cline the proposition, then the
stipulations in regard to the St. Lawrence canals and a railway from
Ottawa to Sault Ste. Marie, with the Canadian clause of debt and revenue
indemnity, will be relinquished. If the plan of union shall only be
accepted in regard to the north-western territory and the Pacific
Provinces, the United States will aid the construction, on the terms
named, of a railway from the western extremity of Lake Superior, in the
State of Minnesota, by way of Pembina, Fort Garry and the Valley of the
Saskatchewan, to the Pacific Coast, north of latitude 49 deg., besides
securing all the rights and privileges of an American territory to the
proposed Territories of Selkirk. Saskatchewan and Columbia.

The "generosity" of the above proposal was very kind of our neighbors,
but it had no avail. The abrogation of the Reciprocity Treaty and
encouragement of the Fenian Raids by the American people had put the
Canadians on their mettle and stiffened their backbone, so that neither
retaliatory threats or honeyed allurements had any effect in changing
their minds from carving out their own destiny under the broad folds of
the Union Jack. How well this has been done by the earnest efforts and
honest toil of our people, guided by the wisdom and sagacity of those
statesmen who laid the foundation of our Dominion as it exists at
present, is for other nations and other people to judge. Canada enjoys a
prominent position in the estimation of the world to-day, and under the
blessings of the Most High we will continue on in the march of progress
and development of our bountiful resources.

The Fenian Raid, although it cost Canada sacrifices in precious lives
and the expenditure of millions of money, proved of benefit to our young
country in several ways. In the first place, it demonstrated the fact
that the Canadians were loyal and patriotic to their heart's last drop
in preserving British connection, and were true to their Flag and the
freedom it symbolized. Again, the invasion enlightened the Fenian foemen
and all other schemers who cast covetous eyes in our direction, that the
Canadians were capable of protecting themselves, and were ready at all
times to do their duty on the field of battle in defence of their native
land and its institutions. Finally, it taught our people a lasting
lesson in self-reliance, which should be instilled into the hearts and
minds of our future generations, so that they too may always be fo