Chapter M: C. Baillairgé, Quebec (48)

* * * * *

=Unsworth, Joseph Lennon=, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, acting superintendent of the Prince Edward Island railway, was born in Liverpool, Great Britain, May 12th, 1840. His father was James Stanley Unsworth, and his mother Mary Hatton, who was a sister of the celebrated music composer, John L. Hatton, of London, England. Mr. Unsworth, senior, was born in Goshen, in the eastern part of the county of Lancashire, of an old-time family. An ancient tradition published in “The Pictorial History of the County of Lancaster,” gives the following legend of the Unsworth family: “One of the most interesting places in this part of the country, at Goshen, about a mile and a half on the south side of Bury, is an old farm-house, the residence in former times of a family of some note, and still occupied by a lineal descendant. The family of Unsworth has possessed this property, according to tradition, ever since the time of the conquest, and there are certainly relics to prove its antiquity. Amongst other curiosities, the house contains a carved oak table, which is a source of some interest as being connected with an old legend. The story is that in olden times there lived near here a fierce and terrible dragon, which resolutely defied the prowess of sundry brave heroes, who would fain have immortalized their names by freeing the country from such a scourge. One, Thomas Unsworth, a warrior of the beforementioned family, more courageous, or more fortunate, than the rest, at last succeeded in the attempt, which he accomplished in a manner that certainly did much credit to his ingenuity. Finding that bullets were of no avail, he inserted his dagger in a petronel, and, rousing the anger of the dragon, shot it under the throat at the moment of raising its head. The table was made after this event, and, it is said, carved with the dagger by which the monster was shot. Round the table are St. George and the dragon, the lion and unicorn, the Derby crest, and the veritable dragon which the aforesaid Thomas Unsworth killed. There is also hung over the table in the old parlour, a painting of the Unsworth arms, which were given them in former times for deeds of honor, surmounted by another carving of the dragon. The crest is a man in black armour, holding a hatchet in his hand, and it is said to be the portrait of the renowned family ancestor, in the armour which he wore during the battle, and in which he was encased at the time he performed the celebrated feat which won him so much fame. Whatever credence may be given to this story (and the present family firmly believe in its truth), it is certain that a portion of land was once granted to one of their ancestors for having freed the country from some dire monster, of whatever kind it might be, and of course the property granted was that said to be the favorite resort of the dragon; nor is it improbable that the large and adjoining township of Unsworth, has originally derived its name from some one of this family. They also possess several very old books, treasured with due ancestral pride, and other relics more or less interesting.” Mr. Unsworth, the subject of our sketch, received his education in Montreal, and at St. Hyacinthe, in the province of Quebec. Shortly after leaving school, in 1855, he entered the service of the Grand Trunk railway company, at Longueuil, as an apprentice, under W. S. McKenzie, and was employed by that company until March, 1872. From May, of the same year, to November, 1874, he was engaged on construction of the Inter-colonial railway between Rivière du Loup and Causapscal; from November, 1874, to November, 1881, he was master mechanic on the same railway at Rivière du Loup, and from November, 1881, to May, 1887, he was mechanical superintendent of the Government railways in Prince Edward Island, and from May, 1887, to the present time (Feb., 1888), in addition to the latter duties, he has been the acting general superintendent of the above government railways. For six years he was lieutenant in the Grand Trunk railway volunteer regiment. He is a member of the Canadian society of civil engineers. Mr. Unsworth, during his busy life, has found time to devote to travelling, having crossed the Atlantic and visited his fatherland. He has also travelled the greater part of Eastern Canada and the United States. In religion he is an adherant of the Episcopal church. He was married June 27th, 1866, to Mary Jane Lomas, daughter of Adam Lomas, woollen manufacturer, of Sherbrooke, P.Q., and sister of Alexander Galt Lomas, mayor of Sherbrooke.

* * * * *

=Shearer, James Traill=, Contractor, Montreal, is a specimen of what well-directed energy and perseverance can accomplish. Born at Rosegill, parish of Dunnet, not many miles from far-famed John O’Groat’s, Caithness-shire, Scotland, on the 31st of July, 1822, he received his education in the parish school of Dunnet, and at Castletown, in the same county. Leaving school before he had scarcely entered his teens, he was obliged like many a lad in the far north of Scotland, to begin work early, and was accordingly apprenticed to a carpenter and millwright in the village of Castletown, and with him he faithfully served the alloted term. To perfect himself in his trade, he removed to Wick, and worked for about a year under D. Miller, a builder, who was erecting a church in Putneytown. When he reached his twenty-first year he resolved to try his fortune in Canada, and taking passage in a sailing vessel, on 30th May, 1848, reached Montreal, where he has since resided. Shortly after his arrival he entered the employ of Edward Maxwell, an extensive carpenter and builder, as a general house-joiner and stair-builder, branches of the business at which he was very proficient. After terminating a three years’ engagement with Mr. Maxwell, he went to Quebec city to take charge of the joiner and carpenter work on a new bomb-proof hospital then being built by the British government on Cape Diamond. Finishing the job to the entire satisfaction of the British officers in charge, he returned to Montreal, and began the study of steamboat architecture, especially cabin work, and soon became an adept at the business. Work flowed in upon him, and he found many customers, among others the late John Molson and David Torrance, for whom he fitted up many steamboats for the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers, and he still carries on very extensively this branch of business, along with the manufacture of other kinds of wood-work for house building purposes. Mr. Shearer is the inventor of what is known as the hollow roof, for houses and large public buildings, which is considered the best suited to the climate of Montreal. This roof is of a concave design, and carries the water down the inside of the building, instead of the outside, thereby avoiding the freezing up of pipes. It was used on the Windsor hotel, Montreal, and has since been adopted generally throughout America. He has also been the chief promoter of what is known as the “Shearer scheme,” the object of which is to improve the harbor of Montreal and prevent the flooding of the city, but owing to the strong opposition urged against it by the Grand Trunk authorities, he has had to abandon it for the present. However, it will have to be considered at no distant day. If once adopted it will greatly improve the harbor of Montreal, and prove a source of wealth to the inhabitants. The plans are now in the possession of the Dominion government, and although he has twice applied for an act of incorporation for the “St. Lawrence Bridge and Manufacturing Company,” who are prepared to carry it to completion, he has not yet succeeded in getting this company incorporated. Mr. Shearer a few years ago designed and built for himself a house on Mount Royal, and it is perhaps the best finished house in that city of fine dwellings, all the internal work being of purely Canadian wood. The view from it is most charming, and cannot be surpassed in the Dominion. A visitor can take in at a glance the Chambly hills, Belle Isle, Mount Johnston, the river St. Lawrence for many miles, the Victoria bridge, the Lachine rapids, and the full extent of the beautiful city of Montreal. In politics Mr. Shearer is a Liberal; and in religion one of those who does his own thinking, and has no objection to others doing the same. He was married in Montreal, on the 23rd of June, 1848, to Eliza Graham, and the fruit of the union has been eight children. The two eldest sons are now engaged with their father in business.

* * * * *

=Armour, Hon. John Douglas=, Cobourg, Judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench, was born in the township of Otonabee, Peterborough county, Ontario, on the 4th May, 1830. He is the youngest son of the late Rev. Samuel Armour, who was for many years rector of Cavan, county of Durham, and was during his lifetime widely and favorably known through that part of Upper Canada. In his boyhood Judge Armour attended the schools in the neighborhood of his home, and on the 27th January, 1843, entered as a student Upper Canada College, Toronto. In 1847 he matriculated at King’s College (now Toronto University), and his career at college was very creditable. He gained the first university-scholarship in classics, and subsequently the Wellington scholarship. He graduated in 1850, carrying off the gold medal in classics. This same year he entered the office of his brother, Robert Armour, and began the study of law, and completed it in the office of the late Hon. P. M. M. VanKoughnet, who afterwards became Chancellor of Upper Canada. He was called to the bar in Michaelmas term, 1853, and removing to Cobourg, began to practise his profession there, forming a partnership with Sidney Smith, who some years afterward became postmaster-general of Canada. This partnership lasted until the 7th November, 1857, when Mr. Armour began to practise alone. He subsequently formed a partnership with H. F. Holland, which lasted between three and four years, when Mr. Armour was raised to the bench, and a dissolution consequently followed. During these years, various public offices were held by Mr. Armour from time to time. On the 28th March, 1858, he was appointed county attorney of the united counties of Northumberland and Durham, and during the following year he held the position of warden of those counties. On the 2nd May, 1861, he was appointed clerk of the peace for the same counties. On the 8th January, 1859, he was elected a member of the Senate of the University of Toronto. On the 26th June, 1867, he was created a Queen’s counsel. In 1871 he was elected a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, and on the 30th of November, 1877, was appointed puisné judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench, a position he has ever since filled with honor and dignity. Hon. Judge Armour is a man of wide reading, multifarious knowledge, and great shrewdness and common sense. By heredity and tradition he is a Conservative both in religion and politics, but, nevertheless, he is a Liberal in thought and education, and a firm believer in the great future the land of his birth has before her. On the 28th of April, 1855, he married Eliza Church, daughter of the late Freeman S. Church, of Cobourg, by whom he has had eleven children, ten of whom are now living.

* * * * *

=Molony, Thomas J.=, LL.B., Advocate, Quebec, is a prominent member of the Quebec bar, and one of the representative Irishmen of the ancient capital, honored with the confidence of his own element and esteemed by all classes of the community for his abilities as a lawyer, and his sterling integrity as a professional man and a citizen. He was born at Kingston, Ontario, on the 4th July, 1846, and is the youngest son of the late John Molony, and his wife, Catherine O’Connor, of that city. Thus on both sides, he sprang from good old Irish stocks. His father’s family were natives of the County Clare, Ireland. McGeoghegan, the Irish historian, ranks the Molonys among the oldest settlers of the Green Isle, and the county of Clare is the part of it around which the traditions of the family or sept have principally clustered from time immemorial. The old family, too, seem to have retained their territorial influence and social importance in the home of their ancestors down to a comparatively recent date. Up to the celebrated Daniel O’Connell’s time, they appear to have practically controlled the representation of Clare in Parliament, and readers of Irish history will readily recall the name of Sheriff Molony, in connection with the memorable election for that county which resulted in the signal defeat of Vesey Fitzgerald and the English government, and opened the door of the British Parliament to the great Irish Liberator, and to Catholic Emancipation. Burke, in his genealogy of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland, says, pp. 1022-3; speaking of their lineage:—

The Milesian family of Molony is one of great antiquity in the
sister island. O’Halloran (Hist. of Ireland, Vol. III, p. 498),
says: From Cormac Cas (who was of the line of Heber, eldest son
of Milesius) are descended 1st, O’Brien, chief of Thomond
. . . . Besides these hereditary officers the following noble
families are derived from this great source: O’Dea, . . .
O’Mollowney and others, and in his “List of Ancient Irish
Territories, and by what Milesian families possessed before and
after the invasion of Henry II,” Ceiltannan, (otherwise
Kiltanon) is mentioned among the rest as the estate of O’Molony.
The Molonys were formerly princes of Clare, where they possessed
a large tract of country called the O’Molony’s Lands, as may be
seen from the old maps of that county. In Catholic times, three
members of the family attained the mitre, as appears from the
epitaph on the tomb of John O’Molony, Bishop of Limerick in 1687
(second son of John O’Molony, of Kiltanon), who after the siege
of that city, followed King James II. to Paris, where he
assisted in the foundation of a university for the education of
Irish priests, in the chapel belonging to which he was buried in
1702. The bishop’s nephew, James Molony, of Kiltanon, the first
of the family who laid aside the prefix “O,” served first in
King James’ army, but subsequently sided with William.

Mr. Molony’s maternal ancestors, the O’Connors, bear a name even still more famous in Irish annals, and though his mother was born in London, the metropolis of England, she was as noted as her husband, our subject’s father, for love of Ireland, and knowledge of and preference for the old Irish tongue, alas! now so rapidly dying out. Our subject was chiefly educated at his birth-place, Kingston. At a suitable age, he began the study of the classics there under the late John O’Donnell, a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, and one of the most accomplished classical scholars that Canada has ever had, as well as one of the most successful teachers of his day. Among the pupils who issued from his school to grace the learned professions may be mentioned Sir John A. Macdonald, the present premier of the Dominion, the late Hon. John Sandfield Macdonald, premier of Ontario, and several others of their most distinguished contemporaries. In 1860 Mr. Molony entered Regiopolis College, Kingston, which was then under the rectorship of the Rev. John O’Brien, afterwards the most Reverend Dr. O’Brien, Roman Catholic Bishop of Kingston, and it is touchingly noteworthy that eighteen years afterwards, when that prelate was suddenly stricken down by the hand of death at Quebec, while on his way back from Europe, Mr. Molony was the one acquaintance in the ancient capital upon whom devolved the sad duty of making the necessary arrangements there for the funeral of his old college rector, and the transportation of his remains on to Kingston. After a full course of philosophy and mathematics, our subject completed his studies at Regiopolis, and having decided on the law as his future profession, in December, 1865, he entered into articles of clerkship at Kingston, with the late Daniel Macarow, barrister, at one time a partner of the well-known James O’Reilly, Q.C., and afterwards county judge. In June following, he left Kingston to study for the legal profession in Lower Canada, and entered for the purpose at the office of M. A. Hearn, Q.C., ex-_bâtonnier-general_ of the Quebec bar, and senior member of the legal firm of Hearn, Jordan & Roche, of Quebec city. At the same time he followed the courses of Laval University, from which he took his degree of Bachelor of Laws on the 4th July, 1879. On the 19th of the same month, he was admitted as a practitioner at the Quebec bar, and on the 12th of September following he married Isabella, daughter of the late John Jordan and Catherine James, of Quebec, by whom he has had issue four children, three of them surviving and all in their teens. For some years after his admission to the bar, Mr. Molony held a provincial government appointment as English Translator to the Queen’s printer’s department, from which he rapidly won success and distinction by his talents, punctuality and devotion to the interests of his clients. At present, his standing at the Quebec bar is among the highest, and few practitioners enjoy a larger share of the respect of the bench and the public. He has been a commissioner for the province of Ontario, at Quebec, since 1874, and for the province of Manitoba, since 1883. Journalism has also successfully occupied our subject’s attention, and his contributions to the local press have been much remarked for their masterly and vigorous dealing with the subjects handled. Having always taken an active interest in municipal matters, he was twice elected by acclamation a member of the Quebec City Council for Montcalm Ward in 1884 and 1886, and rendered himself conspicuously useful to his fellow citizens by his able support of Mayor Langelier’s policy of reform of the civic administration, including the improvement of the city water-works checks. During his connection with the council, he also served on several of its most important committees, was a member of the civic deputation sent some three years ago to Ottawa to press Quebec’s claims to the C.P.R. short line to the seaboard on the favorable consideration of the Federal Government, and, though the youngest member of the council, has been called upon in the absence of the mayor to preside at important meetings, on account of his intimate acquaintance with the rules of debate, and recognized ability in the solution of points of order or knotty questions of procedure. As secretary of the relief committee for the benefit of the sufferers, he further did good service to Quebec and the cause of humanity, after the disastrous conflagration which swept St. John and Montcalm wards almost out of existence in the summer of 1881. On the temperance question, Mr. Molony holds advanced views, and every movement on the subject in Quebec for the last fourteen or more years, has had his earnest advocacy and support. He was long the president of the St. Patrick’s Total Abstinence Society, and at the monster meeting held a few years since in the skating rink, in the interests of the temperance cause, under the joint presidency of Archbishop, now Cardinal, Taschereau, the Anglican Lord Bishop of Quebec, and the local clergy of all denominations, he appeared on the platform with other leading citizens, as the special representative of the Irish Catholic body. As might be expected from the stock from which he has sprung, Mr. Molony has taken a most active and patriotic interest in Irish national matters since his boyhood. For the last twenty years he has acted a leading part in all the Irish national societies and movements at the ancient capital. From 1871 to 1875 he was treasurer of the St. Patrick’s Society, and in 1876 he was chairman of the meeting at which the first branch of the Home Rule League in Quebec was organized. Some years later, he was one of the organizers of the Irish Land League in Quebec, and in 1878 he was elected 1st-Vice-President of the Catholic League, formed at Montreal. Mr. Molony was called upon at the last moment to preside at the monster meeting held on Durham terrace, Quebec, when the French and Irish Catholic population assembled to protest against the Orange processions in Montreal, during Mr. Beaudry’s mayoralty. On this last occasion his remarks and conduct met with general approval, Protestants and Catholics alike joining in praising his tact and moderation under the most trying circumstances, and Hon. H. G. Joly, then Prime Minister of the province, warmly congratulated him on the skill which he had shown in controlling an excited gathering, while upholding the views which it had come together to assert on one of the most burning questions of the hour. Mr. Joly told him personally that he had heard from members of the Local Legislature, who were present, the highest encomiums of his action, adding that in his opinion it was an awful responsibility to assume the management of a crowd of people excited to the highest pitch. Indeed the crowd on the occasion wanted to proceed straight off to wait on Mr. Joly, but to give time to their excitement to cool down, Mr. Molony, as chairman, wisely insisted on their only sending a delegation to represent their views to the premier, and finally carried his point, when they peaceably dispersed. A fervent Roman Catholic, and a member of the St. Patrick’s congregation of Quebec, he was elected a trustee of their beautiful and historic church in 1876, and thrice afterwards, making twelve years of office in succession, but, at the last triennial elections, he refused to serve any longer, deeming it unfair to other prominent members of the congregation that one set of hands should continually monopolize the honors. During his trusteeship of St. Patrick’s, it was his good fortune also to be chosen to present the address of the Irish Catholics of Quebec, to their distinguished countryman, His Excellency the Papal Ablegate, the late lamented Bishop Conroy. Although a Liberal in his political principles, Mr. Molony never took part in politics, except to record his vote for parliamentary candidates on personal grounds, until 1883, when he interfered actively for the first time. Since then he has rendered good service to the Liberal cause in the district of Quebec, the Irish Catholic vote there, which had previously gone almost always Conservative, being won over to it largely by his vigorous advocacy on the hustings and in the press, as well as by his personal influence, and this result being made evident by the Liberal triumphs of the last few years in Quebec west, Levis, Megantic, Dorchester, Montmorency and Portneuf counties. Mr. Molony is a passed cadet of the Kingston Military School, and holds a commission as ensign in the Quebec Reserve Militia. His travels have been confined so far to Canada and the United States. Though educated at an English college, he has since acquired a thorough knowledge of, and is a ready and fluent writer and speaker of, the French language. Firmly attached to his own religious tenets, he has always evinced the highest respect for the convictions and rights of his fellow citizens of every other creed. A young man still, he has already attained an enviable position in the section of the Dominion which he has made his home, and the future probably holds in store for him a career of still greater distinction and public and private usefulness.

* * * * *

=Haythorne, Hon. Robert Poore=, Senator, Marshfield, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, was born at Clifton, Bristol, England, in the year 1815. He is a son of John Haythorne, a wool merchant of Bristol, and who was an alderman, and four times mayor of that ancient city. He was likewise a justice of the peace for Gloucestershire, in which county his residence, “Hill House” was situated. R. P. Haythorne’s grandfather, Joseph, was likewise a Bristolian, and was a banker and glass manufacturer. John Haythorne married Mary Curtis, of “Mardyke House,” Hotwells, Bristol, who became the mother of our distinguished Canadian senator. R. P. Haythorne was educated at private schools in his native place. His early life was spent at his father’s residence, but later on he devoted several years to travelling, visiting the Island of Madeira, the South of Spain, Portugal, France, Switzerland, and Italy. In 1842 he emigrated to Prince Edward Island, having, in connection with an elder brother, (subsequently the Hon. Edward C. Haythorne, a nominated member of the Legislative Council), acquired a tract of 10,000 acres of land in that colony. This land was partly wilderness, partly let to tenants for 999 years, and partly occupied by squatters. For many years the brothers devoted themselves to agricultural pursuits, and to the settlement of their estate; but the brother referred to dying in 1859, R. P. Haythorne revisited England in 1860. Returning in the following year, he married Elizabeth R., eldest daughter of Thomas Scott, of Belfast, Ireland, then of Falconwood, Prince Edward Island. Two sons were born of this marriage, one in 1862, and another in the following year, both of whom survive. Mr. Haythorne became a widower in 1866, his wife dying at Liverpool, England. About this period the free land and tenant league agitation prevailed in Prince Edward Island. Mr. Haythorne and his tenants, however, settled their differences by mutual agreement, which was faithfully carried out, the tenants becoming freeholders, by paying a sum about equivalent to $2 per acre by instalments. In 1867 Mr. Haythorne, being invited by his former tenants, became a candidate for the second electoral district of Queen’s county (Legislative Council), and was returned to that chamber by a respectable majority. Not many weeks later, the local Conservative Government led by the Hon. J. C. Pope resigned, and was succeeded by a Liberal Government led by the Hon. G. Coles, the present Judge Hensley being Attorney-General, Messrs. Haythorne, Alexander Laird, Peter Sinclair, Callbeck Howlan, and A. A. Macdonald, the present Lieut.-Governor of Prince Edward Island were members of the Executive Council. The policy of this government was the further abrogation of the leasehold tenure, by purchase on voluntary agreement if practicable, otherwise by decision of a court to be established for the purpose of deciding the sum to be paid for expropriation. Mr. Coles’ health failing, he resigned, and was succeeded by Mr. Hensley, the policy of the Government remaining unchanged as regards the land tenures. Much attention was also paid to the improvement of the highways, and the extension of steam navigation to the outports of the colony. About the year 1868, Mr. Hensley accepted a seat on the bench, and Mr. Haythorne succeeded him as Premier and President of the Executive Council. The land policy of the Government was much obstructed by the Colonial Office, the Secretary of State, the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos refusing to listen to the demands of the Executive for a compulsory expropriation law, which he condemned as “a direct interference with private property.” For the present, therefore, the efforts of Mr. Haythorne and his colleagues were limited to the purchase of such estates as could be acquired by voluntary agreement, and during the Liberals’ tenure of office some progress was made; the estates of the Hon. J. C. Pope, the Hon. T. H. Haviland, and some others being purchased by Government, and that of the Rev. James Montgomery by private agreement between the proprietor and the tenants. In the following year Lord Granville having become Secretary of State for the Colonies, Mr. Haythorne’s council again approached the Colonial Office with renewed demands for a measure of expropriation. Meantime the land owners, native and absentee—some of the latter being persons of much influence—opposed the efforts of the Government. What has now come to be recognized as the “unearned increment of value,” the Island Government claimed as the heritage of the men and women who had landed boldly in the wilderness, cleared away the forests, built houses, cities, school-houses, and churches, made roads and wharves, and caused “the wilderness to blossom as the rose.” Lord Granville proved less obdurate than his predecessors. He would not sanction an expropriation bill, but seeing the urgency of another great question in the near future, he softened his refusal in words something like these: “Having regard to the evident uncertainty, whether the colony of Prince Edward Island will or will not soon unite with the Dominion of Canada, I am not prepared to enter on the consideration of the land question, with which if such union were to ensue the Imperial Government would probably cease to concern itself; the land question therefore, should in my opinion be left as far as possible for the decision of those who under the altered circumstances of the colony would have to carry into execution any measures connected with it.”—Granville, 13th March, 1869. This despatch was generally interpreted in Prince Edward Island to mean that the land question would be settled in exchange for Confederation. Thus for the present the land question rested, to be again resuscitated on the occasion of the introduction of “a Tenants’ Compensation Bill for Ireland,” a measure nearly identical with one introduced years before, during a former administration of Hon. Mr. Coles, and passed through the Island Legislature, but vetoed at the Colonial Office. During these years the fishery question had caused some trouble. The American fishing vessels had been admitted to the British-American waters on payment of tonnage license dues, but in 1868 Canada declined to continue the system, resolving to exclude the Americans, who had recently terminated the reciprocity treaty. Meantime, in the island, the Americans were admitted to their usual privileges, as regards frequenting the harbours, transhipping cargoes, and obtaining supplies. But the attention of the Imperial Government being called thereto, the Admiral on the Halifax station (Wellesley), and the officers commanding the smaller vessels of his squadron, were ordered to put a stop to the “alleged illegal practices.” These orders gave rise to long correspondence between the officers of Her Majesty’s ships, notably Captain E. Hardinge, of the frigate _Valorous_, and the Island Executive. The former interfered with the island and colonial coasters on very trifling grounds, and prevented the American fishing vessels from transhipping their cargoes and renewing their outfits on the island ports, causing much discontent amongst shipowners and the numerous class of traders interested. (_Vide_ L. C. Journals, 1871.) In consequence, a minute of council for the information of the Secretary of State was drawn up, September 2nd, 1870, protesting against such interference with “our best customers the Americans, who transhipped cargoes in our ports—renewing their supplies of salt, barrels, provisions, and general outfit in our markets.” This memorial was “drawn up,” the Secretary of State, Lord Kimberley, observes, “with much ability and moderation,” and his Lordship authorized the Lieut.-Governor Robinson (now Sir William Robinson, South Australia), “to suspend the restrictions the local Government felt called upon to impose.” This was the last public act of Mr. Haythorne’s first administration. Shortly afterwards finding his supporters in the House of Assembly in a minority, caused by the secession of the two Catholic members of his government, he resigned, and was succeeded by a coalition Government led by the Hon. J. C. Pope, the two Catholic members of the late Government accepting seats in the Executive. During the late Liberal Administrations the island had been visited by Prince Arthur, by Lord and Lady Lisgar, and a Canadian deputation, including Sir L. Tilley, Sir Geo. E. Cartier, and Sir E. Kenny; the object of this “descent” being to attract the Islanders into Confederation by an offer of “better terms.” These, however, were declined, 90 out of 100 Islanders at that juncture being opposed to Confederation. An informal Congressional deputation, of which the well-known General B. Butler was a member, also visited the island, their object being to ascertain whether any approach to reciprocity could be made. This visit, though it was without results, indicated a kindly disposition on both sides. It obtained for the Executive of the Island a snub from the Secretary of State, the Lieutenant-Governor (Dundas), having taken short leave to visit Halifax at this period. During the later months of 1870, through 1871, and till April, 1873, Mr. Haythorne was in Opposition. This was the period of the development and adoption of the railroad policy, which by the financial embarrassment it caused, ultimately drew the island into Confederation. Mr. Pope’s Government being supported by considerable majorities, carried his railway bill for the construction of a trunk line connecting Charlottetown with Summerside and Alberton on the west, and with Georgetown on the east, and providing for future extensions to Souris and Tignish. Soon, however, after the rising of the legislature, Mr. Pope’s majority began to fade away, and in 1872, being defeated in the Assembly, and again on an appeal to the people, he resigned, and Mr. Haythorne being again called on to form an Administration, succeeded, and carried the law relating to the railway extensions into effect. In the latter part of the year 1872, and the commencement of 1873, the financial and other difficulties which his Government encountered were almost overpowering. The trunk line was under rapid construction, and interest on debentures began to accrue half yearly at a rapidly increasing rate. Large drafts on the local treasury were also required in payment of rights of way, and land damages, which added to the ordinary expenditure seemed beyond the power of the island to meet by increased taxation. The Government therefore, re-opened communication with the Dominion Government, then led by Sir John Macdonald, with a view to ascertain the terms on which the island would be admitted to Confederation. Being invited to send a deputation to Ottawa, Mr. Haythorne and his colleague in the Executive, the Hon. David Laird, were chosen to perform this duty. They arrived in the capital a few days before the meeting of Parliament, in February, 1873, Lord Dufferin being Governor-General. The delegates were put in communication chiefly with Sir L. Tilley, and negotiated terms which seemed highly advantageous to the island. These comprised six seats in the Commons, the taking over and operating of the Island railway by the Dominion, the assumption of the island debt, the providing of a sum of $800,000 for the acquisition of proprietary lands, and the vesting of the same in local legislature. Continuous steam communication summer and winter with the mainland was also guaranteed. Before signing these preliminaries which the delegates undertook to introduce to their respective branches of the legislature, the House of Assembly was dissolved, and writs forthwith issued for the election of a new parliament. The following telegram from Lord Dufferin to Gov. Robinson, P.E.I., 12th March, 1873, may be quoted: “The delegates from your Government have left Ottawa, having succeeded in effecting a provisional arrangement. I congratulate you on P.E.I. having obtained such liberal terms. My ministers are of opinion, in which I fully concur, that no additional concessions would have any chance of being accepted by the Parliament of Canada.—Dufferin.” Though the new terms were very generally approved, the policy of the Opposition led by Mr. Pope prevailed. It was to send another deputation to Ottawa, and demand further concessions. And it succeeded, proving more attractive to the majority of electors. Mr. Haythorne finding his government in a minority resigned, and Mr. Pope resumed office. On the assembling of the new parliament, Messrs. J. C. Pope, T. H. Haviland, and G. W. Howlan were sent to Ottawa, and after some delay, secured some further concessions, which were finally adopted in addition to the so-called Haythorne-Laird terms, and being ratified, the island entered Confederation on July 1st, 1873. The following autumn Mr. Haythorne was summoned to the Senate, and took his seat during the short session of that year, when the Pacific Railway scandal led to the resignation of Sir John Macdonald’s Government, and the advent of Mr. Mackenzie and his friends to power. In the Senate Mr. Haythorne has been a pronounced freetrader, and a supporter of the general policy of the Liberal party. He dissented, however, from so much of their election law as went to substitute (temporarily) the franchise of the Legislative Council of Prince Edward Island, for the manhood suffrage which had long existed there, and supported an amendment moved by Senator Haviland, which provided for the continuance of the existing franchise in that province, until registration courts should be established. This amendment being carried in the Senate, it was agreed to by the Commons. He supported the Scott Act, though somewhat doubtful respecting the fitness of some of its clauses. He has steadily opposed all attempts to circumscribe its operation, or diminish its efficacy. During the session of 1885, he avowed a change of opinion, as to its principles and policy. This contention being briefly: (1st) That the Canada Temperance Act, 1878, is practically inoperative against the drunkard; while it abridges the natural liberty of sober consumers of fermented liquors; (2nd) That the optional theory is unsound, because where most needed in a community addicted to intemperance, it receives least support, and would be generally carried where least needed; and because it is the duty of Government to propose to Parliament such measures as are necessary to obviate a national tendency to intemperance; (3rd) Prohibition tends to produce smuggling, illicit trading, and sale of pernicious spirits, and experience proves that perjury sometimes results on the prosecution of offenders.

* * * * *

=Gingras, Hon. Jean Elie=, ex-Member of the Legislative Council of the Province of Quebec, is one of the oldest and best known citizens of Quebec city, where he was born on the 5th of June, in the year 1804, of humble but respectable French Canadian parents, then residing in the shipping quarter of the city known as Diamond Harbor, which extends along the river front beneath the citadel. The educational advantages he enjoyed in his youth were limited, as he had to face the stern necessities of life at an age when other lads, more fortunately situated, are still considered in their teens. Put to learn the trade of the ship carpenter, he worked for a number of years in the ship-yard of the late Mr. Black, the builder of the _Royal William_, the first steam vessel that successfully crossed the Atlantic, and eventually became his foreman. He afterwards engaged in the ship-building business on his own account. This was in the palmy days of that great industry in Quebec, and Mr. Gingras, by dint of skill, energy and enterprise, rapidly worked himself into the front rank of those engaged in it, employing a large amount of labor, and acquiring considerable wealth and influence in the community. During this stage of his long and useful life, his fellow-citizens marked their appreciation of his worth by electing him a member of the city corporation, and the government of the day by appointing him a member of the Quebec Trinity House. A Conservative in politics, he was also nominated by his party in 1864 to contest the seat for the Stadacona division in the Legislative Council with the then mayor of Quebec city, A. Tourangeau, who afterwards became M.P. for Quebec East, and is now city postmaster. This was before confederation, when the Legislative Council of Canada was elective. After a severe contest, Mr. Gingras was returned at the head of the poll, and represented the Stadacona division in the Council from 1864 until the union, when he was appointed by the Crown a member of the Legislative Council of the province of Quebec for life. During the decline of wooden ship-building at Quebec, Mr. Gingras lost heavily, and finally retired from business with a remnant of his once large fortune. He continued, however, to hold his seat in the Legislative Council of the province until the close of 1887, when, on attaining his eighty-fourth year of age, he resigned it and was succeeded by Hon. G. Bresse, the great boot and shoe manufacturer of Quebec East. Notwithstanding his advanced age, Mr. Gingras is still hale and hearty, and few men enjoy a larger share of public respect. He was thrice married. His last wife, as were her predecessors, being a Quebec lady, whom he married in 1887. Like the vast majority of his fellow-countrymen, he is a Roman Catholic.

* * * * *

=Weldon, Richard Chapman=, B.A., Ph.D., Halifax, Nova Scotia, M.P. for Albert County, New Brunswick, is a native of Sussex, N.B., where he was born on the 19th January, 1849. He is the grandson of Andrew Weldon, a native of Yorkshire, England, who emigrated and settled in Westmoreland county, N.B., about a hundred years ago. The greater part of the province was then a wilderness, and Andrew Weldon was one of its foremost pioneers. Dr. Weldon’s paternal grandmother was Sarah Black, sister of Rev. William Black, the founder of Methodism in the maritime provinces. The late Rev. Dr. Matthew Richie wrote an interesting biography of the Rev. Mr. Black, and a centenary memorial hall at Mount Allison College, N.B., marks the esteem in which his name is held by the church which he labored to establish, and will long keep his memory green. The cause, under his zealous advocacy, made great headway, until now, the Methodist church is one of the largest and most progressive in the maritime provinces. Dr. Weldon received his earlier education at the Superior School, in Upper Sussex. He matriculated at Mount Allison and took the degree of B.A. after a very successful course. After leaving Sackville he went to Yale College, in the United States, and after prosecuting his studies there with great zeal for two years took the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The success of his post-graduate course was so great as to tempt him to enjoy the advantages of European travel and study. Having decided that his vocation lay in the department of international law, he went to the famous University of Heidelberg, which two years since celebrated its tercentenary, and there worked hard at its chosen subject of study. Heidelberg enrols about thirteen hundred students, from all parts of the world. The situation of the university, under the old schloss (in ruins since the middle of the last century, when it was the seat of government of the old palatinate), and over-looking the valley of the beautiful Neckar flowing swiftly by amid it opulent vineyards, is one of the prettiest in the whole world. Many of the ablest jurists, statisticians and publicists in Germany have received their training in Heidelberg. After enjoying the pleasure of visiting some of the greatest resorts in the old world, Dr. Weldon returned home, and in 1875 accepted the position of a professor at Mount Allison College. He held this office until 1883. As a professor at his Alma Mater he was careful and painstaking, and earned the reputation of being the ablest man in the college. He continued his studies in law and was called to the bar of his native province, but never practised. About 1882 the princely donations of George Munro, the New York publisher, to Dalhousie College, Halifax, gave a great impetus to that seat of learning, and it was resolved to establish a chair of constitutional law. In casting about for a man to fill it, no better name was suggested than that of Dr. Weldon. This was a rare honor, coming as it did from a neighboring, and, in some respects, a rival college. Of this law school there are two professors and six lecturers, the latter being selected from among the ablest practitioners at the bar of Nova Scotia. Dr. Weldon is dean of the school, and delivers lectures in constitutional law and history, conflict of laws and international law. There are about fifty students, coming from all parts of the maritime provinces. The school possesses a fairly equipped and serviceable law library. To this library Dr. Weldon is one of the largest donors, having contributed $500. Having passed the required examinations, Dr. Weldon was, on the 9th December, 1884, admitted to the bar of Nova Scotia. His lectures are very popular, and he is held in high esteem by the students and the faculty of Dalhousie at large. Although he had resided at times long out of his native province, Dr. Weldon never ceased to feel a warm interest in her affairs as well as in the larger political movements in the Dominion. His sympathies lay with the Conservatives. Previous to the general election of 1887 he was nominated by the Conservatives of Albert county. He at once entered into the canvass and conducted a series of public meetings, in which he made a favorable impression. The opposition candidate was a very strong man, Mr. Alexander Rogers. The vote stood: Weldon, 1,047; Rogers, 923. Dr. Weldon signalized his entrance into the Commons by seconding the Address. He had carefully studied the fishery question in its larger bearings, and won applause by saying that if the sixty million people of the United States insisted upon their contentions, five millions on this side of the border would stand by their rights. Dr. Weldon is a man of modest bearing, and is always listened to with respect by the house. He is connected with the Methodists; his wife, whom he married in 1877, being Marie, eldest daughter of Rev. G. W. Tuttle, at that time stationed in the Stellarton—Pictou county, N.S.—circuit.

* * * * *

=McNicoll, David=, Montreal, General Passenger Agent, for the territory east of Port Arthur of the Canadian Pacific Railway, is still a young man, though his position is one of large responsibilities. He was born in the seaport town of Arbroath, in Forfarshire, Scotland, in April, 1852, and was only just beginning his fourteenth year when, in August, 1866, he entered the railway service as clerk in the goods manager’s office of the North British Railway. In that position he remained until 1873, when he removed to England and obtained a similar berth in the Midland Railway of that country. When he was in his twenty-first year he was induced to come to Canada, where his previous experience proved of service in procuring him employment in the same business. He became associated with railway enterprise in the Dominion in the year 1874. His first introduction to it was in the capacity of billing clerk on the Northern Railway, at Meaford and Collingwood. Before the close of his first year on Canadian railways, he was promoted to be chief clerk in the office of the general manager of the Toronto, Grey and Bruce Railway, at Toronto. He remained in that position until 1881, when he became the general freight and passenger agent of the same railway, and general traffic agent of the Owen Sound steamship line, trading on the upper lakes. In 1883 he received the appointment of general passenger agent of the Credit Valley, Toronto, Grey and Bruce, and Ontario and Quebec railways, and when these lines were amalgamated with the Canadian Pacific Railway, and operated as the Ontario division of the same, he retained his position as general passenger agent at Toronto until the spring of 1885, when his office was removed to Montreal. He then received the appointment of general passenger agent of all the lines of the Canadian Pacific Railway east of Port Arthur, which position he now holds. Mr. McNicoll is well known in Toronto and Montreal, and enjoys the confidence and esteem both of his superiors and colleagues and of the travelling public.

* * * * *

=Ellis, Wm. Hodgson=, B.A., M.B., L.R.C.P., Toronto, is a native of Derbyshire, England, where he was born on the 23rd of November, 1845. His father, Dr. John Eimeo Ellis, was an English physician of some note, and his grandfather, the Rev. William Ellis, was the famed missionary to Madagascar, at the beginning of the century, and well known by his admirable work dealing with missionary labor on the large and interesting island in the Indian ocean, which lately came under the protection of France. When he was in his fourteenth year, young Ellis came to Canada, and in 1863 he matriculated at University College, Toronto, and four years afterwards took his B.A. degree. During his university career, he was a diligent and successful student, particularly distinguishing himself in science, for the study of which he had an inherited taste, and a great natural aptitude. While an undergraduate, he became a member of the University Rifle corps, of which he was afterwards made captain; and in June, 1866, was with the “Queen’s Own,” at the historic field of Ridgeway, where the university corps took a memorable part in the engagement with the invading Fenians. On taking his arts degree, Mr. Ellis devoted himself to the study of medicine, and in one course won his M.B. degree, at the Toronto School of Medicine; after which he proceeded to London, England, there to complete his professional studies. These he pursued at St. Thomas’ Hospital, where he soon obtained the degree of Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians, London. He now returned to Canada, and in 1871 was appointed Professor of Chemistry in Trinity Medical School, and lecturer of chemistry in Trinity College, Toronto. Five years later he was appointed by the Ontario government instructor in chemistry in the Provincial College of Technology, now the School of Practical Science, in affiliation with Toronto University. When the college was removed to the Queen’s Park and attached to the university, Dr. Ellis resigned his professorship in Trinity College, and assumed his present position, the Professorship of Applied Chemistry, and was at the same time appointed by the Dominion government Public Analyst for the Inland Revenue, district of Toronto. To these important positions the learned professor brings great natural and acquired powers, an alert, widely stored, and comprehensive mind, and, though still young, a large experience, and the fruits of wide study and research. He is moreover an interesting lecturer and a successful instructor; and his genial manner, no less than his high attainments, wins for him the regard and confidence of all with whom he comes in contact. Dr. Ellis is an active member of the Canadian Institute, and for two years was its president. He is also a Fellow of the Chemical Society of London, England, and a Fellow of the Society of Public Analysts of Great Britain. Dr. Ellis married in 1875, Ellen Maud, daughter of Charles Mickle, of the city of Guelph, by whom he has had two children. He is a member of the Anglican church.

* * * * *

=Robitaille, Louis Adolphe=, Quebec, is a well-known and much respected citizen of the ancient capital. He is a brother of Hon. Theodore Robitaille, fourth lieutenant-governor of the province of Quebec, and now a senator of the Dominion, and, like him, was born at the family residence at Varennes, P.Q. His father, who was a notary, was descended from one of the oldest French families in Lower Canada, and figured very prominently among the patriots during the insurrection of 1837-38, even to the extent of suffering imprisonment for his political opinions until after the pacification of the province. On the maternal side our subject claims descent from the Monjeaus and the Brodeurs, two more of the good old Lower Canadian families. He was educated at the Ste. Therese, St. Hyacinthe, and Montreal Seminaries. He was offered and accepted an appointment in the Crown Lands department of Canada sometime about 1855. Before confederation, Mr. Robitaille was promoted and placed in charge of the Woods and Forests branch of Canada, and in this position he was continued until confederation, when he became superintendent of Woods and Forests for the province of Quebec. He afterwards left this branch of the service for an appointment in the Railway department of Quebec province, which position he held until shortly after the transfer of the North Shore Railway, and was then superannuated. Though retired from the government service, Mr. Robitaille is still in active employment as secretary-treasurer of the Baie des Chaleurs Railway. He is a brother-in-law of Mr. Riopel, M.P. for Bonaventure. Having been a public officer from early life, serving under different administrations, Mr. Robitaille has never taken an active part in politics.

* * * * *