- First, To Give Some
Slight Sketch Of The History Of The Question; Then To Examine The
Existing Motives Which Ought
To prompt us to secure a speedy union of
these Provinces; then to speak of the difficulties which this question
Has encountered before reaching its present fortunate stage; then to
say something of the mutual advantages, in a social rather than
political point of view, which these Provinces will have in their
union; and, lastly, to add a few words on the Federal principle in
general: when I shall have done. In other words, I propose to consider
the question of Union mainly from within, and, as far as possible, to
avoid going over the ground already so fully and so much better
occupied by hon. friends who have already spoken upon the subject.
"So far back as the year 1800, the Hon. Mr. Uniacke, a leading
politician in Nova Scotia at that date, submitted a scheme of Colonial
Union to the Imperial authorities. In 1815, Chief Justice Sewell, whose
name will be well remembered as a leading lawyer of this city, and a
far-sighted politician, submitted a similar scheme. In 1822, Sir John
Beverley Robinson, at the request of the Colonial Office, submitted a
project of the same kind; and I need not refer to the report of Lord
Durham, on Colonial Union, in 1839. These are all memorable, and some
of them are great, names. If we have dreamed a dream of Union (as some
of you gentlemen say), it is at least worth while remarking that a
dream which has been dreamed by such wise and good men, may, for aught
we know, or you know, have been a sort of vision - a vision
foreshadowing forthcoming natural events in a clear intelligence: a
vision - I say it without irreverence, for the event concerns the lives
of millions living, and yet to come - resembling those seen by the
Daniels and Josephs of old, foreshadowing the trials of the future, the
fate of tribes and peoples, the rise and fall of dynasties. But the
immediate history of the measure is sufficiently wonderful, without
dwelling on the remoter predictions of so many wise men. Whoever, in
1862, or even in 1863, would have told us that we should see even what
we see in these seats by which I stand - such a representation of
interests acting together, would be accounted, as our Scotch friends
say, 'half daft'; and whoever, in the Lower Provinces, about the same
time, would have ventured to foretell the composition of their
delegations which sat with us under this roof last October, would
probably have been considered equally demented. But the thing came
about; and if those gentlemen who have had no immediate hand in
bringing it about, and, therefore, naturally feel less interest in the
project than we who had, will only give us the benefit of the doubt -
will only assume that we are not all altogether wrong-headed - we hope
to show them still farther, though we think we have already shown them
satisfactorily, that we are by no means without reason in entering on
this enterprise.
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