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forcing itself upon the minds of others, and from 1810 to 1818 we find a period, during which the Colonial Assembly was agitating to be allowed to defray all the necessary expenses of the civil government. The war of 1812, however, served to draw closer the ties between Canada and Great Britain. Whatever his feelings towards England, the French Canadian greatly preferred England to the United States. The cordial feelings thus engendered may have helped to bring about the decision of 1818, which sanctioned the proposal of the Assembly, thus opening out the third period which was to close in confusion and the complete overthrow of the Constitution.

Something has been already said of the dangerous character of the Constitution given to the British Colonies. They were imitations of the English Constitution, but of the English Constitution under the Stuarts, before the coming into being of responsible government. The Council of necessity was the palest shadow of the House of Lords. The Assembly represented the electors more genuinely than did the English House of Commons; so that you had on the one side a really democratic Parliament, and on the other an executive which was the mere creature of the Crown. In this state of things deadlock and anarchy were inevitable, but there were special circumstances why these evils should take an aggravated form in Lower Canada. The French Canadian had had no preliminary training in local or church government. He was mere clay in the hands of the demagogue. But the Canadian demagogue had such opportunities as could not be found elsewhere. A notary with little or no practice, he was only separated from the ordinary habitant by having received a better education. Of the ignorance of the common people it is impossible to say too much.1 "Go where you will," wrote some years later the Assistant Commissioner appointed by Lord Durham, "you will scarcely find a trace of education among the peasantry." In this way the political leaders of the people were their own kith and kin. In 1810 we are told that not one person coming under the description of a Cana1 Appendix to Lord Durham's Report, 1839.

dian gentleman was found in the Assembly. When such an Assembly obtained control of supply without any attempt being made to render the legislative and executive councils more popular, chaos was come again. The Assembly insisted on passing an amended civil list and passing it item by item. The Council rejected the Bill as an interference with the province of the executive. In 1827 Lord Dalhousie, when proroguing the Assembly,1 declared that he had seen seven years pass away "without any conclusive adjustment of the public account." Meanwhile the Home Government, weak in act, was, through its agents, provoking in speech. The Duke 1819. of Richmond, Lord Dalhousie's predecessor, informed the Legislature, "It is of the utmost importance that you should fully understand your constitutional rights, that privilege may not come into question with prerogative." The English Ministry, in despair of finding a way out of the imbroglio, proposed in 1822 a legislative union between Upper and Lower Canada. When, however, their proposal was fiercely opposed, they did not persevere with it. The quarrel was still about the revenue. Part of this was raised under the authority of the British Parliament, and appropriated to the discharge of certain expenses. The House of Assembly persisted in the claim of an unlimited right to dispose of the whole of the revenue. The situation was complicated by the physical position of Upper Canada with respect to Lower. The interference of the Imperial Legislature became thus necessary to protect the former against unfair dues imposed 3 G. IV., by the latter. The Canada Trade Act was therefore passed, c. 119. which continued permanently all duties payable under Acts of the Legislature of Lower Canada at the time of the expiration of the last agreement between the provinces, and which disabled the legislature of Lower Canada from imposing new duties on articles imported by sea, unless the sanction of the Upper Canada Legislature had been first obtained or the Bill assented to by the English Government. In 1828 the affairs of Lower Canada were considered by a Committee 1 Christie, Hist. of Lower Canada, Vol. III. p. 127.

2 Christie, Vol. II. p. 318.

of the House of Commons. Although the policy hitherto had been not "to compromise the integrity of the revenue known by the name of the permanent revenue,"1 their report, while "strongly impressed with the advantages of rendering the Governor, the members of the Executive Council and the judges independent of the annual votes of the House of Assembly for their respective salaries," recommended the placing of the receipts and expenditure of the whole public revenue under the superintendence and control of the Assembly. In accordance with this recommendation, an Act was passed repealing to this extent the original provisions of the Canada Act. That these conciliatory measures had no effect whatever in Canada is strong to show the real character of the agitation.

1 Parl. Pap., 1828.

CHAPTER X

Fiscal IN tracing the history of Colonial policy, the years which Policy of elapsed between the recognition of American independence kisson. and the attempt to develop colonization on systematic lines

must be dealt with somewhat summarily. It must be noted that both the American Secretary and the Board of Trade 22 G. III., had been swept away in 1782 by Burke's Act. In that Act, c. 82. however, provision was made for Colonial business to be

carried on by a Committee of the Privy Council for Trade and Plantations. Such a Committee was formed in 1784, and placed on a definite footing two years later, when Colonial business, which had in the interval been transacted in the Plantations Branch of the Home Office, was transferred to this new Committee. In 1794 the new Secretary of State for War became also nominally Secretary for the Colonies; and in 1801 the departments were regularly united. From 1794 the Committee for Trade and Plantations, now known as the Board of Trade, gradually ceased to have any connection with Colonial affairs, until, as we shall see at a later date, its machinery was again put in motion at the instance of Lord Grey. In fact, so far as opinions were concerned, the period was one of extreme depression. The result of the American War had, in truth, to use a vulgar expression, knocked the bottom out of the much vaunted Mercantile system. Of course, this was not at the time recognised. Lord Sheffield's book1 doubtless reflected the popular opinions of the day, and when the far-seeing Pitt proposed, in the Bill of 1783, to put the American States on a footing of perfect equality with British possessions in trade matters, he was compelled to withdraw his measure. The economic circumstances of Canada were, however, such that the Mercantile system

1 Observations on Am. Commerce.

and 45.

only presented itself in the form of welcome bounties, and the chief sufferers by it were the West Indian Islands. To meet their case, however, modifications were made in the system. The West Indian sugar planters had been for many years granted a monopoly in the English distilleries. Free intercourse was allowed between any countries in America 3 G. IV., and British Colonies in the ships of those countries, or in c. 43, 44, British ships so far as certain enumerated articles were concerned; while a direct trade was allowed from the Colonies in articles of their growth or production to the ports of foreign Europe, provided that the goods were carried in British ships.1 In 1825 Mr Huskisson opened the commerce of 6 G. IV., the Colonies to all friendly States, which, having Colonial c. 114. possessions, granted the same privileges to British ships. "All intercourse between the mother country and the Colonies (whether direct or circuitous), and all intercourse of the Colonies with each other," was "considered as a coasting trade, and reserved entirely and absolutely to Great Britain." 2 With the further view of encouraging 6 G. IV., the Colonial trade, the benefits and regulations of the c. 114. Imperial warehousing system were extended to certain ports in the Colonies. Goods from all parts of the world were 6 G. IV., allowed to be bonded and deposited in warehouses without c. 73. payment of duty till proper opportunities of exporting and selling them to advantage should occur. Another reform effected by Huskisson was the abolition of the large fees which were levied in almost all the Colonial ports. Salaries 6 G. IV., were assigned to all the officers in the Customs, who continued to be paid out of the duties which they would have to collect. In addition to these general measures, an Act was 6 G. IV., passed allowing Canadian corn to be admitted to British c. 64. ports upon the payment of five shillings a quarter. The operation of this Bill was, however, limited to a period of two years. Full credit must be given to Huskisson for these excellent measures. At the same time, the whole Mercantile system was so complicated that it was impossible to fore

1 See Huskisson's Speeches, Vol. II. p. 314.

2 Huskisson's Speeches at p. 317, Vol. II.

R

c. 87.

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