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Date: 1840
Source: John Beverley Robinson, Canada and the Canada Bill (London: 1840) p. 15
The document "On the Canada Bill" is a speech given by John Beverley Robinson, a prominent Canadian lawyer and former Attorney-General of Upper Canada, in 1840. The speech was delivered in response to the introduction of the Canada Bill, which aimed to unite the British colonies of Upper and Lower Canada into a single entity.
In the speech, Robinson expresses his support for the Canada Bill and argues that the union of the two colonies is necessary for the preservation of British sovereignty and the promotion of economic growth and development. He also emphasizes the importance of responsible government and democratic participation in the political process.
The document is significant because it reflects the ongoing debates over the relationship between Canada and the British Empire, as well as the challenges faced by Canadian leaders in maintaining their territorial sovereignty and identity while promoting economic and political growth. The speech also sheds light on the evolving political landscape in Canada in the mid-19th century, as well as the ongoing struggles for democratic representation and responsible government.
Today, "On the Canada Bill" is considered an important historical document that provides valuable insight into the history of Canada and the ongoing evolution of Canadian political identity and governance. It is also a reminder of the ongoing debates over the relationship between Canada and the British Empire, as well as the importance of responsible government, democratic participation, and political representation in Canadian political culture.
Again, if we admit, as I think we must, that the circumstance of the older colonies having severed the connexion at so early a date, has been in fact the means of saving the present British provinces to the mother-country, it is scarcely less certain that the war of 1812, which was engaged in by the United States, mainly for the purpose of subjugating the Canadas, has had the effect of binding them, as well as Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, much more strongly to the crown.
Before that war the United were scarcely looked upon by the subjects of the British Empire as a foreign country; the probability of hostilities was not anticipated, and of course not guarded against; the citizens of the republic came in numbers to settle, especially in Upper Canada, and, but for the war, in a few years thousands of those fertile acres, which have since afforded a home to loyal and grateful emigrants from England, Ireland, and Scotland, would have been occupied in a manner much less conducive to the maintenance of British connexion. The war was happily undertaken at a time when the adjoining states of America were but thinly inhabited, and when the invasion of Canada was, in consequence, attended with many difficulties which time has removed. It has had the effect of calling the attention of England to the danger which Lord Selkirk, in his very able book on emigration, pointed out to the government so early as the year 1805; it has produced in the British colonists a national character and feeling, and has taught both countries to appreciate their position more correctly.
Cite Article : www.canadahistory.com/sections/documents
Source: John Beverley Robinson, Canada and the Canada Bill (London: 1840) p. 15
Reference: Article by (Staff Historian), 2023
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