"Therefore, Although The Government Of Red River Has Had Few Faults And
Many Excellences, And Has Been Marked By A
Generous policy, in many
instances it has been, and is, open to suspicion; because the
commercial power which buys furs,
Trades with Indians and whites alike,
and is, in fact, the great merchant, storekeeper, and forwarder of the
country; appoints a Governor and assistants, places judges upon the
bench, selects magistrates, and administers the law, even amongst its
possible rivals and trade competitors. Such a state of things is
unsound in principle, and ought only to be continued until a stronger
and permanent Government can be organized; at the same time it can only
be continued in safety, on the opening up of the country, by arming the
Governor with a military force of reasonable amount.
"That the Hudson's Bay Company can govern the country
efficiently, on this obvious condition of all other Governments, is
clear enough; and the peaceable relations between the Indians and the
whites, and between the various tribes themselves, throughout the whole
of this enormous territory, as well as the general state of health and
occupation of the aborigines, prove how perfect and wise has been the
management of the country. But government of Indians, who can be
employed and traded with, and who at last become more or less dependent
upon the Company's organization, as in this case, is one thing, -
government of a large and expanding colony of free white men is quite
another.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 158 of 492
Words from 42860 to 43109
of 136421
