against him in the criminal court of
+Ontario. With respect to the complicity of the minister of public works
+in these frauds the committee reported that it was clear that, while the
+conspiracy had been rendered effective by reason of the confidence which
+Sir Hector Langevin placed in Mr. McGreevy and in the officers of the
+department, yet the evidence did not justify them in concluding that Sir
+Hector knew of the conspiracy or willingly lent himself to its objects.
+A minority of the committee, on the other hand, took the opposite view
+of the transactions, and claimed that the evidence showed the minister
+to be cognisant of the facts of the letting of the contracts, and that
+in certain specified cases he had been guilty of the violation of a
+public trust by allowing frauds to be perpetrated. The report of the
+majority was carried by a party vote, with the exception of two
+Conservative members who voted with the minority. Sir Hector Langevin
+had resigned his office in the government previous to the inquiry, and
+though he continued in the house for the remainder of its constitutional
+existence, he did not present himself for re-election in 1896 when
+parliament was dissolved.
+
+Unhappily it was not only in the department of public works that
+irregularities were discovered. A number of officials in several
+departments were proved before the committee of public accounts to have
+been guilty of carelessness or positive misconduct in the discharge of
+their duties, and the government was obliged, in the face of such
+disclosures, to dismiss or otherwise punish several persons in whom they
+had for years reposed too much confidence.
+
+On the 20th and 21st of June, 1893, a convention of the most prominent
+representative Liberals of the Dominion was held in the city of Ottawa;
+and Sir Oliver Mowat, the veteran premier of Ontario, was unanimously
+called upon to preside over this important assemblage. Resolutions were
+passed with great enthusiasm in support of tariff reform, a fair measure
+of reciprocal trade with the United States, a sale of public lands only
+to actual settlers upon reasonable terms of settlement, an honest and
+economical administration of government, the right of the house of
+commons to inquire into all matters of public expenditure and charges of
+misconduct against ministers, the reform of the senate, the submission
+of the question of prohibition to a vote of the people, and the repeal
+of the Dominion franchise act passed in 1885, as well as of the measure
+of 1892, altering the boundaries of the electoral districts and
+readjusting the representation in the house of commons. This convention
+may be considered the commencement of that vigorous political campaign,
+which ended so successfully for the Liberal party in the general
+election of 1896.
+
+In the summer of 1894 there was held in the city of Ottawa a conference
+of delegates from eight self-governing colonies in Australasia, South
+Africa, and America, who assembled for the express purpose of discussing
+questions which affected not merely their own peculiar interests, but
+touched most nearly the unity and development of the empire at large The
+imperial government was represented by the Earl of Jersey, who had been
+a governor of one of the Australian colonies. After very full discussion
+the conference passed resolutions in favour of the following measures:
+
+(1) Imperial legislation enabling the dependencies of the empire to
+enter into agreements of commercial reciprocity, including the power to
+make differential tariffs with Great Britain or with one another. (2)
+The removal of any restrictions in existing treaties between Great
+Britain and any foreign power, which prevent such agreements of
+commercial reciprocity. (3) A customs arrangement between Great Britain
+and her colonies by which trade within the empire might be placed on a
+more favourable footing than that which is carried on with foreign
+countries. (4) Improved steamship communication between Canada,
+Australasia, and Great Britain. (5) Telegraph communication by cable,
+free from foreign control, between Canada and Australia. These various
+resolutions were brought formally by the Earl of Jersey to the notice
+of the imperial government, which expressed the opinion, through the
+Marquess of Ripon, then secretary of state for the colonies, that the
+"general economic results" of the preferential trade recommended by the
+conference "would not be beneficial to the empire." Lord Ripon even
+questioned the desirability of denouncing at that time the treaties with
+Belgium and Germany--a subject which had engaged the attention of the
+Canadian parliament in 1892, when the government, of which Sir John
+Abbott was premier, passed an address to the Queen, requesting that
+immediate steps be taken to free Canada from treaty restrictions
+"incompatible with the rights and powers conferred by the British North
+America act of 1867 for the regulation of the trade and commerce of the
+Dominion." Any advantages which might be granted by Great Britain to
+either Belgium or the German Zollverein under these particular treaties,
+would also have to be extended to a number of other countries which had
+what is called the "favoured nations clause" in treaties with England.
+While these treaty stipulations with regard to import duties did not
+prevent differential treatment by the United Kingdom in favour of
+British colonies, or differential treatment by British colonies in
+favour of each other, they did prevent differential treatment by British
+colonies in favour of the United Kingdom. As we shall presently see,
+when I come to review the commercial policy of the new Dominion
+government three years later, the practical consequence of these
+treaties was actually to force Canada to give for some months not only
+to Germany and Belgium, but to a number of other countries, the same
+commercial privileges which they extended in 1897 to the parent state.
+
+Among the difficult questions, which have agitated the Dominion from
+time to time and perplexed both Conservative and Liberal politicians,
+are controversies connected with education. By the British North America
+act of 1867 the legislature of each province may exclusively make laws
+in relation to education, but at the same time protection is afforded
+to denominational or dissentient schools by giving authority to the
+Dominion government to disallow an act clearly infringing the rights or
+privileges of a religious minority, or to obtain remedial legislation
+from parliament itself according to the circumstances of the case. From
+1871 until 1875 the government of the Dominion was pressed by petitions
+from the Roman Catholic inhabitants of New Brunswick to disallow an act
+passed by the provincial legislature in relation to common schools on
+the ground that it was an infringement of certain rights which they
+enjoyed as a religious body at the time of confederation. The question
+not only came before the courts of New Brunswick and the Canadian house
+of commons, but was also submitted to the judicial committee of the
+imperial privy council; but only with the result of showing beyond
+question that the objectionable legislation was clearly within the
+jurisdiction of the legislature of New Brunswick, and could not be
+constitutionally disallowed by the Dominion government on the ground
+that it violated any right or privilege enjoyed by the Roman Catholics
+at the time of union. A solution of the question was, however,
+subsequently reached by an amicable arrangement between the Roman
+Catholics and Protestants, which has ever since worked most
+satisfactorily in that province.
+
+The Manitoba school question, which agitated the country from 1890 until
+1896, was one of great gravity on account of the issues involved. The
+history of the case shows that, prior to the formation of Manitoba in
+1870, there was not in the province any public system of education, but
+the several religious denominations had established such schools as they
+thought fit to maintain by means of funds voluntarily contributed by
+members of their own communion. In 1871 the legislature of Manitoba
+established an educational system distinctly denominational. In 1890
+this law was repealed, and the legislature established a system of
+strictly non-sectarian schools. The Roman Catholic minority of the
+province was deeply aggrieved at what they considered a violation of the
+rights and privileges which they enjoyed under the terms of union
+adopted in 1870. The first subsection of the twenty-second section of
+the act of 1870 set forth that the legislature of the province could not
+pass any law with regard to schools which might "prejudicially affect
+any right or privilege with respect to denominational schools which any
+class of persons have, by law or practice, in the province at the time
+of union." The dispute was brought before the courts of Canada, and
+finally before the judicial committee of the privy council, which
+decided that the legislation of 1890 was constitutional inasmuch as the
+only right or privilege which the Roman Catholics then possessed "by law
+or practice" was the right or privilege of establishing and maintaining
+for the use of members of their own church such schools as they pleased.
+The Roman Catholic minority then availed themselves of another provision
+of the twenty-second section of the Manitoba act, which allows an appeal
+to the governor-in-council "from any act or decision of the legislature
+of the province or of any provincial authority, affecting any right or
+privilege of the Protestant or Roman Catholic minority of the Queen's
+subjects in relation to education."
+
+The ultimate result of this reference was a judgment of the judicial
+committee to the effect that the appeal was well founded and that the
+governor-in-council had jurisdiction in the premises, but the committee
+added that "the particular course to be pursued must be determined by
+the authorities to whom it has been committed by the statute." The third
+subsection of the twenty-second section of the Manitoba act--a
+repetition of the provision of the British North America act with
+respect to denominational schools in the old provinces--provides not
+only for the action of the governor-in-council in case a remedy is not
+supplied by the proper provincial authority for the removal of a
+grievance on the part of a religious minority, but also for the making
+of "remedial laws" by the parliament of Canada for the "due execution"
+of the provision protecting denominational schools. In accordance with
+this provision Sir Mackenzie Bowell's government passed an
+order-in-council on the 21st March, 1895, calling upon the government of
+Manitoba to take the necessary measures to restore to the Roman Catholic
+minority such rights and privileges as were declared by the highest
+court of the empire to have been taken away from them. The Manitoba
+government not only refused to move in the matter but expressed its
+determination "to resist unitedly by every constitutional means any such
+attempt to interfere with their provincial autonomy." The result was the
+introduction of a remedial bill by Mr. Dickey, minister of justice, in
+the house of commons during the session of 1896; but it met from the
+outset very determined opposition during the most protracted
+sittings--one of them lasting continuously for a week--ever known in the
+history of the Canadian or any other legislature of the empire. On
+several divisions the bill was supported by majorities ranging from 24
+to 18--several French members of the opposition having voted for it and
+several Conservative Protestant members against its passage. The bill
+was introduced on the 11th February, and the motion for its second
+reading was made on the 3rd March, from which date it was debated
+continuously until progress was reported from a committee of the whole
+house on the 16th April, after the house had sat steadily from Monday
+afternoon at 3 o'clock until 2 o'clock on the following Thursday
+morning. It was then that Sir Charles Tupper, leader of the government
+in the house, announced that no further attempt would be made to press
+the bill that session. He stated that it was absolutely necessary to
+vote money for the urgent requirements of the public service and pass
+other important legislation during the single week that was left before
+parliament would be dissolved by the efflux of time under the
+constitutional law, which fixes the duration of the house of commons
+"for five years from the day of the return of the writs for choosing the
+house and no longer."
+
+In the general election of 1896 the Manitoba school question was an
+issue of great importance. From the commencement to the close of the
+controversy the opponents of denominational schools combined with the
+supporters of provincial rights to defeat the government which had so
+determinedly fought for what it considered to be the legal rights of the
+Roman Catholic minority of Manitoba. It had looked confidently to the
+support of the great majority of the French Canadians, but the result of
+the elections was most disappointing to the Conservative party. Whilst
+in the provinces, where the Protestants predominated, the Conservatives
+held their own to a larger extent than had been expected even by their
+sanguine friends, the French province gave a great majority to Mr.
+Launer, whose popularity among his countrymen triumphed over all
+influences, ecclesiastical and secular, that could be used in favour of
+denominational schools in Manitoba.
+
+The majority against Sir Charles Tupper was conclusive, and he did not
+attempt to meet parliament as the head of a government. Before his
+retirement from office, immediately after his defeat at the elections,
+he had some difference of opinion with the governor-general, the Earl of
+Aberdeen, who refused, in the exercise of his discretionary power, to
+sanction certain appointments to the senate and the judicial bench,
+which the prime minister justified by reference to English and Canadian
+precedents under similar conditions--notably of 1878 when Mr. Mackenzie
+resigned. Soon after the general election, and Lord Dufferin was
+governor-general, Sir Charles Tupper considered the subject of
+sufficient constitutional importance to bring it before the house of
+commons, where Sir Wilfrid Laurier, then premier, defended the course of
+the governor-general. The secretary of state for the colonies also
+approved in general terms of the principles which, as the
+governor-general explained in his despatches, had governed his action in
+this delicate matter.
+
+On Sir Charles Tapper's defeat at the elections, Mr. Laurier became
+first minister of a Liberal administration, in which positions were
+given to Sir Oliver Mowat, so long premier of Ontario, to Mr. Blair,
+premier of New Brunswick, to Mr. Fielding, premier of Nova Scotia, and
+eventually to Mr. Sifton, the astute attorney-general of Manitoba. Sir
+Richard Cartwright and Sir Louis Davies--to give the latter the title
+conferred on him in the Diamond Jubilee year--both of whom had been in
+the foremost rank of the Liberal party for many years, also took office
+in the new administration; but Mr. Mills, versed above most Canadian
+public men in political and constitutional knowledge, was not brought in
+until some time later, when Sir Oliver Mowat, the veteran minister of
+justice, was appointed to the lieutenant-governorship of Ontario. A
+notable acquisition was Mr. Tarte, who had acquired much influence in
+French Canada by his irrepressible energy, and who was placed over the
+department of public works.
+
+When the school question came to be discussed in 1897, during the first
+session of the new parliament, the premier explained to the house that,
+whilst he had always maintained "that the constitution of this country
+gave to this parliament and government the right and power to interfere
+with the school legislation of Manitoba, it was an extreme right and
+reserved power to be exercised only when other means had been
+exhausted." Believing then that "it was far better to obtain concessions
+by negotiation than by coercion," he had, as soon as he came into
+office, communicated with the Manitoba government on the subject, and
+had "as a result succeeded in making arrangements which gave the French
+Catholics of the province religious teaching in their schools and the
+protection of their language," under the conditions set forth in a
+statute expressly passed for the purpose by the legislature of
+Manitoba[7]. The premier at the same time admitted that "the settlement
+was not acceptable to certain dignitaries of the church to which he
+belonged"; but subsequently the Pope published an encyclical advising
+acceptance of the concessions made to the Manitoba Catholics, while
+claiming at the same time that these concessions were inadequate, and
+expressing the hope that full satisfaction would be obtained ere long
+from the Manitoba government. Since the arrangement of this compromise,
+no strenuous or effective effort has been made to revive the question as
+an element of political significance in party contests. Even in Manitoba
+itself, despite the defeat of the Greenway government, which was
+responsible for the Manitoba school act of 1890, and the coming into
+office of Mr. Hugh John Macdonald, the son of the great Conservative
+leader, there has been no sign of the least intention to depart from the
+legislation arranged by Sir Wilfrid Laurier in 1897 as, in his opinion,
+the best possible compromise under the difficult conditions surrounding
+a most embarrassing question.
+
+[7: This statute provides that religious teaching by a Roman Catholic
+priest, or other person duly authorised by him, shall take place at the
+close of the hours devoted to secular instruction; that a Roman Catholic
+teacher may be employed in every school in towns and cities where the
+average attendance of Roman Catholic children is forty or upwards, and
+in villages and rural districts where the attendance is twenty-five or
+upwards; and that French as well as English shall be taught in any
+school where ten pupils speak the French language.]
+
+In the autumn of 1898 Canada bade farewell with many expressions of
+regret to Lord and Lady Aberdeen, both of whom had won the affection and
+respect of the Canadian people by their earnest efforts to support every
+movement that might promote the social, intellectual and moral welfare
+of the people. Lord Aberdeen was the seventh governor-general appointed
+by the crown to administer public affairs since the union of the
+provinces in 1867. Lord Monck, who had the honour of initiating
+confederation, was succeeded by Sir John Young, who was afterwards
+raised to the peerage as Baron Lisgar--a just recognition of the
+admirable discretion and dignity with which he discharged the duties of
+his high position. His successor, the Earl of Dufferin, won the
+affection of the Canadian people by his grace of demeanour, and his
+Irish gift of eloquence, which he used in the spirit of the clever
+diplomatist to flatter the people of the country to their heart's
+content. The appointment of the Marquess of Lorne, now the Duke of
+Argyll, gave to Canada the honour of the presence of a Princess of the
+reigning family. He showed tact and discretion in some difficult
+political situations that arose during his administration, and succeeded
+above all his predecessors in stimulating the study of art, science and
+literature within the Dominion. The Marquess of Lansdowne and Lord
+Stanley of Preston--both inheritors of historic names, trained in the
+great school of English administration--also acquired the confidence and
+respect of the Canadian people. On the conclusion of Lord Aberdeen's
+term of office in 1898, he was succeeded by the Earl of Minto, who had
+been military secretary to the Marquess of Lansdowne, when
+governor-general, from the autumn of 1883 until the end of May, 1888,
+and had also acted as chief of staff to General Middleton during the
+North-west disturbances of 1885.
+
+Since its coming into office, the Laurier administration has been called
+upon to deal with many questions of Canadian as well as imperial
+concern. One of its first measures--to refer first to those of Canadian
+importance--was the repeal of the franchise act of 1885, which had been
+found so expensive in its operation that the Conservative government had
+for years taken no steps to prepare new electoral lists for the Dominion
+under its own law, but had allowed elections to be held on old lists
+which necessarily left out large numbers of persons entitled to vote. In
+accordance with the policy to which they had always pledged themselves
+as a party, the Liberal majority in parliament passed an act which
+returned to the electoral lists of the provinces. An attempt was also
+made in 1899 and 1900 to amend the redistribution acts of 1882 and 1892,
+and to restore so far as practicable the old county lines which had been
+deranged by those measures. The bill was noteworthy for the feature,
+novel in Canada, of leaving to the determination of a judicial
+commission the rearrangement of electoral divisions, but it was rejected
+in the senate on the ground that the British North America act provides
+only for the readjustment of the representation after the taking of each
+Decennial census, and that it is "a violation of the spirit of the act"
+to deal with the question until 1901, when the official figures of the
+whole population will be before parliament. The government was also
+called upon to arrange the details of a provisional government for the
+great arctic region of the Yukon, where remarkable gold discoveries were
+attracting a considerable population from all parts of the world. An
+attempt to build a short railway to facilitate communication with that
+wild and distant country was defeated in the senate by a large majority.
+The department of the interior has had necessarily to encounter many
+difficulties in the administration of the affairs of a country so many
+thousand miles distant. These difficulties have formed the subject of
+protracted debates in the house of commons and have led to involved
+political controversies which it would not be possible to explain
+satisfactorily within the limits of this chapter.
+
+In accordance with the policy laid down in 1897 by Mr. Fielding, the
+finance minister, when presenting the budget, the Laurier government has
+not deemed it prudent to make such radical changes in the protective or
+"National Policy" of the previous administration as might derange the
+business conditions of the Dominion, which had come to depend so
+intimately upon it in the course of seventeen years, but simply to amend
+and simplify it in certain particulars which would remove causes of
+friction between the importers and the customs authorities, and at the
+same time make it, as they stated, less burdensome in its operation. The
+question of reciprocal trade between Canada and the United States had
+for some time been disappearing in the background and was no longer a
+dominant feature of the commercial policy of the Liberal party as it had
+been until 1891, when its leaders were prepared under existing
+conditions to enter into the fullest trade arrangements possible with
+the country to the south. The illiberality of the tariff of the United
+States with respect to Canadian products had led the Canadian people to
+look to new markets, and especially to those of Great Britain, with whom
+they were desirous, under the influence of a steadily growing imperial
+spirit, to have the closest commercial relations practicable.
+Consequently the most important feature of the Laurier government's
+policy, since 1897, has been the preference given to British products in
+Canada--a preference which now allows a reduction in the tariff of
+33-1/3 per cent. on British imports compared with foreign goods. In
+their endeavour, however, to give a preference to British imports, the
+government was met at the outset by difficulties arising from the
+operation of the Belgian and German treaties; and after very full
+consultation with the imperial government, and a reference of the legal
+points involved to the imperial law officers of the crown, Canada was
+obliged to admit Belgian and German goods on the same terms as the
+imports of Great Britain, and also to concede similar advantages to
+twenty-two foreign countries which were by treaty entitled to any
+commercial privileges that Great Britain or her colonies might grant to
+a third power. Happily for Canada at this juncture the colonial
+secretary of state was Mr. Chamberlain, who was animated by aspirations
+for the strengthening of the relations between the parent state and her
+dependencies, and who immediately recognised the imperial significance
+of the voluntary action of the Canadian government. The result was the
+"denunciation" by the imperial authorities of the Belgian and German
+treaties, which consequently came to an end on the 31st July, 1898.
+Down to that date Canada was obliged to give to the other countries
+mentioned the preference which she had intentionally given to Great
+Britain alone, and at the same time to refund to importers the duties
+which had been collected in the interval from the countries in question.
+With the fall, however, of the Belgian and German treaties Canada was at
+last free to model her tariff with regard to imperial as well as
+Canadian interests. It was a fortunate coincidence that the government
+should have adopted this policy at a time when the whole British empire
+was celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of the accession of her Majesty
+Queen Victoria to the throne. In the magnificent demonstration of the
+unity and development of the empire that took place in London in June,
+1897, Canada was represented by her brilliant prime minister, who then
+became the Right Honourable Sir W. Laurier, G.C.M.G., and took a
+conspicuous place in the ceremonies that distinguished this memorable
+episode in British and colonial history.
+
+A few months later the relations between Canada and Great Britain were
+further strengthened by the reduction of letter postage throughout the
+empire--Australia excepted--largely through the instrumentality of Mr.
+Mulock, Canadian postmaster-general. The Canadian government and
+parliament also made urgent representations to the imperial authorities
+in favour of the immediate construction of a Pacific cable; and it may
+now be hoped that the pecuniary aid offered to this imperial enterprise
+by the British, Australasian and Canadian governments will secure its
+speedy accomplishment. I may add here that debates have taken place in
+the Canadian house of commons for several sessions on the desirability
+of obtaining preferential treatment in the British market for Canadian
+products The Conservative party, led by Sir Charles Tupper, have
+formulated their opinions in parliament by an emphatic declaration that
+"no measure of preference, which falls short of the complete realisation
+of such a policy, should be considered final or satisfactory." The
+Laurier government admits the desirability of such mutual trade
+preference, but at the same time it recognises the formidable
+difficulties that lie in the way of its realisation so long as Great
+Britain continues bound to free trade, and under these circumstances
+declares it the more politic and generous course to continue giving a
+special preference to British products with the hope that it may
+eventually bring about a change in public opinion in the parent state
+which will operate to the decided commercial or other advantage of the
+dependency.
+
+This chapter may appropriately close with a reference to the remarkable
+evidences of attachment to the empire that have been given by the
+Canadian people at the close of the nineteenth century. From the
+mountains of the rich province washed by the Pacific Sea, from the
+wheat-fields and ranches of the western prairies, from the valley of the
+great lakes and the St. Lawrence where French and English Canadians
+alike enjoy the blessings of British rule, from the banks of the St John
+where the United Empire Loyalists first made their homes, from the
+rugged coasts of Acadia and Cape Breton, from every part of the wide
+Dominion men volunteered with joyous alacrity to fight in South Africa
+in support of the unity of the empire. As I close these pages Canadians
+are fighting side by side with men from the parent Isles, from
+Australasia and from South Africa, and have shown that they are worthy
+descendants of the men who performed such gallant deeds on the ever
+memorable battlefields of Chateauguay, Chrystler's Farm, and Lundy's
+Lane. Not the least noteworthy feature of this significant event in the
+annals of Canada and the empire is the fact that a French Canadian
+premier has had the good fortune to give full expression to the dominant
+imperial sentiment of the people, and consequently to offer an
+additional guarantee for the union of the two races and the security of
+British interests on the continent of America.
+
+
+SECTION 4.--Political and social conditions of Canada under
+confederation.
+
+At the present time, a population of probably five million four hundred
+thousand souls inhabit a Dominion of seven regularly organised
+provinces, and of an immense fertile territory stretching from Manitoba
+to British Columbia. This Dominion embraces an area of 3,519,000 square
+miles, including its water surface, or very little less than the area of
+the United States with Alaska, and measures 3500 miles from east to
+west; and 1400 miles from north to south.
+
+No country in the world gives more conclusive evidences of substantial
+development and prosperity than the Dominion under the beneficial
+influences of federal union and the progressive measures of governments
+for many years. The total trade of the country has grown from over
+$131,000,000 in the first year of confederation to over $321,000,000 in
+1899, while the national revenue has risen during the same period from
+$14,000,000 to $47,000,000, and will probably be $50,000,000 in 1900.
+The railways, whose expansion so closely depends on the material
+conditions of the whole country, stretch for 17,250 miles compared with
+2278 miles in 1868; while the remarkable system of canals, which extend
+from the great lakes to Montreal, has been enlarged so as to give
+admirable facilities for the growing trade of the west. The natural
+resources of the country are inexhaustible, from the fisheries of Nova
+Scotia to the wheat-fields of the north-west, from the coal-mines of
+Cape Breton to the gold deposits of the dreary country through which the
+Yukon and its tributaries flow.
+
+No dangerous questions like slavery, or the expansion of the African
+race in the southern states, exist to complicate the political and
+social conditions of the confederation, and, although there is a large
+and increasing French Canadian element in the Dominion, its history so
+far need not create fear as to the future, except perhaps in the minds
+of gloomy pessimists. While this element naturally clings to its
+national language and institutions, yet, under the influence of a
+complete system of local self-government, it has always taken as active
+and earnest a part as the English element in establishing and
+strengthening the confederation. It has steadily grown in strength and
+prosperity under the generous and inspiring influence of British
+institutions, which have given full scope to the best attributes of a
+nationality crushed by the depressing conditions of French rule for a
+century and a half.
+
+The federal union gives expansion to the national energies of the whole
+Dominion, and at the same time affords every security to the local
+interests of each member of the federal compact. In all matters of
+Dominion concern, Canada is a free agent. While the Queen is still head
+of the executive authority, and can alone initiate treaties with foreign
+nations (that being an act of complete sovereignty), and while appeals
+are still open to the privy council of England from Canadian courts
+within certain limitations, it is an admitted principle that the
+Dominion is practically supreme in the exercise of all legislative
+rights and privileges granted by the imperial parliament,--rights and
+privileges set forth explicitly in the British North America act of
+1867,--so long as her legislative action does not conflict with the
+treaty obligations of the parent state, or with imperial legislation
+directly applicable to Canada with her own consent.
+
+The crown exercises a certain supervision over the affairs of the
+Dominion through a governor-general, who communicates directly with an
+imperial secretary of state; but in every matter directly affecting
+Canada--as for instance, in negotiations respecting the fisheries, the
+Bering Sea, and other matters considered by several conferences at
+Washington--the Canadian government is consulted and its statements are
+carefully considered, since they represent the sentiments and interests
+of the Canadian people, who, as citizens of the empire, are entitled to
+as much weight as if they lived in the British Isles.
+
+In the administration of Canadian affairs the governor-general is
+advised by a responsible council representing the majority of the house
+of commons. As in England, the Canadian cabinet, or ministry, is
+practically a committee of the dominant party in parliament and is
+governed by the rules, conventions and usages of parliamentary
+government which have grown up gradually in the parent state. Whenever
+it is necessary to form a ministry in Canada, its members are summoned
+by the governor-general to the privy council of Canada; another
+illustration of the desire of the Canadians to imitate the old
+institutions of England and copy her time-honoured procedure.
+
+The parliament of Canada consists of the Queen, the senate, and the
+house of commons. In the formation of the upper house, three
+geographical groups were arranged in the first instance, Ontario,
+Quebec, and the maritime provinces, and each group received a
+representation of twenty-four members. More recently other provinces
+have been admitted into the Dominion without reference to this
+arrangement, and now seventy-eight senators altogether may sit in
+parliament. The remarkably long tenure of power enjoyed by the
+Conservative party--twenty-five years from 1867--enabled it in the
+course of time to fill the upper house with a very large numerical
+majority of its own friends, and this fact, taken in connection with
+certain elements of weakness inherent in a chamber which is not elected
+by the people and has none of the ancient privileges or prestige of a
+house of lords, long associated with the names of great statesmen and
+the memorable events of English history, has created an agitation among
+the Liberal party for radical changes in its constitution which would
+bring it, in their opinion, more in harmony with the people's
+representatives in the popular branch of the general legislature. While
+some extremists would abolish the chamber, Sir Wilfrid Launer and other
+prominent Liberals recognise its necessity in our parliamentary system.
+In all probability death will ere long solve difficulties arising out
+of the political composition of the body, if the Liberal party remain in
+power.
+
+The house of commons, the great governing body of the Dominion, has been
+made, so far as circumstances will permit, a copy of the English house.
+Its members are not required to have a property qualification, and are
+elected by the votes of the electors of the several provinces where, in
+a majority of cases, universal suffrage, under limitations of
+citizenship and residence, prevails.
+
+In each province there is a lieutenant-governor, appointed by the
+Dominion government for five years, an executive council, and a
+legislature consisting of only one house, except in Nova Scotia and
+Quebec where a legislative council appointed by the crown still
+continues. The principles of responsible government exist in all the
+provinces, and practically in the North-west territory.
+
+In the enumeration of the legislative powers, respectively given to the
+Dominion and provincial legislatures, an effort was made to avoid the
+conflicts of jurisdiction that have so frequently arisen between the
+national and state governments of the United States. In the first place
+we have a recapitulation of those general or national powers that
+properly belong to the central authority, such as customs and excise
+duties, regulation of trade and commerce, militia and defence,
+post-office, banking and coinage, railways and public works "for the
+general advantage," navigation and shipping, naturalisation and aliens,
+fisheries, weights and measures, marriage and divorce, penitentiaries,
+criminal law, census and statistics. On the other hand, the provinces
+have retained control over municipal institutions, public lands, local
+works and undertakings, incorporation of companies with provincial
+objects, property and civil rights, administration of justice, and
+generally "all matters of a merely local and private nature in the
+province." The _residuary_ power rests with the general parliament of
+Canada.
+
+The parliament of Canada, in 1875, established a supreme court, or
+general court of appeal, for Canada, whose highest function is to decide
+questions as to the respective legislative powers of the Dominion and
+provincial parliaments, which are referred to it in due process of law
+by the subordinate courts of the provinces. The decisions of this court
+are already doing much to solve difficulties that impede the successful
+operation of the constitution. As a rule cases come before the supreme
+court on appeal from the lower courts, but the law regulating its powers
+provides that the governor in council may refer any matter to this court
+on which a question of constitutional jurisdiction has been raised. But
+the supreme court of Canada is not necessarily the court of last resort
+of Canada. The people have an inherent right as subjects of the Queen to
+appeal to the judicial committee of the privy council of the United
+Kingdom.
+
+But it is not only by means of the courts that a check is imposed upon
+hasty, or unconstitutional, legislation. The constitution provides that
+the governor-general may veto or reserve any bill passed by the two
+houses of parliament when it conflicts with imperial interests or
+imperial legislation. It is now understood that the reserve power of
+disallowance which her Majesty's government possesses under the law is
+sufficient to meet all possible cases. This sovereign power is never
+exercised except in the case of an act clearly in conflict with an
+imperial statute or in violation of a treaty affecting a foreign nation.
+The Dominion government also supervises all the provincial legislation
+and has in a few cases disallowed provincial acts. This power is
+exercised very carefully, and it is regarded with intense jealousy by
+the provincial governments, which have more than once attempted to set
+it at defiance. In practice it is found the wisest course to leave to
+the courts the decision in cases where doubts exist as to constitutional
+authority or jurisdiction.
+
+The organised districts of the North-west--Assiniboia, Alberta,
+Athabaska, and Saskatchewan--are governed by a lieutenant-governor
+appointed by the government of Canada and aided by a council chosen by
+himself from an assembly elected by the people under a very liberal
+franchise. These territories have also representatives in the two houses
+of the parliament of Canada. The Yukon territory in the far north-west,
+where rich discoveries of gold have attracted a large number of people
+within the past two years, is placed under a provisional government,
+composed of a commissioner and council appointed by the Dominion
+government[8], and acting under instructions given from time to time by
+the same authority or by the minister of the interior.
+
+[8: Since this sentence was in type the Dominion government has given
+effect to a provision of a law allowing the duly qualified electors of
+the Yukon to choose two members of the council.]
+
+The public service enjoys all the advantages that arise from permanency
+of tenure and appointment by the crown. It has on the whole been
+creditable to the country and remarkably free from political influences.
+The criminal law of England has prevailed in all the provinces since it
+was formerly introduced by the Quebec act of 1774. The civil law of the
+French regime, however, has continued to be the legal system in French
+Canada since the Quebec act, and has now obtained a hold in that
+province which insures its permanence as an institution closely allied
+with the dearest rights of the people. Its principles and maxims have
+been carefully collected and enacted in a code which is based on the
+famous code of Napoleon. In the other provinces and territories the
+common law of England forms the basis of jurisprudence on which a large
+body of Canadian statutory law has been built in the course of time.
+
+At the present time all the provinces, with the exception of Prince
+Edward Island, have an excellent municipal system, which enables every
+defined district, large or small, to carry on efficiently all those
+public improvements essential to the comfort, convenience and general
+necessities of the different communities that make up the province at
+large. Even in the territories of the north-west, every proper facility
+is given to the people in a populous district, or town, to organise a
+system equal to all their local requirements.
+
+Every Englishman will consider it an interesting and encouraging fact
+that the Canadian people, despite their neighbourhood to a prosperous
+federal commonwealth, should not even in the most critical and gloomy
+periods of their history have shown any disposition to mould their
+institutions directly on those of the United States and lay the
+foundation for future political union. Previous to 1840, which was the
+commencement of a new era in the political history of the provinces,
+there was a time when discontent prevailed throughout the Canadas, but
+not even then did any large body of the people threaten to sever the
+connection with the parent state. The Act of Confederation was framed
+under the direct influence of Sir John Macdonald and Sir George Cartier,
+and although one was an English Canadian and the other a French
+Canadian, neither yielded to the other in the desire to build up a
+Dominion on the basis of English institutions, in the closest possible
+connection with the mother country. While the question of union was
+under consideration it was English statesmen and writers alone who
+predicted that this new federation, with its great extent of territory,
+its abundant resources, and ambitious people, would eventually form a
+new nation independent of Great Britain. Canadian statesmen never spoke
+or wrote of separation, but regarded the constitutional change in their
+political condition as giving them greater weight and strength in the
+empire. The influence of British example on the Canadian Dominion can be
+seen throughout its governmental machinery, in the system of
+parliamentary government, in the constitution of the privy council and
+the houses of parliament, in an independent judiciary, in appointed
+officials of every class--in the provincial as well as Dominion
+system--in a permanent and non-political civil service, and in all
+elements of sound administration. During the thirty-three years that
+have passed since 1867, the attachment to England and her institutions
+has gained in strength, and it is clear that those predictions of
+Englishmen to which we have referred are completely falsified. On the
+contrary, the dominant sentiment is for strengthening the ties that have
+in some respects become weak in consequence of the enlargement of the
+political rights of the Dominion, which has assumed the position of a
+semi-independent power, since England now only retains her imperial
+sovereignty by declaring peace or war with foreign nations, by
+appointing a governor-general, by controlling colonial legislation
+through the Queen in council and the Queen in parliament--but not so as
+to diminish the rights of local self-government conceded to the
+Dominion--and by requiring that all treaties with foreign nations should
+be made through her own government, while recognising the right of the
+dependency to be consulted and directly represented on all occasions
+when its interests are immediately affected.
+
+In no respect have the Canadians followed the example of the United
+States, and made their executive entirely separate from the legislative
+authority. On the contrary, there is no institution which works more
+admirably in the federation--in the general as well as provincial
+governments--than the principle of making the ministry responsible to
+the popular branch of the legislature, and in that way keeping the
+executive and legislative departments in harmony with each other, and
+preventing that conflict of authorities which is a distinguishing
+feature of the very opposite system that prevails in the federal
+republic. If we review the amendments made of late years in the
+political constitutions of the States, and especially those ratified not
+long since in New York, we see in how many respects the Canadian system
+of government is superior to that of the republic. For instance, Canada
+has enjoyed for years, as results of responsible government, the secret
+ballot, stringent laws against bribery and corruption at all classes of
+elections, the registration of voters, strict naturalisation laws,
+infrequent political elections, separation of municipal from provincial
+or national contests, appointive and permanent officials in every branch
+of the civil service, a carefully devised code of private bill
+legislation, the printing of all public as well as private bills before
+their consideration by the legislative bodies; and yet all these
+essentials of safe administration and legislation are now only in part
+introduced by constitutional enactment in so powerful and progressive a
+state as New York.
+
+Of course, in the methods of party government we can see in Canada at
+times an attempt to follow the example of the United States, and to
+introduce the party machine with its professional politicians and all
+those influences that have degraded politics since the days of Jackson
+and Van Buren. Happily, so far, the people of Canada have shown
+themselves fully capable of removing those blots that show themselves
+from time to time on the body politic. Justice has soon seized those men
+who have betrayed their trust in the administration of public affairs.
+Although Canadians may, according to their political proclivities, find
+fault with some methods of governments and be carried away at times by
+political passion beyond the bounds of reason, it is encouraging to find
+that all are ready to admit the high character of the judiciary for
+learning, integrity and incorruptibility. The records of Canada do not
+present a single instance of the successful impeachment or removal of a
+judge for improper conduct on the bench since the days of responsible
+government; and the three or four petitions laid before parliament, in
+the course of a quarter of a century, asking for an investigation into
+vague charges against some judges, have never required a judgment of the
+house. Canadians have built wisely when, in the formation of their
+constitution, they followed the English plan of retaining an intimate
+and invaluable connection between the executive and legislative
+departments, and of keeping the judiciary practically independent of the
+other authorities of government. Not only the life and prosperity of the
+people, but the satisfactory working of the whole system of federal
+government rests more or less on the discretion and integrity of the
+judges. Canadians are satisfied that the peace and security of the whole
+Dominion do not more depend on the ability and patriotism of statesmen
+in the legislative halls than on that principle of the constitution,
+which places the judiciary in an exalted position among all the other
+departments of government, and makes law as far as possible the arbiter
+of their constitutional conflicts. All political systems are very
+imperfect at the best; legislatures are constantly subject to currents
+of popular prejudice and passion; statesmanship is too often weak and
+fluctuating, incapable of appreciating the true tendency of events, and
+too ready to yield to the force of present circumstances or dictates of
+expediency; but law, as worked out on English principles in all the
+dependencies of the empire and countries of English origin, as
+understood by Blackstone, Dicey, Story, Kent, and other great masters of
+constitutional and legal learning, gives the best possible guarantee for
+the security of institutions in a country of popular government.
+
+In an Appendix to this history I have given comparisons in parallel
+columns between the principal provisions of the federal constitutions of
+the Canadian Dominion, and the Australian Commonwealth. In studying
+carefully these two systems we must be impressed by the fact that the
+constitution of Canada appears more influenced by the spirit of English
+ideas than the constitution of Australia, which has copied some features
+of the fundamental law of the United States. In the preamble of the
+Canadian British North America act we find expressly stated "the desire
+of the Canadian provinces to be federally united into one Dominion under
+the crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with a
+constitution similar in principle to that of the United Kingdom," while
+the preamble of the Australian constitution contains only a bald
+statement of an agreement "to unite in one indissoluble federal
+Commonwealth under the crown," When we consider the use of
+"Commonwealth"--a word of republican significance to British ears--as
+well as the selection of "state" instead of "province," of "house of
+representatives" instead of "house of commons," of "executive council"
+instead of "privy council," we may well wonder why the Australians, all
+British by origin and aspiration, should have shown an inclination to
+deviate from the precedents established by the Canadian Dominion, which,
+though only partly English, resolved to carve the ancient historic names
+of the parent state on the very front of its political structure.
+
+As the several States of the Commonwealth have full control of their own
+constitutions, they may choose at any moment to elect their own
+governors as in the States of the American Union, instead of having them
+appointed by the crown as in Canada. We see also an imitation of the
+American constitution in the principle which allots to the central
+government only certain enumerated powers, and leaves the residuary
+power of legislation to the States. Again, while the act provides for a
+high and other federal courts, the members of which are to be appointed
+and removed as in Canada by the central government, the States are still
+to have full jurisdiction over the State courts as in the United States.
+The Canadian constitution, which gives to the Dominion exclusive control
+over the appointment and removal of the judges of all the superior
+courts, offers a positive guarantee against the popular election of
+judges in the provinces. It is not going too far to suppose that, with
+the progress of democratic ideas in Australia--a country inclined to
+political experiments--we may find the experience of the United States
+repeated, and see elective judges make their appearance when a wave of
+democracy has suddenly swept away all dictates of prudence and given
+unbridled licence to professional political managers only anxious for
+the success of party. In allowing the British Parliament to amend the
+Act of Union on an address of the Canadian parliament, we have yet
+another illustration of the desire of Canadians to respect the supremacy
+of the sovereign legislature of the empire. On the other hand, the
+Australians make themselves entirely independent of the action of the
+imperial parliament, which might be invaluable in some crisis affecting
+deeply the integrity and unity of the Commonwealth, and give full scope
+to the will of democracy expressed at the polls. In also limiting the
+right of appeal to the Queen in council--by giving to the high court the
+power to prevent appeals in constitutional disputes--the Australians
+have also to a serious degree weakened one of the most important ties
+that now bind them to the empire, and afford additional illustration of
+the inferiority of the Australian constitution, from an imperial point
+of view, compared with that of the Canadian Dominion, where a reference
+to the judicial committee of the privy council is highly valued.
+
+The Canadian people are displaying an intellectual activity commensurate
+with the expansion of their territory and their accumulation of wealth.
+The scientific, historical and political contributions of three decades,
+make up a considerable library which shows the growth of what may be
+called Canadian literature, since it deals chiefly with subjects
+essentially of Canadian interest. The attention that is now particularly
+devoted to the study and writing of history, and the collection of
+historical documents relating to the Dominion, prove clearly the
+national or thoroughly Canadian spirit that is already animating the
+cultured class of its people.
+
+Of the numerous historical works that have appeared since 1867 two only
+demand special mention in this short review. One of these is _A History
+of the days of Montcalm and Levis_ by the Abbe Casgrain, who
+illustrates the studious and literary character of the professors of the
+great university which bears the name of the first bishop of Canada,
+Monseigneur Laval. A more elaborate general history of Canada, in ten
+octavo volumes, is that by Dr. Kingsford, whose life closed with his
+book. Whilst it shows much industry and conscientiousness on the part of
+the author, it fails too often to evoke our interest even when it deals
+with the striking and picturesque story of the French regime, since the
+author considered it his duty to be sober and prosaic when Parkman is
+bright and eloquent.
+
+A good estimate of the progress of literary culture in Canada can be
+formed from a careful perusal of the poems of Bliss Carman, Archibald
+Lampman, Charles G.W. Roberts, Wilfred Campbell, Duncan Campbell Scott
+and Frederick George Scott. The artistic finish of their verse and the
+originality of their conception entitle them fairly to claim a foremost
+place alongside American poets since Longfellow, Emerson, Whittier,
+Bryant and Lowell have disappeared. Pauline Johnson, who has Indian
+blood in her veins, Archbishop O'Brien of Halifax, Miss Machar, Ethelyn
+Weatherald, Charles Mair and several others might also be named to prove
+that poetry is not a lost art in Canada, despite its pressing prosaic
+and material needs.
+
+Dr. Louis Frechette is a worthy successor of Cremazie and has won the
+distinction of having his best work crowned by the French Academy.
+French Canadian poetry, however, has been often purely imitative of
+French models like Musset and Gautier, both in style and sentiment, and
+consequently lacks strength and originality. Frechette has all the
+finish of the French poets and, while it cannot be said that he has yet
+originated fresh thoughts, which are likely to live among even the
+people whom he has so often instructed and delighted, yet he has given
+us poems like that on the discovery of the Mississippi which prove that
+he is capable of even better things if he would seek inspiration from
+the sources of the deeply interesting history of his own country, or
+enter into the inner mysteries and social relations of his picturesque
+compatriots.
+
+The life of the French Canadian habitant has been admirably described in
+verse by Dr. Drummond, who has always lived among that class of the
+Canadian people and been a close observer of their national and personal
+characteristics. He is the only writer who has succeeded in giving a
+striking portraiture of life in the cabin, in the "shanty" (_chantier_),
+and on the river, where the French habitant, forester, and canoe-man can
+be seen to best advantage.
+
+But if Canada can point to some creditable achievements of recent years
+in history, poetry and essays, there is one department in which
+Canadians never won any marked success until recently, and that is in
+the novel or romance. Even Mr. Kirby's _Le Chien d'Or_ which recalls the
+closing days of the French regime--the days of the infamous Intendant
+Bigot who fattened on Canadian misery--does not show the finished art of
+the skilled novelist, though it has a certain crude vigour of its own,
+which has enabled it to live while so many other Canadian books have
+died. French Canada is even weaker in this particular, and this is the
+more surprising because there is abundance of material for the novelist
+or the writer of romance in her peculiar society and institutions. But
+this reproach has been removed by Mr. Gilbert Parker, now a resident in
+London, but a Canadian by birth, education and sympathies, who is
+animated by a laudable ambition of giving form and vitality to the
+abundant materials that exist in the Dominion for the true story-teller.
+His works show great skill in the use of historic matter, more than
+ordinary power in the construction of a plot, and, above all, a literary
+finish which is not equalled by any Canadian writer in the same field of
+effort. Other meritorious Canadian workers in romance are Mr. William
+McLennan, Mrs. Coates (Sarah Jeannette Duncan), and Miss Dougall, whose
+names are familiar to English readers.
+
+The name of Dr. Todd is well known throughout the British empire, and
+indeed wherever institutions of government are studied, as that of an
+author of most useful works on the English and Canadian constitutions.
+Sir William Dawson, for many years the energetic principal of McGill
+University, the scientific prominence of which is due largely to his
+mental bias, was the author of several geological books, written in a
+graceful and readable style. The scientific work of Canadians can be
+studied chiefly in the proceedings of English, American and Canadian
+societies, especially, of late years, in the transactions of the Royal
+Society of Canada, established over eighteen years ago by the Marquess
+of Lorne when governor-general of the Dominion. This successful
+association is composed of one hundred and twenty members who have
+written "memoirs of merit or rendered eminent services to literature or
+science."
+
+On the whole, there have been enough good poems, histories, and essays,
+written and published in Canada during the last four or five decades, to
+prove that there has been a steady intellectual growth on the part of
+the Canadian people, and that it has kept pace at all events with the
+mental growth in the pulpit, or in the legislative halls, where, of late
+years, a keen practical debating style has taken the place of the more
+rhetorical and studied oratory of old times. The intellectual faculties
+of Canadians only require larger opportunities for their exercise to
+bring forth rich fruit. The progress in the years to come will be much
+greater than that Canadians have yet shown, and necessarily so, with the
+wider distribution of wealth, the dissemination of a higher culture, and
+a greater confidence in their own mental strength, and in the
+opportunities that the country offers to pen and pencil. What is now
+wanted is the cultivation of a good style and artistic workmanship.
+
+Much of the daily literature of Canadians--indeed the chief literary
+aliment of large numbers--is the newspaper press, which illustrates
+necessarily the haste, pressure and superficiality of writings of that
+ephemeral class. Canadian journals, however, have not yet descended to
+the degraded sensationalism of New York papers, too many of which
+circulate in Canada to the public detriment. On the whole, the tone of
+the most ably conducted journals--the Toronto _Globe_, and the Montreal
+_Gazette_ notably--is quite on a level with the tone of debate in the
+legislative bodies of the country.
+
+Now, as in all times of Canada's history, political life claims many
+strong, keen and cultured intellects, though at the same time it is too
+manifest that the tendency of democratic conditions and heated party
+controversy is to prevent the most highly educated and sensitive
+organisations from venturing on the agitated and unsafe sea of political
+passion and competition. The speeches of Sir Wilfrid Laurier--the
+eloquent French Canadian premier, who in his mastery of the English
+tongue surpasses all his versatile compatriots--of Sir Charles Tupper,
+Mr. Foster and others who might be mentioned, recall the most brilliant
+period of parliamentary annals (1867--1873), when in the first
+parliament of the Dominion the most prominent men of the provinces were
+brought into public life, under the new conditions of federal union. The
+debating power of the provincial legislative bodies is excellent, and
+the chief defects are the great length and discursiveness of the
+speeches on local as well as on national questions. It is also admitted
+that of late years there has been a tendency to impair the dignity and
+to lower the tone of discussion.
+
+Many Canadians have devoted themselves to art since 1867, and some
+Englishmen will recognise the names of L.R. O'Brien, Robert Harris,
+J.W.L. Forster, Homer Watson, George Reid--the painter of "The
+Foreclosure of the Mortgage," which won great praise at the World's Fair
+of Chicago--John Hammond, F.A. Verner, Miss Bell, Miss Muntz, W.
+Brymner, all of whom are Canadians by birth and inspiration. The
+establishment of a Canadian Academy of Art by the Princess Louise, and
+of other art associations, has done a good deal to stimulate a taste
+for art, though the public encouragement of native artists is still very
+inadequate, when we consider the excellence already attained under great
+difficulties in a relatively new country, where the great mass of people
+has yet to be educated to a perception of the advantages of high
+artistic effort.
+
+Sculpture would be hardly known in Canada were it not for the work of
+the French Canadian Hebert, who is a product of the schools of Paris,
+and has given to the Dominion several admirable statues and monuments of
+its public men. While Canadian architecture has hitherto been generally
+wanting in originality of conception, the principal edifices of the
+provinces afford many good illustrations of effective adaptation of the
+best art of Europe. Among these may be mentioned the following:--the
+parliament and departmental buildings at Ottawa, admirable examples of
+Italian Gothic; the legislative buildings at Toronto, in the Romanesque
+style; the English cathedrals in Montreal and Fredericton, correct
+specimens of early English Gothic; the French parish church of
+Notre-Dame, in Montreal, attractive for its stately Gothic proportions;
+the university of Toronto, an admirable conception of Norman
+architecture; the Canadian Pacific railway station at Montreal and the
+Frontenac Hotel at Quebec, fine examples of the adaptation of old Norman
+architecture to modern necessities; the provincial buildings at
+Victoria, in British Columbia, the general design of which is
+Renaissance, rendered most effective by pearl-grey stone and several
+domes; the headquarters of the bank of Montreal, a fine example of the
+Corinthian order, and notable for the artistic effort to illustrate, on
+the walls of the interior, memorable scenes in Canadian history; the
+county and civic buildings of Toronto, an ambitious effort to reproduce
+the modern Romanesque, so much favoured by the eminent American
+architect, Richardson; Osgoode Hall, the seat of the great law courts of
+the province of Ontario, which in its general character recalls the
+architecture of the Italian Renaissance. Year by year we see additions
+to our public and private buildings, interesting from an artistic point
+of view, and illustrating the accumulating wealth of the country, as
+well as the growth of culture and taste among the governing classes.
+
+The universities, colleges, academies, and high schools, the public and
+common schools of the Dominion, illustrate the great desire of the
+governments and the people of the provinces to give the greatest
+possible facilities for the education of all classes at the smallest
+possible cost to individuals. At the present time there are between
+13,000 and 14,000 students attending 62 universities and colleges. The
+collegiate institutes and academies of the provinces also rank with the
+colleges as respects the advantages they give to young men and
+women. Science is especially prominent in McGill and Toronto
+Universities--which are the most largely attended--and the former
+affords a notable example of the munificence of the wealthy men of
+Montreal, in establishing chairs of science and otherwise advancing its
+educational usefulness. Laval University stands deservedly at the head
+of the Roman Catholic institutions of the continent, on account of its
+deeply interesting historic associations, and the scholarly attainments
+of its professors, several of whom have won fame in Canadian letters.
+Several universities give instructions in medicine and law, and Toronto
+has also a medical college for women. At the present time, at least
+one-fifth of the people of the Dominion is in attendance at the
+universities, colleges, public and private schools. The people of Canada
+contribute upwards of ten millions of dollars annually to the support of
+their educational establishments, in the shape of government grants,
+public taxes, or private fees. Ontario alone, in 1899, raised five
+millions and a half of dollars for the support of its public school
+system; and of this amount the people directly contributed ninety-one
+per cent, in the shape of taxes. On the other hand, the libraries of
+Canada are not numerous; and it is only in Ontario that there is a law
+providing for the establishment of such institutions by a vote of the
+taxpayers in the municipalities. In this province there are at least
+420 libraries, of which the majority are connected with mechanics'
+institutes, and are made public by statute. The weakness of the public
+school system--especially in Ontario--is the constant effort to teach a
+child a little of everything, and to make him a mere machine. The
+consequences are superficiality--a veneer of knowledge--and the loss of
+individuality.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+CANADA'S RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES AND HER INFLUENCE IN IMPERIAL
+COUNCILS (1783--1900).
+
+
+I have deemed it most convenient to reserve for the conclusion of this
+history a short review of the relations that have existed for more than
+a century between the provinces of the Dominion and the United States,
+whose diplomacy and legislation have had, and must always have, a
+considerable influence on the material and social conditions of the
+people of Canada.--an influence only subordinate to that exercised by
+the imperial state. I shall show that during the years when there was no
+confederation of Canada--when there were to the north and north-east of
+the United States only a number of isolated provinces, having few common
+sympathies or interests except their attachment to the crown and
+empire--the United States had too often its own way in controversial
+questions affecting the colonies which arose between England and the
+ambitious federal republic. On the other hand, with the territorial
+expansion of the provinces under one Dominion, with their political
+development, which has assumed even national attributes, with the steady
+growth of an imperial sentiment in the parent state, the old condition
+of things that too often made the provinces the shuttlecock of skilful
+American diplomacy has passed away. The statesmen of the Canadian
+federation are now consulted, and exercise almost as much influence as
+if they were members of the imperial councils in London.
+
+I shall naturally commence this review with a reference to the treaty of
+1783, which acknowledged the independence of the United States, fixed
+the boundaries between that country and British North America, and led
+to serious international disputes which lasted until the middle of the
+following century. Three of the ablest men in the United
+States--Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay--succeeded by their
+astuteness and persistency in extending their country's limits to the
+eastern bank of the Mississippi, despite the insidious efforts of
+Vergennes on the part of France to hem in the new nation between the
+Atlantic and the Appalachian Range. The comparative value set upon
+Canada during the preliminary negotiations may be easily deduced from
+the fact that Oswald, the English plenipotentiary, proposed to give up
+to the United States the south-western and most valuable part of the
+present province of Ontario, and to carry the north-eastern boundary up
+to the River St. John. The commissioners of the United States did not
+accept this suggestion. Their ultimate object--an object actually
+attained--was to make the St. Lawrence the common boundary between the
+two countries by following the centre of the river and the great lakes
+as far as the head of Lake Superior. The issue of negotiations so
+stupidly conducted by the British commissioner, was a treaty which gave
+an extremely vague definition of the boundary in the north-east between
+Maine and Nova Scotia--which until 1784 included New Brunswick--and
+displayed at the same time a striking example of geographical ignorance
+as to the north-west. The treaty specified that the boundary should pass
+from the head of Lake Superior through Long Lake to the north-west angle
+of the Lake of the Woods, and thence to the Mississippi, when, as a
+matter of fact there was no Long Lake, and the source of the Mississippi
+was actually a hundred miles or so to the south of the Lake of the
+Woods. This curious blunder in the north-west was only rectified in
+1842, when Lord Ashburton settled the difficulty by conceding to the
+United States an invaluable corner of British territory in the east (see
+below, p 299).
+
+[Illustration: INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY. AS FINALLY ESTABLISHED IN 1842 AT
+LAKE OF THE WOODS]
+
+The only practical advantage that the people of the provinces gained
+from the Treaty of Ghent, which closed the war of 1812--15, was an
+acknowledgment of the undoubted fishery rights of Great Britain and her
+dependencies in the territorial waters of British North America. In the
+treaty of 1783 the people of the United States obtained the "right" to
+fish on the Grand and other banks of Newfoundland, and in the Gulf of
+St. Lawrence and at "all other places in the sea, where the inhabitants
+of both countries used at any time heretofore to fish", but they were to
+have only "the liberty" of taking fish on the coasts of Newfoundland and
+also of "all other of his Britannic Majesty's dominions in America; and
+also of drying and curing fish in any of the unsettled bays, harbours,
+and creeks of Nova Scotia (then including New Brunswick), Magdalen
+Islands, and Labrador, so long as the same shall remain unsettled." In
+the one case, it will be seen, there was a recognised right, but in the
+other only a mere "liberty" or privilege extended to the fishermen of
+the United States. At the close of the war of 1812 the British
+government would not consent to renew the merely temporary liberties of
+1783, and the United States authorities acknowledged the soundness of
+the principle that any privileges extended to the republic in British
+territorial waters could only rest on "conventional stipulation." The
+convention of 1818 forms the legal basis of the rights, which Canadians
+have always maintained in the case of disputes between themselves and
+the United States as to the fisheries on their own coasts, bays, and
+harbours of Canada. It provides that the inhabitants of the United
+States shall have for ever the liberty to take, dry, and cure fish on
+certain parts of the coast of Newfoundland, on the Magdalen Islands and
+on the southern shores of Labrador, but they "renounce for ever any
+liberty, heretofore enjoyed" by them to take, dry, and cure fish, "on or
+within three marine miles of any of the coasts, bays or creeks or
+harbours of his Britannic Majesty's other dominions in America";
+provided, however, that the American fishermen shall be admitted to
+enter such bays and harbours, for the purpose of shelter, and of
+repairing damages therein, of purchasing wood, and of obtaining water,
+and "for no other purpose whatever."
+
+In April, 1817, the governments of Great Britain and the United States
+came to an important agreement which ensured the neutrality of the great
+lakes. It was agreed that the naval forces to be maintained upon these
+inland waters should be confined to the following vessels: on Lakes
+Champlain and Ontario to one vessel, on the Upper Lakes to two vessels,
+not exceeding in each case a hundred tons burden and armed with only one
+small cannon. Either nation had the right to bring the convention to a
+termination by a previous notice of six months. This agreement is still
+regarded by Great Britain and the United States to be in existence,
+since Mr. Secretary Seward formally withdrew the notice which was given
+for its abrogation in 1864, when the civil war was in progress and the
+relations between the two nations were considerably strained at times.
+
+The next international complication arose out of the seizure of the
+steamer _Caroline_, which was engaged in 1837 in carrying munitions of
+war between the United States and Navy Island, then occupied by a number
+of persons in the service of Mr. Mackenzie and other Canadian rebels. In
+1840 the authorities of New York arrested one Macleod on the charge of
+having murdered a man who was employed on the _Caroline_. The
+Washington government for some time evaded the whole question by
+throwing the responsibility on the state authorities and declaring that
+they could not interfere with a matter which was then within the
+jurisdiction of the state courts. The matter gave rise to much
+correspondence between the two governments, but happily for the peace of
+the two countries the American courts acquitted Macleod, as the evidence
+was clear that he had had nothing to do with the actual seizing of the
+_Caroline_; and the authorities at Washington soon afterwards
+acknowledged their responsibility in such affairs by passing an act
+directing that subjects of foreign powers, if taken into custody for
+acts done or committed under the authority of their own government, "the
+validity or effect whereof depends upon the law of nations, should be
+discharged." The dissatisfaction that had arisen in the United States on
+account of the cutting out of the _Caroline_ was removed in 1842, when
+Sir Robert Peel expressed regret that "some explanation and apology for
+the occurrence had not been previously made," and declared that it was
+"the opinion of candid and honourable men that the British officers who
+executed this transaction, and their government who approved it,
+intended no insult or disrespect to the sovereign authority of the
+United States[9]."
+
+[9: Hall's _Treatise on International Law_ (3rd ed.), pp. 311--313]
+
+In the course of time the question of the disputed boundary between
+Maine and New Brunswick assumed grave proportions. By the treaty of
+1783, the boundary was to be a line drawn from the source of the St.
+Croix, directly north to the highlands "which divide the rivers which
+fall into the Atlantic ocean from those which fall into the river St.
+Lawrence;" thence along the said highlands to the north-easternmost head
+of the Connecticut River; and the point at which the due north line was
+to cut the highlands was also designated as the north-west angle of Nova
+Scotia. The whole question was the subject of several commissions, and
+of one arbitration, from 1783 until 1842, when it was finally settled.
+Its history appears to be that of a series of blunders on the part of
+England from the beginning to the end. The first blunder occurred in
+1796 when the commissioners appointed to inquire into the question,
+declared that the Schoodic was the River St. Croix mentioned in the
+treaty. Instead, however, of following the main, or western, branch of
+the Schoodic to its source in the Schoodic Lakes, they went beyond
+their instructions and chose a northern tributary of the river, the
+Chiputnaticook, as the boundary, and actually placed a monument at its
+head as a basis for any future proceeding on the part of the two
+governments. The British government appear to have been very anxious at
+this time to settle the question, for they did not take exception to the
+arrangement made by the commissioners, but in 1798 declared the decision
+binding on both countries.
+
+Still this mistake might have been rectified had the British government
+in 1835 been sufficiently alive to British interests in America to have
+accepted a proposal made to them by President Jackson to ascertain the
+true north-western angle of Nova Scotia, or the exact position of the
+highlands, in accordance with certain well-understood rules in practical
+surveying which have been always considered obligatory in that
+continent. It was proposed by the United States to discard the due north
+line, to seek to the west of that line the undisputed highlands that
+divide the rivers which empty themselves into the River St. Lawrence
+from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean, to find the point in the
+'watershed' of these highlands nearest to the north line, and to trace a
+direct course from it to the monument already established. "If this
+principle had been adopted," says Sir Sandford Fleming, the eminent
+Canadian engineer, "a straight line would have been drawn from the
+monument at the head of the Chiputnaticook to a point which could have
+been established with precision in the 'watershed' of the highlands
+which separate the sources of the Chaudiere from those of the
+Penobscot,--this being the most easterly point in the only highlands
+agreeing beyond dispute with the treaty. The point is found a little to
+the north and west of the intersection of the 70th meridian west
+longitude and the 46th parallel of north latitude." Had this proposal
+been accepted England would have obtained without further difficulty
+eleven thousand square miles, or the combined areas of Massachusetts
+and Connecticut.
+
+[Illustration: MAP OF THE NORTH-EASTERN BOUNDARY AS ESTABLISHED IN
+1842.]
+
+For several years after this settlement was suggested a most serious
+conflict went on between New Brunswick and the state of Maine. The
+authorities of Maine paid no respect whatever to the negotiations that
+were still in progress between the governments of Great Britain and the
+United States, but actually took possession of the disputed territory,
+gave titles for lands and constructed forts and roads within its limits.
+Collisions occurred between the settlers and the intruders, and
+considerable property was destroyed. The legislature of Maine voted
+$800,000 for the defence of the state, and the legislature of Nova
+Scotia amid great enthusiasm made a grant of $100,000 to assist New
+Brunswick in support of her rights. Happily the efforts of the United
+States and British governments prevented the quarrel between the
+province and the state from assuming international proportions; and in
+1842 Mr. Alexander Baring, afterwards Lord Ashburton, was authorised by
+the ministry of the Earl of Aberdeen to negotiate with Mr. Daniel
+Webster, then secretary of state in the American cabinet, for the
+settlement of matters in dispute between the two nations. The result was
+the Ashburton Treaty, which, in fixing the north-eastern boundary
+between British North America and the United States, started due north
+from the monument incorrectly placed at the head of the Chiputnaticook
+instead of the source of the true St. Croix, and consequently at the
+very outset gave up a strip of land extending over some two degrees of
+latitude, and embracing some 3000 square miles of British territory. By
+consenting to carry the line due north from the misplaced monument Lord
+Ashburton ignored the other natural landmark set forth in the treaty:
+"the line of headlands which divide the waters flowing into the Atlantic
+from those which flow into the St. Lawrence." A most erratic boundary
+was established along the St. John, which flows neither into the St.
+Lawrence nor the Atlantic, but into the Bay of Fundy, far east of the
+St. Croix. In later years the historian Sparks found in Paris a map on
+which Franklin himself had marked in December, 1782, with a heavy red
+line, what was then considered the true natural boundary between the two
+countries. Mr. Sparks admitted in sending the map that it conceded more
+than Great Britain actually claimed, and that "the line from the St.
+Croix to the Canadian highlands is intended to exclude [from the
+territory of the United States] all the waters running into the St.
+John." Canadians have always believed with reason that that portion of
+the present state of Maine, through which the Aroostook and other
+tributaries of the St. John flow, is actually British territory. If we
+look at the map of Canada we see that the state of Maine now presses
+like a huge wedge into the provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec as a
+sequence of the unfortunate mistakes of 1796, 1835, and 1842, on the
+part of England and her agents. In these later times a "Canadian short
+line" railway has been forced to go through Maine in order to connect
+Montreal with St. John, and other places in the maritime provinces. Had
+the true St. Croix been chosen in 1796, or President Jackson's offer
+accepted in 1835, this line could go continuously through Canadian
+territory, and be entirely controlled by Canadian legislation.
+
+Another boundary question was the subject of much heated controversy
+between England and the United States for more than a quarter of a
+century, and in 1845 brought the two countries very close to war. In
+1819 the United States obtained from Spain a cession of all her rights
+and claims north of latitude forty-two, or the southern boundary of the
+present state of Oregon. By that time the ambition of the United States
+was not content with the Mississippi valley, of which she had obtained
+full control by the cession of the Spanish claims and by the Louisiana
+purchase of 1803, but looked to the Pacific coast, where she made
+pretensions to a territory stretching from 42 deg. to 54 deg. 40' north
+latitude, or a territory four times the area of Great Britain and
+Ireland, or of the present province of Ontario. The claims of the two
+nations to this vast region rested on very contradictory statements with
+respect to priority of discovery, and that occupation and settlement
+which should, within reasonable limits, follow discovery; and as the
+whole question was one of great perplexity, it should have been settled,
+as suggested by England, on principles of compromise. But the people of
+the United States, conscious at last of the importance of the territory,
+began to bring their influence to bear on the politicians, until by 1845
+the Democratic party declared 'for 54 deg. 40' or fight,' Mr. Crittenden
+announced that "war might now be looked upon as almost inevitable."
+Happily President Polk and congress came to more pacific conclusions
+after a good deal of warlike talk; and the result was a treaty (1846) by
+which England accepted the line 49 degrees to the Pacific coast, and
+obtained the whole of Vancouver Island, which for a while seemed likely
+to be divided with the United States. But Vancouver Island was by no
+means a compensation for what England gave up, for, on the continent,
+she yielded all she had contended for since 1824, when she first
+proposed the Columbia River as a basis of division.
+
+But even then the question of boundary was not finally settled by this
+great victory which had been won for the United States by the
+persistency of her statesmen. The treaty of 1846 continued the line of
+boundary westward along "the 49th parallel of north latitude to the
+middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver
+Island, and thence southerly through the middle of the said channel and
+of Fuca's straits to the Pacific Ocean" Anyone reading this clause for
+the first time, without reference to the contentions that were raised
+afterwards, would certainly interpret it to mean the whole body of water
+that separates the continent from Vancouver,--such a channel, in fact,
+as divides England from France; but it appears there are a number of
+small channels separating the islands which lie in the great channel in
+question, and the clever diplomatists at Washington immediately claimed
+the Canal de Haro, the widest and deepest, as the canal of the treaty.
+Instead of at once taking the ground that the whole body of water was
+really in question, the English government claimed another channel,
+Rosario Strait, inferior in some respects, but the one most generally,
+and indeed only, used at the time by their vessels. The importance of
+this difference of opinion lay chiefly in the fact, that the Haro gave
+San Juan and other small islands, valuable for defensive purposes, to
+the United States, while the Rosario left them to England. Then, after
+much correspondence, the British government, as a compromise, offered
+the middle channel, or Douglas, which would still retain San Juan. If
+they had always adhered to the Douglas--which appears to answer the
+conditions of the treaty, since it lies practically in the middle of the
+great channel--their position would have been much stronger than it was
+when they came back to the Rosario. The British representatives at the
+Washington conference of 1871 suggested the reference of the question to
+arbitration, but the United States' commissioners, aware of their
+vantage ground, would consent to no other arrangement than to leave to
+the decision of the Emperor of Germany the question whether the Haro or
+the Rosario channel best accorded with the treaty; and the Emperor
+decided in favour of the United States. However, with the possession of
+Vancouver in its entirety, Canada can still be grateful; and San Juan is
+now only remembered as an episode of skilful American diplomacy. The
+same may be said of another acquisition of the republic--insignificant
+from the point of view of territorial area, but still illustrative of
+the methods which have won all the great districts we have named
+--Rouse's Point at the outlet of Lake Champlain, "of which an exact
+survey would have deprived" the United States, according to Mr. Schouler
+in his excellent history.
+
+During this period the fishery question again assumed considerable
+importance. The government at Washington raised the contention that the
+three miles' limit, to which their fishermen could be confined by the
+convention of 1818, should follow the sinuosities of the coasts,
+including the bays, the object being to obtain access to the valuable
+mackerel fisheries of the Bay of Chaleurs and other waters claimed to be
+exclusively within the territorial jurisdiction of the maritime
+provinces. The imperial government sustained the contention of the
+provinces--a contention practically supported by American authorities in
+the case of the Delaware, Chesapeake, and other bays on the coast of the
+United States--that the three miles' limit should be measured from a
+line drawn from headlands of all bays, harbours and creeks. In the case
+of the Bay of Fundy, however, the imperial government allowed a
+departure from this general principle, when it was urged by the
+Washington government that one of its headlands was in the territory of
+the United States, and that it was an arm of the sea rather than a bay.
+The result was that foreign fishing vessels were only shut out from the
+bays on the coasts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick within the Bay of
+Fundy. All these questions were, however, placed in abeyance by the
+reciprocity treaty of 1854 (see p. 96), which lasted until 1866, when it
+was repealed by the action of the United States, in accordance with the
+provision bringing it to a conclusion after one year's notice from one
+of the parties interested.
+
+The causes which led in 1866 to the repeal of a treaty so advantageous
+to the United States have been long well understood. The commercial
+classes in the eastern and western states were, on the whole, favourable
+to an enlargement of the treaty; but the real cause of its repeal was
+the prejudice in the northern states against Canada on account of its
+supposed sympathy for the confederate states during the Secession war. A
+large body of men in the north believed that the repeal of the treaty
+would sooner or later force Canada to join the republic; and a bill was
+actually introduced in the house of representatives providing for her
+admission--a mere political straw, it is true, but showing the current
+of opinion in some quarters in those days. When we review the history of
+those times, and consider the difficult position in which Canada was
+placed, it is remarkable how honourably her government discharged its
+duties of a neutral between the belligerents. In the case of the raid of
+some confederate refugees in Canada on the St. Alban's bank in Vermont,
+the Canadian authorities brought the culprits to trial and even paid a
+large sum of money in acknowledgment of an alleged responsibility when
+some of the stolen notes were returned to the robbers on their release
+on technical grounds by a Montreal magistrate. It is well, too, to
+remember how large a number of Canadians fought in the union
+armies--twenty against one who served in the south. No doubt the
+position of Canada was made more difficult at that critical time by the
+fact that she was a colony of Great Britain, against whom both north and
+south entertained bitter feelings by the close of the war; the former
+mainly on account of the escape of confederate cruisers from English
+ports, and the latter because she did not receive active support from
+England. The north had also been much excited by the promptness with
+which Lord Palmerston had sent troops to Canada when Mason and Slidell
+were seized on an English packet on the high seas, and by the bold tone
+held by some Canadian papers when it was doubtful if the prisoners would
+be released.
+
+Before and since the union, the government of Canada has made repeated
+efforts to renew a commercial treaty with the government at Washington.
+In 1865 and 1866, Canadian delegates were prepared to make large
+concessions, but were reluctantly brought to the conclusion that the
+committee of ways and means in congress "no longer desired trade between
+the two countries to be carried on upon the principle of reciprocity."
+In 1866 Sir John Rose, while minister of finance, made an effort in the
+same direction, but he was met by the obstinate refusal of the
+republican party, then as always, highly protective.
+
+All this while the fishery question was assuming year by year a form
+increasingly irritating to the two countries. The headland question was
+the principal difficulty, and the British government, in order to
+conciliate the United States at a time when the Alabama question was a
+subject of anxiety, induced the Canadian government to agree, very
+reluctantly it must be admitted, to shut out foreign fishing vessels
+only from bays less than six miles in width at their entrances. In this,
+however, as in all other matters, the Canadian authorities acknowledged
+their duty to yield to the considerations of imperial interests, and
+acceded to the wishes of the imperial government in almost every
+respect, except actually surrendering their territorial rights in the
+fisheries. They issued licenses to fish, at low rates, for several
+years, only to find eventually that American fishermen did not think it
+worth while to buy these permits when they could evade the regulations
+with little difficulty. The correspondence went on for several years,
+and eventually led to the Washington conference or commission of 1871,
+which was primarily intended to settle the fishery question, but which
+actually gave the precedence to the Alabama difficulty--then of most
+concern in the opinion of the London and Washington governments. The
+representatives of the United States would not consider a proposition
+for another reciprocity treaty on the basis of that of 1854. The
+questions arising out of the convention of 1818 were not settled by the
+commission, but were practically laid aside for ten years by an
+arrangement providing for the free admission of salt-water fish to the
+United States, on the condition of allowing the fishing vessels of that
+country free access to the Canadian fisheries. The free navigation of
+the St. Lawrence was conceded to the United States in return for the
+free use of Lake Michigan and of certain rivers in Alaska. The question
+of giving to the vessels of the Canadian provinces the privilege of
+trading on the coast of the United States--a privilege persistently
+demanded for years by Nova Scotia--was not considered; and while the
+canals of Canada were opened up to the United States on the most liberal
+terms, the Washington government contented itself with a barren promise
+in the treaty to use its influence with the authorities of the states to
+open up their artificial waterways to Canadians. The Fenian claims were
+abruptly laid aside, although, if the principle of "due diligence,"
+which was laid down in the new rules for the settlement of the Alabama
+difficulty had been applied to this question, the government of the
+United States would have been mulcted in heavy damages. In this case it
+would be difficult to find a more typical instance of responsibility
+assumed by a state through the permission of open and notorious acts,
+and by way of complicity after the acts; however, as in many other
+negotiations with the United States, Canada felt she must make
+sacrifices for the empire, whose government wished all causes of
+irritation between England and the United States removed as far as
+possible by the treaty. One important feature of this commission was the
+presence, for the first time in the history of treaties, of a Canadian
+statesman. The astute prime minister of the Dominion, Sir John
+Macdonald, was chosen as one of the English high commissioners: and
+though he was necessarily tied down by the instructions of the imperial
+state, his knowledge of Canadian questions was of great service to
+Canada during the conference. If the treaty finally proved more
+favourable to the Dominion than it at first appeared to be, it was owing
+largely to the clause which provided for a reference to a later
+commission of the question, whether the United States would not have to
+pay the Canadians a sum of money, as the value of their fisheries over
+and above any concessions made them in the treaty. The result of this
+commission was a payment of five millions and a half of dollars to
+Canada and Newfoundland, to the infinite disappointment of the
+politicians of the United States, who had been long accustomed to have
+the best in all the bargains with their neighbours. Nothing shows more
+clearly the measure of the local self-government at last won by Canada
+and the importance of her position in the empire, than the fact that the
+English government recognised the right of the Dominion government to
+name the commissioner who represented Canada on an arbitration which
+decided a question of such deep importance to her interests.
+
+The clauses of the Washington treaty relating to the fisheries and to
+trade with Canada lasted for fourteen years, and then were repealed by
+the action of the United States government. In the year 1874 the
+Mackenzie ministry attempted, through Mr. George Brown, to negotiate a
+new reciprocity treaty, but met with a persistent hostility from leading
+men in congress. The relations between Canada and the United States
+again assumed a phase of great uncertainty. Canada from 1885 adhered to
+the letter of the convention of 1818, and allowed no fishing vessels to
+fish within the three miles limit, to transship cargoes of fish in her
+ports, or to enter them for any purpose except for shelter, wood, water,
+and repairs. For the infractions of the treaty several vessels were
+seized, and more than one of them condemned. A clamour was raised in the
+United States on the ground that the Canadians were wanting in that
+spirit of friendly intercourse which should characterise the relations
+of neighbouring peoples. The fact is, the Canadians were bound to adhere
+to their legal rights--rights which had always been maintained before
+1854; which had remained in abeyance between 1854 and 1866; which
+naturally revived after the repeal of the reciprocity treaty of 1854;
+which again remained in abeyance between 1871 and 1885; and were revived
+when the United States themselves chose to go back to the terms of the
+convention of 1818.
+
+In 1887 President Cleveland and Mr. Secretary Bayard, acting in a
+statesmanlike spirit, obtained the consent of England to a special
+commission to consider the fishery question. Sir Sackville West, Mr.
+Joseph Chamberlain, and Sir Charles Tupper represented England; Mr.
+Bayard, then secretary of state, Mr. Putnam of Maine, and Mr. Angell of
+Michigan University, represented the United States. Sir Charles Tupper
+could not induce the American commissioners to consider a mutual
+arrangement providing for greater freedom of commercial intercourse
+between Canada and the United States. Eventually the commission agreed
+unanimously to a treaty which was essentially a compromise. Foreign
+fishermen were to be at liberty to go into any waters where the bay was
+more than ten miles wide at the mouth, but certain bays, including the
+Bay of Chaleurs, were expressly excepted in the interests of Canada from
+the operation of this provision. The United States did not attempt to
+acquire the right to fish on the inshore fishing-grounds of Canada--that
+is, within three miles of the coasts--but these fisheries were to be
+left for the exclusive use of the Canadian fishermen. More satisfactory
+arrangements were made for vessels obliged to resort to the Canadian
+ports in distress; and a provision was made for allowing American
+fishing-vessels to obtain supplies and other privileges in the harbours
+of the Dominion whenever congress allowed the fish of that country to
+enter free into the market of the United States, President Cleveland in
+his message, submitting the treaty to the senate, acknowledged that it
+"supplied a satisfactory, practical and final adjustment, upon a basis
+honourable and just to both parties, of the difficult and vexed
+questions to which it relates." The republican party, however, at that
+important juncture--just before a presidential election--had a majority
+in the senate, and the result was the failure in that body of a measure,
+which, although by no means too favourable to Canadian interests, was
+framed in a spirit of judicious statesmanship.
+
+As a sequel of the acquisition of British Columbia, the Canadian
+government was called upon in 1886 to urge the interests of the
+Dominion in an international question that had arisen in Bering Sea. A
+United States cutter seized in the open sea, at a distance of more than
+sixty miles from the nearest land, certain Canadian schooners, fitted
+out in British Columbia, and lawfully engaged in the capture of seals in
+the North Pacific Ocean, adjacent to Vancouver Island, Queen Charlotte
+Islands, and Alaska--a portion of the territory of the United States
+acquired in 1867 from Russia. These vessels were taken into a port of
+Alaska, where they were subjected to forfeiture, and the masters and
+mates fined and imprisoned. Great Britain at once resisted the claim of
+the United States to the sole sovereignty of that part of Bering Sea
+lying beyond the westerly boundary of Alaska--a stretch of sea extending
+in its widest part some 600 or 700 miles beyond the mainland of Alaska,
+and clearly under the law of nations a part of the great sea and open to
+all nations. Lord Salisbury's government, from the beginning to the end
+of the controversy, sustained the rights of Canada as a portion of the
+British empire. After very protracted and troublesome negotiations it
+was agreed to refer the international question in dispute to a court of
+arbitration, in which Sir John Thompson, prime minister of Canada, was
+one of the British arbitrators. The arbitrators decided in favour of the
+British contention that the United States had no jurisdiction in Bering
+Sea outside of the three miles limit, and at the same time made certain
+regulations to restrict the wholesale slaughter of fur-bearing seals in
+the North Pacific Ocean. In 1897 two commissioners, appointed by the
+governments of the United States and Canada, awarded the sum of $463,454
+as compensation to Canada for the damages sustained by the fishermen of
+British Columbia, while engaged in the lawful prosecution of their
+industry on that portion of the Bering Sea declared to be open to all
+nations. This sum was paid in the summer of 1898 by the United States.
+
+In 1897 the Canadian government succeeded in obtaining the consent of
+the governments of Great Britain and the United States to the
+appointment of a joint high commission to settle various questions in
+dispute between Canada and the United States. Canada was represented on
+this commission by Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Sir Richard Cartwright, Sir
+Louis Davies, and Mr. John Charlton, M.P., Newfoundland by Sir James
+Winter; the United States by Messieurs C.W. Fairbanks, George Gray, J.W.
+Foster, Nelson Dingley Jr., J.A. Kasson, and T. Jefferson Coolidge. The
+eminent jurist, Baron Herschell, who had been lord chancellor in the
+last Gladstone ministry, was chosen chairman of this commission, which
+met in the historic city of Quebec on several occasions from the 23rd
+August until the 10th October, 1898, and subsequently at Washington from
+November until the 20th February, 1899, when it adjourned. Mr. Dingley
+died in January and was replaced by Mr. Payne, and Lord Herschell also
+unhappily succumbed to the effects of an accident soon after the close
+of the sittings of the commission. In an eulogy of this eminent man in
+the Canadian house of commons, the Canadian prime minister stated that
+during the sittings of the commission "he fought for Canada not only
+with enthusiasm, but with conviction and devotion." England happily in
+these modern times has felt the necessity of giving to the consideration
+of Canadian interests the services of her most astute and learned
+statesmen and diplomatists.
+
+This commission was called upon to consider a number of international
+questions--the Atlantic and inland fisheries, the Alaska boundary, the
+alien labour law, the bonding privilege, the seal fishery in the Bering
+Sea, reciprocity of trade in certain products of the two countries, and
+other minor issues. For the reasons given in a previous part of this
+chapter (page 269), when referring to the commercial policy of the
+Laurier government, reciprocity was no longer the all-important question
+to be discussed, though the commissioners were desirous of making fiscal
+arrangements with respect to lumber, coal, and some other Canadian
+products for which there is an increasing demand in the markets of the
+United States. The long and earnest discussions of the commission on the
+various questions before them were, however, abruptly terminated by the
+impossibility of reaching a satisfactory conclusion with respect to the
+best means of adjusting the vexed question of the Alaska boundary, which
+had become of great international import in consequence of the discovery
+of gold in the territory of Alaska and the district of Yukon in Canada.
+
+The dispute between Great Britain and the United States has arisen as to
+the interpretation to be given to the Anglo-Russian treaty of 1825,
+which was made forty-two years before Russia sold her territorial rights
+in Alaska to the United States, that sale being subject of course to the
+conditions of the treaty in question. Under the third article of this
+treaty[10]--the governing clause of the contract between England and
+Russia--boundary line between Canada and Alaska commences at the south
+end of Prince of Wales Island, thence runs north through Portland
+Channel to the fifty-sixth degree of north latitude, thence follows the
+summit of the mountains situated parallel to the coast of the continent,
+to one hundred and forty-one west longitude and thence to the frozen
+ocean. That part of the line between fifty-six north latitude and one
+hundred and forty-one west longitude is where the main dispute arises.
+Great Britain on behalf of Canada contends that, by following the
+summits of the mountains between these two points, the true boundary
+would cross Lynn Canal, about half way between the headlands and
+tide-water at the head of the canal, and leave both Skagway and
+Dyea--towns built up chiefly by United States citizens--within British
+territory. The contention of Great Britain always has been that the
+boundary should follow the general contour of the coast line and not the
+inlets to their head waters. On the other hand the United States contend
+that the whole of Lynn Canal up to the very top, to the extent of
+tide-water, is a part of the ocean, and that the territory of the United
+States goes back for ten leagues from the head of the canal and
+consequently includes Skagway and Dyea. In other words the United States
+claim that the boundary should not follow the coast line but pass
+around the head of this important inlet, which controls access to the
+interior of the gold-bearing region.
+
+[10: The following is the article in full: "The line of demarcation
+between the possessions of the high contracting parties upon the coast
+of the continent and the islands of America to the north-west, shall be
+drawn in the following manner: commencing from the southernmost point of
+the island called Prince of Wales Island, which point lies in the
+parallel of fifty-four degrees forty minutes north latitude, and between
+the one hundred and thirty-first and the one hundred and thirty-third
+degree of west longitude, the said line shall ascend to the north along
+the channel called Portland Channel as far as the point of the continent
+where it strikes the fifty-sixth degree of north latitude. From this
+last-mentioned point the line of demarcation shall follow the summit of
+the mountains situated parallel to the coast as far as the point of
+intersection of the one hundred and forty-first degree of west longitude
+(of the same meridian), and finally from the said point of intersection
+of the one hundred and forty-first degree in its prolongation as far as
+the frozen ocean, shall form the limit between the Russian and British
+possessions, on the continent of America to the north-west"]
+
+[Illustration: MAP OF BRITISH COLUMBIA AND YUKON DISTRICT SHOWING
+DISPUTED BOUNDARY BETWEEN]
+
+The Canadian commissioners first offered as a compromise to leave Dyea
+and Skagway in the possession of the United States if the commissioners
+of that country would agree that Canada should retain Pyramid Harbour,
+which would give to Canadians a highway into the Yukon district. The
+acceptance of this compromise would have made a common water of the Lynn
+Canal, and at the same time left to the United States the greater
+portion of the territory in dispute. When the commissioners of the
+United States refused this fair compromise, the Canadians offered to
+refer the whole question to arbitration in order to ascertain the true
+boundary under the Anglo-Russian treaty. They proposed that the
+arbitrators should be three jurists of repute: one chosen for Great
+Britain by the judicial committee of the privy council, one appointed by
+the president of the United States, and the third a high international
+authority to act as an umpire. The commissioners of the United States
+positively refused to agree to this proposition and suggested the
+appointment of six jurists, three to be appointed by Great Britain, and
+the others by the United States. The Canadian representatives were
+unable to agree to the amendment suggested by their American colleagues,
+on the ground that it did not "provide a tribunal which would
+necessarily, and in the possible event of differences of opinion,
+finally dispose of the question," They also refused to agree to other
+propositions of the United States as "a marked and important departure
+from the rules of the Venezuelan boundary reference." The commissioners
+of the United States were not only unwilling to agree to the selection
+of an impartial European umpire, but were desirous of the appointment of
+an American umpire--from the South American Republics--over whom the
+United States would have more or less influence. Under these
+circumstances the Canadian commissioners were unwilling to proceed to
+the determination of other questions (on which a conclusion had been
+nearly reached) "until the boundary question had been disposed of either
+by agreement or reference to arbitration." The commission adjourned
+until August in the same year, but the negotiations that took place in
+the interval between the governments of Great Britain and the United
+States on the question at issue were not sufficiently advanced to enable
+a meeting at the proposed date. In these circumstances a _modus vivendi_
+was arranged between the United States and Canada, whose interests have
+been carefully guarded throughout the controversy by the government of
+the imperial state.
+
+This review of Canada's relations with the United States and England for
+more than a century illustrates at once her weakness and her
+strength--her weakness in the days of provincial isolation and imperial
+indifference; her strength under the inspiring influences of federal
+union and of an imperial spirit which gives her due recognition in the
+councils of the empire. It may now be said that, in a limited sense,
+there is already a loose system of federation between Great Britain and
+her dependencies. The central government of Great Britain, as the
+guardian of the welfare of the whole empire, cooperates with the several
+governments of her colonial dependencies, and, by common consultation
+and arrangement, endeavours to come to such a determination as will be
+to the advantage of all the interests at stake. In other words, the
+conditions of the relations between Great Britain and Canada are such as
+to insure unity of policy so long as each government considers the
+interests of Great Britain and the dependency as identical, and keeps in
+view the obligations, welfare, and unity of the empire at large. Full
+consultation in all negotiations affecting Canada, representation in
+every arbitration and commission that may be the result of such
+negotiations, are the principles which, of late years, have been
+admitted by Great Britain in acknowledgement of the development of
+Canada and of her present position in the empire; and any departure
+from so sound a doctrine would be a serious injury to the imperial
+connection, and an insult to the ability of Canadians to take a part in
+the great councils of the world. The same mysterious Providence that has
+already divided the continent of North America, as far as Mexico,
+between Canada and the United States, and that in the past prevented
+their political fortunes from becoming one, still forces the Canadian
+communities with an irresistible power to press onward until they
+realise those high conceptions which some statesmen already imagine for
+them in a not very distant future. These conceptions are of a still
+closer union with the parent state, which shall increase their national
+responsibilities, and at the same time give the Dominion a recognised
+position in the central councils of the empire.
+
+
+
+
+   APPENDIX A.
+
+   COMPARISONS BETWEEN THE MAIN PROVISIONS OF
+   THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA
+   AND THE AUSTRALIAN COMMONWEALTH.
+
+   CANADA.                             AUSTRALIA.            |
+   _Name._                             _Name_
+   The Dominion of Canada              The Commonwealth of Australia.
+
+   _How Constituted._                  _How Constituted_
+   Of provinces.                       Of states.
+
+   _Seat of Government._               _Seat of Government_
+   At Ottawa until the Queen           Within federal territory in
+   otherwise directs.                  New South Wales, at least 100
+                                       miles from Sydney
+
+   _Executive Power._                  _Executive Power_
+   Vested in the Queen.                Vested in the Queen.
+   Queen's representative, a           Queen's representative, a
+   governor-general, appointed by      governor-general, appointed by
+   the Queen in council.               the Queen in council.
+
+   Salary of governor-general          Not less than L10,000 paid
+   L10,000 sterling, paid by Dominion  by the commonwealth, fixed by
+   government, alterable by            parliament from time to time,
+   the parliament of Canada, but       not diminished during tenure of
+   subject to the disallowance of      a governor-general.
+   the crown, as in 1868, when
+   parliament passed a bill to reduce
+   this salary.
+
+
+
+
+         CANADA.                                    AUSTRALIA.
+   Ministers called by governor-general     Same--only for "privy
+   to form a cabinet, first                 councillors" read "executive
+   sworn in as privy councillors,           councillors"
+   hold office while they have the
+   confidence of the popular house
+   of parliament, in accordance with
+   the conventions, understandings,
+   and maxims of responsible or
+   parliamentary government.
+
+   Privy councillors hold, as the      Executive councillors administer
+   crown may designate, certain        such departments as
+   departments of state, not limited   governor-general from time to
+   in name or number, but left to      time establishes. Until other
+   the discretionary action of         provision is made by parliament,
+   parliament. Such heads of           number of such officers, who
+   departments must seek a new         may sit in parliament, shall not
+   election on accepting these         exceed seven.
+   office of emolument.
+
+     _Command of Military and             _Command of Military and
+          Naval Forces_                       Naval Forces_
+     Vested in the Queen.                In the Queen's representative.
+
+        _Parliament_                         _Parliament_
+    The Queen.                         The Queen.
+    Senate.                            Senate.
+    House of commons.                  House of representatives.
+    Session once at least every        The same.
+    year.
+   Privileges, immunities and          Such as declared by the parliament
+   powers held by senate and house     of the commonwealth,
+   of commons, such as are defined     and, until declared, such as are
+   by act of the parliament of         held by the commons' house of
+   Canada, but not to exceed those     parliament of Great Britain at
+   enjoyed at the passing of such      the date of the establishment of
+   act by the commons' house of        the commonwealth.
+   parliament of Great Britain.
+
+   CANADA.                             AUSTRALIA
+
+   Senate composed of twenty-four      Senate composed of six
+   members for each of the             senators for each state, directly
+   three following divisions (1)       chosen for six years by the
+   Ontario, (2) Quebec, and (3)        people of the state voting as
+   maritime provinces of Nova          one electorate; half the number
+   Scotia, New Brunswick, and          shall retire every three years,
+   Prince Edward Island. Other         but shall be eligible for
+   provinces can be represented        re-election. No property
+   under the constitution, but the     qualification is required, but the
+   total number of senators shall      senators must be British subjects
+   not at any time exceed              of the full age of twenty-one years.
+   seventy-eight, except in the        In Queensland the people can
+   case of the admission of            vote in divisions, instead of in
+   Newfoundland, when the maximum      one electorate.
+   may be eighty-two. Senators
+   appointed by the crown for life,
+   but removable for certain
+   disabilities. They must have
+   a property qualification and be
+   of the full age of thirty years.
+
+   Speaker of the senate appointed      President of the senate elected
+   by the governor-general              by that body.
+   (in council).
+
+   Fifteen senators form a quorum       One-third of whole number of
+   until parliament of Canada           senators form a quorum until
+   otherwise provides.                  parliament of commonwealth
+                                        otherwise provides.
+   Non-attendance for two whole         Non-attendance for two consecutive
+   sessions vacates a senator's seat.   months of any session
+                                        vacates a senator's seat.
+   Members of house of commons          Every three years.
+   elected every five years,
+   or whenever parliament is dissolved
+   by the governor-general.
+
+   No property qualification, but       The same.
+   must be British subjects of full
+   age of twenty-one years.
+
+
+
+   CANADA.                               AUSTRALIA
+   The electors for the Dominion         Qualification of electors for
+   commons are the electors of the       members of the house of
+   several provinces, under the          representatives is that
+   limitations of a statute passed       prescribed by the law of each
+   by the Dominion parliament in         state for the electors of the
+   1878. Qualifications vary, but        more numerous house of the
+   universal suffrage, qualified by      parlianment of the state.
+   residence, generally prevails.
+
+   A fresh apportionment of              The same.
+   representatives to be made after
+   each census, or not longer than
+   intervals of ten years.
+
+   Speaker of house of commons           The same.
+   elected by the members of the
+   house.
+
+   Quorum of house of commons            Quorum of house of representatives
+   --twenty members, of whom the         --one-third of the
+   speaker counts one.                   whole number of members
+                                         until otherwise provided by
+                                         parliament.
+
+   No such provision.                    Member vacates his seat
+                                         when absent, without permission,
+                                         for two months of a
+                                         session.
+
+   No such provision.                    Parliament to be called together
+                                         not later than thirty days
+                                         after that appointment for return
+                                         of writs.
+
+   Allowance to each member of           Allowance of L400 to members
+   senate and commons $1,000 for         of both houses until other
+   a session of thirty days, and         provision is made by parliament.
+   mileage expenses, 10 cents a
+   mile going and returning. Not
+   expressly provided for by
+   constitution but by statute of
+   parliament from time to time.
+
+
+
+
+   CANADA.                                 AUSTRALIA.
+   Canadian statutes disqualify            Same classes disqualified in
+   contractors and certain persons         the constitution.
+   holding office on receiving emoluments
+   or fees from the crown
+   while sitting in parliament.
+
+   Each house determines the               The constitution has a special
+   rules, and orders necessary for         provision on the subject.
+   the regulation of its own proceedings;
+   not in the constitution.
+
+   _Money And Tax Bills_                   _Money and Tax Bills_
+   The same.                               Money and tax bills can only
+                                           originate in the house of
+                                           representatives.
+
+   |Same by practice.                      The senate can reject, but not
+                                           amend, taxation or appropriation
+                                           bills.
+
+   Not in Canadian constitution.           The senate may return money
+                                           and appropriation bills to the
+                                           house of representatives,
+                                           requesting the omission or
+                                           amendment of any provision
+                                           therein, but it is optional
+                                           for the house to make such
+                                           omissions or amendments.
+
+   No such provision.                      If bills, other than money
+                                           bills,
+                                           have twice been passed by the
+                                           house of representatives and
+                                           twice been rejected by the
+                                           senate or passed by that body
+                                           with amendments to which the
+                                           house of representatives will
+                                           not agree, the governor-general
+                                           may dissolve the two houses
+                                           simultaneously; and if, after
+                                           the new election
+                                           they continue to disagree,
+                                           the governor-general may convene
+                                           a joint sitting of the members
+                                           of the two houses, who shall
+                                           deliberate and vote upon the
+                                           bill, which can only become
+                                           law if passed by an absolute
+                                           majority of the members sitting
+                                           and voting.
+
+   _Legislative Powers of the              _Legislative Powers of the
+   Parliament of the Dominion_.             Parliament of the
+                                           Commonwealth_.
+
+   Respective powers of the federal        The Legislative powers of the
+   parliament and provincial               federal parliament are alone
+   legislatures are enumerated and         enumerated, and the states
+   defined in the constitution; the        expressly retain all the powers
+   residuum of power rests with the        vested in them by their
+   central government in relation          respective constitutions at the
+   to all matters not coming within        establishment of the
+   the classes of subjects by the          commonwealth as to matters not
+   British North America act of            specified as being within the
+   1867 assigned exclusively to the        exclusive jurisdiction of the
+   legislatures.                           federal parliament.
+
+   _The Provinces._                        _The States._
+
+   Legislatures may alter provincial       Constitutions may be altered
+   constitutions except as                 under the authority of the
+   regards the office of lieutenant        parliaments thereof.
+   -governor.
+
+   Lieutenant-governors are appointed      The constitution of each state
+   by the governor-general-in-council,     continues (subject to the
+   and removable by                        constitution) as at the
+   him within five years only for          establishment of the
+   cause assigned and communicated         commonwealth, or as at the
+   by message to the two                   admission or establishment
+   houses of parliament.                   of the states, as the case
+                                           may be, until altered in
+                                           accordance with the
+                                           constitution of the
+                                           states. In other words,
+                                           the powers of the states
+                                           over their own constitutions
+                                           are preserved.
+
+   Acts of the provincial                  When a law of the state is
+   legislatures may be disallowed          inconsistent with one of the
+   by the governor-general-in-council      commonwealth, the latter shall,
+   one year after their receipt.           to the extent of such
+                                           inconsistency, be invalid.
+
+   Education is within exclusive           No special provisions in the
+   jurisdiction of the provinces,          constitution; education being
+   but with conditions for the             one of the subjects exclusively
+   maintenance and protection of           within the powers of the state
+   rights and privileges of                parliaments, under the clause
+   religious bodies in a province          leaving them in possession of
+   with respect to denominational          all powers not expressly given
+   schools.                                to the federal parliament.
+
+   The federal parliament can              A state shall not impose any
+   alone impose duties or taxes on         taxes or duties upon imports
+   imports.                                except such as are necessary
+                                           for executing the inspection
+                                           laws of a state, but the net
+                                           produce of all charges so
+                                           levied shall be for use of the,
+                                           commonwealth, and such
+                                           inspection laws may be annulled
+                                           by the parliament of the
+                                           commonwealth.
+
+   Similar power.                          The parliament of the
+                                           commonwealth may from time to
+                                           time admit new states, and make
+                                           laws for the provisional
+                                           administration and government
+                                           of any territory surrendered by
+                                           any state to the commonwealth,
+                                           or of any territory placed by
+                                           the Queen under the
+                                           commonwealth, or otherwise
+                                           acquired by the same.
+
+
+   CANADA.                                 AUSTRALIA.
+
+   _The Judiciary._                        _The Judiciary._
+
+   The same.                               The parliament of the
+                                           commonwealth can establish a
+                                           federal supreme court, called
+                                           the High Court of Australia,
+                                           and other federal courts for
+                                           the commonwealth; the judges
+                                           to be appointed by the
+                                           governor-general, to hold
+                                           office during good behaviour,
+   No such provision with respect          not to be removed except upon
+   to diminution of salary during          an address of both houses of
+   tenure of office.                       parliament, but so that the
+                                           salary paid to any judge shall
+                                           not be diminished during his
+                                           continuance in office.
+
+   Similar provisions by statutory         The high court can adjudicate
+   enactments of Dominion                  in cases arising out of the
+   parliament.                             constitution, or controversies
+                                           between states, or in which the
+                                           commonwealth is a party.
+
+   No such stringent provision             Appeals only allowed to
+   exists in the Canadian                  Queen-in-council from high court
+   constitution, but appeals in all        on constitutional issues between
+   civil--though not in                    commonwealth and any state,
+   criminal--cases are allowed, by         or between two or more states,
+   virtue of the exercise of the           when high court gives leave to
+   royal prerogative, from                 appeal. Otherwise, the royal
+   provincial courts as well as            prerogative to grant appeals is
+   from the supreme court of Canada        not impaired. Parliament may,
+   to the Queen-in-council;                however, make laws limiting
+   _i.e._, in practice, to the             such appeals, but they must
+   judicial committee of the privy         be reserved for her Majesty's
+   council.                                pleasure.
+
+
+
+
+
+          CANADA.                                   AUSTRALIA.
+
+   Judges of the superior and            Judges in the states are appointed
+   county courts in the provinces        and removable under existing state
+   (except those of probate in New       constitutions, which the state
+   Brunswick, Nova Scotia and            parliaments can change at will.
+   Prince Edward Island) are appointed
+   by the governor-general-in-council,
+   and removable only
+   by the same on the address of
+   the two houses of parliament.
+   Their salaries and allowances
+   are fixed by the parliament of
+   Canada.
+
+   The provinces have jurisdiction       Similar powers in the states.
+   over the administration of
+   justice in a province, including
+   the constitution, maintenance,
+   and organisation of provincial
+   courts, both of civil and criminal
+   jurisdiction, and including the
+   procedure in civil matters in
+   those courts.
+
+   The enactment and amendment            With the states.
+   of the criminal law rest
+   with the Dominion parliament.
+
+   The enactment and amendment            With the states.
+   of all laws relating to property
+   and civil rights rest with
+   the provinces.
+
+   _Trade and Finance._                  _Trade and Finance._
+   Customs and excise, trade and         The parliament of the commonwealth
+   commerce, are within exclusive        has sole power to
+   jurisdiction of Dominion parliament.  impose uniform duties of customs
+                                         and excise, and to grant bounties
+                                         upon goods when it thinks it
+                                         expedient. As soon as
+                                         such duties or customs
+                                         are imposed, trade and
+                                         intercourse throughout the
+                                         commonwealth, whether by
+                                         internal carriageor ocean
+                                         navigation, is to be free.
+
+   The Dominion government               The parliament of the commonwealth
+   can veto any such unconstitutional    may annul any state
+   law.                                  law interfering with the freedom
+                                         of trade or commerce between
+                                         the different parts of the
+                                         commonwealth, or giving preference
+                                         to the ports of one part over
+                                         those of another.
+
+   The power of direct taxation          Direct taxation may be imposed
+   is within the jurisdiction of both    by the commonwealth
+   Dominion parliament and provincial    and by each state within its own
+   legislatures, the one for             limits--but taxation, when
+   Dominion and the other solely         exercised by the commonwealth,
+   for provincial purposes.              must be uniform.
+
+   Both Dominion and provincial          Same is true of commonwealth
+   governments have unlimited            and states.
+   borrowing power under the authority
+   of parliament and legislatures.
+
+   Certain money subsidies are           Of the net revenue of the
+   paid annually to the provinces        commonwealth from duties of
+   towards the support of their          customs and excise, not more
+   governments and legislatures.         than one-fourth shall be applied
+                                         annually by the commonwealth
+                                         towards its expenditure. The
+                                         balance shall, in accordance
+                                         with certain conditions of the
+                                         constitution, be paid to the
+                                         several states, or applied
+                                         towards the payment of
+                                         interest on debts of the
+                                         several states. This arrangement
+                                         is limited to ten years. Financial
+                                         aid may be granted to any state
+                                         upon such terms as the federal
+                                         parliament may deem expedient.
+                                         Western Australia may, subject
+                                         to certain restrictions, impose
+                                         duties on goods imported from
+                                         other parts of the commonwealth.
+
+
+   No such provision; but the            For the administration of the
+   Dominion parliament and provincial    laws relating to interstate trade
+   legislatures could by                 the governor-general-in-council
+   legislation arrange a similar         may appoint an interstate
+   commission.                           commission.
+
+   Canada is liable for amount of       The parliament of the commonwealth
+   the debts and liabilities of the     may consolidate or
+   provinces existing at the time of    take over state debts by general
+   the union, under the conditions      consent, but a state shall
+   and terms laid down in the           indemnify the commonwealth, and
+   constitution.                        the amount of interest payable in
+                                        respect to a debt shall be
+                                        deducted from its share of the
+                                        surplus revenue of the
+                                        commonwealth.
+
+   _Imperial Control over_              _Imperial Control over_
+   _Dominion Legislation._              _Australian Legislation._
+   Bills may be reserved by the         The same.
+   governor-general for the Queen's
+   pleasure, and her Majesty in         As the old state constitutions
+   council may within two years         continue in force until amended
+   after receipt of any Dominion        by the state, state legislation is
+   act disallow the same.               still subject to power of
+                                        disallowance by Queen in council.
+
+   No such provision.                   The governor-general may return
+                                        any "law" presented to him for
+                                        the Queen's assent and suggest
+                                        amendments therein, and
+                                        the houses may deal with them
+                                        as they think fit.
+
+   The recommendation of the            The same.
+   crown is required before initiation
+   of a money vote in parliament.
+
+   _Amendments to the                   _Amendments to the
+   Constitution_.                       Constitution._
+
+   By the imperial parliament on        Any proposed amendment to
+   an address of the houses of the      the constitution must be first
+   Dominion parliament to the           passed by an absolute majority
+   Queen.                               of each house of parliament,
+                                        and submitted in each state to
+                                        the electors qualified to vote for
+                                        members of the house of
+                                        representatives. If in majority of
+                                        the states a majority of the
+                                        electors voting approve the
+                                        proposed law, and if a majority
+                                        of all the electors
+                                        voting also approve the
+                                        proposed law,  it shall be
+                                        presented to the governor-general
+                                        for the royal assent.
+
+
+APPENDIX B.
+
+BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES.
+
+
+I confine these notes to the most accurate and available books and
+essays on the history of Canada.
+
+For the French regime consult.--_Jacques Cartier's Voyages_, by Joseph
+Pope (Ottawa, 1889), Charlevoix's _History and General Description of
+New France_, translated by J. Gilmary Shea (New York, 1868); _Cours
+d'histoire du Canada_, by Abbe Ferland (Quebec, 1861); _Histoire du
+Canada_, by F.X. Garneau (4th ed., Montreal, 1882); F. Parkman's series
+of admirable histories of the French regime (Boston, 1865--1884), _The
+Story of Canada_ (Nations' Series, London, New York and Toronto, 1896),
+by J.G. Bourinot, necessarily written in a light vein, is largely
+devoted to the days of French rule, and may profitably be read on that
+account in connection with this later book, chiefly devoted to British
+dominion.
+
+For the history of Acadia, consult.--_Acadia_, by James Hannay (St.
+John, N.B., 1879); _History of Nova Scotia_, by Thomas C. Haliburton
+(Halifax, N.S., 1829). A valuable compilation of annals is _A History of
+Nova Scotia or Acadie_, by Beamish Murdoch (Halifax, 1867). _Builders of
+Nova Scotia_, by J.G. Bourinot (Toronto, and "Trans. Roy. Soc. Can.,"
+1900), contains many portraits of famous Nova Scotians down to
+confederation, and appendices of valuable historical documents.
+
+_Cape Breton and its Memorials of the French Regime_ ("Trans. Roy. Soc.
+Can.," vol. IX, and in separate form, Montreal, 1891) by J.G. Bourinot,
+gives a full bibliography of voyages of Northmen, the Cabots, Carrier,
+and Champlain, and of the Histories of the Seven Years' War. The same
+remarks apply to Winsor's _Narrative and Critical History of America_
+(Boston, 1886--89). The "Trans. Roy. Soc. Can.," since 1894, have
+several important papers by Archbishop O'Brien, Dr. S.E. Dawson, and
+others on the Cabot discovery.
+
+British rule, 1760-1900:--Garneau's _History_, already mentioned, gives
+the French Canadian view of the political situation from 1760 until
+1840; William Kingsford's _History of Canada_ (Toronto, 1887-1898) has a
+fairly accurate account of events from 1760 until 1840, in vols. V-X; _A
+History of Lower Canada_, by R. Christie, a member of the assembly of
+the province (Quebec, 1848-1854) is very useful for copies of public
+documents from 1774 until 1840.
+
+The most important accounts of the U.E. Loyalists of the American
+Revolution by writers in the United States are:--L. Sabine's _Loyalists_
+(Boston, 1864), and Tyler's _Literary History of the American
+Revolution_ (New York, 1897). Canadian accounts are to be found in
+Egerton Ryerson's _Loyalists of America_ (Toronto, 1880)--remarkably
+prosaic--and Canniff's _History of Upper Canada_ (Toronto, 1872).
+Consult also articles of J.G. Bourinot in the _Quarterly Review_ for
+October, 1898, and the _Canadian Magazine_ for April, 1898, in which
+names of prominent Canadian descendants of Loyalists are given.
+
+Kingsford's _History_, vol. VIII, has the best Canadian account of the
+War of 1812-15. The most impartial American record of its causes and
+progress is Henry Adams's _History of the United States of America_ (New
+York, 1860), vols VI and VII.
+
+Garneau's _History_ gives the most favourable estimate of Papineau and
+his party, who brought about the Rebellion in Lower Canada. Kingsford
+(vols. IX and X) writes impartially on the risings in the two Canadas.
+
+Other works to be consulted are:--Lord Durham's _Report on the Affairs
+of British North America_ (London, 1839); _Life of W. Lyon Mackenzie_,
+by Charles Lindsey, his son-in-law (Toronto, 1863); _The Upper Canadian
+Rebellion_, by J. Charles Dent (Toronto, 1885). The _Speeches and
+Letters_ of the Hon. Joseph Howe (Boston, 1858) contain the ablest
+expositions of the principles of responsible government by its greatest
+advocate in British North America. See also Campbell's _History of
+Prince Edward Island_ (Charlottetown, 1875). New Brunswick has not a
+single good history. _The Life and Times of Sir Leonard Tilley_, by
+James Hannay (St. John, N.B. 1897), can be read with advantage. See
+Prof. Ganong's valuable essays on the early history of New Brunswick in
+"Trans. Roy. Soc. Can," New Series, vols. I--v. Rev. Dr. Withrow's
+_History of Canada_ (Toronto, 1888) has chapters on affairs of Prince
+Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, to date of publication.
+
+For the history of Canada since 1840, consult.--_Canada since the Union_
+(1840--1880), by J. Charles Dent (Toronto, 1880--81); _Le Canada sous
+l'Union_, by Louis Turcotte (Quebec, 1871); _Memoirs of the Right Hon.
+Sir John A. Macdonald_, by Joseph Pope, his private secretary (London
+and Ottawa, 1894); _Debates on Confederation_ (Quebec, 1865);
+_Confederation_, by Hon. J.H. Gray, M.P., a delegate to the Quebec
+Conference (Toronto, 1872).
+
+For the constitutional development of Canada, consult.--_A Manual_, by
+J.G. Bourinot (Montreal, 1888, and included in latest edition of his
+_Parliamentary Procedure_, 1891); _How Canada is Governed_, by the same
+(Toronto, 1897--1900); _Parliamentary Government in the Colonies_, by
+Alpheus Todd (London, 1894); _Documents illustrative of the Canadian
+Constitution_, by W. Houston (Toronto, 1891). _Parliamentary Government
+in Canada_, by J.G. Bourinot (Amer. Hist. Association, Washington, 1892,
+and "Trans. Roy. Soc. Can.," 1892), contains a long list of books
+relating to the constitutional history of Canada. Also consult _How
+Canada is Governed_ for works on constitutional, legal, municipal and
+educational history of the provinces of Canada.
+
+For Manitoba and the North-west Territories the reader may
+consult:--_Manitoba. Its Infancy, Growth and Present Condition_, by Rev.
+Prof. Bryce (London, 1882); _History of the North-west_, by A. Begg
+(Toronto, 1894); _The Great Company_, by Beckles Wilson (Toronto and
+London, 1899); _Reminiscences of the North-west Rebellions_, by Major
+Boulton (Toronto, 1886). A remarkable _History of the Hudson's Bay
+Company_, by Rev. Prof. Bryce (London, New York and Toronto, 1900). For
+British Columbia:--A. Begg's _History_ (Toronto, 1896).
+
+For the literary progress of Canada, consult:--_The Intellectual
+Development of the Canadian People_, by J.G. Bourinot (Toronto, 1881);
+_Canada's Intellectual Strength and Weakness_ ("Trans. Roy. Soc.
+Canada," vol. XI, also in separate form, Montreal, 1893), by the same,
+contains an elaborate list of Canadian literature, French and English,
+to date. The 17 volumes of the same Transactions contain numerous
+valuable essays on French Canadian literary progress.
+
+Other valuable books to be consulted are:--_Canada and Newfoundland_ in
+Stanford's _Compendium of Geography and Travel_ (London, 1897), by Dr.
+S.E. Dawson, F.R.S.C.; _The Statistical Year Book of Canada_, a
+government publication issued annually at Ottawa, and edited by Geo.
+Johnson, F.S.S.; _The Great Dominion_ (London, 1895), by Dr. G.R.
+Parkin, C.M.G., LL.D., the eloquent advocate of imperial federation for
+many years, merits careful reading. _Canada and the United States_, in
+Papers of the Amer. Hist Assoc. (Washington, July, 1891), and _Canada
+and the United States: their Past and Present Relations_, in the
+_Quarterly Review_ for April, 1891, both by the present author, have
+been largely used in the preparation of the last chapter of this book.
+
+With respect to the boundaries of Canada and the English colonies during
+the days of French dominion, and from 1763 until 1774--_i.e._ from the
+Treaty of Paris until the Quebec Act--consult a valuable collection of
+early French and English maps, given in _A Report on the Boundaries of
+Ontario_ (Toronto, 1873), by Hon. David Mills, now Minister of Justice
+in the Laurier government, who was an Ontario commissioner to collect
+evidence with respect to the western limits of the province. Consult
+also Prof. Hinsdale's _Old North-west_ (New York, 1888); _Epochs of
+American History_, edited by Prof. Hart, of Harvard University (London
+and Boston, 1893); _Remarks on the French Memorials concerning the
+Limits of Acadia_ (London, 1756) by T. Jefferys, who gives maps showing
+clearly French and English claims with respect to Nova Scotia or Acadia
+"according to its ancient limits" (Treaty of Utrecht). These and other
+maps are given in that invaluable compilation, Winsor's _Narrative and
+Critical History of America_. See also Mitchell's map of British and
+French possessions in North America, issued by the British Board of
+Plantations in 1758, and reprinted (in part) in the _Debates on the
+Quebec Act_, by Sir H. Cavendish (London, 1839). For text of Treaties of
+Utrecht (1612), of Paris (1763), of Quebec Act (1774), and other
+treaties and imperial acts relating to Canada, see Houston's
+_Documents_, cited above, p. 329. The maps of Canada and the disputed
+boundary in Alaska, which I give in this book, are taken from the small
+maps issued in 1899 by the Department of the Interior at Ottawa.
+
+INDEX
+
+
+Abbott, Sir John; prime minister of Canada, 257; death of, ib
+
+Aberdeen, Earl of; governor-general of Canada, 265-267
+
+Aberdeen, Lady, 267
+
+Acadia College, N.S., founded, 163
+
+_Acadie_ or _La Cadie_; name of, 8; settled by France, 8, 9; ceded to
+Great Britain by Treaty of Utrecht (1713), 9; French inhabitants
+expelled from, 22, 23
+
+Adams, President John; on the U.K. Loyalists, 76
+
+Alaskan Boundary, 310-312; map of, 311
+
+Alexander, Sir William (Lord Stirling); names Nova Scotia, 11
+
+Allan, Sir Hugh; contributes funds to Conservative elections, 236;
+results of, 237
+
+Allouez, Father; founds mission at La Pointe (Ashland), 17
+
+Almon, M, B.; banker and politician of Nova Scotia, 178
+
+American Revolution; causes of, 56-65; momentous events of, 63-67; its
+effects upon Canada and Maritime Provinces, 67-74, 81
+
+Angers, lieutenant-governor; dismisses Mercier ministry in Quebec, 247
+
+Anglican Church: first built in Upper Canada, 84
+
+Annand, William; Nova Scotian journalist, and first minister of province
+after Confederation, 218
+
+Annapolis (Port Royal) named, 9
+
+Archibald, Sir Adams, delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 204; first
+lieutenant-governor of Manitoba, 230
+
+Architecture in Canada, 288, 289
+
+Art in Canada, 288
+
+Assiniboia; name of Lord Selkirk's domain in North-west, 225
+
+Australia, Commonwealth of; constitution of, 282, 283; comparisons
+between Canadian and Australian federal systems, 315-326 (Appendix A)
+
+Baccalaos, or Newfoundland, 8
+
+Bagot, Sir Charles, governor-general of Canada, 169
+
+Baldwin, Robert, efforts of, for responsible government, 168, 169; joint
+leader with Lafontaine in Reform ministry, 170, 173; admirable character
+of, 184
+
+Ballot, vote by; established, 239
+
+Basques in Canada, 5
+
+Batoche, N.W.T.; victory of loyal Canadian forces at, in second
+North-west rebellion of 1885, 253
+
+Bay of Chaleurs Railway; scandal connected with, 247
+
+Bering Sea dispute, 308, 309
+
+Bibliographical notes, see App. B
+
+Bidwell, Marshall Spring; reformer of Upper Canada, 146, 149, 151;
+unjust treatment of, by lieutenant-governor Head, 153
+
+Big Bear, Indian Chief in N.W.T.; rebels against Canada and is punished,
+253-254
+
+Bishop's Palace; first parliament house of Lower Canada, 92, 160
+
+Blair, Mr.; Canadian statesman, 265
+
+Blake, Edward; Canadian statesman, 230, 231, 234, 241, 244, 255
+
+Blanchard, Hiram; Nova Scotia, Unionist, defeated in 1867, 218
+
+Botsford, Amos; first speaker of assembly of New Brunswick, 88
+
+Boucherville, M. de; prime minister of Quebec, 245, 247
+
+Bouchette, Joseph, Canadian general and author, 164
+
+Boundary disputes; in North-west, 292; in Maine, 296-300; in Oregon,
+300-302; in British Columbia (San Juan) 301, 302; in Alaska, 310-312.
+See _Maps_
+
+Boundary of Ontario settled, 238
+
+Bourgeoys, Sister, 34
+
+Bowell, Sir Mackenzie; prime minister of Canada, 257
+
+Brant, Joseph (Thayendanega), Mohawk Chief, 84; his loyalty to Great
+Britain, ib.
+
+Brebeuf, Jean de, Jesuit martyr, 12
+
+Bretons in Canada, 51
+
+Briand, Bishop; consecrated after conquest, 43; loyal _mandement_ of, in
+1775, 58
+
+British American League suggests federal union of provinces, 194
+
+British Columbia, province of; its early history, 231, 232; enters
+Confederation, 232
+
+British North America Act of 1867; passed to unite provinces, 215. See
+_Constitution of Canada._
+
+Brock, General; services of, during war of 1812-15, 114, 119; death of,
+ib.
+
+Brown, George; Canadian journalist and reformer, suggests federal union,
+196; advocates representation by population, 197; assists in bringing
+about Confederation, 197; joins the Tache-Macdonald government with
+other reformers, 198; leaves the coalition ministry, 217; unsuccessful
+mission to Washington to obtain reciprocity, 306; assassination of, 256;
+character of, 197, 202
+
+Brown, Thomas Storrow; leads Canadian rebels at St. Charles in 1837, 134
+
+By, Colonel, founder of Bytown (Ottawa), 158; engineer of Ruleau Canal,
+ib.
+
+Cabot, John; voyages of, to North America, 4, 5
+
+Caldwell, Receiver-General; defaulter to government, 126
+
+Calvet, Pierre du; opponent of Governor Haldimand, 72; disloyalty of,
+72, 73
+
+Campbell, Sir Alexander; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 203
+
+Campbell, Sir Colin; governor of Nova Scotia, 173; opposes responsible
+government, ib.
+
+Canada, name of, 6; discovery and settlement of, by France, 4-15; French
+exploration of, 15-21; conquered by Great Britain, 21-27; political,
+economic, and social conditions of, during French rule, 27-36;
+beginnings of British rule in, 37-45; influence of Quebec Act of 1774
+upon, 45-48; during American Revolution, 67-74; United Empire Loyalists
+settle in, 81-86; political divisions of (in 1792), 91; effects of war
+of 1812-15 upon, 110-123; rebellion in, 134-156; social and economic
+condition of, in 1838, 156-164; union of, in 1840, 166; responsible
+government in, 167-173; social and economic conditions of, in 1866,
+185-192; Confederation of, 215, 216; federal constitution of, 273-284,
+315-326; first ministry of, under Confederation, 216, first parliament
+of, 218, 219; trade and revenue of, in 1899, 273; literature in,
+284-287, art in, 288; sculpture in, ib.; architecture in, 288, 289;
+education in 289, 290; libraries in, ib.; relations with England and the
+United States, 390-314; bibliographical notes of, 327-330; maps of, see
+_Maps_
+
+Canada's representation at "Diamond Jubilee" (1897), 35, 36, 270, 271
+
+Canada Temperance Act. See _Temperance Legislation_
+
+Canada and the United States, relations between (1783-1900), 290-313
+
+_Canadien, Le_; established in French Canada, 95
+
+Canadian Pacific Railway; history of 232, 233, 236, 242, 244
+
+Canadian Trade Acts; respecting Upper and Lower Canada, 153
+
+Canals of Canada, 273
+
+Cape Breton, name of, 5
+
+Carignan-Salieres regiment settled in Canada 14
+
+Carleton, Guy (Lord Dorchester); governor general of Canada, 44; his
+just treatment of French Canadians, ib.; his part in framing of the
+Quebec Act, 45; saves Canada during American revolution, 67; again
+governor-general, 89; his tribute to the U.E. Loyalists, ib.
+
+Carleton, Colonel John; first governor of New Brunswick, 87
+
+Carnarvon, Earl of; introduces British North America Act of 1867 in
+British Parliament, 215
+
+Caroline steamer; seized by Canadians 295; international complications
+respecting 295, 296
+
+Caron Father le; French missionary, 16
+
+Caron, Sir Adolphe; minister of militia during North-west rebellion of
+1885, 252; resists Riel agitation in French Canada, 254
+
+Carter, Frederick B.T.; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Cartier, Sir George; a father of Confederation, 201; great public
+services of, ib.; death of, 233
+
+Cartier, Jacques, discovers the St. Lawrence, 6, 7
+
+Cartwright, Sir Richard; Canadian statesman, 94, 265
+
+Casgrain, Abbe; Canadian author, 284
+
+Cathcart, Lord; governor-general of Canada, 171, 172
+
+Champlain, Samuel; founds Quebec, 9; career of, in Canada, 9-12,
+character of, ib.
+
+Chandler, Edward Barron delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 205;
+public career of, 206
+
+Chapais, J.C., delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 304
+
+Chapleau, Sir Adolphe; resists popular clamour in French Canada for
+Riel's pardon after rebellion of 1885, 254
+
+Charlesbourg-Royal, 7
+
+Charlevoix, Jesuit priest; historian of New France, 19
+
+Chartier, Abbe; Canadian rebel of 1837, 135
+
+Chartrand, murder of, in Lower Canadian rebellion of 1837, 135
+
+Chateauguay, battle of; won by French Canadians, 116, 121
+
+Chateau of St. Louis; founded at Quebec, 31; destroyed by fire, 160
+
+Chauveau, Pierre O.J.; his services to education, 192; first prime
+minister of Quebec after Confederation, 217
+
+Chenier, Dr.; Canadian rebel, 134; monument to, 135
+
+Christie, Mr.; expelled from assembly of Lower Canada, 127;
+
+Chrystler's Farm, battle at; won by British troops in 1813, 116
+
+Civil Law of French Canada, 29; established under British rule, 46, 278
+
+Clergy Reserves Question; origin of, 141; powerful factor in political
+controversy for years, ib.; settled, 186
+
+Cockburn, James; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 204; first
+speaker of commons' house of Dominion parliament, ib.
+
+Code Napoleon in French Canada, 278
+
+Colbert, French minister, 27
+
+Colborne, Sir John (Lord Seaforth); represses rebellion in Lower Canada,
+134, 138; governor-general of Canada, 138
+
+Colebrooke, Sir William; lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, 174
+
+Coles, George; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Colonial Conference at Ottawa (1894), 200
+
+Commissions, International, affecting Canada; Maine boundary, 296,
+Washington (1871), 302, 304-306; Washington (1887), 307, 308, Bering
+Sea, 309; joint high commission (Quebec and Washington, 1897-98),
+309-313
+
+Commonwealth of Australia. See _Australia_
+
+Confederation of the British North American provinces; foreshadowed,
+194; beginnings of, 195-198; initiated at Quebec Convention of 1864,
+199; fathers of, 199-206, consummated, 206-215; birth of Dominion of
+Canada, 216; constitution of, 206-209, 273-284; first ministry under,
+216; first parliament under, 217; results of, 272, 273
+
+Congregation de Notre-Dame established, 34
+
+Constitutional Act of 1791; forms provinces of Upper and Lower Canada,
+90, 91; general provisions of, 91, 92
+
+Constitution of Canadian Dominion, 273-281; compared with that of
+Australian Commonwealth, 282-284, 315, 326 (App. A)
+
+Cornwallis, Colonel, founds Halifax, 49
+
+Corrupt elections: measures to restrain and punish, 239
+
+Cortereal, Gaspar and Miguel; voyages of, to North America, 5
+
+_Coureurs-de-bois,_ 17, 18
+
+_Coutume de Paris_ established in French Canada, 29
+
+Craig, Sir James; governor-general of Canada, 96; quarrels of, with
+leading French Canadians, character of, 96, 97
+
+Cremazie, Canadian poet, 192
+
+Crozier, Superintendent; defeated by half-breeds in North-west rebellion
+of 1885, 252
+
+Cut Knife Greek, N.W.T.; Colonel Otter engages Indians at, in North-west
+rebellion of 1885, 253
+
+Dalhousie College, Nova Scotia; founded, 163
+
+Dalhousie, Lord, governor-general of Canada; quarrel of, with Papineau,
+129
+
+Daly, Sir Dominick; first minister of Canada under Lord Metcalfe, 170
+
+Davies, Sir Louis; Canadian statesman, 265
+
+Davies, English navigator; voyages of, to Canada, 7
+
+Dawson, Sir William; Canadian scientist, 192, 286
+
+Dickey, R.B.; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 305
+
+Dochet Island (St. Croix River); first settlement of French on, 8
+
+Dominion of Canada; origin of name, 215; established, 215, 216; first
+ministry of, 216; first parliament of, 217; completed from Atlantic to
+Pacific, 227, 232, 234; history of, from 1873-1900, 236-272; map of, _at
+end._
+
+Dorchester, Lord; see _Carleton, Sir Guy_
+
+Douglas, Sir James; governor of British Columbia, 232
+
+Drew, Captain; seizes steamer Caroline on U.S. frontier, 154. See
+_Caroline._
+
+Drummond, Attorney-General; member of MacNab-Morin ministry, 186
+
+Drummond, Dr., Canadian poet, 285
+
+Drummond, General, services of, during war of 1812-15, 116, 117, 122
+
+Duck Lake, N.W.T., defeat of government forces at, in Canadian rebellion
+of 1885, 252
+
+Dumont Gabriel; takes part in Riel's North-west revolt of 1885, 252, 253
+
+Dufferin, Lord; governor-general of Canada, 241, 243, 267
+
+Durham, Earl of; high commissioner to Canada after rebellion of 1837,
+136; his humanity and justice, 137; returns from Canada when rebuked in
+England, ib.,  his report on Canadian affairs, 165
+
+Durham Terrace, constructed, 160
+
+Education in Canada; state of, under French rule, 33, 34, in 1838, 162,
+163; after union of 1840, 192; present condition of, 290; contributions
+by government and people, ib.
+
+Elgin, Lord; governor-general of Canada, character of, 172, 173;
+established responsible government, 173; action of, on Rebellion Losses
+Bill in 1849, 188, 189
+
+Falkland, Lord; governor of Nova Scotia, 176; quarrels with Joseph Howe
+and Liberal party, 177-179; returns to England, 179
+
+Family Compact in Upper Canada; meaning of, 141; controls government,
+ib.
+
+Fenian raids; in 1866, 213; in 1870-71, 230, 231, Canada never
+indemnified for, 305
+
+Ferland, French Canadian historian, 192
+
+Fielding, Mr., finance minister of Canada, 265, his budget of 1897, 209
+
+Fish Creek, N.W.T.; General Middleton checked at, in engagement with
+rebels of 1885, 253
+
+Fisher, Charles; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 205
+
+Fishery question between Canada and the United States, 293, 302, 304,
+307, 308
+
+Fitzgibbon, Lieutenant; successful strategy of, at Beaver Dams in 1813,
+116
+
+Franchise Act of Dominion, passed, 255, repealed, 268
+
+Frechette, French Canadian poet, 285
+
+Free Trade policy of England; its early effects upon Canada, 172, 187,
+189
+
+French Acadians See _Neutrals_
+
+French Canada; during French regime (1534-1760), 4-37; under military
+government after conquest by Great Britain, 37, 38; desire of British
+government to do justice to, 44, 45, provisions of Quebec Act affecting,
+45, 48; political struggles and rebellion in, 124-138; influence of
+Union Act of 1840 upon, 170, 187; brought into confederation, 216;
+results of union upon, 273; literature in, 284, 285
+
+French exploration in great valleys of North America, 15-21
+
+French language; use of, restricted by Union Act of 1840, 187;
+restriction removed, ib.
+
+Frobisher, English navigator; voyages of, to Canada, 8
+
+Frog Lake, massacre at, in North-west rebellion of 1885, 252
+
+Frontenac, Count de (Louis de La Buade); French governor of Canada, 13;
+eminent services of, ib.
+
+Galloway, Thomas; his scheme for readjusting relations between Great
+Britain and her old Colonies, 79
+
+Galt, Sir Alexander; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 20; public
+services of, ib.
+
+Garneau, French Canadian historian, 192
+
+German and Belgian Treaties; denunciation of, 261, 271
+
+Gilbert, Sir Humphrey; takes possession of Newfoundland, 8
+
+Glenelg, Lord; colonial secretary in 1838, 137
+
+Gordon, Lt.-Governor; promotes federal union in New Brunswick, 212
+
+Gosford, Lord; governor-general of Canada, 132, 134
+
+Gourlay, Robert; misfortunes of, as a reformer in Upper Canada, 143-145
+
+Grasett, Colonel; assists in repressing North-west rebellion of 1885,
+253
+
+Gray, Colonel; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Gray, John Hamilton, delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 205
+
+Grey, Earl; colonial secretary, 172
+
+
+Haldimand, general; governor-general of Canada, 71, 72
+
+Haliburton, Judge, author of _Sam Sack_, etc., 164
+
+Halifax, founded, 49
+
+Harvey, Colonel; victory of, at Stoney Creek in 1813, 116. See _Harvey,
+Sir John._
+
+Harvey, Sir John; governor of Nova Scotia, of New Brunswick, establishes
+responsible government in the maritime provinces. See _Harvey, Colonel._
+
+Haviland, Thomas Heath; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206;
+public career of, ib.
+
+Head, Sir Francis Bond; lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, 148; his
+unjust treatment of reformers, 149-151; his rashness before rebellion,
+152; represses rebellion, 153
+
+Henry, William A.; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 204
+
+Hincks, Sir Francis; Canadian statesman, melancholy death of, 233
+
+Historian of Canada, 192, 284
+
+Hochelaga (Montreal); Indian village of, visited by Jacques Cartier, 6
+
+Howe, Joseph; father of responsible government in Nova Scotia, 175, 176;
+his quarrel with Lord Falkland, 176-179; ability of, 183, 184; advocate
+of imperial federation, 195; opposes confederation from 1864-1868, 212,
+219; his reasons for receding from his hostile position, 219; enters the
+Macdonald ministry, 220; lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia, ib; sudden
+death of, ib; orator, poet, and statesman, 220, 221
+
+Howland, Sir William P.; delegate to Westminster Palace Conference of
+1866-67, 214; lieutenant-governor of Ontario, 217
+
+Hudson's Bay Company; its great territorial privileges, 231-324; its
+claims purchased by the Canadian government, 227; map illustrating its
+charter, 222
+
+Hull, General; defeat of, by Brock at Detroit, 114
+
+Hundred Associates, Company of; established in Canada, 10
+
+"Hunter's Lodges"; formed in United States to invade Canada, 154
+
+Huntington, Lucius Seth; makes charges against Sir John Macdonald, 236
+
+Huron Indians; massacre of, by the Iroquois, 12
+
+Hutchinson, Governor Thomas (of Massachusetts); on relations between
+Great Britain and her old Colonies, 98
+
+Iberville, founder of Louisiana, 19
+
+Immigration to Canada, 78, 79
+
+Independence of old Thirteen Colonies acknowledged, by Great Britain, 74
+
+Indians; British treatment of, 41,42; Canadian relations with, 238, 239
+
+Intellectual culture in Canada; under French rule, 35; under British
+rule, 164, 192, 284, 285
+
+Intercolonial Railway; history of, 191, 215, 219
+
+Iroquois Indians; ferocity of, 10-13
+
+Jameson, Miss Anna, her "Winter Studies and Summer Rambles" in Upper
+Canada in 1838, 157-159
+
+Jesuit College at Quebec, 34
+
+Jesuits' Estates, Act; political controversies respecting, 248
+
+Jesuits in Canada, 11, 12; their estates confiscated by the British
+government, 38; restored in part, 248
+
+Johnson, John; delegate to the Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Johnston, James William; public career of, 175; eminence of, 185; early
+advocate of confederation, 194, 195
+
+Joliet, Louis; discovers the Mississippi, 18
+
+Journalism in Canada, 164, 287
+
+Judiciary, independence of; political contests for, 128, 139
+
+Keewatin, district of; established provisionally, 238
+
+Kent, Duke of; commander of British forces in Canada, 193; gives name to
+P.E. Island, 53; letter to, from Chief Justice B.C. Sewell on union of
+provinces, 194
+
+King, George E.; prime minister of New Brunswick after Confederation,
+218
+
+King's University, Nova Scotia; founded, 163
+
+Kingsford, Dr.; Canadian historian, 284
+
+Kingston, city of; first parliament of Canada meets at, in 1841, 167
+
+Kirk, David; captures Quebec, 10, 11
+
+Labrador, discovery of, 5; origin of name of, 7
+
+Lafontaine-Baldwin Ministry, 170, 173; its successful administration of
+Canadian affairs, 173
+
+Lafontaine, Sir Louis Hippolyte; Canadian statesman and jurist, 170,
+173, 184
+
+La Gallissoniere, French governor of Canada, 35
+
+Lake of Woods, international boundary at, 292, 293; map of, 293
+
+Lalemant, Gabriel; Jesuit martyr, 12
+
+Land question; in Upper Canada, 143; in Prince Edward Island, 54, 234
+
+Langevin, Sir Hector; Canadian statesman, delegate to Quebec Convention
+of 1864, 205; charges against, 258
+
+Lansdowne, Marquess of; governor-general of Canada, 207
+
+Lartigue, Bishop; _mandement_ of, against French Canadian rebels, 135,
+136
+
+La Salle, Sieur de (Rene Robert Cavelier); at Lachine, 18; descends the
+Mississippi, 18, 19; assassination of, 19
+
+Laurier government; formation of, 265; measures of, 268-272
+
+Laurier, Rt Hon. Sir Wilfrid; prime minister of Canada, 265; settles
+Manitoba school question, 266 267; represents Canada at celebration of
+"Diamond Jubilee" (1897), 36, 270; his action on Canadian aid to England
+in South African War, 372; his mastery of English, 267
+
+Laval, Bishop; first Roman Catholic Bishop of Canada, 12; establishes
+tithes, 29
+
+Laval University, Quebec, 290
+
+La Valmiere, a disloyal priest, 72
+
+Lawrence, Governor; expels French Acadians from Nova Scotia, 23;
+encourages New England emigration, 51; opens first assembly in Halifax,
+53
+
+Lepine, Canadian rebel; punished, 241; his sentence commuted, _ib_.
+
+Letellier de Saint-Just; lieutenant-governor of Quebec, 246; dismissed,
+246, 247
+
+Levis, General; defeats Murray at St. Foye, 26
+
+Liberal or Reform party; formed in Nova Scotia, 99; in Upper Canada, 141
+
+Liberal Convention in Ottawa (1893), 259
+
+Libraries in Canada, 290
+
+Lisgar, Lord, governor-general of Canada, 267
+
+Literature in Canada, during French regime, 35; before union of 1840,
+164; after union, 192; since Confederation, 284-287
+
+Londonderry in Nova Scotia; origin of name of, 51, 52
+
+Lome, Marquess of; governor-general of Canada, 244; His services to Art,
+Science, and Literature, 267
+
+Louisiana, named by La Salle, 19
+
+Louis XIV establishes royal government in Canada, 12, 27, 28
+
+Lount, Samuel; Upper Canadian rebel of 1837, 148, 152-153; executed, 155
+
+Loyalists. See _United Empire Loyalists_
+
+Loyal and Patriotic Society of Upper Canada; usefulness of, during war
+of 1819-15, 121
+
+Lundy's Lane, battle of; won by British in 1814, 117, 120
+
+Lymburner, Adam; opposes separation of Upper from Lower Canada, 90
+
+Macdonald, Andrew Archibald; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Macdonald, Baroness (of Earnscliffe), 257
+
+Macdonald, Colonel George; at Ogdensburg in 1813, 115; at Chateauguay,
+121
+
+Macdonald, John Sanfield; first prime minister of Ontario after
+Confederation, 217
+
+Macdonald, Rt. Hon. Sir John; enters public life, 173; member of
+government, ib.; settles Clergy Reserves question, 186; takes lead in
+establishing Confederation, 198, 199, 209; first prime minister of the
+Dominion, 216; resigns under unfortunate circumstances, 236; initiates
+the "National Policy" of Conservative party, 243; prime minister again,
+ib.; death of, 256; great ability, and patriotism of, 200, 256; mourned
+by all Canada, 257; monuments and tributes to his memory, ib.
+
+Macdonell; Colonel John; first speaker of assembly of Upper Canada in
+1792, 94
+
+Macdonell, Vicar-General; first Roman Catholic Bishop of Upper Canada,
+120
+
+Mackenzie, Alexander; prime minister of Canada, 237; character of, ib.,
+243; his administration of public affairs (1873-78), 238-242; death of,
+257
+
+Mackenzie, Sir Alexander; North-west explorer, 224
+
+Mackenzie, William Lyon; journalist and reformer, 146; enters Upper
+Canada legislature, 146; unjustly expelled, ib., first mayor of Toronto,
+147; indiscretions of, ib.; moves for committee of grievances, 148, its
+report, ib.; defeat of, at elections of 1836, 150, resorts to rebellion,
+152; defeat of, at Montgomery's and flight from Canada, 153; on Navy
+Island, 154; imprisoned in the United States, ib.; returns from exile,
+182, exercises no influence in Canadian politics, ib.; poverty and death
+of, ib.; character of, 182, 183
+
+MacLeod, international dispute respecting, 295
+
+MacNab, Sir Allan; leads loyal "Men of Gore" against Canadian rebels in
+1837, 153; orders seizure of steamer Caroline on. U.S. frontier, 154;
+prime minister of Canada, 186
+
+Maine Boundary Dispute, 292, 296-300; map of, 296
+
+Maisonneuve, Sieur de (Paul de Chomedey); founds Montreal, 12
+
+Manitoba, first visited by French, 20; province of, established, 230
+
+Manitoba school question, 262-265, 266, 267
+
+Maps relating to Canada; of French, Spanish and British possessions in
+North America in 1756-1761, _at end_; of British possessions in
+1763-1775, at end; of boundary established in 1783 between Canada and
+the United States, 75; of Hudson's Bay Co.'s territory, 222; of
+North-west boundary in 1842, 293; of North-eastern boundary in 1842,
+297; of Alaskan disputed boundary, 311;  of the Dominion of Canada in
+1900, at end.
+
+Marquette, Father, founds mission of Sainte-Maria, 17; discovers the
+Mississippi, 18; death of, _ib_.;
+
+Marriage laws in early Canada, 97
+
+Maseres, Attorney-general, 43
+
+Matthews, Peter; Upper Canadian rebel, 148, 151, 153; executed, 155
+
+McCully, Jonathan; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 205
+
+McDougall, William, delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 203;
+provisional lieutenant-governor of N.W.T., 227; Half-breed rebellion
+prevents him assuming office, ib.; disappears from public life, 230
+
+McGee, Thomas D'Arcy; historian and orator, delegate to Quebec
+Convention of 1864, 203; his political career in Canada, ib.;
+assassinated, 221
+
+McGill University, Montreal; founded, 163
+
+McGreevy, Thomas, impeached for serious misdemeanors, 258; punishment
+of, ib.
+
+McLane, executed for treason in 1793, 101, 102
+
+McLure, General (United States General); burns Niagara in 1814, 116
+
+Mercier, Honore, prime minister of Quebec, 247; dismissed, ib.
+
+Merritt, W. Hamilton; originator of Welland Canal, 159
+
+Metcalfe, Lord; governor-general of Canada, 170; antagonism of, to
+responsible government, 171; retirement and death of, ib.
+
+_Metis_ or Half-breeds of the Canadian North-west, 225, 228, 249
+
+Middleton, Major-general; commands Canadian forces on Riel's revolt of
+1885 in North-west, 252-254
+
+Military rule in Canada after 1760, 37, 38
+
+Mills, David; Canadian statesman, 206
+
+Minto, Earl of; governor-general of Canada, 268
+
+Mitchell, Peter; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 205; public
+career of, ib.
+
+Mohawks, members of the Iroquois confederacy, 10; humbled by the Marquis
+de Tracy, 13. See _Brant Joseph, Iroquois._
+
+Monk, Lord; governor-general of Canada at Confederation, 216, 267
+
+Montcalm, Marquis de; loses battle on Plains of Abraham, 26; death of
+ib.
+
+Montgomery, Brigadier-General; invades Canada, 69, 70; death of, at
+Quebec, 70
+
+Montreal founded, 12
+
+Monts, Sieur de; founder of French _Acadie_, 8
+
+Monts-Deserts named by Champlain, 9
+
+Mowat, Sir Oliver; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1804, 203; public
+career of, 203, 265, 266
+
+Municipal system of Canada; established, 185, 186; nature of, 278
+
+Murray, General; in command at Quebec, 26; defeat of, at St. Foye, ib.;
+governor-general of Canada, 42;  his just treatment of French
+Canadians, 43
+
+Mutual or reciprocal preferential trade between Canada and England;
+advocacy of, 260, 271
+
+_Nation Canadienne, La_; Papineau's dream of, 130, 133, 134
+
+"National Policy," or Protective system; established by Conservative
+party (1879), 243, 244
+
+Navigation Laws repealed, 187
+
+Navy Island, see _Mackenzie, William Lyon_
+
+Neilson, John; Canadian journalist and politician, 127, 131
+
+Nelson, Robert; Canadian rebel of 1837-38, 138
+
+Nelson, Dr. Wolfred; leader in Lower Canadian rebellion of 1837, 134
+
+Neutrality of the Great Lakes, 294, 295
+
+"Neutrals," on French Acadians; expulsion of from Nova Scotia, 22, 23
+
+Newark (Niagara), meeting of first Upper Canadian legislature at, 93;
+seat of government removed from, to York, 101
+
+New Brunswick; originally part of Acadie and Nova Scotia, 53; province
+of founded by Loyalists, 83; capital ib.; state of, in 1838, 162;
+political struggle for self-government in, 173, 174; takes part in
+Quebec Convention, 198, 205; brought into Confederation, 215, 216;
+boundary dispute with Maine, 296-300
+
+New Brunswick school question, 201, 2O2
+
+New Brunswick University; founded at Fredericton, 163
+
+New Caledonia; old name of British Columbia, 232
+
+Newfoundland; delegates from, to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206; refuses
+to join the Dominion, 235
+
+Niagara, see _Newark_
+
+Nicholson, General; captures Port Royal, 9
+
+Norse voyages to Canada, 4
+
+North-eastern Boundary question, 296-299; map of Boundary, 1842, 297
+
+North-west Company; rival of the Hudson's Bay Company in North America,
+224, 225
+
+North-west Boundary dispute, 292, 293; map of, 293
+
+North-west Territories, early history of, 221-227; annexation of, to
+Canada, 227, 230; first rebellion in, 227-230; government of, 277;
+second rebellion in, 249-255; districts of, 277
+
+Nova Scotia (Acadie); first settled by France, 8, 9; foundation of Port
+Royal (Annapolis), 8; ceded to Great Britain by Treaty of Utrecht, 9;
+population of, at conquest, 15; first called Nova Scotia, 11; Halifax
+founded, 49; settlement by colonists of New England, 50, 51;
+expatriation of the Acadian French, 22, 23, 50, 51; population of, in
+1767, 51; Irish immigration, ib.; Scotch immigration, 52; early
+government of, 52, 53, included New Brunswick, C. Breton, and St. John's
+Island (Pr. Edward I), 53; early courts of justice, 55; coming of
+Loyalists to, 82; state of in 1837-38, 162, political struggles in, for
+self-government, 174-180; take part in Quebec Convention of 1864, 198,
+204; brought into Confederation, 215; people opposed to, 212, 218, 219;
+repeal movement gradually ceases in, 233
+
+Novelists, Canadian, 164, 285, 286
+
+O'Callaghan, Dr.; Canadian journalist and rebel, 130
+
+O'Donohue, Canadian rebel, 231; amnesty to, 241
+
+Ohio Valley, French in, 23
+
+Oregon Boundary, dispute respecting, 300-302
+
+Osgoode, Chief Justice; first speaker of legislative council of Upper
+Canada in 1792, 94
+
+Ottawa, city of; founded, 158
+
+Pacific Cable; action of Canadian government with respect to, 271
+
+Palmer, Edward; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Panet, Joseph Antoine; first speaker of assembly of Lower Canada in
+1792, 93
+
+Papineau, Louis J.; leader of French Canadian malcontents in rebellion
+of 1837, 129-134; conduct of, on outbreak of rebellion, 134, 135; return
+of, from exile, 181; opposes responsible government, ib.; loses
+political influence, ib.; character of, 180-182
+
+Pardon, prerogative of; instructions respecting exercise of, 241
+
+Parishes established in French Canada, 29
+
+Parker, Gilbert; Canadian novelist, 286
+
+Parr Town, first name of St. John, New Brunswick, 83
+
+Perry, Peter; founder of Upper Canadian Reform party, 141, 146, 150
+
+Pictou Academy, Nova Scotia; founded, 163
+
+Pitt, the elder (Lord Chatham); gives Canada to Great Britain, 25, 35,
+36
+
+Pitt, William (the younger); introduces Act separating Upper from Lower
+Canada (Constitutional Act of 1791), 90, 91
+
+Plains of Abraham; Wolfe's victory on, 26
+
+Plattsburg, battle of, pusillanimity of General Prevost at, 117
+
+Plessis, Bishop (Roman Catholic); patriotism of, in war of 1812-15, 120
+
+Poets in Canada, 192, 284, 285
+
+Pontiac's Conspiracy, 39
+
+Pope, William H., delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Portuguese discovery in Canada, 5
+
+Post Office in Canada; under British management, 164; transferred to
+Canada, 187
+
+Poundmaker, Indian chief in North-west; rebels against Canadian
+government, 253; punished, 254
+
+Poutrincourt, Baron de; founder of Port Royal, 8
+
+Powell, Chief Justice, his unjust treatment of Robert Gourlay, 145
+
+Preferential trade with Great Britain, 200, 201, 269, 271
+
+Prevost, Sir George (governor-general of Canada), retires from Sackett's
+Harbour 1813, 115; retreats from Plattsburg in 1814, 117; character of,
+113
+
+Prince, Colonel; orders execution of American raiders in 1838, 155
+
+Prince Edward Island. See _St. John's Island_
+
+Prince of Wales visits Canada, 193
+
+
+Princess Louise, arrives in Canada with the Marquess of Lome, 244; her
+support of Art, 288
+
+Proclamation of 1764; for government of Canada, 40-42
+
+Procter, General, defeats General Winchester in 1813, 115; beaten at
+Moraviantown in 1813, 116
+
+Prohibitory Liquor Law; agitation for, 340; popular vote on, ib.
+
+Protestantism unknown in French Canada, 28
+
+Provincial governments established under Confederation, 217, 218
+
+Provinces, constitution of, under Confederation, 275, 276
+
+Puritan migration to Nova Scotia, 50
+
+Put-in Bay (Lake Erie); British fleet defeated at, in 1813, 116
+
+Quebec Act; origin of, 44, 45, its provisions, 45-47;  how received in
+Canada, 46; unpopularity of, in old British colonies, 67
+
+Quebec, Convention of, 1864; delegates to, 199-206; passes resolutions
+in favour of federal union, 206-209
+
+Quebec founded, 9
+
+Queenston Heights; battle of, in 1812, 114
+
+Railways in Canada; in 1865, 191, in 1899, 273. See _Intercolonial R.
+Canadian Pacific R._
+
+Rebellion in Lower Canada; its origin, 124-133; Louis J. Papineau's part
+in, 129-134; outbreak of, 134; prompt action of authorities against,
+ib.; Dr. Nelson wins success at St. Denis, ib.; defeat of Brown at St.
+Charles, ib.; flight of Papineau and rebel leaders, ib.; fight at St.
+Eustache and death of Chenier, ib.; murder of Weir and Chartrand, 135;
+collapse of the rebellion of 1837, 135, 136; loyal action of Bishop
+Lartigue, 135; arrival of Lord Durham as British high-commissioner and
+governor-general, 136; his career in Canada, 137-138; Sir John Colborne;
+governor-general, 139; second outbreak of rebellion, 1838, ib.; promptly
+subdued, ib.; punishment of prominent insurgents, ib.; action of United
+States government during, 139; social and economic condition of Canada
+during, 159-162; remedial policy of British government, and new era of
+political development. See _Responsible Government in Canada._
+
+Rebellion in Upper Canada; effect of family compact on, 140, 141; of
+clergy reserves on, 141, 142; influence of Archdeacon, afterwards
+Bishop, Strachan in public affairs, 142; unjust treatment of Robert
+Gourlay, 143-145; persecution of William Lyon Mackenzie, 146-148; other
+prominent actors in, 148; indiscretions of the lieutenant-governor, Sir
+Francis Bond Head, 149-152; outbreak and repression of, 152, 153; flight
+of Mackenzie and other rebel leaders, 153; Mackenzie's seizure of Navy
+Island, 154; affair of the Caroline, ib.; filibustering expeditions
+against Canada from United States in 1838, 154, 155; prompt execution of
+filibusters by Colonel Prince, 155; action of U.S. authorities during,
+ib.; execution of Von Schoultz, Lount, Matthews, and other rebels, ib.;
+Sir George Arthur, harshness of, ib.; social and economic conditions of
+Upper Canada at time of, 156-159; rebellion leads to the enlargement of
+political privileges of people, See _Responsible Government in Canada._
+
+Rebellion Losses Bill (of 1849); its nature, 188; assented to by Lord
+Elgin, 189; consequent rioting and burning of parliament house at
+Montreal, 189, Lord Elgin's life in danger, ib.; his wise constitutional
+action, ib. Rebellions in North-west: See _North-western Territories,
+_and _Riel, Louis._
+
+Reciprocity of Trade between Canada and the United States; treaty of
+1814, 190, 191; repeal of the same, 303; efforts to renew it, 304, 307;
+Canadians not now so favourable to, 310
+
+Recollets, or Franciscans, in Canada, 11
+
+Redistribution Acts of 1882 and 1897; measures to amend, rejected by
+Senate, 268
+
+Representative institutions in Canada; established in Nova Scotia, 53;
+in New Brunswick, 88; in French or Lower Canada (Quebec), 91; in Upper
+Canada (Ontario), ib.; in Prince Edward Island, 54; in Manitoba, 230; in
+British Columbia, 232
+
+Responsible government in Canada; beginnings of, 165-175;  consummated
+by Lord Elgin, 173; struggle for, in New Brunswick, 173, 174; in Nova
+Scotia, 174-180; in Prince Edward Island, 180; prominent advocates of,
+183-185; results of (1841-1867), 185-192
+
+Revenue of Canada in 1899, 273
+
+Riall, General; defeated by United States troops at Street's Creek in
+1814, 117
+
+Richardson, Major; Canadian author, 164
+
+Richelieu, Cardinal; his effort to colonise Canada, 10
+
+Rideau Canal, constructed, 158
+
+Riel, Louis; leads revolt of French half-breeds in North-west, 228;
+murders Ross, 229; flies from the country, ib; elected to and expelled
+from the Canadian Commons, 241; reappears in North-west, and leads
+second revolt, 249-253; captured and executed, 253, 254; political
+complications concerning, 240, 254
+
+Roberval, Sieur de (Jean Francois de la Rocque); attempts to settle
+Canada, 7
+
+Robinson, Chief Justice; public career of, in Upper Canada, 145
+
+Rocque, Jean Francois de la. See _Roberval_
+
+Roebuck, Mr.; Canadian agent in England, 131
+
+Rolph, Dr.; his part in Canadian rebellion of 1837, 151-153; character
+of, 183
+
+Roman Catholic Church in Canada, 28, 29, 43, 46, 47
+
+Rose, Sir John, effort of, to obtain reciprocity with United States, 304
+
+Rosebery, Earl of, unveils Sir John Macdonald's bust in St. Paul's
+Cathedral, 256
+
+Rouse's Point, boundary at, 302
+
+Royal Society of Canada, 286
+
+Rupert's Land; origin of name of, 224. See _North-west Territories of
+Canada_.
+
+Russell, Administrator, 101
+
+Russell, Lord John; introduces resolutions respecting Canada in British
+parliament in 1836, 132; also Act reuniting the Canadas in 1840, 166;
+lays basis of responsible government in Canada, 167. See _Responsible
+Government in Canada_.
+
+Ryerson, Rev. Egerton; Loyalist, Methodist, and educationalist, 141,
+147, 192
+
+Sainte-Genevieve (Pillage Bay); named St. Laurens by Jacques Carrier, 7
+
+Salaberry, Colonel de; defeats United States troops at Chateauguay, 121
+
+Sanderson, Robert; first speaker of assembly of Nova Scotia, 53
+
+San Juan Island; international dispute respecting, 301, 302
+
+Sarrasin, Dr., French Canadian scientist, 35
+
+Saskatchewan River (Poskoiac), discovery of, 20
+
+Sculpture in Canada, 288
+
+Seaforth, Lord. See _Colborne, Sir John_
+
+Secord, Laura; heroic exploit of, in 1814, 120
+
+Seigniorial tenure in French Canada, 14, 32; abolished under British
+rule, 186
+
+Selkirk, Lord; attempts to colonise North-west, 225; death of, _ib._
+
+Seven Years' War; between France and Great Britain in America, 21-27
+
+Sewell, Chief Justice (Loyalist); adviser of Sir James Craig, 96;
+suggests union of provinces, 194
+
+Shea, Ambrose; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Sheaffe, General; services of, during war of 1812-15, 114
+
+Shelburne, in Nova Scotia, founded by Loyalists, 82
+
+Sherbrooke, Sir John, governor of Nova Scotia, 118; occupies Maine in
+war of 1812-15, ib.
+
+Shirley, Governor; deep interest of, in Nova Scotia, 49
+
+Simcoe, Colonel; first lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, 93; public
+career of, 94
+
+Simultaneous polling at elections established, 239
+
+Slavery in Canada, 98
+
+Smith, Chief Justice (Loyalist); first president of legislative council
+of Lower Canada in 1792, 92; suggests federal union of provinces, 194
+
+Smith, Donald (Lord Strathcona); intervenes in North-west rebellion of
+1870, 229
+
+Social and economic conditions of the Canadian provinces; in 1838,
+156-164; in 1866, 189-192; in 1900, 272-290
+
+South African War; Canadians take part in, 271, 272
+
+Square Gulf, or "golfo quadrado"; old name of St. Lawrence Gulf, 7
+
+St. Charles; defeat of Canadian rebels in 1837 at, 134
+
+St. Denis; Canadian rebels repulsed by British regulars in 1837 at, 134
+
+St. Eustache; stand of Canadian rebels at, 134; death of Chenier, ib.
+
+St. John, New Brunswick; founded, 83
+
+St. John's, Island; named Prince Edward, 53; under government of Nova
+Scotia, _ib_.; survey of, ib.; separated from Nova Scotia, 54; public
+lands of, granted by lottery, ib.; political struggles in, for
+self-government, 180, 185; takes part in Quebec Convention of 1864, 206;
+enters Confederation, 234; settlement of its land question, ib.
+
+St. Lawrence, River and Gulf of; origin of name of, 7
+
+St. Lusson, Sieur; takes possession of the Sault, 18
+
+St. Maurice forges founded, 30
+
+Stadacona (Quebec), Indian village of, visited by Jacques Cartier, 6
+
+Stanley, Lord, governor-general of Canada, 267
+
+Steeves, William H.; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+Strachan, Bishop (Anglican); patriotism of, during war of 1812-15, 121;
+his influence in Upper Canadian politics, 142
+
+Strange, Lt.-Col.; engaged in repressing North-west rebellion of 1885,
+253
+
+Stuart, Andrew; prominent Canadian lawyer and politician, 127, 131
+
+Sulpitians in Canada, 37
+
+Superior Council of French Canada. See _Supreme Council_
+
+Supreme Council, established by Louis XIV in French Canada, 28, 29
+
+
+Supreme Court, established in Canada, 239
+
+Sydenham, Lord (Poulett Thomson); governor-general of Canada, 166;
+carries out scheme of uniting the Canadas in 1840, 167; opinions of, on
+responsible government, 168; death of, 169
+
+Tache, Sir Etienne Paschal; chairman of Quebec Convention of 1864, 199;
+character of, ib.
+
+Talbot, Colonel, pioneer in Upper Canada, 157
+
+Talon, Intendant, 13
+
+Taite, Israel; accuses McGreevy of grave misdemeanours, 258; member of
+Laurier ministry, 206
+
+Temperance Legislation; "Scott Act" passed, 239; _plebiscite_ on
+Prohibition, 240
+
+Thompson, Sir John; prime minister of Canada, 257;  sudden death of,
+ib; great ability of, ib.
+
+Thomson, Poulett. See _Sydenham, Lord_
+
+Tilley, Sir Leonard; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 205; public
+career of, ib.; introduces scheme of "National Policy," 244
+
+Timber trade in Canada, in early time, 162
+
+Tithes established in French Canada, 29
+
+Todd, Dr.; Constitutional writer, 286
+
+Tonge, William Cottnam Tonge; Nova Scotian Liberal, 99; his controversy
+with Governor Wentworth, ib.
+
+Trade of Canada in 1899, 273
+
+Treaties, international, affecting Canada; of St. Germain-en-Laye
+(1632), 11; of Utrecht (1713), 9, 21, 22; of Paris (1763), 38; of
+Versailles, 292; of Ghent, 293; of 1818, 294; Ashburton (1842), 299;
+Oregon (1846), 301; reciprocity (1854), 303; of Washington (1871), 305,
+306; Bering Sea, 308, 309, Anglo-Russian (Alaska), 310-312
+
+Treaties with Indian tribes of Canada, 41, 238
+
+Trutch, Sir Joseph; first lieutenant-governor of British Columbia under
+Confederation, 232
+
+Tupper, Sir Charles; prime minister of Nova Scotia, 192; services of, to
+education, ib.; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 204; introduces
+legislation for construction of Canadian Pacific Railway, 244; high
+commissioner of Canada in London, 258; re-enters political life, ib.;
+action of, on Manitoba school question, 264; prime minister of Canada,
+265; defeat of, at general elections of 1896, ib; difference with Lord
+Aberdeen, when governor-general, ib.; remarkable ability of, 204, 258;
+leader of Liberal Conservative party from 1896-1900, 258; policy of, on
+"preferential trade" with Great Britain, 271
+
+Tyler, Professor, on U.E. Loyalists, 76
+
+Uniacke, James Boyle; Nova Scotian statesman, 175; advocate of
+responsible government, 176; first minister of Nova Scotia, 180
+
+Union of the Canadas in 1840, 166, 167
+
+United Empire Loyalists; number of, during American Revolution, 76;
+justice done to, ib.; opinions of, on issues of revolution, 77, 78;
+suffering of, during revolution, 79; treatment of, after the peace of
+1783, 80; compensation to, by British government, 81; settle in British
+America, ib; privations of, in Nova Scotia, 80; founders of New
+Brunswick, 83; of Upper Canada, 84; eminent descent of, 86; Canada's
+debt to, ib origin of name of, 89; representatives of, in first
+legislature of New Brunswick, 87, 88; of Upper Canada, 94; services of,
+during war of 1812-15, 188-120
+
+Universities in Canada, 163, 289
+
+University of Toronto, beginning of, 164
+
+Upper Canada, founded by Loyalists, 84; first districts of, 89, 94; made
+separate province, 91, first government of, 93; Newark, first capital
+of, ib.; York (Toronto), second capital of, 94; rebellion in, see
+_Rebellion in Upper Canada_; state of, in 1838, 159; reunited with Lower
+Canada, 166; joins Confederation as Ontario, 216
+
+Upper Canada College, Toronto, founded, 163
+
+Ursulines at Quebec, 34
+
+Vancouver Island; history of, 231, 232
+
+Verendrye, Sieur de la (Pierre Gauthier de Varennes); discovers
+Manitoba and North-west of Canada, 19, 20
+
+Verrazzano, Giovanni di; voyages of, to North America, 5
+
+Victoria College, Upper Canada, founded, 164
+
+Vincent, General; services of, in war of 1812-15, 115
+
+Von Schoultz; leads filibusters into Canada, 155; executed, ib.
+
+
+War of 1812-15; origin of, 103-110; population of Canada and United
+States during, 110-112; loyalty of Canadian people during, 113; services
+of General Brock during, 114; campaign of 1812 in Upper Canada, 114,
+115; of 1813, 115, 116; of 1814, 117; maritime provinces during, 117,
+118, close of, 118; services of Loyalists during, 118-120; Laura Secord,
+heroism of, 120; description of striking incidents of battles during,
+121-123
+
+Washington, George; eminent character of, 66
+
+Washington Treaty of 1871, 304, 305
+
+Weir, Lieutenant, murder of, in Lower Canadian rebellion of 1837, 135
+
+Welland Canal commenced, 159; completed, 190
+
+Wentworth, Sir John; Loyalist governor of Nova Scotia, 99
+
+Westminster Palace Conference in London; Canadian delegates arrange
+final terms of federation at, 214, 215
+
+Wetmore, Attorney-general; first minister of New Brunswick after
+Confederation, 218
+
+Whelan, Edward; delegate to Quebec Convention of 1864, 206
+
+White, Thomas; Canadian journalist and statesman, 256; sudden death of,
+ib.
+
+William IV visits Canada as Prince William Henry, 193
+
+Williams, Lt.-Col.; death of, in North-west rebellion of 1885, 254
+
+Williams, Sir Fenwick ("hero of Kars"); lieutenant-governor of Nova
+Scotia, 213, 217
+
+Wilmot, Lemuel A.; father of responsible government in New Brunswick,
+174, 185; lieutenant-governor of the province, 217
+
+Wolfe, General; at Quebec, 25; his bold ascent of heights, 25, 26; wins
+battle on Plains of Abraham, 26; death of, 26; a maker of Canada, 35
+
+York (Toronto) made capital of Upper Canada, 101
+
+Young, Sir William; Nova Scotian statesman and jurist, 185
+
+Yukon, district of; gold discovery in, 209; administration of, ib, 277;
+boundaries of, 310-312
+
+[Illustration: (map) FRANCE, SPAIN, AND ENGLAND, IN NORTH AMERICA,
+1756-1760.]
+
+[Illustration: OUTLINE MAP OF ENGLISH POSSESSIONS IN NORTH AMERICA,
+1763-1775.]
+
+[Illustration: MAP OF THE DOMINION OF CANADA ILLUSTRATING THE BOUNDARIES
+OF PROVINCES AND PROVISIONAL DISTRICTS]
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CANADA UNDER BRITISH RULE
+1760-1900***
+
+
+******* This file should be named 12661.txt or 12661.zip *******
+
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