y came up in the Imperial parliament. In
the House of Commons the Bill was vigorously attacked by Gladstone, who
shared the view of the Canadian Opposition that it was a measure for
the rewarding of rebels. It was defended by Lord John Russell, and
Lord Elgin's course in following the advice of his ministers was
ultimately approved by the home government.

As in many another case, the expectation proved worse than the reality.
The commission appointed by the Government under the Rebellion Losses
Act was composed of moderate men, who had the wisdom to refuse
compensation to many claimants on the ground of their having been
implicated in the rebellion, although never convicted by any court.
Had it been understood that the restricted interpretation which the
commission gave the Bill would be applied, it is possible that this
{26} disgraceful episode in the history of Canada would not have to be
told.

An inevitable consequence of this lamentable occurrence was the removal
of the seat of government from Montreal. The Administration felt that,
in view of what had taken place, it would be folly to expose the
Government and parliament to a repetition of these outrages. This
resolve gave rise to innumerable jealousies on the part of the several
cities which aspired to the honour of having the legislature in their
midst. Macdonald was early on the look-out, and, at the conclusion of
his speech on the disturbances, in the course of which he severely
censured the Ministry for its neglect to take ordinary precautions to
avert what it should have known was by no means an unlikely
contingency, he moved that the seat of government be restored to
Kingston--a motion which was defeated by a large majority, as was a
similar proposal in favour of Bytown (Ottawa). It was finally
determined to adopt the ambulatory system of having the capital
alternately at Quebec and Toronto, a system which prevailed until the
removal to Ottawa in 1865.[4]

{27}

The historic Annexation manifesto of 1849 was an outcome of the
excitement produced by the Rebellion Losses Act. Several hundreds of
the leading citizens of Montreal, despairing of the future of a country
which could tolerate such legislation as they had recently witnessed,
affixed their names to a document advocating a friendly and peaceable
separation from British connection as a prelude to union with the
United States. Men subsequently known as Sir John Rose, Sir John
Caldwell Abbo