City, Colony & Empire Defined: A Cultural Analysis of New Brunswick During the Royal Tour of 1860 by David Parsons Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Wilfrid Laurier University (1994) Bachelor of Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto (1998) A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Graduate Academic Unit of History Supervisor: Dr. Gail Campbell, Ph.D., History Examining Board: Dr. Greg Marquis, Ph.D., History Dr. Gary Waite, Ph.D., History Dr. John Ball, Ph.D., English This thesis is accepted by the Dean of Graduate Studies THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK February, 2007 © David Parsons, 2007 Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-49793-7 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-49793-7 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. Canada Abstract: This thesis analyses the significance of the 1860 royal state visit to the colony of New Brunswick. Using the methodology of the 'new cultural history', it focusses on the manner in which colonial society employed symbols, rituals, pageantry, spontaneous street theatre, and formally-orchestrated pomp to debate and articulate cultural visions of New Brunswick society. Investigation is conducted into the affective and reflective tendencies of cultural forms, the messages contained in both the formal and informal celebrations, and the meaning of the performances within the context of New Brunswick's imperial experience during the early to mid-Victorian eras. 'Thick description' of industrialisation, of the impact of imperial free trade, of the introduction of railway construction and of the move towards colonial self-government demonstrates that the archaic and anachronistic-patterned statecraft rituals - the royal entry and the royal progress - resulted in different messages within cultural communities based at Saint John and Fredericton, though the pageants were performed with remarkable consistency. Pageantry in both locations sought to embody the will and speak on behalf of the entire colony, all the while using the royal welcome to define the civic culture immediate to the host community - whether port-city or capital. Instances of both paternal and liberal cultures were found within the reception ceremonies at Saint John and Fredericton. Analysis reveals that while such duality existed, Saint John's muscular vision of liberal-minded progress gained momentum, and assumed primacy as the defining cultural perspective within the colony. ii This work is dedicated to Robert Ward Parsons Hi Acknowledgements: The completion of this project would not have been possible without the assistance and support of a number of people. Gratitude must be expressed to the staff and faculty of the University of New Brunswick's Department of History. Special appreciation must be given to Dr. Phillip A. Buckner for suggesting this topic for study, and for his guidance and insight in the thesis' formative stages. The ongoing feedback, guidance and encouragement from Dr. Gail Campbell have been deeply appreciated; without her support this project would not have seen completion. Thanks must also be given to Dr. Steven Turner and Dr. Gary Waite for their support as Graduate Faculty Advisors. Elizabeth Adshade must also be recognised for her ongoing assistance. The assistance of staff at the National Archives and National Library of Canada, the Public Archives of New Brunswick, the New Brunswick Museum Archives, Harriet Irving Library, and Maxwell MacOdrum Library at Carleton University has been indispensable throughout the research of this thesis. Special appreciation must be given to Dr. Barry Gough and Dr. David Monod of Wilfrid Laurier University, and Dr. Helen Hatton of the University of Toronto for their support and encouragement leading up to work in this current programme. Finally the writing of this thesis would not have been possible without the unending support and patience of my family, my wife Saskia, and my two sons, Liam and Andrew. iv Table of Contents Abstract: ii Dedication: Hi Acknowledgements: iv Table of Contents: v Introduction:... 1 Chapter 1: 7 The Canadian Initiative: The Victoria Bridge as a Symbol of the New Era Chapter 2: 24 A Half-Century of Readjustment: New Brunswick's Relationship with Empire, 1810-1860 Chapter 3: 57 City, Colony, and Empire Defined: Cultural Negotiation in the Planning Phase of the Royal Tour in New Brunswick Chapter 4: 93 Progress, Pageantry and Community Formation: The Prince of Wales in Saint John Chapter 5: 143 Progress & Paternalism: Statecraft Ritual and the Travel of the Prince of Wales Through New Brunswick Conclusion: 180 Bibliography: 184 Curriculum Vitae v Introduction: For British North Americans, the year 1860 was a high water mark of imperial and national celebration. During the summer of that year, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of Queen Victoria and heir to the throne, made his way through each of the British North American colonies and to parts of the United States. For the English monarchy, this was the first official tour outside the United Kingdom into the reaches of its empire. For the small British colonies on the western side of the Atlantic, the arrival of the nineteen-year-old Prince was the first chance afforded colonials to receive royalty with pomp and ceremony. Provided with such an opportunity, communities from St. John's, Newfoundland to Sarnia, Canada West, sought to demonstrate before the world their industry, energy, and place within the global British Empire. The royal tour of 1860 caught the imagination of people across the Empire and beyond it. Journalists from the United Kingdom, the Colonies, and the United States followed the tour, forwarding highly descriptive, engaging accounts of the Prince and the royal entourage taking part in the many celebrations and official duties which filled the royal agenda. Correspondents of major international newspapers in the United States and Great Britain, such as the New York Herald, the Illustrated London News, and the Times of London, brought to the pages of these widely read publications vivid accounts of the people, politics, and economy of the British North American colonies. Colonial leaders were eager to exploit such exposure, to flaunt their wares and present the 1 accomplishments of their communities to audiences at home and abroad. The people of New Brunswick embraced the visit with crowds swelling to unprecedented numbers at every stop along the way. Viewed against the backdrop of industrialization and its allied imperial political and economic realities, the pageants and spectacles surrounding the Prince's visit in August 1860 present a drama which highlights the changes wrought throughout the colonies over the previous quarter century. England's removal of trade preferences in the 1840s had sent a shock wave throughout the British North American colonies. Although the initial fears of economic and social disaster following Britain's apparent abandonment of her colonies proved largely unfounded, the lasting impact of such imperial policies put British North American needs increasingly in the hands of colonial governments. At the same time as imperial preference was scaled back across the Empire, railway construction - perceived as the wave of the future throughout industrialized societies in the United Kingdom, Western Europe and the United States - was proceeding apace. For British North America, with its immense geography and difficult terrain, railway construction posed another extraordinary challenge. Nonetheless, during the 1850s the railways of British North America experienced unprecedented development. With the impressive engineering and industrial achievement displayed in the Grand