Sir Edmund Head’s term having expired, he was succeeded in the Governorship by Viscount Monck. In 1862 Mr. John Beverley Robinson and Mr. John Carling became members of the Cabinet, the former as President of the Council, and the latter as Receiver-General. Both of these gentlemen (who figure in several of our cartoons) were favorable to Rep. by Pop., and that question was henceforth to be regarded as “open” in the Cabinet. The Ministerial span of life was, however, now at an end. Before the session closed the Government sustained a decisive defeat on a militia bill introduced by Attorney-General Macdonald, and resigned on the following day. The Macdonald-Sicotte Administration succeeded to the vacant benches, the Premier being Mr. John Sandfield Macdonald, and his Lower Canadian colleague, Mr. L. V. Sicotte, a former follower of Mr. Cartier. The new Ministry, in announcing their programme, practically ignored the question of Rep. by Pop., and adopted the principle of Separate Schools. In the following session Mr. George Brown (who had meantime been elected for South Oxford) found himself at the head of a strong party in opposition to the Government on the issues named, and although the “double majority” principle was supposed to have been adopted by the Ministry, they resisted defeat on many divisions by a solid Lower Canada vote. Indeed, in this respect they were in precisely the same position as the Government they had replaced. This disingenuous conduct brought swift punishment. The Government was in May defeated on a direct vote of want of confidence, and a dissolution was decided upon. The general election was fixed for June, and resulted in the Government being sustained. The personnel of the Cabinet had undergone some changes in the meantime. Mr. Oliver Mowat being taken in as Postmaster-General, and the Lower Canada section being as follows: A. A. Dorion, L. H. Holton, Isidore Thibaudeau, L. Letellier de St. Just, L. S. Huntington and Maurice Laframboise. Mr. Huntington was comparatively new to Parliament, and represented Shefford. In the second session after its formation this Government voluntarily resigned office, being unable to command a working majority, and in the meantime little if any progress had been made toward the settlement of the great question of the day. After some difficulty a new Government was formed under the joint leadership of Sir E. P. Taché and Hon. John A. Macdonald. In this Cabinet Mr. Hector L. Langevin first sat as a Minister; the new names in the Upper Canada section were those of Messrs. John Simpson and James Cockburn. It was found, on the reassembly of Parliament, that this Government, like its predecessor, could not command a working majority, and it was evident that no Ministry it would be possible to form from the material available would be in any better position. It had been decided to dissolve the House and appeal to the country, when, at the critical moment, Mr. George Brown suggested that the crisis might be utilized to settle the constitutional difficulties between Upper and Lower Canada on the line of the recommendations just laid before the House by a committee entrusted with the consideration of that subject, viz.: a Confederation of the Provinces.
PROPOSED WINDOW FOR THE PARLIAMENT BUILDING.
(From Diogenes.)
As the result of conferences then initiated a Federal Union of the Provinces was decided upon, and three Reformers, Messrs. Brown, Mowat and Macdougall entered the Government to assist in carrying the plan into effect. In due course the Imperial authorities passed the necessary legislation, under the title of the British North America Act, and on the 1st of July, 1867, the plan was consummated, and the Dominion of Canada came into existence. For distinguished services in connection with this great measure, Mr. Macdonald was honored with knighthood, and in the following year Mr. Cartier accepted a baronetcy. Other distinguished Confederationists received minor honors. In the ensuing general election, Mr. Brown was defeated in South Ontario, and never thereafter sat in Parliament. In 1873 he accepted a seat in the Senate at the hands of the Reform Government of Mr. Mackenzie, and in that quiet retreat ended his eventful political career. The formation of Provincial Ministries had meantime been arranged for. In Ontario, the first Cabinet—a coalition—was under the leadership of Mr. John Sandfield Macdonald, and remained in office for the ensuing four years. Amongst the new Members of the first Dominion Parliament were Joseph Howe of Nova Scotia and Edward Blake of Ontario, the latter gentleman being at the same election (1867) returned as a member of the Ontario Assembly, where he soon assumed the leadership of the Opposition. Mr. Howe continued his active efforts against Confederation both in and out of the House. In 1868 he was the leading member of a delegation to England to present an address in favor of the repeal of the Union on behalf of Nova Scotia. This petition was rejected, and early in 1869 Mr. Howe was induced to enter the Cabinet, certain modifications of the terms of Union being promised. In 1868, Lord Monck was succeeded in the Governorship by Sir John Young (afterward Lord Lisgar). In the ensuing session, the North-West Territories, which had been acquired by the extinction of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s claim, were formally added to the Dominion, and an Act was passed to provide for the appointment of a Lieutenant-Governor and Council to administer their affairs. The closing negotiations in England had been conducted by Sir Geo. Cartier (Cartoon 32) and Hon. Wm. Macdougall, and in recognition of his services the latter gentleman was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of the new Territory. The Metis settlers, however, felt aggrieved that the transfer had been effected without their consent, and entertained a want of confidence in the good-will of the new owners of the country. The result was that when Lieutenant-Governor Macdougall undertook to assume the direction of affairs he was met by armed resistance, and found that the half-breeds about Fort Garry were in open rebellion under the leadership of one Louis Riel. Upon the peremptory order of the rebels Mr. Macdougall was forced to retreat from the frontier (Cartoon 49). Meanwhile the rebellion went on. Bishop Taché, a prelate of vast influence amongst the half-breeds, happened unfortunately to be absent in Rome. It being clear that peace could not be restored without his intervention, he was communicated with, and on his arrival at Ottawa he was empowered to offer the rebels an amnesty for all past offences and to assure them of the good-will of the Dominion. He at once departed on his mission, but before his arrival at the Red River, Riel had crowned his folly and wickedness by the cold-blooded murder of a loyalist named Thomas Scott, under form of a “court martial” execution. The Bishop, notwithstanding this, duly delivered his message. The rebels were ultimately overawed by the appearance of a military force under command of Colonel (afterwards Sir Garnet) Wolseley, and Riel took flight. He returned, however, after a time, and remained in Manitoba unmolested until the offer of a reward for his apprehension by the Ontario Government caused him to seek safety on the American side. To forestall further trouble the Dominion Government, at the suggestion of Bishop Taché, secretly provided him with some $1,500 on condition of his remaining out of the country for good. With this strangely acquired booty he took up his residence in the United States. He was subsequently twice elected to Parliament for the constituency of Provencher, Manitoba, but his banishment from the country for five years was decreed in connection with the general amnesty subsequently ratified by the Mackenzie Government.
In 1872 Sir John Macdonald was appointed one of the British Commissioners for the arrangement of a treaty involving the fishery interests of Canada, amongst other important matters, as between Great Britain and the United States. The result of the Commissioners’ labors is known as the Washington Treaty, which was ratified in that year. By this document, inter alia, the right to take fish in Canadian waters was extended to the United States for the period of ten years in consideration of a money payment, the amount subsequently agreed upon by a joint Commission, which met at Halifax in 1877, being $5,500,000. This the Americans paid, but only after a protest on flimsy grounds by their representative, Mr. Kellogg, and much grumbling by Congress. In 1871, British Columbia was admitted to the Union. In the session of the following year a Bill was passed empowering the Government to contract with a chartered company for the construction of a railway to connect British Columbia with the Eastern Provinces. This year was also signalized by the advent of Lord Dufferin as the successor of Baron Lisgar in the vice-regal office, and by a general election, the term of the first Parliament of the Dominion having expired. The result of the election was favorable to the Government, though the Opposition was materially strengthened. In 1873 Confederation was rounded off by the admission of Prince Edward Island into the Union. The session of this year is memorable for the “Pacific Scandal.” Mr. Huntington from his place in the House charged the Government with having corruptly sold the contract for the construction of the C. P. R., to Sir Hugh Allan, in consideration of a large contribution by that worthy knight to the Conservative election fund. This unparalleled indictment caused a great sensation, and eventually compelled the resignation of the Ministry. A Reform Government under Mr. Mackenzie succeeded to office, and continued down to 1878, when the prevailing depression of trade compassed its defeat, the Conservatives having declared for Protection to native industries as a “National Policy,” a cry which caught the public fancy wonderfully. The leading political incidents of the term thus briefly indicated are commented upon in their order in the cartoons from Grip presented in this volume. Early in 1880, Mr. Mackenzie was succeeded in the leadership by Mr. Blake, who still remains at the head of the Reform Party.
THE MAN WOT FIRED THE PARLIAMENT HOUSE.
As a climax to the excitement which attended the passage of the Rebellion Losses Bill, the House of Parliament at Montreal was destroyed by incendiarism. This outrage was well-known to have been the act of a Party, but the individual hand that wielded the torch, was not known. Punch in Canada, the comic paper of the day, and a strong opponent of the measure in question, took advantage of this fact to suggest humorously that “the man wot fired the Parliament House” was Lafontaine—the man who led the Government in the matter which had so excited the Conservative wrath, and so led to the catastrophe.
Punch in Canada, May 19th, 1849.