OF THE NORTH-WEST. AUTHOR OF BY ALEXANDER BEGG, THE GREAT "DOT IT DOWN," 66 VOLUME II. Toronto: HUNTER, ROSE & COMPANY. 1894. Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-four, by ALEXANDER BEGG, at the Department of Agriculture. PRINTED AND FOUND BY TORONTO. Lik brent 5.0.08 36133 PREFACE TO VOLUME II. WHILE this, the second volume of my book, was in press, the Memoirs of the Right Honourable Sir John A. Macdonald, written by Mr. Joseph Pope, were published. When it became known, some time ago, that Mr. Pope was engaged upon a biography of the great Canadian statesman, the public looked forward with much interest to its publication, in the expectation of seeing new light shed upon many points connected with the political history of Canada and Confederation, in which Sir John A. Macdonald played so prominent and important a part. In this respect the public certainly have not been disappointed, and Mr. Pope's work may well be considered as one of the most valuable contributions to Canadian history yet issued. In regard to the acquisition of the North-West, however, Mr. Pope makes certain statements, and conveys certain impressions which are not in line with the views expressed by me in the first volume of this history, and I feel, therefore, that I cannot allow them to go unchallenged. It seems to me, if I may be allowed to say so, that, in writing that part of the memoirs, Mr. Pope skimmed over one of the most important periods of Sir John A. Macdonald's career, and in a way apt to leave a wrong impression upon the mind of the reader as to the true position of affairs at that time. Passing over the lengthy and troublesome negotiations which took place between Canada and the Imperial Government for the acquisition of the North-West by the former, we find that Sir John A. Macdonald, in a letter to Sir George E. Cartier, referring to the decision of the law officers of the Crown in favor of the rights and powers of the Hudson's Bay Company, admits the possibilty of grave difficulties in the way of accomplishing the transfer of the country. The disappointment of Sir John at this check, and at the prospect ahead of him, is plainly visible, but, as Mr. Pope shows, this feeling is not shared by some of his colleagues. Here the great statesman stands head and shoulders over others of his cabinet in his unswerving resolution to overcome the difficulties presented, in order—as his biographer puts it— "to fix deep the foundations of England's dominion upon this continent, to cultivate a spirit of loyalty to the Crown, and a feeling of oneness with the motherland." The difficulties were overcome, and arrangements were completed with the Imperial authorities and the Hudson's Bay Company, and ratified by the Canadian Parliament in June, 1869. So far, the people living in the North-West were not consulted in the negotiations, although the Imperial Government made it a point that their rights were to be protected. That they were not consulted up to this time is not surprising, because it might only have added fresh difficulties in the way of effecting arrangements, and no question of handing the country over to a foreign country was involved. But when the preliminary negotiations were concluded, should it not have been the first duty of the Canadian Government to enquire into the wants and wishes of the people of the NorthWest, in relation to the change of government proposed for |