Reminiscences of a Canadian Pioneer for the last Fifty Years: An AutobiographyThompson, Samuel
History
Reminiscences of a Canadian Pioneer for the last Fifty Years: An Autobiography
Thompson, Samuel
Frontier and pioneer life -- Ontario; Thompson, Samuel, 1810-1886; Toronto (Ont.) -- Biography; Toronto (Ont.) -- History
After some correspondence between Toronto and Montreal, it was arranged
that a general meeting of the League, to consist of delegates from all
the town and country branches, formally accredited, should be held at
Kingston, in the new Town Hall, which had been placed at their disposal
by the city authorities. Here, in a lofty, well-lighted and
commodiously-seated hall, the British American League assembled on the
25th day of July, 1849. The number of delegates present was one hundred
and forty, each representing some hundreds of stout yeomen, loyal to the
death, and in intelligence equal to any constituency in the Empire or
the world. The number of people so represented, with their families,
could not have been less than half a million.
The first day was spent in discussion (with closed doors) of the manner
in which the proceedings should be conducted, and in the appointment of
a committee to prepare resolutions for submission on the morrow. On the
26th, accordingly, the public business commenced.[18]
The proceedings were conducted in accordance with parliamentary
practice. The chairman, the Hon. George Moffatt, of Montreal, sat on a
raised platform at the east end of the hall; at a table in front of him
were placed the two secretaries, W. G. Mack, of Montreal, and Wm.
Brooke, of Shipton, C. E. On either side were seated the delegates, and
outside a rail, running transversely across the room, benches were
provided for spectators, of whom a large number attended. A table for
reporters stood on the south side, near the secretaries' table. I was
present both as delegate and reporter.
The business of the day was commenced with prayer, by a clergyman of
Kingston.
Mr. John W. Gamble, of Vaughan, then, as chairman of the committee
nominated the previous day, introduced a series of resolutions, the
first of which was as follows:--
"That it is essential to the prosperity of the country that the
tariff should be so proportioned and levied, as to give just and
adequate protection to the manufacturing and industrial classes
of the country, and to secure to the agricultural population a
home market with fair and remunerative prices for all
descriptions of farm produce."
Resolutions in favour of economy in public expenditure, of equal
justice to all classes of the people, and condemnatory of the
Government in connection with the Rebellion Losses Bill, were
proposed in turn, and unanimously adopted, after discussions
extending over two or three days. The principal speakers in
support of the resolution were J. W. Gamble, Ogle R. Gowan, P.
M. Vankoughnet, Thos. Wilson, of Quebec, Geo. Crawford, A. A.
Burnham,--Aikman, John Duggan, Col. Frazer, Geo. Benjamin, and
John A. Macdonald.
At length, the main object of the assemblage was reached, and
embodied in the form of a motion introduced by Mr. Breckenridge,
of Cobourg.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account