"Before the curing of a strong disease,
"Even in the instant of repair and health,
"The fit is strongest; evils that take leave,
"On their departure most of all show evil."
--King John, Act III.
In the present advanced and happy times it is instructive to take
a retrospective glance at the days of our forefathers of the
nineteenth century, and to meditate upon the political struggles
and events of the past hundred years, that by so doing we may gain
a clear insight into the causes which have led to the present
wonderful developments. We, in the year of Grace 1983, are too
apt to take for granted all the blessings of moral, political
and physical science which we enjoy, and to pass over without
due consideration the great efforts of our ancestors, which have
made our present happy condition possible.
Let us try to contrast the Dominion of to-day with the Dominion of
1883. To begin with population. Our population at the last census
in 1981, was just over 93,000,000. A hundred years ago a scant
5,000,000 represented this great Canadian nation, which has since
so mightily increased and proved itself such a beneficent factor
in human affairs. Seven provinces and some sparsely peopled and
only partially explored territories formed all that the world then
knew as Canada. To-day have we not fifteen provinces for the most
part thickly peopled, and long since fully explored to the shores
of the Arctic Ocean?
In the present days of political serenity it is hard to realize
the animosity and extreme bitterness of the past century. The two
parties into which men formerly divided themselves, viewed each
other as enemies, and each party opposed on principle whatever
measures the other proposed. From a careful study of the principal
journals of the time, fyled at Ottawa, we gather that the party,
self-styled "Reformers," frequently opposed progressive measures,
and even attempted to hinder the construction of railroads, while
the other party called "Conservatives" considered railroads as the
best means of opening up the enormous tracts of country then lying
untrodden by man, and useless to civilization. Such are certainly
the inferences to be drawn from the records at our command, though
it is hard to believe in opposition to railroads or to advancement
in any form in these days, when new channels of communication and
new industries are viewed with favor by the whole nation. Each
party seems strangely to have belied its title, for the Reformers,
after the confederation of the provinces in 1867, endeavored with
singular perverseness to frustrate or retard reform and improvement
of all kinds, while the Conservatives did not desire to preserve
things in the old ruts and grooves, but strove hard for beneficial
advancement of every sort.
In 1883 the United States was one of the leading nations of the
world. With a population of over 50,000,000, and an almost
illimitable extent of territory still open for settlement by the
fugitives from troubled Europe; with exhaustless wealth, developed
and undeveloped, it seemed reasonable to suppose that a nation so
placed should be able to attain the foremost position and be able to
keep it. Such appears to have been the opinion of most foreigners,
and also of some of our Canadians of the period, for the wealth,
apparent power and prestige of the United States caused many of our
weak-kneed ancestors to lose heart in their own country, and in fits
of disloyal dejection to fancy there could be no progress except in
union with the States. Stout hearts, however, ultimately gained the
day, and we in the twentieth century are reaping the benefits won
for the country by the valor of our great-grandfathers.
The troubled times through which the youthful Dominion passed from
1885 to 1888 constitute one of the greatest crises through which
any nation ever passed successfully. Canada, with her confederated
provinces and large territories loosely held together, with her
scattered population chiefly grouped in Ontario and Quebec, with
her infant manufactures and scarcely-touched mineral resources,
was the home, nevertheless, of as prosperous and promising a young
nation as the world ever saw; and had it not been for the timid
portion of her population just mentioned, a great deal of trouble
might have been saved. But out of evil came good. The Americans for
years had been too careless about receiving upon their shores all
the firebrands and irreconcileables from European cities, and the
consequence was that these undesirable gentry increased in numbers,
and the infection of their opinions spread. American politics were
as corrupt as they could be. Bribery and the robbery of public funds
were unblushingly resorted to. A low moral tone with regard to such
matters, combined with utter recklessness in speculation and a
furious haste to get rich by any means, fair or foul, were, sad to
say, prominent characteristics in the American nation in many other
respects so great. To counteract these evils, which were great
enough to have ruined any European state in a couple of years, there
was, however, the marvellous prodigality of nature--a bounteousness
and richness in the yield of the soil and the depths of the earth
hardly equalled in any other part of the world, and in consequence
princely fortunes were accumulated in an incredibly short space of
time. Millionaires abounded, and monopolists, compared with whom
Croesus was poor, flourished. But bitter poverty and starvation also
flourished, especially in the large cities, bringing in their train
the usual discontent and hatred of the established order of things.
Yet these old-fashioned evils were scarcely noticed in the general
magnificent prosperity of the country. The short-sighted statesmen
of the time delighted to look only on the bright side of things,
and to them the very exuberance of the prosperity seemed to condone,
if not to justify, the nefarious practices which obtained in high
places. No wonder that among our Canadians, hardly 5,000,000 all
told, there were some who were weak enough to be dazzled at the
wealth and success of their brilliant go-ahead neighbours, more than
50,000,000 strong. Among those who lost heart in Canada, it began
to be a settled conviction that it was "the destiny of Canada to be
absorbed in the States."
This was the state of things in 1885. Conservative statesmen pointed
to the general progress of our country, to unprecedented immigration
from Europe, increased agricultural products and manufactures, and
to many other convincing proofs of solid advancement. But facts
were of no avail in dealing with Reformers habitually, and on
principle despondent. The sanguine buoyancy and plucky hopefulness
indispensable to true statesmanship did not animate them to any
extent. Unhappily events over which no statesman could then have
control overtook Canada, while as yet things bounded along gaily
in the States, and the sons of despair seemed to have some ground
for their pusillanimity. The harvest of 1885 was deficient, and
agriculture was in consequence depressed: a slight panic in the
Spring was succeeded by a great one in the Fall. Heavy failures
followed. A feeling of uneasiness was caused at the same time by
great social and political changes which were going on in the
mother country, and were threatening to assume the proportions of
a revolution. The unparalleled prosperity of the States caused the
Americans--never backward in blowing their own trumpet--to assume
an attitude of overweening confidence in themselves, and to brag
offensively of what they considered to be their duty to mankind,
namely, to convert all the world--by force if necessary--to
republican principles. Such was the commencement of the great crisis
in the history of the young Canadian nation--a crisis through which,
if our sturdy forefathers had not pulled successfully, would have
led to our gradual obliteration as a nation. All honor then to the
great men to whom, under Providence, our preservation is due!
In 1886 commenced the reign of terror in Europe, that terrible
period of mingled war and revolution, during which thrones were
hurled down and dynasties swept away like chaff in a gale. The
face of Europe was changed. Whole provinces were blackened and
devastated by fire and sword. During the three years in which
the terror was at its height it is calculated that at least four
millions of men bearing arms, the flower of each land, must have
fallen. Great Britain was frequently on the very brink of war, but
was almost miraculously kept from actually taking part. And most
providential it was that Britain was not drawn into the tumult,
for home troubles and defensive measures required all the attention
of the nation. These stirring events, of course, had their effect
on this side of the Atlantic. Canada was affected detrimentally
by losing for a time the prestige consequent on being backed up
by British ironclads and regiments, every available soldier and
every vessel of war being required for the protection of British
interests nearer home.
The harvest again in 1886 was below the average. Trade and finance
had not recovered from the shock of the previous year. The outlook
was certainly gloomy.
A Conservative government, with Sir --- ---, as Premier, was in
power at Ottawa. Sir --- and his government were, however, in
great straits, owing to the prevailing depression throughout the
Dominion, for the hard times were seized upon by the opponents
of the government as a means whereby to thwart and distract the
ministers, and stir up discontent among the people. The States were
pointed to by the Reformers as the only country in the world where
security and prosperity co-existed. British connection was held up
to scorn as a tie whose supposed advantages had proved worthless. A
less able or a less determined ministry would have collapsed under
the strain. The winter of 1886-7 was very severe, and discontent
began to be noisy and aggressive. To make matters worse, a Fenian
organization was going on in the States with the avowed object of
invading Canada in the coming Spring. The heads of the movement
were well-known politicians of a low order, having considerable
funds at their command, and much influence in certain quarters.
Their emissaries were known to be working all over Canada, freely
distributing American gold and holding secret meetings. The
position of affairs was one of increasing gravity owing to the
connivance of the American authorities and the powerlessness of the
Home Government. So matters progressed until the spring of 1887,
when the situation became one of extreme tension. The Conservatives
were taunted with having ruined the country financially and with
pursuing a "Jingo" policy certain to end in bloodshed. Reformers
"stumped" the country, calling on their excited audiences to march
to Ottawa and compel the Premier and his infatuated followers to
resign. Annexation was openly advocated as the only sensible way
to be relieved from the overwhelming surrounding difficulties.
A ray of hope to buoy up the sorely-tried loyalists appeared,
when Canadians who had been domiciled in all parts of the States
returned to defend their native land on hearing of the great danger
she was undoubtedly in. Having lived many years under the shadow of
the Stars and Stripes, they knew well enough all that it amounted
to; the glamour of accumulated successes had not turned their heads
for they had had opportunities of observing the sinister influences
at work in American affairs, beneath the attractive exterior.
Quebec rallied to a man, and the latent military strength of the
province was developed under efficient leaders to a formidable
degree. Invaders would have met with a warm reception in this
quarter. Manitoba and the whole North-west were up and ready,
prepared to fight, more to preserve their own independence,
however, than the integrity of the Dominion, as there was then
considerable difference in sentiment between the North-west and
the Eastern Provinces. The Manitobans, too, though the Irish
element had become very strong, did not intend to succumb to Fenian
raiders, however well organized and backed up. The weakest points
were the Maritime Provinces, Ontario and British Columbia; not that
the feeling in British Columbia was not loyal to the Dominion, but
that some 30,000 rowdies who had assembled and organized in San
Francisco were preparing for a descent upon her poorly fortified
ports. Now was the turning point in the destinies of the country.
If the ministers at Ottawa had not stood firmly to their guns,
all our subsequent career, instead of being the golden century
of magnificent progress and peace that it has been, would have
been linked with all the turbulence and the alternate advance
and retrogression of the States.
A general election for the Dominion had been timed to take place
in the beginning of June, and the day was looked forward to by all
the noisy demagogues of Ontario as the day when the blood-thirsty
Tories were to be hurled from power by the people in righteous
wrath, and the country saved from the horrors of war. According to
these garrulous parties, Ontario, the wealthiest and most populous
Province of the seven, was to welcome the invaders, bidding them
enter Canadian territory in the name of the people, and plant the
Stars and Stripes wherever they halted. Bloodshed would thus be
avoided, and everyone would soon come round to the new order of
things and take to it naturally. Quebec might perhaps object,
"but what did a few handfuls of Frenchmen matter anyway."
On the day before the election, one party was full of boisterous,
bragging insolence; the other, still steadfast, firmly clinging
to what seemed a forlorn hope. Before the ending of another day
all was changed--a complete transformation scene had taken place.
When the morning journals on the election day appeared, their news
from the United States was such a terrible chapter of accidents as
has rarely fallen to the lot of journals to publish in one day. The
President had been shot at in New York by an unemployed foreign
artisan, the night before, while leaving a mansion on Fifth Avenue.
Troubles between labor and capital, which had been brewing for
some time, had broken out in several manufacturing centres, and
were threatening to spread to all large cities. The money market
was showing signs of considerable derangement. Fearful storms and
floods were chronicled from all parts; while last, but not least,
three transports which had embarked the greater part of the "army,"
at San Francisco, that was to have "delivered" British Columbia,
had foundered in a hurricane only two miles out, dragging all the
poor deluded fellows to a watery grave. The same day brought good
news from the old world. Ireland's great statesman had won for
Britain a wonderful diplomatic triumph in the East, which added
to the Empire, without a drop of blood being shed, territories
extending from the confines of British India to the Mediterranean.
All the leading men in Europe (so the despatch read) were
astonished at the exhibition of so much moral force in the Old
Country after they had been imagining the Empire as about to go to
pieces under the recent terrible strain. Other good news which had
its effect here was that for Ireland there had at last been found
men who understood her wants, and what was better, whom she herself
understood, so that she considered herself as having just embarked
upon a new career of glory as an integral and indispensable part
of the Empire.
The effect of all this information on the electors of Canada was
very marked. The demagogues who elevated themselves upon barrels or
waggons and buggies to spout their frothy nonsense to the public,
could get but few listeners, though only twenty-four hours ago
applauding crowds would have assembled. Their hold on the people was
gone; every one was reading the papers or discussing the startling
news. Many men who the day before were noisily advocating everything
disloyal and rebellious, were silent and thoughtful. Men who had
remained loyal to Canada all through quickly seized the occasion and
appealed to the people to stand firm to the Dominion, pointing out
the uncertainty of affairs in the States and contrasting them with
the vitality and power of the Old Country, doubly powerful now that
Ireland had obtained perfect satisfaction and was contented. The
election resulted in a complete triumph for the government, and was
a most satisfactory vindication of their policy. The ranks of the
Opposition were broken up and their forces demoralized. Not a word
was heard about annexation that night unless in scorn.
The heart of the young nation was stirred to its very depths during
the next two months, while a most sublime period in our history
was being passed through. The would-be invaders of Canada were
determined not to be baulked in their enterprise, the movement
having gone too far to collapse suddenly, and perhaps the leaders
had not sufficient foresight to see that the troubles rising in the
States must necessarily get worse before they were better, and take
several years to subside; perhaps they did not realize fully the
new unanimity of public feeling in Canada. Anyhow the activity of
their preparations did not lessen, but rather increased, and the
commencement of offensive operations was postponed so that they
might be more complete. Disloyalty was no longer popular in
Ontario or in any other province, in fact among all who had been
disaffected a reaction and revulsion of feeling set in, in favor
of intense loyalty to the Dominion, and a most felicitous union was
effected between the Conservatives and Reformers. The common danger
brought all parties together, forgetful of old prejudices, and the
old bitter hatred grew less and less until its final extinction.
Henceforth there was but one party with but one object in view--the
welfare of the Dominion.
Every able-bodied man in Canada between the ages of 20 and 45 was
under drill, and the country was fully prepared and fully expecting
to undertake the invaders without outside assistance, but Great
Britain being in no danger now in Europe, despatched 12,000 men to
Canada, and with her recovered prestige was enabled to remonstrate
forcibly with the Washington Government concerning American
connivance. The British remonstrances had the desired effect, for
the American authorities promptly arrested the leaders of the "army
of deliverance," though by so doing they aroused the animosity of
many of their own supporters. The "army" then speedily fell away
and all danger was over. Of course the benefit to Canada of having
had the national feeling so deeply stirred was incalculable, for
all classes of men in all the provinces had been animated by the
profoundest sentiments and the strongest determination possible,
and it was the opinion of leading military men of the time that the
Canadians under arms, though outnumbered trebly by the intending
invaders, would have held their own gallantly and have come off
victorious.
The excitement aroused by these stirring occurrences began to quiet
down towards the approaching Fall, when the Canadian ship of state
was again under full sail, heading for the waters of prosperity.
Since then our political history has been so intimately connected
with great inventions and discoveries, that a narration of one
without a description of the other is scarcely possible.