PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
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TUESDAY, April 5.
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
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AFTERNOON SESSION.
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Confederation.
House again in committee on the
despatches.
Hon. Mr. MCAULAY.—Those who had
spoken upon this subject had taken a
wide range; they had alluded to countries and states not mentioned in the
despatches. But their references were
confined to one part of the world. If
they had wished to make their statements
general, they would have appealed to
the histories of states of a greater antiquity, and also to some of a more modern
date than those which they had cited. At
the opening of the session this House
promised to His Honor the Administrator to consider the question under
consideration calmly, and be hoped he
would be able to adhere to such a good
resolution. Why we should give up the
constitution of the colony, and consent
to be annexed to Canada, he could not
conceive. No state or country so far
from the seat of government as this
Island was from Ottawa, was ever contented. Ireland was referred to yesterday as having
received benefit from
union with England. If such had been
the case, he (Mr. McA.) did not know
it. Since the union, Ireland had produced few great men besides O'Connell.
Allusion had also been made to Scotland
in this debate. There had once been a
place called Scotland, but it was now
North Britain. England at one time
knew there was a Scotland. It had been
said that the Scotch were an idle people;
but there was a day when the were not
idle—that was on the field of Bannockburn. (Laughter.) She had had distinguished men;
but not so many now
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163
since her union with England. He,
however, would refer to other unions.
England herself was once a province of
Rome. Would England be the great
country she was to-day, if she had continued a Roman provmce? France was
once a province of the same kind; but
in that position she could not have become rest, as she was too far distant
from the seat of government at Rome.
If we went farther back still, we would
find other instances to prove the same
thing. When Greece was growing into
a country her people sent to Egypt to
see what kind of government she had.
They discovered nothing there worth
imitating. After their masses are returned home, the Greeks founded a great
confederacy—so compact and so powerful that when Artaxerxes came against
it his hosts were defeated. The
Greeks gave a noble account of their
valor at the pass of Thermopylae. They
afterwards thought of punishing Persia
for her attack upon them; they did so
under Alexander, who conquered, that
great country, but his victory was the
ruin of Greece. A central state always
absorbed the wealth of the outlying provinces to their injury. This being the
case we should be careful about acceding
to the wooing of the Canadians who
came here asking us to join them. He
did not apprehend that Great Britain
ever expected this Island would enter
the Dominion. In the British American
Act the two Canadas were allowed
twenty-four senators each, and Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick each twelve.
This being the full number of twenty-four
for the Lower Provinces, where was
there a place for Prince Edward Island?
As he read the Act, if this Colony were
admitted into the confederacy, it might
be a generation before she would attain
her representation in the senate, because
the number of senators for Nova Scotia
and New Brunswick was not to be reduced except by death or resignation.
Hon Mr. HAVILAND, said his hon.
colleague was in error. He could not
have read the Act with sufficient attention. This Island would get her four
senators as soon as she became a part of
the Dominion, but the number would
not be reduced in Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick until it was effected by the
means which the hon. member described.
Hon. Mr. MCAULAY thought he understood the Act correctly enough, but he
would pass on to look at another aspect of
the question. The neighboring Provinces,
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, were
blessed with great resources with which
those of this Island could not compare. The
mines of Nova Scotia yielded her a large
revenue, and the timber of New Brunswick
did the same for that province. All these
thin would help to augment the wealth of
the Dominion, but what was to augment
our wealth ? He was ashamed to say there
was nothing. Why then should we go into
confederation? Were we not just as able
to manage our own affairs as the Canadians
were ? He believed we would be committing
an act of political suicide by joining the
Dominion. A short time ago Canadian
affairs came to a dead lock, and gentlemen
were sent down to attend the conference of Â
Lower Province delegates, to attempt to
wheedle our statesmen into a union with
Canada. They took our men off in a
steamer to a place in Lower Canada called
Quebec, where certain resolutions were
agreed upon. But our people had
sense enough not to accept the Quebec
Scheme, which empowered the Dominion to
raise money by any mode or system of taxation whatever. By going into confederation
we would enable the people of Canada
—for they were the power—to tax us to
any extent; and as according to all accounts
they were always needing money—like the
grave ever needing and never satisfied—he
thought it would be well for us to retain
our resent constitution. We could not, if
in to Dominion, in any wise control the
votes of the general parliament; our five
men would have no voice amid the large
number in that body; and the money, when
once it was raised from us, would probably
be taken to build a railway to the Pacific.
The debt of the Dominion was about
$24,000,000 sterling; he, however, was not
very sure about the amount—indeed he did
not know whether the Canadian statesmen
were certain about the amount themselves.
If the government here were to act in that
way, we would be very apt to turn them out
of office. It was a sign of corruption when
the statesmen of a country did not know
what its debt was. Confederation was a
very pretty word, but the thirteen colonies
were confederated and what was the result?
A war broke out which deluged that country
with the blood of its people. The government of Great Britain had sent word across
the Atlantic to this Island that the colony
was to be governed according to the well
understood wishes of the people. He contended, therefore, that the confederates
were those amongst us who were disloyal.
(Applause.) It was not fair that they
should be railing against us as they were
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doing. He would conclude by saying that
he was an honest anti-confederate, and
would show his opinions by tabling a
resolution, which he would now read :—
"Whereas, His Excellency Sir John Young,
Governor-General of the British North American Provinces, in a Despatch to His Honor
the
Administrator of the Government of this Colony, dated at Ottawa, on the fourteenth
day of
December last, proposed certain terms on
which this Colony would be admitted into the
Canadian Union ; and
"Whereas, a union of this Colony with the
Dominion of Canada, would not be advantageous to Prince Edward Island ; and as the
inhabitants of this Colony are not desirous of disturbing their existing connection
with Great
Britain.
"Therefore, Resolved, That this House, on
behalf of the Colony, decline to become part of
the Dominion of Canada."
Hon. Mr. HENDERSON, in rising to
support the hon. member's (Mr. McAulay's) amendment, was free to acknowledge that
he had nothing particularly new to offer on confederation ; nor
was it necessary that he should, for his
views in regard to it were still unchanged, and as their correctness had
not been disproved, he should hold them
firmly until the force of truth convinced
him of some error. After having maturely considered the report of the Quebec Conference,
in 1864, it was his
humble opinion that little P. E. Island
would prove, at any future time, of as
much importance to the other provinces
as they would be to her. And now,
after the lapse of more than five years,
the documents before this hon. committee endorsed the correctness of that
opinion ; for the one which contained
the better terms assumed it as a fact
that the Quebec Conference under-estimated the importance of the Colony to
the Dominion by the sum of $800,000.
It was very evident that our people were
never more determined to keep aloof
from the proposed union than they were
at this moment. But they and their representatives also were prepared to give,
to all concerned, just and sufficient
reasons for that determination. This
implied that the representatives especially had carefully studied all the more
prominent events which led to the establishment of the Dominion, as well as
the public character and conduct of the
principal actors in those events. And it
implied, besides, that they had paid particular attention to the policy pursued
by the Dominion government during its
short history, as well as to the present
state and future prospects of the Dominion. Conclusions based on anything
short of this would not be just to them
nor creditable to ourselves. That the
confederation scheme took its rise in
Canada, and had had for its chief object
the relief of Canadian difficulties, both
political and financial, did not now
admit the shadow of a doubt. Was not
the coalition government in 1864 formed
to save the country, for a time at least,
from positive anarchy ? If any hon.
member had any doubt on the subject he
must, to say the least of it, be uninformed in respect of their "sixes and
sevens" and their frequent dead locks !
Canada West had entirely outgrown the
provisions of the Union Act of 1841, and
the coalition government were charged
with the confederation of the two Canadas,
which involved serious risks, for they could
not avoid the opening up of old sores that
might result in another rebellion. This
state of feeling accounted for the eagerness
with which they availed themselves of the
first chance that offered to attempt the
accomplishment of a general union, whose
foreign elements might, to some extent,
neutralize the bitterness of their home disputes. It must thus appear to unprejudiced
minds that Canadian necessities and
selfishness, so to speak, took the lead in
concocting the Quebec Scheme, and stamped
their own impress upon it, as well as upon
every other step and movement in New
Brunswick and Nova Scotia, that contributed to the formation of the Dominion as
it now existed. This colony had had its
peculiar disadvantages of position and circumstances, totally ignored by the Quebec
Conference and equally so by the concoctors
of the North American Act. These were
among the facts that had aroused the
people's opposition to confederation, and
when coupled with the extreme extravagance of the Dominion government their
opposition to it was greatly enhanced.
Looking at the question from these points
of view, it was by no means surprising that
they could not regard any overture made
to us by the Canadians without extreme
suspicion, and hence their desire for no
terms. He had already hinted at the manner in which New Brunswick and Nova
Scotia had been treated in connection with
confederation. But feeling as he did that
now was the time when the people should
have all the reliable and pertinent information which had transpired, he must contribute
a few additional and telling facts. In
regard to New Brunswick, it would suffice
to say, that Canadian agents from among
themselves and from Canada, grossly imposed upon the people, with respect to
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165
county branch lines of railway and other
promises, which had not been, and never
were intended to be performed. And as to
the official coercion brought to bear upon
the government by the Lieutenant Governor, it was a matter of more public notoriety
than the other. But if that province
was now reaping a golden harvest from its
connection with Canada, all he could say
was, that the repeated and positive statements of its own confederate journals must
be very untrue. With respect to Nova
Scotia, the manner in whic it had been
dragged into the union, constituted one of
the darkest pages to be met with in the
very dark and uninviting history of such
unions. The Quebec Scheme was no sooner
published than the people of that noble
province became greatly alarmed for their
own safety ; and in 1865, 183 petitions,
signed by 15,000 of the people, were sent
into the Legislature against that scheme.
In the session of 1866, owing to the intense
feelings and opposition of the people, the
question of confederation was not as much
as once alluded to in the Governor's speech.
The country was thus led to believe itself
secure, and this state of things continued
until the session was pretty far advanced.
By this time, however, craft and deception
had proved successful in New Brunswick.
The leading confederates thus encouraged,
would, no doubt, ply the same weapons in
Nova Scotia and their success might be
judged of by the results ; for a conspiracy
had been evidently formed between the
government and opposition, and a resolution carried by a large majority, to send
delegates to England, to barter away their
country's dearest rights for some infamous
consideration ! It is note-worthy that
some nineteen of this majority, gave a
silent vote for the resolution ! This event
filled the province with surprise and amazement. But let us briefly follow the question
as it came before the Imperial Parliament. Able and influential delegates were
sent to England on behalf of the people,
also, to oppose any act that would include
Nova Scotia in the confederation. 'In this
they were supported by a petition bearing
31,000 signatures, and which was presented
to the House of Commons by Admiral
Erskine. We had it on good authority,
that, "in the Commons the petition was
never read and scarcely referred to. In
the Lords its existence was hardly recognised, * * and the allegiance and affection
of a high--spirited and loyal people was
treated with supreme indifference" "On
the second reading of the bill (N. American
Act) in the House of Commons, (in 1867)
the hon. member for Stockport (Mr.
Watkin) declared that at the general election, in Nova Scotia in 1863, the question
of confederation had been discussed at
every polling-booth in the country. The
House of Commons with this false statement ringing in the ears of its members,
passed the bill without a [illegible]. "In
the recent debate, on Nova Scotia's petition
for repeal, both Mr. Adderly and Mr.
Cardwell flatly contradicted Mr. Watkin,
and admitted that at the elections in 1863,
the question had not been discussed at the
hustings. But strange to say that both
those gentlemen misled the House of Commons by drawing an inference from it of
the most vital import in such a controversy,
not only unsupported by, but utterly at
variance with the facts. Both assured the
House that the subject was not mentions,
only because all the public men were in
favor of confederation, and the people
fully instructed and prepared for it!" This
statement was made by Messrs. Cardwell
and Adderly, in 1868, some six months
after the general election of the previous
year, and of which the following is an abstract:—
"FOR THE GENERAL PARLIAMENT,
| Members opposed to Confederation |
18 |
| Members in favor of Confederation, |
1 |
|
19 |
"FOR THE LOCAL PARLIAMENT,
| Members opposed to Confederation, |
36 |
| Members in favor of Confederation, |
2 |
|
38" |
It will thus be seen how completely the
statement of those colonial office worthies
paled before the above figures, which represented the truth. But it may be asked
'what these details have to do with the
question now under consideration? He
contended that they had much to do with
it from two distinct points of view. The
first was that the men who had directly or
indirectly to do with those dark affairs,
from the moment of their conception, until
each of them had become an accomplished
fact, were the very same men through
whose brains and hands the "Better Terms"
had to pass before they were proposed to
us. And if that fact was not sufficient to
inspire us with caution—suspicion if you
will—in regard to them, we must be very
deficient in common sense. The second
was, that it was the next thing to an impossibility for a union, consummated by
such means, and consisting of such jarring
elements as the Dominion now was, to
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166
become strong or successful without a radical change. If it ever should, the thing
might be noted as an event contrary to the
laws of nature. This being the case, our
watchword should be, no-terms-no surrender. Those who could not produce a
better argument, were fond of saying that
loyalty demanded a sacrifice at our hands.
In reply it was natural to ask what it was
that constituted true practical loyalty? In
the meantime he would submit a definition
of his own. True loyalty, he contended,
comprehended obedience to the laws- active
obedience to all good laws, when required,
and passive obedience to bad laws until they
were constitutionally repealed; coupled
with a firm constitutional defence of our
own rights and liberties. If a British
colony ever existed that made greater
sacrifices than this colony had done, to the
old policy of the British Government, with
respect to its public lands, he must confess
that he was ignorant of its history. We
had had to expend many thousand of pounds
in the erection of barracks, and for other
military purposes, entirely on account of
our land question. And what the people
had sustained in the loss of time, and subscriptions paid to the escheat and other
associations, it was utterly impossible to estimate. But no sooner had we appeared
to
be getting our heads above water, in the
struggle of purchasing back our lands,
which had been given or thrown away,
than repeated and peremtory demands were
made upon us, till we consented to pay our
Governor's salary. We now paid our own
civil list entirely, and any other expense
that the British Government were put to,
purely on our account, was merely nominal.
Yet after having thus survived the wrongs
and hardships of our very checkered
history, we were asked, virtually, to sacrifice our all to Canadian cupidity, and
the
Manchester policy of the present British
Government. With the Canadians, forsooth, we were asked to cast in our lot, as
if we had not been sufficiently fleeced already - as if we could envy the people with
whom everything was tared down to the
very dogs, to satisfy the extravagance of
their government. If we had become
Arabs that policy might succeed, but if we
were Britons still it could not. Among
the most remarkable speeches of this session, if the Reporter was correct, was that
piece of special pleading set up by the hon.
member (Mr. Brecken) in defence of the
public men of Canada, who had been actively engaged in the rebellions of 1837-8.
Those men were not only excused but
praised also, simply on the plea that they
rebelled for the purpose of obtaining responsible government. But the anti-confederates
of this Island - representatives
and people- were, by the confederate
press, denounced as disloyal, because they
were determined to the utmost of their
constitutional power, to preserve the responsible government which they obtained
by truly loyal means! A precious specimen this of confederate consistency! With
these general remarks he was prepared to
support the amendment.
Mr. BRECKEN thought the hon. member
(Mr. Henderson) made an ingenious
statement when he said that he (Mr. B.)
stood by, and perhaps was prepared to
close with the offer of the Canadian
Statesmen.
Hon. Mr. HENDERSON would be sorry
to misrepresent the hon. member; and
he (Mr. B.) knew that nothing but a
sense of duty would induce him (Mr.
H.) to oppose the representative for the
city. Yet he knew the hon. member,
with his flowery arguments and eloquence, could make his words carry a
meaning which might deceive some
people; but presumed the hon. member
was himself the best judge of what he
intended to say.
Mr. BRECKEN had to charge the hon.
member with misrepresenting him. He
(Mr. H.) was afraid to speak out his
mind fairly and freely on the question
of Confederation, yet he would charge
Dr. Tupper with inconsistency. If the
hon. member had but taken the trouble
to read the despatch which came to them
last year, and calmly pondered over it
and spoken the sentiments it would
have produced, it would have been more
to the purpose. He had before him the
speech delivered by the hon. member
last year. His reasons last year were
different from those with which the hon
member had now favored the hon. committee. He thought the hon. member
had not taken a statesmanlike view of
the matter, and he (Mr. B.) would
appeal to his common sense for proof in
favor of his (Mr. B.'s) assertion. (The
hon. member then fully referred to the
history of the Nova Scotia difficulty, in
that province and in England, and
pointed out the result of the recent
partial elections in that province.)
When he (Mr. B.) first saw the Quebec
Scheme he opposed it. The hon. member (Mr. H.) had boasted of his loyalty,
and hinted at contending for his rights,
but he (Mr. B.) would remind the hon.
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167
member, that while they had rights to
protect and look after, they owed duties
also to the Home Government which he
thought the hon. member had entirely
forgotten.
Hon. Mr. HENDERSON thought the
hon. and learned member for Charlottetown had misunderstood his remarks.
He (Mr. H.) had said that some of his
(Mr. B.'s) remarks early in the session,
if correctly reported, appeared as an
apology for the public character and
policy of Canadians rebels, and contended
still that the drift and general tendency
of that speech was calculated to make
that impression. But if the hon. member
would affirm that such was not the impression he intended to make, he (Mr.
H.) would accept such disavowal. Nor
did he see how the hon. member could
now with any consistency defend those
whom he had so lately characterized as
"an extravagant set." The hon. member had given a glowing description of
the public works of Canada, &c., but he
(Mr. H.) would ask, had they been constructed with Canadian money? Or
were they not built at the expense, to
a great extent, of the British Government?
It was not so in Prince Edward Island.
Our lands, public works, and buildings,
had been secured and constructed at the
expense and labor of our own people.
Some who favored confederation appeared to look upon Canadian taxation
as a light matter. Yet it was well
known that even the printer's types
were taxed 15 per cent; an ordinary
mechanic's shop ÂŁ3 15s. 0d. per annum,
and other things in the same proportion.
Mr. BRECKEN, believed the hon. member felt himself in a very tight place,
especially when a perusal of his speech
last year was compared with his remarks
in the debate then going on. He (Mr.
B.) would read from the Parliamentary
Reporter of 1869, page 156:-
"Hon. Mr. HENDERSON. - If this debate is to
be closed this evening, I wish to make a few
remarks on the matter before the Committee.
I gave my first impressions on the subject, but
left the door open for myself to follow any course
I saw fit and proper. I took up the common
aspect of the question and spoke of the injustice
of the demand; that was the sum and substance
of my remarks. The debate which has taken
place has not changed my opinion on the subject-any change of sentiment has been the
result
of my own reflection. As to the character of
the despatches from the Colonial Office, in reference to Nova Scotia, we know thata
they
were as foreign to the strict honest facts of the
case, morally or politically, as any statements
could possibly be. Notwithstanding the fact
that the hon. Joseph Howe went home and
stated the case, backed up by a petition, from
18,000 of the loyal inhabitants of Nova Scotia- because the Imperial Government had
the fact
that the Legislature of Nova Scotia had consented, by the most foul and unjustifiable
[illegible]
to the union of that country with Canada- they
heeded not the petition nor the representations
of that gentleman, although they [illegible] they
were acting against the well-understood wishes
of the people. Then assuming that the address
of this House, or any portion of it, were presented to the House of Commons, and that
the
Colonial Minister, backed up by his predecessor,
got up and made a statement contrary to the
prayer of our appeal, what would be the effect
upon the House of Commons? It would [illegible]
to the winds any impression made by the address upon that body, and the result would
be
that there would be no chance for little Prince
Edward Island to obtain her wishes. There
seems now to be no alternative for us, but of
two evils to choose the least. When I consider
that Newfoundland is about being legislated
into Confederation, that a ring is being formed
around us, and that the British Government
have reduced our defences as far as they have
done, I cannot but come to the conclusion that
it would be unsafe to risk the result of refusing
to accede to this demand. I am as [illegible]
that the people should be relieved from every
burden, as any hon. member of thise House, but
I think it necessary to submit to this demand,
for I believe that the British Government would
not be particularly scrupulous, in regard to
forcing us into the Confederation against our
wishes, if they had what they thought a slight
pretext for doing. I would not favor any
movement on the part of this House which
might call for reflection in future. I shall,
therefore, support the resolution introduced by
the hon. Leader of the Government."
Those were the statements which the hon
member made when the despatch having
reference to the Lieutenant Governor's
salary was under consideration. The
whole burden of that speech went to
show that if the House refused to vote
that salary, the colony might be forced
into confederation with Canada. He
would be sorry to charge the hon. member with inconsistency; he (Mr. B.)
merely thought the hon. member had a
bad memory. Last year the hon. member thought it better to vote ÂŁ2,100 a
year, rather than to offer a point blank
refusal to the demands of the Imperial
government, and what he (Mr. B.) now
wished the hon. member to do, was to
give a satisfactory reason to justify his
action on the question under consideration when he was so tame last
year.
Hon. Mr. HENDERSON had not been
put in a "tight place" by the hon.
member, in consequence of his speech
last year. Being required to pay the
Lieutenant Governor's salary was one
thing, to give up our constitution was
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
168
another and much more serious demand.
He consented to the former as a matter
of policy, thereby depriving the British
government of the last plea they could
use to justify a coercive policy to place
us in the Dominion. But while he gave
his consent to that measure, he condemned the injustice of the demand;
and if a demand or command to join the
Dominion should be transmitted to us
from the Colonial Minister, our reply
should be a respectful but emphatic no !
A beautiful affair, indeed, if our dearest
rights were to be sacrificed, and this
colony to be made a prop to support
Canadians who had once forfeited their
constitution and had so often been a bill
of expence to the mother country, while
Prince Edward Island had done full
justice and honor to its constitution !
Mr. BRECKEN was not satisfied with
the explanation of the hon. member in
answer to the challenge which he (Mr.
B.) had given.
Hon. Mr. HENDERSON never denied
that Great Britain had the physical power
to coerce them into confederation, but
could not believe she had the moral
power to perpetrate so great a wrong.
It was all very well for the hon. member
to ring the challenge on what he would
fain prove inconsistent on his (Mr.
K.'s) part, but with all his eloquence he
might as well have tried to prove a horse
chestnut was a chestnut horse as to
attempt to upset the logic of facts.
Mr. BRECKEN.—The hon. member
need not reter to the horse chesnut, he
had but to refer to himself.
Hon. Mr. LAIRD was a good deal surprised when he heard the hon. and learned
member for Charlottetown commenting
last night upon sdme remarks which a
gentleman in the other end of the building had made at a public meeting in the
country. He (Mr. L. was surprised
that the hon. member for the city, (Mr.
B.), had the presumption to compare
himself with that hon. gentleman, for if
he had for a moment considered his own
past political career, he would not have
compared his with that of the Hon. Poore
Haythorne. He thought his (Mr. B.'s)
egotlsm would hardly have allowed him
to presume for a moment to think he Â
should, as a public man, be placed beside
that gentleman. When he (Mr. L.)
considered the manner in which the
quotation from that gentleman's speech
was taken, and used, and reflected how
unfair it was, he could not but feel surprised to think the hon. member should
have risen in his place and spoken as he
did. And when he (Mr. L.) further reflected upon the high position which Mr.
Haythorne occupied, he must regard the
manner in which he had been attacked
as unmanly. If what Mr. Haythorne
said at that meeting was fairly considered, and looked at as a whole, it would
not bear the construction which was
attempted to be put on it. Why did
not the hon. member (Mr. B.) read the
last part of the speech, in connection
with what he quoted? The hon. Mr.
Haythorne connected with the terms
which he thought the country might
accept, the construction of a railroad
throughout the Island. The hon. member had no proof which he could produce,
to show that the views of Mr. Haythorne
and his, were similar. The hon. Mr.
Haythorne had been but a short time in
public life; he now held the highest
position in the gift of the people to which
any man could attain. He (Mr. Laird)
would ask that hon. committee to contrast that position with the one attained
by the hon. member for Charlottetown, who, though much longer in politics, had attained
no higher dignity than
that of a political threshing machine.
Mr. Haythorne said, should an offer of
confederation be made, he should give
it his consideration; and after making
that statement, he had been elected by one
of the largest constituencies in this colony; and now when a public meeting
was held in a part of his district, he merely said that he looked forward to the time
when terms might be offered which he
would be willing to accept. But did he
mention that time? No, he did not. It
might be after that line of railroad was
built from Cascumpec to Georgetown.
But the Hon. Mr. Haythorne very
prudently said the time for confederation had not yet arrived. But how
was it with the hon. member for the city,
(Mr. B.) who, he supposed, prided himself as being the orator of that hon. committee.
He formerly voted for a no- terms resolution, and when his hon.
colleague (Dr. Jenkins) was returned
for the city, at the last election, the
hon. gentleman (Mr. B.) regretted that
his constituents had returned a confederate along with him. The hon. member
(Mr. B.) took the votes of his constituents as a no-terms man, and as such,
told them that he regretted the citizens
of Charlottetown should have sent to his
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
169
assistance a gentleman who held opposite views. But to him, (Mr. Laird,)
nothing was more amusing than to hear
the hon. member for the city comparing
himself with a gentleman who would
scorn to do a mean act, whose past political history was so consistent. Every
man who knew Mr. Haythorn's character had confidence in his unswerving
integrity. He might not have the fearless courage of the hon. member for
Charlottetown, but he had the courage
to be consistent.
Mr. BRECKEN said the hon. member
for Bedeque had pretty well abused him.
He (Mr. B.) had not compared himself
with Mr. Haythorne, nor had he attacked that gentleman's character. He had
just as much respect for the Hon. Mr.
Haythorne as the hon. member (Mr.
Laird) had. The hon. member had called
him (Mr. B.) a political threshing machine; but as it was then late, he would
defer replying to the silver-tongued,
ponderous, political philosopher of Wilmot Creek, until to-morrow evening.
Mr. REILLY, in rising to address the hon.
committee upon the all-important topic of
confederation, had before his mind the advice of His Honor the Administrator of the
Government, to use calmness and deliberation in the consideration of the question;
and he had also in view the manner in
which he had been treated by the advocates
of the scheme, both inside and outside of
this House. The suggestion of the venerable and honored gentleman who so worthily
represented our good and virtuous Sovereign
in this colony, would not be forgotten;
neither would the defamation and foulmouthed abuse of those who desired that
he, like themselves, should turn traitor to
his constituents, and accept a paltry bribe,
in prospect, as a recompense for a violation
of conscience. He had never, during all the
years that this matter had been before the
public, declared the absurd doctrine that
there were "no-terms" upon which a union
between this colony and the Dominion of
Canada could be advantageously effected.
On the contrary, he believed that there
were terms upon which a union might be
consummated; at the same time he was
also bound to express his earnest conviction, that Canada would never offer terms
which it would be worth our while to
accept. He had looked upon the scheme of
confederation in all its length and breadth,
heighth and depth, and he could see the
advantages of intercolonial free trade,
uniform laws, tariffs, currency, and mutual
defence. He would even sacrifice a portion
of his private convictions to attain those
objects, and to do away with those bitter
politico-religious feuds which had marred
the history of this colony--feuds in which
he himself had been mixed up--feuds which
had been forced upon him and often by the
very parties who were now casting the
reproach upon his co-religionists of having
been the slanderers of female virtue, because they repelled, as best they could, the
foul and unprovoked abuse heaped upon
them for political purposes. Our zealous
Bishop, our wives, our daughters, and our
religion--in fact, all that we esteemed most,
was ridiculed and spat upon by those who
then sought to blindfold the people in order
to retain sway over the destinies of this
colony, and who now adopt similar tactics
to accomplish the scheme of confederation.
Religious feuds, in the first instance, were
employed to array the population into hostile factories; and it was only the keen
point
of the bayonet which finally opened the
eyes of all classes to the sinister designs of
our aristocratic leaders. By these means,
they sought to recover that which they had
lost, and that which they had long been
accustomed to regard as their hereditary
right--he meant the absolute management
of the affairs of this colony. To retain
their position was all they aimed at; to
maintain themselves in luxury was their
only desire. The people might groan under
a landed system as iniquitous and oppressive
as that which crushed the serfs of Russia,
and which made exiles of four millions of
Irish peasants within twenty years; they
might be arraved into hostile factions, ready
to cut each other's throats in the name of
God; and they might be wheedled into a
confederacy, in which their last condition
would be worse than their first-- in
which the evils of dominionism would be ten
times more oppressive than the misfortunes
of short leases and rent paying. All these
things must happen, as long as our aristocracy were permitted to hold sway. The
Tory Samson clung to the pillars of the
edifice, and sooner than surrender his
cherished and long-enjoyed privileges, he
was resolved to perish in the ruins of the
edifice which sheltered him, rather than enjoy equal privileges with his fellow-citizens.
But he (Mr. R.) was quite ready to admit that
a broader field of politics, which was destined
to cut the ground beneath the feet of
political traders and knaves, and which
would place beyond their reach the power
to divide a people whose interests were
identical, into hostile factions, either in the
name of religion or of politics, had its ad
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
170
vantages. In times past, all that a political
rogue, intent upon some selfish scheme,
had to do to accomplish his object, was
to elongate his visage to an unusual
extent, to give the whites of his eyes an
extra roll heavenwards, and trail his religions coat-tail in the mire. The result,
as we a11 well know, was a " ruction,'' (as
his fellow-countrymen would say) which
would put Donnybrook in the shade. What
had happened in the past was just as likely
to occur in the future, but not, he must
admit, to as great an extent, even should
our state be that of isolation. However,
he for one was prepared to submit to these
little inconveniences rather than surrender
our rights to self-government, trusting that
all his fellow-colonists would come to the
conclusion to exercise forbearance, charity
and goodwill towards each other under all
and every circumstance, His inward convictions were embodied in the words of
Shakespeare, whose sentiments and advice;
it appeared to him (Mr. R.) were appropriate
and applicable to all times and places :— .
"'Tis better to bear the ills we have
Than fly to those we know not of."
It might, possibly, be his opinion that confederation would he forced upon us. It
was
the only doubt he had, upon this question ;
and because he had the temerity to express
that doubt, he was set upon a few nights
ago by one of the representatives of the
capital of this colony, and denounced as a
deceiver and hypocrite. Everything that
could possibly be said and distorted in defamation of him (Mr. R.) was used to
destroy his prospects and whatever influence
he might be supposed to have. The living
and the dead were arrayed against him.
The former were in a position that sheltered
them from the reply which, under other
circumstances, he should have made, and the
dead forbade retort. The good taste and
propriety of the attack was for the public
to consider; but personally, he must say,
that from a review of the antecedents and
history of the gentleman, he could expect
nothing better than the ruthless, unprovoked, and malignant attack which he had
made uppn him (Mr. R.) Believing in
the description which he had given of
him, of being the political gas-bag of this
House—the member with the most wind
and brass and the least information and
reading—he (Mr. R ) had allowed many of
his statements to pass with silent contempt.
He (Mr. R.) would not say that he himself
was a paragon of political virtue ; but be submitted that the hon. member was not
in a
position to read lectures to others upon
honesty or consistency. The hon member
had called him a " political upstart." He
would ask, why not say "upstart" unqualified by any epithat ? He would tell
him - it was because he dare not. It was the
acts of a coward who raised his arm to
strike; but had not the courage to give the
blow. He would not call him a villain,
because it would be unparliamentary. He
would not call him a fool, because he happened to be a lawyer ; but he would say,
he
was one who had abused the privileges of
parliament and the freedom of debate, to
the uttering of language, which, is spoken
out of the House, should be answered
only with a blow, The hon member
had charged him. with many things
which were mean and contemptibly false,
but he (Mr. R.) scorned to answer
and man for his conduct, whether he
were a political coxcomb, or whether he
fought himself into power by a false glare
of courage or not, so long as his accusations were based upon falsehood. The hon
member's fanatical aire had no influence
upon him, (Mr. R.) nor upon the majority of
his constituents, as he himself anticipated,
when he informed us, at the conclusion of
a scene which he (Mr. R.) had hoped never to
see repeated that he did not expect to
make another speech in this House. The
result of the forthcoming election would
realize his prophecy ; because he was already known as a traitor to his country,
and because he had proved false, at a most
important crisis, to his solemnly recorded
votes and promises. But he would leave
the hon. member with his constituets to
be dealt with, neither caring himseld for
his smiles or his frowns, so long as he discharged his duty to the people. And now,
if ever he desired the gift of eloquence,- it was at the present juncture, when the
question of confederation was brought before us.
He should desire to speak now, or for ever
hold his peace : now, when the dearest
rights and liberties for which a people ever
fought were hanging in the balance, - now,
when the enemy lurked in the secret places,
with honeyed words, and gilded palms-and
now, when gold, or abuse and misrepresentation where equally ready to be employed
to accomplish the transfer of our
liberties to Canada. Over five years ago,
a scheme was submitted to us for colonial
union, which pronounced just and equitable by those who now sought to impress
upon us the idea that confederation was
inevitable, and that we should never obtain
better propositions than those before us.
Our best policy, in their estimation, was to
grasp at the proffered terms, or suggest
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
171
those which we would be williing to accept.
Our confederate friends, philosophers and
guides, were not correct in asserting that
the terms of the Quebec Scheme were just
and equitable - nay, even liberal, as far as
Prince Edward Island was concerned. We
had now the evidence before us, in minutes
of Council of the Dominion Government
itself, and in the tabular statements of
their advocates and admirers here, whereby
it was shown that they were willing to
supplement their former offer by an increase
of ÂŁ25,520 per annum for local governmental purposes. He would submit, that
having proved false prophets once, they
were likely to prove so again, and the people
of this colony, having gained that amount
by their opposition, they would act the
prudent part by still continuing their hostility to the scheme. To the stout-hearted
men who scorned the Quebec Scheme, was
due the credit of these better terms ; and
to the same class would be due the credit
of still better terms, should it ever prove
the misfortune of the colony to join the
Dominion ; but he earnestly trusted that
the day was far distant when such a calamity would befal us. He held in his hand
the original Quebec Scheme, wherein we
were promised the munificent sum of 80
cents per head for the transfer of our
liberty, and the consoling representation in
the Senate of the Dominion, of four, and in
the commons, of five—a representation, in
all, of nine out of 258. That feature of
the scheme, which placed as utterly at the
mercy of our purchasers, had been rendered
worse by the North American Act of 1867,
inasmuch as it reduced the representation
of the maritime Provinces; and who was
there amongst us, except those favored
few, possessed of property to the extent
of $4000, anxious to bask in the sunshine which beamed around Ottawa, or
the few needy hangers-on in our midst to
whom every change was acceptable, who
would not just as soon see the Island thrust
into the confederacy without a representative at all as with the contemptibly limited
number allowed us by the act referred to ?
Had we no representation, we could, at all
events, appeal to the sense of justice of
mankind for fair play ; Â we could adopt the
patriotic cry of the people of the early
American colonies—the New England
States—that taxation without representation was tyranny, but by the proposed
arrangement—although we in effect would
have no influence whatever in regulating
taxation, yet we might be fleeced to any
extent, as the Act in question permitted—
our mouths would be closed, because we had
five commoners and four lords to represent
us, and we could not say that we had been
taxed without our own consent. In the
better terms, he noticed the offer of $800,000 to settle our land question. He thanked
Canada for the assurance. We granted
the money for the purpose, but he thought
the duty of relieving our hard-workding
tenants from the thraidom into which they
had been cajoled, devolved rather upon the
Imperial government than upon the Canadians. Knowing, as we did, that it was
the former and not the latter that inflicted
the evil upon the colony, - and that it was
the same power which now desired to place
these colonies in the position of a target
against republicanism, and make these
Provinces the battle-ground for the feuds
between Europe and America. And this
we were requested to do at a time when
the Imperial troops were being withdrawn
from the colonies, and when we stood in
the relative proportions of four to forty
millions of people. With reference to the
financial part of the scheme, we would,
according to the new arrangement, have
received last year ÂŁ103,518 3s 10d, as an
offset to ÂŁ77,998 3s 10d, which we raised as
our revenue proper, leaving a balance in
our favor, as shown by the tabular statement of a confederate committee, who
applied the Dominion tariff to our imports.
The calculation was correct enough, barring
the error of several thousands of pounds
which had no right to be placed to our
credit; but even admitting that the statement was correct in every particular, was
it a sufficient inducement for us to enter
the Dominion? It was a matter of fact
that our revenue nearly doubled itself every
twelve years, and estimating it at that of
last year, ÂŁ90,000, how, he might ask,
would the account stand between us and
Canada twelve years hence? Why, we
should be a loser to the extent of ÂŁ77,000
in round numbers; and as our tariff was
only eleven per cent, whilst that of Canada
was fifteen—with the strong probability of
being raised to twenty - and as the sum
proposed for the management of our local
affairs was, with the insignificant exception
of the 80 cent arrangement, a fixed one,
the probability was that if the colony was
to keep pace with its past prosperity, our
loss would increase with our increasing
prosperity; and our increasing wants would
have to be supplied by direct taxation—by
repulsive stamp and newspaper taxes, to
which, hitherto, we had, happily, been
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
172
strangers. There was no promise made for
public works in this Island, surrounded by
an ice barrier for five months out of the
year, for whilst we were called upon to
contribute equally with our fellow-colonists
on the mainland, to the construction and
maintenance of costly public works, such
as railroads, &c., which enhanced the value
of their property, contributed to their wealth,
and were available at all times, we were, by
a special clause of the B. N. A. Act, debarred from such works unless at our own
expense. But as an offset to these practical suggestions, our loyalty and religious
convictions were appealed to. We had any
number of promises; and prophetic visions
were as plentiful as misquitoes in summer.
The land question was to be settled, universal harmony was to prevail, and commerce
was to raise us to the very pinnacle
of prosperity. History, it was said, but
repeated itself; and looking at the arguments of the friends of confederation, he
was almost a believer in the doctrine of the
transmigration of souls, and fancied that
they were animated by the spirits, nay, the
very language of those who were instrumental in effecting the union between England
and Ireland in the early part of the
present century. Reviewing the prophetic
visions of national prosperity in which the
Irish ministers indulged, the illustrious
Grattan remarked:
"The minister has not done with bribes;
whatever economy he shows in argument here
he has been generous in the extreme. Parson,
priest (I think one of his advocates hints the
Presbyterians) are not forgotten; and now the
mercantile body are all to be bribed, that all
may be ruined. He holds out commercial
benefits for political annihilation; but offers you
a abundance of capital, but first he takes it
away; he takes away a great portion of the
landed capital of the country by the necessary
operation of Union; he will give you, however,
commercial capital in its place; but first he will
give you taxes. It seems it is only necessary
to break the barrier of liberty, and the tides of
commerce will flow in of course; take away her
rival in a landed capital, and then commercial
capital advances without fear. Commerce
only wants weight, i.e. taxes, it seems, in
order to run with new spirit. He not only
finds commerce in the retreat of landed capital,
but he finds corn also. His whole speech is a
course of surprises; the growth of excision, the
resource of incumbrance, and harvests sown
and gathered by the absence of the proprietors
of the soil and of their property. All these
things are to come. When? He does not tell
you. Where? He does not tell you. You take
his word for all this. I have heard of a banker's bill of exchange, Bank of England's
notes,
Bank of Ireland's notes; but a prophet's promissory note is a new traffic; all he
gets from
Ireland is our solid loss; all he promises are
visionary, distance, and prophetic advantages.
He sees, I do not, British merchants and Brit
ish [illegible] sailing to the provinces of Connaught
and Munster; there they settle in great multitudes, themselves and families. He mentions
not what description of manufacturers; who
from Birmingham; who from Manchester; [illegible] Â
matter, he cares not; he goes on asserting and
asserting with great ease to himself, and with
out any obligation to fact. Imagination is the
region in which he delights to disport; where
he is to take away your parliament, where he
is to take away your final judicature, where he
is to increase your taxes, where he is to get an
Irish tribute, there he is a plain, direct, matter- of-fact man; but where he is to
pay you for all
this, there he is poetic and prophetic; no longer
a [illegible], but an inspired accountant. [illegible]Â Â
gives her wand; [illegible] Â takes him by theÂ
hand; Ceres is in her train."
Is not this precisely the style of
argument employed by colonial confederates? What our burdens, taxation
and helplessness in the confederacy
will be, we are informed accurately
enough; but when we ask the confederates to point out to us the advantages of union,
then they are poetical
and visionary, and talk largely of the
glory of the belonging to a great country,
and the benefits of intercolonial free
trade, as if we were not already part and
parcel of one of the first nations of the
earth, and as if intercolonial free trade
could not be accomplished without a
political union. The history of Ireland
has been quoted to us to prove that no
greater blessing could have befallen that
country than the surrender of its parliament. We are told that the people
of Ireland should rejoice at the destruction
of a corrupt parliament, and unusual
prosperity is attributed to the union.
The confederates are unfortunate in
their illustrations. The Legislature of
Ireland was undoubtedly corrupt; but,
bad as it was, the people of Ireland never
consented to its annihilation, for the
very good reason that they had no voice
in the matter. As a matter of fact, we
know that of the 300 men who committed
that act of "damnable violation," as an
eminent Irish member of the House of
Commons termed it, 116 were actually
placemen, and 216 the representatives of
boroughs, and manors, and nominees
of patrons, returned without the exercise of the shadow of elective right by
the people. Placemen and all, as these
so-called representatives were, yet, however, it required a lavish expenditure of
gold to blunt their consciences to commit the deed which they knew would at
once destroy the independence of the
country, and blast its prosperity. The
coercive Bills, Algerine Acts, and Martial Law, of the first twenty years of
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
173
union; the agitations of O'Connell, the
famines of 1846-47 and 48, with the
wholesale exodus consequent thereon;
and the Fenian conspiracies of the present day, testify in unmistakable terms
as to the folly of destroying, instead of
reforming, the Irish Parliament. But
he would not detain the committee by
going over the history of Ireland's miseries. He would simply say, that as the
members of this House, were the free
choice of the people, he trusted that
they would prove worthy of the confidence reposed in them, and that no considerations
of honor or emolument would
ever induce them to betray their constituents in so important an affair as the
surrender of the constitution of the
colony. The government, he was happy to
find, had acted promptly and openly in
the matter. The dates of the various
despatches and documents, relating to
the "better terms," clearly showed that
the government lost no time in coming
to a decision thereon, and the charge of
waiting to see the direction of the popular breeze, therefore, fell to the ground.
As far as this government and assembly
were concerned, the country was safe
with regard to confederation. It would
be for the people to see that the next
Legislature was equally honest and
patriotic. Bribery and deception would
doubtlessly be tried at the general election to swell the number of confederate
members; but he had sufficient confidence in the intelligence of the people,
and the love of liberty by which they
were animated, to cherish the belief that
they could not be cajoled by any specious
artifices on the part of the confederates;
and that they would adopt the most efficacious means by rejecting every unionist
who might offer himself for election, to
preserve the privileges which they enjoyed under the present constitution
and form of government. The experience of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick,
and the difficulties which beset the Dominion to the Red River revolt, should
not be lost upon us. For himself, he
(Mr. R) had discharged his duty to his
constituents by opposing the "better
terms". Were he to do otherwise, he
would consider himself a traitor of t he
blackest dye, in whom no honest elector
should place confidence.
Mr. PROWSE said as this question of
confederation was one on which every
hon. member of the House should express his opinions, he would not be doing
his duty did he not fearlessly express his
sentiments. Were the committee discussion a resolution which could put us
into confederation, he (Mr. P.) would
feel himself bound, by his obligations to
his constituents, to oppose anything
which would put the Island into confederation without the consent of the
people. But as the members of the
Legislature would soon have to go back
to the people for re-election, they should
now express their honest convictions on
this question, and not act in a double- dealing manner, as he (Mr. P.) believed
the government of the day were doing.
This question had been the means of
showing up the present government in
their true character, and he (Mr. P.)
thought it would be safer to trust the
country in the hands of men who honestly avowed themselves in favor of confederation,
and yet would promise not
to vote for union without an appeal to
the people, than to men who had acted
like the present government. The goverment were now upon their trial for
their actions during the recess, and the
House was asked to pass a resolution
endorsing the sentiments of two minutes
of council. One of these minutes read
as follows:-
"Resolved, That inasmuch as said terms do
not comprise a full and immediate settlement of
the land tenures, and indemnity from the Imperial government for the loss of territorial
revenues, the committee cannot recommend said
terms to the consideration of their constituents
and the public."
The only interpretation which could
possibly be put on this, minute of council, was that, if the British Government
settled our land question, we would go
into confederation. Afterwards the government wrote a longer minute of council than
the one just quoted, on the same
subject, but he (Mr. P.) could not understand what the longer document was
for, except to darken the meaning by a
multiplicity of letters and words. The
government stated that the land question was one of great importance, and
they stipulated that it should be settled
before we joined Canada, but if we could
obtain the settlement of [illegible] question,
it did not matter much where the money
came from; he (Mr. P.) would not blush
to take the money from Canada. We
were badly treated by the Imperial Government with regard to our lands, they
took away our crown lands to pay the
debts of the empire. Canada was a part
of that empire; she owed debts to Great
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
174
Britain, and if Canada was now willing
to reinurse Prince Edward Island for
the loss of our crown lands, in consideration of the obligations she owed to
Great Britian, we might as safely accept
this indemuity from Canada as from
Great Britain. He (Mr. P.) did not
wish to be understood to be in favor of
the present terms, or of this House accepting any terms, for no terms should
be accepted without the consent of the
people at the polls. If he believed it
was possible for this Island to retain its
present position, or its isolation, be as
prosperous in the future as it had been
in the past, he would oppose confederation ; but, believing as he did, that isolation
was nearly played out, he considered it right that this question should be
discussed from one end of the Isalnd to
the other. Some years ago the question
of our land tenures was entertained by
the British Government ; they appointed
commissioners to settle it. These commissioners sent in a voluminous report,
but there the matter rested. The
British Government went so far as not
only to admit that grievance existed,
but actually submitted to the Island government a plan for the settlement of that
question, but the Island did not approve
of the scheme. Soon after, this confederation scheme was proposed and the
people of this Island did not favor it.
Ever since that time, our Island government had been snubbed by the British
government on this land question,
and we were told at last that they would not
discuss the matter with us, but very
significantly told us that this question
would be taken upon by the Dominion
Government in the event of our joining
confederation. A great deal had been
said about giving up our liberties, but
he (Mr. P.) believed we would have as
much liberty when united with Canada,
as we now enjoyed. We had a beautiful
exhibition of liberty when the highest
legislative body on the Island—the lords
in the other end of the building—could
not pass a bill for the appointment of
one of their own officers without adding
a suspending clause,—that was the liberty the Legislature of this Island enjoyed !
(Hear, hear.) He (Mr. P.) did
not think it the proper time to discuss
the financial part of the question, as he
was not prepared to advocated the present
terms, but there were arguments which
might be used to show that this Island
was justly entitled to much better terms
than had yet been offered to us—and it
was the duty of the party in power to
state what terms should be accepted by
this Island. The settlement of the land
question should always be kept in view
by the government. It was the burden
of the song of the late leader of the
liberal party, hon. George Coles, who
did not think it derogatory to the dignity of the Legislature of the Island to
demand, when in Canada, the price of
the lands from the Dominion government ; and he (Mr. P.) thought no
member of the present government
would claim to be above him (Mr. Coles)
in intelligence and legislative ability.
It appeared that every means was taken
to blacken confederates' conduct on this
question. He. (Mr. P.) had been accused
of taking an undue advantage of his
position, and of changing his opinion on
the subject ; but he would state that he
never was a "no-terms" man. The first
time he (Mr. p.) had said anything in
public on this question was at a meeting
in his district at which the Hon. Mr.
Duncan was present, after the return of
the delegates from Quebec in 1864, and
when he (Mr. D.) expressed himself
opposed to any terms, and desired the
meeting to pass a no-terms resolution.
he (Mr. P.) had differed with him, and
stated that if he (Mr. D.) was opposed
to any terms, he, as a member of the
government, should not have voted for
sending delegates to Quebec. It had
been stated that we did not want to
trade with the Dominion, but from the
tabular statement which ahd been got
up by gentlemen of ability, as well as
from other sources, it could be easily
ascertained that we had a large and ever
increasing amount of exports to the
Dominion, and we must conclude that a
remunerative market was obtained there,
or so much would not be sent. We
were also in a large measure dependent
upon the Dominion for our fuel, so that
our trade with that country was not so
small as some hon. members tried to
make out. The main question, however,
was whether we could maintain our
isolated policy in the future, as we had
done in the past, when it was plainly the
policy of Great Britain to increase the
pressure until we joined the union.
This policy of Great Britain was plainly
observable in their conduct with regard
to the land question and the payment of
the governor's salary. He (Mr. P.) had
voted for paying the Governor's salary,
for he believed our refusal to do
so might have been made a pretext for
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
175
putting us into confederation, and he
did nto wish to see this Island placed
into union as Nova Scotia had been. A
great deal had been quoted from newspapers and speeches to show the dissatisfaction
which prevailed in parts of
the dominion, but these statements ahd
been put forth by those who were opposed to the government of the Dominion, or were
dissappointed office hunters ;
and if we would judge by the statements
of the opposition in any country, we
should have a very poor idea of the state
of public matters, although a good
healthy opposition to a government was
one of the greatest blessings to the country. At one time on this Island a great
cry was raised about the corruptions of
the family compact, and almost every
man you met was talking about the
Blue Book, while many of them hardly
knew what it was. Soon after, another
party took the reins of government, and
then the religious question arose and
the cry was raised that the Roman
Catholics were going to ride rough-shod
over the country. And so it would
always be, one party trying to make out
that the other was the worst in the
world, which shewed that we could not
judge of the prosperity of a country or
of the purity of a party without hearing
both sides of the question.
Hon. Mr. DUNCAN said he must have
misunderstood the hon. member who
had just spoken, at the Murray Harbor
meeting to which he referred. At that
meeting the hon. member, as he (Mr. D.)
thought, was so opposed to confederation that he found fault with the government for
sending delegates to Canada at
all. He (Mr. D.) had pled guilty to the
fault, and excused himself as best he
could by saying that the delegates had
gone further than he ever expected them
to go, and that he would never consent
to another delegation being sent.
Hon. Mr. DUNCAN was outdone. If
the hon. member had carried a resolution against him, he (Mr. D.) could have
no more to say.
Hon. Mr. HOWLAN asked how it came
that the hon. member (Mr. Duncan) supported, at the last election, the return of
his friend (Mr. Prowse), if that gentleman was a staunch confederate, and had
opposed him at meetings.
Hon. Mr. DUNCAN could assure the
hon. committee that he had supported
the hon. member (Mr. Prowse) because
he believed him to be a good anti-confederate; but he had been deceived.
(Laughter.)
Hon. Mr. HOWLAN said he asked the
question, because he observed by one of
the newspapers, that the people in the
Murray Harbor district had proposed
at a recent meeting, to pledge their next
representatives against confederation,
upon oath in writing.
Hon. Mr. HAVILAND observed that he
saw in the same paper that the government should be recommended for being
anti-confederate. He (Mr. H.) thought
this was strange, when the leader of the
government himself had declared that he
was in favor of the principle of confederation.
Mr. PROWSE explained that he was
opposed to the late government sending
delegates to Canada, because he believed
that some of them could not be trusted
on the confederation question ; and the
people of the district had approved of
the hon. member (Mr. Duncan) in taht
respect.
Hon. Mr. DUNCAN.—Hon. members
were wheeling round so that he did not
know what to do. The question which
he went down at that time to ascertain
the views of his constituents upon, was
the school Act.
The debate was then adjourned.
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