authorized the holding of a convention at Charlottetown. Accordingly
eight members of the Canadian ministry visited Charlottetown, where
they were cordially welcomed. They dwelt on the advantage of
substituting the larger for the smaller plan of union, and the result
of their representations was that arrangements were made for the
holding of a general conference at Quebec later in the year. The
Canadian ministers made a tour through the Maritime Provinces,
speaking in public and familiarizing the people with the plan. At a
banquet in Halifax, Mr. Brown gave a full exposition of the project
and its advantages in regard to defence, commerce, national strength
and dignity, adding that it would end the petty strifes of a small
community, and elevate politics and politicians.

The scheme was destined to undergo a more severe ordeal in the
Maritime Provinces than these festive gatherings. For the present,
progress was rapid, and the maritime tour was followed by the
conference at Quebec, which opened on October 10th, 1864.

FOOTNOTES:

[14] Sir Richard Cartwright says also that the credit of Canada was
very low, largely because of the troubles of the Grand Trunk Railway
Company. _Memories of Confederation_, p. 3.

[15] _Memories of Confederation._ An address delivered before the
Canadian Club of Ottawa, January 20th, 1906.

CHAPTER XVI

THE QUEBEC CONFERENCE

The conference was held with closed doors, so as to encourage free
discussion. Some fragmentary notes have been preserved. One impression
derived from this and other records is that the public men of that day
had been much impressed by the Civil War in the United States, by the
apparent weakness of the central authority there, and by the dangers
of State sovereignty. Emphasis was laid upon the monarchical element
of the proposed constitution for Canada, and upon the fact that powers
not expressly defined were to rest in the general, instead of the
local, legislatures. In fact, Mr. Chandler, a representative of New
Brunswick, complained that the proposed union was legislative, not
federal, and reduced the local governments to the status of municipal
corporations. In practice these residuary powers were not so
formidable as they appeared; the defined powers of the local
legislatures were highly important, and were fully maintained, if not
enlarged, as a result of the resolute attitude of Ontario under the
Mowat government. But the notion that Canada must