348 COMMONS DEBATES. FEBRUARY 27,
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF THE NORTH-WEST
TERRITORIES.
Copies of all memorials addressed to the Government by the Legislative Assembly of
the North-West Territories which sat recently at
Regina.
He said : In making this motion I desire to occupy the
time of the House for a few moments, and that the House
listen, not to my words, but to the voice of what, without a
figure of speech, may be properly called a New World.
It has been opened up by you, and it is under your charge.
It is some six years since that greater Canada was opened
up by a railway, a railway which not merely opens up that
great territory, but constitutes a highway for the world.
It is a railway which will always be connected with the
name of the right hon. gentleman, and had he nothing else
upon which his fame might rest, that railway would secure
his memory. It is a railway that realises the dreams of
great and enthusiastic men. Lachine, near Montreal,
marks the object of one, and the English Franklin aimed at
doing, and gave his life in trying to do, what this great
work has accomplished for the world. Now, Sir, six years
ago I witnessed the opening of the first North-West Council,
not the first North-West Council held in the Territory, but
the first held at Regina. That council was crude, but in
the succeeding years it did good work and laid the foundation of our educational and
municipal systems, and our
criminal and civil jurisprudence. At that time Brandon,
which is now a flourishing city, whence we get one of our
ablest members of this House, the hon. member for Selkirk
(Mr. Daly)—at that time Brandon was crude, and I remember that my hon. friend welcomed
us to a test club.
1889. COMMONS DEBATES. 349
Earlier than that time, a little over six years ago, Calgary
had no existence-it was merely Fort Calgary; Medicine
Hat had no existence, Moose Jaw had no existence,
and none of the flourishing little towns that stretch
across the prairie now, had any existence. The
prairie itself was practically virgin of the plough. Now
it produces millions of bushels of grain, and we exported such quantities of grain
the year before last, as to
almost embarrass the Canadian Pacific Railway. Not only
so, but coal mines have come into existence, sawmills, flour
mills, cheese factories, dairies. Ranching and horse raising
are carried on to a very large extent, and the day is at
hand when we shall have smelting and reducing works
there, and there is no reason why, at this moment, we
should not have tanneries flourishing in Regina, Moose
Jaw and Calgary. Every year at Calgary you have 10,000
hides, and 3,000 sheep-skins, so tanning could be carried
forward successfully. The council has, within a short time,
owing to the action of Parliament last year, grown into a
Legislative Assembly. That Assembly sat last year, and I
am only echoing the language of persons who visited it from
the east, when it was in session, in stating that that Assembly need not fear comparison
with any Provincial Assembly in the Dominion in the personnel of its members,
in their intelligence, and in the zeal with which they give
themselves to legislation. During that time the Minister of
Interior presided over the destinies of that country, and took
a deep interest in its welfare, and it is due to him to say,
that the educational progress we have made has been largely
due to the great interest he took in education in the Territories. I ask without fear
the attention of members of this
House for that portion of the Dominion, because I
think this House is now sensible that in that vast and
fertile region we have the solution of the difficulty in the
way of Canada becoming one day, however distant, a self- contained nation. As regards
the settlers who are in that
prairie region, I will say this for them, that there are not
in the whole Empire men more calculated by reason of
their intelligence, morality and business qualities to lay the
foundations of a great and prosperous community. They
are all energetic, most of them are reading men, some are
cultured men, and there is no doubt whatever, that the free
and independent hearing which characterises the men in
the North-West is due in part, possibly wholly, to their
free surroundings. It may be that even the associations of
the North-West have some influence on them. The associations connected with the North-West
are of the most
inspiring kind, for though a new land, it is a land which
has historical associations of which people can never read
or think of without enthusiasm. Some 150 years ago Pierre
Gauthier de Varennes traversed those very regions, and
Forts Du Pas, Fort du Grands Rapide, at the Rapids of the
Saskatchewan, Fort La Corne, and other places familiar to
North-West travellers, are among their footmarks that are
living yet. That prairie region alone contains 123,000 square
miles, reaching up from the arid plateau of the Missouri to the
forests of the Saskatchewan and stretching away from Manitoba to the foot of the Rocky
Mountains. That whole region
maybe described as one vast wheat mine. There can be no
doubt in the mind of any man who knows that country
that it is destined to be the great wheat-producing region
of the future. My hon. friends from Hamilton visited the
country last year. Both of them went north and south and
saw what sort of a country was there. The correspondent of
the Empire, Professor Dawson, visited the country, and probably some hon. members have read
his letters about the
country; but my hon. friends from Hamilton, with visitors
from Ontario, at an earlier period, saw with wonder
the extraordinary crops produced. It is not merely,
as I have already stated, a wheat-producing country. We
have farmers in every part of the North-West who are also
engaged in stock raising. If you go north of Regina or
Moose Jaw, you will find farmers who came in there without $100, as they will tell
you, owning herds with
nearly their whole homestead cultivated. In the Qu'Apelle
valley you will find several herds increasing at an a most
mathematical ratio every year, and horse ranching south of
Regina is most successful. I have here a pamphlet just
issued by the Regina board of trade. I will not trouble the
House with the details contained in this pamphlet.
Mr. DAVIN. I will not read it, even though that desire
be expressed by the Third Party without a single dissenting
voice, but I will give the House some idea of the character
of the pamphlet. On page 13, there is the testimony of
Rebert Green, who came to the country without very much
money, and who is now a prosperous man. He says:
"This year (1888) I had eighty acres cropped as follows: Wheat—
29 acres, yielding 30 bushels per acre, which will grade No. 1. Oats—
48 acres, yielding 60 bushels per acre, first-class quality and weighing
42 lbs. per bushel. Potatoes (Early Rose) —3 acres, yielding 350
bushels per acre. The binding of the grain averaged 3 lbs. of binding
twine per acre. I have also a garden consisting of one acre of land on
which I raised cabbages, cauliflower, turnips, beets, mangolds, &c.,
which for size and quality may be equalled but not excelled in any
agricultural district in the world."
Then there is the testimony of Charles Martin to the same
effect. Then there is the testimony of Walter Simpson,
who spoke in a like manner. Adam Traynor, who spoke in
a similar strain, said:
"I broke 100 acres here in 1888 with a gang plow drawn by four to
seven oxen, the dryest season we have had since the place was settled
and backsat 70 acres of the same, besides doing what other work I
had to do. Cool days I broke 3 1/2 acres per day, but my average during
the month of June was about 3 acres per day in backsetting about seven
to eight inches deep with six to seven oxen, I averaged about 2 1/2 acres per
day, on half mile furrows. I have my homestead all broke but about
three-quarters of an acre where my house and granary stand, and nearly
finished backsetting."
He goes on to give like testimony to the fruitfulness of the
soil. J. W. Reynolds, eighteen miles north of Regina, advises young men to go to the
country. He says:
"Yes; I like the country, climate good, health ditto; going to have
school house right on my farm; Regina and Long Lake Railway runs
across corner of my land. Have oxen, ten head of cattle, farm implements, good farm
house. Just thrashed, wheat gone over thirty bushels
to the acre, No. 1 hard at that, and no frost. I think this is the country
for good practical farmers, would like to see every half section taken
up, and have no hesitation in advising energetic young men to come
here.
Neil Martin gives similar testimony. Then we have the
testimony of a Crofter, Donald McFayden, a hardy Scotch.
man of 57 years, who makes the following statement:
"I came to the Regina district on July 15th, 1887. I am located on
Section 34, Township 20, Range 19. I have a wife and five children;
built a good log house 19x15 last year; put in ten acres this spring on
breaking; it is a beautiful crop. We have a good school house and a
Scotch minister in our midst. When I landed in the country from Scotland I had no
money. I like the country well, have good health, and I
can in good conscience advise all in my native country who are not
doing well to come to this country. All the Crofters in this section are
doing well and like the country very much."
James Bole tells us :
"This year, 1888, I had 105 acres under crop (eighty acres wheat,
twenty oats and five barley, potatoes and rye). The wheat on new land
yielded thirty-five bushels to the acre, and took four lbs. of binding
twine per acre. The oats were the finest I ever saw, standing nearly
five feet high all over the field, and yielded eighty bushels to the
acre,—this was fourteen acres on old land, part of which was cropped
three years and part five years in succession. I had six acres of oats
harrowed in on stubble without ploughing. This is a style of farming
I do not approve of, but the spring was very late and I thought I would
try it and grow green fodder if nothing else, but to my surprise it came
on as thick and looked as well as any of the crop in the district; the
field is not yet thrashed, but I feel confident the six acres will yield 500
bushels. Mr. Ira Morgan, president of the Ontario Agricultural and
Arts Association, who saw this field while standing, and Mr. McDonald,
editor Mark Lane Express, who saw it in the sheaf, can testify to the
correctness of this statement. My wheat this year grades No. 1 hard,
and I have already sold 800 bushels to Regina dealers from $1.06 to
$1.11 per bushel.
" At the present time I have seven horses and a small start in
thoroughbred cattle; seven hogs ready for pork by Christmas, a binder,
350 COMMONS DEBATES. FEBRUARY 27,
sulky plough, two hand ploughs, two waggons, sleighs, harness, a
small house, comfortable stable, good well of water, and everything
else necessary, all of which are paid for or at least provided for, and
will have at least a thousand dollars additional to further improve the
farm, enlarge the house and stables, and provide comforts which pioneer
days did not afford.
"Considering that I am now past 60 years of age, and that I started
without capital (having lost my farm in Ontario by endorsing and subsequent business
failure), I think I can with clear conscience advise
every man of sober habits and a determination to succeed to come to
this country. Farming is pleasant, and to every man who knows his
business and attends to it, is profitable. No forests to cut down, no
draining, no taxes, as nature has given us good roads, everything man
could desire is here for the man who desires to use them."
John McIntyre, a brother of Mr. Duncan McIntyre,
who has a very large farm, gives similar testimony.
Thomas Barton, an Englishman whose farm I have visited
myself, corroborates this. Mr. Barton's farm is certainly
one of the most interesting places that one could visit,
because it is a piece of England transferred to the wilds of
the west. He has a cottage buried in flowers, and it is hard,
when sitting in his parlor and looking at the wealth of
flowers around you, to realise that you are in a cottage
which was raised there five or six years ago when all was
a wilderness around. Mr. Barton says:
"This year I invested in a threshing machine, and for the past month
have been threshing in the district, and I can testify to the great productiveness
of the soil. Have just got through at Mr. Henry Fisher's
farm, where we threshed over 8,000 bushels of grain. Wheat is yielding all the way
from 22 to 42 bushels to the acre, and oats from 50 to
90, and in a few cases, on my own farm, for example, over 100. I find
Regina a good market for all kinds of farm produce, grain, butter, eggs,
pork, and fat cattle always find ready sale. As to how I like the
country, I say first-class. If a man works hard, and is a good manager,
he wil get rich quicker farming than in any other country in the world
that I know anything about. All branches of farming can be carried on,
dairying, cattle raising, wheat growing. Large areas of land can
be put under cultivation in a short time, and there is plenty of pasture
to start as big a herd of cattle as a man likes. Don't think I have any
more to say, unless I might add that this appears to me to be the right
country for good, hard working men, who are hung in the old country
from hand to mouth. To all such I say, sell all you have and come out
here and start over again. If you are not a practical farmer, you will
soon learn, if you are willing to learn and willing to work. Hoping,
gentlemen, you will succeed in getting us more neighbors."
So, Sir, I could mention case after case. There is a gentleman here at present, Mr.
Carss, who was a Carleton farmer
well-known in this district, and he is now one of the most
successful men in the whole North-West. He has a large
herd, farms extensively, and has probably made some
$20,000 in the North-West. He is here at the present
moment, speaking to his friends in Carleton and giving
them some idea of the Land of Promise where he himself
has succeeded so well. A moment ago I spoke about the
schools in the North-West, and I shall now refer to them
again. This House will be glad to know that in that new
region opened up six years ago we have 167 schools at the
present time; the teachers are carefully examined, they
have to have certificates just as your teachers have here;
and as I have visited many of the schools I can bear testimony to their great efficiency.
I would like to impress on
the Government, and especially on the Minister of the Interior, that I really think
a step might be taken further in
the matter of education and something done in the way of
having a high school at some central place. The children
that went to our ordinary schools six years ago have now
grown beyond the teachers, and we ought to have a high
school for them. I spoke to you a moment ago about that
Assembly which has charge of so important a part of our
interests. It has very wide powers now and it is gliding into
responsible government. That Assembly passed a number
of memorials which it desired should be brought before this
House. I do not intend to occupy your time at any great
length, and I will rapidly describe what those memorials are.
The first relates to a subject which need not be impressed
upon any hon. member: it is the necessity of opening up as
rapidly as possible the Saskatchewan district by railway
communication. I believe the Government have done
their part in this matter and that we shall soon have a
railway opening up the Saskatchewan territory. It is a
district of the North-West which is, if anything, more
attractive than even our prairies along the line, because it
is varied with hill and forest and stream, and the House
will easily understand what an attractive place for immigration it will be when a
railway gives facilities for the
ingress of immigrants and for the egress of the crops and
products which they grow. Of course, at the present moment there is no encouragement
to settlers to grow crops,
because, if they grow them, they have no market within
reach. The next memorial relates to what are called
the loyal half-breeds. I do not know much about the
subject myself, but my hon. friend from Saskatchewan (Mr.
Macdowall) will be better acquainted with the particulars.
It is contended that there were some loyal half-breeds
who suffered losses, and, notwithstanding their loyalty, their
losses have not been recouped. The Assembly now pray
that His Excellency will be authorised to have such steps
taken as will cause a reconsideration of the whole subject
of the claims of half-breeds for losses during the rebellion, with a view to compensate
those who proved themselves to have been loyal, with such amounts as may
be shown to be equal to their losses. The next memorial
relates to providing seed grain for any person in a part of
the North-West Territories whose crops may have failed.
In the district with which I am connected there have been
no failures whatever, and I am not aware of any failure in
crops along the line. But I suppose there must have been
failure in some districts, or this resolution would not have
been passed by the Assembly. I come now to a resolution
which deals with a burning question in the North- West, that is the liquor question.
Ever since I went
in there that question has created great restlessness,
and I think myself it has created unreasonable restlessness when we remember that
no man went into
the territory without knowing that it was a prohibitory
territory. Every man that went there knew that prohibition obtained, and as I have
often said to some of my
friends who grumbled very loudly on this subject, it was
one on which they had no right to grumble about, because
they knew it was a prohibitory territory when they went
in there. Notwithstanding this, however, the question has
created a great deal of feeling. The settlers somehow seem
to think it hard that they had to ask a permit from anyone,
and I have heard men, because they were refused a permit,
talk as though they had good grounds for flat rebellion. I
will say this in passing: The hon. gentleman who is Minister of Interior, and who
had the administering of that
permit system, had one of the most difficult tasks to perform that any man could undertake.
No one course would
please everybody, and to do one's duty in refusing a permit
to men who ought not to get it was sure to make enemies.
I always sympathised with the hon. gentleman in the difficult
task he had to perform in dealing with that permit system.
Now, here is the position at present. The four per cent.
beer has been admitted wholesale by a special permit. It is
not strong enough for some people, and it is too strong for
others; the consequence is that there is a great desire to
have this question settled, both on the part of those in favor
of high license and on the part of those strictly temperance
people who would like to see prohibition established, even
unqualified by permit. There is a great deal to be said in
favor of settling this question rapidly. In the first place,
we can grow in the North-West the finest barley that ever
rewarded farmer's toil, and beer and whiskey are both
brought in from outside. Over 7,000 gallons of whiskey
was brought in last year by permit, yielding a revenue of
over 83,000 from permits; and yet the amount of whiskey
brought in contraband from Montana Colonel Herchmer
will tell you, is simply incalculable. Parties bring it in,
cache it two miles from the town, and on moonlight nights
1889. COMMONS DEBATES. 351
go out and bring it in in small quantities. In this way a
large amount of money is being sent out of the territory,
while beer is being brought in and drunk which we could
manufacture there. Again, we had manufacturies of what
is called Moose Jaw beer, a kind of beer made from hops,
without malt in it. The four per cent. beer coming from
Winnipeg has shut all these up. Mr. Allen, the son of
a Toronto brewer, had $10.000 or $12,000 invested in a
brewery at Moose Jaw, and this man has been ruined by
this four per cent. beer coming in. Now, what is to be done?
There is a great desire on the part of many people for a
plebiscite, but a plebiscite is not known to the British constitution, and it might
be a doubtful way of settling this
matter. Let me tell you that Mr. Bliss, who is at the head
of one of the temperance organisations, visited the North- West last summer, and stop
at Medicine Hat, Calgary,
and other places; and after returning to Winnipeg he issued
a pronunciamento in which he said that it was of vital importance that the liquor
question should be settled in the
North-West Territory, and that the morals of the community required that it should
be settled—how? By prohibition? No, but by high license. This Mr. Bliss will,
no doubt, be known to my hon. friend from Norfolk. The
Legislative Assembly proposed themselves to take the
opinion of the people on the subject, and to pay the cost of
doing so out of their own funds; but the judges whom they
consulted told them that would be ultra vires. Then they
passed this resolution :
"That, in the opinion of this Assembly, a vote of the Territories on
the question of license vs. prohibition should immediately be taken.
"That in the event of provision for the taking of such vote not being
made by the Dominion authorities at the next Session of the Dominion
Parliament, it is the opinion of this assembly that powers similar to
those enjoyed by provisions under the British North American Act in
respect to the liquor question should forthwith be granted."
Of course, if the power were granted before they could
legislate, one of two things should be done. They should
not be allowed to use the power until after their term expired and they went to the
country, or a dissolution should
take place, in order that they might go to the country, and
have the question decided at the polls. That would, no
doubt, be a constitutional course; and, as we have practically manhood suffrage in
the Territories, such a vote would
effect the same purpose as a plebiscite. The next resolution
deals With a matter of the greatest possible moment to the
Territories, immigration, and makes suggestions:
"Your Committee would further recommend that a sum of $5,000
be voted from the general revenue fund of the Territories, and that this
House, by every means at its disposal, press upon the Dominion Government the advisability
of granting us the sum of $10,000; both of said
sums to be used for immigration purposes. With such sums at the disposal of this House,
your Committee are of the opinion that greater
results would be had, both to the Dominion as a whole, and to these
Territories in particular, than can be had by the expenditure of a like
sum under the general immigration schemes of the Dominion. We
would suggest that two permanent officials, selected by this House, be
located in Great Britain; also that four agents be appointed by this
House, one being from each of the Dominion electoral districts, who
shall be located for a period of three months at four of the principal
points in Eastern Canada and the United States, as, say, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto
and Chicago. We would further suggest that several
pamphlets be prepared, giving a full description of the various localities
suitable for settlement within these vast Territories, believing, as we
do, that it is impossible in a single pamphlet to do justice to the varied
natural resources of our Territories. We would report that we have
made an estimate of the probable cost of the scheme. We propose, as
follows :—
Travelling Expenses.
| Two oflicials in Great Britain, at $5 per day, each... |
3,600 |
| Four agents in Eastern Canada, at $5 per day, each.. |
1,800 |
| Office expenses ... .... ... ...... ................................... ...... ... |
2,000 |
| Preparing and printing pamphlets ........ ........ ....... |
4,000 |
| Total ................................................................................... |
$15,000 |
The Government will perceive that they propose to give
out of their own revenue $5,000, if $10,000 is given for the
same purpose by the Dominion. Now, Sir, I cannot help
thinking that greater benefits would result if the Local
Government had to deal with this matter, and not the
Dominion. The Department of Agriculture will necessarily
deal very generally with the question of immigration; but
if we had local agents controlled by the Advisory Board
in Regina, their action would be focussed in certain
channels, and the immigrants' attention would be directed,
not to the North-West in a vague way, but to particular
parts of the North-West having special attractions, and
they would be put on board the train at Halifax and sent
on to these destinations. The next resolution relates to
half-breeds:
"The Assembly recommends that granting of scrip to half-breeds of
Manitoba and the North-West Territories be extended to such half- breed heads of families
and their children who, on the 15th day of July,
1870, were resident of non-ceded territory, and who have since moved
to either Manitoba or the North-West Territories."
"The Assembly would further recommend that half-breeds residing
in the North-West Territories on the 20th April, 1885, who were otherwise entitled
to scrip, but who failed to comply with the conditions of
the Order in Council of the 20th April, 1885, be granted scrip notwithstanding such
Order in Council. As under the Half-breed Commission
of the 20th of March, 1885, the Indian title, in so far as the half-breeds
are concerned, only extends to those born prior to the 15th July, 1870,
and as a number have been born to parents coming under the said commision of 1885,
who, in the opinion of this Assembly, have equal rights
to those already dealt with, this Assembly would draw the attention of
the Dominion Government to the fact and urge that steps be taken to
finally end all half-breed claims. This Assembly would also urge the
appointment of judges of the North-West Territories as permanent commissioners, to
adjust and investigate halt-breed claims, as the system of
the flying commission is very unsatisfactory to the people and unnecessarily expensive
to the Government."
Now, I would state this argument to the House. Under
the Manitoba Act of 1870, 1,400,000 acres of land were set
apart for half-breed children. These did not extend outside of Manitoba. Therefore,
the primitive contract made
between the Government and the half-breeds did not extend outside of Manitoba, or
to any other half-breeds or
bands of half-breeds. We acknowledge the Indian title in
the half-breed; we acknowledge that he has the Indian title.
When we come to extinguish the Indian title with a band
of Indians, what do we do? We make a treaty with them.
We do not insist that Treaty six shall do for what we afterwards call Treaty seven.
We do not insist that a treaty
with the Blackfeet will do for a treaty with the Crees, but
we act, as do sensible men in ordinary life; we deal frankly
with the persons with whom we have to deal, in regard to
the interests they control. Those half-breeds in the North- West were not in Manitoba
at the time the Manitoba Act
was passed, and the arrangement made to extinguish the
Indian title in Manitoba. As we took no steps—and
it was our fault that we took none—to extinguish the title
in 1870 of the half-breeds in the North- West, and did nothing in 1885, how can we
say to the half-breeds in the
North-West in 1885: Now, we are going to deal with you as
though on had been dealt with already in 1870 in Manitoba. Iy could never see the
reason which would justify
that position being taken, and I am perfectly certain
the matter has only to be brought to the attention of Parliament and the Government
to lead them to do what is
statesmanlike and proper—to lead them to deal with the
half-breeds to-day who were not in Manitoba and were not
dealt with at that time, on the looting of the present,
and on the same principle on which was based the
settlement with the half-breeds in Manitoba, and give to the
children that exist today what was given to the children
in 1870. As a fact, the name of every half-breed child born
in the country, up to the 20th April, 1885, is on record in
the Department of the Interior, so that it is not necessary
to do more than look into the affidavits. Then comes the
third resolution in regard to the question of scrip :
352 COMMONS DEBATES. FEBRUARY 27,
"That the Dominion Government be requested to grant scrip to all
those acting during the North-West rebellion as scouts under the Police
Act."
I am happy to state that this matter of scrip, which has so
often occupied our attention, is on the way to be satisfactorily settled by the Government.
The next resolution relates to a body of men which is a credit to Canada.
No Canadian visits the North-West without feeling
proud of the Mounted Police. We have had English general officers visiting the North-West,
and they looked
with envy on that body of 1,100 men, each one of
whom would be a model for a statue. These men
who took part in putting down the rebellion, fought,
when they had the opportunity, as gallantly as did the
volunteers. They endured hardship, they did everything
they had an opportunity of doing, and all they complain of
is that they did not get more opportunity; and if they
had had more opportunity, I believe we might have brought
the rebellion to a close more rapidly and not less gloriously.
Many of these policemen endured hardships, and it is no
new thing for them to endure hardships. Their whole life,
especially in the winter, is one of continuous strain, and
there is no soldier's life as trying as the life of the Mounted
Police, in the winter, up in the North-West. The Assembly
passed this resolution:
"We would beg leave, respectfully, to point out that in great measure
the services of this force were insufficiently appreciated in Canada, that
the arguments advanced against their receiving such awards are, in our
opinion, to a great extent, fallacious, and that we are confident such a
bestowal will be hailed throughout the North-West as a satisfaction,
and as an act of justice."
What they ask for is the same award of scrip as has been
conferred on other corps, but I can tell you that many of
the mounted police have told me they cared very little for
scrip, but that certainly, as they had borne the brunt and
heat of the day as well as others, they would like to have
it; but they should also have a medal. Then comes a resolution with regard to the
main trails. I do not expect to
be able to clear up the mystery of the main trails and to
enlighten Parliament on this recondite subject. The trails
are from Macleod to Calgary, from Calgary to Edmonton
and Athabasca Landing, from Swift Current to Battleford,
and from Qu'Appelle to Prince Albert. These trails will
require for some time to be kept in good order, and the
Assembly reports:
"The condition of some of these trails at certain seasons of the year
has proved to be dangerous to life and property, and communication
between the different settlements made most difficult and supplies
not only rendered much dearer but in fact almost impossible to obtain.
Such a condition of affairs is a most important element in retarding
settlement and the proper development of the Territories, and as the
funds at the disposal of the Territorial Government are insufficient to
make the necessary improvements and we consider the Dominion Government especially
interested in those trails, we would therefore urge
that the Dominion Government appropriate a special sum to be expended on the following
trails: From Macleod to Calgary. From Calgary
to Edmonton and Athabasca Landing. From Swift Current to Battleford. From Qu'Appelle
to Prince Albert."
Now I come to a great question in the North-West. The
resolution is very long but very important, which the
council has passed, and I will ask the attention of hon.
members while I read. It is as follows:—That it is desirable, in the interest of the
settlers and of the settlement in
the Territories, that the time of payment for pre-emption in
arrears should be extended five years from the 1st of
January, 1889, without interest, and on condition that
homesteaders remain on and continuously cultivate their
homesteads during that period:
"That it would be only just to those who entered the lands in the
Territories, during the operation of the Act permitting second homesteading, that
the right to second homesteading should in all cases
be extended to them, provided they have continuously cultivated their
first homesteads.
"That in the year 1885 a regulation was in force whereby persons entering for cancelled
lands could secure only eighty acres or a homestead and eighty acres as a pre-emption,
and as this regulation was
acknowledged to be unwise and unjust by its withdrawal, settlers in
such a disadvantageous position should be allowed the some rights and
privileges as other bonafide settlers, by being granted a full quarter
section as a homestead."
The Assembly does not seem to be aware that in 1887 the
late Minister of the Interior did away with the eighty acre
homesteads and the eighty acre pre-emptions. What they
do pray for, and what many contend should be done, is that
those who have got the eighty acres homestead, and the
eighty acres pre-emption, and have paid for the eighty
acres pre-emption, should have the money returned, but
since 1887 there have been no eighty acre pre-emptions or
homesteads, the smallest being 160 acres.
"That, whereas in the years 1884, 1885 and 1886 persons entering for
lands that had been cancelled, were charged, in addition to an extra fee
for inspection, besides value for improvements that had been made, also
an additional price for pre-emptions, varying from 25 cents to $1 per
acre, which additional price was demanded at the time of making entry;
"And, whereas there was no good reason, in the greater value of
such lande, for the additional charge per acre;
"Therefore, the prices of such pre-emptions should be reduced to the
prices charged for uncancelled lands in the same districts; and moneys
paid thereon should be applied to the payment of such pre-emptions at
the said reduced price.
"That, whereas it has been proved that, for the success of the settler,
it is necessary for him to engage in both grain and stock raising, and
it has been demonstrated that for this purpose the settler requires not
less than 320 acres of land;
"And whereas from the fact that many settlers have been unable to
pay for their pre-emptions, it has been shown that the prices for pre- emptions have
been placed at too high a figure, thus practically depriving
many homesteaders of the benefit of pre-emptions, which are essential
for success in mixed farming;
"That, in cases where pre-emptions have been cancelled during the
past three years, because settlers were unable to pay for the same, these
lands should not he held open for homesteading until the whole matter
regarding pre-emptions has been further considered.
"Therefore, it is advisable that the prices of pre-emptions be reduced
to the following figures, viz.: For lands within twenty miles of an operated railway,
two dollars per acre, and for lands at a greater distance
from an operated railway, one dollar per acre.
"That, in the interests of the Territories, specially of the prairie
districts, it is desirable that every possible encouragement should be
given to tree-culture;
"Therefore, it is desirable that arrangements should be made, whereby
tree planting, with continued and successful cultivation, should be
permitted to stand in the place of grain cultivation, acre for acre, as
fulfilment of homestead duties;
"That, in paying for pro-eruption, tree planting be allowed to count
at the rate of five cents for each tree planted by the settlers and found
growing on their homestead or pre-emption for two years next preceding
such payment.
"That the present system of having odd-numbered sections withdrawn
for homesteadin is pernicious; that it is an injury to settlers, inasmuch
as, preventing close settlement, it throws additional burdens on them
for carrying on schools and for necessary improvements.
"Above all, because the settlement of the land is of more value, and
will bring more revenue into the Treasury, than the possible sale of
lands thus withheld from settlement will, and because the throwing open
or these sections for homesteading would be further inducement for
emigrants to come to these Territories, seeing they would then be able
to enjoy the advantages of close neighborhood to other settlers.
"That should it be found necessary in future to withhold public lands
from homesteading for railway purposes, it would be well to provide
that alternate quarter-sections be granted instead of alternate sections.
"Therefore, it is advisable that arrangements be made, where possible, to throw open
all odd-numbered sections for homesteading, seeing
that this would he in the true interests of the Territories, and also therefore of
the Dominion.
"That, as the large portion of the Dominion lands is in the Territories, it is most
desirable, in the interest of the settler, the Territories
and the Dominion, that a Dominion Land Board should be established
at some central and convenient point in the Territories.
"That His Honor the Lieutenant Governor will be pleased to transmit
a memorial embodying this report so the proper authorities at Ottawa,
for the consideration of His Excellency the Governor General in
Council."
I have troubled the House with reading this long document
to them, but it is so important, and deals with matters which
are so important for the settlers, that I may be excused.
Remember, it is the voice of an Assembly elected by a suffrage practically extending
to every man over twenty-one
years of age in the North-West erritories, and, as you
have really the administration of our affairs in your hands,
it is only right and proper that I should bring the views of
these people before you. One of the main questions dealt[...]
354 COMMONS DEBATES. FEBRUARY 27,
[...]policy, and I condemned it as a bad policy. But I say that the
act of its being a bad policy does not always relieve you
from your obligation that you entered into, which obligation
you must carry out,even though it is under a bad policy. Now,
Sir, it is not a good thing to drink champagne, for instance.
If you drink enough of it, and drink it often enough, it
will tear your liver to pieces. But if a man who is fond
of champagne were to order some from Mr. Bate, and then,
when Mr. Bate sent the bill, he were to sit down and write
to him and say: "Dear Sir, drinking champagne is a mistake; it is bad for the liver;
it is not conductive to general
health; I have given up drinking champagne and as a matter of principle I won't pay
your bill." Why, what would
Mr. Bate say to him? He would say, "You are under
obligation to pay. and I will hold you to it." Well, I will
not trouble the House with the letters, but I have letters
here from a number of these men who say they came in
here having before their eyes pamphlets in which this
very North-West Act of 1883 was quoted; they came
in here with that promise of a second homestead playing
on their wills, and what did they find? Why, they
had scarcely fulfilled the conditions for getting a second
homestead―three years it takes; on the 25th of May
the clause was put in and it requires three years
to perfect the conditions to get a second homestead;
and on the 2nd June, 1886, the second homestead was done
away with. They, of course, point out what a very unjust
thing it is. You see how irritating it is to those who came
in, in 1884, 1885 and 1886. The men who came in from the
25th May, 1883, or before, up to the 2nd June, 1884, could
go, owing to the change that my hon. friend the late Minister of Interior made, and
get a second homestead. The
principle has been acknowledged. But men who came in in
1885 and 1886, with this same Act on the statute-book,
cannot get a second homestead, because, as I tell you, the
amendment that I was able to effect in 1887 only went the
one year. Last year I did not bring it up, for a lamentable
reason—because we had lost the man who had been such an
ornament to this House. It may be said—I know that
arguments of this kind are sometimes used—that this was
permissive. I will say this for the late Minister, that he
never attempted to press that objection; but I will call the
attention of the Minister of Interior to the argument on
that head. The 37th clause of the Dominion Lands Act,
1883, reads as follows:—
" Any person who has obtained a homestead patent after two years'
residence, or a certificate countersigned by the Commissioner of Dominion Lands, as
in the next receding clause mentioned, with the additional statement that there as
been three years' residence, may obtain
another homestead and pre-emption entry."
Of course it would be quite unworthy of a Government to
rest anything on that word " may" ; but if anybody attempted to do so, what have we?
We have that declared
by the statute to be a right, so that any difficulty on that
head is entirely removed. If we look at section 2, chapter
54 of the Revised Statutes, we find that pre-emption entry
means:
"The entering on the books of a local agent for a preferential claim
to acquire by purchase, in connection with the homestead, and on becoming entitled
to the patent for the homestead, a quarter section, or
part of a quarter section of land adjorning such homestead; and existing
pr-emption right means the right of obtaining, and right to such
quarter section"
If we turn to section 3, what do we find? It is declared
with regard to pre-emptions:
" And further, such person shall forfeit his homestead and pre-emption
right."
So that in one part of the Act, in regard to a matter where
it is said he may obtain pre-emption, we have it declared
that that is a right. But mark the language of section 43:
" No person who has obtained a homestead patent or a certificate
countersigned by the Commissioner of Dominion Lands or a member of
the Dominion Lands Board, as in the next preceding clause mentioned,
shall be entitled to obtain another homestead entry; but nothing contained in this
clause shall take away the right of any person who, before the 2nd day of June, 1886,
had received such certificate or recommendation for a patent."
So that the Act of 1886, in so many words, declares that it
was taking away, not a possibility of getting a second
homestead at the discretion of the Minister, but taking
away a right which it acknowledges in express terms. It
is hardly necessary to take up the time of the House with
the second branch of the second homestead question, because the Minister can deal
with that administratively.
But I will say this, as I have pointed out before, that I can
see no advantage and no magic in the six-mile limit, and I
pointed out, when I had the honor of an interview with the
Minister of Interior when I first came down, that one of the
best settlers north of Pense, Joseph Young, who has cultivated every acre of his homestead
and pre-emption
cultivatable, has next to him a cancelled homestead, but he
cannot enter on it. It would be a very desirable thing for
him if he could do so, for he has two stalwart sons and a
family, and he is one of our best farmers. He came into the
country with nothing and he is a well-to-do man to-day, and in
no year, not even in 1886, did he fail to have a crop; he has had
a crop every year, but he is a thoroughpaced farmer and is a
first-rate man. He cannot, however, homestead that cancelled homestead adjoining his
own, and what is the use of
his going away? He is forty-five years old and does
not want to go away six miles. But that, I repeat,
is a matter which can be dealt with administratively, and
so I will not trouble the House further with it beyond
calling attention to a petition I have here which was presented to the Minister. It
was sent to him by a large number of agricultural societies, urging this question
of second
homesteading, and also urging that time be give for payment of pre-emptions. I will
say this, as I said to the
farmers, that I think there is no need of their being very
anxious about their being allowed time. So far as my
experience of the department goes, no bona fide farmer has
ever been pressed for his pre-emption payment if he could
show that he was going along in a bona-fide manner. I
have always found that Mr. Smith, and the department here,
the moment they were satisfied that the man was a bona
fide settler, were willing to agree to any reasonable representations made, provided the
matter was all right. So I never
felt nervous in regard to that matter. I will only add this
further, that the farmers around Moose Jaw and elsewhere
are very anxious they should be given five years in which
to pay for their pre-emptions. I will make a further comment on this resolution, because
there is one clause in it
with which I do not agree. It reads:
"Should it be found necessary in the future to withhold public lands
from homesteading for railway purposes, it should be provided that
alternate quarter sections be granted instead of alternate sections."
In the same resolution it is stated:
" It has been proved that for the success of the settler it is necessary
for him to engage in both stock raising and grain. and it has been demonstrated that
for this purpose a settler requires not less than 320
acres."
So one part of the resolution is, inadvertently, contrary to
the other. In one part it says that 320 acres are necessary,
and in another part it states that alternate quarter sections
should be given to the railway. I have here a long communication that I received this
morning from the agricultural
society of Moose Jaw, referring to this part of the resolution
and strongly condemning it, strongly emphasising this view,
that they require to summer fallow, to go into mixed
farming, and that farmers cannot raise crops profitably in
the North-West unless they summer fallow. Part of the
land has to be fallowed this year while crops are
raised on another part, and crops should be grown
this year on land which was summer fallowed last year.
If you do not adopt that you will not farm successfully, and
1889. COMMONS DEBATES. 355
that is the way Mr. Young, to whom I referred a moment
ago, farms. I want to say one word about the last part of
that resolution, which asks for the establishment of a
Dominion Lands Office in the Territories. This, I think, is
a very important matter, and I may point out that the right
hon. gentleman, in his report of 1882, declares it necessary
to establish in the North-West a land board. However,
when it was decided to establish this land board, instead of
placing it in the North-West it was established at Winnipeg,
in Manitoba. I think it would be a very wise thing to do
what the Legislative Assembly suggests, and to move that
land board to the North-West. At the present moment
you are getting an enormous revenue from the North-West.
This year I see gladly, by the report of the Minister of
Interior, the revenue of the Department of the Interior is
$540, 605. No doubt some of that comes from Manitoba,
but the main portion of it undoubtedly comes from the
North- West Territory, and as the principal business of the
land board will be done in the North-West Territory, I
believe that if it were established at Regina, instead of at
Winnipeg, it would be a great improvement. The last
resolution of these gentlemen deals with the question of
responsible government. It says:
"That there is no permanent responsible body whose business it is to
prepare legislation for the consideration of this Assembly, and in consequence its
legislative functions cannot be satisfactorily performed. For
instance, the Assembly has had to present an humble address to His
Honor the Lieutenant Governor, praying that he may be pleased to
appoint a Committee to draft during the recess certain measures deemed
advisable by the Assembly; measures which it should be the duty of
Legislative Government to submit. That on these and other accounts
the Assembly believes the present system to be unsatisfactory. That,
therefore, the Assembly recommends to His Excellency the Governor
General in Council that full responsible government should be given
to the Territories with the other powers, in addition to those already
possessed by the Assembly."
And a further resolution:
"That the amount annually voted by the Dominion Parliament for
the expenses of government, &c., in the North-West Territories, should
be given in the form of a definite grant instead of a rate which lapses
at the end of the fiscal year for which it is voted;
"That the said grant should be placed at the disposal and subject to
the vote of the North-West Legislative Assembly;
"That although the North-West Territories have not been admitted
into Confederation as a Province, yet they consider that the fact of
their paying taxes to the Federal Treasury, under the same laws, rules
and regulations and provisions as the people of other parts of Canada,
and having been called upon to exercise the functions of local self- government by
the Parliament of Canada, they are entitled to receive
a return on the amount paid by them into the Federal Treasury of a
sum similar to that received by the various Provinces comprising the
Canadian Confederation;
"That they consider that a greater proportion of taxation per head
is paid by the people of the North-West Territories than by the people
of any other part of Canada;
"That the cost of administrating the Government of the North-West
Territories is much larger in proportion to the population than in any
other part of Canada by reason of the greater area and more widely
scattered settlements;
"That the maintenance and improvement of main trails in the Territories should be
the subject at special consideration at the hands of the
Federal Parliament;
"That inasmuch as the lands, timber and minerals of the North-West
Territories are held for sale by the Federal Government, which deprives
the North-West Government of any revenue from these sources, and
the Provinces of Confederation, with the exception of Manitoba, having
revenues from said sources;
"Therefore your committee are strongly of opinion that a largely increased grant should
be given to the North-West Territories for expenses
of North- West Government, construction of roads and bridges, the improvement of main
trails, and other public improvements."
The House wlll be glad to know, sir, that the Advisory
Board has worked wonderfully well. Although I do not
think any more than do those gentlemen, or the members of the Assembly, that that
board is as effective
a machine of government as complete responsible
government would be, yet, Sir, I had an opportunity
of observing the chamber during its session and I will
say this, that the Advisory Board and the admirable manner
in which Governor Royal fell in with the idea of making it
a sliding scale to responsible government worked admir
ably and gave a new character altogether to the assembly
as compared with the council. In the North-West Council,
as my friend the Minister of Interior will remember, they
discussed matters more like men in committee, but with the
Advisory Board they at once fell in with the parliamentary
practice, and the intelligence displayed by the gentlemen
who are now members of that assembly and the capacity
which they showed in their conduct of the proceedings,
are fraught with the best promise for the future of that
country. I wish to call the attention of the House for one
moment to what might be called our claims on the Federal
Government. Many gentlemen in this House and elsewhere think that we are always asking
for something, and
that we are, in fact, asking for too much. They think
we are unreasonable in the North-West, while the fact is
that we are entitled to a great deal more than we get.
Mr. SCRIVER. You are astonished at your own moderation.
Mr. DAVIN. My friend on the right says " we are
astonished at our own moderation," and I have no objection
to accept his language. The old council of 1887 petitioned
for responsible government and the memorial set forth:
That by the census of 1885 the population of the North- West Territories was 28,000,
larger by 11,000 than that of
Manitoba when she was admitted into Confederation. The
population has much increased since that census, as evidenced from the new electoral
districts erected. Manitoba was
erected into a Province in 1870, and as we see in 33 Vic.,
cap. 3, sec. 25, she received $30,000 in support of government, 80 cents per head
of the population, which was estimated at 17,000, and the salaries of the Lieutenant
Governor, judges, charges in respect to customs, postal,
fisheries, militia, geological, penitentiary department, and
so on, were all paid by the Federal Treasury. In 1882,
according to 45 Vic., cap. 5, when the population of Manitoba, according to the census
of 1881, was 69,954, that
Province was allowed 80 cents or head on 150,000 souls,
indemnity for want of public lands of 845,000; and in 1870,
because the Province was not in debt, 5 er cent.
on $472,000, making altogether $238,000. By 48-49
Vic, cap. 50, she got swamp lands and 150,000
acres for a university and the indemnity for
want of public lands increased to $100,000. Now
I ask the attention of the House to this argument. It
is an argument of proportion, such an argument as we all
have made when learning the rule of three at school. If
Manitoba, in 1882, with a census pupulation of 65,954, was
allowed 80 cents a head on a population of 150,000,
then the North-West, four years after, it was declared
by the census of 1885, to have a population of 28,000,
must be entitled to 80 cents a head on about 80,000 people.
But take the ratio adopted after one year, and we are
entitled to 80 cents a head on 70,000, or 856,000; for government, 850,000; and for
want of our public lands, 815,000.
Then, if Manitoba with a population of 17,000, not having
any debt, was entitled to 5 per cent. on 8472,000, the
North-West Territories, with a census population of 28,000,
would be entitled to 5 per cent. on $774,000, or 838,700; and
as we have more land than Manitoba, our gross revenue
should amount to $239,700. We should also have 150,000
acres of land for a university, and money for our own
lunatic asylum, as well as Manitoba. Now, Sir, the tone
taken towards that western country is a tone which I
believe will not be often taken in this House after hon.
gentlemen come to see what its claims are; because at the
present minute we must regard that western country as
composed of Manitoba, the North-West Territories and
British Columbia, all west of the great lakes; and what do
you find? If you compare the amount that western
country pays in customs duties with the amount paid by
an old Province like Nova Scotia or New Brunswick, you
356 COMMONS DEBATES. FEBRUARY 27,
will find that it pays more; and the paper which was put
into my hands a few days ago by the Inland Revenue
Department shows that we drink a great deal more beer
per head west of the great lakes, and pay a great deal more
of inland revenue than the two Provinces of Nova Scotia
and New Brunswick put together.
Mr. DAVIN. It may be a bad sign, but it shows that
the people there are a very prosperous people, and can
afford to spend a good deal of money on the four articles of
beer, wine, tobacco and whiskey. I find also that the
banking business done, taking into account discounts, the
amount of capital invested, and all the details of banking,
shows well for the western country. Now, my right hon.
friend, in reply to a question, told me a few days ago that
he did not intend to bring in a Bill this year giving full
responsible government to the Territories; but, in passing,
I wish to say that when that Bill is brought in, or probably
it might be done now, a large portion of territory should be
given to the Local Government to be used by it for subsidizing branch lines of railway.
I am not fond, as this House
knows of drawing comparisons with what is done in the
United States; but I may state that when they organise a
territory in the United States, they pay out of the Federal
treasury all the expenses that we do, they give the territories
the school lands and the swamp lands, as we have done in the
case of Manitoba; but they do more than that. When Minnesota, Wyoming, Dakota and
Montana were organised, each of
these Territories got a large extent of territory for subsidising branch lines. Minnesota,
with 83,000 square miles
(Assiniboia has 93,000 square miles), received land for subsidising 1,800 miles of
railway, and with the swamps, started
in possession of one-third of the Territory. What does that
policy enable these Territories to do? It gives them, while
young, that nutriment and vital force, without which anything young cannot thrive.
As the right hon. the Prime
Minister is now acting Minister of Railways, I should like
to call his attention to this fact. At this hour the Government of Minnesota receives
an income of $600,000 a year, 3
per cent. on the gross earnings of the lines of railway that
it chartered and subsidised since 1849, when it was organised. But it may be said:
" Ah, but those Territories were
very populous. Not at all. In 1849, when Minnesota was
organised, it had only a population of 6,000, and the
aggregate population of all the four Territories at the respective dates of their
organisation did not equal by five or
six thousand the population of the North-West to day. That
is a point which I submit as well worthy of the consideration of the Government, because
I think we may err on the
side of keeping the strings too much in our hands
here at Ottawa, and not giving sufficient scope for the young
giant, for which I plead here to-day, to develop his limbs.
Now, it will be said to us, no doubt, you have got the
Mounted Police. So we have, and we are very glad to have
them; but elsewhere you have batteries, militia, and military schools, and we pay
for those just as well as you pay
for the Mounted Police; and before you know where you
are, I believe in the next five years, you will find
we shall have a population in those Territories which
will be subscribing to your military schools, and
batteries, and militia just as much as you are subscribing to the North West Mounted
Police. And remember that in any case the cost of defence would
fall on the Federal Government; so that you cannot fairly
make anything of our having the Mounted Police. The
feeling amongst the people, and especially amongst the
members of this assembly, who now represent the people,
is in favor of full responsible government. Now, I am not
going to use the rhetorical language we sometimes hear in
this House, and which I always regret to hear, used by men
who should speak with the balance and restraint of statesmen.
Mr. DAVIN. My hon. friend from Simcoe says "hear,
hear," but if he was rightly reported in a speech that he
made not far from here, he himself fell into this same
rhetorical exaggeration. We sometimes hear it said in this
House, that we are not free unless we have the right to
make our own treaties. My hon. friend was reported as
having said that we were not free unless we were represented in the Imperial Parliament,
and took up our full
share of Imperial responsibility. Of course when the noun
"freedom" or the adjective "free" is used in this manner,
it is used in a purely rhetorical sense and not in the broad
signifcation, in which constitutional writers use it.
When people speak properly of being free, what they mean
is that their liberty cannot be interfered with, without their
being tried before their peers, that they are not taxed without representation. The
various ingredients of civil liberty
that we are familiar with, we have in the North-West, but
I do not think we have all the advantages that you have
here. We suffer there from some disabilities that you
do not suffer from, but I regard our position as a free
and liberal condition. Every man can there speak the
thing he will. I believe the North-West Territories will
develop at a rapid rate. I see by the report of the Minister of Interior that a far
larger number of homesteads
were taken up last year than the year before. In 1886,
294,960 acres in homesteads were taken up; in 1887,
319,500; in 1888, 420,333. From that you see the progressive rate of increase at which
homesteads have been
taken up. Now, with the crop we had last year and the
report of that crop going all over the world—for we have
had visits from men from every part of the world—I believe
you will find that next year, instead of 420,000 acres being
taken up, that number will be greatly increased. I believe
that certainly 700,000 or 800,000 acres in homesteads will
be taken up, and the increase will go on at the same
rate. There are many documents to which I might
refer to show the progress made by the North-West.
I have not said one word about what the committee of
Senator Schultz, now Lieutenant Governor, showed we
possessed in the Mackenzie River Basin; and in the present
report of the Interior Department, I see that Mr. Burgess
refers in glowing terms to the Yukon River district. Take
the report of two years back in which there is an account
given of the Yukon River, and you will find that men make
as much as $500 a day mining gold in that district. They
have made $300 and $350, and some $500 in one day. I do
not say that happened as a general thing, but still it shows
the value of that region. In the North-West Territories we
have a large area of prairie land, most fertile and most
abundant in its yield; we have gold, iron, coal, all the fruits
of the earth, the forest, and the finest cattle raising country
in the world. I say that there is the place that the means
will be found to make this country a great and contented
nation. I always regret when, in regard to this country,
anything like sectional feeling, arising from race or religion
or from any other source, is developed; and it is a great
consolation to me to know that up in the North-West, we
are freer than in any other part of Canada from those prejudices of race and religion
which are really more inimical
to our progress than anything else. I desire to see this
great Canada of ours peopled with French, English, Scotch,
Irish, Germans—and in the North-West we have Germans
whose settlements are perfect wonders as evidences of
what can be done by thrift and energy—I desire to see all
these elements moulded into one nation. What I hope to see
and what we ought to aim at—French, English, Irish and
Scotch—and it will come some day, is to have a United
1889.
COMMONS DEBATES. 357
Canada with a Canadian race inhabiting it, and I should
like very much to say a few words especially to my Â
French Canadian friends about the North West.
Mr.DAVIN. If the House will bear with me, since
some of my French Canadian friends desire it, I will
say a few words to them in their language, though I do
so with a great deal of diffidence.
Je prétends, M. l'Orateur, qu'il est du devoir des Ecossais, des Irlandais, des Français
et des Anglais de se fusionner pour former ici une race canadienne. Nous formerons
ainsi une race plus grande que celle des Allemands, plus grande que celle des Celtes,
plus grande que celle des Anglo-Saxons ; une race qui réunira au jugement, à l'abnégation,
à la discipline, à la sincérité du Saxon, la vivacité d'esprit, le goût des arts,
le génie, l'ardeur, la puissance créatrice du Celte. J'espère que nous verrons cette
race se développer en grandeur héroïque et recevoir du Nord-Ouest une inspiration
de pouvoirs magnifiques.
Je me bornerai à dire en ce moment aux Canadiens- Français d'imiter l'exemple de leurs
pères dont les faits et
gestes dans le passé au Nord-Ouest sont dignes d'une admiration spéciale. Connaissons-nous
nous-mĂŞmes, rendons-nous
compte de notre position, et prenons les moyens de fonder
ici une nation canadienne. Et, M. l'Orateur, lorsque viendra
le jour oĂą nous aurons dans le Nord-Ouest une population
plus considérable que dans les provinces d'Ontario et de
Québec, lorsque le Nord-Ouest comptera au delà de 10,000,000 d'habitants, nous pourrons
braver les contempteurs,
les insulteurs et les intrigants, et peut-ĂŞtre adresser aux
Wiman et autres les mots magnifiques qui s'Ă©chappent de
l'âme du Cid quand il apprend que Chimène peut devenir 1e
prix de sa valeur :—
"Est-i1 quelqu'ennemi qu'à présent je ne dompte ?
Paraissez Navarrois, Macres et Castillans,
Et tout ce que l'Espagne a nourri de vaillants.
Unissez-vous ensemble, et faites une armée,
Pour combattre ma main de la sorte animée.
Joignez tous vos efforts contre un espoir si doux ;
Pour en venir Ă bout, c'est trop peu que de vous."
What I have been saying in French, I can repeat in
English in a word or two. I was emphasising the fact, that
we should make ourselves here a patriotic people, and that
instead of trying to emphasise the angles of difference that
divide us, we should try to pare away the angles, so that
by-and-by we might become one Canadian peeple, because
we have the finest country in the world, and, when we
have a larger population, with sentiments such as I have
indicated pervading them, there is no power in the world
that could affect us, but we could stand four square against
all the blasts that blow. That is the best free translation
that I can give of the magnificent words that Corneille puts
in the mouth of the Cid.
Mr. CHARLTON. I will endeavor to say a few words
on this subject before six o'clock. I am very much pleased
that the member for West Assiniboia (Mr. Davin) has
brought up the question of the proper policy to be pursued
by the Government in regard to the settlement of our vast
domain in the North-West.
Sir JOHN A. MACDONALD There will probably be
an interesting discussion on this subject, and, as it cannot
go on after six o'clock, I would suggest that it had better
stand over.
It being Six o'clock, the Speaker left the Chair.
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