been called a
Tory, although there is no man who more respects what is called
old-fogey Toryism than I do, so long as it is based upon principle'
(Speech of Hon. John A. Macdonald at St Thomas, 1860).

[3] 'In '47 I was a member of the Canadian Government, and we went to a
general election knowing well that we should be defeated' (Sir John A.
Macdonald to the Hon. P. C. Hill, dated Ottawa, October 7, 1867).

[4] The dates of the first meetings of the Executive Council, held at
the various seats of government, from the Union in 1841 till 1867, are
as follows: at Kingston, June 11, 1841; at Montreal, July 1, 1844; at
Toronto, November 13, 1849; at Quebec, October 22, 1851; at Toronto,
November 9, 1855; at Quebec, October 21, 1859; at Ottawa, November 28,
1865.

[5] That is, that the land set apart by the Constitutional Act of 1791
'for the support and maintenance of a Protestant Clergy,' amounting to
one-seventh of all the lands granted, should be taken over by the
Government and thrown open for settlement.

[6] _Globe_, 1851. For further instances see _Globe_, February 9 and
December 14, 1853; February 9, 18, 22 and November 5, 1856; August 7
and December 23, 1857.

[7] To all Conservatives who cherish the memory of Sir John Macdonald
we bring the reminder that no leader ever opposed so sternly the
attempt to divide this community on racial or religious lines'
(_Globe_, November 10, 1900).

The _Globe's_ latter-day estimate of Sir John Macdonald recalls the
late Tom Reid's definition of a statesman--'a successful politician who
is dead.'

[8] To a friend, dated Ottawa, April 20, 1869.

[9] See Pope's _Memoirs of Sir John Macdonald_, vol. i, p. 103.

[10] The seigneurial system was a survival of the French regime. The
reader is referred to _The Seigneurs of Old Canada_ by Professor Munro
in the present Series.

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CHAPTER II

MIDDLE LIFE

The Liberal-Conservative Government formed in 1854 was destined to a
long and successful career, though not without the usual inevitable
changes. Very shortly after its accession to power, Lord Elgin, whose
term of office had expired, was succeeded by Sir Edmund Head. The new
governor-general was a man of rare scholastic attainments. During the
previous seven years he had occupied the position of
lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, and he was to administer, for a
like period, the public affairs of Canada acceptably and well. One
thing, however, greatl