The Canadian Portrait Gallery - Volume 3 (of 4)Dent, John Charles
History
The Canadian Portrait Gallery - Volume 3 (of 4)
Dent, John Charles
Canada -- Biography
appointed members of Council prior to the meeting of the first
Parliament of United Canada, that there were some in whom he had no
political confidence, Mr. Daly was one of the exceptions; and as Mr.
Baldwin's avowed object was the introduction of French Canadians into
the Government, he must have been satisfied that they had not the
objection to Mr. Daly that they had to Mr. Ogden and Mr. Day. Mr.
Baldwin's attempt to procure a reconstruction of the Ministry was
unsuccessful, and he resigned, not having been supported by those with
whom he had avowed his readiness to act. Mr. Daly went through the
session of 1841 as a member of the Government, and visited England
during the recess. On the meeting of the Legislature in 1842, Sir
Charles Bagot having, during the interval, succeeded Lord Sydenham,
overtures were made, with the concurrence of Mr. Daly, to Messrs.
Lafontaine and Baldwin, which led to a reconstruction of the Cabinet.
Mr. Daly retained his office of Provincial Secretary, and acted in
perfect harmony with his colleagues, not only during the short term of
Sir Charles Bagot's Government, but during the critical period of 1843,
after Sir Charles Metcalfe's assumption of the Government, and up to the
very moment when, in the opinion of all his colleagues, resignation
became absolutely necessary. During the whole of this period Mr. Daly
appeared to concur with his colleagues on every point on which a
difference of opinion arose, and it was only when resignation became
absolutely necessary that he declined to act any longer in concert with
them. At an early period of the session of 1843 a vacancy occurred in
the Speakership of the Legislative Council--an office of considerable
political importance, and one which it was clearly impossible that the
Ministry could consent to have conferred on a political opponent. The
choice of the Administration fell on the Hon. Denis B. Viger, one of the
oldest Liberal politicians in the Province. On submitting their advice
to Sir Charles Metcalfe, he not only objected most strongly to Mr.
Viger's appointment, but stated that he had offered the post, without
consulting his Ministers, to Mr. Sherwood, a retired Judge, and father
of Mr. Henry Sherwood, one of the leading opponents of the
Administration. Had Mr. Sherwood accepted the offer, the crisis would
have occurred a few weeks sooner than it did, and on a question on which
there could have been no misapprehension. Mr. Sherwood declined the
offer, probably to avoid the impending difficulty, and after some
negotiation, the Ministry consented to withdraw Mr. Viger's name, and to
substitute that of the late Lieutenant-Governor Caron. During all this
difficulty, Mr. Daly was apparently in accord with his colleagues,
although it subsequently appeared that he was acting in concert with Mr.
Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who took an active part in supporting Sir
Charles, and whose letters published in England threw a good deal of
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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