report, the Upper and Lower Provinces were united in 1841, the problems so long unsolved in each district should now demand final solution.

To every one of these problems Sir John Macdonald lent the aid of his ability. He was a Conservative, but not a Tory, of the old type; and in the first LiberalConservative administration_ever formed in Canada, Mr. Attorney General Macdonald brought in bills to secularize the clergy reserves, and to abolish the seignorial tenures, compensating the owners of the lands. He even favored the measure for making the Legislative Council of the United Province elective a measure which was continued till 1867, when, on the formation of the Senate, the nominative system was preferred.

In the years 1854 to 1858 he had so grown in political strength, that from being simply the attorney-general in the Macnab Morin administration, he rose to be, first, the Upper Canada leader in the Taché-Macdonald government, and finally, the head of the government in the Macdonald-Cartier administration. From 1858 dates the remarkable and unbroken friendship and alliance between John A. Macdonald and George E. Cartier, which was destined to have such great and useful resuits on the history of the Dominion of Canada.

It would not greatly interest the British reader to detail the rise and fall of the various administrations which existed in Canada between 1858, when Mr. Macdonald became practically the leader of his party, and 1867, when the confederation was formed. During most of these years Mr. Macdonald maintained his hold on

power.

had been governed with a certain degree of unity of action and harmony of policy. The British governors knew what was wanted of them. The laws were all alike; the courts (except in Quebec) were all alike; the currency was the same; the commerce was equally unrestricted; the customs laws were the same; the objects and aims of the people were the same all over the whole extent of the British territory north of the St. Lawrence. With the advent of constitutional government still more with the advent of responsible government - there came differences in law, differences in customs duties, differences in currency, differences in po litical objects and in commercial interests and designs. Political "development" had weakened instead of strengthened the crown's dominions in North America; and so jealous and diverse were the commercial and fiscal interests of the provinces, that when in 1866 there was a possibility of obtaining a renewal of the reciprocity treaty of 1854 with the United States, the provincial delegates to Washington were forced to abandon the plan because it could only be carried out by law and not by treaty, and they knew it was useless to endeavor to secure uniform legislation on the subject.

The confederation of 1867 supplied the unity of action, the harmony of policy, the common agreement in commercial plans, the consolidation of law, the unification of tariffs and currency, which had prevailed in the earlier times, had been given up in the provincial times, and which were now needed to make a nation. And to this confederation Sir John Macdonald contributed more knowledge, influence, experience, forethought, and patriotism In 1867 all the provinces- that is, the than any other member of the several four principal provinces, Ontario, Quebec, conventions which brought it finally about. New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia were In order to secure the support of the Libformed into a confederation; the negotia-eral leader in the initial steps towards the tions for which, and the agitations which union, Sir John Macdonald even consented resulted from it, broke up parties in every to waive his claims as a leader, and to province, and re-established the Liberal- serve as a member of the government with Conservative party, which has since that the Liberal leader, under a chief who was time kept both its name, its policy, and its acceptable to this gentleman. Sir John power. In 1870-71 British Columbia was the chairman of the convention which joined the union, and Manitoba was cre- in 1866 met in London to frame the Act ated; in 1873 Prince Edward Island be- of Union. Sir George Cartier was also a came a part of the Dominion. Nova member, representing the province of Scotia and New Brunswick had brief Quebec. It has often been regretted that periods of unrest, but finally were made in framing the Act of Union, so many content by financial rearrangements. This concessions were made to the national inunion of the colonies in one great colony terests and feelings of the people of Quewas, in effect, but a return to an earlier bec; but it should never be forgotten that type. Previous to the period of constitu- without those concessions the Dominion tional government, the British dominions of Canada could never have been formed;

and it must be obvious that without the made more numerous. The coasts were strictest respect alike for the spirit and lighted at all dangerous points. The fishletter of those concessions, the Dominion eries were protected from the destructive cannot be maintained. encroachments of the Americans. The The new confederation began at once to Treaty of Washington was in part the redevelop its own progeny of political ques-sult of this system of protection. And on tions. The building of the Intercolonial this occasion was established in practice Railway from Halifax to Quebec had been a precedent of which official recognition made part of the bargain with the mari- has since been given-viz., that in all time provinces. The building of the Pa- cases of negotiation with the United States cific Railway had been made part of the concerning Canadian interests, a Canadian bargain with British Columbia. The ac- public man should form part of the comquisition and development of the north- mission. It has also been settled since west territories had become a necessity 1882 that no colony shall be included in of national life. The peace of this terri- the operation of any commercial treaty, tory, when acquired in 1870, by negotia- without a reservation of the assent of the tions detailed in Mr. Lang's "Life of Sir colony to the arrangement. Stafford Northcote," had to be enforced by an expedition, and maintained by an armed force of mounted police. The trade relations of Canada with the United States needed immediate attention. In 1866 the reciprocity treaty, negotiated by Lord Elgin in 1854, had been abrogated in a fit of aggressive petulance by the United States; and the channels of trade in Canada, particularly in the maritime provinces, were suddenly choked, with results more or less disastrous. The merits of this treaty of 1854 have always been absurdly exaggerated. There are no accurate grounds for ascertaining its favorable effect on Canadian development, for the Crimean war caused a great demand for all Canadian products except lumber; and the American civil war, which followed, created a continual demand at high prices for everything which Canada could produce. The treaty was abrogated at the close of the war. There is therefore no ground whatever for claim ing that the treaty of 1854 was valuable, and all efforts for its renewal proceed upon mere supposition.

These problems Sir John Macdonald, aided by a singularly able cabinet, in which all the larger provinces were represented, undertook to grapple with. He grappled successfully with all. The Intercolonial Railway was completed within five years from the date of confederation. The north-west was acquired, the money paid, and a new province created within four years from the date of the union. The Pacific Railway, after delays of various sorts, financial and political, was begun in 1880, and finished in five years, an effort of political courage on the part of the government, and of financial skill and management on the part of the company, which has probably no equal in modern times. The canals were deepened and

The great distinguishing mark of Sir John Macdonald's political influence was the inauguration of what is called the national policy. The necessity for it, as stated by its advocates, arose in this way. At the abrogation of the reciprocity treaty in 1866, and at the beginning of the confederation of the provinces in 1867, Canada found herself with a customs tariff of about fifteen per cent., side by side with the United States with a tariff of from thirty-five to fifty per cent. For some years this did not matter. Prices ranged high in the United States; manufactures had been checked, and agriculture was necessarily checked also; the disturbance of industry caused by the war still operated. But in a few years the west filled up, agriculture developed, manufacturing became active, prices fell, and whenever a surplus of any sort was on hand in the American market, it was shifted into the Canadian market and sold at "slaughter prices"-perhaps to the immediate benefit of those who could pay cash, but to the serious injury of every form of manufacture in Canada, and to the injury of the farmers as well. It was determined to stop this; and in 1878, on the return of Sir John Macdonald to power after an exclusion of four years by the Liberals, he put into force the promise he had made to the electors, and framed a system of protection which has been called the national policy. Under it, or in spite of it, as some contend, Canada has prospered greatly. The policy was sustained at the general elections of 1878, 1882, 1887, and finally in 1891, though on this occasion the farming population of Ontario to a certain extent abandoned the national policy, and favored a policy of closer relations with the United States, against which, however, on reasonable terms, Sir John Macdonald made no protest. In

deed at the time of his death he had arranged for a meeting of Canadian public men with Mr. Blaine at Washington, to negotiate for some friendly rearrangement of tariffs. But death stays the hand of the old statesman. The election campaign of 1891, which Sir John very earnestly looked on, under the circumstances, as a fight for British connection, no doubt brought on the paralysis which caused his death. The present writer saw him the day before he entered on the election campaign, and saw him again on his return; he was a changed and broken man. The severe weather, the election excitement, the constant speaking and travelling, exhausted the remains of the splendid vitality which had carried the light-hearted old chief through so many campaigns.

And now, what manner of man was he, this famous colonist, who was no less famous an imperialist? In appearance he was said to be very like Lord Beaconsfield, but his face was not so heavy-featured as Lord Beaconsfield's nor so sad and so impassive. A sarcastic smile was often on his face in the House of Commons, but that was for his opponents; to his friends his glance was friendly and fascinating. The extent of this personal fascination was very remarkable. Lord Beaconsfield's personal influence began late in life; Sir John Macdonald's influence began with his public life, and kept always accumulating. His personal kindness was unceasing. He was on familiar terms with every Parliamentary member of his party; knew the needs of his constituency and his personal peculiarities, and never lost a chance to please a supporter by means of the small courtesies of life, as well as by the greater opportunities of politics and patronage. Having been so long in office - twenty out of the twenty-four years of the history of the confederation he had had the appointment of the majority of the bench in each province, of nearly all the Senate, of the whole of the public service, itself an immense body. This alone would have made him political friends. His wit was of the heat-lightning kind— rapid and brilliant; but he was never deadly or scornful, or only so when sorely provoked. He was fond of anecdotes to illustrate a political situation; and though he used new stories for the House of Commons, sometimes he appears to have repeated of set purpose the same old stories year after year upon the platform to his public audiences, until Sir John's old stories were as familiar to the farmers of the country as his appearance was. In private life he

was charming. He was not averse to the convivial habits of men forty years ago, but of later years was cautious on festive occasions. He was sure to leave no man silent at his table or in his company; his tact in this respect was remarkable.

As an orator, Sir John Macdonald had more of the English than of the American manner; he was direct in argument, but sometimes hesitating in speech; but his speeches always read well, and have a pleasant literary flavor, the result of extensive reading. He had the air of always speaking unprepared, but he had all the facts of his case well in hand, and took great trouble to procure minute information, and was particularly grateful for any aid given him in arranging the details of public questions. He was a born debater; and though he did not needlessly rush into Parliamentary scuffles, he was always ready for them. A glance at the index title, "Macdonald, Sir John," in the "Canadian Hansard in any year, shows the extraordinary number of questions with which he was familiar. The cause of this familiarity, quite independent of natural energy, may be found in the practice of the Canadian Cabinet. In England the tradition of departmental government still survives; the Cabinet does not meet continually, and departmental business is done by the head of the office; and the under-secretary, in cases where such exist, commonly makes the explanation. But Canada is a confederation, and the Cabinet represents provincial interests, race interests, religious interests, and business interests. The Cabinet meets every day during the business season. All departmental business comes up in council. Not a contract is given, not a man promoted, not a messenger appointed, not a bill prepared, not an item of government business of any sort, but is first submitted to council, and an order passed thereon. Therefore every minister who is attentive may know all the business that comes before the House. Sir John Macdonald was pre-eminently attentive, and was master of the details of every order passed in council.

He was a keen student of books. Though he was always a Conservative, he had much admiration for the mode in which Mr. Walter Bagehot treated the problems of the British Constitution though to some Conservatives Mr. Bagehot's views are at times a little irreverent. The political literature concerning the eighteenth century was his favorite study. He knew the private lives of the public

AN ingenious contrivance has been recently | adopted at the Hippodrome in Paris, with a view to producing scenic effects, in the central oval space, without the spectators opposite being seen at the same time. An elliptical screen of fine steel netting is let down in comparative darkness, so as to be about twelve feet in front of the benches.ing of the crowd beyond.

This is painted on the inner side with a representation of the Place du Vieux Marché at Rouen (the piece being "Jeanne d'Arc"), and, as it is strongly illuminated, at a given moment, from the centre, the light outside being low, a spectator at any point has an excellent view of the scene, while seeing noth

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