DEBATES OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY FOR 1866. 61
TUESDAY, MARCH 27.
The House went into Committee of the
Whole (MR. A. C. DESBRISAY in the
chair) on a Bill relating to the partition of
lands.
MR. WILLISTON explained that the
object of the Bill was to provide that the
costs of the partition of land should be
borne by parties having shares in it, according to the respective value of their
shares; the costs should be apportioned
according to the respective value of
their respective shares. As the law
stood, each party hnd to bear an
equal proportion of the costs. Before
introducing it, he had submitted the
Bill to the Master of the Rolls, and it
had been referred to a committee of legal
gentlemen.
A long discussion, and technical discussion followed. All the hon. members
who spoke agreed that the principle of
the Bill was just and equitable, and as
far as it went, was a great improvement
over the law as it stood. But it was
argued; that though the Bill ought to pass
as being a step in the right direction, it
did not go far enough. The whole mode
of partition of lands ought to be simplified.
At present parties were obliged to go
into an expensive suit in the Court of
Chancery, thaat might eat up the whole
estate, and it might happen that one
party, out of several having shares in
land, could force the others into court,
and compel a division against their will,
and subject them to equal costs, irrespective of the value of their respective shares.
It was suggested that a simpler mode
might be adopted. Hon Attorney General, Hon. Suneyor General, Mesrs.
Wilmot, Anglin, Kerr, Otty, Lindsay,
McClellan, Connel, and Dr. Thompson
spoke. Bill agreed to.
The adjourned debate on the amendment to the address stood for twelve
o'clock, but was not taken up until the
afternoon, when Mr. Gilbert resumed.
MR. GILBERT [referring to a question put by him to hon. member from
St. John (Mr. Anglin) calling on him
to make known the reasons of his resignation.] said he thought his hon. colleague
(Attorney General) had forgotten that he stated to the House that he
did not give his reasons for resigning
his seat as an Executive Councillor.
He (Mr. Gilbert) had a distinct recollection that he did, and they were put
in the Journals of the House as a Matter of record. He had called upon the
hon. member of St. John (Mr. Anglin)
to give his reasons for leaving the Government, and he had been told that it
was an extraordinary thing to ask that
information; but he would tell his hon.
friend that he had not done his duty to
the country, in not making them known.
For his own part he wished to understand the full reasons of his resignation,
as it was important that everything
should be known that had a bearning
upon the question under discussion. He
would now resume.
With regard to the great question of
the union of the Colonies, and he spoke
with all due deference to the able men
of the Confederate party, who had
framed the measure, he thought that
they did submit the scheme in far too
hasty a manner. It would not, he
conceived, have added to the character
of the people of the Province for prudence and sagacity, to have accepted it
without deliberation and without
demanding more time for serious
reflection. But since the first submittal of the scheme, they had had
many important considerations brought
before their their notice that clearly demonstrated the propriety of effecting the
union of the Provinces. They had been
authoritatively informed by dispatches
from the Colonial Secretary, that it was
the expressed and avowed policy of Her
Majesty's Government, that union
should take place. They had been
made to understand that it was the desire of that Government not to have
Canada pulling one way, Nova Scotia
pulling in another, and New Brunswick
in another, but to have them all united
under one General Government, with
one policy and one interest. Though
the sectional difficulties of the Canadas
had he confessed, in the first instance
stared the question, there were other
reasons that had urged it on. The
mother county had looked to the state
of feeling towards herself in the neighboring Republic, and to its aggressive
spirit; she had seen that the abrogation
of the Reciprocity Treaty was certain
to happen , and viewing the question of
union of these Colonies as one not alone
affecting themselves, but in the interests of the empire at large. She desired their
consolidation in order to
continue British institutions in America.
These were the reasons why she had
taken so positive a stand and had expressed a determination that the union
of the Colonies should take place. And
she looked to the vast county that
stretched north of the Lakes, from
Labrador to the Polar Sea, from British
Columbia to Baffin Bay. She looked
to the Canadas with their fertile lands,
62 DEBATES OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY FOR 1866.
and their products of grain, and saw
that in the event of the abrogation of
the Reciprocity Treaty, the products of
that vast, boundless and rich territory
would not be allowed to find their way
to the seaboard through a hostile country. She asw that the Americans, from
necessity would have to put all sorts of
embargoes on goods; that on account
of their vast debt that it would become
absolutely necessary to impose very
heavy taxes, almost amounting to prohibition; that they would be driven by
necessity to that course, and finding
their Canadian neighbors compelled to
send their products throught their territory, they would be subjected to very
heavy imports. Therefore, in view of
the commercial interests of the Canadas, it would become absolutely necessary to have
the Provinces confederated, and that would lead to the building of an Inter- colonial
Railway. It
appeared from the delays and difficulties attending the action of three seperate Legislatures
to have been found almost impracticable to build that railway
out of union. It was absolutely necessary for the prosperity of the country
that it should be built. It had become
an absolute necessity to have means for the constant transport for the ever increasing
products of the Canadas. At the merchant's wharves at Toronto, Montreal and Quebec,
immense stores of grain and flour were piled up, and had to remain there during the
winter months, subject to deterioration and loss, for want of speedy and commodious
thransport to the seaboard. The absolute necessity of an Inter-colonial Railway,
as thus shown, might be one of the reasons why the British Government desired that
the Provinces should be united in one compact.
Mr. Gilbert then proceeded to speak
of the policy of the Government on the question of Union, and to contrast their present
position with that they held last winter. He quoted from the Speech of last winter
the following paragraph, and the reply thereto:
"At the request of the Governor General of Canada, and with the approbation
of the Queen, I also appointed delegates
to a Conference of Representatives
of the British North American Colonies, held in Quebec in the month
of October last, with a view of arranging the terms of a Federal Union of
British North America. The Resolutions agreed to by this Conference appeared to me
so important in their
character, and their adoption fraught
with consequences so materially affecting
the future condition and well being of
British America, that in order to enable
the people of New Brunswick to give expression to their wishes on the subject, I
determined to dissolve the then existing
House of Assembly. I now submit these
Resolutions to your judgment."
" We thank your Excellency for the
assurance that the correspondence be
tween the Imperial Government and your
Excellency, relating to this subject, will
be laid before us
He considered that there was no resemblance in either speech or answer of
last year to the speech and reply of this
session. He asked hon. members to look
at the present speech :
"I have received Her Majesty's com
mands 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 for 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 he
desired, that all the British North American Colonies should agree to unite in
one Government. These papers will immediately be laid before you."
The Government, by this paragraph in
the Speech endorsed the policy of Her
Majesty's Government. The Governments, when they therein said that Union
the policy of the British Government, must expect that the House would
give an affirmative answer. There was
no doubt about that. But that Union
was in reality the policy now of the Government, (though some might think
from the way it was foreshadowed in the Speech. that that policy was very ambiguous.) there seemed to him no doubt. He
would call the attention of the House to
the paragraph in the reply to the Speech:
"11. The Correspondence which has
taken place between Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies
and the Governor General of Canada on
the affairs of British North America,
when laid before us will receive due attention, and the opinion expressed by Her
Majesty's Government will command
that respect and attention which is due
to suggestions emanating from so high a
source; but in any scheme for a Union of
the British North American Colonies
which may be proposed, it is, in the opinion of this House, absolutely essential that
full protection should be afforded to
the rights and interests of the people of
this Province; and no measure which
fails to obtain these objects, should be
adopted."
That plainly, he conceived, showed that
Union was the policy of the Government.
It was thus clearly seen that they had
stultified their former position; whereas
last year they were opposrd, they were
this year committed, to the policy of
Union. Then since Union was their policy, how were the Government going to
move in the matter? He had been informed that the Government would not be called upon
to vote upon any of the
details, (they knew they could not get ten
men to agree in one single point, or carry
a scheme in detail,) but they would only
be asked to affirm the general principle.
All that the Mother Country was anxious
about was to get the approval of the
House to the general question of Union,
that carried, the British Government'
would arrange the details in England
with the advice of men from the Province who would be there to look after
their interests. The House would see
that it would not be necessary to vote
upon the details of the Quebec Scheme
or any other Scheme. Nothing would be
necessary than to pass a resolution in favor of Union. That was all that was expected
of New Brunswick. For his own
part he would not be justified by the duty
ne owed to his constituents to vote for
any such proposition.
Let hon. members read carefully the
speeches of last year, and of the present
and note the difference between them,
and the result of the analysis would be to
convince the House that the Government
had entered into a solemn agreement that the present House would be committed to union.
His hon. colleague (Attorney General) said now, that he was willing to
go for union and the cardinal point of representation by population, provided he
could get in the upper branch of the Legislature some check to that principle.
How could he reconcile his present position on union with that taken by him last
year? How reconcile the Government policy of union with their celebrated
Minute of Council, when they were as
far distant from each other as the North
was from the South ? His hon. colleague
talked. about checks In the Upper House,
to the principle of representation by
population. But what check could there
be unless it came from the people themselves? Would his hon. colleague say
that fifteen representatives for New Brunswick in the Lower House in the
general confederated Parliament, would not be sufficient if the proportion of representation
for the Lower Provinces remained as it was under the scheme?
Would any one say that it would be a
sufficient safeguard to the Province if
the Lower House sought to over-ride its
rights to have that increased representation in the Upper Branch ? (Here the
hon. member referred, in illustration of
his argument that the Upper House
could not check encroachment, by pointing to the British House of Lords -- the
most powerful and peculiarly privileged
political body in the world - show that
even that august body was unable to
check the popular principle. He gave as
an instance the passssage of the first Reform
Bill in England, when in the face of the resolution of the majority of the House
of
Lords to oppose it, they with the Iron
Duke at their head, had been forced to
give way to the determination of the people that the Bill should pass ) If his hon.
colleague said he would agree to representation by population, if neutralized by
some check in the upper branch, he was,
knowing, as he must, how powerless
any check there would be to the popular
principle, in fact a thorough- going and
as strong a unionist as George Brown
himself.
Leaving now the question of Confederation, and the uncertain, not to say ambiguous
position of the Government in
reference to it, he would come to another
matter. In condemning it, he would
give it as a very strong reason why he
voted against them and for the amendment. He would ask the House to look
at the correspondence of Mr. Wilmot
with the Government on the subject of
his resignation. After reading that correspondence, and considering calmly the
remarks that gentleman had made in explanation of his position, he came to the
conclusion that the Government was not
a truthful Government. Mr. Wilmot
said that His Excellency in Council, at
the time the Minute of Council was drawn
up, had referred to him as not opposed
to the abstract principle of union He
had also given in evidence the authority
of the present Judge Allen, that he had
expressed strong sentiments in favor of
union before he went to Canada. The
Government had contravened these statements, and said that that honorable gen-
leman had got converted in Canada and
had more than hinted at influences
brought to bear upon him, to induce a
sudden change of opinion. But Mr.
DEBATES OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY FOR 1866.
63
Wilmot, in the course of this debate, had
drawn from a member of the Government an admission that he was correct in his statements.
The Provincial Secretary had been forced to admit that what Mr. Wilmot had said
was true. Was it not, he would ask hon. members, a humiliating fact that the Government
had been obliged to state on the floors of the House, that their statement in this
public document was not the fact? That admission on their part was, he conceived,
enough to induce hon. members to refuse their confidence to the Government, and to
vote for the amendment.
The leader of the Government, the hon.
member of the Government proceeded to
say hed taken a very active part in the
Governor's salary question. Those hon.
members who were in the House when
it was defeated, would remember the
force of the speeches made by his hon.
colleague on that question,—how he
made the halls of the Legislature ring
with the fervor of his eloquence. From
a report of one of his speeches, in the Head Quarters newspaper, he found that
he (Attorney General) then argued that
it was not money alone, but a great constitutional question was involved in the
debate. The resolution to reduce the
Governor's salary was not carried ; but
the question was settled in such a manner as to be understood that the Governor should
receive it at the old rate. He
(Mr. Gilbert) with his humble abilities,
supported him in the position he (Attorney General) took. But what did they
find, now that his hon. colleague was no
longer in the Opposition, but the leader
of a Government? Turning to the public accounts, he (Attorney General) had allowed
the Governor to draw his salary at the advanced rate. (Here the hon. member quoted
from the public accounts in proof, and showed that the private secretary, whose salary
was also involved in the question, had received £50 more than he was entitled to under
the old rate.) Here they found his hon. colleague, who had taken so bold a stand then,
on that question, now bending the servile knee.
It was said the other day, in England.
by Mr. D'Israeli, that it was an honor
to be elected over to the Speaker's chair,
but that it was a far higher honor to be
elected twice. That saying might be
applied to those members who had been
elected twice to represent the same constituency. It showed that, in the fulfillment
of their first trust they had done
their duty and had earned the confidence
of their constituents. With regard to
himself, he had twice had the honor of
representing the constituency of Westmorland. When he first came to the
House he came opposed to the policy of
tho Government, of which the Attorney
General was then a member. Now it
was rumored that he was indebted for
his present seat in the Legislature to his
hon. colleague, that it was his influence
that had carried him in. He denied
that there was any ground for the rumor. During the last election his colleague and
himself had been thrown together by the force of public opinion ;
it was on the great question that was then agitating the mind of the country
that they had come together. He knew
that he had lost a vast number of votes
on account of his opposition to Confederation. It was the force of public
opinion, as he had said, that had thrown
them together, and it was the current of
public opinion in the country running against the Quebec Scheme that had carried them
into the House. The
County of Westmorland might be entirely under the guidance of his hon.
colleague ; but when it was said that he
(Mr. Gilbert) was returned by his influence, an assertion was made that was
not founded on fact. From what he
knew of the County of Westmorland he
did not think that it lay under the dictation of his colleague or any other man.
With reference to the position his colleague and himself stood with regard
to each other, they had been opposed almost on every question that had come
up. On the subject of law reform he
had been opposed by his colleague, and
whenever he had brought any measure
into the House he had most generally
met with opposition from that quarter.
His hon. colleague, the leader of the
Government, was in the habit of saying
that he was not actuated by desire for
office. No doubt, when he expressed
himself as uninfluenced by considerations of emolument. or personal aggrandizement,
he did so in order to give
weight to his arguments. But what
weight was there in all those professions of disinterestedness? What had
the hon. members found when this Government was first formed? Why, they
found the leader of the Government elevated above all his confreres and elected President of the Council, an office
never before heard of in any Government of the Province. He had heard of
statues being raised to men who had done some memorable deed, who had performed some
signal service to their
country ; he had read of men being
honored for deeds that ought to be commemorated, but he would ask any hon. member
to point to one single measure that had for its object the improvement of the country
that the leader of the Government had introduced ; he would any hon. member to show
if he had ever done anything that had been useful to the country to show any reason
why he should be elevated above his fellows. They would look look in vain, they would
entirely fail to show why he should be considered worthy of extraordinary honor. Was
not his taking the office of President of the Council a direct contradiction of his
repeated assertions that he was not actuated by the desire of office ; that he was
not influenced by pride and vain glory ? Did it not prove that he, after all, was
actuated by the motives and feelings that influenced ordinary men ? And that he was
as eager as the most ordinary man (notwithstanding he made a boast, and said he cared
not for office.) for its position and emoluments. Mr. Gilbert then proceeded to refer
to the Crown Land investigation, and the position taken by his colleague towards
Mr. Fisher, then Attorney General of the Government, of which he was a member without
office. Before the report of the committee of investigation was submitted, before
there was evidence of the extent to which Mr. Fisher was implicated in the Crown Lands
transactions, it was said his colleague made a most damaging speech against Mr. Fisher,
and when Mr. Fisher left the Government, his hon. colleague accepted the vacated position
of Attorney General. And further, notwithstanding that he had denounced,
in the strongest terms, the jobbing in the
Crown Lands of the Province, although
he should have been the man, above all men, who should have investigated the transaction
; notwithstanding he had denounced the taking up of large blocks of valuable lands
by Mr. Inches and said they had been obtained fradulently. He never moved in the matter,
but, on the contrary, himself became the purchaser from Mr. Inches, and possessor
of very large quantities of that very pro; perty ; and, moreover, he had reinstated
Mr. Inches in the office.
His then colleague had denounced the Inter-colonial Railway in the very strongest
terms. He had said that it would be the ruin of the country. In the celebrated memorandum,
in which
he set forth his reason for resigning his
seat in the Government. speaking of the
Inter-colonial Railway, he said that if
it was built, that it would entail such
an amount of debt upon the Province,
that posterity would have to live upon
the cold meat of yesterday. But where
did they find his hon. colleague now?
They found him not only willing to
build the Inter-colonial Railway, but
any amount of railways, at six per cent.
He did not wish to talk in an offensive vein, but how could he justify
his position now, when he remembered
his former position. Then he prophesied ruin and desolation if the Province
carried out its Railway policy. Now he
was perfectly willing to pledge the credit
of the Province to any amount, and build
any quantity of Railroads. Let the
House mark the inconsistency of his
hon. friend. Notwithstanding his re
peated avowals that he would not
accept office ; notwithstanding that he
told the warm-hearted people of the
County of Westmorland that he cared
not for office, that it was his proudest
wish and sole aim to attend to their interests, to serve them, and to do the
country good. Notwithstanding all these
disinterested declarations, they found
him taking an office with £ 600 a year attached, as soon as a vacancy occurred,
and that the election came off in the shortest possible time. He did not wish to
throw out any insinuation against the
worthy Sheriff of the County, but he
would say that when he appointed the
election to come off ten days after the
writ was issued, he took the very sharpest time the law allowed.
Mr. Gilbert then proceeded to give details about the Westmorland election,
throughout which he had been accused
of taking a very active part in opposition to
his hon. colleague, and in bringing out
Mr. Palmer ; and, in consequence of the
course he had taken, it was said a strong
feeling against himself had been mani
fested by the people of the County. On
the day of nomination he met his hon.
colleague on the hustings, and it had
been published throughout the length and
breadth of the land, that in reply to his
colleague's attack upon him he (Mr. G.)
could not get a hearing. That was false.
When he did rise to answer the attack,
he was prevented from speaking for
about fifteen minutes by an uproar round
the hustings ; that that noise and uproar
was quelled, and he had afterwards the
satisfaction of addressing the people of
Westmorland for three quarters of an
hour. It was the largest assemblage he
had ever seen, on any occasion, in the
County. The people might have been
counted by the acre. When it was known
that Palmer had withdrawn from the
64 DEBATES OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY FOR 1866.
contest, the announcement fell on that
vast assembly like a great calamity. The reason why Mr. palmer did not run was that
he did not wish to expend a great deal of money in contesting the election.
ATTORNEY GENERAL - Did his colleague mean to say money had any influence in carrying an election in
Westmorland ?
MR. GILBERT. —He believed the constituency of Westmorland was as pure as
any in the Province.
He would now come to another charge
againt the Government. If he had
other reasons for giving the Government
his opposition, the mode they had adopted in their appointment to the Judicial
Bench would be sufficient. Without saying a word in disparagement of Judge
Ritchie, he held that the exercise of their
prerogative in appointing him to the position of Chief Justice and passing over Judge
Wilmot, was unjustice. Judge
Wilmot had done great service for his
country. and he deserved better treatment
from their hands. In years gone by,
when this Province lay under the rule of
an oligarchy, and its dignities and its
offices were monopolized by the system
of family compactism that then prevailed,
he remembered well hearing within the
walls of this legislative hall, that system
of Government denounced by the present
Judge Wilmot. By the powers of his
great eloquence, and the daring and
straightforward course he pursued, he
succeeded in introducing into this Province the system of Departmental and
Responsible Government it now enjoyed.
In the profession, his abilities as a lawyer
had been decried, because he would not
bring down his great mind to the petty
technical details. But in his grasp of the
great principles of law, though he might
be equalled by some, he was surpassed by
none. If the Government had gone out
side the Bench, and appointed some member of the profession to the position, he
would have said nothing. But having
gone to the Bench to make the appointment of Chief Justice, they ought to have
taken the Judge by seniority, and appointed Judge Wilmot as being the senior
puisne Judge of the Province.
He felt bound to tell the Government
that one of the Commissioners of the
Railway had now in his hands from £500
to £600 of the money of the Province,
which had not been accounted for. He
meant Mr. Scovil, and he alluded to the
purchaae by him of the House known as
the Adams House, which property he
had purchased for the Government from
Mr. Turner, and which had been sold by
Mr. Scovil at the suit of Mrs. Bell, and
the proceeds used to discharge a private
debt owed by him to her. He was sorry to
be obliged to mention this, and to drag the name of Mr. Scovil (who was brother-in-law
to his hon. colleague) before the public; but he felt it his duty to bring the matter
up, as the government ought to hvae taken action by this time, and had the money refunded.
The loss occasioned to the Province, as appeared from the public accounts of the present
year, on account of this transaction, was no less a sum than $1,857.47, being the
deficency after crediting the Province for the amount for which the property had been
sold. that amount was more than half the amount expended on by-roads for the County
of Westmorland during the last year.
At the beginning of the debate a great deal had been said of the endeavor made in
the Province during the excite
ment of the last election, and the alarm
raised by the Fenian movement set
class against class, creed against creed,
and to prejudice the Roman Catholics
in the minds of the Protestant community. For his own part, he believed that
if any difficulty arose that would call upon the inhabitants to defend their Province
agains invasion, there was no class
who would answer the call to arms more
readily, or defend their homes and firesides mére bravely than that class
through whose veins Celtic blood flowed,
for the Irishman was loyal to his heart's
core; he was loyal to his religion, and he was loyal to his Queen, loyal to fhe
country of his birth, and to his country by
adoption.
Mr. Gilbert then concluded by saying
that it was his intention to vote for the
amendment.
HON. MR. BOTSFORD had not intended to make any remarks on the
subject which now engrossed the attention of the House, as it hd already
been so full debated, and he had not
yet quite recovered from a severe attack
of sickness, but he reluctantly felt compelled to offer some observations in reference
to the charges preferred against
the Department over which he presided,
and if, in the heat of debate, anything
should fall from him calculated to
wound the feelings of any hon. member of the House, he wouldl deeply regret it; but
he could subscribe to
the proposition of Mr. williston, when
he depreciated the personalities used by
the speakers who had preceded him in
this debate, excusing the members of
the Opposition and attaching all the
blame to the members of the Government and its supporters. Mr. Botsford
would ask Mr. W. who first made the
attack? the terms, "mean, low political pigmies," "trators," &c.. tn freely
used by the Opposition, could not but
call forth a corresponding response, and
arouse the strongest feelings of indignation in the members of the Government to which
he belonged .
Before entering on the discussion of
the charges made against his Department, he would refer to some of the
charges and gross personal attacks made
the hon. member who preceded him.
and he had listened with astonishment
at the unfair and unmanly attacks made
by him on the private character of a
gentleman who was not here to defend
himself, and which he considered a
gross slander. He alluded to the charge
of embezzlement against R. C. Scovil,
Esq, a gentleman of high standing,
respectability and integrity , and which
charges Mr Gilbert would not have
dared to utter in the County where he
resides, and he could only tell that hon.
gentleman that Mr. Scovil's character
would in no way be injured by such
assertions,. for Mr. Scovil stood as far
above him in Westmorland as the beams
of the noonday sun outshine those of
the moon.
That hon. member has stated that he
was elected to oppose any union with
the Canadas, and that the Quebec
Scheme has not the test question at the
last general election. Mr. Botsford's
constituents in Westmorland are quite
conversant with the platform on which
the members were then returned, and
the principles they were pledged to
maintain, and it will be interestin to
trace Mr. Gilbert's inconsistent conduct
from the late general election up to the
present time. Every one knows that
the present Government was formed expressly on the principle of antagonism
to the Quebec Scheme, and when his
honor the Speaker was proposed for
that office by the hon. member for
Charlotte, Mr. McClellan, a strong
Confederate and supporter of the Quebec Scheme, was nominated in opposition, and
Mr. Gilber's vote is to be
found recorded on the Journals against
the present Speaker, and thereby ignoring the very principle he had solemnly
pledged himself to maintain. We next
find that when the address in answer to
the speech last session was under consideration, he made a violent onslaught
on the Government and their policy,
notwithstanding they had only been a
few days in office; then again when the
Militia Bill, brought in by the late Attorney General (Judge Allen), was discussed,
we find his hon. colleague in
direct opposition to the Govemment,
and voting against the main principle
of the Bill. The only measure that met
the approval of Mr. Gilbert was the resolution authorizing a delegation to
proceed to England, for the purpose of counteracting any false impression made
ou the British Government by the
Canadians, which Mr. G thought was
fully justified at that time, but now states
that he recalls that vote for the flimsey reason that a despatch received after
his vote, and only a few days before the
close of the session, was not published.
It reminded him the Irishman and his
pig which Paddy was driving to a
neighbor who had bought him. After
a good deal of difficulty, Paddy succeeded in getting him on the right road.
As he was proceeding along the road,
he met a neighbor, who accosted him
and asked where he was going. Paddy
said to Mr. Caleroft's, a contrary way
to that which he was in; his neighbor
replied he was wrong, he was in the
road to Mr. Bandon's, the person who
had bought the pig. " Whist!" says
Paddy. " if the contrary devil hears that
he will go the wrong way." And so
Mr. Gilbert when he finds that he has
once been on the right road, like
Paddy's pig, will take the other. My
hon. colleague says that when he saw
the memorable minute of Council which
has caused so much excitement and
has been styled insulting to the British Government, he highly approved of it,
and endorsed every word. That Minute of Council was written when the
Hon. Mr. Smith was in England, and the
Government had done nothing since to
offend Mr. Gilbert; but whent the leader
of the Government, after much solicitation, accepted the Attorney Generalship, and
he had to return to his constituents. We next find Mr. Gilbert
heading an opposition to defeat him.
Circulars were addressed to every leading Confederate in Westmorland, requesting their
attendance at the office
of Mr. Steadman, one of the defeated
candidates, and a strong advocate of
the Quebec Scheme. Mr. Gilbert was
chairman of the meeting (which he denies, but admits he was at it), A.L.
Palmer. Esq., a defeated Confederate
candidate before, was nominated at the
opening of the poll, and Mr. Gilbert
will remember the failure of his attempt to reply to the Attorney General.
before about 2,000 of his constituents,
and the indignant rumblings then
heard were a sufficient warning of what
DEBATES OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY FOR 1866. 65
Mr. G. may expect when he next solicits the support of the electors of Westmorland,
whose confidence he has so
shamefully betrayed.
The Surveyor General then enumerated the charges against his Department, as follows:
lst. A sale of 5,000
acres of land to Mr. Gibson— 10,000
acres ordered to be sold by the late
Government, and twenty-seven acres
granted to Mr. Gibson to make up a deficiency in a sale to Mr. Chipman.
He called the attention of the House,
in the first place, to the 2d, 3d and 4th
sections of the Land Regulations, which
are as follows:
2d. All applications shall be addressed by petition in the annexed form, to
His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor, and transmitted to the Surveyor
General.
3d. if the application be approved of,
and the land applied for be not already
surveyed, a warrant shall forthwith
issue to authorize the survey to be executed at the expense of the applicant.
No lot shall exceed two hundred acres.
4th On the return of the survey, the
description of the Land, the time and
place of sale. and the upset price, will
be announced in the Royal Gazette, and
also by handbills publicly posted in the
County where the land lies, at least
twenty days previous to the day of sale.
Also to the order of Council in 1862.
"That pending the negotiations for
the construction of the Inter-colonial
Railway, none of the Crown Lands of
this Province shall be sold, except with
the condition of actual settlement attached."
That order only| continued in force as
long as the Act of Assembly for promoting the construction of the Inter-
colonial Railway, and it expired on the
10th of april, 1865, and so the rule became a dead letter.
Mr. Botsford then showed, beyond a
doubt. that the non-publication of the
repeal of that order had no effect whatever one way or another on the sale of
lands. That people continued to apply
as befoe, who had no intention of complying with the conditions of actual
settlement, ever since 1862. Such, for
instance, as I believe the Hon. John
Ferguson, 200 acres, in Gloucester;
William Doherty, 200 acres in Kent;
Samuel J. Scovil, 274 acres, in King's;
and many others who could never possibly be regarded as intending actual
settlement. In the year 1862, 28,160
acres were sold at auction ; in 1863, 18,397 acres; in 1864, 18, 415 acres. and in
1865, 17, 050 acres conclusively showing that in 1865, in the latter year when
the restriction was rescinded, less land
was sold than in any of the three years
preceding.
He next alluded to the statement of
the hon. member from Carleton (Mr.
Lindsay), that the people of that County were told that land could not be sold.
[Mr. Lindsay here interrupted the Surveyor General, and the other hon member for Carlton
(Mr. Connell) rose and
stated that the people did not. know
that they could purchase lands.) The
Surveyor General then stated that the
hon member himself at least knew it,
as also a number of other Connells, and
produced petitions as follows:
| Charles Connell |
100 acres, |
25 Aug., '65. |
| do. do, |
100 do. |
6 Oct., do. |
| Geo. H. do. |
100 do. |
18 do. do. |
| do. do. |
200 do. |
6 do. do. |
| John do. |
200 do. |
6 do. do. |
| John W. do. |
200 do. |
7 Sept., do. |
All under the auction system, and without a word of conditions of actual
settlement.
The form of land petition used previous to, and after the order of 1862,
has all along been the same, and never
did embody the conditions of actual settlement. When the order was rescinded, the
lands were advertised without
conditions annexed, and the Deputy
Surveyors were required to sell them
absolutely.
The Surveyor General then explained
the sale of 10,000 acres to Mr. Gibson—
twenty-five different persons applied
for 200 acres each. They were ascertained to be bona fide applicants who
signed their own petitions. The land
was surveyed and return thereof made
in their names, but it was reported by
the Deputy to be totally unfit for actual
settlement, the usual notice of sale was
given in the Royal Gazette, and when
offered at auction Mr. Gibson became
the purchaser. Some hon. members
had condemned the system of selling
large tracts of such land, unfit for cultivation. He could only inform the
House, that the wild land tax alone
largely exceeds the sum that would be
paid by Mr. Gibson for an annual licence to cut lumber, while it lasts, exclusive
to the whole amount of the purchase money paid to the Government
for the land.
He would now call the attention of
the House to the 10,000 acres affair. A
short time after he had been in office,
Mr. Gibson called, and wished the tract
brought to sale, which he stated the late
Government had promised to do. On
investigation he found, by documentary evidence, that the late Surveyor
General, at Mr. Gibson's request, submitted this proposition to the Council.
"No. 4,561. Alexander Gibson prays
leave to purchase a tract of land without
conditions of actual settlement, which was
affirmed in Council on the 18th of
April, 1864."
Mr. McMillan now, however states
that notwithstanding this order, the
Council had determined not to sell the
land until the order for actual settlement had been rescinded.
He (Mr. Botsford) could only say that
Mr. Gibson was never so informed, and
was It consistent? Since Mr. Gibson
had expressly asked whether they would
sell the land without conditions, and it
was answered in the affirmative, and
the next piece of evidence condemns the
ex-Surveyor General, as it were, out of
his own mouth. Here it is. Mr.
gowan's letter, written to Mr. Gibson
the very day after the decision of Council was made:
" CROWN LAND OFFICE,
April 19th, 1864.
"Sir :—Your application for leave to
purchase a tract of land without the
conditions of actual settlement, has been
laid before the Council. and it is ordered
that a survey be made as soon as you
designate by petition, the quantity which
you wish offered, and its locality.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
(Signed) R. COWAN."
ALEX. GIBSON, Esq.
Mr. Gibson then made out the desired
petition, and the following was endorsed
thereon:
" Let an order issue to Deputy Whitehead to survey 10, 000 acres in two hundred acre
lots, in the above situation.
(Signed) JOHN McMILLAN,
Surveyor General.
May 20th, 1864.
Mr. Gibson says he never was informed that the land would not be sold. On the
contrary, the usual order of survey then
issued in his name, the survey made at
an expense to him of $450 and the land
ascertained to be unfit for settlement.
When the present Government assumed office, Mr. Gibson requested that
the land be brought to sale, and as it did
not feel disposed to break faith with Mr.
Gibson or cancel the solemn engagement made between him and the late
Government in Council on the 18th November last, directed that the sale take
place "under the previous order."
The usual notice was then publicly
made. and the land sold at the Crown
Land Office, to Mr. Gibson, at auction.
Mr. Botsford then requested the attention of the House to the twenty-seven
acre lot granted to Mr. Gibson, which the
hon. member from Albert (Mr. McClelan)
told he had discovered from enquiries
made at the Crown Land Office, and from
information he had received from one of
the subordinates there, had been given to
Mr. Gibson without public auction in lieu
of other land, and selected at the outlet
of a Lake in order to give Mr. Gibson
control of the stream, and which appeared very extraordinary to that hon. member.
The charge however, is of the
same. complexion as the others, and when
the facts are made known is found to be
equally groundless.
Mr. Zachariah Chipman of St. Stephen, purchased from the Crown 2,100
acres of land in the parish of Dumfries,
and the then Surveyor General discovered that, when the grant was issued, there
was a deficiency of twenty-seven acres.
Mr. Chipman, therefore, received from
the Department an authority to select
other land to the extent of twenty-seven
acres. wherever he thought proper, and
thia authority was transferred to Mr.
Jack, who again transferred it to Mr.
Gibson for the the consideration of $81. In
February, 1864, Mr. Gibson applied to
my predecessor, Mr. McMillan, for an order to survey the twenty-seven acres na
the outlet of the Upper Nushwaak Lake.
The order was accordingly given, the survey was made at Mr. Gibson's expense,
and the grant. was issued to him in due
course.
" CROWN LAND OFFICE
Feb . 6th, 1860.
"Zachariah Chipman paid for 2,100
acres, south of the Sîmonds Grant. Dumfries. The grant only1 includes 2,073
acres. although called 2,100. Mr. C. is
therefore entitled to a grant of any other
lot of twenty-seven acres which he may
select.
(Signed)- ANDREW INCHES.
"Know all men by these presents,
66 DEBATES OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY FOR 1866.
that I, Zachariah Chipman of Saint Stephens, in consideration of forty dollar
and fifty cent to me paid by Edward
Jack. of Saint Andrews, do hereby assign,
transfer and set over unto the said Edward Jack, as well the written order of
survey as the said twenty—seven acres
therein described and mentioned.
ST. STEPHENS, 1st April. 1863.
(Signed) Z. CHIPMAN."
"Know all men by these presents,
that I, Edward Jack of Saint Andrews,
in consideration of eighty-one dollars, to
me paid by Alexander Gibson, of Lepreaux do hereby assign, transfer and set
over unto the said Alexander Gibson, as
well the accompanying order of survey
for twenty-seven acres of land, as the
land therein described or mentioned as
"any other lot of twenty-seven acres
that he may select."
ST. ANDREWS, 14th April, 1863.
(Signed) EDWARD JACK."
CROWN LAND OFFICE,
Feb. 17th, 1864.
Honorable Surveyor General:
Dear Sir.—Thehe deficiency of twenty-
seven acres in the grant to Zacariah
Chipman, south of the Simonds Grant,
assigned to Edward Jack in l863. who,
on the 14th April, 1863, conveyed his
right to said deficiency to me, as will appear by annexed quit claim. I now beg
to select that quantity in the following
situation, viz: at the southern end of the
Upper Nashwaak Lake. and request that
an order of survey will issue in my favor,
and at my expense, to lay out the same.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
(Signed) ALEXANDER GIBSON.
" Alexander Gibson requests an order
of survey for twenty-seven acres of land,
decficiency in the grant to Z. Chipman.
"Let an order issue to Deputy Whitehead, as requested by Mr. Gibson.
February 18. 1864 (No. 2,891)
(Signed) J. McM."
The hon. member for Albert, in his
usual mild and apparently sincere "suaviter in modo" style, thought proper to
make this a specific charge, which, no
doubt, he thought would influence hon.
members, and the Surveyor General
charged the hon. gentleman with want of
candor and fair play because he could,
and should, have explained all the circumstances connected with the transaction; but
that hon. member, for some reason best known to himself, has not
thought proper to do so, which the Surveyor General pronounced unfair and unmanly.
Mr. McClelan, who was absent when
the Surveyor General was speaking, on
the following day, attempted to explain,
but stated that he justified the course taken the Government. The Hon. Attorney General
replied, "Then why allude
to it at all ?"
The Surveyor General then justified the
Government in not filling up the office of
Auditor General, and quoted Act of Assembly of 1855:
" Section 3. It shall be the duty of the
Auditor General, or other officer appoint
ed to examine and report on Public Accounts to have all the Pubic Accounts
audited and corrected."
The Government has appointed a proper person to audit the accounts, and it
has been well done, and given general
satisfaction. His hon. colleague, Mr.
Gilbert, had alluded to the amendment of
the Legislative Council in answer to the
speech, passed in that body some days
since, and has called it a vote of want of
confidence. He (Mr. Botsford) called it
only an amendment adopting the Quebec
Scheme, and the Quebec Scheme alone.
Parliamentary usage forbade him from
alluding to the discussion on that question, nor could he make any comments on
the way it was carried through that honorable body. He would assume that the
hon. member, Mr. Fisher, was in this position after he had moved his amendment.
Suppose the House was reduced to
thirteen members; that the mover of the
Address in answer to the Speech was
absent; that the seconder was sick and
confined to his bed; that another member had been unavoidably called away,
and that Mr. Fisher had pressed his
Amendment through the House, and
carried it by a majority of five for the
purpose of affirming the Quebec Scheme.
Why, with all the charges made against
him for intrigue, he, Mr. Botsford, did
not believe Mr. Fisher would be guilty
of such an undignified, unparliamentary
act.
He had soon it reported in the public
newspapers that the majority claimed
for Confederation on thnt occasion consisted of three of the Quebec delegates and
six of their strong partizans, and this,
no doubt, will be duly forwarded to the
British Government as an evidence of a
change of opinion of the people of this
Province.
His hon. colleague had alluded to the
reinstatement Mr. Inches in the
Crown Land Department, notwithstanding he did that gentleman every justice
as to his qualifications and attainments,
still be must have had some motive in
bringing it up in this debate.
He (Mr. Botsford) would show the
House what induced the Government to
reinstate Mr. Inches. He was recommended by twenty-six members in the
year 1863, and by twenty-five members
of the present House last year; and he
felt convinced that his reinstatement
would give general satisfaction to the pubic.
He would not pass on to the charge the hon. member, Mr. Fisher, made with reference
to his temporary absence from the Crown Land Office. He told his colleagues in the
Government, on accepting the office of Surveyor General, that he would not ecome a
permanent resident at Fredericton, and if accepting office involves the principle
of permanent residence at Head Quarters, and a necessity of being compelled to remove
one's establishment to it, and this House should confirm the doctrine; it will limit
the appointment to persons living in Fredericton, and the surrounding and adjoining
Counties; and he challenged the hon. gentleman to point out a single instance where
the interest of teh public has suffered in consequence of his temporary absence, to
use the ordinary expression of that hon. gentleman, "to the bosom of his family."
He then alluded to the card of the
hon. member for York, at last election,
where he proclaims that he has left the
impress of his mind on the political institutions of the country, and that he
looked down on the members of the Government as political pigmies, and claimed that he himself would occupy a large
and conspicuous place in the history of
thc Province. Why, he was the onc individual who was turncd out of the Government
by his colleagues for improperly acquiring public lands. And how
did this same hon. gentleman, who accuses the present Government of being
mean, low fellows, act after this disgrace? Like a spaniel, he was seen to
lick the hand that struck him, and proved
indeed the most obsequious servant of
the men who treated him as unworthy
of being a member of their Government.
Another charge made by Mr. Fisher
is the appointment of Chief Justice
Ritchie, which he stated was for political purposes. This he (Mr. Botsford) denied.
Judge Ritchie was appointed
to that responsible situation because of
his talents and standing as a Jurist, and
the Government are prepared to justify
it; but, if Mr. Fisher thinks that Mr.
Justice Ritchie's appointment detracts
from the talents and standing of Mr. Justice Wilmot, he (Mr. Botsford) could not
help it; but when he charges the Government with dragging in politics,
and justifies Judge Wilmot's voting at
elections, and taking part in political
squabbles, he wholly dissented from
such unsound doctrine.
There might have been some slight
palliation for the offence of Judge Wilmot addressing a Grand Jury on the
Quebec Scheme in the County of Sunbury when the excitement ran high, and
the country was convulsed from one
end to the other; but when that excitement had subsided, and the people had
prononuced their verdict against the
scheme, and it was virtually dead. what
do we find? When a vacancy took
place in the representation of the County of York, by the promotion of Mr.
Justice Allen to the Bench, after a lapse
of many months, when the Judge had
ample time for reflection. The hon.
member (Mr. Fisher) was a candidate
at the election in opposition to Mr.
Pickard, who was recognized as the
Government candidate, and at the hustings proclaimed that Confederation was
not the question at issue, that Fenianism
and hostility to the present Government was his avowed platform.
He (Mr. Botsford) held that when Judge Wilmot so far forgot his position as a Judge,
and entered into that
political contest, and ostentatiously
voted for Charles Fisher, he prostituted
the ermine with which he was clothed;
that was his opinion, he might be wring.
Suppose a riot took place in the presence or the Judge, between thc several
partizans, and an indictment was preferred against anti-Confederates engaged therein,
and Mr. Justice Wilmot
was the presiding Judge, could he possibly divest himself the strong politial bias,
which, to a certain extent,
would opterate on his mind at the trial?
Probably eo might, but he could not
convince parties holding opposite views
that. even-handed justice would be dispensed. Why, the other day the House
was discussing a Bill authorizing a
Judge to try a cause where his interest
was only the seventh part of a cent. It
DEBATES OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY FOR 1866. 67
it be necessary to pass such a law in
this instance, how much more important
is it that a Judge should keep aloof
from all political contests.
The hon. member from Restigouche
has called us " mongrels," and has condemned us because we have alluded to
the despatches from the Home Government in the speech. My hon. colleague
(Mr. Gilbert) also does so.
There is an unerring law of nature
applicable to the animal kingdom, that
when certain species amalgamate they
produce hybrids. These Counties have
returned what I call hybrid politicians,
and the sooner their constituents dispose of them, the better their interests
will be subserved .
Thu Surveyor General thanked the
House for its indulgence, and left the
question in its hands, feeling satisfied
that after calmly considering the evidence, it will triumphantly acquit the
Government, which will be responded
to by a large majority ot the people of
this Province.
This individual participated in:
