§ SIR JAMES FERGUSSONrose to call the attention of the House to the subject of which he had given notice, and on which he had already attempted to address the House, namely, the recent augmentation of the military force in Canada. The hon. Baronet said, that the occasion was a somewhat pressing one, because he had learnt, since coming down to the House, that the 1517 troops were ordered to sail to-morrow. The simple fact that so large a force as 3,000 men was about to be sent to Canada was itself rather unusual, but there was something in the manner in which the reinforcement was to be despatched which rendered it still more remarkable, and afforded great reason for requiring an explanation of the Government in reference to the matter. He might state at the out-sot that, in his opinion, the merits of the dispute which unhappily existed in the United States of America had nothing to do with the question to which he wished to call the attention of the House. The House had already expressed its opinion that abstinence from all discussion upon the state of affairs in America would be the most becoming and prudent course to pursue, and he was happy to say that such discussions were entirely foreign to the subject upon which he desired to make a few remarks. At the same time, he thought that the step which the Government had taken was very likely to interfere with that resolution to abstain from all share in the unfortunate contentions in America, because it would be regarded as taken from a fooling of uneasiness springing to some extent from the stale of things in the United States; at all events, occurring at such a moment, it was a matter on which the House had a right to ask and the Government ought to give an explanation. But that to which he wished particularly to call attention was the manner in which the expedition was about to be despatched. It was to be despatched in hot haste in a very ostentatious manner, in the largest and fastest vessel which this country had ever possessed. It was not to be sent out in the ordinary way in the transports belonging to the public service, or in the numerous steam frigates which crowded our ports; but the Government had considered it necessary to engage the Great Eastern for the purpose. When a force, which partook much more of the character of an expedition than of that of an ordinary relief, was sent to a distant part of the world the House might fairly ask upon what grounds such a step was taken. So decided and conspicuous a measure should not be adopted unless there was either a great object to be attained or a great danger to be averted; and, therefore, he had no hesitation in asking the Government why so large an expedition was being so hastily despatched to Canada? In former times even larger expeditions had been sent to 1518 British provinces, but they had always been, intended either to guard against foreign aggression or to repel internal disturbance. During the rebellion in Canada a large force was sent out to that country, and it was happily instrumental to some extent in restoring peace; but he believed there was nothing in the present state of affairs on either side of the frontier that would justify so remarkable a step as that which the Government had taken. The position of Canada was certainly a difficult and even dangerous and exposed one. Canada had a long and vulnerable frontier, and on the other side of that frontier there was a great and high-spirited people in the most excited state, and, as he yet hoped, only in imminent peril of being plunged into a civil war. At such a time, and in a country where, as in the United States, there was the utmost freedom of expression of public opinion, and where there was an exaggerated and even intemperate tone adopted, by both writers and speakers, there must naturally be a disposition to look with jealousy upon the conduct of Foreign Powers. Abstinence from partisanship might be interpreted into aversion or concealed hostility, and we could not wonder that expressions should be used by writers and repeated in the United States which certainly would be alarming if used in any other country, or at any other time. He could not think, however, that at such a moment, and in consequence of any such expressions written or spoken, a step so momentous as that which the Government had taken befitted so great a Power as England. In the presence of such manifestations, the attitude of a great Power should be one of conciliation and of confidence. If we were to gain any advantage from the increase of our naval and military establishments, it ought to be at a time like this when we ought to feel ourselves too strong to think it worth while to notice such intemperate language as had appeared in the public press of America, or of any other country. We should remain calmly in the power of honest and absolute neutrality, instead of doing that which would bespeak alarm in placing a corps of observation, and even of defiance, on the frontier of a neighbouring State. Such a course might be considered in the United States as symptomatic of a consciousness of weakness; and at any rate was calculated to excite most serious apprehensions, because it must be considered as partaking more of the nature of a challenge than of 1519 caution. The question might be asked, when a force of 3,000 men, complete in its various arms, was despatched to Canada, whether there was any actual fear of invasion from the United States? If so, surely to guard a frontier of such extent as that separating Canada from the United States, a force of 3,000 men would be an absolute misapplication of our military strength. Those who were well acquainted with that frontier entertained the opinion that its proper protection would be gunboats on the lakes, not men scattered in small numbers and at distant points on the land. But, although it might be some time before the Committee to whom the question had been remitted would report, there was a feeling in the House with respect to colonial military establishments that, beyond garrisoning the great fortresses of Canada, this country ought not to be called on to contribute to the military expenses of the colonies. If it were said that this force was intended to complete the garrisons of Canada—perhaps only the large fortified town of Quebec—he thought they might fairly ask why the military force to which had been intrusted the guardianship of that fortress had been allowed to fall so low that it was necessary to send out reinforcements in such hot haste and to such an extent as already to double the force in that colony? There was a second class of causes that might render such a force necessary—if there was any likelihood of internal disturbances in Canada. There were, undoubtedly, distinct and separate races in Canada, and in former times there were discords between parties and races; but he certainly did not expect that at the present moment these discords were likely to break out, or that there was a probability of any such exhibition of feeling not most loyal towards this country, which should induce the Government to send out so considerable a force. On the other hand, he thought the conspicuous loyalty expressed by the whole Canadian population towards the Sovereign of this country, and the country generally, on the recent happy occasion of the visit of the Prince of Wales, ought to show that if there was a dependency of Great Britain on which we might most confidently rely as not likely to embarrass this country by any expression of bad feeling towards their neighbours, or by sympathizing with either party in the civil war in the United States, it was the province of Canada. If such a feeling did exist it would be a great mis- 1520 take to think that it was by force of aims, far less by virtue of so small a force, that we could hope to retain that colony. He believed the improved feeling which subsisted between Canada and this country was the result not of the strength of the Imperial Government, but of those ties of kindred which had been strengthened by the gift of institutions similar to our own, the consciousness of self-government, the absence of any undue control over colonial affairs, the healthy growth of the free institutions of this country transplanted to a kindly soil. He believed that it was an error to suppose that Canada was likely to be disloyal; and it would be an error still more grave to think that the United States would take any step insulting to the Canadas or hostile to our interests, which would render it necessary for us to increase so strongly our garrisons in that province. It might be that rash partizans or mobs might make an incursion over the frontier, but they would be discouraged alike by the Americans and Canadians; and surely we had Militia and Volunteers perfectly able to keep off such intruders till the regular troops could assist them. He believed it would not be prudent to leave the garrisons in Canada not reinforced during winter; but in summer, while Quebec was so easy of access, he could not see why they should send out in so ostentatious a manner so large a force a3 3,000 men. There was another matter on which he would only speak with the greatest delicacy and reserve. Every one acquainted with Canada, or who had spoken to officers quartered there, knew how great were the temptations to which British soldiers were exposed in that colony. The Government, he hoped, had sufficiently weighed this very serious consideration when they contemplated despatching this force. If temptation at any time was held out to British soldiers to be unfaithful to their colours, how much more danger was there when every trained soldier was worth his weight almost in gold in the United States, looking more especially to the mere pittance left him after paying for his rations? He hoped, under these circumstances the Government would do something to make the British soldier feel that he had what would make him remain faithful to his regiment. This would not take much, for the British soldier was most sensible of kindness. What he suggested was, that while in Canada regiments might have free rations, and that the men when off duty might be allowed to work at their 1521 trades and assist at the harvest. He was quite aware that it was a matter of great delicacy to interfere with the disposition of Her Majesty's troops, but he thought the House had a right to demand explanations with reference to the despatch of these 3,000 men to Canada, because it might—though he trusted it would not—lead to suspicion and difficulty with a country with which it was beyond all important that we should remain at peace; it might have an effect damaging to the army, and produce a feeling of apprehension and dissatisfaction among the loyal inhabitants of Canada.
§ VISCOUNT PALMERSTONSir, I can have no difficulty in answering the question of the hon. and gallant Officer, though I must say that I was surprised at some of the arguments which he adduced, especially considering the profession to which he belongs. I should not have expected those insinuations against the fidelity of our soldiers to have come from the mouth of a gentleman belonging to that service. I entertain no such apprehensions as he has expressed. I am persuaded that the imputations which have been cast on the British soldier are entirely unfounded. The hon. and gallant Gentleman has asked several questions which he himself answered in subsequent parts of his speech. He talked at one moment of this large expedition—this momentous measure—and at another moment he treated the force sent out of 3,000 men as insignificant and utterly insufficient for any purpose. Now, I really should wish him to tell us which of these two statements he intends to abide by?—whether he actually regards it as a momentous and large force, or as a very small and insignificant one? He also said there can be but two motives for which the force is despatched—namely, either to guard against an attack from the Americans and to interfere in the war now going on, or else for the purpose of suppressing disturbances in Canada. The hon. and gallant Gentleman has given a reply to all these suppositions. He told us that there is no apprehension whatever of an attack from the Americans; he told us that the Government have pledged themselves and the country to maintain a neutrality; and he entered into a very eloquent and well-deserved panegyric of the loyalty which prevails in every part of our North American provinces. Well, I concur in all those assertions. Undoubtedly, we have no reason to suppose that the Northern 1522 States of America would commit such an act of folly as to add a contest with us to the internal contest in which they are at present engaged. Her Majesty's Government have professed in the most solemn and public manner their intention to abstain from taking any part in the dispute now unfortunately subsisting between the Northern and Southern States. We rely implicitly on the loyalty of the people of Canada of all races—a loyalty that was manifested in the most unequivocal manner during the visit of the Prince of Wales to those provinces. Therefore, none of those reasons could be the occasion for sending a large force to Canada, the despatch of which would be a momentous measure. But it is the ordinary practice of all Governments in all parts of the world, when war breaks out and great military operations are commenced in neighbouring States, to take the small and usual precaution of strengthening in some degree their military force in that portion of their territory which is in closest proximity to the scene of hostilities. That is an ordinary precaution, the neglect of which would be blame-able in those who are answerable for the interests of the country; and that we have not gone beyond that reasonable limit is proved by the hon. and gallant Member's own description of this force in the latter part of his speech as a very small one. It is a very small force; and to talk of 3,000 men being a large and momentous expedition is, I must say, an amount of exaggeration hardly to have been expected from a military officer of so much knowledge and experience as the hon. and gallant Gentleman. Well, if we have sent out only that small reinforcement—which, according to his own statement, was necessary in common prudence, because he himself complained that the garrisons of Quebec and Montreal had been brought down too low by former operations—then the question arises whether they have been sent out at the proper time and in the proper manner. The hon. and gallant Member admitted that reinforcements ought to be despatched. He said it was impossible to leave those garrisons the winter through as they have lately been, and he added that reinforcements could not be sent out in winter, but must go in summer. Well, we are sending them out in summer; and why does the hon. and gallant Gentleman complain? One thing that he said certainly a little surprised me. On former occasions we have heard complaints made 1523 that troops have been provided with insufficient means of transport, and have consequently suffered hardships and been detained too long on the passage, and the Government has been blamed for such bad arrangements. But the complaint of the hon. and gallant Gentleman now is that we send out these troops in one of the fastest vessels that can be found; that we send them out in a ship large enough to ensure their perfect comfort, and to obviate those evils which too often result from the employment of numerous small vessels for such a purpose; that, in point of fact, we have abridged the length of the voyage as much as we could, and that we have despatched them in such a manner that they will reach their destination with the least possible inconvenience and suffering. Well, I should really have thought that a military officer would have given us credit for that instead of making it a topic of censure. I have only now to say that the measure we have adopted indicates no intention whatever to take any part in the unfortunate differences now prevailing among our relatives—for I may so call them—in the United States; that it indicates no suspicion whatever of the true and undoubted loyalty of Her Majesty's subjects in our North American dominions; that it is designed solely for the purpose of making those precautionary arrangements which are essential in a country that is contiguous to another country in which disturbances exist; that we have carried it out in the manner best calculated to spare the troops any inconvenience which a sea passage too often produces; and that we trust, when they arrive in Canada, they will behave with that loyalty for which the hon. and gallant Member does not seem to give them credit, but which I am persuaded the British soldier will on all occasions exhibit.
§ SIR JAMES FERGUSSONwished to explain. The noble Lord had asked him whether he meant that the force was too large or too small—because he had stated that it was both? What he had said was that the force was too small for any serious guarding of the frontier, but very large compared with the ordinary establishment there.
§ Mr. DISRAELI—Sir, I am far from wishing to encourage a discussion of this nature; but I am not at all surprised that my hon. and gallant Friend should call the attention of the House to the departure of certainly a considerable body of troops from this country. I should 1524 not, however, have risen but for the remarks of the noble Lord, which were ingenious enough as matters of Parliamentary reply, but which, nevertheless, do not appear to be of so satisfactory a nature as could be wished. Because, after all, what is the character of this operation? The noble Lord has made a number of observations in answer to those of my hon. and gallant Friend, but he has not once touched the real point—namely, the policy of that operation, which is really what at the present moment engages the attention of the country. If those disturbances had not taken places in the United States would these 3,000 men have been sent to Canada? That is the question we are to consider, and we cannot be diverted from the real point by observations on the season of the year and all the other plausible superficialities with which the noble Lord has treated us. If the disturbances had not taken place in the United States, I repeat, would these troops have been sent from this country? If they are sent in consequence of the disturbances in the United States, what is the purpose for which they tire sent? Is it to guard the frontier or to increase the garrisons? If to guard the frontier, are they sufficient for that object? If to increase the garrisons, are they necessary? These are very plain questions, and I did not discover any satisfactory reply to them in the speech of the noble Lord. I am bound to say that I view the step taken by the Government with anxiety, and not with approbation. It is a step of very great importance. The noble Lord says you cannot call this an expedition. Well, there have been expeditions not much more considerable in number sent from this country for very great objects—for example, the expedition to Portugal, which did not consist of more than 5,000 troops—and which are often referred to in this House as important historical events. So the departure of these 3,000 men for Canada, may hereafter occupy a much more important place in history than the noble Lord, or perhaps any of his colleagues at the present moment contemplate. I must say that I think it a very serious measure, and that the Government have incurred a very grave responsibility indeed. I do not, at this moment, clearly see what is the object of the despatch of these troops. Dismissing from our minds the disturbances in the United States, I do not see the necessity of this operation; and if those dis- 1525 turbances are its cause, then we have to consider au act of very grave policy on the part of the Government. The noble Lord will not regard it in that light, but I am bound to say that, if brought before this House, it is our duty to regard it in that light. It is possible, if these disturbances spread and greatly prevail in the United States, that there may be outrages on our Canadian frontier. I can conceive that there may be violations of our frontier and acts of outrage committed by subjects of the American Government. But are there no inhabitants in Canada—are there not a numerous and gallant people there, accustomed to military discipline? Surely in a moment of emergency, with that sense of responsibility which all free men have, the inhabitants of Canada would be adequate to the occasion, would be able to depend on their own energies, and would not require the despatch of these 3,000 troops to set them an example. On the other hand, I should say that, taking this early opportunity of letting the people of Canada know that we are prepared to assume the monopoly of defending them, is rather calculated to damp their ardour and make them feel that it is not their business to protect their hearths and homes and national honour, and that they may pursue their profitable callings without coming forward in an exigency of this character. In that view I think this proceeding unwise. But sup posing these disturbances in the United States are not the cause of the despatch of those troops, the step clearly was not necessary to strengthen the garrisons. The garrisons are at that pitch of strength at which, upon the whole, and after due experience, it was the opinion of Parliament and of this country that they should be maintained. The whole tone and tendency of our policy of late years, and certainly in the present year, as shown by a vote when Parliament first met was that no increase of military expenditure, especially in respect to our colonies, should take place. Put it as you may, it comes to this—that this is an act of policy on the part of Her Majesty's Government. It can be viewed in no other light than an act of policy adopted in consequence of the disturbances in the United States. But is it an act of sound and wise policy? I have very great doubts as to its wisdom or its soundness; and we must come to an opinion upon the point in this manner. Every one will dismiss immediately the idea that the transmission of 1526 3,000 of Her Majesty's troops is an adequate means for preventing or baffling an invasion of Canada by the United States. That is out of the question. Gallant as our troops are, and little inclined as I am to believe that we may lose their services by other causes than the chances of war—although I think my gallant Friend was justified in alluding with delicacy and reserve to what we know from experience of former disturbances in Canada was the unfortunate result of the position of our army—still, gallant as our troops are, no one can pretend that such a force as this could be sufficient to prevent or to defeat an invasion of Canada by the United States. What, then, will be the effect of this act, apparently hostile, upon the temper of the Government and people of the United States? I do not say that we should do anything unbecoming our position or the doctrines which I think have been wisely and soundly laid down of neutrality in our relations with the Government of the United States during these disturbances; but we should do nothing wantonly to infuse into their minds the idea that there is any suspicion on the part of our Government as to their conduct, and that, therefore, the Government of this country is looking to ulterior consequences and making preparations for future misunderstandings and perhaps war. The only inference they will draw from our sending a body of troops—an expedition which is not powerful enough to defend the frontier nor necessary to increase the garrisons of the town—the only inference will be that there is on the part of the English Cabinet suspicion and fear, and a preparation for hostilities which may be contingent with the United States. I say that is unwise, and I hope such is not the opinion of the British Government, and I will cheerfully believe that it is not their opinion that such a contingency is probable; but, if their opinion should be otherwise, then I say it would not be wise nor politic to intimate that opinion in this manner, but rather they should prepare for such a sad contingency at a proper time, and take proper means by which the honour and interests of this country should be vindicated. When the noble Lord boasts of the promptitude with which the Government have availed themselves of the new means which science and skill have placed at their disposal, which enables the British Government to transmit in a short time a numerous force to the other side of 1527 the Atlantic, he must remember that the same means will permit the British Ministry to repose in confidence without exhibiting any unnecessary apprehension which circumstances may eventually not justify, knowing that with these new moans which science has placed at their disposal they can throw upon any given point an amount of force with a degree of promptitude which former Governments had not the power to do. At present, I confess, it seems to me that this movement has a fretful and a feverish character, and, whatever may be the opinion of the Government as to any ulterior consequences which may accrue to Canada from these unhappy disturbances in the United States, I think it would have been better if we had acted with more forbearance, and, until necessity forced us to do otherwise, if we had continued in that: tone and spirit of colonial policy adopted by Parliament at the beginning of the Session, and, as I believe, approved by the country.