That consistent, life-long Tory, Sir Allan MacNab, became the head of the new ministry. The attorney-general for Upper Canada was John A. Macdonald. Six members of the old Reform Cabinet sat in the new ministry side by side with four Conservatives. This signified the formation of a new party in Canada, the Liberal-Conservative, an exactly {158} descriptive name, because it composed the best elements of both parties. Under the leadership of John A. Macdonald it held power for practically thirty years. That able politician, formed by education in this country, not outside, perceived instinctively the essential moderation of the Canadian temperament, and how alien to it was the extravagance of _Rouge_ and Clear Grit. The national temperament is cautious and bent to 'shun the falsehood of extremes.' Under the dominance of the new-formed party the jarring scattered provinces became one and grew to the stature of a nation. Lord Elgin's reign was over. In the autumn of 1854 he made a tour of the province and was everywhere received with unmistakable tokens of appreciation and goodwill. He was right in thinking 'I have a strong hold on the people of this country.' His administration represented the triumph of a statesman's principle over every consideration of convenience, popularity, and even safety. Thanks to his firmness and his chivalrous conception of his office, government by the popular will became established beyond shadow of change. To estimate the value of his services to the commonwealth, {159} one has only to imagine a Sir Francis Bond Head in his place during the crisis of the Rebellion Losses Bill. A weaker man would have plunged the country into anarchy, or have paltered and postponed indefinitely the true solution of a vital constitutional problem. No governor of Canada was ever worse treated by the Canadian people; and yet no proconsul is entitled to more grateful remembrance in Canada. In spite of that ill-treatment he grew to like the country. His eloquent farewell speech at Quebec evinces genuine affection for the land and genuine regret at having to leave it for ever. Like every traveller who has known both countries, he was struck by the contrast between 'the whole landscape bathed in a flood of that bright Canadian sun' and 'our murky atmosphere on the other side of the Atlantic.' The majestic beauty of the St Lawrence and citadel-crowned Quebec had won his heart. Like a wise man and a Christian, he looked forward to the end; and he imagined that the memory of the sights and sounds he had grown to love would soothe his dying moments. He left Canada for service in India, like Dufferin and Lansdowne, and never returned. His grave is at Dhurmsala {160} under the shadow of the Himalayas. It is marked by an elaborate monument surmounted by the universal symbol of the Christian faith; but a nobler and more lasting memorial is the stable government he gave to 'that true North.'