was formed. In 1849 there were revolutionary movements in Europe, including one for an independent Ireland. Lord Elgin, the Governor-General of the Province of Canada and the British monarch's representative to the colony, was concerned that Canadians would become disloyal to the British monarch. He hoped that granting amnesty for participants of the 1837 rebellions, on behalf of the monarchy, would increase Canada's loyalty to Britain. The passage of this general amnesty bill in the Canadian Legislature in 1849 allowed Mackenzie to return to Canada. Mackenzie travelled to Montreal in February and his arrival caused his effigy to be burned in Kingston and riots in Belleville and Toronto. He returned to New York on April 4 and documented his visit in A Winter's Journey through the Canadas. Horace Greeley hired Mackenzie to assemble Whig almanacs and the Business Men's Almanack, which were published in 1850. Mackenzie moved to Toronto in May 1850 with his family, wrote weekly articles for the Tribune and contributed to the Examiner and The Niagara Mail. York County and the provincial government accepted his claim for income he did not receive in the 1830s as a public servant and Welland Canal Company commissioner. Return to the Legislature In February 1851 David Thompson, the representative for Haldimand County in the Parliament of Canada, died. Mackenzie ran as a candidate in the subsequent by-election, promising to be an independent voice in the legislature. He claimed that the government supported his opponent George Brown's campaign and Brown would be beholden to them if elected. Mackenzie won the by-election with 294 votes, defeating Brown and , who both claimed to be running as Reformers, and Ronald McKinnon, the Tory Party candidate. In the legislature, Mackenzie proposed abolishing the Court of Chancery, which Robert Baldwin had reorganized. Mackenzie believed the court was too expensive to maintain and denounced its practice of taking written testimony instead of having lawyers speak before the judges. The majority of Canada West (formerly known as Upper Canada) legislators supported Mackenzie's proposal. The lack of support from Baldwin's colleagues for his project caused him to resign from the Canadian cabinet. In the October 1851 election, Mackenzie campaigned against moderate Reformers like Baldwin, Francis Hincks and James Hervey Price in their constituencies while winning his own election in Haldimand County with 63% of the vote. Mackenzie refused to participate in the 1852 negotiations to merge the Reform movement