all
the orators on his side of the house, he dwelt much on the example of
the American revolution, and on the sympathy and assistance the United
States would give to the Canadians if they should resist. He asked,
"What is the evil, and what is the remedy? You say, Great merit exists
among the public servants. But do you propose to prevent the recurrence
of that difficulty? Not at all. You pay the arrears. But who will pay
the servants next year? Do you believe that the house of assembly will
do so? You know as well as I do that the supplies will again be stopped;
the same outcries will be raised, and then, I suppose we shall have
another special commission, another delay of three years, another
evasion of the difficulty, another breach of faith. Distrust will
continue; exasperation will increase; their powers of resistance will
increase also; one effort will be made, and you and your shuffling
policy, your degraded government, your unworthy peculating and
mischievous officials, will be dismissed with ignominy and hatred. I
hear eternal talk of the evil consequences of stopping the supplies to
those official servants, and hear nothing in reproof of the legislative
council, who shut up last year all the primary schools in the country,
and left 60,000 children without instruction. All your regards are
turned the wrong way. You sought to make out a case of hardship to the
servants of the people, but turned a deaf ear to the complaints of the
people themselves. But I would ask his majesty's ministers, Have they
well weighed the policy of this measure, and do they know its inevitable
result? If not, I will tell them. The direct effect on the minds of the
Canadian population will be a determination as soon as possible to
get rid of a dominion which entails on them results so mischievous and
degrading. Every year will hereafter strengthen the feeling, and lasting
enmity and discord will thus be entailed on the mother country and the
colony--discord that will cease only when the colony shall become a
great, powerful, and independent community. The immediate effects of
this feeling will not be seen in open and violent revolt, but in a
silent though effective warfare against your trade. Non-intercourse will
become the religion of the people: they will refuse your manufactures,
and they will smuggle from the States. The long line of frontier will
render all your attempts to prevent this smuggling unavailing. The
people will refuse y