In The Interval Between This And My Last Visit, Lord Monck Had Been
Appointed Governor-General In Place Of Sir Edmund Head, Retiring.
In
talking with the Duke about this appointment, he said, "I offered the
position to five men previously, and
They refused it." I replied, "Did
your Grace offer it to Lord Lawrence, now at home?" The Duke put down
his pen, turned from one side of his chair to the other, looked down
and looked up, and at last said, "Upon my honour, I never thought of
that. What a good appointment it would have been!" Be that as it may,
Lord Monck made an excellent Governor in very difficult times. Canada,
and the great cause of Confederation, owe him a deep debt of gratitude.
I found unexpected difficulties about Grand Trunk affairs. The
Government were afraid of their own shadows. Instead of bringing in the
Grand Trunk Relief Bill as a Government measure, as we had expected,
they, in spite of remonstrance from Mr. Gait, confided it to a private
member, and such was the, unexplained, opposition that I verily believe
had the Cartier-Macdonald Government remained in power the Bill, though
entirely in the nature of a private Bill, affecting the public in every
sense of indirect advantage, would have been thrown out. The newspapers
throughout the two Provinces, with half-a dozen honorable exceptions,
were vile and vicious, as trans-Atlantic newspapers especially can be.
I was full of unexpected anxiety. The Government tactics were Fabian;
and on the 5th April they decided to adjourn the House to the 23rd.
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