The Canadian Portrait Gallery Part 7

Gzowski & Macpherson in 1857 established the Toronto Rolling Mills, which were carried on successfully for about twelve years. Steel rails having largely superseded the use of iron ones, the necessity for maintaining the establishment ceased to exist, and the works were closed up in 1869.

The excitement produced on two continents in 1861 by the Trent affair, and the threatened rupture of amicable relations between Great Britain and the United States, led Mr. Gzowski to reflect seriously on the defenceless condition of Canada. In the event of hostilities between the two nations, this country would of course be the first point of attack; and, in the absence of any efficient means of defence, it would manifestly be impossible to maintain a frontier extending over thousands of miles. It occurred to Mr. Gzowski that the establishment of a large a.r.s.enal in Canadian territory, where every description of armament and ammunition might be manufactured or repaired, would be a very wise precaution. He counted the cost, prepared elaborate plans, and even fixed upon what he believed to be the most appropriate site. Full of this scheme, he proceeded to England, where he submitted it to the War Secretary and other prominent members of the Imperial Government. Its liberality created much surprise among all to whom it was broached, for Mr. Gzowski proposed to provide capital for the construction and equipment of the entire establishment, subject to certain very reasonable stipulations. The project was taken into careful consideration by the Government, and for some time it seemed not unlikely to be carried out. It was finally concluded, however, that for certain diplomatic reasons, it would be undesirable to proceed with it; but full justice was done to Mr. Gzowski's unbounded liberality and public spirit, and he was a.s.sured that the Government were not insensible to the munificence of his proposal. From this time forward he began to interest himself in military matters. He took a very active part in developing the Rifle a.s.sociation of the Province of Ontario, and erelong became its President. He subsequently became President of the Dominion Rifle a.s.sociation, and was instrumental in sending the first team of representative Canadian riflemen from this Province to England in 1870, to take part in the annual military operations at Wimbledon. A team has ever since been sent over annually by the Dominion, and Mr.

Gzowski has generally made a point of accompanying them himself. In November, 1872, as a mark of appreciation of his services in connection with the development of the Rifle a.s.sociation, he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the Central Division of Toronto Volunteers; and in May, 1873, became a Lieutenant-Colonel on the staff. His last and highest promotion came to him in May, 1879, when he was appointed Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty Queen Victoria.

For many years past Colonel Gzowski has been the possessor of large means, acquired by his own industry and talents, and sufficient to enable him to indulge in a dignified repose for the remainder of his life. He is, however, possessed of a stirring nervousness of temperament which impels him to action, and has never ceased to engage in engineering projects of greater or less magnitude. This sketch would be very incomplete without some reference to an enterprise which is ent.i.tled to rank among the grandest public works of the Dominion; viz., the International Bridge over the Niagara River at Buffalo. The charters for the construction of this great enterprise were granted by the Legislature of Canada and the State of New York as far back as the year 1857, but were permitted to lie dormant owing to the difficulty of obtaining the funds necessary to carrying out so gigantic a project. The capital was at last raised in England in 1870, and the contract was let to Colonel Gzowski and his partner, the Hon. D. L. Macpherson, who forthwith began the work of construction. The engineering difficulties to be encountered were very great, and at certain seasons of the year the work had to be totally suspended. The bridge was finally completed and opened for the pa.s.sage of trains on the 3rd of November, 1873, and the entire cost of construction was about $1,500,000. It stands as a perpetual memorial of the great skill and enterprise of the contractors.

After its completion Colonel Gzowski wrote and published a full account of the enterprise from its inception, accompanied by elaborate plans and ill.u.s.trations. Sir Charles Hartley, in a work published in England in 1875, bears testimony to the fact that "the chief credit in overcoming the extraordinary difficulties which beset the building of the piers of this bridge is due to Colonel Gzowski, upon whom all the practical operations devolved." A still higher testimony comes from Mr. Thomas Elliott Harrison, President of the (British) Inst.i.tute of Civil Engineers, who, in an annual address read before the Inst.i.tute on his election to the Presidency in the session of 1873-4, referred to the International Bridge as one of the most gigantic engineering works on the American continent, and made a special reference to the difficulties met with in subaqueous foundations, as described in Colonel Gzowski's volume.

Colonel Gzowski's career in Canada has been one of extraordinary success, but any one who has watched its progress will admit that his success has been chiefly due to his high personal qualifications. In politics he has acted with the Conservative Party, but he is known for the moderation of his views, and has never identified himself with any of the purely party factions of the time. Though frequently importuned to enter public life he has. .h.i.therto refrained from doing so, preferring to confine his attention to professional and financial enterprises. He has a luxurious home in Toronto, where he occasionally dispenses a sumptuous hospitality, and where he appears perhaps to greater advantage than elsewhere. He has entertained most of the Governors-General of his time, all of whom have been numbered among his personal friends. Of late years much of his leisure has been pa.s.sed in England, where several of his children reside, and where he has many warm friends. He has been honoured with special marks of the royal favour, and might doubtless, if so disposed, aspire to high dignities. Her Majesty has not a more loyal subject than Colonel Gzowski, and should occasion arise he would, we doubt not, buckle on his sword in defence of British and Canadian rights no less readily than he embarked his all, half a century ago, on behalf of the nation to which he belongs by right of birth.

On the 29th of October, 1839, he married Miss Maria Beebe, daughter of an eminent American physician. This lady, by whom he has had five sons and three daughters, still survives.

THEODORE HARDING RAND, A.M., D.C.L.

Dr. Rand, who has long been one of the foremost educationists in the Maritime Provinces, was born at the seaport town of Cornwallis, situated on an arm of the Basin of Minas, King's County, Nova Scotia, in the year 1835. His life has been pa.s.sed in educational pursuits, and affords but few incidents for biographical purposes. His boyhood and early youth were spent in attending the common schools, whence he pa.s.sed to the Horton Collegiate Academy. After spending some time as a student at the last-named seat of learning he became a teacher there. He also entered the University of Acadia College, where he graduated in the honours course in 1860. During the same year he was appointed to the Chair of English and Cla.s.sics in the Provincial Normal School at Truro, where he distinguished himself by his enthusiastic devotion to his work, and by his intelligence, apt.i.tude and zeal in developing the best methods of instruction. In 1863 he received his Master's degree from the University of Acadia College. His Doctor's degree is honorary, and was conferred upon him by the same inst.i.tution in 1874.

Upon the pa.s.sing of the Educational Act of 1864, the subject of this sketch was selected by the Government of the day for the position of Provincial Superintendent of Education. Upon him accordingly devolved the task of putting the new law into operation. The Act of 1864 was one of the most important measures, bearing on the moral and material interests of the Province, that was ever introduced there. "It struck at the very root of most of the evils which tend to depress the intellectual energies and moral status of the people. It introduced the genial light of knowledge into the dark recesses of ignorance, opened the minds of thousands of little ones--the fathers and mothers of coming generations--to a perception of the true and the beautiful, and placed Nova Scotia in the front rank of countries renowned for common school educational advantages."[9] Previous to the time when it came into operation the school system of the Province was pitiably inefficient.

Its inefficiency was startlingly demonstrated by the census of 1861, from which it appeared that more than one-fourth of the entire population of the Province were unable to read. Of 83,000 children between the ages of five and fifteen, there were 36,000 who were unable to read. A large majority of the children in the Province did not attend school, and did not receive any educational training whatever. Teachers were poorly paid and inefficient. The schoolhouses were frequently unhealthy, and were almost always uncomfortable and unsightly. To Dr.--now Sir Charles--Tupper, belongs in great measure the credit of having brought about a more satisfactory state of things. It was by his Ministry that the Educational Act of 1864 was pa.s.sed, and he himself, though well aware that he seriously risked his popularity by promoting it--for it introduced direct taxation--repeatedly declared that even if it should cost him place and power he would regard its introduction as the crowning act of his public life. After some negotiation between himself and Messrs. Archibald and Annand, the leading members of the Opposition, it was agreed that party differences should for the nonce be laid aside, and that the Education Act should become law.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THEODORE H. RAND, signed as Theodore H. Rand]

Such was the state of affairs at the time when Mr. Rand was appointed to the office of Superintendent of Education. For some time his task was no light one, for the law was unpopular among the ma.s.ses, who abhorred the idea of direct taxation. He applied himself to his duties with great energy, and travelled the Province from end to end, disputing, arguing, and finally convincing. He found, however, that some clauses of the Act were impracticable, and others unnecessary. He prepared a measure which formed the basis of the amended Act of 1865. His energy and vigour carried all before them, and he soon had the satisfaction of seeing opposition disappear. A _Journal of Education_ was established, a new and uniform series of school books was introduced, and commodious schoolhouses were erected. A system of examination and of grading was introduced by Mr. Rand, and his plan was so well thought of that its main features have been adopted in other Provinces of the Dominion.

He continued to fill the position of Superintendent of Education in Nova Scotia during five and a half busy years. In 1870 he was removed from office "apparently for political reasons, and under circ.u.mstances which created a great deal of dissatisfaction at the time amongst the friends of education in the Province." After his retirement he proceeded to Great Britain, chiefly with a view to acquiring additional knowledge on educational matters, and to familiarizing himself by observation with the practical working of the English school system. During his absence he visited many important schools in England, Scotland and Ireland, and had conferences with some of the leading educationists of the realm.

In 1871 the New Brunswick Legislature pa.s.sed an Act, to come into operation on the 1st of January, 1872, introducing the Free School system into that Province. The provisions of this Act were very similar to those of the Nova Scotia measure, and Mr. Rand's success in introducing the system into the adjoining Province had been such that it was deemed desirable to secure his services in New Brunswick. In September, 1871, three months before the Act came into force, he was offered the position of Chief Superintendent of Education for New Brunswick by the Government of the day. He accepted, and entered upon his duties with his accustomed energy. He has ever since filled the position, and persons who are ent.i.tled to speak with authority aver that he has done for education in New Brunswick all, and more than all, that he had previously accomplished for education in Nova Scotia. He now enjoys the distinction of having brought into operation in two Provinces an enduring and efficient system of public education.

He is President of the Educational Inst.i.tute of New Brunswick, and a member of the Senate of the Provincial University. The Baptist Convention of the Maritime Provinces (of which, in 1875-6, he was President) elected him in 1877 one of the Governors of the University of Acadia College. His time is entirely devoted to his educational duties, and he has reason for self-gratulation at the satisfactory results which have attended his efforts in the two Provinces which have been the scene of his labours.

THE HON. MATTHEW CROOKS CAMERON.

Mr. Cameron was for many years the best-known Nisi Prius lawyer at the Bar of his native Province, and his personal appearance is familiar to a greater number of persons than is that of any professional man in western Canada. For some years prior to his elevation to the Bench he was also prominent in political life, but it was at the Bar that his greenest laurels were won, and it is by his professional achievements that he will be longest remembered. He was born at Dundas, in the county of Wentworth, on the 2nd of October, 1822. His father, the late Mr. John McAlpin Cameron, was, as his name imports, of Celtic stock. The latter emigrated from the Highlands of Scotland to Upper Canada in 1819, and settled at Dundas, where he engaged in commercial pursuits. In 1826 he became Deputy Clerk of the Crown for the Gore District, and removed to Hamilton. He subsequently entered the service of the Canada Company, and remained in it for many years. He died at his home in Toronto, at an advanced age, in 1866. His wife, the mother of the subject of this sketch, was English. She was a native of the county of Northumberland, and her maiden name was Miss Nancy Foy. She died in Toronto many years ago.

The subject of this sketch was the youngest of his family, and was the only member of it born on this side of the Atlantic. He was named after Mr. Matthew Crooks, of Ancaster, a brother of the Hon. James Crooks, and an uncle of the present Minister of Education. At the time of the removal of the family from Dundas to Hamilton he was about four years of age; and he soon afterwards began to attend his first school, which was a small local establishment presided over by a Mr. Randall. Later, he was placed at the Home District Grammar School, on the corner of Newgate and New Streets--now Adelaide and Jarvis Streets--Toronto, where many boys who subsequently became distinguished in Canadian public life received their early training. In 1838 he entered Upper Canada College, where he remained nearly two years. His educational career was cut short in 1840 by an accident which was destined to affect the whole course of his future life. One day, while out shooting with two of his schoolfellows in the neighbourhood of Toronto, one of the latter, who does not seem to have been a very skilful marksman, carelessly fired off his gun at an inopportune moment, and young Cameron received the charge in his ankle, part of the joint of which was completely blown away. He was conveyed home, and was confined to his room for months. It was out of the question that he should ever recover the perfect use of his disabled ankle, and it was announced to him that he must never hope to walk again without the a.s.sistance of a crutch. It must have been a cruel blow to him, for he was a boy of joyous nature, full of activity and life, and by no means given to injuring his health by close application to his studies. From this time forward his habits and train of thought underwent a change. There were no more frivolity and thoughtlessness, no more shooting expeditions, no more of the active sports and pastimes of happy boyhood. Life, thenceforward, was to be contemplated from its serious side. He did not return to college. His choice of the legal profession was largely due to the fact that his two elder brothers, John and Duncan, had already embraced that calling. He entered the office of Messrs. Gamble & Boulton, barristers, of Toronto, and served the term of his articles there. He studied with much diligence, and gave evidence of great apt.i.tude for his chosen profession. In Trinity Term, 1848, he was admitted as an attorney and solicitor, and in Hilary Term of 1849 he was called to the Bar.

He at once began to go on circuit, and he had not been many months at the Bar before he was in the very front rank. When it is borne in mind that his compet.i.tors were such men as Henry Eccles, John Hillyard Cameron, Philip Vankoughnet, and the present Mr. Justice Hagarty, it will be admitted that a young man who could hold his own against such rivals must have possessed exceptional abilities. Mr. Cameron's most salient qualifications consisted of a competent knowledge of his profession, a subtle power of a.n.a.lyzing evidence, a ready command of language, an impressive utterance and delivery, and--more than all--a manner which was open and confidential without being familiar, and which to most jurymen was suggestive of honest conviction. Though of somewhat contracted physique, he contrived to get through an amount of work which few men endowed with greater robustness of frame could have accomplished. His popularity grew apace, and erelong his practice was second to that of no man at the Bar of this Province. His popularity and practice were not confined to any particular neighbourhood, but extended throughout the whole of western Canada; and the only two counties in which he has not held briefs are the counties of Lanark and Renfrew. His briefs embraced every variety of pleading, civil and criminal. In all sorts of cases, and with all cla.s.ses of jurors, he was thoroughly at home, and his efforts were generally crowned with that best proof of ability--success.

At the outset of his career at the Bar he was perhaps more a.s.siduous in his attendance at a.s.sizes in the Gore District than elsewhere, as his brother John practised his profession in Hamilton--and afterwards in Brantford--and was able to throw a good many briefs in his way. As the years pa.s.sed by, the question became, not how to obtain briefs, but how to get through the labour they imposed. Mr. Cameron, however, is not only endowed with great capacity for hard work, but has a genuine liking for it. His exceeding quickness of perception and apprehension was very often displayed during his career at the Bar, and it was said of him that he could acquire a more accurate knowledge of his case after it had been opened than most of his compet.i.tors could obtain by a week's preparation.

Soon after completing his legal studies Mr. Cameron formed a partnership with his former princ.i.p.al, the late Mr. William Henry Boulton. Several years later he entered into partnership with the Hon. William Cayley, who held the portfolio of Minister of Finance in the Government formed under the auspices of Sir Allan Macnab in 1854. Mr.--now Dr.--Daniel McMichael was subsequently admitted, and the firm of Messrs. Cayley, Cameron & McMichael long had a business second to that of no firm in the Province. The partnership subsequently underwent various modifications, but its members have always maintained its position as one of the leading legal firms in Toronto.

The first ten years of his legal career were devoted by Mr. Cameron almost exclusively to his profession. He then began to take part in munic.i.p.al affairs. In 1859 he represented St. James's Ward in the Toronto City Council. In January, 1861, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the mayoralty. He was possessed of strong political convictions, and was frequently importuned to enter Parliament. He was a very p.r.o.nounced Conservative in his views, as his father before him had been, and at the general election of 1861 he offered himself to the electors of North Ontario as a candidate for a seat in the a.s.sembly. He secured his return, and sat in the House until the general election of 1863, when, upon presenting himself to his const.i.tuents for reelection he was defeated. A vacancy occurring in the representation for North Ontario in the summer of 1864, he once more offered himself as a candidate, and was on this occasion returned. He continued to represent North Ontario in the a.s.sembly until Confederation, when he was unsuccessful in his attempt to secure his return for the House of Commons. He accordingly accepted office in the Sandfield Macdonald Coalition Administration in Ontario, and was returned for East Toronto, in which const.i.tuency he resides, and which he continued to represent in the Local Legislature until the close of his Parliamentary career. He held the offices of Provincial Secretary and Registrar from July, 1867, until the 25th of July, 1871, when he became Commissioner of Crown Lands. The latter office he held until the fall of the Government in the following December, in consequence of the adverse vote of the House on the railroad subsidy question. Upon the formation of a new Government under the premiership of the Hon. Edward Blake, Mr. Cameron became leader of the Opposition, and continued to act in that capacity for a period of four years. His Parliamentary career was marked by sterling honour and integrity, and by inflexible devotion to his Party. Mr. Cameron is one of the few men who have taken a very prominent part in public life in this country during the last few years, and yet have escaped charges of political corruption and dishonesty. No man in Canada believes him to be capable of a corrupt or dishonest act, for the advancement either of his own interests or those of his Party. It must be confessed, however, that he was not seen at his best on the floor of Parliament. Some of his political ideas are widely at variance with prevailing tendencies, and some of his Parliamentary utterances had an unmistakable flavour of the lamp. The Halls of the Legislature were not a thoroughly congenial sphere for him, and the full measure of his strength was seldom or never put forward there. He was sometimes commonplace, and sometimes carping and fretful. Before a jury, on the other hand, he was always a formidable power, and was always master of himself. His duties as a Cabinet Minister were somewhat onerous, but his capacity for hard work enabled him to get through them more easily than most persons could have done under similar circ.u.mstances, and his attendance on circuit was never interrupted for any considerable time. His preeminence at the Bar was undisputed, and his influence over juries suffered no diminution. He had been a Queen's Counsel since 1863, and a Bencher of the Law Society of Ontario since 1871; and when he was elevated to the Judicial Bench on the 15th of November, 1878, the appointment was regarded by the legal profession and the country at large as a fitting tribute to his character and professional standing. His rank is that of Senior Puisne Judge of the Court of Queen's Bench. As a Judge, he displays the same characteristics by which he was distinguished while at the Bar, viz., quickness of perception, and a ready grasp of the main points of an argument. He has rendered several important judgments, the points of which are well known to members of the legal profession.

Mr. Cameron was concerned in organizing the Liberal-Conservative a.s.sociation of Toronto, and was President of it from the time of its formation until his elevation to the Judicial Bench. He was also Vice-President of the Liberal-Conservative Convention held in Toronto in September, 1874. Apart from his strictly professional and political duties, Mr. Cameron has held various positions of more or less public importance. As far back as 1852 he was appointed by the Hincks-Morin Government a Commissioner, jointly with the late Colonel Coffin, to inquire into the causes of the frequent accidents which had then recently occurred on the Great Western Railway. He was one of the original promoters and Directors of the Dominion Telegraph Company, and of several prominent Insurance Companies. He is a member of several social, charitable and national a.s.sociations, including the Caledonian and St. Andrew's Societies. He is a widower. On the 1st of December, 1851, he married Miss Charlotte Ross Wedd, of Hamilton, who died on the 14th of January, 1868. He has a family, the members whereof all reside with him in Toronto.

THE HON. SIR LOUIS H. LAFONTAINE, BART.

The name of Sir Louis Lafontaine is intimately a.s.sociated in the public mind with that of his friend and a.s.sociate Robert Baldwin. What the latter was in Upper Canada, such was Sir Louis in the Lower Province--the leader of a numerous, an exacting, and a not always manageable political party. These two statesmen were the leading spirits on behalf of their respective Provinces in two Governments which are known in history by their joint names. Their personal intimacy and active co-operation extended over only about ten years, but the bond of union between them during that period was closely knit, and their mutual confidence was complete. They fought side by side with perfect fealty to each other and to the State, and their retirement from public life was almost simultaneous. Their mutual relations, both public and private, were marked by an almost chivalrous courtesy and respect, and even after they had ceased to take part in the struggles with which both their names are identified, they continued to think and speak of each other with an enthusiasm which was not generally supposed to belong to the nature of either.

Sir Louis was in some respects the most remarkable man that Lower Canada has produced. Though he identified himself with many important measures of Reform, the temper of his mind, more especially during his latter years, was eminently aristocratic and Conservative. His disposition was not one that could properly be described as genial. He was not a perfect tactician, and had not the faculty of making himself "all things to all men." Coriola.n.u.s himself had not a more supreme contempt for "the insinuating nod" whereby the elector is wheedled out of his vote. His demeanour was generally somewhat cold and repellent, and though he was thoroughly honourable, and respected by all who knew him, he was not a man of many warm personal friends. In the sketch of Robert Baldwin's life we have given Sir John Kaye's estimate of that gentleman's character and aspirations, as reflected in the letters and papers of Lord Metcalfe. The estimate is so wide of the mark that our readers will probably be disposed to place little reliance upon Sir John's capability for gauging the public men of Canada. In the case of the subject of the present sketch, however, Lord Metcalfe's biographer has contrived to stumble upon a much more accurate judgment. Speaking of Mr. Lafontaine, during his tenure of office as Attorney-General for Canada East, in 1843, he tells us that "all his better qualities were natural to him; his worse were the growth of circ.u.mstances. Cradled, as he and his people had been, in wrong, smarting for long years under the oppressive exclusiveness of the dominant race, he had become mistrustful and suspicious; and the doubts which were continually floating in his mind had naturally engendered indecision and infirmity of purpose. But he had many fine characteristics which no evil circ.u.mstances could impair.

He was a just and an honourable man. His motives were above all suspicion. Warmly attached to his country, earnestly seeking the happiness of his people, he occupied a high position by the force rather of his moral than of his intellectual qualities. He was trusted and respected rather than admired." If we omit the reference to indecision and infirmity of purpose, we may accept the foregoing as being, so far as it goes, a not inaccurate estimate of the character of Mr.

Lafontaine. The excepted reference, however, shows how little the writer could really have known of the subject of his remarks. So far from being undecided or infirm of purpose, Mr. Lafontaine was almost domineering and tyrannical in his firmness. He was very reluctant to receive discipline, and was generally disposed to prefer his own judgment to that of any one else. It will be news, indeed, to such of his colleagues as still survive, to learn that Sir Louis Lafontaine was infirm of purpose. Sir Francis Hincks, who is able to speak with high authority on the subject, declares in one of his political pamphlets that he never met a man less open to such an imputation. Other equally trustworthy authorities have borne similar testimony, and indeed the whole course of his political life furnishes a standing refutation to the charge. Sir Louis was intellectually far above most of those with whom he acted, and he was endowed by nature with an imperious will. He brooked contradiction, or even moderate remonstrance, with an ill grace. Had he been of a more conciliating temper he would doubtless have been vastly more popular. His sincerity and uprightness have never, so far as we are aware, been called in question.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LOUIS H. LAFONTAINE, signed as L. H. LAFONTAINE]

He was born near the village of Boucherville, in the county of Chambly, Lower Canada, in October, 1807. He was the third son of Antoine Menard Lafontaine, of Boucherville, whose father sat in the Lower Canadian Legislature from 1796 to 1804. His mother's maiden name was Marie J.

Bienvenu. There is nothing to be said about his early life. He studied law, and in due time was called to the Bar of Lower Canada, and settled in Montreal. He succeeded in his profession, and while still a very young man achieved a prominent position and an extensive practice. He acc.u.mulated considerable wealth, which was augmented by an advantageous marriage, in 1831, to Adele, daughter of A. Berthelot, a wealthy and eminent advocate of Quebec. He entered political life in 1830, when he was only twenty-three years of age, as a Member of the Legislative a.s.sembly for the populous county of Terrebonne. He at this time held and advocated very advanced political views, and was a follower of Louis J.

Papineau. He was not always subordinate to his leader, however, and as time pa.s.sed by he ceased to work cordially with Mr. Papineau. Their differences were of temperament rather than of principle, and erelong a complete estrangement took place between them. Mr. Lafontaine, however, still continued to advocate advanced radicalism, not only from his place in Parliament, but through the medium of the newspaper press. He continued to sit in the a.s.sembly as representative for Terrebonne until the rebellion burst forth, in which he was so far implicated that a warrant was issued against him for treason, and he deemed it wise to withdraw from Canada. He fled to England, whence he made good his escape across the channel to France. His residence there, unlike that of Papineau, was only of brief duration. He returned to his native land in 1840, having gained wisdom by experience. He was opposed to the project of uniting the Provinces, and spoke against it from the platform at Montreal and elsewhere with great vehemence; but after the pa.s.sing of the Act of Union he acquiesced in what could no longer be avoided, and in 1841 he offered himself once more to his old const.i.tuents of Terrebonne, as a candidate for a seat in the Parliament of the United Provinces. His candidature was not successful, but, chiefly through the instrumentality of Robert Baldwin, who had just been honoured with a double return, he was on the 21st of September elected for the Fourth Riding of the county of York, in Upper Canada. It will be understood from this alliance that Mr. Lafontaine's views had undergone considerable modification. He now perceived that the rebellion of 1837-8 had been not merely a crime, but a political blunder, as there had never been any chance of its becoming permanently successful. With regard to the Union of the Provinces, he looked upon it as a scheme which had been forced upon the Lower Canadian French population, but which, having been accomplished, might as well be worked in common between his compatriots and Canadians of British origin. By taking a part in the work of Government he would not only win an honourable position, but would be able to obtain many favours and concessions for Lower Canadians which he could not hope to obtain as a private indvidual. Actuated by some such motives as these, he in 1842 joined with Mr. Baldwin in forming the first Ministry which bears their joint names, he himself holding the portfolio of Attorney-General for the Lower Province. Having vacated his seat on accepting office on the 16th of September, he was on the 8th of October following reelected for the Fourth Riding of York. He represented that const.i.tuency until November, 1844, when he was returned to the Second Parliament of United Canada by the electors of Terrebonne.

He sat for Terrebonne until after his acceptance of office as Attorney-General for Lower Canada in the second Baldwin-Lafontaine Administration, formed in March, 1848, after which he was returned for the city of Montreal, which he thenceforward continued to represent in Parliament so long as he remained in public life.

Soon after Mr. Lafontaine's acceptance of office, in the autumn of 1842, he proposed to Sir Charles Bagot, who was then Governor-General, that an amnesty should be granted to all persons who had taken part in the rebellion in 1837-8. To this proposal His Excellency was not disposed to a.s.sent without careful consideration, and probably until he could communicate with the Imperial Government. Mr. Lafontaine then urged that, if an amnesty was for the present considered unadvisable, the various prosecutions for high treason pending at Montreal might be abandoned. To this Sir Charles, after careful consideration, expressed his willingness to a.s.sent, except in the single case of the arch-conspirator, Louis Joseph Papineau. Mr. Lafontaine had long ceased to sympathize with Mr. Papineau's political views, but he was not disposed to acquiesce in the proposed exception, and for a time the negotiations fell through. It was subsequently renewed, but before any definite steps could be taken in the matter the Governor-General's health gave way, and he rapidly sank into his grave. After the accession of Sir Charles Metcalfe, Mr. Lafontaine urged his proposal upon the new Governor, and finally succeeded in carrying his point. Mr. Lafontaine, as Attorney-General, was instructed to file a _nolle prosequi_ to the indictments against Mr. Papineau, as well as to those against other political offenders. He obeyed his instructions with prompt.i.tude, and Mr. Papineau soon afterwards returned to this country. Erelong the "old man eloquent" found his way into Parliament, where he for several years made himself a thorn in the flesh to some of his old colleagues of the ante-Union days.

The first Baldwin-Lafontaine Ministry resigned office in November, 1843, in consequence of the arbitrary conduct of Sir Charles Metcalfe. All the circ.u.mstances connected with this resignation are narrated at sufficient length elsewhere in these pages. Mr. Lafontaine remained in Opposition until March, 1848, when he and his colleagues again came into power. During the interval he had steadily held his ground in the estimation of the Reform element in the French Canadian population, of whom he was the acknowledged leader. The history of the second Baldwin-Lafontaine Administration[10] in which Mr. Lafontaine held the portfolio of Attorney-General East, has been given in previous sketches, and there is no need for repeating the details here. It was Mr.

Lafontaine who, in February, 1849, introduced the famous Rebellion Losses Bill, which gave rise to so much heated debate in the House, and to such disgraceful proceedings outside. Mr. Lafontaine, as the actual introducer of the Bill, came in for his full share of the odium attaching to that measure. His house in Montreal was attacked by the mob, and although the flames were extinguished in time to save the building, the furniture and library shared the fate of those in the Houses of Parliament, with the fate of which readers of the sketch of Lord Elgin are already familiar. After much wilful destruction of valuable property the rioters waxed bolder, and proceeded to maltreat loyal subjects in the streets in the most shameful manner. Mr.

Lafontaine himself narrowly escaped personal maltreatment. A second attack was made upon his house. The military, or some occupants of the house, finding it necessary to use extreme measures, fired upon the mob, wounding several, and killing one man, whose name was Mason. For a few minutes after this time it seemed not improbable that Mr. Lafontaine would be torn in pieces. Yells rent the air, and it was loudly proclaimed that a Frenchman had shed the blood of an Anglo-Saxon. The hour of danger pa.s.sed, however, and Mr. Lafontaine escaped without personal injury. The unanimous verdict of a coroner's jury acquitted him of all blame for the death of the misguided man who had fallen a victim to his zeal for riot. The verdict had a quieting effect upon the public mind. Meanwhile the Governor-General had tendered his resignation, but as his conduct was approved of both by the Local Administration and by the Home Authorities, he, at their urgent request, consented to remain in office. In consequence of this disgraceful riot, however, it was not considered desirable to continue the seat of Government at Montreal. The Legislature thenceforth sat alternately at Toronto and Quebec, until 1866, when Ottawa became the permanent capital of the Dominion.

Notwithstanding all the excitement, and the opposition to which he was subjected, Mr. Lafontaine generally contrived to carry through any measure which he had very much at heart. There were certain popular measures, however, which he never had at heart, and to which, although the leader of a professedly Liberal Administration, he could never be induced to lend his countenance. After Responsible Government had become an accomplished fact, there was no measure so imperatively demanded by Upper Canadian Reformers as the secularization of the Clergy Reserves.

In the Lower Province the measure most desired by the people was the abolition of the Seignorial Tenure. To neither of these projects would Mr. Lafontaine consent. He had an immense respect for vested rights, and does not seem to have fully recognized the fact that so-called vested rights are sometimes neither more nor less than vested wrongs. Yet, notwithstanding his hostility to these measures, he continued to hold the reins of power, for he was regarded as an embodiment, in his own person, of the unity of the French-Canadian race. He was, however, like his colleague, Robert Baldwin, too moderate in his views for the times in which his later political life was cast. The progress of Reform was too rapid for him, and he finally made way for more advanced and more energetic men. His retirement from office and from political life took place towards the close of 1851. After his retirement he devoted himself to professional pursuits, and continued to do so until the death of Sir James Stuart, Chief Justice of the Lower Province, in the summer of 1853, left that position vacant. On the 13th of August Mr. Lafontaine was appointed to the office, and on the 28th of August, 1854, he was created a Baronet. In 1861, having been a widower for some years, he married a second time, his choice being Jane, daughter of Mr. Charles Morrison, of Berthier, and widow of Mr. Thomas Kinton, of Montreal. He continued to occupy the position of Chief Justice until his death, which took place on the morning of the 26th of February, 1864. During his tenure of that office he also presided at the sittings of the Seignorial Tenure Court. He attained high rank as a jurist, and his decisions, which were always delivered with a weighty impressiveness of manner, are regarded with very great respect by his successors, and by the legal profession generally.

Mr. Robert Christie, the historian of Lower Canada, contrasts the political character of Mr. Lafontaine with that of his early colleague, Mr. Papineau. Mr. Christie knew both the personages well, and was quite capable of discriminating between them. "Mr. Lafontaine," he says, "it is pretty generally admitted, has, by consulting only the practicable and expedient, acted wisely and well, amidst the difficulties that beset his position as Prime Minister, and upon the whole, though there are derogating circ.u.mstances in the course of it, his administration has been eminently successful. It was, in fact, from the impetuous and blind pursuit of the impracticable and inexpedient, that Mr. Papineau lost himself, shipwrecking his own and his party's hopes, and, with his example and failure before him, it is to Mr. Lafontaine's credit that he has had the wisdom to profit by them."

Sir Louis had no issue by his first wife. By his second wife he had one son, to whom he was very much attached, and upon whom he looked as the transmitter of his name, and of the t.i.tle which he had so honourably won. The little fellow, however, died in childhood, and the t.i.tle became extinct. Lady Lafontaine still resides in Montreal.

JOHN CHRISTIAN SCHULTZ, M.D.

Dr. Schultz has had some adventurous pa.s.sages in his life, and has played a by no means insignificant part in the history of the Prairie Province. He was born at Amherstburgh, in the county of Ess.e.x, Upper Canada, on the 1st of January, 1840. He is a son of the late Mr. William Schultz, a native of Denmark, who was for many years engaged in business as a merchant at Amherstburgh. His mother was Eliza, daughter of Mr.

Willam Riley, of Bandon, Ireland.

After receiving his primary education at the public schools of Amherstburgh, he entered Oberlin College, Ohio. This inst.i.tution was then held in high consideration by many persons in this country, and some of our prominent men have been educated there. Mr. Schultz remained there long enough to pa.s.s through the Arts course. Having chosen the medical profession as his future calling, he studied medicine at Queen's College, Kingston, and afterwards at the Medical Department of Victoria College, in Toronto. He had conceived the design of emigrating to Mexico, with a view to practising his profession there, but after graduating as M.D., in the spring of 1860, he relinquished that design, and found his way, by the rude and toilsome route then in vogue, to the Red River Settlement. The community there at that time consisted of about eight thousand persons, separated from the city of St. Paul, Minnesota, by a distance of 550 miles of country, a great part of which was owned by the Ojibway and Sioux Indians. There was of course no railway in that part of the world in those days, and anyone undertaking to travel from St. Paul to Fort Garry entered upon a journey which was not only toilsome but perilous. The barbarians all along the route were fierce and intractable, not much given to discriminating between subjects of Great Britain and those of the United States. Between the latter and the Indians there was much ill-feeling, and murders and a.s.sa.s.sinations of white travellers were matters of frequent occurrence.

After enduring many hardships, Dr. Schultz reached Fort Garry, and there commenced the practice of his profession. He soon afterwards entered upon the traffic in furs, a pursuit which was very profitable in those days, but which was still held as a monopoly by the Hudson's Bay Company. The great Company doubtless well knew that it would not much longer be permitted to enjoy its monopoly, but it was not disposed to encourage rivalry, and looked upon Dr. Schultz's interference with no friendly eye. There are of course two sides to this question. The Company's agents were sometimes overbearing and tyrannical in resisting the encroachments of free-traders. On the other hand, it was scarcely to be expected that they would encourage or quietly submit to interference with what they regarded as the Company's exclusive rights. In spite of all opposition, however, Dr. Schultz continued to carry on his operations with great profit to himself for some years. His negotiations with the Indians and half-breeds rendered it necessary that he should traverse a wide extent of country, and he thus gained an accurate knowledge of the topography of the North-West, as well as an intimate acquaintance with Indian manners, traditions, and customs.

In the spring of 1862 Dr. Schultz was unfortunate enough to be away from home when the terrible Sioux ma.s.sacre occurred in Minnesota, completely cutting off connection between its frontier settlements and Fort Garry, and spreading devastation and terror throughout the whole of the North-West. The Doctor, after waiting some time at St. Paul, where he had been transacting business, attempted the pa.s.sage through the Indian country by the "Crow Wing" trail, as it was called. After many days and nights of cautious travelling, and one capture by the Indians, from which he owed his release to his ability to convince the savages that he was English and not American, he arrived safely at Pembina, whence he made his way to Fort Garry. In 1864 he became the owner and editor of the _Nor'-Wester_, the pioneer newspaper of the North-West, and laboured hard through its columns to make the great agricultural value of the country known. His policy was, of course, diametrically opposed to that of the Hudson's Bay Company, and as time pa.s.sed by, the hostility between that Company and himself became very bitter and implacable. He subsequently disposed of the _Nor'-Wester_ to Dr. Walter Robert Bown, by whom the paper was conducted at the time of the outbreak to be presently referred to.

In 1868 Dr. Schultz married Miss Agnes Campbell Farquharson, formerly of Georgetown, British Guiana. He soon afterwards built the house which was destined to become historical for the defence against Riel and his insurrectionary force. In the autumn of 1868 he greatly extended the fur business in which he was engaged, sending expeditions for that purpose to the far north and west. The following autumn brought with it the first mutterings of the Red River Rebellion, and it was seen that Dr.