Lord Dufferin
told me himself, when I was his Private Secretary in Petrograd,
that on the occasion of his official visit to British Columbia (of
course by sea), in either 1876 or 1877, as Governor-General, he
was expected to drive under a triumphal arch which had been
erected at Victoria, Vancouver Island. This arch was inscribed on
both sides with the word "Separation." I remember perfectly Lord
Dufferin's actual words in describing the incident: "I sent for
the Mayor of Victoria, and told him that I must have a small--a
very small--alteration made in the inscription, before I could
consent to drive under it; an alteration of one letter only. The
initial 'S' must be replaced with an 'R' and then I would pledge
my word that I would do my best to see that 'Reparation' was made
to the Province." This is so eminently characteristic of Lord
Dufferin's methods that it is worth recording. The suggested
alteration in the inscription was duly made, and Lord Dufferin
drove under the arch. In spite of continued efforts the Governor-
General was unable to expedite the construction of the railway
under the Mackenzie Administration, and it needed all his
consummate tact to quiet the ever-growing demand for separation
from the Dominion on the part of British Columbia, owing to the
non-fulfilment of the terms of union.
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