England again in the sixties, and while there delivered several speeches that delighted men accustomed to the oratory of a Gladstone, and did much to make Canada known in the homeland.

He early saw that for the true development of British North America the Provinces should be united, and his railway schemes pointed that way; but in 1861 he introduced resolutions proposing consultation between the Provinces on the subject of Confederation. The Colonial Secretary approved of the idea, but nothing came of it. However, notwithstanding Joe Howe's later attitude, he must ever be looked upon as one of the Fathers of Confederation. He was one of the first to propose a conference on the subject, and his eloquent words on a United Canada and a United Empire did much to educate those who were afterwards to work out the scheme of Confederation.

It was not to be plain sailing with him. Dr. Tupper, who had beaten him in 1855 in Cumberland County, led the Conservative forces in the Province with great astuteness, and in 1863 succeeded in winning forty out of fifty-five seats, and Howe handed over to him the keys of the Provincial Secretary's office.

The Charlottetown and Quebec Confederation conferences now took place, and Howe, who was absent on his duties as Fisheries Commissioner, was unable to attend them. It is difficult now to judge the man but posterity blames him for his violent opposition to Confederation. He may have been prompted by jealousy, and he may have taken his stand believing that his Province was being coerced into the union. He fought with his usual vigor and went to England and there "wrought as if he would move heaven and earth" against Confederation. But he was informed that the Act of Confederation would come into effect immediately, and he was requested to show no more

position.

Right or wrong Nova Scotia stood by him, and in the elections that followed his return from England, only one Confederation member, Dr. Tupper, was returned for the Dominion, and in the Provincial election out of thirty-eight all but two constituencies elected anti-confederationists.

The

people of Nova Scotia believed with Howe that the Province was being "coerced" into the union, and so great an authority as Mr. (Sir) Wilfrid Laurier has said "that it was an act of 'brute force.""

That Howe was in no way disloyal to his country is shown in the magnificent speech he delivered in Detroit, July, 1865, at the great International Commercial Convention that was held in that city-a speech breathing loyalty and enthusiasm for his country in every sentence.

Had Howe's career ended with his opposition to Confederation the historians of his life might have had nothing but praise for him. But out of politics he could not keep, and he saw a wider field for his genius in the Dominion House, and so on the plea of securing better terms for the Province made overtures to the new Dominion government. Sir John Macdonald gladly welcomed to his forces a man who had so lately shown that he held a whole Province in the hollow of his hand, and Howe was given a seat in the Cabinet as Secretary of State. The cry at once went up that he had sold himself and his Province, and his old friends shunned him, and "young friends who once would have felt honored by a word, walked as close before or behind him as possible that he might hear their insults." He stood for the county of Hants, and after a hard struggle in the dead of winter, won by a small majority.

As the Secretary of State had charge of Indian affairs he was soon to be tested. The North-West Rebellion of 1870 broke out and Howe proved himself a statesman of breadth and generosity, and hope for the future. But he was never in the Dominion House the Joe Howe that led the Reform forces in the Nova Scotian House of Assembly. He was, to quote the words of an admirer and friend, "like a majestic oak in the midst of a forest denuded of its foliage by the lightning's blast or a Sampson after having been shorn of his locks by a Delilah.”

His constitution had been shattered by the long years of arduous toil for Nova Scotia, and friends and foes alike saw that he had not long to live. In 1873 the Government of Sir John Macdonald generously made him Lieutenant-Governor of the Province he had freed from bondage; but he was not long to enjoy the honor, for in a few weeks he died, and in the striking

language of Principal Grant, "the only levée he held in Government House was after his death when he lay in state and thousands crowded around to take a last look at their dead idol."

He was universally mourned. Genial, eloquent, sympathetic, Joe Howe had still the hearts of the people. In many humble homes in every part of the Province tears of genuine grief were shed when it was learned that the champion of the people's rights was no more.

CHAPTER XV.

HON. WILLIAM HAMILTON MERRITT.

William Hamilton Merritt, a Prominent United Empire Loyalist-His Father One of Simcoe's Queen's Rangers-His Mother a Native of South Carolina-His Father Attracted to Upper Canada by the Offers Held Out to Settlers by Governor Simcoe-The Family Settle in the Niagara District-William Hamilton Merritt's Early Education-A Long Journey to the East and to the Bermudas-Begins His Business Life-His Experiences in the War of 1812 -His Marriage-Recommences a Business Career-Surveys the Route for the Welland Canal—The Undertaking Delayed-The Work on the Canal Commenced-For Five Years Occupied in Constructing and Financing the Welland Caual-The Canal OpenedProjects the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge-Promotes Welland Railway Company— Mr. Merritt's Public Career-His Death While Passing Through the Canal at Cornwall.

A

MONG the many sons of the United Empire Loyalists whose names stand out prominently on the pages of Canadian history as the makers of the great Dominion, none is more worthy of study than William Hamilton Merritt. His ancestors had fought valorously in the English wars, and one of them, his maternal great grandfather, had been present in some of the fights that finally wrested Canada from the French, so that William Hamilton Merritt's life may be said to have been associated with the history of British North America from its earliest days.

His father, Thomas Merritt, although a farmer's son, was a man of considerable culture and refinement, and had spent several years at Harvard College studying medicine. The War of the Revolution broke out, and he could not remain neutral. Simcoe's Queen's Rangers were, at that time, attracting a good deal of attention among the Loyalist population of the Colonies and many sought to be admitted to their ranks. Merritt was one of the first volunteers, and joined this celebrated corps as a been pointed out in the sketch of Governor Simcoe, the Rangers operated over a wide district. While they were in South Carolina Thomas Merritt met Miss Mary Hamilton, and, although on active service, was married to

coronet. As has

her in 1779. After the regiment returned north and disbanded the young couple resided for a time in New York city, but the Loyalist soldier, finding the social atmosphere uncongenial, moved, along with many other Loyalists, to St. John, New Brunswick. Their residence here was but a brief one, and they shortly after moved to South Carolina, and from there to the old Merritt homestead in Westchester County, New York State. It was at this place, on July 3, 1793, that William Hamilton Merritt was born.

When Governor Simcoe began his rule in Upper Canada he put forth every effort to attract United Empire Loyalists to the Province. He was particularly anxious to have as many as possible of his old Rangers about him. Thomas Merritt learned of the offers he was holding out to settlers, and courageously took the long and difficult journey to Niagara district to see the land for himself. He was much impressed with the character of the inhabitants already settled in the country, and with the richness of the soil, and he determined to move there with his family; and in 1796 he journeyed to the Niagara peninsula and settled down in the forest primeval near what is now St. Catharines.

The early life of the subject of this sketch was a laborious one. The hewing out of a home in the forest of Upper Canada was by no means an easy task, and all had to labor with their hands. Young Merritt did much to assist his parents in building up a home in their adopted country. However, his father was not unmindful of his education and kept him constantly at school. He received the rudiments of learning at a log school at the "Corners," and when he was twelve years old he was sent to Port Burlington (now Hamilton) to attend the school of a Mr. Cockerell. Here he devoted most of his time to mathematics and field surveying, and, no doubt, it was here that he received the bent of mind that led him to consider the great engineering undertakings that he was afterwards to promote. Mr. Cockerell moved to Niagara and Young Merritt went with him, and had now the additional advantage of receiving instruction from the Rev. John Burns, a clergyman of sound classical scholarship.