red by the proposal to continue the coalition, involving a
secession from the ranks of the Liberal party. In this juncture it was
necessary for Liberals to unite and consult, and if it were found that
his continuance in parliamentary life for a short time would be a
service to the party, he would not refuse. It would be impossible,
however, for him to accept any official position, and he did not wish,
by remaining in parliament, to stand in the way of those who would
otherwise become leaders of the party. He again emphasized the
difficulty of combining the functions of leadership of a party and
management of a newspaper. "The sentiments of the leader of a party
are only known from his public utterances on public occasions. If a
wrong act is committed by an opponent or by a friend, he may simply
shrug his shoulders." But it was otherwise with the journalist. He had
been accused of fierce assaults on public men. "But I tell you if the
daily thoughts and the words daily uttered by other public men were
written in a book as mine have been, and circulated all over the
country, there would have been a very different comparison between
them and myself. I have had a double duty to perform. If I had been
simply the leader of a party and had not controlled a public journal,
such things would not have been left on record. I might have passed my
observations in private conversation, and no more would have been
heard of them. But as a journalist it was necessary I should speak the
truth before the people, no matter whether it helped my party or not;
and this, of course, reflected on the position of the party.
Consequently, I have long felt very strongly that I had to choose one
position or the other--that of a leader in parliamentary life, or that
of a monitor in the public press--and the latter has been my choice
being probably more in consonance with my ardent temperament, and at
the same time, in my opinion, more influential; for I am free to say
that in view of all the grand offices that are now talked
of--governorships, premierships and the like--I would rather be editor
of the _Globe_, with the hearty confidence of the great mass of the
people of Upper Canada, than have the choice of them all."

Of Mr. Brown's relations with the parliamentary leaders after his
retirement, Mr. Mackenzie says: "Nor did he ever in after years
attempt to control or influence parliamentary proceedings as conducted
by the Liberals in opposition, or