Wilmot and Tilley

by James Hannay

The members of the House favourable to confederation immediately took up the matter, and dealt with it as if the government had thereby pledged themselves in favour of that policy, and indeed there was a fair excuse for such an inference. When the secret history of the negotiations between the lieutenant-governor and his advisers, prior to the meeting of the legislature, comes to be told, it will be found that at least some of the members of the government had given His Excellency to understand that they were prepared to reverse their former action and to adopt confederation. The difficulty with them was that they feared their own supporters, and thought that if they made such a move they would lose the favour of those who had placed them in power, and this fear was certainly a very natural one.

DESERTED BY FRIENDS

As soon as the House met, it was discovered that Mr. A. R. Wetmore, one of the prominent supporters of the government who had been elected to represent the city of St. John as an anti-confederate, was no longer in sympathy with the government. Mr. Wetmore's long experience as a nisi prius lawyer, and his curt and imperturbable manner, rendered him a most exasperating and troublesome opponent, and at a very early period of the session he commenced to make it unpleasant for his former friends. He cross-examined the members of the government in the fashion which he had learned from long experience in the courts. Such attacks proved extremely damaging as well as very annoying.

The address in reply to the speech from the throne was moved in the House of Assembly by Colonel Boyd, of Charlotte County, and when the paragraph relating to confederation was read, Mr. Fisher asked him what it meant. Mr. Boyd replied that the government had no objection to confederation, provided the terms were satisfactory. This reply still further strengthened the feeling that the government were inclined to pass the measure which they had been elected to oppose. Mr. Fisher moved an amendment to the fourth paragraph of the address, which referred to the Fenian conspiracy against British North America, expressing the opinion that while His Excellency might rely with confidence on the cordial support of the people for the protection of the country, his constitutional advisers were not by their general conduct entitled to the confidence of the legislature. This amendment was seconded by Mr. DesBrisay, of Kent, who had been elected as a supporter of the government, and it was debated at great length. The discussion upon it continued from day to day for about three weeks, when, on April 10th, the government resigned in consequence of difficulties with His Excellency in regard to his reply to the address of the legislative council. The legislative council had proceeded to pass the address in reply to the speech, but in consequence of the delay in the House of Assembly, this reply had not before been presented to the governor. In answer to the address of the legislative council, His Excellency said: "I will immediately transmit your address to the secretary of state for the colonies in order that it may be laid at the foot of the throne. Her Majesty the Queen has already been pleased to express deep interest in a closer union of her North America colonies and will no doubt greatly appreciate this decided expression of your opinion, and the avowal of your desire that all British North America should unite in one community, under one strong and efficient government, which cannot but tend to hasten the accomplishment of this great measure."

THE GOVERNMENT RESIGNS

The resignation of the government was announced in the House of Assembly on April 13th by the Hon. A. J. Smith, and the correspondence between the lieutenant-governor and his advisers was laid before the House at the same time. The immediate and ostensible cause of the resignation was the terms of approval in which the lieutenant-governor had replied to the address of the legislative council in reference to confederation. Mr. Smith claimed that it was the duty of the lieutenant-governor to consult his constitutional advisers in regard to the answer to be given, and that, in assuming to himself the right to reply to such an address without consulting them, he had not acted in accordance with the true spirit of the constitution. This was certainly sound doctrine, and the reply of the lieutenant-governor was by no means satisfactory on this point, but he was able to show that Mr. Smith had himself expressed his willingness to enter into a scheme of union, although opposed to the Quebec scheme, and had suggested that, as a preliminary step, the papers on that subject should be referred to a joint committee of both Houses with an understanding that the committee should report in favour of a measure of union. At a later period Mr. Smith seemed indisposed to carry out this arrangement, his conduct evidently being the result of timidity, and so he found himself, to use the language of Sir Arthur Gordon, "entangled in contradictory pledges from which he found it impossible to extricate himself." He had, in fact, placed himself in the power of the lieutenant-governor, and his only resource was to resign. It was understood at the time, and has never been denied, that His Excellency was acting under the advice of the Hon. Peter Mitchell, a member of the legislative council, who was a strong supporter of confederation. Mr. Mitchell was a man of great force of character, and, next to Mr. Tilley, must be regarded as the most potent factor in bringing about the change in the sentiments of the people of the province with respect to confederation.

The lieutenant-governor called upon the Hon. Peter Mitchell, who was a member of the legislative council, to form a government. Mr. Mitchell had been very active in the cause of confederation, and was the moving spirit in the legislative council in all the proceedings in its favour taken in that body; but, when asked to form a new government, he advised the lieutenant-governor that the proper person to undertake that responsibility was the Hon. Mr. Tilley. The latter, however, declined the task on the ground that he was not a member of the legislature, whereupon Mr. Mitchell associated with himself the Hon. Mr. Wilmot for the purpose of forming a new government. The government was announced on April 18th, and was formed as follows:—Hon. Peter Mitchell, president of the council; Hon. S. L. Tilley, provincial secretary; Hon. Charles Fisher, attorney-general; Hon. Edward Williston, solicitor-general; Hon. John McMillan, postmaster-general; Hon. A. R. McClelan, chief commissioner of public works; Hon. R. D. Wilmot and Hon. Charles Connell, members without office. The latter afterwards became surveyor-general.

THE FENIAN INVASION

While the government was being formed in New Brunswick, a Fenian army was gathering upon the border for the purpose of invading the province. This force consisted of four or five hundred young men, most of whom had been in the army of the United States. It was recruited at New York, and its chief was a Fenian named Doran Killian. A part of his force arrived at Eastport on April 10th, and a schooner, laden with arms for the Fenians, soon after reached that place. From this schooner, which was seized by the United States authorities, one hundred and seventeen cases of arms and ammunition were taken,—a clear proof that the intentions of the Fenians were warlike, and that their presence on the border was not a mere demonstration. The Fenians appeared to have been under the impression—as many residents of the United States are to this day—that the people of Canada and of New Brunswick were dissatisfied with their own form of government, and were anxious to come under the protection of the stars and stripes. This absurd idea was responsible, largely, for the War of 1812, and it has been responsible, since then, for many other movements, with respect to the British provinces of North America, in which residents of the United States have taken part. There never was a greater delusion than this, and, in the instance referred to, the Fenians were doomed to be speedily undeceived. The presence of a Fenian force on the border sounded like a bugle blast to every able-bodied man in New Brunswick, and the call for troops to defend the country was instantly responded to. About one thousand men were called out and marched to the frontier. The troops called out consisted of the three batteries of the New Brunswick regiment of artillery, seven companies of the St. John volunteer battalion, one company of the first battalion of the York County militia, one company each of the first and third battalions of the Charlotte County militia, and two companies each of the second and fourth battalions of the Charlotte County militia. These troops remained in arms on the frontier for nearly three months, and were disbanded by a general order dated June 20th. The Fenian raid on New Brunswick proved to be a complete fiasco. The frontier was so well guarded by the New Brunswick militia and by British soldiers, and the St. Croix so thoroughly patrolled by British warships, that the Fenians had no opportunity to make any impression upon the province. It ought to be added that the United States government was prompt to take steps to prevent any armed invasion, and General Meade was sent down to Eastport with a force of infantry and a ship of war to prevent the Fenians from making that place a base of operations against these provinces.

CONFEDERATION VICTORIES