Repeal, Reciprocity, and Commercial Union in Nova Scotian Politics, 1886-1887

Abstract

This thesis which deals with repeal, reciprocity, and Commercial Union in Nova Scotian politics from 1886 to 1888 is based, for the most part, on newspaper sources. In addition, the Debates and Journals of the provincial legislature, private correspondence, and secondary sources have been utilized in order to give the work more depth. Chapter I introduces the question of repeal. It analyses the secession agitation in the immediate post-Confederation period and traces the changing reaction of Nova Scotians to the Union during the 1870' s. Chapter II deals with the financial disabilities of the province, the introduction into the provincial legislature of a series of repeal resolutions by Premier W. S. Fielding, and the provincial election campaign of 1886. The following chapter analyzes the importance of the secession question during the federal election campaign of 1887. Chapter IV is somewhat of a departure. Starting with the Liberal party's decision to avoid repeal, it moves to an analysis of the growth and effects of the Commercial Union movement in the province. Finally, the fifth chapter summarizes the conclusions arrived at in previous pages, drawing together the basic themes of the preceding chapters.