Читать книгу: «The Canadian Portrait Gallery - Volume 3 (of 4)», страница 25

He continued to sit in the House as a private member throughout the then-existing Parliament. At the general election of 1854 he was again returned for the city of Montreal. During the ensuing sessions, though he did not accept office, he was a very serviceable member of committees. In 1856 he was Chairman of the Committee on Public Accounts, and introduced some important improvements in the method of tabulating items. At the general election of 1858 he declined re-nomination, as his health was far from good, and he was desirous of repose from public life. In 1863 he was an unsuccessful candidate for Montreal West, his successful opponent being the late Hon. Thomas D'Arcy McGee. Nine years elapsed before he again offered himself as a candidate for Parliamentary honours. In 1872 he once more came out for Montreal West, when he was returned by a majority of more than 800. Two years later he bade a final adieu to political life, in order to give his undivided attention to various commercial and industrial enterprises with which he was connected. He continued, however, to take a keen interest in public affairs, and to do his utmost to promote the interior trade of Canada and the carrying trade of the lakes and St. Lawrence. He never ceased to advocate the establishment of reciprocity between Canada and the United States. In 1875 he was Chairman of a commission appointed to consider the bearing a Baie Verte canal would have on the interests of Canadian commerce; and after a very exhaustive inquiry he prepared a report unfavourable to the project.

In addition to the projects already mentioned in the course of this sketch as having been actively promoted by Mr. Young, he did much to enhance the due representation of Canada at the various International Exhibitions, and the last public appointment filled by him was that of Canadian Commissioner to the International Exhibition at Sydney, Australia, in 1877. He also took an active interest in ocean telegraphy, and in the improvement of the harbours of Canada. After his retirement from Parliament he filled the office of Flour Inspector of the Port of Montreal on behalf of the Government. He continued to identify himself with every local measure of public importance down to the time of his death, which took place at his home in Montreal, on Friday, the 12th of April, 1878. The funeral, which was attended by a great concourse of influential citizens, was on the 15th. The local press did due honour to his memory, and bore unanimous testimony to the fact that Canada, and more especially the city of Montreal, had sustained a grievous loss by his death.

A few additional incidents in Mr. Young's career may as well be added in this place. He was twice sent to Washington as Canada's representative to bring about satisfactory trade relations between this country and the United States. The first of these missions was undertaken in 1849, during the existence of the Baldwin-Lafontaine Administration. The second was fourteen years afterwards, during the tenure of office of the Sandfield Macdonald-Dorion Government, in 1863. He also made frequent trips to Great Britain, generally on private business of his own, but sometimes on quasi-diplomatic missions connected with industrial matters. He was twice shipwrecked; once during a passage in the Anglo Saxon, of the Allan Line, on her passage from Liverpool to Quebec; and once during a passage on the Inman steamer City of New York, bound for Liverpool.

It has been seen that he was a Reformer in political and commercial matters. In theology his views were not less liberal. He was brought up a strict Presbyterian, but had scarcely reached manhood ere he discarded many of the tenets of that Body. He embraced Unitarianism, and was largely instrumental in spreading Unitarian doctrines in the city of his adoption. As a writer, his style was homely and unpolished, but terse and vigorous. His writings did much to form public opinion in Canada on matters connected with Free Trade, and on commercial matters generally. In addition to his frequent contributions to the newspaper press he published numerous pamphlets on trade and industrial topics, and contributed the article on Montreal to the eighth edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

THE RIGHT REV. HIBBERT BINNEY, D.D.,

BISHOP OF NOVA SCOTIA

Bishop Binney is a son of the late Rev. Dr. Binney, formerly Rector of Newbury, Berkshire, England. He was born in Nova Scotia in 1819, but was sent to England in his youth, for the purpose of receiving a thorough university education. He was placed at King's College, London, where he made great progress in his studies, and obtained high standing. After spending some time there, he entered Worcester College, Oxford, where he obtained a Fellowship. He graduated in 1842, taking first-class honours in mathematics and second-class in classics. During the same year he was ordained a Deacon, and in 1843 was ordained to the Priesthood. He obtained from his College the degree of M.A. in 1844.

In 1846 he was appointed Tutor of his College, and in 1848 was appointed Bursar. The See of Nova Scotia having become vacant in 1851, he was nominated Bishop of that Province, and on the 25th of March in that year he was consecrated at Lambeth by the Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by the Bishops of London, Oxford, and Chichester. He immediately afterwards proceeded to Halifax, where he has ever since resided. His first exercise of the Episcopal office was at an Ordination whereat six candidates were admitted to the Diaconate, and one to the Priesthood.

In 1855 Bishop Binney married Miss Mary Bliss, a daughter of the Hon. W. B. Bliss, a Puisné Judge of Nova Scotia. Independently of the high position which he occupies, he is regarded as one of the foremost men connected with the Church of England in this country. His classical, mathematical and theological erudition are of a very high order, and he is said to be intellectually the peer of any colonial Bishop now living. His Anglicanism is high, but his views on ecclesiastical matters generally are broad and statesmanlike, and he is regarded with great reverence by the clergy and professors of all creeds in his native Province. By his own clergy he is universally beloved, and a great part of his life since his elevation to the Episcopal Bench has been devoted to the promotion of their spiritual and temporal welfare. His name will be long held in remembrance for his successful exertions on behalf of the Church of England in Nova Scotia. Many of his sermons and charges to the Clergy display a high degree of eloquence, and several of them have been published. A Pastoral Letter, including important correspondence between himself and the Rev. George W. Hill, the present Chancellor of the University of Halifax, was published in that city in 1866.

The See of Nova Scotia, over which Bishop Binney's jurisdiction extends, formerly embraced a very wide area, including the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, New Brunswick, and the Island of Newfoundland. It is now confined to the Province of Nova Scotia and the Island of Prince Edward.

THE HON. CHRISTOPHER FINLAY FRASER

Mr. Fraser is a Canadian by birth, but is of Celtic origin on both sides. His father, Mr. John S. Fraser, was a Scottish Highlander who emigrated to Canada a few years before the birth of the subject of this sketch, and settled in the Johnstown District. His mother, whose maiden name was Miss Sarah Burke, was of Irish birth and parentage.

He was born at Brockville, the chief town of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, in the month of October, 1839. His parents were in humble circumstances, and could do little to advance his prospects in life. He was a clever, brilliant boy, however, and from his earliest years was animated by an honourable ambition to rise. He struggled manfully to obtain an education, and did not hesitate to put his hand to whatever employment would further this end. When not much more than a child he was apprenticed to the printing business in the office of the Brockville Recorder. How long he remained there we have no means of ascertaining, but he succeeded, by dint of perseverance and good natural ability, in obtaining what he so much desired — an education. He determined to study law, and in or about the year 1859 he entered the office of the present Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia, the Hon. Albert N. Richards, who then practised the legal profession at Brockville. Here he studied hard, and laid the foundation of his future success in life. Having completed his term of clerkship, he was admitted as an attorney and solicitor in Easter Term, 1864. He settled down to practice in Brockville, where he was well known, and where he soon succeeded in acquiring a good business connection. In Trinity Term, 1865, he was called to the Bar. Even during his student days he had taken a keen interest in the political questions of the times, and had worked hard at the local elections on the Liberal side. He had not been long at the Bar ere he began to be looked upon as an available candidate for Parliament. At the first general election under Confederation, held in 1867, he offered himself as a candidate for the Local House to the electors of his native town. He was defeated by a small majority, but made a good impression upon the electors during the canvass, and established his reputation as a ready speaker on the hustings. At the general election held four years later he offered himself to the electors of South Grenville, but was again unsuccessful, being defeated by the late Mr. Clark. Two years previous to this time he had, as an Irish Catholic, taken a conspicuous part with Mr. John O'Donohoe and Mr. Jeremiah Merrick, of Toronto, Mr. McKeown, of St. Catharines, and others, in forming what is known as the Ontario Catholic League. This League was formed under the impression that the co-religionists of its promoters in this Province were not receiving the amount of patronage to which they were entitled by reason of their numbers and influence.

Within a short time after the elections of 1871, Mr. Clark, who had defeated Mr. Fraser in South Grenville, died, and the constituency was thus left without a representative in the Ontario Legislature. Mr. Fraser accordingly offered himself once more to the electors in the month of March, 1872, and was returned at the head of the poll. A petition was filed against his return, and he was unseated, but upon returning to his constituents for reëlection in the following October he was once more successful. A year later he was offered a seat in the Executive Council, as Provincial Secretary and Registrar, which he accepted. He returned for reëlection after accepting office, and was reëlected by acclamation. He retained this position until the 4th of April, 1874, when he became Commissioner of Public Works. The latter position he still retains. In the conduct of this important department Mr. Fraser has displayed administrative talents of a high order, and has proved himself a most capable public official. He originated, prepared, and successfully carried through the Act giving the right of suffrage to farmers' sons. He is a ready and fluent debater, and is always listened to with respect by the House, where he is regarded as one of the representative Roman Catholics of Ontario. His position, both in the House and out of it, has been honestly won, and his influence among his colleagues in the Government is fully commensurate with his abilities.

He was reëlected for South Grenville at the general election of 1875. At the general election held in June, 1879, he again contested the South Riding of Grenville against Mr. F. J. French, of Prescott, but was defeated by a majority of 137 votes. In his native town of Brockville he was more successful, 1,379 votes being recorded for him as against 1,266 for his opponent, Mr. D. Mansell. He now sits in the House as member for Brockville. He is President of the Roman Catholic Literary Association of Brockville, and takes a warm interest in municipal affairs.

In 1876 Mr. Fraser was created a Queen's Counsel. His wife was formerly Miss Lafayette, of Brockville.

SANDFORD FLEMING, C.E., C.M.G

Mr. Fleming's connection with some of our most stupendous public works has been the means of making his name known in every corner of the Dominion. Though not a Canadian either by birth or education, he is permanently identified with Canadian enterprise, and his name is distinctly and permanently recorded in our country's annals. He was born at the seaport and market-town of Kirkcaldy, in Fifeshire, Scotland — a distinction which he shares in common with the illustrious author of "The Wealth of Nations." His father was an artisan named Andrew Greig Fleming. His mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Arnot. The families to which both parents belonged have been settled on the shores of Fife for more than a century, and the names of Fleming and Arnot are common there at the present day. The subject of this sketch was born on the 7th of January, 1827. In his childhood he attended a small private school in Kirkcaldy, and afterwards, when he was about ten years of age, passed to the local grammar-school. He displayed much aptitude for mathematics, and made great progress in that branch of study. When he was still a mere boy he was articled to the business of engineering and surveying, and after serving his time began to look about him for suitable employment. He was fond of his profession, and conscious of his ability. His prospects were not such as to satisfy his ambition, and in 1845 he emigrated to Canada, and took up his abode in the Upper Province. For some years after his arrival in this country his prospects did not seem much more alluring than before. There was comparatively little employment of an important character for a man of Mr. Fleming's attainments in those days, and he made but slow headway. He resided for some time in Toronto, and took an active part in the founding of the Canadian Institute, "for the purpose of promoting the physical sciences, for encouraging and advancing the industrial arts and manufactures, for effecting the formation of a Provincial museum, and for the purpose of facilitating the acquirement and the dissemination of knowledge connected with the surveying, engineering, and architectural professions." Soon afterwards — in 1852 — he obtained employment on the engineering staff of the Ontario, Simcoe and Huron Railway, the first section of which (from Toronto to Aurora) was opened to the public on the 16th of May, 1853. Mr. Fleming took a conspicuous part in the work of construction, and in process of time was promoted to the position of Engineer-in-Chief of the line. He remained in the employ of the company (the name of which was changed in 1858 to that which it has ever since borne — the Northern Railway Company) about eleven years. During much of this period he also did a good deal of professional work in connection with the Toronto Esplanade, and other important enterprises. In his professional capacity he visited the Red River country, to examine as to the feasibility of a railway connecting that region with Canada. At the request of the inhabitants there he proceeded to England on their behalf in 1863, as bearer of a memorial from them to the Imperial Government, praying that a line of railway might be constructed which would afford them direct access to Canada, without passing over United States territory. Upon Mr. Fleming's arrival in London he had repeated conferences on the subject with the late Duke of Newcastle, who was then Colonial Secretary. How this project was indefinitely postponed, and was subsequently merged in the greater scheme of a Trans-continental line of railway, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, is well known to every reader of these pages. Immediately after Mr. Fleming's return to Canada in 1863 he was appointed by the Governments of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and subsequently by that of the mother country, to conduct the preliminary survey of a line of railway which should form a connecting link between the Maritime Provinces and the Canadas. The project of constructing such a road, though agitated at various times, did not take a practical shape until the accomplishment of Confederation, when the work of construction was made obligatory upon the Government and Parliament of Canada by the 145th clause of the Act of Union. The whole of this great undertaking was successfully carried out under Mr. Fleming's supervision as Chief Engineer, and the Intercolonial was opened throughout for public traffic on the 1st of July — the natal day of the Dominion — 1876. A few weeks later Mr. Fleming published a history of the enterprise, under the title of "The Intercolonial: an Historical Sketch of the inception and construction of the line of railways uniting the inland and Atlantic Provinces of the Dominion."

When British Columbia entered the Dominion, on the 20th of July, 1871, it was agreed that within ten years from that date a line of railway should be constructed from the Pacific Ocean to a point of junction with the existing railway systems in the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Mr. Fleming's services in connection with the Intercolonial Railway marked him out as the most suitable man in the Dominion to prosecute the preliminary surveys of the Canadian Pacific. Accordingly his services were secured by the Government for that purpose, and he was appointed Chief Engineer. In the summer of 1872 he started across the continent on a tour of inspection. He was attended by a capable staff of assistants. Among the latter was the Rev. George M. Grant, the present Principal of Queen's College, Kingston, who accompanied the expedition in the capacity of Secretary. The party left Toronto on the 16th of July, 1872, and travelling by way of Sault Ste. Marie, Nepigon, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Forts Carlton and Edmonton, the Rocky Mountains, Kamloops and Bute Inlet, reached Victoria, B.C., on the 9th of October following. Those who wish to inform themselves as to the literary and social aspects of that momentous journey may consult Mr. Grant's journal, as it appears in the pages of "Ocean to Ocean." Those who wish to know the scientific and more practical results of the expedition can only become acquainted with them through Mr. Fleming's elaborate report.

Mr. Fleming continued to be the Government Engineer until about a year ago, when he resigned his position, owing as it is understood, to some difference of opinion with the Government as to the location of the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway. His topographical knowledge of the country is unrivalled, and his professional standing is such as might be expected from the importance of the great public works which he has superintended. In recognition of his talents, and of his services to Canada and the Empire, Her Majesty some time ago conferred upon him the dignity of a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George.

In addition to the work on the Intercolonial already mentioned, and to many elaborate and voluminous reports upon the various enterprises wherewith he has been connected, Mr. Fleming has contributed numerous interesting and instructive papers to the Canadian Journal and other scientific periodicals. He has also written many articles on subjects connected with his profession for the daily press. Within the last few months a proposition of his with respect to the establishment of a new prime meridian for the world, 180° from Greenwich, has been approved of by the Imperial Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg, Russia, the secretary whereof recently conveyed information of the fact in a letter addressed to the Governor-General of Canada.

In the autumn of last Year (1880) Mr. Fleming was elected Chancellor of Queen's University, Kingston, and upon his installation delivered a very eloquent inaugural address.

On the 3rd of January, 1855, he married Miss Ann Jean Hall, daughter of the Sheriff of the county of Peterboro'.