one body, members to be elected
once in every three years. Should have whole legislative
power--subject to lieutenant-governor. I would have
lieutenant-governors appointed by general government. It would thus
bring these bodies into harmony with the general government. In Upper
Canada executive officers would be attorney-general, treasurer,
secretary, commissioner of crown lands and commissioner of public
works. These would form the council of the lieutenant-governor. I
would give lieutenant-governors veto without advice, but under certain
vote he should be obliged to assent. During recess lieutenant-governor
could have power to suspend executive officers. They might be elected
for three years or {73} otherwise. You might safely allow county
councils to appoint other officers than those they do now. One
legislative chamber for three years, no power of dissolution, elected
on one day in each third year. Departmental officers to be elected
during pleasure or for three years. To be allowed to speak but not to
vote.

A more suggestive extract than this cannot be found in the discussion.
From the astonished Cartier the ejaculation came, 'I entirely differ
with Mr Brown. It introduces in our local bodies republican
institutions.' From the brevity of the report we cannot gather the
whole of Brown's meaning. Apparently his aim was a strictly
businesslike administration of provincial affairs, under complete
popular control, but with the executive functions as far removed from
party domination as erring human nature would permit. There may be
seen here points of resemblance to an American state constitution, but
Brown was no more a republican than was Napoleon. He was, like
Macdonald, an Imperialist who favoured the widest national expansion
for Canada. The idea of a republic, either in the abstract or the
concrete, had no friends in the {74} conference. Galt believed
independence the proper aim for a young state, but we find him stating
later: 'We were and are willing to spend our last men and our last
shilling for our mother country.'[3] Many years after Confederation
Sir Oliver Mowat declared independence the remote goal to keep in view.
These opinions were plainly speculative. Neither statesman took any
step towards carrying them out, but benevolently left them as a legacy,
unencumbered by conditions, to a distant posterity.

At the conference Mowat was active to strengthen the central authority,
as