whom he had five sons, two of whom survived him, Robert and William Augustus. Robert was called to the bar in the Trinity Term of 1825, and practised with his father under the name of Baldwin & Son. They afterwards associated with them Robert Baldwin Sullivan. Robert early became a member of the Osgoode Society, and at his death held the office of Treasurer. He knew the value of a high character to the profession, and as a bencher was very strict in enforcing professional rules. We have seen how he early married his cousin. He had by her two sons and two daughters. One of the daughters married the Honourable John Ross. One of the sons chose the sea for a profession. The eldest son, W. Willcocks, occupied for some time a large farm handed down from his great grandfather, Mr. Willcocks. In 1824 he ran for the County of York with James E. Small, afterwards Judge of the County of Middlesex, but both were defeated by Messrs. Ketchum and Mackenzie. In the following year, Mr. John B. Robinson, who then represented York (Toronto), vacated his office of Attorney-General, and his seat in Parliament, on becoming Chief Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench. Baldwin came forward, his opponent now, being, oddly enough, Mr. James E. Small. Baldwin was returned but lost his seat on petition, there being an informality in the Writ which was issued by the Lieutenant-Governor, instead of by the Speaker of the House. This was one of the first protests against personal, and in favour of parliamentary, government. Mr. Baldwin, on again presenting himself was again elected. The next year, on the death of George IV., parliament was dissolved, and Mr. Baldwin on seeking re-election was defeated by Mr. Jarvis* whom he had beaten twelve months before. From that period until the Union he did not seek a seat in Parliament; but he continued to watch the progress of events and never ceased to contend that so long as the executive officers were independent of the people, no change in the character of the Legislative Council would be other than illusory, or as he * Mr. W. B. Jarvis, then, and for many years afterwards sheriff of the Home District and afterwards of the County of York. sometimes put it, that the Executive Council to be effective should always be able to command the support of the Legislative Assembly. We have here the key note to his whole political career. He laboured to make the Executive dependent on the will of the people, when such a claim was denounced as revolutionary. It was to secure this object as we shall see, that he fought with such unbending purpose, that generous, noble character, but reactionary governor, Lord Metcalfe, with his ideas of Government borrowed from India and Jamaica. In 1835, Baldwin visited England and the Continent. While in England he carried on a correspondence with Lord Glenelg, the Minister for the Colonies-for he was denied an interview -urging the necessity of giving the Canadian people a real constitution instead of the sham by which they were mocked. On his return to Canada, he found Sir Francis Bond Head at war with the Assembly and with popular opinion. Influenced perhaps by instructions from home, and perhaps by a sincere desire to serve the Province, Sir Francis Head determined to have an Executive Council composed of the leaders of both parties. He was confessedly no politician. We have had for many years in our midst a distinguished man who is not only infinitely superior to Sir Francis Head as a literary man, but is a veteran political writer. He has contended for government without party, but has never explained the manner in which such a government could be worked under a constitutional system. When Head made overtures to Baldwin, Baldwin said he would afford him assistance on condition that he had his entire confidence, and that responsible government should be established; pointing out that under responsible government His Excellency would have the full power of a constitutional king, which was all that the Canadian constitution, properly understood, gave him; that he would always have the right to accept or reject the advice of any of his executive councellors, they of course resigning on their advice being rejected. "His Excellency," says Baldwin in his letter to Mr. Perry, "very candidly declared his entire dissent from such views and opinions. He, nevertheless, with the most gracious expression of satisfaction at the very full and candid manner in which I had opened them to him, renewed his solicitation for my accept SIR FRANCIS BOND HEAD. 397 ance of a seat in the Executive Council, suggesting as an inducement for such acceptance the increased facilities which my place in the Executive Council would afford me towards the more efficiently representing and urging my views." Baldwin told him that no administration could give him much assistance that had not the confidence of the majority of the Provincial Parliament, and that he did not think this confidence could be obtained without more help than his single name would bring. In the second place he said he had no confidence, politically speaking, in the existing councillors, all of them Tories. These were, Peter Robinson, Commissioner of Crown Lands, G. H. Monkland, Inspector General, and Joseph Wells, Bursar of King's College. After a consultation with Dr. Baldwin and Dr. Rolph, Robert Baldwin declined to enter the Government. The Lieutenant-Governor again sent for him and requested him to state more explicitly what the assistance was to which he had alluded. Baldwin replied that the assistance of Dr. Rolph, Mr. Bidwell, his father, and Mr. Dunn was most desirable. After further negotiations Baldwin, with his friends Rolph and Dunn, were sworn in. The new councillors, as we have seen, did not conceal from the Lieutenant-Governor their views as to the propriety of the Executive Council being consulted in all public affairs. They patriotically gave Sir Francis Head a trial, especially as he urged that in the Council they would have more opportunity of advancing their views. Sir Francis began to make appointments on his own responsibility-appointments which were censured by the Assembly. The duties of the Council were restricted to land matters, and they were kept in ignorance of administrative acts for which, nevertheless, public opinion held them responsible. Contrary altogether to the expectations of the Lieutenant-Governor, of the House of Assembly, and of the public, the old members of the Council joined the new in signing a remonstrance against a system of government under which the sworn councillors were kept studiously in the dark as to the proceedings of the Lieutenant-Governor. It can scarcely be doubted that Sir Francis Head expected that he would have the support of the three councillors who had been for years acting under the old irresponsible system. He, however, did not hesitate as to his. course, which was to require his councillors either to abandon their principles or to forfeit his confidence. The result was the resignation of the entire Council, and a breach between Sir Francis Head and the House of Assembly, which had been but recently elected, and which contained a majority of Reformers. At this crisis an Irishman stept prominently forward on the political stage, who was to play a brilliant and even distinguished part, and fill a great space in history, though his career unfortunately leaves on the mind the impression that he was cynically indifferent as to the side he espoused. This impression is in part true, in part false. The weak side of his character comes out in the reply he made to a friend who complimented him on a brilliant speech made on one side of a question. "Yes," he said "it was a good speech, but not half so good as the one I made a year ago from the other point of view." This, however, may have been in part jest. The strong side of his character appears in his large grasp of political issues. Robert Baldwin Sullivan was a contrast to his cousin Robert Baldwin. Intellectually brilliant, and morally weak, he yet did work for Canada which should never be forgotten. He is indeed the most shining figure among the Irishmen who took part in the political struggles which preceded the establishment of parliamentary or, as it has been generally termed in Canada,-Responsible Government. A native of Bandon, in the County of Cork, whence his father emigrated to Upper Canada in the year 1819, when the future statesman was a youth of about eighteen years of age,* his mother, as we have seen, was a sister of Dr. William Warren Baldwin, and it was owing to the fact that many members of his wife's family had made Canada their home, that Mr. Sullivan's father was led to come here. Robert Sullivan was for a short time employed in business, his elder brother Daniel, who died soon after arriving at manhood having been destined for the legal profession. Robert soon determined to follow the same career as his brother, and was articled to his uncle Dr. Baldwin about the same time as his distinguished cousin. Mr. Sullivan speedily attained great eminence in his * Morgan, with his usual accuracy, says Sullivan was born in Toronto. ROBERT BALDWIN SULLIVAN. 399 profession, to which he devoted himself most assiduously. At this period of his career he had not taken any active part in politics, although from his family connexions he was looked upon as belonging to the liberal party, with which his uncle and brother-in-law had been identified. Both had, however, in a great measure withdrawn from public life, when R. B. Sullivan entered on his public career. About this time a letter was addressed by Mr. Joseph Hume, M. P., to Mr. William Lyon Mackenzie in which he referred in strong terms to the "baneful domination of the Mother Country," and expressed a hope that the subsisting connexion would soon terminate. This language created intense excitement throughout Upper Canada, and a public meeting was called, the avowed object of which was to unite all classes of the people, who were favourable to British connexion, without reference to home views or questions of domestic policy. On this occasion Mr. Sullivan took a prominent part in opposition to Mr. Mackenzie, who had recently returned from England, whither he had gone on a political mission after his expulsion from the fourth Parliament of Upper Canada. About this time the City of Toronto was incorporated, and Mr. Mackenzie became its first mayor in the year 1834. During this year Mr. Sullivan took considerable interest in municipal affairs, acting in concert with the minority of the corporation, who were members of the Conservative party. At the next municipal election he became a candidate for St. David's Ward, in opposition to Mr. Mackenzie, and carried his election, after which he was chosen mayor of the city. He was filling that office, and devoting himself most energetically to the improvement of the city, and more especially to its drainage, when Sir Francis Head at the commencement of the year 1836, succeeded Sir John Colborne as Lieutenant-Governor. The earliest acts of the new LieutenantGovernor, with their results have been recorded. In the present crisis Sir Francis Head applied for assistance to Mr. Sullivan, whose term of office as mayor had recently expired. Sir Francis Head was evidently desirous to avoid identifying himself with the old official party, and Mr. Sullivan occupied exactly the position that was likely to render him a valuable ally. He had no sympathies with the old party, and yet |