Public School History of England and Canada/Canada/Chapter 6
CHAPTER VI.
THE GROWTH OF RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT.
1. The Act of Union—1840.—The rebellion had failed because the Canadian people were loyal; nevertheless, it called the attention of the Home Government to the need of a change in the government of the Colony. The influence of Lord Durham’s report now began to be felt, and it was decided by the British Government to unite the two Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada under one Parliament. To bring this about, Charles Poulett Thompson was sent out as the Governor of Canada. No great difficulty was met with in Lower Canada, because the Lower Canadian Parliament had been suspended on account of the rebellion, and the Special Council that was acting in its place was quite willing to aid in bringing about the desired union. But the French were not quite so willing, for they feared the loss of their influence as a race. Their petitions against the union were not heeded, and the Council passed a strong resolution in favor of uniting the Provinces. In Upper Canada the Assembly was prepared to support the project, but the Family Compact which controlled the Legislative and Executive Councils did not like the idea of losing its power, and bitterly opposed the proposed measure. Mr. Thompson, with great tact and skill, made the Compact feel that the British Government was anxious for the change, and by appeals to their loyalty induced the members of the Legislative Council to pass a resolution in favor of Union. A Bill stating the terms of the Union was now drawn up, approved of by the Parliament of Upper Canada and the Council of Lower Canada, and sent to the Imperial Parliament to be made into a law. The Bill passed the British Parliament in 1840; but the Union did not take place till February, 1841.
“By the terms of the Union, Upper and Lower Canada were to have but one Parliament, composed of a Legislative Council with not less than twenty members appointed by the Crown for life, and a Legislative Assembly of eighty-four members—forty-two from each Province. The Executive Council was to consist of eight members, who were to be responsible to Parliament; that is, the Governor was instructed by the Home Government to choose his advisers from the political party having a majority in the Assembly. The Assembly was given the control of all the revenue; but had to make a permanent provision for the payment of judges and for other necessary expenses of government. The judges now became independent, like the judges in England, and could not be dismissed without good cause. Thus most of the demands of the people were conceded, although some years had to pass before Canada got a full measure of responsible government.
2. The Municipal Act of 1841.—For his services in bringinging about the Union Mr. Thompson was made a peer, with the title of Lord Sydenham. The first united Parliament met at Kingston in 1841, and it was found that the election, which followed the Union, had resulted in the two political parties being of nearly equal strength. Lord Sydenham tried to govern by means of an Executive Council composed of members of both parties; but the Reform element, finding it difficult to work harmoniously with their political opponents, resigned office, and the Government became a Conservative Government. Nevertheless, in spite of the difficulty experienced in working the new machinery, many important measures were passed the first session.
Of these the most important was the Municipal Act, which gave local self-government to the villages, towns, townships and counties of Upper Canada. The people of each municipality could now manage such matters as building roads, bridges, jails and court-houses, through men elected for that purpose, and who were called councillors in villages, towns and townships, and aldermen in cities. Other measures were the taking over of the Welland Canal as a government work, the placing of public works under the control of one of the members of the Executive Council or Ministry, and the encouragement of numerous enterprises for the development of the country. Unfortunately for Canada, Sydenham died from the effects of a fall from his horse, and one of the best and safest guides in political affairs Canada has ever had was removed, Sept. 19, 1841.
3. Sir Charles Metcalfe—The British Government that appointed Sydenham was a Liberal Government, but it had lost power, and a Conservative Government appointed his successor. This was Sir:Charles Bagot. He was a Conservative, but he pursued the same policy as Sydenham, and during his short term of office, he tried to carry out the principle of Responsible Government. He formed a new ministry, the principal members of which were Mr. Baldwin, Mr, Lafontaine and Mr. Francis Hincks. This was the first Reform Ministry of Canada. Bagot died in 1843, and was succeeded by Sir Charles Metcalfe, whose political experience had been gained in India and Jamaica. He was an able and upright man, but utterly unfit by his previous training for governing a colony where the people wished to manage their own affairs. He soon got into trouble with his Ministry and the Assembly. He claimed the right to make appointments to government offices, such as registrarships and shrievalties; but his advisers objected on the ground that they were responsible for all such appointments, and therefore, should recommend the persons to be appointed. As the Governor would not yield, Messrs. Baldwin and Lafontaine and all the members of the Executive Council, except one, resigned. For some time Metcalfe tried to govern without a ministry, as the Conservatives were not strong enough in the Assembly to form a Government. At length he succeeded in getting Mr. Draper to take office and form a Ministry, and then dissolved the Assembly and had anew election. In this election Sir Charles Metcalfe took an active part, and managed to get a small majority in favor of his Ministers and his policy. Soon after this, he asked to be recalled, on account of ill-health, and Earl Cathcart acted as Governor until Lord Elgin arrived in 1847.
4. Ashburton Treaty.— While Canada was thus slowly working out a free system of government some important events of another character had taken place. In 1842, England and the United States settled the boundary line between Maine and New Brunswick and between Canada and the United States as far west as the Lake of the Woods. .The map that showed the boundary decided upon in 1783 had been lost, and disputes had arisen about the line between the State of Maine and New Brunswick. After various fruitless efforts to get a satisfactory decision Lord Ashburton and Daniel Webster were appointed by the British and United States governments respectively to decide what was the right boundary line. The result of the negotiation was that Webster succeeded in getting for the United States the lion’s share of the disputed territory. The treaty gave seven thousand square miles to the United States and five thousand to New Brunswick. It fixed the forty-fifth parallel of latitude as the dividing line as far as the St. Lawrence, and then traced the line up that river, and through the great Lakes as far west as the Lake of the Woods. From that point-west the forty-ninth parrallel of latitude was to be the boundary to the Rocky Mountains. The treaty also had a clause providing for the sending back to their own country of escaped criminals accused of arson, forgery, piracy, robbery and murder. This is known as the first “Extradition Treaty.”
5. Educational Progress in Upper Canada.—More important than the Ashburton Treaty was the great change made in our Public School-system by Dr. Egerton Ryerson. In 1839 the Parliament of Upper Canada had set aside two hundred and fifty thousand acres of land for the endowment of grammar schools; but little provision had been made for the common or, as we now call them, the public schools. In 1841 Parliament granted two hundred thousand dollars a year for educational purposes; but three years later it repealed the Act. In 1844 Rev. Egerton Ryerson, a Methodist clergyman, who had taken an active part in journalism and. politics, was appointed Chief Superintendent of Education for Upper Canada. He at once began to lay broad and deep the foundations of our Public School system. He crossed the Atlantic many times to examine the schools of Scotland, England, Prussia, and other European nations, and wisely selected from each system what was best adapted to a new country. His scheme was submitted to’ Parliament in 1846, and its main features adopted. Later on, in 1850, it was improved; and from that time to the present our Public School system has undergone many changes, all of which were intended to make it as perfect as possible. The system now provides for the free education of every child at the expense of the public; and gives each locality or district a large measure of control over its own schools, subject to the inspection and oversight of the Government.
In the meantime some progress had been made in higher education. In 1841 Victoria University, at Cobourg, got its charter, and the same year Queen’s College, Kingston, was founded. Both these colleges were denominational— Victoria being connected with the Methodist body, and Queen’s with the Church of Scotland. King’s College, Toronto, had been founded as a Church of England institution, and put under the charge of Dr. Strachan. But the growing strength of other religious denominations soon compelled the adoption of a more liberal policy, and, in 1849, the University of Toronto (as it was now called) became a non-denominational institution and was opened to all classes of the people on the same easy terms. Dr. Strachan was not satisfied with the change, and at once took steps to establish a college under the control of the Anglican Church. The result of his efforts was the founding of Trinity University, Toronto, in 1853.
6. Lord Elgin’s Administration.—When Lord Elgin reached Canada he found a bitter party conflict going on. The Draper Administration was weak and tottering to its fall. Its opponents were led by Messrs. Baldwin and Lafontaine, and the country was disquieted by an agitation over the “Rebellion Losses Bill,” and by a demand from the more extreme Reformers for a different policy with regard to the Clergy Reserves. In 1840 a partial settlement had been made of the latter question by giving one half of the proceeds of the Reserves to the Church of England and the Church of Scotland, and the remaining half to the other religious denominations. This did not satisfy a large portion of the people, who thought the land should be sold, and the money received used for educational and other purposes. The other cause of disquiet, the Rebellion Losses Bill, was a measure intended to make good to the loyalists of Upper Canada the losses they had sustained by the rebellion of 1837-38. The Draper Government proposed to take the money received from certain taxes and pay the losses with it; but the members from Lower Canada demanded that the losses in Lower Canada should also be paid. An attempt was made in 1847 to satisfy the people of Lower Canada by voting a sum of money to the loyalists; but the amount was so small that it had no effect in quieting the agitation. In 1849 the Draper Government was defeated at the polls, and the famous Baldwin—Lafontaine Administration came into office.
The Rebellion Losses Bill was once more brought into Parliament—this time by a Reform Government. It was a more measure than that of the previous administration, and proposed to pay a large sum to the injured loyalists of Lower Canada. At once a great outcry was raised that rebels were to be paid as well as loyalists, and the country was wild with excitement. Nevertheless the Bill passed both Houses, and was assented to by Lord Elgin, who felt it his duty to act on the advice of the Government, supported as it was by a large majority of the members of Parliament. This course did not please the opponents of the bill, a number of whom were foolish enough, in their excitement, to cause riots in Montreal and Toronto. In the former city Parliament was in session, when an infuriated mob broke in, drove out the members and ended by setting the Parliament buildings on fire. The mob prevented all attempts at saving the contents, and a very valuable library containing documents of great importance was burned. Lord Elgin was pelted with stones and rotten eggs when driving through the city, and some of the leaders of the agitation, in their excitement, went so far as to talk openly of annexation to the United States. Lord Elgin asked to be recalled; but the Imperial Government commended his actions, and refused his request. As a consequence of this riot, Parliament met no more in Montreal, its sessions being held alternately every four years in Quebec and Toronto.
Soon after his arrival, 1847, Lord Elgin announced at the opening of Parliament that the duties in favour of British goods had been removed by the British Parliament, and that henceforth Canada would be free to place on goods coming into the country such duties as she wished. At the same time the Governor advised the building of a railroad from Halifax to Quebec. We shall find that it took many years to carry this proposal into effect. The same year saw a great immigration of people from Ireland, due to the terrible failure of the potato crop in that unhappy land. Thousands of ill-fed and ill-clad people were crowded into the vessels crossing the Atlantic, and, in consequence, fever and pestilence broke out in the ships. When they reached Canada this pestilence spread along the frontier and many people besides the poor immigrants died.
7. Commercial Progress.—Let us now see what the people of Canada had been doing since the Union in opening up the country and in acquiring wealth, We have already pointed out that for a long time Canada had few means of taking her products to distant markets, and was dependent on the boats that navigated her lakes and rivers. This state of things now began to change rapidly. The need of better means of carrying goods and the products of farm and shop to market led to the building of railroads through the more thickly settled parts of the country. The first line built was one between La Prairie and St. John’s in Lower Canada, which was opened for traffic in 1836. The first road begun in Upper Canada was the Northern Railway, the first sod of which was turned in 1851. Then came in rapid succession the Great Western and the Grand Trunk, the latter receiving from the Government important aid. These roads helped very much in opening up for settlement the north, west, and east of Canada, and made the farms of the settlers much more valuable. In 1852 the Municipal Loan Fund Act was passed, which gave the Government power to lend money to towns, villages, and other municipalities for local improvements, such as roads, bridges, and public buildings. The terms were very easy, and many municipalities got so heavily in debt that they were unable to pay back to the Government either principal or interest. There are many municipalities in Canada that yet feel the burden of a foolish extravagance at this time. Besides, there was in Canada, as elsewhere, a kind of railway craze, and a great deal of money was spent on roads that did not pay for their construction. Parliament was too free in making grants to railroads and other public works, and the result was that Canada began to have a heavy public debt, which has ever since been steadily growing. In 1851, another event of importance took place: the Canadian Government was given control of the Post-office, and immediately established a uniform rate of postage—threepence on every half-ounce—and, besides, introduced the use of postage stamps. Before this, when a letter was sent or received, postage had to be paid in money. In 1846 England adopted Free Trade as her policy, and a few years after threw open her markets to all countries on the same terms. For a time this injured Canadian farmers and producers, who had not as good means of carrying their products to English markets as the Americans. But with the building of railroads and the establishment of better lines of steamships the evil was lessened, and Canada prospered greatly, increasing rapidly in both wealth and population, This prosperity was partly due to a very important treaty made in 1854, through the tact and wisdom of Lord Elein. In that year Canada and the United States agreed upon a Reciprocity Treaty, by which the products of the sea, the farm, the mine, and the forest could be freely exchanged. The United States obtained the right to fish in many of Canada’s waters, and the use of the St. Lawrence and Canadian canals; while Canada, in return, was given the right to navigate Lake Michigan. The treaty was to continue ten years from March, 1855, and after that could’ be ended by twelve months’ notice from either party.
8. The Clergy Reserves and Seignorial Tenure.—Meanwhile, political agitation was going on over two burning questions. One was the old grievance of the Clergy Reserves, which the Baldwin-Lafontaine Administration hoped had been settled in 1840. But a strong and growing body of the more radical Reformers, led by George Brown, the editor and manager of the Globe, a powerful political newspaper, wished to take the reserves away from the denominations and use them for the general good of the Province. The other question, that of Seignorial Tenure, was one of great interest to the people of Lower Canada. It was seen that holding land under the old French system of feudal tenure was a great hindrance to the prosperity of the farmers of that Province; the services and payments by the peasants to the ‘‘seigneurs” having become a grievous burden as the Province became better settled and the land more valuable. It was found impossible to dispose of one question without dealing with the other; so in 1854, the Reform Government of Mr. Hincks having been defeated by the temporary union of the extreme wing of the Reformers with the Conservatives, the new Conservative Ministry of Sir Allan McNab, brought in two bills; the one to divide the Clergy Reserves among the different municipalities of Upper Canada according to population, the proceeds to be used by them for local improvements or for educational purposes; the other, to abolish Seignorial Tenure, and to. allow the land in Lower Canada to be held by the people as frecholds. In both cases compensation was made by Parliament for the losses the clergy and the seigneurs suffered by the change. In this way two grievances of long standing were happily removed, and the last link uniting Church and State in Upper Canada was broken. Two other political changes must be noted. In 1853, the population having increased greatly since the Union, the number of members of the Legislative Assembly was increased from eighty-four to one hundred and thirty, each Province still having an equal number of members. Three years later, the Legislative Council became an elective body, the existing members retaining their positions for life. The population of Upper Canada was now fully one million and a quarter, and that of Lower Canada about three hundred thousand less.
9. A Political Dead-Lock.—A curious state of affairs now arose in Canada. The old political parties became shattered, and new alliances were formed. In Upper Canada the more advanced Reformers gained great influence, and began agitating for a change in the basis of representation in Parliament. They claimed that as Upper Canada was more populous and wealthy than Lower Canada, and paid more taxes, it should send more members to Parliament. Against this it was urged that at the time of the Union Lower Canada had a larger population, greater wealth, and a smaller public debt than Upper Canada—yet, it was given the same number of representatives. It was, therefore, contended that Lower Canada should continue to have as many members of Parliament as Upper Canada. The agitation was continued for many years, and parties became nearly equally divided on the question of “Representation by Population,” as it was called. On the one side was a majority of the members from Upper Canada, and a minority from Lower Canada; while opposed to the new policy was a minority from Upper Canada, and a majority from Lower Canada. John A. Macdonald and George Etienne Cartier were prominent leaders of the Conservative party; George Brown, William McDougall and A. A. Dorion the principal advocates of “Representation by Population” and the Reform policy. Several administrations were defeated in the years between 1858 and 1864, and finally it became evident some change in the constitution must take place if good government was to continue.
10. Steps towards Confederation.—In 1864 a dead-lock of political parties was reached, and the leaders of both sides recognizing the danger, dropped their feuds, and united to form a Coalition Government, which had for its object the Confederation of the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, and, if possible, also those of the Maritime Provinces. The principle of this Confederation was suggested by the form of Government in the adjoining Republic; the object aimed at being to give the several Provinces the control of their own local affairs, matters of general interest to be managed by a common parliament in which all the provinces would be represented. Several things helped along the movement. In 1860 George Brown had proposed in Parliament the principle of such a scheme, but his resolution was lost by a large majority. The country was not then ready for its adoption. But when, in 1864, circumstances forced the policy on both parties, it was found that not only Canada but the Maritime Provinces were discussing Confederation. A Conference or gathering of delegates from these provinces was called to meet in September at Charlottetown, in Prince Edward Island, to arrange for a union, and the Canadian Government asked and received permission to send delegates. At this gathering the Confederation of all the Provinces was seriously discussed. It was decided to call another Conference at Quebec in November, and to invite all the provinces to be present through their, delegates. The Conference met, and after much deliberation, the outlines of a scheme of Confederation were approved of by Upper Canada, Lower Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland had withdrawn from the Conference, the terms proposed not being agreeable to them. The delegates separated to report to their respective Parliaments, which soon after, in 1865, agreed to the scheme and made the necessary arrangements to get the consent of the British Parliament. In 1866, delegates from the different provinces met in London to draft a Bill for submission to the Imperial Parliament: This Bill was finally passed on the 28th February 1867, and under the name of the British North America Act, is the law which defines our present constitution. It came into force on the 1st of July, 1867. But its passage was not satisfactory to all the provinces. Nova Scotia was brought into Confederation against its will—its Government having accepted the terms without asking the consent of the people. Remonstrances and petitions were sent to the British Parliament: but they were of no avail. The British Government thought that the discontent would soon die away, and that the British possessions in America would be safer and stronger under Confederation, against possible attacks from the United States, than existing as colonies independent of each other.
11. Minor Events of Importance.—Before giving the terms of this Confederation Act, we must notice some things of less importance, which had taken place while Canada was working out her future form of government. In 1854 our Volunteer system was introduced. Before this the Militia had very little drill, and when danger threatened the country, its defence for a time, depended upon the few regular troops stationed in Canada. Now the young men were encouraged to volunteer and form companies and regiments under their own officers, so that, should an invasion be attempted, there would always be thousands of active men, with some knowledge of drill, ready to resist. In 1858 Bytown or Ottawa, on the Ottawa river, became the fixed place for Parliament to meet. This site was chosen by the Queen, and its choice gave rise to much dissatisfaction on the part of the larger cities. More important to the welfare of the country was the introduction in 1858 of decimal currency, whereby we began to reckon in dollars and cents instead of in pounds, shillings and pence; and the completion of a long bridge across the St. Lawrence at Montreal, which was opened by the Prince of Wales in the summer of 1860, under the name of the Victoria Bridge.
In 1861, a civil war began in the United States between the Northern and Southern States, and lasted for four years. It affected Canada in many ways. For a time it made good prices for nearly all the Canadian farmer had to sell, raised the wages of mechanics, and gave good profits to the merchants. On the other hand, there was a serious danger of a war between England and the North, arising out of the sympathy and secret help the people of England gave the South. Many Canadians crossed the frontier to fight in the armies of the North, and many Southerners took refuge in Canada, some of whom made raids across the border into the villages and towns of the North. These raids created a bad feeling towards Canada, so that when the war was over and the Reciprocity Treaty expired in 1866, the United States Government refused to renew it. Canada also suffered from the ill-will of the American Government in another way. On the 1st of June, a body of ruffians called Fenians, and belonging to a secret society having for its object the separation of Ireland from Great Britain, crossed the frontier at Black Rock, took possession of the ruins of old Fort Erie, and threatened the Niagara peninsula. A number of Volunteers from Toronto and Hamilton were at once sent to join some regular troops, under Colonel Peacock, at Chippewa, but before they could accomplish this they met the raiders at Ridgeway, and, in a badly managed skirmish, were driven back with several killed and wounded. Soon after, Colonel Peacock with the regulars arrived, and the Fenians recrossed to the American side, leaving a few stragglers behind, some of whom were captured, tried, and condemned to death. Their sentences, through the clemency of the Crown, were changed to imprisonment in the Penitentiary. Attacks were also threatened at Prescott, St. Albans and other points on the border, but the watchfulness of the Canadian volunteers prevented any serious attempts being made to invade the country. After a long delay the American authorities put a stop to these raids, which, had the feeling of the United States towards Canada been more friendly, might never have taken place. In one way these attacks did good. They made the British Provinces feel the need of a closer union, and this, doubtless, hastened the formation of Confederation.