UK, Parliament, Correspondence respecting the Proposed Union of the British North American Provinces (1867)

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Date: 1867-02-08
By: UK (Parliament)
Citation: UK, Parliament, Correspondence respecting the Proposed Union of the British North American Provinces (London: George Edward Eyre and William Spottiswoode, 1867).
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BRITISH NORTH AMERICAN PROVINCES.

CORRESPONDENCE

RESPECTING

THE PROPOSED UNION

OF THE

BRITISH NORTH AMERICAN PROVINCES

(In continuation of Papers presented 7th February 1865.)

Presented to both houses of Parliament by Command of her Majesty,
8th February 1867.

LONDON:
PRINTED BY GEORGE EDWARD EYRE AND WILLIAM SPOTTISWOODE,
PRINTERS TO THE QUEEN’S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY.
FOR HER MAJESTY’S STATIONERY OFFICE.

1867.

[PRICE 1s 10d,]

[Page ii]

LIST OF PAPERS.

CANADA.

DESPATCHES FROM THE GOVERNOR.

No. in series

—-

Date.

Page.

No. in series

—-

Date.

Page.

203

164

183

December 23, 1861 –

January 11, 1865 –

January 19, 1865 –

January 20, 1865 –

January 25, 1865 –

January 26, 1865 –

January 30, 1865 –

March 10, 1865 –

Match 15, 1865 –

March 15, 1865 –

August 14, 1865 –

September 20, 1865-

September 30, 1865-

June 8, 1865 – –

113

115

116

147

150

152

Separate

184

Separate

203

August 15, 1866 –

August 16, 1866 –

September 25, 1866 –

September 28, 1866 –

October 1, 1866 –

November 3, 1866 –

November 5, 1866 –

November 29, 1866 –

December 12, 1866 –

December 13, 1866 –

January 4, 1867 –

[…]

DESPATCHES FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE

120

127

137

117

150

January 13, 1865 –

February 15, 1865 –

February 24, 1865 –

February 25, 1865 –

March 29, 1865 –

April 8, 1865 – –

June 17, 1865 – –

June 22, 1865 – –

August 5, 1865 –

September 6, 1865 –

October 7, 1865 –

October 18, 1865 –

January 27, 1866 –

June 30, 1866 –

August […], 1866 –

100

104

119

123

121

131

132

August 31, 1866 –

September 5, 1866 –

September 13, 1866 –

September 26, 1866 –

October 18, 1866 –

November 22, 1866 –

November 23, 1866 –

December 17, 1866 –

January 5, 1867 –

January 7, 1867 –

January 30, 1867 –

NOVA SCOTIA.

DESPATCHES FROM THE GOVERNOR.

[…]

December 8, 1861 –

December 23, 1861 –

January 5, 1865 –

January 13, 1865 –

February 2, 1865 –

February 15, 1865 –

April 27, 1865 –

May 9, 1865 – –

July […], 1865 – –

July 6, 1865 – –

April 26, 1866 – –

May 10, 1866 – –

Separate

May 24, 1866 – –

June 6, 1866 – –

June 19, 1866 – –

July 2, 1866 – –

July 16, 1866 – –

July 19, 1866 – –

July 25, 1866 – –

August 16, 1866 –

November 8, 1866 –

[Page iii]

DESPATCHES FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

No. in series

—-

Date.

Page.

No. in series

—-

Date.

Page.

January 7, 1865 –

February 3, 1865 –

March 1, 1865 –

March 10, 1865 –

June 24, 1865 – –

July 22, 1865 – –

May 12, 1866 – –

May 25, 1866 – –

June 9, 1866 – –

June 21, 1866 – –

July 6, 1866 – –

July 21, 1866 – –

August 3, 1866 – –

August 4, 1866 – –

August 24, 1866 – –

September 11, 1866 –

November 22, 1866 –

NEW BRUNSWICK.

DESPATCH FROM THE GOVERNOR.

[…]

December 5, 1861 –

January 30, 1865 –

February 27, 1865 –

March 6, 1865 – –

March 13, 1865 – –

March 27, 1865 – –

April 27, 1865 – –

May 8, 1865 – –

May 22, 1865 – –

June 5, 1865 – –

July 3, 1865 – –

July 15, 1865 – –

November 6, 1865 –

November 20, 1865 –

100

102

15a

March 14, 1866 – –

March 26, 1866 – –

April 3, 1866 – –

April 9, 1866 – –

April 10, 1866 – –

June 4, 1866 – –

June 5, 1866 – –

June 13, 1866 – –

June 21, 1866 – –

June 23, 1866 – –

June 25, 1866 – –

July 2, 1866 – –

July 9, 1866 – –

July 16, 1866 – –

103

101

104

105

106

107

110

111

112

113

114

115

DESPATCHES FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

115

February 27, 1865 –

March 18, 1865 – –

April 1, 1865 – –

April 12, 1865 – –

April 13, 1865 –

May 27, 1865 – –

June 24, 1865 – –

August 4, 1865 – –

December 7, 1865 –

116

117

118

119

119
119

120

[…]

[.]6

[.]7

March 31, 1866 – –

April 11, 1866 – –

April 28, 1866 – –

June 22, 1866 – –

July 6, 1866 – –

July 20, 1866 – –

July 21, 1866 – –

August 1, 1866 – –

August 2, 1866 – –

120

121

122

123

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

DESPATCHES FROM THE GOVERNOR.

December 30, 1861 –

January 9, 1865 –

April 3, 1865 – –

May 23, 1865 – –

121

125

129

May 9, 1866 – –

May 11, 1866 – –

November 7, 1866 – –

130

131

134

[Page iv]

DESPATCHES FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

No. in series

—-

Date.

Page.

No. in series

—-

Date.

Page.

February 4, 1865 –

April 24, 1865 – –

June 24, 1865 – –

May 25, 1865 – –

135

136

June 9, 1866 – –

September 27, 1866 –

January 19, 1867 –

137

NEWFOUNDLAND.

DESPATCHES FROM THE GOVERNOR.

December 27, 1864 –

January 27, 1865 –

February 23, 1865 –

April 13, 1865 – –

April 19, 1865 – –

July 11, 1985 – –

August 19, 1865 –

138

139

140

141

142

143

103

115

117

November 14, 1865 –

February 20, 1866 –

March 21, 1866 – –

May 4, 1866 – –

July 10, 1866 – –

August 7, 1866 – –

144

145

148

149

150

151

DESPATCHES FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

January 21, 1865 –

January 27, 1865 –

March 17, 1865 –

May 11, 1865 – –

May 12, 1865 – –

June 24, 1865 – –

August 4, 1865 – –

154

155

156

September 30, 1865 –

December 20, 1865 –

March 23, 1866 –

April 14, 1866 – –

May 25, 1866 – –

August 30, 1866 –

156

157

APPENDIX.

Page

Quebec Resolutions of October 10, 1861 – – – – – – – 158
Resolutions, dated from Westminster Palace Hotel, London, December 1, 1866 – – – – 164

[Page 1]

CORRESPONDENCE

RESPECTING

THE PROPOSED UNION

OF

THE BRITISH NORTH AMERICAN PROVINCES.

CANADA.

Despatches from the Governor.

No. 1.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Viscount Monck to the Right Hon. Edward

Cardwell, M.P.

(No. 203.) Quebec, December 23, 1864.

(Received, January 9, 1865.)

SIR, (Answered, No. 5, January 13, 1865, p. 42.)

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge with feelings of much satisfaction the receipt of your Despatch (No. 93.*), of December 3, in which you convey to me the general approval by Her Majesty’s Government of the scheme of Union for the British North American Provinces agreed to by the Conference which met at Quebec in October last.

With regard to the two points upon which you have written, namely, that of the exercise of the Royal prerogative of pardon and the constitution of the Upper Chamber of the general Legislature, I shall only say at present that as respects the former I am in a position to state that it was never the intention of the Conference to interfere in the slightest degree with the constitutional prerogative of Her Majesty to select herself the person to whom she should entrust the duty of revising sentences pronounced by legal tribunals.

The resolution was introduced merely as a suggestion to meet a local difficulty resulting from imperfect means of communication during the winter months between portions of the proposed Union.

It is plain that this proposition could form no part of the Act which will be necessary in order to give effect to the proposed plan of union, and, in fact, the suggestion contained in it must be determined by the decision of the Queen, with whom alone rests the power of naming the person to shall be delegated the exercise of her prerogative.

With regard to the constitution of the Upper House of the general Legislature, it is apparent that the resolutions adopted by the Conference will be subjected to the action of many minds before they shall have become embodied in addresses from the Legislatures of the several Provinces.

I would suggest that we should adjourn the consideration of this subject until we see the form in which the resolutions will emerge from these discussions.

I have the honour to transmit for your information a copy of a communication which, in pursuance of the instructions contained in your Despatch, I have addressed to the Lieutenant-Governors of the Lower Provinces and to the Governor of Newfoundland.

I have, &c.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) MONCK.

&c. &c. &c.

[Page 2]

Enclosure in No. 1.

SIR, Quebec, December 23, 1861.

REFERRING to my Despatches to you noted in the margin, I have the honour to transmit for your information a copy of a Despatch from the Secretary of State for the Colonies in reference to the resolutions adopted by the Conference which assembled at Quebec in October last to consider the propriety of effecting a Union of the Provinces of British North America, and also a copy of the answer with I have returned to this Despatch.

In this Despatch Mr. Cardwell desires me “to take immediate measures, in concert with the Lieutenant-Governors of the several Provinces, for submitting to their respective Legislatures this “project for the Conference.”

In pursuance of these instructions, I have the honour to inform you that I have summoned the Canadian Parliament to meet on Thursday, January 19th, 1865, when I propose to bring before both Houses of the Legislature the important subject referred to in Mr. Cardwell’s Despatch, in order that if the Legislature shall think fit an Address may be adopted to the Queen, praying Her Majesty to direct that steps may be taken for passing an Act of the Imperial Parliament to unite the Provinces of British North America on the basis laid down in the resolutions adopted by the Quebec Conference.

I shall feel much obliged after consulting your advisors on the subject, you will inform me what course you intend to pursue for the purpose of giving effect to Mr. Cardwell’s instructions.

I have, &c.

(Signed) MONCK.

No. 2.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Viscount Monck to the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.

(No. 12.) Quebec, January 11, 1865.

SIR, (Received, February 1, 1865.)

I HAVE the honour to enclose for your information a copy of a Despatch from the Governor of Newfoundland relating to measures for carrying out the proposed Union of the North America Provinces together with a copy of my answer.

I have, &c.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) MONCK.

&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 2.

My Lord, Government House, Newfoundland, December 27, 1864.

I HAVE received from the Secretary of State a Despatch enclosing a copy of his two your Lordship. No. 9[.], of the 3rd […], […] which he states that it appears to Her Majesty’s Government that you should now take immediate measures, in concern with the Lieutenant-Governors of the several Provinces for submitting to the respective Legislatures the project of the recent Quebec Conference for the Confederation of the British North American Colonies.

2. I now communicate with you Lordship for the purpose of acquainting you that the Legislative Session of 1865 will be opened here on Friday the 27th January, when the Report of the Delegates will be laid before the Council and Assembly.

The postal service from Halifax to Newfoundland is limited to a monthly mail during the winter season. The next should leave Halifax on the 10th January, and if it should happen that your Lordship desires to afford me any information or recommendation on the important subject which is likely to engage so much of the time of the Legislature during the next Session, I should be glad to receive it by that opportunity.

3. From all that I have been able to gather in various quarters, I am of opinion that the proposal of the Conference will meet with little or no important opposition in this Colony, and it is possible that the necessary measures might be perfected her during the next Session by the present House of Assembly, which will expire in the spring. The chief measures is felt with regard to the effect of the Union upon the local tariff, which is much lower than that of Canada, and it is feared may be increased. If dread of any greatly disadvantageous alteration can be prevented, I should not anticipate serious difficulty in procuring a harmonious settlement of any other questions which may be raised.

4. It is possible, however, that the state of circumstances in Canada or the other Provinces may render it immaterial to press for any prompt decision in this in this Colony, and local causes may then make it inexpedient ; upon this point I shall be glad to be favoured with your advice, and I take this opportunity of assuring your lordship of my cordial co-operation in your efforts to complete an arrangement which I believe to be fraught with so great future advantage to this Colony, in common with the rest of the North American Possessions of the Crown.

I have, &c.

His Excellency the Right Hon. Viscount Monck, (Signed) A. MESGRAVE.

Governor-General of Canada.

[Page 3]

Enclosure 2 in No. 2.

SIR, Government House, Quebec, January 9, 1865.

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of you Despatch of 27th December 1864, respecting the steps which it is advisable to take in order to carry into effect the instructions of the Secretary of State on the subject of the proposed Union of the British North American Colonies contained in his Despatch to me of the 3rd December 1864.

I have the hour to acquaint you that the Canadian Parliament is summoned to meet on the 19th inst., and it is intended by my Government to prose an address to the Queen from both branches of the Legislature, embodying the resolutions of the Quebec Conference, and praying Her majesty to cause a Bill to be introduced into the Imperial Parliament to enact the Union of these Colones on the basis of these resolutions.

I would suggest that a similar course should be adopted in Newfoundland.

With respect to the question of the customs tariff of the proposed Union, it is obviously impossible for the Government of our Province to give any pledge which would be binding upon the Government or Parliament of the Union ; but I am in a position to state that if the decision rested with the members of the present Canadian Administration, their desire would be to arrange the charges in the tariff so as to meet the views of all the members of the proposed Union.

I may express my own opinion that the course of action will be in a direction that will be satisfactory to your Legislature, and that no apprehension need be entertained in Newfoundland that a system of excessive import duties will be introduced.

I cannot conclude without expressing my gratification at the account you give of the State of public feeling in your Province on this important subject, and to beg of you to accept my best thanks for your hearty promise of co-operation with me in completing this great work, which had commended so auspiciously.

I have, &c.

Governor Musgrave, &c., &c., (Signed) MONCK.

Newfoundland.

No. 3.

Copy of a DESPatCH from Viscount Monck to the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.

(No. 25.)

Government House, Quebec, January 19, 1865.

SIR, (Received, February 3, 1865.)

I have the hour to enclose a copy of the speech with which I this day opened the session of the Provincial Parliament.

I have, &c.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P. (Signed) MONCK.

&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 3.

(Extract.)

HONORABLE GENTLEMAN AND GENTLEMAN,

AT the close of the last session of Parliament I informed you that it was my intention, in conjunction with my ministers, to prepare to submit to you a measure for the solution of the constitutional problem, the discussion of which has for some years agitated this Province.

A careful consideration of the general position of British North America induced the conviction that the circumstances of the times afforded the opportunity, not merely for the settlement of a question of provincial politics, but also for the simultaneous creation of a new nationality.

Preliminary negotiations were opened by me with the Lieutenant-Governors of the other Provinces of British North America, and the result was that a meeting was held at Quebec in the month of October last, composed of delegates from those Colonies representing all shades of political party in their several communities, nominated by the Lieutenant-Governors of their respective Provinces, who assembled here with the sanction of the Crown and at my invitation to confer with the members of Canadian ministry on the possibility of effecting a Union of all the Provinces of British North America.

This Conference, after lengthened deliberations, arrived at the conclusion that a Federal union of these Provinces was feasible and desirable, and the result of its labours is a plan of the constitution for the proposed Union embodied in a series of resolutions which, with other papers relating to the subject, I have directed to be laid before you.

The general design of a Union, and the particular plan by which it is proposed to carry that intention into effect, have both received the cordial approbation of the Imperial Government.

An Imperial Air of Parliament will be necessary in order to give effect to the contemplated Union of the Colonies, and I have been officially informed by the Secretary of State that Her Majesty’s ministers will be prepared to introduce a Bill for that purpose into the Imperial Parliament so soon as they shall have been notified that the proposed has received the sanction of the Legislatures representing the several Provinces affected by it.

[Page 4]

In commending your attention to this subject, the importance of which to yourselves and to your descendants it is impossible to exaggerate, I would claim for it your calm, earnest, and impartial consideration.

With the public men of British North America it now rests to decide whether the vast tract of country which they inhabit shall be consolidated into a state combining within its area all the elements of national greatness, providing for the security of its component parts, and contributing to the strength and stability of the Empire, or whether the several Provinces of which it is continued shall remain in their present fragmentary and isolated condition, comparatively powerless for manual aid, and incapable of undertaking their proper share of Imperial responsibility.

In the discussion of an issue of such a moment, I fervently pray that your minds may be guided to conclusions which shall redound to the honour of our Sovereign, to the welfare of Her subjects, and to your own reputation as patriots and statesmen.

No. 4.

Copy of a DESPatCH from Viscount Monck to the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.

(No. 26.) Government House, Quebec,

January 20, 1865.

SIR, (Received, February 3, 1865.)

I HAVE honour to enclose a copy of a Despatch from the Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, and of my answer, relative to the course to be adopted for the purpose of giving effect to the instructions conveyed to me in your Despatch of the 3rd December 1864, No. 93,* respecting the proposed Union of the British North American Provinces.

I have, &c.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) MONCK.

&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure 1 in No. 1.

Lieutenant-Governor MacDONNELL to Lord MONCK.

MY LORD, Government House, Halifax, Nova Scotia, January 9, 1865.

I have the hour to acknowledge receipt of your Lordship’s Despatch of the 23rd December, transmitting copy of the reply of Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State to your Lordship, expressing the views of the Queen’s Government on the resolutions adopted by the Quebec Conference.

2. In reference to the course which your Lordship suggests for the purpose of giving effect to the instructions of Her Majesty’s Government, viz., “to submit to the respective Legislatures the project of “the Conference,” I am in a position to state that this Government will take similar steps to those proposed to be taken in Canada, that is to say, when the papers and correspondence connected with the subject shall have been Raif before Parliament, which I have summoned to get on the 9th February, an address to Her Majesty will be moved but ht leader of the Government, praying Her Majesty to direct steps to be taken for passing an Act go the Imperial Parliament to unite the Provinces of British North America. The resolutions of the Quebec Conference will be suggested as the herbal basis of […], to be carried out in such a manner as may be judged by Her Majesty’s Government most compatible with the joint interests of the Crown and of these portions of the British Empire.

3. It is evident from the communication of the Right Honourable the Secretary of State that Her Majesty’s Government expects to be aided in the preparation of a bill embodying the suggestions of the Quebec Conference by deputations from the respective Provinces. It also appears to myself and the member of my Government that to avoid the probable multiplied divergence of opinion in each Legislature, inseparable from discussing a great variety of details in several independent Parliament’s, despite of a general agreement in the main object and principles of the general scheme, it is better for these Provinces to avail themselves of the friendly arbitrament of the Queen’s Government, and send delegates to consult with the latter during preparation of the proposed Imperial Bill. The peculiar views of each Legislature might, if necessary, find appropriate expression in instructions to the delegates from each.

4. This seems the wisest and most complete mode of disposing of all questions of prerogative as well as of all suggested amendments of the Quebec resolutions ; on all such points I and my Council feel that the simplest and most effectual mode of serving these provinces is to confide in the wisdom, discretion, and friendly disposition of the Imperial Government.

5. Any other course appears to this Government calculated to open a door to the renewal not of one but of as many conferences as there are distinct Legislatures. Such a course might possibly end in the indefinite adjournment of all union, and this Government would view with serious apprehension the grave consequences and general embarrassment to public business which might be caused by thus holding in suspense such important questions, and protecting their discussion so late as to prevent their settlement by Imperial legislation within the current year.

[Page 5]

6. I trust the above views of myself and of this Government coincide with those of your Lordship, and that all these Provinces may attain the early realization of their hopes of union by reposing a general confidence in the ability and wisdom of Her Majesty’s Government to arrange satisfactorily whatever details the Quebec Conference may have left incomplete.

I have, &c.

The Right Hon. Viscount Monck, (Not signed).

&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure 2 in No. 4.

Lord Monck to Lieutenant-Governor MacDONNELL.

SIR, Government House, Quebec, January 18, 1865.

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch of the 9th instant, in reference to the course to be pursued in the several Provincial Legislature on the subject of the proposed Union, and I will at once lay it before my Executive Council for their consideration.

I have, &c.

Lieutenant-Governor Sir R. G. MacDonnell, C.B., (Signed) MONCK.

&c. &c. &c.

No. 5.

Copy of DESPATCH from Viscount Mock to the Right Hon. Edward CARDWELL, M.P.

(No. 28.) Quebec, January 25, 1865.

SIR, (Received February 9, 1865.)

I HAVE the hour to enclose a copy of a Despatch from the Lieutenant-Governor of Prince Edward Island, and of my answer, respecting the time for assembling the Legislature of that Colony for the consideration of the Resolutions of the Quebec Conference.

I have, &c.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) MONCK.

Enclosure 1 in No. 5.

Lieut-Governor DUNDAS to Lord MONCK.

Government House, Prince Edward Island,

MY LORD, January 9, 1865.

I HAVE to acknowledge the recipe on the 7th instant, of your Lordship’s Despatch of the 23rd […], transmitting copy of a Despatch from the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and your reply thereto, on the subject of the resolutions adopted by the Conference which recently assembled at Quebec, to consider the propriety of effecting an Union of the Province of British North America.

I have, in accordance with your respect, consulted my advisors on the subject. It will be inconvenient for local reasons, that I should summon the Legislature of this Province before the 28th February; but I am prepared to do so if your Lordship is desirous of obtaining sooner the decision of this Legislature on this important question.

At the opening of the Legislature, I propose to bring the project of the Conference before both Houses, and to invite them to give their calm and dispassionate consideration to a subject of such manifest interest and importance to the future welfare of the Colony.

My ministers are anxious to meet, so far as they can the wishes of Her Majesty’s Government, and of your Lordship, as to the time of submitting this matter to the Legislature, and if the 28th February apparatus to your Lordship to be inconveniently late, I shall be glad if you will inform me of the latest date which will meet with your approval.

I have, &c.

The Right Hon. Viscount Monck, (Signed) George Dundas,

&c. &c. &c. Lieutenant-Governor.

Enclosure 2 in No. 5.

Viscount MONCK to Lieut-Governor DUNDAS

SIR, Quebec, January 25, 1865.

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch of the 9th instant, in which you inform me that you decided to summon the Parliament of Prince Edward Island to meet on the 28th February, but that if I desire, in connection with the intention of submitting to its consideration the proposed Union of the British North American Provinces, that it should meet on an earlier day, you are prepared to meet my views in reference to this matter.

I have the honour to say in reply, I do not think any advantage would be gained by assembling your Parliment at an earlier day that that which you mention.

[Page 6]

I hope to transmit to you by an early opportunity the terms of the motion in which it is proposed by the Canadian Ministry to bring this important subject under the consideration of the Parliament of this Province.

Lieut.-Governor Dundas, I have, &c

&c. &c. (Signed) MONCK.

No. 6.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Viscount MONCK to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No. 32.) Quebec, January 26, 1865.

(Received February 9, 1865.)

SIR, (Answered, No. 21, February 15, 1865, p. 12.)

I HAVE the honour to enclose copies of Addresses presented to me by the two Houses of the Legislature in answer to the speech from the Throne, and of my replies.

I have, &c.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) MONCK.

&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure 1 in No. 6.

To His Excellency the Right Honourable CHARLES STANLEY, Viscount MONCK, Baron MONCK, of Ballytrammon, in the County of Wexford. Governor-General of British North America, and Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief in and over the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Island of Prince Edward, and Vice-Admiral of the same, &c., &c., &c.

(Extract)

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY:

We recall with satisfaction your Excellency’s statement at the close of the last session of Parliament, that it was your intention, in conjunction with your Ministers, to prepare and submit to Parliament a measure for the solution of the constitutional problem, the discussion of which has for some years agitated the Province.

We receive with earnest attention your Excellency’s announcement, that a careful consideration of the general position of British North America induced the conviction that the circumstances of the times afforded the opportunity, not merely for the settlement of a question of provincial politics, but also for the simultaneous creation of a new nationality.

We thank your Excellency for informing us that preliminary negotiations were opened by your Excellency with the Lieutenant Governors of the Provinces of British North America: and that the result was that a meeting was held at Quebec, in the month of October last, composed of delegates from those Colonies, representing all shapes of political party in their several communities, nominated but the Lieutenant-Governors of their respective Provinces, who assembled here, with the sanction of the Crown and at your Excellency’s invitation, to confer with the member of the Canadian ministry on the possibility of effecting a Union of all the Provinces of British North America.

We have learned with the deepest interest that this Conference, after lengthened deliberations, arrived at the conclusion that a federal Union of these Provinces was feasible and desirable, and that the result of its labours is a plan of constitution for the proposed Union, embodied in a series of resolutions, which, with other papers relating to the subject, your Excellency has directed to be laid before Parliament: and that the general design of a Union, and the particular plan by which it is proposed to carry that intention into effect, have both received the cordial approbation of the Imperial Government.

An Imperial Act of Parliament being necessary in order to give effect to the contemplated Union of the Colonies, this house is gratified to learn that your Excellency has been […] informed by the Secretary of State that Her Majesty’s Ministers will be prepared to introduce a Bill for that purpose into the Imperial Parliament, so soon as they shall have been notified that the proposal has received the sanction of the Legislatures representing the several Provinces affect by it.

And we assure your Excellency that this subject, which you have been pleased to commend to our attention, and the importance of which to ourselves and to our descendants it is impossible to exaggerate, shall receive from this House the calm, earnest, and impartial consideration which your Excellency claims for it.

We desire to convey to your Excellency a sense of the profound respect with which this House has received the assurance of your conviction that with the public men of British North America in now rests to decide whether the vast tract of country which they inhabit shall be considered into a State, combining within its area all the elements of national greatness, providing for the security of its component parts, and contributing to the strength and stability of the Empire : or whether the several Provinces of which it is constituted shall remain in their present fragmentary and isolated condition, comparatively powerless for metal aid, and incapable of undertaking their proper share of Imperial responsibility.

We unite with your Excellency in fervently praying that in the discussion of an issue of such moment, our minds may be guided to conclusions which shall redound to the hour of our Sovereign, and to the welfare of Her subjects.

[Page 7]

Enclosure 2 in No. 6.

Mr. SPEAKER and Gentleman of the Legislative Council.

I THANK you for your address. I am convinced that you will apply yourselves to the consideration of the important matters that will be laid before you in a calm and dispassionate spirit.

Enclosure 3 in No. 6.

To his Excellency the Right Honourable CHARLES STANLEY, Viscount MONCK, Baron MONCK, of Ballytrammon, in the Country of Wexford, Governor-General of British North America, and Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief in and over the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Island of Prince Edward, and Vice-Admiral of the same, &c., &c., &c.

(Extract.)

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY :

We have not ceased to bear in mind, that at the close of the last session of Parliament your Excellency graciously informed us that it was your intention, in conjunction with your Ministers, to prepare and submit to us a measure for the solution of the constitutional problem, the discussion of which has for some Yeats agitated this Province.

We receive from your Excellency, with the most profound attention, the announcement,—

That a careful consideration of the general probation of British North America induced the conviction, that the circumstances of the times afforded the opportunity, not merely for the settlement of a question of provincial politics, but also for the simultaneous creation of a new nationality :

That preliminary negotiations were opened by your Excellency with the Lieutenant-Governors of the other Provinces of British North America, and that the result was that a meeting was held at Quebec in the month of October last, composed of delegates from those Colonies, representing all shades of political party in their several communities, nominated by the Lieutenant-Governors of their respective Provinces, who assembled here with the sanction of the Crown and at your Excellency’s invitation, to confer with the members of the Canadian Ministry on the possibility of effecting a union of all the Provinces of British North America :

That this Conference, after lengthened deliberations, arrived at the conclusion that a federal Union of these Provinces was feasible and desirable, and the result of its labours is a plan of constitution for the proposed Union, embodied in a series of resolutions, which, with other papers relating to the subject, your Excellency has directed to be laid before us :

And that the general design of Union, and the particular plant by which it is proposed to carry that intentioned into effect, have both received the cordial approbation of the Imperial Government.

Inasmuch as an Imperial Act of Parliament will be necessary in order to give effect to the contemplated Union of the Colonies, we are gratified to learn from your Excellency that you have been officially informed by the Secretary of State, that Her Majesty’s Ministers will be prepared to introduce a Bill for that purpose into the Imperial Parliament, so soon as they shall have been notified the the proposal has received the sanction of the Legislatures representing the several Provinces affected by it.

Your Excellency may rest assured that in giving our attention to this subject, the importance of which, to ourselves and to our descendants, it is impossible to exaggerate, we shall bestow upon it our calm, earnest, and impartial consideration.

We receive with deference the expression of your Excellency’s conviction, that with the public men of British North America it now rests to decide whether the vast tract of country which they inhabit shall be consolidated into a State, combining within its area all the elements of national greatness, providing for the security of its component parts, and contributing to the strength and stability of the Empire ; or whether the several Provinces of which it is constituted shall remain in their present fragmentary and isolated condition, comparatively powerless for mutual aid, and incapable of undertaking their proper share of Imperial responsibility.

And we unite with your Excellency in the fervent prayer, that in the discussion of an issue of such moment, our minds may be guided to conclusions which shall redound to the hour of our Sovereign, and to the Welfare of Her Subjects.

Enclosure 4 in No. 6.

Mr. SPEAKER and Gentlemen of the Legislative Assembly.

I THANK you for this address. I am happy to hear they you re prepared to enter at once upon the discussion of the several important subjects that I have submitted to you.

No. 7.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Viscount MONCK to the Right Hon. Edward CARDWELL., M.P.

(NO. 35.) Quebec, January 30, 1865.

(Received, February 17, 1865.)

SIR, (Answered, No. 30. February 21, 1865, p. 12.)

I HAVE the honour to enclose a copy of a circular Despatch which I have this day addressed to the Lieutenant-Governors and to the Governor of Newfoundland.

I have, &c.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) MONCK.

&c. &c. &c.

[Page 8]

Enclosure in No. 7.

Viscount MONCK to Lieutenant-Governors.

SIR, Quebec, January 30, 1865.

I HAVE the honour to transmit for your information a copy of the resolution which it is proposed by my Government to move in both Houses of the Legislature of this Province on the subject off the proposed Union of the British North American Provinces.

I also enclose, as printed by the Legislative Assembly, copies of correspondence that has been laid before both Houses of the Canadian Legislature.

I have, &c.

(Signed) MONCK.

RESOLVED,

THAT an humble address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that She may graciously pleased to cause a measure to be submitted to the Imperial Parliament for the purpose of using those Colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island in one Government, with provisions based on the following resolutions which were adopted at a Conference of delegates from the said Colonies held at the city of Quebec on the 10th of October 1864.

(Here follow the resolutions verbatim.*)

No. 8.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Viscount MONCK to the Right Hon. Edward CARDWELL., M.P.

(NO. 36.) Quebec, January 30, 1865.

(Received, February 17, 1865.)

SIR, (Answered, No. 32. February 25, 1865, p. 42.)

I HAVE the honour to enclose a copy of a circular Despatch which I have this day addressed to the Lieutenant-Governors and to the Governor of New Brunswick.

I have, &c.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) MONCK.

&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 8.

Hon. A. H. GORDON to Lord MONCK.

MY LORD, Fredericton, January 23, 1865.

IN my Despatch of the 9th instant I informed your Lordship that, when I had consulted the members of my Council as to the steps most calculated to give effect to the resolutions of Quebec Conference, I would do myself the honour of again addressing your Lordship.

I have now accordingly the honour to inform your Lordship that it is my intention, with the advice of my Executive Council, immediately to dissolve the existing Legislature of this Province, and that the new Parliment will be summoned to meet towards the end of the month of March, when the question of the Confederation of the British North American Provinces will be immediately submitted for their consideration.

I have, &c.

The Viscount Monck, (Signed). ARTHUR II. GORDON.

&c. &c.

No. 9.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Viscount MONCK to the Right Hon. Edward CARDWELL., M.P.

(NO. 68.) Government House, Quebec, March 10, 1865.

(Received, March 24, 1865.)

SIR, (Answered, No. 18. March 29, 1865, p. 48.)

I HAVE the honour to enclose a copy of a circular Despatch which I have this day addressed to the Lieutenant-Governors and to the Governor of Newfoundland.

I have, &c.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) MONCK.

&c. &c. &c.

[Page 9]

Enclosure in No. 9.

Governor MESGRAVE to Viscount MONCK.

MY LORD, Government House, Newfoundland, February 23, 1865.

I HAVE had the honour the receive by the mail, which arrived on the evening of the 21st, your Lordship’s Despatches noted in the margin, with their enclosures, having reference to the proposed Confederation of the British North American Provinces.

2. I have already, in my Despatch of the 27th January, acquainted you with the [course] it was proposed to take in this Colony for the purpose of giving effect to the instructions of the Secretary of State. In the debates which have taken place both the Council and the Assembly on the address in reply to the opening speech, and subsequently on the special subject of Confederation, it has become obvious, however, that although no attempt is made to obtain a decision adverse to a Union of the Provinces, a very strong disinclination exists, even on the part of those favourable to the Union, to pronounce any judgement upon the question during the present session.

The House will expire in May, and a general election for a new Assembly must take place in the autumn. It is urged that under any circumstances the matter id one which should be referred to the constituencies, and that in these it would be specially improper to attempt to force a hasty decision from the present Legislature just on the eve of its expiration.

3. I believe I am justified in stating that the project is gradually gaining ground in the estimation of the better informed members, both of the Legislature and the community, but a good deal of misapprehension on the subject prevails among a large number, which a little time for consideration and explanation would go far to remove. I entertain scarcely any doubt of the final adoption of the proposals of the Quebec Conference ; but I am advised, and it appears to myself, that in the present state of public feeling it would be unwise to press for a decision against the almost unanimous desire to defer it until the next session.

Such a course would probably only have the effect of exciting factious hostility, and retard the eventual settlement of the plan.

And it is, therefore, now proposed by the Government to agree to the postponement of a decision until the first session of the new Legislature, when the question shall have been submitted to the constituencies of the Colony.

I have, &c.

His Excellency the Right Hon. Viscount Mock, (Signed) A. MESGRAVE.

&c. &c. &c.

No. 10.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Viscount MONCK to the Right Hon. Edward CARDWELL., M.P.

(NO. 73.)

Government House, Quebec, March 15, 1865.

(Received, March 30, 1865.)

SIR, (Answered, No. 58. April 8, 1865, p. 43.)

I HAVE the honour to transmit an Address to Her Majesty, agreed to by the Legislative Council of this Province, praying that Her Majesty will be pleased to cause a measure to be introduced into the Imperial Parliament for the Union of the Provinces of British North America, on the basis of the resolutions adopted by the Conference of Delegates from those Provinces which met at Quebec in October of last year.

This Address to Her Majesty was brought up to me by the whole House, and an Address presented to me, of which I have the honour to transmit a copy, requesting me to take such steps as might appear to me most suitable for laying the Address to the Queen at the foot of the throne. I have, therefore, the honour to request on the part of the Legislative Council of Canada, that you will present their Address to her Majesty.

I have, &c.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) MONCK.

&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure 1 in No. 10.

To his Excellency the Right Honourable CHARLES STANLEY, Viscount MONCK, of Ballytrammon, in the Country of Wexford, Governor-General of British North America, and Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief in and over the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Island of Prince Edward, and Vice-Admiral of the same, &c., &c., &c.

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,

We, Her Majesty’s dutiful and loyal subjects, the Legislative Council of Canada, in a Provincial Parliment assembled, beg leave to approach your Excellency with our respectful request that you will

[Page 10]

be pleased to transmit our Address to Her Majesty on the subject of the Union of Her Majesty’s Provinces of British North America in such a way as to your Excellency may seem fit, in order that the same may be laid at the foot of the throne.

(Signed) U. J. TESSIER,

Legislative Council, Speaker of the Legislative Council.

Monday, 20th February 1865.

Enclosure 2 in No. 10.

To the QUEEN’S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY.

MOST GRACIOUS SOVERIEGN,

WE, Your Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Legislative Council of Canada, in Provincial Parliment assembled, humbly approach Your Majesty for the purpose of praying that Your Majesty may be graciously pleased to cause a measure to be submitted to the Imperial Parliment for the purpose of uniting the Colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island in one Government, with provisions based on the following resolutions, which were adopted at a Conference of delegates from the said Colonies, held at the city of Quebec, on the 10th of October 1864.

(Here follow the Resolutions which will be found printed as an Appendix, page 158.)

Legislative Council, Monday 20th February 1865.

No. 11.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Viscount MONCK to the Right Hon. Edward CARDWELL., M.P.

(NO. 74.)

Government House, Quebec, March 15, 1865.

(Received, March 30, 1865.)

SIR, (Answered, No. 58. April 8, 1865, p. 43.)

I have, &c.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) MONCK.

&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure 1 in No. 11.

To the QUEEN’S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY.

MOST GRACIOUS SOVEREIGN,

WE, Your Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of Canada, in Parliment assembled, humbly approach Your Majesty for the purpose of praying that Your Majesty may be graciously pleased to cause a measure to be submitted to the Imperial Parliment for the purpose of uniting the Colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island in one Government, with provisions based on the accompanying Resolutions, which were adopted at a Conference of delegates from the said Colonies, held at the city of Quebec, on the 10th of October 1864.

(Here follow the Resolutions which will be found printed as an Appendix, page 158.)

Legislative Council,

Monday 20th February 1865.

[Page 11]

Enclosure 2 in No. 11.

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,

We, Her Majesty’s dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of Canada, in Parliament assembled, beg leave to approach your Excellency with our respectful request that you will be pleased to transmit our Address to Her most Gracious Majesty, praying that Her Majesty may be graciously pleased to raise a measure to be submitted to the Imperial Parliment for the purpose of uniting the Colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island, in one Government, with Provisions based on the resolutions which were adopted at a Conference of delegates from the said Colonies, held at the city of Quebec on the 19th of October 1865, in such way as your Excellency may deem fit, in order that the same may be laid at the foot of the throne.

(Signed) L. WALLBRIDGE,

Legislative Council, Speaker.

Monday, 13th March 1865.

No. 12.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Viscount MONCK to the Right Hon. Edward CARDWELL., M.P.

(NO. 161.)

Quebec, August 14, 1865.

(Received, August 28, 1865.)

SIR, (Answered, No. 137. September 6, 1865, p. 46.)

I HAVE the honour to transmit for your information, copies of the papers* submitted to the Provincial Parliament relating to the Conference lately held in London between Her Majesty’s Government and the Ministers of Canada.

I have, &c.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) MONCK.

&c. &c. &c

To his Excellency the Right Honourable Viscount MONCK, Governor-General of British North America, &c. &c.

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,

THE undersigned having, by Order in Council of 24th March 1865, been appointed a committee of the Executive Council of Canada to proceed to England and confer with Her Majesty’s Government on certain subjects of importance to the Province, sailed for England in April last ; and having discharged the duty entrusted to the and returned to Canada, we now beg to submit for your Excellency’s information, a statement of our proceedings while in London.

The circumstances under which this mission became necessary are doubtless fresh in your Excellency’s recollection. For a considerable time past, in view of the civil war going on in the United States, and the impossibility of anticipating what international questions might at any moment arise, Her Majesty’s Government felt it their duty from time to time to direct the attention of the Government of Canada to the insecure position of the Province in the event of disturbed relations unhappily resulting, and to urge the adoption of protective measures. In these communications it was not concealed that Her Majesty’s Government expected the people of Canada to assume more onerous military duties than they had previously horne. Your Excellency’s advisors were always prepared frankly to consider these proposals, and to submit for the approval of Parliament such measures as might be found just and reasonable. But they felt at the same time that to secure the hearty assent of Parliament and the country for any important changes in the military relations between the patents state the Colony, an explanation on the whole subject first […] so that a clear understanding as to the share of defence to be borne by each might be arranged […] all ground of irritating and hurtful reproach for alleged neglect of duty by the Colony, […]. In view also of the anticipated early union of all the British North American Colonies […] calculated to simplify the system of defence — the Government of Canada deemed it highly desirable that the settlement of this important question should be reserved for the action of the Government and Legislature of the new Confederation. Her Majesty’s Government concurred in these views.

In early part this year, however, events occurred of affairs. The conference at Fortress Monroe for the cessation of hostilities, the disturbances on the Canadian frontier, the imposition of the passport system, the notice given by the American Government for a termination of the conviction restricting the naval armament on the lakes, and other events, tended to revive and deepen the feeling of insecurity ; and Her Majesty’s Government urged the immediate erection of permanent works of defence at Quebec and Montreal —the cost of the former to be borne by the Imperial Treasury, and of the latter by the people of Canada. Your Excellency’s advisors were most anxious to meet the wishes of Her Majesty’s Government, but they could not feel it their dirt to propose to Parliament a vote for defensive workers at Montreal while the defence of Upper Canada, on land and on the lakes, was provided for. The position of affairs was further complicated by the result of the New Brunswick elections, which postponed, at least for a time, the Union of the Provinces, and by

[Page 12]

the formal notice but he American Government for the termination, in March next, of the Reciprocity Treaty. It became evident that the time had arrived and could no longer be postponed, for a full and frank explanation with Her Majesty’s Government on the whole state of affairs ; and with that view an immediate mission to England, with your Excellency’s assent, was resolved upon. The state of the case was forthwith communicated to the Legislative Council and Assembly, which were then in session; and Parliament was shortly after prorogued on the business of the session, so soon as the delegates returned from Great Britain.

On arriving in England we lost no time in placing ourselves in communication with Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for the Colonies ; and a committee f the Imperial Cabinet, consisting of his Grace the […] Somerset, the Right honourable the Earl De Grey and Ripon, the Right Honourable William […] Gladstone,a Dan the Right Honourable Edward Caldwell, having been appointed to confer with us, negotiations were opened and continued at frequent interviews, up to the close of our mission.

The subject to which we first invited the attention of the conference was the proposed Confederation of the British North American Colonies. We reminded the Imperial Ministers how largely all the questions, with the discussion of which we were charged — and especially those of defence, foreign commercial relations, an internal communication — would be affected by the Union, and how greatly their satisfactory settlement would be facilitated by it. We explained the reasons that existed for obtaining the assent of all the Colonies to the Union at an early date, and the promise to which the Government of Canada stood pledged to proceed without delay with constitutional reforms for Canada alone, in the event of the larger measure […] to be obtained. We received at once from the members of the Imperial Cabinet assurances of their hearty approval of the Confederation scheme, and of their anxious desire to promote its early accomplishment by all the legitimate influence of the Imperial Government. In the discussion of the means to be adopted for effecting Confederation, we trust it is unnecessary to assure your Excellency that the idea of coercing the maritime Provinces into the measure was not for a moment entertained. The end sought was to ascertain in what manner the question of Union in all its hearings could be best brought under the fall and fait consideration of our fellow Colonists, and the grave responsibility urged upon them, which they would assume by thwarting a measure so pregnant with future prosperity to British America, so anxiously desired by the great mass of the people to be affected by it, and which had been received with such marked satisfaction by our fellow subjects throughout the British Empire. We received assurances that her Majesty’s Government would adopt every legitimate means for securing the early assent of the Maritime Provinces to the Union. In the course of these discussions, the question of the Intercolonial Railway came up as a necessary accompaniment of Confederation, when we sought and obtained a renewal of the promised Imperial guarantee of a loan for the construction of that work.

The important question of the future military relations between the mother country and Canada received earnest and grave consideration. Before entering on the discussion of details, we referred t the recent debates in the Imperial Parliment on the subject of Canadian defences, ad especially to the assertions confidently made by certain members of the House of Commons that Canada was incapable of efficient protections against in case ion from her inland border. We explained the unjust such statements tended to produce, and the necessity of our ascertaining, as a preliminary step to our discussions, whether or not they were well founded. We asked that a report on the whole subject of the defence of Canada, with plans and estimates, might be obtained from the highest military and navel authorities of Great Britain. Such a report was brained and communicated to us confidentially ; and we rejoice to say that it was calculated to remove all doubt as to the security of our country, so long as the hearts of our people remain firmly attached to the British flag, and the power of England is wielded in our defence.

On the part of Canada we expressed the desire that this plan for the defence of all parts of the Province should be taken as the basis of arrangement ; and that a fall and candid discussion should be had as to share of the cost that ought be borne respectively by the Imperial and Provincial […]. We expressed the earnest wish of the people of Canada to perpetrate the happy existing connection with Great Britain, ad their entire willingness to contribute to the defence of the Empire their full quota, according to their ability, of men and money. But we pointed out that if war should ever unhappily arise between England and the United States, it could only be an Imperial war, on Imperial grounds — that our country alone would be exposed to the horrors of invasion — and that our exposed position, far from entailing on us unusual burdens, should on the contrary secure for us the special and generous consideration of the Imperial Government. We explained, moreover, that though Canada continued to progress steadily and rapidly, it was a vast country, sparsely populated — that the difficulties of first settlement were hardly yet overcome — that the profits of our annual industry were to be found not in gloating wealth, but in the increased value of our farms an mines — and that, at this moment especially, from the failure of successive crops, the effects of the American civil war on our commercial relations, and the feeling of insecurity as to our position (greatly aggravated by statements of the defencelessness of the country in the British Parliment and by portions of the British press)— Canada was labouring under a temporary but serious depression. We pointed out that, while fully recognizing the necessity and prepared to provide for such a system of defence as would restore confidence in our future at home and abroad, the […] defence for British America was to be found in the increase of her populations as rapidly as people, and the husbanding of our resources to that end ; and without claiming it as a right, we […] to suggest that by enabling us to throw open the north-western territories to free settlement, and by aiding us in enlarging our canals and prosecuting internal productive works, and by promoting an extensive plan of emigration from Europe into the unsettled portions of our domain — permanent security would be more quickly and surely and economically secured than by any other means. We did not fail to point out how this might be done without cost or risk to the British exchequer, and how greatly it would lighten the new burden of defence proposed to be assumed at a moment of depression by the people of Canada.

[Page 13]

Much discussion ensued on all these points, and the result arrived at was, that if the people of Canada undertook the works of defence at and west of Montreal, and agreed to expend in training their militia, until the Union of all the Provinces was determined, a sum not less than is now expended annually for that service, Her Majesty’s Government would complete the fortifications at Quebec, provide the whole armament for all the works, guarantee a loan for the sum necessary to construct the works undertaken by Canada, and in the event of war undertake the defence of every portion of Canada with all the resources of the Empire.

The question having arisen as to the time and order in which these propositions should be submitted for the approval of the imperial and Provincial Legislature, it appeared that no action could be taken upon them during the present year ; ad it was therefore deemed inexpedient to complicate the Confederation question by changing the basis of the Quebec Conference resolutions, which might result from the present adoption of these propositions. The further consideration of the defensive works was accordingly deferred for the action of the Government and Legislature of the proposed British North American Confederation ; but the assurance of Her Majesty’s Government was at the same time given, that if circumstances arose to render an application would be received in the most friendly spirit.

On the subject of the American Reciprocity Treaty we entered into full explanations with the Imperial Ministers. We explained how advantageously the treaty had worked for Canada, and the desire of our people for its renewal ; but we showed at the same time how much more advantageously it had worked for American interests ; and we expressed our inability to believe that the United States Government seriously contemplated the abolition of an arrangement by which they had so greatly increased their foreign commerce, secured a vast and lucrative carrying trade, and obtained free access to the St. Lawrence and tot he invaluable fishing grounds of British America — and that on the sole ground that the Provinces has also profited by the treaty. We explained the immediate injury that would result to Canadian interests from the abrogation of the treaty ; but we pointed out at the same time the new and ultimately more profitable channels into which our foreign trade must, in that event, be turned and the necessity of preparing for the changes, and out readiness to discuss and favourably entertain any jus propositions that might be made for an extension on modification of its conditions ; we requested that the views of the American Government should be obtained at the earliest convenient date ; and that his Excellency Sir Fredrick Bruce should act in connect with the Canadian Government in the matter. The Imperial Government cordially ascended to our suggestions.

The important questions of opening up to settlement and cultivation the vast British territories on the north-west borders of Canada, next obtained the attention of the Conference. Your Excellency is aware that the desire of the Government of Canada for a satisfactory and final adjustment of this matter has been often formally expressed. In your Excellency’s Despatch of 19th January 1864, to the Colonial Secretary, the anxious desire of the Canadian Government was communicated “for some “speedy, inexpensive, and naturally satisfactory plan” for settling definitely “the north-western “boundary of Canada,” and the claim of Canada was asserted to “all that portion of Central British “America, which can be shown to have been in the possession of the French at the period f the “cession in 1763.”

In reply to this Despatch, Mr. Caldwell, on […] July 1864, requested to be informed whether the Government of Canada was prepared to assist in negotiations with the Hudson’s Bay Company, with the view of accepting any portion of the territory now claimed by that company, and providing the means of local administration therein ; and he suggested that if so prepared it would be desirable that some person daily authorized to communicate the views of the Canadian Government should be sent to England for that purpose.

On the 11th November 1864, a minute of Council was approved by your Excellency, in reply to Mr. Cardwell’s Despatch. It set forth that the Government of Canada was ready and anxious to co-operate with the Imperial Government, in securing the early settlement of the north-west territories, and the establishment of local government in it settled portions ; but that in its opinion the first step towards that end was the extinction of all claim by the Hudson’s Bay Company to proprietary rights in the soil and exclusive rights of trade. It suggested that it was for the Imperial Government, and not for the Government of Canada, to assume the duty of bringing to an end a monopoly originating in an English charter, and exercised so long under Imperial sanction ; but that when the negotiations were brought to a close, the Government of Canada would be ready to arrange with the Imperial Government for the annexation to Canada of such portions of the territory as might be available for settlement, as well as for the opening up of communications into the territory and providing means of local administration. Or should the Imperial Government prefer to erect the territory into a Crown Colony, the Canadian Government would gladly co-operate in the opening up of communication unto the territory, and the settlement of the country. The minute finally suggested that the Hon. President of the Council while in England would communicate more fully to Mr. Caldwell the views of the Canadian Government.

The negotiations that followed in this Despatch satisfied us of the impossibility of enforcing the end sought by Canada without long-protracted, vexations, and costly litigation. The Hudson’s bay Company were in possession, and that if time were their object, could protract the proceedings indefinitely ; and Her Majesty’s Government appeared unwilling to ignore pretentions that had frequently received […] recognition from Imperial authorities. Calling to mind, therefore, the vital importance to Canada of having that great fertile country opened up to Canadian enterprise, and the tide of emigration into it directed through Canadian channels — remembering also the danger of large grants of land passing into the country large masses of settlers unaccustomed to British institutions — we arrived at the conclusion that the quickest solution of the question would be the best for Canada. We accordingly proposed to the Imperial Ministers that the whole British territory east of the Rocky

[Page 14]

Mountains ad north of the American of Canadian lines should be made over to Canada, subject to such rights as the Hudson’s Bay Company might be Abe to establish ; and that the compensation to that company (if any were found to be due) should be met by a loan guaranteed by Great Britain. The Imperial Government consented to this, and a careful investigations guaranteed by Great Britain. The Imperial Government consented to this, and a careful investigation of the case satisfies us that the compensation to the Hudson’s Bay Company cannot, under any circumstances, be onerous. It is but two years since the present Hudson’s Bay Company purchased the entire property of the old company ; they paid 1,500,00/. for the entire property and assists,—in which were included in our arrangement, a very large claim against the United States Government under the Oregon Treaty—and ships, goods, pelts, and business premises in England and Canada valued at 1,023,569/. The value of the territorial rights of the company, therefore, in the estimation of the company itself, will be easily arrived at.

The results of our communications with the Committee of Her Majesty’s Government were placed, by Mr. Caldwell, in the form of a Despatch to your Excellency ; that document bears date the 17th June 1865, and has already reached your Excellency’s hands. It contains a correct statement of the result of the conference.

Although the subject was not specially referred to us, we did not fail to call the attention of the Colonial Minister to the anomalous position of foreigners who have settled in Canada and become naturalized subjects under our Provincial Statutes Mr. Cardwell at once admitted the hardship of the ease, and stated that it was the desire of her Law […] of the Crown for their opinions as to the best mode of doing so.

It will be gratifying to many devoted subjects of Her Majesty throughout British America, whose fears have been excited by the language too often heard of late years on the subject of Colonial connexion, that we received from Her Majesty’s Ministers the assurance that the British Government acknowledge the obligation of defending every portion of Canada with all the resources at its command.

Such, in brief, is the outline of our communications with Her Majesty’s Government, and we cannot conclude this report without gratefully acknowledging the distinguished consideration extended to us as the representatives of Canada, not only by the Minsters with whole we were brought more directly in contact, but by many eminent personages with whole we had the honour of conferring on the objects of our mission. To Mr. Cardwell we are especially indebted for unremitting kindness and attention. We are happy to believe that the result of our visit to England had been to inspire more just views as to the position and feelings of the Canadian people, and to draw closer the ties that have so long ad so happily attached our Province to the mother country.

(Signed) JOHN A. MACDONALD.

GEO. ER. CARTER.

GEO. BROWN.

Quebec 12th July 1865. A. T. GALT.

No. 13.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Viscount MONCK to the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.

(No. 183.)

Government House, Quebec, September 20, 1865.

(Received, October 5, 1865.)

SIR, (Answered. No. 147, October 7, 1865, page 46.)

I HAVE the honour to transmit for your information, copies of a correspondence which i have had with the Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, on the subject of further guarantees for the construction of the Intercolonial Railway, in the event of the Union of the Provinces.

I have, &c.

(Signed) MONCK.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,

&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure 1 in No. 13.

Lord MONCK to Sir R. G. MACDONNELL.

SIR, Quebec, September 9, 1865.

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the recipes of your Despatch (No. 184) of 31st August, respecting the securities which you desire for the construction of the Intercolonial Railway in the event of the union of the British North American Provinces being completed.

In that Despatch you suggest that the Canadian Parliament should request the imperial Government so to frame the imperial Act of Parliament which shall give effect to the union of the Provinces as to secure the construction of the railway.

It appears to me and my Executive Council that this suggestion could only have been made under a misapprehension or in oblivion of what has been already done by the Canadian Parliament in reference to this subject.

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I take the liberty of calling your attention to the course adopted with respect to the Intercolonial Railway by the Government and Parliament of this Province.

In the last session of the Canadian Parliment an address was voted by both Houses to Her Majesty, praying “That she would be graciously please to cause a measure to be submitted to the Imperial Parliment for the purpose of uniting the Colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland in one Government, with provisions based on the accompanying resolutions, which were adopted at a conference of delegates from the said Colonies, held at the city of Quebec on the 10th day of October 1864.”

It is consequently manifest that all the resolutions adopted at the Quebec Conference were incorporated into the address to the Queen, and that Her Majesty was as much requested by the terms of this address to take measures for giving effect to each and all of them as if the request had been embodied in a separate address having distinct reference to each resolution.

I find the 68th resolution of the Quebec Conference expressed in the following terms:—“The general Government shall secure, without delay, the completion of the Intercolonial Railway from Rivere du Loup through New Brunswick to Truro in Nova Scotia.”

It would appear to me therefore that the Canadian Parliment, having already voted an address to the Queen, praying Her Majesty to take measures to secure the construction of the Intercolonial Railway, has done all that lies in its power to give assurance of its desire that the undertaking shall be completed : and I may add that after such a course i think it would be scarcely respectful to her Majesty to repeat the request by a further address.

As an additional evidence of the anxiety of Canadians that there should be no difficulty in the way of completing this works, or delay in the execution of it, I venture to remind you that it appears, from correspondence with the Secretary of State, already on your possession, that when a deputation of the Government of Canada was lately in England, in conference with Her Majesty’s Government, the members of that deputation voluntarily sought and obtained from the Imperial Cabinet a renewal of the engagement that, in the event of the success of the project for uniting the British North American Colonies the guarantee of the Imperial Government for the loan necessary for the construction of the railroad should be afforded.

The correspondence, of which I have furnished you with copies, and of which your present Despatch is an acknowledgment, affords further proof of the sentiments of the Canadian Government on this subject, and their willingness on the part of the Parliment of Canada to acquiesce in ant course which the imperial Government may adopt in order to secure, immediately on the Union of these Provinces, the commencement and prosecution of this important work.

I have, &c.

(Signed) MONCK.

Lieutenant.-Governor Sir R. G. MacDonnell.

Enclosure 2 in No. 13.

Sir R. G. MACDONNELL to Viscount MONCK.

MY LORD, Government House, Halifax, Nova Scotia, August 31, 1865.

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship’s Despatch of the 21st inst., enclosing a correspondence between yourself and the Secretary of State, in reference to the construction of the Intercolonial Railway.

That correspondence includes a Despatch from the Right Honourable the. Secretary of State, suggesting that more positive assurances from Canada of her readiness to construct that railroads would be satisfactory to the friends of the Confederation in the maritime Provinces. It also includes a minute of your Excellency’s Council, declaring the importance which they attach to the construction of the Intercolonial Railway.

3. So far as any suggestions from myself may have influenced the Secretary of State to transmit that Despatch. I must frankly say, that my object was to obtain some other security for the completion of the Intercolonial line, than that of the Canadian Government. I need scarcely say that I entirely rely on the good faith of the Canadian Government, and I know not who would question it : nevertheless the Parliament which has promised construction of the line must, in the event of Confederation, cease to exist, and the very member of your Government who repeat their assurances if its necessity may not be in office when the time for action arrives. It is therefore natural that those in the maritime Provinces who attach importance to the Intercolonial Railway should look beyond the existing Canadian Government to secure this leading inducement to Confederation being completed by the future Government and Parliament of the Confederate Provinces.

4. There are those who really desire Union if satisfied that the stipulated inducements will all be made good, and with who the difficulty of attaining any satisfactory assurance of the kind, has hitherto operated as a genuine reason gore opposing a scheme which they would otherwise support. There are also those who urge the difficulty of obtaining the requisite assurance as a pretext to excuse their own read hostility to the measure.

5. It seems to me that to satisfy the just expectations of the former, and deprive the latter of every excuse, is and ought where practicable to be a leading object of the policy of all friends of Confederation. Neither purpose can be attained by any amount of reiterated assurances from the present Canadian Government or Parliament, simply because the present may not be the Executive power in existence when the time arrives for carrying the undertaking into effect.

6. The only power that can be assumed as unalterable, and wholly reliable, as well as equally friendly to all concerned, is the British Government, and if the real wish and intention to the Canadian Ministry and Parliament be that the Intercolonial line shall be undertaken and completed in preference to any public works in Upper Canada or elsewhere, either now projected, or hereafter to be

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projected, it seems ways to request Her Majesty’s Government to frame the Imperial Act intended to legalise and a body the conditions of Confederation so as to reserve to Imperial authority and Imperial agents if necessary, ample means of completing the undertaking at the expense of the Confederacy. It is not for me to point out the special mode in which this might be accomplished : it is enough that it could be done effectually if earnestly desired.

7. Some such step taken during the present session of the Canadian Parliament would tend greatly to advance the cause of Confederation. Its omission and the impression which as gone abroad of the unwillingness of the Canadian Government to admit that a railway can be a condition of a constitution — though it may be made by Imperial Act as much an essential condition Theron as actual payment of purchase money is essential to the validity of other transactions — has prejudiced and is prejudicing the progress of confederation here and as I believe in New Brunswick also.

8. I would therefore very respectfully suggest that your Lordship might usefully endeavour to impress on your responsible advisors the expediency of early taking such measures as may deprive every one of all pretext for doubting the “[…]” fulfillment of the projected Union. Difficulties which cannot be avoided often […] the wisest and most expedient measures, but this is a difficulty which need last no longer than the Canadian Government and Parliament choose it to remain.

9. Your Lordship will regard this Despatch as expressing not merely my own views, but those of my Ministry.

I have .&c.

His Excellency the Right Hon. (Signed ) RICHARD GRAVES MACDONNELL.

Viscount Monck, Governor General, Lieut.. Governor.

&c. &c. &c.

No. 14.

Copy of Despatch from the officer Administering the Government to the Right Hon. Edward CARDWELL., M.P.

(No. 3.)

Montreal, September 30, 1865.

(Received, October 16, 1865.)

SIR, (Answered. No. 150. October 18, 1865. Page 46.)

WITH reference to Lord Monck’s Despatch, no. 183,* of September 20th, enclosing copies of a correspondence between his lordship and the Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, respecting further guarantees for the construction of the Intercolonial railway, I have the honour to transmit for your information a copy of another Despatch on the same subject, which I have received from sir Richard MacDonnell since lord Monck’s departure.

I have, &c.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) J. Mitchell., Lt,-Gen.,

&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 14.

Sir R. G. MACDONNELL to Lord MONCK.

My LORD, Government House, Halifax, Nova Scotia , September 18, 1865.

I HAVE the humour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship’s Despatch of the […] instant in reply to mine of the 31st […], suggesting the policy of providing additional security for the prompt construction of the Intercolonial railroad.

2. It is very gratifying to me to find that your Lordship regards the precious correspondence on the subject as a proof of the “willingness of the Canadian Government on the part of the Parliament of Canada to acquiesce in any course when the Imperial Government may adopt in order to secure immediately, on the Union of the Provinces, the commencement and vigorous prosecution of that important work.”

3. I must however observe, that as this is the first in which any direct allusion has been made to the willingness of Canada to abide by the views of the Imperial Government, apart from the strict text of the Quebec resolutions, I could not have been expected to have sooner divined such willingness. Iit is however enough that it is announced now.

4. I would also very respectfully submit that my Government is scarcely liable to the imputation of either “oblivion” or “misapprehension” of matters which had attained such recent and general notoriety as the renewed engagement by the delegates in […] a for a loan to construct the railway; and still less so, as to the mention of that project in the 68th Quebec resolution, of which your Lordship is so good as to remind me.

5. On the contrary, it was on the ground that many persons in these Provinces regard the terms of that very resolution as insufficient, whether eventually embodied or not in an Imperial Act, that I ventured to draw your Lordship’s attention to the subject.

6. I need to scarcely repeat that my suggestions from the first were offered not with a view to satisfy any doubts of my own or my Council. Two members of the latter body had been nominated by me Delegates to the Quebec Convention. They were therefore parties to the articles agreed on, and then, as now, they considered the assurance contained in the 68th resolution quite […] to satisfy all

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reasonable men; and believed, as they still believe, that the projected railway would be carried out promptly and in good faith.

7. Nevertheless the question is not what ought to satisfy myself or my council, but rather what it is polite `to do for the purpose of satisfying many influential opponents of confederation, who see, or think they see, or pretend they see in the Quebec an insufficient security for a work, held out as a leading inducement to confederation.

8. The 68th Quebec resolution is represented by them as relegating too entirely to the future “General Government,” and the future Ottawa Parliament, the execution of an important part of the future executive, of a different people and different Government, so as to foretel the mode in which the latter may execute a trust entirely consigned to them.

9. Now, although, in the event of confederation, the strong probability is that the leading statesmen of the present day would form that “General Government,” and as members of it, would desire faith-fully to carry out the pledges given by them as members of the quebec conference there is no absolute certainty in that prospect. On the contrary , there is just such a chance, however remote, of the first General Government being in a minority, as furnishes a pretext for those who are disposed to do so,to pretend that some rival project may obtain procedure in the new Parliament, notwithstanding the facilities offered by the guarantee of the imperial government for raising funds to construct the railway.

10. Now all the suggestions of myself and council from the first leave had but one object, viz., to cut the ground completely from under the feet of the class of objectors above alluded to, whether sincere in their objections or not.

11. In dealing with them I distinctly stated that it was “not for me to point out the special mode” in which additional security for construction of the railroad might be procured. Perhaps that object cannot be better attained than by the interpretation now given by your Lordship on the part of the Canadian Executive and Legislature to the previous correspondence.

12. Such an authentic announcement of the willingness of Canada to acquire in any course to secure the commencement and vigorous prosecution of the intended railway which may be taken by so friendly and suitable an arbiter as the imperial Government must be sufficient to terminate all doubt and caviling.

13. It is immaterial whether that willingness to abide by the judgement of Great Britain had been sufficiently implied before, or whether it be now for the first time introduced, as an admitted inference from previous correspondence. Provided it be clearly expressed, whether late or early, its authority is equally unquestionable.

14. For my own part I candidly say that, if the willingness of Canada to acquiesce in any course to be taken by Her Majesty’s government , had been expressed earlier I should not have troubled your Lordship on the subject. Permit me to add however that i cannot regret having elicited so satisfactory and decisive and exposition of the real intentions of the Canadian Government.

I have, &c.

His Excellency the Right Hon. Viscount (Signed) RICHARD GRAVIS AC DONNELL,

Monck, Governor General, Lient.-Governor.

&c. &c. &c.

No. 15.

Copy of DESPATCH from viscount MONCK to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL., M.P.

(No. 48.) Ottawa, June 8, 1866.

(Received, June 25, 1866)

SIR, (Answered No. 70, June 30, 1866, page 47.)

I HAVE honour to enclose a copy of the speech with which I this day opened the session of the Canadian Parliament.

I have, &c.

The Right. Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) MONCK.

Enclosure in No. 15

EXTRACT.

HONOURABLE GENTLEMEN AND GENTLEMEN.

The position which the great question of the Union of the Provinces of British North America has assumed is now such as to induce the expectation that the measure will be shortly carried into effect. I therefore hope and believe that it will be found practicable during the present session to adopt such proceedings as may be necessary for completing the details of the scheme as regards to this Province, and i venture to express the confident expectation that the next parliament which will be held within those walls will not be continued to an assembly of the representatives of Canada, but will embrace those of all the Colonies of British North America.

I am happy to be able to congratulate you on the general prosperity which pervades all classes of the community in the province, and I pray that your councils may be guided by divine providence to secure that which is the true end of all government, the moral and material advancement of the great body of the people.

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No. 16.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Viscount Monck to the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON.

( No. 113.) Ottawa, August 15, 1866

( Received August 19, 1866)

(Answered No.17, Sept. 5, 1866, p.48)

MY LORD,

I HAVE the honour to enclose a copy of the speech with which I this day closed the Session of the Canadian Parliament.

I have &c.

The Right Hon. the Earl of Carnarvon, ( Signed ) MONCK.

&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 16.

EXTRACT FROM SPEECH :

HONORABLE GENTLEMEN, AND GENTLEMEN,

I REJOICE that you have completed your part of the plan for the Union of the colonies of british North America, and I shall not fail to transmit to the Secretary of State for the colonies, for presentation to Her Majesty, your address on this subject.

In bringing to a close the last session likely to be held under the Art for the Union of the two Canadas, I congratulate the Parliament which that Law called into existence on the retrospect afforded by the events of the last quarter of a century in this Province.

You can mark during that period the firm consolidation of your internal resources and foreign trade — the improvement and simplification of your laws — and above all the education which the adoption of the system of responsible government has afforded to your statesmen in the well-tried ways of the British Constitution.

The same principles, the application of which has been attended with so much advantage in the smaller Union, will be the guide of your course in the larger sphere of action on which you are now about to enter, and I fervently pray that the blessings which you have hitherto enjoyed may be given in larger measure to that new nationality of which you will form a part and the dimensions of which will entitle it to a high place amongst the powers of the world.

No.17.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Viscount MONCK to the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON.

(No. 115.) Ottawa, August 16, 1866.

(Received August 29, 1866.)

My Lord, (Answered, No. 11, August 31. 1866, p. 18.)

I have the honour to transmit your Lordship an Address to Her Majesty the Queen from the Legislative Assembly of Canada, praying that Her Majesty will be graciously pleased to cease a measure to be submitted to the imperial Parliament for creating Local Governments and Legislatures in Canada East and Canada West […] after the union of the British North American Colonies shall have been completed. I request that your Lordship will leave the goodness to lay this Address before the Queen.

I have &c.

The Right Hon. the Earl of Carnarvon, ( Signed ) MONCK.

&c. &c. &c.

Enclosed in No. 17.

TO THE QUEEN’S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY.

MOST GRACIOUS SOVEREIGN,

Why Your Majesty’s most dutifal and loyal subjects, the Commons of Canada in Parliament assembled, humbly approach your Majesty, for the purpose of paying that Your Majesty may be graciously pleased to cause a measure to be submitted to the Imperial Parliament, to provide for the Local Government and Legislature of Lower and Upper Canada, respectively, when the union of the Provinces of British North America is effected, with provisions based upon the accompanying resolutions, which were adopted by this House on Saturday the eleventh August, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six. All which we, the Commons of Canada, humbly pray Your Majesty to take into Your gracious and favourable consideration.

(Signed) L. Walbridge

Legislative Assembly Hall. Speaker.

Saturday, 11th August 1866,

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(Sealed.)

RESOLUTIONS providing for the Local Government and Legislature of Lower and Upper Canada respectively when the Union of the Provinces of British North America is elected.

Resolved:

That by the 38th paragraph of the resolution of this House passed on the 3rd day of February 1865, for presenting an humble address to Her Majesty, praying that She may be graciously pleased to cause measure to be submitted to the Imperial Parliament for the purpose of uniting the Colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island in one Government, with provisions based on the resolutions which were adopted at a Conference of Delegates from the said Colonies, held at the city of Quebec on the 10th of October 1861, it is provided that “for each of “the Provinces there shall be an Executive Officer, styled the Lieutenant- Governor, who shall be “appointed by the Governor-General in Council under the Great Seal of the Federated Provinces “during pleasure, such pleasure not to be exercised before the expiration of the first five years except “for cause, such cause to be communicated in writing to the Lieutenant-Governor immediately after “the exercise of the pleasure as aforesaid, and also by message to both Houses of Parliament within “the first week of the first session afterwards,” and that by the 1st paragraph of the same resolution it is provided that “the Local Government and Legislature of each Province shall be constructed in “such manner as the existing Legislature of each such Province shall provide,” and it is further now resolved that in the opinion of this House the appointment of the first Lieutenant-Governor shall […] provisional, and that he should hold office strictly during pleasure.
That under and subject to the Constitution of the Federated Provinces the executive authority of the LIeutenant Governor of Lower Canada and Upper Canada respectively shall be administered by each of such officers according to the well-understood principles of the British Constitution.
The great Seal of the Province of Lower Canada and Upper Canada shall be the same or of the same design in each of the said Provinces as that used in the said Provinces respectively at the time of the existing Union until altered by the Local Government.
That there shall be a Local Legislature for Lower Canada composed of two Chambers, to be called the Legislative council and the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada.
That there shall be a Local Legislature for Upper Canada, which shall consist of one Chamber, to be called the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada.
That the Legislative Council of Lower Canada shall be composed of 21 members, to be appointed by the Crown under the Great Seal of the Local Government, who shall hold office during life, but if any Legislative Councillor shall for two consecutive Sessions of Parliament fail to give his attendance in the saif Council his seat shall thereby become vacant.
That the members of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada shall be British subjects by birth or naturalization of the full age of 30 years, shall possess a continuous real property qualification in Lower Canada of 4,000 dollars over and above all […], and shall continue worth that sum over and above their debts and liabilities.
That if any question shall arise as to the qualification of a Legislative Councillor in Lower Canada the same shall be determined by the Council.
That the speaker of the Legislative COuncil of Lower Canada (unless otherwise provided by the Local Parliament) shall be appointed by the Crown from among the members of the LEgislative Council, and shall hold office during pleasure, and shall only be entitled to a casting vote on an equality of votes.
That each of the 24 Legislative Councillors of Lower Canada shall be appointed to represent one of the 2 […] Electoral Divisions thereof unintentioned in Schedule A. of the first chapter of the Consolidated Statutes of Canada, and such Councillor shall reside or possess his qualification in the division he is appointed to represent.
That the legislative Assembly of Lower Canada shall be composed of the 65 members to be elected to represent the 65 Electoral Divisions into which Lower Canada is now divided under chapter 2 of the Consolidated Statutes of Canada, chapter 75 of the Consolidated Statutes for Lower Canada, and the Act 23 Vieteria, chapter 1, or of my other Aet amending the same in force at the time when the Local government shall be constituted, as well for representation in the Local Legislature thereof as in the House of Commons of the Federated Provinces : Provided that it shall not be lawful to present to the LIeutenant-Governor for assent any Bill of the Legislative Council and Assembly of Lower Canada by which the limits of the electoral divisions mentioned in the schedule hereto […] marked A. may be altered unless the second and third readings of such Bill in the Legislative Assembly shall have been passed with the concurrence of the majority of the members for the time being of the said Legislative Assembly representing the electoral divisions mentioned in said schedule marked A. and the assent shall not be given to such Bill unless and address has been presented by the Legislative Assembly to the LIeutenant-Governor that such Bill has been so passed.
That the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada shall be composed of […] to be elected to represent the 2 consitiuneries in Upper Canada, such consitiuneries being identical, whether for representation in the Local Legislative Assembly or for representation in the HOuse of Commons of the Federal Provinces, and which consitiuneries shall consist of the divisions and be bounded as is provided in the schedule hereto annexed marked ll.
That until other provisions are made the the Local Legislature of Lower and Upper Canada respectively, changing the same in either of the said Provinces, all the laws which at the date of the proclamation constituting the separate Provinces of Lower Canada and of Upper Canada shall be in force in each of the saif Provinces respectively, relating to the qualification and disqualification of any person to be elected or to sit or vote as a member of the Assembly of the Province of Canada, and relating to the qualification or disqualification of voters, and to the […] to be taken by voters, and to returning officers and their powers and duties, and relating to the proceedings at elections, and to the period during which such elections may be continued, and relating to the trial of controverted elections and the proceedings incident thereto, and relating to the vnenting of the seats of members, and to the

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issuing and execution of new writs in case of any seated being vacated otherwise than by a dissolution, shall respectively apply to elections of members to serve in the saif the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada and in the said the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada.

That the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada and the Legislative Assembly Of Upper Canada respectively shall continue for four years from the day of the return to the writes for choosing the sme and no longer, subject nevertheless to either the said the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada or the said the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada being sooner prorogued or dissolved by the Lieutenant-Governor of either the said Provinces respectively.
That there shall be a session of the Legislature of each of the said Provinces once at least every year, so that a period of 12 months shall not intervene between the last sitting of the Local Legislature in one session and the first sitting thereof in the next session.
That is expedient that any Act of the Imperial Parliament which may be passed for the Union of the Colonies of British North America should contain a provision that the division and adjustment of the debts, credits, liabilities, properties, and assets of the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada should be referred to the arbitrannent of three arbitrators, on to be chosen by the Local Government of Upper Canada, the other by the Local Government of Lower Canada, and the third by the General Government: it being further provided that the selection of the arbitrators shall not take place until after the General Parliament for British North America and Local Legislatures for Upper and Lower Canada have been elected. And that the third arbitrator shall not be a resident in either Upper of Lower Canada.

SCHEDULE A.

Electoral Divisions in Lower Canada referred to in the above Resolutions.

Comtimes of Pontiac. Counties of Shefford.

Ottawa. Stansted.

Argenteuil. Compton.

Huntingdon. Wolfe & Richmond.

Missisquoi. Megantie.

Brome. Town of Sherbrooke.

SCHEDULE B.

ELECTORAL DIVISIONS of UPPER CANADA.

Divisions to stand with their present Boundaries.

Counties of Prescott, Glengarry, Stormont, Dundas, Russell, Carleton, Prince Edward, halton, and Essex.

Ridings of counties: –Lanark North, Lanark South, Leeds and Grenville North Riding, South Riding Leeds, South Riding Grenville, Northumberland East, Northumberland West (less South Monaghan), Durham East, Durham West, Ontario North, Ontario South, York East, York West, York North, Wentworth North, Wentworth South, Elgin East, Elgin West, Waterloo North, Waterloo South, Brant North, Brant South, Oxford North, Oxford South, Middlesex East Riding.

Cities and towns: — Toronto East, Toronto West, Hamilton, Ottawa, Kingston, London, Brockville with the township of Elizabethtown. Niagara with the township of Niagara, Cornwall with the township of Cornwall.

New and altered Electoral Divisions.

District of Algoma.

County of Bruce divided into two ridings, to be called respectively the North and South Ridings.

The North Riding shall consist of the townships of Bury, Lindsay, Eastnor, Albemarle, Amahel, Aram, […], Elderslie, and Sangreen. And the village of Southampton.

The South Riding shall consist of the townships of Kineardine (including village), Greenock, Brant, Huron, Kinloss, Culross, and Carrick.

The county of Huron divided into two ridings, to be called respectively the North and South RIdings:–

The North Riding shall consist of the townships of Ashtields, Wawanosh, Turnberry, Howick, Morris, Grey, Colborne, Hullett including the village of Clinton. Md McKillop.

The South Riding shall consist of the town of Goderich and the townships of Goderich, Tuckersmith, Stanley, Hay, Usborne, and Stephen.

The county of Middlesex divided into three ridings, to be called respectively the North, West, and East Ridings:

The North Riding shall consist of the townships of McGillivray and Biddulph (taken from the county of Hyron), and WIlliams East, WIlliams West, Adelaide, and Lobo.

The West Riding shall consist of the townships of Delaware, Carradoe, Metcalfe, Mosa, and Ekfrid, and the village of Strathroy.

The East Riding shall consist of the townships now embraced therein, and be bounded as it is at present.

The county of Lambton shall consist of the townships of Bosanquet, Warwick, Plympton, Sarnia, Moore, Enniskillen, and Brooke, and the town of Sarnia.

The county of Kent shall consist of the townships of Chatham, Dover, East Tilbury, Rommey, Raleigh, and Harwich, and the town of Chatham.

The country of Bothwell shall consist of the townships of Sombra, Dawn, and Eupheunia (taken from the county of Lambton). And the townships of Zone, Camdett with the Gore thereof, Orford, and Howard (taken from the county of Keut).

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The county of Grey divided into two ridings, to be called respectively the South and North Ridings:–

The South Riding shall consist of the townships on Bentinck, Glenelg, Artemisia, Osprey, Normanby, Egremont, Proton, and Melancthon.

The North Riding shall consist of the townships of Collingwood, Euphrasia, Holland, Saint Vincent, Sydenham, Sullivan, Derby, and Keppel, Sarawak, and Broken, and the town of Owen Sound.

The county of Perth divided into two ridings, to be called respectively the South and North Ridings:–

The North Riding shall consist of the townships of Wallace, Elma, Logan, Elliee, Mornington, and North Easthope, and the town of Stratford.

The South Riding shall consist of the townships of Blanchard, Downie, South Easthope, Fullarton, Hibbert, and the villages of Mitchell and Ste. Marys.

The county of Wellington shall be divided into three ridings, to be called respectively North. South. And Centre Ridings :–

The North RIding shall consist of the townships of Amaranth. Arthur. Luther, Minto, Maryborough, Peel, and the village of Mount Forest.

The Centre Riding shall consist of the townships of Garafraxa, Erin, Eramosa, Nichol, and Pilkington, and the villages of Fergus and Elora.

The South Riding shall consist of the townships of Charlotteville, Houghton, Walsingham and Woodhouse, and with the Gore thereof.

The North RIding shall consist of the Townships of Middleton, Townsend, and Windham, and the town of Simcoe.

The county of Haldimand shall consist of the townships of ONeida, Seneca, Caguya North, Cayuga South, Rainham, Walpole, and Dumn.

The county of Monck shall consist of the townships of Camborough and Moulton and SHerbrooke, and the village of Dunville (taken from the country of Haldimand), the townships of Caistor and Gainsborough (taken from the county of Lincoln), and the townships of Pelham and Waintleet (taken from the county of Welland).

The county of LIncoln shall consist of the townships of CLinton, Grantham, […], and Louth, and the town of St. Catharines.

The county of Welland shall consist of the townships of Bertie, Crowland, Humberstone, Stamford, Thorold, and Willoughby, and the villages of Chippeway, Clifton, Fort Erie, Thorold, and Welland.

The county of Peel shall consist of the townships of Chinaguancousy, Toronto, and the Gore of Toronto, and the villages of Brampton and Streetsville.

The county of Cardwell shall consist of the townships of Albion and Caledon (taken from the county of Peel). And the townships of Adjala and Mono (taken from the county of Simcoe).

The county of Simcoe divided into two ridings, to be called respectively the South and the North Ridings :–

The South Riding shall consist of the townships of West Gwillimbury, Tecumseth, Innisfil, Essa, Tossorontio, Mulmur, and the village of Bradford.

The North RIding shall consist of the townships of Nottawasaga, Summidale, Vespra, FLos, Oro, Medonte, Orillia and Matebedash, Tiny and Tay, Balaklava and Robinson, and the towns of Barrie and Collingwood.

The county of Victoria divided into two ridings, to be called respectively the South and North Ridings:–

The South RIding shall consist of the townships of Ops, Mariposa, Emily Verulam, and the town of Lindsay.

The NOrth RIding shall consist of the townships of Anson, Besley, Carden, Dalton, Digby, Eldon, Fenelon, Hindon, Laxton, Lutterworth, Macaulay, and Draper, Sommerville, and Morrison, Muskoka, Monek and Watt (taken from the county of Simcoe), and any other surveyed townships lying to the north of the said North Riding.

The county of Peterborough divided into two ridings, to be called respectively the West and East Ridings:–

The West Riding shall consist of the townships of South Monaghan (taken from the county of Northumberland), North Monaghan, SMith and ENnismore, and the town of Peterborough.

The East Riding shall consist of the townships of Asphodel, Belmonth and Methuen, Douro, Dummer, Galway, Harvey, Minden, Stanhope and Dysart, Otonabee, and Snowden, and the village of Ashburnham, and any other surveyed townships lying to the north of the said East Riding.

The county of Hastings divided into three ridings, to be called respectively the West, East, and NOrth RIdings:–

The West riding shall consist of the townships of South Monaghan (taken from the county of Northumberland), North Monaghan, Smith and Ennismore, and the town of Peterborough.

The East Riding shall consist of the townships of Asphodel, Belmont, and Methren, Douro, Dummer, Galway, Harvey, Minden, Stanhope and Dysart, Otonabee, and Snowden, and the village of Ashburnham, and any other surveyed townships lying to the north of the said East Riding.

The county of Hastings, divided into three ridings, to be called respectively the West, East and North RIdings:–

The West Riding shall consist of the town of Belleville, the township of Sydney, and the village of Trenton.

The East Riding shall consist of the townships of THurlow, Tyendinaga, and Hungerford.

The North RIding shall consist of the townships of Rawdon, Huntingdon, Madoe, Elzevir, Tudor, Marmora, and Lake, and the village of Stirling, and any other surveyed townships lying to the north of the said North Riding.

The county of Lennox shall consist of the townships of RIchmond, Adolphustown, North Fredericksburgh, South Fredericksburgh, Ernestown, and Amherst Island, and the village of Napapnee.

The county of Assington shall consist of the townships of Canden, Protland, Shulield, Hinchinbrook, Kaladar, Kemebee, Olden, Oso, Angelsen, Barrie, Clarendon, Palwerston, Ellingtham, Abinger, Miller, Canonto, Denhigh, Loughborough, and Bedford.

The county of Frontenac shall consist of the townships of Kingston, Wolfe Island, Pittsburg and Bowe Island, and Storrington.

[Page 22]

The county of Renfrew divided into two ridings, to be called respectively the South and NOrth Ridings:–

The South RIding shall consist of the townships of McNab, Bagot, Blithfield, Broungham, Horton, Admaston, Grattan, Matawatehan, Griflith, Lyondoch, Radelife, Brudenell, Sebastopol, and the villages of Arnprior and Renfrew.

The North Riding shall consist of the townships of Ross, Bromley, Westmeath, Stafford, Pembroke, Wilherforce, Alive, Petawawa, Buchanan, South Algona, North Algona, Fraser, McKay, Wylie, Rolph, Head, Maria, Clara, Haggerty, Sherwood, Burns and Richards, and any other surveyed townships lying north-westerly of the said North RIding.

Clerk’s Office, Legislative Assembly, Attest,

August 18, 1866 WM. B. LINDSAY,

Clerk, L.A.

No.18.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Viscount MONCK to the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON.

(No.116.) Ottawa, August 16, 1866.

(Received August 29, 1866.)

My Lord, (Answered, No. 4 August 31, 1866, page 48.)

I HAVE the honour to transmit to your Lordship an Address to Her Majesty the Queen from the Legislative Council of Canada, praying that Her Majesty will be graciously pleased to cause a measure to be submitted to the Imperial Parliament for creating Local Governments and Legislatures in Canada East and Canada West respectively, after the union of the British NOrth American Colonies shall have been completed. I request that your Lordship will have the goodness to lay this address before the Queen.

The Right Hon. the Earl of Carnarvon, I have, &c.

&c, &c, &c, (Signed) MONCK.

Enclosure in No. 18.

A Sa très-Excellente Majesté la Reine.

TRÉS-GHACIEESE SOUVERAINE,

Nous les très-fidèles et loyaux sujeets de Votre Majesté, le Counsed Législatif du Canada, rénnis en Parlement Provincial, approchous humblement de Votre Majesté, pour prier Votro Majesté de vouloir bien gracieusement faire sou[…] au Gouvernement Imperial […] mesure pour ereer un Gouvernement local et une Législature locale pour le Baset le Hant Canada respectivement, après que l’Union des Provinces de l’Amérique Britannique du Nord aura été consommée, avec des [incomplete french portion page 22-25]

[Page 25]

No. 19.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Viscount MONCK to the Right Hon. The Earl of CARNARVON.

(NO. 147.) Quebec, September 25, 1866.

My LORD, (Received, October 10, 1866.)

REFERRING to your Lordship’s Despatch, No. 39, * of the 31st […], i have the honour to transmit for your Lordship’s information an approved Minute of the Executive Council of this Province, stating the course which is proposed to be adopted by the Canadian Delegates on the subject of Union about proceeding to England, and the reasons on which that course is founded.

I beg leave to add the expression of my own opinion that the leading members of my Administration ought not to leave the Province before the time mentioned in this minute.

The Right Hon. the Earl of Carnarvon, I have, &c.

&c. &c. &c. (Signed) MONCK.

Enclosure in No.10.

COPY of a REPORT of a Committee of the Honourable the Executive Council, approved by His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the 2[…] September 1866.

THE Committee have had before them a Despatch, No.30, dated 31st August 1866, from the Right Hon. the Secretary of State for the Colonies. Stating that the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick delegates have been now for some weeks in England with a view to the discussion of the various questions relative to the Confederation of the British North American Provinces, and have repeatedly inquired of him the period by which the Canadian Colleagues may be expected.

That he shall be glad to be informed at the earliest possible date of the course which it is proposed by them to adopt.

His Lordship states that any unnecessary delay in the settlement of this question is very undesirable, and that also the prolonged detention of the delegates now in England is attended with much inconvenience to them and to the Governments of which they are members.

That if any appearance of impending Fenian disturbance should render it unfit for your Excellency to quit your post, or if the same causes should make the delegates feel that they cannot all of them leave the Province, it might deserve their consideration whether some of their number could repair at once to England to enter into the proposed discussion.

The Committee would respectfully state for the information of the Lord Carnarvon that the Canadian Parliament as its first Session in 1865, after the meeting of the Quebec Conference, adopted Resolutions

[Page 26]

approving the Scheme of Union proposed by that Conference, but that the Legislature of NOva Scotia declined to approved of that scheme, or to adopt resolutions in favour of an union of the Provinces until the spring of the present year, and the LEgislature of New Brunswick did not adopt such resolutions until the latter part of the month of July.

That so soon as it appeared probable that the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick would assent to a Scheme of Confederation, the Canadian Parliament was summoned, and measures to provide for the local Governments, which under the Quebec Scheme were required to be adopted by the existing Legislatures of the respective Provinces, were submitted for its consideration.

That while these measures were before Parliament, it was proposed by the Governments of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, that Delegates from the three Provinces should assemble in ENgland about the 1st of August, with the view of discussing and agreeing to a BIll for Confederation, to be submitted to the Imperial Parliament, which it was supposed would still be in Session.

That although the Canadian Government doubted that any measures based on the REsolutions of the QUebec Conference, could be prepared and carriers through the Imperial Parliament at so late a period of the Session, they promised to advise your Excellency to send a delegation of their number to England, by the seamer of the 21st July, if the progress of legislation and the state of public business would permit.

That before the date mentioned, and before the Delegates for Nova Scotia and New Brunswick had sailed for England, your Excellency received information which convinced your Excellency that is would not be possible to carry through Parliament at its then Session, any BIll for the COnfederation of the British North American Provinces.

That shortly afterwards and before the Delegates had left for England, your Excellency received notice of the resignation of Mr. Cardwell and his colleagues, and the accession of a new Government. That in view of these circumstance your Excellency was advised to inform the Governors of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and your Excellency was advised did inform them that as it was evident that no measure for Confederation could be prepared and carried through Parliament in the Session then about to close, the Canadian Delegates would not leave Canada at the time stated.

That the prorogation of the Imperial Parliament on the 12th of August proved that the apprehensions of the Canadian Government were well founded. If, therefore, the Delegates from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick had postponed their departure as they were requested to do, they would not have suffered the inconvenience to thich Lord Carnarvon refers.

The Committee respectfully submit that it would not be expedient for any of the leading members of the Canadian Government to proceed to England while the Province is threatened with invasion by a formidable body of Fenian marauders from the United States.

The Committee believes that by the close of navigation this danger will be passed; or, if not, that such preparations will have been made to meet it that no apprehension need be felt for the result.

The Committee are further of opinion that as the next Session of the Imperial Parliament will not probably be held before February 1867, ample time will be afforded for the discussion of any question that may arise between the representatives of the Provinces and the Imperial Government if the Delegates assemble in England about the 20th of November.

They would, therefore, respectfully recommend your Excellency to inform lord Carnarvon that the following gentlemen have been appointed by your Excellency, viz.: Hon. JOhn A. Macdonald, Hon. Geo. E. Cartier, Hon. A. T. Galt, Hon. Wm. McDougall. HOn. W. P. HOwland, and HOn. H. L. Langevin, and such other gentlemen as may be hereafter named to the delegation on behalf of Canada, and that it is their intention to leave Canada for England on the 7th day of November next.

Certified,

W. A. HEMSWORTH,

Asst. C. E. C.

No. 20.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Viscount MONCK to the Right Hon. The Earl of CARNARVON.

(NO. 150.) Quebec, September 28, 1866.

(RECEIVED October 19, 1866.)

MY LORD, (Answered, No. 80, October 18, 1866, page 50.)

I HAVE the honour to transmit herewith a copy of a telegraphic message which i addressed to your Lordship on the 24th instant.

I have, &c.

The Right Hon. the Earl of Carnarvon, (Signed) MONCK.

&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 20.

Lord Carnarvon, London.

Quebec, September 24, 1866

All the Canadian Delegates intend sailing for England the 7th of November.

MONCK.

No. 21.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Viscount MONCK to the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON.

(No. 152.) Quebec, October 1, 1866.

MY LORD, (RECEIVED October 23, 1866.)

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordships Despatch, No. 50, * of September 14th, respecting the departure for England of the Canadian Delegates on the Union question.

[Page 27]

My Despatch, No. 147, * of September 25th, will have informed your Lordship of the time fied by the Canadian Ministers for going to England, and of the reasons why a partial representation from Canada could not, in their opinion, be attended with any practical results.

I have, &c.

The Right Hon. the Earl of Carnarvon, (Signed) MONCK.

&c. &c. &c.

No. 22.

COPY of a DESPATCH from VIscount MONCK to the Right Hon, The Earl of CARNARVON.

(Separate.) Quebec, November 3, 1866.

(Received November 21, 1866.)

MY LORD, (Answered. No. 100, November 22, 1866, page 50)

I BEG leave to introduce to your Lordship the HOnourable William Macdougall, Provincial Secretary of this Province, and the HOnourable HEctor Langevin, Postmaster-General, who are about to proceed to England as two of the delegates nominated by the Executive Council of Canada to consult with your Lordship and the delegates from the Provinces of NOva Scotia and New Brunswick on the subject of the union of British North America.

I have, &c.

The Right Hon. the Earl of Carnarvon, (Signed) MONCK.

&c. &c. &c.

No. 23.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Viscount MONCK to the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON.

Quebec, November 23, 1866.

(Received November 21, 1866)

MY LORD, (Answered. No. 104. November 23, 1866. Page 50)

REFERRING to your Lordship’s Despatch, No. 63, * of September 26th and enclosure, I have the honour to transmit for your information a copy of an approved Minute of the Executive council of this Province on the subject of that Despatch.

In obedience to your Lordship’s instructions i have already transmitted a copy of this Minute to the Lieutenant-Governor of Prince Edward Island.

I have, &c.

The Right Hon. the Earl of Carnarvon, (Signed) MONCK

&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 23

COPY of a REPORT of a COMMITTEE of the Honourable the Executive Council, approved by His Excellency the Governor-General in Council on the 22nd October 1866.

The Committee of Council have had under consideration the Despatch of the Colonial Secretary to Your Excellency of the 26th September last, and the accompanying resolution of the delegates from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and they now beg leave to report.

That the resolution referred to is as follows: —

“At a meeting of the Delegates from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick held at the Alexandra Hotel, London, on the 22nd day of September 1866, all being present expert the Hon. Mr. Wihnot. It was unanimously resolved that inasmuch as the co-operation of Prince Edward Island, though not indispensable to a union of the British North American Provinces, is on many accounts very desirable and as the settlement of the land question which has so long and so injuriously agitated that Colony, would be attended with great benefit, and at the same time place the local government of the island, by the possession of the proprietary lands, more on a footing with the other Provinces which have Crown Lands and minerals as a source of local revenue.

“Therefore resolved —

“That in case the Legislature of the Island should authorize the appointment of delegates to act in conjunction with those from the other Provinces in arranging a plant of co-operation prior to the meeting of the Imperial Parliament, the delegated from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are hereby pledged to support the policy of providing such an amount as may be necessary for the purchase of the proprietary rights, but not to exceed eight hundred thousand dollars. ($800,000).”

[Page 28]

It would seem from this resolution that the gentlemen from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick pledge themselves as delegates, and not as representing the governments of their respective Provinces, to support the policy of providing the amount mentioned.
As their powers will expire with the settlement of the scheme of union, it is to be inferred that their pledge can only be carried out by their advocating the insertion of a clause in the Imperial Act, binding the future Government and Legislature of United British North America to pay the sum of $800,000.
The Canadian Government do not consider that they have any power or right to consent to the payment of that or any sum without the previous consent of the Canadian Parliament, and they therefore cannot consider upon their delegates power which they do not themselves possess.
The Committee fully appreciate the motives which induced the delegated from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to adopt the resolution, and they agree with the delegation as to the desirableness of bringing Prince Edward Island into the contemplated union.
The Committee are of opinion that ever proper exertion should be made for that purpose, and recommend that the subject of the adjustment of the land question should be fully discussed by the delegates from the three Provinces in London, in […] liberal spirit. Should the result of the discussion be that in the opinion of the delegates pecuniary compensation should be given to the proprietors for the surrender of the proprietary rights, the Committee would further recommend that the Canadian Delegation be authorized to join with those from the Maritime Provinces in a strong representation to the first Government and Parliament of the united Provinces in favour of their granting the compensation agreed upon by them.
Certified,
W. H. LEE, C. E. C

No. 21.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Viscount MONCK to the Right Hon.
the Earl of CARNARVON
(Separate) Quebec, November 5, 1866.
(Received November 21, 1866)
MY LORD, (Answered. No. 100. November 22, 1866, page 50.)
I BEG leave to introduce to your Lordship the Honourable John Alexander Macdonald, Attorney-General for Canada, West, the Honourable George Etienne Cartier, Attorney-General, Canada East, the Honourable WIlliam Howland, Finance Minister, and the Honourable Alexander T. Galt, M P. P., who with the HOnourable W. Macdougall and the Honourable H. Langevin introduced to your lordship in my “Seperate” Despatch of the 3rd instant, * constitute the delegation from Canada appointed to confer with your Lordship and the representatives of the other Provinces on the subject of the union of British North America.
I have, &c.
The Right Hon. the Earl of Carnarvon, (Signed) MONCK
&c. &c. &c.

No. 25.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Viscount MONCK to the Right Hon.
the Earl of CARNARVON

(No. 203.) Quebec, November 29, 1866
(Received December 14, 1866)
MY LORD (Answered. No. 119, December 17, 1866, page 50.)
I HAVE the honour to transmit herewith to your Lordship an Address to Her Majesty the Queen from the Provincial Association of Protestant Teachers of Lower Canada, and to request that it may be laid at the foot of the Throne.
I have, &c.
The Right Hon. the Earl of Carnarvon, (Signed) MONCK
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 25
To the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty.
THE petition of the Provincial Association of Protestant Teachers of Lower Canada:
Humbly sheweth,
That notwithstanding the legislative union of Upper and Lower Canada, there exists in each portion of the United Provinces a distinct educational system.
That under the Educational Law of Lower Canada, and in consequence of the denominational character of the schools of the Roman Catholic majority, your Majesty’s subjects professing the Protestant faith are subjected to serious disadvantages ; first, in being deprived of the benefits of a general system of education similar to that enjoyed by their fellow subjects in Upper Canada ; secondly, in their liability to be taxed for the support of Roman Catholic schools ; and thirdly in the difficulties which they experience in establishing non-denominational or separate schools and seminaries of higher education for themselves.
That though the injury thus inflicted on education has been the subject of frequent complaints on the part of the Protestants in this Province, and has caused many families to leave this country for others in thich they might avoid such inconveniences, no remedy has hitherto been granted by the Legislature.
That In prospect of the confederation of the Provinces under the constitution adopted at the Quebec Conference, buy which it was proposed that education should be under the control of the local Legislature, the Protestants of Lower Canada became alarmed lest they should continue to labour under these disadvantages: and to allay the feeling thus generally existing solemn pledges were made by members of the Government that the grievances complained of should be redressed by parliamentary action before confederation.
That though a bill for this purposes was introduced by Government in the last session of the Legislature, it was almost immediately withdrawn, and unless provisions to this end can be introduced into the Imperial Act of Confederation, your memorialists fear that their educational rights will be lefts to the control of the majority in the local Legislature without and guarantee whatever.
That while your petitioners would prefer a general and non-denominational system of education, they believe that, so long as the present system of separate schools shall continue in Lower Canada, they may justly claim the following privileges as constitutional rights, which should in no way depend on the vote of the local Legislature:–

1. That all direct taxes for the support of schools, paid by Protestants unless otherwise designated by themselves, should be applied to Protestant or non-denominational education, and that all public moneys given for the same purpose should be divided between Protestants and Roman Catholics in proportion to population.
2. That suitable and adequate provision should be made for the protection of the educational interests of Protestants in the management of educational funds, the establishment and proper classification of schools and institutions of superior education, and generally in the administration of educational affairs.
Wherefore Your petitioners lumbly pray Your most Gracious Majesty to take their cases, as above stated, into Your favourable consideration, with a view to the introduction of proper and just safeguards into the Imperial Act of Confederation should such Act be passed.
And Your petitioners will ever pray,
(Signed) J.W. DAWSON, L L. D., F.R.S., F.G.S., President of the Association
JOHN H. GRARAM, A.M., Vice President.
EDWIN HAREN, Clerk, B.A., Vice President.
P.J. DARLY, MA., Secretary of the Association.
Montreal, November 23rd, 1866.

No. 26.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-General Sir J. MiCHEL to the Right Hon.
the Earl of CARNARVON.

(No. 6.) Montreal, December 12, 1866.
(Received December 28, 1866.)
MY LORD, (Answered, No. 123, January 5, 1867, page 51.)
I HAVE the honour to transmit herewith two Memorials to your Lordship, from the Roman Catholic Bishops of Canada East and Canada West respectively.
I have, &c
The Right Hon. the Earl of Carnarvon, (Signed) J. MICHEL.
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure 1 in No.26.
To the Right Honourable the Earl of CARNARVON, Principal Secretary of State to Her Majesty
for the Colonies.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR LORDSHIP,
AT a time when questions upon which the future happiness and prosperity of Canada entirely depend are being discussed, and a Bill is to be introduced into the Imperial Parliament which will affect a thorough change in the constitution and government of this country, we, the undersigned bishops of Upper Canada, consider it our duty to address your Lordship, and to demand respectfully that the interests of the Catholic population of Upper Canada be carefully guarded in the constitution about to be framed for the future government of British America,
During the last session of our Canadian Legislature, a Bill was introduced by one of the members of the present Government, with a view of securing for the Protestant minority of Lower Canada certain rights and privileges in establishing and governing their schools.
The Roman Catholic Bishops of Upper and Lower Canada, being at that time assembled in Montreal, addressed to His Excellency the Governor-General a memorial, in which they declared themselves quite willing to see their Protestant fellow citizens secure in the enjoyment of the perfect freedom in educational matters. They at the same time urges the justice of granting to the minority in Upper Canada the same advantages which were demanded for the Protestant minority of Lower Canada.
This demand, so evidently just met with such violent opposition that the Government was forced to withdraw its proposed measure.
We now learn from the public papers that it is the intention of the Canadian Delegates to bring up this matter in London, and to secure for the Protestant minority of Lower Canada the rights which they sought to give them by the Bill which was introduced during the last session. We know not what it is the intention of the Delegates to do in favor of the Catholic minority in Upper Canada.
We rejoice to think that a matter of such vital importances is to be brought before a tribunal entirely free from all party feeling, where it will be carefully examined, the just claims of all dispassionately discussed, and a settlement arrived at which will giver general satisfaction.
Moreover, we are serious of expressing to your Lordship our high regard for the members of our present Government. We know that they are truly liberal, that they are free from all sectarian animosity, and sincerely desire to do justice to all. We confidently hope that they will not overlook the claims of the Catholic minority in Upper Canada, and that they will obtain for them the same rights and privileges that may be granted to the minority in Lower Canada.
Deeply impressed with the importance of this subject, we […] leave to bring the matter before your Lordship and to request that the claims of our people may receive consideration.
The Catholics of Canada have ever been ready to concede to all perfect freedom in matters of education. The history of the Colony show that whilst zealously watching over the education of our youth, the Catholic clergy have never, in any way sought to restrict the rights of the Protestants in education of their children, But whilst we cheerfully grant to our Protestant fellow subjects this full liberty of action, we claim for ourselves the same right. We ask nothing but what we are ready and willing to give to others: at the same time we deem it our duty to declare solemnly that neither we nor the people we govern will ever be satisfied with less.
We respectfully desire to call your Lordships Attention to the absolute necessity of avoiding in the new Constitution about to be given the Province of British North America every thing that might create disaffection in the minds of the people and be a foundation for future strife and dissension. It is of the highest importance that in a country like this, where there exists such a diversity of language, nationality, and religion, everything that might give rise to divisions or endanger the peace of society should be sedulously avoided. Now we humbly beg […] to say that by no means whatsoever can lasting peace and prosperity be secured except by giving to all an equal measure of justice, and by placing all, without distinction, on terms of perfect equality But were other […] unfortunately to prevail, were odious dis-intentions to be drawer, were the minority in Lower Canada to be secured in the possession of rights which would be refused to […] minority in Upper Canada, then we might soon expect to [..] the bitter fruits of so unwise and so unjust a policy.
The Catholics of Canada, headed by their bishops and priests have always proved themselves to be loyal subjects of Her Gracious Majesty. We have ever been ready to do all in our power to strengthen the lands which unite us so happily to the British Empire and ensure to us the blessings of the British constitution. What we have […] done we shall continue to do with the same success as long as we are considered as subjects of Her Majesty and are treated as such. Buth should the dishes of some foolish and misguided men be accomplished. Should it become apparent that the Catholic in Canada is not to be put on an equal footing with his Protestant fellow subjects your Lordship must clearly see that our moral power over the feelings of our people would be greatly weakened. In not entirely destroyed, and that under such circumstance, were we even to continue to inculcate lessons of loyalty and obediences, our words would be of no avail, and all our efforts to sustain law and order would be useless.
If we have indulged in these collections it is not, we beg to assure your Lordship from any sentiments of fear or distrust. We are convinced of the fairness and justice of our demands. We place entire confidence in the noble Lord whom our beloved Queen has appointed to watch over the interests of Her subjects in this distant portion of Her vst empire. We confidently hope that the just demands which we make in the name of upwards of [..] who constitute the Catholic minority of Upper Canada will be granted: that equal privileges and equal guarantees will be given to the minorities in Upper and Lower Canada with respect to educational matters,and that peace among all class will be permanently established.
Any your memorialists, as in duty bound, will ever pray

+ JOS, {…}, Bishop of Ottawa
+ JOHN […], Bishop of Hamilton.
+ ADOLPH, Bishop of Sandwich.
+ […], Bishop of Kingston
+ JOHN JOSEPH […}, Bishop of Toronto
Kingston, November 8th, […]

Enclosure 2 in No. 26.
To the Right Honourable the Earl of CARNARVON, Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for
the Colonies.
MAY […] YOUR LORDSHIP,
The undersigned, the Roman Cotholic Bishops of Lower Canada, after having attentively read the memorial addressed to your Lordship by the Roman Catholic Bishops of Upper Canada, deem it their duty to declare in the most solemn manner that they entirely […] in all the demands […] in the memorial, because they consider them to be founded on principles of common justives.
Have ever been ready to concede to all, without exception, the fullest measure of liberty in the matter of education, the undersigned feel that they have the right to demand that their people be put in possession of that same liberty and in the enjoyment of all […] that may be granted to others.
The undersigned are deeply impressed with the conviction that unless the question of education which has been an embarrassment […] and a limited source of discussions and heart burnings among the poele, be now finally and permanently settled in the Imperial Government, It will still continue to cause troubles, and will produced in a non-distant future the most deplorable results.

The undersigned therefore unite with the Bishops of Upper Canada in requesting respectfully that your Lordship would give to this grave question all the attention it deserves, and that a clause he inserted in the new Constitution about to be given to these Provinces, assuring to the Catholics of Upper Canada, who for a strong minority in that portion of the Province, all the rights and privileges which may be conceded to the Protesetant minority in Lower Canada.
And your memorialists, as in duty bound, will ever pray
+ C.F., Bishop of Floa, Administrator of Quebec.
+ Lg., Bishop of Montreal.
+ Thomas. Bishop of Three Rivers.
Quebec, November 21st, 1866. + C., Bishop of St. Hyacinthe

No.27.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut-General Sir J. MICHEL to the Right Hon.
the Earl of CARNARVON
(No.8.) Montreal, December 13, 1866
(Received December 28, 1866.)
MY LORD, (Answered, No. 12. January 7, 1867, page 51.)
I HAVE the honour to transmit herewith a letter addressed to your Lordship by the Honourable A. A. Doron, together with a memorial on the subject of the Confederation of the British North American Colonies, signed by himself and by other members of the Provincial Parliament.

The Right Hon. the Earl of Carnarvon, I have, &c.
&c. &c. &c. (Signed) J. MICHEL

Enclosure in No.27.
To the Right Honourable the Early CARNARVON, Principal Secretary for the Colonies.

MY LORD,
I HAVE had the honour of receiving a letter dated the 23rd of November, written by your Lordships discretion, acknowledging the receipt of a communication respecting the proposed Confederation of the British North American Provinces, addressed to your Lordship by 20 Lower Canadain Representatives.
I now […] leave to enclose a duplicate of that communication, which was forwarded in the first instance without the intermediation of the Governor, in order to place your Lordship in possession at the earliest possible moment of considerations believed to be important on a subject of great interest, not only to Canada but also to the other Provinces and to the empire, under the impression (euroneons), i am now informed it was not of a character to bring it necessarily within the operation of the rule to which your Lordship has directed my attention.

I have, &c.
(Signed) A. A. DOMON.

Sub-Enclosure in No.27.
To the Right Honourable the Earl of CARNARVON, Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State
for the Colonies.

MY LORD,
As it has been announced that Delegates from the Canadian Government will shortly proceed to England to confer with Her Majestys imperial advisers respecting the proposed Confederation of the British North American Provinces with the view of urgin legislation on the subject at the next Session of the Imperial Parliament, we deem it our duty as representatives in Parliament of 20 populous constituencies in Lower Canada, to submit to your Lordship some considerations which we venture to hope will not be thought wholly underservince of attention by those with whom rests the responsibility of deciding whether these important subjects is to be regarded al already ripe for final legislation, or might to await the further development and more authentic expression of popular opinion in the Provinces. Numbering nearly a third of the representatives of Lower Canada, we are convinced that on this subject we reflect the opinions of a majority of Her people.
We assume that Her Majesty’s Government, adhering to the wise policy which for a quarter of a century has been productive of the most beneficent results, the policy on conceding to Colonies possessing representative institutions all the right of local self-government, including the right to remodel to suit their varying circumstances those institutions themselves, has no desire to impose this scheme of Confederation on the Provinces from motives of imperial policy. Indeed we can discern no imperial object consistent with a desire to preserve the […] between the Colonies and the mother country that would be prompted by a Federal Union of these Provinces accomplished without […] consent or contrary to the known wishes of their people. If it should appear that the people of this Province, so far from having consented to the sweeping changes in their institutions and in their relations to the other Provinces and to the Empire contemplated by this scheme of Confederation, have never had an opportunity of pronouncing a decision upon the question, a proper regard for their rights and every principle of sound statesmanship would seem to require the postponement of the final determination of the Imperial Government. If the measure be a good one and the people are really in favour of it, no injurious consequence can flow from the delay of a year during which the public sentiment in regard to it can be tested in the usual constitutional manner, while if it be carried now without this precaution and it should subsequently be found to be unacceptable to the majority of the people in in any of the Provinces, an event which we believe is certain to occur in Lower Canada — and agitation for its repeal or for other constitutional changes would inevitably arise — inaugurating an era of instability and discontent prejudicial in the last degree to every interest in the Provinces, and exceedingly irksome to the statement of the Empire.
We have intimated the people of this Province have never had an opportunity to express their approval or disapproval of the proposed Confederation, and in support of this statement we now proceed to trace the steps by which the question has been brought to its present position.
From time to time, during the last 20 years the union of these Provinces has been advocated by public men and public writers of more or less prominence, both in the Colonies and in the mother country, but no practical step looking to its accomplishment was taken the public men of Canada, acting under Ministerial responsibility, until 1859. Early in that year Messrs. Cartier, Ross, and Galt, while in England on public business, addressed a despatch to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, in which they recommended a Federal Union of all the British NOrth American Provinces as a means of reconciling the conflicting claims of Upper and Lower Canada respecting the basis of representation under the existing Union. The question discussed in this despatch was not, however, submitted to Parliament in any […] form on the return of the signers to Canada, nor during the whole term of office, extending to 1862. Of the administration to which they belonged. Mr. John A. Macdonald, then as now the leader of the Conservative party in Upper Canada, and the leading mind of the Administration, was in declared opposition to the principle of Federation, whether applied to all the Provinces or to Canada alone down to the ministerial crisis of June 1861. Mr. Brown. The leader of the Liberal party in Upper Canada, though favouring the adoption of a Federal Union between Upper and Lower Canada, if representation based on populated were not conceded to Upper Canada, was opposed to a Federal Union of all the Provinces. In Lower Canada the members of both political parties with here and there individual exceptions, rejected all propositions looking to immediate union, either Legislative or Federative, with the Maritime Provinces. Indeed the publication of the despatch already referred to […] a condemnation of the project, so prompt, so general, and so decided, that from 1859 down to the ministerial crisis in June 1861 the question of a union of all the Provinces had no influence on the politics of the country, was rarely mentioned in Parliament or discussed in public journals, and was not at all in issue, either at the general election of 1861 or that of 1863. In the latter year the present Parliament was elected. Neither in Upper nor in Lower Canada did the constitutional system to which the people had become strongly attached. True there were some difficult political problems to be solved, but they were certain to find a solution without resorting to organic changes by the exercise of ordinary patience on the part of the people and of even common place statesmanship of the part of their leaders. True, too, there had been errors, and perhaps worse than errors, of administration, and extravagant — even profligate — expenditure: but theses evils are incident to every form of government, while under representative institutions, the people have the remedy in their own hands, a remedy which the people of Canada would undoubtedly have applied with great toughness if they had not been diverted from their purpose by the extraordinary movement to change their whole system of government which we shall presently have occasion to explain. The election of 1863 turned mainly on the questions of a practical character we have just referred to. The result gave to the LIberal ministry of the day, whose most pressing task was the restoration of the finances from the great disorder into which they had been thrown […] predecessors, only a narrow majority, so narrow indeed that, finding themselves unable to command the Parliamentary support required to carry comprehensive measures of financial and administrative reform, they resigned early in the session of 186`. Their opponents returned to office. There was no pretence of a constitutional difficulty: no necessity for constitutional changes was alleged. A simple change of administration took place. A few weeks later a debate arose in Committee of Supply touching the acts of ministers when previously in office. This led to a resolution condemning specifically one of their acts being offered by the opposition. On the motion for going into Committee of Supply on the 11th June 1861 it was moved in amendment. That a humble address be presented to his Excellency the “Governor General. Representing that in June 1859 an advance of $100,000 was made from the public “chest without the authority of Parliament for the redemption of bonds for a like amount of the city of Montreal. Which bonds were redeemable by the Grand Trunk Railway Company : threat by the terms of the Order in Council of the 1st June 1859 the Receiver General was authorized to redeem the said bonds on account of the city of Montreal, and to hold the same till the amount so advanced ($100,000). With interest at six percent, be repaid to the Government by the city of Montreal subject to the condition that the said city do immediately levy the necessary rate to meet their indebtedness under the Municipal Loan Fund Act, and that the amount so advanced be repaid within three months : that the city of Montreal [……] the condition of paying its in elatedness under the Municipal Loan Fund Act, the bonds in question were delivered by the Receiver General to the City Treasurer on the 14th September […], whereby all claim against the city of Montreal was relinquished : that under the instruction of the then Minister of Finance, conveyed in a letter dated London, [..] December 1859, addressed to Mr. Betlienstein of the Receiver General’s Department, the amount of the said advance was transferred to the debit of the financial agents of the Proncince in London, who deny that they ever consented to become liable therefore : and that in view of the facts above recited this House would be failing in its duty if it did not express uts disapprobation of an unauthorized advance of a large amount of public money and on the subsequent departure from the conditions of the Order in Council under which the advance was made.” This resolution was regarded by ministers as one of want of confidence, and was carried by a majority of two. The resolution and the […] upon it had reference solely to administrative act coing appropriately under the review of Parliament, and a parliamentary condemnation of the minister was the result.
A crisis of seven days duration followed this vote, Ministers advised his Excellency the Governor General to dissolve the House. This advice his Excellency, after considerable delay, and it is believed with some hesitation, in not reluctance, finally accepted. Misiters, however, were obviously unwilling to resort to a dissolution on the issue raided by the resolution just quoted, as the elections must have turned wholly on the merits of their previous administration of the finances, in respect to which there was a strong and wide-spread feeling of dissatisfaction. To avert an appeal to the country on so inconvenient an issue, and to evade at the same time the consequences of the pointend condemnation just pronounced by Parliament, negotiations for an Upper Canadian coalition were opened with Mr. Brown, a leading member of the Upper Canada opposition. These negotiations resulted in the accession to office of Mr. Brown and two of his friends, no change being made in the personnel of the Lower Canadain section of the Administration. This rehabilitation of a defeated and condemned Administration was accomplished by means of an agreement that the consent of the Maritime Provinces to a Federal Union of all the Provinces should be sought during the Parliamentary recess, and that, failing to obtain such consent before the re-assembling of Parliament in the January following, a plan of a Federal Union, applicable to Canada alone, should then be brought forward.
Thus was formed a coalition between men who had been for years in violent political and personal hostility, for the purpose of carrying either a measure to which both parties had been previously opposed or in the not improbable event of its failure, another measure to which one of the parties had been even more strenuously opposed. The project of a Federal Union of Canada alone had, from its interception, been denounced by Messi’s, Macdonald and Cartier in the language of derision and scorn. Now, however, to gain the support of a section of their opponents, and thereby obviate a dissolution which they clearly foresaw would result result in disastrous defeat by their party and in the approval by the country of condemnation of themselves jus pronounced by Parliament, these gentlemen adopted they project as their own, and were prepared to carry it, as they not propose to carry the Scheme of Confederation, without consulting the people, if only the assent of a Parliament, elected without and reference to organic changed, could be obtained.
It is proper that we should now refer to proceedings which are sometimes alleged to have exerted an important, but which we believe to had no appreciable influence on the course of events. We allude to the appointment of a committee of the House of Assembly on motion of Mr. Brown in the Session of 1862 to inquire into the subjects embraced in the despatch of Messrs. Cartier, Galt, and Ross to the Colonial Minister of 1859., and to report on that Committee which was in the following words : –”The Committee have held eight meetings, and have endeavoured to find some solution for “existing difficulties likely to receive the assent of both sections of the Province. A strong feeling “was found to exist among the members of the Committee in favour of changes in the direction of a “Federative system applied either to Canada alone or to the whole of the British North American Provinces, and such progress has been made as to warrant the Committee in recommending that the “subject be again referred to a Committee at the next Session of Parliament”. This report was not acted upon by the House, and was regarded by every one as being, what it in fact describes itself to be, a mere prelude to further impurity and ample discussion. But faintly even as this report points to the possible adoption of a “Federative Stemet,” it was opposed in Committee by John A. Macdonald, then as now the leader of the House, but who is not striving to impose a “Federative System” on his countrymen, without ascertaining, in the only way known to our Constitution, whether they share his present views or adhere to those uniformly expressed down to the crisis of June 1861.
The Canadian Cabinet having been reconstruction din the manner and for the purposes we have described, it was thought to be necessary, as preliminary to negotiations with the Maritime Provinces for their union with Canada, to secure the defeat, or at least the postponement, of the project of a Legislative union between Nova scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, the initial steps towards which had with the sanction of Her Majesty’s Government been taken by the Governments and Legislatures of the three Provinces. In this the Canadian Ministers were successful. We think it is to be regretted that a different course was not pursued, for the union of these three small Provinces, two of them contiguous to each other, and the third separated from the mainland by a narrow strait, with conditions, would seem a natural and desirable arrangement, wither with or without reference to their ultimate union with Canada: while in view of the later event, the previous consolidation of the smaller Provinces would obviate many difficulties and render possible the adoption of a less complicated and costly system of government that would be necessary if they should enter the proposed Confederation as separate Provinces. Our Ministers, however, in their haste to achieve in a few weeks what, to be well done, should be the work of years, ignored these obvious considerations and […] the representatives of the three Provinces assembles at Charlottetown in September 1864 to abandon the object for which they had been appointed until a conference of delegates from all the Provinces could be held to consider the question of a general union.
A motive for the extraordinary course pursued by the Canadian Government may perhaps be deduced from the confisition on which Mr. Brown became a member of it. He stipulated, it will be remembered, that failing to obtain the assent of the Maritime Provinces to a general scheme of union before the next meeting of the Canadian Parliament, the Government should then be bound to submit a measure providing a Federative System for Canada alone, a project which has always been extremely obnoxious to Mr. Brown’s Conservative colleagues. Though they had pledged themselves to bring it forward in a certain contingency, they were naturally anxious that the contingency should not arise. Hence the […] with which something that could be represented as implying the assent of the Maritime Provinces to Confederation was sought, and hence also the motive, though a very inadequate one, for thwarting the movement which had made such hopeful progress for the union of the Maritime Provinces.
Delegates from all the provinces appointed by their several Governments, thought without previous parliamentary authority, assembled at Quebec in October 1864, and the result of some days deliberation with closed doors was what is known as the Quebec scheme embodied in a series of 72 resolutions, 16254.

These resolutions when approved by the several Provincial Legislatures were to form the basis of an Act of the Imperial Parliament, superseding the present constitutions of all the Provinces. The Canadian Parliament met in the following January, and was asked by the Government to adopt an address to Her Majesty, praying for the passage of an Imperial Act founded on the resolutions of the Quebec conference, without having considered those resolutions in committee, or passing upon them seriatin in any way. This course was objected to, but fruitlessly, as being wholly at variance with established parliamentary usage both in England and in this country, and the more effectively to shut out all consideration of details the precious question was moved by the Government. While the debate on this address was in progress many numerously attended public meetings were held in Lower Canada, and petitions praying that the scheme of Confederation might not be adopted without a constitutional appeal to the people were pouring into Parliament when the result of the general election in New Brunswick became known. As the popular verdict in that Province was overwhelmingly averse to the scheme, there seemed to be no probability of its consummation during the term of the present Canadian Parliament, and the popular agitation in Lower Canada consequently ceased. Notwithstanding the emphatic rejection of the scheme by the people of New Brunswick the Canadian minister pressed the question to a vote and though there was a large majority of the whole house in favour of the address, a strong minority of Lower Canadian representatives voted against it.
The actual Lower Canadian vote on the main question was 37 to 25, while on subsequent motions, respecting an appeal to the people, several of the members composing this majority voted with the minority. THe minority would undoubtedly have been swollen to a majority but for the extra parliamentary promises of special favours to particular interests, made by Government to the representatives of those interests, to induce them to vote for the Government Scheme. To show that this grave assertion is not lightly hazarded, we propose to state some facts which are, we believe, without parallel in British or Colonial parliamentary history.
Considerable uneasiness was felt by the English speaking minority in Lower Canada, respecting their possible position made under the proposed Confederation, involving, as it did in respect to an important class of questions, their political separation from the people of their own race in Upper Canada. This messiness was shared by their Representatives of Parliament, and it became necessary to remove it in order to secure their votes for the Scheme. On the 2nd of March, while the debate on Confederation was in progress, several of these gentlemen communicated with Mr. Galt, whom they regarded as their representative in the Cabinet, touching the guarantees which they desired the pledge of the Government to have incorporated in the local constitution for Lower Canada, a subject not then under the consideration of Parliament, and which was only to be submitted for consideration at the next Session. On the 7th of Match, three days before the vote was taken, Mr. Galt addressed a letter to these gentlemen, in reply to a letter from them dated the 2nd of Match, promising on the part of the Government:–
1. That there should be a provision in the Local Constitution, that no change in the limits of constituencies, now returning English-speaking members should be made without the consent of two-thirds of the representatives of such constituencies present.
2. That there should be no change in the limits of municipalities in the countries so represented, except under the General Municipal Law of Lower Canada.
3. Various changes in the Education Laws of Lower Canada, in the interest of the Protestant minority.
4. The assent of Government to purchase, by county or township municipalities, or unconceded Crown lands within their limits.
These promises were, it is presumed, considered satisfactory by the members of the Assembly, to whom they were addressed, since all of them who were present voted for the Government Scheme: while, if their votes had been cast on the other side, as it is fair to assume they would have been but for these pledges, privately and secretly given (thus given instead of publicly in Parliament, lest other interests should take the alarm or enact other concessions), that scheme would have been rejected by a majority of the Representatives of Lower Canada. This […] episode has been followed by consequences not less curious. During the late Session of Parliament, the Government abandoned a measure intended to fulfil the most important of these pledges, that relating to the School Laws of Lower Canada. Mr. Galt thereupon resigned, declaring at the same time with strange inconsistency, that his colleagues were right in abandoning the measure, although they, equally with himself, were pledged to carry it as an integral part of their Confederation policy, which we have shown would have broken down at a critical moment but for this very pledge.
The Government of New Brunswick, with a just appreciation of the rights of the constituent body, dissolved Parliament, before inviting its concurrence in the resolution of the Quebec conference, The result, as we have already stated, was the return of an overwhelming majority opposed to the Scheme. IN the spring of the present year another dissolution of the Parliament of New Brunswick took place. A Government favourable to confederation had just previously been formed, and, as it is asserted, by the […] use of the influence of the Crown, and still more by representing the issue as one in which the loyalty of the people was concerned, they succeeded in securing the election of a majority favourable to the general principle of confederation. The Quebec Scheme, however, was not accepted by the people of New Brunswick in this election, for nearly all the Government candidates, including the members of the Government themselves, found it necessary to […] their dissent from that Scheme or from some of its leading features. When the new Parliament assembled, ministers did not venture to submit for concurrence or even as the basis of an act of union, the Quebec resolutions, but continued themselves to moving an address to Her Majesty, […] in the most general terms.
The Government of Nova Scotia did not dissolve Parliament, nor in the Session of 1865 did they ask to […] the Quebec resolutions. In the Session of 1866 an address to Her Majesty was adopted, expressing in general terms a desire for a federal union of the Provinces, but carefully avoiding the slightest endorsement of the Quebec scheme. It is well known that this course was pursued, because no proposition […], even in general terms, an approval of that scheme would have received the support of a majority of the House of Assembly.
Prince Edward Island expressly and unequivocally rejected the Quebec Scheme, and has not thus far evinced a desire or willingness to form part of a general Confederation on any terms : and in Newfoundland, though a general election has taken place since the Quebec conference was held, the resolutions of that conference have not been approved by the Legislature: and no steps similar to those taken in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, looking to a union on other terms, have been adopted. It may be assumed, therefore, that it is not proposed to embrace the Insular Provinces in any plan of confederation ot be submitted to the Imperial Parliament at its next session. And we may consider the question as affecting, for the present at least, only the Provinces of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.
What then is the present position of the question> The Governments of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have sent Delegates to England to urge forward a union, but on teams different from those agreed to by the Quebec Conference. The Canadian Government is about to dispatch Delegates to England to obtain an Act of Union, embodying the very terms agreed to by the Quebec Conference. The members of the Canadian Government are bought by repeated and explicitly pledges, given from their places in Parliament, to see that the provisions of any Act of Union assented to by them shall be in strict conformity with Quebec resolutions. The members of the Governments of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, on the other hand, are pledged to obtain essential modifications of the Quebec Scheme, before the Union is consummated with their consent. If an Act be passed adhering strictly to the terms of the Quebec resolutions, is there not some danger that in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick disappointment, arising out of violated confidence, may speedily develop into aggravated forms of discontent? On the other hand, if the Act does not adhere closely to the terms of the Quebec resolutions, is there not an equal danger that the people of Canada, smarting under a sense of broken faith, will be from the very start dissatisfied with their new form of Government? The conflicting aims and pledges of the several Provincial Governments, who agree only in desiring some kind of union, but differ widely with regard to the conditions of that union, show conclusively, we respectfully urge, the extreme implicit of deeming with subject at all at the approaching Session of the Imperial Parliament. The present Parliament of Canada expires next summer: that of Nova Scotia expires next spring. We would say, let general elections in both Provinces take place at the regular periods fixed by the law. These elections will necessarily turn on the question of Confederation. The desirableness of confederation, and the conditions on which it would be acceptable, if thoughts to be desirable, would be fully discussed, and the result would be the election of Parliaments, representing the settled convictions and the matured purposes of the people. The decisions of Parliaments, elected under these circumstances, if favourable to confederation, would go far towards ensuring the success of a system, which at best can only be regarded as an experiment, which if tried at all, ought only to be tried under the most favourable conditions: while if they were adverse to confederation, that fact alone would demonstrate the wisdom of the delay for which we plead.
We have endeavoured to show that the initiation tf this project of confederation, all the subsequent steps taken to promote it, are to be reacted to the party or personal exigencies of Canadian politicians, and not to a spontaneous or general desire among the people for fundamental changes in their political institutions, or in their political relations, We have endeavoured to show that in none of the Provincial Parliaments have the details of the project been considered in the sense in which the chances of a Bill are considered that in Canada and Nova Scotia the people have not had an opportunity of pronouncing upon either the principle or the […] : and that in New Brunswick, where an election was recently held, the people cannot be said to have assented to the Quebec Scheme, which is the only definite plan of union now under consideration.
If these positions cannot be successfully assailed the argument for delay would seem to be unanswerable whatever may be thought of the general question of confederation, ro of the particular scheme agree to by the Quebec conference.
We believe that confederation in any form un unsuited to the present circumstances of the Provinces : and that there are defects so radical, and inconsistencies so glaring in the Quebec plan, that it could never be brought into successful operation, even if it should be found possible to reduce it, in tis integrity, to the form of a coherent Act of Parliament, in harmony with the spirit of the British institutions and British legislation. We refrain, however, from troubling your Lordship with any lengthened observations, either on the general question or on the particular scheme. We assume that the single aim of Her Majesty’s Government will be to give effect to the well-understood and clearly expressed wishes of the people of the Provinces. We have striven to show that no adequate expression of their wishes respecting confederation has been given, and that the whole subject ought consequently be remitted back to them. IN that event our appropriate sphere for the discussion of it would be here. We limit ourselves, therefore, to an earnest plan against precipitancy on a subject that concerns the highest and most enduring interest of our country, against an irreversible conclusion being drawn from erroneous or unauthenticated premises. A plea in short for delay.
We seek delay, not to frustrate the purposes of a majority of our countrymen, but to prevent their being surprised against their will or without their consent, into a political change, which, however [..]. And oppressive to them it might prove, could not be reversed without such agitation as every well-wisher of his country must desire to invert.

We have. &c,.
A.A. DORION< Member for the Co. of Hochelaga, late Attorney-General for Lower Canada. L.H. […]. M.P.P. for Chateauguay, late Minister of Finance J. {…} M.P.P. for Quebec Centre, late President of the Council L.S. […] M.P.P> for Shefford, late Solicitor-General for Lower Canada.
M. […] M.P.P. for Bagot, late Commissioner of Public Works.
F. […] M.P.P. for St. John’s.
J.B.E. […] M.P.P. for Drummond and Arthabaska.
L.B. […] M.P.P. for […]
L. LARRECHE-VIGER, M.P.P. for Terrehonne.
JAS. […] Q.C. […] for Missisquoi.
A. […} M.P. […]
MOL. FORTIER, M.P.P. for Yanaska.
J.B. […], M.P.P. for Temiscouata.
A.H. PAQUET, M.P.P. for Berthier.
F. […] M.P.P. for Vercheres.
JOS. […] M.P.P. for Richelieu.
A. GAGNON, M.P.P. for Charlevoix.
SINTE COCPAL, M.P.P. for Napierville.
CHAS. […] M.P.P. for St. Maurice.
M. […], M.P.P. for Maskinonge.
Montreal, October 1866.

No.28.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Officer Administering the Government to the
Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON.
(No.5.) Montreal, January 4, 1867
(Received, January 25, 1867)
MY LORD, (Answered, No. 131, January 30, 1867, page 51.)
I HAVE the honour to transmit herewith to your Lordship an address to Her most Gracious Majesty the Queen from the Rev. John Bethnne, D.D., and others, residing in Lower Canada and to request that it may be laid at the foot of the Throne.
I have, &c.,
Right Hon. the Earl of Carnarvon, (Signed) J.MICHEL,
&c. &c. &c. Lt-General, Administrator of Gov.

Enclosure in N0.28.

To the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR MAJESTY,
THE undersigned loyal and dutiful subjects of Your Majesty, residing […] Lower Canada, deeply impressed with the importance of a cordial concurrence of Your Majesty’s subjects of all classes in Canada in the union of the British North American Provinces, if resolved on, and while humbly expressing the hope that such union may be made as full and complete as possible, desire respectfully to represent that further and better provisions with respect to the future representation of the English minority in Lower Canada ought in justice to be made in the Act of Imperial Parliament, and also that certain guarantees with reference to education in the interest of the same minority should be afforded.
That without doubting the good faith, or questioning the just intention of our fellow subjects of French origin and Catholic faith, which on the contrary they have often had reason to acknowledge, Your petitioners consider that it would peril that harmony and co-operation which are so much needed for the successful working of the union, if any large minority of Your Majesty’s subjects were made dependent on the forbearance of the majority, instead of having their rights secured by legislative enactment.
Your petitioners consider that it would peril that harmony and co-operation which are so much needed for the successful working of the union, if any large minority of Your Majesty’s subjects were made dependent on the forbearance of the majority, instead of having their rights secured by legislative enactment.
Your petitioners would represent that the English speaking minority in Lower Canada number nearly one-fourth of the population of that part of the Province.
That the total number of representatives in the Local Parliament of that Province is proposed to be […], of which Your petitioners should be entitled to return, as they now do, nearly one-fourth. They therefore pray that as regards the interference in future by the Local Legislature in the electoral limits now existing, or as regards any future increase in the number of representatives, such provision be made in the Act of Union as shall secure to the British minority the same relative representation as the now possess, as well in the Federal as […] the Local Legislature.
On the subject of education Your petitioners would represent that by the resolutions, as agreed to at the Conference at Quebec, it is provided that the Local Legislature shall have power to make laws respecting the following subjects, […], among others, education, “saving the right and privileges which “the protestant or Catholic minority in both Canada may possess as to their denominational schools “at the time when the union goes into operation.”
Your petitioners would respectfully represent that previous to the adoption of these resolutions by the Legislature of Canada, it was distinctly understood and a pledge was given, that before the union of the Provinces should have actually taken place, an Act should be passed securing to the Protestant minority in Lower Canada the control of the education of the children of their own race and religion, and for that object a Bill was introduced by the ministry of the day in the last session of the Canadian Legislature.

That circumstances to which it is unnecessary here […] to refer, led to the withdrawal of the said Bill, and Your petitioners are thereby deprived of the guarantees which its passage would have afforded.
That these guarantees may briefly be stated to be —
FIrst. That all direct taxes for the support of schools paid by Protestants, unless otherwise designated by themselves, should be applied to Protestant or non-denominational education, and that all public money given for the same purpose should be divided between Protestants and Roman Catholics in proportion to population.
Second. That suitable and adequate provision should be made for the protection of the educational interests of Protestants in the management of educational funds, the establishment and proper classification and maintenance of schools and institutions of superior education, and generally in the administration of educational affairs.
Your petitioners desire further to represent that they consider it to be of the utmost moment that the important questions of immigration and the administration of the Crown Lands should be vested exclusively in the General Government, instead of being left within the control of the Local Legislature.
They therefore humbly pray that in any measure to be submitted to the Imperial Parliament, such provision may be made in reference to the foregoing subjects as shall give effect to the prayers of Your petitioners.
Ans as in duty bound Your petitioners will ever pray.
Signed by JOHN BETHUNE, D.D., and several others
Montreal, 1st December 1866.

No.29.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Officer Administering the Government to the
Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON
(No.6.) Montreal, January 4, 1867.
(Received January 25, 1867.)
MY LORD, (Answered, No. 132, January 30, 1867, page […]
I HAVE the honour to transmit herewith to your Lordship an address to Her Majesty the Queen, from the governors, principal, and fellows of McGill College, Montreal, and to request that it may be laid at the foot of the Throne.
I have, &c.
Right Hon. the Earl of Carnarvon, (Signed) J.MICHEL.
&c. &c. &c. Administrator of Gov.

Enclosure 1 in No. 20.
To the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty.
The memorial of the Governor Principal, and Fellows of McGill College, Montreal,

Humbly showeth —
[…] in prospect of the changes contemplated in the political constitution of Canada, the COrporation of the McGill College, the oldest University in this country, and the most important educational institution pertaining to that portion of the population of Lower Canada which is of British origin, desire humbly to present the following statement respecting the condition and prospects of education.
Under the provision of the resolutions agreed to at the Quebec Conference, which leaves the entire control of education with the Local Governments and Legislatures, unless adequate guarantees be introduced into the Imperial Act, one of the most momentous interests of Your Majesty’s subjects in this country will be subject to local views and feelings, and will be deprived of those enlarging and improving influences which are anticipated from the union of the Provinces.
With regard to University education, it is much to be desired, that, as far as possible there should be a uniform standard for degrees : and that the degrees of any University in British America should be recognized throughout the whole Confederation : and also, that the undue multiplication of Universities, which has become so great an evil in some parts of these Provinces, should be arrested. These most desirable results, can in the opinion of Your Majesty’s memorialists, be secured only by vesting in the General Government and Legislature an effective control over these important interests.
With regard to the schools, it may be observed, that under the existing union of Upper and Lower Canada, two distinct school systems have been established : and that, as the system existing in Lower Canada has led to a classification and management of schools and school districts, rather in accordance with the educational views of the clergy of the Roman Catholic church, than with the wants and wishes of the Protestant population, the latter have, even under the present constitution, been subjected to serious disadvantages in regard to the education of their children. More particularly, they have not been able to obtain the benefits of a general system of education, with public and properly classified schools, as enjoyed by their fellow subjects of Upper Canada : under certain circumstances of not infrequent occurrence, they are liable to taxation for the support of schools exclusively Roman Catholic in character they do not possess the privileges with reference to the establishment of separate schools, which have been accorded to the Roman Catholic minority of Upper Canada : and they have occasion to complain of the distribution of the legislative grants, more especially of those for superior education. Further, though the Protestant minority in Lower Canada comprises a large proportion of the wealth, education, and science of this country, it is not represent in the office of the Educational Department.
These evils have been felt by the Protestant population even under the existing union with Upper Canada : and those representatives of the Protestant constituencies who consented to the arrangement of the Quebec Conference for the dissolution of that union, did so only after distinct pledges on the part of the Government, that at least the more weighty of these grievances would be redressed by Legislative action, before Confederation. But these pledges have not been fulfilled : a measure to this end, but of an imperfect character, which was introduced by Government in the last session of the Legislature, having been withdrawn. Under these circumstances, it appears necessary that provision should be introduced into the Imperial Act of Confederation, to afford adequate protection to Protestant General Government and Legislature to interfere effectively on behalf of the minority.
Your Majesty’s memorialist desire also to represent, that while in other colonies munificent endowments have been made, out of the public domain, for institutions of higher education, no such grants have ever been made in Lower Canada : and that while our fellow-subjects of French origin have enjoyed the benefits of large endowments in land, given before the conquest, and which in some instances would have been forfeited but for the liberality of the British Government, the Protestant population of Lower Canada have been placed in an exceptional position of disadvantage ; and that had it not been for the endowment by Mr. McGIll, and the liberal contributions of other benefactors, they would not have had access to the benefits of a collegiate education, except in institutions under the exclusive control of the Roman Catholic Church.
It is however well known that it was the intention of the British Government that such Protestants as had settled or should settle in Lower Canada should possess the same educational advantages which were awarded by Royal liberality to the inhabitants of other colonies.
In evidence of this Your Majesty’s memorialists would state, that the Governor in Chief in 1801 by speech from the Throne, assured the Parliament of Lower Canada “that His Majesty had been “graciously pleased to give directions for the establishment of a competent number of free schools for “the instruction of children in the first rudiments of useful learning, and in the English tongue, and “for foundations of a more enlarged and comprehensive nature, and that His Majesty had been “further pleased to signify His Royal intention that a suitable proportion of the lands of the Crown “should be set apart, and the revenues thereof appropriation to such purposes.” Inn acceptance of this offer the Act incorporating the Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning (now the Board of Governors of McGill University) was passed, reciting the above language in its preamble, the declared intention being that the “liberal grant of Crown Lands” referred to in the speech should be made to that body in trust for free schools and “foundations of a more enlarged and comprehensive request for the foundation of the McGIll College, it was still expected that such grants would be made, and his endowment was placed in the hands of the Royal Institution under the belief that the intentions of the Crown would be carried into effect.
At a later period in the Royal Institution had reason to expect that they would not have to incur the heavy expense of erecting buildings for the college, and that the whole or Mr. McGill’s endowment would thus have become available for its future support. In the early part of […] Lord Bathurst, then Colonial Secretary, instructed the Governor General, the Duke of Richmon, to adopt with as little delay as possible the necessary measures for erecting upon Mr. McGill’s property was an adequate building for the instruction of youth, and his Grace was authorized to defray the expense therefore from fund then at the disposal of the Crown.
But these liberal intentions on the part of the Crown were not carried into effect, and finally the control of the public lands was given to the Provincial Legislature, which has proved unable or unwilling to fulfill these engagements of the Crown, and which for many years rendered no assistance whatever to the University, In […] a small amount of aid was given as an annual grant, but this has in subsequent years been diminished to a sum still less adequate, and which is derived from a fund which is already to small for the growing wants even of the preparatory schools.
FOr more full details of the wants and claims of the University, Your Majesty’s memorialists beg to refer to their petition on this subject presented to his Excellency the Governor General in 1865, a copy of which accompanies the present memorial.
Your Majesty’s memorialist would further state that during the administration of Sir Edmund Head these claims were to some extent acknowledged by loans, partly granted in aid of the University itself, and partly in furtherance of other public educational interests, and which loans were principally derived from funds partaking of an Imperial character : but that though these loans, or so much of them as was really granted with that view, relieved the University in some degree from immediate pecuniary difficulty, the University remains liable for their whole amount, and should the claim be enforced by the Government serious embarrassment and injustice to the University would result.
Your Majesty;s memorialists, with the Protestant population of Lower Canada, hold that the obligation rests upon the Imperial as well as upon the Provincial Government to aid in securing an adequate endowment for institution of the higher education in Lower Canada on that broad general basis of public utility on which this University rests ; but while especially referring to the case of their own University, they must even more strongly insist on those more general constitutional guarantees which in their judgement are required for the protection of the rights of the Protestant minority in Lower Canada, weather in regard to common schools or to institutions of higher learning.
Your Majesty’s memorialist would further state their willingness to give additional information or explanations, and to support by documentary or other evidence the statements of this memorial should such information or evidence be desired.
Wherefore Your Majesty’s memorialists humanly pray that Your most Gracious Majesty will be pleased to take the matters above referred to into favourable consideration, in order to the introduction of proper and just safeguards into the Imperial Act of Confederation, should such Act be passed, and to the granting of such other measures of relief as to Your Majesty may seem fit. And Your Majesty’s memorialist will ever pray.

Signed on behalf of the University by the Chancellor.
Montreal, December 18, 1866.

Enclosure 2 in No. 29.
To his Excellency the Right Honourable CHARLES STANLEY Viscount […], Baron Monck of Ballytrannon in the County of Wexford, Governor General of British North America, and Captain General and Governor in CHief in and over the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Island of Prince Edward, and Vice – Admiral of the same, &c. , &c., &c.
The petition of the Governors, Principal ,and Fellows of McGill College and University —
RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH —
That your Excellency’s petitioners, in view of the present condition of the University and its limited resources, feel themselves justified and called upon earnestly to press upon the Legislature its claims for a permanent endowment, in support of which they beg leave to make the following statements :
In an educational point of view, the growth of the University under its new character has surpassed the most sanguine expectations of its friends. It was in the past session […] in the education of 928 persons, of whom 305 were students in law, medicine, and arts, 74 teachers in training, 249 pupils in the high school, and the remainder were pupils in the model schools. It has in the faculty of law, 6 professors : in the faculty of medicine, 9 professors : in the faculty of arts, 10 professors ; in the high school department, 10 masters. There are also two professors, two teachers, and several assistants in the McGill normal and model schools.
In its buildings, the University was long inadequately accommodated ; but recently by the exertions of the BOard of Governors, and the liberality of one of them, Wm. Molson, EsqHis disadvantages has been in great measure removed. By the liberality of some leading citizens of Montreal, it has recently been endowed with gold medals in law, and in most of the principal branches of study in arts.
The University now challenges comparison with any other in North America, in the fliciency of its staff and the thoroughness of its course of study, and is prepared to carry the scientific and literary education of young men to degree a perfection not heretofore attainable in Lower Canada, and comparable with that of the British Universities.
While these results, so editable and useful to Canada, have been attained, your petitioners have, from the first, had to complain that the important objects committed to their care have not received an adequate amount of provincial pecuniary support, and that their labours have in consequence been prosecuted under many disadvantages.
The total expenditure of the University for the past year, including […] of interest on its debts, and $2018 for repairs, &c. Of building (but exclusive of the normal school and of fees paid to professors in medicine and law ), may be stated at […] : and that an institution of this character, with so many instructing officers, should be supported on such a sum, must be regarded as an instance of economy scarcely equalled in any other similar case.
Of the above sum, $6,702 are paid by the revenue of the original endowment of Mr. McGIll ; $2,816 by the interest of the endowment fund contributed by the citizens of Montreal ; $6,019 by the fees in the high school, and […] by the fees in the faculty of arts. Toward payment of the balance the Province contributes as follows:
(1.) A sum of $1000 per annum to the medical faculty, being the same amount paid to each o=f the other medical schools, none of which equals that of McGill in the number of professors and students.
(2.) The sum of $1,128 to the high school department, on condition that it shall educate, free of expense, 30 pupils appointed by the Government, and whose education at the annual rate of fees would cost $1,320 ; the high school being distinguished from every other superior school in Lower Canada by receiving no free grant.
(3.) The sum of $2,803.94 to the College, in aid of the University generally, and of the faculties of arts and law. The sum thus granted has been progressively diminished from […] up to the present time, as stated in the following table, though in the meantime the number of students at the University and its annular expenditure for their benefit have largely increased.

[…….] (pg 47 table..)

Taking into account account all these sources of revenue, an annual deficiency remained in 1863, of […] not provided for by the income : and this deficiency appeared so alarming that the Governors were under the necessity of withdrawing the aid formerly given to the high school, and of discontinuing the course of engineering in the faculty of arts. They were also obliged further to postpone the just claims of several professors for increase of their salaries, and to abstain from all additions to the library, museum, and apparatus.
It should also be stated that the extension of the University renders additional expenditure necessary for examinations and printing, which there are no means to defray.
Your Excellency’s petitioners would further state that an inspection of the accounts will show the the utmost economy has pervaded the expenditures of the University, and that its efforts have been steadily directed to the provision of means of education not otherwise accessible in this country, and of a higher character than those afforded by the ordinary academies and colleges : thus fulfilling the wise and benevolent intentions of the founder, and giving to our young men the opportunity of raising their mental culture to the level of that in older countries. It has further been an object of solicitude with the Governors to promote practical scientific training bearing on the more important professions, and they would gladly do more in this direction did their resources permit.
The following statements, contained in a former […], may be here repeated, as enforcing the claims of the University to public aid.
First. — The late Mr. McGIll undoubtedly made his bequest under the expectation and implied promise that a further and […] endowment would be made by the Provincial Government. This is apparent from the circumstance under which the request was made. The Governor in Chief in 1801 laid before the Provincial Parliament a message in the following terms :
“ That His Majesty had been graciously pleased to give direction for the establishment of a competent number of free schools for the instruction of children in the first rudiments of useful learning “and in English tongue, and for foundations of a more enlarged and comprehensive nature, and “that His Majesty had been further pleased to signify His Royal intention that a suitable proportion “of the lands of the Crown should be set apart, and the revenues thereof appropriated to such purposes”. As a preliminary step, the Act incorporating the Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning was passed, containing this message in its preamble, and thereafter it was intended that the “Liberal grand of Crown Lands” referred to in the message should be transferred to its control, in trust for free schools and “foundations of a more enlarged and comprehensive nature ; “but no grant was ever made.
The late Mr. McGill was only an active member of the Legislature at this time, but an Executive Councilor, and therefore must be presumed to have been thoroughly conversant with the intentions of the Imperial and Provincial Governments. By his last will he bequeathed a sum of money and his estate of Burnside to the Royal Institution for the purpose of erecting and maintaining a University : but his endowment, liberal as it was, was yet quite inadequate for the object contemplated, and it is reasonable to infer that he looked beyond it to the Royal Institution, to whom he believed that a liberal grant of Crown Lands was to have been entrusted for a kindred purpose.
His endowment was loug anterior to the establishment of any Protestant College in the Province, and still is the only one made in it for that purpose. Since that time hundreds of thousands of pounds have been bestowed by annual grants on Roman Catholic educational institutions in Lower Canada ; while in Upper Canada several Universities had been founded, aloof them participating more or less in the grants of public monies. ONe of them, the University of Toronto, enjoys an endowment of 226,201 acres of land conferred by Royal grant in 1828, from which a sum exceeding 293,888, has been already derived : and in addition to this received during many years, for the college connected with it, a grant of […] annually. Upper Canada College, established in 1832, was endowed by various grants between that year and the year 1835, with 63,805 acres of land, which has yielded […] and has also received an annual grant of 1,000/., which still continues. It is further to be their grants raised to […} each, beside the usual aid to their medical schools. Yet no permanent provision whatever has ever been made for McGIll College, and all the monies received by it from public sources (oh which the first was in 1851) fo not together amount to one-fourth of the annual revenues of the University of Toronto, or to one-tenth of the value of Mr. McGIll’s bequest.
The largeness of that bequest, and the munificence with which the fund has since been increased in the sum of 15,000/. By subscription in the city of Montreal, and the completion of the College buildings by Mr. WIlliam Molson, coupled with the character of the University, justify your memorialists in the hope that a corresponding spirit will be manifested by the Legislature, and that after so much has be been done by private beneficence the work may be completed by granting the relief now sought, and providing for the future a permanent public endowment. These donations also show how urgently the want of a Protestant university has been felt, and how highly its benefits are esteemed by the English population.

Secondly, — Not only was the late Mr. McGIll warranted in believing that his exertions to establish a University would be supported by a grant from the Crown Lands, but the members of the Royal Institution subsequently were led to expect that they would have been saved the heavy expense of correcting the College buildings, and that the endowment would have been rendered available for its future support. In the early part of the 1819 the Lord Bathurst, then Colonial Secretary, instructed the Governor General, the Duke of Richmond, to adopt, with as little delay as possible, the necessary measures for erecting upon Mr. McGill’s property an adequate building for the insurrection of youth, and his Grace was authorized to defray the expense thereof from the funds which might be in the hands of the Receiver of the Jesuit’s Estates.
But, for the reasons unknown to the Governors, these liberal intentions on the part of His Majesty were not carried into effect.
Thirdly, — The University of McGill College’s the only one in Lower Canada which is non-sectarian. As such it is entitled to claim — and, as your Excellency’s petitioners believe, it possesses — the confidence of the Protestant community of every religious denomination. This is shown by the list of subscriptions of the endowment fund, in which are to be found the names of members of the English and Scotch Churches, and of the Free Church, Methodists, Congregationalists, American […], and Unitarians ; members of the Jewish faith have also contributed.
Fourthly, — The University is not a mere private institution founded by individual benevolence, but is public and Provincial in its character. It is prepared to confer degrees, not only upon the students of its own Colleges, but, under just and salutary rules, upon those of any others which may be established in the Province; thus rendering it unnecessary, as without doubt it is inexpedient, to multiply the number of educational institutions possessing that power.
A large number of scholarships in the faculty of arts are at the disposal of your Excellency, as alos the presentation to 30 scholarships in the faculty of arts are at the disposal of your Excellency, as also the presentation to 30 scholarships in the High School department.
Fifthly, — This Provincial character of the University, and the prosperity and influence which it has attained, mark it out as the great center and support of the higher Protestant education in Lower Canada. As such the management of the Provincial Normal School have been concluded to it with the approbation of the whole community : and the confidence has thus far been justified by complete success. A further indication of the same nature is afforded by the affiliation with it of the St. Francis College, Richmond, made the liberal terms provided by the statutes of the University, Still more recently Morrin College, Quebec, has been affiliated, and has already sent up […] students who have passed creditably the preliminary examinations of the University ; and arrangements are now in progress for affiliating the Congregational College of British North America.
The affiliation of other colleges and theological schools is expected, and thus the aids to higher education, which this country so much needs, will always be available to all who may require them, and that in the simplest form ; for it is to be observed that this University offers to its students not only an ordinary liberal education, but the means also of high scientific culture and of thorough instruction in the professions of law and medicine, and that its present position in this respect will enable it, with additional pecuniary resources, to extend itself still further in the direction of professional education.
The importance and claims for support of such a central institution are too obvious to require argument and these, great as they now are, will be augmented by the increase of population, wealth, and intelligence, bringing with them an appreciation of the value of learning and ad demand for the ordinary schools and other educational establishments, sectarian or non-sectarian, which abound in Lower Canada. It stands alone in its character and objects, and requires from the Government a direct and special support adequate to its importance and its wants. To place it, in the distribution of Legislative aid, upon the same footing with those minor establishments which share in the fund placed in the hands of the Superintendent of Education is an error and injustice, not only to the University itself, but to the whole Protestant community of Lower Canada. Your petitioners would further, in view of the proposed Federation of the Provinces, large the necessity of an immediate consideration of the claims above set forth, and of a permanent provision for the support of the University.
Your Excellency’s petitioners would therefore pray for a permanent endowment, and that this should be equal to an annual income of $20,000 for the College and University, and of $4,000 for the High School, independently of any […] the latter may receive for the education of Government scholars. And your Excellency’s petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.

Despatches from the Secretary of State
No.1.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Viscount MONCK.
(No.5.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, January 13, 1865
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship’s Despatch No. 203, * of the 23rd of December, relative to the proposed Union of the British North American Provinces, and enclosing a copy of a Despatch which you had addressed to the Lient-Governors of the Lower Provinces and to the Governor of Newfoundland on the subject.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL
&c. &c.

No. 2.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Viscount MONCK.
(No. 21.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, February 15, 1865.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 32, * of the 26th of January, enclosing copies of Addresses presented to your Lordship by the two Houses of the Legislature in answer to the speech with which you opened the session of the Canadian Parliament.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c.

No. 3.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Viscount MONCK.
(No. 30.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, February 24, 1865.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 35, * of the 30th of January, enclosing a copy of a Circular Despatch which you addressed on that day to the Lieut – Governors of the Lower Provinces, and to the Governor of Newfoundland, respecting the proposed Union of the British North American Colonies.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c.

No. 4.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Viscount MONCK.
(No. 32.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, February 25, 1865.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordships Despatch, No. 36, * of the 30th of January, enclosing a copy of a Despatch which you had received from the Lieut-Governor of New Brunswick, apprising you of his intention to summon the Provincial Parliament towards the end of March, and to submit for their consideration the question of the Union of the BRitish North American Provinces.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c.

No. 5.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Viscount MONCK.
(No. 48.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, March 29, 1865.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship’s Despatch, No. 68*, of the 10th of March, enclosing a copy of a Despatch addressed to you by the Governor of Newfoundland, on the subject of the Union of the British North American Provinces.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c.

No. 6.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Viscount MONCK.
(No. 58.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, April 8, 1865.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship’s Despatches No.73 and No.74,* of the 15th of March, accompanied by Addresses to the Queen agreed to respectively the by Legislative Council and the House of Assembly of Canada, praying that Her Majesty will be pleased to cause a measure to be introduced into the Imperial Parliament, for the Union of the Provinces of British North America, on the basis of the resolutions adopted by the Conference of Delegates from those Provinces who met at Quebec in October of last year.
2. I have not failed to present these Addresses to Her Majesty, who was pleased to receive the same very graciously.
3. Her Majesty’s Government have seen with great satisfaction that both branches of the Canadian Legislature have adopted Addresses to the Crown expressive of their desire for the accomplishment of a measure calculated materially to add to the strength and promote the welfare of the Provinces of British North America.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c.

No. 7.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Governor-General Viscount MONCK.
(No. 95.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, June 17, 1865.
I HAVE the honour to inform your Lordship that several conferences have been held between the four Canadian Ministers who were deputed, under the Minute of your Executive Council of March 24gh, to proceed to England to confer with Her Majesty’s Government on the part of Canada, and the Duke of Somerset the Earl De Grey, Mr. Gladstone, and myself, on the part of Her Majesty’s Government.
On the first subject referred to in the Minute, that of the Confederation of the British North American Province, we repeated on the part of the Cabines the assurances which had already been given of the determination of Her Majesty’s Government to use every proper means of influence to carry into effect without delay the proposed Confederation.
On the second point, we entered into a full consideration of the important subject of the defence of Canada, not with any apprehension on either side that the friendly relations now happily subsisting between this country and the United States are likely to be disturbed, but impressed with the conviction that the safety of the Empire from possible attack ought to depend upon its own strength and the due application of its own resources. We reminded the Canadian Ministers that on the part of the Imperial Government we had obtained a vote of money for improving the fortifications of Quebec. We assured them that so soon as the vote had been obtained the necessary instruction had been sent out for the immediate execution of the works, which would be […] with despatch ; and we reminded the of the suggestion of Her Majesty’s Government had made to them to proceed with the fortifications of Montreal.
The Canadian Minister, in reply, expressed unreservedly the desire of Canada to devote her whole resources, both in men and money, for the maintenance of her connexion with the Mother Country ; and their full belief in the readiness of the Canadian Parliament to make known that determination in the most authentic manner. They said they had increased the expenditure for their Militia from 300,000 to 1,000,000 dollars, and would agree to train that force to the satisfaction of the Secretary of State for War, provided the cost did not exceed the last-mentioned sum annually, while the question of confederation is pending. They said they were unwilling to separate the question of the works at Montreal from the question of the works west of that place, and from the question of a […] of Lake Ontario. That the execution of the whole of these works would render it necessary for them to have recourse to a loan, which could only be raise with the guarantee of the Imperial Parliament. THey were ready to propose to their Legislature on their return a measure for this purpose, provided that the guarantee of the Imperial Parliament were given now, and that they were authorized to communicate to the Parliament of Canada the assurance that, the occasion arising, England will have prepared an adequate naval force for Lake Ontario. They thought that if the guarantee were not obtained now it was probable that the Candian Government and Parliament would think it desirable that the question of defensive works should await the decision of the Government and Legislature of the United Provinces.
On the part of Her Majesty’s Government we assented to the reasonableness of the proposal that if the Province undertook the primary liability for the works of defence mentioned in the letter of a Lieutenant-Colonel Jervois, and showed a sufficient security, Her Majesty’s Government should apply to Parliament for a guarantee for the amount required ; and we said that Her Majesty’s Government would furnish the arrangements for the works. But we said that the desire and decision of the Provincial Legislature ought to be pronounced before any application was made to the Imperial Parliament. On the subject of a Naval Force for Lake Ontario, we said that, apart from any question of expediency, the convention subsisting between this country and the United States rendered it impossible for either nation to place more than the specified number of armed vessels on the lakes in time of peace. In ease of war it would, as a matter of course, be the duty of any Government in this country to apply its means of naval defence according to the judgement it might form upon the […] of each particular time, and the Canadian Ministers might be assured that Her Majesty’s Government would not permit itself to be found in such a position as to be unable to discharge its duty in respect. This was the only assurance the Canadian Ministers could expect or we could give.
Upon review of the whole matter, the Canadian Ministers reverted to the proposal which has been mentioned above, that priority in point of time should be given to the Confederation of the Provinces. To this, we, on the part of Her Majesty’s Government, assented. In conformity, however, with a wish strongly expressed by the Canadian Minister, we further said, that if, upon future consideration, the Canadian Government should desire to anticipate the Confederation, to to propose that Canada should execute the works, they would doubtless communicate to Her Majesty’s Government that decision ; and we trusted that after what had passed in these conferences they would feel assured that any such communication would be received by us in the most friendly spirit.
On the third point ,the Reciprocity Treaty, the Canadian Ministers represented the great importance to Canada of the renewal of that treaty, and requested that Sir F. Bruce might be put in communication with the Government of Lord Monck upon the subject. We replied that Sir F. Bruce had already received instructions to negotiate for a renewal of the treaty, and to act in concert with the Government of Canada.
On the fourth point, the subject of the North-western Territory, the Canadian Ministers desired that the territory should be made over to Canada, and undertook to negotiate with the Hudson’s Bay Company for the termination of their rights, on condition that the indemnity, if any, should be paid by a loan to be raised by Canada under the Imperial guarantee. With the sanction of the Cabinet, we assented to this proposal, undertaking that if the negotiation should be successful we, on the part of the Crown, being satisfied that the amount of the indemnity was reasonable, and the security sufficient, would apply to the Imperial Parliament to sanction the arrangement and to guarantee the amount.
On the last point, it seemed sufficient that Her Majesty’s Government should accept the assurances given by the Canadian Ministers on the part of Canada, that that Province is ready to devote all her resources both in men and money to the maintenance of her connexion with the Mother Country, and should assure them in return that the Imperial Government fully acknowledged the reciprocal obligation of […] fending every portion of the Empire with all the resources at its command.
The Canadian Ministers in conclusion said that they hoped it would be understood that the present communications did not in any way affect or alter the correspondence which had already passed between the Imperial Government and the Governments of the British North American Provinces on the subject on the Intercolonial Railway. To this we entirely agree.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c.

No. 8.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Viscount MONCK.
(No. 120.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, July 22, 1865.
I […], […] to apprize your Lordship that I receive communications which lead to the conclusion that more positive assurances from Canada than have yet been given to the Maritime Provinces, on the subject of the readiness of Canada to ensure the prompt completion of the Intercolonial Railway, in the event of confederation being adopted, would be very satisfactory to the friends of the measure in those Provinces, and encourage their efforts to recommend the scheme of confederation to those of their countrymen by whom it has not […] been supported.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c.

No. 9.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Viscount MONCK.
(No. 127.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, August 5, 1865.
I HAVE the honour to transmit to your Lordship a copy of a Despatch from the Lient-Governor of New Brunswick, enclosing a Resolution of the Executive Council of that Province expressive of their opinion on the subject of confederation together with a copy of my reply.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c.

No. 10.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Viscount MONCK.
(No. 137.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, September 6, 1865.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 164,* of the 14th of August, accompanied by copies of the papers submitted to the Provincial Parliament, relating to the conference lately held in London between Her Majesty’s Government and the Ministers of the Province.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c.

No. 11.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
the Officer Administering the Government. .
(No. 147.)
Sir, Downing Street, October 7, 1865.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of the Lord Monck’s Despatch, No.183,* of the 20th […], enclosing copies of a correspondence that has taken place between his Lordship and the Lient-Governor of Nova Scotia, in reference to the subject of further guarantees for the construction of the Intercolonial Railway.
I have, &c.
To the Officer Administering the Government, (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 12.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
the Officer Administering the Government. .
(No. 150.)
Sir, Downing Street, October 18, 1865.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No.3,* of the 30th […], transmitting a copy or a further Despatch addressed by SIr R. MacDonnell to Lord Monck, on the subject of further guarantees for the construction of the Intercolonial Railway.
I have, &c.
To the Officer Administering the Government, (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 13.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Viscount MONCK
(No. 9.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, January 27, 1866.
IN considering the Report of the Deputation of Canadian Ministers, enclosed in your Lordship’s Despatch of the 14th of August last, * Her Majesty’s Government think it desirable on subjects of so much importance as those to which the Report refers, and on which they would so much regret it any misapprehension should at any time arise, to instruct your Lordship in all communications, to guide yourself entirely by the terms of my Despatch of June 17, 1865, which was […] adopted at the time as the Record. You should explain to your Ministers that you have been instructed to do so, and inform them at the same time that we do not regard their Report as intended in any way to […] the substance of that Record, to which we observe with pleasure they refer as containing a correct statement of the result of the conference.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c.

No. 14.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Viscount MONCK
(No. 70.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, June 30, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship’s Despatch of the 8th instant, No.48,* in which you enclose to me a copy of the speech with which you had that day opened the session of the Canadian Parliament.
I have read with great interest your tribute to the spirit displayed by the people of Canada, in their ready response to your proclamation calling out for active service a large portion of the volunteer militia force. You justly told your Parliament that the spirit thus evineed by the people of Canada had received the approval of Her Majesty’s Government, who had not failed to appreciate as it deserved the loyalty of all classes of Her Majesty’s subjects throughout the North American Provinces.
Her Majesty’s Government deplore with you the loss of life and suffering entailed upon the gallant body of volunteers who resisted the invasion of Her Majesty’s territory by a band on lawless maranders, and cordially approve the satisfaction with which you speak of the friendly course adopted by the President of the United States of America.
It is with especial gratification that I observe the reference you have made to the great question of the Union of the British North American Provinces. I rejoice to learn that the recent proceedings of the Legislature of Nova Scotia, and of the Legislative Council of New Brunswick, together with the result of the recent elections of members of the Legislative Assembly in that province, fully warrants the confident expectation you express that at some very early period the noble buildings in which for the first time you then addressed the Parliament of Canada will receive a Parliament not confined to an assembly of the representatives of Canada alone, but embracing those of all the colonies of the British North America.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c.

No. 15.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON
to Viscount MONCK
(No. 20.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, August 4, 1866.
THE Lient-Governor of Nova Scotia has reported that he has been in communication with your Lordship respecting the appointment of a Canadian deputation to come to ENgland, to confer with Her Majesty’s Government upon the subject of the Confederation of the British North American Provinces.
I, therefore, think it right to apprise your Lordship, by the earliest opportunity, that the advanced period of the session, — combined with the absence of the delegates from Canada, — has rendered it impossible for Her Majesty’s Government to submit to Parliament any measure upon this important subject. I have to add, that i have intimated to the gentlemen composing the delegations from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, that during the recess i should be prepared to enter fully into communication with them and with the delegates from Canada, should they arrive and to endeavour to arrive with them at such a conclusion as would be satisfactory both to the Colonies and to this country.

I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) CARNARVON
&c. &c.

No. 16.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON
to Viscount MONCK
(No. 39.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, August 31, 1866.
THE Nova Scotia and New Brunswick delegates have been now, as your Lordship is aware, for some weeks in this country with a view to the discussion of the various questions relative to the Confederation of the British North American Provinces, and have repeatedly inquired of me the period by which their Canadian colleagues may be expected.
I shall be glad to be informed at the earliest possible date of the course which it is proposed by them to adopt.
I need not say that any unnecessary delay in the settlement of this question is very undesirable, and that also the prolonged detention of the delegates now in England is attended with much inconvenience to them and to the Governments of which they are members.
If any appearance of impending Fenian disturbances should render it ungit for your Lordship to quit your post, or if the same causes should make the delegates feel that they cannot all of them leave the Province, it might deserved their consideration whether some of their number could repair at once to England to enter into the proposed discussion.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) CARNARVON
&c. &c.

No. 17.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON
to Viscount MONCK
(No. 41.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, August 31, 1866.
I HAVE had the honour to receive your Lordship’s Despatch, No.115,* of the 16th August, transmitting an Address to the Queen from the Legislative Assembly of Canada, praying that Her Majesty will cause a measure to be submitted to the Imperial Parliament for creating Local Governments and Legislatures in Canada East and Canada West, after the completion of the union of the British North American Provinces.
This Address has been duly laid at the foot of the Throne.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) CARNARVON
&c. &c.
No. 18.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON
to Viscount MONCK
(No. 12.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, August 31, 1866.
I HAVE had the honour to receive your Lordship’s Despatch, No. 116,* of the 16th August transmitting an Address to the Queen from the Legislative Council of Canada, praying that Her Majesty will cause a measure to be submitted to the Imperial Parliament for creating Local Governments and Legislatures in Canada East and Canada West, after the completion of the union of the British North American Provinces.
This Address has been duly laid at the foot of the Throne.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) CARNARVON
&c. &c.

No. 19.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON
to Viscount MONCK
(No. 47.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, September 5, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No.113,* of the 15th August, enclosing a copy of the speech with which, on that day, you closed the session of the Canadian Parliament.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) CARNARVON
&c. &c.

No. 20.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON
to Viscount MONCK
(No. 50.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, September 13, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to inform you that urgent representations are made to me by the delegates from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick now in England, on the great public and private inconvenience to which they are subject through the non-arrival of their colleagues. I sent you a telegram on the subject yesterday. As i said in my previous Despatch, No.39,* of the 31st nlt., I hope that if any appearance of impending enian disturbances should make the delegates feel that the whole of them cannot leave their homes, some of them at least will be able to repair to England without delay, armed with the necessary powers to enter with the delegates from the other Provinces upon the settlement of the question of Confederation. Much as i could desire the presence of your Lordship and the assistance of your valuable counsel in the consideration of this important subject; i must, as my previous communications will have informed you, forego this advantage under the present anxious circumstances of the Province, at least until both sides of the Atlantic we feel reassured of the safety of Canada, and i can have the satisfaction of requesting your presence here.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) CARNARVON
&c. &c.
No. 21.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON to
Viscount MONCK
(No. 63.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, September 26, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to transmit to you the enclosed copy of a Resolution which has been placed in my hands by the Delegates from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick now in England, adopted by them as a means of bringing Prince Edward Island into the contemplated union of the British North American Provinces.
I forward this Resolution to your Lordship at the request of the Delegates, that it may be communicated to those gentlemen who are appointed to be Delegates on behalf of Canada, and that it may be ascertained how far it meets with their concurrence.
I have further to request that you will apprise the Lieutenant-Governor of Prince Edward Islands of the result. I have in the meantime transmitted a copy to Lieutenant-Governor Dundas of the resolution and of this Despatch.
I have taken this course in order to give effect to the wishes of the Delegates now in England ; but it must be understood that I do so without expressing any opinion of my own on the subject, as this would be premature as this would be premature at the present stage of the question.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) CARNARVON
&c. &c.

Enclosure in No.21.
At a meeting of the Delegates form Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, held at the Alexandra Hotel, London, on the 22nd day of September 1866, all being present except the Hon. Mr. Wilmot, it was unanimously resolved, that inasmuch as the co-operation of Prince Edward Island, though not indispensable to a union of the other British North American Provinces, is on many accounts very desirable, and as the settlement of the land question which has so long and so injuriously agitated that Colony, would be attended with great benefit, and at the same time place the Local Government of the Islands, by the possession of the proprietary lands, more on a footing with the other Provinces, which have crown lands and minerals as a source of local revenue.
Therefore Resolved, —
That in case the Legislature of the Island should authorize the appointment of Delegates to act in conjunction with those from the other Provinces in arranging a plan of confederation prior to the meeting of the Imperial Parliament, the Delegates from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are hereby pledged to support the policy of providing such an amount as may be necessary for the purchase of the proprietary rights, but not to exceed $800,000.
CHARLES […]
S.L. […]

No. 22.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON to
Viscount MONCK
(No. 80.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, October 18, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No.150,* of the 28th September, enclosing a copy of a Telegram which your Lordship addressed to me on the 24th of that month.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) CARNARVON
&c. &c.

No. 23.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON to
Viscount MONCK
(No. 100.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, November 22,1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship’s Despatches marked Separate of the 3rd and 5th of this month, * introducing the Delegation appointed by your Government to confer with the Representatives of the other Provinces and with myself on the subject of Confederation.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) CARNARVON
&c. &c.

No. 24.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON to
Viscount MONCK
(No. 104.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, November 23,1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship’s Despatch. No. 184, * of the 3rd of this month, enclosing a copy of an approved Minute of the Executive Council of Canada on the subject of the resolution adopted by the Delegates from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, with the view of bringing Prince Edward Island into the Confederation of British North America.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) CARNARVON
&c. &c.

No. 25.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON to
Viscount MONCK
(No. 119.)
MY LORD, Downing Street, December 17,1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordships’s Despatch, No.203, *dated the 29th November last, enclosing an Address to Her Majesty from the Provincial Association of Protestant Teachers of Lower Canada, complaining of certain alleged grievances in the educational system at present in force in Lower Canada, and praying that provisions may be introduced into the proposed Imperial Act of Confederation calculated to protect the educational interests of the Protestant inhabitants of Lower Canada.
The question of education is one of the important subjects which may be expected to be discussed by the North American Delegates when in conference in this country, and the present memorial, which has been duly laid at the foot of the Throne, shall then receive full consideration.
I have to request you to communicate to the memorialists the substance of this Despatch.
I have, &c.
Viscount Monck, (Signed) CARNARVON
&c. &c.

No. 26.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON to
Lient.-General Sir JOHN MICHEL.
(No. 123.)
SIR, Downing Street, January 5,1867.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 6,* of the 12th December, enclosing memorials from the Roman Catholic Bishops of Canada East and Canada West respectively.
I have to request that you will acquaint the Bishops that the question of education to which their memorials relate will engage my attention in conjunction with the Delegates from the British North American Provinces.
I have, &c.
Lenient.-General Sir John Michel, (Signed) CARNARVON.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 27.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON to
Lient.-General Sir JOHN MICHEL.
(No. 124.)
SIR, Downing Street, January 7,1867.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No.8,* of the 13th December, enclosing a letter from the Honourable A. A> Dorion, accompanied by a memorial signed by himself and other members of the Canadian Legislature.
I have to request that you will acquaint Mr. Dorion, for the information of himself and of the other gentlemen whose names are attached to the document, that their memorial has now reached my hands through yourself, as the officer administering the Government of the Provinces, and that its contents will be duly weighed in common with the various other communications which have been received on the subject of Confederation.
I have, &c.
Lenient.-General Sir John Michel, (Signed) CARNARVON.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 28.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON to the Officer
Administering the Government
(No. 131.)
SIR, Downing Street, January 30,1867.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No.5.* of the 4th […] transmitting an address to the Queen, from the Rev. John Bethume, and others, residing in Lower Canada, praying that the interests of the Protestant and English minority of Her subjects in that Province may be secured in the proposed scheme for the Confederation of the British North American Colonies. You will inform Mr. Bethune that the important questions indicated in the address are under my consideration, in conjunction with the delegates.
I have, &c.
The Officer Administering the Government, (Signed) CARNARVON.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 29.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON to the Officer
Administering the Government
(No. 132.)
SIR, Downing Street, January 30,1867.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 6,* of the 4th ist., transmitting an address to the Queen from the Governors, Principal, and Fellows of McGill College, Montreal, on the subject of the protection of Protestant education in the proposed scheme for the Confederation of the British North American Provinces. You will inform these gentlemen that this question is under my consideration, in conjunction with the delegates.
I have, &c.
The Officer Administering the Government, (Signed) CARNARVON.
&c. &c. &c.

NOVA SCOTIA.
Despatches from the Lieut.-Governor.
No.1.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Lieutenant-Governor Sir R. G. MACDONNELL, C.B., to
the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No.41.) Government House, Halifax, Nova Scotia, December 8, 1864.
` (Received January 3, 1865)
Sir, (Answered No.3. January 7, 1865. page 78.)
The enclosed copy of the Resolutions adopted at the Quebec Conference only reached me on the 6th inst., as there was considerable and still unexplained delay in transmitting from Canada a copy to the Delegates from this Province.
2. Those gentlemen do not think it necessary to accompany their report with any detailed explanations. Long ere this can reach you I am aware that you will have been put, by Lord Monck, fully in possession of all the proceedings and resolutions of the Conference. You are also otherwise acquainted with my own individual opinions. It is therefore unnecessary in this Despatch to enter into any further details. I shall for the present follow the example of the Delegates, and await some expression of the intentions of Her Majesty’s Government in reference to the proposed federation. I am convinced that there exists, both on the part of the public and of the present Ministry, a very general disposition to show all due deference to the opinions and wishes of Her Majesty’s Government.
I have, &c.
(Signed) RICHARD GRAVES MACDONNELL
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 1.
May it please your Excellency, Halifax, Nova Scotia, December 5, […]
The undersigned delegates appointed by your Excellency, at the request of the Governor-General, and charged to confer the Quebec Conference upon the subject of a union of the British North American Provinces, have the honour to submit their report.
The Conference consisted of the following members:–
For Canada
The Hon. Sir E.P. TACHE, M. L. C. , Receiver-General and Minister of Militia.
The Hon. JOHN A. MACDONALD, M.P.P., Attorney-General (U. Canada).
The Hon. G. E. CARTIER, M.P.P., Attorney-General (L.Canada).
The Hon. […] BROWN, M.P.P., President of Executive Council.
The Hon. A. MOWATT, M.P.P., Postmaster-General.
The Hon. A. T. GALT, M.P.P., Minister of Finance.
The Hon. T.D. […], M.P.P., Minister of Agriculture.
The Hon. WM. […] M.P.P., Provincial Secretary.
The Hon. ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, M.L.C., Commissioner of Crown Lands.
The Hon. Q. C. […] M.P.P., Commissioner of Public Works.
The Hon. L. B. […], M.P.P., Solicitor-General (L. Canada)
The Hon. JAMES […], M.P.P., Solicitor-General (U.Canada).

For Nova Scotia.
The Hon. CHARLES TUPPER, M.P.P., Provincial Secretary.
The Hon. WILLIAM A. […], M.P.PAttorney-General.
The Hon. Jo. […], M.L.C.
A.G. […], Esq., M.P.P.

For New Brunswick.
The Hon. S.L. […], M.P.P., Provincial and Financial Secretary
The Hon. W. B. STEEVES, M.L.C., M.E.C.
The Hon. J. M. […], M.P.PAttorney-General.
The Hon. P. […], M.L.C., M.E.C.
The Hon. E. B. CHANDLER, M.L.C.
Lieut.-Col. the Hon. JOHN H. GRAV, M.P.P.
The Hon. CHARLES FISHER, M.P.P.

For Newfoundland.
F.B.T. CARTER, Esq., M.P.P.
JOHN AMRROSE SHEN, Esq., M.P.P.

For Prince Edward Island.
Col. the Hon. J. H. GRAY, M.P.P.
The Hon. E. PALMER, Attorney-General.
The Hon. W. H. POPE, Provincial Secretary.
The Hon. A. A. MCDONALD, M.L.C.
The Hon. GEORGE COLES, M.P.P.
The Hon. T. H. HAVELAND, M.P.P.
The Hon. EDWARD WHELAN, M.P.P.

The foregoing members having met at the Parliament House in Quebec on the 10th day of October last, the Conference was organized by the appointment of the Hon. Sir E. P. Tache, Chairman, and the Honourable Messrs. William McDougall, Charles Tupper, S. L. Tilley, Ambrose Shea, and W. H. Pope, Joint Secretaries; H. Bernard, Esq., was nominated by the Secretaries Executive Secretary, and approved by the Conference.
After deliberating daily at great length until Thursday, the 27th October, the Conference adjourned to Montreal, where a final meeting was held on the 29th October. At this meeting it was unanimously resolved that the various delegations should present the annexed report as the common result at which the Conference had arrived, and which it was agreed should be authenticated by the signatures of all the members. Dealing as this report does with every branch of the subject, it is not necessary that any elaborate remarks should be added in order to place the whole question fully before your Excellency, but we have much gratification […] stating that nothing was more conspicuous in the discussions of the Conference that a unanimous sentiment of devoted loyalty to the Crown, ardent attachment to the British institutions, and a uniform desire to adopt such a constitution as would unite the resources of all the Provinces represent in a common effort to preserve the rights and liberties which their inhabitants now enjoy as British subjects, and to ensure their continued connexion with the parent State.
The undersigned cannot conclude this report without placing on record their lively appreciation of the uniform good feeling which marked the deliberations of the Conference, and the extreme courtesy and kindness manifested on every occasion by the Government and people of Canada to the Delegates from the Maritime Provinces.
All of which is respectfully submit,.
(Signed) CHARLES TUPPER
W.A. HENRY.
J.McCelly.
ADAMS G. ARCHIBALD.

REPORT of Resolutions adopted at a Conference of Delegates from the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and the Colonies of Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island, held at the City of Quebec, 10th October 1861, as the Basis of a proposed Confederation of those Provinces and Colonies.

These Resolutions are printed as an Appendix, page 158.

No.2.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir R. G. MACDONNELL, C.B., to
the Right Hon.Edward Carwell, M.P.
(No.44.) Government House, Halifax, Nova Scotia,
December 23, 1864.
SIR, (Received Jan. 3, 1865.)
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge receipt of your Despatch transmitting the reply of Her Majesty’s Government to Lord Monck (Canada, No. 93,*) containing a general statement of the views of Her Majesty’s Government on the important subject of the proposed Federation of the British American Colonies.
It appeared to me that it was advisable to give immediate publicity to those views of Her Majesty’s Government, and accordingly I direct a Gazette Extraordinary to be issued last night containing that Despatch. I enclose some copies of the Gazette for your information.
Independent of the obvious duty of giving information of that kind early to Her Majesty’s subjects in this Province, i felt that it was due to many highly respectable and loyal gentlemen holding a distinguished position in this community, and who view with suspicion the retention of local Parliaments as more likely hereafter practically to lead to disunion than to strength, to give them an opportunity of acquainting themselves with the sentiments entertained by Her Majesty’s Ministers before committing themselves to any decided line of action.
3. I Therefore hope the course which I have adopted will meet your approval.
I have, &c.
(Signed) RICHARD GRAVES MACDONNELL,
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., Lieut.-Governor. &c. &c. &c.

No.3.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir R. G. MACDONNELL, C.B., to
the Right Hon.Edward Carwell, M.P.
(No.49.) Government House, Halifax, Nova Scotia,
January 5, 1865.
SIR, (Received Jan. 17,1865.)
WITH a view to enabling you, in ease of necessity, to refer readily to the speeches recently delivered at public meeting by the friends and opponents of the scheme of Federation proposed for the British American Provinces, i have had extracts made from the best reported speeches, and put them into a somewhat more convenient shape for reference than it left to be searched for through the various journals in which they have from time to time appeared.*
2. A considerable amount of ability has been exhibited on both sides, but the most practiced debaters as well as the most influential portion of the press have form the first been on the side of the Delegates, whilst the early publication of the reply of Her Majesty’s Government to Lord Monck on the same subject has given such an additional prestige and weight to the position and arguments of the Delegates and other friends of the measure, the unquestionably the result of the discussion has been in a great degree to disarm opposition, and also to prevent any effective organization on a great scale by the political opponents of Federation.
3. It has, however, been a great satisfaction to me to note throughout these discussions that neither party can be regarded as more loyally disposed than the other, but on both sides the tendency or supposed tendency of any suggested arrangement to promote or weaken the connexion subsisting between these Colonies and Great Britain is treated accordingly as a favourable or unfavourable feature in the scheme.
I have, &c.
(Signed) RICHARD GRAVES MACDONNELL,
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., Lieut.-Governor. &c. &c. &c.

No.4.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir R. G. MACDONNELL, C.B., to
the Right Hon.Edward Carwell, M.P.
(No.51.) Government House, Halifax, Nova Scotia, January 13, 1865. (Received January 31,1865.)
SIR, (Answered. No. 5, February 3, 1865. Page 78)
I HAVE the honour to transmit herewith copy of a Despatch received from Lord Monck, on the 6th instant, inquiring what course i intend to pursue for the purpose of giving effect to your instructions as conveyed to his Lordship in your Despatch of the 3rd December.
As I believe your instructions clearly imply the expectation that the several Legislatures of these Provinces shall adopt an address to the Crown praying Her majesty to direct steps to be taken for passing an Imperial act uniting these Provinces on the general basis of the Quebec Resolutions, and as that is the policy which Lord Monck announces as intended by his Government, I have had much pleasure in intimating the entire willingness of this Government to adhere to the same policy. It is, indeed, precisely the same course which I had myself recommended as soon as i was in possession of your views on the Quebec Resolutions.
I enclose copy of my replies to Lord Monck, which enlarges somewhat on the reasons why it seems inexpedient to depart in any of these Colonies from the above simple programme, as any departure therefrom might lead to hopeless variance, i and my advisers feel that the proposal of Her Majesty’s Government to frame the Imperial Act with the aid of representative of the various Colonies, specially deputed for the purpose, affords the simplest and readiest practical mode of adjusting details, which can be more effectively as well as more wisely and completely dealt with by the Imperial Parliament, than by the possibly discordant action of several independent Legislatures.

I have, &c.
(Signed) RICHARD GRAVES MACDONNELL,
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., Lieut.-Governor. &c. &c. &c.

No.5.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir R. G. MACDONNELL, C.B., to
the Right Hon.Edward Carwell, M.P.
(No.55.) Government House, Halifax, Nova Scotia, February 2, 1865.
(Received February 16,1865.)
SIR, (Answered No.10, March 1, 1865, page 79.)
In my Despatch, No.13, of the 31st August I had the honour to announce the final appointment of delegates to represent Nova Scotia at Charlottetown, for the purpose of discussing the expediency and practicability of some union of the British North American Maritime Provinces.
It is only within the last few days that I have received from the Provincial Secretary, himself one of the delegates and joint secretaries of the Conference, the enclosed brief resume of proceedings, which, as you are aware, became soon afterwards practically merged in the more comprehensive Conference at Quebec.
You will observe that almost from the very commencement of the Charlottetown Conference at the beginning of September, delegates from Canada, including some of the eminent statesmen from that country, were admitted to take part in the proceedings, and its deliberations practically embraced a far more extensive question that that which had been originally submitted to the consideration of the delegates by resolution of the respective Legislatures.
The enclosed document is nevertheless interesting as forming a portion of the history of proceedings to which subsequent events have given a far wider influence than was at first anticipated.
I have, &c.
(Signed) RICHARD GRAVES MACDONNELL,
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., Lieut.-Governor. &c. &c. &c.

Enclosure 1 in No. 5.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY, Halifax, N.S., January 28, 1865.
ON behalf of the delegates appointed by your Excellency to attend the COnference held at Charlottetown in September last, I beg to enclose for your information the following report of the proceedings of that Conference, duly authenticated by the signatures of the chairman and joint secretaries.
I have, &c.
To his Excellency, Sir R. G. MacDonnell, C.B. (Signed_ CHARLES TUPPER.
Lieut.-Governor, &c. &c. &c.

REPORT of Proceedings of a Conference held to consider the Question of a Legislative Union of Nova
Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.

The conference was composed of the following delegates :–
Hon. CHARLES TUPPER, Provincial Secretary
Hon. W. A. HENRY, Attorney-General.
Hon. JONATHAN […], M.L.C.
ADAMS G. […] Esq., M.P.P.
Hon. R. B. DICKEY, M.L.C.
Hon. S.L.[…], Provincial Secretary.
Hon. W.H.STEEVES, M.L.C. and M.E.C.
Hon. J.M. JOHNSON, Attorney-General.
Hon. E. B. CHANDLER, M.L.C.
Hon. J.N. GRAY, M.P.P.
Hon. Col. J. U. GRAY, M.E.C.
Hon. W. H. POPE, Colonial Secretary.
Hon. EDWARD PALMER, Attorney General.
Hon. GEORGE […], M.P.P.
Hon. ANSDREW MCDONALD, M.L.C.

The delegates met at the Colonial Building Charlottetown, P.E.Island, on the 1st day of September 1864, when on motion of the Hon. Charles Tupper, seconded by the Hon. S. L. Tilley, the Hon. Col. Gray was appointed Chairman of the Conference : the Hon. Charles Tupper and the Hon. S. L. Tilley were appointed Joint Secretaries.
After some time spent in general discussion it was decided to receive a deputation from the Government of Canada, who had arrived for the purpose of explaining to the Conference the views of that Government upon the union of the British North America.
In conformity with that decision the following members of the Canadian Government were received by the Conference on the 2nd day of September. —
Hon. J. A. MCDONALD, Attorney-General, C.W.
Hon. G. E. CARTIER, Attorney – General, C. E.
Hon. GEORGE BROWN, M.P.P., President of Executive Council
Hon. A. T. GALT, Minister of FInance.
Hon. T. D. MCGEE, Minister of Agriculture.
Hon. Wm, […], Provincial Secretary.
Hon. […] CAMPBELL< M.L.C., Commissioner of Crown Lands.
Hon. L.H. […], M.P.P., Solicitor-General, C.E.

The Conference met separately and with these gentlemen daily until Wednesday, the 7th September and full and free discussion took place between them and the members of the Conference. Upon the 7th September, at the invitation of the delegates from Nova Scotia, the Conference was adjourned to meet at Halifax, where on the 10th September it was re-assembled at the Legislative Council Chamber and the discussions continued with the members of the Canadian Government. On the 12th September, upon the invitation of the delegates from New Brunswick, the Conference was adjourned to meet at St. John, New Brunswick.
Previous to adjournment, the Hon J. A. McDonald announced to the Conference that the Executive Council of Canada would advise his Excellency the Governor-General to invite the Lieut.-Governors of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island to appoint delegates to attend a Conference at Quebec, to take formally into consideration the subject of a union of all the British North American Provinces.
Pursuant to adjournment the Conference met at Stubb’s hotel, St. John, N.B., on the 16th September when it was decided to adjourn until after the Conference to be called at Quebec had formally discussed the larger question in all its bearings.
An adjournment accordings took place until again called by the chairman to meet at such time and place as he should think fit, of which due notices should be given by the secretaries to the members.
Such adjourned meeting was duly called and held at the Queen’s hotel, Toronto, C.W. on the 3rd of November, when it was resolved. —
“That in view of the resolutions passed at the Quebec Conference in favour of a Confederation of the
“British North American Province, this Conference decide to postpone the consideration of the
“Question of a legislative Union of the Maritime Provinces, and that the joint secretaries be requested
“To draw up a report of the proceedings of the Conference for the information of the Lieutenant –
“Governors and of the Legislatures of the Maritime Provinces.”
A vote of thanks having been passed unanimously to the chairman, for the able manner in which he had discharged the duties of his office, the Conference was on motion adjourned “sine die”.
(Signed) J. HAMILTON GRAY. Chairman.
CHARLES TUPPER,
Joint Secretaries.
S.L. TULLY,

No.6.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir R. G. MACDONNELL, C.B., to
the Right Hon.Edward Carwell, M.P.
(No.56.) Government House, Halifax, Nova Scotia, February 15, 1865.
(Received February 28,1865.)
SIR, (Answered No.12, March 10, 1865, page 79.)
I HAVE the honour to transmit herewith a copy of the speech with which on the 9th instant i opened the second session of the twenty-second General Assembly of this Province.
It was very gratifying to me to be able to congratulate the members of the Legislature on the unprecedented prosperity with which this Province has been favoured during the past year, thereby affording them suitable leisure to discuss the important question of Confederation of these Provinces which it will be the duty of my Government shortly to bring before them.
On Monday, the 13th inst.,the President and Members of the Legislative Council waited on me at Government House with the enclosed address in reply to my speech. Shortly afterwards, on the same day, the Speaker and Members of the House of Assembly presented to me the address which I also transmit.
I have, &c.
(Signed) RICHARD GRAVES MACDONNELL,
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., Lieut.-Governor. &c. &c. &c.

Enclosure 1 in No. 6.
EXTRACTS from Lieut.-Governor’s Speech.
MR.PRESIDENT AND HONOURABLE GENTLEMEN OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.
MR. SPEAKER AND […] OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY.

4. At the opening of last session, the Officer then administering the Government alluded to the identity of the interests of the BIrtish North American Maritime Provinces, and laid before you a proposal for devising means of effecting their Union under one Government. The consideration which you then gave to the question led to a resolution requesting the Officer administering the Government to appoint delegates, not exceeding five in number, to confer on that subject with delegates from New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
5. It Became my duty, on receiving permission from Her Majesty’s Government, to give effect to that resolution. Therefore, with a view to a full and fair discussion, I endeavoured to bestow a national character on the delegation by requesting the aid of prominent representatives of the two great leading parties in the Province. I have directed the report presented to me by those gentlemen to be laid before you you will thence learn their reasons for deferring the linal consideration of the subject, which you had submitted to them, till another proposal, which had been made in the interim, have been first disposed of, namely that of general union of British North America.
6. When invited by the Governor-General to send delegates to Quebec to discuss that wider question, I considered it my duty to obtain previously the consent of Her Majesty’s Government. I then appointed, on behalf of this Province, the same gentlemen who had represented her interests in the first Conference. The second Conference commence its sittings at Quebec on the 10th October, and did not conclude them till the 20th of that month.
7. The result of their labours, proposing a Union of British North America on certain conditions embodied in 72 resolutions, has already been made pubic, and will now be officially communicated to you with all the correspondence connected therewith.
8. The highest authority on such a subject, the Colonial Minister of the Crown, has recorded his opinion of the labours of the delegates, and has given them credit for the warmest sentiments of loyalty, as also for conducting their deliberations with a patient sagacity, which enabled them to arrive at common conclusions of the most involved and difficult questions.
9. I feel assured that irrespective of any political difference of opinion, such communions from such a quarter on British North American statesman must be deeply gratifying to that great body of Her Majesty’s subjects, who are proud to identify themselves with the welfare and reputation of these Provinces.
10. A copy of the Despatch of the Secretary of State containing those opinions, and conveying the general approval by Her Majesty’s Government of the Quebec resolutions as “the best framework of a measure to be passed by the Imperial Parliament.” for the purposes therein more fully adverted to, was received by me on the 22 December, and by my orders was published the same day for general information. You have, therefore, been for many weeks in possession of the views of Her Majesty’s Government, and the country has for a still longer period enjoyed the opportunity of discussing the expediency of the projected union.
11. It is not my province, and I have no mission to do more than afford you the amplest and freest scope for consideration of a proposal which seriously involves your own prospects, and in reference of which you should competent to interpret the wishes and determine the true interests of the country. I feel assured, however, that whatever be the result of your deliberation, you will deprecate attempts to treat in narrow spirit, or otherwise than with dispassionate care and prudence, a question so broad that in reality it covers the ground of all parties, and precludes it from becoming the measure of merely one Government or one party.
12. I need only observe further, without in the least indenting thereby to influence your ultimate determination, that it is obviously convenient, if not essential, for the Legislatures of all the Provinces concerned to observe uniformity in the mode of ascertaining their respective decisions on a question common to all. I have, therefore, desired to be laid before you some correspondence between the Governor-General and myself on that point.

Enclosure 2 in No.6.

To his Excellency SIr […] […] MACDONNELL, Knight Companion of the Most Honourable
Order of the Bath, Lieut Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over Her Majesty’s
Province of Nova Scotia and its Dependencies, &c. &c. &c.

(Extract.) The Address of the Legislative Council.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,

We fully appreciate the great and unusual importance of the question of a Union of the British North American Province, to which you have been pleased to direct our attention, and we assure 16254. Your Excellency that a question involving to so great an extent the interests of Her Majesty’s subjects in this Province will not fail to receive at our hands the attention commensurate with its magnitude.

Extract form Address of the House of Assembly in answer to the opening Speech of the Governor.

To His Excellency Sir RICHARD GRAVES MACDONNELL, Knight Companion of the Most Honourable
Order of the Bath. Lieutenant-Governor and COmmander-in-Chief in and over Her Majesty’s
Province of Nova Scotia and its Dependencies, &c. &c. &c.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,

1. The report from the delegates appointed to confer upon the Union of the Maritime Provinces, and the resolutions of the Conference held at Quebec proposing a Union of the different Provinces of British North America, together with the correspondence on that subject, will obtain at our hands the deliberate and attentive consideration demanded by a question of such magnitude and importance, and fraught with consequences so momentous to us and our posterity.

No.7.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir R. G. MACDONNELL, C.B., to
the Right Hon.Edward Carwell, M.P.
(No.75.) Government House, Halifax, Nova Scotia, April 27, 1865.
SIR, (Received May 9, 1865.)
I HAVE the honour to report for your information that the following Resolution was possessed by the House of Assembly of the 24th instant:
“Resolved, that in the opinion of this House the negotiations for the Union of NOva Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island should be renewed in accordance “with the Resolution passed at the last Session of the Legislature.
2. I need seareely tell you that my Ministry has been most anxious to give the fullest possible effect to the declared wishes of Her Majesty’s Government in favour of a general Confederation for the British North American Provinces. It is obvious, however, that they would jeopardise the final success of that project if, in a very divided state of public opinion, they had submitted it to the Legislature or the country at a time when the refusal of New Brunswick to form part of that Confederation had left such an enormous gap as the space occupied by that Province between Canada and Nova Scotia.
3. A decision given at such a time and under such discouraging circumstances would probably have greatly increased the difficult of procuring the adhesion of this Province to the larger Union at some favourable opportunity.
4. Opponent of the present Government have argued that they had incurred an obligation to stand or fall by the result of an appeal to the Legislature or the country on the larger question. I conceive there might be something more than plausible in such an argument, it urges as a duty on the Government of New Brunswick, in ease Nova Scotia had been the first to reject the proposal based on the Quebec Resolutions, because the non-adhesion of Nova Scotia could not separate New Brunswick from Canada, whereas the refusal of New Brunswick rendos the discussion of Nova Scotia’s adhesion so evidently fruitless and inconsequential for the time being as seriously to impair the chance of th question meeting a fair reception on its own merits. Whater the l after may be, it is obvious that opponents of Confederation would say that the general union having become impracticable for the time, all discussion of its merits was out of season.
5. To such an extent did this feeling prevail, that even the following preamble, which originally prefaced the Resolution just passed, had to be omitted, viz., “Whereas under “existing circumstances an immediate Union of the British American Provinces has “become impracticable ; and whereas a Legislative Union of the Maritime Provinces is “desirable, whether the largest Union be accomplished or not.”
6. The feeling of the Legislature and of the country appeared to be so unmistakably against discussion of the Quebec Resolutions without hope of any immediate practical result during the present attitude of New Brunswick, that even the innocuous allusion thereto in the above preamble was regarded as unreasonable ; it was therefore withdrawn and the resolution itself in favour of resuming negotiations for the legislative union of the Maritime Provinces was thereupon immediately carried without a division.
7. It may be as well to explain here that I have for some time been aware, and indeed this very day was off could […] by the Lieut.-Governor of Prince Edward Island, that his Ministry declines taking any part in the proposed negotiations, which must therefore be regarded as limited to the two more important Provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
8. This Province may therefore be regarded as having placed on record no decision, and not even any opinion relative to the merits of the larger question. It has simply recorded its desire ‘ad interim’ to resume negotiations with a neighbouring Province for the purpose of effecting a Legislative Union between the two. The Legislature thereby affirms the expediency of throwing down barriers and distinctions between adjacent Province with nearly identical interests, and inhabited by the same race. That is in itself a matter of internal improvement and administrative economy, which apparently may be taken up without in the slightest degree impairing the prospect, of a plan intended to embrace all the Province, inasmuch as consolidation of two members of the proposed Confederation ought rather to give a firmer consistency to the whole.
9. I do not, however, wish to put forward any individual opinion of my own, but confess that I see much force in the concluding observations of Mr. A. G. Archibald on that subject ; and i take the liberty of transmitting his speech along with those of Mr. Arand and the Provincial Secretary, as good specimens of the debate. Mr. Archibald, who was himself a delegate at Quebec, winds up by observing that whether the Union shall end with the Lower Provinces or expand to Confederation it will be alike useful to us : and if the larger Union is ever to be consummated there must be an advantage in obliterating all narrow boundaries, whether legislative or territorial, over so extensive and important a portion of the proposed Confederation as that comprised in the area occupied by New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
10. It only remains to observe that however favorable public opinion here may be to such intermediate and smaller union, I have no reason as yet for thinking that it will meet queal favour in New Brunswick. Possibly the latter may be as little disposed to form alliances of any kind as Prince Edward Island.
11. It is probably, however, that the views of Her Majesty’s Government on the subject, whether favourable, as formerly, to such an arrangement, or whether they may be induced to regard it as interfering unduly, though unintentionally, with the proposed general Confederation, would greatly influence the result of any negotiations for a Legislative Union of the Maritime Provinces.
I have, &c.
(Signed) RICHARD GRAVES MACDONNELL,
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P. Lieut.-Governor
&c. &c. &c.

No.8.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir R. G. MACDONNELL, C.B., to the
Right Hon.Edward Carwell, M.P.
(No.78.) Government House, Halifax, Nova Scotia, May 9, 1865.
SIR, (Received May 22, 1865.)
In reference to my Despatch, No. 75 of the 27th ultimo, transmitting a Resolution of the House of Assembly on the subject of Union of the Maritime Provinces, I have now the honour to enclose a Resolution passed on the 2nd instant by the Legislative Council of this Province, affirming the expediency of renewing negotiations for a Legislative Union of those Province. This Resolution is identical with that adopted by the Assembly, except that it retains the preamble which, in deference to the feelings of the majority of the latter house, was finally omitted there, as I have already explained.
I have, &c.
(Signed) RICHARD GRAVES MACDONNELL,
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P. Lieut.-Governor
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 8.
Whereas, under existing circumstances, an immediate […] of the British North American Provinces has become impracticable:
And whereas, a Legislative Union of the Maritime Provinces is desirable, whether the larger Union be accomplished or not:
Resolved, that in the opinion of this house the negotiations for the Union of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island should be renewed in accordance with the resolution passed at the last session of the Legislature.

No.9.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir R. G. MACDONNELL, C.B., to the
Right Hon.Edward Carwell, M.P.
(No.87.) Government House, Halifax, Nova Scotia, June 7, 1865.
(Received June 17, 1865.)
SIR, (Answered No. 30. June 21, 1865. Page 80.)
IN reference to my Despatch No. 75, * of the 37th April, apprizing you of the steps taken in the Legislature of this Province to receive discussion of the question of a Union of the Maritime Provinces, i have not eh honour to transmit, for your information, copies of the replies which i have received from the Lieutenant-Governors of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
I have, &c.
(Signed) RICHARD GRAVES MACDONNELL,
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P. Lieut.-Governor
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure 1 in No. 9.
Lenient.-Governor the Hon. ARTHER H. GORDON to Lieut.-Governor Sir R. G. MACDONNELL, C. B.

Sir, Fredericton, N.B., May 31, 1865.
I HAVE the honour to enclose herewith for your Excellency’s information a copy of an address present to me by the House of Assembly of this Province, with reference to the appointment of a delegation to confer with delegates from Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island with a view to an Union of the Maritime Provinces, as also a copy of my answer.
I have, &c.
His Excellency Sir R. G. MacDonnell, C.B., (Signed) ARTHER H. GORDON
&c. &c. &c.

House of Assembly, Thursday, May 25, 1865.
[…] the Lient.Governor of this Province has received from the Lient.-Governor of Nova Scotia copies of resolutions passed by the Legislative Council and House of Assembly of that Province, expressing a wish to renew the negotiation for a Union for the Maritime Provinces, and whereas it is desirable to ascertain whether a legislative or commercial Union of these Provinces, on terms advantageous to all, is practicable.
Therefore, Resolved, that an humble address be presented to his Excellency the Lient.-Governor, requesting him to appoint delegates, not to exceed five, to confer with a delegation to be appointed by the Government of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, on the subject of such a Union.
Ordered. That Hon. Mr. Smith. Mr. Ker, and Mr. […], be a committee to want upon his Excellency with the address.
(Signed) […} P. […], Clerk.

[…],
I am fully sensible of the great importance of the subject to which the address now presumed to me relates, and will not fail to appoint delegates to conduct its discussion on the part of this Province, as theorem requested.

Enclosure 2 in No.9.
Lenient.-Governor […] DUNDAS to Lieut.-Governor Sir R. G. MACFONNELL, […]

SIR, Government House, Prince Edward Island, May 20, 1865.
WITH reference to my Despatch of the […], in which I informed you that a […] was being prepared to express the views of the Executive council of this Island on the subject of the proposed resumption of negotiations for Union of the Maritime Provinces. I have now the honour to enclose that […].
I have, &c.
His Excellency Sir R. G. MacDonnell, C.B., (Signed) GEORGE DENDAS,
&c. &c. &c. Lient.-Governor

EXTRACT from MINUTES of the EXECUTIVE COUNCIL.
Council Chamber, April 18, 1865.
At a Meeting of Council. Present : His Excellency the Lieut.-Governor, &c. &c,, &c.
His Excellency having laid before the Board a communication from Sir Richard Graves MacDOnnell. Lieut.-Governor of Nova Scotia, enclosing certain resolutions proposed by the Government of Nova Scotia to the Legislature of that Province, suggesting the resumption of negotiations for union of the Maritime Provinces : and also expressing his Excellency’s desire to know how far the Government of this Island is disposed to cooperate in effecting the proposed Union. It was resolved, that, inasmuch as the people of this Colony are averse as well to union of this Island with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick as to a Federal Union of all the British North American Colonies and Provinces, the Board decline to renew negotiations for the Union of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, as proposed by the Government of Nova Scotia.
A true extract, which I certify.
(Signed) CHARLES DESHRISAY,
Clerk Executive Council.

No.10.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir R. G. MACDONNELL, C.B., to the
Right Hon.Edward Carwell, M.P.
(No.93.) Government House, Halifax, Nova Scotia, July 6, 1865.
(Received July 17, 1865.)
SIR, (Answered No. 36. July 22,, 1865. Page [..].)
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 29.* of the 24th June, transmitting a copy of a correspondence between yourself and Lord Monck on the affairs of British North America, and more especially alluding to the recent conferences between Her Majesty’s Government and a deputation from that of Canada.
To Despatch addressed to myself contains such an earnest and emphatic declaration of the views of Her Majesty’s Government as to the paramount importance of union under one government, and those views are, moreover, expressed in a manner so calculated to impress the people of this Province with a sense of the jast authority attaching to the deliberate opinion of Her Majesty’s Government, that i have felt it my duty not to withhold that Despatch a single day from publicity.
If my action were to be limited by your instruction to lay the correspondence before the Legislature of Nova Scotia as its next meeting the friends of Confederation would probably find themselves deprived till next February of the very great support which they cannot but derive from an earlier publication of so judicious an exposition of the opinions of Her Majesty’s Government, I have therefore not hesitated to give it immediate publicity, as you will perceive from the enclosed copy of the Royal Gazette of the 5th instant, and i trust that you will approve the course which i have adopted.
I have, &c.
(Signed) RICHARD GRAVES MACDONNELL,
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P. Lieut.-Governor
&c. &c. &c.

No.11.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.H., to the
Right Hon.Edward Carwell, M.P.
(No.30.) Halifax, Nova Scotia, April 26, 1866.
(Received May 8, 1866.)
SIR, (Answered No. 26. May 12, 1866. p. 80.)
By the last New York mail packet I had the honour of sending you, in an informal manner, an announcement of the passage, through both Houses of the legislature of this Province, of a resolution in favour of the future Confederation of the British North American Provinces.
II now beg to enclose a copy of the resolution in question, and to state that the numbers on dividing were as follows:–
In the Legislative Council – – – – 13 to 5.
In the Legislative Assembly – – – 31 to 19.
It is highly gratifying to be able to add that this all-important measure was warmly supported by the most eminent men of both parties in Parliament, and thus triumphantly carried after a protracted and well-sustained debate. And I would fain add my firm belief that every man who voted for the measure felt that he was exhibiting to the QUeen the highest proof of his loyalty and devotion, at the same time that he was rendering to his native Province an inestimable served.
I have, &c.
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) W.F. WILLIAMS.
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 11.
“Whereas, in the opinion of this House it is desirable that a Confederation of the British North American Provinces should take place :
“Resolved therefore. That his Excellency the Lient.-Governor be authorized to appoint delegates to arrange with the Imperial Government a scheme of union which will effectually ensure just provided for the rights and interests of this Province, each Province to have an equal voice in such delegation Upper and Lower Canada being, for this purpose, considered as separate Provinces.’

No.12.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B., to the
Right Hon.Edward Carwell, M.P.
(No.32.) Halifax, Nova Scotia, April 26, 1866.
(Received May 8, 1866.)
SIR, (Answered No. 29. May 25, 1866. p. 81.)
IN compliance with the request of certain Members of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly, i have the honour to forward the accompanying Address. Without remarking on the unusual course adopted by these gentlemen, or the tone of their Address, I beg to express my concurrence in the accompanying minute of my Executive Council, which I have also the honour to enclose.
I have, &c.
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) W.F. WILLIAMS.
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 12.

To the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty.
The humble Address of the undersigned, Members of the Legislative Council and House of
Assembly of Nova Scotia.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR MAJESTY,
The undersigned desire to approach the throne with the expression of their loyal attachment to Your Majesty’s person and Government.
For more than a century the Province of Nova Scotia has enjoyed the advantage of representative institutions testing on the confidence and respect of her own people, and since 1839 she has possessed entire control over her revenues, trade, appointments, and education, and generally exercised, in the subordination to Your Majesty’s just authority, all the powers of self-government.
Nor have these privileges been abused. The undersigned venture to assure Your Majesty with becoming pride, that in no part of Your Majesty’s widely extended empire have they been exercised with more justice and direction.
Our father, in the American revolutionary war, adhered to the side of England: during the war of 1812 15 the harbours of Nova Scotia formed the bases of operations, and her sons fought to defend the national flag by land and sea. In all the trials of the parent State the people of this Province sincerely sympathize ; and recently, when unquiet spirits sought to disturb the frontier, and when angry complications, growing out of national questions, threatened the peace of the Continent, the population of Nova Scotia were united in sentiment, and stood prepared to maintain their allegiance and to defend their country.
The priceless blessing of self-government makes the people content: while participation in the civilization, the commercial prosperity, and the glories of the empire, render them proud of their connexion with it, and indisposed to try rash experiments by which their control over their own affairs must be surrendered, and their connexion with the parent State may be ultimately broken.
The people of this country viewed with just alarm a scheme of Confederation, arranged by certain gentlemen at Quebec in […] without any authority from the Legislatures or people of the maritime Provinces, and sought to be forced upon them all with indecent haste, and without that deliberate review and general acceptance which can alone reconcile any free people to great constitutional changes. That scheme, rejected by the electors of two of the Maritime Provinces and by the Legislatures of them all, we fear has not been abandoned. By the free use and abuse of Your Majesty’s name and by threats that your protection would be withdrawn, a resolution has been carried through the Legislature of Nova Scotia, giving power to certain gentleman to be selected by the local Government to change, modify, or overturn the institutions of this Province at their pleasure, without any reference to the people who for a century have enjoyed them, and who we venture to assure Your Majesty would deeply resent such a violation of the trust reposed in their representatives, and (if measures thus prepared were sanctioned by Your Majesty’s Government) of the pledged faith and honour of the crown.

Our prayer to your Majesty therefore is, that no measure to effect grave changes in the constitution of this Province may be sanctioned by Your Majesty or submitted in Parliament, till it has been published in the Province, considered in the Legislature, and submitted to the deliberate acceptance or rejection of the people at the polls.
[…] BROWN, M.L.C.
R. A. […], M.L.C.
WILLIAM C. […], M.L.C.
FREEMAN TUPPER, M.L.C.
[…] […], M.L.C.
WILLIAM […], M.P.P., East Halifax.
THOMAS […], M.P.P., County Yarmouth.
DANIEL MOORE, M.P.P., South King’s
EDW. L. BROWN. M.P.P., South King’s
[…] CAMPBELL, M.P.P., Guysborough.
THOMAS […], M.P.P., Shelburne.
JOHN […], M.P.P., Shelburne.
ROMAN […], M.P.P., Shelburne.
WILLIAM ROSS, M.P.P., Victoria.
A.W. […] M.P.P., North Colchester.
WM. H. […], M.P.PYarmouth.
WILLIAM BLACKWOOD, M.P.P., North Colchester.
[…] S. [..] M.P.P., Yarmouth
HENRY […] M.P.P., Halifax.
[..] H, RW, M.P.P., Annapolis.
JAMES W. […] M.P.P., Hants.
WILLIAM LAWRENCE. M.P.P., Hants
A. […] M.P.P., Lunenburg.
Halifax, Nova Scotia, April 25, 1866.

Enclosure 2 in No. 12.

THE Executive council beg leave respectfully to offer the following observations upon the memorial to Her Majesty the Queen, signed by five members of the Legislative Council and eighteen members of the Assembly, upon the subject of the Confederation of British North America.
The Council fail to perceive how “the priceless blessing of self-government” which the mentorialists profess so highly to value is to be maintained if the deliberate action of overwhelming majorities of both branches of the Legislature, taken after full discussion, is to be overruled by the Imperial Government, at the instance of the minority.
The Council cannot [….] in the opinion that the control of the people of this Province over their own affairs will be surrendered by uniting the British North American Provinces under one Government, and they confidently expect this union, adopted after the earnest solicitation of the parent State, will […] and strengthen the bonds which now comnet this Province with the mother country.
The statement that the Quebec Conference was held without any authority from the Legislature of this Province can seacrecely be considered accurate, when the fact is state that all of the memorialists who were in Assembly in 1861 voted for the following resolution, submitted by a Government of which […], Annand and Locke, two of them, were members, and which received the unanimous assent of the Legislature.
:Whereas the subject of a union of the North American Provinces, or of the Maritime Provinces, from time to time has been mooted and discussed in all the Colonies.
“And whereas, while many advantages may be secured by such a union, either of all these Provinces or a portion of them, many and serious obstacles are presented, which can only be overcome by mutual consultation of the leading men of the Colonies, and by free communication with the Imperial Government.
“Therefore, resolved that his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor be respectfully requested to […] himself in communication with his Grace the Colonial Secretary and his Excellency the Governor-General, and the North American Colonies, in order to ascertain the policy of Her Majesty’s Government and the opinions of the other Colonies, with a view to the enlightened consideration of a question involving the highest interests, and upon which the public mind in all the Provinces ought to best […] rest.”
The charge of having passed this matter with “indecent haste” the Council cannot understand, […] more than a year was suffered to elapse after the proposal to unite these Provinces was submitted […] the Legislature before any action was invited thereon.
The council empathetically deny that any “use or abuse of Her Majest;ys name” has been resorted to in carrying this question, which has not been fully sanctioned by Her Majesty’s Ministers, who, the papers submitted to Parliament by Her Majesty’s command, declared that it was “the determination of Her Majesty’s Government to use every proper means of influence to carry into effect without delay the proposed Confederation.”
It is quite true that the Council have felt themselves justified in drawing the attention of the Legislature strongly to the following paragraph, in the Despatch of the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and in urging upon them the duty of adopting the defensive measure thus emphatically brought to their attention, lest the disposition of the Imperial Government to protect the Province might be imperiled.
“But there is one consideration which her Majesty’s Government feel it more especially their duty to press upon the Legislature of Nova Scotia. Looking for the determination which this country has ever exhibited to regard the defense of the Colonies as a matter to Imperial concern, the Colonies must recognize a right and even acknowledge an obligation incumbent on the Home Government […] urge with earnestness and just authority the measures which they consider most expedient on the […] of the Colonists, with a view of their own defence. .
“Nor can it be doubtful that the Provinces of British North America are incapable, when separated and divided from each other, making those just and efficient preparations for national defense which would be easily undertaken by a Porincine uniting in itself all the population and all the resources […] the whole.”
The statement that the aerion of the legislature gives power to “certain gentleman to be selected “by the local Government to change, modify, or overturn the institution of this Province at their “pleasure” is best refuted by the terms of the resolution itself, which are as follows : —
“Whereas in the opinion of the House it is desirable that a Confederation of the British North American Provinces should take place.
“Resolved therefore, this his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor he authorized to appoint delegates to arrange with the Imperial Government a scheme of union which will effectually ensure just provision for the rights and interest of this Porinces, each Province to have an equal voice in such delegation, Upper and Lower Canada being, for thus purpose considered as separate Provinces.”
It is complained by the memorialists that this action is proposed to be taken “without any reference to the people”, and it is declared that they would resent […] a violation of the trust reposed in “their representatives” and it is asked “that nothing shall be done without having the measure first “submitted to the people at the polls.”
When the late Government, of which Messt’s, Ammand, and […] were members, obtained authority to deal with the subject of a Union of the Colonies, they invited the action of the other Colonial Government as an official communication, signed by Mr. Howe, the then Provincial Secretary, of which the following is an extract :
“ You will perceive that the Colonial Governments are left free to invite all the leading men of all the Provinces concerned to a discussion for the question of union, either of all the Provinces or the Maritime Provinces only : and Her Majesty’s Government, it would appear, are disposed to give due weight and consideration to any resolution to which the Colonial Legislature may […]
“It must be obvious that there can be not great progress made towards an adjustment of this question unless the resolutions to be submitted to the Colonial Legislatures are in substance the same, and in order that uniformity in spirit, and if possible, in language, may be secured.”
It does not seem to have been then considered necessary to refer the question to the people at the polls. The same Government also put on record on various other occasions their opinions as to the legitimate powers of the representative of the people, as may be seen by the following minute of Council, dated 1st November 1860:
“A vast majority of the people of England are not represented in Parliament at all ; yet the Executive Council used not inform your Excellency that a public man would be laughed at who claimed to seize the Government because he had their support. Forty counties in England, with a population in 1811 of […], had but 113 members, while 187 cities and boroughs, including but 5,879,327, had 323. Now, what would be thought of any statesman, with the county members at his back, if he claimed to rule […] or […] the Sovereign to dissolve, with the representatives of the cities and boroughs against him. What representative of the smallest consistency in Great Britain would yield to the members returned by the largest any more influence than he had himself to amidst, before a ministry was turned out, that it was necessary not only to count the members in the lobbies, but their constituents also […]. At this moment a majority of the people of the constituencies and their representatives support the Administration, and we have a larger […] majority to sustain us than Lord Palmerston had in the mother country. Under these circumstances we are not very much afraid of the interference of the Imperial Parliament.”
Minute of Council, dated January 29, 1861: —
“Mr. Hatfield and Mr. Campbell are the best judges of the soundness of their own views, and of the propriety of their conduct. They are not delegates, but Members of Parliament, and from the moment they were elected they were bound to represent not only Digby or Argyle, but the whole Province, whose great interests were committed to their care. This doctrine, laid down by Mr. Burke at Bristol in 1774, has never been questioned in the Imperial Parliament. Mr. Horsman, member for Stroud, though recently called on by his constituents to resign, has, asserting his rights and illustrating this sound British doctrine, positively refused. If members were to resign whenever for a mom they displeased their constituents, the calls would be frequent, personal independence would be rare, and questions would be decided by requisitions rather than by fair deliberation and manly debate. If Parliament were to be dissolved whenever a gentleman changed sides, or a discontented constituency petitioned, free institutions would become a source of endless distraction, and no man would ever dare to deliberate or run the risk of being convinced.”
On March 30, 1861, Lord Mulgrave, by the advice of the Government, of which […], Annand and Locke were members, said, in a Despatch to the Colonial Secretary :–
“It is undoubted principle of the British Constitution that a member once returned by a consistency has to consider what he believed to be the interested of the whole country and not the simple wishes of his own contingency. He is elected a representative and not a delegate, and the constituency have given up to him for the limited period fixed by law for the duration of Parliament the power which they possessed. They have a right to represent to him their views and to refuse to re-elect him at the end of the Parliament if they are dissatisfied with his conduct, but they have no right during the duration of Parliament to coerce his actions, still less have they the right to expect that the Royal Prerogative should be used because they are dissatisfied with the choice they have made.”
In conclusion, the Council may state that more than a year since they submitted the proceedings of the Quebec Conference to the Legislature, that the subject of a union of the British North American Colonies has been constantly discussed in this Province since that time. Yet the opponents of union were only able to obtain the signatures of 8,085 people out of a population of not less than 350,000 for presentation to the House during the present session, praying that it might be referred to the people at the polls. The foregoing resolution, after full deliberation and discussion, was carried in the Legislative Council by a vote of 13 to 5, and in the House of Assembly by 31 to 19. All the members of the present Government and four members of the late Government, of which Mr. Hower was the leader, united in sustaining the resolution, while but two voted against it.
Under these circumstances the Council believe they are fully warranted in the opinion that the public sentiment of this Province has been most emphatically expressed on this great question in the only manner recognized by the constitution of this Province or the practice of Great Britain.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
(Signed) Charles Tupper.
W. A. HENRY
J. W. RITCHIE.
JAMES MCNAR.
JAS. M’DONALD
JOHN […]
ALEN. MACFARLAND
S. L. SHANNON.
J. CREIGHTON, absent.

No.13.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B., to the Right Hon.Edward Carwell, M.P.
(No.35.) Halifax, Nova Scotia, May 10, 1866.
(Received May 21, 1866.)
, (Answered No. 30. May 25, 1866. p. 81.)
“IN doing myself the honour to forward the enclosed Address to Her Gracious Majesty, together with my reply to the deputation, I beg to remark that I believe this attempt to agitate the Province to be a complete failure.”

Enclosure 1 in No.13.
To his Excellency Sir William Fenwick Williams of [..], Bart., Lieut.-General in Her Majesty Army, Knight Commander of the most Honourable Order of the Bath. Grand Officer of the […] 1st class of the Turkish Order of the Medijee, &c., Lieut.-Governor and Commander in-Chief in and over Her Majesty’s Province of Nova Scotia and its dependencies, &c. &c. &c.
We the undersigned committee […] appointed at a public meeting, held at Windsor in the county of Hants, and Province of Nova Scotia, on Tuesday the 8th day of May A.D.1866, to present to your Excellency the accompanying address and paper thereto anuesed, to be forwarded to the Queen:most Excellent Majesty.
Humbly pray that your Excellency may be pleased to transmit the said address and the paper thereto annexed to Her most Gracious Majesty, at the earliest possible period.
(Signed) EDWARD McLATCHY.
DANIEL MOSHER. Windsor, 8th May 1866. WILLIAM CHAMBERS.

Enclosure 2 in No13.
At a general public meeting of the inhabitants of the county of Hants, in the Province of Nova Scotia, held at Windsor, in said county on Tuesday the 8th day of May A.D. 1866, the accompanying address to the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, having been moved by Elkanoh Young, Esp., and seconded by Edward Riley, Esq., was put to the said meeting and carried by an overwhelming majority, about fifteen only voting against it, and upwards of 1200 voting for said address.
As the said meeting a committee composed of Edward McLatchey, Esq., Daniel Mosher, Esq., William Chambers, Esq., and S. M. Weeks, Esq., M.D., was appointed for the purpose of preparing a [..] to the Lieutenant-Governor of this Province a petition, requesting his Excellency to […] the said address and these minutes to the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, at as early a day as possible.
EDWARD McLATCHY, Chairman.
Dated at Windsor, this 8th day of May 1865. D.E. […], Secretary

Enclosure 3 in No.13.

TO THE QUEEN’S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY

The Petition of the inhabitant of the county of Hants, humbly showeth —
[…] the county of Hants forms a central portion of the Province of Nova Scotia, and that its people are chiefly engaged in agricultural pursuits, mining, shipbuilding, and navigation.
That it contains seven regiments of enrolled militiamen and sends to sea 54,000 tons of shipping bearing the flag of England.
That the people of this county in common with their fellow countrymen have since its first foundation discharged all the duties of loyal British subjects : they have sent representatives to the Provincial Parliament since […], and for a quarter of […] have enjoyed self-government in as full and ample […] as other British subjects have in the most favoured parts of the Empire.
That the people of Hants, living in peace and prosperity, ready at all times to maintain their allegiance and defend their county have been justly alarmed by attempts at revolutionary change to which they have never given their consent and for which they […] […].
[…] of Confederation was bastuly prepared at Quebec in 1864, by delegates who had no authority from the Legislature or people of Nova Scotia to consent to a political union with Canada.
That scheme, unfair and […] to the Maritime Provinces after […] them all for […] months, has been respected by two, put aside by a third, and was so unfavourably received in this Province, that its promoters never ventured formally to submit it to the Legislature or to the people at the polls.
It is now proposed to entrust to a committee the preparation of a measure, to be embodied in a bill and submitted for the Imperial Parliament, without affording to the people, whose rights, revenues, and future prosperity it may materially affect, any opportunity to protect themselves in the ordinary modes known to the Constitution and practiced by the people of all free States.
The prayer of the people of Hants therefore is, that no change in the institutions of this country may be made until it has been submitted to the test of public opinion, and that Your Majesty will so readily guard the rights which we have loyally exercised and enjoyed so long, until by al the form-sanctioned by the usage of the mother country they have been deliberately resigned.
EDWARD […], Chairman.

Enclosure 4 in No.13.
[…], Halifax, Nova Scotia, May 10, 1866.
[…] that pressing […] prevented my receiving you yesterday.
I shall […] […] […] request […] in your minutes, forward the accompanying minutes and address to the Colonial Secretary to be land before the Queen.
Full details of the events on which these documents touch are in the possession of the Imperial Government, and it will be for the British Cabined to judge of the justness or otherwise of the allegations contained in the address to Her Majesty : yet i cannot doubt, in balancing the actions of the Government and Legislature of Nova Scotia in the momentous crisis, with the motives of the meeting from whom this address emanates, that the Queen’s Government will rightly judge where ties that revolutionary tendency which this address would fain attach to the proceeding of the faithful and loyal representatives of this Province.
I have, &c.
To Edward McLatchy. Esq. (Signed) W. F. WILLIAMS.

No.14.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B., to the Right Hon.Edward Carwell, M.P.
(No.42.) Halifax, Nova Scotia, May 24, 1866.
(Received June 4, 1866.)
SIR, (Answered No. 38. June 9, 1866. p. 81.)
IN accordance with the wish expressed in the accompanying letter i have the honour to forward the enclosed petition to Her Majesty.
I have, &c.
The Right Hon Edwards Cardwell. M.P. (Signed) W.F. WILLIAMS
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure 1 in No. […]
May it please your Excellency, Caming, May 14, 1866.
A PUBLIC MEETING called by the High Sheriff of the county of Kings in pursuance of numerously signed requisitions was held in the Shire Town on Thursday the […] of May. At that meeting the enclosed address to Her Gracious Majesty the Queen was adopted unanimously and I was instructed to transmit it to your Excellency that it might be laid at the […] of the Throne. Resolutions were unanimously passed condemning the action of […] Legislature in the matter of Confederation, and requesting the two members for the southern district, who voted for the resolution […].
I have to request that the address and a copy of this letter may be forwarded to the Right Hon. the Secretary of State for the Colonies by next mail.
I have, &c.
His Excellency the Lieut-Governor, (Signed) CHARLES DICKIE
&c. &c. &c. Chairman.

Enclosure 2 in No. 1[…].
To the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty,
The petition of the inhabitants of the county of Kings.
Humbly showeth
That the county of Kings is one of the oldest, most improved, and flourishing counties of this Province, its population being engaged in agricultural partnership building, commerce, and navigation.
That it contains […] regiments of enrolled militia and sends to sea 20,000 tons of shipping bearing the flag of England.
That the people of this county have enjoyed the privilege of sending members to the Provincial Parliament for more than a century and in common with their fellow countrymen, have discharged all the duties of loyal British subjects and for more than 20 years have enjoyed the inestimable blessing of self government, raising, controlling and dispensing their own revenues, and directing the administration of their affairs.
That the people of Kings county desire still to enjoy these great privileges and to transmit them unimpaired to their children.
That they highly prize their […] with the parent […] under whose […] rule they have lived and prospered, and whose flag they are ready to defend, but they […] not desire to be transferred to the dominion of a sister province with which they have no […] almost no trade, and which being frozen up for five months of the year and possessing no navy or troops or space is incapable of forming a new nationality or protecting the sea-board of Nova Scotia.
That the people have viewed with post alarm the attempts which have been made by reckless persons to effect revolutionary changes which they have not ventured to submit to the deliberate judgement of the population whose welfare in all time to come they would so deeply compromise. The scheme of Confederation arranged at Quebec in 1864 was not less distasteful to the people of Kings than is the proposition to entrust powers to a committee to prepare another to be embodied in an Act of Parliament and sanctioned by the Crown, without being submitted to the people at the polls.
The prayer of the people of Kings, therefore, is that no change in the institution of this country ma be made until it has been submitted to the test of public opinion, and that Your Majesty will sacredly guard the rights we have loyally exercised and enjoyed so long, until by all the forms sanctioned by the usage of the mother country they have been deliberately resigned.

No.15.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B., to the Right Hon.Edward Carwell, M.P.
(No.43.) Halifax, Nova Scotia, June 6, 1866.
(Received June 18, 1866.)
SIR, (Answered No. 40. June 21, 1866. p. 82.)
I HAVE the honour herewith to transmit a copy of the proceedings of a meeting held at Yarmouth, together with an Address to Her Gracious Majesty adopted at that meeting.
I have, &c.
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell. M.P. (Signed) W.F. WILLIAMS.
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure […] in No. 16.
At a public meeting held at the Court-house in Yarmouth, on the 19th day of May 1866, Nathan Moses chairman, George Killam secretary.
Hon Joseph Howe was introduced to the meeting, and commenced with an elephant eulogy on the character of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, as a child, a wife, and mother, a queen and a widow, at the conclusion of which the audience gave three hearty cheers for Her Majesty Queen Victoria.
Mr. Howe then addressed the meeting for over two hours, on the question of Confederation with Canada, at the close of which it was moved by Dr. Joseph B. Bond. seconded by Nathan Weston, and Thomas Killam, Esq., M.P.P., that the following address, prepared by a committee appointed for that purpose, at a public meeting held in this place tn the 24th April 1866, be adopted by this meeting: —

To the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty.
The petition of the inhabitants of the county of Yarmouth humbly showeth —
That the county of Yarmouth contains about 16,000 inhabitants, five regiments of militia, and owns about 100,000 tons of shipping hearing the flag of England.
That the people of this county have discharged all the duties of loyal British subjects, have sent members to the Provincial Parliament for about a century, and under Your Majesty’s beneficent rule are prosperous and content.
That they view with great distrust attempts recently made to annex them to the Province of Canada, with which they have no natural connexion, and very little trade.
That a scheme of Confederation arranged at Quebec in […], without the consent of the constituencies of the Province, who have never either before or since that time been consulted on the subject, would be an invasion of their rights, and would, if sanctioned by Your Majesty’s Government, create wide-spread dissatisfaction in this loyal and happy Province.
That since the said Quebec scheme was made public a township election has taken place in this county, when both the opposing candidates pledged themselves strongly against any scheme of Confederation with Canada.
The prayer of the people of Varmonth, therefore, is that no change in the institution of this country may be made until it shall have been submitted to the people at the polls, and that Your Majesty will sacredly guard the rights which we have so long loyally exercised and enjoyed.
The meeting was then addressed by Thomas Killam, Esq., R. L […], J. C. Troop, and Hervey Cann, […] against Confederation, and by Samuel Flint. Esq., in favour.
On the que […] being taken, the address was adopted unanimously.
Moved by John R. Ryerson. Esq., seconded by William Rogers, Esq. —
That the committee who prepared the address adopted this day, Thomas Killam, Esq., M.P.P., Hon. […] Brown, M.L.C., Dr. Joseph B. Bond, and George Killam, be a committee to forward the address to Her Majesty the Queen through his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor.
Passed unanimously.
Moved by William H. Moody, Esq : seconded by De. B. V. […] —
That the thanks of the meeting be given to Nathan Moses, Esq., the chairman.
Carried unanimously
[…] MOSES. Chairman.
GEORGE KILLAM, Secretary
Dated at Yarmouth, ,this 19th day of May, A.D. 1866.

Enclosure 2 in No. 15

To the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty.

The petition of the inhabitants of the county of Yarmouth humbly showeth —
THAT the county of Yarmouth contains about 16,000 inhabitants, five regiments of militia, and owns about 100,000 tons of shipping bearing that flag of England.
That the people of this county have discharged all the duties of loyal British subjects, have sent members to the Provincial Parliament for about a century, and under Your Majesty’s beneficent rule are prosperous and content.
That they view with great distrust attempts recently made to annex them to the Province of Canada, with which they have no natural connexion, and very little trade.
That a scheme of Confederation arranged at Quebec in […], without the consent of the constituencies of the Province, who have never either before or since that time been consulted on the subject, would be an invasion of their rights, and would, if sanctioned by Your Majesty’s Government, create wide-spread dissatisfaction in this loyal and happy Province.
That since the said Quebec scheme was made public a township elections has taken place in this county, when both the opposing candidates pledged themselves strongly against any scheme of Confederation with Canada.
The prayer of the people of Yarmouth, therefore, is that no change in the institution of this country may be made until it shall have been submitted to the people at the polls, and that Your Majesty will sacredly guard the rights which we have so long loyally exercised and enjoyed.
NATHAN MOSES, Chairman.
GEORGE KILLAM, Secretary.
Dated at Yarmouth, this 19th day of May, A.D. 1866.

No.16.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B., to the Right Hon.Edward Carwell, M.P.
(No.44.) Halifax, Nova Scotia, June 6, 1866.
(Received June 18, 1866.)
SIR, (Answered No. 41. June 21, 1866. p. 82.)
I HAVE the honour to forward the accompanying address to Her Gracious Majesty the Queen, in accordance with a with conveyed to me by certain of the inhabitants of the county of Digby.
I have, &c.
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell. M.P. (Signed) W.F. WILLIAMS.
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 16.

To the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty.
The petition of the inhabitants of the county of Digby humbly showeth —
[…] the county of Digby contains 16,000 inhabitants, five regiments of enrolled militia, and about 19,000 tons of shipping, bearing the flag of England.
That this county, formerly part of the county of Annapolis, has long sent representatives to the general Assembly, and its people have discharged all the duties of loyal British subjects, and under Your Majesty’s benign rule are prosperous and content.
That they view with great distrust attempts recently made to annex them to the Province of Canada, with which they have no natural connexion, and very little trade. That a scheme of confederation arranged at Quebec in […], without the consent of the constituencies, who have never been consulted, would be a violation of their rights, and would if sanctioned by Your Majesty’s Government create wide-spread dissatisfaction in this loyal and happy Province.
That while that portion of this county which borders on the sea is thickly inhabited and rapidly increasing in population and wealth, there are still considerable districts but lately reclaimed from the […] forest, sparsely settled by immigrants from Great Britain and Ireland, encountering all the difficulties and privations incident to the early settlement of a rugged though promising country : and large grants from the revenues of the Province have […] to be made to open up roads, construct bridges, and otherwise aid in the development and facilitate the settlement of such sections of the Province : and your petitioners regard with dismay the prospect of the transfer of the control of those revenues to a Government by which they would necessarily all be expended for widely different purposes : a deprivation which such portions of this county may afford hereafter, but certainly not for many years to come.
That while your petitioners are ready cheerfully to […] to any burden that it may be deemed necessary to impose on them for the […] of their country and their flag, and […] that flag and the honour of the Empire whenever their aid can be available by sea or land, they are not disposed to adopt, as means of ensuring their more efficient defence, a union with a Province which in 1862 refused to sanction a measure involving an increased outlay for the better and more elaborate organization of their militia, although that measure was strongly urged upon that Province by the “just authority” of Your Majesty’s Government.
The prayer of the people of Digby, therefore, is that no change in the institutions of this country may be made until it has been submitted to the test of public opinion, and that Your Majesty will sacredly guard the rights which we have loyally exercised and enjoyed so long.
The forgoing petition, on motion of Lieut.0Colonel Wm. B. Vail, seconded by Mr. Richard Jones, was unanimously adopted by the people of this county of Digby, assembled at a general meeting held at Weymouth this 19th day of May, A.D. 1866.
JOHN S. McNEILE,
Chairman.
WM. […]. Secretary to the Meeting.

No.17.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B., to the Right Hon.Edward Carwell, M.P.
(No.48.) Halifax, Nova Scotia, June 19, 1866.
(Received July 2, 1866.)
SIR, (Answered No. 2. July 6, 1866. p. 82.)
I HAVE the honour herewith to transmit an address to Her Gracious Majesty the Queen from certain of the inhabitants of the county of Shelburne.
I have, &c.
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell. M.P. (Signed) W.F. WILLIAMS.
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 17

To the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty.

The petition of the people of the county of Shelburne in the Province of Nova Scotia.
Humbly sheweth —
[…] the county of Shelburne contains a population of 12,000 principally engaged in the fisheries, and in ship building : is capable of sending into the field four regiments of enrolled militia : and owns about 20,000 tons of shipping bearing Your Majesty’s flag.
That its people are the descendants of an ancestry, whose veneration for the British throne and attachment to monarchial institutions impelled […] in […] to forsake lands and possessions in the revolted Colonies, and seek an asylum on the then indispensable shores of this Province.
That since the first settlement of the county in […] its people have sent representatives to the Provincial Parliament and for the last quarter of a century have enjoyed the privileges of self-government in as ample a degree as their brethren in British Islands.
That their instincts and traditions lead them to depreciate revolutionary changes, the end of which no man can foresee, but which once hazarded there is too much […] to fear will eventuate in a separation of those Provinces from the parent Empire and their absorption into the already unwieldy Republic of the United States.
That they have seen with alarm and […] a scheme of Confederation, hastily prepared at Quebec in […], introduced into our Legislature […] […] late session, without previous notice in the opening speech and forced through that body with […] and unnecessary haste, and in a manner calculated to throw the gravest suspicions upon the influences employed to secure its passage.
That whilst Your Majesty’s petitioners freely admit the right of their representatives in Province […] Parliament to legislate for them within reasonable limits, they cannot admit the right of such representatives to effect sudden changes […] to an entire subversion of the constitution, without the […] rate sanction of the people expressed at the polls.
The prayer of the people of Shelburne therefore is, that the assent of Your Majesty will be withheld from any scheme affecting the constitution of the Province, and more particularly from that known as the Quebec scheme, until such measure has been fully subjected to the test of public opinion, and deliberately pronounced upon by the people and the polls.
(Singed) JOSHUA SNOW,
Chairman.

No.18.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B., to the Right Hon.Edward Carwell, M.P.
(No.49.) Halifax, Nova Scotia, June 19, 1866.
(Received July 2, 1866.)
SIR, (Answered No. 2. July 6, 1866. p. 82.)
I HAVE the honour herewith to enclose an address to Her Gracious Majesty the Queen from the inhabitants of the Northern District of Queen’s county.
I have, &c.
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) W.F. WILLIAMS.
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 18.

To the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty.

The petition of the inhabitants of the northern district of Queen’s county,
Humbly showeth —
THAT the inhabitants of this district live by the eltivation of the soil, and are content to share with Your Majesty’s subjects elsewhere the common blessings which their British citizenship included.
In Nova Scotia loyalty to the Sovereign, respect for the law, and devotion to the national flag are universal sentiments. Its people prize highly the right of self-government which they have long enjoyed, and are content with their participation in the organization and glory of the empire.
Revolutionary changes in the framework of their Government proposed by a COnvention which assembled at Quebec in […], met no favour from the people of Nova Scotia, who view with distrust and indiguation the passage of a resolution giving power to a committee to change or break down the institutions of this Province without the people having expressed any desire for such a measure, and without securing to them the constitutional right to accept or reject it at the polls.
There is no reason why Nova Scotia should be subject to the domination of Canada.
Your Majesty’s subjects in this province, proud, self-reliant, and happy, prepared to defend the just authority of the Crown, and bearing the national flag all over the world would be broken in spirit and rendered discontented and restless if controlled by a Legislature in which they could never command a majority and by a distant authority which they could rarely hope to influence.
The prayer of the people of the North Queen’s , therefore, is that the institutions under which they have lived and prospered may be preserved, and that no radical changes may be sanctioned by the Imperial Government which have not been approved by the electors at the polls.
STEPHEN SMITH. Chairman.
JOSEPH B. HARLOW, Secretary

No.19
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B., to the Right Hon.Edward Carwell, M.P.
(No.50.) Halifax, Nova Scotia, June 19, 1866.
(Received July 2, 1866.)
SIR, (Answered No. 2. July 6, 1866. p. 82.)
I HAVE the honour herewith to transmit an address to Her most Gracious Majesty the Queen from inhabitants of the township of Barrington.
I have, &c.
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) W.F. WILLIAMS.
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 19.

To the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty.

The petition of the inhabitants of the township of Barrington.
Humbly showeth —
[..] the county of Shelburne was settled by loyalists from the revolted Colonies and by seafaring people who preferred to live under British institutions and to preserve unbroken the traditions and the interests which bound them to their mother country.
That spreading along the sea coast these people and their descendants have subdued a rugged soul, occupied the fine harbours by which it was indented, and which now present scenes of progressive and profitable industry. Many ships are built in Shelburne. Its young men prosecute the shore and deep sea fisheries with energy and success, and bear to distant seas the flag of England with pride in the vessels which year by year they add by their enterprise to the mercantile […] of the Empire.
That the people of Barrington, thus pursuing their peaceful occupations […] been startled by an attempt to break down their […] and to unsettle the established […] between Your Majesty and Your loyal people in the Maritime Provinces of British America.
They are content with London for their capital, believe that the representative of the Sovereign should be appointed by the Sovereign, and highly prize the right of self-government so long enjoyed under Your Majesty’s care and protection, and they do not believe the the affections of a maritime people will ever cluster around a new city in the backwoods of Canada frozen up for five months of the year, and with which they have neither commercial interocurse nor historic associations.
The great markets to which people of Barrington resort lie all before them and are open at all seasons of the year, adopting the free trade policy of England. Nova Scotia is annually extending her commerce under a system of moderate duties, and her people have no desire to have their councils controlled and their legislates shaped by an inland population who have hitherto […] no very remarkable skill in governing themselves, and have certainly established no claim to […] great Provinces in which they have invested no capital and which they are unable to defend.
The people of Barrington therefore pray Your Majesty to attract into the military, naval, and civil service of the empire the youth of all the Provinces : to countenance the establishment of no new nationalities to feeble to stand alone, yet difficult to be controlled ; to maintain the institutions under which the maritime Colonies have prospered, and to endeavour to bind them all to one common centre of civilization, duty, and allegiance.
JAMES D. COFFIN, Chairman.

No.20.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B., to the Right Hon. Edward Carwell, M.P.
(No.51.) Halifax, Nova Scotia, June 19, 1866.
(Received July 2, 1866.)
SIR, (Answered No. 2. July 6, 1866. p. 82.)
I HAVE the honour herewith to transmit an address to Her Gracious Majesty the Queen from certain of the inhabitants of the county of Annapolis.
I have, &c.
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) W.F. WILLIAMS.
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 20.

To the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty.

The petition of the inhabitants of the county of Annapolis.
Humbly showeth —
[…] Annapolis is the oldest English settlement in the Province of Nova Scotia, containing 17,000 inhabitants, four regiments of militia, and a large amount of tonnage bearing the flag of England.
That the people of this county have discharged all the duties of loyal British subjects, have sent members to the Provincial Parliament for more than a century, and under Your Majesty’s beneficent rule are prosperous and content.
That they view with great distrust attempts recently made to annex them to the Province of Canada, with which they have no natural connexion and very little trade.
That a scheme of Confederation arranged at Quebec in 1861, without the consent of the constituencies, who have never been consulted, would be an invasion of their rights, and would, if sanctioned by Your Majesty’s Government, create wide-spread dissatisfaction in this loyal and happy province.
The prayer of the people of Annapolis is, that no change in the institutions of the country may be made until it has been submitted to the test of public opinion, and that Your Majesty will sacredly guard the rights which we have loyalty exercised and enjoyed so long until by all the forms sanctions by the usage of the mother country they have been deliberately reisned.
B.C. […], Chairman. J.C. TROOP, Secretary.

No.21.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B., to the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.
(No.56.) Halifax, Nova Scotia, July 2, 1866.
(Received July 11, 1866.)
SIR, (Answered No. 5. July 21, 1866. p. 82.)
IN accordance with a desire expressed in the accompanying letter, i have the honour to transmit it, together with an Address to Her Gracious Majesty the Queen, from certain of the inhabitants of the town of Liverpool.
I have, &c.
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) W.F. WILLIAMS.
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure 1 in No. 21.
Liverpool, Nova Scotia, June 9, 1866.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,
A GENERAL public meeting of about five hundred inhabitants of this town was held in Liverpool on Tuesday the 5th day of June, A.D. 1866.
At that meeting the enclosed address to Her most Gracious Majesty the Queen was unanimously adopted.
I am instructed by the chairman of the meeting, Hon. Freeman Tupper, M.L.C., Custos […] of Queen’s county to transmit the address to your Excellency, with the request that it may be forwarded for presentation to the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty with all due despatch, and that a copy of this letter accompany the address to the foot of the Throne.
I have, &c.
To his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor. (Signed) S.J.M. ALLEN.
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure 2 in No. 21.

To the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty.

The petition of the inhabitants of the county of Queen’s county.
Humbly showeth —
[…] the county of Queen’s contains three regiments of enrolled militia, and owns upwards of 17,000 tons of shipping, […] the flag of England. A good many new vessels are built in this county every year : and while its agricultural districts are improving, it thrives by an active fishery, the manufacture and export of lumber, and has a fair share of coasting and foreighn trade.
The people of Queen’s have ever been loyal to their Sovereign, attached to the mother country, and to British institutions. They have for a century sent representatives to the Provincial Parliament, and desire to retain the institutions under which they have lived and prospered : and see no necessity for any radical or material change.
They would now view with great […] any attempt to annex Nova Scotia to Canada, or to transfer the Government and revenues of this Proving to the control of a distant people, with whom we have […] little commercial or social intercourse.
The prayer of the inhabitants of Queen’s country is that Your Majesty will sanction no change in the framework of, or in the mode of administering the Government of this Province, which have not been submitted for the acceptance or rejection of the pole at the polls.
[…] TUPPER, M.L.C., Chairman.

No.22.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B., to the Right Hon.The Secretary of State for the Colonies.
(No.61.) Halifax, Nova Scotia, July 16, 1866.
(Received July 28, 1866.)
SIR, (Answered No. 9. August […], 1866. p. 83.)
I HAVE the honour herewith to transmit an address from certain of the inhabitants of the county of Lunenburg to Her Gracious Majesty the Queen.
I have, &c.
The Right Hon. The Secretary of State for the Colonies (Signed) W.F. WILLIAMS.
&c. &c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 22.

To the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR MAJESTY,
THE petition of the inhabitants of the county of Lunenburg, in Your Majesty’s Province of Nova Scotia, adopted unanimously at a public meeting held in Budgewater, Mahone […], and […] in said county.
Humbly showeth,
[…] this county was settled over a century ago, […] by natives of Germany, who with their descendants have been distinguished for unswerving loyalty to the British Crown, and her […] respect and esteem for Your Majesty’s Royal House, and it is the most […] desire of Your Majesty’s petitioners to have under the […] of the British flag and to maintain their allegiance as British subjects.
That this county has a population of over 20,000 and is rapidly increasing in wealth and prosperity : that its enrolled […] numbers eight regiments, with upwards of […] first-class men, and that the vessels and men engaged in the prosecution of the fisheries […] more than those of any other county the Province.
That the country is represented in the provincial Parliament by three members, and […] an election held in December last to supply a […] caused by the […] of one member resulted in the return of a candidates by a majority of over […] votes opposed to any union of the Provinces being passed upon by the Legislature without […] first hand […] by the people at the polls.
That the means which have been taken to secure a union of the Provinces without the electors having been first consulted have […] in the minds of Your Majesty’s petitioners great dissatisfaction and indignation, believing, as they do, that a question of such importance should be submitted for the decision of the people, as it will affect them and their descendants for all time.
We do most respectfully and earnestly pray that Your most Gracious Majesty will uphold for us those rights and privileges which under the system of responsible government graduated to this Province […] have so long enjoyed in peace and prosperity, and that before any union of these Provinces be carried Your most Gracious Majesty will cause the question to be submitted for the decision of the electors of Nova Scotia, a privilege which, though hitherto denied to them, has in the short space of 14 months been […] granted to their fellow-subjects in the adjoining Province of New Brunswick.
And your Majesty’s petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, &c.
On behalf of Electors,
[…] B. […][…], Chairman of Meeting at Bridgewater.
JAMES […], Secretary.
EDWARD […], Chairman of Meeting at Chester.
AMOS F. […], Secretary.
WILLIAM KEDY. Chairman of Meeting at Mahone Bay.
HENRY […], Secretary

No.23.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B., to the Right Hon.the Earl of CARNARVON.
(Separate.) Halifax, Nova Scotia, July 19, 1866.
(Received July 28, 1866.)
MY LORD, (Answered No. 10. August […], 1866. p. 83.)
I HAVE the honour to inform your Lordship that the delegates, as named in the margin, from Nova Scotia, accompanied by those from New Brunswick, will proceed to England by this days Royal mail packet the […] arrived in Halifax yesterday with full determination to proceed to England, and my advisers in Council at once made up their minds to pursuit […] similar course.
I informed Viscount Monck in the beginning of the week that my advisers were […] of […] […] […] […] to the […] police, and indeed urgent necessity of this move, and that […] […] their views.
A telegram in reply from His Excellency the Governor-General conveyed an adverse opinion to this, […] on the change of the British Ministry, and on the consequent […] […] […] of the Imperial Parliament.
[…] […] […] in hoping that from the […] of the latest news from England, the Bill […] […] of the British North American Provinces may be passed […] the […] […] of the Legislature : such […] would […] […].
[…] […] […] […] […] […] […] […] […] […] […] […] […] […] […] […] […] […] […] […] […] […] […] […] […] […] […]
I have, &c.
The Right Hon.[…] […] […] (Signed) W.F. WILLIAMS.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 21..
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B., to the Right Hon.the Earl of CARNARVON.
(No.63.) Halifax, Nova Scotia, July […], 1866.
(Received […])
MY LORD, (Answered […])
I […] with […] […] and in the […] address, I have the honour to forward the accompanying […][…][…] of the […] the county of Kings to […][…].
I have, &c.
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) W.F. WILLIAMS.
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 21
Port Medway, July 13th, 1866
To His Excellency Sir W. F. Williams.

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,
At a public meeting of about 500 electors, held at Port Medway in the county of Queen;s on the 7th of June 1866, the enclosed address to Her Majesty the Queen was adopted unanimously.
I have been required by Capt. William Mortimer, J. P., chairman of the meeting, to forward the within petition to your Excellency, with the request that you will be pleased to transmit the same to Her Majesty, together with a copy of the minutes of the meeting at your earliest possible convenience.
I remain, &c.
E. MORINE,
Secretary of the Meeting,
WILLIAM […]
Chairman.
Sub-enclosure in Enclosure No. 21

To the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty.
THE petition of the people of Queen’s county, in the Province of Nova Scotia.
Humbly showeth, —
[…] Queen’s county contains a population of 12,000, principally engaged in lumbering, fishing, and navigation : can equip three regiments of enrolled militia, and owns about 15,000 tons of shipping, bearing the flag of England.
That the county has sent representatives to the Provincial Parliament for upward of a century, and its people for more than […] years have enjoyed the blessings of civil and religious liberty, personal security, and temporal prosperity, under a system of responsible Government, which modelled after that of England leaves them nothing to desire but its undisturbed continuance.
That they have witnessed with apprehension and regret the effects of a small party in this Province to unsettle a condition of […] which has worked so satisfactorily, by sweeping away their free Constitution, by subjecting this people, their revenues, resources, and independence, to the virtual domination of another Colony, and to the […] issue of an experiment known as the “Quebec Scheme Of Confederation.”
That even were the proposed as likely to be beneficial, as in the judgement of Your Majesty’s petitioners it is certain to be […] […] […] of the Maritime Province, […] means employed to force it upon the country without an […] to the poele, and with full knowledge of their intense dislike of the […][…][…][…] the hands of a Sovereign whose ambition it is to live in the […][…] of her […] subjects.
The prayer of the people of Queen’s country […][…] is that Your Majesty will be graciously pleased to withhold your Royal Assent from any measure […] relations of this Province to the sister Colonies until, […][…] the people of Nova Scotia in reference to this most important subject may be […] reflected in their Legislature.
WILLIAM MORTIMER,
Chairman.

No. 25.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B., to the Right Hon.the Earl of CARNARVON.
(No.68.) Halifax, Nova Scotia, August 16, 1866.
(Received […])
MY LORD, (Answered […])
I HAVE the honour to transmit by […] certain of the inhabitants of the District of Port Medway, Nova Scotia petition to the Honourable the Commons of […] […] and […].
I have, &c.
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) W.F. WILLIAMS.
&c. &c. &c.

That ever since, during the political agitations which have disturbed this […] especially during the war of 1812 and the Canadian rebellions of 1837, Nova Scotia has been […] in her loyalty and that when the neighbouring Province or New Brunswick was mentioned from the American side in 1839, the Legislature of Nova Scotia […] […] the whole revenues and resources of the country at the disposal of the Lieutenant-Governor for the defense of British subjects […] […] of the Crown. They have sent representations […] Provincial Parliament since […], for a quarter of a century have enjoyed responsible […] […] a measure as have their fellow subjects in the most favoured parts of the […] […] have preserved from degeneracy and abuse their Constitutional rights and free institutions.
That the people of this Province form their […] position, have developed the […] of ship building, navigation, commerce, and […] […]. Their agricultural resources are rich and varied, while the vast mineral wealth which underlied the whole area of the country is a special guarantee of its future prosperity under favourable political conditions. The gold […] Nova Scotia, without rising to the character of dazzling […] to attract a promiscuous or disorderly population from abroad have proved steadily […] as a regular department of native industry, and a profitable investment for foreighn capital .The great iron mines already discovered give earnest in connexion with its […] fields, of manufacturing capabilities […] inferior to those of any country or similar extent. It has the […] scams in the world, and their area is extensive, affording fairground for the presumption that for the purposes of peace […] war Nova Scotia’s continued connexion with Great Britain would prove of […] advantages. […] […] of these resources, the people desire closer relations with the mother country in order to be able to enjoy more largely the benefits, as well as share more […] the responsibilities of the empire : and already the Province has enrolled […] militia and volunteers to assist in the maintenance of British power of this […], and send to sea […] of shipping, […] and owned within the Province, bearing the flag of Enflan, and […] […]than 20,000 […].
That Nova Scotia has […] […] with the mother country, the other Provinces, or with the population of the neighbouring United States, and highly prizes the privileges, so long enjoyed […]regulation […] […] but […] […] with the British Islands and […] […] and parts of the […] […]with […] countries.
That the people of Nova Scotia are […] […] to […] any populations by which […] them the institutions […] enjoy greater facilities for commercial and […] […] […], and they are willing, whenever their own […] […] Her Majesty’s […] to preserve from aggression the Provinces in the rear.
But they view with […] […] […] recently […], by which it is proposed […] to the people of […] the […] […] the Government, legislation, and revenue of this loyal and happy Province […] […] from your honourable House […]
Justice and […].
That the Province of […] […] Nova Scotia as Austria done from England, and there exists […] […] a people with […] […] a distance, with whom we have but the little commerce who have invested […] […] […] are unable to protect it, and are themselves shut from […] […] byt […] […]years should control our legislation and Government.
That the […] […] without any authority from the Legislature, and […] […] […] the people […] felegates to Canada to arrange in secret […] […] […] Provinces. That these delegates […] […] in another Province.

PG. 84 — SECOND HALF OF PAGE UNREADABLE

Blessings they now enjoy, or to try new experiments which may complicate foreighn relations, and […] add no real strength to the Provinces it is proposed to […]
The […] also to the financial arrangements, as especially burdensome and unfair to this Province. Having long enjoyed the control and benefitted by the expenditure of their own revenues, they cannot approve a scheme that will […] the greater part of […] from their hand, to keep up costly and […] federal machinery, and to meet the liabilities of Canada.
For many years the commercial policy of Nova Scotia has been essentially different from that of Canada. The […] country, pardy […] of financial […] […] as an indirect […]on her own manufactures, has adopted a tariff carrying from […] […] on imported goods.
Almost surrounded as Nova Scotia is by the ocean, her people are favourably situated for enjoying […] commercial intercours with every section of the British Empire, and with those foreign countries […] to her commercy by the enlightened policy of the Parent State : of this privilege she has […] […] by initiating, as far as local circumstances would permit, the liberal and free trade policy of […] country — ten percent, being the advalorean duty collected under the Nova Scotia tariff […] into the Province. The proposed scheme of union will give Canada, by her large […] […] Legislature the power to shape the tariff for the whole confederacy accordion to her […] […] necessities, so as to buy the same […] on British goods imported into Nova Scotia as […] […] now exacted by Canada.
That since the confederation scheme has been announced, there have been special parliamentary elections in three out of the eighteen countries of this Province, and in all three it has been concluded at the polls.
That in […] […] scheme was condemned at nearly every public meeting held by the delegate to discuss it, and numerous petitions against its adoption were presented to the Provincial Parliament, and only one in its favour, until the leader of the Government declared the measure to be “impracticable”.
That at the opening of the late Session no reference to confederation was made in the speech of the Lieutenant Governor, and down to a late period the people of Nova Scotia were led to believe that the scheme had been abandoned. A resolution was introduced toward the close of the Session, clothing the Government with power to appoint delegate, who, in connection with delegates from the order Provinces are to trace a scheme of Government, to which it is proposed to ask the sanction of your Honourable House before it has been submitted to the Legislatures that it may […], or to the people whose legal and constitutional rights and […] it may transfer or […].
The undersigned, measured by a measure that may be […] may […] implement confidence in the protection of the Imperial Parliament. They deny the authority of their own Legislature, invested with limited powers for a definite term, to […] them of rights earned by their ancestry by the most painful sacrifices, wisely exercised and never abused from more than a century, and which they had no legitimate authority to alienate or break down. They behave that any scheme of Government, gramed by a Committee of Delegate and forced upon the pRovinces without their revision or approval, would generate widespread dissatisfaction among a loyal and […] people who will not fail to […]that no change can be made in the constitution of any of the […] States which has […] been approved by the electors and that important measures, altering […] policy or measures are rarely attempted till they have been submitted […][…] rejection, by the people […] interests they are to affect.
Your petitioners therefore pray that your […] The Honourable House will […] […] in favour of Confederation in the Imperial Parliament until the people of Nova Scotia […] […] and enjoyed their Constitutional privilege to […][…][…] Honourable House may be pleased to direct that a Special Committee […][…] of the proposed scheme of Confederation, as it is likely to affect the […][…] to each other and to the mother country : or in the […] […] […] petitioners, as in duty bound will ever pray.
[…][…][…][…][…][…]

No. 26.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lient.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B., to the Right Hon.the Earl of CARNARVON.
(No.71.) Halifax, Nova Scotia, […], 1866.
(Received […])
MY LORD, (Answered […])
IN transmitting the enclosed letter from the Lord Bishop of Nova Scotia I beg to refer you to the leading members of my administration now in London. I can […] public opinion on the matter in question, but at the same time i beg to […] my […] that it may receive a very careful consideration on the part of those Gentlemen, and that the result of their decision may secure future peace and contentment at the […] confederation which i trust is about to be established by the Imperial Parliament.
I have, &c.
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) W.F. WILLIAMS.
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 26
MY LORD, Halifax, November 8, 1866.
[…] I do not feel myself called upon to trouble you with my views respecting the scheme of Confederation now under your Lordship’s consideration, regarded generally there is one point upon which I venture to appeal to you as more immediately affecting those over whose interests I am specially bound to watch.
Your Lordship is aware that much trouble has been caused in Canada by dissension (arising from differences of creed) respecting education, and I fear if this be left an open question we may be involved in similar difficulties in this Province. I trust therefore that it may be found practicable to secure the rights of minorities in the constitution of the proposed Confederation.
I decidedly object to any division of our schools into the two classes of Roman Catholic and Protestant, and i believe the members of the Church of England in this discourse agree with me. For such a division provides for teaching at the public expense the tenets of one portion of the population while the other portion (containing several sets or denominations) is deprived of the privilege of inculcating in its schools any definite religious truth beyond the most elementary principles. Moreover i do not think that any general system of separate schools could be advantageously adopted in this Province, the population being so seattered that very few settlements can afford sufficient support for more than one. Nevertheless I do not believe there will ever be general satisfaction unless some facilities are afforded to those who may desire to have their own schools, and therefore I would suggest a clause to the following effect.
Whenever any number of heads of families declare in writing that they cannot conscientiously send their children to the common school of the section in which they reside they may establish another, and shall receive the portion of the public grant to which they may be entities according to the sealed applicable to the common schools. Such separate schools shall of course be subject in all other respect (except the amount and nature of the religious instruction to be imparted) to the regulations framed for the common schools, and the parties establishing them must pay the educational assessments.
When our present Education Act was under discussion I endeavoured to procure the insertion of a clause […] to the above effect but failed, the Provincial Government having considered that it would interfere with the efficiency of the one school for which they desired to secure the united support of each section. But surely it is far better to be content with a somewhat lower class of school that to incur the risk of awakening the feelings of dissatisfaction, the jealousies and heart burnings which must inevitably be caused by interference with many conscientious convictions respectign the education of their children : in most cases the knowledge that they can have a separate school will be sufficient, and as those who take advantage of the permission will subject themselves to much additional expense, there will probably be very few who will avail themselves of the privilege.
My desire is to have this important question so settled that it may no longer furnish occasion for […] and that the whole population of the Provinces to be confederated may be satisfied that they cannot hereafter be affected by objectionable influences, and that all men, whatever their sentiments may be, shall henceforth be at liberty to claim a fair proportion of the public grants towards the education of their children in accordance with their own belief.
I have, &c.
The Right Hon. the Earl of Carnarvon, (Signed) H. NOVA SCOTIA.
&c. &c. &c.

Despatches from the Secretary of State.

No. 1.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Lieut.-Governor Sir R. G. MACDONNELL, C.B.
(No.3.)
SIR, Downing Street, January 7, 1865.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. […]* of the 8th of December, enclosing a copy of the resolutions adopted at the Conference recently held at Quebec on the subject of the union of the British North American Provinces.
I have, &c.
Lieut-Gov. Sir R. G. MacDonnell, C.B., (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 2.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Lieut.-Governor Sir R. G. MACDONNELL, C.B.
(No.5.)
SIR, Downing Street, February 3, 1865.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 51* of the 13th of January, enclosing a copy of a Despatch which you had addressed to Lord Monck, explaining the course you proposed to adopt for giving effect to the views of Her Majesty’s Government on the subject of the union of the British North American Provinces.
I have, &c.
Lieut-Gov. Sir R. G. MacDonnell, C.B., (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 3.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Lieut.-Governor Sir R. G. MACDONNELL, C.B.
(No.10.)
SIR, Downing Street, March 1, 1865.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 55,* of the 2nd of February, enclosing a copy of the report of the proceedings of the Conference appointed to consider the question of a Union of the Maritime Provinces of British North America.
I have, &c.
Lieut-Gov. Sir R. G. MacDonnell, C.B., (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 4.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Lieut.-Governor Sir R. G. MACDONNELL, C.B.
(No.12.)
SIR, Downing Street, March 10, 1865.
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No.56,* of the 15gh of February, enclosing a copy of the speech with which you opened the Session of the Legislature of Nova Scotia on the 9th of February, together with copies of the addresses presented to you in reply.
I have, &c.
Lieut-Gov. Sir R. G. MacDonnell, C.B., (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 5.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Lieut.-Governor Sir R. G. MACDONNELL, C.B.
(No.29.)
SIR, Downing Street, June 21, 1865.
I HAVE the honour to transmit to you the copy of a correspondence between Viscount Monck and myself on the affairs of British North America, which have lately formed the subject of conferences between Her Majesty’s Government and a deputation from the Canadian Government.
This correspondence having been present to both the Houses of the Imperial Parliament by a command of Her Majesty, I have to direct you to communicate it also to the Legislature of Nova Scotia at its next meeting.
You will at the same time express the strong and deliberate opinion of Her Majesty’s Government that it is an object much to be desired that all the British North American Colonies should agree to […] in one government. In the territorial extent of Canada, and in the maritime and commercial enterprise of the Lower Provinces, Her Majesty’s Government see the elements of power which only required to be combined in order to secure for the Province which shall possess them all a place among the most considerable committees of the world, in the spirit of loyalty to the British Crown, of attachment to […] connexion, and of love for British institutions, by which all the Provinces are […] alike, Her Majesty’s Government recognize the […] by which all may be […] under one government. Such an Union seems to Her Majesty’s Government to […] itself to the Provinces on […] grounds of moral and material advantage, as […] a well-founded prospect of improved administration, and increased prosperity. But there is one consideration which Her Majesty’s Government feel it more especially their duty to press upon the Legislature of Nova Scotia. Looking to the determination which this country has ever exhibited to regard the defence of the Colonies as a matter of Imperial concern, the Colonies must recognize a right, and even acknowledge an obligation, incumbent on the Home Government to urge with earnestness and just authority the measure which they consider to me most expedient on the part of the Colonies with a view to their own defence. Nor can it be doubtful that the Provinces of British North America are incapable, when separated and divided from each other, of making those just and sufficient preparations for national defence which would be easily undertaken by a Province uniting in itself all the population and all the resources of the whole.
I am aware that this project, so novel as well as so important, has not been at once accepted in Nova Scotia with the cordiality which has marked its acceptance by the Legislature of Canada, but Her Majesty’s Government trust that after a full and careful examination of the subject in all its bearings the Maritime Provinces will perceive the great advantages which, in the opinion of Her Majesty’s Government, the proposed Union is calculated to confer upon them all.
I have, &c.
Lieut-Gov. Sir R. G. MacDonnell, C.B., (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 6.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Lieut.-Governor Sir R. G. MACDONNELL, C.B.
(No.30.)
SIR, Downing Street, June 21, 1865.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 87,* of the 7th of June, in which you enclose copies of Despatches addressed to you by the Lieut-Governors of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, in reference to the question of a renewal of negotiations for a Union of the Maritime Provinces of British North America.
I have, &c.
Lieut-Gov. Sir R. G. MacDonnell, C.B., (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 7.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Lieut.-Governor Sir R. G. MACDONNELL, C.B.
(No.36.)
SIR, Downing Street, July 22, 1865.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 93,* of the 7th instant, and to inform you that as you were of opinion that an immediate publication of the correspondence which accompanied my Despatch to you of the […] of last June would be beneficial. I see no objection to your having acted on that opinion.
I have, &c.
Lieut-Gov. Sir R. G. MacDonnell, C.B., (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 8.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Lieut.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B.
(No.26.)
SIR, Downing Street, May 12, 1866.
I HAVE to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 30,* of the 26gh April, enclosing a copy of a Resolution agreed upon by both Houses of the Legislature of Nova Scotia, in favour of the Confederation of the British North American Provinces. Her Majesty’s Government concur in the gratification which you express in announcing that this measure was warmly supported by eminent men of both parties in the Provincial Parliament, and that the proposed Union is regarded as a measure calculated to confer great benefits on the Province of Nova Scotia.
I avail myself of this opportunity of conveying to you my thanks for the telegram communicating the above important intelligence, which, at your request, was sent to me from New York by the British Consul on the 18th April.
I have, &c.
(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
Lenient.-General Sir W. F. Williams, Bart., K.C.B.,
&c. &c. &c.

No. 9.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Lieut.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B.
(No.29.)
SIR, Downing Street, May 25, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge your Despatch, No. 32,* of the 26th of April, accompanied by an Address to Her Majesty signed by several gentlemen who are members of one or the other House of Legislature in Nova Scotia, praying that no measure to effect grave changes in the constitution of Nova Scotia may be sanctioned by Her Majesty or submitted to Parliament until it has been published in the Province, considered in the Legislature, and submitted to the deliberate acceptance or rejection of the people.
I have duly laid this address at the foot of the Throne.
I have, &c.
Lenient.-General Sir W. F. Williams, Bart., K.C.B., (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 10.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Lieut.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B.
(No.30.)
SIR, Downing Street, May 25, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 235, of the 10th of May, enclosing a Petition to the Queen from the inhabitants of the county of Hants, together with a copy of your reply to the deputation who presented it, praying that no change in the institutions of the Province may be made until it has been submitted to the test of public opinion, and that Her Majesty would guard the rights of the people.
I have laid this Petition at the foot of the Throne.
I have, &c.
Lenient.-General Sir W. F. Williams, Bart., K.C.B., (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 11.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Lieut.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B.
(No.38.)
SIR, Downing Street, June 9, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 12,* of the 24th of May, enclosing a Petition to the Queen from the inhabitants of the county of Kings, Nova Scotia, on the subject of the Union of the British North American Provinces.
I have to request you to acquaint the petitioners that I have laid their Petition before Her Majesty.
I have, &c.
Lenient.-General Sir W. F. Williams, Bart., K.C.B., (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 12.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Lieut.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B.
(No.40.)
SIR, Downing Street, June 21, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 43,* dated the 6th June, enclosing a Petition addressed to Her Majesty by the inhabitants of the county of Yarmouth. I request you to inform the petitioners that their Memorial has been laid at the foot of the Throne.
I have, &c.
Lenient.-General Sir W. F. Williams, Bart., K.C.B., (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 13.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to
Lieut.-Governor Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B.
(No. 41.)
SIR, Downing Street, June 21, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 44,* of the 6th June, forwarding to me a Petition addressed to Her Majesty by the inhabitants of the county of Digby. I request you to inform the memorialist that their Petition has been duly laid at the foot of the Throne.
I have, &c.
Lenient.-General Sir W. F. Williams, Bart., K.C.B., (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 14.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Earl of CARNARVON to Lieutenant-General Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B.
(No.2.)
SIR, Downing Street, July 6, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge your Despatches of the numbers and dates mentioned in the margin, accompanied by Petitions adverse to the Union of the British Provinces, from the inhabitants of the county of Shelburne, the northern district of Queen’s county, the township of Barrington, and the county of Annapolis. You will have the goodness to inform the petitioners that their Petitions have been duly laid at the foot of the Throne.
I have, &c.
Lenient.-General Sir W. F. Williams, Bart., K.C.B., (Signed) CARNARVON.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 15.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Earl of CARNARVON to Lieutenant-General Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B.
(No.5.)
SIR, Downing Street, July 24, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 56,* dated the 2nd July, transmitting to my predecessor a Letter and an Address to the Queen from certain of the inhabitants of Liverpool. You will inform the memorialist that their Address has been duly laid at the foot of the Throne.
I have, &c.
Lenient.-General Sir W. F. Williams, Bart., K.C.B., (Signed) CARNARVON.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 16.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Earl of CARNARVON to Lieut.-General Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B.
(No.9.)
SIR, Downing Street, August 3, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 61,* of the 16th July, enclosing a petition addressed to Her Majesty by the inhabitants of the county of Lunenburg.
You will be good enough to inform the memorialists that their petitions has been duly laid at the foot of the Throne.
I have, &c.
Lenient.-General Sir W. F. Williams, Bart., K.C.B., (Signed) CARNARVON.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 17.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Earl of CARNARVON to Lieut.-General Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B.
(No.10.)
SIR, Downing Street, August 1, 1866.
I HAVE received your Despatch of the 19th ult. Marked “Separate”, stating that the gentlemen named in the margin, accompanied by gentleman from New Brunswick, would proceed to England as Delegates to confer with Her Majesty’s Government upon the subject of the Confederation of the British North American Provinces.
I have to inform you that the gentlemen in question have arrived, and that on the 30th ult. I had an interview with them on this important subject, and apprized them that the non-arrival of the Canadian Delegates, and the advanced period of the Session, rendered it impossible for Her Majesty’s Government to submit to Parliament any measure for the Confederation of the Provinces.
I added that during the recess I should be prepared to enter fully into communication with the Delegates from Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick., and to endeavour to arrive with them at such a conclusion as would be satisfactory both to the Colonies and to this country.
I have, &c.
Lenient.-General Sir W. F. Williams, Bart., K.C.B., (Signed) CARNARVON.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 18.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Earl of CARNARVON to Lieut.-General Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B.
(No.13.)
SIR, Downing Street, August 21, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No.63,* of 25th July, enclosing a petition addressed to Her Majesty by certain of the inhabitants of the count of King’s.
I have to request you to inform the memorialist that their petition has been duly laid at the foot of the Throne.
I have, &c.
Lenient.-General Sir W. F. Williams, Bart., K.C.B., (Signed) CARNARVON.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 19.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Earl of CARNARVON to Lieut.-General Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B.
(No.17.)
SIR, Downing Street, September 11, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge your Despatch No. 68,* of the 16th ult., accompanied by a petition from certain inhabitants of the District of Port Medway, Nova Scotia, to the House of Commons, against the immediate Confederation of the British Provinces in North America.
I have, &c.
Lenient.-General Sir W. F. Williams, Bart., K.C.B., (Signed) CARNARVON.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 20.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Earl of CARNARVON to Lieut.-General Sir W. F. WILLIAMS, Bart., K.C.B.
(No.28.)
SIR, Downing Street, November 22, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 71,* of the 8th of this month, enclosing a letter from the Bishop of Nova Scotia, in which his Lordship requests that the subject of schools, as regulated under the existing local Act, may be brought under the consideration of the Delegates at present in this country.
The question of education is one of the important subjects which must be discussed by the North American Delegates when in conference in this country ; but at present i can only promise that the letter of the Bishop of Nova Scotia shall receive full consideration. I have to request that you will communicate to the Bishop the substance of this Despatch.
I have, &c.
Lenient.-General Sir W. F. Williams, Bart., K.C.B., (Signed) CARNARVON.
&c. &c. &c.

NEW BRUNSWICK

Despatches from the Lieutenant-Governor.

No. 1.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.
(No.93.)
SIR, Fredericton, December 5, 1864.
SINCE the return from Quebec of the Delegates appointed to consider the question of a Federal Union of the British North American Provinces, the scheme on which they have agreed has excited somewhat more interest and attention on the part of the public than was previously the case. There is still, however, an indisposition to believe that the change is seriously meditated, and an inclination to regard the plan rather than intended to produce, by its agitation, some immediate effect on the condition of existing political parties than as designed to inaugurate a new constitutional system.
2. I have the honour to enclose for your information extracts from some of the leading newspapers of the Province,* containing articles on the subject of Confederation, and also a report of the meeting at St. John, at which the Provincial Secretary and the Hon. J. H. Gray, who represented that city in the House of Assembly, explained their views to their constituents.
The first of these meetings was, I am informed, a failure ; the second, however, proved eminently successful.
I also enclose a copy of a letter addressed to his constituents, by Mr. A. S. Smith, M.P.P., who will probably take the lead in opposition to the proposals of the Government.
I have, &c.
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 2.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.
(No.9.) Fredericton, N.B., January 30, 1865.
(Received February 16, 1865.)
SIR, (Answered No.54, February 27, 1865, page 116.)
I HAVE the honour to inform you that in consequence of a difference of opinion with his colleagues on the subject of the proposed Confederation of the British North American Provinces, the Chief Commissioner of the Board of Works, G. L. Hatheway, Esq., has resigned his office and his seat at the Executive Council Board, and that i have accepted his resignation. I have the honour to enclose copies of the correspondence which has taken place on this subject.
I have, &c.
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 2.
CORRESPONDENCE between LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR of New Brunswick and Mr. […]
Concerning the Resignation by the latter of his Seat at the Executive Council.

The Honourable G. L. […] to the LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY, Fredericton, January 4, 1865.
The delegates appointed by the Government of this Province to confer with the Government of Canada on the subject of the Union of the North American Provinces, have agreed to certain resolutions for the purpose of carrying out that object, and these resolutions, as it appears by a Despatch from the Right Hon. the Secretary of State for the Colonies, published in the last Royal Gazette, having been submitted to and received the general approval of Her Majesty’s Government, and it being the intention of the Government of this Province to submit the matter to the Legislature at its next session. I consider it my duty without further delay to state to your Excellency my position in reference to this important question.
A large majority of the Executive Council has adopted the resolutions of the conference, and a leading member of the Council, together with others of the delegates, have used extraordinary efforts to convince the people in various part of the Province of the great benefits that will result from such a Union.
With every respect for the opinion of my colleagues in the Council, and after having given this important question the most careful and anxious consideration, I am unable to agree with the ciws of a majority of them.
I consider it unnecessary here to state the grounds upon which i dissent, as they are well known to my colleagues : it is sufficient that on the most important question that ever came before the Executive Council, and one which involves an entire change in the constitution of the country, i differ altogether from a majority of the Council. Under these circumstances I feel that my continuance in the Government would be not only embarrassing to my colleagues and myself, byt unconstitutional and improper.
I therefore now beg respectfully to tender to your Excellency my resignation of the office of Chief Commissioner of Public Works, as well as my seat in the Executive Council.
I respectfully ask your Excellency’s permission to be allowed to make public the reasons for my resignation.
I have, &c.
(Signed) GEORGE. L. HATHEWAY.
His Excellency the Hon. A. H. Gordon, Lieut.-Governor,
&c. &c. &c.

The Honourable G. L. HATHEWAY to the LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR
SIR, Fredericton, January 5, 1865.
As your Excellency has, in conversation with me, made objections to the terms in which i have tendered my resignation of the office of Chief Commissioner of public Works and my seat in the Executive Council, because i have stated that it is the intention of the Government to submit the matter of the Confederation of the pRovinces to the Legislature at tis next session. I have respectfully to ask your Excellency whether from such conversation I am to understand that the matter will not be so submitted.
I have, &c.
(Signed) GEORGE. L. HATHEWAY.
To his Excellency the Hon. A. H. Gordon,
&c. &c. &c.

The LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR to the Hon. G. L. HATHEWAY.
MY DEAR SIR, Government House, Fredericton, January 5, 1865.
I HAVE received your letter of this day’s date with reference to a conversation which took place between us yesterday, in consequence of some surprise having been expressed by me at your statement, that it was the intention of the Government to submit the question of a Confederation of the British North American Provinces to the existing Legislature at its next session.
As the Provincial Secretary, with the concurrence of his colleagues, had sought and obtained my permission to state publicly that the judgement of the legislature would not be sought until the election of a new Parliament. I thought you must be to some degree mistaken on this point. I have communicated the contents of your letter to the Executive Council, and am authorized to assure you not only that there is not, but that there never has been any intention of submitting the question for the decision of the Legislature until after the dissolution of the existing Parliament.
Until, therefore, I learn your wishes with respect to the tender of resignation contained in it, I defer any reply to your precious communication, which appears to have been written under some misapprehension on this important point.
I am, &c.
(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.
To Hon. G. L. Hatheway, &c. &c.

The Honourable G. L. HATHEWAY to the LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR
MY DEAR SIR, Friday, January 6, 1865.
YOUR Excellency’s note of yesterday’s date did not reach me till 3 p.m. this day.
Your Excellency states that it is not the intention of the Government to submit the question of the decision of the Legislature until after the dissolution of the existing Parliament, but i think i may fairly infer from your Excellency’s language that it is the intention of the Government to refer to it in the speech, and to submit the resolution to the House and i have the statement of my colleagues in the Government that such is their intention.
Whether, therefore, the question is submitted for the decision of the Legislature or not, it appears to me that I, as a member of the Government would be bound to support it in the vent of my question being raised upon upon it in the House, and from the course which has been pursued by some leading members of the opposition since the resolutions were made public, i cannot doubt that every possible effort will be made to attack the Government on that question.
In what position then would i be placed, entertaining the opinion i do on the question, if i should remain in the Government. Would I not be constitutionally bound to support my colleagues and I ask your Excellency if it is right that I should continue as a member of the Government while I am in direct opposition to my colleagues on any important question?
I have, &c.
(Signed) GEORGE. L. HATHEWAY.
To his Excellency the Hon. A. H. Gordon,
&c. &c. &c.

The LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR to the Hon. G. L. HATHEWAY.
MY DEAR SIR, Government House, Friday Night, January 6, 1865.
I THOUGHT it right to point out to you that a statement contained in your formal letter of the 4th inst. Was susceptible of an interpretation not strictly accurate, and I requested to be informed whether you were consequently disposed to withdraw or delay the resignation which that letter contained. It is right that i should see that no misapprehension exists in the minds of any gentleman making such a tender, and i repeat that no change has taken place in the attitude of the Government, which is now the same which it has occupied ever since the 16th November, when it was determined to adopt the report of the Conference, but not to recommend its sanction by the Legislature until after the dissolution of the existing Parliament.
But you alone must be the judge of the course which in these circumstances it may be your duty to follow, and it would be in the highest degree unbecoming were to express an opinion on that subject.
In the absence of any desire on your part to withdraw your letter, I will return an official answer tomorrow.
Yours sincerely,
(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.
To the Honourable George L. Hatheway.

The Honourable G. L. HATHEWAY to the LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY, Fredericton, Jan. 7, 1865.
I BEG to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency’s note of yesterday.
I am unable to agree with your Excellency that no change has taken place in the attitude of the Government since the 16th November, nor can I allow myself to be placed in a false position with reference to the adoption of the report of the Conference.
Your Excellency will recollect that at a meeting of Council held at Government House on the evening of the 15th Nov., I was not the only member of the Council who objected to the adoption of the report, and that in consequence of such objection no decision was arrived at.
The Council met again on the […] Noc. at the Council Chamber, your Excellency not being present, when i again repeated my objections to the scheme, but a majority having agreed to adopt the report, i withdrew from the Council Board, stating that in consequence of their action i had no right to be there, and i therefore do not hold myself responsible for the decision.
Had a minute of Council been made of such a decision, I can assure your Excellency I would have at once entered my written protest against it.
I have, &c.
(Signed) GEORGE L HATHEWAY.
His Excellency the Hon. A. H. Gordon.

The Honourable G. L. HATHEWAY to the LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.
MY DEAR SIR, Fredericton, Jan. 10, 1865.
HAVING received a summons to attend a meeting of Council on the 19th inst., i should be obliged if your Excellency would allow my resignation to stand over until that day. I have, &c.
(Signed) GEORGE. L. HATHEWAY.
His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor
&c. &c. &c.

The LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR to G. L. HATHEWAY. Esq.
DEAR SIR, Government House, Jan. 21, 1865.
As I understand from a conversation with you to-day that you desire to adhere to your letter of the 4th ins., I can only express my regret at your resignation, and transmit to you the accompanying formal acceptance of it. I have no objection to your making public the correspondence which has taken place between us.
Yours very truly,
(Signed) ARTHUR G. GORDON.

The Lieutenant-Governor accepts the Hon. G. L. Hatheway’s resignation of the office of Chief commissioner of the Bard of Works, and of his seat in the Executive Council.
(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON
Government House, Jan. 21. 1865

No. 3.
COPY of a DESPATCH from the Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.
(No.12.) Fredericton, N.B., January 30, 1865.
(Received February 16, 1865.)
SIR, (Answered No.53, February 27, 1865, page 116.)
I HAVE the honour to forward to you a copy of the report of the Conference appointed to consider the question of the Legislative Union of the three Maritime Provinces.
2. The greater scheme for the Federation of the whole of British North America rendered the further consideration of this plan unnecessary.
3. There was a great unanimity of opinion among the Delegates as to the facility with which the Legislative Union in question might have been adopted, and i cannot but regret that it did not form a part of, or a preliminary to, the more extended scheme.
I have, &c.
(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 3.
REPORT of Proceedings of a Conference held to consider the question of a Legislative Union of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. This Report will be found printed at page 55.

No. 4.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.
(No.23.) Fredericton, N.B., February 27, 1865.
(Received March 14, 1865.)
SIR, (Answered No.60, March 18, 1865, page 116.)
A DISCUSSION has lately taken place in this Province with respect to one of the conditions of the Federal Union of British North America, which has excited much interest, and with respect to which it appears to me desirable that you should be placed in possession of the views of Her Majesty’s Government.
2. The resolutions agreed to at Quebec, and which are to form the basis of the proposed Federal Union of the British American Provinces, have reference to a great variety of subjects of very different degrees of importance. With some of these matters the local Legislatures are already fully competent to deal, whilst others are of a character which removes them beyond their cognizance.
3. It was my belief that the aid of the Imperial Parliament would be sought only to give effect to those general provisions of a constitutional nature which could not be brought into operation by the existing local Assemblies ; that it would be called upon to enact the Federative Union, and to decline the limits of the authority of the central and local Governments and Legislatures, but that the arrangement of matters of purely or mainly local interest would be left to the Federal Legislature, or to those of the separate Provinces, as it may fairly be presumed that these bodies would faithfully carry into execution the conditions upon which their Union had itself been based.
4. I find, however, that a very general impression prevails that the construction of the Intercolonial Railroad from Riviere du Loup to Truro is to be provided for by a clause in the Imperial Act giving effect to the proposed Federal Union.
5. I do not myself consider it probably that Her Majesty’s Government will make such a proposal to the Imperial parliament, for i cannot but conceive that such a proposal would appear to Her Majesty’s Government to be either unnecessary or unjust, — unnecessary it (as we must conclude will be the case should no unforeseen or insuperable obstacles arise) the new Federal Legislature votes the construction of a work, the immediate commencement of which forms one of the conditions of the agreement to which it owes its existence, — unjust if it were to have the effect of forcing on the people of British America the extension of a work which their representatives in Parliament may consider it inexpedient to undertake.
6. Nor does it appear to be very likely that the British Parliament would enact a law involving a very large expenditure of money not collected under its own authority, a law, moreover, which it would be impossible to enforce, as no penalty could be inflicted after the passage of the Act, in the vent of the subsequent neglect of its provisions by the Federal Government and Legislature.
7. Neither do I imagine that, the question being one which primarily concerns the people of British North America, the British Parliament would consent to fetter the discretion of their representatives in dealin with it as they may consider most conducive to the advantage of the United Provinces, more especially when it is remembered that the subject is one with which their local Legislature are already, even under the existing state of things, fully competent to consider.
8. Still less do i think it probable, even were a clause of a general character enacting the completion of this great work to be incorporated in an Act of the Imperial Parliament, that Her Majesty’s Government would consent to introduce, or that Parliament would consent to sanction all those details which would be required to render such a clause effective ; for unless the route, the mode of construction, the minimum sum to be annually devoted to the work, and the time at which it is to be completed, are all prescribed, the scheme may be subject to ultimate defeat by its rejection on one of these points by the Federal Parliament ; whilst the assumption of those, who believe that a clause concerning the railway will form part of the Imperial Act, is that the completion of the work will be so secured as to remove all liability of its being affected by any subsequent action on the part of the Federal or Local Governments and Assemblies.
9. I confess, therefore, that I am unable altogether to share the confident belief of my Council that this work (of the importance of which I need not say I am very fully sensible) will be undertaken under the direct authority of the Imperial Parliament.
10. At the same time, it is possible that i may be mistaken as to the views and intentions of Her Majesty’s Government, and i therefore respectfully request to be instructed as to the course which i am to purse, in the event of my being advised to state in my speech from the throne, on the opening of the Provincial Legislature, that such a provision will undoubtedly form part of the Act of Union, or be embodied by the Imperial Parliament in a separate Act.
11. Such a declaration, if it were afterwards proved by facts to be erroneous, would, i Need not say, excite very general not ill-founded irritation.
12. Mr. J. A. Macdonald, a leading member of the Canadian Government, is reported to have lately used what appears to me very sensible language in connexion with this subject, to the effect that the construction of the railway was certainly not part of the Constitution (a proposition which is self-evident), and that, consequently, with many other details agreed to by the Conference, it would not be embodied in the Imperial Act, but that it was one of the conditions on which the Union was based, and must therefore be carried into effect at the earliest possible period bu the Legislature of the Federated Province. I am, however, informed that Mr. Macdonald has subsequently stated that the provisions for the construction of the railway will form part of the Imperial Act.
13. As the Legislature of this Province will meet probably in the first week of April, it is highly important that i should be enabled by that time to reply distinctly to the queries which may be put to me by my advisers and by the Legislature, whether in the event of the Federation of the British North American Provinces being accomplished, Her Majesty’s Government will be prepared to submit to the Imperial Parliament, either as a clause of the Constitutional Act, or as a separate Bill, provisions to secure the completion of the Intercolonial Railway from Riviere du Loup to Truro, within a definite time, and framed in such a manner as to preclude the possibility of any subsequent action in a contrary sense on the part of the Federal Government or Legislature.
I have, &c.
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., (Signed) ARTHUR G. GORDON.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 5.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No.24.)

Fredericton, N.B., March 6, 1865.
(Received March 21, 1865.)
(Answered No.65, April 1, 1865, page 117.)

SIR,

AS it is possible that this Despatch may reach you via Portland sooner than would be the case were it sent by the next ordinary Halifax mail, i think it right to avail myself of the opportunity to inform you that the proposed Confederation of the British North American Provinces has met with a most decided rejection in New Brunswick.

2. All those elections in which the question of Confederation was likely to outweigh considerations of a purely personal and local character have now taken place, and in each instance have resulted in the defeat of every one of the candidates favourable to Confederation.

3. Mr. Tilley, the leader of the Government, the Solicitor-General, the Postmaster-General, Mr. Fisher, and Mr. Gray, Delegates to Quebec, have all lost their seats.

4. The Government is practically overthrown, and the scheme of Union virtually defeated.

5. I was aware that the public sentiment of the Province was opposed to Confederation, but I was by no means prepared for such a result as that which I now have the honour to report to you.

6. The causes which have led to this decided expression of opinion i will explain at length when writing by the next Halifax mail.

7. The members of the House of Assembly elected up to this time may be classed as follows :–

For Confederation.	Against It.	Doubtful.
3	16	3

8. There are still 19 members to be returned, but, with the exception of the counties of Charlotte and Northumberland, all the important elections are now over.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

No. 6.
COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.
(No.25.) Fredericton, N.B., March 13, 1865.
(Received March 28, 1865.)
SIR, (Answered No.65, April 1, 1865, page 117.)
In my Despatch, No. 21, of the 6th instant, * forwarded by way of Portland, i had the honour of informing you that the result of the elections in this Province had been signally unfavourable to the proposed scheme of Confederation and that several prominent members of my Government had failed to retain their seats in the House of Assembly.
2. I was aware that a feeling hostile to the contemplated changes was widely spread, but I must have greatly underrated its extent and strength.
3. I do not however believe that the popular prejudice in favour of continued isolation and against any alteration whatever in the existing constitution would have sufficed alone to defeat the scheme had it not also encountered the opposition of those who, whilst desirous of effecting a more substantive Union between the British North American Colonies, were hostile to the provision of the particular scheme submitted for their consideration.
4. The rejection of the scheme in Prince Edward Island, the postponement of its consideration in Newfoundland, and the belief that its adoption would be successfully resisted in Nova Scotia, also contributed powerfully to its defeat in this Province.
5. Nor do i think the fact that my existing Government had with a short interval held office for more than ten years, occupied a by any means unimportant place in the list of the causes which have led to its overthrow.
6. The popular decision, however brought about is, at all events, unmistakeable, and for the moment decisive. It was not anticipated by me, and I believe it was as little anticipated either by my advisers or by their opponents.
7. No important elections have taken place since I last had the honour of addressing you, and the numbers at present stand as follows . —
For Confederation. Against it. Doubtful.
5. 19. 2.
9. I anticipate that the resignation of my present Executive Council will be tendered to me as soon as the elections are closed. The last (that for Queen’s County) is fixed for the 22nd instant.
I have, &c.
The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P. (Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 7.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No.29.)

Fredericton, N.B., March 27, 1865.
(Received April 11, 1865.)
(Answered No.67, April 13, 1865, page 117.)

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to enclose a copy of the report submitted to me by the delegates appointed to attend the Conference held at Quebec in October last. Though dated November 11th it was only delivered to me last Saturday.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 7.

To his Excellency the Hon. ARTHUR HAMILTON GORDON, C.M.G., Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Province of New Brunswick, &c. &c. &c.

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,

The undersigned, having been appointed by your Excellency, at the request of the Governor-General, to confer with the Government of Canada, and with delegates appointed by the Governments of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island, upon the subject of a Federal Union of the British North American Provinces, have the honor to submit their report.

The Conference met at Quebec on the 10th of October, and was composed of 33 members :–

For Canada.

The Hon. Sir E. P. Tache, M.L.C., Receiver-General and Minister of Militia.
The Hon. John A. MacDonald, M.P.P., Attorney-General (Upper Canada).
The Hon. G.E. Cartier, M.P.P., Attorney-General (Lower Canada)
The Hon. George Brown, M.P.P., President of the Executive Council.
The Hon. O. Mowatt, M.P.P., Postmaster-General
The Hon. A. T. Galt, M.P.P., Minister of Finance.
The Hon. T. D. McGee, M.P.P., Minister of Agriculture.
The Hon. William McDougall, M.P.P., Provincial Secretary.
The Hon. Alexander Campbell, M.L.C., Commissioner of Crown Lands.
The Hon. T.C. Chapais, M.P.P., Commissioner of Public Works.
The Hon. J. H. Langevin, Solicitor-General (Lower Canada)
The Hon. James Cockburn, M.P.P., Solicitor-General (Upper Canada)

For Nova Scotia.

The Hon. Charles Tupper, M.P.P., Provincial Secretary
The Hon. W.A. Henry, M.P.P., Attorney – General.
The Hon. J. McCully, M.L.C
The Hon. Robert B. Dickey, M.L.C.
Adam H. Archibald, Esq., M.P.P

For New Brunswick.

The Hon. S.L. Tilley, Provincial and Financial Secretary.
The Hon. W.H. Steeves, M.L.C., M.E.C.
The Hon. J. M. Johnson, M.P.P., Attorney-General
The Hon. P, Mitchell, M.L.C., M.E.C.
The Hon. E. B. Chandler, M.L.C
Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. John H. Gray, M.P.P.
The Hon. Charles Fisher, M.P.P.

For Newfoundland.

F. B. T. Carter, Esq., M.P.P.
John Ambrose Shea, Esq., M.P.P.

For Prince Edward Island.

Col. the Hon. J.H. Gray, M.P.P.
The Hon. E. Palmer, Attorney-General.
The Hon. W.H. Pope, Colonial Secretary.
The Hon. A.A. McDonald, M.L.C.
The Hon. G. Coles, M.P.P.
The Hon. J.H. Haviland, M.P.P.
The Hon. E. Whelan, M.P.P.

And was organized by the appointment of the Hon. Sir E. P. Tache, Chairman, and the Hon. Messrs. William McDougall, Charles Tupper, S. L. Tilley, Ambrose Shea, and W. H. Pope, joint secretaries.

After the most earnest and careful consideration of the whole question, the Conference agreed to a series of resolutions, a copy of which we did not submit for your Excellency’s information.*

(Signed) S.L. TILLEY.
W.H. STEEVES.
P. MITCHELL.
J.G. JOHNSON.
E.B. CHANDLER.
J.H. GRAY.
CHARLES FISHER.

November 15, 1864.

*Not received.

No. 8.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No.30.)

Fredericton, N.B., March 27, 1865.
(Received April 11, 1865.)
(Answered No.66, April 12, 1865, page 117.)

SIR,

The elections for the Legislative Assembly have now been terminated, and i believe the following classification of the members will be found accurate :–

For Confederation	Against It	Doubtful
9	28	4

2. In addition to the defeats of other members of the Government, as previously reported by me, the Attorney – General has, since the date of my last Despatch, lost his seat for the county of Northumberland.

The members of my Executive Council will in consequence probably resign their offices to-day, or at all events in the course of the present week.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

P.S. — Since writing above Despatch the members of my Executive Council have tendered their resignation. — A. G.

No. 9.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No.39.)

Fredericton , April 27, 1865.
(Received May 22, 1865.)
(Answered No.76, May 27, 1865, page 118.)

SIR,

I have the honour to transit to you a copy of the speech with which I this day opened the session of the Provincial Legislature.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No.9.

(Extract.)

“In compliance with the desire expressed by addresses from both branches of the Legislature at the last session, i appointed delegates to meet others appointed by the LIeutenant-Governors of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, for the purpose of considering the practicability of effecting a Legislative and Administrative Union of the maritime Provinces of British North America. The report of these delegates will immediately be laid before you.

“At the request of the Governor-General of Canada, and with the approbation of the Queen, i also appointed delegates to a Conference of representatives of the British North American Colonies, held in Quebec in the month of October last, with a view of arranging the terms of a Federal Union of British North America. The resolutions agreed to by this Conference appeared to me to be so important in their character , and their adoption fraught with consequences so materially affecting the future condition and well-being of British America, that, in order to enable the people of New Brunswick to give expression to their wishes on the subject, i determined to dissolve the theme existing House of Assembly. I now submit these resolutions to your judgement.”

No. 10.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No.[..].) Fredericton , May 8, 1865.
(Received May 22, 1865.)
(Answered No.78, May 27, 1865, page 118.)

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to forward for your information copies of the Addresses which have been lately presented to me by the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly respectively.

2. I thought that concluding words of the Address of the House of Assembly afforded me an opportunity of turning to practical account what was probably intended as an unmcaning phrase, and i accordingly, in a few words, thanked the House for the confirmation they had given to my own conviction that they were not insensible to the obligations entailed by the connexion with the British Empire, and expressed my belief that their acts would afford abundant proof of their desire to discharge the obligations referred to.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

(Extract.) Enclosure 1 in No.10.

To his Excellency the Hon. ARTHUR HAMILTON GORDON, C.M.G., Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Province on New Brunswick, &c. &c. &c.

THE HUMBLE ADDRESS OF HER MAJESTY’S LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,

We also thank your Excellency that the resolutions adopted at the Conference held at Quebec in October last, relative to a Union of the British North American Colonies, will likewise be submitted.

The question of affording further facilities for the construction of railways in the Province will receive our consideration. It is satisfactory to learn that though existing laws preclude immediate action in proceeding with the extension of the European and North American railway from the frontier of Nova Scotia to the United States, that work will be proceeded with as soon as practicable.

(Extract.) Enclosure 2 in No.10.

To his Excellency the Hon. ARTHUR HAMILTON GORDON, C.M.G., Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Province on New Brunswick, &c. &c. &c.

THE HUMBLE ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY.

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,

We thank your Excellency for the assurance that the report of the delegates appointed for the purpose of considering the practicability of effecting a Legislative and Administrative Union of the Maritime Provinces of British North America will be laid before us. We also thank your Excellency for the information that the Resolutions adopted at a Conference of representatives of the British North American Colonies, held in Quebec in October last, relative to a Union of British North America, will be laid before us.

We will consider whether further facilities can be afforded for the extension of railways in this Province. We are pleased to learn that the completion and extension of the European and North American Railway, from the frontier of Nova Scotia to the boundary of the United States, will be undertaken as soon as practicable ; and we regret that existing laws preclude immediate action for the accomplishment of this work.

We agree with your Excellency that notwithstanding the present depression of trade, the condition of the Province is, on the whole, […] and that a feeling of contentment and confidence in the institutions under which we live prevails ; and we assure your Excellency, that whatever differences of opinion may exist on other subjects, the feeling of loyalty to the Crown, for which the popolse of this Province have always been distinguished, animates them still.

We are fully sensible of the advantages we derive from our connexion with Great Britain, and will cheerfully meet the obligations it entails upon us.

CHARLES P. WITMORE, Clerk.

No. 11.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

Government House, Fredericton, N.B., May 22, 1865.

(No. 45.)

(Received June 5, 1865.)

SIR,

IN accordance with their request, I have the honour to transmit to you the enclosed Memorandum of my Executive Council with reference to the scheme for the Confederation of the British North American Provinces.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 11

To his Excellency the Hon. ARTHUR HAMILTON GORDON, C.M.G., Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Province of New Brunswick, &c. &c. &c.

OUR attention has been recently attracted by a statement in the London “times” newspaper, to the effect that the Confederation scheme of the British North American Provinces is progressing favourably. We entertain no doubt that your Excellency’s reports to the Colonial Office have placed Mr. Cardwell in possession of the real state of the public mind on that subject ; but as we are anxious that no doubt should exist in the minds of the English Government as to the present state of this question, we would request your Excellency at once to inform the Secretary of State for the Colonies how entirely the scheme has been rejected by the people of this Province ; and that we have strong reasons to believe, and do believe, that, with the exception of a party in Halifax, the Legislature and people of Nova Scotia are, if possible, more opposed to the project than those of this Province.

The House of Assembly in Prince Edward Island, your Excellency is aware, has rejected it almost unanimously ; and the House of Assembly of Newfoundland resolved to postpone the consideration of it until after their next election ; and we venture the opinion that Canada is the only Province in British North America favourable to the scheme.

Respectfully submitted.

(Signed) A. J. SMITH.
ROBT. D. WILMOT.
GEORGE L. HATHEWAY.
T. W. ANGLIN.
RICHARD HUTCHISON
A.H. GILLMOR, SEN.
JOHN C. ALLEN.
W. H. ODELL.
BLISS BOTSFORD.

No. 12.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No. 47.)

Fredericton, June 5, 1865.
(Received June 17, 1865.)
(Answered No. 83,June 24, 1865, page 119.)

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to transmit to you the copy of an Address which I have received from the House of Assembly of this Province, together with my reply.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure 1 in No. 12.

House of Assembly, Thursday, May 25, 1865.

WHEREAS the Lieutenant-Governor of this Province has received from the Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, scopied of resolutions passed by the Legislative Council and House of Assembly of that Province, expressing a wish to renew the negotiation for a union of the Maritime Provinces, and whereas it is desirable to ascertain whether a legislative or commercial union of these Provinces on terms advantageous to all is practicable.

Therefore resolve, That an humble address be presented to his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, requesting him to appoint delegates, not to exceed five, to confer with a delegation to be appointed by the Governments of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island on the subject of such union.

CHAS. P. WITMORE, Clerk

Enclosure 2 in No. 12.

REPLY of his Excellency the LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR to ADDRESS of the HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY of May 25, 1865.

GENTLEMEN,

I AM fully sensible of the great importance of the subject to which the address now present to me relates, and will not fail to appoint delegates to conduct its discussion on the part of this Province, as therein requested.

No. 13.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No. 48.)

Fredericton, June 5, 1865.
(Received June 17, 1865.)
(Answered No. 82,June 24, 1865, page 119.)

SIR,

THE Resolutions of which i have the honour to enclose a copy have been moved in the House of Assembly by Mr. J. Cudlip, one of the members for the City of St. John. They have not yet been adopted by the House, but there is no doubt that they will be carried by a large majority.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 13.

RESOLUTION submitted when in Committee on HIS EXCELLENCY’S MESSAGE of 4th May, containing RESOLUTIONS adopted at CONFERENCE Holden at QUEBEC on 10th October 1864.

On motion of Mr. Cudlip.

Whereas the House in Committee of the whole, have had under consideration the Resolutions of the Conference, held at Quebec on the 10th of October last on the subject of the proposed confederation of the British North American Colonies :

And whereas it is the opinion of this Committee that the consummation of said scheme would proved politically, commercially, and financially disastrous to the best interests and prosperity of the Province:

And whereas the loyalty and attachment of the people of this Province to the throne and Government of Great Britain cannot justly be impugned, and they have always manifested a desire to maintain their connexion with the mother country, and to remain a portion of the British Empire:

And whereas in the exercise of the right of internal self-government enjoyed by this Provinces its manner as to them may seem best calculated to promote their prosperity and welfare:

And whereas the General Assembly of this Province was in the month of February last dissolved by his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, avowedly to obtain the decision of the people upon the resolutions adopted at the Conference, and now before the House :

And whereas at the elections consequently holden the people of this Province clearly and unequivocally pronounced a judgement adverse to the adoption of the said resolutions:

And whereas the Committee confidently believes that Her Majesty’s Government will receive with due attention the expression of the opinion of this Province so pronounced :

And whereas this Committee has reason to fear that Her Majesty’s Government are but imperfectly aware of the true state of the feelings of the people of this Province on the subject :

Therefore resolves as the opinion of this Committee that a delegation should at once proceed to England for the purpose of making known to the Imperial Government the views and feelings of the House nad the pole of this Province on this important subject.

GEO. F. BLISS, Clerk’s Assistant.

No. 14.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No. 54.)

Fredericton, July 3, 1865.

(Received July 17, 1865.)

SIR,

I THINK it right to transmit to you copies of a correspondence which has lately taken place between the Governor-General of Canada and myself on a subject of no great real importance, but which it is perhaps right to place before you.

2. It appears that the text of the resolutions of the Quebec Conference, as transmitted by the Governor-General of Canada to England, and to the Maritime Provinces, and as printed to be laid before both Houses of Parliament in England, and the Legislative bodies in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Islands, and Newfoundland, differs from that of the same resolutions as laid before the Canadian Parliament in several particulars ; the most important of which is the substitution in the Canadian copy of the central Parliament as the body which is to define the electoral districts, which power is assigned in the copied laid before the Imperial Parliament and the Legislatures of the Maritime Provinces to the local Legislatures.

3. The change appears to me a very decided improvement, but it may be questionable how far an alteration, even for the better, should have been made in the instrument actually signed at Quebec, without ful previous communication with the whole of the delegates.

4. I consider the change an improvement, for I look on everything tending to raise the power of the central Legislature and diminish that of the local Assemblies as a beneficial alteration of the original scheme, but there are many who would not think so ; and Mr. Pope, the Colonial Secretary of Prince Edward Island, himself a Delegate, and one of the few warm friends of Federation to be found in the Island from which he comes, informed me that had his consent been asked to such an lateration, it would have been decidedly refused.

5. When my notice had been drawn to the discrepancy, I could not refuse to comply with the desire of my Government to call the attention of the Governor-General to the fact, and i enclose copies of the correspondence which has since passed on the subject.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 14

The LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR to the GOVERNOR-GENERAL of Canada.

Fredericton, April 4, 1865.

MY LORD,

UPON the 12th November last your Lordship did me the honour to address to me […] Despatch enclosing a copy of the resolutions agreed to by the delegates appointed to consider the question of a federation of the British North American Province. To the copy so transmitted the following certificate was attached :–

“I certify that the above is a true copy of the original report of resolutions adopted in Conference.

“E. P. TACHE, Chairman.”

In this copy the 24th resolution stands as follows : —

“24. The local Legislature of each Province may from time to time alter the electoral districts for the purpose of representation in the House of Commons, and distribute the representatives to which the Province is entitled in any manner such Legislature may think fit.”
In the copy of the resolutions presented to me on their return by the delegates from this Province the same words are found.
In the papers laid before both Houses of the Imperial Parliament, by command of Her Majesty, on the subject of the proposed Federal Union, a Despatch addressed by your Lordship to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, on the 7th November, will be found (at page 4) transmitting to Mr. Cardwell a copy of the resolutions, in which also the 24th resolution is […] in the same words, and the accuracy of which copy is also certified by Sir E. P. Tache.

My attention has, forever, been called to the fact that, in the papers laid before the Canadian Parliament, and transmitted to me by your Lordship on the 30th January last, although the same Despatch from your Lordship to the Secretary of State is printed at page 3, due enclosure reads somewhat differently ; the […] resolution standing as follows : —

“24. The local Legislature of each Province may from time to time alter the electoral districts for the purpose of representation in such local Legislature, and distribute the representative to which the Province is entitled in such local Legislature in any manner such Legislature may see fit.”

This alteration is not altogether unimportant. In the one copy the resolution refers to the House of this discrepancy, and to inform me, after […] a reference to the original document (which is, I presume, preserved at Quebec which version was in fact that signed by the delegates. From the circumstance that in the papers aid before the English Parliament the same words occur as in the copy forwarded to me by your Lordship on the 12th November, it would appear that the copy certified by Sir E. P. Tache is correct, and that the inaccuracy has arisen in copying the document to be laid before the Canadian Parliament.

I am further requested to state that the delegates from this Province have never authorized any alterations in the resolutions as signed by them, and that, indeed, their assent to any such alteration has never yet been sought.

I have, &c.
(Singed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.

THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF Canada to the LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR

Quebec, May 4, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, asking for an explanation of the cause of the discrepancy between the version of the Quebec resolutions transmitted to you by me on the 12th of November last and the copy of the resolutions which I sent to you on the 30th January 1865. I regret the delay that has taken place in reply to your communication. It has been caused by the absence from Quebec of most of the members of the Government. I now beg to enclose for your information a copy of the report which has been made to me on the subject of your Despatch by Mr. McDougall, the Provincial Secretary.

I have, &c.

(Signed) MONCK.

Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. H. Gordon,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure

Secretary’s Office, Quebec, May 4, 1865.

The undersigned has had the honour to receive a letter from your Excellency’s Secretary, covering a copy of a Despatch from the Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick, asking for certain information in reference to the proceedings of the Quebec Conference, and bow begs to submit for your Excellency’s information the following report.

The 24th resolution of the Quebec Conference, as it stands in the original report, signed by certain members of the Conference (and which report is now in the possession of the undersigned), is in the words and figures following : —

“The local Legislature of each Province may from time to time alter the electoral districts for the purpose of representation in the House of Commons, and distribute the representatives to which the Province is entitled in any […] such Legislature may think fit.”
In the papers submitted to the Canadian Parliament the 24th resolution was made to read as follows:–

“The local Legislature of each Province may from time to time alter the electoral districts for the purposes of representation in such local Legislatures, and distribute the representatives to which the province is entitled in such local Legislature in any manner such Legislature may see fit.”

The above change was made because it was found that the resolution, as expressed in the original report, did not convey the true meaning of the Conference. As your Excellency is aware, the proceedings of the Conference towards the close of its deliberations were very much hurried, and it was subsequently discovered that several errors had occurred in revising and re-arranging its numerous resolutions, which were adopted in the first instance without that exactness of expression and logical sequence so necessary in an instrument intended to present a complete scheme. Some of these errors were discovered and corrected at Montreal by the unanimous consent of the delegates present at a meeting held in that city for the purpose. There was no doubt in the minds of the Canadian delegates (when their attention was called to the point)that the gentlemen who undertook the meaning of the Conference in reference to the subject embraced in the 24th resolution. It could never have been the local Legislature to “alter”, and thus practically to abolish his constituency, whenever, by speech or vote, he might happen to displease a majority of that Legislature. The power to divide each Province into the proper number of electoral districts in the first instance (as provided by the 23rd resolution), was given to the local Legislatures […], but the power to alter or readjust the constituencies after Parliament is constituted belongs naturally, logically, and according to every constitutional precedent, to that Parliament, and not to an inferior body. The undersigned is informed that on discovering the error in the 24th resolution, and also important eros in the 20th and 43rd resolutions, in reference to export duties on timber and coals, communication was bad with the leading members of the Governments of the Maritime Provinces.

The undersigned is also informed that answers were received from those gentlemen, expressing their concurrence in the suggestions of the Canadian delegates as to the fact of error in both cases, and as to the mode in which it was proposed to correct them.
The undersigned regrets that he is unable to give to your Excellency fuller and more precise information in consequence of the absence from this country of those members of the Government who conducted the correspondence referred to.

Respectfully submitted.
(Signed) WM. McDOUGALL, Secretary.

The LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR to the GOVERNOR GENERAL.

Fredericton, June 6, 1865.

MY LORD,

[…] to the request of my Council I have the honour to transmit to your Excellency a copy of a memorandum lately handed to me by them, and to recommend the request which it […] to your Excellency’s consideration.

I have, &c.
(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON

MEMORANDUM of EXECUTIVE COUNCIL enclosed in proceeding LETTER.

To his Excellency the Hon. ARTHUR HAMILTON GORDON, C.M.G., Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of New Brunswick, &c. &c.

THE Executive Council in Committee have had under consideration the Despatch of his Excellency the Governor-General of Canada, dated 4th May 1865, and would respectfully request your Excellency to forward to his Excellency the Governor-General the accompanying correspondence which has consequently taken place, and from which it appears that a large proportion of the delegates had no knowledge of the alteration referred to until after it was made.

The Council would also respectfully request your Excellency to ask his Excellency the Governor-General to furnish your Excellency with the names of the delegates whose signatures were appended to the resolutions before as well as after the alteration was made.
The Council further requests your Excellency to transmit a copy of this memorandum to his Excellency the Governor General.

(Signed)

W.H. ODELL,
T.W. ANGLIN,
JOHN C. ALLEN,
GEORGE L. HATHEWAY,
A.J. SMITH,
R.A. WILMOT,
BLISS BOTSFORD,
A.H. GILLMOR, jun.
RICHARD HUTCHISON.

Council Chamber, June 1865.

Hon. W. H. STEEVES to the PROVINCIAL SECRETARY

Fredericton, May 19, 1865.

SIR,

YOURS of the 12th instant was duly received, and in answer I beg to state, for the information of his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, that my consent has not been “requested to any change in the wording of the resolutions agreed to by the Conference held at Quebec in October last subsequently to their signature.”

I have, &c.
(Signed) W. H. STEEVES.

J. M. JONSON, Esq. (late Attorney-General), to the PROVINCIAL SECRETARY.

Chatham, May 18, 1865.

[Same as preceding Letter]

Hon. E. B. CHANDLER to the PROVINCIAL SECRETARY.

Fredericton, May 12, 1865.

SIR,

IN reply to your letter of the 11th instant, informing me that you were directed by his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor to inquire whether my consent was requested to any change in the wording of the resolutions agreed to by the Conference held at Quebec in October last, I have to say that no such consent was requested, nor was i made aware of any change being made in the wording of any of the resolutions after the same were agreed to at the Conference.

I have, &c.
(Signed) E. B. CHANDLER

Hon. P. MITCHELL to the PROVINCIAL SECRETARY

Fredericton, May 12, 1865.

[Same as preceding Letter.]

Hon. J. H. GRAY to the PROVINCIAL SECRETARY.

Saint John, May 12, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge your note of yesterday’s date, inquiring, by direction of his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, whether my “consent was requested to any change in the wording of the resolutions agreed to by the Conference held at Quebec in October last, subsequently to their signature.”

In reply i beg to state, for the information of his Excellency, that no such consent was asked of me, nor have I directly or indirectly received any communication upon such a subject, and if i may be permitted to add the expression of my personal belief, I do not believe that in the wording of the original resolutions, as signed by myself and others of the delegates, any alteration whatever has been made.

I have, &c.
(Signed) J.H. GRAY

CHARLES FISHER, Esq., to the PROVINCIAL SECRETARY.

Fredericton, May 12, 1865.

SIR,

IN reply to your note of the 11th instant, i have to state, for the information of his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, that my assent was never requested to any change in the resolutions agreed to by the Conference held at Quebec in October last.

I have before me a copy of the resolutions laid before the Canadian Parliament, and of those transmitted to his Excellency, and the only difference I can discover is in the terms of the […] resolution. I cannot now remember what took place in the Conference when that resolution passed, nor do my minutes show, as it was of very secondary importance when compared with many of the questions which were discussed.

When the resolutions were revised i was not well, and was compelled to leave the room before they were all disposed of. I was not present when the revised copy, engrossed on parchment, was signed by the delegates, but I signed alone some time afterwards, upon the assurance of Colonel Barnard, the Secretary, that it was a true copy of what had been agreed upon.

I know that the Canadian ministers are of opinion that there was a mistake in copying out the minutes, or that it was not the real intention of the Conference to leave electoral districts for members of the Federal Commons, to be adjusted and altered from time to time by the local Legislature, as a representative might find himself deprived of his constituent by a body he had no power of influencing while he was attending to their interests at Ottawa.

I have, &c .
(Singed) CHARLES FISHER.

MR.TILLEY to the PROVINCIAL SECRETARY

Fredericton, May 25, 1865.

SIR,

IN reply to the inquiry contained in your communication of this day’s date, I beg to state, for his Excellency’s information, that shortly after my return from Canada in November last I received a letter from the Hon. Mr. Galt, asking information relative to the duty collected on timber and lumber exported from New Brunswick, and the reasons why the delegates to the Quebec Conference from this Province insisted upon the authority being given to the local Legislature to impose such duty after the union.

On the 1st December he wrote me acknowledging the receipt of my reply to these injuries, and in that letter he asked me if there was not a mistake in the wording of the […] resolution, in the record signed by members of the Conference at Montreal, leaving to the local Legislatures the power of determining the electoral limits of the Confederate Legislature. I find this letter on file, but I cannot now remember whether or not I answered it ; if I did, I have not kept a copy.

By my minutes taken when the subject referred to was under discussion, I concluded it was the intention of the Conference to give the local Legislatures the power named, but to be limited to the election of the members of the first Parliament.

If I replied to Mr. Galt, it will be found that such was the opinion i then expressed.

My opinion as to the intention of the Conference was asked, but not my consent to a change in their decision.

I have, &c.
(Signed) S. L. TILLEY.

The GOVERNOR-GENERAL to the LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.

Quebec, June 12, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch of the 6th instant, transmitting copied of a communication from your Executive Council, and of correspondence respecting the alleged change in the terms of one of the resolutions of the Conference held at Quebec last autumn for the consideration of a union of the British North American Provinces.

In reply, I beg leave to say that several leading members of the Canadian Government, together with Lieutenant-Colonel Barnard, who acted as Secretary to the Conference, are at present absent from the Province on public business.

Their return is expected in a short time, and when they arrive I shall not fail to lay your Despatch and its enclosures before the Executive Council.

I have, &c.
(Signed) MONCK.

No. 15.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No. 58.)

Fredericton, July 15, 1865.
(Received July 29, 1865.)
(Answered No. 91. August […], 1865, page 119)

SIR,

I RECEIVED by the last mail your Despatch No. 81,* of the 24th June. I thought it desirable that its contents should be immediately made public ; and I accordingly directed it to be printed in the last issue of the Royal Gazette.

2. I of course lost no time in communicating a copy of the Despatch and its enclosures to my Executive Council, and i have now the honour to transmit to you the copy of a Minute of that body with reference thereto.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No.15.

To his Excellency the Hon. ARTHUR HAMILTON GORDON, C.M.G., Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Province of New Brunswick.

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,

THE Executive Council in Committee have had under consideration a Despatch from the Secretary of State for the Colonies, dated 24th June, lately communicated to them by your Excellency.

From the language of this Despatch it would be natural to infer that it related to some scheme for effecting an entire legislative and administrative union of the British North American Provinces, which has not yet been made public, but words used in the concluding paragraph taken in connexion with various other circumstances lead the Committee to conclude that it is intended to refer to the resolutions in favour of a Federation of the various Provinces of British North America agreed to by the Canadian Parliament at its last Session. These resolutions have already been submitted to the people of New Brunswick at the time and in the manner which the advocates of the scheme themselves selected. The Legislature was dissolved, and the people were enabled to pronounce their decision on this most important subject in the regular constitutional mode, and, after ample consideration, refused by an overwhelming majority to adopt the scheme ; not because it was nove, as Mr. Cardwell has been led to suppose, but because they were unable to discover anything in it that gave promist of either moral or material advantage to the empire or to themselves, or that afforded a prospect of improved administration or increased prosperity.

The spirit of loyalty which has always animated the people of New Brunswick, and of which they have on many occasions given proof, is still as ardent as ever, and whenever it becomes necessary they are prepared to place all their means and resources at the absolute disposal of the Imperial Government, but they cannot believe that the contemplated confederation would either increase their strength or render it more available.

A large majority of the people of this Province are opposed to any closer political connexion with Canada than that afforded by the tie of a common allegiance to the British Crown, and consider that such a union would have a decided tendency to weaken that dependence on the British empire which they so highly prize, and would lead to neglect and injury of their local interest, in which opinion the Committee believe that the people of the other Maritime Provinces fully concur ; but even those who desire a union must fail to discover in the resolutions adopted at Quebec any provision whatever for the accomplishment of a fusion which, in the words of Mr. Cardwell’s Despatch, would unite in one Government all the British North American Provinces, and form a Province uniting in itself all the population and all the resources of the whole.

The Committee, of course, cannot suppose that the British Government share the ignorance with regard to the history and character of the federal scheme which appears to prevail among the British public, and which induces the “Times” newspaper of 20th June to observe that “the two Canada have put aside their ancient jealousies and are ready to meet in common Legislature,” in apparent forgetfulness of the fact that they have so met for the last 25 years, and very probably without any consciousness on the part of the writer of the article that jealousies between the Canadas, said to have been put aside, are avowedly the cause of the late proposal, and that its authors, in the event of its failure, are pledged to restore to Upper and Lower Canada a great measure of the local independence surrendered by them in 1810.
The resolutions agreed to by the leading Canadain politicians in the month of June 1864 as the basis of the formation of the existing Cabinet, and adopted solely under the pressure of local exigencies, contain […] statement that, “on consideration of the steps most advisable for the final settlement of “sectional difficulties, the remedy must be sought in the adoption of the federal principle,” and provide that if such negotiations were unsuccessful, they would be “prepared to pledge themselves to legislation during the next session of Parliament fo the purpose of remedying existing difficulties by introducing the federal principle for Canada alone.”

It is perfectly clear that the “existing difficulties” were the motive and groundwork of the scheme, and that the federal union was only sought as a means of separating the Canada’s a separation which the Canadian Government are pledged in all events immediately to effect — a fact which, perhaps sufficiently accounts for the eagerness with which they seek to force its immediate adoption upon unwilling communities, for they are well aware that, did the plan avowedly contemplate only the separation of the Canadas, it would be impossible even speciously to present it to the Imperial Government as in any manner a scheme of union.

Mr. Cardwell is perfectly right in supposing that the views and wishes of Great Britain are entitled to great weight, and they will ever be receive with respectful attention in this Province ; but the Committee feel certain that if there be one view with regard to the Colonies which is more clearly and distinctly held than another by Her Majesty’s Government and the people of Englands, parliamentary institutions and free self-government, should act in reference to their own affairs as seems to themselves most consistent with their duty to their Sovereign and most conducive to their own interests.

To conder on this Province a right of self-government would have been mockery if, in consequence of its claims to defense as a protector, the wish of the mother country was in all cases to be followed whenever expressed, whatever the opinion of those to whom the power of judging has been solemnly constructed by the Sovereign and Legislature of Great Britain, and who, being on the spot, and fully conversant with the subject, considered themselves not unable to judge with respect to their own affairs. When a wish is expressed by Her Majesty’s Government, it will be received with that deference which meet the views of Her Majesty’s advisers ;; but if such views should unfortunately not coincide with the views of those on whom alone the responsibility of action in the Province falls, the Committee feel assured that Her Majesty’s Government will expect and desire that the Government of this Province should act according to their own conviction of right, and in conformity with the sentiments of the pole they represent.

No. 16.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No. 83.)

Fredericton, November 6, 1865.
(Received November 20, 1865.)
(Answered No. [..]. December 7,1865, page 120.)

SIR,

HER Majesty’s Government will doubtless desire to be informed of the present condition of public feeling in this Province with regard to the question of the Federation of the British North American Provinces, and whether it is probable that the scheme agreed to at Quebec and approved by Her Majesty’s Government will ultimately be adopted by New Brunswick.

2. I cannot pretend, so immediately after my return, to furnish any accurate report on this important subject, but i shall hope to do so in some detail upon a very early day.

3. The elevation of Attorney-General Allen to the bench, and the appointment of the Hon. A. J. Smith as Attorney-General, have rendered two elections necessary — the one in the county of Westmoreland, the other in that of York. Mr. Palmer, a lawyer of considerable ability, who had been one of the candidates in the confederate interest at the late general election, had announced his intention of opposing the return of Mr. Smith in Westmoreland, but finding success hopeless, he withdrew from the contest on the day of nomination. Had he gone to the poll, there can be no doubt that he would have been defeated by an overwhelming majority.

4. In the county of York it was at first supposed that no opposition would be made to the return of Mr. Pickard, a strong anti-confederate. Mr. Charles Fisher, one of the former members for the county, who lost his seat at the late election, has, however, come forward, and, as it appears to me, with very great probability of success.

5. As Mr. Fisher was one of the delegates at the Quebec Conference, and as, at the election in March, he was defeated by a very large majority, his return upon the present occasion will be a most important […] to the cause of Confederation. At the same time i must not conceal the fact that his election will not necessarily indicate any marked change of sentiment on the part of the constituency with regard to the subject. Great pains have been taken to make the contest depend rather on local questions affecting the county of York than on the broad issue of confederation. Mr. Fisher has long represented this county, and a feeling of regret at his exclusion from the House of Assembly prevails among many who are opposed to confederation, but who look upon that question as practically settled, in so far as this Province is concerned, by the late general election, and desire on other grounds to see Mr. Fisher restored to public life. I enclose one of the various appeals published in this sense.

6. Although, therefore, I regard Mr. Fisher’s election, should it take place, as a most important accession of strength to the ranks of the friends of confederation, it will not, in my opinion (unless he obtains a much larger majority than i at present anticipate), so certainly indicate a decided change of opinion in the Province as might at first sight be supposed.

7. The election takes place today, and I therefore hope to be able to communicate to you the result (so far at least as this city is concerned) before the mail closes.

8. I enclose a copy of Mr. Fisher’s address.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

P.S.–5p.m. Mr. FIsher has a majority of 22 in Fredericton. I think this is a proof that he will obtain a majority throughout the county.

Enclosure 1 in No. 16.

TO THE ELECTORS OF YORK.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE REPORTER,

If ever there was a time in the history of New Brunswick, and more especially the county of York, when we required the services of men of intelligence to represent our interests in the Legislature, astute, fur-seeing statesmen, men who are able to grapple with the momentous questions of the day, and mould them to the best interests of the Province, now is […] time. Look abroad throughout the continent of America, and you will find in every legislative body questions of magnitude affecting the interests of the people for weal or woe, engaging their attention and calling forth the powers of their collective wisdom to so arrange them as they may be productive of good, while the public mind, constantly agitated, is ever and […] peering into the future to ascertain, if it were possible, its hidden secrets. But while one great question affecting our interests as a Province was settled for the time being at the last general election, there are others which will occupy the attention of our representatives at the next session worthy of serious consideration, and as we have now an opportunity of filing a vacancy in the representation, it behaves us to be careful in the selection. The question is not now confederation or no confederation (I consider that question virtually settled at the last election) ; but who is the best man to represent the interest of the county of York? — who is the man who has […] enough to say, “Timothy Warren Anglin shall not resign over us,” and interesting a wedge at the base of the miserable Government now in power, shall drive it home, until the already shattered fabric shall topple over? Genetement, electors of York, you have two men to choose from ; one has been tried, and in the hour of need you have found him the right man in the right place, a patriot and a statesman combined. The Hon. Charles Fisher stands second to none in this Province as the champion of the peoples rights. Of the other we can only say we are sorry he is found in such bad company.

Enclosure 2 in No. 16.

TO the ELECTORS of the County of York.

GENTLEMEN,

HAVING received requisitions from every part of the county, urging me to offer myself as a candidate for your suffrages at the approaching election, and assuring me that I would meet with your support, I have concluded to place myself at your disposal.

With no intention to retire from public life, my present freedom from political care indisposed me from engaging in a contest, believing as i do that the signs of the times unmistakable indicate that very soon the whole constituent body of the Province will be called upon to elect representatives.

The strong feeling evinced for me, with the extraordinary course adopted by a portion of the press, leaves me no honourable alternative but to step into the arena and throw myself upon you, my fellow subjects.

You know that to my action in the Legislature the country is largely indebted for the present state of the Western Railroad. Hat the late House not been dissolved, I should have suggested a mode which would have secured the immediate commencement of the work, and if you elect me i am prepared with a plan to provide for its early completion, together with the branches to Fredericton, Woodstock, and Saint Stephen, without adding to the public burdens. I believe it to be bad policy, and also unfair to euergetes men in these localities, to ask them to invest in stock large sums which they require for their legitimate business.

The publication of Mr. Fleming’s report has proved the correctness of every statement i made to you last winter, with regard to the route of the Intercolonial Railway traversing the whole extent of the county of York.

The great question of the day is the Union of the Colonies, which is desired by the Queen, by Her Majesty’s ministers, and by the British people. Representatives and candidates now generally agree in the advantages of Union : the objections are to the Quebec scheme. I stated during the last election that it was the best compromise that could be effected at the time, and was highly advantageous to New Brunswick. If any improvement can be made in it, or any additional advantage attained for the Province, I shall be only too glad to aid in procuring it.

Gentlemen, I have devoted the best years of my life to your service, and were my connexion with you now to be served for ever, I know that i have left the impress of my mind upon the institutions of the country : that every change i have proposed was conceived in the true spirit of the British constitution, and with a view to perpetuate our connexion with the land and government of our fathers.

Yours, &c.

(Signed) CHARLES FISHER.

Fredericton, October 25, 1865.

No. 17.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No. 84.)

Government House, Fredericton, New Brunswick, November 20, 1865.
(Received December 4, 1865.)
(Answered No. 115. December 7,1865, page 120.)

SIR,

In my Despatch, No. 83,* of the 6th inst. I informed you of the probable election of the confederate candidate, Mr. Fisher, for the county of York. Mr. Fisher was returned by a majority considerably larger than i had anticipated. Although its effect is diminished by his somewhat inconsistent pledge to oppose the scheme of Confederation if presented to the present Parliament, and by the persevering efforts of his friends to convince the electors that the Confederation question had been set aside, and would not be affected by the issue of the contest, it cannot, i think, be doubted that the election of Mr. Fisher, rather perhaps by its effect elsewhere, than from its own intrinsic importance, is a decided step towards the accomplishment of the federal Union of the British North American Provinces.

I have, &c.
(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

No. 18.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No. 12.)

Government House, Fredericton, N.B., March 14, 1866
(Answered No. […]. March 31,1866, page 120.)

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to enclose for your information a copy of a paragraph of the Address which has this day been agreed upon by the Legislative Council of this Province in answer to my speech at the opening of the session, from which you will perceive that, that body have expressed a strong and decided opinion in favour of a Union of the British North American Provinces.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No.18

PARAGRAPH of ADDRESS in reply to Speech by the Legislative Council, New Brunswick.

“THE correspondence on the affairs of British North America which your Excellency announces will be immediately laid before us by command of Her Majesty, will receive at our hands that careful and respectful attention due to matters emanating from so high a source, and be considered with an anxious desire to meet the wishes of Her Majesty’s Government, being fully convinced that a Union of the British North American Colonies will strengthen the ties which bind them to the mother country, and be consistent with the true interests and prosperity of this Province.”

No. 19.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No. 15a.)

Saint John, New Brunswick, March 26, 1866
(Received April 9, 1866)
(Answered No. 16, April 14,1866, page 120.)

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to enclose for your information a copy of the Address which has been agreed upon by the Legislative Council in reply to my speech at the opening of the session.

2. You will perceive from the paragraph marked with ink that the advantages likely to result from a Union of the British North American Provinces have been recognized in the fullest manner by the Legislative Council. Only three dissentient votes were recorded against the paragraph.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No.19.

To his Excellency the Hon. ARTHUR HAMILTON GORDON, C.M.G., Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Province of New Brunswick, &c. &c. &c.

THE HUMBLE ADDRESS OF HER MAJESTY’s LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

(Extract.)

We thank your Excellency for the announcement that the report of the delegates, directed by your Excellency to proceed to England on various important questions, will be laid before us ; and we learn with satisfaction that a contract has been secured by them which in connexion with measures adopted by the Government of Nova Scotia, it is contemplated will ensure the completion of the railway communication between Saint John and Halifax. We are likewise gratified at the information that the construction of a railway from Saint John to the frontier of the United States is under contract, and that the works are already in progress.

“The correspondence on the affairs of British North America, which your Excellency announces will immediately be laid before us by command of Her Majesty, will receive at our hands that careful and respectful attention due to matters emanating from so high a source, and be considered with an anxious desire to meet the wishes of Her Majesty’s Government, being fully convinced that a Union of the British North American Colonies will strengthen the ties which bind them to the Mother country, and be consistent with the true interests and prosperity of the Province.”

No. 20.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No. 17.)

Fredericton, April 3, 1866.
(Received April 23, 1866.)
(Answered No. 19, April 28,1866, page 120.)

SIR,

In my Despatch, No. 15a, * of the 26th […]. U transmitted to you the Address which had been agreed to by the Legislative Council of this Province in answer to my speech on the opening of the session.

2. It has been usual not to receive the Address of the Upper House until that of the Assembly is also ready for presentation, when both Houses are formally received at the same time. The debate on the Address in the Lower House, however, having already lasted a month, and showing no signs of terminating, i resolved no longer to delay the reception of the Address of the Council, which was accordingly presented to me yesterday, and to which i replied in terms which will, i hope, be approved by you.

3. I have marked the paragraph of the Address relating to Union, which, you will observe, contains a clear and distinct approval of that measure.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure 1 in No. 20.

To his Excellency the Hon. ARTHUR HAMILTON GORDON, C.M.G., Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Province of New Brunswick.

The humble Address of Her Majesty’s Legislative Council in General Assembly, &c. &c. &c.

(Extract.)

The correspondence on the affairs of British North America, which your Excellency announces will immediately be laid before us by command of Her Majesty, will receive at our hands that careful and respectful attention due to matters emanating from so high a source, and be considered with an anxious desire to meet the wishes of her Majesty’s Government, being fully convinced that a union of the British North American Colonies will strengthen the ties which bind them to the mother country, and be consistent with the true interests and prosperity of this Province.

In the discharge of the duties now developing upon us, we trust that (under a full sense of our responsibilities) our deliberations may tend to promote the welfare of the Province and its people, and cement closer our connexion with the great Empire which it is our ardent desire to maintain.

Enclosure 2 in No. 20.

REPLY TO the ADDRESS of the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL in answer to the SPEECH opening the SESSION

MR. President and Honourable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council,

I THANK you for your address. I have full confidence in the loyal and patriotic spirit by which your discussions will be guided, and am well assured of your readiness to concur in all measures requisite to ensure the safety and tranquility of the Province.

Your conviction that a Union of the British North American Provinces will strengthen the ties which bind them to the mother country, and be consistent with the true interests and prosperity of New Brunswick, will I know afford much satisfaction of Her Majesty’s Government, who will rejoice to learn that this great measure, the speedy accomplishment of which is ardently desire by them, and which, if carried into effect with a careful regard to the strength and efficiency of the Union, they believe so well calculated to benefit British America, is heartily approved by you.

No. 21.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No. 18.)

Fredericton, April 9, 1866.
(Received April 23, 1866.)
(Answered No. 20, April 28,1866, page 121.)

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to enclose an Address from the Legislative Council of New Brunswick to Her Majesty the Queen, praying that Her Majesty will be “pleased to cause a measure to be submitted to the Imperial Parliament for the purpose of thus uniting the Colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island in one Government.”

2. I have to request that you will lay this Address before Her Majesty.

3. I enclose a copy of the resolutions agreed to by the Council previous to the passage of the Address, and of the speech made by me when the President, who was accompanied by the whole House, placed the Address in my hands for transmission to Her Majesty. The terms of that speech will I trust meet with your approval.

I have, &c.
(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure 1 in No. 21.

RESOLUTIONS of the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL of NEW BRUNSWICK.

Legislative Council Chamber, April 6, 1866.

RESOLVED, as the opinion of this committee, that a Union of all the British North American Colonies based on the resolutions adopted at the Conference of Delegates for the several Provinces held at Quebec on the […] day of October 1864 is an object highly to be desired, essential to their future prosperity and influence, and calculated alike to strengthen and perpetuate the ties which bind them to the mother country ; and further, —

Resolved, as the opinion of this committee, that the Legislative Council should concur in any measure which may be necessary to carry such Union into effect.

Enclosure 2 in No. 21.

ADDRESS of the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL of NEW BRUNSWICK.

TO THE QUEEN’s MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY.

Most Gracious Sovereign,

WE, Your Majesty’s faithful and loyal subjects, the Legislative Council of New Brunswick in Provincial Parliament assembled, humbly approach Your Majesty with the conviction that a Union of all Your Majesty’s British North American Colonies held at Quebec on the […] day of October 1861 is an object highly to be desired, essential to their future prosperity and influence, and calculated alike to strengthen and perpetuate the ties which bind them to Your Gracious Majesty’s throne and Government, and humbly pray that Your Majesty may be pleased to cause a measure to be submitted to the Imperial Parliament for the purpose of thus uniting the Colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island in one Government.

(Signed) JOHN SAUNDERS,

Acting President of the Legislative Council.

Enclosure 3 in No. 21.

REPLY to the ADDRESS of the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL of NEW BRUNSWICK.

Mr. President and Honourable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council,

I WILL immediately transmit your Address to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, in order that it may be laid at the foot of the throne.

Her Majesty the Queen has already been pleased to express a deep interest in the Union of Her North American Dominions, and will no doubt graciously appreciate this decided expression of your opinion.

I rejoice to believe that the avowal of your desire that all British North America should unite in one community under one strong and efficient government cannot but tend to hasten the accomplishment of this great measure.

No. 22.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No.21.)

Government House, Fredericton, N.B., April 10, 1866.
(Received May 8, 1866.)

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to enclose the protest of the minority of the Legislative Council, against the Address to Her Majesty transmitted to you in my Despatch, No. 18, * of the 9th instant.

I have, &c.
(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 22.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL JOURNAL.

Monday, April 9, 1866.

Present:

The Hon. Mr. Saunders sitting as President.

The Hon. Mr. Botsford,
” Minchin,
” Harrison,
” Odell,
” Steeves,
” Hamilton,
” Rice,
” Mitchell,
” Ferugson,

The Hon. Mr. Chandler,
” Hazen,
” Davidson,
” Wark,
” Ryan,
” Todd,
” Robinson,
” Perley.

PRAYERS

Dissentient

To the passing of the address to the throne, praying Her Majesty to cause a measure to be submitted to the Imperial Parliament for the purpose of uniting the Colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island in one Government, based on the resolutions of this House passed on Friday, the Sixth day of April instant, and to the resolution of this House of Saturday last, that such address should be presented by this House instead of a Committee thereof :-

1. Because the scheme for a Confederation under the Quebec resolutions was submitted to the people of this Province at a general election holden in March 1865, and was rejected by a large majority, a dissolution of the House of Assembly having taken place for the express purpose of obtaining the decision of the people in reference to such constitution.

2. Because at the subsequent session of the Legislature, held in May 1865, a resolution against the adoption of such Confederation was passed by a large majority of the representatives of the people, declaring that in their opinion the consummation of such a scheme would prove disastrous to the best interests and prosperity of this Province, the division thereon being twenty-nine — ten, while this House forbore to give any opinion on the subject, though made the order of the day for the Eighteenth day of May 1865.

3. Because this House, in now praying Her Most Gracious Majesty to force upon an unwilling people by Imperial legislation a measure which has been so rejected by them, is seeking the adoption of a policy totally at variance with that benign rule heretofore enjoyed by us under our Most Gracious Sovereign and Her Royal predecessors, and subversive of the rights of Her loyal subjects as existing under the blessings of self-government long enjoyed throughout Her Majesty’s British North American Colonies.

4. Because this House, in asking Her Majesty to cause to be submitted to the Imperial Parliament for enactment a scheme of Confederation so rejected by the people and their representatives in General Assembly, are pursuing a course impolite and unwise, and necessarily tending to bring this House into collision with the House of Assembly and the people of this Province, while, by thus ignoring their rights, and interfering with their privileges, they weaken, in the minds of the people, their respect for the legitimate function of this House, which it is so desirable to preserve unimpaired, such interference being justly regarded by the people of new Brunswick as an attempt by this House to coerce them into the adoption of a Confederation to which they have declared themselves entirely opposed.

R. L. HAZEN.
JAMES DAVIDSON.
W. H. ODELL.
WILLIAM HAMILTON.
J. ROBINSON.

No. 23.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No.41.)

Fredericton, June 4, 1866.
(Received June 18, 1866.)
(Answered, No.40, June 22, 1865, page 122.)

SIR,

IN my confidential Despatch of May 7th, I stated that I had, on the advice of my Executive Council, dissolved the Provincial Parliament.

2. Sixteen members of the new House of Assembly have already been returned, of tense not one is a supporter of the late Government, or an opponent of Confederation. The county of York, which at the last general election returned four members opposed to the Quebec scheme, has now, by a majority of nearly two to one, returned four unionists. Of the only two members of the late Government who have as yet offered themselves for re-election, one has been signally defeated, whilst the other, finding success hopeless, withdrew from the contest before the day of polling.

3. There can now, I think, be no doubt that the new Parliament will contain a very large majority favourable to Confederation.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

No. 24.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No.44.)

Fredericton, June 4, 1866.
(Received June 18, 1866.)
(Answered, No.38, June 22, 1865, page 121.)

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to enclose copies of two letters lately published by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Chatham in this Province. These letters have some interest from the fact that, up to this time, the Roman Catholic body has been generally opposed to the accomplishment of the Union of the British North American Provinces.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 24.

LETTER to the Right Rec. Dr. ROGERS Bishop of Chatham, with Reply, giving his views on Confederation

Newcastle, New Brunswick, April 21, 1866.

MY DEAR LORD BISHOP,

WE are about entering upon a great political struggle on behalf of Confederation. You are aware that the House has been proprogued, and a new Government has been formed, with the avowed object of bringing about by […] and legitimate means, that most desirable object. I have received a position in the Government in the person of Solicitor-General.

My past political course will be a guarantee for future operations. I have, under the circumstances, respectfully to request your Lordship’s favour and assistance in the coming election, should you be satisfied with my past conduct. I have every reason to believe that you are favourable to a Union of these Provinces, and will, as such, support those who support that principle.

I have, &c.

(Signed) EDWARD WILLISTON.

The Right Rev. Dr. Rogers,
Bishop of Canada

(REPLY.)

MY DEAR SIR,

MY absence from home, protracted longer than at first intended, prevented me from replying sooner to your favour, which reached me at Halifax.

It is hardly necessary for me to premise, that hitherto during my residence in New Brunswick i have abstained from taking any active part in politics, not because i did not feel an interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of the country, but because the numerous and pressing duties of my ministry had a prior claim, and absorbed all my time and attention. If, in replying to your letter on the present occasion, i deviated from my precious course by recording my strong convictions respecting the all-important question of a Union of the British North American Provinces, convictions which i have continued to entertain with increasing strength since that question became practically agitated during the past few years, it is because a combination of circumstance, and the importance of the present crisis in our country’s history, render it imperative for one in my position not to remain silent.

Among the reasons which convince me of the benefit of the proposed Union, there is one entirely independent of the intrinsic merits of the question ; it is, that this measure is earnestly recommended to us by the British Government — not by this or that particular statesman or party — but by the great statesmen of all parties, and that not only in their personal character as intelligent and far-seeing politicians, but officially through the ordinary and legitimate exponent of the Sovereign’s and of the nations wishes, viz, the Government of the day.

But is this a strong reason in its favour? Certainly. It is under present circumstances the strongest prima facie evidence of its benefit that could be produced — Why? Because these parties, from their stand-point of view, their information on the subject and interest in int, are in a position to be the very best judges of its merits. They are, as they have reason to be, deeply interested in the welfare of their Colonial Empire. England’s greatness hitherto has been caused by, nay, i might almost say consisted in, the extent and success of her Colonies. The territorial smallness and insular position of the mother country made it not a mere matter of choice, or simply good policy, but of stern necessity, to build and man, and keep in profitable employment the “Wooden walls of England,” both mercantile and war ships. Without her Colonies to people, protect, and trade with, her mercantile marine and Government navy would have been without an object, therefore without existence, and without their existence the history of Great Britain during the last two or three hundred years would not have been the history of the greatest, wealthises, and most powerful Empire that ever existed, but rather a continuation of England’s history during the wards of the Roses. The external field of congenial adventure for the young noble, as well as of cheerful and profitable employment for the peasant youth, which the shipping and foreign possession of the nation furnished, prevented the internal commotions which must inevitably exist in continental countries that have no such outlet for their surplus population, nor legitimate safety-value, so to speak, for the escape exuberant and discounted spirits that cannot be restrained at home, but are always busy in creating revolution or other civil mischief. British statesmen are not only thus interested in the welfare of the Colonies, but their opportunities and facilities for possessing the most extensive and accurate information bearing on the subject preclude the moral possibility of their judging without being duly informed, while their moderate but not too remote distance from us them to take a more broad, general view of our affairs, unbiased by local prejudice or predilections, and unaffected by the petty personal or sectional interests or jealousies which enter so largely into our Provincial politics.

When, therefore, a great measure calculated to develop and consolidate our Colonial prosperity as well as promote Imperial interests, is proposed and earnestly recommended by the parent State for our adoption, it is, in my opinion, one of the greatest arguments in its favour. Nay, I go further and say that considering the past and present relationship between us and the mother country, it is our duty to acquiesce. Do we owe nothing to the mother that […] us? That gave us territorial and political existence — whose sons fought and bled, whose statesmen laboured, and whose people taxed themselves to pay for the wars by which these Colonies were acquired and opened up for our forefather and ourselves whereby we came into the free easy possession of the property, prosperity, and liberty we enjoy in them? Is Great Britain to continue to tax her people in order to send out here not only money and munitions of war, but also her harvest sons the flower of the country in their armies and fleets, to fight for us, to protect and build us up, and we refuse to make the slightest concession of our opinions, or even interest, were it required, in compliance with her recommendation? At the very moment when we have but just been delivered from Fenian invasion by the prompt action of the British forces protecting us, are we, in return, to thwart and oppose British policy, to stickle for our opinions to prefer, not the wish of our protector, parent, and friend, but rather that of her and our enemies? While Great Britain wishes us to unite, the Fenians have avowed it to be their policy to prevent such Union. Which of these two should we try to please? Fas est ub hoste doceri. — Should we not do the opposite of what the enemy wishes?

But besides the argument which honour and duty to our benefactress furnish, that of self-interest, in the more rapid increase of material prosperity which must inevitably follow from the more frequent intercommunication, the building of railroads and other public works, the increase of population and general business, the opening up and settling of wilderness lands, &c. &c. &c. Would make it the most preposterous folly for us obstinately to persist in refusing to take part in the benefits of the proposed Union.

Need I say, then, in conclusion, that yourself and your colleagues who advocate this great measure, have my warmest sympathy and best wishes for your success.

With much esteem for yourself and entire approbation of your faithful and consistent parliamentary course, especially since the period of your last election.

I remain, &c.
(Signed) +JAMES ROGERS,
Bishop of Chatham.

The Hon. Edward Williston.
Newcastle, New Brunswick.

Letter from the Right Reverend Dr. ROGERS, Bishop of Chatham to JOHN M. JOHNSON, Esq.

Newcastle, N.B., May 22, 1866.

DEAR SIR,

I HAVE just read in the “Northern Post” of Saturday your speech delivered at the meeting in Mason Hall, Chatham, on Wednesday evening last. I cannot sufficiently express my admiration of your clear, concise, and yet comprehensive exposition in that speech of the constitutional question now at issue between the leading politicians of this Province. I have often heard allusions made by some of the most respectable R. C. clergymen in these parts to a noble speech once delivered by you in our place in Parliament, advocating equal rights and even-handed justice to all classes and […], which merited for you the grateful support of themselves and the Roman Catholics generally of this county ever since. I would say of the present speech, that it alone ought to be sufficient to make the fame of any colonial statesman, and deserves a place among the best papers ever written on the constitution of Great Britain and that of her Colonies.

I regard the British constitution as the most perfect form of civil government that can be devised in our present state of human affairs ; though I admit that it is not equally suited to all peoples and climates. It consists, as all know, of three different branches, Queen, Lords, and Commons, each distinct and separate from the others ; each of the two latter, when duly convened by the first, being competent to discuss, deliberate, and legislate independently of the other, but such legislation of any one branch cannot become law or take effect without the concurrence of the other two.

What is termed responsible government, as I understand it, consists in this, viz., that the Sovereign receive a select number of members from the party having the majority in both the other branches, to aid him by their opinions and advice, either in giving his consent to an act of legislation or in putting into execution a law that already exists. Hence these advisers are called “the Executive Council,” for as such Council they have no legislative power, their office being simply to counsel or advise the Sovereign, not to bind her ; otherwise they would be her rulers or governors, not councillors. But as she alone forms one independent branch of the Legislature, she is not bound to follow their advice, although she generally does so. But they, while they remain her councillors, must assume the responsibility of her political acts. If on any occasion she exercises her rights to act irrespective or, or in opposition to their advice, and they are unwilling to assume the responsibility of her act, there is no alternative for them but to resign. They cannot hold office and ignore its responsibility.

Hence in the recent difficulty between the Governor of our Province (who represents and exercises the delegated power of the Sovereign) and his late advisers, the ease appears to me quite clear, even from the statements published by themselves, that they, not be, violated the principle of responsible government by remaining in office while they refused to bring forward a measure of Union to which, by the Governor’s speech on opening Parliament, they as well as he had committed themselves. If in consenting to the speech they were acting in good faith, as I believe they were, but afterwards found it impossible to get support in the House to carry out the policy of the speech, such failure left them no alternative but to resign. But they retained office, trying to evade its responsibility, thereby violating responsible government in the false position they continued to hold. The Governor must have regarded such a state of things as worse than puerile, […] with the dignity of their and his respective positions, and the wonder to me is how he could […] even as long as he did. But the attempt to throw the obloquy on him is certainly beyond my comprehension. He in the very beginning, before the commencement of the session, informed the leader of the Government of his obligation and intention to fulfil the Queen’s instructions, by insisting that action be taken on the Union or Confederation question. The clause on that subject, in his speech on opening the session, is irrefragable testimony of this. Some four weeks after the delivery of that speech it is rather late to say that he did not consult them on the subject. If they, unwilling to resign office, though unable to fulfil its responsibility found themselves in a false position, it is certainly not only indelicate but unjust to try to put on the Queen’s representative the odinan of the position they occupied in violating responsible government. This state of the question you make very clear in your valuable speech, and I feel it a duty to lose not a moment in conveying to you my warmest thanks for it.

But it may be asked, why do i thus interest myself in a mere secular or political matter? I reply, because, independently of my interest in common with others in the integrity of our Government, the honour of its officers, and the general welfare of the country to promoted by its measures, the honour and interests of the Catholic body have become so affected by side issues and circumstances connected with the discussion of this question, as well as the other one of Confederation, during the last year or two, that i feel it due to my people and to myself to give public expression to my opinions on the present occasion.

One of the leading newspapers of this Province, which has commented with grave injustice on the conduct of the Governor in the issue between him and his late advisers, is published and edited by a Catholic. Although this gentleman is a layman and his paper a secular newspaper, nevertheless it has come to be very generally regarded as the exponent of the feeling of the Catholic body, both lay and elercial, of this Province. The personal virtues and accomplishments of Mr. Anglin — his love of his religion and of his native land, the integrity of his private life, his genial anniability in social intercours, his acknowledged ability as a writer and editor, combine to give a strength and effect to the influence of his newspaper, bears a special importance and influence derived from the fame of its author. Should such a one […] in the views he advocates, or the course he adopts — as sometimes happens to the best men — the injury he does is extensive, and can only be counteracted by extraordinary means. Now it is because i believe such extraordinary means to be necessary on the present occasion, that i feel it a sacred duty for the honour of the Catholic body to disclaim all approbation of or sympathy with the unjust and […] […] of the Governor which for some time back appeared in the “St. John Freeman.” Apart from the general respect which the representative of our most Gracious Queen claims from all classes in the Province, our present Governor, the Hon. A. H. Gordon deserves, not only common justice, but the undying gratitude of the Catholics of this Province for his prompt, effective, manly, and honourable defence of them in his speeches at St. Andrews and Woodstock when their loyalty was impugned. On this occasion, when the terror of Fenian invasion and Fenian sympathy spread over the Province, when so many of our Protestant neighbours in the panic of the moment yielded […] to the absurd reports in circulation that all Catholics were Fenians, ready to rise suddenly on their Protestant neighbours, his Excellency Governor Gordon, with a promptitude and energy characteristic of him, sprang to the scene of trouble, and by his personal influence and official authority […] the storm. It was owing to this well-timed act of gubernatorial justice, together with the happy influence exercised by the published letters of his Grace the Archbishop of Halifax, that this unfortunate bitter social presentation — mutual mistrust and mutual hatred — did not endminate to a melancholy point. If Mr. Auglin, by the general course he followed, both in politics and in his newspaper, did not contribute somewhat (though certainly unintentionally i admit) to excite this mutual bad feeling, he was in no small degree the occasion of it.

I thank you for the clear correct exposition of the true state of the constitutional question, by which you show his Excellency far from meriting the odium which Mr. ANglin would impose upon him. I regret exceedingly the public course this gentleman is pursuing in opposing so strenuously the policy of the British Government respecting these Colonies. His course is calculated to create and foster a spirit of discontent and disunion amongst our people and their neighbours ; and retard the accomplishment of the measure, already regarded as inevitable, and certainly in my opinion essential to our future political and commercial prosperity. Were it not that, for the reasons mentioned above, this gentleman’s influence amongst our people is so great to lead them into a wrong course where he […] himself, I would not think it necessary to make these allusions to him. But when, in addition to the influence he exerts in his paper, he now makes his first visit to Mirannichi to interfere with our elections and by his personal presence and agitation divert our Catholic people from the course advised them by their local friends and guides, I lose all patience with him.

Need i say, in conclusion, that you have my best wishes for your success at the approaching election, and that the Government now formed may be sustained throughout the Province in order that the great measure of Union, both by political, commercial, and railroad intercourse and institutions may soon become an accomplished fact.

I have the honour to remain, dear Sir,
Very sincerely your, &c.
+JAMES ROGERS, Bishop of Chatham.

No. 25.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No. 49.)

Fredericton, June 5, 1866.
(Received June 18, 1866.)
(Answered, No.39, June 22, 1865, page 121.)

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to transmit to you a Return of the elections, so far as they have yet proceeded. I have sent the last three counties in blank to Major-General Doyle, by whom they will be filled up, after telegraphic communication with me, up to Thursday evening:–

Confederate		Anti-Confederate
4	Northumberland	0
2	Carleton	0
2	Sunbury	0
4	Albert	0
0	Westmoreland	4
4	St. John County	0
2	St. John City	0
2	Victoria	0
2	Queen’s	0

I have, &c.
(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c. Lieut.-Governor

Halifax, June 7, 1866

P.S. — Mr. Gordon, in this telegram, gives the total elected 26, but according to the numbers above it would appear to be 24 Confederates and 4 Anti-Confederates.

(Signed) HASTINGS DOYLE,
Major-General.

Enclosure in No. 25.

Fredericton, June 7,1866
(Received at Halifax, June 7, 1866.)

To Major-General Doyle,

Please fill up Despatch as follows :–

Westmoreland, Confederates none, Anti-confederates four : St. John County, Confederates four, Anti-confederates none ; Queen’s County, Confederates two, Anti-confederates none : Victoria, Confederates two, Anti-confederates none : St. John’s city, Confederates two, Anti-confederates none. Total yet elected, Confederates twenty-six, Anti-confederates four.

A. GORDON

No. 26.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No.50.)

Fredericton, N.B., June 13, 1866.
(Received July 2, 1866.)
(Answered, No.1, July 6, 1866, page 122.)

SIR,

THE elections terminated yesterday. The new House of Assembly is thus composed :–

In favour of Confederation	33
Against it	8
Majority	25

2. I have today issued a proclamation calling the Legislature together for despatch of business on Thursday the 21st instant.

I have, &c.
(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c. Lieut.-Governor

No. 27.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No.53.)

Fredericton, June 21, 1866.
(Received July 14, 1866.)
(Answered, No.6, July 20, 1866, page 122.)

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to enclose herewith a copy of the Speech with which i this day opened the session of the Provincial Legislature.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 27.

EXTRACT from the SPEECH of his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor on opening the Session.

HONOURABLE GENTLEMEN OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL,
MR. SPEAKER, AND GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY.

THE Address of the Legislative Council to Her Majesty the Queen, on the subject of the Union of the British North American Provinces, agreed to during the last session, was duly transmitted by me to England to be laid at the foot of the Throne, and I am commanded to inform you that Her Majesty has been pleased to receive the same very graciously.

The adoption and the reception by me for transmission to Her Majesty of this Address, led to events which rendered it in my opinion expedient to dissolve the then existing General Assembly. I have now much satisfaction in resorting to your assistance and cooperation at the earliest possible moment : although I regret that it should be necessary to call you together at a period of the year which must, I fear, render your assembling a matter of much personal inconvenience to some among you.

Her Majesty’s Government have already expressed their strong and deliberate opinion, that the Union of the British North American Provinces under one Government is an object much to be de desired. The Legislatures of Canada and of Nova Scotia have formed the same judgement : and you will now shortly be invited to express your concurrence with or dissent from the view taken of this great question by those Provinces.

HONOURABLE GENTLEMEN OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.,
MR. SPEAKER, and GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY,

The question which you are now called together specially to consider is one of the most momentous ever submitted to a Colonial Legislature. Your deliberations will, I doubt not be undertaken with a due sense of the importance of the interests they involve, and the solemn responsibilities which by your decision you incur, and will, I trust, be conducted with a sole view to the interests of the community at large. That the determination at which you arrive may be one calculated to promote the welfare and happiness, not of this Province, only but of all Her Majesty’s subjects throughout the whole extent of the wide-spread dominions of the Queen on this Continent, is my earnest hope and prayer.

No. 28.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No.55.)

Fredericton, N.B., June 23, 1866.
(Received July 14, 1866.)
(Answered, No.7, July 21, 1866, page 122.)

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to enclose the copy of a resolution moved this day by the Attorney-General in the House of Assembly.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 28.

RESOLUTION OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY.

June 30, 1866.

RESOLVED, That an humble Address be presented to his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, praying that his Excellency will be pleased to appoint Delegates, to unite with Delegates from the other Provinces in arranging with the Imperial Government for the Union of the British North America upon such terms as will secure the just rights and interests of New Brunswick, accompanied with provision for the immediate construction of the Intercolonial railway, each Province to have an equal voice in such delegation, Upper and Lower Canada to be considered as separate Provinces.

No. 29.

COPY of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No.56.)

Fredericton, N.B., June 25, 1866.
(Received July 14, 1866.)
(Answered, No.6, July 20, 1866, page 122.)

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to enclose copies of the Addresses presented to me, in reply to my Speech at the opening of the Legislature, by the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure 1 in No. 29.

(Extract).

To his Excellency, the Hon. Arthur Hamilton Gordon, C.M.G., Lieutenant governor and commander in chief of the province of New Brunswick, &c., &c., &c.

The Address of Her Majesty’s Legislative Council and General Assembly.

May it please Your Excellency,

We thank your Excellency for the speech, with which you have been pleased to open the present session of the Legislature.

We are gratified to learn that Her Majesty was pleased to receive very graciously the address of the Legislative Council on the subject of the union of the British North American provinces agreed to during the late session.

It is satisfactory to learn, that the adoption and reception by your Excellency of that Address led to events which rendered it expedient to dissolve the then existing General Assembly, and most gratifying to believe that the country have sustained that conclusion : and although we unite with your Excellency in regretting that it should have been necessary to call the Assembly together at […] that may cause personal inconvenience to some of us, we rejoice to have the opportunity of adding by our counsel and co-operation in the consummation of these natural objects which have led to our meeting.

We learn with satisfaction that Her Majesty’s Government have already expressed their strong and deliberate conviction that the Union of the British American provinces under one government is an object much to be desired, and that the Legislatures of Canada and Nova Scotia having passed the same judgment, we will shortly be called upon to express our concurrence with our dissent from the view taken of this great question by those Provinces, and we confidently look forward to a similar decision here.

We agree with your Excellency in believing that the question of the Union of the British North American Provinces, which we are now called upon speedily to consider, and the principle of which the people of this Province have so unmistakeably sustained, is one of the most momentous ever submitted to a Colonial Legislature, and we trust that we shall approach its consideration with a clear sense of the importance of the issues involved, and the solemn responsibilities which by our decision we may incur ; and we hope and believe that the trust expressed by your Excellency that our deliberations may be concluded with a sole view to the interest of the country at large may be realized, and that the conclusion at which we may arrive may be one calculated to promote the welfare and happiness not of this Province only, but of all Her Majesty’s subjects throughout the whole extent of Her Majesty’s dominions on this Continent.

Enclosure 2 in No. 29.

(Extract)

To his Excellency the Hon. ARTHUR HAMILTON GORDON, C.M.G., Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Province of New Brunswick, &c., &c., &c.

The humble Address of the House of Assembly.

May it please your Excellency,

WE, Her Majesty’s faithful subjects, the Commons of New Brunswick, thank your Excellency for your speech at the opening of the present session.

We learn with pleasure that Her Majesty the Queen graciously received the address of the Legislative Council on the subject of the Union of the British North American Provinces, transmitted to England by your Excellency.

We agree with your Excellency that the adoption of reception by your Excellency for transmission to Her Majesty of this Address on the subject of the Union, led to events which rendered it expedient to dissolve the late General Assembly, and we believe that the constituencies of the Province have justified the course adopted by your Excellency. Although an inconvenient season of the year for the discharge of legislative duties, we will, nevertheless, cheerfully co-operate with your Excellency in the transaction of such business and the perfecting of such measures as the public interest demands.

We know that Her Majesty’s Government have expressed a strong and deliberative opinion that the union of the British North American provinces, is an object, much to be desired. And that the legislature of Canada and of Nova Scotia concur in this view, and your excellent CMA rely with confidence on our cordial cooperation to accomplish that object.

* * * *

We agree with your Excellency in the opinion that the question of the Union of the British North American Provinces, upon which, by the elections just terminated, the people of New Brunswick have recently expressed so strong an opinion, and which your excellency has called us together to consider, this the most momentous ever submitted to a Colonial Legislature. We shall approach to consideration of the question with a due sense of the importance of the issues involved, and the solemn responsibility devolving upon us as representatives of a free people. Our deliberations shall be conducted with a single view to the promotion of their interests, and we fervently pray that our determination may be calculated to promote the welfare and happiness of all Her Majesty’s subjects in the widespread dominions of the Queen on this Continent.

No. 30.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDAN to the Right Hon. EDWARDS CARDWELL, M.P.

(No. 59.)

Camp of Instruction, Torryburn, near St. John,
New Brunswick, July 2, 1866.
(Received July 14, 1866.)
(Answered No. 7, July 21, 1866, page 122.)

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to inform you the Resolution, of which a copy was enclosed in my Despatch No. 55* of the 23rd […]., has been adopted by the House of Assembly with only eight dissentient voices.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR H. GORDON.

Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,

No. 31.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Lieut-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right, Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No.61.) […], N.B., July 9, 1866.

(Received July 28, 1866.)

(Answered. No. 10. August 1,1866, page 123.)

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to enclose for your information the copy of the Speech with which I this day closed the session of the Provincial Legislature.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR GORDON.

Right, Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,

Speech.

Extract.

MR. PRESIDENT, AND HONOURABLE GENTLEMEN OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL., MR. SPEAKER AND GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY.

I have learnt with much satisfaction that the opinion so strongly expressed by Her Majesty’s Government as to the expediency of a closer union between the British North American provinces has now received the concurrence of both branches of the Provincial Legislature.
It is my intention, in accordance with the wishes of the House of Assembly, shortly to appoint delegates, who in conjunction with delegates from the other Provinces of British America will arrange with Her Majesty’s Government the details of an Act, which, as requested by the address of the Legislative Council to Her Majesty the Queen adopted in April last, will be introduced into the Imperial Parliament for the purpose of affecting the desired Union.

No. 32.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. the SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES.

(No. 62.)

FREDERICTION, N.B., July 16, 1866.
(Received, July 28, 1866.)
(Answered, No. 12, August 2, 1866, page 123.)

SIR,

THE Session of the Provincial Legislature was closed by me on the 9th instant after lasting for 18 days. During that time 39 acts were passed, but few of which besides the act for suspending the operation of the Habeas Corpus Act which was sent to you in my Despatch, No. 57, of 28th June, are of any but local interest.

2. In the Legislative Council, where, as also in the House of Assembly, the Government had a large majority of supporters, few questions of any interest were debated.

3. In the House of Assembly, the resolution (enclosed in my Despatch No. 55, * of 23rd ultimo) authorizing the appointment of Delegates to arrange with the Imperial Government the terms of the union of the British North American Colonies was introduced by the Attorney General on the 26th ultimo. Mr. Smith, the leader of the late Government, moved to add to this resolution the following words:–“That said no Act or measure for such union shall have force or effect in New Brunswick, until it shall be approved by the legislature or people of this Province.” For this amended only eight votes were recorded.

4. On the 3rd July Mr. Smith moved the resolution of which a copy is herein enclosed. To this the Attorney General moved an amendment, of which also a copy is enclosed. This amendment was carried on the following day, eight votes as before, being recorded in favour of Mr. Smith’s motion.

5. The whole question seems to have lost much of its interest, and it cannot be said that there is slightest agitation or excitement on the subject, indeed its final settlement seems to be regarded with the utmost indifference and empathy, and the debates in the Assembly were, I am told, entirely wanting an animation for interest.

I have, &c.

(Signed) ARTHUR GORDON.

The Right Hon. the Secretary of State for the Colonies.
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure 1 in No. 32.

RESOLUTION moved by Mr. A. J. SMITH in the House of Assembly, July 3, 1866.

Whereas the Houser, on the 30th day of June last, passed the following resolution, viz, :–

“Resolution that an humble address be presented to his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, praying that his Excellency will be pleased to appoint Delegates to unite with Delegates from the other Provinces in arranging with the Imperial Government for the Union of British North America upon such terms as will secure the just rights and interests of New Brunswick, accompanied with provision for the immediate construction of the Intercolonial Railway, each Province to have an equal voice in such Delegation. Upper and Lower to be considered as separate Provinces.”

And whereas the authority given to the Delegates by said resolution authorizes them to accept the Quebec Scheme (so called) or even one more prejudicial to the interests of the people of this Province: and whereas, in view of the transcendent importance of the subject, it is desirable that the opinion of this House in reference to such scheme should be expressed for the information and guidance of such Delegates in the preparation of any measure for the union of British North America; therefore—which does not contain the following provisions:—

1st. An equal number of legislative councillors for each Province.
2nd. Such legislative councillors to be required to reside in the Province which they represent, and for which they are appointed.
3rd. The number of representatives in the Federal Parliament to be limited.
4th. The establishment of a court for the determination of questions and disputes that may arise between the Federal and Local Governments as to the meaning of the Act of Union.
5th. Exemption of this Province from taxation for the construction and enlargement of canals in Upper Canada, and for the payment of any money for the mines and mineral and lands of Newfoundland.
6th. Eighty cents per head to be on the population as it increases, and not to be confined to the census of 1861.
7th. Securing to each of the Maritime Provinces the right to have at least one executive councillor in the Federal Government.
8th. The commencing of the Intercolonial Railway before the right shall exist to increase taxation upon the people of this Province.

AMENDMENT TO MR. SMITH’S RESOLUTION of July 3, moved by Hon. The Attorney-General, July 3rd.

To expunge the whole of the above resolution and preambles, and substitute as follows :–

Resolved that the people of this Province having, after due deliberation, determined that a union of British North America was desirable, and the House having agreed to request his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor to appoint Delegates for the purpose of settling the plan of union upon such terms as will secure the just rights of New Brunswick, and having confidence that the action of his Excellency, under the advice of his constitutional advisors, will be directed to the attainment of that end, sound policy and a due regard to the interest of the Province, require that the responsibility of such action should be left unfettered by any expression of opinion other than what has already been given by the people and their representatives.

No. 33.

Copy of DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON to the Right Hon. The SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES.

(No. 63.)

Fredericton, N. B., July 16, 1866.
(Received, July 28, 1866)
(Answered, No. 11, August 1, 1866, page 123.)

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to inform you that in compliance with a resolution of the House of Assembly (a copy of which was transmitted to you in my Despatch, No. 55, * of the 23rd ultimo), I have appointed the following gentlemen delegates from his province to confer with Her Majesty’s Government on the subject of the union of the British North American Colonies :–Hon. Peter Mitchell, President of the Executive Council ; Hon. Samuel Leonard Tilley, Provincial Secretary ; Hon. Charles Fisher, Attorney General ; Hon. Robert Duncan Wilmot, M. P. P., Member of the Executive Council ; Hon. Edward B. Chandler, M. L. C. ; and John M. Johnson, Esq., M. P. P.

I have, &c.
(Signed) ARTHUR GORDON.

The Right hon. The Secretary of State for the Colonies,
&c. &c. &c.

Despatch from the Secretary of State.

No. 1.

Copy of a DESPATCH from the right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M. P., to Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON.

(No. 53.)

Downing Street, February 27, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge your Despatch No. 12, * of 30th of January, accompanied by a copy of the Report of the Conference appointed to consider the question of the Union of the three Maritime Provinces of British North America.

I have, &c.

(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon,
&c. &c. &c.

No. 2.

Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M. P., to Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON.

(No. 54.)

Downing Street, February 27, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch No. 9, * of the 30th of January, reporting that you had accepted Mr. G. L. Hatheway’s resignation of his seat in the Executive Council, and of his Office of Chief commissioner of the board of works.

I have, &c.
(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Lieut-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 3.

Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M. P., to Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON.

(No. 60.)

Downing Street, March 18, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 23, * of the 27th of February, in which you request instructions whether provision will be made for the completion of the Intercolonial Railway in the Act of Union, or be embodied by the Imperial Parliament in a separate Act.

In reply, I have to acquaint you that Her Majesty’s Government have expressed their cordial approval of the proceedings of the Conference at Quebec, and have engaged that if, as they hope, the Provincial Legislature sanction the scheme of the Conference they on their part will submit to the Imperial Parliament the measures which may be necessary for carrying that scheme into effect.

Of the resolutions adopted by the conference the 68th provides that the General Government shall secure, without delay, the completion of the Intercolonial Railway.

Her Majesty’s Government have understood that Resolution, with reference to the correspondence which had previously passed with the Governments of the several Provinces. While, therefore, they have entered into no new stipulation on the subject, they have by no means accepted the 68th resolution, from the general approval which they have expressed of the entire scheme, or from the engagement expecting it to which I have above referred.

What steps it may be proper hereafter for Her Majesty’s Government to take in pursuance of this engagement cannot be stated positively until it shall be known what course has been taken by the Provincial Legislatures, and until Her Majesty’s Government shall have received the communications which they hope to receive a persons deputed by the Governor-General to give to Her Majesty’s Government the benefit of the counsel upon the various measures necessary for carrying the Resolutions of the Conference into effect.

I have, &c.

(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon,

&c. &c. &c.

No. 4.

Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M. P., to Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON.

(No. 65.)

Downing Street, April 1, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatches, Nos. 24 * of the 6th, and 25 * of the 13th of March, reporting the results of the elections in New Brunswick.

I have, &c.
(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Lieut.-Governor, the Hon. A. Gordon.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 5.

Extract from a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M. P., to Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON.

(No. 66.)

Downing Street, April 12, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE received by this mail your to Despatches numbered 30 * and 31.

The first informs me that the elections from the Legislative Assembly have terminated, and that 9 members have been elected favorable to the scheme of Confederation, 28 unfavorable, and 4 doubtful; and that the members of your Executive Council have resigned their offices.
It thus appears that the scheme adopted by the Conference at Quebec, and approved by Her Majesty’s Government, on the grounds, among others, that it was eminently calculated to render easier and more effectual the provisions for the defense of the several Provinces, is likely to be rejected by New Brunswick.

* * * *

It will be the duty of Her Majesty’s Government to review in all its bearings the question of Confederation, after the several Provinces shall have had the opportunity of expressing their sentiments upon it, through their respective Legislatures. In the meantime, it will only be right for New Brunswick to bear in mind, that if the views which you have now expressed are to be regarded as sound, New Brunswick, as a separate Province, appears to be able to make no adequate provision for its own defense, and to rest in a very great degree upon the defense which may be provided for it by this country. It will, consequently, be likely to appear to your Advisors reasonable and wise that, in examining the question of the proposed Union they should attach great weight to the views and wishes of this country, and to the reasons on which those views and wishes have been based.

I have, &c.

(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon,

&c. &c. &c.

No. 6.

Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M. P., to Lieut.-Governor, the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON.

(No. 67.)

Downing Street, April 13, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 29, * of the 27th of March last, enclosing a copy of the Report submitted to you by the Delegates appointed to attend a Conference held at Quebec in October last.

I have, &c.
(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon,
&c. &c. &c.

No. 7.

Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., to Lieut.-Governor the Hon. Arthur Gordon.

(No. 76.)

Downing Street, May 27, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 39, * of the 27th April, enclosing, a copy of the speech, with which he opened the present session of the provincial legislature.

I have, &c.
(Signed) Edward Cardwell.

Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon.
&c. &c. &c.

No. 8.

Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M. P., to Lieut.-Governor the Hon. Arthur Gordon.

(No. 78.)

Downing Street, May 27, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 41, *of the 8th of May, enclosing copies of the respective Addresses presented to you by the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, on the occasion of the opening of the session.
I approve of the nature of the reply which you inform me that you returned to the Address of the House of Assembly.

I have, &c.
(Signed) Edward Cardwell.

Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon,
&c. &c. &c.

No. 9.

Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M. P., to Lieut.-Governor the Hon. Arthur Gordon.

(No. 81.)

Downing Street, June 24, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to transmit to you the copy of a correspondence between Viscount Monk and myself, on the affairs of British North America, which have lately formed the subject of conferences between Her Majesty’s Government and a deputation from the Canadian government.

The correspondence having been presented to both Houses of Imperial Parliament by command of Her Majesty, I have to direct you to communicate it also to the Legislature of New Brunswick at its next meeting.

Looking to determination which this country has ever exhibited to regard the defense of the colonies as a matter of Imperial concern, the Colonies must recognize a right and even acknowledge an obligation to incumbent on the Home Government to urge with earnestness and just authority the measures which they consider to the most expedient on the part of the Colonies, with a view to their own defence. Nor can it be doubtful that the Provinces of British North America are incapable, when separate and divided from each other, of making those just and sufficient preparations for national defence, which would be easily undertaken by a Province uniting in itself all the population and all the resource of the whole.

I’m aware that this project., so novel as well as so important, has not been at once accepted in New Brunswick with that cordiality which has marked its acceptance by the Legislature of Canada; but Her Majesty’s Government trust that after a full and careful examination of the subject and all its bearings the Maritime Provinces will perceive the great advantages which in the opinion of Her Majesty’s Government, the proposed Union is calculated to confer upon them all.

I have, &c.
(Signed) Edward Cardwell.

Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon,
&c. &c. &c.

No. 10.

Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M. P., to Lieut.-Governor the Hon. Arthur Gordon.

(No. 82.)

Downing Street, June 24, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch No. 48, * of the 5th instant, enclosing a copy of a Resolution moved in the House of Assembly proposing the appointment of a Delegation to proceed to this country to make known Her Majesty’s Government the views entertained by the Government and people of New Brunswick on the subject of the proposed Union of the British North American Provinces.

I have, &c.
(Signed) Edward Cardwell.

Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon,
&c. &c. &c.

No. 11.
Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., to Lieut.-Governor the Hon. Arthur Gordon.
(No. 83.)
SIR, Downing Street, June 24, 1865.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your dispatch No, 47 *, of the 5th instant, enclosing copy of an Address from the House of Assembly of New Brunswick, and of your reply relative to the appointment of Delegates to confer with a Delegation to be nominated by Governments of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island on subject of the Union of the Maritime Provinces of British North America.
I have, &c.
Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon (Signed) Edward Cardwell.

No. 12.

Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M. P., to Lieut.-Governor the Hon. Arthur Gordon.

(No. 91.)

Downing Street, August 4, 1865.

SIr,

I HAVE received your Despatch No. 58, * of the 15th of July, in answer to mine of the 24th of June.

It might perhaps have been well that the portion of the Executive Council who are in New Brunswick should have allowed the communication made to the Colony by Her Majesty’s Government to be generally known and considered in the Colony before the returned so decided a reply.

The first paragraph of the Minute seems to be me to require no other notice than the observation that my Despatch enclosed for the information of the Legislature of New Brunswick the record of what had passed between Her Majesty’s Government and the Ministers of Canada on the subject of Confederation ; and it was therefore impossible for any one to misunderstand the reference, or to suppose that it applied to another and a different scheme.

Notwithstanding, therefore, your Despatch and its enclosure, I still confidently anticipate that the serious consideration of the Province of New Brunswick will be given to the earnest and friendly suggestions which on the part of Her Majesty’s Government it has been my duty to convey to them through you.

I have, &c.
(Signed) Edward Cardwell.

Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon
&c. &c. &c.

No. 13.

Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M. P., to Lieut.-Governor the Hon. Arthur Gordon.

(No. 115.)

Downing Street, December 7, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No.* 83, of the 6th November, reporting the probable election of Mr. Fisher for the county of York.

I have also received your further Despatch No. 84+, of the 20th November, stating that Mr. Fisher had been returned.

I have, &c.

(Signed) Edward Cardwell.

Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon
&c. &c. &c.

No 14
Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M. P., to Lieut.-Governor the Hon. Arthur Gordon.
(No. 11.)
SIR, Downing Street, March 31, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 12, * of the 14th of March.
I have pursued with my much satisfaction the paragraph of the Address which you enclose, expressing the strong opinion of the Legislative Council in favor of the Union of the British North American Provinces.
I have, &c.
Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon (Signed) Edward Cardwell.

No. 15.
Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M. P., to Lieut.-Governor the Hon. Arthur Gordon.
(No. 16.)
SIR, Downing Street, April 14, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 15, as of the 26th transmitting a copy of the address of the Legislative Council of New Brunswick and reply to your speech at the opening of the session.
I learn with satisfaction the favourable view taken by the Legislative Council of the proposed Union of the British North American Provinces.
I have, &c.
Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon (Signed) Edward Cardwell.

No, 16

Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON.
(No. 19.)
SIR, Downing Street, April 28, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 17,* of the 3rd of April, enclosing the Address of the Legislative Council, in answer to your speech on the opening of the session, together with the reply to it; and I have already expressed in my Despatch No. 16, of the […] inst., the satisfaction with which I learnt the favourable view taken by the Legislative Council of the proposed Union of the British North American Provinces.
I have, &c.
Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon. (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

No. 17.

Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON.
(No. 20.)
SIR, Downing Street, April 28, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 18,* of the 9th of April, enclosing an Address to the Queen, from the Legislative Council of New Brunswick, praying that Her Majesty will be pleased to cause a measure to be submitted to the Imperial Legislature for the purpose of uniting the British North American Colonies under one government, and of your reply.
I have to request that you will […] the Council that I have laid their Address before the Queen, and that Her Majesty was pleased to receive it very graciously.
I have, &c.
Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon. (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

No. 18.

Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON.
(No. 38.)
SIR, Downing Street, June 22, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 44,* of the 4th June, enclosing two letters recently written by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Chatham, in which he expresses his opinion in favour of the proposed Confederation of the British North American Provinces.
I have, &c.
Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon. (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

No. 19.

Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON.
(No. 39.)
SIR, Downing Street, June 22, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 49,* of the 5th June, stating the result, so far as that has yet been determined, of the general election now taking place in New Brunswick.
I have, &c.
Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon. (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

No. 20.

Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P., Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON.
(No. 40.)
SIR, Downing Street, June 22, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 41,* of the 4th of June, respecting the general election of members of the House of Assembly now taking place in New Brunswick.
I have, &c.
Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon. (Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

No. 21.

Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Earl of CARNARVON to Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON.
(No. 1.)
SIR, Downing Street, July 6, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 50,* of 13th, June, reporting termination of the elections for the new House of Assembly in New Brunswick, and informing me that you have called the Legislature together for despatch of business on Thursday, the 21st of June last.
I have, &c.
Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon. (Signed) CARNARVON.

No. 22.

Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Earl of CARNARVON to Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON.
(No. 1.)
SIR, Downing Street, July 20, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatches dated the 21st and 25th June, Nos. 53 and 56,* enclosing copies of the Speech with which you opened the present session of the New Brunswick Legislature, and of the Addresses which you received in reply.
I have, &c.
Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon. (Signed) CARNARVON.

No. 23.

Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Earl of CARNARVON to Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON.
(No. 7.)
SIR, Downing Street, July 20, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatches No. 55 and 59,* of the 23rd June and 2nd of July respectively, from which I learn that a Resolution authorizing the appointment of Delegates to treat with the Home Government for the Union of the British North American Provinces has been adopted by the House of Assembly with only eight dissentient voices. I receive this intelligence with much satisfaction.
I have, &c.
Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon. (Signed) CARNARVON.

No. 24.
Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Earl of CARNARVON to Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON.
(No. 10.)
SIR, Downing Street, August 1, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 61,* of the 9th of July, enclosing a copy of the Speech with which you close the recent session of the legislature of New Brunswick.
I have, &c.
Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon. (Signed) CARNARVON.

No. 25.
Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Earl of CARNARVON to Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON.
(No. 11.)
SIR, Downing Street, August 1, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 63,* of the 16th July, reporting that you have appointed Honourable Messrs, Mitchell, Tilly, Fisher, Willmot, Chandler, and Johnson, to be the Delegates from New Brunswick to confer with Her Majesty’s Government on the subject of the union of the British North American Provinces.
I have, &c.
Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon. (Signed) CARNARVON.

No. 26.
Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Earl of CARNARVON to Lieut.-Governor the Hon. ARTHUR GORDON.
(No. 12.)
SIR, Downing Street, August 2, 1866.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 62,* of the 16th, July, reporting the proceedings of the Legislature of New Brunswick during its recent session.
I have, &c.
Lieut.-Governor the Hon. A. Gordon. (Signed) CARNARVON.

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

Despatches from the Lieutenant-Governor.

No. 1.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor DUNDAS to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No. 85.)

Government House, December 30, 1861.
(Received January 17, 1865.)

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 29 of 8th December 1861, closing copy of a Despatch* addressed to the Governor General of Canada, upon the Resolutions of the Conference which recently assembled at Quebec to consider the subject of Federation.

In accordance with the wishes of Her Majesty’s Government, I shall, in concern with the Governor General, take steps for submitting the Provincial Legislature the project of the Conference.

I enclose a short article from the “Islander” of this day’s date, a local newspaper which has up to this time strongly advocated the proposed Union: this article declares the feeling of the Colony to decidedly opposed to the project of the Quebec Conference. I may add, that from personal observation, I am convinced that such is the present state of public opinion on this subject.

I have, &c.
(Signed) GEORGE DUNDAS.
Lieut.-Governor.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 1.

EXTRACT from “Islander” NEWSPAPER, 30th December 1864.

The year 1864 will live in history as the speech of Confederation, the year in which, in our little town, assembled the leading minds of the British North American Colonies, and entered upon the discussion of the great question of a Confederation of the several Provinces, which resulted in the Quebec Conference, and the adoption of the Resolutions which are to form the basis of a Confederation destined at no very distant day to constitute one of the greatest nations of the earth.

The expense of the Conference will be complained of by some in the Lower Provinces, especially in this Island, where the great majority of the people appear to be wholly averse to Confederation. Let our people here in mind that if no other benefits should result from the Conference than those which will flow from the interchange of sentiments between the leading statesman of the several Provinces, and the wide dissemination of information relating to the Colonies, consequent upon the publication in all parts of Europe of the speeches delivered by delegates, they, in common with the people of the several Colonies, will be amply repaid.

For years past the statesman of the several Provinces have been impressed with the desirability of a general meeting for the purpose of discussing matter relating to the Provinces generally. No occasion other than the Conference of 1864 could have brought together the men who met in Charlottetown and at Quebec. They were men of very different politics members of Governments and members of Oppositions, not a few of whom had for years been mutually opposed the one to the other, often in contests savouring too much of personal feeling: they not, and displaying a common spirits of conciliation, compromise, and concession, and actuated by one common desire, that of advancing the general interests of their common country. Well may the Press of England express satisfaction at the unanimity and good feeling which characterized the proceedings of the Conference. The unseemly differences, which are too often witnessed in the Colonies, were unknown in the Conferences, the proceedings of which evidence ability and enlightened statesmanship, such as our translation friends did not expect to find among Colonists. Prince Edward Island may not accept the offer of Confederation with her great and flourishing neighbours; the refusal to do so will injure Prince Edward Island alone, and will not at all affect the grand question. We have done our duty, We have urged Confederation, the people have declared against it. And by and by. When the Prince Edward Island the desire for Confederation shall be as loudly expressed is expressed the desire to avoid it. And that our we predict will come. We shall have our reward.

No. 2.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor DUNDAS to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No. 4.)

Government House, January 9, 1865.
(Received January 17, 1865.)
(Answered No. 3. Feb. 1, 1865, page 135.)

SIR,

REFERRING to your Despatch, No. 29, of the 8th ultimo, have the honour to enclose copy of a Despatch from the Governor General, respecting the proposed Federation, and my reply thereto.

I have suggested the 28th of February for the meeting of the Legislature of this Island. I have, however, informed Lord Monck, that I am prepared to summon it sooner if he considers it expedient.

I have, &c.
(Signed) GEORGE DUNDAS.
Lieut.-Governor.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 2.

Governor Lord MONCK to Lieutenant-Governor DUNDAS.

Government House, Quebec, December 23, 1864.

This Despatch will be found printed at page 2.

Lieutenant-Governor DUNDAS to Governor Lord MONCK.

Government House, Prince Edward Island, January 9, 1865.

This Despatch will be found printed at page 5.

No. 3.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor DUNDAS to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No. 27.)

Government House, April 3, 1865.
(Received April 21, 1865.)
(Answered No. 22. April 29, 1865, page 135.)

SIR,

1. I HAVE been requested by the Legislative Council in the House of Assembly to forward the enclosed Address to Her Majesty the Queen, respecting the proposed Confederation of the British North American Provinces upon the terms adopted at the Quebec Conference.

2. The prayer of this Address is that Her Majesty will be graciously “pleased not to give Her Royal assent or sanction to any Act or measure founded upon the Resolutions or Report of the said Conference, or otherwise, that would have the effect of uniting Prince Edward Island in a Federal Union with Canada, or any other of Her Majesty’s Provinces in America.”

3. In accordance with the instructions conveyed to me and your Despatch, No. 29, of 8th December 1861, I submitted to the local Legislature during the late session the project of the Quebec Conference.

4. The Legislative Council without a division passed resolutions disagreeing to the proposed Union: copy of these resolutions is herein enclosed.

5. In the House of Assembly, Mr. Henry William C. Pope, the Colonial Secretary, moved Resolutions in Favour of Union; Mr. James C. Pope, the President of the Executive Council, moved an amendment condemnatory of the proposed scheme.

6. The amendment was carried by a majority of eighteen, the numbers being—

For the amendment – – – – 23
Against it – – – – – 5

7. Copies of the Resolutions moved by the Colonial Secretary, and of the amendment, are also enclosed.

8. The joint Address to Her Majesty, which I have the honour to enclose, was thereupon passed by both branches of the Legislature.

I have, &c.
(Signed) GEORGE DUNDAS.
Lieut.-Governor.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure 1. in No. 3.

TO THE QUEEN’S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY.

Most Gracious Sovereign,

WE, Your Majesty’s loyal and faithful servants, the Legislative Council and House of Assembly of Prince Edward Island, having had under our consideration the resolutions or report of the Conference of delegates from Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and the Colonies of Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island, held at the city of Quebec on the 10th October 1861, upon the subject of a proposed Confederation of those Provinces and Colonies, and the Despatch of the Right Honourable Edward Cardwell. Your Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State’s for the Colonial Department, to Lord Viscount Monck, Governor-General of Canada, dated the 3rd December 1861,* relative thereto, humbly beg leave to approach Your Majesty’s throne, for the purpose of conveying to Your august Majesty the expression of our desire and determination, as the constitutional representatives of the people of Prince Edward Island, in regard to the great question involved in the said report: and having after most mature deliberation arrived at the conclusion that the proposed Confederation, in so far as it is contemplated to embrace Prince Edward Island, would prove disastrous to the best interests and future prosperity of this Colony, […] would humbly crave leaves to state the grounds upon which that conclusion is based.

First, Prince Edward Island, being entirely dependent on its agriculture and fisheries, has no staple commodity to export for which Canada can furnish a market Canada being also essentially an agricultural country, and possessing valuable and extensive fisheries in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. That while such is, and ever must be, the relative commercial position of the Island and Canada, the products of our soil and fisheries, find in the extensive markets of our parent country, the United States, and the West Indies ready and profitable customers. That the proposed Union, while admitting the produce and manufacturers of Canada into this Island free, would, by assimilation of taxes, enormously increase the duty to which those of Great Britain and the United States are at present subject in this Island, thereby compelling this Colony to take a large portion of its imports from Canada, making payment therefore in money, instead of procuring them from countries which would receive our produce in exchange, an arrangement so inconsistent with the fundamental principles of commerce that it would not only greatly curtail our commercial intercourse with Great Britain and the United States, but materially diminish our exports to those countries, and prove most injurious to the agricultural and commercial interests of this Island.

Second. That it the relative circumstances of Canada and this Island rendered a Union practicable, the evident injustice of the terms agreed to by the Quebec Conference would prevent their being ratified by this Island. Without entering into full detail on this branch of the subject, or adverting to the fact that by the proposed terms of the Confederation we are called upon to transfer to the Confederate exchequer a steadily increasing […] and that too under our comparatively low tariff, for a fixed and settled annual subsidy of a greatly diminished amount, we would briefly notice some of the objectionable features of the said report.

And first in reference to the fundamental principle upon which the Confederation is proposed to rest, namely, representation according to population. Without admitting this principle under all circumstances to the sound or just, we consider it to be particularly objectionable as applied to this Island in connexion with Canada, from the fact that the number of our inhabitants is and must continue comparatively small, in consequence of this Island possessing no Crown lands mines, or minerals, or other extraneous resources, and that we never can expect to become, to any great extent, a manufacturing people, by reason of our navigation being closed for nearly half the year, and all trade, and even communication with other countries except the telegraph, and the medium of a fragile ice-boat stopped. And when we consider the provision of the said report which is intended to regulate the mode of re-adjusting the relative representation of the various Provinces at each decennial census, and reflect upon the rapid rate of increase in the population of Upper and Lower Canada, particularly the former, heretofore, and the certainty of a still greater increase therein in the future over that of the population of this Island, it follows., as a certain and inevitable consequence, if a Federation of the Provinces were consumated upon the basis of the said report, that the number of our representatives in the Federal Parliament would, in the course of a comparatively short number of years, he diminished to a still smaller number than that proposed to be adopted to us at the commencement of the Union.

Third. —In further noticing the injustice of the terms of the said report, as applicable to us, we would advert to the old imperial policy, so pregnant with ill consequences to us, by which all the lands in this Colony were granted in large tracts to absentees, and which deprives this Island of the revenue drawn by the sister colonies from these sources. To our insular position and numerous harbours, furnishing cheap and convenient water communication, which render expensive public works here unnecessary, –to the revenue to be drawn by the proposed Federal Government from this Island and expended among the people of Canada and the other Provinces in constructing railways, canal, and other great public works, thereby […] a trade which would build up cities and enhance the value of property in various parts of those Provinces, advantages in which this Island could enjoy a very small participation; and to our complete isolation during five months of the year, when ice interrupts our trade and communication with the mainland, and during which period this Island could derive no possible benefit from the railroads and other public works which they would equally with the people of those Provinces be taxed to construct. These and many other circumstances placing Prince Edward Island in an exceptional position in regard to the other Provinces, but which seems to have been entirely ignored, ought, in our opinion, to have produced an offer of a financial arrangement for this Island very different in its terms from that contained in the report of the said Conference.

Fourth. – That while we fully recognize it to be the duty of this Colony to use every means, to the extent of its limited resources, to aid in defending its inhabitants from foreign invasion, we cannot recognize the necessity of uniting in a Confederation with Canada for the purpose of defence upon terms, which in other respects, are so unfair to the people of Prince Edward Island, and thereby sacrificing our commercial and financial interests for the sake of securing the co-operation of Canada in a military point of view, it being out abiding hope and conviction, that so long as we remain a loyal and attached Colony of Great Britain, under whose protecting sway and benign influence we have so long had the happiness to live, and endeavour to aid, by a reasonable contribution towards the defence of our Colony, by placing our militia service upon a sounder and safer footing than it has hitherto attained, the powerful aid of our mother country will continue, as heretofore, to be extended to us in common with the other North American dependencies of the British Crown. For the foregoing reasons, and many others which we could urge, we beg most humbly and respectfully to state to Your Majesty that we, the representatives of Your faithful subjects, the people of Prince Edward Island, in Colonial Parliament now assembled, do disagree to the recommendations contained in the said report of the Quebec Conference, and on the part of Prince Edward Island do empathically decline a Union, which after the most serious and careful consideration, we believe would prove politically, commercially, and financially disastrous to the rights and best interests of its people.

We do, therefore, most humbly pray that Your Majesty will be graciously pleased not to give Your Royal
assent or sanction to any Act or measure founded upon the resolutions or report of the said
Conference, or otherwise, that would have the effect of uniting Prince Edward Island in a Federal Union with Canada, or any other of Your Majesty’s Provinces in America.

Enclosure 2 in No. 3.

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

WHEREAS This colony has, for more than ninety years past, enjoyed the advantages of a separate Government and Legislature, and Her Majesty hath graciously conceded to the inhabitants thereof the management and control of their own affairs:

And whereas the local revenue, owing to the development of agricultural resources and the expansion of the trade and commerce of the Colony, exhibits a satisfactory yearly increase, and promises, without imposing additional burthens on the people, to be equal to the requirements of the public service:

And whereas the taxation per head on the population, in the other North American Provinces, is now fifty per cent, greater than it is in Prince Edward Island:

And whereas, by the report of the said Convention, various extensive and costly public works, in both civil and military departments, are intended to be presented in the other Provinces by the Government of the proposed Confederation, which would necessarily impose still greater taxation upon the people of the Confederate Provinces:

And whereas, from its insular position and the complete interruption of its foreign and intercolonial commerce for five months in the year, the people of Prince Edward Island, although they would be compelled by the terms of the proposed Union to assume equal burdens, would not participate equally with the people of the Provinces in the use or advantages of those public works, or in the large sums of money expended in their construction:

And whereas, the subsidy agreed to in […] Article of the report of the said Convention, and the capitation grant of 80 cents per head of the population, named in the […] Article, and agreed to be paid to this Island in full settlement on all future demands, is not a liberal compensation for the surrender of a separate Government, with the independent powers it now enjoys, its revenue, and all other the rights and privileges there to be longing, and would very shortly become inadequate to meet the wants of the local Governments, and consequently would necessitate a resort to direct taxation to supply and deficiency:

And whereas, the suppose advantages of intercolonial free trade would be more than counterbalanced by the disadvantages resulting to this Colony from the existence of a high impost duty on the manufacturers of Great Britain and the United States, inasmuch as the trade between this Island and the other British North American Provinces which at present vary in considerable–does not warrant the belief that it will, for many years to come, be of any importance:

And whereas, while recognizing the obligation which imposes upon British colonists the duty of providing, as far as in their power, the means of self-defence, this House cannot agree to the principle, that an insulated Colony like Prince Edward Island should be required to contribute, or this object as largely as the inhabitants of Provinces whose geographical position renders them more exposed to the assaults of an enemy, and who, in times of peace, are immediately benefited by the public monies expended not only in the construction of fortifications, but also of useful provide works:

And whereas the principle of representation by the population would deprive this Colony of any appreciable influence in either branch of the Legislature of the proposed Confederation:

Resolved therefore, unanimously. That the said report of the Quebec Convention, however well adapted in any of its principles to the state and circumstances of the continental Provinces, is in no respect just or suitable to Prince Edward Island, and would, if accepted, prove inimical to the prosperity and happiness of its inhabitants.

Enclosure 3 in No. 3.

RESOLUTIONS ON THE PROPOSED CONFEDERATION OF THE BRITISH NORTH AMERICAN PROVINCES. –
Printed by Order of the House of Assembly. Moved by the Honourable the Colonial Secretary, 20th March
1865.

1. Resolved. That the best interests and future prosperity of British North American, would be promoted by a Federal Union under the Crown of Great Britain, provided that such Union could be effected on principles just to the several Provinces and Colonies.

2. Resolved. That the existence of immense military and naval forces in the neighbouring republic renders it specially incumbent on the people of British North America to take the most efficient precautionary means by which their independence against foreign aggression may be secured.

3. Resolved. That a Union, such as in times of extraordinary danger would place the militia, the revenues, and the resources of the several Provinces at the disposal of a general Parliament, is necessary, in order to maintain the independence of British North America against foreign aggression, and to perpetuate our connexion with the mother country.

4. Resolved, That a Federal Union of British North America, based upon the resolutions adopted at the Conference of delegates from the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and the Colonies of Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island, held at the city of Quebec, 10th October 1864, as the basis of a proposed Confederation of those Provinces and Colonies, would among other advantages, promote the development of the trade and manufacturing capabilities of these Provinces and Colonies, and advance the general prosperity, by inducing the substitution of a customs tariff, uniform and common to the Confederation in lieu of the various tariffs now in force in the several Provinces and Colonies.

5. Resolved. That the report of the Conference of delegates from the British North American Provinces and Colonies held at Quebec in October last, taken as a whole, contains a declaration of principles, as the basis of a Federal Union, which this House considers just to the Several Provinces and Colonies.

6. Resolved. That this House, believing it is only by mutual concessions and compromises the several British North American Provinces and Colonies can ever agree upon those principles which shall form the basis of a Union, orders that the report of the Conference of delegates from these several Provinces and Colonies held at Quebec in October last be published throughout this Colony for the deliberate consideration of the people on whom will devolve the acceptance or rejection of the proposal Union.

7. Resolved. That until the larger Maritime Provinces and Canada shall have mutually agreed upon terms of union, it is inexpedient that the people of Prince Edward Island should be called upon to decide on the question.

8. Resolved. That in case the Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Canada should at any time mutually agree upon the basis of a Union, the question be then forthwith submitted to the decision of the people of this Island.

RESOLUTIONS moved by the Honourable JAMES C. POPE, in amendment to the preceding Resolutions.

THE House having had under consideration the report of the Convention held at Quebec respecting a Federal Union of the different Colonies of British America, and a Despatch of the Right Honourable Mr. Cardwell. Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, respecting the same.

1. Resolved. That Prince Edward Island, being entirely dependent on its agriculture and fisheries, has nothing to export for which Canada can furnish a market. That while such is and ever must be the relative commercial position of this Island and Canada, the products of our soil and fisheries find in the expressive markets of out parent country, the United States, and the West Indies ready and profitable customers. The proposed Union, while admitting the produce and manufactures of Canada into this Island free, would, by assimilation of taxes enormously increase the duty to which those of Great Britain and the United States are at present subject, thereby compelling this Island to take a large portion of its imports from Canada, making payment therefor in money instead of procuring them from countries which would receive our produce in exchange : an arrangement so inconsistent with the fundamental principles of commerce must greatly curtail our commercial intercourse with the United States, and would, in the option of this House, materially diminish our exports to that country, and price most injurious to the agricultural and commercial interests of this Island.

2. That if the relative circumstances of Canada and this Island rendered a Union practicable, the evident injustice of the terms agreed to by the Quebec Convention would prevent their being ratified by the Legislature of this Island. Without alluding to all, it is proper to notice some of the objectionable features of the report. Without admitting the principle of representation according to population under all circumstances to be sound, it is, in the opinion of this House, particularly objectionable as applied to this Island in connexion with Canada, taking into consideration that the number of our inhabitants is and must continue comparatively small, owing to the fact that we have no Crown lands, mines, minerals, or other resources sufficient to induce immigrants to settle here, and that we never can expect to become to any extent a manufacturing people in consequence of our navigation being closed for nearly half the year, and all trade and communication with other countries stopped. Under this principle the city of Montreal alone would, at the present time, have a representation greater than the whole Province of Prince Edward Island, and under the provisions of the Convention which regulates the mode of re-adjusting the relative representation of the various Provinces at each decennial census, looking at the rapid increase of the population of Upper and Lower Canada heretofore, particularly the former, and the certainty of a still greater increase therein in the future, over that of the population of this Island, it follows as a certain and inevitable consequence, if a Federation of the Provinces were consummated upon the basis of the said Convention, that the number of our representatives would, in the course of a comparatively short number of years, be diminished to a still smaller number than that allotted at the outset to us.

3. That the old imperial error in granting all the lands in large tracts to absentees, which deprives this Island of the revenue drawn by the sister Colonies from these sources, — our insular position and numerous harbours furnishing cheap and convenient water communication, which render expensive public works here unnecessary, — the revenue to be drawn by the proposed Federal Government from this Island and expended among the people of Canada and the other Colonies in constructing railways and other public works, thereby creating a trade which would build up cities and enhance the value of property in various localities there, advantages in which this Island could enjoy a very small participation, — complete isolation during five months of the year, when ice interrupts our trade and communication with the mainland, and during which period the Island could derive no possible benefit from the railroads and other public works which they would be (equally with he people of those Colonies) taxed to construct, — these and many other consideration, but which seem to have been entirely ignored, ought, in the opinion of this House, to have produced an offer of a financial arrangement for this Island very different in its terms from that contained in the report of the Convention.

4. That while this House recognizes the duty of this Colony to use every means, to the extent of its limited resources, to defend its inhabitants from foreign invasion, it cannot recognize the necessity of uniting in a Confederation with Canada for the purpose of defence upon terms which, in other respects, are, in the opinion of this House, so unfair to the people of Prince Edward Island : thus sacrificing out commercial and financial interests for the sake of securing the co-operation of Canada in a military point of view, feeling assured that so long as we remain a loyal and attached Colony of Great Britain, the powerful aid of that great country will continue, as heretofore, to be extended to us, in common with the other North American dependencies if the British Crown.

Lastly, Resolved, that this House disagrees to the recommendations of the Quebec Convention, and on the part of Prince Edward Island empathetically declines a Union which, after a serious and careful consideration, it believes would prove politically commercial, and financially disastrous to the rights and interests of its people.

For the amendment, 23. Against it, 5.

No. 4.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor DUNDAS to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No. 14.)

Government House, May 23, 1865.
(Received June 5, 1865.)

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to enclose copy of a Despatch which I have received from the Lieut.-Governor of Nova Scotia, suggesting resumption of negotiations for Union of the Maritime provinces, together with my reply.

From this correspondence you will perceive that my advisors are not prepared to renew negotiations on that subject.

I have, &c.
(Signed.) GEORGE DUNDAS,
Lieutenant-Governor

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 4.

Lieutenant-Governor Sir R. G. MACDONNELL to Lieutenant-Governor DUNDAS.

Government House, Halifax, Nova Scotia, April 10, 1865.

SIR,

I HAD the honour this day of informing you by telegraph that the enclosed resolution, suggesting resumption of negotiations for Union of the Maritime provinces, was proposed by this Government to the Legislature this day.

I am anxious to know as early as convenient how far your Government is disposed to co-operate in effecting the proposed Union.

I have, &c.

(Signed.) RICHARD GRAVES MACDONNELL

His Excellency Lieutenant-Governor Dundas,
&c &c. &c.

(Enclosure.)

WHEREAS under existing circumstances an immediate Union of the British North American Provinces has become impracticable.
And where’s a legislature Union of the Maritime Provinces is desirable, whether the larger Union be accomplished or not.

Resolved, That in the opinion of this House the negotiations for the Union of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island should be renewed in accordance with the resolution passed at the last session of the Legislature.

Lieutenant-Governor Sir R. G. MACDONNELL to Lieutenant-Governor DUNDAS.

Government House, Prince Edward Island, April 21, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge your Despatch of the 10th instant, enclosing a resolution which was in that day proposed to the Legislature of Nova Scotia, suggesting resumption of negotiations for Union of the mAritime Provinces.

I have laid that Despatch with its enclosure before the Executive Council of this Island, and a minute is being prepared expressive of its views on the proposal.

In the meantime I may inform you that my ministers are not prepared to renew negations on the subject, as they consider that that scheme of Union is impracticable at the present time, so far as this Colony is concerned.

I have, &c.
(Signed.) GEORGE DUNDAS,
Lieutenant-Governor.

Lieutenant-Governor Sir R. G. MACDONNELL
&c &c. &c.

No. 5.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor DUNDAS to the Right Hon, EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No. 42.)

Government House, May 9, 1866.
(Received May 21, 1866)
(Answered, No 19, May 25, 1866, page 136.)

SIR,

I HAVE the hour to transmit copy of a Resolution against Confederation, which passed the House of Assembly late last night.
An amendment favourable to Confederation (copy of which is also enclosed) was lost on a division.

For the amendment – – – – 7
Against it – – – – – 21

I have, &c.
(Signed.) GEORGE DUNDAS,
Lieut.-Governor.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 5.

RESOLUTIONS in HOUSE of ASSEMBLY on the subject of CONFEDERATION.

HON. Leader of the Government then remarked that as many unfounded rumours were circulated, and groundless fears entertained by many, touching the course intended to be pursued in regard to the all absorbing topic Confederation, he considered it would be as well to submit the Resolutions on that subject, which had been prepared in answer to the Despatches from the Secretary of State to his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor relative to that subject.

Said Resolutions were then laid on the table, and are as follow :

This House having had under consideration the message of his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor communicating a Despatch form the Right Hon. Edward Cardwell. Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for the Colonial Department, upon the subject of a Federation of the British North American Provinces, and having most carefully and earnestly considered the project in all its hearings —

Resolved. As the deliberate opinion of this House, that any Union of the British North American Colonies which would embrace Prince Edward Island, upon the terms and principles set forth in the Resolutions of the Conference of Quebec, held on the 10th October 1864, would not only be unjust to the inhabitants of this Colony, but prove disastrous to their dearest and most cherished rights and interests as a free people enjoying the blessings of a priceless constitution guaranteed to them by the Imperial Government of Great Britain.

That considering the isolated, peculiar, and exceptional position of Prince Edward Island, as contrasted with the other British North American Provinces and Colonies, this House deems it to be its duty, as the constitutional representative of the people of Prince Edward Island, to re-affirm the decision so clearly and unequivocally declared by this house in the resolutions passed by it in its last session, upon the subject of a Union of the British North American Colonies, and afterwards communicated by the join Address of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly of this Colony to Her Majesty’s Imperial Government.

Resolved further, that even if a Union of the continental Provinces of British North America should have the effect of strengthening and binding more closely together these Provinces, or advancing their material and commercial interests, this House cannot admit that a federal Union of the North American Provinces and Colonies, which would include Prince Edward Island, could ever be accomplished upon terms that would prove advantageous to the interests and well-being of the people of this Island, cut off and separated as it is, and must remain, from the neighbouring Provinces, by an immovable barrier of ice for many months of the year ; and this House deems it to be its sacred and imperative duty to declare and record its conviction, as it now does, that any Federal Union of the North American Colonies that would include Prince Edward Island, would be as hostile to the feelings and wishes as it would be opposed to the best and most vital interests of its people.

Resolved further, that while this House cannot assent to a federal Union of this Island with the other Colonies, they recognize it to be the duty of this Colony to contribute, from its local revenues, towards its defence, in fair and just proportion to its means.

Amendment proposed by Hon. E. WHELAN.

Resolved, as the opinion of this House, that the Confederation of Her Majesty’s American Colonial Possessions would be—while in conformity with Her Majesty’s frequently expressed desire—conducive to their welfare, individually and generally. And this House believes that a plan of Confederation might be so framed as not to involve the sacrifice of any material interests on the part of any Province : bu inasmuch as the people of Prince Edward Island do not appear to be prepared to regard with any favour the project of Confederation it is unwise to press it upon public attention, as its discussion is only calculated to produce excitement and comprehension, without reasonable cause.

And further resolved, as the opinion of this House, that there should be no vote passed by the Legislature of this country in favour of a Confederation of the Provinces until the people shall first be afforded an opportunity of pronouncing their judgement on the question at a general election.

For the amendment – – – – – 7
Against it – – – – – – 21

No. 6.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor DUNDAS to the Right Hon, EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No. 44.)

Government House, May 11, 1866.
(Received June 4, 1866.)
(Answered, No. 21, June 9, 1866, page 137.)

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to transmit herewith Addresses to Her Majesty the Queen which have been adopted by the Legislature Council and by the House of Assembly of this Island.

The prayers of these Addresses are that Her Majesty will be pleased to withhold Her sanction from any measure intended to effect a Union of this Island with Canada and the other British North American Provinces.

In accordance with your instructions, I laid the correspondence contained in your Despatch, No. 35,* of 24th June 1865, before the Legislature during its late session. At the same time I expressed, by message to both branches, the views of Her Majesty’s Government on this matter.

The Legislative Council thereupon unanimously agreed to resolutions (of which I enclose copies) condemnatory of any scheme of Union. I enclose copies of […] Address of that body to myself requesting me to forward their Address to Her Majesty.

In the House of Assembly the President of the Executive Council proposed similar resolutions, to which an amendment was moved by Mr. Whelan to the effect, that the Confederation of the British North American Provinces, while in conformity with Her Majesty’s desire, would be conducive to their welfare. That a scheme of Union might be so framed as not to involve the sacrifice of any material interests of this Province, but that the people should have an opportunity of expressing their option at the polls before a vote of the Legislature was passed in favour of Confederation.

This amendment was lost on a division, and the original resolution carried by 21 to 7. Copy of the resolution and of the amendment are enclosed.

The Addresses to Her Majesty which I enclose (and of which I transmit printed copies), were founded on the resolutions passed in each branch of the Legislature.

I have, &c.
(Signed.) GEORGE DUNDAS,
Lieut.-Governor.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c &c. &c.

Enclosure 1 in No. 6.

TO THE QUEEN’S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY.

Most Gracious Sovereign,

WE, Your Majesty’s loyal and faithful subjects, the Legislative Council of Prince Edward Island, having had under our consideration a copy of a Despatch from the Right Honourable Edward Cardwell. Your Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for the Colonial Department, addressed to his Excellency George Dundas, Esq., Lieutenant-Governor of this Island, bearing date the 24th day of June last, accompanied by a copy of a correspondence between the Colonial Minister and his Excellency the Right Honourable Viscount Monck, Governor-General of Canada, on the affairs of British North America, including the subject of the proposed Union of the British North American Colonies, in which Despatch his Excellency Lieutenant-Governor Dundas is directed by the said Colonial Minister to communicate the said correspondence to the Legislature of this Island at its then next session, and at the same time to express the strong and deliberate option of Her majesty’s Government that it is an object much to be desired that all the British North American Colonies should agree to unite in one government, and having given the said documents that patient and respectful consideration to which all communications emanating from so exalted a source, and having reference to a subject of vital importance to all maritime Colonies and Provinces, are entitled, we humbly beg leave to approach Your Majesty’s Throne for the purpose of conveying to Your Majesty the result of our renewed deliberations upon the great question again brought under out notice by Your Majesty’s Colonial Minster.

First. We reset our inability to discover in correspondence above alluded to any sufficient reason to induce us to depart from or modify the spirit of the joint address to Your Majesty unanimously adopted by the Legislative Council of this Island on the 3rd day of April 1866, and subsequently transmitted by his Excellency Governor Dundas to Your Majesty’s Colonial Minister for the purpose of being laid at the foot of the Throne.

Secondly. We do not deem it inconsistent with the most devoted and loyal attachment to Your Majesty’s person and Government to declare our firm conviction that in deliberating upon a question seriously affecting the liberty, happiness, and prosperity of the inhabitants of this Colony, we ought to be guided mainly by “the well understood wishes of the people” whom we represent, even should their wishes unfortunately conflict, as in the present instance, with the declared “policy” of your Majesty’s Government for the time being, the inhabitants of this Colony being in our option, fully competent to decide upon so vital a question as the constitution of the country in which their lot has been east, and the means best adapted to promote and perpetuate the stability and prosperity of that country.

Thirdly. Present with advantages to the Province of Canada as the proposed Union may appear, and fraught with corresponding benefits as such Union may be, under certain modifications of the “Quebec scheme.” to one or more of the Maritime Provinces, we regret our inability to suggest any modification of that “scheme” which could with safety be adapted to the peculiar position and circumstances of this Island, and which would at the same time prove acceptable to the people of Canada.

Fourthly.—To make suitable provision for the vast public works now contemplated by the Government of Canada, the tariff of the Provinces, if united as proposed, must necessarily be greatly augmented, and the burdens of the people proportionally increased. That this Colony, if included in the proposed Union, would be subject to that tariff is certain, but that its people would participate in an equal ratio with the other Provinces in the benefits anticipated as the result of this excessive taxation is by no means probable, believing as we do that, although the trade, commerce, and manufactures of the continental Provinces would be greatly stimulated by new and extended railways, new and improved canals, the opening and working of valuable mines, the trade, commerce, and manufactures of this Island would not to any appreciable extent be beneficially affected thereby.

Fifthly. Since the year 1851, when Your Majesty was most graciously pleased to concede to the people this Colony the rights and privileges of self-government, Prince Edward Island has made and is still making steady advances in population and material prosperity, and its inhabitants are now perfectly satisfied with the free and liberal constitution under which it is their happiness to live, the member of those are willing to incur the risks and dangers inseparable from a Union with the larger and more Provinces of British North America being, in our opinion, extremely insignificant and unimportant.

Sixthly. We are not insensible to the obligation resting upon this Colony to contribute its fair share towards defraying the expense of resisting foreign invasion or aggression, and have cheerfully sanctioned the placing of the entire resources of the Colony at the disposal of the Government for the attainment of this desirable object.

Seventhly. We rely with the utmost confidence on the wisdom and justice of Your Majesty in the present crisis, believing as we do that the necessities of Canada and the importunities of its Government will not be deemed by Your Majesty of sufficient importance to warrant a change in the constitution and form of government of this Colony opposed to the wishes and hostile to the feelings of its inhabitants, a change which, it is generally believed, must prove subversive of our liberties and highly determinedly to our best interests.

May it therefore please Your Majesty graciously to withhold Your Royal sanction from any measure calculated to deprive Prince Edward Island of the constitution which it now happily enjoys, and more especially from any measure intended to effect a Union of Prince Edward Island with Canada and the other Provinces of British America.

DONALD MONTGOMERY, President.

Legislative Council, May 10, 1866.

Enclosure 2 in No. 6.

TO THE QUEEN’S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY.

May it please Your Majesty,

WE Your Majesty’s dutiful and loyal subjects, the House of Assembly of Prince Edward Island, having had under consideration the message of his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, communicating a Despatch dated the 24th day of June last, from the Right Honourable Edward Cardwell, Secretary of State for Colonial Department, upon the subject of a Federation of the British North American Provinces, beg leave approach Your Majesty for the purpose of expressing our respectful but deliberate opinion that any Union of the British North American Colonies which would embrace Prince Edward Island, upon the terms and principles set forth in resolutions of the Conference of Quebec, held on the 10th October 1861, would not only be unjust to the inhabitants of this Colony, but prove disastrous to their dearest and most enclosed rights and interests as a free people enjoying the blessings of a priceless constitution guaranteed to them by the Imperial Government of Great Britain.

That considering, the isolated, peculiar, and exceptional position of Prince Edward Island, as contrasted with the other British North American Provinces and Colonies, this House deems it to be its duty, as the constitutional representative of the people of Prince Edward Island, to re-affirm the decision so clearly and unequivocally declared by this House in the resolutions passed by it in its last session, upon the subject of a Union of the British North American Colonies, and afterwords communicated by the joint address of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly of this Colony to Her Majesty’s Imperial Government ; and further, that even if a Union of the continental Provinces of British North America would have the effect of strengthening and binding more closely together these Provinces and advancing their material and commercial interests, this House cannot admit that a Federal Union of the North American Provinces and Colonies which would include Prince Edward Island, could ever be accomplished upon terms that would prove advantageous to the interests and well-being of the people of this Island, cut off and separated as it is, and must even remain, from the neighbouring Provinces by an immovable barrier of ice for many months in the year ; and this House deems it to be its sacred and imperative duty to declare its conviction that any Federal Union of the North American Colonies that would embrace this Island, would be as hostile to the […] and wishes, as if we do be opposed to the best and most vital interests of its people.

We beg further respectfully to state that while this House cannot assent to a Federal union of this Island with the other Colonies, they recognize it to be the duty of this Colony to contribute from its local revenues towards its defence in fair and just proportion to its means.
We do, therefore, most humbly pray that Your Majesty will be graciously pleased not to give Your Royal sanction to any Act or measure founded upon the basis of the report of the Quebec Conference, or otherwise that would have the effect of uniting Prince Edward Island in a Federal Union with Canada, or any other of Your Majesty’s Provinces in America.

R. MACAULAY,
Speaker.

House of Assembly, May 10, 1866.

Enclosure 3 in No. 6.

RESOLUTIONS of LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL of PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND (1866), against CONFEDERATION of BRITISH NORTH AMERICAN PROVINCES.

Whereas the Legislative Council have had under their consideration a copy of a Despatch from the Right honourable Edward Cardwell, Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for the Colonial Department, addressed to his Excellency George Dundas, Esquire, Lieutenant-Governor of this Island, and hearing date the twenty-fourth day of June last, accompanied by a copy of a correspondence between the Colonial Minister and Viscount Monck, Governor-General of Canada, on the affairs of British North America, including the subject of the proposed Union of the British North American Colonies, in which Despatch his Excellency Governor Dundas is directed by the said Colonial Minister to communicate the said correspondence to the Legislature of this Island at its then next meeting, and at the same time to express the strong and deliberate opinion of Her Majesty’s Government that it is an object much to be desired that all the British North American Colonies should agree to unite in one Government ; and this Legislative Council having given the said documents that patient consideration to which all communications emanating from so exalted a source, and having reference to a subject of vital importance to all the Maritime Colonies, are entitled: Be it therefore.

Resolved, That this Legislative Council regrets its inability to discover in the said correspondence any sufficient reason to induce it to depart from our modify the spirit of the resolution unanimously adopted by this House on the 3rd day of April 1865, and of the joint address to Her Majesty, also adopted by this House on the same day, on the subject of Confederation.

Resolved, That this Legislative Council does not deem it inconsistent with loyal attachment to Her most Gracious Majesty’s Person and Government to declare its firm conviction that, in deliberating upon a question seriously affecting the liberty, happiness, and prosperity of the inhabitants of this Colony, this House ought to be guided mainly by “the well understood wishes of the people” whom it represents, even should these, unfortunately, conflict with the declared “policy” of the noblemen and gentlemen composing Her Majesty’s Government for the time being—the inhabitants of this Colony being, in the opinion of this Legislative Council, fully competent to decide upon so vital a question as the constitution of the country in which their lot has been cast, and the means best adapted to promote and perpetuate the prosperity and stability of that country.

Resolved, That pregnant as the proposed Union appears to be with advantages to the Province of Canada, and fraught, as it may be, under certain modifications, with corresponding benefits to one or more of the Maritime provinces, this Legislative Council can suggest no modification of the “Quebec scheme” which could with safety be adapted to the peculiar position and circumstances of this Colony, and which would, at the same time, be acceptable to the people of Canada.

Resolved, That to make suitable provision for the cast public works now contemplated by the Government of Canada, the tariff of the united Provinces must necessarily be greatly augmented and the burdens of the people proportionality increased: that this Colony, if included in the proposed Union, would be subject to that tariff, is certain, but that its people would participate in an equal ration with the other Maritime Provinces, in the benefits resulting from the excessive taxation that would thus be imposed upon them, is by no means probable, — believing, as we do, that although the trade, commerce, and manufactures of the continental Provinces would be greatly stimulated by new and extended railways, new and improved canals, the opening and working of valuable mines, the made, commerce, and manufactures of this Island would not, to any appreciable extent, be beneficially affected thereby.

Resolved, That since the year 1851, when Her Majesty was most graciously pleased to concede to the people of this Colony the rights privileges of self-government, Prince Edward Island has made, and is still making, steady advances in population and material prosperity, and its inhabitants are now perfectly satisfied with the free and liberal constitution under which it is their happiness to live, the number of those who are willing to incur the risks and dangers inseparable from a Union with the larger and more powerful Provinces of British North America being, in the onion of this Legislative Council, extremely insignificant and unimportant.

Resolved, That this House is not insensible to the obligation which […] upon this Colony to contribute its fair share towards defraying the expense of resisting foreign invasion or aggression; and this Legislative Council is most anxious that a liberal provision should be made during the present session, both as respects men and means, for the purposes of defence, and will cheerfully sanction the placing of the entire resources of the Colony at the disposal of the Government for the attainment of so desirable an object.

Resolved, That this Legislative Council relies with the utmost condense on the wisdom and just of Her most Gracious Majesty in the present crisis, believing, as it does, that the necessities of Canada and the importunities of its government will not be deemed by Her Majesty of sufficient importance to warrant a change in the constitution and form of government of this Colony opposed to the wishes and hostile to the feelings of its inhabitants : a change which, it is believed, must prove subversive of their liberties and highly determined to their best interests.

Resolved, That the consideration of the carious other subjects embraced in the Despatches and other documents referred to this Committee, and not heretofore disposed of by the legislative proceedings of this session, be deferred until the next session of the Legislature.

Resolved, That an humble address based on the foregoing resolutions be prepared and forwarded to Her Majesty the Queen, praying at at Her Majesty mat be graciously pleased to withhold Her sanction from any measure calculated to deprive Prince Edward Island of the constitution which it now happily enjoys, and more especially from my measure intended to effect a Union of Prince Edward Island with Canada and the other Provinces of British North America.

Enclosure 4 in No. 6.

To his Excellency GEORGE DUNDAS, Esq., Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over Her Majesty’s Island Prince Edward, and the territories thereunto belonging, Chancellor, Vice-Admiral, and Ordinary fo the same, &c., &c., &c.

May it please your Excellency:

The Legislative Council having unanimously passed an Address to Her Majesty the Queen, expressive of their opinion on the subject of the proposed Union of the British North American Colonies, have respectfully to request that your Excellency will be pleased to cause the same to be laid at the foot of the Throne.

The Legislative Council at the same time beg leave to express to your Excellency their earnest hope that the opinion of the Legislative Council, as conveyed to Her Majesty in the said Address, may be deemed conclusive on the part of those whom they represent in this Island, in case any further action may be taken by Her Majesty’s Government in reference to the question of Confederation, and that your Excellency may have no further cause of appeal to the Legislature of this Colony, or deem it necessary to take any further action on the part of this Colony respecting the further consideration of a question on which both branches of its Legislative have, for the second time, passed such a solemn and conclusive opinion.

Enclosure 5 in No. 6.

RESOLUTIONS on the SUBJECT of a FEDERAL UNION of the BRITISH NORTH AMERICAN PROVINCES.

These Resolutions will be found printed at page 136.

No. 7.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Lieut.-Governor DUNDAS to the Right Hon. The Earl of CARNARVON.

(No. 88.)

Government House, Prince Edward Island,
November 7, 1866.
(Received. November 17, 1866.)

MY LORD,

WITH reference to your Lordship’s Despatch, No. 14,* of 27th September, I have the honour to enclose an approved Minute of the Executive Council of Canada, respecting the proposal of the Delegates of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, which Minute I received on the 5th instant from the Governor-General.

I have laid these papers before the Executive Council of this Province. My advisers conifer that the answer of Canada renders any action on their part unnecessary.

I have, &c.
(Signed.) GEORGE DUNDAS,
Lieut.-Governor.

The Right Hon. The Earl of Carnarvon,
&c &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 7.

Copy of a REPORT of a Committee of the Honourable the Executive Council, approved by his Excellency the Governor-General in council on the 22nd October 1866.

The Committee of Council have had under consideration the Despatch of the Colonial Secretary to your Excellency of the 26th September last, and the accompanying resolution of the Delegates from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and they now beg leave to report.
That the resolution referred to is as follows:—

“At a meeting of the Delegates from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, held at the Alexandra Hotel, London, on the 22nd day of September 1866, all being present except the Hon. Mr. Wilmot, it was unanimously resolved, that inasmuch as the co-operation of Prince Edward Island, though not indispensable to a union of the other British North American Provinces, is on many accounts very desirable, and as the settlement of the land question, which has so long and so injuriously agitated that Colony, would be attended with great benefit, and at the same time place the local government of the Island, by the possession of the proprietary lands, more on a footing with the other Provinces which have Crown lands and minerals as a source of local revenue.

“Therefore resolved—

“That in case the Legislature of the Island should authorize the appointment of Delegates to act in conjunction with those from the other Provinces in arranging a plan of co-operation prior to the meeting of the Imperial Parliament, the Delegates from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are hereby pledged to support the policy of providing such an amount as may be necessary for the purchase of the proprietary rights, but not to exceed eight hundred thousand dollars ($800,00).”

It would seem from this resolution that the gentleman from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick pledge themselves as Delegates, and not as representing the Governments of their respective Provinces, to support the policy of providing the amount mentioned.

As their powers will expire with the settlement of the scheme of union, it is to be inferred that their pledge can only carried out by their advocating the insertion of a clause in the Imperial Act, binding the future Government and Legislature of United British North America to pay the sum of $800,00.

The Canadian Government do not consider that they have any power or right to consent to the payment of that or any sum without the previous consent of the Canadian Parliament, and they therefore cannot confer their Delegates powers which they do not themselves possess.

The Committee fully appreciate the motives which induced the Delegates from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to adopt the resolution, and they agree with the Delegation as to the desirableness of bringing Prince Edward Island onto the contemplated union.

The Committee are of opinion that every proper exertion should be made for that purpose, and recommend that the subject of the adjustment of the land question should be fully discussed by the Delegates from the three Provinces in London in a liberal spirit. Should the result of the discussion be that in the opinion of Delegates pecuniary compensation should be given to the proprietors for the surrender of the proprietary rights, the Committee would further recommend that the Canadian Delegates be authorized to join with those from the Maritime Provinces in a strong representation to the first Government and Parliament of the united Provinces in favour of their granting the compensation agreed upon by them.

Certified.
(Signed) W. H. LEE, C.E.C.

No. 1.

Copy of DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to Lieutenant-Governor DUNDAS.

(No. 3.)

Downing Street, February 4, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 4,* of the 9th of January, enclosing copy of a correspondence between Viscount Monck and yourself respecting the proposed Union of the British North American Colonies.

I have, &c.

(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Lieutenant-Governor Dundas,
&c. &c.

No. 2.

Copy of DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to Lieutenant-Governor DUNDAS.

(No. 22.)

Downing Street, April 29, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 27,* of the 3rd of April, enclosing a joint Address to the Queen from the Legislative Council and House of Assembly of Prince Edward Island, praying Her Majesty not to give the Royal assent to any Act or measure founded on the Quebec Resolutions that would have the effect of uniting that Province in a Federal Union with Canada or any other of the British Provinces in America. I have to request that you will inform the Legislative Council and House of Assembly that I have laid their Address before the Queen.

I have, &c.

(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Lieutenant-Governor Dundas,
&c. &c.

No. 3.

Copy of DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to Lieutenant-Governor DUNDAS.

(No. 35.)

Downing Street, June 24, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to transmit to you the copy of a correspondence between Viscount Monck and myself on the affairs of British North America which have lately formed the subject of conferences between Her Majesty’s Government and a deputation from the Canadian Government.

This correspondence having presented to both Houses of the Imperial Parliament by command of Her Majesty, I have to direct you to communicate it also to the Legislature of Prince Edward Island at its next meeting.

You will at the same time express the strong and deliberate opinion of Her Majesty’s Government that it is an object much to be desired that all the British North American Colonies should agree to unite in one government. In the territorial extent of Canada, and in maritime and commercial enterprize of the Lower Provinces, Her Majesty’s Government see the elements of power which only rewire to be combined in order to secure for the Province which shall possess them all a place among the most considerable communities of the world. In the spirit of loyalty to the British Crown, of attachment to British connexion, and of love for British institutions, by which all the Provinces are animated alike, Her Majesty’s Government recognize the bond by which all may be combined under one government. Such an union seems to Her Majesty’s Government to recommend itself to the Provinces on many grounds of moral and material advantage, as giving a well-founded prospect of improved administration and increased prosperity. But there is one consideration which Her Majesty’s Government feel it more especially their duty to press upon the Legislature of Prince Edward Island. Looking to the determination which this country has ever exhibited to regard the defence of the Colonies as a matter of Imperial concern, the Colonies must recognize a right, and even acknowledge an obligation incumbent on the Home Government, to urge with earnestness and just authority the measures which they considered to be most expedient on the part of the Colonies with a view to their own defence. Nor can it be doubtful that the Provinces of British North America are incapable, when separate and divided from each other, of making those just and sufficient preparations for national defence, which would be easily undertaken by a Province uniting in itself all the population and all the resources of the whole.

I am aware that this project, so novel as well as so important, has not been at once accepted in Prince Edward Island with that cordiality which has marked its acceptance by the Legislature of Canada, but Her Majesty’s Government trust that after a full and careful examination of the subject in all its bearings, the Maritime Provinces will perceive the great advantages which, in opinion of Her Majesty’s Government, the proposed Union is calculated to confer upon them all.

I have, &c.

(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Lieutenant-Governor Dundas,
&c. &c.

No. 4.

Copy of DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to Lieutenant-Governor DUNDAS.

(No. 19.)

Downing Street, May 25, 1866.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 42,* dated the 9th May, transmitting a copy of a Resolution against Confederation which passed the House of Assembly on the precious night.

I have, &c.

(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Lieutenant-Governor Dundas,
&c. &c.

No. 5.

Copy of DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to Lieutenant-Governor DUNDAS.

(No. 21.)

Downing Street, June 9, 1866.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch, No. 44,* of the 14th of May, enclosing Addresses to the Queen from the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly of Prince Edward Island on the subject of the Union of the British North American Provinces.

I have to request you to acquaint the Legislative Council and House of Assembly that I have laid their respective Addresses at the foot of the throne.

I have, &c.

(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Lieutenant-Governor Dundas,
&c. &c.

No. 6.

Copy of DESPATCH from the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON to Lieutenant-Governor DUNDAS.

(No. 11)

Downing Street, September 27, 1866.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to transmit for you, for your information, the enclosed copy of a Resolution adopted by the Delegates in England from the Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, together with a copy of a Despatch which I have addressed on the subject to Viscount Monck.

I have, &c.

(Signed) CARNARVON.

Lieutenant-Governor Dundas,
&c. &c.

No. 7.

Copy of DESPATCH from the Right Hon. the EARL OF CARNARVON, M.P., to Lieutenant-Governor DUNDAS.

(No. 3.)

Downing Street, January 19, 1867.

SIR,

The negotiations respecting the proposed Confederation of the British North American Provinces have reached a point at which I think it right that you should be generally appraised of the mode in which that proposal is viewed by Her Majesty’s Government. They are not unaware of the difficulties which must attend any attempt to consolidate in one body politic a variety of Provinces whose habits, laws, and interests must be in many respects different, and in some perhaps not wholly compatible. By far the most important part of those difficulties have been removed in the present instance by the wise and loyal foresight of the public men of Lower Canada, who in their treatment of this subject have shown themselves able to reconcile a manly support of their hereditary customs and institutions with a generous condense in the justice and friendly feeling of their more numerous fellow subjects of British origin. The questions which remain in controversy will be approached by Her Majesty’s Government with anxious and careful attention, but, I must add, in no spirit of indifference.

That in time of war or tumult the armed force of British North America should be one under one supreme command, — that in time of peace their commerce, their post, their great lines of communication, and, with due regard to local usage, their civil and criminal jurisprudence should be brought to bear on the settlement of narrow local controversies, and that the most important affairs of British North America should be administered by a combination of the ablest men whom it can furnish,—these benefits appear to me so indisputable, so prevailing, and so permanent in their character that I should be wanting to my duty if I did not express to you, and through you to the community over which you preside, my earnest hope that no trifling obstacles will be allowed to interfere with their full attainment.

As my object is not to express any opinion on the details of this measure, but to give to the principle in which it is founded that frank support which Her Majesty’s Government consider to be due from them, I shall only add that you are at full liberty to communicate this Despatch to your Executive Council.

I have, &c.

(Signed) CARNARVON.

Lieutenant-Governor Dundas,
&c. &c. &c.

NEWFOUNDLAND.

Despatches from the Governor.

No. 1.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Governor MUSGRAVE to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M. P.

(No. 16.)

Government House, Newfoundland, December 27, 1861.
(Received January 17, 1865.)
(Answered No. 4. January 21, 1865, page 151.)

SIR,

I HAVE had the honour to receive your Despatch, No. 21, of the 8th instant, forwarding a copy of one to the Governor General of Canada* on the subject of the proposed Confederation of the served Provinces of British North America.

2. I have thought it desirable at once to publish this communication for general information ; and when the local Legislative Session is opened on the 28th of January next it shall formally be Raif before the Council and Assembly, with the Report from the conference of Delegates recently held at Quebec.

3. When forwarding to you the replies of the Legislative bodies to the usual Address from the Officer administering the Government. I shall be better able to report the official reception of the proposal of the Quebec Conference ; but I may now state that the information I have obtained from various sources lead me to anticipate the favourable consideration of that proposal.

4. I enclose a copy of a Despatch which I have addressed by the present mail to Lord Monck, believing that I should act rightly in endeavouring to obtain from him at once any information or suggestions which may facilitate the settlement of this important subject, and a far as possible to secure harmonious and co-operative action in the proceedings necessary for this purpose.

5. As I have noticed in my communication to him, I have ascertained that the solicitude of the mercantile, which is the dominant interest here, is directed principally to the effect which the virtual annexation of the smaller Provinces to Canada may have upon the local tariff.
Objections arising even from this source would not, I believe, be unconquerable, but I hope I may receive such a reply from the Canadian Government as may greatly, if not altogether, neutralize any opposition upon this ground.

6. The most important detail in the arrangement presenting itself for settlement will probably grow out of the opinion which I know is entertained by leading men of both political parties in the Legislature, that on the Union of the Provinces a modification of the local legislative constitution would be very desirable, if not absolutely necessary, as a matter of economy ; and that a consolidation of the Council and Assembly into one body, such as some years ago formed the Legislative Chamber of this Colony, with much reduced numbers, would constitute the best kind of local Legislature for future local purposes.

7. This suggestion will probably give rise to much discussion ; but I believe it would be practicable, if it should appear to be desirable, to press the whole question to a solution during ht every next session of the Legislature. In this respect, however, the local Government will be guided by circumstances and the information which may be received from the other Provinces. It is not unlikely a feeling may grow up that, […] the present Assembly will expire in May, and a general election myst take place in the autumn, it may be better to allow the whole subject to be submitted to the constituencies ; and though no material alteration would be probable in the constitution of the new House, yet it may remove some excuse for popular clamour to permit reference to be nominally made to the electors.

I have, &c.

(Signed) A. MUSGRAVE.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 1.

Government House, Newfoundland, December 27, 1861.

This Despatch will be found printed at page 2.

No. 2.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Governor MUSGRAVE to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL., M.P.

(No. 23.)

Government House, Newfoundland, January 27, 1865.
(Received February 16, 1865.)
(Answered No. 9, February 27, 1865, page 154.)

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to forward to you copies of the speech with which I have this day opened the annual session of the Colonial Parliament.

2. I have, perhaps, permitted myself more freedom in the expression of my opinion on some subjects than has been usual on the part of the Governor since the establishment of Responsible Government ; but the Council entirely approved of the draft which I submitted to them, and I have reason to hope that the remarks which I have made will not be inexpedient in the present position of local affairs and circumstances.

I have, &c.

(Signed) A. MUSGRAVE.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 2.

EXTRACT from SPEECH of his Excellency Governor MUSGRAVE on opening the Fifth Session of the Eighth General Assembly, January 27, 1865.

MR. PRESIDENT, AND HONOURABLE GENTLEMEN OF THE COUNCIL,

MR. SPEAKER, AND GENTLEMEN OF THE HONOURABLE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY,

You will be furnished with the report of the delegates from the several British North American Provinces, who met at Quebec in October last to consider a proposition for the Confederation of these Colonies, and with a copy of a Despatch from the Secretary of State upon this important subject, conveying the general approval of Her Majesty’s Government of the proceedings of the Conference. The question to which these papers refer is one of the deepest interest to the whole community, without exception of any part ore section, and I am confident that I need not extort you to approach the consideration of the proposal submitted by the Conference in a spirit of calm examination. Its bearing upon the immediate welfare of the population of Newfoundland will no doubt must concern you, but future beneficial consequences likely to flow from arrangement, if carried into effect, will not escape your inquiry. I have been acquainted, by the Governor-General of Canada, that the Canadian Parliament was summoned to meet on the 19th instant, and it is intended by his Government to propose an Address to the Queen from both branches of the Legislature, embodying the resolutions of the Quebec Conference, and praying Her Majesty to cause a Bill top be introduced into the Imperial Parliment to enact the union of these Colonies on the basis of these resolutions.

With respect to the question of the Customs tariff of the proposed Union, which naturally engages much consideration, it is obviously impossible for the Government of any one Province to give any pledge which would be binding upon the Government or Parliament of the Union ; but I am in a position to state that, if the decision rested with the members of the present Canadian Administration, their desire would be to arrange the charges in the tariff so as to meet the views of all the members of the proposed Union.
His Excellency Lord Monck has expressed to me his opinion that the course of action will be in a direction that will be satisfactory in your Honourable Bodies, and that no apprehension need be entertained in Newfoundland that a system of excessive import duties will will be introduced.

No. 3.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Governor MUSGRAVE to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL., M.P.

(No. 27.)

Government House, Newfoundland, February 23, 1865.
(Received March 14, 1865.)
(Answered No. 15, March 17, 1865, page 154.)

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to receive your Despatch No. 4,* of the 24th of January, in which you signify your approval of the modification in the constitution of the local Legislature that I had acquitted you is likely to be proposed as a consequence of the Union of the several Provinces and the establishment of one General Colonial Parliament ; and in which also you express the opinion that in the absence of any serious reason to the contrary it will be most desirable to obtain the decision of the Legislature upon the proposed Confederation without delay.

2. In my Despatch to which you refer I remarked that when forwarding to you the replies of the Legislative Bodies to the usual Address from the Governor on opening the legislative session I should be better able than at that time to report the official reception of the proposal of the Quebec Conference ; and I also in the last paragraph remarked that it was not unlikely a feeling would grow up that in view of the expiration of the existing House of Assembly after the present Session it would be most desirable to defer decision upon that proposal until the question should have been submitted to the constituencies.

3. On the debates in both the Council and Assembly on the Addresses in reply to the opening speech, and subsequently on the special subject of Confederation, it has become obvious that although no attempt is made to obtain a decision adverse to the proposition, the strongest disinclination exists, even on the part of some favourable to the Union of the Provinces, to pronounce any judgment upon the subject during the present session. It is urged, with some show of plausibility, that under any circumstances the matter is one which should be referred to the constituencies, and that in those actually existing it would be specially improper to attempt to force a hasty decision from the present Legislature, just on the eve of expiration.

4. I believe I am justified in stating that the project is gradually gaining ground in the estimation of the better informed members both of the Legislature and the community ; but a good deal of misapprehension prevails among a large number, which a little time for consideration and explanation would would go far to remove. I entertain scarcely any doubt of the final adoption of the proposals of the Quebec Conference ; but the circumstances of Newfoundland are somewhat different from those of the other Provinces, and the ultimate success of the scheme when put into action will depend very much upon its being established upon the good will of the people. I am advised, and it appears to myself that in the present state of public feeling it would be unwise to press for immediate decision against the almost unanimous desire, to defer it until the next session. Such a course would probably tail, and only have the effect of exciting factious hostility, which would retard the the eventual settlement of the Union ; and it is therefore now proposed by the Government to agree to the postponement of a decision until the first session of the new Legislature, when the question shall have been submitted to the constituencies of the Colony.

5. I trust that practically neither inconvenience nor delay will arise from this determination, as the information received through different sources from the other Provinces seems to render it doubtful whether all, if any of them, will so far have determined the questions submitted for consideration as to enable the preparation of a Bill for introduction in the Imperial Parliament during the present session.

6. I have communicated to Lord Monck by this mail the substance of the observations I have now made.

I have, &c.

(Signed) A. MUSGRAVE.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

No. 4.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Governor MUSGRAVE to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL., M.P.

(No. 35.)

Government House, Newfoundland, April 13, 1865.
(Received May 9, 1865.)
(Answered No. 22, May 12, 1865, page 155.)

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to forward to you copies of the speech with which, on the 7th instant, I closed the Legislative Session.

2. I annex a list of the Bills* passed by the Council and Assembly, which will be transmitted in due course when printed, and a copy of the resolution passed unanimously by the Assembly on the subject of the proposed Confederation of the North American Provinces to which I referred in my speech.

3. I have no doubt that the course adopted with regard to this matter, in which the Executive Council and myself entirely concurred, will prove to be the most judicious under the several circumstances which require to be considered. Any attempt to force acceptance of the proposition during this session would have certainly resulted in defeat. After any adverse decision by the present House an appeal to the constituencies would have ben made under disvadvantgoues conditions. And nothing would be gained by the precipitancy here so long as the question remains undecided in the other provinces, without whose concurrence the scheme cannot be carried into effect ; while I have found for confidence that when Nova Scotia and New Brunswick shall virtually have adopted the proposal there will be no unreasonable delay on the part of Newfoundland.

I have, &c.

(Signed) A. MUSGRAVE.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 4.

EXTRACT from SPEECH of his Excellency Governor MUSGRAVE on closing the Fifth Session of the Eighth General Assembly, April 7, 1865.

MR. PRESIDENT, AND HONOURABLE GENTLEMEN OF THE COUNCIL,

MR. SPEAKER, AND GENTLEMEN OF THE HONOURABLE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY,

I HAVE been acquainted with the resolution passed by the Honourable House of Assembly on the subject of the proposed Confederation of the British North American Colonies, to the effect that for the reasons set forth the House deems it desirable to submit the question to the consideration of the people before the decision of the Legislative is taken upon it ; and that for this purpose final determination upon this important subject should be deferred until the next morning of the Legislative bodies.

Under other circumstances I might perhaps have viewed with regret any delay in dealing with a subject on which Her Majesty’s Imperial Government have exhibited so warm and generous an interest. But, as it is almost certain that some of the other Colonies concerned in the proposed arrangement, and its immediate success when put into operation will much depend upon the true spirit and intention of the suggested Confederation being comprehended and appreciated by the people whom it is designed to serve. I am not now disposed to dissent from the crew which you have taken of the matter, to the course you have adopted. Her Majesty’s Government would not desire to force any important modification of the local constitution upon the acceptance of the people of the Colony against temperate and deliberate declaration of unwillingness to receive it ; and it is desirable that the community should fully understand the advantages of that two which their assent is sought. But the nation has a right to expect the Colonies to accept, and does look to them to assume, their legitimate portion of those charges and responsibilities which are the inevitable concomitants of self-government and free political institutions ; and Her Majesty’s ministers justly regard with favour a project of union which will naturally and materially strengthen each for sustaining the burden which must be borne by all.

RESOLUTION to be proposed in a Committee of the whole House on the subject of a Confederation of the British North American Colonies.
Resolved. That having had under their most serious and deliberate consideration proposal for the formation of a Federal union of the British North American Provinces, upon the terms contained in the report of the Convention of Delegates held at Quebec on the 10th of October last, the Despatch of the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, dated December 3, 1861, the observations of his Excellency the Governor in relation to this subject win his opening speech of the present session, and the report of the Newfoundland delegates, this Committee are of opinion that, before a cote of the Legislature is taken upon it, it should be submitted to the consideration of the people at large, particularly as the action of the others Provinces does not appear to require that it should be hastily disposed of, and as (the present being the last session of this Assembly) no unreasonable delay can be occasional by this course ; and they therefore recommend that a final determination upon this important subject be deferred to the next meeting of the Legislature.

No. 5.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Governor MUSGRAVE to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL., M.P.

(No. 10.)

Government House, Newfoundland, April 19, 1865.
(Received May 9, 1865.)
(Answered No. 20, May 11, 1865, page 155.)

SIR,

My Despatch dated the 13th of April, No. 35,* enclosing copies off the speech with which I closed the Legislative Session, and of the Resolution passed by the Assembly on the subject of the proposed Confederation of the North American Provinces, was written some days before I had the honour to receive yesterday your Despatch No. 15, + of the 17th March, in which you express regret at the likelihood of delay in adoption of the project, and state that you would be very glad to hear that I were able to announce a favourable decision on the part of the Local Legislature. I had in that Despatch already acquainted you that any attempt to force the acceptance of the project would only have ensured defeat ; and it is believed on what I regard as good reasons, that after an adverse decision by the existing House of Assembly, an appeal to the constituencies would be made under disadvantageous conditions. It only remains for me to add a few further observations in explanation, which I hope will be satisfactory.

2. Although propositions for a general Confederation of all the continental Provinces, and also for the union of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island as a minor arrangement, have from time to time been the subjects of discussion in those communities. Newfoundland was not included in any of such schemes until late in the last summer, and the matter had really received little if any consideration. A very large proportion of the population are still so ignorant of the subject, or its bearings upon their interests, that they could easily be misled by the misrepresentations of the designing among the needy […] politicians so numerous in these Colonies, who, if the opportunity were afforded to them, would be ready to use it for grasping at power by persuading the masses that an attempt is being made to deprive them of their liberties. And it would not be difficult by […] to produce a state of public feeling which would not only postpone indefinitely any Federal arrangement, but very seriously embarrass the judicious conduct of local affairs for some time to come.

3. It has been felt that it was necessary to proceed tentatively, to lead to, rather than compel the concurrence of the community in that which is proposed ; and for this purpose it has been regarded especially important to avoid dealing with the matter as a measure of the local government or “party” question. To have done so would have enabled the organization of an opposition definitely upon this ground, who, with a plausibility sufficient for the delusion of a large number of the more ignorant of the electors, would, in the event of what might be considered a hostile dissolution of the Assembly by the Government, most probably have been able, as has happened in New Brunswick, to influence the elections to an extent decidedly adverse to the reception of the proposals of the Quebec Conference, and greatly obstructing the salutary administration of the business of the Colony in any respect. I cannot escape from the impression that imprudent haste has caused the present state of affairs in New Brunswick, which certainly have produced injurious effects in the contiguous Provinces, and I learn, on authority which I may trust, that the Legislature of Nova Scotia is already engaged in the consideration, not of the proposals of the Quebec Conference, but of the previous scheme for the Union of the Lower Maritime Colonies.

4. For the reasons which I have mentioned it has been regarded as peculiarly expedient to evade any necessity for a dissolution of the Assembly. Much care was taken to prevent such a course being forced upon the Government, and with so much success that, as I mentored in any Despatch No. 27,* of 23rd February, no overt attempt has been made to procure a declaration hostile to the proposed Union.

5. But even if greater doubt had been felt as tot he impropriety of a dissolution, there are serious practical obstacles to the adoption of such a course. It would be quite as easy now to dissolve the Assembly as it was two months ago, but not less difficult than then to appoint a time for the new elections which would not cause much dissatisfaction and lead to unfavourable results. The greater portion of the electors are seafaring men, who, at this time of the year, are absent from their places of residence while engages in the prosecution of the seal fishery, and who almost immediately on relinquishing that occupation go to sea again during the summer season to fish for cod. Except under very unusual circumstances, it is scarcely possible fairly to hold a general election at any other time than in the autumn, for, during the winter, communication with many portions of the Government is absolutely impracticable.

6. I can assure you that all these considerations have been very carefully weighed, both by myself and my advisors, and I trust you will find that your confidence has not been misplaced in relying, as you have been pleased to say, on the judgment which I may form upon the spot with the aid of local information.

I have, &c.

(Signed) A. MUSGRAVE.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

No. 6.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Governor MUSGRAVE to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL., M.P.

(No. 61.)

Government House, Newfoundland, July 11, 1865.
(Received June 29, 1865.)
(Answered No. 26, August 1, 1865, page 156.)

SIR,

I HAVE had the honour to receive your Despatch No. 31, of the 24th June, with a copy of a correspondence between Viscount Monck and yourself on the affairs of British North America, which have lately formed the subject of conferences between Her Majesty’s Government and a deputation from the Canadian Government.

2. The late House of Assembly expired in May, the new elections will not take place until November, and the Legislature can hardly be called together till January ; but these papers shall then Raif before them. I think, however, that it will be desirable that the declared views of Her Majesty’s Government should be made known as early and as generally as possible, and with this view I propose to publish your Despatch and its enclosure in the local Gazette.

3. It would be premature to express a confident opinion as to the result of the new elections with regard to the question of Confederation, for there is without doubt much opposition to the proposal on the part of the mercantile body, which is very influential with many of the electors. But I am of opinion that the course of the Legislature will be much guided by the action of the Imperial Government, and the proceedings of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, especially of the latter Province, where it appears to me that the issue will really be decided. My leading advisors are, I believe, strongly and cordially disposed to support the policy of Her Majesty’s Imperial Government on this subject ; the only doubt is with regard to the best mode of doing so effectually, and I am conscious that it is necessary to proceed with caution and judgement to avoid the defeat of our object.

I have, &c.

(Signed) A. MUSGRAVE.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

No. 7.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Governor MUSGRAVE to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL., M.P.

(No. 69.)

Government House, Newfoundland, August 19, 1865.
(Received September 11, 1865.)
(Answered No. 12, September 30, 1865, page 156.)

SIR,

I HAVE had the honour to forward for your information a copy of the last Annual Report from the Chamber of Commerce to the Commercial Society. This document is interesting as containing an exposition of the views of the mercantile community upon the subject of the proposed Confederation of the North American Provinces. It will be seen that the feeling disclosed is adverse to Confederation, while there may be detected at the same time an indication of a latent condition that if the Union is accomplished between the other Provinces Newfoundland will be included. Jealousy of being used as a means of settling Canadian political difficulties, and fear of the cession of a power to tax which it is thought may be made to operate injuriously upon this community for the benefit of others, are the leading causes of objection. I need not trouble you with the answers which I believe may fairly be given to them, as the subject has already been fully discussed, and is not likely to be further elucidated by observations of mine. However unlikely it may be that the other Colonies should combine to impose a tariff on themselves that would be oppressive to Newfoundland, the difficulty lies in the absence of such an assurance as the suspicious commercial body will regard as an efficient protection against what they dread.

I have, &c.

(Signed) A. MUSGRAVE.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 7.

(Extract.)

Many subjects of importance to the trade and commerce of the Colony have engaged the attention of the Chamber during their year of office, but by far the most prominent among these was the project entertained of communicating the Colony to a Confederation with the British North American Provinces under the terms of certain resolutions adopted at a meeting of delegates form these Provinces, held at Quebec in the month of October last, which were published in our local papers.

Notice having been given buy the Honourable Attorney-General in the House of assembly that he would move the House into committee of the whole on this subject, the Chamber, […] how deeply the interests of those engaged in the trade and commerce of the Colony would be affected by the proposed Confederation, lost no time in conveying a meeting of the Commercial Society with the view of ascertaining the opine of the society of this momentous question, and of determining the most advisable means for carrying it into effect. In conformity with resolutions unanimously adopted at that meeting a petition was prepared and presented to both Houses of the Legislature, praying that no action should be taken to bind this Colony to the preposed union until an opportunity had been afforded of consulting the several constituencies of the Colony on the measure.

A petition of similar purport emanating from a public meeting held in this town, having also been presented to the Legislature, and it becoming apparent that the general feeling of the Colony was adverse to the principle of Confederation on the terms proposed, the session was closed without any action being taken thereof. At the same time it was […] that the future course of the Government would be guided by the expression of public opinion, as elicited at the forthcoming general election.

The measure having been rejected by Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, it is evident that some time must elapse before the proposed Confederation cannot be carried out ; but as it is equally evident that should the terms of a Union between those Provinces and the Canadas be at any time equitably and satisfactorily settled, every effort will be exerted to include this Colony in it, the Chamber conceive that it is the duty of this society, as well as of all who are engaged in the trade and commerce of the Colony (whose interests, equally with those of all other classes of the population, will be affected by the Union), seriously to consider the results that would ensue from it, and to give effect to their opinion by every legitimate means.

So far as this Chamber is aware, the project of a Confederation of the Provinces was devised as a means of relieving Canada from the political difficulties which have for some time past embarrassed the action of the Legislature, and also of affording more available resources for repelling any act of aggression upon that Province on the part of the adjoining Republic, and of providing access tot he Atlantic seaboard at all seasons of the year for its products through territory under its own Government. These are undoubtably objects well worthy of the zealous efforts of Canadian statement ; and the latter, two of which would apparently confer proportionate advantages on the Provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, but it is difficult to see what interest this Colony can have in any one of those objects to justify the sacrifice of its independent legislative position and the assumption of a share of the enormous expenditure that must be incurred for the support of the general government ; for the erection of efficient defensive works along the frontier of Canada and New Brunswick ; for the maintenance of a military and naval force adequate to the defence of the Provinces ; and in all probability for the construction of many public works of advantage to the Provinces only.

These expenditures, and that required by the various local governments, would necessitate the imposition of a very high tariff of import duties, which would press with peculiar and unequal severity on this Colony, which possess but few manufactures or products of its own beyond those of its fisheries, and has to supply all its wants by imports from abroad.

It is, moreover, to be apprehended that the operation of such a tariff would divert much of our commerce from its accustomed and most convenient and advantageous channels, by compelling our importers to have recourse, not to the cheapest markets, as at present, but to the confederated Provinces, whence, in consequence of the protection that will be afforded by the tariff to their products, many of our requirements will have to be procured, even though inferior in quality and higher in price.

The Chamber is aware of no advantage likely to result from the proposed Confederation that will at all compensate for these disadvantageous attending it.

It can open no new or more extensive market for the products of our fisheries, nor does it hold out a prospect of developing new resources within the Colony or of extending those we now possess.

No. 8.

EXTRACT from a DESPATCH from Governor MUSGRAVE to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., dated Government House, Newfoundland, November 14, 1865.

(Received December 4, 1865.)
(Answered No. 52, December 20, 1865, page 156.)

(No. 75.)

With respect to the special question of the Confederation of the North American Provinces I cannot speak so confidently. I fear that the new House will not be disposed to assent to that arrangement, at least on the basis of the resolutions of the Quebec Conference, to which exception is taken in some particulars, unless it is made clear to them that the Imperial Government will press decidedly for the accomplishment of the design in some form, and unless also it is apparent that the question is approaching a satisfactory solution in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. But in these latter circumstances I think it may be quite possible to obtain an affirmation of the general principle that Union of all the Colonies will be desirable, if the other Maritime Provinces agree upon the terms of that Union, and subject to such an adjustment of them as will be regarded as equitable to this Colony. After a recognition of the principle involved I should not anticipate any very serious difficulty in settlement of the details, if only some such slight modifications of the scheme should be conceded as would supply members of the Assembly with an excuse for changing their opinions.

No. 9.

EXTRACT from a DESPATCH from Governor MUSGRAVE to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., dated Government House, Newfoundland, February 20, 1866.

(No. 91.)

(Received March 14, 1866.)
(Answered No. 10, March 23, 1866, page 157.)

I HAVE the honour to transmit copies of the Speech with which I opened the Annual Legislative Session on the 30th of January, and of the Addresses which I have received in reply from the Council and Assembly.

You will observe that in the reply of the Council the abstract principle that Union would be advantageous has been acknowledged, and in that of the Assembly while not expressly affirmed it is not denied, though in both there are reservations as to the details of the arrangement. In order that the value of the expressions in these documents ghouls be fairly estimated, it is necessary to explain that according to the usage prevailing in this Colony the Address in reply to the Governor’s Speech is not as in the Imperial Parliament a mere echo of that speech prepared and introduced at the instance of the Government. It has been the practice to appoint a committee drawn from the different parties in the house to draft a reply, which is then submitted for adoption by the House. And upon this free discussion has frequently arisen. In the present instance there was more than usual debate upon the address.

The paragraph relating to Confederation stood originally in the draft as shown in the Enclosure No. 3. Upon this amendments were moved by Mr. Glen, a member of the opposition, which I have forwarded in the Enclosure No. 4. These amendments were rejected by a majority of 11 in a house of 23 members. As hesitation, however, has been shown by some of the usual supporters of the Government to sustain the paragraph exactly as it stood originally framed, an amendment was moved by Mr. Hayward, the Solicitor-General, as a middle course, which was carried by the same majority of 11, and is now embodied in the Address. This was not regraded with satisfaction by the opposition, and a renewed attempt was made to obtain a vote at least hostile to the scheme of the Quebec Conference. For this purpose another amendment was moved by Mr. Tablot, of which I enclose a copy (Enclosure No. 5.), but this was also rejected by the same majority, and there was no further opposition.

I trust you will approve of the observations which I made both in my opening speech and in my replies to the Addresses from the Council and Assembly. My object has been, without exciting factious opposition, to maintain a gentle pressure towards the consideration of the details of the measure. For my own part I am tolerably well satisfied with the present position of the question. I regard the principle of the proposed Confederation to have been virtually conceded ; and if the other Provinces consent to the Union, I have little doubt that it will only remain for us to settle the terms upon which Newfoundland shall unite in the measure.

Enclosure 1 in No. 9.

EXTRACT from SPEECH of his Excellency Governor MUSGRAVE, on opening the First Session of the Ninth General Assembly, January 30, 1866.

MR. PRESIDENT AND HONOURABLE GENTLEMEN OF THE COUNCIL:

MR. SPEAKER AND GENTLEMEN OF THE HONOURABLE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY:

The proposed union of the British Provinces in North America continues to engage the […] solicitude and friendly interest of Her Majesty’s Government. Despatches from the Secretary of State upon this subject will be laid before you. Believing, as I do, that the abstract advantages of union, upon general principles, must be so obvious as to be almost necessarily acknowledged, it would appear that any questions which may be raised can only affect the terms upon which it may be possible equitably to accomplish such a union as would be desirable. I am satisfied that Her Majesty’s Imperial Government, as well as the Governments of the other Provinces, will receive and consider with courteous attentions any proposals that you may think fit to offer on this subject. Thats the completion of the union between the other provinces is certain, and will only be a matter of time and arrangement, most thoughtful persons are convinced. It may become an affair of vital consequence to this community not to fall into an isolated position in the final settlement, which cannot fail to exercise the greatest influence on the future of all the British possessions in North America.

This is the first occasion afforded to me of acquainting you that the Government of the United States have formally communicated to Her Majesty’s Government their intention to terminate the Reciprocity Treaty between the two nations in twelve months after the communication of such notice, in conformity with the provisions of the treaty.

Negotiations are in progress for its renewal for a further term ; but I have been informed by the Secretary of State, that in the opinion of Her Majesty’s Minister at Washington the necessity of having to submit a treaty of commerce to the separate action of the various provincial Legislature would be a serious difficulty in his way, and that the union of the Provinces would afford the best hope of obtaining such a treaty.

Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs having suggested that much embarrassment, delay, and difficulty would be avoided of the faculty of giving an opinion to Her Majesty’s Government in the negotiation of commercial treaties were vested in a Confederate Council, chosen by all the North American Provinces and presided over by the Governor General of Canada, I was acquainted by the Secretary of State for the Colonies that he had addressed the necessary instructions to the Governor General, and I was directed to co-operate with him accordingly.

For this purpose I appointed the Honourable Ambrose shea, a Member of the Council of Government, as a delegate for this Colony to the Confederate Council of Trade, which met at Quebec in October last. His report of the proceedings of the Council shall be furnished, in due time, for your information. One result of their consultation has been a mission to Mexico, Brazil, and the British and Foreign West Indian Colonies, for the purpose of ascertaining in what manner the traffic of the Provinces with these countries can be extended and rendered more advantageous. Invitation was given to the Government of this Colony to send a representative, but it was not thought necessary to make a special appointment as it was believed that the purpose of this community would be fully served by the result of the inquiry on behalf of the larger Provinces. So soon as I have been acquainted with the report of this mission, it shall be communicated to you.

I have to request your consideration of the Act passed during the last session of the Imperial Parliament, “to make better provision for the naval defence of the Colonies.” The Despatch, and the other documents which I have received from the Secretary of State, relating to this important measure, shall be furnished to you. The object of this enactment is to enable the colonial possessions of Her Majesty to render their fair proportion of assistance towards their own defence, and for this purpose to raise volunteer forces to form part of the naval reserve, established under the Imperial Statute of 1859, and also, if it should be thought desirable, to provide the man vessels of war. I am confident that if only the necessary funds are furnished for such allowances as are made by the Imperial Act to naval volunteers duly enrolled, there would be no difficulty in organizing a conical brigade very creditable to this community. The Secretary of State has justly said that he need not enlarge upon the importance of the object which Parliament has had in view in passing this enactment, and he trusts that the advantages which will result from its adoption will be fully appreciated. The parent State has ceased to be content to assume the whole cost and responsibility of the defence of the Colonies and their special interests. On the completion of the Clinical Confederation, the expenditure, for the purpose under consideration, would be among the charges resting upon the Federal Administration, but, under other circumstances, it will be incumbent upon each Colony, separately, to make provision for a duty which will become unavoidable.

Enclosure 2 in No. 9.

On Tuesday the 20th instant the members of the Honourable the legislative Council presented to his Excellency the Governor, at the Government House, the subjoined address in answer to his Excellency’s speech on opening the legislation session ; viz :

(Extract.)

To his Excellency ANTHONY MUSGRAVE, Esquire, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over the Island of Newfoundland and its Dependencies, &c., &c., &c.

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,

Upon the question of the proposed Confederation of the British North American Colonies, while recognizing the policy of Union as a sound political principle, we are of option that important modifications of the present terms of the proposed convention are indispensable, and that assurances should be given which it does not now contain ; and we feel condiment of the aid of Her Majesty’s Government in the promotion of this object, and that the necessary steps will be taken with the other British Provinces for the more deliberate consideration of a measure of such radical importance before it shall be definitely submitted for determination to the Legislature of this Colony.

LAURENCE O’BRIEN, President.

Legislative Council, February 8, 1866.

To which his Excellency was pleased to make the following reply :

MR. PRESIDENT AND HONOURABLE GENTLEMEN OF THE COUNCIL :

I RECEIVE your address with satisfaction, and will consider with care your remarks on the subjects which I offered to your notice at the opening of the session.

Your observations on that specially important question, the proposed Confederation of the North America Provinces, I will readily submit for the information of Her Majesty’s Secretary of State, from whom I have no doubt they will receive careful attention ; as I know that Her Majesty’s Imperial Government will be most willing to render any aid they can afford in effecting the Union on principles equitable to all the parties concerned in arrangement.

On Tuesday the 20th instant Mr. Speaker and the Members of the Honourable the House of assembly presented to his Excellency the Governor, at the Government House, the subjoined Address in reply to his Excellency’s Speech on opening the legislative session, viz.:

(Extract.)

To his Excellency ANTHONY MUSGRAVE, Esquire, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over the Island of Newfoundland and its Dependencies, &c., &c., &c.

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY :

ON the important question of Confederation, in recognizing the solicitude of Her Majesty’s Government for the welfare of the Colony, we concur in the view of your Excellency that the abstract advantages of union are so obvious as to be almost necessarily acknowledged, while with regard to this Colony, and on the details of so grave a measure, it is natural that much diversity of opinion should prevail, and this is a matter which should engage our serious attention.

Passed the House of Assembly, Feb. 19, 1866.

W. V. WHITEWAY, Speaker.

To which his Excellency was pleased to make the following reply:

MR. SPEAKER AND GENTLEMEN OF THE HONOURABLE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY :

HER MAJESTY’S Secretary of State for the Colonies will be glad to receive the expression of your opinion that the proposed Confederation of the British North American Provinces is a matter which should engage your serious attention. It is the avowed policy of the Imperial Government to carry the Union into effect ; and minor objections on the part of detached Colonies must of necessity give way before the pressure of the more weighty motives of national interest. But Her Majesty’s Government will be most ready to afford their air in so adjusting the details of the measure as to render the arrangement equitable to all parties concerned. It is for this reason that I am anxious that this Colony should not, by unnecessary delay, place itself in a position unfavourable to negotiations. And I therefore, as Her Majesty’s Representative, immediately responsible to Her Majesty’s Ministers in respect of all questions of Imperial policy, recommend you, for the information of Her Majesty’s Government, to consider this question, and to decide upon the terms under which, in your opinion, the Colony may with advantage join in the proposed Union.

Enclosure 3 in No. 9.

ORIGINAL CLAUSE IN THE DRAFT ADDRESS.

On the important question of Confederation, in recognizing the solicitude of Her Majesty’s Government for the welfare of the Colony, we concur in the view of your Excellency, that the abstract advantages of union are so obvious as to be almost necessarily acknowledged, while on the details of so grave a measure it is natural that much diversity of opinion should prevail as to the terms on which, with advantage to the Colony, we could consent to join in the proposed Union.

Enclosure 4 in No. 9.

MR. GLEN’S RESOLUTIONS.

Resolved, That as the Representatives of the people of Newfoundland, and as guardians of the welfare of its inhabitants, we could not think for a moment (as proposed by the Quebec Convention), the giving up the advantages we have so long enjoyed of a separate Government, so graciously conceded by Imperial authority to the people of Newfoundland.

And whereas by the report of the Quebec Convention various extensive and costly works, both civil military, are intended to be prosecuted in the other Provinces by the General Government of the proposed Confederation, which would necessarily impose great taxation on the people of Newfoundland, without being benefited (from their isolated position) one farthing, bu all that vast expenditure.

And whereas the amount proposed to be paid to Newfoundland in full settlement of all future demands, is a very inadequate compensation for the surrender of our operate Government, and of our revenue from import duties, the surrender of all ungranted lands, our mines and minerals, the power the General Government would have taxing our exports of fish and oil, the power of levying local taxes in our Colony, and also, the power of raising money in Newfoundland, by all, or any other modes and systems of taxation.

Resolved, That the report of the Quebec Convention, however well adapted in any of its principles to the state and circumstances of the continental Provinces, is in no respect suitable to Newfoundland, and would, if accepted, prove inimical to the prosperity, happiness, and well-being of its inhabitants.

Enclosure 5 in No. 9.

MR. TALBOT’S AMENDMENT.

Mr. Talbot moved the following as an amendment upon the whole clause:—

On the important question of Confederation, in recognizing the solicitude of Her Majesty’s Government for the welfare fo the Colony, we concur in the view of your Excellency that the abstract advantages of union, are, in some cases, so obvious as to be almost necessarily acknowledged, while with reference to this Colony the great preponderance of opinion is decidedly adverse to our entering the proposed Confederation of the British North American Provinces on the basis of the Quebec resolutions.

No. 10.

EXTRACT from a DESPATCH from Governor MUSGRAVE to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P.

(No. 97.)

Government House, Newfoundland, March 21, 1866.
(Received April 9, 1866.)
(Answered No. 13, April 14, 1866, page 157.)

SIR,

A FEW days after the departure of the last mail, by which I forwarded my Despatch No. 91,* of the 20th ultimo, Mr. Hogsett, who assumes the position off leader of the opposition in the Assembly, gave notice of motion for ta committee of the whole House on the subject of the proposed Confederation of the North American Provinces, and of his intention to move the resolutions of whit I annex a copy ; and of which the adoption would involve the entire rejection of the proposal.

There is good reason to believe that the proceeding originated less in an honest opposition on Mr. Hogsett’s part to the principle of Confederation, to which indeed it is known that he had preciously expressed himself as favourable, than in a desire to embarrass the administration, and the hope, by pressing the subject, of dividing their usual supporters, among whom diverse opinions upon the question are entertained ; for I and my Council have always been of opinion that it would be undesirable to allow a subject so important to the welfare of all these Colonies to be forced into the position of a mere local party question, and so made to afford ground for the exercise of petty political manoeuvres, as Mr. Hogsett no doubt intended in the present instance.

If the matter had been riper for decision, and there were a prospect of obtaining a deliberate judgment at this stage favourable to Confederation, before the other Provinces have taken a decided course, the action of Mr. Hogsett would have been unimportant and probably would not have been attempted. But the great object of the advocates of Union in present circumstances is obviously to guard against an adverse vote, and for this purpose to leave the subject in such a position as will content the waverers in opinion, who otherwise would vote with the opposition as the safer course, and to keep it alive for consideration while preserving the Legislature from being committed to any judgment until the action of the other Provinces shall be known and we can more clearly see what would be our most judicious course.

When the motion of Mr. Hogsett came on for discussion, the Attorney General, therefore, moved the amendment on his resolutions which I also annex ; and after some debate, which nothing new was adduced in support of the arguments before used in opposition, the amendments were carried in the 8th March by a vote of eighteen against seven.

I see no reason to modify the opinions which I expressed in my former Despatch No. 91. The result here will, I still believe, depend upon the course of the other Provinces, and I think that public opinion has quite as much advanced towards the Union as in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick ; though I fear that some little check and temporary discouragement may have been given by the circumstance that the subject was passed over altogether without notice in the speech of the Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia in opening the legislative session in that Province. This fact has attracted some attention, and it may be supposed that the omission has been caused by some weakness or division in the Government with regard to this special matter; but I have since learnt through a private note from Sir Fenwick Williams, that there is good hope for success in Nova Scotia when New Brunswick shall have done her part.

* * * * *

I have, &c.

(Signed) A. MUSGRAVE.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure 1 in No. 10.

RESOLUTIONS to be proposed in Committee of the whole on Confederation of the North American Provinces.

WHEREAS the question of Confederation has been brought before the people of this Colony and the Legislature thereof, by a Despatch from the Principal from the Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, bearing date, Downing Street, 3rd December 1864, and by resolutions adopted by the Quebec Conference accompanying the same :

Resolved, That the circumstances of this Colony present insuperable difficulties to the adoption, by its people, of the proposed Confederation, and that the almost universal opinion of the inhabitants of Newfoundland is opposed to an union with Canada.

Resolved, That under the constitution at present enjoyed by the people of Newfoundland the principle of self-government has been fully conceded and recognized b y the parent State, and therefore this House cannot assent to the proposition contained in his Excellency’s reply to the address of this House, that “the minor objections of this Colony should, of necessity, give way before the pressure of the more weighty motives of national interest,” without the assent of the people of this Colony being first had thereto.

Resolved, That under any circumstances the conditions of the Quebec Resolutions, as regards this Colony, are for the most part inapplicable to its necessities, and are not calculated to carry out the objects proposed to be subserved by the said Resolutions.

Enclosure 2 in No. 10.

AMENDMENT on Resolutions proposed in Committee of the whole on Confederation of the North American Provinces.

WHEREAS this House has recently, in reply to the speech of his Excellency the Governor, on opening the present session, abstained from pronouncing any decision on the proposal for a Union of the Colonies, or on the details of that measure as regards this Colony, and considering the present uncertain state of public sentiment on this grave question, and being unadvised of the action thereon that may be taken or contemplated by the other Provinces, it is.

Resolved. That whilst duly regardful of the momentous character of this subject, and of the promise to his Excellency to give it attention, yet, as no information has been received demanding its immediate reconsideration, this House does not deem it expedient to enter upon its discussion with a view to any decision thereon.

No. 11.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Governor MUSGRAVE to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL., M.P.

(No. 103.)

Government House, Newfoundland, May 1, 1866.
(Received May 21, 1866.)
(Answered No. 15, May 25, 1866, page 175.)

SIR,

I HAVE had the honour to enclose copies of the speech with which I have to-day closed the legislative session.

2. It has not been regarded as expedient by the advocates of Confederation to make any further movement on this subject at this time ; and as the session has already been protracted, and members of the Legislature are becoming impatient to return to their ordinary employments at the commencement of the busy season of the year, it does not seem desirable to defer the prorogation which my Ministers urge.

3. If the progress of events in the other Provinces towards the completion of the Union should prove to be more rapid and decided than I at present anticipate, it will always be open to me to call the Legislative together when necessary. But notwithstanding recent Resolutions of the Council and Assembly of Nova Scotia, the political complications in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island lead me to think it practically impossible that the question of union can be brought into a shape fit for the action of the Imperial Parliament during the present session ; and in this case I see no harm likely to result from temporary inaction on our part, while present caution may eventually assist in effecting the final settlement of the question.

I have, &c.

(Signed) A. MUSGRAVE.

The Right Hon. Edward Cardwell, M.P.,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 11.

EXTRACT from SPEECH of his Excellency Governor MUSGRAVE on closing the First Session of the Ninth General Assembly, May 1, 1866.

MR. PRESIDENT, AND HONOURABLE GENTLEMEN OF THE COUNCIL ;

MR. SPEAKER, AND GENTLEMEN OF THE HONOURABLE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY ;

I have been officially acquainted with the passing of a resolution by the Legislature of Nova Scotia authorizing the Governor of that Province to appoint delegates to arrange with the Imperial Government a scheme of Union which will effectually ensure just provision for the rights and interests of that Province.

From information which I have received, there appears to be reason for expecting that the Legislature of New Brunswick will speedily adopt a like proceeding. And it is not improbable that the Legislature of Prince Edward’s Island will take the same course during their present session. It will remain for you, when you next meet, to finally consider and decide upon this question, whether Newfoundland is to be disregarded in the consolidation of British interests, and the formation of a State which, ceasing to be a mere group of Colonial dependencies, cannot fail to become a great and important portion of the British Empire.

No. 12.

EXTRACT from a DESPATCH from Governor MUSGRAVE to the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., dated Newfoundland, July 10, 1866.

(No. 115.)

(Received, July 28, 1866.)

“I HAVE the honour to forward for your information copy of a Despatch which I have addressed bu the present mail to Lord Monck.

“2. The first of these enclosures will explain why this Government does not join in the action of the other Colonies by sending Delegates on the question of Confederation, as without the authority of the Legislature they could not be armed with any powers for the settlement of the terms of the union; and I have also therein stated the reasons which cause it to be regarded as inexpedient to convene the Legislature at this time for further discussion of the question. I have, therefore, little to add beyond enclosing a copy of the Minute of Executive Council upon the subject.

“3. I do, however, cherish a strong hope, notwithstanding the present inability of pressing the Legislature for an assent to union, that before their next meeting in January the progress of events will exercise an important influence upon their options. And I am confident that, if Her Majesty’s Government should attach any importance to including Newfoundland in the projected arrangement, a strong expression of your views and of the consequences which may be expected to flow to this particular Colony from an ignorant persistence in the policy of isolation, and in opposition to the wishes of Her Majesty’s Government, would have great upon the determination of the Legislature. An effect so great indeed that I think it would probably accomplish the end in view. I am indeed to believe this by my knowledge of the statements which are circulated that Her Majesty’s Government care little, if at all, for the connexion of Newfoundland with the other Colonies, and that this Colony has nothing to lose by resining in her detached position. The particular or immediate advantages to be obtained by entering the Confederation it is not easy to demonstrate, however well convinced may be the advocates of union of the ultimate benefit of the arrangement. And it would be cogent argument in favour of the proposal if it can be shown that it cannot be refused without the loss of advantages at present enjoyed, and which it is too readily assumed are to be retained at the cost of the Imperial Government.”

(No. 146.)

Enclosure 1 in No. 12.

Government House, Newfoundland, 10th July 1866.

MY LORD,

I HAVE received a Despatch from the Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, in which he communicated to me at your request that it is the intention of the Governments of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia to send Delegates forthwith to England on the subject of the Confederation of the British North American Provinces, and he stated that it was your Lordship’s hope that I would be enabled to call my Legislature together in time to avail myself of the action which it is hoped may be taken by the Imperial Parliament before its prorogation in passing the necessary Act for this purpose.

2. It would afford me the greatest satisfaction to be able to carry out your Lordship’s wishes, and obtain the assent of the Legislature at once to the completion of the arrangement. But I regret to say that on consultation with my Council I am advised by them that there is no reasonable ground at present for anticipating other than an adverse decision from the Legislature if the question of Union should now again be pressed upon them; nor does it seem probable that a dissolution would at this time affect the result, and no change of administration would be of any service, as it is well known that the Opposition all hold anti-confederate opinions. When the Legislature is induced to assent to the proposed union, as I yet hope will be the case, the sent must be accomplished through modification of the views of members who on all other matters are supporters of my present Government, and I believe some little time is necessary for this purpose. Undue haste might, and I fear probably would, only have the effect of entailing upon the Colony an expense of some 7,000/. for a special session, complicate future proceedings by a decidedly adverse vote, and compel a dissolution, causing much outlay to the advocates of the project, which may induce some to withdraw from the conflict, and ultimately produce no good result.

3. Reluctant as I am to be forced to this conclusion, I am constrained by the circumstances to agree with the Council that it will be best to wait for the re-assembling of the Legislature in due course in January, by which time the action of the Imperial Parliament, if any should be taken during this session, will exercise important influence on public feeling. But as yet great doubt is entertained, in which I admit that I share, whether time will be afforded for the passing of any measure during the present session, and still more whether it will be regarded by the Imperial Government as possible to do so on indefinite resolutions without previous reference to the local Legislatures for ratification of the terms of the agreement, the re-arrangement of electoral districts, and the numerous details which must be adjusted touching the local constitutions under the new system, none of which have yet been agreed upon, and all of which can scarcely be settled by an Act of the Imperial Parliament.

4. I shall transmit to the Secretary of State a copy of this Despatch.

I have, &c.

(Signed) A. MUSGRAVE.

His Excellency the Right Hon. Viscount Monck.

Enclosure 2 in No. 12.

GOVERNMENT HOUSE, 10th July 1866.

At a Meeting of Council held this day,

Present: All the Members except Solicitor-General.

THE Governor stated that he had directed a meeting of the Council to be convened for the purpose of submitting to them the following Despatch from Sir F. Williams, and that he desired to ascertain from the Council their opinions as to the propriety of acting upon the suggestions of Lord Monck and calling the Legislature together for the purpose of some action on the question of Confederation, now that New Brunswick and Nova Scotia had both declared decidedly in favour of union, and that Delegates are about to proceed to England from those Provinces and Canada for the purpose of carrying the arrangement into effect.

(Despatch.)

The Council were of opinion that it was not practicable at the present time to give effect to the desire expressed in that communication. When our Legislature was in session, new Brunswick had not affirmed the principle of union, and there being no practical necessity for coming to a conclusion in this Colony, the matter was left open for future consideration.

The Council are of opinion that the Assembly at the present time would not adopt the measure of Confederation, public opinion not having yet been so changed by the action of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick as to warrant the expectation that it could now be submitted either to the Legislature or the constituencies with a reasonable hope of success.

(Signed) J. BEMISTER,
Colonial Secretary.

No. 13.

Copy of a DESPATCH from Governor MUSGRAVE to the Right Hon. The Earl of CARNARVON.

(No. 117.)

Government House, Newfoundland, August 7, 1866.
(Received August 27, 1866.)
(Answered No. 8, August 30, 1866, page 157.)

MY LORD,

I HAVE the honour to forward a memorial to Her Majesty which has been presented to me for transmission to your Lordship, of which the prayer is in substance that nothing may be done for the purpose of including Newfoundland in any scheme of Union with the other Provinces, until the question of Union shall have been definitely submitted to the people at a general election. I annex a printed copy.

2. It is not very obvious why any uneasiness should be felt on the point which causes apprehension, as no attempt has been made in the existing Assembly to force a decision on the queen of Union, nor has it appeared that nay such attempt was likely during the last session to be successful. The arguments used in the memorial are weak and scarcely consistent. I do not in fact regard this document or the manner in which it has been produced as of any importance, now as indicating with any truth the present state of public feeling.

I have, &c.

(Signed) A. MUSGRAVE.

The Right Hon. The Earl of Carnarvon,
&c. &c. &c.

Enclosure in No. 13.

To Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen.

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR MAJESTY,

The Petition of the undersigned Merchants, Traders, Fishermen, and other inhabitants of Newfoundland, most humbly […]:—

THAT under Your Majesty’s gracious favour this Colony has for many years enjoyed the blessings and privileges of self government and local legislation, the imposition and appropriation of duties and taxes, and the general management of its local affairs.

That the sentiments of all classes of its people have been and still are of the most loyal and devoted characters that its necessities or demands for protection from the foreign enemy or from internal disturbance have never been a heavy burthen or a serious cost to the Imperial Exchequer; while from the fact of its staple products being confined to fit and oil, and the country having limited agricultural and no manufacturing resources, its chief import trade is prosecuted and its most intimate commercial relations are held with Great Britain. Newfoundland, while holding a prominent and formidable position upon the Atlantic as the point nearest to England, is practically more remote from the principal ports of the Canadas than from Britain itself, and has never had any political and only minor commercial connexion with the former, a connexion which is entirely cut off by sea for nearly six months of the year, during which time there can be no communication with Canada except through the territories of a foreign power, the United States of America. The inhabitants of this Colony would desire to see this Island always retained separately by Britain as its ocean fortress and military outpost in this part of the World, whatever might be the future destiny of the Colonies on the main land; but let the value attached to her position in an Imperial view be what it may, the Colony has from its distinct trade and its different characteristics, no community of interests with Upper or Lower Canada, and little with the other maritime Provinces.

The people regard therefore with grave apprehension and alarm any project which has for its object the union of the Island of Newfoundland with the other British North American dependencies of the Crown. Some reasons which might influence them to receive it with favour are just those which make it undesirable for Newfoundland. The motives which in their case have actuated the police of Great Britain for the promotion of the Scheme of Confederation are entirely wanting in ours. We are no cause of offence, we are not in the path of possible aggression, or in the way of attack, unless and until the national cause of Great Britain involves us in a common fate. We are comparatively small burthen on the Home Government, and in the present condition of affairs obtain those supplies from Britain which we should, under the proposed Union, have in a great measure to abandon for the inferior manufactures of Colonies with which we have little trade.

And yet, may it please your Majesty, it is proposed to include this Colony in a Confederation on the basis of the Quebec Convention of 1861, and by this measure to deprive her of those civil, constitutional, and territorial rights, which she has so long held and so dearly prized; and for a loss so great there is no offer of a substantial return.

Our taxation, already burdensome, will be assimilated to the much higher Canadian tariff.

Our revenues will go to the Central Exchequer, and in return we shall receive a sum far below our present income, without any corresponding advantages.

No matter how a rapidly growing population, the development of our resources, or our future necessities, may call for augmented supplies, not to speak of the constantly increasing demands for public improvements; no matter how large at any time our contribution to the Federal finances may be, our receipts from it are proposed to be permanently limited to 112,000/. per annum.

The proposed Central Government will also possess the dangerous power to levy duties upon the exports of a Colony whose only wealth and industry lie in them, and which from its peculiar circumstances, will be utterly without the means of local taxation wherewith to promote public improvement or receive its people from a pauperism which to some extent is necessarily chronic and frequently widespread and disastrous.

The chief exports of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are expressly exempt from the power of Federal taxation.

The people of Newfoundland have no interest and can derive no benefit whatever from the great public works of Canada, existing or projected. There is no provision even made in the Quebec Convention for a connexion by lines of steamers between this Colony and the other Provinces on the one hand, and Great Britain on the other; while for the North Western Territory guarantees for complete territorial connexion are contained.

These are amongst the objections which apply to the Quebec Convention—even if the project of Union could on any basis be made applicable or beneficial to this Colony, its trade and people.

But the peculiar position and circumstances arising from the nature of its trade, its resources, and its geography are such that the Maritime Provinces in their original project of union never contemplated the introduction of Newfoundland. Even when the Canadas proposed to unite with them this Colony was no included until after the convocation of Delegates at Quebec in the Autumn of 1864, when a request was made to our local Executive to send non-official Delegates to be present at the proceedings.

These Delegates were not clothed with any active authority.

The express terms of the Convention show that Newfoundland was only provisionally referred to.

The subject had never been a matter of popular inquiry or political consideration in this Colony up to that time.

Public alarm has been excited by the result of late elections in the continental Colonies, and by the fact Delegates from them are, it is said, to proceed to Britain to negotiate a Scheme of Union. It is with the view to convey to Your Majesty, our Gracious Sovereign, the aversion of this people to be considered at this time in any overtures or negotiations whatever that may be made or had, that Your Majesty’s petitioners on their behalf humbly lay this petition at the foot of the Throne.

If circumstances should hereafter arise to make it less objectionable than it now is for this Colony to be considered in any project of union with the rest of British North America, our people will, Your petitioners feel sure, lend a ready and loyal car to the Imperial counsels.

In the meantime Your Majesty’s petitioners believe the objections to be insuperable; but if they be wrong the voice of all the people of the Colony may be taken at an early and convenient time.

These people are at this time for the most part […] and engaged in the avocations of the fishery. And it is for this reason that, at this moment of alarm, these petitioners presume to lay before Your Majesty an expression of opinion, and to prefer a prayer which they believe to coincide with the wishes and feelings of the great majority of the people.

In this view they upheld by the action of the Legislature in its late Session, when, in reply to the Governor’s speech at the opening of the Session, it was obliged to give some response to the reference made him to the subject of Confederation. The reply of the Assembly was as follows:—

“On the important subject of Confederation, in recognizing the solicitude of Her Majesty’s Government for the welfare of this Colony, we concur in the view of your Excellency that the abstract advantages of union are so obvious as to be almost universally acknowledged; whilst with regard to this Colony and on the details of so grave a measure, it is natural that much diversity of opinion should prevail. This is a matter which shall engage our serious attention.”

By this resolutions the House of Assembly, being the representatives of the people, clearly excepted Newfoundland from the application of the principle of Confederation, and also objected to the measure in detail. The expression of opinion which accompanied and followed that passage in the address fully confirms this view, and, for example, the language of the Solicitor-General, who proposed the paragraph, was:—

“The only important words added to the original clause were—‘with regard to this Colony and.’ This alteration would show that there is not only a diversity of opinion with regard to the detail, but also to the very principle itself. He (Hon. Solicitor-General) desired to be understood that he not only opposed the Quebec Resolutions, but was altogether opposed tot he principle of Confederation as far as this Colony is concerned.”

The Attorney-General and Premier said:—

“He endured the statement of the Hon. Solicitor-General with regard to the non-committal character of his amendment one way or another, and the Government had no desire or intention to adopt any course which would not be generally acceptable.” “So far as he (Hon. Attorney-General) was concerned, no measure should be attempted to force it on them in opposition to their wishes, to be gathered from the conditional channels.”

And the Premier again subsequently expressed himself thus:—

“The members of the Executive admitted distinctly when the amendment was agreed tot hat they did not regard it as affirming or denying the principle of Confederation.”

It was in this way and upon these terms and express understanding that the Address of the Assembly on this point was passed.
Even the Imperial body, the legislative Council, in its address to the same speech, reserved the definite determination for the Legislature at a future time.

Your petitioners’ loyal confidence in the assurances of Your Majesty’s Ministers, contained in Despatches and openly expressed in Parliament, a well as the affectionate reliance of this people upon Your Majesty’s just and gracious consideration of the premises, induce your petitioners thus boldly to adopt a course, which, while it may be unnecessary, is suggested and impelled by the contemplation of the powerful counter influences brought to beat upon a question of such solemn and serious import to Your Majesty’s subjects, and by desire to prevent or remove any possible misapprehension of the present sentiment of the people of Newfoundland, or of the position in which this Colony stands in regard to the Confederation project.

Your petitioners therefore humbly pray Your Majesty that no negotiations may be had or projects entertained contemplating the present comprehension of this Colony in any Scheme or Union with the other Provinces until this question, involving as it does the vital interests and future fate of this dependency of the Crown, shall have been definitely submitted to the people of Newfoundland at a general election of representatives to their House of Assembly.

And, as in duty bound, they will ever pray, &c.

St. John’s, Newfoundland, July 4, 1866.

Then follow 3,600 signatures.

Despatches from the Secretary of State.

No. 1.

Copy of DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to Governor MUSGRAVE.

(No. 4.)

Downing Street, Janurary 24, 1865.

SIR,

WITH reference to that portion of your Despatch No. 16,* of the 27th December, which relates tot he modification of the constitution of the Legislation, I have no doubt but that the simpler and more economical form which the Legislature would assume by being consolidated into a single Chamber; and I am of opinion that you should promote that object by any suitable means within your power.

You will hear from the Governor General whats reassures are being taken in the other Provinces for obtaining the decision ofd the respective Legislatures. In the absence of any very serious reason to the contrary, I think it most desirable to obtain that decision without delay.

I have, &c.

(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Governor Musgrave,
&c. &c.

No. 2.

Copy of DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to Governor MUSGRAVE.

(No. 9.)

Downing Street, February 27, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 23,+ of the 27th ultimo, forwarding copies of the speech with which you opened the session of the Legislature of Newfoundland.

I have, &c.

(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Governor Musgrave,
&c. &c.

No. 3.

Copy of DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to Governor MUSGRAVE.

(No. 15.)

Downing Street, March 17, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 27,+ of the 23rd February, in which you can express your opinion that in the present state of the public feeling it would be unwise to press for an immediate decision on the question of the proposed Union, against the almost unanimous desire to defer it until the next session.

With respect to the expediency of the decision you may adopt on this subject, I must rely upon the judgement you may form upon the spot with the aid of local information.

I presume that there are strong objections to the course which has been pursued in the Province of New Brunswick, namely, an immediate dissolution, with a view to the consideration of the question of Union by the newly elected Legislature.

Believing, however, that the adoption of the project would be very beneficial to the real interests of Newfoundland, I much regret the likelihood of delay; and I should be very glad to hear that you were able to announce to me an early and favourable decision on the part of the Provincial Legislature.

I have, &c.

(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Governor Musgrave,
&c. &c.

No. 4.

Copy of DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to Governor MUSGRAVE.

(No. 20.)

Downing Street, May 11, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE received your Despatch No. 40,* of the 19th of April, supplying some additional explanations of the course which you have pursued in reference to the question of Confederation of the North American Provinces.

I do not doubt the soundness of the judgment which you formed on the subject, and I have the honour to express my approval of your proceedings.

I have, &c.

(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Governor Musgrave,
&c. &c.

No. 5.

Copy of DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to Governor MUSGRAVE.

(No. 22.)

Downing Street, May 12, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 35,+ of the 13th April, enclosing a copy of the speech with which you closed the Legislative Session on the 7th ult., together with a list of Bills passed by the Council and Assembly, and a copy of the resolution passed by the House of Assembly recommending that a final decision on the question of the Union of the North American Provinces should be deferred to the next meeting of the Legislature.

I have, &c.

(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Governor Musgrave,
&c. &c.

No. 6.

Copy of DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to Governor MUSGRAVE.

(No. 31.)

Downing Street, June 24, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to transmit to you the copy of a correspondence between Viscount Monck and myself on the affairs of British North America, which have lately formed the subject of conferences between Her Majesty’s Government and a deputation from the Canadian Government.

This correspondence having been presented to both Houses of the Imperial Parliament by command of Her Majesty, I have to direct you to communicate it also to the Legislature of Newfoundland at its next meeting.

You will at the same time express the strong and deliberate opinion of Her Majesty’s Government that it is an object much to be desired that all the British North American Toonies should agree to unite in one government. In the territorial event of Canada, and in the maritime and commercial enterprise of the lower Provinces, Her Majesty’s Government see the elements of power which only require to be combined in order to sever for the Province which shall possess them all a place among the most considerable communities of the world. In the spirit of loyalty to the British Crown, of attachment to British connexion, and of love for British institutions, by which […] the Provinces are animated alike, Her Majesty’s Government recognize the bond by which all may be combined under one government. Such an Union seems to Her Majesty’s Government to recommend itself to the Provinces on many grounds of moral and material advantage, as giving a well-founded prospect of improved administration and increased prosperity. But there is one consideration which Her Majesty’s Government feel it more especially their duty to press upon the Legislature of Newfoundland. Looking to the determination which this country has ever exhibited to regard the defence of the Colonies as a matter of Imperial concern, the Colonies must recognize a fight and even acknowledge an obligation incumbent on the Home Government to urge with earnestness and just authority the measures which they consider to be most expedient on the part of the Colonies, with a view to their own defence. Nor can it be doubtful that the Provinces of British North America are incapable when separate and divided from each other of making those just and sufficient preparations for national defence which would bar easily undertaken by Province uniting in itself all the population and all the resources of the whole.
I am aware that this project, so novel as well as so important, has not been at once accepted in the other Provinces with that cordiality which has marked its acceptance by the Legislature of Canada; but Her Majesty’s Government trust that after a full and careful examination of the subject in all its bearing the Maritime provinces will perceive the great advantages which in the opinion of Her Majesty’s Government the proposed Union is calculated to confer upon them all.

I have, &c.

(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Governor Musgrave,
&c. &c.

No. 7.

Copy of DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to Governor MUSGRAVE.

(No. 36.)

Downing Street, August 4, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE received your Despatch No. 64,* of the 11th July, reporting that you proposed to publish in the local Gazette my Despatch No. 31,+ of the 24th June, with its enclosures, on the subject of the conferences held between Her Majesty’s Government and a deputation from Canada.

I have the honour to express to you my approval of this course.

I have, &c.

(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Governor Musgrave,
&c. &c.

No. 8.

Copy of DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to Governor MUSGRAVE.

(No. 42.)

Downing Street, September 30, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 69,+ of the 19th August, accompanied by a copy of the last Annual Report of the Chamber of Commerce of St. John’s, Newfoundland.

* * * * *

I have, &c.

(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Governor Musgrave,
&c. &c.

No. 9.

Copy of DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to Governor MUSGRAVE.

(No. 52.)

Downing Street, December 20, 1865.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 75,+ of the 14th November, from which I learn with satisfaction the orderly and peaceable manner in which the proceedings of all parties were conducted during the recent general election.

As regards the very important subject of the proposed Union of the British North American Provinces, I wish you clearly to understand not only that there is no change in the views of Her Majesty’s Government, but that we hope that mature consideration will have satisfied the Lower Provinces of the advantages to be derived from such an Union.

I rely upon your discretion in giving effect to the known wishes of Her Majesty’s Government in the way most likely to be successful.

I have, &c.

(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Governor Musgrave,
&c. &c.

No. 10.

Copy of DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to Governor MUSGRAVE.

(No. 10.)

Downing Street, March 23, 1866.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 91,+ of the 20th of February, enclosing a copy of the Speech with which you opened the Legislative Session of Newfoundland on the 30th January, together with copies of the Addresses which you received in reply from the Council and Assembly.

I have, &c.

(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Governor Musgrave,
&c. &c.

No. 11.

Copy of DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to Governor MUSGRAVE.

(No. 13.)

Downing Street, April 14, 1866.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 97,+ of the 21st of March, enclosing a copy of Resolutions moved in the House of Assembly on the question of a Union of the British North American Provinces, and of the Amendment on these Resolutions which was adopted by the House.

I have, &c.
(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Governor Musgrave,
&c. &c.

No. 12.

Copy of DESPATCH from the Right Hon. EDWARD CARDWELL, M.P., to Governor MUSGRAVE.

(No. 15.)

Downing Street, May 25, 1866.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 103,+ of the 1st May, transmitting copies of the Speech with which you closed the Legislative Session on that day.

I have, &c.

(Signed) EDWARD CARDWELL.

Governor Musgrave,
&c. &c.

No. 13.

Copy of DESPATCH from the Right Hon. the Earl of CARNARVON to Governor MUSGRAVE.

(No. 8.)

Downing Street, August 30, 1866.

SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Despatch No. 117,+ of the 7th of August, enclosing a Memorial to the Queen from certain inhabitants of Newfoundland, praying that the Colony may not be included in any scheme of Union with the other Provinces until the question of Union shall have been submitted to the people at a general election. I have to request you to inform the memorialists that i have laid their Petition before Her Majesty.

I have, &c.

(Signed) CARNARVON.

Governor Musgrave,
&c. &c.

APPENDIX
REPORT of RESOLUTIONS adopted at a Conference of Delegates from the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and the Colonies of Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island, held at the dirt of Quebec, October 10, 161, as the Basis of a proposed Confederation of those Provinces and Colonies.
1. The best interests and present and future prosperity of British North America will be promoted by a Federal Union under the Crown of Great Britain, provided such Union can be effected on principles just to the several Provinces.
2. In the Federation of the British North American Provinces the system of government best adapted under existing circumstances to protect the diversified interests of the several Provinces, and secure efficiency, harmony, and permanency in the working of the Union,—would be a General Government charged with matters of common interest to the whole country, and Local Governments for each of the Canadas and for the Provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, charged with the control of local matters in their respective sections, provision being made for the admission into the Union on equitable terms of Newfoundland, the North-west Territory, British Columbia, and Vancouver.
3. In framing a Constitution for the General Government, the Conference, with a view to the perpetuation of our connexion with the Mother Country, and to the promotion of the best interests of the people of these Provinces, desire to follow the model of the British Constitution, so far as our circumstances will permit.
4. The Executive Authority or Government shall be vested in the Sovereign of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and be administered according to the well understood principles of the British Constitution by the Sovereign personally to by the Representative of the sovereign duly authorized.
5. The Sovereign or Representative of the Sovereign shall be Commander-in-Chief of the Land and Naval Militia Forces.
6. There shall be a General Legislature or Parliament for the Federated Provinces, composed of a Legislative Council and a House of Commons.
7. For the purpose of forming the Legislative Council, the Federated Provinces shall be considered as consisting of three divisions:— 1st, Upper Canada; 2nd, Lower Canada; 3rd, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island; each division with an equal representation in the Legislative Council.
8. Upper Canada shall be represented in the Legislative Council by 21 members, Lower Canada by 21 members, and the three Maritime Provinces by 24 members, of which Nova Scotia shall have 10, New Brunswick 10, and Prince Edward Island tour members.
9. The Colony of Newfoundland shall be entitled to enter the deposed Union, with a representation in the Legislative Council of four members.
10. The North-west Territory, British Columbia, and Vancouver shall be admitted into he Union, on such terms and constitutions as the Parliament of the Federated Provinces shall deem equitable, and as shall receive the assent of Her Majesty; and in the case of the Province of British Columbia or Vancouver, as shall be agreed to by the Legislature of such Province.
11. The Members of the Legislative Council shall be appointed by the Crown under the Great Seal of the General Government, and shall hold office during life; if any Legislative Councillor shall, for two consecutive sessions of Parliament, fail to give his attendance in the said Council, his seat shall thereby become vacant.
12. The Members of the Legislative Council shall be British subjects by birth naturalization, of the full age of 30 years, shall possess a continuous real property qualification of four thousand dollars over and above all incumbrances, and shall be and continue worth that sum over and above their debts and liabilities, but in the case of Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island the property may be either real or personal.
13. If any question shall arise as to the qualification of a Legislative Councillor, the same shall be determined by the Council.
14. The first selection of the Members of the Legislative Council shall be made, except as regards Prince Edward Island, from the Legislative Councils of the various Provinces, so far as a sufficient number be found qualified and willing to serve. Such Members shall be appointed by the Crown at the recommendation of the General Executive Government, upon the nomination of the respective Local Governments; and in such nomination due regard shall be had to the claims of the Members of the Legislative Council of the opposition in each Province, so that all political parties may as nearly as possible be fairly represented.
15. The Speaker of the Legislative Council ( unless otherwise provided by Parliament ) shall be appointed by the Crown from among the Members of the Legislative Council, and shall be appointed by the Crown from among the Members of the Legislative Council, and shall hold office during pleasure, and shall only entitled to a casting on an equality of votes.
16. Each of the 24 Legislative Councillors respecting Lower Canada in the Legislative Council of the General Legislature shall be appointed to represent one of the 24 electoral divisions mentioned in Schedule A. of Chapter 1st of the Consolidated Statutes of Canada, and such Councillor shall reside or possess his qualification in the division he is appointed to represent.
17. The basis of Representation in the House of Commons shall be population, as determined by the official census every 10 years; and the number of Members at first shall be 194, disturbed as follows:
Upper Canada – – – – 82
Lower Canada – – – – 65
Nova Scotia – – – – – 19
New Brunswick – – – – 15
Newfoundland – – – – 8
and Prince Edward Island – – – 5
18. Until the official census of 1871 has been made up, there shall be no change in the number of Representatives from the several sections.
19. Immediately after the completion of the census of 1871, and immediately after every decennial census thereafter, the representation from each section in the House of Commons shall be re-adjusted on the basis of population.
20. For the purpose of such re-adjustments, Lower Canada shall always be assigned 65 Members, and each of the other sections shall at each re-adjustment receive for the 10 years then next succeeding, the member of members to which it will be entitled on the same ratio of representation to population as Lower Canada will enjoy according to the census last taken by having 65 members.
21. No reduction shall be made in the number of Members returned by any section unless its population shall have decreased relatively to the population of the whole Union to the extent of five per centrum.
22. In computing at each decennial period the number of Members to which each section is entitled, no fractional parts shall be considered unless when exceeding one-half the number entitling to a Member, in which case a Member shall be given for each such fractional part.
23. The Legislature of each Province shall divide such Province into the proper number of constituencies, and define the boundaries of each of them.
24. The Local Legislature of each Province may, from the time to time, alter the electoral districts for the purposes of representation in the House of Commons, and distribute the Representatives to which the Province is entitled, in any manner such Legislature may think fit.
25. The number of Members may at any time be increased by the General Parliament, regard being had to the proportionate rights then existing.
26. Until provision are made by the General Parliament, all the laws which at the date of the Proclamation constituting the Union are in force in the Provinces respectively relating to the qualification and disqualification of any person to be elected or to sit or vote as a Member of the Assembly in the said Provinces respectively—and relating to the qualification or disqualification of voters, and to the oaths to be taken by voters, and to Returning Officers and their powers and duties—and relating to the proceedings at the elections,—and to the period during which such elections may be continued,—and relating to the trial of controverted elections, and the proceedings incident thereto,— and relating to the vacating of seats of Members,—and the issuing and execution of new writs in case of any seat being vacated otherwise than by a dissolution,—shall respectively apply to elections of Members to serve in the House of Commons, for places situate in those Provinces respectively.
27. Every House of Commons shall continue for five years from the day of the return of the writs choosing the same, and no longer, subject, nevertheless, to be sooner prorogued or dissolved by the Governor.
28. There shall be a Session of the General Parliament once at least in every year, so that a period of 12 calendar months shall not intervene between the last sitting of the General Parliament in one session and the first sitting thereof in the next session.
29. The General Parliament shall have power to make Laws for the peace, welfare and good Government of the Federated Provinces (saving the Sovereignty of England), and especially Laws respecting the following subjects:—
1. The Public Debt and Property.
2. The Regulation of Trade and Commerce.
3. The imposition or regulation of Duties of Customs on Imports and Exports, except on Exports of Timber, Logs, Masts, Spars, Deals, and Sawn Lumber, and of Coal and other minerals.
4. The imposition and regulation of Excise Duties.
5. The raising of money by all or any other modes or systems of Taxation.
6. The borrowing of money on the public credit.
7. Postal service.
8. Lines of Steam or other Ships, Railways, Canals and other works, connecting any two or more of the Provinces together or extending beyond the limits of any Province.
9. Lines of Steamships between the Federated Provinces and other Countries.
10. Telegraphic communication and the incorporation of Telegraph Companies.
11. All such works as shall, although lying wholly within any Province, be specifically declared by the Acts authorizing them to be for the general advantage.
12. The Census.
13. Militia—Military and Naval Service and Defence.
14. Beacons, Buoys, and Lighthouse.
15. Navigation and Shipping.
16. Quarantine.
17. Sea Coast and Inland Fisheries.
18. Ferries between any Province and a Foreign Country, or between any two Provinces.
19. Currency and Coinage.
20. Banking, incorporation of Banks, and the issue of paper money.
21. Savings Banks.
22. Weights and Measures.
23. Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes.
24. Interest.
25. Legal Tender.
26. Bankruptcy and Insolvency.
27. Patents of Invention and Discovery.
28. Copy Rights.
29. Indians and Lands reserved for the Indians.
30. Naturalization and Aliens.
31. Marriage and Divorce.
32. The Criminal Law, excepting the Constitution of Courts of Criminal Jurisdiction, but including the Procedure in Criminal matters.
33. Rendering uniform all or any of the laws relative to property and civil rights in Upper Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island, and rendering uniform the procedure of all or any of the Courts in these Provinces; but any Statute for this purpose shall have no force or authority in any Province until sanctioned by the Legislature thereof.
34. T5he establishment of a General Court of Appeal for the Federated Provinces.
35. Immigration.
36. Agriculture.
37. And generally respecting all matters of a general character, not specifically and exclusively reserved for the Local Governments and Legislatures.
30. The General Government and Parliament shall have all powers necessary or proposer for performing the obligations of the Federated Provinces, as part of the British Empire, to Foreign Countries, arising under Treaties between Great Britain and such Countries.
31. The General Parliament may also from time to time establish additional Courts, and the General Government may appoint Judges and Officers thereof, when the same shall appear necessary or for the public advantage, in order to the due execution of the laws of Parliament.
32. All Courts, Judges, and Officers of the several Provinces shall aid, assist, and obey the General Government in the exercise of its rights and powers, and for such purposes shall be held to be Courts, Judges, and Officers of the General Government.
33. The General Government shall appoint and pay the Judges of the Superior Courts in each Province and of the County Country of Upper Canada, and Parliament shall fix their salaries.
34. Until the Consolidation of the Laws of Upper Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island, the Judges of these Provinces appointed by the General Government shall be selected from their respective Bars.
35. The Judges of the Courts of Lower Canada shall be selected from the Bar of Lower Canada.
36. The Judges of the Court of Admiralty now receiving salaries shall be paid by the General Government.
37. The Judges of the Superior Courts shall hold their offices during good behaviour, and shall be removable only on the Address of both Houses of Parliament.

Local Government.
38. For each of the Provinces there be an Executive Officer, styled the Lieutenant-Governor, who shall be appointed by the Governor General in Council, under the Great Seal of the Federated Provinces, during pleasure; such pleasure not to be exercised before the expiration of the first five years, except for cause, such cause to be communicated in writing to the Lieutenant-Governor immediately after the exercise of the pleasure as aforesaid, and also by Messages to both Houses of Parliament, within the first week of the first Session afterwards.
39. The Lieutenant-Governor of each Province shall be paid by the General Government.
40. In undertaking to pay the salaries of the Lieutenant-Governors, the Conference does not desire to prejudice the claim of Prince Edward Island upon the Imperial Government for the amount now paid for the salary of the Lieutenant-Governor thereof.
41. The Local Government and Legislature of each Province shall be constructed in such manner as the existing Legislature of such Province shall provide.
42. The Local Legislatures shall have power to alter or amend their Constitution from time to time.
43. The Local Legislatures shall have power to make Laws respecting the following subjects:
1. Direct Taxation and the imposition of Duties on the export of Timber, Logs, Masts, Spars, Deals, and Sawn Lumber, and of Coals and other Minerals.
2. Borrowing Money on the credit of the Province.
3. The establishment and tenure of Local Offices, and the appointment and payment of Local Officers.
4. Agriculture.
5. Immigration.
6. Education; savings the rights and privileges which the Protestant or Catholic minority in both Canada’s may possess as to their Denominational Schools at the time when the Union goes into operation.
7. The sale and management of Public Lands, excepting Lands belonging to the general Government.
8. Sea Coast and Inland Fisheries.
9. The establishment, maintenance, and management of Penitentiaries, and of Public and Reformatory Prisons.
10. The establishment, maintenance, and management of Hospitals, Asylums, Charities, Eleemosynary Institutions.
11. Municipal Institutions.
12. Shop, Saloon, Tavern, Auctioneer, and other Licences.
13. Local Works.
14. The Incorporation of private or local Companies, except such as relate to matters assigned to the General Parliament.
15. Property and civil rights, excepting those portions thereof assigned to the General Parliament.
16. Inflicting punishment by fine, penalties, imprisonment, or otherwise for the breach of laws passed in relation to any subject within their jurisdiction.
17. The Administration of justice, including the constitution, maintenance, and organization of the Courts, both of Civil and Criminal Jurisdiction, and including also the Procedure in Civil Matters.
18. And generally all matters of a private or local nature, not assigned to the General Parliament.
44. The power of respiting, reprieving, and pardoning prisoners convicted of crimes, and of commuting and remitting of sentences in whole or in part, which belongs of right to the Crown, shall be administered by the Lieutenant-Governor of each Province in Council, subject to any instructions he may from time to time receive from the General Government, and subject to any provisions that may be made in this behalf by the General Parliament.

Miscellaneous.
45. In regard to all subjects over which jurisdiction belongs to both the General and Local Legislatures, the laws of the General Parliament shall control and supersede those made by the Local Legislature, and the latter shall be void as far a they are repugnant to or inconsistent with the former.
46. Both the English and French languages may be employed in the General Parliament and in its proceedings, and in the Local Legislature of Lower Canada, and also in the Federal Courts and in the Courts of Lower Canada.
47. No Lands or property belonging to the General or Local Government shall be liable to taxation.
48. All bills for appropriating any part of the public revenue, or for imposing any new tax or impost, shall originate in the House of Commons or the House Assembly, as the case may be.
49. The House of Commons or House of Assembly shall not originate or pass any vote, resolution, address, or bill for the appropriation or any part of the public revenue, or of any tax or impost to any purpose, not first recommended by Message of the Governor-General or the Lieutenant-Governor, as the case may be, during the session in which such vote, resolution, address, or bill passed.
50. Any bill of the General Parliament may be reserved in the usual manner for Her Majesty’s assent, and any bill of the Local Legislatures may in like manner be reserved for the consideration of the Governor-General.
51. Any bill passed by the General Parliament shall be subject to disallowance by Her Majesty within two years, as in the case of bills passed by the Legislatures of the said Provinces hitherto, and in like manner any bill passed by a Local Legislature shall b e subject to disallowance by the Governor-General within one year after the passing thereof.
52. The seat of Government of the Federated Provinces shall be Ottawa, subject to the Royal Prerogative.
53. Subject to any future action of the respective Local Governments, the seat of the Local Government in Upper Canada shall be Toronto; of Lower Canada, Quebec; and the seats of the Local Government s in the other Provinces shall be as at present.

Property and Liabilities.
54. All stocks, cash, bankers’ balances, and securities for money belonging to each Prince at the time of the Union, except as herein-after mentioned, shall belong to the General Government.
55. The following public works and property of each Province shall belong to the General Government, to wit:—
1. Canals;
2. Public harbours;
3. Lighthouse and piers;
4. Steamboats, dredges, and public vessels;
5. River and lake improvements;
6. Railway and railway stocks, mortgages, and other debts due by railway companies;
7. Military roads;
8. Custom houses, post offices, and other public buildings, except such as may be set aside by the General Government for the use of the Local Legislatures and Governments;
9. Property transferred by the Imperial Government, and known as Ordnance property;
10. Armouries, drill sheds, military clothing, and munitions of war; and
11. Lands set apart for public purposes.
56. All lands, mines, minerals, and royalties vested in Her Majesty in the Provinces of Upper Canada, Lower Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, for the use of such Provinces, shall belong to the Local Government of the territory in which the same are so situate; subject to any trusts that may exist in respect to any of such lands or to any interest of other persons in respect of the same.
57. All sums due from purchasers or lessens of such lands, mines, or minerals at the time of the Union shall also belong to the Local Governments.
58. All assets connected with such portions of the public debt of any Province as are assumed by the Local Governments shall also belong to those Governments respectively.
59. The several Provinces shall retain all the public property required for fortifications or the defence of the country.
60. The General Government shall assume all the debts and liabilities of each Province.
61. The dept of Canada not specially assumed by upper and Lower Canada respectively, shall not exceed at the time of the Union – – -862,500,00
Nova Scotia shall enter the Union with a debt not exceeding -8,000,000
And New Brunswick with a debt not exceeding – -7,000,000
62. In case Nova Scotia or New Brunswick do not incur liabilities beyond those for which their Governments are now bound, and which shall make their debts at the date of Union less than $8,000,000 and $7,000,000 respectively, they shall be entitled to interest at 5 per cent, on the amount not so incurred, in like manner as is herein-after provided for Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island; the foregoing Resolution being in no respect intended to limit the powers given to the respective Governments of those Provinces by legislative authority, but only to limit the maximum amount of charge to be assumed by the General Government. Provided always, that the powers so conferred by the respective Legislatures shall be exercised within five years from this date, or the same shall then lapse.
63. Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island, not having incurred debts equal to those of the other Provinces, shall be entitled to receive by half-yearly payments in advance from the General Government the interest at five per cent, on the difference between the actual amount indebtedness per head of the population of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.
64. In consideration of the transfer to the General Parliament of the powers of taxation, and annual grant in aid of each Province shall be made, equal to 80 cents per head of the population, as established by the census of 1861, the population of Newfoundland being estimated at 130,000. Such aid shall be in full settlement of all future demands upon the General Government for local purposes, and shall be paid half-yearly in advance to each Province.
65. The position of New Brunswick being such as to entail large immediate charges upon her local revenues, it is agreed that for the period of 10 years from the time when the Union takes effect, an additional allowance of $63,000 per annum shall be made to that Province. But that so long as the liability of that Province remains under $7,000,000, a deduction equal to the interest on such deficiency shall be made from the $63,000.
66. In consideration of the surrender to the General Government by Newfoundland of all its rights in mines and minerals, and of all the ungranted and unoccupied lands of the Crown, it is agreed that the sum of $150,000 shall each year be paid to that Province, by semi-annual payments. Provided that that Colony shall retain the right of opening, constructing, and controlling roads and bridges through any of the said lands, subject to any laws which the General Parliament may pass in respect of the same.
67. All engagements that may before the Union be entered into with the Imperial Government for the defence of the country shall be assumed by the General Government.
68. The General Government shall secure without delay the completion of the Intercolonial Railway from Riviere-du-Loup through New Brunswick to Truro in Nova Scotia.
69. The communications with the North-western Territory and the improvements required for the development of the trade of the Great West with the Seal […], are regarded by this Conference as subjects of the highest importance to the Federated Provinces, and shall be prosecuted at the earliest possible period that the state of the finances will permit.
70. The sanction of the Imperial and Local Parliaments shall be sought for the Union of the Provinces, on the principles adopted by the Conference.
71. That Her Majesty the Queen be solicited to determine the rank and name of the Federated Provinces.
72. The proceedings of the Conference shall be authenticated by the signatures of the Delegates, and submitted by each Delegation to its own Government, and the Chairman is authorized to submit a copy to the Governor General for transmission to the Secretary of State for the Colonies.
I certify that the above is a true copy of the original Report of Resolutions adopted in Conference.
E. P. TACHÉ, Chairman.

RESOLUTIONS adopted at a CONFERENCE of DELEGATES from the PROVINCES of CANADA, NOVA SCOTIA, and NEW BRUNSWICK, held at the Westminster Palace Hotel, London, December 1, 1866.
1. The best interests and present and future prosperity of British North America will be prompted by a Federal Union under the Crown of Great Britain, provided such Union can be affected on principles just to the several Provinces.
2. In the Confederation of the British North American Provinces the system of Government best adapted under existing circumstances to protect the diversified interests of the several Provinces and secure efficiency, harmony, and permanency in the working of the Union is a General Government charged with matters of common interest to the whole country and Local Governments for each of the Canadas, and for the Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, charged with the control of local matters in their respective sections, provision being made for admission into the Confederation on equitable terms of Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, the North-west Territory, and British Columbia.
3. In framing a Constitution for the General Government the Conference, with a view to the perpetuation of the connexion with the mother country, and the promotion of the best interests of the people of these Provinces, desire to follow the model of the British Constitution so far as circumstances will permit.
4. The Executive Authority or Government shall be vested in the Sovereign of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and be administered according to the well-understood principles of the British Constitution by the Sovereign personally, to by the representative of the Sovereign duly authorized.
5. The Sovereign shall be Commander-in-Chief of the Land and Naval Militia Forces.
6. There shall be a General Legislature or Parliament for the Confederation, composed of the Sovereign, a Legislative Council, and a House of Commons.
7. For the purpose of forming the Legislative Council the Confederation shall be considered as consisting of three divisions:—1st, Upper Canada; 2nd, Lower Canada; and 3rd, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick; each division with an equal representation in the Legislative Council.
8. Upper Canada shall represented in the Legislative Council by 24 members; Lower Canada by 24 members; and the Maritime provinces by 24 members, of which Nova Scotia shall have 12 and New Brunswick 12 members.
9. The Colony of Prince Edward Island when admitted into the Confederation shall be entitled to a representation of four members run the Legislative Council. But in each case the members allotted to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick shall be diminished to 10 each, such diminution to take place in each Provinces as vacancies occur.
10. The Colony of Newfoundland when admitted into the Confederation shall be entitled to a representation in the Legislative Council of four members.
11. The North-west Territory and British Columbia shall be admitted unto the Union on such terms and conditions as the Parliament of the Confederation shall deem equitable and as shall receive the assent of the Sovereign, and in case of the Province of British Columbia as shall be agreed to by the Legislature of such Province.
12. The members of the Legislative Council shall be appointed by the Crown under the Great Seal of the General Government from among residents of the Province for which they are severally appointed, and shall hold office during life. If any legislative Councillor shall for two consecutive sessions of Parliament fail to give his attendance in the said Council his seat shall thereby become vacant.
13. The members of the Legislative Council shall be British subjects by birth or naturalization, of the full age of 30 years, shall each possess in the Province for which they are appointed a continuous real property qualification of 4,000 dollars over and above all incumbrances, and shall be and continue worth that sum over and above their debts and liabilities, and shall possess a continuous residence in the Province for which they are appointed, except in the case of persons holding positions which require their attendance at the seat of Government pending their tenure of office.
14. If any question shall arise as to the qualification of a legislative councillor, the same shall be determined by the Legislative Council.
15. The members of the Legislative Council for the Confederation shall in the first instance be appointed upon the nomination of the Executive Governments of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick respectively, and the number allowed to each Province shall be nominated from the Legislative Councils of the different Provinces, due regard being had to the fair representation of both political parties; but in case any member of the Local Council, so nominated, shall decline to accept it, it shall be competent for the Executive Government in any Province to nominate in his place a person who is not a member of the Local Council.
16. The Speaker of the Legislative Council (unless otherwise provided by Parliament) shall be appointed by the Crown from among the members of the Legislative Council, and shall hold office during pleasure, and shall only be entitled to a casting vote on an equality of votes.
17. Each of the twenty-four Legislative Councillors, representing Lower Canada, in the Legislative Council of the General Legislature shall be appointed to represent one of the twenty-four electoral divisions mentioned in Schedule A of Chapter 1, of the Consolidated Statutes of Canada, and such councillor shall reside or possess his qualification in the division he is appointed to represent.
18. The basis of representation in the House of Commons shall be population, as determined by the official census every ten years, and the number of members, at first, shall be 181, distributed as follows:
Upper Canada – – – 82
Lower Canada – – – 65
Nova Scotia – – – 19
New Brunswick – – – 15
19. Until the first general election after the official census of 1871 has been made up there shall be no charge in the number representatives from the several sections.
20. Immediately after the completion of the census of 1871, and immediately after every decennial census thereafter, the representation from each Province in the House of Commons shall be re-adjusted in the basis of population, such re-adjustment to take effect upon the termination of the then existing Parliament.
21. For the purpose of such re-adjustments, Lower Canada shall always be assigned 65 members, each of the other Provinces shall, at each re-adjustment, receive fro the ten years then next succeeding the member or members to which it will be entitled on the same ratio of representation to population as Lower Canada will enjoy according to the census then last taken by having 65 members.
22. No reduction shall be made in the number of members returned by any Province unless its population shall have decreased relatively to the population of the whole Union, to the extent of 5 per centum.
23. In computing at each decennial period the number of members to which each Province is entitled, no fractional parts shall be considered, unless when exceeding the one-half the number entitling to a member, in which case a member shall be given for each such fractional part.
24. The number of members may at any time be increased by the Gernal Parliament, regard being had to the proportionate rights then existing.
25. Until provisions are made by the General Parliament, all the laws which at the date of the proclamation constituting the Union are in force in the Provinces respectively, relating to the qualification and disqualification of any person to be elected, or to sit or vote as a member of the Assembly in the said Provinces respectively, and relating to the qualification or disqualification of voters, and the oath to be take by the voters, and to returning officers and their powers and duties; and relating to the proceedings at elections and to the period during which such elections may be continued; and relating to the trial of controverted elections and the proceedings incident thereto; and relating to the vacating of seats of members and to the issuing and execution of new writs in case of any seat being vacated otherwise than by a dissolution, shall respectively apply to elections of members to serve in the House of Commons, for places situate in those Provinces respectively.
26. Every House of Commons shall continue for give Yeats from the day of the return of the writs choosing the same, and no longer; subject, nevertheless, to be sooner pronounced or dissolved by the Governor-General.
27. There shall be a decision of the General Parliament once at least in every year, so that a period of twelve calendar months shall not intervene between the last sitting of the General Parliament in one session and the first sitting thereof in the next session.
28. The General Parliament shall leave power to make laws for the peace, welfare, and good government of the Confederation (saving the sovereignty of England), and especially laws respecting the following subjects:—
1. The public debt and property.
2. The regulation of trade and commerce.
3. The raining of money by all or any mode or system of taxation.
4. The borrowing of money on the public credit.
5. Postal service.
6. […] ships, railways, canals, and other works connecting any […] the Provinces together, or extending beyond the limits of any Province.
7. […] between the Confederated Provinces and other countries.
8. […] communication and the incorporation of telegraph companies.
9. All […] wholly within any Province, be specially […] them to be for the general advantage.
10. The […].
11. Militia, military and naval service and defence.
12. Beacons, buoys, lighthouses, and […] Island.
13. Navigation and shipping.
14. […]
15. Sea coast and inland fisheries.
16. […] between any Province and a foreign country, or between any two Provinces.
17. Currency and coinage.
18. Bankings, incorporation of banks, and the issue of paper money.
19. Savings banks.
20. Weights and measures.
21. Bills of exchange and promissory notes.
22. Interest.
23. Legal tender.
24. Bankruptcy and insolvency.
25. Patents of invention and discovery.
26. Copyrights.
27. Indians, and lands reserved for the Indians.
28. Naturalization and aliens.
29. Marriage and divorce.
30. […] law, excepting the constitution of Courts of Criminal Jurisdiction, […] the procedure in criminal matters.
31. The establishment, maintenance, and a management of penitentiaries.
32. […] in all of any of the laws relative to property and cicil rights in Upper Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and rendering uniform the procedure of all or any of the Courts in these Provinces; but any statute for this purpose shall have no force or authority in any Province until sanctions by the Legislature thereof; and the power of repealing, amending, or altering which laws shall […] forward […] with the General Parliament only.
33. The […] of a General Court of Appeal for the Confederation.
34. […]
35. […]
36. […] all matters of a general character not specially and […] received for the Local Legislature.
29. […] and Parliament shall have all power necessary or […] of the Confederation, as put of the British Empire, so Foreign […] under treaties between Great Britain and such countries.
30. The powers and privileges of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and […] be held to […] to the House of Commons of the Confederation, and the powers and privileges appertaining to the House of Lords in its legislative capacity shall be held to appertain to the Legislative Council.
31. The General Parliament may from time to time establish additional courts, and the General Government may appoint judges and officers thereof, when the same shall appear necessary or for the public advantage, in order to the due execution of the laws of such Parliament.
32. All courts, judges and officers of the several Provinces shall aid, assist, and obey the General Government in the exercise of its rights and powers, and for such purposes shall be held to be courts, judges, and officers of the General Government.
33. The General Government shall appoint and pay the salaries of the judges of the superior and district and county courts in each Province, and Parliament shall fix their salaries.
34. Until the consolidation of the laws of Upper Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, the judges of these Provinces appointed by the General Government shall be selected from their respective bars.
35. The judges of the courts of Lower Canada shall be selected from the bar of Lower Canada.
36. The judges of the Court of Admiralty shall be paid by the General Government.
37. The judges of the Superior Courts shall hold their offices during good behaviour, and shall be removable on the address of both Houses of Parliament.
38. For each of the Provinces there shall be an executive officer styled the Governor, who shall be appointed by the Governor-General in Council, under the Great Seal of the Confederation, during pleasure; such pleasure not to be exercised before the expiration of the first five years except for cause, such cause to be communicated in writing to the Governor immediately after the exercise of the pleasure as aforesaid, and also by message to both Houses of Parliament within the first week of the first session afterwards, but the appointment of the first Governors shall be provisional and they shall hold office strictly during pleasure.
39. The Governor of each Province shall be paid by the General Government.
40. The Local Government and Legislature of each Province shall constructed in such manner as the Legislature of each such Province shall provide.
41. The Local Legislature shall have power to make laws respecting the following subjects:—
1. The altering or amending their constitution from time to time.
2. Direct taxation, and in the case of New Brunswick the right of levying timber does by the mode and to the extent now established by law, provided such timber be not the produce of the other Province.
3. Borrowing money on the credit of the Province.
4. The establishment and femme of local offices, and the appointment and payment of local officers.
5. Agriculture.
6. Immigration.
7. Education, saving the rights and privileges which the Protestant or Catholic minority in any Province may have by law as to denominational school at the time when the Union goes into operation. And in any province where a system of separate of dissentient schools by law obtains, or where the Local Legislation may hereafter adopt a system of separate or dissentient schools, an appeal shall lie to the Governor-General in Council of the General-Government from the acts and decisions of the local authorities which may affect the rights or privileges of the […] or Catholic minority in the matter of education. And the General Parliament shall have power in the last resort to legislature on the subject.
8. The sale and management of public lands, excepting lands belonging to the General Government.
9. The establishment, maintenance, and management of public and reformatory prison.
10. The establishment, maintenance, and management of hospitals, asylums, charities, and […] institutions, except marine hospitals.
11. Municipal institutions.
12. Shop, saloon, tavern, auctioneer, and other licenses, for local revenue.
13. Local works.
14. The incorporation of private or local companies, except such as relate to matters assigned to the General Parliament.
15. Property and civil rights (including the solemnization of marriage), excepting portions thereof assigned to the General Parliament.
16. Inflicting punishment by fine, penalties, imprisonment, or otherwise, for the breach of laws passed in relation to ay subject within their jurisdiction.
17. The administration of justice, including the constitution, maintenance, and organization of the courts, both of civil and criminal jurisdiction, and including also the procedure in civil matters.
18. And generally all matters of a private or local nature not assigned to the General Parliament.
12. All the powers, privileges, and duties conferred and imposed upon Catholic separate schools and school trustees in Upper Canada shall be extended to the Protestant and Catholic dissentient schools in Lower Canada.
13. The power of respiting, reprieving, and pardoning prisoners convicted of crimes, and of commuting and remitting of sentences, in whole or in part, which belongs of right to the Crown, shall, except in capital cases, be administered by the Governor of each Province in Council, subject to any instructions he may from time to time receive from the General Government, and subject to any provisions that may be made in this behalf by the General Parliament.
14. In regard to all subject over which jurisdiction belongs to both the General and Local Legislatures, and the latter shall be void so far as they are repugnant to or inconsistent with the former.
15. Both the English and French languages may be employed in the General Parliament, and in its proceedings, and in the Local Legislature of Lower Canada, and also in the Federal courts, and in the courts of Lower Canada.
16. No lands or property belonging to the General or Local Governments shall be liable to taxation.
17. All Bills for appropriating any part of the public revenue, or for imposing any tax or impost, shall originate in the House of Commons or House of Assembly as the case may be.
18. The House of Commons or House of Assembly shall not originate or pass any vote, resolution, address, or bill for the appropriation of any part of the public revenue, or of any tax or impost, to any purpose not first recommended by message of the Governor-General or the Government, as the case may be, during the session in which such vote, resolution, address, or Bill is passed.
19. Any Bill of the General Parliament may be reserved in the usual manner for Her Majesty’s assent, and […] Bill of the Local Legislatures may, in like […], be reserved for the consideration of the Governor-General.
50. Any Bill passed by the General Parliament shall be subject to disallowance be Her Majesty within two years, as in the case of Bills passed by the Legislature shall be subject to disallowance by the Governor-General within one year after the passing thereof.
51. The seat of Government of the Confederation shall be Ottawa, subject to the […].
52. Subject to any future action of the respective Local Governments, the seats of the Local Governments in Upper Canada shall be Toronto; or Lower Canada Quebec; and the seats of the Local Governments in the other Provinces shall be as at presence.
53. All stocks, cash, bankers balances, and securities for money belonging to each Province at the time of the Union except as herein-after mentioned, shall belong to the General Government.
54. The following public works and property of each Province shall belong to the General Government, to with:
1. Canals.
2. Public harbours.
3. Lighthouses and piers, and […] Island.
4. Steamboats, […], and public vessels.
5. Rivers and lake improvements.
6. Railway and railway stocks, mortgages, and other debts due by railway companies.
7. Military roads.
8. Custom houses, Post offices, and all other public buildings, except such as may be […] by the General Government […] the use of the Local Legislatures and Governments.
9. Property constructed by the Imperial Government and known as ordnance property.
10. Armouries, drill-sheds, military clothing, and limitations of war; and lands set apart for general public purposes.
55. All lands, mines, minerals, and royalties vested in Her Majesty in the Provinces of Upper Canada, Lower Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, for the use of such Provinces, shall belong to the Local Government of the territory in which the same are so situate, subject to any trusts that may exist in respect to any of such lands, or to any interest of tother persons in respect of the same.
56. All sums due from purchasers or lessees of such lands, mines, or minerals at the time of the Union shall also belong to the Local Government.
57. All assets connected with such portions of the public debt of any province as are assumed by the Local Governments shall also belong to those Governments respectively.
58. The several Provinces shall retain all other public property therein, subject to the right of the General Government to assume any lands or public property required for fortifications or the defence of the country.
59. The General Government shall assume the debts and liabilities of each Province.
60. The debt of Canada, not specially assumed by Upper and Lower Canada respectively shall not exceed at the time of the Union 62,500,000 dollars. Nova Scotia shall enter the Union with a debt not exceeding 8,000,000 dollars, and New Brunswick with a debt of 7,000,000 dollars. But this stipulation is in no respect intended to limit the powers given to the respective Governments of those Provinces by legislative authority, but only to determine the maximum amount of charge to be assumed by the General Government.
61. In case Nova Scotia or New Brunswick should not have contracted debts at the date of Union equal to the amount with which they are respectively entitled to enter the Confederation, they shall receive by half-yearly payment, in advance from the General Government the interest at 5 per cent, on the difference between the actual amount of their respective debts and such stipulated amounts.
62. In consideration of the transfer to the General Parliament of the powers of taxation, the following sums shall be paid by the General Government to each Province for the support of then Local Governments and Legislatures.
Upper Canada – – – 80,000
Lower Canada – – – 70,000
Nova Scotia – – – 60,000
New Brunswick – – – 50,000
————
260,000
[…] in act of each Province […] equal to 80 cents per head of the population as established by the census of 1864; and is the case of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick by […] subsequent decennial census, until the population of each of those Provinces shall amount to 100,000 should, at which […] shall thereafter remain. Such […] shall be in […] upon the General Government for local purposes, and shall be […] half-yearly in advance to each Province; but the General Government […] all sums paid as interest on the public […] Province in excess of the amount provided under the 60th […].
63. The position of New Brunswick being […] immediate charges upon […] local revenues, it is agreed that for the period of ten years from the time when the Union takes effect in additional allowance of 63,000 dollars per annum shall be made to that Province; but that so long as […] Province […] 7,000,000 dollars, a deduction equal to the interest on such deficiency shall be made from the 63,600 dollars.
64. All engagement that may before the Union be entered into with the Imperial Government fort the defence of the country shall be assumed by the General Government.
65. The construction of the Intercolonial Railway being essential to the consideration of the Union of British North America, and […] assent of the Maritime provinces thereto, its agreed that provision be made […] construction by the General Government and that the Imperial […] sterling pledged for the work be applied thereto, so soon as the […] authority has been obtained from the Imperial Parliament.
66. The communication with the North […], and the improvement required for the development of the trade of the great west with the seaboard, is regarded by this Conference as subjects of the highest importance to the Confederation, and shall be prosecuted at the earliest possible period that the state of the dines will permit.
67. The sanction of the Imperial Parliament shall be sought for the Union off the Provinces on the principles adopted by this Conference.
68. That Her Majesty the Queen be […] determined the rank and name of the Confederation.
69. That a copy of these resolutions, […] by the Chairman and Secretary of the Conference, be transmitted to the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies.
(Signed) JOHN A. MACDONALD,
Chairman.
H. BERNARD,
Secretary.

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UK, Parliament, Correspondence respecting the Proposed Union of the British North American Provinces (1867)

CORRESPONDENCE

RESPECTING

THE PROPOSED UNION

OF

THE BRITISH NORTH AMERICAN PROVINCES.

CANADA.

Despatches from the Governor.

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UK, Parliament, Correspondence respecting the Proposed Union of the British North American Provinces (1867)

CORRESPONDENCE

RESPECTING

THE PROPOSED UNION

OF

THE BRITISH NORTH AMERICAN PROVINCES.

CANADA.

Despatches from the Governor.

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2 Comments »

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