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I. POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT.

HE liberal system of government which Canada now enjoys was not the sudden inspiration of some eminent statesman or the issue of the fertile brain of some philosopher, following the example of the illustrious Locke, who devised in his closet an elaborate system of government for South Carolina, in which caciques and landgraves were to represent a colonial nobility. The Constitution of Canada is the practical outcome of the experience of astute statesmen. It has not been won in a decade or two; but is the result of three-quarters of a century of political struggle, during which English statesmen have learned many a valuable lesson in colonial administration. Previous to the American War of Independence, the English Government devoted very little atten

*This paper is to be read before the Royal Colonial Institute, London, in the course of the present winter. The writer, however, has left out some of the original matter, necessary to make the subject more intelligible to an English audience, little conversant with Canadian history.

tion to Colonial affairs, and appeared to have no fixed principle of policy with respect to the colonies, except that their trade should be kept as closely as possible in English hands. But when the Thirteen Colonies threw off their allegiance, and took their place among independent nations, the public men who controlled the Government of the Empire, awoke from their lethargy and went to the other extreme of constant interference in colonial affairs. Aroused at last to the importance of colonial administration, the Home Government made every effort to educate the inhabitants of Canada in the way of self-government. The political system which was to make the Canadians a self-governing people was unfortunately from the outset based on erroneous principles, and illustrated an extraordinary ignorance of the wants and necessities of the people whose interests British statesmen professed to have at heart. But it must be admitted that it was very difficult for a British minister, in those days of slow communication, to obtain

a true insight into the causes of Canadian disputes, and provide some remedies for the discontent that commenced to gain ground in Canada after the war of 1812. The men who should have kept them informed as to the true situation of affairs were not always well chosen in point of political training. The military governors, who were so generally the choice of the Colonial Office, were too choleric and impatient of opposition from 'mere civilians,' and appeared to think restless colonial politicians could be managed like a regiment of soldiers. Obstinate Canadians who did not look at matters through the gubernatorial spectacles were lectured like so many unruly school-boys who did not aptly. learn their lessons from the official text-books. If the birch-rod would not be actually applied to a Legislative Assembly, at all events it would be well scolded by a Sir James Craig, when it obstinately asserted its claim to legitimate influence in the government of the colony. But even though their intentions might have been most excellent, the governors were powerless in the face of a constitutional system only calculated to provoke political difficulties. It was inevitable that a system which gave all substantial power into the hands of officials, who owed no responsibility to the people, could only lead to political anarchy, according as the mass of the people understood the true meaning of representative government. British statesmen, for very many years, never could be brought to believe that the 'circumstances' of the colonies admitted the exact reproduction therein of the system of responsible government. And yet the experience of every day illustrated the impossibility of retaining power in the hands of an irresponsible Executive, only supported by a nominated branch, filled with officials, and animated by a desire to impede the legislation of a popular House, which, however factious and overbearing at times, had, at least, reason and

justice on its side when it claimed a larger share in the government of the country.

In Lower Canada the gravity of the situation was increased by the progress of national rivalry and animosity; but there, as in other sections of British North America, the existing evils were the natural result of the political system. In all the Provinces, representative government was coupled with an irresponsible Executive; the same constant collision existed between the several branches of the government; the representative bodies, owing to the anomaly of their position, were frequently abusing their power; and the Imperial authorities were ever interfering in the matters which should have been wholly left to the Provincial Governors. Yet, in spite of the numerous facts showing the absurdities and dangers of the constitutional system in operation, the Downing Street authorities were long unable to appreciate the necessity for such a radical change as would give the people an actual share, not a mere semblance of a part, in the government of the country. To suppose that such a system would work well implied a belief that Canadians could enjoy representative institutions for any time without acquiring any of the characteristics of a free people. Unhappily, not till blood was shed in an ill-advised rebellion, did the British Government feel itself compelled to take some practical measures to enquire into the causes of the disaffection. It is impossible to exaggerate the value of the services of Lord Durham during this national crisis. Canada owes him a deep debt of gratitude for a report, remarkable for its fairness, for its clear appreciation of the causes of discontent, and for its wise suggestions of the remedies that ought to be provided. The result was the new Constitution of 1840, under which the Canadas were again united in one legislature, and their constitutional rights considerably enlarged;

but even then, despite the lessons taught them by the past forty years, British statesmen had serious doubts as to the wisdom of granting responsible government, in the full meaning of the term, to the people of Canada. Though Lord John Russell was far from conceding in its entirety the system as understood and contended for by Mr. Baldwin, Mr. Lafontaine, Mr. Howe, and other eminent Canadian statesmen of those days, yet the effect of his policy was to virtually inaugurate responsible government in these colonies. Personal government was practically at an end, from the moment the principle was admitted that theadvisers of the Governors should be changed from motives of public policy; and that they should govern in accordance with the well understood wishes of the people. Lord Metcalfe, on the question of patronage, brought himself into collision with his Government, and in order to obtain a majority in support of his views, exerted his personal influence at the elections which followed the crisis; but as it has been well observed elsewhere, the advantage which he then gained, was dearly purchased by the circumstance that the Parliamentary opposition was no longer directed merely against the advisers of the Governor, but against the Governor himself, and the British Government, of which he was the organ. The time had passed when Governors could make themselves the leaders of political parties. The action of Lord Metcalfe in this particular had certainly its effect in settling for ever the principles on which the government of Canada should be conducted. Lord Elgin was appointed GovernorGeneral of Canada, he received instructions to act generally upon the advice of the Executive Council, and to receive as members of that body those persons who might be pointed out to him as entitled to become so by their possessing the confidence of the Assembly. From that day to this, the representatives of the Queen in this

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country have consistently adhered to the principles of governing in accordance with the well-understood wishes of the people, as expressed through Parliament. In these later times on the occasion of a very perplexing crisis in the political affairs of Canada, Lord Dufferin well defined the duty of a Governor under the system of government that now prevails in the Dominion.

'My only guiding star in the conduct and maintenance of my official relations with your public men is the Parliament of Canada. To those men alone whom the absolute will of the Confederated Parliament of the Dominion may assign to me as my responsible advisers can I give my confidence. Whether

they are the heads of this party or that must be a matter of indifference to the Governor-General. So long as they are maintained by Parliament in their positions, so long is he bound to give them his unreserved confidence, to defer to their advice, and loyally to assist them with his counsels.'

The Union of 1841 was, therefore, the commencement of a new era in the political history of British North America—an era during which all the mistakes of the old colonial system were retrieved. For half a century Downing Street had been omnipotent, and literally meddled only to muddle;' but with the new condition of things, British statesmen showed an anxiety in the other direction, of only exercising a nominal control over Canadian affairs, and conceding to the Canadians all those measures which they considered necessary for the self-government of the country. After having refused for years an elective Legislative Council to Lower Canada, the British Government granted it without demur to the United Provinces. As a result of the introduction of a liberal system of self-government, municipal institutions spread over the face of the country, and freed the Legislature from a vast amount of parish work, whilst it stimulated the energies of

the people and educated them in public business. School-houses went up in every direction, and it was no longer a subject of reproach that school-masters in many sections could not even teach their pupils to write. The result was, in the course of time, a system of education which is confessedly the most liberal and comprehensive in the world. Steps were taken to establish a Civil Service which can compare favourably with its English prototype, despite the effects of political favoritism and pressure which have a tendency to overcrowd departments and prevent justice being paid to real merit and usefulness.

The policy that prevailed with respect to the colonies previous to the visits of Lord Durham was one of isolation. The statesmen of Great Britain directed all their efforts to govern their colonies by means of division, and to break them down as much as possible into petty isolated communities, incapable of combination, and possessing no sufficient strength for individual resistance to the Empire. The Union of 1841 was the first great measure in the direction of the consolidation of the Empire on the northern half of this Continent. It did its work in stimulating the material progress of the Canadas and educating their public men for a larger condition of public affairs. The necessity of uniting all the Provinces became obvious when the Union of 1841 no longer worked harmoniously on account of sectional difficulties. Upper Canada would not be content with a representation equal to that of Lower Canada, with its smaller population and inferior wealth. Government was at a dead lock when the public men of both parties combined to bring about a Confederation as a solution of the difficulties which otherwise seemed insurmountable. Un der this system of Confederation, Canada has reached a political status of the most perfect freedom possible

for a colonial dependency. Her control over her local affairs is perfectly unlimited, and from the Island of Cape Breton to the Island of Vancouver her Government at Ottawa rules a Dominion which, if not a nation in name and fact, possesses all the elements of such. The natural aspirations of her public men have been gratified by a wider field of ambition. Not only may the Government at Ottawa appoint and dismiss the Lieutenant-Governors of each Province, but it has the territorial control of a vast region of country, far larger than many European States, and has the power of marking out new provinces and establishing therein a system of government. Responsible government no longer rests on the mere instructions of a Colonial Minister to the Governor-General, but has now virtually all the authority of an Imperial charter. The Central Government of the Empire has handed over to the Canadian Administration the entire management of the internal affairs of the Dominion, and cannot be induced by any pressure from within or without to interfere with its constitutional rights, now resting on so broad and liberal a basis. This adherence to a fixed principle has been very recently illustrated in the case of the somewhat complicated and perplexing constitutional difficulty which has ended in the dismissal of the late Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec. The despatch of Sir Michael Hicks-Beach as to the complete control exercised by Canada over all her internal affairs is quite conclusive, and perfectly in accordance with the modern policy of the Imperial Gov

ernment.

II. COMMERCIAL FREEDOM.

In no respect has the liberal policy of the Parent State towards her colonial dependencies effected so marked and important a change as in Trade and Commerce. Canada was for

many years weighed down by a system which controlled her commercial freedom, and effectually prevented her attaining that commercial expansion to which her natural resources entitled her. In the old days of French dominion, Canada was little better than a military post, whose feeble garrison was condemned to live in a state of perpetual warfare and insecurity, frequently suffering from famine, without any trade except what was monopolised by privileged companies. Under the new régime, and with the influx of a class of settlers whose instincts are all in the direction of commercial enterprise, it was natural that commerce should make a certain progress, which would have been less possible under the French system of colonial government; but still that progress was more or less trammelled, for many years, not only by the political troubles which resulted from the

operation of an erroneous political system, but chiefly by the working of the restrictive commercial policy of the mother country. This policy was a system of restrictions on the imports and exports of the colonies, with the view of keeping their trade and its transport in British hands, as far as practicable. It took many years for English statesmen and economists to see the short-sightedness and tyranny of this policy. Writers of all parties, with a few memorable exceptions, concurred in lauding a policy which was considered the very corner stone of the colonial system in the British Empire. It was not till the principles of free trade began to make some headway in the mother country, and English statesmen saw the necessity of giving to Canadians the free control of their own affairs, that the Navigation Laws were repealed in their entirety, and Canada left free to trade in the manner best calculated to develop her re

regulate their fiscal policy solely with a regard to their own necessities. The rights of Canada, in this particular, have always been practically admitted by the British Government, and when, some years ago, they were called in question, they were distinctly and emphatically vindicated by Sir Alexander Galt, then Finance Minister :—

'Self-Government'-we quote from his Report to the Government on the 25th October, 1859,-'would be utterly annihilated if the views of the Imperial Government were to be preferred to those of the people of Canada. It is, therefore, the duty of the present Government distinctly to affirm the right of the Canadian Legislature to adjust the taxation of the people in the way they deem best, even if it should unfortunately happen to meet the disapproval of the Imperial Ministry. Her Majesty cannot be advised to disallow such Acts, unless her advisers are prepared to assume the administration of the affairs of the colony, irrespective of the views of its inhabitants. The Imperial Government are not responsible for the debts and engagements of Canada; they do not maintain its judicial, educational, or civil service; they contribute nothing to the internal government of the country; the Provincial Legislature, acting through a Ministry directly responsible to it, has to make provision for all those wants. They must necessarily claim and exercise the widest latitude as to the nature and extent of the burthens to be placed upon the industry of the people.""

The broad principle, enunciated in the foregoing State Paper, has never since been questioned, but has been practically acquiesced in by the British Government. We see that very clearly in the case of the Canadian Tariff of 1879, which has been avowedly framed not only to raise a revenue to meet the absolute requirements of the country, but also to develop native manufactures and other interests which, it is claimed, cannot be fostered, except through such fiscal legislation. Whatever may be the effect of this policy— and that is a question which has nothing to do with the present argument -no Minister of the Crown in England