These matters may seem trivial to you among the graver concerns of state; nevertheless, I am sanguine enough to hope that the courtesies which have passed this year between the Buffalonians and us will not be without their fruit. The bulk of those who came here from Buffalo, including the Mayor—a very able man and powerful speaker—are of the democratic party, and held some years ago very different views from those which they expressed on this visit. They found here the warmest and most cordial welcome from all, Her Majesty's representative not excepted. But they saw, I venture to say almost with certainty, nothing to lead them to suppose that the Canadians desire to change their political condition; on the contrary, the mention of Her Majesty's name evoked on all occasions the most unbounded enthusiasm; and there was every appearance of a kindly feeling towards the Governor General, which the Americans seemed not disinclined themselves to share.
'To render annexation by violence impossible, and by any other means as improbable as may be,' is, as I have often ventured to repeat, the polar star of my policy. In these matters, small as they may appear, I believe we have been steering by its light. Again, as respects ourselves. I trust that the effects of this Buffalonian visit will be very beneficial. I took occasion in my speeches, in a joking way which provoked nothing but laughter and good humour, to hint at some of the unreasonable traits in the conduct of my Canadian friends. I am sure that the Americans go home with very correct views as touching our politics, and with the best sentiments towards myself. It is of very great importance to me to have the aid of a sound public opinion from without, to help me through my difficulties here; and, as I utterly despair of receiving any such assistance from England (I allude not to the Government but to the public, which never looks at us except when roused by fear ignorantly to condemn), it is of incalculable importance that I should obtain this support from America.
[Sidenote: Boston Jubilee.]
In the autumn of 1851, the inhabitants of Boston held a Three Days' Jubilee, to celebrate the completion of various lines of communication, by railroad and steamship, destined to draw closer the bonds of union between Canada and the United States; and Lord Elgin gladly accepted an invitation to be present. Writing on September 26, 1851, he mentions having 'met there all the United States, President included;' and describes a 'dinner on the Boston Common for 3,500 persons, at which many good speeches were made, Everett's especially so.' He adds:—
Nothing certainly could be more cordial than the conduct of the Bostonians throughout; and there was a scrupulous avoidance of every topic that could wound British or Canadian susceptibilities.
To the general harmony and good feeling no one contributed more than Lord Elgin himself, by his general courtesy and affability, and especially by his speeches, full of the happiest mixture of playfulness and earnestness, of eloquence and sound sense, of ardent patriotism with broad international sympathies. 'It was worth something,' he wrote afterwards, 'to get the Queen of England as much cheered and lauded in New England as in any part of Old England;' and the reflection faithfully represents the spirit of expansive loyalty which characterised all his dealings with his neighbours of the States.
These qualities, added to the reputation of a wise and liberal Governor, won for him an unusual amount of regard from the American people. At a dinner given to him in London, during his short visit to England in the spring of 1854—a dinner at which the Colonial Secretaries of five different Governments, Lord Monteagle, Lord John Russell, Lord Grey, Sir J. Pakington, and the Duke of Newcastle met to do him honour—no one spoke more warmly or more discriminatingly in his praise than the American Minister, Mr. Buchanan.
[Sidenote: Speech of Mr. Buchanan.]
'Lord Elgin,' he said, 'has solved one of the most difficult problems of statesmanship. He has been able, successfully and satisfactorily, to administer, amidst many difficulties, a colonial government over a free people. This is an easy task where the commands of a despot are law to his obedient subjects; but not so in a colony where the people feel that they possess the rights and privileges of native-born Britons. Under his enlightened government Her Majesty's North American provinces have realised the blessings of a wise, prudent, and prosperous administration; and we of the neighbouring nation, though jealous of our rights, have reason to be abundantly satisfied with his just and friendly conduct towards ourselves. He has known how to reconcile his devotion to Her Majesty's service with a proper regard to the rights and interests of the kindred and neighbouring people. Would to Heaven we had such governors-general in all the European colonies in the vicinity of the United States!'
[Sidenote: Reciprocity Treaty.]