as a public writer. Referring to the file of the _Acadian_, we see
little to indicate unusual talent. It contains some lively sketches of
natural scenery, some indifferent poetry, and a few common-place
editorial contributions. A few months later he severed his connection
with the _Acadian_ and purchased the _Nova Scotian_ from Mr. G. R.
Young, the brother of the present Chief-Justice, a man of large
knowledge and fine intellect. It was a courageous undertaking for so
young a man, as he was only 24 years of age when he assumed the control
of so prominent a paper; but the rulers of the dominant official party
soon found in him a vigorous opponent and a zealous advocate of Liberal
opinions. It is a noteworthy fact that Mr. Howe, like Mr. Mackenzie in
Upper Canada, made himself famous at the outset of his career by
pleading on his own behalf in a case of libel. Mr. Mackenzie had been
prosecuted for an alleged libel circulated during a political contest
with Mr. Small, and defended his own cause so successfully that the jury
gave him a verdict; and they are even said, according to Mr. Lindsey's
'Life of Mr. Mackenzie,' to have debated among themselves whether it was
not competent for them to award damages to the defendant for the
annoyance of a frivolous prosecution. Mr. Howe's debut as an advocate
was in connection with a matter of much graver importance. He had the
courage, at a time when there existed many abuses apparently without
hope of redress, to attack the Halifax Bench of Magistrates, little
autocrats in their way, a sort of Venetian Council, and the consequence
was a criminal indictment for libel. He determined to get up his own
case, and, after several days' close study of authorities, he went to
the jury in the Old Court Room, now turned into the Legislative Library,
and succeeded in obtaining a glorious acquittal and no small amount of
popular applause for his moral courage on this memorable occasion. The
subsequent history of his career justified the confidence which his
friends thenceforth reposed in him. His indefatigable industry, added to