ontreal in 1885. His
_Reminiscences_ is an authority of prime importance for the history of
his times.

That consistent, life-long Tory, Sir Allan MacNab, became the head of
the new ministry. The attorney-general for Upper Canada was John A.
Macdonald. Six members of the old Reform Cabinet sat in the new
ministry side by side with four Conservatives. This signified the
formation of a new party in Canada, the Liberal-Conservative, an
exactly {158} descriptive name, because it composed the best elements
of both parties. Under the leadership of John A. Macdonald it held
power for practically thirty years. That able politician, formed by
education in this country, not outside, perceived instinctively the
essential moderation of the Canadian temperament, and how alien to it
was the extravagance of _Rouge_ and Clear Grit. The national
temperament is cautious and bent to 'shun the falsehood of extremes.'
Under the dominance of the new-formed party the jarring scattered
provinces became one and grew to the stature of a nation.

Lord Elgin's reign was over. In the autumn of 1854 he made a tour of
the province and was everywhere received with unmistakable tokens of
appreciation and goodwill. He was right in thinking 'I have a strong
hold on the people of this country.' His administration represented
the triumph of a statesman's principle over every consideration of
convenience, popularity, and even safety. Thanks to his firmness and
his chivalrous conception of his office, government by the popular will
became established beyond shadow of change. To estimate the value of
his services to the commonwealth, {159} one has only to imagine a Sir
Francis Bond Head in his place during the crisis of the Rebellion
Losses Bill. A weaker man would have plunged the country into anarchy,
or have paltered and postponed indefinitely the true solution of a
vital constitutional problem.

No governor of Canada was ever worse treated by the Canadian people;
and yet no proconsul is entitled to more grateful remembrance in
Canada. In spite of that ill-treatment he grew to like the country.
His eloquent farewell speech at Quebec evinces genuine affection for
the land and genuine regret at having to leave it for ever. Like every
traveller who has known both countries, he was struck by the contrast
between 'the whole landscape bathed in a flood of that bright Canadian
sun' and 'our murky atmosphere on the other side of the Atlantic.' T