In 1863, the Hon. John Sandfield Macdonald was leader of the government, but he was compelled to resign when parliament met in the early part of 1864, and in March of that year a new administration under the premiership of Sir E. P. Taché was formed. This new government developed very little strength, and was defeated on June 14th by a vote of fifty-eight to sixty, on a question relative to some transaction connected with bonds of the city of Montreal. A deadlock had come, and as it was evident that no new government which could be formed was likely to command sufficient support, it became necessary to make some new arrangements in regard to the system of administration. Immediately after the defeat of the government, Mr. George Brown, leader of the Opposition, spoke to several supporters of the administration strongly urging that the present time should be availed of for the purpose of settling forever the constitutional difficulties between Upper and Lower Canada, and assuring them that he was prepared to coöperate with the existing or any other administration that would deal with the question promptly and firmly, with a view to its final settlement. After much negotiation Messrs. Brown, Mowat and McDougall, three prominent members of the Reform party, agreed to enter the government for the purpose of carrying out this policy based on a federal union of all the provinces.
SCHEME OF MARITIME UNION
Prior to this time there had been various efforts made by the government of New Brunswick to enter into closer relations with Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Previous to the year 1861 a number of factories of various kinds had been established in the Maritime Provinces, but the limited market they then enjoyed prevented their extension and crippled their operations. To remedy this, Mr. Tilley, with the approval of his colleagues in the government, visited Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island and proposed to the governments of both provinces free admission of their natural products and a uniform tariff on dutiable goods. In Halifax he had a lengthy and satisfactory conference with Mr. Howe, then leader of the government, and with Dr. Tupper, the leader of the Opposition. Both gentlemen agreed that the proposed arrangements would be in the interests of the three provinces, and Mr. Howe agreed to submit the matter to his government with the view of legislative action at the next session. Mr. Tilley then proceeded to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. At the conference held with the government there, his proposal was not so favourably entertained, the objection being that the existing tariff of Prince Edward Island was lower than the tariff of either Nova Scotia or New Brunswick, and sufficient for the financial wants of the Island, and that the necessary advance would be imposing taxation beyond their requirements. Notwithstanding the failure to secure the coöperation of the Island government, it was decided that the joint action of the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick legislatures in the direction named was desirable. When the Nova Scotia legislature met and the public accounts were proposed, it was found that a reduction of tariff was not practicable, and Howe informed Tilley that the scheme would have to be postponed, "though in other respects desirable." But the subject was not allowed to sleep, and in 1864 there was a renewal of the movement for a union of the Maritime Provinces. At the session of the New Brunswick legislature held that year, resolutions were passed authorizing the government to enter into negotiations with Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island to hold a convention for the purpose of carrying such a union into effect. Similar resolutions were carried in the legislatures of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, and the convention thus authorized was appointed to meet at Charlottetown in the month of September following.
FOOTNOTES:
[10] For a full account of Howe's views on confederation see the Hon. J. W. Longley's Joseph Howe in this series.
CHAPTER VII
THE QUEBEC CONFERENCE
The delegates appointed by the government of New Brunswick for the purpose of representing the provinces at Charlottetown in the convention for a union of the Maritime Provinces, were the Hon. Messrs. Tilley, Steeves, Johnson, Chandler and Gray. The first three were members of the government, while Messrs. Gray and Chandler were leading members of the Opposition, so that the arrangement had the assent of the leaders of both political parties and was in no sense a party movement. The Nova Scotia delegation consisted of the Hon. Charles Tupper, the leader of the government, the attorney-general, Mr. Henry, and Mr. Dickey, a Conservative supporter, and also the Hon. Adams G. Archibald and Jonathan McCully, leaders of the Liberal party. The Prince Edward Island delegates were also chosen from both sides of politics. The convention was opened in due form at Charlottetown on September 8th, in the chamber of the House of Assembly. The delegations had no power to decide finally on any subject, because any arrangements they made were necessarily subject to the approval of the legislatures of the three Maritime Provinces. But at this time the sentiment in favour of maritime union was so strong it was confidently believed that whatever was agreed upon at Charlottetown would become the basis of a future union.
CHARLOTTETOWN CONVENTION