power, and a Conservative Government appointed his successor. This was Sir:Charles Bagot. He was a Conservative, but he pursued the same policy as Sydenham, and during his short term of office, he tried to carry out the principle of Responsible Government. He formed a new ministry, the principal members of which were Mr. Baldwin, Mr, Lafontaine and Mr. Francis Hincks. This was the first Reform Ministry of Canada. Bagot died in 1843, and was succeeded by Sir Charles Metcalfe, whose political experience had been gained in India and Jamaica. He was an able and upright man, but utterly unfit by his previous training for governing a colony where the people wished to manage their own affairs. He soon got into trouble with his Ministry and the Assembly. He claimed the right to make appointments to government offices, such as registrarships and shrievalties; but his advisers objected on the ground that they were responsible for all such appointments, and therefore, should recommend the persons to be appointed. As the Governor would not yield, Messrs. Baldwin and Lafontaine and all the members of the Executive Council, except one, resigned. For some time Metcalfe tried to govern without a ministry, as the Conservatives were not strong enough in the Assembly to form a Government. At length he succeeded in getting Mr. Draper to take office and form a Ministry, and then dissolved the Assembly and had anew election. In this election Sir Charles Metcalfe took an active part, and managed to get a small majority in favor of his Ministers and his policy. Soon after this, he asked to be recalled, on account of ill-health, and Earl Cathcart acted as Governor until Lord Elgin arrived in 1847.
4. Ashburton Treaty.— While Canada was thus slowly working out a free system of government some important events of another character had taken place. In 1842, England and the United States settled the boundary line between Maine and New Brunswick and between Canada and the United States as far west as the Lake of the Woods. .The map that showed the boundary decided upon in 1783 had been lost, and disputes had arisen about the line between the State of Maine and New Brunswick. After various fruitless efforts to get a satisfactory decision Lord Ashburton and Daniel Webster were appointed by the British and United States governments respectively to decide what was the right boundary
