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diff --git a/2835-h/2835-h.htm b/2835-h/2835-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..84c0375 --- /dev/null +++ b/2835-h/2835-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,6209 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Canadian Dominion, by Oscar D. Skelton + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Canadian Dominion, by Oscar D. Skelton + +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: The Canadian Dominion + A Chronicle of our Northern Neighbor + +Author: Oscar D. Skelton + +Release Date: December 11, 2008 [EBook #2835] +Last Updated: February 6, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CANADIAN DOMINION *** + + + + +Produced by The James J. Kelly Library Of St. Gregory's +University; Alev Akman, Dianne Bean, Joe Buersmeyer, and David Widger + + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE CANADIAN DOMINION + </h1> + <h2> + A CHRONICLE OF OUR NORTHERN NEIGHBOR + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h3> + By Oscar D. Skelton + </h3> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + NEW HAVEN: YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS + TORONTO: GLASGOW, BROOK & CO. + LONDON: HUMPHREY MILFORD + OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS + 1919 + Copyright, 1919, by Yale University Press + </pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_PREF" id="link2H_PREF"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h2> + PREFACE + </h2> + <p> + The history of Canada since the close of the French regime falls into + three clearly marked half centuries. The first fifty years after the Peace + of Paris determined that Canada was to maintain a separate existence under + the British flag and was not to become a fourteenth colony or be merged + with the United States. The second fifty years brought the winning of + self-government and the achievement of Confederation. The third fifty + years witnessed the expansion of the Dominion from sea to sea and the + endeavor to make the unity of the political map a living reality—the + endeavor to weld the far-flung provinces into one country, to give Canada + a distinctive place in the Empire and in the world, and eventually in the + alliance of peoples banded together in mankind's greatest task of + enforcing peace and justice among nations. + </p> + <p> + The author has found it expedient in this narrative to depart from the + usual method of these Chronicles and arrange the matter in chronological + rather than in biographical or topical divisions. The first period of + fifty years is accordingly covered in one chapter, the second in two + chapters, and the third in two chapters. Authorities and a list of + publications for a more extended study will be found in the + Bibliographical Note. + </p> + <p> + O. D. S. + </p> + <p> + QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY, KINGSTON, CANADA, July, 1919. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h3> + Contents + </h3> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PREF"> PREFACE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> <b>THE CANADIAN DOMINION</b> </a> + </p> + <br /> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. THE FIRST FIFTY YEARS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. THE FIGHT FOR SELF-GOVERNMENT + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. THE UNION ERA </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. THE DAYS OF TRIAL </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. THE YEARS OF FULFILMENT </a> + </p> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h1> + THE CANADIAN DOMINION + </h1> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. THE FIRST FIFTY YEARS + </h2> + <p> + Scarcely more than half a century has passed since the Dominion of Canada, + in its present form, came into existence. But thrice that period has + elapsed since the fateful day when Montcalm and Wolfe laid down their + lives in battle on the Plains of Abraham, and the lands which now comprise + the Dominion finally passed from French hands and came under British rule. + </p> + <p> + The Peace of Paris, which brought the Seven Years' War to a close in 1763, + marked the termination of the empire of France in the New World. Over the + continent of North America, after that peace, only two flags floated, the + red and yellow banner of Spain and the Union Jack of Great Britain. Of + these the Union Jack held sway over by far the larger domain—over + the vague territories about Hudson Bay, over the great valley of the St. + Lawrence, and over all the lands lying east of the Mississippi, save only + New Orleans. To whom it would fall to develop this vast claim, what mighty + empires would be carved out of the wilderness, where the boundary lines + would run between the nations yet to be, were secrets the future held. Yet + in retrospect it is now clear that in solving these questions the Peace of + Paris played no inconsiderable part. By removing from the American + colonies the menace of French aggression from the north it relieved them + of a sense of dependence on the mother country and so made possible the + birth of a new nation in the United States. At the same time, in the + northern half of the continent, it made possible that other experiment in + democracy, in the union of diverse races, in international neighborliness, + and in the reconciliation of empire with liberty, which Canada presents to + the whole world, and especially to her elder sister in freedom. + </p> + <p> + In 1763 the territories which later were to make up the Dominion of Canada + were divided roughly into three parts. These parts had little or nothing + in common. They shared together neither traditions of suffering or glory + nor ties of blood or trade. Acadia, or Nova Scotia, by the Atlantic, was + an old French colony, now British for over a generation. Canada, or + Quebec, on the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes, with seventy thousand + French habitants and a few hundred English camp followers, had just passed + under the British flag. West and north lay the vaguely outlined domains of + the Hudson's Bay Company, where the red man and the buffalo still reigned + supreme and almost unchallenged. + </p> + <p> + The old colony of Acadia, save only the island outliers, Cape Breton and + Prince Edward Island, now ceded by the Peace of Paris, had been in British + hands since 1713. It was not, however, until 1749 that any concerted + effort had been made at a settlement of this region. The menace from the + mighty fortress which the French were rebuilding at that time at + Louisbourg, in Cape Breton, and the hostility of the restless Acadians or + old French settlers on the mainland, had compelled action and the British + Government departed from its usual policy of laissez faire in matters of + emigration. Twenty-five hundred English settlers were brought out to found + and hold the town and fort of Halifax. Nearly as many Germans were planted + in Lunenburg, where their descendants flourish to this day. Then the + hapless Acadians were driven into exile and into the room they left, New + Englanders of strictest Puritan ancestry came, on their own initiative, + and built up new communities like those of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and + Rhode Island. Other waves of voluntary immigration followed—Ulster + Presbyterians, driven out by the attempt of England to crush the Irish + woolen manufacture, and, still later, Highlanders, Roman Catholic and + Presbyterian, who soon made Gaelic the prevailing tongue of the + easternmost counties. By 1767 the colony of Nova Scotia, which then + included all Acadia, north and east of Maine, had a prosperous population + of some seven thousand Americans, two thousand Irish, two thousand + Germans, barely a thousand English, and well over a thousand surviving + Acadian French. In short, this northernmost of the Atlantic colonies + appeared to be fast on the way to become a part of New England. It was + chiefly New Englanders who had peopled it, and it was with New England + that for many a year its whole social and commercial intercourse was + carried on. It was no accident that Nova Scotia later produced the first + Yankee humorist, "Sam Slick." + </p> + <p> + With the future sister province of Canada, or Quebec, which lay along the + St. Lawrence as far as the Great Lakes, Acadia or Nova Scotia had much + less in common than with New England. Hundreds of miles of unbroken forest + wilderness lay between the two colonies, and the sea lanes ran between the + St. Lawrence, the Bay of Fundy, or Halifax and Havre or Plymouth, and not + between Quebec and Halifax. Even the French settlers came of different + stocks. The Acadians were chiefly men of La Rochelle and the Loire, while + the Canadians came, for the most part, from the coast provinces stretching + from Normandy and Picardy to Poitou and Bordeaux. + </p> + <p> + The situation in Canada proper presented the British authorities with a + problem new in their imperial experience. Hitherto, save for Acadia and + New Netherland, where the settlers were few in numbers and, even in New + Netherland, closely akin to the conquerors in race, religion, and speech, + no colony containing men of European stocks had been acquired by conquest. + Canada held some sixty or seventy thousand settlers, French and Catholic + almost to a man. Despite the inefficiency of French colonial methods the + plantation had taken firm root. The colony had developed a strength, a + social structure, and an individuality all its own. Along the St. Lawrence + and the Richelieu the settlements lay close and compact; the habitants' + whitewashed cottages lined the river banks only a few arpents apart. The + social cohesion of the colony was equally marked. Alike in government, in + religion, and in industry, it was a land where authority was strong. + Governor and intendant, feudal seigneur, bishop and Jesuit superior, ruled + each in his own sphere and provided a rigid mold and framework for the + growth of the colony. There were, it is true, limits to the reach of the + arm of authority. Beyond Montreal stretched a vast wilderness merging at + some uncertain point into the other wilderness that was Louisiana. Along + the waterways which threaded this great No Man's Land the coureurs-de-bois + roamed with little heed to law or license, glad to escape from the + paternal strictness that irked youth on the lower St. Lawrence. But the + liberty of these rovers of the forest was not liberty after the English + pattern; the coureur-de-bois was of an entirely different type from the + pioneers of British stock who were even then pushing their way through the + gaps in the Alleghanies and making homes in the backwoods. Priest and + seigneur, habitant and coureur-de-bois were one and all difficult to fit + into accepted English ways. Clearly Canada promised to strain the + digestive capacity of the British lion. + </p> + <p> + The present western provinces of the Dominion were still the haunt of + Indian and buffalo. French-Canadian explorers and fur traders, it is true, + had penetrated to the Rockies a few years before the Conquest, and had + built forts on Lake Winnipeg, on the Assiniboine and Red rivers, and at + half a dozen portages on the Saskatchewan. But the "Company of Adventurers + of England trading into Hudson's Bay" had not yet ventured inland, still + content to carry on its trade with the Indians from its forts along the + shores of that great sea. On the Pacific the Russians had coasted as far + south as Mount Saint Elias, but no white man, so far as is known, had set + foot on the shores of what is now British Columbia. + </p> + <p> + Two immediate problems were bequeathed to the British Government by the + Treaty of Paris: what was to be done with the unsettled lands between the + Alleghanies and the Mississippi; and how were the seventy thousand French + subjects in the valley of the St. Lawrence to be dealt with? The first + difficulty was not solved. It was merely postponed. The whole back country + of the English colonies was proclaimed an Indian reserve where the King's + white subjects might trade but might not acquire land. This policy was not + devised in order to set bounds to the expansion of the older colonies; + that was an afterthought. The policy had its root in an honest desire to + protect the Indians from the frauds of unscrupulous traders and from the + encroachments of settlers on their hunting grounds. The need of a + conciliatory, if firm, policy in regard to the great interior was made + evident by the Pontiac rising in 1763, the aftermath of the defeat of the + French, who had done all they could to inspire the Indians with hatred for + the advancing English. + </p> + <p> + How to deal with Canada was a more thorny problem. The colony had not been + sought by its conquerors for itself. It was counted of little worth. The + verdict of its late possessors, as recorded in Voltaire's light farewell + to "a few arpents of snow," might be discounted as an instance of sour + grapes; but the estimate of its new possessors was evidently little + higher, since they debated long and dubiously whether in the peace + settlement they should retain Canada or the little sugar island of + Guadeloupe, a mere pin point on the map. Canada had been conquered not for + the good it might bring but for the harm it was doing as a base for French + attack upon the English colonies—"the wasps' nest must be smoked + out." But once it had been taken, it had to be dealt with for itself. + </p> + <p> + The policy first adopted was a simple one, natural enough for + eighteenth-century Englishmen. They decided to make Canada* over in the + image of the old colonies, to turn the "new subjects," as they were + called, in good time into Englishmen and Protestants. A generation or two + would suffice, in the phrase of Francis Maseres—himself a descendant + of a Huguenot refugee but now wholly an Englishman—for "melting down + the French nation into the English in point of language, affections, + religion, and laws." Immigration was to be encouraged from Britain and + from the other American colonies, which, in the view of the Lords of + Trade, were already overstocked and in danger of being forced by the + scarcity or monopoly of land to take up manufactures which would compete + with English wares. And since it would greatly contribute to speedy + settlement, so the Royal Proclamation of 1763 declared, that the King's + subjects should be informed of his paternal care for the security of their + liberties and properties, it was promised that, as soon as circumstances + would permit, a General Assembly would be summoned, as in the older + colonies. The laws of England, civil and criminal, as near as might be, + were to prevail. The Roman Catholic subjects were to be free to profess + their own religion, "so far as the laws of Great Britain permit," but they + were to be shown a better way. To the first Governor instructions were + issued "that all possible Encouragement shall be given to the erecting + Protestant Schools in the said Districts, Townships and Precincts, by + settling and appointing and allotting proper Quantities of Land for that + Purpose and also for a Glebe and Maintenance for a Protestant minister and + Protestant schoolmasters." Thus in the fullness of time, like Acadia, but + without any Evangelise of Grand Pre, without any drastic policy of + expulsion, impossible with seventy thousand people scattered over a wide + area, even Canada would become a good English land, a newer New England. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The Royal Proclamation of 1763 set the bounds of the new + colony. They were surprisingly narrow, a mere strip along + both sides of the St. Lawrence from a short distance beyond + the Ottawa on the west, to the end of the Gasps peninsula on + the east. The land to the northeast was put under the + jurisdiction of the Governor of Newfoundland, and the Great + Lakes region was included in the territory reserved for the + Indians. +</pre> + <p> + It is questionable whether this policy could ever have achieved success + even if it had been followed for generations without rest or turning. But + it was not destined to be given a long trial. From the very beginning the + men on the spot, the soldier Governors of Canada, urged an entirely + contrary policy on the Home Government, and the pressure of events soon + brought His Majesty's Ministers to concur. + </p> + <p> + As the first civil Governor of Canada, the British authorities chose + General Murray, one of Wolfe's ablest lieutenants, who since 1760 had + served as military Governor of the Quebec district. He was to be aided in + his task by a council composed of the Lieutenant Governors of Montreal and + Three Rivers, the Chief Justice, the head of the customs, and eight + citizens to be named by the Governor from "the most considerable of the + persons of property" in the province. + </p> + <p> + The new Governor was a blunt, soldierly man, upright and just according to + his lights, but deeply influenced by his military and aristocratic + leanings. Statesmen thousands of miles away might plan to encourage + English settlers and English political ways and to put down all that was + French. To the man on the spot English settlers meant "the four hundred + and fifty contemptible sutlers and traders" who had come in the wake of + the army from New England and New York, with no proper respect for their + betters, and vulgarly and annoyingly insistent upon what they claimed to + be their rights. The French might be alien in speech and creed, but at + least the seigneurs and the higher clergy were gentlemen, with a due + respect for authority, the King's and their own, and the habitants were + docile, the best of soldier stuff. "Little, very little," Murray wrote in + 1764 to the Lords of Trade, "will content the New Subjects, but nothing + will satisfy the Licentious Fanaticks Trading here, but the expulsion of + the Canadians, who are perhaps the bravest and best race upon the Globe, a + Race, who cou'd they be indulged with a few priviledges wch the Laws of + England deny to Roman Catholicks at home, wou'd soon get the better of + every National Antipathy to their Conquerors and become the most faithful + and most useful set of Men in this American Empire."* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * This quotation and those following in this chapter are + from official documents most conveniently assembled in Shorn + and Doughty, "Documents relating to the Constitutional + History of Canada, 1759-1791", and Doughty and McArthur, + "Documents relating to the Constitutional History of Canada, + 1791-1818". +</pre> + <p> + Certainly there was much in the immediate situation to justify Murray's + attitude. It was preposterous to set up a legislature in which only the + four hundred Protestants might sit and from which the seventy thousand + Catholics would be barred. It would have been difficult in any case to + change suddenly the system of laws governing the most intimate + transactions of everyday life. But when, as happened, the Administration + was entrusted in large part to newly created justices of the peace, men + with "little French and less honour," "to whom it is only possible to + speak with guineas in one's hand," the change became flatly impossible. + Such an alteration, if still insisted upon, must come more slowly than the + impatient traders in Montreal and Quebec desired. + </p> + <p> + The British Government, however, was not yet ready to abandon its policy. + The Quebec traders petitioned for Murray's recall, alleging that the + measures required to encourage settlement had not been adopted, that the + Governor was encouraging factions by his partiality to the French, that he + treated the traders with "a Rage and Rudeness of Language and Demeanor" + and—a fair thrust in return for his reference to them as "the most + immoral collection of men I ever knew"—as "discountenancing the + Protestant Religion by almost a Total Neglect of Attendance upon the + Service of the Church." When the London business correspondents of the + traders backed up this petition, the Government gave heed. In 1766 Murray + was recalled to England and, though he was acquitted of the charges + against him, he did not return to his post in Canada. + </p> + <p> + The triumph of the English merchants was short. They had jumped from the + frying pan into the fire. General Guy Carleton, Murray's successor and + brother officer under Wolfe, was an even abler man, and he was still less + in sympathy with democracy of the New England pattern. Moreover, a new + factor had come in to reenforce the soldier's instinctive preference for + gentlemen over shopkeepers. The first rumblings of the American Revolution + had reached Quebec. It was no time, in Carleton's view, to set up another + sucking republic. Rather, he believed, the utmost should be made of the + opportunity Canada afforded as a barrier against the advance of democracy, + a curb upon colonial insolence. The need of cultivating the new subjects + was the greater, Carleton contended, because the plan of settlement by + Englishmen gave no sign of succeeding: "barring a Catastrophe shocking to + think of, this Country must, to the end of Time, be peopled by the + Canadian race." + </p> + <p> + To bind the Canadians firmly to England, Carleton proposed to work chiefly + through their old leaders, the seigneurs and the clergy. He would restore + to the people their old system of laws, both civil and criminal. He would + confirm the seigneurs in their feudal dues and fines, which the habitants + were growing slack in paying now that the old penalties were not enforced, + and he would give them honors and emoluments such as they had before + enjoyed as officers in regular or militia regiments. The Roman Catholic + clergy were already, in fact, confirmed in their right to tithe and toll; + and, without objection from the Governor, Bishop Briand, elected by the + chapter in Quebec and consecrated in Paris, once more assumed control over + the flock. + </p> + <p> + Carleton's proposals did not pass unquestioned. His own chief legal + adviser, Francis Maseres, was a sturdy adherent of the older policy, + though he agreed that the time was not yet ripe for setting up an Assembly + and suggested some well-considered compromise between the old laws and the + new. The Advocate General of England, James Marriott, urged the same + course. The policy of 1768, he contended eleven years later, had already + succeeded in great measure. The assimilation of government had been + effected; an assimilation of manners would follow. The excessive military + spirit of the inhabitants had begun to dwindle, as England's interest + required. The back settlements of New York and Canada were fast being + joined. Two or three thousand men of British stock, many of them men of + substance, had gone to the new colony; warehouses and foundries were being + built; and many of the principal seigneuries had passed into English + hands. All that was needed, he concluded, was persistence along the old + path. The same view was of course strenuously urged by the English + merchants in the colony, who continued to demand, down to the very eve of + the Revolution, an elective Assembly and other rights of freeborn Britons. + </p> + <p> + Carleton carried the day. His advice, tendered at close range during four + years' absentee residence in London, from 1770 to 1774, fell in with the + mood of Lord North's Government. The measure in which the new policy was + embodied, the famous Quebec Act of 1774, was essentially a part of the + ministerial programme for strengthening British power to cope with the + resistance then rising to rebellious heights in the old colonies. Though + not, as was long believed, designed in retaliation for the Boston + disturbances, it is clear that its framers had Massachusetts in mind when + deciding on their policy for Quebec. The main purpose of the Act, the + motive which turned the scale against the old Anglicizing policy, was to + attach the leaders of French-Canadian opinion firmly to the British Crown, + and thus not only to prevent Canada itself from becoming infected with + democratic contagion or turning in a crisis toward France, but to ensure, + if the worst came to the worst, a military base in that northland whose + terrors had in old days kept the seaboard colonies circumspectly loyal. + Ministers in London had been driven by events to accept Carleton's + paradox, that to make Quebec British, it must be prevented from becoming + English. If in later years the solidarity and aloofness of the + French-Canadian people were sometimes to prove inconvenient to British + interests, it was always to be remembered that this situation was due in + great part to the deliberate action of Great Britain in strengthening + French-Canadian institutions as a means of advancing what she considered + her own interests in America. "The views of the British Government in + respect to the political uses to which it means to make Canada + subservient," Marriott had truly declared, "must direct the spirit of any + code of laws." + </p> + <p> + The Quebec Act multiplied the area of the colony sevenfold by the + restoration of all Labrador on the east and the region west as far as the + Ohio and the Mississippi and north to the Hudson's Bay Company's + territory. It restored the old French civil law but continued the milder + English criminal law already in operation. It gave to the Roman Catholic + inhabitants the free exercise of their religion, subject to a modified + oath of allegiance, and confirmed the clergy in their right "to hold, + receive and enjoy their accustomed dues and rights, with respect to such + persons only as shall confess the said religion." The promised elective + Assembly was not granted, but a Council appointed by the Crown received a + measure of legislative power. + </p> + <p> + On his return to Canada in September, 1774, Carleton reported that the + Canadians had "testified the strongest marks of Joy and Gratitude and + Fidelity to their King and to His Government for the late Arrangements + made at Home in their Favor." The "most respectable part of the English," + he continued, urged peaceful acceptance of the new order. Evidently, + however, the respectable members of society were few, as the great body of + the English settlers joined in a petition for the repeal of the Act on the + ground that it deprived them of the incalculable benefits of habeas corpus + and trial by jury. The Montreal merchants, whether, as Carleton commented, + they "were of a more turbulent Turn, or that they caught the Fire from + some Colonists settled among them," were particularly outspoken in the + town meetings they held. In the older colonies the opposition was still + more emphatic. An Act which hemmed them in to the seacoast, established on + the American continent a Church they feared and hated, and continued an + autocratic political system, appeared to many to be the undoing of the + work of Pitt and Wolfe and the revival on the banks of the St. Lawrence + and the Mississippi of a serious menace to their liberty and progress. + </p> + <p> + Then came the clash at Lexington, and the War of American Independence had + begun. The causes, the course, and the ending of that great civil war have + been treated elsewhere in this series.* Here it is necessary only to note + its bearings on the fate of Canada. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * See "The Eve of the Revolution" and "Washington and His + Comrades in Arms" (in "The Chronicles of America"). +</pre> + <p> + Early in 1775 the Continental Congress undertook the conquest of Canada, + or, as it was more diplomatically phrased, the relief of its inhabitants + from British tyranny. Richard Montgomery led an expedition over the old + route by Lake Champlain and the Richelieu, along which French and Indian + raiding parties used to pass years before, and Benedict Arnold made a + daring and difficult march up the Kennebec and down the Chaudiere to + Quebec. Montreal fell to Montgomery; and Carleton himself escaped capture + only by the audacity of some French-Canadian voyageurs, who, under cover + of darkness, rowed his whaleboat or paddled it with their hands silently + past the American sentinels on the shore. Once down the river and in + Quebec, Carleton threw himself with vigor and skill into the defense of + his capital. His generalship and the natural strength of the position + proved more than a match for Montgomery and Arnold. Montgomery was killed + and Arnold wounded in a vain attempt to carry the city by storm on the + last night of 1775. At Montreal a delegation from Congress, composed of + Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Chase, and Charles Carroll of Carrollton, + accompanied by Carroll's brother, a Jesuit priest and a future archbishop, + failed to achieve-more by diplomacy than their generals had done by the + sword. The Canadians seemed, content enough to wear the British yoke. In + the spring, when a British fleet arrived with reenforcements, the American + troops retired in haste and, before the Declaration of Independence had + been proclaimed, Canada was free from the last of its ten thousand + invaders. + </p> + <p> + The expedition had put Carleton's policy to the test. On the whole it + stood the strain. The seigneurs had rallied to the Government which had + restored their rights, and the clergy had called on the people to stand + fast by the King. So far all went as Carleton had hoped: "The Noblesse, + Clergy, and greater part of the Bourgeoisie," he wrote, "have given + Government every Assistance in their Power." But the habitants refused to + follow their appointed leaders with the old docility, and some even mobbed + the seigneurs who tried to enroll them. Ten years of freedom had worked a + democratic change in them, and they were much less enthusiastic than their + betters about the restoration of seigneurial privileges. Carleton, like + many another, had held as public opinion what were merely the opinions of + those whom he met at dinner. "These people had been governed with too + loose a rein for many years," he now wrote to Burgoyne, "and had imbibed + too much of the American Spirit of Licentiousness and Independence + administered by a numerous and turbulent Faction here, to be suddenly + restored to a proper and desirable Subordination." A few of the habitants + joined his forces; fewer joined the invaders or sold them supplies—till + they grew suspicious of paper "Continentals." But the majority held + passively aloof. Even when France joined the warring colonies and Admiral + d'Estaing appealed to the Canadians to rise, they did not heed; though it + is difficult to say what the result would have been if Washington had + agreed to Lafayette's plan of a joint French and American invasion in + 1778. + </p> + <p> + Nova Scotia also held aloof, in spite of the fact that many of the men who + had come from New England and from Ulster were eager to join the colonies + to the south. In Nova Scotia democracy was a less hardy plant than in + Massachusetts. The town and township institutions, which had been the + nurseries of resistance in New England, had not been allowed to take root + there. The circumstances of the founding of Halifax had given ripe to a + greater tendency, which lasted long, to lean upon the mother country. The + Maine wilderness made intercourse between Nova Scotia and New England + difficult by land, and the British fleet was in control of the sea until + near the close of the war. Nova Scotia stood by Great Britain, and was + reserved to become part of a northern nation still in the making. + </p> + <p> + That nation was to owe its separate existence to the success of the + American Revolution. But for that event, coming when it did, the + struggling colonies of Quebec and Nova Scotia would in time have become + merged with the colonies to the youth and would have followed them, + whether they remained within the British Empire or not. Thus it was due to + the quarrel between the thirteen colonies and the motherland that Canada + did not become merely a fourteenth colony or state. Nor was this the only + bearing of the Revolution on Canada's destiny. Thanks to the coming of the + Loyalists, those exiles of the Revolution who settled in Canada in large + numbers, Canada was after all to be dominantly a land of English speech + and of English sympathies. By one of the many paradoxes which mark the + history of Canada, the very success of the plan which aimed to save + British power by confirming French-Canadian nationality and the loyalty of + the French led in the end to making a large part of Canada English. The + Revolution meant also that for many a year those in authority in England + and in Canada itself were to stand in fear of the principles and + institutions which had led the old colonies to rebellion and separation, + and were to try to build up in Canada buttresses against the advance of + democracy. + </p> + <p> + The British statesmen who helped to frame the Peace of 1783 were men with + broad and generous views as to the future of the seceding colonies and + their relations with the mother country. It was perhaps inevitable that + they should have given less thought to the future of the colonies in + America which remained under the British flag. Few men could realize at + the moment that out of these scattered fragments a new nation and a second + empire would arise. Not only were the seceding colonies given a share in + the fishing grounds of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, which was + unfortunately to prove a constant source of friction, but the boundary + line was drawn with no thought of the need of broad and easy communication + between Nova Scotia and Canada, much less between Canada and the far West. + Vague definitions of the boundaries, naturally incident to the prevailing + lack of geographical knowledge of the vast continent, held further seeds + of trouble. These contentions, however, were far in the future. At the + moment another defect of the treaty proved to be Canada's gain. The + failure of Lord Shelburne's Ministry to insist upon effective safeguards + for the fair treatment of those who had taken the King's side in the old + colonies, condemned as it was not only by North and the Tories but by Fox + and Sheridan and Burke, led to that Loyalist migration which changed the + racial complexion of Canada. + </p> + <p> + The Treaty of 1783 provided that Congress would "earnestly recommend" to + the various States that the Loyalists be granted amnesty and restitution. + This pious resolution proved not worth the paper on which it was written. + In State after State the property of the Loyalists was withheld or + confiscated anew. Yet this ungenerous treatment of the defeated by the + victors is not hard to understand. The struggle had been waged with all + the bitterness of civil war. The smallness of the field of combat had + intensified personal ill-will. Both sides had practiced cruelties in + guerrilla warfare; but the Patriots forgot Marion's raids, Simsbury mines, + and the drumhead hangings, and remembered only Hessian brutalities, Indian + scalpings, Tarleton's harryings, and the infamous prison ships of New + York. The war had been a long one. The tide of battle had ebbed and + flowed. A district that was Patriot one year was frequently Loyalist the + next. These circumstances engendered fear and suspicion and led to nervous + reprisals. + </p> + <p> + At least a third, if not a half, of the people of the old colonies had + been opposed to revolution. New York was strongly Loyalist, with + Pennsylvania, Georgia, and the Carolinas closely following. In the end + some fifty or sixty thousand Loyalists abandoned their homes or suffered + expulsion rather than submit to the new order. They counted in their ranks + many of the men who had held first place in their old communities, men of + wealth, of education, and of standing, as well as thousands who had + nothing to give but their fidelity to the old order. Many, especially of + the well-to-do, went to England; a few found refuge in the West Indies; + but the great majority, over fifty thousand in all, sought new homes in + the northern wilderness. Over thirty thousand, including many of the most + influential of the whole number (with about three thousand negro slaves, + afterwards freed and deported to Sierra Leone) were carried by ship to + Nova Scotia. They found homes chiefly in that part of the province which + in 1784 became New Brunswick. Others, trekking overland or sailing around + by the Gulf and up the River, settled in the upper valley of the St. + Lawrence—on Lake St. Francis, on the Cataraqui and the Bay of + Quinte, and in the Niagara District. + </p> + <p> + Though these pioneers were generously aided by the British Government with + grants of land and supplies, their hardships and disappointments during + the first years in the wilderness were such as would have daunted any but + brave and desperate men and women whom fate had winnowed. Yet all but a + few, who drifted back to their old homes, held out; and the foundations of + two more provinces of the future Dominion—New Brunswick and Upper + Canada—were thus broadly and soundly laid by the men whom future + generations honored as "United Empire Loyalists." Through all the later + years, their sacrifices and sufferings, their ideals and prejudices, were + to make a deep impress on the development of the nation which they helped + to found and were to influence its relations with the country which they + had left and with the mother country which had held their allegiance. + </p> + <p> + Once the first tasks of hewing and hauling and planting were done, the new + settlers called for the organization of local governments. They were quite + as determined as their late foes to have a voice in their own governing, + even though they yielded ultimate obedience to rulers overseas. + </p> + <p> + In the provinces by the sea a measure of self-government was at once + established. New Brunswick received, without question, a constitution on + the Nova Scotia model, with a Lieutenant Governor, an Executive Council + appointed to advise him, which served also as the upper house of the + legislature, and an elective Assembly. Of the twenty-six members of the + first Assembly, twenty-three were Loyalists. With a population so much at + one, and with the tasks of road making and school building and tax + collecting insistent and absorbing, no party strife divided the province + for many years. In Nova Scotia, too, the Loyalists were in the majority. + There, however, the earlier settlers soon joined with some of the + newcomers to form an opposition. The island of St. John, renamed Prince + Edward Island in 1798, had been made a separate Government and had + received an Assembly in 1773. Its one absorbing question was the tenure of + land. On a single day in 1767 the British authorities had granted the + whole island by lottery to army and navy officers and country gentlemen, + on condition of the payment of small quitrents. The quitrents were rarely + paid, and the tenants of the absentee landlords kept up an agitation for + reform which was unceasing but which was not to be successful for a + hundred years. In all three Maritime Provinces political and party + controversy was little known for a generation after the Revolution. + </p> + <p> + It was more difficult to decide what form of government should be set up + in Canada, now that tens of thousands of English-speaking settlers dwelt + beside the old Canadians. Carleton, now Lord Dorchester, had returned as + Governor in 1786, after eight years' absence. He was still averse to + granting an Assembly so long as the French subjects were in the majority: + they did not want it, he insisted, and could not use it. But the Loyalist + settlers, not to be put off, joined with the English merchants of Montreal + and Quebec in demanding an Assembly and relief from the old French laws. + Carleton himself was compelled to admit the force of the conclusion of + William Grenville, Secretary of State for the Home Department, then in + control of the remnants of the colonial empire, and son of that George + Grenville who, as Prime Minister, had introduced the American Stamp Act of + 1765: "I am persuaded that it is a point of true Policy to make these + Concessions at a time when they may be received as a matter of favour, and + when it is in Our own power to regulate and direct the manner of applying + them, rather than to wait till they shall be extorted from us by a + necessity which shall neither leave us any discretion in the form nor any + merit in the substance of what We give." Accordingly, in 1791, the British + Parliament passed the Constitutional Act dividing Canada into two + provinces separated by the Ottawa River, Lower or French-speaking Canada + and Upper or English-speaking Canada, and granting each an elective + Assembly. + </p> + <p> + Thus far the tide of democracy had risen, but thus far only. Few in high + places had learned the full lesson of the American Revolution. The + majority believed that the old colonies had been lost because they had not + been kept under a sufficiently tight rein; that democracy had been allowed + too great headway; that the remaining colonies, therefore, should be + brought under stricter administrative control; and that care should be + taken to build up forces to counteract the democracy which grew so rank + and swift in frontier soil. This conservative tendency was strengthened by + the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789.* The rulers of England had + witnessed two revolutions, and the lesson they drew from both was that it + was best to smother democracy in the cradle. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * It will be remembered that in the debate on the + Constitutional Act the conflicting views of Burke and Fox on + the French Revolution led to the dramatic break in their + lifelong friendship. +</pre> + <p> + For this reason the measure of representative government that had been + granted each of the remaining British colonies in North America was + carefully hedged about. The whole executive power remained in the hands of + the Governor or his nominees. No one yet conceived it possible that the + Assembly should control the Executive Council. The elective Assembly was + compelled to share even the lawmaking power with an upper house, the + Legislative Council. Not only were the members of this upper house + appointed by the Crown for life, but the King was empowered to bestow + hereditary titles upon them with a view to making the Council in the + fullness of time a copy of the House of Lords. A blow was struck even at + that traditional prerogative of the popular house, the control of the + purse. Carleton had urged that in every township a sixth of the land + should be reserved to enable His Majesty "to reward such of His provincial + Servants as may merit the Royal favour" and "to create and strengthen an + Aristocracy, of which the best use may be made on this Continent, where + all Governments are feeble and the general condition of things tends to a + wild Democracy." Grenville saw further possibilities in this suggestion. + It would give the Crown a revenue which would make it independent of the + Assembly, "a measure, which, if it had been adopted when the Old Colonies + were first settled, would have retained them to this hour in obedience and + Loyalty." Nor was this all. From the same source an endowment might be + obtained for a state church which would be a bulwark of order and + conservatism. The Constitutional Act accordingly provided for setting + aside lands equal in value to one-seventh of all lands granted from time + to time, for the support of a Protestant clergy. The Executive Council + received power to set up rectories in every parish, to endow them + liberally, and to name as rectors ministers of the Church of England. + Further, the Executive Council was instructed to retain an equal amount of + land as crown reserves, distributed judiciously in blocks between the + grants made to settlers. Were any radical tendencies to survive these + attentions, the veto power of the British Government could be counted on + in the last resort. + </p> + <p> + For a time the installment of self-government thus granted satisfied the + people. The pioneer years left little leisure for political discussion, + nor were there at first any general issues about which men might differ. + The Government was carrying on acceptably the essential tasks of + surveying, land granting, and road building; and each member of the + Assembly played his own hand and was chiefly concerned in obtaining for + his constituents the roads and bridges, they needed so badly. The + English-speaking settlers of Upper Canada were too widely scattered, and + the French-speaking citizens of Lower Canada were too ignorant of + representative institutions, to act in groups or parties. + </p> + <p> + Much turned in these early years upon the personality of the Governor. In + several instances, the choice of rulers for the new provinces proved + fortunate. This was particularly so in the case of John Graves Simcoe, + Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada from 1792 to 1799. He was a good + soldier and a just and vigorous administrator, particularly wise in + setting his regulars to work building roads such as Yonge Street and + Dundas Street, which to this day are great provincial arteries of travel. + Yet there were many sources of weakness in the scheme of government—divided + authority, absenteeism, personal unfitness. When Dorchester was + reappointed in 1786, he had been made Governor in Chief of all British + North America. From the beginning, however, the Lieutenant Governors of + the various provinces asserted independent authority, and in a few years + the Governor General became in fact merely the Governor of the most + populous province, Lower Canada, in which he resided. + </p> + <p> + In Upper Canada, as in New Brunswick, the population was at first much at + one. In time, however, discordant elements appeared. Religious, or at + least denominational, differences began to cause friction. The great + majority of the early settlers in Upper Canada belonged to the Church of + England, whose adherents in the older colonies had nearly all taken the + Loyalist side. Of the Ulster Presbyterians and New England + Congregationalists who formed the backbone of the Revolution, few came to + Canada. The growth of the Methodists and Baptists in the United States + after the Revolution, however, made its mark on the neighboring country. + The first Methodist class meetings in Upper Canada, held in the United + Empire Loyalist settlement on the Bay of Quinte in 1791, were organized by + itinerant preachers from the United States; and in the western part of the + province pioneer Baptist evangelists from the same country reached the + scattered settlers neglected by the older churches. + </p> + <p> + Nor was it in religion alone that diversity grew. Simcoe had set up a + generous land policy which brought in many "late Loyalists," American + settlers whose devotion to monarchical principles would not always bear + close inquiry. The fantastic experiment of planting in the heart of the + woods of Upper Canada a group of French nobles driven out by the + Revolution left no trace; but Mennonites, Quakers, and Scottish + Highlanders contributed diverse and permanent factors to the life of the + province. Colonel Thomas Talbot of Malahide, "a fierce little Irishman who + hated Scotchmen and women, turned teetotallers out of his house, and built + the only good road in the province," made the beginnings of settlement + midway on Lake Erie. A shrewd Massachusetts merchant, Philemon Wright, + with his comrades, their families, servants, horses, oxen, and 10,000 + pounds, sledded from Boston to Montreal in the winter of 1800, and thence + a hundred miles beyond, to found the town of Hull and establish a great + lumbering industry in the Ottawa Valley. + </p> + <p> + These differences of origin and ways of thought had not yet been reflected + in political life. Party strife in Upper Canada began with a factional + fight which took place in 1805-07 between a group of Irish officeholders + and a Scotch clique who held the reins of government. Weekes, an + Irish-American barrister, Thorpe, a puisne judge, Wyatt, the surveyor + general, and Willcocks, a United Irishman who had become sheriff of one of + the four Upper Canada districts, began to question the right to rule of + "the Scotch pedlars" or "the Shopkeeper Aristocracy," as Thorpe called + those merchants who, for the lack of other leaders, had developed an + influence with the governors or ruled in their frequent absence. But the + insurgents were backed by only a small minority in the Assembly, and when + the four leaders disappeared from the stage,* this curtain raiser to the + serious political drama which was to follow came quickly to its end. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Weekes was slain in a duel. Wyatt and Thorpe were + suspended by the Lieutenant Governor, Sir Francis Gore, only + to win redress later in England. Willcocks was dismissed + from office and fell fighting on the American side in the + War of 1812. +</pre> + <p> + In Lower Canada the clash was more serious. The French Canadians, who had + not asked for representative government, eventually grasped its + possibilities and found leaders other than those ordained for them. In the + first Assembly there were many seigneurs and aristocrats who bore names + notable for six generations back Taschereau, Duchesnay, Lothiniere, + Rouville, Salaberry. But they soon found their surroundings uncongenial or + failed to be reelected. Writing in 1810 to Lord Liverpool, Secretary of + State for War and the Colonies, the Governor, Sir James Craig, with a fine + patrician scorn thus pictures the Assembly of his day. + </p> + <p> + "It really, my Lord, appears to me an absurdity, that the Interests of + certainly not an unimportant Colony, involving in them those also of no + inconsiderable portion of the Commercial concerns of the British Empire, + should be in the hands of six petty shopkeepers, a Blacksmith, a Miller, + and 15 ignorant peasants who form part of our present House; a Doctor or + Apothecary, twelve Canadian Avocats and Notaries, and four so far + respectable people that at least they do not keep shops, together with ten + English members compleat the List: there is not one person coming under + the description of a Canadian Gentleman among them." + </p> + <p> + And again: + </p> + <p> + "A Governor cannot obtain among them even that sort of influence that + might arise from personal intercourse. I can have none with Blacksmiths, + Millers, and Shopkeepers; even the Avocats and Notaries who compose so + considerable a portion of the House, are, generally speaking, such as I + can nowhere meet, except during the actual sitting of Parliament, when I + have a day of the week expressly appropriated to the receiving a large + portion of them at dinner." + </p> + <p> + Leadership under these conditions fell to the "unprincipled Demagogues," + half-educated lawyers, men "with nothing to lose." + </p> + <p> + But it was not merely as an aristocrat facing peasants and shopkeepers, + nor as a soldier faced by talkers, but as an Englishman on guard against + Frenchmen that Craig found himself at odds with his Assembly. For nearly + twenty years in this period England was at death grips with France, end to + hate and despise all Frenchmen was part of the hereditary and congenial + duty of all true Britons. Craig and those who counseled him were firmly + convinced that the new subjects were French at heart. Of the 250,000 + inhabitants of Lower Canada, he declared, "about 20,000 or 25,000 may be + English or Americans, the rest are French. I use the term designedly, my + Lord, because I mean to say that they are in Language, in religion, in + manner and in attachment completely French." That there was still some + affection for old France, stirred by war and French victories, there is no + question, but that the Canadians wished to return to French allegiance was + untrue, even though Craig reported that such was "the general opinion of + all ranks with whom it is possible to converse on the subject." The French + Revolution had created a great gulf between Old France and New France. The + clergy did their utmost to bar all intercourse with the land where deism + and revolution held sway, and when the Roman Catholic Church and the + British Government combined for years on a single object, it was little + wonder they succeeded. Nelson's victory at Trafalgar was celebrated by a + Te Deum in the Roman Catholic Cathedral at Quebec. In fact, as Craig + elsewhere noted, the habitants were becoming rather a new and distinct + nationality, a nation canadienne. They ceased to be French; they declined + to become English; and sheltered under their "Sacred Charter"* they became + Canadians first and last. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * "It cannot be sufficiently inculcated ON THE PART OF + GOVERNMENT that the Quebec Act is a Sacred Charter, granted + by the King in Parliament to the Canadians as a Security for + their Religion, Laws, and Property." Governor Sir Frederick + Haldimand to Lord George Germaine, Oct. 25, 1780. +</pre> + <p> + The governors were not alone in this hostility to the mass of the people. + There had grown up in the colony a little clique of officeholders, of whom + Jonathan Sewell, the Loyalist Attorney General, and later Chief Justice, + was the chief, full of racial and class prejudice, and in some cases + greedy for personal gain. Sewell declared it "indispensably necessary to + overwhelm and sink the Canadian population by English Protestants," and + was even ready to run the risk of bringing in Americans to effect this + end. Of the non-official English, some were strongly opposed to the + pretensions of the "Chateau Clique"; but others, and especially the + merchants, with their organ the Quebec "Mercury", were loud in their + denunciations of the French who were unprogressive and who as landowners + were incidentally trying to throw the burden of taxation chiefly on the + traders. + </p> + <p> + The first open sign of the racial division which was to bedevil the life + of the province came in 1806 when, in order to meet the attacks of the + Anglicizing party, the newspaper "Le Canadien" was established at Quebec. + Its motto was significant: "Notre langue, nos institutions, et nos lois." + Craig and his counselors took up the challenge. In 1808 he dismissed five + militia officers, because of their connection with the irritating journal, + and in 1810 he went so far as to suppress it and to throw into prison four + of those responsible for its management. The Assembly, which was proving + hard to control, was twice dissolved in three years. Naturally the + Governor's arbitrary course only stiffened resistance; and passions were + rising fast and high when illness led to his recall and the shadow of a + common danger from the south, the imminence of war with the United States, + for a time drew all men together. + </p> + <p> + While the foundations of the eastern provinces of Canada were being laid, + the wildernesses which one day were to become the western provinces were + just rising above the horizon of discovery. In the plains and prairies + between the Great Lakes and the Rockies, fur traders warred for the + privilege of exchanging with the Indians bad whiskey for good furs. + Scottish traders from Montreal, following in the footsteps of La Verendrye + and Niverville, pushed far into the northern wilds.* In 1788 the leading + traders joined forces in organizing the North-West Company. Their great + canoes, manned by French-Canadian voyageurs, penetrated the network of + waters from the Ottawa to the Saskatchewan, and poured wealth into the + pockets of the lordly partners in Montreal. Their rivalry wakened the + sleepy Hudson's Bay Company, which was now forced to leave the shores of + the inland sea and build posts in the interior. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * It is interesting to note the dominant share taken in the + trade and exploration of the North and West by men of + Highland Scotch and French extraction. For an account of La + Verendrye see "The Conquest of New France" and for the + Scotch fur traders of Montreal see "Adventurers of Oregon" + (in "The Chronicles of America"). +</pre> + <p> + On the Pacific coast rivalry was still keener. The sea otter and the seal + were a lure to the men of many nations. Canada took its part in this + rivalry. In 1792, when the Russians were pressing down from their Alaskan + posts, when the Spaniards, claiming the Pacific for their own, were + exploring the mouth of the Fraser, when Captain Robert Gray of Boston was + sailing up the mighty Columbia, and Captain Vancouver was charting the + northern coasts for the British Government, a young North-West Company + factor, Alexander Mackenzie, in his lonely post on Lake Athabaska, was + planning to cross the wilderness of mountains to the coast. With a fellow + trader, Mackay, and six Canadian voyageurs, he pushed up the Peace and the + Parsnip, passed by way of the Fraser and the Blackwater to the Bella + Coola, and thence to the Pacific, the first white man to cross the + northern continent. Paddling for life through swirling rapids on rivers + which rushed madly through sheer rock-bound canyons, swimming for shore + when rock or sand bar had wrecked the precious bark canoe, struggling over + heartbreaking portages, clinging to the sides of precipices, contending + against hostile Indians and fear-stricken followers, and at last winning + through, Mackenzie summed up what will ever remain one of the great + achievements of exploration in the simple record, painted in vermilion on + a rock in Burke Channel: Alexander Mackenzie, from Canada, by land, the + twenty-second of July, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three. The + first bond had been woven in the union of East and West. Between the + eastern provinces a stronger link was soon to be forged. The War of 1812 + gave the scattered British colonies in America for the first time a living + sense of unity that transcended all differences, a memory of perils and of + victories which nourished a common patriotism. + </p> + <p> + The War of 1812 was no quarrel of Canada's. It was merely an incident in + the struggle between England and Napoleon. At desperate grips, both + contestants used whatever weapons lay ready to their hands. Sea power was + England's weapon, and in her claim to forbid all neutral traffic with her + enemies and to exercise the galling right of search, she pressed it far. + France trampled still more ruthlessly on American and neutral rights; but, + with memories of 1776 still fresh, the dominant party in the United States + was disposed to forgive France and to hold England to strict account. + </p> + <p> + England had struck at France, regardless of how the blow might injure + neutrals. Now the United States sought to strike at England through the + colonies, regardless of their lack of any responsibility for English + policy. The "war hawks" of the South and West called loudly for the speedy + invasion and capture of Canada as a means of punishing England. In so far + as the British North American colonies were but possessions of Great + Britain, overseas plantations, the course of the United States could be + justified. But potentially these colonies were more than mere possessions. + They were a nation in the making, with a right to their own development; + they were not simply a pawn in the game of Britain and the United States. + Quite aside from the original rights or wrongs of the war, the invasion of + Canada was from this standpoint an act of aggression. "Agrarian cupidity, + not maritime right, wages this war," insisted John Randolph of Roanoke, + the chief opponent of the "war hawks" in Congress. "Ever since the report + of the Committee on Foreign Relations came into the House, we have heard + but one word—like the whippoorwill, but one eternal monotonous tone—Canada, + Canada, Canada!" + </p> + <p> + At the outset there appeared no question that the conquest of Canada could + be, as Jefferson forecast, other than "a mere matter of marching." Eustis, + the Secretary of War, prophesied that "we can take Canada without + soldiers." Clay insisted that the Canadas were "as much under our command + as the Ocean is under Great Britain's." The provinces had barely half a + million people, two-thirds of them allied by ties of blood to Britain's + chief enemy, to set against the eight millions of the Republic. There were + fewer than ten thousand regular troops in all the colonies, half of them + down by the sea, far away from the danger zone, and less than fifteen + hundred west of Montreal. Little help could come from England, herself at + war with Napoleon, the master of half of Europe. + </p> + <p> + But there was another side. The United States was not a unit in the war; + New England was apathetic or hostile to the war throughout, and as late as + 1814 two-thirds of the army of Canada were eating beef supplied by Vermont + and New York contractors. Weak as was the militia of the Canadas, it was + stiffened by English and Canadian regulars, hardened by frontier + experience, and led for the most part by trained and able men, whereas an + inefficient system and political interference greatly weakened the + military force of the fighting States. Above all, the Canadians were + fighting for their homes. To them the war was a matter of life and death; + to the United States it was at best a struggle to assert commercial rights + or national prestige. + </p> + <p> + The course and fortunes of the war call for only the briefest notice. In + the first year the American plans for invading Upper Canada came to grief + through the surrender of Hull at Detroit to Isaac Brock and the defeat at + Queenston Heights of the American army under Van Rensselaer. The campaign + ended with not a foot of Canadian soil in the invaders' hands, and with + Michigan lost, but Brock, Canada's brilliant leader, had fallen at + Queenston, and at sea the British had tasted unwonted defeat. In single + actions one American frigate after another proved too much for its British + opponent. It was a rude shock to the Mistress of the Seas. + </p> + <p> + The second year's campaign was more checkered. In the West the Americans + gained the command of the Great Lakes by rapid building and good sailing, + and with it followed the command of all the western peninsula of Upper + Canada. The British General Procter was disastrously defeated at + Moraviantown, and his ally, the Shawanoe chief Tecumseh, one of the half + dozen great men of his race, was killed. York, later known as Toronto, the + capital of the province, was captured, and its public buildings were + burned and looted. But in the East fortune was kinder to the Canadians. + The American plan of invasion called for an attack on Montreal from two + directions; General Wilkinson was to sail and march down the St. Lawrence + from Sackett's Harbor with some eight thousand men, while General Hampton, + with four thousand, was to take the historic route by Lake Champlain. + Half-way down the St. Lawrence Wilkinson came to grief. Eighteen hundred + men whom he landed to drive off a force of a thousand hampering his rear + were decisively defeated at Chrystler's Farm. Wilkinson pushed on for a + few days, but when word came that Hampton had also met disaster he + withdrew into winter quarters. Hampton had found Colonel de Salaberry, + with less than sixteen hundred troops, nearly all French Canadians, making + a stand on the banks of the Chateauguay, thirty-five miles south of + Montreal. He divided his force in order to take the Canadians in front and + rear, only to be outmaneuvered and outfought in one of the most brilliant + actions of the war and forced to retire. In the closing months of the year + the Americans, compelled to withdraw from Fort George on the Niagara, + burned the adjoining town of Newark and turned its women and children into + the December snow. Drummond, who had succeeded Brock, gained control of + both sides of the Niagara and retaliated in kind by laying waste the + frontier villages from Lewiston to Buffalo. The year closed with + Amherstburg on the Detroit the only Canadian post in American hands. On + the sea the capture of the Chesapeake by the Shannon salved the pride of + England. + </p> + <p> + The last year of the war was also a year of varying fortunes. In the far + West a small body of Canadians and Indians captured Prairie du Chien, on + the Mississippi, while Michilimackinac, which a force chiefly composed of + French-Canadian voyageurs and Indians had captured in the first months of + war, defied a strong assault. In Upper Canada the Americans raided the + western peninsula from Detroit but made their chief attack on the Niagara + frontier. Though they scored no permanent success, they fought well and + with a fair measure of fortune. The generals with whom they had been + encumbered at the outset of the war, Revolutionary relics or political + favorites, had now nearly all been replaced by abler men—Scott, + Brown, Exert—and their troops were better trained and better + equipped. In July the British forces on the Niagara were decisively beaten + at Chippawa. Three weeks later was fought the bloodiest battle on Canadian + soil, at Lundy's Lane, either side's victory at the moment but soon + followed by the retirement of the invading force. The British had now + outbuilt their opponents on Lake Ontario; and, though American ships + controlled Lake Erie to the end, the Ontario flotilla aided Drummond, + Brock's able successor, in forcing the withdrawal of Exert forces from the + whole peninsula in November. Farther east a third attempt to capture + Montreal had been defeated in the spring, after Wilkinson with four + thousand men had failed to drive five hundred regulars and militia from + the stone walls of Lacolle's Mill. + </p> + <p> + Until this closing year Britain had been unable, in face of the more vital + danger from Napoleon, to send any but trifling reenforcements to what she + considered a minor theater of the war. Now, with Napoleon in Elba, she was + free to take more vigorous action. Her navy had already swept the daring + little fleet of American frigates and American merchant marine from the + seas. Now it maintained a close blockade of all the coast and, with troops + from Halifax, captured and held the Maine coast north of the Penobscot. + Large forces of Wellington's hardy veterans crossed the ocean, sixteen + thousand to Canada, four thousand to aid in harrying the Atlantic coast, + and later nine thousand to seize the mouth of the Mississippi. Yet, + strangely, these hosts fared worse, because of hard fortune and poor + leadership, than the handful of militia and regulars who had borne the + brunt of the war in the first two years. Under Ross they captured + Washington and burned the official buildings; but under Prevost they + failed at Plattsburg; and under Pakenham, in January, 1815, they failed + against Andrew Jackson's sharpshooters at New Orleans. + </p> + <p> + Before the last-named fight occurred, peace had been made. Both sides were + weary of the war, which had now, by the seeming end of the struggle + between England and Napoleon in which it was an incident, lost whatever it + formerly had of reason. Though Napoleon was still in Elba, Europe was far + from being at rest, and the British Ministers, backed by Wellington's + advice, were keen to end the war. They showed their contempt for the + issues at stake by sending to the peace conference at Ghent three + commissioners as incompetent as ever represented a great power, Gambier, + Goulburn, and Adams. To face these the United States had sent John Quincy + Adams, Albert Gallatin, Henry Clay, James Bayard, and Jonathan Russell, as + able and astute a group of players for great stakes as ever gathered round + a table. In these circumstances the British representatives were lucky to + secure peace on the basis of the status quo ante. Canada had hoped that + sufficient of the unsettled Maine wilderness would be retained to link up + New Brunswick with the inland colony of Quebec, but this proposal was soon + abandoned. In the treaty not one of the ostensible causes of the war was + even mentioned. + </p> + <p> + The war had the effect of unifying Canadian feeling. Once more it had been + determined that Canada was not to lose her identity in the nation to the + south. In Upper Canada, especially in the west, there were many recent + American settlers who sympathized openly with their kinsmen, but of these + some departed, some were jailed, and others had a change of heart. Lower + Canada was a unit against the invader, and French-Canadian troops on every + occasion covered themselves with glory. To the Canadians, as the smaller + people, and as the people whose country had been the chief battle ground, + the war in later years naturally bulked larger than to their neighbors. It + left behind it unfortunate legacies of hostility to the United States and, + among the governing classes, of deep-rooted opposition to its democratic + institutions. But it left also memories precious for a young people—the + memory of Brock and Macdonell and De Salaberry, of Laura Secord and her + daring tramp through the woods to warn of American attacks, of Stony Creek + and Lundy's Lane, Chrystler's Farm and Chateauguay, the memory of + sacrifice, of endurance, and of courage that did not count the odds. + </p> + <p> + Nor were the evil legacies to last for all time. Three years after peace + had been made the statesmen of the United States and of Great Britain had + the uncommon sense to take a great step toward banishing war between the + neighbor peoples. The Rush-Bagot Convention, limiting the naval armament + on the Great Lakes to three vessels not exceeding one hundred tons each, + and armed only with one eighteen-pounder, though not always observed in + the letter, proved the beginning of a sane relationship which has lasted + for a century. Had not this agreement nipped naval rivalry in the bud, + fleets and forts might have lined the shores and increased the strain of + policy and the likelihood of conflict. The New World was already preparing + to sound its message to the Old. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. THE FIGHT FOR SELF-GOVERNMENT + </h2> + <p> + The history of British North America in the quarter of a century that + followed the War of 1812 is in the main the homely tale of pioneer life. + Slowly little clearings in the vast forest were widened and won to order + and abundance; slowly community was linked to community; and out of the + growing intercourse there developed the complex of ways and habits and + interests that make up the everyday life of a people. + </p> + <p> + All the provinces called for settlers, and they did not call in vain. For + a time northern New England continued to overflow into the Eastern + Townships of Lower Canada, the rolling lands south of the St. Lawrence + which had been left untouched by riverbound seigneur and habitant. Into + Upper Canada, as well, many individual immigrants came from the south, + some of the best the Republic had to give, merchants and manufacturers + with little capital but much shrewd enterprise, but also some it could + best spare, fugitives from justice and keepers of the taverns that adorned + every four corners. Yet slowly this inflow slackened. After the war the + Canadian authorities sought to avoid republican contagion and moreover the + West of the United States itself was calling for men. + </p> + <p> + But if fewer came in across the border, many more sailed from across the + seas. Not again until the twentieth century were the northern provinces to + receive so large a share of British emigrants as came across in the + twenties and thirties. Swarms were preparing to leave the overcrowded + British hives. Corn laws and poor laws and famine, power-driven looms that + starved the cottage weaver, peace that threw an army on a crowded and + callous labor market, landlords who rack-rented the Connaughtman's last + potato or cleared Highland glens of folks to make way for sheep, rulers + who persisted in denying the masses any voice in their own government—all + these combined to drive men forth in tens of thousands. Australia was + still a land of convict settlements and did not attract free men. To most + the United States was the land of promise. Yet, thanks to state aid, + private philanthropy, landlords' urging and cheap fares on the ships that + came to St. John and Quebec for timber, Canada and the provinces by the + sea received a notable share. In the quarter of a century following the + peace with Napoleon, British North America received more British emigrants + than the United States and the Australian colonies together, though many + were merely birds of passage. + </p> + <p> + The country west of the Great Lakes did not share in this flood of + settlement, except for one tragic interlude. Lord Selkirk, a Scotchman of + large sympathy and vision, convinced that emigration was the cure for the + hopeless misery he saw around him, acquired a controlling interest in the + Hudson's Bay Company, and sought to plant colonies in a vast estate + granted from its domains. Between 1811 and 1815 he sent out to Hudson Bay, + and thence to the Red River, two or three hundred crofters from the + Highlands and the Orkneys. A little later these were joined by some Swiss + soldiers of fortune who had fought for Canada in the War of 1812. But + Selkirk had reckoned without the partners of the North-West Company of + Montreal, who were not prepared to permit mere herders and tillers to + disturb the Indians and the game. The Nor'Westers attacked the helpless + colonists and massacred a score of them. Selkirk retorted in kind, leading + out an armed band which seized the Nor'Westers' chief post at Fort + William. The war was then transferred to the courts, with heart-breaking + delays and endless expense. At last Selkirk died broken in spirit, and + most of his colonists drifted to Canada or across the border. But a + handful held on, and for fifty years their little settlement on the Red + River remained a solitary outpost of colonization. + </p> + <p> + Once arrived in Canada, the settler soon found that he had no primrose + path before him. Canada remained for many years a land of struggling + pioneers, who had little truck or trade with the world out of sight of + their log shacks. The habitant on the seigneuries of Lower Canada + continued to farm as his grandfather had farmed, finding his holding + sufficient for his modest needs, even though divided into ever narrower + ribbons as le bon Dieu sent more and yet more sons to share the heritage. + The English-speaking settler, equipped with ax and sickle and flail, with + spinning wheel and iron kettle, lived a life almost equally primitive and + self-contained. He and his good wife grew the wheat, the corn, and the + potatoes, made the soap and the candles, the maple sugar and the "yarbs," + the deerskin shoes and the homespun-cloth that met their needs. They had + little to buy and little to sell. In spite of the preference which Great + Britain gave Canadian grain, in return for the preference exacted on + British manufactured goods, practically no wheat was exported until the + close of this period. The barrels of potash and pearl-ash leached out from + the ashes of the splendid hardwood trees which he burned as enemies were + the chief source of ready money for the backwoods settler. The one + substantial export of the colonies came, not from the farmer's clearing, + but from the forest. Great rafts of square pine timber were floated down + the Ottawa or the St. John every spring to be loaded for England. The + lumberjack lent picturesqueness to the landscape and the vocabulary and + circulated ready money, but his industry did little directly to advance + permanent settlement or the wise use of Canadian resources. + </p> + <p> + The self-contained life of each community and each farm pointed to the + lack of good means of transport. New Brunswick and the Canadas were + fortunate in the possession of great lake and river systems, but these + were available only in summer and were often impeded by falls and rapids. + On these waters the Indian bark canoe had given way to the French bateau, + a square-rigged flat-bottomed boat, and after the war the bateau shared + the honors with the larger Durham boat brought in from "the States." + </p> + <p> + Canadians took their full share in developing steamship transportation. In + 1809, two years after Fulton's success on the Hudson, John Molson built + and ran a steamer between Montreal and Quebec. The first vessel to cross + the Atlantic wholly under steam, the Royal William, was built in Quebec + and sailed from that port in 1833. Following and rivaling American + enterprise, side-wheelers, marvels of speed and luxury for the day, were + put on the lakes in the thirties. Canals were built, the Lachine in + 1821-25, the Welland around Niagara Falls in 1824-29, and the Rideau, as a + military undertaking, in 1826-32, all in response to the stimulus given by + De Witt Clinton, who had begun the "Erie Ditch" in 1817. On land, road + making made slower progress. The blazed trail gave way to the corduroy + road, and the pack horse to the oxcart or the stage. Upper Canada had the + honor of inventing, in 1835, the plank road, which for some years + thereafter became the fashion through the forested States to the south. + But at best neither roads nor vehicles were fitted for carrying large + loads from inland farms to waterside markets. + </p> + <p> + Money and banks were as necessary to develop intercourse as roads and + canals. Until after the War of 1812, when army gold and army bills ran + freely, money was rare and barter served pioneer needs. For many years + after the war a jumble of English sovereigns and shillings, of Spanish + dollars, French crowns, and American silver, made up the currency in use, + circulating sometimes by weight and sometimes by tale, at rates that were + constantly shifting. The position of the colonies as a link between Great + Britain and the United States, was curiously illustrated in the currency + system. The motley jumble of coins in use were rated in Halifax currency, + a mere money of account or bookkeeping standard, with no actual coins to + correspond, adapted to both English and United States currency systems. + The unit was the pound, divided into shillings and pence as in England, + but the pound was made equal to four dollars in American money; it took 1 + pound 4s. 4d. in Halifax currency to make 1 pound sterling. Still more + curious was the influence of American banking. Montreal merchants in 1808 + took up the ideas of Alexander Hamilton and after several vain attempts + founded the Bank of Montreal in 1817, with those features of government + charter, branch banks, and restrictions as to the proportion of debts to + capital and the holding of real property which had marked Hamilton's plan. + But while Canadian banks, one after another, were founded on the same + model and throughout adhered to an asset-secured currency basis, + Hamilton's own country abandoned his ideas, usually for the worse. + </p> + <p> + In the social life of the cities the influence of the official classes + and, in Halifax and Quebec, of the British redcoats stationed there was + all pervading. In the country the pioneers took what diversions a hard + life permitted. There were "bees" and "frolics," ranging from strenuous + barn raisings, with heavy drinking and fighting, to mild apple parings or + quilt patchings. There were the visits of the Yankee peddler with his + "notions," his welcome pack, and his gossip. Churches grew, thanks in part + to grants of government land or old endowments or gifts from missionary + societies overseas, but more to the zeal of lay preachers and circuit + riders. Schools fared worse. In Lower Canada there was an excellent system + of classical schools for the priests and professional classes, and there + were numerous convents which taught the girls, but the habitants were for + the most part quite untouched by book learning. In Upper Canada grammar + schools and academies were founded with commendable promptness, and a + common school system was established in 1816, but grants were niggardly + and compulsion was lacking. Even at the close of the thirties only one + child in seven was in school, and he was, as often as not, committed to + the tender mercies of some broken-down pensioner or some ancient tippler + who could barely sign his mark. There was but little administrative + control by the provincial authorities. The textbooks in use came largely + from the United States and glorified that land and all its ways in the + best Fourth-of-July manner, to the scandal of the loyal elect. The press + was represented by a few weekly newspapers; only one daily existed in + Upper Canada before 1840. + </p> + <p> + Against this background there developed during the period 1815-41 a tense + constitutional struggle which was to exert a profound influence on the + making of the nation. The stage on which the drama was enacted was a small + one, and the actors were little known to the world of their day, but the + drama had an interest of its own and no little significance for the + future. + </p> + <p> + In one aspect the struggle for self-government in British North America + was simply a local manifestation of a world-wide movement which found more + notable expression in other lands. After a troubled dawn, democracy was + coming to its own. In England the black reaction which had identified all + proposals for reform with treasonable sympathy for bloodstained France was + giving way, and the middle classes were about to triumph in the great + franchise reform of 1832. In the United States, after a generation of + conservatism, Jacksonian democracy was to sweep all before it. These + developments paralleled and in some measure influenced the movement of + events in the British North American provinces. But this movement had a + color of its own. The growth of self-government in an independent country + was one thing; in a colony owing allegiance to a supreme Parliament + overseas, it was quite another. The task of the provinces—not solved + in this period, it is true, but squarely faced—was to reconcile + democracy and empire. + </p> + <p> + The people of the Canadas in 1791, and of the provinces by the sea a + little earlier, had been given the right to elect one house of the + legislature. More than this instalment of self-government the authorities + were not prepared to grant. The people, or rather the property holders + among them, might be entrusted to vote taxes and appropriations, to + present grievances, and to take a share in legislation. They could not, + however, be permitted to control the Government, because, to state an + obvious fact, they could not govern themselves as well as their betters + could rule them. Besides, if the people of a colony did govern themselves, + what would become of the rights and interests of the mother country? What + would become of the Empire itself? + </p> + <p> + What was the use and object of the Empire? In brief, according to the + theory and practice then in force, the end of empire was the profit which + comes from trade; the means was the political subordination of the + colonies to prevent interference with this profit; and the debit entry set + against this profit was the cost of the diplomacy, the armaments, and the + wars required to hold the overseas possessions against other powers. The + policy was still that which had been set forth in the preamble of the + Navigation Act of 1663, ensuring the mother country the sole right to sell + European wares in its colonies: "the maintaining a greater correspondence + and kindness between them [the subjects at home and those in the + plantations] and keeping them in a firmer dependence upon it [the mother + country], and rendering them yet more beneficial and advantageous unto it + in the further Imployment and Encrease of English Shipping and Seamen, and + vent of English Woollen and other Manufactures and Commodities rendering + the Navigation to and from the same more safe and cheape, and makeing this + Kingdom a Staple not only of the Commodities of those Plantations but also + of the Commodities of other countries and places for the supplying of + them, and it being the usage of other Nations to keep their [plantation] + Trade to themselves." Adam Smith had raised a doubt as to the wisdom of + the end. The American Revolution had raised a doubt as to the wisdom of + the means. Yet, with significant changes, the old colonial system lasted + for full two generations after 1776. + </p> + <p> + In the second British Empire, which rose after the loss of the first in + 1783, the means to the old end were altered. To secure control and to + prevent disaffection and democratic folly, the authorities relied not + merely on their own powers but on the cooperation of friendly classes and + interests in the colonies themselves. Their direct control was exercised + in many ways. In last reserve there was the supreme authority of King and + Parliament to bind the colonies by treaty and by law and the right to veto + any colonial enactment. This was as before the Revolution. One change lay + in the renunciation in 1778 of the intention to use the supreme + legislative power to levy taxes, though the right to control the fiscal + system of the colonies in conformity with imperial policy was still + claimed and practised. In fact, far from seeking to secure a direct + revenue, the British Government was more than content to pay part of the + piper's fee for the sake of being able to call the tune. "It is considered + by the Well wishers of Government," wrote Milnes, Lieutenant Governor of + Lower Canada, in 1800, "as a fortunate Circumstance that the Revenue is + not at present equal to the Expenditure." A further change came in the + minute control exercised by the Colonial Office, or rather by the + permanent clerks who, in Charles Buller's phrase, were really "Mr. Mother + Country." The Governor was the local agent of the Colonial Office. He + acted on its instructions and was responsible to it, and to it alone, for + the exercise of the wide administrative powers entrusted to him. + </p> + <p> + But all these powers, it was believed, would fail in their purpose if + democracy were allowed to grow unchecked in the colonies themselves. It + was an essential part of the colonial policy of the time to build up + conservative social forces among the people and to give a controlling + voice in the local administration to a nominated and official class. It + has been seen that the statesmen of 1791 looked to a nominated executive + and legislative council, an hereditary aristocracy, and an established + church, to keep the colony in hand. British legislation fostered and + supported a ruling class in the colonies, and in turn this class was to + support British connection and British control. How this policy, half + avowed and half unconscious, worked out in each of the provinces must now + be recorded. + </p> + <p> + In Upper Canada party struggles did not take shape until well after the + War of 1812. At the founding of the colony the people had been very much + of one temper and one condition. In time, however, divergences appeared + and gradually hardened into political divisions. A governing class, or + rather clique, was the first to become differentiated. Its emergence was + slower than in New Brunswick, for instance, since Upper Canada had + received few of the Loyalists who were distinguished by social position or + political experience. In time a group was formed by the accident of + occupation, early settlement, residence in the little town of York, the + capital after 1794, the holding of office, or by some advantage in wealth + or education or capacity which in time became cumulative. The group came + to be known as the Family Compact. There had been, in fact, no + intermarriage among its members beyond what was natural in a small and + isolated community, but the phrase had a certain appositeness. They were + closely linked by loyalty to Church and King, by enmity to republics and + republicans, by the memory of the sacrifice and peril they or their + fathers had shared, and by the conviction that the province owed them the + best living it could bestow. This living they succeeded in collecting. + "The bench, the magistracy, the high officials of the established church, + and a great part of the legal profession," declared Lord Durham in 1839, + "are filled by the adherents of this party; by grant or purchase they have + acquired nearly the whole of the waste lands of the province; they are all + powerful in the chartered banks, and till lately shared among themselves + almost exclusively all offices of trust and profit." Fortunately the last + absurdity of creating Dukes of Toronto and Barons of Niagara Falls was + never carried through, or rather was postponed a full century; but this + touch was scarcely needed to give the clique its cachet. The ten-year + governorship of Sir Peregrine Maitland (1818-28), a most punctilious + person, gave the finishing touches to this backwoods aristocracy. + </p> + <p> + The great majority of the group, men of the Scott and Boulton, Sherwood + and Hagerman and Allan MacNab types, had nothing but their prejudices to + distinguish them, but two of their number were of outstanding capacity. + John Beverley Robinson, Attorney General from 1819 to 1829 and thereafter + for over thirty years Chief Justice, was a true aristocrat, distrustful of + the rabble, but as honest and highminded as he was able, seeking his + country's gain, as he saw it, not his own. A more rugged and domineering + character, equally certain of his right to rule and less squeamish about + the means, was John Strachan, afterwards Bishop of Toronto. Educated a + Presbyterian, he had come to Canada from Aberdeen as a dominie but had + remained as an Anglican clergyman in a capacity promising more + advancement. His abounding vigor and persistence soon made him the + dominant force in the Church, and with a convert's zeal he labored to give + it exclusive place and power. The opposition to the Family Compact was of + a more motley hue, as is the way with oppositions. Opposition became + potential when new settlers poured into the province from the United + States or overseas, marked out from their Loyalist forerunners not merely + by differences of political background and experience but by differences + in religion. The Church of England had been dominant among the Loyalists; + but the newcomers were chiefly Methodist and Presbyterian. Opposition + became actual with the rise of concrete and acute grievances and with the + appearance of leaders who voiced the growing discontent. + </p> + <p> + The political exclusiveness of the Family Compact did not rouse resentment + half as deep as did their religious, or at least denominational, + pretensions. The refusal of the Compact to permit Methodist ministers to + perform the marriage ceremony was not soon forgotten. There were scores of + settlements where no clergyman of the Established Church of England or of + Scotland resided, and marriages here had been of necessity performed by + other ministers. A bill passed the Assembly in 1824 legalizing such + marriages in the past and giving the required authority for the future; + and when it was rejected by the Legislative Council, resentment flamed + high. An attempt of Strachan to indict the loyalty of practically all but + the Anglican clergy intensified this feeling; and the critics went on to + call in question the claims of his Church to establishment and landed + endowment. + </p> + <p> + The land question was the most serious that faced the province. The + administration of those in power was condemned on three distinct counts. + The granting of land to individuals had been lavish; it had been lax; and + it had been marked by gross favoritism. By 1824, when the population was + only 150,000, some 11,000,000 acres had been granted; ninety years later, + when the population was 2,700,000, the total amount of improved land was + only 13,000,000 acres. Moreover the attempt to use vast areas of the Crown + Lands to endow solely the Anglican Church roused bitter jealousies. Yet + even these grievances paled in actual hardship beside the results of + holding the vast waste areas unimproved. What with Crown Reserves, Clergy + Reserves, grants to those who had served the state, and holdings picked up + by speculators from soldiers or poorer Loyalists for a few pounds or a few + gallons of whisky, millions of acres were held untenanted and unimproved, + waiting for a rise in value as a consequence of the toil of settlers on + neighboring farms. Not one-tenth of the lands granted were occupied by the + persons to whom they had been assigned. The province had given away almost + all its vast heritage, and more than nine-tenths of it was still in + wilderness. These speculative holdings made immensely more difficult every + common neighborhood task. At best the machinery and the money for building + roads, bridges, and schools were scanty, but with these unimproved + reserves thrust in between the scattered shacks, the task was + disheartening. "The reserve of two-sevenths of the land for the Crown and + clergy," declared the township of Sandwich in 1817, "must for a long time + keep the country a wilderness, a harbour for wolves, a hindrance to a + compact and good neighborhood." + </p> + <p> + A further source of discontent developed in the disabilities affecting + recent American settlers. A court decision in 1824 held that no one who + had resided in the United States after 1783 could possess or transmit + British citizenship, with which went the right to inherit real estate. + This decision bore heavily upon thousands of "late Loyalists" and more + recent incomers. Under the instructions of the Colonial Office, a remedial + bill was introduced in the Legislative Council in 1827, but it was a + grudging, halfway measure which the Assembly refused to accept. After + several sessions of quarreling, the Assembly had its way; but in the + meantime the men affected had been driven into permanent and active + opposition. + </p> + <p> + The leaders of the movement of resistance which now began to gather force + included all sorts and conditions of men. The fiercest and most aggressive + were two Scotchmen, Robert Gourlay and William Lyon Mackenzie. Gourlay, + one of those restless and indispensable cranks who make the world turn + round, active, obstinate, imprudent, uncompromisingly devoted to the + common good as he saw it, came to Canada in 1817 on settlement and + colonization bent. Innocent inquiries which he sent broadcast as to the + condition of the province gave the settlers an opportunity for voicing + their pent-up discontent, and soon Gourlay was launched upon the sea of + politics. Mackenzie, who came to Canada three years later, was a born + agitator, fearless, untiring, a good hater, master of avitriolic + vocabulary, and absolutely unpurchasable. He found his vein in weekly + journalism, and for nearly forty years was the stormy petrel of Canadian + politics. From England there came, among others, Dr. John Rolph, shrewd + and politic, and Captain John Matthews, a half-pay artillery officer. + Peter Perry, downright and rugged and of a homely eloquence, represented + the Loyalists of the Bay of Quinte, which was the center of Canadian + Methodism. Among the newer comers from the United States, the foremost + were Barnabas Bidwell, who had been Attorney General of Massachusetts but + had fled to Canada in 1810 when accused of misappropriating public money, + and his son, Marshall Spring Bidwell, one of the ablest and most + single-minded men who ever entered Canadian public life. From Ireland came + Dr. William Warren Baldwin, whose son Robert, born in Canada, was less + surpassingly able than the younger Bidwell but equally moderate and + equally beyond suspicion of faction or self-seeking. + </p> + <p> + How were these men to bring about the reform which they desired? Their + first aim was obviously to secure a majority in the Assembly, and by the + election of 1828 they attained this first object. But the limits of the + power of the Assembly they soon discovered. Without definite leadership, + with no control over the Administration, and with even legislative power + divided, it could effect little. It was in part disappointment at the + failure of the Assembly that accounted for the defeat of the Reformers in + 1830, though four years later this verdict was again reversed. Clearly the + form of government itself should be changed. But in what way? Here a + divergence in the ranks of the Reformers became marked. One party, looking + upon the United States as the utmost achievement in democracy, proposed to + follow its example in making the upper house elective and thus to give the + people control of both branches of the Legislature. Another group, of whom + Robert Baldwin was the chief, saw that this change would not suffice. In + the States the Executive was also elected by the people. Here, where the + Governor would doubtless continue to be appointed by the Crown, some other + means must be found to give the people full control. Baldwin found it in + the British Cabinet system, which gave real power to ministers having the + confidence of a majority in Parliament. The Governor would remain, but he + would be only a figurehead, a constitutional monarch acting, like the + King, only on the advice of his constitutional advisers. Responsible + government was Baldwin's one and absorbing idea, and his persistence led + to its ultimate adoption, along with a proposal for an elective Council, + in the Reform party's programme in 1834. Delay in affecting this reform, + Baldwin told the Governor a year later, was "the great and all absorbing + grievance before which all others sank into insignificance." The remedy + could be applied "without in the least entrenching upon the just and + necessary prerogatives of the Crown, which I consider, when administered + by the Lieutenant. Governor through the medium of a provincial ministry + responsible to the provincial parliament, to be an essential part of the + constitution of the province." In brief, Baldwin insisted that Simcoe's + rhetorical outburst in 1791, when he declared that Upper Canada was "a + perfect Image and Transcript of the British Government and Constitution," + should be made effective in practice. + </p> + <p> + The course of the conflict between the Compact and the Reformers cannot be + followed in detail. It had elements of tragedy, as when Gourlay was + hounded into prison, where he was broken in health and shattered in mind, + and then exiled from the province for criticism of the Government which + was certainly no more severe than now appears every day in Opposition + newspapers. The conflict had elements of the ludicrous, too, as when + Captain Matthews was ordered by his military superiors to return to + England because in the unrestrained festivities of New Year's Eve he had + called on a strolling troupe to play Yankee Doodle and had shouted to the + company, "Hats off"; or when Governor Maitland overturned fourteen feet of + the Brock Monument to remove a copy of Mackenzie's journal, the "Colonial + Advocate", which had inadvertently been included in the corner stone. + </p> + <p> + The weapons of the Reformers were the platform, the press, and + investigations and reports by parliamentary committees. The Compact hit + back in its own way. Every critic was denounced as a traitor. Offending + editors were put in the pillory. Mackenzie was five times expelled from + the House, only to be returned five times by his stubborn supporters. + Matters were at a deadlock, and it became clear either that the British + Parliament, which alone could amend the Constitution, must intervene or + else that the Reformers would be driven to desperate paths. But before + matters came to this pass, an acute crisis had arisen in Lower Canada + which had its effect on all the provinces. + </p> + <p> + In Lower Canada, the conflict which had been smoldering before the war had + since then burst into flame. The issues of this conflict were more + clearcut than in any of the other provinces. A coherent opposition had + formed earlier, and from beginning to end it dominated the Assembly. The + governing forces were outwardly much the same as in Upper Canada—a + Lieutenant Governor responsible to the Colonial Office, an Executive + Council appointed by the Crown but coming to have the independent power of + a well-entrenched bureaucracy, and a Legislative Council nominated by the + Crown and, until nearly the end of the period, composed chiefly of the + same men who served in the Executive. The little clique in control had + much less popular backing than the Family Compact of Upper Canada and were + of lower caliber. Robert Christie, an English-speaking member of the + Assembly, who may be counted an unprejudiced witness since he was four + times expelled by the majority in that house, refers to the real rulers of + the province as "a few rapacious, overbearing, and irresponsible + officials, without stake or other connexion in the country than their + interests." At their head stood Jonathan Sewell, a Massachusetts Loyalist + who had come to Lower Canada by way of New Brunswick in 1789, and who for + over forty years as Attorney General, Chief Justice, or member of + Executive and Legislative Councils, was the power behind the throne. + </p> + <p> + The opposition to the bureaucrats at first included both English and + French elements, but the English minority were pulled in contrary ways. + Their antecedents were not such as to lead them to accept meekly either + the political or the social pretensions of the "Chateau Clique"; the + American settlers in the Eastern Townships, and the Scotch and American + merchants who were building up Quebec and Montreal, had called for + self-government, not government from above. Yet their racial and religious + prejudices were strong and made them unwilling to accept in place of the + bureaucrats the dominance of an unprogressive habitant majority. The first + leader of the opposition which developed in the Assembly after the War of + 1812 was James Stuart, the son of the leading Anglican clergyman of his + day, but he soon fell away and became a mainstay of the bureaucracy. His + brother Andrew, however, kept up for many years longer a more + disinterested fight. Another Scot, John Neilson, editor of the Quebec + "Gazette", was until 1833 foremost among the assailants of the + bureaucracy. But steadily, as the extreme nationalist claims of the + French-speaking majority provoked reprisals and as the conviction grew + upon the minority that they would never be anything but a minority,* most + of them accepted clique rule as a lesser evil than "rule by priest and + demagogue." + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The natural increase of the French-Canadian race under + British rule is one of the most extraordinary phenomena in + social history. The following figures illustrate the rate of + that increase: the number was 16,417 in 1706; 69,810 in + 1765; 479,288 in 1825; 697,084 in 1844. The population of + Canada East or Lower Canada in 1844 was made up as follows: + French Canadians, 524,244; English Canadians. 85,660; + English, 11,895; Irish, 43,982; Scotch, 13,393; Americans, + 11,946; born in other countries, 1329; place of birth not + specified, 4635. +</pre> + <p> + In the reform movement in Upper Canada there were a multiplicity of + leaders and a constant shifting of groups. In Lower Canada, after the + defection of James Stuart in 1817, there was only one leader, Louis Joseph + Papineau. For twenty years Papineau was the uncrowned king of the + province. His commanding figure, his powers of oratory, outstanding in a + race of orators, his fascinating manners, gave him an easy mastery over + his people. Prudence did not hamper his flights; compromise was a word not + found in his vocabulary. Few men have been better equipped for the + agitator's task. + </p> + <p> + His father, Joseph Papineau, though of humble birth, had risen high in the + life of the province. He had won distinction in his profession as a + notary, as a speaker in the Assembly, and as a soldier in the defense of + Quebec against the American invaders of 1775. In 1804 he had purchased the + seigneury of La Petite Nation, far up the Ottawa. Louis Joseph Papineau + followed in his father's footsteps. Born in 1786, he served loyally and + bravely in the War of 1812. In the same year he entered the Assembly and + made his place at a single stroke. Barely three years after his election, + he was chosen Speaker, and with a brief break he held that post for over + twenty years. + </p> + <p> + Papineau did not soon or lightly begin his crusade against the Government. + For the first five years of his Speakership, he confined himself to the + routine duties of his office. As late as 1820 he pronounced a glowing + eulogy on the Constitution which Great Britain had granted the province. + In that year he tested the extent of the privileges so granted by joining + in the attempt of the Assembly to assert its full control of the purse; + but it was not until the project of uniting the two Canadas had made clear + beyond dispute the hostility of the governing powers that he began his + unrelenting warfare against them. + </p> + <p> + There was much to be said for a reunion of the two Canadas. The St. + Lawrence bound them together, though Acts of Parliament had severed them. + Upper Canada, as an inland province, restricted in its trade with its + neighbor to the south, was dependent upon Lower Canada for access to the + outer world. Its share of the duties collected at the Lower Canada ports + until 1817 had been only one-eighth, afterwards increased to one-fifth. + This inequality proved a constant source of friction. The crying necessity + of cooperation for the improvement of the St. Lawrence waterway gave + further ground for the contention that only by a reunion of the two + provinces could efficiency be secured. In Upper Canada the Reformers were + in favor of this plan, but the Compact, fearful of any disturbance of + their vested interests, tended to oppose it. In Lower Canada the chief + support came from the English element. The governing clique, as the older + established body, had no doubt that they could bring the western section + under their sway in case of union. But the main reason for their advocacy + was the desire to swamp the French Canadians by an English majority. + Sewell, the chief supporter of the project, frankly took this ground. The + Governor, Lord Dalhousie, and the Colonial Office adopted his view; and in + 1822 an attempt was made to rush a Union Bill through the British + Parliament without any notice to those most concerned. It was blocked for + the moment by the opposition of a Whig group led by Burdett and + Mackintosh; and then Papineau and Neilson sailed to London and succeeded + in inducing the Ministry to stay its hand. The danger was averted; but + Papineau had become convinced that if his people were to retain the rights + given them by their "Sacred Charter" they would have to fight for them. If + they were to save their power, they must increase it. + </p> + <p> + How could this be done? Baldwin's bold and revolutionary policy of making + the Executive responsible to the Assembly did not seem within the range of + practical politics. It meant in practice the abandonment of British + control, and this the Colonial Office was not willing to grant. Antoine + Panet and other Assembly leaders had suggested in 1815 that it would be + well, "if it were possible, to grant a number of places as Councillors or + other posts of honour and of profit to those who have most influence over + the majority in the Assembly, to hold so long as they maintained this + influence," and James Stuart urged the same tentative suggestion a year + later. But even before this the Colonial Office had made clear its + position. "His Majesty's Government," declared the Colonial Secretary, + Lord Bathurst, in 1814, "never can admit so novel & inconvenient a + Principle as that of allowing the Governor of a Colony to be divested of + his responsibility [to the Colonial Office] for the acts done during his + administration or permit him to shield himself under the advice of any + Persons, however respectable, either from their character or their + Office." + </p> + <p> + Two other courses had the sanction of precedent, one of English, the other + of American example. The English House of Commons had secured its dominant + place in the government of the country by its control of the purse. Why + should not the Assembly do likewise? One obvious difficulty lay in the + fact that the Assembly was not the sole authority in raising revenue. The + British Parliament had retained the power to levy certain duties as part + of its system of commercial control, and other casual and territorial dues + lay in the right of the Crown. From 1820, therefore, the Assembly's main + aim was twofold—to obtain control of these remaining sources of + revenue, and by means of this power to bludgeon the Legislative Council + and the Governor into compliance with its wishes. The Colonial Office made + concessions, offering to resign all its taxing powers in return for a + permanent civil list, that is, an assurance that the salaries of the chief + officials would not be questioned annually. The offer was reasonable in + itself but, as it would have hampered the full use of the revenue + bludgeon, it was scornfully declined. + </p> + <p> + The other aim of the Patriotes, as the Opposition styled themselves, was + to conquer the Legislative Council by making it elective. Papineau, in + spite of his early prejudices, was drawn more and more into sympathy with + the form of democracy worked out in the United States. In fact, he not + only looked to it as a model but, as the thirties wore on, he came to hope + that moral, if not physical, support might be found there for his campaign + against the English Government. After 1830 the demand for an elective + Legislative Council became more and more insistent. + </p> + <p> + The struggle soon reached a deadlock. Governor followed Governor: Lord + Dalhousie, Sir James Kempt, Lord Aylmer, all in turn failed to allay the + storm. The Assembly raised its claims each session and fulminated against + all the opposing powers in windy resolutions. Papineau, embittered by + continued opposition, carried away by his own eloquence, and steadied by + no responsibility of office, became more implacable in his demands. Many + of his moderate supporters—Neilson, Andrew Stuart, Quesnel, + Cuvillier—fell away, only to be overwhelmed in the first election at + a wave of the great tribune's hand. Business was blocked, supplies were + not voted, and civil servants made shift without salary as best they + could. + </p> + <p> + The British Government awoke, or half awoke, to the seriousness of the + situation. In 1835 a Royal Commission of three, with the new Governor + General, Lord Gosford, as chairman, was appointed to make inquiries and to + recommend a policy. Gosford, a genial Irishman, showed himself most + conciliatory in both private intercourse and public discourse. + Unfortunately the rash act of the new Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, + Sir Francis Bond Head, in publishing the instructions of the Colonial + Office, showed that the policy of Downing Street was the futile one of + conciliation without concession. The Assembly once more refused to grant + supplies without redress of grievances. The Commissioners made their + report opposing any substantial change. In March, 1837, Lord John Russell, + Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Melbourne Ministry, opposed only by a + handful of Radical and Irish members, carried through the British + Parliament a series of resolutions authorizing the Governor to take from + the Treasury without the consent of the Assembly the funds needed for + civil administration, offering control of all revenues in return for a + permanent civil list, and rejecting absolutely the demands alike for a + responsible Executive and for an elective Council. + </p> + <p> + British statesmanship was bankrupt. Its final answer to the demands for + redress was to stand pat. Papineau, without seeing what the end would be, + held to his course. Younger men, carried away by the passions he had + aroused, pushed on still more recklessly. If reform could not be obtained + within the British Empire, it must be sought by setting up an independent + republic on the St. Lawrence or by annexation to the United States. + </p> + <p> + In Upper Canada, at the same time, matters had come to the verge of + rebellion. Sir John Colborne had, just before retiring as Lieutenant + Governor in 1836, added fuel to the flames by creating and endowing some + forty-four rectories, thus strengthening the grip of the Anglican Church + on the province. His successor, Sir Francis Bond Head, was a man of such + rash and unbalanced judgment as to lend support to the tradition that he + was appointed by mistake for his cousin, Edmund Head, who was made + Governor of United Canada twenty years later. He appointed to his + Executive Council three Reformers, Baldwin, Rolph, and Dunn, only to make + clear by his refusal to consult them his inability to understand their + demand for responsible government. All the members of the Executive + Council thereupon resigned, and the Assembly refused supplies. Head + dissolved the House and appealed to the people. + </p> + <p> + The weight of executive patronage, the insistence of the Governor that + British connection was at stake, the alarms caused by some injudicious + statements of Mackenzie and his Radical ally in England, Joseph Hume, and + the defection of the Methodists, whose leader, Egerton Ryerson, had + quarreled with Mackenzie, resulted in the overwhelming defeat of the + Reformers. The sting of defeat, the failure of the Family Compact to carry + out their eleventh hour promises of reform, and the passing of Lord John + Russell's reactionary resolutions convinced a section of the Reform party, + in Upper Canada as well as in Lower Canada, that an appeal to force was + the only way out. + </p> + <p> + Toward the end of 1837 armed rebellion broke out in both the Canadas. In + both it was merely a flash in the pan. In Lower Canada there had been + latterly much use of the phrases of revolution and some drilling, but + rebellion was neither definitely planned nor carefully organized. The more + extreme leaders of the Patriotes simply drifted into it, and the actual + outbreak was a haphazard affair. Alarmed by the sudden and seemingly + concerted departure of Papineau and some of his lieutenants, Nelson, + Brown, and O'Callaghan, from Montreal, the Government gave orders for + their arrest. The petty skirmish that followed on November 16, 1837, was + the signal for the rallying of armed habitants around impromptu leaders at + various points. The rising was local and spasmodic. The vast body of the + habitants stood aloof. The Catholic Church, which earlier had sympathized + with Papineau, had parted from him when he developed radical and + republican views. Now the strong exhortations of the clergy to the + faithful counted for much in keeping peace, and in one view justified the + policy of the British Government in seeking to purchase their favor. The + Quebec and Three Rivers districts remained quiet. In the Richelieu and + Montreal districts, where disaffection was strongest, the habitants lacked + leadership, discipline, and touch with other groups, and were armed only + with old flintlocks, scythes, or clubs. Here and there a brave and + skillful leader, such as Dr. Jean Olivier Chenier, was thrown up by the + evidence opened a way out of the difficult situation. A year later Peel + and Webster, representing the two countries, exchanged formal + explanations, and the incident was closed. + </p> + <p> + In Upper Canada many a rebel sympathizer lay for months in jail, but only + two leaders, Lount and Matthews, both brave men, paid the penalty of death + for their failure. In Lower Canada the new Governor General, Lord Durham, + proved more clement, merely banishing to Bermuda eight of the captured + leaders. When, a year later, after Durham's return to England, a second + brief rising broke out under Robert Nelson, it was stamped out in a week, + twelve of the ringleaders were executed, and others were deported to + Botany Bay. + </p> + <p> + The rebellion, it seemed, had failed and failed miserably. Most of the + leaders of the extreme factions in both provinces had been discredited, + and the moderate men had been driven into the government camp. Yet in one + sense the rising proved successful. It was not the first nor the last time + that wild and misguided force brought reform where sane and moderate + tactics met only contempt. If men were willing to die to redress their + wrongs, the most easy-going official could no longer deny that there was a + case for inquiry and possibly for reform. Lord Melbourne's Government had + acted at once in sending out to Canada, as Governor General and High + Commissioner with sweeping powers, one of the ablest men in English public + life. Lord Durham was an aristocratic Radical, intensely devoted to + political equality and equally convinced of his own personal superiority. + Yet he had vision, firmness, independence, and his very rudeness kept him + free from the social influences which had ensnared many another Governor. + Attended by a gorgeous retinue and by some able working secretaries, + including Charles Buller, Carlyle's pupil, he made a rapid survey of Upper + and Lower Canada. Suddenly, after five crowded months, his mission ended. + He had left at home active enemies and lukewarm friends. Lord Brougham, + one of his foes, called in question the legality of his edict banishing + the rebel leaders to Bermuda. The Ministers did not back him, as they + should have done; and Durham indignantly resigned and hurried back to + England. + </p> + <p> + Three months later, however, his "Report" appeared and his mission stood + vindicated. There are few British state papers of more fame or more worth + than Durham's "Report". It was not, however, the beginning and the end of + wisdom in colonial policy, as has often been declared. Much that Durham + advocated was not new, and much has been condemned by time. His main + suggestions were four: to unite the Canadas, to swamp the French Canadians + by such union, to grant a measure of responsible government, and to set up + municipal government. His attitude towards the French Canadians was + prejudiced and shortsighted. He was not the first to recommend responsible + government, nor did his approval make it a reality. Yet with all + qualifications his "Report" showed a confidence in the liberating and + solving power of self-government which was the all-essential thing for the + English Government to see; and his reasoned and powerful advocacy gave an + impetus and a rallying point to the movement which were to prove of the + greatest value in the future growth not only of Canada but of the whole + British Empire. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. THE UNION ERA + </h2> + <p> + The struggle for self-government seemed to have ended in deadlock and + chaos. Yet under the wreckage new lines of constructive effort were + forming. The rebellion had at least proved that the old order was doomed. + For half a century the attempt had been made to govern the Canadas as + separate provinces and with the half measure of freedom involved in + representative government. For the next quarter of a century the + experiment of responsible government together with union of the two + provinces was to be given its trial. + </p> + <p> + The union of the two provinces was the phase of Durham's policy which met + fullest acceptance in England. It was not possible, in the view of the + British Ministry, to take away permanently from the people of Lower Canada + the measure of self-government involved in permitting them to choose their + representatives in a House of Assembly. It was equally impossible, they + considered, to permit a French-Canadian majority ever again to bring all + government to a standstill. The only solution of the problem was to unite + the two provinces and thus swamp the French Canadians by an English + majority. Lower Canada, Durham had insisted, must be made "an English + province." Sooner or later the French Canadians must lose their separate + nationality; and it was, he contended, the part of statesmanship to make + it sooner. Union, moreover, would make possible a common financial policy + and an energetic development of the resources of both provinces. + </p> + <p> + This was the first task set Durham's successor, Charles Poulett Thomson, + better known as Lord Sydenham. Like Durham he was a man of outstanding + capacity. The British Government had learned at last to send men of the + caliber the emergency demanded. Like Durham he was a wealthy Radical + politician, but there the resemblance ended. Where Durham played the + dictator, Sydenham preferred to intrigue and to manage men, to win them by + his adroitness and to convince them by his energy and his business + knowledge. He was well fitted for the transition tasks before him, though + too masterful to fill the role of ornamental monarch which the advocates + of responsible government had cast for the Governor. + </p> + <p> + Sydenham reached Canada in October, 1839. With the assistance of James + Stuart, now a baronet and Chief Justice of Lower Canada, he drafted a + union measure. In Lower Canada the Assembly had been suspended, and the + Special Council appointed in its stead accepted the bill without serious + demur. More difficulty was found in Upper Canada, where the Family + Compact, still entrenched in the Legislative Council, feared the risk to + their own position that union would bring and shrank from the task of + assimilating half a million disaffected French Canadians. But with the + support of the Reformers and of the more moderate among the Family Compact + party, Sydenham forced his measure through. A confirming bill passed the + British Parliament; and on February 10, 1841, the Union of Canada was + proclaimed. + </p> + <p> + The Act provided for the union of the two provinces, under a Governor, an + appointed Legislative Council, and an elective Assembly. In the Assembly + each section of the new province was to receive equal representation, + though the population of Lower Canada still greatly exceeded that of Upper + Canada. The Assembly was to have full control of all revenues, and in + return a permanent civil list was granted. Either English or French could + be used in debate, but all parliamentary journals and papers were to be + printed in English only.* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * From 1841 to 1867 the whole province was legally known as + the "Province of Canada." Yet a measure of administrative + separation between the old sections remained, and the terms + "Canada East" and "Canada West" received official sanction. + The older terms, "Lower Canada" and "Upper Canada," lingered + on in popular usage. +</pre> + <p> + In June, 1841, the first Parliament of united Canada met at Kingston, + which as the most central point had been chosen as the new capital. Under + Sydenham's shrewd and energetic leadership a business programme of + long-delayed reforms was put through. A large loan, guaranteed by the + British Government, made possible extensive provision for building roads, + bridges, and canals around the rapids in the St. Lawrence. Municipal + institutions were set up, and reforms were effected in the provincial + administration. + </p> + <p> + Lord John Russell in England and Sydenham in Canada were anxious to keep + the question of responsible government in the background. For the first + busy months they succeeded, but the new Parliament contained men quite as + strong willed as either and of quite other views. Before the first session + had begun, Baldwin and the new French-Canadian leader, La Fontaine, had + raised the issue and begun a new struggle in which their single-minded + devotion and unflinching courage were to attain a complete success. + </p> + <p> + Responsible government was in 1841 only a phrase, a watchword. Its full + implications became clear only after many years. It meant three things: + cabinet government, self-government, and party government. It meant that + the government of the country should be carried on by a Cabinet or + Executive Council, all members of Parliament, all belonging to the party + which had the majority in the Assembly, and under the leadership of a + Prime Minister, the working head of the Government. The nominal head, + Governor or King, could act only on the advice of his ministers, who alone + were held responsible to Parliament for the course of the Government. It + meant, further, national self-government. The Governor could not serve two + masters. If he must take the advice of his ministers in Canada, he could + not take the possibly conflicting advice of ministers in London. The + people of Canada would be the ultimate court of appeal. And finally, + responsible government meant party government. The cabinet system + presupposed a definite and united majority behind the Government. It was + the business of the party system to provide that majority, to insure + responsible and steady action, and at the same time responsible criticism + from Her Majesty's loyal Opposition. Baldwin saw this clearly in 1841, but + it took hard fighting throughout the forties to bring all his fellow + countrymen to see likewise and to induce the English Government to resign + itself to the prospect. + </p> + <p> + Sydenham fought against responsible government but advanced it against his + will. The only sense in which he, like Russell, was prepared to concede + such liberty was that the Governor should choose his advisers as far as + possible from men having the confidence of the Assembly. They were to be + his advisers only, in fact as well as form. The Governor was still to + govern, was to be Prime Minister and Governor in one. When Baldwin, who + had been given a seat in the Executive Council, demanded in 1841 that this + body should be reconstructed in such a way as to include some + French-Canadian members and to exclude the Family Compact men, Sydenham + flatly refused. Baldwin then resigned and went into opposition, but + Sydenham unwillingly played into his hand. By choosing his council solely + from members of the two Houses, he established a definite connection + between Executive and Assembly and thus gave an opportunity for the + discussion of the administration of policy in the House and for the + forming of government and opposition parties. Before the first session + closed, the majority which Sydenham had built up by acting as a party + leader at the very time he was deriding parties as mere factions, crumbled + away, and he was forced to accept resolutions insisting that the + Governor's advisers must be men "possessed of the confidence of the + representatives of the people." Fate ended his work at its height. Riding + home one September evening, he was thrown from his horse and died from the + injuries before the month was out. + </p> + <p> + It fell to the Tory Government of Peel to choose Sydenham's successor. + They named Sir Charles Bagot, already distinguished for his career in + diplomacy and known for his hand in matters which were to interest the + greater Canada, the Rush-Bagot Convention with the United States and the + treaty with Russia which fixed, only too vaguely, the boundaries of + Alaska. He was under strict injunctions from the Colonial Secretary, Lord + Stanley, to continue Sydenham's policy and to make no further concession + to the demands for responsible government or party control. Yet this Tory + nominee of a Tory Cabinet, in his brief term of office, insured a great + advance along this very path toward freedom. His easy-going temper + predisposed him to play the part of constitutional monarch rather than of + Prime Minister, and in any case he faced a majority in the Assembly + resolute in its determination. + </p> + <p> + The policy of swamping French influence had already proved a failure. + Sydenham had given it a full trial. He had done his best, or his worst, by + unscrupulous manipulation, to keep the French Canadians from gaining their + fair quota of the members in the Union Assembly. Those who were elected he + ignored. "They have forgotten nothing and learnt nothing by the + Rebellion," he declared, "and are more unfit for representative government + than they were in 1791." This was far from a true reading of the + situation. The French stood aloof, it is true, a compact and sullen group, + angered by the undisguised policy of Anglicization that faced them and by + Sydenham's unscrupulous tactics. But they had learned restraint and had + found leaders and allies of the kind most needed. Papineau's place—for + the great tribune was now in exile in Paris, consorting with the + republicans and socialists who were to bring about the Revolution of 1848—had + been taken by one of his former lieutenants. Louis Hippolyte La Fontaine + still stands out as one of the two or three greatest Canadians of French + descent, a man of massive intellect, of unquestioned integrity, and of + firm but moderate temper. With Baldwin he came to form a close and + lifelong friendship. The Reformers of Canada West, as Upper Canada was now + called, formed a working alliance with La Fontaine which gave them a + sweeping majority in the Assembly. Bagot bowed to the inevitable and + called La Fontaine and Baldwin to his Council. Ill health made it + impossible for him to take much part in the government, and the Council + was far on the way to obtaining the unity and the independence of a true + Cabinet when Bagot's death in 1843 brought a new turn in affairs. + </p> + <p> + The British Ministers had seen with growing uneasiness Bagot's + concessions. His successor, Sir Charles Metcalfe, a man of honest and + kindly ways but accustomed to governing oriental peoples, determined to + make a stand against the pretensions of the Reformers. In this attitude he + was strongly backed both by Stanley and by his successor, that brilliant + young Tory, William Ewart Gladstone. Metcalfe insisted once more that the + Governor must govern. While the members of the Council, as individuals, + might give him advice, it was for him to decide whether or not to take it. + The inevitable clash with his Ministers came in the autumn of 1843 over a + question of patronage. They resigned, and after months of effort Metcalfe + patched up a Ministry with W. H. Draper as the leading member. In an + election in which Metcalfe himself took the platform and in which once + more British connection was said to be at stake, the Ministry obtained a + narrow majority. But opinion soon turned, and when Metcalfe, the third + Governor in four years to whom Canada had proved fatal, went home to die, + he knew that his stand had been in vain. The Ministry, after a precarious + life of three years, went to the country only to be beaten by an + overwhelming majority in both East and West. When, in 1848, Baldwin and La + Fontaine were called to office under the new Governor General, Lord Elgin, + the fight was won. Many years were to pass before the full implications of + responsible government were worked out, but henceforth even the straitest + Tory conceded the principle. Responsible government had ceased to be a + party cry and had become the common heritage of all Canadians. + </p> + <p> + Lord Elgin, who was Durham's son-in-law, was a man well able to bear the + mantle of his predecessors. Yet he realized that the day had passed when + Governors could govern and was content rather to advise his advisers, to + wield the personal influence that his experience and sagacity warranted. + Hitherto the stages in Canadian history had been recorded by the term of + office of the Governors; henceforth it was to be the tenure of Cabinets + which counted. Elgin ceased even to attend the Council, and after his time + the Governor became more and more the constitutional monarch, busied in + laying corner stones and listening to tiresome official addresses. In + emergencies, and especially in the gap or interregnum between Ministries, + the personality of the Governor might count, but as a rule this power + remained latent. Yet in two turning points in Canadian history, both of + which had to do with the relations of Canada to the United States, Elgin + was to play an important part: the Annexation Movement of 1849 and the + Reciprocity Treaty of 1854. + </p> + <p> + In the struggle for responsible government, loyalty to the British Crown, + loyalty of a superior and exclusive brand, had been the creed and the war + cry of the Tory party. Yet in 1849 men saw the hotheads of this group in + Montreal stoning a British Governor General and setting fire to the + Parliament Buildings, while a few months later their elders issued a + manifesto urging the annexation of Canada to the United States. Why this + sudden shift? Simply because the old colonial system they had known and + supported had come to an end. The Empire had been taken to mean racial + ascendancy and trade profit. Now both the political and the economic + pillars were crumbling, and the Empire appeared to have no further excuse + for existence. + </p> + <p> + In the past British connection had meant to many of the English minority + in Lower Canada a means of redressing the political balance, of retaining + power in face of a body of French-speaking citizens outnumbering them + three or four to one. Now that support had been withdrawn. Britain had + consented, unwillingly, to the setting up of responsible government and + the calling to office of men who a dozen years before had been in arms + against the Queen or fleeing from the province. This was gall and wormwood + to the English. But when the Ministry introduced, and the Assembly passed, + the Rebellion Losses Bill for compensating those who had suffered + destruction of property in the outbreak, and when the terms were so drawn + as to make it possible, its critics charged, that rebels as well as + loyalists would be compensated, flesh and blood could bear no more. The + Governor was pelted with rotten eggs when he came down to the House to + sign the bill, and the buildings where Parliament had met since 1844, when + the capital had been transferred from Kingston to Montreal, were stormed + and burned by a street mob. + </p> + <p> + The anger felt against the Ministry thus turned against the British + Government. The English minority felt like an advance guard in a hostile + country, deserted by the main forces, an Ulster abandoned to Home Ruler + and Sinn Feiner. They turned to the south, to the other great + English-speaking Protestant people. If the older branch of the race would + not give them protection or a share in dominance, perhaps the younger + branch could and would. As Lord Durham had suggested, they were resolved + that "Lower Canada must be ENGLISH, at the expense, if necessary, of not + being BRITISH." + </p> + <p> + But it was not only the political basis of the old colonial system that + was rudely shattered. The economic foundations, too, were passing away, + and with them the profits of the Montreal merchants, who formed the + backbone of the annexation movement. It has been seen that under this + system Great Britain had aimed at setting up a self-contained empire, with + a monopoly of the markets of the colonies. Now for her own sake she was + sweeping away the tariff and shipping monopoly which had been built up + through more than two centuries. The logic of Adam Smith, the experiments + of Huskisson, the demands of manufacturers for cheap food and raw + materials, the passionate campaigns of Cobden and Bright, and the rains + that brought the Irish famine, at last had their effect. In 1846 Peel + himself undertook the repeal of the Corn Laws. To Lower Canada this was a + crushing blow. Until of late the preference given in the British market on + colonial goods in return for the control of colonial trade had been of + little value; but in 1848 the duties on Canadian wheat and flour had been + greatly lowered, resulting in a preference over foreign grain reckoned at + eighteen cents a bushel. While in appearance an extension of the old + system of preference and protection, in reality this was a step toward its + abandonment. For it was understood that American grain, imported into + Canada at a low duty, whether shipped direct or ground into flour, would + be admitted at the same low rates. The Act, by opening a back door to + United States wheat, foreshadowed the triumph of the cheap food agitators + in England. But the merchants, the millers, and the forwarders of Montreal + could not believe this. The canal system was rushed through; large flour + mills were built, and heavy investments of capital were made. Then in 1846 + came the announcement that the artificial basis of this brief prosperity + had vanished. Lord Elgin summed up the results in a dispatch in 1849: + "Property in most of the Canadian towns, and more especially in the + capital, has fallen fifty per cent in value within the last three years. + Three-fourths of the commercial men are bankrupt, owing to free trade. A + large proportion of the exportable produce of Canada is obliged to seek a + market in the United States. It pays a duty of twenty per cent on the + frontier. How long can such a state of things endure?" + </p> + <p> + In October, 1849, the leading men of Montreal issued a manifesto demanding + annexation to the United States. A future Prime Minister of Canada, J. J. + C. Abbott, four future Cabinet Ministers, John Rose, Luther Holton, D. L. + Macpherson, and A. A. Dorion, and the commercial leaders of Montreal, the + Molsons, Redpaths, Torrances, and Workmans, were among the signers. + Besides Dorion, a few French Canadians of the Rouge or extreme Radical + party joined in. The movement found supporters in the Eastern Townships, + notably in A. T. Galt, a financier and railroad builder of distinction, + and here and there in Canada West. Yet the great body of opinion was + unmistakably against it. Baldwin and La Fontaine opposed it with + unswerving energy, the Catholic Church in Canada East denounced it, and + the rank and file of both parties in Canada West gave it short shrift. + Elgin came out actively in opposition and aided in negotiating the + Reciprocity Treaty with the United States which met the economic need. + Montreal found itself isolated, and even there the revival of trade and + the cooling of passions turned men's thoughts into other channels. Soon + the movement was but a memory, chiefly serviceable to political opponents + for taunting some signer of the manifesto whenever he later made parade of + his loyalty. It had a more unfortunate effect, however, in leading public + opinion in the United States to the belief for many years that a strong + annexationist sentiment existed in Canada. Never again did annexation + receive any notable measure of popular support. A national spirit was + slowly gaining ground, and men were eventually to see that the alternative + to looking to London for salvation was not looking to Washington but + looking to themselves. + </p> + <p> + In the provinces by the sea the struggle for responsible government was + won at much the same time as in Canada. The smaller field within which the + contest was waged gave it a bitter personal touch; but racial hostility + did not enter in, and the British Government proved less obdurate than in + the western conflicts. In both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick little + oligarchies had become entrenched. The Government was unprogressive, and + fees and salaries were high. The Anglican Church had received privileges + galling to other denominations which surpassed it in numbers. The "powers + that were" found a shrewd defender in Haliburton, who tried to teach his + fellow Bluenoses through the homely wit of "Sam Slick" that they should + leave governing to those who had the training, the capacity, and the + leisure it required. In Prince Edward Island the land question still + overshadowed all others. Every proposal for its settlement was rejected by + the influence of the absentee landlords in England, and the agitation went + wearily on. + </p> + <p> + In Nova Scotia the outstanding figure in the ranks of reform was Joseph + Howe. The son of a Loyalist settler, Howe early took to his father's work + of journalism. At first his sympathies were with the governing powers, but + a controversy with a brother editor, Jotham Blanchard, a New Hampshire man + who found radical backing among the Scots of Pictou, gave him new light + and he soon threw his whole powers into the struggle on the popular side. + Howe was a man lavishly gifted, one of the most effective orators America + has produced, fearing no man and no task however great, filled with a + vitality, a humor, a broad sympathy for his fellows that gave him the + blind obedience of thousands of followers and the glowing friendship of + countless firesides. There are still old men in Nova Scotia whose proudest + memory is that they once held Howe's horse or ran on an errand for a look + from his kingly eye. + </p> + <p> + Howe took up the fight in earnest in 1835. The western demand for + responsible government pointed the way, and Howe became, with Baldwin, its + most trenchant advocate. In spite of the determined opposition of the + sturdy old soldier Governor, Sir Colin Campbell, and of his successor, + Lord Falkland, who aped Sydenham and whom Howe threatened to "hire a black + man to horse-whip," the reformers won. In 1848 the first responsible + Cabinet in Nova Scotia came to power. + </p> + <p> + In New Brunswick the transition to responsible government came gradually + and without dramatic incidents or brilliant figures on either side. Lemuel + Wilmot, and later Charles Fisher, led the reform ranks, gradually securing + for the Assembly control of all revenues, abolishing religious + inequalities, and effecting some reform in the Executive Council, until at + last in 1855 the crowning demand was tardily conceded. + </p> + <p> + From the Great Lakes to the Atlantic the political fight was won, and men + turned with relief to the tasks which strife and faction had hindered. + Self-government meant progressive government. With organized Cabinets + coordinating and controlling their policy the provinces went ahead much + faster than when Governor and Assembly stood at daggers drawn. The forties + and especially the fifties were years of rapid and sound development in + all the provinces, and especially in Canada West. Settlers poured in, the + scattered clearings; widened until one joined the next, and pioneer + hardships gave way to substantial, if crude, prosperity. Education, + notably under the vigorous leadership of Egerton Ryerson in Canada West, + received more adequate attention. Banks grew and with them all commercial + facilities increased. + </p> + <p> + The distinctive feature of this period of Canadian development, however, + was the growth of canals and railroads. The forties were the time of canal + building and rebuilding all along the lakes and the St. Lawrence to salt + water. Canada spent millions on what were wonderful works for their day, + in the hope that the St. Lawrence would become the channel for the trade + of all the growing western States bordering on the Great Lakes. Scarcely + were these waterway improvements completed when it was realized they had + been made largely in vain. The railway had come and was outrivaling the + canal. If Canadian ports and channels were even to hold their own, they + must take heed of the enterprise of all the cities along the Atlantic + coast of the United States, which were promoting railroads to the interior + in a vigorous rivalry for the trade of the Golden West. Here was a + challenge which must be taken up. The fifties became the first great + railway era of Canada. In 1850 there were only sixty-six miles of railway + in all the provinces; ten years later there were over two thousand. Nearly + all the roads were aided by provincial or municipal bonus or guarantee. + Chief among the lines was the Grand Trunk, which ran from the Detroit + border to Riviere du Loup on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and which, though + it halted at that eastern terminus in the magnificent project of + connecting with the railways of the Maritime Provinces, was nevertheless + at that time the longest road in the world operating under single control. + </p> + <p> + The railways brought with them a new speculative fever, a more complex + financial structure, a business politics which shaded into open + corruption, and a closer touch with the outside world. The general + substitution of steam for sail on the Atlantic during this period aided + further in lessening the isolation of what had been backwoods provinces + and in bringing them into closer relation with the rest of the world. + </p> + <p> + It was in closer relations with the United States that this emergence from + isolation chiefly manifested itself. In the generation that followed the + War of 1812 intercourse with the United States was discouraged and was + remarkably insignificant. Official policy and the memories of 1783 and + 1812 alike built up a wall along the southern border. The spirit of + Downing Street was shown in the instructions given to Lord Bathurst, + immediately after the close of the war, to leave the territory between + Montreal and Lake Champlain in a state of nature, making no further grants + of land and letting the few roads which had been begun fall into decay + thus a barrier of forest wilderness would ward off republican contagion. + This Chinese policy of putting up a wall of separation proved impossible + to carry through, but in less extreme ways this attitude of aloofness + marked the course of the Government all through the days of oversea + authority. + </p> + <p> + The friction aroused by repeated boundary disputes prevented friendly + relations between Canada and the United States. With unconscious irony the + framers of the Peace of 1783 had prefaced their long outline of the + boundaries of the United States by expressing their intention "that all + disputes which might arise in future on the subject of the boundaries of + the said United States may be prevented." So vague, however, were the + terms of the treaty and so untrustworthy were the maps of the day that + ultimately almost every clause in the boundary section gave rise to + dispute. + </p> + <p> + As settlement rolled westward one section of the boundary after another + came in question. Beginning in the east, the line between New Brunswick + and New England was to be formed by the St. Croix River. There had been a + St. Croix in Champlain's time and a St. Croix was depicted on the maps, + but no river known by that name existed in 1783. The British identified it + with the Schoodic, the Americans with the Magaguadavic. Arbitration in + 1798 upheld the British in the contention that the Schoodic was the St. + Croix but agreed with the Americans in the secondary question as to which + of the two branches of the Schoodic should be followed. A similar + commission in 1817 settled the dispute as to the islands in Passamaquoddy + Bay. + </p> + <p> + More difficult, because at once more ambiguous in terms and more vitally + important, was the determination of the boundary in the next stage + westward from the St. Croix to the St. Lawrence. The British position was + a difficult one to maintain. In the days of the struggle with France, + Great Britain had tried to push the bounds of the New England colonies as + far north as might be, making claims that would hem in France to the + barest strip along the south shore of the St. Lawrence. Now that she was + heir to the territories and claims of France and had lost her own old + colonies, it was somewhat embarrassing, but for diplomats not impossible, + to have to urge a line as far south as the urgent needs of the provinces + for intercommunication demanded. The letter of the treaty was impossible + to interpret with certainty. The phrase, "the Highlands which divide those + rivers that empty themselves into the river St. Lawrence from those which + fall into the Atlantic Ocean," meant according to the American reading a + watershed which was a marshy plateau, and according to the British version + a range of hills to the south which involved some keen hairsplitting as to + the rivers they divided. The intentions of the parties to the original + treaty were probably much as the Americans contended. From the standpoint + of neighborly adjustment and the relative need for the land in question, a + strong case in equity could be made out for the provinces, which would be + cut asunder for all time if a wedge were driven north to the very brink of + the St. Lawrence. + </p> + <p> + As lumbermen and settlers gathered in the border area, the risk of + conflict became acute, culminating in the Aroostook War in 1838-39, when + the Legislatures of Maine and New Brunswick backed their rival lumberjacks + with reckless jingoism. Diplomacy failed repeatedly to obtain a compromise + line. Arbitration was tried with little better success, as the United + States refused to accept the award of the King of the Netherlands in 1831. + The diplomats tried once more, and in 1842 Daniel Webster, the United + States Secretary of State, and Lord Ashburton, the British Commissioner, + made a compromise by which some five thousand miles of the area in dispute + were assigned to Great Britain and seven thousand to the United States. + The award was not popular on either side, and the public seized eagerly on + stories of concealed "Red Line" maps, stories of Yankee smartness or of + British trickery. Webster, to win the assent of Maine, had exhibited in + the Senate a map found in the French Archives and very damaging to the + American claim. Later it appeared that the British Government also had + found a map equally damaging to its own claims. The nice question of + ethics involved, whether a nation should bring forward evidence that would + tell against itself, ceased to have more than an abstract interest when it + was demonstrated that neither map could be considered as one which the + original negotiators had used or marked.* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * See "The Path, of Empire", by Carl Russell Fish (in "The + Chronicles of America"). +</pre> + <p> + The boundary from the St. Lawrence westward through the Great Lakes and + thence to the Lake of the Woods had been laid down in the Treaty of 1783 + in the usual vague terms, but it was determined in a series of + negotiations from 1794 to 1842 with less friction and heat than the + eastern line had caused. From the Lake of the Woods to the Rockies a new + line, the forty-ninth parallel, was agreed upon in 1818. Then, as the + Pacific Ocean was neared, the difficulties once more increased. There were + no treaties between the two countries to limit claims beyond the Rockies. + Discovery and settlement, and the rights inherited from or admitted by the + Spaniards to the south and by the Russians to the north, were the grounds + put forward. British and Canadian fur traders had been the pioneers in + overland discovery, but early in the forties thousands of American + settlers poured into the Columbia Valley and strengthened the practical + case for their country. "Fifty-four forty or fight"—in other words, + the calm proposal to claim the whole coast between Mexico and Alaska—became + the popular cry in the United States; but in face of the firm attitude of + Great Britain and impending hostilities with Mexico, more moderate + counsels ruled. Great Britain held out for the Columbia River as the + dividing line, and the United States for the forty-ninth parallel + throughout. Finally, in 1846, the latter contention was accepted, with a + modification to leave Vancouver Island wholly British territory. A + postscript to this settlement was added in 1872, when the German Emperor + as arbitrator approved the American claim to the island of San Juan in the + channel between Vancouver Island and the mainland.* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * See "The Path of Empire". +</pre> + <p> + With the most troublesome boundary questions out of the way, it became + possible to discuss calmly closer trade relations between the Provinces + and the United States. The movement for reciprocal lowering of the tariffs + which hampered trade made rapid headway in the Provinces in the late + forties and early fifties. British North America was passing out of the + pioneer, self-sufficient stage, and now had a surplus to export as well as + townbred needs to be supplied by imports. The spread of settlement and the + building of canals and railways brought closer contact with the people to + the south. The loss of special privileges in the English market made the + United States market more desired. In official circles reciprocity was + sought as a homeopathic cure for the desire for annexation. William + Hamilton Merritt, a Niagara border business man and the most persistent + advocate of closer trade relations, met little difficulty in securing + almost unanimous backing in Canada, while the Maritime Provinces lent + their support. + </p> + <p> + It was more difficult to win over the United States. There the people + showed the usual indifference of a big and prosperous country to the needs + or opportunities of a small and backward neighbor. The division of power + between President and Congress made it difficult to carry any negotiation + through to success. Yet these obstacles were overcome. The depletion of + the fisheries along the Atlantic coast of the United States made it worth + while, as I.D. Andrews, a United States consul in New Brunswick, urged + persistently, to gain access to the richer grounds to the north and, if + necessary, to offer trade concessions in exchange. At Washington, the + South was in the saddle. Its sympathies were strongly for freer trade, but + this alone would not have counted had not the advocates of reciprocity + convinced the Democratic leaders of the bearing of their policy on the + then absorbing issue of slavery. If reciprocity were not arranged, the + argument ran, annexation would be sure to come and that would mean the + addition to the Union of a group of freesoil States which would definitely + tilt the balance against slavery for all time. With the ground thus + prepared, Lord Elgin succeeded by adroit and capable diplomacy in winning + over the leaders of Congress as well as the Executive to his proposals. + The Reciprocity Treaty was passed by the Senate in August, 1854, and by + the Legislatures of the United Kingdom, Canada, Prince Edward Island, New + Brunswick, and Nova Scotia in the next few months, and of Newfoundland in + 1855. This treaty provided for free admission into each country of + practically all the products of the farm, forest, mine, and fishery, threw + open the Atlantic fisheries, and gave American vessels the use of the St. + Lawrence and Canadian vessels the use of Lake Michigan. The agreement was + to last for ten years and indefinitely thereafter, subject to termination + on one year's notice by either party. + </p> + <p> + To both countries reciprocity brought undoubted good. Trade doubled and + trebled. Each country gained by free access to the nearest sources of + supply. The same goods figured largely in the traffic in both directions, + the United States importing grain and flour from Canada and exporting it + to the Maritime Provinces. In short the benefits which had come to the + United States from free and unfettered trade throughout half a continent + were now extended to practically a whole continent. + </p> + <p> + Yet criticism of the new economic regime was not lacking. The growth of + protectionist feeling in both countries after 1857 brought about incidents + and created an atmosphere which were dangerous to the continuance of close + trade relations. In 1858 and 1859 the Canadian Government raised + substantially the duties on manufactured goods in order to meet the bills + for its lavish railway policy. This increase hit American manufacturers + and led to loud complaints that the spirit of the Reciprocity Treaty had + been violated. Alexander T. Galt, Canadian Minister of Finance, had no + difficulty in showing that the tariff increases were the only feasible + sources of revenue, that the agreement with the United States did not + cover manufactures, and that the United States itself, faced by war + demands and no longer controlled by free trade Southerners, had raised + duties still higher. The exports of the United States to the Provinces in + the reciprocity period were greater, contrary to the later traditions, + than the imports. On economic grounds the case for the continuance of the + reciprocity agreement was strong, and probably the treaty would have + remained in force indefinitely had not the political passions roused by + the Civil War made sanity and neighborliness in trade difficult to + maintain. + </p> + <p> + When the Civil War broke out, the sympathies of Canadians were + overwhelmingly on the side of the North. The railway and freer trade had + been bringing the two peoples closer together, and time was healing old + sores. Slavery was held to be the real issue, and on that issue there were + scarcely two opinions in the British Provinces. + </p> + <p> + Yet in a few months sympathy had given way to angry and suspicious + bickering, and the possibility of invasion of Canada by the Northern + forces was vigorously debated. This sudden shift of opinion and the danger + in which it involved the provinces were both incidents in the quarrel + which sprang up between the United States and Great Britain. In Britain as + in Canada, opinion, so far as it found open expression, was at first not + unfriendly to the North. Then came the anger of the North at Great + Britain's legitimate and necessary, though perhaps precipitate, action in + acknowledging the South as a belligerent. This action ran counter to the + official Northern theory that the revolt of the Southern States was a + local riot, of merely domestic concern, and was held to foreshadow a + recognition of the independence of the Confederacy. The angry taunts were + soon returned. The ruling classes in Great Britain made the discovery that + the war was a struggle between chivalrous gentlemen and mercenary + counterhoppers and cherished the hope that the failure of the North would + discredit, the world over, the democracy which was making uncomfortable + claims in England itself. The English trading classes resented the + shortage of cotton and the high duties which the protectionist North was + imposing. With the defeat of the Union forces at Bull Run the prudent + hesitancy of aristocrat and merchant in expressing their views + disappeared. The responsible statesmen of both countries, especially + Lincoln and Lord John Russell, refused to be stampeded, but unfortunately + the leading newspapers served them ill. The "Times", with its constant + sneers and its still more irritating patronizing advice, and the New York + "Herald", bragging and blustering in the frank hope of forcing a war with + Britain and France which would reunite South and North and subordinate the + slavery issue, did more than any other factors to bring the two countries + to the verge of war. + </p> + <p> + In Canada the tendency in some quarters to reflect English opinion, the + disappointment in others that the abolition of slavery was not explicitly + pledged by the North, and above all resentment against the threats of the + "Herald" and its followers, soon cooled the early friendliness. The + leading Canadian newspaper, for many years a vigorous opponent of slavery, + thus summed up the situation in August, 1861: + </p> + <p> + "The insolent bravado of the Northern press towards Great Britain and the + insulting tone assumed toward these Provinces have unquestionably produced + a marked change in the feelings of our people. When the war commenced, + there was only one feeling, of hearty sympathy with the North, but now it + is very different. People have lost sight of the character of the struggle + in the exasperation excited by the injustice and abuse showered upon us by + the party with which we sympathized."* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Toronto "Globe", August 7, 1861. +</pre> + <p> + The Trent affair brought matters to a sobering climax.* When it was + settled, resentment lingered, but the tension was never again so acute. + Both Great Britain and in Canada the normal sympathy with the cause of the + Union revived as the war went on. In England the classes continued to be + pro-Southern in sympathy, but the masses, in spite of cotton famines, held + resolutely to their faith in the cause of freedom. After Lincoln's + emancipation of the slaves, the view of the English middle classes more + and more became the view of the nation. In Canada, pro-Southern sentiment + was strong in the same classes and particularly in Montreal and Toronto, + where there were to be found many Southern refugees, some of whom made a + poor return for hospitality by endeavoring to use Canada as a base for + border raids. Yet in the smaller towns and in the country sympathy was + decidedly on the other side, particularly after the "Herald" had ceased + its campaign of bluster and after Lincoln's proclamation had brought the + moral issue again to the fore. The fact that a large number of Canadians, + popularly set at forty thousand, enlisted in the Northern armies, is to be + explained in part by the call of adventure and the lure of high bounties, + but it must also be taken to reflect the sympathy of the mass of the + people. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * See "Abraham Lincoln and the Union", by Nathaniel W. + Stephenson (in "The Chronicles of America"). +</pre> + <p> + In the United States resentment was slower in passing. While the war was + on, prudence forbade any overt act. When it was over, the bill for the + Alabama raids and the taunts of the "Times" came in. Great Britain paid in + the settlement of the Alabama claims.* Canada suffered by the abrogation + of the Reciprocity Treaty at the first possible date, and by the + connivance of the American authorities in the Fenian raids of 1866 and + 1870. Yet for Canada the outcome was by no means ill. If the Civil War did + not bring forth a new nation in the South, it helped to make one in the + far North. A common danger drew the scattered British Provinces together + and made ready the way for the coming Dominion of Canada. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + *See "The Day of the Confederacy", by Nathaniel W. + Stephenson; and "The Path of Empire" (in "The Chronicles of + America"). +</pre> + <p> + It was not from the United States alone that an impetus came for the + closer union of the British Provinces. The same period and the same events + ripened opinion in the United Kingdom in favor of some practical means of + altering a colonial relationship which had ceased to bring profit but + which had not ceased to be a burden of responsibility and risk. + </p> + <p> + The British Empire had its beginning in the initiative of private business + men, not in any conscious policy of state. Yet as the Empire grew the + teaching of doctrinaires and the example of other colonial powers had + developed a definite policy whereby the plantations overseas were to be + made to serve the needs of the nation at home. The end of empire was + commercial profit; the means, the political subordination of the colonies; + the debit entry, the cost of the military and naval and diplomatic + services borne by the mother country. But the course of events had now + broken down this theory. Britain, for her own good, had abandoned + protection, and with it fell the system of preference and monopoly in + colonial markets. Not only preference had gone but even equality. The + colonies, notably Canada, which was most influenced by the United States, + were perversely using their new found freedom to protect their own + manufacturers against all outsiders, Britain included. When Sheffield + cutlers, hard hit by Canada's tariff, protested to the Colonial Secretary + and he echoed their remonstrance, the Canadian Minister of Finance, A. T. + Galt, stoutly refused to heed. "Self-government would be utterly + annihilated," Galt replied in 1860, "if the views of the Imperial + Government were to be preferred to those of the people of Canada. It is + therefore the duty of the present government distinctly to affirm the + right of the Canadian legislature to adjust the taxation of the people in + the way they deem best—even if it should unfortunately happen to + meet the disapproval of the Imperial Ministry." Clearly, if trade + advantage were the chief purpose of empire, the Empire had lost its reason + for being. + </p> + <p> + With the credit entry fading, the debit entry loomed up bigger. Hardly had + the Corn Laws been abolished when Radical critics called on the British + Government to withdraw the redcoat garrisons from the colonies: no profit, + no defense. Slowly but steadily this reduction was effected. To fill the + gaps, the colonies began to strengthen their militia forces. In Canada + only a beginning had been made in the way of defense when the Trent + episode brought matters to a crisis. If war broke out between the United + States and Great Britain, Canada would be the battlefield. Every Canadian + knew it; nothing could be clearer. When the danger of immediate war had + passed, the Parliament of Canada turned to the provision of more adequate + defense. A bill providing for a compulsory levy was defeated in 1862, more + on personal and party grounds than on its own merits, and the Ministry + next in office took the other course of increasing the volunteer force and + of providing for officers' training. Compared with any earlier + arrangements for defense, the new plans marked a great advance; but when + judged in the light of the possible necessity of repelling American + invasion, they were plainly inadequate. A burst of criticism followed from + England; press and politicians joined in denouncing the blind and supine + colonials. Did they not know that invasion by the United States was + inevitable? "If the people of the North fail," declared a noble lord, + "they will attack Canada as a compensation for their losses; if they + succeed, they will attack Canada in the drunkenness of victory." If such + an invasion came, Britain had neither the power nor the will, the "Times" + declared, to protect Canada without any aid on her part; not the power, + for "our empire is too vast, our population too small, our antagonist too + powerful"; not the will, for "we no longer monopolize the trade of the + colonies; we no longer job their patronage." To these amazing attacks + Canadians replied that they knew the United States better than Englishmen + did. They were prepared to take their share in defense, but they could not + forget that if war came it would not be by any act of Canada. It was soon + noted that those who most loudly denounced Canada for not arming to the + teeth were the Southern sympathizers. "The 'Times' has done more than its + share in creating bad feeling between England and the United States," + declared a Toronto newspaper, "and would have liked to see the Canadians + take up the quarrel which it has raised.... We have no idea of Canada + being made a victim of the Jefferson Bricks on either side of the + Atlantic." + </p> + <p> + The question of defense fell into the background when the war ended and + the armies of the Union went back to their farms and shops. But the + discussion left in the minds of most Englishmen the belief that the + possession of such colonies was a doubtful blessing. Manchester men like + Bright, Liberals like Gladstone and Cornewall Lewis, Conservatives like + Lowe and Disraeli, all came to believe that separation was only a question + of time. Yet honor made them hesitate to set the defenseless colonies + adrift to be seized by the first hungry neighbor. + </p> + <p> + At this juncture the plans for uniting all the colonies in one great + federation seemed to open a way out; united, the colonies could stand + alone. Thus Confederation found support in Britain as well as a stimulus + from the United States. This, however, was not enough. Confederation would + not have come when it did—and that might have meant it would never + have come at all—had not party and sectional deadlock forced + Canadian politicians to seek a remedy in a wider union. + </p> + <p> + At first all had gone well with the Union of 1841. It did not take the + politicians long to learn how to use the power that responsible government + put into their hands. After Elgin's day the Governor General fell back + into the role of constitutional monarch which cabinet control made easy + for him. In the forties, men had spoken of Sydenham and Bagot, Metcalfe + and Elgin; in the fifties, they spoke of Baldwin and La Fontaine, Hincks + and Macdonald and Cartier and Brown, and less and less of the Governors in + whose name these men ruled. Politics then attracted more of the country's + ablest men than it does now, and the party leaders included many who would + have made their mark in any parliament in the world. Baldwin and La + Fontaine, united to the end, resigned office in 1851, believing that they + had played their part in establishing responsible government and feeling + out of touch with the radical elements of their following who were + demanding further change. Their place was taken in Canada West by Hincks, + an adroit tactician and a skilled financier, intent on railway building + and trade development; and in Canada East by Morin, a somewhat colorless + lieutenant of La Fontaine. + </p> + <p> + But these leaders in turn soon gave way to new men; and the political + parties gradually fell into a state of flux. In Canada West there were + still a few Tories, survivors of the Family Compact and last-ditch + defenders of privilege in Church and State, a growing number of moderate + Conservatives, a larger group of moderate Liberals, and a small but + aggressive extreme left wing of "Clear Grits," mainly Scotch + Presbyterians, foes of any claim to undue power on the part of class or + clergy. In Canada East the English members from the Townships, under A. T. + Galt, were ceasing to vote as a unit, and the main body of French-Canadian + members were breaking up into a moderate Liberal party, and a smaller + group of Rouges, fiery young men under the leadership of Papineau, now + returned from exile, were crusading against clerical pretensions and all + the established order. + </p> + <p> + The situation was one made to the hand of a master tactician. The time + brought forth the man. John A. Macdonald, a young Kingston lawyer of Tory + upbringing, or "John A.", as generation after generation affectionately + called him, was to prove the greatest leader of men in Canada's annals. + Shrewd, tactful, and genial, never forgetting a face or a favor, as + popular for his human frailties as for his strength, Macdonald saw that + the old party lines drawn in the days of the struggle for responsible + government were breaking down and that the future lay with a union of the + moderate elements in both parties and both sections. He succeeded in 1854 + in bringing together in Canada West a strong Liberal-Conservative group + and in effecting a permanent alliance with the main body of + French-Canadian Liberals, now under the leadership of Cartier, a vigorous + fighter and an easy-going opportunist. With the addition of Galt as the + financial expert, these allies held power throughout the greater part of + the next dozen years. Their position was not unchallenged. The Clear Grits + had found a leader after their own heart in George Brown, a Scotchman of + great ability, a hard hitter and a good hater—especially of slavery, + the Roman Catholic hierarchy, and "John A." Through his newspaper, the + Toronto "Globe", he wielded a power unique in Canadian journalism. The + Rouges, now led by A. A. Dorion, a man of stainless honor and essentially + moderate temper, withdrew from. their extreme anticlerical position but + could not live down their youth or make head against the forces of + conservatism in their province. They did not command many votes in the + House, but every man of them was an orator, and they remained through all + vicissitudes a power to reckon with. + </p> + <p> + Step by step, under Liberal and under Liberal Conservative Governments, + the programme of Canadian Liberalism was carried into effect. + Self-government, at least in domestic affairs, had been attained. An + effective system of municipal government and a good beginning in popular + education followed. The last link between Church and State was severed in + 1854 when the Clergy Reserves were turned over to the municipalities for + secular purposes, with life annuities for clergymen who had been receiving + stipends from the Reserves. In Lower Canada the remnants of the old feudal + system, the rights of the seigneurs, were abolished in the same year with + full compensation from the state. An elective upper Chamber took the place + of the appointed Legislative Council a year later. The Reformers, as the + Clear Grits preferred to call themselves officially, should perhaps have + been content with so much progress. They insisted, however, that a new and + more intolerable privilege had arisen—the privilege which Canada + East held of equal representation in the Legislative Assembly long after + its population had fallen behind that of Canada West. + </p> + <p> + The political union of the two Canadas in fact had never been complete. + Throughout the Union period there were two leaders in each Cabinet, two + Attorney Generals, and two distinct judicial systems. Every session laws + were passed applying to one section alone. This continued separation had + its beginning in a clause of the Union Act itself, which provided that + each section should have equal representation in the Assembly, even though + Lower Canada then had a much larger population than Upper Canada. When the + tide of overseas immigration put Canada West well in the lead, it in its + turn was denied the full representation its greater population warranted. + First the Conservatives, and later the Clear Grits, took up the cry of + "Representation by Population." It was not difficult to convince the + average Canada West elector that it was an outrage that three + French-Canadian voters should count as much as four English-speaking + voters. Macdonald, relying for power on his alliance with Cartier, could + not accept the demand, and saw seat after seat in Canada West fall to + Brown and his "Rep. by Pop." crusaders. Brown's success only solidified + Canada East against him, until, in the early sixties, party lines + coincided almost with sectional lines. Parties were so closely matched + that the life of a Ministry was short. In the three years ending in 1864 + there were two general elections and four Ministries. Political + controversy became bitterly personal, and corruption was spreading fast. + </p> + <p> + Constant efforts were made to avert the threatened deadlock. Macdonald, + who always trusted more to personal management than to constitutional + expedients, won over one after another of the opponents who troubled him, + and thus postponed the day of reckoning. Rival plans of constitutional + reform were brought forward. The simplest remedy was the repeal of the + union, leaving each province to go its own way. But this solution was felt + to be a backward step and one which would create more problems than it + would solve. More support was given the double majority principle, a + provision that no measure affecting one section should be passed unless a + majority from that section favored it, but this method broke down when put + to a practical test. The Rouges, and later Brown, put forward a plan for + the abolition of legislative union in favor of a federal union of the two + Canadas. This lacked the wide vision of the fourth suggestion, which was + destined to be adopted as the solution, namely, the federation of all + British North America. + </p> + <p> + Federal union, it was urged, would solve party and sectional deadlock by + removing to local legislatures the questions which created the greatest + divergence of opinion. The federal union of the Canadas alone or the + federal union of all British North America would either achieve this end. + But there were other ends in view which only the wider plan could serve. + The needs of defense demanded a single control for all the colonies. The + probable loss of the open market of the United States made it imperative + to unite all the provinces in a single free trade area. The first faint + stirrings of national ambition, prompting the younger men to throw off the + leading strings of colonial dependence, were stimulated by the vision of a + country which would stretch from sea to sea. The westward growth of the + United States and the reports of travelers were opening men's eyes to the + possibilities of the vast lands under the control of the Hudson's Bay + Company and the need of asserting authority over these northern regions if + they were to be held for the Crown. Eastward, also, men were awaking to + their isolation. There was not, in the Maritime Provinces, any popular + desire for union with the Canadas or any political crisis compelling + drastic remedy, but the need of union for defense was felt in some + quarters, and ambitious politicians who had mastered their local fields + were beginning to sigh for larger worlds to conquer. + </p> + <p> + It took the patient and courageous striving of many men to make this + vision of a united country a reality. The roll of the Fathers of + Confederation is a long and honored one. Yet on that roll there are some + outstanding names, the names of men whose services were not merely devoted + but indispensable. The first to bring the question within the field of + practical politics was A. T. Galt, but when attempt after attempt in 1864 + to organize a Ministry with a safe working majority had failed, it was + George Brown who proposed that the party leaders should join hands in + devising some form of federation. Macdonald had hitherto been a stout + opponent of all change but, once converted, he threw himself into the + struggle, with energy. He never appeared to better advantage than in the + negotiations of the next few years, steering the ship of Confederation + through the perilous shoals of personal and sectional jealousies. Few had + a harder or a more important task than Cartier's-reconciling Canada East + to a project under which it would be swamped, in the proposed federal + House, by the representatives of four or five English-speaking provinces. + McDougall, a Canada West Reformer, shared with Brown the credit for + awakening Canadians to the value of the Far West and to the need of + including it in their plans of expansion. D'Arcy McGee, more than any + other, fired the imagination of the people with glowing pictures of the + greatness and the limitless possibilities of the new nation. Charles + Tupper, the head of a Nova Scotia Conservative Ministry which had + overthrown the old tribune, Joseph Howe, had the hardest and seemingly + most hopeless task of all; for his province appeared to be content with + its separate existence and was inflamed against union by Howe's eloquent + opposition; but to Tupper a hard fight was as the breath of his nostrils. + In New Brunswick, Leonard Tilley, a man of less vigor but equal + determination, led the struggle until Confederation was achieved. + </p> + <p> + It was in June, 1864, that the leaders of the Parliament of Canada became + convinced that federation was the only way out. A coalition Cabinet was + formed, with Sir Etienne Tache as nominal Premier, and with Macdonald, + Brown, Cartier, and Galt all included. An opening for discussing the wider + federation was offered by a meeting which was to be held in Charlottetown, + Prince Edward Island, of delegates from the three Maritime Provinces to + consider the formation of a local union. There, in September, 1864, went + eight of the Canadian Ministers. Their proposals met with favor. A series + of banquets brought the plans before the public, seemingly with good + results. The conference was resumed a month later at Quebec. Here, in + sixteen working days, delegates from Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, + Prince Edward Island, and also from Newfoundland, thirty-three in all, + after frank and full deliberation behind closed doors, agreed upon the + terms of union. Macdonald's insistence upon a legislative union, wiping + out all provincial boundaries, was overridden; but the lesson of the + conflict between the federal and state jurisdiction in the United States + was seen in provisions to strengthen the central authority. The general + government was empowered to appoint the lieutenant governors of the + various provinces and to veto any provincial law; to it were assigned all + legislative powers not specifically granted to the provinces; and a + subsidy granted by the general government in lieu of the customs revenues + resigned by the provinces still further increased their dependence upon + the central authority. + </p> + <p> + It had taken less than three weeks to draw up the plan of union. It took + nearly three years to secure its adoption. So far as Canada was concerned, + little trouble was encountered. British traditions of parliamentary + supremacy prevented any direct submission of the question to the people; + but their support was clearly manifested in the press and on the platform, + and the legislature ratified the project with emphatic majorities from + both sections of the province. Though it did not pass without opposition, + particularly from the Rouges under Dorion and from steadfast supporters of + old ways like Christopher Dunkin and Sandfield Macdonald, the fight was + only halfhearted. Not so, however, in the provinces by the sea. The + delegates who returned from the Quebec Conference were astounded to meet a + storm of criticism. Local pride and local prejudice were aroused. The + thrifty maritime population feared Canadian extravagance and Canadian high + tariffs. They were content to remain as they were and fearful of the + unknown. Here and there advocates of annexation to the United States + swelled the chorus. Merchants in Halifax and St. John feared that trade + would be drawn away to Montreal. Above all, Howe, whether because of + personal pique or of intense local patriotism, had put himself at the head + of the agitation against union, and his eloquence could still play upon + the prejudices of the people. The Tilley Government in New Brunswick was + swept out of power early in 1865. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland + both drew back, the one for eight years, the other to remain outside the + fold to the present day. In Nova Scotia a similar fate was averted only by + Tupper's Fabian tactics. Then the tide turned. In New Brunswick the Fenian + Raids, pressure from the Colonial Office, and the blunders of the + anti-Confederate Government brought Tilley back to power on a + Confederation platform a year later. Tupper seized the occasion and + carried his motion through the Nova Scotia House. Without seeking further + warrant the delegates from Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick met in + London late in 1866, and there in consultation with the Colonial Office + drew up the final resolutions. They were embodied in the British North + America Act which went through the Imperial Parliament not only without + raising questions but even without exciting interest. On July 1, 1867, the + Dominion of Canada, as the new federation was to be known, came into + being. It is a curious coincidence that the same date witnessed the + establishment of the North German Bund, which in less than three years was + to expand into the German Empire. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. THE DAYS OF TRIAL + </h2> + <p> + The federation of the four provinces was an excellent achievement, but it + was only a beginning on the long, hard road to nationhood. The Fathers of + Confederation had set their goal and had proclaimed their faith. It + remained for the next generation to seek to make their vision a reality. + It was still necessary to make the Dominion actual by bringing in all the + lands from sea to sea. And when, on paper, Canada covered half a + continent, union had yet to be given body and substance by railway + building and continuous settlement. The task of welding two races and many + scattered provinces into a single people would call for all the + statesmanship and prudence the country had to give. To chart the relations + between the federal and the provincial authorities, which had so nearly + brought to shipwreck the federal experiment of Canada's great neighbor, + was like navigating an unknown sea. And what was to be the attitude of the + new Dominion, half nation, half colony, to the mother country and to the + republic to the south, no one could yet foretell. + </p> + <p> + The first problem which faced the Dominion was the organization of the new + machinery of government. It was necessary to choose a federal + Administration to guide the Parliament which was soon to meet at Ottawa, + the capital of the old Canada since 1858 and now accepted as the capital + of the larger Canada. It was necessary also to establish provincial + Governments in Canada West, henceforth known as Ontario and in Canada + East, or Quebec. The provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were to + retain their existing provincial Governments. + </p> + <p> + There was no doubt as to whom the Governor General, Lord Monck, should + call to form the first federal Administration. Macdonald had proved + himself easily the greatest leader of men the four provinces had produced. + The entrance of two new provinces into the union, with all the + possibilities of new party groupings and new personal alliances it + involved, created a situation in which he had no rival. His great + antagonist, Brown, passed off the parliamentary stage. When he proposed a + coalition to carry through federation, Brown had recognized that he was + sacrificing his chief political asset, the discontent of Canada West. But + he was too true a patriot to hesitate a moment on that score, and in any + case he was sufficiently confident of his own abilities to believe that he + could hold his own in a fresh field. In this expectation he was deceived. + No man among his contemporaries surpassed him in sheer ability, in + fearless honesty, in vigor of debate, but he lacked Macdonald's genial and + supple art of managing men. And with broad questions of state policy for + the moment out of the way, it was capacity in managing men that was to + count in determining success. Never afterward did Brown take an active + part in parliamentary life, though still a power in the land through his + newspaper, the Toronto "Globe", which was regarded as the Scotch + Presbyterian's second Bible. Of the other leaders of old Canada, Cartier + with failing health was losing his vigor and losing also the prestige with + his party which his solid Canada East majority had given him; Galt soon + retired to private business, with occasional incursions into diplomacy; + and McGee fell a victim in 1868 to a Fenian assassin. From the Maritime + Provinces the ablest recruit was Tupper, the most dogged fighter in + Canadian parliamentary annals and a lifelong sworn ally of Macdonald. + </p> + <p> + It was at first uncertain what the grouping of parties would be. Macdonald + naturally wished to retain the coalition which assured him unquestioned + mastery, and the popular desire to give Confederation a good start also + favored such a course. In his first Cabinet, formed with infinite + difficulty, with provinces, parties, religions, races, all to consider in + filling a limited number of posts, Macdonald included six Liberal + ministers out of thirteen, three from Ontario, and three from the Maritime + Provinces. Yet if an Opposition had not existed, it would have been + necessary to create one in order to work the parliamentary machine. The + attempt to keep the coalition together did not long succeed. On the eve of + the first federal election the Ontario Reformers in convention decided to + oppose the Government, even though it contained three of their former + leaders. In the contest, held in August and September, 1867, Macdonald + triumphed in every province except Nova Scotia but faced a growing + Opposition party. Under the virtual leadership of Alexander Mackenzie, + fragments of parties from the four provinces were united into a single + Liberal group. In a few years the majority of the Liberal rank and file + were back in the fold, and the Liberal members in the Cabinet had become + frankly Conservative. Coalition had faded away. + </p> + <p> + Within six years after Confederation the whole northern half of the + continent had been absorbed by Canada. The four original provinces + comprised only one-tenth of the area of the present Dominion, some 377,000 + square miles as against 3,730,000 today. The most easterly of the + provinces, little Prince Edward Island, had drawn back in 1865, content in + isolation. Eight years later this province entered the fold. Hard times + and a glimpse of the financial strength of the new federation had wrought + a change of heart. The solution of the century-old problem of the island, + absentee landlordism, threatened to strain the finances of the province; + and men began to look to Ottawa for relief. A railway crisis turned their + thoughts in the same direction. The provincial authorities had recently + arranged for the building of a narrow-gauge road from one end of the + island to the other. It was agreed that the contractors should be paid + 5000 pounds a mile in provincial debentures, but without any stipulation + as to the total length, so that the builders caused the railway to meander + and zigzag freely in search of lower grades or long paying stretches. In + 1873, which was everywhere a year of black depression, it was found that + these debentures, which were pledged by the contractors to a local bank + for advances, could not be sold except at a heavy loss. The directors of + the bank were influential in the Government of the province. It was not + surprising, therefore, that the government soon opened negotiations with + Ottawa. The Dominion authorities offered generous terms, financing the + land purchase scheme, and taking over the railway. Some of the islanders + made bitter charges, but the Legislature confirmed the agreement, and on + July 1, 1873, Prince Edward Island entered Confederation. + </p> + <p> + While Prince Edward Island was deciding to come in, Nova Scotia was + straining every nerve to get out. There was no question that Nova Scotia + had been brought into the union against its will. The provincial + Legislature in 1866, it is true, backed Tupper. But the people backed + Howe, who thereupon went to London to protest against the inclusion of + Nova Scotia without consulting the electors, but he was not heeded. The + passing of the Act only redoubled the agitation. In the provincial + election of 1867, the anti-Confederates carried thirty-six out of + thirty-eight seats. In the federal election Tupper was the only union + candidate returned in nineteen seats contested. A second delegation was + sent to London to demand repeal. Tupper crossed the ocean to counter this + effort and was successful. Then he sought out Howe, urged that further + agitation was useless and could only bring anarchy or, what both counted + worse, a movement for annexation to the United States, and pressed him to + use his influence to allay the storm. Howe gave way; unfortunately for his + own fame, he went further and accepted a seat in the federal Cabinet. Many + of his old followers kept up the fight, but others decided to make a + bargain with necessity. Macdonald agreed to give the province "better + terms," and the Dominion assumed a larger part of its debt. The bitterness + aroused by Tupper's high-handed procedure lingered for many a day; but + before the first Parliament was over, repeal had ceased to be a practical + issue. + </p> + <p> + Union could never be real so long as leagues of barren, unbroken + wilderness separated the maritime from the central provinces. Free + intercourse, ties of trade, knowledge which would sweep away prejudice, + could not come until a railway had spanned this wilderness. In the fifties + plans had been made for a main trunk line to run from Halifax to the + Detroit River. This ambitious scheme proved too great for the resources of + the separate provinces, but sections of the road were built in each + province. As a condition of Confederation, the Dominion Government + undertook to fill in the long gaps. Surveys were begun immediately; and by + 1876, under the direction of Sandford Fleming, an engineer of eminence, + the Intercolonial Railway was completed. It never succeeded in making ends + meet financially, but it did make ends meet politically. In great measure + it achieved the purpose of national solidification for which it was mainly + designed. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile the bounds of the Dominion were being pushed westward to the + Pacific. The old province of Canada, as the heir of New France, had vague + claims to the western plains, but the Hudson's Bay Company was in + possession. The Dominion decided to buy out its rights and agreed, in + 1869, to pay the Company 300,000 pounds for the transfer of its lands and + exclusive privileges, the Company to retain its trading posts and two + sections in every township. So far all went well. But the Canadian + Government, new to the tasks of empire and not as efficient in + administration as it should have been, overlooked the necessity of + consulting the wishes and the prejudices of the men on the spot. It was + not merely land and buffalo herds which were being transferred but also + sovereignty over a people. + </p> + <p> + In the valley of the Red River there were some twelve thousand metis, or + half-breeds, descendants of Indian mothers and French or Scottish fathers. + The Dominion authorities intended to give them a large share in their own + government but neglected to arrange for a formal conference. The metis + were left to gather their impression of the character and intentions of + the new rulers from indiscreet and sometimes overbearing surveyors and + land seekers. In 1869, under the leadership of Louis Riel, the one man of + education in the settlement, able but vain and unbalanced, and with the + Hudson's Bay officials looking on unconcerned, the metis decided to oppose + being made "the colony of a colony." The Governor sent out from Ottawa was + refused entrance, and a provisional Government under Riel assumed control. + The Ottawa authorities first tried persuasion and sent a commission of + three, Donald A. Smith (afterwards Lord Strathcona), Colonel de Salaberry, + and Vicar General Thibault. Smith was gradually restoring unity and order, + when the act of Riel in shooting Thomas Scott, an Ontario settler and a + member of the powerful Orange order, set passions flaring. Mgr. Tache, the + Catholic bishop of the diocese, on his return aided in quieting the metis. + Delegates were sent by the Provisional Government to Ottawa, and, though + not officially recognized, they influenced the terms of settlement. An + expedition under Colonel Wolseley marched through the wilderness north of + Lake Superior only to find that Riel and his lieutenants had fled. By the + Manitoba Act the Red River country was admitted to Confederation as a + self-governing province, under the name of Manitoba, while the country + west to the Rockies was given territorial status. The Indian tribes were + handled with tact and justice, but though for the time the danger of armed + resistance had passed, the embers of discontent were not wholly quenched. + </p> + <p> + The extension of Canadian sovereignty beyond the Rockies came about in + quieter fashion. After Mackenzie had shown the way, Simon Fraser and David + Thompson and other agents of the NorthWest Company took up the work of + exploration and fur trading. With the union of the two rival companies in + 1821, the Hudson's Bay Company became the sole authority on the Pacific + coast. Settlers straggled in slowly until, in the late fifties, the + discovery of rich placer gold on the Fraser and later in the Cariboo + brought tens of thousands of miners from Australia and California, only to + drift away again almost as quickly when the sands began to fail. + </p> + <p> + Local governments had been established both in Vancouver Island and on the + mainland. They were joined in a single province in 1866. One of the first + acts of the new Legislature was to seek consolidation with the Dominion. + Inspired by an enthusiastic Englishman, Alfred Waddington, who had dreamed + for years of a transcontinental railway, the province stipulated that + within ten years Canada should complete a road from the Pacific to a + junction with the railways of the East. These terms were considered + presumptuous on the part of a little settlement of ten or fifteen thousand + whites; but Macdonald had faith in the resources of Canada and in what the + morrow would bring forth. The bargain was made; and British Columbia + entered the Confederation on July 1, 1871. + </p> + <p> + East and West were now staked out. Only the Far North remained outside the + bounds of the Dominion and this was soon acquired. In 1879 the British + Government transferred to Canada all its rights and claims over the + islands in the Arctic Archipelago and all other British territory in North + America save Newfoundland and its strip of Labrador. From the Atlantic to + the Pacific, and from the forty-ninth parallel to the North Pole, now all + was Canadian soil. + </p> + <p> + Confederation brought new powers and new responsibilities and thrust + Canada into the field of foreign affairs. It was with slow and groping + steps that the Dominion advanced along this new path. Then—as now—for + Canada foreign relations meant first and foremost relations with her great + neighbor to the south. The likelihood of war had passed. The need for + closer trade relations remained. When the Reciprocity Treaty was brought + to an end, on March 17, 1866, Canada at first refrained from raising her + tariff walls. "The provinces," as George Brown declared in 1874, "assumed + that there were matters existing in 1865-66 to trouble the spirit of + American statesmen for the moment, and they waited patiently for the sober + second thought which was very long in coming, but in the meantime Canada + played a good neighbor's part, and incidentally served her own ends, by + continuing to grant the United States most of the privileges which had + been given under the treaty free navigation and free goods, and, subject + to a license fee, access to the fisheries." + </p> + <p> + It was over these fisheries that friction first developed.* Canadian + statesmen were determined to prevent poaching on the inshore fisheries, + both because poaching was poaching and because they considered the fishery + privileges the best makeweight in trade negotiations with the United + States. At first American vessels were admitted on payment of a license + fee; but when, on the increase of the fee, many vessels tried to fish + inshore without permission, the license system was abolished, and in 1870 + a fleet of revenue cruisers began to police the coast waters. American + fishermen chafed at exclusion from waters they had come to consider almost + their own, and there were many cases of seizure and of angry charge and + countercharge. President Grant, in his message to Congress in 1870, + denounced the policy of the Canadian authorities as arbitrary and + provocative. Other issues between the two countries were outstanding as + well. Canada had a claim against the United States for not preventing the + Fenian Raids of 1866; and the United States had a much bigger bill against + Great Britain for neglect in permitting the escape of the Alabama. Some + settlement of these disputed matters was necessary; and it was largely + through the activities of a Canadian banker and politician, Sir John Rose, + that an agreement was reached to submit all the issues to a joint + commission. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * See "The Path of Empire". +</pre> + <p> + Macdonald was offered and accepted with misgivings a post as one of the + five British Commissioners. He pressed the traditional Canadian policy of + offering fishery for trade privileges but found no backing in this or + other matters from his British colleagues, and he met only unyielding + opposition from the American Commissioners. He fell back, under protest, + on a settlement of narrower scope, which permitted reciprocity in + navigation and bonding privileges, free admission of Canadian and + Newfoundland fish to United States markets and of American fishermen to + Canadian and Newfoundland waters, and which provided for a subsidiary + commission to fix the amount to be paid by the United States for the + surplus advantage thus received. The Fenian Raids claims were not even + considered, and Macdonald was angered by this indifference on the part of + his British colleagues. "They seem to have only one thing in their minds," + he reported privately to Ottawa, "that is, to go home to England with a + treaty in their pocket, settling everything, no matter at what cost to + Canada." Yet when the time came for the Canadian Parliament to decide + whether to ratify the fishery clauses of the Treaty of Washington in which + the conclusions of the commission were embodied, Macdonald, in spite of + the unpopularity of the bargain in Canada, "urged Parliament to accept the + treaty, accept it with all its imperfections, to accept it for the sake of + peace and for the sake of the great Empire of which we form a part." The + treaty was ratified in 1871 by all the powers concerned; and the stimulus + to the peaceful settlement of international disputes given by the Geneva + Tribunal which followed* justified the subordination of Canada's specific + interests. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * See "The Path of Empire" +</pre> + <p> + A change in party now followed in Canada, but the new Government under + Alexander Mackenzie was as fully committed as the Government of Sir John + Macdonald to the policy of bartering fishery for trade advantage. Canada + therefore proposed that instead of carrying out the provisions for a money + settlement, the whole question should be reopened. The Administration at + Washington was sympathetic. George Brown was appointed along with the + British Ambassador, Sir Edward Thornton, to open negotiations. Under + Brown's energetic leadership a settlement of all outstanding issues was + drafted in 1874, which permitted freedom of trade in natural and in most + manufactured products for twenty-one years, and settled fishery, coasting + trade, navigation, and minor boundary issues. But diplomats proposed, and + the United States Senate disposed. Protectionist feeling was strong at + Washington, and the currency problem absorbing, and hence this broad and + statesmanlike essay in neighborliness could not secure an hour's + attention. This plan having failed, the Canadian Government fell back on + the letter of the treaty. A Commission which consisted of the Honorable E. + H. Kellogg representing the United States, Sir Alexander T. Galt + representing Canada, and the Belgian Minister to Washington, M. Delfosse, + as chairman, awarded Canada and Newfoundland $5,500,000 as the excess + value of the fisheries for the ten years the arrangement was to run. The + award was denounced in the United States as absurdly excessive; but a + sense of honor and the knowledge that millions of dollars from the Alabama + award were still in the Treasury moved the Senate finally to acquiesce, + though only for the ten-year term fixed by treaty. In Canada the award was + received with delight as a signal proof that when left to themselves + Canadians could hold their own. The prevailing view was well summed up in + a letter from Mackenzie to the Canadian representative on the Halifax + commission, written shortly before the decision: "I am glad you still have + hopes of a fair verdict. I am doubly anxious to have it, first, because we + are entitled to it and need the dollars, and, second, because it will be + the first Canadian diplomatic triumph, and will justify me in insisting + that we know our neighbors and our own business better than any + Englishmen." + </p> + <p> + Mackenzie's insistence that Canada must take a larger share in the control + of her foreign affairs was too advanced a stand for many of his more + conservative countrymen. For others, he did not go far enough. The early + seventies saw the rise of a short-lived movement in favor of Canadian + independence. To many independence from England seemed the logical sequel + to Confederation; and the rapid expansion of Canadian territory over half + a continent stimulated national pride and national self-consciousness + Opinion in England regarding Canadian independence was still more + outspoken. There imperialism was at its lowest ebb. With scarcely an + exception, English politicians, from Bright to Disraeli, were hostile or + indifferent to connection with the colonies, which had now ceased to be a + trade asset and had clearly become a military liability. + </p> + <p> + But no concrete problem arose to make the matter a political issue. In + England a growing uneasiness over the protectionist policies and the + colonial ambitions of her European rivals were soon to revive imperial + sentiment. In Canada the ties of affection for the old land, as well as + the inertia fostered by long years of colonial dependence, kept the + independence movement from spreading far. For the time the rising national + spirit found expression in economic rather than political channels. The + protectionist movement which a few years later swept all Canada before it + owed much of its strength to its claim to be the national policy. + </p> + <p> + But it was not imperial or foreign relations that dominated public + interest in the seventies. Domestic politics were intensely absorbing and + bitterly contested. Within five years there came about two sudden and + sweeping reversals of power. Parties and Cabinets which had seemed firmly + entrenched were dramatically overthrown by sudden changes in the personal + factors and in the issues of the day. In the summer of 1872 the second + general election for the Dominion was held. The Opposition had now gained + in strength. The Government had ceased to be in any real sense a + coalition, and most of the old Liberal rank and file were back in the + party camp. They had found a vigorous leader in Alexander Mackenzie. + </p> + <p> + Mackenzie had come to Canada from Scotland in 1842 as a lad of twenty. He + worked at his trade as a stonemason, educated himself by wide reading and + constant debating, became a successful contractor and, after + Confederation, had proved himself one of the most aggressive and + uncompromising champions of Upper Canada Liberalism. In the first Dominion + Parliament he tacitly came to be regarded as the leader of all the groups + opposed to the Macdonald Administration. He was at the same time active in + the Ontario Legislature since, for the first five years of Confederation, + no law forbade membership in both federal and provincial Parliaments, and + the short sessions of that blessed time made such double service feasible. + Here he was aided by two other men of outstanding ability, Edward Blake + and Oliver Mowat. Blake, the son of a well-to-do Irishman who had been + active in the fight for responsible government, became Premier of Ontario + in 1871 but retired in 1872 when a law abolishing dual representation made + it necessary for him to choose between Toronto and Ottawa. His place was + taken by Mowat, who for a quarter of a century gave the province thrifty, + honest, and conservatively progressive government. + </p> + <p> + In spite of the growing forces opposed to him Macdonald triumphed once + more in the election of 1872. Ontario fell away, but Quebec and the + Maritime Provinces stood true. A Conservative majority of thirty or forty + seemed to assure Macdonald another five-year lease of power. Yet within a + year the Pacific Scandal had driven him from office and overwhelmed him in + disgrace. + </p> + <p> + The Pacific Scandal occurred in connection with the financing of the + railway which the Dominion Government had promised British Columbia, when + that province entered Confederation in 1871, would be built through to the + Pacific coast within ten years. The bargain was good politics but poor + business. It was a rash undertaking for a people of three and a half + millions, with a national revenue of less than twenty million dollars, to + pledge itself to build a railway through the rocky wilderness north of + Lake Superior, through the trackless plains and prairies of the middle + west, and across the mountain ranges that barred the coast. Yet Macdonald + had sufficient faith in the country, in himself, and in the happy + accidents of time—a confidence that won him the nickname of "Old + Tomorrow"—to give the pledge. Then came the question of ways and + means. At first the Government planned to build the road. On second + thoughts, however, it decided to follow the example set by the United + States in the construction of the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific, and + to entrust the work to a private company liberally subsidized with land + and cash. Two companies were organized with a view to securing the + contract, one a Montreal company under Sir Hugh Allan, the foremost + Canadian man of business and the head of the Allan steamship fleet, and + the other a Toronto company under D. L. Macpherson, who had been concerned + in the building of the Grand Trunk. Their rivalry was intense. After the + election of 1872 a strong compromise company was formed, with Allan at the + head, and to this company the contract was awarded. + </p> + <p> + When Parliament met in 1872, a Liberal member, L. S. Huntington, made the + charge that Allan had really been acting on behalf of certain American + capitalists and that he had made lavish contributions to the Government + campaign fund in the recent election. In the course of the summer these + charges were fully substantiated. Allan was proved by his own + correspondence, stolen from his solicitor's office, to have spent over + $350,000, largely advanced by his American allies, in buying the favor of + newspapers and politicians. Nearly half of this amount had been + contributed to the Conservative campaign fund, with the knowledge and at + the instance of Cartier and Macdonald. Macdonald, while unable to disprove + the charges, urged that there was no connection between the contributions + and the granting of the charter. But his defense was not heeded. A wave of + indignation swept the country; his own supporters in Parliament fell away; + and in November, 1873, he resigned. Mackenzie, who was summoned to form a + new Ministry, dissolved Parliament and was sustained by a majority of two + to one. + </p> + <p> + Mackenzie gave the country honest and efficient administration. Among his + most important achievements were the reform of elections by the + introduction of the secret ballot and the requirement that elections + should be held on a single day instead of being spread over weeks, a + measure of local option in controlling the liquor traffic, and the + establishment of a Canadian Supreme Court and the Royal Military College—the + Canadian West Point. But fate and his own limitations were against him. He + was too absorbed in the details of administration to have time for the + work of a party leader. In his policy of constructing the Canadian Pacific + as a government road, after Allan had resigned his charter, he manifested + a caution and a slowness that brought British Columbia to the verge of + secession. But it was chiefly the world-wide depression that began in his + first year of office, 1873, which proved his undoing. Trade was stagnant, + bankruptcies multiplied, and acute suffering occurred among the poor in + the larger cities. Mackenzie had no solution to offer except patience and + economy; and the Opposition were freer to frame an enticing policy. The + country was turning toward a high tariff as the solution of its ills. + Protection had not hitherto been a party issue in Canada, and it was still + uncertain which party would take it up. Finally Mackenzie, who was an + ardent free trader, and the Nova Scotia wing of his party triumphed over + the protectionists in their own ranks and made a low tariff the party + platform. Macdonald, who had been prepared to take up free trade if + Mackenzie adopted protection, now boldly urged the high tariff panacea. + The promise of work and wages for all, the appeal to national spirit made + by the arguments of self-sufficiency and fully rounded development, the + desire to retaliate against the United States, which was still deaf to any + plea for more liberal trade relations, swept the country. The Conservative + minority of over sixty was converted into a still greater majority in the + general election of 1878, and the leader whom all men five years before + had considered doomed, returned to power, never to lose it while life + lasted. + </p> + <p> + The first task of the new Government, in which Tupper was Macdonald's + chief supporter, was to carry out its high tariff pledges. "Tell us how + much protection you want, gentlemen," said Macdonald to a group of Ontario + manufacturers, "and we'll give you what you need." In the new tariff needs + were rated almost as high as wants. Particularly on textiles, sugar, and + iron and steel products, duties were raised far beyond the old levels and + stimulated investment just as the world-wide depression which had lasted + since 1873 passed away. Canada shared in the recovery and gave the credit + to the well-advertised political patent medicine taken just before the + turn for the better came. For years the National Policy or "N.P.," as its + supporters termed it, had all the vogue of a popular tonic. + </p> + <p> + The next task of the Government was to carry through in earnest the + building of the railway to the Pacific. For over a year Macdonald + persisted in Mackenzie's policy of government construction but with the + same slow and unsatisfactory results. Then an opportunity came to enlist + the services of a private syndicate. Four Canadians, Donald A. Smith, a + former Hudson's Bay Company factor, George Stephen, a leading merchant and + banker of Montreal, James J. Hill and Norman W. Kittson, owners of a small + line of boats on the Red River, had joined forces to revive a bankrupt + Minnesota railway.* They had succeeded beyond all parallel, and the + reconstructed road, which later developed into the Great Northern, made + them all rich overnight. This success whetted their appetite for further + western railway building and further millions of rich western acres in + subsidies. They met Macdonald and Tupper half way. By the bargain + completed in 1881 the Canadian Pacific Railway Company undertook to build + and operate the road from the Ottawa Valley to the Pacific coast, in + return for the gift of the completed portions of the road (on which the + Government spent over $37,000,000), a subsidy of $25,000,000 in cash, + 25,000,000 selected acres of prairie land, exemption from taxes, exemption + from regulation of rates until ten per cent was earned, and a promise on + the part of the Dominion to charter no western lines connecting with the + United States for twenty years. The terms were lavish and were fiercely + denounced by the Opposition, now under the leadership of Edward Blake. But + the people were too eager for railway expansion to criticize the terms. + The Government was returned to power in 1882 and the contract held. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * See "The Railroad Builders", by John Moody (in "The + Chronicles of America"). +</pre> + <p> + The new company was rich in potential resources but weak in available + cash. Neither in New York nor in London could purse strings be loosened + for the purpose of building a road through what the world considered a + barren and Arctic wilderness. But in the faith and vision of the + president, George Stephen, and the ruthless energy of the general manager, + William Van Horne, American born and trained, the Canadian Pacific had + priceless assets. Aided in critical times by further government loans, + they carried the project through, and by 1886, five years before the time + fixed by their contract, trains were running from Montreal to Port Moody, + opposite Vancouver. + </p> + <p> + A sudden burst of prosperity followed the building of the road. Settlers + poured into the West by tens of thousands, eastern investors promoted + colonization companies, land values soared, and speculation gave a fillip + to every line of trade. The middle eighties were years of achievement, of + prosperity, and of confident hope. Then prosperity fled as quickly as it + had come. The West failed to hold its settlers. Farm and factory found + neither markets nor profits. The country was bled white by emigration. + Parliamentary contest and racial feud threatened the hard-won unity. + Canada was passing through its darkest hours. + </p> + <p> + During this period, political friction was incessant. Canada was striving + to solve in the eighties the difficult question which besets all + federations—the limits between federal and provincial power. Ontario + was the chief champion of provincial rights. The struggle was intensified + by the fact that a Liberal Government reigned at Toronto and a + Conservative Government at Ottawa, as well as by the keen personal rivalry + between Mowat and Macdonald. In nearly every constitutional duel Mowat + triumphed. The accepted range of the legislative power of the provinces + was widened by the decisions of the courts, particularly of the highest + court of appeal, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in England. + The successful resistance of Ontario and Manitoba to Macdonald's attempt + to disallow provincial laws proved this power, though conferred by the + Constitution, to be an unwieldy weapon. By the middle nineties the veto + had been virtually abandoned. + </p> + <p> + More serious than these political differences was the racial feud that + followed the second Riel Rebellion. For a second time the Canadian + Government failed to show the foresight and the sympathy required in + dealing with an isolated and backward people. The valley of the + Saskatchewan, far northwest of the Red River, was the scene of the new + difficulty. Here thousands of metis, or French half-breeds, had settled. + The passing of the buffalo, which had been their chief subsistence, and + the arrival of settlers from the East caused them intense alarm. They + pressed the Government for certain grants of land and for the retention of + the old French custom of surveying the land along the river front in deep + narrow strips, rather than according to the chessboard pattern taken over + by Canada from the United States. Red tape, indifference, procrastination, + rather than any illwill, delayed the redress of the grievances of the + half-breeds. In despair they called Louis Riel back from his exile in + Montana. With his arrival the agitation acquired a new and dangerous + force. Claiming to be the prophet of a new religion, he put himself at the + head of his people and, in the spring of 1885, raised the flag of revolt. + His military adviser, Gabriel Dumont, an old buffalo hunter, was a + natural-born general, and the half-breeds were good shots and brave + fighters. An expedition of Canadian volunteers was rushed west, and the + rebellion was put down quickly, but not without some hard fighting and + gallant strokes and counterstrokes. + </p> + <p> + The racial passions roused by this conflict, however, did not pass so + quickly. The fate to be meted out to Riel was the burning question. + Ontario saw in him the murderer of Scott and an ambitious plotter who had + twice stirred up armed rebellion. Quebec saw in him a man of French blood, + persecuted because he had stood up manfully for the undoubted rights of + his kinsmen. Today experts agree that Riel was insane and should have been + spared the gallows on this if on no other account. But at the moment the + plea of insanity was rejected. The Government made up for its laxity + before the rebellion by severity after it; and in November, 1885, Riel was + sent to the scaffold. Bitterness rankled in many a French-Canadian heart + for long years after; and in Ontario, where the Orange order was strongly + entrenched, a faction threatened "to smash Confederation into its original + fragments" rather than submit to "French domination." + </p> + <p> + Racial and religious passions, once aroused, soon found new fuel to feed + upon. Honore Mercier, a brilliant but unscrupulous leader who had ridden + to power in the province of Quebec on the Riel issue, roused Protestant + ire by restoring estates which had been confiscated at the conquest in + 1763 to the Jesuits and other Roman Catholic authorities, in proportions + which the act provided were to be determined by "Our Holy Father the + Pope." In Ontario restrictions began to be imposed on the freedom of + French-Canadian communities on the border to make French the sole or + dominant tongue in the schoolroom. A little later the controversy was + echoed in Manitoba in the repeal by a determined Protestant majority of + the denominational school privileges hitherto enjoyed by the Roman + Catholic minority. + </p> + <p> + Economic discontent was widespread. It was a time of low and falling + prices. Farmers found the American market barred, the British market + flooded, the home market stagnant. The factories stimulated by the "N. P." + lacked the growing market they had hoped for. In the West climatic + conditions not yet understood, the monopoly of the Canadian Pacific, and + the competition of the States to the south, which still had millions of + acres of free land, brought settlement to a standstill. From all parts of + Canada the "exodus" to the United States continued until by 1890 there + were in that country more than one-third as many people of Canadian birth + or descent as in Canada itself. + </p> + <p> + It was not surprising that in these extremities men were prepared to make + trial of drastic remedies. Nor was it surprising that it was beyond the + borders of Canada itself that they sought the unity and the prosperity + they had not found at home. Many looked to Washington, some for + unrestricted trade, a few for political union. Others looked to London, + hoping for a revival of the old imperial tariff preferences or for some + closer political union which would bring commercial advantages in its + train. + </p> + <p> + The decade from 1885 to 1895 stands out in the record of the relations of + the English-speaking peoples as a time of constant friction, of petty pin + pricks, of bluster and retaliation. The United States was not in a + neighborly mood. The memories of 1776, of 1812, and of 1861 had been kept + green by exuberant comment in school textbooks and by "spread-eagle" + oratory. The absence of any other rivalry concentrated American opposition + on Great Britain, and isolation from Old World interests encouraged a + provincial lack of responsibility. The sins of England in Ireland had been + kept to the fore by the agitation of Parnell and Davitt and Dillon; and + the failure of Home Rule measures, twice in this decade, stirred + Irish-American antagonism. The accession to power of Lord Salisbury, + reputed to hold the United States in contempt, and later the foolish + indiscretion of Sir Lionel Sackville-West, British Ambassador at + Washington, in intervening in a guileless way in the presidential election + of 1888, did as much to nourish ill-will in the United States as the + dominance of Blaine and other politicians who cultivated the gentle art of + twisting the tail of the British lion. + </p> + <p> + Protection, with the attitude of economic warfare which it involved and + bred, was then at its height. Much of this hostility was directed against + Canada, as the nearest British territory. The Dominion, on its part, while + persistently seeking closer trade relations, sometimes sought this end in + unwise ways. Many good people in Canada were still fighting the War of + 1812. The desire to use the inshore fishery privileges as a lever to force + tariff reductions led to a rigid and literal enforcement of Canadian + rights and claims which provoked widespread anger in New England. The + policy of discrimination in canal tolls in favor of Canadian as against + United States ports was none the less irritating because it was a retort + in kind. And when United States customs officials levied a tax on the tin + cans containing fish free by treaty, Canadian officials had retaliated by + taxing the baskets containing duty-free peaches. + </p> + <p> + The most important specific issue was once more the northeastern + fisheries. As a result of notice given by the United States the fisheries + clauses of the Treaty of Washington ceased to operate on July 1, 1885. + Canada, for the sake of peace, admitted American fishing vessels for the + rest of that season, though Canadian fish at once became dutiable. No + further grace was given. The Canadian authorities rigidly enforced the + rules barring inshore fishing, and in addition denied port privileges to + deep-sea fishing vessels and forbade American boats to enter Canadian + ports for the purpose of trans-shipping crews, purchasing bait, or + shipping fish in bond to the United States. Every time a Canadian fishery + cruiser and a Gloucester skipper had a difference of opinion as to the + exact whereabouts of the three-mile limit, the press of both countries + echoed the conflict. Congress in 1887 empowered the President to retaliate + by excluding Canadian vessels and goods from American ports. Happily this + power was not used. Cleveland and Secretary of State Bayard were genuinely + anxious to have the issue settled. A joint commission drew up a + well-considered plan, but in the face of a presidential election the + Senate gave it short shrift. Fortunately, however, a modus vivendi was + arranged by which American vessels were admitted to port privileges on + payment of a license. Healing time, a healthful lack of publicity, + changing fishing methods, and Canada's abandonment of her old policy of + using fishing privileges as a makeweight, gradually eased the friction. + </p> + <p> + Yet if it was not the fishing question, there was sure to be some other + issue—bonding privileges, Canadian Pacific interloping in western + rail hauls, tariff rates, or canal tolls-to disturb the peace. Why not + seek a remedy once for all, men now began to ask, by ending the unnatural + separation between the halves of the continent which God and geography had + joined and history and perverse politicians had kept asunder? + </p> + <p> + The political union of Canada and the United States has always found + advocates. In the United States a large proportion, perhaps a majority, of + the people have until recently considered that the absorption of Canada + into the Republic was its manifest destiny, though there has been little + concerted effort to hasten fate. In Canada such course of action has found + much less backing. United Empire Loyalist traditions, the ties with + Britain constantly renewed by immigration, the dim stirrings of national + sentiment, resentment against the trade policy of the United States, have + all helped to turn popular sentiment into other channels. Only at two + periods, in 1849, and forty years later, has there been any active + movement for annexation. + </p> + <p> + In the late eighties, as in the late forties, commercial depression and + racial strife prepared the soil for the seed of annexation. The chief + sower in the later period was a brilliant Oxford don, Goldwin Smith, whose + sympathy with the cause of the North had brought him to the United States. + In 1871, after a brief residence at Cornell, he made his home in Toronto, + with high hopes of stimulating the intellectual life and molding the + political future of the colony. He so far forsook the strait "Manchester + School" of his upbringing as to support Macdonald's campaign for + protection in 1878. But that was the limit of his adaptability. To the end + he remained out of touch with Canadian feeling. His campaign for + annexation, or for the reunion of the English-speaking peoples on this + continent, as he preferred to call it, was able and persistent but moved + only a narrow circle of readers. It was in vain that he offered the + example of Scotland's prosperity after her union with her southern + neighbor, or insisted that Canada was cut into four distinct and unrelated + sections each of which could find its natural complement only in the + territory to the south. Here and there an editor or a minor politician + lent some support to his views, but the great mass of the people strongly + condemned the movement. There was to be no going back to the parting of + the ways: the continent north of Mexico was henceforth to witness two + experiments in democracy, not one unwieldy venture. + </p> + <p> + Commercial union was a half-way measure which found more favor. A North + American customs union had been supported by such public men as Stephen A. + Douglas, Horace Greeley, and William H. Seward, by official investigators + such as Taylor, Derby, and Larned, and by committees of the House of + Representatives in 1862, 1876, 1880, and 1884. In Canada it had been + endorsed before Confederation by Isaac Buchanan, the father of the + protection movement, and by Luther Holton and John Young. Now for the + first time it became a practical question. Erastus Wiman, a Canadian who + had found fortune in the United States, began in 1887 a vigorous campaign + in its favor both in Congress and among the Canadian public. Goldwin Smith + lent his dubious aid, leading Toronto and Montreal newspapers joined the + movement, and Ontario farmers' organizations swung to its support. But the + agitation proved abortive owing to the triumph of high protection in the + presidential election of 1888; and in Canada the red herring of the + Jesuits' Estates controversy was drawn across the trail. + </p> + <p> + Yet the question would not down. The political parties were compelled to + define their attitude. The Liberals had been defeated once more in the + election of 1887, where the continuance of the National Policy and of aid + to the Canadian Pacific had been the issue. Their leader, Edward Blake, + had retired disheartened. His place had been taken by a young Quebec + lieutenant, Wilfrid Laurier, who had won fame by his courageous resistance + to clerical aggression in his own province and by his indictment of the + Macdonald Government in the Riel issue. A veteran Ontario Liberal, Sir + Richard Cartwright, urged the adoption of commercial union as the party + policy. Laurier would not go so far, and the policy of unrestricted + reciprocity was made the official programme in 1888. Commercial union had + involved not only absolute free trade between Canada and the United States + but common excise rates, a common tariff against the rest of the world, + and the division of customs and excise revenues in some agreed proportion. + Unrestricted reciprocity would mean free trade between the two countries, + but with each left free to levy what rates it pleased on the products of + other countries. + </p> + <p> + When in 1891 the time came round once more for a general election, it was + apparent that reciprocity in some form would be the dominant issue. Though + the Republicans were in power in the United States and though they had + more than fulfilled their high tariff pledges in the McKinley Act, which + hit Canadian farm products particularly hard, there was some chance of + terms being made. Reciprocity, as a form of tariff bargaining, really fits + in better with protection than with free trade, and Blaine, Harrison's + Secretary of State, was committed to a policy of trade treaties and trade + bargaining. In Canada the demand for the United States market had grown + with increasing depression. The Liberals, with their policy of + unrestricted reciprocity, seemed destined to reap the advantage of this + rising tide of feeling. Then suddenly, on the eve of the election, Sir + John Macdonald sought to cut the ground from under the feet of his + opponents by the announcement that in the course of a discussion of + Newfoundland matters the United States had taken the initiative in + suggesting to Canada a settlement of all outstanding difficulties, + fisheries, coasting trade, and, on the basis of a renewal and extension of + the Reciprocity Treaty of 1854. This policy promised to meet all + legitimate economic needs of the country and at the same time avoid the + political dangers of the more sweeping policy. Its force was somewhat + weakened by the denials of Secretary Blaine that he had taken the + initiative or made any definite promises. As the election drew near and + revelations of the annexationist aims of some supporters of the wider + trade policy were made, the Government made the loyalty cry its strong + card. "The old man, the old flag, and the old policy," saved the day. In + Ontario and Quebec the two parties were evenly divided, but the West and + the Maritime Provinces, the "shreds and patches of Confederation," as Sir + Richard Cartwright, too ironic and vitriolic in his speech for political + success, termed them, gave the Government a working majority, which was + increased in by-elections. + </p> + <p> + Again in power, the Government made a formal attempt to carry out its + pledges. Two pilgrimages were made to Washington, but the negotiators were + too far apart to come to terms. With the triumph of the Democrats in 1899. + and the lowering of the tariff on farm products which followed, there came + a temporary improvement in trade relations. But the tariff reaction and + the silver issue brought back the Republicans and led to that climax in + agricultural protection, the Dingley Act of 1897, which killed among + Canadians all reciprocity longings and compelled them to look to + themselves for salvation. Although Canadians were anxious for trade + relations, they were not willing to be bludgeoned into accepting one-sided + terms. The settlement of the Bering Sea dispute in 1898 by a board of + arbitration, which ruled against the claims of the United States but + suggested a restriction of pelagic sealing by agreement, removed one + source of friction. Hardly was that out of the way when Cleveland's + Venezuela message brought Great Britain and the United States once more to + the verge of war. In such a war Canadians knew they would be the chief + sufferers, but in 1895, as in 1862, they did not flinch and stood ready to + support the mother country in any outcome. The Venezuela episode stirred + Canadian feeling deeply, revived interest in imperialism, and ended the + last lingering remnants of any sentiment for annexation. As King Edward I + was termed "the hammer of the Scots," so McKinley and Cleveland became + "the hammer of the Canadians," welding them into unity. + </p> + <p> + While most Canadians were ceasing to look to Washington for relief, an + increasing number were looking once more to London. The revival of + imperial sentiment which began in the early eighties, seemed to promise + new and greater possibilities for the colonies overseas. Political union + in the form of imperial federation and commercial union through reciprocal + tariff preferences were urged in turn as the cure for all Canada's ills. + Neither solution was adopted. The movement greatly influenced the actual + trend of affairs, but there was to be no mere turning back to the days of + the old empire. + </p> + <p> + The period of laissez faire in imperial matters, of Little Englandism, + drew to a close in the early eighties. Once more men began to value + empire, to seek to annex new territory overseas, and to bind closer the + existing possessions. The world was passing through a reaction destined to + lead to the earth-shaking catastrophe of 1914. The ideals of peace and + free trade preached and to some degree practiced in the fifties and + sixties were passing under an eclipse. In Europe the swing to free trade + had halted, and nation after nation was becoming aggressively + protectionist. The triumph of Prussia in the War of 1870 revived and + intensified military rivalry and military preparations on the part of all + the powers of Europe. A new scramble for colonies and possessions overseas + began, with the late comers nervously eager to make up for time lost. In + this reaction Britain shared. Protection raised its head again in England; + only by tariffs and tariff bargaining, the Fair Traders insisted, could + the country hold its own. Odds and ends of territory overseas were annexed + and a new value was attached to the existing colonies. The possibility of + obtaining from them military support and trade privileges, the + desirability of returning to the old ideal of a self-contained and + centralized empire, appealed now to influential groups. This goal might be + attained by different paths. From the United Kingdom came the policy of + imperial federation and from the colonies the policy of preferential trade + as means to this end. + </p> + <p> + In 1884 the Imperial Federation League was organized in London with + important men of both parties in its ranks. It urged the setting up in + London of a new Parliament, in which the United Kingdom and all the + colonies where white men predominated would be represented according to + population. This Parliament would have power to frame policies, to make + laws, and to levy taxes for the whole Empire. To the colonist it offered + an opportunity to share in the control of foreign affairs; to the + Englishman it offered the support of colonies fast growing to power and + the assurance of one harmonious policy for all the Empire. Both in Britain + and overseas the movement received wide support and seemed for a time + likely to sweep all before it. Then a halt came. + </p> + <p> + Imperial federation had been brought forward a generation too late to + succeed. The Empire had been developing upon lines which could not be made + to conform to the plans for centralized parliamentary control. It was not + possible to go back to the parting of the ways. Slowly, unconsciously, + unevenly, yet steadily, the colonies had been ceasing to be dependencies + and had been becoming nations. With Canada in the vanguard they had been + taking over one power after another which had formerly been wielded by the + Government of the United Kingdom. It was not likely that they would + relinquish these powers or that self-governing colonies would consent to + be subordinated to a Parliament in London in which each would have only a + fragmentary representation. + </p> + <p> + The policy of imperial cooperation which began to take shape during this + period sought to reconcile the existing desire for continuing the + connection with the mother country with the growing sense of national + independence. This policy involved two different courses of action: first, + the colonies must assert and secure complete self-government on terms of + equality with the United Kingdom; second, they must unite as partners or + allies in carrying out common tasks and policies and in building up + machinery for mutual consultation and harmonious action. + </p> + <p> + It was chiefly in matters of trade and tariffs that progress was made in + the direction of self-government. Galt had asserted in 1859 Canada's right + to make her own tariffs, and Macdonald twenty years later had carried + still further the policy of levying duties upon English as well as foreign + goods. That economic point was therefore settled, but it was a slower + matter to secure control of treaty-making powers. When Galt and Huntington + urged this right in 1871 and when Blake and Mackenzie pressed it ten years + later, Macdonald opposed such a demand as equivalent to an effort for + independence. Yet he himself was compelled to change his conservative + attitude. After 1877 Canada ceased to be bound by commercial treaties made + by the United Kingdom, unless it expressly desired to be included. In 1879 + Galt was sent to Europe to negotiate Canadian trade agreements with France + and Spain; and in the next decade Tupper carried negotiations with France + to a successful conclusion, though the treaty was formally concluded + between France and Britain. By 1891 the Canadian Parliament could assert + with truth that "the self-governing colonies are recognized as possessing + the right to define their respective fiscal relations to all countries." + But Canada as yet took no step toward assuming a share in her own naval + defense, though the Australasian colonies made a beginning, along colonial + rather than national lines, by making a money contribution to the British + navy. + </p> + <p> + The second task confronting the policy of imperial cooperation was a + harder one. For a partnership between colony and mother country there were + no precedents. Centralized empires there had been; colonies there had been + which had grown into independent states; but there was no instance of an + empire ceasing to be an empire, of colonies becoming self-governing states + and then turning to closer and cooperative union with one another and with + the mother country. + </p> + <p> + Along this unblazed trail two important advances were made. The initiative + in the first came from Canada. In 1880 a High Commissioner was appointed + to represent Canada in London. The appointment of Sir Alexander Galt and + the policy which it involved were significant. The Governor-General had + ceased to be a real power; he was becoming the representative not of the + British Government but of the King; and, like the King, he governed by the + advice of the responsible ministers in the land where he resided. His + place as the link between the Government of Canada and the Government of + Britain was now taken in part by the High Commissioner. The relationship + of Canada to the United Kingdom was becoming one of equality not of + subordination. + </p> + <p> + The initiative in the second step came from Britain, though Canada's + leaders gave the movement its final direction. Imperial federationists + urged Lord Salisbury to summon a conference of the colonies to discuss the + question they had at heart. Salisbury doubted the wisdom of such a policy + but agreed in 1887 to call a conference to discuss matters of trade and + defense. Every self-governing colony sent representatives to this first + Colonial Conference; but little immediate fruit came of its sessions. In + 1894 a second Conference was held at Ottawa, mainly to discuss + intercolonial preferential trade. Only a beginning had been made, but + already the Conferences were coming to be regarded as meetings of + independent governments and not, as the federationists had hoped, the germ + of a single dominating new government. The Imperial Federation League + began to realize that it was making little progress and dissolved in 1893. + </p> + <p> + Preferential trade was the alternative path to imperial federation. + Macdonald had urged it in 1879 when he found British resentment strong + against his new tariff. Again, ten years later, when reciprocity with the + United States was finding favor in Canada, imperialists urged the + counterclaims of a policy of imperial reciprocity, of special tariff + privileges to other parts of the Empire. The stumbling-block in the way of + such a policy was England's adherence to free trade. For the protectionist + colonies preference would mean only a reduction of an existing tariff. For + the United Kingdom, however, it would mean a complete reversal of fiscal + policy and the abandonment of free trade for protection in order to make + discrimination possible. Few Englishmen believed such a reversal possible, + though every trade depression revived talk of "fair trade" or tariffs for + bargaining purposes. A further obstacle to preferential trade lay in the + existence of treaties with Belgium and Germany, concluded in the sixties, + assuring them all tariff privileges granted by any British colony to Great + Britain or to sister colonies. In 1892 the Liberal Opposition in Canada + indicated the line upon which action was eventually to be taken by urging + a resolution in favor of granting an immediate and unconditional + preference on British goods as a step toward freer trade and in the + interest of the Canadian consumer. + </p> + <p> + Little came of looking either to London or to Washington. Until the middle + nineties Canada remained commercially stagnant and politically distracted. + Then came a change of heart and a change of policy. The Dominion realized + at last that it must work out its own salvation. + </p> + <p> + In March, 1891, Sir John Macdonald was returned to office for the sixth + time since Confederation, but he was not destined to enjoy power long. The + winter campaign had been too much for his weakened constitution, and he + died on June 6, 1891. No man had been more hated by his political + opponents, no man more loved by his political followers. Today the hatred + has long since died, and the memory of Sir John Macdonald has become the + common pride of Canadians of every party, race, and creed. He had done + much to lower the level of Canadian politics; but this fault was forgiven + when men remembered his unfailing courage and confidence, his constructive + vision and fertility of resource, his deep and unquestioned devotion to + his country. + </p> + <p> + The Conservative party had with difficulty survived the last election. + Deprived of the leader who for so long had been half its force, the party + could not long delay its break-up. No one could be found to fill + Macdonald's place. The helm was taken in turn by J. J. C. Abbott, "the + confidential family lawyer of the party," by Sir John Thompson, solid and + efficient though lacking in imagination, and by Sir Mackenzie Bowell, an + Ontario veteran. Abbott was forced to resign because of ill health; + Thompson died in office; and Bowell was forced out by a revolt within the + party. Sir Charles Tupper, then High Commissioner in London, was summoned + to take up the difficult task. But it proved too great for even his + fighting energy. The party was divided. Gross corruption in the awarding + of public contracts had been brought to light. The farmers were demanding + a lower tariff. The leader of the Opposition was proving to have all the + astuteness and the mastery of his party which had marked Macdonald and a + courage in his convictions which promised well. Defeat seemed inevitable + unless a new issue which had invaded federal politics, the Manitoba school + question, should prove more dangerous to the Opposition than to the forces + of the Government. + </p> + <p> + The Manitoba school question was an echo of the racial and religious + strife which followed the execution of Riel and in which the Jesuits' + Estates controversy was an episode. In the early days of the province, + when it was still uncertain which religion would be dominant among the + settlers, a system of state-aided denominational schools had been + established. In 1890 the Manitoba Government swept this system away and + replaced it by a single system of non-sectarian and state-supported + schools which were practically the same as the old Protestant schools. Any + Roman Catholic who did not wish to send his children to such a school was + thus compelled to pay for the maintenance of a parochial school as well as + to pay taxes for the public schools. A provision of the Confederation Act, + inserted at the wish of the Protestant minority in Quebec, safeguarded the + educational privileges of religious minorities. A somewhat similar clause + had been inserted in the Manitoba Act of 1870. To this protection the + Manitoba minority now appealed. The courts held that the province had the + right to pass the law but also that the Dominion Government had the + constitutional right to pass remedial legislation restoring in some + measure the privileges taken away. The issue was thus forced into federal + politics. + </p> + <p> + A curious situation then developed. The leader of the Government, Sir + Mackenzie Bowell, was a prominent Orangeman. The leader of the Opposition, + Wilfrid Laurier, was a Roman Catholic. The Government, after a vain + attempt to induce the province to amend its measure, decided to pass a + remedial act compelling it to restore to the Roman Catholics their rights. + The policy of the Opposition leader was awaited with keen expectancy. + Strong pressure was brought upon Laurier by the Roman Catholic hierarchy + of Quebec. Most men expected a temporizing compromise. Yet the leader of + the Opposition came out strongly and flatly against the Government's + measure. He agreed that a wrong had been done but insisted that compulsion + could not right it and promised that, if in power, he would follow the + path of conciliation. At once all the wrath of the hierarchy was unloosed + upon him, and all its influence was thrown to the support of the + Government. Yet when the Liberals blocked the Remedial Bill by obstructing + debate until the term of Parliament expired, and forced an election on + this issue in the summer of 1896, Quebec gave a big majority to Laurier, + while Manitoba stood behind the party which had tried to coerce it. The + country over, the Liberals had gained a decisive majority. The day of new + leaders and anew policy had dawned at last. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. THE YEARS OF FULFILMENT + </h2> + <p> + Wilfrid Laurier was summoned to form his first Cabinet in July, 1896. For + eighteen years previous to that time the Liberals had sat in what one of + their number used to call "the cold shades of Opposition." For half of + that term Laurier had been leader of the party, confined to the negative + task of watching and criticizing the administration of his great + predecessor and of the four premiers who followed in almost as many years. + Now he was called to constructive tasks. Fortune favored him by bringing + him to power at the very turn of the tide; but he justified fortune's + favor by so steering the ship of state as to take full advantage of wind + and current. Through four Parliaments, through fifteen years of office, + through the time of fruition of so many long-deferred hopes, he was to + guide the destinies of the nation. + </p> + <p> + Laurier began his work by calling to his Cabinet not merely the party + leaders in the federal arena but four of the outstanding provincial + Liberals—Oliver Mowat, Premier of Ontario, William S. Fielding, + Premier of Nova Scotia, Andrew G. Blair, Premier of New Brunswick, and, a + few months later, Clifford Sifton of Manitoba. The Ministry was the + strongest in individual capacity that the Dominion had yet possessed. The + prestige of the provincial leaders, all men of long experience and tested + shrewdness, strengthened the Administration in quarters where it otherwise + would have been weak, for there had been many who doubted whether the + untried Liberal party could provide capable administrators. There had also + been many who doubted the expediency of making Prime Minister a + French-Canadian Catholic. Such doubters were reassured by the presence of + Mowat and Fielding, until the Prime Minister himself had proved the wisdom + of the choice. There were others who admitted Laurier's personal charm and + grace but doubted whether he had the political strength to control a party + of conflicting elements and to govern a country where different race and + diverging religious and sectional interests set men at odds. Here again + time proved such fears to be groundless. Long before Laurier's long term + of office had ended, any distrust was transformed into the charge of his + opponents that he played the dictator. His courtly manners were found not + to hide weakness but to cover strength. + </p> + <p> + The first task of the new Government was to settle the Manitoba school + question. Negotiations which were at once begun with the provincial + Government were doubtless made easier by the fact that the same party was + in power at Ottawa and at Winnipeg, but it was not this fact alone which + brought agreement. The Laurier Government, unlike its predecessor, did not + insist on the restoration of separate schools. It accepted a compromise + which retained the single system of public schools, but which provided + religious teaching in the last half hour of school and, where numbers + warranted, a teacher of the same faith as the pupils. The compromise was + violently denounced by the Roman Catholic hierarchy but, except in two + cities, where parochial schools were set up, it was accepted by the laity. + </p> + <p> + With this thorny question out of the way, the Government turned to what it + recognized as its greatest task, the promotion of the country's material + prosperity. For years industry had been at a standstill. Exports and + imports had ceased to expand; railway building had halted; emigrants + outnumbered immigrants. The West, the center of so many hopes, the object + of so many sacrifices, had not proved the El Dorado so eagerly sought by + fortune hunters and home builders. There were little over two hundred + thousand white men west of the Great Lakes. Homesteads had been offered + freely; but in 1896 only eighteen hundred were taken up, and less than a + third of these by Canadians from the East. The stock of the Canadian + Pacific was selling at fifty. All but a few had begun to lose faith in the + promise of the West. + </p> + <p> + Then suddenly a change came. The failure of the West to lure pioneers was + not due to poverty of soil or lack of natural riches: its resources were + greater than the most reckless orator had dreamed. It was merely that its + time had not come and that the men in charge of the country's affairs had + not thrown enough energy into the task of speeding the coming of that + time. Now fortune worked with Canada, not against it. The long and steady + fall of prices, and particularly of the prices of farm products, ended; + and a rapid rise began to make farming pay once more. The good free lands + of the United States had nearly all been taken up. Canada's West was now + the last great reserve of free and fertile land. Improvements in farming + methods made it possible to cope with the peculiar problems of prairie + husbandry. British capital, moreover, no longer found so ready an outlet + in the United States, which was now financing its own development; and it + had suffered severe losses in Argentine smashes and Australian droughts. + Capital, therefore, was free to turn to Canada. + </p> + <p> + But it was not enough merely to have the resources; it was essential to + display them and to disclose their value. Canada needed millions of men of + the right stock, and fortunately there were millions who needed Canada. + The work of the Government was to put the facts before these potential + settlers. The new Minister of the Interior, Clifford Sifton, himself a + western man, at once began an immigration campaign which has never been + equaled in any country for vigor and practical efficiency. Canada had + hitherto received few settlers direct from the Continent. Western Europe + was now prosperous, and emigrants were few. But eastern Europe was in a + ferment, and thousands were ready to swarm to new homes overseas. + </p> + <p> + The activities of a subsidized immigration agency, the North Atlantic + Trading Company, brought great numbers of these peoples. Foremost in + numbers were the Ruthenians from Galicia. Most distinctive were the + Doukhobors or Spirit Wrestlers of Southern Russia, about ten thousand of + whom were brought to Canada at the instance of Tolstoy and some English + Quakers to escape persecution for their refusal to undertake military + service. The religious fanaticism of the Doukhobors, particularly when it + took the form of midwinter pilgrimages in nature's garb, and the + clannishness of the Ruthenians, who settled in solid blocks, gave rise to + many problems of government and assimilation which taught Canadians the + unwisdom of inviting immigration from eastern or southern Europe. + Ruthenians and Poles, however, continued to come down to the eve of the + Great War, and nearly all settled on western lands. Jewish Poland sent its + thousands who settled in the larger cities, until Montreal had more Jews + than Jerusalem and its Protestant schools held their Easter holidays in + Passover. Italian navvies came also by the thousands, but mainly as birds + of passage; and Greeks and men from the Balkan States were limited in + numbers. Of the three million immigrants who came to Canada from the + beginning of the century to the outbreak of the war, some eight hundred + thousand came from continental Europe, and of these the Ruthenians, Jews, + Italians, and Scandinavians were the most numerous. + </p> + <p> + It was in the United States that Canada made the greatest efforts to + obtain settlers and that she achieved the most striking success. Beginning + in 1897 advertisements were placed in five or six thousand American farm + and weekly newspapers. Booklets were distributed by the million. Hundreds + of farmer delegates were given free trips through the promised land. + Agents were appointed in each likely State, with sub-agents who were paid + a bonus on every actual settler. The first settlers sent back word of + limitless land to be had for a song, and of No. 1 Northern Wheat that ran + thirty or forty bushels to the acre. Soon immigration from the States + began; the trickle became a trek; the trek, a stampede. In 1896 the + immigrants from the United States to Canada had been so few as not to be + recorded; in 1897 there were 2000; in 1899, 12,000; in the fiscal year + 1902-03, 50,000; and in 1912-13, 139,000. The new immigrants proved to be + the best of settlers; nearly all were progressive farmers experienced in + western methods and possessed of capital. The countermovement from Canada + to the United States never wholly ceased, but it slackened and was much + more than offset by this northward rush. Nothing so helped to confirm + Canadian confidence in their own land and to make the outside world share + this high estimate as this unimpeachable evidence from over a million + American newcomers who found in Canada, between 1897 and 1914, greater + opportunities than even the United States could offer. The Ministry then + carried its propaganda to Great Britain. Newspapers, schools, exhibitions + were used in ways which startled the stolid Englishman into attention. + Circumstances played into the hands of the propagandists, who took + advantage of the flow of United States settlers into the West, the + Klondike gold fields rush, the presence of Laurier at the Jubilee + festivities at London in 1897, Canada's share in the Boer War. British + immigrants rose to 50,000 in 1903-04, to 120,000 in 1907-08, and to + 150,000 in 1912-13. From 1897 to the outbreak of the war over 1,100,000 + Britishers came to Canada. Three out of four were English, the rest mainly + Scotch; the Irish, who once had come in tens of thousands and whose + descendants still formed the largest element in the English-speaking + peoples of Canada, now sent only one man for every twelve from England. + The gates of Canadian immigration, however, were not thrown open to all + comers. The criminal, the insane and feeble-minded, the diseased, and + others likely to become public charges, were barred altogether or allowed + to remain provisionally, subject to deportation within three years. + Immigrants sent out by British charitable societies were subjected, after + 1908, to rigid inspection before leaving England. No immigrant was + admitted without sufficient money in his purse to tide over the first few + weeks, unless he were going to farm work or responsible relatives. + Asiatics were restricted by special regulations. Steadily the bars were + raised higher. + </p> + <p> + Not all the 3,000,000 who came to Canada between 1897 and 1914 remained. + Many drifted across the border; many returned to their old homes, their + dreams fulfilled or shattered; yet the vast majority remained. Never had + any country so great a task of assimilation as faced Canada, with + 3,000,000 pouring into a country of 5,000,000 in a dozen years. + Fortunately the great bulk of the newcomers were of the old stocks. + </p> + <p> + Closely linked with immigration in promoting the prosperity of the country + were the land policy and the railway policy of the Administration. The + system of granting free homesteads to settlers was continued on an even + more generous scale. The 1800 entries for homesteads in 1896 had become + 40,000 ten years later. In 1906 land equal in area to Massachusetts and + Delaware was given away; in 1908 a Wales, in 1909 five Prince Edward + Islands, and in 1910 and 1911 a Belgium, a Netherlands, and two + Montenegros passed from the state to the settler. Unfortunately not every + homesteader became an active farmer, and production, though mounting fast, + could not keep pace with speculation. + </p> + <p> + Railway building had almost ceased after the completion of the Canadian + Pacific system. Now it revived on a greater scale than ever before. In the + twenty years after 1896 the miles in operation grew from 16,000 to nearly + 40,000. Two new transcontinentals were added, and the older roads took on + a new lease of life. At the end of this period of expansion, only the + United States, Germany, and Russia had railroad mileage exceeding that of + Canada. Much of the building was premature or duplicated other roads. The + scramble for state aid, federal and provincial, had demoralized Canadian + politics. A large part of the notes the country rashly backed, by the + policy of guaranteeing bond issues, were in time presented for payment. + Yet the railway policies of the period were broadly justified. New country + was opened to settlers; outlets to the sea were provided; capital was + obtained in the years when it was still abundant and cheap; the whole + industry of the country was stimulated; East was bound closer to West and + depth was added to length.* + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * During the Great War it became necessary for the Federal + Government to take over both the National Transcontinental, + running from Moncton in New Brunswick to Winnipeg, and the + Canadian Northern, running from ocean to ocean, and to + incorporate both, along with the Intercolonial, in the + Canadian National Railways, a system fourteen thousand miles + in length. +</pre> + <p> + The opening of the West brought new prosperity to every corner of the + East. Factories found growing markets; banks multiplied branches and + business; exports mounted fast and imports faster; closer relations were + formed with London and New York financial interests; mushroom + millionaires, country clubs, city slums, suburban subdivisions, land + booms, grafting aldermen, and all the apparatus of an advanced + civilization grew apace. A new self-confidence became the dominant note + alike of private business and of public policy. + </p> + <p> + With industrial prosperity, political unity became assured. Canada became + more and more a name of which all her sons were proud. Expansion brought + men of the different provinces together. The Maritime Provinces first felt + fully at one with the rest of Canada when Vancouver and Winnipeg rather + than Boston and New York called their sons. Even Ontario and Quebec made + some advance toward mutual understanding, though clerical leaders who + sought safety for their Church in the isolation of its people, + imperialists who drove a wedge between Canadians by emphasizing + Anglo-Saxon racial ties, and politicians of the baser sort exploiting race + prejudice for their own gain, opened rifts in a society already seamed by + differences of language and creed. In the West unity was still harder to + secure, for men of all countries and of none poured into a land still in + the shaping. The divergent interests of the farming, free trade West and + of the manufacturing, protectionist East made for friction. Fortunately + strong ties held East and West together. Eastern Canadians or their sons + filled most of the strategic posts in Government and business, in school + and church and press in the West. Transcontinental railways, chartered + banks with branches and interests in every province, political parties + organizing their forces from coast to coast, played their part. Much had + been accomplished; but much remained to be done. With this background of + rapid industrial development and growing national unity, Canada's + relations with the Empire, with her sister democracy across the border, + and with foreign states, took on new importance and divided interest with + the changes in her internal affairs. + </p> + <p> + From being a state wherein the mother country exercised control and the + colonies yielded obedience the Empire was rapidly being transformed into a + free and equal partnership of independent commonwealths under one king. + Out of the clash of rival theories and conflicting interests a new ideal + and a new reality had developed. The policy of imperial cooperation—the + policy whereby each great colony became independent of outside control but + voluntarily acted in concert with the mother country and the sister states + on matters of common concern—sought to reconcile liberty and unity, + nationhood and empire, to unite what was most practicable in the aims of + the advocates of independence and the advocates of imperial federation. + The movement developed unevenly. At the outbreak of the Great War, it was + still incomplete. The ideal was not always clearly or consciously held in + the Empire itself and was wholly ignored or misunderstood in Europe and + even in the United States. Yet in twenty years' space it had become + dominant in practice and theory and had built up a new type of political + organization, a virtual league of nations, fruitful for the future + ordering of the world. + </p> + <p> + The three fields in which this new policy was worked out were trade, + defense, and political organization. Canada had asserted her right to + control her tariff and commercial treaty relations as she pleased. Now she + used this freedom to offer, without asking any return in kind, tariff + privileges to the mother country. In the first budget brought down by the + Minister of Finance in the Laurier Cabinet, William S. Fielding, a + reduction, by instalments, of twenty-five per cent in tariff duties was + offered to all countries with rates as low as Canada's—that is, to + the United Kingdom and possibly to the Netherlands and New South Wales. + The reduction was meant both as a fulfilment of the Liberal party's free + trade pledges and as a token of filial good will to Britain. It was soon + found that Belgium and Germany, by virtue of their special treaty rights, + would claim the same privileges as Britain, and that all other countries + with most favored nation clauses could then demand the same rates. This + might serve the free trade aims of the Fielding tariff but would block its + imperial purpose. If this purpose was to be achieved, these treaties must + be denounced. To effect this was one of the tasks Laurier undertook in his + first visit to England in 1897. + </p> + <p> + The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, celebrating the sixtieth + anniversary of her reign, was made the occasion for holding the third + Colonial Conference. It was attended by the Premiers of all the colonies. + Among them Wilfrid Laurier, or Sir Wilfrid as he now became, stood easily + preeminent. In the Jubilee festivities, among the crowds in London streets + and the gatherings in court and council, his picturesque and courtly + figure, his unmistakable note of distinction, his silvery eloquence, and, + not least, the fact that this ruler of the greatest of England's colonies + was wholly of French blood, made him the lion of the hour. In the Colonial + Conference, presided over by Joseph Chamberlain, the new Colonial + Secretary, Laurier achieved his immediate purpose. The British Government + agreed to denounce the Belgian and German treaties, now that the + preference granted her came as a free gift and not as part of a bargain + which involved Britain's abandonment of free trade. The other Premiers + agreed to consider whether Canada's preferential tariff policy could be + followed. Chamberlain in vain urged defense and political policies + designed to centralize power in London. He praised the action of the + Australian colonies in contributing money to the British navy but could + get no promise of similar action from the others. He urged the need of + setting up in London an imperial council, with power somewhat more than + advisory and likely "to develop into something still greater," but for + this scheme he elicited little support. After the Conference Sir Wilfrid + visited France and in ringing speeches in Paris did much to pave the way + for the good understanding which later developed into the entente + cordiale. + </p> + <p> + The glitter and parade of the Jubilee festivities soon gave way to a + sterner phase of empire. For years South Africa had been in ferment owing + to the conflicting interests of narrow, fanatical, often corrupt Boer + leaders, greedy Anglo-Jewish mining magnates, and British + statesmen-Rhodes, Milner, Chamberlain—dominated by the imperial idea + and eager for an "all-red" South Africa. Eventually an impasse was reached + over the question of the rights and privileges of British subjects in the + Transvaal Republic. On October 9, 1899, President Kruger issued his + fateful ultimatum and war began. + </p> + <p> + What would be Canada's attitude toward this imperial problem? She had + never before taken part in an overseas war. Neither her own safety nor the + safety of the mother country was considered to be at stake. Yet war had + not been formally declared before a demand arose among Canadians that + their country should take a hand in rescuing the victims of Boer tyranny. + The Venezuela incident and the recent Jubilee ceremonies had fanned + imperialist sentiment. The growing prosperity was increasing national + pride and making many eager to abandon the attitude of colonial dependence + in foreign affairs. The desire to emulate the United States, which had + just won more or less glory in its little war with Spain, had its + influence in some quarters. Belief in the justice of the British cause was + practically universal, thanks to the skillful manipulation of the press by + the war party in South Africa. Leading newspapers encouraged the campaign + for participation. Parliament was not in session, and the Government + hesitated to intervene, but the swelling tide of public opinion soon + warranted immediate action. Three days after the declaration of war an + order in council was passed providing for a contingent of one thousand + men. Other infantry battalions, Mounted Rifles, and batteries of artillery + were dispatched later. Lord Strathcona, formerly Donald Smith of the + Canadian Pacific syndicate, by a deed recalling feudal days, provided the + funds to send overseas the Strathcona Horse, roughriders from the Canadian + West. In the last years of the war the South African Constabulary drew + many recruits from Canada. All told, over seven thousand Canadians crossed + half the world to share in the struggle on the South African veldt. + </p> + <p> + The Canadian forces held their own with any in the campaign. The first + contingent fought under Lord Roberts in the campaign for the relief of + Kimberley; and it was two charges by Canadian troops, charges that cost + heavily in killed and wounded, that forced the surrender of General + Cronje, brought to bay at Paardeberg. One Canadian battery shared in the + honor of raising the siege of Mafeking, where Baden-Powell was besieged, + and both contingents marched with Lord Roberts from Bloemfontein to + Pretoria and fought hard and well at Doornkop and in many a skirmish. + Perhaps the politic generosity of the British leaders and the patriotic + bias of correspondents exaggerated the importance of the share of the + Canadian troops in the whole campaign; but their courage, initiative, and + endurance were tested and proved beyond all question. Paardeberg sent a + thrill of pride and of sorrow through Canada. + </p> + <p> + The only province which stood aloof from wholehearted participation in the + war was Quebec. Many French Canadians had been growing nervous over the + persistent campaign of the imperialists. They exhibited a certain + unwillingness to take on responsibilities, perhaps a survival of the + dependence which colonialism had bred, a dawning aspiration toward an + independent place in the world's work, and a disposition to draw tighter + racial and religious lines in order to offset the emphasis which + imperialists placed on Anglo-Saxon ties. Now their sympathies went out to + a people, like themselves an alien minority brought under British rule, + and in this attitude they were strengthened by the almost unanimous + verdict of the neutral world against British policy. Laurier tried to + steer a middle course, but the attacks of ultra-imperialists in Ontario + and of ultra-nationalists in Quebec, led henceforward by a brilliant and + eloquent grandson of Papineau, Henri Bourassa, hampered him at every turn. + The South African War gave a new unity to English-speaking Canada, but it + widened the gap between the French and English sections. + </p> + <p> + The part which Australia and New Zealand, like Canada, had taken in the + war gave new urgency to the question of imperial relations. English + imperialists were convinced that the time was ripe for a great advance + toward centralization, and they were eager to crystallize in permanent + institutions the imperial sentiment called forth by the war. When, + therefore, the fourth Colonial Conference was summoned to meet in London + in 1902 on the occasion of the coronation of Edward VII, Chamberlain urged + with all his force and keenness a wide programme of centralized action. + "Very great expectations," he declared in his opening address, "have been + formed as to the results which may accrue from our meeting." The + expectations, however, were doomed to disappointment. He and those who + shared his hopes had failed to recognize that the war had called forth a + new national consciousness in the Dominions, as the self-governing + colonies now came to be termed, even more than it had developed imperial + sentiment. In the smaller colonies, New Zealand, Natal, Cape of Good Hope, + the old attitude of colonial dependence survived in larger measure; but in + Canada and in Australia, now federated into commonwealths, national + feeling was uppermost. + </p> + <p> + Chamberlain brought forward once more his proposal for an imperial + council, to be advisory at first and later to attain power to tax and + legislate for the whole Empire, but he found no support. Instead, the + Conference itself was made a more permanent instrument of imperial + cooperation by a provision that it should meet at least every four years. + The essential difference was that the Conference was merely a meeting of + independent Governments on an equal footing, each claiming to be as much + "His Majesty's Government" as any other, whereas the council which + Chamberlain urged in vain would have been a new Government, supreme over + all the Empire and dominated by the British representatives. Chamberlain + then suggested more centralized means of defense, grants to the British + navy, and the putting of a definite proportion of colonial militia at the + disposal of the British War Office for overseas service. The Cape and + Natal promised naval grants; Australia and New Zealand increased their + contributions for the maintenance of a squadron in Pacific waters; but + Canada held back. The smaller colonies were sympathetic to the militia + proposal; but Canada and Australia rejected it on the grounds that it was + "objectionable in principle, as derogating from the powers of + self-government enjoyed by them, and would be calculated to impede the + general improvement in training and organization of their defense forces." + Chamberlain's additional proposal of free trade within the Empire and of a + common tariff against all foreign countries found little support. That + each part of the Empire should control its own tariff and that it should + make what concessions it wished on British imports, either as a part of a + reciprocal bargain or as a free gift, remained a fixed idea in the minds + of the leaders of the Dominions. Throughout the sessions it was Laurier + rather than Chamberlain who dominated the Conference. + </p> + <p> + Balked in his desire to effect political or military centralization, + Chamberlain turned anew to the possibilities of trade alliance. His tariff + reform campaign of 1903, which was a sequel to the Colonial Conference of + 1902, proposed that Great Britain set up a tariff, incidentally to protect + her own industries and to have matter for bargaining with foreign powers, + but mainly in order to keep the colonies within her orbit by offering them + special terms. In this way the Empire would become once more + self-sufficient. The issue thus thrust upon Great Britain and the Empire + in general was primarily a contest between free traders and + protectionists, not between the supporters of cooperation and the + supporters of centralization. On this basis the issue was fought out in + Great Britain and resulted in the overwhelming victory of free trade and + the Liberal party, aided as they were by the popular reaction against the + jingoist policy which had culminated in the war. When the fifth + Conference, now termed Imperial instead of Colonial, met in 1907, there + was much impassioned advocacy of preference and protection on the part of + Alfred Deakin of Australia and Sir L.S. Jameson of the Cape; but the + British representatives stuck to their guns and, in Winston Churchill's + phrase, the door remained "banged, barred, and bolted" against both + policies. At this conference Laurier took the ground that, while Canada + would be prepared to bargain preference for preference, the people of + Great Britain must decide what fiscal system would best serve their own + interests. A consistent advocate of home rule, he was willing, unlike some + of his colleagues, from the other Dominions, to let the United Kingdom + control its own affairs. + </p> + <p> + The defense issue had slumbered since the Boer War. Now the unbounded + ambitions of Germany gave it startling urgency. It was about 1908 that the + British public first became seriously alarmed over the danger involved in + the lessening margin of superiority of the British over the German navy. + The alarm was echoed throughout the Dominions. The Kaiser's challenge + threatened the safety not only of the mother country but of every part of + the Empire. Hitherto the Dominions had done little in the way of naval + defense, though they had one by one assumed full responsibility for their + land defense. The feeling had been growing that they should take a larger + share of the common burden. Two factors, however, had blocked advance in + this direction. The British Government had claimed and exercised full + control of the issues of peace and war, and the Dominions were reluctant + to assume responsibility for the consequences of a foreign policy which + they could not direct. The hostility of the British Admiralty, on + strategic and political grounds, to the plan of local Dominion navies, had + prevented progress on the most feasible lines. The deadlock was a serious + one. Now the imminence of danger compelled a solution. Taking the lead in + this instance in the working out of the policy of colonial nationalism, + Australia had already insisted upon abandoning the barren and inadequate + policy of making a cash contribution for the support of a British squadron + in Australasian waters and had established a local navy, manned, + maintained, and controlled by the Commonwealth. Canada decided to follow + her example. In March, 1909, the Canadian House of Commons unanimously + adopted a resolution in favor of establishing a Canadian naval service to + cooperate in close relation with the British navy. During the summer a + special conference was held in London attended by ministers from all the + Dominions. At this conference the Admiralty abandoned its old position; + and it was agreed that Australia and Canada should establish local forces, + cruisers, destroyers, and submarines, with auxiliary ships and naval + bases. + </p> + <p> + When the Canadian Parliament met in 1910, Sir Wilfrid Laurier submitted a + Naval Service Bill, providing for the establishment of local fleets, of + which the smaller vessels were to be built in Canada. The ships were to be + under the control of the Dominion Government, which might, in case of + emergency, place them at the disposal of the British Admiralty. The bill + was passed in March. In the autumn two cruisers, the Rainbow and the + Niobe, were bought from Britain to serve as training ships. In the + following spring a naval college was opened at Halifax, and tenders were + called for the construction, in Canada, of five cruisers and six + destroyers. In June, 1911, at the regular Imperial Conference of that + year, an agreement was reached regarding the boundaries of the Australian + and Canadian stations and uniformity of training and discipline. + </p> + <p> + Then came the reciprocity fight and the defeat of the Government. No + tenders had been finally accepted, and the new Administration of Premier + Borden was free to frame its own policy. + </p> + <p> + The naval issue had now become a party question. The policy of a Dominion + navy, a policy which was the logical extension of the principles of + colonial nationalism and imperial cooperation which had guided imperial + development for many years, was attacked by ultra-imperialists in the + English-speaking provinces as strategically unsound and as leading + inevitably to separation from the Empire. It was also attacked by the + Nationalists of Quebec, the ultra-colonialists or provincialists, as they + might more truly be termed, under the vigorous leadership of Henri + Bourassa, as yet another concession to imperialism and to militarism. In + November, 1910, by alarming the habitant by pictures of his sons being + dragged away by naval press gangs, the Nationalists succeeded in defeating + the Liberal candidate in a by-election in Drummond-Arthabaska, at one time + Laurier's own constituency. In the general election which followed in + 1911, the same issue cost the Liberals a score of seats in Quebec. + </p> + <p> + When, therefore, the new Prime Minister, Sir Robert Borden, faced the + issue, he endeavored to frame a policy which would suit both wings of his + following. In 1912 he proposed as an emergency measure to appropriate a + sum sufficient to build three dreadnoughts for the British navy, subject + to recall if at any time the Canadian people decided to use them as the + nucleus of a Canadian fleet. At the same time he undertook to submit to + the electorate his permanent naval policy, as soon as it was determined. + What that permanent policy would be he was unwilling to say, but the Prime + Minister made clear his own leanings by insisting that it would take half + a century to form a Canadian navy, which at best would be a poor and weak + substitute for the organization the Empire already possessed. The + contribution to the British navy satisfied the ultra-imperialists, while + the promise of a referendum and the call for money alone, and not men, + appealed to the Nationalist wing. Under the impetuous control of its new + head, Winston Churchill, the British Admiralty showed that it had repented + its brief conversion to the Dominion navy policy, by preparing an + elaborate memorandum to support Borden's proposals, and also by + formulating plans for imperial flying squadrons to be supplied by the + Dominions, which made clear its wish to continue the centralizing policy + permanently. The Liberal Opposition vigorously denounced the whole + dreadnought programme, advocating instead two Canadian fleet units + somewhat larger than at first contemplated. Their obstruction was overcome + in the Commons by the introduction of the closure, but the Liberal + majority in the Senate, on the motion of Sir George Ross, a former Premier + of Ontario, threw out the bill by insisting that it should not be passed + before being "submitted to the judgment of the country." This challenge + the Government did not accept. Until the outbreak of the war no further + steps were taken either to arrange for contribution or to establish a + Canadian navy, though the naval college at Halifax was continued, and the + training cruisers were maintained in a half-hearted way. + </p> + <p> + In the Imperial Conference of 1911, one more attempt was made to set up a + central governing authority in London. Sir Joseph Ward, of New Zealand, + acting as the mouthpiece of the imperial federationists, urged the + establishment, first of an Imperial Council of State and later of an + Imperial Parliament. His proposals met no support. "It is absolutely + impracticable," was Laurier's verdict. "Any scheme of representation—no + matter what you call it, parliament or council—of the overseas + Dominions, must give them so very small a representation that it would be + practically of no value," declared Premier Morris of Newfoundland. "It is + not a practical scheme," Premier Fisher of Australia agreed; "our present + system of responsible government has not broken down." "The creation of + some body with centralized authority over the whole Empire," Premier Botha + of South Africa cogently insisted, "would be a step entirely antagonistic + to the policy of Great Britain which has been so successful in the past + .... It is the policy of decentralization which has made the Empire—the + power granted to its various peoples to govern themselves." Even Premier + Asquith of the United Kingdom declared the proposals "fatal to the very + fundamental conditions on which our empire has been built up and carried + on." + </p> + <p> + Stronger than any logic was the presence of Louis Botha in the conferences + of 1907 and 1911. On the former occasion it was only five years since he + had been in arms against Great Britain. The courage and vision of Sir + Henry Campbell-Bannerman in granting full and immediate self-government to + the conquered Boer republics had been justified by the results. Once more + freedom proved the only enduring basis of empire. Botha's task in + attempting to make Boer and Briton work together, first in the Transvaal, + and, after 1910, in the Union of South Africa, had not been an easy one. + Attacked by extremists from both directions, he faced much the same + difficulties as Laurier, and he found in Laurier's friendship, counsel, + and example much that stood him in good stead in the days of stress to + come. + </p> + <p> + Not less important than the relations with the United Kingdom in this + period were the relations with the United States. The Venezuela episode + was the turning point in the relations between the United States and the + British Empire. Both in Washington and in London men had been astounded to + find themselves on the verge of war. The danger passed, but the shock + awoke thousands to a realization of all that the two peoples had in common + and to the need of concerted effort to remove the sources of friction. + Then hard on the heels of this episode followed the Spanish-American War.* + Not the least of its by-products was a remarkable improvement in the + relations of the English-speaking nations. The course of the war, the + intrigues of European courts to secure intervention on behalf of Spain, + and the lining up of a British squadron beside Dewey in Manila Bay when a + German Admiral blustered, revealed Great Britain as the one trustworthy + friend the United States possessed abroad. The annexation of the + Philippines and the definite entry of the United States upon world + politics broke down the irresponsible isolation which British ministers + had found so much of a barrier to diplomatic accommodations. With John Hay + and later Elihu Root at the State Department, and Lansdowne and Grey at + the Foreign Office in London, there began an era of good feeling between + the two countries. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * See "The Path of Empire". +</pre> + <p> + Ottawa and Washington were somewhat slower in coming to terms. Many + difficulties can arise along a three thousand mile border, and with a + people so sure of themselves as the Americans were at this period and a + people so sensitive to any infringements of their national rights as the + Canadians were, petty differences often loomed large. The Laurier + Government, therefore, proposed shortly after its accession to power in + 1896 that an attempt should be made to clear away all outstanding issues + and to effect a trade agreement. A Joint High Commission was constituted + in 1898. The members from the United States were Senator Fairbanks, + Senator Gray, Representative Nelson Dingley, General Foster, J.A. Kasson, + and T.J. Coolidge of the State Department. Great Britain was represented + by Lord Herschell, who acted as chairman, Newfoundland by Sir James + Winter, and Canada by Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Sir Richard Cartwright, Sir + Louis Davies, and John Charlton, M.P. + </p> + <p> + The Commission held prolonged sittings, first at Quebec and later at + Washington, and reached tentative agreement on nearly all of the + troublesome questions at issue. The bonding privileges on both sides the + border were to be given an assured basis; the unneighborly alien labor + laws were to be relaxed; the Rush-Bagot Convention regarding armament on + the Great Lakes was to be revised; Canadian vessels were to abandon + pelagic sealing in Bering Sea for a money compensation; and a reciprocity + treaty covering natural products and some manufactures was sketched out. + Yet no agreement followed. One issue, the Alaska boundary, proved + insoluble, and as no agreement was acceptable which did not cover every + difference, the Commission never again assembled after its adjournment in + February, 1899. + </p> + <p> + The boundary between Alaska and the Dominion was the only bit of the + border line not yet determined. As in former cases of boundary disputes, + the inaccuracies of map makers, the ambiguities of diplomats, the clash of + local interests, and stiff-necked national pride made a settlement + difficult. In 1825 Russia and Great Britain had signed a treaty which + granted Russia a long panhandle strip down the Pacific coast. With the + purchase of Alaska in 1867 the United States succeeded to Russia's claim. + With the growth of settlement in Canada this long barrier down half of her + Pacific coast was found to be irksome. Attempt after attempt to have the + line determined only added to the stock of memorials in official + pigeonholes. Then came the discovery of gold in the Klondike in 1896, and + the question of easy access by sea to the Canadian back country became an + urgent one. Canada offered to compromise, admitting the American title to + the chief ports on Lynn Canal, Dyea and Skagway, if Pyramid Harbor were + held Canadian. She urged arbitration on the model the United States had + dictated in the Venezuela dispute. But the United States was in possession + of the most important points. Its people believed the Canadian claims had + been trumped up when the Klondike fields were opened. The Puget Sound + cities wanted no breach in their monopoly of the supply trade to the + north. The only concession the United States would make was to refer the + dispute to a commission of six, three from each country, with the proviso + that no area settled by Americans should in any event pass into other + bands. Canada felt that arbitration under these conditions would either + end in deadlock, leaving the United States in possession, or in concession + by one or more of the British representatives, and so declined to accept + the proposed arrangement. + </p> + <p> + Finally, in 1903, agreement was reached between London and Washington to + accept the tribunal proposed by the United States, which in turn withdrew + its veto on the transfer of any settled area. Canada's reluctant consent + was won by a provision that the members of the tribunal should be + "impartial jurists of repute," sworn to render a judicial verdict. When + Elihu Root, Senator Lodge, and Senator Turner were named as the American + representatives, Ottawa protested that eminent and honorable as they were, + their public attitude on this question made it impossible to consider them + "impartial jurists." The Canadian Government in return nominated three + judges, Lord Alverstone, Lord Chief Justice of England, Sir Louis Jette, + of Quebec, and Mr. Justice Armour, succeeded on his death by A. B. + Aylesworth, a leader of the Ontario bar. The tribunal met in London, where + the case was thoroughly argued. + </p> + <p> + The Treaty of 1825 had provided that the southern boundary should follow + the Portland Canal to the fifty-sixth parallel of latitude and thence the + summits of the mountains parallel to the coast, with the stipulation that + if the summit of the mountains anywhere proved to be more than ten marine + leagues from the ocean, a line drawn parallel to the windings of the coast + not more than ten leagues distant should form the boundary. Three + questions arose: What was the Portland Canal? Did the treaty assure Russia + an unbroken strip by making the boundary run round the ends of deep + inlets? Did mountains exist parallel to the coast within ten leagues' + distance? In October these questions received their answer. Lord + Alverstone and the three American members decided in favor of the United + States on the main issues. The two Canadian, representatives refused to + sign the award and denounced it as unjudicial and unwarranted. + </p> + <p> + The decision set Canada aflame. Lord Alverstone was denounced in + unmeasured terms. From Atlantic to Pacific the charge was echoed that once + more the interests of Canada had been sacrificed by Britain on the altar + of Anglo-American friendship. The outburst was not understood abroad. It + was not, as United States opinion imagined, merely childish petulance or + the whining of a poor loser. It was against Great Britain, not against the + United States, that the criticism was directed. It was not the decision, + but the way in which it was made, that roused deep anger. The decision on + the main issue, that the line ran back of even the deepest inlets and + barred Canada from a single harbor, though unwelcome, was accepted as a + judicial verdict and has since been little questioned. The finding that + the boundary should follow certain mountains behind those Canada urged, + but short of the ten league line, was attacked by the Canadian + representatives as a compromise, and its judicial character is certainly + open to some doubt. But it was on the third finding that the thunders + broke. The United States had contended that the Portland Channel of the + treaty makers ran south of four islands which lay east of Prince of Wales + Island, and Canada that it ran north of these islands. Lord Alverstone, + after joining in a judgment with the Canadian commissioners that it ran + north, suddenly, without any conference with them, and, as the wording of + the award showed, by agreement with the United States representatives, + announced that it ran where no one had ever suggested it could run, north + of two and south of two, thus dividing the land in dispute. The islands + were of little importance even strategically, but the incontrovertible + evidence that instead of a judicial finding a political compromise had + been effected was held of much importance. After a time the storm died + down, but it revealed one unmistakable fact: Canadian nationalism was + growing fully as fast as Canadian imperialism. + </p> + <p> + The relations between Canada and the United States now came to show the + effect of increasingly close business connections. The northward trek of + tens of thousands of American farmers was under way. United States + capitalists began to invest heavily in farm and timber lands. Factory + after factory opened a Canadian branch. Ten years later these investments + exceeded six hundred millions. In the West, James J. Hill was planning the + expansion of the Great Northern system throughout the prairie provinces + and was securing an interest in the great Crow's Nest Pass coal fields. + Tourist travel multiplied. The two peoples came to know each other better + than ever before, and with knowledge many prejudices and misunderstandings + vanished. Canada's growing prosperity did not merely bring greater + individual intercourse; it made the United States as a whole less + patronizing in its dealings with its neighbor and Canada less querulous + and thin-skinned. + </p> + <p> + In this more favorable temper many old issues were cleared off the slate. + The northeastern fisheries question, revived by a conflict between + Newfoundland and the United States as to treaty privileges, was referred + to the Hague Court in 1909. The verdict of the arbitrators recognized a + measure of right in the contentions of both sides. A detailed settlement + was prescribed which was accepted without demur in the United States, + Newfoundland, and Canada alike. Pelagic sealing in the North Pacific was + barred in 1911 by an international agreement between the United States, + Great Britain, Japan, and Russia. Less success attended the attempt to + arrange joint action to regulate and conserve the fisheries of the Great + Lakes and the salmon fisheries of the Pacific, for the treaty drawn up in + 1911 by the experts from both countries failed to pass the United States + Senate. + </p> + <p> + But the most striking development of the decade was the businesslike and + neighborly solution found for the settlement of the boundary waters + controversy. The growing demands for the use of streams such as the + Niagara, the St. Lawrence, and the Sault for power purposes, and of + western border rivers for irrigation schemes, made it essential to take + joint action to reconcile not merely the conflicting claims from the + opposite sides of the border but the conflicting claims of power and + navigation and other interests in each country. In 1905 a temporary + waterways commission was appointed, and four years later the Boundary + Waters Treaty provided for the establishment of a permanent Joint High + Commission, consisting of three representatives from each country, and + with authority over all cases of use, obstruction, or diversion of border + waters. Individual citizens of either country were allowed to present + their case directly before the Commission, an innovation in international + practice. Still more significant of the new spirit was the inclusion in + this treaty of a clause providing for reference to the Commission, with + the consent of the United States Senate and the Dominion Cabinet, of any + matter whatever at issue between the two countries. With little discussion + and as a matter of course, the two democracies, in the closing years of a + full century of peace, thus made provision for the sane and friendly + settlement of future line-fence disputes. + </p> + <p> + The chief barrier to good relations was the customs tariff. Protectionism, + and the attitude of which it was born and which it bred in turn, was still + firmly entrenched in both countries. Tariff bars, it is true, had not been + able to prevent the rapid growth of trade; imports from the United States + to Canada had grown especially fast and Canada now ranked third in the + list of the Republic's customers. Yet in many ways the tariff hindered + free intercourse. Though every dictate of self-interest and good sense + demanded a reduction of duties, Canada would not and did not take the + initiative. Time and again she had sought reciprocity, only to have her + proposals rejected, often with contemptuous indifference. When Sir Wilfrid + Laurier announced in 1900 that there would be no more pilgrimages to + Washington, he voiced the almost unanimous opinion of a people whose pride + had been hurt by repeated rebuffs. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile protectionist sentiment had grown stronger in Canada. The + opening of the West had given an expanding market for eastern factories + and had seemingly justified the National Policy. The Liberals, the + traditional upholders of freer trade, after some initial redemptions of + their pledges, had compromised with the manufacturing interests. The + Conservatives, still more protectionist in temper, voiced in Parliament + little criticism of this policy, and the free trade elements among the + farmers were as yet unorganized and inarticulate. Signs of this + protectionist revival, which had in it, as in the seventies, an element of + nationalism, were many. A four-story tariff was erected. The lowest rates + were those granted the United Kingdom; then came the intermediate tariff, + for the products of countries giving Canada special terms; next the + general tariff; and, finally, the surtax for use against powers + discriminating in any special degree against the Dominion. The provinces + one by one forbade the export of pulp wood cut on Crown Lands, in order to + assure its manufacture into wood pulp or paper in Canada. The Dominion in + 1907 secured the abrogation of the postal convention made with the United + States in 1875 providing for the reciprocal free distribution of second + class mail matter originating in the other country. This step was taken at + the instance of Canadian manufacturers, alarmed at the effect of the + advertising pages of United States magazines in directing trade across the + line. Yet even with such developments, the Canadian tariff remained lower + than its neighbor's. + </p> + <p> + In the United States the tendency was in the other direction. With the + growth of cities, the interests of the consumers of foods outweighed the + influence of the producers. Manufacturers in many cases had reached the + export stage, where foreign markets, cheap food, and cheap raw materials + were more necessary than a protected home market. The "muckrakers" were at + the height of their activity; and the tariff, as one instrument of + corruption and privilege, was suffering with the popular condemnation of + all big interests. United States newspapers were eager for free wood pulp + and cheaper paper, just as Canadian newspapers defended the policy of + checking export. It was not surprising, therefore, that reciprocity with + Canada, as one means of increasing trade and reducing the tariff, took on + new popularity. New England was the chief seat of the movement, with Henry + M. Whitney and Eugene N. Foss as its most persistent advocates. Detroit, + Chicago, St. Paul, and other border cities were also active. + </p> + <p> + Official action soon followed this unofficial campaign. Curiously enough, + it came as an unexpected by-product of a further experiment in protection, + the Payne-Aldrich tariff. For the first time in the experience of the + United States this tariff incorporated the principle of minimum and + maximum schedules. The maximum rates, fixed at twenty-five per cent ad + valorem above the normal or minimum rates, were to be enforced upon the + goods of any country which had not, before March 10, 1910, satisfied the + President that it did not discriminate against the products of the United + States. One by one the various nations demonstrated this to President + Taft's satisfaction or with wry faces made the readjustments necessary. At + last Canada alone remained. The United States conceded that the preference + to the United Kingdom did not constitute discrimination, but it insisted + that it should enjoy the special rates recently extended to France by + treaty. In Canada this demand was received with indignation. Its tariff + rates were much lower than those which the United States imposed, and its + purchases in that country were twice as great as its sales. The demand was + based on a sudden and complete reversal of the traditional American + interpretation of the most favored nation policy. The President admitted + the force of Canada's contentions, but the law left him no option. + Fortunately it did leave him free to decide as to the adequacy of any + concessions, and thus agreement was made possible at the eleventh hour. At + the President's suggestion a conference at Albany was arranged, and on the + 30th of March a bargain was struck. Canada conceded to the United States + its intermediate tariff rates on thirteen minor schedules—chinaware, + nuts, prunes, and whatnot. These were accepted as equivalent to the + special terms given France, and Canada was certified as being entitled to + minimum rates. The United States had saved its face. Then to complete the + comedy, Canada immediately granted the same concessions to all other + countries, that is, made the new rates part of the general tariff. The + United States ended where it began, in receipt of no special concessions. + The motions required had been gone through; phantom reductions had been + made to meet a phantom discrimination. + </p> + <p> + This was only the beginning of attempts at accommodation. The threat of + tariff war had called forth in the United States loud protests against any + such reversion to economic barbarism. President Taft realized that he had + antagonized the growing low-tariff sentiment of the country by his support + of the Payne-Aldrich tariff and was eager to set himself right. A week + before the March negotiations were concluded, a Democratic candidate had + carried a strongly Republican congressional district in Massachusetts on a + platform of reciprocity with Canada. The President, therefore, proposed a + bold stroke. He made a sweeping offer of better trade relations. + Negotiations were begun at Ottawa and concluded in Washington. In January, + 1911, announcement was made that a broad agreement had been effected. + Grain, fruit, and vegetables, dairy and most farm products, fish, hewn + timber and sawn lumber, and several minerals were put on the free list. A + few manufactures were also made free, and the duties on meats, flour, + coal, agricultural implements, and other products were substantially + reduced. The compact was to be carried out, not by treaty, but by + concurrent legislation. Canada was to extend the same terms to the most + favored nations by treaty, and to all parts of the British Empire by + policy. + </p> + <p> + For fifty years the administrations of the two countries had never been so + nearly at one. More difficulty was met with in the legislatures. In + Congress, farmers and fishermen, standpat Republicans and Progressives + hostile to the Administration, waged war against the bargain. It was only + in a special session, and with the aid of Democratic votes and a + Washington July sun, that the opposition was overcome. In the Canadian + Parliament, after some initial hesitation, the Conservatives attacked the + proposal. The Government had a safe majority, but the Opposition resorted + to obstruction; and late in July, Parliament was suddenly dissolved and + the Government appealed to the country. + </p> + <p> + When the bargain was first concluded, the Canadian Government had imagined + it would meet little opposition, for it was precisely the type of + agreement that Government after Government, Conservative as well as + Liberal, had sought in vain for over forty years. For a day or two that + expectation was justified. Then the forces of opposition rallied, timid + questioning gave way to violent denunciation, and at last agreement and + Government alike were swept away in a flood of popular antagonism. + </p> + <p> + One reason for this result was that the verdict was given in a general + election, not in a referendum. The fate of the Government was involved; + its general record was brought up for review; party ambitions and passions + were stirred to the utmost. Fifteen years, of office-holding had meant the + accumulation of many scandals, a slackening in administrative efficiency, + and the cooling by official compromise of the ardent faith of the + Liberalism of the earlier day. The Government had failed to bring in + enough new blood. The Opposition fought with the desperation of fifteen + years of fasting and was better served by its press. + </p> + <p> + Of the side issues introduced into the campaign, the most important were + the naval policy in Quebec and the racial and religious issue in the + English-speaking provinces. The Government had to face what Sir Wilfrid + Laurier termed "the unholy alliance" of Roman Catholic Nationalists under + Bourassa in Quebec and Protestant Imperialists in Ontario. In the + French-speaking districts the Government was denounced for allowing Canada + to be drawn into the vortex of militarism and imperialism and for + sacrificing the interests of Roman Catholic schools in the West. On every + hand the naval policy was attacked as inevitably bringing in its train + conscription to fight European wars a contention hotly denied by the + Liberals. The Conservative campaign managers made a working arrangement + with the Nationalists as to candidates and helped liberally in circulating + Bourassa's newspaper, Le Devoir. On the back "concessions" of Ontario a + quieter but no less effective campaign was carried on against the + domination of Canadian politics by a French Roman Catholic province and a + French Roman Catholic Prime Minister. In vain the Liberals appealed to + national unity or started back fires in Ontario by insisting that a vote + for Borden meant a vote for Bourassa. The Conservative-Nationalist + alliance cost the Government many seats in Quebec and apparently did not + frighten Ontario. + </p> + <p> + Reciprocity, however, was the principal issue everywhere except in Quebec. + Powerful forces were arrayed against it. Few manufactures had been put on + the free list, but the argument that the reciprocity agreement was the + thin edge of the wedge rallied the organized manufacturers in almost + unbroken hostile array. The railways, fearful that western traffic would + be diverted to United States roads, opposed the agreement vigorously under + the leadership of the ex-American chairman of the board of directors of + the Canadian Pacific, Sir William Van Horne, who made on this occasion one + of his few public entries into politics. The banks, closely involved in + the manufacturing and railway interests, threw their weight in the same + direction. They were aided by the prevalence of protectionist sentiment in + the eastern cities and industrial towns, which were at the same stage of + development and in the same mood as the cities of the United States some + decades earlier. The Liberal fifteen-year compromise with protection made + it difficult in a seven weeks' campaign to revive a desire for freer + trade. The prosperity of the country and the cry, "Let well enough alone," + told powerfully against the bargain. Yet merely from the point of view of + economic advantage, the popular verdict would probably have been in its + favor. The United States market no longer loomed so large as it had in the + eighties, but its value was undeniable. Farmer, fisherman, and miner stood + to gain substantially by the lowering of the bars into the richest market + in the world. Every farm paper in Canada and all the important farm + organizations supported reciprocity. Its opponents, therefore, did not + trust to a direct frontal attack. Their strategy was to divert attention + from the economic advantages by raising the cry of political danger. The + red herring of annexation was drawn across the trail, and many a farmer + followed it to the polling booth. + </p> + <p> + From the outset, then, the opponents of reciprocity concentrated their + attacks on its political perils. They denounced the reciprocity agreement + as the forerunner of annexation, the deathblow to Canadian nationality and + British connection. They prophesied that the trade and intercourse built + up between the East and the West of Canada by years of sacrifice and + striving would shrivel away, and that each section of the Dominion would + become a mere appendage to the adjacent section of the United States. + Where the treasure was, there would the heart be also. After some years of + reciprocity, the channels of Canadian trade would be so changed that a + sudden return to high protection on the part of the United States would + disrupt industry and a mere threat of such a change would lead to a + movement for complete union. + </p> + <p> + This prophecy was strengthened by apposite quotations showing the existing + drift of opinion in the United States. President Taft's reference to the + "light and imperceptible bond uniting the Dominion with the mother + country" and his "parting of the ways" speech received sinister + interpretations. Speaker Champ Clark's announcement that he was in favor + of the agreement because he hoped "to see the day when the American flag + will float over every square foot of the British North American + possessions" was worth tens of thousands of votes. The anti-reciprocity + press of Canada seized upon these utterances, magnified them, and + sometimes, it was charged, inspired or invented them. Every American + crossroads politician who found a useful peroration in a vision of the + Stars and Stripes floating from Panama to the North Pole was represented + as a statesman of national power voicing a universal sentiment. The action + of the Hearst papers in sending pro-reciprocity editions into the border + cities of Canada made many votes—but not for reciprocity. The + Canadian public proved that it was unable to suffer fools gladly. It was + vain to argue that all men of weight in the United States had come to + understand and to respect Canada's independent ambitions; that in any + event it was not what the United States thought but what Canada thought + that mattered; or that the Canadian farmer who sold a bushel of good wheat + to a United States miller no more sold his loyalty with it than a Kipling + selling a volume of verse or a Canadian financier selling a block of stock + in the same market. The flag was waved, and the Canadian voter, mindful of + former American slights and backed by newly arrived Englishmen admirably + organized by the anti-reciprocity forces, turned against any "entangling + alliance." The prosperity of the country made it safe to express + resentment of the slights of half a century or fear of this too sudden + friendliness. + </p> + <p> + The result of the elections, which were held on September 21, 1911, was + the crushing defeat of the Liberal party. A Liberal majority of forty-four + in a house of two hundred and twenty-one members was turned into a + Conservative majority of forty-nine. Eight cabinet ministers went down to + defeat. The Government had a slight majority in the Maritime Provinces and + Quebec, and a large majority in the prairie West, but the overwhelming + victory of the Opposition in Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia + turned the day. + </p> + <p> + The appeal to loyalty revealed much that was worthy and much that was + sordid in Canadian life. It was well that a sturdy national self-reliance + should be developed and expressed in the face of American prophets of + "manifest destiny," and that men should be ready to set ideals above + pocket. It was unfortunate that in order to demonstrate a loyalty which + might have been taken for granted economic advantage was sacrificed; and + it was disturbing to note the ease with which big interests with unlimited + funds for organizing, advertising, and newspaper campaigning, could + pervert national sentiment to serve their own ends. Yet this was possibly + a stage through which Canada, like every young nation, had to pass; and + the gentle art of twisting the lion's tail had proved a model for the + practice of plucking the eagle's feathers. + </p> + <p> + The growth of Canada brought her into closer touch with lands across the + sea. Men, money, and merchandise came from East and West; and with their + coming new problems faced the Government of the Dominion. With Europe they + were trade questions to solve, and with Asia the more delicate issues + arising out of oriental immigration. + </p> + <p> + In 1907 the Canadian Government had established an intermediate tariff, + with rates halfway between the general and the British preferential + tariffs, for the express purpose of bargaining with other powers. In that + year an agreement based substantially on these intermediate rates was + negotiated with France, though protectionist opposition in the French + Senate prevented ratification until 1910. Similar reciprocal arrangements + were concluded in 1910 with Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy. The + manner of the negotiation was as significant as the matter. In the case of + France the treaty was negotiated in Paris by two Canadian ministers, W.S. + Fielding and L.P. Brodeur, appointed plenipotentiaries of His Majesty for + that purpose, with the British Ambassador associated in what Mr. Arthur + Balfour termed a "purely technical" capacity. In the case of the other + countries even this formal recognition of the old colonial status was + abandoned. The agreement with Italy was negotiated in Canada between "the + Royal Consul of Italy for Canada, representing the government of the + Kingdom of Italy, and the Minister of Finance of Canada, representing His + Excellency the Governor General acting in conjunction with the King's + Privy Council for Canada." The conclusions in these later instances were + embodied in conventions, rather than formal treaties. + </p> + <p> + With one country, however, tariff war reigned instead of treaty peace. In + 1899 Germany subjected Canadian exports to her general or maximum tariff, + because the Dominion refused to grant her the preferential rates reserved + for members of the British Empire group of countries. After four years' + deliberation Canada eventually retaliated by imposing on German goods a + special surtax of thirty-three and one-third per cent. The trade of both + countries suffered, but Germany's, being more specialized, much the more + severely. After seven years' strife, Germany took the initiative in + proposing a truce. In 1910 Canada agreed to admit German goods at the + rates of the general—not the intermediate—tariff, while + Germany in return waived her protest against the British preference and + granted minimum rates on the most important Canadian exports. + </p> + <p> + Oriental immigration had been an issue in Canada ever since Chinese + navvies had been imported in the early eighties to work on the government + sections of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Mine owners, fruit farmers, and + contractors were anxious that the supply should continue unchecked; but, + as in the United States, the economic objections of the labor unions and + the political objections of the advocates of a "White Canada" carried the + day. + </p> + <p> + Chinese immigration had been restricted in 1885 by a head tax of $50 on + all immigrants save officials, merchants, or scholars; in 1901 this tax + was doubled; and in 1904 it was raised to $500. In each case the tax + proved a barrier only for a year or two, when wages would rise + sufficiently to warrant Orientals paying the higher toll to enter the + Promised Land. Japanese immigrants did not come in large numbers until + 1906, when the activities of employment companies brought seven thousand + Japanese by way of Hawaii. Agitators from the Pacific States fanned the + flames of opposition in British Columbia, and anti-Chinese and + anti-Japanese riots broke out in Vancouver in 1907. The Dominion + Government then grappled with the question. Japan's national sensitiveness + and her position as an ally of Great Britain called for diplomatic + handling. A member of the Dominion Cabinet, Rodolphe Lemieux, succeeded in + 1907 in negotiating at Tokio an agreement by which Japan herself undertook + to restrict the number of passports issued annually to emigrants to + Canada. + </p> + <p> + The Hindu migration, which began in 1907, gave rise to a still more + delicate situation. What did the British Empire mean, many a Hindu asked, + if British subjects were to be barred from British lands? The only reply + was that the British Government which still ruled India no longer ruled + the Dominions, and that it was on the Dominions that the responsibility + for the exclusion policy must rest. In 1909 Canada suggested that the + Indian Government itself should limit emigration, but this policy did not + meet with approval at the time. Failing in this measure, the Laurier + Government fell back on a general clause in the Immigration Act + prohibiting the entrance of immigrants except by direct passage from the + country of origin and on a continuous ticket, a rule which effectually + barred the Hindu because of the lack of any direct steamship line between + India and Canada. An Order-in-Council further required that immigrants + from all Asiatic countries must possess at least $200 on entering Canada. + The Borden Government supplemented these restrictions by a special + Order-in-Council in 1913 prohibiting the landing of artisans or unskilled + laborers of any race at ports in British Columbia, ostensibly because of + depression in the labor market. The leaders of the Hindu movement, with + apparently some German assistance, determined to test these restrictions. + In May, 1914, there arrived at Vancouver from Shanghai a Japanese ship + carrying four hundred Sikhs from India. A few were admitted, as having + been previously domiciled in Canada; the others, after careful inquiry, + were refused admittance and ordered to be deported. Local police were + driven away from the ship when attempting to enforce the order, and the + Government ordered H.M.C.S. Rainbow to intervene. By a curious irony of + history, the first occasion on which this first Canadian warship was + called on to display force was in expelling from Canada the subjects of + another part of the British Empire. Further trouble followed when the + Sikhs reached Calcutta in September, 1914, for riots took place involving + serious loss of life and later an abortive attempt at rebellion. + Fortunately there were good prospects that the Indian Government would in + future accept the proposal made by Canada in 1909. At the Imperial + Conference of 1917, where representatives of India were present for the + first time, it was agreed to recommend the principle of reciprocity in the + treatment of immigrants, India thus being free to save her pride by + imposing on men from the Dominions the same restrictions the Dominions + imposed on immigrants from India. + </p> + <p> + But all these dealings with lands across the sea paled into insignificance + beside the task imposed on Canada by the Great War. In the sudden crisis + the Dominion attained a place among the nations which the slower changes + of peace time could scarcely have made possible in decades. + </p> + <p> + When the war party in Germany and Austria-Hungary plunged Europe into the + struggle the world had long been fearing, there was not a moment's + hesitation on the part of the people of Canada. It was not merely the + circumstance that technically Canada was at war when Britain was at war + that led Canadians to instant action. The degree of participation, if not + the fact of war, was wholly a matter for the separate Dominions. It was + the deep and abiding sympathy with the mother country whose very existence + was to be at stake. Later, with the unfolding of Germany's full designs of + world dominance and the repeated display of her callous and ruthless + policies, Canada comprehended the magnitude of the danger threatening all + the world and grimly set herself to help end the menace of militarism once + for all. + </p> + <p> + On August 1, 1914, two days before Belgium was invaded, and three days + before war between Britain and Germany had been declared, the Dominion + Government cabled to London their firm assurance that the people of Canada + would make every sacrifice necessary to secure the integrity and honor of + the Empire and asked for suggestions as to the form aid should take. The + financial and administrative measures the emergency demanded were carried + out by Orders-in-Council in accordance with the scheme of defense which + only a few months before had been drawn up in a "War Book". Two weeks + later, Parliament met in a special four day session and without a + dissenting voice voted the war credits the Government asked and conferred + upon it special war powers of the widest scope. The country then set about + providing men, money, and munitions of war. + </p> + <p> + The day after war was declared, recruiting was begun for an expeditionary + force of 21,000 men. Half as many more poured into the camp at Valcartier + near Quebec; and by the middle of October this first Canadian contingent, + over 30,000 strong, the largest body of troops which had ever crossed the + Atlantic, was already in England, where its training was to be completed. + As the war went on and all previous forecasts of its duration and its + scale were far outrun, these numbers were multiplied many times. By the + summer of 1917 over 400,000 men had been enrolled for service, and over + 340,000 had already gone overseas, aside from over 25,000 Allied + reservists. + </p> + <p> + Naturally enough it was the young men of British birth who first responded + in large numbers to the recruiting officer's appeal. A military + background, vivid home memories, the enlistment of kinsmen or friends + overseas, the frequent slightness of local ties, sent them forth in + splendid and steady array. Then the call came home to the native-born, and + particularly to Canadians of English speech. Few of them had dreamed of + war, few had been trained even in militia musters; but in tens of + thousands they volunteered. From French-speaking Canada the response was + slower, in spite of the endeavors of the leaders of the Opposition as well + as of the Government to encourage enlistment. In some measure this was + only to be expected. Quebec was dominantly rural; its men married young, + and the country parishes had little touch with the outside world. Its + people had no racial sympathy with Britain and their connection with + France had long been cut by the cessation of immigration from that + country. Yet this is not the complete explanation of that aloofness which + marked a great part of Quebec. Account must be taken also of the + resentment caused by exaggerated versions of the treatment accorded the + French-Canadian minority in the schools of Ontario and the West, and + especially of the teaching of the Nationalists, led by Henri Bourassa, who + opposed active Canadian participation in the war. Lack of tact on the part + of the Government and reckless taunts from extremists in Ontario made the + breach steadily wider. Yet there were many encouraging considerations. + Another grandson of the leader of '37, Talbot Papineau, fell fighting + bravely, and it was a French-Canadian battalion, Les Vingt Deuxiemes, + which won the honors at Courcelette. + </p> + <p> + When the war first broke out, no one thought of any but voluntary methods + of enlistment. As the magnitude of the task came home to men and the + example of Great Britain had its influence, voices began to be raised in + favor of compulsion. Sir Robert Borden, the Premier, and Sir Wilfrid + Laurier alike opposed the suggestion. Early in 1917 the adoption of + conscription in the United States, and the need of reenforcements for the + Canadian forces at the front led the Prime Minister, immediately after his + return from the Imperial Conference in London, to bring down a measure for + compulsory service. He urged in behalf of this course that the need for + men was urgent beyond all question; that the voluntary system, wasteful + and unfair at best, had ceased to bring more than six or seven thousand + men a month, chiefly for other than infantry ranks; and that only by + compulsion could Quebec be brought to shoulder her fair share and the + slackers in all the provinces be made to rise to the need. It was + contended, on the other hand, that great as was the need for men, the need + for food, which Canada could best of all countries supply, was greater + still; that voluntary recruiting had yielded over four hundred thousand + men, proportionately equivalent to six million from the United States, and + was slackening only because the reservoir was nearly drained dry; and that + Quebec could be brought into line more effectively by conciliation than by + compulsion. + </p> + <p> + The issue of conscription brought to an end the political truce which had + been declared in August, 1914. The keener partisans on both sides had not + long been able to abide on the heights of non-political patriotism which + they had occupied in the first generous weeks of the war. But the public + was weary of party cries and called for unity. Suggestions of a coalition + were made at different times, but the party in power, new to the sweets of + office, confident of its capacity, and backed by a strong majority, gave + little heed to the demand. Now, however, the strong popular opposition + offered to the announcement of conscription led the Prime Minister to + propose to Sir Wilfrid Laurier a coalition Government on a conscription + basis. Sir Wilfrid, while continuing to express his desire to cooperate in + any way that would advance the common cause, declined to enter a coalition + to carry out a programme decided upon without consultation and likely, in + his view, to wreck national unity without securing any compensating + increase in numbers beyond what a vigorous and sympathetic voluntary + campaign could yet obtain. + </p> + <p> + For months negotiations continued within Parliament and without. The + Military Service Act was passed in August, 1917, with the support of the + majority of the English-speaking members of the Opposition. Then the + Government, which had already secured the passage of an Act providing for + taking the votes of the soldiers overseas, forced through under closure a + measure depriving of the franchise all aliens of enemy birth or speech who + had been admitted to citizenship since 1902, and giving a vote to every + adult woman relative of a soldier on active service. Victory for the + Government now appeared certain. Leading English-peaking Liberals, + particularly from the West, convinced that conscription was necessary to + keep Canada's forces up to the need, or that the War Times Election Act + made opposition hopeless, decided to accept Sir Robert Borden's offer of + seats in a coalition Cabinet. + </p> + <p> + In the election of December, 1917, in which passion and prejudice were + stirred as never before in the history of Canada, the Unionist forces won + by a sweeping majority. Ontario and the West were almost solidly behind + the Government in the number of members elected, Quebec as solidly against + it, and the Maritime Provinces nearly evenly divided. The soldiers' vote, + contrary to Australian experience, was overwhelmingly for conscription. + The Laurier Liberals polled more civilian votes in Ontario, Quebec, + Alberta, and British Columbia, and in the Dominion as a whole, than the + united Liberal party had received in the Reciprocity election of 1911. The + increase in the Unionist popular vote was still greater, however, and gave + the Government fifty-eight per cent of the popular vote and sixty-five per + cent of the seats in the House. Confidence in the administrative capacity + of the new Government, the belief that it would be more vigorous in + carrying on the war, the desire to make Quebec do its share, the influence + of the leaders of the Western Liberals and of the Grain Growers' + Associations, wholesale promises of exemption to farmers, and the working + of the new franchise law all had their part in the result. Eight months + after the Military Service Act was passed, it had added only twenty + thousand men to the nearly five hundred thousand volunteers; but steps + were then taken to cancel exemptions and to simplify the machinery of + administration. Some eighty thousand men were raised under conscription, + but the war, so far as Canada was concerned, was fought and won by + volunteers. + </p> + <p> + "The self-governing British colonies," wrote Bernhardi before the war, + "have at their disposal a militia, which is sometimes only in process of + formation. They can be completely ignored so far as concerns any European + theater of war." This contemptuous forecast might have been justified had + German expectations of a short war been fulfilled. Though large and + increasing sums had in recent years been spent on the Canadian militia and + on a small permanent force, the work of building up an army on the scale + the war demanded had virtually to be begun from the foundation. It was + pushed ahead with vigor, under the direction, for the first three years, + of the Minister of Militia, General Sir Sam Hughes. Many mistakes were + made. Complaints of waste in supply departments and of slackness of + discipline among the troops were rife in the early months. But the work + went on; and when the testing time came, Canada's civilian soldiers held + their own with any veterans on either side the long line of trenches. + </p> + <p> + It was in April, 1915, at the second battle of Ypres—or, as it is + more often termed in Canada, St. Julien or Langemarck—that the + quality of the men of the first contingent was blazoned forth. The Germans + had launched a determined attack on the junction of the French and + Canadian forces, seeking to drive through to Calais. The use, for the + first time, of asphyxiating gases drove back in confusion the French + colonial troops on the left of the Canadians. Attacked and outflanked by a + German army of 150,000 men, four Canadian brigades, immensely inferior in + heavy artillery and tortured by the poisonous fumes, filled the gap, + hanging on doggedly day and night until reenforcements came and Calais was + saved. In sober retrospection it was almost incredible that the thin khaki + line had held against the overwhelming odds which faced it. A few weeks + later, at Givenchy and Festubert, in the same bloody salient of Ypres, the + Canadian division displayed equal courage with hardly equal success. In + the spring of 1916, when the Canadian forces grew first to three and then + to four divisions, heavy toll was taken at St. Eloi and Sanctuary Wood. + </p> + <p> + When they were shifted from the Ypres sector to the Somme, the dashing + success at Courcelette showed them as efficient in offense as in defense. + In 1917 a Canadian general, Sir Arthur Currie, three years before only a + business man of Vancouver, took command of the Canadian troops. The + capture of Vimy Ridge, key to the whole Arras position, after months of + careful preparation, the hard-fought struggle for Lens, and toward the + close of the year the winning of the Passchendaele Ridge, at heavy cost, + were instances of the increasing scale and importance of the operations + entrusted to Currie's men. + </p> + <p> + In the closing year of the war the Canadian corps played a still more + distinctive and essential part. During the early months of 1918, when the + Germans were making their desperate thrusts for Paris and the Channel, the + Canadians held little of the line that was attacked. Their divisions had + been withdrawn in turn for special training in open warfare movements, in + close cooperation with tanks and air forces. When the time came to launch + the Allied offensive, they were ready. It was Canadian troops who broke + the hitherto unbreakable Wotan line, or Drocourt-Queant switch; it was + Canadians who served as the spearhead in the decisive thrust against + Cambrai; and it was Canadians who captured Mons, the last German + stronghold taken before the armistice was signed, and thus ended the war + at the very spot where the British "Old Contemptibles" had begun their + dogged fight four years before. + </p> + <p> + Through all the years of war the Canadian forces never lost a gun nor + retired from a position they had consolidated. Canadians were the first to + practice trench raiding; and Canadian cadets thronged that branch of the + service, the Royal Flying Corps, where steady nerves and individual + initiative were at a premium. In countless actions they proved their + fitness to stand shoulder to shoulder with the best that Britain and + France and the United States could send: they asked no more than that. The + casualty list of 220,000 men, of whom 60,000 sleep forever in the fields + of France and Flanders and in the plains of England, witnesses the price + this people of eight millions paid as its share in the task of freeing the + world from tyranny. + </p> + <p> + The realization that in a world war not merely the men in the trenches but + the whole nation could and must be counted as part of the fighting force + was slow in coming in Canada as in other democratic and unwarlike lands. + Slowly the industry of the country was adjusted to a war basis. When the + conflict broke out, the country was pulling itself together after the + sudden collapse of the speculative boom of the preceding decade. For a + time men were content to hold their organization together and to avert the + slackening of trade and the spread of unemployment which they feared. + Then, as the industrial needs and opportunities of the war became clear, + they rallied. Field and factory vied in expansion, and the Canadian + contribution of food and munitions provided a very substantial share of + the Allies' needs. Exports increased threefold, and the total trade was + more than doubled as compared with the largest year before the war. + </p> + <p> + The financing of the war and of the industrial expansion which accompanied + it was a heavy task. For years Canada had looked to Great Britain for a + large share alike of public and of private borrowings. Now it became + necessary not merely to find at home all the capital required for ordinary + development but to meet the burden of war expenditure, and later to + advance to Great Britain the funds she required for her purchase of + supplies in Canada. The task was made easier by the effective working of a + banking system which had many times proved its soundness and its + flexibility. When the money market of Britain was no longer open to + overseas borrowers, the Dominion first turned to the United States, where + several federal and provincial loans were floated, and later to her own + resources. Domestic loans were issued on an increasing scale and with + increasing success, and the Victory Loan of 1918 enrolled one out of every + eight Canadians among its subscribers. Taxation reached an adequate basis + more slowly. Inertia and the influence of business interests led the + Government to cling for the first two years to customs and excise duties + as its main reliance. Then excess profits and income taxes of steadily + increasing weight were imposed, and the burdens were distributed more + fairly. The Dominion was able not only to meet the whole expenditure of + its armed forces but to reverse the relations which existed before the war + and to become, as far as current liabilities went, a creditor rather than + a debtor of the United Kingdom. + </p> + <p> + It was not merely the financial relations of Canada with the United + Kingdom which required readjustment. The service and the sacrifices which + the Dominions had made in the common cause rendered it imperative that the + political relations between the different parts of the Empire should be + put on a more definite and equal basis. The feeling was widespread that + the last remnants of the old colonial subordination must be removed and + that the control exercised by the Dominions should be extended over the + whole field of foreign affairs. + </p> + <p> + The Imperial Conference met in London in the spring of 1917. At special + War Cabinet meetings the representatives of the Dominions discussed war + plans and peace terms with the leaders of Britain. It was decided to hold + a Conference immediately after the end of the war to discuss the future + constitutional organization of the Empire. Premier Borden and General + Smuts both came out strongly against the projects of imperial + parliamentary federation which aggressive organizations in Britain and in + some of the Dominions had been urging. The Conference of 1917 recorded its + view that any coming readjustment must be based on a full recognition of + the Dominions as autonomous nations of an imperial commonwealth; that it + should recognize the right of the Dominions and of India to an adequate + voice in foreign policy; and that it should provide effective arrangements + for continuous consultation in all important matters of common concern and + for such concerted action as the several Governments should determine. The + policy of alliance, of cooperation between the Governments of the equal + and independent states of the Empire, searchingly tested and amply + justified by the war, had compelled assent. + </p> + <p> + The coming of peace gave occasion for a wider and more formal recognition + of the new international status of the Dominions. It had first been + proposed that the British Empire should appear as a unit, with the + representatives of the Dominions present merely in an advisory capacity or + participating in turn as members of the British delegation. The Dominion + statesmen assembled in London and Paris declined to assent to this + proposal, and insisted upon representation in the Peace Conference and in + the League of Nations in their own right. The British Government, after + some debate, acceded, and, with more difficulty, the consent of the + leading Allies was won. The representatives of the Dominions signed the + treaty with Germany on behalf of their respective countries, and each + Dominion, with India, was made a member of the League. At the same time + only the British Empire, and not any of the Dominions, was given a place + in the real organ of power, the Executive Council of the League, and in + many respects the exact relationship between the United Kingdom and the + other parts of the Empire in international affairs was left ambiguous, for + later events and counsel to determine. Many French and American observers + who had not kept in close touch with the growth of national consciousness + within the British Empire were apprehensive lest this plan should prove a + deep-laid scheme for multiplying British influence in the Conference and + the League. Some misunderstanding was natural in view not only of the + unprecedented character of the Empire's development and polity, but of the + incomplete and ambiguous nature of the compromise affected at Paris + between the nationalist and the imperialist tendencies within the Empire. + Yet the reluctance of the British imperialists of the straiter sect to + accede to the new arrangement, and the independence of action of the + Dominion representatives at the Conference, as in the stand of Premier + Hughes of Australia on the Japanese demand for recognition of racial + equality and in the statement of protest by General Smuts of South Africa + on signing the treaty, made it clear that the Dominions would not be + merely echoes. Borden and Botha and Smuts, though new to the ways of + diplomacy, proved that in clear understanding of the broader issues and in + moderation of policy and temper they could bear comparison with any of the + leaders of the older nations. + </p> + <p> + The war also brought changes in the relations between Canada and her great + neighbor. For a time there was danger that it would erect a barrier of + differing ideals and contrary experience. When month after month went by + with the United States still clinging to its policy of neutrality, while + long lists of wounded and dead and missing were filling Canadian + newspapers, a quiet but deep resentment, not without a touch of conscious + superiority, developed in many quarters in the Dominion. Yet there were + others who realized how difficult and how necessary it was for the United + States to attain complete unity of purpose before entering the war, and + how different its position was from that of Canada, where the political + tie with Britain had brought immediate action more instinctive than + reasoned. It was remembered, too, that in the first 360,000 Canadians who + went overseas, there were 12,000 men of American birth, including both + residents in Canada and men who had crossed the border to enlist. When the + patience of the United States was at last exhausted and it took its place + in the ranks of the nations fighting for freedom, the joy of Canadians was + unbounded. The entrance of the United States into the war assured not only + the triumph of democracy in Europe but the continuance and extension of + frank and friendly relations between the democracies of North America. As + the war went on and Canada and the United States were led more and more to + pool their united resources, to cooperate in finance and in the supply of + coal, iron, steel, wheat, and other war essentials, countless new strands + were woven into the bond that held the two countries together. Nor was it + material unity alone that was attained; in the utterances of the head of + the Republic the highest aspirations of Canadians for the future ordering + of the world found incomparable expression. + </p> + <p> + Canada had done what she could to assure the triumph of right in the war. + Not less did she believe that she had a contribution to make toward that + new ordering of the world after the war which alone could compensate her + for the blood and treasure she had spent. It would be her mission to bind + together in friendship and common aspirations the two larger + English-speaking states, with one of which she was linked by history and + with the other by geography. To the world in general Canada had to offer + that achievement of difference in unity, that reconciliation of liberty + with peace and order, which the British Empire was struggling to attain + along paths in which the Dominion had been the chief pioneer. "In the + British Commonwealth of Nations," declared General Smuts, "this transition + from the old legalistic idea of political sovereignty based on force to + the new social idea of constitutional freedom based on consent, has been + gradually evolving for more than a century. And the elements of the future + world government, which will no longer rest on the imperial ideas adopted + from the Roman law, are already in operation in our Commonwealth of + Nations and will rapidly develop in the near future." This may seem an + idealistic aim; yet, as Canada's Prime Minister asked a New York audience + in 1916, "What great and enduring achievement has the world ever + accomplished that was not based on idealism?" + </p> + <p> + BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE + </p> + <p> + For the whole period since 1760 the most comprehensive and thorough work + is "Canada and its Provinces", edited by A. Shortt and A. G. Doughty, 23 + vols. (1914). W. Kingsford's "History of Canada", 10 vols. (1887-1898), is + badly written but is an ample storehouse of material. The "Chronicles of + Canada" series (1914-1916) covers the whole field in a number of popular + volumes, of which several are listed below. F. X. Garneau's "Histoire du + Canada" (1845-1848; new edition, edited by Hector Garneau, 1913-), the + classical French-Canadian record of the development of Canada down to + 1840, is able and moderate in tone, though considered by some critics not + sufficiently appreciative of the Church. + </p> + <p> + Of brief surveys of Canada's history the best are W. L. Grant's "History + of Canada" (1914) and H. E. Egerton's "Canada" (1908). + </p> + <p> + The primary sources are abundant. The Dominion Archives have made a + remarkable collection of original official and private papers and of + transcripts of documents from London and Paris. See D. W. Parker, "A Guide + to the Documents in the Manuscript Room at the Public Archives of Canada" + (1914). Many of these documents are calendared in the "Report on Canadian + Archives" (1882 to date), and complete reprints, systematically arranged + and competently annotated, are being issued by the Archives Branch, of + which A. Shortt and A. G. Doughty, "Documents Relating to the + Constitutional History of Canada", 1759-1791, and Doughty and McArthur, + "Documents Relating to the Constitutional History of Canada", 1791-1818, + have already appeared. A useful collection of speeches and dispatches is + found in H. E. Egerton and W. L. Grant, "Canadian Constitutional + Development" (1907), and W. P. M. Kennedy has edited a somewhat larger + collection, "Documents of the Canadian Constitution", 1759-1915 (1918). + The later Sessional Papers and Hansards or Parliamentary Debates are + easily accessible. Files of the older newspapers, such as the Halifax + "Chronicle" (1820 to date, with changes of title), Montreal "Gazette" + (1778 to date), Toronto "Globe" (1844 to date), "Manitoba Free Press" + (1879 to date), Victoria "Colonist" (1858 to date), are invaluable. "The + Dominion Annual Register and Review", ed. by H. J. Morgan, 8 vols. + (1879-1887) and "The Canadian Annual Review of Public Affairs", by John + Castell Hopkins (1901 to date), are useful for the periods covered. + </p> + <p> + For the first chapter, Sir Charles P. Lucas, "A History of Canada", + 1765-1812 (1909) and A. G. Bradley, "The Making of Canada" (1908) are the + best single volumes. William Wood, "The Father of British Canada" + ("Chronicles of Canada", 1916), records Carleton's defense of Canada in + the Revolutionary War; and Justin H. Smith's "Our Struggle for the + Fourteenth Colony" (1907) is a scholarly and detailed account of the same + period from an American standpoint. Victor Con's "The Province of Quebec + and the Early American Revolution" (1896), with a review of the same by + Adam Shortt in the "Review of Historical Publications Relating to Canada", + vol. 1 (University of Toronto, 1897), and C. W. Alvord's "The Mississippi + Valley in British Politics", 2 vols. (1917) should be consulted for an + interpretation of the Quebec Act. For the general reader, W. S. Wallace's + "The United Empire Loyalists" ("Chronicles of Canada", 1914) supersedes + the earlier Canadian compilations; C. H. Van Tyne's "The Loyalists in the + American Revolution" (1902) and A. C. Flick's "Loyalism in New York during + the American Revolution" (1901) embody careful researches by two American + scholars. The War of 1812 is most competently treated by William Wood in + "The War with the United States" ("Chronicles of Canada", 1915); the naval + aspects are sketched in Theodore Roosevelt's "The Naval War of 1812" + (1882) and analyzed scientifically in A. T. Mahan's "Sea Power in its + Relations to the War of 1812" (1905). + </p> + <p> + For the period, 1815-1841, W. S. Wallace's "The Family Compact" + ("Chronicles of Canada", 1915) and A. D. De Celles's "The Patriotes of + '37" ("Chronicles of Canada", 1916) are the most concise summaries. J. C. + Dent's "The Story of the Upper Canadian Rebellion" (1885) is biased but + careful and readable. "William Lyon Mackenzie", by Charles Lindsey, + revised by G. G. S. Lindsey (1908), is a sober defense of Mackenzie by his + son-in-law and grandson. Robert Christie's "A History of the Late Province + of Lower Canada", 6 vols. (1848-1866) preserves much contemporary + material. There are few secondary books taking the anti-popular side: T. + C. Haliburton's "The Bubbles of Canada" (1839) records Sam Slick's + opposition to reform; C. W. Robinson's "Life of Sir John Beverley + Robinson" (1904) is a lifeless record of the greatest Compact leader. Lord + Durham's "Report on the Affairs of British North America" (1839; available + in Methuen reprint, 1902, or with introduction and notes by Sir Charles + Lucas, 3 vols., 1912) is indispensable. For the Union period there are + several political biographies available. G. M. Wrong's "The Earl of Elgin" + (1905), John Lewis's "George Brown" (1906), W. L. Grant's "The Tribune of + Nova Scotia" ("Chronicles of Canada", 1915), J. Pope's "Memoirs of the + Right Honourable Sir John Alexander Macdonald", 2 vols. (1894), J. Boyd's + "Sir George Etienne Cartier" (1914), and O. D. Skelton's "Life and Times + of Sir A. T. Galt" (1919), cover the political developments from various + angles. A. H. U. Colquhoun's "The Fathers of Confederation" ("Chronicles + of Canada", 1916) is a clear and impartial account of the achievement of + Confederation; while M. O. Hammond's "Canadian Confederation and its + Leaders" (1917) records the service of each of its chief architects. + </p> + <p> + For the years since Confederation biographies again give the most + accessible record. Sir John S. Willison's "Sir Wilfrid Laurier and the + Liberal Party" (1903) is the best political biography yet written in + Canada. Sir Richard Cartwright's Reminiscences (1912) reflects that + statesman's individual and pungent views of affairs, while Sir Charles + Tupper's "Recollections of Sixty Years" (1914) and John Castell Hopkins's + "Life and Work of Sir John Thompson" (1895) give a Conservative version of + the period. Sir Joseph Pope's "The Day of Sir John Macdonald" ("Chronicles + of Canada", 1915), and O. D. Skelton's "The Day of Sir Wilfrid Laurier" + ("Chronicles of Canada", 1916) between them cover the whole period + briefly. L. J. Burpee's "Sandford Fleming" (1915) is one of the few + biographies dealing with industrial as distinct from political leaders. + Imperial relations may be studied in G. R. Parkin's "Imperial Federation, + the Problem of National Unity" (1892) and in L. Curtis's "The Problem of + the Commonwealth" (1916), which advocate imperial federation, and in R. + Jebb's "The Britannic Question; a Survey of Alternatives" (1913), J. S. + Ewart's "The Kingdom Papers" (1912-), and A. B. Keith's "Imperial Unity + and the Dominions" (1916), which criticize that solution from different + standpoints. The "Reports" of the Imperial Conferences of 1887, 1894, + 1897, 1902, 1907, 1911, 1917, are of much value. Relations with the United + States are discussed judiciously in W. A. Dunning's "The British Empire + and the United States" (1914). Phases of Canada's recent development other + than political are covered best in the volumes of "Canada and its + Provinces", a History of the Canadian people and their institutions, + edited by A. Shortt and A. G. Doughty. + </p> + <p> + A useful guide to recent books dealing with Canadian history will be found + in the annual "Review of Historical Publications Relating to Canada", + published by the University of Toronto (1896 to date). + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Canadian Dominion, by Oscar D. 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