A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time by Rose
3. Moved by J. A. H. Mackay, seconded by J. H. Filion, That the
1035 words | Chapter 12
chairman and Mr. Wilfrid Prévost be delegated to interview his
honour, and express the desire of the bar to give him a dinner,
and in order that he may fix the date that he will find
convenient.
(Signed) C. S. BURROUGHS, _Chairman_,
(Signed) A. ROCHON, _Secretary_.
Judge Berthelot regretted that he could not accept a demonstration which
would be so creditable for himself from the bar of the district of
Terrebonne, being on the eve of sailing for Europe, during a leave of
absence which had been granted to him by the Government for recuperating
his health, which was slightly impaired by his strict attendance to his
judicial duties. Before his appointment to the bench in 1859, he had
been called upon to fulfil the office of assistant judge in Montreal for
six months, in 1855 and 1856, during which time the judges of the
province had to act as such during the sittings of the Seignorial Court
for Lower Canada. On the 28th of November, 1875, his Lordship Archbishop
Bourget, intimated to Judge Berthelot that he had just received from
Rome a letter from his Excellency Monsignor Roncetti, Ablegate,
informing him that His Holiness Pius IX. had been pleased to appoint him
Commander of the Order of St. Sylvestre, by an apostolical writ, dated
the 24th of September then last, enclosed with the Ablegate’s letter,
adding that His Holiness had been so kind and so generous that through
the agency of His Eminence Cardinal Antonelli, he had consented to give
to Mr. Berthelot himself the decoration of the Commandery of the Order
of St. Sylvestre, which he had confided to the care of Mr. Harel,
procurator of the archbishop. The newspaper _Le Monde_, of Paris,
France, on the 28th of December, 1875, noticed this honour granted to
Judge Berthelot in the following terms:
We do not doubt that the appointment of Judge Berthelot will be
hailed with pleasure by the numerous friends that he has in
France, who have had occasion to appreciate, during his several
visits to our continent, how he was worthy in all respects, of
the high distinction which had been conferred upon him.
His Excellency, Monsignor Roncetti, in a letter bearing date of
February, 1876, wrote as follows to Judge Berthelot:
MY DEAR AND HONOURED COMMANDER,—With your very kind letter of
the 20th of January, for which I am very thankful, I have also
received, through the agency of Mr. Harel, your letter for his
Eminence Cardinal Antonelli, who entrusted me with his answer,
which you will find herewith:—In renewing my sincere
congratulations, I beg to present my homage to the most
excellent lady, Madame Berthelot, to your dear children, and to
accept at the same time the assurance of my most perfect esteem
and profound respect. Expecting with the greatest impatience the
day when I will see you in Rome, I have the honour to be, my
dear and honoured Commander,
Your most humble and devoted servant,
CESAR RONCETTI.
In the same month of February, 1876, Judge Berthelot was in receipt of a
letter from his Eminence, Cardinal Antonelli, in Italian, which read as
follows:
ILLUSTRISSIME SIGNOR,—I have presented, with great pleasure, to
the Holy Father the expressions of gratitude which your
illustrissime lordship has given me in his letter of the 20th of
January last, because our Holy Father had conferred upon you the
Commandership of St. Sylvestre, which you acknowledged to be
entirely due to the apostolic benevolence. His Holiness was
raptured when he saw these expressions of veneration and love
for his venerable person, and could not refrain from answering
to them by words of gratitude, and by giving you, from the
bottom of his heart, his apostolic benediction. Having thus
accomplished the wishes which you expressed to me, I have the
honour to be, your illustrissime lordship,
Yours,
Sec. GIACOMO ANTONELLI.
The following particulars about the knighthood are found in the
supplement of “Bouillet’s Dictionary,” page 42:
ORDER OF THE GOLDEN SPUR.
A Roman order founded by Paul III., in 1554, or by Pius IV. in
1559, has been established, according to some writers, by
Constantinus, as far back as 312, to commemorate his victory
over Maxencius, and approved since then by the Pope St.
Sylvestre. Its object was to reward civil merit, admitting only
noblemen; it could also be conferred on foreigners. Some
princely families of Rome and a few high dignitaries could
confer the order, which soon occasioned serious errors. Gregory
XVI. reformed the order in 1841, and gave the name of St.
Sylvestre, or the Reformed Golden Spur. The knights wore a
golden cross with eight points, and white enamelled, showing the
portrait of St. Sylvestre. It is worn with a ribbon striped red
and black; between, the branches of the cross hangs a golden
spur. Before the Reformation, when England was Catholic, and
when the relations of that country with the court of Rome were
uninterrupted, as soon as a chief justice of the Court of King’s
Bench, was appointed, the writ of commandership of the order of
St. Sylvestre was forwarded to him by the Pope, and he wore on
his chain of office the letters S. S. Since England has become
Protestant, the writ is not sent to that country; nevertheless,
when a new chief justice is appointed, and when he orders at the
court goldsmith the chain of office which he wears on his neck,
he receives it still with the same initials S.S., as in olden
times.
This fact is warranted by photographs of Chief Justices Bovill and
Campbell, which Judge Berthelot has in his possession, and which were
given him by his friend, Judge Mackay. In a legal review, entitled
_Albany Law Journal_ for 1874, in the issue of the 8th of August, we
find an article headed, “Article on Campbell’s Lives of Chief Justices,”
with the following comments:
And while there were among the wearers of the collar of S. S.,
men whose lives are neither helpful nor inspiring, there were
many of whom it is good to read.
In Canada the first person who received a writ of commandership of St.
Sylvestre, was the late Sir L. H. Lafontaine, chief justice, in the year
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