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Title: Canada; its Defences, Condition, and Resources
Being a third and concluding volume of "My Diary, North and
South"
Author: William Howard Russell
Release Date: October 9, 2021 [eBook #66495]
Language: English
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CANADA;
ITS DEFENCES, CONDITION, AND
RESOURCES.
BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
_In Two Vols., post 8vo, price 21s._,
MY DIARY NORTH AND SOUTH.
OR, PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA.
“The latter part of Mr. Russell’s Diary is probably droller
than anything which our theatrical wits will produce this
Christmas. We regret especially that we have no space for the
story respecting the President, on page 372 of the second volume.
The United States have been a vast burlesque on the functions
of national existence, and it was Mr. Russell’s fate to behold
their transformation scene, and to see the first tumbles of
their clowns and pantaloons. It was time for him to come away,
though the shame of his retirement was theirs. He did his duty
while he was with them, and he has left them a legacy in this
‘Diary.’”--_Times._
CANADA;
ITS DEFENCES, CONDITION, AND
RESOURCES.
BEING
A THIRD AND CONCLUDING VOLUME OF “MY DIARY,
NORTH AND SOUTH.”
BY
W. HOWARD RUSSELL, LL.D.,
LONDON:
BRADBURY AND EVANS, 11, BOUVERIE STREET.
1865.
[_The Right of Translation is reserved._]
LONDON:
BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.
PREFACE.
I began to write this book by way of sequel to “My Diary North and
South,” with the intention of describing Canada as I saw it at the
close of my visit to North America, but the subject grew upon me
as I went on, and at last I discarded much personal detail, and
set to work with the view of calling attention to the capabilities
of the vast regions belonging to the British Crown on the American
Continent, and of pointing out the magnificent heritage which is
open to our redundant population. But the subject was too great
for the compass of one volume, because connected with it, too
intimately to be overlooked, were the questions of the defence
and of the future of countries, which the establishment of a
Monarchical principle on an imperfect basis, and their dependence
on the Crown, exposed to the hostility of a great Republic. I was,
therefore, obliged to contract my own experiences, small as they
were, and to omit many topics included in the original scope of my
writing. The book was nearly finished when suddenly, as it seemed,
the whole of the Provinces, yielding to a common sentiment of
danger, sent their delegates to consider the policy and possibility
of a great Confederation, which had been strongly recommended in
the pages already written. The idea of such a Confederation was
an old one; but the prompt resolve to carry it into practical
effect, and the words spoken and acts done in consequence, rendered
it necessary to cancel the work of many hours, as much of what I
had written would have been anticipated by what has been printed.
There are many dangers inherent in the nature of the proposed
Confederation; there are many obstacles to its harmonious and
successful working; but on the whole some such scheme appears to be
the only practical mode of saving the British Provinces from the
aggression of the North American Republicans.
What is to become of the existing Governments of Provinces? How
regulate the contentions which may arise between Provincial
Parliaments and Provincial Ministers and Provincial Governors by
the action of the Federal Parliament and of the representative of
the Crown at the seat of Government? The difficulties we foresee
may never come to pass, and others far greater, of which we have
no foresight, may arise; but for all this the Confederation
presents the only means now available, as far as we can perceive,
for securing to the Provinces present independence and a future
political life distinct from the turbulent existence of the United
States. A glance at the map will reveal the extent of the Empire
which rests upon the Lakes with one arm on the Atlantic and the
other on the Pacific, whilst its face is wrapped in a mantle
of eternal snow; but it tells us no more. No reasoning man can
maintain that the people whom a few years will behold as numerous
as the inhabitants of these islands, will be content to live
permanently under the system of the Colonial Office. That system
is probably the only one our Constitution permits us to adopt; but
it is nevertheless the policy, if not the duty, of this State to
foster the youth and early life of the colonies we have founded,
and to protect them, as far as may be, from the evils which shall
come upon them in consequence of their present connection with
Great Britain. Despised, neglected, and abandoned, the Provinces
would feel less irritation against their conquerors than against
their betrayers, and England might regret with unavailing sorrow
the indifference which left her without a foot of land or a friend
in the New World. Generosity not inconsistent with justice may
yet lay the foundations of an enduring alliance where once there
was only cold fealty and unsympathising command. A powerful State
may arise whose greatest citizens shall be proud to receive such
honours as the Monarch of England can bestow, whose people shall
vie with us in the friendly contests of commerce, and stand side by
side with us in battle. And when the inevitable hour of separation
comes, the parting will not then be in anger. A Constitutional
Republic, in which Monarchy would have been possible but for the
prudence of the mother-country, may exist without any hatred of
Monarchy or of England; and the people, born with equal rights to
pursue liberty and happiness, would love the land from which flowed
the sources of so many substantial blessings.
I hope that my apprehensions may prove ill-founded, and that the
dangers to which our North American possessions now, and England
herself and the peace of the world hereafter, are in my opinion
exposed, may be for ever averted.
WILLIAM HOWARD RUSSELL.
TEMPLE, _January, 1865_.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
Introductory--Canada and the Mason and Slidell case--Threats
of annexation--Defence of Canada--Reasons for visiting the
British Provinces--Illness at New York--Hostility displayed
there--Monotony of New York--Hotel life--“Birds of a
feather”--Nationality absorbed--Start for Canada--Railway
Companions--Public credulity--A victory in the papers--History
of “A Big Fight”--General Pumpkin and Jefferson Brick 1
CHAPTER II.
To the Station--Stars and Stripes--Crowd at Station--Train impeded
by Snow--Classic ground--“Manhattan”--“Yonkers”--Fellow-travellers
and their ways--“Beauties of the Hudson”--West Point: their
education, &c.--Large Towns on the banks of the Hudson--Arrive at
East Albany--Delavan House--Beds at a premium--Aspect of Albany
not impressive--Sights--The Legislature 17
CHAPTER III.
Unpleasant journey to Niagara--Mr. Seward--The Union and its
dangers--Pass Buffalo--Arrival at Niagara--A “Touter”--Bad
weather--The Road--Climate compared--Desolate appearance
of houses--The St. Lawrence viewed from above--One hundred
years ago--Canada the great object of the Americans--The
Welland Canal--Effect of the Falls from a distance--Gradual
approach--Less volume of water in winter--Different effect and
dangers in winter--Icicles--Behind the Cataract--Photographs
and Bazaar--Visit the “Lions” generally--Brock--American and
Canadian sides contrasted--Goat Island--A whisper heard--Mills
and Manufactories 28
CHAPTER IV.
Leave Niagara--Suspension Bridge--In British territory--Hamilton
City--Buildings--Proceed eastward--Toronto--Dine at Mess--Pay
visits--Public edifices--Sleighs--Amusement of the boys--
_Camaraderie_ in the army--Kindly feeling displayed--Journey
resumed towards Quebec--Intense cold--Snow landscape--Morning
in the train--Hunger and lesser troubles--Kingston, its rise
and military position--Harbour, dockyards--Its connection with
the Prince of Wales’ Tour--The Upper St. Lawrence--Canada as
to defence 53
CHAPTER V.
Arrive at Cornwall--The St. Lawrence--Gossip on India--Aspect
of the country--Montreal--The St. Lawrence Hall Hotel--Story
of a Guardsman--Burnside--Dinner--Refuse a banquet--Flags--Climate
--_Salon-à-manger_--Contrast of Americans and English--Sleighs--The
“Driving Club”--The Victoria Bridge--Uneasy feeling--Monument to
Irish emigrants--Irish character--Montreal and New York--The
Rink--Sir F. Williams--Influence of the Northerners 71
CHAPTER VI.
Visit the “lions” of Montreal--The 47th Regiment--The city open to
attack--Quays, public buildings--French colonisation--Rise of
Montreal--Stone--A French-Anglicised city--Loyalty of Canadians
--Arrival of Troops--Facings--British and American Army compared
--Experience needed by latter--Slavery 87
CHAPTER VII.
First view of Quebec--Passage of the St. Lawrence--Novel and
rather alarming situation--Russell’s Hotel--The Falls of
Montmorenci, and the “Cone”--Aspect of the City--The
Point--“Tarboggining”--Description of the “Cone”--Audacity
of one of my companions--A Canadian dinner--Call on the
Governor--Visit the Citadel--Its position--Capabilities for
defence--View from parapet--The armoury--Old muskets--Red-tape
thoughtfulness--French and English occupation of Quebec--Strength
of Quebec 100
CHAPTER VIII.
Lower Canada and Ancient France--Soldiers in Garrison at
Quebec--Canadian Volunteers--The Governor-General Viscount
Monck--Uniform in the United States--A Sleighing Party--Dinner
and Calico Ball 121
CHAPTER IX.
Canadian view of the American Struggle--English Officers in
the States--My own position in the States and in Canada--The
Ursulines in Quebec--General Montcalm--French Canadians--Imperial
Honours--Celts and Saxons--Salmon Fishing--Early Government of
Canada--Past and Future 128
CHAPTER X.
Canadian Hospitality--Muffins--Departure for the States--Desertions
--Montreal again--Southerners in Montreal--Drill and Snow
Shoes--Winter Campaigning--Snow Drifts--Military Discontent 148
CHAPTER XI.
Extent of Canada--The Lakes--Canadian Wealth--Early History--La
Salle--Border Conflicts--Early Expeditions--Invasions from
New England--Louisburgh and Ticonderoga--The Colonial Insurrection
--Partition of Canada--Progress of Upper Canada--France and
Canada--The American Invasion--Winter Campaign--New Orleans and
Plattsburgh--Peace of Ghent--Political Controversies--Winter
Communication--Sentiments of Hon. Joseph Howe--General view of
Imperial and Colonial relations 158
CHAPTER XII.
The Militia--American Intentions--Instability of the Volunteer
Principle--The Drilling of Militia--The Commission of 1862--The
Duke of Newcastle’s Views--Militia Schemes--Volunteer
Force--Apathy of the French Canadians--The first Summons 200
CHAPTER XIII.
Possible dangers--The future danger--Open to attack--Canals
and railways--Probable lines of invasion--Lines of attack and
defence--London--Toronto--Defences of Kingston--Defences
of Quebec 222
CHAPTER XIV.
Rapid Increase of Population--Mineral Wealth--Cereals--Imports
and Exports--Climate--Agriculture--A Settler’s Life--Reciprocity
Treaty--Report of the Committee of the Executive Council--Mr.
Galt--Senator Douglas--A Zollverein--Terms of the Convention--Free
Trade, and what is meant by it--Mr. Galt’s opinion on the
subject--Canadian Imports and Exports 241
CHAPTER XV.
Reciprocal Rights--American Ideas of Reciprocity--The Ad Valorem
System--Commercial Improvements--Trade with America--The Ottawa
Route--The Saskatchewan--Fertility of the Country--Water
Communication--The Maritime Provinces--Area and Population 259
CHAPTER XVI.
The “Ashburton Capitulation”--Boundaries of Quebec--Arbitration
in 1831--Lord Ashburton’s Mission--The questions in dispute--“The
Sea” _v._ “The Atlantic”--American Diplomatists--Franklin’s
Red Line--Compromise--The Maps--Maine--Damage to Canada--Mr.
Webster’s Defence--His Opinion of the Road--Value of the
Heights--Our Share of Equivalents--Strategic value of Rouse’s
Point--Mr. Webster on the Invasion of Canada--Vermont--New
Hampshire 283
CHAPTER XVII.
The Acadian Confederation--Union is Strength--The Provinces--New
Brunswick--The Temperature--Trade of St. John--Climate and
agriculture of Nova Scotia--Newfoundland--Prince Edward Island--The
Red River District--Assiniboia--The Red River Valley--Minnesota
and the West--The Hudson’s Bay Company--Their Territory--The
North-West Regions--Climate of Winnipeg Basin--The area of
Winnipeg Basin--Finances of the Confederation--Imports, exports,
and tonnage--Proposed Federal Constitution--Lessons from the
American struggle 310
[Illustration: (map of Upper and Lower Canada.)
_Stanfords Geographical Estab^t. London._
London: Bradbury & Evans, 11 Bouverie Street.]
CANADA:
ITS DEFENCES, CONDITION, AND RESOURCES.
CHAPTER I.
Introductory--Canada and the Mason and Slidell case--Threats
of annexation--Defence of Canada--Reasons for visiting the
British Provinces--Illness at New York--Hostility displayed
there--Monotony of New York--Hotel life--“Birds of a
feather”--Nationality absorbed--Start for Canada--Railway
Companions--Public credulity--A victory in the papers--History
of “A Big Fight”--General Pumpkin and Jefferson Brick.
I do not pretend to offer any new observations on the climate,
soil, or capabilities of Canada, nor can I venture to call these
pages a “work” on that great province. I have nothing novel to
advance in the hope of attracting an immigration to its wide-spread
territories, and any statistical facts and figures I may use are
accessible to all interested in the commerce or in the past,
present, and future of the land.
Nor do I write with any particular theory in view, or with any
crotchet on the subject of colonies, outlying provinces, and
dependencies, and their value or detriment to the dominant
commercial and imperial power.
My actual acquaintance with the country and the people is only such
as I acquired in a few weeks’ travelling in the depth of winter;
and such sort of knowledge as I gathered would certainly afford no
great excuse in itself for intruding my remarks or opinions on the
public when so many excellent books on Canada already exist.
But it happened that my visit took place at a very remarkable
period of Canadian and American history, and at a time, too, when
certain doctrines, broached not for the first time, but urged
with more than usual ability, as to the relations between what
for convenience I call the mother-country and her colonies, were
exciting great attention across the Atlantic.
When I left Washington in the winter, a great crisis had been
peacefully but not willingly averted by a concession on the part of
the Federal Government to what the sentiment of the American people
considered an exhibition of brute force. The first year of the war
had closed over the Federals in gloom. Their arms were not wielded
with credit at home--if credit ever can attach to arms wielded in
a civil war--and the foreign power which it had been their wont
to treat with something as near akin to disrespect as diplomatic
decency would permit, aroused by an act which outraged the laws
of nations and provoked the censure of every European power with
business on the waters, had made preparations which could only
imply that she would have recourse to hostility if her demands for
satisfaction were refused.
It was under these circumstances that England obtained the
reparation for which she sought, and in the eyes of Americans
filched a triumph over their flag and took an insolent advantage
over their weakened power “to do as they pleased.” General
McClellan, playing the part of Fabius, perhaps because he knew
not how to play any other part, had fallen sick and was nigh at
death’s door in the malarious winter at Washington. The great Union
army, like a hybernating eel in the mud, lay motionless, between
the Potomac and the clever imposture of the Confederate lines and
wooden batteries at Manassas.
But haughty and hopeful as ever, in tone if not in heart, the
Americans raved about vengeance for their own just concessions.
They boasted that the seizure of Canada would be one of the
measures of retaliation to which they intended promptly to resort,
as the indemnity to their injured vanity and as compensation for
the surrender of Messrs. Mason and Slidell.
Meanwhile the small force of British troops stationed in Canada was
reinforced by the speedy dispatch of some picked regiments from
England, which did not raise it much beyond its regular strength,
and tardy steps were taken to organise an efficient militia in the
province. The volunteer movement had extended its influence across
the ocean, and a commendable activity all over the British Colonies
and Canada falsified the complacent statements of the American
papers that the people were not loyal to the Crown nor careful of
the connection, which, it was alleged, they would gladly substitute
for the protection of the standard of the Northern Republic.
All these necessary precautions against the consequences of the
refusal of the American Government to yield the passengers taken
from under our flag, were watched angrily and jealously in the
States. The British reinforcements were ridiculed; their tedious
passages, their cheerless marches, were jeeringly chronicled.
Whole ships were reported to have gone down with living cargoes.
Those who landed were represented as being borne on sleighs by
sufferance routes, which would be impracticable in war. The
Canadians were abused--and so were the Provincialists. The
volunteers were assailed with the weapons which the American press
knows so well how to use.
But that was false policy. It gave a stimulus to the loyal feeling
of the subjects of the Crown. The Canadian press retorted, and,
exulting in the triumph of the Home Government over the Republican
Administration, uttered the taunts which Americans least brook to
hear.
It was assumed that the task of vengeance and conquest would be
light. I received letters in which it was maintained that Canada
could not be defended, and that she was not worth defending; others
merely urged that if the Canadians would not take a prominent part
in aid of imperial measures for their protection, they must be
handed over to the invading Americans; that their country cost more
than it was worth, and that it was a mistake to keep any connection
with the wrong side of the ledger, no matter what the results of
rupturing it might be.
Americans told me “General Scott declares the Canadian frontier is
not capable of defence.” True, Americans had told me some months
ago that General Scott, now _mis en retraite_ in New York, after
a hasty return from Europe--not, as was asserted, with diplomatic
authority or with the view of invading Canada, but to save his
pension in case of foreign war--would be in Richmond about July
22nd or 24th, 1861. I heard some views of the same kind from our
own officers, who expressed doubts respecting the possibility of a
successful resistance to American invasion.
Now if that were so, it struck me that the troops we had in the
country could prove but of little use, and that at the same time
the relative condition of strength between the United States and
Great Britain had undergone a vital change in face of the very
agencies which ought to have established more solidly the results
obtained in the last trial of force and resources between them on
Canadian ground. It was worth while trying to ascertain the truth
and to resolve these questions.
The United States, dreading a foreign war which might interfere
with their invasion of the Southern States, had ungraciously made a
concession, in revenge for making which their press declared they
would on the first convenient occasion make war on the Power they
had offended, in a country which they had invaded with all their
united power--when Great Britain, steamless and remote, was engaged
in European conflicts and destitute of maritime allies--only to
meet with defeat, or with success of a nature to prove their
incompetency to conquer.
Was the power of this distracted republic, contending furiously
with rebellious members, then, become so great? If so, with what
motive was Great Britain hurrying across the sea the élite of her
troops--too few to save these vast domains, too many to lose, and
far too many to return as paroled prisoners? Why try to defend on
such terms what was worthless and indefensible? Canada, if not
susceptible of defence, would be certainly unsuitable as a base
for offensive operations against the States. Obviously the matter
stood thus: that the military question depended on the temper and
spirit of the people themselves.
The whole force of the Canadians, sustained by Great Britain,
might, apparently, defy all the offensive power of the United
States; and I desired to ascertain in what condition were their
temper and defences.
At this time British officers were endeavouring to prepare the
possessions of the Crown against threatened invasion. The Americans
on their side were busy fortifying some important points on the
lakes.
General Totten, an officer of the United States Engineers, well
known for his ability, was understood to be engaged on a very
elaborate plan of works along the frontier. Colonel Gordon, whose
name will be for ever associated with the left attack at the siege
of Sebastopol, aided by an experienced staff, was employed on our
side, studying the capabilities of the frontier, and maturing a
plan for the consideration of the Government in case of an American
war.
There were reasons, too, of a personal character for my visiting
Canada. I had a fever, which was contracted at Washington and laid
me prostrate at New York. It was of the low typhoid type, which
proved fatal to so many in the Federal army at the same time, and
its effects made me weaker for the time than I ever remember to
have been. There was no promise whatever of military operations,
and I read every day of the arrival of friends and acquaintances
in Canada, whose faces it would be pleasant to see, after the
endurance of so many hostile glances and such public exhibition of
ill-will.
I do not wish to dwell on private annoyances, but as an instance
of the feeling displayed towards me in New York I may mention
one circumstance. On my arrival in 1861 I was elected an honorary
member of the club which derives its name from the state or city,
and was indebted to its members for many acts of courtesy and for
more than one entertainment. Returning to the city from Washington
early this year, I was invited to dine at the same club by one or
two of my friends. Certain members, as I afterwards heard, took
umbrage at my presence, and fastened a quarrel on my entertainers.
A day or two subsequently the people of New York were called on,
by the notorious journalist who had honoured me with his animosity
ever since I refused the dishonour of his acquaintance, to express
their indignation at the conduct of the club; and the members
received a characteristic reprimand for their presumption in
letting me into the club, from which they had kept their censor
and his clientele carefully out. My offence was rank; and public
opinion--or what is called so--perhaps was in favour of the
ostracism at that moment; for, as far as I know, the people must
have believed I was the sole cause of the Federal defeat and flight
at Bull Run.
There was some novelty in the idea of starting for Canada in the
midst of the bitter winter wind and the dazzling snow; but I would
have gone to Nova Zembla at the time to have escaped the monotony
of New York, which the effects of recent illness rendered more
irksome.
New York is among cities, what one of the lower order of molluscous
animals, with a single intestinal canal, is to a creature of a
higher development, with various organs, and full of veins and
arteries. Up and down the Broadway passes the stream of life to
and from the heart in Wall-street. In the narrow space from water
to water on either side of this dry canal there is comparatively
little animation, and nothing at all to reward the researches of a
stranger.
Johnson’s remark about Fleet-street would apply with truth to the
gawky thoroughfare of the Atlantic Tyre. In the Broadway or its
“west-end” extensions are to be found all the hotels, which are the
ganglia of the feverish nervous system so incessantly agitated by
the operations of the journalistic insects living in secret cysts
nigh at hand. All day the great tideway is rolling in, headed by
a noisy crest of little boys, with extras under their arms, and
heralded by a confused surfy murmur of voices telling “lies” for
cents, and enunciating “Another Great Union Victory!” in one great
bore; or it is rushing out again with a dismal leaden current,
laden with doubts and fears, as the news of some disaster breaks
through the locks of government reservoirs and floods the press.
In my hotel, where I was fain to seclude myself in my illness,
and to follow the very un-American practice of living in a suite
of private rooms, there was but little conflict of opinion on any
great event, real or fictitious, which turned up from day to day.
The guests and visitors were well-nigh all of one way of thinking.
They were of the old conservative party, so oddly denominated
Democrats, who believed in States Rights: in the right of states
to create and maintain their domestic institutions--to secede, if
they pleased, from the Union--to resist the attempts of the General
Government of the other states to coerce them by force of arms.
Some of these gentlemen were satisfied the South would not be
coerced; some hoped the South would resist successfully. None,
I fear, were “loyal” to President Lincoln and Mr. Seward, and I
am sure none would have said so much for either of them or their
friends as I would.
The majority principle forces people who hold similar views to
meet together, and to select the same hotels to live in. This
is unfortunate for a stranger who desires to hear the views of
both sides. In the New York, from the highly artistic and skilful
operator who flashed out cocktails at the bar, up to the highest
authority, there was no man who would like to say that he was on
good terms with Mr. Sumner, or that he did not think Mr. Seward
the representative of evil principles. The rule was proved by the
exceptions: two I suspect there were--stout Irish waiters, who did
not approve of the attempts to destroy “our glorious Union,” but
who did not find the atmosphere of the place quite favourable to
the free expression of the opinion they mildly hinted at to myself.
The sameness of ideas, of expressions, of faces, became unbearable.
I could tell quite well by the look of men’s faces what news they
had heard, and what they were saying or going to say about it.
Here were crafty politicals and practical men of business, and
persons of a philosophical and reflective temperament, as well as
the foolish, the mere pleasure-hunters, and the unthinking mass of
an hotel world, all looking forward to a near to-morrow to end the
woes of the state, always waiting for a “decisive” battle or “an
indignant uprising of the people” to drive the Republicans out of
power and office.
Not one of them could or would see that the contest, when
terminated, would give birth to others--that the vast bodies of
diverse interests, prejudices, hatreds, and wrongs set in motion
by war over so enormous a surface, where they had been kept
suspended and inert by the powers of compromise, could never be
reconsolidated and restored to the same state as before, and that
it would be the work of time, the labour of many years, ere they
could settle to rest in any shape whatever.
I am told respectable Americans do not use the word “Britisher,”
but I am bound to say I heard Americans who looked very respectable
using the word at the time of which I speak, when there was still
irritation on both sides in consequence of the surrender of Mason
and Slidell--in the minds of the friends of the South, because they
were balked in their anticipation of a foreign war; in the Federal
mind, because, after much threatening and menaces, they had seen
the captives surrendered to the British by the President, or, more
properly speaking, by Mr. Seward.
Hence it was, perhaps, that Canada was always mentioned in such a
tone of contempt, as though the speakers sought to relieve their
feelings by abuse of a British dependency.
“Goin’ to Canada!” exclaimed the faithful Milesian who had been
my attendant--in fact, my substitute for a nurse. “Lord help us!
_That’s_ a poor place, anyhow. I thought you’d be contint wid the
snow we’ve got here. It’s plinty, anyhow. But Canada!” The man had
never been there in his life, but he spoke as if it were beyond
the bounds of civilisation. He had served in a British regiment
for many years; many of his brothers had been, I think he told me,
in the service, but now they were all in the States, and to his
notion thriving like himself.
In no country on earth is an old nationality so soon absorbed as in
America. I am inclined to think the regard professed for England by
American literary men is sentimental, and is produced by education
and study rather than by any feeling transmitted in families or by
society.
The emigrant, it is remarked, speedily forgets--in the hurry of
his new life the ways of the old slip out of his memory. One day
I said to my man, as a regiment of volunteers was marching down
Broadway, “Those fellows are not quite as well set up as the
41st, Pat.” “Well, indeed, and that’s thrue; but they’d fight as
well I b’lieve, and better maybe, if they’d the officers, poor
craychures! Anyhow,” continued he with great gravity, “they can’t
be flogged for nothin’ or for anything.” “Were you ever flogged?”
“No, sirir--not a lash ever touched my back, but I’ve known fine
sogers spiled by it.” It is likely enough that he had never thought
on the subject till he came to the States--a short time before and
he would have resented deeply the idea that any regiment on earth
could stand before Her Majesty’s 41st.
It was now near the end of January, and as a gleam of fine weather
might thaw the glorious Union army of the Potomac, and induce them
to advance on the inglorious army of the Confederacy, I resolved to
make the best of my way northwards forthwith.
My companions were a young British officer, distinguished in the
Crimea, in India, and in China, who represented a borough in
Parliament, and had come out to see the great contest which was
raging in the United States; and an English gentleman, who happened
to be at New York, and was anxious to have a look at Niagara, even
in its winter dress.
On the 27th January we were all packed to start by the 5.30 P.M.
train by Albany to Niagara, and thence to Toronto. The landlord
made me up a small assortment of provisions, as in snow-time trains
are not always certain of anything but irregularity. I was regarded
as one who was about to make myself needlessly miserable when he
might continue in much happiness. “You had better stay, sir, for a
few days. I have certain intelligence, let me whisper you, that the
Abolitionists will be whipped at the end of this week, and old Abe
driven out of Washington.”
The little boys still shout out, “Another great Union victory.”
The last, by-the-bye, was of General Thomas, at Somerset, which
has gradually sublimed into uncertainty, though he handled his men
well, and is not bad at a despatch.
The credulity of the American mind is beyond belief. _Populus vult
decipi_--and certainly its wishes are complied with to the fullest
extent. The process of a Union victory, from its birth in the first
telegram down to its dissolution in the last despatch, is curious
enough.
Out comes an extra of the _New York Herald_--“Glorious Union
Victory off Little Bear Creek, Mo.!--Five Thousand Rebels Disposed
of!--Grand Skedaddle!--General Pumpkin’s Brilliant Charge!--He
Out-Murats Murat!--Sanguinary Encounters!--Cassius Mudd’s
Invincibles!--Doom of the Confederacy!--Jeff Davis gone to Texas!”
and so on, with a display of large type, in double-headed lines,
and a profusion of notes of admiration.
There is excitement in the bar-rooms. The Democrats look
down-hearted. The War Christians are jubilant. Fiery eyes
devour the columns, which contain but an elaboration of
the heading--swelled perhaps with a biographical sketch of
Brigadier-General Cyrus Washington Pumpkin, “who was educated
at West Point, where he graduated with Generals Beauregard and
McDowell, and eventually subsided into pork-packing at Cincinnati,
where he was captain of a fine company till the war broke out, when
he tendered his sword,” &c. Cassius Mudd’s biography is of course
reprinted for the twentieth time, and there is a list of the names
of all the officers in the regiments near the presumed scene of
action.
Then comes the action:--“An intelligent gentleman has just
arrived at Chicago, and has seen Dr. Bray, to whom he has given
full particulars of the fight. It was commenced by Lieutenant
Epaminondas Bellows (‘son of our respected fellow-citizen, the
President of the Bellowstown and Bellona Railway’--here follows a
biography of Bellows), who was out scouting with ten more of our
boys when they fell into an ambuscade, which opened on them with
masked batteries, uttering unearthly yells. With Spartan courage
the little band returned the fire, and kept the Seceshers, who were
at least 500 strong, at bay till their ammunition was exhausted.
Bellows, his form dilated with patriotism, his mellow tones ringing
above the storm of battle, was urged to fly by a tempter, whose
name we suppress. The heroic youth struck the cowardly traitor to
the earth, and indignantly invited the enemy to come on. They
did so at last. The lieutenant, resisting desperately, then fell,
and our men carried his body to the camp, to the skirts of which
they were followed by the Secesh cavalry and four guns. Our loss
was only two more--the enemy are calculated to have lost 85. The
farmers at Munchausen say they were busy all day carrying away
their dead in carts.
“On reaching the camp, General Pumpkin thought it right to drive
back the dastardly polluters of our country’s flag. He disposed
his troops in platoons, according to the celebrated disposition
made by Miltiades at Marathon, covering his wings with squadrons of
artillery in columns of sub-divisions, with a reserve of cavalry in
echelon; but he improved upon the idea by adding the combination of
solid squares and skirmishers in the third line, by which Alexander
the Great decided the Battle of Granicus.
“In this order, then, the Union troops advanced till they came
to Little Bear Creek. Here, to their great astonishment, they
found the enemy under General Jefferson Brick in person (Brick
will be remembered by many here as the intelligent clerk in our
advertisement department, but he was deeply tainted with Secesh
sentiments, and on the unfurling of our flag manifested them in
such a manner that we were obliged to dispense with his services).
The infamous destroyer of his country’s happiness had posted his
men so that we could not see them. They were at least three to
one--mustering some 7,000, with guns, caissons, baggage waggons,
and standards in proportion--and were arranged in an obtuse angle,
of which the smaller end was composed of a mass of veterans, in
the order adopted by Napoleon with the Old Guard at Waterloo: the
larger, consisting of the Whoop-owl Bushwackers and the Squash
River Legion in potence, threatened us with destruction if we
advanced on the other wing, whilst we were equally exposed to
danger if we remained where we were.
“General Pumpkin’s conduct is, at this most critical moment,
generally described as being worthy of the best days of Roman
story. He simply gave the word ‘Charge.’ ‘What, General?’ exclaimed
our informant. ‘Charge! Sir,’ said the general, with a sternness
which permitted no further question. With a yell our gallant
fellows dashed at the enemy, but the water was too deep in the
creek, and they retired with terrific loss. The enemy then dashed
at them in turn. They drove our right for three miles; we drove
their left for three-and-a-quarter miles. Their centre drove our
left, and our right drove their centre again. They took five of our
guns; we took six of theirs and a bread-cart.
“Night put an end to this dreadful struggle, in which American
troops set an example to the war-seamed soldiers of antiquity. Next
morning General Pumpkin pushed across to Pugstown, and occupied it
in force. Union sentiment is rife all through Missouri. We demand
that General Pumpkin be at once placed at the head of the Army of
the Potomac.”
Now all this--in no degree exaggerated--and the like of which I
have read over and over again, affords infinite comfort or causes
great depression to New York for an hour or so, coupled with an
“editorial,” in which the energy and enterprise of the Scarron
are duly eulogised, old Greeley’s hat and breeches and umbrella
handled with charming wit and eloquence, and the inevitable
flight of the Richmond Government to Texas clearly demonstrated.
Next day some little doubt is expressed as to the exact locality
of the fight--“Pumpkin’s force was at Big Bear, 180 miles west
of the place indicated. We doubt not, however, the account is
substantially correct, and that the Secesh forces have been pretty
badly whipped.”
Next day the casualties are reduced from 200 killed and 310 wounded
to 96 killed and none wounded; and scrutinising eyes notice a
statement, in small type, that the “father of Lieutenant Bellows
has written to us to state his son was not engaged on the occasion
in question, but was at home on furlough.” And by the time “Another
Great Union Victory!” is ready, the fact oozes out, but is by no
means considered worth a thought, that General Pumpkin has had an
encounter with the Confederates in which he suffered a defeat, and
that he has gone into winter quarters.
I do not suppose for a moment that these deceitful agencies
are exercised only in the North, but am persuaded, from what
I know, that the Southern people are at least as anxious for
news, and as liable to be led away by suppressions of truth or
distorted narratives, as those of the Free States. If we had had
a telegraphic system and a newspaper press during the Wars of the
Roses, or the struggle of 1645, it is probable our partisans,
on both sides, would have been as open to imposture; but I do
not think they would have continued long in the faith that the
ever-detected impostor was still worthy of credence.
CHAPTER II.
To the Station--Stars and Stripes--Crowd at Station--Train impeded
by Snow--Classic ground--“Manhattan”--“Yonkers”--Fellow-travellers
and their ways--“Beauties of the Hudson”--West Point: their
education, &c.--Large Towns on the banks of the Hudson--Arrive at
East Albany--Delavan House--Beds at a premium--Aspect of Albany
not impressive--Sights--The Legislature.
As we drove over the execrable snow-heaps to the station, the
streets seemed to me unusually dreary. The vast Union flags which
flapped in the cold air, now dulled and dim, showed but their great
bars of blood, and the stars had faded out into darkness.
Apropos of the stripes and stars, I may say I never could meet
any one in the States able to account for the insignia, though it
has been suggested that they are an amplification of the heraldic
bearing of George Washington. Strange indeed if the family blazon
of an English squire should have become the flaunting flag of the
Great Republic, which with all its faults has done so much for the
world, and may yet, purged of its vanity, arrogance, and aggressive
tendency, do so much more for mankind! Not excepting our own, it
is the most widely-spread flag on the seas; for whilst it floats
by the side of the British ensign in every haunt of our commerce,
it has almost undisputed possession of vast tracts of sea in the
Pacific and South Atlantic.
At last we got to the end of our very unpleasant journey, and
approached the York and Albany Terminus, over an alpine concrete
of snow-heaps, snow-holes, and street-rails. At the station my
coach-driver affectionately seized my hand, and bade me good-bye
with a cordiality which might have arisen from the sensitiveness
of touch in his palm as much as from personal affection. The
terminus was crowded with citizens (eating apples, lemon-drops,
and gingerbread-nuts, and reading newspapers) and a few men in
soldier’s uniform, going north--only one or two of what one
calls in Europe gentlemen or ladies, but all well-dressed and
well-behaved, if they would only spare the hissing stoves and the
feelings of prejudiced foreigners.
The train, with more punctuality than we usually observe in such
matters, started to the minute, but only went ten yards or so, and
then halted for nearly half an hour--no one knew why, and no one
seemed to care, except a gentleman who was going, he said, to get
his friend, “the Honourable Something Raymond, to do something
for him at Albany,” and was rather in a hurry. When the engine
renewed the active exercise of its powers, the pace was slow and
the motion was jerking and uneven, owing to snow on the rails, and
the obstacles increased as the train left the shelter of the low
long-stretching suburb which clings to it, and is dragged, as it
were, out of the city with it along the bank of the Hudson. But
even 181st and 182nd streets abandoned their attempts to keep up
with the rail; and all that could be seen of civilisation were
sundry chimneys and walls and uncouth dark masses of wood or brick
rising above the snow. The lights in the wooden stations shone out
frostily through the dimmed windows as we struggled on.
We were passing through at night what is to Americans classic
ground, in spite of odd names: for here is “Manhattan” (associated
in my mind for ever with a man who, unfortunately for himself
and me, had a wooden leg, as he planted the iron ferule of that
insensible member on the only weak point of my weaker foot)--and
next is “Yonkers,” where a lady once lived with whom Washington was
once in love, and several “fights” took place all around, in which
the Americans were more often beaten than victorious;--“Dobb’s
Ferry” “Tarrytown” (poor André! let those who wish to know all that
can be known of the “spy” read Mr. Sargent’s life of him, published
in Philadelphia), which is “nigh on to Sleepy Hollow,” where Mr.
Diedrich Knickerbocker had such a remarkable interview with the
ancient Hollander;--“Sing Sing,” where many gentlemen, not so well
known to fame, have interviews of a less agreeable character with
modern American authorities. We are passing, too, by Sunnyside,
where Washington Irving lived. I would rather have seen him than
all the remarkable politicians in the States--old Faneuil, or
Bunker’s Hill, or all the wonders of the great nation; though I am
told he was unbearably prosy and sleepy of late days.
Cold and colder it becomes as we creep on, and slower creaks the
train with its motley freight. The men round the stoves “fire up”
till the iron glows and gives out the heated air to those who
can stand it, and an unsavoury odour, as of baked second-hand
clothing, and a hissing noise to those beyond the torrid circle.
The slamming of the door never ceases. Sometimes it is a conductor,
sometimes it is not. But no matter who makes the disturbance,
he has a right to do so. No one can sleep on account of that
abominable noise, even if he could court slumber in a seat which is
provided with a rim to hurt his back if he reclines, and a ridge to
smite his face if he leans forward. Apples and water and somebody’s
lemon-drops are in demand; and vendors of vegetable ivory furtively
deposit specimens of ingenious manufacture but inscrutable purpose
in the lap of the unoffending stranger, who in his sleepy state
often falls a victim to these artifices, and finds himself called
on to pay several dollars for quaint products of the carver, which
he has unduly detained in his unconsciousness.
The train arrives at Poughkeepsie, seventy-five miles from New
York, an hour and a half late. We hear that, instead of reaching
Albany at 10.30 or 11 P.M., we shall not be in till 1 or 1.30 A.M.,
and will “lose communications;” therefore we eat in desperation
at refreshment-rooms large oysters boiled in milk out of small
basins. In the night once more. We have passed West Point long
since, and an enthusiastic child of nature, who has been pointing
out to me the “beauties of the Hudson,” which is flowing down under
its mail of ice close to our left, has gone to sleep among the
fire-worshippers at the stove.
Now, the fact is, that scenery under snow is, I may safely affirm,
very like beauty under a mask, or a fine figure in a waterproof
blanket. The hills were mere snow-mounds, and the lines of all
objects were fluffy and indistinct; and I was glad my eulogistic
friend slept at last. West Point I longed to see; for though its
success in turning out great generals has as yet not been very
remarkable, I had met too many excellent specimens of its handiwork
in making good officers and pleasant gentlemen not to feel a desire
to have purview of the institution. Had I not heard a live general
sing “Benny Haven, ho!”--had I not seen Mordecai sitting at the
gate of Pelissier in vain, and McClellan and Delafield engaged in
a geological inquiry on the remains of the siege of Sebastopol?
Above all, does not West Point promise to become something like
a military academy, in a country such as America is likely to be
after the war?
It is a mistake rather common in England, and in Europe, to suppose
that a majority, or even a minority, of the American generals
are civilians. With very few exceptions indeed, they have either
been some time at West Point, or have graduated there. In a
country which has no established lines to mark the difference of
classes, which nevertheless exists there as elsewhere, there is a
positive social elevation acquired by any man who has graduated
at West Point; and if he has taken a high degree, he is regarded
in his State as a man of mark, whose services must be secured for
the military organisation and public service in the militia or
volunteers.
There is no country in the world where so many civilians have
received their education in military academies without any view
to a military career. There are of course many “generals” and
“colonels” of States troops who have had no professional training,
but not nearly so many as might be imagined.
But the great defect under which American officers laboured
until this unhappy war broke out, was the purely empirical and
theoretical state of their knowledge. They had no practical
experience. The best of them had only such knowledge as they could
have gleaned in the Mexican war. A man whose head was full of
Jomini was sent off to command a detachment in a frontier fort, and
to watch marauding Indians, for long years of his life, and never
saw a regiment in the field. As to working the three arms together
creditably in the field, I doubt if there is an officer in the
whole army who could do it anything like so well as the Duke of
Cambridge, or as an Aldershot or Curragh brigadier.
It would be hard for any Englishman to be indifferent to the
advantages of military training in a country where every village
around could have told tale’s of the helpless, hopeless blundering
which characterised the operations of the British generals
hereabouts in the War of Independence. Deflecting thus, too, I felt
less inclined to wonder at the mistakes made by the Federals, and
by the Confederates. Had the British generals proved more lucky and
skilful, should we now have been passing the towns which cluster on
the banks of the Hudson, or would “monarchy” have impeded the march
of life, commerce, and civilisation out here?
Towns of 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, and even of 30,000 inhabitants
rise on the margin of the fine river, which in summer presents,
I am assured, a scene of charming variety and animation, and in
autumn is fringed by the most beautiful of all beautiful American
landscapes, surcharged with the glorious colours of that lovely
season. Through the darkness by the bright starlight we could see
the steamboats locked fast in the ice, like knights in proof,
awaiting the signal to set them free for the charge. But, ah me!
how weary it was!--how horrible the stoves! At last and at last the
train stopped, and finally deposited us at three o’clock in the
morning on the left bank of the Hudson, at East Albany.
The city proper lies on the opposite shore of the river; and I
got, as I was directed, into a long low box called the omnibus,
which was soon crowded with passengers. In a few minutes we were
off. Then I was made aware that the ’bus was a sleigh, and that
it was on runners and---- Just at that moment the machine made a
headlong plunge, like a ship going down by the bows at sea, and
in an instant more had pierced the depths of darkness, and with a
crashing scrunching bump touched the bottom. “We’re on the river
now, I guess,” quoth one. And so it was. We had shot down the bank,
which must be higher than one would like to leap, even on snow, and
were now rolling, squeaking, and jerking over the frozen river,
amid the groans and shrieks and grumbling protests of the ice,
which seemed in some places to give way as if it were going to let
us down bodily, and in others to rise up in strong ridges to baffle
the horses’ efforts. Then, after a most disagreeable drive, which
seemed half-an-hour long--and about thrice as long as it really
was, I suppose--a prodigious effort of horse muscle and whipping,
and of manual labour, accomplished the ascent of the other bank,
and the vehicle passed through the deserted streets of Albany--the
capital of the great State of New York--to the Delavan House, which
was open to receive but not to entertain us. A rush of citizens was
made to “the office” of the hotel. More citizens followed out of
fast-arriving vehicles from the train--for there was no means of
getting on till the forenoon--and all went perforce to the Delavan
House.
The hotel office consisted of a counter with a raised desk,
enclosing a man with a gold chain, a diamond stuck in the front
of a dress shirt--not as pin to a scarf or as a stud, but as a
diamond _per se_, after the fashion of those people and of railway
conductors in the land--his hat cocked over one eye, a toothpick
even at that hour in his mouth, a black dress suit of clothes, a
dyed moustache and beard _à la_ Rowdy Americain, and an air of
sovereign contempt for his customers. The crowd pressed around
and hurled volleys of questions--“Can we have beds, sir?” &c. But
the man of Delavan House replied not. To all their entreaties he
returned not a word. But he did take out a great book and spread it
on the counter, and putting a pen in the ink he handed it to the
citizen nearest, who signed himself and his State, and asked meekly
“if he could have a bed at once, as he was so” &c. To him the man
of Delavan House deigned no reply. The pen was handed to another,
who signed, and so on--the arbiter of our destinies watching
each inscription with the air of an attorney’s clerk who takes
signatures to an attestation.
There were at least fifty people to sign before me, and I heard
from a waiter there were only ten beds--which on the most ample
allowance would only accommodate some thirty people--vacant. Were
the Britishers to be beaten? Never! Leaving our luggage, we dashed
out into the snow. And lo! a house nigh at hand, with lights and
open doors. A black waiter sallied out at the tramp of feet in the
hall. He told us, “De rooms all tuk, sar.” He was told to be less
indiscreet in his assertions, and all the time of colloquy the
invading Celts and Saxons pushed onwards and upwards to the first
landing. Here were doors standing open. We entered one. Three small
rooms--beds empty! no luggage! This will do. “Massa, dis room’s all
----” “You be quiet!” And the luggage was dragged over by our own
right hands, eventually aided by the Ethiop.
I had the satisfaction, as I was gliding away with my hat-box,
to hear the man of Delavan House reading the book of fate, and
selecting his victims at his grim pleasure. In fact, the house on
which we had stumbled was a sort of succursal to the hotel; and the
proprietor, afraid of offending so mighty a potentate, was shocked
at the idea of letting in any one without his leave. What became of
the victims I know not, but I do know that the beds--though we went
to them supperless--of the humble hostelry were very grateful.
I went to bed about 4 A.M., with the fixed intention of getting
up early and visiting the capitol, when I could have seen with
these eyes the glories of the Hon. ---- Raymond as Speaker in
the State Hall, and have heard something more of the interesting
proceedings against a New York alderman, who accused senators and
representatives of being accessible as Danaë to the golden shower,
and even to greenbacks.
No man can see the real merits of a city in snow. I shall repeat
the remark no more; therefore if I say I don’t like a place, let
the snow bear the blame: but Albany did not impress me when I did
get up, and the sight of the State Capitol at the top of a steep
street was so utterly depressing, that I abandoned my resolve, and
sought less classic ground. What have not these Greeks to answer
for in this new land?
There was a comforting contrast to the hideous domes and mock
porticoes, and generally to the ugliness of the public buildings,
in the solid unpretentious look of the old Dutch-built houses of
private citizens. Though there is an aspect of decadence about
Albany, it seems more, far more respectable and gentlemanly than
its smug, smirking, meretricious but overwhelming rival, New York.
I was informed by an American that it was called after the second
name in the title of James the Second, before he ascended the
throne. “Bad as the Stuarts were to you, they were a great deal
better for the colonies,” said he, “than your Hanover House, and
perhaps if you hadn’t changed them you might not have lost us.” It
was curious to hear an American saying a good word for the luckless
house, though I am by no means of the opinion that England could
ever have ruled colonies which were saturated with the principles
of self-government.
It was too cold at such a season as this for philosophical research
in a sleigh, and too slippery for sauntering; and we were whirled
out of the State capital without seeing much of it, except church
steeples, and some decent streets, and the ice-bound river studded
with hard-set steamers.
There are, however, in summer time, as I hear, and can well
imagine, many fine sights to be seen. There is the Fall of Cohoes,
where the Mohawk River, a stream of greater body than the Thames
at Richmond, leaps full seventy feet down into a gulf, whence it
collects itself to pursue its course to the Hudson. There are
Shaker settlements, and many communities of “isms” and astounding
congregations of “ists;” and there are clean Dutch streets, and
Dutch tenures and customs to this day. With the tenures, however,
the rule of the majority has made rough work; and the lords _in
capite_, or padroons, have suffered pauperisation by the simple
process of nonpayment of their rents.
The Legislature is now in solemn conclave. They are investigating
charges implied in the speech of a New York alderman, who declared
he could get any measure passed he liked, by paying the members--of
course extra-officially, because the payment, _per se_, could
only be an agreeable addition to their income. The Speaker is Mr
Raymond, of the _New York Times_, who, in spite of or perhaps in
consequence of the opposition of the _Caledonian Cleon_, his rival,
was elected to that high office. It was in course of conversation
with an American gentleman respecting the election, that I learned
there was no more certain way of succeeding in any contest in the
State, than to obtain the abuse of the organ under that person’s
control. Be it senator, mayor, or common-councilman, the candidate
he favours is lost, for all respectable people instinctively vote
against him.
CHAPTER III.
Unpleasant journey to Niagara--Mr. Seward--The Union and its
dangers--Pass Buffalo--Arrival at Niagara--A ‘Touter’--Bad
weather--The Road--Climate compared--Desolate appearance
of houses--The St. Lawrence viewed from above--One hundred
years ago--Canada the great object of the Americans--The
Welland Canal--Effect of the Falls from a distance--Gradual
approach--Less volume of water in winter--Different effect and
dangers in winter--Icicles--Behind the Cataract--Photographs
and Bazaar--Visit the “Lions” generally--Brock--American and
Canadian sides contrasted--Goat Island--A whisper heard--Mills
and Manufactories.
It was past noon ere the train once more began its contest with
the snow--now conquering, now stubbornly resisted, and brought
to a standstill:--the pace exceedingly slow, the scenery that of
undulating white tablecloths, the society dull.
The journey to Niagara was as unpleasant as very bad travelling and
absence of anything to see could make it. The train contained many
soldiers or volunteers going back to their people, who discussed
the conduct of the war with earnestness and acuteness; but though
we were so far north, I could not hear any of them very anxious
about the negro.
Well-dressed men and women got in and out at all the stations,
nor did I see persons in the whole line of the cars who seemed to
have rubbed elbows with adversity. Schenectady! Utica! Syracuse!
Auburn! Here be comminglings!--the Indian, the Phœno-Numidian, the
Greek-Sicilian, the Anglo-Irish, all reviving here in fair towns,
full of wealth, commerce, and life.
The last-named is, I believe, the birthplace, and is certainly what
auctioneers call the residential abode, of Mr. Seward. I remember
his Excellency relating how, after the Battle of Bull Run--when
he was threatened by certain people from Baltimore with hanging,
as the reward of his misdeeds in plunging the country into civil
war--he resolved to visit his fellow-citizens and neighbours, to
ascertain whether there was any change of feeling amongst them. He
was received with every demonstration of kindness and respect, and
then, said he, “I felt my head was quite safe on my shoulders.” It
is but just to say, Mr. Seward altogether disclaims the intention
of seizing on Canada, which has been attributed to him in England;
although he certainly is of opinion, that the province cannot
continue long to be a dependency of the English Crown. How long
does he think California will be content to receive orders from a
government at Washington?
The danger which menaces the Union will become far greater after
the success of the Unionists than it was during the war, because
the extinction of the principle of States Rights will naturally
tend to centralise the power of the Federal Government. They cannot
restore that which they have pulled down. In virtue of their
own principles, they must maintain a strict watch and supreme
control over the State Governments and Legislatures. Endless
disputes and jealousies will arise. The Democrats, at once the
wealthiest and the ablest party in each State, will take every
opportunity of opposing the centralised Government; and although
the Republicans may raise armies to fight for the Union, they will
not be able to prevent the slow and certain action of the State
Legislatures, which will tend to detach the States more and more
from any federation in which their interests are not engaged, and
to form them into groups, bound together by community of commerce,
manufacture, feeling, and destiny.
Canada must of course accept its fate with the rest; but
Englishmen, at least, will not yield it to the menaces or violence
of the Northern Americans, as long as the people of the province
prefer being our fellow-subjects to an incorporation in the
Great Republic, or any section of it that may be desirous of the
abstraction.
I fear we mostly look at Mr. Seward’s conduct and language from a
point which causes erroneous inferences. It should be remembered
that he is an American minister--that he has not only the interests
but the passions and prejudices of the American people to consult,
and that, like Lord Palmerston, he is not the minister of any
country but his own. His son, the Under-secretary of State, is the
proprietor and editor of a journal here, which is conducted with
the moderation and tact to be expected from the amiable character
of the gentleman alluded to.
There was little to be seen of the towns at which we halted, and
our journey was continued from one to the other monotonously
enough. The weary creeping of the train, the foul atmosphere, the
delays, however inevitable and unavoidable, rather spoiled one’s
interest in the black smoky-looking cities on the white plains
through which we passed; and night found us still “scrooging on,”
and occasionally stopping and digging out. Thus we passed by
Rochester and the Genessee Falls, which seem extensively used up in
mill-working, and arrived at Buffalo (278 miles) a little before
midnight. There we branched off to Niagara, which is 22 miles
further on.
Up to this time we had been minded to go to the Clifton House,
which is on the Canadian side of the river, though it is kept by
Americans, and of which we had agreeable memories in the summer,
when it was the headquarters of many pleasant Southerners. There
were only three or four men in our car, one of whom was, even under
such hopeless circumstances, doing a little touting for an hotel at
the American side. After a while he threw a fly over us and landed
the whole basket. All the large hotels, he said, were shut up on
both sides of the Falls, but he could take us to a very nice quiet
and comfortable place, where we would meet with every attention,
and it was the only house we would find open. This exposition left
us no choice.
We surrendered ourselves therefore to the tout, who was a very
different being from the type of his class in England: a tall,
pleasant-faced man, with a keen eye and bronzed face, ending in
an American Vandyke beard, a fur collar round his neck, a heavy
travelling coat--from which peered out the ruffles of a white
shirt and a glittering watch-chain--rings on his fingers, and
unexceptionable shoeing. He smoked his cigar with an air, and
talked as if he were conferring a favour. “And I tell you what!
I’ll show you all over the Falls to-morrow. Yes, sir!” Why, we
were under eternal obligations to such a guide, and internally
thanking our stars for the treasure-trove at once accepted him.
At the gloomy deserted station we were now shot out, on a sheet of
slippery deep snow, an hour after midnight. We followed our guide
to an hostelry of the humbler sort, where the attention was not at
first very marked or the comfort at all decided. The night was very
dark, and a thaw had set in under the influence of a warm rain. The
thunder of the Falls could not be heard through the thick air, but
when we were in the house a quiet little quivering rattle of the
window-panes spoke of its influence. The bar-room was closed--in
the tawdry foul-odoured eating-room swung a feeble lamp: it was
quite unreasonable to suppose any one could be hungry at such
an hour, and we went to bed with the nourishment supplied by an
anticipation of feasting on scenery. All through the night the door
and window-frames kept up the drum-like roll to the grand music far
away.
We woke up early. What evil fortune! Rain! fog! thaw!--the snow
melting fast in the dark air. But were we not “bound” to see the
Falls? So after breakfast, and ample supplies of coarse food, we
started in a vehicle driven by the trapper of the night before.
He turned out to be a very intelligent, shrewd American, who had
knocked about a good deal in the States, and knew men and manners
in a larger field than Ulysses ever wandered over.
The aspect of the American city in winter time is decidedly quite
the reverse of attractive, but there was a far larger fixed
population than we expected to have seen, and the fame of our
arrival had gone abroad, so that there was a small assemblage
round the stove in the bar-room and in the passage to see us
start. I don’t mean to see us in particular, but to stare at any
three strangers who turned up so suspiciously and unexpectedly
at this season. The walls of the room in the hotel were covered
with placards, offering large bounties and liberal inducements to
recruits for the local regiment of volunteers; and I was told that
a great number of men had gone for the war after the season had
concluded--but Abolition is by no means popular in Niagara.
It was resolved that we should drive round to the British side by
the Suspension Bridge, a couple of miles below, as the best way
of inducting my companions into the wonders of the Falls; and I
prepared myself for a great surprise in the difference between the
character of the scene in winter and in summer.
For some time the road runs on a low level below the river bank,
and does not permit of a sight of the cataract. The wooden huts
of the Irish squatters looked more squalid and miserable than
they were when I saw them last year--wonderful combinations of
old plank, tarpaulin, tinplate, and stove pipes. “It’s wonderful
the settlement doesn’t catch fire!” “But it does catch fire. It’s
burned down often enough. Nobody cares: and the Irish grin, and
build it up again, and beat a few of the niggers, whom they accuse
of having blazed ’em up. They’ve a purty hard time of it now, I
think.”
There are too many free negroes and too many Irish located in
the immediate neighbourhood of the American town, to cause
the doctrines of the Abolitionists to be received with much
favour by the American population; and the Irish of course are
opposed to free negroes, where they are attracted by papermills,
hotel service, bricklaying, plastering, housebuilding, and the
like--the Americans monopolising the higher branches of labour and
money-making, including the guide business.
At a bend in the road we caught a glimpse of the Falls, and I
was concerned to observe they appeared diminished in form, in
beauty, and in effect. The cataract appeared of an ochreish hue,
like bog-water, as patches of it came into sight through breaks
in the thick screen of trees which line the banks. The effect was
partly due to the rain, perhaps, but was certainly developed by
the white setting of snow through which it rushed. The expression
on my friends’ faces indicated that they considered Niagara an
imposition. “The Falls are like one of our great statesmen,”
quoth the guide, “just now. There’s nothing particular about them
when you first catch a view of them; but when you get close and
know them better, then the power comes out, and you feel small as
potatoes.”
As we splashed on through the snow, I began to consider the
disadvantages to which the poor emigrant who chooses a land
exposed to the rigours of a six months’ winter, must be exposed;
and I wondered in myself that the early settlers did not fly, if
they had a chance, when they first experienced the effects of
bitter cold. But I recollected how much better were soil, climate,
and communications than they are in the sunny South, where, for
seven months, the heat is far more intolerable than the cold of
Canada--where the fever revels, where noxious reptiles and insects
vex human life, and the blood is poisoned by malaria, and where
wheat refuses to grow, and bread is a foreign product.
Even in Illinois the winter is, as a rule, as severe as it is in
Canada, the heat as great in summer--water is scarce, roads bad.
It is better to be a dweller on the banks of the St. Lawrence than
a resident in the Valley of the Mississippi, even if a tithe of
its fabled future should ever come to pass. There is no reason why
the Canadas should be regarded with less favour than the Western
States, although the winters are long enough: in the prairie there
is a want of wholesome water in summer, and a scarcity of fuel for
cold weather, which tend to restore the balance in favour of the
provinces.
The country, which I remembered so riant and rich, now was cold
and desolate. At the station, near the beautiful Suspension
Bridge--which one cannot praise too much, and which I hope may last
for ever, though it does not look like it--the houses had closed
windows, and half of them seemed empty, but the German proprietors
no doubt could have been found in the lagerbeer saloons and
billiard-rooms. The toll-takers and revenue officers on the bridge
showed the usual apathy of their genus. No novelty moves them. Had
the King of Oude appeared with all his court on elephants, they
would have merely been puzzled how to assess the animals. They were
not in the least disconcerted at a group of travellers visiting the
St. Lawrence in winter time.
The sight of the St. Lawrence as we crossed over, roaring and
foaming more than a hundred feet below us, and rushing between the
precipitous banks on which the bridge rests, gave one a sort of
“_frisson_:” it looked like some stream of the Inferno--the waters,
black and cold, lashed into pyramids of white foam, and seeming
by their very violence to impede their own escape. Some distance
below the bridge, indeed, they rise up in a visible ridge, crested
with high plumes of tossing spray; but it is related as a fact
that the steamer “Maid of the Mist,” which was wont to ply as a
ferry-boat below the Falls, was let down this awful sluice by a
daring captain, who sought to save her from the grip of certain
legal functionaries, and that she got through with the loss of her
chimney, after a fierce contest with the waters, in which she was
whirled round and buffeted almost to foundering. At that moment the
men on board would no doubt have surrendered to the feeblest of
bailiffs for the chance of smooth water.
About one hundred years ago, the spot where we now stood was the
scene of continual struggles between the Red man, still strong
enough to strike a blow for his heritage, and the British. It was
on the 14th September, 1764, that the Indians routed a detachment
at Niagara, and killed and wounded upwards of two hundred men;
and their organisation seemed so formidable that Amherst was glad
to make a treaty with the tribes through the instrumentality of
Sir W. Johnston. The colonists then left on us the main burden of
any difficulty arising from their great cupidity and indifference
to the rights of the natives. In ten years afterwards they were
engaged in preparing for the grand revolt which gave birth to the
United States and to the greatest development of self-government
ever seen in the world.
As they were setting about the work of wresting the New World
from the grasp of the monarchical system, Cook was exploring the
shores of the other vast continent in the Southern Sea, where
the spirit of British institutions, with the widest extension
of constitutional liberty, may yet successfully vindicate the
attachment of a great Anglo-Saxon race to the Crown.
There are many in America who think the colonies would never have
revolted if the French had retained possession of Canada, and,
indeed, it is likely enough the Anglo-Saxons would have held to the
connection if the Latin race had been sitting upon them northwards;
but the political accidents and the military results which expelled
the fleur-de-lys from Canada, doubtless created an unnatural bond
of union between the absolutist Court of St. Germains and the
precursors of Anacharsis Clootz in the colonies. To the seer there
might have been something ominous in the coalition.
The men who were battling for the divine right of kings in Europe
could scarce fight for the divine right of man in America without
danger. The kiss which was imprinted at Versailles on Franklin’s
cheek, by the lips of a royal lady, must have had the smack of the
guillotine in it.
Anyway, we must allow, the French-Canadians, who stood by us
shoulder to shoulder and beat back the American battalions, whose
power to invade was mainly derived from foreign support, showed
they had a surprising instinct for true liberty. No doubt they
would have fought at least as stoutly, had the arrogant colonists
been aided by red-coats, for the sake of the white banner and the
fleur-de-lys; but in the time of trouble and danger they stood
loyally by the Crown and connection of England, and their services
in that day should not be lightly forgotten.
It is above all things noteworthy, perhaps, that the Americans in
all their wars with the mother-country have sought to strike swift
hard blows in Canada, and that hitherto, with every advantage and
after considerable successes, they have been driven, weather-beaten
back, and bootless home. It was actually on the land shaken by the
roar of these falling floods that battles have been fought, and
that the air has listened in doubt to the voice of cannon mingling
with the eternal chorus of the cataract.
There are here two points at which Canada lies open to the invader.
The first lies above the Rapids--the latter is below them, where
the St. Lawrence flows into the lake. Three considerable actions
and various small engagements have taken place on the Canadian side
of the river, all of which were characterised by great obstinacy
and much bloodshed. Let us consider them, and see what can or ought
to be done in order to guard the tempting bank which offers such an
excellent base of operations for future hostile occupation.
An inspection of the map will show the Welland Canal, running
from Port Maitland, Dunnville, and Port Colborne, on Lake Erie,
to Lake Ontario at Port Dalhousie. The command of this canal
would be of the very greatest importance to an invading army, as
it would establish a communication inside the Falls of Niagara;
but it would be very difficult to obtain such a command so as to
prevent the destruction of the canal in case of necessity. It is
obvious, however, that the line of it should be defended, and that
garrisons should be stationed to hold points inside the line, such
as Erie and Chippewa, to render it unsafe for the enemy to move
down inside them. At Fort Erie there is a very insignificant work,
but, with that exception, the line of the Welland Canal may be
considered as perfectly open and defenceless--not by any means as
utterly indefensible.
The river is not broad enough to prevent the dwellers on the banks
from indulging in hostilities if they pleased; but no practical
advantage would be gained in a campaign by any operation which did
not settle the fate of the Welland Canal. The locks will permit
vessels 142 feet long, with 26 feet beam, and drawing 10 feet of
water, to pass between Erie and Ontario; and from the latter lake
to the sea, or _vice versâ_, they can pass by the St. Lawrence
Canal, drawing one foot less water. It would be above all things
important to prevent an enemy getting possession of this Welland
Canal. It would not suffice for us to destroy it by injuring a lock
or the like, as such an act would militate against our own lines of
communication,--more important to us, who have an inferior power of
transport on the lakes, than it would be to the Americans.
In addition to a well-devised system of field-works, it is
desirable that permanent fortifications should be constructed to
cover the termini of the canal and the feeder above Port Maitland.
At present, the defensive means of Fort Erie, at the entrance of
the river above the Rapids, are very poor, and quite inadequate
to resist modern artillery. However, this subject will be best
discussed when I come to speak of the general defence of Canada.
This yawning gap is barrier enough between the two countries should
they ever, unhappily, become belligerent, but the banks can be
commanded by either; and in case of war the bridge would no doubt
be sacrificed by one or other, as well as the grander structure at
Montreal would be, without some special covenant.
When still a mile and a half away, a whirling pillar of a leaden
gray colour, with wreaths of a lighter silvery hue playing round
it, which rose to the height of several hundred feet in the air,
indicated the position of the Falls. The vapour was more solid and
gloomy-looking than the cloudlike mantle which shrouds the cataract
oftentimes in the summer. I doubt if there is a very satisfactory
solution of its existence at all. Of course the cloud is caused by
particles of water thrown up into the atmosphere by the violent
impact of the water on the surface, and by the spray thrown off in
the descent of the torrent; but why those particles remain floating
about, instead of falling at once like rain, is beyond my poor
comprehension. Sure enough, a certain portion does descend like a
thick Scotch mist: why not all? As one of my companions, with much
gravity and an air of profound wisdom, remarked last summer, “It’s
probable electricity has something to do with it!” Can any one say
more?
Assuredly, this ever-rolling mighty cloud draping and overhanging
the Falls adds much to their weird and wonderful beauty. Its
variety of form is infinite, changing with every current of air,
and altering from day to day in height and volume; but I never
looked at it without fancying I could trace in the outlines the
indistinct shape of a woman, with flowing hair and drooping arms,
veiled in drapery--now crouching on the very surface of the flood,
again towering along and tossing up her hands to heaven, or sinking
down and bending low to the edge of the cataract as though to drink
its waters. With the aid of an active fancy, one might deem it to
be the guardian spirit of the wondrous place.
The wind was unfavourable, and the noise of the cataract was not
heard in all its majestic violence; but as we came nearer, we
looked at each other and said nothing. It grew on us like the
tumult of an approaching battle.
There is this in the noise of the Falls: produced by a monotonous
and invariable cause, it nevertheless varies incessantly in tone
and expression. As you listen, the thunder peals loudly, then dies
away into a hoarse grumble, rolls on again as if swelled by minor
storms, clangs in the ear, and after a while, like a river of sound
welling over and irrepressible, drowns the sense in one vast rush
of inexpressible grandeur--then melts away till you are almost
startled at the silence and look up to see the Falls, like a green
mountain-side streaked with fresh snowdrifts, slide and shimmer
over the precipice.
It may well be conceived with what awe and superstitious dread
honest Jesuit Hennepin, following his Indian guides through the
gloom of the forest primæval, gazed on the dreadful flood, which
had then no garniture of trimmed banks, cleared fields, snug
hotels, and cockney gazabos to alleviate the natural terror with
which man must gaze on a spectacle which conjures up such solemn
images of death, time, and eternity.
No words can describe the Falls; and Church’s picture, very
truthful and wonderful as to form, cannot convey an idea of the
life of the scene--of the motion and noise and shifting colour
which abound there in sky and water. I doubt, indeed, if any man
can describe his own sensations very accurately, for they undergo
constant change; and for my own part I would say that the effect
increases daily, and that one leaves the scene with more vivid
impressions of its grandeur and beauty than is produced by the
first coup-d’œil.
A gradual approach does not at all diminish the power of the
cataract, and the mind is rather unduly excited by the aspect of
the Styx-like flood--black, foam-crested, and of great volume, with
every indication of profound depth--which hurries on so swiftly and
so furiously below the road on which you are travelling, between
banks cut down through grim, dark rock, so sheer that the tops of
the upper trees which take root in the strata can be nearly touched
by the traveller’s stick. The idea that the whole of the great
river beneath you has just leaped over a barrier of rock prepares
one’s conception for the greatness of the cataract itself.
In summer time there were wild ducks flying about, and terns darted
up and down the stream. Now it was deserted and desolate, looking
of more inky hue in contrast with the snow. Close to the boiling
cataract the fishermen’s tiny barks might then be seen rocking up
and down, or the angler sought the bass which loves those turbulent
depths; but no such signs of human life and industry are visible in
winter.
Before Niagara was, odd creatures enough lived about here, which
can now be detected fossilised in the magnesian limestone. How
many myriads of years it has been eating away its dear heart and
gnawing the rock let Sir Charles Lyell or Sir Roderick Murchison
calculate; but I am persuaded that since I saw it some months ago
there has been a change in the aspect of the Horseshoe Fall, and
that it has become more deeply curved. The residents, however,
though admitting the occurrence of changes, say they are very slow,
and that no very rapid alteration has taken place since the fall of
a great part of Table Rock some years ago: but masses of stone may
be washed away every day without their knowing it.
One very natural consequence of a visit in the winter was
undeniable--that the Falls were visibly less: they did not extend
so far, and they rolled with diminished volume. The water did not
look so pure, and incredible icicles and hanging glaciers obscured
the outlines of the rocks and even intruded on the watercourse;
whilst the trees above, laden with snow, stood up like inverted
icicles again, and rendered it difficult to define the boundary
between earth, air, and water.
A noiseless drive brought us to the village. Clifton House was
deserted--the windows closed, the doors fastened. No gay groups
disported on the promenade; but the bird-stuffer’s, the Jew’s
museum, the photographer’s shed, the Prince’s triumphal arch, were
still extant; and the bazaars, where they sell views, seashells,
Indian beadwork and feathers, moccasins, stuffed birds, and
the like, were open and anxious for customers. Our party was a
godsend; but the worthy Israelite, who has collected such an odd
museum here--one, under all the circumstances, most creditable to
his industry and perseverance as well as liberality--said that
travellers came pretty often in fine winter weather to look at the
cataract. We walked in our moccasins to the Table Rock, and thence
to the verge of the Falls, and gazed in silence on the struggling
fury of the terrible Rapids, which seem as if they wrestled with
each other like strong men contending against death, and fighting
to the last till the fatal leap must be made.
The hateful little wooden staircases, which like black slugs crawl
up the precipice from the foot of the Falls, caught the eyes of
my companions; and when they were informed that they could go
down in safety and get some way behind the Fall itself, the place
was invested with a new charm, and ice, rheumatism, and the like,
were set at defiance. I knew what it was in summer, and the winter
journey did not seem very tempting; but there was no alternative,
and the party returned to the museum to prepare for the descent.
Whilst we were waiting for our waterproof dresses to go under the
Falls, we had an opportunity of surveying the changes produced
by winter, and I was the more persuaded that the effect is not
so favourable as that of summer. The islands are covered with
snow--that which divides the sweep of the cataract looking
unusually large; the volume of water, diminished in the front, is
also deprived of much of its impressive force by a decrease in the
sound produced by its fall. The edges of the bank, covered with
glistening slabs of ice, were not tempting to the foot, and could
not be approached with the confidence with which they are trod by
one of steady nerves when the actual brink is visible.
There were some peculiarities, however, worthy of note; and in a
brighter day, possibly the effect of the light on the vast ranges
of icicles, and on the fantastic shapes into which the snow is cut
on the rocks at the margin of the waters, might be very beautiful.
These rocks now looked like a flock of polar bears, twined in
fantastic attitudes, or extended singly and in groups by the brink
as if watching for their prey. Above them rose the bank, now smooth
and polished, with a fringe of icicles--some large as church
steeples; above them, again, the lines of the pine trees, draped
in white, and looking like church steeples too. At one side, near
Table Rock, the icicles were enormous, and now and then one fell
with a hissing noise, and was dashed on the rock into a thousand
gliding ice arrows, or plunged into the gulf.
By this time our toilette-room was ready, and each man, taking off
his overcoat, was encased in a tarpaulin suit with a sou’-wester.
In this guise we descended the spiral staircase, which is carried
in a perpendicular wooden column down the face of the bank near
Table Rock, or what remains of it, to the rugged margin, formed of
boulders now more slippery than glass.
Our guide, a strapping specimen of negro or mulatto, in thick solid
ungainly boots, planted his splay feet on them with certainty,
and led us by the treacherous path down towards the verge of
the torrent, which now seemed as though it were rushing from
the very heavens. On our left boiled the dreadful caldron from
which the gushing bubbles, as if overjoyed to escape, leaped up,
and with glad effervescence rushed from the abyss which plummet
never sounded. On our right towered the sheer precipice of rock,
now overhanging us, and garnished with rows of giant teeth-like
icicles.
After a slow cautious advance along this doubtful path, we
perceived that the thin edge of the cataract towards which we were
advancing shot out from the rock, and left a space between its
inner surface and a black shining wall which it was quite possible
to enter. There was no wind, the day was dull and raw, but the
downright rush of the water created a whirling current of air close
to it which almost whisked away the breath; and a vapour of snow,
fine sleet, and watery particles careered round the entrance to
the recess, which no water kelpie would be venturesome or lonesome
enough to select, except in the height of the season.
On we thus went, more and more slowly and cautiously, over the
polished ice and rock, till at last we had fairly got behind
the cataract, and enjoyed the pleasure of seeing the solid wall
of water falling, falling, falling, with the grand monotony of
eternity, so nigh that one fancied he could almost touch it with
his hand. When last I was here, it was possible to have got as far
as a ledge called Termination Rock; but the ice had accumulated to
such an extent that the guide declared the attempt to do so would
be impracticable or dangerous, and indeed where we stood was not
particularly safe at the moment. As I was in the cave, gazing at
the downpoured ruin of waters with a sense of security as great
as that of a trout in a mill-race, an icicle from the cliff above
cracked on the rocks outside, and threw its fragments inside the
passage. I own the desire I had to get on still further and pierce
in behind the cataract, where its volume was denser, was greater
than the gratification I derived from getting so far. But we had
reached our ultima thule, and, with many a lingering look, retraced
our steps--now and then halting to contend the better with the
gusts from the falls, which threaten to sweep one from the ledge.
If the foot once slipped, I cannot conceive a death more rapid:
life would die out with the thought, “I am in the abyss!” ere a cry
could escape.
Whilst returning, another icicle fell near at hand; therefore it is
my humble opinion that going to Termination Rock in winter is not
safe except in hard frost, the safer plan being not to go at all.
And yet no one has ever been swept or has slipped in, I believe,
and so there is a new sensation to be had very easily. The path
on our return seemed worse than it was on our going--a very small
slippery ridge indeed between us and the gulf; but danger there can
be but little. As we emerged from the wooden pillar we submitted to
a photographer for our portraits in waterproof.
Poor man! In summer he has a harvest, perhaps; in winter he gleans
his corn with toil and sorrow, making scenes for stereoscopes. I
am not aware that we omitted anything proper to be done; for we
purchased feather fans--the griffs did--and beadwork and other
“mementoes of the Falls,” which are certainly not selected for any
apposite quality. As if the Falls needed a bunch of feathers and
beads to keep them in remembrance! Well, many a time has a lock of
hair, a withered flower, the feeblest little atom of substantial
matter, been given as memento ere now, and done its office well.
As I passed by Clifton House on my return to the American side, I
observed a solitary figure in a blue overcoat and brass buttons,
pacing rapidly up and down under cover of the verandah. Who on
earth could it be? It can’t be--yes it is--it is, indeed, our
excellent guardian of British customs rights and revenues--good
Mr. ----. The kindly old Scotchman stares in surprise when he hears
his name from an unknown passer-by, but in a moment he remembers
our brief acquaintance in summer time. Every one who knows him
would, I am sure, be glad, with me, to hear that some better
post were got for Mr. ---- in his old age than that of watching
smugglers on the waters of the St. Lawrence, below Niagara.
After a brief interview, we proceeded on our way, and continued our
explorations. Due honour was paid to the Rapids, Bath Island, Goat
Island, the Cave of the Winds, Prospect Tower, and all the water
lions of the place, though rain and sleet fell at intervals all the
time when there was no snow.
When the Prince was here he laid the last stone of the obelisk
which marks the place where Brock was killed, in the successful
action against the Americans at Queenstown in 1812. The present
monument to that general is certainly in as good taste as most
British designs of the sort, and seems but little open to the
censure I have heard directed against it. Its predecessor was so
atrociously bad, that some gentleman of fine feelings in art, who
was probably an American and a Canadian patriot as well, blew it up
some years ago.
There are not wanting at the present time many men in Canada of
the same stuff as Brock and his men. It is astonishing to find the
easy and universal conviction prevailing in the minds of Americans,
contrary to their experience, that the conquest of Canada would be
one of the most natural and facile feats in the world.
Except in their first war, when they displayed energy and skill in
the attack on Quebec, the active operations of the Republicans in
Canada were not marked by any military excellence, notwithstanding
the very hard fights which took place, but they showed themselves
most formidable opponents when they were attacked in position.
The Canadian side of the Falls boasts of charming scenery. Even in
the snow, the neat cottages and houses--the plantations, gardens,
and shrubberies--evince a degree of taste and comfort which were
not so observable on the American side, notwithstanding the
superior activity of the population.
Our observations on our return to the right bank of the river
confirmed my impression concerning the diminished volume and effect
of the cataract. The ice, formed by spray, hung over the torrent,
which, always more broken and less ponderous than that on the other
side, is in summer very beautiful, by reason of the immense variety
of form and colour in the jets and cascades, and of the ease with
which you can stand, as it were, amid the very waters of Niagara.
The town half populated; the monster hotel closed; the
swimming-baths, in which one could take a plunge into the active
rapids safely enclosed in a perforated room, now fastened up for
winter,--presented a great contrast to the noise and bustle of the
American Niagara in the season. This is the time when the Indians
enable the shopkeepers to accumulate their stores of bead and
feather work; and a few squaws, dressed in a curious compromise
between the garments of the civilised female and the simpler robes
of the “untutored savage,” flitted through the snow from one dealer
to another with their work. In some houses they are regularly
employed all day, and come in from their village in the morning
and go home at night when their work is done.
The view of the Rapids from the upper end of Goat Island is not, to
my mind, as fine as that obtained from the island on the British
side higher up. The sight of that tortured flood, loaded with its
charging lines of “sea horses,”--its surging glistening foam-heaps
streaking the wide expanse which rolled towards us from a dull
leaden horizon,--was inexpressibly grand and gloomy, and struck me
more forcibly than the aspect of the Rapids had done in August,
when I beheld them in a setting of rich green landscape and forest.
On the whole, I would much rather, were I going to Niagara for the
first time, select the Canadian side for my first view. It would be
well never to look at the Falls, if that were possible, till the
traveller could open his eyes from the remnant of the Table Rock on
the Great Horseshoe; but curiosity will probably defeat any purpose
of that kind. Still, the Horseshoe is grand enough to grow on the
spectator day after day, even if there be some disappointment in
the first aspect. The noise, though it shake the earth and air, is
not of the violent overwhelming character which might have been
expected from its effect on window-panes and shutters. As the voice
of a man can be heard in the din of battle by those around him, so
can even the low tones of a clear speaker be distinguished most
readily close to the brink of a cataract, the roar of which at
times is very audible, nevertheless, from twelve to fifteen miles
away.
The only drawback to a sojourn on the Canadian side is, perhaps,
the feeling of irritation or unrest produced by the ceaseless
jar and tumult of the Falls, which become well-nigh unbearable at
night, and vex one’s slumbers with unquiet dreams, in which water
plays a powerful part. The American side is not so much affected in
that way. The Horseshoe presents by far the greatest mass of water;
its rush is grander--the terrible fathomless gulf into which it
falls is more awe-inspiring than anything on the American side; but
the latter offers to the visitor greater variety of colour--I had
nigh said of substance--in the water. At its first tremendous blow
on the seething surface of the basin, the column of water seems to
make a great cavern, into which it plunges bodily, only to come
up in myriad millions of foaming particles, very small, bright,
and distinct, like minute, highly-polished shot. These gradually
expand and melt into each other after a wild dance in the caldron,
which boils and bubbles with its awful hell-broth for ever. In the
centre of the Horseshoe, which is really more the form of two sides
of an obtuse-angled triangle, the water, being of great depth--at
least thirty feet where it falls over the precipice--is of an azure
green, which contrasts well with the yellow, white, and light
emerald colours of the shallower and more broken portions nearer
the sides.
It would be considered rather presumptuous in any one to think
of improving upon Niagara, but I cannot help thinking that the
effect would be increased immensely if the island which divides
the cataract into the Horseshoe and the American Falls, and the
rock which juts up in the latter and subdivides it unequally,
were removed or did not exist; then the river, in one grand front
of over one thousand yards, would make its leap _en masse_. The
American Falls are destitute of the beauty given by the curve of
the leap to the Horseshoe; they descend perpendicularly, and are
lost in a sea of foam, not in an abyss of water, but in the wild
confusion of the vast rocks which are piled up below. But they are
still beautiful exceedingly, and there is more variety of scene in
the islands, in the passage over the bridges to Goat Island and to
the stone tower, which has been built amid the very waters of the
cataract, so that one can stand on the outside gallery and look
down upon the Falls beneath.
Goat Island is happily intersected with good drives and walks, laid
out with sufficiently fair taste through the natural forest, and
seats are placed at intervals for the accommodation of visitors. It
is no disparagement to the manner in which the grounds have been
ornamented to say that a good English landscape gardener would
convert the island into the gem of the world. The ornamentation
need not be overdone; it should be congruous and in keeping with
the Falls, which nature has embellished with such infinity of
colouring. As it is, the island is much visited. Strange enough,
the softest whispered vows can be heard amid the thunder of
Niagara, and it is believed that many marriages owe their happy
inspiration to inadvertent walking and talking in these secluded
yet much-haunted groves. Sawmills, papermills, and manufactories
delight the utilitarian as he gazes on the Rapids which have
so long been wasting their precious water-power, and it is not
unlikely that a thriving town may grow up to distressing dimensions
on the American side of the stream, at all events.
CHAPTER IV.
Leave Niagara--Suspension Bridge--In British territory--Hamilton
City--Buildings--Proceed eastward--Toronto--Dine at Mess--Pay
visits--Public edifices--Sleighs--Amusement of the boys--
_Camaraderie_ in the army--Kindly feeling displayed--Journey
resumed towards Quebec--Intense cold--Snow landscape--Morning
in the train--Hunger and lesser troubles--Kingston, its rise
and military position--Harbour, dockyards--Its connection with
the Prince of Wales’ Tour--The Upper St. Lawrence--Canada as
to defence.
We left the Falls with regret--the “city of the Falls” without any
painful emotion. The people at the hotel were perfectly civil and
obliging, though they bore no particular good-will, perhaps, to
one whom they had been taught to regard as the bitter enemy and
traducer of their country and their cause.
Our guide seemed to pity us for our folly in going to such a place
as Canada, when we could, if we liked, stay in an American hotel in
the States. He assured us it was “only fit for Irish, Frenchmen,
and free niggers.” The true American of this type is perhaps the
most prejudiced man in the world, not even excepting the old type
of the British farmer, or men of the Sibthorp epoch. His conviction
of his immense superiority is founded on the readiness with which
others flock to serve him. By their service he becomes a sort of
aristocrat in regard to all immigrants, and can live without
having recourse to any menial office or duty. I presume our hairy
friend never brushed his boots in his life, and would sooner wear
them dirty for ever than stoop to the unwonted task. At last came
our time to depart.
Our sleighs glided smoothly down to the railway station at the
Clifton, where the train was waiting to take us over the Suspension
Bridge. That structure is, I fear, too beautiful to last. It
requires a good deal of coolness and custom to look down from it
on the fearful flood of the river rolling below, and mark the
vibration as a heavy train passes over it. Then, too, there is the
influence of cold on iron to be considered, the effects of tension,
and the like: all have been duly provided for; and yet the bridge
looks very light and very graceful, and let us hope it may be very
strong and very lasting.
In five minutes we were in British territory. The first palpable
and outward sign of the fact was an examination of our luggage by
the customs officers at a station a few miles from the frontier,
during which, or by which, one of the party lost a hat and its
guardian box. The examination was rendered as little irksome as
possible by the civility of the officials; and it made me quite
happy to see the crowns on their brass buttons, degraded British
subject as I was. One burly fellow congratulated me on “escaping
alive out of the hands of the Yankees--he would not have given a
cent for my life for the last six months.”
Our journey was not so much impeded by snow as we expected. It is
forty-three miles from Niagara to the rising city of Hamilton,
and we were little more than one hour and a quarter in doing the
distance. All I am aware of is that on our way we passed through
vast snow-fields, by the mineral waters of St. Catherine’s, the
frozen canal, and that we caught glimpses on our right of the blue
expanse of Lake Ontario.
The first sight of Hamilton caused a rapid change in my mind
respecting the condition of Canada, and a most agreeable feeling
of surprise. It was evident the Americans were not justified in
their affected depreciation of the provinces, if they contained
such towns as these. Despite the unfavourable circumstances under
which it was visited, the city presented an appearance of comfort
and prosperity which even a democratic people might envy, and which
scarcely justified the corporation in refusing, as I hear they do,
to rely on local sources for liquidation of certain claims against
them.
Fine-looking streets, a forest of spires, important public
buildings, did no discredit to the old standard which floated over
the Custom-house near the station. And yet it was not possible
to help remarking that the passengers in the train were reading
American not Canadian newspapers. They were enjoying the fruits of
American piracy in their more serious studies. The literary thefts
of the sanctimonious Harpers, who play for ever on the moods and
tenses of the verb to steal--were in the hands of all the people
who were reading books.
Not alone the British flag did we see at Hamilton, but the British
soldier; for at the doorway of the hotel were two well-known faces.
A battalion of the Rifle Brigade was expected every moment, and
two officers had been sent on to provide for their reception, as
there were no barracks to receive the force, and they were hunting
up house-owners to let their premises on the instant. It may be
imagined that house-owners take a favourable view for themselves of
the value of property thus suddenly in request; and the officers
were proportionately indignant with those griping Canadians, as
if they would have met different treatment from English colonists
anywhere.
Hamilton is a city of some 20,000 inhabitants. It is on a bay
(Burlington), which runs in at the west of Lake Ontario north of
the peninsula formed by the lake, by the St. Lawrence, by Lake
Erie, and by the river falling into Erie at Maitland. It is on the
rail between the west from Detroit and London, the south-east from
the States, and the east from Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec. In
event of war it is exposed to an attack by any American gunboat
from the harbours on the south shore of Lake Ontario, and yet, to
the best of my belief, it is utterly destitute of defence, and has
not even a martello tower for its protection.
The name is not fifty years old, and twenty years ago Hamilton had
less than 4000 inhabitants. Its growth bears no comparison with
that of some American cities, but it is still very remarkable, and
its wealth, importance, and defencelessness are quite sufficient
to make it an object of attack. The houses are built of stone.
Banks, hotels, manufactories, churches--well constructed and
handsome--give proof of the prosperity of the community; and the
residence there of Sir Alan MacNab, who lived somewhere in the
vicinity in a brand new mediæval castle, should be some guarantee
for their loyalty. Indeed, I was told that in no place had the
Prince a more gratifying or enthusiastic reception.
But men without discipline, organisation, or defensive works can
do but little against gunboats. It is true that Hamilton would
not be of much service to the enemy, as it would not command
the communications; but its possession by them would be very
embarrassing, and its destruction, for lack of means to defend it,
would be very discreditable. The population ought to yield at least
4000 able-bodied men for local service; and a casemated work, armed
with powerful guns, could keep a mere mischief-seeking gunboat at
proper distance, and save the place from destruction or injury.
Our halt at Hamilton was brief, and soon we were on our way
eastwards once more, skirting the shores of the lake, fenced in
by a monotonous line of snow-laden fir trees and palings. The
people who got in and out at the stations were of a different race
from the Americans--stouter and ruddier of hue, and many of them
spoke with a Scotch or Irish accent, the former predominating.
They did not talk much about anything but the weather, and did not
give themselves concern about anything except the winter and its
prospects, having made up their minds long ago that there was to be
no fight between England and the United States.
Just as it became dusk we reached Toronto, having accomplished the
thirty-eight miles in two hours, but late as it was we could make
out the picturesque outlines of a large city. Close to the station
a line of sleighs, and a mass of well-dressed people drawn up by
the margin of a sheet of ice, on which a skated crowd were whirling
about, gave an air of gaiety to the place.
A sharp smart sleigh drive, and we were at the comfortable hotel,
called Rossin House, where an invitation from the officers of Her
Majesty’s 30th to dinner was awaiting us. They were quartered in a
substantial old-fashioned barrack on the shore of lake Ontario,
some distance outside the city. The barracks are surrounded by an
earthen parapet, provided with traverses and embrasures, and there
is a very quaint and fantastic earthen redoubt on the beach, but
any ordinary vessel of war could lay the whole establishment in
ruins with perfect impunity in half-an-hour.
The mess table was surrounded by an unusual number of old Crimean
officers, and I was glad to find the fears I had entertained that
the inducements offered by the Americans to soldiers to desert,
had not as yet given any considerable increase to the tendency in
that direction, which causes such anxiety to regimental officers
stationed near the frontier. Whilst I remained at Toronto, I dined
daily at the same hospitable board.
A snapping fierce wind, laden with icy arrows, set in the day after
our arrival. In the afternoon, however, I sleighed out and visited
the bishop, one of the most lively, agreeable men conceivable, of
the age of ninety or thereabouts; Mr. Brown, who is one of the
powers of the State, and the editor and owner of the ablest paper
in West Canada; the mayor, and other Torontians of eminence.
The city is so very surprising in the extent and excellence of its
public edifices, that I was fain to write to an American friend at
New York to come up and admire what had been done in architecture
under a monarchy, if he wished to appreciate the horrible state
of that branch of the fine arts under his democracy. Churches,
cathedrals, market, post-office, colleges, schools, mechanics’
institute, rise in imperial dignity over the city; but there was a
visible deterioration in the beer and billiard saloons, and the
drinking exchanges. The shops are large, and well furnished with
goods, and trade even now is brisk enough, considering the time of
the year. All this is within an enemy’s grasp, and more than this,
the command of the railway east and west.
In this winter time the streets are filled with sleighs, and the
air is gay with the caroling of their bells. Some of these vehicles
are exceedingly elegant in form and finish, and are provided with
very expensive furs, not only for the use of the occupants, but for
mere display. The horses are small spirited animals, of no great
pretension to beauty or breeding. The people in the streets were
well-dressed, comfortable-looking, well-to-do--not so tall as the
people in New York, but stouter and more sturdy-looking. Their
winter brings no discomfort; for fuel is abundant and not dear, and
when the wind is not blowing high, the weather is very agreeable.
Here, again, I observed that the young people have a curious custom
of going about with small sleighs, which are, to the best of my
belief, called “tarboggins,” though I did not see them indulge
in the practice by which the youth of New York vex and fret the
drivers of all vehicles in sleighing-time. I have been amused by
observing the urchins in the Empire City prowling about with these
primitive sleighs, watching for an opportunity to exercise their
talents. Fortunate it is for the British coachman that the youth
of these islands are not acquainted with this pleasing mode of
locomotion. Our omnibuses, having a conductor behind, would be
better defended than the American vehicles, which have no such
protection; but the four-wheeled cabs would fall a helpless prey
into their hands.
The sport is carried on in this wise: the youths take their
tarboggin or sleigh--a flat piece of board four feet long, with or
without runners, will do; through a hole at one end is attached a
piece of cord. The boys watch their opportunity, and when a vehicle
passes, noiselessly on the snow they run out, slip the cord over
the iron or any projection of the carriage behind, and, holding the
end fast, throw themselves down on their sleigh, which is dragged
along by the vehicle; and if cabby should arise in his wrath, in
an instant the end of the cord is let go, and the young navigator,
starting to his feet, runs off with his instrument of torture in
search of a new victim. It adds much to this entertainment for one
boy to catch hold of the leg or the sleigh of another boy, so that
a string of four or five youths may be seen in full enjoyment of
the recreation. Bless them! If I had not seen them following this
sport, I should have fairly doubted if there were any boys in the
United States.
If there was not all the cordiality which could be desired between
the natives and the military, no fault could be found with the
full measure of hospitality dealt out to their own countrymen
by the officers of the garrison. Removed from the stiffness of
home stations, the genial, kindly character of our young soldiers
expatiates, in despite of middling cookery and colonial wines, and
keeps open house for friends on foreign service. When sleighing
for the day is over, and the skating party has come to an end, it
is hard indeed for poor Jones to think of anything more than his
dinner; but if he made the most of his opportunities, he might
write a book in the solitude of his barrack, as those famous
prisoners have done whose brains have conceived and brought forth
such brilliant works in the darkness of the Tower.
The snows are well-nigh as binding and environing for a third of
the year in bad seasons, and no doubt something would come of it
all, but that the officer has his duties to attend to, and cannot
escape from Private 1000’s stoppages, grievances, or failings.
Now, it is no easy matter indeed for British officers to be very
great friends in the same regiment. Of course you will find Pylades
and Orestes there, but you may be sure if you do they are men who
have no clashing interests, no contest of purses, no conflicting
views about leave or steps. It is to me quite wonderful, all things
considered, how bravely the natural kindliness of our officers
contends against a system which, with all its advantages, creates a
source of rivalry and jealousy not known in other services.
In a promotion-by-seniority service there can of course be no
feeling against a man on the part of his juniors because he happens
to be older; but no one can well brook the greater fortune which
depends on the command of money,--though he may be willing to
seize on it, if he can, by the same means,--in the case of his own
juniors. I do not speak without some small knowledge when I say
that there is a much larger amount of _camaraderie_ in our service
than ought to be found in it, but that there is much less than
exists in some other armies. The French officer is jealous of the
man promoted by merit, for the declaration of that superiority is
a tacit censure on himself, and he is also prone to take umbrage
at the good fortune of the _immortels_ of the _État major_; but he
has little ground for antipathy to any of his own set, as regards
social position or military rank in the corps.
Our strong love of field-sports also tends to create
small difficulties when at home, from which spring other
causes of estrangement. One man, for instance, wants to
get to the spring-meeting when another is burning for the
spring-fishing--shooting-leaves and hunting-leaves clash together,
though in no army in the world is there such a liberal system of
furlough as in our own. These causes do not operate in Canada,
where there is now, in fact, but little sport of any kind within
easy distances. Moose shooting in snow is slow work, and for other
game the sportsman must wander far and wide. But when the table is
set, and the full tide of conversation flows, what a cheery group
of warriors, young and old, may be seen in Canadian quarters! They
have had sleighing parties and skating adventures, and altogether
have got over the day somehow, and are prepared to look pleasantly
on the world, albeit the snow is two feet deep over it.
As to the position afforded by the buildings in these particular
old barracks in Toronto, no more uncomfortable place could well be
imagined in face of an enemy. The defences are so ludicrous, that a
Chinese engineer would despise them. Certainly, we have no right to
laugh at Americans, or to hold their works _in petto_, if we take
one glance at the fortifications of Toronto; and yet, as will be
seen, it is a place of the very greatest importance.
My stay here would have been longer, perhaps, but that I was
informed of a very kindly intention on the part of the people
which I did not desire to have carried out, at all events under the
existing circumstances--being in hopes that a future opportunity
would occur of proving that I was not indifferent to the good
feeling and very flattering sentiments of the gentlemen who had
commenced the movement towards myself; and so, in the sure hope
that I would be back in Toronto ere I left America, I bade my good
friends good-bye, never, as it proves, in all likelihood, to see
them again, and, in the midst of a snow-fall, resumed my journey
with my companions towards Quebec.
After undergoing a year of obloquy, ill-looks, slander, and
popular disfavour in a great country, it was very pleasant to meet
with such marks of good-will and kindness from one’s countrymen
and fellow-subjects on the same continent; and it was quite as
gratifying to know that such feelings were entertained by them, as
it would have been to receive the outward token of their existence,
which alone would have contented my friends.
The evening on which I left Toronto was intensely cold. Never for
a moment had the snow and frost relented, and a wind of piercing
keenness swept up the frozen dust in thick clouds, which penetrated
every chink. The railway officials did their best for us, and the
stove in the carriage was poked up to excessive energy; but the
heat of these calorifiers is worse than cold itself.
Our way lay through a snow-field bordered by snow-hills, or by the
stiff cones of snow-covered firs. Our fellow-passengers were big
men in fur-coats and thick boots, who were given to silence and
sleep. Slowly the train creaked through the soft barrier which
so gently yet stiffly, opposed the tramp of the iron horse. The
landscape was simply nothing to see. It looked as if one were
going for ever through a vast array of newly-washed sheets spread
over the whole country. Darkness fell suddenly out of the skies on
the whiteness, but still could not darken it. The whiteness shone
through the depths of night, and flashed out in streaks of dazzling
light, as the flare of the engine-fires and of the lamps shot out
over the surface. And so it came to pass that at last we went to
sleep, gathering up rug and greatcoat and wrapper into vast mounds,
from which issued many a _spiritus asper_ and susurrous sounds for
the livelong night.
On waking up it seemed as though day had just dawned, but the watch
said it was nearly eight o’clock. A cold white light, filled with
rime, battled through the frost on the windows of the carriage,
which was spread over the glass like beautiful damascened white
tablecloths. Scraping away a lovely trellis pattern with my nail, I
opened a space of clear transparent ocean in the ice-sea, and was
rewarded for my pains by a view of a cloud of snow which had been
falling all night, and now rested deep on the ground, and turned
the pines and firs bounding the line of rail into ragged white
tumuli.
The train still creaked and bumped now and then over the snow,
squeaked, puffed, and grated, and at last came to a standstill,
again went on, and again halted. At last we reached a station.
Seven hours behind time! A sensation of hunger by no means slight
fell upon us. Frost is an appetizer of undoubted merit. We had
neglected laying in a _viaticum_. More prudent and accustomed
travellers produced flasks and brown-paper parcels, and all the
wonderful things which Americans consume on the voyage. Let me
not be fastidious, however; for after a time I envied men who were
discussing pleasantly fragments of unseemly cakes, spice-nuts, and
brandy-balls for breakfast.
My companions prowled up and down the horrid car, reeking with the
stove-drawn odours of many bodies during the night--they sought
food like young lions. Pah! what an atmosphere it was!--all windows
closed by reason of cold intense outside, the hateful stoves, one
in the centre of the car, and one at each end, heated almost to
redness, surrounded by men who crowded up, and chewed tobacco,
and smote the iron surface with hissing burnt-sienna-coloured
jets!--frowsty, fusty, and muggy exceedingly. There was a deposit
of train-oil,--a hot humanised dew all over us. And water, there
was none to wash with. So I applied a handful of snow gathered on
the carriage platform to my face and hands in lieu thereof, and got
back to my seat just as A----n returned from some distant part of
the train with hands full of apples. They were delicious, and with
three or four of them, and a few cigars, we managed to construct a
charming breakfast.
It was so dark when the train reached Kingston, that we could see
nothing more than the outlines of the station. I was exceedingly
anxious to visit a place of so much importance historically,
commercially, and strategically, and fully intended to remain
there for some days on my return to Toronto; but the Fates
ordained that it was not to be, and all my personal knowledge of
Kingston was derived from that glimpse in the dark of the railway
terminus, and certain steeples and spires rising above the snow.
But the position of the city confers upon it a very high place
on the list of military posts for the defence of Canada, and some
considerations connected with it will be discussed hereafter.
Politically Kingston has become a dead body since 1844, when its
short-lived career as the capital and seat of government was cut
short. The military genius of the French occupants in early days,
in seizing on the best positions for the defence and maintenance of
their conquest, is shown still, by the fact that our forts occupy
the sites of those which were originally constructed by them.
More than a hundred years before there was any trace of a city at
Kingston, or any building save the wigwam of the Indian or the
log-huts of the soldiery, the Count de Frontenac built a fort in
communication with the great system, from the St. Lawrence to the
Ohio, of the French strongholds, which was destined to extend to
the Mississippi, and to enclose the troublesome English Colonies
within stringent limits. When this fort was captured by Colonel
Bradstreet in 1756, the French had only established a kind of
military colony and a very insignificant trading-post round the
fort. In little more than twenty years subsequently, the present
town was founded; and in the war with America the place became of
very great consequence.
It is a fact curious enough, and worthy of some consideration, that
the great war in the middle of the last century, which ended in the
loss to France of her hopes of Indian influence and of empire, and
in the seizure of her American Colonies by Great Britain, should
have, according to the best of American statesmen and philosophical
reasoners, led also to the establishment of the United States, and
the foundation of the greatest Republic the world has ever seen.
Kingston commands the entrance to the Rideau Canal, one of the
principal means of communication between Lake Ontario and the
interior of the country, forming an admirable connection between
the Ottawa River and Lake Ontario: it is, in fact, the most
important means of inland intercourse, because the difficulties
in the way of an enemy are very considerable, either in a direct
attack upon Kingston, if properly fortified, or in a flank movement
against it from the interior.
The canal is brought into working order with the Grand Trunk
Railway; so that if the Americans, our only possible enemy, were
to make demonstrations against our frontier and our lines, with a
view of intercepting our supplies and internal relations between
the east and west of the province, it would be easy to disembark
men and munitions at Kingston Mills and forward them by railway.
Kingston, again, is an excellent point of observation, and with
proper defences and aggressive resources, ought to command Lake
Ontario and the entrance from the St. Lawrence. An adequate force
stationed there, with a proper flotilla, could effectually keep
in check any hostile demonstration from Cape Vincent, Sacket’s
Harbour, or the other posts from Oswego to the western extremity of
Lake Ontario.
The harbour is said to be excellent; there is a dockyard, which
could be rendered capable of doing most of the work required for
our light gunboats: and with the additions pointed out and urged
by our engineer officers to the existing fortifications, Kingston
could be made a position of as much military strength as it
undoubtedly now is of strategical importance.
Between Toronto and Kingston there are, however, Port Hope,
Coburg, and Belville on the line of railway, all of which present
facilities for the landing of an enemy: at any one of these points
a hostile occupation would cut the regular communications at once;
and indeed it is very much to be regretted, in a military point of
view, that engineering, commercial, or other considerations caused
the makers of the Grand Trunk Railway to run the line close to the
shores of a great inland sea, the opposite side of which belongs
to a foreign country which has from time to time announced (if
not through the lips of statesmen, by the popular voice) that the
conquest of Canada is a fixed principle in its policy.
The Americans, whether by accident or design, have constructed the
New York Central, which runs along the south coast, at a distance
of many miles from Lake Ontario, but cross-lines connect it with
the principal ports upon the lake, from Buffalo to Sandusky; their
line runs tolerably close to the shore of Lake Erie higher up, but
there is no position on that lake which has to fear the aggression
of such a force as could be collected at Kingston.
Perhaps to the generality of people in England, Kingston was first
made known by the unpleasant incidence which compelled the Prince
of Wales to pass it unvisited, or rather to remain on board the
steamer. No doubt the Orangemen are now very sorry for what they
did, and, in fact, feel that they were led by the fanaticism or the
desire for notoriety of some small local leaders to make themselves
very ridiculous and offensive. The zeal of these Defenders of the
Faith was no doubt stimulated by the presence of a large number
of Irish Roman Catholics, who are at least as violent as their
opponents.
The French-Canadians, with just as much fidelity to their faith,
do not enter into the violent polemical, political, and miscalled
religious controversies which led to such an unseemly result at
Kingston; and certainly, it is much to be regretted that the
peculiar influence of American institutions, which checks any
attempt of religious parties to disturb the public peace or social
relations for their own purposes and for the gratification of pride
or lust of power, cannot be extended to the provinces and to the
British Possessions, where they work such prodigious mischief.
From Kingston the line winds along the shore of the great
lake-like river, studded with a thousand islands. Here, again,
the Americans would possess considerable advantage in case of
war, as their main-line is far inland, but branch-lines from it
lead to Cape Vincent and Ogdensburgh, at right-angles to our line
of communication. The American water-boundary, I believe, passes
outside a considerable number of the more important islands; but
the power which possesses naval supremacy on Lake Ontario will
probably find the means of commanding the Upper St. Lawrence, no
matter which belligerent establishes himself on the islands.
The Canadians with whom I conversed in the train declared they
were quite ready to defend their country in case of invasion, but
did not understand, they said, being taken away to distant points
to fight for the homes of others. It seemed quite clear to them
that the United States would only invade Canada to humiliate and
weaken the mother-country, and that the general defence of the
province ought to devolve on the power whose policy had led to the
war; whilst the inhabitants should be ready to give the imperial
troops every assistance in the localities where they are actually
resident.
CHAPTER V.
Arrive at Cornwall--The St. Lawrence--Gossip on India--Aspect
of the country--Montreal--The St. Lawrence Hall Hotel--Story
of a Guardsman--Burnside--Dinner--Refuse a banquet--Flags--Climate
--_Salon-à-manger_--Contrast of Americans and English--Sleighs--The
“Driving Club”--The Victoria Bridge--Uneasy feeling--Monument to
Irish emigrants--Irish character--Montreal and New York--The
Rink--Sir F. Williams--Influence of the Northerners.
It was noon ere we reached Cornwall, a place some seventy miles
from Montreal, where a rough _restaurant_ at the station enabled
us to make a supplement to the deficiencies of our simple repast.
The people who poured in and out of the train here were fine
rough-looking fellows, with big, broad, sallow faces and large
beards, wrapped up in furs, wearing great long boots,--men of a new
type. Several of them were speaking in French; but the literature
which travelled along with us was American, mostly New York, in the
matter of periodicals: it was of course English, and pirated, in
the more substantial forms. The frost still clung to the outside
of the windows; inside, the foliage and broad tracery of leaves,
and cathedral aisles, and plumes of knight and lady, tumbled down
in big drops, and by degrees the sun cleared away the crust on one
side, so that we could look out on the flat expanse of snow-covered
forest.
On our right, now and then glimpses could be caught of a pale blue
riband-like streak across the dazzling white plain. “That’s the St.
Lawrence you see there. Pitty it’s friz up so long. We wouldn’t
envy the Yankees anything they’ve got to show us if we had a port
open all the year,” quoth an honest Canadian beside me. For the
first time I began to feel sympathy for a country that “can’t get
out” for five mortal months, and that breathes through another
man’s nostrils and mouth. A horrible semi-suffocated sort of
existence. No wonder the Canadians look longingly over at that bit
of land which Lord Ashburton yielded to the United States and the
State of Maine.
A----n and I, by way of counteracting the influence of the
atmosphere and external scenery, talked of India. Some poor
creatures half the world’s girth away, whom we were speaking of at
that moment, would have given a good deal for some of the despised
ice and snow around us, groaning no doubt under that sun which
even in February knows no coolness in Central India in mid-day.
How oddly things turn up! I had ever firmly believed that a young
soldier friend of mine had slain many enemies in that great
rebellion, and had, Achilles-like, sent many souls of sepoys to
Hades, and so in that faith speaking, suddenly I was interrupted
by A----n. “What are you talking of? _He_ kill so _many_ budmashes
at Nulla-Nullah! Why, I don’t believe he ever fired a shot or made
a cut at a nigger in his life.” _My_ fierce little friend had done
both, and many a time and oft. And so, as he knew, away went a
reputation, within thirty miles of Montreal; thermometer 10°.
Hereabouts were seen many snug homesteads rising up through the
snow, with farmhouses, and outhouses--all clad in the same livery.
The country looked well cleared and settled; sleighs glided over
the surface, and were drawn up at the stations to carry passengers
and luggage. Anon we came upon a great frozen river, and crossed
it by a series of arches too great for a bridge; but this was
nevertheless the Ottawa itself rolling away under its ice coat,
as the blood flows through an artery, to rush unseen into the
cold embrace of the St. Lawrence. These two great bridges must
be worth visiting when they can be seen in the full exercise of
their functions. The river forms an island here which the ice now
continentalises.
About four o’clock, very much as land looms up in the ocean, we saw
the dark mass of Montreal rising up in contrast to the whitened
mountain at the foot of which it lies; the masts of vessels frozen
in, and funnels of steamers, mingled with steeples and domes; and
as the sun struck the windows a thousand flashes of glowing red
darted back upon us. Then the train ran past a “marine factory,”
whatever that may be, and a suburb of stone and wooden houses
intermixed, and a population of children whose faces looked
preternaturally pale, perhaps from the reflection of the snow,
and of women in pork-pie hats with thick veils over their faces,
and of men, mostly smoking, in great fur coats and boots; and at
last the train reached the terminus, where a great concourse of
sleigh-drivers, who spoke as though they had that moment left
Kingstown jetty, Ireland, claimed our body and property. These were
promptly routed by the staff of the St. Lawrence Hall, who carried
off our party to an omnibus without wheels, which finally bore us
off to the hotel so called.
The soldiers about the streets were all comfortably clad in dark
overcoats, fur caps with flaps for the ears, and long boots; but
the dress takes from their height, and does not conduce to a smart
soldier-like appearance.
The streets through which we passed were lined with well-built
lofty houses. It might scarce be fancy which made me think that
Montreal was better built than American cities of the same size.
In the great cold hall of the hotel there was excessive activity:
befurred officers of the regiments sent to Canada during the Trent
difficulty, before Mr. Seward had made up his mind and persuaded
the President to give up the Southern envoys, were coming in, going
out, or were congregated in the passage. Orderlies went to and fro
with despatches and office papers. In fact the general-in-chief,
Sir Fenwick Williams of Kars, and staff, the commanding officer
of the Guards, Lord G. Paulet, and staff, were quartered here,
and carried on their office business; and the Commissary-General,
Power, and the Principal Medical Officer, Dr. Muir, were also
lodging in the hotel, with a host of combatant officers of inferior
grade.
There was no rush to the _table-d’hôte_, after the American
fashion, but the dinner itself was very much in the American style.
I was much amused at the distress of a Guardsman who made his
appearance at the doorway during dinner, with a letter in his hand
for one of the officers. He halted stiffly at the threshold, and
stood staring at the brilliancy of the splendid ormolu ornaments,
and the array of lacquered chandeliers and covers. In vain the
waiters pointed out to him the officer he sought; he would not
intrude on the gorgeous scene, nor would he trust his missive to
another hand. At last, after gazing in a desperate manner on space,
and balancing from one leg to another, he took a maddening resolve,
put his hand to his cap, held the other out with the letter in it
as his dumb apology and in mitigation of punishment, and marching
straight to his mark, trampling crowds of waiters in his way, only
halted when he came up to the table he sought, where, with eyeballs
starting, he put the missive to the level of the captain’s nose,
saluted, and ejaculated, “By order of Colonel Jones, sir.” “All
right.” With a wheel round and a salute, the perturbed warrior
countermarched and escaped into the prosaic outward world. A
Frenchman would have come in with the most perfect self-possession,
and possibly with some little grace. An American would probably
have turned his chew, have addressed some remarks to the waiters
on his way, have given the captain a tap on the back or a nudge of
the elbow, and would rather have expected a drink. And which of the
three, after all, is to be preferred?
I met a whole regiment of men I knew, and after dinner adjourned
with some of them to my rooms. They all growled of course, found
fault with Canada and abused the Government, and seemed to think it
ought not to snow in winter.
I received a most interesting letter from a friend of mine with
the Burnside expedition, which revealed as large an amount of bad
management as could well be conceived. Burnside, personally, has
enough ingenuity, but is quite wanting in self-reliance, presence
of mind, and vigour. The expedition from which so much was
expected did more than might have been thought possible at one time
under the circumstances.
A telegram from Toronto informed me that it was in contemplation to
invite me to a public banquet, and desired me to state my wishes.
Very much as I appreciated such an honour from my countrymen
and fellow-subjects, it was inconsistent, as I conceived, with
my position, as it certainly was with my sense of the merits
attributed to me, to accept the very great compliment offered to
me. It came all the more agreeably as it was in such contrast to
the manner in which I had been received in the United States for
the last few months; and it touched me very sensibly, more than my
friends at Toronto could have imagined.
A----n came in rather wroth about a matter of flags. He had been
to see some Frenchmen, whether real or true Zouaves of the Crimea
I know not, who gave out on tremendous posters that they were the
identical children of the Beni Zoug Zoug, who had acted before us
all in that theatre on the Woronzow Road once so charming and well
filled; and he had been seized with indignation because they, in
that Canadian city, under the British flag, had dared to perform
under the folds of the tricolor, and the stars and stripes of the
United States. I explained that the British flag was metaphorically
and properly supposed to float above both; all which much comforted
him, and so to bed--cold enough, in despite of stoves and open
fire. The servants here are Irish men and women, with a sprinkling
of free negroes.
Next day the weather was not at all warmer. In winter time the cold
is by no means unbearable in this Canadian clime, when one is well
furred and clad; to the poor it must be very trying, for furs and
fuel are dear, and even clothing of an ordinary kind is not cheap.
The emigrant, in his rude log hut open in many chinks, must shrink
and shiver and suffer in the blast. What do they, who follow, not
owe to the hardy explorer who has opened up wood and mountain, and
laid down paths on the sea for them?
A thick haze had now settled down on all things, a cold freezing
rime, which clung and crept to one, and almost sat down on the very
hearth. Descending the stairs, which were in a transition state
and in the hands of carpenters, to the long “salon-à-manger,” I
found the tables well filled by guardsmen, riflemen, and members
of the staff, military and civil, who gave the place the air of a
mess-room under disorderly circumstances.
I had before this seen many such rooms in American hotels in cities
filled with soldiery, and I am bound to say the difference between
the two sets of men was remarkable. The noise, gaiety, and life of
these grave English were exuberant when compared to the silence of
American gatherings of the same kind, which are, indeed, disturbed
by the clatter of plates and dishes, and the horrible squeaking
of chair legs over the polished floors, but otherwise are quiet
enough. Here, men laughed out, talked loud, shouted to the waiters,
aired their lungs in occasional scoldings and objurgations,
having reference to chops and steaks and tardy-coming dishes;
“old-fellowed” their friends; asked or told the news. I don’t know
that the Englishmen were better looking, taller, or in any physical
way had the advantage of the men of the continent, except in
ruddier cheeks perhaps, and in frames better provided with cellular
tissue; but the distinction of style and manner was marked.
The Americans usually came into the salon singly; each man, with
a bundle of newspapers under his arm, took a seat at a vacant
table, ordered a prodigious repast, which he gobbled in haste, as
though he was afraid of losing a train, and then rushed off to the
bar or smoked in the passages, never sitting for a moment after
his breakfast. The Englishmen came in little knots or groups,
exhibited no great anxiety about newspapers, ordered simple and
substantial feasts, enjoyed them at their ease, chattered much, and
were in no particular hurry to leave the table. The taciturnity
of the American was not well-bred, nor was the good humour of the
Briton vulgar. It may be said the comparison is not just, because
the Americans were engaged in a fearful war, which engrossed all
their thoughts; whilst the English officer was merely sent out on
a tour of duty. But in the bar-room, _restaurants_, or streets,
the American did not maintain the same aspect: he put on what is
called a swaggering air, and was not at all disposed to let his
shoulder-straps or his sword escape notice.
The good people at home would have been greatly surprised to hear
the way in which the officers spoke of their exile to the snows of
Canada; but though they growled and grumbled when breakfast was
over, probably till dinner time, they would have fought all the
better for it. Indeed there was not much else to do.
The streets were piled with snow; and at the front of the hotel,
sleighs, driven by Irishmen, such as are seen managing the Dublin
hacks, wrapped up in fur and sheepskins, were drawn up waiting
for fares, to the constant jingle of the bells, which enlivened
the air. It was too early and too raw and cold for many of the
ladies of Montreal to trust their complexions to the cruelties
of the climate, thickly veiled though they might be; but now and
then a sleigh slid by with a bright-eyed freight half-buried in
_fourrures_, and some handsome private vehicles of this description
reached in their way as high a point of richness and elegance as
could well be conceived. The horses were rarely of corresponding
quality. The guardsmen and other soldiers, “red” and “green,”
strode about in cold defiant boots, and seemed to like the town and
climate better than their officers. Mr. Blackwell, the amiable and
accomplished chief of the Grand Trunk Railway, called for me, and
drove me out to an early dinner.
It was a matter of some ceremony to set forth: a fur cap with
flaps secured over the ears and under the chin, a large fur cloak,
and a pair of moccasins for the feet, had to be put on; and then
we climb the sides of the boat-like sleigh, and started off at a
rapid pace, which produced a sea-sick sensation--at least what I
am told is like it--in very rough places where the runners of the
sleighs have cut into the snow. On our way we were rejoiced by the
sight of the “Driving Club” going out for an excursion, Sir Fenwick
Williams leading. All one could see, however, was a certain looming
up of dark forms through the drift gliding along to the music of
the bells, which followed one after the other, and were lost in
the hazy yet glittering clouds tossed up by the horses’ hoofs from
the snow. In the afternoon the rime passed off, and the day became
clearer, but no warmer.
At about three o’clock, we sleighed over by rough roads to the
terminus of the railway, close to the Victoria Bridge, where a
party of the directors and some officers--Colonel Mackensie,
Colonel Wetherall, Colonels Ellison and Earle of the Guards, and
others recently arrived--were assembled to view the great work
which would stamp the impress of English greatness on Canada, if
her power were to be rooted out to-morrow. The royal carriage--a
prettily decorated long open waggon, with the Prince of Wales’s
coat of arms, plume, and initials still shining brightly--was in
readiness; and as cold makes one active, or very lazy, as the case
may be, we lost no time in starting to explore the bridge, which
threw its massive weight in easy stretches across the vast frozen
highway of the St. Lawrence--so light, so strong, so graceful, for
all its rigid lines, that I can compare the impression of the thing
to nothing so much as to that of the bounds of a tiger.
The entrance, in the limestone rock, is grandly simple; but ere we
could well admire its proportions the car ran into the darkness of
the great tube. The light admitted by the neatly designed windows
in the iron sides of the aërial tunnel was not enough to enable
us to pierce through the smoke and the fog which clung to the
interior. The car proceeded to the end, the thermometer marking
6°. Statistics, though I have them all by me, I am not about to
give, as the history of the bridge is well known; but Mr. Blackwell
showed me a table which indicated that the monster suffers or
rejoices like a living thing, and contracts and expands and swells
out his lines wondrously, just in proportion as the temperature
alters.
From this end of the magnificent bridge one could see, nearly a
hundred feet below him, the rugged surface of the ice, beneath
which was rolling the St. Lawrence. It was distinguished from the
snowy expanse covering the land by the bluish glint of the ice, and
by the torn glacier-like aspect of the course of the stream, where
the frozen masses had been contending fiercely with the current and
with each other till the frost-king had clutched them and bound
them in the midst of the conflict. You could trace the likeness
of spires, pinnacles, castles, battlements, and alpine peaks in
the wild confusion of those serried heaps, which were tilted up
and forced together; but the haze did not permit us to follow the
course of the stream for any great distance. It was too cold for
enthusiastic enjoyment, and we got into the car and backed into the
darkness till we reached the centre of the bridge.
I confess, when it occurred to me that great cold makes iron
brittle, the uneasy feeling I experienced of suspense, _malgré
moi_, in passing over any of these great engineering triumphs, was
aggravated so far that it required a good deal of faith in the
charming diagram of the effects of temperature on the bridge, to
make me quite at ease. I suppose it is only an engineer who can be
quite above the thought, “Suppose, after all, the bridge does go at
this particular moment.” And then the iron did crackle and bang and
shriek most unmistakeably and demonstratively.
At the centre of the bridge we got out, and had another look at the
river, some sixty feet below. Remarked the _thinness_ of the iron;
was informed it was on purpose, every plate being made specially
for its place. Examined carefully a bolt driven in by the Prince
of Wales; rather liked its appearance, as it was well hammered and
seemed sound. Then the car received us, and we were drawn through
this ghastly cold gallery once more, and were divulged at the
railway station among a crowd of furred citizens.
Thence through the city over the rough road in our carrioles and
sleighs. On our way I remarked a stone obelisk standing out of the
snow close to the railway, in a low patch of ground near the river.
“That,” said my companion, “is a memorial to six thousand Irish
emigrants who died here of ship fever.” What a history in those few
words--a tale of sorrow and woe unutterable--I hope, not of neglect
and indifference too! The railway engineers have thoughtfully
erected the monument of the nameless dead, and so far rescued their
fate from oblivion.
I am not so philosophic as to witness the desolating emigrations
which leave the homes of a country waste, and fill the lands of
future kingdoms and possible rivals with an alienated population,
without regret. Above all, I pity the fate of the poor pioneers
whose hapless lot it is to labour unthanked and despised, to build
up the stranger’s cities, to clear his forests, and make his roads,
to found his power and greatness, and then to sit at his gate
waiting for alms when the hour cometh that no man can work.
It is most strange, indeed, and yet too true, that a race which,
above all others, ought to seek the material advantages and the
substantial results of hard work, should be the most readily led
astray by windy agitators and by political disputes and passions.
Here we are driving through the streets of Montreal, which owes
much of its existence to Irish labour, and the labourer lives in
filth and degradation, in the back slums of the city, intensely
interested in elections and clerical discussions, little better
cared for or regarded than the dogs thereof till his vote is
required.
The city is now in its winter mantle, but it shows fair
proportions. The Roman Catholic chapels are well placed and
handsome, and excel in size and numbers the Protestant churches.
The Quarter-master-General, who has had to hire one of the Catholic
colleges to serve as barracks for the troops, says the priests are
remarkably keen practitioners at a bargain: good Churchmen always
were in old times. The metal-covered domes and spires, the roofs of
houses sheeted with tin, now began to glisten in the sun, and gave
a bright look to the place which did not make it all the warmer.
Montreal is a much finer-looking place than I had expected. The
irregularity of the streets pleased the eye, wearied by straight
lines and regular frontage. The houses of stone with double windows
have plain bare fronts, and do not present so good an appearance
as the best of New York; but the character of the residences as
a whole is better, and the effect of the city, to compare small
things with great, very much more interesting and picturesque.
Our destination in this drive was the Rink, or covered
skating-ground, which is the fashionable sporting resort of
Montrealese in the winter time. The crowd of sleighs and
sleigh-drivers around the doors of a building which looked like a
Methodist chapel, announced that the skaters were already assembled.
Anything but a Methodist-looking place inside. The room, which was
like a large public bath-room, was crowded with women, young and
old, skating or preparing to skate, for husbands, and spread in
maiden rays over the glistening area of ice, gliding, swooping,
revolving on legs of every description, which were generally
revealed to mortal gaze in proportion to their goodness, and
therefore were displayed on a principle so far unobjectionable.
The room was lighted with gas, which, with the heat of the crowd,
made the ice rather sloppy; but the skating of the natives was
admirable, and some hardened campaigners of foreign origin had
by long practice learned to emulate the graces and skill of the
inhabitants.
It was a mighty pretty sight. The spectators sat or stood on the
raised ledge round the ice parallelogram like swallows on a cliff,
and now and then dashed off and swept away as if on the wing over
the surface, in couples or alone, executing quadrilles, mazurkas,
waltzes, and tours de force, that made one conceive the laws of
gravitation must be suspended in the Rink, and that the outside
edge is the most stable place for the human foot and figure. Mercy,
what a crash! There is a fine stout young lady sprawling on the
ice, tripped up by Dontstop of the Guards, who is making a first
attempt, to the detriment of the lieges. How delighted the ladies
are, and pretend not to be; for the fallen fair one is the best
contortionist in the place! She is on her legs again--has shaken
the powdered ice and splash off her dandy jacket and neat little
breeches,--yes, they wear breeches, a good many of them,--and is
zigzagging about once more like a pretty noiseless firework.
The little children skate, so do most portentous mammas. A line
of recently arrived officers, in fur caps and coats, look on, all
sucking their canes, and resolving to take private lessons early
in the morning. Some, in the goose-step stage, perform awful first
lines with their skates, and leave me in doubt as to whether they
will split up or dash out their brains. The young ladies pretend to
avoid them with unanimity, but sail round them still as seagulls
sweep by a drowning man. And if a fellow should fall--and be saved
by a lady? Well! It may end in an introduction, and a condition of
“muffinage.” And what that is we must tell you hereafter. I can’t
answer your question as to whether the women were pretty; eyes dark
generally, and good complexions. The Rink is a bad place to judge
of that point.
I paid my respects to Sir Fenwick Williams, who has his quarters
in the hotel. The general has plenty of work to do at present, and
did not seem quite so well as when I saw him after his return from
Kars. There is a general impression that the Federals will keep
their armies in good humour at the end of the war, by annexing
Canada, if they can. No one asks what they will do with them when
that work has been accomplished. Dined at the house of the Hon.
John Rose, member for Montreal, and formerly a member of the
Government. He had, after his hospitable wont, some young officers
to dine also; and, after an agreeable evening, I slid home in a
bitter snow drift to the hotel, and so to bed. Here is a page from
my diary.
_February 6._--The severe cold makes the head ache, and stupefies
me _ultra modum_. I wrote to Mr. Hope, stating my reasons for
declining the great compliment of a public dinner intended for me
at Toronto. As I move about here, I feel that society is much under
the influence of the unruly fellow, our next neighbour. There is
no great love for him; but his prodigious kicks and blows, his
threats, his bad language, his size and insolence, frighten them
up here. There is great anxiety for the American news; and I am
bound to say, the Northern Americans must have done something to
make the Canadians dislike them, as there is little love for them
even where little is felt for England. I saw a great many of the
principal personages _to-day_. Called on the Bishop, whose sweet,
benevolent face is an index of his mind. He spoke in high terms
of his Roman Catholic coadjutor; indeed, it would be difficult to
quarrel with Dr. Mountain. In education, they work harmoniously
together. Mr. D’Arcy M’Ghie called on me. He is now a member of the
Canadian Parliament, and is giving his support to the authority of
the British Crown. His loyalty is, of course, stigmatised by some
as treason to what they call the cause of Ireland; but I believe
the atmosphere of Canada is found to have a vapour-dispelling,
febrifuge character about it which works well on the mind of
the Irish immigrant. A most entertaining, witty, well-informed
barrister, also an Irishman, paid me a visit, and gave some
admirable sketches of Canadian society, of the bar, of the working
of parties, as well as his own ideas on all points, in a peculiarly
terse and pleasant way.
CHAPTER VI.
Visit the “lions” of Montreal--The 47th Regiment--The city open to
attack--Quays, public buildings--French colonisation--Rise of
Montreal--Stone--A French-Anglicised city--Loyalty of Canadians
--Arrival of Troops--Facings--British and American Army compared
--Experience needed by latter--Slavery.
I remained several days at Montreal, examining the lions, and
making the most of my brief stay. Here are living a knot of
Southern families in a sort of American Siberia, at a very
comfortable hotel, who nurse their wrath against the Yankee to
keep it warm and sustain each other’s spirits. They form a nucleus
for sympathising society to cluster around, and so germinate into
innocent little balls, sleigh-parties, and occasional matrimonial
engagements.
“Waiting for his regiment,” too, was old General Bell--the veteran
who saw his first shot fired in the Peninsula, and his last,
forty-four years afterwards, before Sebastopol. There were parades
of the 47th Regiment and inspection-drills on the St. Lawrence in
snow-shoes; and Penn marched out his Armstrongs in beautiful order,
on their sleighs, for all to see.
The position of this fine city leaves it open to attack from the
American frontier, which is so near that the blue tops of the
mountain ridges of the bordering States can be seen on a clear day.
The rail from the centre of New York runs direct to it, through
the arsenal and fort of Rouse’s Point on Lake Champlain; and there
are two other lines converging on it, so that an enormous force
could be swiftly sent against it. The frontier is here a mere line
on the map, so drawn as to leave the head of Lake Champlain and
Rouse’s Point in the hands of the Americans. Its importance, its
beauty, and the feeling of the inhabitants would render it tempting
to the Northern armies; and the fierce, relentless, and destructive
spirit which has been evoked in their civil war, might lead them to
destroy all that is valuable and handsome in a city which stands in
strong contrast to the hideousness of American towns, if they were,
as of old, obliged to abandon the city.
The quays of Montreal are of imperial beauty, and would reflect
credit on any city in Europe. They present a continuous line of
cut-stone from the Lachine Canal along the river-front before the
city, leaving a fine broad mall or esplanade between the water’s
edge and the houses. The public buildings, built of solid stone, in
which a handsome limestone predominates, are of very great merit.
Churches, court-houses, banks, markets, hospitals, colleges, all
are worthy of a capital; and these would present a very different
appearance to an invader from that which was offered by the
poverty-stricken and insignificant Montreal of 1812.
There are a few guns mounted on a work on the left bank of the
river above the city, but for military purposes the place may be
considered perfectly open. There are more than 90,000 people in
the city, but it is said not to be a fighting population; and
there are many foreigners and emigrants of an inferior class, who
taint the place with rowdyism. The British element was active
in volunteering when I was there, and figures in uniform were
frequently to be seen in the streets; but the time was unfavourable
for any public displays, and I never saw any of the volunteers
working _en masse_.
Here, as elsewhere, the jealousies of claimants for command,
local and personal rivalry, have impeded the good work; but such
obstacles would vanish in the presence of danger. National feeling
has tended to make the organisation of corps too expensive, and the
question of drafting for the militia has also interfered with the
full development of the movement.
It would be unjustifiable to assert that the enterprise of the
French people, and their capacity for colonisation, have been
diminished by republican institutions; but, unquestionably, the
great convulsions which have agitated society since the fall of
the monarchy appear to have concentrated the energies of the race
upon objects nearer home, even though they have annexed Algeria,
established a protectorate over Tahiti, and are engaged in war
with the Cambodians. Where is the enterprise which, more than 200
years ago, originated a company of merchant adventurers, who pushed
out settlements into this wilderness, and founded factories among
the Iroquois and the Mohawks? In those days, indeed, the zeal of
Jesuits and other Roman Catholic missionaries preceded the march
and directed the course of commerce.
Montreal owes its existence to a certain Monsieur Maisonneuve, the
factor of the Commercial Association in 1642. More than 100 years
afterwards it was nearly destroyed by fire; and ten years after the
conflagration the troops of the insurgent colonies took possession
of the town, which was a favourite object of attack in the two
American wars.
In spite of many misfortunes--fire, hostile occupation,
insurrection, riot--Montreal has flourished exceedingly, and
the energy of its population has been displayed in securing for
it a principal share of the trade between England and the Upper
Provinces. Its railway communications have been pushed with great
energy, and the canals and quays are in imperial grandeur; but
still, in case of war with the States, the only outlet in winter
(by rail to Portland) would be effectually blocked up.
The city contains nearly 100,000 inhabitants, of whom 60,000 are
Roman Catholics--representing a great variety of nationalities,
with a predominance, however, of French-Canadians and Irish. An
abundance of fine stone, found near the town, has enabled the
inhabitants to build substantial houses in lieu of the wooden
edifices from which they were driven by two great conflagrations;
but the material is of a dull cold grey colour, and the streets,
seen in winter-time, have in consequence a gloomy and melancholy
aspect. Many of the cupolas and spires and the roofs of many of the
houses are covered with metal plates, which shine out in the sun,
and give the city a bright appearance from a distance, which is not
altogether maintained on a nearer approach.
The mental activity of the population, displayed in a large crop
of newspapers, doubtless indicates a close intimacy with the
United States; but Montreal is, after all, French Anglicised, and,
notwithstanding the disaffection of which it gave symptoms in the
rebellion, the sympathies of its people are very far removed from
the bald republicanism of the New England States.
Nuns and priests seem, to a Protestant eye, to be rather too
numerous for the good of the people; but having seen the schools
of the Christian Brothers, and having heard the testimony of all
classes to the services rendered to morals and religion, to charity
and to Christianity, by the various religious orders, I am forced
to believe that Montreal is much indebted to their labours.
The number of hospitals, schools, scientific institutions--the
libraries, reading-rooms, universities, are remarkable. They are
worthy of a highly-civilised, wealthy, and prosperous community;
but, in fact, the economy with which they are managed is not one
of the least remarkable features about the Montreal institutions.
Party animosities have now been softened: but there is no doubt of
the satisfaction with which the Liberal Canadian points to the fact
that those who were imprisoned and persecuted by the Government,
for rebellious acts or tendencies, have since been called to
office, and have served the Crown in high official positions.
The people of Canada are learning a useful piece of knowledge or
two from what is passing so close to them. The annexation party are
heard no more: in their room stand the people of Canada, loyal to
the Crown and to the connexion, prepared to defend their homes and
altars against invasion. So far as I have gone, in no place in the
Queen’s dominions is there greater attachment to her person and
authority.
The Canadians see with sorrow the ills which afflict their
neighbours, in spite of all the ill-advised menaces of the Northern
Press; but they felt naturally indignant at being spoken of as
if they were a mere chattel, which could be taken away by the
United States from Great Britain in order to spite her. With such
turbulent and dangerous elements at work close to them, they will
no doubt eagerly assist the authorities in their efforts to secure
their borders and their country, by putting the militia on a proper
footing. The patriotism of the Legislature can be relied on to do
this. England will do the rest, and give her best blood, if need
be, to aid this magnificent dependency of the same Crown as that to
which she is herself subject, in maintaining the present situation.
It was most agreeable to hear praise instead of grumbling, and to
know that amid no ordinary difficulties the troops were landed
and conveyed across the snows of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in
the month of January without casualty or mishap worth mentioning,
and that the arrangements were worthy of every commendation. It
made us feel proud of our army when we saw the cheerfulness,
soldierly look, cleanliness, and deportment of the men, and learnt
that they had conducted themselves in the most exemplary manner,
though exposed to great temptation by the hospitality of the New
Brunswickers and the cheapness of intoxicating liquors.
And what wonderful vicissitudes of service those officers and
men have seen! Here is a face yet burned by the suns of India,
encircled in fur-cap, and peering into the railway carriage to
welcome some well-known friend from China or Aldershot. There
marches a sturdy Guardsman, one of the few who remain of the men
of Alma and Inkerman, with that small ladder of glory on his
breast. Here is one of the old Riflemen--alas, most gracious
Queen! they feel proud in sadness of their name now--one of “the
Prince Consort’s Own Rifle Brigade,” who heard, that bright evening
when our good ship was gliding through the blue waters of the
Dardanelles, the rich chorus of those manly voices, most of which
are silenced for ever:--
“Soldiers, merrily march away!
Soldier’s glory lives in story,
His laurels are green when his locks are grey,
Then hurrah for the life of a soldier!”
Firm and clean and straight as of yore, under all his load of
greatcoat, furs, and boots, struts the soldier of the 47th,
mindful of De Lacy Evans, “little Inkerman,” and of the greater in
which it was eclipsed. Will he be as trim and neat, I wonder, if
they take away his white facings? Of the old “fours”--the second
brigade of the division which with the light divided the “general”
fighting--the 41st and 47th, though perhaps no better, always
looked better than the 49th, because of their facings.
The influence of facings, indeed, goes much further than that
in general society. The hotel in which I live (a very attentive
host is doing his best to complete the resemblance by extensive
dilapidations) is as like a barracks as can be. The “St. Lawrence
Hall” is in a military occupation. The obstacles in way of
“alterations” are bestridden by Guardsmen, Riflemen, and Engineers,
on their way to breakfast and dinner, as if they were getting
through breaches. In the hall abundance of soldiers, anxious
orderlies with the quaint quartoes full of orders, and military
idlers smoking as much as you like, but, I am glad to say, not
chewing--nor, as a New York paper calls the Republican Senators,
“tobacco-expectorant.” To appreciate this boon properly, pray be
prepared to limit the suffrage immensely. In the passages more
orderlies and soldier-servants, who now and then do a little of
what is called flirting with the passing _demoiselles de service_;
tubs outside in the passage; doors of rooms open _à la caserne_;
military chests and charts on the table.
It would have given those who admit that war is necessary
sometimes, as the sole means of redressing national grievances,
considerable satisfaction to have seen the difference presented by
the regular troops of Great Britain in Canada and the vast masses
of volunteers assembled on the Potomac by the United States. It
is not that the British are one whit finer men: taking even the
Guards, there are some few regiments there which in height and
every constituent of physique, except gross weight, cannot be
excelled.
As a whole, perhaps, the average of intelligence, taken there to
mean reading and writing, may be higher among the United States
volunteers than among the British regulars;--not much, however. The
Sanitary Commission of New York, a very patriotic and thoroughly
American body, did not attempt to claim more than three-fifths of
the United States armies as of American _birth_. The immediate
descendants of Irish and German parents are thus included among
native-born Americans, though they are in all respects except birth
Irish and Germans still. Very probably they have not partaken to
the full, or to any great extent, of the advantages of public
education.
But, taking the statement of the Commissioners--which, by-the-bye,
is a very serious reflection on the patriotism of the Northern
populations--it may be doubted whether in reading, writing, and
arithmetic there is any great superiority on the part of the United
States troops over the British. I admit that in some regiments of
the New England States there is a higher average of such knowledge
as may enable a man to argue on the orders of his officers, and of
such intelligence as may induce him to believe he is competent to
criticise the conduct of a campaign.
There is an immense amount of newspaper reading and letter-writing,
the former taste predominating; but our own mailbags are ample
enough to satisfy any one that the same preponderance which is
maintained by London over New York in correspondence is to be found
in the English army over the American. Many Irish and Germans here
have no inducements to write letters, but there are few who are
unable to read their newspapers.
What is it, then, one may reasonably ask, which would satisfy
the grumbler, who finds fault with the expenditure of standing
armies, that he has got value for his money when he contrasts the
British troops here with the battalions on the Potomac? It is
the efficiency produced by obedience, which is the very life of
discipline: the latter is obedience incorporated, and, in motion
or at rest, acting by fixed rules, with something approaching to
certainty in its results.
The small army in Canada could be massed together, with its
artillery and transport, in a very short time, and directed with
precision to any one point, though it is a series of detachments
on garrison duty rather than a _corps d’armée_, and it has
neither cavalry nor baggage animals. With all the liberal (if not
occasionally extravagant) outlay, and the cost of transporting
it, the force in a few weeks would be far less expensive than an
American corps of the same strength; and it is no disparagement to
the latter to say they would be less efficient than the British. I
do not speak of actual fighting; for our battle-fields in Canada
tell how desperate may be the encounters between the armies. Our
force would be under the orders of experienced officers. The staff
would consist of men who have seen service in the Russian war, in
Asia, in India, and in China, and who have witnessed the operations
of great European armies. The United States is laboriously seeking
to acquire experience, at a cost which may be ruinous to its
national finances, and a delay which may be fatal to its cause;
but it cannot galvanise the inert mass with the fire of military
efficiency, though it burns, we are told, with hidden volcanic
energies, and is pregnant with patriotic life. The use of an army
in war is to fight, to be able to move to and after its enemy, to
beat and to pursue him.
It is not greatly to be wondered at if the work, which Great
Britain has only partially accomplished, notwithstanding the
greatness of its progress, should be only begun in the United
States. The aptitude of a large mass of the inhabitants for
arms, whether they be foreign or native-born, is marred by many
things. There is the principle of equality intruding itself in
military duty, confounding civil rights with the relations between
superior and inferior--between officer and rank-and-file. There
is the difficulty of getting men to follow officers who have no
special fitness for their post. A soldier may be made in a year;
a company officer cannot be made in three years. There are many
officers in the American army of great theoretical and some
practical knowledge; there are many in the British army lazy and
indifferent;--but no one would think for a moment of comparing
the acquirements, in a military sense, of the officers of the two
nations.
In the Crimean war, when our army was enlarged at a time that
severe losses had much diminished the number of officers, we saw
that our standard was considerably lowered by the precipitate
infusion of new men. No wonder, then, that the United States had
and has great difficulty in procuring officers of the least value
for a levy of more than half-a-million of volunteers.
But the system itself is a most formidable barrier to success.
Under no circumstances can it reach a moderate degree of
efficiency, unless the test of subsequent examination be rigidly
enforced. There is no superiority of rank, of military knowledge,
of personal character, of social position, to create an emulation
in the mind of the private to be the obedient but daring equal of
the officer in the time of danger. To such general remarks there
are many and brilliant exceptions.
In the course of time, the personal qualities and the reputation
for bravery and skill of officers would stand in the Republican
armies in lieu of those influences which move the British soldier.
No one is foolish enough to think or say that the private follows
his officer because the latter has paid so much money for his
commission or has so much a year. The gradual rise from one rank to
another is a guarantee of some military knowledge--at all events,
of acquaintance with drill. Social position counts for much. Men
who are equal before the law are very unequal in the drill-book.
It would be lamentable to see so much faith in a cause, such
devotion, zeal, boundless expenditure, and splendid material
comparatively lost--to behold the petted Republic wasting away
under this influence, and the _vis inertiæ_ of the force it has
called into being, were it not that the spectacle is a lesson for
the nations. It has not yet come to its end.
If standing armies there must be, let them be as complete in
organisation as possible. If an empire must rely on volunteers as
its main defence, let care be taken that they are organised and
officered so as to be effective, and regulated on such principles
of economy that they may not overwhelm with debt the country they
are engaged in protecting by their arms.
It is quite true that the Confederates suffer from the same
disadvantages as those which affect the Federals, but in a far
less degree. Mr. Davis, early in the war, got hold of the army and
subjected it to discipline. It was not so difficult to do so in the
South as in the North, owing to the difference in the people. The
officers were appointed by him. The men were animated, as they are
now, by an intense hatred of their enemy. Their armies were in a
defensive attitude; a large number, comprising some of the best,
of the United States officers sided with them. They are operating
besides on the inner lines.
But, after all, if the possession of the seaboard, the use of
navies, the vast preponderance of population, the ability to get
artillery and arms, and the occupation of the heads of the great
river communications be not utterly thrown away, the North must
overrun the South, if only the Northerners can fight as well as
the Southerners, and if the North can raise money to maintain the
struggle.
Let us leave out of view the slave element for once. The
Abolitionists assert that the most formidable weapon in the United
States armoury is the use of the emancipated slave; but it is
rather difficult to see how the slaves could assist the North
as long as they remain obedient and quiet in the South, or how
the North can get at them by a mere verbal declaration till it
has conquered the Slave States. Above all, it is not clear that
it would benefit the penniless exchequer of the North to have
4,000,000 black paupers suddenly thrown on it for support.
Slavery is to me truly detestable; the more I saw of it the
less I liked it. It is painful, to one who has seen the
system at work and its results, to read in English journals
philosophical--pseudo-philosophical treatises on the subject, and
dissertations on the “ethics and æsthetics” of the curse, from
which we shook ourselves free years ago with the approbation of our
own consciences and of the world.
Before I speak of the defence of Montreal in connection with
the general military position of the Canadian frontier, I shall
continue my brief narrative of my tour through Canada.
CHAPTER VII.
First view of Quebec--Passage of the St. Lawrence--Novel and
rather alarming situation--Russell’s Hotel--The Falls of
Montmorenci, and the “Cone”--Aspect of the City--The
Point--“Tarboggining”--Description of the “Cone”--Audacity
of one of my companions--A Canadian dinner--Call on the
Governor--Visit the Citadel--Its position--Capabilities for
defence--View from parapet--The armoury--Old muskets--Red-tape
thoughtfulness--French and English occupation of Quebec--Strength
of Quebec.
It was early in the morning when the train from Montreal arrived at
Point Levi on the right bank of the St. Lawrence, a little above
Quebec. The impression produced on us by the heights of Abraham,
by the frowning citadel, by the picturesque old city glistening in
the sun’s rays, and by the great river battling its way through the
fields of ice and the countless miniature bergs, which it hustled
upwards with full-tide power, can never be effaced.
It required some faith to enable one to believe the passage could
be made by mortal boat of that vast flood from which the crash of
ice sounded endlessly, as floes and bergs floating full speed were
dashed against each other--flying fast as clouds in a wintry sky
up the river, the banks of which resembled the sheer sides of an
Alpine crevasse. The force of the stream is so great as to rend
through and rupture the coat of ice which is thickened daily, and
the masses thus broken, tossed into all sorts of singular shapes,
jagged and quaint, are borne up and down by the flood till they
are melted by the increasing warmth of spring. An ice bridge is
occasionally formed by the concentration of the ice in such masses
as to resist the action of the water, and then sleigh horses cross
by a path which is marked out by poles or twigs stuck in the snow,
but it more usually happens that the river opposite Quebec remains
unfrozen, and offers the singular spectacle of the ice rushing
up and down every day as the tide rises and falls, to the great
interest and excitement of strangers who have to cross from one
side to the other.
At first the attempt seems impracticable. The deep blue of the St.
Lawrence can be only seen here and there through the bergs and
floes, like the veins beneath a snowy skin, but those glints are
for ever varying as the ice passes on. The clear spaces are no
sooner caught by the eye than they are filled up again, and every
instant there are fresh rifts made in the shifting surface, which
is at once as solid as a glacier and as yielding as water. In this
race the bergs are carried with astonishing force and rapidity, and
a grating noise; and a grinding, crashing sound continually rises
from the water.
At the station there was a goodly crowd of men in ragged fur coats
and caps, pea jackets, and long boots, of an amphibious sort, who
did not quite look like sailors, and who yet were not landsmen.
These were clamouring for passengers, and touting with energy in a
mixture of French and English. “Prenez notr’ bateau, M’sieu’--La
Belle Alliance! Good boat, Sar! Jean Baptiste, M’sieu’: I well
known boat-man, Sir.” “The blue boat, Sir, gentleman’s boat, Mon
Espoir,” “L’Hirondelle,” and so on at the top of their voices. And
sure enough there, drawn up on the snow near the station, was
a range of stout whale boats, double planked on the sides, and
provided with remarkably broad keels.
We selected, after a critical inspection, the captain of one of
these--a merry-eyed, swarthy fellow, with a big beard and brawny
shoulders--as our Charon, and following his directions we were
stowed away in a sort of well between the steersman and the
stroke oar, where we sat down with our legs stretched out very
comfortably, and were then covered up to the chin with old skins,
furs, and great coats. When all was ready, a horse was brought
forward with a sling bar, to which a rope was attached from
the bow, and we glided forward along the road towards the most
favourable point for crossing at that stage of the tide. The boat
was steadied and guided by the crew, who ran alongside with their
hands on the gunwales. Houses by the roadside snowed up--shop
windows with French names--sallow-faced, lean people looking out of
the grimy windows--some large ships on the stocks, roughly placed
on the river bank--these met the eye as we passed over the snow
road towards the point opposite the city now looming nearer. With
cheap timber and labour it is not surprising that the shipbuilding
trade of Quebec flourishes.
For more than a mile and a half the boat careered eastwards, in
active emulation with several other boats which were in our track,
and the citadel on the opposite shore already lay behind us, before
the horse was detached at the side of a deep incline leading to the
river, and in another moment the boat was gliding down the bank and
rushing for a blue rent in the midst of the heavy surface, into
which we splashed as unerringly as a wild duck drops into a moss
hole. The moment the bow touched the water, all the crew, some
seven or eight in number, leaped in and seized their oars, which
they worked with a will, whilst the skipper, standing in the bow,
directed the course of the steersman.
We were now in a basin of clear water surrounded quite by ice,
which only left the tops of the small bergs and the high banks on
each side visible to us seated low down in the boat; and as we
looked the floes were rapidly closing in upon us; but the skipper
saw where the frozen wall was about opening, and forced the boat to
the point of the advancing and narrowing circle, in which suddenly
a tiny canal was cleft by the parting of the bergs, and the
opportunity was instantly seized by the boatmen.
The ice was already closing and gripping the timbers as soon as
we had fairly entered, and in an instant out leaped the crew on
the treacherous surface, which here and there sank till they were
knee-deep, and by main force they slid the boat up on a floe, and
rocking her from side to side as a kite flutters before it makes a
swoop, they roused her along on the surface of the ice, which was
floating up towards the city very rapidly. With loud cries to a
sort of chorus, the crew forced the craft across the floe till they
floundered in some half-frozen snow, through which the boat dropped
into the water. Then in they leaped, like so many Newfoundland dogs
coming to land, all wet and furry, took the oars again, and rowed
across and against the tide-set as hard as they could. Now in the
water, then hanging on by the gunwales, this moment rowing, in
another tugging at the boat ropes, clambering over small ice rocks,
running across floes, sinking suddenly to the waist in the cold
torrent, the men battled with the current, and by degrees the shore
grew nearer, and the picturesque outlines of the city became more
distinct in the morning sun.
What with the extraordinary combinations and forms of the ice
drifts, the inimitably fantastic outlines of the miniature ice
architecture, and the novelty of the scene, one’s attention was
entirely fixed on what was passing around, and it was not till we
had nearly touched land that we had time to admire the fine effect
of the streets and citadel, which, rising from the icy wall of the
river bank, towered aloft over us like the old town of Edinburgh
suddenly transplanted to the sea.
We found an opening in the blue cold water-rocks near the
Custom-house landing-wharf, at which place there was a shelving
bank; a stout horse was attached to the boat by a rope, on which
the crew threw themselves with enthusiasm; and in a few seconds
more we were on the quay, and thence proceeded to Russell’s Hotel,
which was recommended to us as the best in the place. One may find
fault with American hostelries; but assuredly they are better than
the imitations of them which one finds in Canada, combining all the
bad qualities of hotels in the States and in Europe, and destitute
of any of the good ones.
The master of the hotel was an American, and he had struggled hard
“under the depressing influences of the British aristocracy” to
establish an American hotel, and he only succeeded in introducing
the least agreeable features of the institution; but the attendants
were civil and obliging, and there was no extravagant pressure on
the resources of the place, so that we fared better than if we
had been down south of the frontier. Even the landlord, though
not particularly well-disposed towards one so unpopular among his
countrymen as myself, yielded so far to the _genius loci_ as to be
civil. The rooms were small, and not particularly clean; but as
painting and papering were going on, those who follow me may be
better provided for.
A short rest was very welcome; but what fate is like that which
drives the sightseer ever onwards, and forces him, with the rage of
all the furies, from repose? “The Falls of Montmorenci were but a
drive away, and the ‘Cone’ was in great perfection.”
“What is ‘the Cone?’” The effect of our ignorance on the waiter
was so touching--he was so astonished by the profound barbarism of
our condition--that we felt it necessary for our own character to
proceed at once to a spot which forms the delight of Quebec in the
winter season, and to which the _bourgeoisie_ were repairing in hot
haste for the afternoon’s pleasure.
A sleigh was brought round, and in it, ensconced in furs, we
started off for the Falls, which are about eight miles distant.
It was delightful to see anything so old on this continent as the
tortuous streets of the city, which bear marks of their French
origin, after such a long contact as I had endured with the raw
youth of American cities in general, but it was impossible to deny
that the antiquity before us had a certain air of dreary staleness
about it also. The double-windowed flat-faced houses had a lanky,
compressed air, as if they had been starved in early life, and the
citizens had the appearance of people who had no particular object
in being there, and set no remarkable value on time. A considerable
sprinkling of priests was perhaps the most remarkable feature in
the scene, and occasionally knots of ruddy-faced riflemen, in all
the glory of winter fur caps and great coats, disputed the narrow
pavement, alternating with the “red” soldiers of the line.
The city is built on very irregular ground, and some of the streets
are so steep that it is desirable for new comers to have steel
spikes screwed into the foot-gear to combat the inclination to
proneness on the part of the wearers. Emerging through a postern
in the ancient battlemented wall we came out in an uninteresting
suburb of small houses, from which a descent led to the margin of
the water. Far as the eye could reach a vast snow plain extended,
with surface broken into ridges, mounds, and long dark lines, and
dotted with opaque blocks from which the church steeples sprung
aloft, indicating the sites of villages. The ridges were the hills
over the St. Lawrence, the mounds its islands, and the lines its
banks, which expand widely on the left to embrace the sweep of
the St. Charles Lake, on which stands the projecting ledge of the
eastern part of the city.
As we approached the Lake, over which our route lay, black specks,
which were resolved into sleighs, or men and women on foot, were
visible making their way over the ice, which was marked by lines
of bushes and branches of trees dressed up in the snow so as to
indicate the route, and far away similar black specks could be
made out crossing the St. Lawrence below, which has now become the
great highway. But not a very smooth road. The surface is far from
being level, and consists indeed of a succession of undulations in
which the profound cavities sometimes give one a sense of insecure
travelling.
On the whole, however, the expedition was much to be enjoyed, the
air was bracing, and the cold not intense, and the scene “slid into
the soul” with all its deep tranquillity. Doubtless it produced a
very different effect on the red-nosed Britons who were keeping
watch and ward on the ramparts of the citadel, or on the poor
“habitant” trudging patiently beside his sleigh-load of wood, and
knowing that snow is his portion for the next five months.
On our right a continuous movement of white rugged masses, to all
appearance like a stream of polar bears, betokened the course of
the unfrozen St. Lawrence; on our left rose the high bank of the
lake over which we were travelling, and cottages of the villagers;
before us the sleighs were streaming towards a point which ran out
into the river and beyond which there seemed to be a shallow bay.
This was the point at which the Montmorenci river, recovering from
its fall, expanded into a broad sheet at its junction with the
greater river. Here we arrived in about an hour.
At the Point there were a few houses, some vessels imbedded in
the snow, and piles of sawn timber and deal planks, and a great
concourse of sleighs; and beyond it, looking up to the left, at
the distance of some half-mile, we saw a glistening sugarloaf of
snow, on the summit of which the creaming, yellow-tinged mass of
the Falls apparently precipitated itself from the high precipice
which bars the course of the stream. On the snow between us and
the sugarloaf, and up the white sides of the latter, little black
objects were toiling with small progress, but at intervals one
of them, gliding from the top of the cone like a falling star
in the Inferno, rushed prone to the base, and thence carried by
the impetus of the descent skimmed over the ice towards us for
hundreds of yards, like a round shot till its force was spent.
Of the crowd gathered at the Point nearly every one had the small
hand-sleigh, something like a tiny truck with iron runners,
under the arm, known in the vernacular as a “tarboggin,” of the
derivation of which it is better to confess ignorance. A few were
provided with sleighs of ampler proportions, and all the visitors
were bent on tarboggining it, either from a shoulder of the Cone or
from the summit of the mass itself.
As we approached over the snow the natives, men and women, flew
past us on their way after a rush down the Cone, shouting to
the bystanders to take care. Sometimes two were together, the
lady seated on the front part of the machine, the man behind
lying on his face with his feet stretched out so as to guide the
sleigh by the smallest touch against the ice. At a distance the
pleasure-seekers looked like some hideous insects impelled towards
us with incredible velocity. As they came near and flew past, the
expression of their countenances by no means indicated serene
enjoyment.
Near the Cone itself a crowd of “tarboggin” hirers and guides
beset us and guaranteed a safe descent, but it seemed a doubtful
pleasure at best, and there was some chance of breaking limb, as
we were told happened frequently during the season. We ascended to
the lower shoulder of the Cone by steps in the snow and gazed on
the scene with some curiosity. Not only were the people launching
themselves from the Cone, but more adventurous still there were
who, climbing up the steep side of the precipice, tarboggin under
arm, at last reached some vantage snow, by the side of the Fall,
where they threw themselves flat on the sleigh, and then came
rushing down with a force which carried them clear up the side of
the lower ledge of the Cone and over it, so that they were once
more plunged downwards and were borne off towards the St. Lawrence.
It could now be very plainly seen that the Falls fell behind the
Cone into a boiling turbulent basin, which fretted the edge of the
ice and repelled its advances. Although much diminished in volume
the body of water, which makes a leap of 250 feet down a sheer
rock face into the caldron, was sufficiently large to present all
the finest characteristics of a waterfall, but it was at times
enveloped in a mist of snow, or rather of frozen spray, which
blew into eyes, mouth, ears, and clothes, and penetrated to the
very marrow of one’s bones. And it is of this ever-falling frozen
rain the Cone is built, and as the winter lengthens on the Cone
grows higher and higher, till in favourable seasons it reaches an
altitude of 120 feet. It is as regular as the work of an architect,
and, I need not say, much more beautiful. At present it had not
attained its full growth, and was only 80 feet in height--but its
symmetry was of Nature’s own handiwork. The Falls are in a narrow
concave cup of rock crested with pine forests, and its sides now
forbid the ascent, which is practicable in summer time by a series
of natural steps in the strata. The waters cover this young cone
with wings of spray and foam, and flittering, tremulous, and
unsubstantial as they are, it is nevertheless from their aerial
vapours that the solid and sturdy ice mountain grows up.
Of its substantial nature we had an excellent proof--of a human,
practical kind: for, obeying many invitations, we walked along
a snow path which led to a portal cut in the solid oxide of
hydrogen, and entering found ourselves in a hot and stuffy
apartment excavated from the body of the Cone, in which there was
an Americanised bar, with drinks suited to the locality, and as
much want of air as one would find in a house in the Fifth Avenue
of New York. It was full of people, who drank whiskey and other
strong waters.
I know not by what seduction overcome, but, somehow, so it
happened, that one of my companions, on our return to the outer
air and light, was led to sacrifice himself on a tarboggin, and
yielded to a demon guide. I watched him toiling on, with painful
steps and slow, doggedly up the path towards the slippery summit,
and, when he had gained it, I slid down below to observe the result
of the experiment, and judge whether it looked pleasant or not. He
was but an item among many, but I knew he was among the _braves
des braves_, and had received a baptism of fire in the trenches
of Sebastopol, which had rained a very font of glory in India,
and scarcely paled in China. I watched him assuming the penal
attitude to which the young tarbogginer is condemned, and after a
balance for a moment on the giddy height, his guide gave a kick
to the snow, and down like a plunging bomb flew the ice-winged
Icarus. He passed me close; I could see and mark him well. Never,
to judge from facial expression, could man have been in deadlier
fear. With hard-set mouth, staring and rigid eyes, and aspect quite
antipathetic to pleasure, he careered like one who is falling from
a house top, and his countenance had scarce assumed its wonted
placid look when I met him gasping and half faint. And yet he had
the astounding audacity to say, “It was delicious. Never had a
more delightful moment,” when he came back pale and panting from
his flight.
We returned from the Falls by a hilly, rough road over the bank of
the Lake, and arrived at our hotel in time to dress for dinner, to
which I was invited at the house of a Canadian gentleman, I think
an Englishman by birth, who entertained us right hospitably.
There is a wonderful calm in the conversation of the Canadians,
perhaps a little too much so, but it is a relief from the ambitious
restlessness of the common American. The Canadian mind suffers as
the mind of every country which is not a nationality must suffer,
and caution assumes the place of enterprise. If the Americans knew
the business of diplomacy a little better, and could but restrain
the democratic vice of boastful threatening and arrogant menace,
they could have alienated Canada from our cold rule long ago, even
though Canada would have lost by the change many privileges and a
cheap protection to her industry, commerce, and social expansion.
_February 10th._--To-day I paid my respects to His Excellency the
Governor, Viscount Monck, and proceeded to visit the citadel, which
is now occupied by a battalion of the 60th Rifles under Colonel
Hawley. Independently of the historical associations which attach
to this commanding-looking work, I was attracted to it by the
consideration that it has twice saved Canada to Great Britain. I am
bound to say that, in my poor opinion, it will never do so again,
if left in its present condition. The works, once strong, have
lost much of their importance since the introduction of long-range
artillery, and the armament is in a very imperfect condition,
consisting of old-fashioned pieces of small calibre, which could
furnish no reply to a battery established on the heights across the
St. Lawrence.
The citadel itself has in its construction some of the points of a
regular fortress after Vauban, and on the river side the parapets
tower aloft from a steep rock, which puts one in mind of the site
of the platform at Berne; but on the east side it is hampered by
houses and by the suburbs of the city; and it could be approached
without much difficulty from the other side, as soon as a lodgment
could be effected on the heights of Abraham. The fosses and ditches
were partially filled with snow, which obscured the ground and the
adjacent country, if such whiteness can obscure anything. Colonel
Hawley was good enough to show us over the works and point out the
objects of interest as far as they could be discerned. Among them
were some ancient iron guns on which Great Britain ought not to
rely for very effective service in the defence of the place.
But some new heavy guns have recently been mounted, others are
to follow, and as the ordnance stores in Canada will soon be
replenished with the best description of pieces, there then need be
no apprehension for Quebec on the score of weak artillery: or for a
position that is the key of Quebec, which is most emphatically the
master-key of Canada.
The outworks of the citadel itself, however, are not by any means
in a satisfactory condition; even the high parapet overlooking the
lower town might be crumbled away and expose the interior of the
place; in one particular part of this work the guns are masked by
blocks of houses, the windows of which actually look into the
interior of the citadel, and the fire of the place could be so
impeded, and the defence so cramped by the existing enceinte, that
I very much doubt whether it would not be better to remove the
latter altogether.
We trudged patiently around the long lines of parapet in the snow,
now looking down upon the river clamorous with its burden of ice,
and on the tortuous streets of the old-fashioned town. In summer
and in the open months the St. Lawrence is thickly studded with
ships; and dense forests of masts line the course of its banks;
but now the only specimen of commercial enterprise on its bosom
consisted of a few canoes struggling backwards and forwards through
ice and water with their scanty freights.
Inside the citadel, cherry-cheeked riflemen were playing like
schoolboys in the snow. In spite of temptation the regiment was
in good condition; and although in modern days some objection
might be taken to the closeness of their quarters in summer, the
British soldiers who served under Wolfe would have been greatly
astonished if they could have seen the comforts enjoyed by, and the
cares bestowed on, their descendants. Even those much-neglected,
injured Penelopes, the soldiers’ wives, are tolerably well off in
their quarters, somewhat too crowded, it is true, but still more
comfortable than at Aldershot or the Tower.
After a long march along the parapet, in which I stumbled across
more rotting gun-carriages, useless mortars, and bad platforms
than I care to mention, we visited the Armoury, which is near the
parade-ground of the citadel. The stock of firearms is arranged
with great taste, and the cleanliness and effectiveness of all the
material reflected credit on the storekeeper.
Some of the contents consisted of very interesting rifles of
renowned makers in former days, with carved stocks, flint locks,
and barrels encrusted with gold, intended as presents to Indian
chiefs and warriors of tribes sufficiently strong to cause us
injury by their hostility or render us service by their alliance.
Old flint-lock muskets of inferior quality, with barrels like so
many feet of cast-iron piping, intended for the indiscriminate
destruction of friend or foe; horse-pistols of the fashion in vogue
one hundred years ago, and the like, were to be found in the same
spacious apartment, which contained specimens of the most recent
improvements in firearms. Formerly flint pistols were served out to
the frontier patrols, but of course percussion locks have, for many
years, been given to all those employed in the service of the Crown
in a military capacity. Some worthy official at home, however,
still continues to send out barrels of flints with laudable
punctuality, as he has not been relieved by superior order from the
necessity of keeping up the supply of these articles. We have all
heard of the forethought evinced by the home authorities, when they
sent out water-tanks for our lake flotilla, forgetting that they
were borne on an element quite fit for drinking. But I heard in the
citadel of a still more remarkable instance of thoughtfulness.
A ship arrived at Quebec some time ago with an enormous spar
reaching from her bowsprit to her taffrail consigned to the
storekeeper. It had been the plague of the ship’s company, it
had been in everybody’s way, and had nearly caused the loss of
the vessel in some gales of wind. The whole resources of the
quarter-master-general’s department were taxed to get it safely
on shore, and transport it to the heights. And what was it? A
flag-staff for the citadel. And what was it made of? A stout
Canadian pine, which had probably been sent from the St. Lawrence
in a timber ship to the government officials at home; who, having
duly shaped and pruned it into a flag-staff, returned it to the
land of its birth at some considerable expense to John Bull.
The citadel is of no mean extent, but covers about forty acres of
ground, and necessarily requires a very strong garrison; if they
were exposed to shell or vertical fire from the opposite side of
the river, or from the western side of the place, as there is no
defence provided, they would certainly suffer great loss. It is
obvious that a permanent work must be built at Point Levi, to sweep
the approaches and prevent the establishment of hostile batteries
on the river. A regular bastion with outworks should be constructed
on the heights above the point, in order to make Quebec safe.
There are also dangers to be apprehended from the occupation
of the railway terminus at Rivière du Loup which do not affect
Quebec immediately, but are, nevertheless, to be carefully guarded
against. In the event of war appearing imminent, a temporary work
to cover the terminus on the land side, and sweep the river, would
be necessary.
There exist the remains of some outworks in advance of the citadel,
which are so well placed that it would be very desirable to
reconstruct defences on their sites. They are called the French
works, and their position does credit to the skill of the engineer
who chose it.
The British flag has waved for just 102 years from Cape Diamond,
but the Fleur-de-lys had fluttered on the same point for 220 years,
with the exception of the three years from 1629 to 1632, when Sir
David Kirke placed Quebec in our hands.
Nothing proves the inaccuracy of artillery in those days more
strikingly than the inability of the French, on Cape Diamond, to
prevent the British transports landing their men at Point Levi,
although the St. Lawrence is little more than 1000 yards broad
opposite the citadel. By our bombardment, however, we nearly laid
Quebec in the dust before the action.
On account of the very natural remembrance of the glory of Wolfe’s
attack, his death and victory, it has almost been forgotten that
our first attempt to land at Montmorenci was repulsed by Montcalm
with the loss of 500 men; and it was only when the original scheme
failed, that Wolfe conceived the plan of re-embarking his troops,
and landing above the town. He had 8000 regular troops; the French
had 10,000 men, but of these only five battalions were regular
French soldiers. Montcalm believed no doubt that he could drive
the British into the river, or force them to surrender, and he
threw the force of his attack on the British right, which rested on
the river. The French right, consisting of Indians and Canadians,
was easily routed; the French left, deprived of the services of
its general and of his second in command, was ultimately broken,
and fled towards the town, covered in some degree by the centre
battalions, which fell back steadily; nor was it till five days
after the battle that Quebec fell into our hands. The fire must
have been exceedingly close and desperate; and its effects speak
well for the efficiency of old Brown Bess at close quarters, for
out of the force engaged, the British lost over 630, and the French
1500, of whom 1000 were wounded or taken prisoners. There was
little artillery engaged; for we had but one, and the French but
two or three pieces on the heights. A very few months afterwards we
had nigh lost that which we had so gallantly and fortunately gained.
On the 28th April next year, General Murray, following the example
of Montcalm, and depriving himself of the advantages which a
position inside the walls of Quebec would have given him, moved
out on the heights of Abraham, with 3000 men and twenty guns, to
oppose the French under the Chevalier de Levi, who were moving down
upon the city. In an ill-conceived attack on the enemy, Murray lost
no less than 1000 men and all his guns, and had to retreat to the
city. He was only relieved by the arrival of a British squadron in
the river, which compelled the French to retire with the loss of
all their artillery.
Looking down upon the narrow path below the parapet, one must do
credit to the daring of Arnold, Montgomery, and the Americans in
their disastrous attempt to carry the citadel by an escalade.
Arnold, after his astonishing march and desperate perils by
the Kennebeck and Chaudière--which has been well styled by
General Carmichael Smyth one of the most wonderful instances of
perseverance and spirit of enterprise upon record--followed the
course pursued by Wolfe; and embarking at Point Levi, occupied the
heights of Abraham, but when Montgomery joined him from Montreal,
it was found they had no heavy artillery. Thus they were forced
either to march back again, or to try to carry the place by storm.
Two columns, led by Arnold and Montgomery, endeavoured to push
through the street at the foot of the citadel, one from the east
and another from the west.
The Canadians say, that after Montgomery carried the entrenchment,
which extended from the foot of the cliff to the river, he rushed
at the head of his column, followed by a group of officers, towards
a second work, on which was mounted a small field-piece. The
Americans were just within twenty yards when a Canadian fired the
gun, which was loaded with grape. Montgomery and the officers who
followed him were swept down in a heap of killed and wounded, and
the column at once fled in confusion. Arnold, who had forced his
way into the houses under the citadel, was carried back wounded
soon after his gallant advance: and the Canadians again claim for
one of their own countrymen, named Dambourges, the honour of having
led the sortie from the citadel which charged the Americans, and
forced those who were not slain to surrender.
Certainly the Canadians showed upon that occasion, as no doubt they
would again, a strong indisposition to fraternise with the American
apostles of liberty, equality, and fraternity; they harassed
their communications, and, under their seigneurs, cut off several
detachments. The attempt on Quebec was never repeated; and the
Americans fared but ill in both their Canadian campaigns.
A well-organised expedition made in winter-time would now be
attended with far greater danger than it was in former days, and
if the snow remained in good condition, artillery, provisions,
and munitions of war could be transported with greater facility
than on the ordinary country roads. Quebec would, under these
circumstances, be deprived of the co-operation of the fleet; but
with the improvement in the defence which would be effected by the
erection of a regular work at Point Levi, and by the alterations
indicated in the citadel itself, Quebec would be in a position to
resist any force the Americans might direct against it, and would
have nothing to fear except from regular siege operations, which
there was no chance of interrupting or raising. It would be most
important to have the feelings of the inhabitants enlisted on our
side. I fear there is reason to believe that they are antagonistic
to the Americans, rather than violently enamoured of ourselves.
Having enjoyed a view from the Flag-staff Tower, 350 feet above the
river, which in summer must be one of the grandest in the world,
and which even now was full of interest, my visit to the Citadel
was terminated by lunch in the mess-room, and I returned homewards
through the city. I was encircled with people enjoying the keen
bright air, though the thermometer was twenty degrees below
freezing point.
Not the least interesting to me of the people were the habitans
in their long robes gathered in round the waist by scarlet or
bright-coloured sashes, with long boots, and fur caps, and French
faces, chatting in their Old-World French; and the monks, or
regular clergy, who moved as beings of another age and world
through the more modern types of civilisation--such as fast
officers in fast sleighs, and the Anglicised families in their
wheelless calèches. I had the honour of an invitation to dine at
the club called Stadacona, which is a corruption or modification
of Indian words signifying “the site of a strait,” where I met
a number of the citizens of Quebec at an excellent substantial
dinner, which had far more of English tastes than of French cookery
about it. The conversation did not disclose any symptoms of the
tendency towards Americanisation which the Northern journals are so
fond of attributing to the people of Canada; but it was perceptible
that a war with America was regarded as an evil which could only
fall on Canada because of her connection with Great Britain, and
that Great Britain ought therefore to take a main part in it. The
Canadians are proud of the part borne by De Salaberry and others
in the former war; but, greatly as the country has advanced, I
doubt if there is now such a population of ready, hardy fighting
men as then existed: for most of the hunters, lumberers, and nomad
half-castes, who cannot be called settlers, have been absorbed in
cultivated lands and settled habits. The appointment of British
officers to organise and command the volunteers has given offence;
and I think it would be advisable, if not necessary, in case of
actual war, to let the volunteers choose their officers within
certain limits, and to give the authorities corresponding to our
lords-lieutenant of counties power to name the commanding officers
of corps, under the sanction of the Governor-General.
CHAPTER VIII.
Lower Canada and Ancient France--Soldiers in Garrison at
Quebec--Canadian Volunteers--The Governor-General Viscount
Monck--Uniform in the United States--A Sleighing Party--Dinner
and Calico Ball.
I am afraid that in this Lower Canada just now we do but occupy the
position of a garrison. The aspect and the habit of the popular
mind are foreign, but they are not French any more--at least modern
French; rather are they of an Old-World France--of a France when
there was an ancient faith and a son of St. Louis; when there was a
white flag blazoned with fleur-de-lys, and a priesthood dominant--a
France loyal, chivalrous, and bigoted, without knowledge and
without railways, content to stand on ancient paths, and hating
reform and active mutation. What a change has occurred since the
old Bourbon struck the medal with its inscription, “Francia in Novo
Orbe Victrix, Kebeca Liberata. 1690.” There may be many in Canada
who cannot forget their origin and their race, kept alive in their
memories by a common tongue, ancient traditions, and antipathy
to a foreign rule exercised from a far-off land, and sometimes
manifested by rude, rough instruments, and by a mechanism of force;
but it would be well for them to remember that, whilst France
has passed through many convulsions, Canada has been saved from
external and internal foes, with the exception of the American
invasion in 1812, and the troubles caused by her own disaffected
people at a later period, whilst as an appanage of France she must
have undergone incessant anxieties and assaults. She has been
spared the agonies of the Revolution, the exhaustive glories and
collapse of the Empire, the reaction of the “Desired one”--the
consequences of the convulsions of 1830, of 1848, of 1852. Great
Britain, too, is bound to remember that she is dealing with a
brave and ancient race, delivered to her rule under treaty, who
have, on the whole, resisted many temptations, and preserved a
firm attachment to her government in the face of an aggressive and
prosperous Republic. Our soldiers must be taught to respect the
people of Canada as their equals and fellow-subjects--a hard lesson
perhaps for imperious islanders, but not the less necessary to
learn, if we would preserve their attachment and our territories.
In justice to them I must say that the 60th Rifles gave no occasion
to the people to complain, though Quebec is not destitute of its
“rough” fellows, and of provocations; and that during my stay in
Canada I only heard of one instance in which officers or men could
be accused of indiscretion or want of respect for the people.
Whiskey is shockingly cheap and atrociously bad, and public-houses
are only too numerous, so that the base upon which the evils which
afflict the soldier rest is not wanting here any more than at home.
A garrison rule must be very galling unless the officers and men
are minded to behave themselves, and it would cause me regret if
my observations of some regrettable circumstances in that relation
were confirmed by larger experience. Of course the peasants
are provoking; they are heavy and coarse, relying on their _vis
inertiæ_, and aggressively passive. The other day, for instance,
when Lord Monck was leading his sleigh party, several country
carts came down from the opposite direction in the deep track,
and it was with the utmost difficulty the driver of our party
avoided collision with them, as the habitans would not get out of
the way. Still one does not like to see young Greenhorn of the
Invincibles flicking up the bourgeoisie with his whip as he whisks
round a corner, for not getting out of the way. A gallant captain
of volunteer artillery complained greatly of matters of this kind,
but he also expressed very unreasonable jealousy respecting the
appointment of English officers to superintend, and organise, and
command the force.
_February 11th._--Still more snow falling, and the cold sharper
than ever. Visited the Parliament Houses and Library, of which
more hereafter; saw the Ursuline Chapel; called on Mr. Cartier,
Mr. Macdonald, Mr. Cauchon, and Mr. Galt, members of the Ministry,
to whom I had introductions. In the evening dined with the
Governor-General and Lady Monck at Government House. Although His
Excellency has been but a short time in the country, and succeeded
an able, energetic man, he has already gained the confidence of
men difficult to win, and gives fair promise of administering the
affairs of the provinces with sagacity and vigour. It occurred to
me, considering the position of Canada, that, to escape from the
consequences of divided views and command, it would be desirable to
have the military and civil administration in one hand at critical
junctures, or to send out a soldier as Governor-General. To be a
good soldier one must be gifted with the faculties which constitute
a good ruler, and the civilian can only possess those same
qualities minus the special knowledge of the professional military
man. Lord Monck, however, has applied himself with ability and zeal
to the consideration of the provincial defences.
The table of the Canadian Viceroy was elegant and hospitable;
and it was a relief to the eye to catch such semblance of state
as was afforded by the scarlet uniforms and gold lace of the
aides-de-camp, military secretary, and others of His Excellency’s
household, who were at dinner, after the long monotony of American
black. Not but that now and then uniform was creeping in at private
dinner-tables in the States also, principally on the persons of
foreign-born officers. But it is, or rather it was, opposed to the
custom of the country.
I remember Mr. Seward telling me one day, when we met in
Washington, that it was contrary to etiquette for a foreigner to
wear the livery of his royal master or mistress in the United
States. Soon afterwards I saw at table a colonel in full uniform
of the French infantry; but, on inquiry, I learned he was in
command of a New York regiment composed of his exiled compatriots;
and a very gallant regiment--in spite of its Anglophobia, loudly
expressed during the Trent affair--it proved itself. Even here let
me tell a story. When the colonel in question, who had been for
many years a journalist in New York, appeared in Washington, after
getting his commission, he repaired to the house of an astute and
witty diplomatist, with whom he had an ancient intimacy. “Ah! my
dear colonel,” exclaimed the Minister, “by accepting the command
of your regiment, you have cut short the friendship of ten years.”
“How is that, Excellence?” “Why, how can we ever meet again as of
yore? I cannot dine with you; for how dare I present myself in your
camp?” “Why not, Excellence?” “Why, my dear friend, do you think
I could ever get my hair dressed well enough to please the five
hundred French coiffeurs in your regiment?” “But, at all events,
my dear Minister, I can come and dine with you!” “Impossible, my
friend! How could I venture to ask a man to dinner who has under
his orders five hundred French cooks!”
More snow. The landlord is rather impressed with the news that
the Union army is positively about to march on Richmond at once;
and, indeed, it is only the sceptical mind, with some knowledge
of facts, that can resist the effect of the constant iteration of
falsehoods in the American papers, which never loses its influence
on the American mind.
_February 12th._--Notwithstanding a slight fall of white rain, Lord
Monck had a sleighing party to Lorette, an Indian village, where we
repaired in great force, ladies and gentlemen, furred and muffed,
and enjoyed ourselves greatly, lunching in a very pleasant rustic
sort of auberge, half-buried in the snow. These sleighing parties
render a Canadian winter tolerable, and there is a certain degree
of “chance of being lost” which commends them to the adventurous
and forms a theme for many small stories. On our coming home, we
had nigh experienced one of these mild adventures, for the snow
fell again and obscured the face of the country--a very white and
well-washed face indeed, with no remarkable features in it,--and it
was by chance we got on the track at a certain turn in the road,
which was only marked out by the summits of the submerged fences
and hedges peering over the drift, and looking uncommonly like each
other all over the country. This little experience of travel rather
dispelled notions I had of the great practicability of a winter
campaign, for it would be quite impossible to move guns and troops
with _certainty_ in a country where all movements depended on the
snow not falling, in opposition to the probability that it would do
so.
The officers of the 60th Rifles entertained His Excellency at
dinner in the evening, and I had the honour of being invited to
meet him. The entertainment took place in the mess-room of the
citadel. Little more than a century ago, M. de Montcalm may have
been dining on the same spot with the regiment of Musketeers of
Guienne. Who may dine there in 1962? The evening was ended at
a “calico” ball for the benefit of the poor of the city, which
was attended by the townspeople only, the ladies being dressed
in calico, which was afterwards, I believe, with the receipts,
distributed to the indigent.
_February 13th._--Accompanied Mr. Bernard, who kindly placed his
knowledge and good offices at my disposal, to see some of the lions
of the city; and, thus ably conducted, I visited the Parliament
Houses, the Library, the Ursuline Convent, the Rink, and many other
places; I dined in the evening with Mr. Galt, the Finance Minister,
whom I had the pleasure of meeting at Washington some time before.
Mr. Cartier, the head of the Administration, and nearly all the
Ministers, were present. Afterwards attended a ball at Mr.
Cauchon’s, one of Mr. Galt’s colleagues, which was an assemblage of
the _élite_ of the old French society of the place. My companions
left me to-day for England, where one was anxious to take his
seat on the opening of Parliament, and the other went with him, I
suppose, for companionship’s sake.
CHAPTER IX.
Canadian view of the American Struggle--English Officers in
the States--My own position in the States and in Canada--The
Ursulines in Quebec--General Montcalm--French Canadians--Imperial
Honours--Celts and Saxons--Salmon Fishing--Early Government of
Canada--Past and Future.
Whilst I was in Quebec the American papers ceased not to record
great Union successes, impending expeditions, and, as is their
wont, to throw out hints of some inscrutable woe conceived by
the head of Stanton, and to be wrought by the arm of McClellan
on the South. “Jeff. Davis going to Texas or Mexico--The neck
of the rebellion broken--Our young Napoleon preparing for the
last grand campaign.” Many of our officers were very anxious to
visit the Federal armies, but the tone of the Northern press was
so exceedingly virulent and insulting toward Englishmen, that
the authorities, mistaking their license for the real opinion of
Americans, discouraged applications for leave as much as possible.
This was to be regretted; the more so that those officers who went
from Canada to the States were not provided with any official
letters, and were, indeed, in some instances, misguided so far as
to conceal their military character. It could not but have been
most useful to our officers to have been enabled to take fair
measure of the system and capability of an American army, North
or South; to have formed an estimate of their generals and of the
value of their several arms--cavalry, artillery, and infantry,
each of which presented conspicuous examples of what to avoid,
more especially the first, whilst the second had peculiar features
worthy of study, and the third was a very wonderful illustration of
the volunteer principle.
When I represented the importance of sending officers to the
armies for the special purpose of examining and reporting on their
condition, I was met by the reply that it would be a violation of
neutrality to dispatch commissioners to the Federal army, unless
similar officers were sent to the Confederate headquarters; and
that it would not be possible to adopt the latter step, as the
Washington Government would not grant them leave to go through the
lines, and would resent the proposal. When some officers were at
last dispatched with an official sanction to the army at Yorktown,
they made their appearance in a forlorn, destitute, and helpless
condition, which made their companions in arms blush for them.
For myself, I had every reason to believe that no objection would
be made to my accompanying the army under General McClellan.
Several senators who had given me their good wishes, were most
desirous that I should be able to set off an account of a victory
against the narrative of the retreat from Bull Bun. Although I had
been recovering a little from the effects of the ludicrous and
malignant falsehoods circulated against me up to the Trent affair,
I was _très mal vu_ in some quarters in Washington, and of course I
was included in the general outburst against all British subjects
with which the surrender of Mason and Slidell was accompanied.
In Canada I had recovered health and spirits; nay, more--some
small shreds of popularity in the States. The secretaries of
literary institutions renewed their requests for lectures, the
autograph hunters sought the post-office once more with their
flattering though ill-spelt missives; but there was no inducement
to return to the States till the army of McClellan was actually
about to take the field. The exploits of the army of the West
had, indeed, attracted my eyes in that direction. The capture of
Fort Henry and Fort Donelson promised well for its future career,
but if I travelled so far out of my way I should have lost my
chance of seeing the most brilliant and important campaign. The
chief interest was certainly concentrated on the Potomac, and in
the operations against Richmond. The West was far away, and it
would have been a chance against my letters reaching home so as
to anticipate the exaggerated illusions of the New York journals.
And so I quietly waited and watched till the news from the States
became so triumphant and decided that it behoved me to return, lest
some important movement should take place on the Potomac. As I
could not be with more than one army, I then resolved to follow the
fortunes of McClellan’s great host, which indeed was regarded by
Americans themselves with the greatest anxiety. And so, after a few
days, I set about leaving cards and paying farewell visits to those
who had so kindly entreated me in the City of the Strait.
The learned institutions, the libraries, the machinery of
education, the various literary and scientific associations, and
the admirable seminaries of Quebec, are most creditable to the
community; they would place that city on a level with some of the
most learned of European cities of far greater antiquity; and the
public spirit and intelligence of its citizens have been fully
evinced in the aid and support they have rendered to institutions
designed for the spread of knowledge.
The public buildings have also the stamp of respectable antiquity
upon them; none of them possess any considerable architectural
merits, but several are exceedingly interesting. Constant fires
have proved nearly ruinous to the buildings erected by the original
settlers; and those which have been subsequently built are not
remarkable for beauty--indeed, I may say that the Laval University
is one of the plainest buildings it has ever been my lot to behold.
On all sides it is admitted that the nuns of the Ursuline
Convent have conferred the greatest benefit upon the city by
their unceasing devotion to the task of education. Many people
of respectability--Protestants as well as Catholics--send their
children to be educated by these excellent women, representing
the system inaugurated more than 200 years ago by Madeleine de
Chauvigny, who, moved by grief for the loss of her husband to
devote herself to Heaven, and to the spread of the Christian faith,
sailed forth from France, and, landing at Quebec, established
schools for the Indian girls to learn the faith of the white race,
which was destined to destroy their own.
The Ursuline Convent is a massive building, ugly as most convents
of modern date are, standing amidst the houses of the city. The
day I visited it there were no means of seeing the schools, and I
was obliged to be content with a sight of the chapel instead. On
ringing the bell by the side of a massive iron-bound door, I was
admitted to the front of a _grille_, through which I conveyed my
wishes to the unseen lady who demanded the purport of my visit;
and, after a short delay, the clergyman attached to the service
of the church was ready, and an old Swiss or porteress conducted
me to the entrance of the chapel, which is of large size, of no
pretensions to architectural beauty, and of little interest to me
for anything but the fact that within its walls lie the bones of
Montcalm.
The Ursulines, however, are of opinion that they have got a
collection of paintings of merit, and I was called upon to admire
some extraordinary specimens of art very nearly approaching the
class denominated daubs, which were not recommended even by
antiquity. Although the priest bore a pure Irish patronymic, he had
never been in the British isles, having been educated in France,
where he was born, whence he came out to Canada in the course of
his ministry. He was an agreeable, intelligent, gentlemanly man,
but he had evidently no faith in the pictures, and probably not
much greater in some other remarkable decorations exhibited within
the holy walls. The altar-piece and two or three subjects belonging
probably to the old convent, rescued the collection from entire
condemnation.
On the wall of the chapel, on the left-hand side from the entrance,
there is a marble slab, on which are engraved the following words:
“Honneur à Montcalm! Le destin en lui dérobant la victoire l’a
récompensé par une mort glorieuse!” The graceful words are due to
Lord Aylmer. Montcalm received his death-wound from a ball fired
by the only piece of artillery which we could get up the heights;
but like his great rival and conqueror he was wounded in the fight
by a musket-shot at a comparatively early stage of the battle.
Like Wolfe, too, Montcalm loved literature: “également propre aux
batailles et aux académies, son désir était d’unir aux lauriers de
Mars les palmes de Minerve.”
The following is a translation of the inscription and epitaph
written by the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles Lettres of Paris
in 1761, and inscribed on a monument which that body had designed
to erect in Quebec, but which never reached that city, the vessel
on which it had been embarked having been lost at sea:
“HERE LIETH
In either hemisphere to live for ever,
LEWIS JOSEPH DE MONTCALM GOZON,
Marquis of St. Véran, Baron of Gabriac,
Commander of the Order of St. Lewis,
Lieutenant-General of the French army;
not less an excellent citizen than soldier,
who knew no desire but that of
TRUE GLORY;
Happy in a natural genius, improved by literature;
Having gone through the several steps of military honours
with an uninterrupted lustre;
skilled in all the arts of war,
the juncture of the times and the crisis of danger;
In Italy, in Bohemia, in Germany,
an indefatigable general:
He so discharged his important trusts,
that he seemed always equal to still greater.
At length, grown bright with perils,
sent to secure the province of Canada,
with a handful of men,
he more than once repulsed the enemy’s forces,
and made himself master of their forts,
replete with troops and ammunition.
Inured to cold, hunger, watching and labours,
unmindful of himself,
he had no sensation but for his soldiers:
An enemy with the fiercest impetuosity;
a victor with the tenderest humanity;
adverse fortune he compensated with valour;
the want of strength with skill and activity;
and, with his counsel and support,
for four years protracted the impending
fate of the colony.
Having, with various artifices,
long baffled a great army,
headed by an expert and intrepid commander,
and a fleet furnished with all warlike stores,
compelled at length to an engagement,
he fell--in the first rank--in the first onset,
warm with those hopes of religion
which he had always cherished;
to the inexpressible loss of his own army,
and not without the regret of the enemy’s,
XIV September, A.D. MDCCLIX.
Of his age, XLVIII.
His weeping countrymen
deposited the remains of their excellent General in a grave
which a fallen bomb in bursting had excavated for him,
recommending them to the generous faith of their enemies.”
Had his counsel been taken by de Vaudreuil, we never could bare
occupied Point Levi, and in all probability the expedition to
Quebec would have failed.
There is something exceedingly touching in the death of the two
generals in the same battle. My guide, however, was more interested
in calling my attention to the ornaments of the altar, and to a
skull, which he assured me was that of Montcalm.
“Through each lack-lustre eyeless hole,
The gay recess of wisdom and of wit,
And passion’s host that never brook’d control,”
was seen filled with dust, and the priest held in his hand, like
a cricket-ball, the home of the subtle intellect of the man who
raised to such a height the power of France in the western world.
When the old Indian chief told Montcalm--“Tu es petit! mais je
vois dans tes yeux la hauteur du chêne et la vivacité des yeux des
aigles,” how little the politic, gallant Frenchman ever thought his
skull would be kept in a box in a priest’s cupboard, and shown as a
curiosity to strangers from that barbarous Britain.
I cannot say that the priest succeeded in pointing out anything as
interesting among the pictures as even the skull of the Marquis de
Montcalm.
So far as I can ascertain, no Canadian painter has yet been
inspired by the faith and devotion which wrought such miracles and
wonders in mediæval Europe, to concentrate his talents on church
pictures.
There is not much good fellowship between the French Roman
Catholics and their Irish co-religionists; and I was told that few
of the latter ever entered the chapel of the Ursulines, though
they constitute an appreciable proportion of the population. The
Canadians, indeed, retain a good deal of the old French sentiment,
and regard the Irish very much as their ancestors, under St. Ruth,
looked on the poor vassals of the Irish Jacobins. The Irish are,
however, more energetic and restless, and do not lose by comparison
with the unenterprising inhabitants.
The feelings and faith of the French Canadian tend to keep up all
that is French in his nature. Small wonder that it should be so.
But it may be doubted whether he has much sympathy with the Empire,
though he is proud of the glory and renown attained by the parent
stock under the “Great Gaul” who founded it.
In visiting the beautiful and well-ordered Library of the Houses
of Parliament, the state of which does honour to the excellent
curator, I observed several very handsome volumes of the most
costly works marked with the French imperial cipher. They had, it
appeared, been presented to the Canadian Parliament by the Emperor
Louis Napoleon, and they were pointed out to me with much pride and
pleasure; but I looked in vain for any such outward and visible
sign of favour and policy on the part of the reigning House in
England. The conduct of France towards Canada in former times, if
not always just to the settlers, was indeed exceedingly liberal
to the landed interest; on one occasion some sixteen country
gentlemen were raised to the French peerage. The most a Canadian
can hope for now is a barren baronetcy or the honours of the Bath.
By conferring on our colonies, dependencies, and provinces very
liberal democratic forms of government institutions, and at the
same time refusing to give the counterpoise which an extension of
the aristocratic system to them would bestow, we hasten the coming
of the day when separation becomes inevitable. When separation
takes place, the difference of institutions begets opposition of
views and of policy, distrust, and, finally, collision.
One of my New York acquaintances, who professed to be somewhat of
a philosopher, said, one day, he was quite sure the colonies never
would have revolted, no matter how high tea was taxed, if the
king had made a few of the leading Americans peers of the realm.
The dream of an Imperial Senate with representatives from all the
portions of the wide-spread territories of Great Britain may excite
the imagination, but it is not likely to be ever realised. The
honours which have been conferred on such men as Sir Etienne Taché
and Sir Narcisse Belleau, are highly prized, and a more liberal
bestowal of the cheap defence of nations would do much to gratify
the reasonable ambition of the Canadians.
That there should be some--and not a little--jealousy of foreign
interference and usurpation of places, profits, and honours, by
the English families, is not unnatural. I am not persuaded that it
was right to hand over the whole direction of the volunteer and
militia organisation to British officers, who are by the many often
identified with the last noisy ensign who has been playing pranks
in the Rue de Montagne. The remembrances of the old rebellion have
not altogether died out, but it appeared to me that the Canadians
are a mild, tractable race, fond of justice, a little too fond of
law, and quite content to live under any rule which secured them
equal rights, and gave them facility for moderate litigation and
religious exercises.
While I was in Quebec some foolish young men stormed a house under
a misapprehension as to its character. The same thing might have
happened in Great Britain; it would have excited no feeling--the
perpetrators might have compounded for their folly, or have
suffered the penalty. Here the matter was hushed up, and some of
the Canadians were vexed and angry. Provincials must necessarily
be jealous of the smallest appearance of disrespect or show of
distinctive justice between the two races.
There are very few persons in England acquainted with the many
ancient and glorious memories which endear Quebec to the French
Canadians. Jacques Cartier is to them a greater discoverer and
navigator than Captain Cook is to us, and a long list of names
thoroughly French illustrate the early history of the city. De
Frontenac, Le Chevalier de Levi, Dambourges and others are not
known to those who are well acquainted with Wolfe and Montcalm.
Quebec, though doubtless the oldest city existing on the continent,
is in a very different condition from that in which it was for many
a year after it was founded by Champlain, more than two centuries
and a half ago. It is quite delightful, after a sojourn in the
United States, to ramble through the tortuous streets, lined by
tall narrow-windowed houses with irregular gables, even though an
air of something like decay has settled upon the place. There is
no trace in Quebec of the feverish activity of American cities--no
great hotels nor eager multitudes thronging the pavements; but in
summer the quays present a most animated appearance, for the noble
waters of the St. Lawrence are then laden with stately ships,
and traffic is carried on extensively in the exchange of the
exhaustless forest-produce of the back country for the manufactures
of Europe.
The Indian squaws and their people have well-nigh vanished from
the scene, and it would almost seem as though they were unfit
to learn the doctrines of Christianity--it is certain they had
not qualities to permit of their flourishing in the midst of
Christians. Other coloured races brought in contact with the white
man have saved themselves from extermination by service; but the
individual Indian is feudatory to no man--he says “Ich Dien” to
no created being. The result is, that, slowly and surely, he is
driven further and further out into the waste, or is caught up in
the waters of civilisation, and held, like the fly in amber, as
a curious instance of the incompatibility of one substance with
the surrounding particles of another. He will never again play a
part in any contest which may take place between the British and
Americans; notwithstanding the efforts made by the Confederates to
use the Southern Indians in the present war, no adequate results
have been obtained for the trouble.
In the War of Independence the Indians served on both sides, but
the odium of employing them in the first instance against the
colonists must undoubtedly rest on the British ministry of the day.
Although the distance from Montreal to Quebec, taking the course of
the river, is but 180 miles, there is considerable difference in
climate. The scenery around the capital of the Lower Province, and
the present seat of Government, is more elevated and picturesque;
but the quality of the soil is not so favourable to agriculture.
The habitant is a very different being from the Scotch or English
farmer; he regards with aversion agricultural implements of the new
school, and woos the earth to yield its fruits with the most simple
appliances; he is stubborn in his attachment to antique customs,
and if he has most of the virtues, he assuredly has some of the
faults of a purely rural agricultural population.
The events of the rebellion induced us, perhaps, to underrate the
military capacity of the French Canadians, but they may point with
pride to the deeds of their ancestors in defence of their soil
against American invasion, and they would, no doubt, maintain in
the field the reputation of the race from which they spring. The
great defect of the native is, perhaps, his want of enterprise. He
rarely emigrates to new scenes of labour, and even the inhabitant
of the town shrinks from an encounter with the active American or
Anglo-Saxon. Thus it is, at the present moment, that nearly all
the agricultural and industrial enterprises of Lower Canada have
originated with or been developed by persons of a different stock.
Want of capital is the great evil which afflicts the inhabitants
of both Canadas, and even the oil-wells and gold mines have, to a
large extent, fallen into the hands of the solid men of Boston, and
of the hard men of New England; but the Canadians would behave in
the face of an enemy with the spirit, courage, and conduct which
they have exhibited on their own limited battle-fields.
It would be of little value, within the limits of this volume,
to attempt a recapitulation of the principal events of Canadian
history, either in connection with its early founders or with the
English government; but surely the materials are not wanting for an
interesting record of the struggles of the enterprising Europeans
who contended so fiercely with barbarous races and an inclement
clime to found what already promises to be a great nation. The
savage has died out, or he has been civilised into a degraded
creature for whom no place seems left at the great table of nature,
and the civilised man his successor has learned to control and
mollify the influences of climate, and to extort from the soil
fruits in abundance. But Canada is by no means as cold as it has
been painted, or rather, it would be more proper to say, the cold
there is not so intolerable as we think. It would astonish many
people in this country to learn that the Northern States of America
suffer more from cold than does the vast frontier region of Canada
which borders on the Lakes. In Iowa, for instance, the cold is more
intense than at Montreal. Grapes and peaches ripen on the Canadian
shores of the great lakes; plums, melons, tomatoes, and apples
thrive and grow to perfection in the provinces. As cultivation
advances the rigour of winter is appreciably diminished, although
the farmers, with that customary want of submission to the will of
Providence which characterises all people who live in dependence on
the seasons, complain that the frost is not as severe as it was in
the good old times, and that they are deprived of the advantages of
long-enduring snow and rigid winters.
What glorious visions of shooting now and of fishing in spring had
opened before me, if the Federal army would only stay quiet! Not,
indeed, that there is much sport for the rifle or fowling-piece now
left in this part of Canada in winter, except moose, for which I
did not care much, but that such strange scenes could be visited
and described. In open weather there is a little shooting of
quails, partridges, and ground game; before winter sets in there
is plenty of wild ducks, but it is in fishing that the province
is most tempting. The Godbout, uncertain as it is, would tempt
any fisherman to a pilgrimage--a river in which one man, Captain
Strachan, played and landed forty-two salmon and grilse in two
half-days. But then the black-flies and musquitoes! Well, of this
more hereafter. Though little that more must be, as long as there
is such a guide-book as that of Dr. Adamson--the charming, amiable,
and accomplished gentleman, in whom I was rejoiced to recognise the
type of _le vrai gentilhomme irlandais_; who knows every thing that
ever was done or thought by Canadian salmon, and is ever willing
to impart his knowledge.
To a young officer fresh from a Mediterranean or home
station--unless he were at Aldershot or the Curragh,
perhaps--Quebec must appear rather dull. He has none of the
excellent sporting for great and small game which India affords.
Society presents itself under a new aspect. A people speaking a
different language are not his servants, nor his kith and kin,
and yet he must protect and fight for them. He has no sympathy
with a nationality which is prouder of Montcalm than of Wolfe,
and which claims, nevertheless, the lions and the harp as “_notre
drapeau_.” So if he be unwise and unreasonable, he takes dislikes
and ascribes every inconvenience he endures, not to the policy of
the mother-country he serves, but to the people of the province.
I was present one evening at a ball given by one of the ministers,
a French Canadian, at which there was a large assemblage of all
the best people in the city, and I was struck by the absence of
young officers, although many of higher rank were present. A lady,
to whom I mentioned the circumstance, said, “Oh! they rarely come
among us, so we have left off asking them. If they do come, they
stand with their backs against the wall criticising our style
and our dresses, and never offer to dance till supper is over,
when they vanish.” This is by no means universally applicable to
all societies or regiments, but it is no doubt the truth in some
instances.
One must regret that the English language was not introduced into
the law courts and legislature. Experience proves that there are
no instruments so powerful in sustaining the existence of a
nationality, as the tongue and pen. The Canadians of to-day affect
to be French, more because they speak a French at which Paris
laughs, than from any real sympathy founded on mutual interests or
present history between France and Canada. I was assured by one
earnest Canadian, that France had never forgiven the Bourbons for
the fault of Louis XV., in ceding Canada to Great Britain. He had
more reason probably for asserting that, but for the establishment
of our supremacy in 1765, the rebellion of the thirteen colonies of
North America would not have occurred when it did. But the conquest
by Wolfe, confirmed by treaty, put an end to most cruel and
barbarous massacres, outrages, and petty border wars, between the
French and English settlers and their auxiliary tribes of Indians,
and if it had been attended or followed by any wise and liberal
acts of government, must have produced very great results on the
tone and temper of the Canadian mind.
It would have been wonderful indeed, if, a century ago, when our
statute book was written in blood, when our fellow-subjects at home
were under the ban of religious disability, and beaten to the earth
beneath the weight of penal enactments, any traces of wisdom had
been exhibited in the management of a distant dependency. Keeping
alive the feelings of a distinct nationality by the powerful
machinery of different national laws and customs, the conquerors
ruled the province by military law for more than ten long years;
but the tempest which agitated the American colonies was already
felt in the air. The ministry, anxious only to drain money from
their distant dependencies, were engaged in devising taxes, whilst
the colonists prepared to vindicate, by force of arms, their
great principle, that representation was the basis of taxation.
The two Acts of 1774 were passed to enable the government to raise
revenues for the maintenance of the local government, and for the
appointment of a council of government, nominated by the Crown. By
the capitulation of Quebec, the free exercise of their religion was
accorded to the Canadians. By the Act of 1774, the Roman Catholic
Church was recognised as established, and the “Coutume de Paris”
accepted as the foundation of civil and equity administration.
Is it not strange that Great Britain should have accorded such
concessions to Roman Catholics and colonists, when the penal system
was most rigorously enforced in Ireland? But is it not stranger
still, that the people of the American colonies, who were about to
set themselves up as the children and the champions of freedom of
faith and conscience, should have taken bitter umbrage at those
very concessions! The Americans of the North bore an exceeding
animosity to the French Canadians. They remonstrated in fierce,
intolerant, and injurious language with the people of Great
Britain, for the cession of these privileges to the Canadians, and
the Continental Congress did not hesitate to say that they thought
“Parliament was not authorised by the constitution to establish a
religion fraught with sanguinary and impious tenets.”
In a strain of sublime impudence, considering the work they were
ready for, the same Congress also expressed their astonishment that
Parliament should have consented to permit in Canada, “a religion
that has deluged your island with blood, and dispersed impiety,
_bigotry_, persecution, murder, and _rebellion_ through the world.”
It may be worth while to notice the fact that the first notion of
united action on the part of the British North American colonies
may have been developed by the British government, and that the
idea of independence was suggested by the very recommendations to
self-defence which came from the mother country. The Convention of
Delegates at Albany in 1754, which met in consequence of the advice
tendered by the Home Government, adopted a federal system, which
contained, in effect, the germ of the United States. Though this
and similar propositions were not entertained, the growth of such
an idea must have been rapid indeed. In the British Colonial system
there was the breath of life--a little fanning, and the whole
body was alive and active. In the Canadian system there was only
the animating spirit of dependency on France, and on a system in
France, which was perishing before the sneers of the new philosophy.
The French Canadians of the present day, in accusing the British
government of a hundred years ago of want of liberality and
foresight in the administration of their newly acquired territory,
are wilfully blind to the sort of government which they received
from the Bourbons. The dominion of a foreign race, however, is
always galling, be it covered ever so thickly with velvet, and all
its acts are regarded with suspicion and dislike. The concessions
and liberality of the British government which drew forth such
indignant protests from the bigoted New Englanders, was ascribed
to fears of Canadian revolt, or to a selfish desire to conciliate
the good-will of subjects who might become formidable enemies. If
England lost the American colonies because she refused to accept
a principle which, however sound and just, was certainly new
and not accepted as of universal application, she needed not to
apprehend the recurrence of a separation, forcible or peaceable,
of Canada on any such grounds. It is impossible for a country
to be held by a more slender cord; and in all but the actual
exercise of the sovereign style, title, and attributes, Canada
is free and independent. If the sentiment or the nationality of
the Lower Canadians ever induces them to seek the protection or
rule of any European State, they will no doubt at once come into
collision with Upper Canada and the United States, and we can but
pity their infatuation. If Upper Canada thinks to better herself
by separation, and union with the Western States, Great Britain
assuredly will never hold her by force. It would be useless to
discuss the rights and obligations of a sovereignty and its
nominal dependency in relation to mutual succour in time of war;
but it seems only fair that the great permanent works necessary
for strategical purposes, and as _points d’appui_ for the forces
of the protecting military power, should be made and repaired
and garrisoned at the imperial expense, whilst on the mass of
the population must be placed the task of rising to defend their
country from invasion, assisted by such imperial troops as can be
spared from the occupation of the fixed points of defence. The
Canadians must not content themselves with the empty assertion that
if their country should be invaded Great Britain alone is attacked.
Let them emulate the Old England colonies, and the conduct of their
ancestors in 1812. The United States bear them no good-will; and
as the only power from which Canada has anything to fear, the
Americans would be just as likely to make war against the Province
as against the Empire, and trust to their own impregnability,
except at sea, as a guarantee against any dangerous consequences.
The future is beyond our ken. There are prophets who long ago
predicted the amalgamation of the Upper Province with the West, and
who now find greater hope for the realisation of their soothsayings
in the approaching dissolution of the Federal States. Others there
are who see at no distant time the re-establishment of a French
dependency on the northern portion of the Anglo-Saxon States,
already hemmed in on the slave border by the shadowy outlines of an
empire under French protection. When we see what has taken place on
that continent within the last hundred years, it is not to be said
that combinations and occurrences much more wonderful will not come
to pass before the present century closes. The policy of a State,
as the duty of an individual, is to do what is right and leave the
future to work out its destiny.
CHAPTER X.
Canadian Hospitality--Muffins--Departure for the States--Desertions
--Montreal again--Southerners in Montreal--Drill and Snow
Shoes--Winter Campaigning--Snow Drifts--Military Discontent.
Although my residence in Quebec was very short, I left the city
with regret. Compared with the cities of the States, its antiquity
is venerable and its ways are peace; but from what I heard of
public amusement in summer time I should say that life here would
be found dull, as compared with existence in a European capital, or
in a city so vainly gay and profitably festive as New York. There
is no great wealth among the people, but a moderate competency
is largely enjoyed, and neither wealth nor poverty attains undue
dimensions.
I found at Quebec a very agreeable society, the tone of feeling
which prevails in a capital, the utmost hospitality. Had I had a
hundred mouths they would here all have been kept busy. Invitations
came in scores, and were to be resisted with difficulty. Knowing
all this I am the more astonished at the recent statements which I
have heard, that the Canadians have not extended any civilities to
our officers. If so, a great change must have taken place. I am not
now talking of sleighing parties, but of the hospitality of the
inner house. The fair Canadians may have been too kind in accepting
the name and position of “muffins” from the young Britishry; but
the latter cannot say they have suffered much in consequence. A
muffin is simply a lady who sits beside the male occupant of the
sleigh--_Sola cum solo_, “and all the rest is leather and prunella.”
The social system is intended rather for the comfort of the inner
life, and for the development of domestic happiness, than for such
external glare and glitter as Broadway delights in, or for such
unsound social relations as mark the America of hotels. The great
artists who adorn the drama or the lyric stage can rarely be bribed
sufficiently high to visit these northern regions; but I doubt
whether there is not a better taste in art among the people of
Quebec than there is to be found in most cities of the same size in
the United States.
On a gloomy winter evening I was once more battling with the ice on
the St. Lawrence; and, after a long passage, left Point Levi for
Montreal.
A weary life-long night it seemed, and a still wearier day in the
train. It was close upon twenty-one hours of stuffy, foodless
travel, ere we arrived at Montreal. Nor can I remember anything
worth recording of all that linked weariness, long drawn out,
except that, halting at a roadside station in the night, I came on
a detachment of the Scots Fusilier Guards, who had come up from
Rivière du Loup, after their passage in sleighs over the snows of
New Brunswick, and were in high spirits, looking very red in the
face, and bulky in comparison with the lean habitans. “Misthress,”
quoth one of them to the woman at the bar, “wad ye gi’e me a
dhrap av whuskie?” The Hebe complied with this request, and for
some very small pecuniary consideration filled him out nearly a
tumblerful of the dreadful preparation known in the States as
“Fortyrod.” The soldier tasted it, blinked his eyes, squeezed them
close, pursed up his lips, smacked them, gave a short watery cough,
smelt the mixture, and, looking at his comrades, exclaimed, “My
Gude! Hech! I’d jist as soon face a charge of baynets.” After that
proem I was prepared to see the hardy warrior eject the fluid, but
he proceeded to a most inconsequent act: for, nodding his head, he
said, “Sae, here’s t’ye, my lads,” and tossed down the fire-water
incontinent.
There were several companies of H.M.’s 63rd Regiment in the train,
also going up to Montreal. It did not escape me that at the station
pickets were looking sharply out for intending deserters, who might
have cut away in the darkness; and I was told, and felt inclined
to believe it might be worth their while, that there were Yankee
crimps lying in wait at all the stations to help the deserters
across the frontier, if they could induce them to leave their
colours. The anxiety and annoyance caused by desertion, and by the
chance of it, add to the dissatisfaction which is now expressed in
our army in Canada; but I must say I cannot quite sympathise with
the violence and exaggeration in which that dislike finds vent.
Captains of companies suffer losses, but in many instances they
have only themselves to blame. The men, seduced by high pay, either
in the States or as farm-labourers in Canada, are seized with an
irresistible desire to quit the service abruptly, “without leave,”
and resort to ingenious artifices to escape. Sometimes a whole
guard will march off bodily, non-commissioned officers and all;
occasionally one of the number will submit to be handcuffed, and
will be marched by his comrades through the post as a deserter,
or a man will put on a sergeant’s jacket or sew chevrons on his
coat sleeve, and march off his party as if they were going out on
picket or patrol duty. Such artifices cannot always be successfully
encountered, but they are to be met to some extent by increased
vigilance.
I need not say that it was with satisfaction I exchanged my railway
van for a comfortable room in the house of Mr. Rose at Montreal.
The news of an immediate advance of the army of the Potomac which
had been received from New York turned out to be untrue; no
immediate hurry was there need for to go down to the seat of war. I
dined at the club, where we had a very agreeable party, enlivened
by the fervent conversation of some Southern gentlemen of the
little colony of refugees which finds shelter in Montreal under
the British flag. There is some work of Nemesis in the condition
of these gentlemen. Here are Charleston people, who claimed the
right to imprison British subjects because they had dark skins, now
taking refuge under the British flag, from the exercise of the very
power which enabled them to maintain their claim, and apologising
to Englishmen for the peculiar institution on the ground that they
treated their niggers better than the Yankees do.
The snow again falling, and the day cold. On the Sunday after my
arrival, I walked into town in moccasins, and attended service
in Christchurch, where the ritual was in close imitation of the
cathedral formula at home. I saw a party of the Guards marched
to church, who had an air of profound discontent on their manly
features. Some Canadians near me evidently regarded them as
hardened heretics going to a place of punishment, and at the
same time deserving it as foreign mercenaries; but the Guards
certainly did not seem to care one farthing for their opinion,
if they understood the expression of it. The building is very
handsome; but, in spite of the cold outside, I found the atmosphere
unbearable, owing to the stoves, iron pipes, or some other
undesirable calorific apparatus. The sermon was respectable and
frigid.
I spent the next day visiting the remarkable places and persons
passed over in Montreal on my last brief visit. In the evening I
dined with Colonel Kelly and H.M.’s 47th Regiment, who entertained
Sir Fenwick Williams and the officers of the Guards then in
garrison, and on the following morning at 9 o’clock I drove over
to the Barracks to see a drill of the regiment on the St. Lawrence
in snow-shoes. Sir Fenwick Williams and some staff officers were
on the ground. The regiment was admirably handled by Colonel
Kelly, and the scene was very novel and amusing. The regiment
was in excellent condition: the men seemed rather to like the
fun with the snow-shoes, and when skirmishers were thrown out or
called in at the double, there was certainty of a fall or two from
unlucky privates tripping up in their shoes and tumbling in the
snow, which flew like puffs of musketry. Fresh from parades of
volunteers I felt the force of Lord Clyde’s maxim--“The first duty
of a soldier is to obey”--as I looked at the measured tread even at
the quickest, and the alert, agile formations of the men to whom
discipline was the whole scope of military intellect. There was,
I thought, in that complex machine of many parts, but of only one
animating, moving power, what would be cheaply bought by the United
States by many hundreds of thousands of dollars for the purposes
of war, though man to man one of their regiments might be more
intelligent, and quite as capable of deeds of valour as the old
47th, of whom indeed not many had the Crimean medal, though the
campaign is now but a few years old.
In the evening I dined with the Commander-in-Chief, Sir Fenwick
Williams, and met Mr. Cartier, Mr. Galt, and Mr. Rose.
The letters from England which came by every mail showed that the
position was not much understood, as it was believed there would be
a speedy movement of the army of the Potomac, which I knew to be
buried in mud. The American papers of course deluded their readers
by constant assurances that McClellan was about to move next week.
It would seem, after all, that in new countries the practice of
going into winter quarters, which prevailed among sixteenth and
seventeenth century generals, was founded on good reason; but that
as the land became better drained, and the roads were improved
by civilisation and populations, the necessity for inaction was
diminished. Napoleon astonished Europe by some wonderful escapades
in the field; but even in the Peninsula the British suffered
greatly in winter movements. In the old French war, operations in
Canada were usually over in August or early in September; but the
Americans, in their bold and skilful campaign of 1775, commenced
their invasion or dash late in the year--managed so well that they
broke in almost simultaneously at Montreal and Quebec, on the
British, who had only one regular regiment in the Provinces, in
November--and it was on the last day of the year that Montgomery
and Arnold made their brilliant and unsuccessful attempt to carry
the citadel by escalade.
Again, in 1812, it was as late as October before the Americans
opened their campaign on the Niagara frontier; and it was about
the middle of November when they directed their ill-managed and
abortive demonstration against Montreal. They again moved in
January, 1813, and several actions took place in the early months
of the year, nor did the approach of winter drive the contending
parties from the field; and a good deal of sharp fighting took
place in December. In the following year the Americans began the
offensive at a later period, though the corps intended to operate
against the Montreal district was in motion in the first week of
March. Our defeat at Plattsburgh occurred on September 11th. The
Americans make much of it--with great justice. They defeated the
best regiments of an army which had proved itself, in face of the
picked troops of Napoleon, the first in Europe. When winter is well
established in these high latitudes, perhaps it is, under ordinary
circumstances, more favourable to military operations than it is
in lower latitudes, where tremendous rains alternate with heavy
snow-storms, which do not form permanent deposits over which to
move men or guns.
On the following day I dined with Mr. Chamberlain, of the
“Montreal Gazette,” Mr. Rose, Mr. Ryland, Major Penn, and a
number of gentlemen connected with the Canadian press, at a
famous old-fashioned English tavern, kept by an old-fashioned
John Bull cook, who would have fainted outright at the sight
of a _vol-au-vent_ and died of an _omelette glacée_, where we
had much old-fashioned English talk. On our issuing into the
outer world there was a snow-fall going on, the like of which I,
unaccustomed, had never seen before; and my voyage out to Mr.
Rose’s was diversified by attempts of the sleigh-driver to get
over boundary-walls and into gardens, till we came to a dead stop
just as the fall cleared off a little, and permitted us to get a
glimpse of the moon. But the moon gave no assistance, for its rays
only lighted up great snow-mounds and a universal whiteness, and
the road seemed as doubtful as ever. As I was deliberating what was
best to be done, a sleigh-bell was heard jingling in the distance,
and the vehicle gradually approached us. We hailed the occupant,
and I heard a well-known voice in answer: it was that of Colonel
Lysons, an inmate of the same hospitable abode as that I occupied.
Our united efforts at last discovered the mansion.
The snow-storm continued next day: the fall was so great that
Lysons, who was bound to Quebec on duty connected with the Militia
Bill, and started early, was compelled to return _re infecta_ in
the morning. Towards the afternoon the storm ceased, and left a
thick outer garment over the body of the country. The younger
people of the house considered the occasion favourable for
snow-balling, and I was included in some diffusive arrangements,
very unfavourable to literary composition, for the spread of the
white artillery, directed by willing hands and unrelenting aim at
short range. I dined with the artillery mess--went afterwards to a
ball given by H.M.’s 16th Regiment at the Donegana, which is the
headquarters of Secessiondom--and finished the evening by a visit
to the house of Mr. Judah, who gave a dance which was attended
by Lord F. Paulet and a number of soldiers, and, above all, by a
lovely American, who created a strong current in favour of the
Union, of which she was a staunch advocate.
As already hinted, I have heard of complaints from officers of the
Guards and other regiments that the Canadians during the period in
question did not treat them with the hospitality for which they
were once celebrated. Of that point I am not well able to judge;
but I must say, that during the whole period of my stay in Canada,
I never was in any society in which I did not see British officers,
and never knew of their having had reason to complain of neglect
till lately. If there was any want of hospitable civility, I must
think the officers were in some measure to blame for it: for among
those stationed any length of time in Canada, or who knew the
country in former years, I always heard unreserved praise of those
Canadians who had the means of entertaining visitors. It must be
remembered that there are few Canadians who are wealthy enough to
give set dinners, and that the reserve which guards the family
of the Frenchman existed in the times from which his descendants
in Canada take their traditions and manners. Many people in
Montreal, well inclined to show every attention in their power
to the officers quartered among them, were deterred by the very
prestige of the Guards’ social position from offering them ordinary
civility; and by degrees in many cases an estrangement grew up.
I saw nothing to account for the discontent of officers who were
quartered at Montreal, save and except the fact that they were
on foreign service, that they were not in England or London among
their friends, and that they did not like the people,--all grounds
which they might unfortunately allege against any other part of the
world in which the British army is forced to serve. The subject is
only important, in so far as it exercises an influence over the
relations of the two countries; a common expression of dislike
on the part of men who exercise a great influence among the most
powerful classes in this country must increase any tendency to
regard with indifference the possession of the great territory
which it is my belief we should seek to attach to the Crown by
every possible legitimate means, Professor Goldwin Smith and the
political economists of his school notwithstanding.
After a stay of some days in Montreal, I received intelligence
which rendered it necessary for me to depart at once for the United
States, and I returned to New York by Rouse’s Point, travelling
night and day. I had seen enough of Canada to inspire me with a
real regard for the people, and a sincere interest in the fortunes
of such a magnificent dependency of the Crown, and I resolved, as
far as in me lay, to attract the attention of the home country
to a region which offers so many advantages to her children, and
promises one day to be the seat of flourishing communities, if not
of a vast and independent empire.
CHAPTER XI.
Extent of Canada--The Lakes--Canadian Wealth--Early History--
Jacques Cartier--English and French Colonists--Colonial
and Acadian Troubles--La Salle--Border Conflicts--Early
Expeditions--Invasions from New England--Louisburgh and
Ticonderoga--The Colonial Insurrection --Partition of
Canada--Progress of Upper Canada--France and Canada--The American
Invasion--Winter Campaign--New Orleans and Plattsburgh--Peace of
Ghent--Political Controversies--Winter Communication--Sentiments
of Hon. Joseph Howe--General view of Imperial and Colonial
relations.
A victory won not a century ago gratified the animosities of
the American colonies, and added to the countries ruled by the
Sovereign of Great Britain a tract of territory thrice the size of
his kingdom. From Labrador to the western limit of Lake Superior,
a line drawn east and west within the boundaries of Canada, is
1600 miles long; but the breadth of the country from its Southern
frontiers to the ill-defined boundary on the North, is but 225
miles. This vast region is divided into Upper and Lower Canada.
The former lies between long. 40° and 49° N., and lat. 74° and
117° W. The latter lies between 45° and 50° North and 57° and 80°
W. The three hundred and forty thousand square miles thus bounded
present every variety of scenery and of soil. The climate is mainly
influenced by the relations of the land to the enormous inland
seas and great rivers which occupy such a space in the map of
British North America. From Lake Superior, which is larger than
all Ireland, flows the mighty stream which feeds Lake Huron by
the River St. Mary. Huron is nearly 250 miles long and 221 miles
broad. From Lake Huron the river and lake of St. Clair lead the
flood into Lake Erie, which is 280 miles long and 63 miles broad.
From Lake Erie the current runs with quickening pace, till it
rushes in ceaseless flight into the fathomless depths of Niagara,
and whirls onward to melt into the waters of Lake Ontario. The
last and smallest of these seas, Ontario, is 180 miles long and
50 miles broad. The St. Lawrence, winding through many islands,
emerges from its eastern extremity and commences its uninterrupted
career of 700 miles to the Atlantic. The land of this northern
continent in fact reverses the part of Ocean, and enfolds sea after
sea within its arms. The water blesses the land for its protection;
it yields an easy way to the progress of civilisation; transports
the produce of the settler’s labour to distant markets, and lays
open to his enterprise the wide-spreading forests and plains which,
but for them, would still be the heritage of the Indian and of his
prey. Among the greatest proofs of enterprise in the world are the
canals by which the people living on the shores of the lakes have
rendered navigation practicable from the sea to Lake Superior. The
display of the natural and artificial products of the far-reaching
lands watered by the giant St. Lawrence at the Great Exhibition
of 1862, came to the eyes of most of us with a sort of shock. It
was surprising indeed to behold such evidences of wealth given by
a dependency which was associated in the popular mind with frost
and snow, with Niagara, Labrador, and French insurrection--Moose,
moccasins, and Indians. There we saw an exuberance and excellence
of growth in timber and in cereals--in all kinds of agricultural
produce, combined with prodigious mineral riches. Sir William
Logan, assisted by the zealous, skilful, and indefatigable staff of
Canadian geologists, showed what a future Canada may expect when
capital and population combine to disinter the treasures which now
lie hid within its rocky ribs.
According to Jesuit Hennepin, the name of Canada furnishes a proof
of an ignorance and deficient appreciation of the true value of
the country that still mark the workings of the European mind in
reference to the resources of Canada. According to him, the word
Canada was derived from a corruption of the Spanish words Capo da
Nada, or Cape of Nothing, which they gave to the scene of their
early discoveries when, under a conviction of its utter barrenness
and inutility, they were about abandoning it in disgust. The
derivation may be well doubted, but the implication may be true
enough. The mainspring of Spanish, and indeed of all European
enterprise in those days, was the hope of gold, and although there
is reason to know that the precious metal is associated with others
scarcely less valuable in Canada, of course it was not found lying
in heaps and blocks on the sea-shore, and therefore the Spaniards
concluded that it did not exist. It has been conjectured, with
greater appearance of probability, that Canada is a modification
of the Spanish word signifying “a passage;” because the Spaniards
thought they could find a passage to India through Canada; as
others, with greater reason, believe there may yet be found a
permanent practicable way to the shores of the Pacific through its
wide expanse of lake and mountain.
The accounts of the first discovery of Canada, meagre as they are,
possess a romantic interest which is never likely to assume any
very precise or substantial form. Although Cabot, who discovered
Labrador and Hudson’s Bay, was the first person who suggested or
projected the establishment of colonies or settlements in these
newly-found regions, and English merchants actually established
some small colonies there, it is to Jacques Cartier, of St. Malo,
that the credit of the first real establishment of Europeans in
Canada must be assigned. Cabot discovered the Gulf of St. Lawrence:
it was Cartier who found that the Gulf was but the mouth of a vast
river; and who urged his little craft among its unknown dangers
till he came to the site of Quebec. It was no ordinary man who,
having accomplished thus much, pressed onwards till he reached
Hochelaga, the site of Montreal. He was impelled by the love of
gold and precious stones, and believed that here he had found them,
but they were indeed only Lagenian mines. Cartier, and many another
gallant sailor, found glittering mica and crystals on the shores of
their new found lands, which in their innocent faith they believed
to be gold and diamonds, and so filled ship and were off to sea
again. The failure of these early adventures cast Canada into
disfavour with those who led the enterprise of the East. Whilst
the English merchants and navigators were, with uncertain steps,
seeking some solid resting-place on the eastern shores of America
below the St. Lawrence, Canada was left in the possession of the
Indians--not a peaceable possession, because the great Tribes were
as irreclaimably belligerent as the Highland Clans or the Irish
Septs. It is curious to reflect on the fact, indeed, that little
more than two hundred years ago the whole of the vast region
between Massachusetts and Hudson’s Bay was in the hands of the Red
Man. But he was then yielding ground rapidly before the imperious
strangers who had seized his shore farther south. The merchants of
Bristol and of London turned their attention to Virginia before the
French of St. Malo had well established themselves on the shores
of the St. Lawrence. Both English and French alike were encouraged
and stimulated in these early efforts by the Crown. About the
time that James the First was granting charters and framing
corporations for colonies in Virginia, Champlain was establishing
French settlements at Tadousac and Quebec, in Nouvelle France.
The early dealings of English and French with the natives are
discreditable to both nations; both fomented or availed themselves
of dissensions among the Tribes, and when hostilities broke out,
threw their weight on one side or the other. Whilst the New England
Puritans were encouraging themselves in the work of destroying
the Red Man by quoting passages from the Old Testament, which
clearly showed how they the chosen people of God were called upon
to slay the Canaanite, Champlain, with his Roman Catholic priests,
was quite as busy in rooting out Iroquois in the name of Heaven
and of the Church. Of the two invading races, indeed, the French
were the least exclusive, for they neither burned nor banished
Dissenters. So great was the liberality of France in those days,
that Protestant and Roman Catholic emigrants shared in the same
enterprise, and abode in the same settlements. But the Brethren of
New Plymouth took a very limited view of Christian fraternisation,
and at the very outset the colonists of the Northern and of the
Southern States were animated by principles so opposed that even
in the grub state they bit and stung each other.
English and French colonists were alike undergoing the spasmodic
influences of the jealousy and intrigue which usually preside over
the birthplace of colonies, when the operations of the war which
broke out between France and England in 1628, were extended to
those distant regions. The growing power of England at sea enabled
her to strike a tremendous blow at New France. Champlain, with all
his garrison, was starved into capitulation by Sir David Kirke;
but on the restoration of peace and of the colony to France, in
1633, he returned to Canada, where he died two years afterwards.
Champlain, with all his faults, was undoubtedly a man noteworthy,
politic, and valuable in his time and generation, and his name
will ever be associated with the early history of the continent.
Priests and nuns and missionaries after his death swooped down on
the Indians, who began to hate each other worse than ever they had
done before, whilst at the same time they learned to entertain
a savage dislike for the race which they had welcomed to their
shores so courteously and gently. Thousands of Indians were indeed
converted, as it was called, to Christianity; but it was only
that they might rage with greater cruelty and fierceness against
their brethren. Massacres of Christians and of converts by furious
savages fanned these unholy flames. Little is left of either the
Indians or of their Christianity now. A common animosity to the
aborigines brought about the first “rapprochement” between the
French and British colonists. The New English and the New French
first met in America to consider the propriety of an alliance
against their Indian enemies, which should not be broken by war
between the parent countries, but the status of the two offshoots
of the great European rivals was very different. The French in
Canada at one time displayed a wonderful amount of enterprise,
energy, and perseverance in their dealings with the savages,
which can only be appreciated by those who have studied their
early records, but it contrasts strongly with the quiescence and
political folly of their descendants. Their early explorations were
characterised by a spirit worthy of the countrymen of Cartier.
Among these, the voyage of La Salle from Niagara deserves to be
mentioned, as indicative of the highest qualities of a traveller.
In a little craft of some sixty tons, he ascended the rapid river
above the Falls of Niagara, amidst difficulties which we can but
little understand, and gained the broad expanse of Lake Erie;
thence boldly steering westward, he came upon the narrow river or
strait of Detroit, crossed the lucid waters of Lake St. Clair, and
was at last rewarded by the grand discovery of Lake Huron. Still
boldly pursuing his course westward, La Salle at last came to
Lake Michigan, whence in company with Father Hennepin, his jesuit
historian, he undertook the feat of penetrating to the head waters
of the Mississippi. Nor did he stop when he reached the mystic
stream; he trusted himself to the mighty flood, and never turned
round or bated breath till he floated out, 2000 miles below, on the
turbid waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Whilst the hierarchy of France
were busy founding bishoprics, building churches, and establishing
seminaries, the English, distracted by internal convulsions, left
their American colonies pretty much to themselves. France sent
out governors, councillors, and bishops to New France; England
dispatched her Puritans, adventurers, younger sons, Catholic
cavaliers, and Nonconformists; but the natives were sure to suffer,
no matter in what form the colony was ruled, or of what Europeans
it was composed. Terrible diseases, although known in Europe for
two hundred years previously, according to contemporary writers,
appeared suddenly, and without European communication, among the
indigenes, and ravaged the miserable tribes, already decimated by
intestine war and ruin. Christians were naturally held accountable
for all the evil; and for a large part indeed they were.
Whilst James the Second was making a last stand for his Crown
against the victorious Dutchman, La Salle, with a patent of
Governor, was sailing from La Rochelle, for the dependency of
Louisiana, which now completed the vast semicircle over which
the King of France claimed authority, and which enclosing the
British settlements in a belt from Newfoundland through the
lakes, swept thence by the Ohio down to the Gulf of Mexico, far
away to the _terra incognita_ under the setting sun. The superior
trading resources of the Indians of the South, the favourable
conditions for the expansion of trade possessed by the British
on the Hudson over the French, who had to struggle with longer
frost, and the wintry storms of the St. Lawrence, and the greater
commercial enterprise of the English colonists, nullified that
vast territorial superiority. The French governors thought, by
displays of vigour and violence towards the natives, to alter the
course of trade; but they could not compete with their neighbours,
and quarrels and petty wars vexed the life of both colonial
systems. In 1690, M. de Frontenac launched three little corps
of invading savages, aided and led by French troops, against the
British settlements in the New England Colonies. Schenectady in
New York, Salmon Falls in New Hampshire, Casco in Maine, were
surprised and burned, and the colonists were given to the sword
and the scalping-knife. For a time the survivors of the massacre
had something else to do besides persecuting each other to death
for witchcraft or torturing their heretics. They set to work to
avenge their slaughtered saints. Sir William Phipps, a native
of Massachusetts, led his Puritan hosts to Port Royal in Nova
Scotia, but was obliged to retreat ingloriously from an attempt
against Montreal. His rival, de Frontenac, had no better fortune
in a projected attack by land and sea against New York. The war
which raged between the colonists was terminated by the Peace
of Ryswick; but peace did not last long, and the declaration of
war by Great Britain against France and Spain revived the bloody
contests between the borderers. The British Government sent out
Marlborough’s veterans, and those sailors who had swept the seas
of every enemy, to aid the colonists. An immense expedition, which
seemed capable of destroying any trace of French rule in Canada,
sailed from Boston in 1710, against Quebec, but failed miserably
at sea and in the St. Lawrence ere it reached the city. The Peace
of Utrecht, in 1713, brought about a cessation of hostilities, but
not of jealousies, or of Indian wars and massacres. By that time
the predominance of the white man was well established, and the
faces of the Indians were turned steadily towards the setting sun,
and their footsteps followed his course towards the forests of the
west. Fort after fort encroached on their decreasing domain, and
Englishman and Frenchman, each after his kind, sought to reproduce
in the New World those features of the mother country which he
loved or admired or respected most.
In the period which elapsed between the Treaty of Utrecht and
the declaration of war in 1745, both the Colonies and Canada
prospered, but the increase of the former was to that of the
latter as the increase of grain compared with that of moss. The
people of Massachusetts, led by their colonial chief, Pepperell,
with contingents from Rhode Island, Vermont, and Connecticut,
were joined by the British fleet under Warren, and set out on
them darling project of reducing Louisburg, the great French
arsenal and station at Cape Breton. On the 17th of August, 1746,
after a siege of two months, the place surrendered with all its
stores to the victorious Colonists. It was with difficulty that
France could communicate with her menaced dependency, for the
sea was nearly controlled by the British fleets, but her pride
was aroused, and great armaments were prepared and dispatched to
Canada. _Afflavit Deus et hostes dissipantur._ Two expeditions were
nigh lost altogether on the waves. A third was destroyed by the
fleet under Warren and Anson. The Peace of Rochelle put an end to
the passionate efforts of France to retrieve her disasters, but
the rivalries and excesses of the British and French fur-traders
continued the strife between the Colonies and New France. The
latter claiming the whole course of the Ohio, as it appears with
some reason, forbade our traders to resort there. Forts were built
to enable the French to exercise their jurisdiction and authority
on ground which was regarded by the British Colonists as their
own, and it is a remarkable fact, that George Washington’s first
military service was in command of an expedition of Virginians
to capture the works erected by the French, and that he was
compelled to lay down his arms by De Villiers, after a brief and
inglorious--not to say very badly-managed campaign. Although Great
Britain made considerable efforts to aid the colonists in their
wars, she could not very well continue to do so when she was at
peace with France, if her distant subjects chose to carry on
hostilities on their own account. The King’s Government gave advice
to the Colonies to unite for self-defence, which led in 1754 to
the assemblage of a convention at Albany, at which Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland,
and New York were represented. The delegates drew up a plan for
what was in effect a Federal Union, but the plan fell to the
ground. The Home Government refused to adopt it, because of certain
encroachments which it contained on the prerogatives of the Crown;
and the colonial assemblies, which had already exhibited a sturdy
self-reliance and independence worthy of attention at home, were
equally dissatisfied with the proposal. But the seed had been
sown--the idea of Federal Union, of self-taxation, of levying
troops and regulating trade, was busy in men’s minds. In the
same year the Colonists were preparing for their great attack on
Canada--an attack which was made, not because France was the enemy
of England, but because Frenchmen in Canada were rivals of the
American colonists.
The lines of invasion of French Canada marked out by the American
subjects of the British Crown, were very much the same as those
of the American rebels against the Crown, when some twenty odd
years afterwards they prepared to invade British Canada. It is
singular that the men who, under the authority of the Crown of
England, or using at least the pretext of a state of war between
the home countries, waged war against the subjects of France
in Canada, should have been foremost in the rebellion against
England, and that, in the invasion of Canada, which was one of
their first undertakings in pursuance of their rebellion, they
should have found neither sympathy nor aid amongst the French
Canadians, whose allegiance had been so recently transferred to
the King of England. More singular still is it that France, which
had received so many tremendous blows from these very colonists,
and which suffered so much in her efforts to defend her Canadian
dependencies from these inveterate assailants, should have been
mainly instrumental in establishing their independence, and in
leading their great revolution to a successful issue. The condition
of the Scottish borders in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
furnishes but a very poor parallel to the state of the debateable
land which spread from the banks of the Ohio, by the great lakes,
down to the Atlantic. Constant aggressions took place from one
side or the other by trading parties, bands of Indians, or by
armed parties with larger purposes of occupation or vengeance.
Whilst the English colonies were enjoying the full fruit of the
principles on which they had been founded, Canada, regarded as a
mere dependency of the French Crown, vexed with the complicated
and inconsistent form of government, was daily losing ground.
The ill-paid governors were corrupt, or at all events exacting:
the Intendants ground the province to powder to make the most
of their office, and beneath each of these officers was an army
of ecclesiastics, bent on appropriating, for that incarnation of
the Church which appeared in their proper persons, the best of
the land and the great tithes of all trade and commerce. Of the
many encounters which took place on the borders, there are few
authentic records: it is sufficient to know that neither the French
nor the English succeeded at the period in effecting a permanent
lodgment within the frontiers of the enemy. The Governors of Canada
commemorated their victory, “_Rebellibus Novæ Angliæ Incolis_,” on
medals and brasses, and Great Britain rewarded by various honours
the colonial generals and governors who were supposed to have
attained advantages over their Canadian neighbours. In 1756 war was
again declared by Great Britain against France. Montcalm, availing
himself of the utter imbecility of Lord Loudon, who commanded the
British troops, speedily fell upon the important post of Oswego, on
Lake Ontario, and captured it with its garrison, guns, flotilla,
and stores. He followed up that great success in the following
year, by the capture of Fort Edward, which surrendered, with its
garrison of 8000 men under Monroe, who were massacred by the
Indian auxiliaries. The officers who were sent from England to
command the troops, and their continental allies at this period,
must have inspired the American continentals with a feeling of
profound contempt: but Lord Chatham, perceiving that the Colonists
must be the mainstay of military operations, aroused the various
New England settlements, by spirited despatches and promises of
help, to make strenuous efforts against the enemy. Once more a
British fleet under Admiral Boscawen appeared upon the scene,
and a force of 14,000 men, under Lord Amherst, was covered by its
guns in the operations which led to the surrender of Louisburgh on
the 26th of July, 1756. This success was tarnished by the defeat
of a powerful army under Abercrombie, in an ill-judged assault
against Ticonderoga, where 16,000 men were beaten back by the
French garrison, which numbered only 3000; but Kingston, on Lake
Ontario, surrendered to the British-American troops, and Fort du
Quesne--in the advance against which Braddock lost his life in the
former war--was abandoned without a blow by its French garrison,
who would be somewhat astounded, if, revisiting the glimpses of the
moon, they could gaze upon the Pittsburgh of the present day on the
site of their ancient post. In July, 1759, three great expeditions
were directed against Canada. The Ministry resolved at any cost to
trample under foot every trace of French dominion on the American
continent, and in that resolution they were mainly sustained by
the passion and animosity of the New England colonists. A powerful
corps under Lord Amherst was directed against Ticonderoga. Another
corps, under Sir William Johnson, mainly composed of continentals
and Indians, advanced against Fort Niagara, whilst an army
commanded by General Wolfe, covered by the fleet, made an attack
from the St. Lawrence against Quebec. Ticonderoga and Crown Point
were abandoned by the French, and Fort Niagara was taken after an
engagement with the enemy. How Wolfe fared all the world knows:
an elaborate account of the great victory which gave Canada to
the Crown would be out of place in this volume, but elsewhere I
have made a few remarks concerning the events of that memorable
battle. On the 18th of September the British standard floated from
the citadel of Quebec. Ever since that time the country, handed
over four years afterwards by the Treaty of Paris to the British,
has remained under the protection of England, acquiring year by
year a greater measure of freedom and self-government, till, at
this moment, it may be considered as attached to the Empire solely
by what Mr. O’Connell called “the golden link of the Crown.” The
whole population of the country then ceded was under 70,000. The
population of the British colonies in America was at least twenty
times as numerous. The American Colonists were at last gratified by
a conquest which relieved them from a dangerous neighbour, who was
backed by the power of France, and which opened to their enterprise
not only the lakes and rivers of Canada, but Nova Scotia, Cape
Breton, the St. Lawrence, and all the valuable fisheries of the
seaboard. It was unfortunate that no attempt was made to define the
exact boundary line between the Colonies and the new territory,
although the Proclamation of 1763 no doubt was supposed at the
time to be sufficiently accurate; but we shall see hereafter that
the neglect proved very damaging to the interests of Canada. The
Americans, perhaps, would have resented any attempt to define very
nicely the frontier between the new conquest of England and the
territories of the colonists who had contributed to some extent in
effecting it; and there were not many who foresaw the rupture which
divided the mother-country and her dependencies for ever.
For fifteen years Canada, content with the preservation of her
ecclesiastical establishments, of freedom of religion, and of the
“Custom of Paris,” seemed perfectly indifferent to the transfer
of her allegiance from one king to another, the change, perhaps,
being more in the language of her rulers, and the blazon of her
standard, than in the mode of government. In fact the British
military governors were singularly like the French military
governors; but it was felt at home, as soon as the difficulties
with the colonies began, that Canada could not continue to be
like a mere military division of a conquered country. In 1774,
the Quebec Act was passed, which created a council to aid in the
administration of the province, guaranteed the freedom of the
Roman Catholic Church, and abrogated the Royal Proclamation of
1763. In lieu of the administration of a military pro-consulate,
there was established a settled government, with some show of a
representative basis. The American colonists were then upon the
verge of the great rebellion, and as a proof of the spirit in
which they acted, it may be remarked that the Continental Congress
made a most violent remonstrance against the toleration of Roman
Catholicism in Canada, guaranteed by the Quebec Act. The very next
year the rebellious colonists captured Ticonderoga and Crown Point,
and Montreal; and had their enterprise against Quebec succeeded,
Canada might have become included in the territory which eventually
became portion of the United States. So bent were the colonists on
including Canada in the scope of their great design, that in 1776,
immediately after their unsuccessful invasion, Franklin, who was
one of the main movers of Wolfe’s expedition, and two gentlemen,
were sent by Congress to offer the Canadians a free press and
State rights, and the free exercise of the faith which but two
years before they had so bitterly denounced the British Government
for guaranteeing, if they would but join in the revolt against
Great Britain. In the war which followed between the British and
the American colonists, Canada was made the base of operations
against the colonies, which generally terminated in disasters, such
as that of Burgoyne, though, in pitched battles, the British were
almost invariably victorious. The habitans took little or no part
in the contest, but on the Declaration of Independence, a number
of Royalists emigrated from the States and settled in the country,
in very much the same way as the Southern Americans are now taking
refuge in Canada from the persecution of their Northern neighbours.
The wish to give, in their new country, these devoted men some
equivalent for that which they had lost, suggested a course which
has been condemned by subsequent events. The Home Government
resolved upon the unfortunate step of dividing the province into
Upper and Lower Canada, with a governor-in-chief in Lower, and a
lieutenant-governor in Upper Canada, so that the Royalists might
not be quite swamped by the French element. The governors selected
were often men without particular aptitude for administration,
certainly destitute of the ability needed in dealing with the very
peculiar state of society, trade, and interests prevailing in the
provinces.
Although the legislative council and assembly of Upper Canada had
equal privileges with that of Lower Canada, the condition of the
people was very different, principally owing to the paucity of
population. Governor Simcoe, to whom the care of Upper Canada was
first confided, ruled over a wilderness, in which a few clearings
around the trading stations on the lakes and rivers, and some huts
gathered about the military posts, were the sole vestiges of the
white man and civilisation. As the English colonists gained the
upper hand in the constant strife which raged during the latter
period of the French occupation, the habitans of the remoter
settlements had gradually withdrawn towards Lower Canada, and
had concentrated in the neighbourhood of the towns on the St.
Lawrence, where they could find safety in case of danger, and
transport should their friends be unable to protect them. It was
not surprising that the whole French population flocked into the
lower province; for under a foreign rule they gained confidence and
ease by the contemplation of their numbers and the concentration
of their masses. Although many American Royalists came into the
lake country so abandoned, they were not equal in number to the
population that fled. It required no small amount of courage and
perseverance in Governor Simcoe to conduct the affairs of his
little government, from the site which his sagacity pointed out to
him as the most favourable for the development of his province.
The Red Man’s wigwam still clung to the border of the British
posts, and the few intrepid men who ventured to fix their homes
along the shore of the Upper St. Lawrence, found themselves amidst
an uncongenial population of half-breeds and Indians, accustomed
indeed to the chase, and to the rude barter which represented the
only trade of those vast regions, but utterly averse to settled
life and agricultural labour; obnoxious also to handicraft-men,
mechanics, and the followers of the peaceful, regular pursuits
which are the handmaidens of civilisation. Under these
circumstances the advance of Upper Canada, slow as it was for some
years, is surprising, and the rapidity of her subsequent progress
is certainly worthy of admiration. In 1793 the revenue of Upper
Canada was less than 1000_l._ a-year; and although the machinery
of carrying on government and law existed, it was but imperfectly,
if at all, worked. In theory the English law prevailed, and one
cannot but admit, if we are to judge by its fruits, that it was far
better calculated to promote the security and prosperity of the
country, than the Custom of Paris, to which the French Canadians
clung in virtue of the capitulation of Quebec. Even thus early
the militia occupied the attention of the legislature, although
they were obliged to do battle against the denizens of the forest,
and to encourage the hunter by rewards for the destruction of
bears and wolves. The regulation of trade between the provinces
and the United States--the establishment of ports of entry--the
adjustment of land titles, and other useful matters of the kind,
were not neglected by the earliest Parliaments. Unhappily religious
questions arose soon after the close of the last century in Lower
Canada. The national feeling became associated with the ancient
religion in opposition to the aims of the British Government and
of the Protestant clergy. Whilst Dissenters and Presbyterians
and other schismatics from the Church of England were allowed
free scope in Upper Canada, the Government set itself to work to
give to the Protestant Church in Lower Canada the prestige which
belonged to the Catholic Church. The Canadians raised the cry--_Nos
institutions! notre langue! et nos lois!_
When hostilities with America seemed imminent in 1807, the militia
nevertheless responded to the call with enthusiasm in Lower Canada,
and Acts were passed in Upper Canada for raising, training and
billeting the force in case of need. Although the language for
which the Lower Canadians cried out was that of France Acadianised,
the institutions and the laws in which they took pride belonged
only to a France of the past. The Republic had placed between
Canada and France a barrier which the priesthood declared to be
impassable. What had they to do with the Goddess of Reason and a
calendar without a saint? What had a people steeped in feudalism,
or the Custom of Paris, to do with the Code Napoleon? Nevertheless
the rulers of Canada suspected the habitans of treason, whilst
the habitans suspected the rulers of designs upon their faith;
and so it was that want of confidence, one of the most formidable
impediments to the good understanding between governor and governed
which can exist, took root and grew apace. The second war with the
United States was at hand. The animosity of the Americans of the
Southern and Middle States against England was much augmented by
the discovery of a project of the Canadian Secretary, Ryland, to
detach the New England States from the Union, and to annex them to
Canada. The bitter feelings which the old New England Colonists
had entertained towards their French neighbours had been mitigated
by the influence of a common language and the congenial religion
and laws of the English rulers of Canada. Certain it is that the
New England delegates opposed the war which was declared against
Great Britain by the Government of Washington by every means in
their power, though they were by no means complimentary to Canada,
which they supposed it to be one of the objects of the war party in
America to annex. On the declaration of war in 1812, the Canadians,
with the exception of the inhabitants of one parish, turned out
with the greatest alacrity, and in considerable force, to defend
their country. General Hall, the American Governor of Michigan,
seized upon Sandwich in July in the same year; but he was soon very
glad to cross over to Detroit again, where he very ingloriously
capitulated soon afterwards to General Brock, with 2500 men and 33
pieces of cannon, thus surrendering the whole State of Michigan to
Great Britain.
The Americans, elated by their naval successes however, resolved
to conquer Canada, although Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New
York opposed the war with so much determination, that it seemed
very probable the Union would be broken up by the persistence of
the Southern statesmen in their policy. A corps under Colonel Van
Rensselaer attacked the British and the Colonists under Brock at
Queenstown, near Niagara, and although that gallant, intrepid, and
able officer fell at the head of the 49th regiment, the British,
aided by Canadians and Indians, captured or slew nearly the whole
of the American invading force, under the eyes of a large number
of American militia, at the other side of the river, who refused
to cross to the aid of their countrymen. The Americans demanded an
armistice, which was most injudiciously granted by General Sheaffe.
The American General Dearborn, meantime, with a force varying, it
is said, from 8000 to 10,000 men, invaded Lower Canada, but after
some unsuccessful skirmishes retreated to Plattsburgh. A few days
afterwards the American General Smith made an attack on Fort Erie,
which was characterised by pusillanimity, and ended in disgraceful
failure. When the campaign opened in January, 1813, it was not
auspicious for the invading Americans. General Winchester’s force
was defeated by Colonel Proctor, near Frenchtown; Ogdensburg was
taken; but the Americans, nevertheless, continued the war with
characteristic perseverance and foresight, and set to work to use
the water communications which we had neglected, and thus gained an
assured advantage. General Sheaffe was driven out of Toronto by an
expedition which landed under the guns of a newly-created American
lake fleet, commanded by an experienced and brave sailor, Commodore
Chancey. The capture of Fort George followed; but an attempt to
overrun Lower Canada ended in utter defeat, Prevost, however, being
beaten back in an attack upon Sackett’s Harbour, and Proctor being
repulsed in an assault on Sanduskey, so as to moderate any undue
exultation on the side of the British on account of their success.
This war excited little attention in England, where men thought
only of their great naval victories, in which their ships
captured, sunk, or dispersed whole fleets of the enemy, or of
the grand operations in Spain, where Wellington was worsting in
succession the best generals of the Empire. All the strength of
the United States was put forth in their war against Canada, and
it is only astonishing that the Americans did so little with the
means at their disposal. In July a British expedition, covered
by two sloops of war, destroyed stores, barracks, and property
at Plattsburgh, Burlington, and Swanton, whilst the Americans
burned the British stores at York. It must be remembered that
the Americans had every facility in the command of the lakes,
and in the command of the waters. The connection between Lower
and Upper Canada was carried on by rapid and dangerous rivers,
and by lakes which were constantly patrolled by the Americans,
the roads being simply tracks through a forest, or causeways of
a most rudimentary character. For some time both sides contended
for the supremacy of the Lakes. On the 31st of July the British,
under Sir J. Yeo, captured two of Commodore Chancey’s squadron,
which was further reduced by the loss of two gunboats, which
capsized in trying to escape from the victorious English. But
Chancey repaired damages in Sackett’s Harbour, and on the 28th of
September attacked the British flotilla, which eventually retreated
under the guns of Burlington Heights. For the time, therefore,
the Americans were masters of Lake Ontario, and they used their
advantages in capturing British stores and reinforcements. On
the 10th of September the British lost the command of Lake Erie
also. An American squadron of nine vessels under Perry, far
superior in size, number of men, and in calibre of guns, defeated
a British squadron of six vessels under Barclay. The result of
this defeat was that the British under Proctor had to evacuate
Detroit and Amherstburg, and fall back to open communication with
their base of supplies. On the river Thames the pursuit became so
severe, that Proctor turned to bay, but he was overwhelmed by the
Americans under Harrison, who numbered 3500, whilst the British
did not exceed a third of that strength, Michigan was lost to
us, and the only port retained by the British west of Burlington
was Michilimacinac, which they had taken early in the war.
Nothing less than the conquest of Lower Canada would now satisfy
the Americans. A force of 12,000 men was assembled to operate
against Montreal. On the 20th of September, Colonel de Salaberry,
a Canadian in command of a post of militia, and a few Indians,
checked the advance of the enemy, and fell back to Chateaugay,
where in a most creditable and gallant action he defeated an
American column under Hampton, which was intended to co-operate
with an expedition down the St. Lawrence, against Montreal.
Another portion of the force was defeated at Chrystler’s Farm,
with some loss, by a body of British regulars, Canadian militia,
and Indians. The attack on Montreal was precipitately abandoned,
and the Canadians, who had done so well, were sent back to their
homes. But winter did not put an end to the war. The British
determined to drive the enemy out of Canada, and the Americans
retired before them. On the 10th of December the enemy abandoned
and burned the town of Newark. On the 18th of December the British
surprised Fort Niagara with all its garrison, and gave Lewiston and
Manchester to the flames. Buffalo and Black Rock were captured and
destroyed by the British under Riall, and the whole country-side
was laid waste in retaliation for the burning of Newark. Sir George
Prevost was able to meet the Canadian Parliament with pride, and
to congratulate it on the conduct of the provincial militia in
the field, and the loyalty of the people. Before the coming of
spring had loosed the lakes and rivers, the Americans returned
to the attack on Canada, and in March, 1814, Macomb crossed Lake
Champlain; but a part of his force was repulsed in an attack on
Lacolle, and he retired to Plattsburgh. In May, Sir J. Yeo fitted
out an expedition from Kingston, which sailed on the 4th of May,
captured Oswego, and destroyed some military stores, but did not
succeed in a similar attempt against Sackett’s Harbour. On the
3rd of July a strong force of Americans landed near Chippewa, and
defeated a body of British, Canadians, and Indians, of inferior
numbers, under Riall. A very bloody and determined contest ensued
on the 25th, near the same place, in which the Americans made
repeated efforts to break the British, but were repulsed, and
finally retired to their camp, whence they retreated towards Fort
Erie, destroying their baggage and stores. The British followed,
and were beaten in a desperate attack to storm the fort. Whilst
these small yet sanguinary actions were breaking out sporadically
along the Canadian frontier, the Government at home made use of a
part of the forces liberated by the peace with France, and resolved
on giving the Americans a little diversion from their pursuit of
glory and conquest in Canada. A British force under Ross defeated
the American army at the Races of Bladensburg, captured Washington,
and destroyed public buildings and property of all kinds. A
demonstration against Baltimore did not succeed because the fleet
could not co-operate, although the British troops routed the
American covering army with the utmost ease, and at New Orleans our
troops endured a humiliating repulse. The war did not languish in
Canada. The British took Prairie du Chien in the west, and seized
on all the country between the river Penobscot and New Brunswick.
The most important part of the State of Maine thus fell into
British possession, and a provisional government was established
over it till the end of the war, when Maine was restored to the
United State. To compensate for these successes, the British
flotilla was beaten by the Americans under McDonough, and Sir
George Prevost sustained a discreditable defeat at the hands of a
very inferior force under General Macomb, on the 8th of September,
at Plattsburgh. The Americans, however, abandoned Fort Erie on the
5th of November, which was the last vestige of their great plans
for the conquest of Canada. The Peace of Ghent put an end to a
contest in which the United States would have soon found itself
opposed to the whole power of Great Britain. The conditions of that
Treaty were disastrous for Canada, as they shut her out from any
seaport for several months of the year. In fact, Admiral Gambier,
Mr. Goulburn, and Mr. Adams, knew nothing at all about their
business, and exercised neither diligence, research, nor caution,
in examining the stipulations of the treaty. They accepted all the
American conditions and statements without inquiry or hesitation.
They never bestowed a thought on the effect of such observations
as “the high lands lying due north from the source of the river
St. Croix, and the head of the Connecticut river not having been
ascertained;” “part of the boundary between the two powers not
having been surveyed,” and the like, which many years after became
essential and powerful arguments in the discussion. In the war the
Canadians had displayed courage and spirit, and the best American
generals and statesmen were very speedily satisfied that they
could effect very little in the way of conquest. They were but too
glad to make peace. The war had not only damaged their resources,
but threatened the very existence of the Union. The northern
delegates at the Hartford Convention had not merely objected to
the proceedings of the Federal Government, but had entered upon
the discussion of fundamental changes in the constitution. In the
Treaty of Ghent no concession was made on any of the points on
which the declaration of war was made. In some respects the contest
with the United States proved of decided benefit to Canada; the
money spent by the army enriched the country, and the incidents
of the campaign tended to raise the reputation of the Canadians
in England, and elevated the sentiment of self-respect among
the people. Roads were made or projected for military purposes.
Canals were discussed and planned, and steam began to contend with
currents and rapids. The revenue exceeded the expenditure, although
nearly 27,000_l._ figured as an item for militia services the first
year after the war.
Had it not been for political and civil complications, the progress
of Canada would have been still more rapid; but truth to say,
progress encountered a considerable obstacle in the character of
the people of Lower Canada. Probably not less than 35,000 of the
whole population were of French descent, strongly attached to their
institutions, and therefore indisposed to change--influenced by
traditions of a most conservative character, and by territorial
arrangements which perpetuated the very essence of feudalism.
Nevertheless, emigration was encouraged, free passages were given
to some immigrants, food to others, one hundred acres of land to
all. Banks were established; but through all the extent of the
upper province in 1817, there were not quite seven persons to the
square mile. In some instances injudicious governors exercised
their power to counteract the good disposition of the House of
Parliament, and occasionally Parliament marred the excellent
intentions of the representatives of the Crown. Impeachment of
judges, imprisonment of journalists, questions of privilege and
the like arose, which interrupted the good feeling so necessary to
the progress of colonial life. Constant fears of sedition, privy
conspiracy, and rebellion, haunted the minds of governors, whilst
the colonists and the habitans struggled for greater freedom of
action. Although the Canadians had resisted the Americans with
the greatest energy, they were suspected of a desire to coalesce
with, or to imitate the institutions of, the enemy. England at this
time was agitated by aspirations for reform, and those who led the
masses certainly justified the suspicion with which their designs
were regarded, by intemperance of language. Among the emigrants
who flocked to Canada were men who were tinged deeply with the dye
of dangerous democratic doctrine, and notwithstanding the great
gulf fixed between the new comers and the French habitans, it was
feared that the two parties would unite in founding a government
which could not be congenial to one or the other. When Lord
Dalhousie came out in 1820, he found however a tolerably prosperous
community. The dissensions respecting the civil list which had
occurred for several years previously, inaugurated Lord Dalhousie’s
administration. The Assembly would not grant a permanent civil
list, and took the extraordinary step of appointing an agent,
who was a member of the British Parliament, to represent them in
England. The impolicy of dividing the country into two provinces
became more apparent as questions connected with revenue arose,
and the discussion of these questions was embittered by deficient
harvests and commercial distress. Now it was seen how injuriously
the want of a port open all the year affected the interests of
Canada, which for five or six months was denied all access to
the sea, unless through the United States. The union of the two
provinces was agitated, but the French population did not support
the project. They believed they would lose by amalgamation; that
they would forfeit their privileges, and be deprived of the
advantages they enjoyed in the free import of American produce.
When it became known that the Government really had a project
for the union of the provinces, Mr. Papineau, the Speaker of the
Assembly, was dispatched to England with a petition against the
proposed amalgamation, and it was deferred for a time. Financial
difficulties increased the ill-temper of the governed, and the
harshness and resolution of the Government widened the breach
between them. Squabbles and ill-blood sprang up with greater
vehemence and animosity every day, and the seeds of the evil
which came to maturity in 1837, if not then first planted, were
certainly invigorated. The energies of the English, Scotch, and
Irish emigrants who flocked into the north were not to be repressed
by these malign influences. The citizens of the old world pushed
their way into Upper Canada, and finding lakes and rivers unfit for
navigation, projected and carried out canals, and already grasped
the probability of landing cargoes of Canadian wheat in Liverpool,
from vessels loaded at Kingston and Montreal.
The Imperial negotiators who renounced all the claims which they
might have preferred in behalf of Canada on the peace of 1815,
would probably have failed to secure for the province a port on
the sea, although the British, who held so large a portion of
the State of Maine, might have fairly sought some equivalent for
it. At all events no strenuous effort was made to obtain such an
advantage--nor was there any attempt on our part to ascertain what
the precise boundaries were which the Americans claimed. We will
just see how a British negotiator many years later consented to
draw a line which placed the land communications of the mother
country with the provinces in war time at the mercy of an enemy
for many miles of its course--Canadian interests and Imperial
considerations being alike neglected--peace and war alike hampered,
by want of foresight, prudence, or statesmanlike consideration. The
increasing prosperity of Canada forced her to enter into closer
relations with the United States, and to accede to arrangements
with the Federal Government, which were of course regulated by
Imperial agency, and which were not always characterised by wisdom.
But there was no alternative--at least not one which could then
be adopted. The idea of a great confederation of the British
Provinces, which would enable Canada to avail herself of the ports
of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, if it presented itself at all,
was seen to be surrounded by embarrassing obstacles and conflicting
sentiments. The skill in the conception, and the energy displayed
in the execution, of the canal system, which is the grandest and
most extensive in the world, have made a practicable passage of
more than 2000 miles from Anticosti up to Superior City; and works
proposed or in progress by land and water attest the enterprise
and resolution with which the Canadians contended against the only
impediments in the way of their prosperity and greatness. The
claims of Canada to Imperial aid against invasion are strengthened
by concessions made by the Imperial agents, which clear away the
path of the invaders. Although all the border States had their
representatives and champions, the voice of Canada was not heard
in the deliberations of the Commission. It was British territory
which was in debate--there are some who hold that Canada is alone
called upon to defend it. Although the land may be invaded because
it belongs to Great Britain, so far that Great Britain is actually
attacked by aggression upon it, Canada, involved in war because
of its dependency on the British Crown, must bear the brunt of
defending that which British diplomacy has rendered peculiarly
liable to invasion. It is plain that those who insist on leaving
Canada to defend herself, are advocating a policy which tends to
separate Canada from the British Crown. The provinces are ruled by
a British viceroy, and are under the British flag, which would be
the cause of an American attack. Canada can do nothing to provoke
hostility, but the English may be struck with effect as long as the
provinces are ruled by the Crown, and contain a company of British
soldiers.
It would be interesting to inquire whether the Canadians would
be better off by themselves than they are at present, supposing
always that the new theories are likely to prevail, in case of
war. Notwithstanding the violence and exaggerated language of the
American press, it is only right to conclude that Canada is far
less liable to insult and aggression under British protection than
she would be without it. But that remark can only hold good in
cases where the Americans do not feel more than usual irritation
against Great Britain. The Canadians must feel that if they stood
alone, pretexts would not long be wanting to treat the provinces
as Texas was served. Canada has at present the power of England at
her back, and the threat to deprive her of it by no means implies
that she will be left to fight single-handed in the day of need.
On the whole, balancing the chances of aggression on account of
England against the chances of aggression if she stood alone, it
is certain that Canada gains more than she loses by her present
connection. The growth of great states along her frontier, and the
excessive weakness of a water boundary in face of a maritime power,
have caused us at home to insist on the engineering impossibility
of defending the whole of the land and lake boundaries, but
it by no means follows that the conquest of the country would
be equally easy. With the full command of the sea and all its
advantages--with commerce free--with a wonderful unanimity in
the object of the war--with immense exaltation of spirit, and
unparalleled expenditure of money, the Northern Americans have not
yet subdued the Southern States, though they have more than tested
the quality of their inner armour. Canada, with its narrow belt
of inhabited territory, flanked by inland seas and vast rivers,
offers no resemblance, it is true, to the South, but aided by Great
Britain and her army, her fleet, and her purse, she might defy
subjugation if she could not escape invasion. It must be noted that
the Americans frequently dwell on ideas for a long time ere they
attempt to carry them out, but that generally they do make an
effort to give practical effect to those theories which have taken
hold of the popular mind. For many years before the annexation of
Texas and the war with Mexico took place, the people were prepared
for both by the constant inculcation of their necessity. It is only
justice to the Government of the United States to declare that
their action has been generally restrictive, and that it has acted
as a drag on the wheels of the popular chariot. There is in fact
a great people standing between the fringe of the noisy democracy
and the highlands of Federal authority, which breaks the force of
the popular wave, and hears unmovedly the beatings of the turbulent
press, and raging voices of the Cleons of the hour. Shame it is
indeed to them that they so often permit the worth, and sense, and
honour of the nation to be represented by the worthless, foolish,
degraded scum that simmers in its noisy ebullitions on the surface
of the social system. We cannot be sure how far the Americans
are actuated by the feelings which find expression in the most
scandalous public paper of New York, but we do know that the paper
in question is largely read, and that its favourite topic, when
there is a lack of subjects for abuse or menace, is the forthcoming
doom of Canada, “When this weary war is over.”
In case of an invasion caused by any quarrel with Great Britain,
or by any policy for which the Canadians are not responsible, what
ought they to expect from us? Everything but impossibilities. Among
the greatest of impossibilities would be protection of the whole
of the frontier, with all the aid they could give us. The greatest
would be the defence of their territories without all the aid they
could afford. The Canadians tell us that in the hour of danger
they will be ready, but as yet they have fallen short of that
degree of preparation which we have a right to expect. If the blow
falls at all it will come swift and strong, but if they do their
duty to us there can be no fear of our failing them in the time of
peril.
The Honourable Joseph Howe has vindicated the claims of the
colonies to the care, protection, and assistance of the mother
country. He has pointed out the defects in our system, from
which the inevitable necessity arises, that the colony shall
become detached from the mother country, to become its rival, or
probably its enemy at some future stage of its existence. Though
California--3000 miles away--is represented at Washington; “though
Algeria is represented at Paris;” the provinces of North America
have no representation in London.
“Our columns of gold,” he exclaims, “and our pyramids of
timber, may rise in your Crystal Palaces, but our statesmen in
the great council of the empire never. Saxony or Wirtemberg
are treated with a deference never accorded to Canada, though
they are peopled by foreigners. The war of 1812-15 was neither
sought nor provoked by the British Americans. It grew out of the
continental wars, with which we certainly had as little to do.
Whether a Bourbon or a Bonaparte sat upon the throne of France,
was a matter of perfect indifference to us. We were pursuing our
lawful avocations--clearing up our country, opening roads into
the wilderness, bridging the streams, and organising society as
we best could, trading with our neighbours, and wishing them
no harm. In the meantime British cruisers were visiting and
searching American vessels on the sea. Then shots were fired,
and, before we had time to recall our vessels engaged in foreign
commerce, or to make the slightest preparation for defence, our
coasts were infested by American cruisers and privateers, and our
whole frontier was in a blaze.
“You count the cost of war by the army and navy estimates, but
who can ever count the cost of that war to us? A war, let it
be borne in mind, into which we were precipitated without our
knowledge or consent. Let the coasts of England be invaded by
powerful armies for three summers in succession; let the whole
Channel from Falmouth to the Nore be menaced, let Southampton be
taken and burnt, let the South-downs be swept from the Hampshire
hills, and the rich pastures of Devonshire supply fat beeves
to the enemy encamped in the western counties, or marching on
Manchester and London; let the youth of England be drawn from
profitable labour to defend these great centres of industry,
the extremities of the island being given up to rapine and to
plunder; fancy the women of England living for three years with
the sound of artillery occasionally in their ears, and the
thoughts of something worse than death ever present to their
imaginations; fancy the children of England, with wonder and
alarm on their pretty faces, asking for three years when their
fathers would come home; fancy, in fact, the wars of the Roses
or the civil wars back again, and then you can understand what
we suffered from 1812 to 1815. Talk of the cost of war at a
distance; let your country be made its theatre, and then you will
understand how unfair is your mode of calculation when you charge
us with the army estimates, and give us no credit for what we
have done and suffered in your wars.
“Though involved in the war of 1812 by no interest or fault of
our own; though our population was scattered, and our coasts and
frontiers almost defenceless; the moment it came, we prepared for
combat without a murmur. I am just old enough to remember that
war. The commerce of the Maritime Provinces was not a twentieth
part of what it is now, but what we had was almost annihilated.
Our mariners, debarred from lawful trade, took to privateering,
and made reprisals on the enemy. Our Liverpool ‘clippers’ fought
some gallant actions, and did some service in those days. The
war expenditure gave to Halifax an unhealthy excitement, but
improvement was stopped in all other parts of the province; and,
when peace came, the collapse was fearful even in that city.
Ten years elapsed before it recovered from the derangement of
industry, and the extravagant habits fostered by the war.
“A few regiments were raised in the Maritime Provinces, their
militia was organised, and some drafts from the interior were
brought in to defend Halifax, whence the expeditions against the
French Islands and the State of Maine were fitted out. Canada
alone was invaded in force.
“General Smith describes the conduct of the Canadian militia
in the few but weighty words that become a sagacious military
chieftain pronouncing a judgment on the facts of history.
“In 1812 the Republicans attacked Canada with two corps,
amounting in the whole to 13,300 men. The British troops in the
Province were but 4500, of which 3000 were in garrison at Quebec
and Montreal. But 1500 could be spared for the defence of Upper
Canada. From the capture of Michilimacinac, the first blow of
the campaign, down to its close, the Canadian Militia took their
share in every military operation. French and English vied with
each other in loyalty, steadiness, and discipline.
“Of the force that captured Detroit, defended by 2500 men, but
a few hundreds were regular troops. Brock had but 1200 men to
oppose 6300 on the Niagara frontier. Half his force were Canadian
Militia, yet he confronted the enemy, and, in the gallant action
in which he lost his life, left an imperishable record of the
steady discipline with which Canadians can defend their country.
“The invading army of yeomen sent to attack Montreal were as
stoutly opposed by a single brigade of British troops, aided by
the militia. In the only action which took place the Canadians
alone were engaged. The enemy was beaten back, and went into
winter quarters.
“In 1813, Canada was menaced by three separate corps. The Niagara
district was for a time overrun, and York, the capital of the
Upper Province, was taken and burnt. The handful of British
troops that could be spared from England’s European wars, were
inadequate to its defence; but in every struggle of the campaign,
disastrous or triumphant, the Canadian Militia had their share.
The French fought with equal gallantry in the Lower Province. At
Chateaugay, Colonel de Salaberry showed what could be done with
those poor, undisciplined colonists, who, it is now the fashion
to tell us, can only be made good for anything by withdrawing
them from their farms and turning them into regular soldiers. The
American general had a force of 7000 infantry, 10 field pieces,
and 250 cavalry. De Salaberry disputed their passage into the
country he loved, with 1000 bayonets, beat them back, and has
left behind a record of more value in this argument than a dozen
pamphlets or ill-natured speeches in parliament.
“When the independence of the United States was established in
1783, they were left with one half of the continent, and you with
the other. You had much accumulated wealth and an overflowing
population. They were three millions of people, poor, in debt,
with their country ravaged and their commerce disorganised. By
the slightest effort of statesmanship you could have planted your
surplus population in your own provinces, and, in five years, the
stream of emigration would have been flowing the right way. In
twenty years the British and Republican forces would have been
equalised. But you did nothing, or often worse than nothing.
From 1784 to 1841, we were ruled by little paternal despotisms
established in this country. We could not change an officer,
reduce a salary, or impose a duty, without the permission of
Downing Street. For all that dreary period of sixty years, the
Republicans governed themselves, and you governed us. They had
uniform duties and free trade with each other. We always had
separate tariffs, and have them to this day. They controlled
their foreign relations--you controlled ours. They had their
ministers and consuls all over the world, to open new markets,
and secure commercial advantages. Your ministers and consuls knew
little of British America, and rarely consulted its interests.
Till the advent of Huskisson, our commerce was cramped by all
the vices of the old colonial system. The Republicans could open
mines in any part of their country. Our mines were locked up,
until seven years ago, by a close monopoly held in this country
by the creditors of the Duke of York. How few of the hundreds of
thousands of Englishmen, who gazed at Nova Scotia’s marvellous
column of coal in the Exhibition, this summer, but would have
blushed had they known that for half a century the Nova Scotians
could not dig a ton of their own coal without asking permission
of half a dozen English capitalists in the city of London.
How few Englishmen now reflect, when riding over the rich and
populous states of Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and Arkansas,
that had they not locked up their great west, and turned it into
a hunting ground, which it is now, we might have had behind
Canada, three or four magnificent provinces, enlivened by the
industry of millions of British subjects, toasting the Queen’s
health on their holidays, and making the vexed question of the
defence of our frontiers one of very easy solution.
“When the Trent affair aroused the indignant feeling of the
empire last autumn, we were--as we were in 1812--utterly
unprepared. The war again was none of our seeking.
“Nova Scotia and New Brunswick had thousands of vessels upon
the sea, scattered all over the world. Canada had her thousand
miles of frontier unprotected. Had war come, we knew that our
money losses would have been fearful, and the scenes upon our
sea-coasts and our frontiers, sternly painted as they must occur,
without any stretch of the imagination, might well bid the
‘boldest hold his breath for a time.’ But, did a single man in
all those noble provinces falter? No! Every man, ay, every woman
accepted the necessity, and prepared for war.
“Again it was a question of honour, and not of interest. In a
week we could have arranged, by negociation, for peace with the
United States, and have kept out of the quarrel. But who thought
of such a thing? Your homesteads were safe; ours in peril. A
British--not a colonial ship--had been boarded: but what then?
The old flag that had floated over our fathers’ heads, and droops
over their graves, had been insulted; and our British blood was
stirred--without our ever thinking of our pockets. The spirit
and unanimity of the provinces, no less than the fine troops
and war material shipped from this country, worked like a charm
at Washington. President Lincoln, like Governor Fairfield, saw
clearly that he was to be confronted not only by the finest
soldiers in the world, but by a united and high-spirited
population. The effect was sedative; the captives were given up.
And the provincials--as is their habit, when there is no danger
to confront--returned to their peaceful avocations.”
It may be necessary to make some allowance for the tinge of
colonial patriotism in this passage, but after all the Hon. J.
Howe is a transplanted Englishman. He speaks with the voice of
some millions of people, and we must listen to it, or be prepared
for a good deal of lukewarmness or “disloyalty.” I have avoided
any reference to the disputes which broke out into rebellion in
1837, because no useful end would be gained by an account of an
unfortunate schism which was produced by want of judgment on the
part of the Government at home, and by the extreme fanaticism of a
party in the province. But the fanaticism has in no small degree
been justified by what has since taken place. When “rebels” are
pardoned, it may be a proof that the government which pardons is
strong and generous. When “rebels” are not only restored to civic
rights, but are invested with office, it is almost a demonstration
that the government which permits them to exercise important
functions under it, was in error in the contest which drove
these men to resistance. The rebellion in Canada had, however,
nothing to do with the great question we are now discussing.
We are approaching the larger subject, which is opened by the
consideration of the arguments which are used by Imperialists
and Colonists in their controversy respecting the magnitude and
relation of the empire and the colony in war.
It becomes of high practical value to consider what Canada can
do, and what Canada has done in the direction of self-defence,
should she be threatened with war, either from imperial or
colonial causes. It can be no satisfaction to Canada to become a
fief of the new Federal _quasi_-republic because Great Britain
failed in her duty; and all the references to the patriotism and
exertions of valour of Canadians in past times, would reflect all
the greater discredit on them now, when they enjoy rights and
privileges unknown to their hardy ancestors. Let us first see what
her resources and defensive powers are, and then cast a glance at
what Canada and the British Provinces in North America have got to
defend. The only military force Canada can employ is the militia.
Her present proud position should induce the people of Canada to
make every effort to preserve the conditions under which they enjoy
so much liberty, happiness, and prosperity; but she has in the
future a heritage of priceless value, which she holds in trust for
the great nation that must yet sit enthroned on the Lakes and the
St. Lawrence, and rule from Labrador to Columbia.
CHAPTER XII.
The Militia--American Intentions--Instability of the Volunteer
Principle--The Drilling of Militia--The Commission of 1862--The
Duke of Newcastle’s Views--Militia Schemes--Volunteer
Force--Apathy of the French Canadians--The First Summons.
In a country situated as Canada is, without well-defined
obligations as regards the sovereign power, there can be but two
kinds of military force available for defence--a militia and an
organisation of volunteers. The first is essentially the proper
constitutional force on which Canada must mainly rely in case of
invasion. The second, notwithstanding its enormous importance and
value, is but accidental. Unless Canada assumed towards us the
relations of a protected state, like India, and raised an army
officered by the British such as was that of Oude, or as that, to a
certain extent, of some states at the present day, her volunteers
could have no fixed and adequate value in a general scheme of
defence. The Canadian militia must constitute the chief strength
of Canada in operations on her territory. It would be impossible
for Great Britain to do more than provide officers, money, arms,
artillery, and ammunition--perhaps the head and backbone of the
force which would be needed for a large system of campaigns. The
only enemy Canada has to fear is the Northern Republic. I am quite
willing to do every justice to the moderation of Mr. Seward, and to
the pacific policy of Mr. Lincoln, but it cannot be disputed that
the strength of the central Government will be much diminished on
the cessation of the present conflict, and that whatever way it
ends the Cabinet of Washington will be little able to oppose the
passions of the people in the crisis which peace, whether it be
one of humiliation or of triumph, will bring with it. Passion, the
passion wrought of pride, love of dominion, national feeling, and
the like, is far stronger than the silken bond of commerce. There
is danger of war with Great Britain as soon as this war in America
is over; and the question is, how far Canada will be able to aid
herself? Because if she does not contribute largely to her own
defence, it seems certain that British statesmen will not strive
very strenuously to avert her doom. At the moment I write there is
not, in a state of organised efficiency, one regiment of militia
in the length, which is great, and the breadth, which is small,
of Canada. Party violence has set at nought all warnings and all
solicitations. The Canadians appear to rely on the traditions of
the past, and on the result of the small campaigns in the war with
America, without any appreciation of the vast changes which have
taken place since. Northern Americans, reaching their boundaries
with pain and many a toilsome march, filtered small corps upon
their soil--far inferior in numbers and equipment to those which
now represent the quota of the smallest state in the Union. In
my letters from America I called attention to the significant
fact that the northernmost point of the territory claimed by the
Southern Confederacy was within 120 miles of the lake which forms
the southern boundary of Canada. It may not be likely that the
Confederacy will ever make good its claim to Western Virginia,
and fix its standard in undisturbed supremacy at Wheeling, but
it is nevertheless true that a strong passionate instinct urges
the people of the North to consolidate the states of the West and
those of the East by the absorption of Canada, which, with its
lakes and its St. Lawrence, would be ample recompense for the
loss of the South; and, with the South in the Union, would be the
consummation of the dream of empire in which Americans wide-awake
pass their busy restless lives. The Americans are well aware of
the vast advantage of striking a sudden blow. The whole subject
of Canadian invasion lies developed in well-considered papers in
the bureau drawers of Washington. At the time of the Trent affair
I was assured by an officer high in rank in the government that
General Winfield Scott had come back from France solely to give the
State the benefit of his counsels and experience in conducting an
invasion of Canada; and I cannot think it doubtful that the Federal
Government would, in four or five weeks after a declaration of war
with England, be prepared to pour 120,000 or 150,000 men across
the British frontier. What has Canada done to meet the danger? In
May, 1862, the Honourable John Macdonald proposed that a minimum
of 30,000 men or a maximum of 50,000 men should be enrolled and
drilled for one month every year for three or for five years, but
it was considered that Canada could not spare so large a number
of men from the pursuits of trade, and above all of agriculture,
during the open season when drill would be practicable. The
measure was rejected. Mr. Sandfield Macdonald, after the failure
of this proposal, introduced and carried a measure which gave the
Government a permissive power to call out the unmarried militiamen
for six days’ drill in every year, and which provided that militia
officers might be attached to the regular regiments serving in
Canada for two months every year in order to learn their duties.
By the fundamental law of Canada the Government has the power of
calling out in time of war, first, all eligible unmarried men
between 18 and 45 years of age; secondly, married men between 18
and 45; and finally, those males fit to carry arms between 45 and
60 years of age. Under these laws Canada should have a force of
470,000 men available for service, and of these there are actually
on the muster rolls of the militia 197,000 unmarried men between
18 and 31 years of age, whose service would be compulsory in case
of need. The Canadian Parliament voted half a million of dollars
in each of the years 1863 and 1864 for military purposes, but the
greater proportion of these sums was expended on the volunteers and
on the staff of the militia. There has been no adequate return for
the heavy drain such a sum causes on the Provincial exchequer. The
best commentary on the voluntary system in militia drills is to be
found in the fact that less than 10,000 men have been in attendance
on them.
With the experience we have had of the unstable character of
volunteer forces in the field, it is not prudent for Canada to
rely on her volunteers so much as she does. They have within their
very body the seeds of dissolution. Some corps can decree their
disbandment at two months’, others at six months’ notice--in other
words, they may melt away at the very crisis of the war. Does
American volunteering teach us nothing? In all human probability
the South would have been struck to the earth at the first Battle
of Bull Bun, if the Pennsylvania volunteers had not presented to
the world the extraordinary and disgraceful spectacle of whole
battalions under arms marching off from the field, as their
unfortunate General McDowell expressed it, “to the sound of the
enemy’s guns.” That was no isolated case. The desertion, at
the same time, of other volunteer battalions under the equally
unfortunate General Patterson in the Shenandoah Valley, left him
unable to prevent the Confederate General Johnston marching with
all his men to the aid of Beauregard. Over and over again the
Federal leaders have been paralysed by similar defections, and it
was not till they became strong enough to hold the volunteers by
force, as Meade did before he made his attempt against Richmond,
that the evil was cured. Had the Federals gained Bull Bun, they
were ready to have marched on Richmond at once--they would have
found the city defenceless, and the South disorganised. Such a
proof of Federal power as a decisive victory would, I believe, from
what I saw in the South, have crushed the Secession party, and have
strengthened the adherents of the Union, who were then numerous
in many of the States. It might not have stopped the civil war,
but it would have certainly given the most enormous preponderance
to the North. The defeat mainly caused by McDowell’s weakness in
men, and the reinforcements received by the enemy in consequence
of Patterson’s inability to hinder their arrival, which was caused
by the wholesale disbandment of volunteers, gave such an impetus
to the Confederates, that their principle was carried triumphantly
over the States, and crushed all opposition. We have seen what
that defeat has cost the Federals since. In Canada the volunteers
belong almost exclusively to the urban population--only a fifth
come from rural districts; and as the towns in Canada are very
small, it is plain that the volunteer system would operate very
injuriously on the trade of the cities, and would in all likelihood
break down, without any imputation on the courage and patriotism
of the townsmen. It is, of course, beyond the power of Canada to
cope with the people of the United States single-handed, but the
agencies which England could bring to bear against the enemy on the
American seaboard, and on all the seas furrowed by her ships, would
damp the ardour which the Northerners would exhibit at the first
onslaught. It would be, no doubt, a very deplorable and a very
disgraceful contest, but Great Britain would not be responsible for
the beginning of hostilities.
Just in proportion to the celerity and magnitude of their first
successes would be the efforts of the Americans to secure their
conquest. It is far easier to repel than to expel. A handful of
militia, ill-drilled, supported by a similar force of volunteers
of similar inefficiency, could offer no resistance to the swarms
of invaders, and would but increase the stress to which the
little army of Queen’s troops in garrison here and there would be
subjected at the outbreak of war. To all argument and entreaty, to
insinuations and menace, Canada opposes the grand simplicity of her
_non possumus_. She is burthened with debt, and even without any
expenditure for the militia her outlay is considerably more than
her income. A party in Canada called for a regular agreement with
the Government at home to regulate the amount to be paid by Canada,
and the troops to be furnished by her, as a part of the British
Empire. These troops were to consist of militia of the first class,
to be drilled by detachments in each succeeding year, till the
whole number, whether it were 50,000 or 100,000, should be properly
disciplined. It was proposed by some advocates of this scheme that
each body of militia should be called out for six months; and that
when that period expired the men should be entitled to immunity
from further drills till war broke out, when they would become
liable for ten years’ service, after which they would go into a
reserve only to be used in great emergencies.
Many modes of raising, maintaining, and drilling this force have
been suggested; but as the principle was not adopted they are
scarcely worth discussing. Drills for short periods are certainly
of little or no avail; and if money cannot be borrowed to put
100,000 men in a state of readiness, the organisation of 50,000 men
to be drilled for three months in each year in bodies of 12,000
or 15,000 does not seem at all unreasonable. The rate of wages
in Canada is very high, and the lowest estimate for the support,
pay, and clothing of a militiaman for six months comes to about
£20 per man. It is, therefore, a simple sum in multiplication to
arrive at the ultimate figure of Canadian _possumus_ in regard to
the paying power of the Provinces. It is not true that if one man
can be kept for £20 for six months two men can be kept for the
same sum for three months. The levy of 50,000 militiamen for six
months would cost Canada, if she were alone, one million sterling.
Mr. Cartwright has pointed out that Canada could discipline 100,000
militia, with half a year’s instruction each, for as much as
would support a standing army of 2,000 men for the same period.
We may be very angry with the Canadians for their happy security.
It is not so very long ago since the Duke’s letters to Sir John
Burgoyne startled us out of a similar _insouciance_. We may feel
that the sudden development of the United States has placed us in
a very doubtful military position. It is not so easy to shake off
the obligations incurred by conquest and by emigration under the
flag of Great Britain. In the face of very frigid warnings from
the press, and very lukewarm enunciations of policy from her best
friends, Canada had some reason to fear that there is a secret
desire “to let her slide,” and that nothing would please England so
much as a happy chance which placed the Provinces beyond our care
without humiliation or war.
The duty of Canadians to their own country is very plain indeed
if the people of England refuse to give them distinct guarantees
that under certain conditions they will give them the whole aid
of money, men, and ships that is required; but these guarantees
are implied in the very fact of suzerainty of the Crown. It
must, however, be made known--if it be not plain to every
Englishman--that the abandonment of Canada implies a surrender of
British Columbia, of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward’s,
Newfoundland, if not also the West India Islands. Many bitter words
written and spoken here rankle in the breasts of the Canadians, and
I have quoted the words in which a Canadian statesman has placed
before Englishmen the terrible consequences which Canada may suffer
from war, because she is a part of the British empire, engaged in
a quarrel on imperial grounds with the Government of the United
States. We do undoubtedly owe something to Canada, from the bare
fact that for many years she resisted temptation, and remained
under our flag unmoved by the blandishments and threats of the
United States. In my poor judgment the abandonment of Canada would
be the most signal triumph of the principle of democracy, and the
most pregnant sign of the decadence of the British empire which
could be desired by our enemies. No matter by what sophistry or by
what expediency justified, the truth would crop out through the
fact itself that we were retiring as the Romans did from Britain,
Gaul, and Dacia, but that the retreat would be made in the face
of united and civilised enemies, and that the sound of our recall
would animate every nation in the world to come forth and despoil
us.
As yet there is no reason for such a pusillanimous policy.
The Commission of 1862 laid it down as their opinion that an
active force of 50,000, with a reserve of the same number, would
be required for Canada; but as the bill founded on their report
did not become law, the Canadian Government had no power to borrow
arms from the home Government for the whole number, as would have
been the case had they passed the bill. Lord Monck, however,
procured from the home Government a considerable augmentation
of the supplies in store of artillery, small arms, ammunition
and accoutrements. But the rejection of the Militia Bill of
1862 filled the home Government with apprehension. The Duke of
Newcastle, on the 20th of August of that year, wrote as follows:--
“If I urge upon you the importance of speedily resuming measures
for some better military organisation of the inhabitants of
Canada than that which now exists, it must not be supposed
that Her Majesty’s Government is influenced by any particular
apprehension of an attack on the Colony at the present moment,
but undoubtedly the necessity for preparation which has from time
to time been urged by successive Secretaries of State is greatly
increased by the presence, for the first time on the American
Continent, of a large standing army, and the unsettled condition
of the neighbouring States. Moreover, the growing importance
of the Colony, and its attachment to free institutions, make
it every day more essential that it should possess in itself
that without which no free institutions can be secure--adequate
means of self-defence. The adequacy of those means is materially
influenced by the peculiar position of the country. Its extent
of frontier is such that it can be safe only when its population
capable of bearing arms is ready and competent to fight. That
the population is ready, no one will venture to doubt; that it
cannot be competent, is no less certain, until it has received
that organisation, and acquired that habit of discipline which
constitute the difference between a trained force and an armed
mob. The drill required in the regular army, or even in the best
volunteer battalion, is not necessary, nor would it be possible,
in a country like Canada, for so large a body of men as ought
to be prepared for any emergency; but the Government should be
able to avail itself of the services of the strong and healthy
portion of the male adult population at short notice, if the
dangers of invasion by an already organised army are to be
provided against.
“We have the opinions of the best military authorities, that no
body of troops which England could send would be able to make
Canada safe without the efficient aid of the Canadian people.
Not only is it impossible to send sufficient troops, but if
there were four times the numbers which we are now maintaining
in British North America, they could not secure the whole of the
frontier. The main dependence of such a country must be upon its
own people. The irregular forces which can be formed from the
population, know the passes of the woods, are well acquainted
with the country, its roads, its rivers, its defiles: and for
defensive warfare (for aggression they will never be wanted),
would be far more available than regular soldiers.
“It is not therefore the unwillingness, or the inability of
Her Majesty’s Government to furnish sufficient troops, but the
uselessness of such troops without an adequate militia force,
that I wish to impress upon you.
“In your despatch of the 17th May last, you informed me that
there were then 14,760 volunteers enrolled, besides others
who had been more or less drilled. It is far, indeed, from my
intention to discredit either the zeal or the efficiency of
these volunteers, who have, I hope, greatly increased in number
since the date of your despatch; but they constitute a force
which cannot suffice for Canada in the event of war. They might
form an admirable small contingent; but what would be required,
would be a large army. They might form a force stronger than is
necessary in time of peace to secure internal tranquillity, but
would be inadequate to repel external attack in time of war. Past
experience shows that no reasonable amount of encouragement can
raise the number of volunteers to the required extent.
“It appears to me that the smallest number of men partially
drilled which it would be essential to provide within a given
time, is 50,000. The remainder of the militia would of course be
liable to be called upon in an emergency. Perhaps the best course
would be, to drill every year one or more companies of each
battalion of the sedentary militia. In this manner the training
of a large number of men might be effected, and all companies so
drilled should, once at least in two years, if not in each year,
be exercised in battalion drill, so as to keep up their training.
“I put forward these suggestions for the consideration of the
Canadian Government and Parliament, but Her Majesty’s Government
have no desire to dictate as to details, or to interfere with
the internal government of the Colony. Their only object is so
to assist and guide its action in the matter of the militia as
to make that force efficient at the least possible cost to the
Province and to the mother country.
“The Canadian Government will doubtless be fully alive to the
important fact that a well-organised system of militia will
contribute much towards sustaining the high position with
reference to pecuniary credit, which, in spite of its large debt,
and its deficient revenue for the past few years, the Colony has
hitherto held in the money markets of Europe. A country which,
however unjustly, is suspected of inability or indisposition
to provide for its own defence, does not, in the present
circumstances of America, offer a tempting field for investment
in public funds or the outlay of private capital. Men question
the stable condition of affairs in a land which is not competent
to protect itself.
“It may, no doubt, be argued on the other hand, that the
increased charge of a militia would diminish rather than enlarge
the credit of the Colony. I am convinced that such would not be
the case, if steps were taken for securing a basis of taxation
sounder in itself than the almost exclusive reliance on Customs
duties. It is my belief that a step in this direction would
not only supply funds for the militia, but would remove all
apprehension which exists as to the resources of the Colony.
“Whatever other steps may be taken for the improved organisation
of the militia, it appears to Her Majesty’s Government to be of
essential importance that its administration, and the supply
of funds for its support, should be exempt from the disturbing
action of ordinary politics. Unless this be done there can be no
confidence that, in the appointment of officers, and in other
matters of a purely military character, no other object than the
efficiency of the force is kept in view. Were it not that it
might fairly be considered too great an interference with the
privileges of the representatives of the people, I should be
inclined to suggest that the charge for the militia, or a certain
fixed portion of it, should be defrayed from the consolidated
fund of Canada, or voted for a period of three or five years.
“It has further occurred to me, that the whole of the British
Provinces on the continent of North America have, in this
matter of defence, common interests and common duties. Is
it impossible that, with the free consent of each of these
Colonies, one uniform system of militia training and organisation
should be introduced into all of them? The numbers of men to
be raised and trained in each would have to be fixed, and the
expenses of the whole would be defrayed from a common fund,
contributed in fair proportion by each of the Colonies. If the
Governor-General of Canada were Commander-in-Chief of the whole,
the Lieutenant-Governors of the other Colonies would act as
Generals of Division under him; but it would be essential that an
Adjutant-General of the whole force, approved by Her Majesty’s
Government, should move to and fro, as occasion might require, so
as to give uniformity to the training of the whole, and cohesion
to the force itself.
“As such a scheme would affect more than one Colony, it must, of
course, emanate from the Secretary of State, but Her Majesty’s
Government would not entertain it unless they were convinced
that it would be acceptable both to the people of Canada and
to the other Colonies; and they desire to know, in the first
instance, in what light any such plan would be viewed by the
members of your Executive Council. I understand that the
Lieutenant-Governors of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, availing
themselves of the leave of absence lately accorded to them,
intend to meet you in Quebec in the course of the ensuing month.
This visit will afford you a good opportunity for consulting them
upon this important question.
“The political union of the North American Colonies has often
been discussed. The merits of that measure, and the difficulties
in the way of its accomplishment, have been well-considered; but
none of the objections which oppose it seem to impede a union
for defence. This matter is one in which all the Colonies have
interests common with each other, and identical with the policy
of England.”
The Government of the day presented a scheme which was rightly
characterised by Lord Monck as containing no principle calculated
to produce effective results, and to be entirely illusory and
nugatory as far as the enrolment of the militia was concerned.
Lord Monck enclosed the heads of a plan for the reorganisation
and increase of the active militia, based mainly on the voluntary
principle, with rules for the erection of armouries, drill-sheds
and rifle-ranges, and the appointment of brigade-majors and
sergeants, &c., and other means of a perfect organisation. The
scheme was to raise an active battalion for each territorial
division of the country corresponding with the regimental district
of the sedentary militia, to be increased in number as needed,
each active battalion to be taken from the sub-division of the
district. Mr. Macdonald thought no Government could exist which
would venture to recommend the raising of 50,000 partially trained
militia, although the cost, spread over five years, would scarcely
exceed the annual appropriations. In fact, at the root of all these
various schemes and plans lay the evil of uncertainty. Canada
did not know how far England would go in her defence, and seemed
fearful of granting anything, lest it might be an obligation which
the mother country would have otherwise incurred, whilst England,
by withholding any definite promise, or indulging only in vague
remonstrances, sought to make the Canadians show their hands.
Each was anxious for an answer to the question, “How much will you
give us?” The Military Commissioners reported that Canada ought to
provide 150,000 men, including the reserves, which force, large
as it is, would be less than that furnished by states of smaller
population in the Northern Union; but Canada is very poor, and not
unnaturally makes the most of the argument that she can have no war
of her own, and that her defence should be our affair. No one, I
apprehend, will allow himself to be beaten to death because there
is no policeman by.
In February, 1863, a report of the state of the militia of the
Province was prepared by Lieutenant-Colonel de Salaberry and
Lieutenant-Colonel Powell, of the Adjutant-Generals of Militia
Department in Lower and Upper Canada, respectively, from which it
appears that there were then 25,000 volunteers organised, of whom
10,230 belonged to Lower, and 14,780 belonged to Upper Canada. Of
these there were proportionately 33 for every 1000 in the cities,
and 7⅓ for every 1000 in the counties; those in the upper section
contributing less than those in the lower section, and Upper Canada
contributing a larger number on the 1000 than Lower Canada. In the
enumeration of the various companies--field batteries, troops of
horse, companies of artillery, engineers, rifles, infantry, naval
and marine companies--it is to be observed that only one naval
company appears as having performed twelve days’ drill. Some steps
should be taken to develop naval and marine companies in the passes
along the shores of the lakes. The importance of having trained
sailors and gunners stationed just where they are wanted cannot be
exaggerated, but it is not very likely that Brigade-Majors will
look after such a force. It must be remembered that the national
force of Canada consists of two different organisations--the
volunteer militia and the regular militia. Canada is divided into
twenty-one military districts, eleven in Lower and ten in Upper
Canada. In each district there is a Brigade-Major to superintend
the drill and instruction of all volunteer companies, furnish
monthly reports thereon, and by inspections and active organisation
to promote the efficiency of the volunteer service as far as
possible. The appointment of these officers has been attended
with very good results in this branch of the Militia Staff. In
August, 1862, forty-six non-commissioned officers were sent out
by Government, and paid by the Canadian Parliament, to drill
volunteers; and sixty-eight sergeants were subsequently applied for
to meet the increasing demand for instruction. The report of the
Deputy Adjutant-Generals of Militia, presented to Lord Monck in
1863, stated----
“Taking population as a basis, these Volunteer Corps are
distributed as follows:--
“Population all Canada (census 1861), 2,506,752,--present
Volunteer force, 25,010, or say 10 Volunteers for each 1,000
inhabitants.
“Population--Lower Canada.
1,110,664 Volunteers, 10,230,--or say 9¼ for each 1,000.
Upper Canada.
1,396,088 Volunteers, 14,780,--or say 10⅔ for each 1,000.
--------- ------
2,506,752 25,010
“Population all Canada, showing proportion of Volunteers in
cities and counties.
Cities, 257,273 Volunteers 8,525,--or say 33 for each 1,000.
Rural, 2,249,479 ” 16,485,--or say 7⅓ for each 1,000.
--------- ------
2,506,752 25,010
“Population of Cities.
Lower Canada, 153,389 Volunteers, 5,500, or say 36 for each 1,000.
Upper Canada, 103,884 ” 3,025, or say 29 for each 1,000.
------- -----
257,273 8,525
“Population of Rural Parts.
Lower Canada, 957,275 Volunteers, 4,730, or say 5 for each 1,000.
Upper Canada, 1,292,204 ” 11,755, or say 9 for each 1,000.
--------- ------
2,249,479 16,485
“It will thus be seen that in the cities of Canada, those in the
Upper Section of the Province contribute less, in proportion to
their population, than do those in the Lower Section; while in
the rural parts, Upper Canada contributes a larger number for
each 1,000 inhabitants than does Lower Canada.
“The volunteering, thus far, has been the free-will offering of
the people, and it is gratifying to observe that in the counties
of Upper Canada, with the exception of three, nearly every one
has furnished its quota of the 25,000 now organised, while in
many instances they are considerably beyond the proportionate
number.
“In Lower Canada, until of late, volunteer corps have been
chiefly organised in the cities, but within the last six months
a considerable number of volunteers have been organised in the
rural parts, and now evidences are not wanting that ere long
applications will be received at this department for permission
to increase this number considerably.
“The present volunteer force comprises field batteries, troops
of cavalry, foot companies of artillery, engineer companies,
rifle companies, companies of infantry, and naval and marine
companies, and is divided properly into three classes, viz.:
Class A, and two divisions of Class B.
“Corps in Class A are those who have furnished their own
uniforms, and who have been paid $6.00, for each man uniformed,
for 12 days’ drill performed in 1862.
“First corps in Class B who have furnished their own uniforms,
and who have been paid $6.00 in lieu of clothing, after 12 days’
drill performed in 1862.
“Second corps in Class B who have been organised upon the
understanding that they receive no pay for the 12 days’ drill,
but that the Government will provide them with uniforms and drill
instruction.
“Of the corps in Class A, 6 field batteries, 11 troops of
cavalry, 2 companies of foot artillery, and 33 rifle companies
have certified to the performance of 12 days’ drill in accordance
with the General Order of the 4th November last, and have
received from the Government $22,672 therefor.
“Of the corps in Class B, 3 troops of cavalry, 8 foot companies
of artillery, 2 engineer corps, 49 rifle companies, 15 companies
of infantry and one naval company have certified to the
performance of 12 days’ drill in accordance with the General
Order of the 4th November last, and have received from the
Government $20,952 therefor.”
In the twenty-one districts there were recorded 468 battalions of
sedentary militia. Seventy-six drill associations, composed of
the officers and non-commissioned officers, had been formed, and
were to be supplied with arms and instructors, to which number
considerable additions have since been made. The total number
of militiamen in Lower Canada was estimated at 190,000; in Upper
Canada, at 280,000. In the former, 63,000 first-class service men;
in the latter, only 33,000 first-class service men. Second-class,
58,000 and 83,000 respectively. Reserve, 20,000 and 25,000
respectively. The cities of Upper Canada gave 29 volunteers for
every 1000--the rural districts only 9 volunteers for every 1000.
In three counties containing 50,000 people there was no volunteer
or volunteer corps. In thirteen counties the average number of
volunteers was 250, and in sixteen counties it was only 125.
In Lower Canada, however, the zeal of the people for militia
volunteering was by no means remarkable. Thirty counties, with
a population of 450,000, had not a single volunteer corps, nor
one volunteer. The towns gave 36 volunteers per 1000, the rural
districts only 5 per 1000. In fact, the people of French descent
appeared to consider militia volunteering a sort of playing at
soldiers, which had no particular attractions for them. England had
taken them in charge, and might do as she liked with them.
By degrees, a great change occurred in the sentiments if not in
the actions of the people. A little more address in dealing with
their prejudices; a little more of a conciliatory tone; somewhat
greater tact in legislative business, produced beneficial results.
The foundation, at all events, was laid of a sound militia bill.
The Commissioners who reported in 1862, including Mr. Cartier,
Mr. John A. Macdonald, Mr. Galt, and Colonel Lysons, proposed
a scheme which was very comprehensive and ably conceived; but
it was not considered suitable to the means of the country by
the politicians, and the debates which arose on the Militia
Bill prepared in accordance with its recommendations, were
characterised by an acrimony and party spirit which flavoured
the subsequent discussions on the same subject. They recommended
complete battalions as the base of the system, for reasons
which are in the abstract irrefutable. They then recommended
that the Province should be divided into military districts,
as the Commander-in-Chief might direct, and that each military
district should be divided into regimental divisions. They further
recommended as follows:--
“That in order to facilitate the enrolment, relief and
reinforcement of an active force, each regimental division be
divided into ‘sedentary battalion divisions,’ and be sub-divided
into ‘sedentary company divisions.’
“That each regimental division shall furnish one active and one
reserve battalion, to be taken as nearly as practicable in equal
proportions from the male population of such division, between
the ages of 18 and 45.
“That each company of an active battalion, together with its
corresponding reserve company, be taken from within the limits of
a defined territorial division, the boundary of which shall be
identical with that of a sedentary battalion division, or of a
distinct portion of such division.
“That in order to accommodate the sedentary battalion divisions
to the organisation of the active battalions, the limits of the
former be, where necessary, re-arranged.
“We recommend that each of the principal cities of the Province,
namely--Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto, Hamilton,
and London, with such portions of the surrounding country as may,
from time to time, be added to them by the Commander-in-Chief,
shall constitute a military district, to be divided into
regimental and sedentary battalion divisions, as hereinbefore
detailed; that they be allowed to furnish volunteer militia
of the three arms in the proportions hereinafter detailed in
lieu of active battalions of regular militia. In the event
of these cities failing to furnish their full complement of
volunteers, they shall in part, or altogether, fall under the
general regulations of the regular militia, in such manner as the
Commander-in-Chief shall direct.”
The recommendations of the Commissioners were to some extent acted
upon; and since the foregoing pages were written the first-fruits
of the volunteer organisation have been witnessed, in the actual
appearance on service of a number of companies, which have been
dispatched to guard the frontiers of Canada from being made the
base of offensive operations against the Northern States by
Confederate partisans sheltered for the time under the British
banner. These are but the advance guard of the 80,000 men who have
been ordered to hold themselves in readiness for active service.
The summons of the Governor-General has been heard and obeyed in
the best spirit. The people of Canada have answered to the call
with an honourable alacrity, and have displayed a temper which
gives the fairest guarantee of their services; but they have not
indulged in threats or offensive language, and the most irritable
of Federal Republicans must admit that the cause which has called
them from their homes is entitled to consideration and respect.
CHAPTER XIII.
Possible dangers--The future danger--Open to attack--Canals
and railways--Probable lines of invasion--Lines of attack and
defence--London--Toronto--Defences of Kingston--Defences
of Quebec.
The return of able-bodied males fit for military service in
Montcalm’s time, exceeded the whole number of volunteers now
actually enrolled; but the present force is possessed of seven
field batteries, of several squadrons of cavalry, and of 15,000 men
armed with rifled muskets. There must be at this moment in Canada
at least 50,000 rifles of the best kind. There were four 18-pound
batteries, two 20-pound Armstrong batteries, a large number of
howitzers, and an immense accumulation of stores last year, which
have received constant accessions ever since, as the threats of the
New York press have produced to us in increased expense some of the
evil results of war. There are also in the stores great quantities
of old-fashioned brass and iron field and siege guns, of shot and
shell, of mortars, and of ammunition.
The Americans can find no fault with us for taking steps, in view
of contingencies which they have threatened, to obviate, as far
as possible, the disadvantages to which distance from the mother
country exposes the Provinces. It was enough that before the days
of steam, which has greatly increased the disparity between us,
Great Britain submitted to conditions in regard to the Lakes which
could only be justified by the supposition that Canada was the
western shore of Great Britain. By the articles of the Treaty of
1817, the United States of America and Great Britain are limited
to one vessel with one 18-pounder and a crew of one hundred men
each on Lake Ontario, Lake Champlain, and the upper lakes. No other
vessels of war are to be built or armed, and six months’ notice is
required to terminate the treaty obligations.
It will have been observed that the Americans of the Northern
States are spoken of as the only enemies whom Canada has to fear.
They are the only people who threaten from time to time the
conquest and annexation of the Provinces, and who have declared by
the mouths of their statesmen, that they intend to insist, when
they are strong enough, on the fulfilment of the doctrine that the
whole continent is theirs; for the natural basis of the Monroe
dogma is, the right of the Americans to lay down the doctrine at
all, and if they can say to the nations of Europe, “You shall make
no further settlements on this soil,” they can say, when it pleases
them, with just as much right, “You who are now occupying this soil
must either leave it or own allegiance to the Union.” The Union is
now, what it never was before, a sovereignty, and Americans in its
name fancy that they can do what they please. The Canadians are by
no means well-disposed towards their neighbours’ institutions,
manners, and customs, and do not desire to be incorporated with
them. The annexation must, therefore, be effected by force,
sufficiently great to overpower the resistance of the inhabitants,
whether singly, or supported by the British army and navy.
It fortunately happens that the freedom of speech and writing
prevalent in the United States are safety-valves for the popular
steam, and that words are not always indicative of immediate or
even of remote action. It would be difficult to estimate the nature
of the influences which shall prevail when the American civil war
is over. If the North succeeds in overcoming the South, no great
danger of war with Great Britain or of invasion of Canada will
exist. It will need every man of the Federal army to occupy the
Southern States. If, on the other hand, the North should be obliged
to abandon her project of forcing the carcase of the South back
into the Union by the sword, she will suddenly find herself with a
large army on her hands, with a ruined exchequer, and an immense
fund of mortified ambition and angry passion to discount.
It is possible that the sober and just-minded men who form a large
part of American society may be able to avert a conflict, if the
American soldiery and statesmen entertain the views attributed to
them; but that is just the point on which no information exists.
It is not easy to ascertain the actual weight of the classes who
would naturally oppose the press and the populace in a crusade
against Great Britain. My own experience, limited and imperfect
as it is, leads me to think that there is in the States a very
great number, if not an actual majority, of people whose views
are not much influenced by violent journals or intemperate
politicians, who rarely take part in public affairs, but exercise,
nevertheless, their influence on those who do. There is not a
community in the Northern States which does not contain a large
proportion of educated, intelligent, and upright men, who shrink
from participation in party struggles and intrigue; and I regret
that they are not more largely known. Their existence is marked by
no outward sign which foreign nations can recognise. It is on them,
however, that the safety and reputation of the Federal Government
depends; it will be on them that their country’s reliance must be
placed when the legions return home.
If the war were over in 1865 there would probably be 600,000 men
under arms, and there would be at least 200,000 more men in the
States who had served, and would take up arms against England with
alacrity. A considerable proportion of that army would indeed seek
their discharge, and go quietly back to their avocations; but the
Irish, Germans, &c., to whom the license of war was agreeable,
would not be unwilling to invade Canada, and a percentage of
Americans would doubtless eagerly seek for an opportunity of
gaining against a foreign enemy the laurels they had not found
whilst contending with their fellow countrymen. Commerce indeed
would suffer--the Americans would find for the first time what it
was to enter upon a quarrel single-handed with the British nation.
They have hitherto met only the side blows and stray shots of the
old mother country--and they believe they have encountered the
full weight of her arm, and the utmost extent of her energies.
The wicked men who are striving to engage the two States in a
quarrel which would cover the seas of the world with blood and
wreck, cannot be deterred from their horrible work by any appeals
to fear or conscience; but the influence of the past, and of the
Christian and civilised people of the ex-United States will, it
is to be hoped, defeat their efforts, seconded though they may be
by the prejudice, religious animosity, and national dislike of a
portion of the people. If the war party prevail they will have no
want of pretexts--the San Juan question alone would suffice them if
they had not a whole series of imaginary wrongs to resent arising
from the incidents of the present war, and a multitude of claims to
prefer to which England can never listen.
At some day, near or remote, Canada must become either independent
in whole or in part, or a portion of a foreign state. It will be
of no small moment for those then living in Great Britain whether
they have alienated the affections or have won the hearts of the
newly-created power. Those who doubt this may consider how a
Gaul now rules over the ruler of Rome, and how all that remains
of an evidence of the occupancy of this Island by the masters
of the world for four hundred years, are tumuli, ruined walls,
stratified roads, and bits of tile and pottery. The climate
of Canada is not more severe than that of Russia--her natural
advantages are much greater--her inland seas are never frozen--her
communications with Europe are easy--she offers a route to all the
world from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The United States will
be no longer a country for the poor man to live in; the load of
taxation will force emigration to Canada, and the States lying
on the left banks of the lakes and of the St. Lawrence will be
enriched by the demands of America for her produce, in proportion
as the waste lands are occupied, and the Union is filled with
a tax-paying swarming population. It is astonishing how soon a
man liberates himself from the traditions and allegiance of his
native country in the land of his adoption, when his interests and
his pride are touched. The attitude of our immediate colonies in
face of the transportation question will at once satisfy us that
the mother country has little to expect from old associations,
whenever her interests are made to appear antagonistic to those
of her colonies. Canada has the most liberal institutions in the
world--her municipal freedom is without parallel--education is
widely disseminated--religious toleration restrains the violence of
factions. The cold is by no means as great as that which is borne
by the inhabitants of the greater part of northern Europe, and is
far less dangerous to health than the more temperate climates of
lower latitudes, where rain and tempest are substituted for snow
and hard frosts.
The frontier of Canada is assailable at all points. In some places
it is constituted by a line only visible on a map, in others it is
a navigable inland sea, in others a line drawn in water, in others
the bank of a river or the shore of a lake. Coincident with it runs
the frontier of the United States.
The best guarantee against invasion would be, complete naval
supremacy on the lakes and rivers, because they constitute the
most accessible roads for the invaders, and the most serviceable
barriers for defenders if they have the proper means of defence.
To give any chance of successful resistance, some equality of
naval force on the part of the invaded is almost indispensable.
The question arises, who shall provide this naval force? Canada
cannot. She is prevented by Imperial treaties, by want of means,
and even if she had them, she is forbidden to use the means, by
the principle which forbids a dependency equipping ships of war in
times of peace. Great Britain has no doubt a powerful fleet, but
the far inferior navy of the United States, close at hand, contains
more vessels suitable for warlike operations in inland waters and
canals than we possess, 4000 miles away. In fact we ought to have a
very great preponderance of small vessels to give us a fair start,
and even then it would be difficult to begin hostilities on equal
terms. Lake Michigan, with the enormous resources of Chicago,
is entirely American, and the possession of such a base is an
advantage which is by no means counterbalanced by our position on
Lake Huron. To prevent the enemy clearing all before them on the
lakes, by an energetic naval sortie from their ports, it would be
necessary to have the means of furnishing a flotilla as soon as
hostilities became imminent, and to watch every point, particularly
such as that of Sorel, where communication from Richelieu to the
St. Lawrence might be interrupted. But it is thought we cannot
hope to cope with the Americans on equal terms in all the lakes,
and that we must be content with concentrating our strength on
Lake Ontario and in the St. Lawrence. All our water-ways are
very much exposed. Whilst Great Britain retains her supremacy,
the St. Lawrence is open during the summer, and can be kept free
by iron-plated vessels as far up as Montreal. The day of wooden
gunboats has passed, and it becomes requisite for the Government
to take immediate steps to secure an adequate supply of armoured
vessels on the spot as soon as hostilities become probable. It
is gratifying to know that the Canadian Legislature is about to
fortify the harbour and arsenal at Kingston, so as to cover the
infant naval force. Under any circumstances, it is not possible
to defend a canal by guarding the locks, or by placing forts at
particular places, and yet the canals are of vital importance
to us. The Beauharnais Canal runs on the right bank of the St.
Lawrence, and is peculiarly unfortunate in its military position.
The Welland Canal is of consequence, but it would be better to
destroy it than permit an enemy to hold it. The Rideau Canal, which
runs from Lake Huron to Kingston, is a very valuable communication,
but it needs to be deepened and enlarged at the Rapids. All the
canals require to be enlarged and improved, but they are far better
placed, bad as their state and position are, than the roads and
railways. The Grand Trunk Railway is open to attack for many miles
at different parts of its course, and in some places trains could
be fired upon from American territory! Our reinforcements last
winter were sent through New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, in sleighs,
along a route which for miles could be cut across at any time
by the enemy from Maine, and it would be necessary, to make all
safe, for us to follow the Metapodliac road, or to construct the
intercolonial railway.
The harbours of Halifax and of St. John’s are not closed in winter,
and the mode which was adopted of sending troops into Canada by
those points would no doubt be reverted to till some better means
shall be provided. From St. Andrew’s, in New Brunswick, there is
a railroad to Woodstock, which lies near the state boundary of
Maine. Here the route from St. John’s meets the St. Andrew road,
and united the line follows the course of the St. John River, and
may be divided into four days’ marches--to Florenceville, 1; to
Tobique, 2; to Grand Falls, 3; to Little Falls, 4. All this route
lies close to the American frontier, and is therefore quite unfit
for the march of troops in detachments. The St. John’s route also
takes four days to Woodstock. Even with the advantages afforded
by the line of railroad, it must be remembered that the snows of
winter may often mar all combinations;--our first detachments
suffered considerably from cold in the railway carriages, and it
may be readily conceived that the course of an army in sleighs to
Rivière du Loup on the St. Lawrence, where the Grand Trunk Railway
begins or terminates, might be rendered very unsafe by no more
formidable agencies than violent snow-storms alone.
Our military authorities do not, it is said, fear a winter
campaign, but the Americans have already shown that they are not
to be deterred by frost and snow from moving troops into Canada.
To ensure moderate security the Metis road, notwithstanding its
greater length, should be improved and adapted for military
purposes, and the railway should be constructed to complete the
work. In considering the three modes of invasion of which I shall
speak, it may be inferred that Montreal will be the most likely
point of attack, and that Quebec will be comparatively safe at
first, but it would not be wise to act on the hypothesis as if it
were an absolute certainty.
In the State of New York, at its capital of Albany, the Americans
possess an admirable base of operations against us. Except in
winter, the Hudson is an open highway between Albany and New York,
and the sea and railways connect it with the shores of the lakes
and with the vast centres of American resource and industry. Albany
is specially capable of serving as a base against the very places
most likely to be assailed, Montreal and Quebec. There is no
necessity for any argument to show that the loss of these places
would be equivalent to the overthrow of the British in Canada.
From the Hudson there is a canal to Lake Champlain, on the upper
extremity of which, and almost on the railroad connecting Montreal
with New York, is situated a casemated work popularly known as
Rouse’s Point, about two days’ march from the commercial capital
of Canada. Rouse’s Point would serve as an immediate base for the
collection of supplies and the concentration of an army, whilst
Albany would become the great dépôt for the war. It is probable
that the Americans would try to strike several blows at once. They
might direct one expeditionary force from Rouse’s Point against
Montreal, and others from Albany and Rouse’s Point against Quebec.
They might also menace, or actually attack, the frontier at Detroit
or at Niagara. As a war with Great Britain would be popular, and
no lack of men would be found, it would also be practicable for
them to direct from either of those points an expedition to attack
Ottawa, or the towns west of the river Ottawa.
Kingston would also be a point of attack, as much from its
importance to us as from its value to the enemy, who would, by the
possession of it, command the Rideau Canal, which connects the
river Ottawa with Lake Ontario. It is plain that if the points
liable to attack were left in their present state, there would be
little hope of our ability to defend them by fighting in the open
field. United, the Americans are to the Canadians as about eight
to one. The State of New York alone is as populous, and is richer,
than the Canadas. Great Britain, thousands of miles away, could not
hope, by any expenditure of money, or by any display of military
skill, to equalise the conditions of the assailants and the
defenders of her sovereignty. The engineers are right, therefore,
in the argument, that the only way of enabling the Canadians and
their British allies to make way against the Republicans, is to
establish fortified works supported by or supporting a naval
force. The Americans have an idea that it is possible to carry on
operations during winter. Our engineers start with the assumption
that it is impossible to do so on any large scale, and that it is
out of the question for some five months of the year in Canada.
The obstructions to siege operations might not be so serious,
but they would be so considerable as to render the undertaking
of them exceedingly hazardous, and little likely to succeed. The
question, then, presents itself whether Canada can be defended for
the time in each year during which operations are practicable,
and if so, in what manner the defence is to be conducted. Our
military authorities are of opinion that Canada can be defended.
The Americans, as far as I could judge from their remarks on the
subject, and from conversations with several of their officers,
conceive that Canada lies at their mercy whenever they choose to
attack it. As a chain of great frontier fortresses could not be
established or maintained, the means suggested for the purposes of
defence are principally of a provisional character. To meet the
flood of invasion, it is proposed to cover the approaches to the
vulnerable points. Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec would be defended
by forces posted in earthworks, and covered by entrenched camps at
Prescott and Richmond, and other suitable places.
If we examine the modes of proceeding to which the enemy would
probably resort, we shall find them classified under five heads.
First, a naval descent on Goderich. Second, the descent of a force
between Detroit and London. Thirdly, the descent of a force on
Niagara. Fourthly, the passage of a force between the St. Lawrence
and Ogdensburg. Fifthly, an attack by several columns converging
in concert on a point between Derby and Huntingdon, with a view
of concentrating on Montreal, and cutting the communications with
Kingston as well as with Quebec. Let us take a glance at the
present state of the principal points, and consider what is needed
to improve their condition.
If we look at the map of Upper Canada, the position of Paris at
once attracts the eye as a favourable site for the main body of
the defensive force; whilst Stratford and London, being points of
railway junction, would naturally be held as long as possible.
Guelph would serve as a point of concentration for troops obliged
to fall back from London or from Stratford, according to the
direction from which the enemy came. Toronto would become the
natural point of concentration for troops obliged to retire from
Guelph, and under the conditions necessitating such a retreat the
force defending the Niagara frontier would be obliged to fall back
upon Hamilton to the entrenched position covering that town. If
the Americans attack the western settlements near Georgian Bay,
it seems impossible to oppose them with assured advantage. A calm
consideration of the subject has led the best authorities to the
conclusion that we cannot hope at present to establish a naval
force on either Lake Huron or Lake Erie. The Welland Canal is,
in its present state, unsuited to the purposes of modern naval
warfare, and a canal is at all times, and under the most favourable
circumstances, very little to be depended upon. With the aid of
fortified harbours there is, however, no reason to fear for our
naval supremacy on Lake Ontario, and it is to that object our
best efforts should be directed. It would of course be impolitic
to leave Toronto and Hamilton open to naval demonstrations, but
the principal efforts of the authorities should be directed to
establish permanent works to protect Ottawa, Montreal, Kingston,
and Quebec, and to prepare positions for entrenched camps and
earthworks on the points most likely to be assailed.
It is plain that a navy alone can prevent descents on the land
line of such extensive waters, and that the possession of Rouse’s
Point enables the Americans to turn the line of the Richelieu and
threaten Montreal. Let us run rapidly over the positions, beginning
with the west. If works were thrown up at Goderich and Sydenham on
points there which are suitable for defensive positions, it might
be possible to check any adventurous force intent on speedy victory
and conquest; but no fortifications could be maintained on those
remote points for permanent occupation, as the enemy could operate
on the flanks and rear and turn them from Huron or Georgian Bay.
A permanent work on Point Edward Sarnia, to command the St. Clair
River, has been suggested, and it has been recommended that the
defences of Fort Maldon and Bar Island should be made permanent
works, but other engineers have considered it unwise to erect
fortifications at Sarnia or Amherstburg, and contend that the
Niagara and Detroit frontiers are too much exposed to be tenable by
any works. Guelph should also be rendered worthy of its important
position. London, being a railway station, is, in event of a war,
an important point to hold for the carriage of troops; and although
there is no ground close at hand admitting of tenacious grip, there
is a tolerably good line of defence at Konoska, which the spade
could convert into a fair position.
When we come to consider the condition of the Toronto district it
becomes apparent that two points require especial attention--Fort
Dalhousie and Port Colborne. It is unwise to leave these places
without defences to cover the garrisons, and to enable them to
protect the shore against desultory operations and isolated
detachments. Domville and Maitland are open to predatory attacks
which might be prevented by ordinary fortifications or earthworks
on eligible sites. It is impossible to defend a canal; but much
good might be done by enlisting the employés on the Welland as a
sort of guard, whose local knowledge would be available in time
of danger. Although, as I have said, strong reasons are urged
against any outlay for the defence of the Niagara frontier, on
the ground of its exposure, there are distinguished authorities
who insist that a permanent work is required at Fort Erie; and
who contend that another fort should be erected at Niagara, in
support of an entrenched camp, which would exercise a most powerful
influence over the movements of an invading force, particularly
if there were gunboats placed on the Chippewa. One of the painful
necessities of war between the United States and Great Britain
would be the destruction of the suspension bridges over the river.
Hamilton is generally considered as incapable of defence, but it
lies in a district which presents two lines of hills capable of
being adapted to defensive purposes, and earthworks there might be
stiffly held, in case of attack, by the troops of the district, to
enable the forces to concentrate and retire along routes previously
determined. Toronto itself may be regarded as an open place equally
incapable of defence by ordinary works; but it should not be left
open to such a _coup_ by a single cruiser, as might be obviated
by the erection of a fort on the site of the new barracks: and it
would be necessary to construct a strong entrenched camp to cover
it and protect the troops retiring before the enemy. A chain of
earthworks might be placed on the elevated ridges which run from
the Don River towards Humber Bay. A casemated fort on the island
is also most desirable. Toronto has something more than its mere
strategical importance to recommend it. It has special claims to
consideration as an important centre of civilised life, commerce,
enterprise, and learning.
The defences of Kingston are more worthy of its ancient importance.
In fact, the only works in Canada suited to modern warfare are
those at Kingston and Quebec. The latter are capable of much
improvement, as has been already pointed out. Both need to be
strengthened, and to be extended. If the Americans have beaten us
by treaty, why should we not at all events have iron-plated vessels
sent up the St. Lawrence as far as treaty will allow them to go,
and prepare naval establishments and encourage naval volunteers
for times of danger at Kingston? Port Henry, Fort Frederick, an
earthen work, and the Market Battery, are in good condition, but
much must be done before the place can be regarded as being in
a satisfactory state. The Shoal Tower, the Cedar Island Tower,
and the Murney Tower, constructed of stone, are placed on points
covering the water approaches to Kingston. But all the guns in
these works, with one exception, are _en barbette_, and to render
Kingston safe it would be necessary to erect strong works to resist
the advance of an enemy landing either above or below the town.
It is estimated that £390,000 would be sufficient for the purpose
of erecting the permanent forts absolutely indispensable for the
safety of the harbour and dockyard establishment. The position of
these works should be chosen with a due regard to all possible
conditions of attack. Wolfe Island, Abraham’s Head, Snake Island,
Simcoe Island, and Garden Island, should be provided with adequate
forts to support the new scheme of defence. The Navy Yard should
be removed, and the points now open to attack at once fortified.
Belleville and Prescott both afford admirable ground for works of
great importance: the former possesses a most advantageous site
for temporary works and for a line of defence; and the latter has
such a commanding situation that a permanent work, with casemates,
should be constructed there to guard what is, according to some of
our engineers, one of the most valuable positions in the province.
When we come to consider the actual state of Montreal, its
importance, its liability to attack and the difficulty of offering
an adequate defence, the best means to adopt are not very obvious.
The best method of defence would doubtless be to construct an
entrenched position, consisting of a parapet strengthened by
redoubts, to cover the approach from the south side. A _tête de
pont_ should be built to cover the approaches now so open and
exposed to attack.
The enlargement of the Ottawa and Rideau canals is of obvious
importance, and outlying works might be traced which could be
used in case of invasion to hold the enemy in check; but still,
as a precautionary measure, it would be desirable to remove the
more important stores at Montreal to Quebec and Ottawa, if it is
in contemplation to make this valuable position subsidiary to any
other place in Canada.
Permanent works might be erected at St. John’s, the Isle aux Noix
and St. Helen’s Island, where forts should be reconstructed on
improved principles. But the most obvious measure, in the opinion
of some engineers, the fortification of the hill over the city,
and the erection of a Citadel upon it, which would render the mere
occupation of the town below valueless to an enemy, is not approved
of by more recent authorities.
Gunboats on Lake St. Louis would prove most valuable in defending
the works at Vaudrueuil.
Quebec is however the key of Canada; and that key can be wrested
from our own grasp at any moment by a determined enemy, unless
the recommendations so strongly urged from time to time by all
military authorities meet with consideration. The old enceinte
should be removed, and the French works restored, according to the
suggestions of scientific officers, and of the ablest engineers we
possess. An entrenched camp might be marked out to the west of the
Citadel, with a line of parapet and redoubts extending from the St.
Lawrence to the St. Charles river. In order to cover the city from
an attack on the south side, it would be necessary to occupy Point
Levi, and to construct a strong entrenched line, with redoubts at
such a distance as would prevent the enemy from coming near the
river to shell the city and citadel. But it is evident that they
are _nil ad rem_, unless behind these works, and in support of
them in the open, can be assembled a force of sufficient strength
to prevent an investment, or to attack the investing armies, and
at the same time to hold front against them in the field. It is
estimated that 150,000 men might hold the whole of the Canadas,
East and West, against twice that number of the enemy. If we are to
judge by what has passed, it is not probable the United States will
be inclined or able for such an effort. Quebec might be held with
10,000 men against all comers. From 25,000 to 30,000 men would make
Montreal safe. Kingston would require 20,000 men, and Ottawa would
need 5000. The greater part, if not all of them, might be composed
of militia, and volunteers trained to gunnery and the use of small
arms. For the protection of the open country, and to meet the enemy
in the field, an army of from 25,000 to 35,000 men would be needed
from Lake Ontario to Quebec. The western district on Lake Erie
could not be protected by less than 60,000 men.
Thus, in case of a great invasion from the United States, Canada,
with any assistance Great Britain could afford her, must have
150,000 men ready for action. What prospect there is of this, may
best be learned from a consideration, not so much of the resources
of Canada, as of the willingness of the people to use them.
CHAPTER XIV.
Rapid Increase of Population--Mineral Wealth--Cereals--Imports
and Exports--Climate--Agriculture--A Settler’s Life--Reciprocity
Treaty--Report of the Committee of the Executive Council--Mr.
Galt--Senator Douglas--A Zollverein--Terms of the Convention--Free
Trade, and what is meant by it--Mr. Galt’s opinion on the
subject--Canadian Imports and Exports.
The rapid increase of population and settlements in Canada, and
the growth of cities and towns, are among the great marvels of the
last and of the present century, so rich in wonders of the kind. It
is not too much to say, that any approximation to a similar rate
of increase will make British North America a great power in the
world. The direction of emigration has not been favourable. The
Germans and the Irish have rather sought the United States. The
emigrating powers of Scotland are rapidly decreasing, and the few
English who emigrate prefer Australia, New Zealand, even the States
of the Union, to a country which suffers from the early neglect of
the home government, the studied aspersions and misrepresentations
of powerful agencies, and the ignorance of the poorer classes who
seek to improve their condition by going forth in search of new
homes.
Mr. Sheridan Hogan, the writer of a prize essay on Canada of no
ordinary excellence, has devoted some of his pages to show that the
growth of Canada in population has been overlooked in the scope of
the wondering gaze which Europe has fixed on the development of
the United States, although, in fact, the increase of Canadians in
the land has been quite as astonishing as that of Americans south
of the St. Lawrence. In 1800, he says the population of the United
States was 5,305,925. In 1850 it was 20,250,000. The increase was
therefore 300 per cent. nearly. In 1811 the population of Upper
Canada was 77,000, and in 1851 it was 952,000, an increase of
over 1100 per cent. in forty years. Within the decade up to 1855
the rate of increase in the United States was 13·20 per cent. In
Upper Canada it was 104 per cent. from 1841 to 1851. Upper Canada
exhibited in forty years nearly four times the increase of the
United States in fifty years. Even the population of Lower Canada
increased 90 per cent. from 1829 to 1854. In a table in the same
work it appears that the Irish in Lower Canada were more than
double the English and Scotch together, and that they equalled both
in Upper Canada. The writer says:--
“The ‘World’s Progress,’ published by Putnam, of New York,--a
reliable authority,--gives the population and increase of the
principal cities in the United States. Boston, between 1840
and 1850, increased forty-five per cent. Toronto, within the
same period, increased _ninety-five_ per cent. New York, the
great emporium of the United States, and regarded as the most
prosperous city in the world, increased, in the same time,
sixty-six per cent., about thirty less than Toronto.
“The cities of St. Louis and Cincinnati, which have also
experienced extraordinary prosperity, do not compare with Canada
any better. In the thirty years preceding 1850, the population
of St. Louis increased fifteen times. In the thirty-three years
preceding the same year, Toronto increased _eighteen times_. And
Cincinnati increased, in the same period given to St. Louis, but
twelve times.
“Hamilton, a beautiful Canadian city at the head of Lake Ontario,
and founded much more recently than Toronto, has also had almost
unexampled prosperity. In 1836 its population was but 2,846, in
1854 it was upwards of 20,000.
“London, still farther west in Upper Canada, and a yet more
recently-founded city than Hamilton, being surveyed as a
wilderness little more than twenty-five years ago, has now
upwards of ten thousand inhabitants.
“The City of Ottawa, recently called after the magnificent river
of that name, and upon which it is situated, has now above 10,000
inhabitants, although in 1830 it had but 140 houses, including
mere sheds and shanties; and the property upon which it is built
was purchased, not many years before, for _eighty pounds_.
“The Town of Bradford, situated between Hamilton and London, and
whose site was an absolute wilderness twenty-five years ago,
has now a population of 6,000, and has increased, in ten years,
upwards of _three hundred per cent._; and this without any other
stimulant or cause save the business arising from the settlement
of a fine country adjacent to it.
“The Towns of Belleville, Cobourg, Woodstock, Goderich, St.
Catherine’s, Paris, Stratford, Port Hope, and Dundas, in Upper
Canada, show similar prosperity, some of them having increased in
a ratio even greater than that of Toronto, and all of them but so
many evidences of the improvement of the country, and the growth
of business and population around them.
“That some of the smaller towns in the United States have enjoyed
equal prosperity I can readily believe, from the circumstance of
a large population suddenly filling up the country contiguous
to them. Buffalo and Chicago, too, as cities, are magnificent
and unparalleled examples of the business, the energy, and the
progress, of the United States. But that Toronto should have
quietly and unostentatiously increased in population in a greater
ratio than New York, St. Louis, and Cincinnati, and that the
other cities and towns of Upper Canada should have kept pace with
the Capital, is a fact creditable alike to the steady industry
and the noiseless enterprise of the Canadian people.
“Although Lower Canada, from the circumstance already alluded
to of the tide of emigration flowing westward, has not advanced
so rapidly as her sister Province, yet some of her counties and
cities have recently made great progress. In the seven years
preceding 1851, the fine County of Megantic, on the south side
of the St. Lawrence, and through which the Quebec and Richmond
Railroad passes, increased a hundred and sixteen per cent.;
the County of Ottawa, eighty-five; the County of Drummond,
seventy-eight; and the County of Sherbrooke, fifty. The City
of Montreal, probably the most substantially-built city in
America, and certainly one of the most beautiful, has trebled her
population in thirty-four years. The ancient City of Quebec has
more than doubled her population in the same time, and Sorel,
at the mouth of the Richelieu, has increased upwards of four
times; showing that Lower Canada, with all the disadvantages of
a feudal tenure, and of being generally looked upon as less
desirable for settlement than the West, has quietly but justly
put in her claim to a portion of the honour awarded to America
for her progress.”
Save and except coal, the want of which is to a considerable extent
compensated by the vast stores of forest, of bog and of mineral
oils in the Provinces, Canada is very rich in many minerals of the
first importance. Iron is deposited in exceeding abundance in the
Laurentian System--lead, plumbago, phosphate of lime, sulphate of
barytes, and marbles are found in the same wide-spread formation of
gneiss and limestone.
The Huron System of slate, &c., contains copper, silver, and
nickel, jaspers and agates. The Quebec group in the East promises
to be equally valuable. The bases of metallic and ochreous
pigments, every description of marble and slate, minerals,
and substances useful in chemistry, in arts, in agriculture,
in architecture, are scattered throughout the land, from Lake
Superior to Gaspé. Notwithstanding the long winter, Upper Canada
yielded, according to late averages, 21 bushels of winter wheat
and 18½ bushels of spring wheat to the acre; Lower Canada, where
agriculture has not received the same development, yields a smaller
proportion to the acre, but the wheat is of excellent quality. In
Upper Canada the yield of oats is about 30 bushels to the acre; in
Lower Canada it is 23 bushels. Barley is a little less in Upper,
and about the same as oats in Lower Canada, and Indian corn is
about as much as oats. The potato yields from 125 to 176 bushels
per acre. All these crops, as well as those of roots of every
description, are increasing rapidly, and it is calculated that the
value of the farms of Upper Canada is no less than 60,000,000_l._
sterling, whilst the live stock in the same Province was estimated
to be worth nearly 9,000,000_l._ In 1860 the value of the timber
exported was, 1,750,000_l._, and the forest yielded altogether just
2,000,000_l._ sterling. As there is reason to know that in 1851 the
value of agricultural exports was 6,000,000_l._, it may be assumed
with some degree of certainty as a near approximation that Canada
sends abroad about ten millions’ worth of forest and farm produce.
It is estimated that the imports of the same year were worth
eighteen millions sterling.
There are many other illustrations of the rapidity of Canadian
increase, but the foregoing must suffice for the purposes of this
volume. It is only surprising that the Provinces should have
advanced at all, considering the misrepresentations which have been
circulated concerning their climate, condition, and prospects, and
the attractions held forth to emigrants by the United States.
The popular idea as to the barrenness and cold of Canada would
be most effectually dispelled by a glance at garden products and
cereals in autumn only, or by the experience of a winter in New
York and a winter in London or Hamilton. The author of a pamphlet,
published by authority of the Bureau of Agriculture, observes:--
“The most erroneous opinions have prevailed abroad respecting the
climate of Canada. The so-called rigour of Canadian winters is
often advanced as a serious objection to the country by many who
have not the courage to encounter them, who prefer sleet and fog
to brilliant skies and bracing cold, and who have yet to learn
the value and extent of the blessings conferred upon Canada by
her world-renowned ‘snows.’
“It will scarcely be believed by many who shudder at the idea
of the thermometer falling to zero, that the gradual annual
diminution in the fall of snow, in certain localities, is a
subject of lamentation to the farmers in Western Canada. Their
desire is for the old-fashioned winters, with sleighing for four
months, and spring bursting upon them with marvellous beauty
at the beginning of April. A bountiful fall of snow, with hard
frost, is equivalent to the construction of the best macadamised
roads all over the country. The absence of a sufficient quantity
of snow in winter for sleighing, is a calamity as much to be
feared and deplored as the want of rain in spring. Happily
neither of these deprivations is of frequent occurrence.
“The climate of Canada is in some measure exceptional, especially
that of the Peninsular portion. The influence of the great Lakes
is very strikingly felt in the elevation of winter temperatures
and in the reduction of summer heats. East and West of Canada,
beyond the influence of the Lakes, as in the middle of the states
of New York and Iowa, the greatest extremes prevail,--intense
cold in winter, intense heat in summer, and to these features may
be added their usual attendant, drought.
“Perhaps the popular standard of the adaptation of climate to the
purposes of agriculture is more suitable for the present occasion
than a reference to monthly and annual means of temperature.
Much information is conveyed in the simple narration of facts
bearing upon fruit culture. From the head of Lake Ontario, round
by the Niagara frontier, and all along the Canadian shores of
Lake Erie, the grape and peach grow with luxuriance, and ripen to
perfection in the open air, without the slightest artificial aid.
The island of Montreal is distinguished everywhere for the fine
quality of its apples, and the island of Orleans, below Quebec,
is equally celebrated for its plums. Over the whole of Canada the
melon and tomato acquire large dimensions, and ripen fully in the
open air, the seeds being planted in the soil towards the latter
end of April, and the fruit gathered in September. Pumpkins and
squashes attain gigantic dimensions; they have exceeded 300
pounds in weight in the neighbourhood of Toronto. Indian corn,
hops, and tobacco, are common crops and yield fair returns. Hemp
and flax are indigenous plants, and can be cultivated to any
extent in many parts of the Province. With a proper expenditure
of capital, England could be made quite independent of Russia, or
any other country, for her supply of these valuable products.
“The most striking illustration of the influence of the great
Lakes in ameliorating the climate of Canada, especially of the
western peninsula, is to be found in the natural limits to which
certain trees are restricted by climate. That valuable wood,
the black walnut, for which Canada is so celebrated, ceases to
grow north of latitude 41° on the Atlantic coast, but under the
influence of the comparatively mild Lake climate of Peninsular
Canada it is found in the greatest profusion, and of the largest
dimensions, as far north as latitude 43°.”
This subject is well illustrated by the subjoined table, showing
the mean temperature and rainfall at Toronto from 1840 to 1859:--
TABLE of Mean Monthly and Animal Temperature at Toronto, Canada
West, from 1840 to 1859, taken from the Records of the Provincial
Magnetic Observatory, by Professor Kingston.
+-----+--------------------------------------------+
| | MONTHS. |
+-----+--------------------------------------------+
| | Jan.| Feb.|March.| April.| May.|June.|July.|
+-----+-----+-----+------+-------+-----+-----+-----+
| | ° | ° | ° | ° | ° | ° | ° |
|1840}|23.72|22.83| 30.07| 41.00 |51.38|61.27|67.06|
|1859}| | | | | | | |
+-----+-----+-----+------+-------+-----+-----+-----+
+-----+-----------------------------+--------+
| | MONTHS. | Mean |
+-----+-----------------------------+ Annual.|
| | Aug.|Sept.| Oct.| Nov | Dec | |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+--------+
| | ° | ° | ° | ° | ° | ° |
|1840}|66.12|57.98|45.27|36.65|25.97| 44.11 |
|1859}| | | | | | |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+--------+
MEAN Monthly and Annual Fall of Rain at Toronto, from 1840 to 1859.
+-----+--------------------------------------------+
| | MONTHS. |
+-----+--------------------------------------------+
| |Jan. |Feb. |March.|April. | May.|June.|July.|
+-----+-----+-----+------+-------+-----+-----+-----+
| | In. | In. | In. | In. | In. | In. | In. |
|1840}|1.480|1.043|1.553 | 2.492 |3.305|3.198|3.490|
|1859}| | | | | | | |
+-----+-----+-----+------+-------+-----+-----+-----+
+-----+-----------------------------+--------+
| | MONTHS. | Mean |
+-----+-----------------------------+ Annual.|
| | Aug.|Sept.| Oct.| Nov.| Dec.| |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+--------+
| | In. | In. | In. | In. | In. | In. |
|1840}|2.927|4.099|2.557|3.109|1.606| 30.859 |
|1859}| | | | | | |
+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+--------+
The Rev. Mr. Hope, who has been indefatigable in his efforts to
promote the interest of his adopted country, quotes the following
passage from the Toronto _Globe_ of September 21st, 1860, to show
that people at home are much mistaken in considering Canada a
region of frost and snow.
“The display of fruit, in quantity and quality, surpassed what
has been shown at any previous Exhibition. The results in this
department were very satisfactory, proving that the climate of
Canada admirably adapts it for the raising of many of the most
valuable kinds of fruit. One of the principal exhibitors was Mr.
Beadle of St. Catharine’s nurseries. On one side of the central
stand in the Crystal Palace, he had 115 plates of apples, pears,
peaches, &c., and 30 jars of cherries, currants, raspberries,
blackberries, &c. Mr. Beadle exhibited ten varieties of peaches
grown in the open air. Several of these varieties were of
very large dimensions, and were much admired for the delicate
richness of their tints. He exhibited also numerous varieties
of apples; 41 in one collection of three of each sort, and 20
in another collection of six of each sort. He had also a large
show of pears, comprising a large number of varieties. Among
the varieties of open-air grapes shown by Mr. Beadle, were the
Blood-blacks, the Delaware, the Diana, the Northern Muscadine,
the Perkins, Sage’s Mammoth, and the Wild Fox.”
In 1828, when the whole population of Upper Canada amounted to
185,500 inhabitants, the number of acres under agricultural
improvement was 570,000, or about 3-1/14 for each individual; in
1851 the average for each inhabitant was very nearly four acres.
The comparative progress of Upper and Lower Canada, in bringing
the forest-clad wilderness into cultivation, may be inferred from
the following table:--
LOWER CANADA. UPPER CANADA.
Year. No. acres cultivated. No. acres cultivated.
1831 2,065,913 818,432
1844 2,802,317 2,166,101
1851 3,605,376 3,695,763
Hence, in a period of twenty years, Lower Canada increased her
cultivated acres by ·75, and Upper Canada by 3·5. Before proceeding
to describe in detail the progress of agriculture in Upper Canada,
it will be advisable to glance at the efforts made by societies
and the Government of the Province to elevate the condition of
husbandry in all its departments, and to induce the people at large
to join hand in hand in the march of improvement.
The Board of Agriculture for Lower Canada took decisive steps
during the year 1862 to secure the proper disbursements of the
provincial grant, and to devote liberal awards of public money
to the promotion of agricultural industry in all its important
branches. The Lower Canadian Provincial Shows had previously
partaken more of the character of an agricultural festival than of
a meeting for the purpose of securing the progress of the Science
and Art of Agriculture by fair and open competition and peaceful
rivalry. In this respect they differed materially from the same
annual expositions in Upper Canada, where astonishing advances
in the proper direction had been made. The Board determined to
establish an Agricultural Museum, and to give assistance to
county societies towards the importation of improved breeds of
horses, cattle and sheep. The Board is willing to advance to any
society funds for the purchase of stock, retaining one-third of
the annual government allowance for three successive years to
discharge the debt thus incurred. If this new spirit of enterprise
should continue, the progress of agriculture in Lower Canada will
be much accelerated. Although it must be acknowledged that in the
face of many difficulties, national prejudices, and peculiarities
of character, a very marked improvement has taken place in many
departments of husbandry, and in many parts of the Lower Province,
much, very much, remains to be done. The influence exercised by the
Agricultural School at St. Anne is already favourably felt, and
this establishment appears likely to work a beneficial change in
Lower Canadian husbandry. The details of its operations show its
great utility.
The indirect assistance given by the Imperial Government to
Agriculture in Upper Canada dates from a much earlier period than
the encouragement given to Agricultural Societies by the Provincial
Government; for we find among the donations of George III. to
the U. E. Loyalists the old English plough. It consisted of a
small piece of iron fixed to the coulter, having the shape of the
letter L, the shank of which went through the wooden beam, the
foot forming the point, which was sharpened for use. One handle,
and a plank split from a curved piece of timber, which did the
duty of a mold-board, completed the rude implement. At that time
the traces and leading lines were made of the bark of the elm or
bass-wood, which was manufactured by the early settlers into a
strong rope. About the year 1808 the “hog-plough” was imported
from the United States; and in 1815 a plough with a cast-iron share
and mold-board, all in one piece, was one of the first implements,
requiring more than an ordinary degree of mechanical skill,
which was manufactured in the province. The seeds of improvement
were then sown, and while in the address of the President at the
Frontenac Cattle Show in 1833, we observe attention called to the
necessity for further improvement in the ploughs common throughout
the country, we witness, in 1855, splendid fruit at the Paris
Exhibition. In a notice of the trial of ploughs at Trappes, the
_Journal d’Agriculture Pratique_ makes the following reference to
a Canadian plough: “The ploughing tests were brought to a close
by a trial of two ploughs equally remarkable--to wit, the plough
of Ransome and Sims, of Suffolk, England, and that of Bingham, of
Norwich, Upper Canada. The first is of wood and iron, like all the
English ploughs, and the results which it produced seemed most
satisfactory, but it appeared to require a little more draught
than the Howard plough. Bingham’s plough very much resembles the
English plough; it is very fine and light in its build; the handles
are longer than ordinary, which makes the plough much more easy to
manage. The opinion of the French labourers and workmen who were
there, appeared, on the whole, very favourable to this plough.”
The following extracts from Mr. Hogan’s book are as truthful as
they are eloquent:--
“Great as has been the prosperity of America, and of the
settlements which mark the magnificent country just described,
yet nature has not been wooed in them without trials, nor have
her treasures been won without a struggle worthy of their worth.
Those who have been in the habit of passing _early clearings_ in
Upper Canada must have been struck with the cheerless and lonely,
even desolate appearance of the first settler’s little log hut.
In the midst of a dense forest, and with a ‘patch of clearing’
scarcely large enough to let the sun shine in upon him, he looks
not unlike a person struggling for existence on a single plank in
the middle of an ocean. For weeks, often for months, he sees not
the face of a stranger. The same still, and wild, and boundless
forest every morning rises up to his view; and his only hope
against its shutting him in for life rests in the axe upon his
shoulder. A few blades of corn, peeping up between stumps whose
very roots interlace, they are so close together, are his sole
safeguards against want; whilst the few potato plants, in little
far-between ‘hills,’ and which struggle for existence against
the briar bush and luxuriant underwood, are to form the seeds of
his future plenty. Tall pine trees, girdled and blackened by the
fires, stand out as grim monuments of the prevailing loneliness,
whilst the forest itself, like an immense wall round a fortress,
seems to say to the settler,--‘how can poverty ever expect to
escape from such a prison house.’
“That little clearing--for I describe a reality--which to others
might afford such slender guarantee for bare subsistence, was
nevertheless a source of bright and cheering dreams to that
lonely settler. He looked at it, and instead of thinking of its
littleness, it was the foundation of great hopes of a large farm
and rich cornfields to him. And this very dream, or poetry, or
what you will, cheered him at his lonely toil, and made him
contented with his rude fire-side. The blades of corn, which
you might regard as conveying but a tantalising idea of human
comforts, were associated by him with large stacks and full
granaries; and the very thought nerved his arm, and made him
happy.
“Seven years afterwards I passed that same settler’s cottage--it
was in the valley of the Grand River in Upper Canada, not far
from the present village of Caledonia. The little log hut
was used as a back kitchen to a neat two story frame house,
painted white. A large barn stood near by, with stock of every
description in its yard. The stumps, round which the blades
of corn, when I last saw the place, had so much difficulty in
springing up, had nearly all disappeared. Luxuriant Indian corn
had sole possession of the place where the potatoes had so hard
a struggle against the briar bushes and the underwood. The
forest--dense, impenetrable though it seemed--had been pushed far
back by the energetic arm of man. A garden, bright with flowers,
and enclosed in a neat picket fence, fronted the house; a young
orchard spread out in rear. I met a farmer as I was quitting the
scene, returning from church with his wife and family. It was
on a Sunday, and there was nothing in their appearance, save
perhaps a healthy brown colour in their faces, to distinguish
them from persons of wealth in cities. The waggon they were
in, their horses, harness, dresses, everything about them, in
short, indicated comfort and easy circumstances. I enquired of
the man--who was the owner of the property I have just been
describing? ‘It is mine, sir,’ he replied; ‘I settled on it nine
years ago, and have, thank God, had tolerable success.’
“There is, perhaps, no class in the world who live better--I
mean who have a greater abundance of the comforts of life--than
men having cleared farms, and who know how to make a proper use
of them, in Upper Canada. The imports of the country show that
they dress not only well, but in many things expensively. You
go into a church or meeting-house in any part of the province
which has been settled for fifteen or twenty years, and you are
struck at once with the fabrics, as well as the style of the
dresses worn by both sexes, but especially by the young. The same
shawls, and bonnets, and gowns which you see in cities, are worn
by the women, whilst the coats of the men are undistinguishable
from those worn by professional men and merchants in towns. A
circumstance which I witnessed some years ago, in travelling
from Simcoe to Brantford--two towns in the interior of the
province--will serve to convey an idea of the taste as well as
the means of enjoyment of these people. At an ordinary Methodist
meeting-house, in the centre of a rural settlement, and ten
miles from a village or town, there were _twenty-three pleasure
carriages_, double and single, standing in waiting. The occasion
was a quarterly meeting, and these were the conveyances of the
farmers who came to attend it. Yet twenty years before, and this
was a wilderness; twenty years before, and many of these people
were working as labourers, and were not possessed of a pair of
oxen; twenty years before, and these things exceeded even their
brightest dreams of prosperity.
“The settler who nobly pushes back the giant wilderness, and
hews out for himself a home upon the conquered territory, has
necessarily but a bony hand and a rough visage to present to
advancing civilisation. His children, too, are timid, and wild,
and uncouth. But a stranger comes in; buys the little improvement
on the next lot to him; has children who are educated, and a
wife with refined tastes,--for such people mark, in greater or
less numbers, every settlement in Upper Canada. The necessities
of the new comer soon bring about an acquaintance with the
old pioneer. Their families meet--timid and awkward enough at
first, perhaps; but children know not the conventionalities of
society, and, happily, are governed by their innocence in their
friendships. So they play together, go to school in company;
and thus, imperceptibly to themselves, are the tastes and
manners of the educated imparted to the rude, and the energy and
fortitude of the latter are infused into their more effeminate
companions. Manly but ill-tutored success is thus taught how to
enjoy its gains, whilst respectable poverty is instructed how
to better its condition. That pride occasionally puts itself to
inconvenience to prevent these pleasant results, my experience
of Canada forces me to admit; and that the jealousy and vanity
of mere success sometimes views with unkindness the manner and
habit of reduced respectability--never perhaps more exacting
than when it is poorest--I must also acknowledge. But that the
great law of progress, and the influence of free institutions,
break down these exceptional feelings and prejudices, is
patent to every close observer of Canadian society. Where the
educated and refined undergo the changes incident to laborious
occupations--for the constant use of the axe and the plough
alters men’s feelings as well as their appearances,--and where
rude industry is also changed by the success which gives it the
benefit of education, it is impossible for the two classes not
to meet. As the one goes down--at least in its occupations,--it
meets the other coming up by reason of its successes, and both
eventually occupy the same pedestal. I have seen this social
problem worked out over and over again in Upper Canada, and have
never known the result different. Pride, in America, must ‘stoop
to conquer;’ rude industry rises always.
“The manner of living of the Upper Canadian farmer may be summed
up in few words. He has plenty, and he enjoys it. The native
Canadians almost universally, and a large proportion of the old
country people, sit at the same table with their servants or
labourers. They eat meat twice, and many of them thrice a day: it
being apparently more a matter of taste than of economy as to the
number of times. Pork is what they chiefly consume. There being a
great abundance of fruit, scarcely a cleared farm is without an
orchard; and it is to be found preserved in various ways on every
farmer’s table. Milk is in great abundance, even in the early
settler’s houses, for where there is little pasture there are
sure to be large woods, and ‘brouse,’ or the tops of the branches
of trees, supply the place of hay. The sweetest bread I have
eaten in America I have eaten in the farmers’ houses of Upper
Canada. They usually grind the ‘shorts’ with the flour for home
consumption, and as their wheat is among the finest in the world,
the bread is at once wholesome and exceedingly delicious. Were
I asked what is the characteristic of Canadian farmers, I would
unhesitatingly answer ‘Plenty!’”
CHAPTER XV.
Reciprocal Rights--American Ideas of Reciprocity--The Ad Valorem
System--Commercial Improvements--Trade with America--The Ottawa
Route--The Saskatchewan--Fertility of the Country--Water
Communication--The Maritime Provinces--Area and Population.
The absence of a winter port is an evil to Canada, for which no
energy and no advantages can compensate. Although Halifax has a
magnificent harbour, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia offer but small
facilities for winter navigation; and the day seems distant when
the great railroad of which so much has been spoken and written
shall open the communication between England and the remotest
portions of the vast empire which reaches from the Atlantic to the
Pacific.
The position of Canada threw her into close relations with the
United States, and the result of her geographical condition was
the Reciprocity Treaty, which has caused so much discussion and
discontent on both sides of the St. Lawrence, and which the
Government of the Federal States has now given notice to terminate.
In March, 1862, the report of the Committee of the Executive
Council, to which an able paper of Mr. Galt, then Finance Minister,
had been referred, advised that the views and suggestions therein
expressed by Mr. Galt should be adopted, and that report was
approved by Lord Monck. Mr. Galt’s Report was founded on a
reference made to him of the report of the Committee on Commerce
of the House of Representatives at Washington respecting the
Reciprocity Treaty, and of a memorial from the Chamber of Commerce
of Minnesota.
The House of Representatives reported in favour of a system
resembling that of the “Zollverein” as the only means of securing
the benefits of reciprocal trade, and recommended as desirable
a uniform system of lighthouses, copyrights, postage, patents,
telegraphs, weights and measures, and coinage.
This was a favourite scheme of the late Senator Douglas;
and if the American Government had exhibited any desire to
diminish the rigours of Morrill Tariffs and of State protective
enactments, we might applaud the liberality of their views and
the noble candour of their conclusions. They believed that “free
commercial intercourse between the United States and the British
North-American Provinces, developing the natural, geographical,
and other advantages of each for the good of all, is conducive
to the present interests of each, and is the proper basis of our
intercourse for all time to come”--sentiments certainly noble,
if somewhat vaguely expressed. We will see presently how Mr.
Galt deals with the practical rendering of them by the Federal
Government. The Reciprocity Treaty, negotiated between Lord Elgin
and Mr. Marcey in June, 1854, was entered into to avoid further
misunderstanding in regard to the extent of the right of fishing on
the coasts of British North America, and to regulate the commerce
and navigation between the respective territories and people in
such a manner as to render the same reciprocally beneficial and
satisfactory.
The Convention secured to American fishermen the liberty of
taking, curing, and drying fish on the British North-American
coast generally; the Treaty extended to them the liberty to take
fish of every kind (except shellfish) along the coast of Canada,
New Brunswick, Prince Edward’s Island, &c., with permission to
land, to dry nets, and cure fish, without any restrictions as to
distance from shore--reserving only the right of private property
and the salmon and shad-fishings in the rivers; and the same
rights were conceded to British subjects on the eastern sea-coasts
of the United States north of the 36th parallel of latitude. It
provided that the following articles should be admitted duty-free
reciprocally:--Grain, flour and breadstuffs, animals, fresh and
salt meat, cotton seed and vegetables, fruit, fish, poultry, hides
and skins, butter, cheese, tallow, lard, horns, manure, ores, coal,
stone, slate, pitch, turpentine, timber and lumber, plants, firs,
gypsum, grindstones, dye-stuffs, flax, rags, and unmanufactured
tobacco. It gave to Americans the right to navigate the St.
Lawrence and the Canadian canals, subject to the tolls, and it
gave to British subjects the right to navigate Lake Michigan; but
it reserved to the British Government the right of suspending, on
due notice, the privileges of Canadian navigation, in which event
the right of British subjects to navigate Lake Michigan should
also cease and determine, and the United States should have the
right of suspending the free import and export of the articles
specified. But here, it will be observed, there was a one-sided
reciprocity. The Americans received, absolutely, the right of
using all the canals in Canada from the British Government; the
Government of the United States conferred no such privilege
reciprocally on British subjects. All they did--perhaps all they
could do in consonance with the doctrine of States Rights they
are so busily engaged at present in destroying--was to engage to
urge on the State Governments to secure to the subjects of Her
Britannic Majesty the use of the several ship-canals on terms of
equality with the inhabitants of the United States. It was also
provided that “American lumber floated down to St. John and shipped
to the United States from New Brunswick should be free of duty.”
This treaty was to remain in force for ten years from the date at
which it came into operation, and further until the expiration of
twelve months after either of the contracting parties gave notice
to the other of its wish to terminate the same--each of them being
at liberty to give notice at the end of the ten years, or at
any time afterwards. This treaty expired on the 11th September,
1864, since which time the United States and Great Britain have
been free to give notice of the termination of its provisions,
to take effect in twelve months after the date of the notice. Of
this power, as already stated, the United States Government has
availed itself. An exception to the operation of the treaty is made
in the case of Newfoundland, in respect to which its provisions
hold good till December 12th, 1865. The State of New York, by its
Legislature, urged Congress to protect the United States from what
they denounced as an “unequal and unjust system of commerce.” They
asserted that nearly all the articles which Canada has to sell are
admitted into the United States free of duty, whilst heavy duties
are imposed on many articles of American manufacture, with the
intention of excluding them from the Canadian market; and that
discriminating tolls and duties, in favour of an isolating and
exclusive policy against American merchants and forwarders, to
destroy the effect of the treaty and in opposition to its spirit,
have been adopted by Canada; and on these grounds they demanded
a change in the system of commerce now existing, to protect the
interests of the United States in the manner intended by the treaty.
The Canadian Minister, in reply, observed that the treaty made
no mention whatever of the matters complained of, and, in a very
lucid argument, charges against the Legislature of the United
States the very same grounds of complaint as the Committee alleged
against Canada. No accusation of an infraction of the treaty is
made, and therefore the subjects treated of in the Report affect
the commercial relations and not the good faith of the contracting
parties. The Committee accuse Canada of violating the spirit and
intent of the treaty, by an increase of duties on manufactured
articles, by a change in the mode of levying duties, and by
abolishing tolls on the St. Lawrence canals and river; but Mr.
Galt contends that the treaty had nothing to do with manufactures,
but was expressly limited to the growth and produce of the two
countries mentioned in the schedule. Those articles not enumerated
in it are necessarily excluded from its operations, and must be
made the subject of special legislation between the two States
before any act of either respecting the mode of their admission can
be made ground of remonstrance.
As a proof of the narrow spirit in which these fine declaimers
about “liberty of commerce and reciprocity of trading advantages”
have dealt with the treaty, it may be mentioned that they imposed
duties on planks in part planed, tongued, or grooved, and on flour
ground in Canada from American wheat, and on lumber made in Canada
out of American logs. The Canadian Government, however, have
maintained, both against the Americans and the mother country,
their right to decide for themselves both as to the mode and the
extent to which taxation should be imposed. Declamations against a
policy of Protection come indeed with a bad grace from the United
States; and Mr. Galt, in suppressed sarcasm and irony, shows that
their doctrine of Free Trade with Canada really means an exclusive
protection for themselves against the manufactures of Great Britain.
If the gentlemen who composed the elaborate Report, bristling
all over with generous sentiments and with the expression of the
most enlightened and liberal doctrines, could blush, they might
well perform that interesting operation when reading Mr. Galt’s
reply. Canada admits the registration of foreign vessels without
charge; the United States do not. Canada has sought admission to
the great lakes for coasters; the United States refuse. Canada
allows American vessels to pass free through her canals; not a
Canadian vessel is allowed, even on payment of toll, to enter an
American canal. The promise in the treaty, that the Government of
Washington would urge on the States the concession of a right to
navigate their canals on equal terms with American subjects, has
not been kept; at least, there is no trace of any effort having
been made to induce the State Legislatures to relax their present
extreme policy, which is in strong contrast with the professions
of their Committee-men. Canada permits foreign goods bought in the
United States to be imported on the payment of duty on the original
invoice; the United States will not permit similar purchases to
be made in Canada. Tea imported from Canada is weighted with duty
of ten per cent., while the duties under the Canadian tariff are
very much lower than those levied in America. The permission to
pass goods under bond through the States conferred an obvious
advantage on American railroads; but, indeed, the Committee were
fain to admit that the United States had not established a fair
reciprocity, inasmuch as they recommend that reciprocity should be
made complete. Duties have been imposed in the United States for
purposes of Protection, and they can scarcely bring accusations
against Canada until they have established a system of duties as
low as those of Canada. The _ad valorem_ system of Canada, against
which the Committee protest, is the system of the United States;
for tea and sugar there is a discriminating duty in favour of
American vessels of twenty per cent. Duty is levied in Canada
solely for purposes of revenue: and though this policy, which has
led the late Minister and his predecessors to reduce tolls and
customs-dues to a minimum, has alarmed the canal and ship-owners
and railway-directors of New York, it is viewed with approbation by
the great Western States.
“It is,” says Mr. Galt, “a singular charge to make of
discrimination on our part against them, that we do not permit
one section of our public works to be used for purposes
exclusively beneficial to them, when they absolutely, and
contrary to the engagements of the treaty, debar any Canadian
vessel from entering their waters, if we except Lake Michigan,
specially mentioned in the treaty. Surely Canada does enough for
them when she places them precisely on the same footing as she
does her own vessels; and it is a novel doctrine that because the
whole St. Lawrence is made free, therefore an injury is done to
the New York route. The remedy is simple, and in their own hands:
let them do as Canada has done--repeal the tolls on their canals,
and admit Canadian vessels to ply upon them--and then the desired
state of ‘fair competition’ will have arisen. But the Committee
must have formed but a low estimate of the intelligence of their
own people in the West, when they make it a subject of complaint
against Canada that she has opened the St. Lawrence freely to
their trade. The undersigned apprehends that the inhabitants
of those great States will be much more likely to demand from
their own Government an equitable application of their own
customs-laws, so as to permit them to import direct _viâ_ the St.
Lawrence, and to buy in the Canadian market, rather than to join
with the Committee in requiring a return to a system by which the
entire West has hitherto been held in vassalage to the State of
New York.”
Mr. Galt argues that an increase of customs-duties does not,
necessarily, injuriously affect foreign trade within certain
limits, and that those limits have not been exceeded in Canada.
Formerly the cost of British goods in Canada was much enhanced,
owing to natural causes, whilst Canadian producers obtained a
minimum price for their exports. The duty was then generally 2½
per cent., but the price was enormous; and the Canadian suffered,
_pro tanto_, in his means to purchase them. Suppose the duties,
increased five per cent., were to produce a reduction of ten
per cent. on other charges, “the benefit,” says Mr. Galt, “would
accrue equally to the British manufacturer and to the consumer;
the consumer would pay five per cent. more to the Government, but
ten per cent. less to the merchant and forwarder.” As Mr. Galt
considers the principle of Canadian finance and customs to be
misapprehended in England as well as in the United States, it may
be as well to give his own words:--
“The Government has increased the duties for the purpose of
enabling them to meet the interest on the public works necessary
to reduce all the various charges upon the imports and exports
of the country. Lighthouses have been built, and steamships
subsidised, to reduce the charges for freight and insurance; the
St. Lawrence has been deepened, and the canals constructed, to
reduce the cost of inland navigation to a minimum; railways have
been assisted, to give speed, safety, and permanency to trade
interrupted by the severity of winter. All these improvements
have been undertaken with the twofold object of diminishing the
cost to the consumer of what he imports, and of increasing the
_net_ result of the labour of the country when finally realised
in Great Britain. These great improvements could not be effected
without large outlays; and the burthen necessarily had to be put
either through direct taxation, or by customs-duties on the goods
imported, or upon the trade by excessive tolls corresponding
with the rates previously charged. Direct taxation was the
medium employed, through the local municipalities, for the
construction of all minor local works--roads, court-houses and
gaols, education, and the vast variety of objects required in a
newly-settled country; and this source of taxation has thus been
used to the full extent which is believed practicable without
producing serious discontent. No one can, for a moment, argue
that, in an enlightened age, any Government could adopt such
a clumsy mode of raising money as to maintain excessive rates
of tolls; nor would it have attained the object, as American
channels of trade were created simultaneously, that would
then have defied competition. The only effect, therefore, of
attempting such course would have been to give the United States
the complete control of our markets, and virtually to exclude
British goods. The only other course was therefore adopted,
and the producer has been required to pay, through increased
customs-duties, for the vastly greater deductions he secured
through the improvements referred to. What, then, has been the
result to the British manufacturer? His goods are, it is true,
in many cases subjected to 20 per cent. instead of 2½ per cent.,
but the cost to the consumer has been diminished in a very much
greater degree; and the aggregate of cost, original price, duty,
freight, and charges are now very much less than when the duty
was 2½ per cent., and consequently the _legitimate protection_
to the home-manufacturer is to this extent diminished. Nor is
this all: the interest of the British manufacturer is not merely
that he shall be able to lay down his goods at the least cost to
the consumer, but equally is he interested in the ability of the
consumer to buy. Now, this latter point is attained precisely
through the same means which have cheapened the goods. The
produce of Canada is now increased in value exactly in proportion
to the saving on the cost of delivering it in the market of
consumption.
“If the aggregate of cost to the consumer remained the same now
as it was before the era of canals and railroads in Canada, what
possible difference would it make to the British manufacturers
whether the excess over the cost in Great Britain were paid
to the Government or to merchants and forwarders? It would
certainly not in any way affect the question of the protection
to home-manufacturers: but when it can be clearly shown that by
the action of the Government, in raising funds through increased
customs-duties, the cost to the consumer is now very much less,
upon what ground can the British manufacturer complain that these
duties have been restrictive on his trade?
“The undersigned might truly point to the rapid increase in
the population and wealth of Canada, arising from its policy
of improvement, whereby its ability of consumption has been so
largely increased. He might also show that these improvements
have, in a great degree, also tended to the rapid advance of
the Western States, and to their increased ability to purchase
British goods. He might point to the fact that the grain supplied
from the Western States and Canada keeps down prices in Great
Britain, and therefore enables the British manufacturer to
produce still cheaper. But he prefers resting his case, as to
the propriety of imposing increased customs-duties, solely on
the one point, that through that increase the cost of British
manufactured goods, including duty, has been reduced to the
Canadian consumer, and that consequently the increase has in its
results, viewing the whole trade, tended to an augmentation of
the market for British goods.”
In a tabular statement it is shown that the average amount of duty
levied on imports from the United States in 1861 is the same as
the average of the previous twelve years, that the variations have
been very slight, and that the rate per cent. was less than half
what it had been a few years before, whilst American trade has been
steadily increasing. Under the operation of the treaty, the imports
from the United States, in 1861, were nearly trebled, and the
exports from Canada to the United States were nearly quadrupled;
the whole amount of trade in 1851 being, in round numbers,
12,500,000 dollars, which was increased to 24,000,000 dollars in
1854, and to 35,500,000 dollars in 1861. These advantages may be
still further extended without injury to either nation or to the
just claims of Great Britain to an equality in the Canadian market;
and Mr. Galt professed himself quite ready for the abolition of
the coasting laws on inland waters--of all discrimination as to
nationality in respect of vessels--the free import of wooden wares,
agricultural implements, machinery, and books--the assimilation
of the patent-laws: but he totally opposes the project of a
Zollverein, on the ground that it would be inconsistent with the
maintenance of connexion with Great Britain, inasmuch as Canada
would be called upon to tax goods of British manufacture, while she
admitted those of the United States free.
“Great Britain is,” he observes, “the market for Canadian produce
to a far greater extent than the United States.” The United States
would necessarily impose her views on the Zollverein, and “the
result would be,” says Mr. Galt, “a tariff not, as now, based on
the simple wants of Canada, but upon those of a country engaged in
a colossal war.” It must be regretted, notwithstanding Mr. Galt’s
arguments, that the Canadian tariff is so high; but if she be
called upon to incur a fresh debt for the purposes of defence, it
is more likely that it will be increased rather than diminished.
In connection with the relations of Canada and the West to the
United States, the opening of new water-ways and roads becomes of
paramount interest and importance.
In March, 1863, a Select Committee was appointed by the Legislative
Assembly to investigate the subject of a navigable line between
Montreal and Lake Huron, by the Ottawa and Matawan Rivers, Lake
Nipissing, and French River. That Committee reported that there
were no engineering difficulties to interfere with the opening of
this route for vessels of every class up to the draught of twelve
feet, and that it would shorten the line to Chicago 350 miles,
the exact difference in favour of the Ottawa communication from
Montreal to Mackinaw being 68 miles. In point of time there would
be a reduction of 47 hours. The trade between the Western States
and the sea has increased to such an extent during the last four
years, that 120,000,000 of bushels of wheat and grain stood in need
of transport, according to the last calculation; and even with its
present communications, Montreal is second only to New York as a
grain-exporting port, the quantity shipped last year from it being
over 15,000,000 of bushels. The Ottawa route would actually be the
shortest line of communication between the ports on Lake Michigan
and New York itself by 150 miles, when the Champlain Canal shall
have been made, and the Northern Canal enlarged.
The tract through which the proposed line would pass, exceeding
in area the whole of the five New England States, is covered with
a wealth of timber surpassing belief; and the forestless prairies
would furnish a market valuable as gold itself to the lumberer.
Vessels going down and discharging their cargoes would return
with cargoes of timber, the demand for which in the West is so
great, that the city of Chicago consumes alone 100,000_l._ worth
in the year. Canadian pines would be in demand to construct the
new cities which are rising in the Prairie State, and to keep the
hearth fires alight through their rigid winters. The effect of
such a line in developing local traffic, agricultural improvement,
commercial enterprise, and the spread of civilisation, cannot be
over-estimated. In reference to the military advantages to be
derived from its construction, the Committee makes but a meagre
reference; but it is obvious that by securing such a route, far
removed from a foreign frontier, between the sea and the western
lakes, the means of defence and of transport in war would be very
much strengthened and improved.
The St. Lawrence canals can be destroyed, as Mr. Chamley observes,
by the Americans, without their being obliged to land a man in
Canada; whilst by the Ottawa route gunboats could proceed from
the St. Lawrence to Lake Huron in less time than they would now
require to get to Lake Erie. It is not to be overlooked, however,
that the higher latitudes through which the canal would run, expose
the waters to a longer frost and necessary cessation of traffic.
The advantages of the route to New York and to other North-Eastern
States of America, can only be gained by completing the proposed
Cooknawoogo Canal, between the St. Lawrence and Lake Champlain,
and it is doubtful whether the jealousy of the Americans would
not prevent their furthering a project which would confer great
benefits on the Provinces, even though their refusing to do so
might deprive them of certain advantages. This line would, in fact,
give us or the Canadians an admirable interior communication,
and at the same time confer military, political, and commercial
benefits on the Provinces, the extent of which cannot be easily
foreseen.
Mr. Galt admits that there may be jealousies, though he protests
there should not be, and calls to mind the opposition of Mohawk
Dutchmen, the Frenchmen of Detroit, and others, to the Erie Canal.
If the plans for improving the communications which have been
suggested should ever be developed, the valley of Red River would
be reached without much difficulty, and land as good as that in the
unsettled portions of Iowa and Minnesota would be opened to the
British emigrant.
In the valleys of the Saskatchewan and Assiniboine, Canada
possesses a vast north-west of her own, enjoying a mild climate,
which contains, according to one of the witnesses whose opinion
is cited by the Committee, 500,000 square miles of fertile land,
capable of sustaining a population of nearly 30,000,000 of people.
It has been ascertained beyond doubt, that the tract between the
North and South Saskatchewan on the east is exceedingly fertile,
and that no intense cold prevails throughout an enormous region of
rich prairies on cretaceous and tertiary deposits. It is scarcely
possible for us to conceive what an enormous expanse of fertile
land lies to the east of the Rocky Mountains, about the sources
of those rivers; but there are too many witnesses of unmistakeable
veracity to render us sceptical concerning the beauty and
capabilities of these regions. Could the poor emigrant be carried
to these fertile districts, instead of sinking into the rowdyism of
American cities, or beating down the rate of wages by competition,
he would find at least a comfortable subsistence, even if he were
unable at once to obtain a profitable market for his labours.
Father de Smet, the missionary, a man whose name is a tower of
strength and faith, describes a district which makes us wonder
that poverty should ever be known in Europe, and corroborates
the glowing picture of Sir George Simpson:--a soil and climate
better suited for agriculture than that of Toronto--a region
abounding in game of all kinds, rivers and lakes swarming with
fish, plains covered with buffaloes--seams of coal--delicious
wild fruits--forests of pine, cypress, poplar, and aspen. Even at
Edmonton, potatoes, wheat and barley, corn and beans, are produced
in abundance. “Are these vast and innumerable fields of hay,”
asks Father de Smet, “for ever destined to be consumed by fire,
or perish in wintry snows? How long shall these superb forests be
the haunts of wild beasts? Are these abundant mines of coal, lead,
sulphur, iron, copper, and saltpetre doomed to remain for ever
valueless? No; the day must come when the hand of labour shall give
them value, and stirring and enterprising people are destined ere
long to fill this void; the wild beasts will give place to domestic
animals; flocks and herds will graze on the beautiful meadows, and
the mountain-sides and valleys will swarm with life.”
Before this picture, however, be realised, some communication
must be opened east or west between the community and the outer
world; and if the British Government does not take some steps to
secure a settlement of these regions by its own subjects, the
irresistible agency of American emigration will erase mere lines
upon the map, and determine the question of nationality beyond the
power of appeal or alteration. It is agreeable to admit that the
inhabitants of the State of Minnesota have not hitherto evinced
any design of raising difficulties as to jurisdiction, or of
disturbing the relations between the two Governments. In fact, the
St. Paul Chamber of Commerce, in 1862, presented a strong memorial
against the proposal to suspend or abrogate the provisions of the
Reciprocity Treaty. This memorial says:--
“Central British America, including an inhabitable area of
300,000 square miles, and extending north-west of Minnesota to
the Rocky Mountains, will probably be organised as a crown colony
of England, with the seat of government at Selkirk. There is good
reason to believe that a bill for this purpose will become an Act
of Parliament at the session now impending. British Columbia,
on the Pacific coast, having received a similar organisation
in 1858, the establishment of the province of Central British
America will go far to realise the hope so gracefully expressed
three years since from the throne of England: ‘That her Majesty’s
dominions in North America may ultimately be peopled in an
unbroken chain from the Atlantic to the Pacific, by a loyal and
industrious population of subjects of the British crown.’
“Minnesota, with the co-operation of the Government at
Washington, has relied with confidence upon the probability
of such a colonisation of the fertile valleys which stretch
beyond the international boundary, from the lakes of Superior
and Winnipeg, or the western limits of Canada, to the Pacific
colony of British Columbia. Our mails, our trains of regular
transportation, and our steam-vessels on the Red River of the
North, are already provided as important links of international
communication from Toronto to St. Paul, and thence to Fort
Garry. The projected railroads of Minnesota, with extensive
grants of land from Congress in behalf of their construction,
harmonise in a north-western trend to the valleys of the Red
River of the North, and the still more remote Saskatchewan. Our
whole commercial future has been projected in concert with the
victories of peace, even more renowned than war, of which we
still hope to witness the achievement in north-west America,
irrespective of the imaginary line of an international frontier.
“Animated by these expectations, which the march of events has
hitherto justified, we invoke the ‘sober second thought’ of
the country upon the subject of our continental policy. With
the suppression of the Southern rebellion; with dispassionate
discussions by all the parties interested; with the happy
accord of minds like Cobden in England and Chase in America
upon the best methods of revenue; and lastly, with the lessons
and suggestions of the next three years, a treaty, eminently
deserving the designation of a reciprocity treaty, will probably
be submitted to the Congress of 1864.”
When the Committee of Commerce, to which the Legislature of New
York referred its petition against the Reciprocity Treaty, made
their report, they gave expression to very different sentiments;
and enlarged on the magnitude of the present possessions of
the British Crown on the American continent, and the probable
grandeur of their future, in a manner which indicated certainly
the existence of a feeling not far removed from jealousy. With
great truth they say, that the value of the British North-American
possessions is seldom appreciated: stretching from the Atlantic
to the Pacific, they contain an area of at least 3,478,380
square miles. The isothermal line of 60 degrees for summer rises
on the interior plains of this continent as high as the 61st
parallel,--its average position in Europe. And a favourable
comparison may also be traced for winter and other seasons in the
year. Then, elevated by the subject, and warming by degrees, the
Committee draw a glowing picture of this enormous empire. “Spring
opens simultaneously,” they say, “on the plains, which stretch
for 1200 miles, from St. Paul’s to the McKenzie River. Westward
are countries of still milder climate, now scarcely inhabited,
but of incalculable value in the future. Eastward are the small
settlements, yet distant from the other abodes of civilisation,
enjoying the rich lands and pleasant climate of the Red River.” It
may well surprise the inhabitants of these isles, who have not got
100 miles of natural navigable rivers in the three kingdoms, to
learn that this same Red River is capable of steamboat navigation
for 400 miles.
The following extract from this Report gives perhaps the best idea
of the British Possessions in a few words which can be presented to
the reader:
“It is asserted by those who add personal knowledge of the
subject to scientific investigation, that the habitable but
undeveloped area of the British Possessions westerly from Lake
Superior and Hudson’s Bay, comprises sufficient territory to
make twenty-five States equal in size to Illinois. Bold as this
assertion is, it meets with confirmation in the isothermal charts
of Blodgett, the testimony of Richardson, Simpson, Mackenzie,
the maps published by the Government of Canada, and the recent
explorations of Professor Hind, of Toronto.
“North of a line drawn from the northern limit of Lake Superior
to the coast at the southern limit of Labrador exists a vast
region, possessing in its best parts a climate barely endurable,
and reaching into the Arctic regions. This country, even more
cold, desolate, and barren on the Atlantic coast than in the
interior latitudes, becoming first known to travellers, has given
character in public estimation to the whole north.
“Another line, drawn from the northern limit of Minnesota to that
of Maine, includes nearly all the inhabited portion of Canada, a
province extending opposite the Territory of Dakota and States
of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York,
Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, possessing a climate identical
with that of our Northern States.
“The ‘Maritime Provinces’ on the Atlantic coast include New
Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward’s Island, and Newfoundland.
Geographically they may be regarded as a north-easterly
prolongation of the New England system. Unitedly they include
an area of at least 86,000 square miles, and are capable of
supporting a larger population than that at present existing in
the United States or Great Britain. They are equal in extent to
the united territory of Holland, Greece, Belgium, Portugal, and
Switzerland.
“New Brunswick is 190 miles in length and 150 in breadth.
Its interests are inseparably connected with those of the
adjacent State of Maine. It has an area of 22,000,000 acres,
and a seacoast 400 miles in extent, and abounding in harbours.
Its population some years ago numbered 210,000, whose chief
occupations are connected with shipbuilding, the fisheries, and
the timber trade. Commissioners appointed by the Government of
Great Britain affirm that it is impossible to speak too highly of
its climate, soil, and capabilities. Few countries are so well
wooded and watered. On its unreclaimed surface is an abundant
stock of the finest timber; beneath are coal fields. The rivers,
lakes, and seacoast abound with fish.
“Nova Scotia, a long peninsula, united to the American continent
by an isthmus only fifteen miles wide, is 280 miles in length.
The numerous indentations on its coast form harbours unsurpassed
in any part of the world. Including Cape Breton, it has an area
of 12,000,000 acres. Wheat, and the usual cereals and fruits of
the Northern States, flourish in many parts of it. Its population
in 1851 was declared by the census to be 276,117. Besides
possessing productive fisheries and agricultural resources, it is
rich in mineral wealth, having beneath its surface coal, iron,
manganese, gypsum, and gold.
“The province of Prince Edward’s Island is separated from New
Brunswick and Nova Scotia by straits only nine miles in width.
It is crescent-shaped, 130 miles in length, and at its broadest
part is 34 miles wide. It is a level region, of a more moderate
temperature than that of Lower Canada, and well adapted to
agricultural purposes. Its population in 1848 was 62,678.
“The island of Newfoundland has a seacoast 1000 miles in extent.
It has an area of 23,040,000 acres, of which only a small portion
is cultivated. Its spring is late, its summer short, but the
frost of winter is less severe than in many parts of our own
Northern States and Territories. It is only 1665 miles distant
from Ireland. It possesses a large trade with various countries,
including Spain, Portugal, Italy, the West Indies, and the
Brazils.
“The chief wealth of Newfoundland and of the Labrador coast is
to be found in their extensive and inexhaustible fisheries, in
which the other Provinces also partake. The future products of
these, when properly developed by human ingenuity and industry,
defy human calculation. The Gulf Stream is met near the shores
of Newfoundland by a current from the Polar basin, vast deposits
are formed by the meeting of the opposing waters, the great
submarine islands, known as ‘The Banks,’ are formed; and the rich
pastures created in Ireland by the warm and humid influences of
the Gulf Stream are compensated by the ‘rich sea-pastures of
Newfoundland.’ The fishes of warm or tropical waters, inferior
in quality and scarcely capable of preservation, cannot form
an article of commerce like those produced in inexhaustible
quantities in these cold and shallow seas. The abundance of these
marine resources is unequalled in any portion of the globe.
“Canada, rather a nation than a province in any common
acceptation of the term, includes not less than 346,863
square miles of territory, independently of its North-western
Possessions not yet open for settlement. It is three times as
large as Great Britain and Ireland, and more than three times
as large as Prussia. It intervenes between the Great North-west
and the Maritime Provinces, and consists chiefly of a vast
territorial projection into the territory of the United States,
although it possesses a coast of nearly 1000 miles on the river
and gulf of the St. Lawrence, where fisheries of cod, herring,
mackerel, and salmon are carried on successfully. Valuable
fisheries exist also in its lakes. It is rich in metallic ore and
in the resources of its forests. Large portions of its territory
are peculiarly favourable to the growth of wheat, barley, and
the other cereals of the north. During the life of the present
generation, or the last quarter of a century, its population has
increased more than fourfold, or from 582,000 to 2,500,000.
“The population of all the provinces may be fairly estimated
as numbering 3,500,000. Many of the inhabitants are of French
extraction, and a few German settlements exist; but two-thirds of
the people of the provinces owe their origin either to the United
States or to the British Islands, whose language we speak, and
who ‘people the world with men industrious and free.’
“The climate and soil of these Provinces and Possessions,
seemingly less indulgent than those of tropical regions, are
precisely those by which the skill, energy, and virtues of the
human race are best developed. Nature there demands thought
and labour from man as conditions of his existence, but yields
abundant rewards to wise industry. Those causes which, in our
age of the world, determine the wealth of nations are those
which render man most active; and it cannot be too often or too
closely remembered in discussing subjects so vast as these, where
the human mind may be misled if it attempts to comprehend them in
their boundless variety of detail, that sure and safe guides in
the application of political economy, and to our own prosperity,
are to be found in the simple principles of morality and justice,
because they alone are true alike in minute and great affairs, at
all times and in every place.”
CHAPTER XVI.
The “Ashburton Capitulation”--Boundaries of Quebec--Arbitration
in 1831--Lord Ashburton’s Mission--The questions in dispute--“The
Sea” _v._ “The Atlantic”--American Diplomatists--Franklin’s
Red Line--Compromise--The Maps--Maine--Damage to Canada--Mr.
Webster’s Defence--His Opinion of the Road--Value of the
Heights--Our Share of Equivalents--Value of Rouse’s
Point--Vermont--New Hampshire.
It was by the celebrated Treaty of Washington, August 9th, 1842,
that the boundary line between the British possessions in Canada
and the State of Maine in the territories of the United States, was
settled and determined. That treaty has been sometimes spoken of
as the “Ashburton Capitulation.” The story of the two maps which
played so distinguished a part in the negotiations, is tolerably
well known, and has formed a subject of many discussions which
have now settled down into fixed convictions. By many, if not
by most Americans, acquainted with the subject, it is believed
that Mr. Webster did a very smart thing. Englishmen, similarly
instructed, believe their country to have been cheated by the
great American elocutionist. Canadians are of opinion that they
have suffered an irreparable injury at the hands of, or through
the weakness of, those appointed to guard their interests by the
Imperial Government. The Treaty of Paris, in 1783, did not define
the north-eastern boundary of the United States; it merely declared
that the boundary was drawn along the highlands which divide the
rivers that empty themselves into the river St. Lawrence from those
which fall into the Atlantic Ocean. If we had had at that time
the knowledge of geography and geology, with respect to the basin
of the St. Lawrence, which, thanks to the labours of the United
States’ engineers and of Sir William Logan, we now possess, there
would not have been much difficulty in fixing on the real line,
as there could not well be any dispute respecting the exact line
of highlands from which the rivers flowing into the St. Lawrence
came, and from the other side of which the water-shed was towards
the Atlantic Ocean. Tons of pamphlets, years of controversy, and
thousands of pounds might have been spared, not to speak of much
national animosity.
It may be remarked here, that the difficulty of reconciling
States’ rights with Imperial Federal policy was fore-shadowed in
the original disputes which took place at the time of the treaty
adjustment. The Treaty speaks of the “boundaries between the
possessions of Her Britannic Majesty in North America and the
territories of the United States;” but the State of Maine in its
vehement protest against the line of the King of the Netherlands,
assumed the language and the port of an independent Power. Mr.
Thomas Colley Grattan, in his work, “Civilised America,” has
collected an immense amount of information, and has drawn up an
argument on the subject, which prove beyond a doubt, even without
collateral aid, that the line yielded by Lord Ashburton was not
that which was meant by the framers of the Treaty of 1783. Let us
consider how the case stood.
In 1763 the French possessions in North America were ceded to
Great Britain, and in the October of that year a royal proclamation
defined the boundaries of the government of Quebec, “bounded on the
Labrador coast by the river St. John, which falls into the mouth
of the St. Lawrence, and from there by a line drawn from the head
of that river through the Lake of St. John to the south end of the
Lake Nipissing, from whence the said line, crossing the river St.
Lawrence and Lake Champlain in 45 degrees of north latitude, passes
along the highlands which divide the rivers that empty themselves
into the said river St. Lawrence from those which fall into the
sea, and also along the north coast of the Bay of Chaleurs and the
coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Cape Rosière, and from thence
crossing the mouth of the river St. Lawrence by the west end of the
island of Anticosti, terminates in the aforesaid Lake of St. John.”
It is fortunate enough that we have no neighbours to raise any
question about “the line drawn through the Lake of St. John to the
south end of the Lake Nipissing.”
Previous to the Treaty of Independence only one Act was passed
bearing upon the southern boundary of Canada. The Quebec Act of
1774 draws its boundaries between the province of Quebec and
the colonies of Nova Scotia and Massachusetts, in words nearly
the same as those of the Proclamation of 1763. When the State
of Massachusetts and the State of Maine were acknowledged to be
“free, sovereign, and independent,” by the Treaty of 1783, the
contracting parties appeared to have defined the boundary-line with
tolerable exactitude. They wished to prevent disputes between the
United States and the colonies, and therefore the boundaries were
constituted “from the north-west angle of Nova Scotia,--viz., that
angle which is formed by a line drawn due north from the source
of the St. Croix river to the highlands, along the said highlands
which divide those rivers that empty themselves into the St.
Lawrence from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean,--to the
north-westernmost head of Connecticut river east, by a line to be
drawn along the middle of the river St. Croix from its mouth in the
Bay of Fundy to its source, and from its source directly north to
the aforesaid highlands which divide the rivers which fall into the
Atlantic Ocean from those which fall into the river St. Lawrence,
comprehending all highlands within twenty leagues of any harbour
of the United States, and lying between lines to be drawn due east
from the points where the aforesaid boundaries between Nova Scotia
on the one part, and East Florida on the other, shall respectively
touch the Bay of Fundy and the Atlantic Ocean, except such
highlands as now are, or heretofore have been, within the limits of
the said province of Nova Scotia.”
The north-west angle of Nova Scotia thus becomes a point of
consequence--upon the determination of it rests the true line.
The British maintain that the angle is contained at the point
“where the line due north from the river St. Croix touches the
highlands at a point about 100 miles south of the point claimed by
the United States.” The Americans argue that the north-west angle
was “considerably nearer to the St. Lawrence, at a spot 145 miles
north of the source of the St. Croix.” In 1794 Commissioners were
appointed to determine “where a line drawn due north from the
St. Croix would intersect a line of highlands corresponding with
those mentioned in the Treaty of 1783.” The umpire called in by the
Commissioners fixed on the most northern point of the river as the
place from which the line to the highlands was to be drawn, and
the result was that the line so drawn did not strike the highlands
which we held to be those meant by the treaty, but passing them
at a distance of twenty miles on the west, came to an isolated
mountain called Mars Hill, from which the Americans desired to
prolong it northwards beyond the river St. John to the highlands
above the source of the Restigouche; but the British Commissioners
insisted that the line should not proceed further north, and that
the highlands which ran west from near that point to the head of
the Connecticut river should form the next boundary-line.
Events of greater importance for a time prevented any attempt to
adjust a question, which promised, however, no slight difficulty
in time to come. Then war broke out between the United States
and Great Britain; but the Peace of 1814 rendered it necessary
to renew the attempt to define the boundaries of the two States.
The Commissioners appointed by the Treaty of Ghent were not more
fortunate than their predecessors; and it was thirteen years after
the signing of that treaty before the Governments of the two
countries arranged a convention, to carry out the provision made
by an article in the Treaty for the appointment of a referee in
case of disagreement. The King of the Netherlands, who accepted the
office of arbiter in 1831, delivered his award, which, taking the
line drawn north from the St. Croix to Mars Hill, passed beyond
it to the river St. John, whence it took the course of the river
westward, inside the line claimed by the United States to the
head of the Connecticut River. This compromise was identical with
the actual line established by the Treaty of 1842, except on the
western side, where the line fixed by the King and that claimed
by the United States are the same. The King’s line approximates
much more closely to the United States’ line than it does to that
which we claim: however, the Americans refused to accept it, on the
grounds that the King had no right to go beyond the matter referred
to him of determining which of the two lines was right, and that he
had exceeded his province in proposing a line which had not been
referred to him by either of the parties.
Eleven years passed in unavailing endeavours to adjust a question
which rose into the highest rank of diplomatic difficulties. Lord
Ashburton, the head of the commercial house of Baring, whose
relations with American commerce were supposed to be likely to
recommend him to American statesmen, was dispatched in 1842
to determine the boundary, in concert with Mr. Webster. These
gentlemen were assisted by seven Commissioners from Maine and
Massachusetts. The author of a pamphlet of very great ability,
quoted by Mr. Grattan, arrived at the conclusion that the line
designated in the Proclamation of 1763, is identical with that
claimed by the United States, and that the line indicated in the
treaty of 1783 is almost the same as that claimed by Great Britain.
He argued that it was clearly intended to create a new boundary,
because Mr. Townsend said so, and Lord North repeated the statement
in Parliament. He maintained that the variations in the wording
of the treaty from that of the proclamation, were specially
introduced to show that a new boundary was intended, and that if it
had not been so, the description in the treaty would have been the
same as it was in the proclamation; and he then proceeded further
to contend, with greater force of reasoning, that the proclamation
boundary, although it might have adequately defined the limits
of a province, would have been obviously unsuitable as between
two independent nations, because it would cut off communication
between two portions of the territory of one of the Powers, and
give it to another independent State. He further asserted, that
all negotiations and projects for peace on the part of the United
States were based on the supposition that England would demand a
new line, and that Congress never contemplated an adherence to
the Proclamation of 1763. All the reasoning of the pamphleteer in
support of these propositions is distinguished by acuteness, and
inclines the mind to accept them with confidence; and he is not
less happy in his argument that the Madawaska river is distinct
from the river St. John--that it is a tributary, not a branch, of
that stream.
The question as to the range of highlands meant by the treaties
can only be settled by analytical reasoning, which, in relation to
matters of fact of the kind under dispute, is satisfactory only to
those who direct their own course of argument. There are two ranges
of highlands dividing the rivers which flow into the St. Lawrence
and those which empty themselves into the Atlantic; the first,
running from the sources of the Connecticut towards the Bay of
Chaleurs, certainly separates rivers emptying into the St. Lawrence
from those emptying into the sea; but the second line starting
from the same mountainous germ at the sources of the Connecticut,
branching off from the first range at a point about eighty miles
from its commencement, takes a southern course towards the head of
the St. Croix, and divides the rivers which empty themselves into
the St. Lawrence from those which flow into the Atlantic Ocean.
It is contended on one side, with much force of reasoning and
probability, that the highlands specified in the Treaty of 1783
are those of the southern range. It was necessary of course to
fix upon some great natural features in a district vast in extent
and unknown to all but the Red men and the hunter. Rivers and
the summit level between two great watersheds would be obviously
selected. It was the object of England to secure free communication
between all parts of her American territory, and, of course,
between Canada and Nova Scotia. The Americans proposed the line of
the St. John, which was at once rejected. That being the case, it
is difficult to conceive how they could go back and propose, as a
line more likely to meet the views of England, the highlands of the
northern range close to the St. Lawrence, which would throw the
greatest difficulties in the way of the communication which it was
a vital point for England to secure. It will have been observed
that the words “the Sea” and the “Atlantic Ocean” are used in
the treaties, and it certainly is not easy to comprehend how the
Americans can maintain that these terms have an identical meaning,
if the description of the maps which they had before them at the
time is correct. The Connecticut, the Penobscot, and the Kennebeck,
can be considered as flowing into the Atlantic Ocean from one
range of highlands only, and it is equally plain that the other,
or northern, range was that which was meant as the highlands from
which rivers flowed into the “sea.”
It has been urged, ingeniously and truly, that the words “The Sea,”
give a larger range of boundary than the words “The Atlantic;” and
that therefore the boundary which depended on a reference to the
Atlantic, was intended to have a smaller extent than that which was
made to depend upon the Sea. The Atlantic was certainly substituted
for the Sea, not only in the treaty, but in the Commissions of the
Governors of Quebec, showing an alteration of the boundary of their
jurisdiction, whilst no change was made in the Commissions of the
Governors of New Brunswick, because the boundary of their province
depended upon that of Quebec. The highlands separating rivers that
empty into the Atlantic Ocean, are by no means identical with
the highlands separating the rivers that empty into the Sea. The
Americans have urged that the northern range divides the rivers
of the St. Lawrence from the Atlantic rivers, but it certainly
does not separate the Penobscot branches north and east which
flow into the Atlantic from the southern range; and the term “The
rivers,” of course means all the rivers, because, otherwise, such
a considerable stream as the Penobscot would have been excepted
specially. The southern range separated all the rivers which flow
into the Atlantic, from all the rivers which flow into the St.
Lawrence.
Had the Commissioners drawn the due north line from the western
branch of the St. Croix, which formed the ancient boundary of
Nova Scotia, instead of from the northern branch, the whole of
the complicated and vexatious questions might have been evaded,
and the claim urged by the United States might never have been
heard. It was the doctrine of State rights alone which justified
the rejection of the Netherlands compromise. The tract in dispute
was indeed but seven million acres of river, mountain, and forest,
but the northern boundary of this tract overlooked the course of
the St. Lawrence, and carried American territory within a day’s
march of its stream, whilst the direct roads and communications
between the Provinces east and west, would be placed inside
American territory. To the Maine lumberers, however, this tract
was not uninviting, and it became a debateable land, in which
British colonists from New Brunswick, and American squatters,
carried on a series of inroads and forcible settlements, which were
fortunately unattended by actual bloodshed. Lord Palmerston, who in
1835 notified the refusal of the British Government to accept the
Netherlands compromise, appointed Commissioners in 1839 to inquire
into the state of the question upon the spot, and their report,
which was handed to the United States Government in 1840, in the
most absolute terms laid it down that the southern range was that
intended by the treaty of 1783. Mr. Grattan, who was by no means
unduly disposed to favour American pretensions, describes with
terse propriety the disputes which now arose. “All on our side,”
he says, “was supercilious pride; on that of the United States,
aggressive coarseness.”
To Sir Robert Peel is due the praise of having taken a decided step
to settle the north-eastern boundary. Lord Ashburton, received
with considerable enthusiasm in the United States, was at once
accepted by President Tyler, and for the better adjustment of the
difficulty, it was arranged that he should be met by Mr. Webster
in a spirit of perfect candour; that memoranda and despatches
were to be dispensed with, and that every honest, straightforward
exertion should be made on both sides to come to a satisfactory
settlement of the vexed question. Lord Ashburton had, however, to
encounter not only the Secretary of State, but the Commissioners of
Maine and Massachusetts, among whom were Mr. Abbott Lawrence and
Mr. Preble.
Mr. Grattan, who was actually invited to assist at the negotiations
by the American Commissioners, and went to Washington as _amicus
curiæ_, gives a most minute and interesting account of the whole
of the proceedings, and states positively that Mr. Webster sent a
confidential agent to the Commissioners, proposing a line far south
of the St. John’s River, before they had got further than New York,
which gave great offence to Mr. Preble, by whose influence it was
rejected. His pertinacity and the pomposity of Lawrence, with which
we are well acquainted in England, were obstacles in the way of a
calm discussion of adverse claims, but the other Commissioners are
described as exceedingly forbearing, unassuming, and well-behaved.
At first Lord Ashburton seemed to make way with Mr. Webster,
and to be on the point of obtaining a more favourable line than
that proposed by the Netherlands compromise, but the British
Commissioner had no special proof or absolute document to show that
the highlands south of St. John indicated the boundary meant by the
treaty of 1783. It was known that Dr. Franklin sent from Paris to
Washington, at the time of making the treaty, a map on which was
drawn a red ink line to show the boundary to Mr. Jefferson.
It is strange enough that, in the state of confusion caused by
conflicting statements and contradictory documents, it should not
have occurred to Lord Ashburton or to Mr. Grattan, who records his
own anxious searches after Dr. Franklin’s map, that a counterpart
might have been readily found in Paris in the archives of the
Foreign Office; but the fact was, Franklin’s map could nowhere be
found in the State Paper Department of Washington.
The production of that map with the red ink line must have placed
the boundary question beyond the reach of controversy; in fact, the
map of De Vergènnes could have been consulted at Paris, and the
same red line might have been seen on it as that which was seen in
Franklin’s. Lord Aberdeen had for some inscrutable reason resolved
that the boundary should be drawn so as to include the settlement
of Madawaska on the St. John, within the British possessions,
whilst the Commissioners were equally resolute not to except an
inch south of the St. John itself; and the arrangement proposed by
a small European monarch was regarded by the Americans as a proof
that they were entitled to all that they had asked, and that the
compromise was suggested to propitiate England.
The expectations which had been entertained of an immediate
adjustment were followed by a renewal of angry feeling and
political commotion. Lord Ashburton, after an unequal struggle with
Webster and the Commissioners, in a controversial correspondence
on which he had not very wisely entered, yielded in a spirit of
honourable concession the claim of Great Britain to the southern
line of highlands. He was impressed somewhat, no doubt, by the
vehemence and force of unanimous public opinion in America
respecting the justice of their claim, the strong and general
conviction felt that the country was in the right. Extended and
accessible on every side, his mind could not resist the constant
pressure of the audacious and penetrating weight of Webster’s
intellect, and he gradually gave way like a crumbling wall to the
flood-tide of intense determination by which he was assailed. The
middle of the St. John was accepted as the boundary, but instead of
following the highlands overlooking the valley of the St. Lawrence,
a line was determined upon sixty miles more to the south, which
thus removes the United States frontier to a tolerable distance
from the navigation of the river and the military control of the
banks.
On both sides of the Atlantic this compromise was received with
expressions of disgust and anger. The Americans, knowing themselves
very well and Englishmen very little, declared that Daniel Webster
had been bought.
In the land of liberty it is the custom of the representatives of
the people to conduct their debates in secret whenever any question
of public interest arises, and the Senate ratified the treaty by a
large majority, after a long debate carried on with closed doors
for several days.
Some time after the treaty had been signed, it turned out that
Mr. Webster had all the time possessed a map on which Franklin’s
red line, tracing the boundary of 1783 south of the St. John, was
distinctly marked.
The map in question was an authentic copy of one which was given
to De Vergènnes by Dr. Franklin himself when the treaty was made.
Its existence had been made known to the President, to the Senate,
and to all the Americans engaged in the negotiation. This map was
no doubt the same as that which had disappeared from the State
Department. Its existence was known to many people. It appears that
Mr. Jared Sparkes, of Boston, found in the archives at Paris the
following letter.
“_Paissey, Decr. 6th, 1782._
“SIR,--I have the honour of returning herewith the map your
Excellency sent me yesterday. I have marked with a strong red
line, according to your desire, the limits of the United States
as settled in the preliminaries between the British and American
Plenipotentiaries.
“With great respect,
“I am, &c.,
“B. FRANKLIN.”
This letter was addressed to the Count De Vergènnes, the French
Minister. Mr. Sparkes, in fact, discovered the actual map of
North America of 1746, and on it was drawn a strong red line
throughout the entire boundary of the United States, answering
exactly to Franklin’s description. “Imagine,” says Mr. Sparkes, “my
surprise on discovering that this line runs wholly south of the
St. John’s, and between the head waters of that river and those
of the Penobscot and Kennebec; in short, it is exactly the line
contended for by Great Britain, except that it concedes more than
is claimed.”
When the secret debates of the Senate were published, it was seen
that Mr. Rives, the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs,
had fortified his argument against the rejection of this Ashburton
line by quoting the existence of this map, and warning them of the
risk and danger of a further search into the archives of Europe. In
the debate that followed, Mr. Benton, eager to overthrow the value
of Mr. Sparkes’ discovery and of Mr. Rives’s argument, produced a
map from the Jefferson collection in the library of Congress, which
contained a dotted line marking the boundary of the Government
of Quebec under the proclamation of 1763, but strange to say, he
overlooked the fact which was at once visible to every eye, that
a strong red line, indicating the limits of the United States
according to the Treaty of Peace, was traced across it, which
coincided minutely and exactly with the boundary on Mr. Sparkes’
map.
Those who wish for the most minute details respecting this map, may
be referred to Mr. Grattan’s work. The map of Baron Steiben, and
that of Faden, coincide in a most remarkable manner in marking the
limits of the United States.
It is worthy of note that Mr. Buchanan, the last President of the
United States, did his very best to maintain the propriety of the
deceit. Mr. Calhoun is supposed to have appreciated the importance
of the discoveries, and to have felt the injury to American
diplomacy which Mr. Webster’s suppressions of truth might create on
future occasions. The Americans actually made use of the weakness
of the English Minister as an argument that they had been cheated
themselves, and Mr. Webster’s ability in concealing the truth was
considered evidence that he had not gone far enough in the same
line, and his reputation as a skilful and successful negotiator
was considered not to stand very high. The action of Sir Robert
Peel, however, prevented any endeavour to obtain the legitimate
advantages which the discovery of these maps ought to have produced.
The decision arrived at affected the State of Maine and the
pretensions of its people, but it had little to do with the
prosperity or military strength of the whole of the Union: whilst
it weakened Canada in its weakest point, and conferred most signal
advantage on the only enemy it had to fear: it bit in to the
substance of the Provinces, and at the same time cut the vein of
communication with the sea for five long winter months. Strange
that a line drawn upon a piece of paper by the hand of a man
gathered to his fathers for so many years, should for a time at
least decide so much of a nation’s happiness and prosperity--for
a time only, because it must soon be that the increasing power or
failing resources of the United States, or of Canada, will cause a
modification of the present frontier, more in accordance with the
commercial and military exigencies of the two States. The Canadians
feel that Imperial diplomacy has done them a great wrong, possibly
very much as France feels in respect to her Rhenish boundary; but
in a military point of view, perhaps the cession of Rouse’s Point
has been the most serious of all the circumstances affecting the
relations for aggressive purposes of the United States with the
Provinces.
In order that we may appreciate the importance of Mr. Webster’s
achievement, let us quote his own description of it in the great
debate which took place in the Senate on the Washington Treaty.
Mr. Webster, in noticing some of the many charges made against him
in reference to the treaty, dealt with the question of military
concession in the following manner:--
“Lord Palmerston (if he be the author of certain publications
ascribed to him) says that all the important points were given
up by Lord Ashburton to the United States. I might here state,
too, that Lord Palmerston called the whole treaty ‘the Ashburton
capitulation,’ declaring that it yielded everything that was of
importance to Great Britain, and that all its stipulations were
to the advantage of the United States, and to the sacrifice of
the interests of England. But it is not on such general, and, I
may add, such unjust statements, nor on any off-hand expressions
used in debate, though in the roundest terms, that this question
must turn. He speaks of this military road, but he entirely
misplaces it. The road which runs from New Brunswick to Canada
follows the north side of the St. John to the mouth of the
Madawaska, and then, turning north-west, follows that stream to
Lake Temiscoata, and thence proceeds over a depressed part of
the highlands till it strikes the St. Lawrence 117 miles below
Quebec. This is the road which has been always used, and there is
no other.
“I admit that it is very convenient for the British Government
to possess territory through which they may enjoy a road; it
is of great value as an avenue of communication in time of
peace; but as a military communication it is of no value at all.
What business can an army ever have there? Besides, it is no
gorge, no pass, no narrow defile, to be defended by a fort. If
a fort should be built there, an army could, at pleasure, make
a _détour_ so as to keep out of the reach of its guns. It is
very useful, I admit, in time of peace. But does not everybody
know, military man or not, that unless there is a defile, or
some narrow place through which troops must pass, and which a
fortification will command, that a mere open road must, in time
of war, be in the power of the strongest? If we retained by
treaty the territory over which the road is to be constructed,
and war came, would not the English take possession of it if
they could? Would they be restrained by a regard to the treaty
of Washington? I have never yet heard a reason adduced why this
communication should be regarded as of the slightest possible
advantage in a military point of view.
“But the circumstance to which I allude is, that, by a map
published with the speech of the honourable member from Missouri,
made in the Senate, on the question of ratifying the treaty, this
well-known and long-used road is laid down, probably from the
same source of error which misled Lord Palmerston, as following
the St. John, on its south side, to the mouth of the St. Francis;
thence along that river to its source, and thence, by a single
bound, over the highlands to the St. Lawrence, near Quebec. This
is all imagination. It is called the ‘Valley Road,’ Valley Road,
indeed! Why, Sir, it is represented as running over the very
ridge of the most inaccessible part of the highlands! It is made
to cross abrupt and broken precipices, 2000 feet high! It is, at
different points of its imaginary course, from fifty to a hundred
miles distant from the real road.
“So much, Mr. President, for the great boon of military
communication conceded to England. It is nothing more nor less
than a common road, along streams and lakes, and over a country
in great part rather flat. It then passes the heights to the St.
Lawrence. If war breaks out, we shall take it if we can, and if
we need it, of which there is not the slightest probability. It
will never be protected by fortifications, and never can be. It
will be just as easy to take it from England, in case of war, as
it would be to keep possession of it, if it were our own.
“In regard to the defence of the heights, I shall dispose of that
subject in a few words. There is a ridge of highlands which does
approach the river St. Lawrence, although it is not true that it
overlooks Quebec; on the contrary, the ridge is at the distance
of thirty or forty miles.
“It is very natural that military men in England, or indeed in
any part of Europe, should have attached great importance to
these mountains. The great military authority of England, perhaps
the highest living military authority, had served in India and
on the European continent, and it was natural enough that he
should apply European ideas of military defences to America. But
they are quite inapplicable. Highlands such as these are not
ordinarily found on the great battle-fields of Europe. They are
neither Alps nor Pyrenees; they have no passes through them, nor
roads over them, and never will have.
“Then there was another cause of misconception on this subject in
England. In 1839 an _ex parte_ survey was made, as I have said,
by Colonel Mudge and Mr. Featherstonhaugh, if survey it could be
called, of the region in the North of Maine, for the use of the
British Government. I dare say Colonel Mudge is an intelligent
and respectable officer; how much personal attention he gave the
subject I do not know. As to Mr. Featherstonhaugh, he has been in
our service, and his authority is not worth a straw. These two
persons made a report, containing this very singular statement:
That in the ridge of highlands nearest to the St. Lawrence, there
was a great _hiatus_ in one particular place, a gap of thirty or
forty miles, in which the elevation did not exceed fifty feet.
This is certainly the strangest statement that ever was made.
Their whole report gave but one measurement by the barometer,
and that measurement stated the height of 1200 feet. A survey
and map were made the following year by our own commissioners,
Messrs. Graham and Talcott, of the Corps of Topographical
Engineers, and Professor Renwick, of Columbia College. On this
map, the very spot where this gap was said to be situated is
dotted over thickly with figures, showing heights varying from
1200 to 2000 feet, and forming one rough and lofty ridge, marked
by abrupt and almost perpendicular precipices. When this map and
report of Messrs. Mudge and Featherstonhaugh were published, the
British authorities saw that this alleged gap was laid down as an
indefensible point, and it was probably on that ground alone that
they desired a line east of that ridge, in order that they might
guard against access of a hostile power from the United States.
But in truth there is no such gap; our engineers proved this, and
we quite well understood it when agreeing to the boundary. Any
man of common sense, military or not, must therefore now see,
that nothing can be more imaginary or unfounded than the idea
that any importance attaches to the possession of these heights.
“Sir, there are two old and well-known roads to Canada; one by
way of Lake Champlain and the Richelieu, to Montreal--this is the
route which armies have traversed so often, in different periods
of our history. The other leads from the Kennebec river to the
sources of the Chaudière and the Du Loup, and so to Quebec--this
last was the track of Arnold’s march. East of this, there is no
practicable communication for troops between Maine and Canada,
till we get to the Madawaska. We had before us a report from
General Wool, while this treaty was under negotiation, in which
that intelligent officer declares that it is perfectly idle to
think of fortifying any point east of this road. East of Arnold’s
track it is a mountain region, through which no army can possibly
pass into Canada. With General Wool was associated, in this
examination, Major Graham, whom I have already mentioned. His
report to General Wool, made in the year 1838, clearly points out
the Kennebec and Chaudière road as the only practicable route for
an army between Maine and Quebec. He was subsequently employed
as a commissioner in the _ex parte_ surveys of the United
States. Being an engineer officer of high character for military
knowledge and scientific accuracy, his opinion had the weight it
ought to have, and which will be readily given to it by all who
know him. His subsequent and still more thorough acquaintance
with this mountain range, in its whole extent, has only confirmed
the judgment which he had previously formed. And, Sir, this
avenue to Canada, this practicable avenue, and only practicable
avenue east of that by way of Lake Champlain, is left now just as
it was found by the treaty. The treaty does not touch it, nor in
any manner affect it.
“But I must go further. I said that the treaty of Washington was
a treaty of equivalents, in which it was expected that each party
should give something and receive something. I am now willing to
meet any gentleman, be he a military man or not, who will make
the assertion, that, in a military point of view, the greatest
advantages derived from that treaty are on the side of Great
Britain. It was on this point that I wished to say something in
reply to an honourable member from New York, who will have it
that in this treaty England supposes that she got the advantage
of us. Sir, I do not think the military advantages she obtained
by it are worth a rush. But even if they were, if she had
obtained advantages of the greatest value, would it not have been
fair in the member from New York to state, nevertheless, whether
there were not equivalent military advantages obtained on our
side, in other parts of the line? Would it not have been candid
and proper in him, when adverting to the military advantages
obtained by England, in a communication between New Brunswick and
Canada, if such advantages there were, to have stated, on the
other hand, and at the same time, our recovery of Rouse’s Point,
at the outlet of Lake Champlain? an advantage which overbalanced
all others, forty times told. I must be allowed to say, that I
certainly never expected that a member from New York, above all
other men, should speak of this treaty as conferring military
advantages on Great Britain without full equivalents. I listened
to it, I confess, with utter astonishment. A distinguished
senator from that State saw at the time, very clearly, the
advantage gained by this treaty to the United States and to New
York. He voted willingly for its ratification, and he never will
say that Great Britain obtained a balance of advantages in a
military point of view.
“Why, how is the State of New York affected by this treaty? Sir,
is not Rouse’s Point perfectly well-known, and admitted, by every
military man, to be the key of Lake Champlain? It commands every
vessel passing up or down the lake, between New York and Canada.
It had always been supposed that this point lay some distance
south of the parallel of 45°, which was our boundary line with
Canada, and therefore was within the United States; and, under
this supposition, the United States purchased the land, and
commenced the erection of a strong fortress. But a more accurate
survey having been made in 1818, by astronomers on both sides, it
was found that the parallel of 45° ran south of this fortress,
and thus Rouse’s Point, with the fort upon it, was found to be
in the British dominions. This discovery created, as well it
might, a great sensation here. None knows this better than the
honourable member from South Carolina, who was then at the head
of the Department of War. As Rouse’s Point was no longer ours,
we sent our engineers to examine the shores of the lake, to find
some other place or places which we might fortify. They made a
report on their return, saying that there were two other points
some distance south of Rouse’s Point, one called Windmill Point,
on the east side of the lake, and the other called Stony Point,
on the west side, which it became necessary now to fortify, and
they gave an estimate of the probable expense. When this treaty
was in process of negotiation, we called for the opinion of
military men respecting the value of Rouse’s Point, in order to
see whether it was highly desirable to obtain it. We had their
report before us, in which it was stated that the natural and
best point for the defence of the outlet of Lake Champlain was
Rouse’s Point. In fact, anybody might see that this was the case
who would look at the map. The point projects into the narrowest
passage by which the waters of the lake pass into the Richelieu.
Any vessel passing into or out of the lake, must come within
point-blank range of the guns of a fortress erected on this
point; and it ran out so far that any such vessel must approach
the fort, head on, for several miles, so as to be exposed to a
raking fire from the battery, before she could possibly bring her
broadside to bear upon the fort at all. It was very different
with the points farther south. Between them the passage was much
wider; so much so, indeed, that a vessel might pass directly
between the two, and not be in reach of point-blank shot from
either.”
Mr. Dickinson, of New York, here interposed, to ask whether the
Dutch line did not give us Rouse’s Point.
“Certainly not. It gave us a semicircular line, running round
the fort, but not including what we had possessed before. And
besides, we had rejected the Dutch line, and the whole point
now clearly belonged to England. It was all within the British
territory.
“I was saying that a vessel might pass between Windmill Point
and Stony Point, and be without the range of both, till her
broadside could be brought to bear upon either of them. The forts
would be entirely independent of each other, and, having no
communication, could not render each other the least assistance
in case of attack. But the military men told us there was no
sort of question that Rouse’s Point was extremely desirable as a
point of military defence. This is plain enough, and I need not
spend time to prove it. Of one thing I am certain, that the true
road to Canada is by the way of Lake Champlain. That is the old
path. I take to myself the credit of having said here, thirty
years ago, speaking of the mode of taking Canada, that, when an
American woodsman undertakes to fell a tree, he does not begin
by lopping off the branches, but strikes his axe at once into
the trunk. The trunk, in relation to Canada, is Montreal, and
the River St. Lawrence down to Quebec; and so we found in the
last war. It is not my purpose to scan the propriety of military
measures then adopted, but I suppose it to have been rather
accidental and unfortunate that we began the attack in Upper
Canada. It would have been better military policy, as I suppose,
to have pushed our whole force by the way of Lake Champlain, and
made a direct movement on Montreal; and though we might thereby
have lost the glories of the battles of the Thames and of Lundy’s
Lane, and of the sortie from Port Erie, yet we should have won
other laurels of equal, and perhaps greater value, at Montreal.
Once successful in this movement, the whole country above
would have fallen into our power. Is not this evident to every
gentleman?
“Rouse’s Point is the best means of defending both the ingress
into the lake, and the exit from it. And I say now, that on
the whole frontier of the State of New York, with the single
exception of the Narrows below the city, there is not a point
of equal importance. I hope this government will last for ever;
but if it does not, and if, in the judgment of Heaven, so great
a calamity shall befall us as the rupture of this Union, and
the State of New York shall thereby be thrown upon her own
defences, I ask, is there a single point, except the Narrows,
the possession of which she will so much desire? No, there is
not one. And how did we obtain this advantage for her? The
parallel of 45° north was established by the treaty of 1783 as
our boundary with Canada in that part of the line. But, as I
have stated, that line was found to run south of Rouse’s Point.
And how did we get back this precious possession? By running
a semicircle like that of the King of the Netherlands? No; we
went back to the old line, which had always been supposed to be
the true line, and the establishment of which gave us not only
Rouse’s Point, but a strip of land containing some thirty or
forty thousand acres between the parallel of 45° and the old line.
“The same arrangement gave us a similar advantage in Vermont;
and I have never heard that the constituents of my friend near
me made any complaint of the treaty. That State got about sixty
or seventy thousand acres, including several villages, which
would otherwise have been left on the British side of the line.
We received Rouse’s Point, and this additional land, as one of
the equivalents for the cession of territory made in Maine. And
what did we do for New Hampshire? There was an ancient dispute
as to which was the north-westernmost head of the Connecticut
River. Several streams were found, either of which might be
insisted on as the true boundary. But we claimed that which is
called Hall’s Stream. This had not formerly been allowed; the
Dutch award did not give to New Hampshire what she claimed; and
Mr. Van Ness, our commissioner, appointed under the Treaty of
Ghent, after examining the ground, came to the conclusion that
we were not entitled to Hall’s Stream. I thought that we were
so entitled, although I admit that Hall’s Stream does not join
the Connecticut River till after it has passed the parallel of
45°. By the Treaty of Washington this demand was agreed to, and
it gave New Hampshire 100,000 acres of land. I do not say that
we obtained this wrongfully; but I do say that we got that which
Mr. Van Ness had doubted our right to. I thought the claim just,
however, and the line was established accordingly. And here let
me say, once for all, that, if we had gone for arbitration, we
should inevitably have lost what the treaty gave to Vermont and
New York; because all that was clear matter of cession, and not
adjustment of doubtful boundary.”
Unfortunately Mr. Webster but too well described our share of
the advantages obtained by this “treaty of equivalents.” The
consequences to us in a war might be more disastrous than those he
indicated.
CHAPTER XVII.
The Acadian Confederation--Union is Strength--The
Provinces--New Brunswick--The Temperature--Trade of St.
John--Climate and agriculture of Nova Scotia--Prince Edward
Island--Newfoundland--The Red River District--Assiniboia--The
Red River Valley--Minnesota and the West--The Hudson’s Bay
Company--Their Territory--The North-West Regions--Climate of
Winnipeg Basin--Its area--Finances of the Confederation--Imports,
exports, and tonnage--Proposed Federal Constitution--Lessons from
the American struggle.
We have now seen the dangers which threaten Canada, we have to some
extent examined the means of resisting them, and have followed
the process by which a severe injury was inflicted on her powers
of defence. Mr. Webster was a grand specimen of unscrupulous
intelligence--he was a colossal “Yankee.” It will be observed that
he regarded the acquisitions so dexterously made--_quocunque modo
rem_--as valuable on account of their military capabilities--that
he took the highest point accessible to the American mind when he
showed that his work could be made available for the annoyance and
injury of Great Britain. In so far he betrayed--if indeed there is
any deception in the matter--the animating principle of American
political life. Let any public man prove that he has hurt the
English power or affronted it--that he has damnified its commerce
and lowered its prestige, and the popular sentiment will applaud
him, no matter the agency by which his purpose was effected.
Recent events have greatly inflamed the spirit which always burned
against us. The very events which have broken up the Union may
resolve its fragments into a new combination more formidable and
more aggressive.
The course open to Canada, which may feel once more the force of
that permanent principle in the American mind, is plain. Great
Britain may be too far off. She may be too much engaged to be
able to aid Canada efficiently and fully. But on the borders of
Canada there are provinces with great resources and a great future,
which have hitherto been prevented by various considerations
from welding themselves into a Confederation. The time has come
now in the white heat of American strife for the adoption of the
process. The Confederation of States with divers interests under
a weak executive has fallen to pieces. All the more reason for
a Confederation of States with common interests and with one
governing principle. If we accept the common governing principle
of all the Colonies and Provinces to be their attachment to
Monarchical institutions, any pressure from the influences of
Republican institutions can but consolidate their union.
Under the circumstances in which the various distinct dependencies
of the British Crown in the Continent of North America find
themselves placed, it is not surprising that the idea of a
Confederation for the purposes of common defence and military
corroboration should have arisen. It is surprising that it should
have floated about so long, and have stirred men to action so
feebly. I think it is the first notion that occurs to a stranger
visiting Canada and casting about for a something to put in place
of the strength which distant England cannot, and Canadians will
not, afford. At least, there is no sign as yet that the Canadians
will quite arouse from a sleep which no fears disturb, although
they hear the noise of robbers. They will not prepare for war,
because they wish for peace, and it is plain enough that if war
should come instead of peace, England would be too late to save
them, because she would be too far. Now, let it not be supposed
that any confederation of the Canadas and British North American
provinces would yield such an increase of force as would enable
the collective or several members of it to resist the force of the
Republic of the Northern American United States--at least, not just
now. But in the very conflict in which the Northern and Southern
Confederations are engaged, we see the vast energy and resources of
a union of States in war time as compared with the action of States
not so joined:--France, Great Britain, Turkey, and Sardinia were
associated in the war with Russia, but their power would have been
much greater had they acted under a common head. There is in every
association of the States the danger of ultimate convulsions, and
of death itself, whenever the Constitution and ideas of one State
differ from those of another: for the difference of constitution
and ideas is sure to produce soon a conflict of interests and
opinions which the bond of Federation cannot compress. In the two
Canadas there are certain opposing principles at work which have
interfered with harmonious action at times. These might receive
greater vitality and power on each side if the cohesion of the
British dependencies were not complete. The religious questions
which now are mixed with questions of race would perhaps acquire
development, and become more active and more mischievous. But the
actual positive visible dangers of non-Confederation are more
weighty than those which may come by-and-by from the adoption of a
common central government subject to the Crown. Setting out with
the principle of submission to the Throne--with the recognition of
the sovereignty of the monarch of Great Britain and Ireland--with
the full acknowledgment of the rights and prerogatives pertaining
to the Crown--with the charters of their several and collective
liberties in their possession, the only great schism to be
apprehended is one which might arise from the exercise of
Parliamentary control over the action of the Confederation, because
colonists will never admit that the Parliament can stand in the
place of the Crown. Let us take a glance at the vast area, and
consider the importance of the various colonies which own now no
bond of connection, except a common obedience to the Queen, in
order that we may appreciate their strength as a Confederation.
* * * * *
The Province of New Brunswick contains just 28,000 square miles;
it lies between 45° and 48° lat. (north), and 63° 45’ and 67°
50’ long. (west), washed on the east by the waters of the Gulf
of St. Lawrence, and on the south by those of the Bay of Fundy.
It has a very extensive seaboard, not less than two-thirds being
maritime; whilst on the west it is bounded by the frontier
of the State of Maine, and on the north by Lower Canada. The
population in 1851 was 193,000, and it probably is not less
now than 225,000 souls. The boastfulness of the Americans, and
more especially of New Englanders, in all that relates to their
country, causes us to overlook the progress of our own colonies,
and we shall be surprised to find the increase of people in New
Brunswick has been greater than that of Vermont, Maine, or New
Hampshire, by an average of 10 per cent. within the decade up to
1851. The Government is vice-monarchical and parliamentary; the
Lieutenant-Governor of the Province being Commander-in-Chief,
Admiral, and Chancellor. His ministers are the Executive Council,
consisting of nine members, whose tenure of office depends on the
will of the people, inasmuch as they must retire on a vote of
want of confidence. The Parliament consists of the Legislative
Council, which is somewhat analogous to the House of Peers. It is
composed of 21 members, who are appointed by the Crown _durante
placito_, but who usually hold office for life. Although the
Peers of Parliament are in one sense nominated by the Crown, they
are legislators _durante vitâ_, and cannot be removed from their
functions by the Crown, and in other respects there are defects
in an analogy between them and the House of Lords. The House of
Assembly, consisting of 41 members, is elected every four years by
the people of the fourteen counties, and of the city of St. John.
The House levies taxes and duties, and regulates the expenditure
and internal affairs of the Province; but the Legislative Council
may reject all its measures except those relating to money matters,
and the assent of the Governor-General is needed to all measures
whatever. But it does not follow that the consent of Council,
Assembly, and Lieutenant-Governor will do more than stamp the
measure with the popular and official _imprimatur_ in the eyes of
the Home Government, because Her Majesty in Council may reject any
law whatever. It is rather in theory than in practice, however,
that such an exercise of prerogative exists; but in case of any
marked difference of opinion between the Home Government and the
Colonial Legislature, it is obvious that such a power, however
consonant with monarchical right and tradition, might cause serious
antagonism and create wide breaches. The risk of such disturbing
influences would, of course, be diminished by the action of a
general government.
It is little more than 100 years since a number of English settlers
and colonists, then loyal, coming from Massachusetts, sailed from
Newbury Fort to the coast of New Brunswick, which had been ceded
by France to the British in 1713. Constantly menaced by the French
Canadians, the few English who represented the Crown could scarcely
be considered to hold the most attenuated possession of the
Province, until the French were obliged finally to cede all claims
to the possession of an acknowledged nationality in British North
America. The English maintained that the whole tract of country
now known as Nova Scotia and New Brunswick belonged to the Crown
by virtue of the discoveries of Sebastian Cabot; but the French
were the first to found permanent settlements, and certainly gave
good reason why Acadia, as they termed the district, despite its
frosts and snows and long lugubrious winters, should belong to the
_fleur-de-lys_. As soon as Wolfe’s victory had established the
power of England, the enterprising spirit of the New Englanders
led them to undertake settlements in these neglected regions. They
carried with them what they had derived from the old country--a
love of law, not of litigation; the forms of justice in the courts
which administered its substance:--a magistracy, a police, a moral
life and social liberty; these were possessed by the settlers at a
time when the vast majority of the people of Ireland was deprived
of any semblance of such rights; and when Scotland, unsuccessful
in her last effort for legitimacy and the Divine right of kings,
was just recovering from the swoon into which she had fallen as the
last volleys rolled away from Culloden.
The New Englanders who settled Mangerville and civilised Sunbury
were loyal to the Crown in the revolt of the colonies; they formed
a nucleus round which gathered many of the New England Tories and
their families, so that in 1783 it was considered expedient by
the Government to locate those who were called loyalists, and who
shook the dust off their feet at the door of the New Republic,
along the cleared settlements adjoining the Bay of Fundy and the
water of St. John. It is strange that the first newspaper should
have been printed by these outcasts at a time when there were
scarcely half-a-dozen journals known in the mother country; but the
peculiar circumstances under which these immigrants were placed
no doubt developed the energies of a press which was not shackled
by any political censorship. The wealth of the people lay around
them; their mines were in the forest, and the axe provided them
with currency. To Sir Guy Carlton, the first Governor, when New
Brunswick received a distinct Charter and a new Constitution and
was separated from Nova Scotia, in 1788, must be conceded the
credit of having nursed for twenty years, with singular care and
success, the infancy of the colony:--a succession of Presidents
or Governors and Councillors, whose names are reproduced in the
history of the American colonies,--such men as Beverley, Robinson,
Putman, Winslow, and Ludlow,--succeeded in the charge, and
gradually developed the resources of the rising community.
Fire has wrought more than one great wrong to this land of frost
and snow. Yet it would not be just to describe New Brunswick as
a Siberia. From Christmas to March the country is tolerably well
provided with a coating of snow. From April to May ploughing and
seed time last, and before October the harvests are generally
gathered in. A glorious autumn yields to the rainfalls of November,
and these in their turn harden to sleet and snow in December; but,
after all, nearly seven months give space for sowing, ploughing,
reaping, and saving. The New Brunswickers, indeed, believe that
the very seventy of the frost in winter tends to render the
cultivation of the land more easy than it is in Britain; and
certainly rainfalls, and all the variableness of climate, do more
injury in England than they do in New Brunswick. The greatest
ranges of temperature are in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where they
reach from 20° below zero to 90° above it; the highest temperature
at St. John may be reckoned at 86°, the lowest at 14°. There are
about 180 clear days and 120 cloudy days in the year, and the
snow-storms rarely last more than two days at a time. Now here
is a region to which one would think the bedrenched Highlander,
the betaxed Englishman, and much-vexed Irishman would resort in
myriads. And there is land for many. At least 6,000,000 acres
of land suited for crops and wood settlements are still to be
disposed of. For half-a-crown a man may buy an acre of land, but
of that sum only 7½_d._ is demanded on sale, and the remainder
may be paid in instalments extending over three years. The sales
of the country lands are monthly. If the settler likes to pay on
the spot he can have his land for 2_s._ an acre. Think of that,
conacre men of Tipperary and Leitrim! Think of that, farmers of
the Lothians, or tenants of the Highland straths! Shall I ask the
men of Dorsetshire and East Gloucester to think of it too? Nor
need they fear to change their mode of life, except it be for the
better, after the first rude work of labour is done; nor need
they fear to suffer from climate or disease. Typhus will cease
to kill--fever and dysentery to decimate. And if the settler has
kinsmen and friends willing to join with him, he can claim for
himself and each of them 100 acres of land, and pay for it by the
work of road-making in the new country, so that in four years, if
the work set by the Commissioners be executed, each man who has
been one year resident and has brought ten acres into cultivation,
becomes, _ipso facto_, owner of the whole lot of 100 acres. Now
this is in a country which has been described by no incompetent
witness, not as the peer of any region on earth in the beauty of
wood and water, but as the superior of the best. The St. John
flows in all its grandeur through the midst of the province, and
the Restigouche gives a charm of scenery to the forest not to be
surpassed. Lakes and streams open up dell, valley, and mountain
pass. Every creek in the much-indented coast swarms with fish. The
Bay of Fundy abounds with codfish and pollock, bake, haddock, shad,
herring, halibut, mackerel, eels, skate, and many other kinds of
fish. The mouths of the rivers swarm with salmon, trout, striped
basse, gaspereaux, shad, and white trout. The Gulf of St. Lawrence
and the Bay of Chaleurs yield nearly every description of valuable
fish, as well as lobsters, crabs, oysters, and other shellfish. The
Province receives nearly 100,000_l._ a year in exchange for the
fish packed in ice, or cured and exported to foreign countries. Its
wealth in timber is incalculable, because the value rises gradually
with the demand for the produce of its forests all over the world,
and, with prudent management, these forests may be considered as
inexhaustible. Coal of a bituminous character has been worked for
some years past in several districts; iron, manganese, lead, and
copper, also exist in considerable quantities, and the mineral
produce of the Province will no doubt add much to its importance as
the works receive greater development.
Although the trade of shipbuilding does not show a regular
increase, the size of the vessels built at St. John and Miramichi
has been increasing. Upwards of 100 ships were launched at these
ports in 1860, with a measurement of 41,000 tons, and were worth
upwards of 320,000_l._ Various branches of trade have obtained
respectable dimensions and are growing steadily. Fredericton, the
capital of the Province, is situated on the St. John, eighty-two
miles from the sea, where the navigation for sea-going ships
may be regarded as at an end. The number of great lakes which
are available for internal commerce and transport complete the
facilities offered by the river system and by the main roads, the
latter of which have been liberally promoted by the Province. The
water power of the colony is boundless. Education is provided by
the Legislature, so that the poorest man can give his children the
advantage of a sound instruction almost without cost. Religion
is free, and the voluntary system mitigates the animosity of
sects. Emigrants from the South of Ireland have found here all the
conditions of prosperity, and have turned them to good account.
Scotch and English thrive exceedingly. Indeed, if it were not that
the greater clamour and bustle of the United States had succeeded
in overpowering the appeals of New Brunswick to the favour of the
emigrant, many thousands of our countrymen would have there found
the ease and comfort which they have sought in vain under the
rule of the Republic. The very name, New Brunswick, has no doubt
repelled settlers. A New Brunswick ship they know nothing of even
if they see one, and the name itself rarely reaches their ears.
* * * * *
Nova Scotia formerly comprised the Province of New Brunswick,
but is now reduced to the length of 256 miles, and the breadth
of 100 miles. The island of Cape Breton, which belongs to it, is
100 miles long, and 72 broad. The area of Nova Scotia and Cape
Breton is over 18,000 square miles. The population is estimated at
370,000, the Census of 1861 having given 330,860 and the ratio of
increase having been on an average of four per cent. per annum;
but emigrants are rarely attracted to the colony. In 1861, of the
people, 294,000 were native Nova Scotians, 16,000 were of Scottish,
9,000 of Irish, 3,000 of English origin; France, which founded the
colony, had only 88 representatives on land. The English Church
had 48,000 members, the Scotch Church numbered 88,000, the Church
of Rome 80,000; there were 56,000 Baptists, 34,000 Wesleyans, and,
wonderful to say, only 3 Deists. When it is considered that the
coal-fields of Nova Scotia are the finest in the world, that her
mining wealth is extraordinary, that her seas, lakes, and rivers
teem with fish, that her forests yield the finest timber, that the
soil gives an ample return to the farmer, and the earth is full
of mineral resources, it is surprising that emigrants of limited
means have not been tempted to try their fortune, in spite of the
threatening skies and somewhat rigid winters. Nearly five millions
and a half acres of land are still in the hands of the Crown,
of which upwards of four million acres are open for settlement,
and the average price is about 1_s._ 8_d._ an acre. From a very
trustworthy work prepared by Messrs. Hind, Keefer, Hodgins, Robb,
Perley, and the Rev. Wm. Murray, to which I am indebted for much
valuable information, it would appear that the climate of Nova
Scotia is by no means so severe as it is reported to be, both in
Great Britain and the United States. Though, at some seasons,
the weather is very severe, as compared with England, Ireland,
the South of Scotland, and a great portion of the United States
of America, still it is more conducive to health than the milder
but more humid corresponding seasons in those countries. The
length and severity of Nova Scotia winters are greatly compensated
by the mildness and beauty of autumn--which is protracted, not
unfrequently, into the middle of December--as well as by the months
of steady sleighing which follow. The extreme of cold is 24° Fahr.
below zero; the extreme of heat, 95° above, in the shade. These
extremes have not been often attained to of late years. The mean
temperature of the year is 43°. There are about 100 days in which
the temperature is above 70° in summer. There are about twenty
nights in the year in which the temperature is below zero. The
coldest season is from the last week of December till the first
week of March.
The following table exhibits the annual mean temperature of several
European cities, as compared with Halifax, Nova Scotia, and
Toronto, C. W.:--
Latitude. Fahrenheit.
44° 40´ Halifax 43·8
43 39 Toronto 44·4
52 31 Berlin 47·5
53 23 Dublin 49·1
50 7 Frankfort 49·5
49 39 Cherbourg 52·1
MEAN SUMMER TEMPERATURE.
Fahrenheit.
Halifax 62·0
Toronto 64·5
Greenwich 60·9
Berlin 63·2
Cherbourg 61·9
The annual quantity of rain which falls is about forty-one inches.
Of this quantity about six and a half inches fall in the form of
snow. The annual depth of snow is eight and a half feet. Much of
this quantity of snow is not allowed to rest long in its solid
form. There are about 114 days of rain on the average in each
year; much of this occurs in winter. The average number of days
of snow in each year is about sixty. Violent tempests are not of
frequent occurrence in Nova Scotia. The prevailing winds are the
south-west, west, and north-west. In summer the north, north-west,
and west winds are cool and dry. In winter they are cold and
piercing. The south and south-west are mild--agreeable--delightful.
The north-east brings the greatest snow-storms; the east and
south-east the most disagreeable rain-storms. Spring commences in
Nova Scotia with the beginning of April. Seed-time and planting
continue till the middle of June. Summer begins with the latter
part of June, and embraces July and August. Vegetation is very
rapid in the middle and western parts of the province, where the
hay crop, and usually nearly all the grain crops, are harvested by
the last week of August or first week of September. Autumn is the
finest season in Nova Scotia. It is mild, serene, and cool enough
to be bracing, and the atmosphere is of a purity that renders it
peculiarly exhilarating and health-giving. The “Indian summer”
occurs sometimes as late as the middle of November, and lasts
from three to ten days. The winter in Nova Scotia may be said to
comprise about four months. It begins, some seasons, with the 1st
of December, and runs into the month of April. In other seasons
it begins in the middle of December and ends with the last of
March. The mean temperature of spring is 49°; of summer, 62°; of
autumn, 35°; of winter, 22°. Similarity in agricultural productions
furnishes a very fair criterion for the comparison of the climates
of different countries. Wheat, rye, oats, barley, buckwheat, Indian
corn, potatoes, turnips, mangel-wurzel, tomatoes, and other roots
and grains grow in abundance and perfection in Nova Scotia. Apples,
pears, plums, cherries, and a multitude of smaller garden-fruits
attain the utmost perfection. In some sections of the country
peaches and grapes ripen in the open air. The climate of Nova
Scotia is highly favourable both to health and length of days.
Men and women frequently attain to the age of eighty years with
the full possession of their mental faculties, and in excellent
bodily health. It is not unusual to find men enjoying good health
at ninety; and not a few reach one hundred years, while some pass
that extreme boundary. Let the proportion of deaths to population
in Nova Scotia he compared with that in Great Britain and the State
of Rhode Island:--
Nova Scotia, 1 in 70·71, or less than 1½ per cent.
Rhode Island, 1 in 46·11, or more than 2 ”
Great Britain, 1 in 44·75, or more than 2 ”
The climate of Nova Scotia is not noted for the generation of any
disease peculiar to itself. Diphtheria has, of late years, been its
most terrible scourge.
* * * * *
Prince Edward Island--called so after the father of Queen
Victoria--is another member of the great group of British colonies
and dependencies. This island, which is about 130 miles long and 30
miles broad, has less than 100,000 inhabitants. It contained less
than 5,000 souls in 1770, when it was separated from the government
of Nova Scotia, and was erected into an independent province
under unfavourable circumstances, arising out of the unfortunate
conditions which were made when the land was allotted to the
original proprietors. The early history of the colony afforded a
remarkable exemplification of wrong-doing with good intentions, and
the errors of the first English rulers who regulated the settlement
of the province were not atoned for till many years of patient
effort on the part of the people had been devoted to a removal of
abuses. The island is under a Governor named by the Crown, whose
Cabinet consists of an Executive Council of nine, selected from
the Legislative Council and from the House of Assembly, the former
consisting of twelve, the latter of thirty members, elected by the
people.
Newfoundland is 420 miles long, and has an extreme breadth of 300
miles. The population is now about 130,000. Notwithstanding its
name, there is reason to believe that it was known to Icelanders
and Norwegians, to Vikings and Danes, four centuries before Cabot
came upon his Bonavista. The early history of our connection with
this great island is not creditable to those who had influence with
the home authorities. In 1832, following the principle of universal
suffrage, which was considered applicable to a colony, though it
was rejected at home, a Legislative system was erected on the basis
of manhood franchise, the only qualification being that the voter
should have been a year in the same house. The Governor, who is of
course a representative and nominee of the Crown, is assisted by an
Executive Council of five members, and the Parliament consists of
a Legislative Council of twelve and a House of Assembly of thirty
members.
* * * * *
There exists on the west of Canada a vast region which may,
perhaps, become great and flourishing in less time than the
districts which, inhabited by red men and wild beasts in 1776, now
form some of the most important of the North and South American
States.
It is one of the very greatest of the evils connected with our
parliamentary system, that small or local interests at home are
likely to receive attention in preference to the largest general
interests of dependencies. The Colonial Office is a sort of
buffer between Parliament and the shocks of colonial aggressions
and demands; and the Chancellor of the Exchequer can at any time
find easy means of squelching any tendency in the chancellor of
a barbarian administration “to dip his finger” into the Imperial
purse. Now, when “the People of Red River settlement” address a
memorial to the British and Canadian Governments with the view
of obtaining a road to open up the wonderfully fine country they
inhabit to British subjects and to commerce, without dependency
on the United States, it may so happen that at the period in
question the smallest claim of a metropolitan borough shall be
considered of far greater preponderance; nor will the Government
or the Colonial Office at any time be much disposed to irritate
a friendly member who is inimical to colonies, or to provoke the
animosity of economists, for an object which is as intangible and
incomprehensible to the mass of Parliament as a project to run
a railway to Eutopia, or to connect Timbuctoo with China. Mr.
Sandford Fleming, who has been selected as the agent of these
very settlers, has set forth their case with much ability; but
he will scarce become the Lesseps of this overland Suez, unless
some members of the House, who really look beyond the interests
of the day, and take heed for the future of the Empire, can be
induced to listen to his facts and arguments. In 1863 a statement
was submitted by that gentleman to Lord Monck in elucidation of
the memorial of the settlers, which contains most interesting
facts and some valuable arguments. Among the works of good
Governments the making of roads and securing of easy means of
intercommunication among the people subject to them must ever
be of paramount importance. The people of Red River ask for the
opening of the Lake Superior route to British Columbia, and to
have a telegraphic line established, to both of which objects
they will contribute to the best of their ability. The point of
British territory nearest to the Red River settlement by water is
on the northern shore of Lake Superior, 400 miles distant; and the
intervening distance can only be traversed by a combined system
of “portages” and canoe voyages so difficult and tedious as in
effect to bar the access of commercial enterprise, and to chill
any spirit but that of adventurous geography, amateur travel,
or the search after gold and game--thus, in fact, constituting
obstacles which are well described as “practically exiling the
settlers for the last two generations.” The route proposed for the
links which are to connect the exiles with the world would be a
part of the great project to connect the shores of the Atlantic
and Pacific within the British possessions; and it is maintained
that the favourable character of the Red River district for such a
road removes the objections which might be formed on the ground of
distance and difficulty. The Hudson’s Bay Company used the Pigeon
River route, which runs along by the boundary of the United States,
and is therefore not desirable in case of hostilities, and the
Kaministiguia route, called so from the river of that name. Mr.
Fleming, taking up the suggestions of Mr. Dawson in his report to
the Canadian Government, recommends the creation of a territorial
road from some point in connection with the railway system, such as
Ottawa, to Nipigon Bay on Lake Superior, which would be ample as a
trading port, whence a stage and steamboat communication could be
established by making 197 miles of roads and two dams--one at the
outlet of Dog Lake, and the other at Little Falls; or, by making
232 miles of road, and a couple of locks at Fort Francis, and a
dam, the route might be reduced to 273 miles of water, if the
road were pushed on to Savanne River. It must be remembered that
the Americans have already established a route by Chicago; but
an examination of the distances from Toronto shows that the Lake
Superior route would save no less than 715 miles of rail, 35 of
water, and 58 of road. The American route, however, possesses the
advantage of having already 820 miles of rail, of which 514 carry
the traveller to Chicago from Toronto, and 306 convey him from
Chicago to Prairie La Crosse; whereas there is only a length of 95
miles open in Canada, from Toronto westwards to Collingwood. There
is also an American route by Detroit, Milwaukee, and La Crosse to
Port Garry, 1696 miles long, but that is still 646 miles longer
than the communication which could be made by means of 232 miles
of road, the construction of a dam and the locks in question.
Labour might be tempted by offering, as is suggested, blocks of
100 acres to settlers on condition of their giving ten days’ work
in each year for ten years on the road, and thus preparing it for
a railway track; but the settlers must be more patient and easily
satisfied than their language now indicates, if they are content
with the prospect of such a tedious fulfilment of their wishes.
They are willing to open a road 100 miles long to the Lake of Woods
if England or Canada will guarantee the rest of the road to Lake
Superior; and they believe such a road would rapidly fill Central
British America with an industrious loyal people, and counteract
the influence of the North American Republics. Whether the grand
confederation which they foresee of flourishing provinces from
Vancouver’s Island to Nova Scotia, commanding the Atlantic and the
Pacific, and keeping in line the boundaries of the Republicans, be
ever realised in our day, it is plain that the people will neither
be British nor loyal if they are neglected. The Americans have long
been turning their eyes in the direction of these regions. Mr.
Sibley, the last Governor of Minnesota, ordered Mr. James W. Taylor
to obtain reliable information relative to the physical aspects and
other facts connected with the British possessions on the line of
the overland route from Pembina, viâ the Red River settlement and
the Saskatchewan Valley, to Frazer’s River. That gentleman’s report
was presented by Governor Ramsay to the Legislature of the State
in 1860, with a recommendation to their attention as “relating
to matters which concern in a great degree the future growth and
development of our State.” Mr. Taylor was received by Mr. McTavish
at the Selkirk settlement with every respect and consideration. He
found the British colony of Assiniboia prosperous and flourishing.
Respecting that colony he says:--
“Of the present community of ten thousand souls, about five
thousand are competent, at this moment, to assume any civil
or social responsibility which may be imposed upon them. The
accumulations from the fur trade during fifty years, with few
excitements or opportunities of expenditure, have secured general
prosperity, with frequent instances of affluence; while the
numerous churches and schools sustain a high standard of morality
and intelligence.
“The people of Selkirk fully appreciate the advantages of
communication with the Mississippi River and Lake Superior
through the State of Minnesota. They are anxious for the utmost
facilities of trade and intercourse. The navigation of the Red
River by a steam-boat during the summer of 1859 was universally
recognised as marking a new era in their annals. This public
sentiment was pithily expressed by the remark: ‘In 1851 the
Governor of Minnesota visited us; in 1859 comes a steamboat; and
ten years more will bring the railroad!’”
The persons who expressed that sentiment differed entirely from
the memorialists already mentioned; but it must be that the
Selkirk people, if neglected, will incline towards the hand which
is stretched out to them across the waste, no matter whence it
comes. “Most amicable relations” do no doubt “exist between
the trading-post at Port Garry and Kitson’s Station at St.
Boniface;” but long as they may endure--and I trust they may be
perpetual--they will not amount to a preference for Republican
institutions, if the mother country seeks to secure the settlers
by the most tender or subtle link of interest or regard. What
change may be made in respect to the jurisdiction and powers of
the Hudson’s Bay Company by the home authorities must depend for
the time on circumstances; but the actual settlers seem to hope
that the rumours which attributed to Lord Derby’s Government the
intention of organising a colony, bounded by Lakes Superior and
Winnipeg on the east, by the Rocky Mountains on the west, by
the American frontier on the south, and by lat. 55 deg. on the
north, may yet be justified. The Canadian Government, Palliser’s
expedition, Noble’s explorations, Mr. J. W. Hamilton’s surveys,
and a considerable number of public and private investigations
conducted in the interests of politics, commerce, religion, and
geographical science, have all contributed their share to our
knowledge of this vast territory; and the more we know of it the
more eligible it seems as a field for individual enterprise, and an
area for the exercise of legitimate Imperial ambition.
From Lake Winnipeg to the highest navigable point of Red River,
which flows into the lake with a course from north to south,
there is a distance of 575 miles, only interrupted by some very
insignificant shoals at the mouth of Goose River and the Shayenne.
Red Lake River and the Assiniboina extend the area of “coast”
navigable by steamers in the Red River Valley to 900 miles--much
more than is enjoyed internally by the United Kingdom and France
together. Throughout the districts thus permeated by navigable
rivers, rye, oats, barley, potatoes, grass, and wheat, grow as
well as they do in Minnesota; and to these wild regions must be
added the country along the great north Saskatchewan, and even the
region which lies between it and the Rocky Mountains in a northerly
direction. When Mr. Taylor wrote his Report, there was no reason
to believe that “an adjustment of the future relations of the
British Provinces and of the American States on a basis of mutual
good-will and interest” might not be practicable; but Fort Sumter
changed all that, we fear, and there seems little chance of such an
international compact as he anticipates for a customs and postal
union. In reference to such an adjustment he says:--
“It should, at all events, stipulate that the Reciprocity
Treaty, enlarged in its provisions and renewed for a long period
of years, shall be extended to the Pacific Ocean, and, in
connection therewith, all laws discriminating between American
and foreign built vessels should be abolished, establishing
freedom of navigation on all the intermediate rivers and lakes
of the respective territories. Such a policy of free trade
and navigation with British America would give to the United
States, and especially to the western States, all the commercial
advantages, without the political embarrassments, of annexation,
and would, in the sure progress of events, relieve our extended
northern frontier from the horrors and injuries of war between
fraternal communities.”
It is little to be doubted that the people of Minnesota are very
well-disposed to remain on friendly terms with their neighbours;
but the Federal Government at Washington, no matter for what party
or section it acts, must, by the very necessity of its being and
conditions of power, conduct the policy of the United States in a
very different spirit. It is true, our friends have, even so early,
given some indications that they are prepared for eventualities.
Whilst they have not been indifferent to the erection of a military
post at Pembina, some of their politicians, with a ludicrous
pretence of fear from the colonists, in case of war, have called
for the creation of frontier forts; and the Indians in the
north-west of Minnesota, who had a reservation, are to be treated
with the usual measure of justice used by the white skin in dealing
with the red skin, and to be exterminated or driven into space as
soon as convenient or practicable. Mr. Taylor, in reference to
the existence of coal near the sources of the Saskatchewan, which
is undoubted, admits the uncertainty of carboniferous strata in
the ridges between the Minnesota and the Red River north of the
Mississippi and Saskatchewan, though there are geological reasons
to hold that they will be found there. In justice to the spirit in
which this Report is conceived, I quote the concluding passages:--
“The allusion just made to the exploring expedition conducted
under the authority of Canada, justifies a tribute to the zeal
and intelligence with which the enterprise of an emigration
and transportation route, from Fort William on the north shore
of Lake Superior, to Fort Garry, is prosecuted. With the civil
organisation of Central British America, a waggon road between
those points, to be followed by a railroad, will receive all
requisite encouragement, certainly from the Canadian Treasury,
perhaps by the efficient co-operation of the Home Government. The
North-west Transit Company, acting under a Canadian charter, but
understood to have enlisted London capitalists, is expected to
resume operations during the summer of 1860. These movements of
our provincial neighbours cannot fail to influence the policy of
Minnesota in favour of more satisfactory communications than we
now possess between Lake Superior and the channels of the Upper
Mississippi and the Red River of the north.
“I desire, in conclusion, to express my obligations to the
late Executive of Minnesota, for the confidence implied by the
commission, to which the foregoing is a response. Believing
firmly that the prosperity and development of this State is
intimately associated with the destiny of North-west British
America, I am gratified to record the rapid concurrence of
events which indicate that the frontier, hitherto resting upon
the sources of the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi, is soon to
be pushed far beyond the international frontier by the march of
Anglo-Saxon civilisation.”
It is indeed “a country worth fighting for;” and whether the
contest be carried on by the slow processes of immigration or by
the ruder agencies of neglect, the conqueror and the conquered will
have reason to regard the result with very decided sentiments of
joy or sorrow at no distant time. In the language of the report of
the New York Chamber of Commerce--“There is in the heart of North
America a distinct sub-division, of which Lake Winnipeg may be
regarded as the centre. This sub-division, like the valley of the
Mississippi, is distinguished for the fertility of its soil, and
for the extent and gentle slope of its great plains, watered by
rivers of great length, and admirably adapted for steam navigation.
It has a climate not exceeding in severity that of many portions of
Canada and the eastern States. It will, in all respects, compare
favourably with some of the most densely peopled portions of the
continent of Europe. In other words, it is admirably fitted to
become the seat of a numerous, hardy, and prosperous community. It
has an area equal to eight or ten first-class American States. Its
great river, the Saskatchewan, carries a navigable water-line to
the very base of the Rocky Mountains. It is not at all improbable
that the valley of this river may yet offer the best route for
a railroad to the Pacific. The navigable waters of this great
sub-division interlock with those of the Mississippi. The Red
River of the north, in connection with Lake Winnipeg, into which
it falls, forms a navigable water-line, extending directly north
and south nearly eight hundred miles. The Red River is one of the
best adapted to the use of steam in the world, and waters one of
the finest regions on the continent. Between the highest point at
which it is navigable, and St. Paul, on the Mississippi, a railroad
is in process of construction and when this road is completed,
another grand division of the continent, comprising half a million
square miles, will be open to settlement.”
It would be unjust to the Hudson’s Bay Company to refuse them
the praise due to the efforts of their servants in exploring the
vast region over which they ruled, and to the constancy with
which they have resisted aggression; but as the privileges of
that body have now become part of the stock-in-trade of a great
mercantile association, there can be no reason for doubting that
a change of policy, in consonance with the tone of the governing
sentiment of the age, will take place, and that the interests
of free trade, and the more extensive interests connected with
Imperial and Colonial progress and with colonisation itself, will
be found not incompatible. When the ichthyophilists of London
betake themselves, in the leafy month of June, to Gravesend, in
search of the placid turtle or the strenuous shrimp, they may be
startled by the booming of guns from the bosom of the river, and
by certain loud cheers from two strict-rigged craft anchored in
the stream. A gaily-decked river-steamer, from the flag-staff of
which flutters a hieroglyph in blue and white, with the motto,
“_Pro pelle cutem_,” is lying alongside the larger of the two.
On board the steamer are many sorts and conditions of men--the
friends of directors, outlying members of both Houses, old salts
and older commercial personages, and men wearing the bright, crisp,
clean look of prosperous clerkdom. These circulate from the deck
of the steamer to the broader expanse of the vessel alongside,
where a stout weather-beaten crew are drawn up, listening to the
recital of articles. Dipping down the companion it is probable
that the visitor will find in the captain’s cabin an assemblage
of gentlemen, eating biscuit and drinking sherry to the health
of the skipper, whilst others are peering into compartments
and berths ’twixt bulkheads filled with odd merchandise, from
gas-pipe-barrelled guns to needles, anchors, blankets, crinoline,
and artificial flowers. They are people whom we might meet in any
place in London from west to east, wearing the indescribable air of
men “out for the day.” On deck are some old-fashioned brass-bound
boxes, inscribed “Hudson’s Bay Company,” guarded by very ancient
and fish-like attendants, in a red and blue livery. The steamer
leaves the bluff double-cased sides of the vessel for a visit to
her consort, for the two ships now-a-days form the sum total of
the fleet sailing annually to the Hudson’s Bay settlements, where
once there was a flotilla of smaller craft, dressed in all their
bravery of flags, and making old Gravesend re-echo to their salvos
as they went forth on that which was then a dubious and adventurous
voyage. Then, after much leave-taking, and drinking of anchor cups,
the steamer starts, amid the cheers of the outward-bound crew,
for the Nore, to enjoy a little fresh air before she comes back
to the Falcon at Gravesend, where the annual dinner is held, and
where many good speeches are made and friendly sentiments expressed
in support of the Hudson’s Bay Company. The sagacious face of
old Edward Ellice, seamed with the fine graver of thought, and
plastic still as in youth, for many a long year fixed men’s eyes
with kindly regard; and the _mitis sapientia_ of his counsels, his
unrivalled tact, albeit the exquisite touch lay inside a shagreen
glove, and his great ability in the conduct of affairs, gave the
Company that which Rupert’s charters, Charles’s parchments, or
prescriptive rights, never could have secured so long.
It was under Sir E. L. Bulwer’s administration of foreign affairs
that the most strenuous attempt was made by the Government to
adjust the conflicting claims of Canada and Great Britain with
those of the Hudson’s Bay Company, by the decision of the Judicial
Committee of Privy Council; but the Company, though always willing
to enter into an arrangement with the Government for the adjustment
of contending interests, uniformly and not unwisely refused to
accept any arbitration or judgment involving the question of the
validity of their charters. The refusal of Parliament to renew the
exclusive right of trading, in 1859, and the assumption of the
control of Vancouver’s Island by the Crown on the expiration of the
lease in the same year, were heavy blows at the vested interests
of the Company, which deprived its _cessio bonorum_ to the
English Credit Mobilier, in 1863, of great political importance,
though enormous commercial results may still be obtained from
the extension of trading and from settling and gold-exploring
operations. When the speedy colonisation and rapid rise of
British Columbia caused some attention to be directed towards
the means of getting there, and of cultivating an acquaintance
promising such great advantages, and it was found that from east
to west two routes were practicable, it was not surprising if
jealousy and alarm were aroused because the Americans, by further
representations, unhappily baseless, respecting the energy of
the initiative taken by Canada and England, had first started
to clear the way to the west, and to open communications with
the Red River settlement, _en route_. Fort Garry, in the Selkirk
settlement, was first visited by a steamer from the American post
of Fort Abercrombie, in 1859. Minnesota was a State which had the
advantage of a continental existence on the soil of the Great
Republic. “Organised as a territory in 1849, a single decade had
brought the population, the resources, and the public recognition
of an American State. A railroad system, connecting the lines of
the Lake States and Provinces at La Crosse with the international
frontier on the Red River at Pembina, was not only projected, but
had secured in aid of its construction a grant by the Congress
of the United States of three thousand eight hundred and forty
acres a mile, and a loan of State credit to the amount of twenty
thousand dollars a mile, not exceeding an aggregate of five million
dollars. Different sections of this important extension of the
Canadian and American railways were under contract and in process
of construction. In addition, the land surveys of the Federal
Government had reached the navigable channel of the Red River;
and the line of frontier settlement, attended by a weekly mail,
had advanced to the same point. Thus the Government of the United
States, no less than the people and authorities of Minnesota, were
represented in the north-west movement.”
No matter how prosperous a colony of Great Britain may he,
a colony it must be so long as it is not independent. The
first result of the prosperity of an American colony is its
independence as a State, and its incorporation as a member of the
common sovereignty. The distinction arises from geographical
considerations, but it is not the less potent--I shall not yet say,
more to be regretted. The retention of Canada would be of little
value to us if there were to the west of it a great and populous
community, absorbing its capital, labour, and enterprise for the
benefit of aliens, and if to the south there were a series of
States animated by an intense _political_ dislike to the mother
country. But there is, as they say in Ireland, “the makings” of
four free and independent States, on the American model of Ohio,
in that district between the valleys of the North and South
Saskatchewan. In 1858 an American writer again described the
region which the British Government, the Colonial Office, and the
Imperialism of bureaux, inclined to cast away without even a mess
of pottage. That writer says:--
“Here is the great fact of the north-western areas of this
continent. An area not inferior in size to the whole United
States east of the Mississippi, which is perfectly adapted to
the fullest occupation by cultivated nations, yet is almost
wholly unoccupied, lies west of the 98th meridian, and above the
43rd parallel, that is, north of the latitude of Milwaukee, and
west of the longitude of Red River, Fort Kearney, and Corpus
Christi; or, to state the fact in another way, east of the Rocky
Mountains, and west of the 98th meridian, and between the 43rd
and 60th parallels, there is a productive, cultivable area of
500,000 square miles. West of the Rocky Mountains and between the
same parallels, there is an area of 300,000 square miles.
“It is a great mistake to suppose that the temperature of the
Atlantic coast is carried straight across the continent to
the Pacific. The isothermals deflect greatly to the north,
and the temperatures of the Northern Pacific are paralleled
in the high temperatures in high latitudes of Western and
Central Europe. The latitudes which inclose the plateaus of the
Missouri and Saskatchewan, in Europe inclose the rich central
plains of the Continent. The great grain growing districts of
Russia lie between the 45th and 60th parallel, that is, north
of the latitude of St. Paul, Minnesota, or Eastport, Maine.
Indeed, the temperature in some instances is higher for the
same latitudes here than in Central Europe. The isothermal
of 70 deg. for the summer, which on our plateau ranges from
along latitude 50 deg. to 52 deg., in Europe skirts through
Vienna and Odessa in about parallel 46 deg. The isothermal of
55 deg. for the year runs along the coast of British Columbia,
and does not go far from New York, London, and Sebastopol.
Furthermore, dry areas are not found above 47 deg., and there
are no barren tracts of consequence north of the Bad Lands and
the Coteau of the Missouri; the land grows grain finely, and is
well wooded. All the grains of the temperate districts are here
produced abundantly, and Indian corn may be grown as high as the
Saskatchewan.
“The buffalo winters as safely on the upper Athabasca as in
the latitude of St. Paul, and the spring opens at nearly the
same time along the immense line of plains from St. Paul to
Mackenzie’s River. To these facts, for which there is the
authority of Blodgett’s Treatise on the Climatology of the United
States, may be added this, that to the region bordering the
Northern Pacific, the finest maritime positions belong throughout
its entire extent, and no part of the west of Europe exceeds
it in the advantages of equable climate, fertile soil, and
commercial accessibility of coast. We have the same excellent
authority for the statement that in every condition forming the
basis of national wealth, the continental mass lying westward
and northward from Lake Superior is far more valuable than
the interior in lower latitudes, of which Salt Lake and Upper
New Mexico are the prominent known districts. In short, its
commercial and industrial capacity is gigantic. Its occupation
was coeval with the Spanish occupation of New Mexico and
California.”
The climate of this district is at least as favourable to the
agriculturist as that of Kingston, Upper Canada, and is quite
salubrious. Special science thus describes it:--
Professor Hind, who spent two summers in the country in charge
of an expedition sent out by the Canadian Government, writes:
“The basin of Lake Winnipeg extends over twenty-eight degrees
of longitude, and ten degrees of latitude. The elevation of its
eastern boundary, at the Prairie Portage, 104 miles west of Lake
Superior, is 1480 feet above the sea, and the height of land
at the Vermillion Pass is less than 5000 feet above the same
level. The mean length of this great inland basin is about 920
English miles, and its mean breadth 380 miles; hence its area is
approximately 360,000 square miles, or a little more than that of
Canada.
“Lake Winnipeg, at an altitude of 628 feet above the sea,
occupies the lowest depression of this great inland basin,
covering with its associated lakes, Manitobah, Winnipegosis,
Dauphin, and St. Martin, an area slightly exceeding 13,000 square
miles, or nearly half as much of the earth’s surface as is
occupied by Ireland.
“The outlet of Lake Winnipeg is through the contracted and rocky
channel of Nelson River, which flows into Hudson’s Bay.
“The country, possessing a mean elevation of 100 feet above Lake
Winnipeg, is very closely represented by the outline of Pembina
Mountain, forming part of the eastern limit of the cretaceous
series in the north-west of America.
“The area occupied by this low country, which includes a large
part of the valley of Red River, the Assiniboine, and the main
Saskatchewan, may be estimated at 70,000 square miles, of which
nine-tenths are lakes, marsh, or surface rock of Silurian or
Devonian age, and, generally so thinly covered with soil as to be
unfit for cultivation, except in small isolated areas.
“Succeeding this low region there are the narrow terraces of
the Pembina Mountain, which rise in abrupt steps, except in the
valleys of the Assiniboine, Valley River, Swan River, and Red
Deer’s River, to the level of a higher plateau, whose eastern
limit is formed by the precipitous escarpments of the Riding,
Duck, and Porcupine Mountains, with the detached outliers,
Turtle, Thunder, and Pasquia Mountains. This is the great
_prairie plateau_ of Rupert’s Land; it is bounded towards the
south-west and west by the Grand Coteau de Missouri, and the
extension of the tableland between the two branches of the
Saskatchewan, which forms the eastern limit of the _plains_ of
the north-west. The area of the prairie plateau, in the basin of
Lake Winnipeg, is about 120,000 square miles; it possesses a mean
elevation of 1100 feet above the sea.
“The plains rise gently as the Rocky Mountains are approached,
and at their western limit have an altitude of 4000 feet above
the sea level. With only a very narrow belt of intervening
country, the mountains rise abruptly from the plains, and present
lofty precipices that frown like battlements over the level
country to the eastward. The average altitude of the highest part
of the Rocky Mountains is 12,000 feet (about lat. 51 deg). The
forest extends to the altitude of 7000 feet, or 2000 feet above
the lowest pass.
“The _fertile belt_ of arable soil, partly in the form of
rich, open prairie, partly covered with groves of aspen, which
stretches from the Lake of the Woods to the foot of the Rocky
Mountains, averages 80 to 100 miles in breadth.”
Dr. James Hector, and all the explorers, agree in their
descriptions of this region. It is difficult to reach; but is it so
difficult to reach as the shores of America itself were, 300, or
200, or 100 years ago? We cannot conceive what a century has done
in America, or at home. How little, then, can we conjecture what
the next fifty years will effect in these distant lands! The map,
which now is crowded with the names of cities where red men roamed
_in terra incognita_ so recently as the beginning of this century,
should reprove any incredulity. The nations are like water. When
a country is filled above its capacity, its surplus overflows. As
soon as all the eligible districts of Canada are occupied, the
streams of settlers will pour westwards; tracks and roads will be
made; and, if the land be good, it will soon be filled with people.
As to the great regions which lie to the west, and open on the
Pacific, it can only be said that they are to us what California
was to the United States on the first discovery of gold; and that
after fifty years they may be less than California is now, if
steps be not taken to bind them up with British interests, and to
oppose the Americanisation with which they are threatened. Without
reference to the Far West, or the Far North-West,--without regard
to the Red River and Assiniboia or to British Columbia, there
is before us the great fact, that out of the Canadas, and the
British North American Provinces and dependencies, can be created
a powerful Confederation attached to this country, and capable of
the grandest development in spite of climatic influences. We have
already given a slight sketch of the extent and capability of these
provinces, and hinted at the difficulties that may arise in the
working of the Confederation. Canada is now more than threatened
with the loss of the advantages which were supposed to depend
on the Reciprocity Treaty, and Great Britain is formally warned
that she must prepare to meet Federal encroachments on the Lakes.
Mr. Galt, in a very elaborate speech, exhaustive of the topics
connected with the financial aspect of the future Confederation,
lately laid before his hearers a series of calculations which
deserve close attention, and which are, we believe, entitled to
full confidence. The United States at the end of the year 1865
will either have effected the subjugation of the South by the
destruction of all her armies in the field, or she will see an
increase to her debt of at least forty millions sterling, or she
will have arranged a compromise with the South of which one feature
will be the assumption of the Southern debt. In the first case,
the North must prepare for a long and costly military occupation.
In no case as yet have the trade and commerce of any Southern
port or city subjugated and held by Union troops, paid the Federal
Government for the cost of holding it. In the second case, increase
of taxation must fall with such a crushing weight on the poorer
classes, especially in the agricultural States, as to force many of
the people to take refuge in Canada, unless deterred by unforeseen
obstacles. In the third case, the immediate result will be to throw
on the Northern States for some considerable period, a greater
amount of debt, and of consequent derangement, than they would
have been subjected to by either of the preceding conditions.
There can be no just comparison between the United States and the
projected Confederation, except in the ratio of taxation _per
capita_. And, if we take income, expenditure, and possible debt at
the end of 1865, and contrast the financial position of the British
Confederate with that of the American Federalist, we will find that
the advantage is decidedly on the side of the latter.
According to the Hon. A. T. Galt, the following is a fair statement
of the revenue and expenditure of the provinces, of the debts and
liabilities, of the trade exports and imports, and of all the
assets and demands by which the future Confederation would be
influenced, excluding of course the cost of such undertakings as
great intercolonial roads or enlargements of canals. Mr. Galt may
not be a favourite with some theorists of the Colonial Office; he
certainly is not popular at Washington, and he is not more honoured
at home than most prophets, but he is an able, clear-headed,
trustworthy man:--
THE FINANCIAL POSITION OF THE PROVINCES.
Debt, 1863. Income, 1863. Outlay, 1863.
Nova Scotia $4,858,547 $1,185,629 $1,072,274
New Brunswick 5,702,991 899,991 884,613
Newfoundland (1862) 946,000 480,000 479,420
Prince Edward Island 240,673 197,384 171,718
----------- ----------- -----------
Maritime Provinces $11,748,211 $2,763,004 $2,608,025
Canada 67,263,994 9,760,316 10,742,807
----------- ----------- -----------
Totals $79,012,205 $12,523,320 $13,350,832
INCREASED REVENUES IN 1864.
Canada, without the produce of the new taxes $1,500,000
New Brunswick 100,000
Nova Scotia 100,000
-----------
$1,700,000
Deficit of 1863 $827,512
Surplus of 1864 872,488
-----------
$1,700,000
Total Revenues of all the Colonies, 1864 $14,223,320
Outlay 13,350,832
-----------
Estimated Surplus $872,488
THE POSITION OF THE CONFEDERATION, ESTIMATED ON THE BASIS OF 1864.
Revenue now Local Revenues Subsidy to Difference,
produced for which would be paid to available for
General not go into the each the purposes
Government. general Chest. Province. of the Genl.
Canada $11,250,000 $1,297,043 $2,006,121 Government.
Nova Scotia 1,300,000 107,000 264,000
New Brunswick 1,000,000 89,000 264,000
Prince Edward
Island 200,000 32,000 153,728
Newfoundland 480,000 5,000 369,000
----------- ---------- ----------
$14,230,000 $1,530,043 $3,056,849 $9,643,108
Difference
Expenditure. Local Outlay. payable by
the Genl.
Canada $9,800,000 $2,260,149 Government.
Nova Scotia 1,222,555 667,000
New Brunswick 834,518 424,047
Prince Edward Island 171,718 124,016
Newfoundland 479,000 479,000
----------- ----------
$12,507,591 $3,954,212 $8,553,379
----------
Surplus at the disposal of the General Government $1,089,729
AVERAGE OF THE PRESENT TARIFFS.
Canada 20 per cent. Newfoundland 11 per cent
Nova Scotia 10 ” Prince Edward Island 10 ”
New Brunswick 15½ ”
FUTURE POSITION OF THE PROVINCES.
Estimated Outlay Estimated Local
for 1864 under Outlay under
Local Revenues. present Government. the Union.
Nova Scotia $107,000 $667,000 $371,000
New Brunswick 89,000 404,047 353,000
Prince Edward
Island 32,000 171,718 124,015
Newfoundland 5,000 479,000 250,000
--------- --------- ----------
$233,000 $1,721,765 $1,098,015
Canada 1,297,043 { [1] 2,021,979 [3]
{ [2] 238,170
---------- ---------- ----------
$1,530,043 $3,981,914 [3]
[1] Average of the last four years.
[2] Interest on excess of debt.
[3] Not estimated by Mr. Galt, for reasons given in the speech.
THE AUDITOR’S STATEMENT OF THE LIABILITIES OF CANADA
Debenture Debt, direct and indirect $65,238,649 21
Miscellaneous liabilities 64,426 14
Common School Fund 1,181,958 85
Indian Fund 1,577,802 46
Banking Accounts 3,396,982 81
Seigniorial Tenure:--
Capital to Seigniors $2,889,711 09
Chargeable on Municipalities’ Fund 196,719 66
On account of Jesuits’ Estates 140,271 87
Indemnity to the Townships 891,500 00
--------- 4,118,202 62
----------------
$75,578,022 09
Less--Sinking Funds $4,883,177 11
Cash and Bank Accounts 2,248,891 87
--------------- 7,132,068 98
----------------
$68,445,953 11
From which, for reasons given in his speech,
Mr. Galt deducted the Common School Fund 1,181,958 85
----------------
Leaving as Net Liabilities $67,263,994 26
IMPORTS, EXPORTS, AND TONNAGE OF THE PROVINCES.
Sea-going Tonnage.
Imports. Exports. Inward and Outward.
Canada $45,964,000 $41,831,000 2,133,000
Nova Scotia 10,201,391 8,420,968 1,432,954
New Brunswick 7,764,824 8,964,784 1,386,980
Prince Edward Island 1,428,028 1,627,540 No returns.
Newfoundland 5,242,720 6,002,312 ” ”
----------- ----------- -----------
$70,600,963 $66,846,604 4,952,934
66,846,604 Lake Tonnage 6,907,000
------------ -----------
Total Trade $137,447,567 Total Tons 11,859,934
A people of more than four millions will owe something over
£13,000,000, as compared with a people of thirty millions owing
£900,000,000 sterling; and with a trade of £27,000,000 a-year there
is no compensating power in any commercial superiority the United
States may possess to establish an equation. If the expenses of
the local and of the Federal Governments be properly kept in hand,
the condition of the British Confederation, in a pecuniary point
of view at all events, must be infinitely better than that of the
Federal Union either by itself or with the Southern States.
The Confederation which has just been proposed by delegates
at Quebec, and which will come before Parliament soon after
this volume escapes from the printers, vests the Executive in
the Sovereign of Great Britain; a superfluous investiture,
unless the delegates meant rebellion; and it provides for its
administration according to the British constitution, by the
Sovereign or authorised representative. It does not appear very
plain how the Sovereign of a mixed monarchy with a limited
franchise for the people can administer his quasi-republican
and unaristocratic viceroyalty according to the principles of
the British constitution; particularly, as the Sovereign or his
representative is to be the Commander-in-Chief of the land and
naval forces of the Confederation, which are thus expressly removed
from the control of the War-Office at home. Difficulties of a
merely technical character will no doubt be overcome. But the King
of Great Britain and Ireland, in whom the Executive is vested,
will have to deal with a Transatlantic House of Commons founded
on abstract returns of population, and elected by the provinces
according to their local laws; so that some members will represent
universal suffrage, and others limited constituencies, which is
very different indeed from the House of Commons of Great Britain
and Ireland.
In the Upper House a Wensleydale peerage is reproduced. It is to
consist of seventy-six members nominated by the Sovereign for life,
of whom twenty-four are assigned to Upper Canada, and twenty-four
to Lower Canada, ten for Nova Scotia, ten for New Brunswick, four
for Newfoundland, and four for Prince Edward Island. The Lower
House, far less aristocratic in its relations to Lower and Upper
Canada, has eighty-two members from the latter, and sixty-five
from the former, nineteen from Nova Scotia, fifteen for New
Brunswick, eight for Newfoundland, and five for Prince Edward
Island. “Saving the Sovereignty of England,” the powers of the
Federal Parliament, as enumerated under thirty-seven different
heads, are very large, and on such heads as currency and coinage
seem to trench on dangerous ground, and in the last head of all
are dangerously vague. The appointment of the Lieutenant-Governor
by the Federal Government itself is obviously open to exception,
because it is anomalous; but as all the principles as well as the
details of the measure will receive the most careful consideration,
it is not necessary to treat the proposal as an accomplished fact,
although it certainly is most desirable to treat every article with
respectful attention, and to give every weight to the expressed
opinion of the delegates. Among the objects specially indicated
for the future action of the Confederate or Federal Government are
the completion of the Intercolonial Railway from Rivière du Loup
to Truro, in Nova Scotia, through the Province of New Brunswick,
and the completion of communication with the North-Western
territories, so as to open the trade to the Atlantic seacoast;
both to be effected as soon as the Federal finances permit. Here
there is the most tangible proposal for the opening up of the
great regions to which I have called attention; and the Valley of
the Saskatchewan is promised the facility which is alone wanting
to make it the seat of a flourishing colony. When the Red River
Settlement is once connected with Lake Superior, the way to the
sea is open, but the advantages of access to the world will be
increased enormously as soon as the railway is pushed on to the
shores of Lake Huron from Nova Scotia.
So eager is one to grasp at the benefits which some such
Confederation promises to confer, that the perils to the
prerogative of the Crown, and to the body so formed, are apt to
lie hid from view. But they must be well guarded against; and I
for one am persuaded that it would be far better for us to see
the Provinces of British America independent than to behold them
incorporated with the Northern Republic. The greatest of all these
internal perils is in the maintenance of the Local Parliaments,
which may come into collision with the Federal Government on local
questions impossible to foresee, or define, or adjust; but as the
delegates considered the plan of a complete Legislative Union
quite incompatible with the reserved rights of a portion of the
Confederation, the only way left to escape the mischiefs which
threaten the future life of the new body is to bind those Local
Parliaments within the most narrow limits, consistent with local
utility and existence.
It is not for the sake of our future connection, but for their own
integrity and happiness that such a course is recommended. They
have “an awful example” at their doors. The torrents of blood which
have deluged the soil of the North American Republics all welled
out of the little chink in the corner-stone of the Constitution,
on one side of which lay States’ Rights, and on the other Federal
Authority. Without some justification in law and in argument,
such men as Calhoun, and Stephens, and Davis, would never have
reasoned, and planned, and fought, and worked a whole people up to
make war against the Union. Sad as the spectacle is of a community
of freemen waging war against the principles of self-government,
it must be admitted that their instinct may be sounder than
their reasoning, and that they are engaged in a struggle for
self-preservation, in which they have swelled their proportions
into that of a gigantic despotism, but have after all attained a
giant’s port and strength. It is impossible to say whether the
corruption which Montesquieu has declared to be the destruction
of a democracy, has yet seized upon the tremendous impersonation
of brute force, of unconquerable will, of passion, of lust of
empire, which now rules in the Capitol, and occupies the throne
whereon feebly sat heretofore the mild impuissance of the old
Federal Executive; but if the pictures which have been presented
to us be true, there is a prophetic meaning in the words of the
philosophic Frenchman:--“Les politiques grecs, qui vivaient dans le
gouvernement populaire, ne reconnaissaient d’autre force qui pût le
soutenir que celle de la vertu. Ceux d’aujourd’hui ne nous parlent
que des manufactures, de commerce, de finances, de richesse, et
de luxe même.” The giant’s feet may be of clay, and his body may
be of that artificial stiffening which gives to worthless stuffs
a temporary substantiality, but behind the giant stand the great
American people, with hands dyed in their brothers’ gore, and who,
having sacrificed friendship, traditions, constitution, and liberty
at home, will think but little of adding to the pyre of their angry
passions the peace and happiness of others.
THE END.
BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.
[Illustration: (map of Canada.)
London; Bradbury & Evans, 11 Bouverie Street.]
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been
corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within
the text and consultation of external sources.
Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text,
and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained.
Several instances of ‘Plattsburg’ changed to ‘Plattsburgh’.
Pg x: ‘Montmorency’ changed to ‘Montmorenci’.
Pg xii: ‘Rouse’s Points’ changed to ‘Rouse’s Point’.
Pg 6: ‘of illw-ill’ replaced by ‘of ill-will’.
Pg 7: ‘and his clientelle’ replaced by ‘and his clientele’.
Pg 19: ‘on toe Sleepy’ replaced by ‘on to Sleepy’.
Pg 28: ‘Shenectady!’ replaced by ‘Schenectady!‘.
Pg 56: ‘a bran new’ replaced by ‘a brand new’.
Pg 79: ‘then we clomb’ replaced by ‘then we climb’.
Pg 87: ‘on a clean day’ replaced by ‘on a clear day’.
Pg 100: ‘the sheen sides’ replaced by ‘the sheer sides’.
Pg 101: ‘fresh refts made’ replaced by ‘fresh rifts made’.
Pg 141: ‘melons, tomatos’ replaced by ‘melons, tomatoes’.
Pg 178: ‘Van Rensellaer’ replaced by ‘Van Rensselaer’.
Pg 225: ‘a per centage’ replaced by ‘a percentage’.
Pg 254: ‘betwen stumps’ replaced by ‘between stumps’.
Pg 276: ‘and Winnepeg,’ replaced by ‘and Winnipeg,’.
Pg 277: ‘3,478,380 miles’ replaced by ‘3,478,380 square miles’.
Pg 287: ‘of the Restegouche’ replaced by ‘of the Restigouche’.
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