ce entered the
confederation of Canada in 1871 it was governed by a lieutenant-governor
appointed by the crown, a legislature composed of heads of the public
departments and several elected members. With the entrance of this
province, so famous now for its treasures of gold, coal and other
minerals in illimitable quantities, must be associated the name of Sir
Joseph Trutch, the first lieutenant-governor under the auspices of the
federation. The province did not come into the union with the same
constitution that was enjoyed by the other provinces, but it was
expressly declared in the terms of union that "the government of the
Dominion will readily consent to the introduction of responsible
government when desired by the inhabitants of British Columbia."
Accordingly, soon after its admission, the province obtained a
constitution similar to that of other provinces: a lieutenant-governor,
a responsible executive council and an elective assembly. Representation
was given it in both houses of the Dominion parliament, and the members
took their seats during the session of 1872. In addition to the payment
of a considerable subsidy for provincial expenses, the Dominion
government pledged itself to secure the construction of a railway within
two years from the date of union to connect the seaboard of British
Columbia with the railway system of Canada, to commence the work
simultaneously at both ends of the line, and to complete it within ten
years from the admission of the colony to the confederation.

In 1872 a general election was held in the Dominion, and while the
government was generally sustained, it came back with a minority from
Ontario. The Riel agitation, the Washington Treaty, and the undertaking
to finish the Pacific railway in so short a time, were questions which
weakened the ministry. The most encouraging feature of the elections
was the complete defeat of the anti-unionists in Nova Scotia,--the
prelude to their disappearance as a party--all the representatives, with
the exception of one member, being pledged to support a government whose
chief merit was its persistent effort to cement the union and extend it
from ocean to ocean. Sir Francis Hincks, finance minister since 1870,
was defeated in Ontario and Sir George Cartier in Montreal. Both these
gentlemen found constituencies elsewhere, but Sir George Cartier never
took his seat, as his health had been seriously impaired, and he died in
England in 1873. The stat