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politics, especially since the British proposal before
them guaranteed that Upper Canada’s huge debt would be absorbed and
paid off – at the expense of the French.
    Robert eagerly addressed his cousin’s
question. “Our first argument, always, will be that the Union Bill
is the will of the home government and by extension the will of the
Crown.”
    “Precisely,” Hincks said. “The Tories have
spent the past five years proclaiming that they are the
loyalist party and branding us as an American cabal who secretly
want a republic unfettered by monarchist ties.”
    “Secondly, I suggest that we unsettle the
placeholders – the appointed ministers and petty officials who have
achieved near life-tenure under the aegis of the Family Compact and
their cronyism – by emphasizing that the bill creates a permanent
civil list and, at the same time, calls for all other major
appointments to be held at the pleasure of the current governor.
Moreover, when a new governor arrives, as he has just done, he will
be free to replace the sitting ministers and senior civil
servants.”
    “But won’t that induce the present ministers
and Executive Councillors to oppose the bill?” someone on the other
side of the room asked.
    “Not if we stress that His Excellency, Mr.
Poulett Thomson, has been sent here to make sure that the bill passes ,” Hincks said with some relish. “In short, their own
tenure at this moment depends upon their pleasing the current
governor, who may be here for many years, and who holds their fate
in his hands.”
    Murmurs of approval greeted this sly
stratagem.
    “The unrepentant Tories will hang fire
anyway,” Robert added, “but moderates like Merritt and Sherwood
will be looking ahead, not behind. We just want to give these
fellows a bit of a push.”
    “And we should also point out to Sherwood and
his group that the provinces are to be equally represented in both
upper and lower houses, even though Quebec has a third larger
population,” Hincks said.
    “True,” Robert Sullivan said, “but most
Tories and many ordinary folk feel that that is still far too great
a reward for a populace who revolted against the Crown and who,
even now, have been deemed so unfit for parliamentary government
that their Assembly has been suspended and they require supervision
by a special council. How do we counter such a view?”
    It was a good question, and gained more power
for having been put by a man who agreed with the sentiment behind
it.
    “Simple,” Hincks replied, glancing ever so
furtively over at Robert beside him and receiving the briefest nod
of approval. “We will tell them that a sizeable minority elected
from Quebec will perforce be English members, and that so long as
we English stick together on important issues – whatever happens to
party alignments – there is absolutely no danger that the French
can ever outvote us.”
    Robert reached over and picked a macaroon out
of the bottomless dish on the table beside him – to hide his
embarrassment at this necessary piece of sophistry.
    “And, we should add,” Robert Sullivan said, “
that within a decade our population will have overtaken theirs, and
we can then move to rep-by-pop, eh?” He seemed inordinately
pleased with this possibility.
    At this point, Clement Peachey, the solicitor
and workhorse of the Baldwin and Sullivan firm, cleared his throat
and said in his customary diffident but clear-headed manner, “Have
we not, Robert, been avoiding the main issue?”
    Robert smiled. “More like leaving the hardest
part to last.”
    “You’re referring to responsible government?”
Dr. Baldwin said. He had been sitting on Robert’s right, taking
everything in but saying nothing so far. His opinion, of course,
was appreciated above all others because in addition to being a
physician, a lawyer (and Bencher of the Law Society), an architect
and a politician, he had espoused the notion of a cabinet-form of
responsible government for the province