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diff --git a/26086-8.txt b/26086-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9819c9e --- /dev/null +++ b/26086-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7610 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Wilmot and Tilley, by James Hannay + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Wilmot and Tilley + +Author: James Hannay + +Release Date: July 19, 2008 [EBook #26086] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WILMOT AND TILLEY *** + + + + +Produced by Jason Isbell, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) + + + + + + + + + + THE MAKERS OF CANADA + + EDITED BY + + DUNCAN CAMPBELL SCOTT, F.R.S.C., + PELHAM EDGAR, PH.D., AND, + WILLIAM DAWSON LE SUEUR, B.A., LL.D., F.R.S.C. + + + + +WILMOT AND TILLEY + + + + +[Illustration: L. A. Wilmot] + + + + + _THE MAKERS OF CANADA_ + + + WILMOT AND TILLEY + + + BY + + JAMES HANNAY + + + _EDITION DE LUXE_ + + + TORONTO + MORANG & CO., LIMITED + 1907 + + + + +_Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada in the year 1907 +by Morang & Co., Limited, in the Department of Agriculture_ + + +Transcriber's Notes: + + Unique page headings have been retained, placed within {braces} and + positioned before the relevant paragraphs. Minor typographical + errors have been corrected without note. Variant spellings have been + retained. Inconsistent hyphenation has been standardised. The oe + ligature is represented by [oe]. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + LEMUEL ALLAN WILMOT + + _CHAPTER I_ Page + ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE 1 + + _CHAPTER II_ + EARLY EFFORTS FOR REFORM 13 + + _CHAPTER III_ + WILMOT IN THE LEGISLATURE 31 + + _CHAPTER IV_ + WILMOT AS A DELEGATE TO THE COLONIAL OFFICE 41 + + _CHAPTER V_ + LORD JOHN RUSSELL ON TENURE OF OFFICE 57 + + _CHAPTER VI_ + THE READE APPOINTMENT 67 + + _CHAPTER VII_ + WILMOT'S VIEWS ON EDUCATION 83 + + _CHAPTER VIII_ + THE DEMAND FOR RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT 99 + + _CHAPTER IX_ + THE VICTORY IS WON 113 + + _CHAPTER X_ + JUDGE AND GOVERNOR 131 + + + SIR LEONARD TILLEY + + _CHAPTER I_ + EARLY LIFE AND BUSINESS CAREER 143 + + _CHAPTER II_ + ELECTED TO THE LEGISLATURE 159 + + _CHAPTER III_ + THE PROHIBITORY LIQUOR LAW 171 + + _CHAPTER IV_ + REFORM AND PROGRESS 183 + + _CHAPTER V_ + THE INTERCOLONIAL RAILWAY 195 + + _CHAPTER VI_ + THE MOVEMENT FOR MARITIME UNION 201 + + _CHAPTER VII_ + THE QUEBEC CONFERENCE 215 + + _CHAPTER VIII_ + DEFEAT OF CONFEDERATION 231 + + _CHAPTER IX_ + TILLEY AGAIN IN POWER 239 + + _CHAPTER X_ + THE BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT 253 + + _CHAPTER XI_ + THE FIRST PARLIAMENT OF CANADA 269 + + _CHAPTER XII_ + FINANCE MINISTER AND GOVERNOR 277 + + + INDEX 293 + + + + +LEMUEL ALLAN WILMOT + + + + +CHAPTER I + +ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE + + +The contest for responsible government which was carried on in all the +provinces of British North America for so many years resembled in some +of its features a modern battle, where the field of operations is so +wide that it is impossible for a general to cover it with his eye or to +keep control of all the movements of his subordinates. In such a case, +everything depends on the ability of the generals who command the +different army corps, who, operating in remote parts of the field, must +take the responsibility of success or failure. The two Canadas were so +far removed from New Brunswick, and the means of communication were so +poor, that there was but little help, even in the way of suggestion, to +be expected from them, while the contest for responsible government was +being carried on. Even the efforts in the same direction which were +being made in the province of Nova Scotia had but little influence on +the course of events in New Brunswick, for each province had its own +particular grievances and its own separate interests. Thus it happened +that the battle for responsible government in New Brunswick was fought, +to a large extent, without reference to what was being done in the +other provinces which now form the Dominion of Canada, and the leaders +of the movement had to be guided by the peculiar local circumstances of +the situation. Still, there is no doubt that the efforts of all the +provinces, directed to the same ends, were mutually helpful and made the +victory more easily won. + +Among the men who took a part in the contest for responsible government +in New Brunswick, Lemuel Allan Wilmot undoubtedly held the foremost +place, not only by reason of the ability with which he advocated the +cause, but from the trust which the people had in him, which made him a +natural leader and the proper exponent of their views. There were, +indeed, men working in the same field before his time, but it was his +happy fortune to witness the fruit of his labours to give the province a +better form of government, and to bring its constitution into line with +the system which prevailed in the mother country. He not only viewed the +land of promise from afar, but he entered into it, and he became the +first native lieutenant-governor of the province,--a result which even +he, sanguine as he was, could hardly have contemplated when he began his +career as a public man. + +{THE WILMOT FAMILY} + +Lemuel Allan Wilmot was born in the county of Sunbury, on the banks of +the St. John River, on January 31st, 1809. He was the son of William +Wilmot, a respectable merchant and lumberman, who was in partnership +with William Peters, grandfather of Sir Leonard Tilley. William Wilmot +was the son of Lemuel Wilmot, a Loyalist, who was a resident of +Poughkeepsie, New York, at the beginning of the Revolution. He (Lemuel) +raised a company of soldiers for the service of the king, and became a +captain in the Loyal American Regiment which was commanded by Beverley +Robinson, serving in that corps during the war. At the peace, he came to +New Brunswick and settled in Sunbury County on the river St. John. The +Wilmots were a respectable English family, and the first of the name in +America was Benjamin Wilmot, who was born in England in 1589 and came to +America with his wife Ann, probably prior to 1640. He was one of the +early settlers of New Haven, Connecticut, and the records of that colony +show that he took the oaths of fidelity at a court held on May 2d, 1648. +He died in 1669. His son William, who was born in 1632, was probably +also a native of England. He married Sarah Thomas in 1658, and died in +1689. + +Thomas Wilmot, his son, was born in 1679. He married Mary Lines, and +their son Ezekiel was born in 1708. Ezekiel Wilmot and his wife Beulah +were the parents of Lemuel, who was born in 1743. Lemuel Wilmot married +Elizabeth Street, and William, the father of the subject of this +biography, was their son. William Wilmot married Hannah Bliss, a +daughter of the Hon. Daniel Bliss, a Massachusetts Loyalist, who became +a member of the council of New Brunswick and was the father of John +Murray Bliss, one of the judges of the supreme court of that province. +His grandfather was Colonel John Murray, a Massachusetts Loyalist, who +was for many years a member of the general court of that colony and who +became a mandamus councillor. It will thus be seen that Lemuel Wilmot +came from the best New England stock, and that his connections were +highly respectable and even distinguished. He was proud of his New +England descent, and claimed the usual ancestor from among the +passengers of the _Mayflower_ who landed at Plymouth in 1620. If this +claim is correct, his descent from the Pilgrim Fathers must have been +through the female line, and no record of it has been preserved. The +matter is not of much consequence at the present day, for the Wilmots +have made a record in their province far more distinguished than that +which they won in New England, for they have given to New Brunswick five +members of the legislature, a senator and member of the House of Commons +of Canada, two members of the executive of New Brunswick, and one of the +privy council of Canada, an attorney-general and a provincial secretary +of New Brunswick and two lieutenant-governors. + +{LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR CARLETON} + +The system of government which existed in all the British North American +colonies at the time when L. A. Wilmot was born was practically the +same. New Brunswick had been separated from Nova Scotia in 1784, and, in +the autumn of that year, its first governor was sent out in the person +of Thomas Carleton, a brother of Sir Guy Carleton. Thomas Carleton had +been an officer in one of the regiments which fought during the War of +the Revolution, but he was in no way distinguished, and had no special +qualifications for the position he was called upon to fill. That fact, +however, did not concern the persons in England who appointed him. In +those days, fitness or ability had very little to do with colonial +appointments. Carleton continued to fill the office of governor and +lieutenant-governor until his death in 1817; but for the last fourteen +years of his term he resided in England, and the duties of his office +were performed by a succession of administrators under the name of +presidents. To assist him in his deliberations, Carleton had a council +of twelve members, who were appointed by the Crown and were therefore +wholly under the influence of the governor and the authorities in +England. In 1809, its number had been reduced to ten, and it was +composed of the four judges of the supreme court, the provincial +secretary and the surveyor-general, who held their offices for life, and +four other persons. This council, in addition to its executive +functions, also sat as the upper branch of the legislature, and, besides +being wholly irresponsible except to the governor, it sat with closed +doors, so that the public had no opportunity of knowing what was being +done. It was not until the year 1833 that any portion of the journals of +the legislative council was published. + +The House of Assembly consisted of members chosen by the freeholders of +the several counties and the freeholders and freemen of the city of St. +John. This House was able to exert but a limited influence on the +government of the country, for all authority was vested in the +lieutenant-governor and he was able to act in a manner quite independent +of the legislature. All the appointments to office were in his hands, +and they were made in many cases even without the knowledge of his +council. In England, even under the most despotic kings, parliament was +always able to curb the power of the Crown by refusing to grant +supplies; but this check did not exist in New Brunswick, or in the other +colonies of British North America at that time, because the governor had +sources of revenue quite independent of the legislature. The British +government maintained a customs establishment in the colonies, which +levied duties on all merchandise imported, and over which the +legislature had no control. The British government also retained the +revenues arising from the Crown lands of the province, and these +revenues the governor expended as he pleased. The House of Assembly, +therefore, might refuse to vote supplies; but the governor could go on +without them, and the only effect of such a procedure was to injure its +own officials, and to deprive the people of the money which was expended +on roads and bridges. + +{THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND} + +Another feature of the system of government in New Brunswick was the +predominant influence it gave to the members of the Church of England. +Every member of the council of the province belonged to that +denomination, and it was not until the year 1817 that any person who was +not an adherent of the Church of England was appointed to the council. +This exception was William Pagan, a member of the Church of Scotland, +and his was a solitary instance because up to the year 1833, when the +old council was abolished, all its other members were adherents of the +Church of England. The same rule prevailed with respect to all the great +offices in the gift of the Crown. All the judges of the supreme court +for the first sixty-seven years of the existence of the province were +members of the Church of England. L. A. Wilmot, who became +attorney-general in 1848, was the first person not a member of the +Church of England who filled that office, and he was the first judge not +a member of that Church who sat on the bench of New Brunswick. + +For some time after the foundation of the province, the salaries of the +Church of England clergymen were paid by the British government, and +large grants of land were made for the purpose of supporting the +churches. In addition to this, financial assistance was given to them +in erecting their places of worship. No dissenting minister was allowed +to perform the marriage ceremony, that privilege being confined to +clergymen of the Church of England, the Church of Scotland, the Quakers +and the Church of Rome. This was felt to be a very serious grievance, +and, needless to say, produced a great deal of inconvenience. + +Another grievance was the fact that the great offices were held by +members of certain favoured families. These families, from their social +position and in some cases from their wealth, had the ear of the +governor, or of the authorities in England, and were able to obtain and +hold all the valuable places. The two Odells, father and son, held the +office of provincial secretary for sixty years. The Chipmans were +another favoured family, both the father and son being successively +judges of the supreme court, and the former receiving large sums from +the British government as one of the commissioners who settled the +boundary between Maine and New Brunswick. One of the greatest offices in +the province--that of the surveyor-general--was held by one person for +thirty-three years, and this individual was in no sense responsible to +any authority in New Brunswick except the governor. Those in power at +that day were very fond of expatiating on the glories of the British +constitution and the privileges the people enjoyed under it. But nothing +less like the British constitution can be imagined than the system +which then prevailed in the British North American colonies. + +{THE OFFICIAL CLASSES} + +One feature which is not to be lost sight of in considering the +political condition of the province at that time is the social element. +The distinctions between the upper classes and others was then far more +marked than it is at present. The officials and the professional men +formed a class by themselves, and looked with contempt upon those who +were engaged in business. The salaries of the government officials were +then three or four times as large as they are at present, and they kept +up a corresponding degree of state which others were not in a position +to imitate. This assumption of superiority was carried out in all the +relations of life, and the sons of those who occupied an inferior +station were made to feel their position keenly. This was the case with +Lemuel Allan Wilmot, for, although his family was as good as any in the +provinces, he was the son of a man who was engaged in business and who +was not only a Dissenter but was actually a preacher in the denomination +to which he belonged. No doubt the insults which the son received from +those who claimed to occupy a higher station had a good deal to do with +his zeal for the cause of Reform, and influenced his future career to a +considerable extent. + +William Wilmot, although he afterwards failed in business, was in +prosperous circumstances when his son Lemuel was born. He was a Baptist +and was one of the original members of the Baptist Church at Canning, +in Queens County, which was founded in 1800. On Christmas Day, 1813, +William Wilmot and nine others received their dismissal from the Canning +Church for the purpose of founding a Baptist Church in Fredericton. +Wilmot was a local preacher and used his gift of eloquence in that way. +He also aspired to legislative distinction, and was elected a member of +the House of Assembly for the county of Sunbury in 1816. He was an +unsuccessful candidate for the same seat in 1819, and again in 1820. At +the general election of 1827 he ran for the county of York, to which he +had removed several years before, but was again defeated. This was his +last attempt to become a member of the House of Assembly. His loss of +three elections out of four had certainly been discouraging, and was in +singular contrast to the fortune of his distinguished son, who never +experienced a defeat. + +{AS A LAW STUDENT} + +Lemuel Wilmot's mother died when he was only eighteen months old, so +that he never knew a mother's love or a mother's care. But his father +early recognized his youthful promise, and gave him all the educational +advantages then available. He became a pupil at the College of New +Brunswick, which was situated in Fredericton, of which the Rev. Dr. +Somerville was the president and sole professor. This college was in +fact merely a grammar school, but Wilmot acquired there some knowledge +of the classics. However, his scholastic career was not prolonged, for +in June, 1825, he entered as a student-at-law with Charles S. Putnam, a +leading barrister of Fredericton. He was admitted an attorney of the +supreme court in July, 1830, and a barrister two years later. He was +then twenty-three years of age. + +The men who were contemporaries of Mr. Wilmot as a youth are all dead, +and not many anecdotes of his career as a student have been handed down +to us. Being of an ardent and ambitious disposition, he took a keen +interest in the stirring events that were being enacted around him; for +it was a time of great political excitement, and the business troubles +of the province increased the difficulties of its inhabitants. In 1825, +all the lumbermen in the province were ruined, and the bad management of +the Crown lands office which had added to the business difficulties +became more than a political question, for by cramping its leading +industry it affected the prosperity of every man in New Brunswick. It +was then that young Wilmot resolved to enter upon a political career and +to do what he could to redress the wrongs from which the people were +suffering. Strange to say, at this time he, who afterwards became most +eloquent, had an impediment in his speech, which it took much labour to +overcome. To improve his knowledge of French, he spent some months with +a French family in Madawaska, among the descendants of the ancient +Acadians. In this way he acquired a colloquial knowledge of that +language. + +Wilmot's ambition was to become a public man and to assist in the +reformation of the constitution of his native province. He enjoyed many +advantages for the rôle he had undertaken. He was tall, his height being +upwards of six feet, well proportioned, handsome and striking in his +features, and he possessed a voice of great strength and sweetness. He +was proficient in all athletic exercises, and took an interest in all +those movements which commend themselves to young men of enterprise and +force of character. He was a lieutenant in the first battalion of the +York County Militia when he was only eighteen years of age, and his +devotion to the militia force continued until the end of his life. +Possessed as he was of all the elements which make men popular and +prominent, he was early marked for advancement in the field that he had +chosen for the exercise of his talents. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +EARLY EFFORTS FOR REFORM + + +The agitation for an improvement in the constitution of New Brunswick +began long before L. A. Wilmot was born. The first man who took a +prominent stand for reform in the legislature was Mr. James Glenie, a +member for the county of Sunbury from 1792 to 1809. Mr. Glenie, who was +a Scotchman and a man of much ability, had been an officer in the Royal +Engineers during the Revolutionary War. His efforts to obtain reforms +were met by the friends of the governor, Mr. Carleton, with the most +violent opposition. He was denounced as an incendiary, and indeed there +was hardly a limit to the fierceness with which he was attacked for +attempting to bring about an improvement in the system of government. +The old Family Compact and their friends were ever ready to tell the +public how loyal they were, and to denounce as a traitor any person who +presumed to object to the existing state of things. Mr. Glenie was not +able to effect anything substantial for the improvement of the +constitution, because the time was not ripe for the changes he proposed. +England itself was suffering at that time from a relapse from true +constitutional methods, so it was not to be expected that much +attention would be paid to complaints which came from a remote province +of North America. + +The cause of Reform would not have been nearly so well supported as it +was, had it not been for the fact that the abuses which existed touched +the self-interest of many persons who were by no means Reformers at +heart, and who in fact cared nothing about responsible government. The +first successful attack which was made on the existing order of things +was with regard to the fees charged on land grants. These fees went to +the various officials, including the governor, and it was shown that on +a lot of land not exceeding three hundred acres, the enormous sum of +forty-seven dollars was charged as fees, while on a lot of one thousand +acres to ten grantees, the fees amounted to about two hundred dollars. +The reader will be able to understand from these figures how it was that +the officials of the government were able to live in such princely +style. This evil was remedied by permission being obtained from the +colonial secretary to include a large number of grantees in one grant. + +{THE MARRIAGE QUESTION} + +Another grievance which was attacked long before Mr. Wilmot entered +public life was the law which related to the performance of the marriage +ceremony. At that time the only clerical persons authorized to solemnize +marriages were the clergymen of the Church of England, ministers of the +Kirk of Scotland, Quakers, and priests of the Roman Catholic Church. +This was felt to be an intolerable grievance, because it prevented +Methodists, Baptists and all Presbyterians except those connected with +the Church of Scotland from being married by their own ministers. In +1821 a bill was passed in the House of Assembly authorizing all +ministers of the Gospel to solemnize marriages. This was rejected by the +council, a fate which befell many subsequent bills of the same kind. For +several years the House of Assembly continued to pass the Dissenters' +Marriage Bill, and the council as steadily rejected it. Finally, in +1831, the House of Assembly concluded that nothing would serve to bring +about the reform asked for but a petition to the king, and accordingly a +petition was prepared in which the facts were set forth and His Majesty +was asked to give instructions to the administrator of the government to +recommend the legislature to pass a bill extending the privilege of +solemnizing marriages to all regularly ordained clergymen of dissenting +congregations in New Brunswick. In 1832, a bill was passed by both +Houses carrying out these views. It contained a suspending clause, +however, which prevented it from going into operation until approved by +His Majesty. It was thought that this would settle the question, but in +1834 a despatch was received from His Majesty's secretary of state for +the colonies in which it was announced that the royal assent had been +withheld on the ground that the Act was confined in its operation to +four denominations of Christians,--the Wesleyan Methodists, the +Baptists, the Presbyterian seceders from the Church of Scotland, and the +Independents. It appeared, therefore, that the Act had been disallowed +because it was not liberal enough, but this defect was speedily remedied +by the passage of another bill during the session of 1834 in the terms +suggested by the colonial secretary, and the Dissenters' Marriage +Question was thus settled. + +{IMPERIAL CUSTOM DUTIES} + +It has already been stated that the British government continued to +maintain a custom-house establishment in New Brunswick, and to impose +duties on goods imported into the province. These duties, which were +levied for the regulation of trade, were disposed of by the British +government and by the lieutenant-governor of the province with little +reference to the wishes of the legislature. The old restrictive system +which placed shackles on trade was modified by two Acts passed by the +imperial parliament in 1822, under which the importation of provisions, +lumber, cattle, tobacco and other articles from any foreign country in +North and South America and the West Indies, into ports of British North +America and the British West Indies, was allowed under a fixed scale of +duty, and a free export was allowed to goods going from all our ports to +these countries. The importation of the productions of foreign countries +in Europe into the ports of British North America was also permitted, +and a schedule of duties annexed. Under these Acts it was provided that +the duties on both imports and exports were to be collected by the +imperial officers of customs, and the net revenue thus obtained was to +be placed at the disposal of the colonial treasuries. This arrangement +was a decided gain to New Brunswick, because, for the first time, it +placed nearly all the revenue collected by the imperial officers under +the control of the legislature. + +The Acts of the imperial parliament, 6th George IV, Chapters 73 and 114, +went still farther in the way of removing restrictions from colonial +trade. These Acts provided that the duties imposed under them should be +paid by the collector of customs into the hands of the treasurer or +receiver-general of the colony, to be applied to such uses as were +directed by the local legislature of such colony, exception being made +in regard to the produce of duties payable to His Majesty, under any Act +passed prior to the eighteenth year of his late Majesty, George III. +This exception is important for the purpose of illustrating the +pernicious system under which duties had been collected. Even so late as +the year 1833, Messrs. Simonds and Chandler, the New Brunswick delegates +to the imperial government, were complaining that duties were collected +at the several custom-houses in New Brunswick upon wine, molasses, +coffee and pimento under the provisions of the Acts of parliament, 6th +George II, Chapter 13; 4th George III, Chapter 15, and 6th George III, +Chapter 52, amounting to upwards of one thousand pounds sterling +annually, which duties were not accounted for to the legislature, and +that it was not known to the House of Assembly by whom and to what +purpose these duties were applied. The reply to this on the part of the +imperial government was, that in pursuance of the directions contained +in the statutes themselves, the duties levied under them were remitted +to the exchequer in England in aid of the expenses incurred for the +defence of the British colonies in North America. Thus ten years after +the British government had undertaken to remit the duties collected in +the colonies to the exchequers of the colonies in which the money was +collected, there still remained a considerable revenue, obtained under +old and obscure Acts of parliament, which was held back, and the +destination of which was not known, until disclosed to the delegates +sent to England to obtain the redress of New Brunswick's grievances. + +But the grievance which caused the greatest amount of dissatisfaction in +New Brunswick was that which arose from the management of the Crown +lands. It was bad enough that the revenues arising from the public +domain should be disposed of without the consent of the legislature; but +it was still worse when such regulations were made by the +surveyor-general as hindered the settlement of the country and +interfered with one of its leading industries. One great abuse was that +large areas of the best land in the province were locked up as reserves +for the production of masts for His Majesty's navy. Another grievance +was the imposition of a duty of a shilling a ton on all pine timber cut +in the province. This was done by the authority of the surveyor-general, +and its effect was seriously to injure many of those who were engaged in +lumbering. This tax was remitted for a time after the panic of the year +1825, but it was revived when that crisis in the commercial life of the +province had passed. The management of the Crown lands office had been +the subject of criticism at almost every session of the legislature for +twelve or fifteen years before Lemuel Wilmot entered public life, and +every year the complaints grew louder. + +{AN ADDRESS TO THE KING} + +At the session of 1831, an address was presented to the president, the +Hon. William Black, asking him to lay before the House a detailed +account showing the amount of the casual and territorial revenue from +the beginning of 1824 to the end of 1830, and the expenditures from that +fund for the same period. This was refused on the ground that it was +inconsistent with his instructions. The House then resolved to bring the +matter to the notice of the king in an address, the spirit of which may +be gathered from the following paragraphs:-- + +"By the operation of the system practised in this office, very large +sums are taken from the people of this province for licenses to cut +timber on Crown land, and, although the assembly do not question the +right Your Majesty undoubtedly has to the lands in question, they think +the tremendous powers with which the commissioner is vested, with regard +to impositions of tonnage money and the enormous exactions for fees, to +be incompatible with a free government, and to require redress. + +"It is generally understood, as well as universally believed, that the +commissioner in question is under no control in this province, and to +this may be ascribed the mode in which licenses to cut timber are issued +in very many cases, in quantities less than one hundred tons, subject to +a duty of one shilling, three pence per ton, and the excessive fee on +each of forty-five shillings. By this mode, a large part of the receipts +is paid in the shape of fees, at once injuring the subject without +benefiting the revenue; and the assembly feel convinced, if the office +were under colonial management, that while the oppressions would be +removed, the revenue would be more productive; and besides, the assembly +cannot but view with just alarm that the day may possibly come when, by +a single mandate from the office, exactions of such magnitude may be +made as literally to stop the export trade of the country, a power which +no person should have even the shadow of authority to exercise. + +"The assembly at an early day in the present session, by an address to +the administrator of the government, sought for documents regarding +this office, to enable them officially to bring the subject more in +detail under the consideration of Your Majesty, but this information, so +highly desirable and necessary, has been withheld from them; and the +assembly, therefore, with great submission, lay before Your Majesty +herewith, a copy of the said address, with the reply thereto, for Your +Majesty's gracious consideration. + +"It will by that be seen that the objects contemplated by the assembly +are no less than relieving Your Majesty's government permanently from +the burthen of the whole civil list of the province, a subject which the +assembly humbly conceive to be of great advantage to the parent state, +and only requiring that the revenues, from whatever source or sources +derived in or collected within the province, should be placed under the +control of its legislature." + +{THE CIVIL LIST} + +A portion of the Crown-land revenue went to pay what was termed the +civil list, which included the salaries of the lieutenant-governor, the +judges, the attorney-general, solicitor-general, private secretary, +provincial secretary, auditor, receiver-general and commissioner of +Crown lands. The latter official received seventeen hundred and fifty +pounds sterling per annum besides enormous fees, so that his income was +greater than that of the lieutenant-governor. Thomas Baillie, an +Irishman, who had been a subaltern in a marching regiment, had filled +that office since the year 1824, and continued to hold it until 1851, +twenty-seven years in all, when he retired with a pension twice as large +as the salary of the present surveyor-general of New Brunswick. + +What the Reformers in the legislature of New Brunswick sought to obtain +was the control of the public lands, and the disposal of the revenues +derived from them. To accomplish this they were willing to undertake to +pay the salaries embraced in the civil list, although these salaries +were looked upon by the people of the province generally as altogether +too large. Yet there were great difficulties in the way of this +necessary reform, for King William IV was known to be violently opposed +to it. At a later period, 1835, in the course of a conversation with the +Earl of Gosford, who had been appointed governor of Lower Canada, "I +will never consent," he said with an oath, "to alienate the Crown lands, +nor to make the council elective. Mind me, my Lord, the cabinet is not +my cabinet. They had better take care, or by ---- I will have them +impeached." + +Such was the language which this king used in regard to his +constitutional advisers. It was fortunate for New Brunswick and the +other colonies of British North America that at that time he had done +his utmost to get rid of his ministers and had been defeated and +humiliated, so that they could set him at defiance. But in 1832 they +were more disposed to defer to his wishes, and in May of that year we +find Lord Goderich, the colonial secretary, writing to Sir Archibald +Campbell, the lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, in the following +strain:-- + +"The preservation to the Crown of the territorial revenue is an object +of the first importance, and it would only be resigned on its being +clearly proved that the right of the Crown could not be maintained +without producing still greater inconvenience. You cannot, therefore, +more usefully exert your influence than in endeavouring to prevent the +assembly from urging the surrender of this revenue." + +{CONTROL OF THE REVENUE} + +The question of the control of the Crown-land or casual and territorial +revenues was made the subject of an address to the king by the House of +Assembly in 1832. In this it was stated that the expense of collecting +these revenues was far greater than it would be under proper management, +and it was proposed that they be placed under the control of the +legislature, which would undertake the payment of all the necessary +expenses of the civil government of the province by making such +permanent and other grants as might be necessary for this purpose. The +reply to this proposition was received during the legislative session of +1833. In it Lord Goderich, with some appearance of sarcasm, observed +that "His Majesty did not consider it necessary at present to call upon +the House for a grant of the nature proposed, as he did not anticipate +such a falling off in the revenue at his disposal as the House appeared +to have apprehended." This reply can hardly be regarded otherwise than +as an insult to the House of Assembly, for the meaning of their address +to the king was deliberately misrepresented. They were contending for a +principle, that the revenue derived from the public domain should be +under the control of the legislature, and the amount of the revenue did +not enter into the question. + +In 1833 the House of Assembly appointed a committee on grievances for +the purpose of taking into consideration and investigating all matters +in connection with the Crown lands, which were the subject of complaint. +After this committee had reported to the House, it was resolved to send +a deputation to England to endeavour to make some arrangement with the +colonial secretary in reference to the Crown lands. + +{MR. STANLEY'S DESPATCH} + +The deputies appointed to proceed to England and lay the grievances of +the province at the foot of the throne were Charles Simonds and Edward +B. Chandler, both men of wealth, influence and position, and well +qualified for the performance of the work with which they were +entrusted. Messrs. Chandler and Simonds arrived in England in June, +1833, and immediately placed themselves in communication with the Right +Honourable E. G. Stanley, who was then colonial secretary. Their report +was laid before the legislature in February, 1834, and the result was +highly satisfactory to the House of Assembly. A few days later a +despatch from Mr. Stanley to Sir Archibald Campbell was laid before the +House, in which he stated the terms on which he should feel that His +Majesty might properly be advised to place the proceeds of the casual +and territorial revenue under the control of the assembly of New +Brunswick. He would, he said, be prepared to advise His Majesty to +accept a permanent appropriation by the legislature, duly secured to the +amount of fourteen thousand pounds per annum, and that the Crown should +undertake to charge on any such permanent grant the salaries of the +lieutenant-governor, his private secretary, the commissioner of Crown +lands, provincial secretary, chief-justice, three puisne judges, the +attorney-general, auditor, receiver-general, the expenses of the indoor +establishment of the Crown lands department, and a grant of one thousand +pounds to the college. It would be necessary, Mr. Stanley stated, that +any bill passed in consequence of the proposal contained in this +despatch should contain a suspending clause in order that it might be +submitted to His Majesty before it was finally assented to. It was also +stated, in order to prevent misunderstanding or delay, that the House +should be apprised, that, unless some other fully equivalent and +sufficient security could be devised, it would be expected that the Act +should provide that the stipulated annual commutation should be payable +out of the first receipts in each year, and that in case of any default +in such payment the whole of the revenue surrendered should revert to +the Crown. A committee was appointed to prepare the bill on the subject +of the surrender by His Majesty of the casual and territorial revenues +of the province. The House of Assembly had previously passed a +resolution that the sum of fourteen thousand pounds required by His +Majesty's government as a permanent grant for the surrender of the +casual and territorial revenues of the province was greater than the +charges contemplated to be thereon required, yet that the great desire +of the House of Assembly to have this important subject finally settled +should induce them to accept the proposal contained in Mr. Stanley's +despatch. On the day after this resolution was passed, the +lieutenant-governor communicated to the House of Assembly an extract +from a despatch received the previous day by him from the Right +Honourable Mr. Stanley, dated January 4th, 1834. This extract was as +follows:-- + +"In your message communicating to the assembly the proposal contained in +my despatch of the 30th September, you will take care distinctly to +explain that the payments expected from the New Brunswick Land Company +are not included in the revenue which is offered to the acceptance of +the assembly." It is with great regret that an historian of this period +must record the receipt of such a despatch from an imperial head of +department to a colonial governor, for the spirit displayed in the +message was not that of an enlightened statesman, but such as might have +been expected from one who was endeavouring to drive the hardest +possible bargain with the province of New Brunswick, in order that a +number of officials, swollen with pride and enjoying enormous salaries, +might not suffer. + +{NEGOTIATIONS FAIL} + +A few days after the receipt of this despatch, a resolution was passed +by the House in committee, regretting that the additional condition +contained in Mr. Stanley's last despatch would prevent the committee +recommending to the House further action in the matter of preparing a +civil list bill. Thus ended the attempt to settle this vexed question in +the year 1834. The House of Assembly, however, still continued to +agitate the matter, and to make Sir Archibald Campbell's life a burden +to him. On March 7th, they addressed him, asking for accounts in detail +of the casual and territorial revenues, and calling for a number of +statements which they had not received except in such a shape that they +could not be properly understood. They also addressed His Excellency, +requesting him to lay before them copies of all official despatches +transmitted to him by the secretary of state for the colonies, since he +assumed the administration of the government, relating to the subject of +the casual and territorial revenues. The reply of His Excellency to the +request for more detailed accounts was a courteous one; but while he +consented to furnish the accounts requested in detail, it was with the +understanding that his compliance was not to be considered as a +precedent. He declined, however, to give the names of the parties who +had their timber seized or forfeited, or the names of the petitioners +for Crown land. He also refused to furnish the accounts of the +receiver-general and commissioner of Crown lands, on the ground that +they were accounts exclusively between these officers and the Crown. + +With regard to the request for his correspondence with the colonial +secretary, Sir Archibald Campbell in another message gave a tart +refusal, stating that such a request was subversive of the principles +and spirit of the British constitution, and that he would ill deserve +the confidence put in him by His Majesty were he to hesitate in meeting +so dangerous an encroachment, not only on the independence of the +executive, but the prerogatives of the British Crown, with a most +decided and unqualified refusal. This military officer considered +himself a proper exponent of the principles and spirit of the British +constitution. He failed to understand that the British constitution +rests upon the support of the people, while his system of government was +intended to ignore the people altogether. + +{QUARREL WITH THE GOVERNOR} + +A few days after the receipt of this message, a resolution was passed +by the House of Assembly declaring that the language used by the +lieutenant-governor, in his reply to the address of the House, was at +variance with all parliamentary precedent and usage, and such as was not +called for by the address. Some of the governor's friends attempted to +weaken the force of this resolution by an amendment of a milder nature, +but their amendment was defeated, and the resolution carried by a vote +of fifteen to eight. Another address on the subject of the casual and +territorial revenues and civil list was prepared and passed by the +assembly for the purpose of being forwarded to His Majesty. It recited +the proceedings, in regard to the matter, which had taken place already, +and the desire of the House of Assembly to accept the proposition +contained in Mr. Stanley's despatch, and expressed the regret of the +House at the new condition imposed with regard to the New Brunswick Land +Company, which made it impossible to accept the settlement as amended. +The House concluded by expressing the hope that the terms proposed in +the original despatch might yet be considered definitive, and that the +proviso with regard to the New Brunswick Land Company might be +withdrawn. This was transmitted to England; but, before the year ended, +Sir Archibald Campbell concluded to rid himself of the House of +Assembly, which had given him so much annoyance, and accordingly it was +dissolved early in November; so that when the legislature met again in +January, 1835, the House was a new one, although largely composed of the +old members. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +WILMOT IN THE LEGISLATURE + + +Wilmot acquired a good legal practice soon after his admission to the +bar, and was recognized as a highly successful advocate in cases before +a jury. In the opinion of the legal profession he never was a deeply +read lawyer, either as a barrister or as a judge, but in the conduct of +a case at _nisi prius_ he could hardly have been surpassed. He had the +gift which has been possessed by all great advocates, of seizing on the +leading feature of a case, and, regardless of all minor issues, pressing +it home on the minds of the jury. His eloquent and impressive speeches +on behalf of his clients soon began to attract general attention, and +the court-house was thronged when it was known that he was about to +address a jury. He was speedily marked as the proper person to represent +the views of the people in the House of Assembly, and, on a vacancy +occurring in the representation of the county of York in consequence of +the death of one of the members in the summer of 1834, Wilmot was +elected without opposition, none of the government party having the +courage to oppose him. Before the time came round for the meeting of the +legislature, the House was dissolved by Sir Archibald Campbell, in the +hope that he might be able to get an assembly more amenable to his +wishes, and, at the general election which followed, Wilmot was again +elected, at the head of the poll. At that time he had barely completed +his twenty-fifth year. It was a great triumph for Wilmot and the friends +of Reform, for all the influence of the friends of the governor and the +Family Compact was arrayed against him. + +{ENTERS THE LEGISLATURE} + +Mr. Wilmot took his seat as a member of the House of Assembly on January +25th, 1835. Young as he was, he had already made a great reputation as a +public speaker, and there was no man in the legislature or in the +province who could stand any comparison with him in point of eloquence. +Indeed, it is doubtful whether the British North American provinces have +ever produced a man who was Wilmot's superior in that style of oratory +which is so telling on the hustings or where great masses of men are to +be moved. The evidence of this fact does not rest on the testimony of +his countrymen alone, for he acquired a wider fame for eloquence than +they could give him. At the Portland Railway Convention of 1850, where +the ablest men of the Northern States were gathered, he easily eclipsed +them all by his brilliant and powerful oratory. The reporters are said +to have thrown down their pencils in despair, being unable to keep pace +with him as he aroused the enthusiasm of all who heard him by his +burning words. Unfortunately, there is no form of ability which is so +transient in its effects as this perfervid style of oratory. So much of +its potency depends on the action of the speaker, on the glance of his +eye and the modulation of his voice, that no report could do justice to +it, even if there had been reporters at that time capable of putting +down every word he uttered. The speeches of even Gladstone, when +reported word for word, read but indifferently when seen in cold type, +and no speech of Wilmot's was ever properly reported. He was incapable +of writing out a speech after he had delivered it, so that we must take +the united testimony of his contemporaries, whether friends or enemies, +that he was, upon his own ground, an unequalled speaker. + +The House in which he now found himself was not one that was remarkable +for its eloquence. Unlike most of the legislatures of the present day, +the proportion of lawyers was very small, there being only five in a +House of thirty members, and of these five the only one who was an +orator was Wilmot. The other twenty-five members were mostly business +men and farmers, some of whom could express their views on public +questions clearly enough, but had no pretensions to eloquence. Yet it +was a good House, and one of its best features was that its members were +able to appreciate the worth of the new representative from the county +of York. + +The aim of Wilmot, when he entered the legislature, was to bring the +province into line with the principles of responsible government as +understood in the mother country. Yet, looking at the state of New +Brunswick then, it is easy to see that the task he had undertaken was +one of enormous difficulty. Most of the evils of which the people had +been complaining still existed. The casual and territorial revenue was +still under the control of the home authorities, the custom-house +establishment still remained unreformed, the Family Compact still +controlled all the great public offices, and none but members of the +Church of England were thought worthy to serve their country in a public +capacity. + +Two years earlier the executive and legislative councils had been +separated; but the change had made little or no improvement in the +system of government. The executive council consisted of five members, +all of whom held public offices from which they could not be removed by +any act of the legislature. The first on the list was Baillie, the +surveyor-general, whose record has already been referred to; next came +F. P. Robinson, the auditor of the king's casual revenue; another was +William F. Odell, whose father had been provincial secretary for +twenty-eight years, and who himself filled the same office for +thirty-two years. George F. Street, the solicitor-general, was another +member of the executive, and the last on the list was John Simcoe +Saunders, who was advocate-general and held three or four +commissionerships besides. All these men were so solidly entrenched in +their positions that it seemed impossible they should ever be disturbed. +They formed a solid phalanx opposed to all reform, and they were +supported by the governor, Sir Archibald Campbell, most of whose life +had been spent in India and who, however well fitted to govern Hindoos, +was hardly the man to give laws to white men who claimed to be free. + +{BECOMES A LEADER} + +As soon as Wilmot entered the House of Assembly, he began to take a +leading part in its debates. The very day he took his seat he was +appointed on the committee to prepare an address in reply to the speech +from the throne. On the following day he gave notice of a resolution +with regard to the boundary between Maine and New Brunswick, a subject +that was then coming to the front. A day or two later he brought in a +bill to continue the Act to provide for the expenses of judges on +circuits. Indeed, no man was more active during that first session than +the new member for the county of York. + +There were two questions that came up for discussion in which, as a +Reformer, he was specially interested,--the salaries of the customs +establishment, and the casual and territorial revenue. With regard to +the latter, when the House had been sitting about a month, the reply of +the colonial secretary to the address of the previous session was laid +before it. That address, it will be remembered, related to the offer +which had been made to the British government to take over the Crown +lands and provide for a civil list of fourteen thousand pounds sterling, +the payments expected from the New Brunswick Land Company to be included +in this arrangement. The reply of the colonial secretary was as +follows:-- + +"From various parts of the address I infer that the proposal conveyed to +the assembly, through my predecessors, must have been misapprehended in +more than one important particular; and I have especially remarked the +erroneous assumption that, in offering to surrender the proceeds of the +Crown lands, it was intended also to give up their management, and to +place them under the control of the legislature. + +"From the course of their proceedings, as well as the tenor of the +present expression of their sentiments, the assembly must be understood +to consider it an indispensable condition that the payments of the Land +Company should be comprised among the objects to be surrendered to them. +This is a condition to which His Majesty's government cannot agree. His +Majesty's government would also be unable to recognize the +interpretation which was placed on their former offer, so far as regards +the control over the lands belonging to the Crown in New Brunswick. +Under these circumstances, I can only desire you to convey to the +assembly His Majesty's regrets that the objects of their address cannot +be complied with, and, adverting to the wide difference between the +views entertained by the government and those manifested by the assembly +on this subject, it seems to me that no advantage could be anticipated +from making any further proposals at present respecting the cession of +the territorial revenue." + +{RENEWED AGITATION} + +This despatch, which brought a sudden close to the negotiations with +regard to the casual and territorial revenues of the province, did not +emanate from the government with which the House of Assembly had been +previously negotiating, but from a new administration which had just +been formed under the premiership of Sir Robert Peel, and which lasted +just one hundred and forty-five days. The creation of this +administration was due to the action of King William IV, in dismissing +his advisers on the death of Earl Spencer, which removed Lord Althorp +from the House of Commons. The king had grown to detest his cabinet for +their reforming spirit, but his designs were thwarted by the failure of +Sir Robert Peel to form an administration capable of facing the House of +Commons. As a consequence, Viscount Melbourne again became premier, and +a renewal of the negotiations with the government in regard to the +casual and territorial revenues was rendered possible. + +The House of Assembly was still determined to keep the question of the +casual and territorial revenue to the front, and at a later period in +the session another address on this subject was prepared by the House of +Assembly, to be laid before His Majesty. In this address the grievances +with regard to the management of the Crown lands of New Brunswick were +recited, and the willingness of the legislature to provide for the civil +establishment of the province was stated. The address urged the benefits +that would result to the people of New Brunswick from placing the net +proceeds of the Crown-land revenues under the control of the +legislature. Attached to this address was a schedule of salaries +proposed to be paid out of the casual and territorial revenues, +amounting in all to £10,500 currency. The address was transmitted to the +governor to be forwarded to His Majesty. No specific answer was ever +made to this proposal, a fact which was probably due to the confusion, +incident to the change of government, which took place about the time +the address reached Downing Street. + +{CUSTOM-HOUSE SALARIES} + +Another matter which engaged the attention of the House during this +session, and in which Wilmot took an active interest, was the settlement +of the salaries of the custom-house officials. Although the surplus +revenue from this source went into the provincial treasury, the amount +thus received was much less than it ought to have been, in consequence +of the large salaries which were paid to the officials. In the year 1830 +the amount of custom-house duties collected in the province was £16,616 +18s. 11d. sterling, from which was deducted for salaries £7,073 6s., or +nearly one-half of the whole amount. The House of Assembly objected to +the payment of such large salaries, and in 1831 proposed to the British +government to make a permanent annual grant of £4,250 sterling for the +payment of customs officials in New Brunswick. This proposal was +accepted, and in the following year a bill was passed in accordance with +this arrangement. But it was protested against by the customs +authorities in England and disallowed because the salaries of the +officers of customs were not made the first charge on the revenue. +During the session of 1835, an amended bill embracing this provision was +passed, and the question was settled for the time. Mr. Wilmot was not +satisfied with this arrangement, because it was a violation of the +principle that the House of Assembly should have control of the +provincial revenue, and he therefore voted against it. Nevertheless, the +measure apart from this violation of a fundamental principle, was a gain +to the province, as it placed a considerable sum additional in the +public treasury. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +WILMOT AS A DELEGATE TO THE COLONIAL OFFICE + + +Mr. Wilmot took a very active part in the proceedings of the legislature +during the session of 1836, and was the moving spirit in the committee +of the whole to inquire into the state of the province during that +session. The result was the passing by large majorities of a series of +twenty-six resolutions condemning the management of the Crown lands +office, the composition of the executive council and also of the +legislative council, and declaring that the control of the casual and +territorial revenues should be placed in the hands of the legislature. +These resolutions were made the basis of an address to His Majesty, +which was to be carried to England by a deputation of two members of the +House of Assembly. This address relates at length the principal facts of +the management of the Crown lands and the reasons of the House of +Assembly for dissatisfaction therewith. Mr. Wilmot, in recognition of +the active part he had taken in this business, was appointed a member of +the delegation, the other member being William Crane of Westmorland, a +gentleman of experience, wealth and standing in the province. This +appointment was the highest compliment that could possibly have been +paid to Wilmot's capacity, for the negotiation then to be conducted with +the colonial office was of the most important and delicate character, +and one which vitally affected the interests of the province. + +The colonial secretary at that time was Lord Glenelg, a statesman whose +character has been drawn by Sir Henry Taylor, who was then a clerk in +the colonial office. "Amiable and excellent as he was," says Taylor, "a +more incompetent man could not have been found to fill an office +requiring activity and ready judgment. A dart flung at him by Lord +Brougham in 1838 points to his notorious defect as a minister called +upon to deal with a crisis. The then crisis was that of the Canadian +Rebellion." "It is indeed," said Lord Brougham, "a most alarming and +frightful state of things, and I am sure must have given my noble friend +many a sleepless day." It was probably because of Lord Glenelg's habit +of procrastination that the delegates had to remain in London for four +months before they were able to bring their business to a conclusion. +They arrived there about the middle of June, and it was well on in +October before they were able to leave. The result of their work was +that an arrangement was made satisfactory both to the British government +and to the delegates representing the House of Assembly, by which the +casual and territorial revenues were to be transferred to the province, +in consideration of the legislature undertaking to provide for a civil +list of £14,500 currency annually, for the payment of certain salaries +chargeable to that fund. A draft of a Civil List Bill was prepared and +agreed to by the lords of the treasury, and the understanding was that +this bill should be passed by the legislature, and receive the assent of +the lieutenant-governor, when it would immediately become operative. + +{CIVIL GOVERNMENT BILL} + +The first clause of this bill transferred the proceeds of the +territorial and casual revenues, and of all woods, mines and royalties +which had been collected and were then in hand, or which should +thereafter be collected, to the provincial treasurer, who was authorized +to receive them for the use of the province, while the Act remained in +force. The second clause charged the revenues with the payment of +£14,500 for a civil list. The third clause enacted that all the surplus +over and above the sum of £14,500 currency, should remain in the +treasury of the province until appropriated or disposed of by an Act or +Acts of the general assembly. The fourth clause gave the +lieutenant-governor, with the advice of his executive council, power to +expend such sums as they might deem necessary for the prudent +management, protection and collection of the said revenues, a detailed +account of which was to be laid before the legislature within fourteen +days of the commencement of each session, with all vouchers for the +same. It was also enacted that all grants or sales of Crown lands should +be void, unless the land had been sold at public auction after due +notice in the _Royal Gazette_. By this arrangement the House of Assembly +had obtained the boon for which it had so long been contending, but +there was still one more obstacle to be overcome,--the opposition of the +lieutenant-governor, Sir Archibald Campbell, who had entered into a plot +with some of the enemies of freedom in the province for the purpose of +thwarting, not only the wishes of the House of Assembly, but also the +intentions of the home government. As soon as Sir Archibald Campbell was +apprised of the intention of His Majesty's advisers in England to +transfer the casual and territorial revenues to the provincial +legislature, he commenced a correspondence with the colonial office, +pointing out what he deemed to be imperfections in the scheme which they +had prepared for the management of the public lands. He pretended to +have discovered that there was some error in the calculation of the +lords of the treasury with regard to the sum to be paid in lieu of the +civil list, and that the amount of £14,500 currency would not be +sufficient to defray all the expenditures chargeable on the civil list. + +{AN OBSTRUCTIVE GOVERNOR} + +Sir Archibald Campbell, soon after the opening of the session of the +legislature, in December 1836, requested the House of Assembly to add a +suspending clause to any Civil List Bill they might pass, so that he +might forward it to the home government for their approval. As this was +entirely contrary to the understanding which had been reached between +Messrs. Wilmot and Crane and the colonial secretary,--it being +understood that the bill if passed in the form agreed upon would be +immediately assented to by the lieutenant-governor,--the House of +Assembly very naturally refused to comply with Sir Archibald's wishes. +He, however, held firm in his resolution, and the Civil List Bill which +had been agreed to by the home authorities, after being passed by both +Houses, did not receive his assent. At the close of the session, while +the matter was under discussion, at the instigation of the +lieutenant-governor one of the executive council, Solicitor-General +Street, was sent on a secret mission to Downing Street. The object of +this mission was to make such representations to the home authorities as +would induce them to delay giving their assent to the Civil List Bill. +The truth of the matter seems to have been that Sir Archibald Campbell +and his advisers in New Brunswick thought if they could only gain time +the Liberal government of England which had granted such favourable +terms to the province might be defeated, and a Tory government come into +power which would speedily undo all that their predecessors had done, +and refuse to grant any concessions to the legislature of New Brunswick. +There was great excitement in the province in consequence of the action +of the lieutenant-governor, and this excitement was fairly voiced in the +House of Assembly, where an address was prepared representing the +condition of affairs to His Majesty, and detailing the manner in which +the lieutenant-governor had sought to thwart the intentions of the +imperial government. This address was passed by a vote of twenty-seven +to two, the only members of the House who ventured to stand with the man +who occupied Government House being John Ambrose Street and William End. + +{CIVIL GOVERNMENT BILL PASSED} + +Messrs. Crane and Wilmot were again appointed a deputation to proceed to +England with the address of the House of Assembly, and took their +departure two days after it was passed, amidst great popular +demonstrations by the citizens of Fredericton. The legislature was +prorogued on March 1st, on which day the House of Assembly again +requested the lieutenant-governor to pass the Civil List Bill, pointing +out that under the arrangements made with the colonial office it was his +duty to do so, but their request fell upon deaf ears. In the speech +proroguing the legislature, Sir Archibald Campbell stated that he had +withheld his assent from this bill because a suspending clause had not +been appended to it. These were the last words that this obstinate +governor was destined to speak before a New Brunswick legislature. +Finding that all his hopes of impeding the progress of the province in +the direction of political liberty were in vain, he tendered his +resignation to save himself from being removed, as he would have been, +for his direct disobedience to the commands of his superiors in +England.[1] Sir John Harvey, another soldier, but a man of a very +different spirit, was appointed to succeed him as lieutenant-governor. +The Civil List Bill was again passed at a special session of the +legislature and received the assent of the governor, becoming law on +July 17th, 1837. From that time to the present, the province of New +Brunswick has controlled the revenues which it derives from its Crown +lands and similar sources, and, whether wisely expended or not, the +people of this province have at least the satisfaction of knowing that +the money is appropriated by their own representatives, and by a +government which is responsible to them for its actions. + +The death of King William IV took place during the summer of 1837, and +brought about another general election. Mr. Wilmot again stood for the +county of York and was returned at the head of the poll. This was only a +proper recognition of his eminent services to the province in the +legislature and as a delegate to England. At this election, Charles +Fisher, a young lawyer, was also returned for the county of York. Mr. +Fisher, although not so fluent a speaker as Wilmot, was second to no man +in the legislature in devotion to Liberal principles, and he proved a +most valuable lieutenant in the battle for responsible government which +now began. The contest for the control of the Crown lands of the +province had been won, but a still more difficult task remained for the +friends of constitutional principles to accomplish,--the making of the +executive responsible to the people. The members of the House of +Assembly had been almost unanimous in demanding the control of the Crown +lands, but, when it came to applying the principles of responsible +government to the affairs of the province generally, there were many +deserters from the ranks of those who had called themselves Reformers. +This was partly due to the principles of responsible government not +being well understood even by some members of the legislature, and +partly to the fact that the question did not touch the self-interest of +the members in the same manner as the mismanagement of the Crown lands +department had done. + +Under a thoroughly constitutional system of government the initiation of +money grants would have been in the hands of the executive, but in 1837 +not a single member of the executive council had a seat in the House of +Assembly. Three of the five members of the executive council were also +members of the legislative council, but the two others had no seat in +either House, a fact which shows on what lax principles the executive +was constructed. The initiation of money grants being in the House of +Assembly, any private member had it in his power to move an +appropriation of money for any object that he pleased. In this way a +system of "log rolling" was inaugurated in the legislature, which +resulted in extravagant expenditures and the appropriation of money for +objects which, under a better system, would not have received it. It was +impossible to put any check upon the expenditure or to keep it within +the income under such an arrangement, and one of the first efforts of +the Reformers was therefore directed to the removal of this abuse. +Unfortunately this was, of all the proposed reforms in the constitution, +the one most difficult to carry, and it was not accomplished until after +Wilmot had retired from public life. + +{KING'S COLLEGE} + +One of the subjects which engaged the attention of Mr. Wilmot, at an +early period of his legislative career, was the charter of King's +College. This charter had been obtained in 1828 from His Majesty, King +George IV, and the legislature had granted the college an endowment of +eleven hundred pounds currency a year, in addition to ten hundred pounds +sterling granted by the king out of the casual and territorial revenues +of the province. The aim of the charter was to make the college a Church +of England institution exclusively, for it provided that the bishop of +the diocese should be the visitor of the college, and that the president +should always be a clergyman in holy orders of the United Church of +England and Ireland. No religious test was required of students +matriculating or taking degrees in arts, but the council of the college, +which was the governing body, was to be composed of members of the +Church of England, who, previous to their appointment, had subscribed to +the thirty-nine articles. The professors, to the number of seven, who +were members of the Church of England, were to be members of the +council, so that, although no religious test was required of them, it +was reasonably certain that none but persons of that denomination would +be appointed to professorships. These terms were much complained of, and +surely it was absurd to place a provincial college under the control of +a single denomination which could not claim more than one-third of the +population of the province as belonging to its communion. It is stated +in Fullom's _Life of Sir Howard Douglas_, who was lieutenant-governor of +the province at the time, that the charter would have been much less +liberal than it was if it had not been for his efforts. The Bishop of +Nova Scotia and the Bishop of London desired to confine it entirely to +students belonging to the Church of England, and to make subscription to +the thirty-nine articles a condition precedent to the granting of +degrees in arts. On the other hand, Attorney-General Peters in 1845, +when the amendments to the charter were discussed in the legislative +council, stated that the charter as originally drafted and sent to +England was much more liberal in its provisions than when finally +passed, but that in 1828, to the surprise of Sir Howard Douglas, the +then existing charter came out copied from one obtained by Dr. Strachan +for Upper Canada. If this statement was correct, it affords a singular +illustration of the injury that the bigotry of one man can cause to +future generations. If King's College had treated all denominations on +equal terms, all would have resorted to it for higher education. As it +was, it became the college of only a section of the people, the +different denominations established colleges of their own, and when +finally the connection between the Church of England and King's College +was severed and it became the University of New Brunswick, the +denominational colleges had become so well established that it could +hardly compete with them on equal terms. + +{AN EXCLUSIVE INSTITUTION} + +During the session of 1838 Mr. Wilmot, as chairman, submitted to the +legislature the report of the select committee which had been appointed +to take into consideration the state of the college. In this report it +was proposed to make certain alterations in the charter for the purpose +of rendering it more acceptable to those who were not in the communion +of the Church of England. In 1839 he introduced a bill in the House of +Assembly embracing these amendments. The principal changes were to make +the lieutenant-governor visitor of the college instead of the bishop, to +repeal the section which provided that the president of the college must +be a member of the Church of England, and to make persons of every +denomination eligible for members of the college council. The +professorship of theology was still retained, and students in that +course were still required to subscribe to the thirty-nine articles, +while services were held in the college morning and evening according to +the rites of the Church of England. These changes were certainly of a +very moderate character, but they were stoutly resisted by the college +authorities and their friends. They put forward the plea that the +legislature had no right to alter a royal charter, that to do so was an +interference with the royal prerogative, and that the direst consequence +would ensue if the constitution of the college was changed. According to +their view, a royal charter once granted, the king himself, even with +the assistance of both branches of the legislature, could not amend it. +The college authorities also denied that they were under the control of +the legislature in any way, or responsible to it for their management of +the institution, although they were living on money voted by the +legislature for its support. + +{ADDRESS TO THE QUEEN} + +Wilmot's bill passed the House of Assembly, but was defeated in the +legislative council. A similar bill was introduced by him in 1840, but +postponed in consequence of a communication from the college council +which seemed to show an inclination to yield something to the demands of +the public. But a fatal objection to these modifications being accepted +was the insistence of the college council that the bishop of the +diocese, or in his absence the archdeacon, should be a member of that +body. Representatives of the Presbyterians, Methodists and Baptists +pointed out in a memorial to the lieutenant-governor that the exclusive +character of the council would still remain, as that body would be +composed wholly of members of the Church of England. Lord John Russell, +the colonial secretary, to whom the matter had been referred, suggested +that the college should surrender its charter and that a new one should +be prepared embracing the proposed changes, but the college council took +no steps to carry these suggestions into effect. This being the case, at +Wilmot's instance the House of Assembly proposed an address to the queen +setting forth the facts of the case and asking Her Majesty to assent to +a bill, a draft of which was enclosed, which the House of Assembly was +prepared to pass. + +At the session of 1842 Wilmot again introduced the King's College Bill, +and it was passed by the House, but again rejected by the legislative +council. Early in the session of 1843, the lieutenant-governor +communicated to the House by message two despatches from Downing Street +on the subject of the college. One of these was from Lord John Russell, +and the other from his successor, Lord Stanley. Lord John laid down the +doctrine that "it is a principle of undoubted validity that a grant of +franchise by the Crown is irrevocable and unalterable by a further +exercise of the royal authority unless the power of revocation and +change be embodied and reserved in the original grant, or unless the +grantees make a voluntary surrender of their franchises." Lord John had +evidently forgotten his English history, or he would have known that +English kings on many occasions had revoked charters granted by +themselves or their predecessors.[2] Lord John desired the college to +surrender its charter and accept a new one, but Lord Stanley and the law +officers of the Crown whom he had consulted held a different view, and +thought that a new charter could be granted to supersede the old. Both +colonial secretaries were desirous that the changes in the constitution +of the college should be effected by a new royal charter. But this did +not suit the views of the House of Assembly, and after another college +bill had been defeated in the House and rejected by the council, on +March 20th, 1843, the following resolution, which was moved by Mr. +Wilmot, was passed by the House without a division:-- + +"WHEREAS, The assembly, during several years past, have endeavoured, +without success, to effect certain reasonable modifications in the +charter of King's College; and whereas those modifications as contained +in the bill which has been rejected by the legislative council, during +the present session, have been loudly and repeatedly called for by +numerous petitions from nearly every county in the province, while no +petition has ever been presented against those modifications; and +whereas it is in vain to expect the amount of public benefit from the +institution which its munificent endowment from the provincial revenue +should ensure; therefore, + +"_Resolved_, That this House have learned with much regret and +disappointment that a majority of the legislative council have rejected +the said bill during the present session; and further + +"_Resolved_, That this House should persevere in their endeavours to +amend the said charter by legislative enactment, and not resort to an +address to the throne for a new charter; and that this House will +steadfastly adhere to the principle that all the educational +establishments of the province, which are endowed from the colonial +revenues, whether incorporated by royal charter or otherwise, should be +at all times subject to the supervision of the local legislature." + +{COLLEGE CHARTER AMENDED} + +This resolution embodied a great principle to which the House of +Assembly was determined to adhere, and which was very soon carried out. +In 1844 the college amendment bill was again rejected by the council, +but this was the last effort of that reactionary body to defeat the +wishes of the people. At the session of 1845, the college bill was +again introduced by Mr. Wilmot, and this time it passed both Houses. +But like many important bills of that day it was reserved for Her +Majesty's pleasure and although passed in March, 1845, it was not until +December, 1846, that it received the royal assent and became law. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] This is shown by the correspondence of Sir John Harvey with the +colonial office. Sir John was then governor of Prince Edward Island. + +[2] Charles II annulled the charter of Massachusetts, and disposed in a +similar fashion of the charter of the city of London, as well as of many +English towns. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +LORD JOHN RUSSELL ON TENURE OF OFFICE + + +In the session of 1840 Sir John Harvey, the lieutenant-governor, +communicated to the legislature a despatch which he had received from +Lord John Russell a short time before. This dealt with the question of +the tenure of public offices in the gift of the Crown throughout the +British colonies. Lord John had been struck by the fact that, while the +governor of a colony was liable to have his commission revoked at any +time, the commissions of all other public officials were very rarely +recalled except for positive misconduct. In New Brunswick offices had +been held generally for life and sometimes for two lives, as was the +case with the Odells, father and son, who filled the position of +secretary of the province for sixty years. One attorney-general of the +province had held office for twenty-four years, another for nineteen +years and a third for twenty years. One surveyor-general held office for +thirty-three years and another for almost thirty years. Under such a +system, it was clear that responsible government could make no advance, +for these officials held their positions quite independently of the +wishes of the legislature. Lord John Russell thought that the time had +come when a different course should be followed, and his despatch was +for the purpose of announcing to the lieutenant-governor the rules which +would hereafter be observed in the province of New Brunswick. He said:-- + +"You will understand, and cause it to be made generally known, that +hereafter the tenure of colonial offices held during Her Majesty's +pleasure will not be regarded as equivalent to a tenure during good +behaviour, but that not only such officers will be called upon to retire +from the public service as often as any sufficient motives of public +policy may suggest the expediency of that measure, but that a change in +the person of the governor will be considered as a sufficient reason for +any alterations which his successor may deem it expedient to make in the +list of public functionaries, subject, of course, to the future +confirmation of the sovereign. + +"These remarks do not extend to judicial offices, nor are they meant to +apply to places which are altogether ministerial, and which do not +devolve upon the holders of them duties, in the right discharge of which +the character or policy of the government are directly involved. They +are intended to apply rather to the heads of departments than to persons +serving as clerks, or in similar capacities under them. Neither do they +extend to officers in the services of the lords commissioners of the +treasury. The functionaries who will be chiefly, though not exclusively, +affected by them, are the colonial secretary, the treasurer or +receiver-general, the surveyor-general, the attorney-general and +solicitor-general, the sheriff or provost marshal, and other officers, +who under different designations from these, are entrusted with the same +or similar duties. To this list must be also added the members of the +council, especially in those colonies in which the legislative and +executive councils are distinct bodies. + +"The application of these rules to officers to be hereafter appointed +will be attended with no practical difficulty. It may not be equally +easy to enforce them in the case of existing officers, and especially of +those who may have left this country for the express purpose of +accepting the offices they at present fill. Every reasonable indulgence +must be shown for the expectations which such persons have been +encouraged to form. But even in these instances it will be necessary +that the right of enforcing these regulations should be distinctly +maintained, in practice as well as in theory, as often as the public +good may clearly demand the enforcement of them. It may not be +unadvisable to compensate any such officers for their disappointment, +even by pecuniary grants, when it may appear unjust to dispense with +their services without such an indemnity." + +{AN HISTORIC DESPATCH} + +This despatch produced consternation among those who had been accustomed +to regard their offices as held on a life tenure, but it was looked +upon by all the friends of good government as the beginning of a new +and better order of things with respect to the public services. The +matter was considered by a committee of the whole House a few days after +the despatch was received, and an effort was made by Wilmot to have a +favourable vote with regard to it. But although the friends of the old +Family Compact always professed to be extremely loyal and to pay great +deference to the wishes of the British government, on this occasion they +pursued a different course. A majority of the House voted down a +resolution which affirmed that this despatch should be "highly +satisfactory," "affording, as it does, the most satisfactory proof of a +sincere desire on the part of our Most Gracious Queen and her government +to infuse principles in the administration of colonial affairs strictly +analogous to the principles of the British constitution." Instead of +passing this sensible resolution the committee, by the casting vote of +the chairman, passed the following absurd amendment:-- + +"_Resolved_, As the opinion of this committee, that there is nothing in +the despatch of the Right Honourable Lord John Russell, now under +consideration, to call forth any expression from the House on the +subject of colonial government, and that in the event of any occurrence +taking place to disturb the present happy political state of the +province, the House cannot but entertain the opinion that any loyal and +dutiful representations which they may have occasion to lay at the foot +of the throne will receive, as they have always done, the royal +consideration." + +The vote on the original resolution was fifteen to thirteen, so that, +although defeated, it had a strong support in the House, yet it was +years before the principles embodied in the despatch of Lord John +Russell were carried into full effect in New Brunswick. + +{OFFICIAL SALARIES} + +When the Civil List Bill was passed in 1837, the salaries of the public +officials which were provided for in it were placed on a very liberal +scale. The lieutenant-governor was to receive £3,500 sterling, or almost +double the present salary of the lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick. +The commissioner of Crown lands was to have £1,750 sterling, or about +five times as much as the present holder of that office; the provincial +secretary got £1,430 sterling, or more than three times as much as the +secretary of the province now receives. All the other salaries were in +the same proportion, and on a scale altogether beyond the means of the +province. It was admitted by Lord Glenelg, when the arrangements were +being made for the transfer of the casual and territorial revenues, that +these salaries might require modification, and he suggested that the +legislative council and the House of Assembly should at some future day +present him with their views on this subject. At the session of 1837, a +committee of the House of Assembly, of which Wilmot was a member, +reported in favour of a reduced scale of salaries, and this report was +adopted by the House. During the same year, a committee of the council +recommended that the salary of the surveyor-general or commissioner of +Crown lands should be reduced to twelve hundred pounds currency. This +reduction was protested against by Mr. Baillie, who had held the office +for many years, but it was thought to be reasonable by Lord Glenelg. The +executive council, however, took no steps to effect this reduction, +possibly because Mr. Baillie himself was a member of that body. At the +instance of Mr. Wilmot, the matter was taken up by the House at the +session of 1839, and a strongly worded resolution passed censuring the +executive council for not carrying into effect the reduction of the +salary of the surveyor-general, according to the views of Lord Glenelg. +At a later period in the same session, a committee, of which Wilmot was +an active member, laid before the House a scale of salaries which they +had prepared and which they considered sufficient for the public +officials embraced in the civil list. Under this scale, the salary of +the surveyor-general was reduced to £600 currency, and that of the +provincial secretary to the same amount. This report was not accepted by +the House. There were strong interests working for the retention of the +existing salaries, and it was not until a much later period that the +salaries of the public officials were placed on a footing that agreed +in some measure with the means of the province. + +At the session of 1842, Wilmot was an active member of a committee which +was appointed to take into consideration the subject of fees and +emoluments of the public officers, and at a later period in the session +they made a report recommending that all fees should go into the +treasury of the province and that all public officers should receive a +certain fixed salary. They presented with their report a scale of +salaries which they considered sufficient, which gave the provincial +secretary, surveyor-general and attorney-general each six hundred +pounds. Bills were introduced for the purpose of carrying these +recommendations into effect, but, although passed by the House, they +were rejected by the council, which for many years was the graveyard of +all measures for the improvement of the province. + +{RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT} + +The general election of 1842 was mainly fought on the Reform issue, and +the question of responsible government was discussed on every hustings. +Unfortunately very few of the candidates who offered their services as +legislators had a clear idea of what responsible government really +meant, and some of the gentlemen who were not ashamed to confess their +ignorance of the principles of the British constitution were men of +education and position, from whom better things might have been +expected. Mr. Robert L. Hazen, an eminent lawyer, who was a candidate +for the representation of the city of St. John, declared in his +nomination speech that he never met with any one who could explain to +him satisfactorily what responsible government meant. Mr. Humbert, one +of the candidates for St. John County, was entirely averse to the new +principles. "And what," he asked, "are these principles?" "Why," he +would ask, "should the old system be altered; it had never given cause +for complaint, it had always worked well,--then why should the people +complain?" He was not in favour of any innovations on British colonial +government. Very few people understood what responsible government +meant. He hardly understood it himself. It was, in his opinion, just +introducing another branch into our government. He was not in favour of +the government initiating the money votes. He was always sensitive about +the rights of the House--to them ought the power of originating the +supplies to belong, and to none other--and if returned he would oppose +the measure. + +Such absurdities as the above would not be worth quoting, but for the +light they throw on the views of the average New Brunswick politician of +that period. Mr. Humbert had been for many years a member of the House +of Assembly, and yet he had been unable to understand the significance +of the changes which the Reformers proposed in the constitution of the +country. The result of the election in St. John showed that the people +of that city and county were quite indifferent to the new doctrines. +For the county, Mr. Partelow was at the head of the poll, and that +gentleman on the hustings had declared that he was opposed to any change +in the constitution. He went into the House, he said, under a +constitution of fifty years' standing, and he was determined to leave it +as he found it, unimpaired. He disapproved of the initiation of money +votes being placed in the hands of the executive. He thought "such a +system would be wrong and pernicious in the extreme." + +{REFORMERS DEFEATED} + +When the legislature met in January 1843, it was found that the +Reformers were in the minority. Mr. Partelow was determined to make this +fact very clear, for in nominating the speaker he made a speech of some +length in which he declared that the time had come for testing the +principles on which the House should act, and with this object in view +he would throw down the gauntlet to the friends of responsible +government by nominating Mr. J. W. Weldon, to fill the chair. This +gentleman was a very fit representative of the old system, for besides +being a member for Kent, he filled almost all the offices in that county +which one man could hold. He was postmaster of Richibucto, deputy +treasurer for the port of Richibucto, issuer of marriage licenses for +the county of Kent, keeper of the seals and clerk of the peace and of +the inferior court of common pleas, and registrar of probates for the +same county. + +Mr. Wilmot was nominated for the speakership by Mr. Hill, of Charlotte, +but declined to run; the odds were too great, and so Mr. Weldon, the +opponent of responsible government, was elected without opposition. This +was an unsatisfactory result after so many years of conflict, but the +friends of Reform, although they had to admit defeat, were neither +daunted nor discouraged. They knew that many other questions besides the +abstract one of the adoption of responsible government had influenced +the recent election, and that the new principles had been blamed for +results that would have been avoided if they had been in operation. For +instance, the transfer of the casual and territorial revenues to the +treasury of the province in 1837 had placed a very large sum, amounting +to £150,000, at the disposal of the legislature. All this money had been +dissipated by extravagant grants, and in 1842 the province was actually +in debt. Many ignorant electors were made to believe that this result +was due to the Reformers who had been the means of obtaining this money, +which the legislature had squandered; and this feeling was so strong in +the county of York, that Messrs. Wilmot and Fisher stood lower on the +poll than the two anti-Reformers who were elected with them. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE READE APPOINTMENT + + +Although elected in opposition to responsible government, the +legislature of 1843 at its first session took one important step in +favour of Reform. The arrangement by which the executive and legislative +councils were separated, which had come into force ten years before, +although a decided improvement on the old state of affairs, did not +produce universal satisfaction.[3] The constitution of the legislative +council was complained of, and it was described as an obstructive body +which disregarded the wishes of the people. Bills of the utmost +importance, which had been passed by large majorities in the House of +Assembly, and which were demanded by the people, were frequently +rejected by the council without being even discussed. Most of its +members were opposed to any change in the constitution of the province, +and everything which seemed to be in the direction of giving power to +the people was denounced as an innovation and condemned as an +infringement of the vested rights of the council. One of the chief +causes of complaint against the council was their rejection of every +bill for the amendment of the charter of King's College. Wilmot had so +frequently had his efforts in this direction nullified by the council +that he introduced a resolution in the assembly condemning the conduct +of that body for rejecting the college bill, and the council retaliated +by unanimously voting this a breach of privilege.[4] The complaints of +the House of Assembly against the legislative council were now embodied +in an address to the queen. In this address it was stated that in the +opinion of the House the legislative council should be composed of +persons not only representing all the leading interests of the province, +but so independent in respect to property and so free from official +control as to form a constitutional check on the executive. Although, by +the laws that existed then, members of the assembly were required to be +possessed of real estate to the value of two hundred pounds, over and +above all encumbrances, there was no property qualification whatever +required for members of the legislative council. The address of the +House expressed the opinion that members of the council should be +required to possess a certain amount of real estate, and that their +seats should be vacant on the loss of this qualification, or on their +becoming bankrupt, or public defaulters, or from neglect to give their +attendance for a given time without leave of the lieutenant-governor. +The address also stated that the constitution of the legislative council +was defective and objectionable in other respects, because, of the +eighteen members who composed it, a great proportion held offices at the +pleasure of the Crown, and the principal officers of the government +usually formed a majority of the members present. It was also complained +that members of the Church of England had too great a preponderance in +the council, the only members not of that communion being one +Presbyterian and one Baptist. + +{THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL} + +At the next session of the legislature, despatches from Lord Stanley +were laid before the House of Assembly in which it was stated that the +council would be increased in number to twenty-one, and four new members +of the council were to be appointed. The new members then appointed were +T. H. Peters, Admiral Owen, William Crane and George Minchin, while the +Hon. Thomas Baillie, the surveyor-general, the Hon. Mr. Lee, the +receiver-general, the Hon. James Allanshaw, of St. Andrews, and the Hon. +Harry Peters, of Gagetown, retired. No doubt the retirement of two +officials who received large salaries was some improvement, but the +council required further remodelling before it could be said to be an +efficient body, or one in sympathy with the inhabitants of the +province. + +The legislative council has now ceased to exist, and it may be said of +it that it was never a very satisfactory body for legislative purposes. +Perhaps the original composition of it created such a prejudice against +legislative councils as to hamper its activities; and, from having been +at first merely the echo of the wishes of the governor, it became +latterly, to a large extent, the echo of the wishes of the government. +Gradually it became relieved of its official members, and in its last +years no head of a department ever occupied a seat in the legislative +council; for it was thought, and rightly, that the power ought to be in +the House, where the responsibility to the people was most felt, and +that it was not wise to place an official whose department expended +large sums of money in a body which properly had no control over the +public expenditure. The legislative council had undoubtedly from time to +time many able and useful members, and, at certain periods in the +history of the province, particularly during the confederation +discussions, it took a firm stand in favour of measures which seemed +essential to the prosperity of the British North American provinces. No +one can deny that at that time it exercised an authority fully equal to +that of the Lower House, but it cannot be doubted that some of this work +was done at the expense of the proper balance of the constitution. Such +an exercise of unusual authority on the part of a body not elected by +the people may serve a purpose at a particular crisis, but cannot be +commended as an example, and if frequently repeated would end in the +destruction of the constitution. + +{THE COUNCIL'S RECORD} + +The legislative council lost a considerable proportion of its able men +at the time of confederation by the removal of eleven of its members to +the senate of Canada, although one or two remained with it who were not +inferior to any of those who then took their departure. The new members +who came in as their successors were naturally inferior to the old in +practical experience and ability, and this had, no doubt, an influence +on the future of the House. The example of Ontario, which was able to +conduct its affairs with one House, showed that two independent branches +of the legislature were by no means necessary, and that the council +might be abolished with safety. No doubt it was difficult to bring this +about among a people who had been trained to believe that there was +something essential to legislation in the balance of king, lords, and +commons, making up one legislative body. But in the course of time the +electors began to think that the council was not exactly the proper +equivalent of the House of Lords, and the lieutenant-governor very far +from standing in the position of a king. Old prejudices in favour of a +constitution framed after a particular model are difficult to remove, +but, in the case of New Brunswick, these prejudices were at length +overcome, and it is safe to say that in the course of time all the +provincial legislatures of Canada will consist of but a single chamber. +It is equally safe to assert that under the new system the work of +legislation will be as well done as it was under the old. + +The session of the legislature in 1843 came to an end on April 11th, and +on the seventeenth of the same month Wilmot became a member of the +government. His appointment had been preceded by the resignation of five +members of the government--Messrs. Black, Shore, Robinson, Odell and +Crane--and by the appointment of Messrs. E. B. Chandler, Hugh Johnston, +John Montgomery and Robert L. Hazen, to fill the vacancies thus created. +Of the retiring members two--Messrs. Black and Shore--were members of +the legislative council; one of them, Mr. Crane, was a member of the +House of Assembly, while the other two were officials who did not belong +to either branch of the legislature. Of the new members of the executive +council, Messrs. Chandler and Johnston were members of the legislative +council, Messrs. Hazen and Wilmot were members of the House of Assembly, +while Mr. Montgomery had no seat in either House. The executive council +as made up at that time included four members of the legislative +council, three members of the House of Assembly and Mr. Montgomery, who +did not become a member of the House of Assembly until three years +later. There is no doubt that the composition of the new executive +council was more in accordance with correct principles than its +predecessor; yet little could be expected from it in the way of Reform, +for Wilmot was the only member who was in favour of responsible +government. + +{ENTERS THE GOVERNMENT} + +Mr. Wilmot has been censured for entering a government composed of men +who were opposed to the liberal views he held on public questions. It +was thought by many that his conduct in this respect looked too much +like a surrender of his principles for the sake of office or official +position, and it certainly would have been better if he had continued in +Opposition. Yet we can easily conceive that he may have thought at the +time he could do more for the cause of Reform inside the government than +out of it, and, although this proved to be an error, it was a natural +one for which it is not difficult to find an excuse. Fortunately for the +cause of Reform, Wilmot's connection with the government did not last +long at that time. A storm was gathering in an unexpected quarter which +was destined to wreck the government, and to cause some of its +Conservative members to reconsider their opinions with reference to some +questions which until then they had regarded as fixed and unchangeable. + +It has been already stated that the governor of the province made such +appointments to office as he pleased, usually without the advice of his +council. He was supposed to have the power to do this as the +representative of the sovereign and in the exercise of what was termed +"the royal prerogative." In this way persons were frequently appointed +to offices who were not residents of the province, and in all other +cases appointments were given to the members of certain favoured +families. In 1834, a vacancy was created on the supreme court bench by +the death of Chief-Justice Saunders. Ward Chipman was appointed +chief-justice in place of Mr. Saunders, and the vacant puisne judgeship +was given to James Carter, who afterwards became chief-justice of the +province. Carter was a young Englishman then living in London, and was +certainly no better qualified to fill the position of judge than many +natives of the province, so that it was regarded as a gross insult to +the members of the New Brunswick bar, to give such an appointment to a +stranger. Yet so slow was public opinion to make itself felt in regard +to the evil of the appointing power being given to the governor without +qualification, that ten years later the House of Assembly presented an +address to Sir Charles Metcalfe, governor-general of Canada, expressing +the high sense entertained by them, as representatives of the people of +New Brunswick, of the "constitutional stand" taken by him in maintaining +the prerogative of the Crown in the then recent memorable "conflict."[5] +The city of St. John also, to show its loyalty, presented a similar +address; and one signed by one thousand persons was sent from the county +of York. + +{SIR CHARLES METCALFE} + +Yet nothing can be more clear than that the stand taken by Sir Charles +Metcalfe in 1844 was wholly wrong, for it consisted in refusing to +consult with his council in regard to appointments, and in making +appointments contrary to their advice. What would the people of Canada +say to-day to a governor-general who insisted on appointing men to +office against the advice of his cabinet? Yet it was for doing this that +the New Brunswick House of Assembly, the city and county of St. John and +the county of York actually grovelled in the dust before this despotic +governor, thus approving of all his acts. Such abasement and +subserviency to an unconstitutional governor was certain to bring its +own punishment, and it came much sooner than any one could have +anticipated. On Christmas Day of the same year the Hon. William Franklin +Odell, who had been provincial secretary for thirty-two years, died at +Fredericton. Mr. Odell's father had been secretary before him from the +foundation of the province, so that the Odell family had held that +important and highly lucrative office for sixty years. + +The governor at this time was Sir William Colebrooke, and on January +1st, 1845, just one week after the death of Mr. Odell, he appointed his +son-in-law, Alfred Reade, who was a native of England and a stranger to +the province, to the vacant office. The gentlemen who had been most +prominent in shouting their approval of the "constitutional stand" taken +by Sir Charles Metcalfe, now suddenly discovered that Sir William +Colebrooke's conduct in making this appointment without consulting his +council, was a fearful outrage, and their distress was pitiable to +behold. Several members of the government, including such zealous +upholders of the prerogative as the Hon. Robert L. Hazen, of St. John, +at once resigned their positions. A communication from three of +them--Hugh Johnston, E. B. Chandler and R. L. Hazen--addressed to His +Excellency gave as their reasons for resigning that they could not +justify the exercise of the prerogative of the Crown in respect to Mr. +Reade's appointment, because they felt that "the elevation to the +highest offices of trust and emolument of individuals whose character, +services, and claims to preferment, however appreciated elsewhere, are +entirely unknown to the country generally, is prejudicial to the best +interests of the province." They did not, however, make it a ground of +objection that the appointment of Mr. Reade was forwarded for the royal +approbation without the advice or concurrence of the council. These +gentlemen evidently thought it was too early for them to eat the words +in regard to the prerogative of the Crown, of which they had been so +free a few months before, but they showed their true characters by +deserting the governor because he had been foolish enough to believe +that their profuse expressions in favour of the royal prerogative were +sincere. + +{RESIGNATION} + +Mr. Wilmot, who also resigned, sent a separate communication to the +lieutenant-governor in which he stated what he considered to be the true +constitutional doctrine which should govern such matters. He said:-- + +"In the first place, I consider it justly due to the people of this +province, that all the offices of honour and emolument in the gift of +the administration of the government should be bestowed upon inhabitants +of the province who have made this country their home, and, in the cases +of the principal offices, those persons should be preferred who have +claims for public services rendered to the province, and who can command +the respect and confidence of the country. With these views, which I +hope I shall ever retain, I must necessarily disapprove of the +appointment in question, as I can only look upon Mr. Reade as a +comparative stranger and a transient person, while, at the same time, I +am of opinion that he has no claim whatever on the ground of public +services rendered to this province. + +"It would be in vain for the parents of our youth to make every exertion +in order to qualify their sons for the higher offices of the province, +if the avenues to honourable and profitable preferment are to be thus +closed against them; and I therefore cannot but view the appointment +under consideration as an act of great injustice to the people of this +country; and I can safely assure Your Excellency that it will be thus +considered throughout the length and breadth of the province. + +"Your Excellency is well aware that ever since I have had the honour of +having a seat in the council, I have approved of, and advocated those +principles of colonial government which are now in full operation in +Canada, which have been distinctly enunciated by the present government +in the House of Commons, and which require the administration to be +conducted by heads of departments responsible to the legislature, and +holding their offices contingently upon the approbation and confidence +of the country as expressed through the representatives of the people. +Still entertaining a strong attachment to those principles from a clear +constitutionality, and, from a conscientious belief in their safe and +practical adaptation to a British colony enjoying the privileges of a +representative form of government, I can see no sufficient reason for +withholding their salutary influence from the loyal and intelligent +people of this province; and considering it more advisable that a +gradual advancement should be made by the government itself towards +those principles as opportunities may offer, than that a concession in +gross should hereafter be made to the urgent demands of the country, I +am of the opinion that the provincial secretary should now be brought +into the executive government, and should hold a seat in one of the +Houses of the legislature--his tenure of office being contingent upon +the successful administration of the government; and therefore, as the +appointment in question has been made irrespective of any of these +conditions, I am bound to give it my opposition." + +{REMONSTRANCE OF THE ASSEMBLY} + +When the House met in the latter part of January, the Reade appointment +immediately became the subject of discussion, and by the vote of +twenty-four to six, an address was passed to Her Majesty the Queen, +condemning the appointment, not, as the members said, because they +questioned "in the remotest degree the prerogative in its undoubted +right to make such appointments," but because they thought that the +right of appointment had been improperly or unjustly exercised. In other +words, the members of the House of Assembly surrendered the principle +that appointments should be made by the governor, with the advice of +his executive, and only objected to the Reade appointment because, in +their opinion, some one else should have been chosen. It is easy to see +that in subscribing to this address the members of the House stultified +themselves; for if it was a part of the prerogative of the Crown to make +appointments without the advice of the council, surely the exercise of +the prerogative in the appointment of a particular individual could not +be fairly questioned. The result of the difficulty, however, was the +cancelling of Mr. Reade's appointment by the home government. This +decision was communicated to the House of Assembly by message on +February 3rd, 1846. The despatch from the colonial office, upon which +the lieutenant-governor acted, was written on March 31st, 1845, and must +have been received by him at Fredericton not later than the last of +April. But notwithstanding this despatch Mr. Reade held office until +July 17th, so it will be seen that Sir William Colebrooke was in no +hurry to carry out the wishes of the home government. Lord Stanley, the +writer of the despatch in question, expressed the opinion that public +employment should be bestowed on the natives or settled inhabitants of +the province, and he thought that Mr. Reade did not come under this +description. He closed his despatch with the following singular +statement:-- + +{READE'S APPOINTMENT CANCELLED} + +"I observe with satisfaction that the House of Assembly have not only +abstained from complicating the subject with any abstract question of +government, but have rejected every proposal for laying down formal +principles upon such questions. The House has, I think, in this course +done justice to the earnest desire of Her Majesty that the colonial +administration generally should be conducted in harmony with the wishes +of her people, whatever may be the variations arising out of local +considerations and the state of society in various colonies, subject to +which that principle may be carried into practice; and it is anxiously +hoped that the same wise forbearance which has led the House of Assembly +to decline the unnecessary discussion of subjects of so much delicacy, +may lead them also to regard the practical decision now announced as the +final close of the controversy, and to unite in the promotion, not of +objects of party strife and rivalry, but of the more substantial and +enduring interests of the colony which they represent." If these words +have any meaning, they seem to show that at that date the British +government believed the right of appointment to be in the Crown, without +reference to the council, and that they were unwilling that any general +principle should be laid down by the legislature of the province which +conflicted with this view. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[3] This change had been effected by a royal commission under the signet +and sign-manual dated December 3d, 1832. There is nothing in the records +of the province to show why this was done. Neither the council nor the +House of Assembly had asked for it. The Nova Scotia council was not +divided until 1838. + +[4] Mr. Wilmot's resolution was carried in the assembly without a +division, so that he had the solid support of the popular branch of the +legislature, yet little good was to be expected from such votes in the +House. + +[5] The resolution to present this address was strongly opposed by Mr. +Wilmot and his colleague, Mr. Fisher, who both declared the conduct of +Lord Metcalfe to be contrary to the principles of responsible +government. Mr. Wilmot's speech led to a singular result. He was +attacked in the _Loyalist_ newspaper for his opposition to the address, +and this attack having been brought to the notice of the House of +Assembly was voted a breach of privilege. Messrs. Doak and Hill, the +proprietors of the paper, were arrested on the warrant of the speaker +and committed to prison. On the application of their counsel, Mr. D. S. +Kerr, they were released by Mr. Justice Carter on a writ of _habeas +corpus_. Doak and Hill both brought actions against the speaker, Mr. +Weldon, and the result was a decision of the Supreme Court of New +Brunswick that the House of Assembly had not the power to arrest and +imprison the publisher of a libel on a member of the House touching his +conduct and proceedings in the House. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +WILMOT'S VIEWS ON EDUCATION + + +Among the questions in which Wilmot took a deep interest was that of +education. His views on this subject were far in advance of those of +most of his contemporaries. Education was in a very unsatisfactory +condition in the province of New Brunswick when he entered public life, +and it continued in that condition for many years afterward. If we may +judge from the statute-book, the founders of the province had very +little appreciation of the advantages of education, for no law was +passed with a view to the establishment of public schools until the year +1805. In that year "An Act for encouraging and extending literature in +this province" was passed, under the provisions of which a public +grammar school was established in the city of St. John, which received a +grant of one hundred pounds for the purpose of assisting the trustees to +procure a suitable building for school uses, and also an annual grant of +one hundred pounds for the support of the master. The same Act provided +for the establishment of county schools, and the sections relating to +them, being limited in respect to time, were continued by 50th George +III, Chap. 33 to the year 1816, when they expired and were replaced by +"An Act for the establishment of schools in the province." This Act +expired in 1823, and in its place "An Act for the encouragement of +parish schools" was passed the same year. This last Act was repealed by +"An Act in relation to parish schools" passed in 1833, which continued +in force for many years. All these Acts were essentially the same in +principle, as they provided for government aid to teachers who had been +employed to teach schools in the parishes under the authority of the +school trustees. The Act of 1833, which was considered to be a great +improvement on former Acts, provided for the appointment of three school +trustees in each parish by the sessions, and these trustees were charged +with the duty of dividing the parishes into districts and directing the +discipline of the schools. They were required to certify once a year to +the lieutenant-governor as to the number of schools in their parish, the +number of scholars and other particulars, and on their certificate the +teacher drew the government money. This money was granted at the rate of +twenty pounds for a male teacher who had taught school a year, or ten +pounds for six months, and ten pounds for a female teacher who had +taught school a year, or five pounds for six months, provided the +inhabitants of the school district had subscribed an equal amount for +the support of the teacher, or supplied board, washing and lodging to +the teacher in lieu of the money. Thus a male teacher in a district +where a school was always kept, would receive for his year's work his +board, lodging and washing, and twenty pounds in money; and a female +teacher ten pounds. Such a rate of remuneration was not well calculated +to attract competent persons, and the result was very unsatisfactory. +Most of the teachers employed were old men who had a mere smattering of +learning and who were very incompetent instructors. They usually lodged +with the parents of the pupils, living at each house in proportion to +the number of scholars sent. This system, which raised them but one +degree above the condition of paupers, was not conducive to their +comfort or self-respect. As there was no uniformity in the books +prescribed and no sufficient educational test, the results of such +teaching were not likely to be satisfactory. Sometimes the teacher was a +woman who eked out a scanty subsistence by communicating her small +learning to a few scholars whom she gathered in her kitchen. Generally, +however, the school building was a log hut without any of those +appliances which are now regarded as essential to the proper instruction +of youth. + +{PROVINCIAL GRAMMAR SCHOOLS} + +In 1816 an Act was passed providing for the establishment of grammar +schools in the several counties of the province. At that period St. John +and St. Andrews had already grammar schools which had been established +under separate Acts, and Fredericton had an academy or college, which +was founded by a provincial charter granted by Lieutenant-Governor +Carleton in 1800. The counties of St. John, Charlotte and York were +therefore excepted from the operation of the general Act for the +establishment of grammar schools. This Act, after being amended in 1823, +was finally repealed by the Act of 1829, which endowed King's College at +Fredericton and made new provisions for the establishment and support of +grammar schools throughout the province. King's College at a later +period developed into the University of New Brunswick. It had its +beginning in the original charter of 1800, already referred to, which +established the College of New Brunswick. In the same year the governor +and trustees of the College of New Brunswick received a grant, under the +great seal of the province, of a considerable tract of land in and near +Fredericton for the support of that institution of learning. Until the +year 1829, the New Brunswick College was merely a classical school +receiving from the legislature annually two hundred and fifty pounds, +which was the same amount then allowed to the St. John Grammar School. + +{MADRAS SCHOOLS} + +At an early period, the attention of the people of that province was +directed to what was called the Madras system of national schools as +conducted by Dr. Bell, the real founder of the system being Joseph +Lancaster. This system depends for its success on the use of monitors, +who are selected from among the senior pupils to instruct the younger +ones. It was supposed at the time to be a notable discovery, but, like +other short cuts to learning, has fallen out of favour. In July, 1818, +the first Madras school was established in St. John by a Mr. West from +Halifax. This was a boys' school; and a school for girls, on the same +system, was opened a year or two later. In 1819, a Madras school charter +was procured under the great seal of the province, and the Madras school +system established on a substantial foundation. The province gave a +grant of two hundred and fifty pounds for the erection of a suitable +building in St. John, and the National Society in England contributed to +its support. This charter was confirmed by an Act passed in 1820. The +St. John school was to be regarded as the central school, but it was the +design of the charter that the benefits of the system should be extended +to other parts of the province, and this was accordingly done. The +Madras schools received liberal appropriations of money, and large +grants of land, and they continued to exist until the introduction of +the free school system in 1872. Two or three of them, indeed, continued +in operation after that time, but they had lost their original character +and had become simply Church of England schools, that denomination +having appropriated the Madras school endowments to the support of +schools in which its principles and creed were taught. In 1900, by Act +of the legislature, the Madras school property was handed over to the +diocesan synod of Fredericton, with the exception of about ten thousand +dollars, which went to the University of New Brunswick. + +From the day when Wilmot became a member of the House of Assembly in +1835, he began to press upon the attention of that body the necessity +for an improvement in the schools of the province. But the same spirit +of apathy which prevailed with regard to purely political questions +affected the legislature with respect to education. The people +throughout the province were not prepared to make the sacrifices +necessary to obtain sufficient schools. Their attitude with regard to +education was well described in a speech made by Wilmot in 1846, when +Mr. Brown, of Charlotte, brought in his bill to provide for a normal or +proper training school for the education of those who were to become +teachers. This bill did not become law, in consequence of the opposition +raised against it in the legislature on the ground of expense. It was +estimated that it would cost an additional two thousand pounds to +provide a normal school, and this sum the men who were at the head of +the government were not willing to pay for the purpose of giving the +children of the province properly trained teachers. Wilmot's speech on +that occasion concluded as follows:-- + +{PARISH SCHOOLS} + +"Before I sit down I must again revert to the greatest difficulty which +has to be encountered to render the provisions of that bill effective in +promoting a better system of education in the parish schools. This is a +difficulty which in this country legislation cannot reach--I earnestly +wish it could. I mean the apathy of the parents themselves. The +honourable member now in the chair can bear me witness as to the extent +to which this apathy prevails in this county at this day. That +honourable member, when out of the chair, could tell the committee that +in a certain district of this county where there is no schoolhouse, a +philanthropic individual told the inhabitants that if they would get out +a frame and provide the boards, he would at his own expense provide +nails, glass, locks, and the necessary materials for finishing a +schoolhouse. What was the result? They did get out the frame and raised +it, and when I and the honourable chairman had occasion to visit that +part of the county together, we enquired why they did not go on and +finish it. The worthy individual who had made the proposition, and +bought and had in his house the materials for finishing the building, +told us that the inhabitants of the district would not find the boards, +and, in consequence of that, the erection of the schoolhouse had not +been gone on with. A gentleman now present (I will not mention names, as +the chairman might blush) offered to give them the boards from a +neighbouring mill if they would go and fetch them, but even this they +would not do. Although everything was to be had without money, there was +no one who felt interest enough in the education of their children to +go and bring them to the spot--and to this day the frame stands, as it +then did, a melancholy monument of the dreadful apathy which is +sometimes to be found even in this comparatively intelligent county." + +Mr. Wilmot lived long enough to see a free school system in force in his +native province, although he had no share in bringing this result about. +Yet that his views on this subject were sound and far in advance of his +time is shown by a speech which he made at the time of the opening of +the first exhibition in the province in 1852. He said: + +"It is unpardonable that any child should grow up in our country without +the benefit of, at least, a common-school education. It is the right of +the child. It is the duty not only of the parent but of the people; the +property of the country should educate the country. All are interested +in the diffusion of that intelligence which conserves the peace and +promotes the well-being of society. The rich man is interested in +proportion to his riches, and should contribute most to the maintenance +of schools. Though God has given me no child of my own to educate, I +feel concerned for the education of the children of those who do possess +them. I feel concerned in what so intimately touches the best interests +of our common country. I want to hear the tax collector for schools +calling at my door. I want the children of the poor in the remote +settlements to receive the advantages now almost confined to their more +fortunate brethren and sisters of the towns. I know full well that God +has practised no partiality in the distribution of the noblest of his +gifts--the intellect; I know that in many a retired hamlet of our +province--amid many a painful scene of poverty and toil--there may be +found young minds ardent and ingenious and as worthy of cultivation as +those of the pampered children of our cities. It is greatly important to +the advancement of the country that these should be instructed." + +{MONEY VOTES} + +The initiation of money grants by the executive, and the responsibility +of the latter to the people, are the two corner-stones on which +responsible government must rest. From the very first, Wilmot was an +earnest advocate of both these measures; but, owing to the apathy of the +people and the disinclination of the members of the legislature to give +up what they considered their privileges, it was a difficult matter to +accomplish these objects. A reference to the journals of the legislature +will show that on numerous occasions he pressed these subjects on the +attention of the House of Assembly, and he was ably assisted by his +colleague from the county of York, Mr. Charles Fisher, who deserves a +foremost place among the men who should be honoured for their efforts to +bring about responsible government in the colonies of British North +America. It was a peculiar feature in the struggle for responsible +government in New Brunswick that, before it ended, the opposition to it +came not so much from the British government as from the members of the +provincial legislature. It was evident that the system of appropriating +money which existed in the House of Assembly was one which was wrong in +principle and resulted in getting the province into debt, because there +was no guiding hand to control the expenditure. The transfer of the +casual and territorial revenues to the provincial treasury in 1837 had +placed a very large sum, amounting to about £150,000, at the disposal of +the legislature, but this sum was speedily dissipated; and in the year +1842, when Sir William Colebrooke became lieutenant-governor of the +province, its finances were in an embarrassed condition. + +Towards the close of 1841, a despatch was received from Lord Stanley, +the colonial secretary, suggesting that it was desirable that a better +system of appropriating the funds of the province should be inaugurated. +This brought up a discussion in the legislature during the session of +1842 in regard to the propriety of adopting the principle of placing the +initiation of money grants in the executive council. Mr. Wilmot moved a +resolution in committee of the whole House "that no appropriation of +public money should be made at any future session in supply, for any +purpose whatever, until there be a particular account of the income and +expenditure of the previous year, together with an estimate of the sums +required to be expended, as well for ordinary as extraordinary services, +respectively, and also a particular estimate of the principal amount of +revenue for the ensuing year." To this an amendment was moved by Mr. +Partelow that "Whereas the present mode of appropriation, tested by an +experience of more than fifty years, has not only given satisfaction to +the people of this province, but repeatedly attracted the deserved +approbation of the colonial ministers as securing its constitutional +position to every branch of the legislature, therefore resolved, as the +opinion of this committee, that it is not expedient to make any +alteration in the same." This amendment was carried by a vote of +eighteen to twelve. + +{AN ABUSE UPHELD} + +Such an amendment as that passed by the House of Assembly of New +Brunswick in 1842 would now only be an object of ridicule, because, as a +matter of fact, the financial condition of the province showed that the +system of appropriation which prevailed was based on false principles, +while the alleged approval of the colonial ministers of which so much +account was made, had been extended to the most illiberal features of +the constitution. There was, however, some excuse for the reluctance of +the members of the House of Assembly to surrender the initiation of +money votes to the executive, because the executive council of that day +was not a body properly under the control of the legislature, or in +sympathy with the people. + +When the House met in 1843, it was seen that the friends of responsible +government were still in the minority. Yet they brought up the subject +of the appropriation of the public moneys by a resolution which sought +to fix the responsibility of the expenditure on the government. This was +met by an amendment moved by Mr. J. W. Weldon, that the House would not +surrender the initiation of the money votes. The amendment was carried +by a vote of twenty-four to seven, which showed that the friends of +Reform had still much leeway to make up before they could hope to +impress their views upon the legislature. + +{SPEECH ON APPROPRIATIONS} + +As it was hopeless to expect that a House of Assembly thus constituted +would vote in favour of the transfer of the initiation of money grants +to the executive, Wilmot did not bring up the subject again during the +remainder of its term; but by the operation of the Quadrennial Act, +which came into force in 1846, a new House was elected in that year, +which was largely made up of the same members as the previous one, and +at the first session of this House, held early in 1847, Wilmot, during +the discussion of the revenue bill, brought up the question of the +initiation of money grants in a vigorous and characteristic speech. He +said:-- + +"Can my honourable gentlemen tell me within five thousand pounds of the +money asked for, or required for the present session? No, they cannot, +and here we are going on in the old way, voting money in the dark, with +a thing for our guide called an 'estimate'--a sort of dark lantern with +which we are to grope our way through the mazes of legislation. Where is +the honourable member for Gloucester who talked so much about the good +old rules of our forefathers? I am opposed to the present principle of +voting away money; it is, in fact, but giving to tax and taxing to give, +this way and that way--every stratagem is used which can be invented in +order to carry favourite grants, and thus we proceed from day to day by +this system of combination and unprincipled collusion. [Cries of 'Order, +Order!'] Honourable members may cry order as much as they please, it is +true, and I care not who knows it--let it go forth to the country at +large. This system is what the honourable and learned member for +Gloucester [Mr. End] denominates 'the glorious old principles of our +forefathers,' which should be held as dear as life itself. It is not now +as in times gone by, when the legislative council and executive council +were one, and consequently we cannot now take the initiation of money +grants. This left the whole power in the hands of the assembly; and now, +with the report of the committee of finance before us, His Excellency's +messages, petitions and everything else, there is not one honourable +member around these benches can tell me within five thousand pounds of +the amount to be asked for, much less within ten thousand pounds of the +amount that will be granted during the present session; and yet, here we +are in committee of ways and means for raising a revenue. But it will +never answer to have too much information upon this point--if we knew +exactly how far we could go and no farther--I perhaps would lose my +grant, or another honourable member might lose a grant; this is the +system that is pursued. I have held a seat here for twelve years and +know the 'ropes' pretty well." + +In the following year there was another discussion on the initiation of +money grants, arising out of a despatch which had been received from +Earl Grey, then colonial minister, in which he referred to the laxity of +the system by which money was voted in the New Brunswick legislature +without any estimate, and suggested that the initiation of money grants +should be surrendered to the executive. This proposal was fiercely +opposed, and all the forces of ancient Toryism were rallied against it, +one member from Queens County, Mr. Thomas Gilbert, going so far as to +apply to the advocacy of the old rotten system the soul-stirring words +contained in Nelson's last signal at Trafalgar, "England expects that +every man this day will do his duty." + +{END'S RESOLUTION} + +In 1850, the last year that Mr. Wilmot sat in the House of Assembly, the +matter came up again on a resolution moved by a private member. This +was met by an amendment moved by Mr. End, of Gloucester, in the +following words:-- + +"WHEREAS, the right of originating money grants is inherent in the +representatives of the people who are constitutionally responsible to +their constituents for the due and faithful user of that right; +therefore, + +"_Resolved_, As the opinion of this House, that the surrender of such +right would amount to a dereliction of public duty and ought not to be +entertained by the House of Assembly." + +This was carried by a vote of sixteen to eleven. The three members of +the government who sat in the House, one of whom was Mr. Wilmot, who had +joined it in May 1848, voted with the minority. It was not until the +year 1856 that a resolution was passed by the House of Assembly +conceding to the executive the right of initiating money grants, and +this was carried by a majority of only two in a full House. The first +estimate of income and expenditure framed by a New Brunswick government +was not laid before the House of Assembly until the session of 1857. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE DEMAND FOR RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT + + +When Mr. Wilmot first entered the House of Assembly, many of the members +were office-holders and therefore depended on the goodwill of the +governor for their positions. At the session of 1842, a bill was +introduced for the purpose of putting an end to this evil, in which it +was declared that any member of the House of Assembly who should accept +the office of executive councillor or any office of profit or emolument +under the Crown should be incapable of taking or holding his seat in the +General Assembly while in such office, unless reëlected after acceptance +thereof. An amendment was moved to exempt executive councillors who did +not hold any office of emolument from the provisions of this section, +but it was lost by a close vote. Mr. Wilmot voted for the amendment on +the ground that a man who was merely an executive councillor without +office, and who received no emolument as such, should not be required to +go back to the people for reëlection. The bill, nevertheless, was passed +by a full House, but it was disallowed by the home authorities on the +ground that it was not in accordance with British precedents. The +colonial secretary said, "This Act as actually drawn would therefore +seem to establish a principle of great importance as well as +novelty--the principle, namely, that the Crown may not select its own +confidential advisers from amongst representatives of the people unless +the person so chosen should be willing to hazard a new election. How far +it is wise to erect such a barrier between the executive government and +the popular branch of the legislature would seem to be a matter well +meriting serious consideration." In the same despatch, the propriety of +seats in the assembly being vacated for the same reasons which would +vacate seats in the House of Commons was fully conceded. The stand taken +by Wilmot in regard to this subject was therefore the one which was +approved by the home government and was further endorsed by subsequent +legislation. Yet it was not until 1849 that the Act was passed which +finally settled the question, and required members of the legislature +accepting office to vacate their seats in the House of Assembly and go +back to their constituents for reëlection. + +{THE GOVERNOR CENSURED} + +Sir William Colebrooke had not been a popular governor since the +appointment of his son-in-law to the office of provincial secretary. The +House of Assembly, therefore, was disposed to watch his conduct very +closely and to criticize actions which perhaps would not have attracted +so much attention under other conditions. During the session of 1846, it +was shown that he had appropriated a portion of the surplus civil list +fund, amounting to about three thousand pounds, for the purpose of +defraying the expenses of surveying Crown lands in Madawaska.[6] This +money was taken by the order of the colonial secretary, Lord Stanley. +Thus it appeared that, although the province was supposed to have the +control of the territorial revenue, the British government assumed the +right to dispose of a portion of this revenue without the consent or +authority of the House of Assembly. The conduct of the governor in +connection with this matter was censured in a strongly worded resolution +which was passed by the House of Assembly almost unanimously.[7] The +time had gone by when the representative of the Crown could do as he +liked with the public funds of the province, as had been the case in +former years. + +The legislature was dissolved in 1846 under the provisions of the Act +which limited its term to four years. On the last day of the session +Wilmot bade farewell to the members of the House, and stated that he did +not intend to offer himself again for reëlection. No doubt he was quite +sincere in making this statement at the time, but he soon had reason to +change his mind. The people of the county of York were unwilling to lose +the services of the champion of their rights in the House of Assembly, +so that he found it necessary to consent to be again nominated. He was +returned at the head of the poll, and with him Mr. Charles Fisher, who +had been his colleague in two previous legislatures. + +The general election of 1846 brought a considerable number of new men +into the House, and in point of liberality the new assembly was a slight +improvement on its predecessor. The legislature met near the end of +January in the following year. The government at that time consisted of +only five persons, of whom two were members of the House of Assembly and +three of the legislative council. It appeared that negotiations had been +going on with some of the members of the Opposition for the purpose of +filling up the vacancies in the executive council. Wilmot had been +offered a seat in that body, but made it a condition of his acceptance +that he should go in with two of his friends, provided the council was +filled up to the number of seven, or three, if filled up to the number +of nine. This was not agreed to, so he remained outside the government. +During the first week of the session three new members were added to the +government, one of them being the surveyor-general, Mr. Baillie, who had +been elected a member of the House of Assembly for the county of York. +The arrangements made were not satisfactory to Wilmot and his friends, +and the government had to face what was practically a want of confidence +resolution. It was moved by Mr. Fisher and was as follows:-- + +"_Resolved_, As the opinion of this House, that while it fully +recognizes the accountability of the executive council to the assembly, +it will expect that henceforth the provincial administration will, from +time to time, prepare and bring before the legislature such measures as +may be required for the development of the provincial resources and the +general advancement of the public interests." + +{ASSAILS THE GOVERNMENT} + +In the course of the debate Wilmot spoke with great power and effect. +The following report of his speech on that occasion may serve to convey +to the reader some idea of his manner and method as a public speaker:-- + +{SPEECH ON REFORM} + +"The honourable gentleman might have spared himself the trouble of +making the defence he did. I have heard that he was to be presented with +a gold medal for his admirable defence of that nearly extinct race--the +old Family Compact. I see that I shall have to cross a lance with my +honourable and learned friend [Mr. Hazen] politically. Yet I hope the +same good feeling which has characterized the debate thus far will be +continued. A great deal has been said about politics and political +principles, but my political principles are not of yesterday--I have +gleaned them from the history of my country, a country which we are all +proud to own. Will any honourable member dare to tell me that because we +are three thousand miles from the heart of the British empire the blood +of freemen shall not flow through the veins of the sons of New +Brunswick? If so, I have yet to learn the reason. Before I sit down I +will endeavour to show my honourable friends what the distinction is +between Liberals and Conservatives--what the Liberals have done, and +what the Conservatives have not done. Now to the resolution. My +honourable friend said yesterday that the resolution meant initiation of +money grants. When this announcement was made I heard a shout from the +direction of my honourable friend, Mr. Partelow, in a tenor voice, and +an honourable member in the rear [Mr. Barberie] joining in a sort of +falsetto accompaniment. I think my honourable friend [Mr. Hazen] is much +to blame for having accused his honourable colleague [Mr. Woodward] with +writing an article in a city paper. What, suppose he did write it, do +not some of the first noblemen and statesmen in England write for the +papers? I will not deny that I have written for the papers myself some +little squibs. But it is wrong to place an honourable member in the +position where he will have to affirm or deny it. A great cry has been +raised of a contemplated attack on the government, and, after all, it +has turned out that their fears have been excited by a newspaper +paragraph. The government has fortified all their outposts, and His +Excellency and two aides have been on the lookout for the coming attack. +At length my honourable colleague [Mr. Fisher] brought forth his +resolutions when they said to each other, 'Why, this doesn't mean +anything; there is no attack.' But they slept over it one night, cracked +some wine upon it, and while sitting under the mahogany they +said--'Hazen, there is something in these resolutions of Fisher's, +depend upon it--some hidden meaning--what shall we say it is? what will +we call it? we must give them some ugly name, or they will pass.' 'Oh,' +said Hazen, 'I have it--initiation of money grants--that'll do; I'll +just go down to the House and cry out "mad dog," "initiation of money +grants"; members will become alarmed, and we'll succeed in defeating +them.' But the honourable member from St. John [Mr. Jordan] has made the +most wonderful discoveries; he has taken a peep from the lookout station +at the enemy; he has looked through a political microscope, and has +discovered more than the commander-in-chief himself. 'Why,' says he, +'there's everything there--I see "free trade" and "protection" both, and +let me see--I--there's the "Board of Works," too; and round on the other +side I see "Municipal Corporations."' I will endeavour before I sit down +to prove that the arguments of my honourable friend Mr. Hazen are +fallacious. He has been developing at a great rate yesterday; he was not +asked to develop the money, but to bring down such measures as would +develop the provincial resources; this is the meaning of the resolution, +and, had not my honourable friend become alarmed for the safety of the +government, there is no man into whose hands I would sooner place the +resolution. But he has chosen to put the construction upon the +resolution which he has done, and other honourable members said, 'Oh, he +knows what it means better than I do; he has cried "mad dog" and we'll +follow him.' The government is not asked to bring in the revenue bill, +or any other bill which involves the principle of money grants. All the +resolution requires is, that they shall be prepared, at the opening of +the session, with such measures as may be considered for the general +welfare of the country, and not keep the assembly waiting two or three +weeks for the motion of the government, as has been the case this +session. Honourable members will recollect that there is a constituency +behind them to whom they are accountable; but they may resolve and +re-resolve as they please. There is a spirit of inquiry abroad among the +people, a political intelligence, which was not to be found a few years +since when my honourable friend denounced responsible government as all +nonsense! What was the case when responsible government was first talked +of in this province? Who descended from their lofty eminence to warn the +people to beware of these new doctrines? The old official Family Compact +party--they who entrenched themselves behind the prerogative of the +Crown in 1836, came down to the people and said, 'We who have done so +much for you--we who have watched over and guarded you, beware of that +dreadful monster, responsible government.' These are the people who call +themselves Conservatives. What, I would ask, did they conserve? +Everything but the good of the country; and, had the Conservatism of +1836 been carried out, an insulted people would ere this have risen in +their majesty and would have shaken off the yoke of bondage under which +they had been labouring. + +{RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT} + +{THE PEOPLE SUPREME} + +"It has been said by honourable members of the government that there is +no distinction between Liberals and Conservatives. If this is the case, +why did they object to have me and two others take seats in the council +because we were Liberals? Here is a question which I would like my +honourable friends to answer. The Conservatives do not wish to see any +power in the hands of the people. [Interjection from Mr. End--'Not too +much.'] The honourable member from Gloucester, Mr. End, has receded from +his principles wonderfully; his speech yesterday was certainly a most +extraordinary one. He said to the government in a most supplicating tone +of voice, 'Give me fair play--give me the appointment of all the +bye-road commissioners, magistrates, sheriffs, and so on, in Gloucester, +and I will support you; that is all I want.' I will take care not to be +misunderstood in these matters, I will not allow any man to be the +exponent of my political principles. I believe departmental government +to be inseparable from our institutions, but will oppose the immediate +introduction of the whole system; I will bring it in step by step as the +country is prepared for it. Some extraordinary notions are entertained +as to the source from whence the power of the government is derived; the +freedom of government does not come down from the Crown, it goes up from +the people; and if the people are fit for these institutions they are +fit for self-government. I have frequently said that they who get the +people's money shall do the people's work. [From Mr. Partelow--'Yes, +that's right.'] I will now come down a step further--what was the case +in 1837? I am not going to disclose any secrets this time--but will +speak low. I wish to ask my honourable friend [Mr. Hazen] if, after the +administration changed in 1837, the government had the cordial +coöperation of the heads of departments? No! There has been a +counter-working going on--a constant endeavour to lead the government +astray and place them in a wrong position, and my generous-hearted +friend [Mr. Hazen] has to come down to this House and defend them. It is +a political fact, that previous to 1841 the heads of departments in this +province were in open hostility to the government. [From Mr. End--'They +could do no harm.'] If the departmental system were in operation, and +their tenure of office depended upon their ability so to conduct the +government as to merit the confidence of the assembly and the people, +there would be none of this stabbing in the dark, and running off the +track. It is, in my opinion, the only constitutional remedy for the good +working of the government. These five gentlemen who have lately formed +the mixed government, asked for departmental government when they signed +the address to the queen; yet now they refuse to adopt it. I should like +to know when they intend to graduate--does it depend upon the age of the +country or the state of the atmosphere? The fact is, whenever the people +of this country, through their representatives, choose to ask for it +they must get it. In 1844 they ran to the rescue of the prerogative in +Canada; but the very next year the same case came down to their own +doors! The tune was changed then, and an address was prepared to the +queen signed by the whole assembly except five. Why is this brought +about--why is the tune changed so suddenly? They at first said +responsible government is not fit for a colony--the next cry was, it is +not fit for New Brunswick, and finally they said, when they addressed +the queen--we must have it. Mr. Roebuck called upon Lord John Russell to +explain what responsible government was, which he has done [reads the +speech as delivered in the British parliament], and, when they had first +asked for it here, it was in full operation in Canada. My honourable +friend [Mr. Hazen] has accused me of having receded; but I will now ask +him to point out how I have done so? He has also said that I was brought +forward at the last election by the Conservatives. True, but I was +backed by all my old friends, and I told them if they took me, they must +do so with all my former opinions--opinions which I never will give up. +When they talk about there being no difference in political +names,--there is a difference; those who have contended for Liberal +principles have their names covered with obloquy. We ask for a +constitution that, while it protects the queen upon the throne, throws, +at the same time, its paternal arms around the helpless infant. This we +ask for, this we want--the pure, the free, the glorious constitution of +England; for this we have contended, for this the Liberals of New +Brunswick have fought, and let them call us rebels who have nothing else +to write about, I care not; we ask for a system that will give fair play +to all--that will upset all Family Compacts, and give to the sons of +New Brunswick their birthright, the benefit of free institutions and +self-government. This is what we want, and I will not submit tamely to +be called a rebel; I defy any honourable member to look at my political +life and say where I have overstepped the bounds of the constitution? If +I do live three thousand miles from the great body of the empire, still +that empire sends its blood through the veins of every British subject. +A son of New Brunswick has the same right to the benefit of her +institutions as has a resident of London, and I will not submit to be +cut off by any political man[oe]uvring." + +{REFORM DEFEATED} + +After a long debate, Mr. Fisher's resolution was defeated by a vote of +twenty-three to twelve, which showed that the friends of Reform had +still much work to do. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[6] This occurred during the time of the "rump" government composed of +Messrs. Simonds, Allen and McLeod, the members of the executive who +refused to resign at the time of the Reade appointment. + +[7] The following resolutions which were moved by Mr. Partelow were +carried in the House of Assembly by a vote of twenty to two: + +"1st. _Resolved_, That this committee deeply regret that His Excellency +the lieutenant-governor in council should not have felt himself +authorized to communicate to the House the despatch of the Right +Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, of January 5th, +1845, relative to the appropriation of the surplus civil list, in answer +to the address of the House of Assembly of March 14th, 1845, whereby the +House was prevented from representing, by an humble and dutiful address +to Her Majesty, that such appropriation was not in accordance with the +despatch of the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies +of August 31st, 1836. + +"2d. _Resolved_, As the opinion of this committee, that any funds +necessary to carry out the fourth article of the Treaty of Washington, +being a national treaty with a foreign power, ought not to be chargeable +upon the funds of this province; and that the House should, by an humble +and dutiful address to Her Majesty, pray that any appropriation made for +that purpose from the surplus civil list fund may be refunded to the +same." + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE VICTORY IS WON + + +The session of 1848 was destined to be a memorable one in the history of +responsible government in New Brunswick. It was evident that with the +House as then constituted no progress could be made unless a change were +brought about in the views of some of its members by outside pressure. +In this instance the pressure came from the imperial government, which +desired to bring the political condition of New Brunswick into line with +that of Canada and Nova Scotia. In March, 1847, Earl Grey, the colonial +secretary, addressed a despatch to Sir John Harvey, the governor of Nova +Scotia, in which he laid down the principles which he thought should +control colonial administration. The most important feature of this +despatch was its declaration with reference to the composition of the +executive council. With regard to office-holders in general, Earl Grey +thought that they ought not to be disturbed in consequence of any change +of government, but he was of opinion that a different rule should apply +to such officials as were members of the executive council. On this +point he adopted the language of Mr. Poulett Thomson (Lord Sydenham), +who, in a despatch to Lord John Russell, written at Halifax, in the +year 1840, said:-- + +"The functions of the executive council, on the other hand, are, it is +perfectly clear, of a totally different character; they are a body upon +whom the governor must be able to call at any or at all times for +advice, with whom he can consult upon the measures to be submitted to +the legislature, and in whom he may find instruments within its walls to +introduce such amendments in the laws as he may think necessary, or to +defend his acts and his policy. It is obvious, therefore, that those who +compose this body must be persons whose constant attendance on the +governor can be secured; principally, therefore, officers of the +government, but, when it may be expedient to introduce others, men +holding seats in one or other House, taking a leading part in political +life, and above all, exercising influence over the assembly. + +"The last, and in my opinion by far the most serious, defect in the +government is the utter absence of power in the executive, and its total +want of energy to attempt to occupy the attention of the country upon +real improvements, or to lead the legislature in the preparation and +adoption of measures for the benefit of the colony. It does not appear +to have occurred to any one that it is one of the first duties of the +government to suggest improvements where they are wanted; that, the +constitution having placed the power of legislation in the hands of an +assembly and a council, it is only by acting through these bodies that +the duty can be performed; and that, if these proper and legitimate +functions of government are neglected, the necessary result must be not +only that the improvements which the people have a right to expect will +be neglected, and the prosperity of the country checked, but that each +branch of legislature will misuse its power, and the popular mind be +easily led into excitement upon mere abstract theories of government to +which their attention is directed as the remedy for the uneasiness they +feel." + +He concluded by expressing the opinion that the peculiar circumstances +of Nova Scotia presented no insuperable obstacle to the immediate +adoption of that system of parliamentary government which had long +prevailed in the mother country. + +{A MEMORABLE DESPATCH} + +A copy of this despatch was sent to the lieutenant-governor of New +Brunswick and it was laid before the House in pursuance of an address +which had been passed a few days before. It was understood that the +principles laid down in this despatch would be equally applicable to the +province of New Brunswick, and Mr. Fisher moved that the House should +approve of them and of their application to New Brunswick. This +resolution was carried by a vote of twenty-four to eleven, which was a +complete reversal of the vote of the previous session. Among those who +voted for the resolution were the three members of the government who +had seats in the House of Assembly and who had been previously opposed +to any such change in the political system of the country. Thus the +victory for responsible government was practically won, and it only +remained to perfect the details. + +Immediately after the prorogation of the legislature, a reorganization +of the government took place, Messrs. Baillie, Shore and Johnston +retired and their places were taken by Messrs. Wilmot, Partelow, Fisher +and Kinnear. Mr. Wilmot became attorney-general in the place of Mr. +Peters, recently deceased, who had filled that office for twenty years. +Mr. Partelow became provincial secretary in place of John Simcoe +Saunders. Mr. Kinnear, who had been made solicitor-general in 1846, now +became a member of the government under the new system, while Mr. Fisher +took his seat as a member of the government without office. Thus were +the principles of responsible government vindicated and established in +New Brunswick. The provincial secretary, the attorney-general and the +solicitor-general became political officers subject to change with every +change of government. The surveyor-general, Mr. Baillie, by resigning +from the government escaped this condition for the time being, but it +was not long before that office also became political, Mr. Baillie +himself retiring with a pension in 1851. + +{INFLUENCE OF COLONIAL OFFICE} + +Messrs. Wilmot and Fisher were much censured by their friends for +becoming members of a government that was essentially Conservative and +in which they were in a minority. But as the principles for which they +had contended had been admitted and were now in a measure established, +there seemed to be no reason why they should not assist in working them +out. Wilmot as attorney-general certainly had greater opportunities of +advancing the cause of Reform than as a private member, and he and +Fisher working together were able to exercise a strong influence on the +administration. In the following year, as has already been seen, a +measure was carried voiding the seats of members of the assembly who +became heads of departments in the government, or enjoyed any office of +profit or emolument under the Crown, and this was all that was necessary +to establish responsible government on a firm basis. There was indeed +one other difficulty, the interference of the colonial office and the +influence of the governor, who had been accustomed to govern the +province largely by means of despatches. This influence was one which +could only be got rid of by degrees, for the wise men of Downing Street +always thought they knew much better what colonists required than did +the colonists themselves. The colonial secretary undertook to dictate to +the province as to the kind of tariff it should pass, and to refuse +assent to the passage of bills by the legislature giving a preference +to any particular county or granting bounties to fishermen or others +engaged in any special calling. It was felt to be a hardship that the +province was not permitted to give encouragement to any industry which +it desired to assist, and so strong was this feeling that at the session +of 1850, immediately after the receipt of a despatch from Earl Grey +disallowing the bill of the previous session granting bounties for the +cultivation of hemp, a bill was introduced and carried by an +overwhelming majority in the assembly appropriating three thousand +pounds for bounties to fishermen. This bill was rejected by the council, +so that the colonial secretary was spared the difficulty which would +have been involved in being defied by the New Brunswick legislature. It +was also felt to be a great hardship that, at a time when the colonies +were being deprived of the preferential tariff they had so long enjoyed +in the English markets, they should be debarred from entering into +commercial arrangements with foreign nations. A series of strongly +worded resolutions on this subject was moved by Mr. David Wark, and was +well supported, although not carried. The language used by many of the +speakers during the debate showed that the loyal feelings which had +always distinguished the people of the province were being subjected to +a severe strain by the policy of the British government. These +interferences with provincial rights continued for many years after +Wilmot had retired from public life, and therefore it is unnecessary to +refer to them further. + +{THE PORTLAND CONVENTION} + +Wilmot had but few opportunities during his active career as a public +man of displaying his abilities outside of his native province. His fame +as an orator was therefore mainly a local one, and the Portland Railway +Convention of 1850 was the first occasion on which he was recognized as +one of the best speakers on the continent. That great gathering of the +railway and business men of the United States and Canada was assembled +for the purpose of taking measures to secure a shorter ocean route to +Europe than was afforded by steamships sailing from New York. It was +thought that a better plan would be to run steamships from some port on +the west coast of Ireland to a port on the east coast of Nova Scotia, a +distance of about two thousand miles, and to connect the latter with New +York by a line of railway. No one doubted at that time that this was a +plan that was likely to succeed, and probably it would have done so if +there had been no improvement in the construction of steamships. No one +dreamed in those days that boats with a speed of twenty-five knots an +hour and of twenty thousand tons displacement would be running to New +York before the century was ended, and that the voyage to Liverpool +would be reduced to less than six days. + +The Portland Convention included many eminent men from the United States +and Canada and not a few that could justly be described as orators, but +it was universally admitted that in eloquence Attorney-General Wilmot, +of New Brunswick, exceeded them all. The reporter of the proceedings of +the convention stated, in the pamphlet afterwards published, that it was +due to the speaker and to himself to say that "he had been entirely +unable to give anything like a report of the remarks of Mr. Wilmot." The +reporter also quotes the statement of another that "Mr. Wilmot delivered +one of the most spicy, eloquent and enlivening speeches which he ever +heard, which, while it kept the audience in the best spirits, was +replete with noble sentiments commending themselves to the hearts of all +present. His remarks were generally upon the moral, social and +intellectual influences which would result from the contemplated work. +No sketch would do justice to its power and beauty, its flashes of wit +and humour." + +{WILMOT'S GREAT SPEECH} + +The following report of Wilmot's great convention speech, although +admittedly very imperfect, is given as almost the only example that +survives of his eloquence:-- + +"I find myself in a new position in addressing a convention in a city, +in a state, and under a government that is foreign to me, as far as +citizenship is concerned. But I feel myself at home, for I am among +those who derive their inheritance from the same common ancestry. I am, +Mr. President, not a son of New England, but a grandson, and I can find +the old gravestone which indicates the graves of my ancestors, in a +pleasant village of Connecticut [cheers]. + +"We in the provinces came to this convention at your call. We have +responded to your invitation and you have given us a brother's welcome. +Physiologists affirm that the exercise of the muscles tends to their +enlargement and fuller development; and phrenologists affirm that the +exercise of the different faculties develops in a corresponding degree +the bumps upon the cranium. I would beg to add something to this +category,--the exercise of benevolence and kindness enlarges the heart, +and since I have been among you I have felt my heart growing big within +me [cheers]. + +"I am delighted to see this day, and could I give expression to the +emotions which swell up within me I would do so, but my power fails in +the attempt, and I cannot presume to make a speech. We do not, however, +meet to consult about California, where one hundred and twelve hour +speeches are necessary, or about the admission of New Mexico into the +Union. Our object is to effect an admission into the great railroad +union, and on this question we admit of no 'compromises.' We go straight +ahead in our purpose and the union will be effected [cheers]. + +"I know, Mr. President, it is a great work in which we are engaged. I +know that it looks vast, if not impossible of achievement to those who +have not studied its relations and its details, but those who look at it +through the enlarged medium which its contemplation presents will find +that difficulties diminish as its importance grows upon their vision. + +"Look at the progress of similar enterprises among yourselves in the +state of Maine, and other parts of New England, and then say whether +anything is required of us but union of effort and faith in the result +of our exertions. In prosecuting our work in this matter, we must have +faith; but as faith without works is dead, let us put forth our +exertions and go steadily forward to a speedy and glorious completion of +our great enterprise [cheers]. + +"If the timid falter and the doubting hold back, there are others who +will take their places and keep our ranks full. We have only to hold our +position, and drive back the army of doubters, or opposers, who may +resist our march. We must give them the same reception that General +Taylor gave to the army of Santa Anna at Buena Vista. If opposed by +superior numbers, or if on any part of the field there are those who +hesitate, or hold back when a stronghold of the enemy is to be carried, +I would repeat the order of General Taylor: 'A little more grape, +Captain Poor'[8] [tremendous cheers]. + +"It is written in the decrees of eternal Providence, Mr. President, +that we shall learn war no more; we may then go on side by side with +glorious emulation for the cause of virtue and philanthropy throughout +the world, striving who shall out-vie the other. How changed in every +respect, now, is the condition of our race! How glorious the sight of +two great peoples uniting as one, 'to draw more closely the bands of +brotherhood, that yet shall make of all mankind but one great +brotherhood of nations.' The sentiment of that resolution which embodies +this idea is worthy of its author and of the American character; but it +is also a sentiment to which the people of the British empire will +respond [cheers]. + +"Sir, I found in the circular which invited us here this sentiment +expressed, in terms which aroused to the fullest enthusiasm the mind of +every man in the British provinces: 'The spirit of peace has at last +prevailed--national animosities, sectional and political hostility have +disappeared between the English races since the establishment of the +boundaries of Maine and Oregon, and the contests of war have been +succeeded by a noble and generous rivalry for the promotion of the arts +of peace. The introduction of the steamship and the railway has made +former enemies friends. National hostility has given way to commercial +and social intercourse, and under whatever form of government they may +hereafter exist, they can never again become hostile or unfriendly' +[cheers]. + +"To this sentiment I respond with all my heart. It is this sentiment +that has brought us together. I know not who was the author of this +circular, but whoever he may be, in the name of every Englishman--in the +name of every American, sir, in the name of humanity, I tender him +thanks [cheers]. + +"An enterprise aiming to accomplish such results, and which is in and of +itself calculated to produce such results, cannot fail of success. The +whole civilized world is interested in its accomplishment. There are +some good old-fashioned people who think we are going too fast and too +far in our railroad enterprises. We have, they say, lived and got along +well enough without railroads, and now you seem to think that your +temporal salvation depends upon it! Blot out your telegraphs, lay up +your steamboats,--what darkness would come upon the world! We must form +ourselves into a council of war for the purpose of combating these old +prejudices, and, instead of being turned away from our objects, we will +take stronger grounds than ever occupied before. + +"Mr. President, we of the provinces have made up our minds no longer to +remain quiet in our present condition. With all the fine natural +advantages our country possesses, we make comparatively slow progress, +and our province itself is scarcely known to the world. I shall be +pardoned here for relating an anecdote to illustrate the truth of this +remark. + +"In a recent visit to Washington upon official business, I had occasion +to tarry a few days in the city of New York, and among the places that I +visited with a friend was one of the colleges in the city. My friend +introduced me to a learned professor as his friend, the +'Attorney-general of New Brunswick.' We entered into conversation on a +variety of subjects, and he inquired when I came over to the city, and +as to various matters going on in the neighbouring state. Seeing the +mistake of the learned professor, I thought it hardly kind to mortify +him by correcting it, and I answered in the best way I could, and took +my leave; and to this hour, I suppose, the learned professor thinks he +was talking with the attorney-general of the fine old state of New +Jersey [tremendous cheers]. + +"Seeing that my own country itself was hardly known beyond its bounds, I +felt a little concern that she should not always remain in this +condition. I felt, as many of my friends and neighbours have long felt, +that we must look at home for the means of making our province honoured +and respected abroad. And we intend to open this line of railway +entirely across the breadth of our province and bring ourselves into +connection with the world [cheers]. + +"Mr. President, I cannot omit, in this connection, the expression of my +profound regard for the American Union. It is the union of these states +that has given you greatness and strength at home and the respect and +admiration of the civilized world [long-continued cheers]. + +"The great interests of Christianity, of philanthropy and of liberty, +throughout the world, depend upon the union of these states. We of New +Brunswick, of Nova Scotia, and of Canada are deeply interested in its +existence. If there is any question of the day that interests us more +than all others, it is this very question of the perpetuity of the +union. For myself, I think there should be passed a law providing that +the man who would even conceive the idea of a dissolution of the union +should be guilty of treason. In the sincerity of my heart, I say, perish +the man who should dare to think of it [tremendous cheers]!" + +With respect to railway legislation Wilmot was not in advance of many +others in the province whose general political views were less liberal +than his own. There was always a good deal of local feeling injected +into the discussion of railway matters and Wilmot, who was a resident of +Fredericton, incurred a good deal of censure for the ridicule which he +threw on the proposal to build a railway from St. John to Shediac, which +is now a part of the Intercolonial. As this railway brought the counties +bordering on the Straits of Northumberland and the Gulf of St. Lawrence +into easy communication with St. John, nothing is more clear than that +of all the railways then projected in the province it was the one most +likely to be useful and profitable, but Wilmot apparently could not +forget the fact that it did not touch his own county. His speech on this +subject was made in the legislature before the meeting of the Portland +Convention, and it is worthy of note that five-sixths of the Shediac +Railway was to be used as part of the magnificent European and North +American Railway scheme which was so much lauded by him in his Portland +speech. + +{HIS WORK IN LEGISLATION} + +There is not much to be said in regard to the political life of Wilmot +after he became attorney-general. His principal legislative achievement +while he filled that office was an Act for the consolidation of the +criminal law with regard to the definition of certain indictable +offences and the punishment thereof. This was a useful but not a +brilliant work, which many another man might have performed equally +well. In the session of 1850, Wilmot carried a bill through the House of +Assembly for the reduction of the salaries of the judges of the supreme +court and some other officials, but this measure did not pass the +legislative council. He had always been in favour of a low scale of +salaries as best suited to the conditions which prevailed in the +province. The scale had been fixed in 1836, when the casual and +territorial revenues were placed under the control of the province, but +an agitation soon afterwards commenced for further reductions. The +imperial government would not consent to the reduction of any salary +while the holder of the office lived, except in the case of the +surveyor-general, whose duties had been decreased, but it agreed to a +lower scale for future occupants of the offices. In this way the salary +of the provincial secretary had been reduced from £1,599 11s. to £600; +that of the surveyor-general from £2,019 4s. 4d. to £1,209 12s. 4d., and +that of the auditor-general from £500 to £346 3s. The salaries of the +judges, however, remained the same in 1850 as they had been in 1836, +viz., £1,096 3s. for the chief-justice and £750 for each of the puisne +judges. Wilmot's bill reduced these salaries to £700 for the +chief-justice and £600 to each of the other judges. He also voted for a +resolution in favour of making the legislative council elective, and +that an address should be presented to Her Majesty asking her to consent +to the passage of such a bill. A favourable answer was received from Her +Majesty, but the scheme to make the legislative council elective was +never carried into effect, in consequence of the opposition which it +encountered in that body. + +There is no doubt that the popularity of Wilmot seriously declined after +he entered the government. This was very plainly seen at the general +election which took place in June, 1850, when he narrowly escaped +defeat, being the lowest on the poll of the members elected, while his +colleague in the government, Mr. Fisher, was defeated, polling less than +one-half the number of votes given to the candidate who was highest on +the poll. But, on the whole, the result throughout the province was +favourable to the cause of Reform, and among those elected in York who +stood higher on the poll than Wilmot were two new members who held +advanced views with respect to the amendment of the constitution. + +{THE GOVERNOR AND THE JUDGES} + +Although responsible government had been conceded to New Brunswick, and +it was admitted that public offices should be bestowed in accordance +with the wishes of the people, the close of Wilmot's legislative career +was marked by an event which showed that the old order of things had not +entirely passed away. Chief-Justice Chipman, owing to failing health, +resigned his seat on the bench in the autumn of 1850, and it became +necessary to provide for a successor. A meeting of the executive council +was called for the purpose of filling the vacancy, and six members of +the council out of the eight who were present signed a memorandum to the +effect that it was not advisable to appoint any person to the vacant +office, but that such a division of the work of the judiciary should be +made by the legislature as would secure the efficient discharge of the +judicial duties by three judges, together with the Master of the Rolls. +Wilmot was one of the persons who signed this memorandum, but on the +following day he called on the governor and asked that his name might be +withdrawn from it, he having in the meantime apparently changed his +mind. The governor, Sir Edmund Head, asked the judges whether, in their +opinion, three of them would be able to do all the judicial business of +the country, and received from them a strongly worded protest against +any such alteration in the number of judges. Mr. Fisher, who was one of +the members of the executive present at the meeting, submitted to the +governor a paper in which he took strong grounds against the proposal to +reduce the number of judges. Sir Edmund Head referred the matter to the +home authorities, and they decided that the proposed change in the +number of judges was not advisable. Moreover, they decided as to who +should fill the vacant offices, and asked the governor to appoint Mr. +Justice Carter to the position of chief-justice and to offer a puisne +judgeship to the attorney-general, Mr. Wilmot, and if he refused it to +the solicitor-general, Mr. Kinnear. Mr. Wilmot accepted, and thus +brought his political career to an end. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[8] This is an adaptation of General Taylor's words. John A. Poor was +the chief promoter of the European and North American Railway and the +chairman of the committee of arrangements of the Portland Convention. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +JUDGE AND GOVERNOR + + +The opinion that was entertained of Mr. Wilmot by those who were closely +associated with him in the work of Reform was well expressed by the late +Mr. George E. Fenety, in his _Political Notes_. + +"A great luminary," says Mr. Fenety, "set in semi-darkness on the day +that Mr. Wilmot left the forum for the bench. He was the light of the +House for sixteen years, the centre from whence radiated most of the +sparkling gems in the political firmament. It was at a time of life +(comparatively a young man) and a period when talents such as his were +most wanted by his party and his country. Notwithstanding his supposed +mistake in having joined a Conservative government, the Liberals were +always willing to receive their old leader back with outstretched +arms--ready to forgive and go along again with him over the old road, +and, to a man, would have held to him had he made a stand against Sir +Edmund Head, and told him--'thus far and no farther shalt thou go'." + +Many of Wilmot's friends regretted that he should have accepted the +office of judge on the conditions under which it was offered. They +thought that as attorney-general he was entitled to the position of +chief-justice, and that in consenting to take the puisne judgeship he +had lowered himself. It is hardly necessary to discuss a question of +this kind at the present day. No doubt he had reasons of his own for +retiring from the arena of politics. The work he had been doing for the +public had placed a great strain upon him and interfered with his legal +business to a very serious extent. He was never a wealthy man, and had +therefore to consider his own future, while a position on the bench was +one of honour and dignity which was regarded as worthy of acceptance by +any member of the legal profession. + +There was nothing worthy of note in the career of Mr. Wilmot as a judge. +He was never considered to be a deeply read lawyer, but he filled the +office of judge with dignity and general acceptance. His duties were not +sufficiently arduous to prevent him from having leisure to engage in +other lines of inquiry, for his mind was much interested in questions +connected with science. He frequently appeared on the lecture platform +and always with success. + +When confederation was accomplished, it was felt that of all the natives +of New Brunswick he was the most worthy to be appointed its first +lieutenant-governor under the new régime. Judge Wilmot himself was +willing to accept the office as a fitting close to his long and active +career as a public man; but for some reason, which it is now impossible +to ascertain, the appointment was not made until about a year after +confederation. Judge Wilmot became lieutenant-governor on July 23rd, +1868, and continued to hold that honourable and important office until +November 14th, 1873, when he was succeeded by the Hon. S. L. Tilley. + +{OTHER ACTIVITIES} + +So far, we have been considering Wilmot as a politician and member of +the legislature, but a very imperfect idea of his character would be +gathered from regarding him merely in these capacities. He was a +many-sided man, and had other interests which occupied his attention as +much as, or more than, those public questions to which he devoted so +much of his vigour. It has already been stated that his father was a +member of the Baptist Church, and one of the founders of the church of +that denomination in Fredericton. It does not appear that the son ever +identified himself with that Church, or that while a youth he gave much +attention to religious matters. It was not until after the death of his +first wife, which took place in 1833, that he became affected by +religious influences and began to attend the services of the Methodist +Church, the pulpit of which was then filled by the Rev. Enoch Wood, a +man of much ability and eloquence whose style of oratory was very +impressive. Under his ministrations Mr. Wilmot became a convert, was +baptized and joined the Methodist Church in Fredericton, and from that +time until the close of his life he was a very prominent figure in it. +He filled the office of superintendent of its Sunday School for upwards +of twenty-five years, and was the leader of the church choir for thirty +years. When he was appointed governor it was thought that he would give +up these offices, but he still continued to fill them, and was +superintendent of the Sunday School up to the day when his life came to +an end. He always took a great interest in questions relating to the +Bible, and frequently lectured on topics connected with it. He +vehemently opposed the teachings of Darwin and others who followed the +same line of inquiry, and he stoutly maintained that wherever the Bible +and science were in conflict, science was in the wrong. He seems to have +been, from first to last, an unquestioning believer in the doctrines of +the Christian religion, and he viewed with great disfavour any one who +ventured to question any part of its creed. As a lecturer he was +eloquent and though discursive, always interesting. None of his lectures +were written, so that to-day they are only a fading memory to those who +heard them delivered. Though found acceptable at the time, it is hardly +likely that, if delivered at the present day, they would enjoy so high a +degree of popularity. People are not now so willing to accept sweeping +assertions which are in conflict with the conclusions of scientific men +who have devoted their lives to a patient study of the phenomena of life +and the records of creation. + +{INTEREST IN MILITARY MATTERS} + +One of the most pleasing features of Judge Wilmot's character was his +fondness for children. He was never so happy as when among the young +people, and long after he became a judge he took an intense interest in +drilling the schoolboys and instructing them in all martial exercises; +indeed, he seemed to be quite as much devoted to this work as he was to +any other of his numerous employments. When a very young man, he became +an ensign in the first battalion of York County militia, and speedily +rose to be captain. When the so-called Aroostook War[9] broke out in +1839 he was major of a company of rifles attached to that battalion, and +he volunteered for active service at the front. His interest in military +matters continued until a late period, and, in the first military camp +organized in the province by the lieutenant-governor, the Hon. Arthur +Gordon, in 1863, he commanded one of the battalions. If Wilmot had not +been a politician and a lawyer, he might have been a great evangelist or +a great soldier. + +Judge Wilmot was very fond of flowers, and the beautiful grounds at +Evelyn Grove, where he resided, were looked upon as the finest in the +province. Nearly every visitor to Fredericton found his way to that +charming place and was sure of a cordial welcome from the judge, who +delighted to show strangers what he had been able to accomplish in +growing flowers and rare plants. Not the least interesting feature of +such visits was the conversation of the host, who abounded in knowledge +of horticulture, and was always ready to give others the benefit of his +information. It was in this lovely retreat that the last years of Mr. +Wilmot's life were passed. When his term as governor expired, the +government of Canada very properly gave him a pension as a retired +judge. In 1875 he succeeded the Right Hon. Mr. Childers, as second +commissioner under the Prince Edward Island Land Purchase Act. He was +nominated as one of the arbitrators in the Ontario and North-West +Boundary Commission, but did not live long enough to act in that +capacity. + +{HIS DEATH} + +During the last two or three years of his life he suffered much from +chronic neuralgia, which sometimes prevented him from stirring +out-of-doors. No serious result was anticipated, and he was generally +able to take active exercise and engage in his usual routine of duty. On +Monday, May 20th, 1878, while driving in his carriage with his wife, he +complained of a sudden and severe pain in the region of the heart. He +was at once driven home and a physician summoned, but in a few minutes +he passed away. He had not quite completed his seventieth year. His +death evoked expressions of regret and sympathy from every part of the +province, and tributes of respect and admiration from many who resided +in other parts of Canada and in the United States. + +Judge Wilmot was twice married. His first wife, whom he married in 1832, +was Jane, daughter of Mr. James Balloch, of St. John. She died very soon +after their marriage, and in 1834 he married Miss Elizabeth Black, +daughter of the Hon. William Black, of Halifax, and granddaughter of the +Rev. William Black, who is regarded as the apostle of Wesleyan Methodism +in the Maritime Provinces. + +In estimating the character and achievements of L. A. Wilmot, regard +must be had to the conditions under which the battle for responsible +government was fought, and the peculiar difficulties he had to face. He +had not only to contend against governors determined to use their power +to the utmost, an immovable legislative council and a reactionary +executive, but he had to attempt to inspire with something of his own +spirit a House of Assembly which had but little sympathy with his views. +That he did not accomplish more is less a matter of surprise than that +he accomplished so much. With heavy odds against him, he contended for +the rights of the people and the improvement of the constitution, and he +lived to see the principles for which he had fought so firmly +established in his native province that they can never be disturbed. + +{A CHAMPION OF THE PEOPLE} + +It was never his good fortune to be the leader and master of a +government or to have a free hand in the work of legislation. We are +therefore left in the dark as to what he might have accomplished under +more favourable conditions. Yet there is but little doubt that, had he +remained in public life, the progress of Reform would have been greatly +accelerated, and that such important measures as the establishing of +free schools would have been brought about much earlier than was the +case without his vigorous support. The faults of Wilmot were those that +belong to an ardent, enthusiastic and liberty-loving temperament. He +hated injustice in every form, and in his denunciation of evil he was +sometimes led to use stronger language than men of cooler feelings +approved. In this way he aroused opposition and left himself open to +attack. Yet it is doubtful whether the censure of his enemies was as +injurious as the flattery of some who professed to be his friends, and +who were ready to applaud whatever he said or did. Being accepted as a +leader when a mere youth because he had made a few eloquent speeches, he +missed the wholesome discipline which most men have to undergo before +they achieve fame. He would have been a greater and wiser man if he had +been spared the unthinking flattery which was too lavishly bestowed upon +him. Yet, after all has been said by those who would seek to minimize +his merits, the fact remains that this son of New Brunswick stood for +years as the foremost champion of the rights of the people, and that it +is impossible to deny him a place among the great men who have assisted +to build up Canada. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[9] The Aroostook War arose out of the unsettled boundary question +between Maine and New Brunswick. There was a large area on the St. John +River, the ownership of which was in dispute, and in 1839 the difficulty +came to a head in consequence of the governor of Maine undertaking to +solve the question in his own way by taking possession of the territory. +Governor Fairfield, of Maine, sent eighteen hundred militiamen to the +front and Sir John Harvey, the governor of New Brunswick, issued a +proclamation asserting the right of Great Britain to guard the territory +while it was in dispute, and calling on the governor of Maine to +withdraw his troops. Fairfield denied the right to issue a counter +proclamation and called on the state for ten thousand men. Sir John +Harvey then sent Colonel Maxwell with the 36th and 69th Regiments and a +train of artillery to the upper St. John to watch the movements of the +militia. A large force of New Brunswick militia was also embodied and +sent to the front. Fortunately, President Van Buren sent General +Winfield Scott to Maine with full power to settle the difficulty. He got +into a friendly correspondence with Sir John Harvey, which led to an +understanding by which the troops on both sides were withdrawn and all +danger of war averted. The boundary question was afterwards settled by +the Ashburton Treaty. + + + + +[Illustration: S. L. Tilley] + + + + +SIR LEONARD TILLEY + + + + +CHAPTER I + +EARLY LIFE AND BUSINESS CAREER + + +The political career of Samuel Leonard Tilley did not begin until the +year that brought the work of Lemuel Allan Wilmot as a legislator to a +close. Both were elected members of the House of Assembly in 1850, but +in the following year Wilmot was elevated to the bench, so that the +province lost his services as a political reformer just as a new man, +who was destined to win as great a reputation as himself, was stepping +on the stage. Samuel Leonard Tilley was born at Gagetown, on the St. +John River, on May 8th, 1818, just thirty-five years after the landing +of his royalist grandfather at St. John. He passed away seventy-eight +years later, full of years and honours, having won the highest prizes +that it was in the power of his native province to bestow. + +{OF LOYALIST STOCK} + +In these days, when a man becomes eminent an effort is usually made to +trace his descent from distinguished ancestors, but most of the early +inhabitants of New Brunswick were too careless in such matters to leave +much material to the modern maker of pedigrees. Sir Leonard Tilley was +unable to trace his descent beyond his great-grandfather, Samuel Tilley. +At one time it was thought that his first ancestor in America was John +Tilley, who came over in the _Mayflower_ in 1620, but a closer search of +the records of the Plymouth colony reveals the fact that John Tilley +left no sons. But there were persons of the name of Tilley in the +Massachusetts Bay colony as early as 1640, and there seems to be no +doubt that Sir Leonard Tilley's ancestors had been long in America. They +belonged to the respectable farming class which has given the Dominion +of Canada and the United States so many of their most distinguished +sons. Samuel Tilley, the great-grandfather of Sir Leonard, was a farmer +on Long Island at the time of the American Revolution. His farm was then +within the boundaries of the present borough of Brooklyn, and the +curious in such matters can find the very lot upon which he resided laid +down upon some of the ancient maps of that locality. At the time the +British occupied Long Island, after the battle which took place there in +the autumn of 1776, resulting in the defeat of the Americans, the +Brooklyn farmers were called upon to provide cattle for the sustenance +of the troops. Samuel Tilley, being a loyal man and a friend of the +government, complied, and for this he was made the subject of attacks by +the disloyal element among his neighbours, and in the course of time was +compelled to seek shelter within the British lines. The occupation of +Long Island by the British during the whole period of the war made it +secure enough for Samuel Tilley, as well as for all loyal men who lived +in the vicinity of Brooklyn; but when the war was over it became +necessary for him to seek shelter in Nova Scotia, the acts of +confiscation and banishment against the Loyalists being of the most +severe character. Samuel Tilley came to New Brunswick with the spring +fleet, which arrived in St. John in May, 1783, and was a grantee of +Parrtown, which is now the city of St. John. He erected a house and +store on King Street, on the south side, just to the east of Germain, +and there commenced a business which he continued for several years. He +died at St. John in the year 1815. His wife was Elizabeth Morgan, who +survived him for many years and died in 1835, aged eighty-four years. + +Sir Leonard Tilley was not born when his great-grandfather died, but had +a clear recollection of his great-grandmother, who lived for about four +years after he came to reside in St. John. James Tilley, the grandfather +of Sir Leonard, was also a grantee of Parrtown, he having purchased for +a trifling sum, when a boy, a lot on Princess Street, which had been +drawn by some person who was anxious to dispose of it. James Tilley was +a resident of Sunbury County and a magistrate there for a great many +years, dying in the year 1851. Sir Leonard Tilley's father, Thomas +Morgan Tilley, was born in 1790, and served his time with Israel Gove, +who was a house-joiner and builder. He spent his early days as a +lumberman, getting out ship timber, his operations being carried on +mainly at Tantiwanty, in the rear of Upper Gagetown. He afterwards went +into business at Gagetown, and kept a store there down to the time of +his death, which took place in 1870. Sir Leonard's great-grandmother, on +his father's side, was Mary Chase, of the Chase family of Massachusetts, +she having come from Freetown, in that state. Sir Leonard's mother was +Susan Ann Peters, daughter of William Peters, who was for many years a +prominent farmer in Queens County, and a member of the legislative +assembly. William Peters owned a large property and had one of the +finest tracts of land possessed by any man in the province in his day. +But he was unwise enough to sell it for the purpose of obtaining money +with which to enter into lumbering with William Wilmot, the father of L. +A. Wilmot, and, being unsuccessful in his operations, his whole fortune +was swept away. The ancestors of William Peters were from New York +state, from which they came with the rest of the Loyalists in 1783. + +{EARLY EDUCATION} + +The house in Gagetown in which the future governor of New Brunswick and +finance minister of Canada was born, is still standing and is now used +as a hotel. Gagetown was at that period, and still is, one of the most +beautiful places in New Brunswick. The river St. John flows in front of +it, and Gagetown Creek, which is almost as wide as the river, laves its +shores. The land in the vicinity is fertile, and fine old trees line the +streets, giving an air of beauty and refinement to the locality. Sir +Leonard was named after his uncle, Samuel Leonard Peters, and the latter +was named after an English schoolmaster named Samuel Leonard, who was a +great favourite with William Peters, the grandfather of the subject of +this biography. Samuel Leonard, after leaving Gagetown, appears to have +removed to Nova Scotia, and probably died in that province. When Sir +Leonard was five years old he was sent to the Madras School in Gagetown, +of which Samuel Babbitt was the teacher. He attended this school from +1823 until 1827, when the grammar school was instituted in Gagetown. The +Madras school system was at that time in high favour with the people of +the province, and these schools received large grants from the +government, it being thought that this system was more advantageous than +any other for the instruction of youth. This idea, however, did not +prove to be universally correct, for in the course of a few years we +find the legislature declaring that while they believed the Madras +system suitable to towns and populous places, it did not answer so well +in rural districts. Samuel Babbitt, the teacher of the Madras School, +was clerk of the parish, and, according to the custom of that day, led +the responses in church. The rector of Gagetown at this period was the +Rev. Samuel Clark. The teacher of the local grammar school which young +Tilley attended from 1827 to 1831 was William Jenkins, a graduate of +Dublin University. Jenkins was a very severe man, and believed in the +doctrine that he who spares the rod spoils the child, and Sir Leonard +had a very vivid recollection of the vigour with which he applied the +birch. He removed from Gagetown shortly after 1831, and took up his +residence in Quebec, where he conducted a large school for many years, +dying about the year 1863. Sir Leonard, after he had become a well-known +political character and a member of the government of New Brunswick, had +the pleasure of paying him a visit some time in 1858. + +An interesting incident occurred in 1827, at the time young Tilley +commenced to attend the grammar school. Sir Howard Douglas, who was then +governor of New Brunswick, paid a visit to Gagetown and was the guest of +Colonel Harry Peters, the speaker of the House of Assembly. While the +governor and his host were walking through Gagetown, they met young +Tilley and a son of Harry Peters returning from school, and the boys +were introduced to His Excellency, who presented each of them with a +Spanish quarter-dollar. Sir Leonard could remember and often spoke of +the appearance of Sir Howard Douglas, dressed in a blue coat with brass +buttons, a fine-looking gentleman, with a pleasant face and a kindly +smile. Little thought the then governor of New Brunswick that the boy to +whom he was speaking, a lad of nine years of age, would fifty years +later sit in his own chair in the government house. + +{ENTERS ON BUSINESS LIFE} + +Young Tilley was not the kind of youth likely to be satisfied to reside +all his life in Gagetown. Other boys of less ambition might be content +to settle down on the farm and to fulfil their destinies within the +comparatively limited sphere of action which that little town in Queens +County afforded, but he had within him longings for a higher destiny +than he was likely to attain as a resident of a rural district. + +Young Tilley came to St. John in May, 1831, at the age of thirteen. He +at once entered the drugstore of Dr. Henry Cook, as a clerk, it being +the fashion of those times for medical men to have a dispensary in +connection with their professional practice, so that they could give +advice, and dispense their own prescriptions with equal facility. He +continued as clerk with Dr. Cook until February, 1835, when he entered +the service of William O. Smith, who, in later years, was mayor of St. +John. It was while a clerk with Smith that Tilley became a member of the +St. John Young Men's Debating Society, an organization which, if it has +no other claim to the remembrance of posterity, at least has that of +giving one distinguished statesman to British America, and a governor to +New Brunswick. It was in this society that he made his first attempt at +public speaking, and it may be said that from the very beginning he +showed a remarkable aptitude for debate and public discussions. + +In December, 1837, he took one of the most important steps of his life +in espousing the cause of total abstinence. Having taken up this +movement, he threw his whole energy into it, and from that time down to +the day of his death he was a consistent temperance man, and a strong +advocate of the principle of total abstinence. It was, perhaps, this +strong advocacy of the cause of temperance, more than anything else, +that brought him before the public as a suitable person to become a +candidate for the House of Assembly, and led to his first election as a +representative for the city of St. John in the local legislature +thirteen years later. Certainly the fact that Tilley, from that time +until the close of his public career, had always the support of the +temperance societies, gave him a strength which he hardly would have +obtained otherwise, and rallied around him a phalanx of friends, who, +for fidelity to his interests and zeal for his political advancement, +could hardly have been surpassed. + +Tilley commenced business on his own account in 1838, before he had +attained the age of twenty years, as a member of the firm of Peters & +Tilley, and he continued a successful career until 1855, when he +transferred his business to Mr. T. B. Barker, the founder of the present +firm of T. B. Barker & Sons. It is unnecessary to say anything more in +regard to Mr. Tilley's life as a business man than that it was a highly +prosperous one. He showed so much energy and enterprise that when he +entered political life he was comparatively wealthy. There is no doubt +that if he had continued in business instead of devoting his energies to +the service of the province and Dominion, he would have made far more +money than he obtained as a politician. + +{COLONIAL TRADE} + +The movement in behalf of free trade, which was changing the fiscal +policy of the United Kingdom in the closing years of the first half of +the nineteenth century, did not meet with much favour in New Brunswick, +because it seriously affected the leading industry of the province. +Colonial timber had long enjoyed a preference in the British market, but +this preference had been seriously impaired by imperial legislation and +was likely to be taken away altogether if free trade principles should +prevail. Many remonstrances had been sent to the British government +against the reduction or abolition of the duty on foreign timber which +came into competition with the colonial product, but these remonstrances +proved wholly unavailing, and it was seriously believed that the +colonial timber trade would be destroyed. This led to the annexation +movement of 1848, which affected all the provinces, while it also caused +the formation of organizations pledged to resist the free trade +movement. Tilley was in sympathy with these efforts to preserve colonial +trade, and it was in consequence of this that he first made his +entrance into political life. + +{GENERAL ELECTION OF 1850} + +At a meeting of the electors of St. John in favour of protection, which +was held previous to the general election of 1850, Tilley was nominated +as one of the candidates for the city of St. John. He was not present at +the meeting and had no knowledge whatever of the intention of the +electors to make such a nomination. A meeting was called a few nights +later in Carleton to confirm the nomination, and at that meeting Tilley +was present. He then made the strongest possible protest against the +nomination, but the electors present would not take "No" for an answer, +and he eventually consented to stand as a candidate, informing them at +the same time that he had an engagement to be in Boston on the day fixed +for the nomination, and could not be at the hustings on that day. +Notwithstanding this statement they still persisted in his nomination, +but as Tilley was absent in the United States, his nomination speech on +that occasion was made by Joseph W. Lawrence, who afterwards was found +among his strongest political opponents. At the general election of 1850 +all the candidates elected for the city and county of St. John were +avowed opponents of the government. Tilley was returned at the head of +the poll, while W. H. Needham, who ran with him, was likewise elected. +The members elected for the county were R. D. Wilmot, William J. +Ritchie, John H. Gray and Charles Simonds; while J. R. Partelow, +Charles Watters and John Jordan were the three defeated candidates. The +list of candidates for the city and county of St. John included two +future governors, a future chief-justice of the supreme court of Canada +and two other judges, to say nothing of the provincial secretary, Mr. +Partelow, a speaker of the House of Assembly and a future mayor of St. +John. It must be admitted that few elections that have ever been held in +any part of British North America have had so many candidates presented +to the electors who were afterwards eminent in public life. This +election took place at an important epoch in the history of the +province, when the old order was passing away and men's minds were +prepared for a great change in political affairs. It was a Reform House +of Assembly, and, although all the members elected for the purpose of +upholding Reform principles did not prove true to their trust, still it +contained a larger number of men of Liberal views than any of its +predecessors. + +Among the members of this House were several who had taken a very +important part in public affairs, or who afterwards became members of +the executive. The county of York sent among its representatives, Lemuel +A. Wilmot, who had been a member of the House for sixteen years, and who +had taken a leading part in many measures of importance for the +improvement of the system by which the country was governed. + +Mr. Charles Fisher, who had been a colleague of Mr. Wilmot in the county +of York, was defeated at the general election, but soon afterwards +became a member of the House. Mr. Fisher had not the oratorical gifts +possessed by Mr. Wilmot, but he was even stronger in his Liberal views, +and as a constitutional lawyer he had no equal, at that time, in the +province. Although his manners were somewhat uncouth and his address far +from polished, Fisher had strong individuality and a singularly clear +intellect. His services in the cause of Liberalism in New Brunswick can +hardly be overestimated, and these services were rendered at a time when +to be a Liberal was to be, to a large extent, ostracized by the great +and powerful who looked upon any interference with their vested rights +as little short of treason. + +Tilley's colleague from St. John city was William H. Needham, who +afterwards represented the county of York in the legislature. Mr. +Needham had some remarkable gifts as a speaker and a public man, and he +might have risen to a much higher position than he ever attained had it +not been that his principles were somewhat uncertain. In truth, Needham +never succeeded in getting sufficiently clear of the world to be quite +independent, and this misfortune hampered him greatly in his political +career. + +{NOTABLE CANDIDATES} + +One of the members from St. John County was William J. Ritchie, a lawyer +who had risen by his own efforts to a commanding position at the bar, +and who became chief-justice of Canada. Mr. Ritchie had been a member of +the House of Assembly for several years, and always a useful one. He +possessed what few members at that time had,--a clear knowledge of the +true principles of responsible government. He had an eminently practical +mind; he was a forcible and impressive speaker, and he was bold in the +enunciation of the Liberal principles to which he held. It was a serious +misfortune to the province that at a comparatively early age he was +transferred to the bench, so that his great abilities were lost at a +critical period when they might have been useful to New Brunswick in +many ways. + +John H. Gray, a new member, also sat in this House for the county of St. +John. Mr. Gray was a man of fine presence, handsome appearance, and had +a style of oratory that was very captivating and impressive. His +fluency, however, was greater than his ability, and he injured himself +by deserting the Liberal party, which he had been elected to uphold. +Gray never quite recovered from the unpopularity connected with this +action, and he never became in any sense a real leader. The party he had +deserted soon obtained the control of the province, and his final +appearance in the legislature was as a supporter of Mr. Tilley, content +to play a secondary part during the great confederation conflict. + +Robert Duncan Wilmot, another of the St. John County members, a first +cousin of L. A. Wilmot, was not new to the legislature, and his mind +being naturally conservative, it is in connection with the Conservative +party that he is best known in the history of the province. He was +elected as a Liberal, however, in 1850, but seems to have forgotten that +fact as soon as he reached the House of Assembly. This was not the only +occasion on which Wilmot contrived to change his principles, for he +performed a similar feat during the confederation contest, and left the +anti-confederate government of 1865 in the lurch at a moment when its +existence almost depended on his fidelity. Wilmot never was an eloquent +man, and he entertained some highly visionary views in regard to an +irredeemable paper currency, but he was a useful public servant, and he +afterwards became a member of the government of Canada and eventually +lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick. + +{JOHN R. PARTELOW} + +The Hon. John R. Partelow, who was defeated in St. John but elected for +Victoria, was a man who might have acquired a great political reputation +had the stage on which he appeared been a larger one. Partelow's +qualifications for high public position did not depend upon his oratory, +which was not of a high order, but upon his moderation and good sense. +Partelow's origin was humble, and his early days were spent as a clerk +in a store on the North Wharf, St. John. In that subordinate position he +made himself so useful and displayed so much ability that he was marked +for promotion. The idea of bringing him forward as a candidate for the +city of St. John seems to have originated with his employers, but when +he gained a seat in the legislature he speedily made his influence felt. +Partelow spoke but seldom, but when he did address the legislature it +was generally with good effect, and after the subject had been to a +large extent exhausted by previous speakers. He then had a faculty of +drafting a resolution which seemed to express the general sense of all, +and which was usually accepted as a solution of the matter. He was a +good business man, understood accounts thoroughly and, therefore, had a +great advantage in legislative work over those who were not so well +equipped in this respect. New Brunswick may have produced greater men +than he in public life, but none whose talents were more useful to the +province, or better fitted to serve its interests at a critical period +in its constitutional history. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +ELECTED TO THE LEGISLATURE + + +Shortly after the general election, Chief-Justice Chipman, who had been +in infirm health, resigned his office, and a vacancy was thus left on +the bench of the supreme court of the province. In the natural course, +this office ought to have gone to the attorney-general, Mr. L. A. +Wilmot, but this appointment was not made. The council were unable to +unite in any recommendation to the governor, who consequently laid all +the facts before the home government and in reply received instructions +to give the chief-justiceship to Judge Carter and to offer the puisne +judgeship to Mr. Wilmot, or, if he should refuse it, to Mr. Kinnear, the +solicitor-general. The executive council complained that the appointment +of Mr. Wilmot to a seat on the bench by the authority of the secretary +of state without the advice or recommendation of the responsible +executive within the province, was at variance with the principles of +responsible government which were understood to be in force. They, +however, had only themselves to thank for this, for they were +continually appealing to Downing Street. As a majority of the House had +been elected as opponents of the government, it was supposed there +would be no difficulty in bringing about a change of administration. Mr. +Simonds, of St. John, who was reputed to be a Liberal, was elected +speaker without opposition, and at an early day in the session Mr. +Ritchie, of St. John, moved, as an amendment to the address, a +want-of-confidence resolution. This resolution, instead of being carried +by a large majority as was expected, was lost by a vote of fifteen to +twenty-two, Messrs. Alexander Rankine and John T. Williston, of +Northumberland, Messrs. Robert Gordon and Joseph Reed, of Gloucester, +Mr. A. Barbarie, of Restigouche, and Mr. Francis McPhelim, of Kent, +having deserted their Liberal allies. Had they proved faithful, the +government would have been defeated, and the province would have been +spared another three years of an incompetent administration. + +In this division, Tilley and Needham, who represented the city of St. +John, and Messrs. R. D. Wilmot and Gray, two of the county members, +voted for Ritchie's amendment. As Wilmot and Gray showed by their votes +that they had no confidence in the government in February, 1851, it was +with much surprise that the people of St. John, in the August following, +learned that they had become members of the administration which they +had so warmly condemned a few months before. Their secession from the +Liberal party destroyed whatever chance had before existed of ousting +the government. Mr. Fisher had seceded from the government in +consequence of their action in reference to the judicial appointments, +and John Ambrose Street, who was a member for Northumberland, became +attorney-general in place of Robert Parker, appointed a judge. Mr. +Street was a ready debater and a strong Conservative, and his entrance +into the government at that time showed that a Conservative policy was +to be maintained. + +{RAILWAY LEGISLATION} + +Mr. Street, as leader of the government in the assembly, presented a +long programme of measures for the consideration of the legislature, +none of which proved to be of any particular value. The municipal +corporation bill was passed, but it was a permissive measure, and was +not taken advantage of by any of the counties. A bill to make the +legislative council elective, which was also passed in the Lower House +at the instance of the government, was defeated in the Upper Chamber. +The bill appointing commissioners on law reform was carried, and +resulted in the production of the three volumes of the revised statutes +issued in 1854. The most important bill of the session, introduced by +the government, was one in aid of the construction of a railroad from +St. John to Shediac. This bill provided that the government should give +a company two hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling, to assist in +the construction of the line referred to. There was also a bill to +assist the St. Andrews and Quebec Railroad to the extent of fifty +thousand pounds, and a bonus or subvention to the Shediac line +amounting to upwards of eleven thousand dollars a mile, for which sum a +very good railway could be constructed at the present time. It may be +stated here that, although the company was formed and undertook to build +a railway to Shediac under the terms offered by the government, the +province had eventually to build the road at a cost of forty thousand +dollars a mile, or fully double what a similar road could be constructed +for now. + +{KING'S COLLEGE} + +One of the measures brought forward by the government at this session +was with reference to the schools of the province. The idea of taxing +the property of the county for the support of public schools had not +then found any general acceptance in New Brunswick; indeed, it was not +till the year 1872 that the measure embodying this principle was passed +by the legislature. The government school bill of 1851 provided that the +teachers were to be paid in money, or board and lodging, by the district +to the amount of ten pounds for six months, in addition to the +government allowance. This bill was a very slight improvement on the Act +then in force, and as the government left it to the House to deal with, +and did not press it as a government measure, it was not passed. A +private member, Mr. Gilbert, of Queens, at this session proposed to +convert King's College into an agricultural school, with a model farm +attached. King's College had been established by an Act passed in 1829, +and had received a large endowment from the province, but it never was a +popular institution because of its connection with a single Church. The +original charter of the college made the bishop of the diocese the +visitor, and required the president to be always a clergyman of the +Church of England; and, although this had been changed in 1845 by the +legislature, the number of students who attended it was always small, +and it was shown in the course of debate that it had failed to fulfil +the object for which it was created. The college council consisted of +fifteen members, of whom ten were Episcopalians; and the visitor, the +chancellor, the president, the principal, five out of seven of the +professors and teachers, and the two examiners were members of the same +Church. The services in the college chapel were required to be attended +by all resident students, and of the eighteen students then in the +college, sixteen were Episcopalians. It was felt that this college +required to be placed on a different footing, and Mr. Gilbert's bill, +although it provoked much hostile comment at the time, certainly would +have been more beneficial to the educational interests of the country, +if it had passed, than the state of affairs which resulted from the +continuance of the old system. An agricultural school was the very thing +the province required, while, judging from the limited attendance at the +college at that time, the people of this province were not greatly +impressed with the value of a classical education. In 1851, however, +any one who proposed to replace a college for the teaching of Greek and +Latin with a college of agriculture, and the sciences allied to it, was +looked upon as a Philistine. Then youths were taught to compose Latin +and to read Greek who never, to the day of their death, had a competent +knowledge of their own language; and agricultural studies, which were of +the highest importance to more than one-half of the people of the +province, were totally neglected. Mr. Gilbert's bill was defeated, as it +was certain to be in a legislature which was still under the domination +of old ideas. Had it passed, New Brunswick might at this time have had a +large body of scientific farmers capable of cultivating the soil in the +most efficient manner, and increasing its productiveness to an extent +hardly dreamed of by those who only consider it in the light of the +present system of cultivation. + +During this session, Mr. Ritchie of St. John moved a series of +resolutions condemning the government, and complaining of the colonial +office and of the conduct of the governor. These resolutions declared: +first, that the House was entitled to full copies of all despatches +addressed to or received from the colonial office, and that it was not +enough merely to send extracts from a despatch which had been received +by the governor. They declared that the power of making appointments to +offices was vested in the governor by and with the advice of the +executive council, and that the appointment of the chief-justice and a +puisne judge by the governor, contrary to the advice of his council, was +inconsistent with the principles of responsible government. They +complained that the salaries were excessive, and condemned the refusal +of the British government to allow the colonies to grant bounties for +the development of their resources. These resolutions, after being +debated for about a week, were rejected by a vote of twenty-one to +nineteen, the smallness of the majority against them at the time being +looked upon as virtually a Liberal victory. If the nineteen had been +made up of men who could be relied on to stand by their colours in all +emergencies, it would have been a Liberal triumph, but, unfortunately, +among the nineteen there were some who afterwards deserted their party +for the sake of offices and power. + +{A POLITICAL SURPRISE} + +Early in August it was announced that John H. Gray and R. D. Wilmot, two +of the Liberal members for the county of St. John, had abandoned their +party and their principles and become members of the government. The +Liberals of St. John, who had elected these gentlemen by a substantial +majority, were naturally chagrined at such a proof of their +faithlessness, and their colleagues were likewise greatly annoyed. +Messrs. Gray and Wilmot made the usual excuses of all deserters for +their conduct, the principal one being that they thought they could +serve the interests of the constituency and of the province better by +being in the government than out of it. The friends of the four members +who still remained faithful, Messrs. Tilley, Simonds, Ritchie and +Needham, held a meeting at which these gentlemen were present, and it +was agreed that they should join in an address to their constituents +condemning the course of Messrs. Wilmot and Gray, and calling on the +constituency to pronounce judgment upon it. As Wilmot, who had been +appointed to the office of surveyor-general, had to return to his +constituency for reëlection, the voice of the constituency could only be +ascertained by placing a candidate in the field in opposition to him. +This was done, and Mr. Allan McLean was elected to oppose Mr. Wilmot. +The result seemed to show that the people of St. John had condoned the +offence, for Wilmot was reëlected by a majority of two hundred and +seventy-three. As this appeared to be a proof that they had lost the +confidence of their constituents, Messrs. Simonds, Ritchie and Tilley at +once resigned their seats and did not offer for reëlection. This act +was, at the time, thought by many to indicate an excess of +sensitiveness, and Needham refused to follow their example, thereby +forfeiting the regard of most of those who had formerly supported him. +The sequel proved that the three resigning members were right, for they +won much more in public respect by their conduct than they lost by their +temporary exclusion from the House of Assembly. + +{THE ST. JOHN ELECTION} + +The gentlemen returned for the three seats in St. John which had been +vacated by the resigning members were James A. Harding, John Goddard and +John Johnson. Mr. Harding, who ran for the city, was opposed by S. K. +Foster. Harding was a Liberal, but this fact does not seem to have been +kept in view when he was elected. The net result of the whole affair was +that the constituency of St. John could not be relied upon to support a +Liberal principle, or any kind of principle as against men. That has +always been a peculiarity of the St. John constituencies, men being more +important than measures, and frequently a mere transient feeling being +set off against the most important considerations of general policy. + +Tilley was not in the House of Assembly during the sessions of 1852, +1853 and 1854; that period was one, however, of development in political +matters and of substantial progress. The governor's speech at the +opening of the session of 1852 was largely devoted to railways, and it +expressed the opinion that a railroad connecting Canada and Nova Scotia, +and a connection with a line from St. John to the United States, would +produce an abundant return to the province, and that by this means +millions of tons of timber, then standing worthless in the forest, would +find a profitable market. It was during this session that Messrs. Peto, +Brassy and Betts proposed to construct the European and North American +Railway, on certain conditions. The subsidies offered by the province at +this time were twenty thousand pounds a year for twenty years, and a +million acres of land for the European and North American Railway, as +the line to the United States was termed; and for the Quebec line, +twenty-two thousand pounds sterling for twenty years, and two million +acres of land. A new company, which included Mr. Jackson, M. P., offered +to build the New Brunswick section of both railroads, upon the province +granting them a subsidy of twenty thousand pounds a year for twenty +years, and four million acres of land. Attorney-General Street +introduced a series of railway resolutions favouring the building of the +Intercolonial Railway jointly by the three provinces, according to terms +which had been agreed upon by the delegates of each. The arrangement was +that the Intercolonial Railway should be built through the valley of the +St. John, and for favouring resolutions in the House confirming this +arrangement, Mr. Street's Northumberland constituents called upon him to +resign his seat, a step which he refused to take. + +{INTERCOLONIAL RAILWAY} + +The government railway resolutions were carried by a large majority. +During the recess Mr. Chandler, as a representative of New Brunswick, +and Mr. Hincks, a representative of Canada, went to London to endeavour +to obtain from the British government a sum sufficient to build the +Intercolonial Railway. The request of the delegates was refused on the +ground that such a work had to be one of military necessity, and that +the route which had been selected, by the valley of the St. John, was +not a proper one for military purposes. As Mr. Chandler could not obtain +what he wished from the British government, he applied to Messrs. Peto, +Brassy and Betts, who said they were prepared to build all the railroads +that New Brunswick might require, upon the most advantageous terms. Mr. +Jackson visited the province in September of the same year, and it was +agreed that his company should build a railway from St. John to Amherst, +and from St. John to the United States frontier, the distance being then +estimated at two hundred and fourteen miles, for the sum of sixty-five +hundred pounds sterling per mile. The province was to take stock to the +extent of twelve hundred pounds per mile, and to lend its bonds to the +company for one thousand eight hundred pounds additional per mile. The +completion of this arrangement caused great rejoicing in the province, +especially in St. John, a special session of the legislature being +called on October 21st for the express purpose of amending the Railway +Act so that it might conform to the new conditions. As both branches of +the legislature were strongly in favour of the railway policy of the +government, the necessary bills were speedily passed and the legislature +was prorogued after a session of eight days. + +The meeting of the legislature in 1853 derived its principal importance +from the fact that much of its time was taken up with the discussion of +the question of a reciprocity treaty with the United States of America. +The discussion disclosed a strong disinclination on the part of many +members to any arrangement by which the fisheries would be surrendered. +An address to the queen was agreed to by both branches of the +legislature in which it was stated that the exclusive use of the +fisheries by the inhabitants of British North America would be much more +advantageous and satisfactory than anything which the United States +could offer as an equivalent. It was also stated that no reciprocity +treaty with that country would be satisfactory to New Brunswick which +did not embrace the free exchange of raw materials and natural products +and the admission of colonial built vessels to registry in American +ports. The tone of the discussions on this subject, both in 1853 and +1854, shows that reciprocity with the United States was not generally +regarded as being an equivalent for the giving of the fisheries to our +neighbours, and it is quite clear that, so far as New Brunswick was +concerned, the reciprocity treaty would not have been agreed to had it +not been that the matter was in the hands of the British government, and +that the legislature of the province was not disposed to resist +strenuously any arrangement which that government thought it wise to +make. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE PROHIBITORY LIQUOR LAW + + +The House which had been elected in 1850 was dissolved after the +prorogation in 1854, and the election came on in the month of July. It +was a memorable occasion, because it was certain that the topics +discussed by the House then to be elected would be of the very highest +importance. One of these subjects was the reciprocity treaty, which at +that time had been arranged with the United States through the British +government. This treaty provided for the free interchange of certain +natural products between the great republic and the several provinces +which later formed the Dominion of Canada, and it had been brought about +through the efforts of Lord Elgin, who at that time was governor-general +of Canada. The treaty was agreed to on June 5th, and was subject to +ratification by the imperial parliament and the legislatures of the +British North American colonies which were affected by it. In the St. +John constituencies there was at that time a strong feeling in favour of +a protection policy, but this did not interfere with the desire to +effect the interchange of raw material with the United States on +advantageous terms. Tilley had been originally nominated as a +protectionist, and still held views favourable to the encouragement and +protection of native industries by means of the tariff, but he was also +favourable to reciprocity with the United States if it could be obtained +in such a manner as to be beneficial to the province. At the general +election he led the poll in the city of St. John, his colleague being +James A. Harding, who had been elected at a bye-election to the previous +House. For the county, Mr. William J. Ritchie was one of the successful +candidates, and the only Liberal returned for that constituency. The +other members for the county were the Hon. John R. Partelow, Robert D. +Wilmot and John H. Gray. + +The new House was called together on October 19th for the purpose of +ratifying the reciprocity treaty, and the Hon. D. L. Hanington was +elected speaker by a vote of twenty-three to thirteen. This gave the +opposition an earlier opportunity of defeating the Street-Partelow +administration than would, under ordinary circumstances, have been +possible. An amendment to the address was moved by the Hon. Charles +Fisher, which was an indictment of the government for their various +shortcomings and offences. The amendment was to expunge the whole of the +fifth paragraph and substitute for it the following:-- + +"It is with feelings of loyalty and attachment to Her Majesty's person +and government that we recognize, in that provision of the treaty which +requires the concurrence of this legislature, a distinct avowal by the +imperial government of their determination to preserve inviolate the +principles of self-government, and to regard the constitution of the +province as sacred as that of the parent state. We regret that the +conduct of the administration during the last few years has not been in +accordance with these principles, and we feel constrained thus early to +state to your Excellency that your constitutional advisers have not +conducted the government of the province in the true spirit of our +colonial constitution." This amendment was debated for six days, and was +carried by a vote of twenty-seven to twelve. + +{QUESTION OF THE JUDGES REVIVED} + +The general ground of accusation against the government, and the one +most strongly insisted upon, was that it had yielded to the influence of +the colonial office in the appointment of Judge Wilmot. It was well +known that the government at that time, or at least a majority of them, +did not consider it necessary to appoint another judge; at all events, +they took no steps to bring about another appointment; but they yielded +to the colonial office, and the pressure put upon them by Sir Edmund +Head, the lieutenant-governor, so far as to acquiesce in the appointment +of Judge Carter as chief-justice, and the elevation of Mr. Wilmot to the +bench. This was a fair ground of attack, because it was clear that if +the executive council of New Brunswick was under the orders of the home +government, representative institutions and responsible government did +not exist. + +Thus the Street-Partelow government fell, and with it disappeared, at +once and forever, the old Conservative régime which had existed in the +province from its foundation, and which, unavoidably no doubt, had +presided over the early political life of the colony, but the undue +continuance of which was wholly incompatible with the full development +of representative institutions and responsible government. It was a +great triumph for the cause of Liberalism that the Conservatives of that +period were not only defeated, but swept altogether out of existence. +After that a government of men who called themselves Conservatives might +go into power, but the old state of affairs, under which the +lieutenant-governor could exercise almost despotic powers, had departed +forever, and could no more be revived than the heptarchy. All that a +Conservative government could do after that was to fall into line with +the policy of the men they had displaced, and proceed, less rapidly +perhaps, but none the less surely, along the path of political progress. + +The new government which was formed as the result of this vote had for +its premier the Hon. Charles Fisher, who took the office of +attorney-general; Mr. Tilley became provincial secretary; Mr. James +Brown, a few weeks later, received the office of surveyor-general; J. M. +Johnson, one of the members for Northumberland, became solicitor-general; +and William J. Ritchie, Albert J. Smith and William H. Steeves were +members of the government without office. + +The bill to give effect to the reciprocity treaty passed its third +reading on November 2d, only five members voting against it. On motion +of the Hon. Mr. Ritchie, one of the members of the new government, it +was resolved that it was desirable and expedient that the +surveyor-general, who was a political officer, should hold a seat in the +House of Assembly, and that the government should carry out the wishes +of the House in this respect. Before the House again met the wishes of +the House had been complied with, and Mr. Brown, of Charlotte, became +surveyor-general. + +{SESSION OF 1855} + +The House met again on February 1st, 1855, and then the real work of +legislative and administrative reform began. In the speech from the +throne it was stated that the Customs Act would expire in the course of +a year, and that it was necessary that a new Act should be passed. A +better system of auditing the public accounts was also recommended, and +a better system of electing members to the legislature. On March 5th, +correspondence was brought down, dated the previous 15th of August, +announcing, on the part of the imperial government, the withdrawal of +the imperial customs establishment, which was considered to be no longer +necessary, and stating that as the duties of these offices were now +mainly in connection with the registration of vessels in the colonies, +and the granting of certificates of the origin of colonial products, +this work would hereafter be performed by the colonial officers. A +letter addressed to the comptrollers and other customs officers had +informed them that their services would be discontinued after January +5th, 1855. So disappeared the last remnant of the old imperial +custom-house system, which had been the cause of so many difficulties in +all the colonies and which had done more than anything else to bring +about the revolution which separated the thirteen colonies from the +mother country. + +The great measure of the session of 1855 was the law to prevent the +importation, manufacture or selling of liquor. This bill was brought in +by Mr. Tilley as a private member, and not on behalf of the government. +It was introduced on March 3d. Considering its importance and the fact +that it led to a crisis in the affairs of the government and the +temporary defeat of the Liberal party, it went through the House with +comparatively little difficulty. It was first considered on March 19th, +and a motion to postpone its further consideration for three months was +lost by a vote of seventeen to twenty-one. The final division on the +third reading was taken on March 27th, and the vote was twenty-one to +eighteen, so that every member of the House, with one exception, voted +yea or nay. The closeness of this last division should have warned the +advocate of the measure that it was likely to produce difficulty, for it +is clear that all laws which are intended to regulate the personal +habits of men must be ineffectual unless they have the support of a +large majority of the people affected by them. That this was not the +case with the prohibitory liquor law was shown by the vote in the +legislature, and it was still more clearly shown after the law came into +operation on January 1st, 1856. + +{PROHIBITORY LIQUOR ACT} + +The passage of the prohibitory law was a bold experiment, and, as the +sequel showed, more bold than wise. The temperance movement in New +Brunswick, at that time, was hardly more than twenty years old, and New +Brunswick had always been a province in which the consumption of liquor +was large in proportion to its population. When it was first settled by +the Loyalists, and for many years afterwards, the use of liquor was +considered necessary to happiness, if not to actual existence. Every +person consumed spirits, which generally came to the province in the +form of Jamaica rum, from the West Indies, and as this rum was supposed +to be an infallible cure for nearly every ill that flesh is heir to, +nothing could be done at that time without its use. Large quantities of +rum were taken into the woods for the lumbermen, to give them sufficient +strength to perform the laborious work in which they were engaged, and +if it had been suggested that a time would come when the same work would +be done without any more powerful stimulant than tea, the person who +ventured to make such a suggestion would have been regarded as foolish. +Experience has shown that more and better work can be done, not only in +the woods, but everywhere else, without the use of stimulants than with +them; but no one could be persuaded to believe this sixty years ago. +Every kind of work connected with the farm then had to be performed by +the aid of liquor. Every house-raising, every ploughing match, every +meeting at which farmers congregated, had unlimited quantities of rum as +one of its leading features. It was also used by almost every man as a +part of his regular diet; the old stagers had their eleven-o'clock dram +and their nip before dinner; their regular series of drinks in the +afternoon and evening; and they actually believed that without them life +would not be worth living. Some idea of the extent of the +spirit-drinking of the province may be gathered from the fact that, in +1838, when the population did not exceed 120,000, 312,298 gallons of +rum, gin and whiskey, and 64,579 gallons of brandy were consumed in New +Brunswick. Spirits, especially rum, were very cheap, and, the duty being +only thirty cents a gallon, every one could afford to drink it if +disposed to do so. + +It was at midnight on December 31st, 1855, when the bells rang out a +merry peal to announce the advent of the New Year, that this law went +into force. This meant little less than a revolution in the views, +feelings and ideas of the people of the province, and, to a large +extent, in their business relations. The liquor trade, both wholesale +and retail, employed large numbers of men, and occupied many buildings +which brought in large rents to their owners. The number of taverns in +St. John and its suburb, Portland, was not less than two hundred, and +every one of these establishments had to be closed. There were probably +at least twenty men who sold liquor at wholesale, and who extended their +business to every section of the province, as well as to parts of Nova +Scotia, and their operations also had to come to an end. It was not to +be supposed that these people would consent to be deprived suddenly of +their means of living, especially in view of the fact that it was by no +means certain that the sentiment in favour of prohibition was as strong +in the country as it appeared to be in the legislature. It has always +been understood that many men voted for prohibition in the House of +Assembly who themselves were not total abstainers, but who thought they +might make political capital by taking that course, and who relied on +the legislative council to throw out the bill. No men were more +disgusted and disappointed than they when the council passed the bill. + +{PROHIBITORY ACT UNPOPULAR} + +The result of the attempt to enforce prohibition was what might have +been expected. The law was resisted, liquor continued to be sold, and +when attempts were made to prevent the violation of the law, and the +violators of the law were brought before the courts, able lawyers were +employed to defend them, while the sale of liquor by the same parties +was continued, thus setting the law at defiance. This state of confusion +lasted for several months, but it is unnecessary to go into details. In +the city of St. John, especially, the conflict became bitter to the last +degree, and it was evident that, however admirable prohibition might be +of itself, the people of that city were not then prepared to accept it. +At this juncture came the astounding news that the lieutenant-governor, +the Hon. H. T. Manners-Sutton, had dissolved the House of Assembly +against the advice of his council. This governor, who had been appointed +the year previous, was a member of an old Conservative family, one of +whom was speaker of the British House of Commons for a great many years. +The traditions of this family were all opposed to such a radical measure +as the prohibitory law, and, therefore, it was not to be expected that +Manners-Sutton, who drank wine at his own table, and who considered that +its use was proper and necessary, would be favourable to the law. But +even if he had been disposed to favour it originally, or to regard it +without prejudice, the confusion which it caused in the province when +the attempt was made to enforce it, would naturally incline him to look +upon it as an evil. At all events, he came to the conclusion that the +people should have another opportunity of pronouncing upon it, and, as +the result of this view of the situation, resolved to dissolve the +legislature, which had been elected only a little more than a year, and +had still three years to run. + +{DISSOLUTION OF LEGISLATURE} + +The election which followed in July, 1856, was perhaps the most hotly +contested that has ever taken place in the province. In St. John, +especially, the conflict was fierce and bitter, because it was in this +city that the liquor interest was strongest and most influential. All +over the province, however, the people became interested in the +struggle, as they had not been in any previous campaign. + +By the Liberals and friends of the government, the action of Governor +Sutton was denounced as tyrannical, unjust and entirely contrary to the +principles of responsible government. On the other hand, the friends of +the governor and of the liquor interest declared that his action was +right, and the cry of "Support the governor," was raised in every +county. At this day it is easy enough to discern that there was a good +deal of unnecessary violence injected into the campaign, and that +neither party was inclined to do full justice to the other. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +REFORM AND PROGRESS + + +The result of the election was the defeat of the government. Mr. Tilley +lost his seat for St. John city, and the Hon. James Brown, the +surveyor-general, was rejected by the county of Charlotte, so that two +of the principal members of the executive were not in their places when +the House was called together in July. The city of St. John, and the +city and county of St. John, sent a solid phalanx of six members opposed +to prohibition, and an Act repealing the prohibitory liquor law was +passed by a vote of thirty-eight to two. The new government which was +formed had for its principal members, the Hon. John H. Gray, who became +attorney-general; the Hon. John C. Allen, solicitor-general; the Hon. R. +D. Wilmot, provincial secretary; the Hon. John Montgomery, +surveyor-general, and the Hon. Francis McPhelim, postmaster-general. The +other members of the executive council were the Hon. Edward B. Chandler, +the Hon. Robert L. Hazen and the Hon. Charles McPherson. + +When the House met in July, the Hon. Charles Simonds, of St. John, was +elected speaker, and it was soon discovered, after the liquor bill had +been disposed of, that the majority supporting the government was so +small as to make it impossible for them to accomplish any useful +legislation. When the legislature again met, in the early part of 1857, +it was seen that in a House of forty-one members twenty were arrayed +against the government, and the only way in which government business +could be done was by the casting vote of the speaker. This condition of +affairs speedily became intolerable, because it practically made +legislation impossible, but it was brought to an end by Mr. McMonagle, +one of the members for the county of Kings, withdrawing his support from +the government. Two courses only were now open to them, to tender their +resignations or advise the dissolution of the legislature, and they +chose the latter. The House of Assembly was dissolved by proclamation on +April 1st, 1857, and the writs for the election were made returnable on +May 16th. + +{THE FISHER GOVERNMENT} + +The excitement attending this second election was, if possible, even +greater than during the election of 1856, for the public mind had been +wrought up to a high state of tension by the proceedings in the House +and the numerous divisions in which the government was supported only by +the casting vote of the speaker. The result of the election was so +unfavourable to the Gray-Wilmot government that they at once tendered +their resignations to the lieutenant-governor, agreeing to hold office +only until their successors were appointed. The most bitter contest of +the election centred in the city of St. John, and it resulted in the +election of Mr. Tilley, with Mr. James A. Harding for his colleague, the +latter having changed his views in regard to the question at issue since +the previous election, when he was chosen as an opponent of the +government of which Tilley had been a member. When the Gray-Wilmot +government resigned, the lieutenant-governor sent for Mr. Fisher, and +entrusted to him the business of forming a new government. The +government thus formed comprised the Hons. James Brown, S. L. Tilley, +William Henry Steeves, John M. Johnson, Albert J. Smith, David Wark and +Charles Watters. The Hon. Charles Fisher became attorney-general, and, +resigning his seat, was reëlected for the county of York prior to the +meeting of the legislature on June 24th, 1857. The session lasted only +until July 1st, being merely held for the purpose of disposing of the +necessary business. James A. Harding was elected speaker of the House, +and the legislation was confined to the passage of the supply bills, and +matters that were urgent. Tilley took no part in the legislation of this +session, for his seat immediately became vacant by his appointment as +provincial secretary. The other departments were filled by the +appointment of Mr. Brown to the office of surveyor-general; of Mr. +Charles Watters, to the office of solicitor-general, and of John M. +Johnson as postmaster-general. + +The legislature met again on February 10th, 1858, and the speech from +the throne dealt mainly with the financial crisis, the Intercolonial +Railway, and the progress that was being made in the construction of the +line between St. John and Shediac as a part of what was termed the +European and North American Railway. The speech also referred to the +fact that the surplus civil list fund had been, by arrangement with the +British government made the previous year, placed at the disposal of the +House of Assembly. It was soon seen that the government was strong in +the House, the first test vote being that taken on the passage of the +address in reply to the speech from the throne. This came in the form of +an amendment, regretting that the arrangement in regard to the surplus +civil list fund had been acceded to without the consent of the House. +This amendment to the address received the support of only six members. +A return brought down at an early period in the session showed that the +revenue of the province for the fiscal year, ending October 31st, 1857, +amounted to $668,252 an increase of $86,528 over the previous year. Of +this sum upwards of $540,000 came from import duties and what were +termed railway impost, which was simply duties levied on imports for the +purpose of defraying the cost of the railways then building. The casual +and territorial revenue yielded only eighteen thousand pounds but the +export duties reached almost twenty thousand pounds. + +{INTERCOLONIAL RAILWAY} + +The Intercolonial Railway still continued to engage the attention of the +legislature, and correspondence with the secretary of state, with the +government of Canada, and with the government of Nova Scotia, in regard +to this great work, was laid before the House soon after the session +opened. The government of New Brunswick consulted with the governments +of Canada and Nova Scotia as to what assistance should be given by the +imperial government towards the construction of the Intercolonial +Railway from Halifax to Quebec, in the form of a guarantee of interest. +The British government professed to feel a strong sense of the +importance of the object, but thought they would not be justified in +applying to parliament for the required guarantee, because the heavy +expenditures to which Great Britain had been subjected did not leave +them at liberty to pledge its revenue for the purpose of assisting in +the construction of public works of this description, however desirable +in themselves. The correspondence on the subject of the Intercolonial +Railway extended over a period of more than twenty years and grew to +enormous proportions, but it is safe to assert that this line of railway +would not have been constructed in the nineteenth century but for the +fact that it was undertaken by the Canadian Dominion as a work which had +to be built for the purpose of carrying out the terms of confederation +as set out in the British North America Act (section 145). + +The railway to Shediac was finally completed and opened for traffic on +August 5th, 1860, its length being one hundred and eight miles. The +nineteen miles between Pointe du Chêne and Moncton had been open as +early as August, 1857, and the nine miles from St. John to Rothesay, on +June 1st, 1858. The railway was opened from St. John to Hampton in June, +1859, and to Sussex in November of the same year. Although the people of +the province had abated something of their enthusiasm for railways by +the time the St. John and Shediac line was finished, still its opening +was a great event, because it was the commencement of a new era in +transportation and gave St. John access to the north shore, from which +it had previously been practically shut out. Goods could now be sent by +means of railway and steamer to Prince Edward Island, and to the New +Brunswick ports on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and a community of interest +which did not exist before was thus created between the most remote +sections of the province. + +The traffic receipts of the complete line were thought to be highly +satisfactory; the business for the first three months amounted to about +$45,000, and yielded a revenue of $18,000. This was a good showing and +gave promise of still better things for the future. It may be +interesting to state that in the last year that the railway was operated +by the government of the province, the gross receipts amounted to +$148,330, and the net receipts to $51,760. The gross and net revenue of +the road had shown a steady increase from the first, and although it had +been a costly public work the people of the province considered it a +good investment. It was only after it had passed into the hands of the +government of Canada, and become a part of the Intercolonial Railway, +that any colour was given to the accusation that it was an unprofitable +line. The railway from St. John to Shediac had always paid well, and +probably, if dissociated from its connecting lines, would at this day +pay three or four per cent, upon its original cost. + +{THE BALLOT} + +The legislation of the province between 1858 and 1861, although it +included many useful measures, evolved nothing that calls for particular +mention, with the exception of the law which provided for voting by +ballot. This was an innovation to which many were opposed, but which the +Liberal party very properly considered necessary to the protection of +the voter, who was liable to be coerced by his employer, or by those who +had financial relations with him. The ballot system introduced by the +government was quite imperfect and did not insure absolute secrecy, +because it did not provide for an official ballot such as is required in +the system of election which now prevails in connection with the choice +of members to our Canadian parliament. Yet it was a vast improvement on +open voting, not only because it gave the voter a certain degree of +protection, but also from the fact that it tended to promote order at +elections, and to do away with that riotous spirit which was +characteristic of the earlier contests in the province. + +{UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK} + +In 1859 an important step was taken for the reorganization of King's +College, which by an Act passed in that year, was changed into the +University of New Brunswick. There had always been a great deal of +dissatisfaction with the college in consequence of its denominational +character, and in 1854 an Act was passed empowering the +lieutenant-governor to appoint a commission to inquire into the state of +King's College, its management and utility, with a view to improving it. +The commissioners appointed were the Hon. John H. Gray, the Rev. Egerton +Ryerson, J. W. Dawson, the Hon. John S. Saunders and the Hon. James +Brown. The report, which was dated December 28th, 1854, was laid before +both branches of the legislature in 1855. In 1857 the college council +appointed a committee and prepared a draft of a bill which was laid +before the legislature. This, with a few slight alterations, was the +bill which was passed in 1859 for the establishment of the University of +New Brunswick, and in this bill were embodied the principal +recommendations of the commissioners appointed in 1854 to enquire into +the state of the college. This Act transferred to the University of New +Brunswick all the property of King's College and its endowment, and made +the university liable for the payment of the debts and the performance +of the contracts of King's College. It created a new governing body for +the college to be styled the senate, to be appointed by the governor in +council, and the president of the college was required to be a member of +that body and also to be a layman. It conferred upon the senate the +power of appointing the professors and other officers of the university, +except the president, and also the power of removing them from office, +subject to the approval of the governor in council. It also authorized +the senate to fix their salaries. It abolished the professorship of +theology and provided for the affiliation of other institutions with the +university, and also for a number of free scholars. This Act, which was +passed in April, 1859, was especially approved by Her Majesty in council +on January 25th, 1860. Thus a new era in the higher education of New +Brunswick was commenced, and a long step was taken towards making the +college more acceptable to the people of that province. Great hopes were +entertained at the time that this liberalizing of the constitution of +the college would lead to a large increase in the number of its +students, and a more general interest in its work, but, unfortunately, +as the sequel showed, these hopes were only partially realized. + +During the spring of 1860 circumstances occurred which led to the +resignation of the postmaster-general, the Hon. Charles Connell. The +legislature having adopted the decimal system of currency in the place +of the pounds, shillings and pence which had been the currency of the +province since its foundation, Mr. Connell, in March, 1860, was +authorized to obtain a new set of postage stamps of the denominations +required for use in the postal service of the province. No person, at +that time, thought that a political crisis would arise out of this +order, but it appears that Mr. Connell, guided by the example of +presidents and postmasters-general of the United States, had made up his +mind that instead of the likeness of the queen, which had been upon all +the old postage stamps of the province, the five-cent stamp, the one +which would be most in use, should bear the impress of his own +countenance. Accordingly the Connell postage stamp, which is now one of +the rarest and most costly of all in the lists of collectors, was +procured and was ready to be used, when Mr. Connell's colleagues in the +government discovered what was going on and took steps to prevent the +new five-cent stamp from being issued. The correspondence on the +subject, which will be found in the journals of 1861, is curious and +interesting; it ended in the withdrawal of the objectionable stamps and +in the resignation of Mr. Connell, who complained that he had lost the +confidence of his colleagues, and in resigning, charged them with +neglecting the affairs of the province. Only a few of the Connell stamps +got into circulation, the remainder of the issue being destroyed. Mr. +Connell's place as postmaster-general was filled by the appointment of +James Steadman. + +{RESIGNATION OF MR. FISHER} + +In the early part of 1861 a very important event occurred in connection +with the government which produced a lasting effect on provincial +politics. Charges were made by a St. John Conservative paper, _The +Colonial Empire_, in which it was stated that members of the government +and certain Crown lands officials had been purchasing the most desirable +and valuable Crown lands of the province for speculative purposes, and +that in bringing these lands to sale the government regulations had been +violated and the public treasury had suffered. A committee of the House +was appointed to investigate these charges, and inquiry established the +fact that an official of the Crown lands department had purchased some +eight hundred acres. These lands were all bought at public sale, but in +the forms of application other names were used, which was a violation of +the rules of the department. A portion of the press at the time created +a widespread excitement upon this subject, and the services of the +official referred to were dispensed with. Some of the supporters of the +government also took such ground in reference to the attorney-general, +Mr. Fisher, that his retirement from the government became necessary, +the accusation against him being that he had negligently permitted some +improper sales of Crown lands to be made. It was felt at the time by +some that the penalty that was paid by the attorney-general was +excessive for the offence; but, under the excitement then existing, it +was the only course that could be taken to avoid the defeat of the +government. At the general election that followed a few months later, +Mr. Fisher was reëlected for the county of York, and later on, after the +excitement had passed over, the delinquent Crown lands official was +reinstated. At the same election, that took place in 1861, the +government was handsomely sustained, after one of the warmest contests +that had ever taken place in New Brunswick. Probably the most effective +nomination speech ever made by Tilley, during his long political career, +was the one then delivered at the court-house, St. John, in his own +defence, and in the vindication of his government against the charges +made by the Opposition candidates and press. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE INTERCOLONIAL RAILWAY + + +The imperfect means of communication between the Maritime Provinces and +Canada had long been recognized as a great evil, and very soon after the +introduction of railways into England a line of railway was projected to +run from St. Andrews, in New Brunswick, to Quebec. The transfer of a +considerable tract of territory, which had been believed to be in New +Brunswick, to the state of Maine, under the terms of the Ashburton +Treaty, gave a check to this enterprise, and financial difficulties +afterwards prevented its accomplishment. A more promising scheme was +that of a railway from Halifax to Quebec, and this so far received the +approval of the British government that an officer of engineers, Major +Robinson, was, in 1847, detailed to conduct a survey of the proposed +line. As this gentleman was influenced by purely military +considerations, his line was carried as far from the United States +boundary as possible, and consequently by a very long and circuitous +route. During the session of 1852, Attorney-General Street introduced a +series of resolutions in the New Brunswick legislature favouring the +building of the Intercolonial Railway jointly by Canada, New Brunswick +and Nova Scotia, according to terms which had been agreed upon by the +delegates of each. This arrangement was that the Intercolonial Railway +should be built through the valley of the St. John. These resolutions +were carried by a large majority. During the recess, Mr. Chandler, as +the representative of New Brunswick, and Mr. Hincks, the representative +of Canada, went to London to endeavour to obtain from the British +government financial aid to build the Intercolonial Railway. This was +refused on the ground that such a work had to be one of military +necessity. Further efforts were made in 1855, and again in 1858, to +influence the British government in favour of this railway, but without +result; the answer of Downing Street being that the heavy expenditure +involved in the Crimean War prevented the government from assisting in +the construction of public works, such as the Intercolonial Railway, +however desirable in themselves. + +{DELEGATION TO ENGLAND} + +The effort to secure the construction of the Intercolonial Railway was +renewed in 1861. At a meeting of delegates representing Canada, Nova +Scotia and New Brunswick, which was held at Quebec on September 30th, it +was resolved that the three governments should renew the offers made to +the imperial government in 1858 with reference to the Intercolonial +Railway, and that the route to be adopted be decided by the imperial +government. The Hon. Mr. Tilley, who was at this Quebec meeting, was +sent to England as a delegate to confer with the imperial government +with regard to the railway, while Nova Scotia was represented by the +Hon. Joseph Howe, and Canada, by the Hon. P. M. Vankoughnet. The +delegates reached England in November and placed themselves in +communication with the Duke of Newcastle, who was then colonial +secretary, and they also had interviews with the prime minister, Lord +Palmerston, the chancellor of the exchequer, the secretary of war, and +the president of the board of trade. While in England, the seizure of +the commissioners of the southern confederacy, Messrs. Mason and +Slidell, by Commodore Wilkes, on board the British mail steamer _Trent_, +produced a crisis in the relations between Great Britain and the United +States which seemed likely to lead to a war, and greatly strengthened +the position of the delegates, who were able to point out the difficulty +involved in defending Canada without a railway to the sea. They +presented their views to the colonial secretary in a very ably written +state paper, which should have convinced those to whom it was addressed +that the railway was an absolute necessity. The delegates estimated the +cost of the railway at £3,000,000 sterling, and they asked the imperial +government to join in a guarantee of four per cent. interest on this +sum, each of the provinces to guarantee £20,000 a year for this purpose +and the imperial government, £60,000. This proposal was rejected by the +British government, but it offered "an imperial guarantee of interest +towards enabling them to raise by public loan, at a moderate rate, the +requisite funds for constructing the railway." The British government, +therefore, would do nothing for this great work except to indorse the +bonds of the provinces to a limited extent, for it was stated in the +Duke of Newcastle's letter to the delegates that "the nature and extent +of the guarantee must be determined by the particulars of any scheme +which the provincial governments may be disposed to found on the present +proposal and on the kind of security which they would offer." + +Delegates representing the three provinces met in Quebec in September, +1862, to consider this offer, New Brunswick being represented by Messrs. +Tilley, Steeves and Mitchell. The delegates from the Maritime Provinces +declared their willingness to propose to their respective governments to +accept the proposition of the Duke of Newcastle if Canada would bear +one-half of the expense of the railway instead of one-third. The +Canadian government offered to assume five-twelfths of the liability for +the construction and working of the Intercolonial, and to this the +delegates for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia had to agree. This imposed a +very serious burthen on two provinces, which, between them, had only six +hundred thousand inhabitants, and their willingness to assume it shows +the interest they took in this great work. + +{NEGOTIATIONS IN ENGLAND} + +In pursuance of an arrangement made at this Quebec meeting, delegates +from the three provinces went to England to arrange the terms of the +guarantee with the British government; the Hon. Mr. Tilley represented +New Brunswick, and the Hon. Joseph Howe, Nova Scotia. Mr. Gladstone, who +was then chancellor of the exchequer, insisted on a sinking fund being +provided, which was to be a first charge on the revenues of the several +provinces. This sinking fund was objected to by the colonial delegates, +but the only modification in its terms which they were able to obtain +was that the sinking fund was not to take precedence of any existing +liability. Before leaving England, Messrs. Tilley and Howe prepared and +submitted a memorandum to the Duke of Newcastle in which they expressed +a hope that Mr. Gladstone might be induced to reconsider the matter of +the sinking fund, and that it would not be insisted on. The Canadian +delegates left England without an acceptance of the terms proposed by +Mr. Gladstone, and without a formal rejection of them. Previous to the +meeting of the Canadian parliament, Tilley proceeded to Quebec to urge +upon the Canadian government the preparation of the necessary bills to +carry out the agreement entered into for the construction of this great +railway. He reported to the lieutenant-governor on his return that the +government of Canada, for reasons stated, could not then undertake to +pass the legislation required, which they greatly regretted, but that +they had not abandoned the arrangements for the construction of the +railway. The Canadian government's declaration in the course of the +session that they had abandoned this important enterprise was, +accordingly, a source of great surprise and regret. The governments of +New Brunswick and Nova Scotia passed the necessary legislation at the +next session, but the government of Canada took no further step in the +matter until the confederation negotiations were commenced in 1864. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE MOVEMENT FOR MARITIME UNION + + +We now come down to an event of the greatest interest, in which Mr. +Tilley took part, and one of such vast and far-reaching importance that +it quite overshadows all the other events of his career. The +confederation of the Canadian provinces was, beyond all question, the +most notable colonial movement within the British empire since the +American Declaration of Independence. It changed at once the whole +character of the colonial relations which had subsisted with the mother +country, and substituted for a few weak and scattered colonies a +powerful Dominion, able to speak with a united voice, and stand as a +helpmeet to the nation from which most of its people had sprung. No man, +whatever his views as to the wisdom of that political union may have +been at the time, can now deny that it was timely and necessary, if the +colonies and the mother country were to preserve their connection with +each other. It is safe to say that, if confederation had not taken place +in 1867, British interests on this continent would have suffered, and +possibly some of the colonies would now have been a part of the United +States. The policy of separating the colonies from England, which has +been so much advocated by many leading public men in the great republic, +would have found free scope, and by balancing the interests of one +colony against those of another, promoting dissensions and favouring +those provinces which were disposed to a closer union with the United +States, something might have been done to weaken their connection with +the British empire, which is now the glory and the strength of the +Dominion of Canada. + +The question of the union of the several colonies of British North +America was by no means a new one when it came up for final settlement. +It had been discussed at a very early period in the history of the +provinces, and indeed it was a question which it was quite natural to +discuss, for it seemed but reasonable that colonies of the same origin, +owing the same allegiance, inhabited by people who differed but little +from each other in any respect, and with many commercial interests in +common, should form a political union. No doubt it might have been +brought earlier to the front as a vital political question but for the +fact that the British government, which was most interested in promoting +the union of the colonies, took no step towards that end until almost +compelled by necessity to move in the matter. The colonial policy of +England, as represented by the colonial office and in the royal +instructions to colonial governors, has seldom been wise or far-seeing, +and the British colonies which now girdle the world, have been built up +mainly as the result of private enterprise; for the part taken by the +government has, in most cases, been merely to give official sanction to +what private individuals have already done, and to assist in protecting +British interests when they have become important, especially in new +regions of the world. + +{CONFEDERATION FORESHADOWED} + +When the Earl of Durham was sent out as governor-general of Canada after +the rebellion there in 1838, he suggested in his report that the union +of the colonies of British North America was one of the remedies which +ought to be resorted to for the pacification of Canada and the +reconstruction of its constitution. While a large proportion of the +people of the colonies looked with favour upon the idea of a political +union, there was in all of them a large body of objectors who were +steadily opposed to it. People of that kind are to be found in all +countries, and they have existed in all ages of the world's history. +They are the persons who see in every new movement a thousand +difficulties which cannot be surmounted. Their minds are constructed on +the principle of rejecting all new ideas, and clinging to old forms and +systems long after they have lost their vitality. They are a class who +look back for precedents for any step of a political character which it +is proposed to take, and who judge of everything by the standard of some +former age. They seem to forget that precedents must be created some +time or another, and that the present century has as good a right to +create precedents as any of its predecessors. To these people every +objection that could be urged against confederation was exaggerated and +magnified, and whenever any proposal was made which seemed to tend +towards the union of the colonies, their voices were heard upon the +other side. We need not doubt the honesty or loyalty of these objectors, +or consider that they were unfavourable either to British connection or +to the building up of the empire. It was merely their misfortune that +they were constitutionally adverse to change, and could not see any +merit in a political movement which involved the idea of novelty. + +For some time the principal advocate of confederation in the Maritime +Provinces was the Hon. Joseph Howe, a man of such ability and force of +character that on a wider stage he might have risen to eminence, and +ranked amongst the world's great statesmen.[10] It is impossible indeed +not to regret that so great a man, one so imperial in his instincts and +views, should have been condemned to spend his life within the bounds of +one small province. + +{ATTITUDE OF COLONIAL OFFICE} + +The question of the political union of the British North American +provinces was brought up in the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia in +1854, and then the leaders of both parties, the Hon. Mr. Johnson for the +Conservatives, and the Hon. Mr. Howe for the Liberals, united in +advocating the measure, and in depicting the advantage which would +accrue from it not only to Nova Scotia, but to every British province in +North America. In 1858 the question of confederation was discussed in +the parliament of Canada, and such a union was made a part of the policy +of the government; for Mr. A. T. Galt, on becoming a member of the +administration, insisted upon its being made a cabinet question, and Sir +Edmund Head, the governor-general, in his speech at the close of the +session, intimated that his government would take action in the matter +during the recess. Messrs. Cartier, Galt, and Ross, who were in England +representing the government of Canada, waited upon the colonial +secretary, Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, asking the authority of the +imperial government for a meeting of representatives from each of the +colonies to take the question of union into consideration. The colonial +secretary informed the Canadian delegates, no doubt after consultation +with his colleagues, that the question of confederation was necessarily +one of an imperial character, and declined to authorize the meeting, +because no expression of sentiment on the subject had as yet been +received from any of the Maritime Provinces except Nova Scotia. The Earl +of Derby's government fell a few months after this declaration of its +policy in regard to the colonies, and was succeeded by the government of +Lord Palmerston, which was in office at the time when the negotiations +which resulted in the confederation of the colonies were commenced. At +first Lord Palmerston's government seems to have been no more favourable +to the union of the colonies than its predecessor; for in 1862 the Duke +of Newcastle, then colonial secretary, in a despatch to the +governor-general of Canada, after stating that Her Majesty's government +was not prepared to announce any definite policy on the question of +confederation, added that, "If a union, either partial or complete, +should hereafter be proposed, with the concurrence of all the provinces +to be united, I am sure that the matter would be weighed in this country +both by the public, by parliament and by Her Majesty's government, with +no other feeling than an anxiety to discern and promote any course which +might be the most conducive to the prosperity, strength and harmony of +all the British communities of North America." It must always be a +subject of astonishment that the British government for so many years +should have had no definite policy on a matter so momentous, and that +they should have sought to discourage, rather than otherwise, a project +which has been of such vast importance to the empire. + +The first impulse in favour of confederation in the minds of the members +of Lord Palmerston's cabinet seems to have developed about the time when +it became evident that the result of the civil war in the United States +would be the defeat of the southern confederacy and the consolidation +of the power of the great republic in a more effectual union than that +which had existed before. No one who was not blind could fail to see +that this change of attitude on the part of the United States would +demand a corresponding change in the relations of the British colonies +towards each other; for from being a mere federation of states, so +loosely connected that secession was frequently threatened by states +both north and south, the United States, as the result of the war, had +become a nation with a strong central government, which had taken to +itself powers never contemplated by the constitution, and which added +immensely to its offensive and defensive strength. + +{A MISSIONARY OF UNION} + +In 1863, Thomas D'Arcy McGee, a member of the Canadian cabinet and a man +of great eloquence and ability, visited St. John and delivered a lecture +in the Mechanics' Institute Hall on the subject of the union of the +colonies. His lecture was fully reported in the _Morning News_, a paper +then published in that city, and attracted wide attention because it +opened up a subject of the highest interest for the contemplation of the +people of the provinces. Shortly afterwards a series of articles on the +same subject, written by the author of this book, appeared in the +columns of the _Morning News_, and were widely read and quoted. These +articles followed closely the lines laid down for the union of the +colonies by the late Peter S. Hamilton, of Halifax, a writer of ability +whose articles on the subject were collected in pamphlet form and +extensively circulated. Thus in various ways the public mind was being +educated on the question of confederation, and the opinion that the +union of the British North American colonies was desirable was generally +accepted by all persons who gave any attention to the subject. It was +only when the matter came up in a practical form and as a distinct +proposition to be carried into effect, that the violent opposition which +was afterwards developed against confederation began to be shown. + +An event occurred in the summer of 1864 which had its effect on the +question of confederation. Up to that time the people of Canada and New +Brunswick had been almost wholly unknown to each other, because the +difficulties of travelling between the two provinces were so great. Any +person who desired to reach Montreal at that time from St. John had to +take the international steamer to Portland, Me., and was then carried by +the Grand Trunk Railway to his destination. Quebec could be reached in +summer by the steamer from Pictou which called at Shediac, but in winter +the journey had to be made by the Grand Trunk Railway from Portland, the +only alternative route being the road by which the mails were carried +from Edmunston north to the St. Lawrence. Under these circumstances the +people of the Canadian provinces and of the Maritime Provinces had but +few opportunities of seeing each other, and the people of all the +provinces knew much more of their neighbours in the United States than +they did of their fellow-colonists. One result of the Hon. D'Arcy +McGee's visit in 1863 was an invitation by the city of St. John to the +legislature of Canada to visit the Maritime Provinces. The invitation +was accepted and a party of about one hundred, comprising members of the +legislature, newspaper men, and others, visited St. John in the +beginning of August, 1864. Their trip was extended to Fredericton, where +they were the guests of the government of New Brunswick, and to Halifax, +where they were the guests of that city and of the government of Nova +Scotia. This visit produced a good effect upon the public mind, and +enabled the Maritime people to see what kind of men their +fellow-colonists of Upper and Lower Canada were. + +{POLITICAL CRISIS IN CANADA} + +In the meantime a great crisis had arisen in the government of Canada, +which was the immediate cause of the active part which that province +took in the confederation movement. When Upper and Lower Canada were +united in 1841, it was arranged that the representation of each province +in the legislature should be equal. The arrangement at that time was +favourable to Upper Canada, which had a smaller population than Lower +Canada; but in the course of time, as the population of Upper Canada +increased faster than that of the lower province, the people of Upper +Canada felt that they had less representation than they were entitled +to, and this state of affairs led to the raising of the cry of +"Representation by Population" which was so often heard in that province +prior to the era of confederation. In 1864 Upper Canada had half a +million more people than Lower Canada, and yet was only entitled to the +same number of members in the legislature. Another serious difficulty, +which arose out of the union, was the necessity, which not long +afterwards began to be recognized, of the government having a majority +in the legislature from each section of the province. This, in time, +grew to be so great an evil that the successful government of Canada +became almost impossible, for the majority for the government in one +province might at any time be disturbed by some local feeling, and as a +consequence the government overthrown. To trace the history of the +difficulties which arose from this cause would be to recite twenty years +of the history of Canada; but it is only necessary to point out thus +plainly the reasons for the willingness of the people of Upper and Lower +Canada to resort to confederation as a means of getting rid of their +embarrassments. + +{MACDONALD-BROWN COALITION} + +In 1863, the Hon. John Sandfield Macdonald was leader of the government, +but he was compelled to resign when parliament met in the early part of +1864, and in March of that year a new administration under the +premiership of Sir E. P. Taché was formed. This new government +developed very little strength, and was defeated on June 14th by a vote +of fifty-eight to sixty, on a question relative to some transaction +connected with bonds of the city of Montreal. A deadlock had come, and +as it was evident that no new government which could be formed was +likely to command sufficient support, it became necessary to make some +new arrangements in regard to the system of administration. Immediately +after the defeat of the government, Mr. George Brown, leader of the +Opposition, spoke to several supporters of the administration strongly +urging that the present time should be availed of for the purpose of +settling forever the constitutional difficulties between Upper and Lower +Canada, and assuring them that he was prepared to coöperate with the +existing or any other administration that would deal with the question +promptly and firmly, with a view to its final settlement. After much +negotiation Messrs. Brown, Mowat and McDougall, three prominent members +of the Reform party, agreed to enter the government for the purpose of +carrying out this policy based on a federal union of all the provinces. + +{SCHEME OF MARITIME UNION} + +Prior to this time there had been various efforts made by the government +of New Brunswick to enter into closer relations with Nova Scotia and +Prince Edward Island. Previous to the year 1861 a number of factories of +various kinds had been established in the Maritime Provinces, but the +limited market they then enjoyed prevented their extension and crippled +their operations. To remedy this, Mr. Tilley, with the approval of his +colleagues in the government, visited Nova Scotia and Prince Edward +Island and proposed to the governments of both provinces free admission +of their natural products and a uniform tariff on dutiable goods. In +Halifax he had a lengthy and satisfactory conference with Mr. Howe, then +leader of the government, and with Dr. Tupper, the leader of the +Opposition. Both gentlemen agreed that the proposed arrangements would +be in the interests of the three provinces, and Mr. Howe agreed to +submit the matter to his government with the view of legislative action +at the next session. Mr. Tilley then proceeded to Charlottetown, Prince +Edward Island. At the conference held with the government there, his +proposal was not so favourably entertained, the objection being that the +existing tariff of Prince Edward Island was lower than the tariff of +either Nova Scotia or New Brunswick, and sufficient for the financial +wants of the Island, and that the necessary advance would be imposing +taxation beyond their requirements. Notwithstanding the failure to +secure the coöperation of the Island government, it was decided that the +joint action of the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick legislatures in the +direction named was desirable. When the Nova Scotia legislature met and +the public accounts were proposed, it was found that a reduction of +tariff was not practicable, and Howe informed Tilley that the scheme +would have to be postponed, "though in other respects desirable." But +the subject was not allowed to sleep, and in 1864 there was a renewal of +the movement for a union of the Maritime Provinces. At the session of +the New Brunswick legislature held that year, resolutions were passed +authorizing the government to enter into negotiations with Nova Scotia +and Prince Edward Island to hold a convention for the purpose of +carrying such a union into effect. Similar resolutions were carried in +the legislatures of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, and the +convention thus authorized was appointed to meet at Charlottetown in the +month of September following. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[10] For a full account of Howe's views on confederation see the Hon. J. +W. Longley's _Joseph Howe_ in this series. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE QUEBEC CONFERENCE + + +The delegates appointed by the government of New Brunswick for the +purpose of representing the provinces at Charlottetown in the convention +for a union of the Maritime Provinces, were the Hon. Messrs. Tilley, +Steeves, Johnson, Chandler and Gray. The first three were members of the +government, while Messrs. Gray and Chandler were leading members of the +Opposition, so that the arrangement had the assent of the leaders of +both political parties and was in no sense a party movement. The Nova +Scotia delegation consisted of the Hon. Charles Tupper, the leader of +the government, the attorney-general, Mr. Henry, and Mr. Dickey, a +Conservative supporter, and also the Hon. Adams G. Archibald and +Jonathan McCully, leaders of the Liberal party. The Prince Edward Island +delegates were also chosen from both sides of politics. The convention +was opened in due form at Charlottetown on September 8th, in the chamber +of the House of Assembly. The delegations had no power to decide finally +on any subject, because any arrangements they made were necessarily +subject to the approval of the legislatures of the three Maritime +Provinces. But at this time the sentiment in favour of maritime union +was so strong it was confidently believed that whatever was agreed upon +at Charlottetown would become the basis of a future union. + +{CHARLOTTETOWN CONVENTION} + +The government of Canada had full knowledge of what was going on at +Charlottetown, and they considered the time opportune for the purpose of +bringing to the notice of the delegates from the Maritime Provinces the +subject of a confederation of all the British North American colonies. A +telegram was received while the delegates were in session announcing +that representatives of the government of Canada had left Quebec for the +purpose of meeting the delegates of the Maritime Provinces, and placing +certain proposals before them. On the receipt of this message the +further consideration of the question which they had met to discuss was +deferred until after the Canadian delegates had arrived. They came in +the government steamer _Victoria_ on the following day and were found to +embrace the leading men then in Canadian political life,--the Hons. J. +A. Macdonald, George Brown, Georges E. Cartier, Alexander T. Galt, +Thomas D'Arcy McGee, Hector L. Langevin, William McDougall and Alexander +Campbell. These delegates represented the Reform, as well as the +Conservative party, and were therefore able to speak with authority in +regard to the views of the people of both Upper and Lower Canada. They +were accorded seats in the convention, and at once submitted reasons +why in their opinion a scheme of union, embracing the whole of the +British North American colonies, should be adopted. The Hon. John A. +Macdonald and Messrs. Brown and Cartier were heard on this subject, the +financial position of Canada was explained, and the sources of revenue +and wealth of the several provinces were discussed. Speeches were also +made by Messrs. Galt, McGee, Langevin and McDougall, and after having +commanded the attention of the convention for two days the Canadian +deputation withdrew. Before doing so they proposed that if the +convention concluded to suspend its deliberations upon the question of +Maritime union, they should adjourn to Quebec at an early day, to be +named by the governor-general, to consider the question of +confederation. On the following day the convention adjourned, on the +ground that it would be more for the general interest of British North +America to adopt the larger union than a union of the Maritime Provinces +merely, and it was thought that this might be effected without any very +great difficulty, for there was then no strong feeling evinced in any +quarter against confederation. + +From Charlottetown the members of the convention and the Canadian +deputation went to Halifax, where they were received most cordially and +entertained at a banquet. They then took their departure for St. John, +where they were entertained at a public dinner at which many leading men +of the city were present. The chair was occupied by the Hon. John H. +Gray, one of the delegates, and the expressions in favour of the +proposed confederation were strong and hearty. No one could have +suspected at that time that the movement for confederation would meet +with so much opposition in New Brunswick. All seemed plain sailing but, +as the result showed, the battle for confederation had yet to be fought, +and it was won only after a long and doubtful struggle. + +{THE QUEBEC CONFERENCE} + +According to arrangement, the delegations from the other provinces met +in convention at Quebec on October 10th, all the colonies, including +Newfoundland, were represented and the delegates were as follows:-- + +Canada.--Hon. Sir Etienne P. Taché, premier; Hon. John A. Macdonald, +attorney-general west; Hon. Georges E. Cartier, attorney-general east; +Hon. George Brown, president of the executive council; Hon. Alexander T. +Galt, finance minister; Hon. Alexander Campbell, commissioner of Crown +lands; Hon. William McDougall, provincial secretary; Hon. Thomas D'Arcy +McGee, minister of agriculture; Hon. Hector Langevin, solicitor-general +east; Hon. J. Cockburn, solicitor-general west; Hon. Oliver Mowat, +postmaster-general; Hon. J. C. Chapais, commissioner of public works. + +Nova Scotia.--Hon. Charles Tupper, provincial secretary; Hon. W. A. +Henry, attorney-general, Hon. R. B. Dickey, Hon. Adams G. Archibald, +Hon. Jonathan McCully. + +New Brunswick.--Hon. Samuel L. Tilley, provincial secretary; Hon. John +M. Johnson, attorney-general; Hon. Edward B. Chandler, Hon. John +Hamilton Gray, Hon. Peter Mitchell, Hon. Chas. Fisher, Hon. William H. +Steeves. + +Newfoundland.--Hon. F. B. T. Carter, speaker of the House of Assembly; +Hon. Ambrose Shea. + +Prince Edward Island.--Hon. John Hamilton Gray, premier; Hon. Edward +Palmer, attorney-general; Hon. W. H. Pope, provincial secretary; Hon. +George Coles, Hon. A. A. Macdonald, Hon. T. H. Haviland, Hon. Edward +Whelan. + +Sir Etienne P. Taché, who was then premier of Canada, was unanimously +chosen president of the conference, and Major Hewitt Bernard, of the +staff of the attorney-general west, private and confidential secretary. +It was arranged that the convention should hold its meetings with closed +doors, and it was laid down as a principle of the discussion that, as +the matters to come up for debate were all of a novel character, no man +should be prejudiced or held liable to the charge of inconsistency +because he had changed his views in regard to any particular matter in +the course of the discussion. It was also agreed that the vote, in case +of a division, should be by provinces and not by numbers, Canada having +two votes, representing Canada East and Canada West, and each of the +other provinces one. This arrangement made it quite certain that the +interests of the Maritime Provinces were not likely to be prejudiced by +the result of the vote, or the work of the convention. It was soon +decided that a federal union was to be preferred to a legislative union, +and on the second day of the meeting the outlines of the proposed +confederation were submitted in a series of resolutions by the Hon. John +A. Macdonald. The general model of the proposed confederation was that +of the United States, but with this difference, that whereas in the +United States all powers not expressly given by the constitution to the +federal government are held to belong to the several states, in the +Canadian constitution all powers not expressly reserved to the several +provinces were held to belong to the federal parliament. Thus in the +United States the residuum of power is in the several states, while in +Canada it is in the federal union and in the parliament of the Dominion. +No doubt the recent example of the civil war in the United States, which +was the result of an extreme assertion of state rights, was largely +responsible for this feature of the Canadian constitution. It is clear, +however, that it is a feature that is to be commended, because its +tendency is to cause Canadians to regard themselves rather as Canadians +than as belonging to any particular province, while in the United States +the feeling of statehood is still very strong. There are, of course, +many other contrasts between the Canadian confederation and the federal +union of the United States, arising from radical differences in the +system of government. Nothing like responsible government, as understood +in the British empire, exists in the United States, while this essential +feature had to be preserved in the Canadian constitution, not only with +reference to the Dominion parliament, but also in the legislatures of +the several provinces. + +{DIFFICULT QUESTIONS} + +In all the proceedings at Quebec, Mr. Tilley, as the finance minister of +New Brunswick, took a very prominent part. One great difficulty which +arose was with respect to the amount of money to be given by the federal +government to the several provinces for legislative purposes, in lieu of +the revenue which they had been accustomed to obtain from customs duties +and otherwise. The whole customs establishment was to be transferred to +the central government, and as most of the provinces would have no other +means of obtaining a revenue except by direct taxation, this feature of +the matter became of very vital importance. The difficulty was increased +by the fact that by the municipal system prevailing in Upper Canada the +local needs of the municipalities, in the way of roads, bridges, schools +and other matters, were provided for by local taxation, whereas in the +Maritime Provinces the provincial government had been accustomed to bear +these burdens. It was therefore an essential requisite to any scheme of +union, to make it acceptable to the people of the Maritime Provinces, +that sufficient money should be given to the provincial governments to +enable them to continue these services as before. It was difficult to +convince the representatives of Upper Canada of this, and it appears +that the conference nearly broke up without arriving at any result, +simply because of the apparently irreconcilable differences of opinion +between the representatives of the Maritime Provinces and those of +Canada in regard to this point. Finally these differences were overcome, +and the conclusions of the conference were embodied in a series of +seventy-two resolutions, which were agreed to, and which were to be +authenticated by the signatures of the delegates, and transmitted to +their respective governments, and also to the governor-general, for the +secretary of state for the colonies. These resolutions formed the first +basis of confederation and became what is known as the Quebec scheme. + +It was perhaps inevitable that during the discussion of the scheme of +confederation by the Quebec convention, the proceedings should be +secret, but this restriction should have been removed as soon as the +convention adjourned. That this was not done was the principal reason +for the very unfavourable reception which the Quebec scheme met with +from the people of New Brunswick, when it was placed before them. It was +agreed at the Quebec conference that the scheme should not be made +public until after the delegates had reported to their respective +governments for their approval, but it was impossible that a document, +the terms of which were known to so many men, should be kept wholly +concealed from the public, and so the details of the scheme leaked out +and soon became a topic for public discussion. These discussions would +have been conducted in a much more friendly spirit if the Quebec scheme +had been given freely to the world, but as it was, prejudices and +jealousies, in many cases, darkened the question, and made men, who were +otherwise favourable to confederation, assume an attitude of hostility +to the Quebec scheme. + +{SUBVENTIONS TO THE PROVINCES} + +One of the points which at once attracted the attention of the opponents +of the scheme was the sum allowed to the several provinces for the +purpose of conducting their local affairs. As the provinces had to +surrender to the general government their right to levy customs and +excise duties, it became necessary to make up in some way a sum +sufficient to enable them to carry on those services which were still +left to the provincial legislatures. It was arranged that this sum +should be eighty cents a head of the population of the provinces as +established by the census of 1861, which would give to New Brunswick +something more than two hundred thousand dollars. This feature of the +confederation scheme was eagerly seized upon as being a convenient club +with which to strike it down. The cry was at once raised that the people +of New Brunswick were asked to sell themselves to Canada for the sum of +eighty cents a head, and this parrot-like cry was repeated with +variations throughout the whole of the election campaign which followed +in New Brunswick. It has often been found that a cry of this kind, which +is absolutely meaningless, is more effective than the most weighty +arguments, for the purpose of influencing men's minds, and this proved +to be the case in New Brunswick, when the question of confederation was +placed before the people. It was conveniently forgotten by those who +attacked the scheme in this fashion that, if the people of New Brunswick +were selling themselves to Canada for the sum of eighty cents a head, +the people of Canada were likewise selling themselves to New Brunswick +for the same sum, because the amount set apart for the provincial +legislatures was precisely the same in each case. It would not, however, +have suited the enemies of the confederation scheme to view the matter +in this light; what was wanted was a cry which would be effective for +the purpose of injuring the scheme and making it distasteful to the +people who were asked to vote upon it. + +{OPPONENTS OF CONFEDERATION} + +It is not necessary to assume that those who opposed confederation were +all influenced by sinister motives. Many honest and good men, whose +attachment to British institutions could not be questioned, were +opposed to it because their minds were of a conservative turn, and +because they looked with distrust upon such a radical change that would +alter the relations which existed between the province and the mother +country. Many, for reasons which it is not easy to understand, were +distrustful of the politicians of Canada, whom they looked upon as of +less sterling honesty than their own, and some actually professed to +believe that the Canadians expected to make up their financial deficits +by drawing on the many resources of the Maritime Provinces through the +confederation scheme. On the other hand confederation was opposed in the +province of New Brunswick by a number of men who could only be described +as adventurers, or discredited politicians, and who saw in this contest +a convenient way of restoring themselves to influence and power. There +were also among the opponents of the scheme some men who recognized in +its success the means of perpetuating British power on this continent, +and who, being annexationists, naturally looked with aversion upon it +for that reason. The vast majority of the people, however, had given the +matter but the slightest degree of attention, and their votes were cast +in accordance with prejudice hastily formed, which they had an +opportunity of reconsidering before another year and a half had elapsed. + +{FEELING IN NEW BRUNSWICK} + +It had been arranged at the convention that the first trial of the +scheme before the people should be made in New Brunswick, the +legislature of which was about expiring, and accordingly the appeal was +made to the people and the elections came on in the month of March, +1865. The enemies of confederation were very active in every part of the +province, and they left no stone unturned to defeat the measure. The +great cry upon which they based their opposition to the union with +Canada was that of taxation, and, as the voters of New Brunswick were +not inclined to favour any policy which involved high taxation, the +appeals made in this way had a powerful effect. All through the rural +constituencies the Opposition candidates told the electors that if they +united themselves with Canada direct taxation would be the immediate +result. They said that every cow, every horse, and every sheep which +they owned would be taxed, and that even their poultry would not escape +the grasp of the Canadian tax-gatherers. In the city of St. John, Mr. +Tilley and his colleague, Mr. Charles Watters, were opposed by Mr. J. V. +Troop and Mr. A. B. Wetmore. Mr. Troop was a wealthy ship-owner, whose +large means made him an acceptable addition to the strength of the +anti-confederate party, although previously he had taken no active part +in political affairs. Mr. Wetmore was a lawyer of standing in St. John, +who was considered to be one of the best _nisi prius_ advocates at the +bar, and who carried the methods of the bar largely into his politics. +In the course of time he became attorney-general of the province, and +later on a judge of the supreme court. Mr. Wetmore, when haranguing St. +John audiences, used to depict the dreadful effects of confederation in +a manner peculiarly his own. His great plea was an imaginary dialogue +between himself and his little son, that precocious infant asking him in +lisping tones, "Father, what country do we live in?" to which he would +reply, "My dear son, you have no country, for Mr. Tilley has sold us to +the Canadians for eighty cents a head." + +In the county of St. John, the Hon. John. H. Gray, Charles N. Skinner, +W. H. Scovil and James Quinton, who ran as supporters of confederation, +were opposed by John W. Cudlip, T. W. Anglin, the Hon. R. D. Wilmot and +Joseph Coram. Mr. Cudlip was a merchant, who at one time enjoyed much +popularity in the city of St. John. Mr. Anglin was a clever Irishman, a +native of the county of Cork, who had lived several years in St. John +and edited a newspaper called the _Freeman_, which enjoyed a great +popularity among his co-religionists. He was admitted to be the leader +of the Irish Catholics of St. John, and had acquired an ascendency over +them which was not easily shaken; yet he was not, as a politician, a +great success, nor did his efforts to improve the condition of his +countrymen always lead to satisfactory results. The Hon. R. D. Wilmot +had been a prominent Conservative politician, but was defeated, and had +retired to his farm at Belmont. For some years he had been devoting his +abilities to stock-raising; but at the first note of alarm on the +confederation question he abandoned his agricultural pursuits and rushed +into the field to take part in the contest. Mr. Joseph Coram was a +leading Orangeman, and a highly respected citizen. + +{A CRITICAL ELECTION} + +In the county of York, the Hon. George L. Hatheway, who was then chief +commissioner of the board of works, appeared in the field as an +Opposition candidate, in company with John C. Allen, John J. Fraser and +William H. Needham. Mr. Hatheway deserted the government in its hour of +need, apparently because he judged from the cries that were raised +against confederation that the current of public opinion was strongly +adverse to the Quebec scheme. Having left Mr. Tilley in the lurch on the +eve of the confederation contest, he deserted the Smith government +sixteen months later, when the second confederation election came to be +run, thereby inflicting upon them a blow from which it was impossible +they could recover. William H. Needham, whose name has already appeared +in this volume, did not lay claim to any high political principles; but +having retired some time before to private life, he found in the +confederation struggle a good opportunity of getting into the +legislature. He was a man of very considerable ability, and had his +principles been only equal to his knowledge and talents, he might have +risen to the highest position in the province. But his course on many +occasions made the public distrustful of him, and he died without having +enjoyed any of those honours which men of far less ability have +obtained. John James Fraser, afterwards governor of New Brunswick, was a +man of a different stamp, and seems to have been a sincere opponent of +confederation from conviction. The same may be said of John C. Allen, +afterwards chief-justice of the province, a man whose sterling honesty +has never been questioned. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +DEFEAT OF CONFEDERATION + + +The result of the election was the most overwhelming defeat that ever +overtook any political party in the province of New Brunswick. Out of +forty-one members, the friends of confederation succeeded in returning +only six, the Hon. John McMillan and Alexander C. DesBrisay, for the +county of Restigouche; Abner R. McClelan and John Lewis for the county +of Albert; and William Lindsay and Charles Connell for the county of +Carleton. Every member of the government who held a seat in the House of +Assembly, with the exception of the Hon. John McMillan, the +surveyor-general, was defeated. The majorities against the confederation +candidates in some of the counties were so large it seemed hopeless to +expect that any future election would reverse the verdict. Both the city +and county of St. John, and the county of York, made a clean sweep, and +returned solid delegations of anti-confederates. With the exception of +the two Carleton members, the entire block of counties on the River St. +John and the county of Charlotte, forming the most populous and best +settled part of the province, declared against the Quebec scheme. On the +north shore, Westmorland, Kent, Northumberland and Gloucester +pronounced the same verdict, and, on the day after the election, the +strongest friends of confederation must have felt that nothing but a +miracle could ever bring about a change in the opinion which had been +pronounced with such emphasis and by so overwhelming a majority. Yet +fifteen months later the verdict of March, 1865, was completely +reversed, and the anti-confederates were beaten almost as badly as the +advocates of confederation had been in the first election; such are the +mutations of public opinion. + +Mr. Tilley and his colleagues resigned immediately after the result of +the elections became known, and the Hon. Albert J. Smith was called upon +to form a new government. Mr. Smith had been attorney-general in Mr. +Tilley's government up to the year 1862, when he resigned in consequence +of a difference with his colleagues in regard to the negotiations which +were being carried on for the construction of the Intercolonial Railway. +He was a fine speaker, and a man of ability. At a later period, when +confederation had been established, he became a cabinet minister in the +government of the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie. His powerful influence was +largely responsible for the manner in which the North Shore counties +declared against confederation, and he also did much to discredit the +Quebec scheme by his speeches delivered in the city of St. John. Mr. +Smith did not take the office of attorney-general in the new government, +but contented himself with the position of president of the council, +the Hon. John C. Allen, of York, becoming attorney-general, and the Hon. +A. H. Gillmor, of Charlotte, provincial secretary. The Hon. Bliss +Botsford, of Westmorland, was made surveyor-general; and the Hon. George +L. Hatheway retained his old office as the chief commissioner of the +board of works. The other members of the government were the Hon. Robert +Duncan Wilmot, of Sunbury, the Hon. T. W. Anglin, of St. John, and the +Hon. Richard Hutchinson, of Miramichi. + +{THE NEW GOVERNMENT} + +The new government looked strong and imposing, and seemed to be secure +against the assaults of its enemies, yet it was far from being as +compact and powerful as it appeared to the outward observer. In the +first place, it had the demerit of being founded solely on a negative, +and upon opposition to a single line of policy. The reason why these men +were assembled together in council as a government was that they were +opposed to confederation, and, this question having been disposed of, +they were free to differ upon all other points which might arise. Some +of the men who thus found themselves sitting together at the same +council board had all their lives been politically opposed to each +other. The Hon. R. D. Wilmot, an old Conservative, could have little or +no sympathy with Mr. A. H. Gillmor, a very strong Liberal. The Hon. A. +J. Smith, also a Liberal, had little in common with his +attorney-general, Mr. Allen, who was a Conservative. Mr. Odell, the +postmaster-general, represented the old Family Compact more thoroughly +than any other man who could have been chosen to fill a public office in +New Brunswick, for his father and grandfather had held the office of +provincial secretary for the long term of sixty years. As he was a man +of no particular capacity, and had no qualification for high office, and +as he was, moreover, a member of the legislative council, his +appointment to such a position was extremely distasteful to many who +were strongly opposed to confederation. The Hon. Bliss Botsford, of +Moncton, who became surveyor-general, was another individual who added +no strength to the government. In a cabinet consisting of four men in +the government who might be classed as Liberals, and five who might be +properly described as Conservatives, room was left for many differences +and quarrels over points of policy, to say nothing of patronage, after +the great question of confederation had been disposed of. Local feelings +also were awakened by the make-up of the government, for the North Shore +people could not but feel that their interests were in danger of being +neglected, as instead of having the attorney-generalship and the +surveyor-generalship, which had been theirs in the previous government, +they had to be content with a single member in the government, without +office, in the person of Mr. Richard Hutchinson, who, as the +representative of Gilmour, Rankine & Co., the great lumber house of the +North Shore, was extremely unpopular, even in the county which had +elected him. The Hon. Robert Duncan Wilmot was perhaps the most +dissatisfied man of any, with the new cabinet in which he found himself. +He had not been a fortnight in the government before he began to realize +the fact that his influence in it was quite overshadowed by that of Mr. +Smith and Mr. Anglin, although neither of them held any office. Mr. +Wilmot was a man of ability, and of strong and resolute will, so that +this condition of affairs became very distasteful to him and his +friends, and led to consequences of a highly important character. + +{DISSENSIONS IN THE GOVERNMENT} + +The new government had not been long in existence before rumours of +dissensions in its ranks became very common. Mr. Wilmot made no secret +to his friends of his dissatisfaction, and it was understood that other +members found their position equally unpleasant. An element of +difficulty was early introduced by the resignation of the chief-justice, +Sir James Carter, who, in September, 1865, found it necessary, in +consequence of failing health, to retire from the bench, rendering it +immediately necessary for the government to fill his place. The Hon. +Albert J. Smith, the leader of the government, had he chosen, might have +then taken the vacant position, but he did not desire to retire from +political life at that time, and the Hon. John C. Allen, his +attorney-general, was appointed to the bench as a puisne judge, while +the Hon. Robert Parker was made chief-justice. The latter, however, had +but few weeks to enjoy his new position, dying in November of the same +year, and leaving another vacancy on the bench to be filled. Again, as +before, the Hon. Mr. Smith declined to go on the bench, and the Hon. +John W. Weldon, who had been a long time a member of former +legislatures, and was at one time Speaker, was appointed to the puisne +judgeship, and the Hon. William J. Ritchie was made chief-justice. The +entire fitness of the latter for the position of chief-justice made his +appointment a popular one, but he was the junior of the Hon. Lemuel A. +Wilmot as a judge, and the Hon. R. D. Wilmot, who was a cousin of the +latter, thought the senior judge should have received the appointment of +chief-justice. His disappointment at the office being given to another +caused a very bad feeling on his part towards the government, and he +would have resigned his seat forthwith but for the persuasions of some +of those who were not friends of the government, who intimated to him +that he could do them a great deal more damage by retaining his seat, +and resigning at the proper time than by abandoning the government at +that moment. Mr. Wilmot remained in the government until January, 1866, +but although of their number, his heart was estranged from them, and he +may properly be regarded as an enemy in their camp. + +{CONFEDERATION VICTORY IN YORK} + +Mr. Anglin also had some difference with his colleagues with regard to +railway matters, and he resigned his seat early in November, 1865; +still he gave a general support to the government, although no longer in +its councils. But the most severe blow which the administration received +arose from the election in the county of York, which followed the +seating of the Hon. John C. Allen on the bench. The confederation party +had been so badly beaten in York at the general election that no doubt +was felt by the government that any candidate they might select would be +chosen by a very large majority. The candidate selected by the +government to contest York was Mr. John Pickard, a highly respectable +gentleman, who was engaged in lumbering, and who was extremely popular +in that county, in consequence of his friendly relations with all +classes of the community and the amiability of his disposition. The Hon. +Charles Fisher was brought forward by the confederation party as their +candidate in York, although the hope of defeating Mr. Pickard seemed to +be desperate, for at the previous election Mr. Fisher had received only +1,226 votes against 1,799 obtained by Mr. Needham, who stood lowest on +the poll among the persons elected for York. Mr. Fisher by his efforts +in the York campaign, which resulted in his election, struck a blow at +the anti-confederate government from which it never recovered. His +election was the first dawn of light and hope to the friends of +confederation in New Brunswick, for it showed clearly enough that +whenever the people of the province were given another opportunity of +expressing their opinion on the question of confederation, their verdict +would be a very different one from that which they had given at the +general election. Mr. Fisher beat Mr. Pickard by seven hundred and ten +votes, receiving seven hundred and one votes more than at the general +election, while Mr. Pickard's vote fell five hundred and seventy-two +below that which Mr. Needham had received on the same occasion. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +TILLEY AGAIN IN POWER + + +Among the causes that had assisted to defeat confederation in New +Brunswick, when the question was first placed before the people, was the +active hostility of the lieutenant-governor, Mr. Arthur Hamilton Gordon, +a son of that Earl of Aberdeen who was prime minister of England at the +outbreak of the Crimean War. Mr. Gordon had been a strong advocate of +maritime union and had anticipated that he would be the first governor +of the united province of Acadia, or by whatever name the maritime union +was to be known. He was therefore greatly disappointed and annoyed when +the visit of the Canadians to Charlottetown, in September, 1864, put an +end to the conference which had met for the purpose of arranging the +terms of a union of that character. While a governor cannot take a very +active part in political matters, he may stimulate others to hostility +or to a certain course of action, who, under other circumstances, would +be neutral or inactive, and there is reason to believe that some of the +men who were most prominent in opposing confederation at the general +election of 1865 were mainly influenced by the views of the +lieutenant-governor. Confederation, however, had been approved by the +British government, after the terms arranged at Quebec had been +submitted to it in a despatch from the governor-general; and those +officials in New Brunswick and elsewhere, who expected to find support +in Downing Street in their hostility to confederation, were destined to +be greatly disappointed. Not long after the new government was formed in +New Brunswick, Mr. Gordon returned to England, and it was generally +believed that he was sent for by the home authorities. Instead of being +favourably received on the ground of his opposition to confederation, he +is said to have been compelled to submit to a stern reproof for his +anti-constitutional meddling in a matter which did not concern him, and +to have been given decidedly to understand that if he returned to New +Brunswick, to fill out the remainder of his term of office, it must be +as one pledged to assist in carrying out confederation and not to oppose +it. When Mr. Gordon returned he was an entirely changed man, and +whatever influence he was able to exert from that time forward was used +in favour of confederation. + +{FENIAN THREATS} + +Another cause which made confederation more acceptable to the people of +the province arose from the threats of the Fenians to invade Canada, +which were made during the year 1865, and which were followed by armed +invasions during the following year. Although there was no good reason +for believing that the opponents of confederation were less loyal than +its supporters or less inclined to favour British connection, it was +remarked that all the enemies of British connection seemed to have got +into the anti-confederate camp. The Fenian movement had its origin in +the troubles in Ireland arising out of oppressive land laws and other +local causes, and it soon extended to America, where the politicians +found it useful as a means of increasing their strength among the Irish +people. At that time, there were in the United States many hundreds of +thousands of men who had been disbanded from the army at the close of +the Civil War, and who were only too ready to embrace any new +opportunity of winning for themselves fame and rank on other fields of +glory. Among these disbanded soldiers were many Irishmen, and it soon +came to be known that bands of men could be collected in the United +States for the invasion of this country, with the avowed object of +driving the British flag from the American continent and substituting +the stars and stripes. It was impossible that the people of Canada could +view without emotion these preparations for their undoing, and in New +Brunswick, especially, which was the first province to be threatened, +the Fenian movement materially assisted in deciding the manner in which +the people should vote on this great question of confederation when it +came to be submitted to them a second time. + +The House of Assembly met on March 8th, 1866, and the speech from the +throne, delivered by the lieutenant-governor, contained the following +paragraph: "I have received Her Majesty's commands to communicate to you +a correspondence on the affairs of British North America, which has +taken place between Her Majesty's principal secretary of state for the +colonies and the governor-general of Canada; and I am further directed +to express to you the strong and deliberate opinion of Her Majesty's +government that it is an object much to be desired that all the British +North American colonies should agree to unite in one government. These +papers will immediately be laid before you." This paragraph was not +inserted in the speech without considerable pressure on the part of the +lieutenant-governor, and it excited a great deal of comment at the time, +because it seemed to endorse the principle of confederation, although +emanating from a government which had been placed in power as the result +of an election in which confederation had been condemned. When this +portion of the speech was read by the lieutenant-governor, in the +legislative council chamber, the crowd outside the bar gave a hearty +cheer,--a circumstance which never occurred before in the province of +New Brunswick, and perhaps not in any other British colony. + +The members of the House favourable to confederation immediately took up +the matter, and dealt with it as if the government had thereby pledged +themselves in favour of that policy, and indeed there was a fair excuse +for such an inference. When the secret history of the negotiations +between the lieutenant-governor and his advisers, prior to the meeting +of the legislature, comes to be told, it will be found that at least +some of the members of the government had given His Excellency to +understand that they were prepared to reverse their former action and to +adopt confederation. The difficulty with them was that they feared their +own supporters, and thought that if they made such a move they would +lose the favour of those who had placed them in power, and this fear was +certainly a very natural one. + +{DESERTED BY FRIENDS} + +As soon as the House met, it was discovered that Mr. A. R. Wetmore, one +of the prominent supporters of the government who had been elected to +represent the city of St. John as an anti-confederate, was no longer in +sympathy with the government. Mr. Wetmore's long experience as a _nisi +prius_ lawyer, and his curt and imperturbable manner, rendered him a +most exasperating and troublesome opponent, and at a very early period +of the session he commenced to make it unpleasant for his former +friends. He cross-examined the members of the government in the fashion +which he had learned from long experience in the courts. Such attacks +proved extremely damaging as well as very annoying. + +The address in reply to the speech from the throne was moved in the +House of Assembly by Colonel Boyd, of Charlotte County, and when the +paragraph relating to confederation was read, Mr. Fisher asked him what +it meant. Mr. Boyd replied that the government had no objection to +confederation, provided the terms were satisfactory. This reply still +further strengthened the feeling that the government were inclined to +pass the measure which they had been elected to oppose. Mr. Fisher moved +an amendment to the fourth paragraph of the address, which referred to +the Fenian conspiracy against British North America, expressing the +opinion that while His Excellency might rely with confidence on the +cordial support of the people for the protection of the country, his +constitutional advisers were not by their general conduct entitled to +the confidence of the legislature. This amendment was seconded by Mr. +DesBrisay, of Kent, who had been elected as a supporter of the +government, and it was debated at great length. The discussion upon it +continued from day to day for about three weeks, when, on April 10th, +the government resigned in consequence of difficulties with His +Excellency in regard to his reply to the address of the legislative +council. The legislative council had proceeded to pass the address in +reply to the speech, but in consequence of the delay in the House of +Assembly, this reply had not before been presented to the governor. In +answer to the address of the legislative council, His Excellency said: +"I will immediately transmit your address to the secretary of state for +the colonies in order that it may be laid at the foot of the throne. Her +Majesty the Queen has already been pleased to express deep interest in a +closer union of her North America colonies and will no doubt greatly +appreciate this decided expression of your opinion, and the avowal of +your desire that all British North America should unite in one +community, under one strong and efficient government, which cannot but +tend to hasten the accomplishment of this great measure." + +{THE GOVERNMENT RESIGNS} + +The resignation of the government was announced in the House of Assembly +on April 13th by the Hon. A. J. Smith, and the correspondence between +the lieutenant-governor and his advisers was laid before the House at +the same time. The immediate and ostensible cause of the resignation was +the terms of approval in which the lieutenant-governor had replied to +the address of the legislative council in reference to confederation. +Mr. Smith claimed that it was the duty of the lieutenant-governor to +consult his constitutional advisers in regard to the answer to be given, +and that, in assuming to himself the right to reply to such an address +without consulting them, he had not acted in accordance with the true +spirit of the constitution. This was certainly sound doctrine, and the +reply of the lieutenant-governor was by no means satisfactory on this +point, but he was able to show that Mr. Smith had himself expressed his +willingness to enter into a scheme of union, although opposed to the +Quebec scheme, and had suggested that, as a preliminary step, the papers +on that subject should be referred to a joint committee of both Houses +with an understanding that the committee should report in favour of a +measure of union. At a later period Mr. Smith seemed indisposed to carry +out this arrangement, his conduct evidently being the result of +timidity, and so he found himself, to use the language of Sir Arthur +Gordon, "entangled in contradictory pledges from which he found it +impossible to extricate himself." He had, in fact, placed himself in the +power of the lieutenant-governor, and his only resource was to resign. +It was understood at the time, and has never been denied, that His +Excellency was acting under the advice of the Hon. Peter Mitchell, a +member of the legislative council, who was a strong supporter of +confederation. Mr. Mitchell was a man of great force of character, and, +next to Mr. Tilley, must be regarded as the most potent factor in +bringing about the change in the sentiments of the people of the +province with respect to confederation. + +The lieutenant-governor called upon the Hon. Peter Mitchell, who was a +member of the legislative council, to form a government. Mr. Mitchell +had been very active in the cause of confederation, and was the moving +spirit in the legislative council in all the proceedings in its favour +taken in that body; but, when asked to form a new government, he advised +the lieutenant-governor that the proper person to undertake that +responsibility was the Hon. Mr. Tilley. The latter, however, declined +the task on the ground that he was not a member of the legislature, +whereupon Mr. Mitchell associated with himself the Hon. Mr. Wilmot for +the purpose of forming a new government. The government was announced on +April 18th, and was formed as follows:--Hon. Peter Mitchell, president +of the council; Hon. S. L. Tilley, provincial secretary; Hon. Charles +Fisher, attorney-general; Hon. Edward Williston, solicitor-general; Hon. +John McMillan, postmaster-general; Hon. A. R. McClelan, chief +commissioner of public works; Hon. R. D. Wilmot and Hon. Charles +Connell, members without office. The latter afterwards became +surveyor-general. + +{THE FENIAN INVASION} + +While the government was being formed in New Brunswick, a Fenian army +was gathering upon the border for the purpose of invading the province. +This force consisted of four or five hundred young men, most of whom had +been in the army of the United States. It was recruited at New York, and +its chief was a Fenian named Doran Killian. A part of his force arrived +at Eastport on April 10th, and a schooner, laden with arms for the +Fenians, soon after reached that place. From this schooner, which was +seized by the United States authorities, one hundred and seventeen cases +of arms and ammunition were taken,--a clear proof that the intentions of +the Fenians were warlike, and that their presence on the border was not +a mere demonstration. The Fenians appeared to have been under the +impression--as many residents of the United States are to this day--that +the people of Canada and of New Brunswick were dissatisfied with their +own form of government, and were anxious to come under the protection of +the stars and stripes. This absurd idea was responsible, largely, for +the War of 1812, and it has been responsible, since then, for many other +movements, with respect to the British provinces of North America, in +which residents of the United States have taken part. There never was a +greater delusion than this, and, in the instance referred to, the +Fenians were doomed to be speedily undeceived. The presence of a Fenian +force on the border sounded like a bugle blast to every able-bodied man +in New Brunswick, and the call for troops to defend the country was +instantly responded to. About one thousand men were called out and +marched to the frontier. The troops called out consisted of the three +batteries of the New Brunswick regiment of artillery, seven companies of +the St. John volunteer battalion, one company of the first battalion of +the York County militia, one company each of the first and third +battalions of the Charlotte County militia, and two companies each of +the second and fourth battalions of the Charlotte County militia. These +troops remained in arms on the frontier for nearly three months, and +were disbanded by a general order dated June 20th. The Fenian raid on +New Brunswick proved to be a complete fiasco. The frontier was so well +guarded by the New Brunswick militia and by British soldiers, and the +St. Croix so thoroughly patrolled by British warships, that the Fenians +had no opportunity to make any impression upon the province. It ought to +be added that the United States government was prompt to take steps to +prevent any armed invasion, and General Meade was sent down to Eastport +with a force of infantry and a ship of war to prevent the Fenians from +making that place a base of operations against these provinces. + +{CONFEDERATION VICTORIES} + +The general elections to decide whether or not New Brunswick was willing +to become confederated with Canada, were held in May and June. The first +election was that for the county of Northumberland on May 25th, and the +result was that the four candidates who favoured confederation, Messrs. +Johnson, Sutton, Kerr and Williston, were elected by large majorities. +The same result followed in the county of Carleton, where the election +was held on May 26th, Messrs. Connell and Lindsay being elected by a +vote of more than two to one over their anti-confederate opponents. The +third election was in Albert County on the 29th, and there Messrs. +McClelan and Lewis, the two candidates in favour of confederation, were +triumphantly returned. On May 31st, elections were held in Restigouche +and Sunbury, and, in these counties, the candidates in favour of +confederation were returned by large majorities. The York election came +next. In that county, the anti-confederates had placed a full ticket in +the field, the candidates being Messrs. Hatheway, Fraser, Needham and +Brown. Mr. Fisher had with him on the ticket, Dr. Dow and Messrs. +Thompson and John A. Beckwith. Every person expected a vigorous contest +in York, notwithstanding the victory of Mr. Fisher over Mr. Pickard a +few months before. But, to the amazement of the anti-confederates in +other parts of the province, the Hon. George L. Hatheway and Dr. Brown +retired after nomination day and left Messrs. Fraser and Needham to do +battle alone. Mr. Hatheway's retirement at this time was a deathblow to +the hopes of the anti-confederates all over New Brunswick, affecting not +only the result in the county of York, but in every other county in +which an election was to be held. A few nights before his resignation, +Mr. Hatheway had been in St. John addressing a packed meeting of +anti-confederates in the hall of the Mechanics' Institute, and he had +spoken on that occasion with apparent confidence. When his friends in +St. John, who had been so much moved by his vigorous eloquence, learned +that he had deserted them, their indignation was extreme, and they felt +that matters must indeed be in a bad way when he did not dare to face +the York electors. + +The election in the county of St. John was held on June 6th, and that in +the city, on the seventh. For the county, the confederate candidates +were Messrs. C. N. Skinner, John H. Gray, James Quinton and R. D. +Wilmot, and the anti-confederate candidates were Messrs. Coram, Cudlip, +Robertson and Anglin. The former were elected by very large majorities, +Mr. Wilmot, who stood lowest on the poll among the confederates, having +a majority of six hundred over Mr. Coram, who stood highest among the +defeated candidates. The election for the city was an equally emphatic +declaration in favour of confederation. The candidates were the Hon. S. +L. Tilley and A. R. Wetmore on the confederate side, and J. V. Troop and +S. R. Thompson opposed to confederation. Mr. Tilley's majority over Mr. +Troop, who stood highest on the poll of the two defeated candidates, was +seven hundred and twenty-six. The only counties which the +anti-confederate party succeeded in carrying were Westmorland, +Gloucester and Kent,--three counties in which the French vote was very +large,--so that of the forty-one members returned, only eight were +opponents of confederation. The victory was as complete as that which +had been recorded against confederation in the beginning of 1865. + +{THE BATTLE IS WON} + +The battle of confederation had been won, and the triumph was mainly due +to the efforts of the Hon. Mr. Tilley. That gentleman, as soon as the +defeat of confederation took place in March, 1865, had commenced a +campaign for the purpose of educating the people on the subject. Being +free from his official duties and having plenty of time on his hands, +he was able to devote himself to the work of explaining the advantages +of the proposed union to the people of the province; and during the +years 1865 and 1866, he spoke in almost every county on the subject +which was so near to his heart. He had embraced confederation with a +sincere desire for the benefit of his native province, and with the +belief that it would be of the greatest advantage to New Brunswick. If +the fruits of confederation have not yet all been realized, that has +been due rather to circumstances over which neither Mr. Tilley nor any +one else had any control, than to any inherent vice of confederation +itself. If union is strength, then it must be admitted that the union of +the British North American provinces, which consolidated them into a +powerful whole, was a good thing; and there cannot be a doubt that if +the provinces had remained separate from each other, their present +position would have been much less favourable than it is now. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT + + +One of the great objects of confederation was the construction of the +Intercolonial Railway from St. John and Halifax to Quebec. It was +thought that there could be no real union between the several colonies +of British North America unless a good means of communication existed, +and such a means was to be obtained only through the construction of +this line of railway. The Intercolonial Railway, as we have seen, had +been a part of the policy of successive governments in the province for +many years, and it became an essential part of the scheme of +confederation. When confederation was accepted by the people of New +Brunswick in 1866, the Intercolonial Railway had yet to be built. +Western Extension, as the line to the Maine border was called, had only +been commenced; Eastern Extension, from the Shediac line towards +Halifax, was in the same condition; in fact, the total mileage of the +railways in New Brunswick did not exceed two hundred miles, and these +lines were isolated and formed no part of any complete system. New +Brunswick now has three separate lines of railway leading to Quebec and +Montreal; it is connected with the great railway systems of the +continent; there is no county in the province which has not a line of +railway traversing it; and the mileage has risen from less than two +hundred to more than fourteen hundred. + +Mr. Tilley realized that the time had come when the communities which +form the British provinces of North America must either become +politically connected or else fall, one by one, beneath the influence of +the United States. After confederation had been brought about between +Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, enough was seen in the conduct of +American statesmen towards Prince Edward Island to show that their +design was to try to create a separate interest in this colony apart +from the general interest of Canada. The acceptance of the scheme of +confederation by Prince Edward Island, at a comparatively early period, +put an end to the plots in that quarter; but in the case of Newfoundland +the same thing has been repeated, and an attempt was made by American +statesmen to cause the people of that island to believe that their +interests and those of Canada are not identical, and that they would be +specially favoured by the United States if they held aloof from the +great Dominion. The attitude of the people and congress of the United +States towards Canada has not been marked, for the most part, by any +great friendliness. They saw in confederation an arrangement that was +likely to prevent this country from ever becoming absorbed by their +own, and they believed that by creating difficulties for us with respect +to the tariff and other matters, and limiting the area of our commercial +relations, they could put such pressure upon Canada as would compel our +people to unite with them. This scheme has failed because it was based +on a misconception of the spirit of our people; but who will say that it +would not have succeeded if the several provinces which now form the +confederation had been disunited and inharmonious in their relations and +had pursued different lines of policy? + +{HIS SPEECHES} + +It is unfortunate that, owing to the absence of verbatim reports, it is +impossible to reproduce any of Tilley's speeches during the +confederation campaign. No speaker that New Brunswick has ever produced +has been more generally acceptable than was Tilley. His speeches were +pointed, and so clear that they could not be misunderstood. He +possessed, to a very large extent, that magnetism which enabled him to +retain the attention and to awaken the sympathy of his audience. At all +the meetings which he addressed, there were many who regarded themselves +always as his friends and supporters and who formed a phalanx around +him, giving him a confidence and political strength which few statesmen +have ever enjoyed to a like extent. Although his addresses frequently +provoked the bitter animosity of his enemies, he had always enough +friends to counteract their influence; and during the many contests +which he had to fight for his seat in the city of St. John, he was +always able to rely on the loyalty of those who were his early +associates and who remained his supporters until the end of his career. +It is quite safe to assert that confederation could not have been +carried had it not been for the personal efforts of Mr. Tilley. As the +leader of the government which had consented to the Quebec scheme, he +was properly looked upon as the chief promoter of confederation in New +Brunswick, and his name will go down to future generations identified +with that large and necessary measure of colonial statesmanship. + +{THE LEGISLATURE MEETS} + +Although the vote of the electors had been taken on the question, much +remained to be done before confederation could become an accomplished +fact. The last elections, which were those of Kings and Charlotte, were +held on June 12th, but more than a year was to elapse before the union +was effected, and the result which the election was intended to bring +about realized. The first thing to be done was to call the legislature +together and complete the business of the province, which had been +interrupted by the dissolution. The legislature met on June 21st, and +the Hon. John H. Gray, who had been an active advocate of confederation, +and who was one of the members for the county of St. John, was made +Speaker. In the speech from the throne the following reference was made +to the question of confederation:-- + +"Her Majesty's government have already expressed their strong and +deliberate opinion that the union of the British North American +provinces under one government is an object much to be desired. The +legislatures of Canada and Nova Scotia have formed the same judgment, +and you will now shortly be invited to express your concurrence with or +dissent from the view taken of this great question by those provinces." + +The address in reply was moved by Mr. Kerr, of Northumberland, and +seconded by Mr. Beveridge of Victoria, and its consideration was made +the order of the day for the following Saturday. When it came up for +discussion the Hon. Albert J. Smith was not in his place, and Mr. +Botsford, one of his colleagues from Westmorland, endeavoured to have +the consideration of the matter postponed; but the House was in no +humour to await the convenience of any single member, and the address +was passed the same day by a vote of thirty to seven. Attorney-General +Fisher, immediately on the passage of the address, gave notice of the +following resolution, which was to be made the order of the day for +Monday, June 26th:-- + +"_Resolved_, That an humble address be presented to His Excellency, the +lieutenant-governor, praying that His Excellency be pleased to appoint +delegates to unite with delegates from the other provinces in arranging +with the imperial government for the union of British North America, +upon such terms as will secure the just rights and interests of New +Brunswick, accompanied with provision for the immediate construction of +the Intercolonial Railway; each province to have an equal voice in such +delegation, Upper and Lower Canada to be considered as separate +provinces." + +Mr. Fisher moved the resolution in question in a very brief speech, and +was replied to by the Hon. Mr. Smith, who spoke at great length and +continued his speech on the following day. Mr. Smith took exception to +giving the delegates power to fix the destinies of the provinces +forever, without again submitting the scheme of union to the people. He +proceeded to discuss the Quebec scheme, and took exception to the +construction of the Upper House of the proposed legislature of the +confederation, declaring that each province should have an equal number +of representatives in it, as was the case in the United States. After +going over the ground pretty thoroughly and criticizing most of the +terms of the scheme of confederation, he moved an amendment, to the +effect that no Act or measure for a union with Canada take effect until +approved by the legislature or the people of the province. + +{A PLAN FOR CONFEDERATION} + +The Hon. Mr. Tilley replied to the leader of the Opposition in one of +the most effective speeches that he ever delivered in the legislature. +He first took up Mr. Smith's allusion to the constitutional question, +and, with immense power and solemnity, he charged that any want of +constitutional action which existed was due to Mr. Smith and his +colleagues. He stated that the governor's sympathies were with the late +government, and that he had endeavoured to aid and not to injure them. +Mr. Smith had alluded to the Hon. Joseph Howe, who was then an opponent +of confederation, in terms of praise, and Mr. Tilley, in reply, read +from Mr. Howe's speech, made in 1861, a magnificent paragraph on the +union of British America. Mr. Tilley stated that the government would +take the Quebec scheme for a basis, and would seek concessions to meet +the views of those who found objection to parts of it. He mentioned the +various counties of the province to show that they were either expressly +or potentially favourable to the Quebec scheme. He was convinced that +even his friend, the ex-attorney-general and member for Westmorland, was +hardly against union. He asked, "Was there one anti-unionist on the +floor of the House? Where was Mr. Anglin? Mr. Needham? Mr. Hill and all +the rest of the anti-unionists? They were all swept away and unionists +had taken their places, and when the arrangements for union were carried +out, the feeling in its favour would be deeper and deeper." Mr. Tilley +showed the great advantages which would accrue to New Brunswick +eventually in consequence of confederation. He combated the statement +made by Mr. Smith that after confederation the provincial legislature +would become a mere farce, showing that of all the Acts passed during +the previous two years there were only seven which would have come under +the control of the general legislature. Mr. Tilley closed by dwelling on +the impression of power which union would have on the minds of those +abroad who were plotting our ruin. The speech was listened to with the +utmost attention by the members of the legislature and by a very large +audience which completely filled the galleries, and it was generally +considered to have been one of his greatest efforts. + +{SMITH'S AMENDMENT} + +The resolution was finally carried by a vote of thirty to eight, only +two members, both of whom would have voted for the resolution, being +absent. As soon as the confederation resolution was passed the Hon. A. +J. Smith moved a resolution which, after reciting the steps which had +already been taken in favour of union with Canada, continued as +follows:-- + +"THEREFORE, _Resolved_, as the deliberate opinion of this House, that no +measure for such union should be adopted which does not contain the +following provisions, viz.: first, an equal number of legislative +councillors for each province; second, such legislative councillors to +be required to reside in the province which they represent and for which +they are appointed; third, the number of representatives in the federal +parliament to be limited; fourth, the establishment of a court for the +determination of questions and disputes that may arise between the +federal and local governments as to the meaning of the Act of Union; +fifth, exemption of this province from taxation for the construction and +enlargement of canals in Upper Canada, and for the payment of money for +the mines and minerals and lands of Newfoundland; sixth, eighty cents +per head to be on the population as it increases and not to be confined +to the census of 1861; seventh, securing to each of the Maritime +Provinces the right to have at least one executive councillor in the +federal government; eighth, the commencing of the Intercolonial Railway +before the right shall exist to increase taxation upon the people of the +province." + +Mr. Smith supported his resolution in a lengthy speech in which he +predicted increased taxation as the result of confederation. He said +that the House, instead of being a deliberative assembly, had to +surrender its judgment to the government. Confederation was a great +experiment at best, and called for the exercise of other men's judgment. +The government were going on in the most highhanded manner and were not +justified in withholding information asked for. He elaborated the idea +that Canada was pledged to issue treasury notes to pay present +liabilities, and asserted that the government was altogether under the +control of Canadian politicians. He insisted particularly on a provision +in the Act of Union that each of the Maritime Provinces have an +executive councillor in the federal government. Finally the vote was +taken and the following amendment, which had been moved by the Hon. Mr. +Fisher, was carried, only eight members voting against it:-- + +"_Resolved_, That the people of this province having, after due +deliberation, determined that the union of British North America was +desirable, and the House having agreed to request His Excellency the +lieutenant-governor to appoint delegates for the purpose of considering +the plan of union upon such terms as will secure the just rights of New +Brunswick, and having confidence that the action of His Excellency under +the advice of his constitutional advisers will be directed to the +attainment of that end, sound policy and a due regard to the interests +of this province require that the responsibility of such action should +be left unfettered by an expression of opinion other than what has +already been given by the people and their representatives." + +This ended the battle for confederation in New Brunswick, for what +remained to be done was merely the arrangement of the details of the +union by the delegates who had received full powers for that purpose. +The session of the legislature, which must be considered one of the most +important ever held in New Brunswick, came to a close on Monday, July +7th. At a meeting of the government held immediately after the +prorogation, the Hon. Messrs. Tilley, Wilmot, Fisher, Mitchell, Johnson +and Chandler were appointed to go to England as delegates for the +purpose of meeting delegates from Canada and Nova Scotia, and framing +the bill which was to be passed by the imperial parliament for the +consummation of confederation. It was understood that there would be no +delay on the part of the delegates from Canada, but Sir John A. +Macdonald and the other Canadian delegates were unable to leave at the +time appointed, and did not meet the Maritime Provinces delegation in +England until many months after the latter had arrived there. This +unfortunate circumstance produced much comment at the time, because it +looked as if the government of Canada was treating the delegates of New +Brunswick and Nova Scotia with discourtesy. Instead of the business +being completed promptly, as was expected, and the bill passed by the +parliament during the autumn season, the whole matter was thrown over +until the following year, and the New Brunswick delegates, most of whom +were prominent members of the government, had to remain in England for +about ten months at great expense and inconvenience. + +{THE DELEGATES IN ENGLAND} + +The delegates from the three provinces, Canada, Nova Scotia and New +Brunswick, met at the Westminster Palace Hotel, London, in December, +1866, the Hon. John A. Macdonald in the chair and Lieut.-Col. Hewitt +Bernard acting as secretary. The resolution passed at the Quebec +conference held in 1864 was read, and amendments were moved in +accordance with the suggestions made in the several legislatures during +the discussions at the previous sessions. It was conceded by all that +the Intercolonial Railway, by which facilities for interprovincial +commercial intercourse should be secured, must be built by the united +provinces and without delay. It was also conceded that in the provinces +where separate schools were established by law, that principle should +not be disturbed. In the discussion it was claimed that the sole right +of imposing an export duty should be vested in the federal authority. +This was objected to by the New Brunswick delegates, on the ground that +as the people of that province had expended a large sum of money in the +improving of the navigation of the upper St. John, they had to recoup +themselves by imposing an export duty on lumber shipped from the +province. A considerable portion of the income thus received was paid by +the lumbermen of the state of Maine, the advantage derived by them from +such improvements being very great. The claim thus presented by the New +Brunswick delegates was conceded, and the province was permitted to +retain the right. This right was abandoned after confederation, the +Dominion paying therefor a hundred and fifty thousand dollars per annum +to the New Brunswick government. + +{THE BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT} + +During the sitting of the delegates, which lasted for two months, many +conferences were held with Lord Carnarvon, then secretary of state for +the colonies, and the law officers of the Crown, in regard to objections +which were taken to some of the resolutions adopted by the delegates. +The governor-general of Canada, Viscount Monck, was in London at the +time, and was able to render valuable assistance during the conference, +owing to his intimate knowledge of the previous negotiations at Quebec. +The arrangements there made, in regard to the strengthening of the +central government, founded on the experience of the United States +during the War of Secession, were adhered to in the London resolutions +and accepted by the imperial authorities. When the bill reached +parliament some amendments were suggested, but when it was pointed out +that the bill as presented was the result of the most careful +consideration of both the imperial authorities and the colonial +representatives, the suggested amendments were not pressed and the +measure passed through both Houses with very little discussion. But one +spirit seemed to animate both the imperial government and the members of +parliament, and that was to give the provinces interested the fullest +powers consistent with their relation to the Empire. The parliamentary +opposition to the measure was much less than might have been expected, +when it is remembered that the opponents of confederation had +representatives in London, well able to present objections from their +standpoint, who had the ear of Mr. Bright and other members of the House +of Commons. Her Majesty took a deep interest in the measure and +expressed that interest to members of the delegation, adding that she +felt a great affection for her loyal Canadian subjects. While the bill +was before the House of Lords, Messrs. Macdonald, Cartier, Galt, Tupper +and Tilley were honoured by a private presentation to Her Majesty, at +Buckingham Palace, and shortly afterwards all the members of the +conference were presented at a drawing-room at the same place. + +{COUNTY COURT ACT} + +The New Brunswick delegates returned to Canada in the spring of 1867, +having completed their labours, and the legislature was called together +on May 8th. The business before it was of great importance, for the +province was entering upon a new era as a member of the Canadian +confederation, and the legislature was about to lose that portion of its +powers which was delegated to the federal parliament. It is not, +however, necessary to enter into any details of the work of the session, +which was carried through without any particular difficulty, the +Opposition being too weak to oppose seriously the measures of the +government. It was felt on all sides that, as twelve members of the +legislative council were about to become members of the senate of +Canada, and as fifteen representatives were to be elected to the House +of Commons, most of whom would come from the House of Assembly, a +striking change would take place in the composition of the legislature, +which would be deprived of the services of a large number of its ablest +men. One of the important bills of the session was the passage of the +Act establishing county courts in the province, and in respect to this +measure a difference of opinion took place between Mr. John M. Johnson, +one of the delegates and member for Northumberland, and his fellow +delegates to England. He thought that the legislature had no authority +under the terms of confederation, or from any understanding between the +delegates while in England, to create county courts, while the other +delegates held a different view. The Act was passed, however, and has +proved to be one of the most useful ever placed upon the statute-book, +relieving the supreme court of many cases, both civil and criminal, +which would otherwise block its business, and enabling them to be +disposed of more rapidly than before. The county court judges appointed +under this Act were, with one exception, taken from the legislature, and +this made another serious drain upon its experienced members. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE FIRST PARLIAMENT OF CANADA + + +The British North America Act, by which the provinces of Upper and Lower +Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were bound into a confederation, +came into force by royal proclamation on the first day of July, 1867. +When it is considered how vast and vital a change this measure brought +about, it is surprising that it produced so little excitement anywhere. +With the exception of one or two demonstrations which were made with +flags by persons hostile to confederation, it was received in the +province of New Brunswick, which had been so much excited during two +elections, with perfect calmness, and although for some years afterwards +there were always a number of persons opposed to union who predicted +direful things from confederation, and thought it must finally be +dissolved, the voices of such persons were eventually silenced either by +death or by their acquiescence in the situation. To-day it may be safely +declared that the Canadian confederation stands upon as secure a +foundation as any other government in the civilized world. + +In June, 1867, the Hon. John A. Macdonald, the leading spirit in the +government of Canada, was entrusted by Lord Monck, then +governor-general, with the formation of a ministry for the Dominion. Mr. +Macdonald naturally experienced a good deal of difficulty in making his +arrangements. In the formation of the first ministry much care was +necessary; provincial and national interests were to be thought of and +denominational claims had to receive some attention. But the greatest +difficulty arose with respect to old party lines. Mr. Macdonald thought +that these ought, as far as possible, to be ignored, and accordingly +selected his men from the leading advocates of confederation belonging +to both parties, placing in his cabinet seven Conservatives and six +Liberals. The Liberals included the names of Mr. W. P. Rowland and Mr. +William MacDougall for Ontario. A large number of the Liberals of +Ontario, including George Brown and Alexander Mackenzie, opposed this +arrangement, called a public meeting in Toronto, and passed resolutions +in favour of a strictly party government on the old lines. It declared +hostility to the proposal for a coalition, and resolved to oppose +Messrs. Rowland and MacDougall, should they accept office under Mr. +Macdonald. This decision was carried out, but these gentlemen were both +elected by good majorities. In this first ministry there were five +members from Ontario, four from Quebec, two from Nova Scotia, and two +from New Brunswick: S. L. Tilley and Peter Mitchell. + +The wisdom of the course adopted will be apparent when it is remembered +that the question of confederation was not settled or carried on party +lines, some of the Conservatives opposing and some Liberals supporting +it. This was clearly the case in New Brunswick, as shown by the last two +elections held there. About one-third of the Liberal party, and a like +proportion of the Conservative party, opposed confederation at the +second election. To have formed the first government on a party basis +would have necessitated the selection of some men who were opposed to +the union, and whose efforts might not have been devoted to making it a +success. + +{FIRST CONFEDERATION MINISTRY} + +The first confederation ministry was a very strong one. The Hon. John A. +Macdonald became premier and minister of justice; the Hon. George E. +Cartier was minister of militia and defence; Alexander T. Galt was +minister of finance; the Hon. William MacDougall was minister of public +works; the Hon. W. P. Rowland was minister of inland revenue; the Hon. +A. J. F. Blair, president of the privy council; the Hon. Alexander +Campbell, postmaster-general; the Hon. J. C. Chapais, minister of +agriculture; the Hon. Hector L. Langevin, secretary of state. The Hon. +Mr. Tilley became minister of customs and the Hon. Mr. Mitchell minister +of marine and fisheries, while the two Nova Scotia representatives, +Messrs. Archibald and Kenny, became respectively secretary of state for +the provinces and receiver-general. + +It will thus be seen that the Maritime Provinces had four +representatives out of thirteen members of the cabinet, and this +proportion has generally been maintained since that time; so that the +fears of those who anticipated that the provinces by the sea would not +receive fair treatment in the distribution of high offices have proved +to be groundless. On the contrary, it can be said that the Maritime +Province members of the government appear always to have occupied a very +influential position. + +The office of minister of customs, which Mr. Tilley received, was +thought by some of his friends to be less important than he deserved, +they being of the opinion that he should have been made minister of +finance. This office, however, went to Mr. Galt, who, owing to a +difference with the rest of the government, resigned four months later, +his place in the cabinet being taken by Sir John Rose, who held the +office of finance minister until October, 1869, Sir Francis Hincks then +receiving the appointment. It was not until the resignation of the +latter in February, 1873, that Mr. Tilley became minister of finance. +The office at first assigned to him, however, was one of great +importance, involving as it did the reorganization of the entire +establishment of the customs of Canada, and it gave ample scope for his +great ability as a business man. + +The elections for the House of Commons in the new parliament of Canada +took place in August, when Tilley was chosen to represent the city of +St. John, and John H. Gray, the county. It had been expected, in view of +the fact that these men had been so largely instrumental in bringing +about confederation, that they would be allowed to walk over the course +unopposed. This was the case with Mr. Gray, whose candidature met with +no opposition; but Mr. Tilley was opposed by Mr. John Wilson, who +received a very small vote. This needless and futile opposition to the +candidature of a man who deserved so well from the province, was merely +one of the proofs of the existence of political rancour in the breasts +of those who had been defeated on the confederation question. + +{FIRST CANADIAN PARLIAMENT} + +The first parliament of united Canada met on November 6th, 1867, and the +address was moved by the Hon. Charles Fisher, who had been elected to +represent the county of York. The session was a very long one, lasting +until May 22nd of the following year; but there was an adjournment, +extending from December 21st to March 20th. This meeting of parliament +was especially memorable, inasmuch as it brought together, for the first +time, the representatives of all the provinces, and the ablest men of +all political parties. The people of Ontario and Quebec were little +known to the people of the Maritime Provinces, and those who resided in +the larger provinces in like manner knew comparatively little of their +fellow-subjects who dwelt by the sea. It was expected by some that the +Maritime Province representatives would be completely overshadowed by +men of greater political reputation belonging to the larger provinces, +but this did not prove to be the case. The Maritime representatives at +once took a leading position in parliament, and this position they have +steadily maintained down to the present time. No man stood better in the +House of Commons than the representative from St. John, the Hon. S. L. +Tilley. At that time Her Majesty, the Queen, in acknowledgment of his +services in the cause of confederation, had created him a Companion of +the Bath, a distinction which was also given to the Hon. Charles Tupper, +of Nova Scotia. + +A vast amount of business had to be disposed of at the first session of +the parliament of Canada. Although the Union Act embodied the plan upon +which confederation was founded, it was necessary to supplement it by a +great deal of special legislation, for the purpose of interpreting it +and making preparations for the practical working of the constitution. +In all the discussions relative to the measures which had to be passed +at that time, Tilley took a prominent part, and, when the session was +over, he had established in the House of Commons, as fully as he had in +the legislature of New Brunswick, a reputation for ability as a speaker +and as a man of affairs. He was looked upon as one whose wide knowledge +of the needs of the province and whose experience in departmental work +were likely to be of the greatest use to the confederation. His high +character gave weight at all times to his words, and caused him to be +listened to with the most respectful attention. During the whole period +that Tilley sat in the House of Commons, he had the pleasure of knowing +that even his political enemies respected his character and abilities, +and, with the exception of the premier, perhaps no man wielded a more +potent influence in the councils of the Dominion than he. + +It is not necessary here to trace to any large extent the career of Sir +S. L. Tilley in the parliament of Canada; that belongs rather to the +history of the Dominion than to a work which deals particularly with his +connection with his native province. Only so much of his public life in +the House of Commons will be dealt with as seems necessary to complete +his personal history. Tilley continued to hold the position of minister +of customs during the whole of the term of the first parliament of +Canada. This parliament held five sessions and dissolved in the summer +of 1872, the general election being in the month of July, upon which +occasion he was reëlected for the city of St. John without opposition. + +{MINISTER OF FINANCE} + +The second parliament met on March 5th, 1873. Eleven days before that +time Mr. Tilley had become minister of finance, succeeding Sir Francis +Hincks, who had resigned that office after holding it for more than +three years. The advancement of Mr. Tilley to this responsible and +influential position was very pleasing to his friends, and was received +with satisfaction by the country generally. + +The first confederation ministry of Canada resigned office on November +5th, 1873, under circumstances which are a part of the political history +of the Dominion and need not be gone into in this volume, further than +to say that, whatever basis there may have been for charges of +corruption in connection with the Pacific Railway contract against other +persons in the government, none were ever preferred against Mr. Tilley; +nor did any one suspect or believe that he had anything whatever to do +with the transactions which led to the resignation of the government. +Prior to that event Mr. Tilley had been appointed lieutenant-governor of +the province of New Brunswick in succession to the Hon. Lemuel A. +Wilmot, whose term had expired. Every one felt that the honour thus +bestowed upon Tilley was a most fitting one, for he was New Brunswick's +foremost son in political life, and had reached his high position purely +through his own ability and his own good character. That position he +filled a greater number of years than any of his successors are likely +to do, and it is admitted on all sides that no man could have performed +the duties of the office more satisfactorily than he did. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +FINANCE MINISTER AND GOVERNOR + + +Mr. Tilley took up his residence in the old Government House, +Fredericton, and he must have been struck with the changed aspect +of affairs from that presented under the old régime, when +lieutenant-governors were appointed by the British government and sent +out from England to preside over the councils of a people of whom they +knew little or nothing. Most of these former governors had been military +men, more accustomed to habits of command than to deal with perplexing +questions of state. They looked with a very natural degree of impatience +on the attempts which the people of the province were making to get the +full control of their own affairs. Under the old régime the governor was +surrounded with military guards, and sentries paced the walks and +guarded the entrances to the Government House. The withdrawal of the +British troops from Canada before the lieutenant-governorship of Mr. +Tilley commenced relieved him of any embarrassment in regard to +dispensing with military guards and sentries; but all pretentious +accompaniments of authority were foreign to his nature, and he always +showed, by the severe simplicity of his life, that he felt he was one +of the people, and that it was his duty as well as his pleasure to +permit all who had any occasion to see him to have free access to him, +without the necessity of going through any formal process. + +{THE PROTECTIONIST TARIFF} + +When Mr. Tilley became lieutenant-governor of the province, he was +fifty-five years of age, and he seems to have thought that his political +career was ended, because, by the time his term of office expired in its +natural course, he would have reached the age of sixty, a period when a +man is not likely to make a new entrance into public life. But +circumstances, quite apart from any desire on his part, made it almost +necessary for him to change his determination, and during the summer of +1878, when the general election was imminent, he found himself pressed +by his old political friends to become once more the candidate of his +party for his old constituency, the city of St. John. There was great +enthusiasm amongst them when it was announced that he would comply with +their wishes, and that he had resigned the lieutenant-governorship. The +result of that general election is well known. The Liberal party, which +had succeeded to the government less than five years before with a large +majority in the House of Commons, experienced a severe defeat, and the +Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, seeing this, very properly did not await the +assembling of parliament, but sent in the resignation of the ministry, +and Sir John A. Macdonald was called upon to form a new government. In +the cabinet thus constructed Mr. Tilley resumed his old office of +minister of finance, and one of his first duties was to assist in the +framing of a new customs tariff which was to give effect to the +principle, upon which the election had been run, of protection to home +industries. This idea of protection had not been heard of in the +Canadian confederation as the policy of any political party until Sir +John A. Macdonald took it up about a year before the general election, +but it proved a winning card and was the means of giving the new +government a long lease of power. + +Sir Leonard Tilley's speech in introducing the new tariff was well +received and made a strong impression upon all who heard it. It was +admitted, even by those who were opposed to the views he held, that he +showed a great mastery of the details, and that he illustrated in a very +clear manner the view that the country was suffering because the duties +imposed upon foreign goods were not sufficiently high to protect +Canadian manufactures. + +It is not the intention of this volume to deal to any full extent with +the career of Sir Leonard Tilley during his second term of office as +minister of finance of Canada. To enter into that phase of his career +would be to relate the history of Canada, for he was but one member of +the government, and not its leader. It is admitted that, in respect to +financial questions, Sir Leonard showed the same ability that had +characterized his career during his previous term of office, and he was +looked upon by his colleagues as a man in whose judgment the utmost +confidence could be placed. At this time, however, his health began to +fail, and the disease which finally carried him off developed to such an +extent that he was told he must cease all active work or his days would +be shortened. Under these circumstances, it became necessary for him to +retire from the severe duties of his very responsible and laborious +office, and on October 31st, 1885, he was again appointed +lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, an office which he had filled with +so much acceptance between 1873 and 1878. Sir Leonard Tilley continued +lieutenant-governor during a second term, for almost eight years, or +until the appointment of the Hon. John Boyd to that position. He was +lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick for considerably more than twelve +years, a record which is not likely to be equalled by any future +lieutenant-governor for many years to come, if ever. + +{SECOND TERM AS GOVERNOR} + +There was no event of particular importance to distinguish Sir Leonard +Tilley's second term as lieutenant-governor. The Hon. Mr. Blair was +premier of New Brunswick during the whole period, and there was no +political crisis of any importance to alter the complexion of affairs. +The only event in connection with the governorship which is worthy of +being mentioned is the change that was made by the abandonment of the +old Government House, at Fredericton, as the residence of the +lieutenant-governor. This building had become antiquated, and in other +ways unsuitable for the occupancy of a lieutenant-governor, and its +maintenance involved a very large expenditure annually, which the +province was unable to afford. It was therefore determined that in +future the lieutenant-governor should provide his own residence, and +that the amount spent on the Government House annually should be saved. +Sir Leonard Tilley built a residence in St. John, in which he lived for +the remainder of his life, and the seat of government, so far as his +presence was concerned, was transferred to that city. Sir Leonard Tilley +was always on the most cordial terms with the various premiers who led +the government of New Brunswick during their terms of office. He knew +well the strict constitutional limits of his office, and was always +careful to confine his activities within their proper scope. The lessons +of responsible government which he had learned in his early youth, and +which had been the study of his manhood, enabled him to avoid those +pitfalls which beset the steps of earlier lieutenant-governors. + +During Sir Leonard Tilley's last term of office, and after its close, he +abstained wholly from any interference with public affairs in the +Dominion, and although he still remained steadfastly attached to the +Liberal-Conservative party, he gave no outward sign of his desire for +their success. This neutral position which he assumed in political +matters had the effect of drawing towards him thousands of his +fellow-countrymen who, in former years, had been accustomed to regard +him with unfriendly feelings. They forgot the active political leader +and saw before them only the aged governor, whose venerable figure and +kindly face were so familiar at social or other gatherings, or whenever +work was to be done for any good cause. In this way Sir Leonard Tilley +grew to assume a new character in the public estimation, and at the time +of his death the regret was as great on the part of those who had been +his political opponents as among those who had been his associates in +political warfare. This was one of the most pleasing features of his +declining years, and one that gave him the greatest satisfaction, +because it enabled him to feel that he enjoyed the affectionate regard +of the whole body of the people. + +Sir Leonard Tilley throughout his life gave great attention to his +religious duties. He was a devoted member of the Church of England, and +his attendance at its services was constant and regular. For several +years before his death he was connected with St. Mark's congregation, +and no cause, except severe bodily illness, was ever allowed to prevent +him from going to church on Sunday morning. On many occasions, when his +steps had grown feeble and his strength was failing, it was suggested to +him that he should drive to church, but he always replied that he would +walk to church as long as he had strength left to do so, and that he +would not have people harnessing up horses on the Sabbath Day on his +account. This resolution he maintained to the end of his life. +Sometimes, when he met an old acquaintance, as he toiled up the street +which led to his favourite church, he would cheerfully greet him by +saying, "John, this hill has grown steeper than it used to be," but he +climbed the hill to the end, and the last Sunday he was able to be out +of his bed he walked to church as usual. He also took a deep interest in +all humane and philanthropic objects as well as in the great work +connected with the spread of the Gospel. He was a constant attendant at +the annual meetings of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and was a +life member of that admirable association. + +{HIS IMPERIAL HONOURS} + +The honours that Sir Leonard Tilley received from Her Majesty, in +recognition of his great public services, were very gratifying to his +friends as well as to himself, and when he was made a Knight Commander +of St. Michael and St. George, in 1879, his temperance friends embraced +the first opportunity on his return to St. John to have a banquet in his +honour, at which he wore, for the first time in public, the insignia of +the knightly order of which he had become a member. There was probably +no public event in the whole course of his life which gave him greater +pleasure than this proof of the attachment of his old friends. + +Sir Leonard's last visit to England was marked by an extremely gracious +invitation to visit the queen at Osborne, in the Isle of Wight. While he +and Lady Tilley were sojourning at Cowes a message was sent summoning +them to Osborne House, where they were received by Her Majesty in the +beautiful grounds that surround that palace. The Princess Louise and +Princess Beatrice, with an equerry in waiting, were the only other +persons present. After an interesting conversation they were permitted +to visit the private apartments of Her Majesty, and the Prince Consort's +farm. + +Sir Leonard Tilley was first married in 1843 to Julia Ann, daughter of +the late James T. Hanford, who died in 1862. By her he had seven +children, two sons and five daughters. In 1867, he married Alice Starr, +daughter of the late Z. Chipman, of St. Stephen. By this marriage he had +two sons, Mr. Herbert C. Tilley, of the Imperial Trust Company, who +resides in St. John, and Mr. L. P. DeWolfe Tilley, barrister, who is +also a resident of St. John. These two sons, Herbert and Leonard, were +the prop and comfort of his declining years and were devoted wholly to +him to the end. + +{LADY TILLEY} + +Sir Leonard Tilley's second marriage was contracted at the time when he +was exchanging the limited field of provincial politics for the wider +sphere which confederation opened up to him in the parliament of Canada. +It was a fortunate union, for it gave him a helpmeet and companion who +was in full sympathy with him in all his hopes and feelings, and who was +singularly well qualified to preside over his household, which, in his +capacity of a minister of the Crown, had become, to a considerable +extent, a factor in the public life of Canada. Lady Tilley had a high +ideal of her duty as the wife of a cabinet minister and of the governor +of New Brunswick, and was not content to lead a merely ornamental life +or confine her energies within a narrow range. She saw many deficiencies +in our appliances for relieving human misery, and with a zeal which +could not be dampened, she sought to remedy them. The Victoria Hospital +at Fredericton is her work; hers also is the Nurses' Home in connection +with the Public Hospital in St. John, and the Reformatory for the care +of bad or neglected boys, who are in danger of becoming criminals if +they are not educated and disciplined when they are young. In every work +of philanthropy Lady Tilley has always taken not only an active, but a +leading part, and her position has enabled her to enlist in the cause of +humanity the energies of many who, under other circumstances, might not +have given their attention to philanthropic work. + +Sir Leonard Tilley for many years had suffered from an incurable +disease, which had been mitigated by rest and medical treatment, but not +removed. It was the knowledge of the fact that his days would be +shortened if he continued in active political life that compelled him +to leave the government in 1885. For many years before his death the +malady had been so far subdued that it gave him comparatively little +trouble, but any unusual exertion on his part was almost certain to +arouse it again to activity, so that he was prevented on many occasions +from taking part in public functions which, under other circumstances, +he would have been glad to attend. Still, he always contrived to take +his daily walk, and few who saw him ever suspected that he was +constantly menaced by death. For three or four years before his decease +his strength had been failing, he stooped more as he walked, and it was +evident that he was not destined to enjoy many more years of life. Yet +during the spring of 1896 there was nothing whatever to indicate that +the end was so near, for he went about as usual, and was able to preside +at the annual meeting of the Loyalist Society which was held during the +last week in May. On that evening he appeared very bright and cheerful, +and he entered with much interest into the discussion of the details of +an outing which it was proposed the society should hold during the +summer. "Man proposes, God disposes." Sir Leonard had gone to Rothesay +early in June to spend a few weeks in that pleasant spot, and he +appeared to be in his usual health until the night of June 10th, when he +began to suffer great pain from a slight cut which he had received in +the foot. The symptoms became alarming and gave indications of blood +poisoning, a condition due to the disease from which he had suffered so +many years. On June 11th, he was taken to Carleton House, his town +residence, and from that time the doctors gave no hope of his recovery. +It was one of the sad features of his illness that his life-long friend +and physician for many years, Dr. William Bayard, was unable to attend +him, being himself confined to his bed by illness. + +{LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH} + +After Sir Leonard Tilley reached his home in St. John he never rallied, +and he was well aware that his end was near. He was attended by Dr. +Inches and Dr. Murray McLaren, but he was beyond medical aid, and +therefore the people of St. John, for several days before the event took +place, were aware that their foremost citizen was dying. The time was +one of great excitement, for the general election was near, yet the eyes +of thousands were turned from the moving panorama of active life which +passed before them to the silent chamber where the dying statesman was +breathing his last. The regret and sympathy that was expressed was +universal, and in their kindly words those who had been his life-long +political opponents were not behind those who had been his friends. Sir +Leonard Tilley died at three o'clock on the morning of June 25th, the +second day after the general election which brought about the defeat of +the party with which he had been so long identified. + +{HIS EMINENT SERVICES} + +His death evoked expressions of sympathy and regret from all parts of +the empire and from many states of the union. The letters and telegrams +of condolence which Lady Tilley received during the first days of her +widowhood would of themselves fill a volume, showing how widely he was +known and respected. The funeral, which took place on the Saturday +following his death, was one of the largest ever seen in St. John, and +was attended by the Board of Trade, the Loyalist Society, the various +temperance organizations, the members of the provincial government, and +a vast concourse of prominent citizens. The services took place at St. +John's Episcopal Church, and were conducted by the rector, the Rev. John +deSoyres, assisted by the Rev. R. P. McKim, rector of St. Luke's Church, +with which Sir Leonard had been identified in his earlier years. The +interment took place in the Rural Cemetery. Many references to the +decease of this eminent man were made from the pulpits of St. John and +other parts of the province on the Sunday following his death, and all +the newspapers had long notices of the event and editorials on his life +and character. We may fittingly close this work by quoting a portion of +what was said of him by the St. John _Telegraph_, a paper that was +politically opposed to him for many years:-- + +"It is greatly to the honour of Sir Leonard Tilley that no scandal, +public or private, was ever attached to his name. A consistent +temperance man to the end of his life, he was faithful to the cause +which he had espoused when he was young, and he enjoyed the confidence +and received the steady support of a vast majority of the temperance men +of the province, who looked upon him as their natural leader. His +capacity for friendship was great, and his friends might be numbered by +thousands, for he had a peculiar faculty of strongly attracting men to +himself. This may be ascribed, in part, to the magnetism of a buoyant +and strong nature, but it was more largely due to the extreme simplicity +of his character, which remained wholly unspoiled by the favours which +fortune had showered upon him. No man, however humble, had any +difficulty in obtaining an interview with Sir Leonard Tilley; he was +every inch a gentleman, and was, therefore, as polite to the poorest +labourer as to the richest in the land. Such a man could not fail to be +loved even by those who had been his most bitter opponents in former +years, when he was in active political life. + +"It is one of the drawbacks of this human life that the wise, the +learned, the good, and those whom we most love and honour, grow old and +feeble, fall by the wayside and pass away. So while we lament the death +of Sir Leonard Tilley, we must recognize it as an event that was +inevitable, and which could not long have been postponed. His lifework +was done; his labours were ended; his active and brilliant career was +closed; he was but waiting for the dread summons which sooner or later +must come to all. The summons has come, and he has gone from among us +forever. His venerable, noble face will no longer be seen on our +streets, his kindly greeting will no longer be heard. But his memory +will live, not only in the hearts of all his countrymen, but enshrined +in the history of this his native province, and of the great Dominion +which he did so much to create, and which he so fondly loved." + + + + +INDEX + + + + +INDEX + + +A + + Allen, Hon. John C., solicitor-general, 183; + opposes confederation, 228; + becomes attorney-general, 233; + appointed a judge, 235 + + Anglin, Hon. Timothy W., opposes confederation, 227, 233; + differences with his colleagues, 236; + resigns from the government, 237 + + Aroostook War, 135 + + Ashburton Treaty, 195 + + Assembly, House of, its composition and powers, 6; + Wilmot's college bill introduced in, 51; + its passage through the House, 52-6 + + +B + + Babbitt, Samuel, teacher of the Madras School, 147 + + Baillie, Thomas, retires with a pension, 116 + + Ballot Law passed, 189 + + Beckwith, John A., member for York, 250 + + Bernard, Lieutenant-Colonel Hewitt, secretary of the confederation + delegations, 263 + + Blair, Hon. Andrew G., premier of New Brunswick, 280 + + Bliss, Hannah, mother of L. A. Wilmot, 3, 4 + + Botsford, Hon. Bliss, surveyor-general, 233 + + Bounties, disallowed by British government, 118 + + Boyd, Hon. John, lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, 280 + + British North America Act, the, comes into force, 269 + + Brown, George, agrees to support confederation, 211 + + Brown, James, surveyor-general, 174 + + +C + + Campbell, Sir Archibald, lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, 23, 27; + refuses information to the House, 28; + censured by the assembly, 29; + dissolves the assembly, 29; + opposes the civil list arrangement, 44 + + Carleton, Thomas, governor of New Brunswick, 5 + + Carnarvon, Lord, his interest in confederation, 264 + + Carter, Sir James, appointed a judge, 74; + appointed chief-justice, 130; + resigns the chief-justiceship, 235 + + Cartier, Hon. George E., minister of militia, 271 + + Casual and territorial revenue, _see_ Crown lands + + Chandler, Edward B., a delegate to England in reference to the Crown + lands, 24; + enters the government, 72; + resigns, 76; + goes to England on behalf of the Intercolonial Railway, 168, 196; + confederation delegate to England, 262 + + Chipman, Ward, chief-justice, 74; + resigns, 129 + + Church of England, its predominant influence, 7 + + Civil list, the, paid in part by the Crown land revenue, 21, 25; + the Civil List Bill, 43; + the bill passed, 47 + + Clark, Rev. Samuel, rector of Gagetown, 147 + + Colebrooke, Sir William, lieutenant-governor, 76; + appoints Alfred Reade secretary, 76; + censured by the assembly, 101 + + Confederation, 201, 202; + proposed in Lord Durham's Report, 203; + discussed in 1858, 205; + not favoured by Lord Derby's government, 205; + D'Arcy McGee's party visits the Maritime Provinces, 209; + crisis in the government of Canada, 209, 210; + Canadian statesmen at the Charlottetown conference, 217-19; + the Quebec scheme, 222; + unfavourably received in New Brunswick, 223-5; + the general election of 1865, 226-9; + defeat of, 231; + recommended in the speech from the throne, 242; + carried at the general election of 1866, 249-51; + resolutions in its favour carried in the legislature, 260, 262; + delegation sent to England to arrange details of, 262; + delay in arrival of Canadian delegates, 263; + meeting in London, 263; + discussion of the terms of union, 264; + Confederation Act passed by parliament, 265; + the union of the provinces proclaimed, 269 + + Connell, Hon. Charles, postmaster-general, circumstances which led to + his resignation, 191-2; + member for Carleton, 231; + becomes a member of the Mitchell-Wilmot government, 247; + reëlected for Carleton, 249 + + Cook, Dr. Henry, 149 + + Council, executive, its composition, 48, 72; + reorganized, 116 + + Council, legislative, 5; + rejects the college bill, 52, 53; + its obstructive character, 67; + its conduct condemned by the assembly, 68; + changes in its composition, 69; + favours confederation, 244 + + Crane, William, a delegate to England with an address to His Majesty, 41 + + Crown lands, revenues from, 6; + dissatisfaction with the management of, 18-21; + used to pay the civil list, 21, 22; + control of, made the subject of an address to the king, 23; + a deputation sent to England, 24; + the surrender of the revenues by His Majesty proposed, 25-7, 35-7; + another address to the king, 37, 38; + control of, surrendered to the province, 47 + + Custom-house system, imperial, discarded, 175, 176 + + Customs duties, 6, 16, 17, 18, 38, 39 + + +D + + DesBrisay, L. P. W., seconds Fisher's amendment to the address in reply + to the speech from the throne, 244 + + Douglas, Sir Howard, lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, 50, 51, 148 + + Dow, Dr., member for York, 250 + + +E + + Education, unsatisfactory condition of, in New Brunswick, 83-5; + the Madras system, 86-8; + Wilmot's speech on, 88-91 + + +F + + Family Compact, the, 13, 110 + + Fees, on land grants, 14 + + Fenians, threaten to invade Canada, 240, 241; + invade New Brunswick, 247; + Doran Killian, leader of, 247; + troops called out to oppose them, 248; + their invasion a fiasco, 249 + + Fisher, Hon. Charles, member for York, 47; + reëlected for York, 102; + moves a want of confidence resolution, 103; + his resolution defeated, 111; + enters the government, 116; + defeated in York, 128; + his services to the Liberal party, 154; + moves a want of confidence resolution, 172, 173; + joins the new government as attorney-general, 174; + retires from the government, 193; + reëlected for York, 194; + elected on the confederation ticket for York, 237; + moves an amendment to the address in reply to the speech from the + throne, 244; + becomes attorney-general, 247; + moves a confederation resolution, 257, 258; + a confederation delegate to England, 262; + elected for York in the first parliament of united Canada, 273 + + Fraser, John J., opposes confederation, 228 + + +G + + Gagetown, birthplace of Sir Leonard Tilley, 146 + + Galt, Hon. A. T., in favour of confederation, 205; + minister of finance, 271 + + Gilbert, Thomas, advocates agricultural schools, 162 + + Gillmor, Hon. A. H., provincial secretary, 233 + + Gladstone, Right Hon. W. E., 199 + + Glenelg, Lord, colonial secretary, 42, 61 + + Glenie, James, an early Reformer, 13 + + Gordon, Arthur Hamilton, lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, opposed + to confederation, 239; + his change of views, 240; + the confederation paragraph in his speech from the throne, 242; + differences with his government, 242 + + Government, responsible, the demand for, 99-111; + granted, 113-16 + + Gray, Hon. John H., 152; + supports the government, 160; + becomes a member of the government, 165; + appointed attorney-general, 183; + favours confederation, 227; + elected for St. John County, 251; + speaker of the assembly, 256; + again elected for St. John in the parliament of 1867, 273 + + Gray-Wilmot government, formed, 183; + defeated, 184 + + Grey, Earl, colonial secretary, on tenure of office, 113; + disallows hemp bounty bill, 118 + + Grievances, committee on, appointed, 24 + + +H + + Hamilton, Peter S., his articles advocating confederation, 207 + + Hanington, Hon. D. L., speaker, 172 + + Hannay, James, his articles in favour of confederation, 207 + + Harding, James A., elected for the city of St. John, 167 + + Harvey, Sir John, lieutenant-governor, 47, 113 + + Hatheway, Hon. George L., opposes confederation, 228; + joins the anti-confederation government, 233; + retires from the contest in York, 250 + + Hazen, Hon. Robert L., on responsible government, 63; + enters the government, 72; + resigns, 76 + + Head, Sir Edmund, lieutenant-governor, 129 + + Hill, George S., member for Charlotte, 66 + + Howe, Hon. Joseph, a delegate to England in connection with the + Intercolonial Railway, 107; + advocates confederation, 204 + + Humbert, Mr., opposes responsible government, 64 + + Hutchinson, Richard, 234 + + +J + + Jenkins, William, teacher of the Gagetown grammar school, 147 + + Johnson, Hon. John M., solicitor-general, 174; + confederation delegate to England, 262; + opposes county courts bill, 267 + + Johnston, Hon. Hugh, enters the government, 72; + resigns, 76 + + +K + + Kerr, George, member for Northumberland, 249 + + King's College, 49; + its illiberal charter, 50; + bill to amend it defeated, 52; + passed, 56, 163; + reorganized and becomes University of New Brunswick, 190 + + Kinnear, Hon. William B., solicitor-general, 116 + + +L + + Legislature of New Brunswick, called together in 1866, 256; + its session of 1867, 266 + + Leonard, Samuel, 147 + + _Loyalist_, newspaper, its proprietors arrested, 75 (note) + + +M + + Macdonald, Sir John A., chairman of the confederation delegation, 263; + forms the first Dominion cabinet, 270 + + McClelan, Hon. A. R., chief commissioner of public works, 247; + reëlected for Albert County, 249 + + McGee, Thomas D'Arcy, favours confederation, 207; + lectures in St. John, 207; + brings a party to visit the Maritime Provinces, 209 + + McMillan, Hon. John, surveyor-general, elected for Restigouche, 231; + becomes postmaster-general, 247 + + McPhelim, Francis, postmaster-general, 183 + + Manners-Sutton, Hon. H. T., lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, + dissolves the House of Assembly, 180 + + Maritime union movement, 211-13; + the Charlottetown conference, 215 + + Marriage laws, 14, 15 + + Meade, General, 249 + + Metcalfe, Sir Charles, governor-general of Canada, 74; + his unconstitutional stand, 74; + his views approved by the New Brunswick assembly, 74 + + Mitchell, Hon. Peter, member of the legislative council, 246; + supports confederation, 246; + called on to form a government, 246; + forms the Mitchell-Wilmot government, 247; + confederation delegate to England, 262; + becomes minister of marine, 271 + + Monck, Viscount, governor-general of Canada, 265 + + Money grants, initiation of, 48 + + Montgomery, John, enters the government, 72; + surveyor-general, 183 + + Morgan, Elizabeth, great grandmother of Sir Leonard Tilley, 145 + + +N + + Needham, W. H., member for York, 152; + his ability and character, 154; + opposes confederation, 228 + + Newcastle, Duke of, colonial secretary, 197 + + +O + + Odell, Hon. William Franklin, death of, 75 + + Odell, Hon. William H., postmaster-general, 233, 234 + + Office, tenure of, 57; + Lord John Russell's despatch, 57; + resolution of assembly thereon, 60 + + +P + + Palmerston, Lord, his government in office during confederation + negotiations, 206 + + Parker, Hon. Robert, becomes chief-justice, 235 + + Parliament of Canada, its first meeting, 273 + + Partelow, Hon. John R., member for St. John County, 65; + on money appropriations, 93; + becomes provincial secretary, 116; + his ability as a business man, 157 + + Peters, Colonel Harry, speaker of the assembly, 148 + + Peters, Susan Ann, mother of Sir Leonard Tilley, 146 + + Peters, William, grandfather of Sir Leonard, 146 + + Peto, Brassy and Betts, propose to construct New Brunswick railways, 167-9 + + Pickard, John, defeated in York, 237 + + Portland Railway Convention, 119; + L. A. Wilmot's speech at, 120 + + Prohibitory liquor law, 176-8; + its failure, 180 + + Putnam, Charles S., barrister, 11 + + +R + + Railways, European and North American, proposed, 168; + its progress, 186; + completed to Shediac, 187, 188; + Intercolonial, building of, proposed, 168, 195; + delegations sent to England to obtain assistance, 169, 196-8; + discussed in parliament, 187; + a meeting held in Quebec to consider the offer of the British + government, 198; + a committee is sent to England to arrange the terms of the guarantee + but fail to come to an agreement, 199, 200; + its construction secured by confederation, 264 + + Reade, Alfred, appointed provincial secretary, 76; + his appointment condemned by the assembly, 79; + the appointment cancelled, 80 + + Reciprocity treaty, discussed, 170, 171; + bill passed, 175 + + Ritchie, Hon. William J., member for the county of St. John, 152; + his great ability, 155; + moves a want of confidence resolution, 160; + complains of the conduct of the governor and the colonial office, 164; + resigns his seat, 166; + reëlected for St. John, 172; + joins the Fisher government, 175; + becomes chief-justice, 236 + + Robinson, F. P., auditor of the king's casual revenue, 34 + + Russell, Lord John, colonial secretary, 53; + on the King's College charter, 54; + on tenure of office, 114 + + +S + + Salaries, official, 61; + reduction proposed by Wilmot, 62 + + Saunders, Hon. John Simcoe, advocate-general, 34 + + Simonds, Hon. Charles, a delegate to England with the grievances of New + Brunswick, 24; + elected speaker, 160; + resigns his seat, 166; + again elected speaker, 183 + + Skinner, Hon. C. N., favours confederation, 227; + member for St. John city, 251 + + Smith, Hon. Albert J., joins the Fisher government, 175; + forms an anti-confederation government, 232; + differences with the lieutenant-governor, 242; + his government resigns, 245; + moves an amendment to confederation resolutions, 260 + + Smith, William O., mayor of St. John, 149 + + Stanley, Lord, colonial secretary, 53; + on King's College charter, 53, 54; + on the Reade appointment, 80; + on money grants, 92 + + Steadman, Hon. James, postmaster-general, 193 + + Steeves, Hon. William H., joins the Fisher government, 175 + + Street, Hon. George F., solicitor-general, 34; + a delegate to England in connection with the Civil List Bill, 45 + + Street, Hon. John Ambrose, attorney-general, 161 + + Street-Partelow government, defeated, 173 + + Sutton, Richard, 249 + + +T + + Tilley, James, grandfather of Sir Leonard, 145 + + Tilley, Lady, 284; + her charitable work, 285 + + Tilley, Samuel, great-grandfather of Sir Leonard, 143 + + Tilley, Samuel Leonard, birth and ancestry, 143; + at the Madras School, 147; + at the grammar school, 147; + removes to St. John, 149; + enters a drug store as clerk, 149; + becomes a total abstainer, 150; + begins business on his own account, 150; + elected to the House of Assembly as member for St. John, 152; + resigns his seat, 166; + reëlected for St. John, 172; + becomes provincial secretary, 174; + defeated on the prohibition question, 183; + again elected for St. John, 185; + a delegate to England in regard to the Intercolonial Railway, 196; + a delegate to Quebec to consider the offer of the British + government, 198; + second delegation to England, 199; + at the Quebec conference, 219-22; + defeated in St. John city, 231; + resigns with his colleagues, 232; + declines to form a new government, 247; + becomes provincial secretary, 247; + reëlected for St. John city, 251; + his efforts for confederation, 252; + his ability as a speaker, 255; + supports the confederation resolutions, 258, 259; + confederation delegate to England, 262; + presented to Her Majesty, 266; + becomes minister of customs, 272; + elected to parliament for St. John city, 273; + made a Companion of the Bath, 274; + his standing in the House of Commons, 274; + becomes minister of finance, 275; + elected to the second parliament, 275; + appointed lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, 275; + resigns the governorship, 278; + again becomes finance minister, 279; + introduces a protectionist tariff, 279; + again appointed lieutenant-governor, 280; + resides in St. John, 281; + his simple habits, 281; + his popularity, 282; + a member of the Church of England, 282; + made a K.C.M.G., 283; + his marriages, 284; + visits Her Majesty at Osborne, 284; + his children, 284; + suffers from an incurable disease, 285; + his last illness, 286; + death, 287; + funeral, 288; + tributes of respect, 288 + + Tilley, Thomas Morgan, father of Sir Leonard, 145 + + _Trent_ affair, 197 + + +U + + United States, their attitude towards Canada, 254 + + +V + + Vankoughnet, Hon. P. M., a delegate to England in regard to the + Intercolonial Railway, 197 + + +W + + Wark, David, his bounty resolutions, 118 + + Watters, Hon. Charles, an advocate of confederation, 226 + + Weldon, Hon. John W., speaker of the assembly, 65; + on money grants, 94; + appointed a judge, 236 + + Wetmore, Hon. A. R., opposes confederation, 226; + opposes anti-confederation government, 243; + reëlected for St. John city, 251 + + William IV., objects to alienation of Crown lands, 22; + dismisses the Liberal government, 37 + + Williston, Hon. Edward, solicitor-general, 247; + reëlected for Northumberland, 249 + + Wilmot, Benjamin, first of the name in America, 3 + + Wilmot, Hon. Robert Duncan, 152; + his change of principle, 156; + supports the government, 160; + becomes surveyor-general, 165; + reëlected in St. John, 166; + becomes provincial secretary, 183; + opposes confederation, 227; + dissatisfied with the government, 235; + resigns in January, 1866, 236; + forms a new government with Mitchell, 247; + reëlected for St. John County, 251; + confederation delegate to England, 262 + + Wilmot, Lemuel, grandfather of L. A. Wilmot, 3 + + Wilmot, Lemuel Allan, birth, 2; + ancestry, 3; + education, 10; + studies law, 11; + his interest in politics, 11; + his knowledge of French, 12; + an officer of militia, 12; + elected to the assembly for York, 31; + takes his seat, 32; + his eloquence, 33; + zeal for reform, 34; + on custom house salaries, 38; + a delegate to the colonial office in connection with provincial + affairs, 41; + arranges terms with the British government, 43; + second delegation to England, 46; + reëlected for York, 47; + engaged in the reform of King's College charter, 49-52; + bill rejected by council, 52; + resolutions thereon, 54; + the college bill passed, 56; + proposes a reduced scale of salaries, 62, 63; + nominated for the speakership, 66; + reëlected for York, 66; + becomes a member of the government, 72, 73; + resigns in consequence of the Reade appointment, 76; + his reasons, 77; + advocates improved schools, 88; + in favour of free schools, 90; + an advocate of the initiation of money grants, 91, 94-7; + bids farewell to the House, 102; + reëlected for York, 103; + his speech on the want of confidence resolution, 103-11; + becomes attorney-general, 116; + his oratory, 119; + at the Portland Railway Convention, 120; + his views on railway legislation, 126; + opposes the Shediac Railway, 127; + his bill for the reduction of salaries defeated in the legislative + council, 127; + decline of popularity, 128; + appointed a judge, 130; + Fenety's estimate of, 131; + appointed lieutenant-governor, 133; + his religious views, 133; + as a lecturer, 134; + takes part in the Aroostook War, 135; + his love of flowers, 136; + illness and death, 137; + character and achievements, 137-9 + + Wilmot, William, father of L. A. Wilmot, 3; + a Baptist local preacher, 10; + member of the House of Assembly in 1816, 10 + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Wilmot and Tilley, by James Hannay + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WILMOT AND TILLEY *** + +***** This file should be named 26086-8.txt or 26086-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/6/0/8/26086/ + +Produced by Jason Isbell, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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