HC Deb 20 May 1870 vol 201 cc1088-94
MR. R. N. FOWLER

, in rising to call attention to the recent disturbances at Red River, said, he would remind the House that the consideration of this subject had been postponed from the 18th of February, and that since that time the circumstances of the case had somewhat altered. He must commence by expressing his belief that the inhabitants of the Settlement had good reason to complain that their rights as British subjects had not been properly respected when the territory was transferred to Canada. This country acquired the territory in 1763. During the war between England and France the settlers were cut off from all communication with their fellow-countrymen, and the result was that at the beginning of the present century the community was composed of Frenchmen who had intermarried with Indian women, and their descendants, from their old family connection with the country, were naturally regarded as the aristocracy of the Settlement. Although the system of trading companies governing large territories was one which could not be approved, as was decided by Parliament when in 1833 it deprived the East India Company of its right to trade, he was bound, to say that the Hudson's Bay Company had exercised their power in the Red River Settlement in a way which did them honour. The Governor of the Settlement was usually a chief factor of the Company, and was assisted by a Council of 12 leading inhabitants, including the Roman Catholic and Protestant Bishops. The Company claimed a veto on the proceedings of the Council, but had seldom exercised it. Justice was administered by a recorder, assisted by a bench of magistrates, on a plan somewhat similar to that adopted in India. At present the population consisted mainly of half-breeds, some of whom were men of great intelligence and energy of character, who took high positions not only in Canada, but in the United States and in this country. A Committee of the House of Commons, which sat in 1857, recommended that the Red River Settlement should be constituted a Crown Colony; that suggestion, however, had never been carried into effect, and the Settlement had recently been included in the Dominion of Canada. He thought Her Majesty's Government should, at the time when the transfer took place, have taken measures to secure for the inhabitants the full management of their local affairs and fair representation in the Canadian Parliament. It was not right to sell them like a drove of cattle, or, as they put it, to hand them over to become the "Colony of a Colony." They complained that they would now be placed in a worse position than that which they had occupied under the Company; and he urged that, as loyal subjects of Her Majesty, and fitted to enjoy free institutions, they were entitled to better treatment. It should be stated that the inhabitants of the Settlement denied the right of the Company to sell this territory, on the ground that it was not included in the possessions given to the Company by the Charter of Charles II. The cause of the rights of these people having been overlooked, and their feelings not consulted, might perhaps be found in the fact that the transfer took place immediately after there had been a change of Government in this country, and might be considered as one of the results of the system which always sacrificed the Colonies to any Ministerial exigency. He believed that neither the distinguished statesman who now presided over the Colonial Office, nor the right hon. Gentleman who represented the Department in that House, with so much ability and so much courtesy, had had any previous connection with that Department; and it was a remarkable circumstance that, while since 1852 there had only been four Secretaries of State at the Foreign Office, there had been in the same period no less than 13 different Ministers appointed to administer the affairs of the Colonies. Whenever a Minister unhappily died or resigned it was sure in some way to affect the Colonial Office. Take, for instance, the formation of the present Government. The right hon. Gentleman opposite (Mr. Cardwell) had, in the last Literal Ministry, administered the Colonies to general satisfaction; but, for some unexplained reason, he assumed the seals of the War Office, and his Colonial experience was lost to the country. Mr. M'Dougall, an eminent Canadian statesman, was sent out as Governor of the Settlement, and it had been stated that the Governor under the Hudson's Bay Company received no intimation of the change, except through the newspapers. An idea had grown up in the Hudson's Bay Settlement that Canada would not give that Settlement a representation in the Canadian Dominion; but would treat it as the Colony of a Colony. Under those circumstances, while deprecating the course taken by the inhabitants of that Settlement, he thought they were entitled to complain. The feeling of dissatisfaction was not confined to the French; but extended to the English colonists. He believed that if the feelings of the inhabitants of the Red River Settlement had been consulted we should never have heard of the recent disturbances. He wished to urge on the Government the duty of properly protecting the Indians. Canada had always been distinguished by a kindly policy towards the Indians; but still, he hoped the Government would urge on the Canadians the advisability of doing all in their power to make the Indians happy and promote the spread of civilization among them. He would not detain the House by referring to recent events, as his main object was to support the claim of these people to fair representation in the Canadian Parliament, on terms of equality, in proportion to their numbers, with the other portions of the Dominion. He was glad to be able to hope, from information which had lately been obtained, that such an; arrangement would be carried out; and he trusted to obtain an assurance from the right hon. Gentleman that the difficulty was at an end. He could not conclude without noticing the courteous assistance which had been' given in this matter, by the Government of the United States; and he must ask the House to consider what opportunities of aggression might have been given to Fenian agitators if negotiations had not happily tended to a peaceful conclusion. The Red River Settlement was not only a distant dependency of the Empire, but one which there was no road or railway to bring into direct connection with the Empire. There was facility of communication between the Red River Settlement and the United States. It would have been comparatively easy for the Fenians to pass from the United States to the Red River Territory; but had they taken that means of striking a blow at the Canadian Dominion, everyone would have believed that blow was not aimed at Canada, but at England; and he hoped Her Majesty's Government would have felt it their duty to bring the power of England to bear for the purpose of putting down those who made the attempt. In doing so the Government would have received the support of a united Parliament.

MR. MONSELL

said, he had to thank the hon. Member (Mr. R. N. Fowler) for his courtesy in having so many times postponed, at his request, the discussion on the subject. He thought he might also congratulate the hon. Member and the House on his having done so, because since he had first put his Notice on the Paper there had been a very favourable change in the state of affairs at the Red River Settlement. The latest reports stated that peace had been restored to the Settlement; that the Hudson's Bay Company had resumed possession of their factories; and that the whole community were working harmoniously together, while the vast majority anxiously anticipated the arrival of the expedition, and were filled with loyalty to Her Majesty's Government. He had every reason to hope that the expedition would be a mission of peace. It would include nobody who had been connected with the Colony either by politics or otherwise, and it would have for its object the establishment on a firm foundation of peace and good relations between the two races. He agreed with the hon. Member with regard to the French "half-breeds" whom he described, and he could not help thinking that the word was sometimes used in this country as a term of reproach, in utter forgetfulness of the mixed character of the English race. As to the rights of the Hudson's Bay Company, about which a question had been raised, he need only state that they had been reported upon as valid by successive Law Officers of the Crown, and by the most eminent men who had held judicial positions in this country, including Lord Mansfield, Lord Westbury, and a host of others; and they had been sanctioned by repeated Acts of Parliament, of which the last was passed within the last two or three years. The hon. Gentleman spoke of the Government handing over the people of the Red River Settlement as if they were a lot of oxen; but he could hardly have considered the circumstances fully. It was natural that a trading Company should think more of its commercial interests than of developing the general resources of the country. No doubt the rule of the Hudson's Bay Company was mild in its character; but it was despotic in theory, and Her Majesty's Government, in handing the people over to the Canadian Government, had given them liberty instead of taking it away. And it was not a case of transferring the people against their will, for although the question of transferring the Hudson's Bay Territory to Canada had been publicly discussed for many years, no remonstrance had been made by the inhabitants of the Red River Settlement. In fact, they had frequently expressed a desire to have a change of government, and they naturally gravitated towards Canada. To what other country could they have been united? It could scarcely be said, therefore, that they did not acquiesce in the the transaction. It was notorious that Canada was a country with the freest and most liberal institutions, and the inhabitants of the Red River Settlement were allowed to participate in these advantages. They had, indeed, been granted more liberal terms in respect of representation and of subsidy than any other province in the Dominion, and he believed the arrangements which had been made were regarded by them as satisfactory. The hon. Gentleman complained of frequent changes of Colonial Ministers, and, while speaking in very courteous terms of his noble Friend (the Secretary of State for the Colonies) and himself, said they had no experience in Colonial affairs before the present Government was formed. But, without attempting to laud the present Government, he might point out that a number of Secretaries of State were engaged, for a number of years before the present Government came into Office, in attempting that which Lord Granville had been successful in doing—namely, to unite the Hudson's Bay Company's Territory to Canada. As he had stated the other day, the expedition had already started; and there was every reason to believe that the great mass of the inhabitants of the Red River Settlement would hail its arrival with satisfaction, and that the Government which would be established would conduce to the prosperity of the Colony, the development of the great region in which it was situated, and the happiness of its inhabitants.

MR. WHALLEY

said, that a statement had appeared in the newspapers, and the belief had gone abroad, that rebellion or disaffection at the Bed River settlement had been originally occasioned by the action of a Roman Catholic priest named Riel, who was a person of marked character, and supposed to have been in connection with the Fenians, and especially with the Fenians in the United States. He (Mr. Whalley) had brought that statement under the notice of the right hon. Gentleman (Mr. Monsell), who was unable to contradict it; but he stated that the Government of Canada had asked and received the assistance of the Roman Catholic vicar-general in Canada, who had written to a Prelate of his Church, Bishop Taché, to return from Rome to the Red River Settlement, in order to use his influence to bring about a peaceable solution of the difficulty. He (Mr. Whalley) wished to know what was the basis of the negotiations carried on, and whether they were indebted to the vicar-general and to Bishop Taché for the pacific solution which had been accomplished, and whether the delegates from the Red River Settlement took part in the negotiations? It was an easy thing to say that peace was restored, and that there was no danger of collision; but he thought that the best security should be afforded to the House and the country that this arrangement would be permanent, and he hoped that either by verbal explanations or the production of Papers the public would receive proper explanations.

SIR HARRY VERNEY

said, that the Red River district, and the country adjacent to it might be reckoned among the most fertile districts in the world, and he hoped that the expedition in question would lead to a new organization for bringing those vast regions into cultivation. Emigrants might be attracted thither from this country if their expenses out were paid, and arrangements might be carried out to enable them to repay a portion of the expense. By commencing the public works they would be able to give employment to immigrants on their arrival. He was glad that tranquillity had been restored to that territory, and he thought the terms upon which its inhabitants would hereafter be governed were as favourable as they could really expect. He trusted that the inhabitants of the Red River district would use their best endeavours for the consolidation of the Dominion.

MR. MACFIE

said, the House must have heard with much satisfaction the hopeful statement of the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, and he (Mr. Macfie) trusted the colonists would view the action of the Home Government in this matter, as well as in the case of New Zealand, as a proof that the Government and the people of this country were anxious to do all that lay in their power to conduce to the happiness and prosperity of our Colonial possessions.