GOVERNMENT FUNDING OF AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS IN LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY ONTARIO b Thomas W. Irwin Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Graduate Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario September, 1997 @ Thomas W. Irwin 1997 National Library Bibliothèque nationale of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, me Wellington Ottawa ON KIA ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distniute or seil reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de rnicrofiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. ABSTRACT In the thirty years following Confederation, the Ontario government made an expanding range of grants to voluntary associations the essence of its agricultural policy. Neither the nature of the associations nor their receipt of public funds was nev. Yet in an "age of association" the burgeoning expansion of groups and grants marked a vital step in the expansion of government involvement in the economy. By 1896, twenty-two associations and a wide array of local affiliates were receiving government funds. Historians have tended to overlook or dismiss these groups as ineffectual. Yet they played an important role in the social and agricultural history of the province. They drew only a minority of farmers into their rnernbership, and indeed were strongly influenced by urban "gentleman farmers"; yet they recruited enough of a following to be recognized as the natural voice of the farm community. Governments consulted them when tabling legislation, and on occasion gave the organizations a role in law enforcement. Yet their main role was informative. Some groups engaged directly in scientific research; al1 promoted the concept of scientific agriculture. They used a wide variety of educational tools, but the best known was the agricultural exhibition--an institution that enjoys a continuing popularity in the iii late twentieth century. Though large elements of the farm population resisted their progressive message, the associations were an influential part of rural entario society. Keywords: Ontario, history, associationalism, agriculture and government TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Certificate of Examination ............................................ii Abstract ............................................................. iii Table of Contents .....................................................iv List of Appendices .....................................................v Chapter 1.Introduction. ...........,........,...........e............... 1 Chapter 2-The Agriculture and Arts Act and its Associations ...........19 Chapter 3-Membership and Office Holding ...........................5 8 Chapter 4-Advancing Scientific Frontiers .............................107 Chapter 5-The Educational Function ..................................-156 Chapter 6-Exhibitions ................................................ 212 Chapter 7-Interest Group Politics.................................... 271 Chapter 8-Associations as Agents of Enforcement ......................320 Chapter 9-Conclusion ................................................. 365 Xppendix 1 ........................................................... 371 Appendix 2 ...........................................................373 Bibliography ........................................................ 374 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix Page Appendix 1-Agricultural Associations Operating Under the Agriculture and Arts Act in 1895 .................e-e...-...--..-.e371 Appendix 2-Related Institutions. 1867-96 .....................-.--... -373 Chapter 1: Introduction In contrast to the thoroughly urban and industrial economy that has developed in the twentieth century, the province of Ontario relied heavily throughout the nineteenth century on the agricultural sector to fuel its economic and social development. Consequently, a great deal of historiographical attention has been paid to the process of settlement, the so-called 'wheat staple', and to the process of agricultural diversification. To a lesser extent, historians have also treated the social history of the farm population, including the spread of farm organizations. Even here, though, the focus has been largely political, and the greatest attention has been centred on protest-oriented groups such as the Patrons of Industry 1 and the Grange. Less well-known are the multitude of groups that sought to improve the lot of the farmer through education and scientific advance rather than through political change. Historians make frequent reference to these organizations, but they pay scant attention to the associations except in the context of other subjects.* Such paççing references do not serve adequately to illuminate their activities; for their work achieved sufficient importance that the Ontario government contributed, in the final third of the century, annual grants to a growing list of these agricultural organizations. The formation of agricultural improvement groups began long before Confederation, both in Upper Canada and abroad. Moreover, the network continued to develop long after 1896. Nonetheless, the period from 1867 to 1896 represents a significant period in the development of the organizations. The establishment of the Canadian federation saw the transfer of the existing groups from colonial to provincial jurisdiction, while the bureaucratic administration went to the federal level. It was also the m.iddle of a period of economic change. Throughout the first half of the nineteenth century, Upper Canada had posessed a plentiful supply of fertile, undeveloped farm land; despite political and logistical barriers to occupation, and the hardships of pioneer farming, the availability and productivity of land had never been seen as an obstacle to prosperity. During the first half of the nineteenth century the colony developed an economy heavily dependent on agriculture, and in particular, the cultivation of wheat. The latter assumed an importance to the province beyond its mere acreage. At its peak, in the middle of the century, wheat and flour accounted for over half the province's exports, and three guarters of farmers' cash in~ome.~Yet the crop never 4 occupied more than one quarter of the cultivated acreage. This dependence showed signs of weakening by 1870, and by the 1880s diversification was fully under way. This included shifts to barley, fruit and mixed farmingt5 but centred on livestock, and especially dairying. By 1906, 6 Ontario had 1,237 cheese factories alone. The halt in the expansion of wheat matched the end of rapid frontier advancement in the provi.nce. By 1860, most of the arable land in the Great Lakes lowlands had been occupied, and further settlement was limited to the less hospitable Canadian ~hield.' Although Ontario's population continued to grow after Confederation, most of this growth was channelled into urban settings. Between 1871 and 1881, the number of Ontario farmers fell from 226,683 to 226,090, while the total population grew from 1,620,851 to 1,926,922. By 1901, total occupiers of farms represented only 185,415 households in a population of 8 2,182,947. This twin transformation of agricultural diversification and relative population decline produced a period of relative prosperity which, subject to the swings of the economic cycle, was accompanied by a sense of insecurity and a type of siege mentality in reaction to the perceived decline of agriculture's importance to society. Agricultural diversification represented one aspect of the search for security, but another reaction came in the rise of protest-oriented organizations like the Grange and the Patrons of Industry. These groups sought to halt 4 the social and economic change and demanded the restoration of agriculture to its accustomed place in society. Other members of the community, however, embraced change, and sought to channel it in a direction beneficial both to the livelihood and the social status of Ontario's farmers. Their efforts led to the formation and expansion of numerous associations to prornote agricultural developrnent; a number made use of public funds available from a provincial government that was slowly expanding the scope of its economic activities. These groups operated against a backdrop in which the economic principle of laissez-faire liberalism prevailed. The principle had never been absolute, especially in Canada, where government initiative had contributed to many of the country's major economic endeavours. This activity included aid to privately owned enterprises such as railways, as well as grants to agricultural associations. Despite these exceptions, however, mid-century political leaders in Canada and elsewhere shared Adam Smith's phiiosophical aversion to government