isely but too well. Grote wrote
in February 1838: 'The degeneracy of the Liberal party, and their
passive acquiescence in everything, good or bad, which emanates from the
present Ministry, puts the accomplishment of any political good out of
the question; and it is not worth while to undergo the fatigue of a
nightly attendance in Parliament for the simple purpose of sustaining
Whig Conservatism against Tory Conservatism. I now look back wistfully
to my unfinished Greek history.' Yet Lord Brougham, in the year of the
Queen's accession, declared that Russell was the 'stoutest Reformer of
them all.'

[Sidenote: LORD DURHAM AND CANADA]

The rebellion in Canada was the first great incident in the new reign,
and the Melbourne Cabinet met the crisis by proposals--which were moved
by Lord John in the Commons, and adopted--for suspending the Canadian
Constitution for the space of four years. The Earl of Durham, at the
beginning of 1838, was appointed Governor-General with extraordinary
powers, and he reluctantly accepted the difficult post, trusting, as he
himself said, to the confidence and support of the Government, and to
the forbearance of those who differed from his political views. No one
doubts that Durham acted to the best of his judgment, though everyone
admits that he exceeded at least the letter of his authority; and no one
can challenge, in the light of the subsequent history of Canada, the
greatness and far-reaching nature of his services, both to the Crown and
to the Dominion. Relying on the forbearance and support, in the faith of
which he had accepted his difficult commission, the Governor-General
took a high hand with the rebels; but his ordinances were disallowed,
and he was practically discredited and openly deserted by the
Government. When he was on the point of returning home, a broken-hearted
man, in failing health, it was Lord John Russell who at length stood up
in Durham's defence. Speaking on the Durham Indemnity Bill, Lord John
said: 'I ask you to pass this Bill of Indemnity, telling you that I
shall be prepared when the time comes, not indeed to say that the terms
or words of the ordinances passed by the Earl of Durham are altogether
to be justified, but that, looking at his conduct as a whole, I shall be
ready to take part with him. I shall be ready to bear my share of any
responsibility which is to be incurred in these difficult
circumstances.' The generous nature of this declaration was everywher