A early view of Esquimalt harbour, where navy guns fired to celebrate the amalgamation of British Columbia and Vancouver Island
The story of British Columbia’s amalgamation into a single province is now recognized as a simple fact of history, which went largely unopposed by most people in the province. However, in its own time, it was definitely a sticky issue that some people were concerned about. Islander author James K. Nesbitt tells the story of one of those people, Charles Bedford Young.
C.B. Young was a Victoria merchant and politician who was elected to the legislature several times. Though he left Victoria for unexplained reasons in the late 1860′s, he was a prominent, outspoken citizen of Victoria, who was well known by the populace. Despite his position within the community, it is evident that he was not held in high regard by the editors of the Victoria Daily Colonist.
The Colonist didn’t think too much of Mr. Young, unless he was doing what the colonist told him to do, which mostly he did not.
On one occasion The Colonist had this to say: “Mr. C.B. Young is a celebrity in his own right, much more distinctly defined then his mercantile brothers. He has to great a quality of vanity to allow himself much rest, consequentially before the public in every conceivable attitude; we have before described him as cantankerous, but judging from his career so far in the House, we must do him the justice to say that he has, in parliamentary life, given no occasion for the application. He is a man of much wider general experience, than most of the members and no doubt would have been more liberal in some of his political notions had he spent more of his life in the British Colonies and less in the Mexican Republic.
Of course, this stinging rebuke was brought on because Young had hinted that he did not agree with the amalgamation of British Columbia and Vancouver Island. Despite the contrary views of C.B. Young, many Islanders were all for union and did not want to see Young’s argument hold sway. This became more evident at a town meeting held outside the Lyceum Theatre in downtown Victoria. According to The Colonist
“The platform remained unoccupied ’til at length Mr. Fell (coffee and spice merchant) made his appearance, when he was greeted with a perfect storm of hoots, hisses and laughter, with shouts of coffee, chicory etc.”
And now comes our friend Mr. Young to the platform and he “was saluted with another torrent of groans, yells and hisses.”
When [Mayor]Mr. Harris called on Mr. Young to speak “the chairman was interrupted by a roar of yells groans and hisses.”
Mr Young, however was hardboiled…In a loud voice he said, “he accepted the hisses; Rome was saved by the hissing of geese, and he hoped Vancouver Island would be saved in a similar manner.” And so he went on saying Vancouver Island should remain aloof of British Columbia. The Colonist raised an eyebrow “The hon. gentleman kept on alluding to his fidelity amid mingled hooting and cheers. He unfortunately made an illusion to the heresies of certain persons in the house, which drew down another storm of hisses upon him. He said he had been maligned in all sorts of ways; they had descended so low as to call him a dog with a tin kettle tied to his tail (tremendous laughter). Every dog had his day, but a puppy would remain one all his life (hisses laughter and cheers). Mr Young went on in praise of his own honesty and uprightness, which created much laughter.”
But for the Mr. Youngs of his day, fortunately for us of today, was defeated. His lack of vision got him nowhere. He could see no further than beyond his own nose.
Unfortunately for Mr. Young, his troubles were not over. A subsequent bid to become mayor of the city proved to end similarly in dismal failure. As usual, The Colonist provided an acid description of the attempt
“Mr C.B. Young finding he had not the ghost of a chance for election cunningly withdrew…and left the field to Mr. Arthur Bunster and Mr. W.J. Macdonald. We are sorry that Mr. Young has taken this step, because we wished to convince him that he is the most unpopular man in town, and in no better way could this be shown than in going to the polls.
Inevitably, the union of the two colonies became a reality. When the amalgamation became official, the voices of the nay sayers were finally drowned out by the celebratory roar of naval guns in the Esquimalt Harbour. Presumably, at this point, C.B. Young decided to call it quits. For that point on, nothing more was heard of the unpopular agitator, and he apparently left the Island never to return. On the occasion of the uniting of British Columbia and Vancouver Island, the Colonist’s editors stated
“The interesting nuptials of Miss Columbia and Mr. Vancouver took place; no sooner was the Gordian knot tied and the happy pair pronounced by the potent grave and reverend functionary who officiated, than her Majesty’s ships-of-war in Esquimalt caught up the dying chord of the sacerdotal benediction and boomed forth a royal salute of 21 guns in honour of the occasion.
THe wooing and engagement were not of the most harmonious character – but the proffered hand having been accepted and the vow solemnized, let us hope that their path through wedded life may be strewn with roses, that, appreciating each other the better stoically overlooking mutual foibles and being kindly affectioned the one to the other, they may not only enjoy much domestic felicity themselves, but may be the means of imparting it to those around them.”
