it was in the years that followed the concession of responsible government that a new era dawned on canada—an era of intellectual as well as material activity. then common schools followed the establishment of municipal institutions in ontario. even the province of quebec awoke from its sullen lethargy and assumed greater confidence in the future, as its statesmen gradually recognized the fact that the union of 1841 could be turned to the advantage of french canada despite it having been largely based on the hope of limiting the development of french canadian institutions, and gradually leading the way to the assimilation of the two races. political life still claimed the best talent and energy, as it has always done in this country; and, while papineau soon disappeared from the arena where he had been, under a different condition of things, a powerful disturbing influence among his compatriots, men of greater discretion and wider statesmanship like lafontaine, morin and cartier, took his place to the decided benefit of french canada. robert baldwin, a tried and conservative reformer, yielded to the antagonistic influences that eventually arrayed themselves in his own party against him and retired to a privacy from which he never ventured until his death. william lyon mackenzie came back from exile and took a place once more in legislative halls only to find there was no longer scope for mere querulous agitators and restless politicians. joseph howe still devoted himself with untiring zeal to his countrymen in his native province, while judge wilmot, afterwards governor like the former in confederation days, delighted the people of new brunswick with his rapid, fervid, scholarly eloquence.15 james w. johnstone, long the leader of the conservative party in nova scotia, remarkable for his great flow of language and argument; william young, an astute politician; james boyle uniacke, with all the genius of an irish orator; laurence o'connor doyle, wit and irishman; samuel j. w. archibald with his silver tongue, afterwards master of the rolls; adams g. archibald, polished gentleman; leonard tilley with his suavity of demeanour and skill as a politician; charles tupper with his great command of language, earnestness of expression and courage of conviction, were the leading exponents of the political opinions and of the culture and oratory of nova scotia and new brunswick. in the upper provinces we had in addition to the names of the distinguished french canadians i have already mentioned, those of john a. macdonald, at all times a ready and incisive debater, a great party tactician, and a statesman of generous aspirations, who was destined to die very many years later with the knowledge that he had realized his conception of a federation uniting all the territory of british north america, from sydney to victoria, under one government. the names of allan mcnab, francis hincks, george brown, george etienne cartier, alexander galt, d'arcy mcgee, louis sicotte, john hillyard cameron, alexander mackenzie, seth huntington, william mcdougall, antoine dorion, alexander campbell, and of other men, eminent for their knowledge of finance, their powers as debaters, their graceful oratory, their legal acumen, their political skill and their intellectual achievements in their respective spheres, will be recalled by many of those who hear me, since the most eminent among them have but recently disappeared from the stage of active life.
as long as party government lasts in this country men will be divided into political divisions, and objection will be of course time and again taken to the methods by which these and other political leaders have achieved their party ends, and none of us will be always satisfied with the conclusions to which their at times overweening ambition has led them; but, taking them all in all, i believe for one who has lived all my life among politicians and statesmen that, despite their failings and weaknesses, the16 public men of our country in those days laboured on the whole conscientiously from their own points of view to make canada happier and greater. indeed, when i look around me and see what has been done in the face of great obstacles during a half century and less, i am bound to pay this tribute to those who laboured earnestly in the difficult and trying intellectual field of public life.
but this period which brought so many bright intellects into the activities of political life was distinguished also, not merely for the material advance in industry, but notably for some performance in the less hazardous walk of literature. the newspaper press with the progress of population, the increase of wealth, the diffusion of education, the construction of railways and telegraph lines, and the development of political liberty, found itself stimulated to new energy and enterprise. a daily press now commenced to meet the necessities of the larger and wealthier cities and towns. it must be admitted, however, that from a strictly intellectual point of view there was not in some respects a marked advance in the tone and style of the leading public journals. political partisanship ran extremely high in those days—higher than it has ever since—and grosser personalities than have ever characterized newspapers in this country sullied the editorial columns of leading exponents of public opinion. no doubt there was much brilliant and forcible writing, despite the acrimony and abuse that were too often considered more necessary than incisive argument and logical reasoning when a political opponent had to be met. it was rarely that one could get at the whole truth of a question by reading only one newspaper; it was necessary to take two or three or more on different sides of politics in order to obtain even an accurate idea of the debates in the legislative halls. a liberal or conservative journal would consider it beneath its legitimate functions even as a newspaper to report with any fulness the speeches of its political adversaries. of course this is not newspaper editing in the proper sense of the phrase. it is not the english method assuredly, since the london times, the best example of a well-equipped and well-conducted newspaper, has always considered it necessary to give17 equal prominence to the speeches of peel, russell, palmerston, derby, disraeli, gladstone—of all the leaders irrespective of party. even in these days of heated controversy on the irish question one can always find in the columns of the london press fair and accurate reports of the speeches of gladstone, balfour, mccarthy, chamberlain, morley and blake. this is the sound basis on which true and honest journalism must always rest if it is to find its legitimate reward, not in the fickle smiles of the mere party follower, but in the support of that great public which can best repay the enterprise and honesty of a true newspaper. still, despite this violent partisanship to which bright intellects lowered themselves, and the absence of that responsibility to public opinion expected from its active teachers, the press of canada, during the days of which i am speaking, kept pace in some essential respects with the material progress of the country, and represented too well the tone and spirit of the mass in the country where the rudiments of culture were still rough and raw. public intelligence, however, was being gradually diffused, and according as the population increased, and the material conditions of the country improved, a literature of some merit commenced to show itself. the poems of crémazie,[25] of chauveau,[26] of howe,[27] of sangster[28] and others, were imbued with a truly canadian spirit—with a love for canada, its scenery, its history and its traditions, which entitled them to a larger audience than they probably ever had in this or other countries. none of those were great poets, but all of them were more or less gifted with a measure of true poetic genius, the more noteworthy because it showed itself in the rawness and newness of a colonial life. amid the activities of a very busy period the poetic instinct of canadians constantly found some expression. one almost now forgotten poet who was engaged in journalism in montreal wrote an ambitious drama, "saul," which was described at the time by a british critic as "a drama treated with great poetic power and depth of psychological knowledge which are often quite startling;" and the author followed it up with other poems, displaying also much imagination and feeling, but at no time reaching the ears of a large and appreciative audience. we cannot,18 however, claim charles heavysege[29] as a product of canadian soil and education, for he was a man of mature age when he made his home in this country, and his works were in no wise inspired by canadian sentiment, scenery or aspiration. in history canadians have always shown some strength, and perhaps this was to be expected in view of the fact that political and historical literature—such works as hamilton's "federalist" or todd's "parliamentary government"[30]—naturally engages the attention of active intellects in a new country at a time when its institutions have to be moulded, and it is necessary to collect precedents and principles from the storehouse of the past for the assistance of the present. a most useful narrative of the political occurrences in lower canada, from the establishment of legislative institutions until the rebellion of 1837–38 and the union of 1841, was written by mr. robert christie, long a publicist of note and a member of the assembly of the province. while it has no claim to literary style it has the great merit of stating the events of the day with fairness and of citing at length numerous original documents bearing on the text.[31] in french canada the names of garneau[32] and ferland[33] have undoubtedly received their full meed of praise for their clearness of style, industry of research, and scholarly management of their subject. now that the political passion that so long convulsed the public mind in this country has disappeared with the causes that gave it birth, one is hardly prepared to make as much a hero of papineau as garneau attempted in his assuredly great book, while the foundation of a new dominion and the dawn of an era of larger political life, has probably given a somewhat sectional character to such historical work. still, despite its intense french canadian spirit, garneau's volumes notably illustrate the literary instinct and intellectual strength which have always been distinguishing features of the best productions of the able and even brilliant men who have devoted themselves to literature with marked success among their french canadian countrymen, who are wont to pay a far deeper homage to such literary efforts than the colder, less impulsive english canadian character has ever shown itself disposed to give to those who have been equally worthy of recognition in the english-speaking provinces.
