And so it has proved. Of all the achievements of the Fathers this is the most splendid {190} and enduring. The Empire came to mean, not the survival of antiquated ideas, but the blessings of a well-ordered civilization. And when in 1914 the Great War shook the world, Canadians, having found that the sway of Britain brought them peace, honour, and contentment, were proud to die for the Empire. To debate the future of Canada was long the staple subject for abstract discussion, but the march of events has carried us past the stage of idle imaginings. A knowledge of the laws by which Divine Providence controls the destinies of nations has thus far eluded the subtlest intellect, and it may be impossible for any man, however gifted, to foresee what fate may one day overtake the British Empire. But its traditions of freedom and toleration, its ideals of pure government and respect for law, can be handed on unimpaired through the ages. The opportunity to maintain and perpetuate these traditions and ideals is the priceless inheritance which Canada has received from the Fathers of Confederation. {191} BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE The printed material relative to Confederation is voluminous. The earliest proposals are to be found in the _Constitutional Documents_ by Shortt and Doughty. The parliamentary debates of the four provinces from 1864 to 1867 record the progress of the movement which culminated in the British North America Act. For the intimate history of the coalition ministry and the conferences in Quebec and in London the two works by Sir Joseph Pope, _Memoirs of Sir John Macdonald_ and _Confederation Documents_, are mines of indispensable information. The files of the Toronto _Globe_ and the Halifax _Chronicle_ are valuable, while the pamphlets, especially those relating to the events in Quebec and Nova Scotia, are essential. Gray's _Confederation_ confirms other material, but is not in itself of paramount importance. Mr Chisholm's _Speeches and Public Letters of Joseph Howe_ and Dr Saunders's _Three Premiers of Nova Scotia_ must be consulted. Mr John Boyd's _Sir George Etienne Cartier: His Life and Times_ exhibits full knowledge and is free from bias. See also the _Life and Speeches of {192} George Brown_, by Alexander Mackenzie, which contains some valuable material. For a clear and impartial biography of Brown, see _George Brown_, by John Lewis. For the period after the union, consult Pope's _Memoirs of Sir John Macdonald_ and Sir John Willison's _Sir Wilfrid Laurier and the Liberal Party_. _The Life and Times of Sir Leonard Tilley_ by James Hannay and Sir Charles Tupper's _Recollections_ throw light on the question in the Maritime Provinces. The official dispatches between the colonial secretary and the governors of the provinces laid before the Imperial parliament are collected in one volume. Mr William Houston's _Constitutional Documents_ contains useful notes.