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LI BRAR Y
JAN 23 1974
THE OHTA?<i / iivt^^riTUTE
FOR STUDIES IN EDUCATION
THE LIBRARY
The Ontario Institute
for Studies in Education
Toronto, Canada
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PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC
LIFE IN CANADA
THE STORY OF THE CANADIAN CONFEDERACY
BEING
RECOLLECTIONS OF PARLIAMENT
AND THE PRESS
AND EMBRACING
A Succinct Account of the Stirring Events which led to the
Confederation of British North America into the
DOMINION OF CANADA
BY
HON. JAMES YOUNG
Late Member of Dominion and Ontario Parliaments, Provincial Treasurer
of Ontario, and Author of " History of Gait and Dumfries," Essays
on the " Reciprocity Treaty," " Imperial Federation,"
"Commercial Union," etc.
IN TWO VOLUMES— VOL. I.
TORONTO
WILLIAM BRIGGS
1912
Copyright, Canada, 1912, by
JAMES YOUNG
TO THE MEMORY OF
WHOSE RARE ABILITY.
UNSWERVING PRINCIPLE, HIGH SENSE OF HONOUR,
AND
DEVOTION TO THE PEOPLE.
IN THE PARLIAMENTS OF CANADA
SHED LUSTRE ON CANADIAN PUBLIC LIFE,
AND
SET A NOBLE EXAMPLE TO HIS FELLOWS-COUNTRYMEN.
THIS VOLUME IS
RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED.
Preface
In writing this volume my aim has not been to
produce a work of history in the strict sense of the
term. I have sought rather to embody my recollec-
tions of the principal men and events that came
under my observation during a lengthened connec-
tion with Parliament and the Press, in such a form
and style as may quicken the interest of the reader
in a momentous period of our history within the
memory of many still living.
My connection with the Press began when the
relations of Church and State and several other
questions deeply affecting the happiness and equality
of the people were still unsettled, and when the long
political struggle between Upper and Lower Canada
under the ill-starred Union of 1841 was becoming
more open, bitter and irreconcilable every year.
The most prominent champions in this memorable
political conflict were the Hon. George Brown and
the Hon. John A. Macdonald, the leaders respec-
tively of the Reform and Conservative parties,
although the Hon. George E. Cartier and the Hon.
Antoine A. Dorion, of Lower Canada, were also
conspicuous.
Both Mr. Macdonald and Mr. Brown were great
men, who have left their mark on things Canadian
for all time, and not only their bitter political battles.
PREFACE
but the striking personal characteristics of these two
eminent statesmen possess deep and growing inter-
est. And when the union between Upper and Lower
Canada became absolutely unworkable — when Dead-
lock became King — and Mr. Brown and Mr. Mac-
donald trampled their personal antipathies in the
dust and joined hands in the Coalition Government
of 1864 to extricate their country from its dangers
and bring about Confederation, they set an example
of patriotic statesmanship and self-abnegation some-
times portrayed in political romance, but seldom met
with in the sober annals of every-day politics.
Wliilst not overlooking important events in Great
Britain and the United States, and using an author's
prerogative in expressing opinions wise and other-
wise, one of my chief aims has been to give a suc-
cinct account of the stirring political events in the
late Province of Canada which ultimately led to the
union of British North America, under the name of
the Dominion of Canada — in other words, to tell the
story of our great Canadian Confederation.
With thanks to Avern Pardoe, Legislative Librar-
ian, and George Johnson, F.S.S., Ottawa, for cour-
tesies extended, I submit this volume in the confident
hope that my generous readers (to adapt a familiar
couplet) will
" Be to my virtues very kind ;
Be to my faults a little blind."
James Young.
"Thornhill," Galt,
August isth, 1902.
Preface to the Second Edition
The issue of this edition of my work is the result
of continued soHcitations from readers from all parts
of the Dominion. The first edition having run out
of print several years ago, I thought it advisable to
re-issue this present volume and also to add another
volume, giving a succinct account of the stirring
events which followed the confederation of British
North America into the Dominion of Canada. It
must be remembered by the reader that this first
volume was written in 1902, and references made
in it as to dates must be correlated with the year
1902 and not 19 12.
James Young.
Gaet, October 15th, 19 12.
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Contents
CHAPTER I
The Passing of the Stage-Coach
PAGE
Rough outline of the physical and social condition of Can-
ada when our narrative begins — The early pioneer
days drawing to a close — Passing of the old stage-
coach with its " shrill echoing horn " — Population and
trade of Canada in 1851 — Wonderful transforma-
tion of the country in half a century — It recalls
visions of "Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp" ... 19
CHAPTER H
Dawn of the Railroad Era
Dawn of the railroad era — Hon. Francis Hincks, Prime
Minister, visits Great Britain — Inception of Canadian
railways— William Jackson, MP., W L. Betts, M.P,
and Robert Stephenson, M.P., the great engineer, visit
Canada — Railway and political magnates on their tra-
vels — Brightening prospects of Canada — Effects of
the Crimean War and the Reciprocity Treaty — Ex-
traordinary commercial and financial " boom " — Its
rise, expansion and collapse — Fortunes made and lost
in a day 24
CHAPTER ni
Early Struggles for Responsible Government
Early struggles for Responsible Government — Sir Charles
Metcalfe's opposition thereto — Its patriotic vindica-
tion by Messrs. Baldwin and Lafontaine — Cancer
compels Governor Metcalfe to resign — Arrival of
lyord Elgin — Responsible Government triumphantly
CONTENTS
PAGE
sustained in 1848 — The Rebellion Losses Rill — Burn-
ing of the Parliament Buildings in Montreal — The
Hincks-Morin Ministry accedes to power — Difficult
questions dividing political parties — Canadian states-
men prove equal to the occasion 30
CHAPTER IV
Dr. John Bayne, " Father of the Free Church "
One of the most remarkable men I ever met — Rev. John
Bayne, D.D., the "Father of the Free Church" in
Canada — His characteristics and career — " Evidences
of Design in the Works of Creation " — Curious inter-
view with the Doctor — His preaching recalled the old
pictures of John Knox preaching before Queen
Mary — Calvinism vs. Arminianism when the battle
was hot — Personal anecdotes — Dr. Bayne visits Scot-
land — Leads the Disruption Movement in Canada —
His sudden death 39
CHAPTER V
George Brown in an Oed-Time Election
The press of Canada in early days — The Browns and the
Globe — Haldimand election — Divisions in the Reform
party — Old-fashioned Canadian elections as seen in
Kent and Lambton — Amusing incidents of the con-
test — Highland hospitality — Donald Mactavish wants
" no Tinklers to sit in Parliament " — Hincksites vs.
Brownites — David Christie, M.P.P., to the rescue —
The battle of Glenmorris — Political banquet in Gait-
George Brown as he appeared at thirty-four 49
CHAPTER VI
Career and Fall of the Hincks Ministry
Public opinion crystallizing against the Hincks Adminis-
tration — -Their failure to settle the Clergy Reserves
and Seignorial questions — Meeting of Parliament in
1854 — Defeat of the Ministry — Lord Elgin dissolves
Parliament — Sir Allan McNab and William Lyon
8
CONTENTS
PAGE
Mackenzie join hands in a turbulent scene — The gen-
eral elections prove a political muddle — The Water-
loos as an illustration — The Foley-Macdougall con-
test — The appeal to the people most singular and
unsatisfactory 6i
CHAPTER VK
Unexpected Turn of the Poutical Crisis
The new Parliament called— The Hincks-Morin Ministry
beaten and resigns — Lord Elgin in a difficult position
— Unexpected turn of the political crisis — The Hon.
John A. Macdonald the rising hope of the Tory
party — A sharp curve to office — Formation of the
Coalition Government by Hincks and Macdonald —
Sir Allan McNab becomes Prime Minister— Many
Churchmen aggrieved at its terms— The Reform party
temporarily wrecked — The course of Mr Hincks —
His defence 68
CHAPTER Vni
Macdonald and Brown as Rival Leaders
A decade of political agitation — The struggle between
Upper and Lower Canada intensities — Lord Elgin's
departure — Success of his administration of public
affairs— Arrival of Sir Edmund Head — William Lyon
Mackenzie advocates dissolution of the Union— His
character and strange career — " Richard's himself
again " — The session of 1855 — Macdonald and Brown
the principal parliamentary gladiators — Fearless
course of the Reform leader — Parliament removes
to Toronto — Progress of Canada at this period —
Two colossal railway celebrations 78
CHAPTER IX
Snap-Shots of Political Celebrities
Parliament assembles in Toronto — First impression —
Snap-shots of the leading political celebrities — The
many able statesmen then in public life — The session
proves long and stormy — Sir Allan McNab has the
CONTENTS
PAGE
gout but won't resign — Macdonald and Brown as
political rivals — The Penitentiary Commission charges
— Mr. Brown completely vindicated — Sir Allan Mc-
Nab meets his Waterloo at last — A pathetic and
touching scene — Hon E. P. Tache, Premier, but At-
torney-General Macdonald the real leader of his
party — A stormy and singular session 91
CHAPTER X
CoNFucT OF Upper and Lower Canada
The demands of Upper Canada — Reform convention —
Political platform adopted — The Government stronger
and the session quieter — The year 1857 proved " one
of the darkest chapters in the world's history" — Ter-
rible disasters in Canada and abroad — Hon. John A.
Macdonald becomes Prime Minister for the first
time — The general elections which followed — The
rival political leaders — Messrs. Mowat, D'Arcy Mc-
Gee and William Macdougall appear on the scene —
Upper and Lower Canada as antagonistic as before. . 102
CHAPTER XI
The Famous Brown-Dorion Crisis
The longest and stormiest session on record — Extraor-
dinary political struggles and scenes — George Brown
defends his aged father — The Union in danger —
Representation by Population and the Double
Majority as remedies — Ottawa selected as the seat of
Government — ^Defeat of the Macdonald-Cartier Min-
istry — The most remarkable political and constitu-
tional crisis in Canadian history — The Brown-Dorion
Administration holds office only two days — Partisan
course of Sir Edmund Head — He recalls his late
advisers no
CHAPTER XII
Reform Party Declares for Federal Union
Constitutional reforms checked by the late crisis — It
sounded the death-knell of the Legislative Union —
10
CONTENTS
PAGE
A scientific achievement which thrilled the world —
Public dinners — Sir Oliver Mowat's future fame pre-
dicted — D'Arcy McGee as a man and orator — The
Austro-Italian War — Upper Canada profoundly agi-
tated over its political grievances — Great Reform
convention in favour of a Federal Union — Stirring
incidents of this memorable gathering — Old John
Brown as Abraham Lincoln's forerunner — Dr. Eger-
ton Ryerson 122
CHAPTER XIII
His Majesty King Edward VII. in Canada
Visit of the Prince of Wales (now King Edward VII.)
to Canada— The session of i860 at Quebec — Proposed
Federal Union coldly received — Mr. McGee on Gov-
ernor Head's unpopularity — Arrival of the Royal
Squadron at Newfoundland — Brilliant receptions of
His Royal Highness and suite at Halifax, St. John,
Quebec, Montreal, etc. — The Orange troubles — To-
ronto and Hamilton celebrations — The Prince cap-
tures all hearts — Pen portrait of his appearance —
Washington, New York and Boston vie in brilliant
receptions — The Prince sails from Portland — The
Orange aftermath I43
CHAPTER XIV
War-Cloud Bursts in the United States
Culmination of slavery agitation in the United States —
Abraham Lincoln elected President — Ebenezer Clemo
and his straw paper — Political leaders dined — Lincoln
on his way to Washington — Fears of assassination —
At his inauguration he eloquently pleads for peace-;—
— The war-cloud bursts — Parliament assembles again
— The battle for constitutional changes still rages
fiercely — Another general election tried in vain —
Lord Monck arrives and Sir Edmund Head leaves
Canada — The Mason-Slidell affair — Queen Victoria
and President Lincoln as peace-makers — The Prince
Consort's death 156
II
CONTENTS
CHAPTER XV
The Sandi-ield Macdonald Ministries
PAGE
Political changes — Prominent Conservatives take a stand
for Representation by Population — Fall of the Car-
tier-Macdonald Ministry on the Militia Bill — Its
principal features — Lord Monck calls the Hon. John
Sandfield Macdonald to the premiership — The Mac-
donald-Sicotte Administration formed on the Double
Majority principle — Brown and Macdonald tempor-
arily in the shade — The rival leaders contrasted — The
Pitt and Fox of Canadian public life 171
CHAPTER XVI
Sectional Troubles as Rampant as ever
Emancipation the turning point of the Civil War — The
Divine Hand traceable in the terrible conflict — Hon.
George Brown returns from Europe — First session of
the Macdonald-Sicotte Government — Amusing poli-
tical changes — The Brown-Bodwell election in South
Oxford — Personal reminiscences — The sectional spec-
tre appears again — The Double Majority powerless
to allay it — Hon. John A. Macdonald assails the Min-
istry — The Premier's masterly reply — The Province
again without a Government — Lord Monck dissolves
Parliament again — The Macdonald-Dorion Ministry
— It is sustained, but any stable Government has be-
come impossible 181
CHAPTER XVn
The Union Doomed — Deadlock again King
A memorable year in Canadian history — The session of
1864—" Sandfield hasn't a Drinking Majority !"— He
resigns in disgust— Lord Monck embarrassed — Messrs.
McGee and Foley join a Conservative Ministry —
Story of "John A.'s " successful tactics — Mr. Alex.
Mackenzie and Mr. Archibald McKellar stump North
Waterloo against Foley — Personal recollections —
How Mackenzie confiscated the enemy's Campaign
Thunder — Hon. George Brown at last obtains a Spe-
cial Committee— They report in favour of a Federal
12
CONTENTS
PAGE
Union — The new Tache-Macdonald Ministry de-
feated — Deadlock again king ! 196
CHAPTER XVIII
Brown and Macdonald Patriotically Unite to Carry
Confederation
Hon. George Brown sees the possibilities of the crisis —
Patriotically offers to assist the Conservative or any
Government which will settle the difificulties distract-
ing the country — Proceedings of the Select Commit-
tee on Federal Union — Brown, Macdonald and Gait
meet to discuss the situation — An embarrassing but
patriotic meeting — Difificulties in the way of the rival
political leaders acting as colleagues — They finally
decide to form the famous Coalition of the Reform
and Conservative parties which carried Confedera-
tion — The grandest achievement of Canadian states-
manship — Formation of the Coalition Government —
The country astounded but delighted 209
CHAPTER XIX
Confederation the All-Absorbing Topic
Return to Canada — Confederation the all-absorbing topic
— The Charlottetown Convention — Mission of Mac-
donald, Brown, Cartier, Gait, Macdougall, McGee,
Campbell and Langevin — A joke which helped the
Union cause — Festivities in Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick — All British America in Conference at
Quebec — Confederation formally decided upon — Diffi-
culties in drafting the new Constitution — Nominated
life senators — Hon. John A. Macdonald prefers a
Legislative to a Federal Union — The Conference
closes completely successful — " The Fathers of Con-
federation " received with congratulations and rejoic-
ings — Southerners abuse Canadian hospitality 219
CHAPTER XX
Dark Clouds Threaten the Union
The Coalition Government meets Parliament — The strug-
gle over Confederation — Brilliancy of the debates —
13
CONTENTS
PAGE
The speeches of the Conservative and Reform lead-
ers specially conspicuous — Holton, Dorion, Sandfield
Macdonald, Dunkin, Joly de Lotbiniere, M C. Cam-
eron and Huntington in opposition— Confederation
carried by 91 to 33 — Macdonald, Brov^m, Cartier, and
Gait attend an Imperial Conference— Parliament pro-
rogued till Autumn— Dark clouds threaten Confed-
eration—Tragic events at the closi of the American
War— Surrender of General Lee and his army to
General Grant— Assassination of President Lincoln-
Relative fame of Washington and Lincoln— The
British mission ' 234
CHAPTER XXI
Reciprocity Vainly Sacrificed on the Annexation Aetar
Eflforts to renew the Reciprocity Treaty— Buffalo, Detroit,
Oswego, Portland, Boston, New York and other
cities deeply interested — The famous Detroit Com-
mercial Convention — Eminent Canadians present —
Brilliant oration of the Hon. Joseph Howe— Statistics
prove the immense success of the treaty — The^ poli-
ticians vs. business men — Consul-General Potter's an-
nexation escapade — An exciting and unpleasant scene
—Detroit's magnificent and costly festivities— The
commercial men triumph at Detroit, but the poli-
ticians at Washington— Reciprocity vainly sacrificed
on the Annexation altar 247
CHAPTER XXII
Split in the Cabinet— George Brown Resigns
Death of Premier Tache— Ministerial crisis— The Reform
leader objects to the Coalition character of the Gov-
ernment being changed— Sir Narcisse Belleau chosen
Premier — Seat of Government removed from Que-
bec to Ottawa— Gait and Howland visit Washington
— Reciprocal legislation proposed — A split in the
Cabinet over it— Hon. George Brown resigns— Per-
sonal interviews with him at Hamilton immediately
afterwards— He speaks freely of the causes of his
resignation— Was he intentionally slighted?— No
Cabinet large enough to hold the rival chieftains
long— Alex. Mackenzie, M.P.P.. offered office, but de-
clines— Hon. A. J. Fergusson-Blair accepts 256
14
CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXIII
Prospects of Confederation Brighten
PAGE
The second Reciprocity mission — It fails, but proves a
blessing in disguise — Lessons which both the United
States and Canada much needed to learn — Prospects
of Confederation brighten — Stirring events in Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick — High-handed course of
Lieutenant-Governor Gordon — -Both Legislatures
adoDt Union resolutions — The Fenian Raid — General
O'Neil and his forces cross to Fort Erie — Battle of
Ridgeway — The Fenians ignominiously scuttle — First
and last meeting of the Provincial Parliament at Ot-
tawa — Threatened rupture between Lord Monck and
his advisers — Mr Dorion's motion — A dangerous pre-
cedent — The Union at last in sight 268
CHAPTER XXIV
Imperial Parliament Passes the Union Act
The Atlantic cable finally successful — Its history — Queen
Victoria congratulates President Johnson — Important
Union banquet at Hamilton — The final struggle over
Confederation now shifts to England — The Colonial
Conference in London — Drafting the British North
America Act — Nominated life Senators not favoured
by Lord Carnarvon — Mr. Macdonald overruled by the
Earl of Derby, Prime Minister, in regard to the
name " Kingdom of Canada " — Hon. Joseph Howe
tries to prevent the British Parliament passing the
Confederation Act — His inconsistency — Hon. Dr.
Tupper champions the Union cause — The great
measure founding a new nation, composed of one-
half the whole North American Continent, passes
Parliament with little debate or attention 286
CHAPTER XXV
Premier Macdonald Forms his Cabinet
Queen Victoria graciously receives Messrs Macdonald,
Cartier, Gait, Tupper and Tilley at Windsor— The
colonial delegates return home much elated — Lord
Monck chosen to be the first Governor-General — He
CONTENTS
PAGE
informs the Hon. John A. Macdonald that he would
entrust him with the formation of the first Dominion
Cabinet — Patronage so vast as to be almost dazzling
— The Conservative leader proposes to extend the
Coalition to the whole Dominion — Hon. George
Brown raises the standard for party government —
Messrs. Howland, Macdougall and Blair agree to
join the new Coalition — Reform Convention called to
consider the situation — The new Premier finds unex-
pected difficulties in forming his Cabinet 299
CHAPTER XXVI
The Reform Party Declares for Party Government
The Reform convention on the eve of Confederation —
Unusually large and influential gathering — Synopsis
of the debates, resolutions and proceedings — The Re-
solution against Coalition Government the storm-
centre of discussion — The Hon. Messrs. Howland and
Macdougall invited to attend — They address the con-
vention amidst intense excitement — Their reception —
Hon. George Brown, Alex. Mackenzie, M.P.P., and
others reply — Striking incident during the Reform
leader's speech — Motion against Coalition carried al-
most unanimously — The leadership of the Reform
party — Memorable scene when Mr. Brown is thanked
for his services and asked to continue in Parliament
— The convention closes brimful of enthusiasm for
the first Dominion elections 308
CHAPTER XXVn
The Nation's Birthday
Birthday of the Dominion of Canada — It is ushered in
amidst mingled feelings — The inauguration ceremon-
ies at Ottawa — Lord Monck sworn in as Governor-
General by Chief Justice Draper — Royal honours dis-
tributed by command of Queen Victoria — The mem-
bers of the first Dominion Government take the oaths
of office — Their names and offices — " Thus was born
the Canadian nation !" — The Fathers of Confedera-
tion builded better than they knew — The foundations
laid of a second great power in North America — A
vision of its future 323
16
CONTENTS
APPENDIX I
PAGE
Speech of the Hon. George Brown on June 22nci, 1864,
when the Coalition Government was announced to
Parliament 33^
APPENDIX II
Brief extracts from the speeches of leading statesmen
during the Confederation debates, 1865 336
APPENDIX III
Speech of the Hon. John A. Macdonald on March 7th,
1865, in reply to Hon. L. H. Holton 343
APPENDIX IV
The votes in the Parliament of Canada adopting Confed-
eration 349
APPENDIX V
Speech of the Hon. George Brown in reply to the Hon.
John Hillyard Cameron's motion to submit Confed-
eration to a vote of the people, March 13th, 1865 351
APPENDIX VI
Names of the delegates who registered at the great Re-
form Convention held in the Music Hall, Toronto, on
the 27th June, 1867 356
APPENDIX VII
A complete list of the "Founders of Canada" who have
died up to the 31st July, 1902, with the dates of their
births and deaths 366
17
Portraits and Illustrations
PAGE
The Founders of the
Dominion . . Frontispiece
Paruament Buildings,
Ottawa (Easiern De-
partmental Block) 7
Parliament Buildings,
Ottawa (Western De-
partmental Block 19
Hon. Francis Hincks .... 25
Louis H. Lafontaine ... 31
Robert Baldwin 31
John Bayne, D.D 40
Hon. George Brown 58
Sir Allan McNab 64
Sir John A. Macdonald.. 72
William Lyon Mackenzie 84
View From Parliament
Buildings, Toronto 91
Sir George E. Cartier 104
Hon. Wm. Cayley 104
Sir E. p. Tache 104
Hon. Robert Spence 104
Hon. Joseph E. Cauchon. 104
Sir Oliver Mow at 116
Hon. John Sandfield Mac-
donald 116
Hon. a. a. Dorion 116
PAGE
Hon. L. T. Drummond .. 116
Hon. L. H. Holton 116
Hon. T. D'Arcy McGee. . 129
Egerton Ryerson, D.D. . . 141
Abraham Lincoln 159
Hon. Wm. P. Howland . . 174
Hon. Wm. Macdougall . . 174
Hon. L. V. Sicotte 174
Sir John J. C. Abbott ... 174
Hon. M. H. Foley 174
Hon. Alex. Mackenzie . . 202
Hon. Arch. McKellar . . 203
Sir Alex. Campbell 217
Hon. Hector Langevin .. 217
Sir Alex. T. Galt 217
Sir Narcisse F. Belleau. 217
Hon. Joseph C. Morrison 217
View of Quebec 234
Hon. L. S. Huntington . 236
John Hillyard Cameron. 238
Hon. Joseph Howe 249
Ottawa, from the Duf-
ferin and Sappers'
Bridges 274
Hon. Leonard TillEy 304
Lord Monck 324
18
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE
IN CANADA
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE
IN CANADA
CHAPTER I
THE PASSING OF THE STAGE-COACH
My acquaintance with public men and public life
in Canada dates from my first connection with the
press. This was in August, 1853, on the loth of
which month the first number of the Dumfries
Reformer, Gait, was issued under my management.
I was then only a youth of eighteen, but brimful of
enthusiasm for everything connected with the press
and public life, which was tinged with a couleiir de
rose so deep and fascinating that, although rather
dim and faded now, it has not entirely vanished, not-
withstanding all the varied vicissitudes which bridge
the chasm between that period and the present.
When one thinks what the Dominion of Canada is
to-day, and what the scattered colonies composing
British North America were less than half a century
ago, visions of "Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp"
recur to the imagination, so remarkable is the trans-
formation throughout the country which has since
taken place.
The largest and most influential of the colonies
was then designated the Province of Canada, being
19
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
composed of the two provinces previously known as
Upper and Lower Canada, and now as Ontario and
Quebec. The Imperial Parliament united them
under one government on the recommendation of the
eminent but unfortunate Lord Durham, who was
sent out as special commissioner to report upon and
heal the difficulties in connection with the Rebellion
of 1837-38.
This union was consummated on the loth Feb-
ruary, 1841, but hardly fulfilled the glowing antici-
pation of His Lordship and the many British and
French citizens who shared his views. It resulted,
it is true, in a moderate increase of progress and
development, and at the close of the first decade in
185 1, when the census was taken, the population was
found to number 1,842,265, and the annual com-
merce with other countries had increased to $34,-
399,512. But it must be admitted that the general
condition of the Province of Canada at that time,
though not without encouraging promise in the
future, presented a marked contrast to the wealth,
prosperity, enterprise and dazzling outlook which
distinguish the Dominion of Canada at the present
day.
Throughout Upper Canada the difficulties which
confronted the early pioneers had been largely over-
come, and much of the vast tracts of fertile land
enclosed by the three great fresh-water lakes, Onta-
rio, Erie and Huron, had been cleared and culti-
vated, and yielded abundant crops. But the old log-
house, unstumped field and undrained marsh were
still largely in evidence, and even the long settled
20
THE PASSING OF THE STAGE-COACH
and prosperous districts — such, for instance, as the
township of Dumfries and the village of Gait, popu-
lated by many of the grandest men, physically and
mentally, I ever knew — still retained not a few lin-
gering evidences in forest, field and road of their
primitive condition.
The old-fashioned stage-coach, with its " shrill
echoing horn," was still the chief mode of travel. It
was clumsy and slow, but jolly. It generally carried
Her Majesty's mails, and its arrival and departure
in the villages through which it passed were con-
sidered the events of the day. The transportation
of produce and goods was a still more tedious pro-
cess. Everything produced on the farm or manu-
factured, which required to be exported, as well as
all kinds of groceries, hardware and goods of every
description imported into the interior of the couritry, .
had to be laboriously teamed by horses or oxen to
and from tide-water. Teaming was then an exten-
sive industry in all parts of the Province, and the
toil and difficulty of these now obsolete modes of
transportation can be fully realized only by those
who experienced them.
Houses of stone or brick were still the exception
in the country, but large bank barns were becoming
the rule, and the people generally had begun to take
a warm interest in all political institutions and pro-
posals for the betterment of their homes and sur-
roundings. This was greatly stimulated by the
introduction of municipal councils in 1852, and the
increased powers given by the Legislature to the
people to elect boards of trustees to manage and
2T
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
improve their educational affairs. In the early days
of settlement the Public Schools were comparatively
few and poor, but it deserves to be recorded to their
credit, that many of the early teachers were men of
such force of character, and so practical and con-
scientious in their teaching, that they turned out
better scholars than very many of those who enjoy
the more learned and ornamental system of the
present day.
Nevertheless, the surroundings of all but the
wealthy classes, and especially of the farmers, were
rude and backward, judged by present standards.
The houses of the latter were scantily, often indeed
roughly furnished, and a bit of green sod, or a clump
of trees or shrubs, or a bed of flowers to brighten up
the front yard, was a veritable oasis in the desert.
At harvest time the scythe and the cradle had not
generally given place to the mower and reaper. The
latter were for some time regarded as luxuries rather
than necessities, and on looking back and remem-
bering the immense crops of wheat then raised — it
being wheat or nothing in those days — it seems mar-
vellous how it could have been all cut by hand with
such unwieldy tools. At church, at weddings, and
other social events, imported goods were rapidly
coming in for wear, but in the country Canadian
homespun and the coarse tweeds and other woollens
made at the old-fashioned woollen mills were still
generally patronized. Luxuries of all kinds were
scarce. Musical instruments, for instance, were
exceedingly rare even in towns and villages, and
almost unknown in the country.
22
THE PASSING OF THE STAGE-COACH
Life as a whole was harder and more prosaic then
than now, and although the people generally were
healthy, happy and hopeful, there was neither the
wealth, the conveniences, the comforts nor the pleas-
ures which are now enjoyed by the great mass of
Canadians in all the well settled sections of the
Dominion.
Such is a rough outline of the physical and social
condition of affairs when our narrative begins. The
prospects of the whole Province, however, were on
the eve of being considerably brightened and bet-
tered. We were about to enter upon one of those
" growing times " which have periodically marked
our country's career, and which did much to obliter-
ate the memory of the hardships and dulness of the
pioneer days of the past and inspire all classes of the
people, whether the British settler or the French
habitant, with brighter hopes and stronger confi-
dence in their country's future.
23
CHAPTER II
DAWN OF THE RAILROAD ERA
The years 1853-4 marked an era in Canada's
material development and prosperity. Several differ-
ent causes contributed to this result. Prominent
among them was the dawn of the railroad era. A
few years before, George Stephenson, the eminent
engineer, had demonstrated to a committee of the
British House of Commons that railways were prac-
ticable, and silenced one of the principal objectors
by his famous hon-mot: " So much the worse for
the coo."
The whole world was thrown into ecstasies by the
success of Stephenson's great invention. It revolu-
tionized the old modes of land transportation, and
the honour has been claimed for Canada of being the
first to introduce the railroad into America, the short
line connecting Laprairie and St. John's, near Mont-
real, having been completed as early as 1836. This
was followed by the opening of the Northern Rail-
way from Toronto to Bradford in 1853, and by the
rapid work of construction of the Great Western
Railway, to connect Niagara Falls with the town of
Windsor, on the Detroit River, a distance of 229
miles. The main line of this road was completed
and opened for traffic on the 27th January, 1854, and
the large expenditure of capital upon the work, the
influx of engineers and railway officials, and the in-
24
DAWN OF THE RAILROAD ERA
creased demand for labour, made up a new experi-
ence for the Province and had a wonderfully inspir-
iting effect.
The Grand Trunk Railway, a still more ambitious
project, was also under construction at this time.
The Hon. Francis Hincks, Premier of Canada, vis-
ited Great Britain early in 1852, with the Hon. E. B.
Chandler, of New Brunswick, in the hope of pro-
moting the construction of
the Intercolonial Railway
at that time. Failing to
enlist the support of the
Imperial Government, he
took up the construction
of a trunk line through
Canada, and conducted
if he did not conclude,
arrangements with the
eminent English contrac-
tors, Messrs. Peto, Jack-
son, Brassey and Betts,
for the construction of
the Grand Trunk road,
corporated the same year,
of a Government guarantee being given to the
extent of about £2,500 per mile, to be paid in
.the proportion of $160,000, as each £100,000 was
expended upon the line.* Messrs. Jackson and
Betts, accompanied by Robert Stephenson, M.P.,
the famous engineer, visited Canada, in 1853,
to complete the arrangements, and a suggestive
* " Canadian Year-Book," 1894, page 210.
25
Hon. Fk.v;
Hincks.
The company was in-
Parliament approved
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
sidelight is thrown on the condition of the coun-
try at that time by the memorable trip they made
through the western peninsula, accompanied by a
number of leading Canadian politicians and railway
magnates, to spy out the land and, if possible, dis-
cover the best route for the proposed undertaking.
This party proved a large and imposing one.
Among the more distinguished gentlemen who com-
posed it were Robert Stephenson, M.P., William
Jackson, M.P., W. L. Betts, M.P., Hon. Francis
Hincks, Chancellor Blake, Hon. J. S. Ross, Hon.
H. H. Killaly, Mr. A. M. Ross, Chief Engineer of
the proposed railroad, and Mr. Walter Shanly, En-
gineer of the Toronto and Sarnia section. Accord-
ing to the newspapers of that day it took three four-
horse coaches and a baggage waggon to carry them
and their effects. * They passed Gait on the after-
noon of Sunday, the 28th August, on their way
from Guelph to Paris, whence they proceeded by
way of Woodstock, London, and Chatham, to the
western boundary.
When travelling they made an imposing caval-
cade, accompanied as they often were by local cele-
brities on horseback, and very naturally created a
mild sensation in the towns and villages through
which they passed. They were met and entertained
in many of the larger places they visited, and more
or less criticized in all.
* " On Sunday morning a large party of honourable and official
gentlemen in the direction of railroad affairs passed through
Gulph en route to Detroit, by way of Paris, London, and Chatham.
The cortege consisted of three four-horse coaches and a baggage
wreeon." — Guelph Herald, September, 1853.
DAWN OF THE RAILROAD ERA
Opposition to Mr. Hincks and his ministry was
at that time getting to a pretty white heat. The
Opposition press saw in the new railway, or at least
thought they saw, an adroit move of the Premier to
prolong his lease of power, and their caustic refer-
ences to the expense of £150 for conveyances, £25
per day for expenses, and the impropriety of Sunday
travelling, must have slightly detracted from what,
considering the good roads, charming weather and
lovely foliage of our Canadian summer, should have
been a delightful and exhilarating trip.
However this may have been, the arrangements
of the Government with the British and Canadian
capitalists were speedily completed, and by the
summer of 1853 the Grand Trunk Railway, includ-
ing the world-renowned Victoria Bridge over the
St. Lawrence, which made Stephenson famous, were
in rapid course of construction, augmenting still
more the spirit of enterprise and hopefulness which
had so quickly overspread the land.
Then in 1854 the Crimean War broke out. The
famous manifesto of Napoleon III. of France to the
Russian Emperor Nicholas appeared in March, and
war speedily followed. The Turks won the first
victory, at Silistria, before British and French
armies could reach the scene of operations, and the
bloody battles of Alma and Inkerman, and the mem-
orable siege and fall of Sebastopol, during which
British and French veterans fought side by side, ulti-
mately led to Russia's defeat and the restoration of
peace.
27
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
But what most concerned us in this war was
the effect it had in promoting Canadian prosperity.
Before harvest time was over farm produce of all
kinds suddenly shot up to fabulous prices. Wheat
and flour especially were in great demand, at prices
seldom previously attained, the former for a length-
ened period hovering about $i.6o per bushel, and
occasionally touching as high as $2.00. These
inflated war prices, combined with the large expendi-
tures being made on the Great Western and Grand
Trunk railways, soon made themselves felt to the
remotest bounds of the Province.
Still another factor combined to increase the pre-
vailing prosperity — the famous Reciprocity Treaty
between the United States and Canada. This had
been negotiated chiefly through the skilful diplomacy
of His Excellency Lord Elgin, then Governor-Gen-
eral of Canada, who joined Mr. Hincks on his
second visit to Washington on the subject. The
treaty was signed by the Hon. William M. Marcy
(Secretary of State) and Lord Elgin, on behalf of
their respective governments, at Washington, on
June 5th, 1854, and went into operation on March
15th the following year.
The effect of all these circumstances combined
brought upon Canada one of the most extraordinary
commercial and financial inflations ever experienced
in any country. For a time business was so brisk,
prices so good, and money so plentiful that every-
body began to dream of becoming rich. Farmers
indulged in new houses and lands; business men
rushed into new stores, manufactories and other
28
DAWN OF THE RAILROAD ERA
enterprises; and all classes seemed to feel that the
"good times " had at last come and were going to
stay. Property in town and country in some cases
doubled, and in others quadrupled, in value. Sales
of building lots were of daily occurrence, and thou-
sands of them were sold on back streets of country
villages at fabulous prices ! New business enter-
prises, both public and private, cropped up almost
every morning, and fortunes were supposed, in some
cases, to have been made and lost in a day. In short,
an unmistakable and dangerous " boom " had over-
spread the entire Province, and the people generally
had been seized with a spirit of wild speculation and
extravagance which subsequent experience could not
possibly justify.
When this memorable " boom " collapsed, which
it did rather suddenly, whilst fortunes had been
made by many, most Canadians found they were not
so rich as they had supposed, whilst many were left
much poorer than when it began. Nevertheless,
the change throughout the country from a state of
tardy progress to one of business activity, enterprise
and even wild speculation, was on the whole bene-
ficial to Canada, and very much needed by all classes
of the people at that time.
29
CHAPTER III
EARLY STRUGGLES FOR RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT
The state of political affairs in Canada at this
time was somewhat anomalous, but deeply interest-
ing. The excitement and bitter animosities of the
Mackenzie-Papineau Rebellion had largely disap-
peared. The old Tory Family Compact, whose oli-
garchical rule, coupled with the bumptiousness and
blundering of Sir Francis Bond Head, then Gover-
nor-General, had been the main cause of all the strife
and bloodshed, had been dethroned and discarded.
Lord Durham's famous Report, as already men-
tioned, resulted in the union of Upper and Lower
Canada, but the wise recommendation of this en-
lightened statesman in favour of conferring upon
Canadians a full measure of Responsible Govern-
ment remained for several years in uncertainty.
Under the governorship of Lord Sydenham, and
especially of his successor. Sir Charles Bagot, this
great reform was recognized and partly introduced.
The latter gentleman, although Conservative, held to
the principle that the majority in the Legislature
should rule, and finally invited the Hon. L. H. La-
fontaine, the Hon. Robert Baldwin, and several of
their Reform colleagues to accept office, so that his
government might be brought into harmony with,
and command the support of, a majority of the
people's representatives. His Excellency's offer was
30
STRUGGLES FOR RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT
Louis H. Lafontaine.
finally accepted, and the first Lafontaine-Baldwin
administration was installed in power amidst many
signs of popular gratification.
This was the position of
affairs when Sir Charles Met-
calfe arrived from Jamaica to
assume the Governor-General-
ship in March, 1843. He had
been trained in the arbitrary
rule of India, knew little of
parliamentary government, and
secretly prompted, it is be-
lieved, by Downing Street re-
actionaries, whose stupidity
and blundering had long been proverbial. His
Excellency arrogantly began to exercise the pre-
rogatives of the Crown, not
only without the consent of
his constitutional advisers, but
without even consulting them.
This action of Sir Charles,
whether inspired by Lord
Stanley, then Colonial Secre-
tary, or by his own arbitrary
ideas, involved the subversion
of Responsible Government,
and the country was immedi-
ately plunged again into violent
political excitement over the old question whether
popular government should be upheld or subverted.
It was a dangerous crisis, but Messrs. Baldwin and
Lafontaine, the Reform leaders, rose equal to the
Robert Baldwin.
31
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
occasion. True to the people and their principles,
when they found their advice no longer accepted by
the representative of the Crown, they patriotically
resigned their offices in the Government, a course
whose constitutionality and dignity has been univer-
sally recognized. Then began the final battle for
Responsible Government in Canada, the bitterness
and violence of which hardly can be realized at the
present day.
The result has long been a matter of history. Sir
Charles Metcalfe unconstitutionally ruled the Pro-
vince for nine months, without any Government at
all ; then he partially filled up the offices under the
premiership of the Hon. W. H. Draper (afterwards
Chief Justice), and, backed up by the Tory party, a
temporary advantage was gained at the general
elections in 1844 through means of bribery and
violence previously unparalleled. The voice of the
country was temporarily stifled by these devices, but
not altered or subdued.
The bitter struggle went on in Parliament and
throughout the country until that terrible disease,
cancer, caused Sir Charles to resign, and his suc-
cessor, Lord Elgin, was sworn in as Governor-Gen-
eral at Montreal, on the 30th January, 1847. His
Lordship was a man at once sagacious and eloquent,
courtly in manners, and friendly to constitutional
principles. The Draper Administration was still
sustained in the House of Assembly by a small
majority, and continued His Excellency's advisers
throughout the year. But at the ensuing general
elections, which came off in January, 1848, Messrs.
32
STRUGGLES FOR RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT
Baldwin and Lafontaine and their Reform support-
ers swept everything before them at the polls, both
in Upper and Lower Canada, and the long and bitter
battle for Responsible Government was at last and
forever won.
When Parliament assembled the Draper Ministry-
was promptly defeated, and resigned. Lord Elgin
thereupon sent for the Hon. Louis Lafontaine, and
entrusted him and the Hon. Robert Baldwin with the
formation of a new, homogeneous government, to be
composed entirely of Reformers, and fully recogniz-
ing, as Her Majesty's representative, the principles
of Responsible Government as the only basis upon
which future administration should be formed and
the business of the country carried on. Thus this
dangerous conflict happily ended in the enlargement
of popular rights as well as the signal triumph of the
Reform party, more especially of its eminent leaders,
Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Lafontaine, whose ability,
moderation and dignity, in carrying the agitation to
a final and successful issue in the face of the most
violent antagonism, form one of the brightest chap-
ters in the political annals of this country.
The second Lafontaine-Baldwin Administration,
though firmly seated in power, found the political
caldron still boiling. Their Tory opponents, though
reduced to a small minority, made up in bitterness
what they lacked in numbers. When, therefore, the
Administration passed the famous Rebellion Losses
Bill in 1849, 3.nd Lord Elgin came down to give the
Royal assent thereto, as he felt constitutionally
bound to do, their rage and vexation burst all bounds
3 33 . ,
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
and Montreal was soon at the mercy of an organized
Tory mob, whose violence culminated in the mob-
bing of Her Majesty's representative, and the burn-
ing down of the Parliament Buildings!
This criminal outrage did much to complete the
ruin of the old Tory party, and still further strength-
ened the Lafontaine-Baldwin Government, who
have been called " the Great Ministry " in conse-
quence of the splendid volume of legislation they
passed, "much of which survives to the present
day, and is a fitting monument to the justice, recti-
tude and broad statesmanship of its members."*
The Lafontaine-Baldwin Administration con-
tinued in office all-powerful until the fall of 1851,
when its distinguished leaders grew weary of the
political strife in which they had so long been
engaged. Amidst universal regret Mr. Baldwin
resigned in August, and the Hon. Francis Hincks,
already conspicuous for financial ability, became
leader of the House of Assembly in his place. Mr.
' Lafontaine could be pre\'ailed upon to linger behind
his colleague only until October, when his retire-
ment also took place and brought this . famous
administration to a close.
* " The Great Ministry ! Yes ; for everything in this world is
relative, and when the work of the second Lafontaine-Baldwin
Ministry is fairly contrasted with that of other Canadian minis-
tries of its epoch, it must be acknowledged to have been great at
least by comparison. No administration known to our history
has ever effected so much during an equal space of time. None
has contained so many men whose a1)ilities entitled them to rank
among colonial statesmen as compared with mere politicians." —
"Canada since the Union of 1841/' by John Charles Dent," Vol. II.,
page 238.
34
STRUGGLES FOR RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT
It had been arranged that Mr. Hincks and the
Hon. A. N. Morin should reconstruct the Cabinet
and become the Upper and Lower Canada leaders
respectively. His Excellency the Governor-General
selected Mr. Hincks as Premier, and the second
Reform ministry was composed of the following
gentlemen : Upper Canada, the Hons. Francis
Hincks, Dr. John Rolph. W. B. Richards, Malcolm
Cameron and James Morris ; Lower Canada, the
Hons. A. N. Morin, L. T. Drummond, John Young,
E. P. Tache and R. E. Caron.
The Hincks-Morin Government had been nearly
two years in power when my connection with the
press began in 1853, and to give subsequent events
their proper setting, a brief resume of the position
of political parties towards each other at that time
and the important public questions at issue between
them will be found necessary as well as useful.
There were then three distinct parties represented
in the Legislature and the country. There were,
first, the Hincks Ministry and their Reform sup-
porters; second, Sir Allan McNab and an active
remnant of the Tory party; and third, Mr. George
Brown and a section of the Reform party, chiefly
Upper Canadians, who had withdrawn their support
from Mr. Hincks and his colleagues.
Lord Elgin's enlightened policy had firmly estab-
lished Responsible Government, but a considerable
number of other questions of vital importance to
the peace and prosperity of the Province had
attained prominence and were awaiting settlement.
Prominent among these were the secularization of
35
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
the Clergy Reserves, the aboHtion of the Rectories,
the termination of the French Seignorial System,
and the substitution of a Legislative Council elected
by the people for the antiquated system of Crown
nomination. Besides these measures the tide of
agitation had already set in for non-sectarian edu-
cation, no grants of public money to ecclesiastical
corporations, and representation by population — or,
in other words, that the representation in Parlia-
ment of Upper and Lower Canada should be based
on the number of their respective inhabitants.
Mr. Hincks and his ministry claimed to represent
the Reform party, and were admittedly pledged to
settle the Reserves, Rectories, Seignorial Tenure
and Legislative Council questions. Like their
Reform predecessors, however, they had delayed
legislation on one ground and another until many
Reformers became weary, and doubts of their
sincerity began to be entertained. Sir Allan McNab
and his supporters constituted the regular Opposi-
tion. They denounced the proposed abolition of
the Reserves and Rectories (which had in the days
of the Family Compact been set aside from the
public lands for the establishment of the Church
of England) as little short of spoliation and
sacrilege, and stigmatized the Reform leaders,
especially Premier Hincks. as being, to use the
language of the time, " steeped to the lips in corrup-
tion." The dissentient Reformers, led by Mr,
Brown, based their opposition to Mr. Hincks and
his colleagues on the ground that they had broken
faith with the Reform party, that they were either
STRUGGLES FOR RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT
unable or unwilling to carry the great measures of
reform to which they were solemnly pledged, and
that, among other ministerial abuses, they were
encouraging the introduction of Separate Schools
and aiding ecclesiastical corporations at the dictation
of their French-Canadian colleagues and supporters.
The Tory and Reform wings of the Opposition,
as will be observed, were wide asunder as the poles
in their views on all the great political cjuestions
then dividing public opinion. Neither had they
anything in common personally or socially. Never-
theless, the old adage that politics makes strange
bed-fellows was again exemplified, and for a con-
siderable time Mr. Brown and Sir Allan McNab,
though preserving separate camps, acted more or
less together in opposing the Hincks-Morin
Ministry, both in Parliament and throughout the
country. This subjected the latter to a somewhat
galling cross-fire, and brought about a political
situation decidedly singular and interesting.
The position of public affairs was by no means
satisfactory. Twelve years had elapsed since the
union between Upper and Lower Canada, and the
future was not unclouded. As we have seen, there
was still a formidable array of complicated political
questions before Parliament pressing for settle-
ment. They profoundly stirred all classes of the
people, for they involved not only the questions of
a State Church and religious equality, but others
which might easily fan into flame the racial and
religious susceptibilities of the British majority in
the West or the French majority in the East.
37
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
How such difficult legislation could be peacefully
and successfully accomplished in a young province
so constituted— one-half being British and Protes-
tant, and the other French and Catholic — made up
one of the most formidable tasks ever imposed upon
any country possessing representative institutions.
It may be safely affirmed, therefore, that it reflects
the highest credit upon the public men and public
life of Canada that, despite much deplorable party
strife and rancour, our statesmen proved equal to
the occasion, and before many years all these diffi-
cult and dangerous questions had been manfully
grappled with and on the whole satisfactorily
settled.
38
CHAPTER IV
DR. JOHN BAYNE, " FATHER OF THE FREE CHURCH "
I BAREivY had got seated in the chair editorial
when iDrought into contact with one of the most
remarkable men I ever met — the Rev. John Bayne,
D.D., one of the first ministers of Gait.
He was born in the west parish of Greenock,
Scotland, on the i6th November, 1806, and came
to Canada in 1834. His father was the Rev. Ken-
neth Bayne, A.M., minister of the Gaelic chapel in
that city. On his mother's side he was also of
staunch Scottish Presbyterian stock, and was edu-
cated at Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities,
where he passed a very brilliant academical course.
After preaching in St. Andrew's Church, Toronto,
during the absence of the Rev. W. T. Leach (after-
wards the Venerable Archdeacon Leach, of Mont-
real) in Great Britain, he was called to, and became
the minister of, St. Andrew's Church, Gait, during
the following summer.
On his first arrival in the then little village he
resided for some time in my father's house, and I
therefore knew him from childhood. I was, how-
ever, brought into contact with him in a special
manner at this time, in consequence of a lecture he
delivered for the Mechanics' Institute of Gait on
" The Evidences of Design in the Works of
Creation." It combined science, philosophy and
39
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
j^2^it»^-.
religion, and excited so much interest that there
was an urgent demand for its pubHcation. Here
was an opening for journaHstic enterprise, but the
difficulty was to get the reverend gentleman to
write the lecture out, something he very rarely did,
not a sermon in manuscript having been found at
_ his death, out of all the
long and able discourses
which marked his minis-
try.
Keying up my courage
to the requisite point to
meet the august Doctor, I
shortly afterwards pre-
sented myself at his house,
a two-story stone dwelling
still standing at the foot
of High Park. Having
knocked timidly at the
John Bayne, D.D. ^^^^^ ^^^ housekeeper and
servant (they were generally united in one in those
days) quickly appeared.
"Is Dr. Bayne in?" I inquired.
" Oh, yes," she replied, " come in " ; and, with
the brusque courtesy of the period, she ushered me
into the sitting-room without knock or ceremony.
Here a surprise awaited me. The room was
cloudy with smoke, which was enriched with an
odour which could not be mistaken.
Having just come in from the sunlight, I could not
at first see clearly about me. Whilst peering through
the murk, however, a human figure gradually took
40
DR. JOHN BAYNE
form and arose from a lounge at the other end of
the room. As the figure advanced I saw it was Dr.
Bayne, who, although evidently a little ruffled at the
unceremonious way in which I had been ushered in,
took my hand so genially, and with words and man-
ner so kindly, as to soon place me comparatively at
my ease.
After the usual interchange of civilities the
Doctor excused himself for a few minutes whilst
he went into an adjoining room.
During his absence the light and my vision im-
proved, and I soon discovered the cause of the
unusual smoke on my entrance. On the mantel, the
window sills and other more curious places I counted
no less than nineteen clay pipes, many of which
looked new, and all were white and clean. Some
were full and some were empty, but the impression
left on the beholder was, and I afterwards learned
this was correct, that the Doctor commonly filled
them all together and then smoked as circumstances
called for.
He evidently regarded smoking and drinking in a
very different light. He was one of the earliest
clergymen within my knowledge to take a decided
stand against the liquor trafiic, and it was much
needed among the early settlers in those days.
But it was no secret that he enjoyed a smoke.
From the numerous evidences counted around the
room I concluded he could hardly have been excelled
by Milton, Dryden, Coleridge, Goethe, Carlyle or
Tennyson in his love of the pipe, which, although
justly losing ground in these modern days, was in
41
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
the past, and indeed, still continues to be, a charac-
teristic of many of the brightest and noblest
geniuses the world has ever seen.
Dr. Bayne broke up these reflections by his return
to the room. This afforded an opportunity to ex-
amine him more critically. Although his health
was no longer robust, I was struck with his fine,
distinguished-looking presence. He was slightly
above the medium height, erect and lithe in form,
and neat, almost natty, in attire. The face was dis-
tinctly oval, the forehead broad and massive, and
the nose well formed and straight; the predom-
inating features, however, were his finely-shaped
dark-grey eyes, at once so calm and penetrating that
their glance once seen remained a memory for ever,
and his finely formed mouth and lips, which mingled
firmness and gentleness to a wonderful degree.
His portrait, still to be found in many of the
homes of Gait and Dumfries, although not perfect
as a work of art, is very like him as he appeared in
his clerical gown, and not inconsistent, I trust, with
the brief literary snap-shot of his appearance here
attempted.
My interview proved successful, and a short time
afterwards I found myself in possession of what
was one of the ablest and most brilliant lectures ever
delivered in Gait, but the most difficult MS. to
decipher which ever fell to any poor printer's lot.
I quite renewed the acquaintance of my earlier years
with Dr. Bayne before his neat-looking hierogly-
phics were all comprehended, the proofs corrected,
42
DR. JOHN BAYNE
and the interesting and instructive production placed
before the reading public.
It has always been a wonder to many how Dr.
Bayne ever found his way to the "wilds of Canada,"
for wild, indeed, the country was in those remote
days. His talents were so great, his learning so
wide and deep, and his tastes so cultivated and re-
fined, that it is surprising that he ever left the
intellectual centres of Great Britain, where he was
well equipped to win renown either in college or
pulpit. The secret is doubtless to be found in the
intensity and fervour of his religious convictions.
His preaching afforded ample proof of this, as it
was exceedingly remarkable, being characterized by
a zeal and passionate eloquence rarely equalled.
" So impressed was he with the mighty import of
the message of the Gospel," to use my words on a
former occasion, " that he was known to preach for
two hours and a half, and sometimes his Sabbath
services continued from eleven o'clock till after
three in the afternoon. His style of preaching
vividly recalled the old pictures left us of John
Knox preaching before Queen Mary,* and although
probably a shade too austere, was characterized by
an earnestness and at times religious vehemence
" Mr. Bayne, in the judgment of his congregation, was a
preacher par excellence. In preaching he would begin in a slow,
deliberate tone, but as he proceeded his expression became more
rapid ; then the whole man would preach. Tongue, countenance,
eyes, feet, hands, body — all would grow eloquent. Under his able
and energetic pastorate the congregation soon became strong and
vigorous." — Historical Sketch of Knox Church, Gait, 1901.
43
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
which exercised a powerful influence over the com-
munity among whom he had cast his lot."
Many memories of his ministry crowd upon the
mind, and a characteristic one may be mentioned.
In early days in Canada, as elsewhere, the battle
between Calvinism and Arminianism ran pretty
high. Dr. Bayne was a very pronounced disciple of
the Swiss theologian, and as the Methodists began
to push their views of the plan of salvation very
zealously in Gait, the Doctor determined to discuss
the subject fully. Without indulging in a sectarian
or controversial spirit, and avoiding as far as pos-
sible anything offensive to others, he gave a most
masterly description of, and argument for, Calvin-
ism and the doctrine of Election, the series consist-
ins: of no less than thirteen consecutive sermons.
These discourses were, of course, the talk of the
whole district, which was considerably augmented
by the closing words of his last discourse, which
were in substance as follows : " Election or no
Election, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou
shalt be saved." These words afforded some satis-
faction to the adherents of the Arminian view, who
rather adroitly argued that if he had used them at
the beginning he might have dispensed with all the
rest of his sermons. The Calvinists, on the other
hand, as stoutly maintained that these closing words
made a grand as well as Scriptural ending of a most
able, comprehensive and convincing exposition of
God's revealed purposes and methods in the salva-
tion of the race.
44
DR. JOHN BAYNE
How vividly this incident recalls the warmth of
the controversy, in full swing at that time, between
the two great exponents of these religious views,
which everyone then deemed vitally important, and
in some cases degenerated into absolute, un-
christian bitterness ! And how it should moderate
our bitterness in modern controversies, religious or
political, when we see that, warm as the battle
raged even forty years ago between Presbyterians
and Methodists, many in both communions are now
warmly advocating the organic union of these two
great churches in Canada, and no longer consider
the views entertained of the doctrine of Election an
insurmountable bar to their united and hearty co-
operation as one bodv in the great work which the
Master has given all Christians to do.
No man of the acquirements and individuality of
Dr. Bayne could fail to be a power wherever he cast
his lot. He was held in profound respect wherever
known throughout the Province, and in Gait and
the surrounding districts, many even beyond the
pale of his own congregation, especially among the
young people, entertained for him feelings still
deeper — bordering, in fact, upon awe.
Many evidences of this might be given, but one
is especially well remembered. In the pioneer days
it was a common custom for the settlers to gather
about St. Andrew's Church doors on Sunday morn-
ing and converse together — not infrequently, it must
be admitted, on the news and gossip of the settle-
ment. The manse was situated about four or five
hundred yards from the church, with an open grass
45
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
common between. As the Doctor was occasionally
fifteen, and sometimes even twenty, minutes late,
since learned to have been generally caused by tem-
porary indisposition, these church-door gatherings
were on such occasions correspondingly numerous
and lively. But at the words, "There he comes!"
as the Doctor emerged from the manse door and
began to walk across the green, the gossipers would
disperse as if by magic, and be devoutly seated in
their pews several minutes before he mounted the
steps which led up to the sacred desk.
So strong and general was this feeling towards
Dr. Bayne that a sort of audible h-u-s-h, rising and
falling in regular cadence, would pass over the
audience as he entered the church or any congrega-
tional meeting. Nevertheless, he was greatly ad-
mired, and even loved, and when he unbent in the
privacy of his own home or in the limited circle
which he visited, he not only enjoyed a good joke,
but his conversation and manner were genial and
often sparkling and pleasing in an eminent degree.
Dr. Bayne was commissioned by the Provincial
Presbyterian Synod to visit Scotland in 1842 to
obtain ministers and missionaries to supply the
rapidly increasing settlements in the western penin-
sula. He remained there all the ensuing winter to
observe and take part in the Disruption Movement
in the established Church of Scotland, which was
then at white heat and culminated the following
summer. Upon his return to Canada he entertained
hopes that by a compromise, involving no sacrifice
, , 46
DR. JOHN BAYNE
of principle, a split in the Canadian church might be
avoided.
When the Synod met in Kingston in 1844, how-
ever, the majority would not consent to modify in
any way their connection with the Church of Scot-
land, whereupon twenty-three ministers and many
elders, under the leadership of Dr. Bayne, resigned
and formed themselves into a new Synod to be
called " The Synod of the Presbyterian Church in
Canada." It was generally called the Free Church,
after its namesake in Scotland, and it soon became
apparent that a large and influential section of the
Presbyterian body throughout the Province warmly
sympathized with, and approved of, the movement.
Dr. Bayne was from this time justly regarded as
the father of the Free Church in Canada, for which
he worked energetically and successfully. His influ-
ence among Presbyterians became widespread
throughout Upper Canada, and would doubtless still
further have increased, but in the providence of God
this was not to be, as he very suddenly and unex-
pectedly passed away on the 3rd November, 1859.
He arose that morning intending to preach a
Thanksgiving sermon for his friend, the Rev. Mr.
McLean, of Puslinch. He had his overcoat on his
arm ready to depart, when he suddenly complained
of illness, and ultimately had to retire to bed. After
the Thanksgiving service in Gait, his assistant
minister, the Rev. A. C. Geikie, who recently died
in Australia, much honoured, entered his room and
asked him to partake of some refreshment. This he
declined, and on Mr. Geikie looking in at the door
47
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
some time afterwards he found him apparently
asleep and thought it best not to disturb him. To-
wards five o'clock, thinking it strange that he did
not arise or ring for anything, Mr. Geikie again
entered his room and approached his bed, when, to
his surprise and sorrow, he found that Dr. Bayne
had peacefully and silently passed away.
His attitude was so natural that he appeared to
be only sleeping, and traces of a faint smile
illumined his features as if he had unexpectedly
caught a glimpse of the glory unspeakable-.
48
CHAPTER V
GEORGE BROWN IN AN OLD-TIME ELECTION
The press of Canada was conspicuous at an early-
date for ability and independence. Even fifty years
ago there were many well-conducted newspapers.
They were, of course, far behind those of to-day as
regards size, appearance and news — especially
foreign events — having neither railroads, telegraphs,
telephones, linotypes nor eight-cylinder presses to
aid them. But the editorials and local news were
generally well and correctly written, and quite
equalled, if they did not surpass, these departments
in our modern broad sheets, some of which are so
" yellow " in colour that it is difficult to tell what is
fact and what is fiction.
Conspicuous among the newspapers of that
period were the old Quebec Gazette and the Mont-
real Herald, the latter long and ably edited by Mr.
Edward Goff Penny. In Toronto the chief Con-
servative paper was the British Colonist, published
by Mr. Hugh Scobie. It was a vigorously conducted
and excellent journal. The Examiner was owned
by Mr. James Lesslie, was written for by Mr.
(afterwards Sir) Francis Hincks, and also by Mr,
Charles Lindsey, who became editor of the Leader
when it was started in 1850, and afterwards enjoyed
a green old age as one of the registrars of Toronto.
4 49
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
The British Whig of Kingston and the Journal and
Express of Hamilton, the latter conducted by Mr.
Solomon Brega, were then prominent journals.
The Whig is still to the front, and is, in fact, more
vigorous now in its old age than it was in its youth.
The Hamilton Spectator, which was a model typo-
graphically, was started by Mr. R. R. Smiley in
1846, and the North American, which was edited by
the Hon. William McDougall, appeared in Toronto
four years later and aroused considerable interest
by its semi-Republican platform.
Mr. George Brown and the Globe were already
powerful throughout the whole Province. His
father and he emigrated in 1838 from Edinburgh,
Scotland, to New York City, where they became
connected with the Albion newspaper, and subse-
quently started the British Chronicle on their own
account. Early in 1843, George, then a young man
of twenty-four, made a tour of the Northern States
and Canada in the interests of the Chronicle, but
had such inducements held out to him by the Bald-
win-Lafontaine ministers and others to commence
a newspaper in Toronto, that on his return to New
York the whole family decided to throw in their lot
with the British provinces.
They immediately removed to Toronto, and on
the i8th August following the Banner appeared. As
much of this journal was devoted to Presbyterian
and ecclesiastical news, sufficient attention could not
be given to political and secular affairs, and conse-
quently the Globe was started early in 1844.
50
GEORGE BROWN IN AN OLD-TIME ELECTION
The period was favourable for these Hterary ven-
tures. The disruption in the Church of Scotland
and the final struggle with Sir Charles Metcalfe over
Responsible Government were then burning ques-
tions, and Mr. George Brown took the side of the
Free Church and the Reform party with much
energy and ability. He was ably seconded by his
brother, Gordon Brown, upon whom the principal
editorial work finally devolved, and who, barring a
tendency to be a little too autocratic, was one of the
best all-round managing editors I have ever known.
Through the success and influence of his news-
paper, Mr. George Brown soon became widely
known and influential. His racy and powerful,
though rather cumbrously constructed editorials,
were a principal factor in bringing about the over-
whelming Reform victory at the general elections
in 1848. For many years his relations with Messrs.
Baldwin, Lafontaine, Hincks, Price, Lesslie and
other Reform leaders were of the closest character.
He gave them a warm and consistent support until
185 1. About this time, however, a large section of
the Reform party became dissatisfied. The Govern-
ment had made little or no progress in settling the
Clergy Reserves, Rectories and other questions on
which they had secured the confidence of the elec-
tors. This naturally caused dissatisfaction, and Mr.
Brown and other prominent Reformers had for
some time been earnestly protesting against the
course of the Administration, and insisting on its
pledges on these important questions being fulfilled.
51
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
Such was the poHtical situation when a bye-elec-
tion occurred in the county of Haldimand. Mr.
Brown was tendered the Reform nomination and
accepted it, but announced himself as an Inde-
pendent Reformer. His chief opponent was the
famous William Lyon Mackenzie, the recently par-
doned rebel leader, but there were two other Re-
formers in the field, Mr. Horace Case and Mr. Jacob
Turner, and also a Tory candidate in the person of
Mr. Ronald McKinnon, of Caledonia. The fight
was really between the two gentlemen first named,
and what between the attitude of the Administra-
tion, who rather dreaded Mr. Brown's advent to
Parliament as an Independent, and the strong sym-
pathy felt for Mr. Mackenzie as having suffered in
what was generally considered to be a just cause,
the rebel and exile of 1837, upon whose head a
reward of £1,000 had been set, found himself at
the close of the contest elected once more to the
Canadian Parliament.
This defeat widened the breach between the
Government and Mr. Brown, and during the ensuing
fall, when Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Lafontaine retired
and the Hincks-Morin Administration was installed
in power, his" opposition became more decided and
open.
At the general elections in November following
(1851), Mr. Brown accepted a nomination tendered
to him from the counties of Kent and Lambton,
which were then united. Rather strangely, the
gentlemen who took the chief part in bringing him
out as a candidate were Mr. Alexander Mackenzie,
52
GEORGE BROWN IN AN OLD-TIME ELECTION
of Lambton, and Mr. Archibald McKellar, of Kent,
who then became acquainted with each other for the
first time. Both of these gentlemen soon afterwards
found seats in Parliament, and became Mr. Brown's
most trusted lieutenants until the end of his life.
They were sometimes called the " Reform Trium-
virate," so unitedly and successfully did they act
together for many years.
Mr. McKellar was conspicuous for his humour
and drollery, and during the closing years of his
life, when residing in Hamilton as sheriff of the
county of Wentworth, he related to me many
laughable incidents which occurred during his long
career as a political campaigner. Not the least
amusing of these occurred during this Kent and
Lambton contest.
It proved to be a three-cornered fight, and a good
illustration of our old-fashioned Canadian elections.
Besides Mr. Brown, the other candidates were Mr.
Arthur Rankin, of Sandwich, who was the Hincks
Reform candidate, and Mr. A. Larwill, of Sarnia,
who was brought out by the Tory party. The Hon.
Malcolm Cameron, who had recently been appointed
President of the Council, was then an influential
man in western Canada, and he threw all his ener-
gies into the contest to defeat Mr. Brown. He
declared he would give the latter " a coon hunt on
the Wabash," and boldly confronted him on the
public platform, the war of words often lasting for
seven or eight hours on a stretch — occasionally, in
fact, till near daylight. Canadians in those early
days were deadly in earnest in their politics, and
53
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
elections were almost invariably marked by much
excitement, bitterness and occasional rows. This
contest proved conspicuously exciting and bitter,*
for it was the first straight fight between the Hincks-
ites and the Brownites, and many life-long Re-
formers for the first time found themselves arrayed
against each other.
Several of tiiese stories centred round an old
Highlander, whom we will call Donald Mactavish,
who was a well-known character in the riding, a
staunch Reformer and successful farmer. He could
neither read nor write, but his mental sharpness and
force of character were such that, by getting his
family to read to him, there was not a man for miles
around who understood current politics better than
he did.
* Some light is thrown on the character of our early elections
by the following specimen of numerous private letters circulated
by the Hon. M. Cameron during this contest :
(Private.) Sarnia, Nov. 12, 185 1.
Dear Sir, — Mr. George Brown is to be at Warwick on the
19th, at Donnelly's at 10 a.m. Now take a day in the good
work of getting him a good meeting. I will be out, and we
will show him up, and let him know what stuff Liberal Re-
formers are made of, and how they would treat fanatical
beasts who would allow no one liberty but themselves. Let
everyone that hates " a stag and a traitor " come, and we will
sing " Fagh a ballach "t to him in style. The " Bouchaleen
Bawns " t of Warwick will wake him up. Now see to it.
Yours truly,
(Signed) Malcolm Cameron.
t " Clear the way," the cry of the White boys on going into a
scrimmage.
t The White boys.
54
GEORGE BROWN IN AN OLD-TIME ELECTION
He had become an intense admirer of " Geordie
Broon," as he was then frequently called, and was
very anxious to have him stay over night at his
house. This request it was considered good policy
to comply with, and when the party reached the
Mactavish homestead, it was found to be a large
one-story log building — consisting, however, of but
one large room, the eating and sitting part being at
one end and a series of beds at the other, guiltless
alike of partitions or curtains of any kind whatever.
There were some sixteen people, big and small, to
sleep in those beds that night, and Mr. McKellar
used to laugh himself into tears as he told how Mr.
Brown, although worn out with speaking and travel-
ling, kept them all up for hours after they wanted to
retire, iDecause he was too embarrassed to undress
and get into bed under such unusual circumstances.
It was only after taking Mr. McKellar outside for
consultation, and being gravely assured that it would
be a gross breach of Highland hospitality if he did
not conform to the customs of the country, that Mr.
Brown got his courage screwed up to the sticking
point to undress, and, to use the words of the droll
narrator, " finally made a plunge for his bed, so
wild and ungraceful that it might be imagined but
could never be described."
Another incident connected with Mactavish gives
an idea of the humour of the times. The Tory
candidate, Mr. Larwill, had been a tinsmith in his
early days, which trade many Highlanders looked
down upon on account of their unsavoury recollec-
tions of gipsy tinkers in Scotland. A young Scotch-
55
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
man named McLean, who was well connected in
Toronto, was in the riding canvassing for Mr. Lar-
will, and spoke on his behalf on the day of nomina-
tion. His remarks quite excited the ire of Donald
Mactavish, but afterwards Mr. McLean was intro-
duced to him, and sought with all the art in his
power to conciliate the irate old gentleman. He
particularly claimed his friendship on the ground
that he was a Scotchman like himself, to which Mac-
tavish, with rising blood, replied : " Yes, that's joost
it. That's joost what makes her feel so pad at the
nomination yesterday, that anypody calling herself
a Scotchman could be found to propose a tinkler to
sit in Parliament."
The elections throughout the Province resulted
in favour of the Hincks-Morin Government, but
Mr. Brown was returned, as were also several Re-
formers who shared his views. Both in Parliament
and the press he soon afterwards burned his bridges
behind him so far as opposition to Mr. Hincks was
concerned.
The Ministerialists feared the dissatisfied Re-
formers more than Sir Allan McNab and the Tories,
who continued weak and unpopular, and during the
fall of 1853, Messrs. Hincks, Morin, Drummond,
Rolph, Cameron and other ministers made an ex-
tensive political tour throughout Upper Canada,
being banqueted in many places. Their chief
attacks were centred upon George Brown and the
Globe, and the friends of the latter vigorously
responded by a series of similar demonstrations, not
the least important of which were a great political
56
GEORGE BROWN IN AN OLD-TIME ELECTION
meeting and banquet — the former to be held at the
village of Glenmorris in the afternoon, and the latter
at Gait in the evening. The interest in these gather-
ings became intense throughout all the surrounding
districts when it became known that Mr. Brown
would be met and opposed at Glenmorris by Mr.
David Christie, then member of Parliament for
Wentworth, and a Reformer as strongly supporting
the Hincks Administration as the former opposed
them.
The day of battle and of feasting — the loth
October — at last arrived. It proved beautifully fine.
The atmosphere was clear and bracing, the woods
ablaze with autumnal colours, and the chief com-
batants and their friends were early on the field.
Mr. Brown and Mr. Christie were not unevenly
matched. Both being Scotch, born the same year
(1818), educated alike at Edinburgh High School,
and both ambitious politicians in the very prime of
early manhood, they doubtless felt, with Fitzjames
and Roderick Dhu —
" Such pride as warriors feel
In foemen worthy of their steel."
I was not present myself, being still innocent of
the political craze which Swift describes as " the
madness of many for the gain of a few," but from
the lips of many of the early settlers — now alas,
nearly all gone " across the bar " — I learned what
a memorable political battle this was. Both gentle-
men acquitted themselves admirably. Mr. Christie
proved himself a formidable antagonist. He was an
57
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
effective public speaker, and surprised and delighted
his friends. Mr. Brown was powerful, convincing,
and at times eloquent. It was, in short, a famous
battle, during which the politics of the day, and
especially the divisions which were then rending the
Reform party asunder, were handled with much
force, ability and skill on both sides.
When, during the following year, the Hincks-
Morin Government was defeated, the causes of
difference between the Reformers of the Province
almost entirely disappeared, and Mr. Brown and Mr.
Christie became fast political friends, which relation
was never afterwards broken. During their long
friendship they doubtless enjoyed many a quiet
laugh over the battle of Glenmorris and its exciting
incidents.
Evening found the Commercial Buildings, Gait, a
blaze of light for the banquet in Mr. Brown's
honour. The chair was occupied by James Cowan,
Esq., Clochmohr, afterwards member of Parlia-
ment, and the vice-chairs by Robert Ferrie, Esq.,
Doon, who also became a member of Parliament,
and Dr. Samuel Richardson, of Gait. About three
hundred Reformers were present, and loud and long
were the cheers which greeted the guest of the even-
ing as he rose to reply to the principal toast :
" George Brown, the Member for Kent."
Very few of those present had ever seen the
speaker before, myself among the number, and I
well remember the eager glances and thrill of inter-
est on the part of the audience as he straightened
himself up to his full height and uttered his opening
58
HON. GEORGE BROWN.
GEORGE BROWN IN AN OLD-TIME ELECTION
words. His was a striking figure. Standing fully
six feet two inches high, with a well-proportioned
body, well-balanced head and handsome face, his
appearance not only indicated much mental and
physical strength, but conveyed in a marked manner
an impression of youth fulness and candour. These
impressions deepened as his address proceeded, and
his features grew animated and were lighted up by
his fine, expressive eyes. His voice was strong and
soft, but had the defect — if such it be — of the well-
known Edinburgh accent, which helped to add to
the surprise of many who had expected to see a
much older and sterner-looking man in the George
Brown who had been arousing Parliament and the
country as they had seldom or ever been aroused
before.
The speaker's introductory remarks caused a mo-
mentary ripple of disappointment. .Like the opening
of all his speeches, they were marked by a little
nervous stammering and stuttering. This quickly
passed away, however, and as he warmed to his
subject, his mannerisms were soon forgotten in the
masterful manner in which he discussed the great
public questions then affecting Upper Canada and
the Province at large. Among these were the Clergy
Reserves question, the Government's Grand Trunk
and other railway transactions, the Seignorial Ten-
ure, Representation by Population, no public aid to
Ecclesiastical Corporations, and many other c[ues-
tions in regard to which the people were then deeply
agitated. He brought to the discussion of these
great issues such well-arranged facts and figures,
59
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
such a flow of oratorical power and eloquence,
coupled with such evident earnestness and enthus-
iasm, that he quite captivated his audience and closed
a three hours' speech amidst universal and long-con-
tinued cheering.
This was George Brown's introduction as a poli-
tician to this district, and from that night until his
last he became a great power in Waterloo and sur-
rounding counties, as he afterwards did in every
nook and valley of Upper Canada.
60
CHAPTER VI
CAREER AND FALL OF THE HINCKS MINISTRY
Early in 1854 it became evident that forces were
at work which must soon produce a poHtical crisis.
Upper Canada was indignant that Httle or no pro-
gress had been made in aboHshing the Clergy Re-
serves, although the Government had been Reform
for nearly seven years, and Lower Canada com-
plained that the Seignorial Tenure system still re-
mained a drag upon its energies and progress. Public
opinion had been gradually crystallizing against the
Hincks Administration, and when Parliament was
called together on the 5th June, the members were
in no amiable mood.
When the Chambers were convened the Speech
from the Throne rather added fuel to the flames. It
was remarkable for its omissions. It made mention
of the breaking out of the Crimean War, of His
Excellency Lord Elgin's successful negotiation of
the Reciprocity Treaty at Washington — about the
only subject of prime importance referred to — and
foreshadowed a new and extended Representation
Bill upon which an early appeal would be made to
the people. But, strange to say, nothing was said
whatever about the Clergy Reserves and Seignorial
Tenure questions.
Considering their great importance and long agi-
tation, the complete silence of the official speech of
61
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
the Governor-General in regard to these measures
was certainly an extraordinary omission. It seems
at this distance to have been a political faux pas.
Parliament, at any rate, promptly manifested its dis-
satisfaction. Four votes of non-confidence were
immediately proposed to the address, two of them
by Messrs. Sherwood and Langton, Conservatives.
The motion regarding the Clergy Reserves was
vigorously supported by Messrs. George Brown,
Joseph Hartman and William Lyon Mackenzie, and
on the Seignorial question by Messrs. Joseph Cau-
chon and Louis Victor Sicotte, all of whom except
Mr. Hartman, who did not long survive, either were,
or afterwards became, distinguished in public life.
After a very stormy debate, in which the Tory lead-
ers took a vigorous part, and which lasted for ten
days and much of the nights, the Government was
defeated by a majority of 13, Mr. Hincks being
deserted by all but five of his Upper Canada sup-
porters.
The next day the Governor-General came in state
to the Parliament Buildings. He had accepted the
advice of the Ministry to prorogue Parliament, with
a view to a dissolution and an immediate appeal to
the people. When Black Rod appeared and sum-
moned the Assembly to meet His Excellency in the
Council Chamber, an exciting and turbulent scene
took place. Sir Allan McNab and William Lyon
Mackenzie were among the most conspicuous in de-
nouncing the proposed dissolution, the ultra-loyalist
and former arch-rebel for once joining hands in
obstruction. The Chamber was a wild scene for
62
CAREER AND FALL OF HINCKS MINISTRY
some time. But all was unavailing, and amidst
much excitement and bitterness Parliament was pro-
rogued and dissolved, and the Province found itself
again in the midst of a general election.*
It proved an unusual one — somewhat, in fact, of
a political muddle. Political parties were in an ano-
malous condition. The Tories were still weak in
Parliament and the country. They were out of
accord with advanced public opinion, and the smoke
of the burned Parliament Buildings still beclouded
them. The Reform party was numerically strong,
but, as we have seen, hopelessly split into two war-
ring sections.
Mr. Hincks and his Reform friends in Upper Can-
ada had to face both the Tories and the Clear Grits,
as the latter at this time began to be called. He was
zealously supported by his two colleagues. Dr. John
Rolph and Mr. Malcolm Cameron, and together they
made a spirited defence of their Administration. In
his address to the electors of Oxford, the Premier
claimed credit for the Reciprocity Treaty, their suc-
cessful railroad policy, and for an energetic and
enterprising administration of affairs. He also de-
clared that during the session so summarily closed
his Government had intended to submit and discuss
the measures they had prepared to secularize the
Reserves, abolish the Seignorial Tenure and reform
the Legislative Council, and having passed a bill to
bring the new franchise laws into immediate opera-
* The polling for this election took place during July and
August, on the days directed by the Government in each writ,
which was the law at that time. The polling lasted two days.
63
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
tion, to then dissolve Parliament and take the verdict
of the enlarged electorate on these great measures.
The Opposition assailed the Government from
varying standpoints — the Reformers, led by Mr.
Brown, because they had not fulfilled their pledges
to abolish the Reserves and Rectories; the Tories,
led by Sir Allan McNab, because they still promised
to abolish them. Both wings of the Opposition,
however, united in denouncing many of the admin-
istrative and legislative
acts of the party in power,
especially certain transac-
tions in connection with
the new railroads and
other public works.
As an example of these
charges, what became
known as " the Toronto
£10,000 case " may be
mentioned. This charge
was, that Mr. Hincks had
joined Mr. John G. Bowes,
Mayor of Toronto, in buy-
ing up a large block of debentures issued by the city to
aid the construction of the Northern Railway, which
debentures they purchased at 20 per cent, discount.
The facts were not denied. The only disputed points
were the legality and propriety of the transaction.
It ultimately came before the Court of Chancery in
a suit against Mr. Bowes. The judges held that he
must refund his share of the profits to the city, as he
was mayor thereof and acting in a fiduciary capacity.
64
Sir Allan McNab.
CAREER AND FALL OF HINCKS MINISTRY
Mr. Hincks' position, however, was never legally
challenged, and he and his friends maintained that
there was no impropriety in his taking part in the
purchase of these debentures at the price at which
they could be obtained in the open market. Never-
theless, the transaction was regarded as of doubtful
propriety on the part of one holding the exalted
office of Prime Minister, and on the strength of this
and a few similar speculations, the Opposition made
the hustings ring at the elections with charges of
jobbery and corruption against Mr. Hincks and his
colleagues.
Some idea may be obtained from this brief outline
of the public issues of this political contest, but it is
more difficult to understand how oddly political
parties and the electorate generally were divided
and mixed up.
As the contests which took place in the county of
Waterloo afford a good illustration of the political
situation all over the Province, they are worthy of
citation as cases in point. In the north riding, Mr.
Michael Hamilton Foley, barrister, Simcoe, had been
sent by the Hon. Dr. Rolph to contest that riding as
the Ministerial Reform candidate. He was a clever
Irish-Canadian, stoutly-built and good-natured, with
great readiness and wit as a public speaker, and,
occasionally stopping for a moment to wipe his spec-
tacles, was an adept at making it hot for his oppon-
ents, even if he had once in a while to take a little
liberty with the facts. His opponents soon learned
when he wiped those spectacles to look out for a
wipe of a very different character.
5 65
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
Soon after Mr. Foley's arrival in Berlin, the sup-
port of the Reformer was asked in the North
Waterloo contest by a gentleman I had never seen
before. He was evidently young and ambitious, in
stature tall and graceful, with a fine oval face and
features — a decidedly handsome native Canadian,
whose whole appearance and address were manly
and pleasing, although slightly marred by an occa-
sional dash of coldness in his words and manner.
This gentleman in after years took an active part in
bringing about the Confederation of British Amer-
ica, and became the Hon. William McDougall, C.B.
He was on his way to the north riding to enter the
lists as a Clear Grit Reformer against Mr. Foley,
and as he was opposed to the Hincks Government, I
readily promised him such assistance as my news-
paper could give. He was soon in the field, proved
himself a remarkably fine public speaker, and Mr.
Foley and he were soon at it hammer and tongs.
In South Waterloo the contest was equally mixed.
Mr. Geo. S. Tiffany, barrister, Hamilton, appeared
as a Reformer on behalf of the Government, and
Mr. Robert Ferrie, one of the Ferries of Hamilton,
but who then carried on a large milling and store
business at the village of Doon, was the Opposition
Reform candidate. He was brought out by a requisi-
tion signed by both Clear Grits and Tories, but all
the four candidates in both ridings were Reformers,
and old political friends soon found themselves
divided from each other and mixed up with former
opponents in a manner never before experienced.
When the election ended it was found that honours
66
CAREER AND FALL OF HINCKS MINISTRY
were easy, Mr. Foley being returned in the north
riding and Mr, Ferrie in the south.
As it was in the Waterloos, so it was generally
throughout the whole Province. Most of the elec-
tions were more or less of a political muddle. In
some ridings a Reformer was pitted against a Tory
as usual, in others, a Brown Reformer against a
Hincks Reformer, and in others the Hincksites,
Tories, Clear Grits, and even Independents all had
candidates in the field. In not a few localities the
Tories supported Clear Grits, in others Clear Grits
supported Tories, and both generally united to op-
pose the Hincksites. The latter, too, had in some
cases to choose between voting for a Tory or a Grit,
and were puzzled to decide as to which might prove
the most dangerous opponent.
In short, political disunion stalked abroad, and the
differences among old Reform friends — even among
members of the same families — in almost every
riding in Upper Canada, combined with the strange
medley of former Tory and Clear Grit opponents
working together in others, made up one of the most
singular and unsatisfactory general elections which
ever took place under our representative system.
67
CHAPTER VII
UNEXPECTED TURN O:^ THE POLITICAL CRISIS
The smoke of the political battle throughout the
country had scarcely cleared away when the new
Parliament was called together. It assembled on
5th September. Both the Government and the
Opposition claimed to have the majority, and the
opening of the session by His Excellency Lord
Elgin was marked by much excitement.
The election of the Speaker afforded the first test
of strength. There were three candidates proposed.
The Ministerialists put forward Mr. George E. Car-
tier; the Rouges, Mr. L. V. Sicotte, and the Clear
Grits and Tories, Mr. John Sandfield Macdonald,
who had been the previous Speaker. On the first
vote the Ministerial candidate, Mr. Cartier, was
defeated by 62 to 59 — a majority of 3. The second
vote was on Mr. Sicotte, and his chances seemed
poor. But in order to defeat Mr. Macdonald, who
had ceased to be his political friend, Mr. Hincks
adroitly arose at the last moment and threw his own
vote and that of his supporters in favour of Mr.
Sicotte, thus turning his small minority into a major-
ity of 35. The Government had received a severe
check, but the ready tact of its leader foiled the
Opposition and partially concealed its dangerous
character.
68
UNEXPECTED TURN OF POLITICAL CRISIS
Two days afterwards, however, the Administra-
tion sustained a direct defeat on the Timothy Bro-
deur election case, and it soon became apparent that
they no longer controlled the House and its action.
On the morning of the 8th, Mr. Hincks and Mr.
Morin waited upon the Governor-General and ten-
dered their resignations and those of all their
colleagues.
The political situation thus created was quite a
difficult one, and placed upon His Excellency Lord
Elgin no easy task. The three parties into which
the Legislative Assembly was divided numbered
nearly as follows : Ministerialists, 65 ; Clear Grits
and Rouges, 40; Tories, 25. In many respects they
were all bitterly opposed to each other, and it was
difficult to foresee how any government could be
formed able to command a majority. It was natur-
ally supposed, however, that the reins of power
would remain in the hands of the Reform party,
which, although divided, numbered about 105 in a
house of 130. There was much surprise, therefore,
when the Governor-General sent for Sir Allan Mc-
Nab to form a new government, as the group under
his leadership was the smallest of the three in the
House, numbering in fact not more than one-fifth
of the people's representatives.
Mr. Brown and his supporters regarded a Tory
Administration as impracticable. They hoped for a
new Reform ministry with Mr. Hincks out, and
pledged to the immediate passage of the great meas-
ures which had sundered the party. The latter's
Lower Canada colleagues, however, had warmly
69
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
sided with the late Premier during the party's
quarrels, and George Brown and the Globe were
already being held up before the French-Canadians
as the enemies of " our laws, our language and our
race."
Their relations had been further embittered by the
events of the recent elections, and in their hour of
defeat Mr. Hincks and his colleagues were evidently
determined at all hazards to thwart Mr. Brown and
the Reformers acting with him. They consequently
approved, and had doubtless advised. Lord Elgin's
course in sending for Sir Allan McNab, and it soon
began to be whispered in the corridors that they had
formally proposed to assist the Tory leaders in form-
ing a Coalition Government if the latter would agree
to pass the Clergy Reserves, Seignorial Tenure and
the Elective Legislative Council measures announced
in the Speech from the Throne, and which the retir-
ing ministers had already in a forward state of pre-
paration.
Had a bomb-shell been exploded in the legislative
chamber it could hardly have created more surprise
than when this secret was revealed, and the public
learned that negotiations for a coalition between the
Tories and the Hincksites were actually in progress
on the basis mentioned above.
The leaders of both these parties had so long and
bitterly denounced each other that many were in-
credulous as to the possibility of such a union. Sir
Allan McNab, Mr. John Hillyard Cameron, Mr.
William Cayley, Mr. Ogle R. Gowan, in fact the
whole party, had been battling for nigh a quarter of
70
UNEXPECTED TURN OF POLITICAL CRISIS
a century for a State-endowed church, and against
the aboHtion of the reserves and rectories, and not
long before the legislative chamber had resounded
with frantic cheers as one of their number had made
an elaborate attack on Mr. Hincks as a second Wal-
pole who was " steeped to the lips in corruption."
The boldness of the proposed new combination,
therefore, rather staggered these gentlemen at first,
more particularly those of them who were good
churchmen, and they temporarily hesitated. But in
the isolated and almost hopeless position of the Tory
party at that time the offer of power and office was
a strong temptation, and as the after developments
proved. Sir Allan had ceased to be the real leader of
his party, and had either to go with the tide or be
left stranded on the shore.
The real leader of the Tory party in this memor-
able crisis was a comparatively young man, who had
joined their ranks a decade before and was rapidly
forging his way to the foremost place. He was born
in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, on January iith^
1815, and, when five years old, was brought by his
parents from Scotland to Upper Canada. He re-
ceived a good Grammar School education, and was
trained to the legal profession. In 1844 he was
elected to Parliament, and in 1847 became Receiver-
General in the moribund Draper Administration,
which position he held until his party fell in 1848. He
possessed far greater political sagacity than his aged
colleagues and although still lacking in official expe-
rience, he was not less forceful and accomplished,
and even more adroit, than the retiring Prime Min-
71
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
ister, Mr. Hincks, who had been nicknamed by some
of his opponents " the Emperor," on account of the
almost autocratic power which for several years he
wielded. He was, in short, a born political manager,
and was already the master mind and moving spirit
and the rising hope of the Tory party.
I need scarcely say that the gentleman referred to
was the member for Kingston, who afterwards
became the Right Honourable Sir John A. Macdon-
ald, G.C.B.,* and who was destined to play such a
long and distinguished part, not only in the govern-
ment of the Province of Canada, but of the whole
of British North America from the Atlantic to the
Pacific oceans.
When Hincks and Macdonald agreed to clasp
hands across the political chasm which had so long
separated them, the proposed coalition became pos-
sible. The difficulties were admittedly formidable,
but their master hands forcibly grasped and skilfully
overcame them, so far as that was possible. Sir
Allan McNab's hesitation ended in the acceptance
of the commission of Her Majesty's representative
to form a new Administration, and on the nth
instant the arrangements were all complete, and the
* Mr. Macdonald's family was of Highland extraction. His
grandfather had been a successful merchant in Dornoch, Suther-
landshire, and his father, Hugh Macdonald. became a manufac-
turer in Glasgow. His mother's name was Helen Shaw, and the
family numbered five : Margaret, who married the Rev. James
Williamson, Professor of Mathematics and Natural History,
Queen's University, Kingston ; John Alexander, the future Cana-
dian Premier ; James and Louisa ; and another brother, William,
who died in childhood.
72
RIGHT HON. SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD
(Prom an oil paint iiig hii J. W. L. Fai-xtci-, Il.C.A.)
UNEXPECTED TURN OF POLITICAL CRISIS
first famous Canadian Coalition Government was
sworn into office. It was composed as follows :
Upper Canada. — Sir Allan N. McNab, Premier
and Minister of Agriculture ; Hon. John A. Macdon-
ald, Attorney-General West ; Hon. William Cayley,
Inspector-General ; Hon. John Ross, Speaker Legis-
lative Council; Hon. Robert Spence, Postmaster-
General.
Lower Canada. — Hon. A. N. Morin, Commis-
sioner of Crown Lands; Hon. L. T. Drummond,
Attorney-General East; Hon. P. J. O. Chauveau,
Provincial Secretary ; Hon. J. Chabot, Commissioner
of Public Works; Hon. E. P. Tache, Receiver-
General.
The announcement of these new and unexpected
political combinations created quite a sensation
throughout the Province, and in the agitated state of
public opinion at that period, produced not a little
recrimination and bitterness both in the House
and the country. In Parliament the Opposition
denounced the Coalition as immoral ; in the country
the people were much puzzled and divided.
Both the Tory and Reform parties were deeply
stirred. The great body of the former were elated
that from an almost helpless position in the cold
shades of Opposition, they had suddenly obtained
control of the Government and its patronage. But
many influential churchmen were deeply incensed
that their own political friends had bargained ( in
their opinion) to wound the Church of England by
agreeing to confiscate its endowments — feeling like
the eagle in the famous simile, which grieved the
7?>
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
more to see that one of its own feathers tipped the
shaft which was drinking its Hfe-blood!
The criticism of the Reform party chiefly fell
upon Mr. Hincks. He was roundly condemned by
Reformers all through the West, except the limited
but respectable minority who adhered to Messrs.
Ross, Spence, and himself, for making the resuscita-
tion of the Tory party possible — having acted, as
they alleged, on the principle of " rule or ruin." He
defended himself manfully, however, giving, as was
his custom, blow for blow. His chief ground of
defence was that the great measures he had an-
nounced in the Speech from the Throne would be
faithfully carried through Parliament by the new
Administration, and that the seats held in it by his
late Lower Canadian colleagues and his two Upper
Canada friends, Messrs. Ross and Spence, were the
best guarantee that good faith would be kept in every
respect in passing these measures into law.
Whoever was to blame, the Reform party was
evidently wrecked.
Many charged this result to the personal ambitions
and antagonism of Mr. Hincks and Mr. Brown. To
the credit of Canadian public life, however, there
were other and stronger reasons. Questions of vital
importance, as we have already seen, then agitated
the public mind. It was of lasting importance to
the people of Canada and their descendants that they
should be settled forever, and it must be admitted
that the Reform leaders opposed to Mr. Hincks were
amply justified in their course by the long and exas-
perating delay in the fulfilment of the promises made
74
UNEXPECTED TURN OF POLITICAL CRISIS
to settle these vital questions. This is amply attested
by the fact that the great body of the Reformers of
Upper Canada sustained their course at the elections,
and as soon as the Coalition Ministry was formed,
Messrs. Rolph, Christie, Foley and others who had
adhered to Mr. Hincks up to that time, immediately
held a meeting and decided to unite with their fellow
Reformers and the Quebec Rouges under the leader-
ship of Mr. Brown and Mr. A. A. Dorioh, of Mont-
real.*
When these events occurred my political sympa-
thies were all with the Clear Grits and against Mr.
Hincks. But time and experience often modify and
improve opinions, and investigations in after life led
me to regard the latter as not nearly so black as he
was painted at the time. The difficulties in the way
of settling the Clergy Reserves question were much
greater than were generally supposed. Conscientious
objections on the part of Mr. Baldwin, the hesi-
tancy of Mr. Lafontaine and his Quebec colleagues
to interfere with church endowments, and the tardi-
ness of the Imperial Government in passing an Act
to authorize the Secularization, which leading law-
yers considered necessary, and which was only ob-
* The gentlemen who signed the resolution organizing the new
Opposition were : Messrs. W. Hamilton Merritt, L. H. Holton, A.
A. Dorion, George Brown, A. T. Gait, J. S. Macdonald, John
Rolph, S. B. Freeman, Joseph Papin, John Fraser, Alanson Cooke,
John Young, John Scatcherd, T. M. Daly, M. H. Foley, M. F.
Valois, R. Macdonald, J. B. E. Dorion, Jacob DeWitt, A. J. Fer-
guson, Joseph Hartman, Robert Ferrie, D. Mathieson, Joseph
Gould, Chas. Daoust, G. M. Prevost, J. O. Sanborn, W. L. Mac-
kenzie, W. Mattice, Amos Wright, John M. Lumsden, D. McKerlie,
A. Laberge, Noel Darche, F. Bourassa, J. B. Guevremon, J. O.
Bureau, and J. H. Jobin.
75
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
tained shortly before the elections of 1854, furnish
some explanation and excuse for Mr. Hincks' failure
to fulfil earlier his political pledges to the people at
the polls.
His unexpected alliance with the Tory party —
whose opposition to him had been both violent and
long — seems much less excusable. In saying this I
feel bound to mention that I was informed many
years afterwards by a member of Parliament whom
I deemed reliable, that in order to prevent disaster
to the Reform party, Mr. Hincks, on one occasion,
privately offered to Mr. Brown and his friends to
retire from the leadership in favour of Judge John
Wilson, of London, if that would restore peace and
harmony, which offer was not accepted, li true this
would place Mr. Hincks' conduct in a better light.
But I never heard this story confirmed, nor do I
remember its currency at the time when all classes
were stirred by the formation of the memorable
Coalition, and when Reform condemnation of their
late leader swelled into a chorus as the far-reaching
consequences of his action became more clearly
discernible.
A very few weeks of the session sufficed to show
that the Coalition Ministry had been formed on a
solid, and what was likely to be a lasting basis. Its
corner-stone was Lower Canada, and for many years
that Province was destined to be paramount in shap-
ing Canadian policy and legislation.
Several of the new Administration, too, were able
men, conspicuous among whom was the Attorney-
General West, Mr. Macdonald, and they applied
76
UNEXPECTED TURN OF POLITICAL CRISIS
themselves with much energy and assiduity to carry
out the poHcy they inherited from the Hincks Gov-
ernment, and which poHcy they were pledged to
crystallize into legislation.
Sir Allan McNab manfully announced to Parlia-
ment that his party would no longer oppose, but
would submit the measures promised in the vice-
regal speech to settle the Reserves, Rectories, Seign-
orial Tenure and Elective Legislative Council ques-
tions, which had been repeatedly declared to be the
will of the country. These promises were in the
main faithfully kept, and the measures were sub-
mitted and carried through Parliament as rapidly
as could reasonably be expected. The Clergy Re-
serves Bill contained monetary concessions to the
State Church party in possession of these lands not
acceptable to many of the people of Upper Canada,
but the measures of the Government proved success-
ful in settling and removing all these vexed questions
from the political arena, forever establishing in
Canada religious and political equality, and carrying
the ship of State safely through this remarkable
crisis into smoother and safer waters.
Before the following session closed, Mr. Hincks,
who had long played the leading rule in Parliament,
resigned his seat for Renfrew. Soon afterwards he
was appointed by the Government of Great Britain,
first as Governor-in-Chief of Barbadoes and the
Windward Islands, then of British Guiana, and was
honoured by being made a Companion of the Order
of the Bath (1862), and a Knight Commander of
the Order of St. Michael and St. George in 1869.
77
CHAPTER VIII
MACDONALD AND BRCWN AS RIVAL LEADERS
The decade extending from the formation of the
first Coalition Government (1854) to the dawn of
Confederation (1864) was one of continuous poH-
tical agitation. It quickly developed into a struggle
between Upper and Lower Canada, in which British
and French and Protestant and Catholic ideals
clashed, and as it advanced and intensified, any stable
Government became almost impossible, and the
opinion rapidly grew that either the legislative union
between the two Provinces would have to be dis-
solved or some other remedy found and applied
Notwithstanding the unsettled state of politics,
however, the country continued to gradually develop
and advance, and not a few interesting circumstances
occurred which it would be inexcusable to overlook.
Among these was the departure of Lord Elgin.
His governorship had been marked by many impor-
tant and exciting events. His firm establishment of
Responsible Government, the attacks made upon him
by the Montreal Tories, their burning of the Parlia-
ment Buildings,* and subsequent hoisting of the
* " At the time of the agitation in the Province of Quebec, and
especially in the city of Montreal, in consequence of the passage
of the Rebellion Losses Bill, when Lord Elgin, the Governor-Gen-
eral, was threatened with violence and much abuse, in consequence
of having sanctioned the bill, the Reformers of Ontario approved
78
MACDONALD AND BROWN AS RIVAL LEADERS
Annexation flag, his triumphal tour throughout
Upper Canada, and his successful negotiation of the
Reciprocity Treaty with the United States — all these
circumstances had contributed to make him univer-
sally known though not universally popular ; in fact,
till near the close of his mission, it might almost be
said the Reformers loved him like an angel, and the
Tories hated him like a devil! His Upper Canada
tour, however, proved how much admired and popu-
lar he was with the great body of the people.
I recollect quite distinctly Lord Elgin's visit to
Gait at that time. It was in 1849. He was con-
ducted from Paris to the Swan Inn, the half-way
house, by the citizens of the former place and vicin-
ity, and there two large processions with banners
flying, one from East and the other from West
Dumfries, met and conducted him into Gait. The
village was profusely decorated with arches and
evergreens, and had appended to the principal bridge
over the Grand River a skilfully executed represent-
ation of a spider and its web, recalling the famous
incident in the career of his ancestor. King Robert
Bruce of Scotland.
Lord Elgin was not tall, but strongly and well
built, with a broad, intellectual face, large beaming
eyes expressive of the orator, and wonderful grace
of the legislation and of the course pursued by Lord Elgin, and a
deputation was sent on behalf of the Reformers of Upper Canada
to assure him of our sanction and support of the course which he
had pursued. That deputation was composed of the Hon. George
Brown, the late Col. C. J. Baldwin, and myself. When we pre-
sented our address to Lord Elgin he was so much affected by it
that he actually shed tears. He was evidently much gratified." —
Letter of Sir William P. Howland to Toronto Globe, 1901.
79
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
and suavity of manner. His face was brightened
by broad smiles as he drove through the streets in a
carriage drawn by four beautiful grey horses, and
his eloquence and affability captivated all hearts long
before his entertainment in Gait concluded. He was
afterwards escorted to the Wellington county line,
where he was conducted to similar honours by the
people of Guelph and vicinity.
Lord and Lady Elgin's career in Canada closed
with brilliant festivities given by them at Spencer-
wood, Quebec, and the day after the close of the first
session of the McNab-Morin Coalition, the i8th
December, 1854, His Excellency resigned his charge
as Governor-General into the hands of Sir Edmund
Head, a distant connexion of Sir Francis Bond
Head of rebellion fame, and a gentleman of un-
doubted attainments, but cast in a very different
mould from his courtly predecessor.
Three days later the people of Quebec regretfully
crowded its narrow, rugged streets, as Lord Elgin
and suite, himself with bared head, walked to the
shores of the St. Lawrence, on whose mighty bosom
he bid adieu to Canada forever. His popularity was
evidently undiminished in the ancient capital, but
recent political events had produced some curious
changes on the point in Upper Canada — the Tory
party having at last discovered his virtues, whilst,
alas for consistency, not a few Reformers had
soured a little on their former idol. Fortunately,
this latter feeling was only temporary, and all classes
of Canadians have long agreed that Lord Elgin was
not only one of the most charming governors Can-
So
MACDONALD AND BROWN AS RIVAL LEADERS
ada ever had, but that his administration of public
affairs was conspicuous for its wisdom and prudence
during an exciting and critical period.
The last session of Parliament to be held in the
city of Quebec before the removal of the seat of
Government to Toronto — it having been decided
after the burning of the Parliament Buildings to
alternate the capital between these two cities every
four years — was opened by the new Governor-Gen-
eral, Sir Edmund Head, on the 23rd February, 1855.
During the recess Mr. Morin had retired to the
Bench, and Mr. George E. Cartier had become the
Lower Canada leader, but the Government continued
all-powerful. The session was noticeable mainly in
accentuating the difficulties and bitterness existing
between Upper and Lower Canada, the end of which
many began to fear but none could see their way to
redress.
The chief political gladiators in Parliament were
the Hon. John A. Macdonald and Mr. George
Brown. They were surrounded by not a few able
men, but they were the leaders of their respective
parties par excellence. Both of these gentlemen were
then in the prime of life, both parliamentary orators
of a high order, but in method and manner essen-
tially different. Mr. Macdonald was alert and skil-
ful, quick to see and take advantage of any weak
point in his adversary's armour, and ever ready with
a jibe or witty sally. Mr. Brown was earnest, posi-
tive and impulsive, with a force of reasoning and
invective difficult to withstand.
6 81
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
The Reform leader came prominently to the front
during this session as the champion of Upper Cana-
dian rights, by which soubriquet he speedily became
known. He boldly demanded Representation by
Population, the setting aside of the Rectories —
which question remained still unsettled — and fear-
lessly opposed the Separate School Bill introduced
by Receiver-General Tache, as well as all govern-
ment grants to ecclesiastical corporations.
The galleries of the House of Assembly were
crowded almost nightly at this time, and members
of that day often informed me in after years that
nothing could exceed the courage and eloquence with
which Mr. Brown stood up night after night demand-
ing justice for Upper Canada in the face of a hostile
majority on the floor of the Chamber, and still more
hostile auditors in the galleries above. So high,
indeed, did public feeling run on some occasions,
that fears were entertained for his personal safety,
and his friends occasionally insisted, after late and
exciting debates — lasting often till long after mid-
night — on accompanying him to his lodgings through
the dark, winding streets of the ancient capital. He
was personally fearless, and to the credit of Quebec
and Canadian public life, though the questions often
discussed could not fail to arouse intense racial and
religious rancour, no personal violence was ever
offered to him.
The commercial relations of Canada and the
United States were completely revolutionized by the
Elgin-Marcy Reciprocity Treaty. This enlightened
measure was brought into operation on the 15th
82
MACDONALD AND BROWN AS RIVAL LEADERS
March, 1855, by the issuance of joint proclamations
by President Pierce of the United States and Gov-
ernor Head of Canada. Its term was for ten years,
but thereafter either of the signatories could termin-
ate it on giving twelve months' notice.
Great interest was manifested on both sides of the
international boundary, especially along the Niagara
and Detroit frontiers, during the first weeks the
treaty was in operation. Its beneficent character
was immediately established. The trade between
the two countries increased considerably over 50
per cent, before the year of its inauguration ended
— during a period, in fact, of only nine and a half
months. The statistics prove, as we shall see later
on, that before its close it had more than quadrupled
our international trade, and aggregated the magni-
ficent volume of $673,000,000 as the result of eleven
years of (comparatively) free commercial inter-
course between the two countries.
A measure producing such remarkable commercial
results was evidently born of the most enlightened
statesmanship, and immensely benefited both the
United States and Canada. Time proved, however,
that its commercial blessings counted for little when
national ambition and jealousy came into play.
What a fearless, incorruptible, time-scarred poli-
tical veteran William Lyon Mackenzie was ! I never
met him till his closing years. During the fall of
1855, though over seventy years of age, his restless
ambition led him to call a series of public meetings
to agitate for the dissolution of the union between
Upper and Lower Canada. He announced a meet-
83
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
ing for Gait on the afternoon of the loth September.
This locality had been among his strongholds prior
to the Rebellion of 1837, and not a few copies of
that newspaper curiosity, Mackenzie's Weekly Mes-
sage, continued to be taken by some of his early
sympathizers.
Mr. Mackenzie's first visit to Gait had been as
early as 1833, on which occasion his Tory opponents
tried to break up his meeting by an artful device.
He spoke from the south
end window of the only
hotel the then little back-
woods village possessed,
and about the middle of
the proceedings a person
with a blackened face and
fantastic dress suddenly
appeared on the street
carrying a hideous-looking
effigy, which was intended
to represent the orator,
and contained a small par-
cel of gunpowder. The
figure was well gotten up, and the lower extremities
were fitted up with a good pair of top boots, which
were recognized as belonging to a leading Galtonian
who wore a style and quality not commonly in use.
The effigy prematurely exploded, knocking over a
respectable old farmer named William Mackenzie,
and an uproarious scene ensued. In the melee over
the half -scorched figure, a young farmer named
Marshall, a Mackenzie sympathizer, rushed through
84
William Lyon Mackenzie;.
MACDONALD AND BROWN AS RIVAL LEADERS
the crowd, seized the top boots, and made off with
them as fast as his legs could carry him. The hero
of this incident, who was a bit of a wag, afterwards
declared they were the " brawest " boots he had ever
worn, but if his pursuers had caught him that night
it would have fared badly with him.
Although the whole of these proceedings took
place in full view of Mr. Mackenzie, he only smiled
grimly, and went on with his speech very little dis-
concerted by the boisterous scene around him.
When the day arrived for his last Gait meeting,
Mr. Mackenzie was greeted by a large and respect-
able audience, and as he stepped nimbly on the plat-
form to commence his address, there was a buzz of
animated interest. No one required to be told he
was a remarkable man. If Marshal Ney had been
the hero of a hundred battles, Mackenzie had been
the hero of a hundred political fights. He scarcely
looked, however, the political veteran that he was.
His frame was well knit and wiry, and was sur-
mounted by a massive, well-formed head and face,
which had a strong, leonine expression. They ap-
peared, in fact, rather large for the rest of his body,
and the vigour and rapidity of his speech and
gesticulations astonished everyone.
For two hours he denounced the evils and abuses
arising out of the union between Upper and Lower
Canada, in a torrent of statistics, invective and
humour, and under the thrill of occasional bursts of
applause his eyes brightened and his voice rang out
in clarion tones. For the moment he doubtless felt
" Richard's himself again."
85
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
Nevertheless, it was quite apparent that a new
generation had arisen who " knew not Joseph." Few
present had ever seen, and some had never heard of
the famous old veteran before, and although many
agreed with him as to the flagrancy of the political
abuses he exposed, few approved of the extreme
course of a dissolution of the Union as the proper
remedy.
My impressions of Mr. Mackenzie were favour-
able, and they were strengthened by an interview the
following morning when he called at the Reformer
office on his way to his next appointment. He was
making his tour in a horse and buggy, accompanied
by one of his devoted daughters, Miss Helen, who
did not long survive him. In appearance he looked
older than he seemed to be on the rostrum, but in-
dulged in an animated and pleasant conversation,
during which, like shadows flitting athwart the sun-
beam, an occasional glimpse of the old veteran's
positiveness and irascibility added spice to the
interview.
Whatever his faults and mistakes were, rebel
though he was in 1837, few Canadians now doubt
that William Lyon Mackenzie was at heart patriotic
and unpurchasable, and that, as already stated, the
tyranny, oppression and insufferable arrogance of
the old Family Compact, intensified by the blunders
of Sir Francis Bond Head, did more to produce the
rebellion than anything he or any other person ever
did or could do.
Soon after this tour active steps were taken to
present Mr. Mackenzie with a testimonial, which
86
MACDONALD AND BROWN AS RIVAL LEADERS
took the form of a homestead. I felt it a privilege
to take a humble part in this tardy recognition of his
services, and occasionally heard from or saw him
afterwards until his death on the 28th August, 1861.
The following letter received by me a few years
before his death, which has hitherto remained un-
published, is exceedingly characteristic, and is
worthy of reproduction, as it throws some light on
the peculiarities of this remarkable man during his
closing years :
" Toronto, January 27th, 1858.-
" Dear Sir,
" Yours of Saturday intimates that Mr. is a
candidate for the Legislative Council. He is one of
the meanest Yankees in creation. I have known
him thirty-nine years — and never knew any good of
him.
" You were to set me right in the Eby matter, and
show that he was treated worse than Baines, Shortis,
etc., but forgot, or had no spare time, I suppose. I
send you some late Messages, but I care for no ex-
changes, being positively unable longer to read them,
whether good or bad. Thus far I have done all the
work of my newspaper, but it now fatigues me,
besides being, as always, unprofitable.
" The scenes I have seen here of late are melan-
choly in the extreme ; whether they will continue in
the Legislature it is difficult to say. If health per-
mits, I will go into the past votes of Mr. with
a will. He would indeed be a curse to the body poli-
tic if again galvanized into public life. As soon as
possible ril attend to him.
" Wm. L. Mackenzie.''
87
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
During the month of October following, the
parliamentary and governmental departments, with
their huge accumulations of archives and parapher-
nalia, were removed from Quebec to Toronto — an
undertaking the magnitude and annoyances of which
only the very few veteran departmental officials who
are still living can have any adequate conception of.
The rapid progress being made by Canada at this
period, and the buoyant spirit and high hopes which
pervaded all classes, stimulated as they were by the
effects of the Russian War and the immense railway
development going on, found vent in two remark-
able celebrations. The first was held at Brantford
to celebrate the opening of the Buffalo and Goderich
Railway, and the other at Toronto, on the 20th
December, the occasion being the operiing of the
important branch of the Great Western Railway
connecting Hamilton with that city.
Both of these festivities were conducted on what,
for Canada, was a colossal scale. The inauguration
of the Reciprocity Treaty and the completion of
these railways across Canada, connecting eastern
and western United States cities, produced an un-
usual flow of good feeling between Americans and
Canadians at this time. These celebrations, there-
fore, partook largely of an international character,
and such immense and influential gatherings of lead-
ing citizens of Buffalo, Detroit, Cleveland, Oswego,
Ogdensburg and even New York, with those of
Toronto, Montreal, Hamilton, Quebec, London and
all other prominent Canadian places, had never
88
MACDONALD AND BROWN AS RIVAL LEADERS
before, nor have ever since, taken place on either
side of the boundary Hne.
At Toronto the festivities, which were all com-
plimentary to those invited, consisted of a mammoth
dejeuner at one o'clock in the afternoon, at which
many eminent Americans and Canadians made ap-
propriate speeches, and by a still larger and grander
gathering in the shape of a ball in the evening, which
took place in the immense new workshops of the
Northern Railway. It was estimated that over five
thousand of the elite of Canada and the adjoining
American cities were present at the latter event.
The vastness and magnificence of these railway
celebrations still appears as a bright vision through
the mists and shadows of over forty years, and of
the brilliant Toronto fete I thus expressed myself
at the time :
" The vast room was fitted up in the most tasteful
manner, and the dejeuner itself was most sump-
tuous ; but it sank into insignificance when compared
with the gorgeous manner in which the ball-room
was decorated and ornamented. To give a descrip-
tion of the scene which met the eye of those who
entered would be utterly impossible. To be realized
it must have been seen. What with banners, paint-
ings, mottoes, fountains, crowns and other devices
made by means of gaslight, the ball-room presented
a scene so brilliant that common mortals almost
fancied they had been suddenly transported to some
enchanted palace by the magic wand of some modern
magician. About nine o'clock the immense room
began to fill, and ere ten o'clock most of the guests
89
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
had arrived. About this time it was estimated that
there were about five thousand people present.
Music was supplied by the Rochester Band and the
Band of the Royal Canadian Rifles, to whose thrill-
ing strains many tripped it on ' the light fantastic
toe ' until daylight, when the gas was turned off and
the brilliant scene closed forever."
90
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CHAPTER IX
SNAPSHOTS OF POLITICAL CELEBRITIES
Toronto having become the capital, and the ten-
sion between the two Provinces being steadily on the
increase, deep interest was manifested both in Upper
and Lower Canada in the approaching session of the
Parliament of 1856.
The Houses met on the 15th February with the
customary military display, and for the first time I
looked from the reporters' gallery upon the " assem-
bled wisdom " of Canada. These first impressions
are vividly recalled. They were tinged with feelings
akin to awe, but quite favourable to the appearance
and capacity of Canadian legislators. The old Par-
liament Buildings, still existing but sadly degener-
ated, seemed an imposing edifice in those early days,
and the inside of the Chamber was then attractive
and pleasing.
The dignified and graceful appearance of Mr.
Speaker Sicotte in his silk gown and white gloves
was the first object which arrested attention. In
after years I saw many Speakers, but recall none
whose appearance, dignity and influence in the chair
impressed me more favourably. As he slowly raised
himself to his full height, and quietly but firmly
said " 0-r-d-a-r-e," you might have heard a pin
drop, so well had this cultivated French gentleman
91
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
the Assembly in hand. Sergeant-at-Arms Donald
W. Macdonnell, a strikingly handsome man, with
his sword and cocked hat, who held the office for
over thirty-seven years, and the Clerk of the House,
Mr. William Burns Lindsay, in his official gown,
were also conspicuous figures on the i1oor of the
Chamber, as they would have been in any delibera-
tive body.
The greatest interest naturally centred in the
leading members of the Government and Opposition,
the number of distinguished men in so comparatively
small a legislative body being highly creditable to
Canada and its electorate.
Probably at no time had the Reform party more
able leaders compared to its numbers than in this
parliament. At the principal desk sat George Brown
and A. A. Dorion, the former stalwart, the latter
small in body but large in mentality, courage, firm-
ness and courtesy. At an adjoining desk were
Luther H. Holton and Alexander T. Gait, both large
and striking men. Then there were John Sandfield
Macdonald, who afterwards became the first
Premier of Ontario under Confederation; the Hon.
Dr. John Rolph, who had been a member of the
Hincks Ministry, and John Young, widely and
favourably known as the special representative of
Montreal and Canada's commercial interests. This
gentleman dashed up the stone steps leading into
the Parliament Buildings as I was also about to
enter, and as he hurried past I thought I never had
seen a larger or grander-looking man. Besides
these gentlemen, there were also David Christie,
92
SNAPSHOTS OF POLITICAL CELEBRITIES
Michael Hamilton Foley, Wm. Lyon Mackenzie,
Samuel B. Freeman, Joseph Hartman, Wm. Hamil-
ton Merritt, all Upper Canadians and men of mark ;
and also from Lower Canada, J. O. Sanborn, after-
wards an eminent judge; J. B. E. Dorion, known as
I' enfant terrible; and, last but not least, Joseph
Papin.
The latter gentleman was a tall, well-built and
promising young French-Canadian. He was cour-
ageous as well as eloquent. The previous session at
Quebec he had astonished everyone by boldly mov-
ing a resolution in favour of a national system of
non-sectarian education. His fine speech on the
occasion surprised the House as much as his motion,
but the latter was in advance of the period and ob-
tained only a few votes. Mr. Papin was induced to
make his first speech in English during this session,
and it happened to be on the first afternoon I was
present. It was delivered in broken English, but it
was exceedingly brilliant both in argument and
humour, the House at times roaring with laughter
at his witty sallies at the French ministers.
Everyone predicted a distinguished parliamentary
career for Mr. Papin, but alas, like too many of
earth's bright spirits, he died young, and through
the mist of the intervening years he seems like a
bright shooting star which unexpectedly darted
across the political firmament and suddenly dis-
appeared.
On the Government side the bluff and jolly old
knight of Dundurn, Sir Allan McNab, was absent,
from an attack of his old enemy, the gout, and the
93
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
leadership of the House was in the hands of
Attorney-General Macdonald. Although the latter
gentleman sometimes jokingly described himself as a
" rum 'un to look at but a good 'un to go," he had
an intellectual face, strongly marked by acuteness,
firmness and versatility, and at this period (he had
just passed his forty-first birthday) a lock of dark
hair fell over his forehead a la Disraeli, giving him
an undoubted resemblance to that eminent British
statesman, whom I afterwards saw in the House of
Commons.
Mr. Macdonald was conspicuously the leading
spirit in the Coalition Government, and a very little
observation sufficed to show what a clever, tactful
and wily parliamentarian he already was. The Hon.
William Cayley was probably the handsomest of the
group of ministers ; Solicitor-General Smith, with
his rubicund countenance and tangled head-gear, the
most jolly-looking, and Robert Spence the most
studious and grave. Messrs. Drummond, Cauchon
and Cartier were the principal Lower Canada
ministers. The former with his clean-shaven face
looked youthful and accomplished, and was quite
oratorical, at times even slightly dramatic, in the
delivery of his speeches. He presented something of
a contrast to his two French colleagues. Both the
latter were clever, exceedingly energetic, and am-
bitious, but nature had denied them Mr. Drum-
mond's pleasing appearance and manner. In appear-
ance they were short, swarthy and aggressive. Mr.
Cartier, in particular, did not at first sight favour-
ably impress the observer. His hair was cut short
94
SNAPSHOTS OF POLITICAL CELEBRITIES
and stood erect above his forehead, his voice was
rasping, and his blunter opponents declared that his
restless, jerky manner reminded one of a snappish
terrier dog; nevertheless, he was quite pleasant and
even jolly in social intercourse, possessed latent
ability of a sterling order, and rapidly rose to the
Lower Canada leadership of his party. This influ-
ential position he held till his death, after Confedera-
tion, practically dictating the policy of the Coalition
and of Canada whenever he saw fit to assert the
power of the Quebec majority behind him. Among
other notable men were the Hon. John Ross, long
known as the close friend of Mr. Hincks; Ogle R.
Gowan, the Orange Grand Master; and John Hill-
yard Cameron, probably then the most eminent
practising lawyer in Canada.
The Ministerialists, like the Opposition, were a
fine body of men, and the Parliament as a whole was
highly creditable to a young country like Canada,
which had been in the enjoyment of Responsible
Government only for a few years.
This session proved a memorable one. The Gov-
ernment was embarrassed by the illness of Sir Allan
McNab, its leader, and most of his colleagues, one
exception being Mr. Cayley, desired his resignation.
But the sturdy old knight would not resign. Like
Napoleon's old guard at Waterloo, he might die but
would never surrender.
Meanwhile signs of trouble appeared. The
rivalry between John A. Macdonald and George
Brown had been steadily growing for some time,
and under the sting of one of the powerful attacks
95
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
of the Reform leader, the former retorted by making
his famous charges against Mr. Brown in connection
with the Kingston Penitentiary Commission, of
which the latter had been a member and secretary.
They constituted, if true, a deadly blow at Mr.
Brown's personal character and popularity, for Mr.
Macdonald in a reckless mood declared that, in order
to find grounds on which to dismiss the father of
Solicitor-General Smith as superintendent of the
penitentiar)^, " he had falsified evidence, that he
had suborned perjured evidence, that he had par-
doned convicts, and that he had pardoned murderers
that they might give evidence against the old man."
Mr. Brown indignantly denied these terrible
charges as without any foundation whatever, and
immediately demanded a special committee of in-
vestigation, which was granted after some delay.
Without going into all the particulars, the special
committee, who were mostly opponents, had to com-
pletely vindicate Mr. Brown, as he fortunately was
able to produce a copy of the evidence and findings
of the Penitentiary Commission, the only copy of
which was supposed to have been burned with the
Parliament Buildings in 1849, and these proved the
baselessness of the charges made. The Reform
leader came out of this inquiry without a stain, and
although during the bitter three-days' debate which
took place on the committee's report, Mr. Mac-
donald's friends contended that he was justified in
making the charges from the evidence within his
reach, public opinion was almost unanimous that
96
SNAPSHOTS OF POLITICAL CELEBRITIES
these reckless charges exceeded the bounds even of
partisan warfare, and should never have been made.
Two other circumstances occurred which helped
to increase the prevailing excitement. The first was
the defeat of the Government on a motion of John
Hillyard Cameron, an independent Conservative,
who moved for a copy of the charge made by Judge
Duval at the St. Sylvester murder trial, held a short
time before in Lower Canada, where a Protestant
named Corrigan was killed by a Roman Catholic
mob in open daylight, and the ringleaders acquitted.
The Government resisted this motion, and was
defeated by a vote of 48 to 44. The second was a
motion, carried mainly by Lower Canada votes, that
the city of Quebec should be the permanent seat of
Government. This resolution aroused a wild com-
motion, and the press throughout Upper Canada
teemed with demands for the repeal of this motion
or a dissolution of the Union. The spirit aroused
is well exemplified by the concluding sentence of an
article in my own newspaper at the time, which was
as follows : " Let ministers learn, and the fact be
impressed on the Lower Canadians, that if they
proceed further and carry their end, they will arouse
a storm throughout Upper Canada which will only
be silenced by a dissolution of the Union/'
For once, at least, the Legislative Council, our
second chamber, proved a blessing, for it refused to
pass the Supply Bill until the dangerous motion in
Quebec's favour was withdrawn; but both these un-
fortunate circumstances gave colour to the charge
of Lower Canada domination, strengthened the
7 97
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
demand in Upper Canada for representation by
population, and added fuel to the burning issues now
disturbing the two Provinces.
While these events were transpiring, gout still
held Sir Allan McNab in thrall, but dismount from
the premiership he would not. He had thus far
baffled several " well-laid schemes " of his colleagues
to effect his resignation, but his Waterloo came at
last.
Taking advantage, on June 20th, of the Govern-
ment being left in an Upper Canada minority of six
on a motion of want of confidence, although sus-
tained by a majority of the whole House of 23, all
the colleagues of Sir Allan resigned the next day,
leaving the gallant old veteran " like the last rose
of summer," blooming alone ! The Premier was
powerless, therefore, to do aught but resign also.
This was quickly followed by the Governor-General,
Sir Edmund Head, entrusting Receiver-General
Tache with the formation of a new Administration.
The latter immediately called Attorney-General
Macdonald to his aid, and before the circumstances
were generally known throughout the remoter parts
of the country, all the former members of the
Cabinet had been reinstalled in office, except the late
Premier and the Hon. Mr. Drummond, who declined
longer to act with his late colleagues.
The crisis was then seen to have been a dexterous
ruse to displace Sir Allan McNab, in which the com-
plaisant attitude of Her Alajesty's representative
did not escape observation, and friend and foe alike
traced throughout the proceedings the skilful hand
98
SNAPSHOTS OF POLITICAL CELEBRITIES
of Mr. Macdonald, henceforth to be openly acknowl-
edged, as he long had been privately known to be,
the real leader of his party and actual though not
nominal Premier of the country.
Whilst these ministerial changes were in progress.
Parliament was the theatre of a quite unusual scene.
The Houses had adjourned till Friday, and when
they met on that day the usual excitement of a crisis
was increased by the appearance of the deposed
Premier, Sir Allan McNab, well buttressed with
cushions, in a large invalid's chair, which was
wheeled into the Legislative Chamber by the atten-
dants. The old gentleman was still quite ill, but
with remarkable pluck had arisen from his sick
couch, and, evidently in no amiable mood, awaited
an opportunity to express his indignation at the turn
which affairs had taken.
When Mr. Speaker Sicotte had taken the chair,
Sir Allan asked to be allowed to speak sitting. This
request having been granted, he briefly reviewed the
crisis, contending that with a majority of twenty-
three the Government had no just ground for
resignation. It was probably fortunate that nearly
all his late colleagues were absent, as he assailed
them with much bitterness for the course they had
chosen to pursue. Solicitor-General Smith/ who
was almost the only minister present, promptly
moved an adjournment till Monday, doubtless
hoping to prevent further discussion. But this did
not suit the Opposition, who prolonged the scene
for over two hours, during which attacks on the
99
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
ministers and sympathy for the late Premier were
profusely intermingled.
Though a bluff statesman of the old school, and
possibly no longer a source of strength to his party,
Sir Allan McNab was at least patriotic. He was
popular with many, and his manly and vigorous
speech under such pathetic circumstances strongly
aroused the sympathies of Parliament and the coun-
try, and helped to make this one of the most touch-
ing scenes in our parliamentary history.
When the Houses met on Monday the members of
the Tache-Macdonald Government were in their
places, being composed of all the former ministers
with the two exceptions already mentioned. The
new ministers taken in to fill the vacancies were Mr.
P. M. Vankoughnet, of Toronto, and Mr. Timothy
Terrill, of Stanstead. Attorney-General Macdonald,
now the leader of the House, made the ministerial
explanations, which were promptly met by a vote
of want of confidence, moved by Mr. A. A. Dorion,
and another prolonged and warm debate ensued. It
lasted for over a week, and the regular Reform
Opposition having now the assistance of Sir Allan
McNab and Mr. Drummond and his friends, the
defeat of the reconstructed coalition was expected
by many. However, when the division bell rang,
the vote stood fifty-eight to fifty-four, and they
were sustained by a majority of four.
It was a narrow escape, and although left in an
Upper Canada minority of fifteen — more than
double the number they had resigned upon the
previous week — they seem never to have thought of
100
SNAPSHOTS OF POLITICAL CELEBRITIES
resigning again. On the contrary, they utilized their
slender majority so well that it sufficed to carry
them through the remainder of the session, at the
close of which the heated political combatants found
themselves almost equal in numbers, and much un-
certainty prevailed not only in regard to the stability
of the administration but of the union of the two
Provinces.
Taken as a whole, this session ( 1856) was one of
the longest, stormiest and most singular held since
the Union. It lasted nearly five months ; it em-
braced several defeats and more than one political
crisis, and it is not too much to say that from George
Brown, John A. Macdonald, A. A. Dorion, John
Sandfield Macdonald, L. H. Holton, Hon. L. T.
Drummond, A. T. Gait, M. H. Foley, Robert Spence
and other members were heard a succession of very
able and eloquent speeches — speeches excelled in
few legislative halls — though possibly more denun-
ciatory and bitter than we are accustomed to in these
less turbulent days.
The session kept up its stormy character till the
end, the Legislative Council, as already stated, hav-
ing in its closing hours thrown out the Supply Bill
rather than approve of Quebec being chosen as the
permanent seat of government — an act of indepen-
dence as serviceable to Canada as it was unexpected.
lOT
CHAPTER X
CONFLICT OF UPPER /\ND LOWER CANADA
TheJ holidays of 1857 were scarcely over before
the political battle was renewed. This took the form
of a provincial convention of the Reform party. It
met in Temperance Hall, Temperance Street, To-
ronto, on the 8th January. It was called by a
circular signed by Reform members of Parliament
and journalists. The names of the M.P.'s appended
to it were as follows : J. C. Aikins, David Christie,
S. B. Freeman, A. J. Ferguson, J. Fraser, J. Bar-
tram, M. Mills,. John Rolph, J. Wilmot, George
Brown, Billa Flint, Robt. Ferrie, M. H. Foley,
Joseph Gould, H. Munro, Wm. Patrick, J. Scat-
cherd and A. Wright. Among numerous journalists
who also signed the circular were J. Gordon Brown,
William McDougall, Joseph Blackburn and Erastus
Jackson.
The object of the convention was to make pre-
parations for the general elections, which were
thought to be imminent on account of the weakness
of the Government at the close of the previous
session. When the meeting was called to order the
Hon. Adam Ferguson was elected chairman, and
Messrs. J. Gordon Brown and William McDougall
joint secretaries. There were over two hundred
delegates present from all parts of Upper Canada.
102
CONFLICT OF UPPER AND LOWER CANADA
The names of the movers and seconders, and the
resolutions finally adopted by the convention as the
platform of the Reform party, were as follows :
( I ) For Representation by Population — John
White and the Hon. John McMurrich; (2) Legis-
lation, whenever practicable, to be for both Upper
and Lower Canada — W. Allan and M. Gillespie;
(3) Against Sectarian Legislation — George Barron
and Archd. McKellar ; (4) For Improved Schools
— T. AlcConkey and W. Tyrrell; (5) Free Trade
and Strict Economy — Joseph Blackburn and Wm.
Osborne; (6) Against Expenditure without Parlia-
mentary Sanction — A. McKinnon and K. McLean;
(7) For Registration of Voters — William Notman
and Oliver Blake; (8) Acquisition of Hudson Bay
Territory— Billa Flint and P. McCullum; (9) For
Formation of Reform Alliance — A. Farewell and
H. Moyle; (10) Details of Amalgamation — J. W.
Rose and C. Draper; and (11) J. Climie and S.
Alcorn; (12) That an Address to the Electors be
issued — A. Hamilton and R. H. Brett.
This was a creditable platform. " Rep. by Pop."
as it was commonly called, and Non-Sectarian Edu-
cation and Non-Sectarian Legislation were the burn-
ing issues around which the battle between Upper
and Lower Canada chiefly raged. The Free Trade
and Protection struggle had not then commenced, all
parties still favouring taxation for revenue only, but
the plank in favour of the incorporation of the Hud-
son Bay Territories was a decided step in advance.
This was due, as indeed much of the whole plat-
form was, to the political foresight of Mr. George
103
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
Brown, who early pointed out the absurdity of one-
third of the whole continent being kept a mere hunt-
ing-ground for the benefit of a private company, as
well as the immense benefit it would be to Canada
and the world if opened up for settlement.
A political convention embracing all Upper
Canada was then a novelty, and I well recollect the
sarcastic and humorous references of the Con-
servative press to it as the " Dark-Lantern Conven-
tion " and the " Temperance Street Conspiracy."
This was, however, only political chaff, and the
political platform adopted by the conventionists,
although likely to consign the Reform party to the
cold shades of Opposition for many years, was well
adapted to promote the welfare and good govern-
ment of Canada, and most of its planks have since
been placed on our statute books with almost uni-
versal acceptance.
To the surprise of many, when the new Tache-
Macdonald Government met Parliament six weeks
later (the 26th February), though weak at its birth,
it had grown and strengthened wonderfully. The
majority of four had increased to twenty, and
although the struggle between the two sections of
the Province was still gathering force, it was evi-
dent that the Coalition was more secure in the
saddle and carried its measures through the session
with a firmer hand. The principal of these were
the appointment of Chief Justice Draper as Com-
missioner to Great Britain on the Hudson Bay
question, and the appropriation of £225,000 for
104
SIR GEORGE ETIENNE CARTIER. HON. WILLIAM CAVLEY.
SIR ETIENNE P. TACHE.
HON. ROBERT SPENCE. HON. TOSEPH EDOUARI) CAUCHON.
PROMINENT MEN IN TACHE-MACDONALD MINISTRY.
CONFLICT OF UPPER AND LOWER CANADA
buildings as a permanent seat of government, the
choice of which was to be left to Her Majesty the
Queen.
Nearly every one was agreed that the perambu-
lating system of having Toronto and Quebec four
years alternately as the seat of government ought
to cease, but Montreal, Toronto, Quebec, Kingston
and other cities all wanted to be the capital, and it
was found impossible to secure a majority in Parlia-
ment for any one of them. The Ministry, therefore,
sought to find a way out of the difficulty under cover
of a choice by Her Majesty, which, after some
vicissitudes, which will be narrated later, ultimately
proved successful. This session was signalized by
the resignation of the Hon. Joseph Cauchon from
the Government, but in other respects it was the
least exciting for several years.
" One of the darkest chapters in the world's his-
tory," was the general verdict on this year as it drew
near its close. Seldom have any twelve months
witnessed such a series of terrible misfortunes and
disasters. I have already alluded to the wave of
prosperity which swept over the world, including
Canada, during the earlier years of the decade.
During the fall of 1857, however, this prosperity
was not only suddenly arrested, but there followed
the worst commercial and financial panic which the
world had ever experienced. Great Britain and all
other commercial nations suffered severely, and the
25th of October was called in New York City
" Black Friday," in consequence of the fearful
crash and ruin among the commercial and financial
105
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
houses and the dark and despairing despondency
which ensued.
Among the calamities which occurred may be
mentioned the terrible massacres at Delhi, Lucknow,
Allahabad, Cawnpore and other places, on the break-
ing out of the Indian Mutiny, and two fearful
disasters which took place in Canada. The first of
these was the railway tragedy at the Desjardins
Canal, near Hamilton. It occurred on the 12th
March, when the evening train from Toronto to
Hamilton, engine, tender, baggage car and two
passenger coaches, ran off the rails and crashed
through the swing bridge over the canal into the
abyss below ! Out of ninety passengers not over
thirty escaped being killed or drowned — bankers,
merchants, clergymen, labourers, rich and poor,
young and old, the grey-haired sire and the prattling
child — hurled into eternity without a moment's
warning. My duty as reporter took me to the scene
of the calamity early next morning, and the sight
of the long row of mangled dead laid out in the
freight sheds at Hamilton was painful and sad in
the extreme.
The other disaster was still more appalling.
Between four and five hundred Scotch and Nor-
wegian immigrants arrived in Quebec on the 25th
June, by the steamship John Mackenzie, from Glas-
gow. Full of joy and hope that their sea voyage
was over and the land of promise reached, they
embarked next day on the steamer Montreal for
their journey up the St. Lawrence. They left at
four o'clock in the afternoon, but had only got to
106
CONFLICT OF UPPER AND LOWER CANADA
Cape Rouge, twelve miles up the river, when flames
were discovered bursting out above the boiler deck.
Despite all the efforts of the captain and crew, the
Montreal was soon a mass of flames, and although
another steamer, the Napoleon, was close at hand,
sad to relate, no less than two hundred of the un-
fortunate immigrants were either drowned or burned
to death.
This disastrous year closed amidst the excitement
of a general election. Early in November it was
decided to reconstruct the Lower Canada section of
the Administration and appeal to the country. With
this object in view. Premier Tache and most of his
French-Canadian colleagues resigned, and the Hon.
John A. Macdonald became Premier of Canada for
the first time, and Mr. George E. Cartier the Lower
Canada leader.
The writs for the elections were dated the 28th
November, and were returnable on or before the
13th January, the elections being still held at varying
dates and for two days. The " hard times " some-
what depressed this political struggle, but it was still
quite hot enough in both Provinces, the tide running
very strongly in favour of Mr. Brown and the
Liberal party in the West, and for Mr. Cartier and
the Administration in the East.
The Reform party was strong in Upper Canada
at this time. Three ridings, Lambton, North Ox-
ford and the city of Toronto, pressed the Reform
leader to accept nominations, and he did so for the
latter two, being elected for both. He elected to sit
for Toronto, which ultimately proved a mistake, as
107
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
metropolitan constituents are apt to do for party-
leaders.
On the other side, Mr. Macdonald, the Conserva-
tive leader, had a very difficult task on this occasion.
This arose from the loud outcry throughout the
country against Lower Caiiada domination, and the
fact that he held office solely by the votes of the
representatives of that Province, the price of which,
his opponents did not hesitate to declare, was his
opposition to Representation by Population and the
other reforms so strenuously advocated by his own
PVovince.
He met these charges with his usual adroitness,
strongly maintaining that the Reform policy would
disrupt the Union, and that the course of himself
and his friends was necessary to its preservation.
Upon the foregoing political issues, the measures
proposed by the recent Reform convention, and the
usual charges and recriminations between the Ins
and Outs, the battle raged with more or less bitter-
ness from Sandwich on the west to Gaspe on the
east.
At its close the two provinces remained as antago-
nistic as before. Lower Canada strongly sustained
the Government; Upper Canada defeated them by
32 to 18, whilst nearly one-half of the eighteen only
secured their return by declaring themselves in
favour of Representation by Population and against
Sectarian schools.
Among the elected Reformers three notable and
honoured names appeared for the first time: Mr.
D'Arcy McGee. who met such a tragic death in 1868,
108
CONFLICT OF UPPER AND LOWER CANADA
Mr. William Macdougall, and Mr. Oliver Mowat,
who was destined to play such a distinguished part
in the politics of the future. Among the leading
Ministerialists defeated were Solicitor-General Cay-
ley, Postmaster-General Spence, and Receiver-Gen-
eral Morrison.
So strong did the tide of public feeling run in
Upper Canada that the Government found it impos-
sible to find seats for any of these gentlemen, and
finally filled up the Cabinet by taking in Mr. Sydney
Smith, of Cobourg. and the Hon. John Ross, of
Montreal, and continuing Mr. Cayley without a seat
in the House.
109
CHAPTER XI
THE FAMOUS BROV/N-DORION CRISIS
Before the heated combatants had time to cool,
the poHtical struggle was transferred again to Par-
liament, which was opened by Sir Edmund Head,
on the 25th February, 1858. The conjflict between
the two provinces, with the statesmen ranged under
Macdonald and Cartier on the one side and Brown
and Dorion on the other, had now become intense,
and the session not only surpassed all its predeces-
sors in length, boisterousness and bitterness, but
stands almost without a parallel for the political
struggles, crises and scenes which characterized it.
It would carry us too far afield to enter into de-
tails of the numerous exciting struggles between the
two parties during this tempestuous session, but
some of the more notable ones occurred over the
following questions :
(i) The unsuccessful efforts of the Opposition to
forthwith declare invalid the elections of Mr. G. B.
Lyon Fellowes as member for Russell, and of
Messrs. Alleyn, Dubord and Simard for the city of
Quebec, the former of whom had notoriously been
elected by 300 names copied into the poll books from
old directories of Rome, Albany and Troy in New
York State, and the latter by thousands of bogus
names also entered as voters in the poll books, among
no
THE FAMOUS BROWN-DORION CRISIS
whom were Lord Palmerston, Napoleon Bonaparte,
George Washington, Duke of Wellington, Judas
Iscariot, Julius Caesar and nearly all ancient and
modern celebrities; (2) a Montreal Nunnery Bill
carried by the narrow vote of 53 to 49, and of whose
opponents 46 out of the 49 were Upper Canadians;
(3) a determined effort of the Opposition to prevent
Thursday being taken for Government business, dur-
ing which neither party would yield until the House
had been in continuous session for thirty-six hours ;
(4) the debate on Inspector-General Cayley's
Budget, during which there were several lively pas-
sages between him and Mr. Brown, and which ended
in some of the Government proposals being defeated
by 50 to 48; and (5) another prolonged resistance
of the Opposition to what they declared to be an
attempt on the part of the Government to force
through their estimates so hurriedly as to prevent
discussion, during which the House was in continu-
ous session, and often a sort of political pandemon-
ium, from Thursday at three o'clock until the
following Saturday morning at 9 a.m., a period of
no less than forty-two hours.*
* The exact length of the session of 1858 was 173 days, as it
began on February 2Sth, and closed August i6th. It was not only
the most prolonged of any session during the old Parliament of
Canada, but has, so far, not been surpassed by any since Confed-
eration, although, curiously enough, the longest Dominion session
(1885) was also exactly 173 days — meeting on January 29th and
being prorogued on the 20th July. The longest continuous sitting
of Parliament ever known in Canada was in 1896 on the Mani-
toba Remedial Bill, which lasted from three o'clock on Monday
the 6th April till Saturday the nth at 11.55 p.m., a period of 128
hours and 55 minutes I
III
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
During these prolonged struggles not only the
best, but debating talent of every description, was
called into requisition. Besides the leaders the chief
combatants on the Reform side were Messrs. Sand-
field Macdonald, Mowat, Connor, McGee, Foley,
Cauchon, Notman, Mackenzie, Macdougall and Mc-
Kellar ; and on the Conservative side, Messrs. Rose,
Sicotte, Cayley, Sydney Smith, Loranger, Benjamin,
Sherwood, Pope, Turcotte and Robinson. The de-
bates of the present day seem tame compared with
the streams of oratory, not infrequently spiced with
personalities, which then resounded through our
legislative halls, much of which was exceedingly
able, and would doubtless have been less acrimonious
but for the aggravated struggle in which Upper and
Lower Canada were then engaged.
In public life in Canada, as in Britain, political
opponents are often personal friends, but bitter feel-
ings between many of the leading members ranged
on each side became quite marked as this session
advanced, and ultimately resulted in the famous
scene when Mr. W. F. Powell, of Carleton, egged
on by others equally bitter but more crafty than him-
self, made his savage personal attack on the leader
of the Opposition and his aged father. Mr. Brown's
vindication of his father, and especially of his busi-
ness failure in Edinburgh through misplaced confi-
dence in a friend, was almost universally admitted
to have been one of the finest outbursts of impas-
sioned eloquence ever heard within Canadian legis-
lative halls. Its closing words were :
112
THE FAMOUS BROWN-DORION CRISIS
" With a full knowledge of all that has passed,
and all the consequences that have flowed from a
day of weakness, I will say that an honester man
does not breathe the breath of heaven; that no son
feels prouder of his father than I do to-day, and
that I would have submitted to the obloquy and
reproach of his every act, not fifteen years but fifty
— aye, have gone down to my grave with the cold
shade of the world upon me — rather than that
one of his grey hairs should have been injured."
And as these noble words rang through the
Chamber, the members on the floor, and even the
spectators in the galleries, broke into cheers, the like
of which seldom had been heard in the old Parlia-
ment Buildings, and which were re-echoed the next
day all over Upper Canada as the circumstances
became known.
Not the least singular circumstance connected
with this attack was the unexpected stand taken by
the chief Conservative organ, the British Colonist,
then edited by Mr. George Sheppard. The manager
of the Colonist not only refused to defend the Pow-
ell attack, but came out the next morning with the
famous article, " Whither Are We Drifting?" which
heralded its going into opposition to the Govern-
ment and created an unusual commotion in Conser-
vative circles.
So clearly had the foregoing events of the session
brought before representatives and people the grave
dangers menacing the continued existence of the
union between Upper and Lower Canada, that when
the discussion of the constitutional remedies pro-
8 113
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
posed came on, many members were prepared to
listen, even some Lower Canadians, who had hereto-
fore refused to do so. The question came up on a
bill brought in by the Hon. Malcolm Cameron, in
favour of Representation by Population, a motion
by Mr. Thibaudeau affirming the Double Majority
principle, and another by Mr. A. T. Gait in favour
of the Federation of the two Canadas or of all the
British North American provinces. The Government
opposed all these remedies, but they were all thor-
oughly discussed, and the votes showed their relative
popularity.
Mr. Gait's motion was in advance of public opin-
ion, and the debate upon it was adjourned and never
resumed. The Double Majority was supported by
Mr. Sandfield Mdcdonald, the Hon. Mr. Cauchon,
Mr. Thibaudeau and many other Lower Canadians,
the vote standing 65 to t,t^ against it — only ten of
the latter being Upper Canadians. The Representa-
tion by Population bill received the six months'
hoist, but it had an Upper Canada majority of 41
to 10 in its favour, and had all the members been in
their places the vote would have shown 53 for and
13 against it.
These discussions and divisions, though effecting
no immediate result, made it quite clear that political
afifairs could not long continue as they were, and that
the dark spectre of a dissolution of the Union would
soon have to be faced if some remedy could not be
found for the existing and increasing sectional dif-
ficulties.
114
THE FAMOUS BROWN-DORION CRISIS
This was the position of matters when the greatest
poHtical and constitutional crisis in Canadian history
arose. It occurred on the seat of government ques-
tion. It will be recollected that the choice of the
future capital had been left to the decision of Queen
Victoria. Her Majesty doubtless decided as advised
by the Colonial Secretary, and the Colonial Secre-
tary as advised sub rosa by Sir Edmund Head and
his advisers. That decision was in favour of the city
of Ottawa. Its selection was a surprise to many,
and when the question came up in the House on the
28th July, the award was assailed from various
quarters, and excitement ran high. After several
motions had been disposed of, it was moved by Mr.
Piche, " That in the opinion of this House the city
of Ottawa ought not to be the permanent seat of
Government for the Provinces." This resolution
was carried, despite all the efforts of the Govern-
ment, by 64 to 50, a majority of 14. It was a vote
of non-confidence, and the following day the Minis-
ters waited upon the Governor-General and tendered
their resignations, which were accepted.
A brief but correct synopsis of the further cir-
cumstances of this remarkable crisis may be given
as follows: On Thursday (29th July) Sir Edmund
Head by letter offered Mr. George Brown the lead-
ership of a new Administration, requested his ac-
ceptance in writing, and invited him to call and
consult about his colleagues. Mr. Brown immedi-
ately called upon His Excellency and asked the usual
delay to consult his friends. On Friday morning he
reported that he was still in consultation with his
115
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
friends, and would give an answer on Saturday
morning, when he finally accepted in writing the
duty of forming a new Administration, " as pro-
posed to him in His Excellency's communication."
On Sunday night, about ten o'clock, Mr. Brown
received a note and memorandum from His Excel-
lency, the chief point in which was : "His Excellency
gives no pledge or promise, express or implied, with
reference to dissolving Parliament. When advice is
tendered to His Excellency, he will make up his
mind according to the circumstances then existing
and the reasons then laid before him."
Mr. Brown, by note sent early Monday morning,
informed His Excellency that he had successfully
performed the duty entrusted to him of forming the
new Government, but that " until they had become
his constitutional advisers they would not be in a
position to discuss the important questions raised in
his memorandum." Shortly after ten o'clock, Mr.
Brown waited upon His Excellency and submitted
the names of his Administration, and at noon they
all assembled at the Executive Council Chamber and
were sworn into office. The new Government was
universally admitted to be an exceedingly able one
and was composed as follows :
THE BROWN-DORION MINISTRY.
Inspector-General, Hon. George Brown ; Commis-
sioner of Crown Lands, Hon. A. A. Dorion ; Attor-
ney-General West, Hon. J- Sandfield Macdonald;
Attorney-General East, Hon. L. T. Drummond;
Provincial Secretary, Hon. Oliver Mowat; Public
ii6
SIR OUVER MOWAT. HON. JOHN SANDFIULD MACDONALD.
SIR ANTOINE AIME DORION.
HON. L. T. DRUMMOND. HON. LUTHER HAMILTON HOLTON.
PROMINENT MEN IN BROWN-DORION MINISTRY.
THE FAMOUS BROWN-DORION CRISIS
Works, Hon. Luther H. Holton; President of the
Council, Hon. J. E. Thibaudeau; Postmaster-Gen-
eral, Hon. M. H. Foley; Solicitor-General West,
Hon. Dr. Connor; Solicitor-General East, Hon. C.
J. Laberge; Receiver-General, Hon. F. Lemieux ;
Speaker Legislative Council, Hon. James Morris.
When the two Houses of Parliament met at three
o'clock the same day, the newly-sworn-in Govern-
ment was immediately met with votes of " want of
confidence " in both Chambers by the late Adminis-
tration and its adherents, joined by several of those
disappointed in not obtaining office. The new min-
isters, by accepting office, had all vacated their seats
in the House, and had no opportunity to explain
their policy or in any way defend themselves. Never-
theless, the motions of censure were pressed as
rapidly as possible to a division, and the new Admin-
istration condemned by 71 to 31 in the Assembly
and 16 to 8 in the Legislative Council.
The following morning, Tuesday, Mr. Brown
waited upon the Governor-General, and in the name
of the Cabinet advised him to prorogue Parliament
with a view to a dissolution. The chief grounds for
this advice, as given in their written memorandum,
were : That the present House did not possess the
confidence of the country; that not a few of its mem-
bers held their seats by electoral frauds; that his
present advisers had entered the Government with
the fixed determination to propose constitutional
measures for the establishment of harmony between
Upper and Lower Canada ; that they had never con-
cealed from themselves the probability that they
117
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
would be unable to carry on the Government with
the present House ; and they submitted that they had
a right to claim all the support His Excellency could
constitutionally extend to them to place their policy
before the people and obtain their verdict upon it.
On Wednesday, at two o'clock, Mr. Brown was
handed a long memorandum from His Excellency,
answering some of the arguments advanced by his
advisers, and advancing various objections to the
course they proposed, and concluding with these
words : "With every respect for the opinion of his
Council, His Excellency declines to dissolve Parlia-
ment at the present time."
Having refused their advice, there was nothing
left for the new Government to do but resign, which
Mr. Brown and his colleagues immediately did,
thus finding themselves not only out of the Govern-
ment, but out of Parliament altogether, unless re-
elected by their constitutents.
The concluding circumstances of this crisis har-
monized with its remarkable character, and moved
speedily to accomplishment. His Excellency sent
first for Mr. Gait, who was an impossibility as
Premier, having no followers. He then applied to
the late Attorney-General East, Mr. Cartier, and
grim must have been the smile on the face of the
Hon. John A. Macdonald as his old colleague asked
his assistance to again reinstal themselves and their
colleagues in office! Except that it was called the
Cartier-Macdonald instead of the Macdonald-Car-
tier, it was simply the former Conservative Govern-
ment restored, there being no change of policy and
iiS
THE FAMOUS BROWN-DORION CRISIS
no change of any importance in the personnel, ex-
cept that Mr. Gait became Inspector-General in place
of Mr. Cayley.
All was plain sailing for the resuscitated Govern-
ment but for one initial difficulty. This was awk-
ward enough, but it was surmounted in a most
ingenious though unusual manner. Under Canadian
as under British law, every member accepting office
in a cabinet thereby vacates his seat in Parliament,
and has to be re-elected. The members of the
Brown-Dorion Cabinet, therefore, had all vacated
their seats, and according to the usual constitutional
practice, the Cartier-Macdonald ministers were in
the same position. But they managed, nevertheless,
to maintain their places in Parliament in the follow-
ing unexpected way. A clause had been added some
time before to the Independence of Parliament Act,
to enable a minister of the Crown to change from
one portfolio in a cabinet to another, without again
going back to his constituents for re-election. Under
cover of this clause the members of the Cabinet met
in a body shortly before twelve o'clock midnight of
the 6th August, took the customary oaths to per-
form the duties of certain departments in the Gov-
ernment which they had no intention of holding,
and fifteen minutes after that witching hour they
were transferred back again to the departments they
held prior to their resignations, solemnly swearing
again to properly perform the duties appertaining
to them.
When all the exciting circumstances of this crisis,
especially the concluding scene in the Council Cham-
119
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
ber, which was aptly described as the " double
shuffle," became known throughout the country, they
created an immense sensation. Not only were the
ministers accused of violating the constitution in not
submitting themselves for re-election, but charges
were also openly made that the whole crisis had
ben a prearranged plot between the Governor-Gen-
eral and the Prime Minister, Mr. Macdonald, to
frustrate his Reform opponents.
Sir Edmund Head was by no means popular. The
previous year, when he visited Great Britain, his
departure from and return home to Canada excited
very little interest. But the charge that His Excel-
lency was a party to any organized plot of the char-
acter alleged may be safely dismissed as a result of
the party and sectional bitterness existing at the
time. At the same time, after carefully re-examin-
ing all the circumstances, it is impossible to acquit
him of partisanship — conscious or unconscious — in
favour of the Conservative leaders. Although he
sent for Mr. Brown to become his adviser, it is quite
evident that neither the latter nor his colleagues ever
enjoyed His Excellency's confidence. His Sunday
night memorandum to the half-fledged Premier,
warning him against relying on a dissolution of
Parliament, before such advice had been tendered,
and even forecasting refusal if his advisers proposed
a mere prorogation, by insisting that quite a number
of measures must in any case be passed by the House
— in which he knew the new ministers were in a
minority — affords strong presumptive evidence that
His Excellency not only desired Mr. Brown's fail-
T20
THE FAMOUS BROWN-DORION CRISIS
lire, but that there existed in his mind iiiie arrierc
pcnsce that the crisis would end somewhat in the
manner in which it did.
Certain it is, if the memorandum referred to had
been written by Attorney-General Macdonald him-
self instead of His Excellency, its terms could not
have served the former gentleman and his col-
leagues better, as the denouement of the whole affair
as already related, very clearly proved.
Thus ended this remarkable crisis, and the ses-
sional curtain quickly fell upon the scene. Their
principal opponents being out of the House, the
Government rapidly passed the measures announced
in the Speech from the Throne, obtained the neces-
sary supplies, and on the i6th August Sir Edmund
Head with vice-regal pomp prorogued the longest
and most remarkable session ever held in the late
Province of Canada.
121
CHAPTER XII
REFORM PARTY DECLARES FOR FEDERAL UNION
The events narrated in the last chapter, ending in
the reinstahnent of the Cartier-Macdonald party in
office, temporarily checked the demands of Upper
Canada for constitutional reform. The failure of
the Brown-Dorion Administration, aside from the
Governor-General's action, had brought out very
clearly the great difficulties in the way of carrying
Representation by Population with Lower Canada
almost a unit against it, and it must be admitted
some of its parliamentary advocates were much dis-
couraged. Not less clear, unfortunately, was the
proof of the domination of Lower over Upper Can-
ada, and of the gross political abuses which had
arisen and urgently called for redress.
Under the influence of the indignant utterances of
the Reform leaders seeking re-election to Parlia-
ment, especially the powerful speeches of the Hon.
George Brown and his trenchant editorials in the
Globe, Upper Canada reached white heat in its de-
termination to insist upon redress.
Ample proof of this was afforded by the re-elec-
tion, chiefly by acclamation, of every one of the
members of the short-lived Brown-Dorion Ministry.
The state of public feeling was also conspicuously
122
REFORM PARTY FOR FEDERAL UNION
illustrated in the case of the Reform leader himself.
Toronto was strongly Conservative, and the Gov-
ernment made special efforts to prevent his re-elec-
tion. Mr. John Hillyard Cameron, a popular candi-
date, was induced to take the field against him, but
after one of the fiercest of election contests, public
opinion ran so strongly in favour of what was
called Upper Canadian rights that Mr. Brown was
returned by a handsome majority.
I have described more fully than I otherwise
would the political situation at this excited and
critical period, for two reasons : First, because it is
desirable the reader should understand the actual
position of affairs at this time in order to fully
appreciate the story of the great Confederation
which is to follow — that notable achievement of
Canadian statesmanship, the Confederation of all
British America into the Dominion of Canada; and
second, because I consider it necessary to enter into
some detail in regard to the political events of the
next six years.
During that period the late Province of Canada
was simply " marking time " politically. The failure
of the Union between Upper and Lower Canada
under one Legislature was clearly proclaimed by the
events of the late session. The somewhat dramatic
crisis at its close may be said to have been the
Union's death-knell. It is true the old order of
things lingered on till 1864, " dying to slow music,"
as the American humorist puts it; but the doom of
the legislative union was sealed at that time. The
123
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
two provinces had reached a poHtical deadlock, in
which neither would give way, and although the con-
trol of the Government alternated from one party
to the other from this time until Confederation, all
efforts to find a solution of the difficulties and save
the Union proved to be vain and fruitless.
One of those scientific achievements which thrill
the whole world took place during the fall of 1858.
On the loth August the first electric submarine cable
was laid between Great Britain and the United
States, and appeared at the time to be entirely suc-
cessful. However unruffled old Neptune may have
been as the electric current swiftly coursed for the
first time through the Atlantic's three thousand
miles of " dark, un fathomed caves," all the great
nations were pleasingly excited as they read the first
message, which was appropriately worded as fol-
lows : " Europe and America are united by tele-
graph. Glory to God in the highest ; on earth peace,
good-will towards men."
Scarcely less striking were the next two messages,
which passed betwen Queen Victoria and President
Buchanan. They are worthy of reproduction :
" Her Majesty desires to congratulate the Presi-
dent upon the successful completion of this great
international work, in which the Queen has taken the
deepest interest."
President Buchanan, after a short delay, sent the
following excellent reply :
" The President cordially reciprocates the congra-
tulations of Her Majesty the Queen on the success
124
REFORM PARTY FOR FEDERAL UNION
of the great international enterprise accomplished
by the science, skill and indomitable energy of the
two countries. It is a triumph more glorious, be-
cause far more useful to mankind, than was ever
won by conqueror on the field of battle. May the
Atlantic Telegraph under the blessing of Heaven
prove to be the bond of perpetual peace and friend-
ship between the kindred nations, and an instrument
destined by Divine Providence to diffuse religion,
civilization, liberty and law throughout the world."
The great achievements of science were fewer in
those days than now at the threshold of the twenti-
eth century, and the apparently successful accom-
plishment of this great undertaking, almost annihil-
ating time and space, was widely celebrated through-
out Great Britain, the United States and Canada.
Processions, illuminations, bonfires, balls, dinners or
speeches took place in many Canadian cities, towns,
and even important villages, all classes of the people
recognizing and rejoicing over the great scientific
achievement. The most imposing demonstration
took place in New York City, where Mr. Cyrus Field
and the other chief promoters of the great enter-
prise resided. As an evidence of the immense enthu-
siasm displayed in New York, the following motto
from one of the flags carried in the procession is at
once characteristic and entertaining :
125
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
Lightning
Caught and Tamed by
Frankun ;
Taught to Read, Write, and go Errands by
Morse;
Started in Foreign Trade by
FiEED, Cooper & Co. ;
WITH
Johnny Bule
AND
Brother Jonathan
AS
Special Partners.
Circumstances soon proved, however, that this
widespread jubilation was somewhat premature.
After the messages referred to had been exchanged,
and the cable had continued working for something
like fifteen or twenty days, to the universal surprise
and regret, through some defect it ceased to work,
and all efforts proved unavailing to make it do so.
This was a heavy blow and sad discouragement to
all the officers and shareholders of the Company
which had undertaken the great enterprise, and as
we shall see later on, prevented further attempts to
lay the cable for several years.
The system of giving political dinners, public and
private, may almost be said to be an integral part of
the British parliamentary system, and in many cases
the hotter the political fight the more numerous the
dinners. At any rate, shortly after the bye-elec-
tions occasioned by the late crisis a merry round of
126
REFORM PARTY FOR FEDERAL UNION
public dinners set in. The members of the short-
lived Brown-Dorion Ministry, collectively or indi-
vidually, were entertained at Elora, Brantford, Lon-
don and other places, the principal banquets of the
series being those given at Hamilton and Montreal.
The presence of the Hon. Messrs. Dorion, Sand-
field Macdonald, and Morris, none of whom had
probably ever spoken in the city before, created un-
usual enthusiasm at Hamilton, and this was sur-
passed a little later on when the Hon. Messrs.
Brown, Sandfield Macdonald, Mowat, O'Connor and
Foley were greeted in Montreal by still larger num-
bers and with equal enthusiasm.
Nor were the Hon. Messrs. Macdonald, Cartier
and their ministerial colleagues without plenty of
admirers. They reserved their fire, however, until
nearer the general elections, when they had an ex-
tensive banqueting tour, which was all the more
effective because it took place on the eve of battle.
The session of 1859 does not call for much re-
mark. It was the last to be held in Toronto, and
began on the 29th of January. The Cartier-Mac-
donald Government met Parliament stronger, and
the Opposition rather weaker, than during the pre-
vious session, the seat of government question being
the chief danger in the former's path. Six months
before they had been beaten on the selection of
Ottawa as the capital, but after lengthy debates Her
Majesty's decision, as it was called, was now finally
sustained by a majority of five. It would have been
defeated but for four members of the Opposition
who resided in the Ottawa district, who, had they
127
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
voted with their party as usual, might have rendered
the history and prospects of our Dominion capital
very different from what they are.
Much bitterness was felt and expressed over the
selection of Ottawa at the time, but in view of sub-
sequent events and in the calmer light of to-day, few
will now be found to condemn the Hon. John A.
Macdonald either for referring the troublesome
question to Great Britain or for the choice which
was ultimately made.
Among the new men who had recently entered
Parliament two had at once taken front rank. These
gentlemen were Mr. Oliver Mowat and Mr. D'Arcy
McGee. The former's success at the bar of Toronto
was evidently to be eclipsed by his success in Parlia-
ment. I had not met him at that time, but after
noting his course and rapid rise in the estimation of
the House, I made in my newspaper the following
somewhat prophetic references to him :
" Talented, yet unassuming, learned yet not dog-
matic, zealous in maintaining his principles yet not
extreme or stubborn, he has displayed all the char-
acteristics of the true statesman. He promises to he
the law reformer of Upper Canada. All the prom-
inent measures of law reform now before Parlia-
ment owe their paternity to him, and, generally
speaking, are acceptable to all parties. Mr. Mowat's
course is fast increasing his popularity throughout
the Province, and his future not only promises to be
one of usefulness hut one of honour and triumph to
liiniself."
128
REFORM PARTY FOR FEDERAL UNION
Though made more than forty years ago, these
compHmentary references have been amply justified
in the distinguished career of Sir OHver Mowat.
Mr. McGee's fame as an orator and a poet, as well
as his connection with the Young Ireland party in
greener days, pre-
ceded him to Can-
ada and naturally
centred public atten-
tion upon him. He
was promptly elect-
ed to Parliament for
one of the divisions
of Montreal, and his
services as a public
lecturer were soon
in much demand. I
first met him at a
complimentary din-
ner given to him in
London, and this
led to an engage-
ment on his part to
lecture in Gait on
"Burns and Moore,"
which he did in the ^°''- ^- ^'^'^^'^ ^^*^^'^-
spring of 1859, to an unusually large and interested
audience. I thus came to make the acquaintance and
enjoy the friendship of Mr. McGee, which continued
until the close of his life
At first glance Mr. McGee's face appeared rather
dark and stern, but it lighted up wonderfully dur-
ing conversation. Nature had endowed him with
9 129
1
^V 1 ^M^^^B
1 ^^^^9
mmm^ i -
^^^^^^^^^H
.hi,.
,/i
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
many accomplishments — an intellect at once poetic
and logical, and that fascinating power of oratory
with which the gods seem to have endowed so many
of old Erin's sons. From an artistic standpoint he
was probably the most finished orator who ever
addressed the Parliament of this country. He
quickly took rank among the leaders of the Reform
party, and became a very active and eloquent advo-
cate of its principles, especially among his co-reli-
gionists.
The activity of Mr. McGee at this period aroused
not a little hostility on the part of the Conservative
party, especially the Orange section of it, and this
was ultimately carried so far that at Bradford, in the
county of Simcoe, he was prevented from lecturing
on a literary subject, " The Historical Connection
Between Ireland and Scotland," by open threats of
the Orangemen of the district that they would break
up the meeting by a riot. The danger, which was
known to be real, greatly alarmed the town and
vicinity, and at the request of a deputation Mr.
McGee wisely withdrew his consent to lecture. This
denial of free speech was widely condemned by men
of both political parties, and it shows how far Can-
ada has since advanced in political toleration, for
such a display of party bigotry would hardly be
possible in the remotest section of the Dominion at
the present day.
This summer was signalized by one of the short-
est yet bloodiest wars of modern times. It broke
out about the middle of May between Victor Em-
130
REFORM PARTY FOR FEDERAL UNION
manuel, King of Sardinia, with Napoleon III. of
France as his " magnanimous and vaHant ally " on
one side, and Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria,
on the other. The Italians aimed at throwing off
the Austrian yoke from Lombardy and Venetia and
establishing Italian unity, and the French Emperor
at first declared it to be a war to " free Italy from
the Alps to the Adriatic." Francis Joseph natur-
ally sought to retain his grip on the Italian provinces,
which had long been appendages of the Austrian
Crown, and soon all Europe was in a ferment.
Nearly half a million of soldiers speedily confronted
each other on the sunny plains of Italy, and after a
series of great battles at Montebello, Palestro, Ma-
genta. Solferino and elsewhere, resulting in immense
slaughter, victory clearly rested with the Franco-
Italian armies.
The power of Austria was evidently crushed for
the time being, and the complete triumph of Italian
unity within sight, but just at this point the Emper-
ors Napoleon and Francis Joseph arranged to meet
at Villafranca; and, to the surprise of Europe, the
former made peace as suddenly as he had com-
menced hostilities. The reason for this was, the
Emperor alleged, that " the contest was about to
assume proportions no longer in keeping with the
interests of France." The grand province of Lom-
bardy was awarded to Italy, and France and Austria
pledged themselves to support the formation of an
Italian confederation. This was a long stride to-
wards the goal of Italian nationality, but the terms
131
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
of peace still left Austria in possession of Venetia,
allowed the return of the hated Princes of Tuscany
and Modena to their States, and made other minor
concessions which aroused accusations against the
Emperor Napoleon in both France and Italy of bad
faith towards his Italian allies.
Whilst these great events were transpiring abroad,
Upper Canada continued to be deeply agitated and
aggrieved over its political position. Ominous meet-
ings in favour of dissolution of the union with
Lower Canada began to take place. This retrograde
movement was not favoured by the leading politi-
cians, either of the Reform or Conservative parties,
with the exception of Mr. William Lyon Mackenzie.
But many had come to doubt the possibility of
obtaining Representation by Population under the
existing union, and the people themselves began to
agitate for its dissolution as the only speedy and
effective mode of freeing Upper Canada from what
had become a degrading and insufferable position.
" Smash the Union " might soon have developed
into an irresistible cry.
At this juncture Mr. Brown and other leaders of
the Reform party decided to convene a meeting of
all the Upper Canada members of Parliament op-
posed to the Government, to consider the political
situation. It was held at the Rossin House, To-
ronto, on the 23rd September, and was well attended.
The consensus of opinion at this meeting was found
to favour the following views : ( i ) That the circum-
stances of the recent governmental crisis proved that
the difficulties in the way of obtaining redress of
132
REFORM PARTY FOR FEDERAL UNION
Upper Canada's grievances were almost unsur-
mountable under the existing union with Lower
Canada: (2) That by changing, the union from a
legislative to a federal one, under which each pro-
vince could have a local Legislature controlling its
own local affairs, not only would the adoption of
representation by population become practicable, but
the provinces would be able to work together in the
federal body without the discord and heart-burnings
which had so long distracted them; and (3) That a
general convention of the Reformers of Upper Can-
ada, on a larger scale than that of 1857, should be
called to meet at Toronto on the 9th November, to
consider the proposed constitutional changes.
As the many influential delegates who attended
this convention, as well as the spirited debates which
took place, throw much light upon the state of pub-
lic feeling throughout Upper Canada at that time in
regard to our relations with the sister province, a
tolerably full synopsis of the proceedings will be
found both interesting and instructive.
When the day for holding the convention arrived
the usual animation of the streets of Toronto was
augmented by the influx of delegates from the cities,
towns, villages, and townships of the Province, the
number of strangers in the city being unusually
large and influential for that period. During the
first day of the convention 550 delegates enrolled
their names, and 700 attended altogether. Not a
little excitement prevailed within the St. Lawrence
Hall, where the convention was held, when at twelve
o'clock the assemblage was called to order.
133
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
The following members of Parliament were pre-
sent and registered: Legislative Councillors, the
Hons. David Christie, Adam Ferguson, Dr. Smith
and Donald Macdonald ; Members of the Legislative
Assembly, Messrs. Oliver Mowat, W. P. Howland,
George Brown, Dr. Connor, Wm. Macdougall, Wm.
Notman, M. H. Foley, Joseph Gould, M. Harcourt,
John White, J. C. Aikins, Thomas Short, Hugh Fin-
layson, J. W. Cook, H. Munro, Joseph Rymal, David
Stirton, Donald A. Macdonald, Amos Wright, Wm.
Lyon Mackenzie and John R. Clark.
The Hon. Adam Ferguson was unanimously
chosen chairman, and Mr. William Macdougall,
M.P.P., and Mr. John Scoble, joint secretaries. The
permanent organization of the Convention was then
entered upon and completed, and after various
standing committees had been appointed, chief
among which was a large one on Resolutions, an
adjournment took place till the evening in order to
give the committees time to meet and prepare their
reports.
The St. Lawrence Hall was completely jammed
with delegates and spectators when the evening ses-
sion convened. After routine business the chief
features of the programme were the presentation by
the chairman, Mr. Andrew Jeffrey, of Cobourg, of
the report of the Committee on Resolutions and the
general discussion which followed. Among the prin-
cipal speeches were those of the Hon. Malcolm Cam-
eron and the Hon. George Brown, the former of
whom ably supported the resolutions when presented,
and the latter closed the proceedings of the evening
134
REFORM PARTY FOR FEDERAL UNION
with a characteristic address on the existing state of
provincial affairs, the sHghtest reference to the
Brown-Dorion Ministry and its partisan treatment
by Sir Edmund Head being greeted with tumultuous
applause. The Committee's resolutions were as fol-
lows :
1. Resolved, — That the existing Legislative Union
of Upper and Lower Canada has failed to realize the
anticipations of its promoters, has resulted in a
heavy public debt, burdensome taxation, great poli-
tical abuses, and universal dissatisfaction through-
out Upper Canada ; and it is the matured conviction
of this assembly, from the antagonisms developed
through difference of origin, local interests and other
causes, that the Union in its present form can no
longer be continued with advantage to the people.
2. Resolved, — That highly desirable as it would be
while the Union is maintained, that local legislation
should not be forced on one section of the Province
against the wishes of a majority of the representa-
tives of that section — yet this assembly is of the
opinion that the plan of government known as the
" Double Majority " would be no permanent remedy
for existing evils.
3. Resolved, — That, necessary as it is that strict
constitutional restraints on the power of the Legis-
lature and Executive in regard to the borrowing and
expenditure of money and other matters should
form part of any satisfactory change of the existing
Constitutional system — yet the imposition of such
restraints would not alone remedy the evils under
which the country now labours.
4. Resolved, — That without entering on the dis-
cussion of other objections, this assembly is of opin-
135
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
ion that the delay which must occur in obtaining the
sanction of the Lower Provinces to a Federal Union
of all the British North American Colonies places
that measure beyond consideration as a remedy for
present evils.
5. Resolved, — That in the opinion of this assem-
bly the best practical remedy for the evils now
encountered in the government of Canada, is to be
found in the formation of two or more local govern-
ments to which shall be committed the control of all
matters of a local or sectional character, and a gen-
eral government charged with such matters as are
necessarily common to both sections of the Pro-
vince.
6. Resolved, — That while the details of the
changes proposed in the last resolution are neces-
sarily subject for future arrangement, yet this
assembly deems it imperative to declare that no
general government would be satisfactory to the
people of Upper Canada which is not based on the
principle of Representation by Population.
The earlier speeches in favour of the new policy
of Federation were made by the following gentle-
men : Hon. Oliver Mowat, Toronto; Messrs. E. V.
Bodwell, South Oxford; George S. Wilkes, Brant-
ford; A. Farewell, Whitby; W. H. Oliver, Simcoe;
George Esson, Otonabee; Alex. McKinnon,
Vaughan ; John Scoble, Toronto ; J. H. Hopkins,
Toronto ; Thomas Donnelly, Picton ; and A. Choate,
Hope Township.
Mr. George Sheppard, formerly editor of the
British Colonist, but then a writer on the Globe, was
136
REFORM PARTY FOR FEDERAL UNION
the first to take the platform for a dissolution of the
Union, and he was ably supported by Dr. Daniel
Clark and Mr. Robert McLean, of North Oxford,
and Mr. John McNaughton, of Haldimand. Mr.
M. H. Foley, M.P.P., made a vigorous speech in
reply to the arguments of these gentlemen, after
which the chairman called for a vote on the first
four resolutions, to which there was no opposition.
They were carried unanimously amidst much
applause.
Mr. A. Diamond, of Belleville, then moved the
fifth resolution, in favour of a Federal Union, which
was seconded by Mr. David Wylie, of Brockville.
To this motion Mr. George Sheppard, seconded by
Mr. W. Woodruff, Niagara, moved an amendment
as follows :
" Resolved, — That in the judgment of this con-
vention a totally unqualified dissolution affords the
most simple and efficacious remedy for prevailing
administrative evils which flow from the Legislative
Union of Upper and Lower Canada."
Mr. Sheppard supported this resolution in a very
clever and eloquent speech, which elicited much
applause from many parts of the hall and greatly
heightened the excitement which prevailed. When
he closed it seemed that he had almost captured the
Convention for Dissolution pure and simple, and for
a considerable time the party leaders were not a little
anxious as to the final result.
After the Hon. Donald Macdonald, M.L.C., had
spoken, Mr. William Macdougall, M.P.P., came for-
137
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
ward to reply to Mr. Sheppard, and very ably and
skilfully did he oppose dissolution and support
federation. The debate had indicated that the weak
spot in the proposed Federal Union, in the opinion
of many of the conventionists, was the expense
likely to arise from having three governments
instead of one, and in closing his speech Mr. Mac-
dougall adroitly moved a second amendment to
strike out the words " general government " from
the fifth resolution, and substitute therefor " some
joint authority " as the central body, which he
claimed would largely meet the objections raised to
the expense of the changes proposed. Mr. Thomas
Nixon, Newmarket, seconded Mr. Macdougall's
amendment.
These amendments brought the disputed question
squarely before the Convention, and very animated
and exciting was the discussion which followed.
The main motion as proposed to be amended by
Mr. Macdougall was ably supported by the Hon.
David Christie, Brant ; Messrs. D. A. Macdonald,
M.P.P., Glengarry; Hope Mackenzie, Sarnia; Dr.
Connor, M.P.P., South Oxford; D. McDougall,
Berlin; J. Bengough, Whitby; A. Hurd, Reach;
Daniel Rose, Williamsburg; A. L. McBain, Glen-
garry, and Abishai Morse, Grimsby. With equal
zeal Mr. James Leslie, of Toronto; John Smith, of
Mornington ; J. M. Climie, of Bowmanville, and
several others, spoke in favour of Mr. Sheppard's
amendment for an unqualified dissolution of the
Union with Lower Canada.
138
REFORM PARTY FOR FEDERAL UNION
These speeches pro and con were not ended until
the night had far advanced, when calls for the Hon.
George Brown, who was expected to close the
debate, became so loud and persistent that the
Reform leader could no longer delay coming for-
ward.
Tt is needless to say that Mr. Brown's appearance
on the platform was the signal for prolonged ap-
plause. Nor is it necesary to outline his speech.
It is enough to say it was George Brown at his best.
He displayed little of the art or polish of the orator.
But there was such a masterly array of facts, sound
reasoning, sarcastic thrusts at opponents, and ring-
ing appeals in favour of the rights of Upper Canada
— always powerful and convincing, and at times
rising to the height of true eloquence — that he
speedily gained control of the Convention and
seemed to sway it at his will.
The heroic picture which the Reform leader pre-
sented during the delivery of this speech made a
deep impression on his auditors. It has never been
erased from my mind, and it impressed older men,
too, as the following little incident well illustrates.
Mr. John Fleming and other Gait delegates were
seated near the south side of the platform. As the
flushed orator turned his face towards us on one
occasion, Mr. Fleming, hastily turning, exclaimed :
" Young, look at Brown's eyes." I had caught a
glimpse of them before, but now he directly faced
us, and the excitement of the moment had certainly
given them a unusual glow of singular power and
brilliancy. His stalwart form and strong, intellec-
139
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
tual face, his ringing voice and impassioned ges-
tures, all helped to deeply impress the Convention,
and towards the close of his speech, when he
earnestly pressed both sides to accept Mr. Mac-
dougall's amendment, the battle for Federal Union
was manifestly won.
So clearly was this the case, that at the request of
Mr. James Leslie and other dissolutionists, Mr.
Sheppard withdrew his amendment on the under-
standing that Mr. Macdougall's would be accepted
and made part of the original motion. The vote was
then taken on the fifth resolution as amended, and
as the whole Convention, with very few exceptions,
rose to their feet in favour of " federal union," the
pent-up excitement found vent in a wild scene of
cheering, which fittingly expressed the universal
gratification felt at the harmony and good feeling
with which the final result had been reached.
The closing month of this year witnessed the
execution of poor old John Brown, of Ossawatomie.
Grand but misguided old man, by his rash attempt
at Harper's Ferry to precipitate the downfall of
slavery by armed force he had legally forfeited his
life, but the nation generally sympathized with the
object he had in view, though it could not approve
the means. Fanatic though he undoubtedly was,
and weak also in human eyes his mimic rebellion,
history furnishes few more heroic and touching
pictures than that of the old grey-haired abolitionist,
with head erect and perfect calmness, going to his
death for what he earnestly believed to be the cause
of humanity and freedom.
140
REFORM PARTY FOR FEDERAL UNION
What his two-score of armed men failed to do at
Harper's Ferry, his death on the 2nd of December
accompHshed. It set on fire the anti-slavery senti-
ments of the Northern and Western States. It
ensured the election of Abraham Lincoln to the
presidency of the Republic the following year, and
before another twelve months had elapsed, Northern
troops on their way to Southern battlefields passed
Harper's Ferry singing :
" John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave,
But his soul goes marching on !"
And it went " marching on,'" until the Southern
and Middle States were
red with blood, and the
shackles of 4,000,000
slaves were forever struck
from their limbs.
One of Canada's grand
old men, one who wielded
much influence in Upper
Canada's earlier days, and
is justly regarded as the
founder of our education-
al system, I first met at
Berlin at this period. This
was Rev. Dr. Egerton
Ryerson, equally celebrated as Superintendent of
Education, and as a Methodist divine. He was then
making a tour of the counties of the Province, sound-
ing the people and educating them up to certain
enlightened changes which he wished to make in the
school laws.
141
Egerton Rverson, D.D.
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
The doctor was a striking figure. The statute of
him before the Normal School in Toronto corre-
sponds very fairly with my recollections of him as
he appeared in the courthouse, Berlin, before the
crowded meeting which he had called. The prin-
cipal changes in our educational system which he
then advocated were : ( i ) That all public schools
should be free; (2) that the law should be made
compulsory on parents to send their children to
school between the ages of six and fourteen; and
(3) that the support of grammar schools, over and
above the Government grant, should fall partly on
the county councils and partly on the municipalities
in which the schools were located.
These proposals of Dr. Ryerson did not escape
opposition, and I was much struck by the wary
doctor's clever answers to objectors, and the adroit,
almost sly, manner in which he finally got the meet-
ing to endorse everything he proposed. Nearly all
his proposals at that time have long since become
law.
142
CHAPTER XIII
HIS MAJESTY KING EDWARD VII. IN CANADA
The whole of British America was thrown into a
whirl of loyal enthusiasm by the visit of His Royal
Highness Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (His late
Majesty King Edward VII.), during the autumn of
i860. The year before, Parliament had unani-
mously invited Her Majesty Queen Victoria and
other members of the Royal family to visit Canada,
and although unable herself to undertake so long a
voyage, the Queen graciously sent her first-born son,
the heir to the throne.
Before describing the events of this Royal visit,
however, a few words should be said about the
session of Parliament immediately preceding it,
which opened at Quebec on February 28th.
It proved short and dull, but long enough to be
quite disheartening to the Reform party. They
expected their new policy would be specially accep-
table to the Lower Canadians as a means of settling
the sectional difficulties. But when Mr. Brown
proposed a federal in place of the existing legisla-
tive union, in a five-hours' speech, admittedly able
and studiously moderate, it was received quite
coldly by the House, and although it obtained an
Upper Canada majority of 25 to 22, only four
Lower Canadians had the courage to record their
143
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
votes in its favour. These gentlemen's names
deserve to be mentioned. They were the Hon. A.
A. Dorion, Hon. Mr. Drummond, Mr. D'Arcy
McGee and Mr. Papineau.
This result was chiefly due to the fact that the
Cartier-Macdonald Government was at that time
solidly entrenched in power, that their existence
depended on blocking all constitutional changes, and
that they and their organs had so ingeniously
attacked the proposed federal union, especially the
" some joint authority " feature of it, which was
much ridiculed and not a little misrepresented, that
public opinion had got a little at sea in regard to this
remedy for the country's political ills.
The prime mover in this as in all the Govern-
ment's political devices was Attorney-General Mac-
donald, who never failed to improve any little slips
which his opponents might make. How cleverly he
often did this the following little incident attests.
Dr. Connor and Mr. Foley having got into an open
tiff in the House with Mr. Brown about the
presentation of the federal union resolutions at so
early a stage, Mr. Macdonald promptly seized the
opportunity to take the following part in the fray,
which affords a good illustration of the methods
which he so frequently and successfully employed.
"Attorney-General Macdonald was disposed to
sympathize with the member for Toronto, who had
made his party by his own labour and perseverance,
and he wondered, when he Had heard gentlemen who
had accepted office in his Government charge him
with unfaithfulness to his principles. They knew all
144
HIS MAJESTY EDWARD VII. IN CANADA
this at the time, and yet they joined his Administra-
tion. But the present shattered state of the Upper
Canada Opposition showed that there never had
been any principle of cohesion between them, and
that they had merely agreed together for the greed
of ofhce. Their present condition was a great
triumph for the Ministry, and the best proof of the
wisdom of the course pursued by the Government,
who, in the midst of accusations of wrong, had
carried on the business of the country calmly and
successfully, and had outlived the boasted unanimity
of the Opposition, who now showed by their dis-
sensions that they never had any principle. It
would be a proud day for the present Collector of
Customs in Toronto, if he were here, to see the
state to which his assailants, notwithstanding their
alleged unanimity, had been reduced by the dis-
sensions which existed in their ranks. But all this
might be affected, for they had coalesced and kept
together w^ithout any motive but the one he had
adduced, and he had all along looked for such a
result."
The loyalty of the people of Canada to the British
throne and Queen Victoria, who had so long adorned
it, found universal expression on the visit of the
Prince of Wales, not only throughout Canada but
all the other British American provinces. Many
Canadians, however, looked forward to the arrival
of the Prince, the Duke of Newcastle and their
party, with some misgivings. The time chosen for
the visit was not propitious. Canada was politically
agitated, the Upper Province discontented and
sullen, the Government unpopular in one and the
145
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
Governor-General in both sections. A rumour that
the Right Honourable Richard Cobden was to
accompany the Prince's party as a new Governor
had been joyfully received, but nothing came of it.
The feeling in regard to Sir Edmund Head
was voiced in Parliament by Mr. D'Arcy McGee,
who said that " it was highly desirable the Prince
should be received with the highest manifestations
of goodwill on the part of Her Majesty's subjects
in this Province. But this would not be the case
if, on his introduction to the people of the Province,
a person stood between him and the people who was
unpopular and detested. He hoped the Prince would
not be brought here simply to rehabilitate the popu-
larity of an unpopular Governor-General." The
Speaker called Mr. McGee to order, but no one rose
to contradict him. This circumstance indicates the
feeling which existed.
The Royal Squadron conveying the Prince of
Wales and his party entered the harbour of St.
John's, Newfoundland, amidst a Royal Salute, on
the evening of the 23rd July. His reception was
imposing and enthusiastic, eminently worthy of the
first colonial possession of the British Crown on
this continent, and when His Royal Highness
reached Nova Scotia and New Brunswick — the
principal celebrations being at Halifax, St. John
and Fredericton — he was almost overwhelmed by
the round of receptions, addresses, processions,
illuminations, regattas, balls and dinners with which
he was greeted.
146
HIS MAJESTY EDWARD VII. IN CANADA
After a cordial reception at Charlottetown, Prince
Edward Island, the Royal Squadron next appeared
in the beautiful harbour of Quebec, with its tower-
ing fortress overhead, and in this ancient capital,
as in the commercial metropolis, Montreal, the
following week, the French-Canadians in some
respects excelled those of British origin in the eclat
and enthusiasm with which they honoured the
Prince.
The following pen picture of the scene on the
presentation of Montreal's address not only illus-
trated this but affords a glimpse of the spirited way
in which our principal Canadian cities entered into
these Royal festivities :
" There was some delay in mooring the steamer
at the wharf, during which ample time was afforded
for surveying the fine proportions of the lofty
pavilion, brightly painted, under which a throne for
His Royal Highness had been placed, and where he
was to receive the address of the corporation.
Under this were gathered together the municipal
authorities, the members of the Executive Council,
the members of both Houses of Parliament, and a
brilliant array of naval and military officers, all in
uniform or full dress of some kind. The most
remarkable figure of the whole was M. Rodier, the
Mayor of the city, dressed in a scarlet robe trimmed
with sable, made after the pattern of the Lord
Mayor of London's, and wearing his golden chain
and sword of office. By Mayor Rodier His Royal
Highness was received as he stepped on shore, amid
a thundering salute, and conducted up the scarlet
carpet leading to the scarlet dais, there surrounded
147
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
by his suite. His Royal Highness stood while, first
in English and then in French, his Worship, stand-
ing on the lowest step of four, read a long address.
This, beautifully engrossed on parchment, he then
inclosed in a crimson velvet case, ornamented with
gold, and handed it to the Prince, who read his reply
in English only."
Whilst in Montreal the Prince laid the foundation-
stone of the famous Victoria Tubular Bridge over
the St. Lawrence River — then the greatest bridge in
the world — and at the city of Ottawa he also laid
the foundation-stone of the magnificent Parliament
Buildings which now grace the Ottawa's rugged
banks. Her Majesty having selected Ottawa as the
future Canadian capital, its Mayor, Council and
citizens vied with each other in making its festivities
worthy of Royalty and the bright future before
their city.
Up to this time the Royal visit had been almost
like a summer sky without a cloud. The only ex-
ception had been a slight jar at Montreal, caused
by the officiousness of Sir Edmund Head. It arose
in this way. The Anglican address had just been
read, when the Rev. Dr. Mathieson stepped forward
to read the address from the clergy of the Church of
Scotland. Sir Edmund rather curtly told him to
hand it in — that circumstances would not permit of
his reading it. The staunch old Presbyterian said he
would not present it at all if he were not allowed to
read it, and soon afterwards retired. The Prince
and the Duke of Newcastle were both much annoyed
148
HIS MAJESTY EDWARD VII. IN CANADA
when they learned of this unpleasant incident, but
the Duke made it all right by expressing his regrets,
and inviting Dr. Mathieson to breakfast with His
Royal Highness and to present his address at
Kingston. The belated address, however, may not
after all have been presented at the Limestone City,
for it was there the Orange difficulty broke out,
which not only threatened but caused serious
trouble.
The Duke of Newcastle having decided to recog-
nize no party or sectarian emblems during the
Prince's tour, was surprised to find at Kingston that
the Orangemen in large numbers were drawn up on
the wharf, with Orange banners flying and bands
playing party tunes. He therefore refused to allow
His Royal Highness and suite to land until all party
mottoes and symbols were withdrawn. The King-
stonians had beautified their city with arches and
evergreens, prepared an excellent programme, and
were generally anxious the Duke's wishes should be
complied with. But all efforts to induce the Orange-
men to give way were fruitless, and after a con-
siderable time spent in vain endeavours to have this
unfortunate contretemps adjusted, the steamer was
ordered to proceed, and Albert Edward never set
foot in Kingston at all.
Nor was the trouble over. Many of the Orange-
men at Kingston started in another steamer for
Belleville, where the Prince was to be entertained
the next day. They arrived in that city the same
evening, marched through the principal streets with
banners and music, and held an indignation meeting
149
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
to stir up the Belleville Orangemen, during which
Queen Victoria and Garibaldi were loudly cheered
and the Duke of Newcastle as loudly groaned. The
next day they made such an Orange demonstration
that the Prince and his party were reluctantly com-
pelled to pass Belleville also without landing.
The greatest demonstrations which greeted His
Royal Highness during his tour were those of To-
ronto and Hamilton, both of which attracted im-
mense numbers of people from the surrounding
districts. A huge amphitheatre was erected in the
" Queen City " for the occasion, and when Mayor
Adam Wilson, afterwards Chief Justice, presented
the civic address, it was claimed that in and around
the vast structure and on the streets, taking part in
the celebration, could not have been less than 60,000
people. Many of the citizens became wildly enthusi-
astic over their Royal guest, whose gentleness, pru-
dence and affability captured the hearts of all with
whom he came into contact. Nevertheless, not a
little anxiety was caused by the fact that, although
in the background, the shadow of the Orange trouble
was still dangerously near.
The Orangemen of Toronto, like the Masons and
firemen, had erected an arch. The city councillors,
however, assured the Duke of Newcastle that no
Orange emblems would appear upon it; but when
passing underneath it in the procession, what was
His Grace's surprise to find that it was built in
representation of the Bishop's gate at Derry, and
that a statue or figure of King William surmounted
it ! This was regarded as an insult, and at the levee
150
HIS MAJESTY EDWARD VII. IN CANADA
held by the Prince, the Mayor and Corporation
were not allowed to be presented, but a special meet-
ing of the Council and an apology happily prevented
any further unpleasantness. But for this little cloud
the Toronto celebration was a brilliant success.
The Royal visitors next passed through Bramp-
ton, Georgetown, Guelph, Berlin, Stratford, Lon-
don, Sarnia, Ingersoll, Woodstock, Paris, Brant-
ford, Dunnville, Fort Erie, Chippewa, St. Cathar-
ines and Niagara Falls. At the latter place they
witnessed the daring feats of that prince of acrobats,
Blondin, who not only crossed and recrossed the
Niagara River on a single rope, blindfolded, but
actually stood on his head on the slender line near
the middle of the awful chasm! The whole party,
and especially His Royal Highness, were loud in
their praises of the grandeur and beauty of Niagara
Falls, which, indeed, is generally considered the
greatest natural wonder in the world.
The Prince next visited Hamilton on Tuesday,
the 1 8th, where he had consented to open the Pro-
vincial Agricultural Exhibition, and it is estimated
that his reception was taken part in by no less than
50,000 people. Never did Hamilton deserve the
name of " the Ambitious City " more than on this
occasion. Not only was it beautifully decorated
with arches, evergreens, flowers and mottoes, but
besides the usual round of civic festivities it had a
regatta, horse races, and the Agricultural Exhibition
thrown in.
Wednesday forenoon had been set apart for a
private inspection of the exhibits in the Crystal
151
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
Palace, as it was called, by the Prince and his suite,
and I was amongst the fortunate members of the
press admitted on the occasion. We had the honour
of presentation, and accompanied the visitors during
the inspection. This afforded ample time to ob-
serve His Royal Highness, and my memory recalls
very distinctly the pleasing impressions which he
made.
His appearance at that time, however, was very
unlike the robust pictures of King Edward VH.,
with which we are now so familiar. Attractive in
person and manner he was, as always, but he was
rather short for his age, slender in build, and pale in
complexion. His face was intelligent and pleasing,
the most striking features being his eyes, which
were large and handsome, a prominent, well-formed
nose, and a small, mobile mouth. His hands and
feet indicated something of the size and rotundity
which he attained, but his appearance, at this time,
was exceedingly boyish and artless, which rendered
his quiet, gentlemanly manner all the more pleasing.
He did not speak much, but when he did his voice
was clear and strong; indeed, it was quite apparent
that, notwithstanding his youthful appearance, he
possessed a vigorous constitution, with abundance
of mental and physical activity.
As proof of this it may be mentioned that, whilst
his suite suffered more or less. His Royal Highness
went through the whole long-continued round of
festivities in good health and spirits. This was no
ordinary feat, for he was engaged every day but
Sunday, and what this means may be known from
'52
HIS MAJESTY EDWARD VII. IN CANADA
the programme at Charlottetown, the pretty capital
of the pretty Province of Prince Edward Island,
where in one day he received an address, held a
levee, drove out in plain clothes, went out shooting,
rode out again, took a salt-water swim, dined with
a large party, and went to a ball and danced till three
o'clock in the morning!
It took the Royal party about an hour and a half
to make the round of the Crystal Palace, at the close
of which the Prince modestly expressed himself
delighted with the exhibits and the courtesies shown
to himself and attendants, and as his carriage left
the Palace and fair-grounds he was greeted with
ringing cheers by the immense crowds assembled to
do him honour.
This famous Royal tour finished in the United
States. The whole party went out through the
western prairies, the Prince of Wales travelling
under the name of Baron Renfrew. After enjoying
some shooting, they accepted the hospitalities of
some of the Atlantic cities, the principal celebrations
being at Washington, New York and Boston, where
the festivities in Canada were rivalled, if not eclipsed,
by the magnificence and enthusiasm with which His
Royal Highness and suite were received and enter-
tained. The elite of these great American cities
could not have been more hospitable or enthusiastic
had their guest been Queen Victoria herself. The
Prince became the social lion wherever he went, and
his social triumphs in Canada were more than
repeated among our American cousins.
153
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
The closing ceremonies took place at the city of
Portland, Maine, where on the 20th September,
amidst the booming of cannon, the music of bands,
and the cheers of the Americans assembled. His
Royal Highness set sail again in the Royal Squadron
for Great Britain — a fitting termination to his suc-
cessful and ever-memorable tour.
Scarcely had the Royal party bid adieu to Canada
when the slumbering indignation of the Orange
Order burst into flame. Indignation meetings were
held at Kingston, Toronto, Port Hope and else-
where, including a meeting of the Orange Grand
Lodge, at which strong resolutions were passed con-
demning the Duke of Newcastle, the Governor-
General and the Government for their conduct
towards the Orange body during the Prince's visit.
So bitter was the feeling for a time that rumours
obtained currency that the Hon. John A. Macdonald
and some of his Upper Canada colleagues would be
forced to resign and give place to Mr. John Hillyard
Cameron and some of his Orange colleagues. The
members of the Ministry, however, hurried to Que-
bec to take steps to smooth over the difficulties, and
nothing finally came of the rumours of cabinet
changes. Although aggrieved, the Orangemen
generally were too close allies of the Conservative
leaders to wish to overthrow the Government, and
so the tempest blew over with the forcible expression
of a little honest indignation.
Looked at from an impartial standpoint, the
whole of these Orange troubles were unfortunate,
154
HIS MAJESTY EDWARD VII. IN CANADA
and however honourable their motives, which may
be conceded, both sides were more or less to blame.
Such an unpleasant train of circumstances could
hardly happen in Canada to-day under the more
liberal and conciliatory political spirit which now
happily obtains among all classes.
155
CHAPTER XIV
WAR-CLOUD BURSTS IN THE UNITED STATES
November 4th, i860, will be ever memorable in
United States history. That day witnessed the
culmination of the bitter anti-slavery agitation,
which had distracted the Republic for half a century,
in the triumphant election of Abraham Lincoln, the
Republican candidate, to the presidential chair.
The conscience of the American people had been
deeply stirred for several years by the evils of
slavery, as portrayed by Mrs. Harriet Beecher
Stowe in her celebrated book, " Uncle Tom's
Cabin." The thrilling story of Selby, Uncle Tom,
little Eva, Legree, Eliza, and the irrepressible Topsy
penetrated mansions and cabins alike, arousing
almost universal sympathy and indignation. Then
a few years afterwards came the old John Brown
raid at Harper's Ferry, already referred to, and the
sorrowful execution of the poor old veteran aboli-
tionist. These events acted like a spark to kindle
the anti-slavery indignation of the Northern and
Western States into a political conflagration. So
fiercely did it burn that although Lincoln was op-
posed by two other popular candidates, Messrs.
Douglas and Breckenridge, he received 49 more
votes of the Electoral College than both of them
together. The total number of votes was 303, of
156
WAR CLOUD BURSTS IN THE UNITED STATES
which Lincoln received 176, and his opponents 127.
This decisive victory of the RepubHcan party,
whose avowed poHcy was to curb, if not destroy,
the system of slavery which had so long disgraced
the nation, was immediately followed by prepara-
tions for secession in all the Southern and some of
the border States, and quickly precipitated, as we
shall see later on, one of the greatest and bloodiest
wars of ancient or modern times.
Not a little interest was created at this time by a
young chemist in Toronto named Ebenezer Clemo,
who claimed to have discovered a new process for
making white paper from straw. This was some-
thing for which the London Times at one time
ofifered a premium of £10,000. The Hon. George
Brown and the Taylors, paper-makers, took the
matter up, printed the Globe on the new straw paper
for some time, took out patents in Canada, the
United States, Britain and France, and at one stage
the ubiquitous New York reporter telegraphed all
over the continent that Cyrus W. Field, of Atlantic
cable fame, and other capitalists had bought out
Brown and Clemo's interests in the new discovery
for $800,000. There was at that time a preliminary
bargain of some kind being negotiated in New York
between the parties mentioned, but the transaction
finally fell through, as the paper made under
Clemo's process was rather hard and stiff, as well as
too straw-coloured, and neither the American nor
Canadian paper-makers were able, after many ex-
periments, to produce good white paper from straw
cheap enough to satisfy the big newspaper dailies.
157
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
Clemo afterwards produced a Canadian novel,
" Simon Seek," a queer story of the queer adven-
tures of a queer emigrant family seeking a home in
Canada. A home-made novel was then a curiosity
in this country, and Mr. Clemo* had some origin-
ality. Nor was his straw paper agitation in vain.
It stimulated experiments, and before many years
there was discovered the process of making wood
pulp, which has since become the principal material
used in making cheap news and other papers.
Signs of another general election now began to
appear. Shortly before winter set in, the Upper
Canada members of the Government made a political
tour of the Province. They were entertained by
their supporters in a series of public dinners, those
at Hamilton, Brantford, London, St. Thomas,
Guelph and Cobourg being the most successful. The
principal ministerial speakers were the Hon. John
A. Macdonald, the Hon. P. M. VanKoughnet, the
Hon. Sydney Smith and the Hon. J. C. Morrison.
On the Reform side the leaders were entertained
at dinners at Fergus, Simcoe and elsewhere, and the
Hon. George Brown addressed unusually large
public meetings at Kingston, Napanee, St. Thomas,
London, Gait and other places, which plainly testi-
fied that the large majority of Upper Canadians
continued to be bitterly aggrieved at the working
of the Union, and at being systematically ruled by
Lower Canadian majorities.
* Further reference to Mr. Clemo and his discovery may be
found in Morgan's " Bibliotheca Canadensis," 1867, page Tj.
WAR CLOUD BURSTS IN THE UNITED STATES
Whilst our statesmen were thus peacefully fight-
ing their political battles, the war cloud in the United
States was rapidly growing denser and blacker. As
the day for the inauguration of President Lincoln
drew near, the excitement became almost as great in
Canada as in some parts of the Republic itself. The
Southern States were openly preparing for war.
They had in fact already committed an act of war,
having fired on the Gov- — -.
ernment steamer. Star of ^> v
the West, and prevent-
ed her from reinforcino"
Fort Sumter in Charleston
harbour.
When Mr. Lincoln and
his family left Spring-
field for Washington, a
week before the inaugura-
tion ceremonies, to be held
on the 4th March, 1861,
the roar of the coming
conflict met his ears at
every centre of population.
he was earnestly pleaded with by his friends — Mrs.
Lincoln giving way to tears — not to pass through
Baltimore for fear of assassination. He would not
be dissuaded, but finally consented to go by an early
morning special train, incognito, which he did,
reaching Washington safely, to the great relief of
his friends.
Few persons then realized the great man Abra-
ham Lincoln really was. Most people regarded him
159
Abraham Lincoln.
At Harrisburg, Pa.,
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
more as the railsplitter he was described to be during
his canvass, than as the far-sighted, capable and
patriotic statesman he proved himself to be. His
remarkable speeches at the principal cities he passed
through on his way to the capital, however, — so
original, so powerful, but also so tender and fitting
— convinced many that the new President was no
ordinary man. His speech at Philadelphia, in par-
ticular, created immense enthusiasm, especially his
closing appeal — that he might have " their assistance
in piloting the ship of state through this voyage,
surrounded by perils as it is; for if it should suffer
from shipwreck now, tJiere zvill be no pilot ever
needed for another voyage." In the New York
Tribune, Horace Greeley thus burst forth over this
speech :
" Rejoice, lovers of freedom! for your sentiments
have found a memorable expression from the elected
Chief of the Nation ! Let it be read by every hearth,
and pondered by every American, until the heart
even of childhood shall glow with its spirit, and the
nation be brought to realize that it is to be saved by
truth, not dissimulation, by cherishing the spirit of
liberty and justice, not truckling to slavery and
wrong. Thank God that the hour of our trial has
found the man who is to pilot us nobly through its
troubles and its perils."
Never before was the Republic in such a state of
excitement, especially the city of Washington, as
when Lincoln was sworn in as President and
delivered his inaugural address. His heart must
1 60
WAR CLOUD BURSTS IN THE UNITED STATES
have trembled under the heavy load of responsibility
and danger which rested upon him, but in word or
bearing he never faltered. His address was remark-
ably striking. His indisposition to interfere with
slavery in any State where it lawfully existed, his
denial of the right or power of any State to secede,
and his solemn obligation to preserve, protect and
defend the Union, were enforced with wonderful
boldness and clearness, but he fittingly closed his
remarks with the following tender and touching
appeal for peace : " I am loth to close. We
are not enemies, but friends. We must not be
enemies. Though passion may have strained, it
must not break our cords of union. The mystic
chords of memory, stretched from every battle-
field and patriotic grave to every living heart and
hearthstone all over this broad land will yet swell
the chorus of the Union when again touched, as
assuredly they will be, by the better angels of our
nature." But the eloquent appeal was in vain. The
South had already "cried havoc! and let slip the
dogs of war."
The Parliament of Canada assembled again on
the 1 6th March, and once more the struggle between
the two provinces was transferred from the country
to the Chambers. This session was memorable in
consequence of the absence of the Reform leader.
Mr, Brown's labours, both public and private, had
for many years been nothing short of herculean, and
at a period when slander of all political leaders was
disgracefully rife, he was assailed with a venom
and persistency without a parallel; besides this, it
" 161
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
must be confessed, his leadership met with some
opposition and discouragement from a few within
the Reform party itself. These circumstances
brought on a serious attack of illness just as the
session opened, and Mr. Brown was unable to attend
any of the meetings. The Reform leadership, there-
fore, was temporarily placed in the hands of a com-
mittee composed of Messrs. Dorion, Foley, Mac-
dougall, Mowat and Wilson, with Mr. Foley as
chief spokesman.
Although Mr. Brown was absent, the constitu-
tional battle raged as fiercely this session as on any
former occasion. Mr. Thibaudeau (L.C.) moved
for dissolution of the Union, Mr. Sandfield Mac-
donald for the Double Majority, and Mr. Thomas
Ferguson, a Conservative, for Representation by
Population. Mr. William Macdougall and others
discussed a Federal Union, but no motion seems to
have been made in favour of this remedy of the
Reform Convention. The vote on the Representa-
tion question was the largest yet obtained — 67 to
49 — among the yeas being two members of the
Administration, Messrs. Sherwood and Smith, and
all the Upper Canadian members who voted but
nine.
Mr. D'Arcy McGee distinguished himself not
only by a brilliant speech in favour of constitutional
changes, but by boldly voting therefor. The Govern-
ment, however, successfully passed through the ses-
sion, although frequently in danger, for the Lower
Canadians themselves had become restless and un-
comfortable under the taunts of their opponents,
162
WAR CLOUD BURSTS IN THE UNITED STATES
that they were forcing their legislation and their
Conservative colleagues upon Upper Canada, when
the majority of its representatives had declared for
years that they had no confidence in them. This
session lasted only two months and two days, one
of the shortest on record.
One month later the general elections were in full
swing. It is unnecessary to describe the issues of
this contest at length. It was simply the old poli-
tical battles over again, but the country was begin-
ning to grow tired of the long-continued struggle,
and some great political surprises occurred when the
votes were counted. Many of the " old Parlia-
mentary hands " suffered severely. Among these
were thirteen Upper Canada supporters of the
Cartier-Macdonald Administration, and seven of
their oldest Reform opponents. Among those
defeated were Postmaster-General Sydney Smith,
and Solicitor-General Morin, and, very oddly, both
leaders of the Opposition, Messrs. Brown and
Dorion. East Toronto being really a Conservative
riding, it was not surprising that the Reform leader
failed to carry it against so formidable an opponent
as Mr. John Crawford, but that Mr. Dorion should
in Lower Canada have shared the same fate made
quite a singular coincidence.
The general result of the elections was at first
supposed to ensure the downfall of the Coalition
Ministry, but a close analysis made later on proved
the supporters returned of the two political parties
to be almost equal. The numbers were apportioned
thus : Ministerial supporters, 36 Lower Canadians,
163
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
27 Upper Canadians — in all 63 ; Opposition sup-
porters, 36 Upper Canadians, 29 Lower Canadians
— in all 65. Two seats unaccounted for would not
alter the result, so that whatever might be the fate
of the Government, it looked as if the equality in
numbers would now result in an absolute political
dead-lock — neither party being able to carry on the
government, and neither willing to give way.
When the declaration for East Toronto took
place, the Hon. George Brown made a very manly,
chivalrous and good-tempered speech, in which he
reviewed the political situation and his own parlia-
mentary career, congratulating the Reform party on
its success at the elections, but concluding with the
unexpected announcement that his defeat had
opened up the way for his retirement without dis-
honour, and he intended to take advantage of it.
"My health and my personal interests," he continued,
" have rendered me desirous of retiring for at least
a parliamentary term, and it is my present resolution
not to seek re-election by any constituency for some
time to come."
Such were among the words in which Mr. Brown
made an announcement which caused widespread
surprise and regret to the Reformers of Upper
Canada, and called forth kind remarks from not a
few of his more generous political opponents. The
temporary retirement of the foremost champion of
Upper Canadian rights, when the prolonged struggle
between the two provinces had reached a climax,
was a circumstance of much public importance, and
164
WAR CLOUD BURSTS IN THE UNITED STATES
the following brief extracts from his resignation
speech will, therefore, be found quite interesting :
" In forming this resolution, I have not lost sight
of certain public advantages which may flow from
it. It has been by certain recreant politicians of
Upper Canada a constant excuse for their mischief :
' Oh, we know this or that act was wrong, but if we
had done otherwise the Government would have
been overthrown and George Brown would have
come in.' Well, gentlemen, George Brown will no
longer be the scapegoat for these gentlemen — their
miserable palliative will no longer be available, and
we will have an opportunity of testing their sincerity
in the past by their conduct in the future. (Cheers.)
. . . Now, I readily admit that in endeavouring to
free Upper Canada from the injury and disgrace of
French domination, I have used strong language
against those representatives of Upper Canada who
were traitors to their trusts, and that I have sys-
tematically held up all such men to public indigna-
tion ; but I plead in justification that it was the only
remedy for the evil. (Cheers.) ... I plead as the
complete and triumphant vindication of my policy,
that whereas in 1852 it was well-nigh impossible to
find a seconder for a motion in favour of Repre-
sentation by Population, there are now, in 1861,
fifty-three members elect from Upper Canada un-
reservedly committed to stand or fall by that vital
measure. (Loud cheering.) . . . What care I for the
honour of final victory? Sufficient honour is it for
me that I laid the foundation of success — that I
fought a ten years' battle without faltering; and
brief as was the existence of the Brown-Dorion
165
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
Government, I will always remember with proud
satisfaction that I was the leader of the first Ad-
ministration formed to settle the constitutional diffi-
culties between Upper and Lower Canada, and do
justice to Upper Canada. (Loud cheers.) . . .
When the present Administration is overthrown,
as it will be when the new Parliament assembles —
let us hope that all will set their faces against the
construction of any new Ministry, come from what
side it may, that will not meet this question honestly
and fairly. (Cheers.) Gentlemen, in leaving par-
liamentary life, after ten years of arduous labour
and stormy conflict, I feel it no slight gratification
that I can look back on my whole career with satis-
faction, and defy my opponents to point to one
vote I ever gave, one motion I ever made, one word
I ever uttered, that was unworthy of a faithful
representative of the people." (Loud cheering.)
His Excellency Lord Monck, accompanied by his
family, arrived in Quebec on the 23rd October, to
enter upon his appointment as Governor-General of
Canada. He was sworn into office the next day at
eleven o'clock, and the same afternoon Sir Edmund
Head took his departure, going to Boston by train,
and taking steamer from that city.
Seldom has a Governor-General left Canada with
fewer friends. The most favourable thing I ever
heard said of him was, that he possessed some artistic
taste, was a great admirer of Gothic architecture,
and that we were mainly indebted to him for the
selection of the undoubtedly magnificent Gothic
buildings which adorn Parliament Hill in the
166
WAR CLOUD BURSTS IN THE UNITED STATES
Dominion capital. In other respects his career as
Governor-General was unfortunate, both in the
interests of Canada and of his own popularity. He
early alienated the French-Canadians by an unfor-
tunate allusion to them as " une race inferieiire."
His partisan conduct during the Brown-Dorion
crisis ruined his popularity with the Reform party,
and the Orange body was also aggrieved at his
course during the tour of the Prince of Wales.
It may be that, from his own point of view, Sir
Edmund acted as his judgment and conscience
deemed right, and that the pretence of a slight to
Her Majesty in Parliament setting aside the selec-
tion of Ottawa as the future capital, which
Attorney-General Macdonald and others contended,
may have blinded His Excellency to the partisan-
ship of his course during the famous Double ShufBe.
But certain it is, nevertheless, that few governors
were ever more universally welcomed than Lord
Monck, and probably none, always save and except
his namesake. Sir Francis Bond Head, ever left
Canada less noticed and regretted than did Sir
Edmund Head at the close of his long term of seven
years.
The shrill trumpet of war resounded loudly
throughout Canada before this memorable year
closed. The danger was real and alarming for a
time. On the 8th November, Captain Wilkes, of
the United States cruiser San Jacinto, forcibly
stopped the British mail steamer Trent on the high
seas, and took from it Messrs. Mason and Slidell,
the plenipotentiaries of the Southern Confederacy,
167
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
then on their way to Europe. This was contrary
to international law, an unpardonable insult to the
British flag, and produced an immense sensation in
Great Britain and the United States, as well as every
other part of the civilized world.
The reckless, foolhardy action of Captain Wilkes
was received with loud hurrahs by most of the press
and people of the Northern States, and even the
Secretary of the Navy sent a report to Congress in
which he commended Wilkes' " prompt and decided
action," and excused him for not capturing the
vessel ! But this was fortunately not the way that
President Lincoln and the Imperial Government
regarded the matter. Lord Palmerston was then
Premier, and Lord John Russell, Foreign Secre-
tary. They promptly demanded that Mason and
Slidell and their two assistants should be given back
to British control, and the illegal act of Captain
Wilkes apologized for.
For two or three weeks the lookout was decidedly
black. It appeared as if war were certain. Great
Britain resounded with preparations. The British
arsenals were at work night and day. The fleet was
under immediate orders. A preliminary allotment
of over 10,000 soldiers was made for Canada. Our
Militia Department made a first call of 35,000 of
the sedentary militia. Much real alarm and anxiety
were felt, not only in Canada but the neighbouring
States, and well might they dread such a terrible
conflict as might have ensued.
The only part of America pleased was the newly-
born Southern Confederacy. President Jefferson
168
WAR CLOUD BURSTS IN THE UNITED STATES
Davis and the whole South openly expressed their
delight at the prospects of an Anglo-American war,
which they considered would ensure the success of
their rebellion, then rapidly developing.
Thank God, they were disappointed ! Better
counsels prevailed. The negotiations were con-
ducted by Lord John Rus.sell and the Hon. W. H.
Seward, Secretary of State. The latter had to admit
that Great Britain asked nothing more than the
United States itself had always contended for, and
in an able despatch agreed frankly to Lord Russell's
demands, his concluding words being as follows :
" We are asked to do to the British nation just what
we always insisted all nations should do to us.
The four persons are now held in military custody
at Fort Warren, in the State of Massachusetts.
They will be cheerfully liberated. Your Lordship
will please intimate a time and place for receiving
them."
Thus happily blew over this dangerous war-cloud.
It is to be hoped these two kindred nations will never
be so near war again. Facts which have since come
to light have shown how near that calamity was.
Lord Palmerston was a danger, and so were the
American jingoes and foreign element.
History now tells us there were two grand person-
alities, alike honoured and beloved by both nations,
whose powerful influence was largely instrumental
in recalling the white-winged angel of peace. These
were Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria
and President Abraham Lincoln, in many respects
169
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
two of the grandest rulers who ever adorned such
exalted positions.
Before this dangerous question was finally settled,
another dark shadow — the shadow of death — fell
upon the British throne. His Royal Highness
Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, un-
expectedly died of gastric fever on the 15th
December, and was buried in the Chapel Royal, St.
George's, Windsor, two days before Christmas.
The intense grief of Her Majesty and the Ro3''al
family evoked much sympathy throughout Canada,
as, indeed, throughout every part of the British
possessions.
170
CHAPTER XV
THE SANDFIELD MACDONALD MINISTRIES
When His Excellency Lord Monck came down
from Spencerwood, Quebec, on the 20th March,
1862, to open the first session of the seventh Parlia-
ment of Canada, the political interest was intense.
There existed that thrilling element in politics — un-
certainty. Many considered the Coalition Ministry
doomed. Others declared they had already had as
many lives as a cat, and that Macdonald would pull
them through again in some way.
The proceedings opened favourably for the minis-
ters. They put Mr. J. E. Turcotte forward as their
nominee for Speaker, and he was elected over Mr.
Sicotte by 66 to 53 — a majority of 13. But beneath
the surface the difficulties between the provinces
were more aggravated than ever, whilst not a few
political abuses had come to light, which made the
Government's position more critical.
The address in reply to His Excellency's speech
was met by two amendments on the constitutional
troubles, one by Mr. Macdougall in favour of
Representation by Population, and the other by
Mr. Sicotte against it. The former familiar amend-
ment was greatly strengthened on this occasion by
the fact that the recent census (1861) had proven
that Upper Canada had a larger population than
171
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
Lower Canada by 285,427. The Government
accepted both amendments as motions of want of
confidence. Nevertheless, Messrs. Hillyard Cam-
eron, Thomas C. Street, M. C. Cameron and other
leading Conservatives, openly declared they would
vote with Mr. Macdougal: in favour of Representa-
tion by Population.
The attitude of these gentlemen precipitated a
ministerial crisis before the address was disposed of,
during which Messrs. VanKoughnet, Morrison and
Ross retired from the Ministry. The vacant port-
folios, as stated in the press, were first offered to the
Hon. Alexander Campbell, of the Legislative Coun-
cil, and to Messrs. Cameron and Street, who all
honourably declined to accept office unless the repre-
sentation question was taken up and settled. This
Premier Cartier flatly refused to do, and the Hon.
John A. Macdonald, therefore, filled up the Upper
Canadian section of the Cabinet by taking in the
Hon. James Patton, Legislative Councillor, Mr.
John Carling, M.P. for London, and Mr. J. Beverly
Robinson, M.P. for West Toronto. When these
gentlemen returned to their constituents for re-
election, Mr. Patton was defeated, but his two
colleagues were sustained.
The Government thus reconstructed was vigor-
ously opposed by Messrs. Foley and Sicotte, who
had been chosen to lead the Opposition, as well as
by Mr. Macdougall, Mr. D'Arcy McGee and other
Reformers, becoming prominent among whom was
a new member destined to play a conspicuous part
in the future of Canada — Mr. Alexander Mac-
172
THE SANDFIELD MACDONALD MINISTRIES
kenzie. The battle went on with varying fortunes
until the 20th May, when a new Militia Bill pre-
pared by the Ministry came up for its second
reading. This measure proposed to clothe, equip
and drill 5,000 officers and 45,000 men for twenty-
eight days in each year, erect armouries, and other-
wise place the Province in a better state of defence.
The expense was estimated by Attorney-General
Macdonald at $1,110,204 per annum.
This Militia Bill does not look very formidable at
this distance, but it was considered very extravagant
by many in those days, especially by the Premier's
own Lower Canada supporters. They protested,
and finally handed him an " ultimatum " against
the measure, and when the vote on the second read-
ing was taken the Government was defeated by 61
to 54 — a majority of 7. And thus at last came
about the downfall of this famous Coalition Govern-
ment, which, ever since the year 1854, in one form
or another, had succeeded in maintaining itself in
power. But what everyone now asked was — What
of the future?
The following day, Wednesday, the Hon. Mr.
Cartier and his colleagues resigned, and the Gov-
ernor-General promptly called on Mr. John Sand-
Held Macdonald to form a new Administration. He
accepted the task; on Friday the names of the new
Cabinet Ministers were announced, and on Saturday
they were sworn into office. The list was composed
as follows :
Upper Canada. — Hon. J. S. Macdonald, Attor-
ney-General; Hon. M. H. Foley, Postmaster-
173
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
General; Hon. W. P. Howland, Finance Minister;
Hon. Wm. Macdougall, Crown Lands Commis-
sioner; Hon. James Morris, Receiver-General; Hon.
Adam Wilson, Solicitor-General.
Lower Canada. — Hon. L. V. Sicotte, Attorney-
General; Hon. J. J. C. Abbott, Solicitor-General;
Hon. A. A. Dorion, Provincial Secretary; Hon.
D'Arcy McGee, President of the Council ; Hon.
Francis Evanturel, Agriculture; Hon. U. J. Tessier,
Public Works.
The accession of the Macdonald-Sicotte Adminis-
tration to office Avas hailed with great satisfaction
throughout Upper Canada, and was received at
least favourably in the sister province. The best
proof of this is to be found in the fact that the
gentlemen who accepted office in it were all re-
elected by acclamation. The personnel of the new
Ministry and their policy, so far as it went, were
admittedly irreproachable and promising. The
constitutional difficulties were to be met by the
Double Majority principle, the new Premier's well-
known remedy for the troubles between the two
provinces. In the statement of the ministerial policy
laid before both Houses of Parliament, this prin-
ciple was set forth in the first two paragraphs in the
following terms : •
" 1st. Recognizing the Federal character of the
Act of Union and the danger at the present critical
emergency of attempting to change the basis of that
Union, the Government will seek to remedy the evils
now encountered in the government of Canada by
174
THE SANDFIELD MACDONALD MINISTRIES
committing to the members composing the Adminis-
tration, for each section respectively, the control of
all matters of a local or sectional character, the
Administration as a whole being charged with all
such matters as are necessarily common to both
sections of the Province.
" 2nd. It will be admitted as a rule that local
legislation should not be forced on either section of
the Province against the wishes of a majority of its
representatives, and that the Administration for
each section should possess the confidence of a
majority of its representatives."
The official statement of the new Government also
promised the following measures : A bill to equalize
the representation of ridings in each section; an
improved but less expensive militia law ; an amended
tariff for revenue, but with a due regard to manu-
factures ; and an insolvency law to apply to both sec-
tions of the Province. The Government also speedily
arrived at an understanding to retain Ottawa
as the capital, to investigate the unexpectedly large
expenditures on the new Parliament Buildings, to
favourably consider Upper Canada's claims for
public expenditures according to its population, and
also in regard to measures for railroads, retrench-
ment and the correction of abuses.
Whilst the new Government and its general policy
— which Premier Macdonald declared to be Reform
— were hailed with satisfaction all over Canada,
there was, unfortunately, one fatal weakness. No
more than their predecessors were they able and
175
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
prepared to grapple with and settle the real source
of the long and aggravated provincial difficulties.
The Double Majority would undoubtedly mitigate
the existing evils. But no Government could long
exist on that principle, and so long as Upper Canada
with 300,000 more people and paying at least two-
thirds of the revenue, was denied representation by
population, the permanent restoration of peace and
harmony was impossible.
This speedily became apparent. Forty Upper
Canadian Reformers in caucus heartily promised to
sustain Mr. Macdonald and his colleagues, but most
of them reserved the right to vote for justice to
their section on the representation question. The
Hon. George Brown and the Globe strongly repro-
bated the Government's position on the latter ques-
tion, but were delighted that the Coalition was gone,
and promised to sustain Messrs. Macdonald and
Sicotte on the other portions of their policy. This
view generally prevailed throughout Upper Canada,
and when a long prorogation of Parliament was
agreed to, in order to give the new ministers ample
time for their re-elections and to mature their policy,
the political situation was felt to be unusually inter-
esting, and people were more inclined than ever to
inquire — What of the future?
The first meeting of the Press Association which I
attended was held in Hamilton, on November 27th,
of this year. The Association had been formed in
Kingston only three years before, and was not then
the large and influential body, with an annual ban-
quet and excursion, which it is to-day. The follow-
176
THE SANDFIELD MACDONALD MINISTRIES
ing are the names of the principal journaHsts present
on the occasion :
Mr. WilHam Gillespie, Hamilton Spectator; Mr.
Thomas Sellar, of the Montreal Bcho ; Mr. D. Mc-
Dougall, of the Berlin Telegraph ; Mr. David Wylie,
Brockville Recorder; Mr. Thomas White, Jun.,
Peterboro' Review; Mr. Mackenzie Bowell, Belle-
ville Intelligencer; Mr. R. E. O'Connor, Ottawa
Union ; Mr. W. G. Culloden, Milton New Bra ; Mr.
W. H. Floyd, Cobourg Star; Mr. James Young,
Gait Reformer; Mr. John Jacques, Hamilton Times;
Mr. George McMullen, Newburg North American;
Mr. W. T. Cox, Goderich Huron Signal ; Mr. James
A. Campbell, Milton Champion; Mr. E. Boyle, Pic-
ton Times; Mr. John McLean, Sarnia British Cana-
dian; Mr. John Siddons, London Prototype; Mr.
William Mowat, Stratford Beacon ; Mr. G. W. Ver-
rall, Strathroy Home Guard; Mr. James Seymour,
St. Catharines Constitutional; and Mr. W. S. John-
ston, Port Hope Guide.
Among the more active members at this meeting
of the Press Association were Tom White, as he
was then familiarly called, afterwards an honoured
member of the Dominion Government ; Senator
Bowell, still hale and hearty, who has been Premier
of Canada and leader of the Conservative party;
Mr. D. McDougall, afterwards registrar of the
county of Waterloo, and warm-hearted old " Father
Wylie," as the younger members of the press-gang
called him to his evident pleasure. Those present
were a fine body of men, devoted to one of the
noblest of professions. But it is also true that in no
12 177
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
respect has there been more progress made in
Canada since that period, than in the growth, the
abiHty, the usefulness and success of our newspaper
press. It has been said, " Those whom the gods
love die young." I know not whether this applies
specially to writers for the press, but of those who
attended this Hamilton meeting, alas, most of them
have already passed over the infinite boundary.
Nothing could better illustrate the vicissitudes of
public life than the fact that the two great political
rivals — the two real leaders of the Conservative and
Reform parties — Mr. Macdonald and Mr. Brown,
were both slightly in the shade at this time. There
is little gratitude in politics, and even their right to
leadership did not always remain unquestioned.
Ever since the Orange troubles there had been
occasional rumours that a section of the Conserva-
tive party wished to make Mr. Hillyard Cameron
leader. This feeling took shape at a caucus of the
party shortly after the fall of the Coalition, but it
failed of success, Mr. Macdonald's supporters prov-
ing to be decidedly the more numerous. The Hon.
George Brown at an earlier period placed his resig-
nation as leader in the hands of a Reform caucus,
under somewhat similar circumstances. He was
re-elected without a division, but was now out of
Parliament altogether, and the nominal leadership
in another's hands. Nevertheless, both Mr. Mac-
donald and Mr. Brown, by their commanding tal-
ents, great force of character and firm grasp of
public affairs — although it would be difficult to find
two men more dififerently constituted — were the
178
THE SANDFIELD MACDONALD MINISTRIES
natural chieftains, the one of the Conservative and
the other of the Reform party.
Whilst one was out of power and the other out
of Parliament, both gentlemen still swayed the
masses of the two great political parties in which
Canadians have always been divided, and during
the many years in which they so ably and bitterly
fought each other in Parliament and the country,
they might not inaptly have been called the Pitt and
Fox of Canadian public life.
Though so opposite mentally and physically, they
were in many respects not unevenly matched. Mr.
Brown was powerful in body, powerful in debate,
and powerful with his pen. He wielded a claymore
both heavy and sharp in parliamentary discussions,
and which was still more powerful on the country
rostrum. He naturally took the side of the masses
of the people, and of reforms like Representation by
Population, upon which he worked up public opin-
ion until they could be no longer resisted.
On the other hand, Mr. Macdonald was agile
physically, had a natural gift for party manage-
ment, and in debate his weapon, though possibly not
so powerful, was at least quite as keen as his great
antagonist's. He was no less successful on the pub-
lic platform, where his jokes and funny stories* —
with which his speeches were freely interlarded —
* Among the many characteristic stories told of the Conserva-
tive leader, " Bystander " in the Toronto Weekly Sun has recently
revived the following good illustration of his ready wit : " As a
Minister Sir John had to speak at a banquet. A tyro in the pro-
fession was sent to report him. Sir John had been convivial, and
his speech showed it so much that the young man shrank from
179
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
were often more effective than a logical argument
would have been. But whether in Parliament or on
the stump his alertness in taking advantage of any
slip of his opponents and in piloting his party safely
through political difficulties was at once remarkable
and unequalled by any of his contemporaries.
A field-night in the old Parliament of Canada,
when these two great political gladiators, then in
the prime of manhood, were pitted against each
other in some great debate, seldom failed to arouse
the members and spectators to a high pitch of excite-
ment, and was an event not easily erased from the
memory.
sending his notes to his journal. After waiting for a time he
obtained an interview with Sir John, who, by that time, was
himself again, read over his notes, and asked Sir John whether
they were correct. Sir John utterly repudiated them, and dictated
a sober speech, which having done, he said : " Now, young man,
you tell me you are a reporter just getting out in your profession.
Let me give you a piece of solemn advice. Never again attempt
to report a Minister when you're drunk !"
i8o
CHAPTER XVI
SECTIONAL TROUBLES AS RAMPANT AS EVER
It is foreign to my purpose to follow closely the
tragic events of the American War, which was now
in full swing and deluging the Middle and Southern
States with blood. But a far-reaching event occurred
at this time, which made quite a sensation through-
out the whole world, and which deserves passing
mention.
This was President Lincoln's famous proclamation
decreeing the emancipation of the slaves in all States
which might be found in rebellion at the beginning
of the coming year (ist January, 1863), and enjoin-
ing the Army and Navy of the Republic to recognize
and maintain the freedom of all such persons. This
was a most daring political stroke on the part of
Lincoln, and how intensely he felt the deep import-
ance of the step is well attested by the ever-memor-
able words — really an intensely earnest prayer —
with which his proclamation of freedom closed:
" And upon this, believed to be an act of justice,
warranted by the Constitution upon military neces-
sity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind
and the gracious favour of Almighty God."
This Emancipation proclamation proved the turn-
ing-point of the war. Many may deny this; indeed,
we know there are some who deny that the hand of
181
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
God can be seen in any of the events of history, or
even in the splendours of the material universe. But
if ever the Divine hand was traceable in human
affairs, it surely was during this American conflict.
The nation had long indulged in the sin of slavery.
They refused as obstinately as Pharaoh did of old
to let the people go, and then the scourge of war
came upon them. Even then, millions in the North-
ern States, let alone the South, were opposed to
freeing the slaves, and what was the trend of the
war whilst these views prevailed?
It is matter of history that up to the time that the
Republic became committed to Emancipation by the
President's proclamation, the events of the war went
almost steadily in favour of the South. So much
was this the case, in fact, that at one time it looked
as if General Lee would take Washington before
General Grant would take Richmond. But from
the time that the freedom of the slaves was pro-
claimed at Washington, the tide turned in favour
of the North, and victory succeeded victory, until
the proposed slaveholding republic was no more, and
the supremacy of the national flag, now a real
symbol of freedom, was established in every State
and Territory of the Union from the frozen peaks
of Oregon to the sunny glades of Florida.
Explain as agnostics may, the study of these now
historical facts, as well as of all the remarkable
events connected with this tremendous war, from
John Brown's scaffold until Lee delivered up his
sword to Grant at Appomattox, strongly goes to
prove that the hand of the Almighty was in and
182
SECTIONAL TROUBLES AS RAMPANT AS EVER
through it all, and invests with an added and deeper
meaning the poet Lowell's famous lines —
" Truth forever on the scaffold,
Wrong forever on the Throne;
Yet that scaffold sways the future.
And behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow,
Keeping watch above His own."
There was a temporary lull in our politics during
the summer and fall of 1862, the result of the recent
political changes. A slight ripple, however, was
created on the last day of the year, when the Hon.
George Brown returned from Europe after six
months' absence for rest and recuperation. Just
before his return he was wedded to Miss Annie
Nelson, an accomplished and amiable lady still liv-
ing in Edinburgh, Scotland — a sister of the Messrs.
Nelson, the famous publishers of that city — and it
was decided by his friends in Toronto to give him
a public reception on his arrival home.
The Hon. John McMurrich and the Hon. Wil-
liam McMaster, Legislative Councillors, and the
Hon. Oliver Mowat, M.P.P., were appointed a depu-
tation to meet him at Hamilton, and on his arrival at
Toronto station he was presented with a very com-
plimentary address in the presence of several thou-
sand people. That he had not decided to remain
permanently out of public life was tolerably evident
from his brief reply, two or three paragraphs of
which were as follows :
" Fellow-Citizens, — I thank you most cordially
for the magnificent reception you have given me on
183
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
my return home — a reception as unexpected as it is
gratifying. ... So far as I am concerned, that
devotion to the interests of our country that you
have been good enough to ascribe to me, has been
in nowise diminished by my visit to Great Britain.
On the contrary, I have come back with strength
invigorated, with new and, I trust, enlarged views,
and with the most earnest desire to aid in advancing
the prosperity and happiness of Canada. (Cheers.)
You have been good enough to allude to the change
in my domestic relations — (great cheering) — and I
shall only express my belief that the partner who
comes from my native city is one who will do credit
to the country she has left as well as the land of her
adoption. (The crowd here gave three cheers for
Mrs. Brown.) . . . One word more and I have
done, and that word is this : I feel deeply, and I
shall feel deeply all the days of my life, the great
honour and kindness you have shown me on this
occasion." (Great cheering.)
The first session of the new regime — the Macdon-
ald-Sicotte Government — commenced on the 12th
February, 1863. The Speech from the Throne pro-
mised measures on the Representation of each
province, the Militia, Insolvency, and other subjects;
it also announced that Messrs. Sicotte and Rowland
had visited Great Britain with delegates from Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick, to promote the long-
contemplated Intercolonial Railway, the want of
which had been so badly felt when the British troops
had to be marched from the seaboard across the
Maritime Provinces to Lower Canada in the depths
of winter during the Trent affair, and also that a
184
SECTIONAL TROUBLES AS RAMPANT AS EVER
Commission was investigating the condition of every
branch of the public service with a view to introduce
retrenchment and other reforms. The programme
was an excellent one, but, as already intimated,
ignored Upper Canada's claims for increased repre-
sentation.
The changed attitude of the two political parties
in relation to this troublesome question was not only
manifest, but verged on the amusing. The Upper
Canada Conservatives, now in the cold shades of
Opposition, had evidently got new light on the jus-
tice of Upper Canada's demands. The Reformers, on
the other hand, were now ministerial supporters, and
they did not rush in as formerly with constitutional
amendments to the address. They were evidently
most anxious not to embarrass the Government on
the question, although all except those in the Cabinet
were prepared to act upon their right, reserved in
caucus when the Administration was formed, to
vote on the representation question as formerly.
The Opposition, however, were now nothing loth
to force the fighting. They warmly assailed Mr.
Macdougall and Mr. Foley for their change of atti-
tude, and met the address with four different amend-
ments relating to the constitutional difficulties. Two
of them were in favour of Representation by Popu-
lation. Mr. M. C. Cameron moved the same resolu-
tion proposed by Mr. Macdougall during the previous
session, and Mr. Hillyard Cameron moved for the
increased representation of Upper Canada in the
House of Assembly, but continuing the equality of
the provinces in the Legislative Council. The change
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
in the attitude of both parties naturally added new
zest and interest to the discussions which these
motions called forth.
When the vote was reached, it became painfully
evident again that the settlement of the disturbing
difficulties which afflicted the Union was no nearer
than when the Coalition was in power. The vote on
Mr. M. C. Cameron's amendment in favour of Rep-
resentation by Population was 64 to 42, almost the
identical figures before the recent political changes.
The Government had changed — the Reform party
was in and the Conservative party out — but the
Union remained in danger, and although Mr. Sand-
field Macdonald's immediate outlook was favourable,
it was quite evident the old sectional spectre was
always hovering near and certain to appear sooner
or later.
Shortly after the session began, an election became
necessary in South Oxford, which became vacant in
consequence of the Hon. Dr. Connor, its member,
being appointed a judge of the Court of Queen's
Bench of Upper Canada. A Reform convention
nominated Mr. E. V-: Bodwell, a respected and popu-
lar resident of the riding, but considerable dissatis-
faction existed with the nomination, as it was known
that a requisition was in circulation asking the Hon.
George Brown to become a candidate. He did not
get this requisition, however, which was signed by
1,100 residents of the riding, until the day before
the official nomination of candidates. He decided to
accept it, notwithstanding, and as the Conservatives
put forward no candidate, the contest took place be-
t86
SECTIONAL TROUBLES AS RAMPANT AS EVER
tween Mr. Bodwell and Mr. Brown — both Reform-
ers, and both pledged to increased representation,
but the latter promising only an independent support
to the Macdonald-Sicotte Ministry.
The time for canvassing at this election was neces-
sarily short, and Mr. Brown requested several of his
political friends to assist him. Soon after it began,
I was surprised to receive the following telegram
from him : " Several corners I cannot reach. Will
you come forthwith and hold meetings on Monday
and Tuesday? Answer."
And here a few words in reference to my relations
with Mr. Brown will not be out of order. As already
mentioned, I first saw him at a public dinner in Gait
in the fall of 1853. My connection with the Reform
press naturally led to our further acquaintance. For
some reason, which never appeared very clear to me,
he invariably treated me with kindly consideration,
and even before the Globe was removed to the hand-
some and commodious office on King Street, pre-
sented to him as a testimonial by the Reformers of
Upper Canada, he insisted upon my calling upon
him whenever I came to Toronto, which I nearly
always did.
On these occasions he always appeared a very busy
man; but, nevertheless, was uniformly pleasant and
agreeable. Whilst working away, he would ask in-
numerable questions about politics, the crops, manu-
facturers, and everything going on in the country,
and when anything particularly interested him, he
would throw down his pen and pace around the
room, swinging his long arms like the pendulum of a
187
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
clock, and discussing the matter from every point of
view. During later years this familiarity increased,
and he frequently spoke to me of leading Conserva-
tives and Reformers, and his relations to them and
to public affairs, with a freedom I was sometimes
surprised at. I therefore came to know pretty inti-
mately the many grand qualities of head and heart,
as well as the minor limitations, which distinguished
this eminent Canadian statesman.
When Mr. Brown's telegram about South Oxford
election was received, it seemed a golden opportunity
to win my political spurs, and I was speedily in the
midst of the contest. After speaking at Eastwood,
Springfield and elsewhere, I first met Mr. Brown at
the village of Beachville, near midnight, where he
was still addressing a large and excited audience in
his own powerful and impressive way. His power
on the stump had evidently not been exaggerated,
and much was it needed in this contest, for it was a
very unusual one, and the result, until near its close,
appeared quite uncertain.
The Reform party of South Oxford was hope-
lessly divided. Many felt that they ought to stand
by Mr. Bodwell, the nominee of the Reform conven-
tion; others considered Mr. Brown's long services
entitled him to the position. Under these circum-
stances, even members of the same families opposed
each other in some cases. The Conservatives were
also divided, but in the end the most of them voted
for Mr. Brown. According to the common report,
the Hon. John A. Macdonald wrote and advised
them to take this course, and many professed to see
i88
SECTIONAL TROUBLES AS RAMPANT AS EVER
in this one of the Conservative leader's astute moves,
namely, to alarm the French-Canadians again by
Mr. Brown's presence in Parliament, and thus secure
the overthrow of the Macdonald-Sicotte Adminis-
tration.
However this may have been, the Reform leader
received a strong Conservative as well as Reform
support, and at the close of the polls was found to
be elected by a majority of 275. I accompanied him
to several places in the riding during the polling
days, and came home rather sorry for Mr. Bodwell,
who was worthy to represent the riding, and after-
wards did so for many years, but at the same time
pleased that the Province and the Reform party
would again have the benefit of Mr. Brown's able
services on the floor of Parliament.
The session then going on at Quebec was only five
weeks old when the sectional spectre appeared again
in its most dangerous form. This occurred on a
Separate School Bill introduced by Mr. R. W. Scott,
of Ottawa, but which was in reality a Government
measure. It had the support of Rev. Dr. Ryerson,
Superintendent of Education in Upper Canada,
although it considerably extended the principle and
privileges of Separate Schools. Its introduction pro-
duced a storm in the House at once, and after two
or three heated discussions the excitement spread to
the country.
The Upper Canada Reformers found themselves
unable to support the measure, and several Conser-
vatives who formerly voted for Separate Schools
now declared against them. Their chief object
189
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
in this, so their opponents alleged, was to place the
Ministry in a sectional minority, and thus upset the
Double Majority principle. If so, they were com-
pletely successful, as the measure was carried by a
considerable majority of the whole House — Lower
Canada being almost a unit in its favour ; but there
was an Upper Canadian majority of seven against
it on the final reading.
Premier Macdonald was much aggrieved at this
result, and threatened to resign if his western Re-
form supporters did not give the bill a majority
when it came back from the Legislative Council.
They could not, however, be coaxed or whipped into
voting against their principles, and the circumstances
having clearly demonstrated the impracticability of
the Double Majority principle, from this time for-
ward Mr. Sandfield Macdonald ceased to advance it
as a practical remedy for the sectional difficulties
under which the Province suffered.
Other stirring sessional incidents quickly fol-
lowed, which went to show that under the existing
Union any stable Government was now impossible.
Encouraged by the ministerial trouble on the School
Bill, Mr. Macdonald and Mr. Cartier, the Conserva-
tive leaders, shortly afterwards assailed them with a
direct vote of want of confidence. This produced a
battle royal. Messrs. Macdonald, Cartier, Cauchon
and Gait were the principal Opposition speakers;
the Premier, and Messrs. Mowat, Rowland, Dorion
and Mackenzie for the Ministry. While the speeches
ran the whole gamut of politics, the Representation
190
SECTIONAL TROUBLES AS RAMPANT AS EVER
question continued to be the, rallying point of attack
and defence.
The Conservative leader, Mr. John A. Macdonald,
assailed the Government for inconsistency on that
question. His line of attack will be understood by
the following extract from his speech : " Represent-
ation based upon population had long been an excit-
ing question in Upper Canada. When Messrs. Mac-
dougall, Foley, Wilson and Rowland took office
after persistently agitating the question, it was rea-
sonable to expect they were prepared for a solution
of it. But they had taken office and left over for
four years this question, which they had said was
fraught with danger to the peace of the country."
The reply of the Prime Minister, Mr. Sandfield
Macdonald, was universally admitted to be a mas-
terly defence of his Ministry. On the Representa-
tion question he replied as follows : " He was
surprised to hear Mr. J. A. Macdonald's attack on
members supporting the Government for the course
they had taken on Representation by Population,
especially as he had been more strongly against the
principle than he (the Premier) himself was. He
had only found fault with his friends for pressing
the matter prematurely. He had never expressed
an opinion in opposition to the principle. But the
hon. member for Kingston had burlesqued the whole
matter. He declared it was a principle which could
not be applied in our country — that it was a revolu-
tionary movement — that it would lead to universal
suffrage. . . . The member for Kingston had
voted for Representation by Population, yet he gave
191
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
that principle up in 1854 ^^^ ^^^ purpose of getting
office by Lower Canada votes."
The speeches of Mr. Gait, Finance Minister, and
of Mr. Dorion and Mr. Mackenzie, the latter already
in the front rank, were also conspicuous in this mem-
orable debate. Mr. Brown, who had only recently
taken his seat, whilst arguing strongly for constitu-
tional changes, made a powerful and eloquent appeal
on behalf of the Administration, declaring " he
would not vote to bring the Opposition back to
power, who promised no amendment and showed no
signs of repentance."
It is votes and not words, however, which tell in
parliament, and when the division bell rang, it was
found that the motion of want of confidence in the
Government had been carried by a majority of five.
The numbers for each province were as follows :
Upper Canada, 31 to 28 against the motion; Lower
Canada, 36 to 28 in favour. The total vote was,
therefore, 64 for the Opposition and 59 for the
Government, with six members absent and one rid-
ing vacant. The Province was thus again without
a Government and in the throes of another political
crisis !
After their defeat the members of the Adminis-
tration held a long meeting at which they decided
to advise Her Majesty's representatives to dissolve
Parliament, to reconstruct the Cabinet, and appeal
to the country. As the existing House had been
elected under their predecessors, they were clearly
within their constitutional rights in asking a disso-
SECTIONAL TROUBLES AS RAMPANT AS EVER
lution, and Lord Monck promptly accepted their
advice.
When Premier Macdonald, however, announced
the proposed Dissolution to the House, and asked a
vote of credit during the elections, the Opposition
became very indignant, and Mr. Cartier took the
extreme step of stopping the supplies by moving
that the House do now adjourn. This aroused the
indignation of Messrs. Brown, Dorion and Drum-
mond, who warmly denounced the conduct of the
Opposition, and were just as warmly denounced by
the Conservative leaders in return. The last thing
many of the members wanted was a new election,
and Mr. Cartier's motion to adjourn was carried by
55^0 44-
This factious vote left the Government awkwardly
situated to find funds to carry on the public service,
but did not in any way alter the political situation.
His Excellency Lord Monck was quite uninfluenced
by the vote. He firmly sustained his advisers, and
on the 13th of May came down to the Legislative
Council, assented to the bills which had been passed,
and announced that, " As two Administrations had
failed within a year to secure the confidence of the
Assembly, thus showing the impossibility of con-
ducting the public business in a satisfactory manner,
he now prorogued Parliament with a view to disso-
lution of the Assembly and an immediate appeal to
the people."
The reconstruction of the Government, already
well advanced, was then proceeded with. It proved
to be rather a thorough one. The Sicotte wing of
the Cabinet all retired. Mr. Dorion became the
193
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
Lower Canada leader, bringing in the Hon. L. H.
Holton as Finance Minister, the Hon. Isidore
Thibaudeaii as President of the Council, and Mr.
Letellier St. Just as Minister of Agriculture, two
portfolios being left temporarily vacant. In the
Upper Canada section the Hon. Oliver Mowat be-
came Postmaster-General, Mr. Lewis Wallbridge,
Solicitor-General, and the Hon. Mr. Howland. in-
stead of Finance Minister, became Receiver-General.
The vacant portfolios were subsequently filled by the
appointment of Mr. L. S. Huntington as Solicitor-
General East, and Mr. Maurice Laframboise as
Commissioner of Public Works.
These ministerial changes were largely the work
of Mr. Brown, and as the Government now agreed
to drop the Double Majority and make Representa-
tion by Population an open question — the greatest
advance possible on the constitutional question at
that time — he became its active supporter both in
Parliament and in the columns of his paper. The
new Cabinet decided that the elections should take
place during the following month — June — and when
the new Macdonald-Dorion Government went to the
country, it was at once evident that they had a
much stronger hold upon Upper Canada than their
predecessors.
Before the ist of July the political verdict of the
Province had again been rendered. The elections
had been short but bitter enough in many ridings,
although the issues were the same old story. The
Macdonald-Dorion Ministry was at first believed to
have won a decisive victory. This was undoubtedly
the case in the Upper Province, where about 43
194
SECTIONAL TROUBLES AS RAMPANT AS EVER
Ministerialists were returned to i8 Oppositionists
and 4 Independents. In the Lower Province, how-
ever, Mr. Dorion, who had been venomously as-
sailed with sectional cries, did not fare so well. Mr.
Holton and he failed in their first attempt at re-
election and the general result only showed about 25
Ministerialists to 32 Oppositionists, with several
Independents mostly inclined to the Bleu side.
The Governor-General promptly called the new
Parliament together on August 13th. Having re-
signed his first office as Solicitor-General, the Gov-
ernment elected Mr. Wallbridge Speaker, and by
skilful piloting their majority sufficed to carry them
safely through the session. Before the prorogation
took place, however, it became painfully evident that
on all sectional, racial and religious questions the
two provinces were so utterly opposed to each other
that the House of Assembly was rapidly returning to
its former state of chronic crisis, and that no Gov-
ernment, however good, could long exist whilst the
present constitutional relations of the provinces con-
tinued to exist.
Indeed, before leaving Quebec, at the close of this
session, more than one prominent statesman ex-
pressed fears that a dangerous crisis between the two
provinces was near, which, if not wisely and pru-
dently met, might not only violently disrupt the
Union, but lead to excesses which might prevent the
French and British inhabitants of the two sections
from ever co-operating under any form of govern-
ment, let alone ultimately fusing into one homo-
geneous Canadian nationality.
195
CHAPTER XVII
The union doomed — deadlock again king
The year 1864 must ever remain a memorable
one in Canadian history. It opened in political
gloom and closed in political sunshine. It was a
remarkable one not only for the two provinces of
Canada, but for every foot of territory in America
over which floats the British flag. It proved a great
turning-point in our history, for a series of political
events took place pregnant with importance to the
whole Empire, and which reflected the highest credit
on the statesmen and statesmanship not only of
Upper and Lower Canada, but of all the other Brit-
ish provinces on this continent.
Nevertheless, the outlook could hardly have been
gloomier than when Parliament again met on the
19th February. The deadlock in the Legislature
between the two provinces was now almost absolute.
The Macdonald-Dorion Government had only a
majority of one or two, and no important legislation
was possible. Government of any kind had, as al-
ready stated, become well-nigh impossible, and some
leading statesmen began to entertain fears that
scenes of violence, possibly bloodshed, might unex-
pectedly occur.
The Hon. Mr. Sicotte publicly declared that the
difl^erences between the two provinces were not un-
196
THE UNION DOOMED — DEADLOCK AGAIN
like those which preceded the American Civil War,
and might also end in violence, and the Hon. D'Arcy
McGee also pointed out the elements of danger to
the public peace. The Hon. George Brown, ever
since his return from Europe, had been exceedingly
anxious to get these constitutional difficulties settled.
I have reason to know that, both for the country's
sake and on personal grounds, he had become deeply
in earnest to end the strife between the two pro-
vinces, and was prepared for any reasonable public
or personal sacrifices to accomplish it.
Doubtless many others also felt the gravity of the
situation, but a remedy for the dangers which men-
aced the Province had been so long sought for in
vain that few of the people's representatives went to
Ottawa v/ith much hope of a new and better order
of things.
When the Houses met. His Excellency's Speech
from the Throne promised very little legislation, and
what little the Government did promise they couldn't
carry. They had a solid majority of one or two, but
members were afraid to leave the Chamber, even for
an hour, lest a vote of non-confidence might be
carried in their absence.
This peculiar position gave rise to not a few amus-
ing jokes. The standard one was that " Sandfield
Macdonald didn't possess even a drinking majority;
that a man daren't go out to drinl< for fear the Min-
istry would be defeated before he got back!" In
fact, one notable attempt was made by a western
Conservative member, who represented a riding not
a thousand miles from the town of Stratford, to de-
197
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
feat the Government in this way. He hired a car-
riage and invited two or three Reform members
from ridings adjacent to his own, to view the beau-
ties of the Falls of Montmorency and the St. Law-
rence River. They accepted, and had a pleasant
time at various hostelries. But whilst the enjoyment
was at its best, the waggish entertainer secretly
slipped off with the carriage, leaving the Ministerial
supporters several miles from the Parliament Build-
ings, and a vote on a non-confidence motion about
to be taken.
The Government and its supporters had to speak
for hours against time until their " drinking major-
ity " could be hunted up. But their friends searched
the city for them in vain, and it was only at the last
moment, when hopes of their appearance that night
had been almost given up, that the missing members
walked into the House, footsore and weary, having,
on the discovery of the trick played upon them,
walked all the way back to the city!
It need scarcely be added, the speaking stopped
abruptly, the division bells resounded through the
lobbies, and the Government again was saved by its
famous majority of one.
The Hon. John Sandfield Macdonald was a man
not only of ability, but of marked individuality and
independence of character, and finding his Govern-
ment and legislation blocked by persistent votes of
non-confidence and other embarrassing devices on
the part of the Conservative leaders, Messrs. Mac-
donald and Cartier, he and his colleagues resigned
198
THE UNION DOOMED — DEADLOCK AGAIN
office on the 21st March, although still in possession
of their slender majority.
The crisis which resulted at once revealed the
gravity of the situation. Neither the Reform nor
Conservative party could command a majority of
the House. The Reformers had a large Upper Cana-
dian majority, but few Lower Canada supporters;
the Conservatives had a large Lower Canadian ma-
jority, but few Upper Canada supporters. In other
words, the majorities of the two provinces were
hopelessly arrayed against each other. Nor would
either party give way or compromise.
It soon became known that Her Majesty's repre-
sentative, Lord Monck, felt much embarassed by
the gravity of the situation. There seemed, how-
ever, no other course for him but to attempt another
patch-up. He first tried a reconstruction of the late
Administration, with the Hon. A. J. Fergusson Blair
as Premier. Mr. Blair was unable to succeed. Then
His Excellency applied to the Hon. Geo. E. Cartier.
He also failed. The third attempt proved a trifle
more successful. Sir Etienne Tache, a member of
the Legislative Council, at the Governor's earnest
request, succeeded in forming a new Cabinet, but
only after several days' delay and much difficulty.
Premier Tache invited the Hon. John A. Macdon-
ald to form the Upper Canadian section, and most
of the leading men who formed the Cartier-Macdon-
ald Ministry were soon again installed in office. The
only notable changes were the appointment of the
Hon. D'Arcy McGee, as President of the Council,
199
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
and of the Hon. M. H. Foley as Postmaster-General.
Both of these gentlemen had previously been prom-
inent in the Reform ranks, but for personal reasons,
well understood at the time, Mr. Sandfield Macdon-
ald flatly refused to include them in his reconstructed
(Macdonald-Dorion) Cabinet, at which both gentle-
men took mortal offence.* The new ministers were
sworn into office on the 30th March, and the next
day Parliament consented to adjourn till the 3rd
May, in order to allow them time for re-election and
to mature their programme.
It was during this interregnum that I first made
the acquaintance of two gentlemen already promin-
ent, but destined to reach still higher eminence in
public life, and whom their opponents dubbed
" George Brown's lieutenants," in consequence of
the close political and personal intimacy existing be-
tween the three gentlemen. These were Mr. Alex-
ander Mackenzie, M.P.P. for Lambton, and Mr.
Archibald McKellar, M.P.P. for Kent. They were
invited to North Waterloo to oppose the Hon. Mr.
Foley's re-election as Postmaster-General, and con-
sented to do so. As already stated, Mr. Foley had
long been a Reformer, and for several months the
parliamentary leader of the party, but was persuaded
*There was a good deal of conviviality among some of the leading
public men at the seat of Government at this period, and it was
common report that the Hon. John Sandfield Macdonald's action
in this matter arose from these grounds. Mr. McGee at this
time joined the Conservative party, and never afterwards acted
with the Reformers. Mr. Foley did not survive many years,
having died quite suddenly at his home in the town of Simcoe,
on the 9th April, 1870. He was born in Sligo, Ireland, in 1819,
and was only in his fifty-first year.
200
THE UNION DOOMED — DEADLOCK AGAIN
at this time by the Hon. John A. Macdonald to
throw in his lot with his old political opponents.
The Conservative leader, as has already appeared,
was one of the adroitest of party tacticians, and a
good story was long current apropos of his inter-
view with the member for North Waterloo when he
agreed to join the Tache-Macdonald Administration.
Having sent for the latter to meet him in one of
the upper rooms of the Parliament Buildings, " John
A.," as he was almost universally called, proposed
without any circumlocution that Mr. Foley should
accept the Postmaster-Generalship in the new
Cabinet. Whether from the suddenness of the offer,
or some qualms at the thought of finally leaving his
old political friends, Mr. Foley temporarily hesi-
tated. He asked questions, and particularly insisted
on knowing what the policy of the new Administra-
tion was to be.
Slapping his interrogator on the knee, in his usual
off-hand, impulsive way, Mr. Macdonald is reported
to have replied : " D n it, Foley, join the Govern-
ment and then help to make the policy." This story
was generally regarded as correct, and a character-
istic illustration of the tactful, persuasive way in
which the Conservative leader succeeded in bringing
so many of his party intrigues to a successful
termination.
In justice to Mr. Foley, it ought to be mentioned
that from the formation of the Macdonald-Dorion
Ministry he frequently acted in opposition to the
Reform party, but this in no way decreased the
ferment in North Waterloo when he appeared for
201
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
re-election. There was a complete bouleversement
throughout the riding. The Reformers were now
the Postmaster-General's opponents ; the Conserva-
tives, his friends. The former promptly placed Mr.
Isaac Bowman, of Waterloo village, in the field as
Mr. Foley's opponent, and a very exciting election
resulted. The Postmaster-General was assisted by
two of his fellow-ministers, Messrs. Gait and
D'Arcy McGee, who, however, only attended a few
meetings ; Mr. Bowman,
by Messrs. Mackenzie and
McKellar, who held meet-
ings in all the principal
parts of the riding.
As I was asked to take
part at some of the meet-
ings, I became well
acquainted with the two
latter gentlemen. They
appeared at many meet-
ings together, and were
decidedly the best-in-
Hon. AT.EX. Mackenzie. f^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ thorough
and successful political stumpers I had ever
heard up to that time. Both were then in the
prime of life, evidently manly men, and quite un-
ostentatious, but possessed of great energy of mind
and body. Both were fair debaters, which too many
stumpers are not, and discussed political questions
on their merits, but the opponent who found himself
sandwiched in between the two at a public meeting
soon discovered he had got into a very tight place.
202
THE UNION DOOMED — DEADLOCK AGAIN
Mr. Mackenzie occasionally indulged in a little dry,
Scotch humour, but Mr. McKellar possessed a great
fund of humour of a broader character, and as his
handsome face, when speaking, was almost con-
stantly wreathed in good-natured smiles, his
audiences were often convulsed with laughter by his
droll and humorous hits and sallies.
The Hon. Mr. Foley was also a very able platform
speaker, witty as well as eloquent, with the happy
Irish faculty of getting
the laugh upon his oppon-
ent. He made an energetic
fight, and his new Con-
servative friends did their
best to assist him, but his
sudden change of polit-
ical position made it al-
most impossible for him
to succeed in carrying
North Waterloo at that
time, and the stirring con-
test resulted in his defeat
by a majority of 163.
Long years afterwards, when residing in the city
of Hamilton as the sheriff of Wentworth, Mr. Mc-
Kellar told me a capital story of his colleague, Mr.
Mackenzie, the embryo Premier of the Dominion,
which occured at the village of St. Jacob's during
this election, and which, so far as I know, has never
before appeared in print.
They had held a meeting in the village the pre-
vious evening, and sometime during the night the
203
Hon. Arch. McKell.^r.
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
inmates of the hotel at which they stopped were
aroused by a small but noisy party of Conservative
canvassers from the county town. It was not till to-
wards morning that the racket ceased and sleep
became possible. Mr. Mackenzie was then, as after-
wards, an early riser, and when he came downstairs
at six o'clock a.m., he found a roaring fire in the big
box stove in the hall, but not a soul stirring about —
the hostler, who had kindled the fire, having gone to
the stables to attend to the horses. At the same
moment his eyes alighted upon what appeared to be
a large bundle of newspapers carefully tied up. On
examination, however, this proved to be a rabid
political campaign sheet, headed " Facts for the
Irish electors! — Black Record of the Grit Party!!"
etc., etc. This campaign material had been care-
lessly thrown down in a corner on the arrival of the
lively party now deeply immersed in sleep upstairs.
Chuckling with merriment, Mr. Mackenzie thus
described to Mr. McKellar what then happened.
He said : " I remembered that it was one of the un-
doubted rights of belligerents to capture and destroy
any of the enemy's munitions of war which fell in
their way. The fortunes of war had placed within
our grasp some of the enemy's most dangerous wea-
pons, and weapons, too, not of a very legitimate
character — dum-dum bullets, as it were. I deter-
mined, therefore, to exercise our belligerent rights
as to confiscation, which I immediately proceeded to
carry out, by opening the big stove door and thrust-
ing the huge bundle into the roaring flames ! Then I
went out for a long, peaceful walk through the quiet
204
THE UNION DOOMED — DEADLOCK AGAIN
little village, and out into the green fields and woods
adjoining, until the hour for breakfast slowly came
round."
What became of this campaign thunder remained
an unfathomable mystery for many long years, and
as then the aged Sheriff recounted the circum-
stances of its magic disappearance, he laughed until
the tears fairly glistened in his eyes.
When Parliament reassembled on the 3rd May,
after a recess of five weeks, the Tache-Macdonald
Government found themselves minus their Post-
master-General, as well as considerably weakened
by the stern opposition which almost every Minister
met with on presenting himself for re-election. Mr.
Sandfield Macdonald was extremely bitter at his
opponents, particularly Attorney-General Mac-
donald, for what he considered the factious and un-
scrupulous opposition they had given his Adminis-
tration, and he openly declared war to the knife
against the new Ministry. It was promptly assailed,
therefore, with a vote of non-confidence, and only
escaped defeat by a majority of two.
At this point the Hon. George Brown, in an ear-
nest but conciliatory speech, made his customary
annual motion in favour of constitutional changes,
calling special attention to the helpless position of
the late and present Governments, and pressing
strongly upon the House the advisability of appoint-
ing a special committee to consider the relations of
the two provinces, and to report upon the consti-
tutional changes necessary to put an end to the
troubles.
205
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
Two years, even one year before, this motion
would have been bitterly assailed and voted down.
But many had at last awakened to the alarming
dangers threatening the country, and the motion
was carried and was referred to a special committee,
if not comprising " all the talents," at least em-
bracing fifteen of the foremost men in the House.
It was composed as follows : Messrs. J. A. Mac-
donald, Cartier, Gait, Chapais, Turcotte, McGee,
J. H. Cameron, Street, Brown, J. S. Macdonald,
Holton, Mowat, Macdougall, McKellar and Scoble
— the first eight Conservatives and the last seven
Reformers.
Whilst Mr. Brown's Constitutional Committee *
were actively at work, the political war went on in
the House. The Opposition promptly moved
another vote of censure on the Government on the
14th. It had come to light a short time before that
during 1859 the Finance Minister, Mr. Gait, had
advanced $100,000 from the public chest to redeem
certain bonds given by the city of Montreal to the
Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railway Co. These
bonds the Grand Trunk Railway Co. subsequently
agreed to redeem, and so the Government advance
had really been made to the latter company. This
had been done without the sanction or knowledge
of Parliament, and Mr. Dorion very properly moved
to condemn the transaction. Mr. Gait warmly
defended the course he had pursued, but the defec-
tion of two of their supporters, Mr. Dunkin and
Mr. Rankin, led to the defeat of the Government
by a vote of 60 to 58.
206
THE UNION DOOMED — DEADLOCK AGAIN
Rather strange to say, on the very day this vote
of censure was carried, Mr. Brown, as the chair-
man of the Constitutional Committee, submitted the
result of their deliberations in the shape of an able
and carefully prepared report. The minute in re-
gard to this famous report is given in our parlia-
mentary records as follows :
" Mr. Brown — From the Select Committee ap-
pointed to inquire into the important subjects em-
braced in a despatch to the Colonial Minister, ad-
dressed to him on the 2nd day of February, 1859.
by the Hon. G. E. Cartier, the Hon. A. T. Gait and
the Hon. John Rose, then members of the Executive
Council of this province, while in London acting on
behalf of the Government of which they were mem-
bers, in which they declared that ' very grave diffi-
culties now present themselves in conducting the
Government of Canada in such a manner as to show
due regard to its numerous population.' That
' differences exist to an extent which prevents any
perfect and complete assimilation of the views of
the two sections.' That ' the progress of population
has been more rapid in the western section, and
claims are now made on behalf of its inhabitants for
giving them representation in the Legislature in pro-
portion to their numbers.' That ' the result is shown
by an agitation fraught with great danger to the
peaceful and harmonious working of our consti-
tutional system, and consequently detrimental to the
progress of the Province.' That ' the necessity of
providing a remedy for a state of things that is
yearlv becoming worse, and of allaying feelings that
are daily being aggravated by the contentions of
political parties, has impressed the advisers of Her
Majesty's representative in Canada with the im-
207
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
portance of seeking such a mode of dealing with
these difficulties as may for ever remove them, and
the best means of remedying the evils herein set
forth ' — presented to the House the report of the
said Committee, which was as follows :
" That the Committee have held eight sittings,
and have endeavoured to find some solution for
existing difficulties likely to receive the assent of
both sections of the Province. A strong feeling was
found to exist among the members of the Committee
in favour of changes in the direction of the federa-
tive system, applied either to Canada alone, or to
the whole British American provinces, and such
progress has been made as to warrant the committee
in recommending that the subject be again referred
to a committee at the next session of Parliament.
All of which is respectfully submitted." — Georgk
Brown, Chairman.
The political situation was now critical — almost
dramatic. The latest new Government was again
shattered. Deadlock was King again ! And what
was Lord Monck and his advisers to do? A success-
ful reconstruction of the Government was impos-
sible. A dissolution and a new general election
might make a temporary change in the strength of
the two political parties, but would bring no perma-
nent relief to the now distracted country. After
hours of consideration, however, the Tache-Mac-
donald ministers saw no other course but to advise
Lord Monck to dissolve Parliament again, to which
His Excellency, after considerable hesitation, gave
his consent. Preparations were already begun for
this purpose when the dangerous crisis suddenl}
took a most unexpected turn,
208
CHAPTER XVIII
BROWN AND MACDONALD PATRIOTICALLY UNITE
TO CARRY CONFEDERATION
Ie there was one man in Parliament who, by long,
unswerving advocacy, had done more than any other
to make government impossible until justice was
done to Upper Canada, or who was more anxious
than any other to find a constitutional remedy w^hich
would restore peace and prosperity to both pro-
vinces — that man was George Brown. That gentle-
men saw clearly the possibilities of the existing
political crisis, and like a true statesman he rose
equal to the occasion.
The day after the defeat of the Conservative
Ministry, he approached two of its most influential
supporters, Messrs. James Morris, of Lanark, and
John H. Pope, of Compton, and frankly stated to
them his views. He earnestly pressed them to see
their ministerial friends and urge upon them the
importance of utilizing the crisis to " forever settle
the constitutional difficulties between Upper and
Lower Canada," by the adoption of a Federal
constitution as suggested in the special Committee's
report. He declared at the same time, with equal
frankness, that he would co-operate with and assist
the present or any other Government which in this
way earnestly sought to bring about a final and
^4 209
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN" CANADA
satisfactory settlement of the difficulties now dis-
tracting the country.
This bold action on the part of the Reform leader
was not taken until after private consultation with a
few of his chief supporters. But to all others it was
as surprising as it was unexpected, and quite
astounded both Parliament and the country. This
was no wonder, for it immediately and completely
changed the whole dangerous political situation.
Messrs. Morris and Pope, with Mr. Brown's per-
mission, promptly communicated his message to the
Hon. John A. Macdonald and Mr. Gait. These
gentlemen were already busying themselves with the
expected general elections, but quickly apprehended
the importance and possibilities of Mr. Brown's
message and promise of assistance. Only two days
before, at the last meeting of the special committee
on constitutional changes, Mr. Macdonald declined
to sign its report in favour of a Federal Union as
a remedy for existing difficulties. But this did not
for a moment prevent him, on receipt of Mr.
Brown's message, and after the defeat of the Gov-
ernment, from considering the possibility of its re-
construction with the federal principle as its chief
corner-stone.
The position of the Constitutional Committee on
the question of Federation had been as follows :
After many days' discussion of the political diffi-
culties affecting the two provinces, Mr. Brown drew
up the report already given, in which the Com-
mittee declared themselves " in favour of changes in
the direction of a Federative Union, applied either
3ig
BROWN AND MACDONALD UNITE
to Canada alone or to the whole of British America."
Besides Mr. Brown, Mr. Mowat, and Mr. Mac-
dougall, Messrs. Gait, McGee, Cartier and Turcotte
warmly advocated the adoption of the report, and
I often heard Mr. Brown say that nothing surprised
him more on the first day the Committee met, than
to find that a French-Canadian, the Hon. Mr. Tur-
cotte, who had not long before spoken of wading
knee-deep in blood rather than submit to Representa-
tion by Population, was one of the very first, as soon
as the door of the room was locked, to declare that
the war between Upper and Lower Canada must
now cease, and that he would support the remedy
proposed.
When the Committee came to decide, the proposi-
tion in favour of a Federal Union was almost unani-
mously carried. Out of the fifteen prominent Cana-
dians who composed the Committee, Messrs John
A. Macdonald, John Sandfield Macdonald and John
Scoble were the only members who declined to
subscribe to the report.
But the Government had been defeated since then,
and its master-spirit, the Hon. John A. Macdonald,
quickly perceiving the rising tide in favour of con-
stitutional changes, and always alive to the import-
ance of keeping in his own hands the reins of Gov-
ernment, made one of those adroit political changes
v/hich marked more or less all his public career.
As in 1854 he gave up his opposition to the settle-
ment of the Clergy Reserves, Seignorial Tenure and
Elective Legislative Council questions, as proposed
by Mr. Hincks, when the latter's aid enabled him to
211
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
form a Coalition Ministry to carry these reforms
out, so now in 1864, after long holding office as the
chief opponent of constitutional changes, he became
the supporter of the Federal Union of Canada or
of all British America, as proposed by Mr. Brown,
when the latter, like Mr. Hincks, promised him the
aid necessary to form another Coalition Ministry
to carry the measure through.
Many of Mr. Macdonald's admirers consider his
change of attitude on these occasions as among his
highest claims to statesmanship.* His opponents,
on the other hand, have cited them as evidence that
he was a mere Opportunist, who was not particular
what his policy was so long as it enabled him to con-
trol the Government and dispense the patronage. f
* " He might write in living letters on his political arms as his
motto, carpe dievi. Unlike the unthinking plodder who launches
his skiff when the winds and the tides set against him, Mr. (let
us say Sir John, for we are anticipating) Macdonald only puts out
when the current is with him and the ' furrows follow free.'
. . . This has been Sir John Macdonald's pre-eminence ; and if
standing patiently by, and waiting till public opinion is ready for
him to secularize the Clergy Reserves, or consummating a union
of the straggling provinces, is to be a creature of expediency, then
such a creature in a superlative degree is he. Brown's proposal
of a Coalition Macdonald saw was the favourable turn to the
tide, which had up to that hour set adversely.
" Because his efforts for Union before would only have been
energy wasted, and a defeat tarnish on the project, he had, up to
this hour, held aloof ; because his exertions now could be turned
to triumph, he not only joined hand with the Unionists, but with
heart and head became the leader of the movement, halting not,
or flagging not, as we shall see, till his ideal victory was won."
— " Life and Career of Sir John A. Macdonald," by Collins and
Adams, pages 286 and 287-
t " The first day of July, 1867, saw the great reform accom-
plished for which Mr. Brown had toiled so many years, and saw
also the Conservatives, who opposed it to the last, now reaping
212
BROWN AND MACDONALD UNITE
Much might be said on both sides of this question,
but I content myself with stating the circumstances
as fairly as I may be able, leaving each political
side and the general reader to draw their own con-
clusions.
After the message of the Reform leader had been
duly communicated to the Government, Mr. Brown
was asked if he would consent to meet Messrs. Mac-
donald and Gait and discuss the subject. He con-
sented, and these gentlemen waited upon him at the
St. Louis Hotel on the 17th May, when the whole
political situation was considered. The result of
this and of subsequent interviews was the formation
of the most powerful coalition government in Cana-
dian history, which terminated the prolonged strife
and bitterness between Upper and Lower Canada,
and finally led to the Federal Union of all the pro-
vinces of British America under the name of " The
Dominion of Canada " — one of the most en-
lightened and beneficent measures of ancient or
modern times.
What innumerable difficulties had to be overcome
to accomplish this noble achievement of Canadian
the fruit of their opponents' labours. Thenceforward Mr. Mac-
donald would be able to boast he was the father of Confederation,
on the same ground that he boasted of carrying the measure to
secularize the Clergy Reserve lands. He strongly opposed both
measures, on principle, as long as it was possible to do so, and
then joined the men who initiated and carried forward the move-
ment of both, and declared the work was his own. Having no
great work of his own to boast about, he bravely plucks the
laurel from the brows of the actual combatants and real victors,
and fastens it on his own head." — " Life and Speeches of the
Hon. George Brown," by the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, M.P.,
page 107.
213
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
statesmanship only the chief actors fully understood.
At the first interview of Messrs. Brown, Macdonald
and Gait they seemed almost insurmountable. The
first named gentleman wanted the Conservative
Government to carry out the constitutional changes
proposed, and he would pledge them the support of
himself and his Reform friends in doing so. Mr.
Macdonald wanted a coalition ministry, with Mr.
Brown as the chief Reform representative, and in
taking this stand I consider he was wise for the
country as well as himself.
That Mr. Brown at first did not contemplate, and
was sincerely desirous to avoid, taking ofiice with his
old political opponents, admits of no doubt what-
ever. He would never have done so had not a large
majority of the Reform caucus insisted upon it.
He was warmly attached to his Lower Canadian
allies, especially Messrs. Holton and Dorion, and it
pained him to think even of temporary separation
from them; but it is well known that the principal
difficulty in the way of uniting the two great Reform
and Conservative leaders in one Cabinet — which
both gentlemen doubtless felt — was not simply their
long political rivalry, but the personal animosity
which had previously existed between them, and
which neither had taken much pains to disguise.
This led Mr. Brown to say in his frank, blunt way,
at their first interview, that nothing but the gravity
of the crisis and the absolute necessity of settling the
constitutional difficulties endangering their country
could justify them in meeting together for common
political action. To this Mr. Macdonald assented,
214.
BROWN AND MACDONALD UNITE
and although probably neither of them was ever able
to forget the past, they nobly rose superior to their
personal feelings when this grave crisis in the affairs
of Canada demanded it, and patriotically united to
restore peace and prosperity to their now distracted
country.
In temporarily coalescing for this special purpose
there is no reason to doubt that both Mr. Brown and
Mr. Macdonald, each from his own standpoint, acted
from principles of patriotism, and that the union of
these two great political rivals and their respective
parties in the Coalition Government of 1864, with
the avowed policy of terminating the Canadian
deadlock and bringing about the Confederation of
British America, will forever remain one of the
grandest triumphs of Canadian statesmanship, as
well as an illustrious example of how the most
bitter political opponents may sometimes patriotic-
ally combine for the good of their common country.
Five days after the first interview, on the 22nd
June, all the preliminary difficulties had been over-
come, and Attorney-General Macdonald read to
Parliament a full memorandum of the negotiations
day by day between the Government and Mr. Brown,
which he followed with the formal announcement
that a coalition administration had been agreed upon
to bring about constitutional changes, and whose
policy was more specifically defined in the following
memorandum agreed upon by the contracting
parties:
" The Government are prepared to pledge them-
selves to bring in a measure next session for the
2T5
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
purpose of removing existing difficulties by intro-
ducing the federal principle into Canada, coupled
with such provisions as will permit the Maritime
Provinces and the North-West Territory to be in-
corporated into the same system of government.
And the Government will seek, by sending repre-
sentatives to the Lower Provinces and England, to
secure the assent of those interests which are beyond
the control of our own legislation, to such a measure
as may enable all British North America to be united
under a general legislature based on the federal
principle."
This important announcement* was not made to
the Houses of Parliament without some murmurs of
dissent, but it had the support of the overwhelming
majority of both the Reform and Conservative
parties. The Cabinet changes, at Mr. Brown's re-
quest, were postponed till the session closed, but the
recently defeated Government was now all-powerful,
and they vigorously pressed through the supplies and
other necessary sessional business. They were able
to adjourn Parliament on the 30th June.
On the same day the famous Coalition Cabinet
was formed. The Hon. Messrs. Foley, Buchanan
and Simpson resigned their offices, and Messrs.
Brown, Mowat and Macdougall, as representatives
of the Reform party, took their places. The gentle-
* As the speech of the Hon. George Brown, immediately after
this announcement was made to Parliament, throws much light on
the circumstances connected with the formation of this famous
Coalition Government, an abbreviated report has been prepared
and may be found in Appendix I.
216
V\
/
.«i.'.i.-^
SIR ALEXANDER CAMPBELL. HON. HECTOR LOUIS LANGEVIN.
SIR ALEXANDER TILLOCH GALT.
SIR NARCISSE F. BELLEAU. HON. JOSEPH CURRAN MORRISON.
PROMINENT MEN IN ^lACDONALD-CARTIER MINISTRIES.
BROWN AND MACDONALD UNITE
men composing the Cabinet and the offices they held
were as follows :
Upper Canada. — Hon. John A. Macdonald,
Attorney-General West ; Hon. George Brown, Presi-
dent of the Council; Hon. Oliver Mowat, Post-
master-General; Hon. William Macdougall, Pro-
vincial Secretary; Hon. Alexander Campbell, Com-
missioner of Crown Lands; Hon. James Cockburn,
Solicitor-General West.
Lower Canada. — Hon. Sir Etienne P. Tache,
Premier and Receiver-General ; Hon. George E.
Cartier, Attorney-General East ; Hon. Alexander T.
Gait, Minister of Finance; Hon. J. C. Chapais, Com-
missioner of Public Works; Hon. T. D. McGee,
Minister of Agriculture ; Hon. Hector L. Langevin,
Solicitor-General East.
This unexpected turn of the political crisis and the
rapid march of events ending in the formation of
this Confederation Government, in many respects
the most celebrated in Canadian history, naturally
astounded both Parliament and people. According
to the historian Dent, " the announcement that
George Brown and John A. Macdonald were to sit
side by side in the same Cabinet " quite " electrified"
the country.
Nor were grumblers absent. Some old-time Con-
servatives gravely shook their heads, and some Re-
formers found fault with Mr. Brown for entering
the Coalition, whilst others thought he should have
insisted on having six Reform ministers instead of
three. Tt is well known he did ask for six members
of the Cabinet, but he was not supported by the
217
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
Lower Canada wing of the party, and his insistence
upon the concession would have jeopardized and
might have ruined the whole movement.
Notwithstanding some criticism, as soon as the
country had recovered from its surprise, almost uni-
versal satisfaction was felt at the prospect of forever
getting rid of the wretched sectional difficulties
which had so long distracted the two provinces, and
a wave of popularity for the Coalition Government
and Confederation set in so strongly as to sweep
everything before it.
218
CHAPTER XIX
CONFEDERATION THE ALL-ABSORBING TOPIC
On my return to Canada from a summer trip to
Great Britain, the Confederation question was the
all-absorbing topic. The Government had made a
fortunate beginning.
The Provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick
and Prince Edward Island had for some time been
considering the propriety of union among them-
selves, and, with the sanction of their Legislatures,
a convention had been called to meet at Charlotte-
town to take action in the matter. The Canadian
Ministry availed themselves of this opportunity, and
sent the Hon. Messrs. Macdonald, Brown, Cartier,
Gait, Macdougall, McGee, Campbell and Langevin,
as a deputation to Charlottetown, to urge the Con-
vention to join Canada in its larger scheme for the
Confederation of all the British Provinces in
America.
The Convention duly assembled on the ist Sep-
tember, 1864. It consisted of fifteen members, five
from each Province. It was constituted by the
appointment of the Hon. John H. Gray, of Prince
Edward Island, as chairman, and the Hons. Charles
Tupper and S. L. Tilley as joint-secretaries. The
same day at noon the Queen Victoria arrived in the
harbour with the Canadian deputation on board.
219
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
Although they had no official standing, they were
cordially welcomed to the Convention, and were
invited to freely exercise all the privileges of mem-
bers. Besides these gentlemen, the Governor of the
island, George Dundas, Esq., and Governor A. H.
Gordon, of New Brunswick, were also present, the
former of whom was favourable to the larger
scheme of Union, and the latter, though not at first
friendly, after a visit to Great Britain became a
strenuous advocate of the measure.
The Canadian delegates were asked to state their
views and plans as soon as the business was fairly
opened. In doing so, able and convincing speeches
were made by the Hon. Messrs. Macdonald, Brown,
Cartier and Gait, questions being asked pro and con,
when each had concluded, so that the whole question
was thus thoroughly threshed out. These speeches,
with the festivities given at Government House, by
the city of Charlottetown, and on board the Queen
Victoria by the Canadian deputation, occupied the
Convention for four or five days, and by the 8th,
after effective addresses by the Hon. Messrs. Tup-
per, Tilley and other Maritime delegates, practical
unanimity was reached in favour of a general Con-
federation of all British America, and the Conven-
tion decided to adjourn until the loth instant, to
meet then in the city of Halifax for the completion
of its labours.
The Convention promptly reassembled in Halifax,
and vigorously applied itself to the discussion of the
great question before it. On Monday evening, the
1 2th, public feeling found vent in a grand demon-
220
CONFEDERATION THE ALL-ABSORBING TOPIC
stration, given at the Halifax Hotel, in honour of
the Canadian delegates. The Hon. Charles Tupper
was chairman, and the Hon. W. A. Henry vice-
chairman. In reply to the toast of the Provincial
delegates, speeches were made in the following
order : the Hon. Messrs. Cartier, Brown, Tilley,
Gray, Macdonald and Gait. Mr. D'Arcy McGee
replied to the toast, "Agriculture and Immigration as
essential to Colonial Union," and kept the audience
in roars of laughter. The Hon. Jonathan McCully
was also prominent.
This demonstration was an exceedingly mem-
orable one, for such rapid progress had been made
that the speakers boldly announced that, so far as
the delegates to the Convention could do so, the
Confederation of all British America had been
decided upon, and that a conference representing all
the Provinces would take place at Quebec the follow-
ing month, October, to finally decide the question,
and, if favourable thereto, to draft a new consti-
tution to lay before the Legislatures of the respec-
tive Provinces.
Many of the delegates accepted invitations to
make a tour throughout Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick before returning home. On Wednesday
(the 14th) they went to Windsor, thence to the city
of St. John, and on Thursday up the beautiful River
St. John to Fredericton, the capital of New Bruns-
wick. At all these places, and wherever they
stopped, they were enthusiastically received and
royally entertained. On Friday they returned to St.
John, and went on the same night by rail to Shediac,
221
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
where they again boarded the Queen Victoria, which
brought them to Quebec on the 19th September —
their mission, apparently, having been a complete
success.
I met many of the delegates to this Convention in
after years, and many bright and curious things
were evidently said and done during its deliberations
and festivities. When it first met, a very strong
prejudice against Canada and Canadians existed
among some of the Maritime delegates, particularly
the old-timers. As the former laid their case before
them, however, the arguments in favour of the
larger Union were so overwhelming that they
carried everything before them.
This view so pervaded the meeting towards its
close that one of the quiet members on the back
benches, with ready wit, voiced the general feeling
in quite an amused way. Rising slowly, and raising
his hands as if going to pronounce a benediction, he
solemnly said : " If anyone can show just cause or
impediment why these colonies should not be united
in matrimonial alliance, let him now express it or
forever hold his peace." A roar of laughter fol-
lowed. After silence had been restored, and no
objection being raised, " Then," he continued, " ere
my days on earth, which are now comparatively few,
shall close, I may yet witness the conclusion of the
ceremony and hear them pronounced man and wife."
This unexpected sally produced great hilarity, and
did more to promote Confederation than some more
elaborate speeches.
222
CONFEDERATION THE ALL-ABSORBING TOPIC
It was a great day for British America when the
Quebec Conference* assembled in that city on the
loth October. It was conspicuous ahke for the
many able statesmen who composed it, and its
patriotic object. It consisted of thirty-three mem-
bers, and these gentlemen are now and forever will
be recognized as " the Fathers of Confederation."
They had no common work on hand. They were
assembled to lay the foundations of a new nation-
ality, and at the present day, thirty-seven years after
the event, without approving of all they did, it can
safely be said they did their work wisely and well.
The constitution they fashioned was to Canada what
the Act of Settlement was to England in 1688, what
* The names, residences and standing of the gentlemen who
composed the Quebec Conference were as follows :
Upper Canada: Hons. J. A. Macdonald, Attorney-General;
George Brown, President of the Council ; Alexander Campbell,
Crown Lands ; Oliver Mowat, Postmaster-General ; William Mac-
dougall, Provincial Secretary, and James Cockburn, Solicitor-
General.
Lower Canada : Hons. Sir E. P. Tache, Premier ; George E.
Cartier, Attorney-General ; A. T. Gait, Finance Minister ; J. C.
Chapais, Public Works ; T. D'Arcy McGee, Minister of Agricul-
ture ; H. L. Langevin, Solicitor-General.
Nova Scotia: Hons. Charles Tupper, Provincial Secretary;
WilHam A. Henry, Attorney-General ; Jonathan McCully, Leader
of the Opposition ; Robert B. Dickey, M.L.C. ; Adams G. Archi-
bald, M.P.P.
Neiv Brunsivick : Hons. S. L. Tilley, Provincial Secretary;
John M. Johnson, Attorney-General ; William H. Steeves, M.L.C. ;
Edward B. Chandler, M.L.C; Peter Mitchell, M.L.C; John
Hamilton Gray, M.P.P. ; Charles Fisher, M.P.P.
Prince Edward Island: Hons. John H. Gray, Premier; Edward
Palmer, Attorney-General ; William H. Pope, Provincial Secre-
tary ; A. A. Macdonald, M.L.C. ; Edward Whelan, M.L.C ; George
Coles, M.L.C; T. H. Haviland, M.P.P.
Newfoundland: Hons. F. B. T. Carter, Speaker House of
Assembly ; J. Ambrose Shea, Leader of the Opposition.
223
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
the Union was to Scotland in 1701, and the Union
to Ireland in 1801.
The Convention was formally constituted by the
appointment of Sir E. P. Tache, Premier of Canada,
as chairman, and Major Hewitt Bernard, of the
Canadian Civil Service, as secretary. The Provin-
cial secretaries of the various provinces were named
as joint-secretaries. The proceedings were con-
ducted, as at Charlottetown, with closed doors. This
was probably wise, but rather tantalizing, inasmuch
as the press for some time teemed with elaborate
reports of the balls, levees, dinners and other festi-
vities electrifying the ancient capital, but contained
little but vague surmises as to what was transpiring
inside the Conference.
As decisions were reached, however, they were
given to the public, and the results were ultimately
laid before both Parliament and people. The first
important step taken was the passage of a resolution
affirming the desirablitiy of the Confederation of all
the Provinces. This was proposed by the Hon.
John A. Macdonald, and was unanimously carried
amidst cheers which could be distinctly heard outside
the chamber in which the meetings were held. The
second important resolution was entrusted to the
Hon. George Brown. It outlined the form of the
proposed new constitution, which was to be of a
Federal character. This also was carried unani-
mously amidst much rejoicing.
The adoption of the general plan of Confedera-
tion, however, proved the easiest part of the Confer-
ence's work. The arrangement of the details was an
224
CONFEDERATION THE ALL-ABSORBING TOPIC
exceedingly complicated and difficult matter. The
distribution of Legislative and Executive powers
between the Federal and Provincial Legislatures,
the constitution of the Senate, the adjustment of the
representation, judicial systems, debts, revenues,
etc., of the various Provinces — these and numerous
other cognate questions naturally gave rise to long
and sometimes warm discussions. But the Confer-
ence applied itself vigorously to overcome all diffi-
culties, acting on the old Roman maxim, either " to
find a way or make one."
It is to be regretted that this important Confer-
ence, which probably acted wisely in keeping its pro-
ceedings secret at the time, did not at least preserve
accurate minutes of its daily proceedings and a brief
synopsis of the remarks made by the delegates on the
various vital questions brought before them. Some
light is thrown on the proceedings by " Pope's Con-
federation Documents" (1895), which are official
and valuable as far as they go, but they are incom-
plete and fragmentary, and only lift the corner of
the curtain sufficiently to show how much must have
been said and done which was either designedly or
negligently omitted altogether, or mentioned only in
a cursory way.
From reading these documents, for instance, one
might suppose that the system of life Senators ap-
pointed by the Crown was practically adopted with-
out opposition ; whereas, as a matter of fact, motions
were moved against it and a vigorous debate took
place. The question came up on the 17th October,
when it was moved by the Hon. John A. Macdonald,
15 225
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
" That the members of the Legislative Council shall
be appointed by the Crown under the great seal of
the general Government and shall hold office during
life." Several influential members, including the
Hon. Oliver Mowat* and the Hon. William Mac-
dougall, as well as the Prince Edward Island dele-
gates, were opposed to the members of the Upper
Chamber being nominated by the Crown for life,
which really meant appointment by the Prime
Minister and Cabinet of the day and a vast increase
of official patronage, which all governments (with
the possible exception of Mr, Mackenzie's) have
since freely used for the promotion of party pur-
poses. Mr. Macdougall and Mr. Mowat both spoke
against the foregoing motion, and moved two
amendments in opposition thereto ; the first being,
in effect, that the Senate be elective, and, that
motion having been negatived, that the twenty-four
senators assigned to Ontario should be elective. f
"■"Government House.
Toronto, Feb'y- 4th, 1902.
" My dear Mr. Young, — I have your note of yesterday, and I
shall be glad to see you on Wednesday. At the Quebec Confer-
ence I made a little speech in favour of an elective Senate, and
I think Macdougall did also. I do not at present recollect as to
the other gentlemen you name, but I shall endeavour to refresh
my memory before I see you. I do not suppose that any member
of the Conference regarded the constitution drawn up as the best
possible, but only as the best practicable in view of the different
interests and sentiments of the members of the Conference and
those they represented. We all preferred it as a whole to the
existing state of matters. Believe me, very sincerely yours,
" O. Mowat."
t " Touching the other question which you ask about, the
opposition to the nominative Senate at the Quebec Conference, I
have often heard Mr. Macdougall say, that while Brown was in
226
CONFEDERATION THE ALL-ABSORBING TOPIC
Curiously enough, the two great Canadian leaders,
Macdonald and Brown, divided on most questions,
were united on this one, and after the debate had
continued over into the second day, the contest ended
in one of the most retrograde decisions — the worst
blunder of the Conference — the constitution of the
Upper Federal Chamber on the antiquated, obsolete
basis of nomination by the Crown for life.
Another danger was more easily avoided. No
member of the Conference took a more distinguished
part in forming and fashioning the new constitu-
tion than the Hon. John A. Macdonald. But for a
considerable time Mr. Macdonald made no secret
that he preferred a Legislative to a Federal Union.
He seems to have desired the supreme control to be
in one Parliament and purely provincial affairs en-
trusted to one or more councils of a municipal
character.* It is greatly to be feared that under
favour of the principle, Mowat and he were opposed to it. I
have MacdougaU's copy of Col. Gray's work on Confederation,
and in corroboration of what I state, quote a pencil memo, in the
handwriting of Mr. Macdougall. At page 60 of Gray's work it is
stated ' that the Hon. George Brown led the Liberal section of
the Canadian Cabinet strongly in support ' of a nominative Legis-
lative Council. Here is what Mr. Macdougall wrote : 'A mistake.
Macdougall, seconded by Mowat, moved a resolution to make the
Senate elective ; the negative vote was large. Macdougall,
seconded by Mowat, also moved that the twenty-four Senators
assigned to Ontario should be elected. This was negatived after
much debate.' " — Letter from Henry J. Morgan, author of " Cana-
dian Men and Women of the Time," etc., Ottawa, ^ist January,
ig02.
* " Up to this point, and for some years later, the Attorney-
General West differed from his colleagues as to the details of the
Confederation plan. He believed the true system was one parlia-
ment having extreme control, and a system of municipal insti-
227
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
such a system the introduction of the Maritime Pro-
vinces would only have accentuated the difficulties
already existing under the Legislative Union
between Upper and Lower Canada. Fortunately,
the Conference was found to be almost unanimous
in favour of the Federal system, and when Mr.
Macdonald ascertained this, nothing could exceed
the frankness with which he waived his own views
and applied himself to give effect to those of the
majority.
Among other " hitches " which arose, the most
notable were the following : Whether the provinces
should have one or two Legislative Chambers, how
the debts and revenues should be adjusted, and the
arrangement of the various judicial systems, that
of Quebec being essentially French and different
from all the others.
Each province was left at liberty to do as it
pleased in regard to a Legislative Council, but On-
tario was the only one which found it practicable
to adopt a single Chamber. Some others would like
to have done so, but found the difficulties too great.
tutions in each province with enlarged functions. To this view
his colleagues were determinedly hostile, expressing their prefer-
ence for provincial legislatures, and a controlling joint-authority.
' I prefer that system too,' argued Mr. Macdonald, ' but what I
fear is, that it may be found impracticable. I fear there will
arise a collision of authority between the provincial legislatures
and the general parliament, which would be an evil worse than
what we now seek to remedy.' His colleagues were of the opinion
that this danger could be averted by assigning to each parliament
at the outset its special functions, giving it, as Mr. Cartier aptly
expressed it, its ' chart of jurisdiction,' whence no difficulty could
arise." — "Life of Sir John A. Macdonald," by Collins and Adam,
page 299-
228
CONFEDERATION THE ALL-ABSORBING TOPIC
Mr. Gait submitted a scheme for the settlement of
the debts and revenues of the different Provinces,
but that question, as well as the judicial rearrange-
ment, had ultimately to be submitted to special com-
mittees. At one time it was feared that the financial
difficulties would prove insurmountable, and it is
well known that Messrs. Gait and Brown, repre-
senting Canada, were closeted till late hours at night
with Messrs. Tupper, Archibald, Tilley, Shea and
Pope, representing the Maritime Provinces, so diffi-
cult was it to find a solution just to all concerned.
The numerous financial difficulties were finally over-
come, but like all other important parts of the
scheme, had to be most carefully and laboriously
worked out.
The Conference did not close till the 28th October,
having been in session eighteen days. It completed
its great work so far as it had power to do so. All
the numerous and formidable difficulties which had
confronted the delegates had been manfully and
successfully grappled with, and as the result of their
labours they produced a new and complete constitu-
tion for the union and government of all British
America, and one which has proven to be, taken as
a whole, just and beneficial to all the provinces.
Some minor changes, additions and erasures were
made at the meetings held in London, England,
1866, but the measure so laboriously produced by
the Quebec Conference was substantially embodied
in the British North America Act as passed by the
Imperial Parliament early in 1867, and has now
229
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
been the Constitution of Canada for a period of
thirty-five years.
After so notable an achievement it is not sur-
prising that the Quebec Conference closed amidst a
round of congratulations and rejoicings.
The Maritime delegates and their ladies were in-
vited to visit Upper Canada, which few of them had
ever seen. They accepted the invitation, and at
their first stopping-place, Montreal, were received
with much enthusiasm and a merry round of festivi-
ties. They next visited the future capital, Ottawa,
the beauty of the Ottawa River and Chaudiere Falls
and of the Parliament Buildings being specially
praised. On November 2nd a Grand Trunk special
conducted them farther westward. At Prescott,
Kingston, Belleville and Cobourg — in fact, wherever
the train stopped — they were cordially entertained
or enthusiastically received, and it was calculated
that not less than 8,000 persons were gathered to
greet them on their arrival at the railway station in
Toronto.
The Mayor and Council of Toronto and other dis-
tinguished citizens gave their guests a most enthusi-
astic reception — in fact, the crush of people, the music
of bands, the glare of torches, the " swish " of fire-
works, and the tumultuous cheering made it difficult
to get the distinguished visitors to the carriages and
to set in motion the procession to conduct them to
the Queen's Hotel. Mayor Medcalf, from the bal-
cony of the Queen's, then read an address of wel-
come and speeches were made in reply by the Hon.
J. H. Gray, Premier of Prince Edward Island; the
230
CONFEDERATION THE ALL-ABSORBING TOPIC
Hon. S. L. Tilley, Premier of New Brunswick; the
Hon. Charles Tupper, Premier of Nova Scotia, and
the Hon. Edward VVhelan, Prince Edward Island.
The Hon. George Brown was called for and also
spoke. The speeches of all these gentlemen produced
a very favourable impression.
The next day the distinguished party were taken
to all the principal places of interest in Toronto, and
a grand dejeuner was given in honour of the dele-
gates at the Music Hall at two o'clock. The prin-
cipal speeches at this festival were made in the fol-
lowing order : General Napier, England ; Hon. G.
W. Allan, M.L.C.; Hon. Jonathan McCully, N.S.;
Hon. Charles Fisher, N.B. ; Hon. Edward Palmer,
P.E.I. ; Hon. F. B. T. Carter, N.F. ; Mr. James Ross,
Red River, Manitoba; Hon. George Brown, and the
Hon. A. T. Gait. These gentlemen made an un-
usually fine display of after-dinner oratory, and their
eulogies of the coming Canadian confederacy were
rapturously received by the brilliant assemblage pre-
sent. A grand ball in the Music Hall the same night
successfully closed the festivities.
The visitors next proceeded to Niagara Falls. At
the city of Hamilton they were received at the rail-
way station by the Mayor, councillors and citizens,
with gay decorations, bands, and the customary ad-
dress, which was replied to by the Hon. J. Ambrose
Shea, of Newfoundland, who proved a pleasing
orator; and at St. Catharines similar rejoicings were
appropriately responded to by the Hon. W. H. Pope,
of Prince Edward Island. The distinguished visitors
were delighted with the wonders of Niagara Falls,
231
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
and after being entertained at a closing public dinner
within sound of the great cataract, the party dis-
persed, some returning to their homes in the Mari-
time Provinces via New York, and others by way
of Montreal and Portland.
This memorable year closed with another excite-
ment — the raid made by Lieut. Bennet H. Young, an
officer of the Southern Confederacy, and twenty-five
associates, upon the town of St. Albans, in the State
of Vermont, a short distance over the Canadian
border. It was a scandalous abuse of the hospitality
this country had shown to the many Southerners
who had sought the protection of the British flag,
and in this case led to the death of one American,
the wounding of others, and a robbery of $233,000
from the St Albans banks. Such an outrage natur-
ally produced great excitement, and for a short time
fears arose that it might produce war between the
United States and Great Britain.
Our Government, however, promptly disavowed
the wild act of these hot-headed Southerners, and as
promptly arrested and held for trial all the raiders
they could catch. The Americans demanded their
extradition, but Lieut. Young boldly declared their
act to be justifiable by the laws of war, and engaged
Messrs. Abbott, Laflamme and Kerr, of Montreal,
as well as other eminent counsel, in defence of him-
self and co-raiders. After several trials the Gov-
ernment not only found itself unable to secure their
conviction under the provincial laws then existing,
but the prisoners recovered the money, which the
law officers of the Crown had seized, and finally the
232
CONFEDERATION THE ALL-ABSORBING TOPIC
Government considered itself obligated to refund the
amount stolen from the St. Albans banks, as well as
to pay a considerable sum in damages and expenses.
In consequence of this raid, and of the large num-
ber of Southerners who took refuge in Canada
during the American war, the opinion was propa-
gated that Canadians generally favoured the South
more than the North at that time. Even the historian
Dent says : " Canadians generally favoured the
Southern cause." I never believed this view to be
correct. There was a noisy jingo section in our
cities and towns strongly in favour of the South, but
the Reciprocity Treaty was still in force, and among
the farmers, merchants, artisans and masses of the
Canadian people there is good reason to believe that
a decided majority, from first to last, favoured the
Northern States and the great principle of human
freedom inextricably mixed up with the other issues
of their desperate struggle.
233
CHAPTER XX
DARK CLOUDS THREATEN THE UNION
No SESSION of the Parliament of Canada ever was
looked forward to with deeper interest than that
called by Lord Monck to meet at Quebec on the
19th February, 1865. The famous Coalition Gov-
ernment and its Confederation policy had to meet
the people's representatives for the first time. His
Excellency came from Spencerwood to open the ses-
sion with special pomp and ceremony. The Speech
from the Throne contained little else besides refer-
ences to the all-important issue — the union of the
Provinces as decided upon at the Quebec Conference.
It was evidently to be a Confederation session par
excellence, and such, indeed, it proved to be.
The parliamentary struggle over Confederation
was one-sided numerically, but not so in regard to
debate. The discussion of the whole question took
place on the following motion, made by Attorney-
General Macdonald : " That an humble address be
presented to Her Majesty, praying that she may be
graciously pleased to cause a measure to be submitted
to the Imperial Parliament for the purpose of unit-
ing the colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, New
Brunswick, Newfoundland and Prince Edward
Island into one Government, with provisions based
on certain resolutions, which were adopted at a con-
234
2:
o
w
o
h4
F=5
o
W
PQ
W
a
DARK CLOUDS THREATEN THE UNION
ference of delegates from the said colonies held at
the city of Quebec, on the loth October, 1864."
Then followed the Conference resolutions in full.
Some of the ablest and most brilliant speeches ever
listened to in Canadian legislative halls were made
for and against this motion. Five of the leading min-
isters spoke consecutively, in the following order :
the Hon. Messrs, Macdonald, Cartier, Gait, Brown
and McGee, and, as the official report of this great
debate proves, very powerful and eloquent were the
speeches they delivered. It has been generally con-
ceded that the speeches of the Conservative and
Reform leaders,* each from his own point of view,
* The Hon. John A. Macdonald's peroration was as follows :
" In conclusion, I would again implore the House not to let this
opportunity pass. It is an opportunity which may never recur. At
the risk of repeating myself, I would say it was only by a happy
concurrence of circumstances that we were enabled to bring this
great question to its present position. If we do .not take advan-
tage of the time, if we show ourselves unequal to the occasion, it
may never return, and we shall hereafter bitterly and unavail-
ingly regret having failed to embrace the happy opportunity now
offered of founding a great nation under the fostering care of
Great Britain and our sovereign lady Queen Victoria." (Loud
cheers, amidst which the hon. gentleman resumed his seat.) —
Confederation Debates, page 45.
The Hon. George Brown closed in the following words : " Sir,
the future destinies of these great provinces may be affected by the
decision we are about to give, to an extent which, at this moment,
we may be unable to estimate — but assuredly the welfare for many
years of four millions of people hangs on our decision. (Hear,
hear.) Shall we then rise equal to the occasion? Shall we ap-
proach this discussion without partisanship, and free from any
personal feeling but the earnest resolution to discharge conscien-
tiously the duty which an overruling Providence has placed upon
us? Sir, it may be that some of us may live to see the day when,
as the result of this measure, a great and powerful people may
have grown up in these lands — ^when the boundless forests all
around us may have given way to smiling fields and thriving
towns — and when one united Government under the British flag,
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
were specially conspicious — that of Mr. Brown, who
had just returned from a special mission to England,
probably being the greatest effort of his life.
The Hon. L. H. Holton was first to give his rea-
sons for opposing the Government scheme, which he
did in his usual lucid and eiTective manner. He was
followed by the Hon. A. A. Dorion in an able and
elaborate effort, then came Mr. Joly de Lotbiniere,
Mr. Matthew Crooks Cameron, Mr. Christopher
- — . Dunkin, the Hon. John
. , ^ Sandfield Macdonald, Mr.
L. S. Huntington and
others. Mr. Dunkin's
speech was an exceedingly
remarkable one. It lasted
two days and two nights —
was probably the longest
speech ever made in a
Canadian parliament — and
it was admitted on all
sides that he sustained his
argument against Confed-
L. S. Huntington. ^^^^-^^ ^^ -^^ ^j^^^ -^ ^ ^^_
markably able, learned, and, at times, eloquent way.
Among other memorable speeches made in reply to
these gentlemen were those of the Hon. Joseph
Hon.
shall extend from shore to shore ; but who would desire to see
that day if he could not recall with satisfaction the part he took
in this discussion? Mr. Speaker, I have done. I leave the sub-
ject to the conscientious judgment of the House, in the confident
expectation and belief that the decision it will render will be
worthy of the Parliament of Canada." (The hon. gentleman
resumed his seat amidst long and continued applause.) — Confed-
eration Debates, page 115.
236
DARK CLOUDS THREATEN THE UNION
Cauchoii, Mr. Alexander Mackenzie, and Mr.
Richard J. Cartwright.*
Whilst the great debate was in progress, the tele-
graph flashed the unwelcome intelligence that the
Tilley Government had been defeated at the general
elections in New Brunswick, and a large majority
of Anti-Confederates returned. The Opposition
hailed this as the precursor of the break-down of
the Coalition policy, and the Hon. John A. Macdon-
ald promptly announced on the 6th March that the
Government had now decided to use every parlia-
mentary means to press the Quebec resolutions
through the House at the earliest possible moment,
to prorogue Parliament for a few months, and send
a commission to Great Britain immediately to con-
sult the Imperial Government on the Confederation,
Defence and other questions urgently requiring set-
tlement. He followed this up the following day by
moving the " previous question," the formula of
which is, ** Shall the main motion be now put?" and
which has the effect of preventing amendments and
irrelevant discussion. This motion raised the debate
to a still more excited plane, in fact created for a
* The speeches of the Hon. Messrs. Macdonald and Brown at
the opening of the Confederation debates have been widely cir-
culated and do not need repetition, but the e.xcellent addresses of
many other eminent parliamentarians on the memorable occasion
have been largely overlooked. These can be found in cxtcnso in»
the official report of the Confederation debates, 1864, which are, or
ought to be, in every Public Library throughout the Dominion.
But readers who cannot avail themselves of these sources of infor-
mation, will find a few of the bright things said for and against
Confederation by some of the principal speakers, by consulting
Appendix II.
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
time something of a scene, Messrs. Holton, Sand-
field Macdonald, Dorion and others contending that
the Government was violating their solemn promise
in shutting off amendments, and some of the warm-
est and most brilliant speeches of the debate took
place at this point in the discussion.*
The first vote on Confederation was taken on
Saturday morning, March nth, and it was carried
by 91 to 3 3-1 On the Monday following, when At-
torney-General Macdon-
ald moved the usual com-
mittee to frame an address
to Her Majesty on the sub-
ject, the Hon. John Hill-
yard Cameron, seconded
by Mr. M. C. Cameron,
both strong Conservatives,
opposed the motion with
an amendment, which
prayed that His Excellency
the Governor - General
" should direct that a con-
stitutional appeal shall be
made to the people, before these resolutions are sub-
mitted for final action thereon to the consideration
John Hillyard Cameron.
* The cleverest speech of the Hon. John A. Macdonald during
the Confederation debates is said to have been made in reply to
the Opposition attacks upon the Government and himself for mov-
ing " the previous question," as described above. For the salient
points of this bright speech, as well as the Hon. Mr. Helton's
remarks, see Appendix HI.
t The names of those vi'ho voted for and against Confederation,
both in the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, may be
found in Appendix IV.
238
DARK CLOUDS THREATEN THE UNION
of the Imperial Parliament." This proposed appeal
to the people was defeated, after a sharp debate, by
84 to 35. Subsequent amendments by Hon. Messrs.
Holton and Macdonald (Sandfield) were defeated
by still larger majorities, after which the address to
Her Majesty, praying for the passage of the Con-
federation Act, was finally adopted, and the great
measure was strongly endorsed and approved so far
as the Canadian Parliament had power to do so.
As had been announced to Parliament, several
questions had arisen urgently requiring consultation
between the Imperial and Canadian Governments at
this time. These were (i) Confederation; (2)
Canadian Defence, and the share of the expense each
country should bear; (3) the Reciprocity Treaty,
which was about to expire; and (4) the acquisition
of the North-West Territories. Parliament was,
therefore, almost immediately prorogued after the
Confederation resolutions were sanctioned, and the
Hon. Messrs. Macdonald, Brown, Cartier, and Gait
sailed from Boston on April nth, for Great Britain,
it being agreed that Parliament should be convened
again in the autumn on the return of these gentlemen
from their mission.
Up to this period the Confederation policy had
basked in the sunshine of success. But a succession
of dark clouds now rapidly appeared, and for a time
bore a very threatening aspect.
Besides the set-back to Confederation from the
defeat of the Tilley Government in New Brunswick,
Newfoundland had taken no action in favour of the
proposed union. The Prince Edward Island Legis-
239
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
lature not only passed resolutions condemning it, but
also repudiated the action of the Hon. Colonel Gray
and his colleagues at the Quebec Conference. Even
in Nova Scotia its indefatigable premier, Dr. Tup-
per, was unable to get the Legislature to pass the
Quebec resolutions. So unhopeful were the pros-
pects of carrying Confederation during this spring,
that many believed the whole project was fatally
shattered and would never be realized.
It was this ominous change in the prospects of
Confederation, conjoined with the dangerous posi-
tion of Canada in case of trouble with the United
States — still excited and restless over the war and
its closing scenes — which were the principal reasons
for the somewhat hurried departure of the Cana-
dian Commission for Great Britain.
The state of our colonial relations had not been
quite satisfactory for a considerable time. The im-
prudent publication in England of the report of the
military expert sent out by the Home authorities —
Colonel Jervois — declaring the defencelessness of
Western Canada at that time, as well as the friction
with the United States arising out of the depreda-
tions of the cruiser Alabama and the St. Albans
raiders, had created not a little alarm throughout
Great Britain, and widespread feeling had arisen
there that Canada should cease to be a colony and
assume Independence! In some instances, both in
Parliament and the press, we were rather bluntly
told
"To loose the bands and go."
240
DARK CLOUDS THREATEN THE UNION
The Hon. George Brown had been in England
during the previous December, on a special mission
re Confederation, and on the 22nd of that month
wrote to the Hon. John A. Macdonald on this point
as follows :
" I saw all the members of the Government who
were in town, and received much kindness and atten-
tion from them. Indeed, from all classes of people
you hear nothing but high praise of Canadian states-
manship, and loud anticipations of the great future
before us. I am much concerned to observe, how-
ever, and I write it to you as a thing that must be
seriously considered by all men having a lead here-
after in Canadian public matters — that there is a
manifest desire in almost every quarter that, ere
long, the British Afuerican colonies should shift for
themselves, and in some quarters evident regret that
we did not declare at once for Independence. I am
very sorry to observe this, but it arises, I hope, from
the fear of invasion of Canada by the United States,
and will soon pass away with the cause that excites
it." *
This was an unsatisfactory position for both par-
ties, and before Parliament prorogued, the Canadian
Government asked and received a vote of $1,000,000
for immediate expenditure in defensive purposes.
This strengthened the hands of their commissioners
very considerably, and the ultimate success of the
measures to effect the union of British America, as
well as the return to sounder views as to the value
Pope's " Life of Sir John A. Macdonald," Vol. I., page 274.
16 241
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
of the colonies, soon obliterated the unpatriotic and
unwise talk in Great Britain as to severing our
colonial relations.
This agitation was, in fact, only temporary, and
at the time I write I fear there is real danger of the
])endulum swinging too far in the opposite direction.
Instead of cutting the colonies adrift, the Right
Hon. Joseph Chamberlain, the most masterful Col-
onial Secretary of modern times, aided by jingoes
big and small at home and abroad, seems to have
entered upon an active crusade to hurry the colonies
into some undefined form of Imperialism or Imper-
ial Federation, which is not practicable without
taking from self-governing colonies like Canada
constitutional rights we at present possess, and
which, in my humble judgment, instead of binding
the Empire more firmly together, would speedily
develop antagonistic interests and possibly rend it
asunder.
Scarcely had the Canadian ministers set sail for
Great Britain, when the whole American continent
— it may almost be said, the entire world — was con-
vulsed by excitement as it never had been before.
This was caused by circumstances attending the
close of the gigantic American Civil War, the evacu-
ation of Richmond, the rebel capital, and the sur-
render, on the 9th April, of General Robert E. Lee
and the Army of Northern Virginia to General
Ulysses S. Grant and his forces at the Appomattox
River. Shouts of joy and rejoicing arose all over
the United States at the prospect of peace, the jubi-
lant feelings of the nation being fitly expressed by
242
DARK CLOUDS THREATEN THE UNION
its energetic War Secretary, the Hon. Edwin M.
Stanton, who immediately ordered a salute of two
hundred guns to be fired from every military post
throughout the Republic, and sent the following
congratulatory despatch to General Grant and his
army :
" Thanks be to Almighty God for the great vic-
tory with which He has this day crowned you and
the gallant armies under your command ! The thanks
of this Department of the Government and the
people of the United States — their reverence and
honour have been deserved — will be rendered to you
and the brave and gallant officers and men of your
army for all time !"
But whilst the nation was still celebrating the ter-
mination of its terrible conflict, sudden as a flash of
lightning from a clear sky the universal rejoicing
was turned into universal lamentation.
There was one man in the United States who had
never stood so high in the estimation of his fellow-
countrymen and the world as on the day when the
Southern Confederacy collapsed in the surrender of
the brave General Lee and his army. Never even in
the darkest hours of the war had he faltered in his
faith that the Union must and should be preserved,
never had he wavered in his adherence to the great
principles of human freedom underlying the war,
and never did any other man, under such terrible
trials and vicissitudes, develop and rise more quickly
into the very highest regions of statesmanship.
Indeed, it may safely be said that, far more than
243
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
General Grant or any other officer or citizen, he
stood forth and was already recognized by his own
nation and the world as the saviour of his country.
That man was Abraham Lincoln, and on the night
of the 14th April the terrible news was flashed by
electric currents throughout the whole world, that
this grand man — the President of the United States
— had been cruelly assassinated by one John Wilkes
Booth, whilst sitting in his box at Ford's Theatre in
Washington, enjoying the pleasures of the play.
The next day, as the astounded people read the
particulars of this atrocious crime, including the
wild exclamation of Booth as he jumped from the
gallery to the stage of the theatre, " Sic semper
tyrannns," and also the wounding of the Secretary
of State, the Hon. William H. Seward, and two of
his sons, by another assassin on murder bent, a wave
of horror and lamentation surged over the United
States and throughout Europe and the whole civil-
ized world, probably more widespread and intense
than any ever before experienced.
Not in my time did I ever know Canada so pro-
foundly stirred as by the assassination of President
Lincoln, and there was scarcely a city or town which,
in public meeting assembled, did not express the
sorrow and svmpathy felt by its citizens at this
tras^ic and deplorable event.
Thirtv-seven years have now elapsed since the
close of the war and the occurrence of these painful
circumstances. There has been ample time to form
a calm judgment, and every year since then the fame
of Abraham Lincoln as a statesman and a man has
244
DARK CLOUDS THREATEN THE UNION
risen higher and higher. After undergoing the
fiercest hghts of research and criticism, the world,
not less than his own countrymen, has already
awarded to Lincoln equal rank with George Wash-
ington among the Presidents of the United States,
and it is possible, in my humble judgment, that
future generations may elevate him to the premier
place.*
Messrs. Brown, Cartier and Gait returned from
their British mission about the ist of July;
Attorney-General Macdonald, who remained behind
to receive the degree of D.C.L. from Oxford Uni-
versity, not till a week later. The Imperial Com-
mittee they met in London was composed of the
Right Hon. Messrs. Gladstone and Cardwell, the
Duke of Somerset, and the Earl de Grey and Ripon.
* The growing appreciation of Lincoln is grandly voiced in the
following lines from "Lincoln, and Other Poems" (1901), by
Edwin Markham :
" The color of the ground was in him, the red earth ;
The tang and odor of the primal things —
The rectitude and patience of the rocks ;
The gladness of the wind that shakes the corn ;
The courage of the bird that dares the sea;
The justice of the rain that loves all leaves;
The pity of the snow that hides all scars;
The loving-kindness of the wayside well;
The tolerance and equity of light
That gives as freely to the shrinking weed
As to the great oak flaring to the wind —
To the grave's low hill as to the Matterhorn
That shoulders out the sky
And when he fell in whirlwind, he went down
As when a kingly cedar green with boughs
Goes down with a great shout upon the hills.
And leaves a lonesome place against the sky."
245
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
These gentlemen strongly urged upon the Canadian
delegation to persevere in their policy of Confedera-
tion, and agreed to recommend the Maritime Pro-
vinces to adopt it. They immediately instructed Sir
Frederick Bruce, the Minister in charge at Washing-
ton, to open negotiations for a renewal of the Reci-
procity Treaty; they promised to expedite the an-
nexation of the North-West Territories to Canada,
and renewed the promise of an Imperial guarantee
for the bonds necessary to construct the Intercolonial
Railway. On the important question of the Defence
of Canada a better understanding was arrived at,
which was to the effect that if Canada undertook
certain measures of defence farther west, the Brit-
ish Government would complete the fortifications of
Quebec and would use the whole resources of the
Empire in the defence of Canada in case it were
attacked.
The delegation returned home pleased with the
success of their mission, and much more hopeful of
carrying Confederation than when they went away.
Parliament was soon afterwards called together
again as previously arranged.
246
CHAPTER XXI
RECIPROCITY VAINLY SACRIFICED ON THE
ANNEXATION ALTAR
Much interest was manifested at this time, both
in Canada and adjacent parts of the United States,
in the renewal of the famous Reciprocity Treaty,
which had been in existence since 1854. The United
States Government had given notice for its abroga-
tion, but Canadians and Americans generally, par-
ticularly the citizens of Buffalo, Detroit, Oswego,
Portland, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and
other cities, considered the free exchange of the
articles embraced in the treaty had been a great
benefit to both countries, and desired its continuance.
It was resolved, therefore, by the American
friends of the treaty, to hold a great commercial
convention in the beautiful City of the Straits —
Detroit — to discuss the commercial relations of the
two countries, and help to secure the continuance of
this beneficent measure in some shape or form.
It assembled on the nth July, 1865, and was the
largest and most influential purely commercial con-
vention which ever took place on this continent. All
the principal states of the Union and all the British
American provinces were represented. The Hon.
Hiram Wallbridge, New York, was chosen perman-
ent chairman, and the Hon. Hannibal Hamlin, of
Maine, formerly Vice-President of the Republic;
247
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
Hon. Charles Walker, Illinois; Hon. Joseph Howe,
Nova Scotia; Hon. William McMaster, Toronto;
Hon. Thomas Ryan, Montreal, and many others, as
vice-chairmen.
Among the more eminent Canadian delegates who
attended were the following : Hon. L. H. Holton,
Sir Hugh Allan, C. J. Brydges and Walter Shanley,
Montreal; Hon. W. J. Stairs, Halifax; Hon. Isaac
Buchanan, Donald Mclnnes and Adam Brown,
Hamilton ; Hon. John McMurrich and Erastus
Wiman, Toronto; Hon. George Coles, Charlotte-
town, P.E.I. ; Hon. Charles Fisher, St. John, N.B. ;
Hon. James Skead, Ottawa; Hon. J. G. Currie, St.
Catharines ; Hon. E. Leonard, London. There were
also a great many other representative Canadians
present.
Having shortly before won a prize offered in
Montreal for an essay on the Reciprocity Treaty,
which was widely published in the press, I received
an unexpected but warm invitation from the dele-
gation of the city of Hamilton to attend this Con-
vention, and therefore had the honour and pleasure
of being present during the whole proceedings.
I never had seen an absolute tyrant until I wit-
nessed General Wallbridge wielding the baton as
chairman at this Convention. With hundreds eager
to speak, however, it was quickly perceived that but
for his tyranny the delegates would be there for
weeks instead of days, and a very few minutes
sufficed to make the tyrant's will law and the fall of
his gavel irrevocable. The flood-gates of discussion
248
HON. JOSEPH HOWE.
RECIPROCITY VAINLY SACRIFICED
were then opened, and the tide of eloquence flowed
on unceasingly for four days.
The best argument in favour of the continuance
of Reciprocity — in fact, the speech of the Conven-
tion — was delivered by the Hon. Joseph Howe.
Few present had ever seen the eminent Nova Scotian
before. His presence was prepossessing, and he
quite maintained his high reputation as an orator.
His speech was exceedingly brilliant and eloquent,
and when during the peroration he told with deep
emotion of the large number of young Canadians
who had shed their blood — and that even his own
son had served under General Sheridan — to uphold
the cause of the Republic, hundreds of the delegates
were so moved by his eloquence that they jumped
upon their seats, and the whole convention became
a scene of vociferous and tumultuous applause last-
ing for several minutes.
Mr. Howe's speech produced a good effect, but the
Convention was naturally not a little divided in
opinion. Some were for the old treaty, some were
against it ; some wanted a new treaty with new con-
ditions ; and almost every city skirting the great
international lakes and rivers had some commercial
or transportation project of its own which it wanted
included in any new arrangements to be made. The
point which seemed to evoke the most unanimity
was, that Canada ought to deepen and make free its
Welland and St. Lawrence canals, so as to cheapen
the cost of transporting the productions of the great
249
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
North- Western States to the eastern markets ! This
great undertaking was, of course, to be done wholly
at Canada's expense, but there was much less
unanimity as to what commercial advantages this
country was to receive in return.
The American delegates evidently embraced two
classes — business men and politicians. The former
were, generally speaking, as outspoken as the Cana-
dians in declaring that Reciprocity was a blessing
to both countries. This could not, as a matter of
fact, be truthfully gainsaid, as the statistics both of
the United States and Canada completely proved it.
The very first year of the treaty proclaimed its
success. The aggregate trade — both imports and
exports — of all the British provinces with the United
States, during the previous eight years, only aver-
aged $14,230,763 per annum. During the first
twelve months under Reciprocity the value of our
transactions ran up to $33,492,754. The second
year the figures had advanced to $42,942,754, and
on the thirteenth and last year they reached the
grand volume of $84,070,955 — an increase of nearly
600 per cent. According to the statistics of the
various provinces, the aggregate value of our inter-
national trade during the eleven years of the treaty
reached the magnificent total of $623,000,000 (in
round numbers), and the " balance of trade," as it
is called, was $95,765,000 in favour of our
neighbours.
250
RECIPROCITY VAINLY SACRIFICED
American statistics did not materially differ from
ours as to the value of our aggregate international
trade, but made the balance in their favour at the
end of ten years, $62,000,000, and when the treaty
closed, one year later, $20,000,000. The large pur-
chases made and the inflated prices paid by them for
Canadian productions during the war, no doubt
reduced the (so-called) " balance of trade," but that
the United States had the best of it to the extent of
$95,765,000, as our statistics showed, there is very
little reason to doubt.
With such splendid results as these figures prove,
there could be no uncertainty as to the success of the
Reciprocity Treaty in promoting the commercial
prosperity of both nations, and the business men of
both countries at the Convention were quite out-
spoken in their declarations to that effect.
Not so the politicians, however. They did not
look at the question solely from the commercial point
of view. They had, to use a common phrase, other
fish to fry. Without openly opposing the object of
the Convention, many of them were at heart hostile
to the continuance of Reciprocity, and their indirect
opposition was probably more injurious than if their
opinions had been openly avowed. It soon began
to make itself felt. Before the close of the second
day's proceedings mysterious influences were evi-
dently at work. Some mystical handwriting seemed
to be on the wall, and no Daniel in Babylon to
interpret the meaning thereof!
251
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
The Hon. J. W. Potter, the United States Consul-
General for the British Provinces, whose head-
quarters were in Montreal, finally undertook the
task of interpreter — in other words, to let the cat
out of the bag. He announced that he would
deliver an address on the commercial relations
of the United States and the British Provinces, at
the Board of Trade rooms on the morning of the
third day of the Convention, at half-past eight, and
all Canadians were cordially invited to be present.
Expectation ran high as to what this meeting meant.
There was consequently a large attendance, the
British Provinces being particularly well repre-
sented, and Mr. Potter certainly gave their repre-
sentatives a genuine surprise.
After some pleasant preliminaries he bluntly told
them that Canada, especially the Province of Que-
bec, now favoured annexation to the United States.
This statement was received with American cheers
and Canadian expressions of dissent. His next
offensive statement was, that the United States was
not willing to renew the Reciprocity Treaty again,
but " we will give you complete free trade if you
come and join in the responsibilities of our own gov-
ernment." This announcement was greeted with
cries of " No ! no !" from the Canadians. Mr. Potter
then went a step farther. He declared : " It is not
our policy as Americans to continue the Treaty, and
within two years after its repeal the Canadians
themselves will apply for admission to the United
States." Indignant cries of " No! no!" now loudly
252
RECIPROCITY VAINLY SACRIFICED
resounded throughout the Chamber. This opposi-
tion quite flustered the consular orator, and in his
excitement he again called out, " I repeat, that in
two years they will ask for admission."
By this time the meeting was in considerable up-
roar — the Canadians naturally being indignant —
and an unpleasant scene appeared imminent. The
Hon. J. G. Currie, of St. Catharines, however, hav-
ing manfully risen and denied the speaker's Annexa-
tion statements and vindicated Canadian loyalty to
Great Britain, most of the Canadians got up and
retired, and the meeting soon afterwards came to
an unpleasant termination.
When Mr. Potter's escapade became known
throughout the city, it created a short-lived sensa-
tion. At first it was thought that no person standing
so high in the United States Consular Service would
have dared to make such a speech without being
prompted from Washington. The Consul-General's
conduct, however, was promptly disavowed, and
although it did not come before the Convention,
many of the American delegates were just as strong
as the Canadians in denouncing the bad judgment
and worse taste which he had displayed on the
occasion.
The festivities to which the city of Detroit invited
the members of the Convention and their wives and
families, as well as hundreds of other distinguished
guests, were unusually magnificent and costly. The
Americans excel in such fetes. But seldom has there
been anything of the kind grander and more en-
253
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
chanting than when the Detroiters lashed three of
their largest steamboats together and sailed up and
down the sparkling waters of their beautiful river in
the summer's moonlight, whilst their numerous
guests spent a night of music, dancing, feasting and
speechifying, almost without a parallel for its mag-
nificence and enjoyment. The entire festivities re-
flected the highest honour upon the charming City of
the Straits, and helped not a little to bring the Con-
vention to a harmonious and happy termination.
After speeches innumerable in the Convention,
during which the fortunes of the battle seemed to
rise and fall, the commercial element proved
stronger than the political. Among other con-
clusions arrived at, the delegates finally passed a
resolution strongly advising their Government to
negotiate a new Reciprocity Treaty with the British
American Provinces, this result being hailed with
great cheering by the friends of the measure. The
Reciprocity question being thus disposed of, the rest
of the business was quickly despatched, and the pro-
ceedings were brought to a close with three cheers
for President Johnson and an equal number for
Her Majesty Queen Victoria.
Whilst the commercial men were successful at
Detroit, however, the politicians afterwards com-
pletely triumphed at Washington. The views so
rudely outlined by Consul-General Potter ultimately
captured both branches of Congress, and became the
settled fiscal policy of our neighbours towards this
country. The enlightened Reciprocity Treaty, so
254
RECIPROCITY VAINLY SACRIFICED
beneficial to both nations, was vainly sacrificed on
the Annexation altar, and at the time I write — over
a third of a century after Detroit's famous conven-
tion — the prospects of agreeing upon any measure
of reciprocal free trade do not seem any brighter
than they were at that time.
255
CHAPTER XXII
SPLIT IN THE CABINET- GEORGE BROWN RESIGNS
Parliament had been summoned to meet again
on the 8th August, and the preceding week an un-
expected ministerial crisis arose. This seriously
imperilled the existence of the Coalition Govern-
ment, and caused much uneasiness for several days.
Sir Etienne P. Tache, who had for a considerable
time been in poor health, died on the 30th July.
Being Prime Minister, his death dissolved the
Cabinet as a whole, and it being a coalition, the
future premiership became a very important and
delicate question.
Official etiquette required that Lord Monck
should offer the position to Attorney-General Mac-
donald first. He undertook the reconstruction of
the Government, received Mr. Cartier's consent, and
then requested Mr. Brown's. The latter replied, in
effect, that he was quite prepared to continue the
Government as constituted under the late Premier,
but that to make either Mr. Macdonald, Mr. Cartier
or himself Prime Minister, all three being active
political leaders, would be to change its coalition
character, and he could not see his way to consent to
that. To Mr. Cartier as Prime Minister, after con-
sulting Messrs. Macdougall and Howland, he raised
similar objections, but lest their actions might jeo-
256
SPLIT IN THE CABINET — BROWN RESIGNS
pardize the plans of the CoaHtion on the Confedera-
tion question, he desired time to consult his political
supporters in Parliament before finally deciding.
As Parliament was called to meet in a few days,
and there was theoretically no Government in exist-
ence, the only practicable solution of the difficulty
left open to Mr. Macdonald was to meet Mr.
Brown's views and preserve the coalition character
of the Ministry as originally agreed upon. This he
finally did, proposing that Sir Narcisse Belleau, a
member of the Legislative Council, and not an active
politician, should become Prime Minister and
Receiver-General. This offer was accepted by Mr.
Brown, on condition that the new Premier should
distinctly declare his acceptance of the policy upon
which the Coalition was formed in 1864, and as
modified in 1865. This pledge was given. Sir Nar-
cisse took the place of the late Premier, and the
dangers of this unpleasant crisis were at least
temporarily overcome.
This session, which was the last one held in Que-
bec, lasted barely six weeks, the Government being
all-powerful. Underneath the surface, however,
some of the circumstances of the recent crisis
rankled a little in the breasts of the two rival poli-
tical leaders, and subsequent events clearly proved
that their relations were never quite the same after-
wards as they had been during the temporary truce
of the previous fifteen months. Sir E. P. Tache's
death was unfortunate, therefore, politically as well
as personally.
17 257
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
Much misrepresentation in connection with this
unpleasant episode, especially of the Hon. George
Brown, was subsequently indulged in by several
writers, whose partisanship was fortunately sO'
blind and stupid as to serve as an antidote to their
statements. There is no necessity for impugning the
motives of either of the gentlemen concerned in the
matter. They both acted very naturally from their
own points of view. It was not unnatural that
Attorney-General Macdonald, being the senior
Minister, should aspire to become Premier, and that
he should be somewhat chagrined, as he undoubtedly
was, not only that Mr. Brown refused his consent,
but that Mr. Cartier and he had finally to accept the
former's terms.
But it was equally natural, and amply justifiable
on the grounds of public policy (as the correspon-
dence clearly discloses), that the Reform leader
should insist on the coalition character of the
Government being maintained, and that no ascen-
dancy should be given to Mr.' Macdonald, Mr.
Cartier or himself, as leaders of the three great
political parties to the compact. Had the former
gentleman become Premier and leader, the Coalition
would have been merged into a Conservative minis-
try, and instead of Mr. Brown being accused of
jealousy and hatred in refusing his consent thereto,
he should never have been asked to accept a change
in the coalition compact so radical, and which, if
assented to by him, would have been injurious alike
to the prestige and future of the Reform party and
himself.
258
SPLIT IN THE CABINET — BROWN RESIGNS
The fall of this year was signalized by the removal
of the seat of Government and all the public offices
and archives from Quebec to Ottawa, the new
capital. The magnificent new Parliament and
departmental buildings were sufficiently completed
for occupation, and much interest was felt by all
classes, not only in the arrival of His Excellency
Lord Monck and family at Rideau Hall, the new
vice-regal residence, but in looking forward to the
n6xt session of Parliament, which would be at once
the first held in Ottawa and the last of the late
Province of Canada.
Threats of a Fenian invasion of Canada were
freely made in the United States at this time by
some of the horde of soldiers let loose by the close
of the civil war. They were not taken very seri-
ously either by the Government or people, but much
interest continued to be felt by both in regard to the
renewal of the Reciprocity Treaty, which was timed
to expire on the 17th March, 1866, at midnight.
Both the Imperial and Canadian Governments ac-
tively interested themselves in this important
matter. Immediately after the Detroit Commercial
Convention, the Hon. Messrs. Gait and Howland
were chosen by the Cabinet to proceed to Washing-
ton to endeavour to negotiate a new treaty. They
met, however, with very little encouragement. Late
in the fall Mr. Gait went again to Washington and
discussed the subject with the Secretaries of State
and Treasury departments, more particularly the
Hon. W. H. Seward. These gentlemen held out no
hopes of a treaty, but thought some system of recip-
259
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
rocal legislation might be accepted by the Senate
and House of Representatives. Under this system
the reciprocity agreed upon would be subject to
abrogation or alteration annually by the legislative
bodies of either country.
Mr. Gait returned to Ottawa about the middle of
December, to consult his colleagues on this new pro-
position of reciprocal legislation, and the Cabinet
was considerably divided upon it. Not a little warm
discussion took place. Mr. Gait and some others
were inclined to try reciprocal legislation rather
than let Reciprocity lapse altogether. Among those
strongly opposed thereto was the Hon. George
Brown, who stoutly maintained that any system of
Reciprocity which could be changed by legislation
from year to year would be useless, and keep Canada
constantly watching and dependent upon Washing-
ton legislation. He also objected to Mr. Gait's hav-
ing renewed negotiations at Washington without
reference to the delegates of the Maritime Pro-
vinces, and considered it impolitic that so many
visits should be made to that city on a question in
which the United States was interested equally with
us.
The Cabinet came to a decision on the i8th. They
erased from Mr. Gait's memorandum a clause
favourable to reciprocal legislation, on account of
Mr. Brown's opposition thereto, but they at the
same time decided that Messrs. Gait and Howland
should go to Washington again, and while they did
not clothe them with power to agree on behalf of
the Government to a measure based on reciprocal
260
SPLIT IN THE CABINET — BROWN RESIGNS
legislation, they left it an open question, to be deter-
mined as future circumstances might suggest.
There was no member of the Administration,
Conservative or Reform, more attached to Great
Britain and to British institutions than George
Brown. He was, in fact, an extremist on this point,
and that he felt strongly that a grave mistake was
being made by the Cabinet in contemplating the
regulation of the commercial relations of the United
States and Canada by reciprocal legislation, and
subject to annual change by the legislative bodies of
Washington and Ottawa, I can confirm with some
authority, as I had it from his own lips.
Mr. Gait having expressed himself favourable to
at least a trial of reciprocal legislation, and the
Government having sent him again to renew the
negotiations, Mr. Brown came to the conclusion
that the interests both of Canada and Great Britain
required that he should take a strong and decided
stand before the country was committed to it. The
only point which caused him any hesitation was the
uncompleted state of the great scheme of Confedera-
tion, and having persuaded himself that he could
assist in its final stages as well outside the Cabinet
as in it, he determined upon and sent in his resigna-
tion as a minister of the Crown, shortly after the
Cabinet meeting at which the above decision was
arrived at.
Mr. Brown's resignation very naturally caused a
commotion both in Ottawa and throughout the
country. The Hon. Messrs. Cartier and Campbell,
doubtless with the approval of their colleagues,
261
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
wrote to and waited upon him the following day,
expressing their deep regret at his resignation, and
endeavouring by every means in their power to
induce him to retrace his steps. He was not, how-
ever, a man to be moved after he had taken a stand.
To use his own words : " He desired to leave the
Cabinet in perfect harmony, and if they adhered to
the compact made with him when Sir Narcisse Bel-
leau came into the Government, they would receive
his best aid in carrying the constitutional changes
they were pledged to," but he would not withdraw
his resignation and continue in office.
I unexpectedly met Mr. Brown at Hamilton rail-
way station immediately after his return west. He
had made a hasty visit to the neighbourhood of
Brantford in connection with his proposed Bow
Park farm, and had driven from there rapidly over
the muddy December roads in order to catch the
(then) Great Western Railway for Toronto. His
overcoat was, in consequence, not a little sprinkled
with mud, and he still showed traces of the mental
and physical excitement through which he had
recently passed. I had, indeed, never seen him so
excited before, and during an hour or more that we
walked the platform at Hamilton, detained by a
belated eastern train, he spoke with marvellous
energy and characteristic freedom as to the causes
of his resignation and the results likely to flow there-
from.
No seal of secrecy was imposed on this interview,
and my recollections of it, which are tolerably dis-
tinct, may be compressed as follows : Mr. Brown
262
SPLIT IN THE CABINET — BROWN RESIGNS
declared that he felt it to be his duty to resign
because he considered any attempts at Reciprocity
by means of concurrent legislation would be a great
blunder for Canada, as it would make our agricul-
tural and other interests constantly dependent on
United States legislation and virtually increase
American tendencies.
He considered the chief object of his entering the
Coalition Government, namely Confederation,
would not be imperilled by his withdrawal, as he
would support it as heartily without a seat in the
Cabinet as with one, and that the dangerous action
of the Government on the Reciprocity question was
a fitting opportunity for him to withdraw from a
position which he accepted against his will, which
would never have been justifiable except as a means
to extricate the country from its difficulties, and
which, of late, had become to him almost intolerable.
Whilst his resignation was caused by the differ-
ence with his colleagues on the Reciprocity negotia-
tions, however, he frankly admitted that other cir-
cumstances had had some influence in determining
his course. For several months, but especially since
the unpleasant events of the late crisis, he said his
position in the Cabinet had become increasingly
difficult and disagreeable.
Sir Narcisse Belleau had been chosen Premier as
a mere figurehead. He indicated this at the time,
as the correspondence disclosed, but after refusing
to agree either to Mr. Macdonald or Mr. Cartier as
Prime Minister, he had felt reluctantly compelled,
in view of the Confederation question, to accept
263
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
their nominee, Sir Narcisse. If not Premier de
jure, Attorney-General Macdonald thus became
Premier de facto. He and not the Prime Minister
arrang^ed for the entrance of Mr. Plowland into the
Cabinet, and Mr. Brown felt that the relations
between himself and the Conservative leader — at no
time perfectly cordial on either side — had greatly
changed since he refused to consent to the latter's
elevation to the leadership of the Administration.
He did not complain of the action of the Cabinet
in passing him by and sending Mr. Howland with
Mr. Gait on the Washington mission. The Hon.
Alex. Mackenzie, however, in his Life of Brown,
says he regarded this as a " personal slight," and
considering that he was probably the most influential
member of the Confederate Council of the British
North American colonies, a body formed at the
request of the Imperial Government only a few
months before, and specially charged to look after
the renewal of the Reciprocity and other commercial
treaties, it must be admitted that it is difficult to
avoid such an interpretation.
Whilst not mentioning this, Mr. Brown referred
to sectarian grants and other matters pressed
through the Executive Council against his will, and
contrary to the general understanding when the
Coalition was formed, and which were calculated,
and he believed intended, to make him inconsistent
with his previous political record and weaken his
influence throughout the country. In short, and as
a matter of fact, whether correctly or not, Mr.
Brown had come to the conclusion that for some
264
SPLIT IN THE CABINET — BROWN RESIGNS
time Attorney-General Macdonald had been en-
deavouring to make his position in the Cabinet un-
tenable, unless with humiliation and loss of popu-
larity on his part.
Such are, in substance, the reasons given by Mr.
Brown during this Hamilton interview for his with-
drawal from the Coalition Government, and it is
deemed proper, as well as interesting, to give them
in his own language as nearly as it can be recalled.
There are, however, two sides to this as to most
other questions. The Conservative opponents of
Mr. Brown at the time, and in after years the
authors already referred to, declared that his
resignation was unjustifiable. They alleged that the
real cause thereof was not the Reciprocity question,
but his jealousy of the ascendancy and influence of,
and even hatred toward, his astute rival, the Hon.
John A. Macdonald, and that he should either not
have entered the Coalition to carry Confederation,
or he should have remained until that question was
carried, whatever the consequences might be.
This latter view was also taken by a section of
the Reform party under the leadership of the Hon.
Messrs. Howland and Macdougall, who, although
both had been taken into the Ministry on Mr.
Brown's nomination, declined to follow his lead in
retiring from it.
Those who have thus far followed the history
of the illustrious Reform and Conservative leaders
and of their famous Coalition Government,
will not be surprised at the rupture of the latter.
The surprise will rather be, that even under the
265
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
patriotic desire to extricate Canada from its political
difficulties, Mr. Brown and Mr. Macdonald had
harmoniously worked together so long.
It was inevitable, however, that as soon as the
success of Confederation was tolerably certain, no
Cabinet would be large enough to continue to hold
them both for any lengthened period. Both gentle-
men were too forceful, too ambitious, too different
personally and in their political ideas, and too ardent
players of the political game, to long act together.
Both were active party chiefs, in the prime of life,
whose respective parties long had been bitterly
opposed to each other, and as soon as the coalition
truce ended, expected to be opposed again. Under
these circumstances it was no evidence of jealousy
or hatred on the part of either of them, to object to
the political ascendancy of the other ia the Govern-
ment, or to warmly resent any slight or discourtesy,
if such were inflicted upon him.
The real point in the case before us is this : Was
Mr. Brown justified in his opposition to Legislative
Reciprocity, and was he slighted when Mr. Gait and
Mr. Rowland were twice sent to Washington in
regard to Reciprocity, when the latter gentleman
was not even a member of the Confederate Council
on the Reciprocity Treaty? Considering Mr.
Brown's prominence in this influential body, as
already mentioned, the action of the Cabinet was
certainly open to this objection. It was clearly a
slight, but whether it was unintentional, and there-
fore only a blunder, or whether it was one of those
old-time, astute moves of Attorney-General Mac-
266
SPLIT IN THE CABINET — BROWN RESIGNS
donald to make his rival's position in the Ad-
ministration untenable, as Mr. Brown believed, are
points on which men of opposite politics may
naturally differ, and in regard to which the reader
can be safely left to draw his own conclusions.
Two days after Mr. Brown's resignation, the
Hon. John A, Macdonald wrote to Mr. Rowland as
follows : " I ask you to take G. Brown's position in
the Government, and you have carte blanche in the
choice of a gentleman of your party to fill the vacant
seat in the Council."
Mr. Rowland immediately convoked a confi-
dential meeting of the Upper Canada Reform sup-
porters of the Government, which meeting was held
in the town of Guelph on Christmas day, Mr. Gait
and he being anxious to set out for Washington as
early as possible. This meeting resulted in the
Presidency of the Council, the vacant portfolio,
being offered to Mr. Alex. Mackenzie, M.P.P. for
Lambton. That gentleman took time to consider
this offer, but after consulting Mr. Brown in regard
to his reasons for resigning, he wrote Mr. Rowland
stating that he felt unable to sustain the Govern-
ment's position in regard to Legislative Reciprocity,
and therefore declined to accept office.
The position was then offered to the Hon. A. J.
Fergusson Blair, of Guelph. He accepted the offer,
and the Coalition Government had again its com-
plement of three Reform members.
267
CHAPTER XXIII
PROSPECTS OF CONFEDERATION BRIGHTEN
Immediately after the holidays (1866) the Hon.
Messrs. Gait and Howland proceeded again to
Washington to endeavour to secure an extension of
Reciprocity in some form. Their mission, however,
proved a complete failure, the Senators and Repre-
sentatives of the United States having almost
unitedly taken up the position foreshadowed at the
Detroit Commercial Convention the preceding year,
and which in blunt language was, that Canada could
have complete commercial intercourse with them by
means of Annexation, but not otherwise.
This action on the part of the United States was
almost universally regarded at the time as very un-
fortunate for Canada. Time has proved it, how-
ever, to have been a blessing in disguise. It utterly
failed to produce the slightest Annexation feeling
in any of the provinces, but it was highly success-
ful in some other respects. It greatly promoted
Confederation and the early construction of the
Intercolonial Railway ; it set our legislators at work
with redoubled energy to encourage the develop-
ment of our immense natural resources; it stimu-
lated our efforts to search out and open up new
avenues for Canadian commerce. In short, it made
Canada independent, and in a few years completely
268
PROSPECTS OF CONFEDERATION BRIGHTEN
dispelled the illusion that this rising young nation
was dependent on the United States or any other one
country for a rnarket for its productions. These
were lessons which both the United States and
Canada much needed to learn, and it has done us
both a great deal of good.
During this spring the prospects of carrying Con-
federation brightened, although some of the means
used were hardly above criticism. The Lieutenant-
Governors of the Maritime Provinces, spurred on
by the Imperial authorities, rather exceeded in some
cases the constitutional limits usually assigned to
them in pressing Confederation upon their respective
legislatures and peoples.
When the New Brunswick Legislature assembled,
the Smith-Hatheway Government, which was anti-
Confederate, and had been decisively sustained by
the electors the year before, found the Hon. A. H,
Gordon, the Lieutenant-Governor, apparently deter-
mined to force them to declare in favour of Con-
federation or effect a rupture.
The Legislative Council having radically amended
the Ministry's Speech from the Throne in favour of
Confederation, His Excellency went so far as to
reply thereto, commending their action, not only
against the advice of the Premier, the Hon. A. J,
Smith, but without giving his Ministers time to
examine his reply.* No self-respecting government
* " On Tuesday last, the Government tendered their resignation,
and in doing so complained of the action of the Governor, with a
view of getting a cry in the country and taking the public mind
away from the real question, viz., Confederation. This is their
269
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
could continue in office under such circumstances,
which were equivalent to dismissal^ so they tendered
their resignations.
Having a large majority in the House of
Assembly, the anti-Confederate ministers not only
denounced His Excellency's course as being con-
trary to responsible government, but gave formal
notice of resolutions strongly condemning his con-
duct, and asking the Queen to recall him. Governor
Gordon, however, forestalled their proposed censure
of his conduct by promptly dissolving the recently-
elected Parliament, and entrusting the Hon. R. D.
Wilmot and the Hon. Peter Mitchell with the forma-
tion of a new Confederate ministry. Many con-
sidered His Excellency's exercise of the prerogatives
of the Crown during this crisis as hardly consistent
with New Brunswick's rights of self-government, or
defensible on constitutional grounds, but this did not
prevent Messrs. Wilmot and Mitchell from success-
fully filling up their cabinet slate. They were
greatly aided in this by the Hon. S. L. Tilley, who
accepted office under his former colleagues, and the
Province was speedily immersed in a second general
election within twelve months, the chief issue again
being Confederation, but embittered by the un-
pleasant circumstances which had recently taken
place.
only hope of success, and they are making the most of it. Where
the Governor erred was in not giving them time to consider his
reply. They say he has violated the principles of responsible gov-
ernment, and has insulted them, and they call upon the House
and the country to resent the insult." — Letter of the Hon. S. L.
Tilley to Hon. J. A. Macdonald, April 14, 1866. Pope, Vol. I.,
page 297.
270
PROSPECTS OF CONFEDERATION BRIGHTEN
Whilst these events were transpiring in the sister
province, Nova Scotia was in a ferment on the
same question. After strenuous and prolonged
efforts the Hon. Dr. Tupper secured the passage
through the Legislature, on the 17th April, of a
short resolution in favour of union. This resolu-
tion authorized the appointment of delegates " to
arrange with the Imperial Government a scheme of
union which will efifectually ensure just provision for
the rights and interests of this province." The
House of Assembly carried this motion by 31 to 19,
but as the ensuing general election proved, public
opinion throughout the Province was at that time
overwhelmingly against it. However, this vote gave
the Nova Scotia Government power to agree to
Confederation, and they acted accordingly. It was
a dangerous course, however, under the circum-
stances then existing in that province, to pass so
important a measure without reference to the people.
But it ultimately and fortunately succeeded,
although in the meantime it brought the Province
to the brink of rebellion.
After an acrimonious contest New Brunswick
completely reversed its verdict at the elections of the
previous year, and sustained the new Confederate
ministry of Messrs. Wilmot and Mitchell by a hand-
some majority. Among the principal circumstances
which brought about this result was the threatened
danger at that time of a Fenian invasion of the Pro-
vince, which caused widespread alarm and led many
New Brunswickers to perceive how much stronger
our scattered British provinces would be, if united
271
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
under one Government, to resist the attacks of such
lawless marauders.
This New Brunswick contest proved the turning-
point of Confederation. Its new Parliament
promptly passed a resolution similar to that of Nova
Scotia, in favour of the Union, and thus furnished
the Imperial Parliament with the only remaining
endorsement by the four provinces considered neces-
sary to the passage of the proposed measure.
The projected Fenian attack on New Brunswick
proved a fizzle, but a few weeks later these ruffians
assembled in large numbers at Ogdensburg, on the
St. Lawrence River; at St. Albans, Vermont, near
the Quebec frontier; and at Buffalo, near the Nia-
gara River.
This attempted invasion aroused intense indigna-
tion, but not much alarm, throughout Canada, and
measures were set on foot by the military authori-
ties to checkmate whatever hostile attempts might
be made.
The principal attack of the Fenians in the west
was made by an adventurer named General O'Neill
with about 1,200 men. They assembled at Black
Rock, on the Niagara River, at midnight, on the
1st of June, and crossed over before daylight in
scows hauled by a tug-boat, effecting a landing on
Canadian soil one mile below the village of Fort
Erie. They were mostly well armed with rifles and
pistols. They took possession of Fort Erie, levied
rations on the citizens and adjoining farmers, and
during the day committed not a few depredations on
the railway track, bridges and telegraph wires.
272
PROSPECTS OF CONFEDERATION BRIGHTEN
In the meantime, Colonel George Peacock, of the
1 6th Regiment, with a small number of regular
troops, the Governor-General's Body Guard, the
loth Royals, and a few volunteer companies, was
despatched to the frontier at Chippewa. Lieut.-
Colonel Booker, with the 13th Battalion of Hamil-
ton, and Major Gillmor, with the Queen's Own
Regiment of Toronto, joined by a few volunteers,
were also ordered to proceed to Port Colborne, the
special duty assigned to them being to guard the
Welland Canal.
The next morning (June 2nd) Colonel Booker
and Major Gillmor's forces, whilst on their way to
join Colonel Peacock at the village of Stevensville,
came into contact, near the village of Ridgeway,
with the Fenian forces under O'Neill, who had set
out from Fort Erie that morning to destroy some of
the adjacent locks on the Welland Canal. This
meeting was a surprise on both sides, but Colonel
Booker and Major Gillmor gallantly decided to
attack the invaders, and a sharp engagement ensued,
with varying fortune.
This has since been known as the battle of Ridge-
way. In the early part of the engagement the
Fenians were steadily driven back for nearly a mile.
They were then rallied by O'Neill, who told them
they had better stand their chance of being shot in
the field than to be captured and hanged, and having
thus been induced to advance again to the attack
they recovered the ground which they had lost.
After not a little severe fighting the battle finally
terminated in the retreat of Colonel Booker and his
18 273
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
force of volunteers to Port Colborne, and the return
of O'Neill and the Fenians back to Fort Erie. Both
forces retired in considerable disorder.
During the same day Colonel Peacock, with the
force under his command, marched from Chippewa
and reached the outskirts of Fort Erie at nightfall.
All arrangements were quickly made for an attack
early the next morning. When daylight appeared,
however, they found that the Fenians had under-
taken to recross the Niagara River into the United
States during the night, and had been arrested by
the U.S. gunboat Michigan, for infringement of
the American neutrality laws, and were then in tow
of that vessel as prisoners.
About sixty Fenians and stragglers, who failed to
make their escape, were captured by the Canadian
forces. After a fair trial many of these were ulti-
mately sentenced to the provincial Penitentiary for
life, but the hasty and cowardly retreat of the main
body across the river prevented that drastic punish-
ment which these rascally marauders so richly
deserved.*
The Fenian attacks at the eastern points men-
tioned were still greater failures. At Prescott and
Cornwall they did not succeed in crossing the St.
Lawrence River at all, and some i,8oo of them who
did cross the Canadian boundary near St. Albans
were met by our forces and quickly driven back
across the lines in a demoralized state, where United
* I am chiefly indebted for this brief synopsis of the Fenian
raid to Dent's "Canada Since the Union of 1841," Vol. II., 459-
464.
tn
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PROSPECTS OF CONFEDERATION BRIGHTEN
States officers arrested their ringleaders and held
them for trial.
Thus ended this much-talked-of Fenian invasion.
It proved a complete failure, although nine young
Canadian volunteers, mostly Toronto University
students, were killed and thirty-one wounded at
Ridgeway, and about an equal number of the
Fenians. This country was, it must be admitted,
poorly equipped to repel such an attack at that time,
and Colonel George T. Denison, in his " Soldiering
in Canada," clearly shows that the Government and
Militia Department were not only warned of the
coming of the Fenians, but were very slow and
remiss in making preparations to resist them. But
if such a wanton and wicked crime were attempted
at the present day, the invaders would find Canada
in a state of military preparation certain to ensure
them a hot reception.
The last session of the Parliament of the late Pro-
vince of Canada, and the first to be held in our new
Parliament Buildings at Ottawa, was opened with
great eclat by His Excellency Lord Monck, on the
8th June, 1866. The Speech from the Throne spoke
confidently of Confederation being soon accom-
plished, which statement was fully justified by the
union resolutions passed by Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick, and also promised the following among
other important measures :
(i) To provide for the Local Legislatures and
Governments of Ontario and Quebec; (2) to make
several financial changes, including liberal reductions
in the tariff, it being the opinion of both Conserva-
275
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
tives and Reformers at that period, that the best
interests of the projected new Dominion would be
promoted by making it as great a contrast as possible
to the United States in regard to low taxation and
being a cheap country to live in; (3) a measure
guaranteeing to the British minority in Lower
Canada certain rights in regard to education, and
especially the right of having Protestant schools.
Although a close secret at the time, it has since
transpired that there was a threatened rupture
between Her Majesty's representative. Lord Monck,
and the Government, shortly after this session
opened. The ostensible reason given was, the course
of the Ministry in pressing their financial legislation
(which was strongly opposed) to the delay of their
Confederation measures, which His Excellency con-
sidered might endanger the latter.
There is reason to believe, however, that there
were other and stronger reasons at the bottom of his
Lordship's unusual action at this time. It is too
widely known to be any secret, that during the
lengthened political agitation the customs of the
period led to a good deal of conviviality* among a
* Pope's (authorized) " Life of Sir John Macdonald," Vol. I.,
page 325, makes the following reference to this point:
" It is not to be denied that, for some years prior to his second
marriage, Mr. Macdonald's habits of life were marked by an occa-
sional irregularity similar to that which, in a much greater degree,
characterized Pitt, Fox, Sheridan, and many other eminent states-
men. Of my late chief's failings in this respect I have no personal
knowledge. As was both natural and fitting, he whose life was a
succession of triumphs over others, eventually gained the mastery
over himself. This happened long before I knew him. At the
same time it would be futile to ignore the fact, that there was a
276
PROSPECTS OF CONFEDERATION BRIGHTEN
small circle of leading statesmen both at Quebec and
Ottawa, and at this time the Opposition press raised
a great outcry that the Militia Department of the
Government, then in charge of Attorney-General
Macdonald, had been partially paralyzed from this
cause at the very time when General O'Neill made
his Fenian raid and the battle of Ridgeway was
fought. In the excitement still existing these
charges caused a widespread sensation throughout
the Province, and it is believed that Lord Monck
became alarmed and aggrieved lest these unfortunate
incidents might prejudice the position of the Govern-
ment, and in some way at the last moment endanger
the remaining Confederation measures still await-
ing the sanction of Parliament.
Whatever his reasons may have been. Lord
Monck evidently felt it to be his duty as Governor-
General to assume a decided attitude. On the 6th
June, five days after the Fenians crossed the Niagara
River, he addressed a strong memorandum to the
whole Executive Council, in which he pointed out
the danger of further delay, discussion and criticism
on the Union measures, and " the strong opinion he
entertains as to the imperative necessity which exists
for concluding what remains to be done in the Cana-
dian Parliament in order to complete the plan for
the union of the provinces during the present ses-
sion." After several other reasons for thus pressing
period in the life of Sir John Macdonald when excess in the
direction I have indicated interrupted his usefulness, gave pain
to his friends, and furnished his enemies with a weapon of which
they never hesitated to avail themselves."
-277
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
this matter upon the Executive Council, he con-
cludes with the following paragraphs, which are
noteworthy as throwing official light on some of the
influences which induced the Hon. George Brown
and the Reform party to take part in the famous
Coalition of 1864:
" There were also circumstances connected with
the formation of the present Administration which
made the Governor-General feel himself personally
bound to press upon the Council his views on this
point.
" The coalition of parties which was formed in
1864, was — at least in some measure — brought
about by the exercise on certain parties to that
measure, of the personal influence of the Governor-
General. When that influence was used, the Gover-
nor-General felt he was in some measure overstep-
ping the strict line of his constitutional duties. He
trusted, however, to the importance of the object
sought to be gained, as a sufficient excuse for the
steps which he then took. The Administration
which was then formed was constituted avowedly
for the purpose of passing at the earliest possible
moment the measure for the union of the provinces.
" It was for this purpose alone that the Liberal
section of the Cabinet yielded to the Governor-
General's persuasion to join the Administration, and
it is for this reason that the Governor-General feels
personally bound not only to that section of the
Government but to the people of the Province, to
press for the speedy completion of the plan of
Union." •
278
PROSPECTS OF CONFEDERATION BRIGHTEN
This memorandum to the Executive Council was
followed by Lord Monck, on the 21st June, by a
confidential but very sharp letter to the Hon. John
A. Macdonald, in which he warmly complained of,
and pointed out the danger of, the Government's
delay in bringing forward and passing the Con-
federation measures. The unusual and significant
character of this letter will be seen at a glance by
the following extracts therefrom :*
" I see a great many accidents, as I have already
mentioned to you in conversation, which might
change the mood of the House, and so render it im-
possible to keep the members together and complete
the scheme this session. I entertain so grave an
apprehension of the evil results which might fiow
from such an occurrence, that I feel bound to take
the strongest measures to dissociate myself person-
ally from all responsibility for it.
" Under ordinary circumstances my constitutional
course would be to break up the Ministry and have
recourse to other advisers. I am quite aware, how-
ever, that I have it not in my power to adopt this
line. * * * * After reviewing all the circum-
stances of my position here with the most anxious
care, I have come to the deliberate conviction that,
if from any cause this session of Parliament shall
be allowed to pass without the completion of our
portion of the Union scheme, a similar crisis in my
career will have been reached, and that my sense of
duty to the people of Canada and myself would leave
me no alternative except to apply for my immediate
recall."
* All these quotations from letters are from Pope's " Life of Sir
John Macdonald," Vol. I., pages 299-303.
279
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
Mr. Macdonald replied to this disturbing letter
with his usual cleverness, frankly saying, " It has
distressed me greatly," but contending that it mat-
tered little whether the financial or the Union
measures of the Government were pressed first, so
long as both finally became law. His Excellency,
however, in a second letter, whilst conciliatory,
stoutly maintained his ground, as the following
paragraph therefrom clearly shows :
" I most fully admit your right as leader of the
Government to take your own line in a matter of
party or parliamentary management, but I felt, and
still feel, that you would have a good right to com-
plain if I had permitted you, without remonstrance,
to take a course of conduct which I consider injudi-
cious, and then made the results of your course of
action the ground for strong measures on my part."
This threatened rupture fortunately blew over
without further complications, and had the effect of
quickening the activity of the Administration in
passing their remaining Union measures. The prin-
cipal Opposition motion on this question was made
on this occasion by the Hon. Mr. Dorion, of Mont-
real, and declared that the measure should be ratified
by the people before becoming law. So overwhelm-
ingly was the House, however, in favour of the
Union, that this apparently reasonable resolution
only received nineteen votes.*
* The strongest argument against referring the Confederation
question to the people was that made by the Hon. George Brown
in reply to the motion of the Hon. John Hillyard Cameron the
280
PROSPECTS OF CONFEDERATION BRIGHTEN
That the spirit, if not the letter, of the constitu-
tion was ignored in adopting Confederation without
consulting the people of the various provinces at the
polls, was charged during the debates upon the
measure. It is true the referendum has never been
recognized by the Imperial Parliament, but grave
constitutional changes have seldom or never been
made there in modern times without taking the sense
of the people upon them at a general election. This
is now so well understood that it may be considered
part of Britain's unwritten constitution. But when
British America was confederated in 1867, except
in the case of New Brunswick, where a new election
had to be held after the Quebec Conference, neither
the people of Upper Canada, Lower Canada, or
Nova Scotia had any opportunity at a general elec-
tion, let alone a referendum, to declare whether they
desired the proposed changes or not.
The question, therefore, naturally arises : In a
province having responsible government, popularly
previous session. The latter gentleman was a warm friend of
Confederation, and, from a Conservative standpoint, made one of
the ablest addresses delivered in favour of the Government meas-
ure ; but he considered that, on constitutional as well as on
grounds of public policy, the electorate as a body ought to be
consulted. Mr. Brown's reply to Mr. Cameron was admittedly one
of the most powerful and brilliant speeches of the whole debate,
and being delivered immediately before the vote on the Quebec
resolutions, made a deep impression upon the House. Neverthe-
less, there are good reasons for holding the view that such sweep-
ing constitutional changes should not have been made without
directly consulting the people as a body in some way, and that the
precedent then made was hardly in accord with modern British
practice, and might easily become dangerous. That both sides of
this important constitutional point, however, may be properly
understood, a condensed but ample report of Mr. Brown's speech
has been given in Appendix V.
281
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
supposed to recognize the people as the source of
power, is it constitutional for its Parliament to
destroy, or petition the Imperial Parliament to
destroy — which is practically the same thing — the
constitution under which it was elected, and to con-
struct and substitute another, without receiving any
mandate from the people to that effect? And if it is
constitutional, what guarantee have the people that
some fine morning they may not find their dearest
civil and religious liberties abridged or cancelled
without their sanction or approval ?
Fortunately, in the case of Confederation, no
harm actually resulted in Upper and Lower Canada,
as the people were generally favourable to the meas-
ure. But it was different in Nova Scotia. On the
strength of a bald resolution, rushed through the
Legislature under whip and spur, it was legislated
out of existence as a separate province and merged
into the Dominion, the resolution, too, being notor-
iously passed in defiance of the popular will. This
was clearly proven at the ensuing elections, when
the Tupper party was almost annihilated, its irre-
pressible leader being the solitary survivor elected
to the first Dominion Parliament to tell the sorrow-
ful tale.
The intense bitterness which afterwards prevailed
among the Nova Scotians was largely caused by the
fact that they felt Confederation was being thrust
upon them, whilst they were denied the right to
express in the usual constitutional manner at the
polls any opinion upon the question. So keen was
their sense of the wrong and injustice of this, that
282
PROSPECTS OF CONFEDERATION BRIGHTEN
they were for the time being completely blinded to
the great future before them under Confederation,
which I have always considered must in time make
the Maritime Provinces the New England of Can-
ada, and for months Nova Scotia was on the brink
of rebellion, and annexation to the United States
was openly and widely advocated.*
In view of all the circumstances connected with
this important constitutional point, the following
conclusions seem naturally suggested :
1. That the passage of so far-reaching a measure
as the Union of British America without any refer-
ence of the question to the people either by a general
election, plebiscite or referendum, was an undue
stretch of the powers of the Provincial Parliaments.
2. That the denial of this right to the people was
a principal factor in producing the grave complica-
tions which arose in Nova Scotia, and had this
dangerous difficulty unfortunately arisen with the
two Canadas under the same circumstances as ex-
isted in the smaller provinces. Great Britain might
* " It is perhaps to be regretted that you were not prepared to
submit, in official form, the explanations and proposals made to
the Committee of the Convention, because in the absence of any
definite proposition matters have drifted for a month, until the
excitement has increased, and the cry for Repeal or Annexation is
heard all over the Province. The visit of General Butler and his
friends, made for the purpose, scarcely disguised, of encouraging
the Annexation feeling, with offers of men and money, has added
new complications, and we have just escaped collision between
the Governor and the local Legislature, which, whatever the result
of a dissolution might have been, would, if a rupture had been
forced, have increased the feeling of bitterness and exasperation."
— Letter of the Hon. Joseph Howe to the Hon. John A. Macdon-
ald, dated Halifax, 15th September, 1868 ; Pope, Vol. II., page 303.
283
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
have been threatened, for the second time, with the
loss of her American colonies.
3. That the precedent made at Confederation was
a dangerous one, which would hardly have been pos-
sible had it not been for the all-powerful coalition of
the Reform and Conservative parties at that time,
and will hereafter be more honoured in the breach
than the observance.
4. That the whole circumstances are well fitted to
impress upon all Canadian statesmen the vital im-
portance of always scrupulously observing and act-
ing within those constitutional limits popularly sup-
posed to safeguard the liberties of the people.
Resuming our reference to the proceedings of the
session of 1866, towards its close a temporary crisis
occurred in the Government ranks. It arose over
the Lower Canada Education Bill, which was in-
tended to guarantee certain rights as regards schools
to the Protestant minority, — the Lower Canadian
Conservatives refusing to allow it to pass unless a
similar measure regarding the Roman Catholic min-
ority in Upper Canada were adopted at the same
time. The Upper Canada members objected to this,
on the ground that their law as to Separate Schools
had been recently passed and was working well. The
contest quickly became very warm, especially be-
tween the Hon. A. T. Gait and t*he Hon. H. L.
Langevin, and the Hon. John A. Macdonald finally
announced that the Government had decided to
withdraw the bill. Mr. Gait, who was regarded as
the champion of the Protestant minority in Lower
284
PROSPECTS OF CONFEDERATION BRIGHTEN
Canada, thereupon resigned his position as Finance
Minister and retired from office.
All the Confederation and other Government
measures, however, as well as the necessary supplies
for carrying on the public service, were passed by
the 15th August, when the last Parliament of the
troubled Union of Upper and Lower Canada closed
for ever, and nothing remained but the passage of
an Imperial Act to bring about the Confederation
of British America, for which so many sacrifices
had been made and so many difficulties overcome.
285
CHAPTER XXIV
IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT PASSES THE UNION ACT
The summer of 1866 was signalized by the final
accomplishment, after several disappointments, of
what many regard as the greatest scientific achieve-
ment of the nineteenth century.
On the 26th July, Mr. Cyrus W. Field, whose
name must ever stand foremost in connection with
the Atlantic Telegraph Cable, was able to telegraph
from Heart's Content, Newfoundland, "Thank God,
the cable has been laid and is in perfect working
order." These words again sent a thrill of joy
throughout the whole civilized world, but on this
occasion public feeling was tempered with the fear
lest the disappointment of 1858 might in some way
be repeated.
The history of this great enterprise is interesting,
and may thus be briefly stated : Mr. Field and other
enterprising citizens of New York, among them the
philanthropist, Peter Cooper, after hundreds of ex-
periments with sixty different kinds of cable, decided
in 1856 to start the Atlantic Telegraph Company, of
which Mr. Cooper became President and Mr. Field
Vice-President and Manager. In 1857 they made
their first attempt to lay the cable. It failed. In
1858 they made two further efforts. The first failed
also, and the second was only successful from the
286
IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT PASSES UNION ACT
14th August to the 4th September, when the signals
became unintelligible and remained so. These dis-
couragements, which involved a large expense, pre-
vented anything further being attempted for several
years.
On the 13th July, 1866, the mammoth steamer
Great Eastern, accompanied by a small fleet of Brit-
ish vessels, set sail from near Valentia, on the Irish
coast, having on board the cable and paying-out
apparatus. After a favourable but exciting voyage
of fourteen days, during which hopes and fears
alternated, the Great Eastern reached the shores of
Newfoundland on the morning of the 27th, when
Mr. Field was able to telegraph, as already stated,
that the great work of connecting Europe and Amer-
ica by electricity had been at last successfully accom-
plished.
Congratulations on this great scientific achieve-
ment came from all parts "of the globe. Among the
most appropriate were those of Her Majesty Queen
Victoria and President Johnson of the United States.
The former cabled as follows : " The Queen con-
gratulates the President on the successful completion
of an undertaking which she hopes may serve as an
additional bond of union between the United States
and England." To this President Johnson replied:
" The President of the United States acknowledges
with profound gratification the receipt of Her
Majesty's despatch, and cordially reciprocates the
hope that the cable which now unites the Eastern
and Western hemispheres, may serve to strengthen
287
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
and perpetuate peace and amity between the Govern-
ment of England and the United States."
The whole civilized world was for once agreed.
They hailed this great undertaking as the glory of
the age ! Mr. Cyrus Field and his coadjutors, and
the principal nations which backed them up, Great
Britain and the United States, deserve to be
honoured as benefactors of the race.
Since the festivities at the inception of the policy
of Confederation, political dinners seemed to have
temporarily become a lost art. But this old British
custom was revived during this fall by a grand ban-
quet given in the city of Hamilton, on the 29th
October. The delegates chosen to represent Canada
at the London Conference on Confederation were
about to proceed to Great Britain, and Reformers
as well as Conservatives united in the demonstration,
which was professedly in the interests of Confedera-
tion rather than of either political party. It proved
a large and successful affair. The Ministers of the
Crown who attended were the Hon. John A. Mac-
donald and the Hon. William Macdougall, but there
was an unusually large number of Legislative Coun-
cillors and M.P.P.'s from all parts of the surround-
ing country.
Chas. Magill, Esq., who was then Mayor of Ham-
ilton, presided, and the principal speech was made by
Attorney-General Macdonald. He confined himself
almost entirely to the questions of Confederation
and Reciprocity, but in answer to cries of " Brown !
Brown!" evidently from Conservatives present, he
288
IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT PASSES UNION ACT
was magnanimous enough to make the following
reference to his great antagonist :
" An allusion has been made to Mr. Brown, and it
may perhaps be as well for me to say, that whatever
may be the personal differences which may exist be-
tween that gentleman and myself, I believe he is a
sincere well-wisher and friend to Confederation. I
honestly and truly believe him to be so, and it would
be exceedingly wrong and dishonest in me, from
personal motives, to say anything to the contrary."
The Hon. William Macdougall, who was at this
period one of the most forcible and polished parlia-
mentary and platform speakers in Canada, was well
received by the banqueters. He evidently held the
ministerial gun which was shotted for Mr. Brown.
As a consequence, his clever speech was marred by
reflections upon his late leader which were not
relished by most of the Reformers present, and if
fitting at all, would have been more so at a strictly
party gathering. As a sign of the times, it may be
mentioned that the Hon. Matthew Crooks Cameron,
of Toronto, Dr. Parker, of Guelph, and other gen-
tlemen in public life, who formerly opposed Confed-
eration, took advantage of this banquet to announce
that they had at last decided to give their adherence
to the measure.
The final struggle over the Confederation of Brit-
ish America now shifted from this continent to the
British metropolis — the city of London.
Time and circumstances had rendered necessary
many amendments to the plan of Confederation as
19 289
-t.
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
drafted at the Quebec Conference. It was decided,
therefore, that delegates representing Canada, Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick should meet again in
Conference in London, to amend the Quebec resolu-
tions and prepare the Act to be submitted to the Im-
perial Parliament. The delegations were composed
as follows : Canada — Messrs. Macdonald, Cartier,
Gait, Rowland, Macdougall and Langevin; Nova
Scotia — Messrs. Tupper, Archibald, Henry, McCully
and Ritchie; and New Brunswick — Messrs. Tilley,
Mitchell, Wilmot, Johnson and Fisher.
Through some misunderstanding or change of plan
at Ottawa, the Maritime delegates sailed for Britain
on the 19th July, whilst those representing Canada
did not start until nearly four months afterwards.
This caused a tedious and annoying delay to the
Maritime delegates which all the courtesies extended
to them by London society did not fully relieve.
This important Conference finally assembled at
the Westminster Palace hotel on the 4th December.
The Hon. John A. Macdonald was unanimously
chosen chairman, and the delegates were assisted by
the Colonial Secretary, the Earl of Carnarvon, His
Excellency Lord Monck, and several of the law offi-
cers of the Crown. The body was an imposing one,
and that they were engaged in laying the foundations
of a new nationality was generally felt. There was
steady' work till near Christmas, but still a few
changes, additions and emendations remained for
final consideration. All the principal features of the
Quebec resolutions, however, remained without
much alteration. After transmitting the resolutions,
290
IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT PASSES UNION ACT
as far as amended, to the Imperial Government, the
Conference adjourned over the holidays.
Immediately on its reassembling, the Conference
and the law officers of the Crown began work on the
proposed British North America Act. It proved no
easy task. No less than seven amended drafts of the
bill were made before the Conference considered the
measure sufficiently perfect to submit to the House
of Commons, and some warm discussions and a few
troublesome " hitches " occurred before the final
stage was reached.
The chairman of the Conference, Mr. Macdonald,
was naturally its most influential member. He was
this by his abilities and experience as well as his
position, and his valuable work in assisting to frame
the new constitution has been universally recog-
nized. He was, however, naturally conservative in
his views, and more inclined to increase the powers
of the Crown than the rights of the people. Refer-
ence has already been made to his motion at the
Quebec Conference to set aside Canada's elective
Legislative Council (which he had himself placed on
the statute book) in favour of Senators nominated
by the Crown for life, and which, being also warmly
suDDorted by the Hon. George Brown,* was carried
without much difficulty.
* Mr. Brown frequently declared in private conversation his
position on the Senate question to be this : He was opposed to a
second elective chamber, as either being unnecessary or likely to
come into conflict with the more popular elective body. But if it
had been practicable he would have preferred the Federal Parlia-
ment to consist of a single chamber elected by the people as in
the case of the Ontario Legislature. Objection has been taken,
291
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
This feature of the proposed Confederation Act
was popular neither in Great Britain nor in Canada,
and opposition thereto was revived in the London
Conference. From the bald reports permitted to
appear it is evident there was opposition both to life
tenure and the limitation oi the number of Senators.
Sir William P. Rowland, who was at the London
Conference, informed me that both Mr. Macdougall
and he were opposed to nomination by the Crown
for life. We have already seen the Prince Edward
Islanders were against it, and doubtless there were
others who regarded this provision as a blemish on
the proposed new constitution.
Immediately after the Quebec Conference, the
Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, then Colonial Secre-
tary in the Palmerston Administration, in a despatch
to Lord Monck, dated the 3rd December, 1864,
generally approved of the Quebec resolutions, but
expressed the desire of the Imperial Government
that this feature of the proposed constitution should
be reconsidered. His words were : " It appears to
them to require further consideration whether, if the
members be appointed for life and their number be
fixed, there will be any sufficient means of restoring
harmony between the Legislative Council and the
popular Assembly, if it shall ever unfortunately
happen that a decided difference of opinion shall
and I think very properly, to both Mr. Macdonald and Mr. Brown's
action in this matter, on the ground that they reverted to the
Crown nominated system, after the people of Canada had long
agitated for and succeeded in getting an elective Legislative
Council, and that, too, without the people being granted any oppor-
tunity at the polls to express their opinions upon it.
292
IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT PASSES UNION ACT
arise between them." A few months before the
London Conference (June 28th, 1866), the Whigs
had given place to the Derby-DisraeH Administra-
tion, and the same objection was revived during the
later stages of the Conference by no less a person
than the new Colonial Secretary, the Earl of Car-
narvon. Although the Conservative secretary of a
Conservative Government, he evidently doubted the
wisdom in this democratic age of so retrograde a
step, and the Hon. John Bright not only voiced this
view when the bill came before the House of Com-
mons, but predicted some of the evils which have
since become manifest.
Lord Carnarvon's objections were almost iden-
tical with those of his predecessor, Mr. Cardwell,
and that there were discussions and differences on
this and other points appears certain from the
changes made in the different drafts of the bill when
before the Conference, which were as follows : In
the rough draft of the resolutions the clauses refer-
ring to the Upper House stood practically as decided
upon at the Quebec Conference; in the first draft of
the bill the tenure of the members' seats was changed
from life to ten years ; in the third draft, dated Feb-
ruary 2nd, 1867, the word " Senate " appears, the
power to appoint is vested in the Governor-General,
the limitation in the number of Senators is removed,
,but the term " for life " is restored. In the jfinal
draft the number of Senators (72) is restored; the
Queen by warrant under the Royal Sign Manual is
to summons the first 72, but " three or six mem-
bers," on recommendation of the Governor-General,
293
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
may on emergency be added, the number at no time
to exceed 78.
In the end, therefore, the Conference got back to
where it started, namely, the nomination of 72 Sena-
tors by the Crown for hfe, with the solitary new
provision, that the number might be increased to 78
if the Senate and House of Commons got into con-
flict which could only be settled in that way. This
provision was accepted as a sort of " safety valve,"
but would evidently prove quite inadequate in case
of any serious difficulty.
Lord Carnarvon and his colleagues doubtless felt
that on a question so essentially colonial it was
within their province to suggest but not to insist, and
the delegates in attendance at the Convention, who
represented the Governments of Canada, Nova Sco-
tia and New Brunswick, had probably gone too far
in their arrangements for the proposed Upper
Federal Chamber to retrace their steps. At any
rate, it is well known that life-Senatorships had
already been directly or indirectly promised, and it
is safe to say that most of the politicians who hoped
to take part in the future Government of Canada
were too alive to the power which this immense
patronage would place in their hands to think lightly
of giving it up. It therefore remained part of the
bill by a decided majority, as the people of Canada
have since had cause to regret.
The name which should be given to the united
provinces also gave rise to a pointed difference of
view. Mr. Macdonald desired the designation to be
" the Kingdom of Canada." He considered this
294
. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT PASSES UNION ACT
name would proclaim our connection with the British
monarchy, and would help to maintain the mon-
archial character of Canada as distinguished from
our Republican neighbors. In the third draft of the
bill the expression " Kingdom of Canada " appeared,
and in the fourth draft it still held its ground. But
it was unfavourably regarded by the Imperial Gov-
ernment, and the same may be said of the people of
the various provinces. When the proposed name,
" Kingdom of Canada," was cabled to the press of
Canada, it came as a surprise and was not regarded
favourably. In the later drafts of the bill this name
was erased, and in a letter written by Mr. Macdon-
ald to Lord Knutsford in England, dated River du
Loup, Canada, the i8th July, 1889 — twenty-two
years afterwards — he not only expressed the" regret
he still felt that this name was not adopted, but re-
flected upon Lord Monck and the Duke of Bucking-
ham, the latter of whom had succeeded Lord Carnar-
von at the Colonial Office, for not rising equal to the
occasion.*
It was the Earl of Derby, however, then Premier
and Foreign Secretary, and not the Duke of Buck-
* "His ill-omened resignation (Lord Carnarvon) was followed by
the appointment of the late Duke of Buckingham, who had as
his admirer the then Governor-General of Canada — Lord Monck
— both good men certainly, but quite unable from the constitution
of their minds to rise to the occasion. The Union was treated
by them much as if the B.N. A. Act were a private bill uniting two
or three English parishes. Had a different course been pursued
— for instance, had united Canada been declared to be an auxiliary
kingdom, as it was in the Canadian draft of the bill — I feel sure
(almost) that the Australian colonies would, ere this, have been
applying to be placed in the same rank as the ' Kingdom of
Canada.'" — Pope's "Life of Sir John Macdonald," Vol. I., page
303-
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
ingham, who objected most strongly to the name
" Kingdom of Canada." Mr. Macdonald made this
correction himself in a footnote to his letter referred
to, so there can be no uncertainty on that point.
Notwithstanding his strenuous efforts to have our
designation as a Kingdom retained, Lord Derby
finally decided against it as being not unlikely to
be considered offensive by the neighboring Repub-
lic, and it was, consequently, very properly and pru-
dently struck out. The name " Dominion of Can-
ada " was then decided upon,* and it is already dear
to every true Canadian at home or abroad.
The Conference was still busy revising the later
drafts of what was to become the British North
America Act, when the Imperial Parliament assem-
bled on the 5 th February, 1867. The measure was,
however, promised in the Speech from the Throne,
and was soon afterwards introduced into the House
of Commons, where, in consequence of the excite-
ment caused by the discussion of Disraeli's famous
Reform Bill, this great measure to found a new
nation, composed of one-half of the whole North
American continent, excited comparatively little de-
bate or attention!
Its principal opponent was the Hon. Joseph Howe,
of Nova Scotia. He had for some time been the bit-
ter assailant of Confederation, and by speeches,
pamphlets and canvassing sought to convince the
* To be exact, the provision made in the Act is: "That the
three Provinces heretofore known as Canada, Nova Scotia and
New Brunswick shall form and be one Dominion under the name
of Canada."
296
IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT PASSES UNION ACT.
Imperial Government and Parliament that the pro-
posed measure would inflict a gross injustice upon
the Maritime Provinces. The Hon. Dr. Tupper, his
old political opponent, M^as nothing loth to champion
the Union cause, and rendered it eminent service at
this time. A sort of political duel took place in Eng-
land between the two Nova Scotia gladiators, which
manifested much cleverness and versatility on both
sides.
Mr. Howe had had a very distinguished career
in Nova Scotia politics. He was at once a polished
writer and eloquent orator, and the energy and
enthusiasm he threw into his opposition to Confed-
eration enlisted the sympathy of Mr. John Bright
and a few other members of the House of Commons,
as well as a small section of the British press and
people.
His present hostile attitude to the union of British
North America was, however, totally inconsistent
with his previous record. Not long before he had
been the champion of such a measure. Proofs of
this abounded. In 1861, when Premier of Nova
Scotia, he had a resolution carried by the Legislature
which declared that " many advantages may be se-
cured by such a union of the colonies," and in 1863
he was still more pronounced. After an inspiring
lecture by Mr. D'Arcy McGee, in Halifax, during
the same year, he made a speech in which he declared
" he was for a union of all the British American
provinces," and on a still later public occasion
(1864), he spoke of it as " the dream of his child-
hood," and that " he was pleased to think that the
297
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
day was approaching when the provinces would be
united, with one flag over their heads, one thought
in their bosoms, with one sovereign and one consti-
tution."
These former utterances of Mr. Howe, and
numerous others which might be quoted, were too
forcible and eloquent to be forgotten, and greatly
weakened his energetic efforts to prevent the passage
of the Confederation bill. The great measure, there-
fore, passed the House of Commons and the House
of Lords almost unanimously, and on the 29th
March the Royal assent was given thereto.
Subsequently, an Act was also passed giving the
Imperial guarantee to a Canadian loan of £3,000,000
to construct the Intercolonial railway between Que-
bec and Halifax, and thus at last, after encountering
so many dangers and delays, all the measures neces-
sary for the Confederation of the Provinces of Onta-
rio, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, into
the Dominion of Canada, became law, and only
awaited the Queen's proclamation to go into effect.
The Royal proclamation for this purpose was
issued by Her Majesty from Windsor Castle, on the
22nd May, and it appointed the ist July, 1867, as
the date when the British North America Act should
come into force, and the new nation start upon its
untried but promising career.
298
CHAPTER XXV
PREMIER MACDONALD FORMS HIS CABINET
The colonial delegates returned to America natur-
ally elated over the success of Confederation. Their
mission had been sucessful, they had been received
with the greatest honour and hospitality during their
sojourn in Great Britain, and the close of the labours
of the Conference had been signalized by the holding
of a special Court at Windsor Castle by Queen
Victoria, at which the Hon. Messrs. Macdonald,
Cartier, Gait, Tupper and Tilley were graciously
received by Her Majesty, and their services in con-
nection with Confederation highly commended.
Lord Monck having rendered conspicuous services
in bringing about the union of British America, the
Imperial Government decided to appoint him the first
Governor-General of the Dominion of Canada. Soon
afterwards His Excellency informally made known
to the Hon. John A. Macdonald, that, having been
unanimously chosen and having acted as chairman
of the recent Conference, he had decided to entrust
him with the Premiership and the formation of the
first government of the new Dominion.
When Mr. Macdonald returned to Canada, early
in May, he found himself master of the situation,
and with patronage so vast at his disposal as to be
almost dazzling. There were thirteen Cabinet port-
299
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
folios, four lieutenant-governorships, seventy-two
life senatorships, and numerous permanent offices to
vi^hich early appointments were absolutely necessary.
He was, however, a Past Master in the use of pat-
ronage to promote his party purposes. He therefore
set about the work of preparation to start the
machinery of the new government in motion, con
aiiiorc, although the task was by no means easy, and
a man of less resource and experience might have
hesitated in view of the difficulties which lay in the
path before him.
Confederation having now been accomplished, and
the specific object attained for which the Coalition
Government was formed, the position to be taken
by the different political parties throughout the
Dominion became an exceedingly interesting one.
The Hon. Mr. Macdonald, as leader of the Con-
servative party, left no uncertainty as to the course
which he intended to pursue. His plans for the
future, and especially for the formation of the first
Dominion Cabinet, had been mapped out long before.
He took the ground, that with Confederation, Can-
ada was entering upon a new political existence, that
the old party questions and controversies were wiped
out, and that the principal men in the several pro-
vincial ministries who had been chiefly instrumental
in carrying Confederation, whether previously Con-
servatives or Reformers, should permanently unite
to form the first Dominion Government and carry
on the business of the country.
This was certainly good tactics from a Conserva-
tive point of view, as a purely Conservative admin-
300
PREMIER MACDONALD FORMS HIS CABINET
istration was at that time impracticable — it might
almost be said, impossible. This course, too, if suc-
cessful, would certainly divide and weaken for many-
years the Reform parties in the various provinces.
But it would continue and extend the coalition sys-
tem of government to the whole Dominion, and as
coalitions were no more popular in Canada than in
Great Britain, the foreshadowed programme imme-
diately raised a political issue sufficiently important
to become the gage of battle between contending
parties at the approaching general elections.
That the breach caused by the resignation of the
Hon. George Brown from the Government would
rapidly widen was inevitable. No one acquainted
with the circumstances expected anything else. He
fulfilled his pledge, however, to support the Confed-
eration measures submitted during the late session,
but on other questions, more particularly Mr. Gait's
financial projects, he was generally found opposing
the Administration. After the session closed his
opposition became more pronounced, and the winter
and spring of 1867 found him strongly condemning
and opposing the proposal to continue the Coalition
Government and extend it to the whole Dominion,
instead of returning to the well-understood prin-
ciples of party government as practised in the
Mother Country.
Briefly stated, Mr. Brown's position was as fol-
lows : He maintained that the Coalition between the
Hon. John A. Macdonald and himself had never
been justifiable except as a temporary expedient to
carry Confederation ; that there was a distinct under-
301
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
standing on both sides that it was to terminate as
soon as that great object was attained ; and that now,
when Confederation was accomplished, to continue
the Coalition and extend it to the new Dominion for
ordinary administrative purposes, was not only a
breach of the original compact, but a mere office-
holding device on the part of the Conservative leader,
which was certain to prove of an extravagant and
demoralizing character. The union of Conserva-
tives and Reformers merely to hold office he con-
sidered immoral, and therefore the best interests of
the new Dominion demanded that in forming its first
Cabinet there should be a return to party govern-
ment, which it was claimed experience both in
Britain and Canada had proven to be much the best
in the public interests.
The Reformers of Upper Canada generally dis-
liked coalitions, and fully agreed with their leader's
views on that point. It soon transpired, however,
that the party was not entirely united. The Hon.
Messrs. Howland, Macdougall and Blair, who were
in the Administration as representatives of the Re-
form party, not only did not share Mr. Brown's
opinions, but had, in fact, already consented as
Reformers to accept portfolios in the first Dominion
Cabinet soon to be formed.
When this became known it ocasioned much sur-
prise and regret throughout the Reform party, and, it
must be admitted, considerable indignation. These
gentlemen were supported, however, by a portion of
the Reform members then in Parliament, and by a
small but respectable section of the rank and file of
302
PREMIER MACDONALD FORMS HIS CABINET
their party. The overwhehning majority of the
Reformers of the Province, however, were strongly
opposed to their course, and had been too long and
too earnestly opposed to the measures and methods
of the Conservative leader and his party to favour
the continuance of the Coalition in any shape or
form.
The din of preparations for the first Dominion
elections now began to be heard in some ridings.
Several candidates, both Conservative and Reform,
had already taken the field, and in view of the new
and uncertain political situation the Hon. George
Brown, Hon. Wm. McMaster, Alex. Mackenzie,
M.P.P., John Macdonald, M.P.P., Arch. McKellar,
M.P.P., Edward Blake, O.C, and other leading
Reformers, deemed it advisable that a general con-
vention of the Reform party throughout the Pro-
vince should be held in Toronto at an early day.
The Executive Committee of the Reform Associa-
tion of Upper Canada promptly acted on their sug-
gestion. They sent private circulars to all Reform
members, candidates, editors, presidents, secretaries,
etc., asking their opinion as to the advisability of
holding the proposed gathering. The response was
almost universally favourable and enthusiastic, and
the Executive Committee thereupon issued their call
for a general convention of the Reformers of Upper
Canada to be held in the Music Hall (now the Public
Library), Toronto, on the 27th June.
The principal objects of the Convention were
stated to be :
303
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
" To re-unite all sections of the party, and to re-
joice over the great success that has attended their
past labours, and to adopt measures for securing the
correction of the abuses so long deplored by the Re-
form party, and for the diffusion of those sound
Reform principles into the daily administration of
public affairs — to secure which the constitutional
changes now achieved were so long and so earnestly
struggled for."
Turning now to Ottawa, there was unusual activ-
ity there during May and June, preparing for the
_^ new order of things.
Much was done by corres-
pondence, and with late
hours and hard work on
the part of the Civil Ser-
vice, the plans of the
embryo Premier of tlie
Dominion were sufficiently
advanced by the middle of
June to enable him to send
for the Hon. Messrs. Tup-
per and Archibald, of
Nova Scotia, and the Hon.
Messrs. Tilley and Mitch-
ell, of New Brunswick, to assist in completing the
arrangements.
These gentlemen arrived at the capital towards the
end of the month. Although they could not yet be
sworn in, their advice was taken as ministers de
facto, and an understanding was readily reached on
several important points. Among these may be
304
Hon. Leonard Tilley.
PREMIER MACDONALD FORMS HIS CABINET
mentioned the appointment of the first Lieutenant-
Governors of the four provinces, the selection of the
first Premiers of the Provincial Ministries, and the
fixing of the number of ministers to compose the
first Dominion Cabinet at thirteen — Ontario to have
five, Quebec four, and the Maritime Provinces two
each.
When Premier Macdonald, however, came to ar-
range which gentlemen should be his first colleagues,
an unpleasant difficulty arose. It afterwards became
known — although the veil of secrecy enshrouded it
for months — that something like a deadlock occur-
red and for a time threatened serious consequences.
It arose in this way. The French-Canadians num-
bering one-third of the population of the Dominion,
the Hon. Mr. Cartier claimed that they should be
represented by at least three members in the Cabinet.
The fourth seat having necessarily to go to a Quebec
Protestant. Mr. Gait, this arrangement would leave
Mr. D'Arcy McGee out in the cold. It was at the
same time considered absolutely necessary that the
Cabinet should contain one Irish Catholic represen-
tative, and a stiff problem thus arose, requiring
immediate solution.
Mr. Cartier refused point blank to budge from his
position, which was in truth not at all unreasonable,
and it having already been decided that the Ontario
section of the Cabinet should remain without change,
it appeared as if one of the proposed Maritime Pro-
vince ministers would have to be an Irish Roman
Catholic. Very naturally none of the four gentle-
20 305
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
men summoned from these provinces wished to
retire for this purpose, especially at the eleventh
hour, and a very difficult and delicate situation re-
sulted.
To overcome this difficulty, a strong effort was
made to have Lower Canada allotted an additional
minister, which would at once have secured Mr.
McGee's services and an Irish representative. But
the three Upper Canada Reform ministers insisted
on their province, in accordance with the principle of
representation by population, having one more repre-
sentative than Lower Canada, and if both provinces
received an additional minister the Cabinet would be
increased to fifteen members. This solution of the
difficulty failed, the Hon. Mr. Macdonald finally and
very properly deciding that he would not under any
circumstances increase the Cabinet beyond thirteen,
as originally agreed upon.
According to Pope's " Life of Sir John Macdon-
ald " (Vol. I., page 331), it was not until "Mr.
Macdonald was on the point of advising the Gov-
ernor-General to send for Mr. Brown," that this
unpleasant difficulty at the threshold of the new
Government was successfully overcome.
Mr. McGee finally withdrew his claim, and the
Hon. Dr. Tupper stood aside and allowed Mr. Ed-
ward Kenny, a prominent Irish Catholic of Halifax,
to be appointed in his place. It was generally con-
ceded that no one had stronger claims for a position
in the first Government of the Dominion than the
306
PREMIER MACDONALD FORMS HIS CABINET
sturdy Nova Scotian, but the unmistakably bitter
feeling in his province at that time against the Union
and his party doubtless contributed to induce him
to temporarily waive his claim for official recogni-
tion.
307
CHAPTER XXVI
THE REFORM PARTY DECLARES FOR PARTY
GOVERNMENT
Whilst these circumstances were occurring at
Ottawa, in preparation for the inauguration of Con-
federation, the day came round for the general Con-
vention of the Reformers of Upper Canada. It
proved to be an unusually large and influential
assemblage. It surpassed the notable convention of
1859, and in fact any other political gathering of a
similar kind ever held in the Province up to that
time. The delegates who attended represented all
sections of the Province and all classes of the people.
Having been present at every provincial convention
held by the Reform party since 1853, I am in a posi-
tion to say that this was one of the most conspicu-
ously successful, and that for influential attendance,
earnestness of purpose, and hearty enthusiasm, it
has never been excelled by any of the much larger
gatherings which have since taken place.
When the Convention was called to order at two
o'clock, William Patrick, Esq., of Prescott, was
chosen chairman, and Mr. James D. Edgar and Mr.
Samuel Spreull, Toronto, joint secretaries.
The list of delegates in attendance who were emi-
nent, or afterwards became so, is somewhat remark-
able. Among the more conspicuous names were the
308
REFORM PARTY FOR PARTY GOVERNMENT
following : Hon. George Brown, Hon. David Chris-
tie. Alex. Mackenzie, M.P.P., Edward Blake, Q.C.,
Hon. J. G. Currie, Archd. McKellar, M.P.P., Hon.
W. McCrae, ^milius Irving, Q.C., Charles McGill,
M.P.P., T. B. Pardee, O.C, Hon. Wm. McMaster,
Christopher F. Fraser, John Macdonald, M.P.P.,
Adam Crooks, Q.C., Joseph Rymal, M.P.P., Henry
S. Howland, Thomas Hodgins, Q.C., A. S. Hardy,
J. P. Wells, M.P.P., John White, M.P.P., Hon. John
McMurrich, Kenneth Mackenzie, Q.C., Colin Mac-
dougall, David Stirton, M.P.P., B. M. Britton,
Henry Monro, M.P.P., David Thompson, M.P.P.,
Hon. D. McDonald, Joseph Gould, ex-M.P.P., John
Bell, Q.C., James D. Edgar, Amos Wright, M.P.P.,
William Eccles, A. M. Smith, M.P.P., David Blain,
James Cowan, M.P.P., James Lesslie, L. Burwell,
M.P.P., Thomas Bain, Dr. Fraser, ex-M.P.P., and
Warren Rock. There were several other members
of Parliament present and still more delegates who
afterwards attained to that distinction.*
The proceedings of this important Convention,
which throw so much light on the state of public
affairs in Canada at that time, deserve more than the
brief outline which can be given to them here.
* The intense interest taken in public affairs throughout Upper
Canada before and at the time of Confederation is strikingly
attested by the number, influence and respectability of the dele-
gates who attended this Convention, representing so largely as
they did the agricultural, commercial, mechanical and professional
interests of the Province, and it has been deemed interesting and
fitting to compile and publish the names of all who registered with
the secretaries on the occasion. They may be found, alphabetically
arranged, in Appendix VI.
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
The three largest committees were on Credentials,
Arrangements and Resolutions. The latter was the
most important, and the Hon. George Brown, its
chairman, reported for consideration fourteen reso-
lutions on the state of political affairs then existing.
The principal of these may be summarized as fol-
lows :
1. Declared the meeting's gratification at the tri-
umphant success of the Reform party's long agita-
tion for Representation by Population and control of
our own local affairs, and claimed the gratitude of
the people of Upper Canada for peacefully achieving
constitutional changes seldom attained in other coun-
tries without sad scenes of armed revolution; pro-
posed by Mr. Edward Blake, Q.C., Toronto, sec-
onded by Mr. ^milius Irving, barrister, Hamilton.
2. Declared that whilst the new Federal Constitu-
tion was not without defects, it was joyfully recog-
nized as removing the barriers which had heretofore
stood in the way of the good government of the
provinces, and the Convention heartily accepted the
new Constitution and pledged itself to work it loyally
and patiently; proposed by Hon. George Brown,
seconded by Hon. J. G. Currie, M.P.P., St. Cathar-
ines, and also spoken to by Mr. David Wyllie, editor,
Brockville.
3. Declared that during the long and earnest
struggle of the Reform party for Representation by
Population and other reforms, they were only re-
garded as the means of securing good and efficient
government, and putting an end to the reckless mis-
rule which had entailed on the country a " heavy
310
REFORM PARTY FOR PARTY GOVERNMENT
public debt, burdensome taxation, great political
abuses and universal dissatisfaction " ; proposed by
Mr. David Stirton, M.P.P., Guelph, seconded by
Mr. John Macdonald, M.P.P., Toronto, and spoken
to by Mr. Christopher F. Fraser, Brockville.
4. Declared against coalition governments for
ordinary administrative purposes, as inevitably re-
sulting in abandonment of principle, the lowering of
public morality, lavish public expenditure and wide-
spread corruption ; proposed by Mr. John McKeown,
barrister, Hamilton, seconded by Mr. James Young,
editor, Gait.
5. Declared that the Convention fully recognized
the grave responsibility resting upon the Reform
party to use its increased influence under the new
Constitution, to sweep away the abuses under which
the country had so long laboured, and vigorously
and promptly carry into effect the numerous reforms
in the practical administration of public affairs which
they had so long advocated ; proposed by Mr. Adam
Crooks, Q.C., Toronto, seconded by Mr. T. B.
Pardee, Q.C., Sarnia.
6. Declared that the sepi^ration of Church and
State, now and ever, is one of the fundamental
principles of the Reform part} that the Convention
heartily rejoiced that the new Constitution swept
from the Federal arena questioni* of a sectional and
sectarian character, and that the Protestant electors
of Upper Canada would have the opportunity of
showing their Roman Catholic fellow-subjects that
generous consideration which a minority ought ever
to receive in all free countries at the hands of a
311
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
largely preponderating majority; proposed by Mr,
Kenneth Mackenzie, Q.C., Toronto, seconded by Mr.
David McCulloch, Hamilton, and supported by
Messrs. George S. Wilkes, Brantford; H. D. Smith,
North Leeds; Daniel Cotteril, Esquesing; Donald
Sinclair, North Bruce, and M. O'Hanly, Ottawa.
7. Declared that it was the duty and desire of the
Canadian people to cultivate the most friendly rela-
tions with the neighbouring people of the United
States, and whilst looking diligently around for new
and profitable markets for the Dominion, to meet
frankly and cordially any overtures from the Wash-
ington Government for a new treaty of commercial
reciprocity between Canada and the Republic, ex-
tending over a fixed term of years, based on equit-
able principles and consistent with the honour of
both countries ; proposed by Mr. John Smith, Hamil-
ton, seconded by Mr. Colin Macdougall, barrister,
St. Thomas.
8. Declared the Convention's great satisfaction
that the people of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
were hereafter to be united with the people of
Canada under one Government and Legislature,
" because it will be remembered that the same long
battle for popular rights and social and material pro-
gress was fought and won in these Provinces, as in
Canada, by Reform statesmen, against the bitter op-
position and hostility of the Tory party," and hoped
that Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and
British Columbia would soon form part of the
Dominion ; proposed by Mr. Thomas Hodgins, Q.C.,
Toronto, seconded by Dr. Bull, West York.
312
REFORM PARTY FOR PARTY GOVERNMENT
9 to 15. Declared for the opening up and settle-
ment of the great North-West Territories, thanks to
the Liberals of Lower Canada for aid received from
them in days of trial, for the encouragement of min-
ing operations and of immigration, the enforcement
of economy, and several other desirable reforms ; the
movers and seconders of these resolutions were :
Messrs. Joseph Rymal, M.P.P., Barton; Warren
Rock, barrister, London; Hon. J. G. Currie, St.
Catharines; B. M. Britton, barrister, Kingston;
Peter Moyer, editor, Waterloo; Dr. Fraser, ex-
M.P.P., Monck; Dr. McGill, South Ontario; E.
Jackson, editor, Newmarket; A. McKellar, M.P.P.,
Kent; R. M. Rose, Kingston; Wm. Eccles, barrister,
St. Catharines; Mr. Radcliffe, South Ontario;
Robert Dalgleish, South Grey, and Malcolm Camp-
bell, West Middlesex.
The fourth resolution, which condemned coalition
governments and upheld the party system, proved
to be the supreme issue before the Convention. This
was rendered the more inevitable by the fact that the
Hon. William P. Howland and the Hon. William
Macdougall, who had agreed to join the new Domin-
ion Coalition Ministry, were then in Toronto, had
been asked to attend the Convention, and had con-
sented to be present on the evening of the first day.
No anxiety was felt by the party managers as to
the attitude which the hundreds of conventionists
would take on the Coalition question. Public feeling-
ran too high, and the delegates were too pronounced
in their views, for any doubt to exist on that point.
But the promised appearance of these two ministers
313
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
of the Crown, before what was well known to be a
hostile convention of the party they had heretofore
represented, created widespread and unusual inter-
est. A lively battle between them and Messrs.
Brown, Mackenzie and other leading Reformers was
inevitable, and as they entered the Convention and
were assigned seats on the platform, the scene and
the excitement which arose would require a more
eloquent pen than mine to adequately describe.
The question, " Party Government vs. Coali-
tions," quickly became the storm centre of discus-
sion. The speeches on nearly all the motions seemed
to revolve around it, and it became the principal
issue dividing the Reform and Conservative parties
at the general elections which followed. The resolu-
tion on the subject was in the following terms:
" Resolved: That coalitions of opposing political
parties for ordinary administrative purposes inevita-
bly result in the abandonment of principle by one or
both of the parties to the compact, the lowering of
public morality, lavish public expenditure and wide-
spread corruption; that the Coalition of 1864 could
only be justified on the ground of imperious neces-
sity, as the only available mode of obtaining just
representation for the people of Upper Canada, and
on the ground that the compact then made was for
a specific purpose and for a stipulated pferiod, and
was to come to an end as soon as the measure was
attained; and while this Convention is thoroughly
satisfied that the Reform party has acted in the best
interests of the country by sustaining the Govern-
ment until the Confederation measure was secured,
314
REFORM PARTY FOR PARTY GOVERNMENT
it deems it an imperative duty to declare that the
temporary alHance between the Reform and Con-
servative parties should now cease, and that no
Government will be satisfactory to the people of
Upper jCanada which is formed and maintained by
a coalition of public men holding opposite political
principles."
Mr. Rowland was the first of the two ministers
called upon to speak. He was respectfully received.
In the course of his remarks he frankly admitted that
the compact of the Coalition of 1864 was at an end.
He moderately but firmly maintained, however, that
Mr. Macdougall and he were justified in acting with
Mr. Tilley and other Reformers of the Maritime
Provinces in aiding the Hon. John A. Macdonald in
forming the first Government of the Dominion and
setting the machinery of the new Constitution in
motion, leaving party movements aside until ques-
tions arose on which they might dififer. This posi-
tion he supported by various arguments, presented in
a calm, forcible manner, but which evidently did not
satisfy the Convention, and occasionally elicited
marks of disapproval.
The speech of Mr. Macdougall in vindication of
his course in agreeing to join the new Coalition Ad-
ministration was a notable one. It was gracefully
delivered — able, clear, fearless, defiant. He denied
that coalitions were immoral, contended that the
work of the existing one was not yet completed, and
assailed Mr. Brown's course right and left, rather
caustically representing him as " having taken to the
315
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
jolly-boat, leaving to his colleagues the task of
getting the ship and its cargo safely into port." He
maintained that the Toryism and Reform of the past
were buried, that politically the Dominion was
beginning with a tabula rasa — " a clean slate " — and
there were no good reasons why Reformers and
Conservatives should not act together in setting the
new constitutional machine in motion, and even
working it after it had been started.
This was in substance Mr. Macdougall's line of
argument. Unlike the speech of his colleague, it
was decidedly aggressive and defiant, and, very
naturally in so large and hostile a convention, evoked
frequent and loud expressions of disapprobation
during its delivery and on the speaker resuming his
seat.
It was now midnight, and although the Conven-
tion had been, with one adjournment, continuously
in session since two o'clock, Mr. Brown immediately
arose and replied to the speeches of his two former
colleagues, taking up their principal arguments and
answering them one by one. He was more argu-
mentative and moderate than during the powerful
and exciting address he had delivered earlier in the
evening. Both were highly characteristic, however,
one passage in his first speech, although rather in-
flated in language, being memorable on account of
the enthusiasm to which it aroused the Convention,
and the light it threw upon the attitude of the
Reform party and its leader at that trying time.
At this point in his speech, evidently impelled by
a svidden inspiration, Mr. Brown advanced across
316
REFORM PARTY FOR PARTY GOVERNMENT
the platform near to where Messrs. Rowland and
Macdougall were seated, and with head erect, eyes
sparkling, and his long arms outstretched, burst
forth in the following impassioned strain :
"After such a victory as this, which the great
Reform party have accomplished — talk to me and
to my friends, Mr. Mackenzie, Mr. McKellar, Mr.
Stirton, Mr. Gould, Mr. White, Mr. Rymal, and
many others whom I see around me — tell us that we
are now to condescend — (great and repeated cheers)
— tell me that we are to condescend at this day, when
we stand before our country claiming credit for one
of the noblest records public men could display
before a country — that we are now to go down upon
our knees to Mr. John A. Macdonald! (Great
cheering.) Tell me we are to cast reproach upon
everything we have been doing for the last fifteen
years — that it may be said the whole thing we
wanted was office, because no sooner did we accom-
plish this great boon for our country than we were
prepared to make terms with the enemy and go into
a Coalition Administration ! (Cheers.) A gentle-
man told you I have called this meeting in order that
I might be made the head of the Reform party. If,
sir, there is any large number of men in this assem-
bly who will record their votes this night in favour
of the degradation of the public men of that party
by joining a coalition, I neither want to be a leader
nor a humble member of that party. (Cheers.) If
that is the reward you intend to give us for all our
services, I scorn connection with you. (Immense
cheering.) Go into the same Government with Mr.
John A. Macdonald! (Cries of 'Never! never!')
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
Sir, I understood what degradation it was to be com-
pelled to adopt that step by the necessities of the
case, by the feeh'ng that the interests of my country
were at stake, which alone induced me ever to put
my foot in that Government, and glad was I when I
got out of it. None ever went into a Govern-
ment with such sore hearts as did two out of
the three who entered it on behalf of the Re-
form party — I cannot speak for the third. It
was the happiest day of my life when I got
out of the concern. (Cheers.) But tell me that,
after we have gained the end, when we have
bought it from our opponents by giving them three
years of office — that we shall now renew that hateful
compact, and put John A. Macdonald at the head cf
the Government ! And these gentlemen are to come
in as followers— his meek followers! (Cheers.)
If that is to be the position, gentlemen, blot out your
resolutions and throw your record in the fire, before
you let the Reform party take the contemptible posi-
tion which this course would reduce it lo." (Loud
cheers, and cries of "Never! never!")
One o'clock had struck before Mr. Brown con-
cluded his reply to the two Cabinet ministers, but so
great was the interest and enthusiasm that the Music
Hall remained packed until that late hour, and the
applause which greeted his remarks clearly indicated
that the Convention was overwhelmingly opposed to
any further coalition of the Reform and Conserva-
tive parties in forming the first or any other Govern-
ment of the Dominion or Provinces.
318
REFORM PARTY FOR PARTY GOVERNMENT
The proceedings of the second day of the Conven-
tion were opened by Mr. Alex. Mackenzie, M.P.P.,
who very ably and logically discussed the whole poli-
tical situation, and specially criticised the course of
Mr. Macdougall, whom he accused of deserting his
party for office and its emoluments. This speech
was one of the most effective made during the Con-
vention, and was quite a revelation to many of those
present as to Mr. Mackenzie's cleverness and skill as
a debater.
Several other speeches quickly followed, during
which two amendments to the main motion were
moved, one by Mr. A. Diamond, Belleville, and the
other by Mr. John Idington, Stratford, to make the
resolution against coalitions still stronger — indeed,
condemnatory of all such governments. But after a
full and free discussion these amendments were
finally withdrawn, and when the main motion was
put by the chairman, the Convention rose almost en
masse, the result being hailed with enthusiastic and
tumultuous cheering. Only three or four hands
were held up against the motion.
Towards the close of the Convention a memorable
incident occurred. It was in relation to the leader-
ship of the party. Since Confederation had been
carried, Mr. Brown had at various times, and again
during this Convention, intimated a desire to retire
from Parliament and devote his time entirely to his
newspaper and personal affairs. Opinions differed
as to whether he really desired to give up the leader-
ship at this time, or took this course in order to give
the Reform party in convention assembled carte
319
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
blanche to deal with that important question as they
considered best. However this may have been, there
was no uncertainty as to the opinion of the delegates,
as the incident about to be narrated proves.
During Mr. Brown's temporary absence from the
chamber, the Hon. J. G. Currie, of St. Catharines,
brought up the subject of the leadership of the
party, and concluded by moving the following
resolution :
" That this Convention cannot separate without
expressing to the Hon. George Brown the gratitude
of the Reform party, of which he has been so long
the able leader, for his services to the people of
Canada, and also the earnest hope that he will re-
consider his intention of retiring from parliamentary
life, and accept a position in the Legislature of the
country."
This motion was carried by acclamation — the
members of the Convention rising to their feet in a
body, and when it was afterwards read to Mr.
Brown by the chairman, arnidst vociferous cheering,
that gentleman was completely overcome. One
writer states that he hastily retired to an ante-room
for a few minutes, in a vain endeavour to conceal
his emotion. What is certain is that he was quite
unable to reply for several minutes, and when he did
recover his self-control, it was under deep emotion
that he thanked the Convention for their resolution,
which he declared he regarded above all the testi-
monials he had received during his life.
320
REFORM PARTY FOR PARTY GOVERNMENT
As to whether he would stand again for Parlia-
ment he did not positively say. " I had looked for-
ward/' he said, " to the triumph of Representation
by Population as the day of my emancipation from
parliamentary life, and now that it has come I
resolved to take advantage of it. But I am free to
admit that what has now taken place, the announce-
ment of the new Coalition — this secession from our
party — somewhat alters the case. (Great cheering.)
Where work is to be done for the Reformers of
Canada, and the people of Canada, I shall not shrink
from it. (Cheers.)" He promised he would con-
sult the Reform members and new candidates, that
if they considered his further services for a short
time in Parliament would be of use to the Reform
party, he would not refuse ; although, as it would be
absolutely impossible for him to assume any official
position, he was not clear that it would not be better
for him to retire at once.
This episode was, in accordance with the political
customs of the time, seized hold of and mercilessly
satirized by the Conservative press, some of whom
declared it to be a mere bit of hypocritical stage-play.
There is no reason to doubt, however, that it was
natural enough.
No man had made greater sacrifices for the Re-
form party and the rights of Upper Canada than Mr.
Brown. No man had been more unmercifully
assailed and unjustly traduced. Nor was any man
ever prouder of being accounted the faithful cham-
pion of the people's rights. And after long years of
hard labour, pecuniary sacrifice and systematic con-
21 321
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
tumely — not to speak of occasional discouragements
from a few of his own party colleagues — that this
large, representative Convention of the Reformers of
Upper Canada should not only express their grati-
tude for his able leadership and services to the people
of Canada, but request his continuance as leader in
Parliament, was a compliment which would have
touched the heart of a man of much less frank,
generous and impressionable nature.
The labours of this memorable Convention closed
on the night of the second day. Mr. Mackenzie,
O.C., in moving the usual closing votes, rather aptly
said of the gathering : " It was the finest sight he had
ever seen, and was composed of the best mechanics,
the best farmers, the best merchants, the best
editors and the best lawyers in the country." This
sally produced much laughter, and after rounds of
cheers for the Dominion of Canada, Mr. Brown,
and Her Majesty the Queen, the delegates dispersed,
brimful of enthusiasm for the general elections
which were then supposed to be very close at hand.
32?
CHAPTER XXVII
THE NATION'S BIRTHDAY
The birthday of the Dominion of Canada — the
1st July, 1867 — was ushered in amidst somewhat
mingled feelings.
The attitude towards the Federation of the four
provinces united on that historical morning may be
described as follows : Ontario was jubilant, Quebec
satisfied, New Brunswick, divided, and Nova Scotia
hostile and bitter. The general feeling of the masses
of the people was, however, that Confederation
would prove a blessing to British America — that we
were truly laying the foundations of a new nation-
ality, and that the Union would usher in an enlarged
and brighter era. Although not universally, the
natal day of the Dominion was generally observed as
a public holiday, and in many cases honoured with
public and private rejoicings.
The inauguration proceedings took place mainly
in the Executive Council Chamber of the magnificent
Parliament Buildings at Ottawa, and were of a very
simple and unostentatious character.
The installation of His Excellency Lord Monck
as Governor-General of the Dominion of Canada
was the primary proceeding. The Hon. W. H.
Draper, C.B., Chief Justice of Ontario, administered
the oath of office.
323
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
Immediately after being sworn in, His Excellency
performed his first act as Governor-General by
carrying out the commands of Her Majesty Queen
Victoria, as conveyed to him by the Colonial Secre-
tary, to distribute certain royal honours to mark the
auspicious occasion. He then conferred the title
of Knight Commander of the Bath on the Hon.
John A. Macdonald, and of Companion of the Bath
upon the Hon. Messrs. Cartier, Gait, Macdougall,
Howland, Tilley and Tup-
per, for the distinguished
services they had rendered
in bringing the policy of
Confederation to a suc-
cessful issue.
Then Sir John A. Mac-
donald, K.C.B., accom-
panied by all his col-
leagues, except the Hon.
Edward Kenny, of Nova
Scotia, who had not yet
arrived, appeared before
His Excellency the Gov-
ernor-General, and were sworn into office as mem-
bers of the first Privy Council and of the first Gov-
ernment of the Dominion of Canada. The names
of these gentlemen and the portfolios they were
appointed to were as follows :
Sir John A. Macdonald, K.C.B., Premier and
Minister of Justice; Hon. Geo. E. Cartier, C.B.,
Minister of Militia and Defence; Hon. Samuel L.
Tilley, C.B., Minister of Customs; Hon. Alex. T,
324
Lord Monck.
THE nation's birthday
Gait, C.B., Minister of Finance; Hon. Wm. Mac-
dougall, C.B., Minister of Public Works; Hon. Wm.
P. Howland, C.B., Minister of Inland Revenue;
Hon. A. J. Fergusson Blair, President of the Privy
Council; Hon. Peter Mitchell, Minister of Marine
and Fisheries; Hon. Alex. Campbell, Postmaster-
General; Hon. Jean C. Chapais, Minister of Agri-
culture ; the Hon. Hector L. Langevin, Secretary of
State for Canada; Hon. A. G. Archibald, Secretary
of State for the Provinces; and the Hon. Edward
Kenny, Receiver-General. The latter gentleman
was sworn in on the 4th July.
Thus was born the Canadian nation ! Quietly and
modestly, its sky not altogether free from clouds on
its natal morn, but with immense resources and
possibilities !
Few Canadians, not even all the statesmen who
are deservedly known as the " Fathers of Confedera-
tion,"* then realized the greatness of the work which
* It is sad to reflect, that of the thirty-three grand men who
composed the Quebec Conference of 1865, and who are justly
regarded as the Founders of Canada, only seven lived to see
its 35th birthday — the ist of July, 1902. Their names are as
follows: Hon. Sir Oliver Mowat, G.C.M.G., born July 20th, 1820;
Hon. Sir Charles Tupper, Bart., G.C.M.G., C.B., born July 2nd,
1821 ; Hon. Wm. Macdougall, C.B., born January 2sth, 1822; Hon.
R. B. Dickey, K.C., Senator, born November loth, 181 1 ; Hon. A.
A. McDonald, Senator, born February 14th, 1829; Hon. Sir
Ambrose Shea, K.C.M.G. (Newfoundland), born 1818; Hon. Sir
Hector Langevin, K.C.M.G., C.B., born August 25th, 1826. The
Hon. Sir W. P Howland, K.C.M.G., and the Hon. John W. Ritchie
(N.S.), having been members of the last Confederation Confer-
ence, held in London, in December, 1866, though not at the Char-
lottetown or Quebec Conference, it is claimed they should be
included among the " Fathers of Confederation." This would
make the number of Canada's founders thirty-five instead of
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
was accomplished and involved in the union of
British America on that ever-memorable morning.
But now that the grand project may be said to be
complete, what a vista dazzles the imagination
when its immense area and almost boundless natural
resources are thoughtfully considered !
Canada has for over a quarter of a century em-
braced all British North America, save Newfound-
land. Its area is no less than 3,519,000 square miles,
close upon one-half of the whole North American
continent. It is larger by 469,000 square miles than
the United States without Alaska, forty times the
size of Great Britain and double that of France,
Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Norway, Sweden,
Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland and Turkey-in-
Europe, all combined! Its climate, if we except the
extreme north, is healthful and invigorating, and,
with possibly one exception, its natural resources are
the richest, most varied and inexhaustible of any
land on the face of the globe.
Besides the extensive wheat areas of Ontario and
the Eastern Provinces, it possesses in the great
North- West prairies the largest and most fertile un-
developed wheat zone known to exist ; its vast forests
stand unrivalled for extent, value and beauty; its
deep-sea and inland fisheries are admittedly the
best in the world; and its mines of gold, silver, iron,
nickel, copper and coal contain fabulous wealth
awaiting development. Its mercantile marine is
thirty-three. Sir William Howland was born May 29th, 1811,
and still resides in Toronto. Some interesting particulars about
the deceased Founders of Canada may be found in Appendix VII.
326
THE nation's birthday
larger than those of Italy, France, the Netherlands,
Turkey or Spain — is surpassed, in fact, by only four
or five of the larger sea powers — and its 5,388,000
of hardy, energetic, intelligent Canadians have
already established commerce with foreign countries
to the value of $414,500,000 per annum, or nearly
^77 per head of the entire population.*
Such is the Dominion of Canada — without
exaggeration, a young giant in size and resources.
Even to the present time, however, many Canadians
have not risen to a full realization of its magnitude
and possibilities, and it is not surprising, therefore,
that on the first Dominion Day, with the noise and
tumult of old political struggles still ringing in their
ears, few then looked much beyond the moment.
Its responsibilities and difficulties helped to shut out
the bright vision of the future. But as time slowly
passes on, it will be more clearly seen that on the
ist July, 1867, were laid the foundations of a
second great power on the North American conti-
nent, one possessing such immense developed and
undeveloped resources in lands, forests, mines.
* According to an estimate made up from the census returns just
before Confederation, the population in 1865 of the two Canadas,
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and New-
foundland was 3,787,750, and the total trade of the first four
provinces mentioned above for the last year before Confederation,
which ended on the 30th June, i866, was only of the value of
$147,222,275. The great progress made since that time will be
understood by the following official statement (unrevised) from
the Statistical Bureau, Ottawa, of the trade and population of
the Dominion at the present time : Total imports and exports of
Canada for the twelve months ending on the 30th of June, 1902,
$414,517,318; estimated population to the 30th of June, 1902,
5,388,017; amount per head of our foreign trade, $76.93.
PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA
fisheries, shipping, manufactures, railways, canals,
banks and other sources of wealth, that with wise
statesmanship and just laws, a wide rein may be
given to the imagination without exhausting
Canada's possibilities as a nation before the present
century closes.*
This concludes the story of the foundation of our
great Canadian Confederation, and makes a fitting
termination to the present volume.
I have dwelt upon it lovingly and at length, for it
must long remain the greatest event in Canadian
history, and as the wheels of time revolve, all the re-
markable circumstances which led up to its forma-
tion will grow in importance and deepen and widen
in interest.
It is especially desirable that the lessons to be
drawn from the long conflict between Upper and
Lower Canada, the dangerous racial and religious
strife which brought their union to a deadlock, the
* " Hitherto, in common with the rest of my countrymen, I
suppose, I have thought Canada, or to speak more accurately,
British America, a mere strip lying north of the United States,
easily detached from the parent state, but incapable of sustaining
itself, and therefore, ultimately, nay, right soon, to be taken on
by the Federal Union, without materially changing or affecting its
own development. I have dropped this opinion as a national con-
ceit. I see in British America, stretching as it does across the
continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and occupying a belt
of the Temperate Zone, a region grand enough for the seat ot a
great empire — in its wheat-fields in the West, its invaluable
fisheries, and its mineral wealth. I find its inhabitants vigorous,
hardy, energetic, and protected by British constitutional liberty.
Southern political stars must set, though many times they rise
again with diminished beauty, but those which illumine the Pole
remain forever shining, forever increasing in splendour." — Hon.
William H. Seward, when Secretary of State in Lincoln's Ad-
ministration.
328
THE NATION S BIRTHDAY
long and disinterested struggle of the Reformers of
Upper Canada for Representation by Population
and other constitutional reforms, which finally led to
the remarkable but patriotic union of the Hon.
George Brown and the Hon. John A. Macdonald to
carry Confederation, should never be forgotten by
Canadians.
In the remembrance of the difficulties and dangers
of the past, of the enlightened statesmanship which
surmounted them and led us upward and onward
to Confederation, we have, fortunately, many bea-
con lights to assist us in the noble task of guiding
our young Nation off those treacherous rocks and
shoals which would retard, and might possibly des-
troy, the realization of the grand destiny which
beckons us onward.
The End.
329
APPENDIX I
Speech of the Hon. George Brown on June 22nd, 1864,
WHEN THE Coalition Government was Announced
TO Parliament.
[Abbreviated.]
Hon. George Brown then arose, evidently labouring under
the deepest emotion, which for a time almost choked his utter-
ance. He said: Did I conceal from the House that I feel in
all its force the painful position I now occupy, I should be
deceiving hon. members. For ten years I have stood opposed
to the hon. gentlemen opposite in the most hostile manner it is
possible to conceive of public men arrayed against each other
in the political arena. I am well aware that in dealing with
Ministerial coalitions I have used language and spoken in
tones such as would forbid my standing in the position I
occupy to-day with any hope of justifying myself before the
country had the agreement you have just heard read been
signed under the conditions usually attached to political alli-
ances. I do not conceal from myself how directly exposed I
am to the suspicion that what I do this day I have done from
personal motives, from a desire to raise my position in the
country. (Cries of " No, no," from all sides of the House.)
I am free to confess that, had the circumstances in which we
are now placed been one whit less important, less serious,
less threatening than they are, I could not have approached
hon. gentlemen opposite, even with a view to these negotia-
tions. But I think the House will admit that, if a crisis has
ever arisen in the political affairs of any country which would
just justify such a coalition as has taken place, such a crisis
has arrived in the history of Canada. (Hear, hear.) It is
well known that for many years I have held that, in conse-
quence of the sectional difficulties between Upper and Lower
Canada, it was absolutely impossible that the Government of
this country could be carried on with peace, harmony and use-
fulness — that there was but one way of obtaining good govern-
ment and legislation for this country, and that was by such a
step as has been proposed by gentlemen opposite and to which
I have acceded. . . . We have two races, two languages,
331
APPENDIX I
two systems of religious belief, two sets of laws, two systems
of everything, so that it has been almost impossible that, with-
out sacrificing their principles, the public men of both sections
could come together in the same Government. The difficulties
have gone on increasing every year. The larger countries in the
west have continued to increase in population, until now Upper
Canada has 400,000 souls unrepresented in this Legislature,
and pays an enormous proportion of the taxation, and yet we
have but an equality of representation with Lower Canada.
But from the first day I took my position in this House on the
subject — and my hon. friend from Kamouraska (Mr. Chapais)
will bear witness to the fact — while I have always claimed for
my own section a just share of representation, I still conceded
that the feelings of Lower Canada must be consulted, and I
declared that I was prepared to go with gentlemen from Lower
Canada into an honest and fair consideration of all the
remedies that could be proposed, and endeavour to find a basis
just and equal for both sections. (Hear, hear.) That day
which I have long expected has now arrived, and I think had
I not listened to the approaches made by gentlemen opposite I
would have shown that I was one of the vilest hypocrites that
ever entered public life. Mr. Speaker, I have already said
that it was not without great pain that I listened to the
approaches made by gentlemen opposite. For many years
I have been connected with a body of gentlemen from Lower
Canada whom I had learned warmly to esteem — gentlemen
who stood by me in times of great difficulty, and whose kind-
ness and friendship I hope never to forget. It is most painful
to rend, aye, even to weaken the bonds which have bound me
to these gentlemen; but, Mr. Speaker, party alliances are one
thing and the interests of my country are another. (Enthusi-
astic cheering.) For my hon. friend from Hochelaga (Mr.
Dorion), and my hon. friend from Chateauguay (Mr. Holton)
I have no terms to express the personal attachment that exists
between us, and deeply would I regret were our warm friend-
ship to be diminished from the occurrences of this day. . . .
And my hon. friends will do me the justice to say that, when
the invitation to enter on the discussions that have resulted as
we have seen this evening, was first addressed to me, I took
the earliest opportunity of finding out whether even then I
could hope to receive assistance from my hon. friends. I went
to them as old friends, telling them what I proposed to do,
and asked their co-operation in the movement, but without
success. I think, at all events, they must feel that in taking
the course I have taken I have done nothing to sever those
bonds of personal friendship which have so long existed
between us.
332
APPENDIX I
Mr. Hoi^TON — Hear, hear.
Mr. Brown — . . . When we look at the long record of
able public men who have been sacrificed by the system under
which we have been governed ; when we look back on the dis-
cords and agitations of the last ten years. I do say, that if by
any means we can find a solution of the difficulties, every man
who has the slightest stake in the country will have cause to be
grateful to those who accomplish it. (Cheers.) Can they
fancy that it is to gain anything personal any of us have taken
this position? Can it be in any shape an object of ambition
to sit down in the same Cabinet with gentlemen to whom you
have been opposed for a lifetime, or to stand in opposition to
old friends with whom you have acted cordially for years?
Nothing but the most stern sense of duty could have brought
me into such a position. I have struggled to avoid entering
the Cabinet. I wished to stand outside and give hon. gentle-
men opposite that hearty and loyal aid which, I think, every
true Canadian is bound to give them in bringing our sectional
difficulties to a permanent settlement. In this I was over-
ruled. I have been forced to accept office against my wishes
and to the serious injury of my personal interests, and I think
I am in a position to say to every hon. member of this House,
let us rise superior to the pitifulness of party politics in
the interests of our country; let us unite to consider and settle
this question as a great national issue in a manner worthy of
us as a people. (Enthusiastic cheers.) ... I am sure I
speak the sentiments of everyone who is a party to the agree-
ment in sajang that we have had no desire in becoming parties
to it, to attain any object but a just settlement of our difficul-
ties and the elevation of our country out of its present dis-
tracted position. (Cheers.) ... It is on that ground, and
that ground alone, that I put my justification. If the question
is asked, how is it that you go in with only three members of
your party in the Cabinet? I say that, except for the assistance
I would get from the ability and hearty co-operation of the
two gentlemen who will accompany me, I am so thoroughly
satisfied of the sincerity with which the gentlemen opposite
have approached the question, that I would fearlessly have
gone in by myself to accomplish it. (Cheers.) I may be told
that I am of a credulous disposition. I would rather be
deceived easily and often than live constantly in an atmosphere
of suspicion. (Cheers.) ... I have already said that, in
urging representation by population, I have never anticipated
that that principle, pure and simple, would be carried; but have
said that it should be accompanied by provisions for the pro-
tection of the local interests of the two sections, and I appre-
hend that the basis we have approached is, to all intents and
333
APPENDIX I
purposes, the basis arrived at by the Toronto convention of
1859, and by the convention in Montreal of the same year, at
which my hon. friends, the members for Hochelaga and Cha-
teauguay, were prominent members.
Mr. McGee — Yes, substantially the same.
Mr. DoRiON — There was nothing then about a federation of
all the provinces.
Mr. Brown — That may be true. What was said at the
Toronto convention was this : It was unnecessary to enter
upon the consideration of a federation of all the provinces,
because that was then too remote a question to be practically
dealt with, although, I believe, if a vote had been taken on that
scheme at the Toronto convention it would have been largely
supported. ... So far as I am concerned I have gone
into the Cabinet expressly for the settlement of this question,
and by the settlement of this question I and the two other
gentlemen who go with me shall stand or fall. No man who
enters the service of the Crown has a right to fix a limit to the
period during which he shall render his service. I do not
mean to commit a breach of that rule. But I do not hesitate
to say that, as our only justification for entering the Cabinet
is that we may thereby attain the settlement of the sectional
question, my duty will have ended when I see that that settle-
ment can no longer be advanced by my remaining in the
Government. (Hear, hear.) I am sure all of us must feel that
if ever there was a grave question submitted to the public men
of any country, the question now under consideration is one
