marked ability and with 

 very considerable success ; 

 but the growth of Canada 

 was not responsive to the 

 hopes of her people or of 

 England, and it was con- 

 ceived that a change was 

 necessary looking to a closer 

 union of all the British col- 

 onies of North America, in- 

 cluding Nova Scotia, New 

 Brunswick, and Prince Ed- 

 ward Island, as Durham 

 had advised and foreseen. 



One of the two parties 

 adopted a platform of fed- 

 eration in 1858, but it took 

 nearly ten years to carry 

 the proposal to a successful 

 issue. A convention for 

 this purpose met at Quebec 

 in 1864, consisting of 33 

 delegates. The convention 

 sat for 18 days behind 

 closed doors and left no 

 official record of its delib- 

 erations. 



The members had clearly 

 in mind the Constitution of 

 the United States and the 

 history of that Constitution 

 as a field in which they 

 might find guides for their 

 conduct. They represented 

 both political parties, but in 

 their deliberations they sub- 

 ordinated temporary politi- 

 cal advantage to the patri- 

 otic purpose of reaching an 

 agreement upon a govern- 

 ment that should give op- 

 portunity for great national 

 growth and development. 



The secret deliberations 

 crisis, as in our Constitutional Conven- 

 tion, led to the expression by the dele- 

 gates of their real convictions ; shortened 

 the debates, because they did not talk for 

 buncombe, and brought in the short space 

 of less than three weeks a solution of 

 what had seemed a very difficult problem. 



The men who most contributed to this 

 end were John A. McDonald, George 

 Etienne Cartier, and George Brown. 

 While Cartier and McDonald had been 

 together as political associates, they rep- 

 resented different elements, Cartier being 



WINTER BATHING: BANFF, ALBERTA 



Water sports under such conditions would suggest that all 

 the comforts of home were conspicuous by their absence. 

 However, the sulphur springs for which Banff is famous main- 

 tain a uniform temperature of no degrees throughout the 

 year. Therefore, while the atmospheric temperature may ap- 

 proximate zero, the water is very warm and pleasant for the 

 bather — who keeps below the surface! 



such 



a 



a representative of the French Canadians 

 and McDonald a representative of the 

 English and Scotch conservatives, while 

 Brown represented the liberal English 

 and Scotch voters. 



The success in its way was as notable 

 as that of our own Constitution, in the 

 wise compromises that were effected and 

 in the sacrifices of personal opinions and 

 notions that the compromises necessi- 

 tated. 



The successful launching of the new 

 government proposed was attended with 

 difficulties. The smaller provinces of 



225 



