The Sun.
London, England, 1865-03-25 00:00:00

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LONDON, SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 1865.

In the House of Commons last night Lord ELMO
gave notice that he intended to call attention to the
debate in the Canadian Parliament on the proposed
vote of £50,000 for the defences of Quebec. It is
not surprising that the noble lord should have
adopted this course, seeing that the brief news re-

ceived from Quebec tells us that great dissatisfaction
was expressed in the Canadian Parliament at the
smallness of the amount to be voted by the Impe-
rial Parliament, and that one gentleman even sug-
gested that a mistake must have been made in the
figures and that half a million was the sum intended.
The origin of this disaffection is very simply traced
to a misunderstanding on the part of the colonists,
who evidently considered that the small amount of
£50,000 was the whole contribution to be furnished
by the mother country towards the proposed de-
fences. This is shown by the Hon. Mr. MOORE
asking the Canadian Government whether the for-
tifications recommended by Colonel JERVOIS, to be
built at a cost of £1,343,000, were to be erected,
and how much of the cost was to fall on Canada?
To a poor and striving colony, which like a young
beginner in business has the prospect of a vast
income, but only the present possession of a very
small one, such an amount may well seem startling,
when they anticipate having to find nearly all the
money. The actual amount of the contribution of
this country will, according to the scheme now pro-
posed by the Government, be eventually nearer to
Mr. MooßE's suggestion than to the sum originally
proposed, but its payment will be spread over some
years. The misunderstanding will, no doubt, be
soon set right, but it leaves matter for regret that
the Government should have taken the grace from
the favour by doling out the money. The House
would have been just as willing to have voted twice
or three times the amount at once ; and if the mat-
ter is really pressing it is useless to lose time by
dawdling over the work. The dilatory fashion in
which our public works are conducted at home will
not do where there is a great end to be speedily
attained, and unless the Quebec fortifications pro-
gress a little faster than some national undertakings
nearer home the city will be left defenceless for
some years to come. The shortness of the working
season is not a sufficient excuse, seeing that it is
possible to increase the amount of labour
by augmenting the number of hands em-
ployed upon it, and if there are certain
portions where only a few can work at a time,
there are many others where large numbers could
be simultaneously employed. What is worth doing
at all is worth doing well, and in this case to do
well is to do quickly, as quickly as is consistent
with effectual construction. As it is, if the work is
put in motion with proper energy and spirit, the
vote will certainly not be sufficient to bring forward
contractors without considerable additions, and this
point was mentioned in the course of Thursday's
debate, when several members expressed their regret
that a larger proportion of the whole vote had not
been taken at once. There is another point which
our Government would do well to bear in mind.
The Canadian difficulty is virtually of their own
making. Had they agreed to the proposal of th
French Emperor, and recognised the independence
of the South two years ago, we should have heard
nothing of hostile intentions towards British North
America. The Federals, however irritated or
incensed at such recognition, would never have
dared to move their armies northwards, leaving their
southern enemies in the rear, while a Confederate
force would have found it very easy to move west-
wards up to Western Canada. But since, by their
timorous policy, the Whigs have brought this
trouble upon us, let men do their best to make
amends by putting a little vigour and public spirit
into their steps towards the defence of the colonies.