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Date: 1867-01-21
By: The Montreal Herald
Citation: “Mr. Galt and the Lower Canadian Protestants”, The Montreal Herald (21 January, 1867)
Other formats: TBA

MR. GALT AND THE LOWER CANADIAN PROTESTANTS.

—Our readers will remember, perhaps, our comments upon Mr. Galt’s accession to the Confederation delegation. That great patriot we were assured had undertaken the task of going to England to protect the interests of his Protestant compatriots in Lower Canada, which interests he had formerly promised to protect in a certain definite manner, and had entirely failed, when the time came, to keep his promise. However, we were officially assured, through the Lower Canadian newspapers, in the confidence of Ministers—that is in the English newspapers—that there was to be no mistake this time; but that the Protestants were to have their guarantees secured to them in England. We ventured to hint an opinion that though Mr. Galt would probably prefer of the two, that the men of his own race and religion should not be left without protection, he would as soon think of losing his own little game at the Confederation table on behalf of these said Protestants as he would on behalf of the man in the moon. We must do the Minerve the credit of acknowledging that it never, even tacitly assented to the blague of its English contemporaries; but on Thursday last it gave us a piece of information on this topic more definite than any it had vouchsafed before. It in fact assured us that Mr. Galt had no business whatever in connection with Protestants, their schools, or their protection; but that he was in England with the delegates wholly upon financial business. We are not informed of the nature of the financial business, but as Mr. Howland, the Minister of Finance, has charge of that of the country, Mr. Galt’s specialty must be something in which others besides the country are concerned. But here is a very interesting little question of veracity, and in order that it may be properly propounded, we quote the ipsissima verba of the Minerve:

“In November last we solemnly denied that such was the mission of Mr. Galt, and the knowledge we have since had of ministerial arrangements, authorizes us to repeat that denial. Mr Galt has gone to England as a financier, to continue, on behalf of the Government, important negotiations commenced during the time that he held the portfolio of Finance.

Now this solemn denial was made to a very solemn statement deeply affecting the class it concerned, by a journal which is remarkably ready to accuse others of falsehood, and to use hard and unladylike words of the same kind, under the impression that they are forcible. We are satisfied if we had ventured to deny any thing uttered by that well informed sheet, that we should have been at once accused of all kinds of conscious wickedness, and especially of being annexationists. Now why do we see no charges of this kind against our French contemporary which thus repeats his flat and most irreverent denial of the assurances of his English colleague? Is it that that contemporary has been guilty, we do not say consciously—oh, not at all!—but unconsciously of palming off a mischievous swindle upon his dear Lower Canada Protestants, in order to keep them quiet until the handcuffs were fairly locked? Which of the oracles is the true one?