irty-eight to two. The new government which was
formed had for its principal members, the Hon. John H. Gray, who became
attorney-general; the Hon. John C. Allen, solicitor-general; the Hon. R.
D. Wilmot, provincial secretary; the Hon. John Montgomery,
surveyor-general, and the Hon. Francis McPhelim, postmaster-general. The
other members of the executive council were the Hon. Edward B. Chandler,
the Hon. Robert L. Hazen and the Hon. Charles McPherson.

When the House met in July, the Hon. Charles Simonds, of St. John, was
elected speaker, and it was soon discovered, after the liquor bill had
been disposed of, that the majority supporting the government was so
small as to make it impossible for them to accomplish any useful
legislation. When the legislature again met, in the early part of 1857,
it was seen that in a House of forty-one members twenty were arrayed
against the government, and the only way in which government business
could be done was by the casting vote of the speaker. This condition of
affairs speedily became intolerable, because it practically made
legislation impossible, but it was brought to an end by Mr. McMonagle,
one of the members for the county of Kings, withdrawing his support from
the government. Two courses only were now open to them, to tender their
resignations or advise the dissolution of the legislature, and they
chose the latter. The House of Assembly was dissolved by proclamation on
April 1st, 1857, and the writs for the election were made returnable on
May 16th.

{THE FISHER GOVERNMENT}

The excitement attending this second election was, if possible, even
greater than during the election of 1856, for the public mind had been
wrought up to a high state of tension by the proceedings in the House
and the numerous divisions in which the government was supported only by
the casting vote of the speaker. The result of the election was so
unfavourable to the Gray-Wilmot government that they at once tendered
their resignations to the lieutenant-governor, agreeing to hold office
only until their successors were appointed. The most bitter contest of
the election centred in the city of St. John, and it resulted in the
election of Mr. Tilley, with Mr. James A. Harding for his colleague, the
latter having changed his views in regard to the question at issue since
the previous election, when he was chosen as an opponent of the
government of which Tilley had been a member. When the Gray-Wilmot
governm