PORTA ES

ae

She

SRE

412 The Last Forty Years.

imperatively forced upon him.* The measure was defeated by a vote of 67 to 49, a considerable number of Upper Canadian members voting against it. Various motions of want of confidence in the Administration were introduced by the Opposition, not with any distinct idea that they could be successful, but merely for the purpose of embarrassing the Ministry, and of producing an effect upon the country at large with a view to the general elections which were to be held in the course of the year. An effective point was made against the Government for having made advances to the Grand Trunk Raïlway without legislative authority. Considerable stress was also laid upon the fact that Mr. Morrison, who had held the office of Solicitor-General West ever since his appointment in February, 1860, had not succeeded in obtaining a seat in either House of Parliament, but had on the contrary been defeated as a candidate for the county of Grey. After his defeat he had tendered his resignation, but his colleagues had refused to accept it, and had pressed him to remain in the Government. A motion was introduced by Mr. Notman during the session to the effect that Mr. Morrison’s retention of office under the circumstances above detailed was subversive of the first principles of Responsible Government, and a most dangerous violation of the spirit of the constitution. This motion was defeated in its turn, the vote standing 61 to 50. Mr. Morrison'’s conduct was thus sustained by the House, but the discussion on the subject tended to the further weakening of the Ministry, who found themselves much less confident at the close of the session than at the beginning.

The sessional legislation was unimportant from an historical point of view. The prorogation took place on the 18th of May. On the 10th of June a proclamation by the Governor-General put an end to the Sixth Parliament, On the 12th, Mr. Rose resigned the post

*‘1t must be admitted that on this particular question M. Cartier shows to great disadvantage, The lawyer and the sectionalist are seen everywhere; the statesman and the Canadian nowhere,”—Cunadian Portrait Gallery, Vol, I., p. 83.

The Eve of Confederation. 413

of Solicitor-General East, together with his seat in the Cabinet. He was succeeded by Mr. Cauchon, who had rendered a qualified support to the Administration ever since the Double Shuffle, and whose support had grown stronger with time. Mr. Rose’s resignation was not aétributable to any difference with his colleagues. It was due partly to his want of the practical knowledge necessary for adequately discharging the duties of his Department, and partly to his impaired health, begotten of the labours incidental to his public duties and a large professional business. He retained his seat in Parliament, aud continued to support the Ministry so long as they remained in power.

The general elections came off during the summer, and though the campaign was conducted with vigour, it was attended by much less disorder than had marked previous contests. The ministerial programme simply embodied a continuation of the existing policy. The chief planks in the Opposition platform were retrenchment and Representation by Population, in addition to a general condemnation of the Government. The most was made of the unauthorized advances to the Grand Trunk Raïlway already referred to, and the presence in the Cabiaet of the Hon. John Ross, who was President of the Company, was denounced without stint; as was also that of Mr. Morrison, who had held office so long without a seat in Parliament. The result of the contest as a whole was that the ministerial ascendency was maintained. Each side gained some unexpected ad-antages, and each also sustained some serious losses, Many prominent members failed to secure reëlection, In Upper Canada the Opposition sustained a serious loss by the defeat of Mr. Brown in East Toronto, where he was successfully opposed by Mr. John Crawford, a supporter of the Government. Messieurs À. A. Dorion, Lemieux and Thibaudeau, Mr. Brown's somewhile colleag1es, also sustained defeat in their respective constituencies in Lower Canada. The most significant ministerial defeats were those of the Postmaster-General

DTA nos me

Rene

pren

414 The Last Forty Years.

(Sidney Smith) and Ogle R. Gowan in Upper Canada, and of Solicitor- General Morin and Messieurs Dunkin and Campbell in Lower Canada. Mr. Brown, who was in ill-health, did not seek another constituency at that time, and did not reënter public life until 1863. Mr. A. A. Dorion remained out of Parliament for a year, when he was returned for Hochelaga. Mr. Lemieux was elected to the Upper House for the De la Durantaye Division at the biennial election of 1862. Mr. Thibaudeau’s defeat was final, and we shall not meet him again. The Postmaster-General's defeat was remedied by his election to the Legislative Council for the Trent Division, and he was thus enabled to retain his portfolio without any violation of the Parliamentary proprieties. Solicitor-G2neral Morin, after being defeated in Terrebonne, was returned for Laval, the sitting member for that constituency having been appointed to a public office. Mr. Dunkin also obtained a constituency in the following spring, when he was returned for Brome. Major Campbell did not reënter the Parliamentary arena.

The most conspicuous new members were Alexander Mackenzie, Henri Gustave Joly, Henri Elzéar Taschereau and Joseph Goderic Blanchet. Mr. Mackenzie, who was returned for Lambton, then began that busy and useful Parliamentary career with the course of which every Canadian of the present day is familiar. He is a native of Perthshire, Scotland, where he in his youth learned and practised the trade of a stonemason. In 1842, being then twenty years of age, he emigrated to Canada and settled at Kingston, whence, in 1847, he removed to the neighbourhood of Sarnia. He carried on his trade, and also successfully engaged in business as a builder and contractor. He attained a high reputation throughout the neighbourhood in which he resided as a self-made man of exceptional industry and ability, and of unquestionable honesty of purpose. Being a very pronounced Reformer, and a strong supporter of Mr, Brown, he for some time edited and conducted a newspaper published at Sarnia in