While the union of Upper and Lower Canada put an end to the evils of
special privileges in government, events had been moving apace in the
far West, where roving traders and settlers were a law unto themselves.
Red River settlers of the region now known as Manitoba were clamoring
for an end to the monopoly of the Hudson's Bay Fur Company over all
that region inland from the Great Northern Sea. The discovery of gold
had brought hordes of adventurers pouring into Cariboo, or what is now
known as British Columbia. Both Red River and British Columbia
demanded self-government. Partly because England had delayed granting
Oregon self-government, the settlers of the Columbia had set up their
own provisional government and turned that region over to the United
States. We are surely far enough away from the episodes to state
frankly the facts that similar underground intrigue was at work in both
Red River and British Columbia, fostered, much of it, by Irish
malcontents of the old Fenian raids. Once more Canada's national
consciousness roused itself to a bigger problem and wider outlook.
Either the far-flung Canadian provinces must be bound together in some
sort of national unity or--the Canadian mind did not let itself
contemplate that "or." The provinces must be confederated to be held.
Hence confederation in 1867 under the British North American Act, which
is to Canada what the Constitution is to the United States. It
happened that Sir John Macdonald, the future premier of the Dominion,
had been in Washington during one period of the Civil War. He noted
what he thought was the great defect of the American system, and he
attributed the Civil War to that defect--namely, that all powers not
specifically delegated to the federal government were supposed to rest
with the states. Therefore, when Canada formed her federation of
isolated provinces, Sir John and the other famous Fathers of
Confederation reversed the American system. All power not specifically
delegated to the provinces was supposed to rest with the Dominion.
Only strictly local affairs were left with the provinces. Trade,
commerce, justice, lands, agriculture, labor, marriage laws, waterways,
harbors, railways were specifically put under Dominion control.

IV

Now, stand back and contemplate the situation confronting the new
federation:

Canada's population was less than half the present population of the
state of New York; not four million. That popul