One of the delicate questions which the Macdonald government was called upon to settle soon after their coming into office was what is known as “the Letellier affair.”  In March, 1878, the lieutenant-governor of the province of Quebec, Mr. Letellier de Saint-Just, who had been previously a member of the Mackenzie Liberal government, dismissed the Boucherville Conservative ministry on the ground that they had taken steps in regard to both administrative and legislative measures not only contrary to his representations, but even without previously advising him of what they proposed to do.  At his request Mr., now Sir, Henry Joly de Lotbiniere formed a Liberal administration, which appealed to the country.  The result was that the two parties came back evenly balanced.  The Conservatives of the province were deeply irritated at this action of the lieutenant-governor, and induced Sir John Macdonald, then leader of the opposition, to make a motion in the house of commons, declaring Mr. Letellier’s conduct “unwise and subversive of the sound principles of responsible government.”  This motion was made as an amendment on the proposal to go into committee of supply, and under a peculiar usage of the Canadian commons it was not permitted to move a second amendment at this stage.  Had such a course been regular, the Mackenzie government would have proposed an amendment similar to that which was moved in the senate, to the effect that it was inexpedient to offer any opinion on the action of the lieutenant-governor of Quebec for the reason that “the federal and provincial governments, each in its own sphere, enjoyed responsible government equally, separately, and independently”—­in other words, that the wisest constitutional course to follow under the circumstances was to allow each province to work out responsible government without any undue interference on the part of the Dominion government or parliament.  As it happened, however, Mr. Mackenzie and his colleagues had no alternative open to them but to vote down the motion proposed in the commons; while in the Conservative senate the amendment, which could not be submitted to the lower house under the rules, was defeated, and the motion condemning the lieutenant-governor carried by a large party vote.

In 1879, when the Macdonald government was in office, the matter was again brought before the house of commons and the same motion of censure that had been defeated in 1878 was introduced in the same way as before, and carried by a majority of 85.  The prime minister then informed Lord Lorne that in the opinion of the government Mr. Letellier’s “usefulness was gone,” and he recommended his removal from office; but the governor-general was unwilling to agree hastily to such a dangerous precedent as the removal of a lieutenant-governor, and as an imperial officer he referred the whole matter to her Majesty’s government for their consideration and instructions.  The colonial secretary did not hesitate to state “that