A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time by Rose
1874. In 1859 Mr. Ross entered politics as a Liberal, and was returned,
7890 words | Chapter 39
under universal suffrage law, as a member of the Nova Scotian
legislature by a majority of 516. Again, in 1863, when the property
qualification law came into force, he was elected by a large majority,
and conscientiously opposed the Johnstone-Tupper government from that
time up to 1867, when he retired from local politics, and was elected by
acclamation for the county of Victoria, Cape Breton, to the House of
Commons at Ottawa, after having sat for eight years in the Nova Scotian
legislature. In 1872, on the occasion of a general election, he was
again returned by acclamation by his native county; and on the downfall
of the Sir John A. Macdonald administration in November, 1873, and on
the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie assuming the government, Mr. Ross was made
Minister of Militia. After his acceptance of this responsible office,
and on his presenting himself for re-election, he was stoutly opposed by
the Conservatives in his county, but, nevertheless, he was returned for
the third time, in February, 1874, to the Dominion parliament by
acclamation. Shortly afterwards the Hon. Mr. Ross retired from active
political life, and was appointed collector of customs for the port of
Halifax, and this important and responsible position he still continues
to fill. In 1852 he joined the Masonic fraternity, and for two years was
worshipful master of Virgin lodge, No. 3, Halifax; and was also twice in
succession elected high priest of Royal Union Chapter of Halifax. He is
now past deputy grand master of the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia; and
although he has been repeatedly nominated as grand master, he has
refused the honour. He has occupied the position of vice-president and
president of the North British Society. He has travelled through
Newfoundland, part of the United States, and has visited every important
point in Canada as far west as Lake Harno. Hon. Mr. Ross is an adherent
of the Presbyterian church, and in politics is a Liberal. In March,
1855, he was married to Eliza H. Moore, daughter of P. H. Moore, of the
firm of Gammell and Moore, of North Sydney. The fruit of this marriage
was eight children, six of whom now survive.
* * * * *
=Labelle, Captain Jean Baptiste=, Montreal, M.P. for the county of
Richelieu, was born at Sorel, province of Quebec, on 27th May, 1836. He
is descended on the paternal side from a very old French-Canadian
family, the first of whom came from France as a soldier, and after
getting his discharge settled in the country. On the maternal side the
family also came from France, and has been many years in the country.
His father, Toussaint Labelle, was a navigator, and his mother was named
Marguerite Genton Dauphine. Captain Labelle received his education in
the parish school at Sorel; and as he grew up took to sailing craft on
the St. Lawrence river. He soon became an expert navigator, and for over
twenty-five years commanded one of the finest of the Richelieu and
Ontario Navigation Company’s passenger steamers, sailing between
Montreal and Quebec. In 1880 Captain Labelle gave up sailing, and
received the appointment of passenger agent at Montreal, of the Quebec,
Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway Company; and in 1883 he was made
general manager of the Richelieu and Ontario Navigation Company, which
position he still holds. In 1868, at the general election then held, Mr.
Labelle presented himself as a candidate for the Quebec Legislature for
Richelieu county, but was defeated by the small majority of nine against
him. At the general election held in 1887, he again presented himself to
the same constituency, and was returned as a member of the House of
Commons at Ottawa. As a commander, Mr. Labelle was one of the most
popular who ever sailed the St. Lawrence. He was noted for his courtesy
and forbearance; his ability, and his coolness and intrepidity, which he
exhibited on several occasions, especially during the inundation of the
Island of Sorel in 1865, and on the occasion of the burning of the
steamer _Montreal_, in 1857. In politics, Captain Labelle is a
Conservative; and in religion, a member of the Roman Catholic church. In
1856, he was married to Delphine Crébassa, daughter of Narcisse
Crébassa, notary, of Sorel, a remote descendant of a Spanish family that
at first emigrated to Holland, and from thence came and settled in
Canada.
* * * * *
=MacCoy, William Frederick=, Q.C., Barrister, M.P.P. for Shelburne, Nova
Scotia, Halifax, is a native of Ireland, he having been born at Lysrian,
in the county of Longford, on the 15th May, 1840. His father, Thomas
MacCoy, emigrated to Nova Scotia when William was only eight years of
age. His mother, of whom he has no personal knowledge, died a few hours
after giving birth to her boy; and his father died about twenty-four
years ago. William Frederick MacCoy commenced his educational studies at
the National School in Halifax, and graduated at Sackville Academy, New
Brunswick. He adopted law as a profession, and was called to the bar of
Nova Scotia, in 1864. On the 11th October, 1880, he was appointed a
Queen’s counsel. He practised his profession in Shelburne for about nine
years, and then removed to Halifax, and is now the head of the firm of
MacCoy, Pearson, Morrison, and Forbes, barristers, notaries and
solicitors in Admiralty. The firm does a large and lucrative law
business. He was elected one of the aldermen of the city of Halifax, in
1881, and in 1882 was offered the position of attorney-general in the
Liberal government of that day, but declined the honour, considering
that his colleague had a prior claim. Mr. MacCoy was an unsuccessful
candidate for a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia at the
general election of 1878, but at the next general election, he succeeded
in securing his election by 247 of a majority, and in January, 1887, he
was again elected to his old seat. He is a Liberal in politics, and in
religion an adherent of the Methodist church. In 1864, he received a
commission as captain in the militia, and takes a lively interest in our
citizen soldiers. The year after he joined the Masonic order, and is now
a past master of St. Andrew’s lodge, Halifax. He, we are glad to say, is
a strong temperance man, and for years, has taken a deep interest in the
advancement of temperance legislature, and is the author of the present
Temperance Act of Nova Scotia. He is a member of the Independent Order
of Good Templars, and his eminent legal knowledge renders him a very
useful member of his lodge, when constitutional questions come up for
discussion. In the legislature he has won a position of prominence, and
has aided in shaping to a great extent the progressive measures
introduced of late years, and is one of the recognized leaders of his
party. On the 14th July, 1868, he was married to Maud L., daughter of
Robert P. Woodill, merchant, Shelburne, and has a family of two
children.
* * * * *
=Whidden, Charles Blanchard=, ex-M.P.P. for Antigonish, Nova Scotia, was
born at Antigonish, on the 5th June, 1831, and still resides in the
place of his birth. He is the youngest son of John Blair Whidden, who
was born in Stewiacke, Colchester county, N.S., in 1791, and great
grandson of James Whidden, who immigrated from New Hampshire and settled
in Truro in 1760. His mother, Harriet Elizabeth Symonds, was a daughter
of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Symonds, who came from New Hampshire in 1804,
and were among the first settlers in Antigonish. Mr. Whidden, sen., when
a lad of ten years of age, having lost his father, spent some years with
an elder sister in the district of St. Marys, and afterwards came to
Antigonish in 1807, where he purchased a small property in what is now
the town of Antigonish, and in December, 1816, married the mother of the
subject of this sketch, the lady alluded to above. C. B. Whidden’s
father was ordained to the Baptist ministry in 1834, and continued to
labour for that denomination in the destitute parts of Nova Scotia until
his death, which occurred on the 19th July, 1864. His wife survived him
a number of years, and passed away to the higher life in May, 1878,
wanting only two months of reaching her eightieth year. Charles was
educated at the Grammar School and at the Academy in Antigonish. After
leaving school, he continued on a farm for some time; but in 1863 he
began business on his own account on a small scale, and devoting all his
energies to what he had undertaken, soon became independent. He at one
time was largely interested in shipping, and is still to a limited
extent. In 1883 he retired from active business pursuits in favour of
his two sons, David Graham and Charles Edgar. Mr. Whidden is a member of
the Baptist church, and in politics a Liberal-Conservative. He ran as a
candidate for a seat in the House of Commons at Ottawa in 1878, but was
defeated by a small majority. Again, in June, 1882, he made another
attempt to gain a seat in the Commons, but met with defeat. However, in
September of the same year, he became a candidate in the local election,
and was chosen to represent his native county in the House of Assembly
of Nova Scotia. In this house he sat for four years, until the general
election in 1886, when he suffered defeat on presenting himself for
re-election, in consequence of the repeal cry, he being opposed to any
change in the political status of his province so far as the Dominion is
concerned. In 1866 and 1867 he showed himself strongly in favour of the
confederation of the provinces, and worked hard in its favour. He is a
strong believer in our common country, and predicts a great future for
it. He always places country above and beyond all minor interests. In
December, 1856, he was married to Eunice C. Graham, second daughter of
the late Captain David Graham, and Mary Bigelow, his wife. The fruit of
this marriage has been seven children, four of whom have been carried
away by death. Two of his sons, as will be seen above, have succeeded
their father in business, and his youngest son, Howard P., is now taking
a college course at Wolfville.
* * * * *
=Cuthbert, Edward Octavian J. A.=, Seignior of Berthier, ex-M.P. for the
county of Berthier, province of Quebec, was born at the Manor House,
Berthier (_en haut_), on the 3rd December, 1826. His father, the late
Hon. James Cuthbert, was a scion of the Cuthberts of Castle Hill,
Inverness-shire, Scotland; seignior of Berthier, province of Quebec; for
many years a member of the Special Council of Lower Canada; and in his
lifetime rendered valuable service to the state. His mother was Mary
Louise A. Cairns. His grandfather, the first Hon. James Cuthbert, was
seignior of the seigniories of Lanoraie, Berthier, and Maskinongé, and
in his early days served in the Royal navy as a lieutenant. He was on
board the flagship at the bombardment of Carthagena, and was selected to
carry home to Britain the tidings of the capture of that stronghold. On
his retirement from the navy he was appointed to the command of one of
the independent military companies formed in Inverness, which afterwards
was called the “Black Watch,” and is now known as the 42nd Highlanders,
and for some time served in that regiment. While in Inverness he was
presented with a handsome piece of plate by the citizens for special
services. He afterwards joined the 15th regiment of foot, and assisted
at the taking of Louisburg. He was also with General Wolfe at the battle
of the Plains of Abraham, and had the honour of being selected by
General Murray, to whom he acted as _aide-de-camp_, to carry to Britain
the news of the fall of Quebec. On his return to Canada he again joined
General Murray’s staff, and in this position he remained until peace was
fully restored, when he retired from the army. He was then appointed by
Lord Dorchester one of the members of the first Legislative Council
formed after the conquest, and became one of the first permanent British
settlers in Lower Canada. During the American revolutionary war he was
particularly active in suppressing insurrection, and instilling into the
minds of the Canadians sentiments of loyalty and attachment to the
British Crown. Edward, the subject of our sketch, received his first
education at the Berthier Academy, and then at Chambly College, at
Chambly. Soon after leaving college he began to take an interest in
public affairs, and was afterwards elected mayor of Berthier, and
president of the County Agricultural Society. In 1867 Mr. Cuthbert
entered the field of politics, and at the general election held in 1872
he ran in the Conservative interest, but was defeated. A few years
afterwards his political opponent, Mr. Pâquet, having been called to the
Senate, he again presented himself to the electors, and was returned by
them as their representative in the House of Commons at Ottawa. From
this time until the dissolution of the house in 1886 he occupied a
prominent position in the legislature, when he was forced, through
failing health, to abandon political life, and retire to his quiet home
at Berthier. Mr. Cuthbert took a lively interest in the construction of
the North Shore Railway; and has also done a good deal to improve the
live stock in his native county. In politics he always sided with the
Conservative party; and in religion is a member of the Roman Catholic
church. On the 1st December, 1853, he was married to Mary, eldest
daughter of Augustus Bostwick, who in his lifetime was an advocate and
Queen’s counsel at Three Rivers, province of Quebec, and Georgiana
Cuthbert (Mr. Cuthbert’s cousin), who was a daughter of the late Hon.
Ross Cuthbert, seignior of Lanoraie and Maskinongé. Mrs. Cuthbert died
in February, 1885, leaving two sons and twin daughters.
* * * * *
=Baby, Hon. Judge Louis François Georges=, Judge of the Court of Queen’s
Bench of the Province of Quebec, was born in the city of Montreal, on
the 26th August, 1834, and is descended from one of the oldest and most
respected families in Quebec province. The founder of the family in
Canada was Jacques Baby de Ranville, a nobleman from the south of
France, who was an officer of the celebrated regiment of
_Carignan-Salieres_, and arrived here in 1662. By the family records and
papers it can be traced up to 1375 without interruption. Representatives
of the family have distinguished themselves on the battle-field, as well
as in the councils of the state both here and in France. Several of them
have been knights of Malta and of St. John of Jerusalem. The last
governors under the French régime, had many a time occasion to call the
special attention of the king of France to the meritorious deeds and
gallant actions of members of this notable family. Several of the
distinguished men who bore this name were killed in these early days in
battle. The grandfather of Judge Baby was the Hon. François Baby, an
executive and legislative councillor of the province of Quebec, and in
1775, adjutant-general of the same province, who with his brother-in-law
Charles Tarieu de Lanaudière, then _aide-de-camp_ to Lord Dorchester,
took a very active part in the stirring events of the time. His
grandmother was Marie Anne de Lanaudière, a descendant of M. de
Lanaudière, governor of Montreal in 1664, and of Madelon de Verchères,
the heroine of “La Nouvelle France.” Judge Baby’s father was Joseph
Baby, a colonel in the militia and long a notary public and prominent
citizen of Joliette, where he died in 1871. His mother, Caroline Guy,
was a daughter of the Hon. Louis Guy, in his lifetime king’s notary, and
a member of the Legislative Council of the province of Quebec. The
subject of our sketch, Judge Baby, was educated in St. Sulpice College,
in his native city, and also at Joliette College. After leaving school,
where he had attained high distinctions, he chose the law as a
profession, and studied in the office of Drummond and Loranger, of
Montreal, both of whom became ministers of the Crown and were afterwards
made judges. However, previous to his admission to the bar, he entered
the civil service of Canada, in the attorney-general’s department for
Lower Canada and for several years occupied the position of clerk, under
the government, but was invited by the late Sir G. E. Cartier to
relinquish this position for a more extended field of usefulness. He was
a particular friend of the late Chief Justice Harrison, who was also a
clerk in the civil service at the same time as he. In 1857 he was called
to the bar, and practised his profession in Montreal, in partnership
with the Hon. Louis T. Drummond, when his health becoming impaired, he
removed to Joliette, where he continued his practice with considerable
success, in partnership with the late Hon. L. A. Oliver, who was
appointed a judge in the superior court, in 1875, having been previously
a legislative councillor and a senator, and was also mayor of that place
for four or five terms. Though long deeply interested in politics, Mr.
Baby did not enter public life until 1867, when he became a candidate
for Joliette in the Dominion parliament. At this time, however, through
the over confidence of his friends and supporters, he failed to be
elected. Five years later, at the general election of 1872, he was
returned by acclamation; was re-elected in 1874; unseated on petition on
the 28th October of that year; was re-elected on the 10th December
following, by a much larger majority; and again, at the general election
in September, 1878, he was returned by a still increased majority. On
the 26th of the next month, on the return of the Conservatives to power,
he entered the cabinet with his friend the Hon. L. R. Masson, and was
made minister of Inland Revenue. During the time he held this portfolio,
he displayed great tact and firmness, and gave great satisfaction to the
public. In 1875 he had the honour of introducing the bill for the
abolition of the death penalty in cases of assault with intent to commit
rape—a bill which was subsequently taken up by the Hon. Mr. Blake, the
then minister of Justice, and carried through parliament. During his
term of office, he successfully carried through the House of Commons
acts for the consolidation and amendment of the weights and measures,
the excise laws, stamp act, tobacco laws, etc., and took generally a
very active and patriotic part in the affairs of the nation; in 1880 he
retired from political life, and was made judge of the Superior Court of
Quebec, and subsequently, in September, 1881, promoted to the Court of
Queen’s Bench, which position he fills with dignity, and is very much
respected by his _confrères_ on the bench. Among the many praiseworthy
deeds of Judge Baby’s life is the valuable assistance he rendered in the
founding of the Montreal Historical Society, of which he has been an
efficient member since its formation. He is himself a historian of some
repute, having, like the late Chief Justice Lafontaine, devoted a good
deal of his time in researches of a historical character, particularly
with reference to Canada, and has brought together, not however without
considerable expense and trouble, one of the finest collections of
Canadian manuscripts in existence, and the historical department of his
extensive library is especially rich and attractive in Canadian
literature. He is an honorary member of the Institut-Canadien of Quebec,
and also of Ottawa, and a member and the president of the Antiquarian
and Numismatic Society of Montreal. For this last branch of study Judge
Baby seems to have a passion,—having devoted more or less time to it
for a number of years—and his collection of coins and medals, foreign
and domestic, is one of the best in Canada. He is a member of the Roman
Catholic church, a prominent and much respected citizen, and a notable
figure in literary and religious circles, and appears never to forget
his family motto, “_Dire vrai; faire bien_.” In July, 1873, he was
married to Maria Helene Adelaide, daughter of the late Dr. Berthelet of
Montreal (knight of the order of St. Sepulchre of France), and Dame
Helene Guy. They have no children.
* * * * *
=Ritchie, Hon. Joseph Norman=, Judge of the Supreme Court of Nova
Scotia, Halifax, was born on the 25th May, 1834, at Annapolis Royal,
Nova Scotia. His parents were Hon. Thomas Ritchie, judge of the Court of
Common Pleas of Nova Scotia, and Anne, daughter of I. N. Bond, M.D.,
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Judge Joseph Norman Ritchie was educated at
King’s College, Windsor, Nova Scotia, where he took the degree of M.A.
He afterwards studied law, and was called to the bar of Nova Scotia on
the 30th November, 1857; was made a Queen’s counsel on 26th September,
1872; and was raised to the bench as a judge of the Supreme Court on the
26th September, 1885. For several years previous to his elevation to the
bench he acted in the capacity of recorder for the city of Halifax. In
1859, on the organization of the volunteer militia in Nova Scotia, Judge
Ritchie joined the force and continued in it and the active militia of
Canada until 1879. He holds a lieutenant-colonel’s commission, bearing
date 17th March, 1876. For several years he was also one of the
directors of the Merchants Bank of Halifax. In religion the judge is and
always has been an adherent of the Church of England. He has for wife
Mary, daughter of John Cochran, of Newport, U.S.
* * * * *
=Lorrain, Right Reverend Narcisse Zephirin=, Bishop of Cythera and Vicar
Apostolic of Pontiac, with his residence at Pembroke, Ontario, was born
the 13th June, 1842, at St. Martin, county of Laval. His father,
Narcisse Lorrain, is a descendant of that sturdy stock of pioneers who
settled the northern district of the province of Quebec, and have
representatives in the counties of Terrebonne, Two Mountains,
Argenteuil, etc., and is considered one of the well to-do farmers of the
rich county of Laval. Mr. Lorrain, sr., was married to Sophia Goyer. In
1855 Mgr. Lorrain was sent to the seminary of Ste. Thérèse, in the
county of Terrebonne, where he commenced his classical studies. That
institution, which had been founded some forty years before by the Rev.
Messire Charles Ducharme, a venerable priest whose memory will for ever
live in the hearts of the people of that district, was then under the
direction of Messire Dagenais, superior, and Messire Nantel (an elder
brother of the M.P.P. for Terrebonne), as prefect of studies. Messire
Nantel is well known as a _littérateur_ of no mean order, one of his
principal works being a translation into French of Ollendorf’s English
Grammar. These gentlemen soon discovered that the youth was an unusually
bright pupil, and they resolved to spare no endeavour to further his
studies, thinking, and not without good grounds, that in the future he
would be an honour to the seminary. The career of Mgr. Lorrain has
proved that they were not wrong, as he has taken a prominent place among
the scores of other men of note who have graduated at that institution;
among others the Hon. Théodore Robitaille, ex-lieutenant-governor of the
province of Quebec; Hon. Gédéon Ouimet, superintendent of public
instruction, Quebec, and many members of parliament and senators,
besides many lawyers and doctors. To a quick and perceptive mind, Mgr.
Lorrain joined a sound judgment, with more than his share of energy, the
latter quality being in fact one of the distinguishing traits of his
character. It is to the knowledge of the writer of this sketch, who was
a school mate of Mgr. Lorrain, that at the end of each month, when the
notes were read by the director of the seminary, his conduct was always
marked down as “exemplary.” One year he carried eighteen prizes in his
class. He entered on the study of theology at the end of his classical
course, teaching a class at the same time, and was beloved by the pupils
under his charge on account of his kindly disposition and gentle
manners, which were not, however, without an admixture of firmness. He
knew how to instil the love of discipline which he himself possessed in
such an eminent degree. In 1864, Mgr. Lorrain graduated at Laval
University, where he received the degree of Bachelor of Sciences, and he
was ordained priest on the 4th of August, 1867, being then appointed
assistant director at the Seminary of Ste. Thérèse, which position he
filled until the 15th of August, 1869, when he was appointed pastor to
the congregation of Redford, Clinton county, in the state of New York.
On the 3rd of August, 1880, he was promoted and appointed vicar-general
of the diocese of Montreal. His appointment caused some surprise to a
great many people who did not know him intimately; but the ability he
displayed in the management of the affairs, and in the liquidation of
the debts of the episcopal corporation, then in financial troubles, soon
justified the choice the bishop of the diocese of Montreal had made of
his person for such an important position as that of vicar general. And
the surprise changed to wonder when two years later, being barely forty
years of age, on the 21st of September, 1882, he was consecrated
titulary bishop of Cythera and vicar apostolic of Pontiac, with place of
residence at Pembroke, he being the first bishop of that diocese. In
this new field of labour Mgr. Lorrain has distinguished himself, doing
his utmost to concentrate the scattered elements of his extended but
sparsely-settled diocese, and the energy and strong will which had
characterised his student life were displayed on a larger scale, an
instance of which may be cited from the fact of his having travelled, in
1884, a distance of 1,500 miles, in a bark canoe. And here we cannot do
better than reproduce the account of this trip, which appeared shortly
after his lordship’s return, in the Pembroke _Standard_, and is of great
interest:
His lordship’s tour has been an extended one of some sixty-four
days. His up voyage to Abbitibi has already been described in
our columns. The story of the trip from Abbitibi northwards will
be narrated in a series of articles containing, besides the
description itself, copious and reliable information on the
agricultural, mineral and timber interests of this vast expanse
of virgin soil. Suffice it to say now that the Temiscamingue
region is represented as waiting colonization; and that from the
height of land northwards, a stretch of 150 miles across,
extending indefinitely east and west, gains, by lowness of the
situation, a mildness of temperature that probably lasts long
enough to mature the luxuriant growth of early vegetation.
Around Hudson Bay and for a considerable distance southwards,
the land is low, swampy, and impoverished; the soil unproductive
and the timbers dwarfed. Geological specimens have been brought
back by the party, and sketches of the more picturesque points
have been taken by the master hand of Father Paradis. Travelling
through these northern wilds, while it may have its interest for
the geologist or the artist, is by no means the embodiment of
physical happiness. On water and on land the inconveniences are
many and annoying. To paddle over rough waves and through
beating rain, to portage a hundred rapids, some of them three
miles in length, over rocks and ravines and fallen trees,
through wet and tangled grass and brushwood; to camp in swarms
of mosquitoes and sand-flies, on swampy ground, where more than
once after the tents had been beaten through by nights of
falling rain, a half a foot of water has flooded the tent-floor,
branches and blankets; to wade knee deep for a mile or even two
miles through sharp cut stones and slough and water, in the
endeavour to reach the shore and wait the tide that alone can
give sufficient depth on certain parts of James Bay, to bear
along a laden canoe; to endure all this and more, is but a
specimen of the hardships gone through by travellers to these
northern districts. Though the Indians are cool intrepid guides,
the most provoking shortcomings have to be accepted from their
hands, no matter how reluctantly, still with silence and
patience. On the water they work well, but once on shore, to
camp for the night, or to get out of catching gales, or at the
posts where missions are given, it is almost impossible to get
them under way again; teasing disappointments and delay, an axe,
a blanket, a tin pan left behind prolong the stay, and time is
killed, and programmes spoiled, and patience tried. The fiercest
storm encountered, perhaps, was on the 24th of June, the day
after the party left Abbitibi, when the thermometer fell 43°,
and the north-western extremity of the lake rolled mountain high
before the sweeping hurricane. To advance was impossible; the
camp was pitched, and beneath the swaying trees, and storming
rain, the day was passed wretchedly beyond description.
Disappointments like this have often to be encountered on the
trip. They are annoying in more ways than one. Even the
provisions stand a chance of running short, the more so as the
Indians, during these delays, pass the time in gorging, being
content with nothing less than half a dozen meals each day. The
portages from Abbitibi to Moose Factory are twenty-one in
number; some of them may be run in a canoe, but the greater
number have to be footed. From the 25th to the 27th of June the
voyage was agreeable enough, excepting that at times, and for a
distance, during these days, of fifteen miles, the oft repeated
feat of wading waist deep through water and struggling along
rugged banks, had to be resorted to through sheer necessity of
making any headway. On the 28th the hair-breadth escape of the
journey occurred. It was the _Rapide de L’Île_. Ordinarily the
rapid is run without imminent risk by keeping aloof from the
whirling eddy half way down its course; but the bowsman did
slovenly work, and before the approach of danger was realized
the canoe was sucked into the engulfing seething pool, and was
spun twice around as on a pivot, in the very centre of the rapid
where the broken waves leaped high, and the foam splashed
fiercely, blinding the paddlers and filling the boat. Two feet
more and the canoe was beyond all rescue. It was a thrilling
moment. Death, swift and sure, was but the moiety of a minute
off; but the long-made resolves of coolness in case of such an
accident stood well to the occupants of the boat. The
steersman—the most intrepid perhaps on the northern
waters—muttered one short monosyllable, and in the twinkling of
an eye every paddle was in its position, and the canoe leaped
forward, rocked in the hollows of the waves and forced sideways
up the billows to be hurled down again below, till the main
current was reached, one stroke of the brave steersman swung it
half round and sent it dashing down to the more placid waters at
the foot of the rapids. “God be blessed,” went up from the
hearts of the bishop and his missionaries; and flowing bowls of
strong tea rewarded the proud Indians. On the 29th June the
party arrived at New-Post, a fort of the Hudson Bay Company,
some 150 miles from Abbitibi, and 120 from Moose Factory. Here a
mission was given during the day, and at evening the start was
made for Moose Factory. Four portages more are passed ere the
party reaches Moose Factory on the 2nd July. This fort is the
headquarters of the company, and is by far the most important on
the whole route. The following morning the canoe heads for
Albany, another post of the H. B. Company, situated on the river
Albany, which flows into James Bay. But neither the heavens nor
the sea was propitious, and nine miles from the Factory the
canoe was brought to a stand-still by a face-beating wind, and
by a low tide, whose influence is felt even twenty-five miles up
the Moose river. For three days the camp is pitched on the river
bank, the wind blows, the rain pours down, a tempest rages, it
hails and even snows; till a consultation being held, the whole
party picked up their effects and put back to Moose. This was on
Sunday, the 6th July. On Tuesday a new and more successful
departure is made for Albany, which is reached on the 11th of
the month. A mission, most gratifying in its results, was given
here till the 15th, when the home trip was begun. At Albany
there is a magnificent wooden church, 50 feet by 26;
tower-crowned, gothic style, and bell-decked. Some 500 Indians
are attached to this mission church. On the 18th July, Moose
Factory was reached on the home voyage. The next day the canoe
is off again for New-Post, but more disappointment is ahead. A
high tide coming in at night submerges the canoe and cargo lying
on the river shore; and for the following days so strong is the
current that 15 miles have to be tramped on foot before New-Post
comes in sight. To walk 15 miles is nothing in itself, but to
walk 15 miles, up to the waist in cold water, piercing one’s
feet with the sharp cornered pebbles of the river bottom, and to
drag along a boat and its effects through the opposing stream,
all this is something. New-Post is entered on the 25th, and is
left the next evening, a large number of Indians accompanying to
15 miles from the post, where, after a portage of three miles in
length has been made, mass is celebrated for the crowd on Sunday
morning. On the 2nd August the return party arrives at Abbitibi,
where a large congregation of Indians are assembled to attend
divine services on the following Sunday. On Monday, the 4th
August, the prow points towards Temiscamingue, which gives glad
welcome to the party on the 7th. The three following days are
devoted to the mission; and on Monday afternoon a start is made.
The next day, after running five rapids and portaging over
three, the party paddled into Mattawa at 8 o’clock in the
evening. The voyage home, and reception, we have referred to in
the beginning of this article. The trip has been fraught with
spiritual blessings for 1,400 Indians, that are proud to be the
subjects of the zealous and hard-working bishop of Pembroke.
_Non recuso laborem_, “I flee not work,” we read on his
coat-of-arms two years ago, when he took possession of his See
in this town. His heart, even then, when he devised this motto,
must have beat love for the poor Indians of Hudson Bay.
In 1887, Mgr. Lorrain travelled 1,700 miles on his pastoral visit to the
Indian missions on the Upper Ottawa, Rupert’s Land and the Upper St.
Maurice. His route was from Ottawa, _via_ Pembroke, to Lakes
Temiscamingue, Obaching, Kepewa, etc., thence to the source of the River
du Molhe; from here through a chain of lakes to the “Lac Barrière”
mission, now on Lake Wapous; thence to Lake Wassepatebi, lying between
the province of Quebec and Rupert’s Land; through Cypress Lake, River
Pekeskak, by a chain of five lakes, the Laloche river to Lake Waswanipi.
The return trip was made by the same route as far as Lake Waswanipi, to
the Mekiskan river and the upper waters of the St. Maurice; thence
through various lakes, Lake Long, Lake Coucoucache and others to the
Grand Piles. This involved a trip of 1,700 miles, mostly by water in
bark canoe, occupying two months and six days, and 1,172 miles being
travelled by canoe. The portages were from an arpent to four miles long,
and there were 157 of them. During the five years Bishop N. Z. Lorrain
has been in Pembroke he has paid an old debt of $11,000 on the church;
built a magnificent episcopal residence at a cost of $18,000, upon which
sum $8,000 has been paid; bought twenty-nine acres of land for a
graveyard; purchased plots of sixteen acres of ground in the most
beautiful part of the town, as sites for charitable institutions in the
future. Mgr. Lorrain is an eminent English scholar. There is no doubt he
is destined to do a great work for his country, and that his wise
counsel will always have weight in the periodical councils of his
church.
* * * * *
=Coleman, Arthur Philemon=, Ph.D., Professor of Geology and Natural
History, Victoria University, Cobourg, was born on the 4th of April,
1852, at Lachute, province of Quebec. His father was the Rev. Francis
Coleman, a minister of the Methodist Church of Canada, and his mother,
Emmeline Maria Adams, was a descendant of John Quincy Adams. His early
education was obtained in various public and high schools of Ontario,
according to the station occupied by his father, as an itinerant
Methodist minister; and this ended in a course of two years in Cobourg
Collegiate Institute. In 1872, he matriculated in Victoria University,
Cobourg, and after four years’ residence, graduated in 1876 as Bachelor
of Arts, taking honours and a gold medal. On the advice of Dr. Haanel,
whose eloquence and ability as a professor had inspired him to study
science, he sailed for Europe, and in 1880, matriculated in the
University of Breslau, in Prussia, Dr. Haanel’s _alma mater_. During
four semesters he studied geology, mineralogy, botany, histology,
chemistry, etc., under such distinguished men as Roemer, Cohn, Goeppert,
Dilthey, Poleck, Liebisch, and others. His dissertation which was on the
“Melaphyres of Lower Silesia,” and demanded hard work in microscopic
petrography, as well as some months geologizing in the Giant Mountains,
on the border between Silesia and Bohemia, was accepted, and after
examination he was admitted to the degree of Doctor Philosophiae (_cum
laude_) in 1882. While in Europe, Professor Coleman made numerous
geological expeditions in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and
Scandinavia, and most of one summer he spent in Norway, wandering on
foot over the mountains and fields collecting specimens, and observing
the results of glacial action. The most notable points in this journey
were the ascent of Galdhoepig, the highest mountain in Norway, and a
voyage along the coast to Hammerfest and the North Cape, to see the
Lapps and the midnight sun. At Knivskjaerodden, a few miles from the
North Cape, the ship on board of which he was, _The Nordstjern_, went
ashore in a fog, and became wrecked on that bleak coast. The misfortune
occurred at about two o’clock in the morning, but aided by the perpetual
daylight, the passengers and crew succeeded in reaching shore, and
within twenty-four hours thereafter, they were rescued by another
steamer and landed at Hammerfest. After a short visit to France and
England, he returned to Ontario, and towards the end of 1882, was
inaugurated as professor of geology and natural history in Victoria
University, Cobourg. Since that date he has continued in the same
position, varying his life by journeys with geological ends in view; in
this way he visited the Rocky Mountains, the valley of the Columbia, and
the Selkirks, before the Canadian Pacific Railway was built, travelling
by pack pony, canoe or on foot. The professor belongs to the Methodist
church, and in politics is a Liberal.
* * * * *
=Macdonnell, Rev. Daniel James=, B.D., Pastor of West St. Andrew’s
(Presbyterian) Church, Toronto. This popular minister was born at
Bathurst, New Brunswick, on the 15th January, 1843. His father, the Rev.
George Macdonnell, who was born in Kirkcaldy, Fifeshire, Scotland, came
in childhood to Halifax, Nova Scotia, received his early educational
training in the schools at Halifax, and finished his course of studies
at the Edinburgh University. He afterwards was minister of St. Luke’s
Church, (Church of Scotland), at Bathurst, from 1840 to 1851; spent two
years in Scotland; came to Upper Canada in 1853, and was settled
successively in Nelson and Waterdown, Fergus and Milton, and died at the
latter place in 1871. His mother was Eleanor Milnes, who was born at
Pictou, Nova Scotia, and belonged to a branch of the family of Milnes,
of Derbyshire, England. Daniel James Macdonnell, the subject of our
sketch, began his education at Bathurst when but a lad of six years of
age,—the study of Latin being included in his course at this
unreasonably early age. He was afterwards sent to Scotland, and pursued
his studies for some time at Kilmarnock and Edinburgh, and on his return
to Canada, at Nelson, under the care of the late Dr. Robert Douglas, of
Port Elgin, who taught at “The Twelve,” while he was prosecuting his
studies. Mr. Macdonnell was then taken in hand by the late Dr. Tassie,
then head master of the Galt Grammar School, who prepared him for the
university. In October, 1855, when in his thirteenth year, he entered
Queen’s College, Kingston, and he held the first place in classics and
mathematics during his course there. In 1858 he graduated B.A., and two
years later M.A. Some time after he took a portion of his theological
course in the Queen’s Divinity Hall, Kingston, under Principal Leitch
and Professor Mowat, and spent the session of 1863-64 in Glasgow, where
Dr. Caird was professor of divinity. He completed his course in
Edinburgh, having attended the classes of the late Professor Crawford
and Robert Lee, and received the degree of Bachelor of Divinity. The
winter of 1865-66 he spent in Berlin in acquiring some knowledge of the
German language, and picking up whatever theological instruction he
could gather from the imperfectly understood lectures of Professors
Dörner and Hengstenberg. On the 14th June, 1866, he was ordained by the
Presbytery of Edinburgh (Church of Scotland); and returning to Canada he
was inducted to the charge of St. Andrew’s Church, Peterboro’, Ontario,
on the 20th November, 1866, where he spent four years. He was then
called to St. Andrew’s Church, Toronto, and inducted on the 22nd
December, 1870. The advent of Mr. Macdonnell was the signal for an
immediate revival of the condition of the church. He was young,
energetic, and more than all, earnest and original in his preaching.
Within a few years it was found that the old building was inadequate for
the purpose, and a new and imposing structure was built at the corner of
King and Simcoe streets, at the cost of $86,000 for building and $14,000
for additional ground. It is one of the finest and most complete in all
details of the many fine church edifices in Toronto, and is built of
stone in the Norman style, with a massive tower on the south-west angle.
Mr. Macdonnell’s popularity has steadily increased year by year since he
came to Toronto, and although some are inclined to consider him, from
“the Westminster Confession” standpoint, rather liberal in his
theological views, yet his large congregation listen with great
satisfaction to his gospel of common sense, and are most sincerely
attached to him. Rev. Mr. Macdonnell was one of the most cordial
supporters of Presbyterian union, and contributed largely to its
consummation in 1875. He is a member of the Senate of Toronto
University, having been appointed by the Ontario government. He also
takes an active part in works of charity, and indeed in everything that
has a tendency to help and elevate humanity. During his college career,
Rev. Mr. Macdonnell taught for about three years; was head master of
Vankleek Hill Grammar School for six months, when only seventeen years
of age; was assistant to Mr. Campbell (now Rev. Robert Campbell, D.D.,
minister of St. Gabriel street Church, Montreal) for a year in the
Queen’s College Preparatory School, and head master of the Wardsville
High School for a year and a half. While a student in Scotland, Mr.
Macdonnell, during vacation, took a couple of walking tours with fellow
students through Switzerland and parts of Germany, and since he settled
in Canada he has taken several trips to Great Britain. On the 2nd of
July, 1868, he was married to Elizabeth Logie Smellie, eldest daughter
of the Rev. George Smellie, D.D., of Fergus. Rev. Dr. Smellie was one of
the pioneer Presbyterian ministers of Western Ontario, and although now
in his seventy-sixth year, he still preaches every Sunday to the people
to whom he has ministered for forty-four years. There are four sons and
a daughter in St. Andrew’s manse. Mr. Macdonnell’s eldest boy, George
Frederick, aged fifteen, is attending Upper Canada College, and, taking
after his father, occupies the position of head boy in his form.
* * * * *
=Hunton, Sidney Walker=, M.A., Professor of Mathematics in the
University of Mount Allison College, Sackville, New Brunswick, was born
in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, on the 4th July, 1858. His father,
Thomas Hunton, was for a long time a leading merchant at the capital,
and died a few years ago. His mother, Amelia Hunton, is still alive and
resides at Ottawa. Professor Hunton was educated at the Collegiate
Institute, Ottawa, where, in 1875, he won the two medals offered by Lord
Dufferin for mathematics and classics. In September, 1876, he entered
McGill College, Montreal, where he studied for two years, and won first
scholarship in each year. In September, 1878, he won the Canadian
Gilchrist scholarship of the value of £100 stg. per annum, tenable for
three years, and then proceeded to London, England, where he studied at
University College, making a specialty of mathematics. In June, 1881, he
won the Rothschild scholarship of the value of £56, which was awarded
for the greatest proficiency in mathematics in University College. He
graduated at the University of London, in Oct., 1881, and was appointed
assistant to the professor of mathematics in University College, and
held the position for two years. In 1882 he became lecturer on
mathematics in the Electrical Engineering College, London, which
position he resigned in 1883, on being appointed to the professorship of
mathematics at Mount Allison College, N.B. During his stay in Europe he
also studied at Cambridge, England, and Heidelberg, Germany. He was
married on December 25th, 1884, to Annie Inch, daughter of J. R. Inch,
LL.D., president of Mount Allison College. Professor Hunton is a credit
to “Young Canada,” and we hope many will be found imitating his example.
* * * * *
=Kay, Rev. John=, Pastor of the First Methodist Church, Hamilton, was
born in the town of Napanee, Ontario, on the 20th of May, 1838. His
father was Enoch Kay, who was born in the county of Wicklow, Ireland, in
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