IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I ■tt Kii 12.2 U III £ |i£ i2.0 i ^J>* (? / Photographic Sciences Corporalion ¥^ 1 4^^ rrata to 1 2 3 f ' \' "■ .-•-■■ . ■' ■ ■- ■" polurSf nA ' ' 2 """"■■•^r^'- - ~' . 3 1 2 3 U 4 5 6 ^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ B w PORTRAITS or BRITISH AMERICANS, BY W . N T M A N , r H O T O O 11 A P 11 E n TO H K R MAJESTY. H .'7 ' WITH BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES BY FENNINGS TAYLOR, DEPUTY CLEP.K, AND CLERK ASSISTANT OP THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OP CANADA. Vol. I. -^■■^::^ MONTREAL: PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM NOT MAN. JOHN LOVELL, PEINTER. 1865. T3 v./ TT LIST OF PORTRAITS IN VOL. I. l'APIEl,U Mai'DONALD, 93 Honokahle Geouoe Moffatt 109 llONouAnLE Geokoe Etik.nne Cartier 119 ■1. William Dawson, Esy., LL.D., 143 Honorable James Ferrieu, 169 The liiGHT IJevereno Jean Jacques Lartkiue, 173 IIONORABLK WiLLI AM JIORRIS 181 His Excellency Sir Kicharjj (Jraves Macdonnell, C.H., 197 Honorable Edward Bowen, ai7 Honorable Antoine Aime Doiuon, 229 Honorable Alexander Cami'Bell,, 247 Keverend William Leitcii, U.D., 259 James IIodoes, Esq., 267 Honorable Joseph Howe, 291 Honorable Uene Edouard Caron 309 liT. Colonel Irvine, 325 Honorable Thomas Tmbot, 331 (MiARLES John Brydoes, E.sq., 847 KiiiiiT Keverend John Thomas Mullock, D.D 371 HdNORABi.B Isaac Buchanan 381 HoNoiJABLK Joseph Cauchon, 403 Samuel Wentworth Monk, Esq., 419 ■^jm^sBBBmrnmamm^ W.fcj»*K ■■^■W^f •WU ^ -«^\ ». It G^ m w ' pw-w *' tm i ■ PORTRAITS OF BlUTISII AMEIUCANS, BY W. NOTMAN; ■\VITIt BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. EDITKI) »Y FENNINGS TAYLOR, ESQUIRE, Deputy Clvrh, and Clerk Assistant of the Legislative Council of Canada. ^-■V.-'.x^'" .'•^' It may not he out of place to repeat here, and by ^vay of intro- duction, sonic of the considerations ■which led us to think that a Literary and Illustrated Serial, exclusively devoted to the por- traiture of British Americans, -would at the present time l>c regar- ded with especial favor by the inhabitants of British America. Did it not seem somewhat presumptuous, we should be inclined, as we make our bow, to glance a compliment at our own sagacity, and upon the very doorstep of our enterprizc speak of the success of our venture in the accents of confidence, instead of the language of hope. The chill and shiver of uncertainty have been removed or qualified by the notes of kindness and encouragement which have reached us from all quarters. Hints of great value have been gathered with pains, and given to us with freedom. Gentlemen in difierent and distant jjlaces have, unsolicited, gratified us by reciuesting the insertion of their names on our lists of subscribers ; and, generally, we have received from every class of the community such expressions of cordial good will, as not only assure us that our Portraits will satisfy a public need, but also that the public will shew its appreciation by satisfying us for our Portraits. The truth is, events of great national importance are hourly passing into history. Public opinion is visibly acquiring new animation. Political aspirations, moved by unseen influences, like the tide in pring, are rising to a purer level. Statesmer of different parties, pprcciating the requirements of the hour, forgetting alike the ivalries and jealousies of the past, are agreed in declaring that 1 ii PORTRAITS OF BRITISH AMERICANS. the time is come wlicn the power of those separated Provinces shoukl bo consohclatcd, Avhcn tlicir individual strength sliouhl bo knit together; when, as one great Monarchical Confederacy, they should practice in unison the graver duties of Government, should accept the burden of new obligations, and the administration of new trusts. Proceedings and events so unique in themselves cannot be viewed apart from their authors ; and we should miss much of their mean- ing were we to attempt to interpret them without reference to their opponents. The canvas which encloses the historic tracery should include also the personal portraiture. The strife of opinion should represent the parties to that strife. We care not to separate the act from the actors, the accepted design from the competitive designers ; on the contrary, we acknowledge the relationship, and recognize propriety in unity. What has been done, and what is now being done, are however matters of state policy, not necessary to be discussed here ; but the subject suggests the observation, and, we hope, warrants the opinion, that standing, as we may be said to be, on the threshold of new and great events, the time is propitious for collecting in a form, not unworthy of being preserved, notes and sketches not only of men who are now filling, but of those also who have in years past filled, positions of resj)onsibility and honor in the political and social history of the British American Pro- vinces. The wish to possess, even in an imperfect form, the resemblance of individuals whose names are familiar to us, is a very natural one. Indeed such desires have almost become conventional habits, which we make little effort to restrain, and none to disguise. The growing taste for collecting likenesses is not attributable to a passing fashion merely ; it has its root in the better parts of our nature, and derives its nourishment from the higher sentiments of the mind — from reverence and respect, from the love of kindred and the charms of friendship, from the regard for private worth or from the appreciation of public service. It is no evanescent impulse, but a chronic craving, a craving that had existence when the means of gratification, if not wholly beyond reach, Avere laid aside among the expensive and almost unattainable privileges of life. At the present day however such acquisitions are within the attainment of all. The sun himself has become the limner. Science has POIITRAITS OF nniTISII AMKRICANS. • • • 111 unlocked her secrets ; Art ha.s aj)|)lie(l them, while knowlcdf^o aiitl cx[)eri('nco have tauji^ht us that li^ht, the first, the purest, and the most universal of (Jud's ^it'ts, has, hy fusion with siihtlo a;^en- cies, heconio the source, it is scarcely an exa^;^eration to say, of the most cherished and economical of man's luxiuies. No lengthened introduction is needed in regard to that part of our project which relates especially to the illustrations, except indeed to state that every pains will he taken to nud) draw conclusions. In anotlicr sense than the lii;j;liest, it may he said of each of us, "we know not what we sliail he." In the face of such i;;noi'anco it wo\d(l ho an offence against taste, and it nii;:;ht he an offence a;:;ainst truth, to assert of one still livini^ that such was the character and such the issue of a life; for the latest act of existence, like the codicil of a will, hy revealing]; a new motive, may chan;:;e the oj)inion of the critic, haflle his conclusions, and tomiiel him to see in the act of another the error of his own thou<^ht. (ireat reticence will, there- fore, ho observed on such {joints ; for our work would miss, or over- reach its ohject if, hy any means it should hecome insti'umental in inflicting a jjuhlic hurt or a private wound. It is not, however, with contemi)oray hio;i;raiihy alone that we propose to deal. We hope to be a))le, by dili;^eut lesearch, and Avith the assistance of others, to galher together some of the scraps and fragments of individual history, whicii may still linger, like traditional lore, in the crevices of memory, or be j)reserved, like forgotten relics, in out of the way or unfre(|uentod places. It is difficult to meet tho elders of a young country like om* own without experiencing sensations of regret that so little pains should have been taken to perj)etuate in some imperishable form the anuihing and occasionally striking incidents of days past, — incidents which, if industry will not preserve, time must destroy. Such gleanings of personal narrative acrpiiro value as the stream of events rolls on ; and since general history is ])ut the aggregate of individ\nd history, he may bo regarded as contributing to tho more perfect whole, "who shall succeed in gathering together some of the essential parts. Many sympathetic friends will, it is believed, gladly help forward such an object ; and all such may bo sure that their honor- able confidences will neither be abused nor betrayed. The pioneers and foanders of a State, of whatever profession or calling, will generally be found to bo men of great force of character, as well as of an adventurous turn of mind, who arc more inclined to perform heroic deeds than to record them. The descendants of such men still live amongst us. The traditional, and in some instances the recorded transactions of such lives may yet be recovered ; and the lessons which the narratives should teach of courage, loyalty, devotion, high principle, and stainless honor, would not only pro- mote innocent gratification and mental pleasure, but might, by VI PORTRAITS OF BRITISH AMERICANS, I exciting a sense of laudable emulation, tend to our moral and national good. In bospeaking the assistance and co-operation of all who cherish towardL' our work any sentiment of sympathy, we may, perhaps, bo allowed to add, that our wish is to collect and gather together what the historian would probably pass by, and the statistician would certainly reject ; namely, those incidents of domestic and personal adventure, that underlie or are concurrent vvi*"h the greater drama of History and Government. Had we no materials wherewith to lighten the sterner narrative of oar progress, then of course nothiog could be said ; but such ia not the case. The incidents of the early French colonization, vrith their wonderful accompaniments of chival- rous adventure and missionary zeal, have their place in history, and belong chiefly to Eastern Canada. Tbese, we hope, to some extent at least, to be able to place before our English speaking population. Yet we should not forget that the life story of the sister Provinces is neither less alluring nor less heroic. Upper Canada, Nova Scot'a, New Brunswick, are marked with the foot- prints of faithfulness and devotion. The vestiges of moral and patriotic worth lie scattered about the land. Imperfect they must be, for, like the inscriptions on broken grave-stones, time has destroyed some, obscured others, and defaced all. Still they are worthy of being gathered together, worthy of being patiently studied, as the moral relics of a race which, it is to be feared, has no counterpart now. Let the hoar and moss of years be reverently removed. Let us carefully decipher whatever appears to be obscure, and, if possible, recover the faded records. Let us directly or in- directly seek the representatives of earlier days, and listen kindly to old tales of by-gone times, for we may be sure the traditions we may thus gather will help to perfect the record of events, which connects the present with the past. Then, perchance, we shall understand aright the principles and characters of the " United Empire Loyal- ists,"— of a race of men who, rather than bow down to the Repub- lican idol which their faithless countrymen had set up, abandoned their possession and forsook their kindred, to become the foun- ders of colonies whose creation it is no exaggeration to say was the offspring of sentiment and devotion, — a Monarch's tribute to his sub- jects' faith. Montreal, May, 1865. ' ilfl^ft^fl^m.vfV'fh^ys'f-'li'.'"!!^' - !»V¥^V" ,'U'"tHi-*i"!««5i'«'»''"^™'"^'''^ »J' 'amt V V ( HIS EXCELLENCY THE RIGHT HONORABLE VISCOUNT MONCK, GOVERNOR GENERAL OF CANADA. Some by royal command, others by personal election, and more by the force of circumstances, have found their lots cast in the British American possessions. The life story of such individuals is, partially at all events, contemporaneous with the progress of the country ; and we shall do little wrong, either to history or them, by placing their portraits in our gallery side by side with those whose boast is, that " this is their own, their native land." The first in order as in rank is, in the language of the Royal Patent, " His Excellency the Right Honorable Charles Stanley A^'iscount Monck, of Ballytrammon, in the County of Wexford, Governor General of British North America, and Captain General and Govemor-in-Chief in and over the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Island of Prince Edward, and Vice-Admiral of the same." We learn further, on reference to those very communicative books, " Dodd's Peerage " and " Walford's County Families," that His Excellency " is the eldest son of Charles Joseph Kelly, third Viscount ; by Bridget, daughter of John Willington, Esquire, of Kilkoskehane, in the County of Tipperary ; that he was born in 1819, and succeeded to the title in 1849 ; and that in 1844 he married the Lady Elizabeth, fourth daughter of the first Earl of Rathdown." Besides being a Justice of the Peace, we read that His Excellency " is Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Wicklow ; 2 VISCOUNT MONCK. I' ' :!* that ho represented Portsmouth in the House of Commons ; was a Lord of the Treasury, and Lord Privy Seal to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales." To be territorially and officially connected with two such counties as Wexford and Wicklow might Avell excite some pardonable pride. It is [)lcasant to read of Irish counties whose landlords arc for the most part resident ; Avhose estates generally are not racked, and whose populations, therefore, are happy and prosperous. Nor is our interest diminished by noting the peculiarities of the peasantry ; the brightness of their attire, and the joyous character of their tem- perament. The hilarity with which, on extraordinary occasions, — on holiday and festival, — both men and women cast away care, might excite unrestrained envy, were it not qualified by the further informa- tion that the former on ordinary ones cast away work. The laborers, like the idle gentry of other lands, are as averse to a superfluity of toil as they are fond of a superfluity of clothing. The latter peculiarity shows itself in them as it did in the exquisites of forty years ago, or in the grave-digger class of the days of Hamlet, by a passion for wearing, at the same time and at all seasons, a plurality of many-colored waistcoats, to say nothing of one " trusty " on their backs and another over their shoulders. Thus it may be charitably conjectured that the peasantry of Wexford and Wicklow redeem the playful inclination of their lives by the picturesque character of their appearance. Indeed their precautions to keep out the weather might be praiseworthy, did they not become impediments to the performance of work. There is, too, another especial local trait which should not pass unnoticed. The habit of ungrudging hospitality, so common to the Irish race, seems to be the especial attribute of the people of those counties. The phrase " keeping open house " is not a figurative one. The benevolent disposition expressed by this benevolent phrase pervades all ranks, and is common to every class ; for even poverty and wretchedness are made happier by the practice of it. The word " welcome " VISCOUNT MOXCK. inties n-ide. )!• the I, and is our mtry ; ir tem- s,— on , might Lforma- iborcrs, levfluity c latter of forty let, by a plurality ity" on may be WickloW turcsque to keep t become , another e habit of ems to be he phrase )enevolent all ranks, jtchcdness welcome " seems to be stereotyped alike on castle and cabin ; and the lord and laborer appear to vie with one another in showing the Christian grace of liospitality. Qualities such as these become second nature to those who observe them ; and they may, to some extent, account for the peculiar social chai-m which is said to distinguisli His Excellency the Governor General. The nobility and gentry of Ireland, as a class, may have been prodigal in their expenditures and not very conservative in the management of their estates, still the personal inheritance of a gracious courtesy appears to have descended from father to son with a kind of heir-loom regularity ; nor in truth is such a possession to be lightly esteemed. Manner, like music, possesses a charm more sensibly felt than accurately described. The glow and kind- liness that wait on the former, in the influence they exert, resemble the joy and pleasure diffused by the latter. Both, in the first instance, are nature's endowments, but both are amenable to the laws of cultivation, and to the considerations by which those laws are controlled. Still it should not be forgotten that a bright and cordial manner, like many other things attractive in themselves, has its drawbacks as well as its advantages. There is, we know, a prejudice with some, that gaiety of thought is inconsistent with exact study, and that a mind which is sympathetic towards mirth is not well inclined towards business. Thus men will think, not- withstanding the fact that Lord Palmerston lives to refute their theories, and to prove to all that a merry heart and a clear head may lodge together, and give the world not only " assurance of a man," but of a wise man too. His " social gait," however, in the case of Lord Monck, was the cause of some criticism, and became the point of many objections on his nomination to the oflSce of Governor General of Canada. It was alleged, and with some show of reason, that a manifest depar- ture had taken place with respect to the rule of preferment which was supposed to govern the Colonial Minister in the selection of VISCOUNT MONCK. Ill Colonial Governors. Viceroys and laborious pro-Consuls found their promotion stoi)pcd by the unlooked for appointment of a nobleman Avho had seen no service in the duties of their order. Some forty-crown dependencies, in the persons of their rulers, may thus directly or indirectly have felt themselves aggrieved, and through many avenues of articulation have found the means of giving utter- ance to their complaints. Therefore \yas it stated, by way of objection, that " Lord Monck Avas an inexperienced and unknown man," that " ho was to try his 'prentice hand at government for the first time, and at a " period, too, when the history of Canada was critical ;" that at " such a crisis ministers persuade their sovereign to delegate her functions in her greatest Province, save one, to a nobleman utterly unpractised in any kind of statesmanlike work." The Governor General, it was alleged, " was at no time a cypher in Canada, and least of all so then ;" for though Responsible Government, it was observed, " may have impaired his executive strength, it had not weakened his directing and suggestive influ- ence." The role of a Governor General's duties was elaborately rehearsed. His Excellency was considerately premonished that, with respect to local affairs, he v/ould have to fulfil the office of a Moderator, and with respect to foreign ones, to discharge the func- tions of a Diplomatist. In the latter character he would be required to interpret the relations between Great Britain and those irritable States, some of which overlap the Provincial frontier. He was furthermore, with tact as well as wisdom, to bend the prejudices of the Province to the policy of the Empire. He was to stir the feelings of the people on the subject of defence, and to still them on the subject of aggression. He was to excite them to warlike activity, and soothe them to rigid neutrality. He was to be the Commander-in-Chief of a militia not organized, and Vice-Admiral of a fleet that had no existence. In short, the prospect for His Excellency was made as uncomfortable as possible, while the ministry which nominated him was menaced with anticipatory censure. VISCOUNT MONCK. As a historical coincidence, and by way of comparison, it may l)o observed that twice only in tlie recent history of Canada has the wisdom of the Royal selection of Governor General been challen<^ed by any considerable portion of the English press ; and since the occasions are not dissimilar, either with resjject to the gravity of the subjects to be dealt with, or with respect to the popular ({ualifica- tions of the individuals selected, it may not bo out of place to note the parallel. Upon the abrupt and somewhat inglorious termination of Lord Durham's five months' Canadian reign, the ministry of Lord Melbourne found itself suddenly called upon to appoint a new Governor General on whom should dcvol; the duty of prosecuting the Avork which the irritable Earl had left incomplete. To the astonishment of the influential classes in England, and the dismay of the commercial classes in Canada, the Statesman chosen was no other than the Right Honorable Charles Poulett Thomson, the then President of the Board of Trade. Those Avho remember the severe animadversions of the press on the appointment, the angry comments and gloomy forebodings to which the selection gave rise, will probably be inclined to receive such opinions from such sources with considerable reserve. " Stop the Pique," " Stop the Pique," wrote one with more passion than judgment ; " don't freight an English frigate with an English Governor whose policy is to destroy English rule in America." " Don't intrust the government of that important Province to one who has distinguished himself chiefly by his antipathy to the Canada Timber Trade, and for his attachment to Baltic interests." " Don't send one to govern who has had no experience of government," who is moreover " corrupt and indolent," " frail in health and feeble in purpose," and whose " despatch box, if carried in one hand, must be balanced by a medicine chest in the other," and, moreover, who acknowledges as a political ally that member of the House of Commons who had counselled Canadians to " shake oflf the baneful domination of the Mother Country." 6 VISCOUNT MONCK. I.I li i Tho time haa not arrived for prosecuting the parallel to comple- tion, for tho Colonial career of the present Governor is not yot determined ; but it may be consoling to remark, in passing, that if, in the accuracy of their knowledge, tho newspapers of 1 800 resemble the newspapers of 1840, His Excellency need have little to appre- hend Avith respect to their criticisms on his capacity, or their pre- dictions on the question of the success or failure of his rule. Tho allusion to tho name and memory of Lord Sydenham carries our recollections a quarter of a century backwards. Wo recall the time when tho two Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada stood towards one another in tho relation of an exacting Bridegroom and a reluctant Bride. The former possessing opportunity and the guardian's favor, and tho latter a fair presence, and money in the Bank. The settlements were arranged, and the marriage took place ; and though the love was not of a demonstrative order, still there were not wanting at that day some, like Mrs. Mala- prop in tho " Rivals," who consoled themselves for the absence of affection by tho comforting assurance that after all, " it was better to begin with a little aversion." The 10th of February is doubtless a marked day in the history of England, and it is especially so in the history of Canada ; for on the lOtli of February, 1763, the Provinces were ceded by Franco to England. On the 10th of February, 1838, the Bill for suspending the Constitution of Lower Canada received the Royal sanction ; and on the 10th February, 1841, the Proclamation was made which created the Province of Canada. It was not, we may well imagine, to commemorate a British victory or a Canadian misfortune that the 10th of February was selected for re-uniting the separated Provinces, No doubt the day was chosen by authority, and the reason for the choice, it may be easily conjectured, was to associate the political fortunes of the Canadas with the personal history of our most gracious Queen. The Provincial espousals took place on the first anniversary of VISCOUNT MONCK. ITcr Majesty's nmrriago with the jii^roat and good Prince Consort ; but tlio political union had not attained its turbulent majority Avhcn tho personal one was dissolved by death. Tho toiich of time at which the typo crumbled, seemed also to leave tho mark of disso- lution on the antitype. The grave which had been prepared to enclose tho former, only pre-figurcd another grave which seemed to bo opening rajjidly to receive the latter. Such facts should recall gloomy memories, while they suggest tho commentary that tho fortunes of Canada, as exemplified in her rulers, have been wreathed more with cypress than with bays. Tho Earl of Durham, who advocated a British American Confed- eration, and accepted a Canadian union, died five days after the Act was passed which embodied his counsels. Lord Sydenham, who in person opened the first session of the United Parliament, was not in person permitted to close that session, for almost the last act of his ebbing life was to delegate to another the duty with which, by the gracious permission of his Sovereign, he had intended to determine his Canadian career. The sunset of that evening was the last this gifted Statesman was permitted to see. By the light of the following day the heralds might have received back again the unfolded, unworn ribbon of the Bath, and have noted in their College records that it was restored to Royalty by the representative of " The first and last Baron Sydenham." His successor, the courtly and gifted Sir Charles Bagot, the very beau-ideal of manly grace and beauty, had scarcely entered on his government when he was stricken Avith mortal disease, and within fifteen months after his arrival in Canada, expired in the house in which his predecessor had died. Sir Charles Bagot was succeeded by the benevolent and large- hearted Lord Metcalfe, whose career would have been eloquent in instruction, had it left no other lesson than the example of unswerving fortitude triumphing over mortal suffering, of the highest duty cheerfully performed in the presence of excruciating rwm^^ 8 VISCOUNT MONCK. ngony, most patiently endured. His work done, tlii.s ;^roat and good man returned to Kn^land to die, and with his deatii expired his newly ereated title, for on his tomb the words arc written " The first and last Lord Metealte." Earl Cathcart Avas already an pged man when he became Gov- ernor General, and it is therefore no matter for surprise that hia martial name should be found on the roll of those who luvo passed away. The accomplished and versatile Earl of Elgin replaced his military predecessor, and it was reasonable to suppose that such vigorous manhood as his seemed to be would have won the crown of ago. The supposition is rebuked by his (piict grave amidst Asiatic hills, where, in a heathen land, solitary and ulone, tho wearied Statesman, tho humble Christian, sleeps in peace. On the roll call of our Governors who for twenty years have represented the Crown in Canada, one alone survives. We cannot mention his name without at the same time thinking of the inextin- guishable sorrow with whicli he who bears it must evermore recur to his residence in this Province. The troubled waters of the St. Maurice, and the quiet grave at Sillcry, recall as in a vision, not only the generous, open-hearted boy, who perished in one and sleeps in tho other ; but they tell also of the direct line of a good old family cut off — a good name passing away, or, if preserved at all, preserved only on a tombstone. If it bo true that our late Governor General, the high-minded and gifted Sir Edmund Head, obtained the Queen's permission to decline a coronet, — then those waters and that grave tell us also of a stainless career arrested; a glorious goal reached, and then avoided ; the prize of honor won, and yet declined ; the aim of a life realized, and yet lost. Death and sorrow, we may conjecture, had closed the avenue of ambi- tion ; and thus it may have been that one nearly peerless among rulers could not be attracted to the assembly of Peers. The official records of Royalty, on the page of distinctions conferred for ser- n ■ VISCOUNT MONCK. vices in Canada will not, at all events for the lliirtl time in ono generation, bo blotted with a new entry on the roll of the extinct I*eora«^es of England. In one form or other, directly or indirectly, it may be said that death has, wit'» remarkable assiduity, overtaken all who have hi'ld the commission of Governor General of Canada. The great IJritish Province of the West, like Her Majesty's possessions in the East, seems to have been a kind of fatal vestibule, through which succes- sive rulers have hastened hurriedly to the grave. If the personal history of his i)redecessors in the government of Canada was not of a tranquilizing order, neither was the general state of the Province at the time of Lord Monck's succession very well calculated to dispel anxiety. Political parties had been, and continued to bo, greatly excited. Government, it is true, was carried on, and in the Legislative Assembly by means of respectable majorities ; but it was difficult to get rid of tho impression which was keenly felt by many, and strongly expressed by some, that tho persistent administration of public aftairs by means of a single sectional majority, was not to be desired even though it could not bo avoided. In addition moreover to these local embarrassments, which the healing influence of time, or the salutary presence of temper would assuredly have overcome, there arose unexpectedly a foreign ques- tion, in comparison with which all local difficulties seemed to fade into nothingness. The affair of " The Trent" suddenly brought the Government of Great Britain and the United States into attitudes of imminent hostility. Thus it was the guidance of the opinion and tho direction of the zeal of an excitable population, was found to be one of tho earliest duties that devolved on the New Governor General. That this delicate trust was wisely discharged, may be safely assumed ; for the subsequent course of events seemed to shew that Imperial policy was carried out with sagacious subordination no matter whether the instructed hand was moved at Washington or at Quebec, 10 VISCOUNT MONCK. ill With the partial subsidence of the Foreign question, the domes- tic difficulties again recovered their former consistency, and were brought to a crisis on the 20th of May, 1862, by the defeat of the Cartier-Macdonald ministry, and their subsequent resignation. On the 24th of the same month the Sandfield Macdonald- Sicotte Government was officially announced in the Canada Gazette. On the 12th of May following. Parliament was prorogued with a view to its dissolution ; and on the 16th of the same month the public was informed of the appointment of three new members of the Executive Council as successors to a similar number who had resigned. The Cabinet as thus reconstructed, became known as the Sandfield Macdonald-Dorion Government. But the two-fold ex- periment of a dissolution of Parliament, and a reconstruction of the Cabinet, added but httle to the numerical supporters of the Government. The elections resulted, as is usual in such cases, in certain individual changes, but the numbers ranged respectively on either side of the House, remained about the same as they were in the previous Parliament, nor were the sectional disparities very materially altered. The short Session in the Autumn of 1863 shewed with what slender majorities the ministry was sustained ; and the public, being prepared for some change, felt no surprise when, soon after the opening of the following session in February, 1864, the Sandfield Macdocld-Dorion Government resigned. On the 30th of March, the Ministry of Sir E. P. Tach<« was gazetted, and became popularly known as the Tach^-Macdouald Government. Such, however, was the feverish state of the rival parties in the Legislative Assembly, and so evenly were their re- spective numbers balanced, that in less than three months after its formation, the new Ministry, on the 14th of June, found itself in a minority of two, on a subject so peculiar and important as to be tantamount to a non-confidence vote. The gravity of the case could scarcely be exaggerated, for the vray of escape from the political difficulty was by no means plain. Two courses only pre- VISCOUNT MONCK. 11 sented themselves, namely, a coalition of parties, or a dissolution of Parliament. The former had been attempted by the previous Government, and had resulted in failure. The latter might be resorted to, but still statesmen of approved experience, and from a sense of responsibility, would, under the circumstances of the case, regard such an alternative with feelings of regret, if not of anxiety. On the following day a very important interview took place between His Excellency the Governor General, and Sir E. P. Tachd. From the published Memoranda the following particulars are extracted : After reciting the Resolution, on the merits of which no opinion need be expressed in this place, Sir E. P. Tach<) observes .• " This Resolution was carried by a vote of CO to 58, and thereupon the House adjourned. '• The undersigned has consulted his colleagues, and submitted the state of the case to them ; and they have come unanimously to the conclusion that, although tha motion is a censure on an administration not now existing, for an official act which occurred five years ago ; yet, under the circumstances in which this vote was carried, it must be regarded as a vote of want of confidence, and as indicating the withdrawal of the support of the House from Your Excellency's advisers. " The undersigned begs to call the attention of Your Excellency to the circum- stances under which the present administration accepted the responsibilities of office, and to point out that they have successfully obtained the support of Parlia- ment to all their measures, and which measures they have every reason to believe are satisfactory to the country. "The undersigned therefore, with the concurrence of his colleagues, begs to tender the advice to Your Excellency that they should be empowered to appeal from this vote, made by a Parliament not elected when they were Your Excel- lency's advisers, to the people themselves, in whose decision they have every onfidence. »■ "June 15, 1804." . , On this statement His Excellency was pleased to make the following "memobandum. " The Governor General has attentively considered the Memorandum submitted to him on Wednesday last by Sir E. P. Tache, containing the views of himself and his colleagues on the Resolution which passed the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday night, and their advice that they should be empowered to appeal from that vote of the House to the people. " Before proceeding to give any answer to the request contained in this Memo- randum, the Governor General is desirous to call the attention of the Members of the Executive Council to the position in which political parties in the Province are now, and have been for a considerable time placed. 3 11^ 12 VISCOUNT MONCK. i| i " I'lio House of Assembly, returned nt the General Eloclion in the year 1801, by successive votes declared its want of conlidenco in Ministries representing rosi)ec- tively the two i)arties into which it was divided. "In ^lay, 18(>.'}, a dissolution, the constitutional consequence of such a state of facts resulted in the return of a House in which the GovernMent, under the leader- shij) of Mr. .1. S. Macdonald and Mr. Dorion, found itself so weak that its Members, after the experience of the whole of the Autumn Session of 18f>;{ and a portion of the Session of 18(54, resigned their places in the month of March last, without having ever incurred actual defeat. "During this period no question involving any great i)rinciplo, or calculated to prevent politicians*, on public grounds, from acting in concert, had been raised in rarlianient. Under the.se circumstances, the Governor General, on the resigna- tion of ^Ir. Sandfield Macdonuld's ft')vernment, conceived that the time had arrived when an appeal might, with propriety, be made to the patriotism of gentle- men on both sides of the House, to throw aside personal differences, and to unite in the formation of a Governnic.it strong enough to advance the general interests of the country. " The Governor General deeply regrets that this attempt to form a Government, representing politicians kept asunder by no difference of opinion on public ques- tions, should have then failed. " The present Government was at that time formed on a distinctive party basis, and the course of events, since it came into power, has only given further proof of the evenly balanced condition of politicral parties in the House, and of the absence of i)ublic grounds for antagonism between them. "The further continuance of such a .state of things is very prejudicial to the best interests of the Province, and it is very doubtful whether a General Election would materially alter the relative position of parties. " The Governor General does not consider it would be right for him to enter into any examination of the character of the llesolution come to by the House on Tuesday night; he may, however, without impropriety, express his regret that it appears to have produced an impression on the minds of those affected by it likely ,to render a junction of parties more dithcult. '• Tiio ( Jovernor General still adheres to the opinion that such an amalgamation of i):irtics is the course calculated to confer the largest amount of benefit on the Province, and earnestly hopes tha^ means may bo found for effecting such an arrangement, without doing violence to the self-respect of any gentleman connected with Canadian politics. " The Governor General desires to commend the views expressed in this Memo- randum lo the serious consideration of the Members of the Executive Council, and would be glad to be furnished Avith the opinion of Sir E. P. Tache and his colleagues upon thoni ; and while giving them the assurance that he is prepared to act on their advice, trusts that some means may be devised for obviating the necessity for an appeal to the country under present circumstances." This important Memorandum was gracefully acknowledged by Sir E. P. Tachd in the following Avords : "memorandum. " Tiie undersigned has the honor to convey to Your Excellency the thanks of his colleagues and himself for the confidence shewn in them by Your Excellency's acceptance of their advice. " The Executive Council fully concur with Your Excellency as to the expediency VISCOUNT MONCK. 18 of avoidinf/, if possible, an appeal to the country under the circumstances referred to in Your Excellency's Memorandum ; and vhey desire the undersigned to assure you that they will not cease in their efforts to effect the formation of an adminis- tration, without hiivinf? recourse to a dissolution, which will obtain the conlidence of Parliament and of the country. "June 17, 1801" These published papers arc honorable to the representative of the Queen, and to the head of the Canadian Ministry — both -were- evidently moved by a sense of the like responsibilities, the like anxieties, and the like opinions of the course to be pursued. While unreservedly pledging himself to act on the advice of his Council, His Excellency adds the expression of his trust, that under the circumstances in Avhicli the country was then placed, an appeal to the people by election might, if possible, be avoided. The occapions are exceedingly rare, on which the Queen's repre- sentative may with propriety promulgate a personal opinion on a point of State policy ; and the Governor General Avho shall at any time successf ally depart from this rule of silence may be pre- sumed to display both courage and wisdom. Thus it was at the time in question. In and out of Parliament all felt that the period had arrived when His Excellency should speak. No word of complaint followed the unusual proceeding ; on the contrary, every one admitted the occasion was propitious, and the counsel was just. Great indeed was popular anxiety to dis- cover whether such words of wisdom would awaken any correspond- ing act of patriotism. The people began to recognize what His Excellency plainly saw, that prominent men of all shades of opinion were kept apart, more by the recollection of peisonal, than by the existence of political, differences. The giave question, for instance, of a change in the basis of Parliamentary representation, had ceased to be the property of one party only. The statesmen then in power, like their Parliamentary opponents, had seriously considered the whole question. Indeed they generally agreed with the ma- jority of Representatives from Western Canada, in acknowledging the existence of the evil ; they differed chiefly in the application of 14 VISCOUNT MONCK. I! 'I ill the cure. T1)C specific on one side was to apply a strong local remedy. Such application had however been resisted as irritating in itself and dangerous in its tendency. The prescription on the other side was, primarily, to strengthen the body politic, and thus, with the aid of new stamina, to enable it to bear, without loss, the remedial action of constitutional treatment. Recognizing a unity of aim, even though accompanied by con- trariety of plan, it was surely an object worthy of a Ruler and a Statesman to take measures for reconciling the means with the end, to bring together earnest men, who, on pubUc grounds, need not have been kept apart ; and, by paths of conciliation and compromise, to direct ambition towards a higher policy, to guide the public mind to wider fields of thought, and thus to bring about, in fact as well as in name, " the peace, welfare, and good government" of the country. His Excellency Viscount Monck represents, in his own person, historical auguries of success, for he bears the name, and is colla- terally descended from the family of the first Duke of Albemarle, whose personal history is not only interwoven with the stirring times of the Commonwealth, but is directly identified with the happier ones of the Restoration. He also bears the title of the first Vis- count of his name, one of a small, sagacious band, whose prescience and discretion enabled them to bring about a more intimate union between Great Britain and Ireland. If the past history of the family and race has any influence in directing its future destinies, then may we not look forward with confidence to the success of kindred services on a different field, and in another Hemisphere ? The name of Monck is intimately associated with the restoration of Monarchy in England. May we not hope that it will in like manner, be associated with its perpetuation in America ? It is identified historically with the legislative union of three Kingdoms in the Old World. May we not appropriate the double omen, and say that it shall also be identified with the Federal union of five Provinces in the New ? W I I 1)= \ local itating >n the I thus, 3S, the y con- and a le end, jthave lise, to oind to II as in luntry. jcrson, i colla- jmarle, 5 times lappier 'St Vis- science ) union of the stinies, cess of phere ? ;oration in like I It is ngdoms en, and of five '4. i!!i' i ;iv I lliiii' I I i I' I hi I !' 'm«5 c/K:>'1^'^s/simJ\r^ ii;, H ., I s f ' il ' ' !i ( ^'l It 'i' I' ;!! i 1 ■ ;l ,! I r i n: ' i r It' ; ;i 'i ;;: I THE MOST REVEREND FRANCIS FULFORD, D.D., TUK LOUD BISHOP OF MONTREAL, AKD METROPOLITAN. It is said that -when the first Anglican Bishop arrived at Quebec he was courteously received by the Roman Catholic Bishop, who made him welcome by saluting both cheeks, and by expressing the pleasure he experienced in receiving his Episcopal brother; for, continued the communicative Prelate, " Your people want you very badly." The commentary of a keen observer at the end of the last cen- tury with respect to the Protestant population of Quebec, might have been made with ecjual propriety in the middle of the present century with respect to the Protestant population of Montreal ; for certainly those who remember the state of the Episcopal Church at the period in question, will probably agree in thinking that the first Anglican Bishop did not arrive at all too soon, as his people wanted him ** very badly." Until 1850 the See of Montreal was included within the Bishopric of Quebec, and consequently the larger population, and, commer- cially, the more important city, was ruled ecclesiastically, not only from a distant, but also from a less considerable place. Such arguments in the old world have little weight ; but in America the element of numbers enters largely into considerations connected with government ; and thus it happened that the greater did not accept gracefully the Episcopal oversight of the smaller city. There were moreover reasons why the presence of a Bishop, resi- dent at Montreal, was especially to be desired. The time was one of peculiar excitement. The restlessness of thought, the notes of controversy, the cry of alarm which at that time distracted the l' t ; t i • I'i ^' s ! ! I i 16 MOST REV. FIIANCIS FULFOUD, D.D. Churcli in England had been borne across the Atlantic to the dis- comfort of the Clmrch in Canada. Good people, Avith more feeling than reason, and whose knowledge was scarcely eijual to their zeal, appeared to think that the peace of the Church hero would bo promoted by an effort to naturalize the " cries" that Avere dis- turbing the Church at home, and thus it happened that the Pro- testants of Montreal found themselves whirled about in a flurry of crude phrases, and were, so to speak, suddenly called upon to elect their controversial colors, for in their alarmed minds the time had passed for sailing under the i)rotection of the old fashioned neutral flag. The pulpit, too, being f(jund inadequate to the duty of ((uict- ing alarm, controversy silently crejjt from the cloisters to the press, and then the difficulty was found to be almost as great to hush " a cry " that had si)rung from no adequate cause, as it was to discover the cause of the cry. The Missionary work and the Missionary Church of Canada were thus hindered and disturbed by questions that most people asked, and few people could answer. Men's minds were misty as well as heated ; they understood neither what they said nor whereof they affirmed: but since it was easier to determine colors than to unravel controversy, ecclesias- tical vestments became the badges, so to speak, of the competitive parties ; and matters of doctrine and Church government seemed to be determined by the consideration whether the clergyman preached in a surplice or a gown. Perhaps we ought to apologize for recalling such trivial reasons for such grave discords ; but since the consequence of si ifo is not unfrequently in an inverse ratio to the cause of strife, it may tend to make us tolerant towards weakness if we will only remember the weaknesses of which we were intolerant. Quiet Churchmen were therefore very thankful when it became known that the Rev. Francis Fulford, D.D., was, by Her Majesty, nominated to the newly erected See of Montreal. The question was very probably asked, and who is Dr. Fulford ? and it is equally MOST RKV. FRANCIS FULFOIin, D.D. 17 probal)lo that a part of tlic answer was aou^^ht for and obtaihv'd in the volume now l)cforo us, namely, *' IJurkc's Dictionary of tlio Landed Gentry of Great Britain." The family record, wo may add, though very intereHtin^i;, is too long for insertion here ; wc shall, therefore, only make use of some of the facts. Wo learn, then, that His Lordship is descended from ono of those ancient county families which are the especial pride of the people of the old country. Although the rank of such families is not noble, it is at all events of more ancient dignity, for it belongs to the earlier degree of " gentleman." We learn further, not only from the book in cpicstion, but from other sources of information, that the family is of Saxon origin, and held " Folefort," as it is written in Domesday Book, from Avhich place the name is derived. Here it was seated in the time of Richard the First, and it has continued in possession of the same name and [)lacc, now Avritten " Fulford," by uninterrupted descent for more than six hundred years. The fiimily is one of the old martial families of England, whoso members were ever ready to enforce their opinions with their swords. Thus we learn that many Knights of the name distinguished themselves in the Holy Land, and during the " Wars of the Roses," as well as for the King against Cromwell. Gallantry, too, seems to have boon as conspicuous as courage ; for " Prince,"* in speaking of Sir Baldwin do Fulford, quaintly observes that " ho was a great soldier, and a traveller of so undaunted a resolution that for the honor and liberty of a royal lady in a castle besieged by the infidels, he fought a combat with a Saracen for bulk and bigness an unequal match, — (as the representation of him cut in the wainscot in Fulford Hall doth plainly show), — whom yet he vanquished, and rescued the lady." The chronicle does not inform us in what language the gallant Knight and royal lady expressed their mutual obligations; and the wainscot of Great Fulford, as well as the Portrait Gallery, is silent on the character of the guerdon that » Author of " The Worthies of Devon." i^li 18 MOST REV. FUANCIS l-'ULFOUD, D.D. ;,! the rescued captive bestowed on htr deliverer. Such an adven- ture doubtless should have ended happily ; that it did so, wo must, with all who relish romance, bo permitted to hope. There is, too, another bit of family adventure mixed up with a curious passage in English history. Sir Thomas Fulford, it is recorded, was one of the Knights who went up with the Earl of Devon, and relieved Exeter when boHiegcd by Perkin Warbcck in 1497. We may add, that the family mansion, which is one of tho oldest in the West of England, was garrisoned for King Charles the First, and was taken by a i)art of Fairfax's army in 1045. Passing over much that is interesting in tho earlier passages of his family history, to the subject of our sketch, wo learn that tho Most Reverend Francis Fulford is second son of the late ]Jaldwiu Fulford, Esquiro, of Great Fulford, in the County of Devon ; that ho was born at Sidmouth on tho 3rd of June, 1803, and having re- ceived his earlier education at Tiverton, he was, in 1821, admitted to Exeter College, Oxford, of which College he was, in 1824, elected a Fellow. Having obtained his B.A. degree, Mr. Fulford was ordained Deacon at Norwich in 182G, and Priest by Bishop Carey in the Cathedral of Exeter on the 22nd of June, 1828. After holding successive curacies in two Parishes, he was histituted to the Rectory of Trowbridge, of which tho Duke of Rutland was tho patron. Having taken his M.A. degree, he was, in 1838, appointed Chaplain to Her Royal Highness the late Duchess of Gloucester. In 1841, on resigning the Rectory of Trowbridge, ho was insti- tuted to tho Rectory of Croydon, in Cambridgeshire, which ho held until 1845, when, on tho nomination o.'' Earl Howe, ho was licensed by the late Bishop of London as Minister of Curzon Chapel, May- fair. This appointment he held until St. James' day, 1850, when he was consecrated in Westminster Abbey as first Bishop of tho Diocese of Montreal, the honorary degree of D.D. having pre- viously been conferred on him by the University of Oxford. He received his Patent from the Queen as Metropolitan in 18G0. MOST IIKV. FIIANCIS TULFORD, D.D. 19 To ^o hack in point of time, wo may add tliat, in 18.^0, Mr. Fultbrd murriod Mary, eldest dau^^liter of the late Andrew IJerliley Driunmond, Esquire, of Cav member who would win his way successfully lo tb.o ear of the House, Mr. Macdonald continued for some time after his entrance into Parliament most studiously silent. He was content to listen, and to learn ; for in truth in the person of the then Attorney General, the present Chief Justice of Upper Canada, there was an export " Master of Fence, and no inapt teacher of the science of government." With strong personal sympathies, the Honorable Mr. Draper and Mr. Macdonald found themselves cordially allied with a party whose principles they respected, and whose policy in the main it was their desire to uphold. The p !,rty in question however, was not only conservative in principle, it was almost inimical to progress in practice. It was to 5 28 HON. J. A. MAfDONALD. ;■!• a ccrtuiu extent a i)arty of memory and pivjiulico. It treasured tlio recollections of the past, its sacrifices and heroism, its enmi- ties and aversions, with fanatical affection. It disliked a Reformer from instinct, and a Krenchman from tradition ; and finally, it is scarcely an cxag;|cration to say, it grew cool in its supjjort of Mr. Draper, because he sought to conciliate the former and pro- pitiate the latter. IJut though Mr. Draper's effort was not marked with immediate success, still such inclination had been given to political thought as would ere long influence j)ublic jjolicy. The earnest conversations of such astute politicians as Mr. Drai)er and the Hon. Mr. Caron, had they not resoWcd themselves into iState i)apers, would un- doulttedly have left behind them some abiding impressions — im- pressions which, passing by inheritance to Mr. Macdonald, would necessarily be turned to useful purposes. It was evident that jmblic affairs could not be satisfactorily con- ducted without the co-operation of the representatives in Parliament of French origin ; and it therefore became the especial task of JNIr. Macdonald to weld the conservatism of the two sections of Canada into a condition of solidity and strength. Nor can it be denied that, beneath the heated crust of party, there did exist, on certain great subjects, cognate opinions — opinions from which political affinities take tlicir rise, and towards which, as by a natural law, they commonly gravitate. In examining such opinions, Mr. Mac- donald Avould probably observe that the comparatively fixed conservatism of his party in Upper Canada was balanced by the absolutely fixed conservatism of the French i)arty in Lower Canada. That, for example, on the highest subjects through which thought is influenced and men are moved, namely, the subject of religion, and, as gcrmain to it, the sacredness of church projjcrty, the prin- cii)les of the two parties were not in antagonism. The Anglican clergy, together with a large proportion of the laity of that church, asserted, equally with the Clergy and laity of the Roman Commu- V fe -1—7- HOX. J. A. MACDOXALD. 29 nion, tlio perpetual Hanctity of property once Hetapart to the p\ir[)oses of reli;^ion. Such opinions, with respect to cliurcli property, arc apt to influence opinion generally with respect to all property ; and it may, therefore, ho conjectured that Mr. Macdonald'a clear mind very early discerned, in a fact so patent, the basis of that political alliance which has since taken place, and which, primarily, may have had its root in the sympathetic conservatism which is based on tho sanctity of tho rights of property. Tho policy, too, of tho Reformers rather favored than thwarted Mr. Macdonald's proceedings. When in alliance with tho party of Lower Canada, which was led by Sir Louis Lafontaino, tho liberals of tho Western Province very earnestly and eloquently asserted the abstract right of the state to deal with, and, if neces- sary, alienate, the property of tho church ; and, by way of showing their sincerity, they succeeded in obtaining Legislative authority to divide tho estate of the Anglican, and were not over reticent of their menaces with respect to tho possessions of tho Roman Catholic Church. Thus it happened thai, partly from a divergence in tho policy of two political sections, which equally called them- selves Reformers, and partly from tho prescience and ability of Mr. Macdonald, separations wore silently taking place, and adhe- sions wore silently being promoted, which, ore long, would bring about now alliances, and a groat change in tho governing party of the Province. That tho policy commenced by Mr. Draper and continued by Mr. Macdonald was in advance of the time, is sufficiently pro- bable. The recollections of 1887-38, inseparably associated as they were with the antagonistic names of " Tory " on one side, and " Reformer " on the other, were too vivid in the minds of the actors to make cordial api)roach then possible. Besides too, and growing out of the events of those troublous times, there remained an uncomfortable question whose settlement was impera- tively requisite before hostilities could bo permanently laid aside. 30 HON. J. A. MACDONALD. The complaints of losses sustained and of compensation withheld were repeated again and again, and each time more loudly than the former. Heated, menacing discussions accompanied the com- plaints, until it seemed to be equally dangerous to giant as to deny the redress prayed for. The ministry of the day, doubtless moved by the conviction of their duty, determined by every means known to the constitution to bring the subject to peremptory and final settlement. They did so, and the Rebellion Losses Bill became law. It might afford matter for interesting speculation to observe the political consequences that rapidly followed the enactment of this act. TliC Reformers supported it with intolerant anger. The Con- servatives opposed it with vehement rage. Feeling and policy, present rancour, and former hate, were uppermost in the minds of the disputants. Men were too excited to listen to reason to con- temporary ii.formation, or historical analogy. All with ofjual solemnity asseverated " Justice." Nevertheless, in its political consequences the question may be fairly asked, whether any measure, more than this particular act, contributed to bring about the change of alliances that has since taken place ? It is very probable that neither party saw the contingent consequence of its own policy. Had they done so, perhaps haste on one side, and re- sistance on the other, would have been very considerably modified. Mr. Macdonald was a member of the Executive Council from the month of May, 1847, to the month of March of the following year. At the latter period he crossed the House, and till che 11th of September, 1854, became the actual, if not the nominal, leader of " Her Majesty's loyal Opposition. " On the last mentioned day the coalition took place which Mr. Drrper imagined, which Mr. Macdonald promoted, and which Mr. Hincks acquiesced in, — a coali- tion that placed the chief of the Conservative party of Upper Canada at the same Council table with Sir E. P. Tach6 and Mr. Carticr, the representatives of the like party in Lower Canada, — a HON. J. A. MACDONALD. 31 coml»ination it may bo supposed based on sympathetic principles, as it has since then been fostered and preserved by tlie most intimate friendships. With the exception of two intervals, the first of a few days, and the second of less than two years, ]Mr. ^lac- donald has remained in power from that time till noAV. What has been accomplished during the period our space will not permit us to epitomize. Questions vexed with the discussions of half a century have been peacefully set at rest. Internal improvements which could scarcely have been hoped for for fifty yeai3, have taken place in one decade. It is true indeed that some of those questions have been disposed of by consent of parties, and on a basis that Mr. Macdonald would not have chosen; and it is also true that works of great public utility have been hurried forward at a somewhat oppressive cost, for which, however, Mr. Macdonald can scarcely be held answerable. Still the country has got rid of grievances that occasioned much strife, and has acquired posses- sions that confer many advantages ; the double result being con- temporaneous with the period during which Mr. Macdonald has represented Upper Canada in the Government. There is one question, however, from its connection with a some- what exceptional transaction, that should receive a passing notice. After years of idle discussion, after blemishing the journals with resolutions and divisions more conspicuously playful than severely proper. Parliament became weary, and apparently ashamed of its own proceedings ; and therefore, by humble address to the Queen, besought Her Majesty to " select some one place for the permanent seat of Government for Canada," supplementing their prayer with a pledge to grant the requisite supplies. Her Majesty was pleased to accept the ungracious task, and, at the next session, com- municated to Parliament that she had fixed the capital at Ottawa. Having an unsettled previous history, provoking deltates that were only too pitiful, followed by divisions that were wholly derisive, it might have been conjectured that Parliament was weary of the n 82 HON. J. A. MACDONALD. theme, and would gladly have avoided any renewal of an idle dis- cussion. Not so, however, thought the gentlemen who moved and seconded an address to Her Majesty to reconsider her decision and substitute " Montreal," for " Ottawa." They probably forget that since the members last trifled, laughed, and divided, the question had assumed Imperial relationships and gathered about it Royal solemnities and sanctions. Members however acted as of old, utterly regardless of what Parliament had done, and only careful of what their constituents might think. Thus it chanced that on the vote being recorded, the Macdonald-Cartier administration found itself in a minority of fourteen, and consequently resigned. That the vote was inconsiderately given may be fairly assumed ; for five days after- wards, as soon as the rules of Parliament permitted, and it may be added, in singular disregard of the usual amenities observed in party warftire, many of the members voted non-confidence in the new administration which had resulted from their vote, and, by a parity of reasoning, non-confidence in the vote itself; since the latter proceeding included a return to power of the adminis- tration which that vote had disjilaced. The transactions of those few days must, it is feared, continue to bo a blot on our Parliamentary history. We would ghidl}--, if we might, lose the page whereon the unseemly record is written. The opposition, if they remembered their duties, forgot their responsi- bilities, and agreed to a vote that will scarcely bear examination. The ministry, defeated by a vote that was hardly lair, retaliated by a proceeding one does not care to investigate. In the game of Chess, the crooked advance of the black knight may perhaps, without detriment, be answered by the crooked advance of the white one ; but such oblique movements in morals or politics may not be made with impunity. Irregular warfare provokes irregular warfare, and the use of unfair weapons leads to the abuse of fair ones. The case under review illustrates the point. The Ministers HON. J. A. MACDONALD. 33 who, by a " surprise vote," were improperly unseated, re-scated themselves by a succession of very questionable surprises. It is true indeed that on an appeal to the judges, the Province learned that the pantominc, as it appeared on the columns of the Canada Gazette, was not contrary to law ; but notwithstanding the decision of the courts, the public conscience was not appeased; and even at the present day, public men take pains to disavow all connection with what has been popularly stigmatized by two words of oppro- brium, which, however, shall not be repeated in this place. Passing from this transaction, we continue to find Mr. Macdonald — with an interruption of twcnty-lwo months only — the head and representative of the Western Section of the Cabinet. On the resignation of the Sandficld Macdonald-Dorion Government, when Sir E. P. Tach(j undertook the duty of forming an adminis- tration, the subject of our sketch very earnestly sought, not for office or emolument, but as a reward of service to be indulged with the poetical post of honor ; namely, the })rivatc station, and the privilege of rest. He sought in vain. Sir Etienne knew too well the qualities of his friend, to entrust to another standaixl-bearer the colors, which for his party ^^v. Macdonald had always borne so bravely. The country again needed his services, personal sacrifices were again required, and personal considerations were consequently again cast aside. His old allies and adherents once more beckoned him to the front ; and forgetful of political antipathies, a glow of satisfaction may well have pervaded the Assembly (for all are proud of him), as they saw ISIr. Macdonald once more take his familiar place as leader of the House. The truth is, Mr. Macdonald possesses a combination of qual- ities that arc rarely met with in the same person. He is a student and a man of the Avorld. With a memory supremely retentive, he is a ravenous devourer of books. With genial tastes, and warm sympathies for his kind, he possesses a keen relish for social enjoyments. A wit and a satirist in spite of himself, he gives o4 HON. J. A. MACDOXALD. |f|. if hi I it u, \ ; i the rein to the former, to the admiration of his fiiends, and puts a curb on the latter, lest, in answering, he should wound his opponents. Endowed with a more than ordinary share of manlj courage, he seems also to possess a corresponding amount of human tenderness. Alike generous in thought and in action, he is considerate to all ; conscious of imperfection, he is indulgent towards prejudice, patient towards ignorance, and tolerant towards infirmity. Thus his public career, if it have any blemishes, has no stain of cruelty. As a speaker, Mr. Macdonald is very cfFcctive. It is true, ora- tory, as an art, has not apparently been studied by him. The knack of rolling words, and rounding periods, receives, in his practice, little respect, lie appears only to think of the matter of his speech and not of the manner of speaking. Evidently there are no mists in his mind ; he sees clearly, and expresses as clearly as he sees. Like Mr. Draper, as we remember him, Mr. Macdonald is a logical speaker ; but, unlike Mr. Draper, the aim of his speech is not apparently sacrificed to the form. The manner of the former was cold, argumentative, and persuasive. Mr. Macdonald, on the con- trary, is earnest, impassioned, and convincing. The ordinary style of Mr. Hincks is the occasional style of Mr. Macdonald, for sometimes he apparently declines to argue, and contents himself with vehement assertion. On great occasions, when the subject enables him to rise above the level of local politics, it is refreshing to listen as he foreshadows it may be on the future destiny of this grand Province, the future oflSces of the outlying dependencies of the Empire ; when no class of Statesmen shall speak of them as sources of national weakness, but as elements of national strength ; when they shall take their places in the great British Commonwealth, and become at once the most formida])le and the most important outworks of British power, At such times, and on such themes, Mr. Macdonald's unstudied oratory teems with eloquence, gleams with daring, and is brigiii with hope. Then, it is, one may observe the physical eftects ■f I HON. J. A. MACDONALD. 35 of intellectual influences in the hush and stillness of a thousand voices ere they burst the bars of conventional imprisonment, and break into loud and rapturous applause. Moreover, then, may be noted the pride which a great party cherishes towards its chief- tain ; for, let the division result as it may, the hearts and minds of that party carry away the solace of a triumph. In our Legislature we possess no higher type of popular states- manship than is to be found in the subject of our sketch. Let it be our duty, therefore, as it is our interest, to cherish and to make much of our possessions. That every fibre of our intellectual and moral nature should be of equal strength would be as unreasonable to expect as that every feature of our face should be of equal regularity. All men have foibles ; and if we have the disposition to pry narrowly, our curiosity will probably be rewarded by the discovery that all characters have flaws. That the subject of our sketch is an excep- tion to a universal law, no one pretends to aSirm. We should, however, do violence to our own opinions of fair criticism were we to judge a public man from any other than a public point of view. Let his public services be the standard by which his public worth shall be determined. Those who cherish contrary opinions may listen with advantage to the wise words of the late Sir James Graham, who, in addressing the electors of Carlisle, said : " I tell you, not for myself, but for public men, and in the interests of the pubUc, do not pry too closely into the flaws of the character of public men ; do not hunt too closely into every particular of their conduct, but look to the general tenor of their lives. Try them by this test ; — Has avarice or ambition misled them from the path of public duty? Have they gained honors or advantages for themselves at the cost of the public ? Try them by that test ! " When the time shall have arrived for Mr. Macdonald to retire from the scene, and, in the words of Burke, " To shut the book," then, perhaps, the people of this Province, irrespective of party, will 6 ■f- It - '-J- \i :i r i 36 HON. J. A. MACDONALD. more fully comprehend how much their happiness and peace are to be ascribed to his conservative wisdom ; how much their union and advancement are duo to, what may read like paradox, his en- lightened principles of conservative progress. Hi If li I to ind cn- i» a If!! HPItjIUM H' TT'.'' '. *^'' - ■ .^TfW'^r^"'^-^ .'■■■•.r'-r;^ I I THE IIONOIIADLK SAMl KL LEONARD TILLED, KKW IinUNSWICK. TiiE Ilonorablo Mr. Tillcy was no stranger to Canada or to Canadians when, as tho Primo Miuistor of Now Brunswick, ho arrived at Quebec, and took his place at the Conference held in that city in tho month of October, 18*)4. Neither were the duties m which he found himself engaged new to him. His mind had already been disciplined in the school of incipient diplomacy. IIo had officially and fre({ucntly discussed, with Ministers of tho dif- ferent Provinces, subjects of great national importance. Questions, for instance, of inter-colonial free trade, of an assimilated cur- rency, and of uninterrupted intercourse between tho separated communities, had received from him especial attention, and their consideration had probably ena1)led him to seo with greater clear- ness the political advantages of a more intimate union of those communities. Mr. Tilley had moreover visited England, with Reiiresentatives from Canada and Nova Scotia, to arrange, and if possible perfect, the grand project of connecting the Provinces by means of an Intercolonial Railway. That his part in this important negociation was alike sagacious and beneficial we have a right to assume, as it received the support of tho Imperial authorities, tho approval of his own Government, and was moreover satisfactory to the inhabitants of New Brunswick. Mr. Tilley, who is indebted to hl5 character and genius for his position, was born in New Brunswick, and comes of a hardy, vigorous, self-reliant race. A native of Queen's County, he was educated at Gagctown, and afterwards moved to tho city of ill I' 88 nON. S. L. TILLEY. IS' };^ St. Jolin. IToro lio occupied liiinsclf with tlio pursuits of cora- mcrcf, until the more alluring attraction of politics threw around him its fascinating spell. Then it was he forsook the (juiet path of profitahle industry, for one more lahorious and less rennnierativo. In the year 18r>0 Mr. Tiiley Avas one of the two memhers elected for the city of St. John. In a few months afterwards, for reasons with which wo arc imacquainted, ho resi;:;ned his seat, and Avitli- drcw into privacy. Ihit ho Avas not permitted to contimio in retire- ment. At the general election in IH'A ho was again returned for St. John ; and shortly afterwards, on his hecomiiig a mcnih- r of the Government hy accejjting the office of Provincial Secretary, ho was for the third time re-elected, and then without o|)position. Mr. Tillcy is a liheral, and, avc may add, a political and social Reformer of a somewhat advanced school. One of his early meas- ures, as a mcmhor of the Government, Avas to introduce a Jiill to extend the franchise and to secure vote hy hallot. As a social reformer and Temperance advocate, he belongs to the class of earnest, enthusiastic men Avho, dazzled hy the glare of their OAvn pure intentions, insist on pushing their theories to Avhat they regard their legitimate practical conscf^uenccs. Thus, though they shoidd fail to make all men agree in their opinion, they Avould never- theless ohligc them to conform to their example. We can scarcely imagine a better illustration of the force of indi- vidual character, and the Aveight of jjcrsonal o])inion, than that Avhich is afft)rdcd by the particular transaction to Avhich avc arc about to allude. In the session of 185f5, jNIr. Tilley, Avhen a member of the Government, introduced, in the House of Assembly a Bill intituled " An Act to prevent the importation, manufacture, and traffic in intoxicating liquors." The Bill itself Avas as stringent in its pro- visions as the title represented it to be ; but though stringent, irri- tating, and semi-revolutionary, it Avas nevertheless passed by the Legislature, Avith sufficient majorities to enable it for a fcAV months to assume the air, and enjoy the dignity of an Act of rarliament. HON. S. L. TILLEY. 30 Intnisivo measures interferin;^ witli and litnitin;^ our liberty of diet, like acts iuterferiug with and restrictin;^ our liltcrty of conHcienco, are not lila'ly to receive niucli countenance from puMic oi/miou. Tliouf^litful men will for the most part shrink alike from social and reli;j;ious meddlin;i; ; for tlie sinrit of tho a as a iirivato i,'ciitl«'mui, I hiivo my desire to cast a flower upon his ;.'ravo. Will you therefore. Sir, he ])leaso(l to };riifify mo by roproihieiui,' in yourjourual of lo-morrow the followiu.,' brief l)ut beautiful eulo;_'y of the character of Sir Louis, pronounced ))y the llou. liobert Haldwiu, at a meetinii of the R'forni Association of Toronto, in January, ISH. The extract, which I have lon^; preserveil, is taken from a report of the proceedings of the meeting, published in the ^loutreal 'Times" of the 10th of .January, IMH; and it is si'arcely a month since, in si)eakin^ of it to the lion. Mr. Chauveau, J remarked, that should I survive the Chief Justice, it would be my care to call the attention of some ^'entleman of the press to the noble tribute, so worthy both of Ihoso ureat and jiood men. ^Ir. IJahlwin said : "And that as to his learned friend (Mr. Lafontaine), he had found him so clear in his jjorception of n^ht, so i>rompt in the assertion of it, and so stern in the condemnation of those arts of low and party intri.i^no to which little minds resort to conceal their barrenness, that he (Mr. IJaldwin) declared it a comfort to have smdi a jiiiide, a Kh»ry to have sucdi a leader, and a source of the greatest satisfictiou to have such a friend. And he would tell the i)eople of Upper Canada that, in his oi)iiiiou, they could not hive a man as the leader of the irnited Reform party more attentive to their interests, more resolved on having the Administration, as respected that .section of tho Province, conducted iu a manner satisfactory to them." I am, Mr. Editor, respectfully yours, Matthew Rvax. Montreal, February 271li, IStVi. Turning to the personal chronicle, Ave learn that the deceased Baronet was born at ]}ouchervillo, in 1807. In 1830 he was returned to Parliament as member for the populous County of Terrebonne, and in 1831 he married. 1 44 Sril L. II. LAFOXTAINK, DART. 'II 4. Unlike liis matured cliaractcr, liia disposition in early life, It is said, Avas conspicuous for its activity and restless ener;iy. 1'liere- fore lie entrred ardently into the political discussions of the jieiiod, and advocated Avitli the fervor of youtl- what he hclieved to be tlio rights of his race. Whether at the time Mr. Lafontaine thoroughly a;j;rced with Mr. rapineau, his reputed leader, it is not necessary in this ])lacc to eiKpiirc. rro1)ahly there was some divergence of oi)inioii even at that early day, for Mr. Lafontaine was constitution- ally l)ut little inclined to follow any one's le,id. It has been stated, too, that he resisted Mr. Paiiineau's arguments, and opposed his ad- vice to the proceedings of his countrymen in 1837, when they were directed towards violence. His much (pioted letter to Mr. Girouard, to which the Government at Quebec very naturally attached serious signiticance, was intended, it is said, rather to satirize than encourage the illegal movements which were then on foot, and which were unfortunately daily becoming more perilous and compromising. As however the letter in question was not likely to receive a i)layful intei'])retation from the Canadian authorities, Mr. Lafontaine very wisely took sanctuary abroad, and, with that firm faith in ]»ritisli justice which seems never to have failed him, he patiently awaited the issue of enrpiiry. The time and the result, as he expected, arrived, and then Mr. Lafontaine returned to Canada. After the re-union of the Provinces, having failed, in 1841, to secure his election for Terrebonne, Mr. Lafontaine, through the good offices of the late Honorable Robert l]ald\vin, his fast p(jliti(!al and [jcrsonal friend, was returned as member for one of the Ridings of York. Li 1842, when Sir Charles Bagot was Governor General, Mr. Lafontaine was appointed Attorney General for Lower Canada ; but in the year following, on a misunderstanding with Lord jMetcalfe, he, with his colleagues, resigned. His party, which was stedfastly attached to their sagacious leader, crossing the house with him. Mr. Lafontaine continued in oj)position till March, 1848, when sill L. ir. LAFONTAINK, TAUT. 45 ii luiviii;!; 1)cen cliar^eil hy the l^arl of Kl^j^in to form a luinistry, tlic Goveniinont, for tlit.* first time (k'si^iuitod hy a doiiMe iiaiiic, and known popnlaily as the " Lafontaine-lJahlwin" administration, -was sworn into olficL'. The a(hninistrati(»n as thus constitntt'd, -with certain siihonlinate eliaii;j;es, continued in power until Octoher, 18.')1, ■wlion Mr. Tiafontaine, uitli his friend ^^r. ]>aldwin, retired ahke from l*arliament and from |)olitieal life. The former devoted himself to his professional pursuits until IH'):], when he accejtted the ap- pointment of Chief Jiistiee of Lower Canada, rendered vacant hy the death of i^ir James K^tuart. f^hortly afterwards, Her Majesty was f;;racious1y pleased to confer on him the high honor of a Baronetcy. As Chief Justice, and in addition to the onerous duties that attach to the office. Sir L>uis Lafontaine presided at the sittings of the Seigniorial Tenure Court ; hut he declined the appointment suh- sequently ofl[erevcro, as enunciated in the Ninety-two Resolutions of the House of Assembly of LoAVcr Canada, nuist have under^^one considerable modification ere ho was content to accept, as a preferable substitute, Mr. Baldwin's sim})lc project of executive resjmnsibility to the pcojile. Sir Louis was inidoubtedly a man of iron will, as well ar. of ^^reat force of character. His innnobility of disposition combined Avith his power of resistance is somethin<^ to remember. Naturally brave, he never (piailed at consecpiences, and rarely abandoned "Nvhat he undertook to accomplish, lie did what he conceived to bo right, and he did it too at once, and for its own sake, and without ref;ard to remote results. The adoption of this view may, we think, help us to interpret what seems otherwise not very clear. Thus, Sir Louis Lafontaine's idea, initiated, however, with more hesitancy than it has since been acted on, of rulin«5 by a double ministry in the same Government, by a double majority in the same Legislature, though manifestly ofjposed to the common notion of administrative unity, possessed at all events the ftiscination as well as the semblance of fairness, and appeared moreover at the moment to to meet, and as some thought to overcome, an obstinate difficulty. Nevertheless experience has, we think, demonstrated that one half of the idea, the double majority in rarliament, has been found uneiiual to the wear and tear of actiud service, and that its merits, whatever they may have seemed, were theoretical and delusive. The other condition of the idea, namely, a double niinistry in the same Govern- ment, will probably at some future time attract more attention than it appears as yet to have received. Based on a princij)le of sectionalism, it may be said to contain the germ of disunion, and to that extent must be regarded as antagonistic to the spirit, if not to the letter, of the Constitutional Act. Moreover the student of 48 Sril L. ir. I.MONTATNR, HAIIT. Kii^lisli lilstoi'v would (U'tcct, \sli;it our l*i'o\ inriiil (vvpcriciict' jilsd coiifirm-i, nauicly. that the idea, rc^ardcil as a jiriiifiplc and hnw^ reduced to pracl'u'o, lias euc'oai'a;;fd nH'iu'tiTs of tlic hc^islaturo to take dimiiiutivc and, a«< we thiidc, uustatcsni-iidiko views ol'tlieii* duties and oltli^atious. Tlu^y s[K'ak of tlieniselvcs, for ('Naiii|ile, as the d(de;j;atom of localities only, uith uu'ivly sectional resiionsihili- tios, instead of nieniheis of one ^reat delilieratisc Imdy, i'onii;onent jiarts of the estate of Parliament, with eonnnon iluties and eoniinon trusts. It may tlierefoiv l»e n\:;anle(l an a fair suhjeet for specu- lation, whether the policy of dwarfm^u; the (Jovernnjent ami the country hy' diviy wron;^. lie devoted himself to the adjustment of the hulancc. Success contented him. The visionary views of Government which had da/zled his youth, had j)rol)ahly l)een rehuked hy his later experience, and destroyed hy the suhlime follies which in 1S4S lunl held tliL'ir rcvid in Europe. Utopia is still an imaginary land. The rule of virtue, alas I is not yet. We must hlend it with force, or it will prove contemptihle. Such a union sliould he fruitful in wisdom, the wisd'»m whicii not only " cxaltetli the children of men," but which is the most precious jiossession for the rulers of men. Sir Louis Lafontaine was twice married. Firstly, to Adele, daughter of A. Berthelot, Es*}., of Quebec, by whom however SIR r,. II. LAFOXTAINi:, HART. 40 lie liJid no iMHU(\ Rccoiidly, to Jane, (liui;;1iti'r of C'liarlcs MnrriHon, Ksi)., of IJcrtirK-r, Ity Nvliom \w had ksuu, two sons, the ]ircst'nt ]lai'onc't, and a second, who was honi sevenil >vec'k.s after the decease of his father. How tcndei-ly that yoini;j; child wlioni he liad seen was htved, it wore i(Ue to eiifinire ; equally iiMe were it to attempt to ;^aujLie the human h»ii;^in;^s that ;i;rew in the licart and mind of that in'nnd fatlier. We may, it is tnu>, conjecture in what kind tunes of ;j;enth'ness that ;^rave man hiid liis h'arnin;L!; asiih-, and humhled his speech to tlie capacity of his chihl ; with what un,u;ru