Part 4 (1/2)
CHAPTER X
THE ”DOUBLE SHUFFLE”
By his advocacy of representation by population, by his opposition to separate schools, and his chaained a reeneral elections of 1857 he was elected for the city of Toronto, in company with Mr Robinson, a Conservative The election of a Liberal in Toronto is a rare event, and there is no doubt that Mr Brown's violent conflict with the Roman Catholic Church contributed to his victory, if it was not the h Upper Canada, and had a large majority in that part of the province, so that the overnment was drawn entirely from Lower Canada Gross election frauds occurred in Russell county, where names were copied into the poll-books from old directories of towns in the state of New York, and of Quebec city, where such names as Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Judas Iscariot and George Washi+ngton appeared on the lists The Reformers attacked these elections in parlia member for Russell and several others were tried for conspiracy, convicted and sentenced to iovernhout the country is evident from Mr John A Macdonald's unsuccessful effort to add another to his list of political co Mr John Sandfield Macdonald fro seats in the cabinet to him and another Reformer The personal attack on Mr Brown in the session of 1858 has already been mentioned The chief political event of the session was the ”Double Shuffle”
On July 28th, 1858, Mr Brown succeeded in placing the overn claiovernment referred the question to the queen, who decided in favour of Ottawa Brown had opposed the reference to the queen, holding that the question should be settled in Canada He also believed that the seat of government should not be fixed until representation by population was granted, and all ed He nowthe saovernment was sustained on a arded as a test of confidence A few hours later the h they had been sustained by a majority of the House, ”it behoved theht which had been offered Her Majesty by the action of the asse in question Her Majesty's choice of the capital” The governor-general, Sir Edmund Bond Head, sent for Mr Brown as the leader of the Opposition to forht not to have taken this step unless he intended to give Mr Brown and his colleagues his full confidence and support
If he believed that the defeat of the governrounds it coht not to have accepted the resignation, unless he intended to sanction a fresh appeal to the country
The invitation to form an administration was received by Mr Brown on Thursday, July 28th He at once waited on the governor-general and obtained per of the Upper Canadian members of his party in both Houses, and obtained from them promises of cordial support With Dorion he had an ireed that the principle of representation by population was sound, but said that the French-Canadian people feared the consequences of Upper Canadian preponderance, feared that the peculiar institutions of French Canada would be swept away To assure them, representation by population uards Brown and Dorion parted in the belief that this could be arranged They believed also that they could agree upon an educational policy in which religious instruction could be given without the evils of separation
Though Mr Brown's power did not lie in the manipulation of co the services of colleagues of high character and capacity, including besides Dorion, Oliver Mowat, John Sandfield Macdonald, Luther Holton and L T Druovernor-general, and infor consulted his friends and obtained the aid of Mr Dorion, he was prepared to undertake the task of for the day the formation of the ht,” to give the story in Mr Broords, ”learning that Mr Dorion was ill, I went to see him at his aparteneral's secretary entered and handed me a despatch No sooner did I see the outside of the document than I understood it all
I felt at once that the whole corruptionist camp had been in commotion at the prospect of the whole of the public departations of a second public accounts' committee, and comprehended at once that the transmission of such a despatch could have but the one intention of raising an obstacle in the way of the new cabinet taking office, and I was not eneral gave no pledge, express or implied, with reference to dissolution When advice was tendered on the subject he would act as he deemed best It then laid doith ation Bills for the registration of voters and for the prohibition of fraudulent assignifts by leaders should be enacted, and certain supplies obtained
Mr Brown criticized both these declarations It was not necessary for the governor-general to say that he gave no pledge in regard to dissolution To dee would have been utterly unconstitutional The governor was quite right in saying that he would deal with the proposal when it was ratuitously declared that he would not pledge himself beforehand as to dissolution, he took exactly the opposite course as to prorogation, specifying almost minutely the terms on which he would consent to that step Brown contended that the governor had no right to lay down conditions, or to settle beforehand thethe session This was an atteislature Mr Brown and his colleagues believed that the governor was acting in collusion with the uers were taken by surprise when Brown showed himself able to form a ht, a hurriedly devised plan to bar the way of the newwith his colleagues, Brorote to the governor-general, stating that histhat ”until they have assumed the functions of constitutional advisers of the Crown, he and his proposed colleagues will not be in a position to discuss the important measures and questions of public policy referred to in his ues, who unaniovernor's reed also that it was intended as a bar to their acceptance of office They decided not to ask for a pledge as to dissolution, nor toto risk our being turned out of office within twenty-four hours, but ere not willing to place ourselves constitutionally in a false position We distinctly contemplated all that Sir Edmund Head could do and that he has done, and we concluded that it was our duty to accept office, and throw on the governor-general the responsibility of denying us the support ere entitled to, and which he had extended so abundantly to our predecessor”
When parliament asseainst the new government in both Houses The newly appointed ned their seats in parliaht offer thereat to be accounted for by the absence of the ministers But the result was affected by the lack, not only of the votes of the ministers, but of their voices In the absence ofprevailed The fact that Brown had been able to find coround with Catholic and French-Canadian members had occasioned surprise and anxiety On the one side it was feared that Brown had surrendered to the French-Canadians, and on the other that the French-Canadians had surrendered to Brown
The conference between Brown and Dorion shows that the government was formed for the same purpose as the Brown-Macdonald coalition of 1864--the settle of the union The official declaration of its policy contains these words: ”His Excellency's present advisers have entered the government with the fixed determination to propose constitutional measures for the establishment of that harmony between Upper and Lower Canada which is essential to the prosperity of the province”
Dissolution was asked on the ground that the new governes, and that the parlia their seals to gross fraud and corruption Thirty-two seats were clairounds The cases of the Quebec and Russell election have already been mentioned The member elected for Lotbiniere was expelled for violent interference with the freedoues contended that these practices had prevailed to such an extent that the legislature could not be said to represent the country Head's reply was that the frauds were likely to be repeated if a new election were held; that they really afforded a reason for postponing the election, at least until ent laere enacted The dissolution was refused; the Brown-Dorion governned, and the old nation of the Brown-Dorion iven an independent support to the Macdonald-Cartier govern the session of 1858 he had placed before the House resolutions favouring the federal union of Canada, the Maritime Provinces and the North-West Territory, and it is possible that his advocacy of this policy had so to do with the offer of the preh, nor could he coh, to warrant his acceptance of the office, and he declined Then followed the ”Double Shuffle”
The Macdonald-Cartier governovern the place of Cayley, and soe required that all the ministers should have returned to their constituents for re-election
A overning the case provided that when any n his office and within one month afterwards accept another office in the ministry, he should not thereby vacate his seat With the object of obviating the necessity for a new election, Cartier, Macdonald, and their colleagues, in order to bring theh not within its spirit, exchanged offices, each taking a different one froht days before
Shortly before ust, they solee the duties of offices which several of the; and a few minutes afterwards the second shuffle took place, and Cartier and Macdonald having been inspector-general and postain attorney-general east and attorney-general west
The belief of the Reforuilty of partiality and of intrigue with the Conservative ministers is set forth as part of the history of the tiue The biographer of Sir John Macdonald denies the charge of intrigue, but says that Macdonald and the governor were intie of intrigue, says that the governor was prejudiced against Brown, regarding hieneral see everything as difficult as possible for Brown, and as easy as possible for Macdonald, even to the point of acquiescing in the evasion of the lan as the ”Double Shuffle”
In the debate on confederation Senator Ferrier said that a political warfare had been waged in Canada for many years, of a nature calculated to destroy all islature and out of it The ”Double Shuffle” is so typical of this dreary and ignoble warfare and it played so large a part in the political history of the tith But for these considerations, the episode would have deserved scant notice The headshi+p of one of the ephemeral ministries that preceded confederation could add little to the reputation of Mr Brown His poere not shown at their best in office, and the surroundings of office were not congenial to hih his paper or on the platform, and in the hour of defeat or disappoint these contests,” he said soallant band of Reforhts: that, abused as we o anywhere a our fellow-countrymen from one end of the country to the other--in Tory constituencies as well as in Refor froent yeoht-thinking people of Upper Canada, who carasp of the hand and the hearty greeting that amply rewarded the labour we had expended in their behalf That is the highest reward I have hoped for in public life, and I am sure that no man who earns that reill ever in Upper Canada have better occasion to speak of the gratitude of the people”
FOOTNOTES:
[11] Speech to Toronto electors, August, 1858
[12] Pope's _Memoirs of Sir John Macdonald_, Vol I, pp 133, 134
[13] Dent's _Last Forty Years_, Vol II, pp 379, 380
CHAPTER XI