that “no change had been made in the constitution of the country, and that responsible government in a colony was responsible nonsense, and meant independence.”  It was at last found necessary to give some sort of explanation of such extraordinary opinions, to avert a political crisis in the assembly.  Then, to add to the political embarrassment, there was brought before the people the question of abandoning the practice of endowing denominational colleges, and of establishing in their place one large non-sectarian University.  At this time the legislature voted annual grants to five sectarian educational institutions of a high class.  The most important were King’s College, belonging to the Anglican Church, and Acadia College, supported by the Baptists.  The Anglican Church was still influential in the councils of the province, and the Baptists had now the support of Mr. Johnston, the able attorney-general, who had seceded from the Church of England.  This able lawyer and politician had won the favour of the aristocratic governor, and persuaded him to dissolve the assembly, during the absence of Mr. Howe in the country, though it had continuously supported the government, and the people had given no signs of a want of confidence in the house as then constituted.  The fact was, Mr. Johnston and his friends in the council thought it necessary to lose no time in arousing the feelings of the supporters of denominational colleges against Mr. Howe and other Liberals, who had commenced to hold meetings throughout the country in favour of a non-sectarian University.  The two parties came back from the electors almost evenly divided, and Mr. Howe had an interview with Lord Falkland.  He consented to remain in the cabinet until the assembly had an opportunity of expressing its opinion on the question at issue, when the governor himself precipitated a crisis by appointing to the executive and legislative councils Mr. M.B.  Almon, a wealthy banker, and a brother-in-law of the attorney-general.  Mr. Howe and Mr. MacNab at once resigned their seats in the government on the ground that Mr. Almon’s appointment was a violation of the compact by which two Liberals had been induced to join the ministry, and was most unjust to the forty or fifty gentlemen who, in both branches, had sustained the administration for several years.  Instead of authorising Mr. Johnston to fill the two vacancies and justify the course taken by the governor, the latter actually published a letter in a newspaper, in which he boldly stated that he was entirely opposed to the formation of a government composed of individuals of one political party, that he would steadily resist any invasion of the royal prerogatives with respect to appointments, and that he had chosen Mr. Almon, not simply on the ground that he had not been previously engaged in political life to any extent, but chiefly because he wished to show his own confidence in Mr. Johnston, Mr. Almon’s brother-in-law.  Lord Falkland had obviously thrown himself into the arms of the astute attorney-general and his political friends.