had to be set apart for the general
government of the federation. Some of the delegates from Ontario, where
there had existed for many years an admirable system of municipal
government, which provided funds for education and local improvements,
recognised the advantages of direct taxation; but the representatives of
the other provinces would not consent to such a system, especially in
the case of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, where
there were no municipal institutions, and the people depended almost
exclusively on the annual votes of the legislature for the means to meet
their local necessities. All of the delegates, in fact, felt that to
force the maritime provinces to resort to direct taxes as the only
method of carrying on their government, would be probably fatal to the
success of the scheme, and it was finally decided that the central
government should grant annual subsidies, based on population, relative
debts, financial position, and such other facts as should be fairly
brought into the consideration of the case.

It is unfortunate that we have no full report of the deliberations and
debates of this great conference. We have only a fragmentary record from
which it is difficult to form any adequate conclusions as to the part
taken by the several delegates in the numerous questions which
necessarily came under their purview.[4] Under these circumstances, a
careful writer hesitates to form any positive opinion based upon these
reports of the discussions, but no one can doubt that the directing
spirit of the conference was Sir John Macdonald. Meagre as is the record
of what he said, we can yet see that his words were those of a man who
rose above the level of the mere politician, and grasped the magnitude
of the questions involved. What he aimed at especially was to follow as
closely as possible the fundamental principles of English parliamentary
government, and to engraft them upon the general system of federal
union. Mr. George Brown took a prominent part in the deliberations. His
opinions read curiously now. He was in favour of having the
lieutenant-governors appointed by the general government, and he was
willing to give them an effective veto over provincial legislation. He
advocated the election of a legislative chamber on a fixed day every
third year, not subject to a dissolution during its term--also an
adaptation of the American system. He went so far as to urge the
advisability of ha