PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
135
WEDNESDAY, March 30.
[...]
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
136
[...]
AFTERNOON SESSION.
Hon. Mr. Howlan presented to the
House supplementary estimates, which
were laid on the table.
Confederation.
House again in committee on the
despatches.
Hon. COL. SECRETARY said the matter
referred to in the resolution submitted
by the hon. Leader of the Government,
last night, was of vast importance to the
Colony, and it was expected that each
hon. gentleman on this committee would
express an opinion thereon. He (Mr.
Davies) expected that the hon. Leader
of the Opposition would have risen and
given his opinion whether the resolution
under consideration met his views or
not; but, perhaps the hon. member was
waiting, under the impression that fuller
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
137
information would be laid before the
committee. But the Government had
nothing more to lay before the Legislature on the question. From the correspondence
on the table, it was to be seen
that we were asked to unite as a colony
with the Dominion of Canada. To this
he objected, because he believed our
present constitution was sufficient to
meet all the governmental requirements
of the Colony ; and he knew our people
considered that to hand over the collection and expenditure of our revenue,
with all the other splendid privileges we
enjoyed, to Canada, would be to relinquish our birthright. Should this
Colony do so, it would then be nothing
more than a municipality, and he thought
the people of this Island should seriously
consider the consequences of such an
important and irretrievable step before
it was taken. The first effect this Island
would experience under confederation
would result from having our usual revenue expended upon the public works
in the Dominion, the whole of which
would be under the control of the Government of Canada ; while our own necessities
would compel us to resort to
direct taxation for local purposes. Our
roads, wharfs and public schools would,
in common with other public requirements, have to be maintained from the
same source. Looking at confederation
from that point of view, he had great
objections to it. This Island never asked or sought confederation ; but the
public men of the Dominion came first
down here and sought our co-operation.
Of course they were received as became
gentlemen occupying their high positions,
and before they left, succeeded in inducing some of our public men to follow
them up to Canada, where the most of
them signed the terms agreed upon at
Quebec.
Hon. COL. SECRETARY.—The people
were in utter ignorance with respect in
those terms, and were indebted to Hon.
Edward Palmer for placing them in their
true light. And so strong was public
opinion, from the information given at
that time, that the House of Assembly
felt it to be its duty to pass a strong no- terms resolution. In adopting that
course, he was of opinion that the House
acted prematurely, for he believed it
would have been sufficient to have said
that the overtures made were not acceptable. Such would have been a wiser and
less offensive line of policy. No doubt
the British Government had a strong
desire to see those colonies united, and
in giving expression to these opinions
her public men were guided by the impression that British interests in those
Colonies would thereby be more likely
to be continued. That opinion had recently been again expressed by Earl
Granville, in his despatch to Sir John
Young, who brought it to the notice of
the Government of this Island in the
despatch on the table; and we had a
right now to express our opinions also.
Yet he thought it would be wrong to go
directly and positively against what was
known to be the earnest desire of the
Imperial Government, and he might
add, the people of England, whose wishes
were made known to us in the despatches
which were then under consideration.
While he would not deny but that Great
Britain might exercise a control over us
which would all but compel us to unite
with Canada, yet he did not suppose
she intended to do so; and this, he
thought, might reasonably be inferred
from an extract which he would read
from the despatch of Earl Granville to
Governor Musgrave, dated August 14th,
1869:—
"I have now to inform you that the terms on
which Rupert's Land and the North West Territory are to be united to Canada, have
been
agreed to by the parties concerned, and the
Queen will probably be advised before long, to
issue an order in Council which will incorporate, in the Dominion of Canada, the whole
of
the British Possessions on the North American Continent, except the then conterminous
Colony of British Columbia."
From this he inferred that Great Britain
would, in so far as she constitutionally
could do so, place all her colonies on
this continent into confederation. But
to this Island she had granted a constitution which could not be taken away
but by the consent of our own people.
Rupert's Land was in the position of this
Island, previous to 1850, and, therefore,
Her Majesty's Government could place
that country into confederation when she
pleased ; but he regarded our situation
as entirely different. The fact was, we
were an independent people, having had
self-government granted to us, which
was confirmed and sanctioned by the
statute law of the Colony. He mentioned these facts to show that Her Majesty had not
power now, constitutionally, to annexions to Canada, and hence
our destiny was in our own hands; but
it nevertheless was our duty to pay due
respect to the Imperial wishes, and not
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
138
to treat disrespectfully any offer coming to
us either from England or the Dominion.
Taking these matters into consideration
it would not be prudent to pass a no- terms resolution. If we did no, Earl
Granville, speaking for the British Government, might say, we had placed ourselves
in opposition to the policy of the
empire ; and that as we were but a
colony of 100,000 people, it could not be
permitted that we should thus obstruct
the Imperial wish. Canada might be instructed to offer terms which, on reference to
the Home Government would be
regarded as fair and just ; then if that
was the case and we declined to accept
them, the question would arise whether
it would be right to allow each a small
colony to set at defiance the policy of the
mother country and the probability was
that the Imperial ministry would say
they could not ; and those ideas, he (Mr.
D.) thought were worthy the serious
consideration of that hon. committee,
for he believed if a resolution similar to
the one passed by the late Government
should be carried this session, it would
but defeat the end which the country had
so much at heart, namely, the retaining
of our constitution intact, as it was now
happily enjoyed. The Canadian Government, in compliance with instructions
received from Great Britain, had offered
us better terms, by $800,000, thank those
contained in the Quebec Report, and
said;--
"That in the event of the Island becoming
part of the Union, the Government of the Dominion will endeavor to secure for the
Island,
from the Imperial Government, fair compensation for the loss of Crown Lands. Should
the
Dominion Government fail in their efforts to
secure such compensation, they will undertake
to raise by Loan; guaranteed by the Imperial
Government; or upon their own securities,
should such guarantee be refused, either hundred thousand dollars ($800,000), and
pay the
same to the Island Government, as a compensation for the loss of such Crown Lands–this
sum to be in addition to the other sums mentioned in the preceding proposals. That
the
Dominion Government will also use their influence to secure such legislation as will
enable
the Government of the Island to purchase the
Land, now held in large blocks, upon terms
just and equitable to all parties concerned."
This paragraph merely promised that
if we entered the union, the Dominion
Government would use its effort to procure this addition to the propositions of
the Quebec terms. He felt that the
Government should do its duty but no
more ; and in the reply given to those
proposals it did that, and we were today as free as we were before the offer
was received. No overtures were made
by the Government of this Island, or
promises held forth that this Island
would accept of any terms. He (Mr.
D.) admitted the right of the learned
Leader of the Opposition, on any other
gentleman on that hon. committee, to ask
for all papers which had passed between
the Government and the delegates from
Ottawa, but these were all given. No
meeting was held with them but the informal one mentioned, nor was any record kept,
and he could assure that hon.
committee that no overtures made
to the delegation. Nor did the Government endeavor to throw unreasonable
obstacles in the way or hold out delusive
hopes. He had himself stated that the
people of the Island would never listen
to any proposals of union until the land
question was just finally settled ; and
that even if it was they should then be
still as free as ever, either to receive or
reject any proposals which might be
made. But there were other meetings
held by the delegates from Canada, and
these were the gentlemen in Charlottetown outside of the Government.
"Visited the Island of Prince Edward, in
August last, and having, while there, had the
opportunity of discussing, informally, with
members of the Government, and other leading
public men, the question of the political union
of the Island with the Dominion."
This showed that they discussed the question with " other leading public men, " and
as the government of the Island gave them
no encouragement, it appeared to him (Mr.
D.) that overtures were made to them by
some parties, or the Canadian government
would not have sent any proposals down.
He knew there were a few in Charlottetown
and vicinity who arrogated to themselves
all the respectability and influence in the
country, and from the heights of their own
creating looked down with contempt upon
the present government, and regarded the
party new in power as being composed of
men who obtained their position by misrepresentation ; and they very likely led the
gentlemen from Canada to believe that public opinion would not long support the government
; therefore it was that he (Mr. D.)
believed that the Delegation formed their
opinions, not from the government, but from
what they heard from gentlemen outside.
This to him was also more apparent from the
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
139
fact that in the House of Commons as Ottawa they were upbraided for the unsuccessful
and unsatisfactory result of their recent
mission to this Island, and were unable to
defend themselves for having led the authorities at Ottawa to believe the overtures
would be accepted. The hon. member (Mr.
Davies) then reviewed the despatch of
Earl Granville, and drew the inference
therefrom that no coercive measures were
to be used towards this Island, but he would
pass that by and dwell for a moment upon
the $800,00 item. When he first read
that part of the despatch, he thought the
money, under confederation, could be at
once obtained ; but, on examining the
matter more closely, he saw that it would
be then as far from us as it was twenty
years ago. There was, however, an acknowledgment in that offer which he regarded as
important, and worthy the earnest
attention of that Committee. The admission
was therein made that this Island had been
unjustly dealt with. The crown lands,
which belonged to the colony, had been
given away ; and the quit rents, which
should have become the property of this
colony also, were never paid. It was in
fact an admission from the Home and
Canadian Government that this colony had
been unfairly treated. He regarded the
offer as no equivalent for what we were expected to give up in return, yet hoped the
Committee would not forget that the probability of our ever receiving the money,
even if the terms were accepted, was
doubtful. If Britain would not pay it at
once, Canada might fairly ask to be allowed a
reasonable time to use its influence with
the Home Government, and that reasonable
time might extend over a period of thirty
or forty years, and then the question be as
far from being settled as ever. But as discussing all such details was premature,
he
would pass on to consider the real value of
our lands, and here he found the answer supplied by Great Britain herself. Our lands,
as
a whole, were worth four times acre for
acre, that of the average value of those of
the Dominion, and had been valued by the
Imperial Government in the rent which had
been exacted, and its payment enforced by
Imperial Troops under the influence of the
late government ; and that annual rent
ranged from ÂŁ2 10s. to ÂŁ7 10s. per hundred
acres. The average might be set down at
ÂŁ5 sterling as the annual rent of each one
hundred acres. This value, he held, the
Home Government established, for, quite
recently, when a few of the Tenant Union
men refused to pay their rent, British
soldiers were brought to this Island and
employed to enforce its payment at the
point of the bayonet—an act which conclusively proved the value set upon our
lands by Great Britain. Therefore, if we
were asked to set a price upon them, we
would have but to say, " You have set a
price upon them yourselves ; and when
that was figured up it would amount, not as
had been stated, to $1,240,000, but probably
to that many pounds sterling, a sum which
would surprise the Home Government itself,
but to which, by its own decision, it could
not object. His (Mr. D.'s) opinion was,
that the Canadian delegates had, by some
means or other, been deceived. We knew
as the hon. leader of the Government had
said last night, that Scotland and Ireland
had had promises made to them before
union, which had not for a long time been
fulfilled ; and, with respect to the latter
country, the promises made were only being
earnestly and fairly considered now. He
thought, therefore, that this question required careful and cautious attention, and
that it was the duty of all to treat any
proposals which might be made firmly, but
at the same time, to avoid giving the least
offence. This the government had done,
and it was no light duty successfully to discharge. He knew that there were some
who maintained that acceptance of the
terms proposed would confer immediate
advantages upon this Island ; but, admitting
they were correct in the opinions whichÂ
they had formed, he thought it must be
evident to every man who would carefully
look into the matter that eventually, or in
four or five years, we could not possibly be
in any better position than our fellow
colonists in Canada ; and we knew that for
roads, education, and other objects which
must be attended to, they had now to resort
to direct taxation. It was unreasonable to
suppose but that we would, under confederation, have to do the same. He saw
lately in a letter from a friend who removed
from this Island to Canada a few years ago,
that the local tax on his farm of one hundred
acres was $26, and, unquestionably, in a
short time, every man whose farm would be
worth ÂŁ500 or ÂŁ600 on this Island would,
for local taxes, have to pay a like annual
amount if we should become a part of the
Dominion of Canada. Representing, therefore, as he did, an agricultural constituency,
he would oppose any measure which would
have a tendency to bring us into confederation. He knew that his constituents sought
no bounty at the hands of Canada to induce them to consent to any such proposals.
He would be ashamed of his country if, for
any amount of money, his countrymenÂ
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
140
would sell their glorious birthright. We
had bought out the rights of most of the
landed proprietors, and our excellent measure for affecting that object was working
so admirably well, he hoped the time was
not far distant when a landed proprietor
would be numbered among the things of
the past on Prince Edward Island. Our
position as a colony was good. Our public
lands, including the bonds held for what
was sold, would meet the greater portion on
our public debt. In arriving at this conclusion he was guided by the Report of the
Lands Commissioner, who, he noticed, had
very properly placed the lands at the lowest
figure ; and, independent of this, there
were 60,000 acres to which no value had
been affixed ; therefore, as his hon friend,
the leader of the Government, observed, if
we were to follow the rule adopted in
Canada of making out our public accounts,
we would not merely have no public debt
against this colony, but a surplus in its
favor. Turning to figure he found a balance
against the colony of ÂŁ145,885, against
which was to be placed the value of lands
and bonds in hand for lands sold, which
amounted to ÂŁ105,945, which left a balance
of ÂŁ39,940 against the colony ; but when
the land not valued, public works, buildings,
&c., were taken into account, it would be
seen that our position was far in advance of
that of any of the provinces in the Dominion. He had thus made matters as plain
as he thought necessary, and went into
details as far as was then required, believing,
as he did, that a bright future was before
the Island. Canada proper would not
purchase our exports, and offered us no
market ; but new and better ones would be
gradually opening up, which would confer
increased advantages upon the colony. We
had successfully encountered difficulties
which none of the other colonies had to
contend with ; and he thought there was no
fear as to the future if a prudent course was
persevered in for the time to come. He
had thus expressed himself as clearly as he
deemed it his duty, and thought when that
hon. committee would calmly review the
action of the government during the recess,
it would admit it did its best to discharge
that duty which it owed to the Legislature
and the country as faithfully as it was
possible for men placed in their position to
do.
Hon. Mr. HAVILAND felt that he must
congratulate the House on the changed tone
that had taken place on this question since
a few years ago. Then it was almost dangerous to rise on this floor and admit the
principle. of confederation. The present
government, however, had admitted the
principle. Their leader in this House had
last night given a lengthy speech, in which
there was not one word against the principle; and the hon Colonial Secretary, in his
opening remarks to-day, had declared that
it would be dangerous to pass a no-terms
resolution ; - and no wonder, because if
they did, it would conflict with the part
played by the Executive during the recess.
Neither in the minute of Council of the 7th
January, nor in that of the 4th February,
was there anything set forth as standing in
the way of union but the land question. In
these minutes the members of the Executive
in effect say, " if the Canadian govenrment
will use their influence and obtain a settlement of the land question, they will establish
their prestige, and we will go into
confederation. Then Newfoundland and
the other colonies outside of the confederacy
will enter the union, and the Dominion
shall become a great and powerful nation."
Again, the hon member from Wilmot Creek
had said that because of the position he
(Mr. Laird) had taken on this question,
perhaps he might lose his seat. That member of the Executive, who had been the
only one of its numbers who had discussed
the policy of the government, and he (Mr.
H.) would then be fighting shoulder to
shoulder. Then the hon leader of the government had expressed the opinion last night
that it would not be right to change our
constitution until every acre of land in the
colony was our own. What other inference
could be drawn from this remark than that
when the land question was settled we would
go into confederation ?
Hon. Mr. HAVILAND had no doubt the
hon member would attempt to wriggle out
of it in some way. That gentleman had
quoted authorities last night to show that
the union of Scotland and England had
produced injurious results. When he (Mr.
H.) asked him at the time for the name of
the author from whose works he had read,
he was told this morning that it was Smollett.
That writer might be a very good novelist,
but of all the authorities on history that he
(Mr. H.) ever heard of, a more disgraceful
one could not be cited.
Hon. Mr. HAVILAND. - Yes, and like Dr.
Tupper, who, in his controversy with Mr.
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
141
Howe, had quoted that gentleman against
himself, he (Mr. H.) would quote McCulloch
against McCulloch. Here was what that
writer had also said :
"No old settled country, of which there is
any authentic account, ever made half the
progress in civilization and the accumulation
of wealth that Scotland had done since the year
1768, and especially since 1787."
Hon. Mr. HAVILAND.-No matter, the
principle was the same. And since the hon
member had gone into history, together
with the press in the pay of the government, as he say by a later number of the
paper issued from the office of the Queen's
Printer, he (Mr. H.) would quote authorities also. He would first read from Jeffery,
the father of the
Edinburgh Review:
"If any one doubts of the wretchedness of an
unequal and unincorporatingalliance of the degradation of being subject to a provincial
parliament and a distant king, and of the efficacy
of a substantial union in curing all these evils,
he is invited to look to the obvious example of
Scotland. While the crowns only were united,
and the governments continued separate, the
weaker country was the scene of the most atrocious cruelties, the most violent injustice,
the
most degrading oppressions. The prevailing
religion of the people was proscribed and persecuted with a ferocity greater than
has ever
been systematically exercised, even in Ireland;
her industry was crippled and depressed by unjust and intolerable restrictions; her
parliaments corrupted and overawed into the degraded
instruments ofa distant court, and her nobility
and gentry, cut off from all hope of distinction
by vindicating their rights or promoting the interests of the country at home, were
led to
look up to the favour of her oppressors as the
only remaining avenue to power, and degenerated, for the most part, into a band or
mercenary adventures ; - the more considerable aspiring to the wretched honor of executing
the
tryannicalorders which were dictated from the
South, and the rest acquiring gradually those
habits of subserviency and selfish submission,
the traces oi which are by some supposed to be
yet discernible in their descendants. The Revolution, which rested almost entirely
on the
prevailing antipathy to Popery, required of
course, the co-operation of all classes of Protestants ; and, by its success, the
Scottish Presbyterians were relived, for a time, from their
Episcopalian persecutions. But it was not till
after the Union that the nation was truly
emancipated ; or lifted up from the abject condition of a dependant at once suspected
and
despised. The effects of that happy consolidation were not indeed immediately apparent ;
for the vices which had been generated by a
centure of provincial mis-government, the
meannesses that had become habitual, the animosities that had so long been fostered,
could
not be cured at once, but the mere removal of
their cause. The generation they had degraded, must first be allowed to die out -
and
more, perhaps, than one generation : But the
poison tree was cut down - the fountain of
bitter waters scaled up, and symptoms of
returning vigour and happiness were perceived.
Vestiges may still be traced, perhaps, of our
long degradation ; but for, at least, forty years
back, the provinces of Scotland have been on
the whole, but the Northern provinces of Great
Britain. There are no local oppressions, no
national animosities. Life, and liberties, and
property, are as secure in Caithness as they are
in Middlesex - industry as much encouraged,
and wealth still more rapidly progressive while
not only different religious opinions, but different religious establishments subsist
in the two
ends of the same island in unbroken harmony
and only excite each other, but a friendly emulation, to greater purity of life and
greater zeal
for Christianity."
Then hear what Jeffry said in reference to
Ireland, which had had a most corrupt and
venal parliament:
"So far from tracing any substantive part of
her miscries to the Union of 1800, we think they
are to be ascribed mainly to its long delay, and
its ultimate incompleteness. It is not by a dissolution of the Union with England
then, that
any good can be done, but by its improvement
and consolidation. Some injury it may have
produced to the shopkeepers of Dublin, and
some inconsiderable increase in the number of
the absentees. But it has shut up the main
fountain of corruption and dishonor ; and palsied
the arm and broken the heart of local insolence
and oppression. It has substituted, at least potentially and in prospect, the wisdom
and honor
of the British Government and the British people, to the passions and sordid interests
of a
junto of Irish boroughmongers, -and not only
enabled, but compelled, all parties to appeal
directly to the great tribunal of the British
public."
These were the opinions of Jeffery, and he
(Mr. H.) would place them in the scale
against those of Smollett. And if one
authority was not enough he would quote
another. He would read an extract from
the works of one of the brightest men of
modern times - one whose 1ight went out
before he came to years of ripeness. He
alluded to Henry Thomas Buckle, who, 1n
his History, of Civilization, said: —
"The Union with England, which was completed in 1707, produced immediate and striking
effects on trade. Its first effect was, to
throw open to the Scotch a new and extensive
commerce with the English colonies in America.
Before the Union, no goods of any kind could
be landed in Scotland from the American plantations, unless they had first been landed
in
England, and paid duty there; nor even, in
that case, might they be conveyed by any Scotch
vessel. This was one of many foolish regulations by which our legislators, interfered
with
the natural course of affairs, and injured the
interests of their own country, as well as those
of their neighbors. Formerly, however, such
laws were considered to be extremely sagacious, and politicians were constantly contriving
protective schemes of this sort, which, with
the best intentions, inflicted incalculable harm.
But, if as seems probable, one of their objects,
in this instance, was to retard the improvement
of Scotland, they were more than usually suc
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
142
cessful in effecting the purpose at which they
aimed. For, the whole of the western coast,
being cut off from direct intercourse wit the
American colonies, was debarred from the
only foreign trade it could advantageously follow ; since the European ports lay to
the east,
and could not be reached by the inhabitants of
Western Scotland without a long circumnavigation, which prevented them from competing,
on equal terms, with their countrymen, who,
[illegible] from the other side, were already near
the thief seats of commerce. The consequence
was, that Glasgow and the other western ports
remained almost stationary ; having comparatively few means of gratifying that enterprising
spirit, which rose among them late in the
seventeenth century, and not daring to trade
with those prosperous colonies which were
just before them across the Atlantic, but from
which they were entirely excluded by the jealous precautions of the English parliament.
"When, however, by the Act of the Union, the
two countries became one, these precautions
were discontinued, and Scotland was allowed
to hold direct intercourse with America and
the West India Islands. The result which this
produced on the national industry, was almost
instantaneous, because it gave vent to a spirit
which had begun to appear among the people
late in the seventeenth century, and because it
was sided by those still more general causes,
which, in most parts of Europe, predisposed
that age to increase industry. The west of
Scotland, being nearest to America, was the
first to feel the movement. In 1707, the inhabitants of Greenock, without the interference
of
government, imposed on themselves a voluntary assessment, with the object of constructing
a harbor. In this undertaking, they displayed
so much zeal, that, by the year 1710, the whole
of the works were completed ; a pier and capacious harbor were erected, and Greenock
was
suddenly raised from insignificance to take an
important part int he trade of the Atlantic.
For a while, the merchants were content to
carry on their traffic with ships hired from the
English. Soon, however, they became bolder ;
they began to build on their own account; and,
in 1719, the first vessel belonging to Greenock
sailed for America. From that moment, their
commerce increased so rapidly that, by the
year 1740, the tax which the citizens had laid
on themselves sufficed, not only to wipe off the
debt which had been incurred, but also to leave
a considerable surplus available for municipal
purposes. At the same time, and by the action
of the same causes, Glasgow emerged from
obscurity. In 1718, its enterprising inhabitants
launched in the Clyde the first Scotch vessel
which ever crossed the Atlantic ; thus, anticipating the people of Greenock by one
year,
Glasgow and Greenock became the two great
commercial outlets of Scotland, and the chief
centres of activity. Comforts, and, indeed,
luxuries, hitherto only attainable at enormous
cost, began to be diffused through the country.
The productions of the tropics could now be
procured direct from the New World, which, in
return, offered a rich and abundant market for
manufactured good. This was a further stimulus to Scotch industry, and its effects
were
immediately apparent. The inhabitants of
Glasgow, finding a great demand among the
Americans for them, introduced its manufacture into their city in 1720, whence it
extended
to other places, and, in a short time, gave employment to thousands of workmen."
There was one statement here which was
rather curious, namely, that it was not until the year 1718 that the first Scotch
vessel sailed from Glasgow for America.
After noting the progress of events a few
years later, Duckle further said:—
"Such as the state of Scotland towards the
middle of the eighteenth century ; and surely
a fairer prospect was never opened to any
country. The land was at peace. It had nothing to fear, either from foreign invasion,
or
from domestic tyranny. The arts, which increase the comfort of man, and minister to
his
happiness, were sedulously cultivated; wealth
was being crested with unexampled speed, and
the blessings which follow in the train of wealth
were being widely diffused ; while the [illegible]
of the nobility was so effectually curbed, that
industrious citizens could, for the first time,
feel their own independence, could know that
what they earned that likewise they should
enjoy, and could hold themselves erect, and
with a manly brow, in the presence of a class
before whom they had long crouched in abject
submission.
And he (Mr. H.) could cite other authorities to the same effect. We all knew that
previous to the reign of Queen Anne, Scotland could not trade with the colonies. Nor
could she receive manufactured goods from
England on account of the high duties, and
her own linen, the only Scotch manufacture
of that time of any importance, was almost
excluded from England owing to the same
cause. Before the union a great rivalry
existed between the two nations. About
the close of the 17th century the Scotch
organized a great company called the Darien
Company, which was to plant a colony on
the Atlantic side of the isthmus by that
name, and so form a commercial entrepĂ´t
between the eastern and western hemispheres; and so high did the feeling run
between them and the English, that, though
under the one sovereign, a vessel was seized
and the captain hung. All this was because
instead of having the generous rivalry,
occasioned by being placed on the same
footing, the Scotch were under a disadvantage in not being allowed to trade with the
colonies. Scotland had succeeded wonderfully since her union with England, not only
in agriculture and manufactures, but in the
progress which her sons had made in engineering skill, in the sciences generally,
and
in literature ; they were the first people in
the world, and he, (Mr. H.) if he had the
choice of his country, would sooner be a
Scotchman than anything else, except, of
course, a British American. The hon.
member (Mr. Howlan) thought he had
made a great point when he quoted from
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
143
the celebrated Tobias Smollett about the
dissatisfaction in Scotland relative to the
imposition of a malt tax. It was to be
expected that troubles would sometimes
arise, for no state could make laws to please
all parties. But those cases cited by the
hon. Leader of the Government were
chiefly those which took place about the
time of the rebellions of 1715 and 1745.
They were disputes which had nothing to
do with the Act of Union—they more
properly related to the glory argument,
and arose from the loyalty of the Scotch to
the house of Stuart. He would now say a
word with respect to Ireland—that country
which was held up to be miserably downtrodden. Her union with England was a
blessing, for it did away with the Irish
parliament, than which there had never been
a more useless, corrupt, venal, and miserable body of the kind anywhere. We know
that up to the year of 1783, by the action of
what was called Poyning's law, a bill could
not be introduced into that parliament until
it was first submitted to the parliament of
Britain. Grattan, Flood, Plunket and
Purke by their eloquence obtained a repeal
of this law. He wondered at Roman
Catholics regretting the loss of the Irish
parliament, for no man could vote for a
member, or sit as a member in that parliament, unless he were a Protestant. There
was no independence about that body ; it
had not a few of what was called " borough
members." About 200, out of the whole
300 of which it was composed, could be
returned by about 100 gentlemen outside.
Such was the great Irish parliament. And
when it obtained the power to introduce
a bill without submitting it to the English
parliament, it did not remove the disabilities from Roman Catholics. The measure
for their relief did not originate in Ireland,
but in England under the great Pitt. Had
the Irish parliament remained as it was in
1783, we would never have seen Roman
Catholic emancipation in that country, nor
Gladstone's great bill of last year for the
disestablishment of the Irish church. The
measure which had brought about this was
the one introduced by Pitt, which united
Ireland with Britain, and placed her in an
equal position under the same parliament.
By that union she became part of the
greatest empire in the world ; and by it she
obtained in time the franchise for her Roman Catholic population. There was no
guarantee when the union took place that
this emancipation would follow. Pitt
pledged his word that it should be carried ;
but King George would not agree to it, as
he thought it would be a violation of his
coronation oath. Then, again, with respect
to the Irish land question, which had been
a grievance from time immemorial, and was
bandied about from one political party to
the other, it was now about to be remedied
by Gladstone. For all these measures,
then, the Irish Roman Catholics had to
thank the union of their country with
Protestant Britain. After referring to
history, the hon. member (Mr. Howlan)
had taken up the glory argument. The
Imperial Government, he said, were going
to leave us to our own resources. To show
that, if this took place, we should be in a
bad position, he had read an extract from a
speech of Lord Carnarvon's. He quoted
Bright and Lowe in support of his position,
that the colonies would have to look out
for themselves. But he (Mr. H.) was not
a little astonished, after the hon. member
had quoted these statesmen, as if he was
giving views expressed by them during the
present session of the Imperial parliament,
to find that he had been reading from
speeches delivered by them six or seven
years ago. He had given their opinions
when they were on the opposition benches,
but he could not show that they had made
such remarks since they became Her
Majesty's Ministers. they must have approved of the despatches recently sent to
the Dominion, otherwise they would have
resigned. He had also cited Earl Granville's
announcement that the troops were to be
withdrawn from Canada, to show that the
policy of the British government was to
leave us to our own resources. But the
hon. member had omitted the best part of
the noble Earl's speech, wherein he referred
to the duty of self-defence. He (Mr.
Haviland) entirely agreed with the Colonial
Minister ; the Provinces should prepare for
their own protection, and not be always
dependant upon the British red coats. We
should defend ourselves on the land, and
Great Britain would do it for us on the sea.
The sentiment of British statesmen
appeared to be that if the Colonies preferred to join the United States—to come
under a government that was a despotism for four years, we should be allowed
to go free, but if we chose to retain British connection, they would defend us
with the last man that could stand under
the old flag. But this subject had been
so much discussed by public men and
through the press that he would not
dwell on it here. The great argument in
favor of confederation was the breaking
down of hostile tariffs ; and union would
not prevent, but rather assist us in obtaining free trade with the United States.
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
144
It would, in short, give us a chance to
become great and prosperous. No doubt
the people had been frightened to a great
extent by persons going round the coun0
try, and telling them that under union
the taxes would be increased — that
almost every time they opened the door
they would meet a tax-gatherer. But
he (Mr. H.) thought that the manufactures of the Dominion itself were so extensive,
that if we were included therein,
we would not require to import much
from the outside world. There were
certain articles, of course, which could
not be produced in the country, such as
tea, sugar and tobacco, and on these the
duties would be raised. With respect to
the last mentioned, he did not look upon
it as a requisite—the less, he thought,
people used of it the better; therefore,
he did not look upon it as all loss to have
a high tariff on some articles. Then we
had the prospect of a cloth factory going
on at Spring Park, which he hoped would
turn out tweeds and other cloth of a description that would enable us to do without
the imported article to a great extent. It was his wish to see all the
colonies united as he thought it would
tend to establish British insitutions on
the American continent. He entirely
agreed with the hon. Colonial Secretary,
that it would be dangerous for us to pass
no-terms resolutions; Great Britain
would not all this Colony to be a
stumbling-block in the way of consummating the confederation scheme. He
believed that there were several hon.
members among the Government supporters who were more of his opinion on
this question than some of his own side
of the House; still he would not go with
the Government in supporting the resolution which had been proposed. He
could not approve of that part of the resolution which endorsed the general
tenor of the minutes of Council. He
would, therefore, move a resolution of
his own, which he did not suppose he
would get many to support, but he believed it would be awkward for some to
oppose it. He would cast it upon the
waters, feeling assured that it would
bear fruit hereafter:—
Resolved, That the best interests and future
prosperity of this Island will be promoted by a
Federal union with the Dominion of Canada,
provided the said union can be effected upon
such just and equitable terms as may be approved
of by the people at the polls.
Progress was reported and the House
adjourned.
[...]
This individual participated in:
