lthough all the members elected for the purpose of
upholding Reform principles did not prove true to their trust, still it
contained a larger number of men of Liberal views than any of its
predecessors.

Among the members of this House were several who had taken a very
important part in public affairs, or who afterwards became members of
the executive. The county of York sent among its representatives, Lemuel
A. Wilmot, who had been a member of the House for sixteen years, and who
had taken a leading part in many measures of importance for the
improvement of the system by which the country was governed.

Mr. Charles Fisher, who had been a colleague of Mr. Wilmot in the county
of York, was defeated at the general election, but soon afterwards
became a member of the House. Mr. Fisher had not the oratorical gifts
possessed by Mr. Wilmot, but he was even stronger in his Liberal views,
and as a constitutional lawyer he had no equal, at that time, in the
province. Although his manners were somewhat uncouth and his address far
from polished, Fisher had strong individuality and a singularly clear
intellect. His services in the cause of Liberalism in New Brunswick can
hardly be overestimated, and these services were rendered at a time when
to be a Liberal was to be, to a large extent, ostracized by the great
and powerful who looked upon any interference with their vested rights
as little short of treason.

Tilley's colleague from St. John city was William H. Needham, who
afterwards represented the county of York in the legislature. Mr.
Needham had some remarkable gifts as a speaker and a public man, and he
might have risen to a much higher position than he ever attained had it
not been that his principles were somewhat uncertain. In truth, Needham
never succeeded in getting sufficiently clear of the world to be quite
independent, and this misfortune hampered him greatly in his political
career.

{NOTABLE CANDIDATES}

One of the members from St. John County was William J. Ritchie, a lawyer
who had risen by his own efforts to a commanding position at the bar,
and who became chief-justice of Canada. Mr. Ritchie had been a member of
the House of Assembly for several years, and always a useful one. He
possessed what few members at that time had,--a clear knowledge of the
true principles of responsible government. He had an eminently practical
mind; he was a forcible and impressive speaker, and he was bold in the
enunciation of