ch sooner than any one could have
anticipated. On Christmas Day of the same year the Hon. William Franklin
Odell, who had been provincial secretary for thirty-two years, died at
Fredericton. Mr. Odell's father had been secretary before him from the
foundation of the province, so that the Odell family had held that
important and highly lucrative office for sixty years.

The governor at this time was Sir William Colebrooke, and on January
1st, 1845, just one week after the death of Mr. Odell, he appointed his
son-in-law, Alfred Reade, who was a native of England and a stranger to
the province, to the vacant office. The gentlemen who had been most
prominent in shouting their approval of the "constitutional stand" taken
by Sir Charles Metcalfe, now suddenly discovered that Sir William
Colebrooke's conduct in making this appointment without consulting his
council, was a fearful outrage, and their distress was pitiable to
behold. Several members of the government, including such zealous
upholders of the prerogative as the Hon. Robert L. Hazen, of St. John,
at once resigned their positions. A communication from three of
them--Hugh Johnston, E. B. Chandler and R. L. Hazen--addressed to His
Excellency gave as their reasons for resigning that they could not
justify the exercise of the prerogative of the Crown in respect to Mr.
Reade's appointment, because they felt that "the elevation to the
highest offices of trust and emolument of individuals whose character,
services, and claims to preferment, however appreciated elsewhere, are
entirely unknown to the country generally, is prejudicial to the best
interests of the province." They did not, however, make it a ground of
objection that the appointment of Mr. Reade was forwarded for the royal
approbation without the advice or concurrence of the council. These
gentlemen evidently thought it was too early for them to eat the words
in regard to the prerogative of the Crown, of which they had been so
free a few months before, but they showed their true characters by
deserting the governor because he had been foolish enough to believe
that their profuse expressions in favour of the royal prerogative were
sincere.

{RESIGNATION}

Mr. Wilmot, who also resigned, sent a separate communication to the
lieutenant-governor in which he stated what he considered to be the true
constitutional doctrine which should govern such matters. He said:--

"In the first place, I consider it justly due to