The Canadian Portrait Gallery Part 1

The Canadian Portrait Gallery.

by John Charles Dent.

THE EARL OF DUFFERIN.

Of all the many personages who have been sent over from Great Britain to administer the Government in this country, since Canada first became an appendage of the British Crown, none has achieved so wide a popularity as Lord Dufferin. None of his predecessors succeeded in creating so wide a circle of personal friends, and none has left so many pleasant remembrances behind him. Lord Dorchester was a Governor, but the area over which his sway extended was very small as compared with the vast Dominion embraced within the purview of Lord Dufferin; and the inhabitants in his day were chiefly composed of the representatives of a single nationality. Lord Elgin was popular, but the exigencies of his position compelled him to make bitter enemies; and while every one, at the present day, acknowledges his great capacity and sterling worth, there was a time when he was subjected to grievous contumely and shameful indignity. Lord Dufferin, on the other hand, won golden opinions from the time of his first arrival in Canada, and when he left our sh.o.r.es he carried with him substantial tokens of the affection and good-will of the inhabitants. One single episode in his administration threatened, for a brief s.p.a.ce, to interfere with the cordial relations between himself and one section of the people. His own prudence and tact, combined with the liberality and good sense of those who differed from him, enabled him to tide over the critical time; and long before his departure from among us he could number most of the latter among his warm personal friends. His Vice-Regal progresses made the lines of his face and the tones of his voice familiar to the inhabitants of every Province. Wherever he went he increased the number of his well-wishers, and won additional respect for his personal attainments. He identified himself with the popular sympathies, and entered with a keen zest into every question affecting the public welfare. He will long live in the memory of the Canadian people as a wise administrator, an accomplished statesman, a brilliant orator, a genial companion, and a sincere friend of the land which he was called upon to govern.

He is descended, on the paternal side, from a Scottish gentleman named John Blackwood, who went over from his native country to Ireland, and settled in the county Down, towards the close of the sixteenth century.

The family has ever since resided in that county, and has played a not unimportant part in the political history of Ireland. In 1763 a baronetcy was conferred upon the then chief representative of the family, who was conspicuous in his day and generation as a vehement supporter of the Whig side in politics. In 1800 the head of the family was created an Irish peer, with the t.i.tle of Baron Dufferin and Clandeboye. The father of the present representative was Price, fourth Baron, who succeeded to the t.i.tle in 1839. Fourteen years prior to his accession to the t.i.tle--that is to say, in the year 1825--this gentleman married Miss Helen Selina Sheridan, a granddaughter of the Right Hon.

Richard Brinsley Sheridan. The distinguished orator and dramatist, as all the world knows, had a son named Thomas Sheridan, who inherited no inconsiderable share of his father's wit and genius. Thomas--better known as Tom--Sheridan, had three daughters, all of whom were prominent members of English society, and were conspicuous alike for personal beauty and the brilliancy of their intellectual accomplishments. One of them was the beautiful Lady Seymour, afterwards d.u.c.h.ess of Somerset, who presided as Queen of Beauty at the famous tournament held at the Earl of Eglinton's seat in Scotland, in the month of August, 1839. Another daughter, the Hon. Mrs. Caroline Norton, won distinction by her poetical effusions, and by several novels, one of which, "Stuart of Dunleath," is a work exhibiting a high degree of mental power. This lady, whose domestic misfortunes formed at one time an absorbing topic of discussion in England, survived until 1877, having some months before her death been married to the late Sir W. Stirling Maxwell. The remaining daughter, Harriet Selina, was the eldest of the three. She, as we have seen, married Captain Price Blackwood, and subsequently became Lady Dufferin upon her husband's accession to the t.i.tle in 1839. She also won a name in literature by numerous popular songs and ballads, the best known of which is "The Irish Emigrant's Lament." She was left a widow in 1841, and twenty-one years later, by a second marriage, became Countess of Gifford. She died in 1867. Her only son, Frederick Temple, the subject of this sketch, was born at Florence, in Italy, on the 21st of June, 1826.

He received his early education at Eton College, and subsequently at Christ Church, Oxford. He pa.s.sed through the curriculum with credit, but left the University without taking a degree. In the month of July, 1841, when he had only just completed his fifteenth year, his father's death took place, and he thus succeeded to the family t.i.tles six years before attaining his majority. During the first Administration of Lord John Russell he officiated as one of the Lords-in-Waiting to Her Majesty; and again filled a similar position for a short time a few years later.

One of the most memorable pa.s.sages in his early career was a visit paid by him to Ireland during the terrible famine which broke out there in 1846. Deriving his t.i.tles from Ireland, where the greater part of his property is situated, and being desirous of doing his duty by his tenantry, he had almost from boyhood paid a good deal of attention to the question of land-tenure in that country. With a view to extending his knowledge by personal observation, he set out from Oxford, accompanied by his friend, the Hon. Mr. Boyle, and went over, literally, to spy out the nakedness of the famine-stricken land. They for the first time in their lives found themselves face-to-face with misery in one of its most appalling shapes. They were young, kind-hearted and generous, and the scenes wherewith they were daily brought into contact made an impression upon their minds that has never been effaced. They published an account of their travels under the t.i.tle of "A Narrative of a Journey from Oxford to Skibbereen, during the year of the Irish Famine," and devoted the proceeds of the sale of the narrative to the relief of the starving sufferers of Skibbereen. The realms of fiction may be ransacked in vain for anything more truly pathetic and heart-rending in its terrible, vigorous realism, than is this truthful picture of human privation and suffering. Upon one occasion, having bought a huge basket of bread for distribution among the most needy, they were completely besieged as soon as their intention became known. "Something like an orderly distribution was attempted," says the narrative, "but the dreadful hunger and impatience of the poor people by whom the donors were surrounded rendered this absolutely impossible, and the bread was thrown out, loaf by loaf, from a window, the struggles of the famished women over the insufficient supply being dreadful to witness." Of course, all they could do to alleviate the sufferings in the district was of little avail, but they gave to the extent of their ability, and the poor, famishing creatures were warmly touched by their unfeigned and tearful sympathy. When the two gentlemen left the town, their carriage was followed beyond the outskirts by crowds of suffering poor who implored the Divine blessing upon their heads. The publication of the "Narrative," moreover, aroused a general feeling of philanthropy throughout the whole of England and Scotland, and liberal contributions were sent over for the benefit of those who stood most in need of a.s.sistance.

The practical knowledge of the condition of the Irish people acquired by Lord Dufferin during this visit was such as the most diligent study of blue-books could not have imparted. From this time forward he gave more attention than ever to the Irish question. It was a question in which he might well take a deep interest, for he was dependent upon the rent of his estates in county Down for the bulk of his income. His unselfishness, however, was signally proved by the stand he took, which was on the side of tenant-right. He has written and spoken much on the subject, and has contributed more than his share towards enabling the world to arrive at a just conclusion respecting it. His public utterances displayed a genuine philanthropy and breadth of view, mingled, at times, with a quaint and touching humour, which attracted the attention of every statesman in the kingdom. Twenty years before Mr.

Gladstone's Irish Land Act was pa.s.sed, its provisions had been antic.i.p.ated by Lord Dufferin, and urged upon the attention of the House of Lords. In an eloquent and elaborate speech delivered before that Body in 1854 he suggested and outlined nearly every important legislative reform with reference to Irish Land Tenure which has since been brought about. A work on "Irish Emigration, and the Tenure of Land in Ireland,"

gave still wider currency to his views on the subject, and it began to be perceived that the brilliant young Irish peer had ideas well worthy of the consideration of Parliament. He was created an English baron in 1850, by the t.i.tle of Baron Clandeboye.

In politics he was a moderate Whig. The leading members of his party recognized his high abilities, and thought it desirable to enlist them in the public service. An opportunity soon presented itself. In the month of February, 1855, Lord John Russell was appointed as British Plenipotentiary to the conference to be held at Vienna for the purpose of settling the terms of peace between Russia and Turkey. Lord John invited Lord Dufferin to accompany him on the mission as a special _attache_. The invitation was accepted, and Lord Dufferin repaired to the Austrian capital, where he remained until the close of the ineffectual conference. Soon after his return to England he determined upon a long yachting tour in the far northern seas, and in the early summer of 1856 he started on his adventurous voyage. The chronicle of this expedition, written with graphic force and humour by the pen of Lord Dufferin himself, has long been before the world under the t.i.tle of "Letters from High Lat.i.tudes." The voyage, which lasted several months, was made in the schooner-yacht _Foam_, and included Iceland, Jan Meyen and Spitzbergen in its scope. There is no necessity for extended comment upon a book that has been read by pretty nearly everybody in Canada. Who is there among us who has not laughed over the account of that marvellous bird that, as the nights became shorter and shorter, never slept for more than five minutes at a stretch, without waking up in a state of nervous agitation lest it might be c.o.c.k-crow; that was troubled by low spirits, owing to the mysterious manner in which a fresh member of his harem used to disappear daily; and that finally, overburdened by contemplation, went melancholy mad and committed suicide? Or over that extraordinary dog-Latin after-dinner speech by Lord Dufferin during his stay in the Icelandic capital, as voraciously recorded in Letter VI.? And who among us has failed to recognize the graphic power of description displayed in the account of the Geysers? Or the weird poetic force of "The Black Death of Bergen"? In all these various kinds of composition the author showed great natural apt.i.tude, and his book, as a whole, is one of the most interesting chronicles of travel in our language.

In 1860 Lord Dufferin was for the first time despatched abroad as the head of an important diplomatic mission. In the summer of that year, Great Britain, France, Russia and other European powers united in sending an expedition to Syria to protect the lives and property of Europeans, and to arrest the further effusion of blood in the threatened conflicts between the Druses and the Maronites. The immediate occasion of the expedition was a shocking ma.s.sacre of Syrian Christians that had recently taken place, and a recurrence of which was considered highly probable. Turkey professed inability to deal effectively with the matter, and it became necessary that the leading European powers should interfere in the cause of humanity. Lord Dufferin was appointed by Lord Palmerston as Commissioner on behalf of Great Britain. He went out to Syria, where he remained some months. He proved himself admirably qualified to discharge a delicate diplomatic mission, and by his tact, good-nature and popular manners, no less than by his practical wisdom and good sense, succeeded in effecting a satisfactory settlement of the matter. As a testimony of the Government's appreciation of his services he immediately after his return received the Order of a Knight Commander of the Bath (Civil Division). Another result of his mission was the publication, in 1867, of "Notes on Ancient Syria," a work which, as its t.i.tle imports, smacks more of reading than of observation.

It fell to Lord Dufferin's lot, in December, 1861, to move the address in the House of Lords, in answer to Her Majesty's Speech from the Throne, referring to the death of the Prince Consort. The occasion was one upon which the speaker might be expected to do his best, and the speech made by him on that occasion drew tears from eyes which had long been unaccustomed to weep. A perusal of it makes one regret that Lord Dufferin's legitimate place was not in the other House, where his talent for oratory would have had an opportunity of growing, and where he would unquestionably have gained a high reputation as a parliamentary speaker.

It is a simple matter of fact that in the dull, lifeless atmosphere of the House of Lords, Lord Dufferin's talents were almost thrown away. In the Commons he would have made a figure, with a nation for his audience.

On the 23rd of October, 1862, he married Harriot Georgina, eldest daughter of the late Archibald Rowan Hamilton, of Killyleagh Castle, county Down. This lady, whose lineaments are almost as well known to Canadians as are those of His Lordship, still survives, and is the happy mother of a numerous family. In 1863 Lord Dufferin became a Knight of St. Patrick; and in the following year he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of the county Down. About the same time he was offered the position of Under-Secretary of State for India, which he accepted. In 1865 he was subjected to a searching examination respecting his views on the Irish Land question, before a Select Committee of the House of Commons. His examination lasted four days, and his evidence proved of incalculable value in the framing of the Act of Parliament which was pa.s.sed before the close of the session. Several years later he put forth a vigorous pamphlet ent.i.tled, "An Examination of Mr. Mill's Plan for the Pacification of Ireland," in which he criticised John Stuart Mill's proposal that the landed estates of Irish landlords should be brought to a forced sale. Lord Dufferin's thorough knowledge of his subject, added to the fact that his views were sound, proved too much, even for the Master of Logic, who had made his proposal without due consideration of the subject, and on an incomplete statement of the facts.

Lord Dufferin continued to fill the post of Secretary of State for India until early in 1866, when he was offered the Governorship of Bombay. The state of his mother's health--she had already begun to sink under the malady to which she finally succ.u.mbed a year later--was such as to forbid her accompanying him to India, and Lord Dufferin was too affectionate a son to leave her behind. He was accordingly compelled to decline the appointment. He accepted instead the post of Under-Secretary to the War Department, which he retained until the close of Earl Russell's Administration, in June, 1866. Upon the return of the Liberal Party to power under Mr. Gladstone, in the end of 1868, Lord Dufferin became Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, a position which he retained up to the time of his being appointed Governor-General of Canada. He was also appointed Paymaster-General, and was sworn in as a Member of Her Majesty's Privy Council. In November, 1871, he was made an Earl and Viscount of the United Kingdom, under the t.i.tles of Earl of Dufferin and Viscount Clandeboye.

The successive dignities thus heaped upon him are sufficient evidence of the rising favour with which he was regarded by the Members of the Government; and as matter of fact he had made great progress in the esteem of the leading members of his Party generally. On the 22nd of May, 1872, he received the appointment which was destined to give Canadians a special interest in his career--that of Governor-General of the Dominion of Canada.

By the great ma.s.s of Canadians the news of this appointment was received with a feeling very much akin to indifference. The fact is that, except among reading men, and persons intimately familiar with the diplomatic history of Great Britain during the preceding twenty years, the name of Lord Dufferin was entirely unknown in this country. A few middle-aged and elderly persons remembered that an Irish peer named Lord Dufferin had made an eloquent speech on the death of the Prince Consort. Others remembered that a peer of that name had done something noteworthy in Syria. A few had read or heard of "Letters from High Lat.i.tudes;" but not one of us suspected that the new Governor-General was destined to be the most popular representative of Great Britain known to Canadian history.

It was not suspected that, for the first time during many years, we were to have at the head of our Administration a statesman of deep sympathies and enlarged views; a n.o.bleman combining elegant learning and brilliant powers of oratory with a tact and _bonhomie_ which would win for him the friendship and respect of Canadians of all social ranks, and of all grades of political opinion. By many of us the office of a Governor-General in Canada had come to be looked upon as a sort of sinecure; as a part which any man not absolutely a dunce is capable of playing. We regarded the Governor-General merely as the Royal representative; as a figurehead whose duties consist of doing as he is bid. He has responsible advisers who prescribe for him a certain line of action, and all he has to do is to obey. When his Cabinet loses the confidence of Parliament, he either sends them about their business or accepts their resignation. The successors selected for him by the dominant majority are accepted as a matter of course, and everything goes on _da capo_. This, or something like this, was the way we had learned to estimate the powers and functions which Lord Dufferin was coming among us to discharge. It was reserved for him to give us a juster appreciation of the position of a Canadian Governor-General. The lesson learned by us during the six years of his residence among us is one that Canadians will not soon forget. The learning of it has perhaps made us unduly exacting, and it would have been most unfortunate had his successor been chosen from the ranks of respectable mediocrity whence Colonial Governors are not unfrequently selected. Happily the choice fell upon a gentleman whose character and attainments bear some affinity to those of his predecessor, and the dignity and respect due to the Governor-General are not likely to suffer depreciation while the office remains in his hands.

There was one circ.u.mstance which led many Canadians to look upon the appointment of Lord Dufferin with no friendly eyes. He had been appointed by the Gladstone Government, and the Gladstone Government had manifested a disposition to treat Canada rather cavalierly. Canadian interests had not been very efficiently cared for at the negotiation of the Treaty of Washington, and there had been a good deal of diplomatic correspondence between the Canadian and Imperial Governments, in which the latter had pretty clearly intimated that Canada's separation from the Mother Country would not be regarded as an irreparable loss to the Empire at large. The London _Times_ openly advocated such a separation, and it was known to speak the sentiments of persons high in power. It was even conjectured by some of the more suspicious that Lord Dufferin had been appointed for the express purpose of carrying out an Imperial project for a separation between Canada and Great Britain. Had His Lordship been a weak or commonplace man he would most probably have had a very uncomfortable time of it in Canada. He was neither weak nor commonplace, however, and he began to be popular from the very hour of his arrival in the country. By the time he had been six months among us everyone spoke well of him; and long before his administration came to an end he had gained a firm hold on the hearts of the people throughout the length and breadth of our land.

He arrived at Quebec on the 25th of June, 1872. During the same day he was sworn in as Governor-General, and two days later reached his seat of Government at Ottawa. There is no need to describe in minute detail the various events which characterized his administration. Those events are still fresh in all our memories, and have been recorded at full length by two Canadian authors--Mr. Stewart and Mr. Leggo--in works to which everyone has access. For these reasons it is considered unnecessary to give more than a brief summary in these pages.

During the summer of 1872 Lord Dufferin made the first of his memorable Vice-Regal tours, visiting Toronto, Hamilton, London, Niagara Falls, and other places of interest in the Province of Ontario. To say that he made a marvellously favourable impression wherever he went is simply to say what everybody knows, and what might equally be said of all his subsequent progresses through the Dominion. There was a general election during the summer and autumn of this year, and an opportunity was thus afforded His Excellency for observing the working of our political inst.i.tutions at such a time.

The result of the elections was a majority in favour of Sir John A.

Macdonald's Ministry. Parliament met in the following March, and on the 2nd of April Mr. Huntington made his serious, and now historic, charge against the Government, in connection with the granting of the Pacific Railway Charter, and the corrupt sale to Sir Hugh Allan. A motion was made for a committee of investigation, but was voted down as a motion of want of confidence in the Government. A few days later, Sir John, knowing that a policy of reticence could not long be available, himself moved for a committee. The motion was pa.s.sed, and the committee was appointed, but was unable to proceed, owing to its inability to take evidence on oath. A Bill was introduced into the House to give the committee the power required, and was pa.s.sed without opposition, but was subsequently disallowed by the Imperial Government as being _ultra vires_. Meanwhile the inquiry was proceeded with; but on the 5th of May, owing to the absence from the country of three important witnesses--Sir George E. Cartier, Sir Hugh Allan and the Hon. J. J. C. Abbott--the committee deemed it advisable to adjourn to the 2nd of July. The ordinary Parliamentary business had been got through with, and there was no necessity for the House remaining in session; but, as the committee had no authority to sit during recess, it was thought desirable that there should be an adjournment of Parliament instead of a prorogation, until the committee should be prepared with its report. Accordingly, on the 23rd of May, Parliament adjourned to the 13th of August, when it was agreed that it should meet expressly for the purpose of receiving the committee's report, and not for the despatch of ordinary legislative business. It would thus be unnecessary for the Governor-General to be present at the formal rea.s.sembling, and soon after the adjournment His Excellency, with his family, started on a projected tour through the Maritime Provinces. On the 27th of June, while on his travels, he received a telegram from Lord Kimberley, Secretary for the Colonies in the Home Government, announcing the disallowance of the "Oaths Bill," as it was called, viz., the Act authorizing Parliamentary committees to examine witnesses under oath. He at once gave notice of the disallowance to the Premier, Sir John A. Macdonald, who made it known to the committee. The committee was composed of five members, three of whom were supporters of the Government, and the remaining two of the Opposition. The Government supporters were the Hon. J. G. Blanchet, the Hon. James Macdonald (of Pictou), and the Hon. John Hillyard Cameron.

The Opposition members were the Hon. Edward Blake and the Hon. A. A.

Dorion. On the 1st of July a proclamation was issued giving public notice of the disallowance of the Oaths Bill. The Premier offered to issue a Royal Commission to the committee, which would enable it to take evidence under oath, and to demand the production of persons, papers and records. The proposal was rejected by Messrs. Blake and Dorion, who wrote to the Premier pointing out to him that the inquiry was undertaken by the House; that the appointment of a Royal Commission by a Government to investigate charges against that Government would be an unheard-of and most unbecoming proceeding; and that the House did not expect the Crown or anyone else to obstruct the inquiry.

When the Parliament met, pursuant to adjournment, on the 13th of August, the committee, having been prevented from taking evidence, was unable to report. A numerously signed memorial was presented to His Excellency praying that there might be no prorogation of Parliament until the charges against the existing Government had been subjected to investigation. His Excellency, however, replied that he felt bound to act on the advice of his Ministry. His Ministry advised him to prorogue Parliament, and prorogued it accordingly was. Every Canadian remembers the tumultuous scene which ensued--a scene almost without parallel in modern Parliamentary history; a faint reflex of that memorable episode which took place in the English House of Commons two hundred and twenty years before.

The next act in the drama was the appointment by His Excellency of a Royal Commission on his own authority. It was issued to the Hon. C. D.

Day, the Hon. Antoine Polette, and James Robert Gowan, three judges learned in the law. The commission met, and on the opening of the session in the following October its report was laid before Parliament.

The contents are familiar to every reader of these pages, and do not form an attractive subject for extended comment. There could no longer be any doubt as to the course to be taken by the Premier. A few days afterwards Sir John Macdonald's Government resigned, and Mr. Mackenzie was called upon to form a new one. This he soon succeeded in doing, and on the 7th of November the new Administration took office. As was abundantly proved at the ensuing elections, the new government had the confidence of the country.

During the progress of these events, Lord Dufferin was a.s.sailed with a good deal of rancour by one section of the Canadian press. The question now to be considered is: How far were these a.s.saults justifiable? In other words: How far, if at all, was Lord Dufferin to blame?

The princ.i.p.al allegations made against him were, that his sympathies all through this deplorable episode in our political history were with Sir John Macdonald and his colleagues; that he a.s.sisted the latter to postpone and evade investigation into their conduct; that his partisanship was evinced by his prompt transmission of the Oaths Bill for Imperial consideration, and by his subsequent prorogation of Parliament in defiance of the wishes of a large body of the members.

It must be borne in mind, in considering these matters, that we at the present day are in a much better position to form a correct opinion respecting them than Lord Dufferin could possibly be in the summer of 1873. He came to this country an utter stranger to every man in Canadian public life. He found at the head of affairs a gentleman who had long held the reins of power; who had a very wide circle of warm personal friends; who was regarded with affectionate loyalty by his Party; and whose Government enjoyed an overwhelming support in Parliament. With such a support at its back, the Government might reasonably lay claim to possessing the confidence of the Canadian people, and, possessing such confidence, it was ent.i.tled to the confidence of Her Majesty's Representative. There was, moreover, a manifest disposition on the part of some opponents of the Government to make the most of any little shortcomings of which Ministerialists might be guilty. One of the most virulent of the Opposition, a man whose own character could not be said to be wholly above reproach, made certain wild charges against the Government. These charges were so utterly monstrous and incredible that any man of probity might reasonably refuse to believe them until they were proved to be true by the most irrefutable evidence. Such evidence was not forthcoming. The head of the Government hurled back the charges in the teeth of the man who had made them; p.r.o.nounced the latter a slanderous calumniator; protested that his own hands were clean; and called upon his Maker to bear witness to the truth of his avowal. His conduct was not unlike that of an honest man smarting under a strong sense of injustice. He professed to court inquiry, and while he treated Mr. Huntington's motion as one of want of confidence in the Government, and triumphantly voted it down, he himself came forward with his motion for a committee. Both from his place in the House, and to the Governor-General in person, he continued to protest before G.o.d that there was no shadow of foundation for the charges made against him. He spoke of his acquittal as a matter which did not admit of a moment's question. Under these circ.u.mstances, is it any wonder if Lord Dufferin refused to believe vague and unsubstantiated charges from such a source; charges which might well have excited incredulity by the very depth of their blackness? Is it to be wondered at, even if His Lordship sympathized with those whom he believed to have been so shamefully maligned, and who seemed so anxious to set themselves right before the country? Such was the state of affairs when Parliament was adjourned on the 23rd of May.

With regard to the prompt transmission to England of the Oaths Bill, His Excellency simply complied with his official instructions, and with the Union Act, which requires the Governor-General to transmit "by the earliest convenient opportunity" all Acts of Parliament to which he has a.s.sented on Her Majesty's behalf. His Excellency's despatch to the Imperial Secretary of State for the Colonies, dated 15th August, 1873, puts this matter very clearly. It shows that he understood and was prepared to do his duty, no matter what might be said by Opposition members, and no matter how scurrilous might be the attacks of hostile newspapers. "Amongst other respects," says the despatch, "in which my conduct has been criticised, the fact of my having communicated to you by the first opportunity a certified copy of the Oaths Bill, has been a very general point of attack. I apprehend it will not be necessary to justify myself to your Lordship in this particular. My law-adviser had called my attention to the possibility of the Bill being illegal. Had perjured testimony been tendered under it, no proceedings could have been taken against the delinquent, and if, under these circ.u.mstances, I had wilfully withheld from the Home Government all cognizance of the Act, it would have been a gross dereliction of duty. To those in this country who have questioned my procedure it would be sufficient to reply that I recognize no authority on this side of the Atlantic competent to instruct the Governor-General as to the nature of his correspondence with Her Majesty's Secretary of State." The a.s.sertion so often made, to the effect that the Law Officers of the Crown in England were improperly influenced to advise a disallowance of the Bill, is in itself utterly preposterous, and no attempt, so far as we know, has ever been made to bring forward any proof of it.

There remains for consideration the prorogation of Parliament on the 13th of August.

Before the adjournment on the 23rd of May, as we have seen, it had been understood that Parliament should meet only to receive the committee's report, and not for the despatch of ordinary business. It had not even been considered necessary that His Excellency should attend. During his absence in the Maritime Provinces, however, the famous McMullen correspondence had appeared in print, and this, together with other circ.u.mstances which had come to his knowledge, had made him resolve to be present at the rea.s.sembling of Parliament. The attendance of Government supporters was not large, very few, if any, being present from outlying const.i.tuencies. The Opposition on the other hand, was fully represented, and was eager for the battle, which was regarded as inevitable. It soon appeared that there was nothing to be done. Owing to the disallowance of the Oaths Bill there was no report from the committee. In the estimation of His Excellency, to proceed with the investigation, as the Opposition members were desirous of doing, would under these circ.u.mstances have been to place the Ministry at an unfair disadvantage. A considerable number of its supporters were absent, whereas the Opposition was in full force. It has been charged upon the Ministry that this was part of their tactics, and that the absentees were acting under the orders of their Chief in remaining at home. This is another of those loose, sweeping a.s.sertions which may be true, but the truth of which has not been proved. That unhappy Ministry has enough to answer for at the Bar of History, without being called upon to refute charges which have never been substantiated by evidence. In any case, no fair-minded person will wish to hold the Governor-General responsible for such tactics. His position was one of no ordinary difficulty. Very d.a.m.natory correspondence had been given to the world, but it was not in such a shape that the House could possibly regard it as free from suspicion. The most serious charges seemed to point rather to the guilt of Sir Hugh Allan and McMullen than to that of the Members of the Government. The charges directly affecting the Government were solemnly and emphatically repudiated by the Premier, who pledged himself to explain the matter under oath to the satisfaction of the whole world, as soon as a properly const.i.tuted tribunal should be appointed, with authority to take evidence under oath. Sir Hugh Allan published a sworn affidavit, negativing McMullen's charges, and McMullen himself had subsequently admitted that his charges had been hasty and inaccurate.

The latter, moreover, was evidently a man whose character was not such as to inspire respect. The Government could still command a majority of votes in the House. Under such circ.u.mstances, can His Excellency be blamed if he continued to act upon the advice of his const.i.tutional advisers by proroguing Parliament? He was determined, however, that there should be no unnecessary delay, and exacted as a condition of adopting that course that parliament should be convened with all imaginable expedition. His reply to the memorial presented by the Opposition is so much to the point that we cannot do better than abridge a portion of it. "You urge me," says His Excellency, "on grounds which are very fully and forcibly stated, to decline the advice which has been unanimously tendered me by my responsible ministers, and to refuse to prorogue Parliament. In other words, you require me to dismiss them from my councils; for you must be aware that this would be the necessary result of my a.s.senting to your recommendation. Upon what grounds would I be justified in taking so grave a step? What guarantee can you afford me that the Parliament of the Dominion would endorse such an act of personal interference on my part? You yourselves do not form an actual moiety of the House of Commons, and I have no means of ascertaining that the majority of that body subscribe to the opinion you have enounced. . .

It is true, grave charges have been preferred. . . but the truth of these remains untested. . . Is the Governor-General, upon such evidence as this, to drive from his presence gentlemen who for years have filled the highest offices of State, and in whom, during the recent session, Parliament has repeatedly declared its continued confidence?. . .

Certain doc.u.ments of grave significance have lately been published in the newspapers, but no proof has been adduced which necessarily connects them with the culpable transactions of which it is a.s.serted they formed a part. . . Under these circ.u.mstances, what right has the Governor-General, on his personal responsibility, to proclaim. . . that he believes his ministers guilty of the crimes alleged against them?"

Such were the circ.u.mstances under which the prorogation of the 13th of August, 1873, took place. Looking back on it, in the light of the seven years which have since elapsed, it will be hard to arrive at any other conclusion than that Lord Dufferin did not deserve the animadversions which were heaped upon him. As he himself observed in his despatch to the Colonial Secretary two days after the prorogation: "It is a favourite theory at this moment with many persons that when once grave charges of this nature have been preferred against the Ministry they become _ipso facto_ unfit to counsel the Crown. The practical application of this principle would prove very inconvenient, and would leave not only the Governor-General, but every Lieutenant-Governor in the Dominion very thinly provided with responsible advisers; for, as far as I have been able to seize the spirit of political controversy in Canada, there is scarcely an eminent man in the country on either side whose character or integrity has not been, at one time or another, the subject of reckless attack by his opponents in the press." In a word, he acted on the well-established principle that every man is to be adjudged innocent until he has been proved guilty; and in so acting he showed that he understood the responsibilities of his position. That his Ministers were culpable, as well as unwise, in advising the prorogation, is certain; and when the next elections came on they paid the penalty of their disingenuousness.

The events of Lord Dufferin's residence in Canada subsequent to the fall of the Macdonald Ministry, which has already been reviewed, must be given in few words. The political events by which his administration was characterized have been given at sufficient length in sketches to which they more properly belong. The Mackenzie Administration had not been long in power before each individual member of it was on friendly terms with the Governor-General, and there seems to have been a tacit understanding that all past differences of opinion should be forgotten.

In the summer of 1874 His Excellency and suite made a tour through the Muskoka District, and thence westward by steamer over lakes Huron, Superior and Michigan. The tourists called at most of the interesting points on the route, including Chicago, where they disembarked, and returned overland by way of Detroit. All the most important towns in Ontario were then visited, and the party returned home to Ottawa in September, after an absence of about two months. It was during his sojourn in Toronto, while on his return from this expedition, that Lord Dufferin made his famous speech at the Toronto Club, which aroused the enthusiasm of the press on both sides of the Atlantic. A part of the summer and autumn of each succeeding year was spent by His Excellency in making other tours through the various Provinces of the Dominion. The last important one was made in 1877, and consisted of a pilgrimage through Manitoba and part of the District of Keewatin. In 1875 he also visited Ireland, and in 1876 attended the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia. Wherever he went, his visits were marked by a continual round of ovations. Lady Dufferin generally accompanied him on his excursions, and contributed not a little by her personal graces and accomplishments to the popularity of her lord. Perhaps the most marvellous thing about him is his ability to make an eloquent speech on any given topic, without ever repeating himself, and without descending to plat.i.tudes or commonplaces. He has always something to say which is appropriate to the particular occasion, and the special circ.u.mstances in which he happens to be placed. The quick perception and ready wit begotten of his Irish blood never fail him. Each of his replies to the thousand-and-one addresses which at one time and another have been presented to him has a merit of its own, has an application purely local, and is unlike all the others. His more serious utterances are marked not less by maturity of statesmanship than by brilliancy of imagination. It would be faint praise to say of him that as an orator he stands alone on the long roll of Canadian Governors. There has been no other who is even worthy of being named as second to him. It has been truly said of his speeches that they are "warm with the light of hope, brimful of sympathy for the toiling and the struggling, sparkling with humour, and moving with pathos."

As the term of his residence among us drew towards its close the Canadian people began to realize how much they liked him. Addresses poured in upon him from every corner of the Dominion, many of which, at least, could only have had their origin in sincere esteem and hearty good-will. When, on the 19th of October, 1878, he took his final departure from among us,

"High hopes pursued him from the sh.o.r.e, And prophesyings brave,"

for it was felt that, if his life and health were spared the record of his future would not belie the record of his past. It was predicted that the man whose consummate tact, n.o.ble courtesy and largeness of heart had done so much to strengthen the ties between Great Britain and her Colonies would render further important services to his Sovereign and to the nation. That prediction has already been fulfilled. The effects of his mission to Russia have been made apparent in improved relations between the courts of St. Petersburg and St. James. In truth, no better antidote to the "spirited Foreign policy" of the late British Government could have been devised than the enrolment of Lord Dufferin in the diplomatic service.

Since his departure for Russia it is said that the Vice-royalty of Ireland and of India have both been tendered to and declined by him.

THE REV. ROBERT FERRIER BURNS.

Dr. Burns was born at Paisley, Scotland, on the 23rd of December, 1826.

After spending a term of four years at the Public Grammar School of that town, he was entered as a student at the University of Glasgow in the month of November, 1840, before he had quite completed his fourteenth year. He remained at that seat of learning four sessions, during which he achieved high standing in his cla.s.ses, and carried off several prizes, including two in Latin. He stood third in Greek, second in Logic, and first in Moral Philosophy. While attending the University he had for a.s.sociates Princ.i.p.al McKnight, of Halifax, the Rev. William Maclaren, of Blairlogie, and the late Rev. John Maclaren, of Glasgow. In 1844-5 he attended New College, Edinburgh, during the second session of its existence, and sat at the feet of Drs. Chalmers, Cunningham and Duncan. He had meanwhile resolved on emigrating to Canada, and on the 29th of March, 1845, he sailed from Greenock for Quebec. He made his way to Toronto, where he attended two sessions at Knox College, having for his contemporaries there Dr. Black, of Manitoba, and the late Rev. James Nisbet, of the Prince Albert Mission. During his collegiate career he acted as Student Catechist, and preached as a volunteer at Proudfoot's Mills, and also at Oakville. During the summer of 1846 he laboured to good purpose at Niagara. In April, 1847, he was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Toronto, and on the first of July following he was ordained as first pastor of Chalmers Church, Kingston. During his residence at Kingston he officiated for a year as Chaplain to the Forty-first Regiment of Highland Infantry.

On the 1st of July, 1852, he married Miss Elizabeth Holden, a daughter of Dr. Rufus Holden, of Belleville, and a sister of the wife of Professor Gregg, of Toronto. By this lady he now has a family of eight children, consisting of four sons and four daughters. After a pastorate of exactly eight years he left Kingston on the 5th of July, 1855, and settled at St. Catharines as first pastor of the United Church. He remained there nearly twelve years, during eight of which he also had charge of a congregation at Port Dalhousie, four miles distant. During his ministry at St. Catharines the new church now known as Knox Church was erected, and his congregation subsequently worshipped there. In 1862 he took a conspicuous part in starting Sabbath School Conventions in this country, which have since been attended by many blessings to the young. In the month of July, 1866, the degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by Hamilton College, near Utica, in the State of New York, the leading literary inst.i.tution of the New School of Presbyterians in that State. On the 20th of March, 1867, he became first pastor of the First Scotch Presbyterian Church in Chicago, which then and for some years thereafter belonged to the Canadian Church. During his inc.u.mbency of this charge he received several calls from various churches, all of which were declined. His Chicago pastorate lasted three years, during which the membership of his church trebled in number, and a fine new church was erected by the congregation on the corner of Adams and Sagamore Streets. In October, 1867, he accompanied the Rev. D. L.

Moody, the Evangelist, from Chicago to Toronto, on the occasion of the first sitting of the Young Men's Christian a.s.sociation Convention in the latter city. In the beginning of May, 1870, he returned to Canada, and was inducted into the pastorate of Cote Street Church, Montreal, where Dr. Fraser and the present Princ.i.p.al McVicar had previously ministered.

Here he remained five years.

On the 18th of March, 1875, he was settled over Fort Ma.s.sey Church, Halifax, of which the Rev. J. K. Smith, of Galt, had been for two years pastor. Here Dr. Burns has ever since remained. The congregation has since its commencement discarded pew rents, and has been conducted on the weekly free-will-offering system, the offertory being collected at the church door. Their annual givings to church purposes are said to exceed $100 for each family. He was Moderator of the Synod of Montreal in 1873, and also Chairman of the Montreal College Board; and on his removal to Halifax he was elected to the same post there, which he still fills. During the session of 1877 he delivered special courses of lectures before the Montreal and Halifax students, and in 1878 these were followed up by a second special course in the Halifax College. In 1877 he was a.s.sociated with Princ.i.p.al Grant and others in pushing forward the $100,000 College Endowment Fund.

Dr. Burns is also known as an author. As early as 1854 he contributed to the _Anglo-American Magazine_, published in Toronto; and several years later to the _Presbyterian Magazine_. In 1857 he published "The Progress and Principles of Temperance Reform;" and in 1865, in conjunction with the Rev. Mr. Norton, of St. Catharines, "Maple Leaves for the Grave of Abraham Lincoln." In 1872 he wrote and published his most voluminous work, "The Life and Times of Dr. Robert Burns, of Toronto." This work pa.s.sed through three editions, and was a decided success. His other works are chiefly pamphlets, sermons, and short fugitive pieces.