CHAPTER III.

CANADA.

STATE OF THE COLONY--FIRST IMPRESSIONS--PROVINCIAL POLITICS--'RESPONSIBLE

GOVERNMENT'--IRISH IMMIGRANTS--UPPER CANADA--CHANGE OF MINISTRY--FRENCH

HABITANTS--THE FRENCH QUESTION--THE IRISH--THE BRITISH--DISCONTENTS; THEIR

CAUSES AND REMEDIES--NAVIGATION LAWS--RETROSPECT--SPEECH ON EDUCATION.

[Sidenote: View of the state of Canada.]

In passing from Jamaica to Canada, Lord Elgin went not only to a far wider

sphere of action, but to one of infinitely greater complication. For in

Canada there were two civilised populations of nearly equal power, viewing

each other with traditionary dislike and distrust: the French

_habitans_ of the Lower Province, strong in their connexion with the

past, and the British settlers, whose energy and enterprise gave

unmistakable promise of predominance in the future. Canada had, within a

few miles of her capital, a powerful and restless neighbour, whose

friendly intentions were not always sufficient to restrain the unruly

spirits on her frontier from acts of aggression, which might at any time

lead to the most serious complications. Moreover, in Canada representative

institutions were already more fully developed than in any other colony,

and were at this very time passing through the most critical period of

their final development.

[Sidenote: Rebellion of 1837.]

[Sidenote: Lord Durham's Report.]

[Sidenote: Lord Sydenham.]

[Sidenote: Sir C. Bagot.]

[Sidenote: Lord Metcalfe.]

The rebellion of 1837 and 1838 had necessarily checked the progress of the

colony towards self-government. It has since been acknowledged that the

demands which led to that rebellion were such as England would have gladly

granted two or three hundred years before; and they were, in fact,

subsequently conceded one after another, 'not from terror, but because, on

seriously looking at the case, it was found that after all we had no

possible interest in withholding them.'[1] But at the time it was

necessary to put down the rebels by force, and to establish military

government. In 1838 Lord Durham was sent out as High Commissioner for the

Adjustment of the Affairs of the Colony, and his celebrated 'Report' sowed

the seeds of all the beneficial changes which followed. So early as

October 1839, when Poulett Thomson, afterwards Lord Sydenham, went out as

Governor, Lord John Russell took the first step towards the introduction

of 'responsible government,' by announcing that the principal offices of

the colony 'would not be considered as being held by a tenure equivalent

to one during good behaviour, but that the holders would be liable to be

called upon to retire whenever, from motives of public policy or for

other reasons, this should be found expedient.'[2] But the insurrection

was then too recent to allow of constitutional government being

established, at least in Lower Canada; and, after the Union in 1840, Lord

Sydenham exercised, partly owing to his great ability, much more power

than is usually enjoyed by constitutional governors. He exercised it,

however, in such a manner as to pave the way for a freer system, which was

carried out to a great extent by his successor, Sir Charles Bagot; who,

though bearing the reputation of an old-fashioned Tory, did not scruple to

admit to his counsels persons who had been active in opposing the Crown

during the recent rebellion; acting on 'the broad principle that the

constitutional majority had the right to rule under the constitution.'[3]

Towards the end of 1842, Sir C. Bagot found himself obliged by continued

ill-health to resign; and he was succeeded by Lord Metcalfe--a man, as has

been before noticed, of singularly popular manners and conciliatory

disposition, but whose views of government, formed in India and confirmed

in Jamaica, little fitted him to deal at an advanced age with the novel

questions presented by Canada at this crisis. A quarrel arose between him

and his Ministry on a question of patronage. The ministers resigned,

though supported by a large majority in the Assembly. With great

difficulty he formed a Conservative administration, and immediately

dissolved his Parliament. The new elections gave a small majority to the

Conservatives, chiefly due, it was said, to the exertion of his personal

influence; but the success was purchased at a ruinous cost, for he was now

in the position, fatal to a governor, of a party man. Even from this

situation he might perhaps have been able to extricate himself: so great

was the respect felt for his rare qualities of mind and character. But a

distressing malady almost incapacitated him for the discharge of public

business, and at length, in November 1845, forced him to resign. At this

time there was some apprehension of difficulties with America, arising

from the Oregon question, and, in view of the possibility of war, Mr.

Gladstone, who was then at the Colonial Office, appointed Lord Cathcart,

the commander of the forces, to be Governor-General.

[Sidenote: Lord Cathcart.]

When the Whig party came into power, and Lord Grey became Secretary for

the Colonies, the Oregon difficulty had been happily settled, and it was

no longer necessary or desirable that the colony should be governed by a

military officer. What was wanted was a person possessing an intimate

knowledge of the principles and practice of the constitution of England,

some experience of popular assemblies, and considerable familiarity with

the political questions of the day.'[4] After much consideration it was

decided to offer the post to Lord Elgin, though personally unknown at the

time both to the Premier and to the Secretary for the Colonies.

[Sidenote: Principles of Colonial Government.]

The principles on which Lord Elgin undertook to conduct the affairs of the

colony were, that he should identify himself with no party, but make

himself a mediator and moderator between the influential of all parties;

that he should have no ministers who did not enjoy the confidence of the

Assembly, or, in the last resort, of the people; and that he should not

refuse his consent to any measure proposed by his Ministry, unless it were

of an extreme party character, such as the Assembly or the people would be

sure to disapprove.[4] Happily these principles were not, in Lord Elgin's

case, of yesterday's growth. He had acted upon them, as far as was

possible, even in Jamaica; and in their soundness as applied to a colony

like Canada he had that firm faith, grounded on original conviction, which

alone could have enabled him to maintain them, as he afterwards did,

single-handed, in face of the most violent opposition, and in

circumstances by which they were most severely tested.

[Sidenote: Crossing the Atlantic.]

It was fortunate that Lord Elgin had arranged to leave his bride in

England, to follow at a less inclement season; for he had an unusually

stormy passage across the Atlantic--'the worst passage the ship had ever

made.'

Writing on the 16th of January to Lady Grey he says:

Hitherto we have had a very boisterous passage. On the 13th we had a

hurricane, and were obliged to lie to--a rare occurrence with these

vessels. It was almost impossible to be on deck, but I crept out of a

hole for a short time, to behold the sea, which was truly grand in its

wrath; the waves rolling mountains high, and the wind sweeping the

foam off their crests, and driving it, together with the snow and

sleet, almost horizontally over the ocean. We lay thus for some hours,

our masts covered with snow, pitching and tossing, now in the trough

of the sea, and now on the summit of the billows, without anxiety or

alarm, so gallantly did our craft bear itself through these perils.

The ship is very full, with half a million of specie, and a motley

group of passengers: a Bishop, an ex-secretary of Legation and an

ex-consul, both of the United States; a batch of Germans and of

Frenchmen; a host of Yankees, the greater part being bearded, which

is, I understand, characteristic of young America, particularly when

it travels; some specimens of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Canada, and

the Rocky Mountains, not to mention English and Scotch. Every now and

then, at the most serious moments, sounds of uproarious mirth proceed

from a party of Irish, who are playing antics in some corner of the

ship. Considering that we are all hemmed in within the space of a few

feet, and that it is the amusement of the great restless ocean to

pitch us constantly into each other's arms, it is hard indeed if we do

not pick up something new in the scramble.

[Sidenote: First impressions.]

On the 25th of January he landed at Boston, and proceeding next day by

railway and sleigh, reached Montreal on the 29th. On the 31st he wrote

from Monklands, the suburban residence of the governor, to Lady Elgin:--

Yesterday was my great day. I agreed to make my entrance to Montreal,

for the purpose of being inaugurated. The morning was unpropitious.

There had been a tremendous storm during the night, and the snow had

drifted so much that it seemed doubtful whether a sleigh could go from

hence to town (about four miles). I said that I had no notion of being

deterred by weather. Accordingly, I got into a one-horse sleigh, with

very small runners, which conveyed me to the entrance of the town,

where I was met by the Mayor and Corporation with an address. I then

got into Lord Cathcart's carriage, accompanied by the Mayor, and a

long procession of carriages was formed. We drove slowly to the

Government House (in the town), through a dense mass of people--all

the societies, trades, &c., with their banners. Nothing could be more

gratifying. After the swearing in, at which the public were present,

the Mayor read another address from the inhabitants. To this I

delivered a reply, which produced, I think, a considerable effect, and

no little astonishment on some gentlemen who intended that I should

say nothing. I have adopted frankly and unequivocally Lord Durham's

view of government, and I think that I have done all that could be

done to prevent its being perverted to vile purposes of faction.

Various circumstances combined to smooth, for the time, the waters on

which Lord Elgin had embarked. The state of political parties was

favourable; for the old Tories of the British 'Family Compact' party

were in good humour, being in enjoyment of the powers to which they

claimed a prescriptive right, while the 'Liberals' of the Opposition

were full of hope that the removal of Lord Metcalfe's disturbing

influence would restore their proper preponderance. Something also was

due to his own personal qualities. Whereas most of his immediate

predecessors had been men advanced in years and enfeebled by

ill-health, he was in the full enjoyment of vigorous youth--able, if

need were, to work whole days at a stretch; to force his way through a

Canadian snow-storm, if his presence was required at a public meeting;

to make long and rapid journeys through the province, ever ready to

receive an address, and give an _impromptu_ reply. The papers soon

began to remark on the 'geniality and affability of 'his demeanour.'

'He is daily,' they said, 'making new 'friends. He walks to church,

attends public meetings, 'leads the cheering, and is, in fact, a man

of the people.' Before long it was added, 'Our new governor is 'the

most effective speaker in the province;' and, thanks to his foreign

education, he was able to speak as readily and fluently to the French

Canadians in French as to the English in English. Added to this, his

recent marriage was a passport to the hearts of many in Canada, who

looked back to the late Lord Durham as the apostle of their liberties,

if not as a martyr in their cause.

[Sidenote: Provincial politics.]

But though the surface was smooth, there was much beneath to disquiet an

observant governor. It was not only that the Ministry was so weak, and so

conscious of its weakness, as to be incapable even of proposing any

measures of importance. This evil might be remedied by a change of

administration. But there was no real political life; only that pale and

distorted reflection of it which is apt to exist in a colony before it has

learned 'to look within itself for the centre of power.' Parties formed

themselves, not on broad issues of principle, but with reference to petty

local and personal interests; and when they sought the support of a more

widespread sentiment, they fell back on those antipathies of race, which

it was the main object of every wise Governor to extinguish.

The following extracts from private letters to Lord Grey, written within a

few months of his arrival, reflect this state of things. Though the

circumstances to which they refer are past and gone, they may not be

without interest, as affording an insight into a common phase of colonial

government.

Hitherto things have gone on well with me, much better than I hoped

for when we parted. I should have been very willing to meet the

Assembly at once, and throw myself with useful measures on the good

sense of the people, but my ministers are too weak for this. They seem

to be impressed with the belief that the regular Opposition will of

course resist whatever they propose, and that any fragments of their

own side, who happen not to be able at the moment to get what they

want, will join them. When I advise them, therefore, to go down to

Parliament with good measures and the prestige of a new Governor, and

rely on the support of public opinion, they smile and shake their

heads. It is clear that they are not very credulous of the existence

of such a controlling power, and that their faith in the efficiency of

appeals to selfish and sordid motives is greater than mine.

Nevertheless, we must take the world as we find it, and if new

elements of strength are required to enable the Government to go on,

it is I think very advisable to give the French a fair opportunity of

entering the Ministry in the first instance. It is also more prudent

to enter upon these delicate negotiations cautiously and slowly, in

order to avoid, if possible, giving the impression that I am ready to

jump down everybody's throat the moment I touch the soil of Canada.

I believe that the problem of how to govern United Canada would be

solved if the French would split into a Liberal and a Conservative

party, and join the Upper Canada parties which bear corresponding

names. The great difficulty hitherto has been that a Conservative

government has meant a government of Upper Canadians, which is

intolerable to the French, and a Radical government a government of

French, which is no less hateful to the British. No doubt the party

titles are misnomers, for the radical party comprises the political

section most averse to progress of any in the country. Nevertheless,

so it has been hitherto. The national element would be merged in the

political if the split to which I refer were accomplished.

The tottering Ministry attempted to strengthen its position by a junction

with some of the leaders of the 'French' party; but the attempt was

unsuccessful:

I cannot say that I am surprised or disheartened by the result of

these negotiations with the French. In a community like this, where

there is little, if anything, of public principle to divide men,

political parties will shape themselves under the influence of

circumstances, and of a great variety of affections and antipathies,

national, sectarian, and personal; and I never proposed to attempt to

force them into a mould of my own forming.

You will observe that no question of principle or of public policy has

been mooted by either party during the negotiation. The whole

discussion has turned upon personal considerations. This is, I fancy,

a pretty fair sample of Canadian politics. It is not even pretended

that the divisions of party represent corresponding divisions of

sentiment on questions which occupy the public mind; such as

Voluntaryism, Free Trade, &c., &c. Responsible government is the only

subject on which this coincidence is alleged to exist. The opponents

of the Administration are supposed to dissent from the views held by

Lord Metcalfe upon it, though it is not so clear that its supporters

altogether adopt them. That this delicate and most debatable subject

should furnish the watchwords of party is most inconvenient.

In enumerating the difficulties which surround such questions as Union

of the provinces, Emigration, &c., you omit the greatest of them all;

viz.: the materials with which I have to work in carrying out any

measures for the public advantage. There are half a dozen parties

here, standing on no principles, and all intent on making political

capital out of whatever turns up. It is exceedingly difficult, under

such circumstances, to induce public men to run the risk of adopting

any scheme that is bold or novel.

Keenly alive to the evil of this state of things, Lord Elgin was not less

sensible that the blame of it did not rest with the existing generation of

Canadian politicians, but that it was the result of a variety of

circumstances, some of which it was impossible to regret.

Several causes (he wrote) co-operate together to give to personal and

party interests the overweening importance which attaches to them in

the estimation of local politicians. There are no real grievances here

to stir the depths of the popular mind. We are a comfortable people,

with plenty to eat and drink, no privileged classes to excite envy, or

taxes to produce irritation. It were ungrateful to view these

blessings with regret, and yet I believe that they account in some

measure for the selfishness of public men and their indifference to

the higher aims of statesmanship.

[Sidenote: Responsible government.]

The comparatively small number of members of which the popular bodies

who determine the fate of provincial administrations consist, is also,

I am inclined to think, unfavourable to the existence of a high order

of principle and feeling among official personages. A majority of ten

in an assembly of seventy may probably be, according to Cocker,

equivalent to a majority of 100 in an assembly of 700. In practice,

however, it is far otherwise. The defection of two or three

individuals from the majority of ten puts the administration in peril.

Thence the perpetual patchwork and trafficking to secure this vote and

that, which (not to mention other evils) so engrosses the time and

thoughts of ministers, that they have not leisure for matters of

greater moment. It must also be remembered that it is only of late

that the popular assemblies in this part of the world have acquired

the right of determining who shall govern them--of insisting, as we

phrase it, that the administration of affairs shall be conducted by

persons enjoying their confidence. It is not wonderful that a

privilege of this kind should be exercised at first with some degree

of recklessness, and that, while no great principles of policy are at

stake, methods of a more questionable character for winning and

retaining the confidence of these arbiters of destiny should be

resorted to. My course in these circumstances is, I think, clear and

plain. It may be somewhat difficult to follow occasionally, but I feel

no doubt as to the direction in which it lies. I give to my ministers

all constitutional support, frankly and without reserve, and the

benefit of the best advice that I can afford them in their

difficulties. In return for this I expect that they will, in so far as

it is possible for them to do so, carry out my views for the

maintenance of the connexion with Great Britain and the advancement of

the interests of the province. On this tacit understanding we have

acted together harmoniously up to this time, although I have never

concealed from them that I intend to do nothing which may prevent me

from working cordially with their opponents, if they are forced upon

me. That ministries and Oppositions should occasionally change places,

is of the very essence of our constitutional system, and it is

probably the most conservative element which it contains. By

subjecting all sections of politicians in their turn to official

responsibilities, it obliges heated partisans to place some restraint

on passion, and to confine within the bounds of decency the patriotic

zeal with which, when out of place, they are wont to be animated. In

order, however, to secure these advantages, it is indispensable that

the head of the Government should show that he has confidence in the

loyalty of all the influential parties with which he has to deal, and

that he should have no personal antipathies to prevent him from acting

with leading men.

I feel very strongly that a Governor-General, by acting upon these

views with tact and firmness, may hope to establish a moral influence

in the province which will go far to compensate for the loss of power

consequent on the surrender of patronage to an executive responsible

to the local Parliament. Until, however, the functions of his office,

under our amended colonial constitution, are more clearly defined--

until that middle term which shall reconcile the faithful discharge of

his responsibility to the Imperial Government and the province with

the maintenance of the quasi-monarchical relation in which he now

stands towards the community over which he presides, be discovered and

agreed upon, he must be content to tread along a path which is

somewhat narrow and slippery, and to find that incessant watchfulness

and some dexterity are requisite to prevent him from falling, on the

one side into the _néant_ of mock sovereignty, or on the other

into the dirt and confusion of local factions.

Many of his letters exhibit the same conviction that the remedy for the

evils which he regretted was to be found in the principles of government

first asserted by Lord Durham; but there is a special interest in the

expression of this sentiment when addressed, as in the following extract,

to Lord Durham's daughter:--

I still adhere to my opinion that the real and effectual vindication

of Lord Durham's memory and proceedings will be _the success of a

Governor-General of Canada who works out his views of government

fairly_. Depend upon it, if this country is governed for a few

years satisfactorily, Lord Durham's reputation as a statesman will be

raised beyond the reach of cavil. I do not indeed know whether I am to

be the instrument to carry out this work, or be destined, like others

who have gone before me, to break down in the attempt; but I am still

of opinion that the thing may be done, though it requires some good

fortune and some qualities not of the lowest order. I find on my

arrival here a very weak Government, almost as much abused by their

friends as by their foes, no civil or private secretary, and an

immense quantity of arrears of business. It is possible, therefore,

that I may not be able to bear up against the difficulties of my

situation, and that it may remain for some one else to effect that

object, which many reasons would render me so desirous to achieve.

[Sidenote: Irish immigration,]

With these cares, which formed the groundwork of the texture of the

Governor's life, were interwoven from time to time interests of a more

temporary character; of which the first in date, as in importance, was

connected with the flood of immigration consequent on the Irish famine of

1847.

During the course of the season nearly 100,000 immigrants landed at

Quebec, a large proportion of whom were totally destitute, and must have

perished had they not been forwarded at the cost of the public. Owing to

various causes, contagious fever of a most malignant character prevailed

among them, to an unexampled extent; the number confined at one time in

hospitals occasionally approached 10,000: and though the mortality among

children was very great, nearly 1,000 immigrant orphans were left during

the season at Montreal, besides a proportionate number at Grosse Isle,

Quebec, Kingston, Toronto, and other places.

In this manner 'army after army of sick and suffering people, fleeing from

famine in their native land to be stricken down by death in the valley of

the St. Lawrence, stopped in rapid succession at Grosse Isle, and there

leaving numbers of their dead behind, pushed upwards towards the lakes, in

over-crowded steamers, to burthen the inhabitants of the western towns and

villages.'[5]

The people of Canada exerted themselves nobly, under the direction of

their Governor, to meet the sudden call upon their charity; but he felt

deeply for the sufferings which it entailed upon the colony, and he did

not fail to point out to Lord Grey how severe was the strain thus laid on

her loyalty:--

[Sidenote: a scourge to the province.]

The immigration which is now taking place is a frightful scourge to

the province. Thousands upon thousands of poor wretches are coming

here incapable of work, and scattering the seeds of disease and death.

Already five or six hundred orphans are accumulated at Montreal, for

whose sustenance, until they can be put out to service, provision must

be made. Considerable panic exists among the inhabitants. Political

motives contribute to swell the amount of dissatisfaction produced by

this state of things. The Opposition make the want of adequate

provision to meet this overwhelming calamity, in the shape of

hospitals, &c., a matter of charge against the Provincial

Administration. That section of the French who dislike British

immigration at all times, find, as might be expected, in the

circumstances of this year, a theme for copious declamation. Persons

who cherish republican sympathies ascribe these evils to our dependent

condition as colonists--'the States of the Union,' they say, 'can take

care of themselves, and avert the scourge from their shores, but we

are victims on whom inhuman Irish landlords, &c., can charge the

consequences of their neglect and rapacity.' Meanwhile I have a very

delicate and irksome duty to discharge. There is a general belief

that Great Britain must make good to the province the expenses

entailed on it by this visitation. 'It is enough,' say the

inhabitants, 'that our houses should be made a receptacle of this mass

of want and misery: it cannot surely be intended that we are to be

mulcted in heavy pecuniary damages besides.' The reasonableness of

these sentiments can hardly be questioned--bitter indignation would be

aroused by the attempt to confute them--and yet I feel that if I were

too freely to assent to them, I might encourage recklessness,

extravagance, and peculation. From the overwhelming nature of the

calamity, and the large share which it has naturally occupied of the

attention of Parliament and of the public, the task of making

arrangements to meet the necessities of the case has practically been

withdrawn from the department of the Civil Secretary, and fallen into

the hands of the Provincial Administration. In assenting to the

various minutes which they have passed for affording relief to the

sick and destitute, and for guarding against the spread of disease, I

have felt it to be my duty, even at the risk of incurring the

imputation of insensibility to the claims of distress, to urge the

necessity of economy, and of adopting all possible precautions against

waste. You will at once perceive, however, how embarrassing my

position is. A source of possible misunderstanding between myself and

the colonists is furnished by these untoward circumstances, altogether

unconnected with the ordinary, or, as I may perhaps venture to term

them, normal difficulties of my situation.

On the whole, all things considered, I think that a great deal of

forbearance and good feeling has been shown by the colonists under

this trial. Nothing can exceed the devotion of the nuns and Roman

Catholic priests, and the conduct of the clergy and of many of the

laity of other denominations has been most exemplary. Many lives have

been sacrificed in attendance on the sick and administering to their

temporal and spiritual need. But the aspect of affairs is becoming

more and more alarming. The panic which prevails in Montreal and

Quebec is beginning to manifest itself in the Upper Province, and

farmers are unwilling to hire even the healthy immigrants, because it

appears that since the warm weather set in, typhus has broken out in

many cases among those who were taken into service at the commencement

of the season, as being perfectly free from disease. I think it most

important that the Home Government should do all in their power by

enforcing the provisions of the Passengers' Act, and by causing these

facts to be widely circulated, to stem this tide of misery.

* * * * *

What is to be done? Private charity is exhausted. In a country where

pauperism as a normal condition of society is unknown, you have not

local rates for the relief of destitution to fall back upon. Humanity

and prudence alike forbid that they should be left to perish in the

streets. The exigency of the case can manifestly be met only by an

expenditure of public funds.

[Sidenote: The charge should be borne by the mother-country.]

But by whom is this charge to be borne? You urge, that when the first

pressure is past, the province will derive, in various ways, advantage

from this immigration,--that the provincial administration, who

prescribe the measures of relief, have means, which the Imperial

authorities have not, of checking extravagance and waste; and you

conclude that their constituents ought to be saddled with at least a

portion of the expense. I readily admit the justice of the latter

branch of this argument, but I am disposed to question the force of

the former. The benefit which the province will derive from this

year's immigration is, at best, problematical; and it is certain that

they who are to profit by it would willingly have renounced it,

whatever it may be, on condition of being relieved from the evils by

which it has been attended. Of the gross number of immigrants who have

reached the province, many are already mouldering in their graves.

Among the survivors there are widows and orphans, and aged and

diseased persons, who will probably be for an indefinite period a

burden on Government or private charity. A large proportion of the

healthy and prosperous, who have availed themselves of the cheap route

of the St. Lawrence, will, I fears find their way to the Western

States, where land is procurable on more advantageous terms than in

Canada. To refer, therefore, to the 82,000 immigrants who have passed

into the States through New York, and been absorbed there without cost

to the mother-country, and to contrast this circumstance with the

heavy expense which has attended the admission of a smaller number

into Canada, is hardly just. In the first place, of the 82,000 who

went to New York, a much smaller proportion were sickly or destitute;

and, besides, by the laws of the state, ship-owners importing

immigrants are required to enter into bonds, which are forfeited when

any of the latter become chargeable on the public. These, and other

precautions yet more stringent, were enforced so soon as the character

of this year's immigration was ascertained, and they had the effect of

turning towards this quarter the tide of suffering which was setting

in that direction. Even now, immigrants attempting to cross the

frontier from Canada are sent back, if they are either sickly or

paupers. On the whole, I fear that a comparison between the condition

of this province and that of the states of the neighbouring republic,

as affected by this year's immigration, would be by no means

satisfactory or provocative of dutiful and affectionate feelings

towards the mother-country on the part of the colonists. It is a case

in which, on every account, I think the Imperial Government is bound

to act liberally.

[Sidenote: Lord Palmerston's tenants.]

Month after month, the tide of misery flowed on, each wave sweeping deeper

into the heart of the province, and carrying off fresh victims of their

own benevolence. Unfortunately, just as navigation closed for the season,

a vessel arrived full of emigrants from Lord Palmerston's Irish estates.

They appear to have been rather a favourable specimen of their class; but

they came late, and they came from one of Her Majesty's Ministers, and

their coming was taken as a sign that England and England's rulers, in

their selfish desire to be rid of their starving and helpless poor, cared

nothing for the calamities they were inflicting on the colony. Writing on

November 12, Lord Elgin says:--

Fever cases among leading persons in the community here still continue

to excite much comment and alarm. This day the Mayor of Montreal

died,--a very estimable man, who did much for the immigrants, and to

whose firmness and philanthropy we chiefly owe it, that the immigrant

sheds here were not tossed into the river by the people of the town

during the summer. He has fallen a victim to his zeal on behalf of the

poor plague-stricken strangers, having died of ship-fever caught at

the sheds. Colonel Calvert is lying dangerously ill at Quebec, his

life despaired of.

Meanwhile, great indignation is aroused by the arrival of vessels from

Ireland, with additional cargoes of immigrants, some in a very sickly

state, after our Quarantine Station is shut up for the season.

Unfortunately the last arrived brings out Lord Palmerston's tenants. I

send the commentaries on this contained in this day's newspapers.[6]

[Sidenote: The flood subsides.]

From this time, however, the waters began to subside. The Irish famine had

worked its own sad cure. In compliance with the urgent representations of

the Governor, the mother-country took upon herself all the expenses that

had been incurred by the colony on behalf of the immigrants of 1847; and

improved regulations respecting emigration offer ground for hope that the

fair stream, which ought to be full of life and health both to the colony

and to the parent state, will not again be choked and polluted, and its

plague-stricken waters turned into blood.

[Sidenote: Visit to Upper Canada.]

In the autumn of this year Lord Elgin paid his first visit to Upper

Canada, meeting everywhere with a reception which he felt to be 'most

gratifying and 'ncouraging;' and keenly enjoying both the natural beauties

of the country and the tokens of its prosperity which met his view. From

Niagara he wrote to Mr. Cumming Bruce:--

[Sidenote: Niagara.]

I write with the roar of the Niagara Falls in my ears. We have come

here for a few days' rest, and that I may get rid of a bad cold in the

presence of this most stupendous of all the works of nature. It is

hopeless to attempt to describe what so many have been describing; but

the effect, I think, surpassed my expectations. The day was waning

when we arrived, and a turn of the road brought us all at once in face

of the mass of water forming the American Fall, and throwing itself

over the brink into the abyss. Then another turn and we were in

presence of the British Fall, over which a still greater volume of

water seems to be precipitated, and in the midst of which a white

cloud of spray was soaring till it rose far above the summit of the

ledge and was dispersed by the wind. This day we walked as far as the

Table Rock which overhangs one side of the Horse-shoe Fall, and made a

closer acquaintance with it; but intimacy serves rather to heighten

than to diminish the effect produced on the eye and the ear by this

wonderful phenomenon.

The following to Lord Grey is of the same date:--

Our tour has been thus far prosperous in all respects except weather,

which has been by no means favourable. I attended a great Agricultural

Meeting at Hamilton last week, and had an opportunity of expressing my

sentiments at a dinner, in the presence of six or seven hundred

substantial Upper Canada yeomen--a body of men not easily to be

matched.

It is indeed a glorious country, and after passing, as I have done

within the last fortnight, from the citadel of Quebec to the Falls of

Niagara, rubbing shoulders the while with its free and perfectly

independent inhabitants, one begins to doubt whether it be possible to

acquire a sufficient knowledge of man or nature, or to obtain an

insight into the future of nations, without visiting America.

A portion of the speech to which he refers in the foregoing letter may be

here given, as a specimen of his occasional addresses, which were very

numerous; for though the main purposes of his life were such as 'wrote

themselves in action not in word,' he regarded his faculty of ready and

effective speaking as an engine which it was his duty to use, whenever

occasion arose, for the purpose of conciliating or instructing. In

proposing the toast of 'Prosperity to the Agricultural Association of

Upper Canada,' he said:--

[Sidenote: Speech at an agricultural meeting.]

Gentlemen, the question forces itself upon every reflecting mind, How

does it come to pass that the introduction of agriculture, and of the

arts of civilised life, into this and other parts of the American

continent has been followed by such astonishing results? It may be

said that these results are due to the qualities of the hardy and

enterprising race by which these regions have been settled, and the

answer is undoubtedly a true one: but it does not appear to me to

contain the whole truth; it does not appear to account for all the

phenomena. Why, gentlemen, our ancestors had hearts as brave and arms

as sturdy as our own; but it took them many years, aye, even

centuries, before they were enabled to convert the forests of the

Druids, and the wild fastnesses of the Highland chieftains, into the

green pastures of England and the waving cornfields of Scotland. How,

then, does it come to pass, that the labours of their descendants here

have been rewarded by a return so much more immediate and abundant? I

believe that the true solution of this problem is to be found in the

fact that here, for the first time, the appliances of an age, which

has been prolific beyond all preceding ages in valuable discoveries,

more particularly in chemistry and mechanics, have been brought to

bear, under circumstances peculiarly favourable, upon the

productiveness of a new country. When the nations of Europe were

young, science was in its infancy; the art of civil government was

imperfectly understood; property was inadequately protected; the

labourer knew not who would reap what he had sown, and the teeming

earth yielded her produce grudgingly to the solicitations of an

ill-directed and desultory cultivation. It was not till long and

painful experience had taught the nations the superiority of the arts

of peace over those of war; it was not until the pressure of numbers

upon the means of subsistence had been sorely felt, that the ingenuity

of man was taxed to provide substitutes for those ineffective and

wasteful methods, under which the fertility of the virgin soil had

been well-nigh exhausted. But with you, gentlemen, it is far

otherwise. Canada springs at once from the cradle into the full

possession of the privileges of manhood. Canada, with the bloom of

youth yet upon her cheek, and with youth's elasticity in her tread,

has the advantage of all the experience of age. She may avail herself,

not only of the capital accumulated in older countries, but also of

those treasures of knowledge which have been gathered up by the labour

and research of earnest and thoughtful men throughout a series of

generations.

Now, gentlemen, what is the inference that I would draw from all this?

What is the moral I would endeavour to impress upon you? It is this:

That it is your interest and your duty to avail yourselves to the

utmost of all these unparalleled advantages; to bring to bear upon

this soil, so richly endowed by nature, all the appliances of modern

art; to refuse, if I may so express myself, to convert your one talent

into _two_, if, by a more skilful application of the true

principles of husbandry, or by greater economy of management, you can

convert it into _ten_. And it is because I believe that societies

like these, when well directed, are calculated to aid you in your

endeavours to effect these important objects, that I am disposed to

give them all the protection and countenance, which it is in my power

to afford. They have certainly been very useful in other countries,

and I cannot see why they should be less serviceable in Canada. The

Highland Society of Scotland was the first instituted, and the proud

position which Scotland enjoys as an agricultural country speaks

volumes of the services rendered by that society. The Royal

Agricultural Society of England and the Royal Agricultural Society of

Ireland followed in its wake, and with similarly beneficial results. I

myself was instrumental in establishing an agricultural society in the

West Indies, which has already done much to revive the spirits of the

planters; and I shall be very much disappointed, indeed, if that

society does not prove the means, before many years are past, of

establishing the truth so important to humanity, that, even in

tropical countries, free labour properly applied under a good system

of husbandry is more economical than the labour of slaves.

[Sidenote: Change of Ministry.]

At the close of 1847 the Canadian Parliament was dissolved. When the new

Parliament met early in 1848, the Ministry--Lord Metcalfe's Ministry--

found itself in a decided minority. A new one was accordingly formed from

the ranks of the opposition, 'the members of both parties concurring in

expressing their sense of the perfect fairness and impartiality with which

Lord Elgin had conducted himself throughout the transactions' which led to

this result.[7]

[Sidenote: French _habitans_.]

The French Canadians, who formed the chief element in the new government,

were even at this time a peculiar people. Planted in the days of the old

French monarchy, and cut off by conquest from the parent state long before

the Revolution of 1789, their little community remained for many years

like a fragment or boulder of a distinct formation--an island enshrining

the picturesque institutions of the _ancien régime_, in the midst of

an ever-encroaching sea of British nineteenth-century enterprise. The

English, it has been truly said, emigrate, but do not colonise. No

concourse of atoms could be more fortuitous than the gathering of

'traders, sailors, deserters from the army, outcasts, convicts, slaves,

democrats, and fanatics,' who have been the first, and sometimes the only

ingredients of society in our so-called colonies. French Canada, on the

contrary, was an organism complete in itself, a little model of medieval

France, with its recognised gradations of ranks, ecclesiastical and

social.

It may, indeed, be doubted whether the highest forms of social life are

best propagated by this method: whether the freer system, which 'sows

itself on every wind,' does not produce the larger, and, in the long run,

the more beneficent results. But if reason acquiesces in the ultimate

triumph of that busy, pushing energy which distinguishes the British

settler, there is something very attractive to the imagination in the

picture presented by the peaceful community of French _habitans_,

living under the gentle and congenial control of their _coûtumes de

Paris_, with their priests and their seigneurs, their frugal,

industrious habits, their amiable dispositions and simple pleasures, and

their almost exaggerated reverence for order and authority. Politically

speaking, they formed a most valuable element in Canadian society. At one

time, indeed, the restless anarchical spirit of the settlers around them,

acting on the sentiment of French nationality, instigated them to the

rebellion of 1837; but, as a rule, their social sympathies were stronger

than their national antipathies; and gratitude to the Government which

secured to them the enjoyment of their cherished institutions kept them

true to England on more than one occasion when her own sons threatened to

fall away from her.

By the legislative union of 1840 the barriers which had separated the

British and French communities were, to a great extent, broken down; and

the various elements in each began gradually to seek out and to combine

with those which were congenial to them in the other. But there were many

cross currents and thwarting influences; and there was great danger, as

Lord Elgin felt, lest they should form false combinations, on partial

views of local or personal interest, instead of uniting on broad

principles of social and political agreement.

Such were the antecedents of the party which now, for the first time,

found itself admitted to the counsels of the Governor. Well might he write

to Lord Grey, that 'the province was about to pass through an interesting

crisis.' He was required, in obedience to his own principles, to accept as

advisers persons who had very lately been denounced by the Secretary of

State as well as by the Governor-General, as impracticable and disloyal.

On the other hand he reflected, with satisfaction, that in these

sentiments he himself had neither overtly nor covertly expressed

concurrence; while the most extravagant assertors of responsible

government had never accused him of stepping out of his constitutional

position. He felt, therefore, that the _onus probandi_ would rest on

his new councillors if they could not act with him, and put forth

pretensions to which he was unable to accede. At least he was determined

to give them a fair trial. Writing on the 17th of March he says:--

The late Ministers tendered their resignations in a body on Saturday

4th, immediately after the division on the address, which took place

on Friday. I received and answered the address on Tuesday, and then

sent for Messrs. Lafontaine and Baldwin. I spoke to them in a candid

and friendly tone: told them that I thought there was a fair prospect,

if they were moderate and firm, of forming an administration deserving

and enjoying the confidence of Parliament; that they might count on

all proper support and assistance from me.

They dwelt much on difficulties arising out of pretensions advanced in

various quarters; which gave me an opportunity to advise them not to

attach too much importance to such considerations, but to bring

together a council strong in administrative talent, and to take their

stand on the wisdom of their measures and policy....

I am not without hopes that my position will be improved by the change

of administration. My present council unquestionably contains more

talent, and has a firmer hold on the confidence of Parliament and of

the people than the last. There is, I think, moreover, on their part,

a desire to prove, by proper deference for the authority of the

Governor-General (which they all admit has in my case never been

abused), that they were libelled when they were accused of

impracticability and anti-monarchical tendencies.

[Sidenote: News of the French revolution.]

It was only a few days after this that news reached Canada of the

revolution of February in Paris. On receipt of it he writes:--

It is just as well that I should have arranged my Ministry, and

committed the Flag of Britain to the custody of those who are

supported by the large majority of the representatives and

constituencies of the province, before the arrival of the astounding

intelligence from Europe, which reached us by the last mail. There

are not wanting here persons who might, under different circumstances,

have attempted, by seditious harangues if not by overt acts, to turn

the example of France, and the sympathies of the United States, to

account.

[Sidenote: Three difficulties.]

But while congratulating Lord Grey on having passed satisfactorily through

a crisis which might, under other circumstances, have been attended with

very serious results, and on the fact that 'at no period, during the

recent history of Canada, had the people of the province generally been

better contented, or less disposed to quarrel with the mother-country,'

Lord Elgin did not disguise from himself, or from the Secretary of State,

that there were ominous symptoms of disaffection on the part of all the

three great sections of the community, the French, the Irish, and the

British.

Bear in mind that one-half of our population is of French origin, and

deeply imbued with French sympathies; that a considerable portion of

the remainder consists of Irish Catholics; that a large Irish

contingent on the other side of the border, fanatics on behalf of

republicanism and repeal, are egging on their compatriots here to

rebellion; that all have been wrought upon until they believe that the

conduct of England to Ireland is only to be paralleled by that of

Russia to Poland; that on this exciting topic, therefore, a kind of

holy indignation mixes itself with more questionable impulses; that

Guy Fawkes Papineau, actuated by the most malignant passions,

irritated vanity, disappointed ambition, and national hatred, which

unmerited favour has only served to exasperate, is waving a lighted

torch among these combustibles--you will, I think, admit, that if we

pass through this crisis without explosions it will be a gratifying

circumstance, and an encouragement to persevere in a liberal and

straightforward application of constitutional principles to

Government.

I have peculiar satisfaction therefore, under all these circumstances,

in calling your attention to the presentment of the grand jury of

Montreal, which I have sent you officially, in which that body adverts

to the singularly tranquil and contented state of the province.[8]

[Sidenote: The French question.]

With regard to the French he constantly expressed the conviction that

nothing was wanted to secure the loyalty of the vast majority, but a

policy of conciliation and confidence. In this spirit he urged the

importance of removing the restrictions on the use of the French

language:--

[Sidenote: Use of the French language.]

I am very anxious to hear that you have taken steps for the repeal of

so much of the Act of Union as imposes restrictions on the use of the

French language. The delay which has taken place in giving effect to

the promise made, I think by Gladstone, on this subject, is one of the

points of which M. Papineau is availing himself for purposes of

agitation. I must, moreover, confess, that I for one am deeply

convinced of the impolicy of all such attempts to denationalise the

French. Generally speaking they produce the opposite effect from that

intended, causing the flame of national prejudice and animosity to

burn more fiercely. But suppose them to be successful, what would be

the result? You may perhaps _Americanize_, but, depend upon it,

by methods of this description you will never _Anglicize_ the

French inhabitants of the province. Let them feel, on the other hand,

that their religion, their habits, their prepossessions, their

prejudices if you will, are more considered and respected here than in

other portions of this vast continent, who will venture to say that

the last hand which waves the British flag on American ground may not

be that of a French Canadian?

In the same spirit, when an association was formed for facilitating the

acquisition of crown lands by French _habitans_, he put himself at

the head, of the movement; by which means he was able to thwart the

disloyal designs of the demagogue who had planned it.

[Sidenote: French unionisation.]

You will perhaps recollect that some weeks ago I mentioned that the

Roman Catholic bishop and priests of this diocese had organised an

association for colonisation purposes, their object being to prevent

the sheep of their pasture (who now, strange as it may appear,

emigrate annually in thousands to the States, where they become hewers

of wood and drawers of water to the Yankees, and bad Catholics into

the bargain) from quitting their fold. Papineau pounced upon this

association as a means of making himself of importance in the eyes of

his countrymen, and of gratifying his ruling passion by abusing

England. Accordingly, at a great meeting convened at Montreal, be held

forth for three hours to the multitude (the bishop in the chair),

ascribing this and all other French-Canadian ills, real or supposed,

to the selfish policy of Great Britain, and her persevering efforts to

deprive them of their nationality and every other blessing.

In process of time, after this rather questionable start, the

association waited on me with a memorial requesting the co-operation

of Government, M. Papineau being one of the deputation.

In dealing with them I had two courses to choose from. I had nothing

for it, situated as I was, but either, on the one hand, to give the

promoters of the scheme a cold shoulder, point out its objectionable

features, and dwell upon difficulties of execution--in which case (use

what tact I might) I should have dismissed the bishop and his friends

discontented, and given M. Papineau an opportunity of asserting that I

had lent a quasi sanction to his calumnies; or, on the other, to

identify myself with the movement, put myself in so far as might be at

its head, impart to it as salutary a direction as possible, and thus

wrest from M. Papineau's hands a potent instrument of agitation.

I was tempted, I confess, to prefer the latter of these courses, not

only by reason of its manifest expediency as bearing upon present

political contests, but also because I sympathise, to a considerable

extent, with the views of the promoters of the movement. No one

object, in my opinion, is so important, whether you seek to retain

Canada as a colony, or to fit her for independence and make her

instinct with national life and vigour, as the filling up of her

vacant lands with a resident agricultural population. More especially

is it of moment that the inhabitants of French origin should feel that

every facility for settling on the land of their fathers is given them

with the cordial assent and concurrence of the British Government and

its representative, and that in the plans of settlement their feelings

and habits are consulted. The sentiment of French Canadian

nationality, which Papineau endeavours to pervert to purposes of

faction, may yet perhaps, if properly improved, furnish the best

remaining security against annexation to the States.

I could not with these views afford to lose the opportunity of

promoting this object, which was presented by a spontaneous movement

of the people, headed by the priesthood--the most powerful influence

in Lower Canada.

The official correspondence which has passed on this subject I hope to

send by the next mail, and I need not trouble you with the detail of

proceedings on my own part, which, though small in themselves, were

not without their effect. Suffice it to say, that Papineau has retired

to solitude and reflection at his seignory, 'La Petite Nation'--and

that the pastoral letter, of which I enclose a copy, has been read

_au prône_ in every Roman Catholic church in the diocese. To

those who know what have been the real sentiments of the French

population towards England for some years past, the tone of this

document, its undisguised preference for peaceful over quarrelsome

courses, the desire which it manifests to place the representative of

British rule forward as the patron of a work dear to French-Canadian

hearts, speaks volumes.

With the same object of conciliating the French portion of the community,

he lost no opportunity of manifesting the personal interest which he felt

in their institutions. The following letter, written in August 1848, to

his mother at Paris, describes a visit to one of these institutions, the

college of St. Hyacinthe, the chief French college of Montreal:--

[Sidenote: A French college.]

I was present, the other day, at an examination of the students at one

of the Roman Catholic Colleges of Montreal. It is altogether under the

direction of the priesthood, and it is curious to observe the course

they steer. The young men declaimed for some hours on a theme proposed

by the superior, being a contrast between ancient and modern

civilisation. The greater part of it was a sonorous exposition of

ultra-liberal principles, '_Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité,' 'Vox

populi, vox Dei_,' a very liberal tribute to the vanity and to the

prejudices of the classes who might be expected to send their children

to the institution or to puff it; with an elaborate _pivot à la

Lacordaire_--that the Church had achieved all that had been

effected in this genre hitherto. _Au reste_, there was the

wonderful mechanism which gives that church such advantages--the

fourteen professors receiving no salaries, working for their food and

that of the homeliest; as a consequence, an education, board and

lodging inclusive, costing only 15 _l._ a year; the youths

subjected to a constant discipline under the eye of ecclesiastics day

and night. I confess, when I see both the elasticity and the machinery

of this church, my wonder is, not with Lacordaire that it should do so

much, but that it should not do more.

[Sidenote: The Irish question.]

More formidable at all times than any discontent on the part of the quiet

and orderly French _habitans_ was the chronic disaffection of the

restless, roving Irish; and especially when connected with a threatened

invasion of American 'sympathisers.' When such threats come to nothing, it

is generally difficult to say whether they were all mere vapouring, or

whether they might have led to serious results, if not promptly met; but

at one time, at least, there appears to have been solid ground for

apprehending that real mischief was intended. On the 18th July, 1848, Lord

Elgin writes:--

[Sidenote: Irish republicans.]

At the moment when the last mail was starting a placard, calling an

Irish repeal, or rather republican, meeting was placed in my hands. I

enclosed it in my letter to you, and I now proceed to inform you how

the movement to which it relates has progressed since then.

An M.P.P.[9], opposed in politics to the present Government, waited on

me a few days ago and told me, that he had been requested to move a

resolution at the meeting in question by a Mr. O'Connor, who

represented himself to be the editor of a newspaper at New York, and a

member of the Irish Republican Union. This gentleman informed him that

it was expected that, before September, there would be a general

rising in Ireland; that the body to which he belonged had been

instituted with the view of abetting this movement; that it was

discountenanced by the aristocracy of the States, but supported by the

great mass of the people; that funds were forthcoming in plenty; that

arms and soldiers, who might be employed as drill sergeants in the

clubs, were even now passing over week after week to Ireland; that an

American general, lately returned from Mexico, was engaged to take the

command when the proper time came; that they would have from 700,000

to 800,000 men in the field, a force with which Great Britain would be

altogether unable to cope; that when the English had been expelled,

the Irish people would be called to determine, whether the Queen was

to be at the head of their political system or not. He added that his

visit to Canada was connected with these objects; that it was

desirable that a diversion should be effected here at the time of the

Irish outbreak; that 50,000 Irish were ready to march into Canada from

the States at a moment's notice. He further stated that he had called

on my informant, because he understood him to be a disappointed man,

and ill-disposed to the existing order of things; that with respect to

himself and the thousands who felt with him, there was no sacrifice

they were not ready to make, if they could humble England and reduce

her to a third-rate power.

The place originally selected for the monster meeting, according to

the advertisement which I enclose, was the Bonsecour Market, a covered

building, under the control of the corporation. When this was

announced, however, the Government sent for the mayor (a French

Liberal) and told him that they considered it unbecoming that he

should give the room for such a purpose. He accordingly withdrew his

permission, stating that he had not been before apprised of the

precise nature of the assembly. After receiving this check, the

leaders of the movement fixed on an open space near the centre of the

town for their gathering.

It took place last night, and proved a complete failure. Not a single

individual of importance among the Irish Repeal party was present.

Some hundreds of persons attended, but were speedily dispersed by a

timely thunder shower. O'Connor was violent enough; but I have not yet

ascertained that he said anything which would form good material for

an indictment. I am of opinion, however, that proceedings of this

description on the part of a citizen of another country are not to be

tolerated; and, although there is an indisposition in certain quarters

to drive things to an extremity, I think I shall succeed in having him

arrested unless he takes himself off speedily.

[Sidenote: The British question.]

But the French question and the Irish question were simple and unimportant

as compared with those which were raised by the state of feeling recently

created in a large and influential portion of the British population,

partly by political events, partly by commercial causes.

[Sidenote: The Family Compact.]

The political party, which was now in opposition--the old Tory Loyalists,

who from their long monopoly of office and official influence had acquired

the title of the 'Family Compact'--were filled with wrath at seeing

rebels--for as such they considered the French leaders--now taken into

the confidence of the Governor as Ministers of the Crown. At the same time

many of the individuals who composed that party were smarting under a

sense of injury and injustice inflicted upon them by the Home Government,

and by that party in the Home Government by whose policy their own

ascendency in the colony had, as they considered, been undermined. Nor was

it possible to deny that there was some ground for their complaints. By

the Canada Corn Act of 1843 not only the wheat of Canada, but also its

flour, which might be made from American wheat, had been admitted into

England at a nominal duty. The premium thus offered for the grinding of

American wheat for the British market, caused a great amount of capital to

be invested in mills and other appliances of the flour trade. 'But almost

before these arrangements were fully completed, and the newly built mills

fairly at work, the [Free-Trade] Act of 1846 swept away the advantage

conferred upon Canada in respect to the corn-trade with this country, and

thus brought upon the province a frightful amount of loss to individuals,

and a great derangement of the Colonial finances.'[10] Lord Elgin felt

deeply for the sufferers, and often pressed their case on the attention of

the Secretary of State.

[Sidenote: Discontent due to Imperial legislation.]

I do not think that you are blind to the hardships which Canada is now

enduring; but, I must own, I doubt much whether you fully appreciate

their magnitude, or are aware of how directly they are chargeable on

Imperial legislation. Stanley's Bill of 1843 attracted all the produce

of the West to the St. Lawrence, and fixed all the disposable capital

of the province in grinding mills, warehouses, and forwarding

establishments. Peel's Bill of 1846 drives the whole of the produce

down the New York channels of communication, destroying the revenue

which Canada expected to derive from canal dues, and ruining at once

mill-owners, forwarders, and merchants. The consequence is, that

private property is unsaleable in Canada, and not a shilling can be

raised on the credit of the province. We are actually reduced to the

disagreeable necessity of paying all public officers, from the

Governor-General downwards, in debentures, which are not exchangeable

at par. What makes it more serious is, that all the prosperity of

which Canada is thus robbed is transplanted to the other side of the

lines, as if to make Canadians feel more bitterly how much kinder

England is to the children who desert her, than to those who remain

faithful. For I care not whether you be a Protectionist or a

Free-trader, it is the inconsistency of Imperial legislation, and not

the adoption of one policy rather than another, which is the bane of

the colonies. I believe that the conviction that they would be better

off if they were 'annexed' is almost universal among the commercial

classes at present, and the peaceful condition of the province under

all the circumstances of the time is, I must confess, often a matter

of great astonishment to myself.

[Sidenote: How to be remedied.]

His sympathy, however, with the sufferings caused by the introduction of

Free-trade was not accompanied by any wish to return to a Protective

policy. On the contrary, he felt that the remedy was to be sought in a

further development of the Free-trade principle, in the repeal of the

Navigation Laws, which cramped the commerce Canada by restricting it to

British vessels, and in a reciprocal reduction of the duties which

hampered her trade with the United States. In this sense he writes to Lord

Grey:--

I am glad to see your bold measure on the Navigation Laws. You have no

other course now open to you if you intend to keep your colonies. You

cannot halt between two opinions: Free-trade in all things, or general

Protection. There was something captivating in the project of forming

all the parts of this vast British empire into one huge

_Zollverein_ with free interchange of commodities, and uniform

duties against the world without; though perhaps, without some

federal legislation, it might have been impossible to carry it out.

Undoubtedly, under such a system, the component parts of the empire

would have been united by bonds which cannot be supplied under that on

which we are now entering; though it may be fairly urged on the other

side, that the variety of conflicting interests which would, under

this arrangement, have been brought into presence would have led to

collisions which we may now hope to escape. But, as it is, the die is

cast. As regards these colonies you must allow them to turn to the

best possible account their contiguity to the States, that they may

not have cause for dissatisfaction when they contrast their own

condition with that of their neighbours.

Another subject on which I am very solicitous, is the free admission

of Canadian products into the States. At present the Canadian farmer

gets less for his wheat than his neighbour over the lines. This is an

unfortunate state of things. I had a long conversation with Mr.

Baldwin about it lately, and he strongly supports the proposition

which I ventured to submit for your consideration about a year ago,

viz. that a special treaty should be entered into with the States,

giving them the navigation of the St. Lawrence jointly with ourselves,

on condition that they admit Canadian produce duty free. An

arrangement of this description affecting internal waters only might,

I apprehend, be made (as in the case of Columbia in the Oregon treaty)

independently of the adjustment of questions touching the Navigation

Laws generally. I confess that I dread the effect of the continuance

of the present state of things on the loyalty of our farmers. Surely

the admission of the Americans into the St. Lawrence would be a great

boon to them, and we ought to exact a _quid pro quo_.

He was sanguine enough to hope that these measures, so simple and so

obviously desirable, might be brought into operation at once; but they

were not carried until many years later, one of them, as we shall see,

only by aid of his own personal exertions; and his disappointment on this

score deepened the anxiety with which he looked round upon the

difficulties of his position, already described. On August 16 he writes:--

The news from Ireland--the determination of Government not to proceed

with the measure respecting the Navigation Laws--doubts as to whether

the American Congress will pass the Reciprocity of Trade Bill--menaces

of sympathisers in the States--all combine at present to render our

position one of considerable anxiety.

Firstly, we have the Irish Repeal body. I need not describe them; you

may look at home; they are here just what they are in Ireland.

Secondly, we have the French population; their attitude as regards

England and America is that of an armed neutrality. They do not

exactly like the Americans, but they are the _conquered, oppressed

subjects_ of England! To be sure they govern themselves, pay no

taxes, and some other trifles of this description; nevertheless, they

are the victims of British _égoisme._ Was not the union of the

provinces carried without their consent, and with a view of subjecting

them to the British? Papineau, their press, and other authorities, are

constantly dinning this into their ears, so no wonder they believe it.

Again, our mercantile and commercial classes are thoroughly disgusted

and lukewarm in their allegiance. You know enough of colonies to

appreciate the tendency which they always exhibit to charge their

misfortunes upon the mother-country, no matter from what source they

flow. And indeed it is easy to show that, as matters now stand, the

faithful subject of Her Majesty in Canada is placed on a worse

footing, as regards trade with the mother-country, than the rebel

'over the 'lines.'

The same man who, when you canvass him at an English borough election,

says, 'Why, sir, I voted Red all my life, and I never got anything by

it: this time I intend to vote Blue,'--addresses you in Canada with 'I

have been all along one of the steadiest supporters of the British

Government, but really, if claims such as mine are not more thought

of, I shall begin to consider whether other institutions are not

preferable to ours.' What to do under these circumstances of anxiety

and discouragement is the question.

As to any aggressions from without, I shall throw the responsibility

of repelling them upon Her Majesty's troops in the first instance. And

I shall be disappointed, indeed, if the military here do not give a

very good account of all American and Irish marauders.

With respect to internal commotions, I should like to devolve the duty

of quelling them as much as possible upon the citizens. I very much

doubt whether any class of them, however great their indifference or

disloyalty, fancy the taste of Celtic pikes, or the rule of Irish mob

law.

Happily the dangers which there seemed so much reason to apprehend were

dispelled by the policy at once firm and conciliatory of the Governor:

mainly, as he himself was never wearied of asserting, owing to the healthy

and loyal feeling engendered in the province by his frank adoption and

consistent maintenance of Lord Durham's principle of responsible

government. It was one of the occasions, not unfrequent in Lord Elgin's

life, that recall the words in which Lord Melbourne pronounced the

crowning eulogy of another celebrated diplomatist:--'My Lords, you can

never fully appreciate the merits of that great man. You can appreciate

the great acts which he publicly performed; but you cannot appreciate, for

you cannot know, the great mischiefs which he unostentatiously prevented.'

[Sidenote: Navigation Laws.]

In the course of the discussions on the Repeal of the Navigation Laws, to

which reference is made in the foregoing letters, an incident occurred

which attracted some attention at the time, and which, as it could not be

explained then, ought, perhaps, to be noticed in this place.

Lord George Bentinck, who led the opposition to the measure, saw reason to

think that, in the published despatches from Canada on the subject, a

letter had been suppressed which would have furnished arguments against

the Government; and, under this impression, he moved in the House of

Commons for 'copies of the omitted correspondence.' The motion was

negatived without a division, on Lord John Russell's pointing out that it

involved an imputation on the Governor's good faith; but the Premier

himself was probably not aware at the time, how completely the mover was

at fault, as is shown in the following letter from Lord Elgin to Mr. C.

Bruce, who, being a member of Parliament and a strong Protectionist, had a

double interest in the matter:--

You ask me about this mare's nest of Bentinck. The facts are these:

the Montreal Board of Trade drew up a memorial for the House of

Commons _against the Navigation Laws_, containing _inter

alia_ a very distinct threat of separation in the event of their

_non-repeal_. My secretary (not my private secretary, mark, but

my responsible Government Secretary) sent _me a draft_ of a

letter to the Board containing very loyal and proper sentiments on

this head. I approved of the letter, and sent a copy of it home with

the memorial, _instead of a report by myself_, partly because it

saved me trouble, and partly because I was glad to show how perfectly

my liberal government had expressed themselves on the point. Two or

three weeks later, the Board of Trade, not liking Mr. Sullivan to have

the last word, wrote an answer, simply justifying what they had

already stated in their memorial, which had already gone with my

comment upon it to be laid before the House of Commons. To send such a

letter home in a separate despatch would have seemed to me worse than

absurd, because it would really have been giving to this unseemly

menace a degree of importance which it did not deserve. If I

_had_ sent it I must have accompanied it with a statement to the

effect, that my sentiments on the point communicated in my former

letter remained unchanged; so the matter would have rested pretty much

where it did before. Bentinck seems to suppose that, in keeping back a

letter which stated that Canada would separate if the Navigation Laws

were not repealed, I intended by some very ingenious dodge to hasten

their repeal![11]

[Sidenote: Speech on education.]

At the beginning of the winter season of 1848-9, Lord Elgin was present,

as patron, at a meeting of the Montreal Mercantile Library Association, to

open the winter's course of lectures. It was an association mainly founded

by leading merchants, 'with a view of affording to the junior members of

the mercantile body opportunities of self-improvement, and inducements

sufficiently powerful to enable them to resist those temptations to

idleness and dissipation which unhappily abound in all large communities.'

He took the opportunity of delivering his views on the subject of

education in a speech, parts of which may still be read with interest,

after all that has been spoken and written on this fertile topic. It has

at least the merit of being eminently characteristic of the speaker, whose

whole life was an illustration, in the eyes of those who knew him best, of

the truths which he sought to inculcate on the young merchants of

Montreal.[12]

After remarking that it was vain for him to attempt, in a cursory address,

to fan the fervour of his hearers' zeal, or throw light on subjects which

they were in the habit of hearing so effectively treated,

Indeed (he continued) I should almost be tempted to affirm that in an

age when education is so generally diffused--when the art of printing

has brought the sources of information so near to the lips of all who

thirst for understanding--when so many of the secrets of nature have

been revealed--when the impalpable and all-pervading electricity, and

the infinite elasticity of steam, have been made subservient to

purposes of human utility,--the advantages of knowledge, in an

utilitarian point of view, the utter hopelessness of a successful

attempt on the part either of individuals or classes to maintain their

position in society if they neglect the means of self-improvement, are

truths too obvious to call for elucidation. I must say that it seems

to me that there is less risk, therefore, of our declining to avail

ourselves of our opportunities than there is of our misusing or

abusing them; that there is less likelihood of our refusing to grasp

the treasures spread out before us, than of our laying upon them rash

and irreverent hands, and neglecting to cultivate those habits of

patient investigation, humility, and moral self-control, without which

we have no sufficient security that even the possession of knowledge

itself will be a blessing to us. I was much struck by a passage I met

with the other day in reading the life of one of the greatest men of

his age and country--Watt--which seemed to me to illustrate very

forcibly the nature of the danger to which I am now referring as well

as its remedy. It is stated in the passage to which I allude, that

Watt took great delight in reading over the specifications of

inventions for which patent rights were obtained. He observed that of

those inventions a large proportion turned out to be entirely

worthless, and a source of ruin and disappointment to their authors.

And it is further stated that he discovered that, among these abortive

inventions, many were but the embodiment of ideas which had suggested

themselves to his own mind--which, probably, when they first presented

themselves, he had welcomed as great discoveries, likely to contribute

to his own fame and to the advantage of mankind, but which, after

having subjected them to that rigid and unsparing criticism which he

felt it his bounden duty to apply to the offspring of his own brain,

he had found to be worthless, and rejected. Now, unquestionably, the

powerful intellect of Watt went for much in this matter:

unquestionably his keen and practised glance enabled him to detect

flaws and errors in many cases where an eye equally honest, but less

acute, would have failed to discover them; but can we doubt that a

moral element was largely involved in the composition of that quality

of mind which enabled Watt to shun the sunken rocks on which so many

around him were making shipwreck--that it was his unselfish devotion

to truth, his humility, and the practice of self-control, which

enabled him to rebuke the suggestions of vanity and self-interest,

and, with the sternness of an impartial judge, to condemn to silence

and oblivion even the offspring of his own mind, for which he

doubtless felt a parent's fondness, when it fell short of that

standard of perfection which he had reared? From this incident in the

life of that great man, we may draw, I think, a most useful lesson,

which we may apply with good effect to fields of inquiry far

transcending those to which the anecdote has immediate reference.

Take, for instance, the wide region occupied with moral and political,

or, as they are styled, social questions: observe the wretched half-

truths, the perilous fallacies, which quacks, greedy of applause or

gain, and speculating on the credulity of mankind, more especially in

times of perturbation or distress, have the audacity to palm upon the

world as sublime discoveries calculated to increase, in some vast and

untold amount, the sum of human happiness; and mark the misery and

desolation which follow, when the hopes excited by these pretenders

are dispelled. It is often said in apology for such persons, that they

are, after all, sincere; that they are deceived rather than deceivers;

that they do not ask others to adopt opinions which they have not

heartily accepted themselves; but apply to this reasoning the

principle that I have been endeavouring to illustrate from the life of

Watt, and we shall find, I think, that the excuse is, in most cases,

but a sorry one, if, indeed, it be any excuse at all. God has planted

within the mind of man the lights of reason and of conscience, and

without it, He has placed those of revelation and experience; and if

man wilfully extinguishes those lights, in order that, under cover of

the darkness which he has himself made, he may install in the

sanctuary of his understanding and heart, where the image of truth

alone should dwell, a vain idol, a creature of his own fond

imaginings, it will, I fear, but little avail him, more especially in

that day when the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed, if he shall

plead in extenuation of his guilt that he did not invite others to

worship the idol until he had fallen prostrate himself before it.

These, gentlemen, are truths which I think it will be well for us to

lay to heart. I address myself more particularly to you who are

entering upon the useful and honourable career of the British

merchant; for you are now standing on the lower steps of a ladder,

which, when it is mounted with diligence and circumspection, leads

always to respectability, not unfrequently to high honour and

distinction. Bear in mind, then, that the quality which ought chiefly

to distinguish those who aspire to exercise a controlling and

directing influence in any department of human action, from those who

have only a subordinate part to play, is the knowledge of principles

and general laws. A few examples will make the truth of this

proposition apparent to you. Take, for instance, the case of the

builder. The mason and carpenter must know how to hew the stone and

square the timber, and follow out faithfully the working plan placed

in their hands. But the architect must know much more than this; he

must be acquainted with the principles of proportion and form; he must

know the laws which regulate the distribution of heat, light, and air,

in order that he may give to each part of a complicated structure its

due share of these advantages, and combine the multifarious details

into a consistent whole. Take again the case of the seaman. It is

enough for the steersman that he watch certain symptoms in the sky and

on the waves; that he note the shifting of the wind and compass, and

attend to certain precise rules which have been given him for his

guidance. But the master of the ship, if he be fit for his

situation--and I am sorry to say that many undertake the duties of

that responsible office who are not fit for it--must be thoroughly

acquainted, not only with the map of the earth and heavens, but he

must know also all that science has revealed of some of the most

subtle of the operations of nature; he must understand, as far as man

can yet discover them, what are the laws which regulate the movements

of the currents, the direction of the tempest, and the meanderings of

the magnetic fluid. Or, to take a case with which you are more

familiar--that of the merchant. The merchant's clerk must understand

book-keeping and double-entry, and know how to arrange every item of

the account under its proper head, and how to balance the whole

correctly. But the head of the establishment must be acquainted, in

addition to this, with the laws which regulate the exchanges, with the

principles that affect the production and distribution of national

wealth, and therefore with those social and political causes which are

ever and anon at work to disturb calculations, which would have been

accurate enough for quiet times, but which are insufficient for

others. I think, therefore, that I have established the truth of the

proposition, that men who aspire to exercise a directing and

controlling influence in any pursuit or business, should be

distinguished by a knowledge of principles and general laws. But it is

in the acquisition of this knowledge, and more especially in its

application to the occurrences of daily life, that the chief necessity

arises for the exercise of those high moral qualities, with the

importance of which I have endeavoured, in these brief remarks, to

impress you.

[1] _Our Colonies_: an Address delivered to the members of the

Mechanics' Institute, Chester, Nov. 12, 1855, by the Right Hon. W. E.

Gladstone, M.P.

[2] See the _Colonial Policy of Lord John Russell's Administration_, by

Earl Grey: a work in which the records of a most important period of

colonial history are traced with equal ability and authority.

[3] MacMullen's _History of Canada_, p. 497.

[4] Lord Grey's _Colonial Policy_, &c., i. 207.

[5] MacMullen's _History of Canada_.

[6] A pamphlet was published by a member of the Legislative Council,

denouncing this and similar instances of 'horrible and heartless

conduct' on the part of landed proprietors and their 'mercenary

agents;' but it was proved by satisfactory evidence that his main

statements were not founded in fact.

[7] Lord Grey's _Colonial policy_.

[8] See Papers presented to Parliament, May, 1848; or Lord Grey's

_Colonial Policy_, i. 216.

[9] _I.e._ Member of the Provincial Parliament.

[10] Lord Grey's _Colonial Policy,_ i. 220. Lord Grey was one of the

few statesmen who were blameless in the matter, for he voted against

the Act of 1843, in opposition to his party.

[11] The personal annoyance which he felt on this occasion was only a phase

of the indignation which was often roused in him, by seeing the

interests and feelings of the colony made the sport of party-speakers

and party-writers at home; and important transactions in the province

distorted and misrepresented, so as to afford ground for an attack, in

the British Parliament, on an obnoxious Minister.--_Vide Infra_,

p. 113.

[12] 'A knowledge' wrote Sir F. Bruce, 'of what he was, and of the results

he in consequence achieved, would be an admirable text on which to

engraft ideas of permanent value on this most important question;' as

helping to show 'that to reduce education to stuffing the mind with

facts is to dwarf the intelligence, and to reverse the natural process

of the growth of man's mind; that the knowledge of principles, as the

means of discrimination, and the criterion of those individual

appreciations which are fallaciously called facts, ought to be the end

of high education.'