Canada Constitution Adopted

Today’s installment concludes Canadian Confederation Established,
our selection from Life and Career of Sir John A. MacDonald, G.C.B. by Joseph Edmund Collins published in 1883.

If you have journeyed through the installments of this series so far, just one more to go and you will have completed a selection from the great works of three thousand words. Congratulations! For works benefiting from the latest research see the “More information” section at the bottom of these pages.

Previously in Canadian Confederation Established.

Time: 1867
Place: Canada

In November, 1866, the Canadian delegation, consisting of Messrs. John A. Macdonald, George E. Cartier, A. T. Galt, W. P. Howland, William McDougall, and H. L. Langevin, went to England, where they were to meet the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick delegates to discuss the confederation plan. The Nova Scotia delegates were Messrs. Tupper, Archibald, Henry, McCully, and Ritchie; those of New Brunswick were Messrs. Tilley, Mitchell, Fisher, Johnson, and Robert Duncan Wilmot. The delegates met at Westminster palace on December 4th, and, by preeminence, the chair was given to the Hon. John A. Macdonald during the conference. The conference sat till December 24th, after which the assemblage were in a position to proceed with the structure of a constitution. Though some of the ablest men the colonies ever produced were instrumental in framing the new charter, Mr. Macdonald, it was readily admitted, was the master-head. Many a time during the progress of the negotiations conflicting interests arose, which, but for careful handling, might have wrecked the scheme; and here the match less tact of the Attorney-General of Canada West preeminently asserted itself.

Several concessions were made to the Maritime Provinces, and a more uniform and equitable feature was given to the whole. The Nova Scotia delegates were confronted by the colossal figure of Joseph Howe, who poured out a stream of fiery eloquence against the confederation but those who were present say that Doctor Tupper turned the orator’s arguments back with such force and clearness that the Imperial Government never for a moment wavered in concluding what was its duty to Nova Scotia. After the conclusion of the discussion on the general scheme, the conference, in conjunction with the Imperial law officers, prepared certain draft bills, which were afterward fused into a harmonious whole, and submitted to the Imperial Parliament on February 5th following. On March 29th the amalgamated bill received the royal assent; and on April 12th another Imperial act was passed, authorizing the commissioners of the treasury to guarantee interest on a loan not to exceed three million pounds sterling, which sum was to be appropriated to the construction of an intercolonial railway between Halifax and the St. Lawrence. The union was not considered perfected by the constitutional ceremony, and needed a firmer linking by the bonds of iron. On May 22nd a royal proclamation was issued giving effect to “The British North America Act,” and appointing the first day of July following as the date on which it should come in force.

Briefly, the act provided that the Provinces of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia should be one dominion, under the name of Canada. This dominion was to be divided into four Provinces — Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia; the boundaries of the former two to be the same as those of the old Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada; the boundaries of the two Maritime Provinces remaining unchanged. The executive authority, and the command of the naval and military forces, were vested in the Imperial Sovereign, represented by a governor-general or other executive officer for the time being. The city of Ottawa was declared the seat of government during the sovereign’s pleasure. The legislative machinery was to consist of a viceroy or his deputy, and a ministerial council, to be styled the Queen’s Privy Council of Canada, the members of which body were to be chosen by the Governor-General and to hold office during his pleasure. The legislative power was vested in a parliament to consist of the Queen, the Senate, and the House of Commons. It was provided that a parliament should be held at least once in each year, so that not more than a twelvemonth might elapse between session and session. The system of election to the political dead-house [the Senate] was abolished though the thing itself was maintained — and it was provided instead that the Senate should consist of seventy-two life members, twenty-four for Ontario, twenty-four for Quebec — an apportionment which, in view of the disparity of population and the outlook of increased inequality, would have been a rank injustice, but that the members so distributed are but the shadows in an institution which in practice is a myth — and twelve for each of the Maritime Provinces; the members to possess certain property qualifications, to be appointed by the Crown, and to retain their seats for life unless guilty of gross misbehavior. Provision was made for increasing the membership of the body, but the number (as finally arranged) was not to exceed eighty-two, or to reach that limit unless upon the entry of Newfoundland into the Confederation. The principle of representation by population was established for the House of Commons, the basis adopted for the original adjustment being the census of 1861. It was declared, however, that an adjustment should take place every ten years, upon a census of population being obtained. The representation of Quebec was permanently fixed at sixty five members, while that of each of the other Provinces was to bear the same relation to the population thereof that sixty-five should from time to time bear to the population of Quebec.

The duration of the House of Commons was not to exceed five years. Constitutions were likewise given to the four Provinces embraced in the union. Each comprised a lieutenant governor who was to be appointed by the Governor-General, paid out of the general treasury, and to hold office for five years; an executive council which was to be appointed by the lieu tenant-governor, who had the power of dismissal; a legislative council to be nominated by the Lieutenant-Governor and to hold their seats for life; and the House of Assembly. Such Legislature was to have control over local affairs, all questions of a character affecting the Dominion at large falling within the jurisdiction of the General Government. Provision was made, likewise, in the British North America Act, for the admission into the Con federation of any colony that had so far refused to be a party to the compact. The royal proclamation announced the names of seventy-two senators, thirty-six of whom were conservatives and thirty-six reformers; so that when the date that was to witness the birth of the Dominion came round, the machinery was in readiness to set in motion.

This ends our series of passages on Canadian Confederation Established by Joseph Edmund Collins from his book Life and Career of Sir John A. MacDonald, G.C.B. published in 1883. This blog features short and lengthy pieces on all aspects of our shared past. Here are selections from the great historians who may be forgotten (and whose work have fallen into public domain) as well as links to the most up-to-date developments in the field of history and of course, original material from yours truly, Jack Le Moine. – A little bit of everything historical is here.

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