The fifth remedy was declared merely an instalment of advantages which might be otherwise secured, and likewise was declared inadequate.

6. The sixth remedy “consists of a friendly and peaceful separation from British connection, and a union upon equitable terms with the great North American confederacy of sovereign states."

Since this remedy involved a political revolution, the framers of the manifesto admitted it merited serious consideration. Towards Great Britain the annexationists declared they entertained the most friendly feeling; moreover, they believed that Great Britain by her continuance of military protection on the condition that the people of British America defray all expenses really signified a desire to sever the connection. The various advantages of a union with the adjoining Republic were enumerated. American capital would be released for investment in Canada, thereby equalizing the value of real estate on both sides of the boundary line. The foreigner would no longer hesitate to invest his money in a land of such vast natural resources, now that the fear of instability in the form of government was removed. Public credit would, therefore, be restored. Not only would American capital be used to introduce manufactures which had hitherto flourished solely in the United States, but the markets of the United States would also be open free of duty. American capitalists would build railroads in the Canadas and Maritime Provinces over which their produce might be carried to the United States. No longer would the agricultural products of Canada fail to secure the same prices as similar products in the United States, and further the cost of living would be reduced in consequence of the lowering of the prices on such articles as tea, coffee and sugar. The value of Canadian timber

would be greatly enhanced, for no longer would a heavy duty be levied upon it. The shipbuilding industry would flourish, for the shipping trade of the United States was bound to increase. The form of government under the United States system, the annexationists declared, would be much more economical than the Provincial government under Great Britain. No longer would the menace of war, an ever-present contingency under present conditions, exist. Opportunities for public service and distinction open to the citizens of the United States might, henceforth, be theirs; for no longer would the Canadians be citizens of a country dependent upon Great Britain but citizens enjoying all the advantages open only to those who belong to an independent country.

The closing portion of the manifesto dealt with the benefits which would accrue to both Great Britain and the United States in consequence of annexation. Chief among these advantages was the lessening of the chances of collision between them with all the inevitable clashing of interest due to the close proximity of British-America to the United States.1 The Manifesto thus concluded:

We address you without prejudice or partiality-in the spirit of sincerity and truth-in the interest solely of our common country, and our single aim is its safety and welfare. If to your judgment and reason our object and aim be at this time deemed laudable and right, we ask an oblivion of past dissensions; and from all, without distinction of origin, party or creed, that earnest and cordial cooperation in such lawful, prudent and judicious means as may best conduct us to our common destiny.

To this document were affixed the names of many promi

1C. D. Allin and G. M. Jones, Annexation, Preferential Trade and Reciprocity, chap. vii, pp. 106-115.

2 Ibid., p. 114.

nent Canadians, including J. J. C. Abbott, a future prime minister of Canada, John Rose, later finance minister under Sir John A. Macdonald, and D. L. Macpherson, later Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario. The leading commercial men of Montreal were well represented by the Molsons, Torrances and Workmans, men prominent in the banking circles of Montreal and all connected with the establishment of Molsons' Bank in Canada. The two naturally opposed parties, the ultra-conservative and the Rouge, were well represented, as can be readily perceived, if the list is scanned.2

A survey of the newspapers of this period seems to prove that the numerical strength of the annexationists in Canada, even at the period of greatest financial depression, was not great, and that, in proportion as business conditions improved, it gradually diminished. The press was directly under the control of the political leaders who themselves were the editors-as Principal Grant of Queens University, Canada, said, "at that time in the history of the world it was almost impossible to be an editor without being a politician also."

The Toronto Globe, the official organ of the Liberal party of Canada West, under the leadership of George Brown, was untiring in its denunciation of the annexationists. A 1 Montreal History and Gazetter, 1892.

J. L. Morison, British Supremacy and Canadian Self-Government, pp. 212-213. To le parti Rouge belonged the radicals of Canada East, followers of Papineau, the French-Canadian leader of the rebellion of 1837. Upon Papineau's return from exile he was elected to the Canadian Assembly as a supporter of LaFontaine, the French Liberal leader. Papineau soon found himself at variance with the Liberal party, and became known as the leader of the independents, the radicals of Canada East.

3 Cf. History of Canadian Journalism, edited by a Committee of the Press Association 1908.

4 ▲ Ibid., p. 2.

loyal Scot, he exerted an almost incalculable influence in Canada West- an influence, moreover, ever in favor of Great Britain. No public man in Canada has ever exercised such power through the medium of the newspaper. Thus did Sir Richard Cartwright truly say: "There were probably many thousand voters in Ontario especially among the Scotch settlers who hardly read anything except their Globe and their Bible, and whose whole political creed was practically dictated to them by the former." 1 This newspaper, the ever-resolute and consistent opponent of annexation, was naturally inclined to underestimate the strength of the movement. "As a popular movement the whole thing has been an entire failure; it has not found a resting place in any section of the country, nor with any political party.' Undoubtedly with the Globe, the wish was father to the thought.

3

The Toronto Examiner, the newspaper of the radical section or "Clear Grits" of Canada, founded by Francis Hincks, Prime Minister of Canada in 1854, assumed a vacillating attitude toward the question of annexation. This radical section of the Liberal party adopted an extremely critical attitude toward the Baldwin administration, which it regarded as the reactionary wing of the party. Hence many of its comments with regard to its policies might be taken to indicate a predisposition toward the republican form of government. Although the Examiner did not openly support annexation, it indicated its belief that in the natural course of events, the bond which united the British North American Provinces to Great Britain would be severed. This newspaper further declared its opinion that the inter

1 Sir Richard Cartwright, Reminiscences, pp. 9-10. 'The Globe, March 5, 1850.

3 A History of Canadian Journalism, edited by a Committee of the Press, p. 167; Merged into Globe 1857.

vening step, namely, the independence of the provinces, must be consummated before the idea of annexation with the neighboring republic could even be considered.

The British Colonist, a Conservative newspaper established by Hugh Scobie in 1838, the chief competitor of the Globe, likewise adopted a vacillating policy which indicated a certain changefulness in public opinion. In its issue of July 3, 1849, the annexation sentiment found expression. "Our opinion, declared repeatedly within the last three years, has been that commercial wants and intercourse would bring it [annexation] to pass in a short period independently of collateral circumstances of a purely political nature." But ten days later, July 13, this newspaper denied that it had committed its columns to an advocacy of annexation, and declared that it had merely reviewed the facts in connection with the course of the movement. On July 27, 1849, it discussed the external influences determining the case, namely the influence of a colonial office, the attitude of the manufacturers of England, and lastly the encouragement which might be received from the United States. Later, perhaps influenced by the definite pronouncement against annexation by the British American League1 to which many of the Conservatives of Canada West belonged, the British Colonist, September 11, 1849, reaffirmed its loyalty, and returned to its allegiance in its declaration that it was "opposed to any agitation in favor of separation from Great Britain."

The Toronto Patriot, the newspaper of the High Church Tories,' unfaltering in its attachment to Great Britain, warned its readers against encouraging the annexationists,"

1Cf. Ontario Historical Society-Papers and Records, vol. 13, art. x, Allin, C. D., "The British American League 1849."

2 A History of Canadian Journalism, edited by a Committee of the Press, p. 168. Ogle R. Gowan, a prominent member of the Orange Order was one of the editors of the Patriot.

3 The Patriot, October 12, 1849.