The Herald -- 1868-05-27 -- Page 4

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THE HERALD, WEDNESDAY,

MAY 27, 1868,

fearless expression of his altered sentimenta, had maac him

(Continued from Arst page.)

fected by means of such a limited expenddi-
ture or cost as would well warrant the in-
troduction of the system to an extent. a!
feast, suflivicat to prove, inthe course of two
or three years, whethey ik might be safely

bromght into operation generally, throngh-
oat the Island. 4 ,

“Ta regard to the expedieney of a law to
permit the inhabitants of certain defined
districts, or divisions of Conntice. to elect
from among themselves, a Board, for the
Management of Highways within sneh dis-

_ ticts, onthe pr a mg embodied in the Tin-

perial Statute of the 25th and 26th. Vie-
toria, Cap. 6, towhich reference is made
by the said Report, your Committee consider
that a system of this hind would be attend-
ed with many advantages— amongst others,
that of relieving the Houre of Assembly
from a great deal of the business which at
present occupies it, in apprepriating the
moneys gravted for the Highways, und dis:
cursing local preferential wane in the dis-
tribution of them; but, wnless a system of
this kind were likely to be very wencrally
adopted throughout the Island, its adyan-
tages would be uncertain.

“ Your Committce, in. conclusion, trust
that the sulject ofan improved system in
the making and repairing of the Highways,
will be resumed at the earliest period of the
next Session of the Legislature, when the
Legislative Council will most readily coneur
in the passing of any ,General Measure,
having for its object, the permanent im-
_provemcntof the Highways of the colony.”

Hon. Mr. MacDonatp: T regret that
I was voi present when the House was
last in Committee upon this Report, for
Thad not the advantage of hearing your
honors’ remarks; but I must coveur in
one observation just now made-by his

honor from the City, that is, that iu or.

der to carry out the suggestions contaiu-
edin the Report, we would require a
much larger revenue than we have at
present. In this small Colony, and
where our resources are proportioually
emall, it is difficult to make roads equal
to what they have in larger and older
countries; particularly as our soil is of
a very inferior description for road mak-
ing. In some of she other Colonies they
have abundance of hard stone just beside
their roads, but our soil is so soft avd
light that it is difficult to make substan-
tial roads with it, An experiment has
been tried in the neighborhood of George-
town with Island stone, and a good piece
of road has been made—cne which I be-
dieve will remain good with very trifling
repairs for many years—at an expendi-
ture of £100, or less, per mile. ‘That is
a very much less amount than it will cost
to construct roads upon the plan suggest-
ed or recommended by the Committee.
I give the Committee full credii for havy-
ing gone to a great deal of trouble in the
preparation of that Report. They have
Spared no pains to produce a very able
and excellent Document, but I eannot
say that I agree with all the conclusions
they have cometo. Our roads are now
kept up atan expenditure uf £6,000, or
£7,000 a year ; though last year, includ-
ing bridges aud wharves, I believe £14-
00 were expended. But for the road
service alone, I do not think the annual
expenditure, upon an average, excecds
£5,000, or £6,000. Now, 1 do not

| P think that is very desirable, for besides

| duce ia taken to market,

to be expended upon them, and it would
economize our means to have competent

poration,

selves for the same object.

force.
eflicient.

anything else.

£15,000 or £20,000 a year are to be ex-
j being = sage ronds, they are the pat pended upon the roads, one is no fairer
upon Which the greatest quantity of pro-| way to raise that sum than by increasing :

tt ve is, therefore, oe duty y would be better to let the Statute Labor
desirable that they should be placed years, We might expect to see some im-
neder'some other supervision than dhat provement ; but to talk of carrying ont
of the present Road Commissioners fora) ijis scheme without money is simply
large amount of public movey will have preposterous,

Then, in a few

Hon, Mr. HWavrrnorna: His houor
supervisors appointed. ‘Phen the com- | from the city made some statements res-
mittee suggest a system of loval manage pecting the great utility of good roads,
ment, by which the people ia certain} which, 1 am sure, uone will be disposed
districts, by applying w the Government, | to devy, for a country having no meaus
could forms themselves into a sort of cor-| of communication may be said to be ina
They could then apply to the | semi-savage — state.
Legislature for and receive grauts, of | veighboring Colonies, though the popu-
money in aid of the improvement of their | lation is thin, aud the soil poor, they yet
roads, and they could also assess them-| contribute large sums for the construc:
That system | tion of railways.

as the railroad

some of the

In Nova Scotia, cost-| ner lot, aud would have cight or ten
is, I believe none | times as much road as his nenghbor, who

here would uudertuke to look atter its! would be found to say that the money | perhaps had more property? I think
own roads, by takiug corporate powers | was thrown away, aud they would be
of that kind, I believe they would soon | coutent to go back to the old system. 1
be in a more efficient state than they are | believe we are in a better position in
likely to be uuder the system now in | some respects than Nova Scotia, and if

With regard to statute labour, 1/ we once commenced a system of Mac- re, mere tracks, requiring a large amount
have always been of opinion that a direet adumization, the cry would be for exten- pope ia at rep a) out od suanias
poll tax would be preferable and raore | sion, | i

is adopted in Canada, and if any district | ly

The great complaint is, that a} ..),
People frequently go upon the | good sound system of road making has | jonors spoke of having the Statute Labor
roads under the preteuce of working, but | not been carried out, On the parts we! performed early in the Spring, and the
often in reality more for a frolic than| have Macadamized, there has been «| Committee were fully aware of the advan-
(Mr, Palmor—Hear)=) great waste of materials, aud the young
They put iu their time, but if they went | Prince Edward Islander, who has never
out to do a day's labor, they would re- seen good roads made, when he sees the aro heavy suowbanks, will isle ju. May?
ceive more as wages, than would pay for) piece made past the Hov. Mr. Long- theretore, they did nut recommend the | spporting himself and his family, left no interval of rest. to
all the statute lwbor they perform, and | worth’s, he, no doubt, Gomes « the con- adoption of that Change ; but they threw out | ’

would have a good deal of time to spare. | clusion that if that is the best system Up-| an observation, that if their suggestion were | still going on with scarce-abated warmth on either side, and |
I believe, therefore, that it Would be | on which roads can be constwucted, bad is adopted, the Commissioners woald be re- |
better for the roads as well as for the| the best, Sill, it is true that, though it| lieved of a considerable amountof duty, and
people themselves. If they were to pay | is a rough piece of road, yet it is avail-
a tax of 1s, 6d. or 2s, instead of work-| able for travelling upon all times of the

ing a certain vumber of hours, there| year. The reason it is so rongh is, that

made by the Legislature, would be
judiciously expended, Wis honor from
Bay Fortune (Mr, Dingwell) thought it

be performed by each man in front of his
own farm, and T must admit that there is
something very: plausible in that idea,
but I do uot think it would be found so
practicable as might be supposed at firat
sight, for some who have large properties
have small fronts and vica versa, It
would fall very light ou myself, as 1
have ouly six chains of frout, while my
neighvor, who only oceupics sixty acres,
has thirty, or six times as much as I
have, who occupy 260 acres, If you ia-
vestigate this proposal, you will find
many such objections to it. How would
you provide for a man who had a cor-

his honor must have overlooked some
of these matter’, With regard to Statute
Labor in general, the Committee did
did not speak in favor of it, but they saw
that as long aa the roads remained as they

having it abolished. Some of your

tages of adopting that courec, but they
were also aware that in some places the
frost is not out, and in other’ places there

{From the New York Tablet.)

’
THOMAS DARCY McGER—INIS AMERICAN CA- |
REER,

It wasin the autumn of the memorable year of 1848 that
the subjeet of our sketch, with his wife andan infant daugh-
ter, landed again on American soil, in the geometrical city
of Brotherly Love, where the young exiles made warm, ap-
preciative friends, Ju:t two weeka after, the New York
Nation made its appearance, with ‘Thomas D'Arcy MeGee
as editor, Theeareer of that paper wos brief and brilliant
aa the meteor that flashes through the midnight sky ; of all
the emanations of our lost friend's prolitic mind, what he
wrote for the New York ution is the Icast pleasing to us;
national it was, intensely so, but by an error common to the
young enthusiasts of that and other times, it, to some extent,
placed nationality above religion, Smarting under the keen
sense of defeat and disappointment, our young editor was
led to throw the blame of the reeent fulare in Treland on
the clergy and hierarchy of that eountry, who had undoubt-
edly discharged ther duty to their peéple by representing to
them the absurdity and folly of any attempt to overthrow
nitish power in Ireland under existing cireumstances. — The
defence of the Irish clergy was taken up by the late eminent
Archbishop Hughes, whose strictures on the rash and im-
prudent articles in the Vidéon, although severe, were just,
as Mr, McGee him-elf freely admitted in after years, None
more than he regretted the course he then pursued, and
whether in public, or in private, tothe last day of his life,
he never shrank from acknowledging that grave error of his
ardent youth. One trait of his generous and noble nature
was ever a willingness to acmit himself wrong, if wrong he
had been, The mistake, however, was fatal to the Now
York Nation, and in June, 1860, it ceased to live, The
Dublin Nution was by that time revived, and Mr. MeGce
would have returned to assist his frend, Gavan Duffy, in
its management, were it not that he could obtain no satis-
factory answer from the Castle officials as to whether he was
to be prosecuted or not, An answer came at length from
the * Home Office ' to the cffect that no sufficient “ case
had been made out against him,” By the time this answer

enemies amongst certain classes of his own countrymen,
and the foundations were being laid of that huge pile of
calumny that has since been reared above his name and
fume, ‘Truth to te!l, Mr. MeGee owed little to the great
mass of his countrymen in these United States, and, when
he was, at length, invited by the Irish citizens of Montrea)
to take up his abode permanently amongst them, there wag
no very heavy debt of gratitude to the le here to with.
hold him from secking his own and his family’s fortuncy
where an honorable earcer seemed opening before him, and
every inducement was held out to his laudable ambition,
A numerously-signed invitation was sent him from the lish.
men of Canada, and of that, and his resolution to accept it,
he said in the Valedictory already quoted :

« None ot the motives to this step acted so powerfully as
the spontaneous and cheering expression of good-will ‘ang
confidence conveyed in the document we this day publish,
‘The signatures to that paper are promissory of @ greater de.
gree of unity than I could hope to see among our fellow.
emigrants in these States. Both our num and our
causes of division are very much greater here than in Cang.
da; nor have we in the multitude of our counsellors found
the wisdom of working well together." ‘No! my good
friends !"* he elsewhere says, * you will not find me less true
to the principles we hold in common, on the banks of the St.
Lawrence, than on the Liffey, or the Hudson. Prudence
may dictate many modifications of expression, but thig
heart will be cold, indeed, when it ceases to warm to the
sacred name of Fatherland !"* And that his heart never dia
cease to warm to that name, none knows better than the
present writer; none now feels with a keener pang, with a
more burning shame for the race to which both were alike
devoted. “I go from amongst you,”’ said Mr, MeGee,
‘ beeause T cannot hope to effect much permanent good by
remaining, . . .. From personal, and other causes, T
have not had a fair ficldin the United States, I, therefore,
never had it In my power to Cemonstrate fully, whether [
was entitled to the confidence you placed nme... . ,
The power to accomplish any great good for the lish in
this Republic. I have not had, and, t fore, T can only
point to my intentions, my projects, and my writings, for

reached Mr, McGee he was conducting the American Celt

could therefore devote more attention to
the performance of statute Inbor. Some
say the statute labor is slighted, bat i know
that in some precincts the men turn out

would be more work doue upon the roads | the Macadamizing system was departed and do their work in the best possible man-

than there is at present.

T am inelined | from,

The stones should not be larger/ner The coumiites havu no reason to

to think thatthe system propoved by the | than would go through a two-inch ring,| complain that their report has been too
Committee, is too expensive for the pre-| but they are three or four times that size. | mach criticised, for none could expect that

sent state of the finances of the Colony ;| The Committee, if I remember right, had | document of this kind would meet with |
but at the same time, if our revenue was] the s.atement from the Commissiouer,

universal approval, We know that men,
upon these subjects, have — particular

| sufficient to enable us to carry out that ‘ it one w Je

I Ap von! that ¢ much larger quamity of stone was *erotehets,” bat if what Tmay call the
system, I have no doubt but it wonld| used upon that road than was necessary, wnitorenl rele with renal 06 toad inaklag
/coufer a very great benefit upon the! and that shows the necessity of having} that js, Macad.in's system, were adopted,
|Colony. It would be the meansof savirg | meu to superiuteud the work who thor-|/there would he no room let for those

/a vast deal of time to those who have to oughly understaud the system.

Some-/|¢rotchets. And though the resolution of

take their produce a considerale distance thing has been said with respect to the | his honor from the City docs not absolutely

to market ; but the question is whether | use of Island stone.
the cost, under the proposed system, | is pot so destitute of good materials for
would not be greater than the benelits | road-making assome imagine, and though

which would be derived from it,

I know the Island | approve of the whole of the report without

qualification, yet L think there is as
much approval in it as could be expected
from a gentleman occupying his position,

Island: stoue is not so well suited for) ¢,, his honey may seen have to take the
roads in general, as hard stone, yet, | jolu of our political alfairs, aud, of course,

. . FELL: w - : apg : * “
‘ ah plete indi — - ah have no doubt but it would be a benefit | it is wise tor him to keep himself free from
on . P : ’ m many soft places, if it were carefully | being pledged to any particular course.

she abeeches of your honore upon this] taid ow. Que of your hovors alluded to 4
oF ; piece of road in the Royalty, aud at the my remarks should be misunderstood. |

gret it very much. for I am now uuder a present time, it is like a dyke, with the / neither do L think it was the desire of bis

disadvantage. But as revards statute
labor, I thiuk, and have thought for some
years, that it should be abolished. I
have thought for mavy years that, after

over the top,
was to drain the road properly, and
ki 1 keeping | Vue" principles are thus set at defiance,
the country making roads aud keeping you have no right to expect good results.

water on one side, just ready to burst | honor who has just spoken to do so, but in |

Macadam’s first principle | speaking of having the statate labor per-
formed by each mau opposite his own farm, |

[ bad no intention of requinng each man
to perform the whole amount of labor re-
quired in that way. Lonly suggested that

them so long in repair for the benefit of : F
tha hi te ie was hard that they Therefore, before any heavy expenditure | 4 man might be allowed to perform his own
’ is undertaken, we should see that we | atatate labor opposite hia own farms other-

should still be called out to labor "P98 | have the means to lay the mouey out) wise it would be a great hardehip in waany |

: ‘ properly, for it would be a pity if this| cases,
hope some measure will be devieod to poor Colony should have its resources ex-

them. (Mr. Haythorne—ilear.) 1

Ifon, Mr. Breen: Ae so much has been

+4 >
remedy that evil. For some years the pended in an injudicious manner, which | said upon this report, Ldo not wish to de-
statute has not been much benefit, has been the case on the road I refer to, | ti your honors any longer, but allusion

pod wer va pero te ve T have beeu iu the habit of travelling over
ee eee Ney ADs | a piece of road laid with Istandstone, and

think we have less than 5000 miles of| If it were allowed to be done opposite to

has beou made to breaking stone in the
winter, and T would just say that it has
heen wy practice for some years to

{ find that it is dry earlier in the spring purchase as much limestone in the summer

“ ge ‘ i , s, and if it were perfo . :
roads in the Island, that is, including all hee eRe re eee te eee and remaius dry longer iv the fall than | as I require for the next summer, and iret

roads upon which public money is ex-
nded. Therefore, I think that when
that extent of roads is considered, in con-
nection with the amount expended for
keeping them in repair, it must be admit-
ted that, under the circumstances, they
are very good. I am only just giving
my own opinion, for 1 have not made
any calculation as to the extent of our
roads, but I do not think they are less
than 5000 miles. It is trne that in the
neighborhood of the towns, during the
last few years, there has been a good deal
of money expended, perhaps from £50 to
£100 per mile, and yet, the roads are
not such as we would wish; but [ am
afraid that the revenue of the Colony is
not such as to enable us to carry out the
recommendations of the Committee,
The proposal to import stone and a stone
breaking Machine would entail a very
heavy expenditure. According to the
calculation made, it would cost £3000
to Macadamize six miles of road, and I
think that is as much as we could expect
to bave macadamized in any one year,
for a machine breaking six tons of stone
per hour, as stated io the report, and al-
wing it to work six mouths in the year,
would break nearly 10,000 tons. ‘That
is about the quantity required, according
to the calculation made by the Committee,
to macadamizo six miles of road. Now,
it must be seen that if we intend to car-
ry out that system, so as to be a general
benefit to the country, the taxation would
have to be considerably increased, for all
the other roads would have to be kept up
at the same time, I believe the country
would not have any serious objection to
a slight increase of taxatiou for the im-
provement of the highways, providing it
were so expended that the publie would
receive o general benefit; but I doubt
whether er 4 would not find great fault
with incurring the expense of importin
stone to macadamize a few miles of roa
in certain places, as the report recom-
mends. In nother paragraph of the re-
port, in which the defects of the present
m are pointed out, it is suggested
the highways should be placed under
the control of a Board of Works, and I
thiak that course is very desirable. The
want of such a Board has been felt by
every Government that has been in
power for some time past. We have a

great many important Sight works, such

as bridges, wharves, t houses, &c.,
_ which require to be kept under the strict

of an officer of the Govern-
would be able to report to
} as to. the state of those

=f
Feist
¢ziati

f

early in the spring, I think it would be a
step in the right direction. There is

That convinces me thatthe | it broken in’ the winter.

other parts,
use of Island stone might be attended | heen breaking stone nearly the whole of this |

My wen have

very. little :use-dac paving it dove ia tbe with good results, and I would not hesi-| Winter. It ean be broken very well daring

summer when the ground is dry and hard,
for the fall rains come on soon after aud
they are then worse than before. If the
men were allowed to perform the work

tate to recommend it in many situations.
Some of your honors thought the com-
mittee should have gone more fully into travelling we requite ‘hard stone,
the financial part of the subject, but we| tone would be juet’ as expensive ear

eleven months of the twelve.” Ihave seen
eeveral good picces of road made with
Island stone, ‘but where there ia much
Island

i spring opposite their own :
early iu the spring opp & cousidered that rather beyond our pro- | Charlottetown as imported stone,

property, they would not think it so
hard as to be called away to wherever
the overseer chooses to take them, I
approve of the suggestion in the report to
have proper superintendants appointed,
for we cannot expect a Commissioner,
for the paltry salary of £10, to spend
much time in looking after the roads,
Some change is called for; and if the
proprietors are determined to hold
large tracts of land, they should be made
to contribute something towards the re-
pairs of the roads. Ido not think there
is anything uoreasonable in that, for it
is well known that the people have made
all the roads and bridges io the Island,
with very little assistunce from the pro-
prietors, and it is the people’s labor
which has made the propftictors’ estates
valuable.

nearly the whole settled.

repair as they’are now. When eight or | two months or so,
ten me goto yet say ye 9 —_ they | respecting the appointment of superin-
generally doa g eal of work in a/tendants, and I am of opiuion that it is
day. I agree, in the main, with the Re-| one of the surest means ve can adopt so ae mc gg aan = = agg a
port, and I think the Committee deserve | as to have responsibility resting some-| tween the ages of ulead dea sixty rg
The committee recommend the | about 30.000, and a tax of three shillings
sich doenments; they recommend «| appointment of such superiutendants, | per head would amount to £4,500, That
good system, but unfortunately, they did | and it is intended that they should kee
not come to the point, that is raising the|a daily record of their proceedings,
per: Aa —_— : nigga laying | nttach pm aye to that record, for it a farther tan 6
oo a land tax three shillings per | would show how their time was employ-
hundred acres, or a poll tax of three | od, and if it were wasted they veut ie conven natn Therefnve ar think “
Thea his honor from | Committee acted wisely in not recommend-
That would | Prince County, (Mr. Lord), appeared to| ing Statate Labor to be abolished. Give
raise a considerable sum, and T wonld! me to have misapprehended one of our | man three shillings to work on the road.
It was thought advisable and how mach will you get done for it?

shillings, and one shilling and six pence | linble to censure.

for every working horse.

not object to a tax of that kind, for then | suggestions.
ar might ge see reer suprovemit. that a certain number of townships should
Of course I will vote for the resolutioa, | be at liberty to group themselves together, | +;

there are good suggestions in the report,| and be allowed to appoint their own Mw nt ign new ani pie Ps i
and I am sorry that the session is likely | superintendaot.

to pass without any action being taken
to carry them into effect,

district think proper, the

in the cou
be done, let it be

|

vince, as we were appointed to report
on the best means of mproviog the) mit thit we will never have good roads till
Had we gone into the mode ol they are macadamized, and T agree with
raising money, we would perhaps have | the report as far as it recominends that
been laughed at, but we made such |system. But with regard to statute labor,
suggestions as we considered practicable | Some of your honors thonght it would be
and not much beyond the present means
I believe there would
not be any serious objection to the appro-
priation of 8 moderate amount for the | cannot get work, Some say that statute
importation of a machine for breaking | labor is of little use, and that it ia slighted ; |
stone. We ace that mea who have a large | bnt where the roads really require repairs |
quantity of hay to make, do not hesitaie to | I have seen mon work aa faithfully as npon
lay out their capital in the purchase of
mowing machines, for they know that it is
good economy to do so, aad I do not see
why those sensible men would objeci to require the whole of it to he done then; let
the purchase of a stone breaker, for they | part of it he done early in spring and the
know very well that good roads would) remainder in the summer, I
economize horses and vehicles aa well as|why the stone crusher could not be em-
Then his honor from George- | ployed in the wintor, and it would be easier
his honor who has just spoken, with re-| town, (Mr. MacDonald), raised the ob- | move it from one place to another, acroas
gard to the proprietors, but it every man | jection that only a small amount of
had to keep the road in front of bis farm | improved road could be made iu one
in repair, it would be a heavy tax, though | year—that a machine would only break
I dare say, the roads would be kept in| stone enough for six miles—but we
better repair than how, fur you may tra-| would uot waot the road eighteen feat
vel from here to Cascumpee aud fiud| wide except near Charlottetown, and incido in eome’ respects with my col.
I do not con-| perhaps two or three other places where league, (Mr. MacDonald), With reference
sider Statute Labor of so Jitile value as/ there is a large amount of trailic. Then to the tmportation of a'atone-erdsher, it ap-
his honor from Bay Fortune does, and if | he only allows the stoue break+r to work pears to me that it would be like putting
a poll tax of five shillings were exacted | six months in the year, but I believe it| the engine of a Canard steamer into a

it would mot keep the roads in as good| could work much longer, perhaps all but | ¥irch canoe. The report is excellent, but
Somethiog was said | ' is adapted to a largereountry. We have

roads,

of the country,

Hon. Mr. Lorp: I quite agree with | time.

credit for it, but it is like many more | where.

That system obtains in | valuo for your money,
in @ great part of Eagland, where a given | some of your honors with respect to the
The Commit- | number of parishes, perhaps ten ortweuty, | cost of imported stone, tor the trackage
tee recommend that if the people in a| form themselves into a district, and ithas|*lene, exclusive of freight, would cost a
“esta : may form — yy to work well.
t ves into a sort of corporation, | spoke of the system in operation in Can- 4 ;
aod assess the inhabitants for the repairs on. aod I » cS would cost very near £1,000 per mile, and
of ihe roads, but I would like to koow|from Englan
how that proposition would be received | wou!'d be better to place the manage-| advertise for so many tons of imported
» TI would say, if thatisto| ment of those roads in the hands|stone, and so many tons of Island stone,
a geveral mensure. Let| of the people themselves, for none aro| delivered at a certain
the whole Island be divided into muni-| 80 much interested in them, and it would! 800 sce which is the cheapest.
way as Canada. If be a guarantee that any grants of money

it has been copied | f ain of the aame opinion still.
thought it | vernment wish to test the matter, let them

Ion. Mr. Axprrsoxn: We ninst all ad-

better t pot on a poll tax, In some old
settlements that might do very well, but in
new settlements it is some times difficult
for men to pay even a small amount, for they

their own farms, Ido believe that if the
statnte labor were performed at an earlier
eres in the ogy say about the firat of
May. it would be better; bat [ would not

do not see

a river for instance. The stone could also
he drawn to where it was required in the
winter,

Tlon. Mr. Gorvon: T would like to ex-
press my opinion upon the report, but I
will not detain your honors long. I co-

not the means to carry it out, With res.
pect to Statute Labor, I am apprehensive

would be a heavy tax; vearly equal to the
amount realized from the Land As essment.
Then, we have pores 20,000 horses, and

1s. 6d. upon them, would

Tam sure it would not bear any compari-
zon with what is done as Statute J.abor.

I do not agree with

Hi considerable amount. I said before, that
is honor roals macadamized with imported stone

If the Go-

lace. and they will

Ilon, Mr. Dixawen.: [do not wish that |

in Boston! The busy, restless brain, and the necessity of |

this life-long toiler, The native American controversy was |
;it was as the avowed champion of the © foreign-born citi-
/ gens" of the Union, especially the hish, that the paper was
| started and received its name of the stiaerican Celt,
ably tt maintained its distinctive character, how loyally de-
‘voted it was during the nine years of its cxistence to the
best interests cf the Irish in America, none, we think, will,
even now, deny. It was the high privelege of the present
writer to be a contiibutor to that paper, and we shall ever
| regard itas one of the brightest recollections of our literary
| life which Uhen first flowed into the same channel with that
of onr lamented friend,
; Afier spending some few years m Boston, Mr, MeGee
| was induced by the late laxented Bishop ‘Timon to remove
with his paper to Buffalo, and there he maintained for some
time the same eheerless life of hard and iil-requited labor, of
i ceascless struggle, of wasting, wearing, public speaking,
i oftener for the benelit of others than himself. After a short
; and unsatisfactory residence in Buffalo, he once more took
up his abodein New York, and there continucd the publi-
leation of the Celt. During the course of his restdence in
} Boston his mind had undergone a serious and notable change;
jin the eotspany of such decp thinkers as the late highly in-
jtellectual Hishop Fitzpatrick, Dr. Brownson and some
| others, hiv rapidiy maturing mind had gradually discovered
j the fallacy and the dunuce of the revolutionary principles
which had hitherto controlled his actions, Ife had become
;an earnest and consistent Conservative. My own les-
json," says he, in revolutionary polities was a very imper-
j feet one, although I fancied at the time I knew all about
jtham. It was only after (had been some time withdrawn
out of the circle of mutual admration, that I began, as is my
wont, to re-examine the ground, with the aid of a few lead-
jing principles, for which I was indebted to Burke and
Balmes, and (not least of the three inthis department of
; speculation) to the distinguished cditor of Bro.cason'’s Re-
view; by the aid of these principles, T began to discern the
lin quity of the French philosophy of insurrection, I learn-
;ed, to my horror, (at my own small share in one of those
| imitative Insurrections,) that they whothatch revolutions’

|aforethought, sit on cockatrice eggs... . . I wish 1!

j had thought so myself eight years ago: but I was too fresh
j from the fray to taik calmly aboutit...... My plans
of duty, my hopes of fame, were all seattored by that miser-
able abortion of an Insurrection, of the mode or time of
| whieh Lnerer approved, but from the meshes of which I
}eould not.in honor withdraw myself. Naturally, ther fore,
) it was a sore eubject with me for some months after it hap-
jpenal; and permitting myself to discuss itin New York
latter my arrival, was, T now feel, a grave mistake, It was
| worse, considering the character and office of the eminent
| personrge to whom [was unwittingly opposed; it was a
violation of that salutary discipline which is as necessary in
the Church as in the Army. I feel. and have long felt,
| that I was wholly wrong in that particular, and U desire, in
this, the last paper T shall edit in New York, to put on
|public record, for the last time, my profound regret that
that diseus.ion ever took place."*
Let no man henceforth reproach the memory of Thomas
D'Arcy MeGce with what his enemies delight to eall his
j quarrel with Archbishop Hughes.” God himself holds no
jman guilty ofsin acknowledged and repented,
|. Mr. MeGee's observations of the state of his countrymen
jin these overerewded American cities had led him to the
| conclusion that the best and wisest course for them, if they
| would effect any permanent good for themselves and their
j children, was to spread wbroad into the agricultural regions
j of the continent and settle on the land, he cared not
| Where—whether here or in DBiitish America. To promote
| that end he recommended a general convention of delegates
jfrom the States and the Provinces, and accordingly, 100
gentlemen, composed of priests and laymen, many of them
| the first mon in their several districts, in intelligence as well
as position, assembled in Buffalo, as being a central position
j easy of access from both countries. ‘The part which Mr,
McGee took in that Convention, the extraordinary capacity
| for organization, the deliberative power and skill, the un-
| Hiring industry, and withal, the singular modesty that made
him threst others forward and keep in the background him-
self; all this left a deep and lasting impression on the minds
of the gentlemen associated with him in that great work.
Many of these have passed away, but enough still remain,
we would fain hope, to bear honorable testimony to the
digmified, etatesmanlike, and wholly unselfish conduct of
Mr, MeGce during the several sessions of the famous Bu*-
falo Convention. “This is not the place to speak of that Con-
vention, or the happy results that might have followed the
more general adoption of its wise suggestions; suffice it to
say that, for various reasona, it did not mect with that
warm encouragement we and many others thought it de-
served, and the good it effected, although positive and well
ascertained, was not what had been expected.

The years of Mr MeGee's life in New York were not
Prosperous years, any more than those spent by him in
Boston or in Buffalo. Politics, as conducted here, had no
inducements for him; it was not in hiv nature to stoop to
the petty subterfuges, the corrupt, uaderhand dealings, the
dollar-and-cent operations of our elections; he could not,
and would not. pander to popular passion or vulgar preju-
dice; he could never atlow himself to be led by the people,
knowing and feeling within him powers of governing as yet
undeveloped. What with his paper, and tho sums he oc-
casionally derived from his lectures, (many of them being
then, as before and after, for charitable purposes,’ he con-
tinued to eke out the means of subsistence for himself and
his family—nothing more, Bat though poor, he keot him-
self independent, and personal independence was one of the
necessities of his being. It formed the subject of one of hia
* Canadias Ballads,” published in 1859, of which we will
here give two stanzas:

Let fortune frown and foes increase,
And Life's long battie know no peace;
Give me to wear.upon my breast
The object of my enrly quest-—
Undimm'd, unbroken, and unchang’d,
The talisman I sought and gain'd—

The jewel, Tedipendonee !

It feeds with fire my flagging heart
To act by all a fearless part;
It irrigates like summer rain
. The thirsty furrows of my brain;
Through years and cares my sun and star,
A present helpa hope afar—
* The jewel, Independence !

And that manly, upright independence was one of the guid-
ing stare of ha chegueed lif * a

Of the lectures delivered hy Mr. MeGee while conducting
the American Celt in New York, many, we fear, are lost,
but enough remain to prove ihe matchless versatility, the
exhaustless stores of knowledgo, the profundity ot thought,
and the resistless eloquence that, more than most men, dis-
tinguished our lost friend, Ifia lecturea on the « Catholic
Ilistory of Ameria,” * The Reformation in Ireland,” and
many other subjects, will never be forgotten, wo are sure,
by any who had the rhre pleasure of hearing thom. But
even then the Conservative turn his mind had taken, and the
* From Mr. McGee's Closing Address to the Readera of
the American Celt," when he was finally removing himself

(To be continued.)

a |

ap nas “eer Mg

and his fortunes to Montreal,

what I would have done had not ways and means been de.
nied me.”

Rut still he had done much for the Trish, even in this Re-
public. During the years he had been amongst them he had
made, or helped to make, sifleen volumes of newspapers,
and seven or eight books,—*' such as they are,"’ said he with
characteristic modesty. He had delivered a great number

How | of lectures and public addresses, and had been anactive co-

operator in some of the principal movements for his country.
men at home and abroad, ‘The strenuous efforts he made
to engage the American Government to interfere on behalf
of his former associates, Smith O'Brien, Meagher, and the
others, when in exile, are not as well known as thoy ought
to be. Wappily, some, at least, of the gentlemen who ac-
companied him on one of those visits to the then President
of the United States are still hving, and have not forgotten
the effect of his thrilling eloquence that day while pleading
for those who ill requited him in after ycars!

So, in the year 1858, Thomas D' Arey McGee, removed,
ashe said, ‘his household gods to the Valley of the St,
Lawrence,” and in the city of Montreal established the New
| Era, a paper which, for various reasons unnecessary now to
}explain, had no very great success, and added little to the
literary or other reputation of its editor, Journalism was
jnot, after all, Mr. MeGee's forte, and that he knew and
| often admitted to his friends,

Tt wasin the Senate he was destined to shine, and amongst
the rulers of the land. In _ the mighty problems of State
policy, the clash of ponderous intellects, the mysteries of
State-ernft, the inauguration of great ideas, he at length
| found his level, Into this, his proper sphere of action, his
countrymen soon elevated him, In the General Election of
1858, Mr. MeGee waa returned to the Legislative Assembly
as member for Montreal West, the portion of the city which
contains the largest number of lrish inhabitants, Very soon
after, his admining countrymen.in Montreal presented him
with a handsome dwelling suitably farnished, in St. Cather-
ine street, and there our friend finatly and permanently es-
tablished the “household gods" aforesaid. How many
and how dear associations gather around that house, the
tears that will well up from many hearts while reading
these words will best attest. With the memory of his
heart-warm hospitality, his uncqualled and wholly inimi-
table conversational powers, his gentle, loving heart, his ex-
haustless wit and quaint hamor gilding all within and
around, the house shall ever he dear, and even though tho
family should leave it, which we hope they may not do,
many a pilgrim of friendship will visit it in years to come as
the home of Thomas D*Arcy McGee; the scene of such
bright hours as they may never, perchance, see again on
earth. This apropos to the dwelling provided by his
friends in Montreal for the honored guest they had Invited
amongst them,

Mr. MeGee’s parliamentary career in nowise disap-
pointed his countrymen, at least the intelligent and
racional amongst them,—who were able to appreciate
him and his achievements. On every question affecting
the interests of Catholics, the Divorce BIN, the Orange
Processions’ Bill, the Separate School BI, the Bequests’
Bill, he was not only true as steel and firm as a rock.
but the great advocate of Catholic claims, the clear and
lucid expounder of Catholic principles. It was he, in
fact, who made Catholics and theirclaims respected, and
who, nevertheless, by his broad and truly liberal spirit
of toleration, and practical cultivation of peace and
charity amongst men of opposite parties and religions,
made friends for the Catholic people as well as for him-
self, No man ever did so much to smooth away party
differences, and softer, down religious asperities, as did
the man who fell in Ottawa in the dead of night beneath
the dastardly blow of an assassin. Even to carry his
own clection he would neither sanction nor permit re-
course to violent measures or brute force.

And who will sey that his countrymen, who first re-
turned Ifimto Parliament, did not show their apprecia-
tion of him, when they returned him no Jess than five
successive times by acclamation? And who rejotced
more than they when he was raised to office? Tt was
their triumph no less than his. Even in the last election,
when he was wantonly and vexatiously opposed by a
certain Trish lawyer of Montreal whose name we do not
care to mention, the foulest means were used to misre-
present him and blacken his public character. After
some four years’ Parliamentary experience, under the
MeDonald- Sicotte administration, Mr. MeGee was
made President of the Executive Council—hence his
title of Honorable. Undera suceeeding administration
formed by Sir Etienne ‘Tache, Mr. MeGee accepted a
portfolio as Minister of Agriculture. He was subsequent-
ly sent with one or two others to represent Canada at
the great Paris Exhibttion, and at the same time went
to Rome as one ofa deputation from the congregation
of St. Patrick's Church, Montreal, on a matter affecting
their interests. Even in that, his last visit to Europe,
he wrote, for. this paper, “Irish Episodes of Foreign
Travel.” Ever Ireland and the Trish oceupied his
mind—little as some of the Trish understood, or appre-
clated his devotion. Even amid the cares and tofla, and
the endless bustle of a Parliamentary career, he Labor-
ed with voce and pen to promote a sonnd and healthy
Trish literature, such a one as might elevate the Irish as
nrace to the level of their high and proud ancestry.
‘The disgust he had of their futile and abortive attempt?
at rebellion, which nothing benefit them and place weap-
ons In the hands of their enemies, his utter detestation
of, and contempt for those wretched Secret Societics

race, made him take, from the first, a bold stand against
Fenlanism, whilst the unjustifiable invasion of that Cana-
da which had raised him to its highest honors, and
where Irishmen had ‘homes and hearths to cherish and
defend, drew forth his most scathing denunclations—as
why should it not? What had Canada—the home of
Trishmen as well as others—done to the self-styled Trish
patriots that they should invade her peaceful soil? Yet
it was Mr. McGee's firm, out spoken, manly opposition
to these Fentan schemes that evoked the wrath of the
Fenians and thelr sympathisers, and, we fear, ultimate-
ly causedhis brutal and cowardly prarder, Was it 4
far-off presentiment that once made our lamented friend

dent Lincoln —“ Never yet did the asangsin'’s kntfe reach
to the heart of a principle! Oh! the besotted igno-
rance, the miserable short-sightedness of those who
are disgracing the Irish race in this, our day, by using
the assassin’s knife, or rather bullet! How little they
know that they are doing more to degrade Ireland and
her people than England at her worst could ever have
done—that they are robbing the Trish cause of
world's sympathy! The murder of Thomas D'Arcy Me-
Gee was a cruel blow to the name and fame of Irishmen
in this generation!

But it is, after all, as a Canadian Statesman, as the
chicf originator and promoter of the Confederation of
the British Provinces, that Mr. McGee will live in the
deepest affections of the people of the New Deminior-
Watered by his blood, the new Confederation, which his
genius cortributed largely to form, will on® day become
A stately tive overshadowing all the North. Tt will be
in the after thre his grandest monnment, grander even
than the one already projected to perpetaate his me-
mory.

(Continued on seeond page.)

say—anropos, we think, to the assassination of Presl: |

which are the curse and bid fiir to be the ruin of our ¢