Wilmot and Tilley

by James Hannay

CHAPTER XII
FINANCE MINISTER AND GOVERNOR

Mr. Tilley took up his residence in the old Government House, Fredericton, and he must have been struck with the changed aspect of affairs from that presented under the old régime, when lieutenant-governors were appointed by the British government and sent out from England to preside over the councils of a people of whom they knew little or nothing. Most of these former governors had been military men, more accustomed to habits of command than to deal with perplexing questions of state. They looked with a very natural degree of impatience on the attempts which the people of the province were making to get the full control of their own affairs. Under the old régime the governor was surrounded with military guards, and sentries paced the walks and guarded the entrances to the Government House. The withdrawal of the British troops from Canada before the lieutenant-governorship of Mr. Tilley commenced relieved him of any embarrassment in regard to dispensing with military guards and sentries; but all pretentious accompaniments of authority were foreign to his nature, and he always showed, by the severe simplicity of his life, that he felt he was one of the people, and that it was his duty as well as his pleasure to permit all who had any occasion to see him to have free access to him, without the necessity of going through any formal process.

THE PROTECTIONIST TARIFF

When Mr. Tilley became lieutenant-governor of the province, he was fifty-five years of age, and he seems to have thought that his political career was ended, because, by the time his term of office expired in its natural course, he would have reached the age of sixty, a period when a man is not likely to make a new entrance into public life. But circumstances, quite apart from any desire on his part, made it almost necessary for him to change his determination, and during the summer of 1878, when the general election was imminent, he found himself pressed by his old political friends to become once more the candidate of his party for his old constituency, the city of St. John. There was great enthusiasm amongst them when it was announced that he would comply with their wishes, and that he had resigned the lieutenant-governorship. The result of that general election is well known. The Liberal party, which had succeeded to the government less than five years before with a large majority in the House of Commons, experienced a severe defeat, and the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, seeing this, very properly did not await the assembling of parliament, but sent in the resignation of the ministry, and Sir John A. Macdonald was called upon to form a new government. In the cabinet thus constructed Mr. Tilley resumed his old office of minister of finance, and one of his first duties was to assist in the framing of a new customs tariff which was to give effect to the principle, upon which the election had been run, of protection to home industries. This idea of protection had not been heard of in the Canadian confederation as the policy of any political party until Sir John A. Macdonald took it up about a year before the general election, but it proved a winning card and was the means of giving the new government a long lease of power.

Sir Leonard Tilley's speech in introducing the new tariff was well received and made a strong impression upon all who heard it. It was admitted, even by those who were opposed to the views he held, that he showed a great mastery of the details, and that he illustrated in a very clear manner the view that the country was suffering because the duties imposed upon foreign goods were not sufficiently high to protect Canadian manufactures.

It is not the intention of this volume to deal to any full extent with the career of Sir Leonard Tilley during his second term of office as minister of finance of Canada. To enter into that phase of his career would be to relate the history of Canada, for he was but one member of the government, and not its leader. It is admitted that, in respect to financial questions, Sir Leonard showed the same ability that had characterized his career during his previous term of office, and he was looked upon by his colleagues as a man in whose judgment the utmost confidence could be placed. At this time, however, his health began to fail, and the disease which finally carried him off developed to such an extent that he was told he must cease all active work or his days would be shortened. Under these circumstances, it became necessary for him to retire from the severe duties of his very responsible and laborious office, and on October 31st, 1885, he was again appointed lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, an office which he had filled with so much acceptance between 1873 and 1878. Sir Leonard Tilley continued lieutenant-governor during a second term, for almost eight years, or until the appointment of the Hon. John Boyd to that position. He was lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick for considerably more than twelve years, a record which is not likely to be equalled by any future lieutenant-governor for many years to come, if ever.

SECOND TERM AS GOVERNOR

There was no event of particular importance to distinguish Sir Leonard Tilley's second term as lieutenant-governor. The Hon. Mr. Blair was premier of New Brunswick during the whole period, and there was no political crisis of any importance to alter the complexion of affairs. The only event in connection with the governorship which is worthy of being mentioned is the change that was made by the abandonment of the old Government House, at Fredericton, as the residence of the lieutenant-governor. This building had become antiquated, and in other ways unsuitable for the occupancy of a lieutenant-governor, and its maintenance involved a very large expenditure annually, which the province was unable to afford. It was therefore determined that in future the lieutenant-governor should provide his own residence, and that the amount spent on the Government House annually should be saved. Sir Leonard Tilley built a residence in St. John, in which he lived for the remainder of his life, and the seat of government, so far as his presence was concerned, was transferred to that city. Sir Leonard Tilley was always on the most cordial terms with the various premiers who led the government of New Brunswick during their terms of office. He knew well the strict constitutional limits of his office, and was always careful to confine his activities within their proper scope. The lessons of responsible government which he had learned in his early youth, and which had been the study of his manhood, enabled him to avoid those pitfalls which beset the steps of earlier lieutenant-governors.

During Sir Leonard Tilley's last term of office, and after its close, he abstained wholly from any interference with public affairs in the Dominion, and although he still remained steadfastly attached to the Liberal-Conservative party, he gave no outward sign of his desire for their success. This neutral position which he assumed in political matters had the effect of drawing towards him thousands of his fellow-countrymen who, in former years, had been accustomed to regard him with unfriendly feelings. They forgot the active political leader and saw before them only the aged governor, whose venerable figure and kindly face were so familiar at social or other gatherings, or whenever work was to be done for any good cause. In this way Sir Leonard Tilley grew to assume a new character in the public estimation, and at the time of his death the regret was as great on the part of those who had been his political opponents as among those who had been his associates in political warfare. This was one of the most pleasing features of his declining years, and one that gave him the greatest satisfaction, because it enabled him to feel that he enjoyed the affectionate regard of the whole body of the people.