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4.

contemporaries. Indeed, in the decorous and somewhat drab circle of
Whig statesmen he moved like a panther among Polar bears. But it is
not possible to put him, I think, in the first rank of nineteenth century
statesmanship with Peel and Gladstone and Disraeli. There is a
delightful story of his children once discussing whether their
father's name in a hundred year's time would be mentioned in the history
of England, and his son Charles, the "Master Lambton" of the
picture, said, "I hope they will put it this way: 'In the reign of
George IV. lived the f'amous Mr . Lambton - he was a man of considerable
talents.' " That is about the truth. He is famous, he will
always be famous; but his talents were not more than considerable. The
work he accomplished was greater than the man.

It is of that work I would speak. It is curious that all
his years of laborious political agitation in England, his Cabinet
offices, his diplomatic successes, should be utterly forgotten, and
that he should be remembered only by his few months in Canada.
When Durham started on his mission Canada was virtually
in revolution. The Government, both in Quebec and Ontario, had broken
down, and the constitution was in fact suspended. England was
comprehensively bored with the whole subject. Many believed that
annexation by the United States was inevitable. Liberal English
statesmen like Lord John Russell held that responsible government
for Canada meant a separation for good and all, and that it would be
better to separate at once rather than attempt an idiotic experiment.
Tory statesmen like the Duke of Wellington declared, to quote his
own words, that "local self-government and the sovereignty of Great