Part 58

We have endeavoured during the last session to remove the regrettable prejudices which our enemies have succeeded in creating in the hearts of the Protestant minority against us, and especially against myself. We did not concern ourselves with the injustice of which we have been the victims, and we have always been just and sometimes very liberal towards Protestants. We were determined to revenge acts of injustice by acts of justice, and to answer injuries by acts of kindness and words of courtesy. All the English Protestant members of the legislature, with the exception of one, have systematically and invariably voted against us, and have refused to grant us that “British fair play” of which Englishmen so much boast. This conduct on the part of the minority has not made us deviate from the right path—the path of justice; we have been just towards the minority as if it had been likewise just towards us, and we will continue to give it that “British fair play” which its representatives in the legislature have so constantly refused to accord to us. But let the Protestant minority permit me to say now, before this immense audience, composed for three-fourths of French Canadians and Catholics, that the National Party will respect and cause to be respected the rights of that minority; that the National Party desires to live in peace and harmony with all races and creeds; and that it intends to render justice to all, even to those who refuse to render it in return.

In private life the premier of Quebec is a charming conversationalist, and one of the most genial of companions. He has been twice married, firstly, to Léopoldine Boivin, of St. Hyacinthe, who died leaving one daughter; and lastly, to Virginie St. Denis, also of St. Hyacinthe. Madame Mercier is one of the most distinguished members of French Canadian society, and fittingly adorns the prominent position to which she has been called by the side of her eminent husband.

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=Chamberlain, David Cleveland=, Insurance and General Agent, Pembroke, Ontario, was born at Point Fortune, province of Quebec, on the 22nd July, 1838. His father was Hiram Chamberlain, and his mother, Elizabeth Minerva Hayes. The family removed from Point Fortune in 1842, to a place on the Ottawa river, a new settlement in the township of Westmeath, in Renfrew county, then known as the Head of Paquett’s Rapids. Though at the time the place was little better than a wilderness, Mr. Chamberlain, sen., began to manufacture lumber, and successfully carried on this business until his death, which occurred in Quebec city in 1854, from cholera. He left a family consisting of a widow and six children, the subject of our sketch being the eldest. After securing some education at the public school, David engaged himself as clerk with Alexander Fraser, a lumber merchant, who, by the way, subsequently married his sister, and with this gentleman he remained until 1868, when he removed to Pembroke, and began business on his own account as a merchant. He continued to trade until 1876, and then gave up mercantile pursuits, adopting in lieu thereof a general insurance agency. Since then he has worked hard, and has succeeded in building up a profitable business in that line. He now represents in that district of country twelve of the principal English and Canadian fire insurance companies, and the Standard Life Insurance Company of Scotland, doing business in Canada. Outside of business, Mr. Chamberlain has taken a part in the world’s work. He is a member of the Oddfellows’ organization; has been a school trustee; was for twelve years a member of the High School board; treasurer of the township of Westmeath; and at present is treasurer of the school moneys of the town of Pembroke. He belongs to the Methodist denomination; and in politics is a Liberal-Conservative. On January 10, 1860, he married Martha Maria Huntington, daughter of Erastus Huntington, and has a family of five children living.

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=Angers, Hon. Auguste Réal=, Judge of the Superior Court, Quebec, was born in the city of Quebec on the 4th of October, 1838. His father, F. R. Angers, was a lawyer who occupied a distinguished position at the Quebec bar. Justice Angers studied at Nicolet College, in the province of Quebec, and entered his father’s office to study law. He was admitted to the bar in 1860, and practised his profession with marked success in the law firm of Casault, Langlois and Angers. In 1874, he was made a Queen’s counsel. When the Hon. J. E. Cauchon resigned his seat in 1874, the electors of the county of Montmorency elected him to represent them in the provincial parliament. In the same year the Hon. M. de Boucherville was called upon to form a new cabinet, and he offered the portfolio of solicitor general to Mr. Angers, whose brilliant reputation had marked him as a future minister. He accepted, taking the oath on the 22nd of September, and therefore becoming a minister without ever having occupied a seat in parliament. In 1875 Mr. de Boucherville taking a seat in the Legislative Council, the leadership of the Assembly fell into the hands of Mr. Angers, who became attorney-general on the 26th January, 1876. Messrs. Angers and de Boucherville worked harmoniously together, both being scrupulously honest and equally devoted to the public interests. At that time the North Shore Railway, which had been talked about for thirty years, was yet in an embryo state, private enterprise having failed to carry out the scheme; they resolved to build the road as a government work, with the help of the municipalities which had voted liberal grants towards the construction of the road, Montreal and Quebec having given $1,000,000 each. The wonderful debating powers of Mr. Angers, and his keen foresight in looking upon this railway as the future link of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and probably of a direct route to the seaboard, helped to carry the measure. Thanks to the construction of the North Shore Railway, Montreal, the metropolis of Canada, and Quebec became _de facto_ the terminal points of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and since the completion of this gigantic national highway, Montreal has added 40,000 to her population. As a legislator, Mr. Angers ranks among the foremost representative men of the Dominion; the Electoral Act and the Controverted Elections Act bear testimony to his intimate knowledge of law. The former act has been universally admitted by the courts to be superior to the Dominion act, while the latter ranks equally high. The _enquête_ is made before one judge only, and the case is pleaded before three judges, whose decision is final, whereas in the case of the Federal law, a controverted election case that can be carried in appeal to the Supreme Court is distasteful to the people of the province of Quebec, and an appeal invariably entails long delays and enormous costs. The Superannuated Fund law, providing for the widows and orphans of civil servants, is also due to Mr. Angers. This law is now in force, and gives satisfaction to all the parties concerned. Not the least important of the laws introduced by Mr. Angers, and carried through the Lower House, in 1876, was the act framed by the government concerning education, and giving control to both Catholics and Protestants over their respective educational matters. It was mainly due to his efforts that the new departmental buildings were erected in Quebec, this being a guarantee that the historic city and the capital of letters of the Dominion will permanently retain the seat of provincial government. Montreal and many other municipalities having failed to meet their obligations with respect to the grants they had voted to the North Shore Railway, a measure was introduced during the session of 1877-8, to compel these municipalities to hand over the amounts they owed to the provincial treasury. Great importance was attached to this measure, inasmuch as the province would have had to pay the large amounts subscribed by the municipalities if the latter were allowed to evade their just liabilities. This bill, however, as well as another government measure having for its object an increase of revenue, created some agitation in political circles. The lieutenant-governor, Mr. Letellier de Saint-Just, a strong Liberal partisan, who had been a bitter enemy of the Conservative party during twenty years, dismissed the de Boucherville administration from power on divers pretexts, proved groundless since, alleging among other pretences, that the premier had not obtained the consent of the Crown before introducing the two measures above mentioned. It was shown afterwards that Mr. de Boucherville had obtained from the lieutenant-governor a blank form for the introduction of the government’s financial measures. On the dismissal of Mr. de Boucherville, the subject of our sketch took the leadership of the Conservative opposition, and caused the legislature to adopt several votes of want of confidence in the Liberal government, with Mr. Joly as premier. The latter appealed to the electorate, and at the general election held on the 28th of May, 1878, Mr. Angers was defeated in his constituency (Montmorency) by a vote of twelve. His defeat was due partly to the united energies of the Liberal party, and partly to the influence of the city of Quebec, whose million Mr. Angers had endeavoured to obtain for the province, were thrown in the balance against him. Thoroughly convinced that the conduct of the lieutenant-governor was contrary to the usages of responsible government, and that such a precedent would prove dangerous to provincial rights, Mr. Angers determined to bend his energies towards procuring the dismissal of Mr. Letellier, and when Sir John A. Macdonald came into power at Ottawa, at the general elections of 1878, he (Mr. Angers), together with Hon. J. A. Ouimet (now Speaker, 1887), and the late Hon. Justice Mousseau, took steps to attain that object, and their efforts were crowned with success. In 1880, Mr. Angers was elected a member of the House of Commons for the county of Montmorency by an enormous majority, and after sitting one session, was elevated to the bench, to the great regret of his friends who had every reason to believe that a brilliant political career was still in store for him. After the election of 1886, the provincial premiership was offered to Mr. Angers, but as his acceptance of the post involved a question of principle, he did not feel inclined to accept it, and on the Hon. L. O. Taillon’s resignation, Mr. Mercier was offered the position, which he accepted. The parliamentary career of Mr. Angers showed that as a debater he had no superior, and few equals in the country. A generous heart, a manly, straightforward character, an unblemished reputation, profound legal learning, such are the sterling qualities that will make of Mr. Angers an honour and an ornament to the Canadian bench. It may be added that he is a Canadian, in the sense it is understood by the men who intend to make this Dominion a great country.

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=Wood, Robert Edwin=, Barrister, Peterboro’, Ontario, was born on the 31st of August, 1847, in the township of South Monaghan, county of Northumberland. His father, Robert Wood, emigrated from Yorkshire, England, and settled in South Monaghan, in 1833, and died in 1857. His mother was Sarah Armstrong, of Monaghan, Ireland. Robert was educated at the Cobourg Grammar School and Victoria College. He graduated in arts in 1873, and immediately afterwards entered the law office of the late John Coyne, then M.P.P. for the county of Peel. Upon this gentleman’s death, he entered the office of the late W. H. Scott, M.P.P., Peterboro’, and afterwards studied with Edward Martin, Q.C., Hamilton. He passed his final examination in Trinity term, 1876, but owing to the fact that only two years and nine months had elapsed between his primary and final examination, he could not be called to the bar until Michaelmas term of the same year. He then commenced the practice of law in Peterboro’, in September, 1876, and has so continued to the present. He has a large and increasing practice, and owes his present position mainly to his own energy and exertions. In March, 1886, upon the elevation of C. A. Weller to the bench, he received from the Ontario government the appointment of county crown attorney, and clerk of the peace for the county of Peterboro’ (on the 31st of March, 1886.) Mr. Wood takes a deep interest in Masonry, and is master of Corinthian lodge, No. 101, A. F. and A. M. He was master of the same lodge in 1883. Prior to his present appointment to office, he took a leading part in all parliamentary contests, on the Reform side, principally in advocating the principles of this party from the platform. Mr. Wood is an adherent of the Presbyterian church. He was married on the 17th of February, 1881, to Henrietta Frances, daughter of the late Philip Roblin, of Rednersville, Prince Edward county, Ontario.

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=Flynn, Hon. Edmund James=, Q.C., LL.D., Quebec, M.P.P. for Gaspé county, is a native of the county he so ably represents in the Quebec legislature, having been born at Percé, on the 16th of November, 1847. His father, the late James Flynn, who was of Irish descent, was during his lifetime a trader and farmer in Percé, the place of his birth. His mother, Elizabeth Tostevin, was also a native of Percé, though her father was from the island of Guernsey, one of the English channel islands in Europe. The Hon. Mr. Flynn was educated at the Quebec Seminary, and at the Laval University, Quebec, graduating with honours, having taken at Laval the degree of master-in-law (LL.L.), in July, 1873. And Laval again, in 1878, presented him with the degree of LL.D. He adopted law as a profession, and in September, 1873, he was called to the bar of Quebec, and has ever since continued to practice as barrister, etc., in the ancient capital. Previous to this time, he, from 1867 to 1869, held the positions of deputy-registrar, deputy-prothonotary, deputy-clerk of the Circuit Court of the Crown and of the Peace, for the county of Gaspé, conjointly with that of secretary-treasurer of Percé municipality. He has been a professor of Roman law in Laval University since 1874. From the 29th of October, 1879, to the 31st of July, 1882, he was commissioner of Crown Lands for the province of Quebec; commissioner of Railways, from the 11th of February, 1884, till July, 1885, and solicitor-general from 12th May, 1885, till the 20th of January, 1887. The Hon. Mr. Flynn was made a Queen’s counsel in 1887. He has taken an active part in political affairs for the past fourteen years, and has been a candidate at eight different elections for Gaspé county. First in 1874, when he presented himself as a candidate for a seat in the House of Commons at Ottawa, but afterwards withdrew from the field when he was made a professor in Laval University, considering it incompatible to hold both offices. Again in 1875 and 1877, for the Quebec legislature, when he was defeated after a very severe contest, there being only small majorities against him, especially in 1877. This election he contested, and unseated his opponent; and the following year, on the 29th of April, he was elected by acclamation. On his entering the Chapleau cabinet in the fall of 1879, as commissioner of Crown Lands, he was again elected by acclamation. At the general election held in 1881, Mr. Flynn was once more elected by acclamation. On his accepting office in the Ross cabinet in 1884, which necessitated an appeal to the electorate, he was stoutly opposed by Major John Slous, but he beat this gentleman by a majority of 988 votes. At the general election held in October, 1886, he once more presented himself for election, and was returned by acclamation by his old friends at Gaspé. The Hon. Mr. Flynn has always been in principle a Liberal-Conservative. By his struggles in the county of Gaspé, he has succeeded in securing for the electors complete freedom and independence in the exercise of their franchise, which had been affected by the interference of certain large commercial firms. In the legislature the part played by Hon. Mr. Flynn has been most prominent as regards constitutional questions in particular. He has won for himself the well-deserved reputation of being a strong and energetic upholder of constitutional liberty; in proof of this it will suffice to refer to his noble and manly defence of the liberty of the press in the case of the _Nouvelliste_, in 1885, and his most eloquent speech on the question of Home Rule for Ireland, etc. His attention has been given to many other subjects of importance, such as that of colonization, which he has always and ever endeavoured to promote. He is the author of a homestead law for the benefit of settlers. His administration of the crown lands was marked with an increase in the revenue, increase in the value of timber limits, mineral lands,—and by many useful rules and regulations, calculated to promote colonization and the welfare of the many persons in the province who are occupiers of crown lands. Many other important measures were framed by him and carried through the legislature through him, namely: The Quebec General Mining Act of 1880; several acts concerning the crown lands, railways, the protection of forests, and encouragement of planting of trees, etc. He has also always taken a most lively interest in the question of the construction of a railway from Metapedia, on the Intercolonial Railway to Paspébiac and Gaspé Basin. Grants in land were secured in 1882, whilst he was commissioner of Crown Lands, and the same were converted into money grants under his auspices as commissioner of railways. He believes that in the construction of this line rests the future welfare of the population of the Gaspé peninsula. His travels have been always directed towards the acquisition of a complete knowledge of Canada, and the different parts thereof. In religion he is a Roman Catholic. He was married on the 11th May, 1875, to Maria Mathilde Augustine, daughter of Augustin Coté, editor of _Le Journal de Québec_, and niece to the late Hon. Joseph Cauchon, heretofore lieutenant-governor of Manitoba, etc. He has had eight children, of whom six are still living. He resides in Quebec city.

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=Hanington, Hon. Daniel L.=, Q.C., M.P.P. for the county of Westmoreland, residence, Dorchester, New Brunswick, was born at Shediac, N.B., on the 27th June, 1835. His father, Colonel Hanington, was for long years a member of the Assembly and Legislative Council of New Brunswick; and his mother Margaret Peters, a daughter of William Peters, a U. E. loyalist, who for years represented Queens county in the New Brunswick legislature. Daniel, the subject of this sketch, received a Grammar School and academic education at Shediac and Sackville, in his native county. After leaving school he commenced the study of law with Charles Fisher, attorney-general, of Fredericton, and finished with Judge A. L. Palmer, of Dorchester; was called to the bar of New Brunswick in 1861; and on the 11th November, 1881, was appointed a Queen’s counsel. Mr. Hanington has been very successful in his profession, and has a large practice in the courts of his native province, and as counsel in Nova Scotia and in the Supreme Court of the Dominion. From 1867 to 1870 he occupied the position of clerk of circuits and clerk of the county court of Westmoreland, when he resigned those offices to contest the election of that year, and was chosen to represent the county of Westmoreland in the New Brunswick House of Assembly. He sat therein until the summer of 1874, when on again appealing for re-election, he was defeated on the “Bible and religious instruction in the Common Schools” question, which he advocated. However, he was again chosen at the general elections of 1878, 1882, and 1886, to represent his old constituency. In July, 1878, he was appointed a member of the Executive Council; and on the 25th May, of the year 1882, he became premier. In February, 1883, he resigned office with his colleagues. Mr. Hanington has always taken a deep interest in educational matters, and for about seventeen years was a school trustee. In politics he is a Liberal of the old New Brunswick school of politicians; is a supporter of the Liberal-Conservative government at Ottawa, and took an active part in the last Dominion election. He is an adherent of the Episcopal church, which he represents in the Diocesan and also the Provincial Synod. In October, 1861, Hon. Mr. Hanington was married to Emily Myers, daughter of Thomas Robert Wetmore, barrister-at-law, and judge of probate, Gagetown, N.B. The fruits of this marriage have been seven children, three sons and four daughters.

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