t before doing so, the sense of the House, as expressed in a
committee of the whole, should be obtained. Accordingly, the House
again resolved itself into committee, on the 24th, when it was reported
that the House in impeaching the Chief Justices was influenced by a
sense of duty, by a desire to maintain the laws and constitution, and
by a regard for the public interest, and for the honor of His Majesty's
government; that the House was entitled to be heard, and to have an
opportunity of adducing evidence in support of the impeachments; that
the opposition and resistance of the Legislative Council prevented the
appointment of an agent from the Assembly, to maintain and support the
charges; and that a petition should be presented to the Regent,
appealing to the justice of His Majesty's government and praying that
an opportunity might be afforded to the Commons of Canada to be heard
and to maintain their charges. The resolutions were adopted by a very
large majority of the House, and a special committee was appointed to
prepare an address in accordance with the resolutions. But before this
could be done, Sir Gordon Drummond, in accordance with his
instructions, dissolved the House. He prorogued the parliament on the
26th, because his reasonable expectations, with regard to their
diligent application to the business which he had recommended to their
attention had been disappointed; because the Assembly had again entered
upon the discussion of a subject on which the pleasure of the Regent
had been communicated to them; and because, he, therefore, felt it to
be his duty to prorogue the present parliament, and to resort to the
sense of the people by an immediate dissolution. Only one Act received
the royal assent, that to regulate the trial of controverted elections.

The writs for the new elections were issued in haste. Indeed so early
as the month of March, they were completed, the greater number of the
members of the previous Assembly having been re-elected. But before
even the elections had been completed, General Drummond was notified of
the appointment of Sir John Sherbrooke, the Lieutenant-Governor of Nova
Scotia, to the Governor-Generalship of British North America, and
leaving Major-General Wilson in temporary charge of the government, he
sailed for England on the 1st of May.

It is impossible to speak of Sir Gordon Drummond's civil government.
The measures which he proposed were well calculated to benefit the
count