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i,4-f^Jy€£-^-:iC'<'l'''-
ZMK^k AS A KATIOK.
BY
JOHxM GEO. BOURINOT.
i\
In the early part of last November there appeared in the news-
papers of America and Europe a brief announcement that the
Canadian Pacific Railway had commenced to run its trains from
the city of Montreal on the St. Lawrence River as far as the
shores of the Pacific Ocean. Upon the majority of persons the
mere mention of this fact probably made little impression at the
time, but to every one who has an interest in the progress of the
new Dominion it must have afforded the most conclusive evidence
of the remarkable energy and enterprise of a country whose total
population does not yet exceed five million souls. If any one
wishes to appreciate the full significance of this item of news,
placed very likely in some cases in an obscure corner of a Euro-
pean newspaper, let him take up a map of North America and
carefully trace out the route of the new railway from the province
of Quebec to British Columbia, and he will soon obtain some idea
of the magnitude of the task which Canada has achieved within a
decade of years. This great road runs through about three thousand
miles of country, the greater part of which is still a wilderness.
By its connections at Montreal — the North Shore, the Grand
Trunk and the Intercolonial Railways — Canada now possesses
an uninterrupted line of rail communication between the Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans of three thousand eight hundred miles. This
great system of railways has been completed within eighteen years
— since the commencement of Confederation — by the unaided
efforts of the Canadian people. The present Governor-General of
Canada, the Marquess of Lansdowne, has very truly said that when
wo consider "the physical difficulties which had to be overcome,
13
178
»the shortness of the time in which the work has been carried
»out, and the small numerical strength of the nation for whom
»the work has been done, the construction of this road — imperial
»in its conception and results — is without a parallel in the history
»of similar undertakings." \~^^>,. j.. /. . . '* t'
That my readers may fully appreciate the ejt4ck* of t^rritorv-
which Canada now possesses, I would ask them to follow me for
a few minutes as I take them through the countries over which
her great lines of railway pass. Starting from the East, we see
the maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince
Edward Island — Newfoundland still remaining isolated from the rest
of British America — with an aggregate population of nearly a million
souls, with coasts surrounded by the most valuable fisheries of the
world, long the object of the envy of their American neighbours.
These provinces possess rich mines of coal and other minerals,
while their shipping industry is larger than that of all the New
England States. They are indented by noble harbours and by
rivers which enable their people to have communication with the
seacoast in every direction. Proceeding northward through New
Brunswick with its picturesque hills and valleys, and its rivers
teeming with salmon, we come to the country watered by the
St. Lawrence. First, we pass through the historic province of
Quebec, the home of a million and a quarter of people, who are
descended from those courageous Frenchmen who followed Cham-
plain into the wilderness more than two centuries and a half ago. A
range of mountains, coeval with the earliest ages of the world,
stretches from North to South, and dips its slopes in the waters
of the great river. A large farming population, chiefly French-
Canadian, cultivate these Laurentian slopes, and the fertile lands
which extend to the southward of the river as far as the American
frontier. Valuable mines of iron and phosphate are found in the
hills, which add so much to the picturesque beauty of a province
famous for its rugged scenery, its rapid rivers, its wide lakes, and
its impetuous cataracts. Large forests of pine still rise in gloomy
grandeur on the heights overlooking the upper waters of the
St. Maurice and Ottawa Rivers, and give employment to the many
thousands engaged in one of the most profitable industries of
Canada. Leaving Quebec we travel on to the premier province of
Ontario, which claims a territory extending from the River Ottawa,
tjlie western boundary of Quebec, to beyond the head of I t.
Superior, the largest of the inland waters of the Dominion. ' •
greater part of this province illustrates the energy and enL?» c
4-
17l>
ot the two million people by its prosperous cities and towns, its
teeming granaries, its well cultivated farms, its busy factories. This
is a country producing a large surplus crop of wheat and other
agricultural products, besides fruits of every kind that can grow
in a temperate climate. Then passing from this wealthy country,
we find ourselves in that illimitable region which is generally
known as the North West Territorx', and which in the early days
of the Dominion was an entire wilderness aptly stj'led the Great
Lone Land! Here within fifteen years has been established the
prosperous province of Manitoba, with a population of pro-
bably eighty thousand souls, and one city of thirty thousand at
least. This is the region of the prairie with its tall grasses and
purple flowers, stretching for miles without a break until the very
sameness of the scene becomes wear}- to the eye, and the traveller
longs for the bold hills and green forests of the East. Rivers of
great length wind through the prairie lands, and aftbrd facilities
for navigation to steam and other craft of small draught of water.
As we proceed West we gradually leave the fine prairie lands
and find ourselves in the rolling country that lies to the east of
the Rocky mountains. Wheat and other agricultural products are
grown in the prairie region of a quality not surpassed on any
other part of the continent. On the large tracts of rich grazing
land that lie at the feet of the Rocky mountains thousands of cattle
can thrive at a relatively small cost. A considerable area of
country is of carboniferous formation, and promises to yield abun-
dant fuel of excellent quality — a great boon to the people who
are to settle a region without the maple and hardwood forests of
the old provinces. Passing through one of the natural gateways
of the Rockies we descend to the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
The dark waters of the Fraser River pursue their devious way
through a country surpassing other sections of the Dominion in
mountains whose lofty peaks are ever lost amid the clouds. As
on the Atlantic coast the island of Cape Breton with its great coal
fields and spacious harbours, guards the Eastern approaches to
the Dominion, ^o on the Pacific shores the island of Vancouver,
with its rich deposits of coal, stands like a sentinel at the Western
terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Large tracts of land
in this beautiful province are suitable for farming purposes; its
rivers and coasts abound in salmon and other fish, and its mountains
in gold.
We have now traversed a territory of nearly four thousand
miles in length, and may briefly refer to its climatic eharacteristics.
1
180
On the whole, the climate of this vast rej^ioii is extremely healthy
and well adapted to the growth of food, hi the maritime provinces
the fall of snow is very heavy at times, especially in the interior,
but as a rule the cold of winter and the heat of summer are con-
siderably modified by the influences of the ocean. The seasons
resemble in some respects those of Scotland, the advantage being
in summer on the side of the maritime provinces. In Quebec the
winters are long and the cold and the heat intense at times in
their respective seasons, but the climate after all is about the
same as that of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, the home
of the bone and sinew of New England. Ontario possesses the
mildest winters of the older section of the Dominion, and the
hottest summers, which enable the peach and grape to ripen as in
the most favoured localities of the Northern States. The North West
has a climate more rigorous than that of the eastern provinces,
but all those who have lived any time in the country concur in
saying that the air is more bracing and invigorating than in any
other i)a;t of Canada. In I^ritish Columbia there are none of the
extremes of heat and cold, jjeculiar to the country east of the
Rocky Mountains, but the climate is as balmy and equable for
the greater part of the year as in that much favoured state of
the American Union, golden California. In short all the climatic
conditions of the Dominion are calculated to develope the energy
and endeavour of men.
.\t present the population of Canada may be estimated at live
million souls. The history of the French Canadian province is
contemporaneous with that of the New England States. The colo^
nies of Plymouth and of Massachusetts Hay were established during
the first \'ears of the seventeentli century when Champlain and his
compatriots were laying the foundations of a New France on the
banks of the St. Lawrence For a century and a half French Canada
struggled under an illiberal system of government which centralized
all authority in the King and his representatives, and never permitted
the establishment of local self government as it e.\isted in New
England. The energies of the people were wasted in the wars
between ICngland and France for the supremacy on the continent
of America, and by the time the Treaty of Paris was signed in
1763 there were not more than sixty or seventy thousand people
in all h'rench Canada. Some forty thousand intelligent, industrious
people, known as United Empire Loyalists came into the* country
rather than remain in the United States when they became inde-
pendent of Great 13ritain, and first settled the provinces of New
i
181
Hrunswick and Ontario. By the beginning- of the [)resent century
there were in all Canada only one hundred and eighty thousand
souls, the majority of whom were French Canadians. Representative
institutions were now conceded to the provinces, and a conside-
rable commerce grew up in the most populous centres: but never-
theless the growth of the pofjulation for forty years was small
when compared with that of the United States. The political diffi-
culties of the country, especially in Lower Canada, and the general
poverty of the mass of the people, then without any large markets
or speedy means of inter-communication, prevented anything like
a t-onsiderable immigration. Nevertheless the population of Canada
reached at least a million and a quarter by 1840, which was the
turning point in the history of the political as well as the material
development of the provinces. By f86o the total population of
Canada had nearly trebled, as there was a large influx of immi-
grants from Ireland and Great Britain between 1845 and i860.
IMie same ratio of increase has not been kept up since that time,
chiefly on account of the preference given b}- European emi-
grants to the United States, and the exodus of many Canadians
year after year to the manufacturing towns of that country. Of
late this Canadian migration appears to have been diminishing,
and with the prospects of settlement in the North West, the Census
of 1S90 is likely to present figures calculated to encourage Cana-
dians in the future of their country.
The ancestors of the French Canadian race which now forms so
large a proportion of the population of Canada, and exercises so
much influence on its political and social conditions, came chiefly
from Normandy and Brittany. These people are very sociable in
their habits and fairly industrious, although slow to adopt impro-
vements and adapt themselves to the new order of things. A great
many of them are employed in the lumber and manufacturing in-
dustries of the country. Preferring such occupations to agricultural
pursuits, large numbers have for many years sought employment
in the manufactories of New England, especially in the cities of
Fall River, Holyoke anc^owell. They are devout Roman Catholics,
and in no other country of the world do the priests exercise greater
influence than in the province of Quebec. The humblest village is
built around a large stone church, and wherever you go you see
the evidences of the religious devotion of the people in the names
of the settlements, and in the fine conventual and other institutions,
controlled by the priests and religious orders. Under an ordinary
condition of things the French Canadians are a well disposed,
\
/
182
.'imiable people, but once let a ciuestioii arise that appears to affect
their race or religion, they become easily excited. Happily for
the peace and prosperity of Canada, whenever questions have come
up during the last fifty years, likely to precipitate a conflict of
races, the sound sense and intelligence of the people of French
and English Canada have at last obtained the supremacy. Canada
already owes much to those able men among the French
Canadians who, rising superior to national prejudices, have looked
only to the ends of justice and the good government of the
country.
The remaining three and a half millions of whom at least two
millions live in Ontario, are made up, in about the same propor-
tions of people of I'^nglish. Scotch and Irish origin; the German
and other foreign nationalities forming but a small element of the
population. The descendants of the loyalists who founded the most
prosperous sections of the Dominion have always exercised much
influence on the political development of the country. The Scotch
have brought into Canada those characteristics of thrift and energy
which have given them the superiority, in every country o which
they migrate, and we find the "canny Scot" consequently not only
among the leaders of political parties but at the head of all great
commercial and financial enterprises which are doing so much to
make the country wealthy and j^rosperous. The Irish are on the
whole a contented and successful class, who fully appreciate the
liberal system of self-government which Canada gives them in
common with people of all nationalities. It is also important and
interesting to note in this connection that while the population of
Canada is divided by the Census Returns into four large classes as
respects its origin — French, English, Scotch and Irish — the
great majority are native born. In consequence of the small immi-
gration that has come into Canada compared with the millions
who have poured into the United States, the native Canadians now
form the principal element of the population. The fact that there
are over four million people born in Canada is important inasmuch
as it gives some explanation why there exists in Canada above
all other dependencies of the Empire, a strong national sentiment
— a pride in Canada and her successes — and an earnest
desire to place her in the van of the British communities of the
world.
Let us now consider some of the results which have
been achieved by these five millions of people who occupy
a country of greater area than the United States. The
i
183
W
J
wealth of the Dominion is now derived chiefly from its forests,
its agriculture, its fisheries and its mines. The export trade
with foreign countries annually reaches, taking the average for the
past ten years, some t 30.000.ooo sterling, of which amount the
forest contributes £ 5,000.000; the farms t 7.000.000; the fisheries
.C 1.500.000, and the mines £ 700.000. Canada is able to export
annually smne £ <Soo.ooo worth of manufactured goods, leaving
out of the calculation, the large quantity of sawn lumber she
sends to the United States and other countries. Of these I'2xports
£ 9.000.000 worth finds its way to Great liritain, and about the
same amount to the United States, nearly £ r. 000.000 to the West
Indies and South America, the trade with other countries being
comparatively insignificant. The imports of Canada are valued at
k. 24.000.000 a year, and are distributed as follows : From Great
Britain, £. 9.000.000; the United States, £ 10.000.000; the West
Indies and South America, over £ i. 000.000; Germany £ 400.000;
France £ 350.000; Spain. £ 350.000. Canada still buys large quan-
tities of tea, cotton, linen, silk, spirituous liquors, and various luxuries
from Great Britain, but there is no doubt that the effect of the Na-
tional Policy is to reduce the trade with the parent state in certain
classes of manufactures which the Doii^inion is now commencing
to produce easily and cheaply. We cannot have any very satisfac-
tory statistics of the condition of the manufacturing industries of
the country until the next Census, five years hence, but sufficient
facts have been already collected to show that certain classes of
goods have been largely manufactured since the adoption of a
commercial policy some years ago with the avowed object of stimu-
lating Canadian enterprise. A considerable business has deen deve-
loped in refined sugars, cottons, woollens, furniture, boots and
shoes, ironware, and other staple manufactures. From the figures
at hand, we may put down the number of large cotton mills at 21,
and the value of their annual productions at £ 2.500.000 sterling.
The value of the annual production of woollen manufactures of
all kinds is estimated at £ 3.000.000. At the present time there
are throughout Canada probably, between 3000 and 4000 mills
and factories, small and large, engaged in manufacturing industries
of all kinds; representing a capital of some £ 15.000.000; em-
ploying upwards of 90.000 persons; paying wages to the amount
of £ 6.000.000 and producing goods to the value of £ 20.000.000.
Whatever doubts the political economists of the old world may
have of the soundness of the policy, there is reason for thinking
that it has been successful in making Canada in certain respects
1.S4
independent of other countries, in s>^''"S employment to capital
and people, in teaching Canadians the benefits of self-reliance, and
in helping to create a national feeling.
The maritime industry of the Dominion continues to add largely
[ to the wealth of the people. The fisheries of Ikitish North Ame-
rica, from the earliest period of which we have an\' historical
record, have been the resort of the vessels of the great maritime
powers. Soon after the discovery of the continent of America
Basque and Breton fishermen cast their lines on the bar.!cs of New-
foundland, and from that time to this a large fl'^ot of French
j fishermen annually finds its way to the coast of Newfoundland.
j where l*" ranee still clings to the little islands of St. Pierre and
I Miquclon, as indispensable to the successful prosecution of those
fisheries which she has always prized so highly. The value of the
annual catch of the Canadian fisheries has increased from two
million pounds sterling in 1875 to over three million and a half
at the present time. The deep sea fishery is now carried on in a
better and larger class of vessel than formerly, and the crews are
1 consequently able to comjiete successfully with the enterprising
• fishermen of Gloucester and other ports of New England. The
, question of the fisheries has again been reopened by the repeal of
\ those clauses of the Washington Treaty of 1871 which allowed
\ the Americans access to the fishing grounds of Canada in return
for the free importation of Canadian fish into the American market,
and for a money compensation of five million and a half of dol-
lars awarded the Dominion by a Commission appointed under that
, Treatv. The historv of the Fisheries proves conclusivelv that the
\ people of New England have always cast an envious eye on the
5 mackerel, herring and other inshore fisheries of Canada, and now
I that the controversy has been revived we may be sure there will
I be a determined effort on their part to gain access to these valuable
* waters on terms as little favourable as possible to the Dominion.
The Canadians, however, knowing the increasing value of their
fisheries are not disposed to surrender their rights without receiving
adequate return. They are quite prepared, as in 1854. to enter
into a fair arrangement of reciprocal trade in certain products of
both countries; but it is also quite evident that they will not make
any treaty v/'th their neighbours which will in any way interfere
with the success of the National Policy, or make Canadians de-
pendent on the United States.
The old provinces of Canada possess natural features eminently
favourable to the development of a great marine. In the first place
■i
185
the carriafjc to forcij^n markets of their principal natural products,
of the mine, of the fisheries and of the forest — has ahvavs "iven
a great stimulus to the construction of vessels of all sizes, from
the full rifj<^e(l ship which sails round the world, to the little schoo-
ner which plies about the coast. The maritime section t>f Canada
possesses harbours not surpassed in depth and security by
those of an\' other country in the world. The St. Lawrence con-
nects the rich country surrounding^ the Western Lakes with the
ports of Montreal and Quebec. Under these circumstances Canada
has been forced to build a large commercial marine for the pur-
poses of her domestic and foreign commerce. The lakes and rivers
of the upper provinces maintain a considerable fleet of steamers
.. d other craft, necessary for the prosecution of her inland trade,
while the large ships of Halif.ix, St. John, Yarmouth and other
ports on the sea board carr\' her exports to all parts of the world.
Canada now owns a fleet of between six and seven thousand ves-
sels, with an aggregate tonnage of over a million and a quarter
of tons, valued at over six million pounds sterling. As a maritime
power the Dominion already ranks above France, Italy and Ger-
many, and is exceeded in tonnage only by England, the United
States and Norway. The United .States with fifty five million people
or more, own only one million more tons than the Dominion of
Canada with one eleventh of the population.
The forests of Canada annualls' produce some two hundred
million cubic feet of timber of all kinds, of which one half consists
of white pine; but in the old provinces this source of wealth must
greatly diminish in value a few years hence. The pine woods of
the Ottawa and the St. Maurice country are rapidly disappearing
before the axe of the lumberman and the fires of the careless settler
or hunter, and the time must come when the principal timber
supply of the Dominion will be found on the hillsides of British
Columbia. Hut while the forests are decreasing in value, the agri-
cultural industry of the whole of Canada continues to be developed
every year on a greater srale. In the older provinces there is
relatively a small area of fertile land now open to settlement
except in the province of Ontario where new lines of railway have
given easy access to large tracts which offer considerable attraction
to industrious immigrants. In every province, however, there is
room for the settlement of a class of people, with a little means
of their own to enable them to buy cultivated lands which are
always in the market for from four to six pounds an acre according
to the location. All the provinces, but especially Ontario, grow
1 S(;
a ^reat variety of agricultural products. When the last Census
was taken in iS8i the Dominion raised some thirty two million
bushels of wheat, seventy one million bushels of oats, tlfty five
million bushels of potatoes, and eighteen million bushels of barley.
The people owned eight millit)n head of stogk, including one
million horses, as well as three and a half million animals intended
exclusively for food. The total value of farm products of all kinds
may be roughly estimated at £ 30.000.000 sterling. The stock owned
by the best farmers is generally of the higher grades, imported at
a consider 'hie cost from J^ngland and other countries. In the
English or iCastern Townships of the province of Ouebec, and in
Ontario, there are stock farms with herds of Jersey and other
cattle which it would be difficult to ec[ual on the great estates of
the old world, l^ut the farmers of Ontario do not conllne them-
selves to wheat and other grains, for they now raise a large
quantity of apples, peaches, plums and grapes. The annual pro-
duction of a[)ples alone is now some fifteen million bushels, of which
a considerable (luaiitity is exported to the l^nglish market from
the vallex's of old Acadia, the scenes of LongfcUows immortal
poem, Iwangeline. The grape is not only raised for the table but
also for the making of very fair red and white wines, which resemble
in appearance and flavour the cheaper Sauternes and Clarets of
France. This is an industry which must increase in value according
as the people better understand the niceties of such a manufacture,
and as the temperance advocates, now so formidable in Canada,
begin to understand that as the taste for these wines increases the
cause they have at heart will be greatly promoted.
It is in Ihe (ireat West of the Dominion that we must hence-
forth look for the most remarkable results of agricultural industry.
This region should in the course of years be divided into probably
some eight provinces as large as Minnesota, which was admitted
into the American Union only a quarter of a century ago, and has
now a po[)ulation of probably a million [)ersons, and jjroduces
annually thirtj'^ five million bushels of wheat. Now that the Cana-
dian Pacific Railway is completed, and branch lines are running
or will soon run through the country, Canada naturally looks
forward to considerable influx of settlers during the coming years,
according as the value of the lands Js better appreciated and the
ignorance that still exists as to their capabilities dispelled by the
evidence of unprejudiced witnesses. There can be no doubt, how-
ever, that no other country in the world has the same area of
rich agricultural land to offer to the hardy, industrious peoples
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of the Northern countries of Furope. On this point we have the
testimony of an imperial observer Hke the Martjuess of Lansdowne,
the present Governor-(-renerai — a nobleman not given to enthu-
siasm or rash assertions — who has recently passed over this
rcL^ion and made himself chisely acquainted with its resources. In
an admirable speech which he delivered at Winnipeg in October
last he stated that he had seen in the course of his travels «a
» greater extent of Hrst rate agricultural land than it had ever been
«his good fortune to look u[)on before — a great deal of it of
'<extraordinary richness". With regard to the reports so frequently
heard as to the injury done to the crops by the frosts he had
come to the conclusion that this obstacle w.is not going to be
«fatal to the cultivation of wheat." Me pointed out what every
C'anadian knows, that while the best lands of the United States
now under the most f.ivourable circumstances annually produce
some twelve bushels to the acre, and there is not in that country
a large area (^f valuable land open to settlement, the prairies of
the Canadian North West easily produce twenty bushels to the acre,
and are of illimitable extent. «With abundance of fertile soil,"
continued His ICxcellency, «vvith every scientific appliance for its
«cultivation, and with cas)' access by railway to the great centres
«of distribution, the farmers of Manitoba appear to be well provided
«with the conditions of success, and he would be surprised if, before
«ten years are over, the terrors of low prices and early frosts do
«;not become things of the past."
During the past ".sumfm^r the settlement of the country has been
retarded by the unfortunate rismg of the Half-breeds and Indians,
led by a reckless man who has paid the penalty on the scaffold.
It has always been a matter of surprise to many Americans that
Canada has had hitherto so little trouble with the Indian tribes
antl their etpially unsettled cousins, the half breeds or Mcitis,
whose favourite means of livelihood have been gradually desappear-
ing with the cultivation of the country and the progress of railways.
The half breed does not yet appear better able to settle down
to the patient plodding industry of the farm than his Indian ally.
He cultivates his lot in a half hearted manner, and still loves the
chase above all other pursuits. Like the French Canadian from
whom he is descended he is easily aroused by appeals of dangerous
leaders. The policy of the Canadian (iovernment, irrespective of /
party, has been always to treat the Indian in a spirit of justice
and generosity. It may not be the wisest in all respects, but it is
certainly the most generous and liberal that our experience has*/
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so far enabled us to devise. Not only are large sums of public
money annually paid out for the support of Indians, but they have
the benefit of the assistance of farm and other instructors, whose
duty it is to teach them the industrious habits of the whites.
Whatever may have been the grievances of the half breeds, they
would have been probably remedied in due course of time, and
it is very unfortunate that they should have been induced by in-
I discreet leaders to take up arms. The rising, however, will not be
without some useful results. The blood that has been shed so early
\ in our history has probably saved a great waste of life and property
i in the future. It was inevitable that a struggle should come sooner
or later between civilization and savagery in the West. The peace
of the territories is now practically assured by the intrepedity of
the militia forces of Canada last spring when they rallied so bravely
; to the call of duty and proved that their country can always depend
I on them in everv great national crisis. The Indian and half Breed
I must alike bow to the inevitable law of their destiny and fall into
■ the ranks of patient industry if they wish to hold their own in the
race of progress. The Indians certainly have been tought the lesson
that the strong arm of the Canadian Government can reach them
at all times and seasons, and that their security and livelihood
depend on the good faith with which they observe their obligations
to the Dominion which has always shown its desire to assist Ihem
in the unfortunate circumstances in which they are placed,
i A study of the public debt and expenditures of Canada shows
very clearly the energy which has long characterized the conduct
of public affairs, and the determination of all governments to leave
no means untried to give facilities to capital and enterprise in the
development of the large resources of the country. The public debt
of Canada may now be placed at something like ^ 50.000,000 ster-
ling; the annual revenue at £ 6.000,000, and the yearly expenditure
at about the same amount except for the last year when there was
an increase to an abnormal amount in consequence of the unhappy
rising in the North West. Large as is this debt, it is less than that
incurred by the Australasian colonies with a smaller population in
the aggregate; but in any case it is represented by great public
works in every section of the Dominion. The natural features of
Canada are such as to require a large yearly expenditure to ensure
the safety of commerce, and to promote the development of the
resources of the whole country. On the sea coast and on the banks of
the great routes of inland navigation are found numerous light houses,
and all the appliances essential to the preservation of life and
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property. The immense extent of territory has rendered absolutely /
necessary the construction of numerous lines of railway, some of /
them as I have already shown of national importance. The natural
obstructions that impede the free navigation of the St. Lawrence
route have been removed by the building of a system of canals
which enables commerce to flow without interruption from Lake
Superior to tidewater. My readers will probably better understand
how the debt of Canada has grown when 1 show them that there
have been already expended on Canals, £ 10.000,000 sterling, on
Public Buildings, £ 3.000,000; on Harbours and Breakwaters,
£2.000,000; on Light Houses and Beacons, £ 600,000; on Roads
and Bridges, £ 1.700,000; on Slides and Booms (necessary for the
safe passage of timber down the rapids and cataracts), £ 500,000;
on Telegraph and Signal Service, £ 200,000; on Dominion Rail-
ways alone, £ 20.000,000. These are certainly the most valuable
assets a young country can possess. Every year a large sum is
expended for the same useful purposes. It must also be remem-
bered that Canada pays annually, in accordance with the terms of
Union, large sums to the several provinces in order to provide them
with the means of meeting their provincial expenses and carry on
their respective governments. It is not surprising that under these
circumstances Canada is frequently a borrower in the money market
of the world, to enable her to meet the heavy obligations entailed,
not by the extravagance of her rulers, not by the disasters of war,
but as a necessary consequence of her endeavours to develope her
wealth, and assert her people in keeping pace with the prosperous and
progressive country on her borders. The fact that Canada can
always borrow in the English money market on the most favour-
able terms is the most conclusive proof of the confidence of
Englishmen in her industrial progress, and in her ability to meet
her obligations at all times.
The best evidence of the enterprise of the people of Canada is
found in the history of her railway undertakings. In 1867 there
were in all Canada only between two and three thousand miles of
railway in operation ; and now there are over eleven thousand miles
completed through the length and breadth of the country. The
Intercolonial Railway which connects the upper with the maritime
provinces has a total length of 686 miles; the Grand Trunk and
connecting lines of 2. Syr miles; the Canadian Pacific road and its
leased lines of nearly 3600 miles. Branch railways connect with
these three principal avenues of trade, and enable the people of
almost every important district in the old provinces to bring their
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I commodities to market at the lowest rates. Towards the construe-
tion of these various railways, the Government and municipalities
of Canada have directly contributed nearly £ 40.000,000 sterling,
of which the government of the province of Quebec alone has given
£ 3.000,000 and consequently for a time crippled its provincial reve-
nues. The average value of the receipts of these roads is now
about £ 6.700,000, and since 1876 the capital stock has increased
from £ 67.000,000 to £ 112.000,000 in 1885. Canada has now a
railway system whose total mileage doubles that of Spain and is
greater than that of all the South American countries which she
founded in the da3^s when she was supreme in the new world. France
who established a colony on the banks of the St. Lawrence with
the hope of building up a Great Empire in North America sees
that her dream has been realized by her ancient rival and that the
child of her bosom has under British auspices literally solved the
problem of finding a new route to the riches of Cathay. With
all her wealth and enterprise France has only some seven thousand
more miles of railway than the Dominion of Canada. The Great
Empire of Russia which in extent of territory may be compared
with Canada has only five thousand more miles in operation. The
mileage of Canada is double that of Italy, and nearly equal to that
of Austria-Hungary. These are decidedly remarkable results to
have been achieved by a country which was, a few years ago,
simply a geographical expression, almost unknown to European
nations outside of France and England. They have been achieved,
however, through the necessities of her position. Without such
facilities for trade and intercourse, a country of the great length of
Canada would soon find itself left behind in the race of competition
on this continent.
Anyone who travels over Canada will see abundant signs of the
prosperity of the people. Though there is not in the Dominion
the greath wealth of the United States — though there are no
Vanderbilts, no Goulds, no Mackays or California millionaires, the
people generally enjoy a fair amount of comfort and have in man}'
cases become moderately rich. Nowhere do we come across those
scenes of poverty which are the saddest spectacles which a Cana-
dian or American can witness in his visits to the crowded commu-
nities of the old world. If a man cannot make a comfortable home
for himself and family in Canada, it is because he is idle or dissi-
pated or is one of those unluckly, s-hiftless people who never get
along in the world. In Canada there is a tendency as in the United
States, especially among the Irish, to congregate in the large towns
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and cities when the same class could lead more contented and
prosperous lives were they to settle on the public lands or obtain
employment on the farms. The happiest class in Canada ought
certainly to be the farmers, especially in Ontario. You may travel
for days through that province and admire the well cultivated fields,
and comfortable homesteads in every direction; many of these
latter being built of brick or stone in the place of the rude log
cabin in which the pioneer toiled for years in the early times of
the country settlement. With the increase in the population of the
towns and cities, the demand from abroad for grain and cattle, and
the construction of railways, the agriculturists of Canada have abun-
dant opportunities for becoming wealthy.
The monetary institutions of Canada are generally conducted
on a sound basis, and the failures have been few during the past
forty years compared with those in the United States. At the present
time the chartered Banks of the Dominion have a paid up capital
of twelve million pounds sterling, and the latest returns show that
they have on deposit £20.000,000, one half of which amount is payable
only after a fixed day or after notice. The rate of interest has
been veiy low in the banks for some time, and it is only in the
Government Savings-banks — which do not receive deposits beyond
£ 200 — that the people can get four percent, for their savings.
They have now to their credit in these institutions at least ten
million pounds sterling, which represent, for the most part, the
accumulations of the relatively poor and industrial classes.
The mental outfit of the people is now quite worthy of a
country enjoying a fair measure of wealth and prosperity, and
exhibiting such laudable energy in all matters of commercial and
national enterprise. Although it is to the premier province of
Ontario that we must look for the most perfect school system, yet
in all the provinces the children of rich and poor can obtain a
good education which will fit them for the ordinary occupations
of life. The labourer may pay little or nothing towards the support
of education, and yet his child is on as good a footing in the
public schools as the child of the merchant or lawyer or doctor
who contributes largely towards this object. The State long ago
recognized its obligations to take the initiative in the establishment
of a thorough system of free education for the people, and conse-
quently a large sum of money is annually expended by the govern-
ments of all the provinces to supplement the taxes raised by the
municipalities. At present there are in all Canada some twenty
Colleges, many of them having university powers, and offering a
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lar^c and excellent curriculum to the ambitious student; over fourteen
thousand common and other schools, and eight normal school^, in
which teachers are trained. The total amount annually expended
by the governments and people of all the i)rovinces amounts to
£ 1.600,000, of which Ontario contributes at least one half. The
same province has spent during thirty years some ^ 12.000,000
sterling for the building of school houses, and other educational
objects; and the results of its liberality is the possession of buildings
which for size and convenience cannot be surpassed by the New
England States where education, from the earliest times ii eir
history, has been the most important feature of their sociai .ind
political system. The public schools of Canada, however, do not
go very far back in the history of the country. In 1S39 there were
in all the schools of British North America only some 92.000
children out of a population of 1.400,000 souls, or one to fifteen,
but now the proportion is given as one to four. The majority of
the schools in the province of Quebec are controlled by the priests
and religious orders. Separate Schools, however, exist in Quebec
and other provinces for Protestants and Roman Catholics ; and in
fact they arc specially protected by the terms of the Act of Union.
The higher educational institutions of. Canada, for jnstance, Mc.
Gill University in Montreal, Toronto Uiiivei-jsit'y, Queen's College
in Kingston, and Laval University in Quebec — have connected
with them a large class of professors, many of whom, like Sir
William Dawson and Dr. Daniel Wilson, have won for themselves
a high reputation in the world of science and literature. In accord
with the spirit of the day, these large institutions have their courses
of technical, geological, medical and legal studies. A young man can
in Ontario commence with the common school, in due course of
time pass through tlie academy or collegiate institute, and then
complete his studies ni' the Universitjf, at the minimum of expense.
Indeed if he is clever and industrious, he can take enough scho-
larships to meet nearly all his necessary expenses whilst passing
his university course.
The people of Canada have been so much occupied in building
cities and towns, in opening the mine, in clearing the forest, in
developing all the varied resources of their country that one would
naturally suppose they have had little time for the pursuit of Art,
Literature and Science. The Geological and other Sciences have,
however, from an early period engaged the attention of many able
men who have found abundant opportunities for the exercise of
their tr' ts in the very fertile field of investigation and study
193
which the natural formation and the mineral deposits of Canada
offer to the student. The results of their researches have attracted
the attention of the world of Science in luirope, and brought
many of them both fame and distinctions. In general literature
also Canadians have made marked progress of late years. The
French Canadians who possess an exceedingly interesting history
have produced not a few poets of merit, one of whom not long
since won the Monthyon prize at the Institute of France. English
Canada has given birth to several writers whose historical and
constitutional works are of undoubted value. The press of Canada
i^' conducted with signal ability and energy, though the party
papers sometimes display an amount of bitterness which weakens
their influence with the intelligence of the community. The large
number of pamphlets and works on Canadian subjects that are issued
from year to year clearly shows the stimulus that has been given
to mental activity by the larger field of thought that the union of
the Canadian provinces has opened up to students and thinking
men. Canada has hitherto possessed only one large Library —
that belonging to the Parliament of Ottawa — which is housed in
a building remarkable for its architectural beauty. All the leading
educational institutions, the law societies, and scientific associations
have their special libraries, but it is only now that an effort is
being made to establish free libraries in the principal cities and
towns. The province of Ontario has placed on its Statute book a
law which enables every municipality to tax itself for the support
of such an institution and already the city of Toronto possesses
a library which promises to be extremely valuable. The Art
Schools which now exist in several cities owe their origin to the
exertions of Her Royal Highness the Princess Louise and the Mar-
quess of Lome. The Royal Society of Canada which comprises the
leading scientific and literary men of the Dominion, something on
the basis of the French Institute, was founded by the nobleman,
just named, who, above all previous Governors-General, endeavoured
to encourage a taste for science and literature in the country in
whose future he takes so deep an interest. The soil of Canada is
still new, and we cannot yet expect the rich fruition of the old
countries of P2urope where every inch of ground has its traditions
and associations to evoke the genius of history, poetry and romance.
The Canadian people, however, inheriting as they do the mental
characteristics of the two great nations, which have produced those
literary treasures from which the world is every day drawing inspi-
ration are not likely to prove false to their ancestry, but must
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I sootier or later contribute to the democracy of letters and science
works that can fairly take their place among the masterpieces
which constitute the chief glory of England and France.
The literary history of Canada must resemble in many respects
that of the United States. We find that in the early days of that
country, when the people were laying the foundations of tlieir
government, ver)' able writers devoted themselves to the study of
political and constitutional questions. No greater literary monument
is possessed by any country than that series of essays written by
Hamilton, Madison and Jay, but principally by the former, on
the federal constitution adopted in 1787 after considerable doubt
and hesitation on the part of statesmen and people. For breadth
of constitutional learning, vigour of style, and acuteness of reason-
ing, Hamilton's papers stand in the front rank of this class of
literature. In their press, in their state papers, and in the debates
of their legislatures for many years we find the most interesting
evidence of the culture of the leading minds of the country. The
necessities of the Union at that time forced the talent of the
Republic into a groove of thought where it would be of the greatest
public value, and attract the most attention. The same has happened
in a measure in Canada. The political changes that have taken
place in the course of a century have engaged the attention of
the best minds, and have originated a large number of invaluable
pamphlets, essays and works — in some cases of an elaborate
character — which favourably compare with the ablest productions
of a similar class in other countries. The statesmen and publicists
of Canada have displayed a breadth of knowledge and an amount
of acumen in reducing theory to practice which affords abundant
evidence of their descent from the races most capable of governing
large communities on liberal constitutional principles.
The political institutions of Canada are the results of the labours
and struggles of her public men during the century which has
nearly elapsed since a representative system was established in the
provinces of British North America. Home Rule exists in the
full significance of the phrase. If we begin at the village councils
which lie at the basis of the political structure, we find that the
people are represented in some shape or other, and able to exercise
a direct influence on the administration of public affairs in every
sphere of political action. It was not so, however, in the days of
the French regime. Then there existed an autocratic illiberal
system of government which effectually crushed every expression
of public sentiment. No meetings for the discussion of the most
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trivial local matters were permitted under the rule of the French
Kings. Whilst the people of New England were discussing their
affairs in the fullest manner in their township meeting, the French
Canadian was ignorant of the very meaning of the great heritage
of local government peculiar to the Teutonic races. An incomplete
system of parliamentary government was conceded in 1792 to
Canada, and then commenced the struggle which practically lasted
until 1854 for the establishmcMit of responsible government which
would give to the people the fullest control over their local affairs
with as little interference as possible from the parent State. In
1840 the British government relaxed its parental authority and
adopted a policy which eventually gave the people complete
jurisdiction over all matters except those which affected Imperial
interests and obligations. In 1867 the Imperial authorities cheer-
fully responded to the aspirations of the people for a larger sphere
of political activity, and passed the constitution which now unites
the provinces in a federal union, which combines many of the best
features of the i^meiican system with those principles of British
constitutional government which seem well adapted to their poli-
tical condition. Canada now possesses political institu*'!ons which
allow abundant scope to the capacity of the people for self-govern-
ment. At the base of these institutions lies the municipal system
which enables the owners and occupants of property in every
district defined by law to tax themselves for the support of schools,
roads, and public improvements of every kind. Many abuses have
at times arisen in some of the large centres of population on account
of unsuitable persons obtaining positions in the municipal councils,
but the remedy always rests with the people themselves at the
polls. On the whole the system works satisfactorily and enables
the people to make all necessary local improvements. Then going
a step higher we find the people represented in provincial assem-
blies whose duties and functions are defined and limited by the
Constitutional Act.
Tbe provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward
Island, Quebe ,, Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia are
governed by a lieutenant governor, appointed by the Governor-
General of Canada in Council ; an Executive Council holding office
as long as it retains the confidence of a majority in the peoples'
house; a legislature consisting of a Legislative Council and an Assembly
in four, and of an Assembly only in three provinces. This provin-
cial Government has control of certain enumerated matters affecting
civil rights and property, education, local works, and such other
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m.'itters as arc of a provincial or municipal character. This <ro-
vcrnnient, is, however, supreme in all those matters over which
it has been given an exclusive jurisdiction by the constitution,
and not expressly or by clear implication given to the dominion
or central authority which presides over the "vhole of the united
provinces. This central authority consists of a Governor-General,
representing the Queen; of a privy council, responsible to the
peoples' representatives, and of a parliament of two Houses; a
Senate or Upper Chamber, appointed by the Crown for life, and
a House of Commons elected by the people of the whole Dominion,
in their respective provinces. This government has jurisdiction over
militia and defence, ail customs and excise duties, fisheries, marine,
hospitals, navigation and shipping, light houses, dominion railwa\'s,
and all matters of national importance. The constitution is essen-
tually limited. In the lirst place, the powers of the general govern-
ment are restricted in as much as they can pass no acts which
are in (Conflict with Imperial rights and interests, or infringe on
the clearly defined jurisdiction of the local governments. These
latter, on the other hand, are restrained to legislation on such
subjects as are expressly set forth in the Constitutional Act. .\s
must be the case with every written constitution, conflicts of juris-
diction arise from time to time in consequence of the doubtful con-
struction, of certain parts of the British North American Act; but
these doubts are being gradually set at rest, by the decisions of
the judicial tribunals of the Dominion and of the Judicial Committee
of the Privy Council of luigland as the court of last resort for
the whole Empire. The highest Court of Canada is the Supreme
Court in which the majority of such controversies are decided,
as appeals to the Privy Council are limited in practice and only
necessary under exceptionally important circumstances. The people
have, very justly, great confidence in their courts; for it is a matter
of pride with Canada that her judiciary has been on the whole
composed of men of integrity and learning. The judges of all the
courts are appointed by the dominion government and are, as in
iMigland, only removable by the Governor-General in Council on
an address from the two Houses of Parliament.
The people are able to e.xercise an immediate influence on the
administration of public afl*airs by means of the liberal franchise
which exists throughout the Dominion. In the cities, towns and rural
districts practically every tax payer is able to vote for the wardens,
mayors, reeves, aldermen, and municipal councillors generally.
Each province has a franchise for the Assembly extremely liberal
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ill its provisions. Tlic owners or occupants of houses, farmers and
their sons, mechanics, clerks and others who receive a certain in
come, can in Ontario exercise the francliise; and indeed in Prince
lulward Island the performance of statute labour, or the payment
of a few shillings in lieu thereof, entitles a man to vote and in eftect
establishes universal sufifrage. yntil recenth* the members of the
House of Commons were elected b}' the same constituency which
returns representatives to the Assemblies, but during the last session
of Parliament it was thought advisable by the government to ar-
range uniform franchise for the Dominion. This measure met with
a great deal of opposition at the time, ostensibly on the ground
that it was unnecessary to interfere with the previous practice which
had worked quite satisfactoril)' on the whole; but without going
into the political question as to the necessity for this change of
policy, there is no doubt that the new franchise is extremely wide,
and that every man of intelligence and respectability who is able
to make an honest livelihood in any vocation of life will now be
able to exercise the privilege of voting for the most influential
legislative body of CiUiada. Whilst the people annually vote for
municipal officers, they choose representatives to the Assemblies
every four years and to the Dominion Parliament every five years.
Although the period of five years is fixed for the latter body, the
exigencies of party government give the people an opportunit}' of
choosing new representatives every four years, if not less, on an
average. In this way they are able to criticize the acts of their
representatives at sufficiently short intervals of time, and to exercise a
large control over the management of public afifairs. In every coun-
try enjoying a system of representative government it is absolutely
essential there should be abundant room for the expression of pu-
blic opinion without at the same time keeping the public mind in
a state of turmoil and agitation by a frequency of elections. The
Canadians believe that their system is in this respect an improve-
ment on that of the United States where the frequent occurrence
of elections — for country and state officers, for representatives to
Congress and the State legislatures, and for the Presidency — seems
calculated to disturb business and give an opportunity to demagogues
and partisans which may prove, sooner or later, injurious to the
public interests. In one respect, however, the people of Canada
might well follow the example of their neighbours, and that is with
regard to the meetings of their provincial legislative assemblies. The
practice of holding biennial sessions of the Legislatures is gaining
ground throughout the United States, and is very materially lessening
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the expenses of lej^islation without in ;iny \v'a\' jeopiirclisiiifr the public
interests. In Canada the Hritish practice of votinLj supplies every
year is of course one reason why the provincial assemblies meet
every year, but that is a difficulty which can be removed by le-
;^islation. Another objection is the belief it would increase the
chances of a weak government continuing; in office since the people's
representatives would have fewer opportunities of expressing their
opinions and voting on questions affecting that government. This
appears to be the objection which has heretofore prevailed against
the adoption of a practice which is becoming general in the United
States where it must be remembered, the people as a rule vote every
year for their state officers including the governor, and the vote of
l)arties does not depend on their strength in the legislatures.
The only evidences now of Hritish sovereignty in the Dominion
are the appointment of a Governor-General every five or six years;
the disallowance at rare intervals of such Acts as conflict with
Imperial legislation or Imperial treaties; the privilege v/hich the
people possess of appeal to the Privy Council from their own
judicial tribunals ; and the necessity that exists for conducting all
commercial negotiations with foreign nations through the Imperial
authorities. That Canada is no longer a burthen upon the Empire
is clearly proved by recent events in her history. Whilst as a part
of the Imperial dominions she must always have a claim to the
support of England in case of foreign aggression, she is able to
preserve peace within her own borders, even under extraordinary
circumstances, as the record of the recent rising in the North West
has abundantly shown. The presence of a few troops and men of
war at Halifax is now the only perceptible evidence of British
s^ipremacy, that exists from Sydney to Victoria,
j Canada now occupies a position without a parallel in the past
history of the world. Although still a dependency she has assumed
the proportions of an Empire and can exercise many of the attri-
butes of sovereignty. Whilst the head of the executive authority
is still th-i Queen of Great Britain, who has delegated her powers
to a Governor-General, whilst Canada still occupies a position of
dependence with respect to treaties and other matters of a directly
Imperial character, she models her commercial policy without
reference to the parent state, appoints and dismisses lieutenant-
governors, establishes new provinces in her territories, supports a
large and efficient militia force on which she depends for domestic
peace and security, and builds at her own expense public works
of Imperial value. All this she has achieved within less than a
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(luarter of a century; for it cannot be denied that it is the fedcal
I union whicli has enabled the provinces to assume a position of
so much importance among communities. Such facts prove that
her people have hitherto been animated by a national spirit which
.must carry them still further on the path of national development.^
/_ The ipiestion will now naturally occur to every reader of tlnr?e^
paj^es. — What is the future destiny of a country which is making
such rapid strides towards national greatness? The interest that
is now taken w tire p^roposed Federation t>(" the Empire proves
that tlK' foregoing question is already attracting the attention of
iMiglishmen. ,Xho growth and prosperity of Canada and the other
colonial dependencies for a tjuarter of a century have naturally
interested British statesmen, and showed them how unfortuniite
r"*^ ^ it would be for l^Lngland were communities of such undoubted
j J promise to be allowed to drift away from the Empire without an
effort to continue the connection on terms compatible with their
self-interest and self respect. This is, however, a subject of too great
importance to be discussed at the conclusion of a paper like this.
So far in Canada the discussion has not come within the limits
of jjractical politics. ^ It is quite certain tiiat at present neither
Independence nor Annexation is among the questions of the day,
although they may be incidentally discussed when Canadians review
the facts of their progress, and consider their position in the Em-
pire. It is quite certain, however, tiiat tiiere are no large number
of persons disposed towards a political connection with the great
^ country to the south of the Dominion. The people who stood
'^ true to iXngland during the War <jf Independence who suffered
y severely during the War of 1812 — 14, who never raised the flag
of Annexation even in the days of the greatest depression in trade
y and industry, are not likely to seek absorption into the ranks of the
"^ American Union when they have already achieved a position among
political and commercial communities, which is the best earnest of
\ their national ambitimi, and of their ability to hold their own on
^v/ this broad continent. A-; respects the question of Independence, it
may bie said that the various progressive steps in the political career
of Canada seem to point towards the establishment in a later period
of her history of a distinct nation. Such aspirations may be fairly
considered the natural heritage of a British people, but while they
may animate the hearts of the races that inhabit the Dominion,
and may obtain still greater force in the days when Canada be-
comes a country of twenty or thirty million people dwelling in an
unbroken line of provinces from the Atlantic to the Pacific, I
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believe for one thiit their desires do not run in the direction of
entire separation from the parenjt state, but that they r.ither look
forward to such a modification of the relations between the depen-
dencies and England, as will give the former larger influence in the
Imperial Councils, and at the same time enable the latter to retain
that prestige which she has always enjoyed as the governing power
of a great Colonial Empire. However this is a question which, in
the ordinary course of events Canadians can hardly be called upon
to consider from a practical point of view for years to come. Their
energies must be directed for sometime towards the consolidation
and development of their widely extended provinces.
As a people Canadians hnve a great deal to be thankful for.
Under the protection of Great Britain they have been able to reach
a position which may well be envied by many communities of
the old world. Those questions which have long kept the countries
of Europe in a state of constant agitation do not exist to disturb
the tranquillity of the Dominion. No great landlords occupy the
largest portion of the territorial domains of Canada, but every man
of industrious habits can win for himself a comfortable home, and
become a landed proprietor without any of those difficulties of
transfer which gladden the hearts of English lawyers. The only
land question th^t ever occupied the attention of Canadian states-
men was the old system of Seigniorial Tenure — a relic of the
fe ial times of France — but it was soon settled on principles
tha were fair to both Seignior and tenant. Primogeniture was
abolished very many years ago in Canada and property is now
generally divided among the children of a family. All respectable
and industrious men can exercise the privilege of voting under a
franchise which is on the very borders of universal suffrage. \o
connection exists between Church and State, but all denominations
depend on the voluntary contributions of their respective members.
Of course Canada must have her difficulties to face in the future.
Her statesmen are called upon to legislate for the interests of five
million people — soon to double in numbers — inhabiting pro-
vinces with diverse interests. They have assumed heavy financial
obligations v/hich it will require all the resources of the country
to meet without heavily burthening the people. The preservation of
peace and order in the vast North West region must require the
watchful care ot the government for years until railways and settle-
ment bring the whole territory within the limits of civilization.
The political agitation which has commenced among a portion of
the French Canadian people since the execution of Riel has a
201
certain significance whirh every intelligent, thoughtful man of either
the French or the English race cannot well overlook. In the old
troublous times of Canada, before the concession by the Imperial
authorities of a liberal system of popular government, the province
of Quebec then known as Lower Canada was torn asunder by
political conflicts, and commerce and industry were constantly para-
lyzed. Lord Durham who was sent out to restore order to the
distracted country after the Rebellion of 1837-8, confessed in his
Report that he "found two nations waving in the bosom of a
"single State; a struggle not of principles but of races". Since
those unhappy times the country has enjoyed a long period of
comparative freedom from dangerous contests between the two
great national elements of the population. At intervals certainly
there have been political crises, and the country has been much
agitated. In 1849 there was an explosion of British sentiment,
which culminated in the burning of the Parliament House at
Montreal, in consequence of the payment of French Canadians for
losses sustained by them during the Rebellion.
Much political excitement also existed up to 1865 on account
of the claims of the Western or English province, for additional
representation in proportion to its population, then considerably
greater than that of the T^astern or French section; but these
difficulties were peaceably settled by the Federal Union under
which each province has control of the administration of its local
affairs, and a representation in Parliament which gives full consi-
deration to population. In the absence of race conflicts, and in
the presence of the new spirit of energy and enterprise brought
in^o every sphere of political and commercial life by the Confede-
ration, Canada has prospered and her people have been hitherto
happy and contented. To the confederation the French Canadians
have always given an unqualified adhesion inasmuch as it affords
every necessary protection to their peculiar interests. It has prac-
tically made of Quebec a French province and at the same time
enabled its representatives in the Dominion Parliament to exercise
a large, sometimes a controlling influence, over the administration
ot the day. Under no other system of government would it be
possible for them to possess the same weight they do now in the
federal councils. Unfortunately sometimes for the best interests of
that province, the people exhibit the impulsive, excitable tempera-
ment which is the natural heritage of a French race. They are
at times very susceptible to declamatory appeals not always founded
on grounds of sense or justice- If it were possible to believe that
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202
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intelligence and reason could be ever finally lost in a storm of
passion, it would be unfortunate for Canada and we might well
despair of her future. The true interests of French Canada lies,
not in keeping aloof from, but in identifying itself with all other
nationalities for the security and peace of the whole country,
irrespective of provincial boundaries or race considerations. The
success of confederation up to the present has been based on this
spirit of Canadian unity.
Those who have visited the interesting village of St. Anne's at
the junction of the rivers Ottawa and St. Lawrence — a spot made
famous by the poet Moore — may have noticed an interesting natural
phenomenon. The waters of the Ottawa are distinctly blue whilst
those of the St. Lawrence are perfectly green. Where these rivers
join, we can easily distinguish their respective hues for some dis-
tance, but at last these dififerences disappear and the Otta va and
St. Lawrence form one magnificent stream bearing on its bosom
the traffic and wealth of half a continent. So it should be with the
French and British peoples of Canada. They may to a certain
point preserve their national characteristics, but whenever it beco-
mes a question involving the peace, happiness and unity of the
Dominion, let-~us hope that all dififerences of race wHl disappear,
and the French Canadian will be found working energetically and
harmoniously with the English Canadian in all matters afifecting the
best interests of the Confederation which owes its origin to their
common efiforts.^ ]
! (
/louse of Cmrimons, Oitaiva, ■
1st December 1885. \
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