98 THE ROARING FORTIES 



by the crown such antagonism as had pro 

 duced the revolution of 1688 in England and 

 that of 1776 in America. This condition, dan 

 gerous everywhere, became disastrous in Lower 

 Canada, where it brought to a head the race 

 animosity that was the basis of all the trouble 

 there. The general remedy for the evils con 

 cerned, in Lord Durham s opinion, was the in 

 troduction of responsible government, that is, 

 responsibility of the executive to the repre 

 sentatives of the people in the assembly. As 

 to the Canadas, his Lordship saw no hope of 

 stability and peace save through the union of 

 the two provinces under a single legislature and 

 executive. By such a system the French ele 

 ment would be deprived of the hope of an inde 

 pendent, or at least autonomous, government, 

 and the English-speaking people would be as 

 sured of the political predominance to which they 

 were entitled by their numerical, economic, and 

 intellectual superiority. 



Lord Durham s outspoken project for sub 

 merging the French in Canada was equalled in 

 candor by his discussion of the relations of the 

 British provinces with the United States. The 

 enterprise and material prosperity on the re 

 publican side of the boundary, as compared with 



