He
acknowledged the neglect, apologised for it, and thereafter, until the
day of their departure, the delegates, and Mrs. Howe and Mrs. Van
Koughnet, were received in high circles, and were especially invited to
Clumber.
To sum up, I left England for Canada, in "The Asia," on the 1st
February, 1862, landing at New York, where my son and Messrs. Brydges
and Hickson met me - and after a deal of hard work on the part of every
officer and man on the Grand Trunk, and no small anxiety, labour,
responsibility, and exposure to storms and climate, inflicted upon
myself, Mr. Brydges, Mr. Hickson, and the whole staff, Quartermaster-
General Mackenzie sent us a handsome acknowledgment of our semi-
military services. But the authorities at home did not condescend to
recognize our existence or our labours.
The late Sir Philip Rose gave me the greatest assistance with Mr.
Disraeli, Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, and all the great party whose
confidence he possessed. The following letter, addressed to him by Sir
E. Bulwer Lytton, will be read with great interest: -
"BUXTON, DERBYSHIRE,
"April 27, 1862.
"MY DEAR SIR,
"I am much flattered by your wish, and that of our Colonial friends;
but I fear that I must decline the important and honourable task to
which you invite me: partly from a valid personal reason; partly on
political grounds. With regard to the first, I am here for a course of
the Baths, in hopes to get rid of a troublesome lumbago, which has
harassed me all the winter, and appears to have been epidemical from
the number of victims it has cramped and racked this wet season. And I
fear I shall not be able to get away till the middle of May, unless it
be for some special vote. But apart from this consideration, I doubt
whether it would be prudent for any member of Lord Derby's late
Government, with the support of those leaders who might very soon form
another administration, to urge upon Parliament any new pecuniary
burthen, nay, any new loan, in the face of a deficit. Would not this
really play into Gladstone's hands, and furnish him with a plausible
retaliation in case of attack on the side in which he is most
vulnerable, viz., the dealing with a deficit as if it were a surplus?
And again, would it be quite prudent in the coming Conservative
Chancellor of the Exchequer and his future colleagues to commit
themselves to a measure they might find it inconvenient to carry out
when in power?
"These are doubts that occur to me; and would be well weighed by Mr.
Disraeli - who might, perhaps, agree with me, that, on the whole, it
would be better that this very important question should be brought
before the House by some one not in the late Cabinet - some great
merchant, perhaps - some one, in short, who could not be supposed to
compromise or commit the future administrative policy of the party.
"I remain, however, of the same opinion, that aid to intercolonial
communication can be defended on Imperial grounds - and would in itself,
if not opposed on purely fiscal reasons, be a wise as well as generous
policy.
"I regret much that my absence from town prevents, my seeing Mr. Watkin
and profiting by the information, he could give me. I fear he will have
left London before I return to it. But I should be very glad if he
would write to me and acquaint me with the exact state of the case at
present - and the exact wishes and requests of the Colonists.
"Is it a renewal of the former proposition or what? 'The whole question
of intercolonial communication' is a vast one. But I suppose
practically it would limit itself before Parliament to the Railway
before submitted to us - according to the pamphlet you sent me.
"Believe me,
"Yours very truly and obliged,
"E. B. LYTTON."
The following letter was addressed to me: -
"BUXTON,
"May 3,1862.
"DEAR SIR,
"Allow me to thank you cordially for a letter, which cannot but be
extremely gratifying to my feelings. Certainly my first object when I
had the honour to preside at the Colonial Office was to attach all
parts of that vast Empire which our Colonies comprise to the Mother
Country, by all the ties of mutual interests and reciprocal affection.
"The importance of the Railway line between Halifax and Quebec must be
transparent to every clear-sighted politician. And had I remained in
office, I should have urged upon my colleagues - I do not doubt
successfully - the justice and expediency, both for Imperial interests,
commercial and military, and for the vindication of the Imperial good
faith which seems to me indisputably pledged to it, some efficient aid,
or guarantees the completion of the line. I should willingly have
undertaken the responsibility of recommending that aid to Parliament;
and I do not think the House of Commons would have refused it when
proposed with the authority of Government. In that case the Railway by
this time would have been nearly, if not wholly, completed.
"Traffic begets traffic; railways lead on to railways; and a line once
formed to Quebec, it would not be long before the resources of British
Columbia would, if properly directed and developed, suffice to commence
the Railway that must ultimately connect the Atlantic and Pacific. That
once accomplished, the destinies of British North America seem to me
assured.
"I shall rejoice to hear that the present Government make a proposal
which the Provinces accept. Some time, I conclude, must elapse before
their decision can be known; and in that case the question can scarcely
come before Parliament this Session.
