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The Scot in British North America
Chapter IX Addenda


In a work of the present character and extent, it was almost impossible, while pursuing the slight thread of historical continuity which we have tried to keep in view, to avoid the omission of names of many who are entitled to a notice in these pages. In the scanty space yet remaining at our disposal the endeavour will be made to rectify this defect as far as may be, by brief sketches of those Canadian Scotsmen of note who have hitherto been passed over altogether or received a merely casual mention.

Probably the man who above all others has done most for the commercial development of Canada was the late Sir Hugh Allan – to whom but scanty reference has already been made in these volumes. Sir Hugh came of a seafaring family, his father being Captain Alexander Allan, a ship-master engaged in the trade between the Clyde and Montreal, and two of his brothers being also sailors. He was born at Saltcoats, in Ayrshire, Scotland, on the 29th day of September, 1810. The nautical associations of his earlier years made a powerful impression upon him. He was constantly thrown into the company of sailors; and familiarity with maritime life resulted in that strong predilection for the water described by Byron’s well-known lines—

And I have loved thee, Ocean! and my joy
Of youthful sports was on thy breast to be
Borne like thy bubbles onward, from a boy
I wantoned with thy breakers—they to me
Were a delight, and if the freshening sea
Made them a terror—’twas a pleasing fear
For I was as it were a child of thee,
And trusted to thy billows far and near.

There is little doubt that his future career as the founder of the line of vessels that perpetuates his name was largely determined by his early training and surroundings. His scholastic education was but scanty, and at the age of thirteen Hugh Allan entered the employ of Allan, Kerr & Co., a shipping firm of Greenock. Here he remained for about a year acquiring some knowledge of the business for which he displayed a decided aptitude. Acting on the advice of his father he resolved to emigrate to Canada, and arrived at Montreal in the spring of 1826. The difficulties and delays experienced by his father’s vessel, the Favourite, in making the passage up the St. Lawrence on this trip, indicate the then primitive state of the now extensive shipping interest of our commercial metropolis. A strong head wind prevailed, and the solitary steam-tug which then sufficed for the commerce of the port, was unable to tow the ship up the St. Mary’s current. The services of a dozen yoke of oxen were called into requisition, but even this additional power was unavailing, and it was not until a large gang of men from a shipyard at Hochelaga had lent their aid that the vessel was enabled to drop anchor opposite Montreal. There were no wharves at that time. The bank shelved down in its natural condition and landing cargoes by means of a long gangway was a difficult and tedious process.

The future steamship king obtained a situation with the firm of William Kerr & Co., dry goods merchants, which he retained for three years, acquiring an excellent knowledge of business methods. He also mastered the French language and endeavoured to remedy the defects of his lack of education in boyhood by assiduous study. He determined to revisit for a while his native land, but previous to doing so took a trip through Upper Canada and New York State. After spending a few months in the old country Mr. Allan returned to Canada in the spring of 1831, and obtained a situation with the firm of James Millar & Co., Montreal, shipbuilders and commission merchants. Here he was engaged for some time in buying and shipping wheat, and he turned his knowledge and experience to such good account and devoted himself so thoroughly to the interests of the firm that after four years of service in a subordinate position he was admitted to a partnership in the year 1837. When the rebellion of 1837 broke out he joined the Fifth Battalion as a volunteer and was speedily promoted to a captaincy. The death of the senior partner in 1838 resulted in a change of the style of the firm to that of Edmonston & Allan. The business continued steadily to develop in both its branches. In 1841 the firm were employed by the Governor-General, Lord Sydenham, to build a steam frigate which bore his name. They also constructed a small screw steamer for the Government called the Union, notable as one of the first vessels of that description built in the country. The following year the firm turned their attention to the improvement of the navigation facilities of the port— building a powerful tug-boat and several barges to lighten vessels up and down the river. About 1845 they temporarily discontinued ship-building, devoting themselves for some years to the management of their vessels and other commercial interests. About this time Mr. Allan’s younger brother, Andrew, acquired an interest in the firm, which after some other changes of nomenclature eventually adopted the style of Hugh & Andrew Allan. In 1851 the ship-building branch of their business was resumed, owing to the proposals of the Government with a view to the establishment of a line of iron screw steamships between Liverpool and the St. Lawrence. The first contract was given to a Glasgow firm, but after a trial of a year and a half, the arrangement with them was abandoned as unsatisfactory, and the Allans succeeded in making terms with the Government. The first vessel built for this line was the Canadian, which made her first trip in 1853. The mail service was commenced the following year, the trips being fortnightly between Liverpool and the St. Lawrence during the season of open navigation, and monthly to Portland during the winter. The firm surmounted great difficulties and sustained heavy losses at the outset of this great enterprise, but by perseverance, energy, and judgment, succeeded at length in obtaining public confidence and placing the Allan Line on a firm and profitable basis. The four vessels at first engaged in the service were before long supplemented by additional ones. In 1857 the public demanded more frequent mail communication with England, and the Government determined that the service should be weekly throughout the year. Four larger steamships were built, and the weekly mail service set on foot on the 1st of May, 1859. This great enterprise gave an immense impetus to the commerce of Montreal, and in connection with the other undertakings of the Allans did more than any other cause to give Canada a high place on the roll of maritime nations. The firm also established a line of steamers plying between the St. Lawrence and Glasgow. The improvement of vessel architecture seriously engaged their attention, as they were determined to spare no pains or expense to attain the style best adapted to secure the safety and convenience of their passengers. They were the first to build steamers for the Atlantic service with the spar or flush deck now generally conceded to be a great improvement in construction, though strongly opposed at the time of its first introduction. The Allan fleet is one of the most numerous and important on the globe, and is managed upon a strict system of organization and discipline by which regular promotion is secured to competent and deserving employes, and nothing left undone to secure thoroughness and efficiency in every detail. In 1881 the Allans owned twenty-four ocean steamships with an aggregate of 76,130 tons and thirteen Clyde-built clippers with a tonnage of 19,016. On more than one occasion the Imperial Government have availed themselves of the company’s steamers for the transportation of troops in war time.

The remarkable business enterprise and foresight of Mr. Hugh Allan found scope in many other directions than that of his maritime undertakings. He has been identified in one way or another with nearly all the important commercial enterprises of a corporate character undertaken in Montreal during his time. He was a leading promoter and a director of the Montreal Telegraph Company, a member of the directorate of the Atlantic Cable Company, and largely interested in many banking and other mercantile organizations. And wherever his good judgment was largely called into requisition in the conduct of such undertaking, they were almost uniformly crowned with success. His connection with the unfortunate Pacific Scandal, which has been already fully explained, is an exceptional feature in a career almost uniformly characterized by creditable public spirit and sound discretion. When Prince Arthur visited Canada in 1869 he was entertained by Mr. Allan in right royal sty1e at his mansion of Ravenscraig, in Montreal, and at Belmere his summer residence on the beautiful shores of lake Memphremagog. In recognition no less of his eminent services to the commercial interests of Canada than of his hospitality to the Prince he received the honour of knighthood at the hands of Her Majesty in the year 1871. Sir Hugh was married on the 13th of September, 1844, to Matilda, second daughter of Mr. John Smith, of Montreal, by whom he had a numerous family. He died towards the close of 1882, leaving a fortune estimated at about six million dollars.

A prominent figure in the early annals of the Bay of Quinte District was Rev. Robert McDowall, the pioneer of Presbyterianism in that section of the country. His parents emigrated from Dumfriesshire, Scotland, and settled in the State of New York. Robert McDowall was born in Saratoga County, on the 25th of July, 1768, received his education at William’s College, Schenectady, N.Y., was ordained as a minister of the Reformed Dutch Church at Albany. In response to a requisition from Canada he was sent over the border by that body as a missionary in 1798, making Fredericksburg his headquarters. He had a widely extended field of labour among the then scattered and isolated settlements along the frontier. His labours were incessant and he was exposed to all the hardships and perils of travel through a wilderness destitute of roads, and infested with beasts of prey and hostile Indians. He usually journeyed on horseback, but sometimes afoot, and made many voyages in Indian canoes, braving with extraordinary courage the dangers by land and water. These journeys extended as far east as Quebec, and on one occasion at least he travelled as far West as Middlesex County. Mr. McDowall was of a robust physique, lithe and muscular, qualities which often stood him in good stead in encountering perils to which a man of weaker physical frame must inevitably have succumbed. He was a welcome visitor in the lonely cabins of the settlers. He preached to congregations hastily assembled in the open air or in some available barn or schoolhouse, and held his auditors entranced by the power and soul-stirring eloquence of his discourses. His ready humour, lively wit and cordiality of manner in social intercourse rendered him almost universally popular. For years he was the only available minister in a large district for solemnizing the rites of marriage and baptism, and his advent would often be the signal for the assembling of numerous candidates for the matrimonial estate or admission to the visible church, the ceremonial having been perforce deferred for sometime until his arrival. As money was then very scarce his services in celebrating the marriage rite were often gratuitous, and sometimes the contracting parties testifed their appreciation by offering what would now be considered out of place. It is stated that one grateful bridegroom paid his tribute in the form of a load of pumpkins. It is recorded in Dr. Canniff’s history of the "Settlement of Upper Canada" that on one occasion Mr. McDowall walked all the way from the Bay of Quinté to York following the lake shore and swimming the rivers that could not be forded. In 1837 he was appointed by the Synod a member of a committee instructed to consider the propriety of sending a deputation to Scotland for the object of establishing a Collegiate Theological Institution and took a deep interest in the work preliminary to the establishment of Queen’s College and University at Kingston. An interesting relic of his ministry is his record of marriages and baptisms now in the possession of his grandson, Mr. R. J. McDowall, of Kingston, which contains about 3,000 entries. Mr. McDowall was an earnest temperance reformer and probably the first public advocate of total abstinence in this country. This veteran pioneer in the cause of religion closed his long and useful life, on the 3rd of August, 1841. He left a widow and family, having at an early period of his ministry married Hannah Washburn, daughter of Ebenezer Washburn, M. P., and sister of Hon. Simeon Washburn, Senator.

Lachlan McCallum, of Stromness, for many years M. P. for Monck, was born in Argyllshire, Scotland, on the 15th of March, 1823, and emigrated to Canada in 1842. He settled in Haldimand County where he engaged extensively in contracting and ship-building. He received several contracts from the Government for the construction of harbours on Lakes Ontario and Erie.

During the Fenian raid of 1866, Mr. McCallum commanded the Dunnville Naval Company at Fort Erie. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the representation of Haldimand in the Canadian Assembly at the general election of 1862, but was more fortunate in 1867, when he was returned for the Dominion House of Commons for Monck. He represented the same constituency in the Ontario Legislature for a year, resigning in 1872, when dual representation was abolished. He was a candidate for the Commons in 1872, but was defeated by Mr. J. D. Edgar, but in 1874 he was again elected over the same opponent, though the following year he was unseated for bribery committed by his agents. He was, however, reelected the same year, and defeated Mr. Edgar again in 1878. Mr. McCallum is a Conservative in politics, and his practical common sense and technical knowledge made him a useful member of the House.

Hector Cameron, Q.C, and member of the Dominion House of Commons for the North Riding of the County of Victoria, is the son of Assistant Commissary-General Kenneth Cameron, and was born at Montreal, on the 3rd of June, 1832. By his father’s side, he is descended from the Glen Dessary branch of the Clan Cameron of Inverness-shire. His mother was the daughter of Mr. Robert Selby, of North Earl, Northumberland, England. The family returned to England during Hector Cameron’s boyhood, and he was sent to King’s College, London, and afterwards to Trinity College Dublin, where he graduated in 1851. Returning to Canada the same year, he took the degree of M.A. at Toronto University. General Cameron was subsequent1y assigned to duties in connection with the Commissariat Department in Montreal, where he died in 1855. After Hector Cameron had completed his University studies he entered upon the study of the law, with his distinguished namesake, Hon. J. T. Hillyard Cameron, and was called to the bar in 1854, when he at once commenced the practice of his profession. In the year 1858 he entered into partnership with Hon. Adam Crooks. This connection was dissolved the following year, when Mr. Cameron received into partnership the late Mr. Thomas Moss, who afterwards rose to the position of Chief Justice. In 1864 Mr. Moss retired, Mr. Cameron practised alone until 1876, when he became the leading member of the firm of Cameron & Appleby. His practice has for many years been large and lucrative, as he sustains an excellent reputation as a skilful and profound lawyer. He was created a Queen’s Counsel in 1872. A large share of Mr. Cameron’s practice is in connection with railway and telegraph companies, for several of which he has a standing retainer. He has also taken a prominent part as director in several railway undertakings. For many years he has taken an active interest in politics. He contested South Victoria unsuccessfully for the House of Commons in 1867, and was again on the losing side in 1874, when he received the Conservative nomination for the north riding of the same county. Better success attended him in a subsequent contest in the latter constituency the year following, his temporarily triumphant opponent, Mr. McLennan, having been unseated. Although the second contest was at first decided in favour of Mr. McLennan, a scrutiny of votes gave the seat to Mr. Cameron, and he has since retained it, being returned at the two last general elections. His course in Parliament has been consistently Conservative, and he is a hard-working and useful member. He has occupied the responsible position of chairman of the Private Bills Committee. When he takes part in the debates of the House it is generally in relation to some legal point his professional standing giving great weight to his views upon all such questions. Mr. Cameron was married, in 1860, to Clara, eldest daughter of Mr. William Boswell, barrister, of Cobourg, by whom he has two children.

William Clyde Caldwell, member of the Provincial Legislature for North Lanark, and a prominent man in local affairs, was born in the village of Lanark, on the 14th of May, 1843, his parents being Alexander and Mary Ann Campbell, both natives of Scotland. He was educated at Queen’s College, Kingston, graduating in 1864. He engaged in the lumbering industry, which was also his father’s principal business. His operations during late years have been very extensive, the out-put of his saw-mills amounting to about 6,000,000 feet annually, of which a large proportion is shipped to Oswego, in New York State. Mr. Caldwell is also a miller, and has devoted considerable attention to farming. He is known in his locality as an energetic and public spirited man, and has held a number of municipal offices. A vacancy occurring in the representation of North Lanark in the Provincial Legislature, in 1872, owing to the resignation of Mr. Daniel Galbraith, Mr. Caldwell was elected in the Reform interest. He sustained a defeat in the general elections of 1875, but was again returned in 1879 and in 1883. His name has become familiar to the public of late years, by reason of the constitutional conflict over the passage of the Rivers and Streams Bill by the Local House, and its disallowance by the Dominion Government, the question as to the right of the proprietor of land, through which a navigable stream flows, to prevent its use by parties owning timber limits on the upper waters, having been first raised in connection with his lumbering operations. In politics, Mr. Caldwell is a Reformer.

James Hall, of Peterborough, a former member of the Canadian Parliament, both before and after Confederation, was born in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, in 1806, his father being a merchant of the same name. He received his education in the grammar school of his native town, and studied the profession of civil engineer in the office of his brother, Francis Hall. In 1820, the family came to Canada, settling in the Township of Lanark, then a wilderness. Their house was, in fact, the first built in the township. After remaining for some time on the farm, James Hall, junr., started a store and distillery which he sold in 1830, going to Halifax, N. S., where for about two years he practiced his profession as a civil-engineer and surveyor. Returning to Lanark, he engaged for a short time in the tanning business, first in Lanark and afterwards in Peterborough, to which town he removed in 1834. Here he was also concerned in extensive commercial operations, buying wheat largely, and shipping flour to Montreal and lumber to New York State, being the first man in the neighbourhood to engage in those enterprises. He was elected as Parliamentary representative of the united Counties of Peterborough and Victoria in 1848, and retained his seat until 1852. He gave up business in 1856, and in the same year was appointed Sheriff of the united Counties. The separation of the counties took place in 1863, Mr. Hall retaining the shrievalty of Peterhorough until 1872, when he resigned, and again went into politics, being elected member of the Dominion House of Commons for East Peterborough in 1873. He remained in public life until 1878. He was a consistent Reformer during his parliamentary career. Mr. Hall has also held several municipal offices, including that of Mayor of Peterborough, and has always maintained a lively interest in anything tending to promote the moral and intellectual welfare of the community, having been President of the Peterborough Literary Club and Mechanics’ Institute, and an active Sunday school worker. He married, in 1830, Jane Albro, daughter of Samuel Albro, of Dartmouth, N. S., who died in 1868, and by whom he had a large family. James Albro Hall, his eldest son, succeeded to the shrievalty of Peterborough on his father’s resignation, and one of his daughters is the wife of Mr. Sandford Fleming. Mr. Hall was re-married, his present wife being the daughter of Fergus Ferguson, of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Donald Guthrie, Q. C., of Guelph, who for several years represented South Wellington in the House of Commons, is a native of Edinburgh. The date of his birth is May 8th, 1840. His father, Hugh Guthrie, was in business for many years in the Scottish capital. Donald Guthrie came to Canada when about fourteen years of age, and was articled as a law student to Hon. Oliver Mowat. He completed his legal education in the offices of Mr. John Helliwell, Toronto, Hon. A. J. Fergusson-Blair and Mr. John J. Kingsmill, Guelph. He was admitted to practice as an attorney in 1863, called to the bar in 1866,and created a Queen’s Counsel in 1876. Mr. Guthrie is a senior partner in the firm of Guthrie, Watt & Cutten, of Guelph, and has a brilliant reputation as a forensic orator. He is Solicitor for the County of Wellington and the City of Guelph, and holds other important and responsible positions. In 1876 he was elected to Parliament for South Wellington, on the resignation of the sitting member, Mr. David Stirton, and in 1878, which proved a year of disaster to many Reform representatives, was re-elected. Mr. Guthrie is one of the leading citizens of Guelph. His wife, to whom he was united in 1863, is a sister of Rev. Dr. D. H. MacVicar, Principal of the Presbyterian College at Montreal.

Hon. Peter Gow, of Guelph, Sheriff of the County of Wellington, and formerly a member of the Ontario Ministry, is a native of Johnstone, Renfrewsbire, where he was born on the 20th of November, 1818, being a son of John Gow, a boot and shoe manufacturer. His mother’s maiden name was Agnes Ferguson, and she came from Argyllshire. He assisted in his father’s business until his departure for Canada in 1842. After spending a couple of years in Brockville, he came to Guelpb, where he built a tannery and kept a leather store. He continued this business until about the year 1868. During this period he also built a woollen and oatmeal mill, and engaged in other enterprises. Before Guelph attained the dignity of a city, Mr. Gow took an active part in municipal affairs. In 1866, after a lengthened period of service in the town council, he was elected Mayor, an office which he filled with credit to himself and advantage to the citizens, who, on his retirement, showed their appreciation of his labours in their behalf by presenting him with a service of plate. He was the first representative of South Wellington in the Ontario Parliament when it was organized in 1867—and was re-elected by acclamation in 1871. When the administration of Hon. John Sandfield Macdonald was overthrown in the same year, Mr. Gow entered the Cabinet organized by Mr. Blake, with the portfolio of Provincial Secretary. He did not remain long in office, however, retiring with his chief in 1872, though he retained his seat until 1876, when he was appointed Sheriff of Wellington County. Mr. Gow married, in 1857, Mary Maxwell Smith, of Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, and has a family of nine sons and one daughter.

David Stirton, Postmaster of Guelph, was born in Forfarshire, Scotland, in 1816, his parents, James and Janet Stirton, emigrating to Canada when David was about eleven years of age. The family settled in the bush about five miles from the present city of Guelph. At that time there were no schools in the neighbourhood, so that, with the exception of the rudiments of instruction, which he had obtained before leaving Scotland, David Stirton’s education was entirely self-acquired. He shared in all the labours of "roughing it" in the bush, and for forty-five years, as man and boy, toiled as a farmer in the townships of Guelph and Puslinch. He was long connected with the municipal affairs of the latter township. For nineteen consecutive years, ending with 1867, he represented South Wellington in the old Canadian Parliament, and for nine years after Confederation retained a seat in the House of Commons for that constituency. It is very seldom that any representative of the people can show such a long-continued and unbroken term of service. Mr. Stirton retired from Parliamentary life in 1876; upon his appointment to the office of Postmaster of Guelph. He has been twice married—in 1842 to Miss Mary Beattie of Puslinch, and in 1847 to Miss Henrietta M’Gregor—having children by both marriages. His brother, Mr. William Stirton was the first male child born in Guelph.

Col. John Walker, of London, was born in Argyllshire, Scotland, in 1832. He was educated in Stirling, and had been for several years engaged, in business in Leith and Glasgow, when, in 1864, his abilities attracted the attention of a number of Scottish capitalists, who were in want of an agent to look after their interests at Bothwell, Canada West, where they had purchased some oil lands and other property from Hon. George Brown. Col. Walker soon found that he had no easy task, as the petroleum excitement had attracted to Bothwell a large number of adventurers, including a lawless element, which required to be kept in order. He received a special appointment as magistrate, and his firmness and decision of character in that capacity were of much service in checking the incipient tendency to disorder. In 1867 he took up his residence in London, and entered upon extensive operations in the manufacture of sulphuric acid and oil refining. He speedily became one of the most prominent citizens, and acquired a great influence in public affairs. He has been concerned in a great many important commercial enterprises, and in various ways has contributed to the progress and prosperity of the city with which his interests are identified. At the time of the Fenian raid in 1866, Col. Walker raised a company of volunteers in Bothwell, and afterwards in 1870, when danger was again apprehended from this source, he was assigned to the command of the militia forces at Windsor, having in the meantime attained the rank of major in the 7th Battalion. In 1877 he was advanced to the rank of Colonel, and has since commanded the battalion. Col. Walker is a member of the Council of the Dominion Rifle Association, and one of the vice-presidents of the Ontario Rifle Association. In 1874 Col. Walker received the nomination of the Reformers of London for the House of Commons, his opponent being Hon. John Carling. The contest, which was a very keen one, resulted in Col. Walker’s being returned, but the election was controverted, and after a trial which created intense interest throughout the country, he was unseated. He entered upon another contest in 1878, but Mr. Carling was again successful. Col. Walker has been president of the London Mechanics’ Institute, and also of the St. Andrew’s Society.

Lieut.-Col. Alexander Allan Stevenson, of Montreal, was born in the parish of Riccarton, Ayrshire, in January, 1829. The family came to Canada in 1846, and he was apprenticed to the printing trade in Montreal, serving the latter part of his time in the Herald office. In partnership with two others, he started the Sun newspaper in 1853. His venture proved successful, the paper gaining a wide-spread popularity. Subsequently, he embarked in a general printing business, which he continued to conduct until the year 1879. Early in his business career, Mr. Stevenson joined the Montreal Mechanics’ Institute, of which he was for many years a most active member, having at one time or other held every office in the list. He was connected with the Board of Arts and Manufactures for Lower Canada, which, after Confederation, became the Council of Arts and Manufactures for the Province of Quebec. He has held the position of President of the Council, and is at present Treasurer of the Permanent Exhibition Committee for Quebec, which is composed of members of the Council of Agriculture and Arts. Mr. Stevenson is, perhaps, more generally known to the public in connection with military affairs than in any other capacity. In 1855 he assisted in organizing the celebrated Montreal Field Battery of Artillery. He was promoted to a Lieutenancy in 1856, and in the same year succeeded to the command, which position he has since retained. In 1858 this corps had the honour of participating in the great military celebration held in New York in connection with the laying of the first Atlantic Cable. The Montreal Field Battery is the only British military organization that has carried the Union Jack through the streets of New York since the evacuation of the British, a century ago. Col. Stevenson became a Free Mason in 1856, holding various subordinate offices in the fraternity, until, in 1868, he attained the highest position it was in their power to confer, being chosen Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Canada. This office he held for three successive years. He was also appointed by the Prince of Wales, as head of the Knights Templars, Knight Commander of the Temple. He was one of the founders of the Caledonian Society of Montreal, established in 1855, being chosen Secretary, and afterwards occupied the presidential chair for many years. In 1870, Col. Stevenson formed one of a delegation from that society to the convention in New York, which resulted in the organization of the North American United Caledonia Association, which exercises a continental jurisdiction over affiliated clubs and societies. He was also an active member of the St. Andrew’s Society of Montreal, of which he was elected president in 1878. In this capacity he received the Marquis of Lorne and the Princess Louise at the St. Andrew’s ball held in their honour on their arrival in Canada. He was elected to the City Council in 1861, serving for six years, during part of which time he officiated as Acting Mayor. In 1882 he was again chosen to a seat in the Council, where he has been of great service to the city. Colonel Stevenson has taken an active part in politics on the Conservative side. In 1874, without his knowledge or consent, he received the Conservative nomination, as a candidate for the House of Commons, for the constituency of Montreal West. His opponent was Mr. Frederick McKenzie, who headed the poll on election day, though, on the petition of Col. Stevenson, he was afterwards unseated on the ground of bribery by agents. Col. Stevenson has been put in nomination as a representative on two other occasions, but in both cases declined the honour.

Rev. Matthew Witherspoon Maclean, pastor of St. Andrew’s Church, Belleville, was born in Glasgow, on the 11th of June, 1842, and completed his education at the University of that city. While a divinity student, he visited Canada in 1862, and decided to make this country the field of his labours. He entered the Divinity Hall of Queen’s College, Kingston, where he studied two years, afterwards attending a session of Princeton Theological Seminary, New Jersey, where he graduated in 1866. Returning to Canada in that year, he was licensed by the Presbytery of Niagara in connection with the Church of Scotland. His first pastoral charge was St. Andrew’s Church, Paisley, in Bruce County. Here he found abundant scope for his zeal and energy. The country was newly settled, and the spiritual wants of the people had been but inefficiently and irregularly supplied. Mr. Maclean found himself the only pastor belonging to this denomination within forty miles. His work extended over the large area of five townships, and, in addition to daily pastoral visits, he travelled, every Sabbath, from twenty to forty miles, preaching three times a day. His church increased so rapidly that it became necessary to provide additional accommodation for what had previously been a sparse and dwindling congregation. Three mission-stations were organized at different points in the neighbourhood. After five years of persistent and effective labour in this place, Mr. Maclean accepted a call to the Mill Street Presbyterian Church at Port Hope, where he remained for two years. In 1873 he went to Belleville, where he became pastor of St. Andrew’s Church, which is the oldest Presbyterian Church in the city, and comprises among its members and adherents a very large proportion of the most substantial and cultivated people of the city. Since his acceptance of the pastorate of St. Andrew’s, Mr. Maclean filled the office of Clerk of the Presbytery of Kingston, in connection with the Church of Scotland, up to the time of the union of the Presbyterian Churches of the Dominion. Mr. Maclean is an able and scholarly preacher, and most zealous in the discharge of the various duties of his high office. He is also highly successful as a platform speaker, uniting elaboration of thought with fluency and grace of expression.

George Ralph Richardson Cockburn, for upwards of twenty years Principal of Upper Canada College, is a native of Edinburgh, his natal day being the 15th of February, 1834. He was educated at the Edinburgh High School and University, and at his graduation in 1857 took the Stratton Prize. He subsequently prosecuted his classical studies in Germany and France. In 1858 he commenced his Canadian career, having been appointed by the Council of Public Instruction to the Rectorship of the Model Grammar School for Upper Canada. He was shortly afterwards commissioned by the Government to inspect the higher educational institutions of the Province. The results of this investigation, which extended over a period of two years, were given to the public in two comprehensive reports, in which the condition and needs of higher education were elaborately set forth. Mr. Cockburn then visited a number of the principal institutions of learning in the United States in order to familiarize himself thoroughly with their methods. In 1861 the Government appointed him Principal of Upper Canada College and a member of the Senate of Toronto University. He has had a long and successful career as an instructor of youth, and under his able management Upper Canada College has obtained a high reputation both for the thoroughness of its teaching and the excellent moral influences prevailing within its walls. There are few men who have done more for the cause of Canadian education than Principal Cockburn. The celebrated Dr. Schmitz of Edinburgh said of him, that he was no ordinary scholar, but a thorough philologist, possessing a good insight into the structure, the relations and affinities subsisting between the ancient and modern languages of Europe, and also characterized him as one of the best Latin scholars that Scotland has produced.

Judge Henry Macpherson, of Owen Sound, is a son of Lowther P. Macpherson, barrister, and grandson of Lieut.-Col. Donald Macpherson, who commanded the fort at Kingston in the beginning of the war of 1812, being afterwards removed to Quebec. Donald Macpherson was the son of Evan Macpherson of Cluny, the chief of the clan Macpherson, who took part in the rising in favour of Prince Charles in 1745. Henry Macpherson was born at Picton, Prince Edward County, in 1832, his mother being a daughter of Lieut.-Col. Allan McLean, of Kingston, for sixteen years Speaker of the old Canadian Assembly. He was educated at Kingston Grammar School and Queen’s College, graduating from the latter institution in 1851. He studied law with Mr. Thomas Kirkpatrick, of the same city, and was admitted as an attorney in 1854 and called to the bar the following year. Mr. Macpherson practised his profession at Owen Sound for about ten years, and in 1865 was made Judge of the County Court of the County of Grey. In 1879 he received the additional appointment of Surrogate Judge of the Maritime Court. Judge Macpherson is a leading Freemason, and has held several important positions in the Order. He is Past Senior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of Canada. He takes a heartfelt interest in local enterprises, and has identified himself with many organizations of a practical as well as a social character. He was united in marriage in May 1875 to Miss Eliza M. McLean, daughter of Allan N. McLean, of Toronto.

Sir Alexander Campbell, though of English birth is of Scottish descent. He was born in 1821 in the neighbourhood of Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire, his father being Dr. James Campbell. His parents came to Canada when he was very young, first settling in Lachine, and afterwards removing to Kingston, where young Campbell completed his education at the Royal Grammar School. He then turned his attention to the study of the law under Mr. Henry Cassidy, a leading Kingston practitioner, and upon his death, which occurred in 1839, entered the office of Mr. John A.. Macdonald. He was admitted to practice in 1842, when he was taken into partnership by Mr. Macdonald, which continued for many years. In 1843 he was called to the bar. Mr. Campbell now entered upon a very successful and profitable course, the firm receiving a very large practice. The beginning of his distinguished public career was his election as an alderman in 1851. He served in this capacity for two years. In 1856 he was created a Queen’s Counsel. The Legislative Council having been made elective, Mr. Campbell, in 1858, came forward as the Conservative candidate for the Cataraqui Division and obtained the seat by a handsome majority. He speedily attained a leading position in Parliament by his ability and tact, and in 1863 was elected Speaker of the Council for the remainder of the Parliamentary term. He was now regarded as one of the foremost men in public life, and during the ministerial crisis of March, 1864 was sent for by the Governor-General and requested to organize a cabinet. He did not feel sure enough of his position to accept the responsibilities of leadership, but took the Commissionership of Crown Lands in the Tach-Macdonald Administration. This cabinet fell to pieces before long, but Mr Campbell retained his port-folio in that which succeeded it. When the Confederation scheme came up for consideration Mr. Campell strenuously supported it. He was a member of the Union Conference which met in Quebec, in 1864, and during the parliamentary discussion of the subject was its foremost advocate in the Upper Chamber. One of the happiest and most forcible utterances of Mr. Campbell’s career is the notable speech which he delivered on the 17th of February, 1865, in reply to the antagonists of Confederation. Upon the organization of the Senate in 1867, Mr. Campbell was nominated as one of the members, and has since been the leader of the Conservative party in that body. He took office as Postmaster-General in the first ministry organized after Confederation and retained that position for about six years. In 1870 he went to England in connection with the negotiations which resulted in the Treaty of Washington. In 1873 he became Minister of the Interior, a post which he did not retain long, as in November of the same year the government of which he was a member was driven from office on account of the Pacific Scandal revelations. Mr. Campbell was leader of the Opposition in the Senate during Mr. Mackenzie’s five years tenure of office, and upon the return of the Conservatives to power in 1878 became Receiver-General, a position which he exchanged for his old portfolio as Postmaster-General the year following. In May 1879, he was created a Knight of the order of St. Michael and St. George. He was appointed Minister of Militia in 1880, but a readjustment of offices, which took place in November of that year, restored him to the head of the Post Office Department. Sir Alexander Campbell is a hardworking and useful public official, and an influential party leader. He is not brilliant or eloquent but eminently clear-headed, sound and far-seeing. The unvarying moderation and courtesy of his speeches have done much to elevate the tone of public discussion. In 1855 he married Miss Georgina Frederica Locke, daughter of Mr. Thomas Sandwith, of Beverley, England.

Another Senator of English birth and Scottish blood is Hon. James Skead, who was born on the 31st of January, 1816, in Cumberland—his father William Skead being a Scot. James was about ten years of age when his father emigrated. He remained on a farm near Montreal for some years, and afterwards removed to Ottawa. James Skead grew up with very few educational advantages, and is almost entirely self-instructed. He engaged in lumbering in 1840 and for thirty years had a course of almost uninterrupted prosperity, though more recently he sustained some reverses. In 1862 Mr. Skead was elected as a representative of Rideau Division to the Legislative Council, and retained that position until Confederation, when he was called to the Senate. He contested Carleton unsuccessfully for the Local Legislature in 1867. He was chosen President of the Conservative Convention which met in Toronto in 1874. Among the public and commercial positions which he has held are those of President of the Dominion Board of Trade, of the Ottawa Board of Trade, of the Ottawa Liberal Conservative Association and of the Agricultural and Arts Association of Ontario. He is largely interested in a number of commercia1 and railway enterprises and has done a great deal in various directions to promote the progress and welfare of the locality where his wealth has been acquired. He married in 1842 Miss Rosanna McKay, a native of the North of Ireland, and has a large family.

Allan Macdonell was born in Toronto, about the year 1810, and was admitted to the bar in 1832, having studied law in the office of Mr. H. J. Boulton, then Attorney General. In the following year he entered into partnership with the late Sir Allan N. Macnab. Shortly previous to the rebellion of 1837, he was appointed to the shrievalty of the Gore District. When the outbreak occurred, Sheriff Macdonell raised a troop of cavalry, arming and equipping them at his own expense an outlay for which he was never reimbursed. This corps originally enrolled for six months, remained in service for a considerably longer period. Mr. Macdonell resigned the Gore shrievalty, after holding the position for about five years. In the winter of 1846, he obtained from the Government a license for exploring the shore of Lake Superior for mines, and with the aid of friends, fitted out a prospecting expedition. At that time, Lake Superior was but little known. There were neither steamers nor sailing vessels upon its waters and the only available mode of transit was by canoe or open boat. The expedition, consisting of eleven men with the necessary provisions and equipments, and an open boat of good size, started early in the spring of 1847. They experienced a good deal of difficulty in obtaining guides and voyageurs, as the Hudson Bay Company claimed the exclusive control of the Lake Superior region. Mr. Macdonell was told that he must report the expedition at the Hudson Bay forts along the coast, but he refused to do this, and his enterprise was regarded with a good deal of jealousy by the Company. He was followed by another party of mining prospectors headed by Mr. Shephard, who represented the interests of a number of Montreal investors. The latter body afterwards organized as the Montreal Company, were on a friendly footing with the Hudson Bay Company, and had the advantage of their assistance in the enterprise. Mr. Macdonell, continued his explorations with good success until November, when he proceeded to Montreal and reported his discoveries to the Government. The result of his expedition was the formation of the Quebec Company, in which he merged his interest in the locations secured. Mining operations were carried on successfully for several years. A good deal of difficulty was experienced, owing to the disregard of the rights of the Indians to the soil. In selling the lands occupied by the Quebec Company, which were then in the occupation of the Aborigines, the Government altogether overlooked the claims of the Indians for compensation. The matter was repeatedly brought to their attention. Deputations of the Chiefs of the band were sent to the seat of Government to urge their claims. Mr. Macdonell, who was impressed with the necessity of dealing justly with the Indians, accompanied them on two occasions. The Chiefs had an interview with Lord Elgin, and one of them plainly told him that unless their rights were recognised and compensation awarded them they would drive the miners from their lands. Lord Elgin promised that a treaty should be made with them under which their interests would be secured. Mr. Macdonell subsequently had two or three interviews with Hon. Robert Baldwin, the then Premier, who authorized him to assure the Indians that they should have every justice, and that commissioners would be sent without delay to negotiate a treaty. This was done shortly afterwards, but owing to the incompetency of the commissioners appointed, no understanding was arrived at. The result was that the Indians put their threat into execution and resumed possession of their property, closing the mines and driving off the workmen to the number of about 150, without, however, doing any injury either to persons or property. In this course they were supported by Mr. Macdonell, who felt that in no other way could they obtain their rights. A military expedition was sent up to the mines to restore order, and Mr. Macdonell and two of the Indian chiefs were arrested and brought to Toronto. On being taken before the Chief Justice under a writ of Habeas Corpus, they were at once released, and the sum of $400 was paid the Indians as compensation. The question of the Indian title to the lands was finally settled in 1850, when the Government appointed Hon. William B. Robinson to negotiate a treaty under which the Indians received $20,000 down and a further annual payment of $4,000 to be increased in proportion to the sales of land, in return for the surrender of their title to all the region extending Northward from Lake Superior to the height of land.

Mr. Macdonell continued for several years longer connected with mining and other interests in the Lake Superior region. In 1850 he projected the construction of a canal around the Sault Ste. Marie on the Canadian side, and had the requisite surveys and estimates prepared, and a company formed to undertake the work. The charter was refused by the Government, however, being opposed by the Lower Canadians. The want was supplied a year or two later by the construction of a canal on the American side of the Sault. Mr. Macdonell afterwards applied to Parliament for a charter authorizing the construction of a railway westward from the head of Lake Superior to the Pacific Ocean. In his explorations of the country lying west of the Lake, he had acquired from Indians and voyageurs whom he met a good knowledge of the country and its capabilities, and at that early date published a series of letters in the Toronto newspapers, advocating the scheme of a Pacific Railway. The application to Parliament was not successful, as the Railway Committee threw out the bill on the ground that it was premature. Mr. Macdonell, however, continued to devote himself to the object of opening up communication with the North West, and in 1858 procured from Parliament the charter of the North West Transit Company, conferring upon them very extensive powers including railroad and canal construction, and the improvement of water courses in any portion of Canada, west of Lake Superior, or north of that Lake or Lake Huron. Sir Allan Macnab was at one time President, and Mr. John Beverley Robinson, Secretary of the company, which, however, did not prove a successful institution, and after some years ceased to exist. Mr. Macdonell is now a resident of Toronto.

The name of Mrs. Moodie is well-known, both to Canadian and to English readers in connection with her descriptive writings—Roughing it in the Bush, a book depicting the difficulties of a settler’s life half a century ago is the most popular of her books. Mrs. Moodie is English by birth and parentage, being a member of the celebrated Strickland family. Her husband, Mr. J. W. Dunbar Moodie, was of ancient Orcadian stock. The name was originally spelled Mudie, and is of Scandinavian origin; being derived from the old Norwegian Earls of Orkney. His great grandfather, Captain James Moodie of the Royal Navy, was a distinguished officer who rendered important services to his country in Spain where he succeeded in relieving the town of Denia when it was closely besieged by the French. He was selected by the government after the death of Queen Anne to convey her successor, King George I., to England, and was murdered in the streets of Kirkwall, Orkney, in 1725, at the age of eighty, by Sir James Stewart, an adherent of the Pretender.

The murderer was afterwards brought to justice through the instrumentality of the son of his victim, who was only nine years of age when his father was killed; but determined to revenge his death, and many years afterwards delivered the assassin who had again taken up arms for the Pretender over to the authorities. Sir James, however, committed suicide in the Tower. J. W. Dunbar Moodie was the fourth son of Major James Moodie of Melsetter, in the Orkney Islands, where he was born on the 7th October, 1797. He entered the army as second Lieutenant of the R. N. B. Fusiliers or 21st Regiment of foot in 1813, when about sixteen years of age. He had an early experience of the horrors of war, being engaged in the night attack at Bergen-op-zoom on the 8th of March, 1814, when after entering the works with a small party of soldiers in the midst of darkness and confusion he succeeded in forcing open one of the gates and lowering the drawbridge, On this occasion he sustained a severe wound in the left wrist from a musket ball which disabled his hand and arm. He shortly afterwards retired from the service on half-pay. In 1819 Mr. Moodie joined his elder brother Benjamin who had emigrated to South Africa, and remained in that country about ten years. On his return to England in 1829, he met at the house of a friend in London, Susanna Strickland, whom he shortly afterwards married. Mrs. Moodie is the daughter of Thomas Strickland, of Reydon Hall, near Southwold in Suffolk, several of whose family became widely known as popular writers. Miss Agnes Strickland, an elder sister of Mrs. Moodie’s, published a large number of poetical, fictitious and historical works, the most extensive and best known of which is her Lives of the Queens of England. Some years previous to her marriage with Mr. Moodie, Susanna Strickland had united with her sister Agnes in the publication of a volume of Patriotic Songs and had written several other books. In 1832, Mr. Moodie emigrated to Canada West and took up land as a half-pay officer, in the Township of Douro, near Peterborough. The experience of the family, like that of very many others whose previous training has not been such as to fit them to encounter the hardships or endure with equanimity the rough associations and coarse surroundings of backwoods life, was extremely disheartening. The story of their struggles to gain a livelihood upon a bush farm for seven years is graphically told in Mrs. Moodie’s work entitled Roughing it in the Bush, which won for its talented authoress a wide spread reputation. The book is a narrative of plain facts set forth in a telling, vivacious style, and while it does not in any way belittle the real advantages presented by Canada as a field for emigrants accustomed to hard manual labour, emphasizes a truth that it is well should be known and heeded by intending emigrants, namely, that persons delicately reared, accustomed to a life of luxury, and dependent upon the services of others in the household, do not as a rule succeed in obtaining either pleasure or profit from a farmer’s life in Canada. Of course the circumstances have vastly altered since Mrs. Moodie’s book was written, and many of the hardships to which the Moodies were subjected are now greatly mitigated even on the outskirts of civilization, but the experience of thousands of later emigrants goes to confirm their experience that the inbred instincts and long established habits, such as fit a man for a professional career in England, do not impart the qualifications needed for a practical farmer in Canada. It would have been better both for the country and for those who have made the mistake of attempting a mode of living for which they were in no respect adapted, had this been more generally understood in Britain.

On the breaking out of the rebellion in 1837, Mr. Moodie immediately offered his services to the Government, and served for several months during the winter of that year in the Provincial Militia, at Toronto, and afterwards on the Niagara frontier holding the rank of Captain in the Queen’s Own Regiment. In the fall of 1838 he was appointed captain and pay-master to sixteen companies of militia distributed along the shores of Lake Ontario and the Bay of Quinte. In November, 1839, he was appointed by Sir George Arthur to the shrievalty of the District of Victoria, now the county of Hastings. This position he held until 1863, when he resigned. Colonel Moodie had decided literary tastes, and published several volumes principally relating to his travels and adventures. Ten Years in South Africa was issued in England in 1835, favourably received, by the press and public, and in 1866 a book from his pen entitled Scenes and Adventures as a Soldier and Settler, including a number of miscellaneous sketches some of which had previously appeared in serial form was published in Montreal. Col. Moodie’s death occurred on the 22nd October, 1869. His widow is still living, at an advanced age and is a resident of Toronto. A revised edition of Roughing it in the Bush was issued in Toronto in 1871. Among her other works are Life in the Clearings, Flora Lindsay, Mark Hurdlestone, The World before Them, Matrimonial Speculations, and Geoffrey Moncton.

Dr. Daniel Clark, Superintendent of the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, Toronto, was born in Granton, Inverness-shire, Scotland, on the 29th of August, 1835. His father, Alexander Clark, was a native of Morayshire. The family came to this country in 1841, and settled near Port Dover, in the County of Norfolk, where his father engaged in farming. In 1850 Daniel went to California, where he realized a large amount of money by placer mining. Returning to Canada the following year, he at once set about obtaining an education. After attending the Simcoe Grammar School for some time, he pursued classical and medical studies at Toronto, graduating from the Victoria University Medical Department in 1858. He then went to Europe, and took a course of lectures at Edinburgh University, and visited the London and Paris hospitals. After an extended European tour, he returned home in the summer of 1859, and commenced the practice of his profession at Princeton, Oxford County. In 1864 he joined the Federal armies of the Potomac and the James, being attached to the Surgeon-general’s department as a volunteer surgeon. He returned to Princeton at the close of the war. Dr. Clark was, for many years, a frequent contributor to periodical literature, especially to the Medical Journal, Stewart’s Quarterly, the Maritime

Monthly, and the Canadian Monthly. He is the author of a work entitled Pen Photographs, comprising descriptive sketches of eminent persons, essays, and scenes of travel, published in 1873; and also of a novel, dealing with the Canadian Rebellion of 1837, called Josiah Garth. In addition to his miscellaneous literary work, Dr. Clark has written considerably upon professional subjects. In 1872 he was chosen a member of the Medical Council of Ontario, and was re-elected to the position in 1875. During the two following years he filled the Presidential chair of the Council. Among other positions occupied by Dr. Clark, which testify to the estimation in which he is held by the medical profession, have been those of Examiner in Chemistry for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, and Examiner in Obstetrics and Medical Jurisprudence for Toronto University. In December, 1875, he was appointed to the arduous and responsible post, which he now holds, of Superintendent of the Provincial Lunatic Asylum at Toronto. This step was taken in accordance with the general desire of the medical profession, as unanimously expressed by the Medical Council and other organizations representing that body. The result has more than justified the opinion then formed of Dr. Clark’s exceptional qualifications for the charge. As a specialist in the treatment of insanity he has no rival among the profession in Ontario.

Our task is done. It would be an easy matter to prolong it indefinitely, as there are many Scotsmen who have taken minor, though still important and noteworthy parts in the public, professional, and commercial life of the Dominion, the story of whose lives would further illustrate the national characteristics of determination, prudence, and integrity. But our limitations as to space will not permit us to follow up the practically limitless vistas which broaden out upon all sides. The line of discrimination between those included and the greater number whose personal stories remain untold may be deemed an arbitrary, perchance an erratic one; nevertheless, it was essential to draw it somewhere, lest the narration should "stretch out to the crack of doom."

The history of the Scot in British North America has virtually been the history of the country since its occupancy by the British. In politics, especially, the Scot has been, unquestionably, the most prominent of the varied elements which have gone to the making of our national life. By all the qualities of statesmanship, of leadership, of diplomacy, men of Scottish origin have proved their claim to the foremost place among those who have laid the foundations of Canadian nationality. The splendid intellectual and moral gifts of the race have lost nothing by transplantation to an alien soil, but have rather become strengthened by the strenuous conflict and pressure of unaccustomed social conditions, and the action and reaction of new forces. The influence of Scottish opinions, associations, and habits of thought upon the future of Canada must be one of the most potent forces in forming and moulding the national character now in process of evolution. The strong religious instincts, the keen moral perceptions, the resolute will, tire-less energy, and acute logical faculty of the Scot, tempered and modified by the qualities of the peoples who share our national heritage, will enter very largely into the fibre of the coming race.

Modern linguistic and ethnological research has exhausted its ingenuity in the only partially successful endeavour to trace back the threads of race origin which make up the warp and woof of the composite Anglo-Saxon people. A document which should show, with measurable precision, the respective proportions of the elements which, since the time of the Saxon invasion, have mingled their blood in the now homogeneous English people, would be deemed of priceless scientific value. It may well be that at some future day, when the Canadian has become a well-defined national type among the races of the earth, blending indissolubly, the characteristics of the ancestral stocks, something more than a mere historical or antiquarian interest may attach to the record of the SCOT IN BRITISH NORTH AMERICA.

THE END.


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