TILLEY AGAIN IN POWER
Among the causes that had assisted to defeat confederation in New
Brunswick, when the question was first placed before the people, was the
active hostility of the lieutenant-governor, Mr. Arthur Hamilton Gordon,
a son of that Earl of Aberdeen who was prime minister of England at the
outbreak of the Crimean War. Mr. Gordon had been a strong advocate of
maritime union and had anticipated that he would be the first governor
of the united province of Acadia, or by whatever name the maritime union
was to be known. He was therefore greatly disappointed and annoyed when
the visit of the Canadians to Charlottetown, in September, 1864, put an
end to the conference which had met for the purpose of arranging the
terms of a union of that character. While a governor cannot take a very
active part in political matters, he may stimulate others to hostility
or to a certain course of action, who, under other circumstances, would
be neutral or inactive, and there is reason to believe that some of the
men who were most prominent in opposing confederation at the general
election of 1865 were mainly influenced by the views of the
lieutenant-governor. Confederation, however, had been approved by the
British government, after the terms arranged at Quebec had been
submitted to it in a despatch from the governor-general; and those
officials in New Brunswick and elsewhere, who expected to find support
in Downing Street in their hostility to confederation, were destined to
be greatly disappointed. Not long after the new government was formed in
New Brunswick, Mr. Gordon returned to England, and it was generally
believed that he was sent for by the home authorities. Instead of being
favourably received on the ground of his opposition to confederation, he
is said to have been compelled to submit to a stern reproof for his
anti-constitutional meddling in a matter which did not concern him, and
to have been given decidedly to understand that if he returned to New
Brunswick, to fill out the remainder of his term of office, it must be
as one pledged to assist in carrying out confederation and not to oppose
it. When Mr. Gordon returned he was an entirely changed man, and
whatever influence he was able to exert from that time forward was used
in favour of confederation.
{FENIAN THREATS}
Another cause which made confederation more acceptable to the people of
the province arose from the threats of the Fenians to invade Canada,
which were made during the year 1865, and which were followed by armed
invasions during the following year. Although there was no good reason
for believing that the opponents of confederation were less loyal than
its supporters or less inclined to favour British connection, it was
remarked that all the enemies of British connection seemed to have got
into the anti-confederate camp. The Fenian movement had its origin in
the troubles in Ireland arising out of oppressive land laws and other
local causes, and it soon extended to America, where the politicians
found it useful as a means of increasing their strength among the Irish
people. At that time, there were in the United States many hundreds of
thousands of men who had been disbanded from the army at the close of
the Civil War, and who were only too ready to embrace any new
opportunity of winning for themselves fame and rank on other fields of
glory. Among these disbanded soldiers were many Irishmen, and it soon
came to be known that bands of men could be collected in the United
States for the invasion of this country, with the avowed object of
driving the British flag from the American continent and substituting
the stars and stripes. It was impossible that the people of Canada could
view without emotion these preparations for their undoing, and in New
Brunswick, especially, which was the first province to be threatened,
the Fenian movement materially assisted in deciding the manner in which
the people should vote on this great question of confederation when it
came to be submitted to them a second time.
The House of Assembly met on March 8th, 1866, and the speech from the
throne, delivered by the lieutenant-governor, contained the following
paragraph: "I have received Her Majesty's commands to communicate to you
a correspondence on the affairs of British North America, which has
taken place between Her Majesty's principal secretary of state for the
colonies and the governor-general of Canada; and I am further directed
to express to you the strong and deliberate opinion of Her Majesty's
government that it is an object much to be desired that all the British
North American colonies should agree to unite in one government. These
papers will immediately be laid before you." This paragraph was not
inserted in the speech without considerable pressure on the part of the
lieutenant-governor, and it excited a great deal of comment at the time,
because it seemed to endorse the principle of confederation, although
emanating from a government which had been placed in power as the result
of an election in which confederation had been condemned. When this
portion of the speech was read by the lieutenant-governor, in the
legislative council chamber, the crowd outside the bar gave a hearty
cheer,--a circumstance which never occurred before in the province of
New Brunswick, and perhaps not in any other British colony.
The members of the House favourable to confederation immediately took up
the matter, and dealt with it as if the government had thereby pledged
themselves in favour of that policy, and indeed there was a fair excuse
for such an inference. When the secret history of the negotiations
between the lieutenant-governor and his advisers, prior to the meeting
of the legislature, comes to be told, it will be found that at least
some of the members of the government had given His Excellency to
understand that they were prepared to reverse their former action and to
adopt confederation. The difficulty with them was that they feared their
own supporters, and thought that if they made such a move they would
lose the favour of those who had placed them in power, and this fear was
certainly a very natural one.
{DESERTED BY FRIENDS}
As soon as the House met, it was discovered that Mr. A. R. Wetmore, one
of the prominent supporters of the government who had been elected to
represent the city of St. John as an anti-confederate, was no longer in
sympathy with the government. Mr. Wetmore's long experience as a _nisi
prius_ lawyer, and his curt and imperturbable manner, rendered him a
most exasperating and troublesome opponent, and at a very early period
of the session he commenced to make it unpleasant for his former
friends. He cross-examined the members of the government in the fashion
which he had learned from long experience in the courts. Such attacks
proved extremely damaging as well as very annoying.
The address in reply to the speech from the throne was moved in the
House of Assembly by Colonel Boyd, of Charlotte County, and when the
paragraph relating to confederation was read, Mr. Fisher asked him what
it meant. Mr. Boyd replied that the government had no objection to
confederation, provided the terms were satisfactory. This reply still
further strengthened the feeling that the government were inclined to
pass the measure which they had been elected to oppose. Mr. Fisher moved
an amendment to the fourth paragraph of the address, which referred to
the Fenian conspiracy against British North America, expressing the
opinion that while His Excellency might rely with confidence on the
cordial support of the people for the protection of the country, his
constitutional advisers were not by their general conduct entitled to
the confidence of the legislature. This amendment was seconded by Mr.
DesBrisay, of Kent, who had been elected as a supporter of the
government, and it was debated at great length. The discussion upon it
continued from day to day for about three weeks, when, on April 10th,
the government resigned in consequence of difficulties with His
Excellency in regard to his reply to the address of the legislative
council. The legislative council had proceeded to pass the address in
reply to the speech, but in consequence of the delay in the House of
Assembly, this reply had not before been presented to the governor. In
answer to the address of the legislative council, His Excellency said:
"I will immediately transmit your address to the secretary of state for
the colonies in order that it may be laid at the foot of the throne. Her
Majesty the Queen has already been pleased to express deep interest in a
closer union of her North America colonies and will no doubt greatly
appreciate this decided expression of your opinion, and the avowal of
your desire that all British North America should unite in one
community, under one strong and efficient government, which cannot but
tend to hasten the accomplishment of this great measure."
{THE GOVERNMENT RESIGNS}
The resignation of the government was announced in the House of Assembly
on April 13th by the Hon. A. J. Smith, and the correspondence between
the lieutenant-governor and his advisers was laid before the House at
the same time. The immediate and ostensible cause of the resignation was
the terms of approval in which the lieutenant-governor had replied to
the address of the legislative council in reference to confederation.
Mr. Smith claimed that it was the duty of the lieutenant-governor to
consult his constitutional advisers in regard to the answer to be given,
and that, in assuming to himself the right to reply to such an address
without consulting them, he had not acted in accordance with the true
spirit of the constitution. This was certainly sound doctrine, and the
reply of the lieutenant-governor was by no means satisfactory on this
point, but he was able to show that Mr. Smith had himself expressed his
willingness to enter into a scheme of union, although opposed to the
Quebec scheme, and had suggested that, as a preliminary step, the papers
on that subject should be referred to a joint committee of both Houses
with an understanding that the committee should report in favour of a
measure of union. At a later period Mr. Smith seemed indisposed to carry
out this arrangement, his conduct evidently being the result of
timidity, and so he found himself, to use the language of Sir Arthur
Gordon, "entangled in contradictory pledges from which he found it
impossible to extricate himself." He had, in fact, placed himself in the
power of the lieutenant-governor, and his only resource was to resign.
It was understood at the time, and has never been denied, that His
Excellency was acting under the advice of the Hon. Peter Mitchell, a
member of the legislative council, who was a strong supporter of
confederation. Mr. Mitchell was a man of great force of character, and,
next to Mr. Tilley, must be regarded as the most potent factor in
bringing about the change in the sentiments of the people of the
province with respect to confederation.
The lieutenant-governor called upon the Hon. Peter Mitchell, who was a
member of the legislative council, to form a government. Mr. Mitchell
had been very active in the cause of confederation, and was the moving
spirit in the legislative council in all the proceedings in its favour
taken in that body; but, when asked to form a new government, he advised
the lieutenant-governor that the proper person to undertake that
responsibility was the Hon. Mr. Tilley. The latter, however, declined
the task on the ground that he was not a member of the legislature,
whereupon Mr. Mitchell associated with himself the Hon. Mr. Wilmot for
the purpose of forming a new government. The government was announced on
April 18th, and was formed as follows:--Hon. Peter Mitchell, president
of the council; Hon. S. L. Tilley, provincial secretary; Hon. Charles
Fisher, attorney-general; Hon. Edward Williston, solicitor-general; Hon.
John McMillan, postmaster-general; Hon. A. R. McClelan, chief
commissioner of public works; Hon. R. D. Wilmot and Hon. Charles
Connell, members without office. The latter afterwards became
surveyor-general.
{THE FENIAN INVASION}
While the government was being formed in New Brunswick, a Fenian army
was gathering upon the border for the purpose of invading the province.
This force consisted of four or five hundred young men, most of whom had
been in the army of the United States. It was recruited at New York, and
its chief was a Fenian named Doran Killian. A part of his force arrived
at Eastport on April 10th, and a schooner, laden with arms for the
Fenians, soon after reached that place. From this schooner, which was
seized by the United States authorities, one hundred and seventeen cases
of arms and ammunition were taken,--a clear proof that the intentions of
the Fenians were warlike, and that their presence on the border was not
a mere demonstration. The Fenians appeared to have been under the
impression--as many residents of the United States are to this day--that
the people of Canada and of New Brunswick were dissatisfied with their
own form of government, and were anxious to come under the protection of
the stars and stripes. This absurd idea was responsible, largely, for
the War of 1812, and it has been responsible, since then, for many other
movements, with respect to the British provinces of North America, in
which residents of the United States have taken part. There never was a
greater delusion than this, and, in the instance referred to, the
Fenians were doomed to be speedily undeceived. The presence of a Fenian
force on the border sounded like a bugle blast to every able-bodied man
in New Brunswick, and the call for troops to defend the country was
instantly responded to. About one thousand men were called out and
marched to the frontier. The troops called out consisted of the three
batteries of the New Brunswick regiment of artillery, seven companies of
the St. John volunteer battalion, one company of the first battalion of
the York County militia, one company each of the first and third
battalions of the Charlotte County militia, and two companies each of
the second and fourth battalions of the Charlotte County militia. These
troops remained in arms on the frontier for nearly three months, and
were disbanded by a general order dated June 20th. The Fenian raid on
New Brunswick proved to be a complete fiasco. The frontier was so well
guarded by the New Brunswick militia and by British soldiers, and the
St. Croix so thoroughly patrolled by British warships, that the Fenians
had no opportunity to make any impression upon the province. It ought to
be added that the United States government was prompt to take steps to
prevent any armed invasion, and General Meade was sent down to Eastport
with a force of infantry and a ship of war to prevent the Fenians from
making that place a base of operations against these provinces.
{CONFEDERATION VICTORIES}
The general elections to decide whether or not New Brunswick was willing
to become confederated with Canada, were held in May and June. The first
election was that for the county of Northumberland on May 25th, and the
result was that the four candidates who favoured confederation, Messrs.
Johnson, Sutton, Kerr and Williston, were elected by large majorities.
The same result followed in the county of Carleton, where the election
was held on May 26th, Messrs. Connell and Lindsay being elected by a
vote of more than two to one over their anti-confederate opponents. The
third election was in Albert County on the 29th, and there Messrs.
McClelan and Lewis, the two candidates in favour of confederation, were
triumphantly returned. On May 31st, elections were held in Restigouche
and Sunbury, and, in these counties, the candidates in favour of
confederation were returned by large majorities. The York election came
next. In that county, the anti-confederates had placed a full ticket in
the field, the candidates being Messrs. Hatheway, Fraser, Needham and
Brown. Mr. Fisher had with him on the ticket, Dr. Dow and Messrs.
Thompson and John A. Beckwith. Every person expected a vigorous contest
in York, notwithstanding the victory of Mr. Fisher over Mr. Pickard a
few months before. But, to the amazement of the anti-confederates in
other parts of the province, the Hon. George L. Hatheway and Dr. Brown
retired after nomination day and left Messrs. Fraser and Needham to do
battle alone. Mr. Hatheway's retirement at this time was a deathblow to
the hopes of the anti-confederates all over New Brunswick, affecting not
only the result in the county of York, but in every other county in
which an election was to be held. A few nights before his resignation,
Mr. Hatheway had been in St. John addressing a packed meeting of
anti-confederates in the hall of the Mechanics' Institute, and he had
spoken on that occasion with apparent confidence. When his friends in
St. John, who had been so much moved by his vigorous eloquence, learned
that he had deserted them, their indignation was extreme, and they felt
that matters must indeed be in a bad way when he did not dare to face
the York electors.
The election in the county of St. John was held on June 6th, and that in
the city, on the seventh. For the county, the confederate candidates
were Messrs. C. N. Skinner, John H. Gray, James Quinton and R. D.
Wilmot, and the anti-confederate candidates were Messrs. Coram, Cudlip,
Robertson and Anglin. The former were elected by very large majorities,
Mr. Wilmot, who stood lowest on the poll among the confederates, having
a majority of six hundred over Mr. Coram, who stood highest among the
defeated candidates. The election for the city was an equally emphatic
declaration in favour of confederation. The candidates were the Hon. S.
L. Tilley and A. R. Wetmore on the confederate side, and J. V. Troop and
S. R. Thompson opposed to confederation. Mr. Tilley's majority over Mr.
Troop, who stood highest on the poll of the two defeated candidates, was
seven hundred and twenty-six. The only counties which the
anti-confederate party succeeded in carrying were Westmorland,
Gloucester and Kent,--three counties in which the French vote was very
large,--so that of the forty-one members returned, only eight were
opponents of confederation. The victory was as complete as that which
had been recorded against confederation in the beginning of 1865.
{THE BATTLE IS WON}
The battle of confederation had been won, and the triumph was mainly due
to the efforts of the Hon. Mr. Tilley. That gentleman, as soon as the
defeat of confederation took place in March, 1865, had commenced a
campaign for the purpose of educating the people on the subject. Being
free from his official duties and having plenty of time on his hands,
he was able to devote himself to the work of explaining the advantages
of the proposed union to the people of the province; and during the
years 1865 and 1866, he spoke in almost every county on the subject
which was so near to his heart. He had embraced confederation with a
sincere desire for the benefit of his native province, and with the
belief that it would be of the greatest advantage to New Brunswick. If
the fruits of confederation have not yet all been realized, that has
been due rather to circumstances over which neither Mr. Tilley nor any
one else had any control, than to any inherent vice of confederation
itself. If union is strength, then it must be admitted that the union of
the British North American provinces, which consolidated them into a
powerful whole, was a good thing; and there cannot be a doubt that if
the provinces had remained separate from each other, their present
position would have been much less favourable than it is now.