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The story of this gigantic organization reads like a
fairy tale. In 1720, Charles II, King of England, gave to Prince Rupert
and his associates, 18 in all, the charter which gave them control of the
greater. portion of British North America. The privileges thus obtained
were of the most sweeping character. Canada was then regarded as nothing
more than a vast stretch of wild country, the home of wandering Indians,
and only valuable for its wealth of fur and fish. It was the great hunting
ground for the venturesome and sporting spirits of the Old Land. had those
in power ever dreamed that these wild lands would become the home of a
great people, the granary of Europe, a land of beautiful homes, great
cities and thriving industries, it is doubtful if they would have been so
generous in their gift. They did not know what they were giving, and the
recipients did not know what they were receiving.
According to this charter, the Company secured
control of "the whole trade of all those seas, straits, and bays, rivers,
lakes, creeks and sounds, in whatsoever latitude they shall be, that lie
within the entrance of the straits commonly called Mid- son's Straits,
together with all the lands, countries and territories upon the coasts and
confines of the seas, straits, bays, lakes, rivers, creeks and sounds
aforesaid, which are not now actually possessed by any of our subjects, or
by the subjects of any other King, prince or state."
Such a gift, by its magnitude, fairly takes one's
breath away. The water system thus donated was, perhaps, the largest in
the world. Of course, the King of England had no conception of what he was
doing, but the fact remains that "the Company" so lightly formed, claimed,
under the provisions of their charter, a territory extending from the
shores of Lake superior north to Hudson's Bay, and west to the Rocky
Mountains. They became absolute proprietors of one-quarter or one-third of
the whole of North America. It was theirs to hold or sell. They had power
to make laws and administer justice. They were authorized to engage in
military expeditions," to send ships of war, men, or ammunition into their
plantations, to choose and appoint commanders and officers, and to issue
their commissions." In addition to all these powers, and privileges, they
were granted the absolute monopoly of the "whole, entire and only liberty
of trade and traffic." It is doubtful if, in the history of nations, there
could be found a parallel to this extraordinary transaction, by which 18
men were made for all time absolute owners of a country half the size of
Europe.
It is a pleasure to state that, in the main, they
have not abused their trust. When one considers the extent of their
operations, the character of the people with whom they had to deal, the
unrestricted opportunities and unrestrained authority which they
possessed, the record of their administration for more than two centuries
is an honorable one. They won the confidence of the Indians, and to the
last exercised over them a wholesome and restraining influence. The
Company was organized in an age when the tyrannical and intolerant spirit
prevailed. In its earlier history we find evidence of that spirit in the
administration of its affairs, but, as the years pass on, the kinder and
more reasonable spirit which was growing in the older lands, found its way
into this institution and modified the harsher modes which characterized
its dealings in the first quarter of a century of its existence. It is
true that it was a money-making concern, but it is also true that it
carried on its business by honorable methods, that it was not indifferent
to the mental and moral welfare of the people, that it maintained the
traditions of the Old Land, that it was loyal to the old flag, and that,
when the time came for it to relinquish its claim, it was able to hand
over to the Government of Canada an enormous tract of country, bearing
through all its wide extent the marks, in churches, schools and trading
posts, of its beneficial control. |
