Produced by Marcia Brooks, Donna M. Ritchey and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Canada Team at
http://www.pgdpcanada.net (This file was produced from
images generously made available by The Internet
Archive/Canadian Libraries)
_THE CANADIAN_
_PORTRAIT GALLERY._
BY
JOHN CHARLES DENT,
ASSISTED BY A STAFF OF CONTRIBUTORS.
VOL. III.
TORONTO:
PUBLISHED BY JOHN B. MAGURN.
1881.
C. B. ROBINSON, PRINTER,
5 JORDAN STREET, TORONTO.
[Entered according to Act of Parliament of Canada, in the year Eighteen
Hundred and Eighty-one, by JOHN B. MAGURN, in the office of the Minister
of Agriculture.]
[Transcriber's Note: Footnotes and Errata are placed at the end of this
file.]
CONTENTS OF VOLUME III.
[A Preface and an Alphabetical Index will be given at the close of the
last volume.]
PAGE.
THE EARL OF DUFFERIN 1
THE REV. ROBERT FERRIER BURNS 13
THE HON. ALBERT NORTON RICHARDS 15
THE RIGHT REV. JOHN TRAVERS LEWIS, LL.D. 17
CHARLES, LORD METCALFE 19
THE HON. ALEXANDER MORRIS 23
THE HON. THOMAS TALBOT 27
THE HON. DAVID LAIRD 41
THE HON. CHARLES E. B. DE BOUCHERVILLE 44
THE REV. SAMUEL S. NELLES, D.D., LL.D. 45
THE HON. WILLIAM HUME BLAKE 48
THE REV. ALEXANDER TOPP, D.D. 54
THE HON. HENRI GUSTAVE JOLY 56
THE HON. MACKENZIE BOWELL 58
THE REV. JAMES RICHARDSON, D.D. 60
LORD SEATON 66
THE HON. SIR DOMINICK DALY 69
THE HON. WILLIAM MCMASTER 72
THE HON. WILFRID LAURIER 75
THE RIGHT HON. SIR CHARLES BAGOT 77
LA SALLE 79
THE RIGHT REV. JAMES W. WILLIAMS, D.D. 90
LIEUT.-COL. CASIMIR STANISLAUS GZOWSKI 91
THEODORE HARDING RAND, A.M., D.C.L. 98
THE HON. MATTHEW CROOKS CAMERON 100
THE HON. SIR LOUIS H. LAFONTAINE, BART. 104
JOHN CHRISTIAN SCHULTZ, M.D. 109
THE HON. GEORGE WILLIAM BURTON 114
LORD DORCHESTER 116
THE HON. WILLIAM PEARCE HOWLAND, C.B., K.C.M.G. 124
THE MOST REV. MICHAEL HANNAN, D.D. 128
GEORGE PAXTON YOUNG, M.A. 129
THE HON. TELESPHORE FOURNIER 132
THE HON. WILLIAM OSGOODE 133
THE HON. WILLIAM MORRIS 135
THE HON. THOMAS D'ARCY MCGEE 138
DAVID ALLISON, M.A., LL.D. 149
THE HON. THOMAS GALT 152
THE RIGHT REV. WILLIAM BENNETT BOND, M.A., LL.D. 154
THE HON. LEMUEL ALLAN WILMOT, D.C.L. 156
THE HON. HENRY ELZÉAR TASCHEREAU 165
THE HON. ALFRED GILPIN JONES 167
THE HON. JOHN NORQUAY 170
THE HON. SIR RICHARD JOHN CARTWRIGHT 172
THE HON. THEODORE ROBITAILLE 175
THE HON. SAMUEL HUME BLAKE 177
THE MOST REV. ALEXANDRE ANTONIN TACHÉ 181
THE HON. JAMES COX AIKINS 191
THE HON. FELIX GEOFFRION, N.P., P.C. 193
THE HON. JOHN YOUNG 194
THE RIGHT REV. HIBBERT BINNEY, D.D. 200
THE HON. CHRISTOPHER FINLAY FRASER 201
SANDFORD FLEMING, C.E., C.M.G. 203
THE HON. DAVID LEWIS MACPHERSON 206
JAMES YOUNG 209
THE HON. PETER PERRY 212
THE HON. ADAM WILSON 215
THE HON. SIR ALEXANDER CAMPBELL 217
THE HON. LEVI RUGGLES CHURCH 220
CHARLES LENNOX, FOURTH DUKE OF RICHMOND 222
THE HON. CHARLES ALPHONSE PANTALEON PELLETIER, C.M.G. 225
THE HON. WILLIAM PROUDFOOT 227
THE HON. JOHN JOSEPH CALDWELL ABBOTT, B.C.L., D.C.L., Q.C. 229
THE HON. JOHN BEVERLEY ROBINSON 231
HIS GRACE FRANCOIS XAVIER LAVAL-MONTMORENCY 233
JAMES ROBERT GOWAN 236
ROBERT FLEMING GOURLAY 240
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 shores 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 space, 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 title of Baron Dufferin and
Clandeboye. The father of the present representative was Price, fourth
Baron, who succeeded to the title in 1839. Fourteen years prior to his
accession to the title--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 Duchess 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 title 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 passed 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 titles 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 passages in his early career was a visit paid
by him to Ireland during the terrible famine which broke out there in
1846. Deriving his titles 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 title 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
assistance.
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 passed, its provisions had been
anticipated 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 title 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
_attaché_. 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 title of
"Letters from High Latitudes." 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 cock-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 aptitude,
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 massacre 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
title 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 passed before
the close of the session. Several years later he put forth a vigorous
pamphlet entitled, "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 succumbed 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 titles 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 mass 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 Latitudes;" 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 nobleman 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 circumstance 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 institutions 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 passed, 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 passed 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 reassembling, 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 assailed with a
good deal of rancour by one section of the Canadian press. The question
now to be considered is: How far were these assaults justifiable? In
other words: How far, if at all, was Lord Dufferin to blame?
The principal 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 assisted 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 entitled 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; pronounced 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 God 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 circumstances, 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
assented 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 circumstances, 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 assertion 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
circumstances which had come to his knowledge, had made him resolve to
be present at the reassembling of Parliament. The attendance of
Government supporters was not large, very few, if any, being present
from outlying constituencies. 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 circumstances 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 assertions 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
damnatory 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 constituted 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 circumstances, can His Excellency be
blamed if he continued to act upon the advice of his constitutional
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 assenting 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 documents 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 asserted they formed
a part. . . Under these circumstances, 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 circumstances 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 platitudes or commonplaces. He has always something to say which is
appropriate to the particular occasion, and the special circumstances
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 shore,
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, noble 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 classes, 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 associates Principal 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.