ct involved no such sacrifice; and, as
Aaron's rod swallowed up all the others, the dazzling prospects held
out by Canada eclipsed the other proposal, since they {52} provided a
strong central government without destroying the identity of the
component parts. The conference decided to adjourn to Halifax, where,
at the public dinner given to the visitors, Macdonald made the formal
announcement that the delegates were unanimous in thinking that a
federal union could be effected. The members, however, kept the
secrets of the convention with some skill. The speeches at Halifax,
and later on at St John, whither the party repaired, abounded in
glowing passages descriptive of future expansion, but were sparing of
intimate detail. A passage in Brown's speech at Halifax created
favourable comment on both sides of the ocean.

In these colonies as heretofore governed [he said] we have enjoyed
great advantages under the protecting shield of the mother country. We
have had no army or navy to sustain, no foreign diplomacy to
sustain,--our whole resources have gone to our internal
improvement,--and notwithstanding our occasional strifes with the
Colonial Office, we have enjoyed a degree of self-government and
generous consideration such as no colonies in ancient or modern history
ever enjoyed at the hands of a {53} parent state. Is it any wonder
that thoughtful men should hesitate to countenance a step that might
change the happy and advantageous relations we have occupied towards
the mother country? I am persuaded there never was a moment in the
history of these colonies when the hearts of our people were so firmly
attached to the parent state by the ties of gratitude and affection as
at this moment, and for one I hesitate not to say that did this
movement for colonial union endanger the connection that has so long
and so happily existed, it would have my firm opposition.

These and other utterances, equally forceful and appealing directly to
the pride and ambition of the country, were not without effect in
moulding public opinion. The tour was a campaign of education. By
avoiding the constitutional issues the delegates gave little
information which could afford carping critics an opportunity to assail
the movement prematurely. It is true, some sarcastic comments were
made upon the manner in which the Canadians had walked into the
convention and taken possession. At the Halifax dinner the governor of
Nova Scotia, Sir