86 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



leagues, thought they came to the Quebec conference on that under- 

 standing, but the majority stood out against the proposition. Mr. 

 Shea, of Newfoundland, pertinently said "What brought about the 

 conference except the difficulties in Canada over the question of repre- 

 sentation by population ?"^ 



At the time of the Union in 1841, Lower Canada had a popula- 

 tion of about 630,000; Upper Canada of about 470,000; but the two 

 parts of United Canada were given an equal number of representa- 

 tives in the House of Assembly. The Lower Canadians complained 

 of the inequality and justly so — the provision complained of arose 

 from Lord Durham's view that it was necessary to unite the two races 

 on such terms as that the English would be given the domination. He 

 said, "without eflfecting the change so rapidly or so roughly as to shock 

 the feelings or to trample on the welfare of the existing generation, it 

 must henceforth be the first and steady purpose of the British Govern- 

 ment to establish an English population, with English law and lan- 

 guage in this Province, and to trust its government to none but a 

 decidedly English Legislature." 



As has been elsewhere said : — 



"The Upper Province rapidly increased in wealth and population, 

 overtaking and passing the Lower Province by 1850; and many of its 

 public men complained of the provision, formerly favourable to their 

 section, that each part should have the same number of representa- 

 tives. Representation by Population — "Rep. by Pop.," as it was 

 generally called — became the watchword of the Reform party in 

 Upper Canada. 



"As early as 1858 a responsible Minister of the Crown in Canada, 

 Mr. (afterwards Sir) Alexander T. Gait, openly advocated it and 

 moved for the appointment of a committee to ascertain the views of 

 the people of the Lower Provinces and of the Imperial Government. 

 In 1861 Sir John A. Macdonald, while opposing the principle of Rep. 

 by Pop., said that the only feasible scheme as a remedy for the evils 

 complained of was a Confederation of all the Provinces. And at 

 length in 1864 he effected an agreement and a coalition with his 

 strongest political foe, Mr. George Brown, to secure this object. 



"The J^ower Provinces had in the Session of their respective Par- 

 liaments in 1864 authorised the appointment of delegates to discuss 

 and if possible to bring about a Union of the Maritime Provinces, i.e., 

 New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. A meeting 

 of these delegates had been set for September 1, 1864. The Canadians 

 felt that it would be advisable to take advantage of this opportunity; 



* Pope, "Confederation," pp. 19, 68, 69, 70. 



