A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time by Rose
1883. He represented the Crown in Quebec with the late Judge Alleyn, at
949 words | Chapter 57
two terms of the Court of Queen’s Bench, criminal side, in 1882, and was
deprived of the office by Attorney-General Loranger, because his views
did not agree with those of the government on the sale of the North
Shore Railway to Mr. Sénécal. He was junior counsel for the Crown at the
trial of Louis Riel and other rebel leaders, at Regina, in July and
August, 1885. Mr. Casgrain was chairman in 1879 and 1880 of the Cartier
Club, a political organization; and is now one of the directors of the
Conservative Club of Quebec. He was elected a member of the Legislative
Assembly of the province of Quebec in October, 1886, by 196 of a
majority, after a severe contest in which the Riel cry was worked to its
utmost. His opponent was the Hon. Pierre Garneau, the leader of the
_Parti National_. He is a strong Conservative. He was offered the
position of stipendiary magistrate for Alberta, when it became necessary
to appoint a French magistrate, but he declined the honor. Mr. Casgrain
is a nephew of the Abbé H. R. Casgrain, a celebrated French Canadian
writer, and of P. B. Casgrain, Q.C., member of the House of Commons for
l’Islet. He married, in Quebec, on the 15th May, 1878, Marie Louise,
eldest daughter of the late Alex. LeMoine.
* * * * *
=McDonald, Alexander Roderick=, River du Loup (_en bas_), province of
Quebec, Superintendent of the Quebec and St. Flavie District of the
Intercolonial Railway, and President of the Temiscouata Railway Company,
River du Loup (_en bas_), Quebec, was born on the 9th of August, 1846,
at Montreal. His parents were James Ronald McDonald, and Adèle
Quevillon. He was educated at St. Hyacinthe College, and went through
the classical course. Mr. McDonald entered the railway service, April,
1864, as station master on the Grand Trunk Railway, from which position
he retired in October, 1871, to enter mercantile business in Kamouraska,
Quebec province; but in January, 1880, he again entered the railway
service as assistant superintendent of the Intercolonial Railway. In
October, 1881, he was promoted to be the district superintendent of the
same road, which position he now holds. In January, 1885, he formed a
company for the construction of a line from River du Loup, Quebec, to
Edmundston, in New Brunswick, under the name of the Temiscouata Railway
Company, of which he was elected president, and which office he has held
since. This line is now in an advanced state of construction, and will
be completed in the fall of 1887. In politics, Mr. McDonald is a
Liberal-Conservative, and in religion, a member of the Roman Catholic
church. He has been twice married. First on September 14th, 1866, to A.
Blondeau, of St. Paschal, who died 10th of February, 1873; and secondly,
on May 16th, 1881, to Marie Langevin, of Quebec, sister of Sir Hector L.
Langevin, minister of Public Works of Canada, and of his Lordship the
bishop of Rimouski.
* * * * *
=Clark, Rev. W. B.=, Quebec.—This worthy divine was born at Biggar,
Lanarkshire, Scotland, on January 27th, 1805. His father was William
Clark, a respectable country merchant, who died when his son was only
two years old. Thus in the providence of God the charge of a family of
six devolved on his widow, Janet Brown, who did her best to bring them
up in the fear of the Lord, to provide for their wants, and give them a
good education. William was educated chiefly at the parish school of
Biggar, where he obtained a knowledge of the elements of Greek, with a
pretty accurate and extensive knowledge of Latin. But when he was ready
to go to college, in consequence of family reverses he could not be
sent. He remained some time at home therefore, and got a still more
extensive acquaintance with the Latin classics. But he was anxious to do
something for his own support, and betook himself to teaching. By the
assistance of James Hogg, the “Ettrick Shepherd,” he was enabled to open
a small school in the parish of Yarrow. Mr. Hogg kindly provided a
school-room, with an apartment and free board for the teacher in the
farm house of Mont Benger. This farm was rented by the poet, and was
situated about a mile from the cottage of Altrive Luke, where he
resided, and the house was occupied only by a servant, who looked after
the cattle, etc. At that time Mr. Hogg had no children of his own old
enough to be instructed, but he interested himself in this school partly
for the accommodation of the neighbors, and partly, perhaps, from
kindness to the young teacher, who had been introduced to him the year
before by Henry Scott Riddell, who afterwards married his sister—the
Eliza of one of his popular songs. During his leisure hours, Mr. Clark
wrote a tale, which he showed to the shepherd, who made a large addition
to it, and published it in _Constable’s Magazine_, and generously gave
the money paid for it to the young teacher. At the close of April, when
some of the young people had to resume field work, the school at Mont
Benger had to be broken up; but Mr. Clark found employment at Manor, in
Peeblesshire, where two farmers, for their own children’s sake,
organised a school, in the house of one of whom—Mr. Murray, of
Cademuir—the teacher was kindly and freely boarded. In the beginning of
November, 1822, Mr. Clark entered the University of Edinburgh, having
saved money enough to pay all personal and college expenses during the
session. On going to Edinburgh, Mr. Hogg furnished him with a letter of
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