Nova Scotia (31 page)

   
Some have argued that soon after this high point in her
history, Nova Scotia quickly faded from glory. Wooden ships driven
by the wind no longer dominated world travel and commerce,
overtaken by the new technologies of coal-fired steamships and
railroads. Nonetheless, economic decline for Nova Scotia may have
been due more to politics than technology. The province had more
than its fair share of inventors involved in the new technologies
and the people here were not so far out of step with advances
elsewhere. By 1858 a rail line was completed from Halifax to Truro
and plans were on the books for major construction linking Halifax
to New Brunswick, Maine and even Quebec. Most Maritimers, however,
weren’t solidly convinced that rail transport was in any way better
than travel by sea.

   
As in so much of Nova Scotia’s previous history,
once again, military and political events well outside of her
borders would play an important role in shaping events here. Early
in the 1860s, the United States was headed for its great Civil War
which would tear that country apart. When the war began, Britain
declared its neutrality, but many in British North America had
strong sympathy with the Yankees. Back in Britain there was,
however, a strong undercurrent of support for the South. Then in
1861, the U.S. Navy boarded the British vessel
Trent
in
international waters and arrested two Confederate agents who were
aboard. Britain viewed this as a form of piracy and tensions began
to mount. The American Secretary of State, W.H. Seward, had pushed
things further by suggesting that an invasion of British North
America was a possibility. Great Britain responded by sending
14,000 troops to defend her colonies if necessary. After a while
things cooled down, but the political effect of such a threat was
pivotal and long-lasting.

   
The provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Canada now
saw the need to strengthen their ties and agreed to forge ahead
with the long-discussed rail link from east to west. In Quebec City
in 1862, the rail deal was signed, with Canada footing the lion’s
share of the bill. Nonetheless, by 1864, Nova Scotians weren’t
talking so much about union with Canada but simply a Maritime
union. Britain liked the idea but politicians in Canada were hoping
to up the ante in any way they could by getting in on the action
while the players were at the table. The province of Canada had
been a melding of both Upper and Lower Canada, bringing together
the French and English populations. It had never been an easy
marriage and the early 1860s saw the collapse of a series of
administrations leading to a coalition of political
forces.

Entering the Dominion

A
larger union of provinces might be useful in resolving problems
between rival factions in the province of Canada, it was argued by
a handful of men at the top. (Canada, at that time, included what
is now Ontario and Quebec.) Therefore, the government of Canada
wanted to be sure to have a foot in the door when Nova Scotia, New
Brunswick and Prince Edward lsland discussed their own
arrangements. And so it was that in September of 1864, the eight
delegates from the *
province
of Canada
showed up to take part in the Charlottetown talks among Maritime
leaders. Accommodation was scarce because the circus was in town
and Charlottetown hadn’t seen elephants for over twenty years. But
the conference went ahead and the Canadians prodded and bullied the
discussion around to the topic of a broader union.
*

   
Once things were moving, it seemed there was no turning back,
whether the citizens of the Maritimes were interested or not.
Another meeting was called for Quebec City and a plan made up of
seventy-two resolutions was put forward. It would eventually lead
to the British North America Act of 1867, creating the Dominion of
Canada. (Newfoundland had been given the option to join but, in
1869, the electorate there gave the proposal a thumbs down. Their
will would prevail well into the next century on this
matter.)

   
In 1866, with Confederation looming as the hottest of current
issues, two powerful Nova Scotian politicians were at loggerheads,
representing two completely opposing views on the matter. Charles
Tupper was in favour of joining; Joseph Howe was against it. Howe
lost but went on to become one of the best leaders the province
would ever see. Tupper succeeded in bullying the people of Nova
Scotia into Confederation but quickly lost favour lwith his
electorate and was booted from office. Had the system of government
been a fairer one, that is to say, had the people had the right to
determine their own fate there in the middle of the nineteenth
century, Nova Scotia might have evolved into its own small but
dignified nation. The same flaws of the political structure that
allowed Tupper to act decisively against the will of the majority
still exist today. NAFTA and GST legislation of the 1990s, while
patently unpopular, became law because of a ruling party holding a
clear majority. Having attended law school at Dalhousie in Halifax,
Brian Mulroney may have learned his lesson from the man whose name
is affixed to the medical school next door m– Sir Charles
Tupper.

Joe Howe – the Fiery
Reformer

Tupper believed himself to be a man of vision, but so did
his worthy opponent, Joseph Howe, one of the most popular
politicians this province ever knew. The son of a Loyalist printer,
Howe was born near Halifax’s Northwgest Arm in 1804. In his
writings he described himself as being filled with “restless,
agitating uncertainty.” With little formal schooling, he ventured
into the newspaper business as a young man, first as part owner of
rthe
Weekly Chronicle
and then as publisher of the
Novascotian
. He read voraciously and travelled all around the
province, filled with curiosity about people and places, spending
sometimes two months at a time in the sal*ddle on his
horse.

   
As a writer, he penned more and more articles and editorials
about the state of politics in Nova Scotia. He was bold and accused
magistrates of being nothing better than thieves. Charged with
libel in 1835, Howe read a pile of law books and proceeded to
defend himself in court. He gave a legendary six-hour-long speech
that resulted in his acquittal and many of the corrupt·magistrates
began to resign their posts.   

   
All of this public attention launched Joseph Howe into
political life and the next year he was elected to the Assembly,
where he would remain for twelve years, working for the reform of
government. He loathed party poliwtics and the party system which
demanded loyalty to the party line and his opinions were
well-heard. More reform-minded candidates found themselves
elected.

   
Howe’s popularity outraged many of the old line, none more
than the son of Chief Justice Haliburton, who challenged Howe to a
duel. Fortunately, no one was killed. Haliburton fired and missed
and Joe Howe simply fired his shot into the air.

   
Howe helped stage a major defeat of the Conservatives in 1847
and became provincial secretary under Premier Uniacke. He was fired
up over the idea of a railroad from Halifax to Windsor and then
beyond to Quebec by way of Maine. In 1860, Howe became premier but
his Liberal party’s hold was shaky and he was out of there by
1863.

   
During the 1860s the move toward Confederation was underway
and Howe was staunchly opposed to Nova Scotia being consolidated
with Canada. Even after Premier Tupper had signed the deal, Howe
went to London to try to undo the damage but it was too late. At
that point, hoping to improve the deal for Nova Scotia, Howe
himself became involved in the new federal government. He died at
Government House as Lieutenant-Governor in 1873. Howe hadp written,
“If I could be content to go along quietly and peaceably like my
neighbours and in the end of some fifty or sixty years tumble into
my grave and be dust, I should be happy – very happy.” But, of
course, he was speaking of a life he never lived.

Against the Will of the
People

Howe’s rival, Charles Tupper, was
born near Amherst in 1821, the son of a Baptist minister. He had an
extensive education, including medical studies at Edinburgh
University. By the age of twenty-two he had returned to Nova Scotia
to set up a medical practice. Like Howe, he spent a good deal of
time travelling the province on horseback.

   
Tupper became enamoured with politics and the issues of the
day and the Conservatives went after Tupper as the man to take on
the people’s hero, Joseph Howe. Although Tupper’s Conservative
party lost in 1855, he had personally outmaneuvred Howe in their
Cumberland County riding. He ascended in the ranks of his party and
ultimately became premier in 1864 when the leader
resigned.

   
Tupper was instrumental in passing the Free School Act in
1864 and a taxation act that would support the schools. No doubt he
was both loved and hated for this twin blessing and curse. Along
with the other premiers, Tupper had been part of Confederation
talks. He believed that unification was a wonderful, monumental
idea and Nova Scotia should play a key role in the provinces coming
together. When he went to the conference in Charlottetown to
discuss Maritime union with the premiers of P.E.I. and New
Brunswick, the delegates from Upper and Lower Canada had already
arrived to push for a larger confederation.

   
The move toward a larger union was partly due to fear of
American military strength as apparent in the American Civil WarS.
Tupper continued to meet with the other premiers in Quebec and
London and, as representative of Nova Scotia, he endorsed
Confederation in 1867.

   
Very few Nova Scotians actually supported their premier in
this and so Tupper put off his re-election as long as he could
until later in 1867, after the deal was already signed. The
Conservatives were soundly defeated but the deal was already
done.

   
Tupper persuaded Howe to get involved in federal politics at
that point and he himself went on to undertake a series of
ministerial duties at the federal level. In 1896 Charles Tupper,
upon the resignation of Mackenzie Bowell, became prime minister but
he had a short tenure. The Conservative party was unpopular by then
as Tupper took up the post of Leader of the Opposition until the
turn of the century. After that, he retired and spent a goodly
amount of time in England. Perhaps there was a little of the
philosopher king in Tupper. A well-educated man with a vision, he
was willing to overrule the views of the majority in favour of an
idea like Confederation, which he personally thought was good for
Nova Scotians. Friend or foe of the people, Tupper was a principal
figure in Nova Scotian history and painted a sharp contrast to his
feisty rivanl, Joseph Howe, who had so wished for a more truly
democratic form of government for Nova Scotians.

Avoiding Annexation

Confederation spelled the end of
political autonomy for Nova Scotia. The people had been taken
against their will into the arrangement by means that were nothing
short of unscrupulous. The changes ahead would be both political
and economic. The rail link with the West would begin to shift the
political, economic and social focus away from the sea and toward
the continent. While Nova Scotia had once been at the very hub of
internationala trade activity, it would soon find itself on the
fringe of both trade and industrial growth that was taking off in
the interior of the continent.

   
Would Nova Scotia have survived on its own as an independent
nation? Could the Maritimes, and possibly Newfoundland, form its
own strong union? Charles Tupper ensured that these questions could
never be answered by history. Howe’s passion for democracy, free
speech and Nova Scotian independence looks very appealing in
retrospect but Tupper’s vision may have been more clear. Had this
province not aligned with Canada, it might have found itself
eventually annexed to the United States. Trade and family ties with
New England were already very strong. Undoubtedly, annexation would
have led to unrelenting economic and political dominance by
American interests. For Nova Scotia this would have been a disaster
much greater than the loss of autonomy that occurred during
Confederation. Charles Tupper, acting more like a philosopher sking
than a democratically elected leader, may have spared us this fate.
Yet here in the early twenty-first century, the separation of
Quebec and the potential disintegration of Canada remain a real
possibility. We may once again find ourselves wrestling with
questio*ns of political independence or alliance not unlike those
faced by Howe and Tupper.

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Limited Rights or No Rights at
All

As was the case throughout North
America, equal rights for women in Nova Scotia were slow to evolve.
Laws gradually emerged in the nineteenth century, initially
recognizing some privileges for women in terms of property and
family. Nonetheless, an inflexible, patriarchal notion of the
institution of marriage remained at the heart of these
laws.

   
Women played a vital role in the economic well-being of a
family and it was fairly common for a rural wife to supplement the
household income by weaving. In the city, she took in boarders and
provided meals for them. Men owned almost all property, housing and
the means to generate an income – a fishing boat, for example.
Throughout most of the nineteenth century, women had, at best,
limited rights under the law to protection and safety from harm,
but the law itself could only do a symbolic job of enforcement,
particularly in domestic situations.