had no personal feeling as to the
premiership, and would readily stand aside; and he suggested the name
of Mr. Cartier, as leader of the French-Canadians. Mr. Brown said that
it would be necessary for him to consult with his political friends.
Sir Narcisse F. Belleau, a member of the executive council, was then
proposed by Mr. Macdonald, and accepted by Mr. Brown, on condition
that the policy of confederation should be stated in precise terms.
Sir Narcisse Belleau became nominal prime minister of Canada, and the
difficulty was tided over for a few months.

The arrangement, however, was a mere makeshift. The objections set
forth by Brown to Macdonald's assuming the title of leader applied
with equal force to his assuming the leadership in fact, as he
necessarily did under Sir Narcisse Belleau; the discussion over this
point, though couched in language of diplomatic courtesy, must have
irritated both parties, and their relations grew steadily worse. The
immediate and assigned cause of the rupture was a disagreement in
regard to negotiations for the renewal of the reciprocity treaty. It
is admitted that it was only in part the real cause, and would not
have severed the relations between men who were personally and
politically in sympathy.

Mr. Brown had taken a deep interest in the subject of reciprocity. In
1863 he was in communication with John Sandfield Macdonald, then
premier of Canada, and Luther Holton, minister of finance. He dwelt on
the importance of opening communication with the American government
during the administration of Lincoln, whom he regarded as favourable
to the renewal of the treaty. Seward, Lincoln's secretary of state,
suggested that Canada should have an agent at Washington, with whom he
and Lord Lyons, the British ambassador, could confer on Canadian
matters. The premier asked Brown to go, saying that all his colleagues
were agreed upon his eminent fitness for the mission. Brown declined
the mission, contending that Mr. Holton, besides being fully
qualified, was, by virtue of his official position as minister of
finance, the proper person to represent Canada. He kept urging the
importance of taking action early, before the American movement
against the renewal of the treaty could gather headway. But neither
the Macdonald-Sicotte government nor its successor lived long enough
to take action, and the opportunity was lost. The coalition government
was fully employed with other matters during 1864,