John Macdonald, who not only helped to frame the
union but administered its policy for a lengthy period. Alexander
Mackenzie gave the country an example of rectitude in public life and
of devotion to duty which is of supreme value to all who recognize that
free government may be undermined and finally destroyed by selfishness
and corruption. Edward Blake, with his lofty conceptions of national
ambition and his profound insight into the working of the constitution,
also exerted a beneficial effect on the evolution of the state. He,
like Sir John Thompson, was a native of the country. In temperament,
in breadth of mind, and in contempt for petty {187} and sordid aims,
Blake and Thompson had much in common. They, and others who are too
near our own day for final judgment, fully grasped the work of the
Fathers and helped to give Canada its honourable status in the British
Empire and its distinctive place as a self-governing community.

A retrospective glance reveals the extent to which the Fathers attained
their principal objects. A threefold purpose inspired them. Their
first duty was to evolve a workable plan of government. In this they
succeeded, as fifty years of experience shows. The constitution, after
having stood the usual tests and strain, is firmly rooted in national
approval; and this result has been reached by healthy normal processes,
not by exaggerated claims or a spurious enthusiasm. The constitution
has always been on trial, so to speak, because Canadians are prone to
be critical of their institutions. But at every acute crisis popular
discontent has been due to maladministration and not to defects of
organization. The structure itself stands a monument to those who
erected it.

In the second and most trying of their tasks, the unification of the
provinces, the Fathers {188} were also triumphant. From the beginning
the country was well stocked with pessimists and Job's comforters.
They derived inspiration during many years from the brilliant writings
of Goldwin Smith. But in the end even the doubters had to succumb to
the stern logic of the facts. Under any federation, growth in unity is
bound to be slow. The relations of the provinces to the federal power
must be worked out and their relations to each other must be adjusted.
Time alone could solve such a problem. Until the system took definite
shape national sentiment was feeble. But a modified and well-poised
federation, with its stron