8 February 2009
Citizen Protest Forced Premier to Resign
Victoria Vancouver Island British Columbia - On
7 Feb 1874 an angry mob charged through Victoria's streets on its way to the legislature to find the
"conspirator" Premier Amor De Cosmos.
The crowd of more than 800 people armed with a resolution condemning the government's plans to alter B.C.'s terms of union with Canada
arrived at the house and filled the visitors' gallery to capacity.
During the legislative session, opposition members who took to the floor and spoke against the government were given a resounding
cheer.
In the middle of this raucous scene, the premier, "his features convulsed with fear and malignity, sprang to his feet and
excitedly demanded that the galleries should be cleared. This was of course the signal for a perfect storm of groans from the
galleries echoed from the crowds on the outside, causing the braggart chief to shrink back into his seat," wrote the British
Colonist.
The Speaker intervened, threatening to leave the chair and bring proceedings to a close if order was not maintained. De Cosmos rose
and spoke again stating that "he was there to keep order in the legislature and in the country, at which point he was met with a
loud chorus of boos and hisses."
An opposition member then stood up and addressed the masses, telling them to present their resolution to the bar of the house, at
which point everyone cheered and started on their way. The crowd surged toward the main entrance to the Bar where police were standing.
A scuffle ensued before the angry crowd broke through and entered the room shouting: "Have De Cosmos out!" and
"Strip the Tyrant and Traitor."
The premier, however, was nowhere to be seen. Fearing for his life, he hid in the Speakers Room. Opposition leaders handed their
resolution to J.F. McCreight, legislative member for Victoria City and former premier. The text of the document read: "That
this meeting deems it unadvisable to enter into any negotiations for capitalizing the Dry Dock guarantee, or to borrow any money from
the Dominion Government until the scheme of the Mackenzie Ministry for the relaxation of the Terms of Union shall be made known. And
further, that it is distinctly opposed to the Provincial Government interfering in any manner with the Terms, or agreeing to any new
Terms offered by the Mackenzie government, until the same shall have been submitted to the people for adoption."
The message reached the Speaker who gave his assurance that the submission would be heard as a petition on the following Monday,
9 Feb 1874. Everyone cheered and left the building, forming a procession and marching along Government Street singing,
"We'll hang De Cosmos to a sour apple tree, as we go marching on."
The British Colonist reported that the following day the premier applied to have the warship Boxer stationed in the Inner Harbour with
its guns loaded and ready: "Perhaps to shoot down our citizens on Monday as they advanced to present their petition to the
Bar of the House. It is gratifying to know the application of the blood-thirsty traitor was refused peremptorily by the
senior officer of the fleet... and the plot to massacre British subjects on their way to perform a constitutional duty was thus
defeated," the Colonist wrote.
That Monday, De Cosmos handed his resignation to the lieutenant-governor. The following day, a group of about 40 people
received word that the ex-premier was attempting to escape the capital city by way of a steamship to Nanaimo.
Despite searching "every nook and cranny of the boat, except the coat hole," he could not be found and there was speculation
among the crowd that he had dawned a disguise.
As the ship departed the group sang Dead March in Saul and Rogue's March. De Cosmos's tenure as premier had come to an ignominious end
as a result of a gross political miscalculation. The federal government's promise to make Esquimalt the western terminus for the
transcontinental railway was a coveted deal for Vancouver Islanders who looked forward to the economic benefits it would bring -
especially at a time of recession.
When De Cosmos began re-negotiating the terms of union to seek a cash grant for the construction of a favoured project of
his - the Esquimalt dry dock - at the expense of the terminus and worse, without putting the issue to a public vote, the people of
Victoria felt betrayed.
Allegations and rumours circulated that De Cosmos was being bribed with a federal cabinet post for his efforts.
It was a time when the union with Canada was fragile, and De Cosmos suffered from the perception that he was more interested in
spending time in Ottawa as a member of Parliament than acting for the good of the province as premier.
In aggressively forcing the resignation of a premier, it was 134 years ago this week that Victoria gained a reputation as a city with
a tough political culture.
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