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Copy of Lord Durham
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Lord Durham
Durham's Story
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Who is this guy?
John George Lambton, first Earl of Durham (1792-1840), known as "Radical Jack" was sent to British North America in 1838 as governor-general specifically to investigate the circumstances of the rebellions of 1837 in Upper and Lower Canada and to make recommendations for the future government of the British North American colonies.
The merger of the two provinces would lead, slowly, he believed, to the assimilation of the French Canadians. Durham was hailed as a statesman by the Reformers in Upper Canada for recommending the granting of responsible government and as a "racist" in Lower Canada for proposing the assimilation of French Canadians. He never for a moment questioned the "natural intelligence" and superiority of the English, and described the Canadiens as a people devoid of history and literature and lacking in anything "that elevates a people".
Work Experience
His investigation led to the publication, in 1839, of the famous Durham Report in which he recommended that:
- Upper and Lower Canada be united.
- Responsible government be granted
- That French Canadians be assimilated and that municipal government be established in Canada.
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Durham's stay in Canada was short-lived. Less than one month after he had arrived in the country...
What is a Municipal Government?
Municipal governments are local authorities created by the provinces and territories to provide services that are best managed under local control.
He banished, without trial, 8 patriotes to the island of Bermuda and issued a proclamation forbidding 16 other individuals – among them Louis-Joseph Papineau – from returning to Canada under the threat of death.
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His political opponents thought that he had acted illegally in taking such actions. Facing mounting criticism, Durham resigned from his position of Governor-General and left for England on November 1, 1838. He wrote his Report in the next two months. On July 28, 1840, he died of tuberculosis.
Interests
- The problem, according to Durham, was not mainly political, as he had originally expected it to be. It was not a struggle of the "government against the people".
- Rather, it was "racial." In Quebec, Durham had found "two nations warring in the bosom of a single state." Such a situation paralyzed government in Lower Canada.
- It was in part to rectify that situation that he advocated the union of the two Canada's.