Mr. Lewis in the Chair.
The Bill was agreed to.
Sections 1 to 12 were read and passed
without discussion. On the reading of
Sec.13, which provides that "the commanding officer of every volunteer corps
shall receive a sum not exceeding $2
per head for every effective member of
such corps, to provide for the proper
care of arms and accoutrements, and to
meet the expanses of the corps.
On Sections 17 and 18 there was some
scattered discussion as to the volunteer
corps being exempt from the payment
of taxes to the extent of six dollars,
after which they were struck out;
but on the suggestion of Hon. Mr.
WILMOT, supported by the Hon. Mr. SMITH, and others, they were reconsidered and after
being amended were passed. The alterations made were, the striking out of Class B,
as exempted and permitting volunteers to be
clear or paying City, County and Parish
rates and taxes, to the amount of six
dollars.
Section 19 was passed without amendment, but 200 was entirely withdrawn,
and the following substituted by the hon.
mover of the Bill.
"20. The articles of engagement of
all volunteer corps shall be subject to
the approval of the Commander-in-Chief:
and such volunteer corps shall be drilled
and exercised at such times in each year,
(not exceeding ten days) and at such
places as the Commander-in-Chief may
order; and such corps shall be subject
to inspection from time to time by such
person or persons as shall be appointed
by the Commander-in-Chief for that purpose."
"21. The men of Class B and Class
C, of the active militia, shall be
carefully enrolled, and shall, when not exempted, assemble for muster upon one day
in each year, at such time and place as the commanding officer of each battalion may
direct to each company therein, interfering as little as possible with seed time and
harvest; but no person shall be required to travel more than twelve miles from his
usual place of residence to attend such must."
" Now that these musters are over for
the season, would it not be well for the
sensible men of the community to ask
themselves " what has been effected, or what can be effected by compelling three or
four thousand men in
the City and Portland, to leave their
business for one day in the year to play
fool and be the laughing stock of the
idlers who go to see them on the Barrack Square or elsewhere? Is the
strength or the efficiency of the militia
force promoted in the slightested degree
by such a waste of time? Would St.
John be better able to resist attack after
this muster and drill than it was before." We believe the effect of these
miserable displays must be to create auch
a dislike of militia service, as must do
material mischief should it ever be necessary to set the militia to work in earnest.
The Legislature never intended
that those ridiculous attempts at drilling
men in an hour or two on one day of the
year should be made, and the law gives
no authority to the commanding officers
to expose the men in such a way to ridicule. We believe that even the muster
is a waste of time: It is for the merchants and mechanics of the city le determine
for themselves whether such
proceedings shall be repeated."
This is sufficient to show the uselessness of the one day muster All that is
necessary is to enroll the names of the
men, to see what is really the available
strength of the country; but to give the
power into the hands of the commanding officer to call out men simply to play
the fool is of no use whatever.
AFTERNOON SESSION — 3 P.M.
Mr. CUDLIP. — I agree with hon. members who think a day of general muster is
not required; with think my constituents will
not accord with this section of the Bill,
and although I am not prepared to offer
any amendments, yet I wish it set ou record that I am not favorable to this one
day muster, as it interferes with the business of the country. I would rather see
some such an arrangement as they had in
old times, when training day was combined with fairs and agricultural exhibitions.
Mr. GILBERT. — I agree with the hon.
member ror St. John, that this one day's
muster is of no practical use; the mills
have to be stoped, all kinds of work suspended, and the day is in reality wasted.
More than this, I do not believe in delegating the power to call them out to the
Commander-in-Chief.
Hon. Mr. WILMOT . — I was one of the
seven who opposed the suspension of the
old militia law and I did so as I believed
that every man from eighteen to sixty
should be enrolled, and be willing, in case
of need, to turn out to defend his home
and hearth. In the United States they
had little or no organization, and one day
they woke up and found they had to muster upon on of the most tremendous wars
the world ever saw. I hope we shall not
pursue the same course, and in the day
of trouble find ourselves in the same position as they twere before the war. I do
not look upon the turing out for one day
as a burden to the country. It is simply giving the people a holiday, just such as
we had on the 4th of June, the old King's
birthday.
Mr. BOYD. — If the idea of hon. members who oppose this section were carried
out we might just as well sweep the
whole Militia Bill from the Statue Book.
If a day is not appointed for the mustering and enrollment of the men, no return could
be made of the available force of the country, an no captain would be willing to go
from house to house to obtain his roll without being handsomely paid for his trouble.
Mr. LINDSAY. — It is said the day is not set apart for drill, but merely to get the
men to
[?] It is a ri
DEBATES OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY FOR 1865. 79
diculous idea to make men leave their
work and travel, as many would have to,
twelve miles, just for this purpose. It is
well known that the day is one of drunk
enness and frolic. It seems as though the
chief object was to let a few officers parade
'round and show their uniforms. The
whole thing puts me in mind of the lines
of some poet—
"Man, vain man, when clothed in brief
authority
Cuts such fantastic tricks before High
Heaven
As makes an angel weep."
Mr. WETMORE referred to the unfair
manner in which the appointments had been
made, as was evident from the fact that
he held an ensign's commission in the
Westmorland Militia since April 1842,—
from the way in which his valuable services had been overlooked one would
imagine it was dated the 1st of that
month. He did not think that one day
muster was a burden to the people, and
as to their behaving unseemly at the last
general drill in St. John, he could assure
the House that notwithstanding the article in the
Freeman, he had been credibly
informed that the men behaved themselves with h. becoming dignity, and exhibited an
earnest desire to become proficient in their exercises. He did not see
why the Commander-in-Chief should not
have the power to call them our; if he
had not the power, who should have it?
The section then passed, as did also 22
and 23.
Section 24 : " The Commander-in-
Chief shall by General Order designate
the Battalions from which the companies
so to be exercised shall be drawn, and
shall appoint the time for the assembling
and dismissal of such companies; but no
company shall be compelled to serve for
a longer period than twenty eight days,
and no Battalion shall be obliged to furnish more than one such company in each
year. "
Mr. GILBERT. — I would ask if this Committee is going to endorse by their action
the principle of compulsory draft, which
this section contemplates? If the House
pass it, I must before they do so, enter
my solemn protest against it. I am sure
the country wil not endorse it. That the
men from the different companies shall
be
compelled to have their avocations
and go to some place, and there be drilled
for twenty-eight days is a preposterous
idea. And what benefit will it be?
Will twenty-eight days suffice to
make them proficient? for by this
law the same men will not be taken each
year, but sixty men each year til the
whole have been drilled. Why, in a time
of peace, are our men to be dragged from
their homes and families and treated in
this why? It seems that the idea prevails that men will volunteer. I don't
believe a man will do so in Westmorland,
for they are agriculturalists, and cannot
afford to lose the time. they won't go,
not because they are disloyal, but because
they will not, except in a prospect of war, agree to be drafted into a military camp
against their will.
Hon. Mr. SMITH.—I don't think my hon. colleague represents the whole people of Westmorland, although
he seems to imagine that he, and he alone, does represent them. I think I have as
much of the confidence of the people there as my hon. colleague; I have had some opportunity
of knowing what their views are on various matters during the past few months, and
I am prepared to say that
the people of Westmorlandare willing to
do what is best for the good of the country. I take the ground that it is necessary
to have some power to enforce the
law, and on that ground I wish the section to pass. My hon. colleague seems
the only man who is really opposed to it,
and he sems to be determined to oppose
everything; he is the most querrulous
man I ever saw in my life. He says if
the law pass the people of Westmorland
won't stand it. I say that they are a law
abiding people and will. lt will be for
the House to determine which is correct.
When they look at the position of affairs,
to the fact that delegates have gone to
England on a military mission, that our
sister colony of Nova Scotia is alive to
the necessity of having the militia placed
on a good footing, I am sure the people
of Westmorland as well as every other
section of the Province, will yield a cheerful obedience to the provisions of the
Bill. What object could the Government or the framer of the Bill have in
view în the insertion of this section if not
the good of the country?
Hon. Mr. WILMOT. — The hon. member
for Westmorland (Mr. Gilbert) makes a
great time about men being taken from
their homes, but if a man does not want
to go it is easy to find a substitute. I
never yet saw the time when I could not
get the services of a man for £3 10s. for
twenty-eight days — that is fifty cent a
day and his food, and this will be provided. No one need complain, for it will be
easy to get substitutes at that rate. if a
man's business is so that he cannot leave
himself.
Mr. BOYD.—I do not think that there
will be any need to resort to the draft, as
I believe there will be plenty of volunteers to form the camp. The only difficulty
will be that there may be too many;
the inducements to volunteer are so great.
for I see by section 27 that " any militiaman serving in such company, either voluntarily
or by draft, shall be exempt from
similar services during the period of ten
years." Such an offer as this was not made
in old times, and I think no better plan
could be adopted than by taking men out
of class B to fill up the quota wanted for
drill and exercise.
Hon. Mr. ALLEN.— The fact is, only
some sixty or seventy men are wanted out
of each Battalion of 1400 or 1500. and it
is most probable that the full number will
volunteer. If I imagined that this would
be a meeting ot young men bent on dissipation, I would not urge its passage,
but if they think it will be a spree, that
they will be allowed to wander round the
country and act as they please, they will
be greatly mistaken. They will be under
strict discipline, and I have no doubt will
come out a better class of men than they
go in. If I had not thought this, I would
not heve brought the Bill in.
Mr. GILBERT. — My hon. colleague has
undertaken to catechize me for the action
I see fit to take on this question. I believe in the right of private opinion. I accord
to him what I require for myself, the
right to think and speak freely, every man
his own opinion. We have been of the
same mine on this question in the past, but since the last election he has changed
his views, not I belive becaue he has come into power, for he has shown his disinterestedness
in this respect in the past, but from conscientious motives. I am opposed to making
this affair compulsory, for the loss of the labor of 2000 men to the country is more
than should be taken out without providing an equivalent.
Mr. LANDRY. — I believe if we cannot
send a few men to be drilled we should
not talk so much about our loyalty.
Mr. CONNELL. — It seems that men have
to provide a grant of $30,000 for the Militia, and then to draft the men into the
service. I am opposed to any man being
seized and taken from his farm, or shop,
or desk, and forced to be drilled for twenty-eight day, and I wish to enter my protest
against allowing the Commander-in-Chief to take men thus, wasting the public money
and demoralizing
the habits of the young men of the country.
Mr. CUDLIP —I should not have voted
for the $30,000 grant if it had not been
for Confederation, and I want that to go
to the country for what it is worth. I do
not believe in this part of the Bill any
more than the hon. member for Carleton.
I object to the draft, and if I had a son of
eighteen who was drawn for camp, I would
withstand it to the utmost of my power.
No nation, at any time, has any right to
adopt the system of drafting men for their
armies The people and papers of the
United States protested against it, and
showed how unfairly it bore in certain
cases. In England if they want soldiers
they pay for them; they never had a draft
and never will ; the people would not
stand it.
Hon. Mr. SMITH.- We must have some
means to compel men to join the organization. In Canada, Nova Scotia, and
Newfoundland, they have the compulsory
draft, and what reason is there why we
should not? If we want to maintain a
Military Camp, how can we get along
without some power to force them to come
forward? I agree with my hon. friend
from St. John (Mr Cudlip). that if it had
not been for Confederation we need not
have taken the steps we are now compelled to. There are secret influences at
work to injur this country in the eyes of
Great Britain, and to force upon us what
we have rejected. They are at work in
secret in Canada and Nova Scotia, and
we must do something to counteract them.
I put it to the hon. member for Carleton
whether, if this grant had not been made,
and if this Bill does not pass, Confederation would not he hastened? And to
prevent thîs we must enter upon a complete Militia scheme, and to carry it out
we must have some power to coerce those
who are to belong to it.
Mr. McMillan — I am willing to go to
the extent of $30,000 for Militia purposes,
not because I think it would be effective,
for I do not think it can be so out of Confederation, where the whole force would
be under one head, but I strongly object
to the section that gives the power into
the hands of the Commander-in-Chief to
call them out. I do not think it should
be done without the consent of his advisors.
Mr. NEEDHAM. — If I thought there was
no good in the Bill I would not vote for
it; and if I had thought the grant would
be no good, I would not have voted for
that; but this is the most extraordinary
way to legislate that I ever heard of,
voting for things that we don't believe
in. Talk about coercion. I should like to
see the law that is not coercion. I don't
think any injury will arise from this camp instruction, and I don't think there will
be any need to draft; but if they won't volunteer, they must be coerced. Hon. members
talk about this being a time of peace; but there is a saying old but true, "In times
of peace prepare for war," And then I believe this camp will be of real service to
young men. It will take them from the haunts of wickedness, that
80 DEBATES OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY FOR 1865.
in too many cases they frequent. and keep
them twenty-eight days under a strict
discipline and subordination, that will result in real good. If the question of the
draft is the only difficulty in the way, hon.
members need have no fear, for let the
camp be stationed here at Fredericton,
and give us the $30,000, and we'll keep it
well supplied for years to come.
Mr. LINDSAY. —I am convinced that the
draft is the most obnoxious thing that
was ever introduced into a nation, and it
is never adopted in any form in England,
except under the most pressing difficulties.
Hon. Mr. SMITH. — Under the old law
all the men of the Province between the
ages of 18 and 45 were called out for
three days drill, whilst now we only ask
for a certain number to form a camp of
instruction, at a great saving of the time
and producing labor of the country.
Hon. Mr. ALLEN. — The drafting of men
for the Militia is not now introduced for
the first time; it was established in the Bill which passed in 1862. The 16th Section
of that Bill contains the same principle as this.
Mr. SUTTON. —If I thought the draft
would ever be enforced, and it would be
compulsory for' men to leave their homes
to go to camp, I would vote against it, but
as I believe there will be plenty of volunteers I am willing to support this Section.
Hon. Mr. BOTSFORD. —Although the
principle of drafting was established in
1862 yet it was never enforced, as people
came forward voluntarily. My hon. colleague, (Mr. Gilbert) although opposed to
the draft here, joins the hon. members for
Carleton, who were willing enough to take
our men and send then off to Canada to
fight her battles there under Confederation. He says, things have changed; he
too has changed, when he joins those who
were desirous to force Confederation upon
us. The hon. member for Carleton, (Mr.
Connell) when asked, What shall we do? says, Do as Canada does. Canada, who has brought
down the estimate England held of these Colonies by refusing to establish a system
for defence. I think, however, when it is known in England what we are doing here,
she will not consider us so disloyal nor so fond of annexation as they would make
us out to be.
Mr. McMILLAN. — The Hon. President of the council says there are secret influences at work against
us in Canada and in Nova Scotia. I would ask, Is it right for a gentleman holding
the high position he does in this Province, to say that his fellow colonists are animated
by such unworthy feelings, without producing some proof. The Hon. Surveyor General
seems to be willing to shut us up entirely to ourselves. Build a wall round New Brunswick,
like that around China; don't break the eggshell that separates us from the great
world; isolate us, cut us off rather from our fellow men. and if an enemy enters Canada
at Niagara, don't go the resistance of our fellow colonists, but leave them to do
as best they can. I believe that without Confederation we cannot have the defences
of Militia in a proper conditions. They will be of no actual service till we have
them all united under the general direction of one head.
Mr. GILBERT replied to some personal remarks made by Hon. Mr. Botsford, and then Progress was
reported.
The SPEAKER having resumed his seat the House adjourned to meet on Monday morning
at 9 o'clock.
J.M.
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