Chapter VI: Epilogue

The twelve years that followed Elgin's régime saw the flood-tide of Canada's prosperity. Apart altogether from the advantage of the Reciprocity Treaty, the country flourished. The extension of railways, the influx of population, developed rapidly the immense natural resources of the country. Politically, however, things did not move so well. The old difficulties had disappeared, but new difficulties took their place. There was no longer any question of the constitution, or the relation of the governor to it, or of orderly procedure in the mechanics of administration; but there was violent strife between parties too evenly balanced. The remedy lay in the formation of a larger unity, and, in 1867, the four provinces effected a confederation, which was soon to embrace half the continent from ocean to ocean. Dominion Day 1867 was the birthday of a new nation, and a true poet has precised {162} Canada's relation to Britain and the world in a single stanza.

A Nation spoke to a Nation,
A Throne sent word to a Throne:
'Daughter am I in my mother's house,
But mistress in my own!
The doors are mine to open,
As the doors are mine to close,
And I abide by my mother's house,'
Said our Lady of the Snows.

_Quis separabit_? The confident prophecies of 'cutting the painter' have all come to naught. In the supreme test of the Great War, Canada never for a moment faltered. She gave her blood and treasure freely in support of the Empire and the Right. No severer trial of those bonds that knit British peoples together can be imagined. To look back upon the time when British soldiers had to be sent to suppress a Canadian insurrection from a time when French Canadians and English Canadians are fighting side by side three thousand miles from their homes for the maintenance of the Empire is to envisage the most startling of historical paradoxes. That old, bad time seems as unsubstantial as a dream; this seems the only reality; and yet the two periods are separated only by the span of a not very long human life. {163} The truth is that in those days there were no Canadians. There were French on the banks of the St Lawrence, but their political horizon was bounded by the parish limits. Their most renowned leader had no vision but of an independent French republic, or of one more state in the Union. The people of the western province consisted of diverse elements. The solid kernel was of United Empire Loyalist stock, which gave the province its distinctive character. The Scottish, Irish, English immigration could not be reckoned among the genuine sons of the soil. They built their log-huts in the wildwood clearings, but their hearts were in the sheiling, the cabin, the cottage they had left beyond the sea. Their allegiance was divided, a fact of which the perpetuation of the various national societies is indubitable evidence. They were the pioneers; they made the wilderness a garden; and their children entered into a large inheritance. More inharmonious still was the immigration from south of the border, of persons brought up on the Declaration of Independence and Fourth of July oratory. Colonel Cruikshanks's researches have proved how numerous they were and how disaffected. Mrs Moodie found {164} them and the Americanized natives just as disagreeable in Ontario as Mrs Trollope did in Cincinnati, and for the same reasons. Except the Loyalists, all these elements were divided in their political affections and ideals. Their leaders saw only two possibilities. British connection was the sheet-anchor of the old colonial Tories; but their vision of the country's future was an aristocracy, a landed gentry, a decorous union of church and state--in short, a colonial replica of old Tory England. On the other hand, the Radical leaders, French and English alike, saw before them only an independent republic, or fusion with the United States. How limited was the vision of both time has made blindingly clear. The instinct of the nascent nation decided for the golden mean, and chose the middle path. Canada has stood firm by the Empire--how firm let the blood-soaked trenches of Flanders attest--and yet she had stood just as firmly by the creed of democracy and her determination to control her own affairs.

One son of the soil had a vision wider than that of his contemporaries. Years before the rebellion the editor of a Halifax newspaper saw the scattered, jarring British colonies {165} united under the old flag, and bound together by fellowship within the Empire. He saw iron roads spanning the continent and the white sails of Canadian commerce dotting the Pacific. Canadians of this day see what Howe foresaw--the eye among the blind. Let it be repeated. In those old days there were no Canadians of Canada. Confederation had to be achieved, a new generation had to be born and grow to manhood, before a national sentiment was possible. These new Canadians saw little or nothing of provinces with outworn feuds and divisions. They saw only the Dominion of Canada. Their imagination was stirred by the ideal of half a continent staked out for a second great experiment in democracy, of a vast domain to be filled and subdued and raised to power by a new nation. In spite of many faults and failures and disappointments, Canadians have been true to that ideal. The Canada of to-day is something far grander than the Mackenzies and Papineaus ever dreamed of; she has disappointed the fears and exceeded the hopes of the Durhams and the Elgins; and she stands on the threshold, as Canadians firmly trust, of a more illustrious future.

{166}

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

The following are a few of the works which should be consulted:

Lord Durham, _Report on the Affairs of British North America_ (1839).

Sir Francis Hincks, _Reminiscences_ (1884).

Dent, _The Last Forty Years_ (1881).

Reid, _Life and Letters of the First Earl of Durham_ (1906).

Shortt, _Lord Sydenham_ (1908).

Wrong, _The Earl of Elgin_ (1906).

Bourinot, _Lord Elgin_ (1905).

Walrond, _Letters and Journals of James, Eighth Earl of Elgin_ (1872).

Leacock, _Baldwin, LaFontaine, Hincks_ (1907).

Pope, _Memoirs of Sir John Macdonald_ (1894).

_Canada and its Provinces_, vol. v (1913), the chapters by W. L. Grant, J. L. Morison, Edward Kylie, Duncan M'Arthur, and Adam Shortt.

Consult also, for individual biographies of the various persons mentioned in the narrative, Taylor, _Portraits of British Americans_ (1865); Dent, _The Canadian Portrait Gallery_ (1880); and _The Dictionary of National Biography_ (1903).

{167}

INDEX

Annexation movement of 1849, the, 133-6.

Arthur, Sir George, his severity, 30.

Assembly: the first election after Union, 57-8; composition of parties, 58; the Baldwin incident, 59-61; measures passed, 61, 63-4; majority rule principle, 62-3; the Draper government defeated, 76, 115-17; -- LaFontaine-Baldwin (Reform) Administration, 76-7, 79-80, 84, 85-7; placemen removed from Assembly, 87; the Common Schools Act, 88; University of Toronto, 89-90, 106-7; the Metcalfe Crisis, 90-3; -- Draper (Tory) Administration, 93-4, 101; -- LaFontaine-Baldwin (the Great) Administration, 101-3, 106, 109-12; 142-3; Municipal Corporations Act, 107-9; Rebellion Losses Bill, 117-18, 119-27; a breeze in the House, 119-120; Clergy Reserves, 139; Seigneurial Tenure, 141; -- Hincks-Morin Administration, 143; a business man's government, 144-5, 155-6; -- MacNab (Liberal-Conservative) Administration, 157.

Bagot, Sir Charles, governor-general, 74-5, 79; forms a coalition government, 75-6; his death a reproach to Canada, 80-1.

Baldwin, Robert, 68-9; a Moderate Reformer, 40, 69-70, 71-2; his cool proposal to Sydenham, 60-1; his association with LaFontaine, 66, 74, 77-8, 101-2, 118; his first administration, 77-8, 85, 80-90; the Metcalfe peerage, 95; the Great Administration, 101-2, 106-8, 118, 120, 139; resigns the leadership, 142; retires from public life, 143.

Baldwin, W. W., 68-9; president of Constitutional Reform Society, 71.

Blake, W. H., causes an uproar in the House, 119-20; burned in effigy, 120.

Bouchette, Robert, 15.

Brougham, Lord, his malign attacks on Durham, 8, 16-17, 20; burned in effigy in Quebec, 18.

Brown, George, the Protestant champion, 143-4.

Brown, Thomas Storrow, 4.

Bruce, Colonel, wounded in the attack on Lord Elgin, 129.

Buller, Charles, 8; with Durham in Canada, 19.

Canada, political development in, 3; strained relations with United States, 11-13, 25-8; Lord Durham's Report, 21-4; the 'Hunters' Lodges,' 25-8; political and financial situation in 1839, 30-1; the capital city, 56-7, 86, 137, 130; the Irish famine of 1846-47, 101; Municipal Corporations Act, 107-9; trade relations dislocated by Britain's adoption of free trade, 109; the disturbances in connection with the Rebellion Losses Bill, 112-31; the Annexation movement of 1849, 133-6; boom periods, 137, 153, 161; assumes control of the postal system, 138; separate schools, 138-9; attains full self-government, 139; her interest in world affairs, 146; the Reciprocity Treaty, 147-8, 150-5, 110-11; the fishery question, 148-50, 152; Confederation, 161-2; and the Empire, 162, 164. See Assembly and Responsible Government.

Cartwright, Richard, and Hincks, 76.

Cathcart, Lord, governor-general, 97-8.

Church of England, and the Clergy Reserves, 43-4, 46, 47.

Church of Scotland, and the Clergy Reserves, 44, 46, 47.

'Clear Grit' party, the, 138, 142.

Clergy Reserves question, the, 39, 42-6; Colborne's forty-four parishes, 46, 71; Sydenham's solution, 47-8, 64; secularized, 139, 155.

Colborne, Sir John, lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, 46; quells the Rebellion and acts as administrator in Lower Canada, 4, 8, 9, 16, 25, 38, 113; raised to the peerage, 33.

Constitutional Reform Society, the, 71.

Disraeli, Benjamin, and Canada, 132.

District Council Bill, the, 64.

Draper, W. H., his administrations, 76, 93-4.

Durham, Lord, his early career, 5-7; invested with extraordinary powers in the governance of Canada, 4-5, 7-8; firmness with conciliation his policy, 9; the composition of his councils, 9-10; takes prompt action in connection with the border troubles, 11-13; proclaims a general amnesty to the rebels, 14-15; the disallowance of his ordinance banishing the ringleaders, 15-19; his resignation and departure, 17-18, 25, 29; posterity's judgment, 18-19; his dying words, 20; his personality and family ties, 7, 8-9, 99; his enemy Lord Brougham, 8, 16-17, 20; his Report, 10-11, 19-24, 32, 35, 46, 68.

Elgin, Earl of, 98-9; a constitutional governor-general, 99-100, 101, 118, 123, 131, 147, 155; initiates the custom of reading the Speech in both French and English, 103; the Rebellion Losses Bill, 121-3; attacked by the mob on the occasions of giving his assent and on receiving an Address, 124-5, 127-9; the Hermit of Monklands, 129, 130-1; on Annexation sentiment in Canada, 133, 135-6; negotiates the Reciprocity Treaty with United States, 147, 150-152, 110; insulted in the House, 155-6; his administrative triumph, 158-60; his gift of oratory, 98, 151; his connection with Durham, 99.

Ermatinger, Colonel, and the Montreal riots, 129.

Fishery question, the, 148-50, 152.

Fleming, Sandford, his act of gallantry, 127.

Girouard, a rebel, 79.

Gladstone, W. E., and Canada, 132.

Glenelg, Lord, his incompetency, 32.

Gosford, Lord, 72.

Gourlay, Robert, and the Clergy Reserves, 45.

Great Britain, and the 1837 rebellions, 4, 33; the Clergy Reserves, 48; parliamentary procedure, 62; her free trade policy, 109; the Rebellion Losses Bill, 132; Navigation Laws repealed, 137; her colonial policy, 140; the Great Exhibition, 145-6; the fishery question, 148-50, 152; her sympathies with the South in the American Civil War, 154.

Grey, Earl, and Durham, 6.

Grey, Earl (son of above), and Elgin, 99, 136.

Grey, Colonel, his mission of remonstrance, 13.

Harrison, S. B., leader of Sydenham's government, 62.

Hincks, Francis, 70; a Reform leader, 40, 61; his many interests, 70-1; his talent for affairs, 71-2, 74; minister of Finance, 76, 77, 132, 137, 157; his policy of protection, 87-8, 124; his railway policy, 111-112; precipitates a crisis, 124-5; the Clergy Reserves, 139; his administration, 143, 156, 157; the Reciprocity Treaty, 147, 150, 110; his valuable services, 137; governor of Barbados, 157.

Howe, Joseph, and responsible government, 51; and railways, 111; his recruiting mission, 146; his vision of Canada's future, 164-5.

'Hunters' Lodges,' the, 13, 25-8.

Kingston, as the capital, 56-7, 58, 86, 94; Sydenham's tomb, 65.

LaFontaine, L. H., his early career and appearance, 72-4; his association with Baldwin, 66, 74, 77-8, 101-2, 118; his first ministry, 77-8, 85, 87, 93; the Great Administration, 101-2, 117-18, 127, 129, 139, 141; his crushing reply to Papineau's onslaught, 103-5; resigns, 142; chief justice for Lower Canada, 143.

Liberal party, a split in the ranks, 137-8. See Reform.

Liberal-Conservative party, the, 157-8.

Lount, Samuel, his execution, 30.

Lower Canada, racial feeling in, 22; the Rebellion, 3, 4, 25, 28-30; Durham's amnesty and ordinance, 14-19; Durham's Report, 21-3; political state before Union, 50; the Registry Act, 56; the opposition to Union, 57, 62, 68, 93; amnesty to all political offenders, 103; the Rebellion Losses Bill, 112-14, 116-17; Seigneurial Tenure, 140-1. See Quebec and Special Council.

Macaulay, Lord, quoted, 20, 79, 83, 96.

Macdonald, John A., his entry into politics, 93, 101; 'a British subject I will die,' 135; attorney-general, 157; his Liberal-Conservative administration, 158, 144.

Macdonald, J. S., his studied insult, 156, 157.

Mackenzie, W. L., incites anti-British feeling in the States, 12, 26; granted amnesty and returns to Canada, 118-19, 120, 142.

MacNab, Sir Allan, leader of the Conservative Opposition, 86, 101; Speaker, 94; gives 'the lie with circumstance,' 119-20, 125; his tribute to Baldwin, 142; prime minister, 157.

Marcy, W. L., and reciprocity with Canada, 151.

Melbourne, Lord, and Durham, 17.

Metcalfe, Sir Charles, his early career, 82-3; his arrival at Kingston, 81; upholds the prerogative of the Crown, 84-6, 87; refuses to surrender right of appointment, 90-1; triumphs over the Reformers, 92-4; his peerage and death, 95-6.

Montreal, 124, 137; as the capital, 86, 94; the riots in connection with the passing of the Indemnity Bill, 120-1; the burning of the Parliament Buildings, 124-7, 1; the attacks on Lord Elgin, 124-5, 128-9; the capital no more, 130; the Annexation Association, 134-5.

Morin, A. N., Speaker of the Assembly, 102; his administration, 143.

Municipal system of Canada, the, 55-6, 64; the Municipal Corporations Act, 107-9; municipalities and railways, 145.

Murdoch, T. W. C., secretary to Sydenham, 37.

Neilson, John, his policy of obstruction, 62, 68.

Nelson, Robert, proclaims a Canadian republic, 29.

Nelson, Wolfred, a Rebellion leader, 15, 93; his claim for indemnity, 119.

New Brunswick, Sydenham's visit to, 52.

Nova Scotia, the struggle for responsible government in, 51; the rise of the colleges, 88-9; the fishery question, 149-50, 152.

O'Callaghan, E. B., a rebel leader, 104.

Oliphant, Laurence, and the Reciprocity negotiations, 150, 152.

Ontario, Sydenham's tour in, 53-4; its municipal system, 55, 64. See Upper Canada.

Orange Society, the, 87.

Ottawa, the capital city, 130.

Papineau, D. B., 93.

Papineau, L. J., takes refuge in France after Rebellion, 103-4; returns to the House, claiming and receiving arrearage of salary as Speaker, 104; his uncompromising attitude towards the Union, 104-6, 118, 138, 141, 157; his retiral, 157, 106.

Paquin, Father, petitions for indemnity, 112-13.

Politics, the game of, 1-2, 67, 76, 77; an old-time election, 77-8.

Quebec, its municipal system, 55, 64; the seat of government, 137, 155. See Lower Canada.

Railway building in Canada, 111-12, 144-5.

Rebellion Losses Bill, the, 112-118, 132; the violent scenes in connection with, 119-31.

Reciprocity Treaty of 1854, the, 110-11, 147-55.

Reform party, the, supports Sydenham, 38, 40, 60-1; the Clergy Reserves, 47; opposes Bagot's coalition, 76; the struggle with Metcalfe, 86, 90-3, 95; the Great Administration, 101; Liberals and 'Clear Grits,' 137-8; Liberal-Conservatives, 157-8.

Registry Act, the, 56.

Reid, Stuart J., on the authorship of Durham's Report, 20.

Responsible Government: Durham's remedy, 24; Sydenham's campaign of education, 41, 58-9, 67; Howe's achievement, 51; majority rule, 62-3, 79; the Executive beg-in to presume, 84; the difficulty of reconciling with the colonial status, 84-5; placemen removed from Assembly, 87; education of the democracy, 88; right of appointment, 90-91; the difficulty of government with a small majority, 100; from colony to free equal state, 161-2.

Rouge party, the, 138.

Russell, Lord John, colonial secretary, 32, 55.

Seigneurial tenure, 140-1, 155; abolished, 141.

Sherwood, Henry, solicitor-general, 76.

Special Council of Quebec, and Sydenham, 38, 49-50, 55, 56, 114-15.

Strachan, Bishop, 69; and the Clergy Reserves, 46, 47; his crusade against Baldwin's 'godless institution,' 90.

Stuart, James, chief justice of Lower Canada, 37, 50.

Sullivan, R. B., a Reform leader, 70, 77.

Sydenham, Lord, 68. See Thomson.

Thomson, Charles Poulett, his early career and personality, 33-8; his mission of Union of the Canadas, 38-40, 68; his responsible government campaign of education, 41-2; the Clergy Reserves, 42, 47-8; on political and financial conditions in Canada, 48-50, 32; his triumphal progress, 50-4; his vision of Ontario, 54; Baron Sydenham, 54-5; initiates Canada's municipal system, 55-6; the first Union Assembly, 58-9, 61, 63-4; the Baldwin incident, 60-1; majority rule, 62-3; his five great works, 63-4; G.C.B., 59; his tragic and heroic end, 64-5.

Toronto, 1; the founding of the University, 89-90, 106-7; scenes in connection with the Indemnity Bill, 120-1; the seat of government, 137.

Turton, Thomas, with Durham in Canada, 8.

Union Act of 1840, the, 54-5.

United Empire Loyalists, the, 163.

United States: American detestation of the British, 11-13; 'Hunters' Lodges,' 25-28; her mistaken views regarding Canada, 121, 133-6; her elective system of government, 138; her educational system, 139; the Reciprocity Treaty with Canada, 147-8, 150-5, 110-11; the fishery question, 148-50, 152; the Civil War, 148, 153, 154.

University of Toronto, the founding of, 89-90, 106-7.

Upper Canada: its political and financial state prior to Union, 23, 31-2, 38-9, 48-9, 114, 115; the execution of the Rebellion leaders, 30; Opposition to Union, 33, 57; the terms of Union, 40; Clergy Reserves, 45; Sydenham's tour, 53-4; the rise of the colleges, 88-90; the Metcalfe Crisis, 93.

Van Buren, President, and Durham, 13.

Victoria, Queen, 75, 136.

Viger, 'Beau,' 93.

Von Shoultz, his chivalrous sacrifice, 27-8.

Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, with Durham, 8.

Printed by T. and A. Constable, Printers to His Majesty
at the Edinburgh University Press