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Governor Arthur Gordon
was given the choice of a Governorship in the small
colony of Nova Scotia or a Caribbean colony. He chose
Nova Scotia but quickly became bored and restless. Nova
Scotia had establish responsible government long before
Gordon arrived and the position had already evolved into
one of more figurehead executive then power welding
ruler. He was quite aware of events unfolding in America
with a great Civil War grinding along with a
bloodletting greater then any ever before seen in North
America.
He came up with a
concept that would become his mission as governor.
Maritime Union had been discussed from many decades with
no ultimate action taken. He felt that he could use his
royal influence to convince the governors of New
Brunswick and Prince Edward Island to help him bring
together maritime politicians at a conference to
begin talking about the potential for a Maritime Union
and the steps that need to be taken to achieve it.
The British Government
warmed to the idea of Maritime Union and saw it as a
potential precursor to a more general Union of the
British North American colonies. Agreement was generally
reached among Politian's and Imperial powers and
September 1, 1864 was set as the date that the maritime
representatives would convene at Charlottetown in Prince
Edward Island to discuss the issues and steps to be
taken to achieve union. Little did they know that the
Canadians were also on their way to make another
proposal. |
