avourable to reciprocity with the United States if it could be obtained
in such a manner as to be beneficial to the province. At the general
election he led the poll in the city of St. John, his colleague being
James A. Harding, who had been elected at a bye-election to the previous
House. For the county, Mr. William J. Ritchie was one of the successful
candidates, and the only Liberal returned for that constituency. The
other members for the county were the Hon. John R. Partelow, Robert D.
Wilmot and John H. Gray.

The new House was called together on October 19th for the purpose of
ratifying the reciprocity treaty, and the Hon. D. L. Hanington was
elected speaker by a vote of twenty-three to thirteen. This gave the
opposition an earlier opportunity of defeating the Street-Partelow
administration than would, under ordinary circumstances, have been
possible. An amendment to the address was moved by the Hon. Charles
Fisher, which was an indictment of the government for their various
shortcomings and offences. The amendment was to expunge the whole of the
fifth paragraph and substitute for it the following:--

"It is with feelings of loyalty and attachment to Her Majesty's person
and government that we recognize, in that provision of the treaty which
requires the concurrence of this legislature, a distinct avowal by the
imperial government of their determination to preserve inviolate the
principles of self-government, and to regard the constitution of the
province as sacred as that of the parent state. We regret that the
conduct of the administration during the last few years has not been in
accordance with these principles, and we feel constrained thus early to
state to your Excellency that your constitutional advisers have not
conducted the government of the province in the true spirit of our
colonial constitution." This amendment was debated for six days, and was
carried by a vote of twenty-seven to twelve.

{QUESTION OF THE JUDGES REVIVED}

The general ground of accusation against the government, and the one
most strongly insisted upon, was that it had yielded to the influence of
the colonial office in the appointment of Judge Wilmot. It was well
known that the government at that time, or at least a majority of them,
did not consider it necessary to appoint another judge; at all events,
they took no steps to bring about another appointment; but they yielded
to the colonial office, and the pressure put upon them by