THE SENATE been elective. In practice this addition to the already large number of elections had not proved a success; men of age and experience would not endure the trouble and uncertainty of an election, while the young and ambitious made the popular chamber their goal. Hence both Brown and Macdonald concurred in advocating a nominative upper chamber. To this they were also led by their wish to imitate as far as possible the British Constitution, Macdonald comparing the senators to so many life peers. Besides, such a chamber was an indispensable portion of the federal scheme, since the smaller provincial units of the Dominion would not have consented to federation unless the inequality of representation by population in the Commons had been balanced by the equal representation of Upper Canada, Lower Canada, and the Maritime Provinces taken as a group in the senate. In actual fact the Canadian senate has not, save in a very few exceptional instances, wielded any power at all corresponding to that of the House of Lords in England, or that of the senate in the United States. For this failure to realize the expectations of those who framed its constitution, Macdonald himself must be held largely responsible. An Upper House gets its weight either from ancient tradition and lineage, from being the choice of the electors, or from personal and collective ability, combined with impartiality, in its members. From the first two of these sources of prestige a nominated body like the senate is cut off. When Macdonald established the system of using his power of nomination to the senate only as an instrument to strengthen his party-to reward defeated candidates or faithful supporters, without much reference to ability—he struck at the very root of what makes an Upper House powerful in the confidence of the country. The original nominations to the senate included an equal proportion of Conservatives and Liberals, and it then furnished the germ for a very influential legislative body, but during his long subsequent tenure of office only a single Liberal senator was appointed by Macdonald. His example has been strictly followed by the Liberal party when in power. Had Macdonald used the same discretion in strengthening the senate that he did in strengthening the judiciary of the Dominion, the history of that chamber might have been one of increasing, rather than diminishing, usefulness and influence. His excuse, and that of other premiers, for the course actually followed, lies in the tyranny of party feeling. A more enlightened public opinion can alone supply the remedy. The vexed question of representation by population was solved in a manner justly styled by Macdonald" equally ingenious and simple " since it granted this much desired boon without joining thereto his bugbear of manhood suffrage. "By adopting the representation of Lower Canada as a BASIS OF REPRESENTATION fixed standard," he said, " as the pivot on which the whole would turn-that province being the best suited for the purpose, on account of the comparatively permanent character of its population, and from its having neither the largest nor the least number of inhabitants, we have been enabled to overcome the difficulty I have mentioned. We have introduced the system of representation by population without the danger of an inconvenient increase in the number of representatives on the recurrence of each decennial period. The whole thing is worked by a simple Rule of Three. For instance, we have in Upper Canada 1,400,000 of a population; in Lower Canada 1,100,000. Now, the proposition is simply this, if Lower Canada with its population of 1,100,000 has a right to sixty-five members, how many members should Upper Canada have, with its larger population of 1,400,000 ? The same rule applies to the other provinces, the proportion is always observed and the principle of representation by population carried out. If an increase is made, Lower Canada is still to remain the pivot on which the whole calculation will turn." George Brown was satisfied with this solution of the question which had so long provided the chief motive power of his politics. The great principles of federation having been settled, unanimity on minor points was reached without much difficulty. For once the foremost leaders of party politics had CHAPTER VI THE BIRTH OF THE DOMINION 1865 TO 1867 So far the negotiations for Confederation had gone smoothly and satisfactorily; difficulties, doubts, and dangers were to fill the next two years. Nowhere, save perhaps in Ontario, was there any strong wave of popular enthusiasm for the new measure; it was promoted by thinkers and farseeing statesmen, amid the apathy, and in some sections even the sullenness, of the electorate. In Quebec, Dorion in Opposition appealed to the habitants' dread of being swamped by an English majority, and the appeal awakened a quick response. In the same province the English minority feared that their schools might be left to the tender mercies of the Roman Catholic majority, and claimed safeguards, delay in the guarantee of which led to the temporary resignation of Galt, their chief spokesman. But the fearless optimism of Cartier triumphed. He was strong in the support of the Catholic clergy who saw in Confederation the only refuge from union, whether peaceful or forcible, with the American republic, and the consequent loss of the cherished rights and privileges guaranteed to them by their compact |