He had been a moderate Liberal in politics, and opposed at the outset to the federal union, but before 1867 he became identified with the Liberal-Conservative party and gave his best assistance to the success of the federation.  In Quebec, Mr. Pierre Chauveau, a man of high culture, formed the first government, which was also associated with the Liberal-Conservative party.  In New Brunswick, Attorney-General Wetmore was the first prime minister, but he was appointed a judge in 1870, and Mr. George E. King, a judge of the supreme court of Canada some years later, became his successor.  In Nova Scotia, Mr. Hiram Blanchard, a Liberal and unionist, formed a government, but it was defeated at the elections by an overwhelming majority by the anti-unionists, and Mr. Annand, the old friend of Mr. Howe, became first minister.

The elections for the Dominion house of commons took place in the summer of 1867, and Sir John Macdonald’s government was sustained by nearly three-fourths of the entire representation.  The most notable incident in this contest was the defeat of Mr. Brown.  Soon after his resignation in 1866 he assumed his old position of hostility to Sir John Macdonald and the Conservatives.  At a later date, when the Liberals were in office, he accepted a seat in the senate, but in the meantime he continued to manage the Globe and denounce his too successful and wily antagonist in its columns with his usual vehemence.

The first parliament of the new Dominion met in the autumn of 1867 in the new buildings at Ottawa—­also chosen as the seat of government of the federation—­and was probably the ablest body of men that ever assembled for legislative purposes within the limits of old or new Canada.  In the absence of the legislation which was subsequently passed both in Ontario and Quebec against dual representation—­or the election of the same representatives to both the Dominion parliament and the local legislatures—­it comprised the leading public men of all parties in the two provinces in question.  Such legislation had been enacted in the maritime provinces before 1867, but it did not prevent the ablest men of New Brunswick from selecting the larger and more ambitious field of parliamentary action.  In Nova Scotia Sir Charles Tupper was the only man who emerged from the battle in which so many unionists were for the moment defeated.  Even Sir Adams Archibald, the secretary of state, was defeated in a county where he had been always returned by a large majority.  Mr. Howe came in at the head of a strong phalanx of anti-unionists—­“Repealers” as they called themselves for a short time.