t the
advent of the Opposition, as it is now constituted, to power would
greatly damage the future of Confederation. That Opposition has much
deteriorated since you left Canada. Poor Sandfield is gone; Brown is
out of public life, or rather out of Parliament; Blake, who is a
gentleman by birth and education, has broken down in health; {96}
Dorion has all but retired from public life, and was elected against
his will and in his absence; and the rest, with one or two exceptions,
are a very inferior lot.[14]

In spite of Sir John's efforts the Government lost ground heavily. Sir
Francis Hincks suffered defeat in South Brant, and Sir George Cartier
in East Montreal. What Sir Richard Cartwright used to call 'the shreds
and patches of the Dominion'--the Maritime Provinces and British
Columbia--did very well for the Conservatives, but, taking it
altogether, it was plain that the Government had sustained a severe
check.

[Illustration: Sir John A. Macdonald in 1872]

The Opposition, alive to their improved chances, assembled in full
force at the session of 1873, under the leadership of Alexander
Mackenzie. In order to render more effective service to his party at
Ottawa, Edward Blake resigned office as prime minister of Ontario in
favour of Oliver Mowat. All along he had held a seat in the House of
Commons, for those were days of dual representation, when there was
nothing to prevent a man from sitting in both a provincial House and
the House of Commons. This several leading men did. {97} It will be
readily understood, however, that the office of prime minister of
Ontario would materially interfere with the duties of a leading member
of the Opposition at Ottawa. With large reinforcements and a feeling
of confidence, the Opposition gathered for the fray, determined, if
possible, to compass the overthrow of the Macdonald Government.
Fortune favoured the design, for in the session of 1873 occurred what
has come to be commonly known as the 'Pacific Scandal.'

Briefly stated, the charge involved in the Pacific Scandal was this:
that the Government had corruptly granted to Sir Hugh Allan and his
associates the charter for the building of the Canadian Pacific
Railway, in consideration of a large sum of money supplied by him for
election purposes. In a letter addressed to Lord Dufferin, which has
been before the public for twenty years, Sir John Macdonald completely
answered this accusation.[15]

{98}

In the light