Letters and Journals of James, Eighth Earl of Elgin Part 3

[Sidenote: Sir C. Bagot.]

[Sidenote: Lord Metcalfe.]

The rebellion of 1837 and 1838 had necessarily checked the progress of the colony towards self-government. It has since been acknowledged that the demands which led to that rebellion were such as England would have gladly granted two or three hundred years before; and they were, in fact, subsequently conceded one after another, 'not from terror, but because, on seriously looking at the case, it was found that after all we had no possible interest in withholding them.'[1] But at the time it was necessary to put down the rebels by force, and to establish military government. In 1838 Lord Durham was sent out as High Commissioner for the Adjustment of the Affairs of the Colony, and his celebrated 'Report' sowed the seeds of all the beneficial changes which followed. So early as October 1839, when Poulett Thomson, afterwards Lord Sydenham, went out as Governor, Lord John Russell took the first step towards the introduction of 'responsible government,' by announcing that the princ.i.p.al offices of the colony 'would not be considered as being held by a tenure equivalent to one during good behaviour, but that the holders would be liable to be called upon to retire whenever, from motives of public policy or for other reasons, this should be found expedient.'[2] But the insurrection was then too recent to allow of const.i.tutional government being established, at least in Lower Canada; and, after the Union in 1840, Lord Sydenham exercised, partly owing to his great ability, much more power than is usually enjoyed by const.i.tutional governors. He exercised it, however, in such a manner as to pave the way for a freer system, which was carried out to a great extent by his successor, Sir Charles Bagot; who, though bearing the reputation of an old-fas.h.i.+oned Tory, did not scruple to admit to his counsels persons who had been active in opposing the Crown during the recent rebellion; acting on 'the broad principle that the const.i.tutional majority had the right to rule under the const.i.tution.'[3]

Towards the end of 1842, Sir C. Bagot found himself obliged by continued ill-health to resign; and he was succeeded by Lord Metcalfe--a man, as has been before noticed, of singularly popular manners and conciliatory disposition, but whose views of government, formed in India and confirmed in Jamaica, little fitted him to deal at an advanced age with the novel questions presented by Canada at this crisis. A quarrel arose between him and his Ministry on a question of patronage. The ministers resigned, though supported by a large majority in the a.s.sembly. With great difficulty he formed a Conservative administration, and immediately dissolved his Parliament. The new elections gave a small majority to the Conservatives, chiefly due, it was said, to the exertion of his personal influence; but the success was purchased at a ruinous cost, for he was now in the position, fatal to a governor, of a party man. Even from this situation he might perhaps have been able to extricate himself: so great was the respect felt for his rare qualities of mind and character. But a distressing malady almost incapacitated him for the discharge of public business, and at length, in November 1845, forced him to resign. At this time there was some apprehension of difficulties with America, arising from the Oregon question, and, in view of the possibility of war, Mr.

Gladstone, who was then at the Colonial Office, appointed Lord Cathcart, the commander of the forces, to be Governor-General.

[Sidenote: Lord Cathcart.]

When the Whig party came into power, and Lord Grey became Secretary for the Colonies, the Oregon difficulty had been happily settled, and it was no longer necessary or desirable that the colony should be governed by a military officer. What was wanted was a person possessing an intimate knowledge of the principles and practice of the const.i.tution of England, some experience of popular a.s.semblies, and considerable familiarity with the political questions of the day.'[4] After much consideration it was decided to offer the post to Lord Elgin, though personally unknown at the time both to the Premier and to the Secretary for the Colonies.

[Sidenote: Principles of Colonial Government.]

The principles on which Lord Elgin undertook to conduct the affairs of the colony were, that he should identify himself with no party, but make himself a mediator and moderator between the influential of all parties; that he should have no ministers who did not enjoy the confidence of the a.s.sembly, or, in the last resort, of the people; and that he should not refuse his consent to any measure proposed by his Ministry, unless it were of an extreme party character, such as the a.s.sembly or the people would be sure to disapprove.[4] Happily these principles were not, in Lord Elgin's case, of yesterday's growth. He had acted upon them, as far as was possible, even in Jamaica; and in their soundness as applied to a colony like Canada he had that firm faith, grounded on original conviction, which alone could have enabled him to maintain them, as he afterwards did, single-handed, in face of the most violent opposition, and in circ.u.mstances by which they were most severely tested.

[Sidenote: Crossing the Atlantic.]

It was fortunate that Lord Elgin had arranged to leave his bride in England, to follow at a less inclement season; for he had an unusually stormy pa.s.sage across the Atlantic--'the worst pa.s.sage the s.h.i.+p had ever made.'

Writing on the 16th of January to Lady Grey he says:

Hitherto we have had a very boisterous pa.s.sage. On the 13th we had a hurricane, and were obliged to lie to--a rare occurrence with these vessels. It was almost impossible to be on deck, but I crept out of a hole for a short time, to behold the sea, which was truly grand in its wrath; the waves rolling mountains high, and the wind sweeping the foam off their crests, and driving it, together with the snow and sleet, almost horizontally over the ocean. We lay thus for some hours, our masts covered with snow, pitching and tossing, now in the trough of the sea, and now on the summit of the billows, without anxiety or alarm, so gallantly did our craft bear itself through these perils.

The s.h.i.+p is very full, with half a million of specie, and a motley group of pa.s.sengers: a Bishop, an ex-secretary of Legation and an ex-consul, both of the United States; a batch of Germans and of Frenchmen; a host of Yankees, the greater part being bearded, which is, I understand, characteristic of young America, particularly when it travels; some specimens of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Canada, and the Rocky Mountains, not to mention English and Scotch. Every now and then, at the most serious moments, sounds of uproarious mirth proceed from a party of Irish, who are playing antics in some corner of the s.h.i.+p. Considering that we are all hemmed in within the s.p.a.ce of a few feet, and that it is the amus.e.m.e.nt of the great restless ocean to pitch us constantly into each other's arms, it is hard indeed if we do not pick up something new in the scramble.

[Sidenote: First impressions.]

On the 25th of January he landed at Boston, and proceeding next day by railway and sleigh, reached Montreal on the 29th. On the 31st he wrote from Monklands, the suburban residence of the governor, to Lady Elgin:--

Yesterday was my great day. I agreed to make my entrance to Montreal, for the purpose of being inaugurated. The morning was unpropitious.

There had been a tremendous storm during the night, and the snow had drifted so much that it seemed doubtful whether a sleigh could go from hence to town (about four miles). I said that I had no notion of being deterred by weather. Accordingly, I got into a one-horse sleigh, with very small runners, which conveyed me to the entrance of the town, where I was met by the Mayor and Corporation with an address. I then got into Lord Cathcart's carriage, accompanied by the Mayor, and a long procession of carriages was formed. We drove slowly to the Government House (in the town), through a dense ma.s.s of people--all the societies, trades, &c., with their banners. Nothing could be more gratifying. After the swearing in, at which the public were present, the Mayor read another address from the inhabitants. To this I delivered a reply, which produced, I think, a considerable effect, and no little astonishment on some gentlemen who intended that I should say nothing. I have adopted frankly and unequivocally Lord Durham's view of government, and I think that I have done all that could be done to prevent its being perverted to vile purposes of faction.

Various circ.u.mstances combined to smooth, for the time, the waters on which Lord Elgin had embarked. The state of political parties was favourable; for the old Tories of the British 'Family Compact' party were in good humour, being in enjoyment of the powers to which they claimed a prescriptive right, while the 'Liberals' of the Opposition were full of hope that the removal of Lord Metcalfe's disturbing influence would restore their proper preponderance. Something also was due to his own personal qualities. Whereas most of his immediate predecessors had been men advanced in years and enfeebled by ill-health, he was in the full enjoyment of vigorous youth--able, if need were, to work whole days at a stretch; to force his way through a Canadian snow-storm, if his presence was required at a public meeting; to make long and rapid journeys through the province, ever ready to receive an address, and give an _impromptu_ reply. The papers soon began to remark on the 'geniality and affability of 'his demeanour.'

'He is daily,' they said, 'making new 'friends. He walks to church, attends public meetings, 'leads the cheering, and is, in fact, a man of the people.' Before long it was added, 'Our new governor is 'the most effective speaker in the province;' and, thanks to his foreign education, he was able to speak as readily and fluently to the French Canadians in French as to the English in English. Added to this, his recent marriage was a pa.s.sport to the hearts of many in Canada, who looked back to the late Lord Durham as the apostle of their liberties, if not as a martyr in their cause.

[Sidenote: Provincial politics.]

But though the surface was smooth, there was much beneath to disquiet an observant governor. It was not only that the Ministry was so weak, and so conscious of its weakness, as to be incapable even of proposing any measures of importance. This evil might be remedied by a change of administration. But there was no real political life; only that pale and distorted reflection of it which is apt to exist in a colony before it has learned 'to look within itself for the centre of power.' Parties formed themselves, not on broad issues of principle, but with reference to petty local and personal interests; and when they sought the support of a more widespread sentiment, they fell back on those antipathies of race, which it was the main object of every wise Governor to extinguish.

The following extracts from private letters to Lord Grey, written within a few months of his arrival, reflect this state of things. Though the circ.u.mstances to which they refer are past and gone, they may not be without interest, as affording an insight into a common phase of colonial government.

Hitherto things have gone on well with me, much better than I hoped for when we parted. I should have been very willing to meet the a.s.sembly at once, and throw myself with useful measures on the good sense of the people, but my ministers are too weak for this. They seem to be impressed with the belief that the regular Opposition will of course resist whatever they propose, and that any fragments of their own side, who happen not to be able at the moment to get what they want, will join them. When I advise them, therefore, to go down to Parliament with good measures and the prestige of a new Governor, and rely on the support of public opinion, they smile and shake their heads. It is clear that they are not very credulous of the existence of such a controlling power, and that their faith in the efficiency of appeals to selfish and sordid motives is greater than mine.

Nevertheless, we must take the world as we find it, and if new elements of strength are required to enable the Government to go on, it is I think very advisable to give the French a fair opportunity of entering the Ministry in the first instance. It is also more prudent to enter upon these delicate negotiations cautiously and slowly, in order to avoid, if possible, giving the impression that I am ready to jump down everybody's throat the moment I touch the soil of Canada.

I believe that the problem of how to govern United Canada would be solved if the French would split into a Liberal and a Conservative party, and join the Upper Canada parties which bear corresponding names. The great difficulty hitherto has been that a Conservative government has meant a government of Upper Canadians, which is intolerable to the French, and a Radical government a government of French, which is no less hateful to the British. No doubt the party t.i.tles are misnomers, for the radical party comprises the political section most averse to progress of any in the country. Nevertheless, so it has been hitherto. The national element would be merged in the political if the split to which I refer were accomplished.

The tottering Ministry attempted to strengthen its position by a junction with some of the leaders of the 'French' party; but the attempt was unsuccessful:

I cannot say that I am surprised or disheartened by the result of these negotiations with the French. In a community like this, where there is little, if anything, of public principle to divide men, political parties will shape themselves under the influence of circ.u.mstances, and of a great variety of affections and antipathies, national, sectarian, and personal; and I never proposed to attempt to force them into a mould of my own forming.

You will observe that no question of principle or of public policy has been mooted by either party during the negotiation. The whole discussion has turned upon personal considerations. This is, I fancy, a pretty fair sample of Canadian politics. It is not even pretended that the divisions of party represent corresponding divisions of sentiment on questions which occupy the public mind; such as Voluntaryism, Free Trade, &c., &c. Responsible government is the only subject on which this coincidence is alleged to exist. The opponents of the Administration are supposed to dissent from the views held by Lord Metcalfe upon it, though it is not so clear that its supporters altogether adopt them. That this delicate and most debatable subject should furnish the watchwords of party is most inconvenient.

In enumerating the difficulties which surround such questions as Union of the provinces, Emigration, &c., you omit the greatest of them all; viz.: the materials with which I have to work in carrying out any measures for the public advantage. There are half a dozen parties here, standing on no principles, and all intent on making political capital out of whatever turns up. It is exceedingly difficult, under such circ.u.mstances, to induce public men to run the risk of adopting any scheme that is bold or novel.

Keenly alive to the evil of this state of things, Lord Elgin was not less sensible that the blame of it did not rest with the existing generation of Canadian politicians, but that it was the result of a variety of circ.u.mstances, some of which it was impossible to regret.

Several causes (he wrote) co-operate together to give to personal and party interests the overweening importance which attaches to them in the estimation of local politicians. There are no real grievances here to stir the depths of the popular mind. We are a comfortable people, with plenty to eat and drink, no privileged cla.s.ses to excite envy, or taxes to produce irritation. It were ungrateful to view these blessings with regret, and yet I believe that they account in some measure for the selfishness of public men and their indifference to the higher aims of statesmans.h.i.+p.

[Sidenote: Responsible government.]

The comparatively small number of members of which the popular bodies who determine the fate of provincial administrations consist, is also, I am inclined to think, unfavourable to the existence of a high order of principle and feeling among official personages. A majority of ten in an a.s.sembly of seventy may probably be, according to c.o.c.ker, equivalent to a majority of 100 in an a.s.sembly of 700. In practice, however, it is far otherwise. The defection of two or three individuals from the majority of ten puts the administration in peril.

Thence the perpetual patchwork and trafficking to secure this vote and that, which (not to mention other evils) so engrosses the time and thoughts of ministers, that they have not leisure for matters of greater moment. It must also be remembered that it is only of late that the popular a.s.semblies in this part of the world have acquired the right of determining who shall govern them--of insisting, as we phrase it, that the administration of affairs shall be conducted by persons enjoying their confidence. It is not wonderful that a privilege of this kind should be exercised at first with some degree of recklessness, and that, while no great principles of policy are at stake, methods of a more questionable character for winning and retaining the confidence of these arbiters of destiny should be resorted to. My course in these circ.u.mstances is, I think, clear and plain. It may be somewhat difficult to follow occasionally, but I feel no doubt as to the direction in which it lies. I give to my ministers all const.i.tutional support, frankly and without reserve, and the benefit of the best advice that I can afford them in their difficulties. In return for this I expect that they will, in so far as it is possible for them to do so, carry out my views for the maintenance of the connexion with Great Britain and the advancement of the interests of the province. On this tacit understanding we have acted together harmoniously up to this time, although I have never concealed from them that I intend to do nothing which may prevent me from working cordially with their opponents, if they are forced upon me. That ministries and Oppositions should occasionally change places, is of the very essence of our const.i.tutional system, and it is probably the most conservative element which it contains. By subjecting all sections of politicians in their turn to official responsibilities, it obliges heated partisans to place some restraint on pa.s.sion, and to confine within the bounds of decency the patriotic zeal with which, when out of place, they are wont to be animated. In order, however, to secure these advantages, it is indispensable that the head of the Government should show that he has confidence in the loyalty of all the influential parties with which he has to deal, and that he should have no personal antipathies to prevent him from acting with leading men.

I feel very strongly that a Governor-General, by acting upon these views with tact and firmness, may hope to establish a moral influence in the province which will go far to compensate for the loss of power consequent on the surrender of patronage to an executive responsible to the local Parliament. Until, however, the functions of his office, under our amended colonial const.i.tution, are more clearly defined-- until that middle term which shall reconcile the faithful discharge of his responsibility to the Imperial Government and the province with the maintenance of the quasi-monarchical relation in which he now stands towards the community over which he presides, be discovered and agreed upon, he must be content to tread along a path which is somewhat narrow and slippery, and to find that incessant watchfulness and some dexterity are requisite to prevent him from falling, on the one side into the _neant_ of mock sovereignty, or on the other into the dirt and confusion of local factions.

Many of his letters exhibit the same conviction that the remedy for the evils which he regretted was to be found in the principles of government first a.s.serted by Lord Durham; but there is a special interest in the expression of this sentiment when addressed, as in the following extract, to Lord Durham's daughter:--

I still adhere to my opinion that the real and effectual vindication of Lord Durham's memory and proceedings will be _the success of a Governor-General of Canada who works out his views of government fairly_. Depend upon it, if this country is governed for a few years satisfactorily, Lord Durham's reputation as a statesman will be raised beyond the reach of cavil. I do not indeed know whether I am to be the instrument to carry out this work, or be destined, like others who have gone before me, to break down in the attempt; but I am still of opinion that the thing may be done, though it requires some good fortune and some qualities not of the lowest order. I find on my arrival here a very weak Government, almost as much abused by their friends as by their foes, no civil or private secretary, and an immense quant.i.ty of arrears of business. It is possible, therefore, that I may not be able to bear up against the difficulties of my situation, and that it may remain for some one else to effect that object, which many reasons would render me so desirous to achieve.

[Sidenote: Irish immigration,]

With these cares, which formed the groundwork of the texture of the Governor's life, were interwoven from time to time interests of a more temporary character; of which the first in date, as in importance, was connected with the flood of immigration consequent on the Irish famine of 1847.

During the course of the season nearly 100,000 immigrants landed at Quebec, a large proportion of whom were totally dest.i.tute, and must have perished had they not been forwarded at the cost of the public. Owing to various causes, contagious fever of a most malignant character prevailed among them, to an unexampled extent; the number confined at one time in hospitals occasionally approached 10,000: and though the mortality among children was very great, nearly 1,000 immigrant orphans were left during the season at Montreal, besides a proportionate number at Grosse Isle, Quebec, Kingston, Toronto, and other places.

In this manner 'army after army of sick and suffering people, fleeing from famine in their native land to be stricken down by death in the valley of the St. Lawrence, stopped in rapid succession at Grosse Isle, and there leaving numbers of their dead behind, pushed upwards towards the lakes, in over-crowded steamers, to burthen the inhabitants of the western towns and villages.'[5]

The people of Canada exerted themselves n.o.bly, under the direction of their Governor, to meet the sudden call upon their charity; but he felt deeply for the sufferings which it entailed upon the colony, and he did not fail to point out to Lord Grey how severe was the strain thus laid on her loyalty:--

[Sidenote: a scourge to the province.]

The immigration which is now taking place is a frightful scourge to the province. Thousands upon thousands of poor wretches are coming here incapable of work, and scattering the seeds of disease and death.

Already five or six hundred orphans are acc.u.mulated at Montreal, for whose sustenance, until they can be put out to service, provision must be made. Considerable panic exists among the inhabitants. Political motives contribute to swell the amount of dissatisfaction produced by this state of things. The Opposition make the want of adequate provision to meet this overwhelming calamity, in the shape of hospitals, &c., a matter of charge against the Provincial Administration. That section of the French who dislike British immigration at all times, find, as might be expected, in the circ.u.mstances of this year, a theme for copious declamation. Persons who cherish republican sympathies ascribe these evils to our dependent condition as colonists--'the States of the Union,' they say, 'can take care of themselves, and avert the scourge from their sh.o.r.es, but we are victims on whom inhuman Irish landlords, &c., can charge the consequences of their neglect and rapacity.' Meanwhile I have a very delicate and irksome duty to discharge. There is a general belief that Great Britain must make good to the province the expenses entailed on it by this visitation. 'It is enough,' say the inhabitants, 'that our houses should be made a receptacle of this ma.s.s of want and misery: it cannot surely be intended that we are to be mulcted in heavy pecuniary damages besides.' The reasonableness of these sentiments can hardly be questioned--bitter indignation would be aroused by the attempt to confute them--and yet I feel that if I were too freely to a.s.sent to them, I might encourage recklessness, extravagance, and peculation. From the overwhelming nature of the calamity, and the large share which it has naturally occupied of the attention of Parliament and of the public, the task of making arrangements to meet the necessities of the case has practically been withdrawn from the department of the Civil Secretary, and fallen into the hands of the Provincial Administration. In a.s.senting to the various minutes which they have pa.s.sed for affording relief to the sick and dest.i.tute, and for guarding against the spread of disease, I have felt it to be my duty, even at the risk of incurring the imputation of insensibility to the claims of distress, to urge the necessity of economy, and of adopting all possible precautions against waste. You will at once perceive, however, how embarra.s.sing my position is. A source of possible misunderstanding between myself and the colonists is furnished by these untoward circ.u.mstances, altogether unconnected with the ordinary, or, as I may perhaps venture to term them, normal difficulties of my situation.

On the whole, all things considered, I think that a great deal of forbearance and good feeling has been shown by the colonists under this trial. Nothing can exceed the devotion of the nuns and Roman Catholic priests, and the conduct of the clergy and of many of the laity of other denominations has been most exemplary. Many lives have been sacrificed in attendance on the sick and administering to their temporal and spiritual need. But the aspect of affairs is becoming more and more alarming. The panic which prevails in Montreal and Quebec is beginning to manifest itself in the Upper Province, and farmers are unwilling to hire even the healthy immigrants, because it appears that since the warm weather set in, typhus has broken out in many cases among those who were taken into service at the commencement of the season, as being perfectly free from disease. I think it most important that the Home Government should do all in their power by enforcing the provisions of the Pa.s.sengers' Act, and by causing these facts to be widely circulated, to stem this tide of misery.

What is to be done? Private charity is exhausted. In a country where pauperism as a normal condition of society is unknown, you have not local rates for the relief of dest.i.tution to fall back upon. Humanity and prudence alike forbid that they should be left to perish in the streets. The exigency of the case can manifestly be met only by an expenditure of public funds.

[Sidenote: The charge should be borne by the mother-country.]

But by whom is this charge to be borne? You urge, that when the first pressure is past, the province will derive, in various ways, advantage from this immigration,--that the provincial administration, who prescribe the measures of relief, have means, which the Imperial authorities have not, of checking extravagance and waste; and you conclude that their const.i.tuents ought to be saddled with at least a portion of the expense. I readily admit the justice of the latter branch of this argument, but I am disposed to question the force of the former. The benefit which the province will derive from this year's immigration is, at best, problematical; and it is certain that they who are to profit by it would willingly have renounced it, whatever it may be, on condition of being relieved from the evils by which it has been attended. Of the gross number of immigrants who have reached the province, many are already mouldering in their graves.

Among the survivors there are widows and orphans, and aged and diseased persons, who will probably be for an indefinite period a burden on Government or private charity. A large proportion of the healthy and prosperous, who have availed themselves of the cheap route of the St. Lawrence, will, I fears find their way to the Western States, where land is procurable on more advantageous terms than in Canada. To refer, therefore, to the 82,000 immigrants who have pa.s.sed into the States through New York, and been absorbed there without cost to the mother-country, and to contrast this circ.u.mstance with the heavy expense which has attended the admission of a smaller number into Canada, is hardly just. In the first place, of the 82,000 who went to New York, a much smaller proportion were sickly or dest.i.tute; and, besides, by the laws of the state, s.h.i.+p-owners importing immigrants are required to enter into bonds, which are forfeited when any of the latter become chargeable on the public. These, and other precautions yet more stringent, were enforced so soon as the character of this year's immigration was ascertained, and they had the effect of turning towards this quarter the tide of suffering which was setting in that direction. Even now, immigrants attempting to cross the frontier from Canada are sent back, if they are either sickly or paupers. On the whole, I fear that a comparison between the condition of this province and that of the states of the neighbouring republic, as affected by this year's immigration, would be by no means satisfactory or provocative of dutiful and affectionate feelings towards the mother-country on the part of the colonists. It is a case in which, on every account, I think the Imperial Government is bound to act liberally.

[Sidenote: Lord Palmerston's tenants.]

Month after month, the tide of misery flowed on, each wave sweeping deeper into the heart of the province, and carrying off fresh victims of their own benevolence. Unfortunately, just as navigation closed for the season, a vessel arrived full of emigrants from Lord Palmerston's Irish estates.

They appear to have been rather a favourable specimen of their cla.s.s; but they came late, and they came from one of Her Majesty's Ministers, and their coming was taken as a sign that England and England's rulers, in their selfish desire to be rid of their starving and helpless poor, cared nothing for the calamities they were inflicting on the colony. Writing on November 12, Lord Elgin says:--