The period covering Mr. Brown's career was one in which the political game was played roughly, and in which strong feelings were aroused. To this day it is difficult to discuss the career of the Hon. George Brown, or of Sir John A. Macdonald, without reviving these feelings in the breasts of political veterans and their sons; and even one who tries to study the time and the men and to write their story, finds himself taking sides with men who are in their graves, and fighting for causes long since lost and won. The writer has tried to resist the temptation of building up the fame of Brown by detracting from that of other men, but he has also thought it right in many cases to present Brown's point of view, not necessarily as the whole truth, but as one of the aspects of truth. In dealing with the question of confederation, my endeavour has been simply to tell the story of Brown's work and let it speak for itself, not to measure the exact proportion of credit due to Brown and to others. It is hard to believe, however, that the verdict of history will assign to him a place other than first among the public men of Canada who contributed to the work of confederation. Events, as D'Arcy McGee said, were probably more powerful than any of them. If any apology is needed for the space devoted to the subject of slavery in the United States, it may be found not only in Brown's life-long opposition to slavery, but in the fact that the Civil War influenced the relations between the United States and Canada, and indirectly promoted the confederation of the Canadian provinces, and also in the fact, so frequently emphasized by Mr. Brown, that the growth of the institution of slavery on this continent was a danger to which Canada could not be indifferent. Among the works that have been found useful for reference are John Charles Dent's _Last Forty Years_ (Canada since the union of 1841); _Gray on Confederation_; Cote's _Political Appointments and Elections in the Province of Canada_; Dr. Hodgins' _Legislation and History of Separate Schools in Upper Canada_; the lives of _Lord Elgin_, _Dr. Ryerson_ and _Joseph Howe_ in "The Makers of Canada" series; the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie's _Life and Speeches of the Hon. George Brown_; the Hon. James Young's _Public Men and Public Life in Canada_. Mr. Mackenzie's book contains a valuable collection of letters, to which frequent reference is made in the chapters of this book dealing with confederation. The account of the relations of the Peel government with Governor Sir Charles Bagot is taken from the _Life of Sir Robert Peel_, from his correspondence, edited by C. S. Parker. The files of the _Banner_ and the _Globe_ have been read with some care; they were found to contain an embarrassing wealth of most interesting historical material. To Dr. James Bain, Librarian of the Toronto Free Library, and to Mr. Avern Pardoe, of the Library of the Legislative Assembly, I am deeply indebted for courtesy and assistance.