eam is not obscure. Brown is found complaining that Upper Canada is
inadequately represented and is dominated by its partner. Various
remedies, such as dissolution of the union, representation by
population and the "double majority," are proposed; but ultimately the
solution is found in federation, and to this solution, and the events
leading up to it, a large part of the book is devoted. Mr. Brown was
also an ardent advocate of the union with Canada of the country lying
west to the Rocky Mountains, and to this work reference is made.

Mr. Brown was one of those men who arouse strong friendships and
strong animosities. These have been dealt with only where they seemed
to have a bearing upon history, as in the case of Sir John A.
Macdonald and of the Roman Catholic Church. It seems to be a
profitless task for a biographer to take up and fight over again
quarrels which had no public importance and did not affect the course
of history.

The period covering Mr. Brown's career was one in which the political
game was played roughly, and in which strong feelings were aroused. To
this day it is difficult to discuss the career of the Hon. George
Brown, or of Sir John A. Macdonald, without reviving these feelings in
the breasts of political veterans and their sons; and even one who
tries to study the time and the men and to write their story, finds
himself taking sides with men who are in their graves, and fighting
for causes long since lost and won. The writer has tried to resist the
temptation of building up the fame of Brown by detracting from that of
other men, but he has also thought it right in many cases to present
Brown's point of view, not necessarily as the whole truth, but as one
of the aspects of truth.

In dealing with the question of confederation, my endeavour has been
simply to tell the story of Brown's work and let it speak for itself,
not to measure the exact proportion of credit due to Brown and to
others. It is hard to believe, however, that the verdict of history
will assign to him a place other than first among the public men of
Canada who contributed to the work of confederation. Events, as D'Arcy
McGee said, were probably more powerful than any of them.

If any apology is needed for the space devoted to the subject of
slavery in the United States, it may be found not only in Brown's
life-long opposition to slavery, but in the fact that the Civil War
influenced the relations between the United States an