PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
187
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THURSDAY, April 7.
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[...]
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
191
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Confederation.
House resumed further consideration
of Despatches.
Mr. KICKHAM, hoped hon. gentlemen
would recollect that they came here to do
the business of the country, and he was
of opinion it would be better to do so,
without indulging in arguments which
had a tendency to hinder, rather than
promoted, that end.
Mr. BRECKEN endorsed the sound advice of the hon. member for Souris, but
must remind his hon. friend, that it
was well also for the country to know
the true position of its public men. The
hon. member for Wilmot Creek, made
an attack upon him the other night, and
he (Mr. B.) was surprised and sorry the
hon. member did so; but as he (Mr. B.)
had been assaulted, it was his duty to
reply. In doing so, however, he would
endeavor to profit by the warning given
by the hon. member (Mr. B.). Yet it
would be necessary that he should reply
to some extent in the spirit in which he
had been addressed. He (Mr. B.) was
replying to what the hon. member for
Wilmot Creek had said on a former
occasion, and, in doing so, referred to
what the Premier of the Island had
recently said at a public meeting, and
did so to show that the Hon. Mr.
Haythorne and he (mr. B.) had said he believed
there were terms which he could accept,
and that was precisely what he (Mr. B.)
had also said; and for that simply and
plain assertion he had been charged with
presumption by the hon. member (Mr.
Laird.) For the Hon. Mr. Haythorne he
(Mr. B.) had as much regard as the hon
member for Wilmot Creek; nor was he
(Mr. B.) aware that in anything he had
said he had treated that gentleman with
the slightest disrespect. The hon. member (Mr. L.) had charged him (Mr. B.)
with acting discourteously towards the
Premier, and had also called him (Mr.
B.) a political threshing machine, and he
(Mr. B.) had called him (Mr. L.) the
silver-tongued ponderous, political philosopher of Wilmot Creek; yet, in both
of these instances, neither had gone
further than was politically proper and
quite parliamentary, and if the hon.
member would but consult the words
and history of the Imperial Parliament,
he would find that Mr. Disraeili and
others had need even stronger expressions, and not unfrequently referred to
members in the House of Londs, but no
hon member in the House of Commons
would ever think of charging an hon
member with presumptions or discourtesy
for doing so. If the Hon. Mr. Haythorne
was not here, the fault was not his (Mr.
B's;) and to say that because he was not in
this House no reference was to be made
to his public utterances, was too absurdly
ridiculous to be for one moment entertained by an intelligent mind. If the
hon member (Mr. L.) would recall to his
recollection how Lord Derby was treated
in the House of Commons, and what the
true parliamentary practice was, he
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
192
right in the course he pursued ; and before the hon member made the attack
upon him (Mr. B.) which he did, he
should have remembered that no man
should bear false witness against his
neighbor. He (Mr. B.) had said Mr.
Haythorne was a no-terms man, but that
he had faith in him that he would not
vote the colony into confederation without the consent of the people ; and in that
respect he aw eye to eye with him (Mr.
B.) and would appeal to the chairman,
who knew that Parliamentary practice
was, to say whether he, in what he said,
had uttered anything that was disrespectful to Hon. Mr. Haythorne.
Hon. Mr. KELLY said the hon member
(Mr. B.) simply referred to Mr. Haythorne's speech, which he delivered at
the Ten Mile House.
Mr. BRECKEN.— With this explanation
he would leave the hon member from
Wilmot Creek to reconcile his assertion
with that which was correct. He (Mr.
B.) had read extracts from the
Herald
newspaper, and knew the hon member
(Mr. Reilly) could not find that he (Mr.
B.) had misquoted a single word. The
Queen's Priter said the other night
that he had never directly or indirectly
advocated confederation, and had been
forward enough to challenge proof to the
contrary ; but he (Mr. B.) held a paper in
his hand, the
Ottawa Citizen, which in a
leading article, reviewed several of the
papers published in this Island—yes, the
Citizen was published a the capital of
the Dominion—at the place from whence
the political swells and pedlers came who
visited them last year. That paper—and
no doubt those political swells and
pedlers also—believed the ability of the
Queen's Printer was doing its work in
favor of confederation on this Island,
and looked upon him as a co-worker.
In the
Citizen of the 22d Jan. last, the
Herald was thus referred to:—
"We alluded briefly yesterday to the opinions
of the Prince Edward Island papers on the
terms proposed by the Dominion Government.
To this it may be replied that it will make very
little difference to the people who pays the
money, so long as they get rid of the incubus of
absentee proprietors."
He (Mr. B.) did not know who the editor
of that paper was ; but whoever he might
be, the hon member for St. Peter's would
have to demolish that writer before he
could demolish him (Mr. B. Now, if
confederation was to ruin this Island, the
Queen's Printer was doing much towards
it ; and when he compared what appeared.
in the Herald with the speech of the hon
member (Mr. Reilly) made the other
night, when he said he was a Grattan—
that no money could purchase him. That
an impartial observer would draw such
an inference, was what he doubted. The
hon member from Wilmot Creek said
Mr. Haythorne asked for a railroad, as if
such a paltry consideration was all that
should be considered—as if there was
not a principle involved of more importance. Before the hon member made that
statement, he should have refreshed his
memory by recalling to his recollection
what he said at the public meeting which
was held at Summerside early in January
last, when he agreed with all the Hon.
James Pope said at the meeting, except
in that gentleman's opposition to the
government. In all Mr. Pope said on
confederation he coincided ; at least he
(Mr. B.) was so informed, and he believed correctly. Then nothing was said
about the better terms. When public
men thus acted, it was proper the country
should know their real position, and he
would say to the hon member (Mr.
Kickham) that it was doing the business
of the country thus to make known the
principles of a member of the government. Did the hon member (Mr. Laird)
not know he was playing the part of a
political hypocrite? He (Mr. B.) had
been told that he was sorry when his
hon colleague, Dr. Jenkins, was returned
to this House ; but it should be recollected that when Dr. Jenkins was returned, it
was not because he had come
out as a liberal, and as such had been
returned ; but he (Mr. B.) represented
the most important constituency in
Prince Edward Island ; nor had he done
anything for which, as their representative, he could not assign to them a satisfactory
reason. He was not a member
or supporter of the government, and
therefore was not responsible for any of
its acts. But the hon member (Mr.
Laird) had been returned as a moderate
conservative, and it was understood that
he was to work in concert with a gentleman in the other end of the building ;
instead, however, of his doing so, he had
co-operate and acted in concert with
the Queen's Printer ; but last night, instead of defending the hon member for
St. Peter's (Mr. Reilly), he took the hon
Mr. Haythorne under his protection.
When the hon member returned to his
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
193
constituents at Bedeque, he (Mr. B.)
thought he would find that they would
not thank him for the course he had
adopted. He (Mr. B.) had called some
persons political, or literary owls. When
he spoke he had no one particular gentleman in his mind ; be he found that
there were three or four who were so
tickled with the name that they would
hardly speak to him since, when they met
him on the street ; and it appeared they
were contending among themselves as to
which of them should have the honor of
being first put into the cage along with
those stuffed birds! But whether the
one best entitled to be placed in the lobby
among the stuffed owls was yet in the
cage he did not know, but supposed the
right man would aspire to the honor,
although he (Mr. B.) was up to this time
ignorant of who the aspirant was.
(Laughter.)
Hon. Mr. LAIRD said the hon and
learned member for Charlottetown (Mr.
B.) considered that he (Mr. L.) had done
him an injustice when he thought he
should not have compared himself with
the hon Mr. Haythorne; but what he
(Mr. L) complained mostly of was that
the hon member did not quote Mr.
Haythorne's speech correctly. Had he
done so he would have found that the
hon gentleman's speech would not have
borne the construction he had put upon
it. Int hat speech there was not one
word about a railroad, and if the hon
member had taken a fair view of it, he
could not have construed it as he did,
and he (Mr. L.) felt that he acted perfectly right in defending a gentleman
who was not present, and who, if he were,
could not defend himself ; but in what
he said he meant nothing personal, nor
did he intend that his remarks should be
other than politically understood. But
the hon member (Mr. B.) charged him
(Mr. L.) with acting an inconsistent part
at a public meeting at Summerside, but
did so on the authority of hearsay.
Hon. Mr. LAIRD.—The hon member
had charged him (Mr. L.) with acting
the part of a political hypocrite, by saying that he (Mr. L.) had been returned
as a moderate conservative, and supposed
he got his information from the powder
monkeys which supplied the hon. member with ammunition. He, Mr. Laird,
believed that all his public acts would
be found to be in accordance with the
promises which he had made to his constituents before he was returned to that
House. He hoped the hon member (Mr.
B.) would be able to show as clean a
record, as he (Mr. L) could. With respect to the meeting at Summerside,
what he (Mr. L) said was, that the
views of the government would be made
known at the proper time. And, having
said so, shortly after returning from a
meeting of Council, and knowing the
views of the government, it was not
likely he would have made a statement
which would have been at variance
therewith.
Mr. REILLY.—The hon. member for
Charlottetown, (Mr. BRECKEN) had misrepresented him last night, by reading
short extracts from articles in the
Herald,
which, without the context, were made
to appear as if favoring confederation.
The committee would be surprised to
learn that some of the extracts were
taken from the
Herald, as far back as
the year 1866. The first article from
which he quoted was from the No. of
October 17, 1866. He (Mr. R.) would
reaed the whole article, as it was not
very lengthy, to show that when ot
garbled, it did not afford much comfort
to the hon, member for the city. [The
parts in the following quotations, marked
in italics, are those read by Mr. Brecken.]
"We have hear it rumored about that
the Legislature is to be called forthwith,
to submit a proposition from Her Majesty's
Colonial Minister concerning Confederation. It is hinted that a sum of ÂŁ250,000
cy., will be placed at the disposal of the
Colony by the Confederate Government as
the price of surrendering its independence.
We do not know what truth there may be
in this rumor, but should there be any
foundation for it, and the proposition be
submitted to the people for their consideration, it will, no doubt, be thoroughly
canvassed before being accepted."
"Since writing the foregoing, we learn
from reliable sources that the rumor contained therein is substantially correct, and
that the Legislature will be convened immediately to consider this important proposition.
Before, however, any decisive
action is taken by the Legislature, we trust
the matter will be submitted to the people
at the polls for their decision. As they
are most immediately interested, and will
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
194
have the power to decide it. A dissolution
of the Legislature upon the Despatch embodying the proposition which was received
by the last English mail, should be the
first step taken by His Excellency the
Lieutenant Governor and his advisers, as
the people's rights and liberties are too
sacred and important to be 1egislated away
by a few men whose tenure of office is on
the eve of expiring, We have sufficient
confidence, however, in a majority of the
Legislature that they will do nothing rashly, and, above all, that they will abstain
from following in the footsteps of the Legislature of Nova Scotia, by appointing
Delegates with unlimited powers to change
the constitution of the country without the
consent of the people. When the proposition comes to be placed officially before the
public, as we presume it will be in this
week's Royal Gazette, we shall be better
prepared to offer an opinion upon it. In
the meantime, we think the anti-Confederates have reason to congratulate themselves
upon their opposition to the Quebec
Scheme, for had they adopted the advice of
Messrs. Gray, Pope, Whelan Haviland and
Green, this offer never would have been
made to the Colony. These gentlemen
having, by their votes, declared the Quebec
Scheme to be just and equitable, and even
liberal, to Prince Edward Island, ought—
to be consistent—to oppose this new basis
of Confederation ; but whatever consistency
may require of them, we have no doubt
they will be the noisiest in their exultations
over the Colonial Minister's despatch. At
all events, we think the time has now
arrived when this Colony must state the
terms upon which it will consent to enter
the proposed Confederacy. The British
Government is apparently determined
upon the scheme, for reasons that Mr.
Howe's able pamphlet has rendered too
obvious, and it may be better for us to
make the best terms we can now, whilst a
gentleman is in the Colonial Office who is
friendly to the Provinces, and who is
desirous of seeming to this Island the
very best terms that can possibly be obtained. We know not how soon a change
of Ministry may take place in England ;
and of this fact we may rest assured, that
with the return of Mr. Cardwell to the
Colonial office, the danger of being forced
into Confederation—terms or no terms—
—is increased a hundred fold. In offering
these remarks, however we by no means
think that ÂŁ250,000 would sufficiently gild
the Quebec pill to make it palatable to this
Colony—and, indeed, to confess the honest
truth, we have our own suspicions that the
whole circumstances connected with the
bribe now held out, and which is equivalent
to about £3 per head of the population—a,
sum infinitely less than woul be a nigger
—is a cunningly devised plan of the Confederates to rear a platform for themselves
in view of the coming elections— in fact, a
mere electioneering dodge to delude and
betray the people ; but before proceeding
to state what we think would prove fair
and equitable terms—that is, if Confederation is inevitable—we shall await the
publication of Lord Carnarvon's recent
despatch upon the subject."
That was one of the articles from which
the hon. member quoted ; he (MR. R.)
would now read another, and let the
country judge whether or not he had
changed his opinions on confederation.
The No. of the Herald in which the
following appeared, was October 31, of
the same year :—
"Although the Legislature has neither
been called together nor dissolved, nor yet
the despatch of the Colonial Secretary containing the offer of the Nova Scotia and
New Brunswick delegates published, it is
understood that both an early call and dissolution of the Legislature upon: that
despatch, will take place. We must confess that we do not like the secrecy which
the Government maintains about the matter.
We know it is said that the want of Canada's cause to the proposed arrangement
is the cause of the non-publication of the
Colonial Secretary's despatch ; but the
want of that consent should also have prevented this Government from taking any
action in reference thereto. The reason
assigned is no reason at all why the despatch should not be published for the
information of the people ; and if the
friends of the recent proposition of the
Colonial delegates do not wish to be overwhelmed with defeat, as the Quebec delegates
were in 1864, they will immediately
abandon that secrecy and shuffling which
characterized the birth of the Quebec
Scheme. Whether right or wrong, people
naturally look with suspicion upon a benefit
which is shrouded in mystery ; and it is
folly to .suppose that a majority of any
community is unable to decide what is for
its own benefit. If the $800,000 free grant
be what its friends represent it—a bona
fide "gift"—they need have no hesitation
in placing it before the public ; but if it be
a mere gilded and delusive bait, captivating
to the sight, but fatal to the touch, an
intended, upon the eve of an election, to
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
195
entrap the tenants and the colony at large
into Confederation, its authors may live to
repent their conduct. Should individual
members of the Legislature be tampered
with, we sincerely trust they will have
sufficient independence, as they value
honesty and a good name and detest treachery, to refuse their assent to the sending
of
a delegation to England until after an election, when the people can have an opportunity
of pronouncing an opinion upon this
question of $800,000. While we speak
thus against deception, we have no doubt
that the guarantee of the British Government, and a clause in the articles of
Confederation, to the effect that the
money would be immediately handed
over to this Government when the Colony
expressed its willingness to join the Confederacy, would find many advocates
and friends who had previously opposed
the Quebec basis. Our own candid opinion,
however, is, that under present circumstances, even if this Colony were to accept
the "free gift" or " bribe," it is extremely
doubtful whether the Imperial Government
or Legislature will sanction the Scheme of
Confederation at all. The Hon. Mr. Howe
has succeeded most effectually in arousing
the British public to a sense of the import
ance of the subject of Confederation, both
in its relations to the Empire and to the
Colonies themselves. The Hons. Mssrs.
Tupper and McCully have attempted in
vain to counteract Mr. Howe's influence,
and since both parties have repaired to the
press to fight the question out, we have
sufficient confidence in Mr. Howe's ability
to predict a sound thrashing for Dr. Tupper
and his co-laborers. Many of the leading
English journals which had previously pronounced in favor of the Quebec Scheme,
now take the opposite view, and candidly
admit, after a perusal of Mr. Howe's
pamphlet, that they had been in error.
Even the Colonial Secretary, whom the
Confederate delegates sought to commit to
Confederation, ominously abstained from
saying one word in favor of the measure.
From all these circumstances, we come to
the conclusion that the whole Scheme of
Confederation is in a fair way of ending in
smoke ; and, therefore, even if the free
gift is a bona fide affair, and not a substitute for the financial arrangement of the
Quebec Scheme, as Dr. Tupper's organ
asserts it is, its acceptance by this colony
might turn out to be a very useless proceeding,—as foolish as it was premature.
We hope before our next issue to have
something official before us upon which to
comment, as at present both the Examiner
and Islander, as well as the anti-Confederate papers, are groping in the dark,—a
state of things which the Government,
being now committed to Confederation,
seems to court, and for which it alone is
responsible.
If there was anything in that article,
favoring confederation, he (Mr R.) was
prepared to stand by it. The next article
from which the hon. member for the
city quoted, was in the Herald of Nov.
14, 1866 :—
"The Islander and the Royal Gazette, of
last week at length contain the bogus proposition of the delegates, together with
the
despatches and correspondence thereon,
and the upshot of the matter is, that the
Canadians repudiate the preposition. The
Colonial Secretary, in transmitting the
offer to Viscount Monck, concludes his
despatch in the following cautious, noncommital style ;—
"'I have taken this course in order give
effect to the wishes of the Delegates now in
England ; but it must be understood that I do
so without expressing any opinion of my own
on the subjec, as this would be premature at
the present stage of the question.'
"The Colonial Secretary cannot fail to
meet the warm approbation of the people
of the Maritime Provinces by his judicious
and statesmanlike dealing with the question
of Confederation. The contrast between
him and his bungling predecessor is as
great as is the estimate in which both are
held in the Provinces. As much curiosity
doubtlessly exists to know the real nature
of the offer of the Maritime Province Delegates, we give it in full :—
(COPY.)
At a meeting of the Delegates from Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick, held at the Alexandra Hotel, London, on the 22nd day of
September, 1866, all being present except the
Hon. Mr. Wilmot, it was unanimously resolved
that, inasmuch as the co-operation of Prince
Edward Island, though not indispensable to a
union of the other British North American
Provinces, is on many accounts, very desirable ; and as the settlement of the land
question,
which has so long and so injuriously agitated
that colony, would be attended with great
benefit, and at the same time place the local
Government of the Island, by the possession of
the proprietary lands, now on a footing with
the other Provinces, which have crown lands
and minerals as a source of local revenue.
Therefore Resolved—
That, in case the Legislature of the Island
should authorize the appointment of Delegates
to act in conjunction with those from the other
Provinces, in arranging a plan of co-operation,
prior to the meeting of the Imperial Parliament, the delegates from Nova Scotia and
New
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
196
Brunswick are hereby pledged to support the
policy of providing such an amount as may be
necessary for the purchase of the proprietary
rights, but not to exceed $800,000.
(Signed) CHARLES TUPPER
S.L. TILLEY.
"The Canadian Government, after discussing the proposition, state that they 'do
not consider that they have any power or
right to consent to the payment of that, or
any sum, without the previous consent of
the Canadian Parliament; and they, therefore, cannot confer upon their delegates
powers which they do not themselves
possess.' Individually, however, they are
prepared to make 'a strong representation
to the first Government and Parliament of
the United Provinces, in favor of their
granting the compensation agreed upon' by
the Delegates. This conclusion proves
what we asserted all along, that the Quebec
scheme is unalterable. We are glad that
the Canadians have squarely met the proposition by a direct refusal, for Her Majesty's
Government will now plainly see
that Prince Edward Island has good reason
for declining to enter the Confederacy.
When her reasonable demands are met
with denial previous to union, her chances
of obtaining justice afterwards are slim
indeed. The Canadian Government, more,
we fancy, for the purpose of humbugging
than for remedying the evil, admit that a
grant of $800,000 over and above what is
allowed by the Quebec scheme, is nothing
but just and fair to this Colony, from its
insular position and land difficulty. We
have no hesitation in expressing our belief that if the offer were assented to by
Canada and the money tendered to this
Island as the price of its adhesion to
Confederation, a majority might be
found to accept it; and should Her Majesty's Government be anxious for all these
Provinces to form themselves into a Confederacy, we have no doubt the $800,00,
and even a larger sum, will yet be offered
to smooth the difficulties in the way of an
harmonious union. We have no fear that
the expectation of the Canadian Government, as shadowed forth by one of its
organs-the Leader-from which we quoted
last week, when it says that, without the
$800,000, Prince Edward Island will soon
be drawn into the Union 'in spite of herself,' will ever be realized. The political
axiom which the Leader seeks to establish
from physical science is rather a dangerous
experiment; for if it be true that the attraction of the greater body is more than
a
match for the power of resistance of the
smaller body, then we must admit that
annexation is inevitable. 'It is a queer
rule that won't work both ways.'
"It is amusing to observe the effect which
the dissent of Canada has upon the editor
of the Islander. His lower jaw hangs
down at once, and in the most savage
mood he snaps and bites in all directions.
No wonder; for he has worked himself out
of office,- he has played his last trump and
lost; but if he imagines he is going to improve his condition by slanderous and ill-
natured remarks, he is very much mistaken.
He asserts that the recent offer could not
bribe this Island. Let him be consoled;
for we again repeat our belief that if Her
Majesty's Government desires this Colony
to unite with her sister PRovinces, and as
a compensation for her exceptional position,
guarantees good terms, the proposition
will be received be a majority of its inhabitants. After indulging in some gloomy
apprehensions that no delegation will be
sent from this Colony to the London Conference, and treating us to a homily upon
loyalty, the editor of the Islander, somewhat after the fashion of 'Lord Lovell,'
gives three kicks, a groan, then blows his
nose, and gives up the ghost in the following manner:
"'We feel that we have discharged our duty
to the people- that we have fairly placed the
subject before them, and we shall henceforth
refrain from the advocacy of a measure which,
notwithstanding its importance, is regarded by
the mass of the people as one which would
render them and their children slaves to
Canada.'
"This confession and resolution of
amendment is like that of a culprit detected
in the act of perpetrating some crime, and,
if allowed to escape, immediately pursues
his former evil courses. All the Confederates, now that their schemes are detected,
and that a general election is at hand, are
prepared to pledge themselves to abandon
their pet measure; but how long does the
simple reader imagine are they going to
adhere to such pledges? Just until after
they secure their election; and it therefore
behooves the people to select wisely those
whom they shall return to Parliament as
their representatives. The necessity is
greater now than at any time formerly to
elect men who are honestly opposed to
Confederation, for we believe that if
Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
consent to unite, the Confederate Government will be so mean as to attempt, by
annoying and hostile legislation, to coerce
this Colony into Confederation; and, therefore, those who will be at the head of
affairs require to be men who will thwart
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
197
such legislation, instead of coinciding in it
as was done by the existing Government in
the case of surrendering the Fisheries, and
taxing American flour. Whatever turn the
political wheel may take, we trust Messrs,
Palmer, Coles, and those other tried men
who have stood by their country in time of
trial and danger, will not be overlooked or
forgotten. They deserve well of their
country, and their country should not be
slow to recognize their services."
He (M. R.) had one comment to make on
this article. It was written before the last
election, and if his constituents thought
it contained confederate sentiments, why
did they return him as an anti-confederate? No, he had been consistent all
through the piece, and that was the
reason the hon member for Charlottetown
was so much annoyed. He (Mr. R.)
was pleased to think he had written so
good articles, for those which he had
read were all written by himself; and it
was no little gratification to tind that the
Ottawa Citizen had spoken so complimentary of him. He would not read
an article from the Herald of the 12th of
January last. This one he did not write
himself, but he would endorse its sentiments:-
"Lord Granville, we observe, advises
the Government of the Dominion 'to
deal liberally as well as justly with the
Island.' This advice seems to us unnecessary and uncalled for. We believe
it has been very generally understood
for some time past, that the Dominion
Government was prepared to renew the
offer made, without authority, by the
Maritime Delegates in 1867, and we
think, for a country just starting into
national life, that offer was remarkable
for its liberality. His Lordship seems
to have forgotten the retort which has
become proverbial, and is applied to
those who advise generosity at the expense of others when they ought to
practice it themselves. Prince Edward
Island has no cause of complaint against
Canada. 'Why then should the latter
embarrass herself by adopting a system
opposed to the principle of the North
American Act, wherein the fiscal relations of the Confederated Provinces
twoards each other are defined; why
compromise the future independence of
Prince Edward Island, if she should
ever enter the union? Why adopt the
ready and easy expedient of reconciling
difficulties by payment of money, rather
than the bolder and more manly course
of identifying the Island's grievances as
her own, and demanding that Great
Britain, which has maintained [illegible]
of wrong in this Colony, should now
place it in a position to [illegible] a
union with the Dominion on equal
terms? There are Irishmen amongst
us,- a few perhaps, who remember the
early years of the union of their country
with England- there are Englishment
and Scotchmen, as well as Irishmen,
who have read and noted the history of
passing events in that unhappy country.
We ask them to remember that Ireland
waited for Catholic Emancipation till 28
years had elapsed after the union; that
the richly endowed State Church of a
small minority was maintained during
70 years, and that to this day her land
tenures remain unsettled, and we advice
them, and our fellow colonist of all
races, to adopt this as their leading
principle on the confederation question.
An absolute and immediate settlement
of the land tenure first, with adequate
compensation from Britain for the loss
of territorial revenues. Compensation
means indemnity for the past as well as
the present, and would enable the Local
Government to invest the proceeds of
the land sales, as other Colonies have
done, in carrying out local improvements, and rendering the country, at
this late period of its history, what it
might have been years ago, if the proprietary [illegible] tree had not been planted
in its soil. Full and just indemnity
would place the local Legislature in a
position to review the cases of those
tenants who have been charged extreme
rates for their farms-rates rendered
necessary in order to reproduce the
purchase money payable to the propietor, who receives the same price for
worthless and indifferent as for the best
lands.
"We believe that once more an opportunity of settling the land question is at
hand. To obtain that object, all parties,
Confederates and Antis, Tories and
Liberals-nay, even proprietors themselves, should join hands. Possibly this
may be the last opportunity we shall ever
see; one was lost at Quebec, which, if
judiciously used, might have led to the
happiest results.
"It is useless to waste regrets over
the past. Over the present and future
we may exercise some influence. We
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
198
ask the people throughout the length
and breadth of the Dominion, to give us
the assistance of the moral lorce' of
public opinion, and to express that
opinion in tones loud enough to be
heard, and emphatic enough to be understood at Downing Street. We ask local
Legislatures to insist on the maintenance
of the North American Act in its integrity, particularly as regards the
pecuniary relations of the several Provinces. We despair of rendering the
complicated question of our land tenures
clearly intelligible to readers outside the
Island, but we may ask Canadians how
they would feel if a third part of their
vast and noble territory belonged to
absentee and resident proprietors, who
thus acquire power to exercise an important influence the welfare of thousands! or,
if another third part of its
area had been lately rescued from similar
baneful influence, by purchase,at a great
national sacrifice. We ask short,
how they would leel if one-third of their
people paid rent—if many owed arrears
—if not a few held farms on short leases
and'lived in fear of ejectment! Or, how
they would feel if another third was
engaged in paying instalments of purchase money, which. would be devoted
not to purposes of local improvement.
but to the liquidation of proprietors
claims.
"We do not anticipate much success
from Canadian diplomacy. The Committee of Council do not write with the
precision and correctness of men
thoroughly conversant with their subject. although they were abundantly supplied with
all pnblic documents bearing
on the land question. Thanks to the
Land Purchase Bill, farms can now he
obtained otherwise than on lease, and
the remaining proprietors are not, as
stated in the Committee's report, all
absentees. They have made a mistake,
we think, in developing their plan before they ascertained the intentions of
the Imperial Government, intending
probably to reconcile objections in Prince
Edward Island, they have—too liberally,
we think—engaged to assume liabilities
which we regard as strictly imperial, in
case the Secretary of State repudiates
them. It is true there have been occasions when we would have been content
to settle the proprietary claims from our
own resources; but then we were not
asked to join the Confederacy, and run
a race, carrying weight, against other
Provinces carrying none. We are aware
that there are many persons, for whose
opinion we entertain the highest respect,
who ask us: what matter whence the
indemnity comes, provided our people
reap the benefit? We consider that if
the land question was justly settled .by
Britain, nearly the whole of our debt,
which has been incurred in the purchase
of land, Would be cancelled. We might.
then receive from Canada without disgrace, the increased amount of the diference between
her debt and ours.
Moreover, we could treat, if our people
desire it, about Union, unembarrassed
by any difficulties arising from differences between our land tenures and hers.
But if we adopt. the Dominion proposals,
and accept $800,000 as an indemnity for
the loss of'territorial revenue, and to
purchase the right of the remaining proprietors—for which latter purpose that
sum would little more than suffice,—we,
irreflect, sell our liberty of action in exchange lor free land. Â
"We acknowledge. with satisfaction,
the kindliness of tone which pervades
the report of the Honorables Messrs.
Kenny, Tilley, and the genial French
Canadian Baronet, Sir George Cartier.
There should be no bitterness of feeling
between the Dominion and the Island.
Canada has done tnuch for us in undertaking to advocate our cause at the Colonial
Office, and for that she certainly merits
our best thanks."
These were the whole of the articles from
which the hon member for the city quoted
last night; and he (Mr.,R.) was surprised
that he had attempted from these to
place him (Mr R.) in a false position.
If the time should come that confederation was inevitable, he would deem it his
duty to accept the best terms that could
be got for the colony; but he had not
yet arrived at the conclusion that it was
inevitable, nor had the people. By
holding out against union at the time the
other provinces were confederated, they
had now before them much better terms
than were contained in the Quebec
scheme; and be (Mr. R.) believed that
better terms still would yet be offered.
The only doubt he ever had on
his mind was, that the question might be
forced upon us; but on account of the
trouble at Red River, and the dissatisfaction in Nova Scotia. he was beginning
to think it problematical whether the
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
199
confederacy would stand at all or not.
The Home Government was taking away
all her troops, as if she was preparing to
cast these colonies adrift But if it.
should come that we would have to cast
in our lot with the Dominion, it would
not take a great deal of eloquence to
convince the people of what would be to
their interests; and if the time arrived
when it would be proper for them to
state the terms which would suit the
colony, he would be prepared to do the
best be could for them.
Mr. BRECKEN did not find fault with
the hon. member (Mr. Reilly) for changing his mind, but for comparing these
who favored confederation with Castlereagh. He also said to go into Confederation
on any terms, was to sink into
degradation; it would be taxation without representation, and many other evils;
and no terms could be offered which we
could accept.
Mr. REILLY had never proposed the
absurd doctrine that no terms. could be
offered which would be advantageous to
the people, but he believed Canada
would never offer us terms which we
could accept.
Mr. BRECKEN had taken the authority
of the Ottawa
Citizen, and the editor of
that paper had pronounced a eulogium
upon the Queen's Printer, and looked
upon him as an advocate of confederation.
Hon. Mr. DUNCAN was a "no-terms"
man, and never expected to change his
opinions on the subject, as he had heard
no argument. as yet to induce him to do
so. it had been said that the Dominion
was going to have an exclusive tariff,
and that our trade with that country
would be destroyed, and, as a consequence, we should. become bankrupt.
He (Mr. D.) was satisfied there was no
danger in this respect. Nova Seotia
'and New Brunswick were not going to
be customers for our outs, for they were
now sending cats to England themselves.
The timber was getting cut away in
those countries, and more land was cultivated than formerly. He (Mr D.)
would read an extract from a letter sent
to the St. John Telegraph from the north
shore of New Brunswick:—
"Mussel mud is being got up in immense
quantities this year. It is one of [illegible]
things for hay that can be got. Hay is cheap,
only ten or twelve dollars per ton, and oats
seem to be a drag, no person wants them at
any price."
Here was a country which we supplied
with oats some years ago, now growing
more than required for their own use, so
that a high tariff would make very little
difference to us. Another extract would
show the state of trade in St. John:—
"Every branch of trade in the city desperately dull; one hears the same story everywhere
he goes. An enterprising house, with
capital, might purchase some millions of bushels of oats in Lower Canada at 22 cents
per
bushel."
Oats were selling in Canada at. 22 cents,
which was equal to 1s 4d of our money,
while they were now selling on, the island
at 2s 2d, so, at that rate, we need not be
very anxious to keep the Dominion market
open for our oats. Canada could also supply Halifax with pork, and when the railroad
would be extruded. they would have
greater facilities, and could supply the
market more readily than we could, and we
would be obliged to send our pork to England to find a market, Barley was low in
the Dominion, and last year Canada supplied Halifax and St. John. Some hon.
member had referred to our dependence on
the Dominion for our supply of coal; but
they would never refuse to sell us coal if
we paid for it. The following statistics in
the year 1861, the last time the census was
taken, would show tint. we were not behind
the Canadians. For each inhabitant, P. E.
Island made 5 1/4 yards cloth; Canada. 2 1/2
yards—P. E. Island milled one and a-half
yards cloth, Canada, half a yard—P. E. i.
grew 4 1/2 bush. wheat, Canada, 9 bush;
P. E. I. 2 3/4 bush. barley, Canada. 1 2/3 bush;
P. E. I , 4 1/4 bush. turnips, Canada, 6 1/2 bush;
P. E. I., 27 1/2 bush. oats, Canada, 14 bush;
P. E. 1., 36 3/4 bush. potatoes, Canada, 11 2/3
It should be stated, however, that Canada
rained some Rye and Corn which we did
not. At the same time, P. E. I. had for
every one hundred inhabitants 23 horses.,
Canada, 22; P. E. I. 74 cattle. Canada. 75;
P. E. I., 132 sheep, Canada, 78; P. E. L,
88 pigs. Canada, 38. And when we considered our present position, and the progress
we had made since 1861, we need not
fear a comparison with Canada. From the
Year Book of the Dominion for 1868. It
appeared that Canada paid in duties $2.12
per head of the population: Nova Scotia,
$3.1; New Brunswick, $2.92. while, at the
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
200
same time, poor P.E. Island paid $2.17,
with a much lower tariff on teas, tobacco
and rum. This showed that we were greater
consumers than the Canadians, and were
we united, and under their tariff, we would
contribute more to the revenues, in proportion to our population, than Canada. It
had been said that our pork was too fat
for the English market, and if so, the people could keep a larger number of pigs and
not make them so far, so that we would
always find a market for our pork. Although the people of the Dominion paid
such high duties last year, Nova Scotia had
only $1677 of a surplus ; New Brunswick,
$1574 ; while P. E. Island, with a much
lower tariff, had a surplus of $8400. The
reason he (Mr. D.) was opposed to any
terms, was because Canada would never
offer us terms by which she would be a
loser, and no terms could be offered by
which either P. E. Island or Canada would
not be a loser. They had large tracts of
fertile land, which would soon be under
cultivation, and would yield more than they
could consume, and they grew the same
kind of crops that we did. If they put a
high tariff on our produce, it would only
fall on their own fishermen and lumbermen.
The following was an extract from a letter
received by a person in this Island from a
firm in St. John, N. B. One of the firm
was a good confederate three years ago :—
"When do you expect to cast in your mito
with us in this glorious confederation? We
are looking for you to be badgered or bribed,
or coaxed into signing your death warrant
before long ; then good-bye freedom and prosperity Mrs. P. E. Island—your birthright gone
for less than a mess of pottage, and, like an
endorser on a bad note, you must pay the piper.
Far better to remain as you are at present,
simply holding the candle. But many a foolish
act is perpetrated to gain a name. You have a
local habitation, and if you expect to add a
name thereto in this way, you will inevitably
join our good confederates in this Province, in
the mental ejaculation, sold!"
There was a great deal said about paying
rent, but if we would raise our tariff as
high as the Dominion, we would soon have
money enough to pay for all the proprietors' lands. The hon. leader of the government
said we would not give up on our constitutions until the land question was settled,
but he (Mr. D.) did not believe in
giving it up at all.
Hon. Mr. HOWLAN had said the question
should not be put before the people, until
the land question was settled.
Hon. Mr. DUNCAN.—Did that imply that
as soon as we got free land we should go
for confederation.
Hon. Mr. DUNCAN.—The time had now
come when every person who was a confederate, should say so, and every person
who was anti-confederate should let it be
known. A great deal had been said about
the union of Scotland and England, but
there was no analogy between their condition and ours. If Scotland had never entered
the union, her coals and her iron, and
shipbuilding would have made her rich.
Hon. Mr. CALLBECK believed it was
the duty of the people's representatives
to express their opinions on this great
question. He had always held anti-confederate views. The minute of council
had been pretty freely criticised by hon.
members opposite, but taking it as a
whole he was prepared to stand by it.
Some might quote from that document
portions to suit their own purposes, yet
if fairly considered throughout it would
not bear the construction they had put
upon it. He would first read an extract
from the report of the committee of
council of Canada :—
"The Committee of Council have had under
consideration, a memorandum, dated. 11th
December, 1869, from the Hon. Sir George E.
Cartier and Messrs. Tilley and Kenny, stating,
that at the desire of their colleagues they visitted 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," &c.
It would be seen by the report of the gentlemen here referred to what took place
when they visited the Island—that their
discussion with the members of the government on union were merely informal,
the same as it was with other public
men. He would next read from the
same report, the conclusion which the
Canadian committee of council came to
with respect to the land question of this
Colony :—
"They submit that much discontent has for
many years existed amongst the inhabitants of
the island, arising from the fact that the Lands
of the Colony had been granted by the Imperial Government in large blocks, and chiefly
to
persons resident abroad, thus leaving the Government of the Island no lands, the proceeds
of the sale of which could, as in the other British Colonies, he appropriated towards
Local
improvements and the maintenance of the Government."
Now, he. (Mr. C.) thought this a very
important admission on the part of the
government of Canada. It was quite
evident that had our lands not been
granted away, they would have been a
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
201
source of revenue to this colony, as the
public lands of the provinces in the Dominion were to them. He noticed, in
looking over some appropriations in
Canada, that in one place where $9,000
were voted for the roads and other public
works, that $8,000 of that sum were
taken from the crown land funds. If
we were running a race with horses, we
would try ad not have too much weight
on our favorite steed ; so in the same
way if we were going to run a race with
Canada, we should see to it that we
were not weighed down with heavier
burdens than our neighbors before we
consented to start on the course. We
had obtained from the statesmen of
Canada, this acknowledgement, that we
had been denied our rights in this colony,
as would be seen by the paragraph of
their report, which he would now read:
"That up to the present time, the Island Government have failed to secure a consideration
in lieu of the lands thus granted by the Crown.
Notwithstanding the efforts that have been
made by the Government and Legislature of
the Island, to remove the obstruction to the
settlement of the Colony, arising from this
cause, there still remains about one-third of
the Island owned by absentee Proprietors, a
very considerable portion of which is unoccupied and in the condition of a wilderness."
Then followed the proposals of the Dominion committee to remedy the evil:—
"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 fall 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, eight 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."
We must here notice that it is only in
the event of the Island becoming a part
of the Dominion, that the government
of Canada would endeavor to secure for us
from the Imperial Government compensation for the loss of our crown lands.
They did not promise to put forth any
effort to obtain for us our rights until
we went into the union. This be (Mr.
C.) thought was a very important point,
and it had not been lost sight of by the
Island Executive, as would be seen by
the concluding paragraph of their minute
of Feb 4:—
"Under these circumstances, the intimation
conveyed by the Council in their short Minute
that the settlement of the Land. Question much
be a condition precedent to the discussion of a
union, is in reality on a prudent precaution
on the part of a Government acting on behalf of
a people now invited to perform the important
and irretrievable public act of choosing their
future national destiny."
If the Island were once to become part
of the Dominion, the general government might say to us, "You have been
dabbling about this land question for a
long time, and you cannot expect us to
settle it immediately"—thus years might
pass in negotiation, and in the end o
really satisfactory arrangement be made.
But another point in the extract which
he had read should be noticed—"the
settlement of the land question must be
precedent to the discussion of a union."
There was no admission of the principle
of confederation here ; the council only
said the settlement of the land question
would clear the way for a discussion of
confederation, not for its acceptance.
No other construction could fairly be
put upon the resolution of Council of the
7th January, which was as follows:
"That inasmuch as said terms do not comprise a full and immediate settlement of the
Land Tenures and indignity from the Imperial Government, for loss of territorial Revenues,
the Committee cannot recommend said terms to
the consideration of their constituents and the
public.:
Here the Council said they could not
recommend the terms of union proposed
by the Dominion government, even to
the consideration, of their constituents
ad the public, much less to their approval, He (Mr. C.) therefore contended
that the Executive had made no compromise at all on the question of confederation.
The answer from the Imperial
government, contained in the late despatch of the Colonial Minister, was
little else than what we might expect,
considering the manner in which our
land question had been treated at Downing Street in times past. In the matter,
too, of the payment of the Governor's
salary, we were powerless. As the
money came from the Imperial chest, if
the Home Government refused to pay
the salary what could this colony do
but yield. But in this respect we were
not one whit inferior to the Dominion
Government itself. When the Ottawa
parliament attempted to reduce the
salary of the Governor General from
ÂŁ1,500 to ÂŁ1,300, sterling, the Imperial
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
202
government would not sanction the
change. Here, then, the Dominion in a
matter where the money was to come
solely out of their own treasury, were
not allowed to say what the amount
should be, whereas in this Island we
had been allowed to reduce the Governor's salary. This showed that the
Dominion was in no better position to control its own affairs, than this colony. He
(Mr. C.) had never said he was prepared
to accept the terms proposed by the Dominion government, even though the
land question was settled. He believed
Canada was not in a position to offer
terms that owuld be fair to us and satisfactory to her people. It was, in his
opinion, very doubtful whether the Dominion would carry out the guarantee
to this Island, after we had entered the
union. For example, were we to receive $800,000 from Canada to settle our
land question, this would be a wrong
to the other provinces, for they did not
take our lands from us, and some member might rise in the Dominion parliament, and
say Prince Edward Island
was getting too much, and propose that
it should be reduced, which could be
easily carried. Again, since we were
less burdened with debt than Canada,
he (Mr. C.) did not see what we were to
gain by entering the union. The hon.
member for the city (Mr. Brecken) had
referred to the return of Howe and
Archibald in Nova Scotia, and said that
it gave the lie to what was stated in the
minute of council respecting that province. He (Mr. C.) thought differently.
That question, however, he did not intend to dewll upon, as the hon. member
for Murray Harbor (Mr. Henderson)
into the union contrary to the wishes of
her people. Once they were into the
Dominion, the only thing they could do
was to petition the British parliament;
and it was after this failed that the elections took place to which allusion had
been made. The people were, it might
be said, in the lion's mouth; they could
not get out again, and they made the
most of their situation by returning the
best men they could find to represent
them at Ottawa. Reference had also
been made to the union of Scotland and
Ireland with England, and to other
unions which had taken place. He was
not going to argue that Scotland had
not benefitted from Union; but it was
well known that the Scotch were an industrious and successful people. He
thought, however, there was scarcely
any similarity between her union and
that proposed to this Island.
Hon. Mr. HAVILAND.- If the cases were
dissimilar, why were they devetailed together in the minute of council.
Hon. Mr. CALLBECK.- The reason was
that we considered Ireland and Scotland
were bribed, and that if we accepted union
on the terms proposed, we would be in a
similar position. In the tabular statement
which had been published by the Union
Association, the interest of the $800,000
had been put down to the credit of the
colony, instead of assigning the money to
its proper purpose to buy land. This was
not right, for if that amount was to be
granted to place us in an equal position
with the other Provinces as regards our
lands, it should not be taken into account
in the yearly income of the colony. He
(Mr. C.) saw it reasoned in the
Argus newspaper, that if this Island were in the Dominion, we coujld successfully engage
in
manufactures. There was just one question, which he would like to ask, namely,
who here would be so rash as to attempt
manufacturing anything for the outside
world? In the winter such manufacturing
capital would be locked up, for no exportation could take place, and stock would
accumulate to the loss of the manufacturer,
who would require a ready market to turn
his capital around with profit. If we were
a part and parcel of the Dominion, he (Mr.
C.) contended that our manufactures would
be under a greater disadvantage than at
present, as they had now the of
our tariff. It had been said that Mr. Stanfield had removed from Tryon to Truro, in
Nova Scotia, in order to be in the Dominion, so that he could avail himself of the
market which that country offered for his
manufactures. It was not merely to be in
the Dominion, that he removed, because
he thought that this Island would have
been into confederation before now; but
the reason of his going to Nova Scotia, was,
that he found he would have to import
material for the articles which he intended
to manufacture, and it would not pay to do
so, and have his stock locked up here during
the winter season. What he (Mr. C.) had
said during the debate on the Address,
about bonded warehouses, had not been
fully reported. His statement was that if
we were in the union, and imported goods
not manufactured in the Dominion, we
would have to pay 15 per cent, but if we
remained out of confederation, we could
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
203
purchase them in bond in the other Provinces, and only pay 11 per cent.
Mr. BRECKEN.- Was our tariff going to
remain at 11 per cent?
Hon. Mr. CALLBECK thought it was just
as likely that ours would remain at 11 per
cent as that of the Dominion would remain
at 15 per cent. he (Mr. C.) had also said,
in the course of his speech, already referred
to, that the salary of a certain Dominion
officer, (the Receiver General) was ÂŁ1250
sterling, but in the report, it was set down
in Island currency. He had obtained his information from the Colonial Office List,
and
he thought it should be correct. The population of the Dominion, he found, was about
3,879,812; and the customs revenue, for the
year ended June 30, 1868, as given in the
Canadian Year Book, was $8,624,318, and
the inland revenue, including stamps, $3,125,904; then came the miscellaneous, a
part of which might be taken into account,
but he would omit it, to give his calculation no
semblance to being overdrawn. The amount
for customs and excise together, therefore,
would come to $11,750,223, which
amount, divided by the number of the
population, would show the taxation,
under these two heads alone, to be
$3.02 per head. Then, take this Island,
and put down its population at 95,000, and
its revenue last year from customs and
excise at ÂŁ61,664, and we would find that
our taxation, per head, from those, almost
the only sources of revenue in the colony,
was $2.16. Here, consequently, we had
the proof that taxation in the Dominion
was about 40 per cent heavier than it was
in this Island. Some maintained that the
Canadians were larger consumers of dutiable
goods than the people of this Island; but
Hon. Mr. Galt had admitted the contrary,
and this being the case, the difference in
taxation was solely attributable to the high
tariff and excise duties imposed by Canada.
Reciprocity had been spoken of. He (Mr.
C.) would not say that we could get reciprocity any sooner than the Dominion; but
he thought we would obtain it just as soon.
His opinion was that the leading politicans
of Canada were not favorable to free trade;
theirs was a producing country now, and
they wished to make it a manufacturing
one also, consequently their policy was
protection. The Canadians were not so much
interested in free trade as the people of
this Island, for they were in a position to
build up manufactories. It was said, too,
that connection with the Dominion would
give us more influence,- we could get a
better hearing at Downing Street. But he
would like to ask what kind of hearing
Nova Scotia received in the Imperial parliament? Some had argued that we would
not be loyal if we opposed confederation;
but he did not think people could be called
disloyal if they were only wishing to retain
their just rights. The tenantry of this
Island had borne the land grievance, and
still were loyal, and he did not think they
should be accused of it now when merely
seeking to retain their constitution. He
could not see his way clear to give up the
little authority we had at present. Now,
the power was in our own people; they
had the choosing of those who were in impose their burdens; but once in the Dominion,
it would not be so; we would literally
have no voice in the Ottawa parliament.
Besides, the Dominion was not at peace
within herself, and he thought we had
better remain as we were, and retain the
control of our own affairs.
Debate adjourned.
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