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CIHM/ICMH
Microfiche
Series.
CIHM/ICMH
Collection de
microfiches.
Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions
Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques
1980
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D
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LOYALTY
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LOYALTY.
AN ADDRESS
DELIVERED TO THE
TORONTO YOUNG MEN'S LIBER KL CLUB,
JANUARY 19th, 1885,
BY—
■J. D. EDGjLR,
MEMBER OF THE CANADIAN HOUSE OF COMMONS.
/
.. I ■ t
PRINTED BY
THE GRIP PRINTING AND PUBLISHING COMPANY,
FRONT STREET WEST, TORONTO
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LOYALTY.
While there is a feeling abroad, in all the Provinces
of Canada, of doubt and unrest as to our future, there is
still no serious agitation for any distinct political change,
nor is there any popular grievance against the Mother
Country to excite resentment or warp the judgment. It
is, therefore, a fit and favorable time for us to examine,
with a calm but fearless scrutiny, our obligations and
duties as loyal Canadian citizens. Questions of material
interest undoubtedly bring about the establishment of
nationalities, but no great nation ever existed without a
basis of "sentiment" for its rise and progress. One of
the noblest of national sentiments is that of "loyalty," and
it is well-known that
CANADIANS ARE OVERFLOWING WITH IT.
I do not propose to enquire what have .on the technical
definitions of "loyalty" at different times and by different
men, because there has never yet been a condition of
things similar to our own, in the history of nations. I
LOVALTV
will nithcr seek to know what practical conclusions we are
let! to, from the circumstances of our position.
The Dominion of Canada was ushered into existence l^y
the British North America Act '* with a constitution similar
in principle to that of the United Kingdom," as we are
told by the preamble. We shall, therefore, be safe in
examining the obligations of loyalty and allegiance as
they are imposed upon citizens of the United Kingdom,
in order, by analogy, to learn our own. An Englishman
is loyal to his Queen and Parliament — to the British Con-
stitution, in which the Sovereign is the nominal head, but
Parliament the real sovereign. He is only loyal to a
monarch or dynasty, so long as they are loyal to
4t
THE ORIGINAL CONTRACT BETWEEN KING AND PEOPLE"
as defined -first in 1688, and illustrated ever since by the
steady increase of the power of the House of Commons.
The late J. R. Green, in his history of the English people,
in alluding to the results of the revolution of 1 688, says, with
perfect truth. '* An English monarch is now as much the
creature of an Act of Parliament as the pettiest tax-gatherer
in his realm." A still more illustrious historian tells us what
became of the doctrine of divine right of kings in Eng-
land. Lord Macaulay says, " To deprive royalty of those
mysterious attributes, and to establish the principle that
ii
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I/)VALTV.
kings reigned by a right in no respect differing from the
right by which freeholders choose knights of the shire, or
from the right by which judges grant writs of habeas
corpus, was absolutely necessary to the security of our
liberties." F'or convenience, and because the English
can find no form of government that they like better than
a parliamentary one, they use the name of an hereditary
monarch to represent the executive functions that are
vested in the parliamentary majority.
The Queen, we know, has not any actual personal power,
either executive or legislative. Yet she is clothed round
about with a real majesty, for she is the symbol of the might
and power of a great nation. I contend that loyalty is due to
THE REAL POWER IN THE STATE
which commands obedience, which both makes laws and
executes them — the Parliament. When a piece of colored
bunting flies over a British man-of-war no other power can
insult it with impunity. Is it because of any other reason
than that it represents, just as the Queen does, the power
of a Government established at a general election by the
people of England ? In Russia loyalty means fidelity to
the legislative and executive authority, which are com-
bined in the Czar. In the republics, loyalty is due direcdy
to the legislative and executive bodies, as from time to
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LO\ ALTY.
time selected by the people. Canadians are loyal, just as
are Englishmen, to Queen and Parliament, and that Par-
liament is the one which makes our laws — the Parliament
of Canada.
I may be met here by the reply that supreme legislative
authority rests with the Imperial Parliament, which only
delegates such of its powers to Canada as it sees fit. I a^mit
that our Constitution is nominally the work of an Imperial
Act, but as a Canadian, I will not admit that
ANY POWER ON EARTH
shall ever be permitted to deprive us of self-governing
rights and powers, which we now de facjto enjoy. It is for
us, on the other hand, to be ever vigilant in demanding
whatever extension of these powers we may seem to require.
I can oily add that such self-governing powers, once
achieved, can never be yielded up by a race of free men,
and I dismiss as unworthy of discussion any theory to the
contrary.
The powers which we have of legislating, either
by Dominion or Provincial Legislatures, cover nearly
all the subjects on which the English Parliament
legislates for Great Britain and Ireland. All domestic
and municipal matters that directly affect the people,
and some important matters, such as the tariff, which
Un'ALTY.
affect our foreign rehitions, are legislated upon by our
Parliament. Upon those classes of subjects the Imperial
Parliament has practically
NO JURISDICTION
which we can recognize. The executive powers of our
responsible ministers are co-exten-ive with our legisla-
tive powers In every one of our statutes, Orders in
Council, proclamations, or letters patent, Her Majesty's
name appears. In executive and administrative matters
she represents the power and dignity of the Dominion.
Her name is the symbol under which our people govern
themselves. We are therefore loyal to it. Whenever I
hear, in my own country, the glorious roll of the National
Anthem of England, I can join in the sentiment it voices,
because I feel that here we are singing "God Save the
Queen of Canada."
To Victoria, as part of the legislative, and as
part of the executive authority of Nv^w Zealand, I am
sure that a Canadian owes no loyalty, any more than he
owes obedience to the laws or the executive acts of that
flourishing colony. There is, therefore, nothing in the
name of the Queen, when separated from actual, binding,
lawful authority, to command our fealty. The name of the
Queen, used at Ottawa with all pomp and ceremony, does
8
LOYALTY.
not command a particle of obedience in Newfoundland.
It is a mistake some Canadians make to fancy that the
English people respect them any the more for protesta-
tions of
WHINING LOYALTY.
E^ en the natural sentiment of affection for England some-
times receives a rude shock when a wandering Canadian
sets foot in the land of his forefathers for the first time.
He looks for some reciprocal gush of affection and devo-
tion towards Canada on the part of the English people.
He may find it in some few quarters ; he will find hostility
nowhere, while the all but universal discovery he makes
is, that the good people of England know little and care
less about Canada. They know all about the United
States, all about its institutions and its history, and honor
its citizens. Not one in a hundred has any knowledge of
our history or institutions. We " received, very properly,
as colonists, and are welcome ^ " John Bull with patron-
izing politeness, not unmingled th genuine surprise that
we know how to behave ourselves at all.
While that is the case, no English public man of
either party would make himself ridiculous by proclaiming
that the people of Canada should not be allowed to
CONTROL THEIR OWN DESTINIES.
All the prominent English statesmen are earnesti/ anxious
■111
^'W'"
LOVALTV,
to maintain some form of satisfactory connection with the
colonies, and they are wise enough to discern that their
only way to secure that end is by appealing to our intelli-
gence, and to our sentiments of self-reliance and self-respect.
Although they never make the mistake, nowadays, of
threatening us themselves, they should be careful how
they squander Imperial Ribbons and Crosses upon indis-
creet Canadians, who come straight from Downing Street
to Toronto, and threaten to turn the muskets of 1837
against Canadians, who may prefer a National government
for their country. Sir John A. Macdonald is a privileged
character here, and his agonizing loyalty only provokes
a smile after all. This incident, however, may not be
without a lesson. Canadians are sensible enough to place
small value upon the
DOWNING STREET TITLES
and decorations, which are now so often offered to our
public men. When it is seen that an accumulation of these
honors has completely turned Sir John's head, and filled
him with a consuming loyalty, and an Imperial ardor
against Canadian National aspirations, it will become more
clear than ever that Canadian statesmen should only
accept honors, which are conferred upon them by the
Canadian people.
lO
LOYALTV.
It is a curious fact that the Canadian Jingo is much
more exacting in his requirements as to loyalty, than
even his imperial prototypes, who cluster round the
throne. No doubt every one of our colonial monarchists
would denounce a man as disloyal, who might advocate a
Canadian Republic. Yet, in England,
f
i
SIR CHARLES DILKE.
in 1 87 1, publicly stated that he had always preferred a
Republican form of Government to Constitutional Mon-
archy. These views he has never retracted, but he has
since been elected to the House of Commons, many times,
for the metropolitan constituency of Chelsea, has become
a member of the Administration, and is now a Cabinet
Minister, and sworn adviser of the Oueen. Indeed it is
broadly stated that the Prince of Wales is strongly tinged
with Sir Charles Dilke's notions himself.
In all speculations upon the present and future of Ca-
nada we Anglo-Saxons must not forget that a large and im-
portant element in our population is of another lineage. To
found a united nation we must have a common ground upon
which we can stand with the
FRENCH CANADIANS.
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Our European traditions are not theirs. We cannot ask them
LOYALTY.
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to take sides with us at Cressy or at Agincourt. Even
Waterloo we had better not try to make the test of our com-
mon sympathies. We must find another bond between us,
and we may easily find it in their love for Canada, their
devotion to the fair land that they have inherited from
generation to generation. If we, who are native Cana-
dians, but whose parents came from Britain, can feel, as
we do, that our first love and devotion are due to this
land of our birth, how warm must be the feelings of that
emotional race towards the country on whose shores their
ancestors landed nearly three hundred years ago. Their
hearts are, indeed, bound up in Canada. Whenever they
have believed that their dear country required their
services they have never paused to ask the name of the
foe — it was enough for them that he was supposed to be
the enemy of Canada — and they confronted him in battle
array. They defended Canada to the death in 1759
against the English invader. In 1775, just sixteen years
later, when Montgomery led his New England troops
against Quebec, he found that the simple Canadians
resented his invasion of their soil, although he claimed to
be the champion of their lost cause. The history of the
world does not record a braver or more brilliant exploit
than the fight of Chateauguay, in 181 3, where a mere
handful of French Canadians under De Salaberry rolled
back an army from our frontier.
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LOYALTY.
What shall I say of the sad events of 1837 ? Goad-
ed by misrule, they claimed that " the solemn cove-
nant made with the people of Lower Canada, (as
they styled the Imperial Act of 1791,) had been con-
tinually violated, and their rights usurped by the British
Government." Believing that Canada again called for
the assistance of her sons, the patriot bands of habitant
seized their rude weapons, and made war upon the British
Empire. Poor fellows ! The lion's paw soon crushed
them to the earth. The leaders fled the country. Scores
of prisoners were tried by a court-martial of British officers,
and condemned to death. Of these 57 were transported,
and no less than ten were
il
ACTUALLY EXECUTED
in Lower Canada in the name of the gentle young Queen
who had just ascended the throne. To this day the great
majority of French Canadians call those men who suffered
death for the acts of 1837, patriots and martyrs, and believe
that their blood was shed in the cause of their country. Be
that as it may, it cannot be denied that, the result of the
revolt was to secure such liberties as we now enjoy. To
what then can we ask our French-speaking fellow Cana-
dians to pledge their allegiance and their loyalty, unless it
be to the self-government we have achieved, and the fuller
it I'
LOVALTV.
13
measure of freedom, which every patriotic Canadian is
seeking to attain ?
The future of Canada is likely to be much influenced
by the progress of certain sentiments, which are
profoundly stirring the great powers of pAirope to-day.
There is a simultaneous impulse in France, Germany,
and Italy, to create for each
A COLONIAL EMPIRE
to compete with Great Britain, whose imperial sway has
quietly extended around the globe, whilst the other nations
have been wasting their energies in mutual bloodshed.
This wave of pro-colonial sentiment has reached England,
though she does not need to create colonies, hut only to
retain them. Nothing is more easy than to give the alarm
in England upon any subject immediately affecting the
national safety — one day it is the channel tunnel, another
the condition of the navy. Let us hope that the excite-
ment upon the Colonial question will not assume a panic
form, else old England may take fright at the size and
strength of her colonial offspring, and picture herself as a
Frankenstein, who has created monsters she cannot
control. A movement for a closer alliance between
Mother Country and colonies has been brought into
great prominence owing to the names ot some distin-
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LOYALTY.
guished English statesmen, of both political parties, who
are connected with it. There is every indication that
one result of the agitation will be to start, outside of
Canada, a discussion which must force Canadians to come
to some early decision as to their own future.
The practical difficulties in the way of a Federation of
the Empire are so great that no one claims to have satisfeic-
torily solved them. Yet, one can conceive of a substantial
alliance between Canada and England, without waiting for
Africa, Asia, and Australasia to join in it. Why is it not a
feasible project, a practicable question of the hour, to give
Canada '
A GUARANTEED AUTONOMY,
with England and the United States as her sponsors?
Provisions might be readily made in the Treaty, for refer-
ence to arbitration of all disputes between Canada and
England, or between Canada and the United States. By
such an arrangement England might secure whatever ad-
vantage there would be in having Canada's alliance in case
of need, in her European relations ; but its grandest result
would be to draw back to the old land, by a mutual bond,
the lost colonies of America.
A guaranteed autonomy of this kind would possess
marked advantages for England, for the United States,
and for Canada. It would cover the best features
'.
LO\ALTV.
15
'>
that are promised, or claimed, from Federation of the
Empire, from Annexation to the United States, and from
Indepe.idence, and would he without many of the objec-
tionable features that mar each separate plan. Were this
an occasion for discussing the subject, I think it could
be shown that a guaranteed autonomy for Canada is
eminently feasible, and is, to-day, within the range of
practical statesmanship.
No paper, however discursive, which attempts to deal
with the subject of ** loyalty " should be concluded without
an enquiry as to what constitutes patriotism in general, and
* CANADIAN PATRIOTISM
more particularly. Is not patriotism but a combination of
that attachment which every man feels for the land where
his hearthstone is fixed, and that instinct of love for all the
earthly beings and things which surround his home ? The
youth who has seen no other fields, or woods, or moun-
tains ; who has sailed no other streams, or lakes, or rivers,
than those of his boyhood's home, burns with a noble zeal
to prove his love for them against the world. The older
man, who has won for himself a little spot of sacred ground
that he can call his home, may feel a more sober enthus-
iasm for his country ; but it is strong, and will endure. Are
Canadians to be the only people who cannot be permitted
' ^^"1'
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LOYALTY,
to <f'\vr. their first allegiancL*, their best and truest affection
to their own country? Is it to he a cause for reproach to us
that vve prefer our own fair land to all others ? Yet we
are often told that true loyalty and patriotism can only
be found in our devotion to the interests of a country
three thousand miles away. I have no sympathy with
those Canadians who think it a fine thing, or an evidence
of spirit, to belittle England, and to create among us a
feeling of hostility against her. There never was, since
time began, such another race of men as have sprung
from that -
GLORIOUS LITTLE ISLAND.
One with her in blood and language, one in the civilization
of to-day and in the traditions of her storied past, we have
only love and pride for our motherland. If the day should
ever come when we shall see the Powers of Europe
arraved against her. and her liberty in danger, she would
not recjuire co appeal to Canada for such help as we could
afford. Our common blood would be in flame, considera-
tions of prudence or expediency would disappear before
the warlike instincts of our race, and we would not count
the cost of men or treasure to be lavished in her cause.
There is only one way in which our feelings towards
Eno-land can be altered. Were she unwisely to refuse us
any of the powers of further self government that we shall
LOVALTV.
17
seek, or rashly to thwart the will of the majority of the
people of Canada in respect to changes in their political
relations with her, we might see, what has happened before
on this continent, good-will turned to hostility, and love
to hatred. But, in my opinion, we shall never witness
that most deplorable result. Let it be distinctly stated
and felt, both here and in Kngland, that
OUR DESTINY IS IN OUR OWN HANDS;
that we are free to. discuss and decide upon what is best
for Canada in all things, and then our love for the Mother
Country will grow with our growth. It may be many
years before the majority of the Canadian people shall
decide that it would be well for them to undertake the
responsibilities of a National existence, but, when that
inevitable day shall come, may we see Old England
rejoicing that we are strong enough to stand and to walk
alone, and proclaiming to the whole world that she is
proud of her offspring, as we are proud of her.