The office of minister of customs, which Mr. Tilley received, was thought by some of his friends to be less important than he deserved, they being of the opinion that he should have been made minister of finance. This office, however, went to Mr. Galt, who, owing to a difference with the rest of the government, resigned four months later, his place in the cabinet being taken by Sir John Rose, who held the office of finance minister until October, 1869, Sir Francis Hincks then receiving the appointment. It was not until the resignation of the latter in February, 1873, that Mr. Tilley became minister of finance. The office at first assigned to him, however, was one of great importance, involving as it did the reorganization of the entire establishment of the customs of Canada, and it gave ample scope for his great ability as a business man.
The elections for the House of Commons in the new parliament of Canada took place in August, when Tilley was chosen to represent the city of St. John, and John H. Gray, the county. It had been expected, in view of the fact that these men had been so largely instrumental in bringing about confederation, that they would be allowed to walk over the course unopposed. This was the case with Mr. Gray, whose candidature met with no opposition; but Mr. Tilley was opposed by Mr. John Wilson, who received a very small vote. This needless and futile opposition to the candidature of a man who deserved so well from the province, was merely one of the proofs of the existence of political rancour in the breasts of those who had been defeated on the confederation question.
FIRST CANADIAN PARLIAMENT
The first parliament of united Canada met on November 6th, 1867, and the address was moved by the Hon. Charles Fisher, who had been elected to represent the county of York. The session was a very long one, lasting until May 22nd of the following year; but there was an adjournment, extending from December 21st to March 20th. This meeting of parliament was especially memorable, inasmuch as it brought together, for the first time, the representatives of all the provinces, and the ablest men of all political parties. The people of Ontario and Quebec were little known to the people of the Maritime Provinces, and those who resided in the larger provinces in like manner knew comparatively little of their fellow-subjects who dwelt by the sea. It was expected by some that the Maritime Province representatives would be completely overshadowed by men of greater political reputation belonging to the larger provinces, but this did not prove to be the case. The Maritime representatives at once took a leading position in parliament, and this position they have steadily maintained down to the present time. No man stood better in the House of Commons than the representative from St. John, the Hon. S. L. Tilley. At that time Her Majesty, the Queen, in acknowledgment of his services in the cause of confederation, had created him a Companion of the Bath, a distinction which was also given to the Hon. Charles Tupper, of Nova Scotia.
A vast amount of business had to be disposed of at the first session of the parliament of Canada. Although the Union Act embodied the plan upon which confederation was founded, it was necessary to supplement it by a great deal of special legislation, for the purpose of interpreting it and making preparations for the practical working of the constitution. In all the discussions relative to the measures which had to be passed at that time, Tilley took a prominent part, and, when the session was over, he had established in the House of Commons, as fully as he had in the legislature of New Brunswick, a reputation for ability as a speaker and as a man of affairs. He was looked upon as one whose wide knowledge of the needs of the province and whose experience in departmental work were likely to be of the greatest use to the confederation. His high character gave weight at all times to his words, and caused him to be listened to with the most respectful attention. During the whole period that Tilley sat in the House of Commons, he had the pleasure of knowing that even his political enemies respected his character and abilities, and, with the exception of the premier, perhaps no man wielded a more potent influence in the councils of the Dominion than he.
It is not necessary here to trace to any large extent the career of Sir S. L. Tilley in the parliament of Canada; that belongs rather to the history of the Dominion than to a work which deals particularly with his connection with his native province. Only so much of his public life in the House of Commons will be dealt with as seems necessary to complete his personal history. Tilley continued to hold the position of minister of customs during the whole of the term of the first parliament of Canada. This parliament held five sessions and dissolved in the summer of 1872, the general election being in the month of July, upon which occasion he was reëlected for the city of St. John without opposition.
MINISTER OF FINANCE
The second parliament met on March 5th, 1873. Eleven days before that time Mr. Tilley had become minister of finance, succeeding Sir Francis Hincks, who had resigned that office after holding it for more than three years. The advancement of Mr. Tilley to this responsible and influential position was very pleasing to his friends, and was received with satisfaction by the country generally.
The first confederation ministry of Canada resigned office on November 5th, 1873, under circumstances which are a part of the political history of the Dominion and need not be gone into in this volume, further than to say that, whatever basis there may have been for charges of corruption in connection with the Pacific Railway contract against other persons in the government, none were ever preferred against Mr. Tilley; nor did any one suspect or believe that he had anything whatever to do with the transactions which led to the resignation of the government. Prior to that event Mr. Tilley had been appointed lieutenant-governor of the province of New Brunswick in succession to the Hon. Lemuel A. Wilmot, whose term had expired. Every one felt that the honour thus bestowed upon Tilley was a most fitting one, for he was New Brunswick's foremost son in political life, and had reached his high position purely through his own ability and his own good character. That position he filled a greater number of years than any of his successors are likely to do, and it is admitted on all sides that no man could have performed the duties of the office more satisfactorily than he did.