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THE HON. JOHN JOSEPH CALDWELL ABBOTT,

B.C.L., D.C.L., Q.C

Though Mr. Abbott's parliamentary career embraces a period of more than twenty years, it is not as a legislator that the Canadian of the future will be likely to remember him. The legislation of 1864 may be said to have decided his future course, for from that year his rapid rise in his profession may be dated, and his extraordinary success in the special branch he had chosen, that of commercial law, first began to develop itself prominently. Before that year he had won distinction at the Bar as an able lawyer and a wise counsellor, but he was still undecided with regard to his future, when a circumstance occurred which promptly determined him. The Insolvent Act of 1864, which he prepared and carried through the House with great ability, proved to be the turning point in his fortunes, and though we have had other legislation on this subject since then, the principles laid down by Mr. Abbott, when introducing his measure, have been steadily retained in all later enactments. Before his bill became law, the only system which existed was the Act under the civil code, which had been found to be both cumbrous and costly in its operation. The country had suffered for several years for the want of something better, and accordingly when Mr. Abbott's Act came into force, it was regarded by the mercantile community as a sterling piece of legislation, and one which was well calculated to add materially to the originator's legal reputation and standing. Mr. Abbott published about the same time a manual which described fully his Act, with notes and the tariff of fees for Lower Canada. This book and the measure itself gave his name wide publicity throughout the Province, and for many years he was the recognized exponent of the principles of the Act which governed the law relating to bankruptcy. Merchants flocked to his office to consult him on a measure which many believed could be explained by no one else, and this formed the nucleus of a practice which has increased from that day to this, to enormous proportions. He is still regarded as the ablest commercial lawyer in the Province of Quebec.

He was born at St. Andrews, in the county of Argenteuil, Lower Canada, on the 12th of March, 1821. His father was the Reverend Joseph Abbott, M.A., first Anglican Incumbent of St. Andrews, who emigrated to this country from England in 1818 as a missionary, and who during his long residence in Canada added considerably to the literary activity of the country. He had not been long in Canada before he married Miss Harriet Bradford, a daughter of the Rev. Richard Bradford, first Rector of Chatham, Argenteuil County. The first fruit of this union was the subject of this sketch. The latter was carefully educated at St. Andrews with a view to a university career, and in due time he was sent to Montreal, where he entered the University of McGill College. He distinguished himself highly at this seat of learning, and graduated as a B.C.L. Shortly after he began the study of law, and in October, 1847, was called to the Bar of Lower Canada. His professional success has already been referred to.

His political life began in 1857, when he contested the county of Argenteuil at the general elections of that year. He was elected a member of the Canadian Assembly, but was not returned until 1859. He continued to represent the constituency in that House until the Union of 1867, when he was returned for the Commons. He was reëlected at the general elections of 1872 and 1874. In October of the last-named year he was unseated, when Dr. Christie was chosen by acclamation. At the general election of September, 1878, he was again a candidate, but again sustained defeat at the hands of his old antagonist Dr. Christie. The latter, however, was unseated, and in February, 1880, Mr. Abbott was again elected for the county.

For a short time in 1862 he held the post of Solicitor-General in the Sandfield Macdonald-Sicotte Administration, and prior to his acceptance of office he was created a Q.C. In 1864, while in Opposition, he was instrumental in introducing two bills which have added to his fame as a lawyer. The first of these was the Jury Law Consolidation Act for Lower Canada. Its principal provisions were to simplify the system of summoning jurors, and the preparation of jury lists. The other law which he added to the statute book was the Bill for collecting judicial and registration fees by stamps. This was the first complete legislation that had taken place on the subject, and as in the case of his other measures, the main principles have been retained in the subsequent legislation which has followed. Besides these, and many less important but useful measures, Mr. Abbott's political work consists of amendments to Bills, suggestions and advice as regards measures affecting law and commerce. His advice at such times has always proved of the greatest value, and it is in this department of legislation that he has achieved the most success. He is a good speaker, but of late years has made no special figure in the House, either as an orator or a debater.

Mr. Abbott is Dean of the Faculty of Law in the University of McGill College, a D.C.L. of that University, and Lieutenant-Colonel of the "Argenteuil Rangers," known in the Department of Militia as the 11th Battalion — a corps raised by him during the patriotic time of the "Trent" excitement. He is also President of the Fraser Institute of Montreal, and Director or law adviser to various companies and corporations.

Twice Mr. Abbott's name came before the public in a manner which gave him great notoriety. He was the prominent figure, after Sir Hugh Allan, in the famous Pacific Scandal episode. Being the legal adviser of the Knight of Ravenscraig, all transactions were carried on through him, and it was a confidential clerk of his who revealed details of the scheme which culminated in the downfall of the Macdonald Cabinet. His second conspicuous appearance on the public stage was in connection with the Letellier case, when he went to England in April, 1879, as the associate of the Hon. H. L. Langevin on the mission which resulted in the dismissal of the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec.

In 1849 he married Miss Mary Bethune, daughter of the Very Reverend J. Bethune, D.D., late Dean of Montreal.

THE HON. JOHN BEVERLEY ROBINSON,

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR OF ONTARIO

The present Lieutenant-Governor of this Province is the namesake and second son of the late Sir John Beverley Robinson, Baronet, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere in the present series. He was born at Beverley House, the paternal homestead, in Toronto, on the 21st of February, 1819. He was educated at Upper Canada College, and was one of the earliest students at that seat of learning, which he attended while it was presided over by the Rev. Dr. J. H. Harris, its first Principal. His collegiate days, and indeed, the days of his boyhood generally, were marked by robustness of constitution, and an excessive fondness for athletics — characteristics which may be said to have accompanied him through life. During Sir Francis Bond Head's disastrous administration of Upper Canadian affairs young Robinson was for some time one of his aides-de-camp, and in this capacity was brought prominently into contact with the troubles of December, 1837. He accompanied His Excellency from Government House to Montgomery's hotel, Yonge Street, on the 7th of the month, when the hotel and Gibson's dwelling-house were burned, and he was thus an eye-witness of the spectacle so graphically described by Sir Francis in the pages of "The Emigrant." A day or two later he was sent to Washington as the bearer of important despatches to the British Minister there, and remained in the American capital several weeks.

Soon after the close of the rebellion Mr. Robinson entered the office of the Hon. Christopher Hagerman, a prominent lawyer and legislator of those days, who held important offices in several administrations, and who was subsequently raised to the Bench. After remaining about two years there he had his articles transferred to Mr. James M. Strachan, of the firm of Strachan & Cameron, one of the leading law firms in Toronto. There he remained until the expiration of his articles, when, in Easter Term of 1844, he was called to the Bar of Upper Canada. He does not appear to have been admitted as an attorney and solicitor until Trinity Term, 1869. Immediately after his call to the Bar he began practice in Toronto, where he formed various partnerships, and continued to practise up to the date of his appointment to the position which he now holds.

On the 30th of June, 1847, he married Miss Mary Jane Hagerman, the second daughter of his former principal. He early began to take an active interest in municipal affairs, and in 1851 was elected as Alderman for St. Patrick's Ward, which at that time included the present wards of St. Patrick and St. John. He held the post of Alderman for six consecutive years; was for some time President of the City Council; and in 1857 was elected Mayor. At the next general election he offered himself to the citizens of Toronto as a candidate for a seat in the Legislative Assembly, and was returned conjointly with the late Hon. George Brown. Like all his family connections, he was a Conservative in politics, and yielded a firm support to the Cartier-Macdonald Administration. While in Parliament he was instrumental in procuring the passage of several Acts referring to the Toronto Esplanade and other local improvements. On the 27th of March, 1862, he accepted the office of President of the Council in the Cartier-Macdonald Administration, and held office until the resignation of the Ministry in the month of May following. He has not since been a member of any Administration, but has always been a strenuous supporter of the Conservative side, and has been returned in that interest for his native city no fewer than seven times. At the general election of 1872 he was returned to the House of Commons for the District of Algoma, which he continued thenceforward to represent until the dissolution. At the last general election for the House of Commons, held on the 17th of September, 1878, he was returned for Toronto West by a very large majority (637 votes) over Mr. Thomas Hodgins, the Reform candidate. He continued to represent West Toronto in the Commons until the 30th of June, 1880, when he was appointed to the office of Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, as successor to the Hon. D. A. Macdonald.

Mr. Robinson was for many years Solicitor to the Corporation of the City of Toronto. He has held several offices in connection with financial and public institutions, and has been President of the St. George's Society of Toronto.

HIS GRACE F. X. DE LAVAL-MONTMORENCY

Francois Xavier de Laval-Montmorency was born on the 30th of April, 1623, at Laval, in the diocese of Chartres, France. From childhood his thoughts were intimately associated with the Church, and at a very early age he made up his mind to study for the priesthood. Bagot the Jesuit may be said to have moulded his career, and directed his studies, with that object in view. He next associated himself with the band of young zealots at the Caen Hermitage, whose Ultramontane piety was the wonder of the time. He studied for awhile under De Bernières, and in September, 1645, was ordained a priest at Paris. Eight years later he was made Archdeacon of Evreux. In 1657 a bishop was wanted for Canada, and the Sulpicians, like the Récollets some years earlier, aspired to furnish that dignitary from their own order. They sent forward the name of Father Queylus as candidate for the bishopric, and though the suggestion found favour in the eyes of the French clergy, and was approved by Cardinal Mazarin, the Jesuits were powerful enough to overthrow all the designs of the rival fathers. They were strong at court, and so well did they use their influence that Mazarin was soon induced to withdraw his good offices, and Queylus was forced to relinquish his opportunity. The Jesuits were then invited to name a bishop, and Laval was chosen. On the 16th of June, 1659, he arrived at Quebec, carrying the Pope's benediction and the Vicar-Apostolicship for Canada.

It was his fate, during his lengthened stay in Canada, to dispute with every successive Governor appointed by the Crown, on questions which were often contemptible and trifling. He kept the King and his ministers busy settling petty questions of precedence and church dignity. He was a man of very domineering temper, arbitrary and dictatorial in all his acts, a firm exponent of the Ultramontane doctrine which declares the State to be subservient to the will of the Church on all occasions, and that even princes and rulers must yield to the commands of the Pope. His first quarrel was with Argenson, the then Governor of Canada, and was about the relative position of the seats which each should occupy in church. The case was sent to Aillebout, the pious ex-Governor, for settlement, and a temporary reconciliation took place. The quarrel burst forth afresh, however, from time to time, and Argenson, disgusted at these constant wranglings between Church and State, and dissatisfied with other matters connected with his administration, asked the Home Government to relieve him. His resignation was accepted, and the old soldier, Baron Dubois d'Avaugour, was appointed in his stead. The latter soon had his point of dispute with Laval. In his case it turned upon the much-vexed temperance question. Laval embarked for France in August, 1662, determined to lay the matter before the Court, and to urge the removal of Avaugour. He was successful, and early in the following year the Governor was recalled.

Laval's next conflict was with Dumesnil, an advocate of the Parliament of Paris, and the agent of the Company of New France. While in Paris, the bishop was instructed by the Government to choose a governor to his own liking. He selected Saffray de Mézy, of Caen, for the governorship, and with him he sailed for the colony, arriving on the 15th of September, 1663. Immediately on arriving, Laval and the Governor proceeded to construct the new Council. Virtually all the nominations were made by the bishop, who knew everybody, while the Governor knew absolutely no one in the whole country. The new Council formed, Dumesnil at once pressed the long pending claims of his company for settlement. The Council was composed of ignorant and corrupt men, several of whom were actually defaulters to the company represented by Dumesnil, and Laval was much blamed for placing them in an office which rendered them judges in their own cause. The Attorney-General demanded in Council that the papers of Dumesnil should be forcibly seized and sequestered. To this the Council at once agreed, and that night Dumesnil's house was entered and ransacked for the papers, which on being found were seized. The agent himself barely escaped with his life. He fled to France, and succeeded in gaining the ear of Colbert, the King's minister, who promptly moved in the matter.

Mézy, though he owed everything to the bishop, determined that he would be his mere instrument and tool no longer. The old war between Church and State broke out again. Mézy was a bigot, who stood in mortal terror of the power of the Church, and whose whole life was made up of the veriest superstition, but he rebelled against Laval. Discovering that the Council was composed of creatures of the bishop, he, on the 13th of February, 1664, ordered three of the most notorious members to absent themselves from the Council. At the same time he wrote to the bishop and informed him of what he had done, and asked him to acquiesce in the expulsion of his favourites. Of course Laval refused to do anything of the kind. Mézy then caused his declaration to be announced to the people in the usual way, by means of placards posted about the city, and by sound of the drum. The bishop, however, had the best of the encounter. Mézy learned to his horror and consternation that the churches were to be closed against him, and that the sacraments would be refused him. In his despair he sought counsel from the Jesuits, but the comfort which he received from them was to follow the advice of his confessor — also a Jesuit. In the meantime Laval had become unpopular through a tithe which he had caused to be imposed, and the people were clamouring for a settlement of the difficulty. Mézy called a public meeting, appointed a new Attorney-General, and declared the old one excluded from all public functions whatever, pending the King's pleasure in the matter. All through this conflict of authority, the sympathy of the people was with the Governor, though the latter was denounced from the pulpits. Mézy appealed to the populace for justice, and by this act signed the warrant of his own doom. Laval reported the circumstance to the King, and the Governor was peremptorily recalled.

In 1663 Laval founded the Seminary of Quebec, and by this act endeared himself to the priesthood. The King favoured the project, and with his own hand signed the decree which sanctioned the establishment. Laval's heart was in this great educational project, and not only did he secure substantial aid from his friends at home, and from the King himself, but in 1680 he gave to the institution of his creation almost everything he possessed. Included in this gift were his enormous grants of lands, which comprised the Seigniories of the Petite Nation, the Island of Jesus, and Beaupré, all of immense value.

In 1666 Laval consecrated the Parochial Church of Quebec. In 1674 he returned to France, and the height of his ambition became realized. He was named Bishop of Quebec, a suffragan bishop of the Holy See, by a bull of Clement X., dated the first of October. The revenues of the Abbey of Meaubec, in the diocese of Bourges, were added to those of the bishopric of Quebec. The new dignitary, armed with all the power and influence of his office, set out for Canada, and proceeded, on arriving there, to set his house in order. Of course, it was not long before hostilities again broke out between the rival forces of the country. Frontenac was Governor then, and the prime cause of the disturbance was the old brandy trouble. Then honours and precedence were the questions at issue between these two obstinate and high-spirited men. Precedence at church, and precedence at public meetings were fought all over again, and referred to France to the great disgust of the King, who losing all patience at last, wrote a sharp letter to Frontenac, directing him to conform to the practice established at Amiens, and to exact no more.

Laval continued to dispute from time to time with the Home Government concerning the system of movable curés which had been instituted by him. The bishop clung to his method despite all opposition and remonstrance, even setting aside at one time a royal edict on the subject. In the very height of the dispute Laval proceeded to Court, and asked permission to retire from the bishopric he had been so zealous to establish. His plea was ill-health, and the King granted his prayer, appointing in 1688 Saint Vallier as his successor. Laval wished to return to Canada, but this privilege was denied him, and it was not until four years had passed away that he was allowed to come back to the Church he loved so well. Saint Vallier sought by every means in his power to undo Laval's great work. He attacked the Seminary, and attempted to change its whole economy, receiving, however, much opposition from the priests, who were warmly attached to their old prelate. Laval groaned in despair at these attacks on the fabric he had raised, but he had the grim satisfaction of seeing the new bishop fail signally in many of his objects of demolition. Laval at length, wearied and worn, retired to his beloved Seminary, and on the 6th of May, 1708, he died there, at the advanced age of 85, and was buried near the principal altar in the cathedral. The Catholic University of Quebec, which boasts a Royal Charter signed by Queen Victoria, stands as a monument to his fame and name.