Canada under British Rule 1760-1900

by John George Bourinot

In 1891 another case of the dismissal of a ministry, having a majority in the assembly, occurred in the province of Quebec, but the intervention of parliament was not asked for the purpose of censuring the lieutenant-governor for the exercise of his undoubted constitutional power. It appears that, in 1891, the evidence taken before a committee of the senate showed that gross irregularities had occurred in connection with the disbursement of certain government subsidies which had been voted by parliament for the construction of the Bay des Chaleurs railway, and that members of the Quebec cabinet were compromised in what was clearly a misappropriation of public money. In view of these grave charges, Lieutenant-governor Angers forced his prime minister, Mr. Honoré Mercier, to agree to the appointment of a royal commission to hold an investigation into the transaction in question. When the lieutenant-governor was in possession of the evidence taken before this commission, he came to the conclusion that it was his duty to relieve Mr. Mercier and his colleagues of their functions as ministers "in order to protect the dignity of the crown and safeguard the honour and interest of the province in danger." Mr. de Boucherville was then called upon to form a ministry which would necessarily assume full responsibility for the action of the lieutenant-governor under the circumstances, and after some delay the new ministry went to the country and were sustained by a large majority. It is an interesting coincidence that the lieutenant-governor who dismissed the Mercier government and the prime minister who assumed full responsibility for the dismissal of the Mercier administration, were respectively attorney-general and premier in the cabinet who so deeply resented a similar action in 1878. But Mr. Letellier was then dead—notoriously as a result of the mental strain to which he had been subject in the constitutional crisis which wrecked his political career—and it was left only for his friends to feel that the whirligig of time brings its revenge even in political affairs[5].

[5: Since this chapter was in type, the Dominion government have found it necessary to dismiss Mr. McInnes from the lieutenant-governorship of British Columbia, on the ground—as set forth in an order-in-council —that "his official conduct had been subversive of the principles of responsible government," and that his "usefulness was gone." While Mr. McInnes acted as head of the executive at Victoria, the political affairs of the province became chaotic. He dismissed ministries in the most summary manner. When the people were at last appealed to at a general election by Mr. Martin, his latest adviser, he was defeated by an overwhelming majority, and the Ottawa government came to the conclusion—to quote the order-in-council—"that the action of the lieutenant-governor in dismissing his ministers has not been approved by the people of British Columbia," and it was evident, "that the government of the province cannot be successfully carried on in the manner contemplated by the constitution under the administration of the present incumbent of the office." Consequently, Mr. McInnes was removed from office, and the Dominion government appointed in his place Sir Henri Joly de Lotbinière, who has had large experience in public affairs, and is noted for his amiability and discretion.]

A very important controversy involving old issues arose in 1888 in connection with an act passed by the Mercier government of Quebec for the settlement of the Jesuits' estates, which, so long ago as 1800, had fallen into the hands of the British government, on the death of the last surviving member of the order in Canada, and had been, after some delay, applied to the promotion of public instruction in the province of Quebec. The bishops of the Roman Catholic Church always contended that the estates should have been vested in them "as the ordinaries of the various dioceses in which this property was situated." After confederation, the estates became the property of the government of Quebec and were entirely at the disposal of the legislature. The Jesuits in the meantime had become incorporated in the province, and made, as well as the bishops, a claim to the estates. Eventually, to settle the difficulty and strengthen himself with the ecclesiastics of the province, Mr. Mercier astutely passed a bill through the legislature, authorising the payment of $400,000 as compensation to the Jesuits in lieu of all the lands held by them prior to the conquest and subsequently confiscated by the crown. It was expressly set forth in the preamble of the act—and it was this proposition which offended the extreme Protestants—that the amount of compensation was to remain as a special deposit until the Pope had made known his wishes respecting the distribution. Some time later the Pope divided the money among the Jesuits, the archbishops and bishops of the province, and Laval University. The whole matter came before the Dominion house of commons in 1888, when a resolution was proposed to the effect that the government should have at once disallowed the act as beyond the power of the legislature, because, among other reasons, "it recognizes the usurpation of a right by a foreign authority, namely his Holiness the Pope, to claim that his consent was necessary to dispose of and appropriate the public funds of a province." The very large vote in support of the action of the government-188 against 13-was chiefly influenced by the conviction that, to quote the minute of council, "the subject-matter of the act was one of provincial concern, only having relation to a fiscal matter entirely within the control of the legislature of Quebec." The best authorities agree in the wisdom of not interfering with provincial legislation except in cases where there is an indisputable invasion of Dominion jurisdiction or where the vital interests of Canada as a whole may imperatively call for such interference.

In March, 1885, Canada was startled by the news that the half-breeds of the Saskatchewan district in the North-west had risen in rebellion against the authority of the Dominion government. It is difficult to explain clearly the actual causes of an uprising which, in all probability, would never have occurred had it not been for the fact that Riel had been brought back from Montana by his countrymen to assist them in obtaining a redress of certain grievances. This little insurrection originated in the Roman Catholic mission of St. Laurent, situated between the north and south branches of the Saskatchewan River, and contiguous to the British settlement of Prince Albert. Within the limits of this mission there was a considerable number of half-breeds, who had for the most part migrated from Manitoba after selling the "scrip[6]" for lands generously granted to them after the restoration of order in 1870 to the Red River settlements. Government surveyors had been busily engaged for some time in laying out the Saskatchewan country in order to keep pace with the rapidly increasing settlement. When they came to the mission of St. Laurent they were met with the same distrust that had done so much harm in 1870. The half-breeds feared that the system of square blocks followed by the surveyors would seriously interfere with the location of the farms on which they had "squatted" in accordance with the old French system of deep lots with a narrow frontage on the banks of the rivers. The difficulties arising out of these diverse systems of surveys caused a considerable delay in the issue of patents for lands, and dissatisfied the settlers who were anxious to know what land their titles covered. The half-breeds not only contended that their surveys should be respected, but that they should be also allowed scrip for two hundred and forty acres of land, as had been done in the case of their compatriots in Manitoba. Many of the Saskatchewan settlers had actually received this scrip before they left the province, but nevertheless they hoped to obtain it once more from the government, and to sell it with their usual improvidence to the first speculators who offered them some ready money.

[6: A certificate from the government that a certain person is entitled to receive a patent from the crown for a number of acres of the public lands—a certificate legally transferable to another person by the original holder.]

The delay of the government in issuing patents and scrip and the system of surveys were no doubt the chief grievances which enabled Riel and Dumont—the latter a resident of Batoche—to excite the half-breeds against the Dominion authorities at Ottawa. When a commission was actually appointed by the government in January, 1885, to allot scrip to those who were entitled to receive it, the half-breeds were actually ready for a revolt under the malign influence of Riel and his associates. Riel believed for some time after his return in 1884 that he could use the agitation among his easily deluded countrymen for his own selfish purposes. It is an indisputable fact that he made an offer to the Dominion government to leave the North-west if they would pay him a considerable sum of money. When he found that there was no likelihood of Sir John Macdonald repeating the mistake which he had made at the end of the first rebellion, Riel steadily fomented the agitation among the half-breeds, who were easily persuaded to believe that a repetition of the disturbances of 1870 would obtain them a redress of any grievances they might have. It is understood that one of the causes that aggravated the agitation at its inception was the belief entertained by some white settlers of Prince Albert that they could use the disaffection among the half-breeds for the purpose of repeating the early history of Manitoba, and forcing the Dominion government to establish a new province in the Saskatchewan country, though its entire population at that time would not have exceeded ten thousand persons, of whom a large proportion were half-breeds. Riel for a time skilfully made these people believe that he would be a ductile instrument in their hands, but when his own plans were ripe for execution he assumed despotic control of the whole movement and formed a provisional government in which he and his half-breed associates were dominant, and the white conspirators of Prince Albert were entirely ignored. The loyal people of Prince Albert, who had always disapproved of the agitation, as well as the priests of the mission, who had invariably advised their flock to use only peaceful and constitutional methods of redress, were at last openly set at defiance and insulted by Riel and his associates. The revolt broke out on the 25th March, 1885, when the half-breeds took forcible possession of the government stores, and made prisoners of some traders at Duck Lake. A small force of Mounted Police under the command of Superintendent Crozier was defeated near the same place by Dumont, and the former only saved his men from destruction by a skilful retreat to Fort Carleton. The half-breed leaders circulated the news of this victory over the dreaded troops of the government among the Indian bands of the Saskatchewan, a number of whom immediately went on the war-path. Fort Carleton had to be given up by the mounted police, who retired to Prince Albert, the key of the district. The town of Battleford was besieged by the Indians, but they were successfully kept in check for weeks until the place was relieved. Fort Pitt was evacuated by Inspector Dickens, a son of the great novelist, who succeeded in taking his little force of police into Battleford. Two French missionaries and several white men were ruthlessly murdered at Frog Lake by a band of Crees, and two women were dragged from the bodies of their husbands and carried away to the camp of Big Bear. Happily for them some tender-hearted half-breeds purchased them from the Indians and kept them in safety until they were released at the close of the disturbances.

The heart of Canada was now deeply stirred and responded with great heartiness to the call of the government for troops to restore order to the distracted settlements. The minister of militia, Mr. Adolphe Caron—afterwards knighted for his services on this trying occasion—showed great energy in the management of his department. Between four and five thousand men were soon on the march for the territories under Major-General Middleton, the English officer then in command of the Canadian militia. Happily for the rapid transport of the troops the Canadian Pacific Railway was so far advanced that, with the exception of 72 miles, it afforded a continuous line of communication from Montreal to Qu'Appelle. The railway formed the base from which three military expeditions could be despatched to the most important points of the Saskatchewan country—one direct to Batoche, a second to Battleford, and a third for a flank movement to Fort Edmonton, where a descent could be made down the North Saskatchewan for the purpose of recapturing Fort Pitt and attacking the rebellious Indians under Big Bear. On the 24th of April General Middleton fought his first engagement with the half-breeds, who were skilfully concealed in rifle pits in the vicinity of Fish Creek, a small erratic tributary of the South Saskatchewan. Dumont for the moment succeeded in checking the advance of the Canadian forces, who fought with much bravery but were placed at a great disadvantage on account of Middleton not having taken sufficient precautions against a foe thoroughly acquainted with the country and cunningly hidden. The Canadian troops were soon able to continue their forward movement and won a decisive victory at Batoche, in which Colonels Williams, Straubenzie, and Grasett notably distinguished themselves. Riel was soon afterwards captured on the prairie, but Dumont succeeded in crossing the frontier of the United States. While Middleton was on his way to Batoche, Lieutenant-Colonel Otter of Toronto, an able soldier who was, fifteen years later, detached for active service in South Africa, was on the march for the relief of Battleford, and had on the first of May an encounter with a large band of Indians under Poundmaker on the banks of Cut Knife Creek, a small tributary of the Battle River. Though Otter did not win a victory, he showed Poundmaker the serious nature of the contest in which he was engaged against the Canadian government, and soon afterwards, when the Cree chief heard of the defeat of the half-breeds at Batoche, he surrendered unconditionally. Another expedition under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Strange also relieved Fort Pitt; and Big Bear was forced to fly into the swampy fastnesses of the prairie wilderness, but was eventually captured near Fort Carleton by a force of Mounted Police.

This second rebellion of the half-breeds lasted about three months, and cost the country upwards of five million dollars. Including the persons murdered at Frog Lake, the loyal population of Canada lost thirty-six valuable lives, among whom was Lieutenant-Colonel Williams, a gallant officer, and a member of the house of commons, who succumbed to a serious illness brought on by his exposure on the prairie. The casualties among the half-breeds were at least as large, if not greater. Five Indian chiefs suffered the extreme penalty of the law, while Poundmaker, Big Bear, and a number of others were imprisoned in the territories for life or for a term of years, according to the gravity of their complicity in the rebellion. Any hopes that Riel might have placed in the active sympathy of the French Canadian people of Quebec were soon dispelled. He was tried at Regina in July and sentenced to death, although the able counsel allotted to him by the government exhausted every available argument in his defence, even to the extent of setting up a plea of insanity, which the prisoner himself deeply resented. The most strenuous efforts were made by the French Canadians to force the government to reprieve him, but Sir John Macdonald was satisfied that the loyal sentiment of the great majority of the people of Canada demanded imperatively that the law should be vindicated. The French Canadian representatives in the cabinet, Langevin, Chapleau, and Caron, resisted courageously the storm of obloquy which their determination to support the prime minister raised against them; and Riel was duly executed on the 16th November. For some time after his death attempts were made to keep up the excitement which had so long existed in the province of Quebec on the question. The Dominion government was certainly weakened for a time in Quebec by its action in this matter, while Mr. Honoré Mercier skilfully used the Riel agitation to obtain control of the provincial government at the general election of 1886, but only to fall five years later, under circumstances which must always throw a shadow over the fame of a brilliant, but unsafe, political leader (see p. 247). The attempt to make political capital out of the matter in the Dominion parliament had no other result than to weaken the influence in Ontario of Mr. Edward Blake, the leader of the opposition since the resignation of Mr. Mackenzie in 1880. He was left without the support of the majority of the Liberal representatives of the province in the house of commons when he condemned the execution of Riel, principally on the ground that he was insane—a conclusion not at all justified by the report of the medical experts who had been chosen by the government to examine the condemned man previous to the execution. The energy with which this rebellion was repressed showed both the half-breeds and the Indians of the west the power of the Ottawa government. From that day to this order has prevailed in the western country, and grievances have been redressed as far as possible. The readiness with which the militia force of Canada rallied to the support of the government was conclusive evidence of the deep national sentiment that existed throughout the Dominion. In Ottawa, Port Hope, and Toronto monuments have been raised in memory of the brave men who gave up their lives for the Dominion, but probably the most touching memorial of this unfortunate episode in Canadian history is the rude cairn of stone which still stands among the wild flowers of the prairie in memory of the gallant fellows who were mown down by the unerring rifle shots of the half-breeds hidden in the ravines of Fish Creek.

In 1885 parliament passed a general franchise law for the Dominion in place of the system—which had prevailed since 1867—of taking the electoral lists of the several provinces as the lists for elections to the house of commons. The opposition contested this measure with great persistency, but Sir John Macdonald pressed it to a successful conclusion, mainly on the ground that it was necessary in a country like Canada, composed of such diverse elements, to have for the Dominion uniformity of suffrage, based on a small property qualification, instead of having diverse systems of franchise—in some provinces, universal franchise, to which he and other Conservatives generally were strongly opposed.

Between 1880 and 1894 Canada was called upon to mourn the loss of a number of her ablest and brightest statesmen—one of them the most notable in her political history. It was on a lovely May day of 1880 that the eminent journalist and politician, George Brown, died from the effects of a bullet wound which he received at the hand of one Bennett, a printer, who had been discharged by the Globe for drunkenness and incapacity. The Conservative party in 1888 suffered a great loss by the sudden decease of Mr. Thomas White, minister of the interior in the Macdonald ministry, who had been for the greater part of his life a prominent journalist, and had succeeded in winning a conspicuous and useful position in public affairs as a writer, speaker, and administrator. Three years later, the Dominion was startled by the sad announcement, on the 6th June, 1891, that the voice of the great prime minister, Sir John Macdonald, who had so long controlled the affairs of Canada, would never more be heard in that federal parliament of which he had been one of the fathers. All classes of Canadians vied with one another in paying a tribute of affection and respect to one who had been in every sense a true Canadian. Men forgot for the moment his mistakes and weaknesses, the mistakes of the politician and the weaknesses of humanity, "only to remember"—to quote the eloquent tribute paid to him by Mr. Laurier, then leader of the opposition—"that his actions always displayed great originality of view, unbounded fertility of resources, a high level of intellectual conception, and above all, a far-reaching vision beyond the event of the day, and still higher, permeating the whole, a broad patriotism, a devotion to Canada's welfare, Canada's advancement, and Canada's glory." His obsequies were the most stately and solemn that were ever witnessed in the Dominion; his bust was subsequently unveiled in the crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral by the Earl of Rosebery, when prime minister of England; noble monuments were raised to his memory in the cities of Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal; and the Queen addressed a letter full of gracious sympathy to his widow and conferred on her the dignity of a peeress of the United Kingdom under the title of Baroness of Earnscliffe, as a mark of her Majesty's gratitude "for the devoted and faithful services which he rendered for so many years to his sovereign and his Dominion."