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Date: 1868-03-16
By: Canada (Parliament)
Citation: Canada, House of Commons Debates, 1st Parl, 1st Sess, 1868 at 346-348.
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INTERCOLONIAL RAILWAY

Mr. Jones (North Leeds) moved an address for all correspondence with the Government, respecting the location and construction of the Intercolonial Railway, since the 3rd December, 1867.

Sir John A. Macdonald—Will my honourable friend let that stand till to-morrow?

Hon. Mr. Holton thought there could be no harm in having just now a little discussion on the question raised by this motion. He confessed he was somewhat surprised when, a few minutes ago, the Premier informed the Member for Lambton that the Government had not yet determined the location of the Intercolonial Railroad. He recollected well when in December they were urged to give immediate passage to the Intercolonial Railway Act. The urgency of the Government was based specially on the obligation they were under in good faith to the British Government, and the Lower Provinces, to determine and submit to the Imperial Government the route to be pursued by that railway. And now they found themselves at the end of three months without this preliminary step having been taken. He thought the leader of the Government should take this, the earliest, opportunity of giving the House and the country the fullest possible explanation as to the reasons which had led to this extraordinary and unexpected delay.

Mr. Jones (Leeds) said the general feeling of the Province of Ontario, so far as he had been able to ascertain it, was this—that the Intercolonial Railway was undertaken only as one of the conditions of the Union with the Maritime Provinces, and that if the Union was not to last, it would be wrong to carry out this condition, and incur an expense of twenty-five million dollars, one half of which the people of Ontario would pay without deriving any advantage, directly or indirectly, from the construction of the road. He considered that if Nova Scotia went out of the Union, the compact would be broken, and the obligation to construct the Intercolonial would no longer be binding, although he agreed that if the Union continued the railway should be built.

Sir John A. Macdonald said, though unfortunately there was a feeling of dissatisfaction displayed in the Province of Nova Scotia, with regard to the Union or the mode in which it was carried, there was no reason for not proceeding with the construction of the Intercolonial. Such a step would be a justification and excuse for increasing the dissatisfaction of Nova Scotia. The Government—and he was sure the people of old Canada and New Brunswick—deeply regretted that the feeling should exist; but they would fain hope and believe that as they

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became better acquainted with each other, that dissatisfaction would decrease, and that the suspicion of wrong which had obtained would be diminished by justice and equity being exercised by this Parliament towards every portion of the Dominion, and that before long the feeling of dissatisfaction would disappear, and that all would be satisfied to be united in one Dominion, under one Parliament, as they were now, loyally united under one Queen. His honourable friend must see that it would not be the best mode of arriving at this conclusion to deal with the question of proceeding with the Intercolonial as one still open for discussion. He could appreciate the feelings of some of the people of Nova Scotia. It had always been the case with such Unions at the commencement that they had been accompanied by a considerable feeling of dissatisfaction. The majority of the people of Scotland at the time of the Union with England were exceedingly dissatisfied with the measure, and it was only by the perseverance of the British Government in a course of equity and justice, and kindness, and generosity to the people of Scotland that at last, though by slow degrees, and after very many years, the people of Scotland became reconciled to the loss of their ancient independence; and not the least prosperous part of Her Majesty’s Dominions was the ancient Kingdom of Scotland, and her sons were found everywhere in positions of trust, a much wider field for their ambitions being now open to them than if Scotland had remained a separate country. He trusted to see the same result with regard to Nova Scotia, although he hoped the period of its dissatisfaction would not be so long protracted as in the case of Scotland. Meanwhile he thought in the highest degree undesirable that they should contemplate as a possibility so great a misfortune happening as would be the severance from this Dominion of one of its Provinces, and it was quite clear that if the other Provinces repudiated the obligation they voluntarily undertook as to the contribution of the railway, it would be a justification to Nova Scotia to continue the agitation with greater intensity, on account of the breach of faith with which they would be able to charge us. He considered it to be the duty of the Parliament and Government of Canada to carry out to the letter and in the spirit every promise they had made, and then there would be no justification, looking at it from our point of view, in the desire of any portion of the people of Nova Scotia to secede from the Union. With reference to the remarks of his honourable friend the member for Chateauguay, he denied there had been any breach of faith in postponing the decision as to the route. The Imperial Act required that within six months of the Union preparations for the construction of the road should be made, and this Parliament had fulfilled that obligation by passing the necessary legislation during the first part of this session. As regarded the route, he had stated that this Government would decide upon a line or lines, and submit them to the Home Government, the question had occupied the anxious attention of this Government, both on account of the importance of the work and from the fear of the occurrence of any mistake, which if once committed could never be repaired. The matter also was one with regard to which there was a great diversity of local interest, and local feelings, and the Government had been overwhelmed with pamphlets and newspapers, and communications pressing upon them the arguments in favour of one route or the other. These had to be carefully weighed before a final decision was come to. He might say, that a majority of the members of the Government had felt that they had not information enough, and further information was being obtained at this moment by competent engineers.

Mr. F. Jones disclaimed any desire to assist the dismemberment of the Confederation, but pointed out that the case of Scotland, quoted by the Hon. Premier, did not furnish a parallel, Scotland having no Local Government left her by the Union, which was not Federal, but Legislative, and not therefore being capable of the united remonstrance which had proceeded from the Nova Scotian Chambers. As a member of the House, he was justified in reference to facts which were perfectly notorious, and regarding the expenditure of this enormous sum of money as an integral part of the Confederation bargain, he could not consent to its appropriation, if the Confederation was not to be perpetual.

Hon. Mr. Cartier was quite prepared to agree that Ontario was the most wealthy and most prosperous of the Provinces, but she was for that reason the one most interested in the possession of the road. (Mr. Blake, No! No!) The honourable member said No! but he was not speaking to convert him. (Laughter.) Ontario was more interested than any other Province in seeing the opening of this outlet to the sea. Her prosperity was liable to be ruined to-morrow by the caprice of Mr.

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McCullough, who might, if he desired it, by mere customs regulation, deprive her of the advantage of the bonding system, and of American transit. The opening of the Intercolonial Railway will relieve them from dependence upon the goodwill of any Secretary of the United States Treasury, who would not be disposed to force the whole of their traffic to run in other channels. He threw out these considerations for the benefit of the honourable member (Mr. Blake) in the hope that he would bestow upon them all the attention of which his great grasp of mind, his luminous intellect, and his anxiety for the welfare of his great Province were so well capable. (Laughter.)

Mr. Connell, who was very imperfectly heard, was understood to contend that the construction of the Intercolonial must be proceeded with as an act of justice to New Brunswick, to which the building of that railway was as much a condition of the Union as it was to Nova Scotia.

Mr. Stewart Campbell, as one of the representatives of Nova Scotia, did not regret this discussion. He believed the disaffection unhappily existing in Nova Scotia would be allayed, when it was understood there that that disaffection had been brought up to this Parliament as a reason why the Intercolonial Railway should not be proceeded with. There was no question in which the people of Nova Scotia took a deeper interest than in the construction of this great work. As one of the representatives of Nova Scotia he had entire confidence in the Government that they would discharge their duty in this matter with as much expedition as was consistent with a proper location of the line.

Mr. Blake pointed out that the Imperial Act did not require, as the Premier had stated, that the Act of this Parliament should be passed within six months of the Union, but that they should pass an Act for the commencement of the road within six months, and its construction without intermission, and completion with all practicable speed. He did not think the Government had carried out the duty imposed on them, either in its letter or spirit.

Sir John A. Macdonald said he would leave to grammarians the question as to the precise construction of the sentences referred to. He would say, however, that in point of fact something had actually been done in New Brunswick towards the construction of the road.

Mr. Mackenzie said, whatever difference of opinion there might be as to the grammatical construction of the sentence of the Act which had been quoted, there could be no difference as to the statement of the Government in the early part of the session, that it was absolutely necessary then to pass the Bill. When some gentlemen required further time for discussion and consideration, the Government urged that the immediate passage of the Bill was necessary, not merely in order to comply with the letter of the law, but to enable them to make a commencement; and it was chiefly for this reason that the Bill was hurried through, he thought without sufficient consideration, by this House. That was one of the reasons assigned for refusing members a vote as to the location of the railway. He thought there must be some other reason than the Premier had alleged for delaying the decision as to that question.

Hon. Mr. Holton—What can it be? (Laughter).

The motion was then allowed to stand until to-morrow.