Chapter X: Preface (10)

This affectionate letter, coming from such an eminent man as Sir John Rose, who attained such a high position among the most eminent men in England, is preciously preserved by Mr. Branchaud, and the feelings of friendship and esteem he always held towards the baronet are still warm in his heart. During his sojourn in Beauharnois, in the summer of 1858, the Right Honourable Edward Ellice, then proprietor of the seigniory of Beauharnois, showed special marks of honour to Mr. Branchaud. He was invited to all the dinners which he gave, whether to the principal citizens of the place, or to his distinguished visitors from England. On one of these occasions he met Lord Frederick Cavendish, the victim of the Phœnix Park murder, Dublin, and Lord Grosvenor, now Duke of Westminster. They were both very young then, and were going on a hunting expedition to the western prairies. On returning home Mr. Ellice tried to induce him to accompany him, and made him very flattering promises, but the extended practice Mr. Branchaud had acquired did not permit him to accept such an agreeable invitation. He regrets having declined now, for he will never have an opportunity, if he should take a trip to Europe, of forming acquaintances which the high position of Mr. Ellice could have facilitated. He nevertheless keeps a grateful remembrance of the old gentleman, who had so much regard for him. In 1859 Mr. Branchaud married Marie Elizabeth Henrietta Mondelet, a daughter of the Hon. Judge Charles Mondelet, of the city of Montreal, one of the judges of the Superior Court for Lower Canada, and of Dame Maria Elizabeth Henrietta Carter, a daughter of the late Dr. Carter, of Three Rivers. Madame Mondelet was the niece of Captain Brock, a nephew and _aide-de-camp_ to General Brock, and of Dr. Johnston, in his lifetime inspector general of military hospitals in the Ionian Islands; and a first cousin of the late Judge Short, of Sherbrooke. Mr. and Madame Mondelet died many years ago. The Hon. Dominique, Mondelet, a judge at Three Rivers, was the elder brother of Mr. Branchaud’s father-in-law. They were the sons of Dominique Mondelet, a member of the old Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada, and also a member of the Executive Council under the administration of Lord Aylmer. In politics M. Branchaud was an advanced liberal in his youth, but his opinions have greatly changed during the last few years. Experience and age always exert a soothing influence on the ideas and sentiments of the generality of men, and Mr. Branchaud did not form an exception to the rule. He would not be so willing, to-day, to endorse the political and social principles formulated in the programme of _L’ Avenir_, and which were so enthusiastically adopted by the young men who founded that paper. However, Mr. Branchaud thinks one may be liberal without sharing the opinions of the nineteenth century philosophers, and without believing in the omnipotence of universal suffrage to save society—such safety being more certain in the hands of the few than in those of the greater number of its members. The democratic ideas carried to extreme limits will cause the fall of modern empires, as they have produced the fall of the older ones, and what is happening to-day in Europe is only their natural consequences. The actual opinions of Mr. Branchaud do not find favour with either party. His independence of character and his well-known frankness are obstacles which would prevent his success in politics. So for many years he has not engaged actively in them. However, he does not conceal his opinions when called upon to express them. Thus he desires the continuation of Sir John A. Macdonald’s administration because he thinks the national policy would run great dangers in the hands of Mr. Blake, and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company would find very little sympathy with him, in case of necessity. This company, being still in its infancy, may yet want the support of the government, and Mr. Branchaud thinks it would be to the interest of the country to grant such help. It is hardly to be expected that a man who has tried to arrest its progress in each phase of its existence would be kindly disposed towards it at a given moment. At all times he has repudiated the Rielite movement in Lower Canada, as tending to arouse prejudices and race hatreds, and to retard the progress of the country, and the conduct of the government in letting the law take its course, has had his entire approbation, as the only practical way of restoring peace and harmony, which would have been threatened as long as Riel would have lived. In conclusion we may state that Mr. Branchaud has been the promoter of the Beauharnois Junction Railway Company. The road is intended to run from Ste. Martine to Dundee, where it will connect with the American system. The building of this railway will place Beauharnois—undoubtedly a town of future importance, on account of the beauty of her site on the St. Lawrence, and the extent of her water powers—in the first rank among the important cities of the Dominion. Mr. Branchaud has worked for several months to organize the company, and he is confident that his efforts will soon be crowned with success. He was ever ambitious to see his native place prosperous, and in the evening of his life he is happy in the hope that the earnest wish of his heart will soon be gratified. The Hon. James Ferrie is president of the new company, and Mr. Branchaud vice-president.

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=Irving, James Douglas=, Major, and Brigade-Major of Military District No. 12, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, was born at Charlottetown, on the 12th February, 1844. His father, Robert Blake Irving, was born in Annan, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, and emigrated to Prince Edward Island about the year 1832. Here he engaged in the profession of teaching, and in addition took an active interest in politics on the Liberal side until the confederation of the provinces, when party lines having been broken, he became a supporter of the Liberal-Conservative party. He was of a literary turn of mind, and contributed largely to the columns of the _Examiner_ newspaper when it was under the editorial management of the late Hon. Edward Whelan, writing strongly in support of responsible government, free schools, the settlement of the land question by the government purchasing from the proprietors and reselling to tenants, and for confederation. He married in 1843 Joanna Charlotte, a daughter of Thomas Rhodes Hazzard, a U. E. loyalist, who came to Prince Edward Island from Providence, Rhode Island, with his father and family at the conclusion of the war with the revolted colonists. Major Irving received his education in his native parish in the private school taught by his father. On the 26th of March, 1867, he was appointed a lieutenant in the Active Militia of P. E. Island, and was shortly afterwards promoted to a captaincy. After confederation he was given a commission in the Canadian Artillery Militia, and subsequently commanded the P. E. Island provisional brigade of Garrison Artillery. On the 1st of April, 1885, he was appointed brigade-major of Military District No. 12, and this position he at present holds. He was deputy-prothonotary of the Supreme Court of P. E. Island from 1st March, 1871, to 1st April, 1885; registrar of the Court of Chancery, and also that of the Vice-Admiralty Court from 28th March, 1876, to 1st April, 1885; and Clerk of the Crown for P. E. Island from 1st August, 1883, to 1st April, 1885. For many years Major Irving has been an active member of the Caledonian Society, and in general takes a deep interest in all that appertains to his native island.

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=Creed, Herbert Clifford=, Fredericton, was born at Halifax, Nova Scotia, September 23rd, 1843. His father, George John Creed, of Faversham, Kent, England, was clerk in the Royal Engineer department (with rank of lieutenant), at Halifax, N.S., for thirty-five years. He was the eldest son of Richard Creed, who also was in Her Majesty’s service, as clerk of works, R. E. D., with the rank of captain. Both father and son were, at the time of their decease, retired from active service upon ample pensions. Richard Creed’s youngest daughter was the wife of the late Hon. Jonathan McCully, senator of Canada, and afterwards judge of the Supreme Court. The mother of the subject of this sketch was Susan, eldest daughter of John A. Wellner, of Halifax, N.S., a manufacturer and at one time owner of extensive property in that city and in the county of Hants. He was of a family that came out from England among the original settlers of Halifax, with Governor Cornwallis. Herbert Clifford Creed received his academic education chiefly in the High School connected with Dalhousie College, Halifax. He matriculated in the earliest class of undergraduates in Dalhousie College in 1857, studying till 1860, the college proper having in the meantime been discontinued. In 1861 he entered Acadia College, Wolfville, N.S., and took the regular four years’ course there under the presidency of the late Rev. J. M. Cramp, D.D. He graduated in 1865 with honours in classics, having also held the highest place in his class throughout the whole course. From August, 1860, to June, 1864, Mr. Creed was teacher of French at the Collegiate Academy and Ladies’ Seminary at Wolfville, N.S.; from the autumn of 1865 till the spring of 1869, he filled the position of head master of the County Academy at Sydney, C. B.; and from 1869 till June, 1872, was principal of the Seminary at Yarmouth, N.S. In 1869 the degree of A.M. was conferred upon him. In the following autumn he accepted the principalship of the English High School, Fredericton, N.B., but resigned it at the close of 1873, in order to take a position offered him in the Provincial Normal School of New Brunswick, and here he has continued, with various changes of work, down to the present time. His position now is officially designated as “Mathematical and Science Master, and Instructor in Industrial Drawing,” the term “Professor” not being applied to the instructors or teachers in this Normal school. Mr. Creed was elected a member of the Board of Governors of Acadia College in 1883; a senator of Acadia College in 1882, and secretary of the Senate in 1883; all of which offices he now holds. In 1871 he was made one of the examiners of the college, and filled the position for several years. He is secretary of the Educational Institute of New Brunswick, having been re-elected every year from its organization in 1877; vice-president of the Baptist Convention of the Maritime provinces for the current year; a director of the Baptist Annuity Association of New Brunswick and of the Maritime Baptist Publishing Co. He was at one time president of the Associated Alumni of Acadia College; president of the Fredericton Young Men’s Christian Association, and for eight years secretary of the Fredericton Auxiliary Bible Society. Mr. Creed has been connected with the following among other Temperance societies:—The Sons of Temperance since 1857, and is a P.W.P.; the Temple of Honour and Temperance from 1871 to 1875, and is a P.W.C.T. and past deputy G.W.C.T.; the Temperance Reform Club; the New Brunswick Branch of the Dominion Prohibitory Alliance. He has also been connected with the Masonic order, in which he is a past master; the Independent Order of Oddfellows as a P. G. and a P.D.D.G.M., Independent Order of Foresters, and is at present H.C.R. (presiding officer) of the High Court of New Brunswick; and is a past commander in the American Legion of Honour. Mr. Creed has written largely for the press, for the most part anonymously, on educational topics; on the temperance question; on matters of Christian doctrine and practice, etc; and has also prepared a variety of matter for school texts and other books. On November 4th, 1867, he was married to Jessie S., third daughter of John F. Marsters, of St. John, N.B., customs broker and forwarding agent, and has a family of four children, three sons and a daughter. Mr. Creed has been a member of the Baptist church since he attained his seventeenth year.

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=Harrison, Thomas=, LL.D., President of the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, was born at Sheffield, New Brunswick, on the 24th October, 1839. He is son of Thomas Harrison, by his wife Elizabeth Coburn, and grandson of James Harrison, of the county of Antrim, Ireland, who emigrated to South Carolina in 1767. During the Revolutionary war Lieutenant James Harrison, with his elder brother, Captain Charles Harrison, fought under Sir Henry Clinton, on the British side, and in 1783 these gentlemen came among the loyalists to New Brunswick. Charles Harrison was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the militia of the county of Sunbury, by Governor Thomas Carleton, in 1784, and the two brothers settled at Sheffield, Sunbury county. James Harrison married Charity Cowperthwaite, of a Quaker family from Philadelphia, and in 1806 died, leaving five sons and four daughters. Their descendants are numerous, and are mostly settled in New Brunswick. Thomas Harrison, the subject of our sketch, was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, under the tutorship of Dr. Salmon, F.R.S., whose works have for many years been the standard treatises for advanced students in some of the highest branches of modern mathematical science. He was a first honour man in mathematics, and was elected a mathematical scholar in Trinity College in 1863. He also attended law lectures, and took the degrees of B.A. and LL.B. in the University of Dublin in 1864, and afterwards the degrees of M.A. and LL.D. in the same university. In June, 1870, he was appointed professor of the English language and literature and of mental and moral philosophy in the University of New Brunswick. In 1874 he was made, by the Dominion government, superintendent of the meteorological chief station at Fredericton, and in August, 1885, president of the University of New Brunswick, and professor of Mathematics by the Provincial government. Mr. Harrison is a member of the Episcopal church. He married, in 1865, Susan Lois Taylor, daughter of the late John S. Taylor, of Sheffield, N.B., and niece of Sir Leonard Tilley, K.C.M.G., lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick. The fruit of this marriage is two sons and a daughter. The eldest son, John Darley Harrison, is a member of the graduating class of 1887 in the University of New Brunswick.

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=Blanchet, Hon. Joseph Goderic=, Collector of Customs, Quebec, is a descendant of one of the first families that came from France to Canada, and is a son of Louis Blanchet, of St. Pierre, Rivière du Sud, and Marguerite Fontaine, whose family came from Picardy, in France. Joseph G. Blanchet, the subject of our sketch, was born at St. Pierre, on the 7th June, 1829, and received his education in the arts at the Quebec Seminary and at the Ste. Anne College. He afterwards studied medicine with his uncle, Jean Baptiste Blanchet, M.D., and for many years practised his profession at Levis, during which time he stood high among his _confrères_ of the medical fraternity. Dr. Blanchet, jr., took an active interest in the militia of his native province, and in 1863 he raised the 17th battalion of Volunteer Militia Infantry, which he commanded, holding the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He had command of the 3rd administrative battalion on the frontier during the St. Albans raid in 1865, and the active militia force on the south shore of the St. Lawrence river, in the Quebec district, during the Fenian raid of the next year, and also in 1871. Dr. Blanchet, during his residence in Levis, occupied many prominent positions. For six years he was its mayor. In 1870 he was elected president of the _Cercle de Québec_; in 1872 president of the Levis and Kennebec Railway; and in 1873 he was appointed a member of the Catholic section of the Council of Public Instruction for the province of Quebec. Though a busy man, Dr. Blanchet did not neglect the interests of his country. He took an active part in politics, and as early as 1857 he presented himself as a candidate for Levis in the Legislative Assembly of Canada; but, although he made a good run, in the end he was unsuccessful in securing his election. Four years later he again presented himself as a candidate in the same constituency and succeeded, and sat from 1861 until confederation in 1867, when he was returned by acclamation to the House of Commons. There he continued to sit until 1874, being meantime speaker of the House of Assembly of the province of Quebec, from the meeting of the first parliament after confederation, until the dissolution of the second parliament in 1875. The year before this latter date, in consequence of the passing of the law respecting dual representation, he resigned his seat in the House of Commons in order to continue to hold one in the provincial assembly, which he did, as representative for Levis, until the general elections in 1875, when he was defeated. In November of that year, a vacancy having occurred in the representation for Bellechasse, in consequence of the elevation of the sitting member, Mr. Fournier, who had been made a justice of the Supreme Court of the Dominion, he presented himself for election, and was secured this seat; and in September, 1878, he was once more returned for Levis. At the general election held in 1882 he was again returned by his old constituency, but only held the seat for about a year, when he resigned to accept the collectorship of the port of Quebec, and this office he still holds. When the Hon. Mr. Blanchet was speaker of the Quebec House of Assembly, he showed fine talents in that capacity, and made an admirable presiding officer, and some time before the fourth parliament had met, his name was again mentioned in connection with the speakership, he being a Conservative and his party once more in power. On the meeting of the House of Commons in February, 1879, he was unanimously elected speaker of that august body, and the choice proved a wise one, for he soon showed himself an adept in parliamentary rules and tactics, was prompt and impartial, and on his retirement from office carried with him the good will and respect of both sides of the House. In August, 1850, Hon. Mr. Blanchet was married to Emilie, daughter of G. D. Balzaretti, of Milan, Italy, and the fruit of this marriage has been six children, four of whom are dead, three having died in infancy.

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=Harris, Michael Spurr.=—The late Michael Spurr Harris, of Moncton, New Brunswick, who was born at Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, September 22nd, 1804, and married, May 11th, 1826, Sarah Ann Troop, of Granville, Annapolis county, N.S., was descended from a long line of ancestors. One of these, Arthur Harris, came from England, and was among the earliest settlers in Duxbury, Plymouth county, Massachusetts. In 1640 he moved to Bridgewater, Mass., and a few years afterwards, about 1656, he took up his residence in Boston, where he died on the 10th June, 1674, leaving a widow and five children. Samuel Harris, a direct descendant of Arthur Harris, married, in 1757, Sarah Cook, in Boston, from whence, about 1763, they emigrated to Nova Scotia, and settled in Annapolis county at a place called Mount Pleasant, near Bridgewater, and here Samuel Harris died in 1801, leaving several children, among others the father of the subject of our sketch, Christopher Prince Harris, who died in Annapolis county, near Digby, 30th January, 1853, and his widow at the same place in 1862. Sarah Cook, wife of Samuel Harris, was a grandchild of Francis Cook, who came with the first Pilgrims from Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, America, in 1620. Six years afterwards her grandfather, on her mother’s side, came out to the Plymouth settlement, and he it was who, in 1676, captured the celebrated Indian chief “Annawan.” Michael Spurr Harris received his early education in the parish schools of Nova Scotia, and passed his boyhood at his father’s home in Digby county, N.S. When quite young he went to St. John, N.B., and entered the employ of Mr. Peterson, a carriage-builder, where, after serving his apprenticeship, he began business; and in 1826 married Sarah Ann Troop, and settled in St. John, continuing his trade of carriage-making. A few years later moving to Norton, Kings county, N.B., he extended his business, and remained there until the fall of 1836, when he moved with his family to Moncton, N.B., then called the Bend of Petitcodiac. Here he became largely interested in the lumber trade and shipping, building and owning vessels and sawmills. He was one of the earliest prominent business men, and foremost in promoting the social, commercial, and industrial welfare of Moncton. Comparatively self-educated, his manner of life did not throw him in conflict with others in political questions; but he held liberal and advanced views on the leading questions of his day, and supported the policy of provincial responsible government, the union of the provinces, and the encouragement of manufactures. He was a magistrate, and held a justice’s court for many years. From about 1840 to 1862 he was very actively engaged in shipbuilding and the shipment of lumber to England, which at that time were the leading industries of the province. His business called him frequently to Great Britain, and he was known among shipping men in Liverpool as a man of strict business integrity. The town of Moncton elected him its mayor in 1859, a position which he filled with much ability. Possessed of strong natural powers, a fine physique, a kindly and courteous manner, and a strong belief in the orthodox Christian faith, he lived a useful and exemplary life, and died at his home in Moncton, January 26th, 1866, of paralysis, a malady which had for some years previous deprived him of the active use of his limbs. His remains are in the family lot at Moncton cemetery.

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=Bell, Andrew Wilson=, Carleton Place, Ontario, was born in the town of Perth, county of Lanark, Ontario, on the 14th February, 1835. His grandfather, the Rev. William Bell, who came from Scotland in 1817, and was the first Presbyterian minister in Perth, died in 1857. His father, John Bell, carried on business in the same town as a merchant from 1828 until 1849, when he died. A. W. Bell received his education in the old district grammar school in Perth, and after leaving school began a busy and useful career. In March, 1885, he commenced business at Douglas, Renfrew county, with Charles Coulter, under the name of Bell, Coulter & Co., general merchants, and next year having admitted into the partnership Thomas Coulter, of Clayton, Lanark, they traded in the villages of Douglas and Eganville under the name of Bell & Coulter, and in Clayton as Coulter & Bell. The partnership was dissolved in the spring of 1858, each partner taking the branch he then had in charge. Mr. Bell was then a resident of Eganville, and in the spring of 1859 he sold out his stock to the Coulters, and removed to Carleton Place for a few months. In the fall of the same year he again began business in Douglas, and in 1862 entered into partnership with Donald Cameron. The new firm did a large local mercantile trade, and sent several rafts of square timber to the Quebec market in 1863-4. This partnership was dissolved in 1864. Mr. Bell, in the years 1858, 1865 and 1866, carried on saw-mills at Eganville and Douglas; and in 1864 and 1865, having joined William Halpenny, in Renfrew, under the name of A. W. Bell & Co., they carried on a general mercantile business. In 1867 Mr. Bell removed from Douglas to Newboro’, Leeds county, and where he bought out the business belonging to John Draffin. In this place he remained until April, 1872, and then took up his abode at Carleton Place. Here he prosecuted his mercantile business until 1875, and then, selling it out to a partner he had admitted in 1873, he retired into private life. In addition to his other business enterprises, Mr. Bell has dealt considerably in real estate in the counties of Lanark and Renfrew, and has bought and sold many thousand acres of farm lands, and built several shops and dwellings in Carleton Place, which he still owns. In 1856 he was appointed postmaster in Eganville, Renfrew county, which position he held until 1859, when he resigned; again, in 1862, he was appointed postmaster of Douglas, in the same county, and resigned in 1867. In March, 1862, he was made clerk of the Seventh Division Court for Lanark and Renfrew, but when these counties were separated in October, 1866, he gave up the position. In 1862 he was made a notary public, and also commissioner for taking affidavits and an issuer of marriage licenses. In 1863 the Government conferred upon him the commission of a justice of the peace. In 1873 the Board of Trade of Ottawa appointed him official assignee for the county of Lanark, and in 1875 the Government appointed him to the same office, and this office he held until the repeal of the Insolvency Act. Mr. Bell also acted in the capacity of creditors’ assignee in the counties of Lanark, Renfrew and Pontiac, and was arbitrator for the Canada Central Railway at Renfrew and at Pembroke, and purchased part of the right of way for the railway company. Mr. Bell was the originator of the Winnipeg and Hudson Bay Railway and Steamship Company,—his name being first in the charter as passed by parliament,—and he also had a hand in procuring two other North-West charters. Mr. Bell is a member of the Masonic fraternity, having joined in June, 1859. He held a commission as lieutenant, and afterwards captain, in the militia, dating from July, 1856. Though brought up as a Presbyterian, Mr. Bell now attends the Episcopal church, his wife being a member of that communion. He married, 27th July, 1857, Jane Andersen, daughter of the late James Gibb, merchant, of Glasgow, Scotland. Mrs. Bell died on 2nd June, 1886.

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=McIntyre, Right Rev. Peter=, D.D., Bishop of Charlottetown, was born at Cable Head, in the parish of St. Peter, Lot 41, Kings county, Prince Edward Island, on the feast of SS. Peter and Paul, June 29th, 1818. His parents, Angus McIntyre and Sarah McKinnon, Scotch Highland Catholics, emigrated from Southwest Inverness-shire to Prince Edward Island, towards the close of the last century. Providence blessed their industry and integrity; and they were enabled not only to have “full and plenty” for a large family of sons and daughters, but also to extend the sacred rites of hospitality to all who came in the way. Mr. McIntyre’s house at Cable Head was one of the principal stations of the late Bishop McEachern in that part of the country—before there was a church at St. Peter’s—and his children were naturally enough brought to the notice of the pious and discerning bishop. The bishop, it is needless to say, entertained a very high regard for Angus McIntyre and his family, and his lordship insisted that the youngest son, little Peter, should be sent to college to be educated for the church. Mr. McIntyre was well aware that the proposed undertaking would be exceedingly heavy, at a time when schools were few and means were not easily obtained. But out of respect for the wishes of his bishop, he generously acted upon the suggestion, and his son Peter was accordingly among the first students at the opening of old St. Andrew’s College. After the death of the good Bishop McEachern, in 1835, young McIntyre expressed a strong desire to be sent to Canada to pursue his studies. This wish was complied with by his kind father, who placed him in the college of St. Hyacinthe, where he remained for five years, entering the Grand Seminary of Quebec in 1840. After a three years’ course at the Grand Seminary he was, on the 26th of February, 1843, ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Signay in the Cathedral of Quebec, and returned to his native diocese the same year. We have been told by an old friend of the family that when young McIntyre first went to college, his father had accumulated quite a large sum in Spanish dollars, and so was enabled to promptly make generous remittances to his son and pay the college bills on presentation. The same good friend also tells us that by the time young “Father McIntyre” returned from Quebec the Spanish dollars were pretty low, but not exhausted. May it not be that the generous manner in which his venerable father furnished him with ample funds until he was able to provide for himself, materially helped to form and develop those generous, hospitable and princely traits of character which we all admire in Bishop McIntyre. The first missionary duties of Father McIntyre were performed as assistant to Father Perry. After a short time, however, he was appointed to the charge of Tignish, Lot 7, the Brae and Cascumpec, with his principal residence at Tignish. There he lived and laboured for seventeen years; and it was there that he first gave evidence of his talent for building. The Acadian French, who form the largest proportion of the Catholic congregation at Tignish, were, at that time, neither rich in this world’s goods nor counted enterprising. Yet to them belongs the very great credit of building, under the direction of Father McIntyre, the first brick church—if we mistake not, the first public building of brick—ever erected in this province—a church which, at this day, is one of the finest on the island. Inspired by their enthusiastic priest, the poor French people made the bricks, hauled them to the site, laid the foundation, and built the church. They had little money, but much zeal; and they were led by a man of rare administrative ability. To the church at Tignish was added a handsome parochial house and a fine convent, both of brick. A church and parochial house were also about the same time built at Brae. The talents and zeal of Father McIntyre were soon recognized by a church which—whatever her faults—is not slow to see and reward true merit. On the death of Bishop Macdonald, he was appointed to preside over the Roman Catholic diocese of Charlottetown, comprising Prince Edward Island and the Magdalen Islands; and on the 15th of August, 1860, he was solemnly consecrated Bishop of Charlottetown. The ceremony was performed by the late Archbishop Connolly, of Halifax, assisted by the late Bishop McKinnon and Bishop Sweeney—the late Bishop Mullock, of St. John’s, Newfoundland, and Bishop Dalton, of Harbour Grace, being also present. Under the administration of Bishop McIntyre great attention has been given to the education of the youth of the Catholic people and to the erection of buildings in which to carry on the work of the church; and the bishop’s talent for building has found scope. The first work of consequence which he undertook was the rebuilding of St. Dunstan’s College. The Catholic population of the island at the time of Bishop McIntyre’s consecration was 35,500. There were only thirteen priests to minister to their spiritual wants. The Catholic population is now about 55,000, and there are thirty-seven priests with well organized missions. The new parishes established by Bishop McIntyre are Cardigan Bridge, Montague Bridge, Cardigan Road, Morrell, South Shore, Hope River, Lot 7, Lot 11, Brae, Palmer Road, Little Pond, Bloomfield, Alberton, Summerside, in Prince Edward Island, and Bassin in the Magdalen Islands, which form part of the diocese. Besides the splendid episcopal residence in Charlottetown, which was much required for the diocese, he has built St. Patrick’s School (one of the finest buildings in the city); St. Teresa’s Church, Cardigan Road; St. Francis’, Little Pond; St. Mary’s, Montague Bridge; St. Andrew’s, St. Peter’s; St. Lawrence’s, Morell; St. Michael’s, Corran Ban Bridge; St. Patrick’s, Fort Augustus; St. Joachim’s, Vernon River; St. Lawrence, South Shore (the first stone church built on the island); St. Anne’s, Hope River; St. Charles, Summerside; St. Mark’s, Lot 7; St. Mary’s, Brae; St. Bridget’s, Lot 11; St. Anthony’s, Bloomfield; SS. Simon and Jude, Tignish; St. Thomas’, Palmer Road; Sacred Heart, Alberton; and in the Magdalen Islands, Notre Dame de la Visitation, Amherst; Etang du Nord, St. Pierre; Bassin, St. François Xavier. This is work enough, one would say, for one prelate and an indefatigable staff of clergymen for one generation; but besides these churches, many of them splendid specimens of architecture, there have been eight conventual establishments erected and founded within the last twenty-five years in various parts of the province, which educate annually thousands of pupils. The chief part of the labour of the churches was done by the zealous people in several of the parishes. In 1877 Bishop McIntyre organized the Central Council of the Catholic Total Abstinence Union, with affiliated societies in every parish of the diocese. He has accomplished a great work in the suppression of intemperance in many parts of the island. In 1878 he founded the City Hospital, which has already done a vast amount of good, and has stimulated others to found another hospital for the sick. His lordship has visited Rome four times since his consecration, and on one occasion extended his journey to the Holy Land. He took part in the Œcumenical Council of 1870, where it was generally conceded that no more imposing figure was seen in the grand procession of churchmen, than that of the venerable and stately Bishop of Charlottetown. In person his lordship is above the medium height, his carriage is stately and his step elastic. His activity is remarkable; few young persons could endure the amount of travelling and fatigue which is constantly undergone by Bishop McIntyre, upon whom it has no ill effect whatever. His voice, which is low and sweet, is so clear that he is easily heard even at a great distance. His prepossessing appearance and courtly manner, no less than his genuine kindness of heart, have made him hosts of friends. He is highly esteemed by Protestants throughout the province, from whom his blameless life and fearless advocacy of what he deems to be right command respect. The bishop takes a great interest in education, and is invariably present, when his duties allow him, at the examinations in his Catholic schools. It is to his lordship’s unflagging energy and zeal that St. Dunstan’s College owes its present hopeful position. Besides providing for their secular instruction, the bishop has always been much interested in the spiritual welfare of the little ones of his flock; it is his delight to preach at the children’s mass on Sundays, when the large congregation of young folk listen to his clear and practical instructions with profit and pleasure. He is a clear, forcible speaker, impressive if not eloquent, with a perfect command of good Anglo-Saxon. Though a zealous prelate, he has never been known to give utterance to any intolerant expression against those differing from him in religious matters. He has been to Charlottetown, and the island generally, a public benefactor. Though drawing close to the seventies, his eye is bright, his lip is firm, and his face fresh. He has a fine constitution, rises between four and five a. m., and has a day’s work done before most Charlottetown folks are out of bed. He has many years of usefulness ahead of him, and hopes not to complete his labours until he shall have built a magnificent cathedral in the metropolis of his province. That such a great worker deserves and receives the gratitude of his own people might be expected, that he should and does command the admiration of all classes is only reasonable; and that he enjoys the esteem of his peers is witnessed by the number of bishops and archbishops who did him honour on the occasion of his silver jubilee, which was celebrated in Charlottetown, on the 12th of August, 1885, amid the congratulations and good wishes of all classes, creeds and nationalities in the community.

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=Fitzgerald, Rev. David=, D.D., Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. This reverend and highly respected divine was born at Tralee, in the county of Kerry, Ireland, on the 3rd of December, 1813. He is the eldest surviving son of William Fitzgerald, barrister-at-law of Adrivale, county of Kerry, who married Anne, sole daughter and heiress of the Rev. Robert Minnitt, of Blackfort, county of Tipperary, and rector of Tulla, county of Clare, whose ancestor, Captain John Minnitt, came to the country in the reign of Charles II. One of Mr. Fitzgerald’s ancestors was a captain in King James’ army. This gentleman lived during the reign of six English monarchs, and died at the advanced age of 116 years. Rev. Mr. Fitzgerald was educated at schools in Clonmel and Limerick, and obtained his A.B. degree and divinity testimonium at Trinity College, Dublin. In February, 1843, he married Cherry Christina, second daughter of Rowan Purdon, M.D., a physician of established reputation and extensive practice in Kerry, his native county. His brother, Richard, was a fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, and his son, George, was a scholar in the same university. In June, 1845, after a creditable examination by Rev. I. T. Russel, archdeacon of Clogher, he was ordained deacon at Tuam by Lord Plunket, bishop of the diocese, and in 1846 was ordained priest by Lord Riversdale, bishop of Killaloe, on letters dimissory from the bishop of Clogher. He began his ministry as curate to Rev. Geo. Sidney Smith, D.D., ex-fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, at Cooltrain, county of Fermanagh. He then had charge of the district church, at Maguire’s Bridge, in the same county, where as secretary to the Poor Relief Committee of that place, he established a soup kitchen for its famine-stricken inhabitants, and was the means by obtaining subscriptions from absentee landlords and other benevolently disposed persons, with a ton of rice from the Quakers, of providing daily suitable cooked food for four hundred families for several months, and left on his departure over £100 in the hands of the committee to carry on the work. In June, 1847, he came out to Prince Edward Island as assistant minister to Rev. Dr. Jenkins, then rector of St. Paul’s Church. On the retirement of Dr. Jenkins and that of his successor, Rev. C. Lloyd, in 1857, he was appointed rector of the parish, which he served without intermission for thirty-eight years, when in 1885 he retired from active duty. For upwards of twenty years he was a member of the board of education, and a trustee of the Lunatic Asylum, and for some time was chaplain of the Legislative Council. He is the author of several printed sermons and pamphlets, and has delivered lectures on various subjects for several years. In 1881 he took the degrees of A.M., B.D., and D.D., at King’s College, Windsor. On several occasions since his retirement, he has occupied the pulpit in the parish church and in other churches in the province, and hopes while he has the power of utterance to speak a word for the Master and for the edification of his followers. Three of his children have been called from this world, and three remain, viz., Rowan Robert, Q.C., stipendiary magistrate and recorder of Charlottetown; Sidney David, chemist and druggist, now residing at Kansas, U.S.; and Minnitt John, for many years connected with the Union Bank of Charlottetown, now amalgamated with the Nova Scotia bank of Halifax. Mr. Fitgerald’s religious views have undergone no change. He is to-day what he was fifty years ago, an Evangelical churchman. He has been a member of the L. O. A. since 1832, when he became secretary to Calvin lodge, No. 1509, then established in Dublin. In 1848 he joined the order of the Sons of Temperance, and is a member of the National division. He has seen some service and undergone some labour, and trusts that the years already past have not been spent in vain.

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=Brock, Major-General Sir Isaac=, K.B., was the eighth son of John Brock, and was born in the parish of St. Peter’s, Port Guernsey, on the 6th of October, 1769, the same year which gave birth to Napoleon and Wellington. He entered the army as ensign in the 8th Regiment of Infantry by purchase, on the 2nd of March, 1785. In 1790 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and at the close of the same year obtained his captaincy and exchanged into the 49th regiment. In June, 1795, he purchased his majority, and on the 25th of October, 1797, he was gazetted lieutenant-colonel. In a little more than seven years he had risen from the rank of ensign to that of lieutenant-colonel. He served with his regiment in the expedition to Holland under Sir Ralph Abercrombie in 1799. He greatly distinguished himself at the battle of Egmont-of-Zee, where he was wounded. He was second in command of the land forces in the celebrated attack on Copenhagen by Lord Nelson in April, 1801. On its return from Copenhagen the 49th was stationed at Colchester till the spring of 1802, when it was ordered to Canada, where its distinguished commander earned the fame and performed the gallant services which have so endeared his memory to the Canadian people. At Fort George, shortly after his arrival in Canada, Brock quelled an attempted mutiny with great firmness and tact. His regiment soon became one of the most reliable in the service. In 1806 Brock succeeded to the command of the troops in Canada, and took up his residence in Quebec. In 1811 Lieutenant-Governor Gore went to England on leave, and Major-General Brock was appointed administrator of the government,—and thus happened to be the civil as well as the military head of the province of Upper Canada on the outbreak of the war with the United States in 1812. He at once threw himself with great vigour, and with the full force of his soldierly instincts, into preparations for the war. Upper Canada then had a population of only some seventy thousand; the United States had a population of about ten millions. In Upper Canada many of the settlers were aliens from the States—half-hearted, if not absolutely disloyal. The timid viewed the outlook with grave misgivings. In fact, the surroundings were enough to discourage the stoutest heart. It was in these circumstances, entering upon what seemed almost a hopeless struggle, that the noble courage, the unfaltering determination, and the perfect faith in his country, of General Brock shone out with such striking brilliancy. Our Canadian poet, Charles Mair, in his drama of “Tecumseh,” has given fine expression to the spirit which animated Brock, when he puts in his mouth these words:—

BROCK.

“’Tis true our province faces heavy odds:
Of regulars but fifteen hundred men
To guard a frontier of a thousand miles;
Of volunteers what aidance we can draw
From seventy thousand widely scattered souls.
A meagre showing ’gainst the enemy’s,
If numbers be the test. But odds lie not
In numbers only, but in spirit too—
Witness the might of England’s little isle!
And what made England great will keep her so—
The free soul and the valour of her sons;
And what exalts her will sustain you now,
If you contain her courage and her faith.
So not the odds so much are to be feared
As private disaffection, treachery—
Those openers of the door to enemies—
And the poor crouching spirit that gives way
Ere it is forced to yield.”

Brock’s first step on the outbreak of the war was to ask the House of Assembly to suspend the _Habeas Corpus_ Act, which they refused to do by a majority of two votes. He therefore prorogued the House and took prompt measures to resist General Hull, who, with an army of two thousand five hundred men, had invaded the province at Sandwich. The militia were called out, a few disaffected people were ordered out of the country, and at the head of a small force of regulars and Canadian volunteers, only seven hundred in all, with a force of nine hundred Indians under the celebrated chieftain, Tecumseh, Brock crossed the Detroit river and captured Detroit with General Hull’s whole force. His movements were wonderfully rapid. He left York on the 6th of August, 1812, embarked at Long Point on the 8th in small boats for Amherstburg, a distance of two hundred miles, where he arrived on the 13th at midnight. On the 14th he moved to Sandwich; on the 15th demanded Hull’s surrender; opened fire from batteries erected that day; crossed the river during the night, and before mid-day on the 16th Hull surrendered with two thousand five hundred men, thirty-three cannon, a brig-of-war, and immense military stores. This prompt and vigorous action of General Brock was the turning point of our Canadian fortunes. The success was so complete, so brilliant, that it produced an electrical effect throughout Canada. It was the first enterprise in which our militia were engaged, and it aroused the enthusiasm of the loyal, inspired the timid, fired the wavering, and over-awed the disaffected. From that moment Brock became the idol of the Canadian people, and on his return to York, which he reached after an absence of only nineteen days, he was received with heartfelt acclamations. Shortly after, Brock went to Fort George, on the Niagara frontier, where a large hostile force was being gathered to invade the province. On the morning of the 13th of October, 1812, the enemy effected a landing at Queenston Heights. Brock hurried at once to the spot with a very small force he had hurriedly gathered, and with that impetuous and indomitable energy which was his most striking characteristic, made a vigorous attack upon the enemy without waiting for the reinforcements which were hurrying up to his support. He was killed while gallantly leading a charge up the heights. Although this for the moment checked the advance, the loss so roused the feelings of his troops that in a few hours a second attack was made, and one of our most glorious victories won, the whole force of the enemy being killed, wounded, or captured. This ended the campaign in the west, and still further encouraged our people and made possible the final result of the war. No man was ever so mourned by the Upper Canadians as General Brock. A handsome monument was erected to his memory on the field where he gave up his life for Canada. This was destroyed by an act of vandalism on the 17th of April, 1840, but has been replaced by a far more imposing and stately monument which was completed in 1859, and now stands one of the most striking features of the Niagara frontier. General Brock was forty-three years old when he died. He was tall, erect, and well proportioned. In height about six feet two inches. His fine and benevolent countenance was a perfect index of his mind, and his manners were courteous, frank, and engaging, although both denoted a fixedness of purpose which could not be mistaken. As an evidence of the high opinion formed of him by the Canadians, the following extract is quoted from a letter of the late Chief Justice Robinson, who knew the general personally, and served under him at Detroit and Queenston:—

“I do most sincerely believe that no person whom I have ever
seen could so instantly have infused, under such discouraging
circumstances, into the minds of a whole people the spirit
which, though it endured long after his fall, was really caught
from him. His honesty, firmness, frankness, benevolence, his
earnest warmth of feeling, combined with dignity of manner, and
his soldier-like appearance and bearing, all united to give him
the ascendancy which he held from the first moment to the last
of his command. It seemed to be impressed upon all, and at once,
that there could be no hesitation in obeying his call, and that
while he lived all was safe. The affection with which the memory
of General Brock has ever been regarded in this province is as
strong as the feeling of admiration, and these feelings still
pervade the whole population.”

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=Johnson, Hon. Francis Godschall=, Judge of the Superior Court of the Province of Quebec, and senior Judge for the district of Montreal, with duties of Chief Justice at the court in Montreal, was born at Oakley House, in Bedfordshire, England, on the 1st of January, 1817. His father, Godschall Johnson, was an officer in the 10th Royal Hussars (then known as the Prince of Wales regiment), and his mother Lucy Bisshopp, was a daughter of Sir Cecil Bisshopp, a prominent man in his day, and a sister of Colonel Cecil Bisshopp, who lost his life in the war with the United States in 1812-14, and was buried at Niagara, Ontario, where his grave can now be seen. The Hon. Judge Johnson received his education at St. Omer, in France, and at Bruges, in Belgium, and came to Canada in 1834. He studied law in the office of the Hon. Justice Day, and was called to the bar in 1839. He began the practice of his profession in Montreal, and in 1846, before he was thirty years of age, was appointed a Queen’s counsel. While practising at the bar this learned judge was noted for his eloquence, and while acting as Crown prosecutor, his splendid talents showed to the best advantage. In 1854, he was appointed recorder of Rupert’s Land, and governor of Assiniboine (now Manitoba), and took up his residence at Fort Garry, where he resided until 1858, when he returned to Montreal. Here he resumed the practice of his profession and continued until 1865, when he received the appointment of judge of the Superior Court, in which position his fine abilities continue to be shown. Being peculiarly fitted for the task in consequence of his previous acquaintance with the country, he was, in 1870, selected by the Dominion government to go to Manitoba, to assist in the organization and establishment of a regular system of government there. He did good service to the state, and remained for about two years—special leave of absence from Quebec province having been given him—acting as recorder of Rupert’s Land, until new courts were established, and as commissioner in hearing and determining the claims made for losses caused during the Riel rebellion of 1869-70. He returned in 1872, and was appointed lieutenant-governor of Manitoba, but declined the honour, considering the position incompatible with the retention of the office of judge. During the time Judge Johnson was practising in Montreal, he held several offices, and was secretary of the commission that revised the Statutes of Lower Canada. He is a member of the Church of England; and was married in September, 1840, to Mary Gates Jones, daughter of Nathaniel Jones, of Montreal. This lady died in July, 1853, and left three children. His second marriage was in March, 1857, to Mary Mills, daughter of John Melliken Mills, of Somersetshire, England, by whom he has also a family of three children. Judge Johnson resides in Montreal.

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