L’Aurore Des Canadas
Montreal Canada East, Monday October 24, 1864
Equal Rights Passed; Maritimes Not
Happy
The Independents tabled a resolution
this week proposing French and
English be the official languages of
Canada. Les Bleu whole-heartedly
supported the resolution. Mr.
Langevin was quoted as saying
“anyone of us who comes from or is
currently living as a minority can
appreciate the importance this
resolution has. We must protect the
rights of everyone equally.” The
resolution also included educational
equality for Catholic and Protestant
schools and an appeal process to the
General Government for anyone if
this right has been infringed. The
Tories and New Brunswick joined Les
Bleu in fully backing the resolution.
However, the rest of the Maritime
delegates could not grasp the
importance of passing such a
resolution. The delegates from
Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and
Prince Edward Island mocked the
idea of protection for Francophone
Catholics in their provinces. An
anonymous source close to the
conference, has claimed the
Newfoundland delegation asserted it
would be a waste of money and
resources to have measures in place
to ensure the French speaking
minority could address their
government or courts in French within
Newfoundland. The Nova Scotia and
Prince Edward Island delegates
shared this oppressive sentiment.
Reports from the debate illustrate
those delegates claimed a small
French population within their
jurisdiction means they should not be
forced into catering to such a limited
minority. Mr. Shea, from
Newfoundland, allegedly suggested
the minority population would have to
reach a certain threshold before they
could assert language and religious
rights. We cannot speak to the
culture in Newfoundland, but here in
Canada East such an oppressive
scheme would not stand. Thankfully,
Mr. Cartier wisely rebutted the short
sightedness of their arguments by
reminding the delegates that a
resolution creating an inter-colonial
railway had been passed just days
earlier.
The Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and
Prince Edward Island delegates were
also reportedly stuck on the idea that
the resolution would force their local
governments to adopt the French
language into their publications,
documents, and transcripts. The New
Brunswick and Independent
delegates skillfully addressed these
concerns by stressing the resolution
was about a broad protection of
equal rights and not forcing anything
upon anyone. As the debate portion
came to a close it appeared the
resolution might be in jeopardy.
However, the Independents, Les Bleu,
and New Brunswick formed a
coalition to guarantee this resolution
ensuring equal language and
education rights for all would pass.
An Exclusive with Mr. Langevin
Dear faithful readers, we have a
special column for you this week. I
recently sat down with the esteemed
Mr. Hector-Louis Langevin of Les Parti
Bleu for an exclusive one on one
interview. Mr. Langevin is the
Member of Parliament for Dorchester
in the Legislative Assembly of the
Province of Canada and currently
serving in the Cabinet as Solicitor
General. In addition to being a
politician, Mr. Langevin is a trained
lawyer and former editor of Melanges
religieux.
Q: Mr. Langevin, heading into
the final day of the Quebec
Conference, do you feel Les Bleu is
achieving all of its objectives?
L: Les Bleu has been quite
successful in our efforts to secure
equality for the people of Canada
East and all Francophone people.
Q: You speak of securing
equality for French Canadians, can
you comment any further on what
that means?
L: A resolution was tabled by
the Independents which if adopted
would make French and English the
official languages of the Dominion of
Canada. This means the French
minorities in other parts of the
Dominion would be able to address
their governments or courts in
French. The reverse would be true for
the English minority in Canada East.
The proposal also included protection
for Catholic and Protestant schools
wherever they exist. Included was a
provision, which would allow an
appeal to the General Government if
the provincial governments
attempted to unilaterally limit
Catholic school rights. Les Bleu saw
this proposal as vital to a healthy and
successful confederation and
something that must be passed in its
entirety.
Q: There have been some
reports that the Nova Scotia,
Newfoundland, and Prince Edward
Island delegations vehemently
opposed this essential resolution,
could you comment on the
authenticity of these reports?
L: I will not comment directly
on those reports or name any
individuals. However, I will say the
resolution was met with some firm
opposition. These delegations put
forth short sighted arguments and
could not grasp the importance of
this resolution since it appeared not
to be positive for them. Luckily, there
was some spirited debate from all
parties and their positions were
exposed. I think at the end of the day
everyone can agree this was a
necessary resolution.
Q: The remaining issues to be
discussed are the Senate and the
Lieutenant Governor and the Power
of Disallowance, where does Les Bleu
stand on these matters?
L: The Senate is meant to be
the upper house and provide a sober
second thought for the House of
Commons. Therefore, the Senate
should be comprised of members
from Canada East, Canada West, and
the Maritimes (Newfoundland
included) by utilizing a model of
sectional equality. The Lieutenant
Governor is responsible for ensuring
the needs of their province are met,
which means they should be
appointed and paid for by their
province. The power of disallowance
is a necessary evil to ensure
uniformity and equality however the
power should be time limited and
used only in reasonable
circumstances.
Q: As the Conference comes to
a close do you feel Confederation is a
viable outcome?
L: I believe we have made
great progress towards a united
Dominion of Canada. There are still
some key issues to debate and agree
upon but all the delegations have
been acting in the spirit of
Confederation and I see no reason
why that would change.
Q: Thank you for your time Mr.
Langevin. I wish you all the best in the
remainder of the Conference and
your future endeavors.
L: Thank you
Final days of Quebec Conference
Marred by Insults and Betrayals
Intelligent debate or petty haggling?
Debate on the issue of the senate
devolved into mud-slinging and insult-
hurling. Charles Tupper of the Nova
Scotian delegation was a primary
agitator in these events and many,
including George-Étienne Cartier
during the debates, have since
questioned his intelligence and dress
style. Tupper responded that Cartier
simply enjoyed conniving with the PEI
delegation to grind all negotiations to
a halt. This was a surprising
accusation, given his complete
unwillingness to compromise on the
issue of senate appointments
compared to PEI’s flexibility on the
issue.
Nova Scotia carried the day with a
proposal of federally appointed
senators, despite their early
incoherence on several issues. Upper
and Lower Canada shall each have
24 senators, while the Maritime
Provinces shall share 28. Nova Scotia
had difficulty explaining why
Newfoundland should receive more
seats in the senate and even argued
that an “elected senate would
jeopardize the democracy of the
House of Commons.” How elections
could jeopardize democracy remains
a mystery.
Tories forgetful or deceitful? In a
stunning turn of events, the Tories
failed to include Les Bleu in their
coalition in support of federally
appointed lieutenant governors after
Cartier vigorously threw his party’s
support behind the Tories’ proposal.
Although Les Bleu and the Tories
came into the Quebec conference as
members of a coalition government
and initially presented a united front,
tensions have mounted and the
united façade is showing cracks. It is
entirely possible that John A.
McDonald drunkenly forgot to include
Les Bleus, but it was a stinging blow
to those erstwhile allies.
Prior to the conference, Les Bleus
expressed support for provincially
appointed lieutenant governors.
Cartier’s endorsement of the Tories
contrary proposal was thus a great
compromise that was shamefully
spurned. It is perhaps unsurprising
that the Tories are to blame for this
division, given that their
representatives consist of drunkards
and turncoats. Our readers are no
doubt aware of John A. McDonald’s
history of drunkenness and
Cockburn’s decision to abandon his
electorate by crossing the floor to the
Tories
Confederation in Rail Alone?
Many detractors of confederation
argue that colonies as diverse as
these cannot form the basis of a true
confederation. It would be a union
fraught with religious and linguistic
difference, where the few must
constantly worry of their voice being
washed away by the many.
The Conference at Quebec seems to
bolster these fears. The only
consensus has been on the issue of
railways, with all delegates agreeing
they want lots of them. Will this be a
confederation in rail alone?
Disparate, bickering colonies tied
together by a railway and naught
else? The behaviour of the delegates
at the Quebec Conference seem to
indicate so. The conference has been
marred by insults, alliances of
convenience and lack of decorum.
The delegates came close to
consensus on the issue of Division of
Powers, but unwillingness to
compromise dashed those hopes. It
is as if these men, who may one day
be remembered for fathering the
confederation, think they are playing
a game. The union of our neighbours
to the south was marked with high-
minded idealism on the notions of
liberty, equality, rights and
opportunity. The lack of similar
idealism and optimism in our own
leaders is troubling, to say the least.
As the prospect of confederation
looms near and moves from the
realm of ideas to that of reality, these
colonies will need more than a
railway to stand together as a true
union.
Taché on Confederation
It has been my honour to preside over
this Conference. What we have
achieved in this beautiful city of
Quebec is truly momentous. The germ
of an idea that was Confederation
has sprouted into a reality that seems
only a short distance away.
It has long been my position that if we
cannot achieve confederation, we
shall be forced into the American
union by violence or be placed upon
an inclined plane that would lead us
there insensibly. I said as much to the
Legislative Counsel in February of this
year.
The idea of confederation is one
plagued by duality. On the one hand,
there is great potential for
confederation to be an insidious evil.
The fears expressed by the smaller
colonies and the concerns of
minorities are legitimate and true. On
the other hand, it is daring to hope
that these colonies, together, can be
something great.
We, the delegates at this conference,
have been accused of petty
squabbling. Yet look at what has
been achieved: guarantees of
protection for minorities, a robust
central government balanced by a
strong voice for the provinces, a
railway to connect this union and
much more. These are not trifles to
be scoffed at. These are the makings
of what can be the Greatest
Confederation this world has seen.
Premier Étienne-Paschal Taché
Setback for Lower Canada at the
Quebec Conference – Day 3 Report
Perhaps it was naive to think that all
of the delegates could put aside
partisanship in favor of a union, but
at the end of day two one could be
forgiven for believing this to be a
possibility. They passing of a
resolution regarding the creation and
expansion of railroads might best be
summed up by Nova Scotia Premier
Charles Tupper when he proclaimed
“Railways for Everyone!”
Unfortunately, this was where the
good will and spirit of cooperation
among the delegates ended.
Debate over the formation of the
lower House of Commons became
very animated, and quickly polarized
the delegates. The delegates from
the reformers initially proposed that
representation should be based on
population, arguing that this would
promote fairness and equality. While
it was the initial view of the delegates
of les bleu going in to negotiations
that an even allocation of seats
between Upper and Lower Canada,
Mssr. Cartier was quick to endorse
this distribution, given that Lower
Canada’s initial allotment of seats
was guaranteed, and that the
calculation for amending seats was
thus based on this number.
It was here that debate took a sharp
turn towards the uncivilized. Mr.
Tupper, previous the champion of
cooperation deciding that debate
time was better spent discussion
members fashion choices than the
actual issues at hand. While this was
not the first time he had made such
comments, the tension was significant,
prompting Mssr. Cartier, usually a
paragon of reason to snap back that
perhaps if Mr. Tupper would like some
lessons on how to dress himself.
L: Mr. and Mrs. Charles Tupper; R: Mssr.
Cartier
In the end the resolution passed
without amendment, with the
surprising support of the independent
delegates from Lower Canada
supporting the reformers. The
support may come as a surprise to
many people, as prior to this vote
they had been some of the strongest
supports of the rights of minorities at
the conference. There has been
some speculation that there may
have been some deals being
negotiated on the side which may
play out in the final day of the
conference.
A note to our readers: The following
letter was delivered to our offices on
October 20th, and action was taken
to immediately bring it to the
attention of Mr. McGee. Mr. McGee,
never one to back away from his
convictions insisted that it be
reproduced here in full. Please be
aware that we at L’Aurore do not
endorse the contents of this
message, implied or otherwise.
Dear Thomas D’Arcy McGee, Publicité: éléphant de cirque
You would do well to remember What is more interesting than old
where you came from. You may be men discussing politics? Absolutely
able to impress your new bourgeois anything! Especially Elephants! Visit
friends with your double speak and the circus this weekend to see a real,
silver tongue, but we are not fooled! live Elephant!
What happened to the man who
stood side by side with his brothers Much better than those hairy-eared
calling for Irish rebellion? Perhaps all museum artifacts arguing over
those fancy hats, chalk full of confederation across town!
mercury, have finally got to you. The
only true path forward for Ireland is
full independence as a republic. I call
upon my Irish brothers across this
country to rise up and fight the
oppressive rule of the British. To the
native sons of Ireland, this is your
chance to be part of something great.
Rise up. Rise up and let your voices
be heard, strong and unified. To the
turncoats, the traitors to the cause:
know this, our memories are long and
our retribution shall be swift and
decisive.
PJW C’est Fini