Canada and the States

by Sir E. W. Watkin

"The present state of government in the Red River Settlement is attributable alike to the habitual attempt, encouraged, perhaps very naturally, in England and in Canada, to discredit the traditions, and question the title of the Hudson's Bay Company, and to the false economy which has stripped the Governor of a military force, with which, in the last resort, to support the decisions of the legal tribunals. No other organized Government of white men in the world, since William Penn, has endeavoured to rule any population, still less a promiscuous people composed of whites, half-breeds. Indians, and borderers, without a soldiery of some sort, and the inevitable result of the experiment has, in this case, been an unpunished case of prison- breaking, not sympathised in, it is true, by the majority of the settlers, but still tending to bring law and government into contempt, and greatly to discourage the governing body held responsible for keeping order in the territory.

"At the same time it must be conceded, that, while government by a merchant organization has eminently succeeded, up to an obvious point of time and circumstances, in the cases both of the East India and Hudson's Bay Companies, and is still applicable to the control and management of distant districts, it contains within itself the seeds of its own ultimate dissolution. In fact, the self-interest, however enlightened, which brings a dividend to stockholders, is opposed to the high impartiality and absence of individualism which should characterize a true Government. Individuals and corporations may trade and grow rich,—Government may not; they may embark in constant speculation, while it cannot; they must either insensibly measure their dealings by consequences, as affecting gain, or be suspected of doing so, while the interest of Government is not individual, but collective; its duty being, to give facility to the acquirer, security to the possessor, and justice and equal protection to all.

"Therefore, although the Government of Red River has had few faults and many excellences, and has been marked by a generous policy, in many instances it has been, and is, open to suspicion; because the commercial power which buys furs, trades with Indians and whites alike, and is, in fact, the great merchant, storekeeper, and forwarder of the country; appoints a Governor and assistants, places judges upon the bench, selects magistrates, and administers the law, even amongst its possible rivals and trade competitors. Such a state of things is unsound in principle, and ought only to be continued until a stronger and permanent Government can be organized; at the same time it can only be continued in safety, on the opening up of the country, by arming the Governor with a military force of reasonable amount.

"That the Hudson's Bay Company can govern the country efficiently, on this obvious condition of all other Governments, is clear enough; and the peaceable relations between the Indians and the whites, and between the various tribes themselves, throughout the whole of this enormous territory, as well as the general state of health and occupation of the aborigines, prove how perfect and wise has been the management of the country. But government of Indians, who can be employed and traded with, and who at last become more or less dependent upon the Company's organization, as in this case, is one thing,— government of a large and expanding colony of free white men is quite another.

"It is a question whether the government of the Indians can or ought to be changed, for a long period to come, so completely is the Indian life now associated with the operations of the Company. Of course, the settlement of a new or an extended colony, involves the extinguishment of Indian rights within the area proposed; and while the outside district not set apart, would still be roamed over by the Indians, and be valuable for the fur trade, its limits must, from time to time, be narrowed by further additions to the circle of civilization and free government. Thus, the Hudson's Bay Company, if dispossessed of the government of Red River, and the proposed new Colony, would still manage and govern where it traded, and would still preserve sobriety, order, and peace amongst the Indian tribes of its territory thus limited.

"It may happen that the Hudson's Bay Company may be compelled to govern everywhere, by the refusal of the Home or Canadian Government to encounter the responsibility and expense, which at first might be serious, and which, as regards cost, must be greater in their hands than in those of a Company using portions, of its business organization for purposes of administration. It is well to look these probabilities fairly in the face.

"Such a necessity may arise from the indisposition of certain schools of politicians at home to incur Colonial expense, and the responsibility of defending a new nation flanking the United States; it may happen, owing to the refusal of Lower Canada to widen out the borders, and thus increase the political power of Upper Canada; or it may be objected in Canada generally, that the finances of the country will not, at present, prudently authorize the maintenance of a new Canadian military force; and again, the Indian war in Minnesota, which may spread itself, may raise up fears of Indian wars in the new country to be settled.

"Should the Hudson's Bay Company be compelled, then, to continue to govern the whole territory, the first essential, as before said, is a military force. That force may consist partly of regular troops, partly of mounted irregulars or militia, and it need not, in their hands, be large. The population is suited to military pursuits, and the half- breeds mounted would make an excellent irregular cavalry. And the next essential would be a convention and treaty with the United States, as to boundary and transit through the United States and Hudson's Bay territory respectively, for purposes of travel, and commerce, and of postage, and the telegraph.

"Then the limits of colonization must be defined, and it must be maturely considered at the outset, and decided as to how far, and in what form, and how soon, the principle of self-government shall be introduced. It is assumed that a thriving and expanding colony of white men neither can nor ought to be taxed and governed without their own consent, obtained in some form or other; and that it would be both unwise and unjust to attempt a permanently autocratic government. This is a most serious question, and the Act 31st George III., under which Canada was governed until 1841, would appear to solve the difficulty. The general scheme of government of that Act might operate so soon as the new Colony had a population of (say) 50,000, and its provisions might be elaborated into a constitution, to be voted by the Colony in general assembly, so soon as the population reached (say) 300,000.

"The grand basis of all successful settlement—the land—presents fewer difficulties than might have been imagined, because the admirable model of the land system of the United States is before us, and no better can be devised to enable a country to grow up side by side with the Republic. Reliable surveys and plans, cheap and unclogged titles to the land in fee, a limited upset price of not exceeding $1-25/100 an acre; division of the land saleable into regular sections; the issue of land warrants and regulations as to location, which will prevent, as far as may be, monopolies of land in the hands of speculators—are all essential conditions, and whatever power governs, they must be equally observed.