But it might happen," he continued, "in the inevitable course of
events, that Parliament would be asked to annul even such a charter
as this, in order, as set forth in the Queen's Speech, that all
obstacles to an unbroken chain of loyal settlements, stretching
from ocean to ocean, should be removed." British Columbia, which
had become a Province in 1858, has now urging the Imperial Government
with might and main to furnish a waggon-road and telegraph line
to connect her, not only with the Territories and Canada, but
with the United Empire. She was met by the stiffest of opposition,
the opposition of a very old corporation strongly entrenched in
the governing circles of both parties. But the clamour of British
Columbia was in the air, and her suggestions, hotly opposed by
the Company, had been brought before the House of Lords by
another peer. In the discussion which followed, the Duke of
Newcastle declared that "it seemed monstrous that any body of
gentlemen should exercise fee-simple rights which precluded
the future colonization of that territory, as well as the
opening of lines of communication through it." The Minister's
idea at the time seemed to be to cancel the charter, and to
concede proprietary rights around fur posts only, together
with a certain money payment, considerably less, it appears,
than what was ultimately agreed upon.
The Hudson's Bay Company, alarmed at the outlook and the attitude
of the Colonial Secretary, offered their entire interests and
belongings, trade and territorial, to the Imperial Government
for a million and a half pounds sterling, an offer which the
Duke was disposed to accept, but which was unfortunately declined
by Mr.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25