es, was
seven hundred and twenty-six. The only counties which the
anti-confederate party succeeded in carrying were Westmorland,
Gloucester and Kent,--three counties in which the French vote was very
large,--so that of the forty-one members returned, only eight were
opponents of confederation. The victory was as complete as that which
had been recorded against confederation in the beginning of 1865.

{THE BATTLE IS WON}

The battle of confederation had been won, and the triumph was mainly due
to the efforts of the Hon. Mr. Tilley. That gentleman, as soon as the
defeat of confederation took place in March, 1865, had commenced a
campaign for the purpose of educating the people on the subject. Being
free from his official duties and having plenty of time on his hands,
he was able to devote himself to the work of explaining the advantages
of the proposed union to the people of the province; and during the
years 1865 and 1866, he spoke in almost every county on the subject
which was so near to his heart. He had embraced confederation with a
sincere desire for the benefit of his native province, and with the
belief that it would be of the greatest advantage to New Brunswick. If
the fruits of confederation have not yet all been realized, that has
been due rather to circumstances over which neither Mr. Tilley nor any
one else had any control, than to any inherent vice of confederation
itself. If union is strength, then it must be admitted that the union of
the British North American provinces, which consolidated them into a
powerful whole, was a good thing; and there cannot be a doubt that if
the provinces had remained separate from each other, their present
position would have been much less favourable than it is now.

CHAPTER X

THE BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT

One of the great objects of confederation was the construction of the
Intercolonial Railway from St. John and Halifax to Quebec. It was
thought that there could be no real union between the several colonies
of British North America unless a good means of communication existed,
and such a means was to be obtained only through the construction of
this line of railway. The Intercolonial Railway, as we have seen, had
been a part of the policy of successive governments in the province for
many years, and it became an essential part of the scheme of
confederation. When confederation was accepted by the people of New
Brunswick in 1866, the Intercolonial Railway ha