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. So
I went home in the "China" from New York on the 9th April with my son;
saw the Duke of Newcastle, discussed the situation; saw the opening of
the Great Exhibition of 1862 on the 1st May, and a few days afterwards
sailed, with Lady Watkin, in the old Cunarder, the "Niagara;" arriving
at Boston after a long and difficult passage, and then travelling on to
Quebec. But, on the 20th May, an event occurred--caused, it seemed to
me, as a looker on, through want of tact--which ended in the
resignation of the Government. The circumstances were these. Under
pressure from home, administered through the new. Governor-General, the
Ministry had brought forward measures of defence. They proposed to
raise and equip, at the cost of Canada, 50,000 men. They proceeded, if