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and their influence over their people, once more provoke a contest, history will possibly repeat itself, and the discord of Quebec be extinguished by the change from a Federal to a Legislative Union of British North America. Many events already transpiring point to such a change, and if the Protestants are once thoroughly alarmed, and find their civil rights invaded, it may be found the easiest and safest measure to restore harmony. Already we may accept the note of warning, conveyed in the formation of the Protestant Defence Alliance, and its spreading organizations. It is only the first indication of growing discontent, and should not be disregarded till other and more menacing demonstrations are made. One thing is certain, that the rest of the Dominion cannot allow Quebec, to become the seat of chronic agitation and disorder, to the injury and danger of the other members of the Confederation.
But if it be not so, and this struggle is allowed to extend and intensify, then the day which sees the triumph of the priest, will usher in that which will overthrow his power for ever. It is impossible that in a Province of the Protestant empire of Great Britain, on the continent of America, in the presence of Forty Millions of Protestants, a slavery should be imposed upon us by the Roman Catholic Hierarchy, which exists no longer even under the shadow of the Vatican. Free speech—free thought—and a free press, must have the fullest scope in America; and if, in a wild scheme to reduce them to obedience to the will of the Priesthood, they be for the moment repressed, all history tells us that the torrent when it bursts, will sweep away far more than the barrier that arrested its course,—and will leave behind the wreck of many noble Catholic institutions, to mock the folly of those, who make unwilling adversaries, of natural and affectionate friends.
