that in the original draft
of the bill the united provinces were called the "Kingdom of Canada,"
but when it came eventually before parliament they were designated as
the "Dominion of Canada"; and the writer had it from Sir John Macdonald
himself that this amendment did not emanate from the colonial delegates
but from the imperial ministry, one of whose members was afraid of
wounding the susceptibilities of United States statesmen.

During the same session the imperial parliament passed a bill to
guarantee a loan of three million pounds sterling for the construction
of an intercolonial railway between Quebec and the coast of the maritime
provinces--a work recognised as indispensable to the success of the new
federation. Her Majesty's proclamation, giving effect to the Union Act,
was issued on the 22nd May, 1867, declaring that "on and after the first
of July, 1867, the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick,
shall form and be one Dominion, under the name of Canada."

CHAPTER IX.

CONFEDERATION. 1867--1900.

SECTION I--The first parliament of the Dominion of Canada. 1867--1872.

The Dominion of Canada took its place among the federal states of the
world on the first of July, 1867. Upper and Lower Canada now became
known as Ontario and Quebec, while Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
retained their original historic names. The first governor-general was
Viscount Monk, who had been head of the executive government of Canada
throughout all the stages of confederation. He was an Irish nobleman,
who had been a junior lord of the treasury in Lord Palmerston's
government. He was a collateral descendant of the famous general of the
commonwealth, created Duke of Albemarle after the Restoration. Without
being a man of remarkable ability he was gifted with much discretion,
and gave all the weight of his influence to bring about a federation,
whose great benefits from an imperial as well as a colonial point of
view he fully recognised.

The prime minister of the first federal government was naturally Sir
John Macdonald, who chose as his colleagues Sir George E. Cartier, Sir
S.L. Tilley,--to give them all their later titles--Sir A.T. Galt, Sir
W.P. Howland, Mr. William McDougall, Mr. P. Mitchell, Sir A.G.
Archibald, Mr. A.F. Blair, Sir A. Campbell, Sir H.L. Langevin, Sir E.
Kenny, and Mr. J.C. Chapais. Mr. Brown had retired from the coalition
government of 1864 some months before the union, nominally on a
disag