A despatch was published on Monday in which Mr. Cardwell,
under date 17th inst., informs Lord Monck of the result of the negotiations between Her Majesty's Ministers and the Canadian delegates. Four gentlemen were sent over—Messrs. Macdonald, Cartier, Brown, and Galt—to confer with the Home Government upon-1st, the speediest means of securing a federation among the British American Colonies ; 2nd, the mode of dividing the defences of Canada between the colony and the kingdom ; 3rd, the steps to be taken with reference to the Reciprocity Treaty ; and 4th, the arrangements necessary for the settlement of the Hudson's Bay Company. The Ministers were received by Mr. Cardwell, Mr. Gladstone, the Duke of Somerset, and Earl de Grey, and the decisions arrived at are analyzed in another column. We may add here, however, that the despatch admits fully the obligation of the Imperial Government to " defend every portion of the Empire with all the resources at its command."
