naval supremacy in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. On the 14th of September, 1854, an army of twenty-seven thousand English, twenty-five thousand French, and eight thousand Turkish troops arrived in the Crimea, and on the 19th this vast army marched towards Sebastopol, about thirty miles distant, Prince Mentschikoff, with fifty thousand Russian troops, awaited the allies at the Alma, one of the rivers which lay in the route. The English were commanded by Lord Raglan, and the French by Marshal de St. Arnaud. The battle of the Alma was a fierce one, and the Russians were defeated, after which the invading army marched on for Sebastopol. The work of bombarding the city began on the 17th of October, 1854, and the siege, such as will forever form one of the most thrilling themes in all the annals of war, was continued, with varied success, until the final bombardment of September, 1855. For three days the work was continued, with peculiar irregularity. These changes in the mode of fire, from slow to quick, and from an entire suspension to a rapid rate, were designed to bewilder the enemy, and the plan was successful. The fearful struggle was brought to a close the following night, when the Russians quietly withdrew across the harbor, and when, a few minutes later, the flames of the burning city burst upon the darkness. The proclamation of peace reached the allied armies in Sebastopol on the 2d of April, 1856, and a few weeks later the troops returned home, leaving in the soil behind them the graves of many thousand brave English and French soldiers. The darkness of this terrible war is relieved by a strange, fascinating light, which shines in the noble deeds of Florence Nightingale, that heroic English woman who devoted herself with so much skill and tenderness to the care of the sick and the wounded.

8. In the winter of 1855-6 the London "Times," in referring to the war, remarked that whatever were the losses and disappointments England had undergone, whatever the reverses of her arms, whatever the drains upon her treasury, these evils had been as nothing compared with the tremendous visitation that had fallen on her stubborn and overbearing enemy. While England's trade had undergone no diminution, Russia's was almost completely annihilated. "If we have felt a little. tightness in the money market, she has been driven to suspend specie payments. If we have increased our debt by sixteen million pounds, she would esteem it the greatest good fortune to borrow half that sum on the most unfavorable terms. If we

have lost a few thousand men, she has sacrificed whole hecatombs of thousands. If we do not recruit as fast as we would wish, Russia has already drained the classes of men from which she can renew her armies. Despondency and terror, we are well assured, reign throughout her vast dominions."

9. One year later, the same journal, in referring to the same war, said: "The great war is over. Hard terms have been wrung from the exhaustion of Russia, and, after much subsequent wrangling, she has been held to the letter and spirit of her bond. We have celebrated that peace with great and cordial rejoicing. Prussia was admitted at the eleventh hour to a share in its honors. Our fleets and armies have returned, and have had their ovations." Thus ended a great war, mainly between England and Russia.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

THE DOMINION OF CANADA.

FROM 1867 TO 1878

-GOVERNMENT OF LORD MONCK -LEGISLATION.

1. WE find it most convenient to leave for a while the affairs of English history, and return to Canada. After we have followed the fortune of the Dominion during the first eleven years of its existence, from 1867 to 1878, we will bring forward to the latter date a record of events in the United States, and then resume the narrative of important affairs connected with Great Britain, commencing at 1856, where we now leave them, and following the current forward which will bring us to our account of the Turko-Russian war, and the subse quent diplomatic war between England and Russia. On the 1st of July, 1867, Her Majesty Queen Victoria, by proclamation, declared the provinces of Ontario (Upper Canada), Quebec (Lower Canada), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick united under one federal government, to be known thereafter as the DOMINION OF CANADA. This was perhaps the most important, the most salutary measure ever adopted by the .mother country, in behalf of the Canadas, nor was it by any means the measure of England. The scheme originated in British America, in the minds of provincial statesmen; but it was through the good offices of the English Parliament and

English statesmen, that the confederation was consummated at such an early date.

2. The Dominion was launched with but four provinces in the bond of union. Since the confederation the number has been increased to seven. Three other provinces, viz., Prince Edward Island, British Columbia, and the recently established province of Manitoba, have since joined the compact. During the ten years which have elapsed since confederation the young nation has had a prosperous experience in many respects. The immediate effect in the two Canadas, for instance, has been to facilitate the settlement of questions which were before sources of angry recrimination. In the Province of Quebec, a Legislature representing an enormously excessive constituency of Roman Catholics, conceded to the Protestant minority, on a question of education, what probably they would never have yielded to the more equally proportioned forces, when Ontario and Quebec were under one government. Each Provincial Legislature, relieved of the more general subjects of legislation and debate, is now vigorously pursuing the policy of development, extending education, promoting colonization, roads and railways, and encouraging immigration.

emanating,

3. The immediate causes leading to the confederation of the British American provinces were threefold, first, from the mother country, secondly, from the United States, and, thirdly, from within. Of these, that growing out of the peculiar attitude of the United States, at that time, was probably as strong, or stronger, than any. For several years before the confederation England's policy towards Canada was, in effect, a friendly warning to prepare for a more independent existence. At length the provinces were told, in very explicit terms, that they could no longer consider themselves, in the matter of defence, in the same position they formerly occupied towards Great Britain. But not only did the policy of the home government demand confederation, but the attitude of the United States demanded it. The abrogation of the Reciprocity Treaty, the military operations on the great lakes contrary to the provisions of the addenda to the treaty of 1818; the passport system; the projected ship canal round the falls of Niagara; the wonderful expansion of the American army and navy, and the civil war, were features in the policy of the government of the United States, demanding a union of the British provinces for purposes of mutual defence. But, aside from these actuating causes, there were internal influences tending

towards confederation, a voice from the experience in the government of the provinces. In the then province of Canada, constitutional government had touched a low ebb, when the premier was obliged to confess that he had had five administrations in two years. Under this condition the house was fast losing its hold on the country. The administrative departments were becoming disorganized under such frequent changes of chiefs and policies. These, with many other causes which are more fully mentioned in the proper place, combined with such force that in 1866 public opinion in the provinces was ripe for union. Indeed, with some considerable exceptions in favor of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, there was hardly a man of prominence in the whole of British America, who in 1867 would not have been in favor of some kind of union. There were those who did not like the plan proposed, and some of the leading public men of the liberal party in both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick fought the scheme with great vehemence. But the opposition of these gentlemen, especially that of Hon. Joseph Howe, in Nova Scotia, was not wholly consistent with their previous acts. However, the great measure triumphed, for which every wise citizen of Canada to-day is devoutly thankful.

4. Under the Federal Constitution of 1867 the Parliament of Canada consists of the Queen, a Senate appointed by the crown for life, and a House of Commons. The members of this Parliament were fixed by the constitution as follows:

The number of senators was fixed (except that six additional senators might be appointed by the crown), that of members of the House of Commons was to vary according to the population ascertained at each decennial census, Quebec retaining the same number. Term of election, five years, unless the house be sooner dissolved. Sessions, annual. The property qualification was: for senators, the possession of four thousand dollars real and personal estate over and above all liabilities; for members of the House of Commons, in Ontario and Quebec, five hundred pounds sterling of real estate. In New Brunswick, the possession, for six months previous to the issue of the writ of election,

of one thousand two hundred dollars of real estate; in Nova Scotia, "a legal or equitable freehold estate in possession of the clear yearly value of eight dollars ($8.00)," or the candidate must be "qualified to be an elector." The following were electors in Ontario and Quebec, every male subject being the owner or occupier or tenant of real property of the assessed value of three hundred dollars or of the yearly value of thirty dollars, if within cities or towns, or of the assessed value of two hundred dollars or the yearly value of twenty dollars, if not so situate. In New Brunswick, every male subject of the age of twenty-one years, not disqualified by law, assessed for the year for which the register is made up in respect of real estate to the amount of one hundred dollars, or of personal property or personal and real amounting together to four thousand dollars, or four thousand dollars annual income. In Nova Scotia, all subjects of the age of twenty-one years, not disqualified by law, assessed for the year for which the register is made up in respect of real estate to the value of one hundred and fifty dollars, or in respect of personal estate or of real and personal together to the value of three hundred dollars. Voting in Quebec, Ontario, and Nova Scotia was open, on inquiry by the returning officers, after the person desirous of voting has by reference to the registration list established his right to vote. In New Brunswick votes were taken by ballot. The executive, called the "Privy Council," consists of thirteen members.

5. The Constitution or Union Act fixed the local or provincial governments as follows: The local Legislature of Ontario consists of a Lieutenant-Governor, appointed by the Dominion, and one house only, of eighty-two members, called the Legislative Assembly. Limits of constituencies the same as for the Commons of Canada. Qualifications of members and electors the same as above. Terms four years, unless sooner dissolved. Sessions, annual. The local Legislature of Quebec consisted of a Lieutenant-Governor, appointed by the Dominion, a nominated Legislative Council of twenty-four, and a Legislative Assembly of sixty-five. Limits of constituencies the same as for the Senate and Commons respectively. Qualification of senators, members, and electors, the same as for the Dominion. Term of Parliament, four years, unless sooner dissolved. Sessions, annual. The local Legislature of Nova Scotia consisted of a Lieutenant-Governor, appointed by the Dominion, a nominated Legislative Council of twenty, and an