ctory
testimony.

One of the important events that occurred during my administration was
the ceremony in honor of the opening of railway communication with
Canada. Distinguished persons were present. President Fillmore; Mr.
Webster; Mr. Stuart and Mr. Conrad of his Cabinet; Lord Elgin,
Governor-General of Canada; Sir Francis Hincks, Attorney-General of
Canada, and afterwards Governor-General of Jamaica; Joseph Howe,
Provincial Secretary of Nova Scotia; the Governors of several New
England States, and others whose names I do not recall. The time was
September, 1851. Mr. Webster arrived in Boston a few days in advance
of the President and took rooms at the Revere House. I called to see
him. In the course of the interview he said that whenever the State
appeared he would be ready to take part if invited to do so, but as to
the city he should have nothing to do with it. This resolution was due
to the circumstance that the city government in the preceding year had
refused the use of Faneuil Hall that he might speak in explanation and
vindication of his speech of the 7th of March, 1850. John P. Bigelow
was Mayor of the city in 1850, and he was also Mayor in 1851. Mr.
Webster also said that when the State authorities made their formal
call upon the President, he should be glad to introduce the members of
the government. Upon the arrival of the President, the officers of
the State government, to the number of about twenty, called at the
Revere House, where we were received by J. Thomas Stevenson, a personal
and political friend of Mr. Webster. He informed Mr. Webster of our
presence, and Mr. Webster soon appeared. He was dressed in what was
known as his court dress. A blue coat with bright buttons, buff vest,
black trousers, and patent leather shoes. His white cravat was high
and thick, over which was turned a wide collar. After the gentlemen
had been presented, he took me by the arm and we proceeded to the
reception room of the President. At the moment of our arrival Mayor
Bigelow was presenting the members of the city government. At once
Mr. Webster became excited, and advancing to the President, he took
possession of the ground, treating the Mayor as though he were a dog
under his feet. He introduced us in a loud voice, and at the end he
seemed to regret that the State government was not a more numerous
body.

The day following had been designated for the public reception of the
President and the members