Part 148
=Chapleau, Hon. Joseph Adolphe=, Q.C., LL.D., M.P. for Terrebonne, Secretary of State for Canada, was born at Ste. Therese de Blainville, in the county of Terrebonne, province of Quebec, on the 9th November, 1840. His ancestors emigrated from France, and were among the early settlers, of the seigniory of Terrebonne; but the father of Mr. Chapleau was an humble, hard-working mechanic, of whom the son was not ashamed, and who instilled into the latter principles of honor and devotion to duty. From the earliest age the boy displayed a taste for learning, and his mind was so active that means were found to put him to school, where he grounded himself in the elements of grammar. Thence he was sent to the neighbouring village of Terrebonne, where a college had been established by Madame Masson, mother of the ex-lieutenant-governor of the province of Quebec, and where he pursued his studies until transferred to St. Hyacinthe, and put through a course which left its impression on the whole of his subsequent career. On leaving college he wended his way to Montreal, in search of a profession suitable to a youth of his tastes and aptitudes. He chose the law, and, encouraged by his success, devoted himself to criminal practice, acquiring a position therein which set him, within a short time, in the highest rank among his youthful associates. But this was not sufficient for his buoyant nature. He launched into politics at the age of nineteen, mounting the hustings with assurance, and maintaining himself thereon in the midst of the most violent campaigns. He went further, and took up the pen in defence of his political views and principles. With a couple of congenial spirits he founded a newspaper called _Le Colonisateur_, and for three years used its columns in an attempt to reach those readers whom his voice could not attain. From these very beginnings Mr. Chapleau made his mark, and the political leaders soon foretold that he would lose no time in taking high rank. His physical appearance was in his favor. Tall, well built, with a shapely head, wavy black hair thrown back over his neck like a plume, a musical, flexible voice, an abundance of animal energy, a fearless spirit that shrank from no difficulty, he readily placed himself at the head of his companions, with their full acquiescence, and as if by natural right. Another advantage which the future statesman enjoyed at the opening of his career was that he found himself the representative of the young men coming after the radicalism of 1848, when the French revolution of that year had its echo on this side, and the cry of annexation rang through the whole of Lower Canada. This period of acute crisis was followed by a long term of bewilderment and unrest, called the decade of transition, when party lines were only faintly drawn, because every one felt that there should be a reunion of all forces in order to insure the future of the common country. From 1860 to the year of Confederation the young men kept on growing in the school of strife and trial, but none grew more perceptibly, and with fuller promise of future strength, than the subject of this sketch. His opportunity came at length, and he was not slow to seize it. In 1867 the British North America Act proclaimed to the world a new nation, and the province of Quebec, without knowing it, and almost in spite of herself, entered into full possession of her autonomy. She was presented with her own lieutenant-governor; her own legislature, consisting of two Chambers and a long scroll of rights and privileges, which practically made the people of French Canada their own masters. The general election took place, and Mr. Chapleau, going straight into his native county, asked to be made its first representative in the Provincial parliament. He was returned by acclamation, and retained the seat till 1882, through the ordeal of at least a half-dozen elections. That first session at Quebec was a memorable one, with such members as Chauveau—a man of high temper and noble spirit—as premier; Joly, the political Bayard, as leader of the opposition; Cartier, Langevin, Irvine, Chapais, Marchand, and others of hardly less note. In such a presence the representative of Terrebonne took his place, at the age of seven and twenty. Within a few hours he arose, and the eyes of a crowded house were fastened upon him, as he proceeded to discharge the honorable function of moving the Address in reply to the Speech from the Throne. His first effort settled his position at once, both as an orator and a public man, and thenceforth the legislative career of Mr. Chapleau was secure. He went along quietly for several years, making himself acquainted with the new order of things under Confederation, when the province took an upward bound, and everything revived—business, agriculture, literature, and the national spirit—imbuing himself with the principle of practical politics, whereby the development of the country’s material resources should be fostered. The time came soon when he was called upon to apply these schemes in a higher sphere, and another forward step was taken. Mr. Chapleau was sworn in of the Executive Council, and appointed Solicitor-General in the beginning of 1873, with the sanction of his whole party and the approval of his political adversaries. And away, in a quiet London street, and on a bed of sickness from which he was never to rise, Sir George Cartier heard of the promotion, and wrote that it was no more than the reward of merit. The great man, who was the friend of young men, and who took pains to train them in public life, was comforted at the last with the thought that one of his favorites had entered on the paths of responsible office. But this new period, from 1873 to 1879, was a stormy one, and not the least exciting incident was the defence, at Winnipeg, by Mr. Chapleau, of Lépine and other Half-breeds, implicated in the North-West troubles of that period. In September, 1874, the Ouimet government went down on the outcry about the Tanneries Land Swap, and Mr. Chapleau, after a vigorous defence of his conduct in a public speech, withdrew into private life. But in January, 1876, he was recalled as provincial secretary, and remained in office till the disruption of the Boucherville cabinet, by Governor Letellier de St. Just, in 1878. Another opportunity was here afforded, of which he took prompt advantage. In a mass meeting, held in Montreal, he was chosen leader of the Conservative party and of the Opposition, and at once set to work to prepare the way for the downfall of the Joly ministry. This he accomplished within a little beyond the year. In October, 1879, Mr. Joly resigned, and his opponent was summoned to form a government, which he at once did, adding to his position as first minister the department of Agriculture and Public Works. The same tact, energy, and general ability which he displayed as leader of the Opposition, where the best qualities of a public man are tested, Mr. Chapleau manifested as head of the government, and lost no time in turning to a business policy. The chief measure of his administration was the sale of the North Shore railway, to relieve the exchequer of the province. The subject gave rise to violent debates, and led to a division in the Conservative party itself, but subsequent events have justified it in a measure, and effectually removed the danger of a powerful corporation being turned into a mere party machine, with nameless resources of corruption. The general elections came on in 1881, and Mr. Chapleau swept the province, carrying fifty-three seats out of sixty-five. This seemed to crown his provincial career, and the project long cherished by his friends of his promotion from Quebec to Ottawa was urged upon him with great force. Strong objections were adduced on the other hand, however, and Mr. Chapleau was warned against taking a false step; but there is reason to believe that the state of his health, shattered by the wearing and worrying labors of the previous two years, turned the scales at the end. In the summer of 1882 Mr. Chapleau resigned his position, as prime minister, and accepted the portfolio of State in the government of Sir John Macdonald. It is only those who are acquainted with the modes, the habits, and the general situation of French Canada who can measure the difference existing between Quebec and Ottawa. Many of Mr. Chapleau’s critics foretold that he would be out of place in his new field; that the showy qualities which had won him so much distinction and power among his own people would go for very little with the cool, practical politicians of the Dominion capital, and that while he was supreme in the provincial arena, he would prove only third or fourth rate in the federal competition. Our readers can judge for themselves how far these predictions were fulfilled. Foes will agree with friends in stating, as a simple matter of justice, that the influence of Mr. Chapleau has not waned since he became a member of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada. On the contrary, he increased his strength before the whole country by the bold and consistent stand which he took in the Riel affair. None but those who know the French Canadian people, how they are attached to their race, some of them cherishing the odd feeling that they are not treated with becoming justice and respect by the other elements of the population, and none but those who dwelt in the province at this time, and witnessed the morbid excitement, the hopes, the fears, the anxiety which prevailed throughout the whole crisis, can have the faintest notion of the gravity of the situation. Against this universal outburst Mr. Chapleau, with his two Quebec colleagues, had to make a stand, and in the large Montreal district, over which he has recognized control, he was obliged to bear the brunt of the onset alone. All agencies were set to bear against him. At first he was tempted and cajoled. If he put himself at the head of the movement, all parties would join in his wake, and he would be the master and idol of the province. Then intimidation was hinted at. If he ventured to set his foot in Montreal, he would be hooted and mobbed. There were several weeks, after the meeting in the Champ de Mars, when the tide of passion ran high, argument was useless, and but for the good sense and honest purpose of the best classes, a serious rupture might have ensued. From their point of view this indignation was natural, and it was respectable, springing from motives of injured patriotism, and aggravated by the definite promises which the party papers published, even on the eve of the unfortunate man’s execution. There are two sides to every question of this kind, and the readers in Ontario and the other provinces should take the particular circumstances into consideration in judging of the movement which almost rent the province of Quebec asunder. The record is that the Secretary of State remained calm and collected through it all. Knowing his people as he does, he understood all that he was risking, and the bright prospects which his ambition was throwing away; but, on the other hand, he seems to have seen his duty clear from the start, and, like a man, he did it. Without being defiant, he was fearless throughout. And he was outspoken. In a letter addressed to his countrymen, on the 28th November, 1885, he broaches the question face to face, saying that his oath of office was inviolable, even at the risk of losing friendships and emoluments, and that he had the profound conviction of the injustice of what was demanded of him as detrimental to the best understood interests of the province. “I saw,” he adds, “as a logical consequence of this movement, the isolation of French Canadians, causing an antagonism of race, provoking retaliation, combats, and disasters. I felt that there was more courage in breasting the current than in drifting with it, and, without failing in my duty, I let pass the misguided crowd who overwhelmed me with the names of traitor and poltroon.” The letter then goes on to discuss the whole question in all its bearings, and coming from a statesman, on his defence, who was acquainted with even the most secret details of the controversy, it possesses an intrinsic value which future historians will not overlook. Mr. Chapleau closes with these brave words: “My conscience tells me that I have failed, in this instance, neither to my Maker, nor to my Sovereign, nor to my countrymen. . . . I have served my native land, as a parliamentarian, for eighteen years with joy and pride. I shall continue to do it on one sole condition, that of keeping my freedom, with no other care than my honor and my dignity.” In other respects, as minister of the Crown at Ottawa, Mr. Chapleau may be said to have pressed hard the claims of his province in the cabinet and in parliament, and in certain cases he is charged with having done so at the risk of serious dissensions in the ministerial ranks. Here, as elsewhere throughout, the difficulties of the French Canadian province must be taken into account, and many things, very well meant from that point of view, are quite inexplicable when judged according to Saxon standards. Very few, if any, among partizan writers, will refuse Mr. Chapleau the quality of statesmanship, however they may differ on the principles that actuate it, or the results which it is likely to accomplish. But on the question of eloquence there can hardly be two opinions. He is a born orator, with almost all the physical gifts which go to the making of the perfect master of speech. A volume of his speeches has just been published, a perusal of which gives the further assurance of solidity, logical reasoning, rhetorical taste, and generous sentiment. To the persons who have the pleasure of his acquaintance he is the accomplished gentleman, lettered and sociable, full of agreeable information, and willing to oblige. Having married, on the 25th November, 1874, Marie Louise, a daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel King, of Sherbrooke, Mr. Chapleau is thoroughly conversant with the English, and, indeed, uses it in public speeches with judgment and fluency. As he is still a young man, there is reason to hope that he may long be spared to serve his country, and, while naturally leaning a little to his own Quebec, devote his fine gifts to the welfare of the Dominion at large.
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=Magnan, Adolphe=, Notary Public, Joliette, Quebec province, was born at Berthier (_en haut_). His father, J. B. Magnan, was a brave and honest farmer of that place, and his mother was Marie Louise Raymond. The subject of this sketch was educated at the College of L’Assomption, where he took a classical course of studies. L’Assomption College, it may be mentioned, has given to the church and state many eminent men. Mr. Magnan entered college in 1838, and left it in 1845. In November of the same year he entered as a student in the office of Firmin Perrin, a notary at Berthier, and in 1847 left this place for Montreal, where he engaged in the office of Mr. Denis Emery Papineau, who was then practising in partnership with the late Pierre Lamothe. He was received as a notary in 1850, and shortly afterwards settled in the village of L’Industrie, now the town of Joliette. Mr. Magnan created for himself in a short time an excellent practice as a notary and as a man of business. He was soon appreciated as a laborious, honest and conscientious notary, and commanded public confidence on account of his legal knowledge acquired under so distinguished a patron as D. E. Papineau. He, in company with Dr. Michel S. Boulet, founded in 1851, at Joliette, the St. Jean Baptiste Society, of which he was for several years the president. Mr. Magnan was official assignee for the Joliette district, under the acts of 1869 and 1875, and also occupied the position of justice of the peace for the same district. He was member also of the board of notaries for the province of Quebec, as well as councillor for the town of Joliette, and acting mayor for some time. Mr. Magnan has been agent for the Seigneurial lands of Tarrieu, Joliette and Taillant, in the old seigniory of Lavaltrie, for more than thirty years; and was also agent for the seigniory of Daillebout and Ramsay. He practises as a notary at Joliette, in partnership with Alexis Cabana; and has been notary to the Bank of Hochelaga at Joliette, since 1874, the date the bank was first opened at this place. Mr. Magnan is a Liberal in politics. Since 1854 he has taken an active part in electoral struggles on behalf of that party. He has always refused to become a candidate, preferring to remain quietly at home. Mr. Magnan has been twice married, his first wife having been Aurelie Blanchard. His second wife is Marie Louise Lefleur, who bore him three children. Albina, his daughter, is married to Dr. Louis L. Anger, of Great Falls, New Hampshire, U.S.; Arthur and Rosario, his sons, are both engaged in Montreal in the hardware trade.
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=Jones, Rev. Septimus=, M.A., Rector of the Church of the Redeemer, Toronto, Ont., was born June 4th, 1830, at Portsmouth, county Hants, England. He is the seventh son of Rev. James Jones, a presbyter of the English church, and of Esther Budge, both natives of England. Rev. Mr. Jones received his preparatory education at the city of London School, England; and in 1848, the family having removed to Canada, he matriculated at the University of Bishop’s College, Lennoxville, in the province of Quebec. Having graduated in arts, and finished the theological course in 1853, he filled for a year the position of classical master in the St. John’s High School, P.Q. In 1854 he was ordained deacon by Bishop Fulford of Montreal, and preached the following Sunday in the cathedral, and in St. George’s Church, of which Bishop Bond, of Montreal, was then assistant minister under Venerable Archdeacon Leach. His first charge was the mission of Cape Cove and Percé, in the district of Gaspé, P.Q. In 1854, the only mode of reaching that remote region, some five hundred miles below Quebec, was by means of small schooners, in the fish carrying trade, the passage occupying from three days to three weeks, and the fare, meals included was $5,—and dear even at that price. The field was unpromising. The people of the coast were given over to drunkenness, and a very low tone of morality prevailed. Education, too, was at a very low ebb, and the people were split up into factions. His nearest clerical neighbor was forty miles distant on the one side, and sixty on the other. Mr. Jones gave two hours each morning to the school. The Sunday’s work at Cape Cove was, at 8 a.m. Sunday school; 10 a.m. morning service; 2:30 p.m. Sunday school at Percé, nine miles distant, and had to travel this distance often on foot owing to the state of the roads; 3:30 p.m. afternoon service; and 7 p.m. evening service at Cape Cove. Cottage lectures each week evening from house to house. The diet was almost exclusively salt cod and potatoes; but on Sundays beef or mutton was served. The mail came in once a week in summer and once a fortnight in winter. Such is a fair specimen of a missionary’s life in those days. In 1855 Mr. Jones was admitted to the order of presbyter by Bishop Mountain of Quebec. In the following year, his health having suffered from overwork and the rigor of the climate (the snow lying from November to the middle of May), he was removed to Quebec and appointed incumbent of St. Peter’s Church in that city. In 1859, he went to Philadelphia, Penn., where he was appointed rector of the Church of the Redeemer; but in 1861, there being at the time imminent danger of war between Great Britain and the United States, he returned to Canada. After filling, as a temporary appointment, the position of assistant minister of St. Thomas’ Church, Belleville, Ontario, he was appointed the first rector of Christ Church in that city. In 1870 he was chosen as the first rector of the Church of the Redeemer, Toronto, which since then has enjoyed a large measure of prosperity. The present handsome edifice of stone, next in seating capacity to St. James’ Cathedral, was erected in 1879, opposite the north gate of Queen’s Park, one of the choicest sites in the city of Toronto. Rev. Mr. Jones acted for some years as inspector of schools in Belleville, and subsequently as one of the board of Intermediate Examiners in Ontario. He has also been connected with Wycliffe College, since its inception, as one of the council, and as a teacher, chiefly of the subject of apologetics. He has acted in the capacity of chaplain for the St. George’s societies, in Quebec, Belleville, and Toronto. He takes an active part in the work of the Anglican Synod, and, owing to his administrative ability, he is always a member of its principal standing and special committees; and he took the chief part in the preparation of that most useful handy-book, “The Churchwarden’s Manual,” and was the author of the canon on the superannuation fund, passed at the 1887 session of the Diocesan Synod. In the Ministerial Association of Toronto he is greatly interested, and seldom fails to attend its meetings; and also, when occasion calls, he is found advocating every movement having for its object the spiritual and moral improvement of the people. On the 28th April, 1862, Mr. Jones married Catherine Eliza Bruce Hutton, youngest daughter of the late William Hutton, secretary to the Bureau of Agriculture. The issue of the marriage has been eight children, two of whom died in infancy.
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