rsecution which he had denounced. Provocation he had--bitter,
violent provocation. But he had yielded place unto wrath; his egoism,
his worship of success, were getting the better of his nobler side.

He had his reward. In 1860 his party was victorious at the general
election. For the next three years he was in office, outwardly the
same cheery Joe as ever, inwardly distracted, rebellious, pining for a
wider field. But in 1863 Tupper and the Conservatives {135} swept the
province with the cry of retrenchment. In a house of fifty-four Howe
had but fourteen followers. For the moment he was glad to be quit of
office. 'If ever I can be of use to Nova Scotia, let me know,' were
his words to Dr Tupper as he handed over the keys of the provincial
secretary's office. Later in the year he accepted from the Imperial
government the important post of Fishery Commissioner. He was sixty
years of age, and his part on the political stage seemed to have been
played. But to the drama of his life a stirring last act and a
peaceful epilogue were to be added.

Ever since the American colonies had torn away, the plan of a union,
legislative or federal, of the remainder of British North America had
been mooted, and nowhere with greater favour than in Nova Scotia.
Geographical difficulties long made it an impossibility, but the
steam-engine gave man the triumph over geography, and by 1860 an
intercolonial railway, though not built, was evidently buildable. In
1864 the exigencies of Canadian party politics forced federation to the
front with startling suddenness. Weary of long jangling, resulting in
a deadlock which {136} two elections and four governments within three
years had failed to break, the nobler spirits of both parties in Canada
resolved to find a solution in a wider federation. In the same year Dr
Tupper had brought about a conference at Charlottetown, which met in
September to discuss the question of Maritime Union. To this Howe,
though a political opponent, had been invited, but pressure of work had
prevented his attendance. Delegates from Canada persuaded the
conference to take a wider sweep. Howe would now have liked to be
present, but the season was getting late, and when he asked for a boat
on the pretext of doing some inspection along the Island shore, the
admiral on the station refused to furnish it. 'If I had had any idea
of why he really wanted that ship, he could have had my whole
squadron,' said the