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r duty to exam- interpreted and endations to the federal govern- we believed that were required," yerts said. ) STAMPS (CP) --Calgary f the Western rence today an- signing of line- 'ampbell and vet+ huck Zickefoose. terest g eee 3-8186 & Service 5-3641 8-3368 She Oshawa Cimes OSHAWA, ONTARIO, FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 1967 [867 U 1967 CANADA- CONFEDERATION JOSEPH MacSWEEN LONDON (CP) -- Canada, in territory now the second largest country in the world, was created 100 years ago by _ the British Parliament in a few hurried, harassed and distracted weeks. While John A. Macdonald _ and other Fathers of Confed- eration looked on anxiously from the galleries, the Mother of Parliaments gave its bless- ing to the British North Amer- ica Act with something close to a sigh of relief. And Queen Victoria, in all her matornly majesty, issued this royal proclamation -- a sort of birth certificate for the new country: ". . . We do ordain, declare and command that on and after the first day of July, 1867, the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Bruns- wick, shall form and be one Dominion under the name of Canada." Thus Canada--it was almost called the '"'kingdom"' of Can- ada -- approached nationhood nearly three years after 'the Charlottetown and Quebec conferences began the historic work of Confederation. The Earl of Carnarvon, 36- year - old colonial secretary, matched his oratory to the oc- casion when he declared in the House of Lords: "We are laying the founda- tions of a great state--per- haps on which at a future day may even overshadow this country. "But come what may, we shall. rejoice that we have shown neither indiffer- ence to their wishes nor jeal- ousy of their aspirations, but that we honestly and sincerely fostered their growth, recog- nizing in it the conditions of our greatness. . . . We re- move, as I firmly believe, all possibilities of future jeal- ousies."" UPSTAGED BY RAC The BNA Act, embody- ing Confederation resolutions drawn up at the Quebec con- ference of October, 1864, was introduced at Westmin- ster Feb. 12, ° 1867, passed March 8, it received royal assent March 29. Queen Vic- Harrassed, Hurried Time For Fathers toria issued her proclamation May 22. That last date, incidentally, was marked by another event --the 88th Epsom Derby. The Times of London devoted far more space to how the out- sider iiermit won the Derby than to the proclamation about Canada. Yellowed old records in ar- chives here tell in their digni- fied, formal way of the lusty politics that brought the Con- federation issue to a head in a robust era after it was dis- cussed on and off for many years: --Roman Catholic French Quebec and Protestant Anglo- Saxon Ontario--then fused to- gether as Canada East and Canada West -- had wrestled one another to a standstill. Their strange dual govern- ment--two ministers of this, two ministers of that -- was deadlocked. --The American Civil War had ended. The victorious northern states were resentful of the attitudes of Britain and the colonies during the conflict, Annexation talk -- "'they'll gobble us up"'--was in the air. The Fenian Order of wild - eyed Irish patriots added to the unease with raids and rumors of invasion. There was talk of them trying to seize Canada as part of a fight against imperial England. --The British North Amer- ican colonies had to unite if they were to tame the West, then under the Hudson's Bay Co., and keep it out of U.S. .clutches. --Britain, -- worr i e d_ by and her markets no longer in the colonies but in the world at large." It was not surprising that Nova Scotia, known over the seven seas in those days of sail and wooden walls, tended also to take an outward-look- ing stance rather than turning eagerly to what was some- times scornfully called the continental "backwoods." New Brunswick, with its close U.S. connections, also was doubtful. It was a time of turmoil in the imperial Parliament. The issue of electoral reform and extension of the franchise had toppled the Whig government of Earl Russell in July 1866 and now threatened to fell the Tory administration of the Earl of Derby. In fact Carnarvon, who in- troduced the BNA Act in the House of Lords Feb. 12, had resigned from the cabinet on the reform question before his measure had gone the course im the House of Commons. John A. and his colonial col- leagues ag onized through those weeks in the fear that fall of the government and possibly a new British general election would delay or even wreck the whole project of union. BESET BY DANGERS What with Fenian scares and political crises, the Con- federation campaign had been beset by sensational dangers on both sides of the Atlantic since mid-1866. Joseph Howe, Nova Scotia's powerful anti - confederate leader, waged a hard fight on the sideli here brandishing U.S. exp wanted Confederation so that the scattered territories would be better able to defend them- selves. Besides, a new surge of liberalism, combined with free trade, prevailed in Brit- ain. Colonies were as '"'mill- stones around our necks," said one statesman. NOVA SCOTIA COOL "The bracing winds of eco- nomic freedom blew unham- pered over the broad oceans," writes P. B. Waite in his The Life and Times of Confeder- ation. "Britain sought her supplies . malig SEEKERS! THIS IS THE ENTRANCE OF DISTINCTION TO YOUR HOME IN: -- Rosslynn Arms Apts. This is only one of many bonus features you will find in Rosslynn ARMS APARTMENTS partments at the same price. found in other -- Homelike touches not TALS FROM: $110.00--STUDIO SUITES $125.00--1 BEDROOM $140.00--2 BEDROOM 724 or 723-1009 a petition bearing 30,000 sig- natures. Howe, who had come over in the summer, was handed unexpected ammunition when the Toronto Globe ran articles in August saying Macdonald repeatedly drank to excess on the job--even during a Fenian scare when his duties as mili- tia minister were neglected. "Howe was deeply im- pressed," says Donald Creigh- ton in his biography of Sir John A. "How better could he employ his time than in com- municating this sad _intelli- gence about Macdonald to the colonial scretary?"' Carnarvon wrote "very sor- rowfully" to Lord Monck, the Canadian governor - general. Macdonald was unruffied. The SEE -- SENSATIONAL | i } i Festive Day In New Capital As First Parliament Met By BEN WARD Canadian Press Staff Writer On the opening day of Can- ada's first Confederation Par- liament the hero of the hour could look about him with justified pride. Sir John A. Macdonald had marched his untested coali- tion government to a clear victory in the late summer elections of 1867. His great Liberal rival, George Brown of the red hair and terrible temper, had been personally defeated and was gone from the Ottawa scene, in body if not in spirit. The lanky prime minister had campaigned on an emo- tional 'fair trial' platform-- a fair trial for the new Con- federation he himself had openly derided three years earlier. His plea drew landslide sup- port in Ontario and Quebec, New Brunswick had split about even. Only in Nova Scotia had anti-Confederation sentiment gone against the government. Of 19 members elected there, 15 were allied with Joseph Howe in deter- mination to get Nova Scotia out of the new union. For a time John A. had worried that Howe -- '"'that pestilent fellow' as he called him--might boycott Parlia- ment. But the glowering Nova Scotian was on hand at the opening and the prime minis- ter was elated. ENTERED CABINET "He will, by and by, be open to reason," Macdonald wrote in a prophetic letter to a Nova Scotia supporter. Little more than a year later the old master strategist had charmed Howe all the way into the cabinet. Parliament's opening Nov. 1, 1867--a fine Thursday after- "SPECTATORS, senators and bers of Parlia- noon--was a festive for the new capital. Stores closed for the day and most of the 20,000 residents were lined along the route to Par- fiament Hill when Governor- General Monck rode by. Their tight ranks helped to hide most of the untidy construc- tion rubble that lay about the new Parliament Buildings, towering grandly over the somewhat ramshackle lum- bering town. In the gas-lighted Senate chamber, crowded with 72 senators, 180 MPs and nearly 100 carefully - gowned ladies, the Governor - General read the throne speech which in- cluded the assurance: "Your new nationality en- ters on its course backed by the moral support, the ma- terial aid and the most ardent good wishes of the mother country." In some ways it was an odd- looking House of Commons that settled down to begin the nation's business. TWO FATHERS LOST Sir John A. sat confidently on the government side at the head of his Liberal-Conserva- tive flock. Across the aisle at the opposition leader's desk was John Sandfield Macdon- ald, the diminutive Ontario premier who had campaigned for the government but -in- sisted, to some amazement, he wasn't a coalitionist. Since Brown's defeat the Liberals hadn't got around to selecting a new leader. Thus the new Opposition leader was more of a government ap- Continued on Page 26 pointment than anything else. isn't. Not by a long shot. Only the new Sani thod jetely restores fabrics to their original beauty. Makes colors bright as new ... makes the finish soft as new ... makes everything you wear look like new! ® We are Sanitone Certified Master Dryclean- ers, and we are =< ee your garments. Try ws today. PICKWICK Cleaners and Shirt Launderers 728-5133 434 SIMCOE SOUTH wv Sanitone Pret Mock Drage ment crowd around as Gov- Brown wasn't the only no- ticeable absentee. Two of John A.'s 13 original cabinet minis- ters, both Fathers of Confed- eration, had not survived the voting. Adams George Archi- bald, secretary of state, was a victim of Howe's campaign. Jean-Charles Chapais, minis- ter of agriculture, was stymied in Kamouraska, Que., when a wild riot on the final voting day prompted the re- turning officer to throw up his hands and call the whole thing off. A subsequent by- election there was taken by the Liberals, or the Rouges as the party was known in Que- bec. SALARY $600 The early part of the session was rather humdrum. One of the first bills introduced by the government set the ses- sional salary of MPs at $600 a year, comfortably above the average wage of the day. They also drew 10 cents a mile for travel. Another bill provided for financing of the Intercolonial Railway to link the central provinces with the Maritimes. It had been part of the Confed- eration deal but Howe had already lost enthusiasm and 'wasn't much impressed. For the most part the Lib- erals lay back, biding their time, Alexander Mackenzie loosed a token blast at the "mongrel" coalition, assailing the ministers up and down. Howe had delivered his ex- , pected, and not particularly impressive, assault on Con- federation. It was all rather tepid stuff after the sound and fury of the election campaign, a wild one even in an era noted for the violence of its politics. Electioneering and voting were strictly male preroga- tives a century ago and often involved such accompani- ments as fists, stones, clubs and even guns. PORK BOUGHT -VOTES Depending on local prefer- ence and candidate affluence, NELLIS HOME IMPROVEMENTS e GENERAL REPAIRS @ Ree Rooms Painting Papering "All Work Guaranteed" For Free Estimates Call... 728-2061 ernor-General Monck reads the Speech from the Throne to open Canada's first Par- votes could be bought with money, jobs, whisky or--the most.common---dripping slabs of pork served up from bar- rels of brine strategically lo- cated along the -- to the voting places. "Pork - barrel politics" re- mains part of the political lexicon to this day. And woe betide the man who took a gift from both sides. The open ballot system was used, requiring each elec- tor to reveal his choice openly to the polling clerk and watch- ful bystanders. The secret bal- lot didn't arrive until 1874. To complicate things more, each riding voted for two days. And there was such a variety of dates that the whole election lasted 44 days, from Aug. 7 to Sept. 20. As each riding voted the result was telegraphed across the four-province nation. By early September it was obvi- ous that John A. was headed for victory but it didn't slow the pace of the campaign a whit. One of the few dull contests was at Kingston where John A. was considered such a shoo-in that only 877 of 2,248 eligible voters turned out. He swamped Liberal John Stew- art 735 to 142. FOUGHT McGEE Things were much livelier in Montreal West where two Irish elements fought--liter- ally--the Fenian issue. Border raids by Irish Fenians in the United States bent on seizing Canada as ransom for Ireland were one of the pressures that led to Confederation. Thomas D'Arcy McGee, leader of the anti-Fenians and one of John A's chief lieuten- ants, led by 500 votes on the first' da y of voting. The aroused Fenians mustered a mighty second-day effort but managed only to cut his final margin to 197. On election night the Trish staged a private civil war. A mob of 800 Fenians stormed McGee's committee rooms where a celebration was being held. At the height of the clash revolvers roared. Nobody was killed but dozens were taken to hospital. A few days later McGee sent a letter to the Montreal Gazette demanding the arrest of the mob leaders. "A mob unpunished is a fatal prece- dent," he warned, to no avail. In seven months McGee was dead, shot down by an assas- liarm-ent in 1867, Sir John A. Macdonald had formed a coalition government after sin at the door of his Ottawa rooming house. A Fenian, Patrick James Whelan, later was hanged for murder, largely on circum- stantial evidence, and there is doubt to this day whether he was the killer. He pro- tested 'his innocence all the way to the snap of the gallows trapdoor. RIOTS UNCHECKED What Montreal West was for the Irish, Kamouraska was for the French. At least the Irish paused to vote; in Kamouraska the riots raged right through the election pe- riod. Things were handled far more subtly in Ontario South riding where Brown had de- cided to bid for an upset win rather than run in a safe Tor- onto seat. He challenged T. B. Gibbs, a veteran Con- servative provincial member who was running both feder- ally and provincially at the same time. That's not al- lowed now. Brown came out of the first day's ballotting with an 11- vote edge. But reports, the next day toldwof Gibbs or- ganizers spreadihg about lav- ish promises of gifts, govern- ment jobs and favors. The sont tally gave it to Gibbs by 4. Shocked Liberals pleaded with Brown to try another riding; it was only Aug. 30 and plenty still were avail- able. He refused, but con- tinued campaigning for the party. Some history students have suggested that Brown was more relieved than disap- pointed. His marriage a few years earlier had turned into one of the great love stories of Canadian history and he was beginning to regret every hour politics kept him from ; his wife and baby daughter. New Type Set For Centennial TORONTO (CP)--Carl Dair's one - man centennial project started a dozen years ago. He has just finished it--the design of the first Canadian printing type face for book texts. He calls it' Cartier--for the explorer--and describes it as combining touches of traditional types from around Cartier's era Buying or Selling! GUIDE REALTY LTD.° @ LLOYD CORSON, President @ DICK YOUNG, Vice-Pres. @ LUCAS PEACOCK, Sec. Treas 16 SIMCOE ST. S., OSHAWA PHONE 723-5281 with modern characteristics to suit it to new methods of photo- typesetting. The 55-year-old designer, a consultant on typography who was born in Welland, Ont., says he got the idea in 1955 while mulling over the thought that the only Canadian attempt to design type had been a crude creation of Indian characters by ja missionary to the Crees in 11843, an election campaign in which he pleaded for a fair trial for the new Confeder- ation, To avoid further temptation he sailed for Scotland with his family on a holiday trip three weeks before Parlia- ment was to open. LIBERALS BATTLE One of the longest and bit- terest campaign feuds was between two Liberals, Alex- ander Mackenzie and William McDougall, a member of Macdonald's cabinet who had split with Brown when the Liberal chief bolted the coali- tion ministry. First Mackenzie invaded McDougall's riding of Lanark for a series of stormy de- bates. Then McDougall trailed his opponent to Lamb- ton where things really blew up. One meeting in Sarnia lasted until two o'clock in the morning. Next day Mackenzie tried to get to a rally at Plympton but was driven off by a gang of rowdies. They chased his carriage for miles along the country lanes "'yell- ing and howling like sav- ages," said the Sarnia Ob- server's account. Like most political figures of the day, Mackenzie wisely campaigned behind a_ fast horse. The climax of this feud came at Arkona where Mc- Dougall accused Mackenzie of disloyalty to the Queen by = his attacks on the govern- ment. fa got this devastating re- ply "Loyalty to the Queen... does not require a man to bow down to her manservant, her maidservant or' -- and here he turned to point at McDougall--'"'her ass!" When the laughing broke . out McDougall was whipped and knew it. Mackenzie swept Lambton. STIRRED BY PRESS Newspapers, most of them little more than party outlets, help to keep the campaign in high gear. Judge J. W. Longley, an observer of the Nova Scotia campaign, wrote: "Day by day the newspapers were emitting violent and inflame matory diatribes and an ex- citement and bitterness pre- vailed unexampled in the political history of Nova Sco- ~ tia." Brown's Toronto Globe de - eided to 'expose' Sir John A's drinking habits and cited incidents where he had been unable to keep appointments because of drunkenness. It was vicious stuff, but ~ typical of the animosity be- tween the two political giants which they had interrupted ~ only briefly to make possible -- the. Confederation agreement. The prime minister's drink- ing bouts were well known. But few even in his immedi- ate circle of friends knew about the agonizing gallstone attacks that contributed to the problem. Finally the election tumult was over. A yellowing record book in the Parliamentary Library shows expense ac- counts from returning officers totalling $58,036.41 of which only $45,432.31 was approved. CORRUPTION CHARGED Nobody ever _ estimated what the politicians spent, al- ' though Mackenzie told a post- election dinner in Toronto that it was the most corrupt election on record with $7,000 of secret service money spent by cabinet ministers on their campaigns. Sir John could count on 101 of the 181 seats. He had a 46-36 edge in Ontario, 45-20 in Quebec (counting the later Liberal byelection win) and seven of 15 in New Bruns- wick. The paltry three in Nova Scotia, against Howe's 16, would be remedied. True, Prince Edward Is- land and Newfoundland still had to be courted and won, the Americans remained a source of concern and there was. the West to be considered some day. But the basic prob- lems had been surmounted and for the first time in years a Canadian leader had a solid government to command. When Parliament ad- journed for Christmas nothing had yet happened to mar the rosy picture or even hint of the problems that were brew- ing for Sir John A, and the new nation. CONFEDERATION PLAQUE This plaque, made of multi - colored ceramics, and decorated with shields of the four participating provinces and other patrio- tic designs, is on a wall of the huge conference room in the Westminister Palace Hotel, where the Fathers of Confederation drafted the British North America Act. The conference room has since been divided into of- fices by a firm of consult- ing engineers, whose em- ployees keep the plaque shiny. (CP Photo)