of the responsibility of the ministry to the Assembly, and
of the extent of the concessions to be made to the French; and that the
opposition to reform was almost equal in the numbers of its supporters
to the progressive party. But this is to over-estimate the forces of
{133} reaction. The Family Compact men had fallen on evil days.
Strachan with his church party, and MacNab with his tail of Tory
irreconcilables, had really very little substantial backing; and honest
Tory gentlemen, like J. S. Cartwright, who openly advocated an
aristocratic administration, were unlikely to attract the crowd. The
work of Sydenham had contributed much to the political education of
Canada; popular opinion was now firmer and more self-consistent, and
that opinion went directly contrary to the views of Stanley and his
supporters. One may find evidence of this in the views of moderates on
either side.

Harrison, who represented the moderate reforming party in Sydenham's
ministry, held that responsible government, in some form or other, was
essential, and that French nationalism must also receive concessions.
"Looking at the present position of parties," he wrote to Bagot in
July, "it may, I think, be safely laid down that, to obtain a working
majority in the House of Assembly, it is absolutely necessary that the
government should be able to carry with it the bulk of the
French-Canadian members.... There is no disguising the fact that the
French members possess the power of the country; and he who directs
that {134} power, backed by the most efficient means of controlling it,
is in a situation to govern the province best."[8] It was his opinion
that Bagot should anticipate the coming crisis by calling in Baldwin
and the French, before events forced that step on him.

On the Conservative side, a moderate man like W. H. Draper, the
attorney-general for Upper Canada in Sydenham's ministry, argued in
favour of a policy almost identical. While his views tended to
oscillate, now to this side, now to that, their general direction was
clear. He felt that the ideal condition was one of union between the
parties of Western Canada, which would "render the position of the
government safer in its dealings with the French-Canadians." But no
such union was possible, and Draper, with that honest opportunism which
best expressed his mind and capacity, assured Bagot that action in the
very teeth of his instructions was the only possible course. "One