and Metropolitan of a new ecclesiastical province--that of St. Boniface,
which comprehends the Archdiocese of St. Boniface, the Diocese of St.
Albert, and the Vicariates Apostolic of Athabaska-Mackenzie and British
Columbia. As already stated, Archbishop Taché's health began to fail
during his harassing journey in the winter of 1860. The calamities above
mentioned, the losses to be repaired requiring unceasing toil, and,
above all, it may be said, the mental suffering of the three previous
years, hastened the progress of the disease which seized Archbishop
Taché in December, 1872, and kept him bedridden during the whole winter.
The malady has since partially subsided, but His Grace still suffers
constantly, more or less, and his strength is by no means equal to what
his appearance would indicate.
In 1875 Archbishop Taché received a remarkable token of the sympathy he
commands in the Province of Quebec. On the 24th of June, the thirtieth
anniversary of his departure from Montreal, and the twenty-fifth of his
election to the episcopate, His Grace was made the recipient of a very
uncommon and valuable gift, that of a splendid organ for his cathedral.
The instrument, which cost about $3,000, was built in Montreal by Mr.
Mitchell, who accompanied it to St. Boniface, at the expense of the
donors, to place it in the loft prepared for it there, "to raise its
rich and melodious tones, as the expression of the feelings of the
numerous friends and admirers of a holy missionary, a devoted bishop,
and a noble citizen."
In 1877 Lord Dufferin visited the Province of Manitoba. Many looked
forward with a certain anxiety to see the attitude the Archbishop of St.
Boniface would take towards or receive from the Governor-General. That
feeling was caused by the recollection of what Lord Dufferin had written
to England with regard to Bishop Taché, and of how His Grace had
repudiated His Excellency's assertions in the pamphlet alluded to above.
Those better acquainted with His Grace knew quite well that every other
feeling would be silenced in order to give vent only to that of profound
respect towards the representative of Her Majesty, and for them it was
no matter of surprise to see His Grace, contrary to his practice, appear
daily in public, when an opportunity afforded itself, to testify his
respect for the illustrious visitor. This, of course, was felt by Lord
Dufferin, who shortly after wrote to a friend: "I left Bishop Taché very
well and in good spirits. Nothing could have been kinder than the
reception he gave me." It may even be said that Lord Dufferin seemed
eager to express his esteem for the venerable prelate. The second day
after His Excellency's arrival he was at the Archiepiscopal Palace of
St. Boniface, and answered as follows to an address from the Archbishop
and Catholic clergy of the locality:--
"MONSEIGNEUR et MESSIEURS,--I need not assure you that it is with great
satisfaction that I at length find myself within the jurisdiction of
Your Grace, and in the neighbourhood of those localities where you and
your clergy have for so many years been prosecuting your sacred duties.
Your Grace, I am sure, is well aware how thoroughly I understand and
appreciate the degree to which the Catholic Priesthood of Canada have
contributed to the progress of civilization, from the earliest days till
the present moment, through the length and breadth of Her Majesty's
Dominion, and perhaps there is no region where their efforts in this
direction are more evident or more strikingly expressed upon the face of
the country than here in Manitoba. On many a previous occasion it has
been my pleasing duty to bear witness to the unvarying loyalty and
devotion to the cause of good government and order of yourself and your
brethren, and the kindly feeling and patriotic harmony which I find
prevailing in this Province bear unmistakable witness to the spirit of
charity and sympathy towards all classes of your fellow-citizens by
which Your Lordship and your clergy are animated. To myself individually
it is a great satisfaction to visit the scene of the labours of a great
personage for whom I entertain such a sincere friendship and esteem as I
do for Your Grace, and to contemplate with my own eyes the beneficial
effects produced by your lifelong labours and unwearying self-sacrifice
and devotion to the interests of your flock. I trust that both they and
this whole region may by the providence of God be long permitted to
profit by your benevolent ministrations. Permit me to assure Your Grace
and the clergy of your diocese that both Lady Dufferin and myself are
deeply grateful for the kind and hearty welcome you have prepared for
us." These words, falling from the lips of the immediate representative
of Her Majesty, during an official visit, should go some distance
towards compensating Archbishop Taché for all the unfair accusations
brought against him, and they were a source of heartfelt pleasure to the
large audience surrounding the Governor-General on that occasion. During
the same year an American writer who visited Manitoba, and published a
pamphlet on the country, was taken by the well-known merits and pleasant
intercourse of Monseigneur Taché, of whom he says:--"Of Bishop Taché,
the Archbishop of this great domain, who resides at this mission (St.
Boniface), much, very much, might be said. His travels, labours and
ministry have been extensive and acceptable. Still a few words of the
Psalmist will better express him as he is than any words of mine. 'The
steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and he delighteth in his
way. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that
man is peace.' And so it seems to be with him, in the peaceful air of
this Mission, which, with his kindly, genial way, seems to make the
above-quoted words particularly appropriate, and to cause one to
sincerely wish that 'his days may be long in the land, which the Lord
his God hath given him.'"
In 1879 the friends of the Archbishop dreaded that the wishes expressed
in the last quotation would not be realized. All through the month of
April in that year His Grace was far from well, and on the 2nd of May,
while assisting at a literary entertainment held at the college in
honour of his festal day, he was seized with a severe attack of the
chronic disease from which he suffers. For a whole week much anxiety
prevailed relative to his recovery. Happily he got over the attack, and
three months of rest passed in the Province of Quebec restored His Grace
to his usual condition of health. The Archbishop had proposed crossing
the Atlantic for his decennial visit to Rome, and also to attend the
General Chapter of the Oblate Order. Sickness did not permit His Grace
to make the intended voyage, which would have been the sixth one made by
him to Europe. Archbishop Taché often complains of having lost most of
his energy and activity; nevertheless it is easy to see that he is not
idle concerning the interests of his flock. Last year witnessed the
erection of a splendid college in St. Boniface, a spacious and beautiful
convent in Winnipeg, the new and grand church of St. Mary in the same
city, besides the chapels of Emerson, St. Pie, St. Pierre, and many
other improvements in different localities; and when we know the active
part Archbishop Taché has taken in all these improvements, and the
considerable assistance afforded by him, it must be admitted that his
force is not exhausted. His zeal, energy and activity may be measured to
a certain degree by the following synopsis of what has been accomplished
since his arrival in the country. When Father Taché was ordained Priest
at St. Boniface, in 1845, he was only the sixth Roman Catholic clergyman
in the British Possessions from Lake Superior to the Rocky
mountains--that is to say in the whole diocese of St. Boniface. There
were but two parishes and one mission established in the colony of
Assiniboia, viz.: St. Boniface, St. François Xavier, and St. Paul; and
two missions in the North-West Territories. At present there are in the
same country an Archdiocese, a Diocese and a Vicariate Apostolic,
Archbishop, three Bishops, twenty Secular Priests, sixty-two Oblate
Fathers, thirty Oblate Lay Brothers, three Brothers of the Congregation
of Mary, sixty-five Sisters of Charity, and eleven Sisters of the Holy
Names of Jesus and Mary. There are eighteen parishes in Manitoba, and
more than forty established missions in the North-West Territories.
The above figures will convey some idea of the progress made by the
Roman Catholic religion in the North-West during the last thirty-five
years, and as Archbishop Taché has presided over its affairs for nearly
thirty years as Bishop or Archbishop it is impossible to doubt that he
has displayed a great deal of energy, activity and ability, as well as
much Christian kindness and sympathy.
[Illustration: JAMES COX AIKINS, signed as J. C. AIKINS]
THE HON. JAMES COX AIKINS.
The life of the Minister of Inland Revenue has been rather uneventful.
His father, the late Mr. James Aikins, emigrated from the county of
Monaghan, Ireland, to Philadelphia, in 1816. After a residence of four
years in the Quaker City he removed to Upper Canada, and took up a
quantity of land in the first concession north of the Dundas Road, in
the township of Toronto, about thirteen miles from the town of York.
This was sixty years ago, when that township, like nearly every other
township in the Province, was sparsely settled. There was no church or
place of worship in the neighbourhood, and the itinerant Methodist
preachers were for some years the only exponents of the Gospel that were
seen there. Mr. Aikins, like most Protestants in the north of Ireland,
had been bred to the Presbyterian faith, but soon after settling in
Upper Canada he came under the influence of these evangelists, and
embraced the doctrines of Methodism. His house became a well-known place
of resort for the godly people of the settlement, and services were
frequently held there.
The subject of this sketch is the eldest son of the gentleman above
named, and was born at the family homestead, in the township of Toronto,
on the 30th of March, 1823. He was brought up on his father's farm, and
was early inured to the hardships of rural life in Canada in those
primitive times. He united with the Methodist Body at an early age, and
has ever since been identified with it. He attended the public schools
in the neighbourhood of his home, and afterwards spent some time at the
Upper Canada Academy at Cobourg, which subsequently developed into
Victoria College and University. At the first collegiate examination,
which was held on the 17th of April, 1843, he figured as one of the
"Merit Students." After completing his education he settled down on a
farm in the county of Peel, a few miles from the paternal homestead, and
there remained until about eleven years ago, when he removed to Toronto,
where he has ever since resided. In 1845, soon after leaving college, he
married Miss Mary Elizabeth Jane Somerset, the daughter of a
neighbouring yeoman in Peel. He embraced the Reform side in politics,
and was for many years identified with the Reform Party. His life was
unmarked by any incident of public interest until 1851, when he was
nominated as the representative of his native constituency in the
Assembly. Not feeling prepared for public life at this period he
declined the nomination; but at the general elections held in 1854 he
offered himself as a candidate on the Reform side in opposition to the
sitting member, Mr. George Wright, of Brampton. His candidature was
successful, and he was elected to the Assembly. Upon taking his seat he
recorded his first vote against the Hincks-Morin Administration, and
thus participated in bringing about the downfall of that Ministry. He
took no conspicuous part in the debates of the House, but for some years
continued to act steadily with the Party to which he had allied himself.
He voted for the secularization of the Clergy Reserves, and his voice
was occasionally heard in support of measures relating to public
improvements. He continued to sit for Peel until the general election of
1861, when, owing to his action on the County Town question, which
excited keen sectional opposition, he was defeated by the late Hon. John
Hillyard Cameron. The following year he was elected a member of the
Legislative Council for the "Home" Division, comprising the counties of
Peel and Halton. His majority in the county of Peel alone, where he had
sustained defeat only a few months before, was over 300. He continued to
sit in the Council so long as that Body had an existence. When it was
swept away by Confederation he was called to the Senate of the Dominion,
of which he still continues to be a member. His political views, it is
to be presumed, had meanwhile undergone some modification, as he
accepted office, on the 9th of December, 1867, as Secretary of State in
the Government of Sir John Macdonald, and has ever since been a follower
of that statesman. During his tenure of office the Dominion Lands Bureau
was established, for the purpose of managing the lands acquired in the
North West, chiefly from the Hudson's Bay Company. The scope of the
Bureau has since been extended, and it has become an independent
Department of State under the control of the Minister of the Interior.
The Public Lands Act of 1872 is another measure which dates from Mr.
Aikins's term of office, the measure itself having been in great part
prepared by Colonel John Stoughton Dennis, Surveyor-General. The
disclosures with reference to the sale of the Pacific Railway Charter
resulted, in November, 1873, in the overthrow of the Government. Mr.
Aikins participated in its downfall, and resigned office with his
colleagues. Upon Sir John Macdonald's return to power in October, 1878,
Mr. Aikins again accepted office as Secretary of State, and retained
that position until the month of November, 1880, when there was a
readjustment of portfolios, and he became Minister of Inland Revenue,
which office he now holds. Though he is not an effective speaker, and
makes no pretence to being either brilliant or showy, he has a cool
judgment, and has administered the affairs of his several departments
with efficiency. He is attentive to his duties, is shrewd in selecting
his counsellors and assistants, and has considerable aptitude for
dealing with matters of detail. These qualities, rather than any
profound statesmanship, have placed him in his present high position.
During his residence in the township of Toronto Mr. Aikins held various
municipal offices, and is still Major of the Third Battalion of the Peel
Militia. He is President of the Manitoba and North West Loan Company,
and Vice-President of the National Investment Company. He likewise holds
important positions of trust in connection with the Methodist Church.
THE HON. FELIX GEOFFRION, N.P., P.C.
Mr. Geoffrion is the son of Felix Geoffrion. His mother was the late
Catherine Brodeur. He was born at Varennes, Province of Quebec, on the
4th of October, 1832. From 1854 to 1863 he was Registrar for Verchères.
In the latter year he was elected member of the House of Assembly for
that county--a position which he continued to hold until the
Confederation of the Provinces in 1867, from which date he has been
returned to the House of Commons regularly at every general election. He
has held the Presidency of the Montreal, Chambly and Sorel Railway,
conducting the duties of his office with more than average executive
ability. In 1874 he did signal service to the country by moving, from
his place in Parliament, for a Select Committee to inquire into the
causes of the difficulties existing in the North-West Territories in
1869-70. He became Chairman of this important Committee, and prepared
the report which was afterwards submitted to Parliament--a report which
was remarkable for the clear and concise character of its statements,
and for its fulness of detail. In politics Mr. Geoffrion is a Liberal,
and the warm and active support which he gave to the late Administration
induced Mr. Mackenzie to offer him the portfolio of Minister of Inland
Revenue, on the elevation of the Hon. Mr. Fournier to the Department of
Justice. On the 8th of July, 1874, he was sworn of the Privy Council of
Canada, and on returning to his constituents after accepting office he
was reëlected by acclamation. Though by no means showy, his
administration of affairs was characterized by executive ability of a
high order, as well as by much tact and judgment. He brought to bear on
the duties of his office well-trained business habits, a cautious
reserve, and a talent which almost amounted to genius in departmental
government. In 1876 he became seriously ill, and for a while his life
was despaired of. He rallied, however, and was convalescing when his
physicians advised rest and freedom from the cares and perplexities of
office. He was compelled, therefore, to resign his seat in the Ministry,
much to the regret of his colleagues, who were warmly attached to him.
His resignation took place in December, 1876, and he was succeeded by
Mr. Laflamme. He retained his place in Parliament, however, and at the
general election in September, 1878, he was again returned for his old
constituency, which he has continued to represent uninterruptedly for a
period embracing more than seventeen years. Mr. Geoffrion has all the
elements of the practical politician, and is by profession a Notary
Public in large and lucrative practice.
In October, 1856, he married Miss Almaide Dansereau, of Verchères, the
youngest daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Dansereau.
THE HON. JOHN YOUNG.
The late Mr. Young was in every sense of the word a representative man.
He was representative of the best and most solid side of the Scottish
character, and furnished in his own person a standing answer to the
question which has so often been asked--"Why do Scotchmen succeed so
well in life?" He succeeded because he was steady, sober, of good
abilities, hard-headed, patient, and persevering; and because he did not
set up for himself an impossible ideal. Any man similarly equipped for
the race of life will be tolerably certain to achieve success; and it is
because these characteristics are more commonly found combined among
Scotchmen than among the natives of other lands that Scotchmen are more
generally successful. John Young began life at the foot of the ladder.
He was content to advance step by step, and made no attempt to spring
from the lowest to the topmost rung at a single bound. He was content to
work for all he won, and his winnings were not greater than his deserts.
He left a very decided impress upon the commercial life of his time in
his adopted country, and will long be remembered as a useful and
public-spirited man. In the industrial history of Montreal he played an
important part for forty years, and to him more than to any one else she
owes whatever of mercantile preëminence she possesses. His restless
enterprise impelled him to conceive large schemes, to the carrying out
of which he devoted the best years of his busy life. He would have been
no true son of Scotland if he had been altogether unmindful of his own
interests, but it may be truly said of him that his own aggrandizement
was always subordinated to the public welfare. In the face of strong
opposition, he advocated projects which were much better calculated to
benefit the public than either to advance his own interests or to
conduce to his personal popularity. He was no greedy self-seeker, and
despised the avenues whereby many of his contemporaries advanced to
wealth and position. There was a "dourness" about his character which
would not permit him to bid for popularity. He was independent,
self-reliant, and fond of having his own way, as men who have
successfully carved their own path in life may be expected to be; but he
was always ready to prove that his own way was the right one, and
generally succeeded in doing so. He was a theorist, and some of his
theories were the result of his own intuition, rather than of any mental
training. They were held none the less firmly on that account. People
may differ in opinion as to the soundness of some of his views on trade
questions, but no one will dispute that his advocacy of them was sincere
and disinterested, and that in economical matters he was in many
respects in advance of his time. He has left behind him an honourable
name, and monuments to his memory are to be found in some of the most
stupendous of our public works.
He was born at the seaport town of Ayr, in Scotland, on the 11th of
March, 1811. Hugh Allan, who was also destined to be prominently
identified with the commerce of Montreal, had been born about six months
previously, at Saltcoats, a few miles to the northward, and in the same
shire. The parents of John Young were in the humble walks of life, and
he was early taught to recognize the fact that it would be necessary for
him to make his own way in the world. He was educated at the public
school of his native parish, which he attended until he had entered upon
his fourteenth year. He was at this time much more mature, both
physically and mentally, than most boys of his age, and succeeded,
notwithstanding his youth, in obtaining a situation as teacher of the
parish school at Coylton, a little village about four miles west of Ayr.
Here, for a period of eighteen months, he instructed thirty-five pupils.
It would have been safe to predict that a boy of fourteen who could
preserve discipline over such a number of scholars, many of whom must
have been nearly or quite as old as himself, might safely be trusted to
make his way in life. He saved enough money to pay his passage across
the Atlantic, and in 1826, soon after completing his fifteenth year, he
bade adieu to the associations of his boyhood, and set sail for Canada.
He had not been many days in the country ere he obtained a situation in
a grocery store, kept by a Mr. Macleod, at Kingston, in the Upper
Province. He served his apprenticeship to the grocery business, and then
entered the employ of Messrs. John Torrance & Co., wholesale merchants,
of Montreal. After remaining as a clerk in this establishment for
several years, he, in 1835, formed a partnership with Mr. David
Torrance, a son of the senior partner in the firm of John Torrance &
Co., and took charge of the Quebec branch of the business, which was
carried on under the style of Torrance & Young. He remained in business
in Quebec about five years, during the last three of which he carried on
business alone, the firm of Torrance & Young having been dissolved in
1837.