George Brown was the first to carry the constitutional proposals to the British Government in London in December 1864, where it gave "a most gracious answer to our constitutional scheme." He also met with William Gladstone, who was then Chancellor of the Exchequer and later prime minister, "who agreed in almost everything." In April 1865, Brown, Macdonald, Cartier and Galt met with the Imperial Government where "The project of a federal union of the colonies was highly approved of by the Imperial authorities."