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Date: 1867-04-05
By: John A. Macdonald, Joseph Pope
Citation: Letter from John A. Macdonald to Viscount Monck (5 April 1867)in Joseph Pope, Memoirs of The Right Honourable Sir John A Macdonald, Vol. I, (Ottawa: J. Durie & Son, 1894) at 390-392.
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London, April 5, 1867.

My Dear Lord Monck,

As the Confederation Bill is now law, and must shortly be put in force, I think it well to write you on some preliminary matters for your consideration.

In the first place, I would suggest the expediency of the opinion of the law officers of the Crown being obtained as to the necessity for a new commission to your Lordship. By one of your present Commissions you are Governor General of British North America, including Prince Edward Island, and, by the other, Governor of the Province of Canada. Under the Union Act you will be Governor General of the Dominion of Canada, not including, however, Prince Edward Island. British North America is now merely a geographical description, and, as such, includes not only the provinces named, but all the British possessions to the Pacific. I believe that since India has come under the direct government of the Queen, Her Majesty’s representative there is styled Viceroy and Governor General, and I am sure that it would be gratifying to the people of Canada if a similar rank were accorded to the Governors of the Dominion.

In a separate memorandum I propose to submit for consideration some suggestions as to provincial ranks and precedencies.

2. This seems to be a proper period to revise the terms of the Commission and the Royal instructions under them. These were framed at a time when the provinces were more dependent upon a parent State and had less liberty of action.

3. Her Majesty’s Proclamation of the Union should be issued with as little delay as possible. As, however, the list of the first Senators must form portion of the Proclamation, it would be well that the Governors of the three provinces should be called upon by despatch from the Colonial Office for a return of the recommendations. If no unnecessary delay takes place, the Proclamation could be issued by the end of May. An earlier day could scarcely be fixed, as by the 127th clause of the Act any of the existing Legislative Councillors to whom seats in the Senate may be offered are allowed thirty days for acceptance or rejection of the offer.

4. The day from which the union is to take effect must be inserted in the Proclamation, and I would suggest Monday, the 15th of July, as a convenient day for that purpose. I do not think the provinces can be united sooner, as the preparations for consolidating and amalgamating the different departments, administrative and legislative, must take a considerable time. These must all be completed before the day of the union, so that the whole machinery of Government may be set in motion without delay.

5. I understand from the delegates from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick that they desire that their present Lieutenant Governors should be requested to ‘ act as the first provincial Lieutenant Governors for the purpose of inaugurating the new system. Should this suggestion be adopted by the Government of Canada it may be necessary to obtain the consent of the Imperial authorities to Sir F. Williams and General Doyle acting as such, as they would be no longer officers directly appointed by the Crown.

These are the only points that suggest themselves to me at present. Should any others occur to me I shall communicate them to Your Lordship.

Believe me, my dear Lord Monck,
Faithfully yours,
JOHN A. MACDONALD.

Memorandum.

It is submitted—

1. That the title of ‘His Excellency’ should be formally conferred on the Governor General by Her Majesty, for the following reasons:—

(1) The title has always been used in all addresses from the Legislatures and all memorials and petitions from the people of the British North American provinces presented to the local Governments, and

(2) Because the title is not only always addressed to the President of the United States, but to the governor of each State in the American Union, and the Governor General of Canada should certainly at least possess the same rank and dignity.

2. That the Lieutenant Governor of each province should be addressed as ‘His Honour the Lieutenant Governor,’ etc. This title, like all others, must of course be conferred by Her Majesty’s authority.

3. That the members of the Privy Council should be styled ‘The Right Honourable.’ Canada will soon have as large a population as Ireland, and the duties and responsibilities of Privy Councillors in Canada are much greater than those attaching to similar offices in Ireland.

4. That the Executive Councillors of the provincial Governments should be addressed as ‘The Honourable Mr.’

5. That the Senators should have a similar designation, but only so long as they retain the office.

It has been suggested by several persons, and especially by Mr. Gordon, late Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick, that the Senators should hold the rank and title of Knight Bachelor. This seems objectionable, as the office may be forfeited from any of the disqualifications mentioned in the Act, and it would look like a degradation to deprive a person who may have enjoyed the position for years of his accustomed rank and title. Besides, it must be remembered that the conferring of knighthood on a Senator would entail a title on his wife, which might not in all cases be considered desirable.

6. That it would be a gratifying compliment to all the Legislative Councillors in the several provinces at the time of the Union if their present designation of Honourable were formally conferred upon them for life.

7. That the Legislative Councillors appointed after the Union shall have the rank and designation of ‘Esquire.’ If the title of ‘Honourable’ were given to them, it would soon become so common as to lose all value.

8. An irregular and unauthorized practice has obtained in the provinces of styling the Speaker of the popular chamber as ‘Honourable’ virtute officii. This has probably arisen from the fact of the Speaker of the House of Commons of England being addressed as ‘The Right Honourable,’ and its not being known that the Speaker does not possess such a rank or title as such, but derives the same from his position as a Privy Councillor, to which office, of late years, he is, as a matter of usage, appointed. As the principle should be distinctly laid down that all titles should emanate from the Crown, fans honoris, their improper assumption should be discountenanced.

9. That some general rules or table of precedence should be prescribed.