The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-09-28


the silver greys and the canal men from the
whig ranks very generally dropping the ticket
which may be nominated by their convention
| next week, and taking up the ticket of the
hards. Estimating the silver greys and the
canal wings at only one-fourth Of the wing party
proper, and we have fifty or sixty thousand
votes to add to the party vote of the hard shells,
which would of course give the hard, or nation
al democratic ticket a fair chance of success
| CANADIAN ArFAms-MR HTNcKs AND HIS Ao-
cusERs-Strange people, these neighbors OF
ours in Canada! A queer way they have Of
encouraging talent and recommending public
services! We have seen them, and that not
many years since, ruled by the greatest block
| heads that ever trod American SOIL They have
been led into all sorts of scrapes, bamboozled,
plundered. sacked outright, by the very
men who ought to have guarded their inte-
rests. Not SO many years ago that young
men cannot recollect it their public lands
and public works yielded no revenue. Their
trade was left to fight its way as it best
could. Their improvements were entirely
military works. During all which their gov
eminent officers were holding half dozen
berths, appropriating stray townships, allOting
water rights to their sons, plunging their arm
to the elbow in the public Golfers, and growing
| fat on the cream of the land. In those days
everybody praised the government except poor
Papineau, whose head was worth $4,000, off or
on his shoulders.
| Now Canada is undoubtedly prosperous
country. Her trade is fiourishing without sup
port from Great Britain. Her agriculture is in
q most thriving condition. She will this year
export as much wheat as any Of the United
| States. Her public works are yielding hand
some revenue. Her wild lands are being ra-
| pidly settled, and no favor OF preference is
shown to settlers. Justice is fairly admins
tered and popular liberty an established fact.
| Railways are in progress which will open up
the whole of the province, and compared to
which the greatest OF our lines is a mere branch.
| Steam communication is established with Eu-
rope. A sound tariff is raising large revenue
and promoting trade The provincial credit
abroad stands higher than that of any foreign
country. In every department we see
substantial evidence Of q healthy prosperity;
and the most captious cannot bring home to the
| government charge of wastefulness or prodi-
gality.
Yet there never was time at which the head
Of the government was more virulently abused
and assailed by the provincial press.
The facts we have stated cannot be denied.
To whom, above all others, is Canada indebted
for the change? Look back over the last ten
years, which have witnessed this startling
transition from poverty to wealth, from torpor
to activity, from the worst form of misgovern-
ment to the establishment Of sound democratic
Institutions and say what man above all others
has contributed the most to this result? The
most bitter tory cannot but point to Mr.. Hincks.
That he has faults. we dare say; but take
practical, unbiased view, Of the progress ofthe
province since he first came into power. and we
defy his worst enemy to deny that oil the great
changes which have raised Canada from the
condition of miserable colony to that of
powerful, prosperous and quasi-indcpendent pro-
vince have taken place while he was at the helm
of State. He may have had nothing to do with
them; but If the revenue has increased economy
been established, cheap and rapid lines Of COM
| and the provincial securities raised to pre-
MUM abroad, under his administration, it will
need something more than general vituperation
to persuade us that Mr.. Hncks has been bad
minister
The last charge advanced against him has
been made in connection with the disposal of
bonds of the city of Toronto to the extent Of
100000. 1t appears that Toronto could not
sell her bonds at anything over fifty per cent
| discount. Mr.. Hnicks was applied to by the
| Mayor, and by his personal influence succeeded
| in selling them in London at twenty per cent
discount. His accusers pretended that he and
the Mayor had pocketed this twenty per cent.
Fortunately, the matter was brought before a
court Of justice; and, from the evidence OF
Mr.. Ridout, cashier of the bank through which
the operation was made it seems beyond a
doubt that the city lost nothing by the transac-
ton, and that Mr.. Hincks made no improper
use of his official position in the matter. The
Upper Canada Court of Chanccry entirely ex-
culpates him and we are free TO confess that
we attach more faith to the judgment of an i'm
partial court than to the statements of party
organs.
We have not been able, after the most care
full inquiry, to discover any more solid founda-
ton for the other charges that have been
advanced against Mr. Hincks. He seems to
| have been fortunate in some recent invest
ments. He has applied some money he had to
the purchase Of land which has proved valua-
| BILE. He undertook on his own risk to erect
certain works on the Ottawa which have turned
him in handsome profit. But in no case have
we been able to ascertain that he has used his
| official knowledge and official position as q
means Of personal and pecuniary profit Until
| we find that he has done so we cannot bring
ourselves to blame him for having invested his
money judiciously;, nor can we explain the in