PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
175
[...]
WEDNESDAY, April 6.
Confederation.
Debate on Despatches resumed.
Hon. the Speaker said the question
under discussion was an important one,
and therefore required to be dispassionately considered by each hon. gentleman
on that committee. But when he (the
Speaker) looked around that chamber,
and saw that empty chair, once so ably,
—yes, so nobly, occupied by a gentleman
whose exertions on behalf of the inhabi
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
176
tants of this Island, in maturing measures
for their welfare, had so hardened his
over-taxed mind, that he had been forced
to seek rest and repose by withdrawing
to another colony. When he (Mr. S.)
thought of the labors of that man for
his country, and of the effects they had
had upon his once active and powerful
mind, he could not but feel how saw was
the
fate of mankind. How often had
hon. gentlemen seen him uniting with
them in sending home faithful accounts
of the grievance of the colony to the
Colonial office, and in return receiving
nothing but the cold and chilling winds
of Downing Street. And now what did
they see? Just this, that grievances
so justly complained of, were by these in
authority there, transferred to a neighboring colony to be redressed by its
government. No doubt the people
wished to know the opinion of their
representatives upon the question as it
was now presented. He cordially approved of the proceedings taken by the
constituencies in calling meetings in the
different districts, and inviting their
representatives to attend and discuss the
question of confederation before assembling in the legislature, and warning
them not to surrender to a separate
country and a separate legislature, the
liberties and properties of eighty or
ninety thousand inhabitants of Prince
Edward Island, who delegated them
here to defend, but not to destroy the
constitution. The hon. leader of the
government, in his speech, drew attention of the union of Ireland and Scotland
with England, and he (Mr. S.) knew that
some of Ireland's ablest statesmen, and
other able men also, had in their speeches
shown, that under the adminstration of
Castlereagh, Ireland had received unjust
treatment; and that undue influences
were brought to bea rupon her public
men when they gave up their parliament. And no reform that had yet been
introduced, or that could be carried,
would fully satisfy that people, until
their parliament was again established
on College Green, as that was the grand
aspiration which moved the hearts of
the people on that "sea girt Isle." In
reading a speech of the great Irish Liberator—the great O'Connel—he could not
fall ot notice the force contained in the
words used and the statements made by
that great man, when he said, that Great
Britain had nineteen colonies, each one
of which had a distinct and separate
legislature, while Ireland with a popula
tion greater than them all had none!
The hon. and learned member, the leader
of the opposition, in his speech, entered
into the history of the union of Scotland
with England, and gave a lucid and
flattering account of its results; but he
(Mr. S.) could assure his hon. friend
that many a day had passed over the
heads of the Scottish people before they
became reconciled ot that union. Trade
and commerce, however, gradually allayed a feeling which was very keenly
felt by all classes in that country.
Through her representatives, Scotland
had been able to make her influences felt
in the Imperial Parliament; but the
benefits resulting therefrom, she owed,
not to the union, but to the wisdom and
energy so characteristic of her sons. He
saw no occasion now, to go so far away
to look for information bearing upon the
question, or for dwelling upon scenes
which were removed such a distance
from us in the past, upon which to place
our attention for the purpose of considering the results which confederation with
the Dominion of Canada would probably
produce in this Colony. We had but to
go to Nova Scotia, observe the change
which had taken place in the feelings of
that province, and notice the discontent
pervading the minds of the people.
New Brunswick also, which, of its own
free will and accord, nailed with Canada,
complained now that their wants were
neglected, and their interests overlooked
by the authorities at Ottawa; and with
the discontent pervading Nova Scotia
and New Brunswick, he had to connect
the difficulties existing at Red River,
and he thought when all these were fairly considered, no difficulty would be
found in arriving at the conclusion that
the duty of this Island was to remain as
it was and that hon. committee, he was
sure, would endorse that opinion also.
Th ehon. member for Murray Harbor,
(Mr. Henderson) showed very clearly last
night, how Nova Scotia had been treated
and betrayed by her public man, and he
had no doubt but that our people were
determined that their public men should
not have an opportunity to betray them.
He hoped the public men of this ISland
would never do an act which should cast
that dark stain upon their public character,
which must ever be associated with that of
some of those members of Parliament, in
Nova Scotia, who betrayed so shamefully
the confidence of the people, in voting
away the constitution of their country
without the knowledge or concurrence of
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
177
their constituents, and yet some of them
had the audacity to say in London, that
the question had been submitted ot the
people at the polls! At the present moment, those of them in the neighboring
Province of New Brunswick, who voted
themselves into union. were now as anxious
to sever the connection, as those on this
ISland were to keep free from a political
Union with the Dominion; and he (Mr. S.)
hoped the day was far distant when this
colony would enter into such a connection.
This colony was now in a happy and independent position. Her people were free
from any trouble or turmoil. It was not
so with the Dominion. We had an intelligent population. Our government
was faithfully and satisfactorily attending
to the interests of the country and our
people were thankful that they had representatives so able and faithful, and so long
as such would continue, he wa satisfied
there would never be any desire to go into
confederation. The people acted wisely in
holding meetings before the Legislature
met, to notice th action of the Ottawa
government, and warn the public men of
the displeasure and results which would
follow if they presumed to betray their
trust. The people had been warned by
what took place in Nova Scotia. But he
thought the Legislature of Prince Edward
Island would never be guided by so degrading a sentiment as to do such an act as was
perpetrated in Nova Scotia. With respect
to the despatches which had been sent to
the government of this ISland from Canada, and the offer therein made, he thought
our government had acted wisely in stating
that Great Britain should first set the example of rectifying the wrong done to this
colony herself. Well did he recollect how
a man who had been sent there on a mission, bad at one time romised more good
measures, and beneficial results theiefrom,
than any other seven did, yet when with
our representations he a peared at the
home office at. Downing treet, how summarily were they disposed of Great Britain,
instead of looking fairly at the duty
which. it owed to this Island, transferred
our claim, to be disposed of by another
colony, and had asks it to pay us what.
should be paid by herself! According to
the last despatch, we must not say any
more about our claim. Well! all he would
say was, the people of this colony were as
loyal as any under the British flag. No
eople could be found who were more so.
But if Britain began to use force, he was
afraid their loyalty would soon cool. He
trusted, therefore, that the argument of
force would never be resorted to. He
observed some time ago, that an editor of
one of the papers of 'the city, stated that
be (Mr. S.) had on a previous occasion,
made an erroneous statement. He did nothing of the kind. For he had distinctly
stated that his references applied to our
trade with Canada. proper, and took his
information from the Custom House returns, and had stated that in 1868, our
imports from Canada proper were ÂŁ29,486,
and our exports to the same place were
but ÂŁ1,093, and wodld again ask where the
balance came from which met that debt?
They took none of our produce, nor did
our shipbuilders find a market in ports of
Canada proper, for any of the vessels they
built. Of course it was not. so with New
Brunswick, which purchased largel from
the shippers of this colony; but in Halifax,
our trade thirty years ago, was better than
it was now, He recollected also when we
had to sell our vessels and produce in Newfoundland, to obtain money to ay bills
contracted in Nova Scotia. Therefore
when he spoke on the occasion referred to,
he referred to Canada proper. His statements had been misrepresented. He
knew the people of this Island had no
desire to unite with Canada in apolitical
alliance. lt had been said that Canada
was, this year, going to buy our pork.
Admitting such to be the case, twenty
years might pass away before such would
happen again. Our position, politically,
was far better now than it could ever be
were we in the Dominion. We were willing
to trade with them, but anything further
was not desired, and he hoped we had
heard the last about a union with the great
Dominion of Canada.
Mr. MCNEILL.—This subject had been
pretty well ventilated by hon. gentlemen
who prrcedcd him, and as he did not expect
to advance anything new, he would not
then address that committee were it not
that since the question had been debated
in reply to the speech of his honor the
Administrator at the opening of the session,
another despatch had been laid on the
table. He would therefore offer a few
remarks, but would not trouble the chairman to read the despatch, as he supposed
hon. gentlemen recollected its contents;
and as they were pretty well accustomed
to such despatches, he did not think its
tone and tenor surprised any one; but he
might inform Earl Granville—if the voice
of one of the representatives of little P. E.
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
178
Island, could reach his illustrious ear—that
the wrong complained of in the minute of
Council, had been already acknowledged
by one of his Lordship's predecessors in the
colonial office—Lord Stanley, a statesman
quite as talented, and of greater colonial
experience. Lord Stanley did not hesitate
to state in his place in the House of Commons, that the Imperial Government had
done a wrong to this colony ; and although
it had been said that the demand for its
redress by Great Britain need not be repeated, yet he (Mr. McNeill) knew, should
unreasonable claims be again made upon
this Island, that the Home government
would be reminded of the injury it had
inflicted upon this country. No doubt the
people, as the hon. Speaker had observed,
were anxious about the question before the
committee. Nor was it a matter of surprise
that as intelligent people should take such
a deep interest in it, when they considered
that thte action taken upon the matter, if
in favor of confederation, was so important
as to embrace the giving up of our free
constitution, which, once surrendered, could
never be recovered again. It had been said
that isolation was played out, but no proof
had been adduced to show that such was
the case. It was certain, isolation had not
so far injured the Island, for had it entered
into confederation on the basis of the
Quebec Scheme, the people would be in a
far worse position to-day than they were.
He would not go into figures. But from
such statistics as he had seen, he thought
there was room to believe the statements
made might be a few thousand pounds
astray on either side. But he did not view
the question from a financial stand-point,
but thought, that after this colony had
overcome so many difficulties, managed its
affairs not only as well, but better than the
other Provinces, and held its own so successfully, it would be very unwise to give
up on our constitution, which was not obtained
without a struggle. This Island was separated from the Province of Nova Scotia at
the instance of the proprietors, for their
own selfish purposes, and now the remnant
of those of them who were left, as if pursuing the people with an undying hatred,
now wished to hand-cuff the colony on to
the Dominion again ! The advocates of
confederation said Canada would not impose upon this Island in any way, or legislate
in a manner adverse to its interests ;
and in support of their arguments pointed
to Rhode Island, which received as much
justice from the Federal government of the
United States as any other state in the
Union ; but judging from what was now
occurring in the other provinces, he concluded such would not long be the experience
of this Island if it went into the
union. The people of New Brunswick now
complained that their rights and privileges
were completely overlooked, as might he
seen from the following extract from the
St. John
Telegraph, a stormy confederate
journal, which, after enumerating several
grievances, to which it referred, and pointing out reforms that were expected, added
:
"But the fact is far otherwise. The number
of departments in the Government is unnecessarily large, as "the noble army" of employees
at Ottawa is decidedly formidable. It is safe to
say that many of them are not very fully employed."
On this Island we had two tests of public
opinion—the press and public meetings.
And so long as the press was free and uncorrupted, there would be no danger. It
had not been so, however, in Nova Scotia,
where it was well known that the press
had been subsidized, and instead of speaking out the sentiments of Nova Scotia,
it gave utterance to those of the government at Ottawa. And now, when he saw
so many well-informed people here, as in
that province, still protesting against the
union, he could not but believe that they
were right. One of the public men of
Nova Scotia had undoubtedly deceived
Mr. Bright by inducing him to believe the
question had been submitted to the people
at the polls, otherwise that gentleman
would not afterwards have gone with eitghty
other members of the House of Commons,
into the lobby, for a rehearing of the case
of Nova Scotia. There was not much doubt
that the delegate from that province acted
the part of a deceiver ; nor would this surprise any one who recollected the antecedents
of an individual who had once deceived an unprotected female, who confided
in his honor ! A man who could thus act,
would not scruple to betray his country.
That statement he saw in print, and mentioned it merely to show that vice was progressive.
That circumstances might be
regarded as a small matter by some hon.
gentlemen, but it had great weight with
him, (Mr. McNeill) as it showed the character of one who played so prominent a
part in betraying his country, and deceiving British statesmen. There were few
public men for whom he entertained more
respected than the hon. the leader of the
Opposition, who, he felt satisfied, would
never consent to place this Island in confederation, unless the terms had been submitted
and approved of by the people at
the polls ; but he noticed that on a former
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
179
occasion, the leader of the Opposition, in
referring to what the Legislature of Scotland, Ireland and Jamaica had done, and to
the passing of the Septennial Act, undertook
to justify and show the legality of the
manner in which union had been carried in
Nova Scotia. The Septennial Act, however
arbitrary, did not take away from the people of England their constitution ; it only
checked for three years the expression of
public opinion ; nor did the statesmen of
that day ever claim the right of handing
over that kingdom to France, or any foreign
country, or taking away from Parliament a
power which a succeeding Parliament could
not reassert? Was Nova Scotia in that
position to-day? or would this Island be
in that position if it was legislated into the
Dominion without consulting the people?
Jamaica was a crown colony. They had a
good deal of trouble there in 1864. Some
of the members of its Legislature were
emancipated slaves, or their descenddents,
against whom a strong prejudice existed
among the white planters. Taking advantage, therefore, of the disturbance in the
colony, the Legislature abandoned its functions to get rid of the negro element. As
to
Ireland, the men who represented her when
the union was effected, had not been elected
to vote away the constitution of their country, and though he (Mr. McNeill) was not
in favor of length quotations, yet he would
read a short extract to prove that the measure was carried by the basest of means.
Sir Jonah Barrington, who knew what took
place at that time. says :—
"The grand and fundamental point, which
was then urged, reasoned upon, and which never
has, and never can be refuted, was the incompetence of Parliament to betray its trust."
and it was that grievance—that unconstitutional act, which had caused most of the
trouble which had since arise in Ireland.
The same writer adds further :—
"Whilst the first elements of the British constitution exist, that principle is its
surest protection ; the entire incompetence of representatives elected by the people,
as their delegate
trustees, to represent them in the great national
inquest, and as such trustees and guardians, to
preserve the rights and constitution so entrusted
to them, inviolate ; and at the expiration of the
term of that trust, deliver back their trust to
their constituents as they received is, to be replaced in their own hands, or of any
other trustees,
for another term. But they had, and could have
no power to betray their trust corrupt it to their
own corrupt purposes, or transfer the most valuable of all funds, an independent constitution,
the integrity of which they become trustees
solely for the purpose of protecting."
That, he (Mr. McN.) thought, carried rea
son with it, as it went to prove that all the
power parliament had was that derived from
the people, who elected its members under a
constitution clearly defined; and before any
parliament undertook to alter the constitution under which its members were, or had
been, elected it should dissolve, and submit so important a matter to the people.
He contended that parliament had no more
a legal, or constitutional, right to destroy
itself, than an individual had to commit
suicide ; and in support of his position he
would read the following from Lord Chancellor Plunkett, who, addressing the Speaker
of the Irish House of Commons, said :—
"Sir, I, in the most express terms, deny the
competency of Parliament to do this act. I
warn you, do not dare to lay your hand on the
constitution. I tell you that if, circumstanced
as you are, you pass this act, it will be a mere
nullity, and no man in Ireland will be bound to
obey it. I make the assertion deliberately. I
respect it. I call any man who hears me, to
take down my words. You have not been elected
for this purpose. You are appointed to make
laws, and not Legislatures ; you are appointed to
exercise the functions of legislators, and not to
transfer them ; you are appointed to act under
the constitution, and not to alter it ; and if you
do so, your act is a dissolution of the government ; you resolve society into its
original elements. and no man in the land is bound to obey
you."
Whatever sympathy he (Mr. McN.) might
have for the unfortunate individual, who,
bereft of reason, destroyed himself, and
was buried, as in olden times, at a cross
road, with a stake through his grave, he
was utterly at a loss for language to describe the abhorrence in which men should
be held who would unite to vote away the
Parliament of their country. Such men
should be held in execration for all time to
come. He saw no reason why this Island
should unite with Canada. Our system of
government was so good as theirs ; they had
no privilege we did not enjoy, and certainly
in common school education we were in
advance of the Dominion. Why then should
we think of giving up our constitution?
So long as we could manage our own affairs
so satisfactorily, and there was so much discontent int he neighboring Provinces,
we
should never harbor so suicidal an idea.
The hon. member for Charlottetown endeavored to prove that the progress of Scotland
was owing to her union with England.
Mr. BRECKEN.—I had said that Scotland
had prospered notwithstanding the union.
Mr. McNEILL.—Perhaps the remark fell
from the hon. leader of the Opposition.
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
180
Mr. McNEILL would not deny that;
but it was well known that Scotland
owed much of her success to those inherent qualities with which God had
endowed her sons, and it would be utterly unfair to assume, as had been done,
that Scotland, without her union with
England, would nor. have prospered. All
knew that the trouble between the two
countrieshad been caused by the frequent wars which took place between
them, and when " Prince Charlie" went
to Scotland the people thought hewould
be placed upon the throne of England.
It was about the succession, and not
about the repeal of the union that Scotland then contended. But that the Scotch
were dissatisfied with the union, a
quotation from a letter by their Poet
written as late as 1790, to his friend Mrs.
Dunlap, would prove. The patriotic
poet exclaimed:—
"Alas! have I often said to myself, what
are all the boasted advantages which my
country reaps from the union. that can counterbalance the annihilation of her independence,
and even of her name."
And in an article from "Tait's Magazine,"
in 1838, referring to Scottish legislation
before and since the union, he read
that:—
"In 1696 when the Kingdom was in a state
of quiet, we find that the Scotch Parliament
met at Edinhurgh on the 8th September, and
adjourned on thee 12th October, during which
46 acts were passed. What is not the least
remarkable part of the matter is, that the
whole 46 acts are contained in 48 small octodecimo pages. Nearly the whole of those
relating to the law, are to this day in force.
"The experience of a century and a half
having been able to add little or nothing to the
provisions. *** And all of them have not
given as much trouble in their interpretation
to our courts of law, short as they are, as the
Judicature Act, the Cessio Act, or any Act
relative to the law which has been passed
within the last quarter of a century."
"No one, we imagine, will be so absurd as
to pretend that the affairs of Scotland can be so
efficiently managed by a legislative body sittln
hundreds of miles from her territory, an
having the interests of an empire dispersed
over the whole face of the earth. and containin
more than 100,000,000 of human beings to attend
to, as by a Parliament meeting in Edinburgh.
The Imperial Parliament is, in truth, unfitted
for that department of legislation called local
and personal. Such legislation is best conducted on the spot, or as near as possible
to
the spot, which is to be effected. Witnesses
are then at hand; information can be got with
expedition and with little expense; the members of a local parliament can be dismissed
and
called together with little inconvenience. The
expense at present necessarily incurred for a
road, a barber, or a railway bill for Scotland is
intolerable. One thousand pounds a mile. even
in long lines. is not an exaggerated estimate
for the mere Parliamentary expense of obtaining the bill. * * *
"Then all matters relative to Scotland are
slurred over in the reports or the debates—first,
because the reporters think a Scotch Bill,
though vitally a acting Scotland, is of no public
importance; secondly, because they cannot
intelligibly report what they in general do not;
understand; and third, because Scotch business
is generally put off till past midnight, an hour
at which, except on extraordinary occasions,
the reporters, by a well organized combination
—Whig, Tory, and Radical reporters agreeing
on this point—retire from their labor.".
This showed how Scottish affairs were
managed in England since the union.
Nor did he doubt but that the hon member for Georgetown (Mr. McA.) recollected what
Burns said about Edinburgh.
"Edina, Scotia's darling seat,
All hail thy palaces and towers;
Where once neath a monarch's feet,
Sat legislation's sovereign powers."
That Burns expressed the general sentiment of the people, no one. he thought,
would deny. The loss oftheir Parliament
drew influential members of society out
of the country; they spent their incomes
away from home, and there could be no
doubt that this proved prejudicial to both
Ireland and Scotland. The nobility of
both countries removed to London, and
even the small proprietors followed their
example, and those on their estates were
therefore excluded from the consumption, in their own districts and among
themselves. of those fruits which their
own industry had created. These and
numerous other evils. which those countries complained of, he had no doubt
they might attribute to the absenteesim
attendant upon both unions. The people
of this island, aware of what occurred
in Nova Scotia, were looking forward
with some anxiety to the result of their
deliberations. and to the individual opinions of their representatives. The hon.
member for Charlottetown had been, with
respect to confederation, on the lence, but
had got clean over to the Confederate side
at last. He (Mr. McN.) had, in debate,
mentioned the name of Benedict Arnold,
but not in reference to the hon member
for Charlottetown (Mr. B.) He was
referring to any persons who would sell
their country for Canadian gold. If the
union was to prove cordial, It should not
be carried by bribery and corruption.
Great Britain, upon which we had a
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
181
claim, should have first settled that
claim, for if we accept the $800,000,
the colony might, in the union, find that
it would be a debt which it would never
be able to repay to the Dominion. The
hon member for Charlottetown, the other
evening, indulged in a tirade of invective
against some of his constituents, and
although he (Mr. McN.) did not come
there to defend the respectable mechanics
and merchants of Charlottetown, yet he
thought it was out of place for the hon
member to use the language he did, for
the large majority of his constituents
were opposed to confederation, and
having returned the hon. member as a
no-terms man, was it any wonder that
they should say in the language of Washington, when Arnold endeavored to betray
the West Point, "Who can we trust
next?" In listening to the hon. gentleman,
he thought his remarks were out of place,
when from the sublime to the ridiculous,
he soared to the upper story of that building where the stuffed owls were kept. He
(Mr. McN.) was not going to answer that
part of his speech, but in the words of the
Dunciade, would say, "Answer him ye
owls," and answer him, he had no doubt
they would. As a justification for his
change of views, he (Mr. B.) mentioned
Burke, but the hon. gentleman seemed to
forget that when Edmund Burke changed
his political opinions, he gave very good
reasons for so doing. He had great respect
for Mr. Fox, who, for about eighteen years,
led that talented opposition in the House
of Commons, and who, when the revolution arose, thought it was going to give
more freedom to the French people; but
when he saw that their best men were executed, and that a reign of terror ensued,
he exclaimed, "Oh! bloody, ferocious,
cruel democracy;" and in referring to his
friend, Mr. Fox, did not indulge in abuse
of those from whom he parted but said:
"I have indeed made a great sacrifice. I
have save dmy conscience, but I have lost
my friend." The hon. member (Mr. McN.)
also quoted what Sir Robert Peel said to his
constituents at Teignmouth, in reference to
the principles of free trade, which he
characterized as the principles of common
sense. Free Trade was then demanded by
the nation. The arguments of the anti
corn law advocates convinced Peel that he
was wrong, and that they were right.
Convinced in his own mind, he reversed his
policy, and gave the people cheap bread.
Did the hon. member for Charlottetown
stand in a similar position? The protectionists agreed that if free trade was car
ried, England would go to ruin; or, to use
the words of Disraeli on that occasion:—
"England, without her agriculture, would
fall like the Tyrian die and crumble into
pieces like the Venetian Palaces. The
free traders admitted that the landed interests might suffer, but argued that it was
the duty of Parliament to legislate for the
man, and not for the few. But the result had shown that if England never had a
corn law, her people would never have
thought one was required. It had been
said, by some hon. gentlemen, as he already observed, that isolation was played
out, and that this Island must cast in its
lot with the other provinces. The treatment of this Island had always been exceptional;
its lands were given away; it
was separated from Nova Scotia to please
the landed proprietors, and now there was
hardly one of the proprietary party who
did not wish to tack us on the Dominion again. That Great Britain would force
the people of this colony against their wills
to unite with Canada, he did not believe
and, therefore, our position wholly depended upon ourselves. The hon. leader of the
Opoosition was an anti, previous to his going to Quebec in 1864, but since then he
was in favor of a union, and he (Mr. McN.)
believed he was conscientious in the course
he was pursuing. But he was utterly at a
loss ot understand what had come over the
hon. member for Charlottetown. He
thought the hon. member must have had a
pleasant dream, and fancied himself in the
legislative halls of the Dominion, with that
musical voice of his pleading the cause of
little Prince Edward Island; or imagined
that he had arrived at the summit of the
ambition of a gentleman of the long robe,
clothed in the ermine of a judge, on the
bench at Ottawa. But he (Mr. McN.) did
not think the hon. leader of the Opposition was dreaming; he believed that hon.
gentleman was in earnest, but hoped he
would yet alter his opinion. No doubt the
hon. gentleman thought the anti-confederates were slow coaches, and that confederation
was progress, but such was not the
case; confederation was a retrograde movement. The people of this Island fought a
hard battle before they obtained self-government, and it would not be progress to
go into union with Canada, and thus deprive themselves of that constitution. Still,
he was inclined to think, neither of the hon.
members would act as the representatives
of Nova Scotia had done, when they voted
away their independence without the knowledge of their constituents. He was sure
the hon. the leader of the Opposition would
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
182
not, nor did he think the hon. member for
Charlottetown would either. He would be
sorry to see the country deprived of the
services of the hon. leader of the Opposition,
for since he (Mr. McN.) had the honor of
a seat in that House, he observed that the
hon. gentleman did what he could to forward the business of the country; and although
they might not meet again in that
legislative hall, yet he felt it was due to
the hon. gentleman to say, there was something very fair about him in debate. But
when he saw him pursuing a line of policy,
which he regarded as ruinous to the country-yes, for if confederation was carried
out, it would make a wreck of this Island- he (Mr. McN.) would be derelict in the
duty he owed to his constituents, if he did
not raise his voice against anything, and
everything, which would produce so disastrous a result.
Mr. BRECKEN. - The hon. member (Mr.
McN.) had made allusion to him; he had
first rubbed him (Mr. B.) down and then
flattered him up. He had always compliments for the leader of the Opposition,
but none for the member for Charlottetown. Why, he would ask, did the hon.
member for Cavendish direct all his
remarks to him, and compare him to a
Benedict Arnold? There were others to
whom he might as properly have applied
the comparison as to him, (Mr. B.).
The hon. member was a supporter of the
present government. Why did he not
also include in his remarks his own leader, the premier of the colony, Hon. Mr.
Haythorne, who was a confederate, and
not by any means a no-terms man? That
hon. gentleman believe that terms might
be offered which could be accepted.
Why not take him up on this point? He
(Mr. B.) would never consent to the
Island going into confederation until the
people agreed to it, but what did Hon.
Mr. Haythorne say:-
"That he had opposed the Quebec scheme,
which he considered unfair to the people of the
Island, but that he was not, nevertheless, a no- terms man; that he anticipated a
time when
proposals of a union of this Island with Canada
might be entertained."
Would the hon. member for Cavendish
say, that for uttering these remarks, he
would take his leader and drive a political stake through his body? (Laughter.)
Like the hon. member for Murray Harbor, the last speaker had taken up a line
of argument to show that the legislature
of Nova Scotia had not the power to
legislate the country into union without
the consent of the people. He (Mr. B.)
would say that such legislation was a
high-handed act, yet it had been done.
But what had that to do with the question here? The few extracts which the
hon. member (Mr. McNeill) had read were
just about as much out of place in this
discussion, as would be quotations
from Jack the Giant Killer. He said
he (Mr. B.) had compared himself to
Burke; but he, (Mr. B.) had done
nothing of the kind. He had read
from that author, but as well might the
young lawyer who read an extract from
Mansfield be said to be comparing himself to the eminent jurist, as he (Mr. B.)
be charged with putting himself in the
same category with Burke. The hon.
member had also accused him of speaking savagely against his own constituents.
This was another fabrication. He (Mr.
B.) had uttered nothing against them;
he had only condemned the action of
some anonymous scribbler who had said
that he should be silent. But he would
now turn his attention to the Queen's
Printer. (Hear, hear, form Mr. Howlan).
Yes, the hon. member might say "hear,"
but he as leader of the Government was
responsible for the setniments of the
Queen's Printer. Now, that hon. member (Mr. Reilly) had said in his speech
last night that accepting union with
Canada, on what was known as the
"Better Terms," would be practically
taxation without representation. That
was all very well now, but he (Mr. B.)
knew that the Queen's Printer had advocated confederation. On the hustings
last summer, when the hon. Colonial
Secretary was re-elected, the hon. member for St. Peter's uttered something very
like confederate sentiments. Besides, he
published a newspaper, the Herald, and
he (Mr. B.) would read an extract or two
therefrom to show what were the hon.
member's real sentiments:
"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 securing to this Island the very best terms
that can possibly be obtained."
Now place that extract alongside of the
hon. member's expressions last night,
and see what could be thought of his
consistency.
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
183
Mr. REILLY.- Let the hon. member
read the whole article.
Mr. BRECKEN would read what suited,
and he would give further extracts from
other numbers of the
Herald:-
"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."
"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."
Mr. REILLY.- Let the hon. member
read from the
Herald; what he held in
his hand was not the
Herald.
Mr. BRECKEN.- Let the hon. member
keep cool, and he would read from the
Herald of 12th January last:-
"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."
This was strong language, and after
what the hon. member had said last
night, he (Mr. B.) was almost afraid that
something must be wrong with his (Mr.
B.'s) spectacles. (Applause.) He would
read it again, in case he had been mistaken. [Hon. member re-read extract.]
No, there it was, and to what after this
should be (Mr. B.) compare the Queen's
Printer? Last night union on the better
terms would be tyranny-virtually taxation without representation, and a few
weeks ago he said an opportunity was
lost at Quebec which, if judiciously used,
might have led to the happiest results. The
hon. member for St. Peter's could not evidently be named alongside of his talented
fellow countrymen, Grattan and Flood,
who contended manfully for the legislature of their country; he could only be
compared to a political hen, sitting on its
nest, and hatching its little political nest
egg. (Laughter.) He took up any phase
of the question, that would probably keep
him undisturbed in his comfortable emoluments. That he was a confederate in
sentiment could bee seen by the several
extracts which he (Mr. B.) had read from
the paper under his control, and if the
hon. member for Cavendish wished to
bury all such traitors at his political
cross-roads, he had better begin with Her
Majesty's Printer. The hon. member
from Wilmot Creek also-who was so
afraid of the swells and pedlers from
Canada,- had better look after [illegible] printer of his own government, who supported
it for the sake of office, and not
devote so much of his time to the hon.
member for Charlottetown, who was no
more a confederate than the hon. member for St. Peter's
Mr. REILLY claimed the right to reply to
the hon. member for the City, (Mr. Brecken)
as that hon. member had made a direct attack upon him, (Mr. R.). It was not the
first time the hon. member for the City had
made a political as well as a personal attack
upon him.
Mr. BRECKEN denied that he ever made a
personal attack upon any hon. member.
Mr. REILLY said that when he hon. member made personal attacks he always qualified them with
the word, political. He
(Mr. B.) was put forward as a sort of
political threshing machine, to thresh every
hon. member who gave an honest expression
of opinion. Some years ago that hon.
member had spoken in favor of no-terms,
but now he (Mr. R.) believed he was willing to take almost any terms, and many
of his constituents believed the same thing.
He (Mr. R.) was willing to abide by what
he did say, but it was dishonest for any
hon. member to cut out certain parts and
paragraphs of an article which might be
made to convey a very different meaning
from the whole article. The hon. member
(Mr. Brecken) had no right to bring up
matters connected with a newspaper, in
this House; if he would address himself to
the editor of the
Herald in the columns of
that paper, he would get a reply. He
(Mr. R.) was not responsible to the government for what appeared in the
Herald,
but only for the
Royal Gazette. The hon.
member (Mr. Brecken) had referred to the
Queen's Printer as sitting on his nest egg;
but when that hon. member (Mr. B.) sat
on the nest egg of the Attorney Generalship, without the consent of the people,
he, (Mr. R.) much as he despised him, had
never referred to the fact before.
Mr. BRECKEN said in reference to the
Attorney Generalship, he had never asked
for the office, but he had been appointed to
the office; and he held it at the time of his
election by the people of Charlottetown.
But where was the Attorney General
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
184
of the present government? The Conservatives had been told that they
mutilated responsible government by having
officials who were not members of the
legislature, but now the Liberals had no
Attorney General, and scarcely any other
officials, on the floor of the House. The
reason he (Mr. B.) had brought up the
Herald was because the editor of that
paper was conducted with a certain
amount of ability, and had some influence
in the country. The Ottawa
Citizen, in a
leading article on P. E. Island, had congratulated the confederates on having the
Queen's Printer in favor of confederation.
The Queen's Printer had accused him (Mr.
B.) of taking extracts from articles in his
paper, and leaving out what would materially alter the sense, but he would ask,
could anything qualify such statements as,
"The time has arrived when the Island
must state the terms on which they will
enter the Confederacy," and "It may be
better for us to make the best terms we
can now."
Mr. REILLY said it was a lawyer's trick
to bring forward extracts, without bringing
the whole article which would convey a very
different impression. The hon. member had
not the courage to produce the whole articles. He (Mr. R.) would defy any gentlemen
to prove that he had ever given his adhesion
to confederation on any terms. He (Mr.
R.) had never heard of a union being
brought about without bribery, and he
would tell the people of this Island to
beware.
Mr. CAMERON thought the hon. members who had spoken in favour of confederation, had still failed
to produce either
facts or arguments sufficiently strong to
prove that that scheme, if carried into effect, would be an advantage to this Island.
They had told the hon. committee that
Great Britain's desire expressed in Lord
Granville's despatch, was that we should
unite with Canada, which he admitted
to be correct; but he would ask, would
we be justified in sacrificing our own
real interests as a colony of the empire,
for the solo purpose of gratifying the
Imperial Government, or the Dominion
of Canada, in this matter, and more
especially as we had no evidence that
coercive means would or could ever be
resorted to to unite us? We were told
that in the event of a union, Canada
would become a market for our exports,
and great advantages would accrue from
having free trade with the Dominion; as
we would have no duties to pay, the necessity for Custom Houses would cease.
To this he would say, that even now we
had the privilege of regulating our tariff
so as to admit Canadian or other goods
duty free. And some articles of Dominion production, which were most in demand in
P. E. Island, were even now on
our free list. But as a revenue had to
be raised from whatever source it was
derived, he believed no special benefit
would arise from discriminating, as regarded tariff generally, in favor of the
Dominion. Whatever imports we received from the Dominion, would have
to be paid in money, instead of taking
our surplus produce in exchange. Her
climate and soil were similar to those of
our own Island. She could therefore
never afford a profitable market for our
exports, for her own supply would always meet her demands. The best markets for our
agricultural products and
fisheries, were found in the United
States, the West Indies and Great Britain, and from these countries we received in
exchange many articles which
it was quite certain Canada, from her
high latitude and limited manufactures,
could never produce. The import duties
of Canada - which were 15 per cent ad
valorem, and he had reason to believe
would soon be raised to 20 per cent,
would be extended to this Island if we
entered confederation. The effect of
such a change would seriously cripple
our commercial intercourse with other
countries, and injure our propserity
agriculturally, commercially and financially. The union of Scotland with
England in the reign of Queen Anne,
had been frequently referred to in the
debate, and the prosperity of the former
country was held up as being exclusively
the result of that union. While he admitted that some advantages to both
countries had arisen from it, inasmuch
as it brought to an end the rivalries and
hostilities formerly existing, he believed
the commercial propserity and literacy
genius of Scotland, might, in a great
measure be attributed to the progress of
the age in civilization, and the enterprise
and the intelligence of the inhabitants, which
manifested itself abroad as well as at
home. He (Mr. C.) might, with equal
force, assert that the national greatness
of the United States was due to the
separation of the thirteen original colonies from Great Britain. The arguments
in favor of the Scottish union, would
not, however, apply to P. E. Island, for
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
185
we were too far from Ottawa, the seat of
government, with which we could hold
no communication during half the year.
The isolated position in which the Island, by nature, existed, would prevent
us from deriving any benefit from the
railways, canals, and other public works
of Canada, while their construction
would necessarily involve an enormous
amount of taxation, a fortieth part of
which would have to be borne by us.
The federal government, in levying
those taxes, could resort to excise as well
as impost duties, as would be seen by
an extract from Mr. Galt's remarks, while
addressing his constituents in Canada
before the union of the other colonies.
He then said-
"The general government would also have the
power of regulating excise duties. The imposition of these duties was as necessary
as the imposition of the duties of customs, and the power
to impose the one must be given to the same
authority that exercised the power to impose the
other. That while the Lower Provinces had no
excise duties to any extent, they would have to
be subjected to the same regulations that were
established in Canada. In general terms, he
would state that the general government would
have the power of raising money by all thhe other
modes and systems of taxation, and there was
only one method left to the local governments,
which was direct taxation, if their own resources
became exhausted."
He (Mr. C.) felt quite sure that all this
would be in store for P. E. Island if she
threw in her destiny with that of the
Dominion, for our expenditure was
yearly increasing. The amount required
for our education and public highways
alone, would soon exceed our receipts
from the central government. Direct
taxation would then be inevitable. Sheer
necessity would oblige us to resort to
local assessments for the support of our
present Free Education, a policy of which
the hon. member for Charlottetown (Mr.
Brecken) always appeared to be an ardent
admirer, but which he (Mr. C.) thought,
would press heavily on our population,
while it would create the necessity of an
additional staff of officials as collectors.
Our system of education was perhaps
second to none in the British Provinces,
and our mode of providing for it the
least cumbersome that could be adopted.
That Canada was financially in a worse
position than ourselves was quite evident from the sentiments of her own
statesmen. The gentlemen from whome
he had already quoted had stated in his
place in the Canadian Legislature --
"That Canada standing alone had seen her
credit seriously impaired, but Confederation
would give us a much larger fund to pledge for
the security of the public creditor, as the Lower
Provinces were in a much better position."
It might suit the purposes of [illegible] confederate friends very well to say that
Canada was not anxious to get P. E.
Island, but he (Mr. C.) was of opinion
that the above extracts showed very
clearly the sentiments which promoted
her politicians. Such was their position
before the union of the Maritime Provinces, and now, like Pharaoh's lean kine,
they had eaten up those provinces and
were still craving for more. We were
told that the policy of representation
according to population, such as the
Dominion adopted, was the soundest in
the world, and that it was based on all
that was desirable in the constitutions of
Great Britain and of the United States.
But he would observe that on that principle, Scotland and the city of London
would be equally represented in the
British House of Commons, as their
populations were nearly the same. Instead of this being the case, however,
Scotland had 53 members, while London
had less than a third of that number.
And while the American system in the
house of representatives was adopted
by the Dominion of Canada in the
lower house, the constitution of the
senate was entirely different, for each
state in the American Republic was
represented by two senators, whose
tenure of office was confined to six years
without any respect to population or
extent of territory. The small state of
Rhode Island was thus on the same footing with New York, whose population
was twenty times as great. But in the
Dominion of Canada, while each of the
Uppoer Provinces had 24 members in
the senate, P. E. Island was only to be
allowed 4, who were to be appointed for
life by the Governor General in Council.
Each of the Canadas had thus as many
in the Uppoer House as all the Lower
Provinces put together. Besides, from
the manner of their appointment, they
were not responsible to the people whom
they represented. It would thus be clearly
seen that the constitution of the Dominion was not the best adapted, at least to
suit the circumstances of P. E. Island.
We were frequently told that isolation
was "played out" and that it was impossible for the Island to remain "out
in the cold" much longer. That if not
embodied in the Dominion it was sure
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
186
to fall in with some foreign power. But
he would remark that it had already
stood many years while its population
were fewer in number and its resources
much less developed than at present.
Besides, we had many instances of other
colonies existing in the same way, and
while Britain continued to protect us as
one of her dependencies, we had nothing
to fear in future, if left alone. But the
persistent desire on the part of Canada
to confederate British America against
the choice of the colonies, was calculated
to engender bitterness and disloyalty.
Nova Scotia was far from sastisfied. And
British Columbia had sent a memorial to
the President of the United States, from
which he would read some extracts, to
show that that colony, while professing
loyalty to Her Majesty's government,
was forced to seek annexation rather
than to be confederated with Canada.
The memorialists stated:—
"That those who are British subjects are
penetrated with the most profound feelings of
loyalty and devotion to her Majesty and her
government, and that all entertain for her feelings of the greatest attachment and
to the
country"
Such were the sentiments and most
probably would continue to be, if allowed to retain their position as a
colony. But the next paragraph showed
how they regarded the scheme of consolidation:—
"That we view with feelings of alarm the
avowed intention of Her Majesty's government
to confederate the colony with the Dominion of
Canada, as we believe such a measure can only
tend to further depression and ultimate injury,
for the following reasons, viz: Trust the confederation cannot give us protection
against internal
enemies or foreign fees, owing to the distance of
this colony from Ottawa; that it cannot open to
us a market for the produce of our lands, our
forcats, our mines or our waters."
He (Mr. C.) felt convinced that the
arguments set forth in the above extracts would equally apply to P. E.
Island. And if any thing approaching a
coercive policy was attempted the result
might be as serious. He would now
call attention to what the people of
British Columbia further added:—
"That our connection with the Dominion can
satisfy no sentiment of loyalty or devotion; that
her commercial and industrial interests are opposed to ours; that the tariff of the
Dominion
will be the ruin of our farmers and the commerce of our chief cities; that we are
instigated
by every sentiment of loyalty to Her Majesty by
an attachment to the laws and institutions of
Great Britain, and our deep interest in the prosperity of our adopted country, to
express our
opposition to a severance from England and a
confederation with Canada. We admit that the
Dominion may be organized by confederation
but we can see no benefit, either present or
future, which can accrue therefrom; that we
desire a market for our coal and lumber and our
fish, and this the Dominion seeks for the same
produce of her own sell. She can take nothing
from us and supply us nothing in return; that
confederating this colony with Canada may relieve the mother country from the trouble
and
expense of fostering and protecting this isolated
distance colony, but it cannot free us from our
long enduring depression owing to the lack of
population as aforesaid, and the continued want
of a home market for our produce."
The folly of attempting to force a people into a political alliance which they
were not prepared to acknowledge, was
strongly expressed in a declaration of
independence reccently issued by the
people of the North West Territory
which read as follows:—
"It is admitted by all men, as a fundamental
principle, that the public authority demands the
obedience and respect of all its subjects, it is
also admitted that the people to be governed
have the right to adopt or reject the form of
government. In accordance with these fundamental principles, the people of this country
have obeyed and respected that authority to
which the circumstances surrounding its infancy compelled it to be subjected. A company
of adventurers known as the Hudson Bay Company, and invvested with certain powers
granted
by his Majesty Charles the Second, established
itself in Rupert's Land and in the Northwest
Territory, for trading purposes only."
In that declaration they refuse to recognize th authority of Canada, which
they say harmed to have a right to
coerce them, and impose upon them a
form of government contrary to their
rights as British subjects.
Mr. CAMERON.—But he would tell the
hon. member that the documents from
which he quoted had originated elsewhere, as he (Mr. C.) stated, before finding their
way to the columbs of that
paper, which he believed did not by any
means misrepresent them, and they must
therefore be quite reliable. Those people had no communication iwth Canada,
and could not expect therefore to re
PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
187
ceive any benefit from a union. Much
had been said about the minute of
council adopted by the government in
reply to the proposals contained in the
report of the committee of the Privy
Council of Canada. But he thought that
document was cautiously worded, and
not open to the objections urged against
it, because it demanded a "settlement
of the land tenure, an indemnity from
the Imperial Government for loss of
territorial revenue," before the proposals
could be recommended to the people for
their
consideration, not their acceptance.
The Canadian proposals known as the
"better terms" stated:—
"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."
Now, what was more reasonable than to
test the assumption of the Dominion
government, as to what influence they
really could exercise at Downing Street
respecting our land question? But it
did not at all follow that we should
accept the terms of union, even if the
land grievance or any of the other objections stated in the minute of council
were redressed. The land question
stood on its own merits, and as such
demanded a settlement first, independent
of union. But we were told in Lord
Granville's last despatch never be acknowledged by the British government, notwithstanding
the boasted influence of
the Canadians.
The debated was then adjourned.
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