Canada and the States Part 18

"In reply to Mr. Lowe and others, "Mr. Watkin said that, in following the right hon. gentleman (Mr. Lowe), he felt very much as a quiet Roman citizen must have done on pa.s.sing the chief gladiator in the street-- inclined to pa.s.s over to the other side, and to have nothing to say to him, for fear of the consequences.

"But some years ago he was requested by the late Duke of Newcastle to make inquiries, which convinced him that the hobgoblin fears expressed that night in regard to the construction of this 375 miles of railway were unfounded.

"Let hon. members remember that Her Majesty's American dominions extended over an area equal to one-eighth of the habitable globe. This Railway gave us communication, not only with Canada and with 10,000 miles of American railways, but with the vast tract of British territory extending across to the Pacific. The consequence of making this Railway would be, that two days would be saved in going from England to the northern continent of America, including the great corn- growing district of the West.

"If the House had seen, as he had seen, the Canadian volunteers turn out in bitter winter to repel a threatened invasion, without a red-coat near them, they would think that the right hon. gentleman's taunts might have been spared.

"The British Provinces had taxed themselves 360,000_l_. a-year for the execution of these works, which Lord Durham had proposed in 1838, with the object of binding together, by the means of physical communication, the varied sections of the Queen's American dominions.

"The evidence of every military man, including Sir John Mich.e.l.l, the present Commander-in-Chief in Canada, was that this Railway was absolutely necessary for the military defence of the Colonies. It was, however, to be defended not only on that ground, but upon the ground of its great commercial advantages.

"There were now in the Government offices memorials from many of the large towns in the three kingdoms, concurring in the commercial necessity and advantages of the measure which the House was now asked to agree to. Therefore, originating as it did with Lord Durham,-- sanctioned as it was by Lord Grey's proposals of 1851--adopted by the late and present Governments,--demanded for purposes of defence, as also for the more genial and generous objects of commerce and peace,-- he hoped the House would support the construction of the Railway by a guarantee, which would not cost this country a s.h.i.+lling."

The motion for giving the guarantee was carried by 247 votes to 67--or by a majority of 180.

CHAPTER XV.

"_Governor Dallas._"

I should do injustice to my own loving memory of the man, if I did not publish some letters from the late Governor Dallas, which are, to my mind, especially interesting. Though some of his views, in 1863, as to the value of the Hudson's Bay lands, and their settlement, did not accord with my own, yet his experience should plead against mine. No one was more pleased than he to find that the country was in process-- after many delays, over which he and I used to groan in concert--of successful colonization.

"MONTREAL, "_17th August_, 1863.

"DEAR SIR,

"With reference to our late conversations upon various matters connected with the past and future of the Hudson's Bay Company, I take the liberty of calling your attention to several points of the business requiring immediate attention, in a more explicit manner than I may have done in desultory conversation.

"The government of the territory is come almost to a dead-lock in the Red River Settlement, and nothing short of direct administration under the authority of the Crown will, in my opinion, remedy the evil. Two prisoners have been, in separate instances, forcibly rescued from jail, and they, with about thirty to fifty others implicated in the riots, are still at large, fostering discontent, and creating great disquiet.

Their secret instigator controls the only paper published in the settlement, and its continued attacks upon the Company find a greedy ear with the public at large, both in the settlement and in Canada. The position of those in authority is so disagreeable that I have had great difficulty in persuading the magistrates to continue to act. Mr.

William Mactavish, Governor of a.s.siniboin, has resigned his post, and I have only been restrained from following his example, for a short time, in the hope that a remedy would speedily be applied, and that I should be relieved from the unfair position in which I find myself placed, with all the responsibility, and the semblance of authority over a vast territory, but unsupported, if not ignored, by the Crown. In the absence of a just grievance, the cry of 'the Company' is quite a sufficient watchword amongst the ignorant and discontented.

"The open malcontents are few in number, and I had ample volunteer force at my back to protect the jail and support my authority, but, as I have already explained to you, I could exercise but little control over my friends, who were keen for what would have ended in a free fight, with the certain death of the sheriff and ringleaders on both sides, and led to endless animosities. It required more resolution on my part to follow the course I did, than to have resisted the rioters.

For details of the transactions I refer you to my official letters to the Board, which you will find in the Hudson's Bay House.

"Of the settlers, the greater number, including the French Canadians, are our staunch personal friends, while the openly disaffected are but few. There is still, however, a considerable portion of the people who, though taking no open part, are yet dissatisfied. Some of these last named have real or imaginary grievances, of long standing to complain of, and nothing but the extinction of the governing powers of the Company will satisfy them. I came amongst them as free from prejudice as you can be, and determined to redress every grievance and meet their wishes in every reasonable way, but to no avail. I have already transmitted to the Board evidence in the 'Nor' Wester,' that our unpopularity arises entirely from the _system_ of government, and not from any faults in its administrators.

"A continuance of this state of matters may lead to the formation of a provisional government by the people themselves, and to annexation to the United States, as have been threatened. With the opening up of the St. Paul's route, there has been a large increase of the 'American'

element in the settlement; and in the enclosed copy of the 'Nor'

Wester' of the 22nd July, you will observe that the United States Government is quietly recruiting for its army in British territory.

This matter, I trust, may be in the meantime brought to the notice of the proper authorities pending further information upon my return to Red River.

"The trust which the Board has placed in my hands, and the confidence reposed in my ability to guide you in forming your plans for the future, impose on me no little responsibility and anxiety. I must relieve my shoulders of this weight by stating plainly my belief that the opening up of the country by waggon road and telegraph, and by the encouragement of settlement, must prove so far detrimental to the current commercial business of the Company as to render it difficult, if not impossible, to provide a fair dividend upon the portion of its capital embarked in the trade. I do not, however, the less recognize the necessity of opening up the country and its communications. It is not at all clear to my mind how you are to secure a remunerative dividend upon the extra sum to be embarked in the erection of the telegraph, formation of roads, &c., &c. In a commercial point of view, I do not consider it safe to enter upon these extended operations till secure of a sufficient subsidy from the different Governments interested.

"Upon a mature consideration of the whole subject, I entirely concur in the views expressed by Mr. Johnstone in his letter, of which I have already sent only an _extract_ to Sir Edmund Head, viz., that with the government of the country the territorial right should also revert to the Crown, upon whatever terms might be arranged. Anything short of a full measure of this sort would fail to satisfy the settlers and the public at large, who seem inclined to view with distrust the present position of Her Majesty's Government in its supposed alliance with the new Board of Direction.

"It is a question for consideration whether the northern region of the country beyond the limits of probable settlement should not still remain under the control of the Company, with such a monopoly of trade as would induce them to undertake the responsibility of managing the Indian tribes, and excluding the introduction of ardent spirits. I make this suggestion solely on behalf of the Indians, upon whom free intercourse with white men will, in my opinion, be ultimately destructive.

"Having already impressed upon you the necessity of procuring from Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies such instructions to the Governors of Vancouver's Island and British Columbia as may put an end to all proceedings against us in the local courts, and place us in possession of proper t.i.tles to our lands, I have now, in reminding you of the importance of the matter, to hand you the enclosed extract of a private letter which I received yesterday from Mr. D. Mactavish, senior member of our Board of Management in Victoria, which speaks for itself.

"Though I have marked this communication 'private,' I shall be obliged by your laying it before Sir Edmund Head, as I am so very hurried that I have not time at present to write officially to the Board.

"I remain, dear Sir, yours faithfully, "A. G. DALLAS.

"E. WATKIN, Esq., London.

"P.S.--The undoubted discoveries of gold diggings in the Saskatchewan and other portions of the territory is another strong reason why the land should revert to and be administered by the Crown. Large grants to the Company would be looked upon with great disfavour by the public.

"A. G. D."

Extract private letter from D. Mactavish, Esq., to A. G. Dallas, dated Victoria, Vancouver's Island, 13th July, 1863:--

"We hear nothing of our land question from the Governor, and there is no getting him to give t.i.tles for the Company's lands at Hope, Yale, and Langley. Orders have come out for the Royal Engineers to go to England immediately after the new year, so that Colonel Moodie and his staff of surveyors will do no more work, their time being so nearly up--this is worrying, but cannot be helped. The Governor has so much to do, making roads and so forth in British Columbia, that there is no drawing his attention to our matters, and when we do call on him to act, his invariable answer is, that he cannot get Moodie to do anything, and I daresay there is some truth in it, as it is shrewdly surmised that His Excellency has had more to do with the recall of the Engineers home than anyone else, and they all feel that they are leaving under a cloud."

"MONTREAL, "17_th Augt._ 1863.

"MY DEAR MR. WATKIN,

"Along with this I send you a letter which, though marked private, treats only of our affairs, in such a manner that it may be laid before the Duke of Newcastle. It ought, I think, also to be laid before Sir Edmund Head, and I shall refer him to it for my views. It is very important that _the whole_ of Johnstone's letter, and of my account of affairs at Red River, in regard to the Corbett riots, addressed to the Board, should be read along with the above letter. I do not think that we can ever make anything out of our lands, [Footnote: Experience has shown that this was an error.] and I am therefore strongly of opinion that they should be transferred to the Government upon certain terms, excepting only such lands around our forts as may be necessary for our business, and our farms, &c. in actual occupation.

"Although a great outcry has been raised against us on account of our being a 'stop in the way,' and enjoying a monopoly of trade, the cry is groundless. It may, therefore, be well for you to know that for a number of years past we have enjoyed _no monopoly_ of trade whatever, and that there is no impediment to the settlement of the country by any one who pleases. A settler may squat wherever he thinks fit, without question, or being called upon to pay for lands yet unsurveyed, and of which the Indian t.i.tles are not yet extinguished.

The small portion of surveyed land in the district of a.s.siniboin has been all long since occupied, though not paid for. With a recognized Government, there would be no difficulty in obtaining payment for these lands from the occupiers.

"In erecting the telegraph, the Indian t.i.tles to the land ought to be extinguished by annual payments; but the absence of a recognized and respected Government will be of itself a great bar to the successful erection of the apparatus, and the preserving it and the various stations in good order. Though, by increased energy and supervision, the fur trade _may_ for a time be maintained, yet you must not _count upon_ increased profits, as with the opening up of the country the furs are costing us more, and many of our posts are so distant that they cannot, from that and a variety of causes, be placed all at once upon a proper footing, and it is very difficult to exercise a proper supervision over them. It behoves the Company, therefore, to look out for other sources of profit. One of these is that of banking operations, both here and at Red River, and probably also at Victoria and at St. Paul, or other suitable locality in the U. S. On this head I may again address you from Red River, and Mr. Hopkins will afford you every information in regard to the prospects at this place, which are represented to be _very great_, when you come out in September.

"I am just about starting for Lake St. John's on the Saguenay River, and shall be absent about ten days. Upon my return I shall be ready to return to Red River--say, about the 1st September.

"Hoping you have had a pleasant pa.s.sage, believe me, "Yours very truly, "E. WATKIN, Esq., London.

"A. G. DALLAS.

"P.S.--I do not see how the Company can make anything out of placer gold diggings in such a country. The miners must be encouraged, and mining licences cannot be expected to do more than pay the cost of collection, magistracy, police, &c. The surrender of all this territory to the Crown, however, is a question to be dealt with by the Board. My aim is to disabuse you of the idea that the Company can of itself turn the territory to profit by sale of lands, mining rights, making roads, telegraph, &c.

"A. G. D."

"MONTREAL, "18_th August,_ 1863.

"MY DEAR MR. WATKIN,