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Date: 1865-04-03
By: George Dundas
Citation: Despatch from Lieutenant Governor George Dundas to Right Hon. Edward Cardwell (3 April 1865) in 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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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.