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free institutions, civil liberty, and parliamentary reforms fOr which they will ever cherish his memory in grateful remembrance. Mr. Coles was the father of Responsible Government-—~a system which not only gave the people the right to choose their own rulers, but which, broke up‘as corrupt a clique as ever exercised the power of Government over an injured people. The Land Purchase bill was another child of the same parent. This great measure not only curtailed the power of landlordism, but it made free men of many whose necks had long been galled by the yoke of a proprietary system. The Elective Franchise was another of his measures and today is the proudest birthright. This Act effectually broke down the power of aristocracy and wealth, and gave the young men of the country, who were forced to obey its laws and yield to its man- dates, a voice in making those laws and in saying what those man— dates should be. The One Ninth Bill was also a creature of the Liberal party headed by Coles. It was a beneficial measure and

gave much relief to the tenantry. But the greatestmeasure of '

his life was the Free Education Law. This measure was vastly in advance of the age, and whatever may be said of it, now that it has been allowed to grow imperfect, it cannot be denied that it was the agency, in its day, of raising young men all over the coun- try to a level with those in the city—of preparing them to exercise the franchise with safety and discretion. So beneficial was this , law 1n its operations that 1n a marvellously short time it would be difficult to find a boy or a girl in the country who could not read

and Write. Hundreds of our young men today are filling positions ‘ .

V'of honor and responsibility in all parts of the world, who, but for George Coles, would be groping their way in obscurity and poverty. Besides all these popular measures Mr. Coles secured the passage of others equally useful in our Legislature, but unfortunately for the country. were rejected, through the underhand influence of the proprietors, by the Imperial authorities. Were it not for this un- hallowed influence—an influence which had too long been the bane of our progress—the measures of Mr. Coles would long ago have banished the hated system of landlordism from his native land. And thus on the let August, 1875

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