ncial enactments in certain circumstances. Again it took refuge
in the courts. The Supreme Court of Canada held that under the
circumstances the power to intervene did not exist; and the
government breathed easier. Again the Privy Council reversed the
judgment of the Supreme Court and held that because the Manitoba law
prejudicially affected educational privileges enjoyed by the
minority after union there was a right of intervention. The last
defence of the Dominion government against being forced to make a
decision was broken down; in the language of to-day, it was up
against it. And the man who might have saved the party by inducing
the bishops of the Catholic church to moderate their demands was
gone, for Sir John Thompson died in Windsor Castle in December,
1894, one month before the Privy Council handed down its fateful
decision. Sir John was a faithful son of the church, with an immense
influence with the clerical authorities; he was succeeded in the
premiership by Sir Mackenzie Bowell, ex-grand master of the Orange
Order. The bishops moved on Ottawa and demanded action.

There ensued a duel in tactics between the two parties, intensely
interesting in character and in its results surprising, at least for
some people. The parties to the struggle which now proceeded to
convulse Canada were the government of Manitoba, the author of the
law in question, the Roman Catholic hierarchy in their capacity of
guardians and champions of the Manitoba minority, and the two
Dominion political parties. The bishops were in deadly earnest in
attack; so was the Manitoba government in defence; but with the
others the interest was purely tactical. How best to set the sails
to catch the veering winds and blustering gusts to win the race, the
prize for which was the government of Canada? The Conservatives had
the right of initiative--did it give them the advantage? They
thought so; and so did most of the Liberal generals who were mostly
in a blue funk during the year 1895 in anticipation of the hole into
which the government was going to place them. But there was at least
one Liberal tactician who knew better.

The Conservatives decided upon a line of action which seemed to them
to have the maximum of advantage. They would go in for remedial
legislation. In the English provinces they would say that they did
this reluctantly as good, loyal, law-abiding citizens obeying the
order of the Queen delivered through the Privy Council. From th