Mountain, George Jehoshaphat, second son of Dr. Jacob Mountain, first bishop of Quebec, and descendant of one of the Huguenots whom the persecutions of Louis the Fourteenth had driven out of France to take refuge in Norfolk, England, was born at Norwich, on the 27th of July, 1789. He was of Norman and Saxon descent, claiming kindred with Michael De Montaigne, the celebrated French essayist. At the age of seven years he commenced his Latin grammar, while residing with his father, at Woodfield, near Quebec. At sixteen he was sent to Little Easton, county of Essex, England, where he prepared to enter Trinity College, Cambridge. There he acquitted himself in such a manner as induced Dr. Monk, professor of Greek, one of his examiners, to recommend him as principal of a college in Nova Scotia, for which position he considered Mr. Mountain peculiarly fitted. On leaving Cambridge he returned to Quebec, and acted as secretary for his father while studying for the ministry. On the 2nd of August, 1812, he was ordained a deacon, and was appointed to assist the bishop’s chaplain, Rev. Salter Mountain. In 1814 he was admitted to the order of priest, and was appointed evening lecturer in the cathedral, and on the 2nd of August, in the same year, he was married to Mary Hume, third daughter of Deputy-General Commissary Thompson, and went to Nova Scotia, where he was appointed rector of Fredericton, and also chaplain of the troops and Legislative Council. After three years sojourn there he resigned, and returned to Quebec, and on his arrival was appointed bishop’s official and officiating clergyman of Quebec. He commenced life well; his earliest noticeable act was to establish intimate relations with the “Venerable Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and for Propagating the Gospel.” His second was to establish, at Quebec, national schools for boys and girls. Early in January, 1818, he commenced as a simple missionary, and afterward continued as archdeacon to visit the outlying portions of the diocese. Such work he found, to the end of his career, to be full of attraction and encouragement, for in heart and soul he was thebeau idealof a missionary. In 1819 he received the degree of D.D. from the Archbishop of Canterbury, and was appointed a member of the “Board for the Advancement of Learning in Canada.” In 1821 he became rector of Quebec and archdeacon of Lower Canada. In 1823 he was nominated honorary professor of divinity and principal of McGill College, Montreal. In 1825 he went to England, his chief object being to represent the claim of the Anglican church in the matter of the clergy reserves, and also to express his father’s wish to be relieved of a portion of the cares of his bishopric. The suggestion he made was that the diocese of Quebec, which covered nearly half a continent, should be divided into two parts, each to be a separate bishopric; or, if this proposition was not acceded to, he suggested that the Rev. Dr. Stewart be associated with his father in the administration of the See. These plans, however, were set at naught by the death of his father, which event occurred on the 18th of June, 1825, while he was yet absent in the motherland, and Rev. Dr. Stewart succeeded Rev. Jacob Mountain as Bishop of Quebec. Ten years passed slowly by, and in 1835 the archdeacon, the subject of our sketch, again went to England, his objects being the same as before—the settlement of the clergy reserve question, and the necessity of procuring further episcopal assistance in the diocese. Bishop Stewart had broken down, even as his predecessor had done before him, and was most anxious that the archdeacon, “whom he dearly loved and called his ‘right hand,’ should be appointed suffragan.” “This duty,” says his biographer, “the latter was more than disinclined to accept, for his desire from first to last was to serve, not to rule. He only yielded when Bishop Stewart emphatically declared he would have no one else.” He was consecrated coadjutor on the 14th of January, 1836, under the title of Bishop of Montreal. On the 22nd of September, Bishop Stewart went to England, and did not return, for, becoming weaker and weaker, he died in the following year. Thus, despite his wishes to the contrary, the subject of our sketch became the third bishop of the undivided diocese of Canada. Rev. George Jehoshaphat Mountain was a true and humble-minded Christian; all the events of his life go to prove this. While his devotion to the sick and suffering at Quebec, in 1832, when the cholera rushed like a cyclone from Grosse-Isle to the mainland, and hundreds of homes were made desolate, renders his name well worthy of record among the great and good of our land, and again his light shines before the world in 1847, when typhus fever, the result of the famine in Ireland, was imported into Canada. It is written: “The Anglican clergy, few in number, with devoted zeal, took their duty at Grosse-Isle week about, the bishop taking the first week. Most of the clergy sickened, and two of them died of the fever. The trial, we may imagine, was acute enough, for in the summer of 1847, upwards of five thousand interments took place at the immigrants’ station at Grosse-Isle. ‘No one liveth to himself or dieth to himself,’ wrote the heroic bishop. There was chivalry as well as gentleness in his nature which, like expressed virtue, communicated itself to all.” Bishop Mountain served his God as a minister of the gospel for fifty years, and died on the morning of the feast of the Epiphany, 1863, deeply respected and beloved.
Blair, Hon. Andrew George, Attorney-General and Premier of New Brunswick, was born in Fredericton, N.B., on the 7th March, 1844. He is of Scotch descent. He was educated at the Collegiate School, in Fredericton. He chose law as a profession, and after spending the usual time in study, was called to the bar in April, 1866, and successfully practised for some years. In 1878 he entered the political arena, and was returned to represent York county in the House of Assembly of New Brunswick, at the general election of that year. A petition, however, having been filed against his return, he resigned the seat, and on the issue of a new writ, was re-elected on the 14th November of the same year. At the first session of the new house, in February, 1879, he was chosen leader of the opposition, then consisting of only six members beside himself, in a house of forty-one. In the last session of that house, held in 1882, the opposition, under his leadership, had increased to seventeen. At the general election of that year, 1882, he was re-elected for his old constituency, and in March, 1883, defeated the Hanington government, and was called upon to form a new ministry, which he succeeded in accomplishing in one day. On accepting the office of attorney-general he again appealed to his constituents on the 24th of March, and was elected. At the general elections held in 1887 he was once more elected, at the head of the New Brunswick Legislature as premier and attorney-general. Hon. Mr. Blair is an independent Liberal in politics; and in religion is an adherent of the Methodist church. He was married on 31st October, 1866, to Annie E., eldest daughter of George Thompson, late of the educational department, at Fredericton. The issue of this union has been ten children.
Burland, George B., President and General Manager of the British American Bank Note Company, Montreal.—Mr. Burland, the subject of our sketch, is descended from a long line of illustrious ancestry. There is an old estate in Cheshire, called “Burland,” after the family, and at the time of the accession of Edward III. to the throne in 1327, Robert de Burland held possession in the county of Somerset. John Burland, born in 1696, married, in 1718, Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Claver Morris, M.D., of the city of Wells. He died November 6, 1746, and left four sons and two daughters: John Burland, son and heir; Claver Morris Burland, M.D.; William Burland, fellow New College, Oxford; Robert Burland; Mary, wife of Rev. William Hudlestone, and Anne, wife of Rev. William Eater. John, the eldest son, was of Baliol College, Oxford, where he entered in 1740. In 1743 he went to the Middle Temple, and was called to the bar in 1746. In 1762 he was made sergeant-at-law; in 1773 he was given the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws; in 1774 he was knighted and sworn one of the Barons of the Exchequer in room of Baron Adams. This he enjoyed but one year and eleven months, and died February 29, 1776, by the rupture of a blood vessel in his brain, as he was sitting in company with his brother, Robert Burland, and his intimate friend, Colonel Charles Webb. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, where a handsome monument, with the following inscription, is erected to his memory: “Near this place are deposited the remains of the Hon. Sir John Burland, Knt., LL.D., one of the Barons of his Majesty’s Court of Exchequer; as a man, valued and beloved, as a judge, honoured and revered. He died suddenly on the 29th February, 1776, aged 51 years.” This gentleman married, in 1747, Lætitia, the daughter of Wm. Berkeley Portman, of Orchard Portman, and Anne, his wife, only daughter of Sir Edward Seymour, of Maiden Bradley, baronet, speaker of the House of Commons, and comptroller of the household of Queen Anne. George B. Burland, of Montreal, is descended from this family, and was born at Loggan Hall, in the county of Wexford, in the year 1829. His father, Benjamin Burland, was born in 1779, and educated for the medical profession. He married, in 1806, Belinda Roe, daughter of Robert Roe, a gentleman of ample wealth, and owner of large estates in Queen’s county. He sailed for Canada in July, 1840, and died in 1842. His uncle was one of the first to afford relief to the sufferers in the great famine of 1739. His father and his father’s brothers were gentlemen of considerable influence, and owned extensive properties in the counties of Wicklow and Wexford, now in possession of the DeRenzie family. They took an active part in the troubles of 1798. One of them was reputed in his day the best horseman and swordsman in Ireland. During the Irish rebellion his father, at great personal risk, saved the life of a priest by placing himself between the levelled muskets and their intended victim. For this service the rev. gentleman presented him with a sword now in the possession of the subject of this sketch. Tablets in Kilpipe and Kilcommon churches note the resting-places of members of his family. His uncle was appointed surveyor to the customs at Montreal by the British government; and his cousin, B. Burland, is at present a surgeon-major in the 19th Hussars. George B. Burland’s education was entrusted to a private tutor, and when his schooling was over, he entered upon business pursuits, in 1844, in the office of his uncle, George P. Bull, who was at that period proprietor and publisher of the HamiltonGazette. His cousins, Rev. Geo. A. Richard, and the late Hon. Harcourt B. Bull, were then residents of Hamilton; and he remained with them some three or four years and then returned to Montreal. This initial connection with the press soon led to another stage in a cognate branch of publication. The late George Matthews, engraver, succeeded, after many efforts, in inducing the Bank of Montreal to have its bills printed in Canada, the plates being then engraved at the Bank of England, in London. Having secured this step, his next important move was to obtain for that department a manager who could be relied upon for his intelligence and business energy to carry out the new undertaking with success. The choice fell upon Mr. Burland; and thus having identified himself with the undertaking from the first, and acquired an interest in it, his energy, industry and tact enabled him soon to attain to a full partnership. His partner, Mr. Matthews, having secured a competency in the course of time, retired from the business, and left Mr. Burland to conduct affairs. The latter then set about to widen the sphere of his operations, and in spite of many obstacles, which only seemed to stimulate his pluck and perseverance, and notwithstanding the strenuous opposition of the American Bank Note Company and his former partner, he successfully established the British American Bank Note Company, which has been intimately connected with the engraving and printing of the bank note work of the country for over a quarter of a century. Besides being the founder, Mr. Burland is president, and has been general manager of the company since its incorporation. In 1874 he obtained a charter of incorporation for the Burland Lithographic Company, the destinies of which he successfully conducted, as president and general manager, until 1886, when he retired from that double office, on account of his health, and because of his other multifarious interests and occupations. Indeed, he is concerned in many important business enterprises. He is president of the Protestant Insane Asylum of the province of Quebec, to which charity he donated the sum of five thousand dollars. He is a life governor of the Montreal General Hospital, Western Female Hospital, Montreal Dispensary, Boys’ Home, Protestant Orphan Asylum, Irish Protestant Benevolent Association, and Protestant Orphan Asylum, Ottawa, and a life member of the Art Association, of Montreal. To support the principles advanced by the Rev. James Roy, who had been accused of heresy in the Methodist church, and with the view of retaining him in the ministry, Mr. Burland built and equipped one of the handsomest churches in the city of Montreal, at a cost of over $50,000. We merely mention this as an instance of the liberal assistance which he has extended to others without desiring or allowing publicity, and in fact many other proofs of his generosity are known to the writer, which have been carefully hidden from the world by their donor. This sacred edifice has since become the property of the St. Gabriel Church congregation, to which body Mr. Burland donated the sum of $5,000. He also contributed the sum of $2,500 to the Congregational College, Montreal, and has always been a liberal contributor to charitable objects. He was, furthermore, one of the original subscribers to the stock of the Windsor Hotel Company, Montreal, and was one of the few who formed a syndicate to complete the building at a time when its success appeared to be doubtful. He has been one of the directors for many years, is the vice-president, and largest shareholder in the company. He is also widely interested in the manufacturing industries and joint stock companies of the Dominion, and is one of the largest property-owners in the city of Montreal. Some of its most modern and artistic buildings have been erected by him, and he was the first of the citizens to import some of the beautiful woods of British Columbia which have been used in their construction. Mr. Burland married, in 1857, Clarissa, the youngest daughter of the late George Cochrane, of Quebec, by whom he had one son and three daughters. When his son became of age a few years ago he presented him with $25,000 as a birthday present. His gifts to other members of his household have been proportionately liberal on their attaining their majority. The action of Mr. Burland in this matter, as well as in his numerous acts of munificence to the many charitable institutions of the city of Montreal and elsewhere, is worthy of the highest commendation, and we trust the day is not far distant when the men of wealth and noble instincts will follow his example, and not defer the disposal of their wealth till after death, but witness, in the evening of their days, the great blessings they were enabled to impart to their fellow beings. In the year 1883 Mr. Burland paid a visit to Europe with his family, travelling over England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany and Switzerland, and thereby greatly benefiting his health; and since then, while still keeping an eye on his numerous interests, he is free to devote much time to works of philanthropy and public usefulness. He is still comparatively a young man, and there is every reason to hope that he will be spared many years to the circle of his family, and to the more enlarged sphere of good citizenship. Men of his stamp are not met with every day, and the lesson of patience, industry, thrift and business management, resulting in the accumulation of large wealth, invested where it can do most private and public good, which his career presents, is worthy of permanent commemoration.
Tellier, Hon. Louis, Judge of the Superior Court of the province of Quebec, St. Hyacinthe, is a son of Zephirin Tellier, of Ste. Melanie de Daillebout, yeoman, and Luce Ferland, daughter of Prisque Ferland, and was born at Berthier-en-haut, December 24th, 1844. The Tellier family came from France about 1789, its progenitor in this province settling at Berthier-en-haut. Mr. Tellier was educated at Joliette College; began the study of law at Joliette, under the Hon. Mr. Baby, who became federal minister of inland revenue, and is now one of the judges of the Court of Queen’s Bench, and finished at St. Hyacinthe, under the Hon. Hubert W. Chagnon, now a puisne judge of the Superior Court, and was called to the bar at Montreal on the 16th of October, 1866; and since 1873 has been in practice at St. Hyacinthe, being the senior member of the firms of Tellier, DeLabruere and Beauchemin, and of Tellier, Lussier and Gendron. He has a liberal share of business in both the civil and criminal courts, and an honorable standing in the profession, being a hard student, well informed in law matters, and preparing his cases with the greatest care and credit. His opinion on legal points is not given hurriedly, but, once expressed, can be relied on. He is very precise and honorable in all his dealings. His law library is one of the best of its kind in the district of St. Hyacinthe. Mr. Tellier was deputy prothonotary of the Superior Court, and deputy clerk of the circuit court for this district, from 1863 to 1873, and crown attorney for the same from the last-named date until 1878. He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in September, 1878, for the county of St. Hyacinthe, and an unsuccessful candidate at the general election in 1882. His politics are Conservative, and though younger than the majority of his politicalconfrèresin the district, very few of them have more talent, prestige and influence. When elected to parliament, he drew more than the full party vote. Mr. Tellier was married in St. Hyacinthe, on the 26th of May, 1868, to Hermine, second daughter of the late Dr. Adolphe Malhiot and Hermine Lamothe, who died on the 7th of February, 1878, leaving one son, and on the 18th of July, 1882, to Elzire, daughter of J. A. Hamel, collector of customs of St. Hyacinthe. The family belong to the Roman Catholic church, and on the 24th of June, 1880, Mr. Tellier was a delegate to represent St. Hyacinthe at the grand nationalfêteof St. Jean Baptiste, held in Quebec. He was appointed a Queen’s counsel on the 23rd of January, 1882. He has lately, and most deservedly, been appointed judge of the Superior Court of the province of Quebec.
Haliburton, Thomas Chandler, was born at Windsor, Nova Scotia, in December, 1796, and there received the primary portion of his education. He then attended the University of King’s College, and graduated with high honors in 1824. At an early period of his college course he showed a decided taste for literary pursuits, and took many prizes, among them the English essay prize, which he succeeded in wresting from the expectant grasp of several able competitors. On leaving college he turned his attention to law, entered the legal profession and practised at Annapolis, where he had a large and lucrative connection. He then, at the earnest solicitation of friends, entered the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia, as member for the county of Annapolis, and here his fine intellect, and good debating powers, soon gave him a leading position. As an orator he is said to have been “earnest, impressive and dignified; though he often showed a strong propensity for wit and humor.” In 1828 he was appointed chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas, and discharged the duties of his position with great ability till 1840, when he was transferred to the Supreme Court. In February, 1856, he resigned his office, left his native land; and found a home in England, where he spent the remainder of his days. At the general elections in 1859 he entered the Imperial parliament as member for Lancaster. Here he joined in some of the debates; but parliamentary life appears to have become irksome to him, and his greatest pleasure was derived from advancing the interests of the village of Isleworth, where he lived, by aiding the philanthropical projects of its inhabitants, and contributing to its charitable institutions; and it was there he died, on the 27th August, 1865. Haliburton first became known as an author in 1829, when he published “An Historical and Statistical Account of Nova Scotia,” This work is said to be written with “clearness, spirit, accuracy, and impartiality,” and is at the present day regarded as a standard work. So much was thought of it that the House of Assembly in Nova Scotia tendered the author a vote of thanks, which he received when in his place in parliament. In 1834 he published “Kentucky,” a tale. In 1837 the first series of “The Clock Maker; or Sayings and Doings of Sam. Slick of Slickville,” came before the public, which was followed by the second and third series in 1838 and 1840. It was in order to preserve some anecdotes and stories, which were too good to be lost, and were in danger of passing into oblivion, that Haliburton wrote, anonymously, a series of articles for a paper, theNova Scotian, speaking to the public through the medium of a Yankee pedlar. These papers were a great success, and appeared as a collection under the foregoing title, and as a work on common sense it is doubtful if it has its equal. It has been re-published in England and the United States, and translated into foreign languages. In 1839 he published “The Letter-Bag of the Great Western; or Life in a Steamer,” after which followed “The Bubbles of Canada”; “A Reply to the Report of Lord Dufferin”; “Traits of American Humor”; “Sam. Slick’s Wise Saws and Modern Instances”; “The Old Judge; or Life in a Colony”; “The Americans at Home”; “Rule and Misrule of the English in America”; “The Attaché; or Sam. Slick in England”; “Yankee Stories and Yankee Letters”; “The Sayings and Doings of Sam. Slick, Esq., with his Opinion on Matrimony”; “Sam. Slick in Search of a Wife”; “Nature and Human Nature.” Two of his speeches have also been published; one on “Resources and Prospects of British North America,” in 1857, and the other, “On the Repeal of the Differential Duties on Foreign and Colonial Wool.” Critics say, “although a man of mark in other departments of literature, Haliburton is best known as a humorist.” His “History of Nova Scotia” will bear comparison with any works of a similar kind that have appeared in America; but it is to Sam. Slick that he owes his fame. The revelations and remarks of the Yankee pedlar are valuable, no less for their shrewdness and sound sense, than for their raciness and humor, their sarcasms and laughable exaggerations. Haliburton is indeed more than a humorist; and his productions will be read with profit by others besides his countrymen. As a story-teller he is inimitable, and the quaint dialect in which his yarns are couched increases the comic effect of his utterances. Sam. Slick has an individuality that insures for him a place amongst the best known characters of fiction. It is needless to say anything more of one who has attained such world-wide celebrity as he who is familiarly known to Canadians as Judge Haliburton.
Gervais, Marie Emery, M.D., Three Rivers, a descendant of a French family who migrated from France in the beginning of the present century, and settled in the prosperous city of Three Rivers, was born in that city on the 13th of December, 1845, and is the son of Louis Emery Gervais, a merchant of good repute, and a highly esteemed citizen, who served his fellow-townsmen in the capacity of councillor for over twenty years; his mother was Julie Huart, of Point Levis. The doctor was educated at the college of Three Rivers, and on completing a full course of classical studies in that institution, removed to Montreal, and entered the Medical and Surgical School, to follow a course of medical studies, and in May, 1869, graduated M.D. at the University of Victoria College, Cobourg. He then returned to his native place, where he has practised ever since, enjoying the confidence and esteem of the entire community. His urbane manners and uniform courtesy and kindness, together with the careful attention he bestows on all who come under his care have made him hosts of friends. He served in the town council for several years, and in July, 1881, he was returned by acclamation for the ward he had previously represented. He is also a member of the Provincial Board of Health, to which office he was appointed for a term of three years in July, 1880. On the 6th of August, 1870, he married Marie Madeleine Etuchienne, daughter of the late Edouard Normand, of Three Rivers, by whom he has issue twelve children, five sons and seven daughters. The Normand family is well and favorably known in Three Rivers, where it has numerous representatives, and by his alliance with it, Dr. Gervais seems to have been endowed with the many estimable and philanthropic characteristics which are its inheritance.
Turcotte, Hon. Arthur, Q.C., Three Rivers, Quebec.—The distinguished subject of this sketch bears a name deservedly honored in Lower Canadian annals, and for over half a century intimately associated with the institutions, development and history of the city of Three Rivers. His father was one of the most remarkable of the eminent public men of Lower Canada during the last generation. The Hon. J. E. Turcotte was, during his lifetime, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of United Canada and a member of the Macdonald-Cartier Cabinet, and played a leading part in the politics of his day, besides endowing Three Rivers with important public works of all kinds, which have handed down his fame to a grateful posterity. Among these lasting mementoes of his services to his constituents may be more specially mentioned the railway from Arthabaska to Doucet’s Landing, and the extensive wharves on the water front of the trifluvian city. The first charter of the Piles Railway was secured through his exertions, and, though he did not live to see that road built, the honor of its initiative still remains attached to his memory. He further earned the title of a public benefactor by his large and generous gifts to local institutions of charity, education and religion, which still sacredly cherish his name and lineaments, while his energy and eloquence continue to be household words throughout the province of Quebec. His son, the Hon. Henri René Arthur Turcotte, is the worthy representative of a distinguished father, whose life-work he has warmly taken up, and in whose footsteps he has faithfully walked; so that between the careers of the father and the son, there are many striking points of analogy. Both have played a controlling part in the general politics of the country, as well as in the affairs of Three Rivers as a city, fighting the same battles, and filling the same positions as ministers and speakers of the House. In both, too, are to be found united the same energy and industry, the same civic spirit, which have raised them to the pedestal of public benefactors in the eyes of their fellow-citizens. Hon. Arthur Turcotte is still in the full vigor of manhood. Born at Montreal, on the 19th January, 1845, he received a brilliant education at the Jesuits’ College, Montreal, and Stoneyhurst College, Lancashire, England. He early developed remarkable literary and artistic tastes, and the oratorical talent which he inherited from his father, one of the most eloquent men of his time. In 1867, Mr. Arthur Turcotte was admitted to the bar, where he soon won a prominent position. In 1879 he was appointed a Queen’s counsel. He took an active and important part in the municipal affairs of his native city, and represented his fellow citizens during a number of years successively as councillor, alderman and mayor. He was returned to the Quebec Legislature by the popular vote for the first time in March, 1876. Two years later, the electoral division of Three Rivers re-elected him by acclamation, and on the 4th June, 1878, the Legislative Assembly of Quebec raised him to the dignity of its speaker, which he continued to fill until the dissolution of the houses, in 1881. At the general elections of 1881, he was again a candidate for Three Rivers, but the close of the polls found him in a minority. The election of his successful competitor, Mr. Dumoulin, having been set aside, however, for corruption, a new election took place in March, 1884, and Hon. Mr. Turcotte was again returned to the legislature. At the general elections of the 14th October, 1886, superhuman efforts were made to defeat him, but he once more triumphed with a considerable majority of the popular vote. When Hon. H. Mercier was charged with the formation of a new cabinet for the Province of Quebec, in 1887, Hon. Mr. Turcotte was asked to enter it, and did so as a minister without portfolio. Some months later he was called to act as commissioner of crown lands, during the absence of the actual incumbent, the Hon. Mr. Garneau, who was in Europe, for the benefit of his health. In November, 1887, ill-health having forced Mr. Premier Mercier to take a rest for some time, Hon. Mr. Turcotte was charged by him to act as Premier, and preside over the cabinet councils during his absence. The acting prime minister of Quebec is generally admitted to be one of the most powerful and popular tribunes of his day. In the house, he never speaks without adding new and precious light to any question under debate, and his deliverances are always marked by much originality and independence of thought. He has ever been the friend of the masses, and to his exertions they are indebted for the Quebec Statute, exempting from attachment one-half of workmen’s wages. His industrious habits make him a valuable representative, and he has always taken an active part in public legislation. He has been the author of numerous amendments for the simplification of the civic code, and of the procedure before the Civil Courts. He has also done much for the city of Three Rivers, where, notwithstanding the bitterness of political contests, his name is exceedingly popular. Like his illustrious father, he has contributed largely to the improvement and extension of its railway facilities. The Three Rivers “loop line,” an important local accommodation, is due to his initiative and exertions, and he is actually engaged in promoting another great public enterprise, the Three Rivers and North-Western Railway, which promises most beneficial results. Hon. Mr. Turcotte is a director of the British Empire Life Assurance Company. On 16th January, 1873, he was wedded to Marie Eleanore Isabella, only daughter of Angus Macdonald, of Becancour.
Fabre, Most Rev. Edward C., Roman Catholic Archbishop of Montreal, was born in the city in which he holds such a high and holy office, on the 28th February, 1827. His parents, Edward Raymond Fabre, and Lucy Perrault, were both born in Montreal. His father for many years carried on the business of bookselling, standing, during his lifetime, high in the estimation of his fellow citizens, and was mayor of the city in 1849-50. Archbishop Fabre is the eldest of a family of five children who survive their father. A younger brother, Hon. Louis R. Hector Fabre, occupied a seat in the senate of the Dominion for a number of years, for La Salle; and a sister, Hortense, was married to the late Sir George E. Cartier. The Most Rev. Archbishop Fabre was educated at St. Hyacinthe College, Quebec province, and at Issy, near Paris, in France. He received the tonsure at the hands of Archbishop Affre, of Paris, on the 17th May, 1845, and, returning to Canada, was ordained in Montreal on the 23rd February, 1850, by Bishop Prince. After remaining four years in Montreal, he was appointed curate of Sorel, where he proceeded and entered upon his duties on the 3rd of April, 1850. In 1852 he was promoted to the office of parish priest at Pointe Claire, on the St. Lawrence river, between Lachine and St. Anne. Here he remained until November, 1854, and then returned to the bishop’s palace, at Montreal. He was made a canon on the 25th December, 1855; on the 1st April, 1873, was appointed bishop of Gratianopolis, and was consecrated by Archbishop Taschereau, of Quebec, on the 1st of May following. In 1876, on the resignation of Bishop Bourget, he became bishop of Montreal, and entered upon the important duties of that office in September of that year, and was created Archbishop of the same See on the 8th of June, 1886, on which date the See was created an Archbishopric. Archbishop Fabre has a large territory under his control and superintendence, but he has not shrunk from his duties. He is beloved by his people, and works in the full consciousness that he is in the right path, and has been called of God to do His work on earth.
Mackintosh, Charles H., Journalist, Ottawa, was born in London, Ontario, in 1843. He is a son of the late Captain William Mackintosh, county engineer of Middlesex, Ontario, who came to Canada as an attaché of the ordnance branch of the British army. Mr. Mackintosh has led an unusually active life, and has succeeded in making his way, unaided, from an humble position to one of honor and influence. He was educated at the Galt Grammar school and Caradoc Academy, two well-known institutions at that time. When almost yet a schoolboy he had strong impulses toward a literary life. When the Prince of Wales came to Canada, in 1860, an ode of welcome from the pen of Mr. Mackintosh, then a youth of seventeen, was read in his honor, and presented to His Royal Highness. Two years later, under the title of “Fat Contributor,” he wrote for the LondonFree Pressa series of bright articles which were characteristically named “Hurry-Graphs.” These attracted so wide attention, that the entrance of the young writer into journalism was a foregone conclusion. He gave up the study of law, upon which he had entered, and became first reporter, and soon afterwards city editor of theFree Press. His journalistic career was marked by rapid progress. In 1864 he was city editor of the HamiltonTimes. A year later he founded theDispatch, of Strathroy, which he conducted until 1874. In 1868 he married Gertrude Cooke, daughter of T. Cooke, J.P., of Strathroy. In 1871, he founded the ParkhillGazette, which he controlled for some time, while still managing theDispatch. In the same year he unsuccessfully contested North Middlesex as Conservative candidate for the local legislature. In 1871 he visited Chicago during the fire, and wrote a description of the terrible event; 60,000 copies were sold in two weeks. In 1873 he was elected a member of the town council of Strathroy, in which capacity he exhibited talents, as a public man, which afterwards showed to better advantage in a wider sphere. Believing in himself, as all men do who come to the front in human affairs, he deliberately proceeded to fit himself for the higher place in public life which he believed himself destined to fill. Thinking that the protection system which had long been established in the United States would come up for active discussion in Canada, he went to Chicago, accepting the position of managing editor of the ChicagoJournal of Commerce. While resident in the western metropolis he studied carefully the protection system, as well as other institutions of the United States. He also wrote a graphic account of the United States “panic, of 1883.” Returning to Canada, he declined an editorial position on theMail; sold out his interest in the StrathroyDispatch, and went to Ottawa, where he became editor of the OttawaCitizen, the Conservative journal of the capital. He at once attracted attention, not only because of the vigorous management and writing of theCitizen, but because of the active interest he displayed in public questions. At the celebration of the O’Connell centennial he wrote a poem which won the gold and silver medal over many others submitted. He was an ardent protectionist long before the Conservative party accepted that system as a plank in their platform, and must be counted as one of the leaders in that great movement. In 1877, the late John Riordon, of St. Catharines, urged Mr. Mackintosh to cooperate with him in reorganizing theMail, but the offer was again declined. His active interest in public affairs, combined with an unusual share of those qualities which make men popular with their fellows, caused him to be nominated as mayor of Ottawa in 1879, and the result of the election was his return by a large majority. In the two succeeding years he was re-elected, and though unseated on a technicality after the third contest, he was a fourth time favored with the support of the people and fulfilled his term. As mayor of the capital of Canada he inaugurated many reforms which have proved of the greatest benefit to the city. In the general election of 1882 he was one of the Conservative candidates in Ottawa for the House of Commons, and both he and his colleague were elected by sweeping majorities. During his term in parliament he made several speeches which were marked by a combination of keen common sense, full information and finished oratory. He spoke but seldom; but when he took the floor he always secured a careful and attentive hearing. Mr. Mackintosh resigned his seat for Ottawa in July, 1886, but at the request of his friends agreed to hold it until the dissolution, which he did. The capital of Canada is no bed of roses for any active or generous man, and thus the senior member found it, hence his positive objection to being again a candidate. In the last general election Mr. Mackintosh, by the unanimous wish of the Conservative party, contested Russell against Mr. W. C. Edwards, the largest manufacturer and most popular Liberal in the county, and was defeated by a narrow majority, owing mainly to the feeling against the government among the French-Canadians, aroused by the execution of Riel. He polled 2,146 votes, or between 400 and 500 more than were ever given to a Conservative candidate in that county. The Home Rule and Riel cries concentrated at least 1,700 votes solidly against any Conservative nominee, the constituency being largely catholic. The election has been contested, and at this writing the trial on the merits of the case has not been held. Mr. Mackintosh, besides the prominent part he has taken in public affairs, has done much to benefit the Ottawa region by the formation of public works. Notably he was the chief promoter and president of the Gatineau Valley Railway Company, and succeeded in interesting a syndicate of capitalists in the enterprise, so that the road is now under construction. Quite recently Mr. Mackintosh declined to be a candidate for the mayoralty of the capital in 1888.
Paton, Andrew, Sherbrooke, Managing Director of the Paton Manufacturing Company, Sherbrooke, dates his birth on the 5th of April, 1833, near Stirling, Scotland, his parents being James Paton and Mary Harvey, the former dying before his son was born. He received a fair English education, and at an early age became an apprentice to J. and D. Paton, woollen manufacturers, of Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire, Scotland, for which firm he worked after finishing his apprenticeship. In 1855, Mr. Paton came to this country, engaged in business, with another man, in the manufacture of cloth at Galt, Ontario, and six years later went to Waterloo, in the same province, and continued the same business under the firm name of Paton and Brickes. Mr. Paton was the first man in Canada to make double and twist, or Scotch tweeds. In 1866, he came to Sherbrooke, and took charge of what shortly afterwards became the Paton Manufacturing Company, he supervising the erection of all the buildings now owned by that company, one-half being put up that year, and the rest in 1872. The main building next the office is 212 feet long, and four stories above the basement; the other large building is 216 feet long, and five stories high. Besides these two buildings, which are used for carding, spinning, weaving and finishing, are the dye rooms, 150 feet long; dressing room, 100 feet long, and three stories high including basement; two warehouses the same height, and over 100 feet long; and a number of other buildings, including boiler-houses, machine and carpenters’ shops, office, etc., all of solid brick. It is the largest factory of the kind in the Dominion of Canada, being a twenty-two set mill. The ground plan of the several buildings, their construction and internal arrangement, and the whole management of this mammoth institution are highly creditable to the mechanical talents and business capacity of Mr. Paton. The company gives employment to about five hundred and fifty men, women and children, and pays out to those operatives more than $140,000 annually. Such mills add largely to the population of a town or city, and greatly benefit the surrounding country, as well as the place in which they are located, affording a ready and good market to the farmers in the vicinity for their wool, wood, etc. The leading fabrics manufactured in this mill are tweeds, cassimeres, overcoatings, shoe-cloth and military cloth, in all about 1,000,000 yards, representing a money value of $600,000. It is needless to say that to act as managing-director of such a concern, and to do it well, requires a clear head as well as an active body, and an almost ubiquitous presence. Yet Mr. Paton is cool, calculating, far-seeing and methodical, and never seemingly in a hurry. He thoroughly learned the business of cloth-making in the first place, understands it to perfection, and everything in the mill moves like clock-work. Mr. Paton has done good work in the city council, of which he was a member for eight years, acting as chairman of the Fire Committee, and has been a trustee of the Congregational church, in which he has a membership. He is a man of solid Christian character, and one of those citizens whom Sherbrooke could ill spare. In 1859, he was joined in marriage with Isabella Moir, an estimable Scotch lady, and they have six children.
Colfer, George William, Lieutenant-Colonel (Retired List), late 61st Battalion Montmagny and l’Islet Volunteer Infantry, Barrister and Chief-Clerk Provincial Secretary’s Office, Quebec, was born at Quebec, 31st January, 1837, youngest son of Charles Colfer, of Banna, county Wexford, Ireland, who came to this country in 1820, and was one of the principal founders of St. Patrick’s Church, Quebec, in which he was buried, on 19th December, 1843, and of Eliza Burke Henley, whose family came from Tipperary, and settled in Newfoundland towards the end of the last century. Educated at Quebec Seminary and Laval University, and finished a complete collegiate course at St. Mary’s (Jesuit) College, Montreal, in July, 1856. In November of the same year he entered the office of the eminent legal firm of Holt & Irvine, and after fulfilling his indentures with them, and following the law courses at Laval University, was admitted to the Quebec bar, on 7th January, 1861. When confederation was established, he entered the civil service of his native province, on 17th July, 1867, as chief clerk of the Executive Council, where he remained until November, 1869, when he was transferred to his present office. He was private secretary to the first premier of Quebec, Hon. P. J. O. Chauveau, during the whole of his tenure of office, and also to several of his successors. He was called upon, on several occasions, while attending to his own duties, to replace, for lengthened periods, the assistant provincial secretary, and also acted as deputy provincial registrar for over a year. He acted also as A.D.C. and secretary, at various times, to the two first lieutenant-governors of Quebec. Lieut.-Col. Colfer might, perhaps, have attained a high position in his profession, but having a taste for things military, and not being anxious at the time about hisbread and cheese, he undertook to go contrary to Cicero’sCedant arma togæ, and paid more attention to the sword than to the gown. Having joined the Quebec cavalry, now the Q. O. C. Hussars, in 1857, he left that corps as regimental sergeant-major in November, 1864, to join the Military School, formed at Quebec, under Colonel Gordon, C.B., H. M. 17th Regiment. In December following he obtained first and second-class certificates, was immediately gazetted captain 2nd Battalion Quebec Regiment Service Militia, under 27 Vict., cap. 2, sec. 19, and sent to Arthabaska to superintend draft in that district, on 30th December, 1864-65. Drill instructor to Parliamentary Drill Association, composed of members during session of 1864-65, under the late Lieut.-Col. Suzor, A.A.G. The association was reviewed and complimented by His Excellency Lord Monck and Sir E. P. Taché, Kt. In 1865 he was appointed, April 25th, adjutant 1st Western Administrative Battalion for frontier service. He proceeded to Windsor, Ontario, on 26th same month, and served with the battalion until its recall in July following. In September, 1865, he was present at cadet camp, Laprairie, under Colonel (now Lord) Wolseley, and promoted to sergeant, the highest rank given, field and staff officers being regulars. In June, 1866—Fenian raid—he volunteered as cadet, and signed muster-roll for service in any capacity. He volunteered also to take over a company of 8th battalion R.R., as captain, if ordered to the front. In 1869-70 he attended the school, formed at Quebec, to learn new drill. In June, 1871, he was appointed paymaster of the 61st battalion Volunteer Infantry. He served as camp quartermaster of the divisional camp at Lévis. In September and October, he was present at battalion camp 61st Cap St. Ignace. In December, 1871, and January, 1872, he was A.D.C. and secretary to the lieutenant-governor of Quebec. In July he was with the battalion at divisional camp at Lévis. On June 28th he was appointed major of the 61st Battalion. He was present at successive camps, as ordered. From the 1st September to the 1st October, he was A.D.C. and secretary to the lieutenant-governor. On November 30th, 1877, he was appointed lieutenant-colonel 61st battalion. He was present at all successive camps, and served on brigade staff, as musketry instructor, in 1882. He retired, retaining rank, in July, 1883. He was married, 26th November, 1866, to Mary Rebecca Blakiston, daughter of Raymond Blakiston, of the ancient family of Blakiston, of Durham, England (whose father, at one time, expected to fall heir to a great part of the Tempest estates, through his great grandmother, Margaret Tempest, and which are now held by Vane Tempest, Marquis of Londonderry), and Elizabeth Jane Henn, of the distinguished Henn family, of Paradise Hill, county Clare, Ireland. Mrs. Colfer has always been known as a distinguished pianist, and a vocalist of rare power and sweetness. When a pupil at the Ursuline Convent, Quebec, she was chosen to sing the “Ode to the Prince of Wales,” to her own harp accompaniment, when His Royal Highness visited that institution, in 1860. She also wields a graceful and facile pen; is the author of “Stray Leaves,” and several short sketches, and often contributes to the local press, French and English, under hernom de plume. The issue of this marriage was one son and six daughters; five daughters survive, the eldest of whom graduated this year (1887) at the Jesu Marie Convent, Sillery, and had the honor of carrying off the Marquis of Lansdowne’s medal, for excellence. The Colonel was born, and hopes to die, a Roman Catholic. He is a member of the St. Patrick’s Literary Institute, of which he has been, at different times, president and vice-president; of the Quebec Historical Society, and of the Quebec Geographical Society. Being a member of the civil service, he does not consider it becoming to take part in political matters, though free to have his own opinions.
Nault, Joseph, the present joint Registrar of St. Hyacinthe, province of Quebec, was born at St. Ours, on the 17th of April, 1841. Early in life his father, Jean Baptiste Nault, who is a well known farmer of Quebec, married Edes’n Girouard, and in 1886 they celebrated their golden wedding at which eighty relatives, consisting of eight children with their families and some other distant connections were present. Joseph Nault, the subject of this sketch, received his education at the St. Hyacinthe Seminary, where he took a full classical course. In 1865 he passed his examination, and was duly admitted as a notary for the province of Quebec. He was secretary of the city of St. Hyacinthe from 1868 to 1874, and only retired from that office in order to take a position in the bank of St. Hyacinthe. In 1879, having received the appointment of joint registrar, he resigned his position in the bank, of which he is now a director. He has taken a great interest in the municipal affairs of St. Hyacinthe, where he occupied the position of alderman from 1874 to 1879, and was one of the promoters of the St. Hyacinthe waterworks, which were erected in 1875, and of which he is secretary and also a shareholder. Since 1878 he has been president of the school commissioners. He belongs to the prevailing religious denomination in Quebec, the Roman Catholic church, and in politics is a Liberal. He was married on the 8th of November, 1864, to Flavie Bourgeois, and has a family of nine children and two grandchildren.
Ouimet, Hon. Gédéon, Q.C., D.C.L., Quebec, Superintendent of Public Instruction for the Province of Quebec, officer of Public Instruction of France, Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great, member of the “Academie des Arcades de Rome,” president of the Council of Public Instruction, and of the Roman Catholic Committee, of the province of Quebec, was born in Ste. Rose, Laval county, on the 3rd June, 1823. His father, Jean Ouimet, farmer, was descended from an old French family; and his mother was Marie BontronditMajor. Mr. Ouimet received a classical education at the colleges of St. Hyacinthe and Montreal, having at the last named place been under the charge of the noted instructor, l’Abbé Duchaine. He studied law with Mr. Sicotte, who was afterwards promoted to the bench, and was admitted to the bar, at Montreal, in August, 1844. Mr. Ouimet practised his profession for about five years, when he removed to Vaudreuil. In October, 1853, he returned to Montreal, and continued his profession along with L. S. Morin and L. W. Marchand, and afterwards with P. Morean and J. A. Chapleau. He soon rose to prominence in his profession, and was highly respected by his fellow-citizens. He was created a Queen’s counsel in 1867, and for a period served asbâtonnierfor Quebec province. In 1869 he filled the position of president of the St. Jean Baptiste Society of Montreal. He has also held the president’s chair of theInstitut Canadien-Français; and is a member of the Literary and Historical Society; and the Geographical Society of Quebec. He was appointed commissioner to the Indian and Colonial Exhibition, in 1886. Entering political life, he represented the county of Beauharnois from 1857 to 1861 in the Legislative Assembly of Canada. From Confederation in 1867 to 1876 he represented the county of Two Mountains in the Quebec legislature, and was attorney-general of the province until February, 1873, when he became premier, minister of public instruction (succeeding the Hon. P. J. O. Chauveau), and provincial secretary. At that time it was necessary that the minister of public instruction should be a member of the parliament; but after a while it became evident to observant statesmen that the two positions were too burdensome for one man to hold, if not inimical to the best interests of education. Consequently, in 1875, the Assembly passed an act abolishing the dual office, and the administration of the educational affairs of the province was put in the same position it was before confederation, namely, in charge of a superintendent. The judgment of the proper authorities, as well as public sentiment, pointed to the Hon. Mr. Ouimet as the person best fitted to this highly responsible position, and he was, on the 1st February, 1876, appointed superintendent of public instruction for the province, when he retired from public life. Since that time educational matters have been greatly improved; and in all cases in which Protestant and Roman Catholic educational interests infringed upon each other, or came into collision, he has succeeded in smoothing down the conflicting elements by his strictly impartial decisions. And judging from his many published addresses, and the frequency of his visits to Protestant schools on public occasions, it cannot be questioned that he is at heart a real friend of education, irrespective of creed or nationality. His well-known urbanity, legal eminence, experience in public business, and impartial zeal in the cause of public education not only qualify him, in a mixed community like that of Quebec, for the important public post which he occupies, but justify the bright future for education in his province. Hon. Mr. Ouimet is a D.C.L. of the University of Bishop’s College, Lennoxville, and of Laval University. He is the author of the “Law on District Magistrates”; and while in the legislature he secured important amendments to the law relating to the qualification of jurors in criminal cases, and also in the code of procedure. Herein it will be seen that he has, in more ways than one, and is still leaving the impress of his well-disciplined and powerful mind in the archives of his native province. In 1878 he was named by the French government “Officier d’Instruction publique,” as a mark of distinction and approbation of the scholastic exhibition of Quebec province during the International Exhibition held in Paris that year. In August, 1850 he was married to Jane Pellant, daughter of the late Alexis Pellant, and they have had a family of six children, five of whom are married.
Gauvreau, Rev. Antoine, Parish Priest, Lévis, was born at Rimouski, on the 22nd September, 1841. His father was Pierre Gauvreau, a notary public, and his mother Elizabeth Dubergès. Rev. Mr. Gauvreau was sent to the college of Ste. Anne de Lapocatière, in the county of Kamouraska, where he followed a complete course of classical studies. At the completion of his course he determined to enter the holy orders, and with that purpose in view was admitted to Laval University to study theology. On the 2nd of October, 1864, he was ordained priest, and appointed missionary vicar to the parish of Rivière-au-Renard, Gaspé. This charge he retained until 1866, when he was called to the city of Quebec, to assume the duties of almoner at the archbishop’s palace, being at the same time chaplain to the Sisters of Charity, the Christian Brothers, and St. Vincent de Paul Society. In 1870 he was removed by his ordinary to the curacy of St. Nicholas, Lévis county, where he remained until 1875. He was then transferred to Ste. Anne de Beaupré, the place of pilgrimage of the Roman Catholics of the whole American continent. Every summer thousands of devout pilgrims wend their way to the shrine of the saint. It is said that the number of people who visited Ste. Anne this season (1887) exceeded one hundred thousand. Two golden crowns of great value were lately presented to the present curate of Ste. Anne by the citizens of Quebec, and his eminence Cardinal Taschereau presided at the ceremonies incidental to the blessing of the princely gift. The attendance was so large that an altar was improvised and high mass was said in the open air, an eloquent proof that faith is still deep-rooted in the hearts of the faithful of the province of Quebec, reports to the contrary notwithstanding. Rev. Mr. Gauvreau exercised his ministry in Ste. Anne until 1878, when he took charge of the important parish of St. Romuald d’Etchemins, county of Lévis, and retained it until 1882. At that date he removed to Lévis, and has had charge of that parish ever since. Rev. Mr. Gauvreau is remembered in all the parishes over which he presided as a kind and considerate pastor.
Peck, Charles Allison, Hopewell Hill, New Brunswick, Barrister-at-law, was born at Hopewell, in the county of Albert, N.B., on the 12th August, 1840. He was educated at Fredericton. Mr. Peck is the youngest son of Elisha and Sarah Peck. His father was an extensive landowner in the county, and captain in the militia, and was one of the first appointed to the magistracy. Charles Allison Peck studied law in the office of the late Sir Albert J. Smith, and was called to the bar in Easter Term, 1861, receiving a first-class certificate. Shortly after he formed a law co-partnership with the Hon. Bliss Botsford, at present Judge Botsford, and practised his profession at Hopewell, residing upon the old homestead. He first appeared in public life in 1865, when he unsuccessfully contested Albert on the Quebec scheme of confederation, to which he was opposed, against the Hon. John Lewis and A. R. McLellan, but was defeated by a small majority. After the union in 1867 he was elected to the New Brunswick Legislature for Albert, where he sat for three sessions, and was generally found supporting progressive legislation; but devoted much of his time to the Albert Railway question, the necessary legislation for which railway he secured against much opposition, the construction of this railway being largely due to his efforts while in the legislature, and subsequently. He was the solicitor of the company until its completion. He organized, and was the first president of, the Albert Southern Railway. In politics he is a Liberal-Conservative. He has more than once declined candidature for political honors, preferring to devote himself to his profession. Mr. Peck was appointed captain of the militia; trustee of Albert county Grammar School; and is a referee in equity. He is not a member of any religions denomination, but a liberal supporter of all. Mr. Peck was married, in 1864, to Amelia, youngest daughter of the late Solomon Nichols, of the city of St. John, who was president of the Bank of New Brunswick at the time of his death. Mrs. Peck is an Episcopalian; and her ancestors were loyalists, who, on coming to the Maritime provinces, left behind them at Flushing, New York state, large and valuable properties. They have two sons, Henry Brougham and Charles Allison, and one daughter, Celia Isabel Frances. The elder son, Henry, who is a student at law, recently entered the civil service.
Sénécal, Hon. Louis Adelard, Senator, was born at Varennes, county of Verchères, on the 10th of July, 1829. The man who, in after years, became so universally known throughout the length and breadth of the continent, received but a rudimentary education afforded by the humble school of his native village, and attended a common school in Burlington, Vermont, for a few months. After a residence of two years in the United States, he settled in Verchères, province of Quebec, where he established a general store. Such was hisdébutin trade; and from the outset he showed the indomitable energy, the undaunted courage, and the business tact which caused the admiration even of his opponents. In 1853 he purchased the steamboatFrederic George, which was at Ogdensburg, took command of her, came down the river in the midst of floating ice, and arrived at Montreal on the 9th of April. Since that time he was known as “Captain Sénécal.” TheFrederic Georgedid service between Montreal and Sorel. In 1854 he repaired his steamboat, renewed her machinery and boilers, and named her theVerchères. In 1857 he built the steamboatYamaskain the short space of two months and a-half, to inaugurate navigation on the river Yamaska, and established a line from St. Aimé to Montreal. The next year he built theCygne, and established a regular service on the river St. Francis, between St. Francis and Sorel. Thus he was the first to open navigation on these rivers, and later on, by his energy and with government aid, he improved the service to a considerable extent. In 1859 he launched the steamboatOttawato run in opposition to the Richelieu Company’s boats between Montreal and Quebec. Since 1882 he was the president of the Richelieu and Ontario Navigation Company, and it is due to his admirable management that the company was enabled to refit its steamers and place its finances on a sound and paying basis. When he took charge of the company’s affairs its finances were almost disorganized; he left it in full prosperity and almost doubled its field of operation and its monetary value. Meanwhile Mr. Sénécal was doing a large trade in lumber and grain in the United States. He had become the owner of eleven steamers and eighty-nine barges plying between Montreal, Sorel and Whitehall. One can easily form an idea of his marvellous activity from the fact that during the year he was forced to suspend his operations, he did three million dollars worth of business, without leaving the village of Pierreville, which was the centre of his operations. The losses suffered by several Montreal firms on account of the suspension were the subject of much comment at the time; it is only fair to say that all of these firms had derived benefits from their connection with him, certain houses having endorsed his notes at the rate of two per cent., others again having loaned him money at rates varying from 10 to 40 per cent. It was during the American civil war; he obtained money at par at three months and was obliged to reimburse in bankable (?) value, and pay a high rate of interest besides. Mr. Sénécal has built and was the owner of several saw and grist mills at St. David, St. Guillaume, Wickham, Wickham West, Yamaska, Kingsey, Pierreville and Acton. The Pierreville mill was destroyed by fire on the 20th June, 1868. He rebuilt in forty-seven days, and on the 5th August 146 saws were in operation. The fire had been extinguished at one o’clock on Saturday afternoon, and at twelve o’clock on the following Monday the foundations of the new building were under way. The same mill was destroyed a second time on the 14th January, 1870. He had not a single piece of timber on hand and was obliged to draw from the forest the pine and oak necessary for the building of the manufactory. Moreover, he was forced to buy new machinery in the United States. In spite of these difficulties, and although it was mid-winter, thirty days later, on the 15th February following, the smoke from the new building was rising out of its chimney, and the buzz of the saws proved that the Pierreville mill was giving life to a busy population. In 1866 he purchased almost the whole of Upton township, and it was at this period that he gave full scope to the development of colonization, and that he found the solution of this important problem. He cleared a piece of land at his own expense, sold it to a farmer, and employed him to clear an adjoining lot to be sold again in the same manner. In 1871 he turned his attention to railroading and solved another problem, that of building excellent railroads with very limited resources. He first built forty-three miles of road laid with wooden rails between Sorel and Wickham,viaYamaska and Drummondville, during the year 1871, and finished it before the time agreed on by the contract; he thus had the benefit of the line during all the year 1872. The boldness he displayed on that occasion is a matter of astonishment, for all the resources he could dispose of to complete the undertaking, including rolling material, right of way, embankments, ballast, the Yamaska bridge, station buildings, wooden rails, etc., etc., were only $5,000 in bonds per mile, on which he was able to realize but $4,250 per mile. This road was sold to the South Eastern, and he undertook, on his own account, to replace the wooden rails by iron ones, and to build thirteen extra miles in order to reach Acton. The contract was signed in September of 1875, and on the 15th of February, 1876 the railroad was entirely completed. When he obtained the contract he had not a single tie at his disposal, and received only $2,300 per mile; yet he built fifty-four miles of a first-class railway, in about seventeen months, at a total cost of $6,550 per mile. It must be said, however, that the South Eastern Company furnished the iron rails, which amounted to a value of about $2,000 per mile. In 1877, the contractor of the Laurentian Railway having failed, Mr. Sénécal was called upon to complete the road, hardly half built, with the scanty resources left. He could dispose of a subsidy of $4,000 per mile, and bonds on the road which could not be negotiated. Col. King, of Sherbrooke, consented to advance $50,000, and Mr. Sénécal built the six or seven miles not constructed, as well as the bridges, and the ballasting in three months. He then proceeded to Lévis and undertook the Lévis and Kennebec line, the contractors of which were also bankrupt. There was very little left of the subsidies available, and with these, and the revenue from the running of the road, he built several miles of the new line, ballasted the whole, and made it a first-class road. In the execution of this enterprise he showed his wonderful power of perseverance and energy in the face of difficulties. The English shareholders, who owned all the bonds and stock of the road, had thought they would be able to control the operations of the line, and a number of business and professional men were certain they would not meet with any obstacle. Mr. Sénécal saw the situation at a glance, attacked the enemy in the front, and defended himself for two years in civil and criminal suits. He resisted the police and orders of the court, kept possession of the road as long as he wanted, and in the end he proved that he was in the right, for he obtained judgments in his favor in forty or fifty cases brought against him by the Hon. Mr. Irvine. However, as there was no money to be made out of the line, he abandoned it, according to the terms of his contract, after making it a first-class-road. One of the most striking traits of his character was that he never allowed himself to be legally or financially cornered, and had always gained his object, even when he had no resources available, and had to struggle against combined wealth, talents and influence. He has built the following railroad lines:—From Sorel to Acton, from Lanoraie to St. Felix de Valois, the Berthier branch, the St. Eustache branch, the ice railway; and he completed the St. Lin road and the Lévis and Kennebec line. When he was appointed general superintendent of the Q., M. O. & O. Railway it was far from finished, and the experience he had acquired in railroad construction was of great benefit to the government in the completion of the provincial road. The services rendered by Hon. Mr. Sénécal in that transaction have been misrepresented by his political adversaries; however, he effected important savings for the provincial government. As these matters still belong to the domain of political history, we will merely place this observation on record. In 1881 he formed a syndicate for the purchase of part of the road. The history and developments of this transaction are too well known to require comment. Later on he sold the road to the Grand Trunk Company, and when the Canadian Pacific Railway Company obtained possession of the line, they were obliged to discharge the bonds issued by the Grand Trunk to pay the first possessors. Although Mr. Sénécal was the bearer of a considerable amount of these bonds, they were not available, and he received only about $100,000 out of the transaction. Mr. Sénécal was one of the founders of the Cumberland Mining and Railway Company, which is to-day the most powerful company in the maritime provinces. In 1883-84 he was president of the Montreal City Passenger Railway, and, had he so desired, he would probably have filled the position until now, but he resigned on being re-elected. He has generally encouraged all great enterprises. He took a large amount of shares in the Coaticook Cotton Company, and also in the Richelieu pulp factory. A few years ago he spent a large amount of money to introduce the electric light system, and he obtained, by a statutory charter, the power to dam the Caughnawaga rapids. The purchase of timber limits, and of the Hull mills, for which he paid more than a million dollars, proved a disastrous venture. His plan was perfect; but no individual was in a position to advance such an enormous amount, and he had to give up the undertaking after losing nearly $400,000. This loss we look upon as a national calamity, because his main object in purchasing such an immense tract of territory was to put a great industry into the hands of his countrymen. It is well known that when Mr. Sénécal had money, it was used to the benefit of everybody, for in his opinion the hoarding of wealth was contemptible. Through the vicissitudes of his eventful career, there were moments when his financial resources werenil, as in 1878-79, when his subsidies and his railroad bonds were practically not worth a cent. Nevertheless he undertook the task, at that period, to bring about the dismissal of Lieutenant-Governor Letellier de Saint-Just, on account of his famouscoup-d’étatof the 2nd of March, 1878. He sold his life insurance policy, some real estate, and, in fact, everything which he could convert into cash, for a few thousand dollars, proceeded to Ottawa, where he took up house and passed the session of 1879, in order to keep the Lower Canadian members united, and finally succeeded in carrying a point considered as irretrievably lost after the refusal of the Marquis of Lorne to sign the dismissal of the Hon. Letellier de Saint-Just. In the same year he employed the same tactics in Quebec and brought about the fall of the Joly ministry. In politics Mr. Sénécal has played a prominent part. He was the mainspring of the Conservative party in the Quebec provincial election in 1881, and again in the Dominion election of 1882, and it is mainly due to his efforts that the party gained such brilliant victories at that time. He was an admirable organizer, and possessed the talent to infuse his own courage into others. His iron will, his energy, and the quickness of his movements carried the day every time. When he had once made up his mind to do a certain thing, it was done. Hon. J. A. Chapleau, who has the reputation of knowing how to gauge a man at his proper worth, and deservedly so, knew the ability of this man of large heart and energy, and honored him with his entire confidence. The secretary of state, who also remembers services and rewards merit when the occasion presents itself, never missed an opportunity to render homage to his valor and to the eminent services he had rendered. He did not hesitate to give him a substantial proof of his gratitude as soon as he found himself in a position to do so, by calling him to the senate, the highest distinction in the gift of the government. In 1882 the French government sent to Mr. Sénécal the cross of a commander of the Legion of Honor. Before giving his allegiance to the Conservative party Mr. Sénécal had been a Liberal, and he was elected as such to the Legislative Assembly for the county of Yamaska, which he represented from 1867 to 1871; at the same time he had been elected for Drummond and Arthabaska to the House of Commons, in which he sat from 1867 to 1872. He is the only man in the country who has been elected in two separate constituencies for two separate chambers in two separate elections. In 1874 he had formed the project, with Hon. Mr. Cauchon, to unite the two political parties, and had almost succeeded, when Mr. Joly, then leader of the opposition, destroyed theententein a speech delivered at a banquet in Montreal. He then abandoned the Liberals, and the chiefs of the party have often expressed their bitter regrets at losing such a man. On the other hand the Conservatives expressed the same regret, when he was forced to abandon the Conservative government at Ottawa on the Riel question. In 1850 Senator Sénécal married Delphire Dansereau, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Dansereau, merchant, of Verchères. Several children were the fruit of this marriage, two of whom only survive: Madame Judge Gill, and Madame W. E. Blumshart. Senator Sénécal was a brother-in-law to Dr. Hercule Dansereau, of Thibodeau, La., Hon. Felix Geoffrion, Captain St. Louis, the late Cyril Archambault, barrister, and uncle to F. X. Archambault, Q.C.
Sweeny, Right Rev. John, D.D., Roman Catholic Bishop of St. John, New Brunswick, was born in Fermanagh, Ireland, in May, 1812. His parents, who belonged to the farming class, were James Sweeny and Mary Macguire. The family emigrated to Canada, and settled in St. John in 1828, taking up land for farming. Bishop Sweeny received his literary education in schools in New Brunswick, and studied theology in the Grand Seminary in Quebec city. In 1844 he was ordained priest by Archbishop Turgeon. He was then appointed to missionary work, and returned to St. John and entered upon his labors. Subsequently he was engaged in similar mission work at Chatham and Shediac, until 1851, when, on the death of the Right Rev. Dr. Dollard, he became administrator. A little later he was appointed vicar-general under the Right Rev. Thomas Connolly, bishop of St. John; and in 1860, on the elevation of Bishop Connolly to the archbishopric of Halifax, he was made bishop. During the many years Bishop Sweeny has occupied his high and responsible position he has done good work for his people, irrespective of his spiritual administration. He has built the St. Vincent Convent and Orphan Asylum; the Convent of the Sacred Heart; the Episcopal residence; the side chapels and spire of the cathedral, and a considerable portion of the cathedral itself; a large brick structure for school purposes; St. Malachi and St. Joseph halls, and an Industrial School near St. John city. His lordship has a large diocese which includes the southern half of New Brunswick, embracing the counties of Westmoreland, Albert, Kings, St. John, Charlotte, Queens, Sunbury, York, Carlton, and the larger part of Kent. On this immense diocese he keeps a vigilant eye, and is ever careful of his people’s spiritual wants. As a preacher his discourses are eminently practical; and whenever he expounds any of the doctrines of his church, he never fails to clearly point out how they should affect the lives of the thousands who listen to his voice. His style is plain, simple, and unaffected, so that a listener is at once impressed with the idea that his aim is rather to instruct than to make a display. In the administration of his diocesan affairs he keeps quietly at work, and every year shows an improvement in all its branches. He seldom undertakes anything that he does not finish; and seems to know not the import of the word “fail.”
Pidgeon, J. R., Justice of the Peace, Indiantown, New Brunswick. Mr. Pidgeon was born where he still resides, in April, 1830, and is consequently in his fifty-eighth year. His father and mother, who are still living at the age of 83, were among the earliest settlers, and tell many amusing anecdotes of life in New Brunswick in the early part of the century. Our subject received his education in the Common and Normal schools of his province, and at the age of eighteen began the study and practical education of lumber surveyor. At the age of twenty-five he obtained what was termed a “warrant” qualifying him to practice his profession as surveyor which he did until his 42nd year. That year he received the appointment of railway mail clerk on the Intercolonial Railway which appointment he still holds being one of the oldest employés of the postal department on that road. It is however in connection with the temperance reform that he is best known, having espoused the principles of total abstinence as long ago as 1848. He has held the highest offices in the gift of the various temperance societies of his native province, and there are few platforms in the maritime provinces that have not at one time or other resounded with his eloquent voice. In religious belief Mr. Pidgeon is a Baptist, having united with that body in 1864. He is also a member of the Masonic craft of long standing, and has often occupied positions of eminence therein. For some years he has been in the commission of the peace for New Brunswick, a distinction well merited in his case, to say the least. As a speaker, Mr. Pidgeon is forcible, logical, and eloquent, abounding in anecdote and bubbling over with fun. Politically he is a Prohibitionist through and through, and his whole life seems to be to educate the people up to his standard. To the Independent Order of Good Templars in New Brunswick he has been and still is a tower of strength, and wherever he is known enjoys the respect of all and the hatred of none.