THE
LIEUTENANT-GOVERN v> 5
OF
UPPER CANADA AND ONTARIO
1792-1899.
J Q.C.,
Author of " The Life of Governor Simcoe," " The Lives of the Judges," " The Life and
Times of Sir Isaac Brock," " The Rebellion of 1837," etc.
With 22 full-page Portraits by J. E. Laughlin.
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TORONTO: ^/^ &
WILLIAM BRIGGS,
WESLEY BUILDINGS. *^
IQOO.
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Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year
one thousand nine hundred, by WILLIAM BRIGGS, at the Department
of Agriculture.
I DEDICATE THESE SKETCHES
OF THE
LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS OF THIS PROVINCE,
TO
Sir liver flDowat,
HIMSELF A WORTHY SUCCESSOR
OF A
LONG LINE OF BRAVE AND DISTINGUISHED
SONS OF THE EMPIRE;
FEELING THAT HIS EMINENT WORTH, AND
OUR LIFE-LONG FRIENDSHIP,
JUSTIFY ME IN REGARDING HIM AS A CANADIAN
TO WHOM IS DUE MY HIGHEST RESPECT.
D. B. READ,
TORONTO, Dec. 2;th, 1899.
INTRODUCTION.
It was not my intention when I had completed "The
Life and Times of Major-General John Graves Simcoe,"
and the past governors of the old Province of Upper
Canada, to further pursue the investigation of the
history of Canadian governors; but the favorable
reception that volume received at the hands of the
public has encouraged me to continue my writing of the
series of lieutenant-governors from Simcoe's time to
the incumbency of the present occupant of the office, Sir
Oliver Mowat.
I am certain that all Canadians will take an interest
in a connected historical account of the rulers that have
been set over them for the last hundred years. A mere
biographical sketch would hardly answer the purpose, so
I have combined something of the political history of
the governors with biography in order to convey a
better idea of the men who have held so prominent a
position as that of lieutenant-governor of this Province
of the Dominion of Canada.
Before the union of the Provinces of Upper Canada
vi INTRODUCTION.
and Lower Canada, in 1841, the lieutenant-governors
and the administrators of the Government who were
appointed as official heads of the State during the
periods intervening between the retirement of one
governor and the appointment of his successor, had
much more power than the governors of the present
time. I have therefore included sketches of those
administrators in the series of executive officers in
this volume, as in more cases than one the adminis-
trators and provisionally appointed governors, in the
performance of their duties, rendered very essential
service to the Province whose affairs for the time
being were committed to their hands.
In entitling the chapters I have followed the plan of
giving to each of the Governors or Administrators his
official designation in use during his term of office.
Many of the governors and administrators received
subsequent honors and rank, and many had military
rank while holding office, but in filling the civil post of
chief magistrate of the Province, the military rank was
not regarded. Up to 1878 the lieutenant-governors
were designated as His Excellency; after that date, as
His Honor.
Special acknowledgment is made to Mr. Alfred
Sandham, Toronto, for permission to make duplicates
from his admirable collection of portraits of the lieu-
tenant-governors, as well as of their autographs, which
form a feature of this volume.
PREFACE.
The translator of Suetonius's " Lives of the Twelve
Caesars" says in the preface to his work: "Of the
several sorts of history, biography is perhaps most
adapted to perform the double service of administering
at once delight and profit. For, though the general
history of a nation, being more extended, and neces-
sarily comprehending in it a far greater number and
variety of events, may promise a higher pleasure and
more diversified entertainment to the reader, yet biog-
raphy, being restrained within a narrower limit, has
this particular advantage, that the series of the action is
embraced by the understanding with greater ease, and
the instructions which arise from the most remarkable
occurrences in the life of a single person are more
directly and naturally applied than when the attention
is dispersed through the affairs of a whole people."
These words, written in 1727, have more force now
than when first published, since the vastly increased
number of events happening every day makes it neces-
sary to have recourse to biography to engage the
viii PREFACE.
attention of readers, which in a general history would
be distracted by the very number of historical occur-
rences.
In the " Lives of the Lieutenant-Governors of Upper
Canada and Ontario" I have endeavored to steer a
middle course, giving to each governor so much of his
political history as it is necessary to know without
trespassing on the domain of biography in its essential
feature of individual character. Without presuming to
say I have hit the happy mean, I launch my bark upon
the waters trusting to an indulgent public to give it
protection in its hazardous voyage.
The more one makes himself familiar with the
history of the governors of a state or country, the more
he will become acquainted with the country itself.
Ontario, which, under the name of Upper Canada,
is the author's native province, has reason to take a
pride in having had as lieutenant-governors men of
sterling integrity and worth, fit representatives of the
constitutional government under which they lived.
That it may be always so must be the ardent wish of
every lover of his country.
D. B. READ.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
JOHN GRAVES SIMCOE, LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.
Establishment of Upper Canada, 1791 Simcoe first Governor
Birth and early education Eton Oxford Enters Army
Revolutionary War Queen's Rangers Campaigning in the
Jerseys Capitulation of Yorktown Marriage Member of
Parliament for St. Maws, 1790 Canada in 1791 Govern-
ment organized 1792 The Miami Forts affair Visit to
Brant Government of St. Domingo, 1796 Portuguese Com-
mission, 1806 Monument in Exeter Cathedral 19
CHAPTER II. *S
PETER RUSSELL, PRESIDENT.
Family connection Secretary to Sir Henry Clinton Residence
on Palace Street Russell Abbey Land grants by the Ad-
ministrator Miss Russell First Parliament Buildings
Slave holding in Canada Russell Square 33
CHAPTER III. ^
PETER HUNTER, LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.
Scottish descent Military life Service in Revolutionary War
Disciplines the officials York Market established 1803
Provincial Bar established Visit of Duke of Kent Enlarg-
ing Parliament Buildings Death and burial at Quebec 41
xii CONTENTS.
PAGE
January 3rd, 1818 Duke of Richmond Governor-General
Death of Duke of Richmond Robert Fleming Gourlay prose-
cuted for libel and acquitted Contest with Governor Mait-
land Governor's residence at Stamford William Lyon
Mackenzie assails Government in Colonial Advocate First
copy inserted in Brock's Monument Governor orders re-
moval Destruction of second Parliament Buildings The
destruction of the Mackenzie printing office Action against
rioters Dispute with Assembly Governor censured Recall
in 1828 Subsequent life 116
CHAPTER X. <
SIR JOHN COLBORNE, K.C.B., LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.
Educated at the Blue Coat School Service in Holland, Egypt
and Italy Under Wellington, 1809 In Peninsular War-
Marriage in 1814 In command of regiment at Waterloo
Lieutenant-Governor of Guernsey Canada in 1828 Ad-
dresses of dissatisfaction Case of Francis Collins Judge
Willis Removal by Governor Maitland Mackenzie's
Grievance Resolutions Establishment of Upper Canada
College New Parliament Buildings, 1826 Assembly de-
clares want of confidence, 1830 Governor approves of Min-
isters Bitter party warfare Dissolution of Parliament
Reformers defeated in elections Mackenzie expelled from
the House Departs for England in 1832 Asiatic Cholera
Incorporation of Toronto Mackenzie first Mayor The
Seventh Report on Grievances Lord Goderich's answer
Governor retires Leaves for England Stopped at New
York Commander-in-Chief of Canada during Rebellion
England in 1839 Elevation to Peerage with life pension
The Ionian Islands Commander-in-Chief of Ireland Field-
Marshall Monument at Plymouth 130
CHAPTER XL r
SIR FRANCIS BOND HEAD, BARONET, LIEUTENANT-
GOVERNOR.
Born 1793 Serves on the Continent Exploration in South
America Retired on half-pay Poor Laws Commissioner
CONTENTS. xin
PAGE
Marriage Appointed Lieutenant-Governor Arrival at
Toronto Meets Legislature Communicates his instructions
Dissatisfaction of Assembly Trouble as to the Legislative
Councillors Baldwin, Rolph and Dunn Resignation of
Executive Council New Council appointed Assembly pro-
tests House dissolved Elections of 1836 A victory for
Government Satisfaction of Home Government Head
rewarded with Baronetcy Financial stringency Head
refuses to elevate Bidwell to Bench Sends in resignation
Rebellion breaks out Attack on Toronto Defeat of rebels
Navy Island Mackenzie's Provisional Government Sir
Francis leaves for England Subsequent life in England 153
CHAPTER XII. ^
SIR GEORGE ARTHUR, K.C.H., LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.
Birth Service in Italy and Egypt Lieutenant-Governor of
Honduras, 1814 Van Diemen's Land, 1823 Succeeds to
Government of Canada Lount-Mathews execution Sup-
pression of the Rebellion Windmill and Windsor affairs
Retires 1841 Governor of Bombay Subsequent Life in
England 192
CHAPTER XIII. V
RIGHT. HON. CHARLES EDWARD POULETT THOMSON,
LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.
Son of a London merchant Born 1799 Mercantile career
Enters Parliament 1826 Vice-President Board of Trade 1830
Cabinet Minister 1835 Governor-General of Canada 1839
Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada Session of 1839-40
Returns to Montreal Created Baron Sydenham Opens
first parliament of United Canadas Fatal accident Death
Personal Characteristics 201
xiv CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIV.
MAJOR-GENERAL HENRY WILLIAM STISTED, C.B.,
LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.
PAGE
First Governor after Confederation Succeeds General Napier in
military command Service in Afghanistan and in Mutiny
Appointed July, 1867 Township of Stisted named after
Colonel of 93rd Highlanders Dies, December, 1875 204
CHAPTER XV..
HON. WILLIAM PEARCE ROWLAND, C.B., LIEUTENANT-
GOVERNOR.
Of Quaker descent Born in New York Emigrates to Canada
Merchant in Toronto Township Member for West York,
1857 Minister of Finance, 1862 Receiver-General in Mac-
donald-Dorion Government Postmaster -General and Finance
Minister till Confederation Succeeds General Stisted Bay
Verte Canal Commissioner Business career 207
CHAPTER XVI. i
HON. JOHN WILLOUGHBY CRAWFORD, LIEUTENANT-
GOVERNOR.
Born in Ireland Education for the law Partnership with the
Hon. Henry Sherwood and Mr. Hagarty Lieutenant-Colonel
in Militia Member for East Toronto, 1861 Member for
South Leeds, 1867 Appointed Lieutenant- Governor, 1873
Marriage and family Death, 1875 214
CHAPTER XVII.
HON. DONALD ALEXANDER MACDONALD,
LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.
Born at St. Raphael's Contractor on Grand Trunk Member for
Glengarry, 1857 Postmaster- General in 1872 Lieutenant-
Go vernor of Ontario, 1878 Personal characteristics Subse-
quent life Dies 1896 218
CONTENTS. xv
CHAPTER XVIII.
HON. JOHN BEVERLEY KOBINSON, LIEUTENANT-
GOVERNOR.
PAGE
Of U. E. Loyalist descent Educated at Upper Canada College
Aide-de-camp to Sir Francis Head during Rebellion Mission
to Washington Called to the Bar Marriage Municipal
politics Member for Toronto, 1858 President of Council,
1862 Member for Algoma, 1872, and Toronto, 1878 City
Solicitor Lieutenant-Go vernor, 1880 Personal character-
istics Sudden death Hon. John H. Hagarty and Hon.
John G. Spragge, Administrators 221
CHAPTER XIX.
HON. SIR ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, K.C.M.G.,
LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.
Born in England Enters Law Society Partnership with Mr.
John A. Macdonald Alderman in Kingston Bencher of
Law Society, 1857 Legislative Councillor, 1858 Speaker of
Council, 1863 Commissioner of Crown Lands Senator,
1867 Postmaster-General Treaty of Washington Minister
of Interior Leader of Opposition in Senate, 1873 Receiver-
General, 1878 Lieutenant- Go vernor of Ontario, 1887 Dies
1892 Hon. Thomas Gait, Administrator. . 229
CHAPTER XX.
HON. GEORGE AIREY KIRKPATRICK, LIEUTENANT-
GOVERNOR.
Born at Kingston Called to the Bar Service in militia Mem-
ber for Frontenac, 1870 Parliamentary service Speaker of
Fifth Parliament Director of Canadian Pacific Railway
Company Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, 1892 Social
duties Knighted 1897 Dies 1899 Col. Gzowski, Adminis-
trator 235
xv CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXI.
HON. SIR OLIVER MOW AT, G.C.M.G., LIEUTENANT-
GOVERNOR.
PAGB
Born in Kingston Admitted to Law Society Articled to Mr.
John A. Macdonald Law partnership with Messrs. Burns &
VanKoughnet Alderman in 1857 Statute Commissioner,
1856 Member of Parliament for South Ontario, 1857 Sec-
retary of State, 1858 Postmaster-General, 1863 Confedera-
tion Conference Vice -Chancellor, 1864 Resigns 1872
Premier of Local House twenty-three years Acquisition of
New Ontario Legal Reformer Resigns from Provincial
House, 1896 Minister of Justice Lieutenant-Governor,
1897 240
APPENDIX.
Autographs of Lieutenant-Governors and Administrators whose
portraits do not appear in the volume 255
PORTRAITS.
JOHN GRAVES SIMCOE - Frontispiece
HON. PETER RUSSELL - 33
FRANCIS GORE - - 67
SIR ISAAC BROCK - 81
SIR ROGER HALE SHEAFPE - 86
SIR GORDON DRUMMOND - 90
SIR GEORGE MURRAY, G.C.B. - 95
SIR FREDERICK PHIPPS ROBINSON 99
SAMUEL SMITH - - 111
SIR PEREGRINE MAITLAND, K.C.B. - 116
SIR JOHN COLBORNE, K.C.B. 130
SIR FRANCIS BOND HEAD, BARONET - 153
SIR GEORGE ARTHUR, K.C.H. - 192
LORD SYDENHAM (POULETT THOMSON) - 201
MAJOR-GENERAL HENRY WILLIAM STISTED, C.B. - 204
HON. SIR WILLIAM PEARCE HOWLAND, C. B. - 207
HON. JOHN WILLOUGHBY CRAWFORD - - 214
HON. DONALD ALEXANDER MACDONALD - - 218
HON. JOHN BEVERLEY ROBINSON - 221
HON. SIR ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, K.C.M.G. - - 229
HON. SIR GEORGE AIREY KIRKPATRICK - - 235
HON. SIR OLIVER MOWAT, G.C.M.G. - - - 240
THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS OF UPPER
CANADA AND ONTARIO.
CHAPTER I.
JOHN GRAVES SIMCOE, LIEUTENANT-
GOVERNOR.
CANADA fell into the hands of Britain after the fall
of Quebec, where Wolfe so gallantly led the attack in a
contest that resulted in half a continent being added to
the Empire of Great Britain. This was in 1759, and
from the time of the peace of 1763 until 1791 the whole
country was governed as the Province of Quebec. After
the American Revolution there was a large exodus of
what has been called the United Empire Loyalists into
Canada, and these hardy and intrepid settlers began to
form settlements and take up land in the western part
of the Province. They were devoted to English laws
and institutions, and it was soon seen that they would
not easily submit to the French laws and customs which
then obtained in Canada. The British Ministry saw
that the time had come to divide the country, keeping
what was to be called Lower Canada for the French and
giving Upper Canada to the British. The Canada Act
of 1791 was accordingly introduced and passed in the
19
20 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
House of Commons, establishing the new province west
of the Ottawa.
For the Province of Upper Canada a governor had
now to be appointed, and for this office no better man
was available than the distinguished officer, Colonel
John Graves Simcoe. Simcoe had served with dis-
tinction in the Revolutionary War, and when the new
Republic of the United States was established had as-
sisted many loyal emigrants who, persecuted on account
of their adherence to Britain's cause, and with estates
forfeited for having carried arms on her behalf, sought
in the Canadian wilderness a refuge from the repub-
lican tempest blowing so fiercely to the south.
Simcoe was a member of the Parliament which passed
the Imperial Act, and had acquired his knowledge of
parliamentary procedure and of statecraft under the
tutelage of those two great statesmen, William Pitt and
Charles James Fox. He had indeed taken some part
in the debate in the House of Commons which resulted
in the enactment of the Canada Bill. He had further
qualifications for the post to which he was appointed.
As commander of the Queen's Rangers throughout
the Revolutionary War he had shown his aptitude for
command, a penetration which had been most service-
able to the British cause in many emergencies, a loving
care for those who served under him, and adminis-
trative capacity that could not but command the
respect of his superiors. Beyond and above all this he
had endeared himself to all those who took part with
him in the conflict which resulted in the independence
of the United States. Some idea of his popularity and
acceptability to Canadians in his new office of governor
JOHN GRAVES SIMCOE. 21
may be gathered from the manner in which he was
received at Johnstown on his first setting foot in the
Province, in 1792, to take upon himself the responsibility
of governing Upper Canada. There he was received by
the inhabitants with a salvo of artillery, the ordnance
for the occasion being an ancient cannon obtained from
the old French fort on the island below Johnstown.
Soon after the Governor left on his journey up the
river, the gentry of the surrounding country, in their
queer old broad-skirted military coats, their low
tasselled boots, their looped chapeaux, with faded
feathers fluttering in the wind, collected together,
retired to St. John's Hall, and there did honor to the
occasion in speech making and health drinking, as
was the custom of the time. In the speech making,
Colonel Tom Fraser said, " Now I am content content,
I say and can go home to reflect on this proud day.
Our Governer, the man of all others, has come at last.
Mine eyes have seen it a health to him, gentlemen
he will do the best for us."
Simcoe, whose father was commander of His Majesty's
ship Pembroke, and who lost his life in the Royal service
in the important expedition against Quebec in the year
1759, was born in 1752. His father had while on
service been taken prisoner by the French and carried
up the St. Lawrence, and thus had obtained a know-
ledge which enabled him to make a chart of that river
and conduct General Wolfe in his famous attack on the
citadel of Quebec. Naturally, therefore, we find him
inheriting a spirit which only needed the events of the
American Revolution to produce mature development.
After the death of Commander Simcoe his widow
22 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
resided at Exeter, in England, and young Simcoe was
sent to the Free Grammar School of that town, and
from there, at the age of fourteen, to Eton. Thence he
removed to Merton College, Oxford, where his classical
education was completed, and where he acquired a love
of Tacitus and Xenophon which made them his constant
companions in after life. By the age of nineteen he had
entered on his career, obtaining then a commission as
ensign in the 35th Regiment of the line. He had been
but three years in the army when his regiment was
despatched to America to assist in quelling the rebellion
of the colonists, and he landed at Boston on the day of
the battle of Bunker Hill, June 17th, 1775. Soon after
this he was promoted to command a company in the
40th Regiment, and was with it at the battle of Brandy-
wine, when General Howe defeated General Washington
and became master of Philadelphia. Captain Simcoe in
this battle so distinguished himself that he was marked
out for promotion, and in the following October, having
attained his majority in the meantime, he was made
second in command of the Queen's Rangers. This regi-
ment, originally raised in Connecticut and around New
York by Colonel Rogers, and sometimes called Rogers'
Rangers, was a provincial corps of light cavalry of
Loyalist Americans, with attached companies of light
infantry, and was originally about four hundred strong.
It had done valiant service, and was severely cut up at
Brandy wine, and was now recruited with gentlemen of
Virginia and young men of the regular army. On re-
ceiving his commission, on October 17th, 1777, Major
Simcoe joined his regiment, then stationed at German-
town, now a suburb of Philadelphia. Soon after the
JOHN GRAVES SIMCOE. 23
regiment was moved to New York, when recruiting was
vigorously prosecuted in order to bring the regiment up
to the required strength. During the war a company
of Highlanders and a company of Irish were added to
the infantry wing of the regiment, and at full strength
it numbered five hundred and fifty infantry, and was
one of the most efficient and active corps in the service,
the companies being swift of action and adepts at
ambuscade and stratagem. Until the early summer of
1778 the regiment was under command of Colonel
Mawhood, and in March of that year took part in a
successful expedition into the Jerseys, where they
defeated a strong body of rebels under command of a
French officer, who was taken prisoner. On the recall
of General Howe, and upon Sir Henry Clinton taking
command of the army, Major Simcoe was promoted to
the command of the regiment, and at the same time
was given the colonial rank of lieutenant-colonel.
Marching through New Jersey in June, 1778, the
Rangers encountered a force of seven or eight hundred
Americans under Baron Steuben, of the American
army, and General Dickenson, in command of the
Jersey militia. In the engagement Colonel Simcoe
was wounded. After the close of the summer cam-
paign the Rangers wintered at Oyster Bay, Long Island.
During the campaign of 1779 the Rangers were
principally occupied in endeavoring to keep down
the rebels in the Jerseys, but in October, in an expe-
dition near Brunswick, Simcoe was ambuscaded, had
his horse shot under him and himself taken prisoner,
and was kept prisoner, undergoing considerable hard-
ship, until the end of the year, when he was exchanged
24 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
and rejoined his regiment at Richmond. He served
with his regiment until after the capitulation of York-
town, in October, 1781, and his health being bad, was
invalided home on parole, and on his arrival home his
rank of colonel in the provincial was confirmed in the
regular army. He was released from parole in January,
1783, and from that time until 1791 lived in retirement
in England.
Soon after his return to England he married Miss
Guillem, a relative of Admiral Graves, who had been in
command of the naval force at Boston during the
Revolutionary War. She was an accomplished lady,
and a talented artist and draughtswoman. Some of
her sketches, made during her residence in Upper
Canada, are still preserved as the only memorial of
certain of the old notable buildings of the day.
In 1790 Colonel Simcoe was elected member of Par-
liament for the borough of St. Maws, Cornwall, and one
of the first debates after he had taken his seat was that
of April, 1791, when the Quebec Government bill was
introduced by Mr. Pitt, and was vigorously opposed by
Mr. Fox. It was over the constitution formulated by
this Act that many and bitter contests were waged by
Papineau, Mackenzie and other leaders of the rebellion
of 1 837. From the time of the introduction of the bill
constant objection was made to the Legislative Council
the second chamber, appointed by the Crown that,
too frequently to please the aggressive Assembly or
Commons, ignored the clamor of that body, and carried
on the Government regardless of its wishes. In this
debate Simcoe acquired some knowledge of his future
sphere of action and of the rival elements, then indeed
JOHN GRAVES SIMCOE. 25
rather confined to the Lower Canadian Province
elements which he saw would not fuse, and whose
fusion was rather prevented than aided by the
Loyalists and Rangers, exiles from the United States,
whose rooted conservatism was no friend of the
Republicans of either of the Canadas.
Early in 1792 Simcoe organized his Government at
Kingston. The organization and ceremonies attending,
conformably with the wishes of the Governor, partook
of a religious character, and took place in the wooden
church opposite the market-place. After the Proclama-
tion appointing Lord Dorchester Governor-General and
John Graves Simcoe Governor of Upper Canada was
solemnly read and published, the oaths of office were
administered to His Excellency the first Governor of
the Province. According to the Royal instructions he
was to have five individuals to form his Executive
Council. The five named were William Osgoode,
William Robertson, James Baby, Alexander Grant, and
Peter Russell, Esquires. These appointments were
made on the 8th of July. On the following Monday
Messrs. Osgoode, Russell, and Baby were sworn into
office. Robertson was not then in the Province. Grant
was sworn in a few days afterwards.
The Legislative Councillors were not elected till the
17th July, 1792, when a meeting of the Executive
Council was held at Kingston, and the following
gentlemen appointed : Robert Hamilton, Richard Cart-
wright, and John Munro. On the 21st July the
Governor left Kingston for his new capital of Newark,
now called Niagara. The first Parliament of Upper
Canada was held at Newark on the 21st September,
26 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
1792, in answer to a call by His Excellency Governor
Simcoe In his address to the House the Governor
remarked upon the " wisdom and beneficence of our
most gracious Sovereign and the British Parliament,
not only in imparting to us the same form of govern-
ment, but in securing the benefit by the many posses-
sions which guard this memorable Act (the Constitution
of the Province), so that the blessings of our invulnerable
constitution, thus protected and amplified, we hope will
be extended to the remotest posterity."
There were only eight Acts passed this session, but
they were Acts of a practical character, and such as
were required for the early development of a new
province. The Legislature was prorogued on the 17th
October, 1792.
The second session of Parliament was held at Niagara
on the 31st May, 1793. The most important paragraph
in His Excellency's speech on opening the House was
that which referred to the declaration of war by France
against Great Britain, and the necessity which existed
for the new modelling of a Militia bill for the Province,
and to call to the recollection of the House " how often
it had been necessary for Great Britain to stand forth
as the protector of the liberties of mankind."
Before the next session of Parliament officialdom had
taken its flight from Newark, and had become domiciled
in York, which before this migration had been called
Toronto. There can be no doubt that Governor Simcoe
conferred this name of York upon the place, or that it
came to be so called from the fact that he so named the
harbor in honor of the Duke of York, the King's son.
The Governor, in selecting York for his new capital,
JOHN GRAVES SIMCOE. 27
was no doubt influenced by the fact that it had a
magnificent harbor, and was distant from the United
States frontier.
On the 26th August, 1793, the following order was
issued from the Governor's headquarters :
" YORK, UPPER CANADA,
" 26th August, 1793.
" His Excellency the Lieutenant- Governor having
received information of the success of His Majesty's
arms under His Royal Highness, the Duke of York, by
which Holland has been saved from the invasion of the
French armies, and it appearing that the combined
forces have been successful in dislodging their enemies
from an entrenched camp supposed to be impregnable,
from which the most important consequences may be
expected, and in which arduous attempt the Duke of
York and His Majesty's troops supported the national
glory, it is His Excellency's orders that on raising the
Union Flag at twelve o'clock to-morrow, a Royal salute
of twenty-one guns be tired, to be answered by the
shipping in the harbor in respect of his Royal Highness,
and in commemoration of the naming of this harbor
from his English title, York.
" E. B. LlTTLEHALES,
" Major of Brigade!'
The first meeting of the Executive Council after the
removal of the capital from Niagara to York was held
at the Garrison in August, 1793.
Governor Simcoe, always watchful of the people's
interests, and to encourage the fur traders of the North
and West to bring their pelts to York, in October, 1793?
28 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
accompanied by a party of officers, explored the country
between York and Lakes Simcoe and Huron. Having
made his exploration, in January, 1794, the Government
surveyor, Augustus Jones, was ordered by the Governor
from Niagara to York to direct operations in opening a
road through the territory explored between York and
Lake Simcoe. The work was soon accomplished by the
Queen's Rangers, Simcoe's regiment, and the street or
road was named Yonge Street after Sir George Yonge,
Secretary of War in 1791.
In 1794 Governor Simcoe got into an entanglement
with the high officials of the United States, arising out
of a matter of great importance both to the United
States and Great Britain. This matter was the erection
of a fort by Governor Simcoe at the foot of Miami
Rapids, about fifty miles from Detroit, and within what
was claimed as American territory. Governor Simcoe
was quite within his duty in erecting this fort, under
the instructions of Lord Dorchester, the Governor-Gen-
eral and Commander-in- Chief. The Americans thought
or affected to think that the British were erecting this
fort in order to give aid and countenance to the western
Indians, who were at war, or on the brink of war, with
the United States, in a matter of difference as to the
boundary between the United States and the Indian
territory to the west. The western boundary of the
United States was then undefined. The great West had
not then been opened up or even explored, and was
known as Indian territory, and further as the " Great
American Desert." These plains were peopled by roving
bands of Indians, many of whom claimed the protection
JOHN GRAVES SIMCOE. 29
of and professed allegiance to Britain, and this fort
was now erected in what was considered by the British
Government to be Indian and not United States terri-
tory, with a view to protect British fur traders and to
maintain watch over the excitable and often treach-
erous Indians.
Governor Simcoe in a spirited manner vindicated his
conduct, and showed that instead of erecting the fort to
assist the Indians it was done upon the principle of self-
defence. In a paragraph in his reply to Secretary Ran-
dolph's complaint, he wrote : " My having executed the
order of His Majesty's Commander-in-Chief in North
America, Lord Dorchester, in reoccupying a fort on the
Miami River, within the limits of those maintained by
the British forces at the peace in 1783, upon the prin-
ciple of self-defence, against the approaches of an army
which menaced the King's possessions, is what I pre-
sume Mr. Secretary Randolph terms Governor Simcoe's
invasion."
In 1794 General Simcoe was promoted to the rank of
major-general.
During the winter of 1794-95, Governor Simcoe was
engaged in projecting plans for the future of York, and
arranging for its civil and military administration. A
soldier himself, he could bivouac in his tent, but arrange-
ments had to be made for public buildings for the
accommodation of officials and for the meeting of the
Legislature. We have the authority of Mr. Bouchette,
who surveyed Toronto harbor, for saying that His
Excellency, in the winter of 1793-94, made his head-
quarters in the neighborhood of the Old Fort, at the
30 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
entrance of the harbor, in a tent or canvas house which
had served Captain Cook in his voyage round the world
and was now the property of Governor Simcoe. After
the Governor had got fully established at York, he spent
part of his time at Castle Frank, on the bank of the
Don, built by the Governor and named in honor of his
oldest son and heir, Frank Simcoe. It thus seems that
some idea of perpetuating his son's name still remained
with the Governor, though far removed from his native
land of hereditary honor and degree.
Although the Governor had removed his headquarters
to York, the Parliament in 1795 assembled at Niagara
as before, in consequence of the non-completion of the
public buildings at York. In June, 1795, the Governor
entertained the Duke de la Rochefoucauld Liancourt,
who in a book of travel gave a very graphic description of
his reception, and the ceremonies attending the opening
of Parliament, which took place during his visit. In his
reference to the Governor, Liancourt wrote: "He is just,
active, enlightened, brave, frank, and possesses the con-
fidence of the country, of the troops, and of all those
who join him in the administration of public affairs."
This and much more he says of him. Surely this is
a worthy monument to his memory.
The session of Parliament of 1795 was a short but
important one. It lasted only fourteen days, but during
that period the legislators were enabled to pass laws to
regulate juries and to "establish a superior court of
civil and criminal jurisdiction, and to regulate the Court
of Appeal," and some other equally useful measures.
In this same year Governor Simcoe visited the cele-
JOHN GRAVES SIMCOE. 31
brated Indian Chief, Joseph Brant, at the Grand River,
and had a conference with him in regard to Indian
lands. The Governor was always foremost in his advo-
cacy of Indian claims, and was the steadfast friend of
the Indians during the whole of his administration of
the Government of Upper Canada.
On the 1st December, 1796, Governor Simcoe was
appointed Civil Governor of St. Domingo, and Com-
mander-in-Chief in the room of Sir Adam Williamson.
St. Domingo was then divided into two parts, one of
each being held by the British and French. On Sim-
coe's arrival there he found the island in a state of
turmoil, and he was kept in a state of continual war-
fare with the celebrated Toussaint L'ouverture, the negro
general, at one time leader of the black insurgents, but
now appointed by the French Government General-in-
Chief of the armies of St. Domingo.
In August, 1797, wearied of a conflict in which he
had no support, he went to England to procure a suffi-
cient force. But England had too much use for her
soldiers on the continent, and none could be spared.
Remaining in England, Simcoe was made a lieutenant-
general in 1798, and had no service until August, 1806,
when he was appointed a commissioner to the court
at Lisbon, to command an army of protection against
France, then threatening to invade Portugal. On the
voyage out he was taken ill and compelled to return to
England, where he died soon after his arrival.
A monument to his memory may yet be seen in the
walls of Exeter Cathedral, suitably inscribed, and is as
follows :
32 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
SACRED TO THE MEMORY
OF
JOHN GRAVES SIMCOE,
LIEUTENANT-GENERAL IN THE ARMY, AND COLONEL OF
THE 22ND REGIMENT, OF YORK,
WHO DIED ON THE 25TH DAY OF OCTOBER, 1806,
AGED 54 YEARS.
In whose life and character the virtues of the hero,
the patriot, and the Christian were so eminently
conspicuous that it may be justly said, he served his
king and his country with a zeal exceeded only by his
piety toward God.
CHAPTER II.
THE HONORABLE PETER RUSSELL, PRESIDENT.
MR. RUSSELL, who succeeded Governor Simcoe as
Administrator, was of the Irish branch of the family of
Russell, of which the Duke of Bedford was the head,
and therefore connected with one of the most aristo-
cratic families of England. Lord John Russell, Premier
of Britain in after years, was of that family.
Peter Russell, son of Captain Richard Russell, form-
erly of the 14th Regiment of Foot, according to his
own statement, had the misfortune to be descended from
ancestors who, studying only to enjoy the present, never
thought of making provision for the future. He was
educated for the Church, but, as he says, imprudently
chose to follow the profession of his father, and entered
the army under the patronage of General Henry Brad-
dock and Lord Albemarle. After two years' service as
ensign without pay he purchased a lieutenancy of a
man three months after he was dead, according to the
peculiar system of purchase then existing, and ulti-
mately, after twenty-six years of service in all parts of
the world, attained a captaincy. He was soon after
received into the family of Sir Henry Clinton as one of
his secretaries, acting in that capacity to the end of
Sir Henry's command during the Revolutionary War.
3 33
34 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
Previously to coming to America with Sir Henry, in
1772, he sold his company in the 64th Regiment. He
made this sacrifice for the best of motives to raise
money to relieve his then aged father of a load of debt
and to make some provision, in case of his fall, for his
sister, Elizabeth, to whom he was devotedly attached.
The close of the Revolutionary War found him back in
England without employment, and we find him in 1789
applying to Clinton for influence to obtain the command
of Landguard Fort. In this project he failed, but soon
after he succeeded in obtaining a position under
Major-General Simcoe, then appointed to the Govern-
ment of Upper Canada, and came with him to this
country as his Inspector-General in 1792.
There was no other person in the Province at the time
of Governor Simcoe's surrender of the government on
whom his mantle could so suitably have fallen as on the
Honorable Peter Russell. He came over from England
with Governor Simcoe as Inspector-General of the Prov-
ince, and had an intimate acquaintance with the plans
and designs of the first Governor. Hence he knew of
Major-General Simcoe's determination to fix the perman-
ent capital of the Province at York, although Simcoe's
Chief Justice, Elmsley, strongly protested against the
seat of government being established there ; alleging as
his reason, not only that he would be unable to get a
jury in York to fill up the complement of his court, but
because there was no accommodation in the embryo capi-
tal for the members of parliament. Both these reasons
failed to satisfy Governor Simcoe, and evidently had no
weight with Mr. Russell who succeeded him in the
administration of affairs.
PETER RUSSELL. 35
Mr. Russell, immediately on Governor Simcoe select-
ing York (the present city of Toronto) for his future
capital, left Niagara, visited Toronto, and built for him-
self a house near the bay shore on Palace Street, at the
foot of Prince's, now called Princess Street. Early in 1797
this house was destroyed by fire, when Mr. Russell built
a house on the same site, generally known as " Russell
Abbey." This was a frame structure, not extraordin-
arily large in fact, a rather small house of one storey,
with a main body and two wings. It would not pass
at the present day as a house of any great pretensions,
but in the days of President Russell it was, no doubt, one
of the mansions of the western colony, and worthy of
its somewhat imposing name. This house, the residence
of the President, was afterwards sometimes called the
" Palace." This may have been because of its being
situated on Palace Street, or because of its being opposite
the new Parliament Buildings ; or it may have been so
called by reason of its being the residence of the Gover-
nor; or, more probably because it was for some time the
residence of Bishop Macdonnell. Be that as it may, the
mansion served for many years to house the chief execu-
tive officer of the Province, who never took unto him-
self a wife, and was content to pass his days in this
small but convenient building.
President Russell was not a man of a grasping nature y
although circumstances which occurred during his
administration, and the gossip of the time which has
been carried down to us as history, would almost make
one believe that he was a land speculator or land jobber
in a high place. The wags of the day and those who
were jealous of his acquisition of large tracts of land
36 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
used to make fun of the conveyance of those lands or
land grants as made by Peter Russell to Peter Russell
" I, Peter Russell, grant to you, Peter Russell," etc.
It was looked on as a good joke on the President, and
afforded no end of amusement to certain individuals in
York who were very glad to have a thrust at any one
in authority. The trouble was that these grants were
necessarily made in this form owing to the position Mr.
Russell held, that of Governor or acting Governor and
grantee at the same time. The British Government
authorized the President to grant six thousand acres of
Crown lands to each of the members of the Executive
Council, and its president had no alternative but to put
his name to the grant to himself as well as to those to
the other members of the Executive Council of the
Government.
Mr. Russell was what might be called an Irish gentle-
man of the old school, and to maintain his dignity
sought to make himself proprietor of a considerable
estate. No doubt in his view no Irish gentleman should
be without large landed estates. His opportunities were
great, and he in fact did become a large landowner.
But there was nothing in his acts in acquiring these
acres which in any way reflected upon his character as
a public man. The Crown lands were at that time wild
forest lands of little value. His ambition was to be con-
sidered a large landed proprietor, but far from the land
being of any profit to himself, those at least outside of
the limits of York, were rather an encumbrance. On
his death his real estate in the Province passed to his
sister, Miss Elizabeth Russell, as his heiress-at-law, who
had lived with him in his house at the foot of Prince's
PETER RUSSELL. 37
Street. Miss Russell was a very charitable lady, with
a large Irish heart, and was greatly esteemed by all
who knew her. She survived her brother many years,
and died in Russell Abbey.
As soon as installed in the office of administrator of
the Province, the President set about making prepara-
tions for calling together the second Parliament of the
Province at York, in accordance with instructions which
Major-General Simcoe had given to that end. In
accordance with these instructions the Parliament met
at York, the new capital, on the first day of June, 1797.
This was the first session of Parliament of the Province
convened in York, the sessions of the previous parlia-
ments and the first session of the second having been
held at Niagara.
The buildings in which Parliament met were two
modest one-storey 40 x 25 frame buildings, at the foot
of Berkeley Street, one for the Assembly and the other
for the Legislative Council. These buildings were one
hundred feet apart ; they were projected in 1794, and
proceeded with and finished in the period intervening
between Governor Simcoe's departure from the Province
in 1796 and the assembling of Parliament in 1797.
Many Acts of Parliament were passed during the three
years of the administration of the Honorable Peter
Russell, well calculated to solidify the structure of gov-
ernment commenced under the paternal care of Governor
Simcoe. It was President Russell's plan to follow in the
footsteps of Simcoe in all matters pertaining to the wel-
fare of the Province. Hence we have Acts of Parlia-
ment passed during his administration to " secure the
Province against the King's enemies;" "for securing
38 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
titles to land in the Province ; " " for regulating the
militia of the Province ; " Acts relating to the division
of the Province into counties ; the education and support
of orphan children ; and the further introduction of the
Criminal Law of England.
There were other Acts not less important, though of a
local character, all tending to develop the resources of
a new country and to heighten the energies of its
people.
President Russell, familiar with the policy of the
British Government in its treatment of the Indians, was
ever watchful of their interests. On one occasion, when
the Indians complained to him that depredations had
been committed by some lawless persons on their fish-
ing places and burial grounds, he speedily issued a pro-
clamation announcing that such practices must cease, or
the parties offending should be prosecuted with the
utmost severity and a proper example made of them.
Some writer has imputed it as a fault in the Honor-
able President that he owned and sold slaves. This
arises from an advertisement which appeared in the
Gazette and Oracle newspaper in February, 1806, in
which His Honor offered for sale " a black woman named
Peggy, aged 40, and a black boy, her son, aged 15."
What had been imputed as a fault was no fault at all,
as those slaves were brought with him when coming to
the Province, and were as much his property as any
other property owned by him.
The Act of the Parliament of the Province passed on
the 9th of July, 1793, did not absolutely abolish slavery
in the Province ; it only made illegal the future importa-
tion of slaves and declared the emancipation of those then
PETER RUSSELL. 39
held at a certain period. The second section of the Act
of 1793 provided that " nothing in the Act contained
should extend or be construed to extend to liberate any
negro or other person subject to slave service, or to dis-
charge them or any of them from the possession of the
owner thereof who shall have come or been brought into
this Province in conformity to the conditions prescribed
by any authority for that purpose exercised, or by any
ordinance or law of the Province of Quebec, or by pro-
clamation of any of His Majesty's governors of the said
province for the time being, or of any Act of Parliament
of Great Britain, or shall have otherwise come into the
possession of any person by gift, bequest or bona fide
purchase before the passing of this Act, whose property
therein is hereby confirmed."
Not only was the President not violating any law
existing at that time in the transaction of the sale of
his negro slaves, but if his advertisement received a
response and an actual sale made, it can in no way be
made to sully his fame as administrator, as the sale, if
made, was not till several years after he had ceased
to be administrator of the Province.
Mr. Russell remained in office as administrator till the
arrival of Governor Hunter, in 1799, when he handed
over the government to that gentleman. The Honor-
able President's name is perpetuated in Toronto by more
than one landmark. Russell Square, on which old
Upper Canada College was built, owes its name to Presi-
dent Russell. Russell Hill, in North Toronto, was
named after him and given that name in memory of the
Russell Hill estate in Ireland, which was the name of
the estate of the Irish branch of the family. Peter
40 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
Street, Toronto, is named after President Peter Russell.
Russell Abbey is no more ; like most of the first build-
ings in York and Toronto, its perishable frame walls
were doomed to submit to the inevitable hand of time.
It was a notable building in its day, and the residence
of the President of the Council was a centre of attrac-
tion to visitors to York. Mr. Russell occupied the
Abbey till the time of his death on the 30th September,
1808.
There was great intimacy in the days of President
Russell between himself and his sister and Dr. William
Warren Baldwin and his family, who were connected
with the Russell family by marriage.
After Mr. Russell's death Mr. Baldwin occupied Russell
Abbey for a time, and on the death of Miss Russell, in
1821, he and his family, under the will of that lady,
became beneficiaries of what had been the Canadian
estate of Administrator Russell, or so much of it as
remained undisposed of at her death. This bequest of
Miss Russell's has always been supposed to have laid the
foundation of the fortune of the Baldwin family.
Mr. President Russell was buried with military honors,
and was followed to the grave by many sincere mourners,
the principal of whom was Francis Gore, at that time
Governor of the Province.
CHAPTER III.
PETER HUNTER, LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.
IT was the policy of the British Government in Gov-
ernor Simcoe's time, and thenceforward for nearly half
a century, to have at the head of the Government in
Upper Canada a military man, who from his strength
and position would command the confidence of the
people of the Province.
If an officer of the army could be found competent to
fill the office of Governor, and who at the same time
had been in the service during the Revolutionary War,
so much the better. Such a man may reasonably be
supposed to have had some knowledge of the United
Empire Loyalists, who had been engaged in the same
service, and who now had become the forest rangers
and the cutters and tillers of the virgin soil of a new,
unreclaimed domain.
The Honorable Peter Hunter, the first regularly
appointed Lieutenant-Governor to succeed Governor
Simcoe, was fifty-three years of age when he assumed
the governorship of Upper Canada, and, like Simcoe,
before coming to the Province had undergone much
hardship in the military service of the Crown, in the
endeavor to put down the rebellion of the King's sub-
jects in America. Of his antecedents before coming to
41
42 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
America not much is known./ He was born in the year
1746, and was of a Scottisn family, seated at Auch-
terard, in Perthshire. He took to military life at an
early age, worked his way up from small beginnings,
became colonel of the 60th Rifle Regiment, and finally
attained the rank of lieutenant-general.
General Hunter had been appointed Commander-in-
Chief of His Majesty the King's military forces in
British North America before coming to Upper Canada,
and when he was appointed Lieutenant- Governor of
Upper Canada he retained the post of Commander-in-
Chief of the forces.
On his arrival at York in August, 1799, he was met
at the landing by the Queen's Rangers, whom he had
known so well during the Revolutionary War as Sim-
coe's regiment, and later in the day received an address
from the inhabitants of York, congratulating him on
his safe arrival and appointment as Lieutenant- Gover-
nor. His reply to this address was characteristic of the
man. It was not his custom to waste many words.
Duty had his first call, and that he performed with
marked ability. His answer to the address by the
inhabitants of York was a model of military precision
and brevity : " Gentlemen, Nothing that is within my
power shall be wanting to contribute to the welfare of
this colony."
The new Governor was of the opinion that his military
duties should always have precedence over his civil
duties. He considered that, for a time at least, the civil
affairs of Upper Canada could be safely administered by
a commission, composed of prominent men in whom he
had confidence. He would not relegate his duties of
Commander-in-Chief to another
PETER HUNTER. 43
The principal forces of His Majesty in America at the
time were in the Province of Lower Canada. Quebec,
that fortress commanding the gateway from the sea,
always demanded the closest attention of the King's
officers in British America. The Governor did not
remain long in York on the occasion of his first visit.
On the 5th of September he crossed the lake to Niagara
to inspect the troops in that garrison. On the 13th
September he left Niagara for Kingston on a Govern-
ment vessel, receiving a salute of the American garrison
at Fort Niagara by the hoisting of the American flag
in his honor. On arriving at Kingston and inspecting
the troops there, he proceeded to Lower Canada to finish
his duties in that Province. On leaving Upper Canada
he entrusted the Government to a commission composed
of the Honorable Peter Russell, previous president and
administrator, the Honorable J. Elmsley, ^Eneas Shaw,
Esquire, and the Honorable Peter McGill all or any one
of whom were well qualified for the posts they were
appointed to fill. Governor Hunter's military duties
detained him in the Province of Lower Canada till the
following spring, when he returned to the Upper Prov-
ince and entered upon the active performance of his
civil duties as Governor.
As soon as convenient after his return to Upper Can-
ada he proceeded to call a meeting of the Provincial
Parliament at York, which in obedience to his summons
convened on the 2nd day of June, 1800.
There were only six Acts of Parliament passed during
this session, which was the fourth and last session of
the second Parliament of the Province. Two of these
Acts were of great general importance. One of them was
44 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
" An Act for the more equal representation of the com-
mons of Upper Canada in Parliament, and for better
defining the qualification of electors ; " the other, " An
Act for making a temporary provision for the regulation
of trade between this Province and the United States of
America, by land or by inland navigation."
This Act was supplemented by another Act in the
first session of the next Parliament, of a still more im-
portant and permanent character than the Act in relation
to trade between the United States and Upper Canada
of the first Parliament. The facts seem to have been
that at this period it was much cheaper for the mer-
chants of Upper Canada to get in goods from Albany
and New York than from England. These goods were
let in at a lesser duty than English goods, and the cost
of carriage was so disproportionate that British interests
demanded that a remedy of the evil, from an English
point of view, should be applied. The remedy consisted
in the passing of an Act by the Legislature for levying
the like duties on goods brought into the Province from
the United States as was paid on goods imported from
Great Britain and other countries.
Both the Inland Revenue and the Customs duties on
foreign goods received a good deal of attention during
the administration of Governor Hunter. The increase
of trade at York necessitated the appointment of a
Customs collector at that port. The first to fill that
office was Mr. William Allan, appointed by Governor
Hunter in 1801. Mr. Allan's name frequently appears
about this time in connection with public affairs. In
June, 1801, his name appears in the Oracle at the foot of
an advertisement as Returning Officer for the Counties
PETER HUNTER. 45
of the East Riding of York, Durham and Simcoe, calling
on those counties conjointly to elect a knight to repre-
sent them in Parliament in pursuance of a writ issued
by His Excellency Peter Hunter, Esquire, directing him,
William Allan, returning officer, " to cause one knight,
girt with a sword, the most fit and discreet, to be freely
and indifferently chosen to represent the aforesaid
counties in Assembly by those who shall be present on
the day of election." From the language of this writ
it would appear that the official designation of members
of the Assembly at that time was " Knight." As a
matter of fact they had not received the Sovereign's
patent conferring such title, and the writ was a survival
of the old English form imported to Canada, which could
not much longer survive in a democratic age.
The Governor, a man of noble character and great
integrity in the performance of his civil, administrative
and executive acts, and without undue severity, was
yet resolute in his purpose that every official connected
with the Government should be assiduous in the duties
devolving on him.
In illustration of this trait in the Governor's character
this incident is related. Certain Quakers of the country
north of the Ridge to the north of York, complained to
His Excellency of great delay in receiving their patents
for lands which they had taken up in that region. The
Governor at once sent for the Survey or- General, D. W.
Smith ; Mr. Small, Clerk of the Executive Council ; Mr.
Burns, Clerk of the Crown ; and Mr. Jarvis, Secretary
and Registrar of the Province, to wait on him the next
day at noon, appointing the same hour for the Quakers
to attend.
46 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
All being present at the appointed time, the Governor,
addressing the officials, said to them : " These gentlemen
complain that they cannot get their patents." Each of
the officials began to offer excuses for the delay. Mr.
Jar vis, the secretary and registrar, when it came to his
turn, endeavored to explain by asserting that the pres-
sure was so great that he had been absolutely unable,
up to that time, to get ready the particular patents
referred to. " Sir," was the Governor's immediate
rejoinder, " if they are not forthcoming, every one of
them, and placed in the hands of these gentlemen here
in my presence at noon on Thursday next (it was now
Tuesday), by George, I'll un-Jarvis you." It is needless
to say the Quakers got their patents and the storm blew
over. This incident has much of the military court-
martial aspect about it, but then the Governor was more
of a military man than a civilian, and the threat to
unhorse one of the officials had its effect.
The Governor not only kept the heads of depart-
ments strictly to the performance of their duties, but
required their subordinates to give full time to their offices.
He had published in the Gazette a notice requiring
regular attendances for the transaction of public busi-
ness in the Government offices every day in the year
(Sundays, Good Friday and Christmas Day only ex-
cepted) from ten o'clock in the morning till three in the
afternoon, and from five o'clock in the afternoon till
seven in the evening.
In the year 1798 the Legislature had enacted that as
soon as the counties of Northumberland and Durham
made it appear to the Lieutenant-Governor that there
were a thousand souls within said counties, he was
PETER HUNTER. 47
authorized to issue a proclamation declaring them a
separate district, to be called the District of Newcastle.
This the Governor was enabled to do in 1802. In clos-
ing the Legislature he, in his address to Parliament, said :
" The erection of a new district gives me particular
satisfaction, being an indication of the increasing popu-
lation of the Province and of the happy effects of that
plenty and security which, by the blessing of Provi-
dence, we at present possess."
In 1803 the population of York had so increased
that there was an imperative demand for a public
market. Accordingly we find that on the 3rd of
November in that year the Governor issued a procla-
mation that he, the Governor, with the advice of the
Executive Council, to promote the interests, advantages
and accommodation of the town and township of York
and other of His Majesty's subjects in the Province,
ordained, established and appointed a public open
market to be held on Saturday in each and every week
during the year in said County of York, the first
market to be held on a certain piece or plot of land
in said town.
The plot of land, which is fully described and delim-
ited in the proclamation, was five and one-half acres,
bounded by Market, New and Church Streets.
This is the origin of the first market in York, now
Toronto. In the same year, 1803, in which it had
become necessary to establish a public market in York ;
the Legislature was impressed with the belief that there
were not enough lawyers in the Province to attend to
the wants of the people. Consequently an Act was
passed " to authorize the Governor, Lieutenant-Gover-
48 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
nor, or persons administering the government of the
Province, to license practitioners in the law." It was
not necessary that such persons should have qualified
themselves by a course of study, but sufficient for them
to have talent that commended them to the considera-
tion of the Court of King's Bench. Acting under this
authority, and certificates of fitness obtained from the
King's Bench, Governor Hunter, by proclamation, desig-
nated Dr. W. W. Baldwin, of York ; William Dickson,
of Niagara ; D'Arcy Boulton, of Augusta ; and John
Powell, of York, as fit and proper persons to practise
the profession of the law and act as advocates in the
courts after having been duly examined by the Chief
Justice. The gentlemen thus appointed were afterwards
sometimes alluded to, by persons jealous of their pre-
ferment, as the " heaven-descended barristers."
During Governor Hunter's administration the Duke
of Kent, father of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, paid a
visit to Canada. His Grace was at that time Com-
mander-in-Chief of the forces at Halifax, and made it a
point to visit Niagara Falls. In the course of his
journey he visited York, when he was a guest of
General ^Eneas Shaw at Oakhill, and at Niagara was
entertained at Navy Hall, the official residence, when
the little town was beautifully illuminated in his honor.
Governor Hunter was at all times watchful of the
interests of the Province and active in promoting the
proper development of the country which he had been
appointed to govern. In 1804 the Provincial Govern-
ment passed "an Act appropriating a certain sum of
money annually to defray the expenses of erecting cer-
tain public buildings to and for the use of the
Province."
PETER HUNTER. 49
The buildings referred to were the buildings for Par-
liament, the courts of justice, public offices and for
general necessities of government. The sum granted
was four hundred pounds annually. This sum was, in
the judgment of the Governor, so much below what was
really required for buildings for the public service, that
His Excellency, as an Imperial officer, in sending an
address of the Legislature to the Government of England
on the matter, informed that Government " that there
was not a single public building. The several offices
had been established in private houses built for that
occasion. The Executive met in a room in the clerk's
house. The Houses of the Legislature assembled in
two rooms, erected nine years before as a part of the
buildings designed for Government House. The Court
of Appeal, King's Bench, District Court and Masters'
Sessions all held their sittings in the same place."
The two rooms referred to were doubtless the two
modest frame buildings which had been used for the
Legislative Chambers in the administration of the
Honorable Peter Russell. These buildings Governor
Hunter scornfully designates as only rooms. They had
been, however, connected with a colonnade, giving the
appearance of being larger than they really were.
The colonnade must have been of good height, for it
was under that colonnade that was erected the hustings
for the election of a knight to represent the counties of
Durham, East Riding of York, and Simcoe, of which
election William Allan was returning officer, as already
referred to.
Of Lieutenant-Governor Hunter personally may be
said, that he was an honorable, conscientious man, very
4
50 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
much devoted to the military profession and to his
duties of Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's forces
in the Province of Canada. In his capacity of Civil
Governor he trusted so much to his Executive Council
that he was reproached in some quarters for not exercis-
ing more arbitrarily his civil power ; though in the case
of Secretary Jarvis and the Quakers we are able to see
that he could when necessary in the exercise of' that
power be strict, even to the verge of arbitrariness.
It has been said that the members of his Council in
some cases took advantage of his over-confidence in
them unduly to promote the interests of their families
and friends, in securing for them grants of land and
other benefits, to the detriment of the actual settlers.
That the actual settlers, U.E. Loyalists and their
families, were sometimes inconvenienced, and, it may
be, deprived of land and other possessions which they
considered had been guaranteed to them by the British
Government, to the advantage of the new immigration
taking place in the Province, there seems to be little
doubt. But it must be remembered that during Gover-
nor Hunter's time many loyal subjects of the Crown,
whom the Irish rebellion of 1798 had compelled to leave
Ireland, had come to Canada to make that colony their
home. Thence both the Governor and Council had two
sets of loyalists to serve, the Irish and the American
loyalists, and it was inevitable that in serving both it
was hard to avoid offending one or other of the rival
claimants to lands and offices. It is not surprising,
therefore, that the U.E. Loyalists of America should
have been chagrined at the fresh importation of land-
seekers, and vented their spleen on the Council, who
PETER HUNTER. 51
were, as the U. E. Loyalists thought, too ready to make
provision for the newcomers, in some cases to the injury
of the original locatee of land and claimant of the right
to implements with which to work that land.
If the Governor showed any weakness in the matter
all was done in the interests of as faithful subjects of
the Bang as those who may have been unfairly treated.
Governor Hunter, like his predecessor, the Honorable
Peter Russell, died as he lived, a bachelor. He expired
at Quebec on August 21st, 1805, in the sixtieth year
of his age, and was buried in the cemetery attached to
the English cathedral in that city. A loving brother
caused a tablet to be placed on the walls of that
cathedral on which is inscribed his epitaph, which,
though modest, truthfully records the prominent
features of his life. The memorial states that "his
life was spent in the service of his King and country ;
of the various stations, both civil and military, which
he filled, he discharged the duties with spotless in-
tegrity, unvaried zeal, and successful abilities."
CHAPTER IV.
ALEXANDER GRANT, PRESIDENT*
THE death of Governor Hunter, creating a vacancy in
that office, necessitated the appointment of an adminis-
trator to represent the Crown till the coming of the
next lieutenant-governor.
At this juncture the senior member of the Executive
Council was the Honorable Alexander Grant, who was
also Lieutenant of the County of Essex. It may seem
strange at this day to speak of one as lieutenant of a
county, but at the time of which we are writing lieu-
tenants were appointed by the Crown for each county
of the Province. These lieutenants of counties had been
established by Lieu tenant -Governor Simcoe, to fill posi-
tions similar to those of the lord lieutenants of counties in
England. To this end the Parliament of the Province,
during his administration, had passed an Act appointing
certain individuals lieutenants of counties.
The Upper Canada Almanac, published at York in
1804, gave a list of lieutenants of counties as then exist-
ing, and in the lists is the name of the Honorable Alex-
ander Grant. The title is now, and has been for nearly
*I wish to express my obligation to Judge Woods, grandson of
Commodore Grant, for information as to the Commodore, which I have
incorporated in this sketch.
52
ALEXANDER GRANT. 53
a century, extinguished, but it will not be out of place
to give the full list as published in the Almanac. The
names were : " John Macdonell, Esq., Glengarry ; William
Fortune, Esq., Prescott; Archibald Macdonell, Esq.,
Stormont ; Honorable Richard Duncan, Esq., Dundas ;
Peter Drummond, Esq., Grenville ; James Breakenridge,
Esq., Leeds ; Honorable Richard Cartwright, Esq., Fron-
tenac ; Hazelton Spencer, Esq., Lennox ; William John-
son, Esq., Addington; John Ferguson, Esq., Hastings;
Archibald Macdonell, Esq., of Marysburgh, Prince
Edward; Alexander Chisholm, Esq., Northumberland;
Robert Baldwin, Esq., Durham ; Honorable David Wil-
liam Smith, Esq., York; Honorable Robert Hamilton,
Esq., Lincoln ; Samuel Ryerse, Esq., Norfolk ; William
Glaus, Esq., Oxford; (Middlesex vacant); Honorable
Alexander Grant, Esq., Essex ; Honorable James Baby,
Esq., Kent."
The Honorable Alexander Grant was one of the five
members of the Executive Council appointed in 1792,
and as senior member of that branch of the Govern-
ment, on the death of Governor Hunter, became tem-
porary Governor of the Province under the name of
President. In the Revised Statutes of Upper Canada,
published by authority, the name of Alexander Grant,
Esq., as President, is recorded as having opened the
second session of the fourth Provincial Parliament in
1806. Just as the bent of Governor Hunter, the last
governor, was military, the bent of the new administra-
tor was mostly naval.
Mr. Grant, who was of the ancient and respectable
family of Grant, of Glenmorristown, and who was born
in the year 1734, had in his youth been first in the
54 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
merchant service, and then in a man-of-war as midship-
man. In 1757, during the Seven Years' War, a High-
land regiment was being raised for service in America,
and young Grant received a commission in it. He
served under General Lord Amherst in the war with
the French in Canada, resulting in the capture of
Quebec in 1759, and the surrender of the whole of
Canada to the British in 1760.
Grant's early training as midshipman in the naval
service opened a door for him to promotion that he
little expected when he came to America as an officer in
the land forces. In the prosecution of the war against
the French in Canada, it became necessary to have ships
for transporting troops and supplies on the lakes divid-
ing the French possession (Canada) from the British
territory on the south of Lakes Ontario and Erie. For
these ships there was urgent need for competent com-
manders. In this emergency the experience that Grant
had in the naval service stood him in good stead. He
was at once detached from the land force and put in
command of a sloop of sixteen guns.
From that time forward till the time of his death he
continued to be connected with the naval service, and
became known to the people as Commodore Grant.
Later on, he was in command from Niagara to Mack-
inaw, and was the first commodore of the western
waters, with headquarters at Detroit, which was then
one of the most important military positions on the
continent of America. In 1780 the captains and crews
of nine vessels were under pay at Detroit, and a large
dockyard was maintained there. The Commodore was
in command of all these vessels, which ranged from two
ALEXANDER GRANT. 55
hundred tons down, and carried from one to fourteen
guns.
In the War of 1812, Grant did important service for
the Crown, and was a conspicuous figure in all matters
connected with the naval service of the lakes during the
war. Altogether he was in the King's service fifty-
seven years. His administration of the government of
the Province was for but a brief period, and for only
one session of the Provincial Parliament.
The second session of the fourth Parliament was
opened by him on the 4th of February, 1806, and closed
on the 3rd of March following. Only seven Acts were
passed during the session, one of the most important
of which was " an Act to procure certain apparatus for
the promotion of science " an Act which was specially
promoted by him and which was undoubtedly laying
the foundation for higher public education, partially
fulfilled in the establishment of King's College, and
followed by the University of Toronto, which now so
fully supplies the means of scientific research to the
earnest student.
At the request of Commodore Grant, the Legislature
by this Act appropriated four hundred pounds for the
purchase of instruments for illustrating the principles
of natural philosophy.
The second section of this Act enacted " that the
Governor, Lieutenant-Governor or person administering
the Government of this Province, is hereby authorized
and empowered to deposit the said instruments (under
such conditions as he shall deem proper and expedient)
in the hands of some person employed in the education
of youth in this province, in order that they may be
as useful as the state of the Province will permit."
56 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
On the arrival of these instruments in Canada, Admin-
istrator Grant committed them to the care of Dr. Strachan,
afterwards Bishop Strachan, then a celebrated instructor
of youth at Cornwall, and they were brought by him
to Toronto on his appointment to the headmastership of
the District School at York. From the District School
(the old Blue School) the instruments were passed on to
Upper Canada College. There are doubtless old college
boys now living, of the class of 1836-37, who will
remember seeing this philosophical apparatus in the
Principal's room at the College, not in use, but treasured
for a future day when a provincial university should be
established for the teaching of higher studies than were
yet reached by the College. It is possible that the
instruments or some remains of them may still be
lingering within the walls of " old Upper Canada," as
the old boys designate their Alma Mater.
The second session of the fourth Provincial Parliament,
in which this so beneficial grant of money for educational
purposes was made, was, as we have seen, a short session.
It was, however, as remarkable for its tempestuousness
as for its brevity.
When President Grant entered on the administration
of the Government, there was seated on the judicial
bench a gentleman well skilled in English law, but more
skilled in English politics, one Mr. Justice Thorpe, an
Irishman by birth, and of the English bar. Judge
Thorpe, from the time he came to the Province to the
time he left it, was at perpetual war with the colonial
authorities, and made himself most obnoxious to them.
An examination of the correspondence, letters, papers
and documents, official and non-official, which are on file
ALEXANDER GRANT. 57
in the Archives at Ottawa, and copies of which are to
be found in the library of the County of York Law
Association at Toronto, will enable a tolerably fair
estimate to be made of the character of this gentleman,
both as a judge and a citizen. In truth, he was much
more of a politician than a judge, and had a natural
bent for intrigue.
On the 24th of January, 1806, Mr. Thorpe wrote a
letter to Edward Cooke, Under- Secretary of State, with
a postscript dated 5th of February, 1806, the day after
the opening of the session, the contents of which betray
the meddlesome temper of the writer of the letter, and
his disposition towards the reigning powers in the
colony.
This is the letter :
" 24th January, 1806.
"DEAR SIR, For the last time I must trespass on
your time for five minutes, as I think it my duty to in-
form you of the situation of this colony before the new
Governor leaves you. From a minute inquiry for five
months I find that Governor Hunter has nearly ruined
this province. His whole system was rapaciousness ; to
accumulate money by grants of land was all he thought
of. The Loyalist that was entitled to land without fees
could not get any, but the alien that could pay was sure
of succeeding ; unjust and arbitrary, he dissatisfied the
people and oppressed the officers of Government. He
had a few Scotch instruments about him (Mr. McGill and
Mr. Scott) that he made subservient to his purpose, and
by every other individual he and his tools were execrated.
Nothing has been done for the colony no roads, bad
water communication, no post, no religion, no morals,
58 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
no education, no trade, no agriculture, no industry
attended to. Mr. McGill and Mr. Scott have made a
person of their own President : the same measures are
followed up, and the effects will soon appear, for every-
thing you wish will be defended and the House of
Assembly will feel their power, which is always (in the
colonies) a bad thing. All this and much more you will
soon know ; therefore, in this state of things, I think it
absolutely necessary to set about conciliating the people
in every way. I have had some public opportunities
which did not escape me, and in private I will cultivate
all that are deserving or that can be made useful, by
which means I now pledge myself to you, that who-
ever comes out shall find everything smooth, and that
in twelve months or less I will be ready to carry any
measure you may desire through the Legislature. All
this I state on the supposition that Lord Castlereagh
will not be induced to place any one over me on the
bench, but if parliamentary interest should prevail on
him to neglect my exertions, I must entreat of my friends
to beg of His Lordship to remove me to any other place
where I can do my duty and render some service.
" P.S. I hope, for the sake of England and the
advancement of this colony, that the new Governor will
be a civilian and a politician. It is worth four thousand
a year ; the Lower Province six thousand. There might
be two military appointments a lieutenant-general
below, a brigadier here.
"From the gentleman having delayed who was to take
this to New York, I have an opportunity of stating that
the Clerk of the Crown is dead.
ALEXANDER GRANT. 59
"5th February, 1806.
" The Houses of Assembly are sitting, and from want
of a person to direct, the lower one is quite wild. In a
quiet way I have the reins, so as to prevent mischief ;
though, like Phaeton, I seized them precipitately. I
shall not burn myself, and hope to save others."
The extravagant statements made in this letter ensure
its condemnation. It was, indeed, a libel on the country,
as well as on the officials.
The reference in the letter to President Grant is some-
what enigmatical. It is probable, however, that the
writer meant to convey the impression that the officials,
Scott and McGill, the one being Receiver-General and
the other Attorney-General, ruled the President, and
that the President was walking in the footsteps of
Governor Hunter.
By the time the 5th of February came, from the
expression in the P.S., " I have the reins," the worthy
Judge seems to have thought that he had overcome
every obstacle, and possessed more power than the
President, Scott, and McGill all put together.
If we are to judge of what took place in the Legisla-
ture afterwards, and during the short time it lasted,
the Judge had really wormed himself into the confidence
of the Assembly in a very positive manner.
Mr. Justice Thorpe's active mind induced him to
critically examine the acts of the Government. In his
performance of this assumed duty his attention fell on
the expenditure of a sum of money amounting to six
hundred and seventeen pounds thirteen shillings and
sevenpence, which had been ordered, partly by warrant
60 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
of the Administrator Grant and partly by his prede-
cessor, Governor Hunter, to be paid to certain civil
servants for services performed by them in the carrying
on of the Government. Formulated in items, the sched-
ules of these payments contained twenty separate and
distinct amounts, and were for the most payments made
for services in the administration of justice or in connec-
tion with departments of the Government. In 1803, by
the directions of Lieutenant-Governor Hunter, accounts
of a similar nature were charged and paid out of the
residue of unappropriated moneys in the hands of the
Receiver- General, over and above sums specifically voted
by the Legislature. For two years such payments had
been laid before the Legislature and had been approved
by the House of Assembly.
President Grant, recognizing the fact that he was only
temporarily at the head of the Government, thought it
a part of his duty in this regard to follow the practice
pursued by Governor Hunter, and so ordered the pay-
ments referred to to be made.
It was, of course, not strictly correct that such pay-
ments should have been ordered to be made without a
vote of the Assembly. The astute mind of Justice
Thorpe quickly grasped the situation, and it gave him
the opportunity of exhibiting to the unlearned Canadian
Legislature his knowledge of constitutional law and
parliamentary rights and privileges.
With this explanation and the address of the Assem-
bly it will be readily conjectured what was meant by
the allusion in his letter to " reins of power," and " that
in twelve months or less I will be ready to carry any
measure you may desire through the Legislature."
ALEXANDER GRANT. 61
The address of the Assembly passed the House on the
1st of March, 1806, two days before the close of the
session, and bears the impress of the brain, if not the
hand, of Judge Thorpe. Here is the address :
"To His Honor, Alexander Grant, Esquire, President,
administering the Government of the Province of
Upper Canada, etc., etc.:
"MAY IT PLEASE YOUR HONOR, We, His Majesty's
most dutiful and loyal subjects of the Commons of Upper
Canada, in Parliament assembled, have, conformably to
our early assurance to your Honor, taken into considera-
tion the public accounts of the Province, and have,
on a due investigation of the same, to represent to you
that the first and most constitutional privilege of the
Commons has been violated in the application of moneys
out of the Provincial Treasury to various purposes with-
out the assent of Parliament or of a vote of the Com-
mons House of Assembly.
" To comment on this departure from constitutional
authority and fiscal establishment must be more than
painful to all who appreciate the advantages of our
happy constitution, and wish their continuance to the
latest posterity; but, however studious we may be to
refrain from stricture, we cannot suppress the mixed
emotion of our relative condition. We feel it as the
representatives of a free people; we lament it as the
subjects of a beneficent Sovereign ; and we hope that you
in your relations to both will more than sympathize in
so extraordinary an occurrence.
" We beg leave to annex hereto a schedule of the
62 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
moneys so misapplied, amounting to six hundred and
seventeen pounds thirteen shillings and sevenpence,
and we trust that you will not only order the same to
be replaced in the Provincial Treasury, but will also
direct that no moneys be issued thereout in future
without the assent of Parliament or a vote of the
Commons House of Assembly."
That President Grant was willing to listen to any
complaint of the Assembly on any public matter may
be gathered from his reply to the address of that body,
which was as follows :
" Gentlemen of the House of Assembly :
" I learn with regret from your address of the 1st of
March that a degree of dissatisfaction prevails in the
Commons House of Assembly with respect to the
application of a sum of money stated to amount to six
hundred and seventeen pounds thirteen shillings and
sevenpence. At the time of my accession to the
administration of the Government, I found that various
items similar to those in the schedule accompanying
your address had been charged against the provincial
revenue, and acquiesced in for two years preceding,
and I directed the usual mode to be followed in making
up the accounts, which I ordered to be laid before you
during the present session. The money in question has
been undoubtedly applied to purposes useful and
necessary for the general concerns of the Province. As
I am, however, desirous to give every possible satisfac-
tion to the House of Assembly, I shall direct the matter
to be immediately investigated, and if there has been
ALEXANDER GRANT. 63
any error in stating the accounts, take measures to have
it corrected and obviated for the time to come."
President Grant lost no time in making the investiga-
tion promised in his answer to the address of the
Assembly. On the 14th of March he wrote to Lord
Castlereagh, Secretary of State, giving him a statement
concerning the circumstances which gave rise to the
address of the Commons and his reply. After some
preliminary remarks, excusing if not justifying the
issuing of his warrant to cover expenses connected with
the Government, he said :
" The language of that address is intemperate,
especially when the bounty of Great Britain to the
Province is taken into consideration. But I should be
sorry if your Lordship supposed that the members of
the House of Assembly for the greater part are inimical
to the measures of the Government. They wish to do
what is right ; but sequestered from the world, and
some of them not having had the benefit of a liberal
education, they are ready to be influenced by the
persuasion of others who, by their means, endeavor to
perplex if not to distress the administration of the
Government of this Province."
The concluding paragraph of the letter to Lord
Castlereagh was a palpable hit at Judge Thorpe and his
interference in the work of legislation, notwithstanding
the fact that he was not a member of the Assembly.
It gives a clue also to what Judge Thorpe had in his
mind when in his letter to Under- Secretary Cooke he
wrote : " I have had some public opportunities which
did not escape me, and in private I will cultivate all that
are deserving or that can be made useful."
64 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
President Grant's investigation of the appropriation
of moneys referred to compelled him to say to Lord
. Castlereagh :
" I must, however, respecting the subject of the
address, candidly confess, and since the prorogation
of the Legislature I have taken every means to be
informed, that I cannot discover anything by which the
Governor, Lieutenant- Governor, or person administering
the Government, possess the power of appropriating to
specific purposes any part of the revenue raised for this
Province by the Acts of its Legislature, without the
assent of that Legislature to such appropriation. I
therefore cannot help offering it to your Lordship, after
the best consideration that I am able to give this
subject, as my opinion, that matters should be put on
the same footing as they were from the establishment of
the Province to the year 1803, and that the items of
expenditure charged in the year 1805, mentioned in the
address of the House of Assembly, and stated in the
schedule, should be withdrawn as against the duties
imposed by the provincial authority. This would give
complete satisfaction, and I have little doubt but that
in such case, as in Lower Canada, the Legislature would
appropriate a sum according to its abilities for the
support of the civil government of this Province out of
the revenue which is raised by authority."
It is necessary only to add that the advice of
President Grant in regard to the expenditure was
followed. The Legislature, after his administration
ceased, voted the necessary expenses which had been
incurred. The right of the Assembly in the matter of
expenditure of moneys was maintained, and the consti-
ALEXANDER GRANT. 65
tution saved from a serious wrench. In view of what
had gone before, it is interesting to note that by the
time it fell to the lot of the succeeding Assembly to
follow the counsel or suggestion of President Grant,
Judge Thorpe had succeeded in obtaining a seat in the
Legislature, and was the only member of the House who
opposed the resolution of the House withdrawing its-
claim to the appropriation, or, as Judge Thorpe would
say, the misappropriation of the moneys referred to.
In all this matter President Grant had but followed a
precedent which had been set by a previous Govern-
ment, and condoned by the passive assent of Parliament.
Judge Thorpe was strictly correct in his constitutional
law, and had he been a member of the Legislature no
fault could have been found with his actively interfering
to thwart the Government in an expenditure, however
necessary, made without the assent of the House of
Assembly previously obtained.
It reflects credit on the administrator of the Govern-
ment, that finding the precedent which he had followed
was not justified by the constitution, he quickly set
about having the precedent repudiated. Happily the
rights and privileges of Parliament are better under-
stood to-day than they were in the days of Mr. Justice
Thorpe, perhaps in some measure due to the acuteness
of that political judge.
Commodore Grant married Miss Theresa Barthe, a
French lady, on the 30th September, 1774. By her he
had one son and eleven daughters. The writer was well
acquainted with the son, Colonel Grant, who was living
in Brockville in 1838. Those of the daughters who
attained maturity were married to persons of note in
5
66 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
their day. Their names will be recognized in those of
their descendants, the Nichols, Gilkinsons, Dicksons,
Duffs, Millers, Woods, and Richardsons. All the children
of Commodore Grant were of large frame and comely
appearance. Colonel Grant, his son, was a tall man,
upwards of six feet in height, and of powerful build, a
good representation of a Highland chief.
Colonel Gilkinson, of Brantford, and Judge Woods, of
Chatham, are grandsons of Commodore Grant; also
Alexander Miller, of Detroit.
Commodore Grant died at his residence at Grosse
Point, on Lake St. Clair, ten miles above the city of
Detroit, sometime in the month of May, 1813. Here
had he lived the most of his life, making periodical
visits to York (Toronto) in the performance of his
public duties.
CHAPTER V.
FRANCIS GORE, LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.
FRANCIS GORE, Lieutenant-Governor of Bermuda, was
appointed to succeed General Hunter as Lieutenant-
Governor of Upper Canada, and arrived at Quebec in
the month of July of the year 1806, and at York, the
capital of the Province, on the 23rd day of August.
In personal appearance Governor Gore was of the
type of an English squire. He was, indeed, very
English both in manner and appearance. In disposition
he was kindly and benevolent ; rather given to rely
on others than to be self-assertive. He could be
imperious when the occasion called for it, but this was
not his usual habit of demeanor. Dr. Scadding, referring
to the new Governor, says: "The striking portrait
which may be seen in Government House enables us to
understand Governor Gore. We have before us evidently
a typical gentleman of the later Georgian era; a
'counterfeit presentment/ as it might easily be imagined,
of the Prince Regent himself ; one likely to be beloved
by friends and boon companions for his good-natured
geniality."
Governor Gore was a comparatively young man when
he first set foot in Upper Canada. He was born at
Blackheath, in Kent, in the year 1769, and so was only
67
68 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
thirty-seven years of age on his first coming to the
colony. He was of good family, and had been highly
favored before he became a Colonial Governor. The
Gores were a branch of the family of the Earl of Arran,
and Francis had acted as aide-de-camp to the Duke of
Mecklenberg Sterlitz, a brother of Queen Charlotte, in
the campaign in Portugal. This satisfactory service in
the Portuguese campaign earned for him the Lieutenant-
Governorship of Bermuda.
He was in the military service of the Crown from the
time he left school till his retirement from the army in
1802, on a pension. He held a commission in the 47th
Regiment in 1787. In 1793 he obtained a lieutenancy
in a local independent company, and in a few months
was transferred to the 54th Regiment. He saw service
on the Continent in 1794. In 1795 he was captain in a
cavalry regiment, now the 17th Lancers, and accom-
panied Lord Camden, who had [been appointed Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland. In 1799 he obtained the rank
of major ; and in 1803 he married Arabella, sister of
Sir Charles Wentworth.
In the same year, on the breaking out of war with
France, he rejoined the army, with the rank of lieu-
tenant-colonel, and was appointed Inspecting Field
Officer of Volunteers on the coast of Kent, at that time
threatened with an invasion by Napoleon's army. In
1804, on the recommendation of His Majesty King
George III, he was appointed Governor of Bermuda,
and retained that appointment until he was appointed
Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. It is related as
an instance of his bluntness of manner that on the
course of his voyage to Bermuda in the Aurora frigate
FRANCIS GORE. 69
a strange sail hove in sight whose appearance and
manoeuvres were suspicious, and the Aurora was
promptly prepared for action. One of the officers on
the quarter deck, observing Governor Gore taking great
interest in the proceedings, made the remark, "Well,
Governor, this is not your kind of work ; it may be as
well, perhaps, when we near her to go below." " I'll be
d d if I do," was the ready reply ; " my aim has
been to meet the enemy, not to turn my back on him."
This courageous answer obtained for him so much favor
from the crew of the frigate that, on his disembarking
at Bermuda, the gun-room officers, lieutenants, surgeon,
officers of marine, master, etc., volunteered to man the
boat to row him to shore. He was only in Bermuda
about a year, as in 1806 he was sent to Canada.
It had been made evident to Governor Gore that in
accepting the administration of the Government of
Upper Canada he could not hope to lie on a bed of
roses. He was well aware that that vigorous agitator,
Mr. Justice Thorpe, had so far ingratiated himself with
the people as to lay the foundation of a party hostile to
the governing body of the time.
The first address presented to the Governor on his
arrival in the Province was from the inhabitants of the
home district, and was read by William Weeks, Solicitor-
General and member of Parliament for the counties of
York, Durham and Simcoe, on the 27th of August, at
York, the capital. After congratulating the Governor
on his arrival, and expressing gratification at the
appointment of a gentleman unconnected with the
military establishment, the address proceeded as
follows :
70 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
" In approaching your Excellency with a zealous
attachment to a constitution which neither innovation
can impair nor anarchy deform, we lament our being
under the necessity of stating to you, that since the
establishment of it in this country, its system has
been mistaken and its energy misused. In situations in
which it were matter of dignity as well as of duty to
promote the public good, private interest only has been
regarded and prerogative and privileges have been indis-
criminately sacrificed at the shrine of arbitrary imposi-
tion."
This somewhat extraordinary address, which certainly
contained matter most unusual in an address of welcome,
and sounded more of the heat of a debate, clearly
embodied the views of Mr. Justice Thorpe, whether he
had any part in its composition or not. The answer by
the Governor was very curt, simply thanking the 301
inhabitants of the Home District for their congratu-
lations on his arrival, but taking no notice of the
complaint made as to the administration of the
Government. This was a decided snub to the signers
of the address, and, of course, roused the disfavor of
the Judge, who now began to think that the only
remedy for the evils in- Government was that he
himself should have a seat in the Legislature.
That Judge Thorpe was determined to make public
his views upon the governing powers of the day, is
shown in his answer to the address of the grand jury of
the London district, delivered a few days later, on the
13th of September, when he said : " To be the humble
instrument of restoring harmony and happiness to your
district is an excess of gratification. The act of govern-
FRANCIS GORE. 71
ing is a difficult science ; knowledge is not intuitive and
the days of inspiration have passed away. Therefore,
when there was neither talent, education, information,
nor even manner in the administration, little could be
expected and nothing was produced. But there is an
ultimate point of depression as well as exaltation from
whence all human affairs advance or recede ; therefore,
proportionate to your depression, we may expect your
progress in prosperity will advance with accelerated
velocity."
This attack on the Government bore fruit, as no
doubt the Judge intended, as we find that on the 20th
October following a meeting was held by the freeholders
of the County of York, at Moore's hotel, at which the
Judge's friend, William Willcocks, was chairman, for
the purpose of considering a proper person to represent
them in Parliament, and it was resolved unanimously
" that Mr. Justice Thorpe be requested to represent the
counties of York, Durham and Simcoe in the place of
the late lamented William Weeks, Esquire, deceased."
The vacancy thus opportunely afforded to Judge Thorpe
was caused by the death of Mr. Weeks, the presenter of
the first address to the Governor, who was wounded in
a duel with Mr. Dickson, of Niagara, and died of the
wound in that same October.
At the present day it would not be possible for a judge
to be a candidate for member of Parliament, but this
was not so in Governor Gore's day. There was no law
against it ; it remained altogether with the individual
judge whether his regard for his judicial position would
permit him to engage in political strife. Judge Thorpe
did not deem it incompatible with his judicial position
72 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
to enter into the parliamentary arena, and promptly
accepting the nomination for the counties of York, Dur-
ham and Simcoe, was triumphantly elected in place of
Mr. Weeks. This was a great victory for the new party,
the principal members of which were Mr. Justice Thorpe,
Mr. Wyatt, Surveyor-General, and Mr. Willcocks, Sheriff
of the Home District. The principles of this party, as
estimated by Governor Gore, are expressed in a letter to
Colonial Secretary Windham. On the 27th February,
1807, he wrote Mr. Windham : " Very soon after my
arrival in this province I received information of a
party of which Mr. Justice Thorpe, Mr. Wyatt, and a
Mr. Willcocks, the sheriff, were the leaders, that were
endeavoring by every means in their power to perplex
and embarrass the King's Government in this colony."
On the 5th January, 1807, William Allan, the return-
ing officer, advised the Governor of the election of Justice
Thorpe to the Assembly, saying at the same time : " Mr.
Justice Thorpe, after the closing of the poll, made a long
harangue to the people then present (mostly his voters),
as I conceived tending to disseminate principles by no
means favorable to the Government of this country."
The session of Parliament in which Judge Thorpe was
a member opened on the 2nd day of February, 1807,
and closed on the 10th of March following. There were
only nine Acts passed during this session, the most
important of which was " an Act to establish Public
Schools in each and every district of this province."
Mr. Justice Thorpe lost no time or opportunity in the
House of attacking the Government, and as might have
been foreseen, speedily brought on himself the anger of
the Governor. He was in every sense an emphatic
FRANCIS GORE. 73
Democrat, and in the estimation of Governor Gore he
was a demagogue. Three days after the session closed,
in a lengthy letter written by the Governor to Mr.
Windham, the Colonial Secretary, the Governor thus
complains of the delinquencies of the Judge member
of Parliament:
"Mr. Thorpe's conduct since he has been elected a
member of the House of Assembly has been most inflam-
matory; and however it is to be lamented that the
Government have not greater influence on the House of
Assembly, during the session which has just closed he
had been unable to carry any one point to embarrass the
Government. He moved an address, which was most
insidious and inflammatory, on the subject of those
persons who had adhered to the unity of the empire,
which was rejected. In his proposal for vesting the
power of appointing trustees to the Public Schools in the
House of Assembly, instead of the Lieutenant-Govenor,
after a violent declamation and abuse of the Executive
Government, he asserted that it was the privilege of the
House of Assembly to nominate to office. In his attempt
he was supported by two only ; and on a question relat-
ing to the duties imposed by the 14th of the King (which
Mr. Thorpe contended was at the disposal of the Pro-
vincial Legislature) he stood alone ; and I am happy to
observe that in this instance of a Judge of the Court of
King's Bench making an attempt to derogate from the
authority of the British Parliament, he could not in a
popular assembly prevail on a single person to join him,
notwithstanding his pathetic allusion to the revolt of
the American colonies."
In another part of his communication he said :
74 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
"I have no hesitation in giving my opinion that if
His Majesty is pleased to permit Mr. Thorpe to retain
his situation in this Province, that the most serious evils
may be apprehended. And I might not conceal from
you that I have been urged by tke most respectable
gentlemen in this colony, for the sake of public tran-
quillity, to suspend Mr. Thorpe from his situation as
judge. This advice I have resisted, having time to
receive your directions before the commencement of the
circuit, and confidently relying on your support to main-
tain order and authority in this province."
As was to be expected, this communication of His
Excellency the Lieutenant-Go vernor led LordCastlereagh
to give the Governor authority for the suspension of
Justice Thorpe, and in a despatch dated June 17th, 1807,
he addresses the Governor as follows :
" SIR ? The various particulars which you have stated
of Mr. Justice Thorpe having exceeded his duties as a
judge by mixing in the political parties of the Province
and encouraging an opposition to the administration,
afforded such well-grounded reasons for believing that
his continuance in office would lead to the discredit and
dis-service of His Majesty's Government, that I am
commanded to signify to you His Majesty's pleasure
that you suspend Mr. Thorpe from the office of judge
in Upper Canada, and measures will be taken for
appointing a successor."
Governor Gore obeyed the instructions of the British
Government and suspended Mr. Thorpe from his office
as judge, and so informed the Secretary of State by
despatch dated 21st August, 1807.
Lord Castlereagh was really well disposed towards
FRANCIS GORE. 5
Judge Thorpe. It was only because of his disapproval
of a judge mixing himself in politics that he was led to
direct his suspension, hoping to be able, as he said in his
despatch, " to recommend him to some other professional
situation, under an assurance that he would confine
himself to the duties of his profession thereafter, and
abstain from engaging in Provincial-party politics."
Judge Thorpe was transferred from Canada to Sierra
Leone, being appointed Chief Justice in that British
possession. He held the chief justiceship for twenty
years, and then, on account of failing health, returned
to England to end his judicial as well as his earthly
career an impoverished man, tired of life and the troubles
with which his existence had been surrounded. Mr.
Thorpe's career contains a lesson. He was a good law-
yer and would have been a success as a judge if he had
abstained from politics when holding that position. His
impetuous nature and over-ambitious mind led him to
quarrel with the Upper Canada Colonial authorities, in
the hope, doubtless, of causing their downfall, and with
the expectation that he and his followers would, on the
destruction of the existing officials, secure their places
and power in the colony. The result proved that the
Governor was too strong for him. He fell, a victim to
his own ambition, lamented by many political friends,
but not by the much traduced officials, beginning with
Governor Hunter and ending with Governor Gore and
his Executive Council.
Surveyor-General Wyatt, one of the officials who had
sided with Judge Thorpe, falling under the displeasure
of the Governor, was by him suspended from his office,
and afterwards, following the suspension, was deprived of
76 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
the office of Surveyor-General by the British Govern-
ment. His suspension and loss of office gave rise to an
action of libel brought by him against Governor Gore.
The action arose out of the publication of the alleged
libel in a pamphlet, which did not appear to have been
printed by the Governor, nor was he the author of it,
but was so far countenanced by him that he circulated
it by handing a copy to his Attorney- General, Boulton,
for perusal.
There were several counts in the declaration, alleging
that the Governor had sent false representations to the
British Government in regard to the plaintiff (Wyatt) ;
and Sergeant Best, who acted for the plaintiff, admitted
that it was incumbent on him to show that there were
no just grounds for Mr. Wyatt's suspension, and that
the Governor acted maliciously and without probable
cause in suspending Mr. Wyatt.
These counts were, however, abandoned at the trial,
which did not come off until 1816, the plaintiff relying
in proving the libel solely on the circulation of the
pamphlet. Chief Justice Gibbs, before whom the action
was tried, in summing up, said : " I think the delivery
of the pamphlet, which was not published till two years
after the suspension, was a libel." The jury gave a
verdict for the plaintiff on the count for libel.
Leaving now the subject of Messrs. Thorpe and Wyatt,
and their acts, it will be more profitable to refer to the
Parliament of the Province under Governor Gore's ad-
ministration. The first session of the fourth Parliament
met at York on the 20th day of January, 1808, and was
prorogued on the 16th day of February following.
During this session an Act was passed of grave import-
FRANCIS GORE. 77
ance at the time, and which was necessitated by the
difficulties that had been presented in there being
numerous claimants for identical parcels of land.
These claimants had been a great source of trouble to
the Governor and his officials. To put an end to this
state of things, the Legislature passed an " Act to afford
relief to those persons who may be entitled to claim
lands in this province as heirs or devisees of the nom-
inees of the Crown in cases where no patent had been
issued for such lands."
Under this Act, commissioners were appointed to hear
and determine claims, thus removing from the Govern-
ment the reproach of partiality, to which they had been
exposed, from persons in the Province who were not
satisfied with some acts of the officials, and who were
ever ready to make a grievance out of the smallest
lapse of those charged with the duty of carrying on the
government. Delays in getting patents was one of
these grievances. Perhaps the most important after the
Heir and Devisee Act, passed during Governor Gore's
first administration, was an Act to promote the building
of highways in the province in 1810. In a country
sparsely settled, where the locatees of lots were often
far distant from each other, this Act was a great boon
to emigrants coming to the province. That it was a
necessity appears from a letter from the Governor to
Mr. Cooke, the Under- Colonial Secretary, two years
before it was passed, in which he said : " A great cause
of dissatisfaction is the want of roads."
In 1808 there were rumors amongst the people of
the Province that the relations between Great Britain
and the United States were strained, and that it might
78 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS,
result in war. Governor Gore, on the 21st March, 1808,
wrote Lord Castlereagh, Secretary of State, that in the
existing state of affairs he had thought it prudent to
employ a confidential agent to obtain information as to
the design of the American Government. To be fore-
warned is to be forearmed, and the Governor was vigi-
lant in protecting the interests of his Government and
of the Province over which he presided.
At the opening of the next session of Parliament the
Governor, in addressing the House, said :
" Hitherto we have enjoyed tranquillity, plenty and
peace. How long it may please the Supreme Ruler of
Nations thus to favor us is wisely concealed from our
view. But under such circumstances it becomes us to
prepare ourselves to meet every event, and to evince by
our zeal and loyalty that we know the value of our
constitution and are worthy the name of British
subjects."
One of the first Acts of the session was "an Act
for quartering and billeting on certain occasions His
Majesty's troops and the militia of this Province." The
Governor and Legislature were thus preparing the way
for a sturdy defence of the Province in case of invasion.
Under this Act due provision was made for the service
of the troops, whether regular or militia, when on the
march. This Act was passed on the 9th of March, 1809.
In 1810 the cabal against Governor Gore in the Province
had attained such proportions and importance that they
had prevailed on a Mr. Moore, a member of the English
House of Commons, to give notice that he intended to
move in the House relative to the conduct of Governor
FRANCIS GORE. 79
Gore, and stating in his notice that discontent prevailed
in the Province owing to his misconduct and oppression.
We have already seen who were the leaders of the party
antagonistic to Governor Gore, and that Surveyor-
General Wyatt was one of the chiefs. In the month of
March, 1810, Mr. William Dickson was advised by a
letter from a friend in England that Mr. Moore and his
friends had concluded to bring on his motion, but could
not state when the debate on it would take place. It
was now evident that an organized attempt would be
made to procure a censure of the Governor by Parlia-
ment, and to compel his recall. In the result the motion
failed to carry ; but, nevertheless, the attack made on
him in the House of Commons was so severe that the
Governor felt constrained to give up the administration
of the Province for a time, and to proceed to England to
meet his accusers face to face. On the 1st of August,
1 810, he asked for and obtained leave of absence to visit
England, ostensibly on private affairs, but undoubtedly
also to answer in person the attack made on him upon
the discussion of Mr. Moore's motion. It was, therefore,
to defend both his public and private conduct against
the calumny of his enemies, that he applied for leave of
absence. The Governor remained, however, to perform
his duties in the Province till the end of the session of
the fifth Parliament, which commenced on the 1st day
of February, 1811, and ended on the 13th day of March
following, and in which no Act of particular significance
was passed, unless it may be the Act passed " to make
good certain moneys issued and advanced to His Majesty,
through the Lieutenant-Governor, in pursuance of an
80 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
address of the House." These were the moneys which,
it had been claimed, Governor Hunter and Administra-
tor Grant had irregularly paid without a vote of the
Provincial Assembly.
Just before the Governor's departure for England,
which did not take place till late in the autumn, Sir
Isaac Brock, Commander of the King's forces in Upper
Canada, paid a visit to the Governor at Government
House in York, and it will not be out of place to give
Sir Isaac's impression at the time. In writing to his
brother in Guernsey from Fort George, Niagara, he
said : " I returned recently from York, the capital of
the Province, where I passed ten days with the
Governor, as generous and honest a being as ever
existed/' This tribute from so noble a man as Sir
Isaac Brock speaks volumes in favor of Governor Gore.
CHAPTER VI.
ISAAC BROCK, PRESIDENT SIR ROGER H.
SHEAFFE, PRESIDENT SIR FRANCIS DE
ROTTENBURG, PRESIDENT SIR GORDON
DRUMMOND, PROVISIONAL LIEUTENANT-
GOVERNORSIR GEORGE MURRAY, PROVI-
SIONAL LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORSIR FRED-
ERICK ROBINSON, PROVISIONAL LIEUTEN-
ANT-GOVERNOR.
ON October the 9th, 1811, Brock wrote to Lord
Liverpool that the administration of the Government
devolving on him as Commander of the Forces, he had
been sworn in as a member of the Council. A few
months after Brock was sworn in he called the Legisla-
ture together, and meeting it on the 3rd of February,
1812, he addressed the House in the following spirited
way:
"Honorable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council
and Gentlemen of the House of Assembly :
" I should derive the utmost satisfaction the first time
of my addressing you were it permitted me to direct
your attention solely to such objects as tended to
promote the peace and prosperity of this Province.
" The glorious contest in which the British Empire is
6 81
82 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
engaged and the vast sacrifice which Great Britain
nobly offers to secure the independence of other nations
might be expected to stifle every feeling of envy and
jealousy, and at the same time to excite the interest and
command the admiration of a free people. But, regard-
less of such generous impressions, the American
Government evinces a disposition calculated to divide
and impede her efforts.
" England is not only interdicted in the harbors of
the United States, while they afford a shelter to the
cruisers of her inveterate enemy, but she is likewise
required to resign those maritime rights which she has
so long exercised and enjoyed. Insulting threats are
not only offered, but hostile preparations actually
commenced, and though not without hope that cool
reflection and the dictates of justice may yet avert the
calamity of war, I cannot, under every view of the
relative situation of the Province, be too urgent in
recommending to your early attention the adoption of
such measures as will best secure the internal peace of
the country, and defeat every hostile aggressor.
" Principally composed of the sons of a loyal and
brave band of veterans, the militia, I am convinced,
stand in need of nothing but the necessary legislative
provisions to direct their ardor in the acquirement of
military instruction, to form a most efficient force. The
growing prosperity of these provinces, it is manifest,
begins to awaken a spirit of envy and ambition. The
acknowledged importance of this colony to the parent
state will secure the continuance of her powerful pro-
tection. Her fostering care has been the first cause
under Providence of the uninterrupted happiness you
SIR ISAAC BROCK. 83
have so long enjoyed. Your industry has been liberally
rewarded, and you have in consequence risen to opulence.
" These interesting truths are not uttered to animate
your patriotism, but to dispel any apprehension you
may have imbibed of the possibility of England forsak-
ing you ; for, you must be sensible, if once bereft of her
support, if once deprived of the advantages which her
commerce and the support of her most essential wants
gives you, this colony, from its geographical position,
must inevitably sink into poverty and insignificance.
" But Heaven will look favorably on the manly
exertions which the loyal and virtuous inhabitants of
this happy land are prepared to make to avert such a
dire calamity.
" Gentlemen of the House of Assembly :
" I have no doubt but that with me you are convinced
of the necessity of a regular system of military instruc-
tion to the militia of this Province. On this salutary
precaution, in the event of a war, our future safety will
greatly depend, and I doubt not but that you will
cheerfully lend your aid to enable me to defray the
expenses of carrying into effect a measure so conducive
to our security and defence."
With Sir Isaac Brock's splendid military career the
writer of this volume does not intend to deal, having
already given some account of his life and his glorious
death in another place,* but will confine himself to his
life as Administrator of the Province, and of this not
much is to be said, lasting as it did but during two
sessions of the Provincial Parliament.
*"The Life and Times of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock."
Toronto, 1894.
84 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
We have seen that the first session over which he
presided commenced on the 3rd day of February; it
ended on the 6th day of March following. War was
declared by the United States against Great Britain on
the 18th day of June, 1812, followed by the invasion of
the Province, on the 12th of July, by Hull's army from
Detroit. Brock immediately called the Legislature
together, and it met on the 27th day of July, and was
prorogued on the 5th day of August following, being
the shortest session of the Upper Canada Parliament on
record. Though short it was glorious in its action, and
Brock was the moving spirit.
In opening this session, in his speech to the House,
he said : " When invaded by an enemy whose avowed
object is the entire conquest of the Province, the voice
of loyalty as well as of interest calls aloud to every
person, in the sphere in which he is placed, to defend
his country. Our militia have heard that voice and
obeyed; they have evinced in the promptitude and
loyalty of their conduct that they are worthy of the
King whom they serve, and of the institutions which
they enjoy ; and it affords me particular satisfaction in
that, while I address you as legislators, I speak to men
who, in the day of danger, will be ready to assist not
only with their counsel, but with their arms.
" We are engaged in an awful and eventful contest.
By unanimity and despatch in our councils and by
vigor in our operations we may teach the enemy the
lesson that a country defended by free men, enthusiasti-
cally devoted to the cause of their King and constitution,
can never be conquered."
What other effect could such a speech produce than
677? ISAAC BROCK. 85
of inspiring unbounded confidence in General Sir Isaac
Brock, now both Commander of the Forces and His
Majesty's representative administering the civil affairs
of the Province. The members of the House immediately
set to work to legislate in the direction of Sir Isaac's
desires. The session only lasted nine days, but during
that space the Parliament passed an Act relating to
" the raising and training of the militia of the Province,
and to make further provision for the raising and train-
ing of said militia," as well as an Act " to provide for
the defence of the Province."
It is needless here to recount the military deeds of
the militia of the Province, called out under these Acts,
or of Brock, who lost his life while leading on the same
militia at Queenston Heights. The military achieve-
ments are engraved in the memories of all Canadians,
whose proud boast it is that they are still British
subjects; while Sir Isaac Brock is commemorated in
the monument erected by a grateful Province on
Queenston Heights, where the bones of all that is
mortal of the brave General repose.
Sir Isaac Brock fell on the 13th day of October, 1812,
while gallantly leading a charge up Queenston Heights
at the head of 150 men, chiefly volunteers of the County
of York, but death, although untimely, was not too soon
to snatch from him the wreath of victory, for in a few
short hours after he passed away the enemy's position
had been taken, the tide of invasion turned, and the
American army and its commander forced to surrender
on the field.
86 THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNORS.
Earl Bathurst, in writing to Sir George Prevost, the
Commander-in- Chief, of the impression made in England
by the death of General Brock, penned the following
eulogium. "This would have been a sufficient loss to
cloud a victory of much greater importance. His
Majesty has lost in him not only an able and meritorious
officer, but one also who, in the exercise of his functions
of Provisional Lieutenant-Governor, displayed qualities
admirably adapted to awe the disloyal, to reconcile the
wavering, and to animate the great mass of the inhabit-
ants against successive attempts of the enemy to invade
the Province, in the last of which he unhappily fell, too
prodigal of that life of which his eminent services
taught us to understand the value."
ROGER H. SHEAFFE, PRESIDENT.
The immediate successor of Sir Isaac Brock in the
administration of the Government was Sir Roger H.
Sheaffe, or, as described in the Statutes of the Province,
Roger Hale Sheaffe, Esquire, President, the civil title
given to those who become acting governors by virtue
of succession as President of the Executive Council or
senior officer of the military forces. This was the case
of Sir Roger Sheaffe, whose civil administration ex-
tended only over one session, commencing on the 25th
of February, 1813, in which only eleven Acts of Parlia-
ment were passed, the most important of which was
" an Act to provide for the maintenance of persons
disabled and the widows and children of such persons
as may be killed in His Majesty's service." Sir Roger
was essentially a military man. It was the accident of
war, the death of Sir Isaac Brock, that was the
ROGER H. SHEAFFE. 87
immediate cause of his becoming connected with the
civil affairs of the Province. He was known only, or
principally known, to the people of Upper Canada in his
military capacity. General Sir Roger H. Sheaffe was
born in Boston, in the British colony of Massachusetts,
on the loth of July, 1763, and was the third son of
William Sheaffe, Esquire, Deputy Collector of His
Majesty's customs at that port, by Susannah, eldest
daughter of Thomas Child, Esquire, of Boston.
Sir Roger commenced his military career as an ensign
in the 5th Fusiliers his commission being dated 1st
May, 1778 in which regiment he rose to the rank of
lieutenant, receiving the promotion on the 27th Decem-
ber, 1780. Lieutenant Sheaffe served in Ireland from
January, 1781, to May, 1787, and in Canada from June
following to September, 1797. In 1794 he was em-
ployed under the orders of Lord Dorchester, and with
instructions from Lieufcenant-Governor Simcoe, on a
public mission to protest against certain settlements
made by the Americans on the south shore of Lake
Ontario. On the 5th of May, 1795, he was promoted to
the rank of captain in the 5th Fusiliers, and on the
13th December, 1797, was gazetted major in the 81st
Regiment, and was advanced to the rank of lieutenant-
colonel of the 49th Regiment on the 22nd March, 1798.
Sheaffe served in Holland from August to November,
1799 ; in the Baltic from March to July, 1801, and in
Canada from September, 1802, to October, 1811. On
25th of April, 1808, he received the brevet rank of
colonel, and on the 4th of June, 1811, was advanced to
the rank of major-general. He again served in Canada
from the 29th July, 1812, to November, 1813. The
88 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
Americans having invaded Canada on the 13th October,
1812, and General Brock, commanding in the Province,
having fallen while leading the militia in an attack on
the Americans, Major-General Sheaffe, on whom the
command devolved, continued the attack, with the ad-
dition of some regular troops and a few Indians, and
later on upon the same day attacked the enemy in a
wooded height which they occupied above the town of
Queenston. He completely defeated them, though far
exceeding his own followers in number, their commander
delivering his sword and surrendering his surviving
troops on the field of battle.
In acknowledgment of this important service Major-
General Sheaffe was created a baronet by patent dated
16th January, 1813.
When the Americans attacked York, in April, 1813,
he concocted such measures for the defence of the town
as he thought expedient ; but not considering the place
defensible, he did not stay to assist the local militia, he
and his staff evacuating York a short time prior to the
attack of the Americans. For this he was much con-
demned, but probably his military tactics were right,
as it was of more importance to save his small force
than to risk them and his own life in a hopeless attempt
to repulse a superior force. His own life was now of
more importance, as he was administrator of the Govern-
ment, having been so appointed on Brock's death.
York not being defended by any military force, was
now occupied by the Americans, and the Government
House and other buildings burnt, a destruction which,
it may be added, was amply attoned by the subsequent
occupation of Washington by British troops and
destruction of the capitol.
BARON FRANCIS DE ROTTENBURG. 89
Sheaffe continued to command in Upper Canada and
to administer its Government until June, 1813, when he
was succeeded in the military command by General De
Rottenberg. On quitting the Government he received
from the Executive Council an address expressing their
sense of that display of candor, justice and impartiality
which had marked his administration, and the urbanity
and confidence of his official intercourse. They further
acknowledged their conviction that they owed the salva-
tion of the whole Province to his military talents on
the memorable day when he succeeded to the command.
He was appointed to the staff of Great Britain on the
25th March, 1814; but the appointment was recalled
and deferred in consequence of the change of affairs in
Europe. Sir Roger was appointed to the rank of
lieutenant-general on the 19th July, 1821, and on the
21st December, 1829, was appointed colonel of the 36th
Regiment. He was advanced to the rank of general on
the 28th June, 1828. His death occurred at Edinburgh
on the 17th July, 1851. His wife Margaret, daughter
of John Coffin, Esquire, of Quebec, whom he married
in 1810, survived the gallant general but a few years.
BARON FRANCIS DE ROTTENBURG.
On the retirement of Major-General Sheaffe, Major-
General De Rottenburg succeeded to the administrator-
ship, which position he occupied from June 19th to
December 12th, 1813. General De Rottenburg was
Major of Hussars in 1795, and in 1797 was Colonel of
the 60th Foot, and was promoted to the rank of
brigadier-general in 1808. In 1810 he was appointed
90 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
on the staff in Canada and took command of the
garrison at Quebec, and on the breaking out of the war
was in command of the Montreal district. After filling
the office of Administrator of Upper Canada he com-
manded the left division of the army in Canada until
1815, when he returned to England. He was promoted
lieutenant-general in 1819, and died at Portsmouth,
England, April 24th, 1832. His son, Colonel Baron De
Rottenburg, was Adjutant-General of the Militia of
Upper Canada from 1855 to 1858, when he received the
appointment of Lieutenant-Colonel of the 100th or
Prince of Wales' Royal Canada Regiment.
SIR GORDON DRUMMOND, PROVISIONAL LIEUTENANT-
GOVERNOR.
Sir Gordon Drummond, who now succeeded to the
administration of Upper Canada, was of the ancient
family of Drummonds of Concraig, and was the young-
est child of Colin Drummond, Esquire, of Megginch.
He was born in 1771, at Quebec, where his father, Sir
Colin, held the appointment of Pay master- General of
the Forces in the Province. Sir Gordon entered the
army as an ensign in the 1st Regiment of foot on the
21st September, 1789 ; and after serving some time on
the staff of the Earl of Westmoreland, at that period
Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, he rose rapidly to the rank
of lieu tenant- colonel in 1794, and the same year was
appointed to the command of the 8th (King's) Regiment,
in which he served in Holland under His Royal High-
ness the Duke of York. At the siege of Mineguen,
1795, his conduct as a soldier was most conspicuous.
GORDON DRUMMOND. 91
In the year 1800, after returning to England along
with the troops from the Netherlands, Lieutenant-
Colonel Drummond proceeded in the command of his
regiment to Minorca, where he was stationed until the
autumn of 1800, when he accompanied the expedition
to Egypt under Lieutenant- General Sir Ralph Aber-
crombie. He was present at the landing of the army
on the 8th of March, 1801, as well as at the subsequent
engagement at the battle of Rhamania (when Sir Ralph
fell mortally wounded), and finally at the surrender of
the Grand Cairo and Alexandria to the British army.
On the surrender of Cairo he went with his regiment to
Gibraltar, and here commenced a friendship between him-
self and His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, father
of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, which continued to the
latest period of the Duke's life. ^In 1805 he was second
in command to Sir Eyre Coote, Commander of the Forces
and Governor of Jamaica, and was a general officer on
Sir Eyre's staff. In 1808 he married Margaret, second
daughter of William Russell, Esquire, of Bancpeth Castle,
in the County of Durham, and not long afterwards was
appointed to the staff in Canada, where he served until
1811, when he once more revisited England. Early in
1812, he was selected to command the south-east district
of Ireland, where he performed important service in
that much disturbed land. In 1813 Sir Gordon, still
retaining his post on the staff in Ireland (having attained
the rank of lieutenant-general in 1811), was sent by
the British Government to Canada, as second in com-
mand to Lieutenant- General Sir George Prevost. He
arrived in Canada on the 3rd of November, 1813, and
without delay proceeded to take command of the troops
92 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
in Upper Canada. On the 19th December, 1813, under
his orders, a British and Canadian force stormed the
American Fort Niagara, which was captured, the con-
quering force securing an immense accumulation of
stores, both naval and military.
In the early part of the month of May, 1814, a com-
bined operation was executed under the immediate com-
mand of Lieutenant-General Drummond and the squad-
ron commanded by Commodore Sir James Yeo, the
object of which was to destroy the works and barracks
at Oswego, as well as to cripple the naval operations of
the Americans by capturing or destroying a large
magazine of ship stores belonging to the American
flotilla on the lake. The success of the expedition was
complete.
On the 25th of July, 1814, was fought the ever
glorious battle of Lundy's Lane, under the immediate
command of Lieutenant-General Drummond. In this
engagement General Drummond received a severe wound
from a bullet which passed through his neck and lodged
at the other side. Notwithstanding this wound he did
not dismount from his horse, which a few minutes after-
wards was killed under him.
Lundy's Lane was the most hotly contested of all the
engagements which took place in the war of 1812. The
invaders of Canada, forming the centre division of the
American army, under the command of General Brown,
fought with a courage which was truly heroic. This
battle was not a long range engagement, but a hand to
hand, bayonet to bayonet, muzzle to muzzle conflict.
The battle between the contending parties raged
most fiercely in the contest for the commanding position
SIX GORDON DRUMMOND. 93
of the brow of the hill at the east of Lundy's Lane.
When the shades of night had covered the contending
forces, the battle was continued till midnight with
increased fury.
Thompson, who wrote a history of the war of 1812,
said : " Charges were made in such rapid succession and
with such determined vigor that often were the British
artillerymen assailed in the very act of sponging and
charging the guns, and often were the muzzles of the
guns of the contending armies hauled up and levelled
within a few yards of each other."
Another writer, in describing the battle a few years
after it was fought, said : "Of all the battles fought in
America the action at Lundy's Lane was unquestionably
the best sustained and by far the most sanguinary. The
rapid charges and real contests with the bayonet were
of themselves sufficient to render this engagement con-
spicuous. Traits of real bravery and heroic devotion
were that night displayed by those engaged which would
not suffer in comparison with those exhibited at the
storming at St. Sebastian, or the conflict at Quatre
Bras."
General Drummond's report of this action stated the
number of killed, wounded and missing on the side of
the British to have been 836. The American General,
Brown, in his report of the killed, wounded and missing
on the side of the Americans, stated the number to have
been 858.
On the 13th August following the battle of Lundy's
Lane Drummond, with a considerable force, attacked
Fort Erie, then in the possession of the Americans.
The works were carried and the guns of the fort turned
94 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
upon the enemy, when a magazine of powder caught
fire and an awful explosion took place, which destroyed
nearly 400 men of the attacking force. The Americans,
taking advantage of a panic caused by this disaster,
re-took the fort, and General Drummond was robbed of
his well-earned victory. Toward the end of the year
Lieutenant- General Sir George Prevost, Commander-
in- Chief of the Forces in Canada, received orders to
return to England. Lieutenant- General Drummond
was ordered to Quebec to succeed him, not only as
Commander-in-Chief of the military forces, but also as
Administrator-in-Chief of the Government of the two
Canadas, Upper and Lower.
In 1816, after having performed most important ser-
vices to the British Crown, he was at his own request
relieved of his onerous duties in Canada, and much to
the regret of the inhabitants of Canada, returned to
England, where he resided in the enjoyment of domestic
happiness among his family and friends during the
remainder of his life. He died in London on the 10th
of October, 1854, in the eighty-fourth year of his age.
Sir Gordon Drummond's civil government as Admin-
istrator of this Province was of but short duration,
extending over only two years, and two sessions of the
Provincial Parliament. It was, however, his unspeak-
able pleasure at the close of the last session under his
administration, and which may be said to have been the
last administrative act of his Canadian life, to give his
assent to an Act of the Parliament entitled, " An Act to
provide for the erection of a monument to the memory
of the late President, Major-General Sir Isaac Brock."
The monument erected to the memory of Sir Isaac
S/7? GEORGE MURRAY. 95
Brock still towers above the Queenston Heights, as a
beacon pointing the way in the future to acts of
heroism, such as distinguished the two Generals,
Brock and Drummond.
SIR GEORGE MURRAY, G.C.B., PROVISIONAL LIEUTENANT-
GOVERNOR.
Sir George Murray was the second son of Sir
William Murray, Bart., and Lady Augusta Mackenzie,
seventh and youngest daughter of George, third Earl of
Cromarty, and was born at the family seat, Ochtertyre,
Perthshire, on the 6th February, 1772. He was educated
at the High School and at the University of Edinburgh,
and received an ensign's commission in the 71st Regi-
ment on the 12th March, 1789. He was transferred to
the 34th Regiment, and soon afterwards, in June, 1790,
to the 3rd Foot Guards. He served in the campaign of
1793 in Flanders, was present at the affair of St. Amand,
battle of Famars, siege of Valenciennes, attack of
Lincelles, investment of Dunkirk, and attack of Lamoy.
After service in Flanders, Holland and Germany, in the
West Indies, and as aide-de-camp to Major-General
Campbell on the staff in England and Ireland, on 5th
August, 1799, he obtained a company in the 3rd Guards,
with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
In 1801 he was employed in the expedition to Egypt,
was present at the landing, was engaged in the battles
of 13th and 21st March at Marmorici and Aboukir, at
Rosetta and Rhamanie, and at the investment of Cairo
and Alexandria. After occupying many important posi-
tions, in the autumn of 1808 he went as quartermaster-
96 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
general with Sir John Moore to Portugal, and was
present at the battle of Vimiera, the affairs at Lago and
Villa Franca, and at the battle of Corunna. On March,
1809, he received the brevet of colonel and was ap-
pointed quartermaster-general to the forces in Spain
and Portugal under Lord Wellington. He was pro-
moted major-general on 1st January, 1812, and on 9th
August, 1813, he was made colonel of the 7th Battalion
of the 60th Regiment. He was made a K.C.B. on llth
April, 1813, before the enlargement of the Order. On
his return home in 1814, he was appointed adjutant-
general to the forces in Ireland, and at the end of the
year was sent to govern the Canadas with the local
rank of lieutenant-general.
At this time Europe was at peace, Napoleon being
banished to Elba, and it seemed as if a period of rest
was in store for the hero of many wars.
General Murray received his appointment in Quebec
by a general order dated April 4th, 1815, in which he
was appointed to command the troops in Upper Canada
and to administer the Civil Government. He arrived
in York soon after and reported to Lord Bathurst, the
Colonial Minister, that he "had taken the oath of his
office to administer the Government of Upper Canada
as senior officer of the forces, with the title of Pro-
visional Lieu tenant- Governor instead of President, the
latter title being applied to a civilian who had already
a seat in Council." Whether General Murray was
entitled to the rank of lieutenant-governor or not does
not appear to be clear. It is undoubtedly the case that
Governor Gore was still acting as Governor, as we find
him in May of this year addressing official eommuni-
SIR GEORGE MURRAY. 97
cations to Lord Bathurst dated at London, asking leave
to erect a temporary Government House at York in lieu
of the Government House destroyed by the Americans ;
and again in the same month, at the request of Lord
Bathurst, giving his views on the question of changing
the seat of Government from York to Kingston, a
project which was then contemplated, but which, owing
no doubt to the active opposition of Bishop Strachan,
Chief Justice Scott, and Mr. John Beverley Robinson,
backed by Governor Murray, who received their
petition, was subsequently abandoned.
But General Murray was not fated to remain long in
any one place. Soon after his arrival in York, he was
followed by the alarming news of Napoleon's escape
from Elba, which took place on February 26th, and his
arrival in Paris on March 5th. The aifairs of Upper
Canada ceased to interest General Murray, and war
being declared between France and England he felt
bound to join the Duke, his old commander, and imme-
diately applying for active service, left Canada without
ever having met the Legislature of the Province of which
he was Governor, the session having been prorogued by
President Drummond before he came to Upper Canada.
Having obtained leave to join the army of Flanders,
various delays prevented him reaching it until the
battle of Waterloo had been fought and Paris occupied.
He remained with the army of occupation for three
years as Chief of the Staff, with the local rank of
lieutenant general.
On his return home in 1818 he was appointed
Governor of Edinburgh Castle. In August, 1819, he
was made Governor of the Royal Military College at
98 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
Sandhurst, a post he held until 1824. On 14th June,
1820, the University of Oxford conferred upon him
the degree of D.C.L. In September, 1823, he was
transferred to the colonelcy of the 42nd Royal High-
landers, and in the same year was returned to Parlia-
ment in the Tory interest as member for Perth County.
In January, 1824, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal
Society, and the following March was appointed
Lieu tenant- General of the Ordnance. In March, 1825,
he went to Ireland as commander-in-chief of the forces,
and was appointed lieutenant-general on 27th May.
He held the Irish command until May, 1828, when he
was made a Privy Councillor on taking office as
Secretary of State for the Colonies in the Duke of
Wellington's administration. He held the post until
November, 1830.
At the general election, 1832, he was defeated at
Perth, but regained the seat at a by-election in 1834.
On his appointment as Master-General of the Ordnance,
he again lost the election, and did not again sit in
Parliament, although he contested Westminster in 1837,
and Manchester in 1838 and 1841. He, however,
continued to hold office as Master-General of the
Ordnance till 1846. He was promoted general on 23rd
November, 1841, and was transferred to the colonelcy
of the 1st Royals in December, 1843. He died at his
residence, Belgrave Square, London, on 28th July, 1846,
and was buried beside his wife in Kensal Green ceme-
tery on 5th August. He married in 1826 Lady Louisa
Erskine, sister of the Marquis of Anglesea, and widow
of Sir James Erskine, by whom he had one daughter,
who married his aide-de-camp, Captain Boyce, of the
2nd Life Guards. His wife died 23rd January, 1842.
FREDERICK ROBINSON. 99
Murray was a successful soldier, an able Minister, and
a skilful and fluent debater. For his distinguished
military services he received the gold cross with five
clasps for the Peninsula, the Orders of Knight Grand
Cross of the Bath, besides Austrian, Russian, Portuguese
and Turkish Orders.
He was the author of (1) "Speech on the Roman
Catholic Disabilities Relief Bill ; " (2) " Special Instruc-
tions for the Offices of the Quartermaster-General's
Department;" (3) "The Letters and Despatches of
John Churchill, First Duke of Marlborough, from 1702
to 1712."
MAJOR-GENERAL FREDERICK ROBINSON, G.C.B.,
PROVISIONAL LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.
On the retirement from the Province of Governor
Murray the executive branch of the Government
devolved on Sir Frederick Phipps Robinson, G.C.B.,
Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's forces on the
Canada station. Sir Frederick Robinson succeeded to
the Governorship of the Province on the 1st July, 1815,
and continued to hold the office till the return of Mr.
Francis Gore from England in 1815. The short period
of Sir Frederick's governorship did not afford him an
opportunity of performing any administrative actions
worthy of recording; he was a soldier, and in that
capacity had even at that time won his spurs. Sir
Frederick was the son of Colonel Beverley Robinson,
of New York, whose name is familiar to readers of
the histories of the American Revolution period as
a devoted subject of Britain's King. A most hospitable
100 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
gentleman, whose house was the rendezvous of the
military magnates of that day. He was, of course, a
United Empire Loyalist, and was a relative of Sir John
Beverley Robinson, Chief Justice of Upper Canada at a
later period.
Sir Frederick entered the army in 1777 as ensign
in the Loyal American Regiment. In 1799 he was an
officer in the 60th Regiment, and during his campaign
with that regiment was a prisoner of war several
months. Without going into particulars, in general
it may be said that he served in several regiments with
distinction in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands,
and in the Peninsula. He commanded a brigade at the
battle of Vittoria, received a medal and two clasps in
recognition of his military service at the siege of
Sebastian and the passage of the Nive. As he was not
quite forty years of age when on June 10th, 1815, he
succeeded to the Governorship of Upper Canada in his
capacity of commander-in-chief of the forces, proof is
afforded of the estimation in which he was held by the
military authorities and his rapid rise in the military
service. After leaving Canada he continued as before
in the military service of the Crown, and in 1838 was
nominated Knight Grand Cross of the Bath. In 1846
he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general, He
died at Brighton, England, in 1852, thus ending a
distinguished military career.
CHAPTER VII.
GOVERNOR GORE SECOND ADMINISTRATION.
AFTER a succession of administrators, Governor Gore
returned from England, arriving at New York in July,
with the first news of Waterloo and the final surrender
of Napoleon. From thence he journeyed to his own
capital, York, reaching there on the 25th day of Sep-
tember, 1815, and received a right royal welcome from
the inhabitants of the town, who presented him with
the following address :
" To His Excellency Francis Gore, Esquire, Lieutenant-
Governor of the Province of Upper Canada, etc., etc :
"We, the judges, magistrates and principal inhabitants
of the town of York, in approaching your Excellency to
express our great satisfaction at beholding you once
more among us, feel that we have still greater reason to
congratulate ourselves on the happy event. The ex-
perience of your past firm and liberal administration,
by which the prosperity of the Province has been so
essentially promoted, teaches us to anticipate the greater
benefit from its resumption, and this pleasing anticipa-
tion is confirmed by our knowledge of the fraternal
solicitude which induced you while in England to bring,
upon all proper occasions, the interests of the colony
101
102 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS,
under the favorable attention of His Majesty's Govern-
ment a solicitude which calls forth in our hearts the
most grateful emotions. We rejoice that the blessings
of peace are to be dispensed by one who is so well
acquainted with the wants and feelings of the colony,
and we flatter ourselves that York, recovering from a
state of war (during which she has been twice in the
power of the enemy), will not only forget her disasters,
but rise to greater prosperity under your Excellency's
auspicious administration."
This address to His Excellency was well timed and
well merited, for the Governor, while in England, had
interested himself in the affairs of Upper Canada in a
way that could not help but meet with approval. He
had, when in London, got a considerable sum of money
subscribed for the relief of those who had been wounded
in the war and the wives and children of the slain. He
had induced the most influential persons to head the
list. The Dukes of Kent and Northumberland were at
the head of the committee formed to promote the
object they each subscribed one hundred guineas, and
the Governor himself followed with a like subscription.
He also superintended the execution of a medal in gold
and silver in London, intended to be conferred by the
Loyal and Patriotic Society for distinguished service
rendered to the country during the war. These medals
were never distributed owing to a difficulty which arose
in determining who should be recipients. By resolution
of the society they were ordered to be broken up and
converted into bullion. The net value when thus con-
verted was nearly four hundred pounds which, with
GOVERNOR GORE. 103
a further balance at the credit of the society, went
towards the erection of the General Hospital at York,
formerly situated on John Street. At this time York
was a place of about five hundred inhabitants, and the
whole Province had a population of some 50,000.
Governor Gore, on resuming his office, called the Legis-
lature together, to meet him at York on the 6th day of
February, 1816, and opened the Provincial Parliament,
which assembled on that day, with the following address:
"Honorable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council and
Gentlemen of the House of Assembly :
11 After so long an absence, during which the pros-
perity of the Province was uppermost in my thoughts, I
now embrace the wished-for opportunity of uniting with
you in my endeavors to promote that salutary object.
It would have been a great satisfaction to me to have
been able to communicate any more favorable account
of the state of our revered Sovereign than that his
bodily health continues unimpaired.
" I congratulate you and every loyal subject on the
ultimate and complete success of the great struggle in
Europe, in which every member of the British Empire
is peculiarly interested, as being chiefly attributed to
the auspices of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent
and the national arms under the first warrior of modern
times. The gallant defence of this colony by its own
militia, supported during the early period of the war by
a very small portion of His Majesty's regular force, has
acquired for it a high distinction for loyalty and brav-
ery. The obstinate contention with succeeding armies
of invaders, and their ultimate discomfiture, has not
104 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
failed to attract the attention or notice of the world,
and gives to this Province an importance in public opin-
ion which it becomes us to maintain."
It must have been most gratifying to the members of
Parliament of that day to have heard the King's repre-
sentative, in glowing language, pay so high a compli-
ment to the loyal people of the Province as was con-
tained in the Governor's address.
In the session of Parliament of 1816, to which refer-
ence has just been made, were passed several Acts of
great importance and beneficial tendency. The most
important of all, looking to the future welfare of the
province, was the "Act granting to His Majesty a sum
of money to be applied to the use of the Common Schools
throughout the Province, and to provide for the regula-
tion of said Common Schools." By this Act, an annual
grant of six thousand pounds, to be fairly distributed
in the different districts into which the Province was
divided, was made ; mode of appointing trustees pointed
out, and a board of education established, or to be estab-
lished, in each district ; and, to crown all, the teachers
were to be British subjects, thus ensuring the continu-
ance of that loyalty in the youth of the Province which
had but recently, in the war just closed, been so con-
spicuous in the fathers of the country.
This was the first Act relating to Common Schools
passed by the Legislature of the Province, and was a
fitting tribute made at the shrine of white-winged peace,
a worthy celebration of the termination of a fratricidal
war.
In the same session both Houses of Parliament, the
GOVERNOR GORE. 105
Legislative Council and Assembly, passed a joint address
to the Prince Regent, couched in the following language :
"To His Royal Highness :
" We, His Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects,
the Legislative Council and House of Assembly in Pro-
vincial Parliament assembled, impressed with a lively
sense of the firm, upright, and liberal administration of
Francis Gore, Esquire, Lieutenant-Governor of this Prov-
ince, as well as of his unceasing attention to the indi-
vidual and general interest of the colony during his
absence, have unanimously passed a bill to appropriate
the sum of three thousand pounds, to enable him to
purchase a service of plate commemorative of our grati-
tude. Apprised that this spontaneous gift cannot receive
the sanction of our beloved Sovereign in the ordinary
mode, by the acceptance of the Lieutenant-Governor in
his name and behalf, we, the Legislative Council and
Assembly of the Province of Upper Canada, humbly beg
leave to approach your Royal Highness with an earnest
prayer that you will approve this demonstration of our
gratitude, and graciously be pleased to sanction His
Majesty's name to the grant of the Legislature on
behalf of the inhabitants of Upper Canada.
"25th March, 1816."
It is a curious fact that not with standing the gratitude
expressed in the address of the Assembly, in the next
session the members of the House and the Governor were
very much at variance on many questions. The session
of 1817, in which this disposition of members to measure
swords with the Governor was shown, was the first
106 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
session of a new Parliament, which accounts for the
change in the sentiments of members. New blood was
a feature of the new Parliament, made up of members
of very independent thought, men who were quite pre-
pared to urge reforms, even though thereby they should
place themselves in opposition to the Viceroy of the
Province. The names of these men, as they have come
down to us in history, indicate that they were not of
the Thorpe- Willcocks coterie, but an entirely different
class.
After several Acts had been passed during the session,
none of which was of general importance (in fact, they
were mostly Acts to repeal, amend or continue old laws),
the House resolved itself into a Committee of the
Whole to take into consideration " the present state of
the Province." For the House to do such a thing as to
inquire into the state of the Province, according to the
ideas of the Colonial Government as it prevailed at
that time, was in the opinion of some, especially in the
opinion of officialdom at York, a direct reflection on the
Governor and his Executive Council. Office-holders
stood aghast at the proposal, and so disgusted was the
Governor that he cried out when he first heard of it, " I
will send the rascals about their business;" and indeed he
would have done so before the setting in of another day
had not the good sense of Chief Justice Powell prevailed
with him to postpone taking such over-active steps to rid
himself of an obnoxious House. He was not, however,
long restrained, for the very next day, on the assembling
of the members, and before the minutes were read, a
message was received from His Excellency requiring the
attendance of the House at the bar of the Legislative
GOVERNOR GORE, 107
Council. In obedience to this summons the members of
the Assembly proceeded to the Upper House, where they
were confronted by the Governor, who in a curt speech
informed them that they had been engaged in their labors
sufficiently long for the present session and that they
were now at liberty to return to their homes.
It is only necessary to mention the names of the
members who formed the majority in support of the
resolution to inquire into the state of the province as
proof that there was something wrong somewhere.
Their names were Macdonell, McMartin, Cameron, Jones,
Howard, Casey, Robinson, Nelles, Secord, Nichol, Bur-
well, McCormick, Cornwall. These men, though called
Tories, were really moderate Reformers as we view things
at the present day. The minority who were for pursuing
the old policy of letting well- enough alone, were Van-
Koughnet, Chrysler, Fraser, Colter, McNab, Swayzie,
Church. They were Tory of the Tories.
It is not surprising that Governor Gore, after (it must
have been in a fit of spleen) calling members of the
house "rascals," and bringing the session abruptly to a
close, should not care to have further communication
with a Canadian Parliament. A month after the close
of the session he returned to England to make his own
representation of the state of the Province and to justify
himself with his masters, the British Government. This
he did to his own satisfaction, and presumably to the
satisfaction of the Colonial Minister in London, behind
whose chair he was a power.
Governor Gore's name was perpetuated in Canada in
the name of the old Gore District. His wife's name is
also perpetuated. Her name was " Arabella " i.e., her
108 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
Christian name. The Governor's familiar abbreviation
of the name was " Belle." The Governor jocosely sug-
gested that this name with a ville (town) added would
make a good name for a place, hence Belleville. The
county town of Hastings has the honor of getting its
name from the compound Belle-ville.
The Governor had many staunch friends in York, both
official and others, who had joined with him in his policy,
especially in regard to the exclusion of Americans from
becoming owners of land in the Province. These friends,
in bidding farewell to the Governor just before his
setting out for England, presented him with an address,
commending his administration of the affairs of the
Province and the solicitude with which he had watched
over the welfare of His Majesty's subjects and cherished
the " sentiments of loyalty to the best of Kings, by
which alone this colony can be a valuable appendage
to the Crown or an agreeable place of residence for
British subjects."
In this address his admirers even went so far as to
express the hope that the Governor would return again
to the Province to reign over His Majesty's Canadian
subjects.
He never did return to Canada. It could hardly be
expected that he would after the very abrupt and
cavalier manner in which he dealt with the people's
representatives in the session of Parliament just pre-
ceding his departure from the Province.
Soon after leaving Upper Canada for England, Mr.
Gore was, in 1818, appointed Deputy-Teller of the
Exchequer. He continued to enjoy the patronage and
confidence of the Marquis of Camden in this office till a
GOVERNOR GORE. 109
new arrangement of that important department, under
Lord Grey's administration, placed him in retirement.
His home in England was in London. He was a prom-
inent member of the Athenaeum Club, where he spent
many agreeable hours, and his knowledge of life and
business habits and his strong, straightforward sense
placed him frequently on the Committee of Management.
To be a manager of such a club was no slight honor in
those days, as its portals received the most eminent
members of society in England, both civil and military.
There were congregated of an afternoon Cabinet
Ministers, parliamentary orators, peers, judges, physi-
cians, recent rulers from India, Africa, and America,
officers of both services, the poet, the novelist, editors,
men of science and of law, artists, barristers with and
without briefs who might be seen daily mingled in
groups according to their taste or range of acquaintance.
Theodore Hooke, prince of wits and humorists, was a
member of this club, and had many a friendly banter
with Gore, who passed by his Canadian title of Governor
within the precincts of the club. The Governor and
Hooke were soon sworn allies, and never met or parted
without a trial of wit. It is safe to say that Hooke in
a contest of this kind would come off the victor.
Theodore Hooke organized in this club a body called the
" Knights of the Napkin," who dined together at the
club. Seated around the table might be seen not only
Hooke and the Governor, but a goodly company of
distinguished men, who, if not absolutely choice spirits,
enjoyed the flow of soul and could freely contribute to
the fund of hilarity.
The Governor frequently paid a visit out of London
110 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
to Wilderness Park, the seat of the Marquis of Camden,
where he spent, as he said, many of his most agreeable
hours. In August, 1838, he lost his wife, and for a time
gave up housekeeping, but soon returned to it in his
former neighborhood, Grosvenor Square. During the
last three or four years of his life he lost the free use of
the lower limbs, so that he could no longer walk to his
club. Members of the club who were partial to him
frequently visited him at his residence, and he was thus
enabled to keep up a friendly connection with what had
been to him a great source of happiness. Latterly
infirmities crept on, but his constitution enabled him to
withstand the ravages of age and infirmities for a con-
siderable period, till at length, in his eighty-fourth year,
dropsy was added to his other complaints, and although
still fresh and vigorous in mind, he expired at Brighton
on November 3rd, 1852.
CHAPTER VIII.
SAMUEL SMITH, ADMINISTRATOR.
THE Honorable Samuel Smith was of English descent.
He was born at Hempstead, Long Island, on the 27th
December, 1756. His grandfather, Benjamin Smith,
emigrated from the north of England about 1740, and
settled at North Hempstead, where he purchased a
considerable estate. Benjamin Smith had three sons, of
whom James was the youngest. James married Amy
Serring, who was of English birth. The fruit of this
marriage was one son, Samuel, and a daughter,
Elizabeth. James Smith's wife died not many years
after these children were born, and within a few
years he married his second wife, Anne Valentine,
the daughter of a near neighbor of Long Island. By
Anne Valentine he had three children, one of whom,
Anne, became the wife of the Honorable Alexander
Macdonell of Toronto, a member of the Legislative
Council of Upper Canada. On the breaking out of the
American Revolutionary War of 1776, Samuel Smith,
the future Administrator of the Province of Upper
Canada, then a boy of sixteen years of age, entered the
army. In a family reminiscence which I have before
me, written by Anne Macdonell, wife of the Honorable
111
112 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
Alexander Macdonell, for her niece, Mrs. Nellis, of
Grimsby, she says of this period and her brother James'
relation to it : " It was a critical period, the commence-
ment of the American Revolutionary War, when a
decided part must be taken. My father (James Smith)
did not hesitate. He was a King's man to all intents
and purposes, even to the day of his death. And with
the advice of a friend, Captain Sanford, of the Queen's
Rangers, he got a commission in that regiment of an
ensigncy for his son. They were sent to Yorke Island,
and sometimes stationed on Long Island, so that my
brother occasionally visited home."
The young ensign entered with great ardor upon the
performance of his military duties. He accompanied
the Rangers in their expedition to the more southern of
the colonies, was engaged in several battles, and was
severely wounded at the battle of Brandy wine, the effects
of which he felt more or less during the remainder of
his life. Before he was twenty years of age he was
promoted to a captaincy in the Rangers. At the close
of the Revolutionary War, the captain was put on half-
pay, and, with many other United Empire Loyalists,
retired into New Brunswick, where he remained several
months. From here he proceeded to England, and occu-
pied several years in travelling on the continent, visit-
ing France, Italy, and other continental countries. On
his return to England, learning that a new regiment of
Queen's Rangers was being formed for service in Canada,
to follow General Simcoe, on his assuming the first gov-
ernorship of the Province of Upper Canada, in 1792, he
joined the new regiment with the old name, as captain.
In 1792 he, with a division of the regiment, was plough-
SAMUEL SMITH. 113
ing his way through the snow of New Brunswick to join
General Simcoe, who had arrived in Canada. Captain
Smith followed the fortunes of Governor Simcoe, and
in time became colonel of his regiment. He was with
Simcoe at Niagara and York, and in 1793 the Crown
granted him 1,000 acres of land for his services. This
land was in the territory adjoining Burlington Bay to
the west. In the record of this grant he is called cap-
tain, from which it appears that it was after this that
he was made colonel of the Rangers. Colonel Smith's
original homestead in the county of York was in
Etobicoke township, in the neighborhood of the river
Etobicoke. He had also a town residence on Richmond
Street, a little west of York Street, in the town of York.
He was appointed member of the Executive Council on
the 7th October, 1815, and on the retirement of Gover-
nor Gore, became Administrator of the Province, filling
the interregnum between the departure of Gore and the
arrival of Sir Peregrine Maitland, his successor.
The second session of Parliament was opened at York
on the 5th day of February, 1818, by Colonel Samuel
Smith, and closed on the 5th day of April following.
The members of Parliament during this session seem
to have devoted their attention to the improvement of
the internal affairs of the Province, which had been put
so much out of joint during the war. It became neces-
sary to raise money to carry on the Government, and
what source of revenue was to be found more advan-
tageous than an inland revenue tax on spirituous liquors,
then largely consumed in the Province ? The first Act
of the session held under the administration of the
Honorable Samuel Smith was "an Act to impose a
114 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
duty upon persons selling wine, brandy, and other
spirituous liquors."
Only thirteen Acts were passed during the session,
and the most important of them were of a similar
inland revenue character. Colonel Smith's administra-
tion lasted from June llth, 1817, to August 12th, 1818,
when the new Governor, Maitland, took the oaths of
office. After his retirement he lived privately, except
for a short time in 1820, when he was administrator for
about four months during Governor Maitland's absence,
until 1826, dying on October 20th of that year.
The Reverend Doctor Phillips, Anglican clergyman,
in a sermon delivered by him in York, pronounced
an eulogy on the Administrator, then lately deceased,
which summarized contemporary opinion. Referring to
the Administrator's death, he said, " It affords us much
pleasure to recapitulate his virtues as a soldier, a sena-
tor, a father, and a friend. His youthful blood was shed
in our country's cause, and he nobly withstood the mad
career of the rebellion, to maintain the standard of Brit-
ish glory. His conduct in the high and distinguished
office of Administrator of the Government of the Prov-
ince was marked with undeviating rectitude, evincing
on all occasions a firm attachment to the best interests
of this happy and flourishing colony. He was a zealous
supporter of the laws and constitutions of the British
Empire, and a bright ornament of our Protestant Church.
Paternal affection and solicitude were conspicuous in his
domestic relations, and as a friend, the individual feel-
ings of those who knew him from his youth, many of
whom are here present, who were his fellow associates
in the arduous cause in which he was engaged, will bear
SAMUEL SMITH. 115
testimony to his extreme kindness and amiable dispo-
sition. As a Christian, the sincerity of his faith and
pious resolutions were manifest in his walking humbly
with God."
Samuel Smith Macdonell, of Toronto, and Mrs. McWil-
liams, wife of former City Solicitor Me Williams, are
grandchildren of the Honorable Samuel Smith, the
Administrator.
CHAPTER IX.
SIR PEREGRINE MAITLAND, K.C.B.,
LIEUTENANT-GO VERNOR.
SIR PEREGRINE MAITLAND, who was the Governor
appointed to succeed Governor Gore, was born at Long
Parish, in Hampshire, England, in 1777, and was the son
of Thomas Maitland, Esquire, of Shrubs Hill, in the
New Forest. He entered the army on the 25th June,
1792, then only fifteen years of age, as ensign in the 1st
Guards, and was promoted to lieutenant and captain
April 30th, 1794. He served throughout the campaign
in Flanders, and was present in several actions ; also at
Ostend in 1798. In those stirring days rapid promo-
tion was the order, and he succeeded to a company June
25th, 1803, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In
1808-9, he served in Spain, and was engaged in the
actions of Lugo and Corunna, for which he received the
silver war medal, and was in the expedition of the latter
year to the Scheldt. He obtained the brevet rank of
colonel January 1st, 1812. At the battle of the Nive
he commanded the first brigade of Guards, for which he
received the gold medal. He became a major-general
June 4th, 1814 ; and at Waterloo commanded the first
British brigade of the first division, consisting of the
2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 1st Foot Guards. On
116
PEREGRINE MAITLAND. H7
the 22nd June, 1815, he was nominated a Knight Com-
mander of the Bath, and for his services at Waterloo
he received the fourth class of the Order of Wilhelm
and the third class of Wilhelm of the Netherlands.
With such a brilliant military record, in days when
it was the custom to appoint military men to colonial
government, it is not surprising that Sir Peregrine Mait-
land was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Can-
ada at the close of the Continental war and the peace
ensuing on the fall of Napoleon in 1815.
Sir Peregrine Maitland is described by Dr. Scadding,
in his " Toronto of Old," as a tall, grave officer. The
Doctor's description refers to his Sunday attendance at
the Church of St. James. " To limit ourselves to our own
recollections, here, at St. James' Church, with great
regularity every Sunday was to be seen, passing to and
from the place of honor assigned to him, a tall, grave-
officer, always in military undress, his countenance ever
wearing a mingled expression of sadness and benevolence,
like that which one may observe on the face of the
predecessor of Louis Phillippe, Charles X, whose current
protrait recalls, not badly, the whole head and figure of
this early Governor of Upper Canada."
Sir Peregrine was a man of fine military carriage, and
though somewhat reserved in his manner, was always
frank and open with those with whom he came in con-
tact. He married Lady Sarah Lennox, the graceful and
elegant daughter of the Duke of Richmond. There
was something of romance about this marriage which
attracted considerable attention at the time it took place-
On the eve of Waterloo, as is well known to readers of
history of the time, the Duchess of Richmond gave a ball
118 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
at Brussels, commemorated by Lord Byron in " Childe
Harold," in the lines so well-known in which he tells of
the battle of Waterloo. Major Maitland and the Lady
Sarah were at that ball. Whether he there met his
fate is not recorded. It is certain, however, that pro-
posals of marriage were about this time made by Major
Maitland to the Lady Sarah, and were by her favor-
ably received. But the Duke objected, and flatly refused
his consent to his daughter's marriage to one who, how-
ever gallant an officer, was not deemed a suitable match
for the daughter of a great nobleman. Lady Sarah
was in no way disconcerted, and while her father was
resident in Paris, during the occupation of the allied
armies after Waterloo, she one day deserted the parental
home, repaired to the brave officer's quarters, captured
her soldier, and married him without her father's con-
sent. The young lady being married, the Duke had
nothing to do but forgive, which he seems to have
done readily, and as became his station he at once sought
for means to make their position secure. His appoint-
ment as Governor-General of the Canadas, in 1818, gave
him the opportunity to provide for his daughter and her
husband, and Sir Peregrine was, through the Duke's
influence, at once offered the office of Lieutenant- Gov-
ernor of Upper Canada, which he accepted on January
3rd, 1818, and accompanied the Duke to the Province
on his crossing the Atlantic to assume the office of
Governor-General.
The Duke had been Viceroy of Ireland before receiv-
ing his Canadian appointment. His official career in
Ireland, involving, as it did, heavy expenditure, had
not proved very profitable, and to repair his fortune,
SSX PEREGRINE MAITLAND. 119
which had been seriously impaired by his extravagance
while holding the Viceregal post, he was glad to accept
a colonial appointment. But he did not live long to
enjoy his new office. He paid a visit to Sir Peregrine
and his daughter, Lady Sarah, at York, in 1819. Re-
turning to Quebec by way of Kingston, he reached a
hamlet now grown to the village of Richmond. Here
he was taken with a sudden illness, hydrophobia,
caused by the bite of a pet fox, and after a few hours
of intense suffering, he died on August 29th, 1819.
Sir Peregrine had not been at York, the capital, for
a very long period when he deemed it advisable to con-
vene Parliament to take into consideration matters of
import. One reason, if not the principal one, for his
summoning the members of the Legislature to meet
him at the capital, was the agitation of the people,
promoted by Robert Fleming Gourlay. Gourlay was a
Scotchman, of Fifeshire, descended from an old and
respected Scottish family. He was the son of a lawyer
in Edinburgh, who at one time had been regarded as a
person of wealth, but whose inheritance of land had
become so reduced in value at the close of the Napoleonic
wars that he became bankrupt. Gourlay was in his
youth flighty and erratic, ambitious to a degree, yearn-
ing for fame of some kind, even though it should be
that of a general agitator. This he became while yet in
Scotland, went from Scotland to England, preached
agitation there, and finally, at the age of thirty-five,
emigrated to Canada, where he took up the same
pursuit. Sir Peregrine Maitland had taken up his
residence in York, in the month of August, 1818. In
a very short time after his arrival, Gourlay, whose
120 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
proceedings were perfectly frank and open, wrote to
the Governor " that he was under a charge of libelling
the Government, and that he would have no objection
to wait upon him at any time and give him the benefit
of his experience." This letter caused the Governor to
make inquiry as to Mr. Gourlay's antecedents, when he
found what manner of man he had to deal with. He
found further that Gourlay had, in continuance of the
proceedings of a convention of the people held under
his auspices to deliberate upon the propriety of sending
commissioners to England to call attention to the affairs
of the Province, drafted a petition to the Crown of a
very startling character. In this draft petition it was
alleged that "corruption, indeed, had reached such a
height in the Province that it was thought that no
other part of the British Empire witnessed the like. It
mattered not what characters filled situations of public
trust at present : all sunk beneath the dignity of men,
and have become vitiated and weak."
The language of this petition, to the minds of the
Executive Government, afforded an opportunity for
indicting Mr. Gourlay for seditious libel. Four days
after his letter to Sir Peregrine he was in the Kingston
gaol, for the matter contained in the petition. He was
brought to trial on August 20th and acquitted, and
was tried again at Brockville ten days afterwards for
another libel contained in the same petition, and again
acquitted. Gourlay had many sympathizers among the
people, as with all his eccentricity, which led some to
suppose he had a bee in his Scotch bonnet, he had the
true interest of the people at heart, and his agitation
was for reforms which, in his opinion, could only be
SIR PEREGRINE MAITLAND. 121
wrung from the Executive by heroic measures. Agitate !
agitate ! ! was his motto, and well he performed his task.
Sir Peregrine Maitland, no doubt considering it
would be more proper for the Provincial House of
Parliament, under his guidance, to deliberate on the
affairs of the Province, than for Mr. Gourlay and his
convention to take the matter in hand, called a meeting
of the House for the 12th of October, 1818, and opened
the Legislature with a short speech, one paragraph of
which was : " In the course of your investigation, you
will, I doubt not, feel a just indignation at the attempts
which have been made to excite discontent and to
organize sedition. Should it appear to you that a con-
vention of delegates cannot exist without danger to the
constitution, in framing a law of prevention your dis-
passionate wisdom will be careful that it shall not
unwarily trespass on the sacred right of the subject to
seek a redress of the grievance."
This paragraph of Sir Peregrine's speech was, no
doubt, aimed at Gourlay, who had now gained great
prominence, and, as can be seen from the foregoing, the
agitator was agitating with success, even the Governor
being attracted by his propaganda.
The mind of the Governor reflected itself in the
House of Parliament passing "an Act for preventing
certain meetings in the Province/' which, however, was
found to be so distasteful to the people that it was
repealed by their representatives within two years.
Having in my narrative of "The Rebellion of 1837 "
discoursed somewhat at large of Mr. Gourlay and his
eccentricities, troubles and trials, I will not pursue the
subject further here, but merely add that it cannot be
122 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
doubted that he was the originator and promoter of
considerable reforms in the Province. While we must
deplore the sad results which in some measure were
hastened by his energetic agitation for popular rights,
we must truly accord the tribute of honor to a true
patriot who " courted no man's favor and feared no
man's frown."
It was unfortunate for Sir Peregrine Maitland that
he had to deal with a man of Gourlay's metal in his
early administration, but when Scot meets Scot then
comes the tug of war. Sir Peregrine was of a Scotch
family, and so was Gourlay ; but the Governor had the
power of force, Gourlay only the power of speech.
Speech had to give way to force in the end. Notwith-
standing all his misfortune, Gourlay lived to the ripe
old age of eighty, and died in his native Scotland in
1863.
Sir Peregrine's permanent residence in Canada was
not at York, but at Stamford, three miles west of
Niagara Falls. Here he built a house, to which was
given the name of Stamford Cottage. Here at least he
could be free of the jarring elements which existed at the
capital; here he could live in comparative ease and
comfort, away from agitators and all their kindred; here
he could in quiet retirement, having all the enjoyment
desirable from living almost within a stone's throw from
that wonder of the world, the great cataract of Niagara.
Noblemen and others who crossed the Atlantic to visit
the United States and Canada were sure to pay Sir
Peregrine a flying visit. Stamford Cottage, built in a
large park of many acres, surrounded by fine trees of
the Canadian forest, was frequently visited by tourists
577? PEREGRINE MAITLAND. 123
from the old land ; so the Governor's life was varied
somewhat by the distant echoes of the confusion created
by the political agitator from afar and the entertain-
ment of those who visited him in his home. In 1824
the Governor had quite a distinguished number of
visitors. They were Mr. Stanley, afterwards known as
Lord Derby ; Mr. Denison, M.P. for Newcastle, after-
wards Speaker of the British House of Commons ; Mr.
Stuart- Wortley, M.P. for Bossinley, in Cornwall, after-
wards Lord Wharncliffe.
Notwithstanding the Governor's desire to live a life
of comparative quiet, the serenity of his mind was too
frequently agitated by perusal of newspapers containing
offensive personal or political allusions to himself, matter
in his opinion detrimental to the interests of the Prov-
ince he was sent to govern. Having got well rid of
Gourlay by banishment, his peace of mind was soon
disturbed by the sudden rising into popularity of
another Scot, if possible more aggressive than Gourlay.
This was William Lyon Mackenzie, a man somewhat
of the same type as Gourlay, but more of the Radical
demagogue and more unscrupulous.
Mackenzie had come to the Province in 1820, about
the same time as Gourlay, and between that time and
1824 was occupied in trade, for which he was well
fitted, and if he had adhered to it instead of dabbling
in the slime of politics he would have saved himself an
infinity of trouble. In this year of 1824 he abandoned
the business in which he had been engaged, and estab-
lished and published a newspaper, the plain object of
which was, if possible, to overthrow Sir Peregrine
Maitland and his Government. The Colonial Advocate
124 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
for that was the name of the paper established by Mr.
Mackenzie bent on a mission to reform the Canadian
colony, had its birth-place in Queenston, only a few
miles from the Governor's Stamford house. In the first
number of this paper, Mr. Mackenzie, the publisher,
assailed Sir Peregrine, the Executive Council, and the
Legislative Council the latter being represented as
" selected from the tools of servile power." Mr.
Mackenzie was not himself a tool of any power, and
was, without exception, the most politically independent
man of his day, frequently at variance, not only with
the Governor and the Executive and Legislative
Councils, but with his own friends, equally with him-
self imbued with the necessity of reform in the Govern-
ment. The difference between himself and his fellow
reformers was that he was always in advance, always
in the lead, his purpose being to overthrow ; while that
of other reformers was by judicious management to
ameloriate the condition of affairs. The difference was
one of degree, not one of principle.
The first step was to reform the Legislative Assembly,
and this they succeeded in doing, for, at the general
election in 1824, the Government party was defeated
and a majority of Reform representatives sent to the
House of Assembly, the most prominent of whom were
Marshall S. Bidwell and Peter Perry, returned for the
counties of Lennox and Addington. In capturing the
Assembly these reformers thought they had gained the
Government. Mr. Mackenzie and his followers, with
a due appreciation of responsible government as it
existed in England, believed that now that they had
control of the Assembly they could control all the public
PEREGRINE MA1TLAND. 125
affairs of the Province. Fatal error; they were soon
given to understand by the Governor that he owed no
responsibility to them, but only to the British Govern-
ment; that they were to him but an advising body,
whom he might or might not consult as he thought
proper. The Governor's position was the right one to
take as the Colonial Government existed at that day.
It is not too much to say, that to Bid well, Rolph, and
Mackenzie, and those who co-operated with them at
that period, much, if not all, the credit is due for
bringing about a different state of things and the
establishment of responsible Government as it exists
at the present day. The regrettable thing is that the
over-energetic Mackenzie resorted to means to obtain
this result which could have been obtained by other
methods than rebellion, with its attendant miseries, the
loss of many lives and manifold calamities.
Sir Peregrine Maitland, equally with the officials
who were endeavoring to carry on the Colonial Govern-
ment as it was, and not as it ought to have been, came
under the lash of Mr. Mackenzie, the apostle of reform.
The residence of the Governor being at Stamford, neces-
sitating the frequent crossing of the lake to meet the
Executive Council at York, presented a fine opportunity
to the agitator, Mr. Mackenzie, to hurl a shot at His
Excellency. In the very first number of the Colonial
Advocate he wrote of the Governor, "that he knew Upper
Canada's wants, as he gained a knowledge of the day
by report, in the one case by the Niagara gun and in the
other by the Gazette essay upon stupor and inactivity."
The Gazette was the Government organ, hence Mr. Mac-
kenzie's satirical allusion to the information derived from
126 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
its columns. The fact is that Mackenzie had promoted
himself to the position of censor of the Governor, of the
Government, and of everybody and everything that had
any part or hand with either or both.
Sir Peregrine was not a man disposed to submit to
insult from any man. Mackenzie, not only in the first
number of his paper, but in succeeding numbers
throughout the summer of 1824, continued to assail
the Governor and the Government in his most offensive
style of writing, full of sarcasm and allusions as dis-
creditable as they were untrue. Notwithstanding this,
Mr. Mackenzie, aided by certain political friends, man-
aged to have deposited in the cavity of the corner-
stone of the first monument erected to the memory
of Sir Isaac Brock on Queenston Heights, which was
laid on October 13th, 1824, a copy of the first issue
of the Colonial Advocate. This occurred during Sir
Peregrine's absence on an official tour through the
eastern part of the Province. One can imagine the
feelings of the Governor on learning of the occurrence.
That a copy of a paper which had been so accustomed
to vilify him and his Government had been given a
place in the corner-stone of a monument being erected
to Brock, the warrior chief of 1812, so justly called
" The Hero of Upper Canada," and that too during
the administration of a soldier Governor, was not to be
tolerated. The Governor, on his return to the seat of
government, gave instant orders that the foundation of
the monument, which had then reached a height of
fourteen feet, should be dug out and the offensive
document removed, and this was done by one of the
commissioners who had charge of the erection of the
SIX PEREGRINE MAITLAND. 127
monument and the architect. It may easily be sur-
mised what pleasure Sir Peregrine must have taken in
rooting out, as it were, the dross from the pure stone of
the monument erected to the memory of a soldier whose
grave he deemed would be defiled by Mackenzie's sheet.
The year 1824 was an eventful one in many ways as
affecting the future growth and welfare, not only of the
Province at large, but of York, its capital. It was on the
Christmas eve of this year that the cubical brick block,
erected for legislative purposes at the foot of Berkeley
or Parliament Street in 1818, to supply the place of the
Parliament House built on the same site, and burnt by
the Americans on their capture of York in 1813, was
accidentally destroyed by fire. The consequence of this
was that Sir Peregrine Maitland was forced to open the
first session of the ninth Parliament, on January 13th,
1825, in the General Hospital building, which had been
recently erected west of John Street.
It is suggestive that His Excellency was doomed, not
only to meet the political fire of many adversaries during
his time, but was, by the destructive element, driven
from the old house of meeting at the foot of Parliament
Street to a building originally intended for the sick, but
now converted into a debating-house for the healthy
but inflammable members recently elected to represent
the people of Upper Canada in Parliament assembled.
The session of the Legislature held in 1825-26 passed
over without anything of a startling nature happening
under the reformed Parliament. Some good laws were
passed, principally of practical utility. Mr. Mackenzie
still plied his trade of censor moruim, very much to
the discomfort of the Government and the civil servants
128 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
of the Government, many of whom came under his lash.
Some time after the close of the session, some young
men of the town, by family ties or in some other way con-
nected with the civil servants, on a fine summer evening,
the 8th of June, 1826, boldly entered the office of Mr.
Mackenzie, at the corner of Caroline and Palace Streets,
scattered the type of the Colonial Advocate, which had
been set up, and threw a part of it into the bay a
foolish thing to do, as it only gave Mr. Mackenzie more
notoriety and excited a degree of sympathy for him in
the minds of many. Mr. Mackenzie subsequently
brought an action against the rioters, and recovered a
verdict of 625. The rioters had sympathizers as well
as Mr. Mackenzie, and the greater part of the verdict
was paid by subscription, and, as usual, the public paid
for the politicians' sport.
Sir Peregrine Maitland had not much respect for a
House of Assembly of which the majority of the mem-
bers were bent on reducing his authority and that of his
Government, made up of individuals who, because of
their tendency to stand by the Governor and by one
another, were given the name of the " Family Compact."
An incident occurred in 1828 which shows the value
placed by Sir Peregrine on his own authority. It hap-
pened that during the session of Parliament of that year
a committee of the House of Assembly desired to have
the evidence of the Superintendent of Indian Affairs,
and of the Adjutant- General, in relation to a trespass
by one Forsyth on government property at the Falls of
Niagara, and commanded their attendance before the
committee at a certain day and hour. The Superin-
tendent and Adjutant-General applied to Sir Peregrine,
who besides being Lieu tenant- Governor was Com-
PEREGRINE MAITLAND. 129
mander-in-Chief of the forces at the time, for permission
to obey the mandate of the House. Sir Peregrine refused
to give them permission, and they were both arrested by
the Sergeant-at-Arms for disobedience of the order of the
House, taken to the common gaol, and kept there in
confinement to the end of the session. Sir George
Murray, himself at one time Lieutenant-Governor of
Upper Canada, who had lately succeeded Mr. Huskisson
as Colonial Secretary, severely censured Sir Peregrine
for his conduct in refusing permission to the officers sum-
moned to attend a committee of the House of Assembly.
Sir Peregrine was removed from the Government the
same year. On the announcement of his recall, addresses
poured in upon him from different parts of the Province,
all expressing sentiments of personal regard and respect
for his administration of the Government. After his
removal from the governorship of Upper Canada, Sir
Peregrine had many opportunities or appointments, both
civil and military in the former capacity as Lieutenant-
Governor of Nova Scotia from November, 1828, to
October, 1832 ; in the latter as Commander-in-Chief of
the Madras army in 1836, and Governor and Com-
mander-in-Chief at the Cape of Good Hope, 1843-46. He
attained the rank of general in 1843, and in 1853 was
nominated a Knight Grand Cross of the Bath. In 1820
he was Administrator-in- Chief of Canada for three
months.
As Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada he was in
every way acceptable to the oligarchy of his day, but
distrusted by those imbued with the rising spirit of
reform and revolution, which gained head and ended in
rebellion at a subsequent period. He died in London,
England, on the 30th day of May, 1854.
CHAPTER X.
JOHN COLBORNE, K.C.B., LIEUTENANT-
GOVERNOR.
SIR JOHN COLBORNE was born in England in the year
1778, received his education at Christ's Hospital (the
Blue Coat School), and afterwards at Winchester
College, and entered the service in the British army
as ensign in the year 1794.
He served in Holland in the campaign of 1790, in
Egypt in 1801, and with the British and Russian troops
employed on the Neapolitan frontier in 1805 ; also in
Sicily and Calabria in the campaign of 1808, and was
present at the battle of Maida. In the same year, 1806,
he was military secretary to General Fox, Commander of
the Forces in Sicily and the Mediterranean, and to the
celebrated Sir John Moore in Sicily, Sweden, and
Portugal, and was present at the battle of Corunna. In
1809 he joined the army of Lord Wellington (then
Marquis of Wellesley) and was present at the battle
of Ocana. He had now received command of a regi-
ment, being appointed to a lieutenant-colonelcy. He
commanded a brigade in Sir Richard Hill's division in
the campaigns of 1811-1818, and was detached in com-
mand of the brigade to Castle Branco to observe the
movements of General Renfrew's corps d'armee on the
130
JOHN COLBORNE. 131
frontier of Portugal. At the battle of Busaco he com-
manded a brigade, and also on the retreat to the lines
of Torres Vedras. With the brigade he occupied outside
of the lines the town of- Alhandra and the advanced
position near Villa-France, during the time the army
was in this position and afterwards when Massena
retired from the front of the lines. He crossed the
Tagus and had charge of the posts on that river oppo-
site the French corps at the confluence of the Zezere till
the evacuating of Portugal by Massena. He com-
manded the advanced guard of infantry and cavalry at
the combat of Campo Mayor, in Portugal, and was
detached in command of a brigade and force of artillery
and cavalry, with orders to drive back the French out-
posts during the siege of Badajos in 1811. He also com-
manded a brigade at the battle of Albuera. In 1812,
on the investment of Cuidad Rodrigo, he commanded the
force of the Light Division which stormed the redoubt
of San Francisco, on the greater Teson, and the 52nd
Light Infantry in the assault on the fortress and town,
in which action he was seriously wounded. In 1813 he
commanded the Second Brigade of the Light Division at
the attack on the French position and entrenched camp
on the heights of Vera, at the battle of the Nivelle and
the Nive, and during the operations in the Basque
Pyrenees. He led the attack of the 52nd Light Infan-
try on Marshal Soult's position at the battle of Orthes,
in 1814. Also, in the same year, he commanded the
Second Brigade of the Light Division at the combats of
Vic, Bigorre, and Tarbes, and the 52nd Regiment at the
battle of Toulouse. He also, in 1814, found time to
marry, and took to wife Miss Yonge, daughter of James
132 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
Yonge, Esquire, of Puslinch, and by her had a large
family. After the military exploits above narrated, he
was appointed colonel and Prince Regent's aide-de-camp,
and military secretary to the Prince of Orange, Com-
mander-in-Chief of the British forces in the Netherlands.
In 1815 he was present at the battle of Waterloo, in
command of his old regiment, the 52nd, and commanded
a brigade on the march to Paris. His career had been a
brilliant one, and he was decorated with the honors of a
Knight of the Tower and Sword of Portugal, of Marie
Theresa of Austria, and of St. George of Russia. He
subsequently became Lieu tenant-Governor of Guernsey,
and in 1825 he was made a major-general. In 1828 he
was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada.
His coming to Upper Canada was like entering a
hostile camp, so far as the Legislature of the country, or
rather that branch of the Legislature called the Assem-
bly, was concerned. The majority of the members were
in a sullen mood, occasioned by the small encourage-
ment given them by Sir Peregrine Maitland in their
efforts for reform.
Sir John Colborne's arrival in York to assume the
Government took place in November, 1828. Certain of
the inhabitants of York, not in sympathy with the ex-
isting state of affairs, but siding with Mr. Mackenzie
and his party, presented him with an address, couched
in the following language :
" We cannot conceal from your Excellency without
a sacrifice of candor that there are many important sub-
jects which have deeply affected the feelings of the
people. But we are solicitious to regard the accession
of your Excellency to the Government of this Province
677? JOHN COLBORNE. 133
as the commencement of a new era, in which your
Excellency, above the prevailing influence of political
dissensions and unhappy advice, will prove our consti-
tutional benefactor, and realize the paternal wishes of
our Most Gracious Sovereign to bless his people with
mild, just and conciliatory principles of Government."
This address was but the forerunner of other
addresses presented to His Excellency. In one of these
other addresses the petitioners go into particulars
setting forth the grievances, or some of the grievances,
of which they complained. The petitioners in the
address say :
" Whilst we, the undersigned inhabitants of York and
its vicinity, regret extremely that our first welcome
should be embittered by complaint and prayer, and
while it is far from our disposition or intention to call
on your Excellency, at the moment of your arrival, to
interfere in any manner with the proceedings of the
Courts of Justice, even with the most splendid preroga-
tive of your office, the administration of justice in
mercy, yet feeling ourselves disregarded and our rights
endangered by many late proceedings of the provincial
administration, and amongst those proceedings as
especially worthy of notice on this occasion by the late
arbitrary and unconstitutional removal of a judge
highly and justly esteemed by us ; by the destruction of
one independent press, by a violence, almost burglarious,
by clerks, relations and dependents of men in office and
power ; by the silencing another press by means of
unconstitutional security exacted of its editor, before
any conviction of its fault; and now by the virtual
suppression of a third independent press by a most
134 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
severe and disproportionate sentence passed on its
editor, Francis Collins, on a libel a sentence fraught
with a measure of punishment against the temperance
and moderation expressed by the jury who convicted
him, and against the spirit of the expressive charter of
British rights, that great pledge of safety to the
subject, 'that no man shall be fined to his ruin' we,
the undersigned, pressed by such grievances, entreat
that your Excellency will please, as speedily as possible,
to convene the Provincial Parliament, to whom we may
make our complaints, and by which course your
Excellency may, through that legitimate and constitu-
tional channel, arrive at the knowledge of the true state
of the country, a thing not attainable by your Excel-
lency through the advisers of your Excellency's mis-
guided predecessor."
Francis Collins, whose name is mentioned in this
address, was editor and proprietor of the Canadian
Freeman, a newspaper established by him, in 1825, in the
interests of the new Reform party. The paper was, of
course, scathing in its criticisms on the Government and
the officials in any way connected with it. Mr. Collins
was a man of talent, and could infuse as much gall of
bitterness into his editorials as William Lyon Mackenzie,
of the Colonial Advocate ; the difference between them
was that Collins' gall was Irish, while Mackenzie's was
Scotch. In April, 1828, Mr. Robinson, then Attorney-
General, afterwards Chief Justice Sir John Beverley
Robinson, considered it his duty to prosecute Collins
criminally for four libels published in the Canadian
Freeman. The jury convicted Mr. Collins, and the
judge sentenced him to undergo a fine of fifty pounds,
SIR JOHN COLBORNE. 135
and imprisonment proportionate to the sum total of the
libels. A strong effort was made by friends of Collins,
and by the House of Assembly at its next session, to
induce the Governor to relieve Collins of his fine and
imprisonment, but their petition to His Excellency in his
behalf did not prevail. On the 12th March following,
the Assembly agreed to an address to the King praying
that the Royal clemency might be extended to him,
which His Majesty was graciously pleased to grant, and
Collins was pardoned. The allusion in the petition of
the inhabitants of York to " the late arbitrary and
unconstitutional removal of a judge highly and justly
esteemed by us," has reference to the removal of Judge
Willis by Sir Peregrine Maitland on 26th June, 1828.
This judge, forgetting the fate of Judge Thorpe, had
entered the political arena in the Province, and had
made himself obnoxious to the Government, and especi-
ally to the Attorney- General ; he quarrelled with him
with regard to the legal constitution of the Court of
King's Bench and its right to sit in the absence of the
Chief Justice. He conceived that he knew more than
the Attorney-General and all the other lawyers of the
Province bunched together. In this he was probably
mistaken. Immediately after his removal the Judge
proceeded to England and laid his case before the Home
Government, and indeed the whole matter of the admin-
istration of justice in Canada. Charges made by the
Government and counter charges made by the Judge
were investigated by the British Government and by
the Privy Council. The result of the inquiry was, it
was held that the Judge had erred in his construction of
the statute regarding the constitution of the Court of
136 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
King's Bench, and that he should have continued to
hold the court with Mr. Justice Sherwood, notwith-
standing the absence of the Chief Justice.
It was, however, some consolation for Judge Willis to
know that if he had erred, the Governor, Sir Peregrine
Maitland, had done the same, as the Privy Council held
that the removal of Judge Willis from office was too
summary, that he should have had charges regularly
laid against him, and been given an opportunity of
discussing them before removal, though the tenure of
office was during pleasure only.
It was before Judge Willis that Collins was brought,
under the indictment against him for libel. It was
the first time that the Judge had presided at a Court of
Assize, and, singular to say, he availed himself of it to
make a violent attack on Attorney-General Robinson
for his manner of conducting Crown business, a matter
that the Judge was not at all familiar with, having been
educated for the Equity bar.
Sir John Colborne was not moved by the address
presented to him urging him to call Parliament together
at once to investigate grievances. Parliament was called
for about the customary time, the 8th of January, 1829.
Twenty-five Acts were passed during this session, for
the most part of a practical character. One important
Act of a political character was passed, the purport of
which was to restore to the ordinary courts of law the
duty of dealing with sedition and seditious practices,
and to repeal an Act of a stringent character, passed
during the governorship of Governor Hunter, entitled
"an Act for better securing this Province against all
seditious attempts or designs to disturb the tranquillity
thereof."
SIX JOHN COLBORNE. 137
The House was prorogued by the Governor on the
22nd of March, after delivering a speech in which he
thought necessary to bring to their notice that the civil
list was still under the control of the Crown, and that
he could not accept the offer of Parliament to make pro-
vision for the support of the Civil Government. The
Governor said : " I thank you for your offer of making
a provision for the support of the Civil Government,
which I should gladly have accepted in His Majesty's
name, had not the revenue arising from the Statute 14
George III, Cap. 8, the appropriation of which for the
public service is under the control of the Crown,
appeared quite sufficient to defray the expenses of the
current year."
This is a remarkable instance of one branch of the
Government offering money to another and it being
refused. The policy of the British Government was to
retain the control of public expenditure, which they
could do only by refusing to Colonial Legislatures the
power to manage their own affairs a principle of
Colonial Government long since exploded.
The session of Parliament of 1829, the first session
held under the administration of Sir John Colborne,
was principally remarkable for the introduction to the
House of Assembly of the famous thirty-one grievances
and resolutions by Mr. William Lyon Mackenzie. The
principle grievances of which he complained were :
1. The absence of local self-government (substantially
responsible government).
2. The institution of criminal prosecutions for political
libels at the instance of the Crown.
3. The want of independence of the judges, holding
office during pleasure only.
138 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
4. The power of the sheriffs, holding office during
pleasure, in the selection of juries.
5. The patronage exercised by the Crown and the
Lieutenant-Governor of the Province uncontrolled by
the Legislature.
6. The unpaid war losses (war of 1812), or their being
charged to the Provincial instead of the Imperial
Government.
7. The absence of a protective system in the trade of
the Province.
These were only one-fourth of the grievances com-
plained of ; the other three- fourths were of minor
importance. All the grievances of which Mr. Mackenzie
took account have been remedied, even the seventh,
which complained of the absence of a protective system
in the trade of the Province. At the present day there
are many men, not Reformers either, as was Mr.
Mackenzie, who think that the protective system, the
absence of which Mr. Mackenzie complained of, has been
the cause of the building up of the Dominion. Was Mr.
Mackenzie the first Canadian apostle of the trade doc-
trine of protection ?
Sir John Colborne was not so much impressed by the
grievances of which Mr. Mackenzie complained as he
was by the want of a better system of education in the
Province. He also thought that the time of the Legis-
lature might be better employed in legislating on
practical subjects than engaged in political controversy.
Accordingly, in proroguing the session he took occasion
to say to the House : " I cannot close the session with-
out expressing my regret that the people will derive no
immediate advantage from your deliberations on two
S/tf JOHN COLBORNE. 139
subjects of primary importance improvements of Public
Schools, and the measures that should be adopted to
ensure good roads and safe bridges throughout the
Province. In allowing your roads to remain in the
present state the great stimulus to agricultural industry
is lost."
The reflex of Sir John Colborne's enunciated ideas in
regard to education and other measures of a practical
and beneficial character is apparent from the fact that,
shortly after the close of the session, viz., on the 2nd of
May, 1829, tenders were solicited for the erection of a
college in order to afford to the youth of the Province a
higher education than could be obtained in any other of
the schools of that day in the Province. In the Loyalist
newspaper of the 2nd of May there appeared this
advertisement: "Minor College. Sealed tenders will
be received on the first Monday of June next for erect-
ing a schoolhouse and four dwelling houses. Plans,
elevations and specifications may be seen on the 12th
inst., on application to the Honorable George Markland,
from whom further information may be received. York,
1st May, 1829."
This was entirely the work of Sir John Colborne, for,
in opening the session of 1829, he had said in his speech,
" Measures will be adopted, I hope, to reform the Royal
Grammar School and to incorporate it with the Univer-
sity recently endowed by His Majesty, and to introduce
a system in that seminary that will open to the youth
of the Province the means of receiving a liberal and
extensive course of instruction. Unceasing exertions
should be made to attract able masters to this country,
when the population bears no proportion to the number
140 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
of offices and employments that must necessarily be held
by men of education and acquirements, disposed to sup-
port the laws and your free institutions."
Sir John Colborne evidently had in view the estab-
lishment of a university at some not distant period, and
that in the meantime a minor college should be formed,
to be in the future in some way allied to the university.
Sir John, before his term of service expired, saw the
erection of the four houses and school-room, tenders for
which were called for in Mr. Markland's advertisement
in the Loyalist, and a high-class school established in
Russell Square, under the name of Upper Canada Col-
lege, fronting on King, above Simcoe Street, in York
(Toronto), fully provided with first-class masters, as he
had wished it to be ; and had the satisfaction of having
his sons, or some of them, received as students in that
institution. The writer, an old college boy of 1836,
recollects Frank Colborne, a student of that year, a son
of Sir John Colborne, who is now a retired general of
the army, still living in England, and who, it may be
said, has a kind remembrance of that old college, a
warm feeling which he expressed to the late Hon. John
Beverley Robinson, Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario,
who visited the General at his home a few years ago.
The old college building has gone to decay, but the
memory of its halls lives in the minds of many old
boys, and the college itself flourishes with all the vigor
of youth.
Another building, or set of buildings, much needed in
Sir John Colborne's time, was a place for the meeting
of the Legislature and for public offices. Sir John Col-
borne, taking advantage of a vote of the Parliament of
SIX JOHN COLBORNE. 141
1826, which set apart seven thousand pounds for new
Parliament buildings, caused tenders to be called for, for
the erection of new Parliament buildings. The old Par-
liament buildings on Front Street, west of Simcoe, were
the outcome of this advertisement. They, too, have gone
to decay or are fast approaching decay, and have been
superseded by the buildings in the Queen's Park.
Sir John Colborne was ever desirous to promote the
advancement of the Province, not only in education, but
in everything else calculated to be of real benefit to the
Province. Even in the matter of political reform, he
was disposed to improve on Sir Peregrine Maitland's
methods, if it had not seemed to him that the purpose
of a certain faction had the appearance of compulsion ;
this a soldier of Waterloo would not and could not
tolerate.
The ever- formidable Mackenzie was a member of the
House of Assembly during Sir John's first session, and
also in the second session of the tenth Provincial Parlia-
ment, having succeeded in securing his election for one
of the ridings of York, defeating Mr. James Small, who,
although a Reformer, was not of the advanced type of
Mr. Mackenzie.
The second session of this tenth Parliament was
opened by Sir John Colborne on the 8th of January,
1830. The Assembly, which then had in it a Reform
majority, in their reply to the Governor's speech, on
opening the session, seized upon the occasion to inform
His Excellency "that his advisers, the Executive
Council, from the unhappy policy they had pursued in
the late administration, had long deservedly lost the
confidence of the country."
142 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
Such a reply to the speech from the throne in Eng-
land would inevitably have led to a change of the mon-
arch's advisers, but this did not follow in Canada, the
difference being that under the then system of Colonial
Government the advisers of His Excellency were not
responsible to the people's representatives, but to the
Governor himself. It may have been, and probably was,
a pernicious system, but such had been imposed on Can-
ada by the supreme authority of the British Parliament.
The British Minister of the day had begun to realize
that the system might in the future require ameliora-
tion. Sir George Murray, the Colonial Secretary, had,
in September, 1829, sent to Sir James Kempt, Adminis-
trator in Chief, a despatch, subsequently transmitted to
Sir John Colborne, in which he said : " The constitu-
tion of the Legislative and Executive Councils is a sub-
ject which has undergone considerable discussion, but
upon which His Majesty's Government must suspend
their opinion until I shall have received some authentic
information from your Excellency. You will, therefore,
have the goodness to report to me whether it would be
expedient to make any alteration in the general consti-
tution of the bodies, and especially how far it would be
desirable to introduce a larger proportion of members
not holding offices at the pleasure of the Crown, and if
it should be considered desirable, how far it may be
practicable to find a sufficient number of persons of
respectability of this description."
Mr. Mackenzie and the Reform majority in the House
would have forced the hand of the Governor if they
could, but Sir John was not to be moved. Notwithstand-
ing the vote of the Assembly asking him to dismiss the
JOHN COLBORNE.
143
Ministers, who enjoyed his confidence, even though they
did not enjoy the confidence of the Assembly, he still
clung to the Ministers, much to the chagrin and dis-
comfiture of the majority of the House. How could he
have done otherwise under the circumstances in which
he was placed ? He in his position was responsible to
the British Government ; that Government had not yet
changed the constitution under which he governed.
With a full sense of his responsibility, he was not pre-
pared to throw the Government into the hands of a party
of the professed principles of Mr. Mackenzie. It was an
unfortunate position in which to be placed, but the
Governor was not to be influenced or intimidated. He
turned neither to the right nor to the left, but, as a
soldier on guard, awaited the command of his superior
officers, prefering to submit to calumny and abuse
rather than yield to what he deemed a tyrannous
majority. Of abuse he had plenty from the organs
of the Reform party. So much was heaped on the
Governor and his advisers that it incensed the Tory
party to such a degree that no name was too con-
temptuous for them to bestow on the Reform leaders
and Reform party, one and all. Criminations and
recriminations were the staple in the newspapers.
Tories were called time-servers ; the Reformers, dis-
loyal. Odious epithets were bandied about with
charming indifference. So serious had become the
charges of disloyalty against Mr. Mackenzie and the
whole Reform party, that Mr. Mackenzie decided to
publish a series of letters, addressed to Sir John
Colborne, in an endeavor to remove the stigma of
disloyalty which the Tory party sought to fix on the
144 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
party of which he was a burning and a shining light.
In one of his letters he wrote :
" The people of this Province neither desire to break
up their ancient connection with Great Britain, nor
are they anxious to become members of the North
America Confederation ; all they want is a cheap, frugal
and domestic Government to be exercised for their
benefit, and controlled by their own fixed landmarks ;
they seek a system by which to improve justice, protect
property, establish domestic] tranquillity, and afford a
reasonable prospect that civil and religious liberty will
be perpetuated and the happiness and safety of society
effected."
Mr. Mackenzie was right in his statement of the
desires and ambitions of the people of the Province, that
is, the majority of the people ; but was he right with
regard to himself and that portion of the people who
chose to follow his footsteps ? The sequel showed. It
is certain that Sir John Colborne had lost confidence in
Mr. Mackenzie. However loyal he professed to be at
heart, his actions belied his words, at least so thought
Sir John Colborne.
Withal, Mr. Mackenzie's agitation for reform was pro-
ductive of a great deal of good, even at that time. It
was mostly through his exertions that, after long delay,
those who had suffered losses in the war of 1812 received
compensation. Mr. Mackenzie, his followers and other
Reformers, members of the House in the second session
of the tenth Parliament, could point with pride to the
work accomplished in that session ; that certainly they
had done the people some service. Sir John Colborne
must himself have been so impressed, for in closing the
JOHN COLBORNE. 145
session he said to the House : " Among the bills passed
there are none which afford more general satisfaction
than those which secure the long expected remuneration
for war losses ; the repair of roads ; a convenient
entrance to Burlington Bay ; and the completion of the
Welland Canal, a work as advantageous to the joint
interests of the Province as it is particularly favorable
to the agricultural and commercial prosperity of some of
your finest districts."
The death of King George IV, in 1830, brought about
a dissolution of Parliament. The Governor was thus rid,
not only of Mr. Mackenzie, but of all the other members
of the tenth Parliament, the majority of whom, if not
direct followers of Mr. Mackenzie, were at least allied
with him in political principles. A new election being
held, the Reform majority suffered a defeat. Mr.
Mackenzie secured his own election, but he was a
head without a tail, his immediate followers, and
other Reformers of not so advanced ideas, having met
with a reverse at the polls.
The presence of Mr. Mackenzie in the House was
obnoxious to the newly constituted majority, who seized
upon a pretext for expelling him, and sent him back to
the people. Mr. Mackenzie was, however, bent on secur-
ing a re-election, and was again triumphantly returned
by his constituents of the county of York, and pre-
sented to the House for their unwilling reception amidst
great demonstration of popular rejoicing. A second
expulsion took place, and Mr. Mackenzie was again
returned. This course of expulsion and re-election
was repeated in all no less than five times. The bit-
terness of feeling that existed between opposing parties,
10
146 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
and the way of showing it, can hardly be appreciated
at the present day, since balloting has taken the place
of open voting. At public meetings it was not an
unusual thing for free and independent electors to
engage in hot encounters, resulting in broken heads and
noses. At a meeting held in the town of York on
March 23rd, 1832, turbulence rose to the dimensions of
a riot. Mr. Mackenzie's printing office was for the second
time robbed, a portion of the building destroyed, and
some of his newspaper type scattered. The opponents
of Mr. Mackenzie burned him in effigy. The disturb-
ance became so serious as to induce the Governor to
order a company of soldiers to be in readiness to act in
case the civil authorities should prove that they were
unable to put down rioting or prevent its renewal.
This was the state of affairs in 1832, in the spring, when,
in April of that year, Mr. Mackenzie, despairing of
making any headway against the ruling powers in
Upper Canada, proceeded to England with a largely
signed petition complaining of grievances, to be laid
at the foot of the Throne and before the Imperial
Parliament.
The Asiatic cholera first visited York about the same
time that Mr. Mackenzie left for England. Sir John
Colborne (who was ever charitably disposed, as was
Lady Colborne, his esteemed helpmate), Mr. Mackenzie
being absent, free of the worry to which he had been
subject owing to his ceaseless agitations, was now able
to give assistance to a project formed for the relief
of distress occasioned by the epidemic of cholera.
Lady Colborne conceived the idea of a bazaar being
held in the town of York, under her immediate patron-
JOHN COLBORNE. 147
age, for the purpose in view. She was seconded by the
civil and military society of York, and the bazaar proved
a great success, no less a sum than twelve hundred
dollars being realized from the sale of articles contributed
by Government House and the townspeople of York. In
this way the Governor and those surrounding him
showed their concern for the material welfare of the
people. The strife of politics was, for a time at least,
stayed for more noble deeds of charity and good work.
Mr. Mackenzie's absence in England did not prevent
the House of Assembly treating him with but slight
courtesy. Notwithstanding his reception in England by
the prominent members of the Liberal party, and by
Lord Goderich, the Colonial Secretary, with all the con-
sideration he desired, and more than he expected, those
whom he was pursuing, the Tory majority of the House,
to throw discredit on him and his delegation to England,
resorted to the old plan of expulsion, and again banished
him from Parliament.
The Tory party, in adopting this course toward the
champion of Liberal principles, took the very best
means that could have been resorted to to give Mr.
Mackenzie additional popularity and prominence. Ob-
noxious as he was to the official class, the people
generally could not but admit his energy, his per-
severance, and his courage in facing and overcoming
difficulties. Even Tories did not approve of the violence
that had been resorted to in invading his printing office,
distributing his type, and throwing a part into the
waters of the bay. Mr. Mackenzie returned from his
English mission in August, 1832, to find himself no
longer one of the people's representatives; this, however,
148 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
was not long to be, though he first succeeded to more
humble capacity and more limited sphere. In the
session of the House following his return, Mr. Jar vis,
the Tory member for the Tory town of York, intro-
duced to the House of Assembly a bill, which, on the
close of the session on the 6th of March, became an
Act, entitled, " An Act to extend the limits of the town
of York, to erect the said town into a city, and to incor-
porate it under the name of the city of Toronto."
Mr. Jarvis little thought when obtaining a charter for
the city, nor did the Governor, Sir John Colborne, when,
nine days after the passing of the Act incorporating
the city of Toronto, he issued a proclamation calling for
the election of alderman and councilmen for the city,
that Mr. Mackenzie would be elected for alderman, and,
following that, elected Mayor of the new-born city. But
such was the issue of events ; the man who was a thorn
in the Governor's side, and who was the political enemy
of all those by whom the Governor was surrounded, was
elected first Mayor of the capital of the Province.
As if to give force to the growing influence of Mr.
Mackenzie, and the consequent unpopularity of the
Government and official class, Mr. Mackenzie was, in
October following his election to the chief magistracy of
York, again elected a representative of the Second Riding
of York in the House of Assembly. Not only had Mr.
Mackenzie been elected to the House at the general
elections held in October, but a majority of Reformers
had succeeded in securing seats, thus bringing about
that revolution in the composition of the House so
eagerly sought for by Mr. Mackenzie, but so unacceptable
to Sir John Colborne. The Governor well knew that
JOHN COLBORNE. 149
with Mr. Mackenzie in the House there must come either
a revolution of Government or a revolution of the
people.
Events were fast approaching the latter alternative.
In the first session succeeding his election, the session of
1835, Mr. Mackenzie made to the House a report of the
special committee, of which he was chairman, which
went by the name of " Mackenzie's Seventh Report on
Grievances." This report was practically an arraign-
ment of the whole system of Colonial Government-
Thus was Sir John Colborne at the head of a Govern-
ment discredited by the Assembly, or at least by a
committee of the Assembly of the Province over which
he presided as chief executive officer.
Mr Mackenzie's report, on being submitted to Lord
Goderich, the Colonial Secretary, was exhaustively
examined by him and replied to in a despatch. To that
part of it having reference to the Executive Government
he said: "A very considerable part of the report is
devoted to the statement and illustration of the fact
that the Executive Government of Upper Canada is
virtually irresponsible. Experience would seem to prove
that the administration of public affairs in Upper
Canada is by no means exempt from the control of a
practical responsibility. To His Majesty and to Parlia-
ment the Government of Upper Canada is at all times
most fully responsible for its official Acts. This respon-
sibility is not merely nominal. It is the duty of the
Lieutenant-Governor to vindicate to the King and
Parliament every Act of his administration."
By " Parliament " in the despatch must be understood
the Imperial Parliament.
150 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
Sir John Colborne, in his administration of the affairs
of the Province, never over-stepped the bounds of the
constitution under which the Province was governed.
In the year 1835, the last year of his administration,
he had a hostile Assembly to contend with ; he had also
to meet on the battle-field, as it were, the intractable
Mackenzie, the greatest grievance-monger of his day, yet
he always maintained a calm and dignified demeanor,
which did not fail to command the respect of those who
felt themselves bound to oppose his Government.
Sir John's term of office expired in the month of
October, but he continued in office till the appointment
of his successor. Before surrendering the Government,
he was induced by the Executive Council to endow the
forty-four rectories from the Clergy Reserve lands of
the Province, an Act much condemned by the adversaries
of the Government, but which was not only constitutional
but was a duty imposed by an Act of the Imperial
Parliament.
Sir John Colborne, on the expiry of his term in the
autumn of 1835, remained in Toronto until after the
House met in January, 1836, and until the arrival of his
successor in that month. Leaving Toronto, he reached
Montreal on March 1st, 1836, being warmly received at
the various points he visited on his way down the
country. He remained in Montreal until May 19th,
when he proceeded to New York on the way to England.
While in New York he received a despatch from
Downing Street appointing him Commander-in-Chief of
the two Provinces, with the local rank of Lieutenant-
General. After visiting Washington and other cities of
the United States, he returned to Montreal, arriving
S//? JOHN COLBORNE. 151
there on June 30th, and immediately assumed command
of the forces. He found the Republican party there
very active, and the result was the breaking out of
armed rebellion there in a little more than a year after
his taking command. To suppress this rebellion was
his immediate duty. The military operations in the
Province of Lower Canada were under his immediate
direction. The rebellion in Lower Canada was of
formidable dimensions, and the extermination of it
occupied some time. Organized attacks had to be made
by the troops on positions fortified by the rebels at St.
Charles and St. Denis, where serious engagements took
place. The campaign conducted under the direction of
Sir John Colborne was entirely successful, resulting in
the speedy fall and flight of Papineau, the leader of the
misguided French- Canadian Republicans. The details
of the suppression of the rebellion are more strictly
matter of history than of personal biography, and I
therefore forbear wearying the reader with an account of
these military movements conducted by Sir John.
After suppressing the rebellion in Lower Canada,
and after the retirement of Lord Durham, Sir John
Colborne remained as Administrator of Lower Canada,
and acted as Governor from January to 23rd October,
1839, when he returned to England and was created
Lord Seaton, receiving the Grand Cross of the Bath,
of Hanover, and of St. Michael and St. George ; he
was also created a Privy Councillor, and granted a
pension of 2,000 per year. In 1858 he was appointed
a Lieutenant-General, as also Colonel of the Queen's
Life Guards. After his connection with Canada, Lord
Seaton held the high office of Governor of the Ionian
152 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
Islands, and subsequently Commander-in-Chief in
Ireland, from which position he retired in 1860, when
he was honored with promotion to the highest military
rank in the gift of his Sovereign, that of Field -Marshal.
Lord Seaton was said to very much resemble the
Duke of Wellington in appearance as well as in mind
and disposition. The writer's recollection of the
Governor was that he was tall and of commanding
presence, a very typical soldier. He bore the marks of
war in the form of an arm partially disabled from the
wound that he received at Cuidad Rodrigo.
Sir John Colborne was a man of most estimable
personal character. He lived as he died, a true Chris-
tian in the highest sense of the word. He lived to the
good old age of eighty-five years, and died in the land
of his birth in the year 1863. A monument has been
erected to his memory on Mount Wise, at Plymouth, on
which is the following inscription :
"JOHN COLBORNE, BARON SEATON,
BORN 1778, DIED 1863.
CANADA, IONIAN ISLANDS.
PENINSULA WATERLOO.
IN MEMORY OP THE DISTINGUISHED CAREER
AND STAINLESS CHARACTER OF
FIELD-MARSHAL LORD SEATON, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., G.C.H.,
THIS MONUMENT is ERECTED BY HIS FRIENDS
AND COMRADES."
CHAPTER XI.
FRANCIS BOND HEAD, BARONET,
LIEUTENANT-GO VERNOR.
SIR FRANCIS BOND HEAD, the successor to Sir John
Colborne as Lieutenant- Governor of Upper Canada, a
son of James Roper Head of the Hermitage, Higham,
Kent, was born in the year 1793. Sir Francis at an
early age entered the military service in the Royal
Engineers, in which he served with some distinction.
He was present at Waterloo, and in the campaign
under the Duke of Wellington on the Continent he
bore a high character as a military engineer. While
yet in the Royal Engineers, he received from a Mining
Company a commission to explore the gold and silver
mines of South America between Buenos Ayres and
the Andes. He arrived in Buenos Ayres in 1825, and
in a short time had completed the work to the great
satisfaction of the company. In the performance of this
service he rode on horseback six hundred miles, most of
the time unaccompanied. Having gained a majority in
the military service he, in the year 1828, retired on half-
pay. He was subsequently appointed one of the Board
of Poor Laws Commissioners, upon which service he
was actively employed until November, 1835, when he
153
154 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
was unexpectedly and suddenly appointed Lieutenant-
Go vernor of Upper Canada, receiving at the same time
knighthood in the Hanoverian order.
In the year 1810, in the period between Waterloo and
his exploring tour in South America, Sir Francis married
a daughter of the Honorable Hugh Somerville, sister of
the Sixteenth Lord Somerville.
Much speculation has been indulged in as to Sir
Francis's appointment to the position of Lieutenant-
Governor of Upper Canada. It has even been said by
some that his appointment was a mistake, and that the
Head really intended for the appointment was Edmund
Walker Head, who was also a member of the Board of
Poor Laws Commissioners, and who some years after-
wards was Go vernor- General of the Canadas. It can
hardly be supposed, however, that the Melbourne Min-
istry, in power at the time the appointment was made,
would be so careless as to appoint one man when
another was intended. The Melbourne was a weak and
falling Ministry at the time, subject at any moment to
be overturned by the Radical contingent in the Com-
mons, and if such an error had been made as appointing
the wrong man to a colonial governorship, the oppor-
tunity would have been seized upon for an attack on
the Ministry by their Radical supporters, which the
Ministry could ill afford; and if such a mistake had
been made one would think it would have leaked out.
Those who have suggested that the appointment was
in mistake rest their case entirely on hearsay evidence,
at all times unreliable, such as would be at once ruled out
in a judicial investigation, and which, in this instance,
only gains importance from the fact that Sir Francis
SIR FRANCIS BOND HEAD, 155
Head had no previous political experience, was not con-
nected with any party or member of the Government,
and, as said in his own narrative, had never even had
the honor of seeing Lord Glenelg, the Colonial Minister,
before the appointment was offered him. That Sir
Francis's appointment was entirely unsolicited, and came
upon him as a surprise, we have his own authority for
saying. He says, "I had retired to rest in my lodgings
at Cranbrook, and for several hours had been fast asleep,
when, about midnight, I was suddenly awakened by the
servant of the lodging, who, with a letter in one hand
and in the other a tallow candle, illuminating an honest
countenance, not altogether free of alarm, hurriedly
informed me ' that a King's officer had come after me.'
Sitting up in bed, I opened the letter, which, to my utter
astonishment, was from the Secretary of State for the
Colonies, expressing a wish that I should accept the
Government of Upper Canada, and that, if possible, I
would call upon him with my answer at half past eight
the following morning, as at nine he was to set out for
Brighton to see the King. I waited on Lord Glenelg at
his residence at the hour appointed (half-past eight),
when I most respectfully and very gratefully declined
the appointment. To this determination Lord Glenelg
very obligingly replied by repeating to me his wish to
be enabled to submit rny name to the King for so
important and difficult a trust ; he begged me to recon-
sider the subject."
Sir Francis continues his narrative by saying that
nothing could be more uncongenial to his habits, dis-
positions and opinions than the station that was offered
him, but that finally, after conferring with Mr. Stephen,
156 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
Lord Glenelg's under-secretary, as had been requested
by Lord Glenelg, he did not like to persist in refusing
his humble services to the King's Government, after they
had been twice required of him. Before the morning
was over he consented to accept the office. Lord Glenelg
was immediately advised of his acceptance, and his name
was submitted to the King and approved by His Majesty.
The circumstances were singular, but not so singular
as to establish even a presumption that the appointment
was made in a mistake. How is it possible to believe
that Sir Francis, before accepting the appointment, could
have seen Lord Glenelg, conversed with and talked over
the appointment with him, actually refusing it at first,
and then, when urged to accept it after conferring with
the under-secretary, accepting the office ; and yet, during
all this conference, it should not be discovered by the
officials that not this man, Francis Bond Head, but
quite another individual, his kinsman, Edmund Walker
Head, who, it may be added, was well known to the
officials and had written for the newspapers articles
laudatory of the Whig Government of the day, was
intended for this office. The late Mr. Kingsford, in his
account of the matter, does not credit the story that Sir
Francis Bond Head's appointment was a mistake, not,
however, basing his conclusion on the fact of the inter-
view with Lord Glenelg, but for other reasons. Discard-
ing hearsay evidence, and relying on the known facts of
the case, it is hardly possible to do the Melbourne Admin-
istration the injustice of believing that they were guilty
of the absurdly theatrical blunder of filling so important
an office as that of Governor of Upper Canada under a
mistaken identity.
SIR FRANCIS BOND HEAD. 157
Whatever may have been the circumstances attending
his appointment, however romantic, and whether he was
the right man or not, the newly-appointed Governor
accepted his office, sailed for Canada, and on the 23rd
of January, 1836, arrived in Toronto the duly accredited
Governor of the Province.
On his arrival he found that the session of Parliament
had already been opened by Sir John Colborne, on the
14th of January, and that he had in the usual manner
addressed the House on its opening.
Sir Francis Bond Head's name will long be remem-
bered in Canada, the more especially as it fell to his
unhappy lot to be Governor of the Upper Province at a
time of great political excitement, fomented and encour-
aged by men, many of whom afterwards had cause to
regret their connection with an agitation which ulti-
mately terminated in rebellion.
When His Excellency entered his capital he found the
walls of the houses decorated with posters, in large letters
describing him as a "Tried Reformer." This seemed very
odd to him, for, so far as he knew, he never had been a
tried Reformer, Radical or Tory. In his Narrative he
says: " As, however, I was no more connected with
human politics than the horses that were drawing me,
as I had never joined any political party, had never
attended a political discussion, and had never even
voted at an election or taken any part in one, it was
with no little surprise that, as I drove into Toronto, I
observed the walls placarded in large letters which
designated me as
'SIR FRANCIS HEAD, a Tried Reformer/ "
158 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
His first public act was to be sworn in as the Lieuten-
ant-Governor, which ceremony took place on Monday,
the 25th day of January, in the old Legislative Council
Chamber, on Front Street. On January 27th he came
down and addressed the Legislature. Promising them a
message from himself which would inform them of the
difficult and most important duties about to devolve
upon him, as well as upon themselves, he said, " More-
over, as regards myself, I have nothing either to prom-
ise or profess, but I trust I shall not call in vain upon
you to give me that loyal, constitutional, unbiased, and
fearless assistance which your King expects and which
the rising interests of your country require."
The words, "loyal" and "constitutional," coupled with
the statement that he had "nothing either to promise or
profess," seemed to the House, the majority of whose
members were Reformers, to be ominous. What could
the Governor mean ? Had not Mr. Hume, the Radical
leader in the English House of Commons, on December
5th, 1835, in a letter to William Lyon Mackenzie, con-
gratulated him on the recall of Sir John Colborne, and
on the appointment of Sir Francis Head to succeed him,
and, as they thought, presaging an earnest listener to
their complaints, that he had supplied him in advance
with the first and seventh report of Mr. Mackenzie's
Committee on Grievances ? The seventh report of the
Committee on Grievances had been liberally distributed
throughout the country, and was practically an arraign,
ment of the whole system of colonial government. It
was, in fact, the Radicals' charter of rights. It demanded
that the Legislative Council should be elective, and that
the Executive Government should be responsible to the
S/tf FRANCIS BOND HEAD. 159
House of Assembly, and not to the British Crown or
Parliament. This advocacy of an elective council, pro-
posed in the report on grievances, was a most radical
change from the constitution as it then existed ; and the
executive responsibility demanded by Mr. Mackenzie and
his followers was equally opposed to the existing colonial
constitution. Under that constitution the responsibility
of the Governor and his Council was to the British Min-
istry and Imperial Parliament, and not to the Canadian
Parliament Mr. Mackenzie knew that Sir Francis had
the grievance reports given to him by Mr. Hume, and
he also knew that Mr. Hume had written Sir Francis
on the subject of the alleged grievances of the Upper
Canadians. He also knew, for so Mr. Hume had informed
him in his letter, that the Colonial Office had not acceded
to the demands made in the grievance reports. One
paragraph of his letter was : " My anxiety is that you
and all reformers should receive Sir Francis in the best
possible manner, and do everything consistent with prin-
ciple to meet his views and wishes. We think that Sir
Francis will do what is possible to conciliate and settle
matters, and you must make allowance for the instruc-
tions he may have from Downing Street, where I do not
think they have come to the resolution of doing to the
colonists what they are doing or striving to do for the
people of the United Kingdom."
The passage in the letter, " My anxiety is that you
and all reformers should receive Sir Francis in the best
possible manner," will account for the placard on the
walls of the houses of Toronto, which no doubt emanated
from Mr. Mackenzie's brain, and probably from his
printing office.
160 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
The instructions that had been given by the Colonial
Office, though promised in the Governor's address to the
Upper Canada Parliament to be communicated to that
body, were yet in the keeping of Sir Francis, though an
inkling of what they might be was foreshadowed in Mr.
Hume's letter to Mr. Mackenzie. Sir Francis well knew
what those instructions were, and he also knew that
in a despatch to him from Lord Glenelg, which accom-
panied the instructions, the Minister had distinctly dis-
avowed the principle of the parliamentary responsibility
of the Executive Council claimed in the report on griev-
ances, and had also refused to yield to the demand made
that the Legislative Council should be elective.
In respect to these two subjects the despatch said :
" On these subjects I am to a considerable extent relieved
from the necessity of any particular investigation,
because claims precisely identical have been preferred
by the Assembly of Lower Canada, and because in the
instructions to the Commissioners of Inquiry, who have
visited that Province, I have already had occasion to state
the views which have received His Majesty's deliberate
sanction. The principles of government in the two sister
provinces must, I am well aware, be in every material
respect the same. I shall therefore annex for your
information, as an appendix to this despatch, so much of
the instructions to the Earl of Gosf ord and his colleagues
as applies to these topics."
The House of Assembly replied to His Excellency's
speech on the 28th January, 1836, in an address in which
the House avowed that it would " most respectfully and
carefully consider any message from your Excellency,
with whose administration we sincerely desire cordially
to co-operate."
FRANCIS BOND HEAD. 161
On the 30th January, His Excellency sent a message
to the House, as he had promised, and informed it that
he was commanded by His Majesty to communicate the
substance of his instructions to both Houses of the
Provincial Parliament, but considering that it would
be more satisfactory to them to receive the whole,
he accordingly transmitted a complete copy of the
document.
Strictly speaking, Sir Francis erred in making public
the whole of the instructions instead of informing the
House of the substance, and it was in some sense unfor-
tunate, as the appendix annexed to and accompanying
the instructions, which may have been intended only
as a guide to Sir Francis himself, contained an elaborate
argument showing the reasons why the British Govern-
ment itself, without the aid of the Imperial Parliament,
could not alter the Canadian constitution to suit the
aspirations of Mr. Mackenzie and his followers in respect
of reforming the Legislative and Executive Councils.
Sir Francis's excuse for departing from the letter of
his instructions was, as explained by him in his Narra-
tive, that he " found the subjects so important, the reme-
dies to be applied requiring so unavoidably the explana-
tory arguments upon which they had been prescribed,
that I felt it was almost impossible for me to undertake
correctly to translate them into words. I also considered
that as unexpected difficulties had arisen lately in Lower
Canada, and as the press was at that moment decrying
the trembling Government of Great Britain, any con-
cession proceeding from me might appear as if extorted
by the threats of the moment ; whereas, I felt that if my
instructions were given to both Houses exactly as I
11
162 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
received them, their date would clearly show that they
had no reference to the tumultuous proceedings of the
day."
In another place he said : " I also remembered that
in the draft of the instructions and appendix I was to
give the copy of them to the Provincial Legislature, and
that when the word ' substance ' was substituted for
the word 'copy/ your Lordship (Lord Glenelg) will
remember it was explained to me in England that the
alteration was merely made because it had been con-
sidered undignified that it should appear I was ordered
to do so, your Lordship observing to me, ' But remem-
ber, the more you give them of it the better.' "
It may be remembered that Sir Francis had been
authorized to make some minor concessions, but not in
regard to the appointment and responsibilities of the
Legislative and Executive Councils.
The House of Assembly was at once alarmed at the
Governor's message containing these instructions, framed,
as it was, in a peremptory spirit of non-surrender to
what was deemed by the Reformers a most reasonable
demand, and it resented the same accordingly.
The first step of the House was to challenge the right
of the Governor to address them after the House had
been formally opened and addressed by Sir John Col-
borne. They went so far as to institute an inquiry as
to whether the Governor, by this unusual proceeding,
had not committed a breach of privilege of the House.
This first attempt, however, to attack the Governor
failed, founded as it was on a most absurd contention,
as a precedent was found for his proceedings.
The next attempt was in the ever-present trouble
FRANCIS BOND HEAD. 163
about the appointment of legislative councillors. Sir
Francis had appointed to the Council William Morris,
the member for the county of Lanark. Mr. Morris was
a pronounced Tory, and the Reform House, whose
Speaker was Mr. Bidwell, and whose leader was Mr.
Mackenzie, denounced the appointment as a violation of
the principle for which they contended, namely, that the
Governor should make appointments to the Council
acceptable to the Assembly, as the majority of the House
should recommend, and insisted that he should have
appointed one of the political party now in the majority
in the House.
Early in February an active member of the Executive
Council brought to the Governor's notice the fact that
the Executive Council, as then composed, had but three
members, and that in case of illness of one a quorum
could not be obtained, and that it was advisable to fill
the vacancies in that body. Sir Francis concurred with
this suggestion, but this at once again raised the ques-
tion, should he select the new councillors from the Tory
or Reform party ? These latter, in his correspondence
with the Colonial Secretary, he called the Republican
party, considering that they were more worthy of that
name than that of reformers, to which they claimed
title. That there were persons in that party, and
several members of the House of Assembly strongly
imbued with American Republicanism there is no doubt,
but that the whole Reform party should have been
charged by the Governor with being Republicans was a
mistake. The advanced Liberals, such as Mr. Bidwell,
the Speaker, Mr. Mackenzie, the agitator, Dr. Rolph, the
silver-tongued orator, and some others, might be classed
164 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
as Republicans, it is true, but it may be said of the
Reform party as a whole that they were both somewhat
anti-Republican and intensely anti-Tory. Mr. Baldwin
was as much opposed to Republicanism as was the full-
bred Tory. Sir Francis's story in regard to these
new appointments of three members to the Executive
Council, as told by himself, is as follows :
" I did not choose to join the Republicans ; the Tories,
who, fearing that I was their enemy, had thought proper
to join in petitioning the King against the very first Act
of my administration, were still almost in a body stand-
ing aloof from me. I did not, therefore, feel it right to
advance towards them ; and being thus obliged to be
independent, I determined that the addition to my
Council should be made from the middle party, instead
of from either of the two extremes."
Sir Francis was really desirous of conforming to the
wish of the people as then represented in the House of
Assembly, as well as the wishes of the Whig Ministry
of Britain, who had appointed him, and to pursue a
Liberal policy ; but he could not forget his instructions
to stand by the Constitution as it then existed, and
properly enough could not be coaxed or driven to pur-
sue what would really have been a revolutionary policy.
The three members ultimately selected by Sir Francis
were Robert Baldwin, Dr. Rolph, and Mr. Dunn. Robert
Baldwin was the first to be selected, on account of the
high estimation in which he was held, not only by the
Liberal party, but by his political opponents, and to him
was given carte blanche to name the other two.
He does not seem to have trusted Mr. Mackenzie, but
in selecting Dr. Rolph he had perhaps unwittingly
FRANCIS BOND HEAD. 165
chosen as associate a man who was more disposed to
follow Mr. Mackenzie than his nominator. Mr. Dunn
was a pronounced neutral, who occupied a position be-
tween Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Mackenzie, but was trusted
by the Reform party.
Mr. Baldwin and the others were at first unwilling to
accept the appointment to the Council unless the
Governor dismissed the other three members of the
Council. This His Excellency refused to do, and so in-
formed Mr. Baldwin; on reconsideration, he and Dr.
Rolph and Mr. Dunn accepted the office, and became
Executive Councillors. Before these gentlemen took
their seats in the Council, the Governor wrote Mr.
Baldwin the following letter :
"Government House, Feb. 19th, 1836.
" DEAR SIR, I have great pleasure in learning that
you, Dr. Rolph, and Mr. Dunn accept the invitation I
made to you by joining the Executive Council. The
confidence I shall repose in you shall be implicit ; and
as I have no preliminary conditions to accede to or
require from you, I shall rely on your giving me your
unbiased opinion on all subjects respecting which I
may feel it advisable to require it."
The appointment of Mr. Rolph, Mr. Dunn, and Mr.
Baldwin to the Council gave great satisfaction to Mr.
Bid well and to the Reform majority in the House.
At the same time these gentlemen, with the exception
perhaps of Dr. Rolph, who was altogether too demo-
cratic, were not obnoxious to the Tory party in the
House, and the Governor believed that in making these
appointments he had, for a time at least, cleared the
166 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
atmosphere of political hostility, and would have some
rest. But the position was, in fact, in no sense improved,
as he soon learned when his newly-constituted Executive
Council, a few days after their appointment, demanded
that he should consider the Council as responsible to the
people and not solely to himself. To this demand, which
reopened the whole question, and was what was
demanded by the Reformers, the Governor could not
accede, and the Executive Council in a body resigned.
The House of Assembly espoused the cause of the
Council, and in an address which they made to His
Excellency on March 14th, 1836, said :
" Considering the appointment of a responsible Execu-
tive Council, to advise your Excellency on the affairs of
the Province, to be one of the most happy and wise fea-
tures in the constitution, and essential to the form of our
Government, and one of the strongest securities for a just
and equitable administration, and eminently calculated
to secure the full enjoyment of our civil and religious
rights, we have lately learned, with no small degree of
anxiety, that the Executive Council, so lately formed for
the purpose above stated (as we presume), consisting of
six members, did on Saturday, the 12th instant,
unanimously tender to you their resignations, and that
your Excellency was pleased to accept the same, and
humbly request your Excellency to inform this House,
without delay, whether such are the facts, and also to
communicate to this House full information relative to
the cause of disagreement between your Excellency and
your late Council, so far as lies in your Excellency's
power to make known, as also to furnish this House
with copies of all communications between your Excel-
FRANCIS BOND HEAD. 167
lency and your said late Council, or any of them, on the
subject of said disagreement and subsequent tender of
resignation."
To this address the Governor made reply, and said :
" Had they (the Council) chosen to have verbally
submitted to rne in Council that the responsibility, and
consequently the power and patronage of the Lieutenant-
Governor, ought henceforth to be transferred from him
to them ; had they even, in the usual form of a written
petition, recommended to my attention as a new theory
that the Council, instead of the Governor, was to be
responsible to the people, I should have raised no
objection whatever to the proceeding, however in opinion
I might have opposed it ; but when they simultaneously
declared, not that such ought not to be, but that such
actually was the law of the land, and concluded their
statement by praying that a Council sworn in secrecy to
assist me might be permitted, in case I disapproved of
their opinion, to communicate with the public, I felt it
my duty, calmly and with due courtesy, to inform them
that they could not retain such principles together with
my confidence, and to this opinion I continue steadfastly
to adhere.
"With these sentiments I transmit to the House of
Assembly the documents they have requested, feeling
confident that I can give them no surer proof of my
desire to preserve their privilege inviolate than by
proving to them that I am equally determined to
maintain the rights and prerogatives of the Crown, one
of the most prominent of which is that which I have
just assumed, of naming those councillors, and in whom
I believe I can conscientiously confide."
168 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
The Governor, on the resignation of his Council,
immediately appointed in their places Robert Baldwin
Sullivan, John Elmsley, Augustus Baldwin, and William
Allan, Esquires, which called forth an address from the
House of Assembly on the 25th of March, in which the
House declared that it " felt it to be a duty that it owed
alike to His Most Gracious Majesty and the people of
this colony, whose representatives they are, to avail
themselves of the first opportunity to declare at once to
your Excellency the entire want of confidence in this
House in the last-mentioned appointments, and deeply
regret that your Excellency consented to accept the
tender of resignation of the late Council, and humbly
request your Excellency to take immediate steps to
remove the present Council from their situations."
This dictatorial address from a Reform Parliament to
that Governor who, on his entry into the capital of the
Province, had been saluted as a " Tried Reformer," was
no surprise to the Governor, who had been preparing for
a fall with a House which, in the Governor's view, was
endeavoring to usurp the prerogative of the Crown.
Here, then, was a direct issue raised as to whom the
Executive Council was responsible, to the Governor or
to the House of Assembly. There is no doubt that it
would have been well had the Executive Council been
responsible to the House, but this was not so under the
then subsisting Constitutional Act, and Sir Francis
Head was right in asserting his prerogative according to
law. The Reformers, by claiming more than they were
entitled to, enabled the Governor to invoke the law and
constitution as the justification for his resisting the
pretensions of the House, and to throw himself on the
people.
FRANCIS BOND HEAD. 169
The time, however, had not actually arrived for the
Governor to clear the House and appeal to their masters,
the electors of the Province, and he decided to wait and
see what would be their next step. He had but a short
time to wait, as the House shortly undertook to stay the
wheels of Government by stopping the supplies. On the
15th of April the Assembly passed an address to the
British House of Commons recounting the events which
had recently occurred, accused the Governor of arbitrary
and vindictive conduct, spoke of his view of his own
sole responsibility to Downing Street, and concluded :
" Being denied the beneficial and constitutional opera-
tion of our local institutions for the management of our
local affairs ; being threatened with the exercise of the
unadvised, arbitrary government of His Excellency,
virtually irresponsible ; and being satisfied that nothing
but an open, entire and honorable abandonment of this
policy, equally unconstitutional and pernicious, will ever
restore our peace, welfare and good government ; we
have in justice to the people, whose civil and religious
interests we are solemnly bound fearlessly to vindicate,
been obliged as a last resort to stop (most reluctantly)
the supplies, and for the attainment of redress in these
and other matters contained in the annexed report, we
pray the aid of your Honorable House."
The differences between the Provincial House and the
Governor had now become so acute that His Excellency
determined to prorogue the House and take the opinion
of the electors of the Province. In addressing the two
Houses at the close of the session, Sir Francis recapitu-
lated the events of the session, referred to the Mac-
kenzie " Report on Grievances;" to his desire to remedy
170 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
grievances that lay in his power to reform, complained of
the little assistance he had had from the House in that
direction, and entered into an explanation of the differ-
ences with his Council. Specially directing his remarks
to the members of the Assembly and to their stoppage
of supplies, he said : " In the history of Upper Canada
this measure has, I believe, never been resorted to ; and
as I was the bearer of His Majesty's special instructions
to examine and, wherever necessary, to correct the
'grievances' declared in your report of last session, I
own I did not expect to receive this embarrassment
from your House." In conclusion, addressing the mem-
bers of both Houses, he said :
" Having now concluded an outline of the principal
events which have occurred during the present session,
I confess that I feel disappointed in having totally failed
in the beneficial object of my mission. I had made up
my mind to stand against the enemies of reform, but
I have unexpectedly been disconcerted by its professed
friends.
" No liberal mind can deny that I have been unneces-
sarily embarrassed, no one can deny that I have been
unjustly accused, no one can deny that I have evinced
an anxiety to remedy all grievances, that I have pro-
tected the constitution of the Province, and that by
refusing to surrender at discretion the patronage of the
Crown to irresponsible individuals, I have conferred a
service on the backwoodsman, and on every noble-
minded Englishman, Irishman, Scotchman, and U. E.
Loyalist, who I well know prefer British freedom and
the British Sovereign to the family domination of an
irresponsible Cabinet."
SIR FRANCIS BOND HEAD. 171
There was much more in the address designed to
arouse the loyalty of the Province and the ire of the
inhabitants against those who, like Mr. Mackenzie and
his followers, were trying to over-ride the constitution,
and then, as a climax, the Governor said :
" Whenever they (the people) shall be disposed to join
heart and hand with me in loyally promoting the peace
and prosperity of the Province, they shall find me faith-
fully devoted to their service ; in the meanwhile I will
carefully guard the constitution of the country, and
they may firmly rely that I will put down promptly, as
I have already done, the slightest attempt to invade it."
This address of the Governor in proroguing the House
was designated by the Reformers an electioneering
address. There was this in it certainly it showed that
the Governor had made up his mind to take a decided
stand against the Reformers on the questions which had
been raised between himself and the House as to the
responsibility of the Governor and of the Executive
Council, of the mode of appointment to the Legislative
Council, and the patronage of the Crown.
On the 28th of May Sir Francis dissolved the House,
and immediately announced a general election to be held
on the 20th of June.
There is no doubt Sir Francis considered that the
existence of Upper Canada as a part of the British
Empire was at stake.
In a despatch to Lord Glenelg, sent from Toronto,
written on the day of the dissolution of the Provincial
Parliament, and advising the Colonial Secretary of the
fact of dissolution, he said : " Of course, a most violent
contest will take place, and I need hardly observe that
172 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS..
it is one upon which our possession of the Canadas may
almost be said to depend."
The Governor took such means as he thought
necessary to inspire the people to uphold the constitu-
tion, such as it existed at the time. In answering
addresses from the country districts he did not hesitate
to impress upon the people the advantages to be gained
by not severing from allegiance to the British Govern-
ment. Dr. Duncombe, who had been a prominent
member of the last House, complained that the Governor
had exercised undue influence in behalf of the Tories in
the election. The complaint was not well founded. It
was investigated both by a committee of the Canadian
House and by the British House of Commons, on the
petition of Dr. Duncombe. On the 17th of April, 1837,
Lord Glenelg wrote a despatch to Sir Francis, apprising
him of his acquittal of the charge in the following
words :
" The refutation of Dr. Duncombe's charges is entirely
satisfactory. It has been in the highest degree gratify-
ing to me to be able to report to His Majesty that after
a minute and vigorous inquiry, during which every
facility was given to the petitioner to substantiate his
accusation, your conduct in reference to the elections
has been proved to have been governed by a strict
adherence to the principles of the Constitution."
The general election of 1836 proceeded amidst great
excitement and turbulence, resulting in the downfall of
the Reformers, to the great satisfaction of the Governor
and those who had rallied to his support. In a despatch
to Lord Glenelg, under date of 8th July, Sir Francis
said:
SIR FRANCIS BOND HEAD. 173
" The elections commenced on the 20th of June, and
the struggle, as might be expected, was a desperate one.
I am happy to inform your Lordship that the result
has been successful, and that truth and justice have as
usual prevailed. In the late House of Assembly the
Reformers had a majority of eleven. In the present
House of Assembly the Constitutionalists have a
majority of twenty-five (there being now forty-five
Constitutional members and seventeen Republicans).
In the late House there were thirteen American
members; in the present House there are only seven,
one of whom is a Constitutionalist.
" Among the Republicans who have lost their elections
are the following names :
" 1. The Speaker, Bid well, the twin or Siamese com-
panion of Mr. Speaker Papineau.
"2. Mr. Peter Perry, the most powerful as well as
the leading speaker of the Republicans ; the chairman
to whom was referred my correspondence with my
Executive Council.
"3. Mr. W. L. Mackenzie, the chairman of the grievance
report and arch-agitator of this Province."
Further on in this despatch the Governor, referring
to a letter of Mr. Papineau to Mr. Speaker Bidwell, in
which it was said "that the people of the Canadas,
laboring under the accumulative wrongs proceeding
from an Act of Parliament, unite as one man in reference
to interference in Provincial affairs by foreigners
(Americans)," said : " The people of Upper Canada
detest democracy ; they revere their constitutional
charter, and are consequently staunch in their allegiance
to their King. They are perfectly aware that there
174 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
exists in the Lower Province one or two individuals
who inculcate the idea that this Province is about to be
disturbed by the interference of foreigners, whose power
and whose numbers will prove invincible. In the name
of every regiment of militia in Upper Canada, I publicly
promulgate, * Let them come if they dare/ "
The outcome of the elections, and of the defeat of the
Reform majority in the last Parliament, was the dis-
missal of several prominent officials who had not only
opposed the policy of the Governor, but had used
language towards him which his self-respect required
him to notice in the most open manner. This, of course,
raised a storm of indignation on the part of friends of
the dismissed officials, and appeals were made to the
British Ministry. Dr. Buncombe, a prominent member
of the last Parliament, was sent to England in the inter-
ests of the Reform party, or what remained of it after
the shattering it got at the general election, to prosecute
the charges against the Governor for his alleged undue
influence exercised during the elections. In a despatch
to the Colonial Secretary, under date 16th July, Sir
Francis protested against the practice of agents being
sent from Canada " to make secret complaints against
the Governor which, of course, it is impossible for him
to repel." He said further : " I will, therefore, merely
assure your Lordship that in the elections, as well as in
the prompt dismissal of a few of the ringleaders of the
Republicans, Ijhave acted cautiously and conscientiously."
It was the practice of His Excellency to communicate
to the British ministry his every official act, so as to
give an opportunity for approval or disapproval of his
policy. Had it not been that the Melbourne Ministry
SIX FRANCIS BOND HEAD. 175
was weak, and entirely at the mercy of their Kadical
supporters, the friends and allies of the Reform party of
Upper Canada, they might have honored the Lieutenant-
Go vernor with some kind of acknowledgment for the
course he had pursued in administering the affairs of
the Province during his early period of storm. This,
however, they did not do till, emboldened by the
Governor's success in the elections, they were afforded
an opportunity to congratulate him on the result, and
the loyal support given him by the constituencies.
His Excellency was more than gratified, in the month
of November, 1836, to receive from the Colonial Secre-
tary despatches acknowledging fully his services, and
notifying him of his elevation to a baronetcy from 19th
July, 1836. On the 7th of November the Governor
replied, saying, " The flattering manner in which your
Lordship has been pleased to convey to me the King's
gracious approbation of my conduct, has afforded me
the first happy moment I have enjoyed since my arrival
in this Province."
Notwithstanding the King's approbation of the Gov-
ernor's conduct, the Colonial Secretary was constantly
plied by irresponsible agents from Canada, and was
periodically forwarding intimation to the Governor that
these parties were making complaints to the authorities
of his conduct in his administration of the affairs of
Upper Canada. These agents would pour into the weak
and willing ears of the British Ministry stories of the
Governor's indifference to the sentiments of the people
of Upper Canada ; the truth being that the Governor
gave every encouragement to the loyal people of the
Province, but could not be led by agitators to depart
176 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
one iota from the plain requirements of the constitu-
tion.
Sir Francis, in his communication of the 5th Novem-
ber to the Colonial Secretary, gave him to understand
that he had suffered both politically and mentally by
the neglect of the Colonial Secretary's Office, and that
owing to this neglect, wrong impressions of his conduct
were conveyed to the Canadian people. He said : " Up
to the receipt of your Lordship's despatch (No. 95) I
have suffered from the treatment I have received from
His Majesty's Government more pain than it would be
possible to describe." He then complains that he had
communicated to the British Government, on the 29th
of February, that almost every member in the House of
Assembly, with a majority of the Legislative Council,
recommended to the Colonial Secretary that a certain
individual should be appointed to the important station
of Surveyor-General of the Province, over-ruling the
appointment made by the Governor, and says that
his communication must have been received by the end
of April, "and, though my arguments and reasonings
appeared to you satisfactory, and though eventually
you approved of my conduct, yet it was not until the
27th of September that I was relieved from the painful
belief which generally existed here, that the measures
I had taken were discountenanced by His Majesty's
Government."
What more decisive proof can be given than this case
to show that the British Ministry did not regard the
Governor as amenable in any way to either the Legisla-
tive Council or Legislative Assembly, but that he was
responsible solely for his actions to the British Govern-
67/? FRANCIS BOND HEAD. 177
ment ; and yet, because Sir Francis upheld this policy,
he was denounced by the Radical element of England
and Canada.
Sir Francis, in the communication of November 5th,
referred to his having sent to the Colonial Office addresses
of support he had received from 28,000 yeomen, farmers,
etc., of the Province, which, as he said, had never received
the slightest acknowledgment of His Majesty's Govern-
ment addressed to those who thus generously came for-
ward to support him.
" Whenever a mail arrived, I was asked with the
greatest anxiety what remarks the British Government
had made to these noble addresses. The mortifying
answers I had to give were, ' None.' "
The same neglect attended his speech, delivered at the
close of the session, which really was a most important
state document. This had also been sent to the Colonial
Office, and had received no acknowledgment. This
neglect of the Colonial Office gave color to the statement
that Sir Francis was not acting in accordance with the
policy of His Majesty's Government, and that he would
be recalled, a removal most devoutly prayed for by all
the malcontents in the Province.
Other instances were cited by Sir Francis where he
had been misunderstood or misrepresented, which, he
said, produced in the Canadas and in England "the
mischievous political effect of causing everybody to
believe that I was discountenanced by His Majesty's
Government, to whose interests, honor, and policy I
have never been faithless for a moment."
The excitement caused by the elections having some-
what subsided, Sir Francis called the legislators to meet
12
178 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
on November 8th, and they assembled in obedience to
his summons.
In opening the House, he first congratulated Parlia-
ment on the loyal feeling which pervaded the Province,
and on the stillness and serenity of the public mind, so
that the tranquillity of the country gave him the oppor-
tunity to recommend to the Legislature measures for the
advancement of the Province, and enumerating as much
as a dozen subjects of a practical character for their
consideration, and concluded as follows :
" The Legislature of Upper Canada is not imbued
with power to alter the constitution imparted to it by
an Act of the Imperial Parliament. I therefore, shortly
after my arrival here, publicly declared that if the
inhabitants of the whole Province were simultaneously
to petition me to alter a single letter of that solemn Act,
I had neither power nor inclination to do so.
" Grateful for the manly support which the expression
of these sentiments procured for me, I feel it my duty
again to unequivocally assure you of my determination
to carry into effect His Majesty's instructions, and thus
to maintain the happy constitution of this Province
inviolate."
The whole tone of the address showed the Governor's
extreme pleasure at being able to publish to the world,
and more especially to the English people, that on a
direct appeal to the people of Upper Canada on the
differences between him and the Reform party, his posi-
tion on the constitutional questions had been sustained.
The people's verdict was a rebuke to those members of
the British Parliament who had been carried away by
the accusations of the dissatisfied faction of the Province,
SIR FRANCIS BOND HEAD. 179
and who had dinned into the ears of the British Min-
istry the charge that their Governor was arbitrary and
his policy unpopular with the people whom he had been
sent to govern.
The loyalty of the members of the House to the Gov-
ernor was shown by their going vigorously to work
and, in a session lasting nearly four months, passing no
less than one hundred and eighteen Acts of Parliament,
all directed to the well-being and good government of
the country. The session was not prorogued till the
4th of March, 1837.
The year 1837 was a year of great financial disturb-
ance throughout the whole of North America. The
beginning of the year in the United States was one of
its periodic times of inflation. The banks discounted
liberally, and the merchants, the farmers, and even the
citizens, were, as they believed, reaching the time when
they would all roll in wealth. The very appearance of
their commercial prosperity and of their easy financial
credit operated on the Canadians as would strong liquor
on a weak head it made them wild and there arose
the clamor of the demagogue that the condition of Can-
ada would be much improved if it were a part of the
United States.
The condition of things in Upper Canada in the spring
of the year was just the reverse of what it was in the
United States. Sir Francis, in a despatch to Lord
Glenelg, under date of the 12th of July, contrasted the
two countries. He said : " In short, the country (United
States) was triumphantly declared to be going ahead,
and as the young Province of Upper Canada was
observed to be unable to keep up, the difference in its
180 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
progress was contemptuously ascribed to the difference
in the form of Government.
" Monarchical institutions were therefore ridiculed,
Republican principles were self-praised, and democratic
opinions were not only disseminated over this Province,
but crossing the Atlantic they made their appearance
in our own happy country, where it has lately been
deemed by many people fine and fashionable to point
to the United States of America as a proof that riveting
religion to the state and that nobility of mind are to
commerce what friction is in mechanics."
Suddenly there came a collapse in the United States,
and that country's commercial system fell to pieces.
Specie payment by the banks was stopped, and there was
general consternation and wide-spread ruin.
A general disturbance of trade and commerce in the
United States always affects Canada more or less. In
this case it did so to an alarming extent, and something
had to be done by the Government to mitigate the evil.
Sir Francis called Parliament together for the 19th day
of June for a summer session, an unusual proceeding,
but in this case necessary. The session was a short one,
only lasting to the llth day of July, but in that period
the legislators took the necessary steps to prevent a
collapse in Upper Canada, by passing "an Act to
authorize the chartered banks in the Province to
suspend the redemption of their notes in specie, under
certain regulations, for a limited time."
Thus was a commercial crisis staved off, only to be
followed by a political crisis of a more serious nature,
which was even then in the chrysalis state.
With his active mind always watching the political
5/7? FRANCIS BOND HEAD. 181
barometer, Sir Francis found time, not only to apprise
the British Ministry of the acts of his administration
and of the Legislature, but to forcibly express his opinion
that the Home Government had made too many conces-
sions to the Lower Canadians, which had resulted in
anarchy, while by the exercise of a firm and " no sur-
render " policy in Upper Canada he had produced a
different result. In a despatch to the Colonial Secre-
tary, under date of the 29th of August, he said :
" The conciliations which Lord Gosford has been com-
manded to make in Lower Canada, as well as those
almost promised by inference in his last speech, have
ended in anarchy.
" In Upper Canada, the opposite or negative process,
I mean the unconciliatory course of policy, has, it cannot
be denied, practically tranquilized the Province. It has
not only completely overthrown the enemies of the
British constitution, but in a very great degree has
effected their conversion." He then drew Lord Glenelg's
attention to his despatch of February 5th, 1836, in
which he had written : " As far as I have been able to
judge, I should say that the Republican party are
implacable, that no concession whatever will satisfy
them, their sole interested object being to possess them-
selves of the Government."
On the 10th of September, 1837, the Governor wrote
a despatch to the Colonial Secretary in which he
reiterated his objections to a conciliatory policy. One
of the acts of the Colonial Office in that direction was a
command to the Governor to appoint to the Judicial
Bench Mr. Bidwell, who had been Speaker of the House
of Assembly in the last Parliament, but with Mr.
182 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS,
Mackenzie and other Reformers had been defeated in
the general election. Sir Francis, in the despatch of
the 10th September, apprised the Colonial Secretary
that, after very deliberate consideration, he had deter-
mined to take upon himself the very serious responsi-
bility of positively refusing to appoint Mr. Bidwell to a
judicial office, and gave as reasons for his refusal that
Mr. Bidwell was a Republican at heart and in principle,
that his talents have been unceasingly exerted in
endeavoring, by subverting the constitution, to dethrone
our Sovereign from this portion of his dominions ; he had
been the untired advocate of Republican government
and by his ability and by his eloquence he rose to
become the leader of the Republican party, and
eventually became Speaker of the House of Assembly.
" In his capacity as Speaker, he delivered to me to be
transmitted to the King one of the most insulting
addresses that ever has been offered to a British
Sovereign. It declared that I was despotic, tyrannical,
unjust, deceitful, that my conduct had been derogatory
to the honor of the King, demoralizing to the community,
and that I had treated the people of this Province as
being little better than a country of rogues and fools.
Not satisfied with this, Mr. Bidwell, on the last night of
the session, presented to the House of Assembly a
traitorous communication addressed to him from his
fellow -laborer and colleague, Mr. Speaker Papineau.
This letter impeached the King's Ministers, accused your
Lordship (Lord Glenelg) of arrogance, termed the Royal
Commissioners of the King ' deceitful agents/ and was
altogether of a purely rebellious character."
Sir Francis, in adopting the course he did, in opposi-
SIX FRANCIS BOND HEAD. 183
tion to the Colonial Office, had become convinced that
the prompters of the Colonial Minister were Mr.
Roebuck and Mr. Hume, the leaders of the Radical wing
of the House of Commons, and that the Colonial
Minister was hardly a free agent. The Governor
always entertained great respect for Lord Glenelg, but
none whatever for his instigators in the policy they
drove him to pursue in respect to the colonies. In
declining to appoint Mr. Bidwell to the Bench, and
to make other appointments which his judgment told
him would be distasteful to the loyal people of the
Province who had sustained him, he said :
" With the deepest regret I have at last been driven
deliberately to refuse to carry into effect your Lord-
ship's instructions, and having done so, and having
avowed opinions hostile to the colonial policy, but which
I can assure your Lordship are accompanied with no
angry feelings to any man, I feel it a duty which I owe
to your Lordship, as well as to myself, respectfully to
request that your Lordship will be pleased immediately
to tender to His Majesty my resignation of the station
which I have the honor to hold."
It was no unusual thing for Sir Francis to tender his
resignation; twice during the first six months of his
administration he had done so, and would willingly at
any time have resigned his position if the British Minis-
try would have accepted it.
Even now the Colonial Minister did not at once
accept the Governor's resignation, and abstained from
laying it before the Queen. After consulting his
colleagues, however, he, on the 24th of November, wrote
a despatch to the Governor accepting his resignation.
184 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
In this despatch he did not make it a ground of
acceptance of resignation that Sir Francis had disobeyed
instructions as to the appointment to the Bench, nor
indeed on any other ground of difference with the
Colonial Office, unless it was his refusal to restore
Mr. George Ridout to the offices of Colonel of Militia,
Judge of the District Court of Niagara, and Justice of
the Peace, from which offices he had been dismissed for
political reasons satisfactory to the Governor and his
Council. Even as to this dismissal Lord Glenelg's
complaint was, not that there may not have been
sufficient reasons for the dismissal, but that Mr. Ridout
had been too summarily dismissed, and not furnished
with the charges made against him.
Lord Glenelg, in his despatch, accepted the resignation
of Sir Francis, and left him to administer the Govern-
ment till his successor was appointed, and expressly
stated that Sir Francis had administered affairs with
advantage to the public service. The concluding para-
graph of the despatch was :
" In conformity with your request your successor will
proceed to Upper Canada with the least possible delay.
In the meantime I rely on your devoting the short
period of your future administration of the affairs of
Upper Canada to the protection and advancement of
those important interests which, during the last two
years, have been intrusted to your guidance with so
much advantage to the public service."
This despatch is important as indicating that up to
the very eve of the rebellion, which broke out in less
than three weeks from the time it was written, the
British Government was satisfied with the Governor's
SIR FRANCIS BOND HEAD. 185
general administration of the affairs of the Province,
however much he and the Colonial Secretary may have
differed on some matters of no special importance.
The seeds of rebellion planted by Mr. Mackenzie had
by this time all but matured. Meetings of a revolu-
tionary character were being held, old guns were being
repaired, old sword blades reburnished, and with pikes,
with which to strike terror into the hearts of the Tories,
and if need be, wipe them out of existence, were being
got ready for action. Sir Francis, in obedience to the
call of Sir John Colborne, the Commander-in- Chief, had
sent every regular soldier of the garrison of Toronto to
the Province of Lower Canada, where they were needed
to suppress the rebellion already beginning in that
Province.
Many Tories blamed Sir Francis for letting the troops
go, but for this he had two excuses one of which was a
complete justification, the order of the Commander-in-
Chief , which could not be disobeyed ; and the other that
he had confidence in the loyalty of the better-disposed
class of the people and their ability to stamp out the
rebellion, the moment any overt action was taken,
without the aid of regular troops. Nor was that con-
fidence misplaced. The rebellion took form when Mr.
Mackenzie's followers, on Monday afternoon, the 4th
December, assembled at Montgomery's tavern, on Yonge
Street, about four miles from Toronto, preparatory to an
advance upon the city.
At midnight the Upper Canada College bell was rung
to warn the people of Toronto of their danger. The
Governor was aroused, and proceeded to the City Hall,
where arms had been stored for an emergency. These
186 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
he had unpacked, and, surrounded by a few faithful
followers, prepared to receive the rebels. If they had
advanced at once they could have taken the city. By
Tuesday morning there were mustered at the City
Hall about three hundred men, ready to meet the
superior force of rebels if they had advanced. Two
hundred more were added during the day, so that by
nightfall the force in the city was able to muster as
large a body of armed men as the rebels.
On the night of Tuesday an advanced picket on the
outskirts of the town, commanded by Sheriff Jarvis, was
attacked by the rebels, who were driven back, one of
their party being killed and several wounded. On
Wednesday morning efforts were made to negotiate a
peace between the rebels and the citizen soldiers who
were prepared to meet them in the event of their
making an attack. By Thursday the militia and
volunteers of the city, with the " men of Gore," who had
by that time come from Hamilton to the rescue, were
strong enough to make an attack, and at noon a force,
under the command of the Adjutant-General, Colonel
FitzGibbon, as related in Sir Francis Head's despatch to
Lord Glenelg of the 19th December, " marched out of
the town, with an enthusiasm which it would be impos-
sible to describe, and in about an hour we (Sir Francis
was at the head) came in sight of the rebels, who
occupied an elevated position near Gallow's Hill, in front
of Montgomery's tavern, which had long been the
rendezvous of Mackenzie's men. They were principally
armed with rifles, and for a short time, favored by
buildings, they endeavored to maintain their ground.
However, the brave and loyal militia of Upper Canada
FRANCIS BOND HEAD. 187
steadily advancing with a determination which was
irresistible, drove them from their position, completely
routed Mr. Mackenzie, who, in a state of the greatest
agitation, ran away, and in a few minutes Montgomery's
tavern, which was first entered by Mr. Justice Jones,
was burnt to the ground."
The defeat of the rebels at Montgomery's put an end
to the rebellion, so far as the district about Toronto was
concerned. Mackenzie sought an asylum in the United
States. On the llth December a public meeting was
held in Buffalo, inviting assistance for the promotion of
the rebellion in Canada. The meeting adjourned with
cheers for Messrs. Mackenzie, Papineau and Rolph. On
the following day another meeting, at which Mackenzie
was present, was held. At this meeting American sym-
pathizers offered their services to aid and assist the
disaffected in Canada to conquer the country. Mackenzie,
encouraged by these demonstrations, and by another
meeting which had been held in Rochester, resolved to
make a descent on Canadian territory, and took pos-
session of Navy Island, a large island about two miles
above Niagara Falls, on the Canadian side of the
boundary, just above Chippawa. Here Mackenzie made
his headquarters, established a Provisional Government,
and appointed Van Rensselaer, an American general, his
commander-in-chief of an army composed of Canadian
refugees and American recruits, bent on pillage and the
conquest of Canada.
On the 13th December, Mackenzie issued a revolution-
ary proclamation, which stated that he had procured the
important aid of General Van Rensselaer, of Albany, of
Col. Sutherland, Col. Van Egmond, and other military
188 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
men of experience, and that the citizens of Buffalo " to
their eternal honor, have proved to us the enduring
principles of the Revolution of 1776, by supplying us
with provisions, money, arms, ammunition, artillery, and
volunteers, and vast numbers are flocking to the stand-
ard, under which, Heaven willing, emancipation will be
speedily won for a new and gallant nation, hitherto held
in Egyptian thraldom by the aristocracy of England."
Mr. Mackenzie was an able composer of proclama-
tions, and, if papers were the only weapons at call, he
would have been a redoubtable enemy. The proclama-
tion, as a whole, was rhodomontade, only equalled by
General Hull's proclamation when he undertook to take
Canada during the war of 1812.
Mr. Mackenzie might have spared the unhappy Cana-
dians and Sir Francis Head, even if he had become the
head of a new republic, set up on Canadian soil by
grace and favor of citizens of a foreign land. Here is
the concluding paragraph of his proclamation :
" Compare the great and flourishing United States with
our divided and distracted land, and think what we also
might have been, as brave, independent lords of the soil.
Leave, then, Sir Francis Bond Head's defence to the
miserable serfs dependent on his bounty, and to the last
hour of your lives the proud remembrance will be yours
' We also were among the deliverers of our country.' "
Mr. Mackenzie was, at the time he wrote this procla-
mation, burning under a sense of humiliation at his
defeat at " Gallow's Hill," and could not forgive Sir
Francis Head for the part he had taken in bringing it
about. Afterwards he had reason to alter his opinions
on the subject of government, and was bold enough to
avow his change of heart in the most public manner.
FRANCIS BOND HEAD. 189
On December 28th, Sir Francis, in a despatch to the
Colonial Secretary, wrote " that an unprovoked attack
had been made on Canadian territory by American citi-
zens, who have succeeded in taking possession of Navy
Island," etc., etc , and in another despatch, of the 16th
January, 1838, he was enabled to say "that the pirates
have been driven from Navy Island, which is now in
possession of Her Majesty's forces on this frontier
(Niagara)."
The events connected with the Navy Island affair, the
capture and burning of the steamer Caroline, and all
subsequent events connected with the invasion of the
Province by American citizens, by Sir Francis called
" pirates," and the results that followed, are matters of
history. Sir Francis protested most vigorously to the
United States authorities against the breach of neutral-
ity in American citizens, with arms in their hands,
invading a province of the British Empire with which
the United States was at peace.
Notwithstanding the acceptance of Sir Francis's resig-
nation of his office of Lieutenant-Governor, in November,
1837, he continued to administer the affairs of the Prov-
ince till the 23rd March, 1838, when he left Toronto for
England. On leaving Toronto, a concourse of citizens
met to bid him farewell a farewell which he never
forgot. The leave-taking is best described in his own
words in " The Emigrant," a book written by him and
published in New York in 1847 :
"Leaving Government House, I rode towards the
vessel, around which I found assembled a very large
and, by me, unexpected concourse of the militia and
others of various classes to whom I had been equally
indebted.
190 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
" Without detaining them a moment, I dismounted
and stepped on board, and as the vessel, uncasting the
hawser which had detained it, instantly left the ice, it
received from them the ordinary salutations, when, all
of a sudden, there burst from everybody present a
shriek of exclamation, rather than a cheer, which, I am
sure, neither they nor I shall forget, caused by the only
mode I had of acknowledging the compliment they had
bestowed on us, namely, by taking off my hat and then,
for a few minutes, silently pointing to the British flag
which was waving over my head. They well knew
what I meant, and the sudden response to my parting
admonition was, I can truly say, the most gratifying
' farewell ' I could possibly have received from them."
The compliment paid to Sir Francis by a popular
meeting was but the echo of the House of Assembly
when that body, through their Speaker, on the 6th
March, presented to His Excellency an address, in which
was contained this paragraph :
" In the name of the people of this Province, I offer
to your Excellency the expression of their deep regret
that your Excellency should have felt constrained to
tender to Her Majesty your resignation of the Govern-
ment of this Province, which your Excellency has
administered with so much credit to yourself and credit
to the country. The people of Upper Canada will ever
retain a grateful recollection of the services of your
Excellency, and they feel assured your Excellency will
meet with a due reward at the hands of our youthful
and beloved Queen."
The question may well be asked, "Did he ever meet with
that reward?" Alas! the answer must be that he did not.
He ever opposed the policy of concession and concilia-
SIR FRANCIS BOND HEAD. 191
tion, followed for many years by the British Ministry
in minor points, while refusing constitutional reform, a
disastrous policy which the Ministry of his day would
have had him also follow. They could express gratifi-
cation at his success in the election of 1836, in which he
received a verdict for upholding the constitution at the
peril of his own official existence ; they could applaud
his firm suppression of the rebellion, but rewards were
reserved for others less pliant than he, an uncomprom-
ising opponent of all that savoured of democracy in
the Colonial Government as it existed at the time he
represented loyalty in the Province.
Sir Francis was an author of no mean reputation,
having written several books. They were: " The Bub-
bles from the Brummen of Nassau," "The Emigrant,"
"Life of Bruce, the African Traveller," "Faggot of
French Sticks," and " A Fortnight in Ireland." The last
named is said to have been his best work. For his con-
tributions to literature he enjoyed a pension of 100
from the Pensioners' Fund. After his retirement from
the Governorship of Upper Canada he resided in Eng-
land, leading the quiet and uneventual life of a country
gentleman at his residence, Duppay Hall, Croydon.
He was an active, well-preserved man, who rode
straight to hounds up to seventy-five. In 1867, when
the Confederation of Canada was taken up, he was
created a member of the Privy Council, to lend his
valuable knowledge of Canada to aid the deliberation
of the Council in framing the British North America
Act. He lived to the good old age of eighty-two, dying
on 20th July, 1875, just thirty-nine years after his most
notable political success was rewarded with a baronetcy.
His wife survived him some years.
CHAPTER XII.
SIM GEORGE ARTHUR, K.C.H., LIEUTENANT-
GOVERNOR.
SIR GEORGE ARTHUR, the successor to Sir Francis
Bond Head as Governor of Upper Canada, was born June
21st, 1784. He was the youngest son of John Arthur, of
Norley House, Plymouth, and entered the army in the
91st Highlanders on 25th August, 1804. Having been
promoted to a lieutenancy in the 35th Foot, he served
with that regiment in Sir James Craig's expedition to
Italy in 1806, and in the following year, proceeding to
Egypt with the force under the command of General
Fraser, he was engaged in the attack upon Rosetta, and
was severely wounded. In 1808 he served as a captain
in Sicily under Sir James Kempt, and in 1809, in the
expedition to Walcheren, where, in command of the Light
Company of his regiment, he was employed in the attack
upon Flushing, and was again wounded, he with his
single company taken prisoners five officers and three
hundred men. For his services on this occasion Cap-
tain Arthur was thanked in general orders, and was
appointed on the field deputy assistant adjutant-general.
On his return to England he received the freedom of the
city of London and a sword. A similar distinction was
conferred upon him by his native town of Plymouth.
192
5/7? GEORGE ARTHUR. 193
He subsequently served as a military secretary to Sir
George Don, the Governor of Jersey, and having attained
his majority in the 7th West India Regiment, in 1812,
joined that regiment in Jamaica and was shortly after-
wards appointed Assistant Quartermaster-General of
the forces in that Island. Major Arthur was subse-
quently appointed, in 1814, Lieutenant-Governor of
Honduras (British Honduras), which office he held with
the rank of colonel on the staff, combining the military
command as well as the civil government until 1822.
During this period Colonel Arthur surpressed a serious
revolt of the slave population of Honduras. His
despatch on the subject of slavery in the West Indies
attracted the attention of Mr. Wilberforce and of Mr.
(afterwards Sir James) Stephen. Returning to England
on leave of absence in 1822, for the purpose of furnish-
ing the Government with further information on the
subject of emancipation, Colonel Arthur was appointed
in 1823 to the Lieutenant-Governorship of Van Diemen's
Land, together with command of the military forces
in that colony, then Britain's principal penal settlement.
The ill-regulated system of transportation which was
in force had led to terrible abuses, and the object of
Colonel Arthur's appointment was the introduction
of an improved system. His strong good sense and
humanity indicated the possibility of a middle course
between the extreme severity of the course which
would make transportation simply deterrent and the
over-indulgence of the system which aimed at reform-
ing the convict by gentle treatment. He held that
it was possible to make transportation a punishment
much dreaded by criminals, whilst offering every facility
13
194 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
for reform to those who were not hardened in crime ; but
he entertained no quixotic expectations of frequent
reformation. His plans were never allowed a fair trial.
The colonists and their friends in England were bent on
putting an end to the transportation-banishment system
altogether, and their views ultimately prevailed. Colonel
Arthur's administration of Van Diemen's Land lasted for
twelve years, and was marked throughout by a rare
combination of humanity with firmness and courage,
and above all by a shrewd common sense and practical
judgment which secured for him alike the respect of
the colonists abroad and the confidence of statesmen at
home. While holding the Government, Colonel Arthur
discerned the advantage which would accrue to the
Australian colonies from adopting a system of con-
federation. It is believed that he was the first to sug-
gest this important colonial reform.
The services Colonel Arthur had rendered Government
gave him a claim to promotion, and it was thought that
in view of the condition of Upper Canada following on
the rebellion which had been suppressed by Sir Francis
Head, no better man than he could be appointed Lieu-
tenant-Governor of the Province. Humanity coupled
with firmness, was a feature of his administration in
Van Diemen's Land, and this was a quality which
Upper Canada had much need of in its Governor,
to take upon himself the government of the Province
in succession to Sir Francis Head. But a short time
previous to this date, Samuel Lount and Peter Mathews
had been convicted of treason at the Toronto Court of
Oyer and Terminer, and sentenced to be executed on the
14th April. They were men of note one of them,
GEORGE ARTHUR. 195
Samuel Lount, had been a member of the Provincial
Parliament and had many friends in both political
parties who would gladly have welcomed a pardon in
their case, or at least a commutation of the sentence
passed upon them by the Chief Justice, the only
sentence he could pass, that of death. It rested with
the newly-arrived Governor, Sir George Arthur, to
extend the clemency of the Crown to the condemned if
he thought fit to do so. Sir George was very much
importuned as many as thirty thousand people peti-
tioning him to extend the mercy of the Crown to the
prisoners but all attempts to procure a commutation
of the sentence proved of no avail. The Executive
Council, the Attorney-General, and the Chief Justice,
before whom the prisoners were tried, could see no
ground for interference of the Crown, and Sir George
would not take upon himself the responsibility of
annulling or even staying the sentence of the law.
The Christian Guardian newspaper, the influential
organ of a large body of Methodists of the Province,
in an editorial under date of April 18th, 1838, gave
some of the reasons why Sir George Arthur could not
see his way clear to exercise the clemency of the Crown.
The editorial was as follows :
" We understand that several petitions, praying for
the exercise of the Royal prerogative in their behalf,
were sent to the Governor, who expressed his deep regret
that the circumstances were such as to render his inter-
ference improper, and that a sense of public duty con-
strained him to allow the law to take its course in
relation to them. The decision was probably mainly
founded upon the consideration that Lount was the
196 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
leader of the band of rebels at Montgomery's on the
fatal night on which the gallant Colonel Moody was
murdered, and that no facts have transpired to elicit the
actual perpetrators of that horrid deed, and that
Mathews was the leader of the party who burned the
property of Mr. Washburn, attempted to burn the Don
bridge, killed a man, and fired upon a woman who ex-
postulated with them.
" With these particulars before them, and many others
which have not been made public in consequence of the
prisoners having avoided a trial by pleading guilty, it
appears that the Executive deemed it imperative that
such an example should be made as would be likely to
deter persons in time to come upon entering upon a
project so fraught with evils of the highest magnitude
and so utterly subversive of everything that is essential
to the good order of society."
Mr. McMullen, in his " History of Canada," in making
reference to the execution of Lount and Mathews, has
this to say : " Up to the month of May, Samuel Lount
and Peter Mathews, the leaders of Mackenzie's attack
upon Toronto, had alone been executed for treason.
Their fate was a sad one, but their punishment was just.
Both belonged to the Methodist Episcopal body, and
were attended by its ministers to the scaffold. Several
others had been sentenced to death at Hamilton and
Toronto, but Sir George Arthur, blending mercy with
justice, transferred the greater part of them to the
penitentiary at Kingston."
The Government seem to have made a difference
between the leaders and their followers. Doubtless the
same fate would have fallen on Mr. Mackenzie as befell
S7X GEORGE ARTHUR. 197
Lount and Mathews if he had been caught at the time ;
but although one thousand pounds was offered for his
capture, he managed to escape to the United States,
from whence, after being driven from Navy Island, he,
with his American sympathizers, made war on the Prov-
ince which had been his home, and upon the people,
many of whom had given him political support.
The Canadian refugees in the United States and their
American allies now took the name of " Patriots," and on
the 29th of May a notorious character, named Bill John-
ston, at the head of a gang of fifty men, set fire to and
burned the Sir Robert Peel, one of the finest Canadian
steamboats plying on the St. Lawrence, while she was
taking in wood at Well's Island, on the American side
of the river, seven miles from French Creek. The crew
of the Sir Robert Peel lost all their clothing and other
property, and the passengers were able to save very
litttle of their effects. This outrage had the result of
bestirring the Governor of the State of New York to
take active means to discover the perpetrators of this
piratical act, and to bring them to punishment. The
American Government also sent troops to the frontier
to preserve the peace and to prevent further armed
expeditions against the Canadas.
Notwithstanding the efforts made by the United
States Government to observe neutrality, citizens of the
Republic, under the name of " Patriots," and members
of Hunters' lodges, another organization got up in the
United States for the avowed purpose of annexing
Canada, were planning an invasion of Canada. On the
23rd October, 1838, Sir George Arthur by proclamation
called out a portion of the militia, and at the same time
198 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
the Canadian armed vessels were put into the most effi-
cient condition for active service. Mr. Mackenzie and
his followers were endeavoring to embroil England and
the United States in a war, which was likely to occur
unless the most prudent management should avoid it.
In November the attack on Fresco tt and the battle
of the "Windmill" occurred, ending in a repulse of
the Patriots-Hunters'-Lodge gang of desperadoes; and
again at Windsor, opposite Detroit, in December, the
invaders suffered a defeat which terminated the Patriots'
invasion of Canada. Too much credit cannot be given
to the gallant militia of the Province, and the firm attitude
assumed by the civil Government and military authori-
ties for their part in repressing the rebellion and suc-
cessfully resisting invasion. The known historical facts,
showing the determined way in which these various
invasions were met, enable us to see that Canada at this
period of her history had men at the head of her affairs
well qualified to cope with the difficulties that surrounded
her.
The humanity and firmness which had served Sir
George Arthur well in other colonies of the Empire,
stood him in good stead in the unsettled and tempestuous
time of his government in Upper Canada.
In opening the House of Provincial Parliament, on the
27th February, 1839, he entered into a review of the
painful occurrences of the last year, and pointed out the
measures he deemed necessary for the welfare of the
country; he recommended the settlement of the Clergy
Reserves question, and the promotion of education by an
improvement in the Common School system, and asked
GEORGE ARTHUR. 199
to be indemnified for the large disbursements he was
called on to make in defending the country.
In 1841 the two Provinces were united under a Gov-
ernor-General, in the person of Lord Sydenham, at whose
special request Sir George continued for a time to con-
duct the administration of Upper Canada as Deputy
Governor, but upon his own express stipulation that he
should receive no emolument or remuneration for that
duty. Sir George Arthur's services in Canada were
rewarded with a baronetcy, which was conferred upon
him shortly after his return to England in the summer
of 1841.
After his return to England, Sir George was offered and
accepted the Governorship of Bombay. At this period
Lord Ellenborough was Governor-General of India, and
there was friction between the Local Government of
Bombay and the Government of India, though not of
such a nature as to give concern. Sir George succeeded
in retaining the esteem of the Court of Indian Directors
and of his own colleagues in the Government of Bombay,
as well as that of Lord Ellenborough, who recorded the
name of Sir George Arthur upon a monument which he
erected in England to those who had best seconded his
efforts for the maintenance and extension of the British
Empire in India. Before the close of Lord Ellenborough's
administration there was an insurrection in the Presi-
dency of Bombay, which was speedily and judiciously
suppressed by Sir George Arthur. Sir George retired
from the Government of Bombay in 1846, and on his
return to England was made a Privy Councillor, and
was honored by the University of Oxford with the
200 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
honorary degree of D.C.L. He received the colonelcy
of the 50th Queen's Own Regiment in 1853, and died in
the following year. Sir George Arthur married, in
1814, Eliza Orde Usher, second daughter of Lieutenant-
General Sir John Frederick Sigismund Smith, K.C.B.,
and had five daughters and seven sons, of whom five
survived him. Sir George Arthur's career was a
successful one in every way. He was an eminently
unselfish man, imbued with a deep sense of religion,
and as much respected for his unswerving integrity in
private as in public life.
CHAPTER XIII.
RIGHT HON. CHARLES EDWARD POULETT
THOMSON, LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.
DURING a short portion of Sir Henry Arthur's govern-
ment of Upper Canada, Mr. Poulett Thomson, at the
time Governor-General of Canada, was sworn in and
acted as Lieutenant- Governor from November 22nd,
1839, to February 18th, 1840, when Sir George Arthur
again assumed the chief magistracy. Mr. Thomson, the
son of a wealthy London merchant, was born at the
family seat, in Surrey, on September 13th, 1799. After
he attained his sixteenth year he was despatched to St.
Petersburg, in 1816, to enter on a mercantile career in a
branch of his father's house there. After successfully
rising to a partnership in 1821 he returned to London
in 1824, and in 1826 entered political life, being elected
member for Dover in the Liberal interest in that year.
In the House he rose rapidly, and in 1830 entered Lord
Grey's Ministry as Vice-President of the Board of Trade,
which post he held to 1834, when he became President
of the Board of Trade and took a seat in the Cabinet in
April, 1835, holding it till 1839, when, his health failing,
he accepted the Governorship of the British American
Provinces, being sworn in on the 29th of August, 1839,
and proceeding at once to Quebec. Shortly after his
201
202 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
arrival he set out for Upper Canada to complete Lord
Durham's mission in obtaining the consent of the Pro-
vince, as well as the information necessary to frame a
Bill to unite Upper and Lower Canada, and to arrange
the financial affairs of the Province, then in a state of
practical bankruptcy. Arriving at Toronto on Novem-
ber 21st, he was received with addresses of welcome
from the Corporation and Board of Trade. He opened
the Legislation on December 3rd, and shortly after his
Government introduced the Union resolutions, which
were carried, after a fortnight's debate, on December
19th. His next step was to settle the most important
and much vexed question of the Clergy Reserves, and
he, by the exercise of the greatest tact and diplomacy,
succeeded in obtaining the support of the leading indi-
viduals of the principal religious communities to a
measure for the distribution of the Reserves among the
religious communities in proportion to their respective
numbers. This measure was subsequently disallowed
as in excess of Legislative authority, but was afterwards
in effect adopted by the Imperial Parliament.
Mr. Thomson, in dealing with the politicians of Upper
Canada, endeavored to steer a middle course and keep
clear of all parties. He formed a most decided opinion
on the evils of an oligarchy, and thought the rebellious
party not much to blame for revolt against the kind of
government they got. He, by the exercise of the utmost
fairness, gained the confidence of the Reform party and,
with the moderate Conservatives, succeeded in carrying
both these great measures in an incredibly short time.
He also saw the extreme importance of establishing
local or municipal government, and the subsequent
passing of such a measure, with the settlement of the
CHARLES EDWARD POULETT THOMSON. 203
Clergy Reserves, did more than anything to secure
peace in Canada.
Having closed the session, Mr. Poulett Thomson left
Toronto for Lower Canada on February 18th, 1840,
reaching Montreal on the evening of the 19th, covering
the whole distance of 360 miles in less than thirty-six
hours, probably one of the fastest journeys ever made
in Canada over ordinary winter roads. In 1840 Mr.
Thomson was elevated to the peerage in reward for his
services with the title of Baron Sydenham, of Syden-
ham, in Kent, and Toronto, in Canada. Having made
the proclamation of the Union of 1841, on the anniver-
sary of the Queen's marriage, and seen the successful
carrying out of the ensuing elections, notwithstanding
the violent opposition of a large portion of the French-
Canadians, during which serious riots took place, Lord
Sydenham met and opened the first Parliament of the
united Canadas at Kingston. As the close of the session
approached, feeling his work accomplished and his health
being bad, he sent in his resignation in July, 1841. On
the 4th of September, however, he was thrown from his
horse and dragged, his leg being broken and severely
wounded. At first he was thought to progress favor-
ably, but on the ninth day it was seen that the fracture
was not mending, and he rapidly sank, expiring after
receiving the Holy Sacrament on September 19th, at
the age of forty-two.
In person he was of most pleasing appearance and of
a charming and refined manner and address, and being
of an amiable disposition was universally loved and
esteemed. That he had never married was attributed
partly to an early disappointment and partly to his
incessant labors and failing health.
CHAPTER XIV.
MAJOR-GENERAL HENRY WILLIAM STISTED,
C.B., LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.
FROM the expiry of Sir George Arthur's term and the
union of Upper and Lower Canada in 1841 to Confed-
eration, Upper Canada was without a Lieutenant-
Governor, the two Provinces being governed by the one
Governor-General, and the seat of Government not being
fixed, but changing from Montreal to Toronto or
Kingston or Quebec, according to the fancy of the
Government of the day. This arrangement was exceed-
ingly inconvenient to both the public and the officials,
and a reorganization was fitfully discussed.
After many years of agitation, the rival politicians of
the Canadas were able for a time to sink their differ-
ences and unite in a conference, which lead to the
confederation of the various provinces under the name
of the Dominion of Canada Upper Canada being from
the first day of Confederation rechristened Ontario.
This was in 1867, and from that time the Federal
Government had the power of appointing lieutenant-
governors of the Provinces. Before the organization of
the new Government and the selection of suitable
lieutenant-governors, it was decided that for the present
the chief Imperial military officer in each Province
204
HENRY WILLIAM STISTED. 205
should act as provisional governor. In Ontario the lot
fell on Major-General Henry William Stisted, who had
lately succeeded General Napier in command of the
Imperial forces in Upper Canada. General Stisted was
a son of Colonel Henry Stisted, of the Third Dragoons.
He was a Sandhurst man, and entered the army in
1835 as ensign in the 2nd Queen's Royal, with which
he served during the campaign in Afghanistan and
Beluchistan. He served with the 78th Highlanders in
the Persian war, 1857, commanding a brigade in the
night attack and battle of Kooshab, for which he
was rewarded with a C.B. He served with Havelock
in the mutiny and was at the relief of Lucknow. He
there succeeded to the command of the 1st Brigade, and
held that command during the whole of the defence
of the Residency, and also with Outram's force in the
final capture of Lucknow. In 1864, after further
service in India, he was made a major-general, and in
the latter part of 1866 was given the divisional com-
mand of Upper Canada, and as holder of that command
was made first Lieutenant-Governor of the new
Province of Ontario.
General Stisted's appointment, was first announced
in July, 1867, and was hailed with approval, especially
in Toronto, the headquarters of the troops, where he
had already made himself very popular by his attractive
social qualities. His term of office was for a year,
during which he presided over the first Parliament of
Ontario, begun on December 27th, 1867, and lasting to
February 28th, 1868, of which one of the principal Acts
was the Act respecting free grants and homesteads,
under which the northern part of the Province has
206 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
since been opened up, and in honor of the first Governor
of Ontario the township of Stisted, in the Free Grant
District, was named after him.
General Stisted left Canada shortly after his relin-
quishment of office on July 14th, 1868. After his return
to England he was knighted in 1871. He married in
1845, Maria, daughter of Lieutenant- Colonel Burton,
who survived him. Up to the time of his death he was
Colonel of the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders, and had
seats at Dulwich (Bentley Lodge) and at Upper Norwood
(Wood Park). He died on December 10th, 1875, at
the age of fifty-eight.
CHAPTER XV.
THE HONORABLE WILLIAM PEAECE HOWL AND,
C.B., LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.
WILLIAM PEARCE HOWL AND, who succeeded Major-
General Stisted, was of English descent, but of American
birth. His ancestor, John Howland, was an English
Quaker, who came to America on the Mayflower,
landing at Plymouth on the 22nd of December, 1620.
The father of Sir William was Mr. Jonathan Howland,
a resident of Duchess County, in the State of New
York, whilst his mother was Lydia Pearce, whose
family resided in Duchess County, and were well
known and influential citizens. Sir William was born
in Paulings, in the State of New York, on May 29th,
1811, and was the second son. To have had as Lieu-
tenant- Governor of Upper Canada a descendant of one
of the Plymouth fathers is somewhat of a singular
circumstance. But the student of history knows that
the old Pilgrims extended their branches in every
direction. Sir William's progenitor, John Howland,
settled in the old English colony of Massachusetts Bay,
and his descendants may now be traced in nearly
every State of the Union. It is not surprising, there-
fore, that he had in Sir William a descendant who
crossed the boundary and became a citizen of Upper
Canada.
207
208 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
Sir William in his early boyhood was brought up to
farm work, but this not being altogether congenial to
his taste, he chose in preference a commercial calling.
He prepared himself for a business career by attending
a public school, and afterwards an academy at Kinder-
hook. When he was nearly nineteen years of age
(1830) he came to Canada, and settled in the village
of Cooks ville, on Dundas Street, in the township of
Toronto. His first experience in the commercial line
was as assistant in a country store. In this store was
kept the post-office of the village. What that means
all old pioneers can tell. It meant in this case assiduous
attendance and carefulness by those who had to attend
to the mail. Young Howland had not only to receive
and deliver letters, but to be up at late hours at night
and early in the morning to catch the bags hurled
from the mail coach, open them, sort the letters, take
out those for the village and district around, return the
others to the bag, and the same to the driver of the
post-coach to deliver at some other office in the route.
In the performance of these duties, and in tending store,
as it was called, he thus commenced and received an
education which led on to his future fortune.
His next venture was to start in business for himself.
He formed a partnership with a brother, Mr. Peleg
Howland, in a general commercial business. This
business was so successful that they soon had several
establishments in the townships of Toronto and Chin-
guacousy. In addition to a general mercantile business,
the firm engaged in lumbering, rafting, and the manu-
facture of potash and other business dealings in which
they could see some profit for their enterprise and
industry.
WILLIAM PEARCE HOWLAND. 209
By the time of the outbreak of the rebellion of 1837,
William Rowland had become a noted man in Toronto
and Chinguacousy townships. His enterprise in business
had not only made him many firm commercial friends,
but many farmer friends also. Mr. Mackenzie, the
agitator and self-constituted leader of the more
advanced of the Reform or Liberal party, now endeav-
ored to entrap him and engage him in some of his
schemes for the overthrow of the Government of the
Province. Mr. Howland was, however, too wary to be
persuaded to engage actively in any such enterprise.
His sympathies were with reform, but his common sense
told him that men in active business arebe tter out of
politics ; besides he was an alien, had not been natural-
ized, and therefore did not think it right to engage in
political contests.
Soon after the union of the Provinces, in 1841, he
became naturalized, and then felt at liberty to take part
in party politics. He did not, however, interest himself
actively till the general election of the year 1848, when
he identified himself with the Reform party, supporting
Mr. James Hervey Price against the Conservative
candidate in the West Riding, in the County of York,
just prior to the formation of the Baldwin-Lafontaine
administration.
Mr. Howland at this time was engaged in a large
wholesale business in Toronto, to which place he had
removed, with large interests in the produce, milling,
and other branches of trade. The increase of his
business brought him increased wealth, so much so that
he could now afford to pay more attention to political
matters. His adherence to reform and the propagation
210 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
of liberal principles had obtained for him the confidence
of the electors of West York, who, at the general election
of 1857, returned him to the Assembly to advocate on the
floor of the House the principles which he had espoused.
When the Reform party came into power, in April,
1862, under the leadership of the Hon. John Sandfield
Macdonald and Louis Victor Sicotte, Mr. Howland was
offered the post of Minister of Finance, which he
accepted and held for a year. Mr. Sicotte and Mr.
Howland, during the year 1862, were appointed dele-
gates to proceed to England to discuss with the Imperial
Government the arrangement in connection with the
militia of Canada, and to meet delegates from Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick to discuss the question of
construction of the Intercolonial Railway. While in
England he and Mr. Sicotte succeeded in forming a
committee there for the purpose of seeing what could
be accomplished in the matter of acquiring the whole
North- West territory for Canada. Sir Edward Watkin
became a member of the committee, bought stock in the
Hudson's Bay Company, and afterwards sold the stock
for a large sum. Negotiations for the purchase of the
territory proceeded so far as to enable the Macdonald-
Cartier Government afterwards to complete it.
The Honorable Luther H. Holton succeeded him in
the Macdonald-Dorion Cabinet which was then formed.
Mr. Howland subsequently became Receiver-General in
the same Ministry, and held this position till the defeat
of the Government in 1864. He was not a member of
the coalition Government of the Honorable John A.
Macdonald and Honorable George Brown, but he was
an active and influential supporter of the Reform wing
WILLIAM PEARCE HOWLAND. 211
of the coalition, and on the elevation of the Honorable
Oliver Mowat to the Bench, in 1864, he succeeded that
gentleman as Postmaster-General, and became a member
of the Executive Council. He continued to be Post-
master-General until the retirement of Honorable Alex-
ander Gait, in August, 1866, when he succeeded the
latter as Finance Minister. This office he held until
Confederation, when, on the formation of the first
Dominion Government, on the 1st July, 1867, he was
appointed a member of the Privy Council and Minister
of Inland Revenue.
Mr. Howland was a firm believer in the confederation
of the Provinces, and a firm supporter of the scheme to
attain that object, and was one of the three delegates
representing Upper Canada at the London Conference
at which the terms of Confederation were agreed upon.
Of such transcendent importance did he view that
question, that on the occasion of the Honorable George
Brown leaving the Ministry in 1865, ostensibly on a
difference of opinion on the Reciprocity question, Mr.
Howland took his place at the Council Board to maintain
the balance of power as established in 1864.
Mr. Howland's adherence to the cause of Confederation,
and his active services rendered in the promotion of that
object, procured for him the Order of Companion of the
Bath, conferred on him in 1867.
In July, 1868, he retired from the Government, and
was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of the newly-named
Province of Ontario, which position had, from the con-
federation of all the Provinces in 1867, been held by
Major- General Stisted, the senior officer in the station.
Mr. Howland continued to be Lieutenant-Governor of
212 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
the Province until the month of November, 1873, fulfill-
ing all the duties incident to the position in a manner
acceptable to the people and to the Dominion Govern-
ment, from whom he received the appointment. Under
the new system of government created by the Confed-
eration Act, the Lieutenant-Governors owed their
responsibility to the Dominion Government, and not
to the Imperial Government, as was the case with the
Lieutenant-Governors under the system that previously
prevailed.
After Mr. Rowland's term of office as Lieutenant-
Governor expired, his services were again recognized by
the Government when he was called upon to examine
into and report upon the route of the Bay Yerte Canal.
On the 24th May, 1879, he was created a Knight of the
Order of St. Michael and St. George.
Sir William has never ceased being actively engaged
in some kind of business.
After vacating the office of Lieutenant-Governor he
continued for some time to superintend his commercial
business in Toronto. He has been President of the
Ontario Bank, President of the Toronto Board of Trade,
and of various mercantile companies, and from its
foundation President of the Confederation Life Insur-
ance Company. Sir William Howland was a pioneer in
opening up the North -West territory. In 1857-1858 he
was a director of the Rescue Company, formed for that
purpose.
He has been three times married. First, to Mrs. Webb,
of Toronto, a widow, whose maiden name was Blyth.
Second, to Mrs. Hunt, the widow of Captain Hunt, of
WILLIAM PEARCE HOWLAND. 213
Toronto and Kingston. This lady will be best remem-
bered as the kindly hostess of Government House, when
she so ably assisted her husband in the performance of
social duties at the Governor's residence. Her name
will long be remembered as the promoter of many
public charities. The present wife of Governor Howland
was the widow of the late James Bethune, Q.C., a
Bencher of the Law Society, in his lifetime a most able
and successful lawyer.
CHAPTER XVI.
HONORABLE JOHN WILLOUGHBY CRAWFORD,
LIEUTENANT-GO VERNOR.
His HONOR LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR CRAWFORD was
the second son of the Honorable George Crawford, Sena-
tor of the Dominion, by his first wife, Miss Brown.
Governor Crawford was born at Manor Hamilton, in
the county of Cavan, Ireland, in 1817, and with his
parents came to Canada when about seven years of age.
He was educated in Toronto for a professional career.
The profession he chose was that of the law, and after
the usual five years' training in the office of a barrister,
he was called to the bar in Trinity term, 1839. He never
exerted himself to be an advocate, although in the early
stages of his professional career he frequently argued
cases in Osgoode Hall. He had very quick perception,
and was able to seize the crucial points of a case with
great readiness. These qualities well fitted him for a
chamber counsel, a branch of the profession which he
preferred rather than the stormy discussions of nisi
prius and addressing juries, which was not congenial to
him. The writer was a student of his in 1844, when he
had an office at the corner of King and Jordan Streets,
in Toronto, and at the same time lived with him when
he kept bachelor's hall on Yonge Street, east side,
214
JOHN WILLOUGHBY CRAWFORD. 215
near McGill Street, in the cottage afterwards owned and
occupied by Chief Justice Eichards. Mr. Crawford, the
Honorable John Ross, and Chief Justice Richards were
very intimate friends in their younger days in Brock-
ville, in the county of Grenville, their friendship con-
tinuing through life.
The special branches of the profession to which Mr.
Crawford applied himself when practising law were
banking and commercial law. In these departments he
had no superior in his day in Toronto. After practising
by himself for a time, he entered into partnership with
the Honorable Henry Sherwood, having chambers at the
corner of King and Court Streets, in Toronto. This
firm did a large business until it was broken up by the
entrance of Mr. Sherwood into Parliament. Mr. Craw-
ford's next partner was Mr. Hagarty, afterwards Chief
Justice of Ontario, and now Sir John Hawkins Hagarty.
In Mr. Sherwood and Mr. Hagarty Mr. Crawford had as
partners the foremost men of the day in the profession.
Both were very able advocates, and the fortunate pos-
sessors of the eloquence that commands the attention of
judges and juries, and brings home dollars in the shape
of good fees. The firm of Hagarty & Crawford was a
very successful one. Mr. Hagarty was not only a first
counsel, but had a large conveyancing clientele. The
Registry Office will show many deeds and mortgages in
his handwriting, especially many connected with the
estate of the late William Cawthra, the millionaire,
for whom Hagarty & Crawford were solicitors and coun-
sel. In the conduct of the business of this firm Mr.
Crawford confined himself mostly to office work, con-
sultation, and that part of the business connected with
216 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
banking and commercial matters. The writer had good
opportunity for knowing the extent of the business, as
he had an office in the same building, and when there
was too great a press of business, was entrusted with
some of the special pleading, more thought of in those
days than at the present time.
Mr. Crawford was Lieutenant-Colonel of the 5th
Battalion of the Canadian militia, and took pride in
being in some way connected with the defence force
of the Province. He was also president of the
Toronto and Nipissing Railway, and president of the
Royal Canadian Bank. He was essentially a business
man, and highly esteemed in business circles. In his
professional days he took little thought of politics.
Still, he was of the Conservative party, and when, in
1861, a candidate of that party was sought for East
Toronto, the choice fell on him, and he was elected for
the constituency. He represented this constituency
until the general election in 1863, when he was defeated.
After the confederation of the Provinces, in 1867, Mr.
Crawford represented South Leeds in the House of
Commons till November 5th, 1873, when he was
appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario.
There are not many living to-day who can speak of
Governor Crawford as can the writer of these pages. I
well remember his visits to Brockville in 1841-42. I was
then a student of the Honorable George Sherwood, with
whom he generally stayed when visiting the old town,
and thus had many opportunities of seeing him. Then
I lived with him for a year before his marriage, at the
cottage on Yonge Street, and in his political contests in
Toronto I was always his supporter, canvassing, speak-
JOHN WILLOUGHBY CRAWFORD. 217
ing, and voting. I was impelled to this, not merely
from the fact that I had been an old student of his, but
because I was acquainted with his whole character. He
was a man of strict integrity, great independence, who
thoroughly despised a mean action. He married Helen,
daughter of Judge Sherwood, by whom he had several
children, one son and five daughters. The son is now
agent of the branch Bank of Montreal, Yonge Street,
Toronto; one daughter is the wife of Captain Law,
R.N., many times secretary to governors, and another
is married to John A. Macdonell, Q.C., of Alexandria,
county of Glengarry. Mrs. Crawford, now deceased,
while at Government House dispensed her hospitality
with tact and with dignity, which was one of the
characteristics of her life.
Governor Crawford died at Government House on the
13th day of May, 1875.
The Honorable David Christie, Secretary of State for the Dominion
in 1873, and Speaker of the Senate of Canada, 1874, was appointed
administrator of the Government of Ontario in May, 1875 (during the
last illness of Lieutenant-Governor Crawford), but was not sworn in,
owing to the death of the Lieutenant-Governor.
CHAPTER XVII
THE HONORABLE DONALD ALEXANDER
MA C DONALD, LIEUTENANT-GO VERNOR.
THE Honorable John Crawford was succeeded in the
governorship of Ontario by Lieutenant-Colonel the
Honorable Donald Alexander Macdonald, a Canadian
born, but of Scotch descent. Mr. Macdonald's military
rank of Colonel was not of the regular service, but of
the Glengarry militia a loyal citizen-soldiery of a loyal
race which has rendered good service to the Crown in
many lands. The Glengarry militia were conspicuous
in the war of 1812 and during the rebellion of 1837,
always in the forefront when called upon. Donald
Macdonald was born at St. Raphael's, in the Province of
Lower Canada, in the year 1816, and had the honor of
receiving his education under that staunch loyalist, the
Roman Catholic Bishop Macdonell, whose name is
familiar in the annals of the Province of Upper Canada,
both secular and religious, and who was at one time a
member of the Legislative Council of the Province.
Young Macdonald, when he arrived at the age of
manhood, engaged in mercantile pursuits, in which he
was successful. During the progress of construction of
the Grand Trunk Railway, he found the business of
contractor to be profitable, and amassed a considerable
218
DONALD ALEXANDER MACDONALD. 219
fortune from contracts he held in building that great
work. Like many other men, he prepared himself for
the higher rank of legislating in the halls of Parliament
by municipal public service, for a time serving the
counties of Glengarry and Dundas as their warden.
He first entered Parliament in 1857, when he was
returned for the county of Glengarry as member sent
to the Upper Canada House of Assembly, and retained
his seat until the union of the Provinces in 1841. After
the confederation of the Provinces he was, in 1867 and
again in 1872, elected to represent Glengarry in the
Commons. His business capacity and statesmanlike
ability obtained for him the offer of the treasurer-
ship of Ontario in 1877, but he declined the honor.
When the Mackenzie Government of the Dominion
was formed, in 1872, the member for Glengarry was
selected as Postmaster-General, and again succeeded in
securing an unanimous election for his county, and sub-
sequently, in 1874, received the same honor. Mr. Mac-
donald remained in the Ministry, holding the office of
Postmaster-General, till May, 1878, when he was offered
the Lieutenant-Governorship of Ontario, which he
accepted. His appointment was a popular one with all
classes his manliness of character having secured for
him the respect of the leaders of both political parties.
When he first entered Toronto as Lieutenant-Governor,
he felt some apprehension that he would not be well
received by the Conservatives, whom he had opposed
in Parliament. He was much gratified, therefore, at
receiving a Highland welcome, not only from his politi-
cal friends but from those who had been his political
opponents. During his term of office, Government House
220 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
was well kept up in all its functions. The Lieutenant-
Governor, being a widower, confided the management of
the social functions of Government House to his daugh-
ter, who, with much grace and tact, fulfilled all the
obligations incident to their position. The Lieutenant-
Governor himself was very much of the Highlander,
both in build and in the exercise of that hospitality
which is proverbial with the clans. He continued
Governor during the whole term, and left Government
House with the respect of the community. He did not
re-enter public life after his term of office ceased, but
lived a retired life at Montreal, where he died on the
10th June, 1896.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE HONORABLE JOHN BEVERLEY ROBINSON,
LIEUTENANT-GO VERNOR.
IN distributing favors like that of the appointment of
Lieutenant-Governors, the Dominion Government no
doubt look to fitness as the best recommendation to
the office. A Lieutenant-Governorship is worthy the
ambition of any man. It is generally regarded as a
reward for distinguished political services rendered the
Government of the day, care being taken to confer the
honor upon some Parliamentary representative who has
faithfully served his country in Parliament. The Hon-
orable John Beverley Robinson was such a representa-
tive, and had the additional recommendation of being a
native of the Province and of U. E. Loyalist descent.
John Beverley Robinson was the second son of Sir
John Beverley Robinson, Chief Justice of Ontario, and
was born at Beverley House, Toronto, on the 20th day
of February, 1820. His grandfather was Christopher
Robinson, fourth in descent from Christopher Robinson,
Esquire, of Cleaseby, in the West Riding of Yorkshire,
England, who came to America in the reign of Charles
II., as private secretary to Sir William Berkeley, Governor
of Virginia. The private secretary, Christopher Robin-
son, subsequently became also in his turn Governor of
221
222 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
Virginia. The second son of Christopher Robinson, the
Governor of Virginia, was John Robinson, president of
the Council of Virginia, who was born in that colony,
and married Catharine, daughter of Robert Beverley,
Esquire, formerly of Beverley, in Yorkshire, but then a
resident of Virginia.
John Robinson, President of the Council, had several
sons, one of whom was Colonel Beverley Robinson of the
British army, who raised and commanded a regiment
during the American Revolutionary war. Colonel
Beverley Robinson's name is familiar as a prominent
man in revolutionary days ; he lived on the Hudson
near West Point. His house was the rendezvous of the
Tories of that period residing in the country about New
York. West Point attained celebrity as the scene of
the treachery of Benedict Arnold and the lamentable
death of Major Andrd
Governor Robinson's grandfather, Christopher Robin-
son, at the age of seventeen, left the William and Mary
College of Virginia, where he was being educated, and
obtained a commission as ensign in Colonel Simcoe's
Regiment of Queen's Rangers, which formed a part of Sir
Henry Clinton's army. He served in this corps until the
peace of 1783, when, on the regiment being reduced, he
emigrated with many other Loyalists to New Brunswick.
From New Brunswick he went to Lower Canada in
1788, and when Colonel Simcoe, who had become Major-
General Simcoe, assumed the Government of Upper
Canada, in 1792, he induced Christopher Robinson to
remove to Kingston, Upper Canada, and he resided in
Kingston several years. Taking up the study of the
law, he was called to the bar in 1797, and was elected
JOHN BEVERLEY ROBINSON. 223
member of Parliament for the counties of Lennox and
Addington in 1798. Immediately after his election he
removed with his family to York, but did not live to
complete his new career, as he died in November, 1798,
after a short illness.
Governor Robinson's father was distinguished in his
early days as a lawyer. He was a politician of note,
and was a leader of the Tories. Eventually he became
one of the ablest jurists that Canada has produced.
His son, the future Lieutenant-Governor, was educated
at Upper Canada College, under its first Principal, the
Rev. Dr. Harris. The writer remembers him as a college
boy when he (the writer) entered the college in 1836.
During his college course he was noted as much for his
proficiency in the cricket field as in the classes. He was
a robust youth, the envy of many a student who could
not compare with him in muscular strength and activity.
He was successful in carrying off college prizes, and was
a general favorite of the masters and boys for his man-
liness of character. There are not many of his contem-
poraries now living, but those who are can testify to
his good qualities, both of body and mind. He left
college in 1837, and attracted the notice of Sir Francis
Bond Head, the Governor, who appointed him one of
his aides-de-camp. No doubt the Governor was influ-
enced in his favor by his college reputation and by his
fitness for this active position. Sir Francis was a good
horseman, and a youth so excellent in outdoor sports
as young Robinson would naturally attract his atten-
tion. He rode by the side of Sir Francis, when, on
December 7th, 1837, the militia, headed by the Governor,
marched up Yonge Street, met the rebels at Mont-
224 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
gomery's, and routed them. As the future Lieutenant-
Governor was only seventeen years of age at that time,
his active service for his country had thus an early
beginning. After the defeat of the rebels at Mont-
gomery's, Mr. Robinson was sent to Washington by the
Governor with important despatches to the British
Minister, and remained in the United States capital
several weeks. The rebellion being surpressed, Mr.
Robinson was admitted a student of the law, and
entered the office of Christopher Hagerman, Esquire,
Attorney-General of the Province, afterwards a Judge
of the Queen's Bench. After studying in the office of
Mr. Hagerman for two years, he was transferred to the
office of Strachan & Cameron, a firm composed of
Captain James McGill Strachan and John Hillyard
Cameron, and remained with them till the expiry of his
articles in 1844.
After his call to the bar he commenced the practise
of his profession in Toronto. He had not been long in
practise, only three years or thereabouts, when on the
30th June, 1847, he married Mary Jane, the second
daughter of his former master, Judge Hagerman. Mrs.
Robinson will long be remembered in Toronto as an
accomplished vocalist; her sweet musical voice was
very frequently in requisition for concerts given for
the benefit of charity and the poor. She was ever
ready to respond to calls made on her, giving of her
best talent to promote the cultivation of music in
Toronto, and helping those who were under her in
station. She had a heart full of kindness, and nothing
gratified her more than ministering to the wants of the
needy.
JOHN BEVERLEY ROBINSON. 225
Mr. Robinson was more cut out for public life than
the drudgery of a professional career. He had great
objections to pursuing the calling of an advocate. To
have done so would have entailed on him the necessity
of his pleading before his father, Chief Justice Sir
John Robinson, of which he did not approve. The red
hangings at the entrance to the Queen's Bench, in which
court his father presided, seemed to act upon him as a
deterrent which he avoided. If he had got beyond he
might have succeeded, but its repellent force was irre-
sistible. His first essay in public life was his election
as alderman for the ward of St. Patrick, in the city of
Toronto, in 1851. He was alderman of the ward for
six years, and in 1857 was elected Mayor of the city.
He performed the duties of Mayor so entirely to the
satisfaction of the citizens, that on the first opportunity
offering, in 1858, he was, on the coming of the next
general election, offered a candidature for one of the
divisions of Toronto as a representative in Parliament,
and was elected a member for the city. He was a
strong and consistent Conservative in politics, and was
elected to support the Macdonald-Cartier administra-
tion. He was a useful member of Parliament for the
city, and was instrumental in obtaining legislation for
city improvements and other advantages, all tending to
the development of his native town. In 1862 he was
offered and accepted the presidency of the Council in the
Macdonald-Cartier administration, and retained that
office till the resignation of the Government, which took
place during the same year. Altogether he represented
Toronto in Parliament seven times a record highly
honorable to himself and the citizens of the capital of
the Province.
15
226 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
After Confederation of the Provinces, Mr. Robinson
was, in 1872, elected member of the House of Commons
for the constituency of Algoma, which he continued to
represent until the dissolution of the House ; when, at
the general election of 1878, he was again returned for
the western division of Toronto by the large majority of
637 votes. The popularity of John Beverley Robinson
was evinced not only by the citizens of Toronto so often
electing him to Parliament, but the Council of the city
appointed him to the responsible position of City
Solicitor, which office he held from 1864 till 1880. He
continued to represent West Toronto until the 30th
June, 1880, when he was appointed Lieutenant-
Governor of Ontario in succession to the Honorable
Donald Macdonald. He filled the position of Lieu-
tenant-Governor for the full term very acceptably to
the whole Province. While he occupied Government
House the doors were always open to rich and poor
alike. The sympathetic nature of Mrs. Robinson, and
his personality, attracted to Government House the
classes and masses alike. Mrs. Robinson did not
confine her entertainments to those who were rich in
this world's goods, or to a favored few, but was
always the genial hostess to guests of whatever class
whose respectability gave them a claim upon the
attention of the chief lady of the Province. The
Lieutenant-Governor was a man of splendid physique,
a presence that could not but attract to him many
admirers. In his administration he never allowed
politics to sway his actions. He was a constitutional
Governor, and none were more ready to admit it than
his advisers, who had been brought up in a different
JOHN HAWKINS HAGARTY. 227
political school. After his administration as Governor
had come to an end, he held several offices in connection
with financial public institutions. He was at one time,
before his appointment as Lieutenant-Governor, presi-
dent of the St. George's Society. He was one of the
promoters of the Northern Railway, the Toronto and
Guelph Railway Company, in the establishment of the
Western Canada Loan & Savings Company, and in the
building of the Rossin House. His love of athletic
sport induced him to inaugurate the Toronto Athletic
Club, of which he was the president. In 1896 he was
attending a public meeting at Massey Hall, and was
waiting in an ante-room before speaking in the interests
of the Conservative candidate, when he was suddenly
stricken by the hand of death, and died before leaving
the hall, leaving several surviving children to mourn
his sudden demise.
HON. JOHN HAWKINS HAGARTY.
During a temporary absence from the Province the
Honorable John Hawkins Hagarty, Chief Justice of the
Court of Queen's Bench, acted as administrator from
June 23rd to July 7th, 1882. Mr. Hagarty, whose
tenure of office was short, has for many years been a
prominent figure in Ontario. He was born in Dublin in
1816, was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and in
1835 emigrated to Canada, where he immediately
entered upon the study of the law and was called to the
Bar in 1840. He was made a Judge of the Court of
Common Pleas in 1856, and Chief Justice of that Court
in 1868, Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench in Novem-
ber, 1878, and President of the Court of Appeal and
228 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
Chief Justice of Ontario May 6th, 1884. He was
knighted in 1897 and retired from the Bench in April
of that year. He is still residing in Toronto, the scene
of his long service on the Bench of Ontario.
HON. JOHN GODFREY SPRAGGE.
Mr. Spragge succeeded Mr. Hagarty as administrator
until September 6th, 1882. He was born at New Cross,
a suburb of London, in 1806, and came to Canada in
1820, studying law and being called to the Bar in 1828.
He was long distinguished as an Equity draughtsman,
and quickly rose to eminence at the Bar. He was elected
a Bencher in 1835 and was made Master in Chancery in
1837, and Registrar of the Court of Chancery in 1844,
being finally appointed the Vice-Chancellor in 1859.
He succeeded to the Chancellorship upon the death of
Mr VanKoughnet in 1869, and filled that position until
May 2nd, 1881, when he became Chief Justice of the
Court of Appeal, filling that position until his death on
April 20th, 1884. Mr. Spragge was a man of invariable
equibility and discretion. He was devoted to the manly
sport of cricket and was a sincere Churchman, being
constant in his attendance at the old Church of St. John
the Evangelist, on Stewart Street, near which he for
many years resided.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE HONORABLE SIR ALEXANDER CAMPBELL,
K. C. M. G., LIEUTENANT-GO VERNOR.
SIR ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, as his name would imply,
was of Scotch descent, but was of English birth. He
was the son of Dr. Campbell, and was born at the village
of Heydon, near Kingston-on-Hull, in the East Riding
of Yorkshire, England, in 1821. When Sir Alexander
was only about two years old, his parents emigrated to
Canada, and settled in the neighborhood of Lachine,
near Montreal, where his childhood was passed. He
received his early education at the hands of a minister
of the Presbyterian Church, and afterwards spent some
time at the Roman Catholic Seminary of St. Hyacinthe,
his education being completed under the tuition of the
well-known Mr. George Baxter, of the Royal Grammar
School at Kingston, in Upper Canada. It will thus be
seen that by early education and surroundings he was
well fitted to fight the battle of life in a mixed com-
munity of French and English, Protestant and Catholic.
After leaving school he chose the law as his profession,
and in 1838 passed his preliminary examinations as a
student before the Law Society of Upper Canada. He
then entered the office of Mr. Henry Cassidy, remaining
there until the death of his principal, in 1839, when he
229
230 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
became a pupil of the late Honorable Sir John A.
Macdonald, who was then practising law in Kingston,
with whom he remained as a student until his
admission as an attorney, in Hilary term, 1842. He
then formed a partnership with Mr. Macdonald, under
the style of Macdonald & Campbell, and was called
to the Bar in Michaelmas Term, 1843. The firm of
Macdonald & Campbell had a very large business, the
largest of its day in Kingston, was very successful, and
afforded both the members of it an opportunity for
building up a large fortune. Mr. Macdonald was an
able advocate who attracted clients, but Mr. Campbell
kept them. Mr. Campbell was quite able to take his
senior partner's place in the courts when necessity
called for it, and this was frequently the case, as Mr.
Macdonald was always more or less given to political
wanderings. From whatever cause, and the political
wanderings was one, Mr. Campbell's attention to his
practice was attended with greater financial success
than came to his partner, and his labors while at the
Bar secured for him a competent fortune, while Mr.
Macdonald's fortune acquired in his practice was of a
meagre kind; but his ambition was for fame, not for
fortune, and he succeeded in gaining his desire. In
the years 1851 and 1852 Mr. Campbell was alderman
for one of the city wards of Kingston. This circum-
stance attests to the popularity he had attained in the
place of his residence, and that, too, in the short space of
eight years after having been called to the bar. In
1856 he was created a Queen's Counsel, in 1857 he
became a Bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada,
and in 1858, with an ever-increasing popularity, he was
SIR ALEXANDER CAMPBELL. 231
elected to the Legislative Council of the Cataraqui
Division, embracing the city of Kingston and the
county of Frontenac, in the Conservative interest. He
had very good oratorical power. He was not brilliant,
but convincing in debate in the Legislative Council.
He was a good reasoner, courteous in manner, urbane,
not acrimonious, but considerate to his opponents, and
these qualities gave him great strength in a body
governed more by patriotism than by party politics.
His success in the Legislative Council was as great as it
had been in his other ventures, whether at the Bar or at
the aldermanic board. In 1863 he was elected Speaker
of the Council, which position he held until the dissolu-
tion of Parliament in the summer of that year.
There was a political crisis in March, 1864, and Mr.
Campbell was invited by the Governor-General to form
a cabinet, but he declined. Mr. Macdonald would have
been glad if Mr. Campbell had responded to the
Governor's call, but he was unwilling to take upon
himself the responsibility of a Prime Minister, and was
better content to accept the subordinate office of Com-
missioner of Crown Lands under the new Ministry then
formed the Tachd-Macdonald Ministry of which Mr. E.
P. Tache' was the head, but Mr. Macdonald the controll-
ing mind. Mr. Campbell, on the downfall of the Tache
Ministry and a coalition Ministry being formed in its
place, continued to hold the office of Commissioner of
Crown Lands, and did so until the Confederation of the
Provinces was brought about. He was a strong
advocate of Confederation, and took an active part in
every movement towards its realization, and was a
member of the Union Conference which met at Quebec
232 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
in 1864. Inside and outside the House, Mr. Campbell
was a sturdy champion of that great measure. In his
speech in the Legislative Council, in answer to the
opponents of Confederation, on the 17th of February,
1865, he was said to have made the most statesmanlike
effort of his life.
The great service rendered the state in his successful
advocacy of Confederation procured for him, after the
adoption of that measure, a place in the Senate, to which
he was called by the Queen's proclamation in May,
1867. On his elevation to the Senate he became leader
of the Conservative party in that Chamber, and on 1st
July (Dominion Day), 1867, was sworn in the Privy
Council, and took office as Postmaster-General under his
old leader, Sir John A. Macdonald. He retained that
position about six years, when the Department of the
Interior was created, of which he became the first
Minister. In 1870 he proceeded to England on an
important diplomatic mission, resulting in the signing of
the Treaty of Washington. He continued to hold the
portfolio of Minister of the Interior until November,
1873, when the Macdonald Ministry resigned, and was
succeeded by the Ministry of Mr. Alexander Mackenzie.
During the existence of the Mackenzie Government he
led the Conservative opposition in the Senate, and upon
the Conservative party again coming into power, in
1878, he accepted the portfolio of Receiver-General. He
retained this office from 8th October, 1878, to 20th May,
1879, when he became Postmaster- General. Four days
afterwards he was created a Knight of St. Michael and
St. George. On the 15th January, 1880, he resigned
the Postmaster-Generalship, and accepted the office of
THOMAS GALT, 233
Minister of Militia. Tn the re-adjustment of offices
which took place prior to the assembling of Parliament,
toward the close of 1880, he resumed the office of
Postmaster-General.
Sir Alexander was for some time Dean of the Faculty
of Law in the University of Queen's College, Kingston,
and was always a strong supporter of that institution.
In the business world he held a prominent position, and
was connected with several important financial enter-
prises.
In February, 1887, Sir Alexander was appointed
Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Ontario. During
his term of office Mr. Oliver Mowat was Prime Minister,
and thus two Kingstonians held the most important
offices in the Province at the same time. Sir Alexander
was always courteous and dignified in manner, and was
a general favorite both as a man and statesman. In
1855 he married Miss Georgina Fredericka Locke,
daughter of Mr. Thomas Sandwith, of Beverley, York-
shire, England. During his occupancy of Government
House, his daughter, Miss Marjorie Campbell, performed
the social duties incident to her position with grace and
tact. Sir Alexander died at Government House, Toronto,
on the 24th day of May, 1892.
HON. THOMAS GALT, ADMINISTRATOR.
From June 29th, 1888, for a period of two months,
the administratorship of the Government fell upon
Chief Justice Gait.
Thomas Gait, son of the distinguished novelist, John
Gait, was born in London, England, on August 17th,
234 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
1815. He was educated in England and came to Canada
with his father in his eighteenth year, and adopting the
profession of law was called to the Bar in the year 1845.
He was elected Bencher in 1855, and was created a
Queen's Counsel in 1858. After a distinguished career
at the Bar he was elevated to the Bench in the year
1869 as a Judge of the old Court and Common Pleas,
becoming Chief Justice of that Court on November 5th,
1887. He was created a Knight-Bachelor in June, 1888,
and continued to preside as Chief Justice of the Com-
mon Pleas Division until he retired in August, 1894.
Sir Thomas, in his old age, has still a buoyant step and
lives in the respect of his contemporaries, gained by his
judicial worth and kindly nature.
n \v
CHAPTER XX.
THE HONORABLE GEORGE AIREY KIRKPATRICK,
LIEUTENANT-GO VERNOR.
SIR GEORGE AIREY KIRKPATRICK, fourth son of the
late Thomas Kirkpatrick, Q.C., M.P., of Kingston, by his
wife Helen, daughter of Alexander Fisher, Judge of the
old Midland District, was born at Kingston, September
1st, 1841.
Sir George is of Irish descent, from the Irish branch
of the barons of Closeburn, of Scotland. He had the
advantage of being educated in three Provinces, all
under the one flag. His first scholastic studies were at
the Grammar School, Kingston, from whence he pro-
ceeded to the High School, St. John's, Province of
Quebec, completing his studies at Trinity College,
Dublin, graduating with B.A. and LL.B. in 1861, being
also Moderator and silver medalist in law, literature
and political economy.
Thomas Kirkpatrick, Q.C., was the most prominent
lawyer of his day in Kingston, a man of sterling worth
and superior professional ability. Sir George, having
taken his degree at a university, was only compelled to
study three years before he could be called to the Bar.
These years he spent in his father's office in Kingston,
and was called to the Bar in 1865, and practised his
235
236 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
profession with much success in his native city. He
was created a Queen's Counsel during the administration
of the Marquis of Lome, in 1880. Sir George, during
his residence in Kingston, found time to give some
attention to military matters. He has always been an
ardent supporter of the volunteer militia, which he
entered as a private during the Trent affair, in the year
when many of the Canadians assumed the military role
in anticipation of a war between Great Britain and the
United States, which good counsel happily averted. Sir
George also served during the Fenian raid as Adjutant
of the Prince of Wales' Own Battalion, became Lieu-
tenant-Colonel of the 47th Battalion in 1872, and
retired, retaining rank, April 18th, 1890. He commanded
the Canadian Wimbledon Rifle team in 1876, and
became President of the Dominion Rifle Association in
1884.
Sir George has always been a Conservative in politics,
and on the death of his father, in 1870, succeeded him
in the representation of the county of Frontenac in the
House of Commons, and continued to hold the seat in
the Conservative interest up to his appointment as
Lieutenant- Governor of Ontario, June 1st, 1892.
He was an active member of Parliament, and was for
some years Chairman of the Standing Committee on
Public Accounts. His connection with a lake city
caused him to take special interest in sailors, and their
interests were well watched by him while in the House.
He was the means of having incorporated in the Mari-
time Court Act, introduced by Mr. Blake, that portion
which aims at securing a lien for seamen's wages on
vessels plying on inland waters. Sir George was
GEORGE A1RE Y KIRKPA TRICK. 237
Speaker of the House of Commons during the fifth
Parliament, 1883-1887, and was called to the Queen's
Privy Council of Canada in 1891. In educational
matters Sir George takes a prominent place : he is an
honorary LL.D. of Dublin University (1884), of Queen's
University (1893), and of the University of Toronto
(1894).
As a private citizen of Kingston, during his parlia-
mentary career and before his appointment to the
Lieutenant-Governorship, he took a prominent part in
establishing some of the more important industrial and
commercial institutions of the Limestone City.
Sir George Kirkpatrick, both before and since his
appointment to be chief executive officer of the Prov-
ince, was constantly connected with some institutions of
an educational or charitable character. In 1886 he was
elected a director of the Canadian Pacific Railway Com-
pany, and more recently of the Canada Life Assurance
Company, and of the B. C. Southern Railway. He is
also vice-president of the Imperial Loan and Investment
Company. He was vice-president of the British Asso-
ciation for the Advancement of Science, which met at
Toronto in 1897, and has been elected president of the
Ontario Branch of the St. John Ambulance Associa-
tion.
Sir George's appointment as Lieutenant-Governor of
Ontario was hailed with great delight by his political
friends, while his opponents could not but admit that
he was eminently fitted for the position. Sir Oliver
Mowat, Premier of Ontario, being in Kingston when
the appointment was announced, said he considered
the appointment a good one, the very best choice the
238 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
Government could have made. He was sure Mr.
Kirkpatrick would be acceptable to all parties. Mr.
Kirkpatrick was a man of experience in public affairs,
well versed in constitutional government, and he was
sure he would discharge the duties of his high office
efficiently and judicially. How well Sir Oliver Mowat's
opinion was verified is well known. Sir George as
Governor was very popular with all classes. His fre-
quent calls to the rural districts to take part in some
function that interested the community testified to the
esteem in which he was held by the farmers, while in
the city no function was complete without his genial
presence.
Nor was Lady Kirkpatrick less popular than the
Lieutenant-Governor. In every relation she performed
her part with consummate grace and with general con-
sensus of praise. At Government House she was the
amiable hostess, and out of it she was active in good
works. She has been and is prominently connected
with many of the charitable institutions of Toronto.
She has at times officiated for the Lieutenant-Governor
in functions of a public character, as in 1897, when she
officiated for Sir George in opening the Victorian Era
Exposition and Industrial Fair, Toronto. Lady Kirk-
patrick is a daughter of the late Honorable Sir D. L.
MacPherson, K.C.M.G., and is Sir George's second wife.
They were united in marriage in 1883. The Lieutenant-
Governor's first wife was a daughter of the late Honor-
able John Macaulay, whom he married in 1865, and who
died in 1877.
Sir George belongs to the Masonic Order, and in 1896
was appointed an Esquire of the Order of the Hospital
SIX CASIMIR STANISLAUS GZOWSKL 239
of St. John of Jerusalem, in England. His rank of
Knight Commander of the most distinguished Order of
St. Michael and St. George was conferred upon him in
1897, on the completion of the sixtieth year of Her
Majesty's reign. Sir George, since his term of office
expired, has continued to reside in Toronto.*
CASIMIR STANISLAUS GZOWSKI.
Lieutenant -Colonel Gzowski acted as a administrator
for a short period from November, 1896, following the
government of Sir George A. Kirkpatrick, until the
appointment of his successor. Colonel Gzowski was
descended from an ancient Polish family, his father
being an officer of the Imperial Guard. He, himself,
took a part in the insurrection of 1830, and on the
downfall of the Poles was prisoner for many months,
being subsequently exiled to the United States. Here
he studied engineering, and afterwards was called to
the Bar, but seeing more opportunity for his talents in
Canada, he came to Canada in 1841 and entered the
public service. Many public works were constructed
under his supervision, and finally, with the late Sir
A. F. Gait, Sir David MacPherson and Mr. L. H. Holton,
he built the Grand Trunk Railway between Toronto
and Sarnia. In 1879 he was made A.D.C. to the
Queen, and in 1890 was created a K.C.M.G. He died
at Toronto, August 24th, 1898.
* Sir George Kirkpatrick died at Toronto, after a long and painful
illness, borne with heroic fortitude, on December 13th, 1899, and was
buried at Kingston.
CHAPTER XXI.
THE HONORABLE SIR OLIVER MO WAT, G.C.M.G.,
LIEUTENANT-GO VERNOR.
SIR OLIVER MOWAT, the present Lieutenant-Governor
of Ontario, has been so many years in public life and so
prominently that it would properly take a whole vol-
ume to do full justice to the subject, and then, perhaps,
something essential would be left unsaid. The history
of his life to this time must, therefore, be approached in
an apologetic way by saying that the scheme of this
work has been to compress within a single volume some
account of the lives of all the lieutenant-governors who
have in the past ruled the Province, and as he forms one
of the class still living, his term of office not having
expired, his sketch must be confined to some account
of what may be assumed to be the greater part of his
career, leaving a more full account of his distinguished
public life to be described by some abler pen.
Sir Oliver is the son of a soldier. His father, John
Mowat, who was a native of Canisbay, Caithness, in the
far north of the Land of Cakes, like many another loyal
Scotchman, joined the army, and took his share in
the glories of the Peninsular War. Having done his
duty as a soldier, the love of adventure being on him,
and the war being over, he, in 1816, emigrated to
240
SSR OLIVER MO WAT. 241
Canada and settled in Kingston, where he resided till
his death, carrying on a general mercantile business.
Sir Oliver Mowat's mother was Mary Levack, also from
Caithness. She was married to his father in Kingston,
on July 22nd, 1820. His Scotch parentage, combined
with his Canadian birth, may account for his strong
British feeling, the mainspring of his life. He was
educated in Kingston at such schools as were accessible
in his early years, and finished under the Rev. John
Cruikshank, under whom Sir John Macdonald also
received a part of his education. With so good a
teacher as the Rev. Mr. Cruikshank, and pupils of the
natural ability of the young students, Mowat and Mac-
donald, it is not surprising that both these scholars in
their future lives have occupied prominent places in the
history of their country. Both have been attorney-
generals, both premiers, and both admitted to the order
of knighthood on account of their distinguished services
to the empire.
It has been said that in his adolescent stage Sir Oliver
Mowat was as, much of a Tory as Sir John Macdonald.
This imputation Sir Oliver would probably resent. It
has risen from the fact that in his boyhood days his
associates were mostly Tories. When the rebellion of
1837 broke out, although but seventeen years of age,
young Mowat shouldered his musket in defence of his
country. His companions were mostly of the Tory order.
His father was a Tory, and so he has been put down as
belonging to that class at that time. No doubt he would
say that as he grew older he grew wiser. At all events,
early in life he allied himself with the Reform party.
His early education well fitted him for a profession, and
the law became his choice.
16
242 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
On the 12th of November, 1836, Oliver Mowat, jun.,
as he then described himself, petitioned the Law
Society to be admitted a student at law, stating that he
was sixteen years of age, had been educated at Kingston
Grammar School, and had, among other studies, attended
lectures by Mr. Jennings on astronomy and moral philo-
sophy. Thus early had his attention been drawn to the
philosophy of religion. He was presented by Solicitor-
General Hagerman, his presentation being endorsed by
Mr. John A. Macdonald, who, in course of time, was his
life-long political opponent, and being admitted as a
student at law, entered the office of Mr. John A.
Macdonald, who had then been a few years at the
Bar, and continued to serve him under articles for four
years, when he was transferred to Robert Easton Burns,
afterwards Judge Burns of the Court of Queen's Bench.
Having completed his studies, he was called to the Bar
in 1842, and after practising for a short time in Kingston,
he left for Toronto, where he entered into partnership
with his former master, Mr. Burns. The firm of Burns
& Mowat, which by the addition of Mr. Philip Van-
Koughnet (afterwards Chancellor VanKoughnet) became
the firm of Burns, Mowat & VanKoughnet, had a very
large Equity practice, the second member, Mr. Mowat,
being considered one of the best Equity lawyers of his
day. This firm had their office just west of Macdonald's
hotel, then occupying the site of the present Romaine
building, on the south side of King Street. It was at
this time that I first made the acquaintance of Mr.
Mowat, when I used to meet him at the dining-hall of
Macdonald's hotel, where I boarded and lodged, and he
boarded. Mr. Mowat was most industrious, and was
677? OLIVER MO WAT. 243
seldom seen out of his office or out of court. Mr.
Burns retired from the firm in 1848, accepting a judge-
ship in the Court of Queen's Bench. Mr. Mowat was
created a Queen's Counsel in 1855, and was afterwards
elected a Bencher of the Law Society. In 1857 he
was induced to offer himself a candidate for alderman
for St. Lawrence ward in the city of Toronto, and was
elected. This election was thought to be extraordinary.
That a quiet Equity lawyer should step out of his
office to run for alderman was past understanding.
The fact was, no doubt, that Mr. Mowat felt that he
was suited for public life, and that this was the shortest
route to gain the public attention to his ability as a
public debater. The result showed that Mr. Mowat
could be very combative on occasion. He proved to be
a most excellent alderman, and introduced many reforms
in the City Council which remain to this day as evidence
of his skill as a municipal officer.
I sat with him, as alderman of St. Patrick's ward, in
1858, and can testify to the respect in which he was
held by the Council. He was Chairman of the Walks
and Gardens Committee, and brought to the notice of the
Council, in an able report, the necessity of laying out
parks throughout the city. There had been properties
dedicated for parks by the Government which had been
totally neglected and never brought into use. This was
all altered after Mr. Mowat's report, several parks being
now established and Queen's Park obtained from the
University.
On Mr. Mowat's resignation of his seat as alderman
in the latter part of the year, it fell to my lot, as Chair-
man of Walks and Gardens, to which I succeeded on his
244 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
retirement, to continue the negotiations for the lease of
the park property ; and finally, as Mayor, to which office
I had been elected on the resignation of Mr. William H.
Boulton, to accept the lease and finally complete the
contract with the University. As I am in a reminiscent
mood, I may state here that although Mr. Mowat and
myself were directly opposed in politics, he warmly sup-
ported me for Mayor when I was opposed by another
Conservative. We have had public relations together,
not only as members of the City Council, but as Com-
missioners for the revision of the Statutes of Canada
and Upper Canada, 1856-1857-1858, when he was one of
the most active members on the commission, his services
being specially valuable in the consolidation of the
Municipal Laws.
His success as alderman induced his party to bring
him forward as candidate to represent the county of
South Ontario in Parliament in 1857. His opponent in
the election was the Honorable Joseph C. Morrison,
whom he defeated by a large majority. This election is
chiefly memorable by the fact that it was during that
contest that Mr. Mowat was given the name of "the
Christian politician." Mr. John A. Macdonald and his
party were at that time kept in power by virtue of
their Lower Canadian majority, which was Roman
Catholic and French.
The Reform party, in order to gain a victory over
their opponents, hoisted the Protestant flag and raised
the Protestant cry. No words were strong enough for
a Reformer to use in condemnation of Romish and
French ascendency. The school-houses rang with the
cry, political agitators excelled themselves in denuncia-
SSX OLIVER MO WAT. 245
tion of the Macdonald-Cartier coalition, the press
teemed with inflammatory articles, placards were posted
all over the county, printed in large letters and with the
utmost fervency insisting upon the necessity for protect-
ing the Protestant faith and English language in the
interest of religion and good government.
From the character of the alliances that have been
made since that time, if judged by the record, Sir Oliver
at this day would hardly recognize himself. Truly " we
know what we are, but know not what we may be "
especially in politics.
When Parliament met in February, 1858, Mr. Mowat
was found in his place in the House as the representative
of South Ontario, and a supporter of Mr. George Brown,
Leader of the Opposition.
The experience Mr. Mowat had had in the City Council
of Toronto, especially in the matter and manner of dis-
cussing public questions, stood him in good stead in Par-
liament, and he speedily rose to the front rank in par-
liamentary debate. Sir Oliver has always exhibited
great earnestness in the discussion of public questions,
which, perhaps, has been one of the causes of his success
as a politician. At all events he proved himself Mr.
Brown's ablest associate. When the ill-starred Brown-
Dorion Government of August, 1858, was formed, Mr.
Mowat was appointed Secretary of State. This Govern-
ment had lasted but two days when the House declared
lack of confidence in it. The old Macdonald-Cartier
Government was recalled, and the office of Secretary of
State passed to other hands.
With the loss of office Mr. Mowat did not lose his
enthusiasm for political life, of which so far he had had
246 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
but a taste. He continued to be a supporter of Mr.
Brown, and in 1861, in the interests of his party, was a
candidate in opposition to Hon. John A. Macdonald for
the representation of Kingston in Parliament. Both
were Kingston boys, and both thought they had a claim
upon the constituency. The old town, however, did not
choose to change its old member for a new one, and Mr.
Mowat was defeated.
The consequence of this defeat was that Mr. Mowat
was compelled to fall back on his old constituency of
South Ontario for a seat in the House. In 1862 the
Sandfield Macdonald-Sicotte Government was formed,
and it was thought at the outset that Mr. Mowat would
have been a member of it, but the radical difference of
opinion that existed between the Premier, Mr. Sandfield
Macdonald, and Mr. Mowat, on the subject of represen-
tation by population, prevented Mr. Mowat's entering the
Cabinet. Mr. Mowat had pinned his faith on the prin-
ciple that as the population of Upper Canada exceeded
that of Lower Canada the Upper Province should have
a proportionate increase of representation, and not an
equal representation only, as had been the case since the
union of 1841. This great and most important political
principle had to be conceded at last when the confed-
eration of the Provinces took place in 1867, though up
to that time it had been vigorously opposed by Sir John
A. Macdonald and the majority of his party. There
was, of course, a strong minority of Conservatives, or
Tories, as they were then called, who believed in " Rep.
by Pop.," as it was then called, and to them it was a
gratification when that same leader adopted the principle
at the time and as a main principle of Confederation.
OLIVER MO WAT. 247
Sir Oliver Mowat may fairly be said to have been the
father of the principle, now firmly engrafted on the con-
stitution. Although, as has been said, Mr. Mowat was not
a member of the Macdonald-Sicotte Government when
first formed, when the Cabinet was reconstructed, in
1863, he became a member of it, accepting the portfolio
of Postmaster-General. But his term of office under
this Government only lasted for about ten months, when
the Government went down and he with it. This Gov-
ernment was popularly known as the Macdonald-Dorion
Government.
In 1864 the friction between the two provinces of
Upper and Lower Canada became so great that it was
felt by the leading politicians that the only way to save
the ship of state was to scuttle it and rebuild it by a
confederation of the Provinces of Upper and Lower
Canada and the Maritime Provinces, leaving the door
open for the entry of other provinces into Confederation
when circumstances should arise to make it desirable.
In 1864 the Macdonald-Tache'-Brown coalition Govern-
ment was formed for the purpose of reconciling differ-
ences and to make possible the agreement for a con-
federation of the provinces. In this government Mr.
Mowat was Postmaster- General.
A convention of the provincial delegates was held in
Quebec in 1864, to discuss the matter and endeavor to
agree upon terms. Mr. Mowat was a member of that
convention, the upshot of which was that the confedera-
tion of the provinces was formed under the sanction of
the British Government and an Imperial Act of Parlia-
ment. / Mr. Mowat took an active part in preparing the
Constitutional Act of Confederation. He was, indeed,
248 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
one of the " Fathers of Confederation." The meeting
of the delegates of Confederation took place in Quebec
on October 10th, 1864. In November following Mr.
Mowat was raised to the bench as one of the Vice- Chan-
cellors of Ontario. Here again I am personally reminis-
cent. I practised before Sir Oliver during the whole
time he occupied a seat on the bench, and can say
that on the bench he forgot politics and was uniformly
courteous to the Bar. His decisions had a sound ground-
ing in them that commended them to the profession and
public alike. It was thought to be a great loss to the
bench when he left it in 1872 to enter again the poli-
tical arena. His old party being then in a straitened
condition, they demanded his services and he complied,
greatly to the chagrin of his political opponents and the
delight of his political friends. The step which Mr.
Mowat took was an unusual one. Never before in
Canada had a judge resigned his official position and
descended from the bench to engage in politics. But
the situation was such that if the Reform party was to
continue to exist, Mr. Mowat's assistance was absolutely
essential.
The two leaders, Messrs. Blake and Mackenzie, had
left the Ontario Government to enter the House of
Commons at Ottawa, and the local Reform party was
helpless without the aid of another leader. Yielding
to the pressure of his friends, Mr. Mowat resigned the
Vice-Chancellorship and became Premier and Attorney-
General of Ontario. That the Attorney- General of the
Province should have been taken from an Equity court
was thought by some to be an extraordinary appointment,
as they considered that the Attorney-General should be
OLIVER MO WAT. 249
a man skilled in criminal laws. This Mr. Mowat was
not, his professional practice at the bar having been in
the Court of Chancery, and his position as judge, that of
Vice- Chancellor of the only court of Equity in the
Province. How then could he be Attorney-General and
conduct business in the criminal courts ? The question
was solved by the Attorney- General not conducting
business in the criminal courts, but leaving it to county
attorneys and Crown counsel, while the Attorney-
General remained at the helm in the Government
buildings, the head of the Law Department and at the
same time Premier.
Sir Oliver's long term in office as Premier and Attor-
ney-General of the Province of Ontario, extending over
a term of upwards of twenty-three years, gave him
opportunity to shape her laws such as had not fallen to
any other Minister. That he did well no one disputed,
though there may be a great difference of opinion as to
the centralizing tendency inaugurated while he was
leader of the House. In school legislation, municipal
legislation, and in legislation of a social character, as in
the matter of licenses, more extensive powers were
gradually given to the Government of the day. Whether
this change is in the nature of reform or not may be
questioned. It undoubtedly was a marked tendency of
the legislation during his administration. The highest
praise, however, is due to him for his determined and
brilliant defence of the rights of Ontario. His successful
litigation with the Dominion Government, resulting in
his obtaining a large increase of territory for his native
province, will ever remain an enduring monument to
his memory as a Minister. The Dominion Government,
250 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
notwithstanding their confident boast of certain success,
were signally defeated on the question of the north-
west boundary of the Province by an unanimous award
made by Sir Edward Thornton, the British Minister at
Washington, Sir Francis Hincks and Chief Justice Har-
rison the three arbitrators selected to ascertain the line
between Ontario and Manitoba. None of these gentle-
men could be claimed to^be predisposed in favor of the
Provinces of Ontario or Manitoba, or against the Domin-
ion, yet they were compelled to come to the conclusion,
on the evidence furnished by old maps and records, that
the Province of Ontario was entitled to one-half more
territory than the Dominion Government were willing
to allow. The final decision of the matter was sub-
mitted to the Privy Council after the arbitrators had
decided in favor of Attorney-General Mowat's conten-
tion. Mr. Thomas Hodgins, Q.C., the present Master in
Chancery, counsel for Ontario in this case, devoted
much time in exploring all accessible archives for
material to strengthen the case of Ontario, and had the
satisfaction of seeing his clients succeed in a contest, the
result which was due not a little to his research, and
was of great political value and importance. On all
constitutional questions Sir Oliver has proved himself
an adept, and he has not shirked the question when-
ever a constitutional issue has arisen, as between the
Province of which he was Premier and the Dominion,
or between his Province and other provinces of the
Confederation.
He raised the question of the Dominion Government
having the sole right to appoint Queen's Counsel, con-
tending that the Ontario Government possessed the
OLIVER MO WAT. 251
power as well as the Dominion. In this contention he
succeeded in establishing the rights of the Province after
the matter had been submitted to the Privy Council for
adjudication. Politically this was of great advantage to
him, affording him abundant opportunity to reward
political legal friends.
The statutes of a general and beneficial character
passed by the Provincial Assembly during Sir Oliver
Mowat's administration as Premier, and of which he was
the originator, are legion, too numerous even to mention.
Some, however, are especially entitled to mention :
1st. The Administration of Justice Act of 1873 and
the beginning of the fusion of law and equity. This
was such a radical change in the administration of the
law that it was not without some misgiving that it was
entered upon. However, after feeling the pulse of
professional men of the law and the judges, the con-
ception that Sir Oliver had of the matter took shape
and was embodied in his legislation. It certainly was
a great advance to have legal and equitable rights
determined in the same action, and the Administration
of Justice Act was the first step which led to the
ultimate fusion of law and equity, completed by the
Judicature Act of 1881.
2nd. The Devolution of Estates Act. A very import-
ant measure, the principle of which was to simplify the
administration of the estates of deceased persons, and
to do away with the distinctions between the descent
of real and personal estate, which was one of the last
survivals of the old law of primogeniture of the Middle
Ages.
3rd. The Law of Liens was extended to give to
252 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS.
mechanics a lien for their wages on the property on
which they have expended labor. A most beneficial
law.
4th. The right of landlords in the matter of distress
for rent, curtailing the ancient rights of landlords and
ameliorating the lot of tenants.
These are some only of his many important public
reforms.
Sir Oliver during the whole course of his adminis-
tration had on the opposite side of the House able
critics, who aided him not a little in so shaping his
legislation as to be productive of the most good to the
majority of people. He never refused to accept such
aid and was generous enough to admit its importance.
In 1896 Sir Oliver resigned his seat in the Provincial
House, was again elected by the constitutency of North
Oxford to the Dominion Parliament, and entered the
administration of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, as Minister of
Justice. The prestige he had obtained while Premier of
Ontario in fighting constitutional battles induced the
Dominion Government to entrust him with the conduct
of the negotiations for settlement of the difficult School
question with the delegates from the Province of
Manitoba.
The measure of success he had in that matter can
better be determined by future events. Sufficient to
say that an arrangement was entered into satisfactory
to the Government of Manitoba, and it is to be hoped
to the pacification of the Separate School question which
agitated the Manitobans for many years.
Sir Oliver during his busy life has been able to devote
some of his time to literary work. His works, " Evidences
OLIVER MOW AT. 253
of Christianity" and " Christianity and Some of Its
Fruits," show the sincerely religious bent of his mind.
In 1897 he was elected Honorary President of the
Canadian Bar Association, and was at one time its presi-
dent. He was formerly president of the Canadian
Institute, has filled the presidency of the Evangelical
Alliance, and is a vice-president of the Upper Canada
Bible Society. He received the honorary degree of LL.D.
from Queen's University in 1872, and from Toronto
University in 1889. In 1887 he presided over the
Quebec Interprovincial Conference. In 1892, in recog-
nition of his services, the Queen created him a Knight
Commander of the most distinguished Order of St.
Michael and St. George, and in 1897, on the completion
of the sixtieth year of Her Majesty's reign, he was pro-
moted to be a Knight Grand Cross of the same Order.
In religious belief Sir Oliver is a Presbyterian.
He married Jane, the second daughter of the late
John Ewart, of Toronto. She died March 14th, 1893.
Sir Oliver was appointed to his present position of
Lieutenant-Governor on November 18th, 1897, to the
satisfaction of his friends and political opponents alike,
who have always recognized in him a firm friend of the
British Empire.
That Sir Oliver Mowat may live many years to enjoy
his honors is the hope of his many friends.
APPENDIX.
We here present autographs of the Lieutenant-Gov-
ernors and Administrators whose portraits do not appear
in this volume. Of the first two, Hunter and Grant, no
portraits are known to be in existence.
64*
PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY
