Public men and public life in Canada; the story of the Canadian confederacy, being recollections of Parliament and the press and embracing a succinct account of the stirring events which led to the confederation of British North America into the Dominion of Canada . installed in power amidst manysigns of popular was the position ofaffairs when Sir Charles Met-calfe arrived from Jamaica toassume the Governor-General-ship in March, 1843. He hadbeen trained in the arbitraryrule of India, knew little ofparliamentary government, andsecretly prompted, it is be-lieved, by Downing S
Public men and public life in Canada; the story of the Canadian confederacy, being recollections of Parliament and the press and embracing a succinct account of the stirring events which led to the confederation of British North America into the Dominion of Canada . installed in power amidst manysigns of popular was the position ofaffairs when Sir Charles Met-calfe arrived from Jamaica toassume the Governor-General-ship in March, 1843. He hadbeen trained in the arbitraryrule of India, knew little ofparliamentary government, andsecretly prompted, it is be-lieved, by Downing Street re-actionaries, whose stupidityand blundering had long been proverbial. HisExcellency arrogantly began to exercise the pre-rogatives of the Crown, notonly without the consent ofhis constitutional advisers, butwithout even consulting action of Sir Charles,whether inspired by LordStanley, then Colonial Secre-tary, or by his own arbitraryideas, involved the subversionof Responsible Government,and the country was immedi-ately plunged again into violentpolitical excitement over the old question whetherpopular government should be upheld or was a dangerous crisis, but Messrs. Baldwin andLafontaine, the Reform leaders, rose equal to the. Robert Baldwin. 31 PUBLIC MEN AND PUBLIC LIFE IN CANADA occasion. True to the people and their principles,when they found their advice no longer accepted bythe representative of the Crown, they patrioticallyresigned their offices in the Government, a coursewhose constitutionality and dignity has been univer-sally recognized. Then began the final battle forResponsible Government in Canada, the bitternessand violence of which hardly can be realized at thepresent day. The result has long been a matter of history. SirCharles Metcalfe unconstitutionally ruled the Pro-vince for nine months, without any Government atall; then he partially filled up the offices under thepremiership of the Hon. W. H. Draper (afterwardsChief Justice
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