George Brown, the leader of the English-speaking reformers, came to the rescue and promised the support of himself and his party to the ministers, if they would seriously set themselves to find a way out of the difficulty. Macdonald and his coadjutors met their old opponents half way. A coalition government was formed, and it was decided to try to form a federal, in place of a legislative, union, including all the provinces or the two Canadas alone. It is needless here to dwell on the delays and difficulties with which the project was beset. In October, 1864, representatives of Upper and Lower Canada, and of the Maritime Provinces, including Newfoundland, met at Quebec to formulate a scheme of confederation; but neither of the two island provinces made part of the Dominion of Canada, as it commenced its existence on July 1, 1867. Prince Edward Island came into the union six years later; but Newfoundland stands aloof to this day. The British North America Act of the Imperial parliament, which finally gave effect to the desire of the provinces for union, embodied, with little alteration, the scheme agreed upon at Quebec in 1864. The act provided for the admission into confederation of other provinces besides the original four, and, as has already been mentioned, the Dominion of Canada now consists of nine provinces besides some large tracts of unorganized and sparsely populated territory in the north. The Dominion parliament has power to make laws for “the peace, order and good government of Canada,” except with regard to certain matters put under the jurisdiction of the provincial legislatures. The parliament consists of the King (represented by the Governor-General), an Upper House, or Senate, and a Lower House, or House of Commons. The Senate consists of eighty-three members, who are appointed for life by the Governor-in-Council, but no man who is under thirty years of age, or not by birth or naturalization a British subject, is eligible for appointment. He must also be possessed of real or personal property worth $4,000 (£800), and must be, and continue to be, a resident of the province for which he is appointed.