Document Information

Date: 1864-06-14
By: Province of Canada (Legislative Assembly)
Citation: Province of Canada, Legislative Assembly, Journals of the Legislative Assembly, Vol. XXIII, 1864 at 383-384.
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The Honorable Mr. Brown, from the Select Committee appointed to enquire into the important subjects embraced in a despatch to the Colonial Minister, addressed to him on the 2nd February, 1869, by the Honorable George E. Cartier, the Honorable A. T. Galt, and the Honorable John Ross, then members of the Executive Council of this Province, while in London, acting on behalf of the Government of which they were members, in which they declared that “very grave difficulties now present themselves in conducting the Government of Canada in such a manner as to show due regard to the wishes of its numerous population ;”—

That “differences exist to an extent which prevents any perfect and complete assimilation of the views of the two sections;”—

That “the progress of population has been more rapid in the Western section, and claims are now made on behalf of its inhabitants for giving them representation in the Legislature in proportion to their number?;”—

That “the result is shown by an agitation fraught with great danger to the peaceful and harmonious working of our Constitutional system, and, consequently, detrimental to the progress of the Province;”—

and that “the necessity of providing a remedy for a state of things that is yearly becoming worse, and of allaying feelings that are daily being aggravated by the contention of political parties, has impressed the advisers of Her Majesty’s Representative in Canada with the importance of seeking for such a mode of dealing with these difficulties as may forever remove them ;”—

and the best means of remedying the evils therein set forth, presented to the House the Report of the said Committee, which was read, as followeth :—

That the Committee have held eight meetings, and have endeavored 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 favor of changes in the direction of a Federative system, applied either to Canada alone, or to the whole 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.

The whole respectfully submitted.

George Brown,

Chairman.

The Committee differed as to the adoption of this Report, and the Yeas and Nays being called for, were taken down, as follow :—

YEAS:

Cartier (Attorney-General)
Galt
McDougall
Cameron
Holton
Turcotte
McGee
Chapais
Brown
Mowat
McKellar
Street

NAYS:

Macdonald (Attorney-General)
Macdonald (Cornwall)
Scoble