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Bagot Bailey
99
of their sympathy with the Belgians. The appointment of T. Remi Vallieres de St.-Real as chief-justice of Montreal, and of Meilleur as superintendent of education, deepened the good impression. But the politicians for the most part held aloof. Their foremost leader, Lafontaine, who had declined office under Lord Sydenham, again declined, except on terms of reorganising the administration. Having exhausted every constitutional means to meet the views of the French Canadians, he recommended his ministers to meet the assembly on 8 Sept. 1842.
Within a week of the opening of the house the complete reorganisation of the ministry which Bagot deemed needful came, and with it opened the real era of responsible government. The more conservative members (Draper, Ogden, Davidson, Sherwood) quickly retired from the executive, and the reform leaders (Baldwin, Lafontaine, Morin, Aylwin) took office. Thus was formed the first colonial cabinet that was really representative of parliament, and responsible to it. The ensuing session was short, but was sufficient to affirm the new system. Thirty-two acts were passed, the most important of which were a law establishing a polling booth in each township or parish instead of in each county as theretofore, a measure levying a protective duty on American wheat, and a resolution that Kingston should not remain the seat of government. The strength of the new ministry was thoroughly tested, but in a house of eighty-eight members its opponents of all shades could not muster more than twenty-eight votes. From this time the terms appropriate to parliamentary rule, as ministry, cabinet, first minister, premier, opposition, leader of opposition, were in current use in Canada. The new ministers did not return to their constituents for re-election till 12 Oct., when the house was prorogued to 18 Nov. It did not meet again during Bagot's tenure of office.
The acceptance of a purely parliamentary form of colonial government was deemed a hazardous experiment among the extreme tories alike of Canada and of England. Bagot incurred the severe rebuke of Lord Stanley, the colonial minister, who deemed that Bagot had gone too far in his recognition of ministerial responsibility to parliament. Lord Stanley's despatches of censure have not been published. Their receipt proved an irreparable injury to Bagot's health. At all times of a weakly constitution, he at once requested his recall. When his successor. Sir Charles Theophilus (afterwards Baron) Metcalfe [q. v.], arrived, he was too ill to be moved from Alwington House at Kingston, then the residence of the governor, he surrendered the reins of power on 30 March 1843, after he had summoned his councillors to his bedroom ; having taken leave of them, he placed a paper vindicating his action in their hands. He died at Kingston on 19 May following. His body was borne to England by H.M.S. Warspite.
On 22 July 1806 Bagot married Mary Charlotte Anne Wellesley-Pole (d. 2 Feb. 1845), eldest daughter of William, fourth earl of Mornington, and niece to the Duke of Wellington. By her he had four sons and six daughters, of whom Emily Georgiana married George William Finch-Hatton, ninth earl of Winchilsea and fifth earl of Nottingham [q. v.]
[Foster's Peerage, p. 50 ; Foster's Alumni Oxon. 1715-1886; Eecords of Lincoln's Inn, ii. 7; Haydn's Book of Dignities, 1890; Hansard's Debates (3rd ser.) vol. ix. p. xiii ; British and Foreign State Papers, 1815-41 ; Gent. Mag. 1843, ii. 201; Stapleton's Some Corresp. of G. Canning, i. 182-7; Wellington Despatches, 2nd ser. ii. 470-82 ; Johns Hopkins Unir. Studies, 16th ser., Nos. 1-4, Neutrality of the Lakes ; Dent's Can. Portr, Gall. iii. 77-8; Dent's Last Forty Years, i. 188, 262 ; Ryerson's Story of my Life, pp. 305-7 ; Gerin-Lajoie's Dix Ans au Can., pp. 135 et seq. ; Turrotte's Can. sous Union.pp. 110-38 ; Hincks's Pol. Hist, of Can. (1840-50), pp. 24-9; Hincks's Reminiscences, pp. 84-6; David's L'Union des deux Canadas, pp. 33-45; J. E. Cote's Pol. Appointments.]
