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A thorough intellectual training would have done much for him. The discipline of a university career enables even a young man to know somewhat of his own strength and weakness, especially somewhat of his own awful ignorance; and self-knowledge leads to self-control. Circumstances put this beyond his reach; but something more excellent than even a college was within his reach, had he only been wise enough to understand and possess it as his own. In his father he had a pattern of things in the heavens; a life in which law and freedom meant the same thing; in which the harmony between his own will and the will of God gave unity, harmony, and nobleness to life and life's work. The teaching of the old Loyalist's life was the eternal teaching of the stars:
Like as a star That maketh not haste, That taketh not rest, Let each be fulfilling His God-given hest.
But the veins of the son were full of blood and his bones moistened with marrow. Passion {154} spoke in his soul, and he heard and loved the sweet voices of nature, and of men and women. Not that the whispers of heaven were unheard. No; nor were they disregarded; but they were not absolutely and implicitly obeyed. And so, like the vast crowd, all through life he was partly the creature of impulse and partly the servant of principle. Often it would have been difficult for himself to say which was uppermost in him. Had he attained to unity and harmony of nature, he could have been a poet, or a statesman of the old heroic type. But he did not attain, for he did not seek with the whole heart. And he puzzled others, because he had never read the riddle of himself.
All Nova Scotians are glad that he spent his last days in Government House. It was an honour he himself felt to be his due—a light, though it were but the light of a wintry sun, that fell on his declining days. Many old friends flocked to see him; and the meetings were sometimes very touching. An old follower, one who had never failed him, came to pay his tribute of glad homage. His chief had reached a haven of rest and the height of his ambition. When the door was opened, the governor was at the other end of the room. {155} He turned, and the two recognized each other. Not a word was spoken. The rugged face of the liegeman was tremulous. He looked round; yes, it was actually old Government House, and his chief was in possession. After all the storms and disappointments, it had actually come to this. The two men drew near, and as hand touched hand the two heads bowed together, and without a word they embraced as two children would. Are there many such little wells of poetry in the arid wilderness of political life?
On the day of his arrival in Halifax a true and tried relative called. 'Well, Joseph, what would your old father have thought of this?' 'Yes,' was the answer, 'it would have pleased the old man. I have had a long fight for it, and have stormed the castle at last. But now that I have it, what does it all amount to? I shall be here but a few days; and instead of playing governor, I feel like saying with Wolsey, to the Abbot of Leicester:
An old man, broken with the storms of State, Is come to lay his weary bones among ye; Give him a little earth for charity.'
That was almost all that was given him. The only levee he held in Government House was {156} after his death, when he lay in state, and thousands crowded round to take a long last look at their old idol.
On the morning after Howe's death a wealthy Halifax merchant, one who had been a devoted friend of his, saw as he was entering his place of business a farmer or drover, one well known for 'homespun without, and a warm heart within,' sitting on a box outside near the door, his head leaning on his hand, his foot monotonously swinging to and fro, looking as if he had sat there for hours and had no intention of getting up in a hurry. 'Well, Stephen, what's the matter?' 'Oh, nauthin',' was the dull response. 'Is it Howe?' was the next question, in a softer tone. The sound of the name unsealed the fountain. 'Yes, it's Howe.' The words came with a gulp, and then followed tears, dropping on the pavement large and fast. He did not weep alone. In many a hamlet, in many a fishing village, in many a nook and corner of Nova Scotia, as the news went over the land, Joseph Howe had the same tribute of tears.
Vex not his ghost; O let him pass! he hates him That would upon the rack of this rough world Stretch him out longer.
{157} He sleeps in Camphill Cemetery, not far from the pines and salt sea water of his boyhood, a column of Nova Scotian granite marking his resting-place; and his memory abides in the hearts of thousands of his countrymen.
{158}
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Besides the two noble volumes, Speeches and Public Letters of Joseph Howe, edited by Joseph Andrew Chisholm, K. C. (Halifax, 1909), the reader should consult the biography of Howe by Mr Justice Longley in the 'Makers of Canada' series, and the account of Nova Scotian history by Professor Archibald MacMechan in Canada and its Provinces, vol. xiii. See also Recollections of Sixty Years in Canada by Sir Charles Tupper (London, 1914); and, in this Series, The Winning of Popular Government and The Railway Builders. For an intimate study of life in Nova Scotia there are no books equal to the works of Thomas Chandler Haliburton.
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INDEX
Acadia College, 76, 77, 78. Acadians, their expulsion, 4. Almon, Mr, his appointment to the Executive Council objected to, 80. American Revolution, its effect on Britain's colonial policy, 32-3. Annand, William, and Howe, 46. Archibald, S. G. W., 28; takes his stand on 'no taxation without representation,' 44. Assembly, the, representative but irresponsible, 33-4; the fight for Responsible Government, 50-5, 88-9; Howe's Twelve Resolutions, 50-4; the struggle with the governor over Lord John Russell's dispatch, 61-4; the victory of the Reformers, 88-90.
Bank of Nova Scotia, founding of the, 37. Blanchard, Jotham, and Howe, 28. Blessington, Countess of, her method of aiding impecunious relations, 38. Bright, John, and Howe, 145. British North America Act, the, 136, 144. Buller, Charles, on the patronage of the Colonial Office, 38-9.
Campbell, Sir Colin, lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia, 61-64, 76. Canada, the railway question in, 92, 95, 115. Chandler, E. B., his railway mission, 112, 113, 114. Chapman, H. S., and Howe, 56. Church of England, its power in Nova Scotia, 34-6, 55. Colonial Office, its patronage, 38, 39; and Howe's desire to enter Imperial service, 128-9. Council, the, its composition and powers, 33-4, 36, 38; its influence and integrity, 39; attempts to lower the duty on brandy, 44; opposes Howe's Twelve Resolutions, 50-4; changes in its constitution, 54-5, 64-5; the coming of Responsible Government, 71-74, 88. Crawley, Rev. Dr, 76; his education campaign, 77. Cunard, Samuel, his steamship line founded, 94.
Dalhousie College, 35-6, 76. Derby, Lord, 121, 125; his 'handsome letter' to Howe, 126-7. Douglas, Sir James, lieutenant-governor of British Columbia, 127. Doyle, Laurence O'Connor, and Howe, 28, 50. Durham, Lord, his Report on the state of Canada, 56-7, 92.
Elgin, Lord, his Reciprocity Treaty, 142. Executive Council, 55. See Council.
Falkland, Lord, lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia, 64, 69, 70, 72-3; his quarrel with Howe, 74, 79, 80, 81-6; leaves the province, 86. 'Family Compact' of Nova Scotia, the, 39-40, 58, 108; the struggle against, 44, 89. See Council.
George, Sir Rupert D., refuses to resign office, 88. Glenelg, Lord, colonial secretary, 54-5. Gourley's Shanty, the brawl at, 132-3. Grand Trunk Railway, the, 114. Great Britain, her treatment of the Loyalists, 17; her restrictive colonial system, 30-3; her control over Nova Scotian political affairs, 33; her system of Responsible Government, 47-9; her survey for an intercolonial railway in Canada, 92; her promise of a guarantee, 99, 112-13, 116; sends Howe on a recruiting mission to the United States, 130-1. Grey, Lord, his dispatch instituting Responsible Government in Nova Scotia, 88; his railway policy, 96, 100; his promise to Howe of an Imperial guarantee, 96-100; his evasion, 112-13, 116-18, 129; and Howe's convict scheme, 109-10.
Haliburton, T. C. (Sam Slick), 28; his theory of government, 39-43, 108; his voyage with Howe, 92, 93-4. Halifax, 4; its importance, 7-8, 10, 94; its traditions and life in the early nineteenth century, 8-10; 'Society' and Howe, 38, 65-9, 72; and Confederation, 137. Halifax Banking Company, its financial and legislative monopoly, 36-7. Halliburton, Sir Brenton, compliments Howe, 22. Harvey, Sir John, 61; lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia, 87, 88. Hawes, Mr, and Howe's railway campaign, 96-9, 113, 116, 118. Hincks, Sir Francis, 112; his railway mission, 113, 114-15; and Howe, 123, 138. Howe, John, his career and character, 14-18, 153. Howe, Joseph, his birth and school days, 11-13; his education, 18-20, 26; his admiration for his father, 15-17, 20; his apprenticeship, 18, 19; an early drowning experience, 20-1; resolves to make letters his career, 22, 26; from the 'Acadian' to the 'Nova Scotian,' 22, 24, 26-9, 81-3; his marriage, 23; inaugurates 'The Club,' 28; impugns the integrity of the administration of Halifax, 29, 43, 9; his great triumph in the prosecution for libel, 44-6; leaps into fame as an orator, 46, 142-3; elected to the Assembly determined to obtain Responsible Government, 46, 50, 88-90, 123; begins the attack on the Council with Twelve Resolutions, 50-4, 37; his address to the Crown, 54; gives proof of his loyalty, 56, 108, 130, 146, 147; his defence of Responsible Government in answer to Lord John Russell, 57-61, 74; his meeting with Lord Sydenham, 63-4; and Sir Colin Campbell, 64; appointed to the Executive Council, 65, 72; becomes an object of hatred to Halifax 'Society,' 65-70; shows his grit and courage, 23, 67-70; on patronage, 71; resigns the speakership to become collector of customs, 73; his controversy with Johnston, 74-80, 83; his agitation in favour of an undenominational college, 75, 76-9, 133, 141; advocates the party government system, 79; and resigns from the Executive Council, 80; his quarrel with Lord Falkland ends with the governor's recall, 81-7; refuses to assist in forming a coalition government, 87; becomes provincial secretary in the first Reform administration, 88, 124-5, 135; advocates the building of railways, 92-4; his voyage with Haliburton on the 'Tyrian,' 93-4; his policy of state ownership and construction, 95, 100, 104; his railway campaign in England, 96-100; his interview with Lord Grey, 96-8; secures an Imperial guarantee for an inter-colonial railway, 99-104; on the inferior position of the colonial, 101-3, 108, 109; advocates emigration to Canada as a solution of the poverty problem in Britain, 103-4; on Imperial consolidation, 101-107; his visions of a great future for Canada, 105-7; his rousing call to Nova Scotia and his prophecy, 105-8; favours Imperial Federation, 108-9, 119-20, 137, 144; his scheme of settling convicts in Nova Scotia, 109-10; on the duty of a government, 111; his railway plans come to grief, 111-13, 117, 119-20; evades joining Hincks's mission to England, 114-16, 123; withdraws from the Executive Council to become a Railway Commissioner, 121; his efforts to enter the Imperial civil service, 121-7; the causes of his failure, 128-30; his disastrous recruiting mission in the United States, 130-1; the Irish vote fails him in his contest with Tupper, 131-2, 140-1; his Protestant campaign, 133-4; appointed Fishery Commissioner, 135; his anti-Confederation campaign, 136, 137-44; his signal triumph as Canadian delegate to the Reciprocity convention held in Detroit, 142-3; returned to the Dominion parliament pledged to secure repeal of the British North America Act, 144; his mission to London, where he is interviewed by Tupper, 145-146; enters Sir John Macdonald's Cabinet, 147-8, 149-50; his heart-rending struggle, 149; lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia, 150, 154-5; his death, 150, 154-6; his character, 16, 23, 25-7, 67-8, 82-3, 113, 114, 116, 120, 134, 139-140, 151-4; his appearance, 13-14; his popularity, 6-7, 24-25, 151; his love for Nova Scotia, 1-3, 8, 19, 24, 27-8, 138-9; his poetic gift, 12, 22, 29, 82-3; his noble ideas of religious freedom, 133-4. Howe, Mrs Joseph, 23.
Jackson, Peto, Betts, and Brassey, railway contractors, 114, 117, 118. Johnston, Hon. J. W., his controversy with Howe, 72-80; denounces party government, 79; his administration, 81, 83.
Kincaid, Captain John, and Howe, 28. King's College, 35, 76.
Labouchere, H., colonial secretary, 121, 123-5, 128. Legislature, the. See Council and Assembly. Le Marchant, Sir Gaspard, lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia, 125. Lytton, Sir E. B., colonial secretary, 121, 126-7.
Macdonald, Sir John, induces Howe to join his Cabinet, 146-7, 150. M'Dougall, Hon. William, and Howe, 150. Mackenzie, W. L., his revolt in Upper Canada, 56. Metcalfe, Sir Charles, governor-general of Canada, 71. Molesworth, Sir William, colonial secretary, 121, 122-3. Murdoch, Beamish, and Howe, 28.
Navigation Acts, the, 30-2. Newcastle, Duke of, and Howe, 121, 127, 128. New Brunswick, the railway question in, 94-5, 111-12, 113. Nova Scotia, and Joseph Howe, 1-3, 6, 130, 156; early settlements in, 4-7; trade development of, 10, 33; her political system, 33-4, 36, 38, 42, 43, 54-5, 64-5, 73-4, 88-90; religious strife in, 35, 77-8, 132-3; and Colonial Office patronage, 38; the railway question in, 92-3, 94, 96, 114, 121; loyalty of, 103; favours a maritime union, 135; her hostility to Confederation, 137, 144, 146-8, 150.
Pakington, Sir John, colonial secretary, 114. Papineau, L. J., his rebellion in Lower Canada, 56.
Reciprocity Treaty, the, Howe's great speech in connection with, 142-3. Reformers, their success in 1847, 88. Responsible Government, Haliburton on, 41-3; in Great Britain, 47-9; the fight for in Nova Scotia, 50-5, 73-4, 80, 88-90. Robinson, J. B., and Imperial Federation, 108. Russell, Lord John, on Responsible Government, 57; his dispatch conferring greater powers on the Assembly, 61, 63; and Howe, 121, 122, 126, 129.
St Mary's College, 76. South Africa, her objection to Britain's gallows-birds, 109. Southampton, Howe's meeting at, 2, 96-7, 99. Stephenson, George, his locomotive, 91. Sydenham, Lord, his meeting with Howe, 63-4.
Tupper, Sir Charles, his tilt with Howe, 131-2, 134-5, 143-4; his efforts on behalf of Confederation, 136, 143-4, 150; institutes compulsory education, 75, 141; his interview with Howe in London, 145-6.
Uniacke, J. B., converted to Responsible Government, 62, 69; member of Executive Council, 65; his Reform administration, 88. United States, and the 'spoils system,' 88; railway development in, 91; Howe's recruiting mission in, 131; and the Reciprocity Treaty, 142-3.
War of 1812, and Halifax, 8.
{165}
THE CHRONICLES OF CANADA
Edited by George M. Wrong and H. H. Langton of the University of Toronto
A series of thirty-two freshly-written narratives for popular reading, designed to set forth, in historic continuity, the principal events and movements in Canada, from the Norse Voyages to the Railway Builders.
PART I. THE FIRST EUROPEAN VISITORS
1. The Dawn of Canadian History A Chronicle of Aboriginal Canada BY STEPHEN LEACOCK
2. The Mariner of St Malo A Chronicle of the Voyages of Jacques Cartier BY STEPHEN LEACOCK
PART II. THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE
3. The Founder of New France A Chronicle of Champlain BY CHARLES W. COLBY
4. The Jesuit Missions A Chronicle of the Cross in the Wilderness BY THOMAS GUTHRIE MARQUIS
5. The Seigneurs of Old Canada A Chronicle of New-World Feudalism BY WILLIAM BENNETT MUNRO
6. The Great Intendant A Chronicle of Jean Talon BY THOMAS CHAPAIS
7. The Fighting Governor A Chronicle of Frontenac BY CHARLES W. COLBY
PART III. THE ENGLISH INVASION
8. The Great Fortress A Chronicle of Louisbourg BY WILLIAM WOOD
9. The Acadian Exiles A Chronicle of the Land of Evangeline BY ARTHUR G. DOUGHTY
10. The Passing of New France A Chronicle of Montcalm BY WILLIAM WOOD
11. The Winning of Canada A Chronicle of Wolfe BY WILLIAM WOOD
PART IV. THE BEGINNINGS OF BRITISH CANADA
12. The Father of British Canada A Chronicle of Carleton BY WILLIAM WOOD
13. The United Empire Loyalists A Chronicle of the Great Migration BY W. STEWART WALLACE
14. The War with the United States A Chronicle of 1812 BY WILLIAM WOOD
PART V. THE RED MAN IN CANADA
15. The War Chief of the Ottawas A Chronicle of the Pontiac War BY THOMAS GUTHRIE MARQUIS
16. The War Chief of the Six Nations A Chronicle of Joseph Brant BY LOUIS AUBREY WOOD
17. Tecumseh A Chronicle of the last Great Leader of his People BY ETHEL T. RAYMOND
PART VI. PIONEERS OF THE NORTH AND WEST
18. The 'Adventurers of England' on Hudson Bay A Chronicle of the Fur Trade in the North BY AGNES C. LAUT
19. Pathfinders of the Great Plains A Chronicle of La Verendrye and his Sons BY LAWRENCE J. BURPEE
20. Adventurers of the Far North A Chronicle of the Arctic Seas BY STEPHEN LEACOCK
21. The Red River Colony A Chronicle of the Beginnings of Manitoba BY LOUIS AUBREY WOOD
22. Pioneers of the Pacific Coast A Chronicle of Sea Rovers and Fur Hunters BY AGNES C. LAUT
23. The Cariboo Trail A Chronicle of the Gold-fields of British Columbia BY AGNES C. LAUT
PART VII. THE STRUGGLE FOR POLITICAL FREEDOM
24. The Family Compact A Chronicle of the Rebellion in Upper Canada BY W. STEWART WALLACE
25. The Patriotes of '37 A Chronicle of the Rebellion in Lower Canada BY ALFRED D. DECELLES
26. The Tribune of Nova Scotia A Chronicle of Joseph Howe BY WILLIAM LAWSON GRANT
27. The Winning of Popular Government A Chronicle of the Union of 1841 BY ARCHIBALD MACMECHAN
PART VIII. THE GROWTH OF NATIONALITY
28. The Fathers of Confederation A Chronicle of the Birth of the Dominion BY A. H. U. COLQUHOUN
29. The Day of Sir John Macdonald A Chronicle of the Early Years of the Dominion BY SIR JOSEPH POPE
30. The Day of Sir Wilfrid Laurier A Chronicle of Our Own Times BY OSCAR D. SKELTON
PART IX. NATIONAL HIGHWAYS
31. All Afloat A Chronicle of Craft and Waterways BY WILLIAM WOOD
32. The Railway Builders A Chronicle of Overland Highways BY OSCAR D. SKELTON
THE END |
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