 In 1845 he challenged the provincial secretary Sir Dominick Daly to a duel after a quarrel over Daly's refusal to leave office.Shots were exchanged but neither man was injured.Aylwin served as solicitor general for Canada East from 1842 to 1843, resigning to protest Governor Sir Charles Metcalfe's refusal to consult the Executive Council on patronage appointments, and served again in the same post in 1848.