|
The patriarchal dictator
who carried the Union into effect and administered the affairs of the
new empire of the Hudson's Bay Company for 40 years was a young man who
had spent but one year in the country. George Simpson came to the
Athabaska District in 1821. He did not impress either Hudson's Bay
Company men or Nor'Westers of that region with any knowledge of the fur
trade, but, raised to the position of Governor of Rupert's Land, he at
once exhibited a statesmanlike grasp of his duties. He was an excellent
judge of men, a born diplomat, a most capable executive officer. He will
always rank as one of the great founders of the empire of the North, on
the American Continent. With Selkirk, Simpson stands out as one of the
two most notable men of North-West history of the nineteenth century.
Both were tinged with feudalism, one with the aim of developing a
lucrative trade and harvesting rich dividends for his overlords; the
other was resolved to plant the land system of the Old World in the New.
Both had high and laudable motives for the welfare of those they
governed. Selkirk did not live long enough to see the fulfilment of such
a paternalistic policy and one cannot imagine Sir George Simpson's
vigorous mind not foreseeing that the Hudson's Bay Company system was
doomed to extinction. But Selkirk had the greater idea and will always
be regarded as the greater of these two illustrious Scotchmen.
One of the first acts of
the Council of Rupert's Land was to make a survey of the various posts
of the two companies. Those that had been maintained for mere
competition, as well as those which had proved unprofitable, were
abandoned. Bow River Fort at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, after a
brief existence, was abandoned in 1823, and Pembina the year before.
Chesterfield house at the Red Deer forks was rebuilt in 1822 by Donald
Mackenzie but abandoned some years later on account of the implacable
hostility of the Blackfeet. Simpson kept himself thoroughly informed of
the details of the fur trade and visited the various posts from time to
time. The methods of transportation were investigated, York Boats were
adopted and a thorough reorganization effected by this masterful
administrator.
The reduction of the
number of posts threw many servants and employees of the old companies
out of employment. This question engaged the attention of the Council at
its meeting of 1822. The Committee in London expressed extreme concern
about the welfare of those discharged and of the numerous half breed
children whose parents had died or had deserted them. "It will be
prudent and economical," ran the instructions of the Committee to the
Council of Rupert's Land, "to incur some expense in placing these people
where they may maintain themselves and be civilized and instructed in
religion." To meet the problem the company made grants of land upon a
special form of tenure, which was really a lease for 1000 years at a
peppercorn rent. There were, however, important stipulations upon which
the lease depended. The tenant covenanted not to trade in fur or distil
liquor or spirits, and he further covenanted to preserve peace, repel
foreign aggression, repair roads and bridges and promote general
education and religious instruction. Nor did the tenant have the right
to sell or sublet his holding without the consent of the company. Though
these were the terms of settlement, Sir George Simpson testified before
the Parliamentary Committee in 1857 that none of the covenants except
the prohibition in regard to fur, was ever rigidly enforced. It was,
however, the presence of such restrictions that gave rise in the last
years of the company's regime, to opposition to their Charter. It is no
criticism of Simpson and his officials that such a system was unsuited
to the conditions of the New World; that any attempt to revive the land
system of the Norman and Angevin kings on the Plains of the North-West
was foredoomed to failure. They attempted to reconcile two opposing
policies,—the promotion of colonization and the maintenance of the fur
trade. It can be said on behalf of the company that they did as well as
could be done under the system and they left behind an honourable record
of just and benevolent dealings with the native population and in
support of missionaries and schools for their advancement. Sir George
Simpson was subjected to a gruelling cross-examination at the British
Parliamentary Inquiry in 1857, but on the whole he was able to make a
good case for the company. We may conclude that it was not the ability
alone of the young Scotch accountant, who had spent 37 years in the
wilds of the North-West, that enabled him to fence so successfully with
antagonists like Roebuck and Gladstone. The record of the Hudson's Bay
Company and the manner in which they exercised their regal powers were
also important factors in the case.
It was the policy of the
company to have all their retired employees settle at Red River and to
make no grants outside of that part of Rupert's Land. The reason given
was that the settlers would be more easily afforded the means of
education and religion. Already there was a Roman Catholic mission at
Red River and an orphanage and Protestant school under the Rev. Mr.
West. This may have been an extreme policy but it is no more so than the
opposite policy of settling the North-West in scattered and thinly
populated communities from the Red River to the Peace, and thus throwing
a premature burden on the Government to provide roads, railways and
civil institutions, but such are the wasteful but popular methods of
democracy. It will be seen, therefore, that outside the District of
Assiniboia there was nothing but the fur trade, and this explains why
settlement was so late beginning in Alberta.
During this period the
Province of Alberta was included in the Saskatchewan and Athabaska
districts of the northern department. By 1830 the principal posts in the
Saskatchewan District were Fort Edmonton and Fort Canton. The reader
will remember that Fort Edmonton, along with new Fort Augustus, had been
abandoned in 1810. It was not until 1819 that the post was reestablished
as Fort Edmonton, which has remained the metropolis of the Saskatchewan
Valley ever since and the strategic commercial centre of the Far West.
By the arrangements of 1821 James Sutherland, who built the first post
of this name, became Chief Factor. John Rowand was now in charge with
twelve men, having succeeded C. F. Sutherland in 1825 and J. P. Pruden
was Chief Factor at Canton with eight men. Other posts in the district
and the officers in charge were: Fort Pitt on the Saskatchewan, built in
1831, Peter Small, clerk; Fort Assiniboine on the Athabaska, built in
1825, Richard Grant, clerk; Rocky Mountain House on the Saskatchewan,
Henry Fisher, clerk; Jasper's House on the Athabaska, Michael Clyne,
postmaster; Lesser Slave Lake, George Linton, clerk. Edmonton was
becoming an important point in the transportation system of the country.
The company maintained a large number of horses and dogs at Fort
Edmonton for the conveyance of goods by pack train and dog sleighs to
Fort Assiniboine where suitable craft was held in readiness for
transport to the mountains and the Columbia District through the
Athabaska Pass. As many as 800 horses were kept at one time for this
purpose. The horse guard for Fort Edmonton was situated a few miles
northeast of the city at the point now known as the Horse Hills.
John Charles and Cohn Campbell had charge of Athabaska. Simon
McGillivray was at Great Slave Lake, but was now under orders to proceed
to the Columbia District to cooperate with Chief Factor John McLoughlin.
Chipewyan, under Chief Factor Charles; Dunvegan, under Chief Trader
Campbell; Vermilion, under Paul Fraser, clerk, and Great Slave under
George McDougall, clerk, were flourishing posts. The outfit for the
district consisted of four boats, 29 men and 220 pieces of merchandise.
Dunvegan was a very busy place, maintaining the reputation Harmon gave
it in 1808. The gentlemen in charge were ordered by the Grand Council at
Norway House to prepare for shipment to New Caledonia via Peace River in
August of every year the following supplies: 650 dressed moose skins,
100 babiche snares and beaver nets, 2000 fathoms of pack cords and 500
kegs of grease. At Fort Simpson Chief Factor Edward Small was in command
of the Mackenzie District with M. McPherson, C. Bnisbois, John Bell and
J. Hutchison as clerks at Forts Riviere au Liards, Norman, Good Hope and
Halkett, respectively, assisted by two or three men at each post. The
annual outfit for the district consisted of about 300 pieces.
In 1832 we find a new
post established near the 49th parallel of latitude called Piegan Post
under Chief Trader J. E. Harriott to attract the Piegans and to prevent
the American Indians from frequenting the Company's posts on the
Saskatchewan. This post seems to have had but a temporary existence, and
though Rocky Mountain House was temporarily abandoned, we find by the
winter of 1835 it was flourishing, with an important officer in charge.
Fort Pitt was also abandoned for a time on account of the danger of war
Parties of Crees and Blackfeet in that region. In order to meet Russian
competition across the mountains, the company sent Chief Trader John
Macleod in 1834 to take possession of Northern British Columbia and what
is now the Yukon Territory and Alaska. He ascended the Liard River above
Fort Halkett, crossed the mountains and reached Dease's Lake and what he
called the Pelly River, but which was in reality the Stikine. Two years
later J. Hutchison was directed to move Fort Halkett to Dease's Lake and
establish a post 200 miles from the Height of Land. The expedition
failed. In 1837 the Council accepted the spirited offer of Robert
Campbell, a clerk stationed at Fort Simpson, to pursue the exploration
work west of the mountains. With a half breed and two Indian lads,
Campbell ascended the Liard, crossed the Height of Land and discovere(l
that Macleod's Pelly River was the Stikine. He returned to Dease's Lake
and passed the winter there (1838-39). In May, 1840, Campbell left Fort
Halkett and ascended the Liard to Francis Lake (so named in honour of
Lady Simpson) up Finlayson River and Lake, crossed the Divide and
discovered the real Pelly River. In 1842 Fort Pelly Banks was built and
Campbell established Fort Selkirk at the junction of the Pelly and the
Lewes in 1848. Farther north the Hudson's Bay traders entered the
country by the Porcupine River. In 1840 Chief Trader McPherson opened
the post that bears his name on Peel's River. In 1842 John Bell went
down the Porcupine a few miles. In 1846 while in charge of Fort
McPherson he descended the river to its junction with the Yukon, where
next year A. H. Murray established Fort Yukon which continued to be a
Hudson's Bay post until the purchase of Alaska by the United States,
from Russia. Campbell completed the exploration of the Pelly-Yukon water
system in 1850. He descended the Pelly to Fort Selkirk, thence to Fort
Yukon, up the Porcupine, crossed to Peel's River and up the Mackenzie to
Fort Simpson again.
We have seen that one of
the results of the opposition between the old companies was the rapid
depletion of the beaver. The use of traps and castoreum by the Iroquois
hunters imported by the North West Company about 1800, greatly reduced
the number of beavers. After the Union the Hudson's Bay Company did its
best to preserve these valuable fur bearing animals. The number taken in
each district was restricted as nearly as possible to the number set at
the Annual Meeting of the Council. In 1830 the number in Saskatchewan
district was limited to 5,500 and in the Athabaska district to 5,000.
These were the two greatest fur bearing districts in the whole
North-West. By 1840 it was necessary to further curtail the catch of
beaver. The company issued instructions to discourage the taking of
beaver. At some posts the number taken was reduced by half while at
other posts the taking of beaver was entirely prohibited.
During the last years of
Sir George Simpson, a new generation of factors, traders and clerks were
rising to prominence in the fur trade. Already we have noticed that in
1837 Robert Campbell was fired with the exploring zeal of Alexander
Mackenzie and David Thompson. Chief Factor John Anderson was now in
command of the Mackenzie district and loyally held to the traditions of
Simon McGillivray, William McGillivray and the Gentlemen Adventurers. He
also had the courage and hardihood of the pathfinder, for we shall find
him later leading an Expedition on behalf of the Hudson's Bay Company to
search for relics of Franklin. Other men who entered the service about
this time were William J. Christie, Richard Hardisty, William Sinclair,
H. J. Moberly, Roderick McFarlane and James Allan Grahame, all of whom
became prominent in the affairs of the company in Alberta. Chief Factor
Christie was the son of Alexander Christie, twice governor of Assiniboia
and builder of Fort Garry. He was educated in Scotland and became Chief
Factor at Edmonton after John Rowand, holding the position until 1872
when he became Inspecting Chief Factor for the Saskatchewan and
Athabaska posts. He was also one of the members of the first North-West
Council. Richard Hardisty became Chief Factor at Edmonton in 1872 and
later became the first Senator from Alberta.
Sir George Simpson died
in 1860 and was succeeded by Governor Dallas, who continued in that
position until the transfer of Rupert's Land to the Government of
Canada. With Simpson passed the old Hudson's Bay Company. Under his
successors the Company has emerged into a great modern trading
corporation that has spread its activities over the whole empire of the
Gentlemen Adventurers, meeting competition with the same resourcefulness
and invincible organization that it bore against the Nor'Westers a
century ago.
Before dealing with the
events that led up to the transfer of the Hudson's Bay Territory to the
Dominion of Canada, it will doubtless be interesting to the reader to
learn something of the internal economy of a Hudson's Bay post during
the latter days of the Company's regime. Vegetables and cereals were
grown at almost every post in the Province. The store of provisions was
distributed with great care to the officers and men according to fixed
rules.
Chief Factor H. J.
Moberly, in his "Reminiscences of a Hudson's Bay Company Factor,"
recently written, gives us the details of rationing the supplies at Lac
la Biche in 1856, as follows:
"At the post the
allowance of provisions for the winter was on the following scale: To a
chief factor, three hundred pounds of flour, three hundred and
thirty-six pounds of sugar, eighteen pounds of black tea, nine pounds of
green tea, forty-two pounds of raisins, sixty pounds of butter, thirty
pounds of candles, three pounds of mustard, and sixteen gallons of port,
sherry and brandy or shrub. These provisions were put in two gallon
kegs, four of which were laced together and called a maccaron. Rice,
pepper, pimento were added, with fifteen pounds of chocolate.
"A chief trader received
half the quantity, and a chief clerk half as much as a chief trader.
"This was the winter
allowance, but besides this the officer in charge of the brigade on the
annual trip to York Factory, with the clerks who accompanied him, got a
voyage allowance. The chief factor's portion was one maccaron of
biscuit, ham, tea, sugar, chocolate, salted tongues, butter and flour.
The clerks got half a maccaron and each man could take what he preferred
of the four beverages.
"The officer in charge of
the district also got an extra allowance of flour, hams and drinkables,
which was called 'strangers' mess allowance', as he had to entertain
many visitors. The best parts of the fresh meats were always reserved
for the officers' mess, and the supply was ad libitum.
"The postmasters were old
and deserving servants who were now exempted from boat work and almost
every other hard work and were never placed in charge of important
posts. They received wages of forty pounds sterling, with an allowance
for the season of thirty-two pounds of sugar, three pounds of black tea,
and one and a half of green, seven pounds of rice, half a pound of
pepper and half a pound of pimento.
"The meat rations were
weighed out each evening to the postmasters and servants of the prairie
posts, each man receiving eight pounds of fresh meat, or two and a half
pounds of pemmican or three pounds of dried meat.
"One whitefish was the
allowance to each woman, half of a whitefish to each child, if the fish
were obtainable, otherwise the woman received half a man's allowance of
meat, the child one quarter. Train dogs got two fish, or four pounds of
fresh meat each.
"A record of the
provisions stocked, with their weight or quantities, was entered as they
were received in the 'Provision Book,' in which also were entered the
allowances as they were given out. A glance at this book, therefore,
would show the officer in charge what amount of 'grub' he had on hand at
any one moment.
"Each post had also to
keep a diary of the weather, work done, annual departures, births,
deaths, marriages and all other events.
"Many of these diaries
have been lost or destroyed, but one by one they come to light. Many of
them have been collected and sent to the London or to the Winnipeg
headquarters of the company. They are intensely interesting and human
documents, recording with meticulous care the local events of the day
and such bits of world news as reached the posts from time to time."
After the transfer of
Rupert's Land to Canada and the reorganization of the Hudson's Bay
Company, advances to Indians were discontinued, a practice followed
since the beginning of the fur trade. The action was greatly resented by
the Indians. No posts had been opened on the South Saskatchewan River
since the abandonment of Bow River Fort and Chesterfield House in the
late '30s. The nearest post to South Saskatchewan was Last Mountain, an
outpost of Fort Qu'Appelle. The spread of the half breeds westward
following the buffalo, a migration that steadily increased for many
years, rendered necessary a post or two farther west, naturally on the
Saskatchewan River. The proposed points were at Vermilion Hills and at
the old site of Chesterfield House, the former for the Qu'Appelle, Crees
and Stoneys, the latter for the Blackfeet. Before the Hudson's Bay
Company could make up their minds to build these posts, the firm of I.
G. Baker and other American traders from Fort Benton invaded Southern
Alberta and established several forts: Whoop-Up, Stand- Off, and Fort
Kipp. The I. G. Baker Company became the first great rival of the
Hudson's Bay Company in Alberta, and continued so until the Hudson's Bay
Company purchased the I. G. Baker posts in 1892. But an enumeration of
the principal posts of the company in operation at the time of the
transfer (1870) in the Province of Alberta and the District of Athabasca
shows that in the North the Hudson's Bay traders occupied every
strategic point for trading with the various Indian tribes. The list is
as follows: Edmonton, Victoria, St. Paul, Battle River, Whitefish Lake,
Lac la Biche, Chippewyan, Vermilion, Lac St. Anne, Lac la Nonne, St.
Albert, Pigeon Lake, Old White Mud Fork, Salt River, Fond du Lac, St.
John, Red River on the Peace, forks of the Athabasca River (Fort
McMurray) and Forth Smith.
Opposition to the
Hudson's Bay Company's rule slowly developed in the District of
Assiniboia. The prohibition against dealing in furs created many
agitators for free trade. Private importation of supplies was permitted
and facilitated by the Governor of Assiniboia until the new traders were
guilty of profiteering. The company then stepped in and by keeping a
larger stock of goods and selling at cheaper rates, captured the
business from the independent traders. This, of course, created a new
grievance and the company was charged with operating a monopoly in
merchandise as well as in fur. Though acting within the powers of the
Charter many of the acts of the company appear harsh to the ordinary
citizen and trader. The company sternly repressed trade in furs and
searched private houses and stores for traces of the traffic. Private
traders were arrested but public opinion in the colony was mainly
opposed to such measures. The renewal of the company's license in 1838
served to increase the opposition to the big corporation and from this
date onward the position of the Governor of Rupert's Land, particularly
the Governor of Assiniboia, was no sinecure. In 1847 a petition was
presented to the Colonial Secretary on behalf of the people of Rupert's
Land and in 1849 the British House of Commons passed an address to the
Queen praying for an enquiry into the legality of the Hudson's Bay
Company's claims under the Charter. The Company prepared a reply of
conspicuous ability. The statement was approved by the law officers of
the Crown who expressed the opinion that the only authoritative way to
settle such an important question was a reference to the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council. The parties who presented the Petition
above mentioned were requested to appear before the Privy Council in the
case, but they declined the responsibility.
Soon a new antagonist
entered the field. In 1857 the Canadian Government laid claim to a
portion of the Hudson's Bay Territory lying west of the old Province of
Canada and sent a despatch embodying this claim to the Colonial
Secretary. The despatch was referred to the law officers of the Crown.
The law officers gave an elaborate opinion in the course of which they
stated: "The Charter could not be considered apart from its existence
for nearly two centuries and nothing could be more unjust than to try
this Charter as a thing of yesterday." They held that the Crown could
not with justice question the validity of the Charter nor the Company's
territorial ownership of the land granted to it, but subject to certain
qualifications they thought that exclusive rights of government or
monopoly of trade could not be insisted on by the Company as having been
granted by the Crown, although it did possess limited powers to pass
ordinances and exercise civil and criminal jurisdiction.
The period of the second
license of twenty-one years had now but two years to run. The British
Government, therefore, in view of the opposition to the Company in
Canada and within the boundaries of Rupert's Land itself, referred the
whole question to a select committee to consider the state of the
British Possessions in North America, which were under the
administration of the Hudson's Bay Company, over which they possessed a
license to trade. Many notable witnesses were examined, among them Sir
George Simpson, Lt. Col. Lefroy, Dr. John Rae, Sir John Richardson,
Chief Justice Draper of Upper Canada, Bishop Anderson and the Rt. Hon.
Edw. Ellice. Much evidence was taken. The members of the Parliamentary
Committee comprised some of the ablest men in the House of Commons:—the
Rt. lion. Labouchere, Lord John Russell, Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Adderley,
Mr. Roebuck, Lord Stanley. Canada sent Chief Justice Draper to watch the
proceedings on behalf of Canada.
We cannot pass the
encomiums of the report as others have done. Notwithstanding the
brilliancy and the ability of the cross examiners of the Committee,
their want of familiarity with the life, history and resources of the
North-West enabled Simpson and Ellice to make out a very good case for
the Company. On each side Simpson and Draper were the star witnesses.
The report of the Committee was, of course, a foregone conclusion. The
monopoly of a Stuart king granted in 1670 could not pass muster in 1857
in -I elected on Lord Grey's Reform Bill of 1832. The Committee reported
against the renewal of the license and advised an equitable extinction
of the Hudson's Bay Charter over Rupert's Land. It recognized the
legitimate ambitions of Canada to extend her boundaries and annex the
Red River and Saskatchewan districts, and advised the separation of
Vancouver Island from the rule of the Company. In those regions of the
Indian Territory and Rupert's Land where there was no prospect of
settlement, the Committee, recognizing the fitness of the Company to
govern such territories, declared it was desirable that they continue in
the hands of the Hudson's Bay Company. The report is a splendid document
and reflects from every paragraph the fine sense of justice, in
balancing prescription with necessary reform, that distinguishes the
deliberations of the Mother of Parliaments.
As a result of the
Committee's report the license was not renewed in 1859 but its chartered
rights were still intact and things were left in the air. The Canadian
Government desired to acquire the regions specified in the Committee's
report, but how was it to be done? Proposals and counter-proposals were
made by the Imperial Government, by the Government of Canada and by the
Hudson's Bay Company. Even powerful private interests bestirred
themselves. A syndicate of Anglo-American capitalists wanted large
tracts of the country in the Red River and Saskatchewan valleys for
colonization purposes. Another syndicate offered to open up
communication with the North-West by ,I from the Ottawa River to Lake
Huron for a grant of 40,000,000 acres in the neighborhood of the
Saskatchewan Valley. Such proposals were strongly opposed by the
Canadian Government and ,I was lodged in 1866 on behalf of Canada with
the Colonial Secretary against any scheme of private exploitation,
stoutly maintaining at the same time that the Hudson's Bay Company had
no right to dispose of the lands of the colony. The whole matter was set
at rest by the British North America Act of 1867. By Section 146 of this
Act the Queen was empowered to admit Rupert's Land and the North West
Territory into Confederation by Order-in-Council upon the terms to be
adopted in an address of the Parliament of Canada and submitted to the
Queen. To remove all doubts the Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland
passed an Act, July 31st, 1868, enabling the Queen to accept the
surrender of the land, privileges and rights of the Hudson's Bay Company
and transfer the same to the Dominion of Canada. Negotiations were
immediately opened between the Canadian Government and the Hudson's Bay
Company, with the British Government as mediator, and the deed of
surrender was agreed upon to become effective July 15th, 1870. |
