he address in
reply to the speech, but in consequence of the delay in the House of
Assembly, this reply had not before been presented to the governor. In
answer to the address of the legislative council, His Excellency said:
"I will immediately transmit your address to the secretary of state for
the colonies in order that it may be laid at the foot of the throne. Her
Majesty the Queen has already been pleased to express deep interest in a
closer union of her North America colonies and will no doubt greatly
appreciate this decided expression of your opinion, and the avowal of
your desire that all British North America should unite in one
community, under one strong and efficient government, which cannot but
tend to hasten the accomplishment of this great measure."

{THE GOVERNMENT RESIGNS}

The resignation of the government was announced in the House of Assembly
on April 13th by the Hon. A. J. Smith, and the correspondence between
the lieutenant-governor and his advisers was laid before the House at
the same time. The immediate and ostensible cause of the resignation was
the terms of approval in which the lieutenant-governor had replied to
the address of the legislative council in reference to confederation.
Mr. Smith claimed that it was the duty of the lieutenant-governor to
consult his constitutional advisers in regard to the answer to be given,
and that, in assuming to himself the right to reply to such an address
without consulting them, he had not acted in accordance with the true
spirit of the constitution. This was certainly sound doctrine, and the
reply of the lieutenant-governor was by no means satisfactory on this
point, but he was able to show that Mr. Smith had himself expressed his
willingness to enter into a scheme of union, although opposed to the
Quebec scheme, and had suggested that, as a preliminary step, the papers
on that subject should be referred to a joint committee of both Houses
with an understanding that the committee should report in favour of a
measure of union. At a later period Mr. Smith seemed indisposed to carry
out this arrangement, his conduct evidently being the result of
timidity, and so he found himself, to use the language of Sir Arthur
Gordon, "entangled in contradictory pledges from which he found it
impossible to extricate himself." He had, in fact, placed himself in the
power of the lieutenant-governor, and his only resource was to resign.
It was understood at the time, and has