Part 7 (2/2)
[16] Hansard, House of Lords, February 20th, 1865 See also a long and important debate in the British House of Commons, March 13th, 1865
[17] Journals Canada, 1865, 2nd Session, pp 8-15
CHAPTER XIX
BROWN LEAVES THE COALITION
The series of events which gradually drew Mr Brown out of the coalition began with the death of Sir Etienne P Tache on July 30th, 1865 By his age, his long experience, and a certain nity of disposition, Tache was admirably fitted to be the dean of the coalition and the arbiter between its eleovern love of office With his departure that of Brown became only a matter of time To ith Macdonald as an equal was a sufficiently disagreeable duty; to work under hi the personal relations of the twoaside the question of where the bla feud lay, it was inevitable that the association should be teeneral asked Mr Macdonald to form an administration Mr Macdonald consented, obtained the assent of Mr Cartier and consulted Mr Brown I quote from an authorized memorandum of the conversation ”Mr Brown replied that he was quite prepared to enter into arrangeovernment in the same position as it occupied previous to the death of Sir Etienne P Tache; but that the proposal now overnment, heretofore, had been a coalition of three political parties, each represented by an active party leader, but all acting under one chief, who had ceased to be actuated by strong party feelings or personal aive confidence to all the three sections of the coalition that the conditions which united theood faith to the very letter Mr Macdonald, Mr Cartier and hiarded as party leaders, with party feelings and aspirations, and to place any one of them in an attitude of superiority to the others, with the vast advantage of the premiershi+p, would, in the public er the existence of the coalition It would be an entire change of the situation Whichever of the three was so preferred, the act would amount to an abandonovernment on party lines under a party leader” When the coalition was forislature; for reasons of State they had relinquished their party advantage, and a government was formed in which the Conservatives had nine ht would the Liberal party regard this new proposition? Mr
Brown suggested that an invitation be extended to soislative council, under whom all parties could act with confidence, as successor to Colonel Tache So far as to the party Speaking, however, for himself alone, Mr Brown said he occupied the saive outside the ht be for out confederation
Mr Macdonald replied that he had no personal feeling as to the preested the name of Mr Cartier, as leader of the French-Canadians Mr Brown said that it would be necessary for him to consult with his political friends
Sir Narcisse F Belleau, a member of the executive council, was then proposed by Mr Macdonald, and accepted by Mr Brown, on condition that the policy of confederation should be stated in precise terms
Sir Narcisse Belleau became nominal prime minister of Canada, and the difficulty was tided over for a few ement, however, was a mere makeshi+ft The objections set forth by Brown to Macdonald's assu the title of leader applied with equal force to his assu the leadershi+p in fact, as he necessarily did under Sir Narcisse Belleau; the discussion over this point, though couched in language of diplomatic courtesy, rew steadily worse The ireeotiations for the renewal of the reciprocity treaty It is admitted that it was only in part the real cause, and would not have severed the relations between men ere personally and politically in sympathy
Mr Brown had taken a deep interest in the subject of reciprocity In 1863 he was in communication with John Sandfield Macdonald, then premier of Canada, and Luther Holton,co the adarded as favourable to the renewal of the treaty Seward, Lincoln's secretary of state, suggested that Canada should have an agent at Washi+ngton, hom he and Lord Lyons, the British ambassador, could confer on Canadianthat all his colleagues were agreed upon his eminent fitness for thethat Mr Holton, besides being fully qualified, was, by virtue of his official position as minister of finance, the proper person to represent Canada He kept urging the i action early, before the Aather headway But neither the Macdonald-Sicotte governh to take action, and the opportunity was lost The coalition govern 1864, and it was not until the spring of 1863 that the matter of reciprocity was taken up
In the suovernment authorized the for of representation from Canada and the other North Aeneral Brown and Galt were the representatives of Canada on the council
Mr Broas in the Maritiovernment business On his return to Toronto he was surprised to read in American papers a state with the Coton
Explanations were given by Galt at aof the cabinet at Ottawa on December 17th Seward had told hiht be done by reciprocal legislation
After some demur, Mr Galt went on to discuss the e of natural products, and a designated list of oods were to be assiht be used in common, and maintained at the joint expense of the two countries Mr Galt followed up his narrative by proposing that awhat he had done, and authorizing hiotiations
The discussion that followed lasted several days Mr Brown objected strongly to the proceeding He declared that ”Mr Galt had flung at the heads of the Americans every concession that we had in our power to make, and some that we certainly could not make, so that our case was foreclosed before the coly to the plan of reciprocal legislation, which would keep the people of Canada ”dangling froress, looking to Washi+ngton instead of to Ottawa as the controller of their coned by the Aress the United States press would contain articles threatening ruin to Canadian trade The Maritinored, and confederation as well as reciprocity ht be lost
His own proposal was to treat Mr Galt's proceedings at Washi+ngton as unofficial, call the confederate council, and begin anew to ”islation idea upset before proceeding with the discussion”
Galt at length suggested a coton were to be treated as unofficial, and no order-in-council passed Galt and Howland were to be sent to Washi+ngton to obtain a treaty if possible, and if not to learn what terovernarded this motion as intended to remove him from the confederate council, and substitute Mr Howland, and said so; but he declared that he would accept the compromise nevertheless It appeared, however, that there had been aof a s The first minute ithdrawn; but as Mr Brown considered that the second islation, he refused to sign it, and decided to place his resignation in the hands of the pre the explanation, His Excellency said: ”Then, Mr Brown, I am called upon to decide between your policy and that of the other overnment?” Mr
Brown replied, ”Yes, sir, and if I aive advice in the ht to be sustained, though the decision is against reat question of confederation as of far greater consequence to the country than reciprocity negotiations My resignationtheir policy on the reciprocity question fro carried out, or at least call forth a full expression of opinion on the subject, and the govern in this, for the sake of confederation”
The debate in council had occupied several days, and had evidently aroused strong feelings Undoubtedly Mr Brown's decision was affected by the affront that he considered had been put upon hi hi Mr Howland instead of hiue of Mr Galt He disapproved on public grounds of the policy of the governnored throughout the transaction On the day after the rupture Mr Cartier wrote Mr Brown asking hination Mr Brown replied, ”I have received your kind note, and think it right to state frankly at once that the step I have taken cannot be revoked The interests involved are too great I think a very great blunder has been co the most important interests of the country, and that the order-in-council you have passed endorses that blunder and authorizes persistence in it I confess I was much annoyed at the personal affront offeredhas passed away in view of the serious character of theaside”
If it were necessary to seek for justification of Mr Brown's action in leaving the reeovernment on the question of policy, or in the treatues Sandfield Macdonald and his colleagues had on a fornized Mr Brown's eotiations at Washi+ngton, not only because of his thorough acquaintance with the subject, but because of his steadily maintained attitude of friendshi+p for the North He was a member of the confederate council on reciprocity His position in the ministry was not that of a subordinate, but of the representative of a powerful party In resenting the nored, he does not seem to have exceeded the bounds of proper self-assertion However, this controversy assunized that the rupture was inevitable The precise time or occasion is of less importance than the force which was always and under all circu to draw Mr Broay from an association injurious to himself and to Liberalism, in its broad sense as well as in its party sense, and to his influence as a public man This had better be considered in another place
CHAPTER XX