Chapter L: J. A. Surveyer was educated at St. Laurent College and entered (11)

Sir George was much interested in agriculture and the breeding of fine stock. Huntlywood, his magnificent country place at Beaconsfield, was one of the finest country estates on the continent. He took great pride in its well kept condition, his private golf links affording an opportunity for indulgence in a recreation that he was fond of. He kept only the finest live stock that he could procure. His first Southdown sheep were bred from stock he secured from King Edward. In live-stock breeding Sir George aimed to maintain the same high standard of excellence that characterized everything he did. His stock nearly always won first prize at the big stock shows in Canada and the United States, where he met in competition the most noted breeders of his day. Sir George also maintained a beautiful country house, Gads Hill, at Cacouna, now the summer home of Lady Drummond. He took a most deep and helpful interest in all those things which promote the aesthetic and moral nature of the individual and which act as broadening and uplifting influences in the lives of all. He was the owner of one of the finest galleries of paintings on the American continent and was for some time president of the Art Association of Montreal. It is said of him that he “derived greater pleasure in pinning a badge to the breast of a member of the Victorian Order of Nurses and wishing a hearty God-speed to that devoted agent of good than in talking in millions around the directors’ table of the Bank of Montreal.” He was a knight commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George and his character and his ability made his presence an honor in any gathering.

High encomiums were passed upon him by various members of the senate when he was called from this life on the 2d of February, 1910. One of the local papers said: “Flags flying at half-mast from many of the chief public and commercial buildings of the city yesterday testified at once to the extent of the interests with which Sir George A. Drummond was in his life connected, and to the respect in which he was held for his character, his ability and his public services.” The council of the Board of Trade, of which he had been president, said he was “long regarded as Montreal’s most eminent citizen and one of the oldest and most distinguished members of this board.” Senator Lougheed said that he “doubted if any other name had been more closely linked with the industrial life of Canada during the early part of the present generation than that of Sir George Drummond. Not only has he been associated with the material development of Canada, but he was equally a supporter of the arts and sciences and the great sociological questions of this progressive age. In 1903 he was the recipient of very distinguished honors at the hands of his sovereign on account of the eminent public services which he had rendered Canada. His name should long be revered in Montreal, where it was identified with the great commercial, educational and philanthropic institutions.” Senator Dandurand said of Sir George: “He was esteemed in Montreal as a liberal-minded man who did his utmost to maintain good understanding between the races in that city, always showing an earnest desire to promote harmony. He was a benefactor of all institutions that needed private help and will be missed by the community at large, as he was whole-souled, kind-hearted and one who played a most important role in all the affairs of the city.”