bject. In the autumn of that year
there was a series of letters in the _Globe_ signed "Huron," drawing
attention to the importance of the western country, attacking the
administration of the Hudson's Bay Company, and suggesting that the
inhabitants, unless relieved, might seek to place the country under
American government. In December 1856, there was a meeting of the
Toronto Board of Trade at which addresses were delivered by Alan
McDonnell and Captain Kennedy. Captain Kennedy said that he had lived
for a quarter of a century in the territory in question, had eight or
nine years before the meeting endeavoured to call attention to the
country through the newspapers and had written a letter to Lord Elgin.
He declared that the most important work before Canada was the
settlement of two hundred and seventy-nine million acres of land lying
west of the Lakes. The Board of Trade passed a resolution declaring
that the claim of the Hudson's Bay Company to the exclusive right to
trade in the country was injurious to the rights of the people of the
territory and of British North America. The Board also petitioned the
legislature to ascertain the rights of the Hudson's Bay Company, and
to protect the interests of Canada. A few days afterwards the _Globe_
said that the time had come to act, and thenceforward it carried on a
vigorous campaign for the opening up of the territory to settlement
and the establishment of communication with Canada.

During the year 1856, Mr. Brown addressed many meetings on the subject
of the working of the union. He opposed the separation of the Canadas,
proposed by some as a measure of relief for the grievances of Upper
Canada. This would bring Canada back to the day of small things; he
advocated expansion to the westward. William Macdougall, then a member
of the _Globe_ staff, was also an enthusiastic advocate of the union
of the North-West Territories with Canada. In an article reviewing the
events of the year 1856, the _Globe_ said: "This year will be
remembered as that in which the public mind was first aroused to the
necessity of uniting to Canada the great tract of British American
territory lying to the north-west, then in the occupation of a great
trading monopoly. The year 1856 has only seen the birth of this
movement. Let us hope that 1857 will see it crowned with success."

In January 1857, a convention of Reformers in Toronto adopted a
platform including free trade, uniform legislation for