The Duke of Richmond's administration of affairs in Canada was not of long duration, but his high rank, and the melancholy circumstances attending his death, have invested his name with an interest which would not otherwise have attached to it. His rank was higher than that of any other Governor known to Canadian annals, and his death was due to the most terrible malady that can afflict mankind.
Charles Gordon Lennox, Duke of Richmond, Earl of March, and Baron Settrington in the peerage of England; Duke of Lennox, Earl of Darnley, and Baron Methuen in the peerage of Scotland; and Duc d'Aubigny in France, was a descendant of King Charles the Second, by the fair and frail Louise Renée de Querouaille, "whom," says Macaulay, "our rude ancestors called Madam Carwell." He was the only son of Lieutenant-General Lord George Henry Lennox, by Lady Louisa Ker, daughter of the Marquis of Lothian, and nephew of the third Duke. He was born in 1764, succeeded to the family titles and estates in 1806, and married, in 1789, Charlotte, daughter of the Duke of Gordon, by whom he had a numerous progeny. He was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1807 till 1813, during the Secretaryships of the Duke of Wellington and Mr.—afterwards the Right Honourable Sir Robert—Peel. Having displayed much ability in the public service, he was appointed Governor-General of Canada as successor to General Sir John Coape Sherbrooke. He entered on the duties of his office in the month of July, 1818, having been accompanied across the Atlantic by his son-in-law, Major-General Sir Peregrine Maitland, who had been appointed Lieutenant-Governor of the Upper Province.
The Duke brought with him a good reputation. His Irish administration had been remarkably successful, and it was believed that his tact, good nature, and capacity for governing would be productive of happy results in this country. He spent the remainder of the summer following his arrival in a trip to the Upper Province, and after his return to Quebec he was engaged in various diplomatic matters which consumed the greater part of the following autumn. He met the Legislature for the first time in January, 1819, when he opened the session with a speech which augured well for his popularity. It was not long, however, before complications arose. There was a gradually widening breach between the branches of the Legislature as to their respective rights and privileges under the constitution, and it soon became evident that the Governor-General was not the man to heal this breach. Among the chief points in dispute was the management of the colonial finances. When the estimates for the year were presented, it was found that there was an increase of £15,000, including an item of £8,000 for a pension-list. The Assembly became alarmed, and referred the estimates to a committee. The committee cut down several items of expenditure, including that relating to pensions. The Upper House declined to pass the supply bill, as amended, and the result was a practical dead-lock in public affairs. It was clear that the Assembly had no confidence in the Executive. The session was prorogued on the 12th of April, nothing of importance having been accomplished. The Governor, in his prorogation speech, expressed his dissatisfaction with the Assembly, and harangued that body in a fashion which aroused much ill-will on the part of the members, who repaired to their homes with a fixed determination to resist to the utmost all attempts to infringe upon their rights. They were not destined, however, to come into any further collision with his Grace the Duke of Richmond. Soon after the close of the session he drew upon the Receiver-General on his own responsibility for the necessary funds to defray the civil list.
Towards the end of the following June the Governor-General left Quebec, on an extended tour through both the Provinces. He had a summer residence at William Henry, or Sorel, in the county of Richelieu, on the River St. Lawrence, where he made a short stay on his upward journey. During his sojourn there he was bitten on the back of his hand by a tame fox with which he was amusing himself. His Grace thought nothing of the matter, although he experienced some uneasy sensations on the following morning. He proceeded on his tour to the Upper Province, visited Niagara Falls, York, and other points of interest, and reached Kingston on his return journey about the middle of August. He had arranged to visit some recently surveyed lots in what was then the back wilderness on the line of the Rideau Canal, between the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa. He set out from Kingston on the 20th of August accompanied by several members of his staff. It had been calculated that the expedition would occupy several days. On the morning of the 21st he began to suffer from a pain in his shoulder. The pain steadily increased and he was recommended to drink some hot wine and water. He did so, but found great difficulty in swallowing it. In the evening he reached Perth, and found the pain somewhat abated. He remained at Perth until the morning of the 24th, when he resumed his journey, and proceeded on foot over a rugged country of thirty miles, accompanied by Lieutenant-Colonel Cockburn. He was much overcome by fatigue and passed a restless night. On the 25th, he arrived within three miles of Richmond West, on the Goodwood River, about twenty miles from Bytown—now Ottawa. There he rested well during the night, and walked to the settlement on the following morning. He felt much relieved, and attributed his healthy sensations to his laborious exercise. In a few hours he again complained of a returning illness, but passed the night with so much composure that he continued his journey on the following morning. It was noticed by his staff that he was moody and irritable, very unlike his ordinary self, and that he displayed an extraordinary aversion to water, when crossing the little streamlets in the forest. He was advised by Lieutenant-Colonel Cockburn to rest himself and send for medical advice, but he continued his journey until he reached a stream where a canoe was waiting to convey him a short distance. He must have been sensible of the terrible fate impending over him for several days before this time, but he bore up with much strength of mind. Upon reaching the stream just mentioned he expressed his desire to embark in the canoe, but declared that he did not think he should be able to do so. He added, "Gentlemen, if I fail, you must force me." His officers had no suspicion of the real state of affairs, and attributed his dread of approaching the water to a sort of delirium induced by the fatigue he had undergone, and the excessive heat of the sun. He was no sooner seated in the canoe than his face displayed such mortal terror at the near neighbourhood of the water that the truth flashed upon one of his officers, who exclaimed: "By Heaven, the Duke has the hydrophobia!" As the Duke proceeded down stream in the canoe, his officers walked through the forest to the point where he was expected to disembark. As they were threading their way along, they were horrified to see His Grace dart across their path into the depths of the wood. They pursued, and after a long chase overtook him. He was raving mad. They secured him, and held him down until the paroxysm had passed, when, with much self-possession, he explained his terrible situation, and requested them to do whatever seemed to them best. They resolved to return with him to the settlement, and began to retrace their steps. Upon reaching the creek which they had crossed on the previous day, His Grace stopped, and begged that they would not force him across the stream, as he felt that he could not survive the effort of crossing the water. They accordingly made a detour into the forest, and soon arrived at a little bush shanty, where they requested the Duke to rest himself. The Duke expressed his desire to take refuge in an adjoining barn, rather than in the shanty, as the barn, he said, was farther from water. His wish was complied with, and he sprang over a fence and entered the barn. There he spent a terrible day, sometimes being quite calm and collected, but with frequent recurrences of his malady. Towards evening he consented to be removed into the shanty, where he was made as comfortable as circumstances admitted of. His paroxysms returned frequently in the course of the following night, and at eight o'clock on the following morning—which was the 28th—death put an end to his sufferings. The ruins of the old hovel on the banks of the Goodwood in which the Duke expired, are, or recently were, still in existence. The spot is in the county of Carleton, about four miles from Richmond, and near the confluence of the Goodwood and Rideau rivers, about sixteen miles from the junction of the Ottawa and Rideau.
His body was conveyed in a canoe to Montreal, where his family awaited his return from his tour. It was subsequently removed in a steamer to Quebec, where it was interred close to the communion table in the Anglican Cathedral. Such was the tragical end of Charles Gordon Lennox, fourth Duke of Richmond.
Mr. Pelletier was born on the 22nd of January, 1837, at Rivière Ouelle, in the county of Kamouraska, in Lower Canada. He is a son of the late Jean Marie Pelletier, by Julie Painchaud his wife. His maternal uncle, the late Rev. C. F. Painchaud, acquired a Provincial reputation as the founder of the College of Ste. Anne de la Pocatière, in the building of which the reverend gentleman expended much of his fortune, and to promoting the prosperity whereof he gave up many years of his life.
It was at Ste. Anne's College that the subject of this sketch was educated. After going through all his classes in a highly creditable manner, he entered Laval University in 1856 as a student at law, being articled to L. de G. Baillairge, Q.C., the Attorney for the City of Quebec. After the required lapse of time Mr. Pelletier passed such a creditable examination that the University, on the 15th of September, 1858, conferred on him the degree of B.C.L. In January, 1860, he was called to the Bar of his native Province, and for several years devoted himself entirely to his profession, in partnership with his former principal, Mr. Baillairge. In July, 1861, he married Suzanne A. Casgrain, a daughter of the late Hon. C. E. Casgrain, member of the Legislative Council of Canada. She died during the following year, leaving one son. In February, 1866, Mr. Pelletier married Virginie A. de Sales La Terrière, second daughter of the late Hon. Marc Paschal de Sales La Terrière, M.D., who sat for many years in the Parliament of Lower Canada, and afterwards in that of the United Provinces.
Mr. Pelletier was for some time Syndie of the Quebec Bar. The Société St. Jean Baptiste de Quebec has three times elected him as its President, an honour seldom conferred more than once on the same person. For several years he served in the Militia of Canada, and the last Fenian raid found him in command as Major of the 9th Voltigeurs de Quebec, which battalion he greatly contributed to organize and maintain in a most efficient state. In 1867, immediately after Confederation, he was unanimously chosen by the Liberal Party in the county of Kamouraska as their standard-bearer, and was put in nomination for the House of Commons. Having secured by his popularity a large majority over his then opponent, the Hon J. C. Chapais, on a plea of informality in the proceedings, a special return was made, and the constituency disfranchised for some months. A short time afterwards the Returning Officer was censured by the Committee on Privileges and Elections for his partisan conduct in the matter. Another election having been ordered, Mr. Pelletier was again chosen as the Liberal candidate, and elected, in February, 1869, by a large majority, for the county of Kamouraska, where party strife has always been very bitter, and where a majority of twenty had previously been considered a decisive victory. At the general election in 1872 Mr. Pelletier again defeated the Conservative candidate, Mr.—now Judge—Routhier. In 1873, the Liberals of Quebec East, having decided to wrest the constituency from the grasp of the faction which had for several years previously controlled the vote there, requested Mr. Pelletier to stand for the Division in the coming contest for the Local Legislature. He acceded to the request, and an active campaign was set on foot. The event was a memorable one. Both parties strained every nerve to ensure the success of their respective candidates, and a loose rein was given to the most violent passions. Threats were freely indulged in, and on the day of nomination a shot was fired at Mr. Pelletier on the hustings by some unknown hand. The bullet grazed his forehead, and passed through the fur cap which he wore. Nothing daunted by this reprehensible act, Mr. Pelletier continued to prosecute his canvass with unabated vigour, and a week later he was returned by a majority of more than 900 votes. In January, 1874, in consequence of the operation of the Act respecting dual representation, he resigned his seat in the Quebec Assembly, and remained in the Federal Parliament. At the general election of 1874, which took place at the advent to power of the Mackenzie Administration, after the retirement of Sir John A. Macdonald's Ministry, Mr. Pelletier was returned by acclamation for Kamouraska.
In December, 1876, the Hon. L. Letellier de St. Just resigned the portfolio of Minister of Agriculture in the Dominion Government, and was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Quebec. Mr. Pelletier succeeded him in the Department of Agriculture, and was sworn of the Privy Council in January, 1877, being appointed at the same time Senator for the Grandville Division. As Minister of Agriculture Mr. Pelletier was appointed President of the Canadian Commission at the Paris International Exhibition of 1878, but was prevented on account of pressing public business, from attending personally in Paris. He, however, devoted his energies while in Ottawa towards making the Canadian exhibit a success. For his services the British Government created him a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, President of the Royal Commission, also acknowledged his services in a very complimentary letter, which was accompanied by His Royal Highness's portrait.
In October, 1878, Mr. Mackenzie placed the resignation of himself and Cabinet in the hands of Lord Dufferin. Mr. Pelletier in consequence ceased to preside over the Department of Agriculture. In 1879 he was created a Queen's Counsel, and since his retirement from the Mackenzie Government he has devoted his time to his profession at the Quebec Bar.
Mr. Pelletier is a gentleman of great tact and urbanity of manner, and his fine social qualities and unassuming demeanour have endeared him to a wide circle of friends. His popular manners, and his constant readiness to preach peace and good fellowship well qualify him as leader of the French Canadian Liberals in the Senate. He has in no small degree been the means of smoothing away that bitterness which for many years marked political contests in Quebec and Kamouraska. An indefatigable worker, Mr. Pelletier is recognized as one of the best election organizers in the Province, and the proof of it lies in the fact that in no county where he persistently worked did victory desert his banner in 1878. He is known as a fast and firm friend, and though he has been mixed up in most of the political contests of the District of Quebec for the past fifteen years, it is believed that he has not a single enemy in the ranks of his opponents.
Vice-Chancellor Proudfoot was born near Errol, a small village of Perthshire, Scotland, situated about midway between Perth and Dundee, on the 9th of November, 1823. He is the third son of the late Rev. William Proudfoot, who was for many years Superintendent of the Theological Institute of the United Presbyterian Church, at London, Ontario. The late Mr. Proudfoot was one of the earliest missionaries sent out to this country by the United Secession Church, as it was called. He came out from Scotland with his family in 1832, and after a few months spent at Little York, removed to London, where he organized a church in which he officiated until his death, in January, 1851, when he was succeeded by his second son, the present incumbent. His life was a busy and useful one, and his services in the cause of theological education have left a decided impress behind them. He was a man of strong political opinions, and had before his emigration from Scotland been identified with the Whig Party. In Canada his sympathies were entirely with the Reformers throughout their long struggle to obtain Responsible Government and equal rights for all. During the troubled times of the rebellion he was subjected to a certain amount of persecution by the Tory Party, but as he of course had no share in the rebellion, and was a loyal subject to British connection, he escaped without serious annoyance. Early in 1838 he was informed by some officious friend that he was an object of suspicion to the ruling powers, and that the Sheriff of the District had been instructed to watch his movements carefully. With characteristic intrepidity he at once repaired to the Sheriff's office, and entered into conversation on the subject with that functionary. He professed his perfect readiness to be taken into custody. The Sheriff, who held Mr. Proudfoot's character in high respect, and who well knew that the Government had nothing to fear from him, begged him to go quietly home and think no more of the matter. He subsequently aided in establishing a church in the neighbouring township of Westminster. Not long afterwards the Theological Institute already referred to was projected. The Presbyterian Body in this country had no regular seat of advanced learning at that time, and candidates for the ministry were subjected to serious drawbacks. Mr. Proudfoot and another clerical gentleman—the Rev. Alexander Mackenzie—were entrusted with the training of students, and out of this arrangement the Theological Institute was finally developed. Many of the leading Presbyterian theologians of Canada received their training at this establishment, and the name of Mr. Proudfoot is a grateful remembrance to them at the present day.
The third son, the subject of this sketch, like his elder brothers, was educated at home by his father, and did not attend any of the public educational institutions. He chose the law for his profession in life, and his studies were prosecuted with that end in view. In 1844 he passed his preliminary examination before the Law Society of Upper Canada, and immediately afterwards entered the office of Messrs. Blake & Morrison, barristers, of Toronto, where he spent the five years prescribed as the period of study for an articled clerk. After his call to the Bar, in Michaelmas Term, 1849, he entered into partnership with the late Mr. Charles Jones, and began practice in Toronto. This partnership lasted about two years, when he was appointed Master and Deputy-Registrar of the Court of Chancery at Hamilton. He had paid special attention to the principles of Equity Jurisprudence, and had received much of his training in those principles from Mr. Blake himself, under whose supervision the Court of Chancery in this Province had been remodelled, and who was at this time Chancellor of Upper Canada. He accordingly removed to Hamilton, and conducted the local business of the Court for three years, when he resigned his position and devoted himself exclusively to practice. He formed a partnership with the late Mr. Samuel Black Freeman and Mr. William Craigie, one of the leading law firms in Hamilton, under the style of Messrs. Freeman, Craigie & Proudfoot. Mr. Proudfoot had exclusive charge of the Equity business of the firm, which attained large dimensions, and became one of the most profitable in Western Canada. The partnership, which was formed in 1854, lasted for eight years, and terminated in 1862, when Mr. Proudfoot withdrew from the firm. He subsequently formed several other partnerships, he himself continuing to devote himself entirely to Equity. During the whole of his professional career he was an adherent of the Reform Party, and used all his influence for the advancement of Liberal principles. In 1872 he was appointed a Queen's Counsel by the Ontario Government, but afterwards declined to have the appointment confirmed by the Government of the Dominion.
His attainments as an Equity lawyer marked him as a fit recipient of judicial honours, and on the 30th of May, 1874, he was appointed to a seat on the Chancery Bench, as successor to Mr. Strong, who had been transferred to the Court of Appeal. His judicial career has thoroughly justified the wisdom of his appointment. He has presided over many important cases, and has rendered some very elaborate and profound judgments on matters connected with ecclesiastical law.
Mr. Proudfoot, in 1853, during his tenure of office as Local Master in Chancery at Hamilton, married Miss Thomson, a daughter of the late Mr. John Thomson, of Toronto. This lady, by whom he had a family of six children, died in 1871. In 1875 he married his second wife, who was Miss Cook, daughter of the late Mr. Adam Cook, of Hamilton. This lady died in 1878.
Though Mr. Abbott's parliamentary career embraces a period of more than twenty years, it is not as a legislator that the Canadian of the future will be likely to remember him. The legislation of 1864 may be said to have decided his future course, for from that year his rapid rise in his profession may be dated, and his extraordinary success in the special branch he had chosen, that of commercial law, first began to develop itself prominently. Before that year he had won distinction at the Bar as an able lawyer and a wise counsellor, but he was still undecided with regard to his future, when a circumstance occurred which promptly determined him. The Insolvent Act of 1864, which he prepared and carried through the House with great ability, proved to be the turning point in his fortunes, and though we have had other legislation on this subject since then, the principles laid down by Mr. Abbott, when introducing his measure, have been steadily retained in all later enactments. Before his bill became law, the only system which existed was the Act under the civil code, which had been found to be both cumbrous and costly in its operation. The country had suffered for several years for the want of something better, and accordingly when Mr. Abbott's Act came into force, it was regarded by the mercantile community as a sterling piece of legislation, and one which was well calculated to add materially to the originator's legal reputation and standing. Mr. Abbott published about the same time a manual which described fully his Act, with notes and the tariff of fees for Lower Canada. This book and the measure itself gave his name wide publicity throughout the Province, and for many years he was the recognized exponent of the principles of the Act which governed the law relating to bankruptcy. Merchants flocked to his office to consult him on a measure which many believed could be explained by no one else, and this formed the nucleus of a practice which has increased from that day to this, to enormous proportions. He is still regarded as the ablest commercial lawyer in the Province of Quebec.
He was born at St. Andrews, in the county of Argenteuil, Lower Canada, on the 12th of March, 1821. His father was the Reverend Joseph Abbott, M.A., first Anglican Incumbent of St. Andrews, who emigrated to this country from England in 1818 as a missionary, and who during his long residence in Canada added considerably to the literary activity of the country. He had not been long in Canada before he married Miss Harriet Bradford, a daughter of the Rev. Richard Bradford, first Rector of Chatham, Argenteuil County. The first fruit of this union was the subject of this sketch. The latter was carefully educated at St. Andrews with a view to a university career, and in due time he was sent to Montreal, where he entered the University of McGill College. He distinguished himself highly at this seat of learning, and graduated as a B.C.L. Shortly after he began the study of law, and in October, 1847, was called to the Bar of Lower Canada. His professional success has already been referred to.
His political life began in 1857, when he contested the county of Argenteuil at the general elections of that year. He was elected a member of the Canadian Assembly, but was not returned until 1859. He continued to represent the constituency in that House until the Union of 1867, when he was returned for the Commons. He was reëlected at the general elections of 1872 and 1874. In October of the last-named year he was unseated, when Dr. Christie was chosen by acclamation. At the general election of September, 1878, he was again a candidate, but again sustained defeat at the hands of his old antagonist Dr. Christie. The latter, however, was unseated, and in February, 1880, Mr. Abbott was again elected for the county.
For a short time in 1862 he held the post of Solicitor-General in the Sandfield Macdonald-Sicotte Administration, and prior to his acceptance of office he was created a Q.C. In 1864, while in Opposition, he was instrumental in introducing two bills which have added to his fame as a lawyer. The first of these was the Jury Law Consolidation Act for Lower Canada. Its principal provisions were to simplify the system of summoning jurors, and the preparation of jury lists. The other law which he added to the statute book was the Bill for collecting judicial and registration fees by stamps. This was the first complete legislation that had taken place on the subject, and as in the case of his other measures, the main principles have been retained in the subsequent legislation which has followed. Besides these, and many less important but useful measures, Mr. Abbott's political work consists of amendments to Bills, suggestions and advice as regards measures affecting law and commerce. His advice at such times has always proved of the greatest value, and it is in this department of legislation that he has achieved the most success. He is a good speaker, but of late years has made no special figure in the House, either as an orator or a debater.
Mr. Abbott is Dean of the Faculty of Law in the University of McGill College, a D.C.L. of that University, and Lieutenant-Colonel of the "Argenteuil Rangers," known in the Department of Militia as the 11th Battalion—a corps raised by him during the patriotic time of the "Trent" excitement. He is also President of the Fraser Institute of Montreal, and Director or law adviser to various companies and corporations.
Twice Mr. Abbott's name came before the public in a manner which gave him great notoriety. He was the prominent figure, after Sir Hugh Allan, in the famous Pacific Scandal episode. Being the legal adviser of the Knight of Ravenscraig, all transactions were carried on through him, and it was a confidential clerk of his who revealed details of the scheme which culminated in the downfall of the Macdonald Cabinet. His second conspicuous appearance on the public stage was in connection with the Letellier case, when he went to England in April, 1879, as the associate of the Hon. H. L. Langevin on the mission which resulted in the dismissal of the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec.
In 1849 he married Miss Mary Bethune, daughter of the Very Reverend J. Bethune, D.D., late Dean of Montreal.
The present Lieutenant-Governor of this Province is the namesake and second son of the late Sir John Beverley Robinson, Baronet, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in the present series. He was born at Beverley House, the paternal homestead, in Toronto, on the 21st of February, 1819. He was educated at Upper Canada College, and was one of the earliest students at that seat of learning, which he attended while it was presided over by the Rev. Dr. J. H. Harris, its first Principal. His collegiate days, and indeed, the days of his boyhood generally, were marked by robustness of constitution, and an excessive fondness for athletics—characteristics which may be said to have accompanied him through life. During Sir Francis Bond Head's disastrous administration of Upper Canadian affairs young Robinson was for some time one of his aides-de-camp, and in this capacity was brought prominently into contact with the troubles of December, 1837. He accompanied His Excellency from Government House to Montgomery's hotel, Yonge Street, on the 7th of the month, when the hotel and Gibson's dwelling-house were burned, and he was thus an eye-witness of the spectacle so graphically described by Sir Francis in the pages of "The Emigrant." A day or two later he was sent to Washington as the bearer of important despatches to the British Minister there, and remained in the American capital several weeks.
Soon after the close of the rebellion Mr. Robinson entered the office of the Hon. Christopher Hagerman, a prominent lawyer and legislator of those days, who held important offices in several administrations, and who was subsequently raised to the Bench. After remaining about two years there he had his articles transferred to Mr. James M. Strachan, of the firm of Strachan & Cameron, one of the leading law firms in Toronto. There he remained until the expiration of his articles, when, in Easter Term of 1844, he was called to the Bar of Upper Canada. He does not appear to have been admitted as an attorney and solicitor until Trinity Term, 1869. Immediately after his call to the Bar he began practice in Toronto, where he formed various partnerships, and continued to practise up to the date of his appointment to the position which he now holds.
On the 30th of June, 1847, he married Miss Mary Jane Hagerman, the second daughter of his former principal. He early began to take an active interest in municipal affairs, and in 1851 was elected as Alderman for St. Patrick's Ward, which at that time included the present wards of St. Patrick and St. John. He held the post of Alderman for six consecutive years; was for some time President of the City Council; and in 1857 was elected Mayor. At the next general election he offered himself to the citizens of Toronto as a candidate for a seat in the Legislative Assembly, and was returned conjointly with the late Hon. George Brown. Like all his family connections, he was a Conservative in politics, and yielded a firm support to the Cartier-Macdonald Administration. While in Parliament he was instrumental in procuring the passage of several Acts referring to the Toronto Esplanade and other local improvements. On the 27th of March, 1862, he accepted the office of President of the Council in the Cartier-Macdonald Administration, and held office until the resignation of the Ministry in the month of May following. He has not since been a member of any Administration, but has always been a strenuous supporter of the Conservative side, and has been returned in that interest for his native city no fewer than seven times. At the general election of 1872 he was returned to the House of Commons for the District of Algoma, which he continued thenceforward to represent until the dissolution. At the last general election for the House of Commons, held on the 17th of September, 1878, he was returned for Toronto West by a very large majority (637 votes) over Mr. Thomas Hodgins, the Reform candidate. He continued to represent West Toronto in the Commons until the 30th of June, 1880, when he was appointed to the office of Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, as successor to the Hon. D. A. Macdonald.
Mr. Robinson was for many years Solicitor to the Corporation of the City of Toronto. He has held several offices in connection with financial and public institutions, and has been President of the St. George's Society of Toronto.
Francois Xavier de Laval-Montmorency was born on the 30th of April, 1623, at Laval, in the diocese of Chartres, France. From childhood his thoughts were intimately associated with the Church, and at a very early age he made up his mind to study for the priesthood. Bagot the Jesuit may be said to have moulded his career, and directed his studies, with that object in view. He next associated himself with the band of young zealots at the Caen Hermitage, whose Ultramontane piety was the wonder of the time. He studied for awhile under De Bernières, and in September, 1645, was ordained a priest at Paris. Eight years later he was made Archdeacon of Evreux. In 1657 a bishop was wanted for Canada, and the Sulpicians, like the Récollets some years earlier, aspired to furnish that dignitary from their own order. They sent forward the name of Father Queylus as candidate for the bishopric, and though the suggestion found favour in the eyes of the French clergy, and was approved by Cardinal Mazarin, the Jesuits were powerful enough to overthrow all the designs of the rival fathers. They were strong at court, and so well did they use their influence that Mazarin was soon induced to withdraw his good offices, and Queylus was forced to relinquish his opportunity. The Jesuits were then invited to name a bishop, and Laval was chosen. On the 16th of June, 1659, he arrived at Quebec, carrying the Pope's benediction and the Vicar-Apostolicship for Canada.
It was his fate, during his lengthened stay in Canada, to dispute with every successive Governor appointed by the Crown, on questions which were often contemptible and trifling. He kept the King and his ministers busy settling petty questions of precedence and church dignity. He was a man of very domineering temper, arbitrary and dictatorial in all his acts, a firm exponent of the Ultramontane doctrine which declares the State to be subservient to the will of the Church on all occasions, and that even princes and rulers must yield to the commands of the Pope. His first quarrel was with Argenson, the then Governor of Canada, and was about the relative position of the seats which each should occupy in church. The case was sent to Aillebout, the pious ex-Governor, for settlement, and a temporary reconciliation took place. The quarrel burst forth afresh, however, from time to time, and Argenson, disgusted at these constant wranglings between Church and State, and dissatisfied with other matters connected with his administration, asked the Home Government to relieve him. His resignation was accepted, and the old soldier, Baron Dubois d'Avaugour, was appointed in his stead. The latter soon had his point of dispute with Laval. In his case it turned upon the much-vexed temperance question. Laval embarked for France in August, 1662, determined to lay the matter before the Court, and to urge the removal of Avaugour. He was successful, and early in the following year the Governor was recalled.
Laval's next conflict was with Dumesnil, an advocate of the Parliament of Paris, and the agent of the Company of New France. While in Paris, the bishop was instructed by the Government to choose a governor to his own liking. He selected Saffray de Mézy, of Caen, for the governorship, and with him he sailed for the colony, arriving on the 15th of September, 1663. Immediately on arriving, Laval and the Governor proceeded to construct the new Council. Virtually all the nominations were made by the bishop, who knew everybody, while the Governor knew absolutely no one in the whole country. The new Council formed, Dumesnil at once pressed the long pending claims of his company for settlement. The Council was composed of ignorant and corrupt men, several of whom were actually defaulters to the company represented by Dumesnil, and Laval was much blamed for placing them in an office which rendered them judges in their own cause. The Attorney-General demanded in Council that the papers of Dumesnil should be forcibly seized and sequestered. To this the Council at once agreed, and that night Dumesnil's house was entered and ransacked for the papers, which on being found were seized. The agent himself barely escaped with his life. He fled to France, and succeeded in gaining the ear of Colbert, the King's minister, who promptly moved in the matter.
Mézy, though he owed everything to the bishop, determined that he would be his mere instrument and tool no longer. The old war between Church and State broke out again. Mézy was a bigot, who stood in mortal terror of the power of the Church, and whose whole life was made up of the veriest superstition, but he rebelled against Laval. Discovering that the Council was composed of creatures of the bishop, he, on the 13th of February, 1664, ordered three of the most notorious members to absent themselves from the Council. At the same time he wrote to the bishop and informed him of what he had done, and asked him to acquiesce in the expulsion of his favourites. Of course Laval refused to do anything of the kind. Mézy then caused his declaration to be announced to the people in the usual way, by means of placards posted about the city, and by sound of the drum. The bishop, however, had the best of the encounter. Mézy learned to his horror and consternation that the churches were to be closed against him, and that the sacraments would be refused him. In his despair he sought counsel from the Jesuits, but the comfort which he received from them was to follow the advice of his confessor—also a Jesuit. In the meantime Laval had become unpopular through a tithe which he had caused to be imposed, and the people were clamouring for a settlement of the difficulty. Mézy called a public meeting, appointed a new Attorney-General, and declared the old one excluded from all public functions whatever, pending the King's pleasure in the matter. All through this conflict of authority, the sympathy of the people was with the Governor, though the latter was denounced from the pulpits. Mézy appealed to the populace for justice, and by this act signed the warrant of his own doom. Laval reported the circumstance to the King, and the Governor was peremptorily recalled.
In 1663 Laval founded the Seminary of Quebec, and by this act endeared himself to the priesthood. The King favoured the project, and with his own hand signed the decree which sanctioned the establishment. Laval's heart was in this great educational project, and not only did he secure substantial aid from his friends at home, and from the King himself, but in 1680 he gave to the institution of his creation almost everything he possessed. Included in this gift were his enormous grants of lands, which comprised the Seigniories of the Petite Nation, the Island of Jesus, and Beaupré, all of immense value.
In 1666 Laval consecrated the Parochial Church of Quebec. In 1674 he returned to France, and the height of his ambition became realized. He was named Bishop of Quebec, a suffragan bishop of the Holy See, by a bull of Clement X., dated the first of October. The revenues of the Abbey of Meaubec, in the diocese of Bourges, were added to those of the bishopric of Quebec. The new dignitary, armed with all the power and influence of his office, set out for Canada, and proceeded, on arriving there, to set his house in order. Of course, it was not long before hostilities again broke out between the rival forces of the country. Frontenac was Governor then, and the prime cause of the disturbance was the old brandy trouble. Then honours and precedence were the questions at issue between these two obstinate and high-spirited men. Precedence at church, and precedence at public meetings were fought all over again, and referred to France to the great disgust of the King, who losing all patience at last, wrote a sharp letter to Frontenac, directing him to conform to the practice established at Amiens, and to exact no more.
Laval continued to dispute from time to time with the Home Government concerning the system of movable curés which had been instituted by him. The bishop clung to his method despite all opposition and remonstrance, even setting aside at one time a royal edict on the subject. In the very height of the dispute Laval proceeded to Court, and asked permission to retire from the bishopric he had been so zealous to establish. His plea was ill-health, and the King granted his prayer, appointing in 1688 Saint Vallier as his successor. Laval wished to return to Canada, but this privilege was denied him, and it was not until four years had passed away that he was allowed to come back to the Church he loved so well. Saint Vallier sought by every means in his power to undo Laval's great work. He attacked the Seminary, and attempted to change its whole economy, receiving, however, much opposition from the priests, who were warmly attached to their old prelate. Laval groaned in despair at these attacks on the fabric he had raised, but he had the grim satisfaction of seeing the new bishop fail signally in many of his objects of demolition. Laval at length, wearied and worn, retired to his beloved Seminary, and on the 6th of May, 1708, he died there, at the advanced age of 85, and was buried near the principal altar in the cathedral. The Catholic University of Quebec, which boasts a Royal Charter signed by Queen Victoria, stands as a monument to his fame and name.
Judge Gowan is the only son of the late Henry Hatton Gowan, of Wexford, Ireland, where the subject of this sketch was born on the 22nd of December, 1817. His family emigrated to this country when he was in his fifteenth year, and settled on a farm in the township of Albion, in what is now the county of Peel. The late Mr. Gowan was afterwards appointed Deputy Clerk of the Crown for the county of Simcoe, which position, we believe, he retained until his death in 1863. The son's education would appear to have been somewhat desultory, but he was an apt scholar, and possessed the national fondness for learning. Having chosen the legal profession as his future calling in life, he was articled as a clerk in the office of the late Mr. James Edward Small, of Toronto—a well-known lawyer of his day and generation, who held the post of Solicitor-General in the first Baldwin-Lafontaine Administration, formed in 1842. Young Gowan went through the ordinary routine of study, working hard at his books, and furnishing frequent contributions to the newspapers of the day on a great variety of subjects. He was called to the Bar of Upper Canada in Michaelmas Term, 1839. He at once formed a partnership with Mr. Small, and devoted himself assiduously to the practice of his profession, writing occasional articles on legal and other topics for the press, and building up for himself the reputation of a man whose opinions were of value. Notwithstanding his youth, he displayed remarkable ability as a legal draughtsman and special pleader, and had mastered the cumbrous and elaborate system of pleading then in vogue among the profession. He took a keen interest in the political questions of the day. He was a Reformer, and a disciple of Mr. Baldwin, who held him in high esteem. The partnership with Mr. Small lasted somewhat more than three years, during which period it was that the senior partner accepted office in the Government of the day. As Solicitor-General, a goodly share of patronage must have fallen to the latter's share, and we presume it is to his connection with Mr. Small that Judge Gowan owes his appointment to the position of Judge of the District and Surrogate Courts of the county of Simcoe. His appointment bears date the 17th of January, 1843, and is said to have been made without any solicitation on the part of the recipient. However that may be, it is certain that few better appointments have been made by any Government in this country. Mr. Gowan first took his seat on the Judicial Bench when he was only twenty-five years of age. He has continued to discharge his judicial duties, almost without interruption, from that time to the present, embracing a period of nearly thirty-eight years. During the whole of that time not a single important decision of his, so far as we are aware, has been over-ruled. He enjoys the reputation of being one of the most profound and learned lawyers in the Dominion, and his decisions are regarded with a respect seldom accorded to those of County Court judges.