IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 ■f-iifi ^^' Sf 124 ' 2.2 m m m 124 WUb ^ IIIIIJ4 7 /•■ h Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STRUT WnSTIR.N.Y. 14SS0 (716)S7-i-4S03 -_.b- - -t.^ J , J.., ,.lioth^ua Tha Imagaa appaaring hara ara tha baat quality posslbia conaldaring tha condition and lagibliity of tha original copy and in kaaping with tha filming contract apaciflcationa. Original copiaa in printad papar eovara ara filmad beginning with tha front covar and anding on tha last paga with a printad or illuatratad impraa- sion, or tha back covar whan eppropriata. All othar original copiaa ara filmad beginning on tha first paga with a printad or illuatratad impraa- sion, and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or illuatratad impraaaion. Tha laat racordad frama on aach microficha shall contain tha aymbol ^^> (moaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha aymbol ▼ (meaning "END"), whichever appiiaa. Mapa, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratioa. 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Un dea symbolaa suivants apparaltra sur la damiAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbo:e — »> signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Lee cartea, planchaa, tableaux, etc.. peuvent Atre filmte A dea taux de reduction diffArents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul cilchA, il est film* A partir de I'angle supArieur gauche, de gauche h droite, et de haut an baa, en prenant le nombre d'imeges nicessalra. Lea diagrammea suivants illustrant la mAthoda. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 * • • f y^, THE FIRST TEN YEARS OF THE CANADIAN DOMINION BY GOl.DWIN SMITH. On the first of July last the Dominion of Canada entered on the second decade of its existence. A natural opportunity is thus presented for reviewing its brief history, and the success of its effort to solve the political problems to the pres- sure of which it owed its origin. Such a review will be found to be not without interest to the student of political sci- ence, esi)ecially in England, for Canada exhibits the British Constitution under a ]>eculiar set of circumstances, by which its operation is modified in a way that is at once interesting and important. Even before the formation of the Dominion the Canadian colonies had excited inter- est among Hriti.sh statesmen by success- fully grappling with some problems, like that of a State Church, which formed a burden rather than an advantage of the inheritance received from the mother country ; but since the confederation of the colonies, ten years ago, their politi- cal transactions have risen in imperial significance. The neighborhood of Can- ada to the United States, and the inti- mate commercial and social relations which that neighborhood ails, have already brought, and mu. itinue to bring, the affairs of the Do ...ion before the Imperial Government in a way that is sometimes mo-e important than pleas- ant ; while, amoi-'g themselves, the Cana- dians are now feeing the storm and stress of conflicts which, even in the varied j)olilicaI history of England, have not been completely fought out, and may therefore be forced upon her yet. It may not be unnecessary to remind some readers that, previously to 1867, the British American jjrovinces stood to each other practically in the relation of foreign countries. Governed by wholly independent legislatures, separated by dissimilar tariffs, they were united only by the unobtrusive bond of a common v-^-" I ^\ Kt !/(*. t^ U ynX^- U-Ci MiPr'H. ;.R w. /. i it'Li.t' ^^ - ( V !-•) i-< :«• / i 7) /WiK^X, 'vA,^ 1878. THE FIRST TEN YEARS OF THE CANADIAN DOMINION. 7«3 dc|>cnerial (iovernmcnt of (ircat Hritain. Political thinkers who wt-re liberal enough to be inlliienced by other considerations than the ]>arty (jues- tions of the hour, saw that s\u h relations were indisputably hostile to the interest of all the jtrovinres concerned, which could ho|)e for a position of iniportanc e on the American continent only by such unre- stri( ted comnierc ial andscu ial intercourse as might ultimately weld them into one l)eoi)le. It was evidently also in the in- terest of the Imperial (iovernment that the colonial minister in London, instead of being obliged to deal with a number of i)etty states, should be able to corre- spond with a single government repre- sentative of them all. Hut the circum- stances which led immediately to the confederation of the IJritish American provinces cannot be understood without a brief reference to the previous history of Canada. When Canada was ceded to Great Brit- ain it was all embraced under one prov- ince, extending somewhat indefinitely into the West, and known by the nan e of the province of Quebec. In 1791 the western section of the province, which had meanwhile been j)opulated by Kng- lish settlers, was separated into an inde- pendent province, with British institu- tions, while the eastern section contin- ued to retain its original French charac- ter. These two provinces, of Upper Canada or Canada West, a. id Lower Canada or Canada East, remained sepa- rate till 1840, when they were united into one province, styled the Province of Canada, in the hope of allaying the po- litical discontent which haci culminated in the rebellion of 1837. In this prov- ince, down till the period of confedera- tion, ten years ago, politicians had been divided into two parties, one of which was distinguished by the name of Con- scnti/iirs, while their opponents were known as Liberals or Reformers, though commonly dubbed, in more familiar style. Clear Grits in Upper Canada, and Rouges among the French of the Lower Province. The history of the struggle between these two parties may be read still with a little more than ordinary hu- man perseverance, but by no human in- telligence can it be comprehended. Its incomprehensibility does not indeed arise Jrom the absence of any cjuestion suffi- cient to call the politii al combatants to arms, for at times there was a measure of solid imi)ortance flaunted by one of the parties as a standard round wlii( h its forces rallied. Hut even in sue h cases it is im|iossible to see why the measure should have been taken under i)rotc(tion by its advocates rather than by its o])po- nents. The studont of the period, whose imagination cannot now be fired by the heat of its burnt-out passions, fails, even after jiatient investigation, to discover any general jirinciple which uniformly inspired either party, and breathed a soul into the particular measures for whic h it fought. The rapidly changing adminis- trations of those years show, at this dis- tance, a scene not unlike a well-known juvenile sport, in which boys divide themselves into two sets, for the mere enjoyment of a tug against each other's strength, and, after one set is victorious, divide themselves again and again, till they get worn out. I'nfortunately in contests of this kind, bloodless though they be, mere mortals, unlike the ghostly heroes of Walhalla, do at last become exhausted. This exhaustion came all the more naturally upon the combatants in the political arena of Old Canada, owing to the circumstance that for some time neither party was cheered by any decisive victory. In truth, their strug- gles assumed a serio-comic aspect at times, as one administration after another attempted to carry on the business of the country by a majority which occasionally reduced itself to a unit, and was likely to become a vanishing fraction or a minus quantity whenever a test (piestion was pressed to a decision. Can we wonder that in these circumstances both parties at last laid down their arms in des|)air, and sought a peaceful settlement of their quarrels ? I-ooking from our passionless distance at those old conflicts, one may reasona- bly question whether the political system of the province was not less to blame for their fruitless perpetuation than the in- competence of the polemical politicians by whom they were carried on. But however this may be, the fault of the deadlock between the two parties was charged by the politicians, not on them- selves, but on the political arrangement by which the two Canadas were united. As a result of this, a coalition was formed \ rt 7'4 THE FIRST TEN YEARS OF THE CANADIAN DOMINION. June, for the purjtosc of l)rcaking up the union of the two Canadas, and merging them separately in a larger ( onfecleration of the I'ritish Anieric an j>ro\ inc es. After a considerable amount of preliminary ne- gotiation, matters were suftic iently ad- vanced in 1H66 to admit of r()vinces which its f attaininff L-ntail ujjon js exjK'ndi- vernments, governor, a, ivc bodies, > one prov- Quebec or nment they revenue to natural re- ve chamber gnity which )t to invest sphere with nies. rangements ered on the troblems of ical outlook le old fac- nterminable e seemed to bier destiny g with their 11 the other great nation jrican conti- e interpreta- by the ma- ghout Cana- iretation on he new Do- ime minister uided by an msideration. ial delegates etails of the rranged, the Sir John A. ten leader of le old Prov- ion to which f his fellow- on of the po- ig the public ;overnor-gen- 1878. THE FIRST TEN YEARS OF THE CANADIAN DOMINION. 7'5 eral therefore naturally tailed upon him to assume the duties of the first premier, and to form the first (lovernment of the new Dominion. In the perf(>rman( e of this task Sir John Mac don.ild ac ted on the understanding that the ( oalition out of whi( h the confederation arose would be continued still, in order to ovv^rcome any ditiliculties whi< h might arise in get- ting the new ship of the State fairly off the stocks. Accordingly he invited l)rominent Reformers as well as Con- servatives to ac ( ept offic e in his cabinet, his intention being that, as far as the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario were concerned, his (lovernment should rep- resent iipially both of the old parties. His invitation was accepted by several of the leading men among his old oj)po- nents, and there seemecl a fair prospect that one great object of the confedera- tion was to be acc;omplished — that the bells which rang in the first Dominion Day would ring out the ' ancient forms of party strife.' lUit the spirit of the old factions died hard. The calm which preceded the birth of the new constitution was but the l)relu(ie to a stormful party fight. Some time before, indeed, an incident had oc- curred of ill omen for the success of the coalition, which was seeking to merge the i)olitical differences of the past in a larger sphere of future work. While the coalition was maturing its plans, one of its members, the Hon. George Brown, suddenly resigned his portfolio, without any definite indication of the reason which led him to abandon his colleagues. Mr Brown had long been a recognized leader of the Reform party, and, there- fore, one of the chief opponents of the new premier, Sir John Macdonald. His action necessarily excited a feeling of uneasiness at the time, and seemed to receive its explanation afterwards, when the writs for the first general election were issued, and Mr. Brown explicitly declared the policy he intended to adopt under the altered circumstances of the country. Sir John Macdonald had succeeded in forming a cabinet fairly representing the parties of the old Province of Canada, as well as the other provinces of the Domin- ion. To Mr. Brown it was a sufficient objection to the ministry that its head was his old political foe. His friends of the Reform \> My, who had .i< repted office, be( ame thereby in his eyes rene- gades from the cause of Reform ; and if any one urged that it was unfair to at- tai k the new administration before its poli' y was known, the answer was ready, that the only safe government is by par- ties, and that it would be h.i/.irdous to the interests of the new Dominion if its (iovernment were unwatc hed and un- checked by a regularly organized oppo- sition. Mr. Brown has had the advantage, during the greater part of his public career, of possessing, as an exponent of his opinions, the most ])opular news- l)aper in Canada. About these oi>inions it is evident that he is thoroughly in earnest : he acts and s|)eaks with the passion of intense conviction. Vet wiih every allowance for the earnestness o*" his intentions, and in view of all that his organ had to say in defence of his posi- tion at this crisis, we cannot but regard that position as involving a political blunder of the most serious nature. pAen from his own point of view, was it legitimate to let the government of the country slip from the hands of his i)arty, to fall uncier the control of i)olitic:ians whose principles were worthy of being denounced in the passionate language which he uniformly employs ? He had, at the time, not only a right to demancl for his party an ecpial share with his o])- ponents in the administration of public affairs, but he had also an opportunity offered by the premier of asserting that right. To demand that his party should exercise no influence on the business of the country beyond that which i)roceeds from the opposition benches, when they had the right and power of controlling the Treasury, seemed to many to involve a betrayal, not only of the interests of party, but of the more sacred interests of the whole people. But the history of the formation of the Dominion was meaningless if Mr. Brown's position was justifiable. By common consent the new confederation was to drovtu in a flood of wider sym])athies the arbitrary landmarks by which the old parties had been separated. Yet here was a ])roposal that the confederation should start on its young career by insti- tuting a division of parties, which, as the nature of the case implied, was demand- 7i6 Tnr; first ten years of the Canadian dominion. June, c old friends whic h h.id sided with .Mr. Mrown, and he was there- fore driven to seek assistanc e from allies from whom it would have been to his .ul- vantage if he had held aloof. .\i c ord- ingly the Government of Ontario, though headed by an old Liberal minister, and representing a decidedly Liberal prov- ince, soon began to show tendencies to- wards a juilicy in distiiic t antagonism to the jirinc i])les of all Liberal government. It was thus in the legislative assembly of Ontario that the new issues of political warfare in Canada first assumed delinite shape, and it was here that |)oiiticians began to range themselves into new par- ties. Any one who watc:hed with earnest eyes the contests in the legislature of ()ntario could scan;ely fail to see, and to see more clearly from year to year, tiiat here Liberalism had met its old foe in new shapes, and was surely fighting a battle which should not be without an interest to men. We take it that the struggle of Liberal statesmanship in all ages has been to find an eflec tive check by the people upon their exec utive gov- ernment ; and the foe of Liberalism all along has been the endecivor of political adventurers — be they monarchs, heredi- tary oligarchies, or cabinets of ministers — to hold themselves above popular con- trol. Under a const r on like that of Canada, and still more nder one like the American, it is not difficult to see how a cabinet, by unscrupulous artifices, might attain a position almost as free from res])onsibility to the people as that of the veriest hereditary despot — a posi- tion from which they could be dislcjtlged only by an extraordinary outburst of I)opular indignation. One source of enormous power which a Government possesses for securing its position unjustly is to be found in the expenditure on public works. In a new country such expenditure must always be large, and in Canada ten years ago it was unusually increased owing to works i 7.8 TFIF, FIRST TEN YEARS OF THE CANADIAN DOMINION. June, whirh had to 1)C undertaken l»y the very terms of the confederation. It is not ne< essary to explain how favors ran he shown to contractors which will c-all forth their energies when the existcnrc of a dm eminent is iniiierilied, and open their |)iirses when an elec tioneerin^ fund is getting exhausted. The hordes of men also employed by large (lovernment contractors can easily he niade to feel an interest in the party through whom they have obtained their immediate occupa- tion. Hut an attem[)t at corruption of a somewhat novel c:harac:ter was made, cs- l)ecially in the Province of Ontario, by the bribery of entire localities. In the loc aticjn of national institutions the Gov- ernment of this province gave it to be understood by unmistakable actions, and even by unmistakable language, that they were guided not so much by a regard for the interests of the people at large as by the intention of rewarding those constituencies which had sent rep- resentatives to the right side of the House. This i)olicy c:ulniinated in a measure which the (lovernment used its majority to carry in the legislative assembly on the eve of the second provincial election. By this measure one and a half million of dollars were placed absolutely at the disposal of the Government, with the single restric:tion that it was to be dis- tributed in bonuses to projected railways in different parts of the province. On several occasions previously the Government had, not without strenuous opposition, obtained smaller grants for various works, without any specifica- tions, and therefore without any reliable estimates. In the case of the large rail- way grant, though the sum formed part of an accumulated surplus in the provin- cial treasury, the English reader ought to bear in mind that it represented nearly the whole annual revenue of the province at the time ; and this sum was handed over to the Government without any specification as to the particular projects which were to be assisted, and without the roughest estimate of the amount which each might reciuire. In view of the ])rinciples by which the Government had given it to be understood that they were guided in the expenditure of public money on different localities, and in view of the fact that nearly every county had some pet railway project on hand at the time, it would not have been surpris- ing if the Government bait had caught every consiitueni y in the province. It is to the c redit of the |)olitical sentiment of Ontario that the people refused the bait. The opjiosition h.id all along |)ro- tested against the Government asking for large sums while they refused to give the n(»use spec ifu information as to the na- ture and loc ality and estimated cost of the works on whic h the sums were to be expended. It was on this point spec ial- ly, and with more prominent reference to the large railway grant, that the oppo- sition met the ministerial party ;it the ]»olls in 1 87 I. We believe that the more dispassionately this crisis comes to be estimated, the more it will be recognized that the very princ iple of constitutional government was at stake in the election. No i)lea can be advanced in defence of the ministerial polic:y whic^h would not ecpially have justified the ministry in ask- ing for a vote of the entire revenue for each year in a lump sum, without laying any estimates before the House. It has long been a familiar common-place in the l)olitics of constitutional countries, that the legislative body, which represents the people, must be satisfied as to the neces- sity and expediency of all expenditure in the public service before voting the rec]uisite grants, and that this i)rinciple forms the one effective check which the people hold over the men who control the machinery of government. Without this check, the forms of representative government might be relegated among the solemn farces which still impart the dignity of a hollow stateliness to many departments of human action. An ad- ministration therefore which acts on the principle of demanding enormous sums, while retaining to itself the unchecked control of their expenditure in detail, is on the fair way to meet the House some day with a preposterous speech from the throne : — Gentlemen, my ministers have formed care- ful estimates of the amounts which will be required for their respective departments, and from these estimates I find that the total amount demanded by the exigencies of the public service will be so many millions. It is evidently for the interests of the country that the public service should not be interfered with by men who have not the special ac> quaintance that my ministers possess with its requirements. I shall therefore simply ask you to vote the total sum which I have :i«5w»- N. June, K'cn siirpris- had <\iiight rnvin(f. It al sfiitinu-nt rc'fiisrd the II alonj; \)To- nt a>kin^; for il to j^ivc tl\e IS to the na- itfd ( ost of IS were to he )oint spccial- nt rt I'crence at lliL- ojjpo- |)arty iit tho hat the more omes to be e recognized onstitiitional the election. n defence of h would not nistry in ask- ,' revenue for ithout laying )u.se. It has i-place in the nintries, that epresents the to the neces- tpenditure in voting the his i)rinciple ck which the who control It. Without epresentative gated among II impart the less to many ion. An ad- !i acts on the rmous sums, e unchecked ; in detail, is House some ech from the ■e forp-.tfd care- which will be partments, and that the total ^encics of the millions. It is e country that be interfered he special ac- 3ssess with its re simply ask vhich I have 1878. THE FIRST TEN YEARS OF THE CANADIAN DOMINION 7'9 nnincil ; and I h.ivc the nr.iiitiiitinn of know- irtK lliat you will ihin hr rr»«orc> the voice of the electors at the polls. Feel- ing ( onfident in the result of the elec- tions, the opposition determined to put the (loverntnent on its trial at the very (.pening of the new legislative assembly. When tile address was moved, they pro- posed an amendment condemning the l)oli( y of the ministry in reference to the railway grant, and the amendment was carried by a small majority. The min- istry jiretended to treat the vote as not implying want of confidence ; but an additional vote, with an overwhelming majority, compelled them to abandon the treasury benches with some loss of dig- nity at last. The course of political affairs in the Province of Ontario was but an inner circle of the wider course taken by the j)olitics of the Dominion. Here the opposition was led by the present prime minister, the Hon. Alexander Macken- zie. For the first two or three years its feebleness obliged it to content itself with aimless criticism of isolated meas- ures ; but by-and-by the ministry began to indicate a policy similar to that which had called forth a victorious opposition in Ontario. It has been observed above that the fundamental safeguard of all constitutional government is that the ex- ecutive shall be held under as minute and incessant control as the public service will allow, and that the one foe of all constitutional government is the political adventurer who endeavors to hold him- self above such control. Legislation may of course render the ambition of such adventurers more difficult, but every system of government is exposed to peril from the unscrupulousness of the men by whom it may l)e administered. The circumstances of Canada, as of all new countries, form a peculiar source of temptation to corruption in the adminis- tration of her Government. From the very nature of the case, a new country cannot possess that leisurely class of men from whom Kngl.ining their power in all those ways to se< lire a verdii t in their fa\or .it the polls. rile ele» tioiis were Itroiigiit on in an (jrder whi( h was wholly inexplic a- lile ex< ept in the interest of the ministry. Votes were olitaiiied from men whose employment in the service of the nation ought to keep them aloof from the ser- vice of a |>arty. In more than one in- stance a returning-oflic er sent in a return so manifestly in opposition to the fac ts, that the (lovernment, out of self-respect, should have at one e sitbjected the offen- der to c riminal prosec ution. Hut it was mainly by their c:ondu( t in reference to the laws against bribery, and by the advantage whit h they took of the la.vity of these laws, that tiie min- istry brought ui)on themselves their de- feat. It had been well enougli known to every one in Canada for a long time that rei)resentative government was being rendered a laughing-stoek by the e.vtent to whieh bsibery was being carried on by all parties. All the evidenc:e on the sub- ject shows that neither party throughout the country could boast of superior free- dom from this corruption. Only this can be said of the leaders in the opposi- tion at the time, that they demandecj the legislation which has since been ob- tained, and which has proved a very forinitlable impediment to bribery and other dishonorable influences at elec- tions. 'i"he Government, however, by its overpowering majority in parliament, crushed all attempts at legislation in this direction, r.nd the result was that the second election for the Dominion House of Commons was disgraced by an exten- sive system of bribery, in which, accord- ing to their own confession, the leaders of the Government were deeply involved. The sources from which the Govern- ment obtained funds for bribery were various ; but after every allowance for disinterested subscriptions from consci- entious supporters, there remain enor- mous sums, which no statesman should ever have allowed himself to touch, or. if tempted to use, c<»ulcl ever have spo- ken of afterwards without a feeling of shame. There was even a |»revalenl sus- |ii< ion that the public money was being misdirected to electioneering purposes; and though it m.iy be admitted tli.it the suspicion w.is foiiiided on a mistake, it must also be borne in mind that the pre- mier was himself entirely to blame for giving c iirreni y to the siispic ion. .\ motion had been introclticeil into the House of Commons at Ottawa for a con- fidential audit of the expenditure on the .Sec ret Servic e I'und, and the motion was defended by a reference to British prac- tice. The Government, however, suc- ceeded in defeating the motion, and Sir Jcjhn Mac ilonald, in vindicating after- wards his opposition to the motion, not content with denying that the deniand for a confulential auclit was justified by British usage, made the astounding as- sertion that, if a cabinet in l-lngland went out of otlice with t'ioo,ooo of se- c ret service money to their credit, they could employ it in carrying the elections against their opponents. It is somewhat sur])rising that this statement did not at- tract attention or call forth any protest from the English jiress at the time, and that it was only after some years that Sir John Macdonald acknowledged his mis- apprehension about the practice of Brit- ish statesmen in reference to the use of Secret Service Funds. But however well or ill founded may have been the suspicion that the Domin- ion Government were abusing the public money for party jjurposes, their own confession places beyond all controversy the notorious attempt to maintain their position by corrupt influences in connec- tion with the projected Pacific Railway through Canadian territory. This scan- dal received such prominent notice in the English press at the time, and is still so recent, that it is unnecessary to revive its details at present. One or two points of special political importance are all that recpiire to be remembered. In the first place, the Pacific Railway Bill contained in an aggravated form those unconstitutional features which have been already pointed out in the earlier railway bill of the administration in Ontario. It handed over absolutely to the (iovernment, along with fifty mil- lion acres of land, the sum of thirty mil- I ).V June, r'er have s|»o- a fcflinj; of •rcvalcnt mis- i-y was Itoin^ ^^^ pnrji'isfs ; ttfil til It the a iniNtake, it that the pre- to l>lame for is|)i( ii)ii. A eil into the Ail for a lon- (litiire on the e molicjii was Hritish prac- Dwever, suc- tion, and Sir icating afler- ; motion, not the (leinantl justified by tounding as- in Knghmd 3o,ooo of se- < redit, tliey the elec tions is somewhat It did not at- 1 any i)rotest he time, and ('ears that Sir Iged his mis- :tice of ]}rit- to the use of founded may t the Domin- ig the public , their own controversy aintain their ;s in connec- :ific Railway This scan- nt notice in s, and is still ary to revive Dr two points ;e are all that :ific Railway avated form tures which out in the Iministration ;r absolutely ■ith fifty niil- )f thirty mil- I 1878. ROlNn TIIF. WORLD IN A YACHT. 7" I I I i lion dollars — .1 Mim fully ccpial to the j>iil>li< revenue of the whole !>oniinion for a year and a half ; and the people — the House of Commons — were thus left witlniut a voire as to the route whi( h the railway should take, or even the most general cletails of its ronslru< tion. In the seiond jilare, numbers of the < abi- net (onfessed to ha\ing accepted for tle«:tioneering purposes a sum — whi( h in C.inada must be a<rec!i< turns ; but it i^ a cpicN- tion whic h is of interest only in so fur as the ministry rc.ili/e the mi>Mou wliicli tlK'V ha\e undertaken, and to whw h thev owe their position— of fighting the battle of con-,tilution.il governiii; at in Canad.i. Certainly nothing has happened which should make tlie iountry forget the seri- ous f.iiilts of the pre\ ions administration ; but the temper of politic al disc us>iion, both in the House of Commons at Otta- wa and throughout the Dominion, gives too great reason to fe.ir that i»oliiKians are settling again into two factions, sep- arated by no princ i|)k e\c ept the com- mon conviction of the desirability of being in olttc e. However convenient this state cif things may be for the |)ro- fessional ]tolitic ian, it is a result which can be contem|ilated only with the deep- est cone em by every earnest student of jjolitical affairs. Not only wcjiild such a result defeat one great end of the Cana- dian confederation, but it would give a new force to one of the great pc rils of ])c)pular government. Let us hojje that the premier of the Dominion and his associates may prove themselves ecpial to their mission, and that they may iind some safeguard for constitutional free- dom against that despotism of party M'hich has formed one of its most powerful foes at all times, and now forms its peculiar foe on the cjther side of the Atlantic, — British Quarterly Review. .AfUu.^ /^7S