Hello there. Alright:
1. Hughes is a character in which I myself created. He is an OC (original character) of mine. In my own thoughts and words, I made him England's butler. He is an elderly gentleman, maybe in his late 60's, and wears the standard black butler's uniform. Also because of England being a nation, thus being immortal, Hughes became immortal. He raised England in the days when the nation was small. If you look into my older stories, he is a great part of many of them.
2. England does use a cane at certain times, and also a slipper. And while a cane is not necessarily just an implement in England, it's sometimes seen/dictated in movies, and literature from olden days of English past. There are several different types of canes. School house, junior, and a senior cane. All hurt, and all equally painful. Obviously the senior cane being the most severe.
3. In some of my stories, I have had Canada being raised by France. To be completely honest however, Canada as a whole was also apprehended by England. And...in the Anime Hetalia, he is assigned as America's twin brother. There are similarities. For a greater definition of the history, I would do some extensive research in Canadian world history. And...of course there is Wikipedia.
4. Neinescape is not canon...it was created by deviant art member
She created a whole account/series for Neinescape which is really amazing. Here is the tumblr link if you are interested.
askdoctorawesome.tumblr.com/I hope this answered everything for you.