“My sons would be among them,” Bérubé said,shaking his head.
“Might not Mr. LaFontaine himself be bannedfrom holding office?” Bergeron asked.
“We have a similar problem in Upper Canada,of course,” Robert said, “although most of our so-called rebelshave fled to the United States. As well, we went through areactionary period before our rebellion when attempts were made tohave resident aliens from the United States — about a quarter ofour population — made ineligible to stand for the Assembly. Eventheir property rights were threatened, and the waiting period fornaturalization lengthened. These measures, prompted by panic andblind prejudice, happily were resisted. At the moment, beneath theheated rhetoric, there is in this province a longing for peace andstability, and a mood of grudging forbearance. That is why it iscritical for us to unite as a party right from the outset of thenew parliament, to establish both our presence and our commitmentto liberal policies.”
“You are assuming, I take it,” Bergeron said,“that such matters will be left to the colonial legislature andthat London will not decide them in advance as attachments to theUnion Act?” Despite his fatigue, Bergeron had been following everyargument with interest and contributing more than Marc had expectedhe would, given his somewhat narrow band of concerns.
“That is correct,” Hincks said. “Likewise, itwill be left to the Assembly and the Upper House to decide on theirown protocols, including the use of French, which you can beassured we will press for immediately.”
“I have a more general point to raise,”LaFontaine said. “Like any other human endeavour, democracy must beboth learned and practised. In Quebec we have very littleexperience with elections and local office-holding. In the villagesand countryside, we have no widespread experience with the electionof mayors and councillors. We have priests and parish officers, andthe English magistrate with his quarter sessions. I made severalattempts to convince Mr. Thomson of the need to include in theUnion Act adequate and mandatory provision for the establishment ofa fixed system of municipal governance. Our towns need mayors,aldermen, bailiffs, dog-catchers. Our citizens need to see theconsequences of electing some of their own to govern them. But justbefore I left Montreal, I learned that the Tory opposition ofRobert Peel in London rejected these clauses in the bill, and theyhave been thrown out.”
Hincks’s brow creased with concern at theseremarks, the most sustained LaFontaine had so far made, though itwas plain that he could have made any of the points raised by hiscolleagues if he had not preferred to sit back, Sphinx-like, andobserve the proceedings.
“I heard the same bad news,” Robert said,“but in my latest communication with Mr. Poulett Thomson, heassured me that, should the municipal-governance clauses be deletedin London, he himself would use his executive authority toestablish a democratic municipal system throughout Quebec, as earlyas September. My impression was that he was as concerned as youthat the Quebec people become immersed in local politics as soon aspossible.”
LaFontaine nodded his approval, which did notcome with a smile, however. Perhaps later, Marc thought.
“Gentlemen,” Garnet Macaulay said into themomentary silence, “we have been at it for close to two hours. Mystaff have prepared a light luncheon and set it out in thedining-room. May I suggest that we repair to our own chambers tofreshen up, then proceed to our luncheon, and meet back here inforty minutes?”
“I do believe we have reached consensus on abasic party platform,” Hincks said happily. “I for one am ready tocelebrate with a little food and drink.”
“May I request one brief addition to theplatform,” Bérubé said, glancing at Robert, “before we leave stepone, that is?”
“It is brief, is it?” Hincks said witha grin.
“Since we are making a sort of wish-listhere,” Bérubé continued before he could be stopped, “I suggest thatwe go on record as a party endorsing Montreal as the naturalcapital of Canada.”
This abrupt request caught the membersoff-guard for a moment, as they were already anticipating thepleasures that might await them in the dining-room. But Robertreplied graciously, “None of us has any particular liking forKingston as our capital, Daniel, but I’ve been told that PoulettThomson has already made up his mind about Kingston, despite itsbeing woefully unprepared for us.”
“I realize that,” Bérubé said, “but I’msuggesting that we raise the issue as soon as we can in the newAssembly, along with the use of French, and move to have thecapital shifted to Montreal as soon as possible.”
Robert looked around the table.
“I see no objection to making that a plank inour platform,” Hincks said with some admiration for the Montrealmerchant’s willingness to engage freely in the give-and-take ofpractical politics.
The others nodded in agreement, althoughno-one other than Bérubé expected this item to be given a highpriority or to have an easy passage through the parliament if andwhen it was proposed.
“Luncheon, then,” Macaulay said, rubbing hishands together.
***
Mrs. Blodgett had recovered from her arthritisenough to prepare the guests a cold repast whose delights kept themin the dining-room a little beyond the allotted forty minutes. Theatmosphere was convivial, but the temptation to linger over themince tart and excellent coffee seemed to be prompted more by adesire to delay the upcoming session in the library than to prolongthe gormandising. As they all knew well, step two would make stepone look like a walk in the park.
When they had finally reassembled, Macaulaywas quick to turn the proceedings over to Robert Baldwin.
“Gentlemen, I need not remind you,” Robertbegan, “that the unprecedented achievement of this morning’sdeliberations will be for nought if the parliamentary system of thenew dominion does not exemplify the principles of responsiblegovernment. All future governors must select the members of theircabinet from among those elected to the majority party of theLegislative Assembly, from their associates in the LegislativeCouncil, or any others who support the policies and maintain theconfidence of that Assembly. Moreover, should said cabinet at anytime lose the confidence of the Assembly, its members shall beobliged to resign. This is the definition of responsible governmentthat my father and I have pressed upon successive governors for thepast dozen years, and one which Mr. Hincks and Mr. LaFontaine havecorresponded about for several months hitherto. Without theadoption of this principle and the evolution of a strict partypolitics, our agenda of reform will be stillborn.”
When Marc finished translating, no-oneresponded for a moment. Then Bergeron said, “If you have beenunsuccessful so far, what makes you believe that you, or we, canpersuade the British government to adopt the principle now?”
“We are a defeated people,” Tremblayadded bitterly, the tempering effects of the luncheon having wornoff. “And your rebels are in Van Dieman’s Land or hiding outin American slums. Why should the victors offer anything tothe vanquished?”
Robert, to whom these challenges had beendirected, replied quietly: “We would not have asked you here, andMr. LaFontaine would not have accepted our invitation, if we didnot believe we were moving inexorably towards our goal.”
“My colleague is referring to the secretnegotiations that he and I have had with Governor Poulett Thomson,”Hincks added hastily. “As you know, the Tories here vehementlyopposed the Union Act and its terms, and they, with theirconservative colleagues, held a majority in our Assembly. The Whiggovernment in London refused to endorse the union unless bothCanadian provinces approved of it. So, in order to get legislativeapproval here last November, His Excellency required outassistance. Although we too had qualms about the terms, we secretlyagreed to help the Governor by backing the bill and persuading themoderate conservatives to do so as well. In return for ourassistance, His Excellency assured us that, in practice, he wouldadhere to the principle of cabinet responsibility we recommended.So, you see, we have every expectation that when your Rougeand our Reform combine to make up a majority in the new Assembly,it will be our members — French and English — who will form theExecutive Council and be in a position to advance ourpolicies.”