In 1827 he returned to Quebec, bearing with him instructions to the Governor-General to confer upon him the office of Provincial Secretary. The appointment had been procured in England by the influence of Sir Francis Burton, and other friends of Mr. Daly. During the interval which elapsed between his appointment as Provincial Secretary and the rebellion of 1837, a period of about ten years, Mr. Daly carefully abstained from engaging in the political conflict, and seems to have enjoyed a larger share of public confidence than any other official. When Lord Durham was appointed Governor-General after the rebellion, Mr. Daly was the only public official who was sworn of the Executive Council, and there is no doubt that he was the only one of the British officials who was looked on with favour by the leaders of the popular party. And yet, viewing his conduct by the light of subsequent events, it is probable that the popular leaders overestimated Mr. Daly's sympathy with their cause. Unconnected with politics, he considered it his duty to support the policy of the Governor of the day; and he doubtless was of opinion that having been for many years incumbent of an office which had always been admitted to be held as a permanent tenure, he was justified in retaining it as long as he had the sanction of the Governor for doing so. When the Union of the old Provinces of Lower and Upper Canada took place in 1841, the Governor-General called on the principal departmental officers to find seats in the House of Assembly, although it is very improbable that he had any intention of strictly carrying into practice what has since been understood as Responsible Government. It had been the practice under the old system for the law officers of the Crown to find seats in the Legislature, but the offices of Provincial Secretary and Registrar, Receiver-General, Commissioner of Crown Lands, and Inspector-General, had always been considered non-political. Lord Sydenham, as far as can be judged from what occurred, had no definite policy on the subject. He induced Mr. Daly to enter Parliament, and the latter seems to have had no difficulty in procuring a seat for the county of Megantic. The Provincial Secretary in Upper Canada was allowed to retain his office without entering public life. The Commissioner of Crown Lands in Lower Canada declined becoming a candidate, and retained his office, while in Upper Canada the Commissioner of Crown Lands was a member both of the Legislative and Executive Councils. Mr. Daly seems to have been considered as unobjectionable by the leaders of the majority in Lower Canada, as he was by their opponents, which, taking into account the excited state of feeling at the period of the Union, is conclusive proof that he had acted with great discretion during the stormy period which preceded the suspension of the Constitution. When Mr. Baldwin, on accepting office at the time of the Union, deemed it his duty to acquaint those who were appointed members of Council prior to the meeting of the first Parliament of United Canada, that there were some in whom he had no political confidence, Mr. Daly was one of the exceptions; and as Mr. Baldwin's avowed object was the introduction of French Canadians into the Government, he must have been satisfied that they had not the objection to Mr. Daly that they had to Mr. Ogden and Mr. Day. Mr. Baldwin's attempt to procure a reconstruction of the Ministry was unsuccessful, and he resigned, not having been supported by those with whom he had avowed his readiness to act. Mr. Daly went through the session of 1841 as a member of the Government, and visited England during the recess. On the meeting of the Legislature in 1842, Sir Charles Bagot having, during the interval, succeeded Lord Sydenham, overtures were made, with the concurrence of Mr. Daly, to Messrs. Lafontaine and Baldwin, which led to a reconstruction of the Cabinet. Mr. Daly retained his office of Provincial Secretary, and acted in perfect harmony with his colleagues, not only during the short term of Sir Charles Bagot's Government, but during the critical period of 1843, after Sir Charles Metcalfe's assumption of the Government, and up to the very moment when, in the opinion of all his colleagues, resignation became absolutely necessary. During the whole of this period Mr. Daly appeared to concur with his colleagues on every point on which a difference of opinion arose, and it was only when resignation became absolutely necessary that he declined to act any longer in concert with them.