since the resignation of Mr. Mackenzie in 1880.  He was left without the support of the majority of the Liberal representatives of the province in the house of commons when he condemned the execution of Riel, principally on the ground that he was insane—­a conclusion not at all justified by the report of the medical experts who had been chosen by the government to examine the condemned man previous to the execution.  The energy with which this rebellion was repressed showed both the half-breeds and the Indians of the west the power of the Ottawa government.  From that day to this order has prevailed in the western country, and grievances have been redressed as far as possible.  The readiness with which the militia force of Canada rallied to the support of the government was conclusive evidence of the deep national sentiment that existed throughout the Dominion.  In Ottawa, Port Hope, and Toronto monuments have been raised in memory of the brave men who gave up their lives for the Dominion, but probably the most touching memorial of this unfortunate episode in Canadian history is the rude cairn of stone which still stands among the wild flowers of the prairie in memory of the gallant fellows who were mown down by the unerring rifle shots of the half-breeds hidden in the ravines of Fish Creek.

In 1885 parliament passed a general franchise law for the Dominion in place of the system—­which had prevailed since 1867—­of taking the electoral lists of the several provinces as the lists for elections to the house of commons.  The opposition contested this measure with great persistency, but Sir John Macdonald pressed it to a successful conclusion, mainly on the ground that it was necessary in a country like Canada, composed of such diverse elements, to have for the Dominion uniformity of suffrage, based on a small property qualification, instead of having diverse systems of franchise—­in some provinces, universal franchise, to which he and other Conservatives generally were strongly opposed.

Between 1880 and 1894 Canada was called upon to mourn the loss of a number of her ablest and brightest statesmen—­one of them the most notable in her political history.  It was on a lovely May day of 1880 that the eminent journalist and politician, George Brown, died from the effects of a bullet wound which he received at the hand of one Bennett, a printer, who had been discharged by the Globe for drunkenness and incapacity.  The Conservative party in 1888 suffered a great loss by the sudden decease of Mr. Thomas White, minister of the interior in the Macdonald ministry, who had been for the greater part of his life a prominent journalist, and had succeeded in winning a conspicuous and useful position in public affairs as a writer, speaker, and administrator.  Three years later, the Dominion was startled by the sad announcement, on the 6th June, 1891, that the voice of the great prime minister, Sir John Macdonald, who had so long controlled the affairs of Canada, would never more