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Date: 1866-12-20
By: Montreal Herald
Citation: “Confederation in London” Montreal Herald (20 December 1866).
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CONFEDERATION IN LONDON.—Every morning we hear something of the success of the project, which is being nursed by the delegates now in London. There are several minor and collateral points upon which the various “organs” somewhat differ, especially as to the time which our friends in England are to occupy in hatching the “new nation”; but all agree that the thing is going on swimmingly. In the meantime, they tell us nothing of the various points which are known to have been more or less in suspense, not to say dispute— a circumstance, which though it is doubtless to be imputed in some degree to the expensiveness of cable telegrams, nevertheless detracts greatly from the value of the information vouchsafed to us. We, of course, suppose that the delegates are holding sittings and are compromising every interest but their own, to advance a project on whose success they have staked so largely; but in order that we should be able to form an intelligent judgment as to the probable result we must know what direction these compromises have taken;—how they will affect opinion in England; how far they will render necessary new legislation, or even new elections in this country; and to what extent they may be supposed likely, in the latter case to add to or detract from the popularity of the scheme among our members of Parliament and their electors. Under these circumstances we are obliged to pick up what sort of information we can, and naturally turn to those sources whence we may look for the official, because the favourable view of the ministerial proceedings and chances. In this research, we have read somewhat carefully an article printed in the last number of the Saturday Review, which reached this country, The writer does not appear to have any very intimate knowledge of this country, nor of die true points at issue; but what is more to our purpose, he is highly favorable to the scheme, and, especially, thinks that it is very bad manners for his own countrymen in Lower Canada to have any anxiety about their future, either in the general matter of their political influence, or on the particular subject of the school law. But upon one point he seems to have no doubt—that is that the Quebec constitution will not do without some alterations, as well in the interest of the mother country as of the Colonies. Upon this fact he is perfectly clear, and he quotes Mr. Cardwell in confirmation of that opinion. Of course this may be only the judgment of a single essayist; hut in all probability it is that of a man who either has relations with the delegates from the Colonies now in England, or who has put himself into communication with them, in order to obtain information on the subject about which he was to write, and respecting which his views agree in general with theirs. So far as this slight indication goes, therefore, it leads us to the conclusion that well informed people among the friends of the ‘delegates see that the misshapen instrument known as the Quebec constitution is somewhat too absurd to pass through Parliament. But Ministers are pledged not to permit of any change without the assent of the Canadian Legislature; and that of course involves another session with all its contingencies. We do not ourselves, nor do we desire others to attach too much importance to such stray straws as the one we are commenting on. It is, however, almost the only thing on this subject of any value at all which we have picked up from public or private sources, in the matter brought by the last mail; and we have, we believe, shown its legitimate tendency as regards future events.