Octavius Milburn was not far beyond the facts when he said that the Elgin Chamber of Commerce was practically solid this time against the Liberal platform, though to what extent this state of things was due to his personal influence might be a matter of opinion.

Mr Milburn was President of the Chamber of Commerce, and his name stood for one of the most thriving of Elgin's industries, but he was not a person of influence except as it might be represented in a draft on the Bank of British North America.

He had never converted anybody to anything, and never would, possibly because the governing principle of his life was the terror of being converted to anything himself.

If an important nonentity is an imaginable thing, perhaps it would stand for Mr Milburn; and he found it a more valuable combination than it may appear, since his importance gave him position and opportunity, and his nonentity saved him from their risks.

Certainly he had not imposed his view upon his fellow-members--they would have blown it off like a feather--yet they found themselves much of his mind.