A caricature history of Canadian politics

by J. W. Bengough

But that time was fortunately very brief. In justice to Lord Cathcart it must be said that he took no active part in the Government, his attention being wholly occupied by military matters in view of the strained relations of England and the United States over the Oregon Boundary matter. It was chiefly as a military expert that he had been placed at the head of affairs, and the probability of war having disappeared by the ratification of the Oregon Treaty, the Imperial Government relieved him of the Viceroyalty, and selected Lord Elgin, a trained statesman, as his successor. This nobleman bore an exceptionally high character and his official career had hitherto been very successful. Like Lord Metcalfe he left the Governorship of Jamaica to assume that of Canada. In politics he was a Conservative, but could not fairly be described as a Tory in the fullest meaning of that term. The new Governor-General was sworn into office on January 30th, 1847, and one of his first utterances in reply to the usual addresses of welcome was, “I am sensible that I shall best maintain the prerogative of the Crown, and most effectually carry out the instructions with which Her Majesty has honored me, by manifesting a due regard for the wishes and feelings of the people and by seeking the advice and assistance of those who enjoy their confidence.” Lord Elgin met his first Parliament on June 2nd. The Government had meanwhile been reconstructed, Mr. Draper having retired from the leadership in favor of Mr. Henry Sherwood, and amongst other new members was Mr. John A. Macdonald, who had accepted the post of Receiver-General. At the close of this session Mr. Draper was honored with a judgeship, and rising from one judicial dignity to another, he at length achieved the highest place on the Canadian Bench—the Presidency of the Court of Error and Appeal. He died in 1877. The Sherwood-Daly Government was overwhelmingly defeated at the general election held early in 1848, and the Baldwin-Lafontaine Ministry returned to power. Amongst the members of the new House were William Hume Blake (father of Hon. Edward Blake) and Louis Joseph Papineau, who, from 1809 until his banishment for complicity in the rebellion of 1838, had been an influential leader of the Lower Canadians. He had been permitted to return to Canada in 1843, but his distrust of British rule and his wild project of a Canadian Republic were in no respect abated. In the House of Assembly he soon arrayed himself in deadly opposition to the Cabinet, denouncing “Responsible Government” in unmeasured terms. The adoption of the Free Trade policy in England at this time had a depressing effect upon Canadian commerce, as Canada ceased to be as heretofore the highway of American exports to the English markets. The result of this was the growth of a sentiment in favor of annexation. Parliament next met on the 18th of January, 1849, when Mr. George Etienne Cartier and Alexander Galt made their first appearance as members. Early in the session an Amnesty Bill in favor of those expelled from the country through the rebellion of ’37-8 was passed. Under this measure Mr. Wm. Lyon Mackenzie returned to Canada from his exile in the United States. Besides this Bill, some two hundred more or less important measures were passed, amongst them being the Act reorganizing the Court of Chancery. While this Bill was regarded as an inestimable boon by all concerned, it was the means of closing the promising political career of Mr. Hume Blake, who, in deference to the wishes of his colleagues and of the legal profession of the Province, accepted the Chancellorship. The great measure of the session, from the historical point of view, was the Rebellion Losses Bill. This measure was intended to supplement the compensation already granted by the Provincial Assemblies of Upper and Lower Canada to loyal citizens who had suffered loss by the rebellion of 1837-8. The legislation referred to had not recognized the cases of many whose property had been destroyed or damaged, not by rebels, but by those acting ostensibly in support of the authorities. This further relief was granted by an Act passed in the first session of the Union Parliament, but was restricted to Upper Canada. The Bill now passed extended the provisions for compensation to Lower Canada as well. Commissioners had been appointed by the Draper Government in 1845 to investigate and report upon the amount of money which would be required to settle the claims indicated, but great difficulty had been encountered in distinguishing between claimants who were entitled to relief and those who had been implicated more or less seriously in the rebellion. The report of the Commissioners was therefore not such as to afford a safe basis for legislation, and the Government, owing nothing to the Lower Canadians on the score of political support, had taken no further action. The Lafontaine-Baldwin Government felt that they were in duty bound to carry out the measure of justice which the former Government had initiated, and the French influence had now become strong enough to compel this even if the Government had felt otherwise. The Bill as passed expressly excluded from participation in the indemnity all rebels under the description of those “who had been convicted of treason or had been transported to Bermuda.” It was reasonably believed that after the lapse of so many years, it would be impracticable to make any distinctions between “loyal citizens” and “rebels” apart from the record of the courts of law. The Opposition insisted, however, that such distinction must be made: and that no person who had taken part in the rebellion, whether convicted or not, should on any account be paid for his losses. The whole Conservative party took this “high loyal” ground, and the Bill at once evoked the most furious enmity in that quarter. The measure was debated in the House with unexampled passion—its chief opponents there being Mr. Sherwood, Col. Gugy, Sir Allan MacNab and Col. Prince; and its ablest defender Mr. Wm. Hume Blake, whose speech is justly regarded as the greatest effort of his life and the most powerful address ever delivered in the Canadian Parliament. The Bill was finally carried on March 9th by a majority of forty-seven to eighteen. Meantime the Tory party throughout the Province had poured in petitions to the Governor-General, demanding the reservation of the Bill or a dissolution of the House. After careful consideration, Lord Elgin could not see that his duty lay in either of these directions, and he accordingly assented to the measure amongst others on Wednesday, April 25th. As he retired from the Council Chamber after this ceremony, he was greeted with groans and hisses by a mob assembled in front of the building, and as his carriage rolled away it was pelted with rotten eggs. This incident is referred to in the first cartoon from Punch in Canada imbedded in our letter-press. In the evening of the same day a crowd assembled on the Champ-de-Mars, where “loyal speeches,” openly advocating violence, were made. The mob was in a fitting frame of mind, and was swift to act upon the ill-advice. Amidst shouts and curses, an advance was made upon the Houses of Parliament. The legislators, engaged in discussing an important measure at the moment, were startled by the crashing in of the windows, and soon the rioters entered the chamber where, with maniacal fury, they demolished everything that was breakable, and wound up the peculiar display of “fealty to the Crown” by setting fire to the buildings. The Assembly House was totally consumed, involving a direct money loss far exceeding the amount appropriated by the Bill which had afforded the pretext for the outrage. Parliament assembled the next day in a chamber improvised in the Bonsecours market building. Sir Allan MacNab and a few of his political colleagues spoke in justification of the riot, and declared that the blame rested more with the Government than with the mob (see [Cartoon 1]). The members of the Ministry and many of their leading supporters were for several days maltreated on the streets, and the residences of Mr. Lafontaine and others in Montreal were wrecked by the mob. The carnival of “Loyalty” was kept up until the 30th when it culminated in a second and still more disgraceful attack upon Lord Elgin, on the occasion of an official visit to the Government House on Notre Dame street. After this outrage Lord Elgin remained in seclusion at Monklands for many months, earning thereby the sobriquet of the Hermit (see [Cartoon 4]). Parliament was prorogued on May 30th, Major General Rowan, Commander of the Forces, being commissioned to act for the Governor-General, who thought it best to avoid another demonstration of the “loyalists.” The Government re-appointed the Draper Commissioners to carry out the provisions of the Rebellion Losses Bill in the adjudication of claims, and instructions were given them to use all possible care to distinguish between “rebels” and “loyalists” amongst the claimants, but this conciliatory action passed for little with the Tory press.

COLONEL GUGY’S POLITICAL TOY.
(From Punch in Canada.)

During the vacation, Sir Allan MacNab and Hon. Wm. Cayley proceeded to England to place the Tory view of the Rebellion Losses Bill before the public there; and about the same time Mr. Francis Hincks crossed the ocean on a similar errand for the Liberal party. Lord Elgin’s course in the matter was ultimately sustained in both Houses of the Imperial Parliament when the subject came up for consideration. Subsequent riotous demonstrations in Montreal decided the question of the removal of the seat of Government from that city. The remaining two sessions were accordingly held in Toronto, and thereafter it was arranged to transfer the honor alternately to Quebec and Toronto every four years. The removal to Toronto took place in November, 1849, and the official residence was fixed at Elmsley Villa, on the site of the present Central Presbyterian Church.

As an outcome of the prevailing commercial depression of the time the project of annexation to the United States had come prominently forward for discussion, and in October a manifesto in favor of a peaceful separation from the Mother Country and a union with the Republic was published at Montreal. Amongst the signers of this celebrated document were many prominent persons connected with both political parties, amongst the number being Mr. Benjamin Holmes, to whom reference is made in this connection in the Punch in Canada cartoons. Mr. Papineau earnestly advocated the scheme, in consistence with his long cherished republican opinions, and many other public men—amongst them Col. Gugy—were suspected of sympathy with the movement. The only practical result of the agitation was to deprive some of those implicated in it of offices which they held at the pleasure of the Crown.

COLONEL GUGY’S NEW POSITION.
(From Punch in Canada.)

The next great questions to press for settlement were those relating to the Secularization of the Clergy Reserves and the abolition of Seigniorial Tenure—questions which concerned the Upper and Lower Provinces respectively. The first of these had its rise in the blunder originally made by the Imperial authorities in setting apart a large portion of the public domain for the maintenance of “a Protestant clergy.” As population increased and settlement spread, the lands thus apportioned in various parts of the country—particularly those in Upper Canada—became valuable, and a hot dispute as to their ownership naturally arose. The Church of England laid exclusive claim to the term “Protestant Clergy,” and, as a consequence, to the Reserves. The other denominations opposed these pretensions. At length, in 1840, an Imperial Act, intended to settle the question finally, decreed that the proceeds of all sales of reserved lands to date should be divided between the churches of England and Scotland,—the former body to receive two-thirds and the latter one-third; and that all future proceeds from such sales should be handed over, in the proportion of one-third and one-sixth, to the same churches; the residue to be devoted to the cause of public worship and religious instruction generally—in other words, to be divided, as might be, amongst such of the other Protestant denominations as cared to apply for it. This Act quite failed to allay the sense of injustice in regard to the Reserves, and the matter continued in agitation. In 1844 many supporters of the Reform party insisted on the question being made a political issue, and called upon the Government to petition the Home authorities for the repeal of the Act of 1840 as a preliminary to a radical settlement of the difficulty by the complete secularization of the Reserves. The Government failed to respond to this suggestion, and in 1849 a number of influential Reformers protested against the delay by stepping out of the Government ranks and forming a new organization, which became known by the sobriquet of the “Clear Grit” party. About the same time a somewhat similar departure was made by a number of French Liberals, who formed Le Parti Rouge under the leadership of Mr. Papineau. These new organizations joined in the advocacy of several advanced measures of reform, though the Rouges were on many points far more radical than the “Grits.” When the session of 1850 opened, the Government found themselves confronted by an opposition not to be despised either in numbers or influence, aside from Conservatives, led by Sir Allan MacNab, John A. Macdonald, Wm. Cayley and Henry Sherwood. An incident of the session (to which reference is made in the caricature from Punch in Canada annexed) was the defection from the Conservative ranks of Col. Gugy, who had long been known as an ultra Tory. The reason assigned for this step by the hon. gentleman was his disapproval of the extreme rancor displayed during the opening debate by Sir Allan MacNab towards his political opponents, on issues which were practically dead, and to aspersions cast by that gentleman upon the Governor-General in connection with the events of 1837-8. The Clear Grits vigorously attacked the Government for their procrastination in the matter of the Clergy Reserves, and advocated the immediate passage of a Bill, without waiting for the formality of the repeal of the Imperial Act. It was evident that the Cabinet were by no means of one mind on this important question, and these passionate appeals were unheeded. The pressure was great enough, however, to ensure the passage of a resolution in favor of the repeal of the Act, and in due course an Address in accordance therewith was forwarded to the Imperial authorities. The attitude of the Ministry, however, was not definite enough to meet the views of the Reform Party at large, and the consequence was many defections from the ranks. Amongst warm friends who had been transformed to lukewarmness, was Mr. George Brown. The Globe, which had ridiculed the “Clear Grit” movement from its inception, was now preparing to cast in its fortunes with that faction. The next year was notable for the re-entry into Parliament of William Lyon Mackenzie, the hero of the Rebellion of ’38. He was elected as member for Haldimand, having defeated Mr. Brown, who as yet professed a certain amount of friendship for the Government. Mackenzie, of course, entered the House as their pronounced opponent, and soon became the clearest of Clear Grits. During the session of this year (1851) an Act was introduced by Hon. Mr. Hincks to make provision for the construction of a trunk line of railway from Quebec to the west. A guaranteed loan from the Home Government—such as had already been promised to Nova Scotia in promotion of a line from Halifax to Quebec, was anticipated. The outcome of this Act, some years later, was the Grand Trunk railway. Before the close of the session the Globe had reached the point of open hostility to the Government, and clamored for immediate action on the Clergy Reserves question. As yet, however, Mr. Brown was not in actual alliance with the Clear Grits. One of the planks in the platform of that party was the abolition of the Court of Chancery, which, as has been mentioned, was re-organized and established under Mr. Baldwin’s auspices in 1849. Toward the end of the session, Mr. Lyon Mackenzie introduced a resolution looking to the abolition of this Court, and although defeated on a division, the fact that a majority of the Upper Canada members had voted in favor of the motion affected Mr. Baldwin so keenly that he resigned his office and retired from the Cabinet. Before the end of the same year Mr. Lafontaine also resigned, in pursuance of his expressed intention of retiring from public life. This act was immediately followed by the resignation of the remaining ministers, and the Lafontaine-Baldwin Cabinet thus passed calmly out of existence. Mr. Lafontaine was raised to the Bench as Chief Justice of Quebec in 1853, and the next year was created a Baronet. He died at Montreal, Feb. 26, 1864. Mr. Baldwin was defeated in North York at the ensuing general election by Mr. Joseph Hartman, a Clear Grit candidate, and this respected leader then permanently retired from public life. In 1854 he was made a C. B. The late Ministry having practically fallen before the Reform spirit of the day, the demand was for a Cabinet still less conservative. The formation of such a Cabinet was entrusted to Mr. (now Sir Francis) Hincks, who had been a prominent member of the late Administration, and was regarded as one of the most capable public men of the time. In a few months Mr. Hincks had completed the task committed to him by making judicious concessions to the Clear Grit sentiment and to all other forces which were capable of retarding the course of legislation. Mr. Morin, being the acknowledged leader of the French Liberals since the retirement of Mr. Lafontaine, headed the Lower Canada branch of the Government, which is known in our history as the Hincks-Morin Administration. The Globe came out strongly against the new Premier, expressing a total want of confidence in the sincerity of his Reform professions, and charging him with surrendering to French Canadian influence. The cause of the Government was on the other hand ably advocated by the Toronto North American (edited by Mr. Wm. Macdougall) and the Montreal Pilot, a journal established some years previously by Mr. Hincks himself. During the general election (1851) Mr. Brown was returned as member for Kent, and at once became a conspicuous figure in the House at Quebec—whither, in accordance with the alternating system, the seat of Government had been removed. Early in the new year Mr. Hincks proceeded to England, in company with Mr. E. B. Chandler of New Brunswick, to arrange for the Imperial guarantee to the construction of the Intercolonial railway, which, it had been agreed, should be built by the three Provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, to connect Halifax and Quebec by way of the St. John Valley. The Home authorities expressed a preference for a military route around the shore, and declined the guarantee on any other condition. Though unsuccessful in this matter, Mr. Hincks succeeded, during his stay in England, in arranging for the formation of what is now known as the Grand Trunk railway company, to secure the early construction of the line westward from Montreal. On the Premier’s return to Canada in 1852, the session opened, and Mr. Brown took the earliest opportunity of expressing his opinion that the Government was Reform in name only. Mr. John A. Macdonald also attacked them sharply, alleging that there was no principle in common among members of the Administration except the desire to hold office. During the session Mr. Hincks introduced a series of resolutions strongly urging the repeal of the Clergy Reserves Act of 1840, and an Address founded upon them was forwarded to the Queen. In October of this year Mr. Narcisse Fortunat Belleau (the subject of one of our cartoons) received a seat in the Legislative Council. Parliament adjourned on account of the presence of cholera at Quebec, between Nov. 10, 1852, and Feb. 14th, 1853. During this recess a despatch from the Home Secretary announced the intention of the Imperial Government to repeal the Act of 1840, and to pass an Act authorizing the Canadian Parliament to deal with the Clergy Reserves question. On the re-assembling of the House a Representation Act was passed, increasing the membership from 84 to 130—65 for each section of the Province. About the same time it became known in Canada that the promised legislation in the matter of the Clergy Reserves had been passed in England, and the ardent advocates of secularization renewed their agitation for immediate action by the Provincial Government. The session was allowed to end, however, without any intimation of the Government’s intentions, and this apparent want of good faith, in connection with various charges of extravagance in connection with railway contracts, and other shortcomings, furnished an abundance of ammunition for the Opposition in the interim. The Ministry decided to take no action on the Clergy Reserves question, the reason assigned being that it would be better to leave such important legislation to the next Parliament, in which there would be a larger representation of the people. This resolve, when announced in Parliament, raised a furious storm amongst the extreme members of the Opposition. No fewer than four amendments were moved to the Address in Reply, and the defeat of the Government was practically accomplished on a vote regretting that a measure for the settlement of the Seigniorial Tenure and Reserves question was not to be submitted during the session. This motion was carried by forty-two against twenty-nine. Mr. Hincks asked for an adjournment for a day or two, which was granted. The Ministry decided to dissolve the House, and when the members re-assembled, Black Rod forthwith knocked at the door. The general election came off in the following July and August. Amongst the members of the new House subsequently noticed in our cartoons were Messrs. Luther Hamilton Holton and A. A. Dorion. The Assembly was now divided into three distinct parties: Ministerialists; Conservatives, led nominally by Sir A. MacNab,—really by Mr. John A. Macdonald; and Advanced Reformers, including Clear Grits and Rouges. Mr. Brown was now, to all intents and purposes, not only an ally but a leader of the last named party, with Mr. Dorion for his Lower Canada colleague. The Ministry managed to weather the storm for but a few days after the opening of the session; they were then defeated by a vote on a question of privilege raised by the Opposition, and handed in their resignations. This was on Sept. 8th, 1854. Sir Allan MacNab was called upon to form an Administration, a task which was only possible of accomplishment by the sacrifice on his part of cherished convictions at the bidding of expediency. The Government to be formed had before it the work of secularizing the Reserves, and to this Sir Allan, in common with the old Conservatives whom he represented, was opposed. Rather, however, than yield the leadership to the hands of his rising colleague, Macdonald, Sir Allan accepted the responsibility, and in due time completed the formation of a Government by an alliance of Conservatives and moderate French Liberals, with two representatives of the ministerial party nominated by Mr. Hincks. This Government, taking the names of the leaders of the two sections as was customary, is known as the MacNab-Morin Administration. The immediate secularization of the Reserves was an essential condition of the coalition, and the passage of a Bill abolishing the Seigniorial Tenure had also been stipulated for. With the advent of the new Cabinet, the old Tory Party may be said to have become extinct, as the leading colleagues of the new Premier were imbued with the prevailing spirit of progress to an extent which would almost entitle them to the name of Liberals. That title was, indeed, adopted, and the party in question has ever since been known as Liberal-Conservative. The old time Reform Party became similarly modified, by the absorption of its more conservative element into the ranks of Government supporters and of its radical members into the Clear Grit or Rouge party. The pledges of the Government as to the Reserves question were duly fulfilled by the introduction of the Secularization Act by Mr. John A. Macdonald in 1854. During the same session, the Seignioral Tenure system, a long-standing grievance of Lower Canada—a remnant of mediævalism, under which the tillers of the soil were practically the vassals of feudal lords—was also abolished. Upon the prorogation of Parliament Lord Elgin retired from the Governor-Generalship, and was succeeded by Sir Edmund Head. By a reconstruction of the Lower Canada section of the Cabinet during the recess, Mr. Geo. E. Cartier became Provincial Secretary. This is noteworthy, as marking the commencement of the long-continued comradeship in office of that gentleman with Mr. J. A. Macdonald. After another brief session at Quebec, the seat of Government was removed to Toronto. Meantime (in 1855) Mr. Hincks, while absent in England, received the appointment of Governor of Barbadoes and the Windward Islands and his connection with Canadian affairs thus ended for the time being. The questions of Separate Schools for Roman Catholics, and Representation by Population, were the important topics of political discussion next to be brought forward, but before they had become ripe for legislative action, an important change had taken place in the Ministry. The colleagues and supporters of the Government had become impatient of the nerveless leadership of Sir Allan MacNab, and anxious to replace him by an abler man, who stood ready for the position in the person of Mr. John A. Macdonald. Sir Allan MacNab, however, would not voluntarily resign, and the affairs of the Government were thus kept in a awkward state of suspense for a considerable time. The “conspirators” in the Cabinet at last succeeded in carrying their point. A resolution of confidence having been moved on the question of making Quebec the permanent seat of Government, the vote was taken, and it was found that although duly carried, a majority of the Upper Canada members had voted against it. This was seized upon as a pretext and, on a profession of adherence to the principle of a “double majority” (a principle which had never been adopted by either party), the Ministers handed in their resignations. This left Sir Allan alone in his glory, and he being unable to fill the vacant places. Col. Taché, as the senior Executive Councillor, was entrusted with the task of forming a ministry, which he speedily accomplished by replacing the members of the late Cabinet. Mr. Macdonald was made Attorney-General West, and was the actual leader (May, 1856). On a motion of no confidence moved by Mr. Dorion, the reconstructed ministry found the adverse Upper Canada majority increased, but having got rid of old Sir Allan they were not now so particular about the double majority “principle” and entertained no thought of resigning. For some time prior to 1856 Mr. Wm. Macdougall, as editor of the North American, had been agitating the question of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s possessions in the North-West. The project of obtaining control of that valuable domain for Canada now began to take shape, and was warmly advocated by many of the leading public men. Communications on the subject were opened with the Company, and early in 1857, Chief Justice Draper was sent over to England to represent the Province in the negotiations. During the Parliamentary session of the same year Mr. George Brown introduced a resolution in favor of the principle of Representation by Population, which, although defeated, received strong support in the House and throughout the country. The vexed question of the permanent seat of Government was avoided by the submission of the matter to Her Majesty, who, in due course, named Ottawa, as a compromise between the conflicting claims of Toronto and Quebec. By the retirement of Col. Taché, which took place this year, Mr. Macdonald became Premier, and Mr. Cartier was formally appointed leader of the Lower Canada section of the Government. Parliament was dissolved in November and the general election came off in December and January. It was during this campaign that Mr. George Brown contested Toronto against Mr. John Beverley Robinson and others—reference to which is made in cartoons 17 to 24. Amongst the new members elected were Messrs. T. D’Arcy McGee, Hector L. Langevin, Christopher Duncan, Oliver Mowat, Wm. P. Howland, and John Carling. The main questions upon which the elections turned were Separate Schools and Representation by Population, and the general result was a weakening of the Upper Canada support of the Government and a more than proportionate addition to their Lower Canada following. When the House met in 1858, the “double majority” doctrine was promptly cast overboard, as it was clear the Ministry had to rely wholly on a Lower Canada majority. A motion expressing dissatisfaction with the selection of Ottawa as seat of Government, which appealed alike to the French and English members of the House, was carried by sixty-four to fifty. Thereupon the Government resigned, and Mr. George Brown was called upon, as leader of the Opposition, to form an Administration. This he succeeded in doing. He asked, however, for a dissolution of the House and an appeal to the country, on the ground that the present Assembly did not fairly represent public opinion. The Governor-General, upon consideration, declined to accede to this, and a vote of no confidence having been carried in the House, Mr. Brown and his colleagues handed in their resignations. The lately deposed ministers were recalled, and, taking advantage of the letter of the law which permitted of an interchange of portfolios without an appeal to the country, Mr. Macdonald and his colleagues performed what is notorious in our annals as the “Double Shuffle.” The members of the Government resumed the treasury benches upon making a mere re-distribution of the offices. Having been duly sworn in, they then made another re-distribution which left them in the positions which they originally occupied.

The rejection of the double majority principle, and the popular demand for representation by population had given rise to the idea of a Federal Union of the Provinces of British North America, and the “new” Government announced that the feasibility of this scheme would receive the most serious consideration. Mr. A. T. Galt, who was now Inspector-General, was known as a strong advocate of Confederation, and on entering the Ministry he had insisted on it being made a Cabinet question. In the next session Ottawa was formally accepted as the seat of Government by a motion in the House, which was carried by a majority of five. A new Tariff Act, raising the general duties to fifteen per cent., was amongst the measures of the session, and marks the commencement of Protection in Canada.

At the close of the session the departments were once more established at Quebec, whence in 1866 they were removed to Ottawa and permanently settled in the new Parliament buildings. The Government was now sustained entirely by Lower Canada votes, and the cry of French domination was being vociferously raised in the Upper Province. As the outcome of a Liberal convention an address to the people made its appearance in 1860. This document, which forcibly exposed the unsatisfactory state into which public affairs had been brought by the existing system, was widely distributed, and is regarded as having done much to pave the way for the Confederation scheme subsequently matured. The Liberal leaders of Lower Canada were disposed to admit the justice of the complaints thus formulated, but no great expression of sympathy could be expected in that quarter for a cause with which the name of George Brown was intimately associated. In the meantime, the divisions in the ranks of the Opposition aided the Government. In the following session (1860) Mr. Brown introduced two motions embodying the reforms discussed at the convention, and suggesting, as a remedy for the evils complained of, the formation of local governments for the management of Provincial affairs, with some central authority to take cognizance of affairs common to all sections. These resolutions were defeated by overwhelming majorities. In connection with changes in the personnel of the Parliamentary forces during 1860, it may be noted that Sir Allan MacNab was elected to a seat in the Legislative Council, and Mr. Chas. J. Rykert succeeded Mr. Merritt as member for Lincoln in the Assembly. The agitation for “Rep. by Pop.” and its proposed accompanying reforms was not allowed to die out. Mr. D’Arcy McGee continued to eloquently advocate the Federal Union plan, and the Globe kept steadily educating public opinion upon the subject. In the next session resolutions in favor of the “double majority” principle, moved respectively by Mr. J. Sandfield Macdonald and Mr. A. A. Dorion, obtained a fair measure of support in the House, being defeated by majorities of only thirteen and nineteen. Amongst the supporters of these motions were several prominent French Canadians who had hitherto acted with the Government, and ere long an alliance between these gentlemen and the Upper Canada followers of Mr. J. S. Macdonald was brought about, much to the embarrassment of the Ministry. The publication of the returns of the census, which had just been completed, gave new life to the agitation for Rep. by Pop. as they showed that the population of the Upper Province was 300,000 in excess of that of Lower Canada. A measure embodying to some extent the principles contended for was, however, defeated by a vote of sixty-seven to forty-nine. On the 10th of June Parliament was dissolved, and at the ensuing general election the Government was sustained, notwithstanding the herculean efforts of the Opposition. Mr. Brown himself was defeated in East Toronto, and Mr. Dorion failed in Lower Canada. Mr. Brown remained out of Parliament until 1863; Mr. Dorion was returned for Hochelaga in the year following his defeat. Amongst the new members (subsequently noticed in our cartoons) were Alexander Mackenzie and H. G. Joly. Mr. Mackenzie was elected for Lambton, and has remained in Parliament to the present time. M. Joly sat as member for Lotbinière. Mr. Wm. Lyon Mackenzie, who had resigned his seat for Haldimand in 1858, died during the summer of this year.