Desperate Acts Read Online Free PDF Page A

to help inspire ya, an’ tide ya over till yer cousin’s
boat comes in.”
    “Thanks, Cobb. You always been good to
me.”
    Cobb was about to leave when something made
him turn and say, “This so-called cousin of yours – he got a
name?”
    Looking quite pleased with the way their
conversation had progressed and culminated, Nestor said, “Albert.
Albert Duggan.”
    ***
    “Before we begin, gentlemen, allow me to summarize
our progress to date, and then indicate my own thought as to how we
might proceed over the coming weeks.” Robert Baldwin – essentially
a private, and even shy, man – was nonetheless given the rapt
attention of those assembled in the parlour of Baldwin House on
this mid-October evening.
    “The floor is yours,” Francis Hincks said.
“I’ve had my say in the editorial columns of the Examiner ,”
he added with a smile, alluding to the radical newspaper he had
founded and still operated.
    Robert smiled at his friend, political ally
and next-door neighbour. “As some of you know in detail, the
success of our campaign in the countryside over the course of the
summer and early fall has been beyond our best hopes for it. The
dozens of ‘Durham meetings’ and associated rallies have not only
produced a sizeable majority for the cause of responsible
government and the union of the two provinces, but resulted also in
an unprecedented number of petitions and well-argued letters to the
papers. Much of this success is due to Marc Edwards here, as he has
been the tireless author of pamphlets and speeches – the principal
source of those well-reasoned petitions and cogent letters.”
    The dozen men – sitting members of the
current, Tory-dominated Assembly, former members like Robert and
his father, the present chair of the Legislative Council (Robert’s
cousin, Robert Baldwin Sullivan), and several young Reform
adherents like Hincks – turned now to Marc and nodded their
agreement.
    “Our new governor, Mr. Charles Poulett
Thomson, of whom more in a moment,” Robert continued, “has brought
with him the terms of a Union Bill approved by the Mother
Parliament on condition that it is ratified by both Quebec and
Upper Canada. As Quebec is still under direct rule by the
Governor’s Special Council, the terms will be forced on her despite
the fierce opposition there. Hence, the torch has been passed to
us. What happens in our Assembly and our Legislative Council in the
next few weeks will determine whether we continue to live a
constrained political and economic existence under the rule of the
old-guard Tories and subject to the whims of successive governors
or whether we evolve towards political independence and a system of
governance which reflects the will of the majority in the elected
Assembly. All we’ve ever asked is to have a cabinet form of
government modelled on the British system.”
    “It’s too bad you’re not in the Assembly
now,” said the sitting member for Northumberland County from his
seat by the bow window.
    “I don’t think the most important work will
be done there,” Hincks said, looking at Robert for
confirmation.
    “Francis is right. All the eloquence or
irrefutable logic in the world won’t change the mind of people like
John Strachan or Hagerman or Crookshank – dyed-in-the-wool Tories.
It’s the handful of moderates in the middle that we must pursue and
win over before the Legislature opens next month.”
    “How do you propose to approach them?” Robert
Sullivan said. “I will need some cogent arguments myself if I am to
persuade the old fogies in the Legislative Council to do their
duty.”
    Robert’s cousin was an odd figure
politically. Just a year ago he had spoken out against the union
idea and ensured the defeat of a bill proposing it. He publicly
disparaged French-speaking citizens and their leaders. But he had
recently become persuaded that Upper Canada was now strong enough
on its own to survive any fusion of the two provinces and to
dominate its