Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin by John Ralston Saul

Author:John Ralston Saul
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: PENGUIN GROUP (CANADA)

CHAPTER SIX

Surviving Politics

An empire rarely changes its mind simply because it fails. It is driven by a larger sense of its own destiny, no matter how stupid that is. And so early in January 1843, Sir Charles Bagot, the new Governor General, arrived in Kingston by sleigh across the Lake Ontario ice.

An intelligent man, not an egomaniac like Sydenham, a highly successful diplomat, he nevertheless arrived with exactly the same instructions from the same sort of imperial politicians who might have believed in democracy and citizenship at home but not in the colonies: “[Y]ou will endeavour to avail yourself of the advice and services of the ablest men, without reference to party distinctions, which, upon every occasion, you will do your utmost to discourage.” What the colonial secretary meant was that Bagot should ignore ideas, beliefs and ethical parameters and simply administer on the basis of particular interests.

So the Governor General set out with charm to divide and conquer. He was bilingual but in private dismissed its relevance here. He made good appointments, travelled, reached out. His weapon was that of all governors – patronage. Buy them off to win them over.

In the autumn the MPs returned, and it became clear before Parliament opened that Draper’s government couldn’t win a vote in the House. There was no confidence. Responsible Government would not go away. Even Draper advised Bagot to bring in the Reformers. He himself would not serve with them, certainly not with Baldwin, who was detested by the establishment for his ethical rigour.

Bagot tried everything. He called in LaFontaine and offered him power without Baldwin. He offered a great deal to the francophones “as a Race, as a people rather than as a Party.” He needed to put a wedge between the two men. Hincks was enticed to take the chief financial role, but then he was easy to tempt. What Bagot needed was for the French Canadians to come in as a race and thus neutralize both themselves and the Upper Canadian democrats. He reassured London: “There is hardly any extremity to which I should not be disposed to submit or hazard which I might not think it even prudent to incur, rather than see Mr. Baldwin again introduced into the Council.” But LaFontaine simply said no to every offer. He and Baldwin had carefully talked through these issues. Language, religion, cultural particularities all existed and mattered. But their Reform Party – their organized expression of principles and ideas – was the only hope.

Bagot was amazed. His last desperate manoeuvre was to reveal to the freshly assembled Parliament every detail of his negotiations. The revelation of looming French power as well as general Reform inflexibility was supposed to terrify all the moderates into line. LaFontaine therefore rose from his front-row Opposition seat to explain himself in a firm but unterrifying way. This was the first time most of the Upper Canadian members had ever seen him in the flesh. To anglophones LaFontaine was either the romantic, courageous leader described by Baldwin or the dangerous rebel conjured up by the government.

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