68 OVER ON THE ISLAND
Tower . . . Westminster Abbey. Yet these are the first things seen by the wandering tourists.
More visitors arrive. A girl, apparently an ex- Islander, is showing an American friend the sights of the city. They are smartly dressed like all Yankees, and know about as much Canadian history as the average.
“ What was Confederation?”
I glance sympathetically at the ex-Canadian and hurry over to look at the governors again.
“When?”
I am still engrossed in the governors.
Their eyes sweep over the room, and I know before they mention it that they have “done” the Con- federation Room and are ready for further historical scalps They leave. More visitors flock in. Now we have quite a gathering .
What a time the first governors had before the Colonial Building came into being! Imagine His Majesty’s Council having to meet in private houses or even in a tavern. Perhaps, though, they did not altogether object to the latter place of meeting. No doubt the meetings then were not quite so dry, that is, of course, when there were Councillors to meet. The governor had a difficult time. When he came to the Island first there were only ten British and forty French settlers. Consequently three months elapsed before he procured a sufficient number of suitable people to form a council. Attendance at the meetings ranged from two to six. No wonder the governor described it as “only the shadow of a government.” When a councillor died, or went away, the governor was really perplexed. It was no easy matter to get some one to take his place.