Canadian Colonial and Imperial Correspondence, The Elgin and Grey Papers, 1846 to 1852, in 4 Volumes, 1937

Arthur G. Doughty The Elgin 1846 to 1852 Grey Papers

Book

Responsible government and imperial administration in British North America documented through the correspondence of James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin, governor general of the Province of Canada, and Henry George Grey, 3rd Earl Grey, secretary of state for the colonies, from 1846 to 1852. Their exchanges follow the transfer of executive authority to ministers commanding legislative confidence, the formation of the LaFontaine Baldwin government, the political crisis surrounding the Rebellion Losses Bill, and the burning of the Parliament buildings in Montréal in 1849. Letters, confidential memoranda, newspaper extracts, and official enclosures also record disputes over annexation, commercial reciprocity, immigration, railway construction, navigation law, public finance, education, Indigenous affairs, and relations among the British North American colonies.

Doughty, Arthur G., ed. The Elgin Grey Papers, 1846 1852. La Collection Elgin Grey, 1846 1852. Ottawa: J. O. Patenaude, Printer to the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, published by authority of the Secretary of State under the direction of the Acting Dominion Archivist, 1937. First edition. Four volumes in original printed wrappers, xx, 1663 pages, with text in English and French. The edition reproduces Elgin’s private and official correspondence with Grey alongside ministerial memoranda, parliamentary material, newspaper clippings, reports, and appendices. The contents extend from Elgin’s appointment and departure from Jamaica in 1846 through his Canadian administration, with documentary sections devoted to emigration and colonial settlement, navigation laws, responsible government, education, military laborers, railway proposals, reciprocity, the Clergy Reserves, and the political unrest of 1849 to 1851.

Elgin’s letters show a governor attempting to reconcile imperial authority with the emerging practice of cabinet government, often reporting privately to Grey while allowing colonial ministers to assume responsibility for policy before the elected assembly. The correspondence surrounding the Rebellion Losses Bill records attacks on Elgin, the Montréal riots, the destruction of Parliament, and an annexation movement supported by portions of the commercial community. Later documents trace the administrative response to mass immigration, transportation development, fiscal pressure, and political realignment across Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the wider imperial system. Wrappers and spines moderately toned, rubbed, and creased, with small edge chips and short tears; text blocks generally clean and firmly held. Overall good condition. A documentary record of the negotiations, crises, and administrative decisions through which responsible government became established practice in British North America.

Item #23682

Price: $450.00