and Lord Elgin had been acting so
consistently for many years, had at last prevailed; and many of those who
most deprecated the proposed reform as a downward step towards pure
democracy, yet acknowledged that, as it had been determined upon by the
deliberate choice of the Colony, it ought not to be thwarted by the
interference of the mother-country.

[Sidenote: Speech of Lord Derby.]

In the course of the speech above referred to, Lord Derby made use of the
following eloquent words:--

I have dreamed--perhaps it was only a dream--that the time would come
when, exercising a perfect control over their own internal affairs,
Parliament abandoning its right to interfere in their legislation,
these great and important colonies, combined together, should form a
monarchical government, presided over either by a permanent viceroy,
or, as an independent sovereign, by one nearly and closely allied to
the present royal family of this country.

I have believed that, in such a manner, it would be possible to uphold
the monarchical principle; to establish upon that great continent a
monarchy free as that of this country, even freer still with regard to
the popular influence exercised, but yet a monarchy worthy of the
name, and not a mere empty shadow. I can hardly believe that, under
such a system, the friendly connection and close intimacy between the
colonies and the mother-country would in any way be affected; but, on
the contrary, I feel convinced that the change to which I have
referred would be productive of nothing, for years and years to come,
but mutual harmony and friendship, increased and cemented as that
friendship would be by mutual appreciation of the great and
substantial benefits conferred by a free and regulated monarchy.

But pass this Bill, and that dream is gone for ever. Nothing like a
free and regulated monarchy could exist for a single moment under such
a constitution as that which is now proposed for Canada.

From the moment that you pass this constitution, the progress must be
rapidly towards republicanism, if anything could be more really
republican than this Bill.

The dream has been realised, at least in one of its most important
features; the gloomy forebodings have hitherto happily proved groundless.
But the speaker of these words, and the author of the measure to which they
refer, would probably hav