In Fact, The Self-Interest, However
Enlightened, Which Brings A Dividend To Stockholders, Is Opposed To The
High Impartiality And Absence Of Individualism Which Should
Characterize A True Government.
Individuals and corporations may trade
and grow rich, - Government may not; they may embark in constant
speculation, while it
Cannot; they must either insensibly measure their
dealings by consequences, as affecting gain, or be suspected of
doing so, while the interest of Government is not individual, but
collective; its duty being, to give facility to the acquirer, security
to the possessor, and justice and equal protection to all.
"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.
"It is a question whether the government of the Indians can or ought to
be changed, for a long period to come, so completely is the Indian life
now associated with the operations of the Company. Of course, the
settlement of a new or an extended colony, involves the extinguishment
of Indian rights within the area proposed; and while the outside
district not set apart, would still be roamed over by the Indians, and
be valuable for the fur trade, its limits must, from time to time, be
narrowed by further additions to the circle of civilization and free
government. Thus, the Hudson's Bay Company, if dispossessed of the
government of Red River, and the proposed new Colony, would still
manage and govern where it traded, and would still preserve sobriety,
order, and peace amongst the Indian tribes of its territory thus
limited.
"It may happen that the Hudson's Bay Company may be compelled to govern
everywhere, by the refusal of the Home or Canadian Government to
encounter the responsibility and expense, which at first might be
serious, and which, as regards cost, must be greater in their hands
than in those of a Company using portions, of its business organization
for purposes of administration. It is well to look these probabilities
fairly in the face.
"Such a necessity may arise from the indisposition of certain schools
of politicians at home to incur Colonial expense, and the
responsibility of defending a new nation flanking the United States; it
may happen, owing to the refusal of Lower Canada to widen out the
borders, and thus increase the political power of Upper Canada; or it
may be objected in Canada generally, that the finances of the country
will not, at present, prudently authorize the maintenance of a new
Canadian military force; and again, the Indian war in Minnesota, which
may spread itself, may raise up fears of Indian wars in the new country
to be settled.
"Should the Hudson's Bay Company be compelled, then, to continue to
govern the whole territory, the first essential, as before said, is a
military force. That force may consist partly of regular troops, partly
of mounted irregulars or militia, and it need not, in their hands, be
large. The population is suited to military pursuits, and the half-
breeds mounted would make an excellent irregular cavalry. And the next
essential would be a convention and treaty with the United States, as
to boundary and transit through the United States and Hudson's Bay
territory respectively, for purposes of travel, and commerce, and of
postage, and the telegraph.
"Then the limits of colonization must be defined, and it must be
maturely considered at the outset, and decided as to how far, and in
what form, and how soon, the principle of self-government shall be
introduced. It is assumed that a thriving and expanding colony of white
men neither can nor ought to be taxed and governed without their own
consent, obtained in some form or other; and that it would be both
unwise and unjust to attempt a permanently autocratic government. This
is a most serious question, and the Act 31st George III., under which
Canada was governed until 1841, would appear to solve the difficulty.
The general scheme of government of that Act might operate so soon as
the new Colony had a population of (say) 50,000, and its provisions
might be elaborated into a constitution, to be voted by the Colony in
general assembly, so soon as the population reached (say) 300,000.
"The grand basis of all successful settlement - the land - presents fewer
difficulties than might have been imagined, because the admirable model
of the land system of the United States is before us, and no better can
be devised to enable a country to grow up side by side with the
Republic. Reliable surveys and plans, cheap and unclogged titles to the
land in fee, a limited upset price of not exceeding $1-25/100 an acre;
division of the land saleable into regular sections; the issue of land
warrants and regulations as to location, which will prevent, as far as
may be, monopolies of land in the hands of speculators - are all
essential conditions, and whatever power governs, they must be equally
observed.
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