Governor General of Canada

“ Willet was right when he said it was wisdom to go. The Intendant is the most powerful man in Canada. 'Tis said that the Governor General, the Marquis Duquesne, will return to France before long, and hence he lets a part of his authority slip into the hands of Monsieur Bigot. You understand the dual nature of our government in Canada. The Governor General is the immediate personal representative of the King, but the Intendant is supreme over the courts, finance, commerce and all the civil affairs of the country. ”

“ In 1878 he was appointed governor-general of Canada. His period of office was uneventful, his chief constitutional problem arising soon after his arrival in Canada. Mr. Luc Letellier, lieutenant-governor of Quebec, had dismissed a provincial conservative government on grounds thought inadequate by the Dominion conservative ministry, and Sir John Macdonald, the prime minister, recommended Letellier’s removal. ”

“ His Honour the Mayor will recollect it, for he countersigned the warrant as Secretary of State. Now, Sir, by the magic power of these modern works of art, the forest is thrown open—the rivers and lakes are bridged—the valleys rise, the mountains bow their everlasting heads; and the Governor-General of Canada takes his breakfast in Montreal, and his dinner in Boston;—reading a newspaper leisurely by the way which was printed a fortnight ago in London. ”

“ He continued to command in America until 1764, when he returned to England. He was in reality the first British governor-general of Canada, Gage, Murray, Burton and Haldimand, being sub-governors only. [3] In 1771, he was appointed governor of Guernsey, where he gave a high idea of his talents as administrator. His venerable Sovereign George III., created him Baron Amherst, of Holmsdale, in the county of Kent in 1776, and two years later his lordship was constituted commander-in-chief of his Majesty’s land forces in Great Britain. ”

“ Party government in Canada ensures unity of policy, since the premier of the cabinet becomes the controlling part of the political machinery of the state; no such thing as unity of policy is possible under a system which gives the president neither the dignity of a governor-general, nor the strength of a premier, and splits up political power among any number of would-be party leaders, who adopt or defeat measures by private intrigues, make irresponsible recommendations, and form political combinations for purely selfish ends. ”

“ Responsible government has been conceded to Canada, and should be attended in its workings with all the consequences of responsible government in the mother country. What the Queen cannot do in England the governor-general should not be permitted to do in Canada. In making imperial appointments she is bound to consult her cabinet ”

“ The Liberal-Conservative Government formed in 1854 was destined to a long and successful career, though not without the usual inevitable changes. Very shortly after its accession to power, Lord Elgin, whose term of office had expired, was succeeded by Sir Edmund Head. The new governor-general was a man of rare scholastic attainments. During the previous seven years he had occupied the position of lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, and he was to administer, for a like period, the public affairs of Canada acceptably and well. ”

“ The whole face of the country was pining with disease. Nature was everywhere struggling with misrule. And civilization itself was on the decline. In Upper Canada the image and transcript of the British constitution was now only reflected by Major-General Sir Peregrine Maitland, and five executive councillors. Legislation was embraced in a governor's speech from the throne.
About the time of the prorogation of the session, His Grace, the Duke of Richmond, came to Upper Canada, on a tour of inspection. His Grace and his son-in-law went to Niagara together. ”

“ The British government desired to put the United Empire loyalists upon the same footing with regard to constitutional government as they had previously enjoyed before the independence of the United States in that country, a condition about which a certain class of merchants in Quebec have always been indifferent. Lord Dorchester was appointed Governor-in-Chief in Canada, and administrator in Lower Canada, while General Simcoe was named Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. ”

“ In authorizing you to undertake the duty of forming an administration for the Dominion of Canada, I desire to express my strong opinion that, in future, it shall be distinctly understood that the position of first minister shall be {138} held by one person, who shall be responsible to the Governor-General for the appointment of the other ministers, and that the system of dual first ministers, which has hitherto prevailed, shall be put an end to. [1]
The selection of Macdonald was inevitable. ”

“ While men were being actually driven out of Canada by the governing ring on the charge of disloyalty, the colonial minister of England was sending secret dispatches to the Governor General, instructing him plainly that if independence was what Canada wanted, then the mother country, rather than risk a second war with the United States, or press conclusions with the Canadas themselves, would willingly cede independence. ”

“ Minto, Gilbert John Murray Kynynmond Elliot, Earl (1847- ) . Educated at Eton and Cambridge, and entered the army, 1867. Served with the Turkish army, 1877; in the Afghan War, 1879; private secretary to Lord Roberts at the Cape, 1881; took part in the Egyptian campaign, 1882. Military secretary to the Marquis of Lansdowne when governor-general of Canada, 1883-1885; and in 1885 served through the Riel Rebellion as chief of staff to General Middleton. Governor-general of Canada, 1898-1904; viceroy of India, 1905-1910. Index: Md On Louis Riel, 240. Bib.: Morgan, Can. Men. ”

“ Lord John Russell had been compelled to recognize the fact that it was not possible to govern Canada by the old methods of administration—that it was necessary to adopt a new colonial policy which would give a larger measure of political freedom to the people and ensure greater harmony between the executive government and the popular assemblies. Mr. Poulett Thomson, afterwards Lord Sydenham, was appointed governor-general with the definite objects of completing the union of the Canadas and inaugurating a more liberal system of colonial administration. ”

“ Provided further that whenever and so often as Our Governor General shall be temporarily absent from Canada, with Our permission, for a period not exceeding one month, then and in every such case Our Governor General may continue to exercise all and every the powers vested in him as fully as if he were residing within Canada, including the power to appoint a Deputy or Deputies as provided in the Seventh Clause of these Our Letters Patent. ”

“ It was not suspected that, for the first time during many years, we were to have at the head of our Administration a statesman of deep sympathies and enlarged views; a nobleman combining elegant learning and brilliant powers of oratory with a tact and bonhomie which would win for him the friendship and respect of Canadians of all social ranks, and of all grades of political opinion. By many of us the office of a Governor-General in Canada had come to be looked upon as a [Pg 6] sort of sinecure; as a part which any man not absolutely a dunce is capable of playing. ”