reached the
current financial state. Upper Canada’s debt is almost entirely due
to the costs incurred by our failed revolt and its deadening
aftermath. They are not representative of our economic potential.
And in Quebec you are debtless because the governing establishment,
abetted by the seigneurs and churchmen, have set out to stifle
enterprise except where it enriches them and furthers their own
interests. In that respect, both provinces desperately need a
reform-minded government. Our joint prosperity, once achieved, will
make both the debt and the injustice a distant memory. Moreover, if
we don’t mutually believe that a united Canada can evolve into a
progressive and more democratic and economically viable state, then
I agree we are wasting our time.”
Marc was certain he saw a smile hovering at
the corners of LaFontaine’s mouth.
“Socially progressive, democratic, and
economically stable,” Hincks said slowly, pausing between each
descriptor to let Marc translate. “These are words that strike a
chord in you, do they not, gentlemen?” he added, gazing at the
French delegates opposite him.
Bérubé nodded and smiled. Bergeron nodded.
Tremblay looked stricken, and glanced across at his leader.
LaFontaine responded in a perfectly matter-of-fact tone: “Then let
us get down to the nitty-gritty, as my colleague has termed
it.”
***
The economy was the obvious place to start, and
Bérubé warmed to the topic quickly, often outracing the translation
and straining to interpret Hincks’s comments and replies on his
own. Specific improvements to the Lachine Canal and the St.
Lawrence waterway around Montreal Island, and enhanced harbour
facilities there and at Kingston, Toronto and Burlington were
suggested and seconded. Hincks went on to dazzle the guests with
his grasp of taxation issues and a revised scheme of tariffs – all
designed to take advantage of the natural highway provided by the
St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes into the very heart of North
America. Montreal was perfectly situated to be the nexus of the
import-export business, while Toronto would increasingly be the
entry point for a vast hinterland just now being fully opened to
settlement and commerce.
“For too long,” Bérubé stated so passionately
that his pink face flushed scarlet, “those Frenchmen with an
entrepreneurial urge have had to sit and twiddle their thumbs while
the English monopolies and English governors and English bankers
reaped huge profits. My sons have had to consider the law or the
priesthood because they have had no other choice. It was no
surprise to me when they joined Papineau and Nelson in the
uprising. I cheered them on.” He looked now at Robert and added,
“What Mr. Hincks has outlined here is a vision of the kind I have
dreamed about all my life. I don’t know whether or not the
political arrangements you intend to propose later in these
meetings will be able to bring it about, but something must do so or we are doomed as a race.”
Robert smiled gravely, but before he could
respond Erneste Bergeron leaned forward and said, “There is more to
our future than commerce or industry.” He glanced at LaFontaine,
and then continued. “I refer, of course, to the question of
education and religion. I have been told that you, Mr. Baldwin,
have advocated a secular society and a secular system of schools.
We in Quebec are a Christian community, a Catholic one. The church
and parish are the focal points of our rural life. Back in
‘thirty-seven I took up arms for the first time in my life to
defend the little church at St. Eustache, near my estate, and was
captured and imprisoned for a month by the marauding militia. The
church was callously razed by those hooligans and two of my barns
burnt to the ground. These are not the actions of a people who
respect religion.” It was the longest speech given by Bergeron, and
it seemed to leave him winded and a bit embarrassed.
Robert did not wait for Marc to
current financial state. Upper Canada’s debt is almost entirely due
to the costs incurred by our failed revolt and its deadening
aftermath. They are not representative of our economic potential.
And in Quebec you are debtless because the governing establishment,
abetted by the seigneurs and churchmen, have set out to stifle
enterprise except where it enriches them and furthers their own
interests. In that respect, both provinces desperately need a
reform-minded government. Our joint prosperity, once achieved, will
make both the debt and the injustice a distant memory. Moreover, if
we don’t mutually believe that a united Canada can evolve into a
progressive and more democratic and economically viable state, then
I agree we are wasting our time.”
Marc was certain he saw a smile hovering at
the corners of LaFontaine’s mouth.
“Socially progressive, democratic, and
economically stable,” Hincks said slowly, pausing between each
descriptor to let Marc translate. “These are words that strike a
chord in you, do they not, gentlemen?” he added, gazing at the
French delegates opposite him.
Bérubé nodded and smiled. Bergeron nodded.
Tremblay looked stricken, and glanced across at his leader.
LaFontaine responded in a perfectly matter-of-fact tone: “Then let
us get down to the nitty-gritty, as my colleague has termed
it.”
***
The economy was the obvious place to start, and
Bérubé warmed to the topic quickly, often outracing the translation
and straining to interpret Hincks’s comments and replies on his
own. Specific improvements to the Lachine Canal and the St.
Lawrence waterway around Montreal Island, and enhanced harbour
facilities there and at Kingston, Toronto and Burlington were
suggested and seconded. Hincks went on to dazzle the guests with
his grasp of taxation issues and a revised scheme of tariffs – all
designed to take advantage of the natural highway provided by the
St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes into the very heart of North
America. Montreal was perfectly situated to be the nexus of the
import-export business, while Toronto would increasingly be the
entry point for a vast hinterland just now being fully opened to
settlement and commerce.
“For too long,” Bérubé stated so passionately
that his pink face flushed scarlet, “those Frenchmen with an
entrepreneurial urge have had to sit and twiddle their thumbs while
the English monopolies and English governors and English bankers
reaped huge profits. My sons have had to consider the law or the
priesthood because they have had no other choice. It was no
surprise to me when they joined Papineau and Nelson in the
uprising. I cheered them on.” He looked now at Robert and added,
“What Mr. Hincks has outlined here is a vision of the kind I have
dreamed about all my life. I don’t know whether or not the
political arrangements you intend to propose later in these
meetings will be able to bring it about, but something must do so or we are doomed as a race.”
Robert smiled gravely, but before he could
respond Erneste Bergeron leaned forward and said, “There is more to
our future than commerce or industry.” He glanced at LaFontaine,
and then continued. “I refer, of course, to the question of
education and religion. I have been told that you, Mr. Baldwin,
have advocated a secular society and a secular system of schools.
We in Quebec are a Christian community, a Catholic one. The church
and parish are the focal points of our rural life. Back in
‘thirty-seven I took up arms for the first time in my life to
defend the little church at St. Eustache, near my estate, and was
captured and imprisoned for a month by the marauding militia. The
church was callously razed by those hooligans and two of my barns
burnt to the ground. These are not the actions of a people who
respect religion.” It was the longest speech given by Bergeron, and
it seemed to leave him winded and a bit embarrassed.
Robert did not wait for Marc to
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