finished his Report. Early in
February it was printed and laid before the House of Commons. The {20}
curious legend which credits Buller with the authorship is traceable to
Brougham's spite. Macaulay and Brougham met in a London street. The
great Whig historian praised the Report. Brougham belittled it. 'The
matter,' he averred, 'came from a felon, the style from a coxcomb, and
the Dictator furnished only six letters, D-u-r-h-a-m.' The whole
question has been carefully discussed by Stuart J. Reid in his _Life
and Letters of the First Earl of Durham_, and the myth has been given
its quietus. Even if direct external evidence were lacking, a
dispassionate examination of the document itself would dispose of the
legend. In style, temper, and method it is in the closest agreement
with Durham's public dispatches and private letters.

The drafting of this most notable of state papers was the last of
Durham's services to the Empire. A little more than a year later he
was dead and laid to rest in his own county. Fifty thousand people
attended his funeral. A mausoleum in the form of a Greek temple marks
his grave. The funds for this monument were raised by public
subscription, such was the force of popular esteem. His dying words
were prophetic: 'Canada will one day do justice to my memory.'

{21}

The Report was Durham's legacy to his country. It defined once for all
the principles that should govern the relations of the colony with the
mother country, and laid the foundations of the present Canadian unity.
It did not please the factions in Canada; it was too plain-spoken.
Exception may be taken, even at the present day, to some of its
recommendations and conclusions. But its faithful pictures of 'this
hitherto turbulent colony' enable the historical student and the honest
patriot to measure the progress the country has since made on the road
to nationhood. If unpleasant, it is very easy reading. Few
parliamentary reports are closer packed with vital facts or couched in
clearer language. To the task of its composition the author brought
energy, insight, a sense of public duty, a desire to be fair, and, best
of all, an open mind, a perfect readiness to relinquish prepossessions
or prejudices in the face of fresh facts. His ample scheme of
investigation, as carried out by himself and his corps of able helpers,
had put him in control of a huge assemblage of data. On this he
reasoned with admirable results.