Prominent men of Canada : a collection of persons distinguished in professional and political life and in the commerce and industry of Canada

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Preface

IT has too long been customary in Canada to regard as proper subjects for biographical literature only persons who have figured in political life. But, in preparing the present work, we have departed from this custom, and present to our readers a group of men who have, during their life time, contributed in some conspicuous way to the moral, intellectual, industrial and political growth of our country. To those,

and to others who have hewn out homes for themselves in the wilderness, and little

by little overcome the obstacles of nature, are we indebted now for our wide stretches of cultivated lands, our smiling villages, and our thriving towns and cities.

As men are for ever drifting down the slow stream of time — and a few of those mentioned in this volume have been called to the higher life while it was going through the press — -most of their deeds, like themselves, pass into oblivion, it has been our earnest desire, while the opportunity presents itself, to save as much of the record as possible for posterity. As for the literary and artistic portions of

the work, no pains have been spared to make these equal to the other parts, and

we shall feel pleased if we have succeeded in meeting the views of our numerous readers.

Toronto, November, 1892.

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Index

PAGE

Abbott, Sir John J. Caldwell, K.C.M.G., P.C. , D.C.L., Montreal, Que. . . . . 11

Baker, Geo. B., M.A. , Q.C., M.P. , Sweetsburg, Que. . . . . . . 81

Binkley, Henry, Dundas, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Blaicher, Peter C. , Hamilton, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , 58

Blake, Hon. Edward, Q.C. , M.P., Toronto, Ont. . . . . 465

Brown, Adam, Hamilton, Ont. . . . . . 114

Campbell, Sir Alex., K. C.M.G. , Toronto, Ont. .. .. .. .. .. .. ,. 428

Caron, Hon. Sir J. P. R. A., K.C.M.G., B.C.L., Q.C., P.C., M.P., Ottawa, Ont. . .. .. 89

Cartwright, Hon. Sir Richard, K. C.M.G., M.P., Kingston, Ont. .. .. . .. . .. 224

Casgrain, Hon. Thos. Chase, Q.C., LL.D., M.P.P., Quebec, Que. .. .. .. .. .. .. 76

Chamberlin, Lieut. -Col. Brown, Ottawa, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Chapleau, Hon. Jos. A., LL.D., Q.C., P.C., M.P. , Montreal, Que. .. .. . .. .. .. 432

Charlton, B. E., Hamilton, Ont. .. .. .. .. 157

Coatsworth, Emerson, Jr. , M.P. , Toronto, Ont. .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. 314

Daly, Hon. Thomas Mayne, Q.C. , P.C. , M.P., Brandon, Man. .. 160

Davies, Thomas, Toronto, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368

Davin, Nicholas Flood, M.P., Regina, N.W.T. . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Dawson, Simon Jas., Port Arthur, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . . . 448

Dawson, Sir J. Wm., C.M.G., LL.D., F.R.S., Montreal, Que. .. .. .. .. .. .. 418

De Bertram, Louis G. , New York City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Delamere, Major Jos. M. , Q.O.R., Toronto, Ont. .. .. . .. 222

Desjardins, Hon. Alphonse, Senator, Montreal, Que. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

Deville, Edward Gaston, Ottawa, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Dewdney, Hon. Edgar, C.E., P.C., Lieut. -Gov. British Columbia, Victoria, B.C. . . . 102

Dickenson, Jno., North Glanford, Ont. .. .. .. 175

Donovan, C. , M.A., Hamilton, Ont. .. .. 184

Doolittle, C. E. , Hamilton, Ont. . . . . . . . . , . . . 366

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Dwight, Harvey Prentice, Toronto, Ont. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. 434

Edey, Moses Chamberlain, Ottawa, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Edwards, Jas. Pawson, Toronto, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . 442

Fearman, Frederick W. , Hamilton, Ont. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. 462

Filliter, Capt. Clavell F. , Belleville, Ont. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . 266

Fischot, Maurice, Ottawa, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . 384

Flatt, Jno. Ira, Hamilton, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Fraser, Hon. Christopher Finlay, Brockville, Ont. . . , . . . . . . . 420

Gartshore, Alex., Hamilton, Ont. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. 131

Gaskin, Capt. Jno., Kingston, Ont. .. .. .. .. .. 86

Geddes, Wm. Alfred, Toronto, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354

Geoghegan, Rev. Thos., Hamilton, Ont. .. .. .. .. .. 186

Ghent, Samson H., Hamilton, Ont. .. .. .. .. 162

Gibson, Hon. J. M., LL.B., Q.C., M.P.P., Hamilton, Ont. .. .. .. .. 99

Gillespie, Geo. H., Hamilton, Ont. .. .. .. .. .. 208

Goldie, Thos. , Guelph, Ont. . . . . . . . 296

Gowan, Hon. James Robert, Q.C., LL.D., Barrie, Ont. .. .. .. .. .. 401

Grant, Rev. Geo. Munro, D.D. , Kingston, Ont. .. .. .. .. .. .. 405

Gray, Henry Alfred, Toronto, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . . 452

Gunn, Alexander, Kingston, Ont. .. .. .. .. .. 130

Gzowski, Col. Sir Casimir Stanislaus, K.C.M.G., Toronto, Ont. .. . .. . . .. 438

Haggart, Hon. John Graham, P.C. , M.P. , Ottawa, Ont. .. .. 470

Harcourt, Hon Richard, M.A., Q,C., M.P.P. , Toronto, Ont. .. 292

Hardy, Hon. A. S., M.P.P. , Q.C., Brantford, Ont. .. .. 202

Harris, Hebron, Ottawa, Ont. . . . . . . . . . 320

Hendrie, Wm., Hamilton, Ont. .. .. 106

Heney, Jno., Ottawa, Ont. . . . . . . . . 294

Herbert, Major-General, Ottawa, Ont. . . . . . . . . 18

Hesson, Chas. A., St. Catharines, Ont. .. .. .. .. .. 221

Hodgson, Wm., Ottawa, Ont. .. .. .. .. .. 252

Howard, Allen McLean, Toronto, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . . 449

Jarvis, Sylvester, Grimsby, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380

Keefer, Thos. C., C.M.G., F.R.S.C., C.E., Ottawa, Ont. . . . . . . . . 308

Kennedy, R. HD., Hamilton, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Kirkpatrick, Lieut. -Col., the Hon. G. A., Q.C., Kingston (Toronto), Ont. .. .. 155

Lacoste, Hon Sir Alex., Q.C. , D.C.L., Montreal, Que. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 234

Langevin, Sir Hector Louis, C.B., K.C.M.G., &c., Quebec .. .. .. .. .. .. 120

La Riviere, Hon. A. A. C., M.P. , St. Boniface, Man. .. .. .. 322

Larkin, Patrick, St. Catharines, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . . . 372

Laurier, Hon. Wilfrid, M.P., B.C.L., Q.C., Arthabaskaviile, Que. .. .. .. .. 42

Lewin, Hon. Jas. Davies, St. John, N.B. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 64

Littlehales, Thos., Hamilton, Ont. .. .. 408

Longley, Hon. Jas. Wilberforce, M.P.P., M.E.C., Halifax, N.S. .. .. .. .. .. 422

INDEX.

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Lottridge, James M., Hamilton, Ont .. .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. 272

Lougheed, Hon. James Alexander, Senator, Calgary, N.W.T. .. .. .. .. .. .. 118

Macdonell, Geo. Hugh, M.P., Port Arthur, Ont. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 191

Macdonald, Hugh John, Q.C., M.P. , Winnipeg, Man. .. .. .. .. .. .. 297

Macdonald, Hon. A. A., Charlottetown, P.E.I. .. .. .. .. .. 168

Macdonald, Right Hon. Sir Jno. Alex., G.C.B., D.C.L., LL.D., Ottawa, Ont .. .. .. .. 47

Macdowall, D. H., M.P., Prince Albert, N.W.T. .. . .. .. .. .. 39

Macdonald, Hon Jno., Toronto, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Macfarlane, Hon. Alex., Q.C. , Wallace, N.S. . .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. 22

Mackenzie, Hon. Alex., M.P. , Toronto, Ont. .. .. .. .. .. .. 172

Macpherson, Hon. Sir David L. , K.C.M.G. , Toronto, Ont. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 54

Mactavish, Duncan B., M.A., Q.C., Ottawa, Ont. . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 330

Massey, Hart Almerrin, Toronto, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326

Merritt, Thos. R. , St. Catharines, Ont. .. . .. .. . . . . .. 152

Mills, Geo. Hamilton, Hamilton, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Montgomery, Hon. Donald, Park Corner, P.E.I. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 312

Moore, Major A. H., Hamilton, Ont. . . . . 113

Morrison, Wm. John, Toronto, Ont. . . . . 134

Mowat, Sir Oliver, M.P.P. , Q.C., LL.D., Toronto, Ont. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 30

Muir, Wm., Port Dalhousie, Ont. .. .. .. . .. .. 214

Murray, Captain James, St. Catharines, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468

McCallum, Hon. Senator L. , Stromness, Ont. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 127

McMahon, Dr. Jas., M.P.P., Dundas, Ont. .. .. .. .. 119

McMurtry, Major Wm. J., Toronto, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

Osier, Rev. Featherstone Lake, Toronto, Ont. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393

Ouimet, Lieut. -Col. Hon. Joseph Aldric, LL.B., Q.C., P.C., M.P.. Montreal, Que. .. .. .. 52

Patterson, Geo. E. , St. Catharines, Ont. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 183

Prefontaine, Raymond Fournier, B.C.L., M.P., Montreal, Que. .. .. .. . .. .. 449

Quance, Richard, jr. , Binbrook, Ont. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 22

Rae, Francis, M.D., Oshawa, Ont.

Reid, Hon. James, Quesnelle, B.C. . . Ridley, Dr. H. T., Hamilton, Ont. .. Roach, Geo. , Hamilton, Ont.

Robson, Hon. Jno. M.P.P., Victoria, B.C.

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INDEX.

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Robinson, Hon. John Beverley, Toronto, Ont.

Rochester, John, Ottawa, Ont.

Roger, John C., Ottawa, Ont.

Rosamond, B., M.P., Almonte, Ont.

Rose, Geo. Maclean, Toronto, Ont.

Ross, Hon. Geo. W., LL.D., M.P.P., Toronto, Ont.

Ross, Arthur W. , M.P., B.A., Winnipeg, Man. ..

Ross, Alex. Milton, M.D. , Toronto, Ont.

Royal, Hon. Jos., U.C.L., Lieut. -Gov., N. W.T.

Russell, Dr. James, Hamilton, Ont.

Ryckman, Samuel S., M.P. , Hamilton, Ont.

Sanford, Hon. W. E., Hamilton, Ont.

Sawyer, Luther D., Hamilton, Ont...

Scarth, William Bain, Winnipeg, Man.

Schultz, Hon. Jno. Christian, M.D., F.B.S.C., Winnipeg, Man.

Scott, Hon. Richard Wm. , Q.C. , Ottawa, Ont. ..

Scrim, Charles, Ottawa, Ont.

Sedgewick, Robt., Q.C. , Ottawa, Ont.

Selwyn, Alfred Richard Cecil, C.M.G., LL.D., F R.S., F.G.S., Ottawa, Ont.

Shaughnessy, Thos. G. , Montreal, Que.

Shearer, James Traill, Montreal, Que.

Shore, T. A. , Ottawa, Ont.

Skinner, Hon. Chas. Nelson, Q.C. , M.P., St. John, N.B.

Smith, Prof. Gold win, M.A., LL.D., D.C.L., Toronto, Ont. ..

Smith, Jos. H., Hamilton, Ont.

Smith, Chas. Robinson, Hamilton, Ont.

Smith, Hon. Frank, P.C., Toronto, Ont.

Smith, Hon. Sir D. A., LL.D., K.C.M.G., M.P., Montreal, Que.

Smith, Lieut. -Col. Henry R. , Ottawa, Ont.

Smythe, F. C. , Ottawa, Ont.

Stairs, J. F., M.P., Halifax, N.S. ..

Stanley (Lord) of Preston, G.C.B., P.C., Governor-General of Canada Stewart, John, P.L.S., Ottawa, Ont.

Stewart, Major Jno., Ottawa, Ont.

Stinson, Thos. H., Hamilton, Ont. ..

Stock, Thos., East Flamboro’, Ont. ..

Stockand, Geo., Ottawa, Ont.

Storey, Daniel, Ottawa, Ont.

Stuart, Jno., Hamilton, Ont.

Sullivan, Hon. Michael, Kingston, Ont.

Surtees, Robt., C. E., Ottawa, Ont.

Sweetland, Sheriff Jno., M.D., Ottawa, Ont.

Temple Thos., M.P., Fredericton, N.B.

Tilley, Sir Samuel Leonard, K.C.M.G. , Fredericton, N.B.

Thompson, Sir John, K.C.M.G., LL.D., Q.C., P.C., M.P., Ottawa, Ont. ..

Thomson, Robert, Hamilton, Ont.

Thorburn, Jno., M.A., LL.D., Ottawa, Ont.

Todd, Alpheus, LL.D., C.B., Ottawa, Ont.

Tupper, Hon. Sir Chas, (Bart.), G.C.M.G. , C.B., D.C. L. , High Commissioner for Canada, London, Eng. Turner, Hon. James, Hamilton, Ont.

Van Horne, William C., Montreal, Que.

Walker, W. Fred., Q.C., Hamilton,

Weldon, Dr. R. C. , M.P., Halifax, N.S. . .

White, Hon. Peter, M.P., Pembroke, Ont.

White, Wm., Lieut. -Col., Ottawa, Ont.

White, W. R. , Q.C., Pembroke, Ont.

Wilson, Z., Ottawa, Ont.

Winer, Jno., Hamilton, Ont.

Wood, Andrew T. , Hamilton, Ont. ..

Workman, Alex., Ottawa, Ont.

440 352

95 325

96 92

441 457 t c

PROMINEHT

MEN OF CANADA.

LORD STANLEY OF PRESTON, G.C.B., P.O.,

Governor-General of Canada.

THE RIGHT HON., FREDERICK AR- 1 THUR, LORD STANLEY, of Preston, Governor-General of the Dominion, is a younger son of the fourteenth Earl of Derby, and brother of the present holder of the title. His mother was Emma, daughter of the first Lord Skelmersdale, of Lancashire, England. His Excellency was born in London in 1841, and received his education at Eton, after which lie entered the Grenadier Guards. From this he retired in 1865 with the rank of captain. He then entered political life, representing in the Conservative interest, first Preston, and afterwards North Lancashire. In 1868 he became, for a few months, one of the lords of the Admiralty, and from 1874 to 1877 he acted as financial secretary for war, and afterwards became financial secretary to the treasury. In 1878, having become a colonel in the army, he was appointed secretary of state for war’, in succession to the Hon. Mr. Hardy, now Lord Cranbrook, and was sworn of the Privy Council. In the autumn recess of that year he and the late Hon. W. H. Smith, then first lord of the Admiralty, with a numerous suite, visited the island of Cyprus. Early in 1880 he went out of office with his party. In Lord Salisbury’s government he was for a time secretary of state for the colonies, and in the cabinet of August, 1886, was appointed president of the Board of Trade, and raised to the peerage with the title of Lord Stanley of Preston. In 1888 he succeeded the Marquis of Lansdowne in the Governor-Generalship of Canada, and in this viceregal office he has made himself popular with all classes of the people. In 1864, His Excellency married Lady Constance, eldest daughter of the fourth Earl of Clarendon. He is heir presumptive to the earldom of Derby.

SIR JOHN J. CALDWELL ABBOTT, K.C.M.G, P.C., D.C.L.,

Montreal , Que.

niR JOHN JOSEPH CALDWELL ABfA BOTT, K.C.M.G., formerly leader of the Government in the Senate of Canada, and now Prime Minister and President of the Queen’s Privy Council, Ottawa, was born at St Andrew’s, county of Argenteuil, Lower Canada, on the 12th March, 1821. He is a son of the Rev. Joseph Abbott, M.A., first Anglican incumbent of St. Andrew’s, 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. The Rev. Mr. Abbott married Harriet, daughter of the Rev. Richard Bradford, first rector of Chatham, Argenteuil county, P. Q. The first fruit of this union was the subject of this sketch, now Premier of the Dominion. John J. C. Abbott was carefully trained at St. Andrew’s with a view to a university course, and in due time he was sent to Montreal, entering McGill University. At this institution he greatly distinguished himself for his brilliancy as well as for his soundness and industry. In due time he graduated as a B.C.L., and subsequently was Dean of the Faculty of Law in his alma mater. In October, 1 847, he was called to the bar of Lower Canada. Upon commercial law he became one of the leading authorities of the country, and he had not been longin practice before he established for himself the reputation of a wise and capable counsellor. In 1859, he first entered political life as representative for Argenteuil in the Canadian Assembly, and this constituency he represented till the Union, when he was returned for the House of Commons. From May, 1862, to May, 1863, he was a member of the Executive Council and Solicitor-General for Lower Canada. From 1874 to 1878 he was out of public life, but since that

PROMINENT MEN OF CANADA.

time he has taken part in public affairs. The greatest legislative work in the career of Mr. Abbott is his celebrated Insolvent Act of 1864 ; for although there has been much legislation since affecting the question, the principles laid down in that measure have been the charts by which all since have proceeded. This established the reputation of Mr. Abbott ; and he published a manual, with ample notes, describing his Act. Business men flocked to his office to consult him on a measure which they believed no one else could so well elucidate, and, naturally enough, out of this his legal practice grew to very large proportions. Mr. Abbott, the reader need hardly be reminded, was the legal adviser of Sir Hugh Allan in the negotiations anent the Pacific Railway ; and it was the confidential clerk of Mr. Abbott who purloined the private correspondence, the publication of which aided in creating sucli a scandal, and brought about the overthrow of Sir John A. Macdonald’s government. For about a year, in 1862-3, Mr. Abbott held the position of solicitor-general in the Sandfield Macdonald-Sicotte administration; and prior to his acceptance of that office he was created a Q.C. Mr. Abbott has added to his legal reputation by his Jury Law Consolidation Act for Lower Canada ; and another important measure of his was the Bill for Collecting Judicial and Registration Fees by Stamps. He is likewise the author of various other important public measures. Mr. Abbott has been entrusted with many important affairs of a national character. It will be remembered that he went to England, in 1879, with Sir Hector Langevin, on the mission which resulted in the dismissal of Lieutenant-Governor Luc Letellier de St. Just. Mr. Abbott’s intimate knowledge of commercial law naturally fitted him, while a member of the Commons, for the chairmanship of the Committee on Banking and Commerce, and this important position he held for a number of years. His high status at the bar also won for him the position of standing counsel of the C. P. R. Co., and he afterwards became a Hi rector of that Company, which office he held until he attained the Premiership of the Dominion. This occurred on the death of Sir John A. Macdonald, on (lie 6th of June, 1891, when His Excellency the Governor-General entrusted Mi'. Abbott with the Premiership and the reconstruction of the Dominion cabinet. When the great chieftain died, Mr. Abbott was a member of the Government and leader in the Dominion Senate, to whicli he was nominated in May, 1887, wlien he was also appointed a member of the Queen’s Privy Council. As leader of the Senate, it became Mr. Abbott’s duty to make the formal announcement of Sir John Macdonald’s death in the Upper House, and this he did with much good taste and with a deep sense of personal as well as national loss. From his tribute to the deceased statesman’s memory we make this brief extract : “ Honourable gentle-

men know, the whole country knows, that we have lost a statesman of transcendent ability, who devoted his whole energies with singleness of purpose and great success to the building up of this great Dominion, to its consolidation, to its aggrandisement, to the promotion of its material prosperity, and to constituting it a foundation for a great nation to rule over the northern half of this continent. I know, all of us know, that in the performance of that great work, and the great responsibility that fell upon him as head of the country for so many years, he built for himself a reputation not only on this continent, but in England, scarcely second to any statesman who sat in the councils of this empire. * * In all his public life his charac-

teristics were those which we are taught, and I hope which we will never forget, to admire and imitate. That is the statesman we have lost ; but we have also lost a friend, who is enshrined in the hearts of the whole people. No man probably ever lived who had so strongly with him the sympathies and affections of the people, a people constituted as ours is, divided by race, divided by religion, divided by habits, divided by politics, yet personally lie was the friend of every man in the country, and every man in the country regarded him with affection as well as with friendship.” Succeeding such a man in the administration of the public affairs of Canada, it would be difficult for Sir John Caldwell Abbott, or indeed for any man, however gifted, to rival Sir John’s astuteness as a party leader, or to eclipse his fame in the executive leadership of the country. But since he took the reins of government lie has shown himself not wanting in many of the high qualities of statesmanship ; and he has had, it will be admitted, a most arduous and difficult task to perform. That he has succeeded so well is proof, if proof were needed, of his eminent ability and aptitude for public affairs. Sir John Caldwell Abbott is president of the Fraser Institute, or Free Public Library of the City of Montreal ; a Governor of the University of McGill College, President of the Royal Victoria Hospital, and a Director of the Bank of Montreal. In the year 1849, he married Mary, daughter of the Very Rev. James G. Bethune, D.D., late Dean of the diocese of Montreal. Though now well advanced in Lis seventy-second year, Sir John Caldwell Abbott is, physically as well as mentally, robust, and bears with ease the heavy demands and cares of his high and responsible office. In the City of Montreal, where he has resided for many years and is well known, he enjoys the respect of all classes of the community.

PROMINENT MEN OF CANADA.

SIR JOHN THOMPSON, K.C.M.G., LL.D., Q.C., M.P.,

Ottawa , Ont.

QIR JOHN SPARROW DAVID THOMPlO SON, K.C.M.G., LL.D., Q.C., M.P., Minister of Justice and Attorney -General of Canada, was born at Halifax, N.S., Nov. 10th, 1844. His father, the late John Sparrow Thompson, was a native of Waterford, Ireland, and came to Nova Scotia when a young man, settling in Halifax. He was a highly educated and cultured gentleman, possessed of many sterling qualities, and only his retiring disposition prevented his reaching high eminence in public affairs. For a time he occupied the position of Queen’s Printer, and afterwards he was Superintendent of the Money Order system of Nova Scotia. The subject of our sketch received his early education at the common school at Halifax, afterwards attending the Free Church Academy in the same place. Then, while still a mere youth, he entered upon the study of the law in the office of the late Henry Pryor, and at an age when most young men are juniors in the profession, he had established for himself a high reputation as a practitioner. He was called to the bar of Nova Scotia in July, 1865, and it very soon became manifest that the young advocate was endowed with exceptionally brilliant talents. Added to this, he was a most diligent student - indeed, an indefatigable worker— and ere long his reputation for high ability secured for him a practice which was scarcely limited by the boundaries of his province. Many were the important cases in which he was employed, and notably, in 1877, he was retained as counsel on behalf of the United States Government, acting with the American lawyers before the Fishery Commission sitting at Halifax, under the Washington Treaty.

In the same year, he began to come to the front in connection with political affairs. He was not a novice by any means ; he had taken an active part in municipal affairs ; had served as alderman and chairman of the Board of School Commissioners, and was a member of the senate of the University of Halifax. Added to these varied experiences in public matters, he had, during the time he was studying law, reported the debates at several sessions of the Legislature, and in this way he had acquired a large portion of that knowledge of parliamentary procedure for which he has since been so distinguished, as well as becoming thoroughly acquainted with the political questions of the day. Subsequently he maintained his interest in politics, and by common consent he was soon accorded a leading place in the counsels of the Liberal Conservative party, to which lie belonged. lie was first elected to the Legislative Assembly, in 1877, to fill the vacant seat for Antigonish county, being returned by a pronounced majority. That the high hopes of his friends were not doomed to disappointment was soon evident, for in the House he at once sprung into prominence. From the commencement of his political career he developed a remarkable aptitude for parliamentary life ; he rapidly rose to the front rank as a debater, and it soon became apparent that the young member for An tigonish was destined to play no unimportant part as a legislator. At the general election of 1878 he was re-elected by acclamation, and the Liberal administration being defeated, the Conservative leader was called upon to form a government.

Mr. Thompson was given the position of Attorney-General in the new Cabinet, and on returning to his constituents he was again elected by acclamation. He continued to act as Attorney-General until 1882, and during his incumbency he was instrumental in the passage of a large amount of useful legislation, probably the most important measure being the Municipal Corporations Act, which gave local self-government to the counties of the province. Another measure which he framed was an act for the consolidation of all the provincial railways, which would have had an important effect on the railway interests of the province had it been carried to a consummation. On May 25th, 1 882, Mr. Holmes retired from public life, and Mr. Thompson succeeded him as Premier, in which capacity he continued to act, holding the Attorney-Generalship at the same time, until July 25th of the same year, when, on an appeal to the people, his government was defeated. A few months later he entered upon a new phase of his career as a judge of the Superior Court of Nova Scotia, his appointment to which position was received with great satisfaction by the bar of the province. No part of Sir John Thompson’s record stands out more brightly than that of his conduct on the bench. He had a thorough knowledge of the law ; in his new position lie displayed the same tireless industry that has ever characterized him; his character for judicial fairness was never impeached, and these qualifications, backed up by his unerringjudgment, made him one of the most esteemed judges of the province. Nor did he confine himself at this time to the mere routine of his official position. The Judicature Act, which became law in 1884, and greatly simplified the practice of the courts, was drafted by him ; and in the midst of other labours he found time to deliver a course of lectures on “ Evidence ” before the students of Dalhousie law school. The example which he thus set had a lasting effect, for it led to the Faculty being afterwards able to secure the services of the best law lecturers in the province. Meantime, events

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SIR JOHN THOMPSON, K.C.M.G., LL. D. , Q.C.,

I

Ottawa, Ont.

PROMINENT MEN OF CANADA.

were occurring in another part of the Dominion, which were to have an important bearing on his future, for they ultimately resulted in his return to public life in the broader field of Federal politics, in which he has since won such high distinction. The incidents of the North-West rebellion, in 1 885, and its suppression by the volunteer force under General Middleton, are matters of history, but closely allied to them was the course which the Government felt impelled to take in regard to this unfortunate uprising. From the very commencement of the outbreak, the policy of the Government was to stamp out the rebellion at whatever cost, and to teach the inhabitants of the North-West, both half breeds and Indians, that the authority of the Dominion was supreme in that country, and must be maintained, and this policy they carried out effectively. But on the capture of the instigator and chief leader, and his subsequent sentence, a cry went up against his receiving the punishment due to his crime; the Liberals in the Dominion Parliament joined the Parti Nationale of Quebec in protesting against the hanging of Louis Riel, which had been decreed by the courts after a fair trial. At this time it was felt that there was no man in the House who was quite the equal in debate of the Reform leader, Mr. Edward Blake, who was the ablest man in his party, and the foremost lawyer in the House. In this emergency, Sir Charles Tupper, and other leading men in the party, recommended the services of Judge Thompson, and Sir John Macdonald, who throughout his career rarely made a mistake in a grave crisis, such as this undoubtedly was, acted upon the suggestion, with the result that Mr. Thompson resigned his judgeship, and on the 25th September, 1885, he was sworn of the Privy Council, and appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney- General of Canada. On the 16th October following, he was elected to the House of Commons for his old constituency, Antigonish, for which he has sat continuously since, having been re-elected at the general elections of 1887 and 1891. The new minister took Ins seat in the session of' 1886, and, as had been foreseen, an opportunity was shortly afforded him for the display of those splendid abilities which have since raised him to the position of the hrst parliamentarian in the Dominion. Riel had paid the penalty of the law, but the struggle inaugurated after his capture was still maintained over his grave. In the House, Mr. Landry (Montmagny) moved the following resolution :