Robert smiled gravely, but before he couldrespond Erneste Bergeron leaned forward and said, “There is more toour future than commerce or industry.” He glanced at LaFontaine,and then continued. “I refer, of course, to the question ofeducation and religion. I have been told that you, Mr. Baldwin,have advocated a secular society and a secular system of schools.We in Quebec are a Christian community, a Catholic one. The churchand parish are the focal points of our rural life. Back in‘thirty-seven I took up arms for the first time in my life todefend the little church at St. Eustache, near my estate, and wascaptured and imprisoned for a month by the marauding militia. Thechurch was callously razed by those hooligans and two of my barnsburnt to the ground. These are not the actions of a people whorespect religion.” It was the longest speech given by Bergeron, andit seemed to leave him winded and a bit embarrassed.
Robert did not wait for Marc to finishtranslating. “You raise a serious question, sir, and a valid one. Ihave indeed fought all my life against the entrenchment of anestablished Church of England in Upper Canada. The reason I did sohas little to do with religion and everything to do with politicsand power. I am a devout Christian of the Anglican faith, but in myprovince the oligarchy who held sway over the ordinary people — theFamily Compact as we called them — wished to have a state-supportedAnglican church in order to solidify their hold on power and tapinto the proceeds from the reserve lands they considered theirentitlement. They wished to develop not a Christian society but anAnglican one in which government posts, school syllabuses, anduniversities themselves would be controlled and financed by asingle cabal — to the exclusion of the other faiths, which, takentogether, form a large majority. In a way, my battles against theClergy Reserves were symbolic: were our lives going to be dominatedby an Anglican and Tory elite or were they going to be organized asthe majority wished — in a state dedicated to religious toleranceand respect for tradition?”
LaFontaine smiled approvingly, a responsenoticed by all present as the French leader had said little so farand given nothing away in look or gesture. “Well said, Robert.However, I ought to point out that when the Clergy Reserves werefinally allotted last year, all faiths got their share except forthe Roman Catholics.”
Robert nodded in the polite way barristersoften did when engaged in forensic argument. “Very true. But againI say we must look at our progress in terms of successive steps.There will perforce be no established church in the new Canada.Religion will be a question of individual conscience. As aconsequence, there will be no restrictions on who may serve ingovernment. Catholic and Protestant will be equal before the law.Additional rights and protections can be achieved through electionsand party politics. That is the next step, and the one afterit.”
“But we already have our own schools,”Bergeron said, “imbued with our own religious spirit and values. Doyou contemplate a common school system with no religious componentor merely some vague lip service paid to Christianity?”
Hincks glanced at Robert, then said, “TheEnglish-speaking Protestants in Quebec are equally concernedthat their schools be permitted to be run along religiouslines. Once we get a reform movement established, would it not benatural for each province to guarantee the other’s right to set upminority schools — a straight trade-off of ‘protections,’ as itwere?”
Bérubé chortled at this and said, “Splendid,Mr. Hincks, splendid! This is the very kind of sensiblehorse-trading I hoped might happen between us, but was, alas,entirely sceptical of.”
Under cover of Bérubé’s enthusiasticoutburst, Graves Chilton slipped silently into the room with atrolley of cakes and coffee. While he was serving the refreshmentand soundlessly removing the used cups, the delegates took a momentto stretch and relax. However, as the butler left the room, GarnetMacaulay seemed to recall that he was nominally the chairman of themeeting, and said, “We have heard much about the specifics of aparty platform, but no contribution thus far from Mr. Tremblay. Arethere any particular concerns or provisions you’d like to mention,sir?”
Tremblay had not only kept his peacethroughout the preceding discussion, but had stared grimly at hisempty cup, and the two-fingered right hand had often appeared totremble, as if palsied. He now peered up just far enough to glareat Macaulay, who reddened immediately.
There were several seconds of awkwardsilence. It was Lafontaine who broke it. “Come now, Maurice, youdidn’t travel all the way to Toronto disguised as a clock salesmanto sit on your hands. If there are matters that need to be aired,however unpleasant or disturbing, then they must be said in thisvery room to these very gentlemen.”
“I did not mean to embarrass Mr. — ” Macaulaybegan.
But Tremblay cut him off. With eyes blazing,he burst into speech. “I do not believe there can be any kind offirst step so long as the issue of reparations continues to beignored! All else is hypocrisy!”
Marc had not finished translating when Hinckssaid somewhat intemperately, “We cannot ignore a topic that has notyet been introduced! We have just begun, sir. There is still localgovernment to consider, the postal service, regularizing thecurrency, the need for charitable institutions and — ”
“We take your point, Francis,” Robert saidevenly, waving off Marc’s translation.
With just the faintest twinkle in his eye,LaFontaine said in English, “And the point we have reached is thesubject of reparations, eh?”
“It seems so,” Robert said. “As the mostcontentious issue of ‘step one,’ I had planned to leave it tillnear the end of this phase of our deliberations. But let us go atit now. I would like to say by way of putting the topic intocontext that the matter of compensating innocent parties forproperty damage and personal losses as a result of the uprisinghere in Upper Canada has already been raised in our own Assembly.And met with outright dismissal by the Tory majority. In part, asvictors the Tories feel most of the razed barns and charred cropswere just punishment for those who, in their view, might not haveparticipated in the revolt but certainly condoned it. They are alsokeenly aware that a reparations bill here would encourage thenotion in Quebec, and there they see the issue in even strongerterms: all French-speaking farmers were de facto rebels andrichly deserve their fate.”
Tremblay listened to the translation, hislower lip quivering. “Let me tell you my story now,” he said with asimmering anger, “and let it stand for a thousand others. I had asmall farm in the Beauharnois district. In ‘thirty-six and ‘seventhe drought came. We nearly starved, my family and me, but we hungonto the only livelihood we had. We tried to borrow money for seed,but the treasury was impounded during the political crisis andthere was no money for anyone. We begged the government for seedand were told we were subversive, anti-English Papists, and turnedaway. I slaughtered our milk-cows for food. My boys scoured thewoods for nuts and berries. When the uprising started, I had nogun, but I also had no choice. I borrowed one and joined mycomrades. I was at St. Denis with Nelson when my borrowed rifleexploded and blew most of this hand away.” He held up his mangledappendage and let Marc finish his translation.
“I spent six months in a Montreal prison,” hecontinued. “My wife assumed I was dead. Men around me — ruined anddesperate farmers — were being tried by court martial and hanged. Iwas freed only when Lord Durham arrived in June and Mr. LaFontaineintervened on my behalf. I made my way back to my farm. There wasnothing left. Not a log unburned, not a stalk in the fields. Myfamily had fled to my cousin’s place farther up the river. There westayed, working with him to keep his farm alive. Somehow wemanaged. We stayed clear of politics. But the patriots came backthat fall in greater force. Again, they were met with an evengreater force and even greater brutality. General Colborne marchedthrough the Beauharnois and this time scorched the very earthbefore him. We were burned out a second time. We fled to the woodsand lived like primitives. Mr. LaFontaine began arranging smallloans for many of the dispossessed, and with his support, we havebegun yet again. But fancy words and political planks won’t help meraise a new barn or buy a cow so my youngsters can have milk. Itake full responsibility for my own treasonous acts. I wasimprisoned and released. Why should my wife and children be madebeggars and their land devastated for my actions? Is thisthe essence of British justice?”