assed at a special session of the
legislature and received the assent of the governor, becoming law on
July 17th, 1837. From that time to the present, the province of New
Brunswick has controlled the revenues which it derives from its Crown
lands and similar sources, and, whether wisely expended or not, the
people of this province have at least the satisfaction of knowing that
the money is appropriated by their own representatives, and by a
government which is responsible to them for its actions.

The death of King William IV took place during the summer of 1837, and
brought about another general election. Mr. Wilmot again stood for the
county of York and was returned at the head of the poll. This was only a
proper recognition of his eminent services to the province in the
legislature and as a delegate to England. At this election, Charles
Fisher, a young lawyer, was also returned for the county of York. Mr.
Fisher, although not so fluent a speaker as Wilmot, was second to no man
in the legislature in devotion to Liberal principles, and he proved a
most valuable lieutenant in the battle for responsible government which
now began. The contest for the control of the Crown lands of the
province had been won, but a still more difficult task remained for the
friends of constitutional principles to accomplish,--the making of the
executive responsible to the people. The members of the House of
Assembly had been almost unanimous in demanding the control of the Crown
lands, but, when it came to applying the principles of responsible
government to the affairs of the province generally, there were many
deserters from the ranks of those who had called themselves Reformers.
This was partly due to the principles of responsible government not
being well understood even by some members of the legislature, and
partly to the fact that the question did not touch the self-interest of
the members in the same manner as the mismanagement of the Crown lands
department had done.

Under a thoroughly constitutional system of government the initiation of
money grants would have been in the hands of the executive, but in 1837
not a single member of the executive council had a seat in the House of
Assembly. Three of the five members of the executive council were also
members of the legislative council, but the two others had no seat in
either House, a fact which shows on what lax principles the executive
was constructed. The initiation of money gra