f the other was always
subordinate to the circumstances or prejudices of the moment--a fatal
defect in one who aspires to be a leader of men. Mr. Baldwin made no
secret of his conviction that no substantial progress could be made by
the Reform party so long as one like Mackenzie was permitted to have any
commanding voice in its counsels, or at any rate to have any hand in the
shaping or directing of its policy. Rolph took a broader view, and while
he admitted the notoriously weak points in Mackenzie's character, did
not feel disposed either to throw him overboard altogether or to deprive
him of a share in the direction of party affairs. He naturally felt and
spoke strongly on the subject of the expulsions. For Mackenzie
personally he had never felt much liking, but he hated injustice, and
did not hesitate to give the expelled member all the support, moral and
otherwise, which he could command. He was wont to say that Mackenzie
might yet do much good work for Reform, if he could only be kept in his
proper place. Mackenzie, on his side, never wearied of sounding Rolph's
praises, and he sometimes did so in extravagant terms. Wherever he went
he proclaimed the Doctor as the one man in Upper Canada capable of
leading the Reform party to triumph and permanent power. Bidwell and
Perry were well enough in their way, but to neither of them would he pin
his faith if Rolph questioned the wisdom of their counsels.

Such was the state of affairs at the time of the election of the first
Council of the City of Toronto. In that Council, as already mentioned,
there was a preponderance of Reform members. According to the provisions
of the Act of incorporation the aldermen and councilmen were to hold
their first meeting on Thursday, the 3rd of April, when they were to
proceed to the election of a mayor. As the Reform members were able to
command the situation, they held a caucus on the evening of Monday, the
31st of March, to concert a scheme of action, and to take steps to turn
their numerical superiority in the Council to the best account. An
understanding had already been arrived at as to the mayoralty. Dr. Rolph
had been pitched upon by common consent to fill the chair of the chief
magistrate. He was upon the whole better fitted to grace the position
than any other man in the city, and the Reform members contemplated
their candidate with pride. But at the caucus held on the evening of the
31st matters took an altogether unexpected turn