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ОглавлениеLord Durham’s Mission
The report of armed rebellion in the Canadas brought the British government to a realization of the seriousness of the situation and of the necessity of grappling firmly with the problem of Canadian government. The accounts of the rebellion reached Britain just before the adjournment of parliament for the Christmas vacation, so that during the recess the government was given time to formulate its Canadian policy. It was decided temporarily to suspend the constitution of Lower Canada and to appoint a commission to conduct a searching inquiry into the actual grievances of the province with a view to suggesting a final solution for the problem. Accordingly, on the assembling of parliament on January 16, 1838, Lord John Russell introduced into the House of Commons a bill making temporary provision for the government of Lower Canada. The constitution of the province was suspended from the date of the proclamation of the act until November 1, 1842. The government during this period, reverting to the system in vogue prior to 1791, was to consist of a governor and Special Council appointed by the crown. Legislation was to be initiated by the governor, while the council was not permitted to pass laws imposing new taxes or effecting constitutional changes. A limit was set to the period of the operation of the laws of the Special Council, and provision was made for the review of its laws by the British parliament.[1]
For the very responsible position of special commissioner to the Canadas, Lord Durham was selected by Palmerston. Durham, though one of the younger men of the party, was recognized as a man of commanding strength—too strong, in fact, for the comfort of certain members of the ministry. He had only recently completed a most successful mission to Russia, and was now a free lance in British public life. During the previous summer he had been urged by Palmerston to take the Canadian post, but had declined. Now that a crisis had been reached the request was renewed, and it was only after great pressure had been brought to bear upon him that he accepted the mission, on the day of the introduction of the Canada Bill. There were special political reasons which made Durham’s appointment desirable. The Canada Bill proposed coercive measures which were certain to be bitterly opposed by the radicals in parliament, and Durham’s known radical tendencies would tend to make the mission acceptable to those who regarded it with suspicion. Lord Durham was the one outstanding man who could command the confidence of all shades of opinion in parliament.
Lord Durham was vested with more extensive powers than had ever been held by a representative of the crown in British North America. He was clothed with a threefold power. He was governor-in-chief of the five provinces of Upper Canada, Lower Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. In addition, he was given a special commission as high commissioner for the adjustment of certain important questions ‘depending in the said provinces of Lower and Upper Canada, respecting the form and future government of the said provinces.’ To this end he was therefore appointed ‘High Commissioner and Governor General of all Her Majesty’s provinces on the continent of North America, and of the islands of Prince Edward and Newfoundland.’ The extensive authority conferred on Lord Durham is but an evidence of the seriousness with which the Canadian situation was regarded, and of the determination of the government to evolve a plan of salvation which, if necessary, should include all the North American colonies. In addition to the formal instructions—differing but slightly from those previously issued—as governor-in-chief over each of the provinces, Lord Durham was furnished with letters from Lord Glenelg conveying the directions of the Colonial Office. The first of Lord Glenelg’s letters, dated January 20, 1838, mentions as subjects for investigation the anti-commercial spirit of the House of Assembly of Lower Canada, the financial disputes between the two provinces and the constitution of the legislative council of Lower Canada. In order to avoid ‘giving any just grounds for complaints, not unreasonably made on former occasions, against attempting legislative changes affecting Canada, without previously ascertaining the sentiments and wishes of those whom such changes principally concern,’ Lord Glenelg suggested the assembling of a committee representing the two provinces for the discussion of the question of grievances. This committee was to be composed of ten representatives from the assembly of Upper Canada, three from the council, three appointed from the council of Lower Canada and two elected by each of the five districts of the lower province. The lieutenant-governors were instructed to afford such information as Lord Durham desired and to obey the directions which he should give. No attempt was made to outline the principles on which a solution of the Canada problem should be sought. ‘I wish therefore especially to press it on your attention, that, in the preparation of any plan to be submitted to Parliament, the first object should be to ensure every probability of its practical efficiency.’ The series of instructions to Lord Durham closed with the most positive assurance of the ‘utmost support and assistance’ of Her Majesty’s government.
The selection of Lord Durham’s staff created much discussion in England. Charles Buller, who had received his early training from Thomas Carlyle, was appointed chief secretary. Though a member of parliament since 1830, Buller was personally unknown to Durham until the summer of 1837, and even at the time of his appointment was but slightly acquainted with his future chief. Thomas Turton, who had gained notoriety from proceedings in the divorce court, was offered a position by Durham on the recommendation of Stanley, but the Colonial Office refused to assume responsibility for the appointment. Turton accompanied Durham, and was later attached to the mission as legal adviser. Objection was also taken to the appointment of Gibbon Wakefield, who joined Durham’s staff in a private capacity.
Lord Durham was not prepared to depart for Canada until near the end of April, and the delay was fatal to the political success of his mission. ‘The delay,’ wrote Buller, ‘took off the bloom of the mission; the insurrection was to all appearance wholly suppressed before we started; the danger began to be thought less urgent; and the general impression of the necessity for great powers and unusual measures was gradually weakened.’[2] Lord Durham with his party—consisting in all of twenty-two persons—finally arrived at Quebec on May 27. The act suspending the constitution had been brought into effect on March 27, and on April 2 Sir John Colborne selected his Special Council, consisting of twenty-two members. Of Colborne’s Special Council two members, C. E. de Lery and James Stuart, belonged to the executive council, while eight were members of the legislative council. Lord Durham decided to preserve an absolutely free and independent course and to avoid entanglements with any of the factions connected with the recent disturbances. He therefore found it necessary to dispense with the services of the existing executive council—every member of which had in one way or another antagonized some section of the community. The new council was composed of Dominique Daly, the provincial secretary, whom Colborne had recommended as the only unexceptionable member of the provincial service, R. I. Routh, the commissary-general, and Durham’s three secretaries, Buller, Cowper and Turton. The duties of the council, however, were to be confined within the narrowest constitutional limits.
Lord Durham’s reception was as cordial as could be expected under the circumstances. The magnificence of his establishment, which he well knew how to employ to advantage, had impressed the French Canadians with the power and majesty of the new governor. His dismissal of the executive council stamped him at once as a man of strength and independent judgment. The mass of French Canadians rejoiced in the overthrow of the arch-enemy, the executive council, while the moderate British element saw in Durham’s decisive measures the promise of the restoration of tranquillity and the resumption of commerce and industry. Only the British bureaucracy, whose personal interests were affected, were inclined to grumble; but Lord Durham could well afford to arouse their opposition.
| [1] | For a more complete description of the constitution of the Special Council see p. 486. |
| [2] | Charles Buller, Sketch of Lord Durham’s Mission to Canada in 1838. |
