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House of Commons, 22 February 1870, Canadian Confederation with Prince Edward Island

138 COMMONS DEBATES February 22, 1870
(Sir F. Hincks) had not entered into the charges against himself that had been published in the newspapers.
Hon. Sir Francis Hincks—Of course, in The Globe, I suppose?
Mr. Young said that he should only be too happy to hear those charges denied, but they had not been successfully cleared up; and yet it was to such a man that Sir John A. Macdonald had entrusted the most important part of the public service. He could not but apply to him in that office the quotation of Mr. Baldwin, that "Confidence was a plant of slow growth; when once it was broken, it was difficult to restore it." Then, with regard to the policy of the Government, they had violated the Constitution in their grant to Nova Scotia; and the Ontario Legislature had passed resolutions asking that Imperial legislation might be taken which would prevent such acts in the future, and there was no doubt that the example would be attempted to be followed by the other Provinces at present in the Confederation. This would account in some measure for the disturbances at Red River. The conduct of the hon. member for Cumberland, in regard to the grant to Nova Scotia, was answered, and he thought that if a different course had been pursued in regard to this matter, the difficulties that had been experienced in Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island would have been overcome. He was astonished to find that the Government had taken credit for economical management of the Dominion; and he was astonished even more to hear the hon. mover of the Address refer to it. He would like to know where the economy of the Government was to be found. Was it in the creation of new Cabinet officials, and in the way the Intercolonial Railway was being managed? He was afraid that instead of economy the very opposite course had been pursued. The public debt of the Dominion, after payment of the expenses contemplated, would amount to $120,000,000, and would entail a heavy taxation of the country. If they put the same duties upon articles entering the Dominion as the Americans did, they would be in fact cutting off their noses because the Americans did theirs. (Laughter.) He would go for any national policy which would benefit Canada; but he did not approve of a tariff which would place them in the same position as America.
Hon. Dr. Tupper said that his equal tariff referred to articles which now went free, but which should then be placed on an equal footing with the American tariff.

Source:

Canada. House of Commons Debates, 1870. Edited by P.B. Waite. Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1979. Original scans accessible at: http://parl.canadiana.ca/.

Credits:

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Selection of input documents and completion of metadata: Gordon Lyall.

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