There Was No Half-Way
House Between 'cutting The Painter,' As One Or Two Hon.
Gentlemen near
him now and then suggested, in conversation only, as regarded Canada,
and severing all connection, now and
For ever, with Prince Edward's
Island, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada, on the
east; British Columbia, one of the most thriving and hopeful of the
British possessions, on the west; and that vast intermediate country
known as the 'Hudson's Bay Territory,' which they were told contained
within itself fertile land enough to sustain 50,000,000 of people - and
holding on to the Queen's possessions. Hon. gentlemen near him should
remember their geography a little, and they would cease to speak of
Canada as more than a section of that northern continent over which the
Queen of Great Britain ruled, and which comprised an area larger than
that of the Federal and Confederate States put together. Now what was
that great property? He could not describe it better than in the
language of the United States. If the House would refer to the report
on the Reciprocity Treaty laid before the House of Representatives at
Washington in 1862 by Mr. Ward, they would find a glowing description
of the vast extent, the wonderful means of internal navigation, the
richness of mineral resources, the bracing healthiness of climate, and
the immense extent of fertile soil which British North America
contained. The report said: - 'The great and practical value of the
British North American Provinces and possessions is seldom appreciated.
Stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans, they contain an
area of at least 3,478,380 square miles - more than is owned by the
United States, and not much less than the whole of Europe, with its
family of nations.' And, again, it said - 'The climate and soil of these
Provinces and possessions, seemingly less indulgent than those of
tropical regions, are precisely those by which the skill, energy, and
virtues of the human race are best developed. Nature there demands
thought and labour from man as conditions of his existence, and yields
abundant rewards to a wise industry.' Indeed, the warmth of language
used irresistibly suggested the idea that the people of the United
States, with whom the love of territory was a passion, were disposed to
cast a covetous eye upon these possessions of old England. Now, knowing
something of America, he must express his belief that there was no very
imminent danger of war with the United States. The issues of peace and
war, however, depended upon the attitude of that House and of the
country. Weakness never promoted peace, and an uncertain and half-
hearted attitude was provocative of war. This country had, he believed,
the desire to preserve its power and influence on the American
continent. It was for the good of mankind that the rule of the British
Crown and the influence of the wisely-regulated liberty of Britain and
of the British Constitution should continue. The way to prevent war was
not to talk of severing the connection with Canada or of withdrawing
our troops from Canada for fear they should be caught in a net, but to
announce boldly but calmly, in language worthy of the traditions of
that House, that these vast American possessions are integral parts of
the great British Empire, and come weal, come woe, would be defended to
the last. If that language were held there would be no war in America.
The only danger arose from impressions produced by speeches in that
House and elsewhere, leading to the belief that we were indifferent to
our duties or our interests on the American Continent; for we had
duties as well as interests. Those who thus spoke - humanitarians by
profession - could support the continuance of a war which, in his humble
opinion, disgraced the civilization of our time; and, while professing
to be Liberals, they were ready to thrust out from our Imperial home of
liberty the populations of some of our most important possessions to
satisfy some imaginary economical theory of saving. They spoke of the
Empire as if it were this mere island, and they seemed enchanted with
the idea of narrowing our boundaries everywhere. That was not a
question of simple arithmetic, it was a question of empire; not a
question of a single budget, but a question of the future destiny of
our race. These gentlemen seemed to prefer to live in a small country.
For his part, he hoped he should all his life live in a great one. No
country could be stationary without becoming stagnant, or restrict its
natural progress without inviting its decay. It was so in all human
affairs; it was so even in ordinary business. Every man of business
knew that if his enterprise ceased to grow bigger, it soon began to
dwindle down; and so a country must grow greater or else must slide
away to weakness, until at last it would be despised. Now the
Government proposed to spend 50,000l. at Quebec;
50,000l., he repeated, was really nothing if it were necessary
to carry out the fortification policy at all. He had two objections to
make. One was, that Quebec was not the vulnerable point; that point was
Montreal. Montreal was the key to Canada. Once holding that key, the
enemy would cut Canada in two - would separate Upper and Lower Canada
from each other. Yet the Government proposed to leave all that to the
unaided resources of Canada - to do nothing, in fact, where, if action
were necessary at all, that action was pressing and imperative. He
should deplore to see this country commencing and carrying on a
competition of expenditure on fortifications with the United States.
The results must be, as he warned the House, excessive votes of money,
of which this one was only the small beginning, and an entire change in
the nature of those relations which had so happily subsisted between
the United States and the British North American possessions.
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