The Speaker took the chair at three o'clock.
A petition was presented from certain citizens of Hamilton, asking for the abolition
of duty on refined salt.
THE ADDRESS
He would beg gentlemen on the
other side to acquit him of remissness in not
speaking, but he had wanted to narrow the
debate and have a discussion on the North-
West. At the same time he had nothing to
conceal. The Opposition had a right to know
and his friends on his own side of the House. It
would be in the memory of the House that
during the short session of 1867 he delivered on the
subject of the North-West. (Hear, hear.) It was
known too, how, in the presence of an immense
force on the other side, he had avowed and
maintained the belief that the Imperial Government should assume the charge of that
80 COMMONS DEBATES February 21, 1870
Country. He believed that it should be formed
into a Crown Colony, or a series of Crown Colonies, and that the Queen would have
the benefit of all the trade without the people of the Dominion incurring the risk
of extending their territories or burthening themselves with the expense. The session
of Parliament to which he had referred, lasted forty days, and after it closed and
went home. When Parliament opened again he found that it had decided to purchase the
Territory. After this, delegates were sent to England, and the arrangements they had
made were, he admitted, of an advantageous character. The policy as to the North-West
was settled when he went into the Government last spring, and there was nothing to
be done except to carry out the policy which Parliament had laid down. He now addressed
the House in the presence of his friends in the Government, and would ask them whether,
from the day he entered the Cabinet, they had not his sincere and hearty co-operation
in the course they had determined to pursue. He would now say something as to his
connection with this question, but everything that related to the policy of the Government
after the insurrection, it would be more convenient to discuss when the papers came
down. He proposed now to confine himself chiefly to those points on which the gentlemen
opposite had made observations in the matter of his conduct. About mid-summer he had
gone up the Upper Ottawa, and on his return was about to pay a visit to his own Province,
when he was surprised to receive a note from one of the Government as to exchanging
the office he then held to that of Secretary of State for the Provinces. On reference
to this particular circumstance, he would observe it had been stated abroad, and not
contradicted, that there was some French conspiracy, some conspiracy, hatched he did
not know exactly where, or by whom, but hatched in some decree in the interests of
Lower Canada, and by some gentlemen who represented that section of the country. He
would now state that the proposal was made to him by the Minister of Justice, sitting
in the Hon. Mr. McDougall's house, and no one was present but three persons; and those
three were themselves. There was not in the city a French member of the Cabinet, save
the Hon. Mr. Chapais. Sir George-É. Cartier and the Hon. Mr. Langevin were in the
Lower Provinces. He did not know whether they were conversant with the proposition
or not. Next day, going down the river to Montreal, he put the question to the Minister
of Justice. "Do you really wish me to change office? I have no desire to change for
I am happy enough where I am." (Laughter.) He further stated to Sir John A. Macdonald
that he desired no change, but at the same time, was perfectly willing to
81
assist the Government in any department they
desired. He also said to Sir John, "I know Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland
and the two Provinces of Ontario and Quebec, but what do I know of the North-West?
But if it is wise for me to act, the best thing I can do is to go to the country,
examine its approaches on every side, and bring back to the Government that amount
of local and general knowledge which the Government may require." As a further evidence
of this French conspiracy, Sir John A. Macdonald had said to him, with a good deal
of earnestness, "I wish you would go." He (Mr. Howe) then asked him if he were at
liberty to discuss this matter with their colleagues? and Sir John A. Macdonald replied
in the affirmative. He (Mr. Howe) soon ascertained that the proposal had been made
with the knowledge of the two French members. In the conversation he (Mr. Howe) had
with these two French gentlemen, they neither attempted to influence his judgement
nor control his free action. He believed that the statement which had been made with
respect to these two gentlemen was without the shadow of a foundation. On his return
to Ottawa he put himself in communication with Mr. McDougall finding that the latter
had made up his mind to accept the office of Lieutenant Governor. He consulted with
Mr. McDougall as to the best way in which to employ his (Mr. Howe's) summer. Here
he might take occasion to say, with respect to a certain matter that had been hinted
at, that in one conversation which he had previous to the acceptance of office by
Mr. McDougall, he said to that gentleman, "If I were younger nothing would gratify
my ambition more than to go to the North-West, and there lay the foundation of a great
Colony; but I am twenty years too old and would not accept the office." Mr. McDougall
knew this was his (Mr. Howe's) opinion before he accepted office. Mr. Howe having
described the mode of his journey to the North-West, said that it had been objected
to him that he had not sent back instructions before Mr. McDougall set out. The explanation
on this head was very simple. When he got to Abercrombie, which was 315 miles from
Fort Garry, he heard rumours and reports that the Governor would not be allowed to
enter the Territory. These rumours were everywhere, even in the streets. Some young
Canadian friends asked him how he knew that he would be allowed to enter the country.
He said that he would make the attempt; that the party did not anticipate an army,
but were quite prepared for any small force. These rumours had spread 315 miles this
side of Fort Garry.
118 COMMONS DEBATES February 21, 1870
[...] whether he would support him. He promised
him to do so for he thought that he would have
been a good Governor. He thought now that he
would have been a good Governor if he could
have got into the country and could have
explained to the settlers that the Government
intended to do them no wrong. There could be
no doubt that the Scotch and English half-
breeds did not find fault with what the French
Canadian half-breeds were doing. It had been
published in some papers that there was a
conspiracy against his hon. friend, because a
French Governor ought to be sent there, and
that the Territory ought to be a second Quebec.
He thought that these statements were the
most wicked untruths that had ever been published. He had promised his friend his
support,
and he should not have been guilty of doing
anything to give the least appearance of truth
to such a wicked and mischievous untruth. The
French Canadians were an impulsive race, and
he thought it very wrong for a writer or a
speaker to attempt to raise a disturbance in the
East as well as in the West. They were French
Canadians, but they were also British subjects
(cheers), and were as much British, even if not
more so, than the British, (cheers). He was a
pure Frenchman, and he defied them to produce a more loyal man. Suppose that he was
appointed to the Governorship, would his
being a French Canadian make him unfit for
that position? (No! no.) Sir G.-E. Cartier then
contrasted the liberality of the Provinces of
Ontario and Quebec, and gave a stirring
description of the loyalty of the old French
inhabitants of the Province of Quebec. As to
the inhabitants of the Red River, the French
had gone there with their fathers, but some
stupid fanatical papers had said there should
be no Frenchmen there. At any rate there was
no intention to send a French Government
there; but still their paper had no right to
speak of the French population as they had
done. The Red River must be a Province like
Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, or New Brunswick, but a Province for every race to settle
in.
He thanked God there were in Lower Canada
250,000 honest English-speaking residents; and
he and his co-nationalists only regretted that
there were not double the number. At the last
census there were 80,000 French Canadians in
Upper Canada. He hoped at the next census
there would be 100,000 more (laughter), and he
was convinced that the Upper Province would
not be the worse for this increase. The address
stated that the policy of conciliation would be
adopted. There was the case of Ireland, conquered hundreds of years ago, and the misgovernment
there was only now about to be
relieved by Protestant votes. We wanted no
such state of things here—no country baptized
in blood. The House and country ought to be
119
thankful that the North-West Territory would
be annexed without a drop of blood being shed,
(hear, hear). The moderation of the half-breeds
had been remarkable; and now they understood the policy of the Government was to be
pacific. He was afraid that Mr. Macdougall had
been misled by some designing people in Red
River. But papers would come before the
House, and they would show the necessity of
having this unfortunate difficulty settled as
soon as possible. Some papers asserted that
Bishop Taché had encouraged the movement.
He had the authority of Bishop Taché to deny
it in toto. Some days before Bishop Taché left
for Rome in December last, Bishop Taché was
informed that Mr. Macdougall was to come.
The Bishop wrote to the College of St. Boniface, to the nuns in the convent there,
telling
them to welcome Mr. Macdougall. The nuns
having the little children under their control,
were prepared to receive him by singing the
National Anthem. As to the remarks which Mr.
Mackenzie had made as to the militia he (Sir
George) could inform him that there were
enrolled in Lower Canada 43,000 men, or 3,500
beyond the quota. There was also an excess
over the quota in Ontario, New Brunswick, and
Nova Scotia. There had been strictures as to
the success of Confederation, but could it be
denied that the Nova Scotian's difficulty de
facto had been settled? It was well after all that
the Constitutional Act of Confederation had
been tested in Nova Scotia. There the Local
Parliament was against the Dominion Government, but still it could not impede the
whole of
Confederation. By the action of the last Parliament giving justice to Nova Scotia,
the cause of
Confederation had been vastly strengthened.
Sir A. T. Galt had accused the Government of
slowness in carrying out Confederation; but
New Jersey and Rhode Island had been for
years out of the American Union. Let Sir A. T.
Galt, who is so great an admirer of American
institutions, give the Dominion the same time
for the work of Confederation. The work of
incorporating Red River, Newfoundland and
Prince Edward Island would be completed
before our American neighbors had settled
their difficulties. The Hon. Mr. Huntington had
taken part in a meeting in the Eastern Townships, called for the discussion of Independence,
but luckily the member for Missisquoi
(Mr. Chamberlin) was there and opposed him.
The result was that Mr. Huntington did not try
to hold a meeting of the same kind anywhere
else in Lower Canada.
120 COMMONS DEBATES February 21, 1870
Hon. Mr. Huntington said, the question of
Confederation was an old one, started by Sir A.
T. Galt in 1858, seized on, and adopted by Slr
G.-É . Cartier, and soon after introduced into a
speech from the Throne.
Hon. Sir George-E. Cartier said the Government had real work in do to incorpoate the
different Provinces; but the Hon. Mr. Huntington had found it easier work to get up
an
agitation. He did not blame any one who cherished ideas about "Independence" but in
England amongst some of the public men and
writers, there was an erroneous idea as to
"Independence." There had sprung up there an
abominable school of politicians who would
measure the greatness of England by estimating the savings of a few thousand a year.
But
if there were diseased parts: in the body politic
of England, let them show that they at heart,
as members of the Empire, were healthy, and
let them show by pronouncing that we have no
desire for "Independence". (Cheers.)
Hon. Mr. Huntington said that the Minister
of Militia confounded the theory of Confederation with its practica1 working. The
Confederation question had been of slow growth. It was
first proposed years ago by the member for
Sherbrooke, who stood alone in the matter, and
it was only when it was likely to be successful
that the scheme: was taken up by the Minister
of Militia and a coaliton formed to carry it.
Judging from analogy he had little doubt that
before long Cartier would make the independence question his own and earn great credit
by carrying out other men's ideas, as he had
done before.
Hon. Sir George-E. Cartier said the agitation now at all events was very slow. England
was the centre of Ihe British system. If there
was any disease of the heart, let Canada prove
herself sound and show herself determined to
maintain the connection in spite of anything
which might be uttered by any British Radical,
(cheers).
The fifth to the ninth paragraphs were
adopted. On the reading of the tenth,
Mr. Cartwright moved the adjournment of
the House, and after remarks from some of the
members the House adjourned at 11:35.
This individual participated in:
