[BURPEE] HOWE AND THE ANTI-CONFEDERATION LEAGUE 435 
scheme of government for the whole Empire. Whether or not the views propounded 
meet with general favor it will excite discussion on a subject of the highest National 
importance and as I have to some extent got the ears of the British public I hope to 
lose no credit by this second attempt to instruct the governing classes of this country. 
I wish I was rich enough to go into Parliament and I should then have little fear that 
in five years we should have a scheme of Government sufficiently expansive to 
include the whole Empire. 
From many private letters I am every day more and more convinced that we 
are making progress here. 
Acting on the policy with which we set out that it would be wise to leave the 
Colonial Secretary free from all suspicion of being influenced by us, while keeping 
open channels of communication in other directions we have refrained from writing 
to him since the official correspondence passed that we sent you some time ago. But 
the general charges of drunkenness and neglect brought against John A. Macdonald 
and the Canadian Ministers coming over, and the London Telegraph having scourged 
them in a capital article we thought the matter might be improved, and accordingly 
addressed to Earl Carnarvon on the*® 
London, 
25 Saville Row, 
Nov. 8, 1866. 
Wm. J. Stairs, Esq. 
My dear Stairs, 
By this mail you will receive Annand’s answer 49 to Tupper’s Pamphlet®® which 
I trust our friends will like. It will be widely circulated here early in the week 
Instead of confining himself to a mere criticism of the Doctor’s text you will find a 
good deal of new matter on various branches of the subject very hard to be got over. 
So far, we have seen no notice of the Dr.’s Pamphlet in any paper, but the Cana- 
dian News. There may have been others but if there were we have not happened 
to buy the papers. His paper will not do much harm when Annand’s gets into the 
right hands. 
You will find in yesterday’s Daily News another capital column of fun poked at 
our friends by the Editor, and a long letter from Montreal in which our views of the 
indefensibility of Canada are freely admitted. 
I met at dinner last night a Member of Parliament, a friend of Carnarvon’s, 
and a supporter of the Government. He says that C. is doing nothing and is yet 
unpledged about Confederation, and that Parliament will not be asked to ratify any 
scheme that has not been approved by the Colonial Legislatures. This would be a 
great point gained, as it would remove the Controversy to the Colonies again and 
multiply the chances in our favor. Of course a dissolution would be better but that 
may come. 
We shall do nothing further now till the Canadian men are here. Things 
must then take some shape that will enable us to determine our future movements. 


48 Remainder of letter missing. See Note 108. Howe refers here to two long letters sent to 
Carnarvon. 
49See Bibliography No. 59. Summarized in Campbell, Nova Scotia, 447-48. Campbell says of 
it, ‘‘His defence of Mr. Howe was as adroit and skilful as in the circumstances it could be, but Dr. 
Tupper had so effectively used the argumentum ad hominem in dealing with Mr. Howe that no defence 
could repair the temporary damage done to the reputation for political consistency of the Anti-Confeder- 
ate champion.” 
50See Bibliography No. 58. Campbell Nova Scotia 446-47; Tupper, Reminiscences, 33-35; 
Grant, Tribune of Nova Scotia, 144. - 
Sec I & II, Sig. 14 
