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Baldwin, Lafontaine, Hincks (1); Responsible Government
Baldwin Lafontaine Hincks Responsible Government - 1 Author:Stephen Leacock Volume: 1 General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1907 Original Publisher: Jack Subjects: History / General History / Canada / General Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book y... more »ou get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: CHAPTER IV LORD SYDENHAM AND RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT I" TNDER the Act of 1840 (sec. xxx), the choice of U a seat of government for the united provinces was left to the governor-general. In the troubled state of racial feeling, such a selection was naturally a matter of difficulty. While it was clear that the capital city of the country must be chosen in Upper Canada, Sydenham was, nevertheless, anxious to conciliate the French-Canadians as far as might be by appointing a capital neither too remote from their part of the province, nor too little associated with their history. Kingston, situated on the north shore of Lake Ontario, at the point where the lake narrows to the river St. Lawrence, seemed best to fulfil these requirements. The foundation of the settlement antedated by nearly a century the English occupation of Canada, and the fort and trading station then established had been one of the western outposts of the French regime, while its erstwhile name of Frontenac associated the place with the bygone glory of New France. British loyalty, with a characteristic lack of inventiveness, had altered the name of the little town to Kingston. A strong fort built upon the limestone hills that commanded the sheltered harbour, and garrisoned byimperial troops, testified to the military importance of the place. Its central position rendered it at once the key to the navigation of the lake and river, while the construction of the Rideau Canal had placed it in control of an inland waterway whose possession minimized ...« less