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Date: 1866-11-23
By: True Witness
Citation: “No title”, True Witness (23 November, 1866)
Other formats: TBA

The Toronto Globe is very indignant, and also much alarmed at the prospect of the Catholic minority of U. Canada being placed on a footing of perfect equality with the Protestant minority of L. Canada, should the latter obtain the guarantees promised to them by M. Cartier; and not to them alone, for in the face of heaven the pledge was given that, whatever in the matter of schools, was ceded to the minority of one section of the Province, should also be ceded to the minority in the other section. On this head M. Cartier’s promise was explicit.

This is what tries the Globe; for in the faithful fulfilment of the solemn promises made by M. Cartier at the Montreal Banquet, that journal sees the blighting of all the fruits which it expected from Confederation. Still will the majority of U. Canada be restricted in the exercise of their dearly cherished privilege of “walloping their Popish niggers.”

“What,” asks the Globe “was the immediate cause which led to the movement in favor of the Confederation of the Provinces?”

And to this question the Globe replies:—

“Was it not that there existed a degree of antagonism between the two section of Canada, which seriously interfered with the successful and satisfactory working of the Government of United Canada.”—Globe, 14th inst.

This every one in Canada know to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. But if Confederation shall not, after all assure to Upper Canada the power of carrying out its peculiar views of Education; and if, as the Globe also tells us,—

“on no question has that antagonism of opinion—(between the two sections of Canada)—been more marked than on the question of education,”

what will such a Confederation profit to Upper Canada? The salt will have lost its savour, and henceforth be good for nothing but to be cast out.

This is as we expected, and hardly without a hard struggle will M. Cartier be able to redeem his solemn pledges, and realise the expectations which a generous reliance upon his word, as the word of a man of honor, has aroused amongst the Catholics of U. Canada. There is no retreat, no backing-out, possible, and we are glad of it, because we know M. Cartier to be a man of energy; and feel confident that he would not so publicly, and so explicitly have pledged himself in the U. Canada School question as he has done, were he not morally certain of being able to redeem his pledges. What is to be given to the Lower Canadian Protestant minority we know not: but this we know that, on the School Question, the very same, neither more nor less, is to be secured to the Catholic minority of U. Canada. For this we have M. Cartier’s pledged word, and plighted faith: and let the Globe rave as it may, we will no be so unjust to M. Cartier as to doubt that that pledge will be amply redeemed, or that the faith so solemnly plighted will be fully maintained. In the meantime we treasure up M. Cartier’s words in our hearts, and are content to wait in patience for the result.