Party were unanimous in their condemnation of the Lieutenant-Govenor's arbitrary conduct. Public meetings were held, and strong language, though hardly stronger than the occasion called for, was the order of the day. Finally, an address, signed by nearly all the prominent Reformers in the Province, was presented to Judge Willis, in which the subscribers expressed their esteem for his character, and their high appreciation of his conduct as a judge. A petition, which is believed to have been drawn by Robert Baldwin himself, was also forwarded to the King. Whether entirely drawn up by Mr. Baldwin himself or not, there is no doubt that he had a share in its compilation, and that its contents were fully in accord with his views, as, apart from his being one of the signatories, a copy of it, initialed and annotated by him, was found among his papers after his death. This petition is important, as showing that the constitutional changes of a later date had already been carefully considered and outlined by the Reformers of this Province. It sets out by humbly thanking His Majesty for having sent Mr. Willis among them in the capacity of a judge, and extols his virtues, both judicial and personal. It then represents that the country had been deprived of one of its greatest blessings in the arbitrary removal of a judge who, by the impartial discharge of his duties, had become endeared to the Canadian people. Then comes the following recital:—"It has long been the source of many grievances, and of their continuance, that the Legislative Council is formed not of an independent gentry, taken from the country at large, but of executive councillors and *place-men, the great majority of whom are under the immediate, active, and undue influence of the person administering Your Majesty's Provincial Government, holding their offices at his mere will and pleasure. Hence arises, in a great measure, the practical irresponsibility of executive councillors and other official advisers of Your Majesty's representative, who have hitherto, with impunity, both disregarded the laws of the land and despised the opinions of the public."
In entering active political life for the first time, Mr. Baldwin enjoyed the advantage of having been carefully trained in sound liberal principles by his father. He had the further advantage of possessing the esteem and respect even of those most bitterly opposed to his views on political matters, and his wealth and social position exalted him far above the petty ambitions of meaner men. With the modesty becoming in a
