Chapter 15

The charge of murdering her husband brought against Mary Dunlop, of Mink Lake, was investigated last week before S. E. Mitchell, Esq., police magistrate, at great length, occupying five days and the half of the intervening nights. Many questions of an important nature had to be decided by his worship, and the ability and learning with which he disposed of them are shown by the fact that at the close of the evidence the counsel on both sides expressed their entire satisfaction and appreciation of the fairness shown to each by the bench. It is almost needless to say that no other justice of the peace for the county could have displayed as much ability and skill in the hearing of this important case. At the close his worship delivered a most eloquent and instructive address on the gradual development of our criminal law and the duties of the court on such a case arising. There was no evidence brought out that would point to the guilt of the prisoner. She was consequently discharged, and the matter remains as great a mystery as ever.

The same paper again, in its edition of the 25th January, 1887, thus alludes to Mr. Mitchell: —

There is an agitation on foot at present to get the county council . . . . to recommend the appointment of Mr. S. E. Mitchell as police magistrate for the county of Renfrew, with a view to the better enforcement of the Scott Act. Mr. Mitchell has made it a special study, and, so far as we have been able to learn, the decisions rendered by him since he has occupied the position of town police magistrate have not only been in accordance with the facts of the cases in question, but from a legal point of view have been eminently satisfactory to those who are versed in the law and understand its meaning. He is also a pronounced temperance advocate, and would no doubt render valuable assistance to the temperance people, who are anxious to see the Scott Act properly enforced.

The PembrokeObserver(Liberal) of 28th January, 1887, has also a good word to say in favour of Mr. Mitchell: —

The question of recommending the Ontario Government to appoint S. E. Mitchell, Esq., police magistrate for the county of Renfrew, will come before the county council now in session here. Every member of the council will, of course, admit that Mr. Mitchell is a gentleman in every way fitted for the position of county police magistrate. He is scholarly, and well versed in the law; and his appointment would be a gratification to the supporters of the Scott Act. It is said, however, that many of the councillors are opposed to the appointment, on the ground that it would entail considerable expense on the county. The committee will probably report on the matter to-day, and then we shall see how the matter stands. One thing is certain—Mr. Mitchell will bring eloquence, ability, and good judgment to the bench, should he receive the appointment.

Although the council, being decidedly anti-Scott Act, failed to recommend Mr. Mitchell for the office, nevertheless the Ontario government, to its credit, on the recommendation of the License Board and the county branch of the Dominion Alliance for the suppression of the liquor traffic, appointed him to the office. Mr. Mitchell has had a hand in almost every public and private movement inaugurated in Pembroke during his long residence of about thirty years. Among others, the establishment of the Pembroke Philharmonic Society; the building up of the Pembroke lodge, No. 128, G.R.C. Free and Accepted Masons, the mastership of which he held during the years 1870 and 1871; the Pembroke lodge of the Independent Order of Oddfellows, and temperance societies in general. He delivered an address on “Oddfellowship” at the anniversary celebration of the Renfrew lodge, which at the time was characterised by the Noble Grand as the finest presentation of objects of the order he had ever listened to, and after hearing Mr. Mitchell give a song, the same high dignitary said “Mr. Mitchell had proved himself as good a singer as he was an orator.” Mr. Mitchell is a staunch Reformer, and was for many years president of the Pembroke Reform Association, up until 1886, when he found the position somewhat incompatible with that of police magistrate, and resigned. He has always occupied a foremost place in the councils of his party in his district, and has on some occasions been spoken of as the coming man for legislative honours, but various considerations have prevented him from complying with the kind solicitations of his political friends. He was brought up in the Church of England, but in 1859 he joined the Methodist church of Canada, and has continued to be a member of that church over since. He has served on some of the most important of the church committees for about a quarter of a century, and was a member of the General Conference of 1878. Mr. Mitchell has been twice married. First, in 1860, to Mary Ann, daughter of D. B. Warren, of Allumettes Island, county of Pontiac, Quebec province, who died in 1868, leaving three children, who still survive. Second, in 1869, to Ellen Jane, daughter of John Deacon, J.P., of South Sherbrooke, county Lanark, Ontario, and sister of John Deacon, county judge of Renfrew, by whom he has two surviving children.

Beek, James Scott, Auditor-General of the Province of New Brunswick, Fredericton, is an Irishman by birth, having been born in Bandon, county of Cork, on the 1st June, 1814. His parents, Joseph and Mary Beek, both natives of the same county, were born in Cork city. James came with his father, his mother having died in Ireland, to New Brunswick in 1823, and settled in Fredericton, where Mr. Beek, senr., held the office of registrar of deeds and wills at the time of his death. James Scott Beek attended for some time the public school at Fredericton, but most of his education was obtained by private study, he acting as his own tutor, both before and while serving as a merchant’s clerk. After this he went into business for himself in Fredericton, and for about twenty years he dealt in general merchandise, retiring in 1856. For the past thirty years or more Mr. Beek has been constantly in one or more offices connected with the municipality of the city of Fredericton, or of the province of New Brunswick. He was alderman for about a dozen years, mayor for three consecutive terms, commencing in 1859; judge of the Court of Common Pleas for several years; has been a justice of the peace for a long period; was librarian for the Legislative Assembly from 1864 to 1867, and from the latter year has acted in the capacity of auditor-general for the province. In this latter position he has proved himself a most painstaking official, as the reports he issues annually amply prove. His motto seems to be: “Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well.” Mr. Beek is a Liberal-Conservative in politics, and in his younger days was an energetic worker for his party. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and occupies the position in the order of master mason. In religious matters he is an adherent of the Church of England, and has on several occasions been a delegate from the Cathedral to the Church Society. He is a firm believer in total abstinence from the use of intoxicants as a drink, and of late years has done good service to the cause of temperance by working hard as a prohibitionist, and as the president of the United Temperance Association of New Brunswick, to suppress the liquor traffic, and as a Son of Temperance. He is a man of warm feelings and a true friend to his brother man. Mr. Beek has been three times married; first, to Margaret Barker, of Mangerville; second, to Mary Elizabeth Garrison, of St. John, both deceased; and then to Emma R. daughter of the Hon. John K. Partelow, of Fredericton. He has one child living by the first wife and one daughter by the second, and has lost children by both wives.

Lord, Major Artemas, Agent of the Marine Department, Charlottetown. Prince Edward Island, was born at Tryon, P.E.I., on the 10th May, 1835. His father, James Lord, and his mother, Lydia Lea, were both of English descent. His paternal grandfather was among the number of loyal Englishmen who, at the outbreak of the American revolutionary war, gave up all their worldly possessions, refused to fight against their rightful sovereign, left the state of Massachusetts and moved to Prince Edward Island, where they found a home more congenial to their tastes. Artemas Lord, having been deprived of the tender care of his mother, who died when he was only sixteen months old, was adopted by his uncle, W. W. Lord, who afterwards provided for all his wants and set him afloat in the world. When he was five years old his uncle and aunt removed to Charlottetown and took the boy with them. And here they sent him to a private school; next to the Central Academy (now the Prince of Wales’ College), and then to the academy at Sackville, New Brunswick, where he received a thorough mercantile training. At eighteen he left school, but finding his health considerably impaired through confinement and close study, he resolved to take a few sea voyages with the object of restoring his health, and for three years thereafter he sailed in one of his uncle’s ships trading between Charlottetown and England. In 1856 he entered into partnership with his uncle, under the firm name of W. W. Lord & Co., general merchants and shipowners, and this partnership lasted until 1864, during which time they built and owned ships which traded to the West Indies, to the southern cotton ports, to the River Plata, to Great Britain, and to the East Indies, when his uncle retired, and he continued the business under the old name, until 1878. In 1864 Mr. Lord joined the first battery of volunteer artillery, and in 1868 he was appointed to the command of the second battery, which position he held until 1873, when Prince Edward Island became part of the Dominion of Canada, at which time he applied to be, and was placed on the retired list, with the rank of major. When the question of providing Prince Edward Island with a railway was before the public Mr. Lord took a very active part in the agitation, and helped to carry the measure. He, too, was found among the ranks of those who went in for confederation; and when the people agreed to throw in their lot with the other provinces, he chose the party led by Sir John A. Macdonald, and has ever since supported it on patriotic grounds. In 1859 Mr. Lord joined St. John’s lodge, and has continued to keep up his connection with the Masonic order ever since. In 1881 he was appointed agent of the Marine department for the province, and retired from active mercantile life to attend to the duties of the office. His connection with the shipping business enabled him in his younger days to see a good part of the world; and he made no less than nineteen round trips across the Atlantic. He spent three winters in London, Liverpool, and other towns in England, and also visited the Highlands of Scotland, part of Ireland, and other places in the old land, combining business with pleasure. In political matters, as we have seen, he is a Liberal-Conservative; and in religious matters, though brought up in the Wesleyan Methodist fold, he saw fit, in 1876, to change to that of the Presbyterian church. In 1859, he was married to Carrie M. Rich, daughter of Lathley Rich, of Frankfort, Maine, who died in 1864, leaving a little boy who survived his mother only seventeen months. Four years after, in 1869, he married Margaret P. S. Gray, daughter of colonel the Hon. John Hamilton Gray, chairman of the first convention called in Prince Edward Island to consider the question of confederation. This gentleman, in 1869, held the position of adjutant-general for the province of Prince Edward Island, and at the time was well known throughout the Dominion as a large hearted, prominent public man. A few years ago he retired into private life. Mr. Lord has a family of three boys and two girls alive, and three boys dead. His uncle and aunt are still alive—his uncle being now (1887) eighty-nine years and his aunt eighty-seven years of age—and having been married over sixty years. This venerable couple are now enjoying the fruits of a happy life spent in each other’s society. They are highly respected by all in the city in which they have spent the greater part of their useful lives. They never had any children of their own, but many nevertheless bless them this day for assistance and counsel given them in the past. Hon. W. W. Lord, we may add, was for more than thirty years an active politician, and sat in the local legislature as representative for his native county, and took an active part in council with such leaders as Coles, Pope, Whelan, Mooney and others in all measures that had for their object the good of his country. Mrs. Lord is an active worker in the church, and prominent in all works of charity and mercy.

McLeod, Hon. Neil, M.A., Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Member of the Executive Council, M.P.P. for Charlottetown and Royalty, is of Scotch descent, and was born on the 15th December, 1842, at Uigg, Queens county, Prince Edward Island. His parents were Roderick McLeod and Flora McDonald. He was educated at Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, and received from that institution the degrees of B.A. and M.A. He chose law as a profession, and was called to the bar of Prince Edward Island in 1872. He is now a member of the well known firm of McLeod, Morson, and McQuarrie, with offices at Charlottetown and Summerside, P.E.I. Mr. McLeod was first elected to the House of Assembly at the general election in 1879; was sworn in a member of the Executive Council, and on the 11th March, of the same year, appointed provincial secretary and treasurer. This office he held until March, 1880, when he resigned, with the object of applying himself more closely to his professional duties, but still remained a member of the government without a portfolio. He was re-elected to the Assembly at the general election of 1882, and again at the last general election, and is now a member of the government. Hon. Mr. McLeod holds the position of chairman of the Poorhouse Commissioners, and is also a trustee of the Provincial Lunatic Asylum. In politics he is a Liberal-Conservative, and in religious matters he has, from youth up, been a member of the Baptist denomination. He stands high among his fellow citizens as a man of probity, intelligence and culture. In June, 1877, he was married to Adelia, only daughter of James Hayden, of Vernon River, Prince Edward Island.

Le May, Léon Pamphile,Homme de Lettres, Quebec, Chief Librarian of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, was born at Lotbinière, on the 5th of January, 1837. His ancestor was Michel Le May, or Le Mée, who came to Canada more than two centuries ago, from the diocese of Angers, France. He settled, in 1666, at Three Rivers, where he was a farmer, and in 1681, removed to Lotbinière. Some members of the family are still residing in the latter place. He had thirteen children, whose descendants are scattered over the Dominion and the United States. The father of our subject was Léon Le May, farmer and merchant; and his mother, Louise Anger. They had a family of fourteen children. Léon Pamphile Le May received his education at the Quebec Seminary, studied law for some time, and then went to the United States, in search of a fortune. At the end of two years he returned to Canada, and engaged himself as a clerk in a mercantile house, in Sherbrooke, Quebec province. He soon discovered that he had no taste for mercantile pursuits, and soon after we find him in Ottawa, invested with the cassock, and studying theology. In 1861, dyspepsia compelled him to leave the cloister. In 1862, he was given employment as a French translator in the Legislative Assembly, Quebec, at the same time resuming his legal studies. He was admitted to practice in 1865, and went to reside in his native place, Lotbinière. In 1872, he returned to Quebec, and took the position he occupies at the present time—chief librarian of the Legislative Assembly. As Mr. Le May is a “book-worm,” the employment is congenial to him. When a young man, he commenced writing for the press, and his writings at once attracted the notice of thelittérateursof Canada, the United States and France. In 1865, he published his first work, “Essais Poétiques,” a volume of over 300 pages, which was cordially received, and placed him in the first rank. In 1870 appeared a translation of Longfellow’s “Evangeline,” which raised Mr. Le May to a high position among the Canadian poets. Longfellow sent a congratulatory letter to the poet, and ever afterwards treated him as a friend. The translation is looked upon as Mr. Le May’s master-piece, and he can safely rest his reputation on it. The pathetic story of the Acadian exiles is admirably told; the poet’s soul seems to have been invaded by the sorrow he is describing; in fact, heliveshis subject, while the harmony and flexibility of the verse leave nothing to be desired. There have appeared since that time, in the order mentioned: “Deux poèmes couronnés,” Quebec, 1870, for which the author received two gold medals; “Les Vengeances,” Poème, Quebec; “Les Vengeances,” drama in six acts; “Le Pèlerin de Sainte-Anne,” a novel, 2 vols., Quebec, 1877; “Picounoc, le Maudit,” a novel, 2 vols., Quebec, 1878; “Une Gerbe,” miscellaneous poetry, Quebec, 1879; “Fables Canadiennes,” 1 vol., Quebec, 1882; “L’affaire Sougraine,” novel, 1 vol., Quebec, 1884. The following criticism is from the pen of Louis Honoré Fréchette, the poet-laureate, whose works “Les Fleurs Boréales et les Oiseaux de Neige,” have been crowned by the French Academy. Mr. Fréchette, as is well known, is not tender, as a rule, to his brother poets andconfrères: “It has not the booming of the mad torrent: it is the purling of a fountain on a mossy bed; it has not the roaring of the lion: it is the cooing of the dove; it has not the bold swoop of the eagle: it is the timid undulation of the cygnet.” Mr. Le May married, in 1863, Selima Robitaille, of Quebec, and they have twelve children, five sons and seven daughters.

Murchie, James, St. Stephen, ex-M.P.P. for Charlotte county, New Brunswick, and one of the leading merchants, lumber manufacturers, and ship owners of that county, is a native of St. Stephen, having been born on the 16th of August, 1813. His father, Andrew Murchie, was from Paisley, Scotland, and his mother, Janet Campbell, was a native of New Brunswick, and a daughter of Colin Campbell. James Murchie was educated at St. Stephen, and remained on his father’s farm until he became of age, and since that period has been engaged in manufacturing lumber on the St. Croix river, merchandising, and shipping, being one of the most extensive operators in those branches of industry in this valley. The firm of James Murchie and Sons has mills at Benton, Deer Lake, andEdmundston, on the New Brunswick Railway, as well as at Calais, Maine, and are cutting about 20,000,000 feet per annum. This firm also owns 200,000 acres of timber land, nearly half of it being in the province of Quebec, and about 38,000 in Maine, and the balance in New Brunswick. Mr. Murchie, who was a captain of militia in his younger days, is one of the oldest magistrates in this part of the country. He served for some years as school trustee, and has held, in fact, nearly all the local offices in the gift of the people, being painstaking and efficient in discharging the duties which he assumes. He represented Charlotte county in the House of Assembly from 1874 to 1878, being sent there by his Liberal-Conservative friends, and while in that legislative body secured the repeal of the Wild Land Tax Act, which had been attempted in vain by previous representatives from his county. He also carried other bills regarded as very important, and proved himself a diligent law as well as a lumber maker. He is one of the directors of the St. Stephen Bank; of two bridge corporations; the Calais Tug Boat Company, and other incorporated companies; vice-president of the New Brunswick and Canada Railway; president of the Frontier Steamboat Company; St. Croix Lloyds Insurance Company, and the St. Croix Cotton Mill Company. He was a leading force in engineering this last enterprise, giving several weeks’ time to getting the company organised, its capital ($500,000) taken, the site secured for the mill, the corner stone laid, &c. The last act mentioned was done by the Masonic order on the 24th June, 1881, and marked an epoch in the history of the town of Milltown, in which our subject resides, being the owner of the finest house in the place. This cotton mill is 517 feet long, 98 feet wide, and four stories above the basement, in addition to which are dye house, &c., which cover nearly two-thirds as much ground as the main building. The erection of this mill has converted one of the most squalid parts of the town into the most thrifty and industrious, and added from 800 to 1,000 inhabitants to the place. Mr. Murchie has done, and is doing, a great deal to encourage home industry, knowing that all such enterprises tend to increase the value of his own property as well as the prosperity of the country. It is a few such men as he—men of energy, push, and pluck—found in St. Stephen, Calais, and Milltown, that have built up this trinity of towns, and given them their present air of thriftiness. Milltown, the smallest of all, is just now probably the liveliest of the three. Mr. Murchie was also a leading stockholder and organiser in the Calais Shoe Factory, which employs 300 or 400 hands. He is a member and trustee of the Congregational Church, Milltown, which body has a house of worship which is a gem of architecture; and it is the impression of the community that no such elegant and costly structure could have been reared in the little town without both the shaping and the plethoric pocket of Mr. Murchie. He was first married, in 1836, to Mary Ann Grimmer, daughter of John Grimmer, late collector of customs, at St. Stephen. She died in 1857, leaving ten children. He was married the second time, in 1860, to Margaret Thorpe, daughter of Jackson Thorpe, of St. George, Charlotte county, having by her three children. She died in 1872. All of the children excepting one boy, who is at school, are settled in life. Five of the sons—John G., William A., James S., George A., and Henry S.—are in business with their father. The first, John G., ex-mayor of the city of Calais, is director of the Calais Tug Boat Company, and St. Croix Lloyds Insurance Company; the second, William A., is treasurer of the Calais Tug Boat Company, director of the Calais Shoe Factory and vice-consul of Brazil and the Argentine Republic. Two other sons, Charles F. and Horace B., are in the commission business on Wall Street, New York. His daughters are all married.

Morse, Hon. William Agnew Denny, Amherst, Judge of Probate for Cumberland, Marshal in Court of Vice-Admiralty, Halifax, Chairman of the Liquor Licence Board, Judge of the County Courts of Pictou and Cumberland, and Revising Barrister, Halifax, was born on the 13th January, 1837, at Amherst, county of Cumberland, N.S. His father, the Hon. Shannon Morse, studied law with the Hon. Ames Botsford, of Westmoreland, who was one of the most distinguished men of his day in the Maritime provinces. He afterwards entered public life, and from 1819 to 1842 took a most active part in all the leading questions of these times, and for several years of this period he represented the town of Amherst in the local legislature. In 1842 he resigned his position in the Legislative Council, and retired into private life and devoted his time to the reclaiming and draining a large tract of marsh land, which operation, his son, Judge Morse, is now carrying on and completing. Judge Morse’s grandfather, A. Morse, settled on a tract of land granted by the Crown to his father (the judge’s great-grandfather). This gentleman had been an officer in the British army, serving under Lord Amherst (then Sir Jeffrey Amherst) during the French and Indian wars, which closed by Britain becoming possessed of the North American provinces, and in connection with Colonel F. W. Desbarres, Colonel Franklyn, Captains Gmelin and Gorham settled that beautiful and fertile tract of country situated at the head of the Bay of Fundy, and known by the French as Beaubassin. In an old document in the possession of Judge Morse, we find the following interesting record: “At the close of the war which accomplished the conquest of all the territories occupied by the French in North America, six individuals proposed, in concurrence with the intentions of his Majesty’s government, to carry on settlements in the then infant colony of Nova Scotia, praying suitable tracts of land for that purpose, and thereupon orders were passed which obtained for Joseph Morse and his associates 34,000 acres of land, in the town of Cumberland, 23rd day of November, 1763.” And under this grant Mr. Morse, and the four gentlemen alluded to above, laid the foundation of the first English settlement, formed after the expulsion of the French, which has grown in wealth and prosperity ever since. In the biography of Jos. Morse, written by his kinsman, the Rev. Dr. Morse, this tract of land is spoken of as having been granted him, to compensate him for his services and losses in the French and Indian wars. He died at Fort Lawrence, in Cumberland, and his cousin, Colonel Robert Morse, who, as colonel of the Engineers under Sir Guy Carleton, was the author of the “Report on Fortifications and Defences of Nova Scotia,” a document now deservedly ranked among the most interesting of the historical documents of our archives. Judge Morse’s mother, Augusta Agnew Kinnear was the grand-daughter of Andrew Kinnear, who commanded at Fort Cumberland in 1808, and was with Ames Botsford, the first members for the county of Westmoreland, who sat in the New Brunswick legislature after that province was separated from Nova Scotia. Judge Morse received his education at the private school taught by Dr. Hea, and at Sackville Academy, where he received a sound English and classical education. He afterwards studied law, and for years successfully practised his profession. He was then called to the bench, and appointed judge of Probate for Cumberland, and subsequently marshal in the Vice-Admiralty Court at Halifax, chairman of the Liquor Licence board, judge of the County Courts of Pictou and Cumberland, and revising barrister under the Dominion election law. Since his elevation to the bench, Judge Morse has ceased to hold the offices of marshall in the Vice-Admiralty Court and judge of Probates. Judge Morse takes quite an interest in agricultural matters, and has succeeded in reclaiming by ditching and draining large tracts of marsh land and adding haygrounds and increasing the taxable property of Cumberland, and is removing the obstructions from the River La Blanche, by which the tide waters of the Bay of Fundy are permitted to run up the marshes of Cumberland, and thereby convert, by drainage, bog lands into solid hay yielding lands, some of which are now producing two to three tons to the acre. In religious matters, Judge Morse is an adherent of the Church of England, and in politics leans to Reform principles. He was married on the 16th December, 1873, to Ella Frances Rebecca Boggs, whose family were among the first of the old Halifax U. E. loyalists who came from the United States, in 1780, on account of the rebellion.

Morrow, John, Toronto, Inspector of Inland Revenue for the District of Toronto, was born in the county of York, near Toronto, Ontario, in 1832. His father, James Morrow, came to Canada from the county of Cavan, Ireland, in 1819, and his mother, Miss McNeil, came from the same district in Ireland in 1824. The vessel in which she, her mother, and brother, embarked for America, suffered shipwreck on St. Paul’s island, at the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, when nearly all on board perished, including Mrs. McNeil. John Morrow was brought up on the farm possessed by his parents in York county, and received his primary education in the public school of the district, but when he was about sixteen years of age was induced by the late Dr. Ryerson to go to the Normal School in Toronto, and he attended its sessions during 1849-50-51, and then graduated. He took up teaching as a profession, and successfully taught school for about twelve years. In 1866 he was appointed by the Dominion government deputy collector of inland revenue for the Toronto division; in 1873 he was promoted to the collectorship; and in 1881 was appointed inspector of the Toronto district, which office he now satisfactorily fills. Mr. Morrow is an adherent of the Methodist church. He was married in 1855 to Miss Sankey, the eldest daughter of the late John Sankey, builder, of York county.

Meredith, Sir William Collis, K.B., D.C.L., LL.D., Quebec, who for a great number of years occupied the position of Chief Justice of the Superior Court of the province of Quebec, was born in the city of Dublin, on 23rd May, 1812. His father was the Rev. Dr. Thomas Meredith, rector of Ardtrea, in the county of Tyrone, Ireland; and his mother, Eliza, daughter of the Very Rev. Richard Graves, D.D., dean of Ardagh. Rev. Dr. Thomas Meredith having died, his widow in 1824 married the Rev. Edward Burton, and came out to Canada with that gentleman, bringing with her four of her children by her first marriage, the eldest being William Collis, the subject of our sketch. The family settled at Rawdon, north of Montreal, where the Rev. Mr. Burton had a mission under the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Before leaving Ireland William had passed some years at Dr. Behan’s school in Wexford, and after his arrival in Canada his education was continued under the care of his step-father, who was a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. He was also greatly aided and encouraged in his studies at this time by his mother, who was a woman of great culture and refinement, and possessed of great energy and force of character. Mr. Meredith’s legal studies were commenced in 1831, in the office of S. de Bleury, and continued in that of J. C. Grant, Q.C., Montreal, both advocates of eminence. He was admitted to the bar in December, 1836, and was made a Queen’s counsel in 1844. In the same year he was offered and declined the office of solicitor-general, and subsequently that of attorney-general; and in 1847, having been again offered the position of attorney-general, he once more declined that high position in the Draper administration. In December, 1849, Mr. Meredith was appointed a judge of the Superior Court of the Province of Quebec by the Lafontaine-Baldwin administration, and abandoned with some regret the practice of a profession to which he was greatly attached, leaving to his partner, Strachan Bethune, Q.C., and the late Hon. Judge Dunkin, we believe, the largest legal business which at that time had been brought together by a single professional firm in the Province of Quebec. At the earnest solicitation of the government of Canada (Sir George E. Cartier being then attorney-general), and in compliance with the wishes of the leading members of the Montreal bar, Judge Meredith consented to be removed from the Superior Court to the Court of Queen’s Bench—that being the Court of Appeal for the province—and this appointment was approved of by a unanimous resolution of the Quebec bar. While a member of this court, several of his judgments were highly spoken of by the lords of the Privy Council in England. Judge Meredith continued to occupy a seat in the Queen’s Bench until the death of the Hon. Edward Bowen, chief justice of the Superior Court in 1866, when he was appointed to that high office, which he held until 1884, when failing health forced him to resign the position which for so many years he had held, and the duties of which he discharged with his characteristic energy and ability to the entire satisfaction of the profession and the public. As far back as 1844 Judge Meredith was requested to accept the professorship of law in the University of McGill College, in Montreal, by the then principal, Chief Justice Vallières, but the pressure of his professional duties compelled him to refuse the proffered honour. In 1844 he received the honorary degree of D.C.L. from Lennoxville University, and eleven years afterwards (6th September, 1865), upon the nomination of the Lord Bishop of Quebec, he was unanimously elected chancellor of that university—but his judicial duties were such that he could not assume the responsibility of the office. In 1880 he received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Laval University, Quebec; and in the month of June, 1886, her most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria conferred upon him the honour of knighthood. In 1847 Judge Meredith was married to Sophia Naters, youngest daughter of the late Dr. W. E. Holmes, of Quebec, and the union has been blessed with a numerous family, of whom three sons and four daughters are still living.

Harris, Very Rev. William Richard, B.D., Dean of St. Catharines, in the Roman Catholic Arch-Diocese of Toronto.—Among the clergy of the Roman Catholic arch-diocese of Toronto, there are many learned, earnest, and pious priests, but among them all we doubt if there is one of his age who ranks higher in the estimation of his fellow priests and all those of the laity who have had the privilege of his acquaintance than does the Very Rev. William Richard Harris, parish priest of the city of St. Catharines, and dean of that portion of the Roman Catholic arch-diocese of Toronto known as the Niagara peninsula. Dean Harris can hardly yet be said to have reached the prime of life, yet so mature is his mind and well disciplined are his faculties that it is not surprising to those who know him that he has so suddenly and prominently come to the front in his church. For a young man he is remarkable for vigour, both of mind and body—a vigour which is always wisely and well directed in the discharge of whatever duties he undertakes. The church has in him, if he is spared, the staff which must place him in a high and useful position in its service. There is before him a bright and brilliant career, or else we are much mistaken. The very reverend gentleman was born on the 3rd of March, 1847, in the city of Cork, Ireland, the birthplace of many of the most distinguished sons of the Green Isle. At an early age he came to this country with his parents, entered St. Michael’s College, Toronto, and having finished his classical course in this well-known institution of learning, went to Ste. Anne’s Seminary, Quebec, to complete a course of metaphysics and philosophy. In 1869 he was appointed secretary to his Grace the Archbishop of Toronto, and accompanied that distinguished prelate to Rome when summoned by Papal brief to attend the Œcumenical Council. Immediately after the opening of this memorable council, our subject entered the famous College of the Propaganda, where he finished his course of theology, and took his degree of Bachelor of Divinity. On the 21st June, 1870, he was ordained priest by Cardinal Patrizzi, in the historic church of St. Mary Major. The venerable Archbishop of Toronto and he left Rome on the first day of July of that year, and visited the principal cities of the continent of Europe. On his return to Canada he continued to fill for some time the responsible position of secretary to his grace, when, in recognition of his services and abilities, he was appointed to the rectorship of Adjala, at that time the most important rural parish in the diocese. Here he continued to labour for five years, having during that time faithfully discharged the onerous and responsible duties associated with that position. Under his pastorship was erected St. Mary’s Church, West Adjala, and improvements to the amount of $7,000 dollars were made in that parish. In 1875 he was summoned to the rectorship of St. Michael’s Cathedral, Toronto, bearing with him to that very responsible position the best wishes of the people of Adjala, and a substantial recognition of his labours and services among them. We may here remark, that he did very much to create and perpetuate that friendly feeling of toleration and liberality which is so characteristic of the people of that section of the country. In fact, it is said of him that in whatever position he has been placed he has shed around him a kindly influence, which has been instrumental in removing the asperities of religious rancour, and bringing into more friendly association the members of the various religious denominations. In his position of rector of St. Michael’s Cathedral, a large field for the exercise of his conspicuous administrative abilities lay open before him. The pressure of hard work gradually told on his constitution, and in consequence he resigned the rectorship of the cathedral, and sought the seclusion which the smaller parish of Newmarket afforded him. Here he continued to labour for eight years, during which time he completed the church in that town, erected the fine modern presbytery, and built the large brick school house adjoining the church. His improvements in this parish during those eight years represented an expenditure of over $12,000. His health having improved, he was again selected to fill one of the most responsible positions in the arch-diocese, and was appointed to the important and influential parish of St. Catharines, and dean of the Niagara peninsula, which position he holds with great credit to himself and advantage, both spiritual and temporal, to those over whom his ecclesiastical superior has wisely placed him. During his short administration of his present parish he has shown a wonderful amount of administrative ability, and up to the present writing has wiped out a debt of $8,000. Showing his deep interest in the education of his people, he has just begun the important work of erecting for the Roman Catholic separate schools the finest school building on the Niagara peninsula, in which are introduced all modern improvements calculated to add to the health and comfort of both teachers and pupils. In all probability before the expiration of two years he will have completed buildings costing in the aggregate $30,000. While devoting much time and great energy to the work peculiar to his priestly office, he finds time for close and careful study, which is evidenced by the manner and matter of his sermons and pulpit discourses. He also takes a deep interest in popular education, and has lost no opportunity of pushing on the education and improvement of the masses, irrespective of creed or nationality. As an evidence of this, we may mention that for many years he was prominently identified with the Mechanics’ Institute, an association of which he was twice chosen vice-president. Indeed, such was his standing among the delegates that when, in 1882, his name was put in nomination for the presidency he was elected by acclamation. This honour was conferred upon him by a convention of eighty-four representatives, all of whom were Protestants. When the control of the association passed into the hands of the Minister of Education, the reverend gentleman was presented by the members of the executive board with an embossed address and a handsome testimonial. While on the executive board of the Mechanics’ Institute Association, he was selected to represent the society on the executive committee of the Industrial Exhibition Association. Before his departure from Newmarket, the inhabitants of that town, irrespective of creed or nationality, heartily joined in congratulating him on his promotion, and in a public meeting, presided over by the reeve of the town, presented him with a most flattering address, accompanied with a valuable testimonial. With such a record did the Very Reverend Dean Harris come to the city of St. Catharines, and we are in a position, from close observation of his actions since he came, to assert that he is as useful and popular here as he was in Newmarket, and if his health holds out for a few years he will leave the impress of his enlightenment and manly character on the inhabitants of that city.

Hearn, David A., Barrister, Arichat, M.P.P. for Richmond county, Nova Scotia, was born in Arichat, N.S., on the 14th of February, 1853. His parents were James Hearn and Isabella Campbell. His paternal grandfather came from Waterford, Ireland, and settled in Newfoundland, in 1817, and removed to Arichat, in 1822. His mother was a descendant of the Campbells, of the Island of Coll, Scotland. David received his education in the academy at Arichat, and studied law, first in the office of his brother, James H. Hearn, at Sydney, and afterwards with the Hon. Senator William Miller. He read up at the Law Library of Halifax for four months previous to his final examination, and was admitted to the bar of Nova Scotia, in 1878; and has successfully carried on his profession at Arichat ever since. In 1879 he was appointed a school commissioner, and still occupies the same position. In 1881 he was made a census commissioner; and in 1883 he was chief inspector of licenses for Richmond county under the Liquor License Act passed that year. In 1882-3 he filled the office of county solicitor, and in the following year was elected a member of the municipal council of Richmond county, and was re-elected in 1886. He was chiefly instrumental in the council in having steam communication renewed at Lennox Passage. He also succeeded in changing the system of assessment, so as to equalise the burthen of taxation on the ratepayers; and also inaugurated retrenchment and reform in the council. In 1878 he was chief organiser for the Conservative party in Richmond; but refused to recognise H. Paint as the Conservative candidate in 1882; and again in 1887 he supported E. P. Flynn, the Liberal candidate for the House of Commons at Ottawa, in preference to Mr. Paint. At the general election of 1886 Mr. Hearn was elected to represent the county of Richmond in the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia. His position in the house is thoroughly independent of party, and he thinks there should be no party politics in the local legislature. He, however, believes in the fiscal and general policy of the Dominion government. He is opposed to the repeal agitation in Nova Scotia; is in favour of a legislative union of the Maritime provinces; abolition of the Legislative Council, and approves of manhood suffrage. In politics Mr. Hearn may be classed as a supporter of the Conservative party, though holding advanced views on certain questions of great public moment. In religion he is an adherent of the Roman Catholic church. He was married on the 18th August, 1879, to Elizabeth Ida, eldest daughter of Francis Quinan, of Sydney, and niece of the Rev. James Quinan, of Sydney, John Quinan of Mainadieu, and the Hon. Senator Miller, of Arichat. The fruit of this marriage has been one child.

Girouard, Désiré, Q.C., D.C.L., M.P. for Jacques Cartier, residence Quatre Vents, Dorval, Quebec province, was born at St. Timothy, county of Beauharnois, on the 7th July, 1836. From l’Abbé Tanguay’s “Dictionnaire Généalogique,” it is learned that he is a descendant of Antoine Girouard, a native of Riom, Auvergne, France, who emigrated to Canada about 1720, and was private secretary to Chevalier de Ramezay, the then governor of Montreal. Mr. Girouard received his education at the Montreal College, and graduated in law at McGill University, where he obtained the degrees of B.C.L. and D.C.L. On the 1st of October, 1860, he was called to the bar, and in 1876 was made a Q.C. As a law writer, Mr. Girouard enjoys a well-earned reputation, his first work being an “Essai sur les Lettres de Change et Billets Promissoires,” which appeared in 1860, before he was admitted to the practice of his profession. Of this production Chief Justice La Fontaine said: “I have read attentively your Essay on Bills of Exchange, etc., and I take pleasure in acknowledging that you have, with very rare talent, collected all that could possibly be written on this subject which could interest Lower Canada. The opinions you express on the laws relating to the subject and on the decisions of the tribunals, show that your essay is the result of profound study on your part. Your book should be in the hands of every trade and business man. It would certainly be of great benefit to them. It will also be very useful to lawyers and judges. Permit me to hope that your book may prove to you a sure and certain guarantee of an honourable and brilliant career at the bar.” In 1865, Mr. Girouard published an “Etude sur l’Acte concernant la Faillite,” which he afterwards translated into English with many additions; and in 1868 he published another work entitled “Considérations sur les lois civiles du Mariage.” He was also a contributor to many publications; and in conjunction with W. H. Kerr, another leading barrister, foundedLa Revue Critique.La Revue Critiquewas founded at the time of the great judicial crisis of 1873-4, the members of the Montreal bar having refused to appear any longer before the Court of Appeal, so great was the dissatisfaction against that bench, when it was reconstituted in 1874 by Justices Cross, Tessier, and Ramsay, under the presidency of Chief Justice Dorion; andLa Revue Critiquewas then allowed to drop out of existence. Mr. Girouard’s articles on the “Treaty of Washington,” “The IndirectAlabamaClaims,” “Conflict of Commercial Prescriptions,” etc., all written in English, attracted the attention of the press both on this continent and in Europe. From 1858 to 1860, while a law student, Mr. Girouard was actively connected with L’Institut Canadien-Français, and delivered many lectures at the hall of the institute, and also at the Cabinet de Lecture Paroissial. These lectures were published in the French daily press of Montreal at the time, and highly praised. Among these may be particularly mentioned two papers—“La Philosophie du Droit,” and “L’Excellence des Mathématiques.” While spending the winter in the south, in 1870, he contributed many letters on Louisiana and New Orleans toLa Minerve. In 1882 the same paper also published several letters of Mr. Girouard on the North-West, and very recently, 9th July, 1887, an extensive study of the Fishery question. Mr. Girouard has always maintained a high position as an intelligent and learned advocate; hence he has often been retained in some of the most important suits which have been brought before the courts of the country during the past few years. Among politicians, Mr. Girouard is known as an able debater. He first entered the political arena in 1872, when, at the solicitation of the late Sir George Etienne Cartier, he presented himself in the Conservative interest in the county of Jacques Cartier against no less an adversary than Rodolphe Laflamme, Q.C., who enjoyed consideration, prestige, and influence, and was defeated by forty-eight votes. In 1874 the latter was returned by acclamation, Mr. Girouard having been nominated for Beauharnois, in which county he was defeated through the nomination of a third candidate. In 1876, he was requested to oppose the Hon. Mr. Laflamme, minister of Inland Revenue, in Jacques Cartier, and was defeated by twenty-eight votes. In 1878 he was again solicited to present himself against his old opponent; and it was at first reported that he had been defeated by fourteen votes, but on a recount by Justice Mackay, he was declared elected by two votes, although his majority was really over one hundred, as it was afterwards shown in the celebrated St. Anne’s ballot-box case. He was again returned for Jacques Cartier in 1882, and at the last general election, 22nd February, 1887. Mr. Girouard introduced in the House of Commons the Deceased Wife’s Sister bill, which was carried in 1882 after a prolonged debate and a strenuous opposition, especially from certain adherents to the Church of England. He has been chairman of the Committee on Privileges and Elections during the last and present parliaments. Although one of the staunchest supporters of Sir John A. Macdonald, he took a leading part in the movement against the execution of Riel, on the ground of insanity, and with ten or twelve other French Conservative members constituted for a time a separate group of the Conservative party, known as the “Bolters.” His letter published November, 1885, in answer to the defence of the government by Sir Alexander Campbell, was published by all the newspapers in Canada. Mr. Girouard was married for the first time to Mathilde, a daughter of the well-known and much respected merchant, John Pratt. This lady having died, he again married, in 1865, this time an American lady, Essie Cranwill, sister of Samuel Cranwill, cotton merchant, New Orleans and St. Louis. She died in Montreal, on the 30th June, 1879, leaving five children. Mr. Cranwill was the agent in Montreal for the Confederate states during the civil war. The eldest of Mr. Girouard’s sons, Emile, resides in Paris, France, where he is the administrator of the newspaper,Paris-Canada; the second, Percy, a graduate of the Royal Military College, Kingston, is an engineer; another, Désiré, B.A. of Laval University, has just been admitted to the study of law in Montreal. Mr. Girouard married a third time, on the 6th October, 1881, Edith Bertha Beatty, youngest daughter of Dr. Beatty, of Cobourg, Ont., and has two sons of this marriage.

Stewart, Geo., jr.,D.C.L., F.R.G.S., F.R.S.C., EditorMorning Chronicle, Quebec. Among Canadian litterateurs, Geo. Stewart, jr., has fairly won for himself the distinguished position and reputation he enjoys, both in England and Canada, as a man of letters, and one of the brilliant literary lights of which our dominion is so justly proud. Dr. Stewart was born November 26th, 1848, in New York city, and at an early age removed, with his parents, to St. John, New Brunswick, where he was educated. He is, comparatively speaking, a young man, to be the recipient of so many favoured marks of recognition by societies of learning for his valuable contributions. At the early age of sixteen years he edited a little journal,The Stamp Collector’s Gazette, and two years later publishedStewart’s Quarterly Magazine, to whose support he brought the pens of all the leading writers in Canada. In 1878 Dr. Stewart accepted the editorship of theRose-Belford’s Canadian Monthly, and a year later that of theQuebec Morning Chronicle, which latter position he still holds. It is owing to his ability and talents that this paper has become an authority on all leading Canadian questions of the day. He was elected, in 1879, a member of the International Literary Congress of Europe—an honour conferred on no other Canadian,—and having the celebrated French veteran writer, Victor Hugo, for president. The few Americans similarly distinguished were Longfellow, Bancroft, Holmes, Emerson and Whittier. The Royal Geographical Society has bestowed its degree of Fellow upon Dr. Stewart, and King’s University of Nova Scotia was proud to grant him a D.C.L. The Royal Society of Canada elected him, at its inauguration, secretary for the English section, which important trust he still retains; while the time-honoured Literary and Historical Society of Quebec has three times called him to the presidency. He has been a member also of the Council of the Royal Society since its second year. The exclusive literary club of London, the Athæneum, admitted him an honorary member, his sponsors being Matthew Arnold and Lord Tennyson. His principal works are “Evenings in the Library,” “Canada under the Administration of the Earl of Dufferin,” nine leading papers in the “Encyclopædia Britannica,” and this high authority names Dr. Stewart among its strongest and most brilliant contributors amid a galaxy of learned and world-renowned names; “Frontenac and his times,” in Justin Winsor’s “Analytical and Critical History of America,” and “The Story of the Great Fire in St. John, N.B.” He is also the author of several articles in “Appleton’s Cyclopædia of American Biography,” and a contributor to theScottish Review, London; TorontoWeek, etc., etc. In May of 1878 the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of St. John, N.B., presented him with a handsome and very valuable gold watch and illuminated address, and a public dinner was given him by the citizens in 1872, upon his retirement from the editorship ofStewart’s Quarterly. In style of composition Dr. Stewart is graceful and dignified. His historical works bear the imprint of deep research and careful summarizing. Leading English and American magazines are frequently enriched by his articles, which are eagerly perused by the reading and deep-thinkingsavantsof our day. Canada is proud of such a worthy literary representative, whose genius and versatile abilities make him the rival and equal of the best writers the old world can produce. He was married on the 28th of April, 1875, to Maggie M., niece of the late E. D. Jewett, of Lancaster Heights, St. John, N.B.

Ruel, James Rhodes, Collector of Customs and Registrar of Shipping at the Port of St. John, New Brunswick, was born at Pembridge House, Welsh Newton, Herefordshire, England, on the 22nd of October, 1820. His father was John Godfrey Ruel, a lineal descendant of the famous Dr. Johann Rühl, chancellor of the Cardinal Archbishop of Mayntz, the Elector Albert of Brandenberg, and also the favoured councillor and representative of Count Mannsfield in 1540 at the Diet of Nuremberg, and at other similar assemblies. Dr. Rühl was the brother-in-law of Luther, and stood boldly at his side in the great historic interview with Cardinal Cajetan at Augsburg. His devotion on this occasion drew from Luther the promise that he would never fail to reciprocate it to himself and to his children. He was one of the chief and most honoured guests at the great Reformer’s wedding, and was never addressed by him but with the profoundest expressions of official respect and brotherly affection. They appear to have lived together in the closest friendship. The family was of senatorial rank in the city of Heilbronn, and was related to the Counts Fugger of Kirchberg and Weissonhorn, the head of which at the present time is the Prince of Babenhausen, who is related to Queen Victoria through the house of Hohenlohe Langenburg. By a curious coincidence the Counts Fugger acted as the bankers of the Pope for the sale of those very indulgences against which Luther had opened the greatest crusade which was ever fought in Christendom. Gottfried Rüehl, a rich and distinguished member of the family, settled in London about one hundred and seventy years ago, and his grandson, John Godfrey Ruel, was born there; educated at Harrow, and served as an officer in the Royal marines in H.M.S.Thetisand other ships with considerable distinction until the peace in 1815. He married, in 1817, Catherine B. Cléry, a daughter of a descendant of a French count of that name, and came to New Brunswick in 1833 with his family of six sons and three daughters. He returned to England in 1849, and died there in 1852, and his wife in April, 1887, aged 98 years. James R. Ruel, his second son, was educated at the High School in Monmouth, England, and at the Grammar School in St. John, N.B. He entered the service of the city corporation in the common clerk’s office in July, 1839, and became successively deputy common clerk and clerk of the peace, auditor of county and city accounts, chamberlain of the city, and on 1st November, 1870, was appointed by the Canadian government to the offices he now holds. In September, 1850, he was associated with the Rev. Dr. I. W. D. Gray in the editorial management of theChurch Witness, a newspaper established to counteract the teaching of the High Church party, and in 1855 took the sole management of the paper until its publication was closed in 1864. Previous to 1845 he had espoused the views of the Tractarian school, and was an ardent supporter of them, but finding about that time that they were not in accord either with the scriptures, or the doctrines of the great teachers in the Church of England of the Reformation era, he abandoned them, and has held ever since with a firm grasp the doctrines of grace as taught in the Evangelical school. He has been connected with St. John’s Church since October, 1833, and on its erection into a separate parish in 1853, he was elected a vestryman and vestry clerk, and has been one of the wardens of it for the last twenty years. On the occasion of the movement for the confederation of the provinces, he was chairman of the British American Association, which was formed at that time to promote it. And in all questions or projects to advance the welfare of the city of St. John he ever took a deep interest. He married in 1854 Harriet, a daughter of John Kinnear, who died in 1859, leaving no issue; and in 1861, Sophia M., daughter of the Hon. Hugh Johnston, by whom he has three sons and one daughter now living.

Earle, Sylvester Zobieski, M.D., St. John, New Brunswick, was born at Kingston, Kings county, New Brunswick, on the 7th August, 1822. His parents were Sylvester and Maria Earle. His paternal grandfather served as a captain in the royal army, during the American revolution, and on the proclamation of peace his company being disbanded, he came to New Brunswick where he settled. On the paternal side Dr. Earle is descended from John Zobieski, King of Poland. He received his education at the Kingston Grammar School, and then studied medicine under the celebrated Doctors Valentine Mott and Gunnay L. Bedford. He graduated from the University of New York, in 1844, and afterwards visited the several medical schools of Great Britain and the continent of Europe. He removed to St. John, in 1864, and began practice, and shortly afterwards was appointed surgeon to the 62nd St. John volunteer battalion, now the 62nd Royal Fusiliers. In 1845 he was made surgeon to the Kings county militia; and in 1846, in company with the late Colonel Saunders, raised the A troop of cavalry, which formed the nucleus of the present 8th cavalry, “Princess Louise Hussars.” During the Fenian raid in 1866, he was on active service with his regiment, the Fusiliers, at St. Andrews and at Campo Bello, and retired from the service in 1875, holding the rank of major. In 1867 he was appointed coroner for the city and county of St. John, and this office he still holds. In 1877 Dr. Earle was elected mayor of the city of St. John, the year of the great fire, and as a reward for the services he rendered on that trying occasion, was re-elected for another term by acclamation. He occupied the position of warden of the city and county during the same period; and in 1878 he was made a justice of the peace. He is a commissioner of the General Public Hospital, and a member of the St. John Board of Health. He has been a member of the Canada Medical Association since its formation, and is now its vice-president; is a past president of the New Brunswick Medical Association; is president of the New Brunswick Medical Council, and consulting physician to the General Public Hospital. He belongs to both the Masonic and Oddfellows’ orders, and occupies high positions in both organizations. The doctor has travelled a good deal, and is familiar with the leading cities in Europe and America. In politics he is Liberal-Conservative; and in religion is an adherent of the Episcopal form of worship. In 1847 he was married to Catherine McGill, daughter of Captain Allen Otty, R.N., and has issue four sons and two daughters. Thomas J. O. Earle, M.D., is practising medicine at Young’s Cove, Queens county; Allan O. A., barrister, practising in St. John; William Z., divisional engineer, Canadian Pacific Railroad; S. Z. Earle, also an engineer, Canadian Pacific Railway; two daughters, Eliza Crookshank and Marie.

Kennedy, George Thomas, M.A., B.A.Sc., F.G.S., Professor of Chemistry, Geology and Mining, in King’s College, Windsor, Nova Scotia, was born on the 4th January, 1845, in the city of Montreal, Quebec province. His father was the late William Kennedy, builder, who was born in York, Yorkshire, England, on May 21, 1790, and died in Montreal, October 22, 1855. His mother, Ann Evans, was a native of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, born 3rd April, 1800, and died in Montreal, 13th August, 1870. This couple were brought up as members of the Church of England, and were married by the late Dean Bethune, of Montreal, and their children christened by the same clergyman; but they afterwards joined the Congregational body, and the family were brought up in that church. This worthy couple had a large family, five of whom still survive, two sisters and three brothers. The sons are, George Thomas, the subject of our sketch; William, a retired builder, who from 1873 to 1876 sat as alderman in the city council of Montreal, and is at present (1887) a member of the same body, and also holds a commission as lieutenant-colonel of the Montreal Engineers; and Richard A., M.A., M.D.C.M., who is a practising physician in Montreal. He is also emeritus professor of obstetrics and diseases of children in Bishop’s College, Lennoxville, and consulting physician to the Montreal Dispensary, physician to the Western Hospital, etc., Montreal. Professor Kennedy was educated in Montreal, first at a private school, then at the Church Colonial School, and at the McGill Model and High schools. He then entered the arts department of McGill University, in September, 1864, and graduated B.A., with first rank honours in geology and natural science, in May, 1868. During the winter of 1869-70 he attended the Sheffield Scientific School, in connection with Yale College, New Haven, U.S., and whilst in New Haven he took a select course of post graduate studies, including practical chemistry, mineralogy, mining, assaying, German, etc. After his return home in the winter of 1870-71 he became assistant to Sir J. William Dawson, LL.D., F.R.S., in the chemical laboratory and museum of McGill College. In the fall of 1871, Mr. Kennedy entered as a graduate student in the applied science department of McGill, and in May following received the degree of M.A. (in course). In May, 1873, he graduated B.A.Sc. in civil and mechanical engineering in the same college. In the summer of 1873 he was elected professor of chemistry and natural science by the governors of Acadia College, Wolfville, N.S., and in October of the following year entered upon these duties. In 1881 he resigned the chair of chemistry in Acadia College; and in the fall of 1882, the chair of chemistry and geology in King’s College, Windsor, Nova Scotia, becoming vacant, he was offered the position by the late Dr. Binney, bishop of Nova Scotia, president of the Board of Governors, which he accepted, and entered upon his duties in January, 1883. In the spring of 1885, when the teaching staff of the college was re-organized, Mr. Kennedy was re-appointed to the same professorship. On the 29th June, 1887, the governors of the college elected him vice-president of the institution. In 1883 he was appointed librarian and scientific curator of the college museum, both of which positions he still holds. In November, 1876, Professor Kennedy was elected an associate member of the Nova Scotia Institute of Natural Science; in August, 1880, a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; in December, 1883, a Fellow of the Geological Society of London, Britain; in August, 1884, a member of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and before leaving Montreal he was a member of both the Natural History and the Microscopical Societies of that city. In the summer of 1869, Dr. G. M. Dawson, F.G.S., of the Canadian Geological Survey, and Professor Kennedy assisted Sir J. W. Dawson in the geological examination of the Devonian rocks of Gaspé Bay. And during a portion of the summer of 1871, in company with J. F. Whiteaves, F.R.S., palæontologist of the Canadian Government Survey, the professor also assisted in dredging, in the Canadian government schooner, for marine life in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. During the summer of 1832, Professor Kennedy commenced dredging the Basin of Minas, Nova Scotia, with the view of studying the marine life in that basin; and the work he is still carrying on. For several years past, as time permits, he has been examining the geology of Nova Scotia, and has also found time to contribute a series of articles to our scientific papers and magazines. He is an adherent of the Episcopal church. On the 17th July, 1878, he was married to Emma, daughter of John D. Longard, of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Adams, Hon. Michael, Barrister, Newcastle, New Brunswick, was born at Douglastown, Northumberland county, N.B., on the 13th August, 1845. His parents were Samuel Adams and Mary Ann Adams, who were both natives of Cork, Ireland, and emigrated to this country. Mr. Adams received his education in the common school of the place of his birth. Having chosen law as a profession, he entered the law office of Hon. E. Williston in 1864, and continued to study under this gentleman until 1867, when he entered with the Hon. Allan A. Dawson, and in 1869 he was admitted to the bar of New Brunswick. The following year, 1870, he presented himself as a candidate for parliamentary honours, and was elected to represent Northumberland in the New Brunswick legislature. At the next general election he again offered himself for election, but the education question being before the county, and he being a strong supporter of the separate school system, he was defeated by about two hundred votes. Again, in 1878, he came before the electorate, and was returned by his old constituency; and in June of the same year he was made a member of the government, with the portfolio of surveyor-general. This necessitated another appeal to his constituents, when he was elected by acclamation. This office he held until 1882, when a general election took place and he was once more returned to parliament. In 1883, the government, of which he was a member, having suffered a defeat on a non confidence motion, he and his friends retired from office. At the general election held in 1886, the Hon. Mr. Adams was again returned; and in 1887 he resigned his seat in the local assembly to contest the county of Northumberland, in the interests of the Liberal-Conservative party, against the Hon. Peter Mitchell, an Independent Liberal, and was defeated. Since then Mr. Adams has been attending to his professional business, which is large and claims nearly all his attention. Hon. Mr. Adams visited Leadville, Colorado, some years ago, in the interest of a silver mining property partly owned by his brother, Samuel Adams, who is now State Senator for Colorado, and another, John J. Adams, United States Congressman for the city of New York, and who has a large interest in the Adams Manufacturing Company. As will be seen, Hon. Mr. Adams is a Liberal-Conservative in politics, has worked hard for his party, and we have no doubt that at no distant day he will be found in the House of Commons at Ottawa. He is an adherent of the Roman Catholic church. He was married in 1869 to Catherine L. Patterson, who died in 1881. He was married again on 29th November to Miss Nealis, daughter of Simon Nealis, Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Stephen, Sir George, Baronet, Montreal, President of the Canadian Pacific Railway of Canada, was born at Dufftown, Banff, Scotland, on the 5th of June, 1829, and received his education in the parish school of his native place. On leaving school at the age of fourteen, he was apprenticed to the late Alexander Sinclair, draper and dealer in dry goods in Aberdeen. After serving the usual apprenticeship of four years, he entered the service of the well-known wholesale and shipping house of J. F. Pawson & Co., of St. Paul’s Church Yard, London, where his business education was completed. In 1850 he came to Canada, and entered the service of his cousin, the late William Stephen, of Montreal, with whom, in 1853, he formed a partnership under the style of William Stephen & Co. Mr. Stephen having died in 1862, George purchased his late friend’s interest in the business, and at once entered largely into the manufacture of cloth. This venture having proved highly remunerative, he withdrew from the wholesale trade, and devoted his attention exclusively to this branch of business. He was elected a director of the Bank of Montreal, the largest banking institution in Canada; and in 1876, on the retirement of Mr. King from the presidency, he was chosen vice-president. On the death of the late David Torrance he was elected president. Sir George Stephen’s first connection with railway enterprises, and with which his name will always be connected in the annals of our country, was his joining a syndicate for the purchase of the interests of the Dutch holders of the bonds of the St. Paul and Pacific Railway, which gave them control of this partially constructed line. Realising the importance of this road as a link in the chain of railway communication with the North-Westviathe Pembina branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway, they carried the work of construction rapidly forward, and soon found themselves in possession of an exceedingly profitable line. They were in a position to control not only the entire traffic of the Canadian North-West, but to render tributary a large part of Minnesota and Dakota. The large profits made from this monopoly they devoted to extending the sphere of their operations by constructing lines in various directions, making St. Paul the focal point of this system, and re-naming their line the St. Paul and Manitoba Railway. This led to Sir George’s connection with our great national line, the Canadian Pacific Railway, and in 1881 he was elected its president. In 1885, in conjunction with his cousin, Sir Donald A. Smith, he founded the “Montreal Scholarship,” tenable for three years, and open to the residents of Montreal and its neighbourhood, in the Royal College of Music of London; and again in 1887 he joined his cousin in presenting the munificent sum of $1,000,000 ($500,000 each) to build a new hospital, to be called the Victoria Hospital, at the present time (1887) in course of erection. In 1885 the government of Canada presented him with the Confederation medal, and in 1886 Her Majesty the Queen created him a baronet, in recognition of his great services in connection with the Canadian Pacific Railway. Though married, he has no family of his own to inherit his great wealth and honours. A few years ago his adopted daughter was united in marriage to the son of Sir Stafford Northcote, and resides in England. Sir George is one of the most popular, charitable and kind-hearted men in the dominion.

Harper, J. M., M.A., Ph.D., F.E.I.S., Quebec, the subject of the following biographical sketch, was born on the 10th February, 1845, at Johnstone, in Renfrewshire, Scotland. Dr. Harper is the son of the late Robert M. Harper, printer, bookseller and publisher, of Johnstone, and founder of the first weekly newspaper printed in that place. On the maternal side, he is of Celtic origin. His granduncle, the late Robert Montgomery, was for many years a prominent manufacturer in Johnstone, where he was held in high esteem by his fellow citizens. Johnstone forms part of the Paisley Abbey parish, a district famous for its schools, and it was at one of the best of those that the subject of our sketch received the rudiments of his education. From the parish school he went to the Glasgow E. C. Training College, an institution founded by Stowe, and one from which America has drawn several prominent educationists. He entered college as a Queen’s scholar of the first rank, and after completing the full course of study, retired with the highest certificates granted by the lords of committee of Council on Education, and with special certificates from the science and art department, Kensington. After coming to this country, he became a graduate of Queen’s University, Kingston, and some years ago he received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the Illinois University, after completing the three years post graduate course in the section of metaphysical science. In 1881 he was unanimously elected a fellow of the Educational Institute of Scotland, an honour seldom conferred upon teachers labouring outside of Britain, and only upon those of advanced experience. Before leaving Scotland he had received an appointment to an academy in New Brunswick, where he laboured successfully for the full term of his engagement. After several years residence in the Maritime provinces, he was eventually appointed principal of the Victoria and High Schools, St. John, N.B., the largest institution of the kind in that section of Canada. Here, as elsewhere, he laboured to raise the teaching profession in the estimation of the public, and endeavoured to foster anesprit de corpsamong the teachers themselves. He succeeded in introducing many of the improved methods of imparting instruction by holding meetings with the teachers, and otherwise followed up his efforts in this direction by giving instruction in drawing, chemistry, botany, and kindred subjects. In 1877 the Hon. L. H. Davies, premier of Prince Edward Island, visited the educational institutions of St. John, and meeting with the principal of the Victoria School, was not slow in recognizing his worth as an educationist. After carefully examining the system under which the St. John schools were being conducted, and no doubt anxious to introduce such a system in his own province, he invited Dr. Harper to accept the position of superintendent of Education in Prince Edward Island. This generous offer, however, was declined, as the head master of the Victoria School had no desire to leave his adopted province. But not long after, the Victoria School building was destroyed in the great fire of St. John, and, on hearing of the calamity, Mr. Davies followed up his previous offer by asking Dr. Harper to assume the principalship of the Provincial Normal School in Charlottetown. This the latter did, but only on the understanding that he would be free to return to St. John as soon as the Victoria School was rebuilt. While on the island the value of his work was at once keenly appreciated. In a letter written by the premier, in which he gives expression to the general sentiment of the public in regard to educational progress on the island, he says: “As a matter of fact, Mr. Harper organized the whole school. What existed under the name of Normal School was merely a name. He infused life and vitality into it. The bitterness of religious strife was such when he took charge as to defy all attempts to make the school in any sense a provincial one. By tact and judicious management, he succeeded in overcoming all that, and under his rule the school has been a great success. Intimately connected with him as I was for nearly two years, I can speak of his ability, tact, and administrative power, because he was, in addition to being principal of the Normal School, also superintendent of the city schools. He succeeded in carrying out the difficult task of grading Protestant and Catholic children in the schools, so that entire satisfaction was given to the citizens. I consider the province owes him a debt of gratitude for his successful labours.” Nor is the testimony of others less explicit. “Mr. Harper,” says the Rev. Mr. McLennan, “has occupied for some time the position of principal of the Normal School of this province, and of superintendent of the city schools, having been invited to occupy these offices by the government for the purpose of establishing a system of training, organization and equipment suitable to give effect to a Public School Act, passed by the legislature in 1877. The high reputation which he enjoyed as a teacher and writer on school affairs—the influential situation he was filling at the time as principal of the Victoria School, St. John, New Brunswick, and the recommendation of prominent educationists who were acquainted with his career, pointed him out as eminently fitted for the position offered to him in Prince Edward Island. The heavy task which he undertook was performed with vigour, ability, and acknowledged success. The condition of the city schools, in point of organization and methods of instruction, was soon brought into conformity with that which characterizes the best public schools in other provinces. A superior public edifice was constructed at a cost of $30,000; while in the Normal School the work of instruction and training, conducted more immediately by himself, gave indications of the value of that special work, virtually new in this province.” At the end of a year or more, when Dr. Harper proposed to return to St. John, the government of Prince Edward Island, being anxious to continue the work of educational progress so successfully inaugurated, put forth every effort to induce him to resign his position in New Brunswick, and to take up his abode permanently in Charlottetown. After some delay they succeeded, and for three years the subject of our sketch became a resident of the island, holding during the last year of his residence, when a change of government, in 1879, brought about the amalgamation of the Normal School and the Prince of Wales College, the position of professor in the amalgamated institution, with special supervision of the department for the training of teachers. Beyond his professional reputation, however, Dr. Harper has not failed to make his mark as a gentleman of matured literary tastes. From his earliest years he has taken a deep interest in literature and literary pursuits. In Nova Scotia he took an active part in establishing a literary periodical, devoted at its inception to the cultivation of Canadian literature, and has continued more or less frequently to contribute to our periodical literature in prose and verse. Many of his lyrics have been highly praised, while some of his poems in the Scottish dialect merit a prominent place in the literature of his native country. He also enjoys a reputation of some distinction as a writer and compiler of school text-books, and is the author of several excellent lectures, including “Plato,” “The New Education,” “Cause and Effect in School Work,” and others. The Literary and Historical Society of Quebec is indebted to him for two valuable papers, published in the Transactions, and entitled, “The Maritime Provinces,” and “The Development of the Greek Drama.” He is also a contributor to the Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada. For many years Dr. Harper was rector of the Quebec High School, and for a season was also professor of mathematics in Morin College. At present he holds the position of inspector of Superior schools for the province of Quebec, being, besides, editor of theEducational Record, examiner for teachers’ licenses, and secretary-treasurer of the Protestant Board of School Commissioners. He is also president of the teachers’ local association; vice-president of the Provincial Association of Teachers; vice-president of the Quebec Literary and Historical Society, and president of the St. Andrew’s Society. In the rank of progressive educationists, Dr. Harper occupies a prominent place. Few can show a fuller record of honest work done in the interests of education in Canada. Indeed, he has always been most ready to lend his experience, professional training, and literary ability to advance the interests of a calling which is now being universally recognized as second in importance to no other. He was married to Agnes, daughter of William Kirkwood, of Stanley Muir, Paisley, by whom he has had two sons and five daughters. Mrs. Harper died in 1883.

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