Cobden declared that if there had not been a plentiful harvest in
America he did not know where food could have been procured for the
people of this country.
"Now, the corn-growing fields of Upper Canada alone ranked fifth in
point of productiveness. Did England not wish to preserve this vast
storehouse? Suppose that Canada belonged to America: in the event of a
quarrel with England there was nothing to prevent the United States
from declaring that not an ounce of food should leave its territories,
which would then extend from the Arctic regions to the Gulf of Mexico.
He had hoped that upon this Bill, not only both sides of the House, but
every section of the House, might have been found in unison.
"It was no use blinking the question. This would not be a decision
affecting Canada merely. We had sympathies alike with Australia and the
other Colonies. If it were seriously proposed that England should
denude herself of her possessions--give up India, Australia, North
America, and retire strictly within the confines of her own Islands, to
make herself happy there,--the same result might be brought about much
more easily by those who wished it. They might become citizens of some
small country like Holland, and realize their ideas of happiness in a
moment.
Pages:
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276