gues in Lower Canada, and when he
received a favourable reply from them, his next step was to make
arrangements, if possible, with the Liberals of Upper Canada. Hincks
was only too happy to have an opportunity of resenting the opposition
he had met with from Brown and the extreme Reformers of the western
province, and opened negotiations with his old supporters on the
conditions that the new ministry would take immediate steps for the
secularization of the clergy reserves, and the settlement of the
seigniorial tenure, and that two members of the administration would
be taken from his own followers. The negotiations were successfully
closed on this basis of agreement, and on September 11th the following
ministers were duly sworn into office:

Upper Canada.--Hon. Sir Allan MacNab, president of the
executive council and minister of agriculture; Hon. John A.
Macdonald, attorney-general of Upper Canada; Hon. W. Cayley,
inspector-general; Hon. R. Spence, postmaster-general; Hon.
John Ross, president of the legislative council.

Lower Canada.--Hon. A.N. Morin, commissioner of crown lands;
Hon. L.P. Drummond, attorney-general for Lower Canada; Hon.
P.J.O. Chauveau, provincial secretary; Hon. E.P. Tache,
receiver-general; Hon. J. Chabot, commissioner of public
works.

The new cabinet contained four Conservatives, and six members of the
old ministry. Henry Smith, a Conservative, became solicitor-general
for Upper Canada, and Dunbar Ross continued in the same office for
Lower Canada, but neither of them had seats in the cabinet. The
Liberal-Conservative party, organized under such circumstances was
attacked with great bitterness by the leaders of the discordant
factions, who were greatly disappointed at the success of the
combination formed through the skilful management of Messrs. J.A.
Macdonald, Hineks and Morin.

The coalition was described as "an unholy alliance" of men who had
entirely abandoned their principles. But an impartial historian must
record the opinion that the coalition was perfectly justified by
existing political conditions, that had it not taken place, a stable
government would in all probability have been for some time
impossible, and that the time had come for the reconstruction of
parties with a broad generous policy which would ignore issues at last
dead, and be more in harmony with modern requirements. It might with
some reason be called a coalition w